novel-bin Chapter 241 Huguan
Chapter 241 Huguan
Chapter 241 Huguan
As soon as Xi Zhicai finished speaking, the tense atmosphere instantly dissipated.
Generals leading troops outside are often not afraid of the enemies in front of them, but are more afraid of the open and secret attacks from the court.
Those who can really put them to death are often the invisible and intangible penmen in the court.
This is indeed true. At the end of every dynasty, there were many famous generals, but most of them died at the hands of their own people.
During the Zhongping period, Huangfu Song, Lu Zhi, Zhu Jun and others suffered extremely terrible attacks and frame-ups, and for a time they were in danger of life and death.
Even now, generals leading troops outside still face constant danger.
Especially Cao Cao, no matter his previous failures or his gradual rise to power later, the impeachments and attacks surrounding him never stopped.
Even when he left the capital this time, after much bargaining in the court, he still sent Xi Zhicai as the "military supervisor" to keep an eye on Cao Cao's every move.
Guo Jia watched Xi Zhicai enter the tent, drink some wine, and said with a smile: "General, Zhicai has great talent."
"Fengxiao, do you have a solution?" Cao Cao asked hurriedly. Naturally, he also had some ideas in mind.
Although he has recruited a lot of talents in recent years and the shogunate is no longer as tight as before, who would complain about having too many talents under their command?
Furthermore, it's not just Xi Zhicai's own talent, but also the fact that he comes from the Censorate and is a member of the "Yingchuan Party". If he is won over, the benefits will be unimaginable!
Guo Jia smiled and said, "No need to be deliberate, General, just proceed as usual."
Cao Cao suddenly understood, smiled and picked up the wine glass, saying: "I will follow Xiao Ji's advice and drink!"
Guo Jia smiled and took a sip with Cao Cao, then turned and looked towards the north.
Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun looked over at the same time because they both heard the sound of horse hooves.
Cao Cao was moved and stood up directly.
A horse galloped over, covered in blood, without a helmet, with disheveled hair. He jumped off the horse and fell to the ground. He quickly got up and said to Cao Cao: "General, Captain Cao was ambushed and lost more than a thousand men. Please support us!"
The 'Captain Cao' mentioned by the messenger was referring to Cao Cao's younger brother, Cao Hong.
Cao Cao's face changed, and he shouted loudly: "Order, march!"
Guo Jia, Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren and others stood up and looked towards the north with different expressions.
Cao Hong has always been a cautious person and never takes risks during marches, so how could he encounter an ambush?
The camp was quickly mobilizing its troops. Cao Cao looked indifferent and said to Guo Jia, "Fengxiao, I feel that the Black Mountain Army will not sit still and wait for death."
According to their original idea, the Montenegrin Army would gather together out of fear of the government troops, wait for the government troops' attack, and then put up a desperate resistance.
But Cao Hong was just hanging around, he shouldn't have been ambushed!
Guo Jia drank with an unusually calm expression, and said: "It's only a hundred miles away. I'm worried that someone will leak military information."
Cao Cao's eyes grew darker and darker, and he said, "It's simple. You'll know once you try it."
Cao Ren, Xiahou Dun and others did not say anything, realizing that the matter was not simple.
Cao Cao's army broke camp overnight and quickly headed north.
At the same time, Cao Cao wrote many letters, and the recipients included officials of all ranks in Yanzhou and Jizhou.
While marching, Cao Cao was also screening his troops to find out the hidden "spies" among them.
The Black Mountain Army has been operating for many years, so it is not surprising that it has people in the imperial court and the government army.
Cao Cao ignored this point before, and he will not tolerate it at all now!
On the third day, Cao Cao was sure that there were no spies in his army, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
In an inconspicuous valley, after Le Jin finished his inspection, he raised his hand to Cao Cao and said, "General, aren't we going to Dongjun?"
Cao Cao looked at him and said with a smile, "Of course not."
Le Jin was startled and asked, "Aren't we going to Dongjun to hunt down Bai Rao?"
Guo Jia drank his wine and said leisurely: "Everyone thinks so, that's right."
Le Jin was a little confused, but he didn't know whether he should continue asking.
Xi Zhicai was very clear about it and asked, "General Cao, are you waiting for those replies?"
Cao Cao did not hide it, saying: "The Black Mountain Army has been plundering Yanzhou and Jizhou for many years, and some rebels, such as Qiao Mao, have joined them. It is not surprising that some officials and people from aristocratic families have colluded and leaked information."
Xi Zhicai seemed to be thinking about something, and said, "So, the general does not intend to continue chasing Bai Rao, and is going to head directly to Changshan State?"
Cao Cao was a little surprised that Xi Zhicai saw it so clearly!
But after a moment, Cao Cao smiled and said, "That's right. I want to catch the Black Mountain Army off guard!"
Xi Zhicai nodded and said, "Calculating the time, it's just right."
Guo Jia drank some wine, sat opposite Xi Zhicai, and asked with a smile: "What other news does Zhicai know?"
Xi Zhicai was somewhat "unimpressed" with Guo Jia, because this man was alienated from the Yingchuan faction and was not close to him and Er Xun and others who were also from the Yingchuan family.
That’s right, Guo Jia also came from Yingchuan.
He pretended to cough a few times and said, "I heard that Envoy Ying has fortified the city and cleared the fields outside Changshan State. At the same time, Youzhou and Bingzhou are also doing the same and have already besieged Changshan State."
After the Black Mountain Army suffered a great defeat the year before last, most of them retreated to the border between Changshan State and Bing and You states. As the imperial court ordered a cleanup, the Black Mountain Army felt very nervous and quickly gathered in Changshan State, preparing to jointly resist the government forces.
Cao Cao knew all this and was about to speak when Xi Zhicai suddenly looked at Cao Cao and said calmly, "Although they have gathered together, they are all entrenched in strategic locations that are easy to defend but difficult to attack. If you want to win in one battle, I'm afraid you can't. With the delay and consumption, your food and grass can only support you for a month at most. The people's livelihood in Bing, You, and Ji states has not recovered yet, so they can't give you much support, and the same is true for the court."
"Hahaha,"
Cao Cao laughed heartily for a long while, and then he said to Xi Zhicai: "Zhicai, you said I can hold out for a month, how long can those rebels hold out?"
Xi Zhicai looked thoughtful and hesitated without responding.
The year before last, the Black Mountain Army planned to collude with Yuan Shu and occupy Jizhou, but they did not expect that Ying Shao, Zhang Liao, Zhao Yun and others would hold on. Not only did they fail to capture Julu, but they suffered heavy losses.
Since then, the Montenegrin Army has remained in hiding, even tolerating the routine looting.
The Black Mountain Army claims to be in the millions, but most of them are ordinary people, and there may not be a tenth of the young and strong who can fight. Therefore, the consumption of food and grass will be more than ten times that of Cao Cao!
After all, the Black Mountain Army is not the imperial court and does not care about people's livelihood. The few territories they have are not enough to support the consumption of a million-strong army.
Guo Jia sat opposite Xi Zhicai, but he did not think that he was at a loss for words, so he asked, "Zhicai, do you think this plan is difficult to succeed?"
Guo Jia sat opposite Xi Zhicai, but he did not think that he was at a loss for words, so he asked, "Zhicai, do you think this plan is difficult to succeed?"
Xi Zhicai took a sip from the wine glass and said calmly, "You and I both know that the Black Mountain Army is the last worry of the court. Only by eliminating the Black Mountain Army can the court implement the new policy without any more worries. Although it seems very important, in fact, compared with the south, the Black Mountain Army is just a minor problem. If General Cao is exhausted in Changshan State, the Grand Marshal may not be able to protect the general."
Cao Cao straightened his expression and said, "I don't know, what is a good strategy for Zhicai?"
Xi Zhicai didn't even look at it and said, "General Cao has never told me what good strategy he has, so how dare I speak nonsense?"
"Zhicai forgives me,"
Cao Cao quickly said: "It's not that I don't say anything, but we don't have a good plan for now."
Xi Zhicai stood up leisurely and said, "General Cao, there is no need to identify me."
Cao Cao then stood up and said with a smile: "Zhicai, I have no intention of discerning, but I just don't have a safe idea. Can Zhicai teach me?"
Xi Zhicai ignored him and walked away.
Guo Jia was a little surprised. He looked at Xi Zhicai's back, thoughtfully.
Cao Cao showed no sign of embarrassment. He smiled and said to Guo Jia, Cao Ren and others: "All great talents are arrogant."
Guo Jia drank the wine, his eyes slightly brightened, and said: "General, Zhicai probably has a plan."
Cao Cao's butt, which had just sat down, suddenly bounced up. He turned to look at Xi Zhicai's tent, hesitated for a moment, then strode over.
Seeing this, Guo Jia said to Cao Ren, Xiahou Dun and others: "Everyone, prepare to move camp."
Three days later, Cao Cao led his army out of Yanzhou and entered Jizhou.
While riding his horse, Cao Cao felt a little headache, and he and Guo Jia and others sighed: "The talented man still refuses to speak, after all, I, Cao Cao, cannot keep such a great talent."
Upon hearing this, Le Jin snorted coldly and said, "General, isn't he just a military supervisor? I will tie him up!"
Cao Cao shook his head helplessly and looked towards the north.
They hid during the day and came out at night, traveling at a very fast speed. In the eyes of others, they should still be chasing Bai Rao in Dongjun.
Guo Jia saw through Cao Cao's thoughts clearly. He rode his horse, drank wine, and said leisurely, "General, did you receive the reply?"
Cao Cao's dejected look suddenly disappeared. He couldn't help stroking his beard and said with a smile, "Feng Xiao is indeed very smart. He has replied to the letter. He has replied to all the letters."
Guo Jia had been drinking heavily recently, so he took another sip and said, "Then it's time to cast the net."
Cao Cao's narrow eyes flashed with a dark light, and he said, "It's time to catch some fish."
Cao Ren rode forward and whispered, "General, the military supervisor has been acting mysterious these past few days, coming in and out. Perhaps something is going on."
Cao Cao didn't speak, but silently looked at Guo Jia.
Guo Jia sighed and said, "General, we need to speed up."
Cao Cao's dozens of letters not only caused panic in Yanzhou and Jizhou, but also caused the imperial court to begin investigating whether the court officials were in collusion with the Black Mountain Army.
In addition, Cao Cao had been hiding during the day and coming out at night for more than ten days, and his silence had further intensified the court's dissatisfaction with Cao Cao.
As the military supervisor, Xi Zhicai was obviously doing something.
Cao Cao didn't care about the evil spirits in the court. He thought for a moment and said, "Speed up!"
Upon hearing this, Cao Ren, Xiahou Dun and others seemed to want to say something but stopped themselves.
The marching speed over the past ten days is already the fastest. If it goes any faster, the soldiers may not be able to hold on!
But Cao Cao was under greater pressure, so they had to endure it and prepare to appease the soldiers.
Guo Jia took a sip of wine and said to himself, "It's time for something to happen."
Cao Cao was very 'sensitive' to Guo Jia and immediately asked, "What does Fengxiao mean?"
Guo Jia looked at him and said, "The Black Mountain Army has been gathering for so many days, so it shouldn't be silent and without any movement."
Cao Cao was not a stupid man. He began to frown, and his bad premonition became stronger.
"Go and ask the military supervisor to come!" Cao Cao suddenly said in a deep voice.
The wine jug in Guo Jia's hand shook and he began to become alert.
Not long after, Xi Zhicai caught up on horseback, coughing constantly and with a very pale face.
Xi Zhicai was already weak and sickly, and traveling for such a long time took a huge toll on his body.
Seeing him like this, Cao Cao lost his usual concern and asked directly with burning eyes, "Zhicai, are you hiding something from me?"
Xi Zhicai coughed and saw Cao Cao, Guo Jia, Cao Ren and others staring at him, and asked, "What do you mean, General?"
Cao Cao looked more solemn than ever before, with an impatient and hostile tone as he said, "I am ordered to fight against the enemy, and Zhicai is the military supervisor. We should work together and keep each other informed. Zhicai, don't sacrifice public interests for personal gain!"
Xi Zhicai coughed a few more times and then fell silent.
He is a smart man, and he can easily capture the key points in Cao Cao's words.
After careful consideration, Xi Zhi raised his head and said, "Three days ago, the Black Mountain Army broke into Bingzhou, broke through Huguan, and threatened Shangdang, Taiyuan, Sili, Hexi and other places. There was some panic in Luoyang City."
When the Black Mountain Army arrived in Hexi, they were not far from Luoyang.
Xi Zhicai finished speaking.
Everyone was so shocked that they were speechless.
You can hear the needle drop!