The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 284 The Pirate Empire Goes First

On the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, Cao Zhang led five thousand cavalry to Guangling. On behalf of Sun Shao, Cui Qian, the former general of Yue State and Marquis of Jinou, greeted him.In order to show off his prestige, Cui Qian lined up the ten fully armed war elephants brought in, and sat on the back of the elephants himself. With an order, the ten war elephants rang out in unison, scaring Cao Zhang from a distance. one jump.However, the elite cavalry he brought were all experienced veterans. Seeing that the situation had changed, those who were far away reined in their horses, transformed from an advancing formation into an offensive formation, and clenched their weapons tightly, waiting for an order , into battle.

Cao Zhang raised his hand and ordered the horse to stop, and urged his mount to move forward slowly.In Guangling territory, these ten gleaming, unidentifiable behemoths suddenly appeared, with the cold light of weapons, he dared not take it lightly.Du Chizhao followed closely with a hundred personal guards.

"Cao Ziwen, are you here all right?" Cui Qian shouted from afar, mobilizing the war elephants to meet him.

When Cao Zhang saw it, he couldn't help laughing. He waved his hand to signal Chi Zhao and others to stop. He let go of the reins and ran all the way to Cui Qian. Is it a war elephant? It’s such a big piece of meat, it’s really unkillable to shoot two arrows with one arrow, you need to get a bed crossbow.”

Cui Qian didn't think it was disobedient, he laughed, stood up on the elephant's back, crossed his hips, and looked down at Cao Zhang: "Cao Ziwen, why are you nervous, I am here to meet you at the order of my king, not to meet you." You fight. If you really want to start a fight, you see, if I don't grind your five thousand elite riders into a meat, then we will see who is more meat."

"Accompany you at any time." Cao Zhang smiled disapprovingly, and cupped his hands.

"Let's go, my king is waiting for you." Cui Qian waved his hand, and the driver patted the ear of the war elephant. The war elephant knelt down on its front legs obediently. Open your eyes."

Cao Zhang scolded with a smile and didn't refuse, he flew up directly from the horse, and without taking Cui Qian's hand, he twisted and jumped onto the back of the elephant, standing firmly with Cui Qian.The war elephant stood up, but he remained motionless.

"Okay, the balance ability has improved a lot." Cui Qian said with a strange smile: "It seems that it will not be easy to get you into the water again."

Cao Zhang was a little embarrassed at once. The time when he was knocked into the water by Cui Qian was the only time he lost in a heads-up match in his life, but this Cui Qian was so relentless that he always carried the pot without opening it, which was really annoying.However, they didn't know each other. They had a good friendship when they were in Liaodong, and they kept in touch all these years.Cao Zhang is very envious of Cui Qian's record in Funan, and agrees with Cui Qian's style of daring to make impromptu decisions, because he himself is also a daring faction who only wants to win and doesn't like to stick to orders.

"Jianzhong, have you made a fortune by taking down Funan?" Cao Zhang stroked his yellow beard and smiled enviously, "You have made such great achievements, what did His Royal Highness King Yue reward you for?"

"It's not bad." Cui Qian deliberately put on an indifferent look, and said casually: "Funan is actually not big, at most it is equivalent to Jizhou and Qingzhou, um, maybe Sanhe is added. Count the population. Well, it’s about a million, alas, there are few people. I said, brother Ziwen, can you support us with a little more people?”

"For you?" Cao Zhang rolled his eyes: "It's too bad for you, the Yue Kingdom. Prime Minister Yu did something to grant land, and almost deceived our farmers in Yuzhou. How many people do you think we have now? To be honest Let me tell you, the total territory controlled by the entire State of Wei adds up to 400 million people at most, and you can take down 100 million people in one fell swoop, so you should give some to us."

"And!" Cui Qian dismissively said: "Funan grows three crops a year, you can eat and drink whatever you want, and the weather is so hot that you don't even save your clothes. They will come to you to suffer?"

Cao Zhang's heart skipped a beat: "Then, don't you have a lot of food in your warehouse, and you can't finish it?"

"Of course." Cui Qian said without hesitation: "We are not short of food, but we are short of people. Otherwise, we would have attacked Tianzhu long ago."

"Tianzhu?" Cao Zhang was puzzled, "You still want to fight Tianzhu?"

"That's right, those gangsters, seeing that we've made a fortune, they dare to make a fuss. I've been wanting to deal with them for a long time, but there's not enough troops. How about it, brother Ziwen, let's join forces? Take it!" Go to Tianzhu, choose a place as you like, it will definitely be bigger than your Wei County."

Cao Zhang was silent, but Cui Qian's words were very attractive. He also wanted to conquer foreign countries and win fame like the Yue Kingdom, but it was impossible for him to travel thousands of miles to Funan.He thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Although I have the heart, but the soldiers are not acclimatized for the ten-thousand-mile expedition, I am afraid that half of them will be lost before the battle. If Brother Jianzhong really has the heart, why don't you help me first."

"Help you, how can you help?" Cui Qian smiled: "We are a navy, and we have never developed cavalry, so we can't help you."

"If you want to help, of course you can." Cao Zhang smiled and said, "My State of Wei wants to conquer Xianbei. We have enough troops and can squeeze out food, but transportation is a big problem. If you can help us transport food, or even some food for us, then our confidence will be much greater. Of course, if you can support us with more ordnance, I will be sure to beat the Xianbei people for ten years."

"How many troops do you have?" Cui Qian turned his head and glanced at him: "How much food do you want, and do you want us to transport it for you?"

"There are about [-] cavalry." Cao Zhang said with a smile: "The cavalry consumes a lot. If you bring your own weight, you will not be able to speed up. If you don't bring it, if you use infantry to transport food, you will not be able to keep up with the pace. You use ships. The transportation capacity should be much larger, and it can be sent to the depths of the grassland from the Liao River to the Rao Le River, and it will be much more convenient for us to get food nearby."

Cui Qian pondered for a moment: "I can't decide this matter. You can mention it when you see my king later. According to my estimation, it shouldn't be a problem."

Cao Zhang nodded.He didn't have much confidence at first, so he had to test Cui Qian's tone first.Cui Qian is now Sun Shao's number one general. If he says the problem is not serious, then there is still some possibility.

The two entered the camp, Cao Zhang asked Hao Zhao to follow the people arranged by Cui Qian to camp, and he followed Cui Qian to Sun Shao's big tent.Sun Shaozheng was joking with Sun Shao, the prefect of Guangling, Sun Guan, Mu of Qingzhou, and Zangba, Mu of Xuzhou. When they saw Cao Zhang enter the tent, they all stood up to greet Cao Zhang except Sun Shao.Cao Zhang returned the salute one by one, took his seat, and Cui Qian said what he said on the road just now.

Sun Shao smiled: "This is a trivial matter. Whenever you want to do something, just tell General Su." Sun Shao pointed to Su Chugai who was sitting beside him: "Chuleg, arrange some escort ships at that time. , don’t let the pirates rob it, it won’t look good.”

Su Chuleg smiled, and said confidently: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, he won't miss a grain of food."

Sun Shao nodded in satisfaction: "Actually, you just need to talk to Mr. Sun about such a small matter. He often has merchant ships traveling in Bohai Sea, so you can pay him some freight. In fact, in my opinion, as long as you are willing to If you pay, you don’t even need to prepare your own food, someone will transport it for you, and you can fight it for a few years.”

"Your food is too expensive, we can't afford it." Cao Zhang said half-jokingly, and then frowned after laughing: "If Your Majesty can make it cheaper, we would like to be able to buy food. Your Majesty may not be very clear about it. In the past two years, the weather has been very cold, and the harvests in Jizhou and Bingzhou have not been good. Many people freeze to death on the grassland every winter. They will come to rob them in winter. We are unable to guard against it, so we plan to take the initiative to eliminate this curse. .”

Sun Shao was silent. When chatting with Sun Guan just now, Sun Guan also mentioned a similar situation. Liaodong also reflected the same situation, but the areas he controlled were mainly in Daifang and Lelang, and to the north was Goguryeo. Goguryeo Because of the heavy losses in the Battle of Liaodong, they faced a small number of Yue cavalry who were armed to the teeth. After they failed to rob several times but were robbed, they accepted their fate honestly, or hid far away Far away, to rob the weaker tribes, or surrender to the Yue State, and use war horses, cattle and sheep, mink fur, ginseng and other materials in exchange for food for survival. For the latter type of people, the Yue State has never been stingy, and the price is also Fairness will always keep them alive, and they will not take risks. In addition, Yue has always had a great demand for Goguryeo specialties, so the situation in Daifang and Lelang counties has always been relatively stable, not as serious as Cao Zhang said.

But Sun Shao knew that he seemed to have heard people say that the Three Kingdoms is a period when the earth is getting colder, and the global temperature drops, and the first to be affected is the north, specifically the north of the Yellow River. Production will be affected, and the decline in grain production will directly cause social turmoil, and social conflicts that were not prominent at first will become sharper. This is the case with the Han in the East, Rome in the West, and West Asia and Central Asia in the middle. The same is true. The Guishuang Dynasty, which was once extremely powerful, is now falling apart, which is also inseparable from this climate change.

The historians of later generations only focused on human affairs, and most of them ignored the changes in nature. Human beings regard themselves as the spirits of all things. In fact, in front of nature, there is not much difference between human beings and other animals.Don't you see, in the scientifically prosperous 21st century, the civilization and wealth accumulated by people are completely vulnerable to the wrath of nature, but a few earthquakes, tsunamis, and typhoons of slightly larger series are enough to make people claim to be the spirit of all things. Humanity plunged into the abyss of despair.

Cao Zhang didn't understand Sun Shao's silence, so he thought that Sun Shao was worried that the state of Wei needed too much funding, so he was a little hesitant, so he turned his attention to Sun Guan and Zang Ba, and said with a smile: "The two envoys are now following the state of Yue. We have made a fortune through cooperation, but we are all rich, if the army goes out, we must ask Mr. Sun to sell more battle clothes, and Mr. Zang to support some weapons."

Seeing that Sun Shao didn't speak, Sun Guan and Zang Ba didn't dare to nod their heads in agreement, they just laughed without saying a word.

"Don't worry." Sun Shao recovered from his emotions: "It happens that all the relevant people are here, so I will make a statement first. If the Wei State is going to attack Cao Yuan, the Yue State is willing to help. If there is food and food, If you have money, if you don’t have enough troops, I can still support some people. It’s just a pity that I have too few cavalry, only 2000 from Le Lang’s side.”

Cao Zhang was overjoyed, he didn't expect Sun Shao to support others, as long as he was willing to support Qian Liang, he was sure to defeat the Xianbei people.

"By the way, Ziwen, can you give me some talents who are good at cavalry?" Sun Shao suddenly put forward an idea: "I am now invincible in the navy, and the infantry is quite strong, but the cavalry is too bad, and the horses are not good enough." Yes, but there have never been any good riders. Can you help me?"

"Your Majesty wants to build cavalry?" Cao Zhang's heart tightened.

"It needs to be built." Sun Shao said seriously: "I feel that there is a big problem when I go to Funan this time. There is no cavalry, and the navy will go ashore to fight on foot, and the speed will be greatly affected. If the fine cavalry brought by Ziwen at that time , we are even more confident in winning Funan. Funan is already like this, what about Tianzhu? Dashi? Daqin? It is impossible without cavalry. I originally wanted to invite Ziwen to go out with me, but you want To fight Xianbei, I have to figure out a way by myself."

Cao Zhang breathed a sigh of relief, whether it is true or not, at least Sun Shao has not yet attempted to develop into the Central Plains, which is a good thing.

"Okay, I'll go back and ask my father for instructions. It shouldn't be a problem to send some veteran riders to the king."

"Hahaha..." Sun Shao laughed loudly: "I knew Ziwen was straightforward. Come, Ziwen, let me show you a gift that you are sure to like."

Sun Shao came up, pulled Cao Zhang and walked out, Cao Zhang was a little puzzled, he didn't know what kind of gift Sun Shao wanted to give him, and it was hard to refuse, so he followed out confused.

Cao Zhang and Sun Shao stood still in front of the tent, only to see a few words from Sun Shao, and one of the guards turned around and left. After a short time, a horse neighed from a distance, and Cao Zhang, who was confused, was immediately refreshed when he heard it. .He has been in the army for many years and is very familiar with war horses. As soon as he heard the neighing of the horse, he knew it was a good horse.However, he had seen many good horses during his battles in northern Xinjiang, and a mere horse would not make him lose his composure.He secretly laughed in his heart, didn't Sun Shaomo think of me as a bumpkin who has never seen the world?I dare not say anything else, I can see a lot of good horses.

Cao Zhang's disdain soon flew to the sky. He looked at the tall horse in front of him, which was covered in burning coals, and he was so shocked that he couldn't say a word.Not only him, but even Sun Guan and others who came out to watch the excitement were envious.

This is a purebred Arabian horse, also known as the legendary sweat horse, with a shoulder height of eight feet and a body length of more than one foot. The limbs are slender and well-proportioned, and the strong muscles roll under the smooth fur. The hooves are stomping in the dust, and the long mane and tail are swaying with the wind. They are extremely majestic. They twist their necks from time to time, as if they want to break free from the rope and gallop against the wind.

"Ziwen, try?" Sun Shao smiled and pushed Cao Zhang who was stupid.

Cao Zhang was startled, only then did he come back to his senses, subconsciously raised his sleeves, wiped the drool that was about to flow out, and nodded hurriedly: "Thank you, Your Majesty, thank you, Your Majesty." After finishing speaking, he strode forward and stretched out his hand Just go get the reins.The horse looked at Cao Zhang, raised its neck, and gave a long hiss. The man stood up, his two front hooves rolled in the air a few times, and stepped on Cao Zhang.Cao Zhang didn't panic, his body flashed, he got under the horse's belly, grabbed the horse's mane, twisted his body like a fish, and stepped on the horse's back.The horse was furious, and jumped forward and backward a few times, but Cao Zhang remained steady, with his legs firmly clamping the horse's belly. Seeing that this move was useless, the horse spun around a few times, and suddenly raised its head. Neck, spread four hooves, began to gallop in a short breath, galloped away like a gust of wind, did not stop in front of the closed camp gate, spread four hooves, like a dragon He jumped over and disappeared outside the camp in a blink of an eye.

"What a horse!" Sun Guan, who was old and strong, clapped his hands and praised, his admiration was beyond words.

"Hero!" Sun Shao praised, "I have heard for a long time that Cao Ziwen is a peerless hero, but seeing him today, it is as expected."

"Such a good man should ride such a good horse, hold the sharpest sword, and defend his family and country." Sun Shao said with emotion: "It would be a pity if it was just a family killing each other."

Sun Guan and the others heard the meaning, and nodded their heads in agreement.If a famous general like Cao Zhang is not tricked into fighting the Xianbei people, but used to fight them, that would be a big threat.Sun Guan and Zang Ba felt the most about this. Cao Cao had always wanted to attack them, but he had some scruples because Sun Shao was standing behind them.When Sun Shao asked them to support Cao Zhang's Northern Expedition, they still didn't understand, but now they fully understand Sun Shao's intentions.A person like Cao Zhang was born to fight. If he is not allowed to conquer foreign tribes, he will inevitably appear on the battlefield of the civil war.

Understanding Sun Shao's thoughts, Sun Guan and Zang Ba, including Sun Shao, were very happy. They returned to the tent, talking and laughing happily.After about half an hour, a horse neighed outside the tent, followed by Cao Zhang's hearty laugh.Sun Shao went out of the tent again, only to see Cao Zhang holding the reins, lovingly stroking the sweaty neck of the horse. When he saw Sun Shao, he laughed and said, "Your Highness, it really is sweat."

"Nonsense, can I still lie to you?"

"Hahaha..." Cao Zhang bowed again and again: "Thank you, thank you, I am really grateful. I only heard from my father that Lu Bu had a red rabbit horse that was sweating like blood, but I have never seen it. I never thought that I could see it with my own eyes today. arrive."

"Do you like it?" Sun Shao blinked and asked seductively.

"I like it, I like it very much." Cao Zhang grinned and said happily, "I slept with my arms around this horse today."

"Hahaha..." Zang Ba couldn't help laughing: "General Cao, although this horse is beautiful, it is a male and female. Isn't it inappropriate for you to sleep with it?"

Everyone laughed, Cao Zhang blushed, and cursed with a smile: "Mr. Zang, you are a grandson, why do you still have this hobby?"

Zang Ba smiled and said: "Although the old man is old, he can still ride a horse and fight a battle. If you refuse to accept it, give me this horse and see if I can still ride it?"

Cao Zhang didn't even think about it, he shook his head repeatedly, holding the rein in his hand and refused to let go for a moment.

Sun Shao just smiled, and further seduced: "Do you still want it?"

"Your Majesty still has?" Cao Zhang's eyes lit up.

"I still have a few horses, but I won't give them to you." Sun Shao said with a smile: "If you want it, go to Dashi with me. Dashi has nothing else but to produce this kind of BMW. A large group of large groups , it’s heart-wrenching to see people.”

"Really?" Cao Zhang was overjoyed. After getting Sun Shao's affirmative answer, he touched his chin and nodded vigorously: "Okay! I will kill the Xianbei people as soon as possible, and then I will go to Dashi with you. Hehehe, if My cavalry can all ride on such horses, and use the sharp war horses provided by Shangyue Kingdom, how majestic it must be, they must be the most powerful cavalry in the world."

"Of course." Sun Shao spared no effort to fool him and said, "If you can have such five thousand elite riders, I believe that even if Huo Qubing is reborn, he will not be as prestigious as you."

"Hey hey..." Cao Zhang squinted his eyes lustfully.

Cao Zhang, who was itched by Sun Shao, did not have much resistance in the next negotiation. He was quickly persuaded by Sun Shao. The waterway, flanking Dashi—too bad, he still doesn't know where Dashi is—and in the end he was even willing to give up his position as the general of Luoyang for this.

Cao Zhang and Sun Shao fought fiercely, which was a big blow to Liu Bei who arrived later.Liu Bei originally didn't want to come, but he is the emperor's uncle. If he took the lead in disobeying the emperor's edict, it would be unreasonable. He wanted to excuse his illness—he was indeed in poor health—and he was afraid that other people would covet Shuzhong because of this, so I had no choice but to hold on to Guangling.Since he came to see Sun Quan in Jianye in the 14th year of Jian'an, he has not seen Guangling again for 15 years.Living in Chengdu, which is used to the mountains and mountains, suddenly came to Guangling, which is a flat river. Liu Bei suddenly thought of his hometown in Zhuojun, and couldn't help crying.

"Your Majesty..." Mi Zhu who accompanied him was very surprised, and quickly persuaded him.

"It's nothing, I just think of my hometown." Liu Bei shook his head and smiled miserably: "I joined Master Lu's school at the age of 15, and then I went out to make a living. I have never returned home, and I don't even know when my mother passed away. Now I am a The king of Shu has only one wish, that after a hundred years, he can be by his mother's side. Unfortunately, such a chance is very slim."

Mi Zhu was heartbroken by what he said, so he raised his head involuntarily and looked to the north, and said to his son Mi Wei, "My house is not far to the north, after this alliance is over, go back and have a look, and recognize my Mi family." Alas, after so many years, I don’t know if there are any clan members alive, and if there are people who often worship at the ancestral graves.”

Liu Bei felt even more sad after hearing this, and sighed for a long time before he stopped crying.After a short time, Guan Feng, Queen of Yue, came to greet him in person. As soon as they met, Guan Feng felt that Liu Bei's health was not good. His hair was almost completely white, like frost and snow.

"Your Majesty."

"Yinping, although your father and I are monarchs and ministers, we are no different from brothers. Just call me uncle." Liu Bei stretched out his hand and leaned forward to help.Guan Feng smiled sadly: "Dare not to obey. I just don't know why my father refuses to come, and let the daughter see him as an old man."

"Hehehe..." Liu Bei smiled, shook his head and said, "Your father is not old. Although he is two years older than me, he has a son-in-law, King Yue, who can eat gold-like fish paste, and his body is very strong. , Leading the army to go out this time, winning consecutive battles, forcing Zhong Mou and his son to bow to our Shu Kingdom, he is the first achievement."

Guan Feng smiled slightly, and her husband was right, and Liu Bei was very contradictory.

　With the strength of the Yue Kingdom, if you want to fight alone, you have to guard your back from time to time, which is really difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to fool everyone to rob together. I hope you can understand that eating alone is not a good comrade.

　　Disgraceful in civil war, glorious in external fighting!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)