At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 345: Log in first and attack

Zhou Yi pondered for a while and said: "My lord, you might as well make Cai Degui a prince first, then meet him in private, show your affection to him and show him courtesy, and then let the other princes marry the Cai family."

After hearing Zhou Yi's suggestion, Zhou Qi couldn't help but nodded secretly.

Xiangyang, Cai Mansion.

Cai Hao frowned and his face was slightly gloomy, obviously he had heard something.

"Brother, your Majesty went back on his promise and actually broke his promise and wanted the crown prince to marry the Xiahou family. Where does this put me, the Cai family?"

Cai He said with an angry face.

When Cai Mao heard this, although he felt quite uncomfortable in his heart, he still reprimanded him: "What nonsense are you talking about? When will my lord break his promise? The unfortunate death of my daughter means that she is not destined to be the prince, and the engagement will be naturally terminated."

"The prince has reached the age of marriage and the lord has found another good match for him. How can we complain?"

"It's okay for you to talk casually at home. If you dare to talk nonsense after you go out, don't blame us for not being friendly to each other!"

King Zhou Qi of Chu was not an easy monarch to deal with. The Kuai brothers are still in prison. Kuai's lessons are right in front of him. Even though Cai Mao was a little resentful in his heart, he did not dare to let Cai He talk nonsense outside.

Otherwise, it might really bring trouble to Cai.

Nowadays, Zhou Qi has completely controlled Xiangyang for a long time. He does not need to rely on Cai as much as before. Even if he turns against Cai, there is nothing he can do.

However, Cai Mao was somewhat unhappy.

"The king's envoy is here with the imperial edict, and asks the head of the family to go out and receive the imperial edict!"

At this moment, the steward of the family hurried in and said to Cai Mao.

Hearing this, Cai Mao couldn't help but feel a little heavy in his heart, and said to himself: "Usually when the lord is summoned, he just sends someone to summon him. Never before has someone come to summon him so solemnly."

"This change from normalcy will be a blessing or a curse for me, Mrs. Cai?"

Cai Mao was worried, but he did not dare to neglect. He hurriedly took his younger brother Cai He to greet the envoy.

When he saw that the person who came was actually Zhou Yi, he couldn't help but feel even more shocked. He hurriedly stepped forward to greet him and said, "I didn't know that Zongzheng was here, so I missed the welcome from afar. Please forgive me!"

Zhou Yi smiled slightly and said: "General, there is no need to be polite. I am here to congratulate the general."

Cai Mao asked with a confused face: "I wonder where the joy comes from?"

Zhou Yi took out an edict and said: "According to the order of His Royal Highness the King of Chu, it is estimated that Cai Degui has made great contributions to Xiangyang. He has been diligent and conscientious in these years and has made outstanding achievements. He is specially promoted to be a prince and has three thousand households in the city!"

After hearing such a generous reward, all the Cai brothers were stunned on the spot.

Being promoted to a noble title is almost the limit of the title for ordinary people.

The most important thing is that this is not the kind of prince who only has a false title but no fiefdom. He can actually live in a city with three thousand households.

This kind of reward is very rare even in the entire Chu Kingdom.

You know, even Yuan Cong generals with outstanding merits such as Xiang Hong, Dian Wei, Xu Chu, etc. have more or less the same titles. Many other generals with great merits are even just Guannei Marquis.

After Cai Mao was stunned, he immediately guessed what Chu King Zhou Qi meant.

This is a failed marriage, and I plan to use the method of adding a knight to express my apology.

Although this kind of title is still not as good as marrying the prince, now that Zhou Qi has shown sincerity, Cai Mao feels a little better.

He hurriedly accepted the edict and then bowed: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the title!"

Zhou Yi looked at Cai Mao with a smile and said, "If Degui really wants to thank the king for the title, why not hold a banquet at home and invite the king to express his gratitude."

Hearing this, Cai Mao said hesitantly: "The war is tense now. If I invite you, will your Majesty come?"

Zhou Yi gently stroked his beard and said, "How will you know if you don't try?"

In the Prince of Chu's Mansion, Zhou Qi, who was completely shaved and ready to go to Fancheng, suddenly received a message from his personal guard saying that Cai Mao was coming to visit.

Zhou Qi's heart moved slightly, and then he said: "Please!"

Not long after, Cai Mao had entered the mansion. After seeing Zhou Qi fully clothed, he immediately asked: "Is your Majesty planning to go to Fancheng?"

Zhou Qi nodded slightly and said: "Yuan's army stormed Fancheng day and night. I can't stay in Xiangyang all the time, right? Going to Fancheng to boost morale can also be a small contribution."

Upon hearing this, Cai Mao immediately gave up his intention of inviting Zhou Qi to the banquet.

Zhou Qi asked, "Why is De Gui here?"

Cai Mao paid homage and said, "I received a generous reward from your Majesty for no merit. I was so frightened that I came here to express my gratitude to your Majesty!"

Zhou Qi sighed slightly, stepped forward and patted Cai Mao on the shoulder, saying, "De Gui should already know about the marriage between his step son and Xiahou Miaocai's niece."

"I feel sorry for Degui."

Cai Mao said with fear on his face: "Since my lord did this, there must be a reason. As a minister, how can I bear my lord's apology?"

Zhou Qi did not continue this topic, but said: "If Degui has nothing to do today, why not go to Fancheng with him?"

Cai Mao admitted everything.

After the two men finished dressing up, they immediately went to Fancheng in person with Zhou Qi's personal guards and the support of Zhou Tai and the navy.

At this time, in Fancheng, except for the south gate, which was close to the Han River, the other three gates were attacked by Yuan troops day and night, and the city walls were moved back several sections.

Most of the current walls of Fancheng are inner walls built to protect against Yuan Jun.

When Zhou Qi and Cai Mao climbed up the north wall of Fan City and looked at the steady stream of Yuan troops attacking the city and the soldiers on both sides who kept falling to the ground, they felt a little heavy.

Zhou Qi pointed at the invisible Yuan army outside the city and said: "Yuan Shao occupies the Central Plains and Hebei. He is powerful and has many soldiers and horses under his command. His southern expedition is aimed at destroying the Chu Kingdom."

"Although Fancheng can barely resist, according to Yuan Jun's current offensive, I'm afraid it won't be able to sustain it for long."

"Once Fancheng is defeated, Deng County will definitely not be able to defend it."

"At that time, Xiangyang became the front line!"

Zhou Qi's words are not alarmist.

If it hadn't been for the reinforcements from the Yizhou Army, Fancheng would have been lost by now.

It's not that they couldn't defend it, but that under Yuan Jun's powerful offensive, even the city walls were broken one after another, causing the battle line to move back again and again.

If they continue to defend Fancheng, the Chu army will inevitably suffer more and more casualties, and the gains outweigh the losses.

In this case, it became the best choice to abandon Fancheng and Deng County and rely on the natural dangers of the Han River to defend Xiangyang and Xianshan.

Therefore, Zhou Qi was also gradually withdrawing the people from Fancheng and Deng County during this period.

Once all the people evacuate, the city's defense will be greatly reduced, and that's when it's time to abandon the city and leave.

Cai Mao hadn't guessed the key yet, but when he heard that Fancheng and Deng County might be lost, he couldn't help but feel nervous.

He is now a prince of the Chu State, and his title has almost reached a point where he cannot be promoted.

If nothing unexpected happens, Cai's future will be limitless.

At this time, if the Chu State is destroyed, even if the Cai family chooses to surrender to Yuan Shao, the treatment will not be better than in the Chu State.

Therefore, even if Zhou Qi chooses to regret his marriage, Cai Mao still hopes that Chu will win.

What's more, Xiangyang, the capital of Chu State, is definitely an excellent opportunity for Cai, who was born and raised in Xiangyang.

Looking at Cai Mao's solemn expression, Zhou Qi sighed: "The reason why we let our stepsister marry the Xiahou family is that, apart from the unfortunate death of my daughter, the most important thing is to reconcile with Cao Mengde and then win the support of Guanzhong." "If Cao Mengde If you are willing to deal with Yuan Benchu ​​together with Gu and achieve the purpose of dispersing Yuan's army, Chu's chances of winning will be greatly increased."

Having said this, Zhou Qi looked at Cai Hao apologetically and said, "It is precisely for this reason that I broke my trust with Cai. I hope Degui won't be blamed!"

Zhou Qi's words were true. In addition, Cai Mao had just been conferred the title of Marquis. He immediately said solemnly: "The Cai family is also a citizen of the Chu State and should take into account the overall situation."

"Besides, the prince had made a marriage contract with his daughter before. The daughter died early and could not complete the marriage contract. It was I, Cai, who broke the promise first. How can I blame the lord!"

Zhou Qi was slightly relieved when he heard this, and then said to Cai Mao: "Even so, I still feel guilty about Degui after all."

"If Degui doesn't give up, he can continue to marry Gu."

"There are two plans here, Degui might as well listen to them."

When Cai Mao heard this, he couldn't help being overjoyed and said hurriedly: "My lord, please speak."

Zhou Qi said: "The first plan is to continue the marriage with the step-son, but we can only make Cai's daughter a concubine."

"If Degui feels that this is an insult to the Cai family, he can also marry his third son, Zhou Shang."

"Shang'er hasn't been engaged yet, so Cai's daughter can become the main wife if she marries into the house."

Zhou Shang is the son of Zhou Qi and Lu Yu.

Cai Hao heard the two choices given by Zhou Qi and already had some calculations in his mind.

If Zhou Qi had just arrived in Yangzhou and had not yet established his hegemony, and asked Cai Mao to marry the family's legitimate daughter to Zhou Ji as his concubine, he would indeed be gossiped about.

Things are very different now.

Zhou Qi's dominance has been achieved. If he can block Yuan Shao's attack this time, it will only be a matter of time before he becomes emperor in the future.

Zhou Ji is the eldest son who will inherit the Chu Kingdom. Even if the daughter of the family marries Zhou Ji as a concubine, she will at least be able to become a noble concubine in the future.

If you are lucky, the sons born from Cai's daughter may have a chance to compete for that position.

It would be different to marry Cai's daughter to Zhou Shangke.

When Lu Jun was demoted, although Zhou Qi did not explain the reason, Cai Hao, who paid close attention to Zhou Ji, could naturally guess the reason.

That incident started because of Zhou Shang.

After the incident, Zhou Shang was directly sent to Shi Wen's house to be raised, while Lu Yunai and the entire Lu family were treated coldly.

Although the Lu family's situation is much better now, it is absolutely impossible for Zhou Wei to inherit the throne of King Chu in the future.

In this case, even if Cai's daughter marries Zhou Shang as his wife, what is the use?

If Zhou Ji is suspicious of Zhou Shang in the future, marrying Zhou Shang will not only bring no benefit to the Cai family, but may bring disaster to the Cai family.

Cai Mao is not stupid and naturally knows how to make choices.

He immediately said without hesitation: "Since we have agreed to marry the prince before, I naturally have to honor my promise."

Hearing this, Zhou Qi couldn't help but have a smile on his face, and then said to Cai Hao: "In that case, Degui first selects a woman with both talent and virtue in the clan, and after this battle is over, he will marry his step-son."

When Cai Mao heard this, he was naturally overjoyed and wished to end this war as soon as possible.

Now Zhou Ji is preparing to marry Xiahou Min. If the time is delayed for a long time and Xiahou Min gives birth to a son for Zhou Ji, then Cai's daughter will have no chance in the future.

If you can give birth to a son earlier than the other party, your chances will be greatly increased.

Therefore, the sooner Cai's daughter marries Zhou Ji, the better.

"Boom boom boom!"

At this moment, Yuan Jun seemed to have heard that Zhou Qi was coming to Fancheng to comfort the army, and immediately launched a very fierce attack.

Huge stones were thrown by trebuchets, smashing into pieces a section of the newly built and unstable city wall at the north gate. Immediately afterwards, densely packed Yuan troops tried to rush into the city through the gap.

"Clog the gap!"

The Fancheng defenders have experienced this kind of thing a lot. Huang Zhong personally led his troops to rush forward to the gap, intending to kill Yuan's army.

At the same time, Wenpin also urgently mobilized civilian workers to start rebuilding the low wall behind the gap.

In this way, even if Huang Zhong cannot stop Yuan Jun's attack in the end, as long as it can be delayed for a while, the city wall inside can be repaired quickly.

Although the quickly built city wall is far inferior to the original city wall, it can at least be used in emergencies.

"General, be careful, the famous generals from Hebei, Yan Liang and Wen Chou, are here to kill you!"

Zhuge Liang was also commanding from the front. After seeing Yuan Jun's flag clearly, he immediately shouted to Huang Zhong.

"Where is Gan Xingba?"

"The general is here!"

"You will lead the troops to protect General Huang. You must ensure the safety of the old general!"

"only!"

Gan Ning took the order and left.

Zhuge Liang was worried about Huang Zhong's safety, so he asked Gan Ning to help.

During this period, Zhuge Liang also saw the bravery of famous Hebei generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou. Although Huang Zhong may be more powerful, but after all, his age is here, and he has been fighting for so long, so he should naturally be more cautious.

Methodically directing the defensive battle in the city, after everything was settled, Zhuge Liang asked Wenpin to keep an eye on the battlefield situation for him, but he hurriedly walked to Zhou Qi.

"The battle on the front line is dangerous. Since my lord has finished his military service, why not return to Xiangyang first!"

As the backbone of the entire Chu State, Zhou Qi naturally cannot allow any accidents.

In fact.

A gentleman does not build dangerous walls. Ever since Zhou Qi became a prince, he rarely visited the battlefield in person. Most of them commanded from behind or let his generals perform on their own.

When Zhou Qi heard this, he smiled and said: "Gu Yi reached his current position with one knife and one shot. He is now middle-aged, why should he be afraid of war?"

"As a monarch, if I fear the enemy in battle, who of my soldiers will die for me?"

Zhuge Liang wanted to persuade him again, but Zhou Qi waved his hand and interrupted, and then shouted: "Put up the Gu flag! If Yuan's army does not retreat today, Gu will not evacuate from the city wall!"

"Long live the king!"

Zhou Qi's voice was loud and clear. When the soldiers around him heard these words, they all shouted in unison with great morale.

Not long after, a large flag with the word "Zhou" was erected at the top of the city, with several golden dragons tattooed around it. This was Zhou Qi's unique battle flag.

outside the city.

When Yuan Shao saw the golden dragon flag flying on the city wall, he also ordered people to put up his own flag, and then told Ju Yi: "You will take Xian Deng camp to help Yan Liang and Wen Chou. This time Even if Fancheng cannot be conquered, Zhou Ziyi must not underestimate us!"

In this time and space, due to the appearance of Xun You, the credit for the great defeat of Gongsun Zan did not fall on Ju Yi. The other party did not take the credit and do evil things. Instead, he won the respect of Yuan Shao and took charge of the elite Xianden camp.

Especially after Yuan Shao became emperor, Ju Yi became extremely docile.

"only!"

After hearing Yuan Shao's order, he immediately led his troops to the battlefield.

(End of this chapter)