My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 791: Sun Quan sank the imperial boat, the emperor easily melted into water

It was a day at the end of May in the eighteenth year of Jian'an.

Luoyang, the capital of the Han Dynasty, has been shrouded in a depressing atmosphere recently.

The war situation on the front line was not going well, which also gave Cao Cao a lot more white hair.

A person's total energy is limited, so he had to relax a little on his guard against hidden dangers in the Luoyang court.

So, early that morning, Emperor Liu Xie finally received good news: the day after tomorrow, which was the first day of June, early in the morning, the prime minister finally graciously allowed him to leave the city and go to Beimang Mountain to pay tribute to the queen Fu Shou who had passed away several months ago.

This news made Liu Xie very excited. He knew that loyal ministers such as Geng Ji and Wei Huang had finally contacted the Grand Master of the Imperial Clan.

The army that comes to support the king and suppress the rebellion will do its best to support us when the time comes.

As long as he could escape to Chenggao on horseback from Beimang Mountain, he could board a boat and enter the Yellow River at the place where Luoshui River merges into the Yellow River west of Chenggao City.

If they then go downstream and reach the section of the Yellow River north of Hulao Pass, they will most likely be able to escape successfully.

Liu Xie couldn't help but suffer from insomnia.

During these last two days, he had to check various preparations to avoid any mistakes.

In order to ensure that he could run fast enough and avoid accidents when riding later, he must have a good rest and get enough energy.

But in fact, Liu Xie was so excited and nervous that he couldn't sleep at all. On the other hand, he was also worried that he would talk in his sleep and be heard by the attendants, palace maids, and concubines sent by Cao Cao, or that they would notice something unusual, causing him to fail.

After all, the escape team he, Geng Ji and Wei Huang formed was a makeshift team.

These people didn't even have an army under their command; they relied on a group of servants and slaves to help them with their work.

Will the secret be leaked? Will there be any omissions? Are the horses prepared for the escape plan docile enough and fast enough?

Is the boat fast enough? Is it low-key enough? Is the boatman reliable? He must be absolutely loyal and have good rowing skills. He must also be physically fit enough to sail downstream for dozens of miles without stopping and not be caught up by the pursuers...

From guarding to riding to rowing, the requirements at each stage are almost "this and more", and no slack can be allowed in any aspect.

So in the last two days, Liu Xie completely suffered from insomnia, his eyes were bloodshot, and his physical strength and energy could not be recovered, but he could only hold on.

However, before and after this period, Cao Cao intensified his testing and control over Liu Xie.

Cao Cao did not use tough measures. He just arranged for his daughter Cao Jie to accompany Liu Xie for a few days to see if Liu Xie would be gentle to Cao Jie.

Cao Cao himself would not ask about these matters, but he would naturally let his other married daughter, Cao Jie's sister, communicate these private matters with Cao Jie. If any abnormalities were found, they would be reported directly.

……

The last day of May was the eve before Liu Xie planned to leave the city to pay homage at Beimang Mountain.

Cao Jie, who had been treated gently and flatteringly by Liu Xie for several days, was receiving visiting relatives in the harem.

The visitor was none other than her elder sister Cao Zhu, who was later named Princess Qinghe by the Wei State in history - the one who was supposed to marry Xiahou Mao in history, but actually married Sun Quan in this life.

It can be seen that Cao Cao was very concerned about the matter of establishing a queen. In order to prevent his daughter from being deceived by the emperor, Cao Cao specially found the oldest and most experienced daughter in marriage to review family matters with his sister to ensure that everything would go well.

Just for this matter, Cao Cao specially sent someone to the front line of Xu County more than ten days ago to pass on a secret order to Cao Ren, the defender of Xu County, asking Cao Ren to release Sun Quan back to Luoyang.

Anyway, whether Xuxian can be defended depends mainly on Cao Ren and Cao Zhen, and Sun Quan is not a big deal. At the same time, since the situation on all fronts has deteriorated severely, Cao Cao also needs to transfer generals to other places to fill in the gaps.

For example, because Guan Yu made rapid progress in Yanzhou, Puyang was lost, and several counties near Hulao Pass in Chenliu County were also lost. Only Chenliu County itself and Zhongmu and other places were still held.

Originally, Cao Cao did not need to leave any famous generals to guard Hulao Pass, as it was still considered the rear area at that time. Now Hulao Pass has become the front line again, and it may be exposed to the front of Liu Bei's army at any time, so it is natural to dispatch generals to defend it.

Since Sun Quan was transferred back from Xu County this time, Cheng Pu should be transferred along with him. After Sun Quan finished reporting his duties in Luoyang City, he can go to the front line to guard Hulao Pass. Cheng Pu does not need to go back to Luoyang, but can go directly to Hulao Pass.

When Sun Quan returned to Luoyang, he would naturally bring his wife Cao Zhu with him.

Then Cao Zhu could help Cao Jie see if there was anything wrong with Liu Xie on the pretext that "I followed my husband back to Luoyang for military business, so I naturally had to go to the palace to visit my sister."

Cao Zhu's sudden visit to the palace to visit relatives made Liu Xie, who was already suffering from insomnia and neurasthenia, even more nervous and frightened.

After all, Cao Ji had already had physical contact with him and had become de facto husband and wife, so it was easy for her to help him cover up a little and be blinded by love.

But Cao Zhu, the elder sister-in-law, had no filter for Liu Xie. Whether the brother-in-law deceived his sister, whether his daily words and deeds were hypocritical, or whether he was just trying to please her, were all easy to spot.

During the last two days, Liu Xie felt like each day was a year long. He didn't know whether his flaws had been discovered or not. He just managed to survive until the first day of June. Then, early in the morning, he hurriedly moved the imperial carriage out of the north city and headed straight for Beimang Mountain.

Liu Xie walked this road twenty-three years ago, on the night when the Ten Eunuchs killed He Jin and when Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu attacked the imperial palace.

Liu Xie, who was still the Prince of Chenliu at the time, and his brother Emperor Shaodi Liu Bian fled to Beimang Mountain at a staggering pace, but were eventually taken back.

Now, he finally took the old path again.

Before Liu Xie left the palace, Cao Zhu naturally didn't want to bother her sister anymore, so she left the palace early as well, and then went to her father Cao Cao to chat about family matters.

Cao Zhu didn't mean to instigate or inform on others. She came to her father just to talk about family matters.

But Cao Cao was good at turning family affairs into national affairs and world affairs. Cao Zhu's unintentional words would fall into Cao Cao's ears, and he would cunningly analyze them into a lot of valuable information.

After chatting with his eldest daughter for a while, Cao Cao realized something was wrong.

Another daughter, Cao Jie, had never told her father details like "Your Majesty has been absent-minded these past few days and couldn't sleep every night." It was obvious that Cao Jie didn't want to tell her father about these details of life for fear of putting pressure on her husband.

In history, Cao Jie was also very supportive of Liu Xie. When Cao Pi usurped the Han Dynasty, she criticized her brother's treasonous behavior. However, Cao Jie was not so worried about her sister, and was not afraid of any problems if she told her sister the privacy of the boudoir.

Unexpectedly, in the end, Cao Zhu changed his mind and told Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was suspicious by nature. Although he didn't have any evidence, he instinctively felt that something was wrong just because Liu Xie had been mumbling and suffering from insomnia every night for the past few days.

Now the emperor has left the city and the situation is urgent. Cao Cao heard these rumors from his eldest daughter at the last minute. Not wanting the matter to become a big deal, he decided not to bother two masters and immediately ordered Cao Zhu to find her husband, Sun Quan.

Sun Quan is a family member, and letting Cao Zhu notify Sun Quan now is the fastest and most suitable way to intervene in this matter.

In just a stick of incense, Sun Quan rushed to the Prime Minister's Residence to pay a visit to Cao Cao. Cao Cao immediately ordered an extra thousand cavalrymen to accompany the emperor to Beimang Mountain to pay homage to Empress Fu. He was also asked to keep a close eye on the emperor along the way and pay attention to any service he needed from the emperor.

Because Sun Quan and Liu Xie were now brothers-in-law, Sun Quan married Cao Cao's eldest daughter, and Liu Xie married the slightly younger daughter.

Letting Sun Quan go with Liu Xie would not be considered surveillance, but rather a mutual support between brothers-in-law, which is quite reasonable.

As for the 1,000 cavalry, it may not seem like a lot, but it is definitely enough. Because Liu Xie was originally protected by a large group of people when he left the palace and the city, the 1,000 Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were just extra.

After receiving the order, Sun Quan quickly led the cavalry and chased Liu Xie's troops that had already left the palace, following them northward.

……

"Your Majesty! Something bad has happened! The situation seems to have changed! Cao Cao has clearly let Your Majesty leave the city, but he suddenly issued an additional order, saying that more female relatives of the Cao family, who are of the same generation, should come to participate in the ceremony to commemorate the queen."

When Liu Xie was on his way to Beimang Mountain, he was doing well and did not dare to disappear suddenly. He always wanted to march quietly and harmless for a few dozen more miles until the moment when the truth was revealed, and then he would suddenly attack and escape.

This will shorten the distance that must be run and allow Cao Ze to react as late as possible.

When escaping, Liu Xie even thought of a way to delay time and divert the enemy's attention by asking a trusted attendant who was willing to be a scapegoat to put on his imperial robes and pretend to be him.

However, before he reached Beimang Mountain, he received additional bad news. Geng Ji suddenly told him that Cao Cao had sent others to catch up with him.

Liu Xie didn't react at first: "It doesn't seem to matter if there are a few more female relatives?"

Geng Ji was so anxious that he stamped his feet secretly: "It's not a big deal if there are a few more women, but Sun Quan also came with Cao Zhu! He also brought the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry!
Sun Quan is your majesty's brother-in-law. It seems that there is nothing wrong with letting him attend such an occasion, so there is no reason to stop him. Once Sun Quan arrives, he will accompany your majesty everywhere. How can your majesty escape?"

"Sun Quan!" When Liu Xie heard this name, he immediately felt hatred building.

Cao Cao was Empress Fu's elder, so he would not come to pay tribute to her. In fact, it was he who poisoned Empress Fu, so he did not want to bring bad luck upon himself.

But Sun Quan was different. He was Liu Xie's brother-in-law and the new queen's brother-in-law. It was reasonable for Sun Quan to come at this critical juncture of "saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new" when paying tribute to the old queen.

Liu Xie never expected that his escape plan might be ruined by Sun Quan, a rat-like man who regarded a thief as his father, and he was suddenly at a loss.

The makeshift team fled, and their ability to resist risks is still too poor.

"What should we do then?" Liu Xie panicked and had an urgent discussion with Geng Ji and Wei Huang.

In the end, he had no choice but to decide to take emergency action and find an opportunity to rest, switch groups and escape on the way to Beimang Mountain.

It is also impossible to complete the memorial ceremony for Fu Shou as it would waste too much time.

……

After Liu Xie and Geng Ji and other ministers discussed and adjusted the plan urgently, it was soon implemented.

The road from Luoyang to the north to Beimang Mountain does not go through plains and hills all the way. There is also a county town halfway called Ping County.

Along the Yellow River in the north of Luoyang, there are two key ferry crossings, called Xiaopingjin and Mengjin. "Xiaopingjin" is named after Ping County.

So if Liu Xie wanted to rest during the journey, he didn't have to set up camp specially. He just had to let the guards rest for a while in the wilderness outside Ping County, and the emperor himself could find an excuse to go into the city to rest.

It is now the beginning of June in the lunar calendar and the weather is hot.

The emperor said that he could not stand the midday heat and wanted to go to Ping County for a nap and continue on his journey after the hottest time. This was also very reasonable and was not suspected by the accompanying military officer who was monitoring him.

But Sun Quan had not yet arrived in Ping County at that time, so he was unable to stop it.

Liu Xie took advantage of the opportunity of "going to Ping County for a lunch break to escape the summer heat" to complete the switch. In fact, he followed Geng Ji, Wei Huang and a small group of elite guards, changed into fast horses, changed into inconspicuous clothes, and slipped away directly. Of course, the so-called elite guards here were just servants kept by Geng Ji and Wei Huang, but these servants were trained with a large amount of money, were almost death squads, and their weapons were as sophisticated as possible.

Liu Xie could not bring the imperial seal with him, so he could only bring some personal items that could barely prove his identity as an emperor. This was also very necessary, otherwise even if he escaped to Liu Bei, the ordinary soldiers on the front line would not recognize him.

Perhaps because it was really hot at noon, Liu Xie asked for a nap at the end of the Si hour. He rested for the entire afternoon, until halfway through the Wei hour, which was past two o'clock in the afternoon. The military officer who was responsible for taking care of him did not suspect the emperor's whereabouts.

It was thought that the emperor was taking a nap in the Ping County government office.

Finally, it was already past 3:45 p.m., which is between 2:30 and 3:00 p.m., and the weather had noticeably cooled down, but the emperor still had no intention of continuing his journey. The military attachés sent by Cao Cao were becoming increasingly suspicious.

It was at this time that Sun Quan, who had arrived from Luoyang, arrived in Ping County with a thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and asked where the emperor was.

Sun Quan originally came to verify Cao Cao's doubts. When he heard that the emperor had been taking a nap, Sun Quan also became suspicious, so he asked for an audience as the emperor's brother-in-law.

The confidants left behind by Liu Xie hesitated for a while, but finally Sun Quan realized that something was wrong and broke into Liu Xie's residence where he was taking a nap. In the end, he found that there was only a scapegoat left as a substitute.

"Oh no! His Majesty has escaped! Hurry up and chase him! How did you keep an eye on His Majesty? His Majesty said that his lunch break should not be disturbed, and you didn't keep a close eye on him!"

Seeing that things were going badly, Sun Quan quickly took his 1,000 Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and the guards who had accompanied him before, and chased to the east and north.

However, Liu Xie had already used the excuse of taking a nap to run out an hour and a half ahead of time. This time difference was much shorter than Liu Xie and Geng Ji had expected at the beginning, but it was enough to run dozens of miles.

However, Liu Xie and his entourage could not take the official road or the most obvious route, because along the way there were counties and military strongholds controlled by Cao Cao. When they encountered places guarded and checked by the army, Liu Xie and his entourage had to take a detour to avoid exposing their whereabouts too early.

All of this will slow down the escape.

In contrast, pursuers can unscrupulously take the fastest and best route, running in a straight line all the way.

When Sun Quan made up his mind to give chase, he soon faced several difficulties. First of all, he didn't know which direction the emperor was running, so Sun Quan had to make a quick decision on his own.

"General Sun, where should we chase? Should we divide our forces?" The generals and escort officers below looked at him anxiously and eagerly.

After all, Sun Quan had a talent for internal strife. After thinking quickly, he decided to divide his troops and ensure that every possibility was blocked.

He said decisively: "Your Majesty is most likely to flee to the northeast, directly to the bank of the Yellow River, and retreat by boat at Mengjin Ferry. Perhaps they have a boat to meet them in Mengjin! All of you former escorts and soldiers, chase them in the direction of Mengjin!

Especially the cavalry among you, you must go straight to Mengjin first! If you can't find it in Mengjin, leave half of you to guard the ferry, and the rest of you search upstream and downstream and along the banks of the Yellow River.

In addition to the Mengjin direction, His Majesty could also go east along the remote area of Beimang Mountain to Chenggao. But if they just rode horses, they would not be able to cross the river when they reached the Luoshui River estuary west of Chenggao, and they would definitely have to find a boat in the end.

I will personally lead a thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to search eastward along the northern Mang Mountain all the way to the mouth of the Luo River. Also, any imperial navy we encounter along the way will be requisitioned to have them send out warships to cruise along the He and Luo rivers.

Your Majesty cannot expect to get out of Hulao Pass! So if he wants to escape, he can either go directly downstream along the Yellow River, or cross the river to Henei County on the other side. Although Henei County is still under the control of the court, there is no such impassable pass as Hulao Pass between Henei and Wei County.

Liu Bei's cavalry could have bypassed the county seat and infiltrated the plains between the counties of Henei Prefecture."

It’s true that although Sun Quan’s speculation did not grasp the key point, it was very comprehensive and basically covered all possible routes for Liu Xie to escape.

The price was that the pursuing army was divided into several groups, and its combat effectiveness was weakened. But considering that Liu Xie had few loyal soldiers around him, even if Sun Quan divided his troops, there would still be more than a thousand people in any group. As long as they fought, Liu Xie would definitely not be able to escape.

……

Sun Quan divided his troops into several routes, guarded the area strictly and set up a net to hunt down the enemy.

After all, Liu Xie was a pampered emperor, so he couldn't have galloped day and night like the 600-li express messenger. The entire journey from Luoyang to Hulao Pass was 200 li, and it was impossible to run all the way there without rest. Even if he only ran to Chenggao, it was still a little over 100 li.

More importantly, even if Geng Ji and Wei Huang prepared replacement horses in advance, this team of knights could each ride three horses in turn.

However, Sun Quan's messengers could directly change to new horses that were fully rested whenever they encountered an inn along the way. Judging from the horsepower endurance for long-distance running, Sun Quan was truly the winner.

One ran and the other chased. Both sides stayed awake all night until the next day.

In the end, Liu Xie exerted all his might, running his horse until his thighs were rubbed and bleeding, and the rider was foaming at the mouth. Only then did he barely escape the fate of being caught up by Sun Quan in Chenggao.

When Sun Quan's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry arrived at the mouth of the Luo River west of Chenggao, they saw several suspicious small boats during their patrol. It turned out that Liu Xie had just abandoned his horse and boarded the boats, preparing to go downstream.

Sun Quan could not confirm whether the person on the boat was the emperor, but he had already ordered the local people to close the river, and no warships other than those of the imperial navy were allowed to appear on the river.

Even local fishermen will be shot if they dare to go down to the river with a board in violation of today's river closure order.

So Sun Quan ordered his soldiers to shout in unison, demanding that the boat come ashore immediately, otherwise they would shoot arrows.

However, those small boats refused to stop and rowed desperately instead. Furthermore, as they were going downstream, their speed was quite fast.

Sun Quan had no choice but to shoot arrows at the small boats.

These ships were all small boats, without cabins or side masts, so they naturally could not block arrows. However, there were still several death warriors on the ships who held up shields and surrounded several important people to provide them with protection.

Sun Quan's rain of arrows did not kill the important people on the boat, but it did kill several unprotected rowers, and the boat had to slowly slow down.

The Cao army's river patrol warships, which Sun Quan had notified in advance, finally caught up after they discovered that something was wrong in the area.

……

"Your Majesty! We were exposed too early! I'm afraid we won't be able to hold out until Zhou Yu's navy arrives to rescue us! It's all our fault, Your Majesty!"

"Anyway, we will surely die if we are caught by Cao. Your Majesty, why don't you treat us as Dong Cheng and just say that we held Your Majesty hostage and wanted to surrender to Liu Bei in exchange for official positions and wealth. This way, Cao will have a way out and should not kill the king."

Geng Ji, Wei Huang and others spoke these words of loyalty and righteousness, not because they were really loyal and righteous to such an exaggerated degree. Rather, they also knew that if they were caught up, they would definitely die, and Cao Cao would not listen to their explanations.

In this situation, since I have to die anyway, I might as well protect the emperor and leave a good name in history, so that my death will not be in vain.

However, Liu Xie felt extremely ashamed of these words.

He sold out Dong Cheng and Concubine Dong back then, and now he has relied on Fu Shou's death to get the opportunity to leave Luoyang City and go to Beimang Mountain.

If he was caught again here, he would have to betray these loyal and righteous people and say that he was kidnapped by them. Liu Xie felt so ashamed.

After living like this for so many years, of course we have to fight back, even if it means we will suffer the consequences.

"I will never surrender to Cao again! I have returned to Luoyang. Even if I am not killed for the time being, when Luoyang is captured, will Cao not kill me?
Even if he doesn't kill me, when that time comes, he will force me to go to Chang'an again! I have sworn not to move the capital to Chang'an again! I will not succumb to another Dong Zhuo!
Rather than dying a cowardly death later, it is better to die gloriously today! I have lived in the hands of Cao thief for another 18 years, I have had enough! You just continue to go downstream, unless Cao thief dares to kill the king directly on this Yellow River! "

Seeing how resolute the emperor was, Geng Ji and the others were also inspired. No matter what happened today, as long as the Han Dynasty survived, they would be recorded as loyal and righteous people. So they might as well accompany the emperor to make a splash again.

Moreover, after confirming that there was the emperor on the ship and the sailors were shot to death one after another, Sun Quan stopped shooting arrows - Sun Quan was not stupid, he did not want to get involved in the serious crime of "directly shooting the emperor to death".

Sun Quan was a man who was very good at protecting himself. He would never be used as a tool by others like Cheng Ji was.

So there were fewer people on the boat and not enough people to hold up shields to protect Liu Xie, so he did not shoot arrows.

It just requires the warships to intercept, stop the small boat, and capture it alive, not "invite" the other party alive.

Liu Xie sailed down the river, becoming more and more desperate, knowing that he was still too far away from Hulao Pass, definitely more than fifty miles away. It would be too late for Zhou Yu's navy to break through the river blockade north of Hulao Pass and reach here.

However, at the last moment, Liu Xie suddenly saw a glimmer of unexpected hope.

"Your Majesty, look! A large group of cavalrymen have rushed to the north bank and are firing at the pursuing fleet! Could it be that the Grand Commandant's cavalrymen have arrived in Hanoi County?"

Liu Xie didn't dare to make a conclusion, but seeing that the two sides had started fighting, he decisively decided to take a gamble and at the same time held his sword tightly.

If there was a trick, if the cavalrymen on the north bank of the Yellow River who were shooting at Cao's warships were also Cao Cao's men, and both sides were just acting, then after I got ashore, I would have to draw my sword and fight myself, and see if Cao's cavalrymen dared to kill the king in public on the battlefield.

The warships sent by Sun Quan to intercept were originally afraid of hurting the emperor, so they were a little cautious in their pursuit and never found a chance to board the ship for fear of capsizing the emperor's boat.

Now suddenly, a large group of enemy cavalry under the banner of "Left General Zhao" appeared on the north bank, and the emperor actually ordered the small boats to desperately move towards the north bank.

Sun Quan's intercepting warships finally panicked and desperately made various dangerous intercepting moves.

Seeing that Liu Xie's boat was almost reaching the shallow water area and the pursuing large ships could no longer be stopped, a large ship ignored the fact that it was stranded and rushed across in front of the small boat to block its way.

However, the intercepting ship had a deeper draft, so one side of its bottom had already touched the shoal when it was intercepted, and the hull was bounced back by the resistance of the riverbed.

The angle that was originally intended to hit the boat head-on turned out to be a direct hit on the waist, which overturned Liu Xie's boat.

Liu Xie swung his sword and fell directly into the surging Yellow River. Geng Ji, Wei Huang and others also fell into the water and could not be rescued at all.

But no matter what, this "dangerous driving" action by Sun Quan's men achieved its goal.

Before Liu Xie reached the north bank and landed to be protected by Zhao Yun, he forcibly overturned the emperor's boat into the Yellow River, preventing the emperor from meeting Zhao Yun.

Zhao Yun was also helpless. In the final stage, he did not dare to shoot arrows at the enemy ship that rammed the emperor's boat.

Because the two sides were very close, shooting arrows at the enemy ship might accidentally hit the emperor's ship.

It just so happened that the enemy ships were warships with cabins, while the emperor's ship was a civilian ship without cabins, so the emperor's ship had even lower defense against the rain of arrows.

Who prevented Zhao Yun’s cavalry from going down the river? The emperor died in the river, so it’s really not his fault.

If the emperor had already reached the shore, Zhao Yun would definitely be able to save the emperor even at the risk of his life, no doubt about it.

In fact, until the moment Liu Xie fell into the water, Zhao Yun could not even confirm whether the person in the boat was the emperor.

The reunion order he received a few days ago only told him the general plan and asked him to take the cavalry, bypass the fortified city of Henei County, and head straight to the north bank of the Yellow River to search.

But the emperor did not formally contact him, so Zhao Yun could only act based on his own guesses.

(End of this chapter)