Mi Han

Chapter 219
Nanyang County, Wudang County.

After Cao Cao captured Jingzhou in the 13th year of Jian'an, he divided Nanxiang and Wudang counties in the west of Nanyang County to establish Nanxiang County.

But just last year, the former Han general Guan Yu launched the Battle of Xiangfan. During the flooding of the Seventh Ban Army, Fu Fang, the prefect of Nanxiang, and Hu Xiu, the governor of Jingzhou, surrendered to Guan Yu.

After Cao Cao learned of this, he was very angry.

Later, after the Hanshui truce, Cao Cao considered that Nanxiang County would become a strategically important place, so he abolished Nanxiang County.

The counties under the jurisdiction of Nanxiang County were reclassified into Nanyang County, and Cao Ren was ordered to lead troops to garrison Nanyang and defend the south.

In Wudang County, Xia Houshang was looking at the first letter from Meng Da in his hand.

Not long ago, the Wei Army scouts in Wudang County were around Wudang County and found Deng Xian and Li Fu sent by Meng Da to contact Xia Houshang.

After Deng Xian and Li Fu were captured by Wei Jun scouts, they immediately shouted that a secret letter was sent.

Seeing this, the Wei army scouts did not dare to neglect, and immediately escorted Deng Xian and Li Fu to Xia Houshang.

The Wei army scouts also handed over the secret letter of Meng Da found from Deng Xian to Xia Houshang.

After Xia Houshang read the secret letter from Meng Da, his first reaction was not surprise, but hesitation.

He didn't know much about Meng Da, so he summoned Man Chong.

After Man Chong arrived, he introduced Meng Da to Xia Houshang in detail.

After getting a general understanding of Meng Da's life experience, Xia Houshang picked up the application letter written by Meng Da and read it carefully.

At this time, when he read the contents of Meng Da's letter, he was no longer hesitant, but had a little faith.

When the victory of attacking the three eastern counties was in sight, Liu Bei suddenly sent Liu Feng to seize his military power.

After the Battle of Xiangfan, he was implicated by Liu Feng and was deprived of all his songs, and was relegated to Sima Li, a small army under Mi Yang's tent.
All these past events are all verifying the authenticity of the sixteen words in Meng Daxin's "fame and position are not guaranteed, the series is not preserved, the eagle is not raised, and the five internal sorrows are sad".

To judge others by oneself, if Xia Houshang himself was suddenly hurt by the monarch for nothing, then he would naturally be full of resentment in his heart.

Besides, Meng Da is not a pure minister of Liu Bei.

The most important thing is that Xia Houshang summoned Shen Yi's cronies who escaped from Xicheng before.

Shen Yi had many contacts with Meng Da before, Shen Yi's cronies may know Meng Da's nephew Deng Xian and his cronies Li Fu.

Later, under the identification of Shen Yi's cronies, the identities of Deng Xian and Li Fu were confirmed.

Moreover, according to Shen Yi's cronies, Deng Xian and Li Fu were inseparable from Meng Da in the past, and they were Meng Da's henchmen.

After hearing what Shen Yi's cronies said, Xia Houshang's heart was already in turmoil.

At least judging from the information collected so far, it is possible that Meng Da wrote this letter to him with sincerity.

Thinking of this, Xia Houshang felt a little hot in his heart.

Meng Da is now one of Mi Yang's three battalion commanders, and was entrusted by Mi Yang to guard the Hanshui Water Village.

If he surrendered once, there would be no obstacles for his army to enter the west city, and it would be unimpeded.

This echoed the ambition hidden in Xia Houshang's heart.

The matter of surrender depends not only on the sincerity of the defector, but also on whether the defector has the capital to be accepted.

It's just that the fire in Xia Houshang's heart was soon extinguished by Man Chong.

Man Chong advised Xia Houshang: "It is common sense that Meng Da has resentment towards Liu Bei, but Meng Da and Mi Yang's teacher Fa Zheng are good friends.

And ever since Meng Da joined Mi Yang, Mi Yang had a lot of trust in him, so this matter needs to be discussed in the long term. "

Hearing Man Chong's remonstrance, Xia Houshang also nodded.

What Man Chong said was reasonable, and judging from Meng Da's first letter, it meant that he made friends in advance, which was also in line with Meng Da's character—preparing for himself in advance.

But even though he still had doubts in his heart, Xia Houshang did not completely forget about Meng Da's intention to make friends and surrender.

His approach was to keep Meng Da's nephew Deng Xian in Wuzhong, and put Li Fu back as Meng Da's messenger to contact him.

And when Li Fu returned to Meng Da, although Meng Da had a sad face, as if he was distressed that Xia Hou still didn't trust him, in fact he was already happy in his heart.

Just as Mi Yang told him before, Xia Hou is not an unwise person.

Even if Xia Hou is not yet wise, there will be no shortage of resourceful people around him, so it is very difficult to convince Xia Houshang to believe it with just a letter.

Therefore, whether the strategy of feigning surrender to lure the enemy can be successful is not a one-day effort, but also depends on Xia Houshang's reaction after receiving the first letter.

But now Xia Houshang's reaction has proved that he has some beliefs in his heart.

Otherwise, his approach would not be to leave Deng Xian as a hostage, and then release Li Fu back as a messenger.

After knowing this, Meng Da asked Li Fu to send a second letter to Wudang County as a messenger.

This letter was written by Mi Yang to Meng Da before, if Xia Hou is not tempted, then this second letter is useless.

In order to keep it secret and also for his own future, Meng Da followed Mi Yang's strict order and did not tell others about his plot with Mi Yang that night, even Deng Xian and Li Fu didn't know about it.

It is precisely because Deng Xian and Li Fu did not know that Meng Da was pretending to serve Xiahoushang, so when the two of them sent a letter to Xiahoushang, they were confronted with Man Chong and Xiahoushang's cross-examination, and all the answers were in line with normal reactions.

Xia Houshang and Man Chong didn't see anything unusual.

When Li Fu came to Wuzhong with Meng Da's second letter, Xia Houshang received Li Fu impatiently.

He took the second letter from Meng Da from Li Fu and read it carefully:

"Dayuan is in the corner, the Han River is cut off; Enze enlightens and enlightens, but I have no luck to caress Meng, but among the mountains, I respect Chen Suohuai, fearing the despicable things of the past, and I don't believe in them.

Husbands and things are grateful, and plans change because of changes, and the same principle is the same in ancient and modern times; Dajin is in charge of a battalion, and the remaining wishes are enough. This should be remembered and repaid, and there will be no second.

Unexpectedly, Yang has never trusted him, more generals in the army have been sent to the police, and there have been slanderous words circulating recently, Yang gradually became suspicious.

Shen, the major surname in the county, used to see that grain and grass were transported to Yang. Unexpectedly, Yang hated the Shen family and condemned it many times. The Shen brothers tried their best to argue, but they were finally puzzled.

In order to get rid of the tyranny of Yang, Shen Yi set up a secret plan, and wanted to return to the north, but the unfortunate incident was revealed, so there was chaos in Xicheng, massacre of thousands of people, and even babies!
Da not only saw Shen's grief with his eyes, but also observed that Yang was lenient outside and taboo inside, cruel and bloodthirsty, panicked in his heart, and sweated like rain.

Although I am still alive, I am worried and anxious, and I don't know when the day of death will be.

People living in the world are like white horses passing through the gap, but they are always in danger, what can be said!
Although the people of this county are afraid of Yang's power and surrender, most of the county people hide in the mountains and grass, waiting for the gap, and want to return to chaos.

Yang hid his dangerous ambitions, and often wanted to go north, build armaments, and transport grain on chariots, thinking of military reserves.

Today, Yang ordered Da to take charge of the army, because he wanted to take responsibility for the aftermath, and wanted to kill Da for fun.

After the overthrow of the Shen family, Yangsu was unprepared. If the Duke of Ming entered the Hanshui River from Wudang with tens of thousands of soldiers, Daben opened the water fortress, thinking that he would respond internally.

In the past, the Shen family raised things up and down, and those who were successful and lost had no foreign aid;
If the northern army raids the border, and spreads the message that it belongs to the city, and the people of Siyong, who will not follow suit?
Misfortune lies in omissions, in danger of throwing eggs, advances have a bright future, and retreats are blamed for falsehood and death.The gains and losses are obvious, and there is no doubt.

Daruo suffers from the unexpected, one is to fulfill his wish, and the other is to put an end to the hearts of those returning from the north.

Wang Minggong will see clearly and give the secret report quickly.Dadang waits for the action, and waits for a response. "

After reading the second letter that Meng Da asked Li Fu to send, Xia Houshang was surprised.

He has not forgotten Man Chong's persuasion before, and he himself has doubts about this point.

But now Meng Da has indicated in his second letter the reason why he wanted to betray Mi Yang.

Meng Da is saving himself!

What Meng Daxin said is well-founded, and many of them can be investigated.

This made Xia Houshang more convinced of Meng Da's surrender in his heart.

In addition, when Xia Houshang arrived in Wancheng before, Cao Ren had told him that Shen Yi had sent him a letter to ask for an internal response.

At that time, because the west city fell too quickly, Cao Ren's army had not set out yet.

Because of this past event, Cao Ren showed his indignation in front of Xia Houshang.

In Cao Ren's view, because of his delayed march, a great opportunity to capture Hanxing County was lost.

Now that Meng Da has become Shen Yi's second, he intends to serve as the internal support of the Wei army in Hanxing County. This made Xia Houshang trust him a little bit, and at the same time, the enthusiasm in his heart became stronger and stronger.

If all of this is true, then the time for him to become famous is now!

After Xia Houshang read Meng Da's second letter, he immediately began to write a reply letter to Meng Da.

As Meng Daxin said, he is now in a situation of constant worry.

Even if Xia Houshang does not immediately send troops to cooperate with Meng Dali, he should send a letter back to Meng Da, expressing his intention to accept his surrender, so as to temporarily appease Meng Da.

Otherwise, as Meng Da said, if he was discovered by Mi Yang because he could not see the hope, then Xia Houshang would regret it later.

After Xia Houshang finished writing the reply letter to Meng Da, he immediately asked Li Fu to return to the water village with the letter and hand it over to Meng Da.

After Li Fu left, Xia Houshang immediately summoned the generals and began to seriously discuss the matter of Meng Da's appointment.

Among the generals, after reading Meng Da's letterhead, Man Chong gradually relieved some doubts in his heart.

But even after reading Meng Da's letter, he was a little shaken in his heart, and he still suggested that Xia Houshang should investigate more carefully, and don't fall for tricks.

Man Chong's character is a very steady one.

Faced with Man Chong's repeated dissuasion, Xia Houshang no longer respects Man Chong as usual in his heart.

When Cao Ren wanted to send troops to the west city, he was dissuaded by Man Chong.

Under the dissuasion twice in a row, Xia Houshang felt that Man Chong was too conservative.

The two armies are facing each other, and the battlefield situation is changing rapidly. How can we focus on stability in everything? If that is the case, are we waiting for the enemy to kill himself?

As a general, one should be good at seizing the opportunity and attack bravely, only in this way can he make great achievements in the world.

It's like Mi Yang's first battle against the police.

Now Xia Houshang's trust in Meng Da has overwhelmed his doubts about him.

Man Chong saw that Xia Houshang's words already had the intention of attacking, and he knew that he could not stop it.

Therefore, he hoped that Xia Houshang would report the matter to Cao Ren so that Cao Ren could make a decision.

Cao Ren was personally appointed by Cao Pi, the highest officer in the three major regions.

Xia Houshang is under the jurisdiction of Cao Ren in terms of power, so if he wants to take military action, it is right to report to Cao Ren in advance.

Although Xia Houshang was somewhat reluctant, he knew that even if he didn't report it, according to Man Chong's character, he would report the matter to Cao Ren.

Besides, he still has doubts in his heart, and he hasn't really made up his mind.

So Xia Houshang followed Man Chong's suggestion and ordered someone to report Meng Da to Cao Ren.

But Xia Houshang not only wrote a letter to Cao Ren, he also sent someone to carry a secret note, and sent it to Luoyang to report to Cao Pi.

When Li Fu returned to Meng Da with Xia Houshang's reply letter, Meng Da couldn't wait to open Xia Houshang's reply letter and read it.

In Xia Houshang's reply letter, he began to show his concern for Meng Da, and at the same time, he also revealed in his words that he wanted Meng Da to persevere for a while.

From Xia Houshang's reply letter, it can be seen that he has more and more trust in Meng Da's intention to serve him.

However, Xia Houshang's reply letters were mostly words of consolation and comfort, and he did not start to discuss "jointly major events" with him, which shows that Xia Houshang still had doubts in his heart.

After learning of this situation, Meng Da ordered Li Fu to go down first and take a good rest.

Then he left the water village alone in the middle of the night and went to the county town to meet Mi Yang.

After learning that Meng Da asked to see him, Mi Yang immediately met him.

In front of Mi Yang, Meng Da respectfully presented Xia Houshang's reply letter.

After Mi Yang read Xia Houshang's reply, he kept thinking about how to go next.

At present, Xia Houshang is obviously tempted, but Cao Wei has many talents, so he still cannot be taken lightly.

After thinking about it, Mi Yang whispered something to Meng Da.

After Meng Da listened to Mi Yang's words, an incredulous look appeared on his face.

He never expected that Mi Yang would let him do this.

But Meng Da looked at Mi Yang's firm and expectant expression, he thought that he had even sent his nephew away, and he had no way out at this time, so he could only bow to Mi Yang to show his acceptance.

Then Mi Yang ordered Meng Da to go back to the water village to rest and wait for his next instruction.

After Meng Da left, Mi Yang immediately summoned Ding Feng.

Ding Feng is the postal supervisor of Hanxing, and his main task is to inspect the counties in the county and detect treachery.

But because there are not many counties under the jurisdiction of Hanxing County, and Mi Yang is both the prefect and the commander of an army, so Mi Yang also asked Ding Feng to assist Wang An in investigating illegal activities in the army.

The rumors about Meng Da's infidelity that circulated in Hanxing County before were released by Ding Feng under the instruction of Mi Yang.

After Ding Feng arrived, Mi Yang said to Ding Feng: "If someone is unfaithful to me, what will Chongye do?"

Faced with Mi Yang's question, Ding Feng immediately showed anger on his face.

He guessed that the person Mi Yang was talking about might be Meng Da.

Before Mi Yang asked him to spread rumors about Meng Da's infidelity, Ding Feng felt that Mi Yang might have sensed Meng Da's infidelity from some aspects.

So he asked himself to create public opinion first, so as to prepare for his next capture of Meng Da.

Mi Yang is his benefactor, and Ding Feng replied decisively to Mi Yang's inquiry:

"I would like to die for the general!"

After hearing Ding Feng's words, Mi Yang smiled and nodded.

(End of this chapter)