The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 392 Sima Enters Jingzhou

The city of Nanjun is tall and solid. It is a fortress painstakingly built by Liu Biao and the Cai family. It is an important town in Jingzhou. Although Cai Mao was stationed in Xiangyang, he still left Cai Zhong and Cai He to guard Nanjun and built Nanjun into the foundation of the Cai family.

At night, Cai He was awakened from his sleep. When he heard that Cai Zhong had returned defeated, his face changed drastically and he hurried to the city wall.

"General, it's General Cai Zhong, but who's behind him?" The deputy general beside him saw Cai Zhong under the city and discovered the torches in the distance, and became a little worried.

"Hurry, open the city gate." Cai He did not dare to delay and urged.

Although Cai Zhong was being chased by soldiers, he quickly ordered people to open the city gates. The Cai family needed unity, and he still needed Cai Zhong's help in defending the city.

The city gate slowly opened, and Cai Zhong led the remaining soldiers into the city. The shouts of killing were approaching behind him, and he was extremely panicked, fearing that if he was a step slow, he would be caught up by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei and take his life.

However, just as he entered the city, he heard screams coming from the city gate. He immediately looked back and saw a general fighting in the chaos with a silver spear in his hand.

"Zhao Yun."

Cai Zhong's face changed drastically. He recognized the person coming from Zhao Yun. He swung his silver spear left and right in the chaos of the army, and one figure after another fell at the city gate.

The defeated soldiers were in chaos for a while, and no one knew whether the comrades around them were their own people or enemies. The only thing they could do was to rush into the city desperately, and perhaps they could save their lives.

Cai He on the city wall also noticed the fighting at the city gate. When he saw countless torches appearing in the distance, he knew that he had been tricked. There were enemy troops hiding among Cai Zhong's defeated soldiers.

When he knew that the leader was Zhao Yun, the thought in his mind disappeared instantly. Zhao Yun's bravery was well-known in Jingzhou. Although Cai looked down on Liu Bei, in order to form a marriage alliance with Liu Bei, they investigated all the generals under Liu Bei's command and knew that Zhao Yun's bravery was ranked among the best in Jingzhou.

"Zhang Fei is here, don't let Cai Zhong and Cai He go."

Suddenly, a thunderous sound rang out in the night sky, deafening the ears and drowning out the shouting and screaming at the city gate. Cai Zhong and Cai He became even more panicked.

"Guan Yu is here, don't let Cai Zhong and Cai He go."

Guan Yu's voice is deep, penetrating and intimidating.

The only hope these Cai brothers had was gone. The three killers gathered in Nanjun, and the city gates were opened. It was impossible to defend. The only thing they could do now was to escape. It would be good enough if they could save their lives.

As for Nanjun, that is the court's business and is waiting for the court to deal with it.

The two brothers quickly fled Nanjun under the escort of their personal soldiers. The defenders in the city lost the command of the Cai brothers. Except for those who escaped, most of the others had already defected to Liu Bei.

Kuai Qi, who was leading the army outside, retreated to Dangyang after Nanjun was lost.

In Nanjun City, Liu Bei, dressed in brocade clothes, accompanied by Zhuge Liang, inspected Nanjun City. There was never a lack of smile on his face. This was because there were countless money, grain and equipment stored in Nanjun City. After leaving Xuzhou, Liu Bei had not seen so much money and grain.

"The military advisor is still wise." Liu Bei praised.

Only at this time did he realize how powerful Zhuge Liang was. With just one letter, he could easily capture Nanjun. The tens of thousands of troops of the Cai family were instantly wiped out in front of Zhuge Liang.

"My lord, we have to empty the entire Nanjun. The people, money and food must be moved away. Nanjun will become a huge military camp." Zhuge Liang said hurriedly.

"Empty?" Liu Bei was very surprised. He had finally occupied such a big city, but he gave it up like that. Liu Bei was very unwilling. "My lord, this place will become a huge battlefield. We will have a decisive battle with the Cavalry Army here next year, and everything in Nanjun will be wiped out. Jingnan has a lot of land and a sparse population. It's just right to take advantage of the coming winter to fill Jingnan with people from Nanjun, and it won't affect spring farming." Zhuge Liang explained.

Liu Bei nodded after listening. Although he felt regretful, he still decided to follow Zhuge Liang's instructions and empty Nanjun.

"We have occupied Nanjun. It is difficult for the Qin bandits to confront us across the river. They can only fight us in Nanjun." Zhuge Liang said proudly.

"Everything is decided by the military advisor." Liu Bei said immediately.

"Thank you for your trust, my lord." Zhuge Liang felt relieved. He was really worried that Liu Bei would be reluctant to give up the prosperity of Nanjun. Fortunately, Liu Bei trusted him very much.

"We have to make arrangements with Ji Bo, no accidents can happen."

Liu Bei thought of something again.

"Don't worry, my lord. Ji Bo has already gone south and will come to Nanjun soon." Zhuge Liang comforted.

By the time the news reached Xiangyang, it was almost New Year's Day. Cai Mao and Kuai Liang had no intention of celebrating the New Year, so they quickly gathered together to discuss the matter.

"The news brought by Cai Zhong and Cai He is that someone held the seal of General Zhennan and said that Kuai Qi was colluding with Liu Bei, so Cai Zhong led his troops to attack Kuai Qi, but was attacked by Guan Yu halfway." Cai Mao wanted to slap Cai Zhong a few times.

"Who pretended to be you and wrote this letter? Even Cai Zhong didn't recognize it?" Kuai Liang asked.

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Cai Mao and Cai Zhong are brothers. If someone forged a letter, Cai Zhong would definitely be able to recognize it. Now even Cai Zhong can't recognize it, which can only mean that someone forged Cai Mao's handwriting and also forged the seal of General Zhennan.

"We can investigate this matter slowly. Now Nanjun has been lost, and there are countless grains and weapons in Nanjun. My Cai family has accumulated them for generations and all of them have been used to help Liu Bei. How can you and I explain this to the prime minister?" Cai Mao felt bitter.

This time the losses were huge and even changed the situation in Jingzhou.

"Kuai Qi stationed troops in Dangyang and gathered the defeated soldiers. He could get 20,000 to 30,000 people. In a short period of time, he could stop the enemy from going north and prevent the situation from getting worse." Kuai Liang smiled bitterly and said, "To stop the enemy right now, I'm afraid we can only let the Xiangyang troops go south and defend Dangyang."

"If this is the case, Jingzhou will be lost." Before Cai Mao could say anything, a cold snort came from outside, waking up the two people in the hall. Looking back, they saw a young man approaching slowly.

"May I ask who you are?" Kuai Liang asked.

"Sima Yi, the newly appointed Grand Secretary of Wuying Palace, Grand Doctor of Silver and Green Light, and Chief Clerk of the General's Expedition to the South." The young man took off the bronze seal from his waist.

"Why is the Grand Secretary coming here at this time?" Cai Mao and Kuai Liang were very surprised.

"The southern expeditionary army has gathered in Nanyang, so I am going ahead." Sima Yi said nonchalantly, "I didn't expect that when I just arrived in Xinye, I received the news that Nanjun had fallen."

Cai Mao and Kuai Liang both blushed slightly.

"We are ashamed that we lost Nanjun." Cai Mao said with a wry smile.

"Zhuge Kongming is not so easy to deal with. It's normal that you two are not his match. Even the prime minister is afraid of this man. Originally, we wanted to bring him back to the court, but unfortunately he escaped. That's why we have today's disaster." Sima Yi comforted.

(End of this chapter)