Ji Han Grand Commander

Chapter 18 18. Can't Hold Back
The first day of the military competition ended quickly. Feng Xi and Zhang Nan's troops met the troops of another young general, Zhao Rong.

Feng Xi still had some impression of Zhao Rong. This guy, like his two brothers, was someone who would be used as a stepping stone by Lu Xun in the Battle of Yiling.

According to records, Zhao Rong, like several other people, served as a deputy commander and fought against Lu Xun's army. Later, when Liu Bei was defeated, there was no news of him, and it is believed that he died in the Battle of Yiling.

It was obvious that Zhao Rong was not a talented general, and his troops' training was only mediocre. Therefore, when he faced off against Feng Xi and Zhang Nan's personal soldiers, he was defeated with an overwhelming force.

However, Zhao Rong had a good personality and expressed admiration for Feng Xi's talents. He also wanted to make friends with both of them.

Feng Xi would naturally not ignore this fellow sufferer who was about to go through the tribulation with him. After a few words, the three of them became familiar with each other and agreed to have a drink and talk about military affairs in the future.

According to the detailed rules of the military competition given by Liu Bei, the competition will last for several days, and the fittest will survive until the champion is selected. The champion's unit will be named "Shenwu Camp" by Liu Bei himself, which is a great honor.

Feng Xi and Zhang Nan had won on the first day, but Feng Xi would not become complacent because of this. Instead, he took Zhang Nan to study the generals and soldiers who would appear today at night, and kept discussing how to face them on the battlefield.

The second day was still uneventful, as they faced Zhang Yi, a famous young general of the Han Dynasty. Zhang Yi had made great achievements during the Northern Expedition, but now he was just a young general. Although he had a lot of strategies in commanding troops, he was still a little inexperienced. He was still scattered by the troops of Feng and Zhang, and then divided, surrounded, and completely wiped out.

However, an important piece of news also arrived in Chengdu on this day, that is, the news of Cao Cao's death. It has been half a month since Cao Cao passed away, but Shu is isolated and waiting for the news to arrive by fast horse, and it is now.

As soon as Liu Bei returned to the palace after finishing today's competition, he saw the secret report urgently delivered by the scout.

The secret report recorded in detail the fact that Cao Cao had been troubled since he saw Guan Yu's head, until he imprisoned Hua Tuo, which became known to the whole city and eventually led to his death.

Liu Bei read it carefully several times and couldn't help but sigh, then handed the report to Kong Ming.

After reading the secret report, Kong Ming couldn't help but sigh.

"It is a pity that Cao Cao, a great hero, died because of witchcraft and ghosts.

Liu Bei slumped in his chair, his eyes unconsciously looking up at the ceiling.

Liu Bei could not help but think of the afternoon when Cao Cao and he were drinking wine and discussing heroes, and he blurted out: "The only heroes in the world are you and me."

And later on, Cao Cao went south to conquer Jingzhou and chased and blocked him all the way.

Looking back at the Battle of Hanzhong not long ago, even though both sides were already old and gray, they were still determined to fight to the death.

Unfortunately, all of this became a thing of the past with the news of Cao Cao's death. Cao Cao's era was over, so was my own era also going to be over?
Seeing Liu Bei's emotional look, Zhuge Liang did not interrupt him, but let his lord silently reminisce about the past. However, Zhuge Liang had other worries in his heart.

A few months ago, I used the excuse that Cao Cao was spying on me to suppress the revenge of Liu Bei and Zhang Fei. Now that Cao Cao is dead, will Liu Bei start to be tempted? Will Zhang Fei bring up the old matter again?
Zhuge Liang actually already had the answer in his mind, and this was also his biggest headache. If his lord was a hero like Cao Cao, he would definitely suppress his anger with reason and not show his emotions.

Recalling the Wancheng Incident that year, Zhang Xiu followed Jia Xu's advice and rebelled again. He took advantage of the night to attack and kill Cao Cao's beloved son Cao Ang, nephew Cao Anmin, and general Dian Wei. However, Cao Cao was still able to put aside the past grudges and accept the surrender of Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu.

However, the lord was not Cao Cao, which is why Zhuge Liang chose Liu Bei instead of Cao Cao. Although Liu Bei also had the characteristic of not showing his emotions, he was still a very emotional person. At the same time, he still had the chivalrous temperament of a young ranger.

It is better to expect Dongwu to submit to the emperor’s rule than to expect Liu Bei not to avenge Guan Yu.

While Zhuge Liang was also lost in thought, Liu Bei had already come to his senses. He looked at Zhuge Liang with burning eyes, which made Zhuge Liang's heart skip a beat.

Zhuge Liang knew that what was coming would eventually come. "Kong Ming, now that Cao Cao is gone, his sons will surely fight for power like the sons of the Yuan family. Now is the perfect time to send troops to attack Wu, recapture Jingzhou, and avenge my second brother!"

Kong Ming sighed in his heart, but at this moment he had no reason to refuse, so he could only reply to Liu Bei:

"My Lord, what you said makes sense, but we still have the important matter of the Grand Competition to attend to. How about we discuss this matter with the civil and military officials after the Grand Competition is over?"

Zhuge Liang already had some ideas in his mind, and after waiting for the discussion with Liu Bei to be over, he would also meet with some generals and civil officials to gain their support.

"That makes sense. Let's discuss this matter after the competition is over."

Liu Bei nodded. Anyway, this military competition would last less than ten days. Liu Bei had already been waiting for several months, so he didn't mind waiting a few more days.

After leaving the palace, Zhuge Liang hurried to Zhao Yun's mansion.

"Military Advisor suddenly visited, what's the important matter?"

Zhao Yun was wielding his dragon-dan spear in the courtyard. Ever since he had seen Feng Xi's spearmanship, Zhao Yun had gained new insights and wanted to continue to break through the bottleneck of his martial arts, so he had been practicing spearmanship these days. When he heard the guards say Zhuge Liang was coming, he hurried to the hall to meet Zhuge Liang.

"Zilong, Cao Cao is dead."

Zhuge Liang only said these few words, but Zhao Yun, like Liu Bei, suddenly widened his eyes and looked surprised and confused.

"Military Advisor, is this true?"

Zhao Yun found it hard to believe that Cao Cao, the enemy who had once suffocated him and his men like a mountain, had just died like that.

"It is absolutely true. According to the spy's report, his son Cao Pi has already inherited the throne of King of Wei."

Zhuge Liang nodded.

Zhao Yun sighed, but then he thought of something and looked at Zhuge Liang.

"Military Advisor, could it be that our Lord..."

Zhao Yun's face was full of worry. Like Zhuge Liang, he did not support Liu Bei's strategy of attacking Wu. He also believed that they should deal with Cao Wei first.

"Well, the lord has just asked for my opinion on attacking Wu. I said that we will discuss it after the competition. Zilong needs to know about this in advance, so as not to let the lord do what his enemies want."

There is no need for too many words when talking to a smart person. Zhao Yun immediately understood what Zhuge Liang meant. Zhuge Liang was afraid that he alone would not be able to stop Liu Bei when the court was held, and hoped that he and others could join him in stopping Liu Bei.

"Alas, my lord, decades have passed, and you are still the same Lord Xuande as before."

After Zhuge Liang left, Zhao Yun couldn't help but sigh. Liu Xuande's success was due to his loyalty, and his failure was also due to his loyalty. But wasn't it because of Liu Bei's temperament that he traveled thousands of miles from Hebei to follow him?

(End of this chapter)