My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 217 Yan Liang: The Internet Speed Suddenly Sudden, and Then It Died

The next day after Hou Cheng, Song Xian and Wei Xu were all given the gift.

Luoyang South Palace, Yang'an Palace.

Cao Cao's face was gloomy and he received Lu Bu with mixed feelings. Lu Bu was his enemy three months ago but now he had become his subordinate.

Speaking of which, the place Cao Cao chose for the meeting was quite ironic - the former palace of Luoyang Nangong was completely burned down by Dong Zhuo during the Dong Zhuo Rebellion.

The palace before us was rebuilt on the original site of Wende Palace with funds provided by Zhang Yang of Henei in the autumn of the second year of Xingping after Liu Xie returned to Luoyang in the east.

Since Zhang Yang paid for it, it was perfectly fine for him to ask for the "exclusive naming rights", so it was called "Yang'an Palace". Unfortunately, only a few months after its completion, the emperor was forced to move to Xudu by Cao Cao.

Now that Cao Cao has destroyed Zhang Yang, he has used the old palace that Zhang Yang built for the emperor to meet Lu Bu, and his domineering spirit has been fully revealed.

Of course, no matter how domineering he is, before Lu Bu enters the palace, he still needs to be searched thoroughly to make sure he does not carry any weapons.

Lü Bu was already a Huqi captain directly under the imperial court, no longer a criminal prisoner, and Cao Cao could not tie him up every time he saw him. Even if he just searched his body, it would still be considered somewhat insulting.

But Cao Cao was a suspicious person, and he did not dare to let Lu Bu within twenty steps of him without searching or tying him up.

Even now, Xu Chu and Xu Huang were still standing on both sides of Cao Cao.

Xu Chu and Xu Huang were both wearing helmets and armor, holding weapons, which was completely different from their usual appearance as generals standing on the left and right and obeying orders.

When Lu Bu saw Cao Cao's look of being confronted with a formidable enemy, his depressed mood which had lasted for several months suddenly brightened up a little. He felt it was funny in his heart, but he dared not show it at all, and it was really very difficult to hold it back.

"Oh, Cao thief... He is really afraid of me in his heart. He has to pretend to be so and specially come to see me in Yang'an Palace."

Lu Bu secretly fantasized about it, but he was very respectful in his words:
"My Lord, you have summoned me so suddenly. I wonder what you want me to do? Since I surrendered, I have been in a state of panic day and night. If you can be of any use to me, I will do my best!"

Cao Cao looked Lü Bu up and down, and seemed to have a trace of hesitation. He paused for a moment before speaking: "Fengxian, do you know that Hou Cheng, Song Xian, and Wei Xu have died for their country?"

Lu Bu actually knew about it, but he had no legal channels to get the news, and it was not easy for him to show that he cared too much, so he could only say, "That's a pity. I only heard a little bit about it. I heard that they were defeated yesterday, but I'm not sure who died."

Cao Cao stared at Lu Bu carefully, trying to find a flaw in his eyes, but Lu Bu did not look up. After he finished speaking, he looked at Cao Cao's heart with his eyes and nose, leaving Cao Cao helpless. He had to speak frankly:

"Although we have fought for several years, now that you have surrendered, we can speak frankly. Before Hou Cheng and the others died, I had to consider their concerns and could not easily let you achieve merit. Now it is a coincidence, and there are no such concerns. But Hou Cheng and the others were not sent to die by me on purpose.

Now Yan Liang is becoming more and more arrogant and thinks he is invincible. If you are willing to fight and kill him, I will report to the emperor and promote you to a higher position..."

Although Lu Bu repeatedly warned himself to be cautious in his words, he still inadvertently revealed a hint of disdain after hearing this:
"How dare Yan Liang claim to be invincible? I am willing to fight, but it is extremely difficult to kill a general - I don't believe Yan Liang would dare to fight after hearing my name! If he doesn't fight, it is not my fault. As for promotion... someone who has served as the right general of the court and the governor of Xuzhou, does he still care about being promoted to the general of the center and the general of the side again step by step?"

After hearing this, Cao Cao was not angry, but felt more in control.

This is indeed the real Lu Bu! After being stimulated by fame and fortune, he couldn't help but reveal it!

If Lu Bu was really terrified and fawning on Cao Cao when he heard that there was a chance of promotion, then Cao Cao would be afraid and think that he was pretending to have some ulterior motive.

This kind of slacking performance now is just right, and it is very consistent with the reaction of someone who was once in a high position and fell.

Cao Cao was also a generous man, and he would not haggle over the price with others. He promised directly:
"If you are really willing to follow orders, it won't be difficult to kill Yan Liang. It is also possible to help the imperial army defeat Qu Yi. As long as you follow orders completely, after this battle, the imperial court will return your position as the right general!"

Cao Cao knew that a man who had served as the Right General would not be interested in going back to the remote and miscellaneous places, the four plains, the four expeditions, and the four garrisons to climb up the ladder again.

So it is better to keep it simple and clear. As long as the Battle of Hanoi is over and the results are good for the time being, we will send the right general back directly.

For those who have been in high positions, only this level of stimulation can barely arouse their desire to win.

As for the future, Cao Cao was not worried. It was just an empty title of Right General without actual military power, and he no longer had the territory of Xuzhou Mu. So what did it matter?
To put it bluntly, at this time in history, Liu Bei was still in the court in Xudu, holding the positions of Left General and Governor of Yuzhou, but he was still unable to do anything under Cao Cao's watchful eyes.

Lu Bu, who had been depressed for several months, suddenly brightened up when he heard such conditions.

He also knew that even if he regained his honorary position, he would not be able to regain his military power. But honor was still attractive to Lu Bu. Even if he failed in his life, he wanted to leave behind a heroic reputation. This was Lu Bu's final pursuit. He also did not want to be in a humble position when his life ended.

A person’s ultimate official achievement will be recorded in history books. It is a permanent thing and part of his posthumous reputation.

Lu Bu took a deep breath and swallowed his saliva: "Is it that easy? I believe you will keep your word?"

Cao Cao smiled and said, "Of course it's not that easy - I told you to follow the general's orders completely."

Lu Bu: "I'd like to hear more about it!"

Cao Cao had already figured out the subsequent tactics before coming, so there was no need for him to hesitate at this moment: "Tomorrow our army will make a feint to the east and attack the west, and then make a detour to the north to cross the Yellow River. First, near Chenggao downstream, let Cao Chun make a big fuss and encourage people to cross the river to attract Yan Liang.

In fact, I will let Xu Huang go around 30 miles upstream and quietly cross the river at Mengjin. Although this move may seem secretive, in fact, I will deliberately leak the secret to let Yan Liang know in advance. Yan Liang is stupid, so he will definitely think that he has seized the opportunity to "strike halfway across the river" and lead the light cavalry vanguard to intercept without stopping.

In this case, Yan Liang will not have many soldiers and horses around him, and there will not be many vanguards who have already established a foothold on the other side of Mengjin. You can mix in with the vanguards who have already crossed the river, fight with your back to the river, pretend to be fearless and counterattack, want to entangle Yan Liang, and buy time for the rear army to cross the river and form a battle array, so that you will have a chance to kill Yan Liang! "

Although Lu Bu was not very intelligent, he was very professional in cavalry raids and grappling tactics. He thought about Cao Cao's statement and realized that as long as Yan Liang took the lead to hastily block the ferry, it was indeed possible that he would be attacked and killed by a tit-for-tat attack.

But Lu Bu still felt that his reputation was too great, and Yan Liang would probably realize that he had fallen into a trap as soon as he saw him.

Lu Bu couldn't help but shake his head: "How can it be that simple? Yan Liang will not retreat when he sees me..."

Cao Cao: "So, tomorrow you are not allowed to fly your own banner, you can only fly Xu Huang's banner. You are also not allowed to ride the Red Hare, you must change to a less conspicuous fast horse, and you are not allowed to wear your usual conspicuous armor...

Well, if you want to continue using the Fang Tian Hua Ji, then just use it. After all, you can't change your weapon hastily, otherwise it won't work for you. There are more than one person in the world who uses Hua Ji, so let the military craftsmen temporarily apply some red lacquer to the parts that are decorated on the Hua Ji."

Hearing this, Lu Bu's face suddenly turned ugly: This means that he is not allowed to reveal his true identity and launch a sneak attack! He can't even have his own flag in the war? It's too despicable! But he had to admit that the chances of a successful sneak attack were indeed much greater.

Lu Bu subconsciously wanted to object for the sake of his own pride, but Cao Cao reminded him of the position of Right General at just the right moment, and hinted to him, "Don't you want to complete your official career as a loyal minister and famous general of the Han Dynasty in this life?"

Lü Bu, who was under the low eaves, thought about it again and again, and finally agreed on two additional conditions with Cao Cao:
"Forget it. I will attack you by surprise without raising any flags, but I have two more promises. Please grant me your permission. Otherwise, I don't want to sacrifice my reputation as a hero for such a dirty thing."

Cao Cao: "Just say it."

Lu Bu: "First, after returning to Xudu, you are not allowed to tell the historian of the Han Dynasty the truth about the battle. You must omit the details of my killing Yan Liang and only record the results of the battle."

Cao Cao nodded: "It's nothing, I promise you."

He also understood that Lu Bu was proud of his reputation for bravery and bravery. Now that he was over 45 years old, he would be too ashamed to face anyone if he was tainted by a sneak attack.

Lu Bu continued, "Secondly, the reason why I went to fight Yan Liang was simply because I felt that Yuan Shao was not a kind and tolerant person! When I joined Yuan Shao, I defeated Zhang Yan for him, but he sent assassins to kill me!
However, I only have a grudge against Yuan Shao, not Zhang Yang. On the contrary, Zhang Yang has done me a favor! Before I was defeated by you, Zhang Yang spoke up for me! Now I am still alive, but Zhang Yang died because of this, at the hands of a villain, so I will never save Yang Chou!

I will only kill Yan Liang, not Yang Chou! I hope you can take back Hanoi from Yuan Shao, but I don't want to see Yang Chou surrender to you alive. You can kill Yang Chou by borrowing a knife from Yuan Shao, and then attack and destroy Yuan Shao's army that killed Yang Chou. In this way, people will not think that you are "not saving those who surrender to you."

Cao Cao thought about it and realized that this was indeed the case. He had already taken the stance of saving Yang Chou and was indeed trying to resist Qu Yi.

As for the final result, it was none of his business. If Yang Chou died, it was because of his own incompetence and he failed to hold on until Cao's army came to rescue him. Cao's army had a very good attitude, and everyone in the world had seen it.

Moreover, Cao Cao also hated fickle and despicable people in his heart.

He just didn't expect that even a fickle and despicable villain like Lu Bu would look down on a fickle and despicable villain like Yang Chou.

Yang Chou is really pitiful. Even his own kind are ashamed to be like him.

"Okay, I can agree to this request." Cao Cao finally promised, and the matter was settled.

……

After Lu Bu returned, he had to discuss the matter with Gao Shun, who was transferred with him.

Gao Shun naturally also put forward some points of his own and reminded Lu Bu to be careful. Lu Bu thought they made sense and adopted them.

At the same time, Gao Shun also figured out another point that was clear to an outsider, and reminded him: "Wen Hou, I think Cao Cao did not allow you to wear the armor you usually wear, and asked you to temporarily change the Red Hare. Perhaps he has another concern: Cao Cao is afraid that you will escape directly in the chaos after going into battle. With the Red Hare, once you are fully armed, his troops crossing the river will not be able to stop you."

Hearing this, Lu Bu just smiled bitterly: "My wives, concubines and daughters are all in Xudu, and Cao Cao is actually worried that I will escape? And if I escape, how will the history books write about me in the future? I can't go to Yuan Shao! Wouldn't that make me a poor and unknown person!"

A night of preparation without words.

The next morning, Cao Chun, Xu Huang, and Lu Bu deployed their troops as planned according to Cao Cao's tactical plan, pretending to cross the river to the north to seek a decisive battle.

Cao Cao's deception was more than enough to deceive Yan Liang and Qu Yi.

Yan Liang was initially attracted to the other side of Chenggao, guarding against Cao Chun's clamor to cross the river. After a while, he heard that Cao Cao had deliberately leaked the news, so he quickly started running back and forth, leading the vanguard to rush to the other side of Mengjin Ferry, intending to attack them halfway across the river.

Yan Liang's horse started foaming at the mouth from running. When he arrived at the other side of Mengjin, he saw that Cao's army had only a thousand cavalrymen lined up on the shore, and there were still large groups of soldiers behind them taking turns to ferry people across the river. Cao's army did not have enough boats to transport all the people to the north bank.

Yan Liang felt that this was a godsend opportunity, so he rushed to the front and shouted to his subordinates, "All troops, follow me! Before the main force of Cao's army reaches the shore and lines up, we will destroy them halfway across the river!"

The thousand-plus cavalry vanguards on the opposite side did not retreat when seeing this, but instead charged towards Yan Liang to buy time for their comrades. Yan Liang looked at them and only revealed a smug grin: the more the enemy wants to stop something, the more he should do it!

Both sides deployed their cavalry in a wedge-shaped formation, and Yan Liang became a little dazed when the arrowheads of the wedges were only a few dozen steps apart.

Because he felt that the cavalry general who was leading the way under the banner of "Xu" was a little abnormal. He looked extremely heroic and fierce, and there was an inexplicable murderous aura. The weapon he used... seemed to be a Fang Tian Hua Ji?

But the arrow is on the string and has to be shot.

The success of killing Hou Cheng, Song Xian and Wei Xu two days ago also made Yan Liang's confidence burst to a peak briefly.

Who cares who he is! Just kill him!

When the two sides were within ten steps of each other, Lü Bu, who was wearing a suit of dark black cast iron armor, suddenly raised his Fang Tian Hua Ji and shouted, "Wuyuan Lü Fengxian is here! Yan Liang, you bastard, prepare to die!"

Yan Liang was still a little suspicious, but he was not afraid of fighting. He was suddenly yelled at, and couldn't help but take a closer look at the other person's appearance. He suddenly found that his face was indeed similar to Lu Bu whom he had met a few years ago, and he was immediately a little uneasy.

Four or five years ago, Lu Bu had joined Yuan Shao for a few months and helped Yuan Shao fight Zhang Yan. At that time, he had met other powerful generals under Yuan Shao, and both sides remembered each other's appearance.

This was also Lu Bu's trick to ensure that he would kill the general today - he actually knew that during the previous six months, he had been decadent in the siege of Pengcheng, indulging in alcohol and sex, which had damaged his health, and his martial arts and endurance had actually declined a lot.

Before he surrendered, he changed his ways and began to stop drinking and having sex. But after the surrender, he was under house arrest in Xudu, and he became decadent again. With Yan Shi and Diao Chan by his side, who could have stayed away from alcohol and sex? It was impossible. At most, he could just drink a little less.

If you want to ensure that Yan Liang is killed, the best way is to approach him anonymously, and then suddenly scare the enemy when you are about to strike!
As soon as Lu Bu finished shouting, the painted halberd had already rushed forward with all its might.

Yan Liang was originally full of fighting spirit and on high alert, and he could definitely stop him. But he used 30% to 40% of his attention to distinguish Lu Bu's appearance, to recall whether this was the real Lu Bu, and to subconsciously associate his brain with Lu Bu's reputation...

About 30% of the brain's processing resources are distracted by other processes that suddenly interrupt it, so the part of the brain that handles fighting naturally becomes stuck.

With a sound of "Puchi", Lu Bu took advantage of the moment when Yan Liang was shocked and distracted, seized the opportunity very skillfully, and stabbed Yan Liang to death with a single halberd.

-

PS: Because it involves the evolution of the subsequent dispute between Yuan and Cao and a major change in the court of Xudu, and we have to pursue rationality, so we have to deduce it in a little more detail. Tomorrow the map will return to the perspective of Zhuge brothers, please be patient, thank you.

(End of this chapter)