Zhou Yu led his troops to Linzi and ordered a reward for the three armies. He praised Ding Feng for his wisdom and courage, and from then on he valued him even more.
Ding Feng brought Tang Zi to the front of the tent and bandaged his wound. Taishi Ci sneered, "What's the point of keeping such a disloyal man?"
Tang Zi saw that the old man was so dignified that he sat with Zhou Yu. He did not dare to object and knelt down and said, "General, please spare my life. It was because Cheng Xi underestimated the enemy and lied about the military situation that we underestimated the enemy and suffered this defeat! The Prime Minister claimed to be the king, and the army was extremely dissatisfied. I wanted to abandon him a long time ago. Please take him in. I have admired the Marquis of Wu for a long time and will never betray him!"
Taishi Ci became more and more disdainful as he listened to his sharp words. He glanced at Zhou Yu and stopped talking. It was not convenient for him to interfere in the military decision-making.
"Hold the seat for General Tang!" Zhou Yu smiled faintly, waved his hand to signal Ding Feng to help Tang Zi up, and said with a smile: "Now that Cao is usurping the throne, heroes all over the world should fight against him. Since the general has returned to the right path, how can I refuse him?"
Tang Zi was overjoyed, and hurriedly thanked him and carefully sat aside, clasping his fists and saying, "I sincerely wish to surrender and serve the Eastern Wu, even if I die."
Zhou Yu said calmly, "General Tang, you are wrong. We raised an army to attack Cao to support the imperial court and revive the Han Dynasty, not just for the Eastern Wu! General, you were originally a general of the Han Dynasty. This time you abandoned the dark and joined the light, which is in accordance with the will of heaven. How can you talk about surrendering?"
"Uh..." Tang Zi didn't expect that he failed to flatter the right person. He stood there in a daze, not knowing how to respond.
Ding Feng and Xu Sheng also looked at each other, puzzled. The Grand Commander has always focused on the foundation of Jiangdong. When did he change his focus to supporting the imperial court
Then he thought that maybe he was just saying polite words to save Tang Zi's face, so he didn't think about it anymore and toasted Tang Zi to calm him down.
After three rounds of drinking, Zhou Yu asked, "Xiahou Dun has gathered his troops at Mount Tai. What is the military situation like?"
Tang Zi replied, "Xiahou Dun still has 30,000 elite soldiers under his command, and he has also got Prime Minister Cao... Cao the thief has allocated 5,000 Xianbei cavalry and 20,000 Hebei troops to recapture Qingzhou, and then send two armies south to take advantage of the situation to advance to Huainan."
Zhou Yu asked again: "Xiahou Dun will surely raise a large army. What countermeasures do you have, General?"
Tang Zi said: "Xiahou Dun often defeats generals. With the wisdom of the Grand Commander and the courage of the two generals, it is easy to defeat him. What's the point of talking about this?"
Zhou Yu laughed, raised his cup and drank with the generals. He asked about the situation in Xiahou Dun's army. The next day, he sent Tang Zi back to Beihai to recuperate. The generals deployed defenses along the Zibo River, waiting for the battle.
…
Xiahou Dun was unable to support Qingzhou in time and was blocked by the Wu army in Taishan County. Since the beginning of autumn, he had made several attempts to advance, but was defeated each time by Zhou Yu, and he was still feeling resentful.
This time, Cao Cao returned to the capital and was promoted to King of Wei. He also went to Xuzhou to supervise the battle in person. The morale of the Wei army was high and they were ready to launch a counterattack.
When Xiahou Dun saw Cao Cao again, he was so excited that tears filled his eyes. His left eye, which had been dry for a long time, felt much moister. He was appointed General Zhengdong and given an additional 30,000 troops, vowing to conquer Qingzhou.
Just as his troops passed Mount Tai, he was walking and chatting with his trusted generals Zhong Jin and Zhong Shen, imagining the prosperity of the Wei Kingdom, when suddenly the defeated army in front of them fled back and reported to Cheng Xi that they had been defeated and all their troops had died.
"Cheng Xi is a flatterer. He has undermined the morale of our army and ruined our great plan." Xiahou Dun was furious and immediately summoned all his generals to rush forward to take revenge.
A young general stepped out and advised: "Zhou Yu is a Jiangdong hero, good at commanding troops, general, you must not underestimate the enemy and advance rashly."
Xiahou Dun saw that it was Wang Ling, who was highly regarded by Cao Cao and had served as an official in the prime minister's residence. Later, he was favored by Cao Pi and arranged to train in the army. He was eager to show off when he first arrived, and said unhappily, "What do you think, young general?"
Wang Lingyan said: "We can first station troops in Zhangqiu, use Mount Tai and the Ji River as barriers, and advance step by step. This is the best strategy!"
Xiahou Dun sneered, "I was ordered by the King of Wei to take back Qingzhou. The first battle was not going well. If we don't turn defeat into victory and boost morale, how can we defeat the enemy?"
A general behind him laughed and said, "I heard that the people in Jiangnan are short and thin, weak and vulnerable to the wind and frost. Why should you be afraid of them, General? Let me go and meet them."
Xiahou Dun was secretly delighted to see that it was the Xianbei general Yuwen Xie, but he shook his head deliberately and said, "Zhou Yu took advantage of the situation to enter Qingzhou, all thanks to Xu Sheng and Ding Feng. Even Tang Zi was defeated, so I'm afraid you can't win either."
Yuwen Xie was furious and said, "Tang Zi is just relying on the Crown Prince's trust. What ability does he have? I can defeat him with one hand. I will cut off the heads of these two men and use one as a wine pot and the other as a chamber pot."
Zhong Jin had been with Xiahou Dun for a long time and had already understood his intention. He advised: "General Yuwen is highly skilled in martial arts and archery. He is indeed ten times stronger than General Tang. With him, Ding Feng and Xu Sheng will surely be defeated."
Yuwen Xie's face flushed, and he clasped his fists and said, "The King of Wei took us in, and gave us official titles and rewards. I have no way to repay this great kindness. Please, General, let me kill the enemy and make merit!"
Xiahou Dun pondered and said, "General Yuwen's words do make sense. Dongwu is most in need of cavalry. They may have been frightened by seeing you all."
Yuwen Xie smiled proudly and said, "Where our Xianbei horses step, no grass will grow."
Zhong Jin said, "A good cook cannot cook without rice. If General Yuwen kills these two, it will be like cutting off Zhou Lang's arms. Then the Wu army will not be a threat to us."
In recent years, Xiahou Dun has been most deeply touched by the fact that he has no one to use. Hearing this, he laughed and said, "General Zhong is right. If we remove Zhou Yu's wings, no matter how resourceful he is, it will be useless if there is no one to use."
He then ordered Yuwen Xie to be the vanguard and lead the Xianbei soldiers to defeat the enemy, and he himself led 10,000 elite soldiers to support them, while Tian Yu and Wang Ling followed behind with food and supplies.
Seeing the army marching away, Wang Ling said worriedly, "General Xiahou is not listening to good advice. I'm afraid he will be tricked by Zhou Yu again."
Tian Yu also frowned. After losing Qingzhou, Xiahou Dun had been unwilling to use him. Once he offered advice, he would make fun of him about the Qingzhou incident. He sighed helplessly, "General Xiahou has an impatient temper. He cannot change the loss of Runan and the defeat of Bowang. How can people's words persuade him? You and I each do our part, and it all depends on God's will."
He originally followed Liu Bei, determined to revive the Han Dynasty. However, due to the mourning period for his mother's death, the situation in Hebei changed suddenly over the next three years. He had no choice but to surrender to Cao. He thought that they would end up in the same place by different paths, and one day he would be able to serve in the same palace and meet Liu Bei again.
Unexpectedly, Cao Cao's ambition grew day by day, and Liu Bei unfortunately died in Jingzhou. He was saddened to hear the news. Now Cao Cao was in a high position and powerful, most of the civil and military officials joined the Wei Dynasty, and he became a foreign official, caught in a dilemma.
The light in Wang Ling's eyes gradually dimmed. The Wang family of Taiyuan had been nobles for generations. His uncle Wang Yun had gone through many hardships to get rid of Dong Zhuo and finally sacrificed his life for his country. How generous and heroic. Unexpectedly, many years later, Cao Cao would be even worse than Dong Zhuo.
When Wang Ling first heard that Cao Cao had been promoted to King of Wei, he was greatly disappointed and wanted to resign and retire. However, Cao Pi earnestly tried to retain him, and he was deeply moved and determined to serve the Wei Kingdom. When he arrived at the army, he realized that the situation was far worse than he had imagined.
A gust of cold wind blew by, and a melodious bell sound could be heard faintly from the top of Mount Tai. The two looked up together, thinking back to the time when Emperor Wu of Han offered sacrifices to the gods on Mount Tai. Since then, the people of the Western Regions and the four barbarians have called the people of the Central Plains "Han people."
How glorious were the Han emperor, his ministers, civil and military officials, and the people of the world at that time
At the same time, I can't help but think of Liu Qi, who was at the peak of his career. The Han Dynasty was expected to be revived, and the Cao family had lost the support of the people. Could it be that the Liu family's luck was not yet gone, and the Yan Han Dynasty was going to be revived again