Three Kingdoms

The city gate of Shang County had just opened and the flow of people on the streets had just become lively. The group of people had already hurried to the official residence of Shang County.

The first person is fatter, stronger, and has a darker face.

If you get closer, you will find that this person's face is not naturally dark, but is dyed with some kind of dye. It is not dyed very evenly in some small parts. At the same time, it is due to the sweat, dew and other factors due to the journey. The dye faded a little, and at first glance it looked like I had some skin disease.

Behind this man were several guards, wearing armor and carrying swords at their waists. They looked like they were soldiers and were not easy to bully.

"Where is the chief of Shang County?" ” Before the visitor arrived at the official residence, he took out the famous thorn in his arms and said, “A certain person is a member of Pang Lingjun’s family. He is here to find the chief of Shang County. He has urgent military affairs!” 』

The soldiers on duty in front of the official house did not dare to neglect, and immediately led them to a side room to sit down, while the other side went to report the news. Not long after, the head of Shang County sent someone to invite him.

The head of Shang County is named Huang and is a member of the Huang clan in Jingxiang. There is no big problem with loyalty.

The location of Shang County is very important. It is located in the middle of Wuguan Road. It was just a relatively large transit station at first. In the beginning of the Qin Dynasty, it was only for military services. Now it has become a not too small county.

Wuguan Road.

One mountain, two waters.

One mountain is the Qinling Mountains, and the two rivers are the Ba River and the Dan River.

To put it simply, it is a road that connects the Bashui and Danshui river valleys on both sides of the Qinling Mountains.

The road on the Bashui side is generally relatively stable, but due to geological factors, the water flow on the Danshui side is larger. In spring and summer, the road and temporary bridges on the valley side are often eroded, and the roads on the Danshui side are also severely damaged. Commercial transportation caused a lot of trouble. Therefore, most caravans traveling by land avoid the rainy times of spring and summer and choose to travel in autumn and winter.

It was impossible for Cao Jun to cut off Wuguan Road, so they could only pretend to be a caravan, dawdle on Wuguan Road, even pretending that the vehicle axle was broken or repairing something, and then they did not move forward or cross Shang County.

In the default sphere of influence, after Shang County, even if it is the northern line, it belongs to Feiqian's territory, and south of Shang County, the lower reaches of Danshui River is considered the southern line, so the northern section of Wuguandao is also called It is called Languan Road, while the southern section is called Shangyu Road.

After checking the relevant documents, the man pretending to be Pang Tong asked anxiously: "Where is General Wei?" ! Where is General Wei? 』

But what he didn't expect was that the head of Shang County shook his head and said that he didn't know where Wei Yan was...

"What? ! ” Pang Tong’s messenger jumped up and down anxiously, “It’s a matter of your life or death, how can you... Did General Wei leave any contact information? 』

The person in charge of Shang County nodded, "Yes, yes, but... it can only be used once. Are you sure you want to use it?" 』

Sweat rolled down the head of Pang Tong's messenger, and the black dye on his face was washed out into gullies. He was obviously thinking and weighing intensely, "Use!" General Wei must know! General Wei must be notified! 』

The head of Shang County nodded.

Not long after, a bonfire was lit somewhere in the corner of Shang County.

The flame was not big, and it seemed like something was being smoked. A black smoke rose up, and it could be seen from a long distance on a clear autumn and winter day...

In the distant mountains, the trees and shrubs were swaying, and a figure suddenly appeared, rushing across the ridge diagonally, "Report to the General!" Shang County is on fire! 』

Wei Yan, who was lying on a big rock in the mountain to bask in the sun, immediately became energetic. A Guru jumped off the big rock and clapped his hands, "Young men!" Here comes the job! Pack it up and change places! 』

Suddenly, on the rocks, in the bushes, and in many places that seemed to be completely deserted, there were silhouettes of people moving. Wei Yan's men came out of their hiding places one after another, and then started to pack their things and prepare to move.

Wei Yan knew that Cao Jun also had people in Shang County watching him, so he set up a fake camp on the northern line. In fact, he and his men had already visited Shang County. Just like Cao Jun knew that Wei Yan was training troops in Wuguan and was probably going to join Pang Tong, Wei Yan also knew that Cao Jun obviously wanted to encircle and ambush Pang Tong in the southern area.

This is general information, but if you want to know more detailed content, it is difficult for both parties to do so.

On the one hand, the transmission of information inevitably lags behind, and on the other hand, the more detailed things are, the more difficult it is to be accurate.

Wei Yan was actually very concerned about rescuing Pang Tong.

One is that Pang Tong is the minister, and his importance to the entire Hussar group is self-evident. When something happens, he will of course need help. There is no doubt about it.

Is there another factor...

Wei Yan is actually a bit lonely. He also longs to be accepted by the nobles' children, so his external performance is that he is very eager for merit, because with these merits, he can maintain his pride.

Therefore, it is certainly impossible for Wei Yan to say that he wanted to deliberately plot against Pang Tong. He just "simply" wanted to plot against Cao Ren and Cao Zhen.

In Wei Yan's plan, even his own life can be bet on the gambling table in order to win.

Of course, this can also be called a "sacrifice" spirit, so Wei Yan didn't think there was anything wrong with using Pang Tong's life as a bargaining chip. Therefore, Wei Yan not only wanted to welcome Pang Tong back, but it was also best to deal with Cao Jun as well...

This is everyone's happiness for Wei Yan.

If you want to deal with Cao Jun together, you must first find Cao Jun.

Then Wei Yan found it.

Wei Yan did not take the official route, but he was not far from the pipeline.

As mentioned earlier, the road to Wuguandao is the valley of two rivers, and since there is a valley, of course there are also ridges.

For ordinary caravans, walking along the ridges is undoubtedly a fatal task, but for Wei Yan and his mountain soldiers, walking between the ridges is much harder than taking the official road, but it is not too difficult. .

Among a group of normal people, the madman stands out.

Similarly, among a group of normal caravans, Cao Jun pretending to be a caravan was also very conspicuous in Wei Yan's eyes.

Wei Yan bit into a grass root. The earthy smell was mixed with the grassy smell, but in the end there was a little sweetness. He stared closely at a group of people who looked like a caravan in the distance, with a mocking smile on his face.

"Pretending to be nothing like..." Wei Yan muttered and reminded his men, "Look, if the caravan is delayed on the way, the guys may not be in a hurry, but will the leader not be in a hurry?" Are you still thinking about joking and chatting with others? Looking over there, the guy repairing the axle is looking for this and that. He seems to be very busy, but in fact he is not doing anything..."

"General, these guys are probably setting up camp here today. Do you want to touch them at night..." A soldier on the side chuckled a few times and rubbed his hands like flies, as if his hands were itchy. "Teach them a lesson?" 』

"You are stupid. If you let them know we are here, wouldn't you be exposed?" "Another soldier responded, "Even if your hands are itchy, you have to stay still! 』

Wei Yan chuckled softly, "Yes, just wait and see... But look, this man dressed as Cao Jun is here, which means Pang Lingjun is coming back soon..."

The guard beside Wei Yan whispered: "General, we...don't we go forward to meet Pang Lingjun?" Doesn't that matter? 』

Wei Yan spat out the straw, "It's okay, Cao Jun must be staring at Pang Lingjun right now. We just need to keep our eyes on Cao Jun... Well, but we still have to be careful. Let me think about any omissions..."

……()……

Danshui.

Cao Zhen was sitting in a merchant ship anchored on the Danshui side.

The merchant ship is not big, and it was originally used to carry goods. Now it is occupied by people. The smell of this warehouse is basically the same, so the conditions are not very good, but Cao Jun's soldiers did not complain much, because Cao Zhen also lived with them in the warehouse. At most, Cao Zhen's location is closer to the entrance of the warehouse, and the air is relatively better.

As for why he didn't stay in the guest room of the merchant ship, it was naturally to hide his identity.

Dan water gurgling.

Cao Zhen thought about the entire plan, and then considered his manpower arrangements.

He was convinced that Pang Tong would definitely take Wuguan Road.

But it’s hard to say when to leave...

Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, but it must be something in the near future, so now he is like a spider, waiting quietly in the web he has laid. But his spider is not stable.

"Is there no news from Shang County yet?" The hussars and horses are silent? This is impossible. 』

Cao Zhen received the news from Shang County, but he didn't believe it.

How could Wei Yan not take action?

But in his heart, another voice sounded, what if?

If Wei Yan was just a suspect, then he might not have done anything...

In this way, Pang Tong might have taken the Heluo Line instead of the Wuguan Road!

Will Pang Tong take the Heluo line?

Cao Zhen looked at the surrounding mountains and forests through the gaps in the cabin, as if he could see the traces of Wei Yan and others through the mountains and rocks.

Cao Zhen's arrangement, from a certain perspective, is very complete.

Not only did he have arrangements on land, he even went to the Danshui side himself.

Once you come to Danshui, you can row a boat. Being able to row a boat means that it can not only carry cargo, but also people.

Danshui's current shipping season is not yet at its peak. By the time of the Tang Dynasty, in order to relieve the food pressure in Chang'an, Guanzhong, the Tang Dynasty also spent a lot of manpower and material resources to connect the Ba River and Danshui, so as to transport Guanzhong from Nanyang. It is an important water transportation channel. Only at that time can the ships traveling up and down the Danshui River truly be called a steady stream.

Cao Zhen made two preparations, one on land and the other on water.

Everyone knows that the Hussars are more powerful on land, whether they are cavalry or mountain soldiers, and Jingzhou originally fought against Jiangdong, so the navy was stronger. Even after it was assigned to Cao Cao, the strength of the navy declined slightly. But it is still a big force.

Therefore, no matter how you think about it, Pang Tong should take the land route instead of taking the greater risk of taking the water route. But the problem is, Pang Tong is not an ordinary person, what if? Therefore, Cao Zhen also prepared a waterway. At the same time, these merchant ships on the waterway, which were used to conceal their whereabouts, could also serve as supply stations.

Second, it can also serve as support. If the army on the land was attacked by Wei Yan, Cao Zhen could immediately use the transportation convenience of the waterway to provide support and quickly transfer.

The surrounding mountains and forests seemed to be normal.

Cao Zhen withdrew his gaze.

Pang Tong must be captured.

Better to capture him alive.

For example, if you capture an important figure of the other party's political group, even if you imprison him for a period of time, even if you return him under the pressure of the Hussar in the future, it will have a greater impact on the other party...

It's like Sun Quan once detained Liu Bei.

Of course, for some people, they would laugh at Sun Quan as a fool for not knowing how to just kill Liu Bei with a knife and count the balls. How easy would it be?

Historically, Sun Quan and Liu Bei were allies for a time.

Now Cao Cao and Fei Qian also concluded a peace treaty in front of the emperor.

People can be shameless, but they cannot be completely shameless.

As for why we do such a thing, it's actually very simple. Cao Zhen just wanted to disrupt the Hussars group and drive a wedge between the Jingxiang faction and other factions. He did not want to directly trigger a large-scale decisive battle. Therefore, Cao Zhen could only secretly "invite" instead of directly knocking on the door to contain them. .

Suddenly, on Danshui, several merchant ships came from the south, which aroused Cao Zhen's alert.

After staring at these ships for a while, Cao Zhen suddenly laughed and said, "Here comes someone!" Stop me! Don't wear armor, just fly the flag of the Merchant Marine Division and go out to intercept! 』

As soon as the order was given, a stern rushed out, and then ordered several merchant ships to dock at the shore.

"Cai's Merchant Ship?" Cao Zhen frowned slightly, "Search carefully!" 』

Just as you travel more by land in autumn and winter, spring and summer are the busiest times for water transport.

It's the dry season now. Although most of China's boats are flat-bottomed, they can still travel, but merchant ships can't stop carrying cargo? When carrying cargo, you have to be careful because the draft is too deep and gets stuck on the river bed. Both the cargo and the boat will be damaged. Therefore, boating in autumn and winter is very cautious. The cost is also very high, and you can't transport much...

You can’t transport things, but you can transport people!

Cao Zhen realized this and immediately ordered the interception of the ship.

After stopping it, I discovered that it was Cai's merchant ship.

In the northern part of Jingzhou, in the Xiangyang area, there is only one "Cai family".

Cao Zhen's men from the Merchant Shipping Department, disguised as soldiers, refused Cai's advances and ordered a strict investigation.

The soldiers pried open the wooden boxes and overturned the wooden barrels, even inside the cabin. They also asked all the crew members to disembark one by one and stand on the shore, inspecting them one by one...

Then nothing was found.

Of course, it is not completely fruitless. For example, the items on these ships are not very complete, and some of them are isinglass and copperware that are prohibited from being sold to Guanzhong. However, these problems are almost negligible to Pang Tong. .

Cao Zhen didn't come here for these goods.

These were indeed gains from the Department of Commerce, but they were not what he wanted.

"come over! ” Cao Zhen frowned and called over Cai’s steward, “Why did your master ask you to go to Chang’an? 』

Cao Zhen recognized that this was someone close to Cai Mao, and since he didn't find out what he wanted, he didn't behave too cruelly.

Cai's steward also recognized Cao Zhen, and he quickly bowed to him. There was no expression of resentment on his face, and he replied respectfully, "General Qi, it's really about business... this..."

Cao Zhen said in a deep voice: "Tell it truthfully!" 』

"Yes, yes... the head of the house heard that the prices of spices, wine and other items in the Western Regions have increased significantly," Manager Cai said in a low voice, as if a business secret was about to be discovered by others, "the head of the house said that it will increase even more in the future. Let the villain go to Chang'an to purchase more before the price rises too much..."

"Oh..." Cao Zhen nodded.

The wine is heavier, the jar is fragile, and the road is bumpy, so it is not as stable as the waterway. Spices are relatively light, take up a lot of space, and require a relatively clean merchant ship. They cannot be too mixed with other cargo to prevent odor transfer.

This is understandable.

However, the price of Western spices is going to increase?

Why?

However, these matters definitely have nothing to do with Cai's caravan. After Cao Zhen repeatedly confirmed that there was no Pang Tong and others among the crew, he waved to let them go.

But the cargo and people of Cai's merchant ship were turned upside down, so what could be done to sail the ship immediately?

So they simply parked aside. Cai's manager also asked people to bring some bacon and thin wine prepared on the ship to give to Cao Zhen and others. On the contrary, Cao Zhen felt a little sorry and ordered the Cai's merchant ship to be given a small military flag of Cao's army. In this way, Cai's merchant ship will be better taken care of during subsequent checkpoints and transshipments.

Although Cao Zhen also knew that the Cai's merchant ship did not lack this flag, and the Cai's had their own methods, Cao Zhen had someone stop the Cai's fleet and turn it upside down, which was somewhat of a way of apologizing.

Cao Zhen was careful about the bacon and wine sent by Cai, and did not let the soldiers share it, but put it away first. Anyway, they had other reserves, so he was careful not to make any big mistakes.

"Where is Pang Shiyuan?" ” Cao Zhen murmured, “Could it be that he really chose the distance instead of the near and took a detour to Heluo? 』

This time's attempt to "invite" Pang Tong to Xiangyang as a "guest" was strictly confidential. Cao Zhen himself felt that he had done a good job and should not be discovered by Pang Tong. But what if it happens to be discovered?

So would Pang Tong feel that taking Wuguan Road is too risky, so he would just take a detour to Heluo?

While Cao Zhen was thinking, suddenly soldiers rushed over with orders. When they saw Cao Zhen, they reported anxiously: "General Qi, Huang, the general of Wancheng, led a thousand troops and rushed to Heluo!" 』

Cao Zhen's expression suddenly changed, "Damn it, you really took a risk!" 』

Cao Ren needs to sit in Jingzhou and cannot move easily. The only one who can move is Cao Zhen. Now that he is on the Dan River, if Pang Tong goes to Heluo, it will be the right time!

"Weigh anchor!" ” Cao Zhen shouted loudly, “Return to the water village! 』

He may have fallen into a trap!

He must go back immediately, then go to the water village to change horses, and catch up to stop Huang Zhong!

Pang Tong must be in Huang Zhong's army!