This man, once he steps out of the rhythm of "living in seclusion," can't help but linger over the flowers and plants of the mortal world, unwilling to go back!
Cao Cao was just like this. After five years of seclusion in the mountains and forests, invigorated by the Tai Kang Qi, his head wind had not recurred for a long time. Therefore... Cao Cao was not in a hurry to return and stayed in Xiangyang City, Jingzhou.
At this moment.
The kitchen of this pavilion was steaming. Diao Chan was busy. Lu Bu walked in slowly, standing amidst the steam. Diao Chan had heard that he was in Jingzhou and had traveled hundreds of miles by carriage to come.
She had not expected... Cao Cao to be here as well.
This made Diao Chan's heart skip a beat. After all... Cao Cao's affection was known to everyone in the Great Wei... Fortunately, Lu Bu was also here, otherwise, it would have been truly difficult to say.
Seeing Lu Bu, Diao Chan smiled bitterly, "Husband, I've stewed chicken soup, mutton, and soup cakes. Husband, please take them in to Duke Cao!"
Lu Bu knew Diao Chan's thoughts. He took the dishes... and entered the room alone.
Speaking of which, Lu Bu was originally very uneasy about Diao Chan. After all, he was overseas for a long time, and the residual legacy of Wei Wu, Cao Cao's fondness for lust... was not a secret!
And of course... Cao Yu...
A Wei King who was so young, handsome, and heroic? Who wouldn't be tempted?
But... it was precisely because of Cao Yu that Lu Bu felt much more at ease.
Ling Ju was Cao Yu's sister, and Lu Lingqi was Cao Yu's imperial concubine. Then... Diao Chan, in retrospect, was Cao Yu's half-mother-in-law. Cao Cao's fondness for lust was true, but he couldn't possibly lay hands on his son's half-mother-in-law. This would be going too far...
Lu Bu felt that he had played a grand chess game... a very wise and heroic grand chess game.
"Duke Cao..."
Lu Bu entered the room with the chicken soup, mutton, and soup cakes. Cao Cao was looking at the map on the table. Upon seeing Lu Bu, he quickly put away the map. "Feng Xian has arrived. Sit!"
At a square table, the two knelt down...
Servants poured wine for Cao Cao and Lu Bu. Cao Cao said, "As people get older, they like nostalgia. There aren't many old friends left to drink with."
Lu Bu raised his wine cup, "Thinking back to Bai Men Lou, if Duke Cao hadn't spared my life, Lu Bu would probably be a withered bone by now. This cup of wine is for Duke Cao!"
Cao Cao also raised his wine cup, but shook his head. "Feng Xian, you offer me a toast, and I will drink it. However, we must speak clearly. It was my son, Cao Yu, who saved you. Without my son, Liu Bei's heart-piercing words... I might have truly lost my mind and done something foolish. If that were the case, how would the Yamatai Kingdom now belong to Wei? Who would have brought Goguryeo into Wei's territory for the Great Wei!"
Speaking of this topic...
Lu Bu drank his wine in one gulp. Besides his gratitude to Cao Yu, he felt more resentment towards Liu Bei.
"Do you not see the matter of Ding Jianyang and Dong Zhuo..." he murmured this sentence, then said coldly:
"That long-eared scoundrel's words almost destroyed me. Bu will never forget... if there is an opportunity, Bu will surely
tear that long-eared scoundrel to pieces!"
Lu Bu gritted his teeth...
Meanwhile, Cao Cao took the wine offered by the attendant and refilled Lu Bu's cup... while softly chanting:
"Hasn't the opportunity arrived?"
As he spoke, Cao Cao unfolded the map again... and pointed towards Yiling City.
This...
Lu Bu did not drink. His eyes were fixed on Yiling City. "Liu Bei has dispatched 250,000 troops to attack Yiling, but His Majesty has moved the people of Yiling City. It's like clearing the land and abandoning the crops. Bu has never understood. How can the Great Wei have so many soldiers? Even a million, let alone 250,000, can be mustered. Why clear the land and abandon the crops? Wouldn't it be more domineering to defeat the invading enemy with military might..."
Lu Bu voiced his doubts.
Cao Cao squinted his eyes, "Yu'er is ultimately a benevolent and filial ruler, not a domineering one..."
"Benevolence is used for governing the country, while dominance is used for unification," Lu Bu offered a different perspective. "Perhaps after incorporating Ba Shu into the Great Wei's territory, the Great Wei will need a benevolent and filial ruler more. But now..." "That's wrong!" Cao Cao gently shook his head. "Yu'er's benevolence is towards his own people, not towards the enemy, and certainly not towards that Liu Bei... Yu'er just wants
the people of Wei to suffer less!"
This...
Lu Bu hesitated. As the saying goes, "The success of one general is the death of ten thousand soldiers." How can the unification of the world be achieved without casualties? Just then,
"Report! Pang Tong, Prefect of Jiangxia, has arrived!"
Prefect of Jiangxia?
Lu Bu was surprised. "Jiangxia is an important transportation hub for grain and supplies to Yiling City. Pang Tong, as the Prefect of Jiangxia, holds great importance? Why has he come to Xiangyang?"
Cao Cao smiled and did not answer Lu Bu. He raised his hand, "Let him in!"
A moment later, Pang Tong entered. He saw Cao Cao and cupped his hands in greeting. Then he saw Lu Bu and also offered a greeting...
"Tell me, how is Yu'er's plan progressing?" Cao Cao asked.
"Now, Liu Bei's army has all entered the designated locations, just waiting for this evening..." Pang Tong replied truthfully.
Lu Bu was a little confused...
Liu Bei's 250,000-strong army was surrounding Yiling City? How could it be... Liu Bei's army had entered the designated locations?
What were designated locations?
Seeing Lu Bu's bewildered look, Cao Cao smiled and explained, "Feng Xian has been in Yamatai Kingdom, so you probably don't know what kind of manufacturing blueprints Yu'er has drawn, do you?"
Cao Cao smiled and slowly stood up. He took out a blueprint from his embrace and handed it to Lu Bu...
"This is a landmine..."
Lu Bu took it. The blueprint indicated that this object called a landmine had a stone shell and was filled with gunpowder. It was installed in a mechanism with a transmission system, and then controlled by a fuse... It was a group-triggered mine that could control explosions.
Of course, with the rapid development of "technology" in the Great Wei in recent years, Lu Bu was no stranger to firearms... He even used firearms when he went from Yamatai Kingdom to attack Goguryeo... He equipped ships with cannons. But... what was this, with a stone shell on the outside and gunpowder inside?
A thunderclap from flat ground?
"Can this... also explode?"
Lu Bu asked curiously.
"I don't know!" Cao Cao turned his gaze to Pang Tong.
Pang Tong understood and quickly explained, "Naturally, it can explode!"
Cao Cao continued to ask, "Then what is its power?"
This... Pang Tong's eyes darted around. "One mine alone has enough power to blow our current
residence to smithereens..."
This comparison...
It was strange.
Before Lu Bu could react, Cao Cao exclaimed, "Say that again!"
Pang Tong also seemed to realize that comparing it to this house might not be appropriate.
But he was straightforward... and continued, "My lord, the former Emperor, and Marquis Wen are in this house. If this landmine detonates, then in the blink of an eye... all of us will be gone! Moreover, anyone in this house
will not be able to withstand it... this landmine's explosion, more likely than not, will turn them to ashes!"
In fact... calling it a landmine wasn't entirely accurate.
Lu Yu's blueprint depicted a stone shell with a large amount of gunpowder added.
This was an invention from the early Ming Dynasty...
"Ming Shi Ji Shi Ben Mo · Yan Wang Qi Bing" recorded that during the Battle of Baigou River in Jianwen Year Two (1400), it was said that "firearms were hidden in the ground, and anyone who encountered them would be destroyed!"
Of course, this was version 1.0, invented in the first year of the armistice.
Now, after improvements by Liu Ye, Zhu Gejun, Ma Jun, and others, it had reached the second phase of version 3.3. Not only had the power increased, but it could also form a minefield, controlled by a fuse through a line buried in a tunnel, achieving a massive explosion!
This achievement astonished Lu Yu!
Never underestimate the wisdom of the ancients. They just lacked a direction... a guide!
However, Lu Bu...
Pfft... This time, the mouthful of wine he had just swallowed all sprayed out.
The wine mist flew up... and then he clutched his chest, coughing desperately.
While coughing, he said, "You mean, that Liu Bei has already reached the explosion site?"
"That's right!" Pang Tong said with confidence.
"Actually, not many landmines were buried, only a little over a thousand. They can only pull the detonating wires. These landmines, without the barrier of weight, will detonate continuously in an instant, causing mountains to crumble and the earth to shake..."
This time... not only Lu Bu, but even Cao Cao's expression was stunned.
Not one... a thousand...
Although Pang Tong's analogy was inappropriate, a thousand detonating simultaneously, wouldn't that mean... wouldn't that mean the entire government office of Xiangyang City...
No... Xiangyang itself would be gone?
He couldn't help but shiver. Although Yu'er had mentioned "landmines" before, Cao Cao had only thought their power was comparable to cannons. But now...
"Gulp..."
He swallowed, "Then Liu Bei isn't..."
"Not good!" Before Cao Cao could finish speaking, Lu Bu suddenly stood up. "I have to go to Yiling..."
"Feng Xian?" Cao Cao quickly called out.
However... Lu Bu's mind was made up. "If I don't go now, I'm afraid Liu Bei's ashes won't even be found! At that time, how will Bu be able to personally take revenge on my enemy?"
...
...
Below Yiling City, a day of siege warfare had concluded.
After days of continuous siege, both sides had suffered casualties.
As the Shu army surrounded Yiling from all sides, blocking all passages, and erecting more trebuchets, the balance of the battlefield had gradually tilted towards the Shu army.
At this time...
In the central military tent of the Shu army, a group of generals were filled with imposing presence.
Zhang Bao cupped his hands and said, "As His Majesty predicted, Lu Xun is afraid to fight before battle. He knows he is no match for Your Majesty. The current Yiling City is at the end of its rope. This humble general is confident of capturing Yiling within three days!"
Guan Xing also stepped forward, "If I am allowed to be the vanguard, I am confident of capturing Yiling within two days!"
How could Zhang Bao yield the command position? "Tomorrow, tomorrow, if I do not capture Yiling, then I will give the vanguard position to you!"
Unlike the brotherly affection between Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, the younger Guan and Zhang were secretly competing...
One was for revenge for their father, and the other was to achieve merit and establish their careers...
Only Sun Qian felt something was amiss. "Your Majesty, Cao Wei has been too abnormal. For so many days, there has been no sign of reinforcements. Could it be... they want to abandon Yiling? Or do they have some other plan."
"What are you afraid of?" Guan Xing shouted loudly. "That Cao Yu is in Hanzhong, not Jingzhou. My father was concerned about personally supporting Jingzhou, which is why he made a huge strategic mistake. Before that, my father had always been suppressing Cao Wei! In my opinion, except for Cao Yu, no one in the entire Cao Wei is worth worrying about. This time, His Majesty has mobilized 250,000 elite troops, working in unison. What threat can the mere Cao Wei pose? Once
Yiling is captured, the next step is Jingzhou. Then, upon capturing Xiangyang, we can divide the land with Cao Wei along the river, encompassing the southern Jing and eastern Jiang territories, and the great undertaking can be achieved! It can also comfort my father's spirit in heaven!"
Guan Xing's words were passionate and inspiring, making people's hearts surge.
For five years, to break out of Ba Shu, Guan Xing, Zhang Bao... so many people were too eager.
Some of the civil and military officials secretly agreed...
But at this moment...
A scout stumbled in from outside: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, under the camp... a strange discovery..."
Liu Bei was stunned.
Guan Xing's speech also stopped abruptly...
Everyone in the central military tent looked at each other...
Liu Bei asked, "What is strange?"
"Today, logistical troops were ordered to dig a well... but unexpectedly, they dug a tunnel underground..."
"A tunnel?" Liu Bei's eyes narrowed, but his expression softened considerably. If it was just a tunnel, then... it was nothing to worry about. "So the young Lu Xun wanted to use this tunnel to sneak attack our army. Our army can play along with his plan, which would be even better!"
Hearing Liu Bei's words...
The scout quickly said, "It's probably not a tunnel for a sneak attack, but... but there's something buried in the tunnel.
It's an iron object, with a cavity... enclosing something, and there's a thin wire connected to it. We've searched for all the skilled craftsmen, but we don't know what this is!"
This...
Liu Bei's eyes narrowed. "Ask again, and have all the skilled craftsmen in the army go and see it. Make sure to figure out what this is!"
"Yes... yes..." The scout agreed and was about to pass the message.
Unexpectedly...
Just then.
A loud explosion occurred. Because it was very close to the central military tent, the sound caused Liu Bei to experience temporary deafness.
He instinctively looked outside the tent...
He saw that the camp where the explosion occurred had immediately turned into ruins. Countless Shu soldiers, pulverized and shattered by the explosion, their remains fell from the sky... making "thump thump" sounds, horrifying to behold.
At the same time, sparks from the explosion rained down from above, and the scorching iron fragments, along with the cold wind stirred by the weapons, landed on Liu Bei simultaneously.
"This is..."
Before Liu Bei could speak...
— Boom boom boom!
The rumbling sound echoed again. The entire camp was filled with flames bursting open. Screams of agony erupted from the crowd. Frightened people were scattered in all directions like debris from an explosion.
Immediately after, rows of tents and trebuchets swayed precariously, letting out weak groans... as if in this sound of explosions, they would collapse in the next moment.
"—Boom!!"
The camp, starting from the perimeter, wherever the explosions occurred, waves of scorching flames swept out, accompanied by earth-shattering roars, and rolling smoke, like an overwhelming sandstorm, soared into the sky, accompanied by the seductive bloom of scarlet flames...
The explosions became more frequent... and more deafening...
Flames and smoke surged into the sky...
The air was filled with a suffocating, pungent odor. The entire Shu army camp was in chaos for a time!
All the Shu soldiers could no longer hold their positions. They fled in all directions, their cries and wails, along with the cries of those blown into the sky by the explosions, forming a cacophony.
"Cough cough..."
Suddenly, Liu Bei let out a violent cough.
Zhang Bao and Guan Xing quickly shielded him, shouting frantically, "Protect His Majesty, protect His Majesty... enemy attack... enemy attack!"
Yes...
Is it an enemy attack?
But where is the enemy?
Apart from the continuous roaring of explosions, apart from the masses of black smoke constantly rising from the Shu army camp, apart from fragments and debris flying everywhere like sharp swords...
The enemy? Where are they?
...
...