Zhao Yun and Xiahou Lan were childhood friends and were as close as brothers. However, during the war, once they left home, they never heard from each other again.
It was a great honor to meet each other today in front of the two armies. They talked about the old times incessantly, from the banquet to the inn, and were so excited that they could not sleep all night.
Suddenly, he heard the rooster crow, and Xiahou Lan said with emotion: "If it weren't for General Liu's planning, I would have become an enemy if I hadn't been defeated by some strange combination of circumstances."
Zhao Yun sighed, "I have been wandering around since I left Changshan, but now I finally have a home. General Liu is a wise leader who will surely revive the Han Dynasty."
Xiahou Lan asked in confusion, "I heard them chatting at the banquet last night, and they even said that Le Jin's grain robbery was part of General Liu's plan. Is that true?"
Zhao Yun nodded and smiled, "Yes, the military advisor knew that Cao Cao was used to cutting off people's food supplies, so he ordered people to transport food every three days, and it turned out to be a trap."
"This..." Xiahou Lan was stunned and asked, "Brother, was the loss of the camp also expected?"
Zhao Yun asked in return: "My dear brother, do you know about Zuo Ci's visit to the camp to treat the disease?"
"Yes, everyone in the camp knows about this. Zuo Ci is truly amazing. He cured the disease with just three doses of medicine..."
Xiahou Lan was about to brag when he saw Zhao Yun looking at him with a smile. Suddenly, an idea occurred to him: "Could it be that Zuo Ci was also arranged by General Li?"
"That's right!" Zhao Yun nodded and said, "Master Zuo treated Cao Cao and found out that he had a 'water and fire disaster'. This is to wake up Cao!"
"So that's it!" Xiahou Lan slapped his thigh, "I said that the army had not moved for half a month, and after Zuo Ci left, Cao Cao's headache was cured, and he came up with many clever plans, and then he won several battles. It turns out that everything was an illusion."
Zhao Yun smiled and said, "I used Zuo Ci to persuade Cao Cao to flood the camp, and General Guan retreated overnight. I deliberately fell into the trap and pretended to be defeated and fled. I had already deployed at Bowangpo, just waiting for Cao's army to chase. Cao Cao thought he had a good plan, but in fact it was all within Zhuge's expectations."
"Hiss—" Xiahou Lan took a breath and exclaimed: "This Zhuge Kongming is truly a god."
Zhao Yun agreed and nodded, saying, "Cao Cao is suspicious by nature. If we retreat without fighting, the ambush at Bowangpo will be discovered by him. The only way to win is to let Cao Cao succeed in his plan and then pretend to be defeated and flee."
"With such a wise leader, why worry about not accomplishing great things?" Xiahou Lan was amazed, and then frowned and said: "But now that Bowangpo has been lost, Cao Cao still has 200,000 troops. He will surely come to seek revenge in anger. What should we do?"
Zhao Yun smiled and said, "Don't worry, my dear brother. Everything has been arranged. When Cao Cao comes to Nanyang this time, this will be his burial place."
Xiahou Lan was secretly shocked. He didn't know what other countermeasures Liu Qi had. He was so arrogant. He stood up and clasped his fists and said, "I am willing to do my part for the Han Dynasty. Please introduce me to him, brother."
Zhao Yun smiled and said, "I have had this idea for a long time."
It was already dawn, so the two men decided not to sleep anymore. After washing up and having breakfast, they went to the government office to pay a visit to Liu Qi.
Liu Qi was discussing with Xu Shu about setting up an intelligence system, which they named Yanfengying. Inheriting the aspirations of Yanhan, it would be as omnipresent and reachable as the wind.
It is divided into the Intelligence Department, the Supervision Department and the Operations Department. Its main task at present is still to gather intelligence. In the future, when there are more personnel, it can monitor the officials of the military and execute the secret orders deployed by Liu Qi.
At first, Xu Shu only wanted to build a scout camp so that he could grasp military affairs and better assist Zhuge Liang. However, after listening to Liu Qi's plan, he felt that the responsibility was heavy, and the slight regret of resigning as the military advisor was swept away.
The formation of the Yanfeng Camp is more difficult than recruiting and training soldiers. First of all, the personnel must be loyal and reliable. Secondly, they must have unique skills, at least one skill. They are selected from the military first and then trained from the civilian population.
This is a big challenge for Xu Shu, but it is also full of fighting spirit. At least he is no longer a person who adds icing on the cake, but a backbone.
Zhao Yun brought Xiahou Lan to ask for an audience, and said, "The general is in need of someone to lead the army. Yun dares to recommend Xiahou Lan. He and I have known each other since childhood and is knowledgeable about the law. He can be the commander-in-chief."
Liu Qi nodded without hesitation and said with a smile: "Let him be the military chief and work with Yuan Zhi to revise the military law and enforce military discipline."
Zhao Yun was stunned: "General, the position of military commander is too high. Xiahou Lan is a new surrender, so I am afraid it will be difficult for him to win the support of the people."
"Why would I doubt the person Zilong recommended?" Liu Qi said with a smile, "Recruiting talents regardless of kinship is the way it should be!"
In fact, Liu Qi also planned to let Xiahou Lan be in charge of military discipline without Zhao Yun's recommendation. Now that Zhao Yun took the initiative to propose it, he might as well do him a favor.
Although Xiahou Lan was not a famous general, Liu Qi had played "The Legend of Zhao Yun" and was quite familiar with this character, and even liked him a little.
As long as his loyalty is not a problem, it would be appropriate to let him help Xu Shu set up the Yanfeng Camp. It won't be too late to appoint him to the position in the future based on his ability.
"Thank you for your trust, General!" Xiahou Lan was pleasantly surprised, and he also knew that this was all thanks to Zhao Yun, so he immediately knelt down and said, "I am willing to sacrifice my life for you, General, and I will do anything for you."
"Please stand up quickly!" Liu Qi helped Xiahou Lan up and said to Xu Shu with a smile: "Yuanzhi, you are no longer the only commander of the Yanfeng Camp."
Xu Shu naturally understood and clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, General, for selecting the talent for me."
Xiahou Lan asked in confusion: "What is a commander?"
Xu Shu smiled and said, "My lord, there are some new and interesting things in what you said. You can only understand it intuitively. There is no need to ask for details. The Yanfeng Camp just discussed the name, and only one person was involved!"
Xu Shu was accustomed to Liu Qi's occasional new words. Although they were unheard of, they were appropriate and he would occasionally adopt them after understanding them.
Xiahou Lan seemed to understand, and nodded, "Commander probably means commander-in-chief."
"A commander is responsible for issuing orders!" Liu Qi explained with a stiff upper lip, then said with a smile, "Everything is difficult at the beginning. The Yanfeng Battalion has a heavy responsibility, and we need you two to take care of it."
The two men accepted the order, and Xiahou Lan saluted Xu Shu again. Thus, a powerful intelligence organization of the Han Dynasty was born.
When he was asking about the military situation in Cao's camp, a scout came to report that Cao Cao had heard that the front army had suffered a great defeat. He was furious and raised his troops before dawn. The Cao army had already left Bowangpo and reached Baihe.
Liu Qi smiled and said, "Cao wants to raise an army for revenge, and he has come at the perfect time."
Xiahou Lan said: "Although Xiahou Dun's army was completely wiped out, Cao Cao still has 200,000 elite soldiers. We must not be careless."
Liu Qi asked Zhao Yun to take Xiahou Lan down to rest, and went out of the city with Xu Shu. They saw Zhuge Liang also rushing to the front. The soldiers were pushing a four-wheeled cart, which made a rumbling sound, and looked different.
He had seen this four-wheeled cart twice before. It was not a simple cart. There were secret boxes hidden on both sides that could hold a lot of things. It was also equipped with mechanisms and hidden weapons, and was very sophisticated.
Liu Qi still hasn't figured out why, in an era without concrete roads and without springs or other shock-absorbing devices, this broken little car could run so smoothly and so fast. It's totally unreasonable!
During this period, he rode a lot of horses, and his buttocks and thighs were swollen and painful. However, as the commander-in-chief of the three armies, he was embarrassed to ride in a car or sedan chair, so he could only grit his teeth and adapt.
Seeing Zhuge Liang leisurely waving his feather fan, Liu Qi felt a little envious. Zhuge Liang was really a country boy who knew how to enjoy life!
Just as I was feeling emotional, I heard a loud bang and a tent was erected behind the four-wheeled vehicle, which could block the wind and sun like a baby carriage.
"Hmph, I don't care. Let's see what you will do when it rains!" Liu Qi secretly complained and rode his horse forward quickly.