"Boom! Boom! Boom! "
"Phew! Phew! Phew … "
“.....”
Yang Rui's large scale avalanches and javelins roared for the entire night. When the sky gradually brightened, Yang Rui put them all away and ordered all his troops to set up camp outside Fengqiu County as though they were going to be trapped for a long time.
Cao Cao's troops didn't have a peaceful night. In the first half of the night, they had a huge battle with Yuan Shu. Just as they were about to obtain victory, Yuan Shu's terrifying number of reinforcements arrived. In the end, they were once again trapped in Fengqiu County and endured a night of cannonballs and javelins.
At this moment, Fengqiu County's city walls were filled with scars of various sizes. Especially at the west gate where 40 large scale avalanches wreaked havoc for the entire night. The city gate tower and city walls were filled with holes and looked like a mess.
There were only a few soldiers scattered around the city gate tower and city walls. Most of the time, they hid behind the parapet walls and occasionally peeked their heads out to investigate.
After half a night of observation, Cao Cao's troops learned their lesson. They realized that the soldiers surrounding the city didn't seem to have any intention of attacking the city. Later on, they took turns to send people forward to guard the city while the others hid under the city walls or in the city gate tower.
However, Yang Rui quickly removed the large scale avalanches and javelins that wreaked havoc for the entire night. This made the soldiers in Fengqiu County somewhat uncomfortable. Not only the soldiers, even the astute Cao Cao couldn't understand.
"Brother Lu Yuan, Qingzhou's Pingyuan Prefecture is in an emergency. Yuan Benchu took advantage of the fact that my main troops weren't around and caused trouble behind my back. I have to return to Qingzhou to deal with Yuan Benchu. I wonder what Brother Lu Yuan plans to do. Do you want to return to Yuzhou immediately? "
Inside the large tent outside Fengqiu County. Yang Rui said to Yuan Shu in a serious tone.
Next, Yang Rui prepared to blackmail Cao Cao. It would be inconvenient if Yuan Shu was present. Originally, Yang Rui couldn't find a suitable excuse to send Yuan Shu away.
"Oh! So this is the situation. "
Yuan Shu said. He thought that it was no wonder the Qingzhou troops only surrounded the city and didn't attack. It turned out that Qingzhou's territory was threatened by Yuan Shao. This also explained why Blazing Sun seemed to give up on attacking the city.
At the same time, Yuan Shu felt a lot better in his heart. If Qingzhou had dispatched so many troops, Qingzhou's forces's troops were not afraid of Yuan Shao's attack. under such circumstances would be extremely terrifying! Now it seemed that Blazing Sun had brought the majority of Qingzhou's troops with him.
"Yuan Shao is a bastard's son. He is indeed a scoundrel. Brother Blazing Sun, you should quickly return to Qingzhou. It's just that Cao Cao's treacherous officials have taken advantage of you. I will return to Yuzhou and reorganize my troops in order to fight with Cao Cao again …"
Perhaps it was because Yang Rui had saved him or because he was blinded by Cao Cao's hatred, but Yuan Shu easily believed Yang Rui's words. He returned to Yuzhou.
Of course, this was also related to the agreement between Yuan Shu and Yang Rui. This agreement was not as comprehensive as the agreement between Yang Rui, Qiao Mao, Ding Yuan, and Han Fu. It was only an agreement that if Party B had a war with Cao Cao, the two sides would automatically form an alliance against Cao Cao.
It was similar to the "wartime alliance agreement" in reality. After seeing Yang Rui's strength and having an irreconcilable hatred with Cao Cao, Yuan Shu quickly accepted this agreement once Yang Rui proposed it.
This was also one of the reasons why Yuan Shu left so quickly.
Now that Yuan Shu had left, the rest of the matters were much easier to handle. Yang Rui was not in a hurry and planned to besiege the city for a few days first.
At this time, the situation in Yanzhou had been settled. Qiao Mao and Ding Yuan were reorganizing in Yanzhou, Yuan Shao in Jizhou was unable to threaten Qingzhou, and Liu Dai in the East Commandery did not dare to act rashly. Moreover, Zhang Liao and Chen Lin had already been released, so Liu Dai did not dare to act rashly.
Besieging but not attacking put a lot of pressure on Cao Cao's troops in Fengqiu County. Half a day had passed and Cao Cao had already sent an envoy to Yang Rui's tent.
"Cao Cao's envoy, Mao Jie, requests an audience with Milord. Milord, please give your orders!"
Cao Cao's messenger had indeed arrived. However, Cao Cao's habit of flaunting his intelligence was once again displayed. Before the messenger, Mao Jie, entered the tent, he had already mentioned that he wanted to see Yang Rui. It must be known that although Yang Rui's troops had surrounded Fengqiu City, they did not raise any flags. Even so, Cao Cao still recognized them.
Under normal circumstances, it would not matter. Why was he showing off his intelligence at this time? It was unknown if Cao Cao wanted to resonate with Yang Rui, or if he was just being careless. If it was any other duke here, who could hide their identity but was still recognized by Cao Cao, it was unknown how they would feel.
Yang Rui did not care. Whether Cao Cao saw through his identity or not, it was just his eyesight. Now that Cao Cao had sent an envoy to request an audience, it was just in line with Yang Rui's needs. It was just that he did not know if Cao Cao had seen through this.
"Let him in."
After exchanging glances with Guo Jia, Gao Shun, and the others in the tent, Yang Rui ordered the soldiers to bring Mao Jie into the tent.
When he was in Changyi City, Yang Rui had interacted with Mao Jie. Although he did not have direct contact with him, Yang Rui also knew of this person's talent.
In the historical facts, many of Cao Cao's practical policies were actually related to Mao Jie. For example, Cao Cao's implementation of the farming system and the two major policies of holding the Emperor to order his vassals were actually first proposed by Mao Jie. It was just that the sources of these policies were slightly modified in the historical novel and unofficial history.
From this, Mao Jie's great talent and bold vision could be seen at a glance. In Yang Rui's eyes, this person's talent and value were not inferior to any of the high level strategists and talents in internal affairs within Cao Cao's group. He was truly a true almighty by Cao Cao's side that did not reveal his talents.
However, at this time, Mao Jie had already recognized Cao Cao as his master. Even if Yang Rui had any thoughts, there was not much room for maneuvering.
"Chen Liu Prefect, Cao Cao's emissary, Mao Jie, greets Blazing Sun, Qing Province's Prefecture Governor, Bohai King! Previously on the battlefield, Mao Jie did not know Your Excellency's identity. Please forgive my rudeness … "
After Mao Jie was led into Yang Rui's tent by the soldiers, he swept his gaze around and then respectfully greeted Yang Rui.
During the battle of Changyi City, Mao Jie had a conversation with Yang Rui before the battle. Thus, he was able to recognize Yang Rui.
It was just a simple sentence. Mao Jie's words cleverly revealed a lot of information. Among them, the most obvious was Cao Cao's identity. In Mao Jie's mouth, it had already become the original "Chen Liu Prefect" and not any other title.
It should be known that not long ago, Cao Cao had occupied Yan Province's governing area, Changyi City, and had the intention of taking the position of Yan Province's Provincial Governor himself!
At this time, Cao Cao's emissary, Mao Jie, had taken the initiative to change his title to "Chen Liu Prefect". This indirectly revealed that he had voluntarily given up the fight for Yan Province's territory and was willing to curl up his forces within Chen Liu County without any other thoughts.
This was probably also because Mao Jie had personally participated in the battle of Changyi City and knew about the involvement of Yang Rui's forces. As well as the situation in Yan Province, this led Cao Cao to make such a choice. It was undeniable that Cao Cao was very wise on this point.
"Oh …"
In the face of Mao Jie's enthusiasm, Yang Rui only responded softly. He was neither anxious nor impatient, as if he did not care.
"Lord Blazing Sun, Lord Bohai King, what happened in Yan Province was indeed a misunderstanding. My lord, Cao Cao, was bewitched and coerced by Yuan Shao, so he took a wrong step. I hope that Lord Prefecture Governor can understand. Please give my lord a chance to turn over a new leaf … "
Seeing Yang Rui's expression, Mao Jie directly spoke frankly. He lowered his body extremely low, as if he had come as an emissary to confess to Yang Rui!
With the current comparison of strength between the inside and outside of Fengqiu City, Cao Cao had no choice but to do this. Although he was good at scheming, he did not expect that he would be completely fooled by Yang Rui, resulting in the current situation where he could not get off the tiger's back.
The main reason was that Yang Rui's return was too sudden. Cao Cao did not consider Yang Rui as a factor from the start. Thus, no matter how Cao Cao had schemed before, the moment Yang Rui suddenly appeared, everything he had planned and constructed had instantly collapsed.
"… Lord Blazing Sun, Lord Bohai King, this is a congratulatory gift prepared by my lord, Cao Cao, to congratulate you on your triumphant return from the Foreign Realm. Please take a look, my lord …"
Seeing that Yang Rui still didn't have the intention to speak, Mao Jie simply took out a 'gift list' from his long sleeve and respectfully passed it to Yang Rui. Although it was called a 'gift list', it was actually more appropriate to call it a 'compensation list'. Cao Cao was self-aware and sensible. He didn't wait for Yang Rui to open his mouth to ask for it when he took the initiative to mention this matter.
"Money: 1 million gold coins;
Food: 10 million units;
Wood: 10 million units;
Stone: 10 million units;
.....
Top Grade Beauties: 1000;
Excellent Horses: 2000;
.....
Building Blueprints: 100,000 (High Grade and above)
.....”
Cao Cao's compensation list was sufficiently long. It was almost filled to the brim with two scrolls. However, after Yang Rui took it and skimmed through it a few times, he laughed. These things …
"Hahahaha … Cao Mengde, Cao Mengde …"
After looking at Cao Cao's "gift list", Yang Rui threw his head back and laughed loudly. He muttered Cao Cao's name a few times. Seeing this, Mao Jie was immediately puzzled. Even Yang Rui's subordinates shifted their gazes to Yang Rui.
However, the puzzlement of Yang Rui's subordinates was only temporary. When Yang Rui passed Cao Cao's "gift list" around, a few people smiled and shook their heads after looking at it. They didn't say anything else.
It was probably because, although there were many items on Cao Cao's "gift list", they were too common for Yang Rui's Qingzhou!
For example, food, wood, stone, and other basic resources, Yang Rui didn't lack. He had so much that he almost didn't have any space to store most of them. The other items on the "gift list" were also commonly seen. Most of them could be bought with money. Among them, the most valuable item was that 1 million gold coins.
However, even though 1 million gold coins wasn't a small amount, to the current Yang Rui, it really wasn't considered a large amount of money. This was also the main reason why Yang Rui threw his head back and laughed loudly.
As for the "highest quality beauties" mentioned in the "gift list", it was probably decided by Cao Cao according to his own preferences. However, to Yang Rui, it didn't have much attraction. The number of "highest quality beauties" by his side wasn't small. Their level far exceeded those that could be on the gift list!
The funniest thing was that Cao Cao actually put beauties and horses together. Yang Rui also saw this point and finally laughed out loud. It was just that he definitely wouldn't reveal this point.
"… Blazing Sun, Prefecture Governor, Bohai King, this …"
Mao Jie was very puzzled by Yang Rui's long laughter and the expressions of the people present. In his opinion, Cao Cao's "gift list" was already enough. However, the expressions of the people from Qing Province in front of him were very wrong. Clearly, there was a big problem with the "gift list"!
However, Mao Jie couldn't ask too bluntly. Therefore, he could only test the waters and hope that the other party could dispel his doubts.
"Xiao Xian, you don't need to worry about it. However, this king doesn't lack the gifts from your family's lord. Therefore, I only smiled …"
Faced with Mao Jie's doubts, Yang Rui's attitude was much gentler this time. He directly called out Mao Jie's name and wasn't as cold as before.
"In that case, I don't know if Prefecture Governor, Blazing Sun, Bohai King have any requests so that I can return and report to my lord.
My lord has often mentioned Prefecture Governor and Bohai King. Thinking of the scene of us being military officers in West Park, my lord was indeed bewitched and coerced by Yuan Benchu this time. That's why my lord made a wrong move. Please forgive me, my lord.
Yuan Benchu's intention was for my lord and Liu Dai to work together to attack the East County. However, my lord decided to reject it. With my lord's friendship with you, my lord shouldn't lose to Yuan Benchu. This time, it was indeed Yuan Benchu who made things difficult, so … "
Mao Jie also felt the change in Yang Rui's tone and attitude. He knew that he was about to get to the core of the matter. Therefore, he once again lowered his posture and said a lot of good words. Generally, he was asking for Yang Rui's forgiveness.
"Sigh … Xiao Xian, you don't have to be like this. Just as you said, back in West Park, Meng De and I were fated to be together. If that wasn't the case, I wouldn't be so polite today. I would've directly commanded the army to take over Fengqiu County and capture Meng De to punish him. Hahaha …"
"Of course! Of course … "
As Yang Rui and Mao Jie's conversation deepened, the negotiations between the two sides gradually entered the substantive stage. The other friendship was actually fake. This was something that both Yang Rui and Mao Jie were very clear about. Right now, they were just using this as an excuse to raise the matter of bargaining chips.
"… My lord knows that the Green Province is rich and populous. Therefore, before he left, he instructed that if Prefecture Governor Blazing Sun and Bohai King have any dissatisfaction, they should change it. I don't know what my lord needs …"
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