Chapter 23 Xicheng

"Let's go, let's get on the boat and go to the West City, and then discuss the military achievements of Shangyong." Cao Chong smiled and walked forward. But Pang Tong stopped him: "General, if you want to take the West City, you are not properly walking through the water."

Cao Chong stopped: "What are the great ideas about Shi Yuan?"

Pang Tong smiled: "General, Shangyong has achieved such a relaxed effort, Xicheng should not have time to get news. If the entire army here acts together, I am afraid that the wind will be revealed. If Hanzhong gets news and sends reinforcements, even if they don't rescue Xicheng, they will increase their troops in Chenggu, which will be unfavorable to our army. It is better to act separately and send a force to move west quickly from now on, and catch Xicheng off guard."

Cao Chong glanced at everyone with an inquiring gaze, and when he looked at Fa Zheng, Fa Zheng nodded and said, "What Shi Yuan said is reasonable. We are going upstream. If they have reinforcements, they will go downstream and go downstream, and the speed is much faster. Moreover, when they go to Hanzhong, there is not only Xicheng, but also Ziyang and Anyang Anyang Ancient City. If they set up checkpoints at each level, our army will attack from below and have no advantage. It is of course the best to be able to attack lightly and quickly. Jingshan and Yizhou troops are good at walking on mountain roads, so why not let them go directly to Xicheng on mountain roads."

Cao Chong hesitated for a moment, raised his hand, and Deng Ai immediately took out the map and spread it on the ground. If Shangyong goes to Xicheng, if he returns to Han River from the Dushui River and then goes against the Han River, he will take a big bend, which is indeed a lot of ways. If he takes a land route, it is only half the distance from the straight line, but the problem is that there are all mountains here, and there is no sign of a road.

"General, there must be roads in the mountains, but those people don't have the opportunity to enter the deep mountains, so they can't draw them." Seeing Cao Chong's face showing suspicion, Pang Tong hurriedly stepped forward and explained: "The iron-headed man is familiar with this terrain, why not ask him to ask?"

Cao Chong suddenly realized and slapped his head and said, "I have relied on these maps so much these days. I'm actually a little bit stubborn. Thanks to Shi Yuan's reminder, otherwise it would have been a big mistake. Hurry up, please come here."

Tiexin came soon. When he heard Pang Tong's words, he immediately nodded and said, "There are small paths, but it is difficult to walk. In some places, you have to cross mountains and ridges and cross rivers. Jingshan Army and Yishan Army can still walk, so the general's Iron Armored Battalion may not be able to do it."

Cao Chong pondered for a moment and asked again: "If you walk from a small road, how long will it take to get to Xicheng?"

Tiexin calculated: "It will take about three days, and the team will leave, maybe it will be a little slower, five days." Seeing that Cao Chong was a little puzzled, he quickly explained: "If there are only about one thousand people, you can bring less supplies. The villages along the way can supply them, and the speed can be faster, but if there are too many people, they will not be able to supply them. The soldiers must bring their own supplies and tents with them, and the speed will be affected."

Fazheng interrupted: "If we make up for their losses later, how many people can we supply at most along the way?"

Tiexin thought about it carefully with his fingers: "Two thousand people should not be a problem, no matter how many people there are, it will not work."

Fa Zheng thought for a while: "General, since that's the case, why not let the Tietoon man lead two thousand people first and eat in various villages along the way. Our fleet is right behind. When we arrive in Xicheng, we will return it to them as much as possible."

Cao Chong was still a little hesitant. Is the number of people who fought against Xicheng by these two thousand people? Just as he was thinking, Pang Tong smiled and said, "Iron Head Man, this is the territory of your mediocre people. You are brave and good at fighting. Why not attack Xicheng together? Then the general rewards you with another sum. Wouldn't this year be better?"

"Yes." Tie Xin clapped his hands and laughed: "General, you can gather two or three thousand people along the way. They can bring their own food and grass. There is no need for the general to worry. With them together, the Xicheng will definitely be successfully captured."

Cao Chong thought for a moment, nodded and smiled, "Since that's the case, let the Tietou people and the Jingshan Army go to the battle. All the mountain villages that participated in the war will be rewarded according to their merits and borrowed their supplies. You must return them in full. Shiyuan, you are more familiar with this place, so follow them."

Pang Tong smiled and said, "This is natural."

They agreed to stop. Pang Tong was about to bow and say goodbye to Cao Chong, but Cao Chong suddenly remembered something and quickly called Tiexin over and asked, "Tiet Head Man, what place can you bring phoenixes and birds in the place name?"

Tie Xin was stunned, not understanding what Cao Chong meant, and thought for a while and said, "No."

"That's good." Cao Chong secretly breathed a sigh of relief and waved his hand, "Then you go." Although Pang Tong and others didn't understand Cao Chong's intention, they had no time to bother with these trivial matters. They hurriedly said goodbye to Cao Chong, and soon disappeared from Fangling Mountain with Jingshan Army.

Liu Pan and his deputy general Lei Tong were waiting on the boat. The two of them squatted beside the boat chatting bored. They came from Xiangyang overnight, thinking about catching up with the battle, even if they could go up and shout a few times. Unexpectedly, the ship was blocking the water and stopped, Cao Chong's messenger had arrived, and Shangyong had already taken it down.

Liu Pan sighed, he complained a little about Liu Cong, who was delaying his delay, and ended up delaying his time to return to Xiangyang. He missed the opportunity to reorganize the army. He suddenly changed from a main force to a reserve force, and even the new Yizhou army was inferior to that of the new Yizhou army. From time to time, he glanced at the road on the shore, and the scabbard in his hand hit the boat gang one by one, making a bang sound.

"General, why is General Zhennan so neat in war? Although Shangyong is young, he is just dawn. Could it be that they attacked the city overnight?" Lei Tong moved two steps towards Liu Pan and asked softly.

Liu Pan glanced at him and smiled bitterly: "Public Party, you don't know, which of the guys under the general are not quick-witted. Attacking such a small city must have gone all out. Maybe he had to eat breakfast after entering the city. You didn't see the Jingshan Army chopping his head under Xiling City, it was even more energetic than his mother's holiday."

"I know, how could I not know the Jingshan Army?" Lei Tong also smiled bitterly: "I have fought with Xu Zhengli."

Liu Pan looked at him in surprise and burst into laughter. He stood up and patted Lei Tong on the shoulder: "I forgot that Jingshan Army has gone to Lujiang to support him. Isn't it good? It's not a shortage of fragments to walk around under Xu Zhengli. It's good martial arts."

"Shame, ashamed." Lei Tong's face turned red, "I ran fast, but only two of my twenty personal guards ran back. The dog-going Jingshan Army ran as fast as a wolf in the mountains. Xu Zhengli was even a bloodthirsty leopard. In the blink of an eye, he killed my five most fierce subordinates."

"Hahaha..." Liu Pan laughed loudly, patted Lei Tong's shoulder and comforted him: "Okay, Xu Zhengli is the direct descendant of Hu Hou. In addition to Deng Fenwei, he is the number one master. It is already very good that you can still live when you meet him. Oh, it's not right, why did you fight with the Jingshan Army? Didn't he go to fight the Jiangdong Army?"

"It's purely a misunderstanding, it's purely a misunderstanding." Lei Tong waved his hands repeatedly and stopped talking about this topic. He looked up and saw a large group of people coming from the shore. He quickly stood up and shouted, "General, look, they are back."

Cao Chong rushed over, and when he got on the boat, he immediately ordered to turn around and return along the blocking water, and turned to the west of the Han River. Sun Shangxiang was a little excited. He made a contribution when he went to the battlefield for the first time. Not only did he come up with an idea, but he also got the first to enter the city and killed Yang Xiu, which made her feel a little happy. However, Cao Chong had no time to listen to her quarrel. Besides, such a small town was not worth it for him. Seeing that he had no interest, Sun Shangxiang was busy looking at the map, and discussed military affairs with Fa Zheng from time to time, he had to pull Deng Ai and blow hard. Deng Ai had a smile on his face, glanced at Cao Chong's every move, and handed Cao Chong's things to Cao Chong's hand in time, and while showing an admirational expression, listening to Sun Shangxiang's exercise.

"Okay, I'll brag later, the military will discuss it." Cao Chong saw Meng Da and others entering the cabin, raised his head and said to Sun Shangxiang.

When Sun Shangxiang heard the military's proposal, he immediately closed his mouth, sat next to Cao Chong with his eyes and legs fast, with his arms spread apart, his hands on his thighs, his back was straight, and he did not laugh harshly, and he put on the famous general's genre in a good manner. When the generals saw her serious look, they couldn't help but want to laugh, but they didn't dare to laugh out loud, so they had to turn their heads and forcefully resist. Seeing that everyone's faces were strange, Cao Chong couldn't help but feel a little strange. He saw that everyone was dodging Sun Shangxiang beside him, so he turned around and looked at her curiously, and almost laughed out loud. He quickly raised his hand to cover his mouth and coughed twice: "Well... cough, stop laughing, it's a meeting."

Liu Pan and Lei Tong didn't know what was going on, but they just felt that Sun Shangxiang looked a little strange, but they didn't think there was anything funny. They looked at Fa Zheng and waited for others in a daze, turned to Cao Chong and asked, "General, Shangyong has finished fighting? Why haven't Shi Yuan and Zhengli come back?"

"They went from Shangyong to Xicheng." Cao Chong waved his hand and said with a smile: "We walked through the water route, and they would probably be two or three days behind them. If Shi Yuan and the others went well, we would take a break after we arrived in Xicheng and continue to move westward. Zi Ju, the public side is temporarily under my command. Your person is responsible for the escort of food and grass, so that Lord Liu can immediately transport the 10,000 army of three months to Xicheng, and tell Governor Cai that all warships should not be idle, and all are used to transport grain, and strive to transport the grain and grass to be used by the end of this month."

Liu Pan was disappointed when he heard this. Shangyong did not join the war. He originally planned to have a chance in Xicheng, but now he simply became a grain escort team. Instead, Lei Tong, the newcomer, followed Cao Chong. He nodded unhappily and responded weakly.

Seeing that his expression was wrong, Cao Chong felt his unhappiness and immediately put away his smile and knocked the table with his fingers unhappily, his face was as deep as water: "Zi Ju, the army has not moved, food and grass will go first. This is not a trivial matter. Don't think that fighting is a big matter. The food and grass of this ten thousand people are directly related to whether they can be taken down Hanzhong smoothly and affect whether the subsequent war can go smoothly. You have been leading troops for more than ten years, and you don't even know this, why are you still in an emotional state? If you are the one who leads troops, how can you take the subordinates?"

Liu Pan blushed when he said it, and was shocked. When he thought that he was really a little childish, he quickly bowed and said, "Liu Pan deserves the order."

"Yeah." Cao Chong nodded and eased his tone: "Don't be anxious, you will fight, but you can't slack off. If something goes wrong, many people will die."

Liu Pan's face turned red and he lowered his head and said nothing.

Seeing that Liu Pan was suddenly criticized, Meng Da and others were a little surprised, and they all tightened their faces and dared not smile anymore. The atmosphere suddenly became serious. Sun Shangxiang was a little surprised when she saw this, and her straight body collapsed involuntarily. Cao Chong calmed down for a while, discussed with everyone for a long time, arranged the tasks for each of them, and then ended the meeting. Meng Da and others respectfully left the cabin. Cao Chong kept Fa Zheng, and the two of them discussed some things in a low voice. Fa Zheng nodded repeatedly and said goodbye.

Seeing that everyone had left, Sun Shangxiang also stood up, hesitating and didn't know whether to leave or stay. Cao Chong waved his hand and said lightly: "You sit down. It's okay to go back anyway, so it's better for us to talk."

"No!" Sun Shangxiang responded timidly, knelt in front of Cao Chong again, lowering his head and silent. Seeing her quiet, Cao Chong couldn't help but look at her with surprise and burst into laughter: "It turns out that you have quiet times, it's great."

Sun Shangxiang laughed dryly, raised her eyes and looked at Cao Chong. Seeing his naughty smile, she let out a sigh of relief, vomited out the depressed emotions in her heart, and said softly: "You looked so scary just now."

"What's so scary?" Cao Chong picked up the teacup and took a sip: "The way of civil and military affairs is to relax and relax. You're welcome to see what aspect. War is not a joke, so how can you let this personal emotion spread?" He said, lifting the teapot and pouring a cup of tea for Sun Shangxiang: "You have a good strategy this morning. Are you interested in doing some paperwork around me like Shi Zai?"

"Me?" Sun Shangxiang laughed: "Can I do it?"

"It should be no problem. You have the potential to use troops. Since you want to be a general, of course you have to start with small things. Working here can get in touch with all the matters of marching and fighting, which will be beneficial to you in the future. Maybe you can become a famous general on the battlefield like Shi Zai." Cao Chong glanced at Deng Ai indifferently and smiled, as if a famous general who had been using troops for many years was guiding the young man, and his words were confident and calm, and there was no doubt.

"Can a civil servant become a famous general who can travel on the battlefield?" Sun Shangxiang shook his head.

"What's wrong with this?" Cao Chong smiled: "Le Zhe Chong was a civil servant under his father back then."

"You..." Sun Shangxiang hesitated for a moment: "Aren't you afraid that I will become a famous general, and I will play against you in the future? I will still have to go back after all."

"Return to Jiangdong or to Jiangnan?" Cao Chong curled his lips and smiled: "Since your Erlang gave you to me, no one dared to ask for you anymore. I am not the big-eared thief Liu Bei, and my wife was snatched away and didn't even fart. Of course, he wouldn't have a chance. Governor Cai is building a ship in Xiangyang. In less than five years, the navy will succeed. I will cross the Yangtze River and liberate the whole of China."

Sun Shangxiang curled his lips and was about to retort a few words. Cao Chong raised his hand to stop her and pointed at Deng Ai: "Get the spy that Jiangnan had just been sent back. Deng Ai responded, opened the small cabinet next to him, took out a page of paper and handed it to Cao Chong's hand. Cao Chong took a look, pushed the paper upside down and pushed it to Sun Shangxiang's eyes, sighed and said, "The information I just received, your Erlang married another sister to Liu Bei, who is Sun Youtai (Sun Jing)'s daughter. Liu Bei regarded her as his wife, and Gan... died."

"Impossible, Uncle Young Taiwan only has one daughter, four years younger than me." Sun Shangxiang suddenly came out of his mouth before he could read the information.

Cao Chong did not answer her, but just shook his head and said nothing. Sun Shangxiang called twice, and felt that Cao Chong had no need to lie to her. He looked down twice in his hand and looked as if his face was ashamed. When he thought that the young girl who was younger than him had become his own substitute, he felt mixed feelings in his heart and didn't know what to say. He sat there for a while, picked up the cold tea and drank it all, and got up and left.

Cao Chong looked at her back and said nothing, only feeling that the tea in his mouth was a little boring. He greeted him: "Da Shuang, Xiao Shuang, bring the wine!"

Dashuang responded, wiped his tears and lowered his head and walked out from behind. One was holding a wine pot and the other was holding a mountain product sent by Tiexin. Cao Chong looked at Dashuang's red eyes, and knew that they were sad when they heard the news of Mrs. Gan's death. He suddenly felt an inexplicable irritability in his heart. He didn't want to say a word, and he picked up the wine pot and poured it into his mouth. The mountain product on the table basically didn't move, and he drank dizzy for a while. He fell softly on the mat, rested his head on Dashuang's legs, stared at Dashuang's blushing cheeks, and smiled in a hoarse voice: "Drunk on the beautiful knees, wake up and hold the murder sword, how happy!"

Five days after traveling along the Han River, Cao Chong received a message from Pang Tong. He led the Jingshan army to travel in the mountains for three days. Along the way, mountain people who were motivated by Tiexin joined. Nearly 6,000 people arrived in Xicheng. Tiexin and his people sneaked into Xicheng and opened the city gate at night. Pang Tong basically took down Xicheng without bloodshed, which was easier than defeating Shangyong. He asked Tiexin to leave hundreds of mountain people to control Xicheng. He personally led a large army westward and asked Cao Chong to rush to Xicheng immediately to prevent the night from getting too many dreams and the troubles were created.

Cao Chong was overjoyed and led his men to speed up. After a few days, he arrived in Xicheng. The guard city was an acquaintance, Heimu, the father of Heiyuer who took Liu Zhi with Tiele. He enthusiastically welcomed Cao Chong into the city with a few heads. Cao Chong walked around the small western city and was very satisfied. These mountain people did not loot the city. It seemed that Pang Tong and Tiexin had done a lot of work. He invited Heimu and others to the county government to entertain themselves.

After a meal, he counted the personnel and food consumed by each of the villages, and repaid them with the military rations transported by Liu Pan. He also allocated a part of the spoils from Xicheng to them. Heimu and others were overjoyed and grateful. Some people were satisfied and returned to the village with food and rewards, while others stayed to assist Cao Chong in the war. Cao Chong picked out nearly a thousand elite troops from them and handed them to Heimu to command as a guide, and followed the army.

Cao Chong stayed in Xicheng for a few days and set off again. He left Liu Pan in Xicheng. Before leaving, he took special care of him. Xicheng was his base for attacking Hanzhong. A large amount of supplies transported from Xiangyang would be here. These mountain people are not good people. Don’t be deceived by their temporary friendship. If there are a few who are tempted to resist the temptation when they see money, they can run away if they hide in the mountains. You can’t catch them. The loss of some supplies is small, and the thousands of people in front are in danger.

Liu Pan nodded repeatedly, patted his chest and said there was no problem. Finally, he laughed and made a small request. When the new county magistrate came, can he bring some people to participate in the battle against Chenggu after leaving enough personnel, even if he took the personal guard camp.

Cao Chong smiled: "Don't worry, you will definitely wait for you. But if you lose Xicheng, don't blame me for not recognizing you."

Liu Pan was overjoyed and slapped his chest: "There is one less brick in Xicheng, and the general will take my head to make up for it."

Cao Chong shook his head and pounded Liu Pan's shining breastplate hard: "Zi Ju, I don't want your head. I want you to guard the West City well and follow me to dominate the world. In the future, I will be the general and the marquis, and be a wife and son, and be ranked as the Yuntai."

Liu Pan was stunned, clasped his fists and bowed, and knelt down with one leg: "Liu Pan respects the general's order!"

Cao Chong patted his shoulder and turned to the boat. Sun Shangxiang and Deng Ai were kneeling beside his desk, discussing something softly, constantly busying themselves, putting the paper, pen, books map where they should be placed. Xiaoshuang knelt unhappily, and glanced at the busy Sun Shangxiang from time to time.

Cao Chong looked at them in confusion, straightened his clothes and sat down. When Xiaoshuang saw him sitting down, he quickly moved over to put the teacup. He turned around and was about to pick up the teacup, but Sun Shangxiang had reached out to lift the teacup from the charcoal stove and shouted, "Be careful, be careful, don't burn it." With his hands leaning, a green column of water flew out, and in a blink of an eye, half a cup of tea was poured into the two teacups on the table, without splashing water.

"Good Kung Fu!" Cao Chong couldn't help but praise, and looked at Sun Shangxiang, who was very diligent today, with some surprise: "When did you learn this skill?"

"Where, I'm serving my sister-in-law to have tea every day, and I'm fine, so I've practiced this." Sun Shangxiang pursed her lips and smiled, leaned closer and asked softly, "Can I ask you a question?"

Cao Chong laughed, picked up the teacup and sipped it, nodded and said, "Yes, you said."

"Why is it so urgent to transport all the food and grass needed to Xicheng before the end of the month? Look at the large number, the time is very tight." Sun Shangxiang took a document and pointed to the number above and said: "I see these transportation volumes, but I am afraid that all the ships will use them together, so I have to get up early and go to bed late."

Cao Chong looked at her in surprise and grinned: "It's a future. It's only one day to make such great progress. It's really potential. Didn't this Shizai tell you?"

"He won't say it." Sun Shangxiang pouted and said, "He knew it clearly, but he said he didn't know."

Cao Chong looked at Deng Ai with a smile and laughed: "I know, but I don't say it either. Who told you to only show off yesterday? When Fa Xiaozhi and I discussed it with you, you kept talking nonsense, not like Shizai, who could hear it clearly. You have to want to know, go and ask Xiaozhi for advice."

"Yeah!" Sun Shangxiang sat on his heel with some anger, frowned and looked at Deng Ai and Cao Chong who were smiling at each other, and turned his head: "Hmph, what's there? If you don't say it, don't say it. When Mr. Fa comes, I will beg him with kind words."
Chapter completed!