Chapter 336 Volume Five Cao Liu!

Nanyang, north of Ye County, near Pingdingshan.

Liu Bei led 20,000 soldiers from Jingzhou, and the 5,000 cavalry brought by Ma Chao from Liangzhou joined them here.

Cao Cao was unwilling to be outdone and fought against Liu Bei, setting up his camp at the foot of the Pingdingshan Plain. But when he saw Ma Chao leading the cavalry, he took the initiative to retreat dozens of miles, crossed the Yingshui River, and set up camp opposite the Yingshui River.

“That Cao Cao is truly a hero, not at all slow and timid!”

Ma Chao said regretfully.

“I originally wanted to attack the camp directly with cavalry, but I didn’t expect Cao Cao to lead his troops across the Yingshui River. Since the cavalry couldn’t cross the river, they naturally couldn’t attack Cao Cao’s camp!”

Liu Bei and Ma Chao had never met, but fortunately there was a middleman, Fa Zheng, between them.

When Liu Bei was the governor of Yizhou, Fa Zheng went to assist him and mentioned Ma Chao to Liu Bei, letting Liu Bei know that Ma Chao was a brave man and a great general who could guard the border.

After Fa Zheng returned, he also praised Liu Bei highly, believing that Liu Bei was a man of benevolence and righteousness and a hero, which made Ma Chao also have some awe of Liu Bei.

After the two met, Ma Chao treated Liu Bei as his elder, and Liu Bei treated Ma Chao as a general, without any impoliteness, so they got along well.

Hearing Ma Chao’s words of regret, Liu Bei laughed heartily: “Mengqi, there is no need to be so cautious! Cao Mengde has always been cunning, how could he defeat him so quickly?”

“The emperor said before that the main attack direction is led by General Lu Bu in Luoyang! We just need to do our best to delay Cao Cao here!”

Ma Chao was itching to do so, but he did not dare to disobey the emperor’s order.

When Ma Chao had nothing to do, he heard that there were two generals in Liu Bei’s camp who were capable of fighting ten thousand men, and he also wanted to challenge them.

Guan Yu: “I am an elder, how can I fight with a junior?”

Zhang Fei: “Second brother is right!”

Zhao Yun: “Yide is right!”

Ma Chao:……

Finally, a middle-aged officer with unusually strong arms stood up with a silly smile and said, “General Ma, please teach me!”

Ma Chao was eager to try: “May I ask your name?”

“Huang Zhong from Nanyang, Huang Hansheng!”

“What position do you hold in the army?”

“I was just promoted to Lieutenant General a while ago!”

……

Hearing that the other party was just a minor general, Ma Chao looked down on him for a moment.

It was not until he was knocked off his horse by Huang Zhong’s sword that Ma Chao sat there in a daze for a long time.

After learning that Huang Zhong was actually better at archery, Ma Chao covered his face in shame.

He originally thought that he was so powerful that he might even be comparable to the legendary Lu Bu.

But now he finds that he can’t even defeat a minor general in Liu Bei’s camp?
Zhao Yun couldn’t stand it anymore and told Ma Chao the truth.

“Mengqi, Huang Hansheng has amazing strength, and he is now in his prime. Even Yide is no match for him!”

Ma Chao asked: “How does this man compare to Lu Bu?”

Zhao Yun had fought with Lu Bu in Chang’an, and now when he heard Ma Chao’s question, he silently raised three fingers.

“What do you mean? Could it be that Lu Bu’s strength is 30% higher than Huang Zhong’s?”

Zhao Yun sighed: “It’s not 30% higher, it’s 3 times higher!”

“Meng Qi, listen to my advice. Don’t even think about challenging General Lu. He’s not a human! He’s a monster!”

Ma Chao was dumbfounded…

He lived in Liangzhou for a long time, and was often invincible in battles. He thought that he was the best hero in the world.

But today, after arriving at the camp, he found that the Central Plains was full of talented people and beautiful scenery. He couldn’t even defeat a minor general, let alone the world-famous Lu Bu…

For a moment, Ma Chao’s arrogance was largely gone.

In fact, what Ma Chao didn’t know was that he happened to come to Liu Bei’s camp.

If this was in Cao Cao’s camp or Yuan Shao or Sun Ce’s camp, Ma Chao would still be invincible.

But in Liu Bei’s camp… I can only say that Ma Chao still needs training!

……

At this moment, an envoy from Cao’s army suddenly rushed to Liu Bei’s camp and asked to meet with Liu Bei.

“I think the emperor must have already arrived in Luoyang, and General Lu Bu has already started to march east to sweep Henan.”

Zhuge Liang followed Liu Bei and said it clearly.

“Cao Cao is a cunning man. He probably wants to intimidate and harm my uncle. I hope my uncle will ignore him!”

But Liu Bei didn’t care and decided to accept the invitation happily.

“Kong Ming, Cao Mengde is indeed cunning, but he still has some heroic spirit in his bones. It is impossible for him to betray me and harm me at this time!”

Liu Bei seemed to be very familiar with Cao Cao.

“Now that the emperor has launched an offensive, Cao Cao has one foot in the coffin! It’s hard to say who is threatening whom now!”

……

Liu Bei took Guan Yu and Zhao Yun with him, leaving Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei and others to guard the camp, and then arrived at a pavilion as agreed.

Cao Cao was sitting there, with a burly man following him, who was Xu Chu.

“Brother Meng De, how are you?”

Liu Bei didn’t look at Xu Chu behind Cao Cao, but sat cross-legged opposite Cao Cao.

“Meng De looks so haggard now! Is there a fire in the rear and he is worried about his family?” Cao Cao looked gloomy.

In fact, it was just as Zhuge Liang expected.

Cao Cao has now received the news that Lu Bu has left Hulao Pass and is attacking Henan.

There was a lot of depression on his heroic and unruly face, which Liu Bei could see at a glance and made a few sarcastic remarks.

“Xuan De is feeling quite proud now!”

Cao Cao was too lazy to look at Liu Bei and instead focused his attention on Guan Yu behind him.

“How is Yunchang these days?”

Guan Yu stroked his beautiful beard, his eyes cold and brilliant: “The Han thieves have not been eliminated, and my mind is uneasy. How can I talk about the word “good”?”

Cao Cao:……

Cao Cao sighed, then looked at Liu Bei and asked, “I wonder how Wen Ruo and Feng Xiao are doing in the court?”

Liu Bei actually knew this!

“Wen Ruo is elegant and graceful, with the style of a king’s assistant! I had a very pleasant conversation with him in the past. He is a man of complete virtue. His rules and regulations are based on the standards of a saint! The emperor also values ​​him very much and makes him take charge of the center and bring peace to the inside and outside!”

“As for Fengxiao… I have never seen him, but my subordinate Kong Ming once saw him in Chang’an. He said that Guo Fengxiao had given up the Five Stones Powder under the emperor’s coercion and was in much better spirits!”

“…”

After hearing Liu Bei’s words, Cao Cao felt much more at ease.

But looking at Liu Bei, who was full of energy and still talking eloquently, Cao Cao felt a surge of jealousy for no reason.

Guan Yu, Xun Yu and Guo Jia were all by his side.

The emperor trusted him very much, respected him as the emperor’s uncle, appointed him as the pillar of the country, and stationed him in Jingzhou.

Even if Liu Bei died now, he would die as a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty.

Looking back at myself…

Cao Cao shook his head, but unexpectedly he shook it too violently and could not help but cover his head with a look of pain on his face.

Liu Bei’s voice suddenly stopped, and he asked with concern: “What happened to Meng De?”

“It’s nothing, I just had a headache recently, it will be fine after a while.”

Cao Cao held his forehead and relaxed for a long time before he began to feel clear-headed.

He looked up at Liu Bei. Although he looked a little weak, he still had the momentum.

“Xuan De, you were defeated by me in Qingzhou. How dare you become my enemy now?”

It turns out to be a threat!

But how could Liu Bei be easily frightened?

“Meng De, things are different now!”

“In the past, I was isolated and helpless in Pingyuan County. I was indeed unable to fight against you and Yuan Shao, which led to the crime of abandoning the city and the land.”

“But now, I have the imperial court behind me! I have the emperor behind me! Do you think you can still defeat me now?”

Liu Bei’s words were full of confidence and pride.

Behind me is a big man!
And what does Cao Cao have behind him now?
Nothing!
What can Cao Cao use to fight against me at this time?
……

Cao Cao’s inner jealousy has reached its peak at this moment!

But Cao Cao still pretended to be indifferent: “I admit that the emperor’s trick of “openly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing Chencang” is brilliant, but how can you be sure that Lu Bu can definitely defeat me?”

“When Emperor Gaozu invaded Luoyang, it was Han Xin who led the troops.”

“Although Lu Bu is extremely brave today, he is still just an ordinary man. How can you think he can seize my rear base?”

Liu Bei looked at Cao Cao with pity, who was still trying to be stubborn.

“Meng De, Han Xin faced great generals like Zhang Han, Dong Yi, and Sima Xin.”

“You said that Lü Bu is not as good as Marquis Huaiyin, which is true! But who among your subordinates can compare to Zhang Han?”

“And you probably don’t know that Sima Yi is also traveling with General Lu as a military advisor.”

“Yes, it was Sima Yi who stopped you at the gates of Xiangyang.”

“Although you, Cao Mengde, are a hero, you should also know that there is always someone who can conquer you… In my opinion, Sima Yi is the man chosen by heaven to conquer you, Cao Mengde! Do you think you can really resist the attack of Lü Fengxian and Sima Zhongda together?”

Cao Cao’s pupils shrank!
He didn’t expect that Sima Yi would go on this expedition with Lu Bu!
Cao Cao was actually very clear about how powerful Sima Yi was.

If it weren’t for Sima Yi, Jingzhou would have changed hands long ago!
If Jingzhou had already fallen into Cao Cao’s hands at that time, why would he still be facing such a predicament now?

When Cao Cao thought about Lu Bu and Sima Yi going on an expedition together, he suddenly felt as if there were millions of ants biting him under his butt!
“How is it, Meng De? Can’t sit still anymore?”

When Liu Bei saw a drop of cold sweat dripping down Cao Cao’s temple, he couldn’t help laughing.

After moving his eyes slightly upwards, Liu Bei saw that Cao Cao had some white hair on his temples.

The smile stopped abruptly because Liu Bei had discovered before that he also had white hair like Cao Cao.

“Meng De, why do you say this?”

Liu Bei was also in a low mood.

“You and I have experienced turbulent times since we were young. It has been more than ten years now. Why do we continue to quarrel?”

“Why don’t you just surrender to the court? I will report this to the emperor and let you make amends for your crimes. How do you think?”

“Didn’t you aspire to become the General of the Western Expedition of the Han Dynasty in the past? Xiaozhi told me before that he has been able to gather a lot of intelligence about the Western Regions in Liangzhou. When the world is stable, he can send troops to retake the Western Regions at any time! When the time comes, you will serve as the General of the Western Expedition of the Han Dynasty and go to expand the territory for the court. Wouldn’t it be great?”

(End of this chapter)