Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 300 If you don't obey, I'll have to ask His Majesty to die

Seeing Liu Biao fall to the ground due to poisoning, Emperor Xian of Han couldn't help but scream, his face turned pale with fright on the spot, and he threw the wine jar in his hand away as if it was hot.

Then he began to bend over and pinch his throat, trying to spit out the wine he had just drunk.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't vomit.

In fear and panic, Emperor Xian of Han even felt a dull pain in his stomach. He couldn't help but sit on the ground and cry, "I'm going to die, I'm going to die..."

"Stop yelling, there's no poison in your wine." Cai Mao suddenly said, looking at Emperor Xian of Han with contempt and disdain, "You are so timid, I really don't know where you got the courage to pretend to be the emperor."

After hearing Cai Mao's words, Liu Biao and Liu Qi, who were lying on the ground, showed looks of shock and anger on their faces.

"It's you!"

Liu Biao stared at Cai Mao, his eyes filled with anger and disbelief, "You actually poisoned the wine, how dare you do that!"

He couldn't believe this was actually true.

Cai Mao was his brother-in-law. Without him, he would never have had such a high status in Jingzhou. No matter from the perspective of kinship or other aspects, it was impossible for him to poison him.

But Cai Mao had just said that there was no poison in the emperor's wine, and he looked so calm, there was no doubt that he was the one who poisoned it!

“We had no choice.”

Cai Mao did not speak. It was Kuai Liang who spoke. He looked at Liu Biao with complicated and compassionate eyes and sighed, "The lord wants someone to replace us. We can only protect ourselves."

"And you are old, lord. When you rode into Jingzhou alone, you were so high-spirited and full of energy, but now you have become timid."

"You welcomed this false emperor into the city, refused to kill him, and refused to use the emperor's name to act. If we continue like this, we will eventually become traitors and be destroyed by the king's army."

"In this situation, change means life, and no change means death."

"We don't want to be replaced, nor do we want to be labeled as traitors."

Kuai Liang did not want to take action against Liu Biao, but if Liu Biao was alive he would only be a threat and hindrance. For the benefit of his family, he had to choose to kill Liu Biao.

“Zirou, you——!”

Liu Biao was furious when he heard this. He never expected that even Kuai Liang was involved. He was so angry that he vomited a large mouthful of black blood again and died instantly.

"Father!"

Liu Qi struggled to crawl towards Liu Biao, ignoring the blood flowing from his mouth and nose, and fell on Liu Biao's body crying.

Until this moment, he finally understood the meaning of what Zhuge Liang said to him before they parted that day.

Shensheng died inside, while Chong'er survived outside.

Zhuge Liang was advising him to leave Xiangyang as soon as possible so that he could save his life, but he did not understand the meaning.

"Mr. Kong Ming, you have already expected this..."

Tears streamed down Liu Qi's face as he muttered to himself sadly.

At this time, he felt that his vision was becoming increasingly blurred. In the last moments of his life, he used all his strength to sternly shout at Cai Mao, Kuai Liang and others: "You are a bunch of lord-killers! You will not have a good end!"

"I'll be waiting for you underground!"

After saying this sentence full of resentment and hatred, the poison took effect, and black blood flowed from Liu Qi's seven orifices, and he died.

Emperor Xian of Han was frightened by this scene. He curled up in a corner, trembling as he looked at the corpses of Liu Biao and his son. He wanted to cry but couldn't.

What on earth is going on!
Cai Mao went forward to check the bodies of Liu Biao and Liu Qi. After confirming that they were both dead, he said to Pang Ji: "Send troops to seal off the mansion and get rid of everyone in it."

"Make sure no word gets out."

The death of Liu Biao and his son could only be due to a sudden illness, and any other news must not be leaked, otherwise they would be doomed.

Pangji nodded and left.

Cai Mao turned his gaze to Emperor Xian of Han again, his face turned cold, and he said, "You should know what to do. Do you need me to teach you?"

Emperor Xian of Han was at a loss at this moment, and said in a trembling voice: "I, I don't know, what do you want me to do?"

Cai Mao's eyes twitched, and he suppressed his impatience and said, "Draft an edict stating that Liu Biao and Liu Qi died of a sudden illness, and that their son Liu Cong will be the new governor of Jingzhou."

"Your identity as a fake emperor is still of some use. As long as you are honest and obedient, I will give you the same treatment as Liu Biao."

"If you don't obey..."

Cai Mao sneered, picked up the pot of poisoned wine on Liu Qi's table, and looked at Emperor Xian of Han with unfriendly eyes.

"Then I'll have to ask Your Majesty to die."

Emperor Xian of Han was horrified and finally burst into tears. He waved his hands and said, "I will do as you say. I will do everything you say! Don't let me die!"

Cai Mao even dared to poison Liu Biao to death, so killing one more person would be no problem for him. He had finally lived a few days of peace and tranquility, and he didn't want to die so soon!
Seeing Emperor Xian of Han who was frightened out of his wits, Cai Mao's eyes were filled with even more disdain. He threw down his wine cup and left the banquet hall with Kuai Liang and others.

Liu Biao and his son died, and they had a lot of things to deal with.

Only Emperor Xian of Han and two corpses were left in the banquet hall.

He looked at the bodies of Liu Biao and his son, whose eyes were open after death. After hesitating for a long time, he suppressed the fear in his heart, stood up and helped them close their eyes.

Then he staggered to his feet and returned to his residence.

At this time, a large number of soldiers had broken into the mansion and were carrying out a bloody massacre on the servants in the mansion, with screams everywhere.

"Your Majesty, save me!"

When Emperor Xian of Han was passing through a corridor, a maid ran over, fell at his feet, grabbed his clothes and cried.

It was the maid who had changed clothes for Emperor Xian of Han before.

Just as Emperor Xian of Han was about to speak, the maid was beheaded by a soldier who had caught up with her from behind, and her beautiful head rolled to the ground.

There was still an expression of despair and pleading on his face.

The soldier glanced at Emperor Xian of Han, bowed slightly to him, then turned around and continued to kill other people.

Emperor Xian of Han turned pale and could not bear to look at the maid's body again. He ran back to his residence and hid under the quilt, trying to isolate himself from the outside world.

"Sikong, I miss you..."

Emperor Xian of Han talked to himself in tears under his quilt.

After going through so many things, he felt more and more that the time he spent in Xu County was the best. Cao Cao was actually very respectful to him and had no intention of harming him.

If Yang Biao, Fu Wan, Dong Cheng and others had not done things behind his back and betrayed him, Cao Cao would not have considered him a fake emperor.

It’s all Yang Biao’s fault!
If he were given another chance, he would definitely choose to stay in Xu County honestly, eating, drinking and having fun every day without thinking about anything else.

Too bad he can never go back.

……

Xu County.

After Cao Cao and Sun Quan negotiated peace and formed an alliance, they withdrew the troops deployed in the Jiangbei area.

Sun Quan deployed a large number of troops in Guangling County and Danyang County in preparation for the attack on Xuzhou. The two sides put aside their past grudges and fought together against the enemy.

Now that spring is approaching, Zhou Yu came to Xu County as a representative to meet with Cao Cao and discuss a specific battle plan. "At the end of this month, we will launch an attack on Xuzhou, take over the entire territory of Xuzhou with lightning speed, and then build a defense line around Xuzhou and plot to take Qingzhou."

"How is Sikong's military deployment in Yanzhou going?"

After Zhou Yu elaborated on their attack strategy on Xuzhou, he began to ask about the situation on Cao Cao's side.

Upon hearing this, Cao Ren replied on behalf of Cao Cao: "Our main force has been transferred to Guandu to guard against the attack of the imperial army."

"With the advantage of the terrain, it won't be a problem to hold back the imperial army for three months. Although they will eventually have to retreat to Yuzhou, I think three months should be enough for Gongjin to capture Xuzhou."

In terms of overall strategy, Yanzhou must be abandoned. The last line of defense is Yuzhou and Xuzhou, but before that it will take some time to delay.

After all, it took time for Sun Quan to lead his troops to capture Xuzhou.

Zhou Yu nodded and said, "Xuzhou does not have many troops. We are well prepared this time. Three months is more than enough."

The imperial court's main forces are now in Bingzhou and Jizhou. If they cannot capture Xuzhou, which is short of troops, within three months, then there is no point in talking about resisting the imperial court.

Just go home and wait to die.

When Zhou Yu and Cao Ren finished their discussion, Cao Cao stood up and said with a smile, "Gongjin, it's rare for you to come to Xu County. I have to show my hospitality as a host."

"I have ordered someone to prepare a banquet to entertain you and welcome you back later."

Cao Cao's tone and attitude were very enthusiastic.

But Zhou Yu refused directly after hearing this, saying: "Thank you for your kindness, Sikong, but there is no need for the banquet. I have important matters to attend to and cannot stay long. Goodbye."

After saying that, he led his men out of the lobby.

After watching Zhou Yu go away, Xiahou Dun said with some dissatisfaction: "The lord invited me so kindly, but this guy has such an attitude. How rude!"

"And he came all the way here just to discuss this? I think he's really bored!"

Although Zhou Yu appeared to be very polite on the surface, everyone could sense the coldness underneath his politeness and he did not give anyone face at all.

Besides, matters like how to send troops could be discussed directly in a letter. Why would one have to travel all the way from Yangzhou to Xu County for a face-to-face meeting?
"No."

Xun You shook his head and said, "Coming here to discuss sending troops is just a superficial act. The real purpose of Zhou Gongjin's visit is to confirm whether we have deployed troops in Yanzhou."

"He is extremely defensive against us."

If it was just to discuss sending troops, there was no need for Zhou Yu to make this trip, as it had already been confirmed before.

Zhou Yu came here under this pretext, and at the same time secretly sent spies to various places in Yuzhou and Yanzhou to inquire about their troop deployment and see whether they had really deployed the army.

Of course, they are doing this kind of thing.

Both sides are deeply wary of each other.

"That's normal." Cao Cao didn't care and turned his gaze to Cao Ren, "Have you completed everything I asked you to do?"

"Don't worry, sir. Everything has been arranged."

Cao Ren nodded and replied, "I have set up a large number of camps at various garrison locations to disguise the presence of a large army. They will never be able to see any flaws."

"At present, our main forces have all been deployed near Lujiang County. We only need to wait for the order from the lord to cross the Yangtze River and take Jiangdong!"

Cao Cao nodded slightly and felt relieved.

He had no intention of resisting the imperial army in Yanzhou. He only wanted to delay until Sun Quan attacked Xuzhou and then lead his troops directly to Jiangdong.

The so-called troop deployment and plans were just a cover for Zhou Yu and Sun Quan to see. Otherwise, how could they feel at ease to send troops?

Yanzhou is now a complete empty shell.

Basically, all the supplies, population, etc. were moved to Yuzhou by him, and only less than 5,000 troops were there to keep the place together.

Not to mention delaying the imperial army for three months.

He doesn't plan to delay for three days!

As soon as he saw the imperial army approaching, his troops in Yanzhou would retreat directly and would never engage in a head-on confrontation with the enemy.

"Sikong, would this be inappropriate?"

Xun Yu frowned and said worriedly, "If we take Jiangdong while Sun Quan is fighting the imperial army, he might turn around and attack us."

He could already imagine how angry Sun Quan would be at that time, and he would most likely do whatever it took to retake Jiangdong or attack Yuzhou.

“He doesn’t have the energy.”

Cao Cao did not agree with Xun Yu's words and said calmly: "With the military strength of Jiangdong, how can you resist the imperial army and fight against me at the same time?"

"Besides, all is fair in war, so there is nothing wrong with this move. If you don't believe me, you can ask Zhongde for his opinion."

Cheng Yu, who was standing by, was suddenly called by Cao Cao. He was stunned for a moment, then said after a moment of silence: "There is nothing wrong with Sikong's plan."

"I think after we seize Jiangdong, it would be best to take the opportunity to join forces with the imperial court to attack Sun Quan and annihilate him together."

Cheng Yu expressed his opinion and said, "My lord, what do you think about my suggestion last time to make meat jerky out of the bodies of the soldiers who died in battle?"

"This move can greatly reduce the loss of food and fodder, and as long as it is done secretly, the soldiers will not be able to find out. I have already thought of it..."

"Stop!"

Cao Cao interrupted Cheng Yu's excited speech with a shout, but then he realized that his tone was a bit too much, and said to him in a friendly manner: "The army is not short of food and grass at the moment, let's discuss this matter later, Zhongde, thank you for your concern."

He always thought that he was cruel and ruthless, but since he heard Cheng Yu mention the dried meat last time, he felt that he was like a saint compared to Cheng Yu.

"Ok."

Cheng Yu sighed with some disappointment.

Cao Cao retracted his gaze and then said to Xun Yu: "If I don't take Jiangdong, I will have to face the army of the emperor in Yecheng directly. With my current strength, I will definitely not be able to defeat them."

"Could it be that Wen Ruo hopes that I will lose to him?"

As he said this, he stared at Xun Yu's face, observing his expression changes.

Xun Yu was shocked when he heard this, and hurriedly bowed and said, "Prince Kong, you misunderstood. I am just worried that Sun Quan will retaliate. Since the lord has his own plan, then there is nothing to worry about."

"I see."

Cao Cao looked at Xun Yu meaningfully.

Xun You, who was standing by, noticed that the atmosphere was not right, so he took the initiative to change the subject and asked, "Sikong, how is Xu Ziyuan's illness? Has it not gotten better yet?"

Xu You suddenly took sick leave and stayed at home three months ago, and has not been seen since.

Cao Cao said calmly, "He is seriously ill, but it is nothing serious at the moment. He just needs to rest. Don't worry about him."

After saying that, he left the lobby directly.

……

the other side.

The three embroidered robe envoys who were heading to Jingzhou had quietly escorted Zhuge Liang into Jizhou.

(End of this chapter)