Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 207: Marching into the Message
Xiangyang is less than a thousand miles away from Xuchang. With a quick horse, it can be reached in four or five days.

It is outrageous to say that the news that Liu Biao was seriously ill and wanted to make Liu Qi his heir had not yet spread.Cao Cao, who was far away in Xuchang, already knew that Liu Biao's life was in danger, so he summoned his subordinates and generals overnight to discuss the matter.

In the lobby, Cao Cao sat high on the couch, with civil and military officials sitting on the left and right.

Cao Cao coughed and said: "Jingzhou came to report that Liu Biao was seriously ill. He summoned the civil and military officials of Jingzhou and wanted to make Liu Qi his heir. Let him succeed the general of chariots and cavalry and lead Wu and Chu. Fortunately, Degui and Yidu are close friends. Liu Cong urged Liu Biao to change his position. However, Liu Biao was unwilling and insisted on letting Liu Qi succeed him."

"The people of Yidu and others are worried about the change. Let Liu Qi, Liu Bei and the other governors of Wu and Chu know about it, and they will accept Liu Qi as their heir. Hurry up and hurry up to send the letter, so that I can lead the troops south as soon as possible. What do you think?"

Liu Biao was critically ill and made Liu Qi his heir, which almost threatened the lives of Xiangyang scholars such as Kuai Yue and Cai Mao.These Xiangyang nobles control the inside and outside of Xiangyang, but it does not mean that they can control the entire Jingzhou.

For example, Liu Xian, the governor of Changsha, Lai Gong, the governor of Jiaozhou, Liu Rui, the governor of Wuling, and Liu Du, the governor of Lingling, were mostly promoted by Liu Biao.Therefore, the signal sent by Liu Biao is very important. If Liu Cong is allowed to succeed, they will obey Liu Cong.If Liu Qi succeeds to the throne, they will respect Liu Qi.

Now Liu Biao has released a signal to let Liu Qi succeed him. If this news can be spread and no major accidents happen, they will recognize Liu Qi's inheritance rights.

So what is a big accident, that is, there is no big external force involved.

They were promoted by Liu Biao, so they recognized the legitimacy of Liu Biao's decree.If Liu Biao dies and a huge external force intervenes, and this external force has higher legitimacy and has enough power to destroy Liu Qi, they will naturally lean towards this external force.

This is why Cai Mao and Kuai Yue asked Cao Cao to go south as soon as possible. They were afraid that the news would be leaked. Liu Qi and Liu Bei took Liu Biao's death and colluded with the local governors to attack Xiangyang and Jiangling.

At present, only Cao Cao represents the Han Dynasty, with millions of soldiers at his disposal. He has a higher reputation and stronger strength than Liu Bei and Liu Qi.

Although the deeper meaning of Kuai Yue was not stated clearly, Xun Yu, who was also a wise man, had already reacted to the current situation in Jingzhou.

"Prime Minister, it is imperative to go south to Xiangyang, don't hesitate."

Xun Yu pointed out the key points and said: "Liu Biao's time is short. Today, much of Xiangyang inside and outside has been controlled by Cai Mao. If we don't act quickly, Liu Bei will learn the news about Xiangyang and lead his troops north from Xiakou. He is afraid that Xiangyang is in danger. And Liu Qi raised his troops on the left side of the Yangtze River, followed Liu Biao's orders, and received help from Jingnan. By then, the situation in Jingzhou would be very different."

After Cao Cao received Xun Yu's support, he deposed the three princes and made himself the prime minister.At the same time, in order to show that he had no intention of usurping the Han Dynasty, while establishing the prime minister, he also promoted the imperial censor to check and balance the prime minister.

But how could Cao Cao let the imperial censor check and balance him? Cao Cao appointed Xi Liu, who had long been one of his own, as the censor, so Cao Cao already had great power.The so-called imperial censor checking and balancing the power of the prime minister is just a show of force.

Cao Cao's expression was slightly calm, and he already recognized Xun Yu's words, but he asked: "Wen He has met Liu Biao before, what do you think?"

On the couch where the counselor was sitting, an old man in his sixties immediately replied: "Liu Biao was one of the three most talented men in his heyday, but he was suspicious and undecided when he saw nothing happened. In the past, when his two sons were heirs, he was worried about Cai Mao, Kuai Yue, Liu Bei, Huo Jun and others. , it is difficult to make a decision. Now I am acting decisively and make Liu Qi his heir. If Xu is right as he expected, he will die soon."

"The Duke should follow your order and rush into Xiangyang. Once Xiangfan is captured, Hannan will be captured. If there is Jiangling, Jingnan can be conquered. If Xiakou is captured, Jingchu can be settled. If Xiakou controls Wu and Chu, the Duke wants to be destroyed. Jiangzuo, Xiakou must be captured. Now Liu Bei is stationing troops at Xiakou, and Xiangfan must not be allowed there, lest it cause trouble."

Cao Cao looked slightly calm and said: "Liu Bei is a decisive man. As the two princes said, if we know about Xiangyang, we will rush north to Xiangyang. If we enter Xiangfan, we will defend according to the danger. It will be a danger to our army, and we must not let Liu Bei succeed." .”

As he spoke, Cao Cao looked around at the crowd and asked, "The armies have not yet assembled. How should we march in the current situation?"

Xun Yu said decisively: "Ming Gong can order Qingqi as the vanguard to go out of Wan and Ye and rush to Xiangfan. Ming Gong will lead tens of thousands of central troops southward, and all generals and departments will come behind them in a controlled manner. And as Wen He said, We also ordered an army to enter Nanyang, leave Zhangling, pass through Suixian County, and take Xiakou."

There are two roads from Xiakou to Xiangyang, one is by boat along the Han River, and the other is the Suizao Corridor.The northwest of Suizao Corridor is Zhangling and the southeast is Xiakou.If Kuai Yue lets Cao's army pass now, Cao's army will not go to Xiangyang when entering Nanyang, but will turn southeast and take Xiakou.

The route of dispatching troops suggested by Xun Yu was both simple and deadly.Divide the troops to capture Xiangyang, and then capture Xiakou. Once the two cities are captured, Jia Xu's words of "gaining Chu and hoping for Wu" will almost be fulfilled.

"Okay!" After being dismantled and analyzed by his counselors, Cao Cao was very decisive and immediately ordered: "Instruct Cao Chun, Xu Huang, Xia Houyuan, and Zhang Liao to lead five thousand tiger and leopard cavalry, and command Wuhuan's five thousand light cavalry, totaling ten thousand cavalry. March south to Xiangfan. Gu led [-] Chinese troops out of Xuchang and provided backup. He also ordered three generals, Zhu Ling, Lu Zhao and Feng Kai, to pass through Sui County and attack Xiakou. Yu Jin, Zhang He and other troops will soon arrive, and Zhao Yan will be the commander-in-chief. The army guards will be supervised by the sergeants above. The rest of the troops will march south as previously arranged."

"promise!"

……

At the same time, Wang Kai in Xiangyang City was thinking about how to pass the information out of Xiangyang City and deliver it to Liu Bei.

Wang Kai was walking around the house, holding a secret message in his hand. When he saw the attendant entering, he asked: "How is the guard at the city gate?"

The attendant shook his head and said, "Master, the city is tightly guarded, and all merchants coming and going are searched. Cai's guests will not leave the house day and night, and they will be followed when they go out."

"You go down!"

When the attendants retired, Wang Kai was very upset. His wife Liu Jiao came out of the side hall and said, "If your husband wants to leave the house to deliver a message, I have a way to send this secret message."

Liu Jiao is Liu Qi's biological sister. The relationship between the two brothers and sisters is profound, far beyond that of Liu Cong.Wang Kai also participated in the planning and was very supportive of Wang Kai's message for Liu Qi.

"Ma'am, can you teach me anything?"

Liu Jiao said: "I am the daughter of the Liu family. The Cai family's disciples dare not offend me. I left the house in a carriage and my maid was dressed like me. When we arrive at the market, my maid and I will be scattered among the crowd, so we can take the opportunity to send this letter."

Wang Kai usually does everything himself when delivering secret messages.He didn't dare to trust the attendant beside him in case the news leaked out.

"it is good!"

Wang Kai looked happy, put the secret letter into Liu Jiao's mouth, and said: "Send this letter to Ma's Guapu in Dongshi, which belongs to Ma's family in Yicheng. It is written by the old people in Xiakou, and it belongs to Ma's family." People will know.”

"Will the news leak out?" Liu Jiao asked cautiously.

Wang Kai shook his head and said: "Ma Liang, the head of the Ma family in Yicheng, is a guest of Duke Xuande and a close friend of Zhuge Kongming. He can be trusted. If he is not trustworthy, Kai can do nothing."

Liu Bei was not idle in Xiakou. Relying on Zhuge Liang's introduction and the reputation he had accumulated before, he established relations with the nobles of Nanjun.For example, Ma Liang of Yicheng was Liu Bei's key target.After several contacts, Ma Liang began to work for Liu Bei.

As for why Ma Liang did not join the Xiangyang scholars, the reason is also simple.Ma Liang's family background could not reach the existence of top noble families such as Cai and Kuai, so he could only hang around outside the Kuai family.

Neither the Jiangzuo gentry nor the Nanjun gentry were monolithic. Xiangyang was led by the four major families, and the rest of the Nanjun gentry were almost excluded except for a few who were able to integrate into the core class.For their own interests, their choices will be different.

This is the case for Ma Liang. He has a good relationship with Zhuge Liang. Now that he has been favored by Liu Bei, it is not surprising that he chooses to work for Liu Bei.

After knowing such detailed information, Liu Jiao took a carriage to Dongshi on the pretext of visiting Liu Biao, and used a clever trick to deliver the secret message to Ma Liang.

Ma Liang Hui took the name Gua, boarded the boat from the north gate, evaded search, went down the Han River, and personally delivered the letter to Xiakou.

　one more chapter

　　
　
(End of this chapter)