In 208 AD (September 13, Jian'an), Cao Cao personally led a large army to Xinye to command the battle to conquer Jingzhou.

Soon Cao Ren and Li Dian's men also rushed from Yuzhou and Sili to Jingzhou to join the main force of Cao Cao's army. At this point, the total number of Cao Cao's troops led this time reached more than 200,000, which far exceeded that of Yuan Shao's troops during the Battle of Guandu.

Looking at the huge military formation stretching for hundreds of miles, Cao Cao sighed in his heart, and said to Sima Yi beside him:

"Zhongda, when you and I were in Guandu camp, we had never seen such a big scene, right?"

Sima Yi could hear that Cao Cao was showing off to him, and he smiled indifferently and bowed:

"Prime Minister Tianwei is no longer the same as before. This attack on Nanyang is so smooth, I am afraid that Liu Cong, who is in Xiangyang, will not be able to sit still."

"Ha ha ha ha!"

After hearing Sima Yi's words, Cao Cao couldn't help laughing. He handed Sima Yi a bamboo slip on the table:

"Look at it."

When Sima Yi saw this book, he felt a little uneasy, and the result was naturally not as expected:

This is a secret letter jointly signed by Cai Mao, Zhang Yun, Kuai Yue, Fu Xun and others. The almost flattering words all reveal their admiration and respect for Cao Cao. The most important thing is that they promised Cao Cao that they would persuade Liu Cong to surrender within a few days in exchange for the safety of the military and civilians in Jingzhou.

After reading the letter, Sima Yi took a deep breath. He thought that although the strength of the Jingzhou army might not be Cao Cao's opponent, it was not impossible to compete with him for a period of time to wait for the change of time. Unexpectedly, Liu Biao's death meant the complete disintegration of the people of Jingzhou, and it also indicated that Cao Cao was about to seize this strategic military important place without any effort.

The current situation has violated Sima Yi's original intention of this trip. In order to delay or even obstruct this matter as much as possible, Sima Yi said to Cao Cao: "Prime Minister, your army has not yet reached the city of Xiangyang, and these so-called celebrities in Jingzhou are scrambling to surrender to you. According to the strength of Jingzhou itself, it should not be like this. I am worried about whether there is any fraud in it."

Although Cao Cao was suspicious by nature, this time he was not secretly provoked by Sima Yi at all. He smiled and said to Sima Yi:

"I am Cao Cao, who is suspicious, but I didn't expect that Zhongda, your suspicion is even better than mine."

On the surface, it seemed that Cao Cao was not affected by Sima Yi at all, but in fact Sima Yi had already grasped his mentality. Cao Cao led hundreds of thousands of powerful troops to the south and was already arrogant. In addition, Sima Yi's words were secretly urged, and Cao Cao relied on the capital he had to offer harsh conditions.

In reply to Kuai Yue's letter, Cao Cao first made the request to accept surrender that Liu Cong must kneel down at the city gate and present the seal of the governor of Jingzhou with both hands. In addition, the ownership of Jingzhou officials should be decided after Cao Cao was in charge of Jingzhou.

Soon, when Liu Cong received the document sent by Cao Cao, although he was young, he still threw the letter in front of Kuai Yue and Cai Mao:

"Look, this is the generous conditions offered by the Cao Gong you mentioned!"

For this reason, Liu Cong opposed surrendering to Cao Cao with a strong emotion and claimed to fight to the end.

When Cheng Yu and Jia Xu learned that Cao Cao sent a letter to Xiangyang and surrendered, they sighed. Cheng Yu hurriedly persuaded Cao Cao to write a letter to Xiangyang quickly. One apologized for his previous inappropriate words, and the other issued a clause again.

At first, Cao Cao did not take this matter to heart, and he said to Cheng Yu:

"Zhongde was worried too much. My kingly army was punished by heaven. The land of Nanyang fell into my hands in just over a month. It can be seen that the combat power of the soldiers in Jingzhou was difficult to compete with me. Since they had no capital, why should I be kind to these people who were tempted by the flames and accomplices?"

After hearing this, Jia Xu thought that Cao Cao's mentality at this moment was as proud and underestimated as Wancheng at the beginning. It was very inappropriate to just remind Cao Cao himself, so Cheng Yu quickly paid attention to his meaning:

"Does the Prime Minister still remember the battle in Wancheng?"

Cheng Yu's simple words made Cao Cao feel enlightened. He immediately put away his anxiety and said to Cheng Yu: "Zhongde, if you do this, just say that the previous letter was written by me after I was drunk, not the true meaning."

At this time, Jia Xu looked at Sima Yi beside Cao Cao, and seemed to have noticed something was wrong.

After Sima Yi walked out of the tent for a while, Jia Xu suddenly appeared behind him:

"It's a great way to make a big move with just one word..."

Sima Yi stopped after hearing Jia Xu's words. He knew what profound meaning was in Jia Xu's words, but he still turned around calmly and saluted him respectfully as a junior:

"I've met Mr. Wenhe..."

Jia Xu looked at Sima Yi's humble attitude of bowing to him, couldn't help but smile and walked directly past Sima Yi. When his body was about to be in the same straight line as Sima Yi, Jia Xu deliberately stopped:

"Sometimes, don't think you are the smartest, as this will make things that you can see clearly blur..."

After saying that, Jia Xu walked straight towards him. Sima Yi stood up and looked at his back for a long time...

After the second letter from Cao Cao was sent to Xiangyang, Liu Cong and Cao Cao issued no major flaws. For example, after the city was sold, Liu Cong was still the governor of Jingzhou, and officials in Jingzhou would maintain their original positions, and those who advocated surrendering to Cao's army would be treated preferentially.

But he was still unwilling to accept it: "I, Liu Cong, inherited my father's business and owned the nine counties of Jingxiang. Now, just because Cao Cao occupied a county in Nanyang, my brother Liu Qi is stationed in Jiangxia, and Liu Huangshutun guards Fancheng. It is not as important as surrender. Should I hand over the entire territory of Jingzhou to others in exchange for my glory and wealth?"

In response to this, Kuai Yuehao and Fu Xun said to Liu Cong: "There is a theorem for rebellion and optimism, and the strength and weakness are in the situation. Now Cao Cao represents the Emperor of Han. As a minister, we are in opposition to the country. How could the lord have enough strength to fight against Cao Cao who is at its peak? Liu Bei and Cao Cao have suffered repeated battles and were defeated. Liu Qi has always held a grudge against you because he failed to inherit the title of Jingzhou. It is impossible to rely on them to help you."

These seemingly powerful, polite and polite reasons made Liu Cong unable to argue. Finally, under the instigation of Cai's family and the coercion and temptation of Cai Mao and others, Liu Cong had no choice but to accept the suggestion of surrendering to Cao Cao.

After accepting it, Liu Cong said to Cai Mao:

"I had said something about Uncle Liu before, and now I need to inform him about my surrender."

Although Cai Mao agreed, he had actually reached a secret condition with Cao Cao, that is, to assist Cao Cao in surrounding Fancheng to capture and kill Liu Bei. Cai Mao naturally would not tell Liu Bei about this news, so he deliberately concealed the news of Liu Cong surrendering Cao Cao. On the other hand, he secretly handed over Zhang He's men in private, intending to let them enter Xiangyang County to raid Fancheng.

Zhang He, who received Cao Cao's permission, immediately mobilized his troops to advance to Deng County, and then met with Cai Mao.

Before leaving, Sima Yi happened to pass by Zhang He's camp and saw that he was already preparing for the army to set off. So he walked into the tent to salute Zhang He: "General, I haven't seen you for a long time."

Zhang He saw that Sima Yi was here, so he quickly called Sima Yi to sit down out of his old love:

"Yes, we have never met since Yecheng. Later I heard that you agreed to the Prime Minister's recruitment and became a literary officer in the Prime Minister's Office. In the future, we can be said to be the same dynasty as the same dynasty."

Sima Yi smiled modestly: "I cannot be compared with the general. You are a great general who is dignified in Hebei, and I am just an ordinary scholar in a rural village school."

"Zhongda, you and me don't want such false compliments. Since I met you for the first time in Liyang City, I have known your ability. Later, I heard that you helped the second young master in Youzhou repeatedly blocked the Prime Minister's advance. Compared with you, I don't have the ability to plan like this."

Faced with Zhang He's sincere praise, Sima Yi knew that he was not a traitor and loyal person.

Sima Yi was very curious when he saw Zhang He wearing armor, so he asked, "I heard that Liu Cong of Jingzhou had submitted a surrender document to the Prime Minister. Is there any other military affairs in the general's appearance?"

Zhang He hesitated for a moment, and when he saw that Sima Yi was the person around Cao Cao, he did not doubt that he had:

"The Prime Minister sent me to Deng County to meet with Cai Mao's defenders, and then changed into the uniforms and flags of the soldiers of Jingzhou. The Jingzhou people and Cai Mao, who were disguised, quickly surrounded Fancheng."

After hearing Zhang He's words, Sima Yi felt a cold sweat oozing out of his back. He knew that Liu Bei was resolutely resisting Cao Cao and the only person who feared Cao Cao. If this move succeeded, Liu Bei would only face the danger of siege from all sides.

After Zhang He's camp came out, Sima Yi was entangled with conflicting thoughts in his heart. He wondered if he should notify Liu Bei about this matter, but even if he had this intention, what kind of way should he use? You must know that he thought he was not familiar with anyone under Liu Bei's command.

Just after Sima Yi thought about it, he could not come to a conclusion and had to return to his tent. He suddenly found that there was a breath of a stranger in the tent. He immediately held the "Fuyu Meteor" tightly in his hand, ready to deal with possible emergencies at any time.

He walked step by step into the house, and every step he carefully observed the situation around the person.

Suddenly, a shadow popped out from behind the curtain, Sima Yi quickly turned around and pointed the "no-yu meteor" in his hand at the person standing behind him...

When Sima Yi pointed the "Fuyuwu Meteor" in his hand at the man in front of him, he was surprised to find that the young man was holding almost the same "Fuyuwuwu Meteor" in his hand, and also aimed at him...

"You..." Sima Yi could hardly believe his eyes:

"Who are you..."

The man saw that Sima Yi knew the "no-yu meteor" in his hand, so he put it away and bowed to Sima Yi: "Mr. Liao Hua has seen Mr. Zhongda, please do not doubt it. Mr. Zhuge is here on the order of Military Advisor Zhuge."

"Military Advisor Zhuge?"

Sima Yi soon thought of Liu Bei's new adviser Zhuge Liang, who was the young man in white who had been with him on Pingding Mountain for several days and gave him a "Featherless Meteor" before leaving.

At this time, Sima Yi had many questions in his mind to ask Zhuge Liang, but he could only put all his thoughts aside for the time being, because compared to this question, what is the purpose of Zhuge Liang sending people to Xinye at this moment? This is the most important thing.

"Is there anything important thing about Mr. Kongming asking you to come here?"

Facing Sima Yi's question, Liao Hua answered truthfully:

"Return to Mr. Zhongda, we will come to inform you at the end of the order of the military advisor. The military advisor wants to meet you as soon as possible."

It just so happened that Sima Yi wanted to meet Zhuge Liang, but at this time he thought of another important question, that is, Cai Mao and Zhang He were about to start a war against Fancheng. Sima Yi was thinking hard about how to pass the news to Liu Bei, so he quickly told Liao Hua and reminded Zhuge Liang to prepare as soon as possible.
Chapter completed!