Chapter 25: Provoking

Zhang Song wrote a challenge letter to Guan Yu in Cao Chong's tone, with a humble tone, but he was extremely arrogant. He said, "I went south with seven thousand men. I didn't dare to fight with General Guan, who was famous all over the world. However, Jiangxia was originally the border of the court. Now General Zuo did not obey the court orders and repeatedly fought against the army of the court. Last year, he colluded with Sun Quan to fight against the emperor's army led by the Prime Minister. He was really intolerable, so he led his army to conquer the conquest. I heard that the general was guarding Xiling, and I was really a little frightened. As early as a child, I heard that the general had killed Yan Liang, a famous general in Hebei on the White Horse. The head of the general was like taking a pupil from the ten thousand horses. I only had seven thousand people, and I didn't dare to fight with the general easily.

However, some of my subordinates said that the general killed Yan Liang because Yan Liang was entrusted by General Zuo and had something to tell the general. The general took advantage of his unpreparedness and successfully attacked and achieved the general's reputation. In fact, since the general followed General Zuo, he had more defeats and fewer victory, and had no military achievements. It was just because he had the same bed with General Zuo, so he was repeatedly trusted, not because the general was good at fighting. Of course, I don't believe these, but others said this, and I was indeed a little confused. Therefore, I would like to fight with General Zuo and give the general a clear innocence.

He continued to say that there were several generals under my tent, among which Huang Zhong and Hansheng were most disdainful of the general and were willing to lead a thousand iron armored troops under him, and would never need others to help him. He would decide the outcome with the general in Xiaowuling north of Xiling City. In order to relieve the general, I would be willing to take the others ten miles away from Xiaowuling. If the general is still worried, he could also be at Xiling City. I only brought twenty guards to watch the battle and see the general's style. Everyone else was in Xiaowuling, so that the general could fight with peace of mind.

Finally, he said: "The battle of the White Horse has been nearly ten years, and time has not been forgiving people. The general may have been fighting for many years, but his physical strength is not as good as his age. Or he cherishes his reputation as a bird and cherishes his feathers, and he does not want to fight, so he dare not force others to force others to fight. Only when he heard that the general had a sword, called the enemy of ten thousand people. The general was not the bravery of the past, and the enemy of ten thousand people followed the general and was also a secret pearl. Please give it to the general, and do not let the sword sing in the air in the sheath. It makes people cry when they heard it."

Cao Chong and Pang Tong read the challenge book and laughed. Cao Chong handed the challenge book to Jiang Gandao: "Ziyi, Yongnian has written the challenge book well. Whether Guan Yu can be inspired to go out of the city to fight in the field depends on you."

Jiang Gan glanced at the challenge book and smiled bitterly: "Yongnian hides his cleverness and is so sarcastic. I don't need to say anything when I came to Guan Yu. I really make him angry, but I'm afraid that the enemy of thousands of people will let me taste the awesomeness first."

When everyone in the tent heard this, they burst into laughter. Li Wei, who had just become the leader of the special forces, came over and added some wine to Jiang Gan's wine glass and said, "Mr. Ziyi should drink more and enter the city immediately while the wine is in full swing. Isn't there any saying, "Why can this wine bring courage to people?"

When the generals heard this, they laughed even harder. Even Deng Zhan was not jokingly, and even Deng Zhan squirted out the wine in his mouth. Jiang Gan was so angry that he drank the wine in his glass, raised his hand and held the wine glass on Li Wei's head: "Shu Zi, is Jiang Yi a brave man? Wait, see how your Aweng came out so angry that he fought with Huang Hansheng to the decisive battle." He said that, he stuffed the challenge book into his arms and left.

Guan Yu looked at Jiang Gan, who was not as tall as him, but not as strong as him, but not inferior to him, and took the Challenge Shu and took a look. He sneered from his nose, threw the Challenge Shu on the table, stroked the long beard under his jaw, narrowed his slender eyes and said coldly: "Ignorance Junior, how dare you be so arrogant in front of Guan Yu? Aren't you afraid that the head on your neck will not be able to be saved?"

When Jiang Gan was seen by him, he felt really excited, but his face was still as calm as nothing. He smiled faintly. He picked up the chess piece in front of Guan Yu and played with it. After a long time, he smiled and said, "I heard that the general had a sword of ten thousand enemies. I guess he had not drunk human blood for many years. I am afraid he had lost his spirit and could not let Huang Zhong feel happy at that time. If Jiang Gan's head level could make the general's sword reappear and allow General Huang Hansheng to fight happily, even though Jiang Gan was a scholar, he would not hesitate to have a single head."

Guan Yu smiled contemptuously: "Huang Zhong? I heard from Liu Pan that he was just a veteran. He dared to move the tiger beard. He was overestimating his ability. Does he think he was more brave than Yan Liang, the leader of the four generals in Hebei? Guan Yu killed Yan Liang's head, and was afraid that he would not be a veteran." When he said this, he saw Jiang Gan pulling a disdainful smile on the corner of his mouth, and then he remembered that in the challenge book, he said that he was attacking the ground while others were not prepared, and he couldn't help but get angry: "Go back and let him clean his neck. Guan Yu will let him see what an enemy of ten thousand people is."

As he said that, he picked up his pen and wanted to write behind the challenge book. When Ma Liang, who was sitting opposite the chessboard, saw it, he quickly stood up and said, "General, no!"

Guan Yu kept looking at him and said, "What's wrong? Could it be that I'm afraid of him?" After writing a few strokes, he threw the challenge book into Jiang Ganzhong: "Get out quickly and take his head in three days."

Jiang Gan looked at the challenge book in his hand and saw the chapters of the grass with flying dragons and phoenixes in the back, "Under the Xiling City in three days", and was overjoyed, and stood up to say goodbye, and added: "The general is really a believer. Jiang Gan is like my young master. I hope that under the Xiling City in three days, I can see the general's style in three days, so that the world can know that Lian Po is not old and can still fight for food." He said that, and stood up and bowed, and left.

Seeing Jiang Gan striding out of the door, Ma Liang was anxious and stood up and said to Guan Yu: "General, how can this be done? Our army is guarding the city with only 5,000 people, Cao Chong has only 7,000 people. He has no choice but to do anything about me, so he used this trick to lure the general out of the city to fight. Although he only had one thousand people to challenge, what if..."

Guan Yu snorted dissatisfiedly and stood up suddenly: "What if? Will Guan Yu be afraid of a veteran? Then Huang Zhong is just the subordinate of Liu Pan, the rough man, and he dares to challenge me. He is really a frog in the well and does not know how big the sea is. Judging from this, does he think that Yu is not his opponent and will die at his hands?"

Ma Liang was so anxious that he was sweating. When he saw Jiang Gan coming, he didn't know what was written in the challenge book. After hearing Guan Yu and Jiang Gan say a few words, he realized that Cao Chong wanted Guan Yu to go out of the city to fight one-on-one. He heard Jiang Gan pick each other with words, and immediately knew that it was not good, so he wanted to stop him. But he didn't know that Guan Yu had replied. In less than a few words, Guan Yu actually decided on such a big thing, and he didn't even want to discuss it with Zhuge Liang. Of course, he couldn't mention his aide.

"The general is brave, who doesn't know how to fight an old soldier?" Ma Liang said anxiously: "General defends the city, Cao Chong has no choice but to do anything. Once he leaves the city, what should he do if he doesn't keep his promise?" He dared not say that Guan Yu was surrounded and killed, but only dared to say something else: "If he let Huang Zhong trap the general, but let others steal the city. How can he do it without a general in this city?"

Guan Yu was furious when he heard that Huang Zhong could trap him with a thousand people, and he was about to get angry. When he heard the last sentence, he calmed down. He thought for a while and said, "There are you and the military advisor Zhuge, Su Zhongyu, and four thousand people guarding the city. I'm fine. Besides, Huang Zhong is just an unknown person. How can a thousand people trap me with a thousand people? Don't worry, don't wait. I will kill this man with one knife and return to the city immediately."

Ma Liang was helpless and had no intention of playing chess. He hurriedly said goodbye to Zhuge Liang to discuss. Guan Yu saw that he had gone out in a hurry, and couldn't help but shake his head and smiled: "Scholars are scholars, and they panic at a small matter. It's just a matter of tea. However, they were so disobedient that they didn't even play half of the chess." He said, picking up the white piece of the opposite chess box with one hand, playing a piece in Ma Liang's unfinished chess game, picking up another piece of black piece, playing a piece on his side, and smiling slightly: "Ma Jichang, because he was afraid of losing, he left in a hurry."

After hearing Ma Liang's words, Zhuge Liang raised his head from Jian Ce, who was full of tables, and looked at Ma Liang with a smile: "Ji Chang, why bother to be so panicked? Isn't it just going out of the city to showdown? It's no big deal. Yun Chang is brave, then Huang Zhong is not an opponent. Just wait and hear the good news that Yun Chang killed the general and seized the flag."

When Ma Liang saw that Zhuge Liang was not anxious at all. He still didn't take it seriously. He couldn't help but stomp his feet: "Brother Kong Ming, why did you say that? Guan Yunchang went out of the city to fight Huang Zhong. What should I do about this city? Although Su Zhongyu had been fighting in Jiangxia for a long time, he was good at land and water battles and was not good at defending the city. And don't forget that Jiangxia's original land people are now waiting for Puqi and Jiayu to go south. Now the five thousand people in the city are brought from Fancheng, and Su Zhongyu can't transfer it at all. If Cao Chong doesn't keep his promise and 7,000 people rushed forward, what should Guan Yunchang do if something goes wrong?"

Zhuge Liang shook his head with a smile: "You are too nervous, so you'd better go down and have a good rest."

Seeing that he was still indifferent, Ma Liang looked at the bamboo slips in his hand slowly, and couldn't help but feel anxious. He stepped forward and snatched the brush from his hand and said, "Brother Kong Ming, this matter is of great importance. You should go and persuade him." He was about to say something else, Ma Su, who had been watching from the side, stood up and grabbed Ma Liang and said, "Brother, don't worry, the matter is not as serious as you think. Even if they don't trust, the people in my city can go out to rescue him. They came from afar, and there were two thousand surrendered soldiers with unsolicited intentions, and a thousand barbarian soldiers were also mobs. What can I do if I do? Even if they want to steal the city, how can these thousands of people capture Xiling City? If I don't hear ten, I will surround him, and five, I will attack him. Where did Cao Chong have so many people?"

Ma Liang could not say anything about Ma Su. He was speechless by Ma Su. When he thought about it carefully, he felt that he was a little over-concerned. He could only lower his head and sighed: "Brother Kong Ming, I can't tell you, but I always think this matter is a bit weird. Cao Cangshu led his troops for only half a year, but he won several battles. He used troops without reason, was cautious and had no idea. You should not take it lightly." After saying that, he put his hands behind his back, shook his head and left.

Ma Su turned around and smiled, "My brother is so careful. Cao Cangshu is just a good life. He has the chance to lead troops at the age of thirteen. After a lucky battle, he is so great. My brother has thousands of military books. He is not comparable to that child. He only owe some opportunities."

Zhuge Liang's face calmed down a little. He looked at Jian Ce who was piled up on both sides and said, "Young Chang should not say that. If you want to use military forces, there are not many people in the world who can surpass Cao Mengde. I heard that he has annotated the Thirteenth chapter of Sun Tzu, which is quite insightful. I think Cao Cangshu must have read this book well. In addition, this son has had a reputation for wisdom since he was a child, and it may not be known that he can understand what ordinary people cannot understand."

Ma Su closed his smile on his face, was silent for a moment and smiled, "Kong Wenju said that when he was young, he might not be good at being old. When he was young, he might not be smart. He was a fourteen-year-old child, even if his talent was limited, he was the twelve prime ministers of Ganluo, but it was just a vain and beautiful word from ancient people. He was a hero who was the master of his brothers."

Zhuge Liang smiled and shook his head: "There are many heroes in the world, but Liang is just a drop in the ocean. How dare you boast like this?" He took a bamboo slip and said: "There are many casualties in the scout camp these days, and less than 10% of the people sent to the north come back. I'm afraid there are some problems."

Ma Su took the bamboo slips and looked at them, nodding, "It's indeed something unusual. But since Cao Chong came, he wanted to hide his traces, and of course he had to vigorously kill the scouts. It's reasonable that he had to suffer more casualties." He looked at Zhuge Liang who was still frowning and said, "I'll go and check it out."

"I feel relieved when Youchang goes there in person." Zhuge Liang smiled.

When Cao Chong heard Jiang Gan's return, he agreed without saying a few words, and couldn't help but be overjoyed. He looked at Jiang Gan, who was still scared and smiled: "Ziyi is so nervous, isn't he almost sacrificed his sword by Guan Yun?"

Jiang Gan wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed, "This Guan Yunchang is indeed an enemy of thousands of people. He is worthy of being a man who broke through the sea of ​​corpses and blood. His eyes were as sharp as a knife, and it was shocking to see people at first glance."

"This is called murderous intent. Ziyi took a few sips to suppress his shock." Cao Chong laughed and signaled to the guards beside him. The guard hurriedly stepped forward and poured wine for Jiang Gan. Cao Chong blasted the challenge book in his hand and said, "This time, I don't believe in any enemy of ten thousand people. I'm the only one who suppresses him. If you line up and let him cut, you can exhaust him to death. If you have ten thousand people? And!"

His disdainful look made Zhang Song, who was sitting next to him, unable to help laughing: "Young master's words cannot be heard by Master Deng and General Huang." Cao Chong smiled and said, "What are you afraid of? Master Deng is not the kind of person who is not self-aware all day long. Tell me, can Han Sheng and this Guan Yunchang have the upper hand?"

Zhang Song smiled and said, "I don't know which of them can have the upper hand. But the Iron Armored Army will definitely not lose to Guan Yu's 1,000-bit player. I can be sure of this. Ziyi, are you interested in setting a bet?" Jiang Gan gave him a blank look: "You think I'm stupid. Who doesn't know this, and you still have to bet with you? If you think Guan Yu can win, I will bet with you for a year's salary. Do you bet?"

Zhang Song shook his hand repeatedly, turned his head to look at Cao Chong and said, "Young Master, you have been rewarding Ziyi too much recently. He asked to bet on a year's salary, so how could I afford it?" Jiang Gan laughed and scolded, "You said this, it seems like the young master didn't reward you, and I came to cry again. I don't think of you as a rich slave, and I always think of ways to ask for money in front of the young master."

Cao Chong and Zhang Song laughed.

Three days later, outside the north gate of Xiling City, Huang Zhong's 1,000 iron armored troops were lined up in a square formation, with a hundred people in a row, in ten rows, a row of swords, shields, and two rows of long halberds behind him. Then there were two rows of strong archers behind him. Then there were five rows of the same. Huang Zhong stood in front of the formation and stood with a knife. Twenty burly men stood behind him, with a cold face. More than a thousand pairs of iron armor shone under the rising sun, and they were about to shatter the eyes of the enemy on the opposite city wall.

Guan Yu was secretly frightened when he looked at the Thousand Iron Armored Army on the city wall. He thought that Cao Chongdi's challenge to the Iron Armored Army in the book was just a boastful word. No one had a lie with a thousand soldiers wearing iron armor. Cao Cao, who held a strong soldier, could not fully wear iron armor. Liu Bei's personal army could only wear iron armor. Guan Yu's personal soldiers had only a few generals and subordinates with iron armor. It would be good if the others could have complete ground armor. Can Huang Zhong, a surrendered general, hold a thousand Iron Armored Army? He wouldn't believe it if he killed him.

Needless to say, everyone in the city knows the difference between wearing leather armor and wearing iron armor. So when the Thousand Iron Armor Army presents to everyone, everyone in the city gasps. Su Fei was shocked and looked at Guan Yu with a dark face. The generals around him thought they would see Guan Yu killing the generals in front of the formation today, and first slash Cao Chong's spirit, then looked at Cao Chong's eyes and sighed, taking advantage of the opportunity to come and return. Some had already decided to take advantage of the situation and go out of the city to pursue and make a profit. No one took this seriously. Almost everyone thought that Guan Yu's personal soldiers were brave soldiers who had been with him for many years, one thousand to one thousand, and basically no one in the world was his opponent, unless the opposite was Lu Bu, the god of war that was the year. However, this sentence could only be said in my heart, and no one dared to say it for Guan Yu to hear it.

However, when I saw this real iron armored army, everyone pushed back the pride. In addition to worrying about Guan Yu, there was also envy. Many generals were swallowing their saliva. Oh, I was a general of the Central Army, and I only wore the deputy iron armor. The man surnamed Huang actually brought a thousand people, all of them were iron armor. He was so rich. If... these people were all my land, how great it would be.

Some people knew Huang Zhong so angry that they curled their lips. Huang Hansheng finally got through after ten years. With these thousand iron armored troops, they will be promoted and made a fortune in the future. Damn, why don’t I have such good luck and invest in such a rich landlord? Thinking of this in my heart, I couldn’t help but glance at Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang on the city tower.

Zhuge Liang was also very surprised. He looked at Ma Su with a shocked face and Ma Liang, who was sweating all over his head, and thought for a moment, and walked up to Guan Yu. He was thinking about how to persuade Guan Yu, but he saw Cao Chong and other more than 20 cavalry watching the battle on the hillside in the distance, suddenly ran out of a cavalry, bypassing the square formation of thousands of people, and then he suddenly pulled the reins in front of the city gate. He called out a long time. The knight on the horse's back looked up at the city tower, and recognized the tall and tall Guan Yu, who stood out from the crowd, shouted loudly: "General Guan, my son has something to say to the general."

Guan Yu was shocked and then woke up from his trance. He took a step forward and looked at the city and said lightly: "If you have something to say."

The knight bowed and said, "My son said that there are few iron armored troops in the world, and the general probably won't be able to provide enough personnel. If the general is in a dilemma at this time, my son is willing to cancel the competition. He just wants to ask the general to give him a treasure knife and then he will definitely go with the general. In order to repay the general's good wishes, the thousand iron armored troops are willing to show their might and enjoy the favor of you."
Chapter completed!