Han Shimou

"My lord, the Kuai brothers have left Xinye. Cai Degui's army is coming soon, and we still need to make preparations."

Zhuge Liang's face was calm, and after watching the majestic army of [-] soldiers and horses gradually move away, he said softly to Liu Bei beside him.Liu Bei nodded slightly, his expression was also indifferent, as if he was not afraid of Cai Mao's army, he replied calmly.

"What the military adviser said is true. If Cai Degui can be captured in one fell swoop in this battle, everything will be all right!"

After Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang talked outside the city gate for a while, they rushed back to the city together.The backs of the two gradually blended and merged into one place, as if a dragon shadow appeared, which was very strange.

About ten days later, Cai Mao was in the realm of Wuling, leading a group of confidants and soldiers, watching from a distance.A few days ago, Cai Mao had learned from the soldiers who returned that Liu Bei had received the order to hand over [-] soldiers and horses to the Kuai brothers.After Cai Mao learned about it, although he was happy, he thought that Zhuge Liang was resourceful. Before seeing the [-] troops return to Wuling with his own eyes, he would never dare to act rashly.Calculated according to the time and day, if there is no accident, the Kuai brothers should lead the army to the realm of Wuling at this time.

Cai Mao waited for a long time, but there was still no movement in the distance, and he couldn't help feeling a little anxious.At this moment, suddenly a few soldiers around him called out.

"Here we come!! There is a lot of wind and dust ten miles ahead, there must be a large number of soldiers and horses coming!!!"

Cai Mao's expression froze when he heard the words, and he quickly looked around.There was a lot of wind and dust ten miles away, and gradually the sound of horses' hoofs, footsteps, and the vibration of weapons all agitated.Cai Mao hurriedly prepared his surroundings to guard against attacks.

Not long after, a team of fast riders rushed forward.Cai Mao recognized the leading general, who was one of the Jingzhou generals who accompanied the army to Xinye the year before last.That general rushed to Cai Mao, got off his horse and reported, telling Cai Mao that the army in front of him was the [-] army that the Kuai brothers had brought back from Liu Bei.

When I was young, the wind and sand were blowing, and the flags were flying.The Kuai brothers got off their horses and rushed to Cai Mao, bowing to report.After the confession, Cai Mao laughed loudly, as if seeing Xinye City being swallowed up by his army, Liu Bei being punished, and Zhuge Liang being captured by him.

At this time, Zhizhong Deng Yi looked around for a long time, suddenly his expression changed, and he whispered something in Cai Mao's ear.After Cai Mao heard this, he frowned and asked the Kuai brothers.

"Two Dukes Kuai, why is there no Eldest Prince in the army?"

As soon as Kuai Yue heard it, he immediately told Cai Mao the speech he had prepared.

"Reporting to General Cai. After my brothers arrived in Xinye, I asked the big-eared thief where the eldest son was. But the big-eared thief said that the eldest son had never been to Xinye. The two brothers and I sent people to search in Xinye city. , and there is no information about the eldest son. Perhaps the eldest son really did not go to Xinye. Or maybe the big-eared thief deliberately concealed it and hid the eldest son in private."

After Cai Mao heard this, he sneered, thinking that even if Liu Bei wanted to hide Liu Qi, when his subordinates attacked Xinye City, Liu Qi would die.

For Cai Hao, Liu Bei is the biggest threat. As long as Liu Bei is eliminated, Liu Qi, who is weak by nature, can't do anything alone.

After Cai Mao thought about it, he no longer paid attention to this matter, and ordered his confidants to take over the deployment of the [-] soldiers and horses brought by the Kuai brothers.

Liu Bei returned [-] soldiers and horses to Jingzhou, and now Xinye is empty of troops, the so-called clever woman can't cook without rice, even if Zhuge Liang has great ability, without soldiers, he is like a tiger that has been stripped of its claws and claws, allowing it to be slaughtered.

A few days later, Cai Mao wrote a false will, announcing to the officials in Jingzhou that Liu Biao had passed away, and ordered the second son Liu Cong to be the lord of Jingzhou according to the will.At present, in the main hall of Hanshou County, all the officials in Jingzhou are in an uproar, and everyone has complicated expressions.The curtain officer Li Gui suddenly walked out and shouted sharply.

"Since ancient times, displacing the elders and setting up the young will inevitably lead to disasters. In the past, the Yuan family was annihilated by Cao Cao because of this, and their foundations were completely destroyed. Now we can send our mourning to Jiangxia. Please ask the eldest son to be the master of Jingzhou, and order Liu Huangshu Council together. The North can fight against Cao Cao, and the South can reject Sun Ce. This is a perfect strategy. I also hope that the Second Young Master will not destroy the foundation of the first king because of greed for a while!"

As soon as Li Gui's words came out, the faces of all the officials in the palace changed again.Several people hesitated to speak and wanted to agree, but seeing Cai Mao's cold sneer on Liu Cong's side, they immediately stopped thinking and did not dare to look at each other.

Cai Hao's eyes widened, secretly observing the expressions of the people in the hall, and then stepped out, fingering Li Gui and shouting angrily.

"Who are you, dare to speak nonsense to disobey the lord's will! Now that the second son has just ascended the throne, you immediately objected. Li Gui, you are going to rebel!!!?"

Hearing that Cai Mao, a traitor and traitor, dared to say that he was rebellious, Li Gui was furious and cursed angrily.

"Cai Degui!! Your friends at home and abroad, pretending to be a will, abolishing the elders and erecting the younger, what is your intention, no one in Jingzhou knows! In the past, you have repeatedly murdered Uncle Liu Huang, fearing that it will become a serious problem for your heart. Now the late emperor has just passed away. , On the other side, you pretended to send an order to take back Uncle Liu's soldiers and horses, which is really despicable! Seeing the nine counties of Jingxiang, I sent them to Cai's hands! Therefore, the lord has a spirit, and I will kill you!

Colleagues, you are all deeply gracious to the ancestors. Seeing that the Cai family covered the sky with one hand, like Zhao Gao who tyrannized the Qin Dynasty, how could you sit idly by and protect your whole body alone!Under the nine springs in his days, what face do you have to face the ancestors and spirits! ! "

Li Gui shouted angrily, and every word he said was like a sharp knife piercing the hearts of all Jingzhou civil and military personnel.Cai Mao was furious, and immediately gave orders to push out and cut him off.Li Gui yelled and cursed until he died.Until the knife fell on his neck, he was still scolding Cai Mao for his disobedience and death.

There was a sound of a knife falling, followed by the sound of a head falling to the ground.There was a dead silence in the hall, there was no sound, and no one dared to speak.Liu Cong's expression was gloomy, seeing that all the ministers of His Highness were so afraid of Cai Mao, suddenly he felt a trace of indescribable sadness in his heart.

So Cai Mao made Liu Cong the master.The Cai family led the soldiers of Jingzhou, and ordered Deng Yi and Liu Xian to guard Jingzhou.The coffin of Liu Biao was buried in Hanyang, east of Xiangyang City.

The Cai family is rampant, as if the entire Jingzhou is under its control.On that day, Cai Mao ordered Liu Cong to issue an edict, announcing Liu Bei's ten crimes and notifying all counties and counties in Jingzhou.Under the accusation of these ten crimes, Liu Bei, who is unparalleled in benevolence and righteousness, immediately became a villainous and heinous traitor.Most of the people in Jingzhou didn't believe it, and quite a few people called for Liu Bei's grievances, but there were Cai's eyeliner all over Jingzhou.As a result, the people of Jingzhou dared to be angry and dare not speak out, and the people of Jingzhou were panicked.

At this moment, Cai Mao mobilized his troops, making Deng Yi the first team and Liu Xian the second team.Dong Cao's Fu Xun was in the third team, Cai Mao led the generals in the fourth team, and each team led [-] troops.General Song Zhong was appointed as a partial general, and three thousand soldiers were led as vanguards.Cai Mao ordered the generals to reorganize their troops and horses, and will send troops to Xinye soon.

Wang Can, the attendant of the Huangmen, heard about this, and hurriedly came to see Liu Cong and Cai Mao, admonishing them.

"Liu Bei is a family member of the Han family, and his benevolence and righteousness spread all over the world. He is deeply loved by the people of Jingzhou. Now General Cai is promoting this unrighteous teacher. I am afraid that he will lose the hope of the people of Jingzhou. I hope the lord will think twice!"

Liu Cong's expression changed when he heard the words, and he looked at Cai Mao.Cai Mao had a cold face, Liu Bei had to be eliminated in order to stabilize Jingzhou, and because Liu Bei was so popular in Jingzhou, Cai Mao was extremely jealous, and it was imperative to send troops to Xinye.How can Cai Mao care about righteousness or injustice!

It is said that although Wang Can is thin in appearance and short in stature, he is a well-known celebrity in Jingzhou.It is said that Wang Can went to see Zhonglang Cai Yong when he was young. At that time, Cai Yong was full of guests.The guests were all surprised and asked, why does Cai Zhonglang respect this kid alone?Cai Yong smiled and said, this son has extraordinary talents, which is not as good as this old man.

Even Cai Yong, a literary tycoon, paid so much attention to Wang Can, which shows how talented Wang Can is.Wang Can has a wide range of knowledge and strong memorization, and no one can match him.There are many famous scholars in Jingzhou who don't believe it. There was once a person who had a taste of the inscription beside the road with Wang Can. The scholar suddenly asked about the inscription just now.Once, Wang Can was watching a chess game, and the two of them messed up the game, and then asked Wang Can if he could make a move.At the same time, Wang Can is also good at arithmetic, and his writing is wonderful for a while.In the past, Liu Biao valued his talents and regarded Wang Can as a guest of honor.

Wang Can was a well-known celebrity for a while, and Cai Mao usually gave him three points of respect. Even though Wang Can accused Liu Biao of him many times, Cai Mao still treated him with courtesy.But at this time Wang Can was hindering his great cause of dominating Jingzhou, Cai Mao couldn't bear it any longer, pointing at Wang Can and shouting angrily.

"Liu Bei is a minister who rebelled against fate. In the past, when the ancestor was alive, he was already bewitched by evil words, secretly seeking profit, and wanted to plot Jingzhou. Now Zhuge Zhuge appears to assist him, and his power is growing. How can we not rush to discuss him!"

"General Cai's words are wrong. Uncle Liu is benevolent and loves the people. He puts the interests of Jingzhou first in everything. If he hadn't sacrificed his life to guard Xinye and defeated Cao Cao's army of [-], Jingzhou would have fallen into Cao Cao's hands by now! Jingzhou has been deeply favored by Uncle Liu. , it would be unrighteous to go out to ask for it!"

Wang Can immediately retorted sharply.Cai Mao snorted coldly, then said again.

"Haven't you heard that in the past, when Liu Bei was under the command of Tao Qian and Yuan Shao, the two treated each other with the courtesy of a national scholar. Instead, Liu Bei secretly plotted to seize Xuzhou, and Yuan Shao's two generals died because of it! It can be seen that, Liu Bei is indeed a hero in the world, his superficial benevolence and righteousness are all hypocrisy!"

Wang Can's complexion changed, and he was about to remonstrate again when Cai Mao sternly reprimanded him.Cai Mao ordered from left to right.

"In the matter of Xinye, if anyone complains again, he will be executed!!!"

Wang Can was driven out of the mansion by the soldiers, and he looked up to the sky and sighed.

"Evil ministers gather power, but there are still few lords. Cai Degui, even the most benevolent and the most benevolent, will be invincible!"

When Cai Mao's guest heard this, he had been humiliated by Wang Can and held a grudge all the time. He immediately reported to Cai Mao in private, and said that Wang Can insulted the general every day, and secretly talked with the Jingzhou bureaucrats that the general was the scourge of Jingzhou. .

Cai Mao was furious, so he ordered Ting Wei to capture Wang Can.At present, there are two friends in Wang Can's mansion, sitting opposite each other and playing chess.Urgent reports left and right.

"Wang Can was taken away by Ting Wei and will be beheaded! The two Ming Dukes are just friends of Wang Can, why don't you run away?"

The two friends looked at each other, but smiled lightly.

"Under the broken nest, are there any eggs left? We are friends with Wang Can, but Cai Degui is narrow-minded, how can he tolerate him?"

Before the words were over, Ting Wei came again, took all Wang Can's family and his two friends, and beheaded them all, and ordered Wang Can's corpse to be placed in the market.Wang can made friends on weekdays, and they all came to hear the news, laying down the corpse and crying.When Cai Mao heard about it, he was furious and wanted to kill him.Kuai Yue couldn't bear it, so he quickly advised him. "Wang Can's uprightness is too straightforward, which is the way to bring disaster. Now his friend Wang Can died and cried, he is a righteous person, and he must not be killed. Otherwise, the general will lose his reputation because of this incident!"

Cai Mao didn't listen, but insisted on doing it.Dozens of Wang Can's friends were all beheaded by Cai Mao.So far, Cai Mao's reputation has become very bad, and the officials and people in Jingzhou all have resentment for his tyranny.

After Liu Cong heard that his uncle Cai Mao was so rampant, it was only at this time that he realized that Cai Mao made him the master, but only used him as a puppet to better manipulate the power of Jingzhou.Liu Cong's parents had just passed away, and he was betrayed by his closest relatives. All thoughts were lost, and he was addicted to drinking and ignoring political affairs all day long.

Cai Mao was also so happy, and when all the soldiers and horses were ready, he would send troops to Xinye on the same day.The vanguard Song Zhong led three thousand cavalry ahead and rushed to Xinye.

At the same time, in Xinye City, there had been reports that Cai Mao had gathered [-] troops and was about to kill him.Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei looked at each other, neither of them was anxious, but rather casual.

It turned out that Zhuge Liang had made arrangements early.A few days ago, Zhuge Liang suddenly sent people to post a list to inform the residents.No matter old or young, men or women, those who are willing to follow me will go to Fancheng for temporary refuge with me today, so don't make mistakes.On the one hand, Sun Qian was sent to the river to allocate ships to meet the people, and Mi Zhu was sent to escort the families of the officials to Fancheng.On the one hand, the generals gather to listen to orders and make arrangements.

In the first team, Chen Shi led a thousand troops to Liutou on the Baihe River to ambush.Among them, the soldiers of each department brought cloth bags, filled with sand, and contained the water of Baihe River. After the third watch of the coming day, they only heard the low-ranking men screaming, and they knew that Cai Mao's army had arrived.

In the second team, Liu Feng led a thousand troops to ambush at Boling Ferry.The water potential here is the slowest, and Cai Mao's soldiers and horses are flooded, and they will flee from here, but they can take advantage of the momentum to kill them.You don't have to love to fight, just fight for a while, and then you can go back by detour.