Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 477 Thirty Years in Hedong, Thirty Years in Hexi

AD 220, the second year of Zhangwu, the third year of Jianye, the first month.

Since Xiangfan was captured by Liu Bei, the Han and Wei armies stopped their confrontation and instead built a city defense display.

Under Cao Cao's military order, Zhang He withdrew north from the upper reaches of the Han River to Danshui in Nanxiang County in order to prevent being attacked by Pang Tong and Lu Meng.

Lü Meng led Pang De to advance with tens of thousands of troops and captured the four counties of Zhuyang, Yinxian, Wudang and Fuxian in the Han River Basin.

Nanxiang County spans the north and south of the Han River, and has eight complete counties under its jurisdiction. Nowadays, due to the fall of Xiangfan, the Han River was controlled by the Southern Han Dynasty, and the Han and Wei Dynasties were each divided into four counties.

When Cao Cao saw that the counties under the jurisdiction of Nanxiang County were relatively small, he added Shangluo and Shang counties on Wuguandao to the old Nanxiang County and still placed them under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou.

The Southern Han Dynasty was different from the Northern Wei Dynasty. Because most of the counties and cities were located in the Han River Basin, Nanxiang County was changed to Hannan County, and Shandu County in Xiangyang County was included in Hannan County. The county governor was Liao Hua, the prefect of the old Nanxiang County.

Xiangyang County did not change its old name, and Liu Bei appointed Lu Meng as the governor of Xiangyang County to govern Xiangyang.

Counties in Zhangling County were also divided between Han and Wei. Wei changed Zhangling County to Yiyang County, and Han Dynasty reused Zhangling County. Liu Bei took Zhangling County as his wing to Xiangyang and promoted Shi Ran to be the prefect of Zhangling.

Liu Feng's provocative behavior made the Han infantry knights so angry that they shouted insults at Cao Cao.

Cao Cao sneered a few times and said: "Pang Tong and Lu Meng have led their troops to the north. Now Liu Bei's troops are not less than ours. Now Liu Feng comes out of the camp to insult and provoke a fight, Liu Bei will definitely have ambushes on the left and right. This is a strategy to lure the enemy. , it can never be what you want!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Liu Feng galloping from the front of the formation to the gate of the Wei army, with his arms stretched out and his bow drawn. He shot an arrow in a hurry, and although the arrow was not accurate, it hit the wooden door. When the Wei soldiers had no time to fight back, Liu Feng laughed and returned to the battle, which was an obvious provocation.

With that said, Cao Cao held back his anger and was about to throw away his sleeves.

But when Cao Cao came down from the observation tower, the attendant pointed to the Han camp in the distance and said, "Your Majesty, Liu Bei is driving out of the camp to take a look!"

Under Liu Feng's verbal abuse and provocation, Cao Jun's generals were not so good-tempered, and everyone showed anger. If Cao Cao hadn't spoken, they would have led their troops out of the camp long ago.

When the generals saw that Liu Bei was so confident, many of them asked for a fight.

Cao Cao stroked his beard and thought, and asked, "Does Ziyang have any great ideas?"

Liu Feng held the reins, pointed at the Wei camp, and cursed: "Cao Cao killed the emperor, slaughtered the officials and people, and usurped the Han Dynasty to establish itself. Heaven and earth will not tolerate it. If you don't open your chest quickly and beg for surrender, otherwise the heavenly soldiers will show their power and you will die." The clan is annihilated.”

On the tower of the Wei camp, Cao Cao squinted at the Han troops cavalry outside the camp. Hearing the verbal abuse, although his face was calm, the anger in his heart was hard to suppress.

After listening for a long time, Cao Xiu couldn't control his anger and said angrily: "Your Majesty, Liu Feng's words are disrespectful. Please send troops to fight and behead the army to boost the prestige of our army."

"Your Majesty, please call me three thousand cavalry, and I will capture Liu Bei for your Majesty."

But he saw Liu Bei driving out of the camp in a car, chatting and laughing with Fazheng beside him. There were only a few hundred people riding on the left and right, and he was defenseless.

During the half-month period between the double armistice, Liu Bei established a defense line of Han River and Dahongshan with Xiangyang as the core, Zhangling on the left, and Hanxiang on the right. And Cao Cao established the Xia Dao defense line with Wancheng as the core, connecting Runan to the left and Nanxiang to the west.

"Thieves, traitors, and evil thieves, why don't you leave the camp and die?"

After Xiangfan was stabilized, Liu Bei transferred Pang Tong and Lu Meng to lead their troops north. The combined strength of the armies reached 110,000 to 20,000, and they faced off against the 130,000 to 40,000 Wei troops commanded by Cao Cao across the Yao River.

In front of Huangyou's stronghold of the Wei army, he saw Liu Feng riding a horse with a sledgehammer in his hand. He was leading his horse to fight outside the stronghold with a flamboyant expression.

Liu Feng used venomous words and insulted Cao Cao with his subordinates Buqi, trying to provoke Cao Cao into fighting.

Cao Cao stopped, covered the sun with his hands, and squinted.

Liu Ye did not hesitate and said: "Liu Feng came out of the camp to fight, and Liu Bei came out lightly in a chariot. They were all strategies for thieves to lure the enemy. Ye's prediction was correct. There must be an ambush of water thieves around the thieves' camp. Your Majesty knows the thieves' treacherous plan. , so you must not fall into his scheme."

"Liu Bei goes out to watch the battle, and your Majesty will definitely gain something if he sends his cavalry out to attack!"

"Cao Cao, the eunuch, dares to go out to fight against me?"

"Ha ha!"

Seeing this, Cao Cao couldn't stand it any longer, his face was livid, and he cursed: "You are selling your shoes to a kid, and I will make a fake son of you! When I, Huang Xuer, come, I will kill the dog's son under the horse."

"Come here, send a military order to the king of Rencheng, and order him to lead the Guanzhong infantry and cavalry southward. If my troops from Guanxi arrive, they will sell their clothes for nothing!"

With that said, Cao Cao ordered his surroundings and said: "Move the powerful crossbows in the camp to the front of the stronghold. If there are water bandits and soldiers approaching to provoke, thousands of arrows will be fired."

"promise!"

Before holding on to the wooden railing and going down the stairs, Cao Cao turned back and took a deep look at Liu Bei's car, and a feeling of resentment and melancholy suddenly surged in his heart.

Twenty years ago, Liu Bei was killed by him and had to hide in Tibet. He first went to Yuan Shao and later to Liu Biao. Living under the fence is like a bereaved dog. It will not be able to pass Zhang and Zhao, and there are only a few thousand soldiers.

He never expected that twenty years later, Liu Bei would become his lifelong enemy. Liu Bei, who was once like a lost dog, now not only defeated the four southern states, but also dared to be so provocative and insulting in front of him.

Liu Bei, who was standing on Luan Cheng, seemed to feel something and looked up at the watchtower where Cao Cao was.

Although there was a distance of hundreds of steps, at this moment, Cao Liu's eyes looked at each other, as if sparks were about to burst out.

Compared with Cao Cao's melancholy and regret, Liu Bei is complacent. Now he has reached the pinnacle of his life. The house is filled with counselors, thousands of generals, and 200,000 soldiers; the territory is vast, reaching the rivers and seas in the east and the snow-capped mountains in the west.

Thirty years to Hedong, thirty years to Hexi!
"His Majesty!"

Seeing Liu Bei looking at him in trance, Fazheng reminded him.

"Yeah!" Liu Bei came back to his senses and said, "Xiao Zhi, Cao Cao has seen through the trick of luring the enemy. Let Feng'er withdraw his troops and return to the camp!"

"promise!"

Although he had made up his mind to withdraw his troops, Liu Bei still did not dare to relax and transferred the troops who had previously besieged Xiangfan to the north. Taking advantage of the fact that his own forces reached their peak, Liu Bei adopted the strategy of Fa Zheng and sent Liu Feng out of the camp to fight and subdue the Zhao and Huang armies.

Accompanied by the sound of gold, Liu Feng escorted Liu Bei's chariot back to camp.

On the way, Liu Feng rode his horse to the side of Liu Bei's chariot and said with a smile: "Father, are you brave today?"

Liu Bei was in a very good mood and praised him: "Feng'er is so brave and fierce. He shot an arrow at the camp gate today. This shows his outstanding courage!"

There is no need to doubt Liu Feng's military prowess. In the past, Liu Bei was able to accept Liu Feng as his adopted son, not only because of the accident of getting married to the Jingxiang gentry, but also because he valued Liu Feng's military strength.

Liu Feng joined the army and fought from Liu Bei's side. Because of his outstanding performance, he was initially named the deputy general of the army by Liu Bei. After the Battle of Zhushui, Liu Bei looked back on his past achievements and worshiped Liu Feng as his deputy general.

As for Liu Feng's identity, after Liu Bei proclaimed himself emperor, although Liu Chan was made the crown prince, Liu Feng was also included in the clan's clan and granted the title of county marquis, giving him a high status in the country.

Liu Feng smiled brightly, galloped on his horse, and shouted: "Cave a way for Your Majesty!"

"Long live!"

"Long live!"

Under the leadership of Liu Feng, the sergeants on the left and right surrounded Liu Bei's chariot and shouted long live.

Stroking his gray beard, Liu Bei smiled and said, "Xiao Zhi, what do you think of Feng'er?"

Fazheng stroked his beard with a smile and said: "The deputy army is in the prime of life. He is extremely brave and strong in nature. He is your Majesty's arm!"

Hearing this, Liu Bei raised his eyebrows slightly, and he seemed to hear the implication of Fazheng's words. But Liu Bei didn't care that much. It would be good for Liu Feng to be loyal to him now.

Returning to the camp, Liu Bei handed over the affairs to Pang Tong and Fazheng, while he visited Guan Yu who was resting.

Two or three months have passed since Guan Yu was hit by an arrow, but due to various reasons, Guan Yu's injury has not healed. And because of the cross-dressing incident, the wound worsened.

Fortunately, Liu Bei led his troops to Xinye and took over Guan Yu's military power. And under Liu Bei's forced order, Guan Yu calmly healed his wounds. Although healing is healing, it does not mean that Guan Yu's arrow injury has been cured.

Liu Bei opened the camp tent and saw the doctor applying medicine to Guan Yu's arrow wound.

When the doctor saw Liu Bei coming in person, he stood up and saluted and said, "I pay homage to your majesty!"

"No gift!"

Liu Bei helped him out of thin air, looked at him and asked, "How is your injury?"

The doctor hesitated for a while and then said: "The swelling in your wound is difficult to go away, and your sternum is broken into your body. I should try my best to treat him."

"Brother!"

"How's the battle going today?"

Guan Yu wanted to get up from the couch and salute, but Liu Bei stopped him.

"Yun Chang is injured, so there is no need to be polite!"

Liu Bei held Guan Yu's hand and said, "The battle is going very smoothly today. Cao Cao will be able to withdraw his troops soon."

As he spoke, Liu Bei looked at the doctor with a serious expression and warned: "You should do your best to treat him and make sure you don't make any mistakes."

"promise!"

Liu Bei sat next to Guan Yu's couch and asked comfortingly: "There is still a famous doctor in Wuhan, Du Du, and Yun Chang's arrow injury will be cured by him. Now that Xiangfan is here, why don't Yun Chang return to Wuhan to recuperate first?"

Guan Yu sighed loudly and said, "Brother, when have you ever seen me afraid of death?"

As he spoke, Guan Yu pounded the bed hard and said angrily: "Fate belongs to Si Ming, how can it be changed by human power? If you can't live now, will you be able to live in peace and happiness when you return to Wuhan?"

Liu Bei was very distressed and said: "Brother and Yun Chang are like brothers. If Yun Chang is missing now, it will be like cutting off my brother's limbs. Cao Cao will withdraw his troops soon, and there will be no fighting between Han and Xiang. Yun Chang can return home with the grain ship to heal his injuries."

"This year, my brother calls Yide back to the capital. After Yun Chang is cured, the three of you and I will drink and have fun again. In the next Northern Expedition, my brother will entrust Yun Chang with important tasks. You and I will work together to defeat the thieves and achieve a great cause!"

Since Liu Bei took over the Xinye campaign, he saw that Guan Yu was seriously injured, and often persuaded Guan Yu to return to Wuhan for treatment. Guan Yugai was ashamed that he had to return to Beijing to recuperate before the battle, which made Guan Yu extremely reluctant. Seeing that Guan Yu could not be persuaded, Liu Bei had no choice but to allow Guan Yu to stay in the camp, but he had to take good care of his health.

Now Liu Bei saw that Guan Yu's arrow injury showed no signs of improvement, so he could only place his hope in the medical skills of the famous doctor Du Du to cure Guan Yu's arrow injury.

Guan Yu frowned and sighed slightly, and said: "My brother is leading the army in the Northern Expedition. The war is not over yet, but I have to return home before the battle. This is not what I want."

"Nowadays, Cao Cao still controls China, and I want to destroy him all the time. A man should die in the wilderness and be buried in horse leather. How can he die in bed at the hands of his children?"

Liu Bei was almost in tears and said: "The Northern Expedition to destroy Cao cannot be done in a hurry. Since Yun Chang has great ambitions, he should recuperate from his injuries."

Guan Yu remained silent.

(End of this chapter)