Great Han Empire

Chapter 1045 The Banner of Heroes in Troubled Times Unrolled
On the first day of September, Xuzhou, Pengcheng.

Jiangdong's special envoy Zhang Hong arrived in Pengcheng and discussed with Cao Cao about the joint attack on the Central Plains.

In August, Liu Biao asked the princes from all over the country to send special envoys to Xiangyang to discuss the plan of the Northern Expedition.According to the latest news from Chang'an, after the eldest princess became pregnant, Li Hong decisively suppressed Chang'an, cleared all the opponents in the court, and then asked Xu Rong, Li Wei, Zhang Yan, and Zhao Yun to assist the little emperor to deceive the little emperor. All the people in the world themselves are actually in charge of power in Jinyang, showing a ferocious face of usurping Han Zuo.Because Li Hong captured a large number of powerful families and rich merchants, especially the Yingru scholars who were closely related to Xiangyang, almost all of them were wiped out, so Xiangyang lost many channels for obtaining accurate information. However, from the analysis of the current situation, Li Hong It will take a long time to stabilize Chang'an and all states and counties. In addition, the northwestern borders and the desert have just been pacified, and Li Hong is very likely to withdraw his troops to Nanyang.

Sure enough, in mid-August, Chang'an sent a special envoy, Taichangqing Cui Jun, to Xiangyang to propose a peace plan, and returned Zhang Yun and Ma Di to Liu Biao.Chang'an's conditions are very harsh, requiring Xiangyang to cede Nanyang and Hanzhong, and then talk about the confrontation between the North and the South.Xiangyang resolutely refused, thinking that this was Li Hong's plan to delay the army.At this moment, Li Hong agreed to the confrontation between the north and the south. To put it bluntly, he agreed to share the world equally with the southern princes.Liu Biao told Cui Jun, you go back and tell Li Hong that if he is willing to give up Luoyang, and return Qing, Yan and Henan to us, and retreat to the north bank of the Yellow River, we will negotiate a peace.Cui Jun said goodbye and left without saying a word. Before leaving, he and Liu Biao had a heart-to-heart talk. He said that the eldest princess was pregnant. If she gave birth to a boy, Li Hong would usurp the usurpation immediately, and Han Zuo would be cut off immediately. ", "Chang'an Luoyang still has many noble families who are loyal to the great man, and the Central Plains also has many rich families who vow to defend the great man to the death. As long as you and Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Sun Quan and others send troops to the north, these people will all respond. Li Hong and the North The frontier army must be defeated and flee to Hebei."

Cui Jun's words are highly credible.Now Li Hong has severely damaged the powerful family, and he also took the opportunity to promote Taoism into Confucianism and the improvement of Confucianism. The scholars who escaped the catastrophe temporarily were full of hatred. As long as the opportunity was right, they would definitely counterattack Li Hong, and they might even repeat the Chang'an mutiny.

Liu Biao, Cai Mao and the special envoys of the feudal lords, after comprehensive analysis of various situations, unanimously decided that this was the best opportunity to go north to crusade against Li Hong and regain the Central Plains.Now Chang'an, Luoyang, Central Plains, and Hebei are in chaos, and the Northern Frontier Army has exhausted the treasury after several years of continuous conquests.

Liu Biao still stuck to his attack strategy at the beginning of the year. He dragged the main force of the Northern Frontier Army to Nanyang, let Cao Cao, Sun Quan, and Zhou Yu on the east road join forces to attack the Central Plains north, and let Liu Bei on the west road attack Longnan and attack Guanzhong. , Li Hong will definitely lose."

Xuzhou special envoy Xun Yu and Jiangdong special envoy Zhang Hong went south in the same boat.On the way, Zhang Hong received a letter from Sun Quan and went to Pengcheng to meet with Cao Cao to discuss the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains.

Sun Quan is willing to send [-] troops to the north to help, but the condition is that if Cao Cao regains the Central Plains, he will give him three counties, Xiapi in Xuzhou, Guangling, and Jiujiang in Yangzhou will all be given to Jiangdong.If Cao Cao fails to conquer the Central Plains, he will also return Jiujiang County to Jiangdong as a reward.

Cao Cao was so angry that he cursed.It is very difficult to recover the Central Plains alone with Xuzhou's troops. Even if it is recovered, its strength will suffer a lot. At that time, if Sun Quan took the opportunity to attack Xuzhou northward, Xuzhou would most likely become their pocket, but Sun Quan agreed and joined forces with the Northern Expedition. , Can Xuzhou survive?With the consistent nature of Sun Quan and Zhou Yu, they will definitely threaten at critical moments, and they will suffer losses in all likelihood.

As soon as Cao Cao got angry, he immediately suffered from a headache, holding his head and moaning.Now the headache has tortured him like a disabled person. As long as he uses his brain, is overworked or angry, the headache will attack immediately, and the attack will last for a long time. The pain is so painful that he can't do anything.

Xun Yu persuaded him, it's better to agree.The current opportunity is rare, and only by regaining the Central Plains can we seek hegemony. Otherwise, we will be trapped in a corner of the Jianghuai River and face enemies on three sides, and sooner or later we will be defeated.

"How credible are Cui Jun's words?" Cao Cao forced himself to endure the great pain, and said helplessly, "Look carefully, who are the people Li Hong has dealt with this time? They are all Yingru scholars, and some from Hebei Scholars, while the northern Xinjiang scholars and Guanluo scholars almost all succumb to Li Hong, including Yang Biao, Xu Shao and other extremely prestigious people who also bow to Li Hong. It can be seen that Li Hong has compromised with them, and their interests It can be guaranteed, in this case, Cui Jun's words are not credible, it is probably Li Hong's trick to lure the enemy."

As soon as Xun Yu understood, Cao Cao didn't want to fight anymore, he wanted to take advantage of it.The stalemate in the Nanyang battlefield is now deliberately caused by the Beijiang army. In order to solve the Chang'an matter, in order to stabilize his own internal affairs as soon as possible, and to achieve a series of goals, he deliberately left 10,000+ troops in the Nanyang battlefield, otherwise he will be defeated by the Beijiang army. Isn't it easy to conquer Wancheng with the thunderbolt method used by the army to attack Luoyang?The Nanyang battlefield is now the most important "chess piece" in Li Hong's hands. As long as the timing is clever, this "chess piece" can immediately make Liu Biao submit, thus realizing Li Hong's ulterior purpose.

Liu Biao had [-] soldiers in Jingzhou, and he took the emperor to order the princes. Once he and Li Hong secretly reached an agreement on the confrontation between the north and the south, Li Hong would usurp the country, and Liu Biao would usurp the next one, but no matter whether Liu Biao was the emperor himself or Let his son be the emperor, and with his status as the Liu clan, he can continue to command the princes under the banner of a big man.This is unacceptable to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao's attack on the Central Plains at this moment will not only damage his own strength, but also force Li Hong and Liu Biao to reach an agreement as soon as possible, so that he can recruit a large army from the Nanyang battlefield to besiege Xuzhou.Everyone knows that Liu Biao is not as ambitious as Yuan Shao, nor is he confident in defeating Li Hong. He just wants to keep his one-acre three-point land. Can't beat Cao Cao.Cao Cao was defeated, and Sun Quan and Zhou Yu defended the Jianghuai line. With the powerful navy in the east of the Yangtze River, even if the northern army reached the north bank of the Yangtze River, they could only look at the river and sigh.Jiangdong is undefeated, Yizhou is undefeated, the overall defense of the south is still unbreakable, and Liu Biao's Jingzhou is still impenetrable.Liu Biao's thinking is clearly reflected in his offensive and defensive strategies. He always counts on Cao Cao and Liu Bei to break through from the two wings, rather than throwing all of Jingzhou's troops into a decisive battle on the Nanyang battlefield.

If Jingzhou wants to fight decisively and puts on a life-and-death posture, the northern army is afraid, because Li Hong does not dare to lose. After defeating Chang'an and the Central Plains, he will be powerless to defend. He can only retreat to the north bank of the Yellow River, so as long as Liu Biao dares to fight, Coupled with the cooperation of Cao Cao and Liu Bei on the two wings, Li Hong will definitely withdraw his troops, and this situation of confrontation between the north and the south has become.It's a pity that Liu Biao cherishes himself very much, and he doesn't want to let himself suffer any loss.

Cao Cao saw through Liu Biao's mind, and Sun Quan took the opportunity to threaten him, so he lost ground and dared not fight.Let's hit the Central Plains. He was worried that Liu Biao would betray him, and that Sun Quan would stab him in the back. In the end, Xuzhou was not eaten by the northern army, but by Liu Biao and Sun Quan.Cao Cao would rather be trapped in Xuzhou now, circling between Li Hong and Sun Quan, surviving in the cracks, than risk losing the Central Plains.

=

Cao Cao didn't want to fight anymore, and Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, Mao Jie, Ren Jun and others also had different opinions. Everyone had their own opinions, and they argued endlessly.

At this moment, Xia Houdun, Li Dian, and Guo Jia urgently reported to Cao Cao that the army had conquered Changyi and was rushing towards Dingtao.

"Gao Shun gave up Changyi?" Cao Cao felt unbelievable, "An accident happened in Hebei? Has there been a change in the Nanyang battlefield?"

Immediately afterwards, Cao Hong and Yu Jin urgently reported that the northern army had voluntarily withdrawn from Suiyang and was retreating towards Chenliu. Cao Hong asked Cao Cao whether he would continue to attack northward?
Man Chong and Liu Xun reported urgently from Qicheng, and Lei Chong's army retreated quickly. Zhou Yu and Lu Su led their troops across the river, and the two armies were about to join forces. Attack Chen Guo from the northwest?

Cao Cao discussed with everyone for a long time, and it was difficult to make a choice for a while.

However, only two hours later, the situation suddenly changed.Fast horses rushed into Pengcheng in the dark, and Xiaopei, Xiaoxian, and Xiangcheng rushed to report at the same time, and found an army of cavalry in the northern Xinjiang, an army of tens of thousands of cavalry.

"It's been tricked..." Cao Cao was shocked, and shouted repeatedly, "Send Xia Houdun and Cao Hong to retreat immediately, retreat immediately..."

"Urgently call Man Chong and Liu Xun, go north for support..."

"Urgently order Cao Chun to attack with tiger and leopard cavalry, first rescue Cao Hong from the direction of Suiyang, hurry, hurry..."

"Send people south to Shouchun, let Cao Pi and Xia Houyuan assemble an army, and prepare to cross the north to support."

"Go and invite Zhang Hong, quickly..." Cao Cao pointed at Xun Yu and shouted, "Accept Sun Quan's conditions, and ask him to lead the army north immediately..."

=

On the first day of September, Changyi.

Xia Houdun and Guo Jia had a heated argument, while Li Dian stood aside, looking at the furious Guo Jia, and couldn't help but think of the quarrel a few months ago.

Cao Cao sent troops to attack the Central Plains, which caused a lot of controversy, and the focus of the controversy was the attack strategy.

Cao Cao had his own overall considerations, and he did not have the confidence to capture the Central Plains, so he divided his forces into four, one led by Cao Ren to contain the Qingzhou Army in Tan (tan) City in the East China Sea, and the other led by Xia Houdun to attack Changyi in the north One was led by Cao Hong to attack Suiyang from the west, and the other was led by Man Chong to attack Runan, forming a pincer attack with Zhou Yu and Cao Pi on the south bank of the Huaihe River.Cao Cao's deployment is obvious. He has no intention of attacking the Central Plains, but just wants to contain the northern border army in the Central Plains and help Liu Biao defend Nanyang.

Xun Yu and Guo Jia questioned Cao Cao's deployment.If Xuzhou's troops are combined into one, they will surely gain something by going north to attack the Central Plains, and it will also quickly help Liu Biao gain an advantage on the Nanyang battlefield.Once the Northern Xinjiang Army was in a hurry in the Central Plains, Li Hong would withdraw from the Nanyang battlefield and deploy troops to defend the Central Plains. In this way, the Jingzhou Army could go north to attack Yingchuan and threaten Luoyang, which in turn would help the Xuzhou Army continue to fight in the Central Plains.If the situation in Chang'an gets out of control and Guanzhong and Hebei are in chaos, the Central Plains will be at your fingertips.

According to Cao Cao's attack strategy, splitting the whole into parts and attacking from multiple directions will not only be unable to threaten the Central Plains, but also unable to help the Nanyang battlefield. What is especially frightening is that once the Northern Xinjiang Army wins the Nanyang Battlefield and increases its troops to the Central Plains, Xuzhou will be almost defeated. Any attacking army on the road is in danger of being wiped out.

Cao Cao refused to accept the persuasion.His first consideration is to preserve his strength, his second consideration is to prevent Sun Quan and Zhou Yu from sneaking behind him, and third, he does not trust Liu Biao.Liu Biao and Yuan Shao can be said to be the same kind of people, with great talents and few ambitions, but they can't achieve great things.

Cao Cao knew that with his own strength and the small land of Xuzhou, sooner or later he would be eaten up by Li Hong and Sun Quan.If you want to survive under the current situation, you must first obtain a favorable situation of confrontation between the North and the South, and then take advantage of the stalemate between Liu Biao and Li Hong to cross the river to fight Sun Quan, occupy the land of Wu and Yue, and form a tripartite relationship with Li Hong and Liu Biao based on the danger of the Yangtze River. Potential.In the past few years, he has recharged his energy and stored up his energy, not to fight the Central Plains, but to fight Jiangdong.If you fight against the mighty northern army in the Central Plains, you have no chance of winning. Moreover, the Central Plains is a place of four wars. Even if you fight it, you may not be able to hold it.Fighting Jiangdong is different. Sun Quan's foundation in Jiangdong is not yet solid, and he and Zhou Yu are fighting against each other, openly and secretly, and the chance of defeating Sun Quan is very high.

Cao Cao didn't want to lose his strength on the Central Plains battlefield. He wanted to wait until the confrontation between the North and the South stabilized, then use Liu Biao of Jingzhou and Liu Bei of Yizhou to contain Li Hong, and then stir up conflicts between Sun Quan and Zhou Yu, and between Zhou Yu and Liu Biao. Jiangdong introduced war, and then found an opportunity to cross the river in a grandiose manner, killed Sun Quan, and occupied the land of Wuyue.

Cao Cao's idea was only known to his son and a few brothers, and no one else knew about it.He has fought for more than ten years, and he is still struggling to survive. He has to give up his unrealistic fantasy of dominating the Central Plains and revitalizing the country, and turn to seek the way of survival.Only when survival is guaranteed, can I think about other things such as hegemony.Everything has changed since Yuan Shao's death.At the beginning, he drove Liu Bei to occupy Xuzhou with the purpose of returning to the Central Plains. However, Yuan Shao failed and died. The situation has changed completely, and he is still struggling in the desperate situation of survival.

Xun Yu and Guo Jia argued hard with reason and tried to persuade them again and again.Cao Cao had no choice but to transfer Guo Jia to Xiahoudun's army and let Xun Yu stay in Xiangyang so that he could report the situation in Jingzhou in time.

Now that the situation on the battlefield is reversed, Li Hong actually disregarded the safety of the desert, and dispatched an army of iron cavalry from northern Xinjiang to launch a counterattack. As Guo Jia said, all armies were in danger of being wiped out, and Xuzhou was facing defeat.

The northern border army was very arrogant, galloping wildly on the big and small roads, billowing with smoke and dust, and did not hide their whereabouts and attack goals at all.They have speed, and they have enough time to cut off the Xuzhou Army's retreat, surround and annihilate the Xuzhou Army.

Xiahoudun asked all the ministries to give up food, grass and supplies, and retreat day and night, as much as they can withdraw, but Guo Jia believed that the army's life was dead, and the only way was to defend Changyi to the death, hold back the northern Xinjiang cavalry, and win the battle for Cao Cao in Xuzhou. Sticking to the time of Pengcheng, "If Xuzhou is lost, the northern army will surely kill the Huaihe River. Chen Bing is on the north bank of the Yangtze River, and Jiangdong is at stake. So at this moment, Sun Quan must go north to support. As long as Pengcheng is not lost, Xuzhou will be solid, and Jianghuai will be safe."

Xia Houdun didn't listen at all, and yelled at Li Dian repeatedly, "Quick retreat, quick retreat..."

Guo Jia was so angry that he blushed and screamed, "You are ruining Xuzhou and Sheji. At this moment, Li Hong sent the northern Xinjiang cavalry to the south, and he was already determined to conquer Xuzhou. As in the past, I looked forward and backward, hesitated."

Xia Houdun looked up to the sky and sighed, "Feng Xiao, Pengcheng has no army, so how can we defend it? Sun Quan has the danger of the Yangtze River and has a powerful navy, but does the Northern Xinjiang Army have a navy? It is just wishful thinking on your part to expect Sun Quan to rescue Xuzhou .” He waved at the guards, “Protect Mr. Guo and ensure his safety.”

Guo Jia was surrounded by the soldiers.Xia Houdun stood on the square, looking up at the bloody sunset, speechless.This time Li Hong leads the army to the south, can Xuzhou still survive?

=

On the first day of September, Suiyang,
Cao Hong was lying on the map, holding a candlestick in one hand, and kept gesticulating on the map with the other.

Yu Jin rushed in hastily, "Brother Zilian, all ministries have assembled. Which direction should we retreat?"

"Cross the Suishui River first." Cao Hong said, "Let's go south to Qiao County."

"Go back to your hometown?" Yu Jin's eyes widened in surprise, "Isn't that self-inflicted?"

"The northern Xinjiang cavalry is too fast. They must have arrived in Xiaocheng and Xiangcheng to stop us." Cao Hong put down the candlestick and said with a wry smile, "If nothing else happens, Lei Chong's army may be heading north, intending to encircle us in the Dangshan area. .”

Yu Jin squatted down and looked at the map, "If Lei Chong leads his army northward, Zhou Yu's and Lu Su's troops will cross the Huai River, and they will meet up with Man Chong's and Liu Xun's troops at Qicheng." He turned his head and looked at Cao Hong , asked in surprise, "Do you want to go south to join them?"

"Yes, we should catch the enemy by surprise, bypass the blocking of the northern border army, and save the army first." Cao Hong pointed to Xiapi City, "Then we joined forces and quickly withdrew to Xiapi City to defend Pengcheng and give Pengcheng strong support. .”

"Should we send someone to contact them first, and ask them to go north to Dancheng to meet us?"

"Send a fast horse immediately."

"Okay, I'll do it right away." Yu Jin stood up and cupped his hands and said, "Brother Zilian, I'll lead the vanguard and leave first."

"Wen Ze, don't go too fast. Be sure to keep a distance of 400 miles from me." Cao Hong said solemnly, "It's more than 100 miles to Qicheng. If we travel day and night, we will definitely arrive within three days. The Northern Frontier Army is on the east bank of the Suishui River, only over [-] miles away from us, if they pursue us sideways, we will be in great danger."

Yu Jin nodded repeatedly, turned around and ran away.

=

On the second day of September, Xiaocheng.

Cao Chun led three thousand tigers and leopards to cross the Bianshui River overnight, and after a short rest in Zhuqiu, he galloped down to the city to meet Cao Hong.

Along the way, they were very careful, lest they encounter the main force of the northern Xinjiang iron cavalry, but they were unlucky, just walking to Xiayi, they ran into the Fengyun iron cavalry and the Huben Yulin camp head-on, and [-] troops roared from the direction of the river Coming, the wilderness trembled violently under the iron hooves, and the deafening roar was earth-shattering.

"Withdraw, withdraw..." Seeing the billowing smoke and dust, Cao Chun lost his soul and led his army to turn around and run away.

Under the command of the little emperor, the Han army pursued.The tigers and leopards crossed the river smoothly, and Cao Chun ordered the floating bridge to be set on fire. He knew that Cao Hong and Yu Jin's army was finished, and they could not use the bridge.

"My lord, look..." Suddenly, the tiger and leopard rider let out a shocking exclamation.Cao Chun looked back in shock, and saw an overwhelming cloud of smoke rising into the sky.The Northern Xinjiang cavalry miraculously appeared behind him.

"My lord, this is an enemy killed from the direction of Xiaocheng, Xiaocheng may have fallen."

"My lord, retreat quickly, retreat quickly... Go back to Pengcheng, go back to Pengcheng..."

The horns trembled in the wind, the horses galloped on the galloping road, the tiger and leopard cavalry officers crouched on their horses, trying their best to beat the horses and fly, but it was too late, the Northern Xinjiang cavalry blocked the galloping road ahead of them.

"Woooo..." The horn of the charge pierced through the huge roar and resounded across the battlefield. Lu Bu commanded the Duliao iron cavalry and the Xiongnu iron cavalry to spread out in geese. Twenty thousand soldiers rushed towards the enemy amidst thunderous killing sounds.

Three thousand tiger and leopard riders were instantly submerged by the torrent.

=

The little emperor was stationed at the bank of the Malushui River, looking at the raging flames on the river and the clouds of smoke in the sky in the distance, he cursed loudly.

Jia Xu, Yan Wuwei, Duan Xuan and others looked sideways and laughed uncontrollably.The little emperor had quite a bit of momentum when he launched a surge.Li Xiu stared at him angrily, the little emperor didn't realize it, he scolded him more and more, his little face was flushed, and he was about to burst into tears.

"Hey, have you scolded enough?" Li Xiu couldn't bear it any longer. She rode up to him and pushed him hard, "You are a big man, so you should speak more politely. Why do you look like a horse thief?"

The little emperor spat hard on the ground, turned his head to look at Yan Wuwei, "Where can we find a fight?"

"Qicheng..." Yan Wuwei pointed to the guide, "Generals Lei Zhong and Guan Yu are holding back the enemy around Qicheng. If we are fast enough, we should be able to stop them before they escape to Xiapi City. .”

"Blow the horn, blow the horn..." The little emperor raised his whip and roared fiercely, "Go south, keep going south..."

"Your Majesty, this place is 160 miles away from Pengcheng." Jia Xu said with a smile, "You don't want to go and see?"

"Surrounding Pengcheng, that's the business of the Taiwei. I just go south to kill the enemy." The little emperor turned his horse's head and waved at the generals, "Go, go, follow me to kill the enemy, kill the enemy..."

=

On the second day of September, early in the morning, Suiyang.

The scouts flew to report that the Xuzhou army was retreating in the direction of Qiao County.

"Cao Hong is going to do this again?" Wei Xu snorted, looked at Mengsi and sneered, "Does he think he can escape the siege?"

"It's also possible." Meng Si laughed, "If General Jiang Wu can't get to Dancheng first and block Cao Hong, then the army of Lord Lei Zhong and Guan Yu will face the enemy."

"Huh..." Wei Xu curled his lips in disdain, turned to the messenger and said, "Urgently tell the Taiwei, Cao Hong led the army to flee south, and we will chase after him. Please urgently order the three generals Jiang Wu, Lei Zhong, and Guan Yu to stop it." .After Cao Hong is wiped out, we will join Lei Zhong and General Guan Yu in attacking Xiapi City."

"Cao Hong's retreat is very fast. If the Commander's order is late..." Mengsi said after a little hesitation, "Should we send someone to contact General Jiang Wu directly?"

Wei Xu nodded, untied the seal ribbon and handed it over to his personal guards, "Take my seal ribbon and gallop towards Xiangcheng, and ask General Jiang Wu to lead his cavalry to stop Cao Hong at Dancheng and Qicheng immediately."

"Order the battalions to go south to chase the enemy..."

=

On the second day of September, in the evening, Fang Yucheng.

Li Dian and Guo Jia led the army and walked quickly on the road, and Fang Yucheng was more than ten miles away.The soldiers were exhausted after walking all day and night, and couldn't wait to go to the city to rest.

Gao Shun's pursuit was very fast, Xia Houdun had no choice but to personally lead 5000 people to stop the attack, trying to lead the army into Fangyu City after dark.

Li Dian kept looking back. Although he knew that Xia Houdun could not get rid of Gao Shun, he still stopped his horse again and again to look into the distance.

"Don't look at it, if we can finish the ten miles smoothly, Yuan Rang will be able to return to the city safely, otherwise..." Guo Jia sighed, looked up at the sky, his face suddenly changed, and a terrified surprise came out of his mouth Called, "Hurry up, run, the northern Xinjiang cavalry is here..."

Li Dian turned around in shock.A cloud of gray smoke rushed out of the horizon like a hurricane, instantly covering the sky and the sun.

The Xuzhou army was in chaos immediately, and the soldiers shouted hoarsely, and ran for their lives with all their strength.

Zhao Yun, Xian Yuyin, and Wei Jun led an army of [-] cavalry to fight out, their momentum was like a rainbow.

Xuzhou's army collapsed immediately, and the soldiers ran wild and fled in all directions.

A bloody massacre.

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(To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please visit www.CMFU.COM, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)
(End of this chapter)