Daman was stunned. He immediately understood what Cao Cao meant, and immediately bowed respectfully and said: "Report to the Prime Minister, I am here from Gao Nu, but I have not yet gone to see Liu Bao."

Cao Cao also asked casually, because even if Daman did not go to see Liu Bao, it would not explain any problem. Liu Bao would go to Gao Nu to see Hu Chuquan, so Cao Cao no longer attached to this problem. He changed the topic and said: "Since my Han Dynasty expelled the Northern Huns, the Southern Huns were able to recuperate under the protection of the court. They have been obedient for a hundred years. Why do they now have to go south and threaten the Central Plains? Does Hu Chuquan feel that he is full of wings and betrayal and abandon all the court's past grace for him?"

Cao Cao's tone was very stern, and Daman was so scared that he knelt down and said, "Mr. Wei really wronged Shanyu. The truth is not like this. We did not have the intention to peek at the Central Plains. We were just forced to do so and out of self-defense. We hope that Mr. Wei will understand the truth!"

"Self-defense?"

Cao Cao snorted, "The Wuhuan people were rude. They first crossed the border and burned and killed border merchants and invaded Xiaoguan. The Han King had no choice but to fight back against Wuhuan. Then the war broke out two months ago. What does this have to do with the Xiongnu? You are moving south at this time and besieging Gaonu. I don't understand, where is the self-defense?"

"Donald Wei only heard one thing. In fact, when the Han army fought against the Wuhuan people, the Xiongnu had already been involved. In the two battles, the Jie tribe and Liu Meng's troops were defeated in a crushing defeat. What's even more outrageous is that the Han army sneaked into the Sheyanhai, killing tens of thousands of women, children, and elderly people. Millions of cattle and sheep were slaughtered. Even the wife and children of the Youxian King were slaughtered. This blood sea of ​​hatred was deeply rooted in the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu could not ignore it. Shanyu personally sent troops south to drive the butcher Liu Jing's army back to the south and restore the previous order. Shanyu said that Guanzhong and Longxi were the territory of the Han court. The Xiongnu would not be involved and would return it to the court."

Damann emphasized his tone and made the four words "returned to the court" clear. Cao Cao sneered in his heart, only mentioning territory and not the population. How could he not understand such distorted words? Cao Cao said lightly: "Since that's the case, the King of Zhuri might as well say clearly, what do I need to do?"

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Daman came to see Cao Cao secretly and could not stay for too long. After submitting Hu Chuquan's letter, he quickly said goodbye. Of course, Cao Cao would not make any promises, and some words could not be said too clearly. The key is to look at the actions of both sides.

Cao Cao ordered Cao Xiu to send Daman away, and he handed Hu Chuquan's letter to Cheng Yu, "The military advisor will see their plan!"

In fact, Cheng Yu understood the intention of the Huns without reading the letter. They wanted Duke Wei to keep his troops still. It was obviously unrealistic to let Cao's army send troops to Guanzhong. However, if Cao's army could keep his troops still, the Huns' troops could increase sharply to 180,000, and the possibility of defeating Liu Jing would be greatly increased. Of course, the Huns also put forward attractive conditions. The Cao army did not need to send out one army or another, and the Huns defeated the Han army and guaranteed to send Guanzhong and Longxi to Cao Cao. This condition was the result of Cao Cao's dream.

Cheng Yu looked at the sheepskin letter and saw Cao Cao standing in front of the window with his hands behind his back, Cheng Yu slowly walked forward and said, "There is a loophole in this letter. I wonder if Mr. Wei can see it?"

"I felt it too, but let's talk about the loopholes you found first." Cao Cao said in a deep voice.

"In the letter, Hu Chuquan said that he would not ask for the territory of the Han Dynasty and would return Longxi and Guanzhong to Duke Wei, but he did not mention Hexi. At more critical moment, he did not mention how the people of the great men living in Longxi and Guanzhong would deal with it. It is conceivable that what Duke Wei will get at that time will be a piece of ruins and scorched earth."

Cao Cao sighed and said, "The problem is here! The Huns have launched a large number of troops and will never return empty-handed. If they do not plunder all the wealth of the people in Guanzhong, they will not give up. I am afraid that by then, I, Cao Cao, will be a sinner for the ages."

Speaking of this, Cao Cao turned his eyes out the window and looked at the distant sky. After a long time, he said coldly: "Although I long to defeat Liu Jing and regain Guanzhong and Longxi, I will not exchange national justice. Hu Chuquan is a delusion!"

Seeing that Cao Cao was very determined, Cheng Yu couldn't help but feel relieved: "It is a blessing for all people in the world to be able to understand justice so deeply!"

He changed his tone and laughed in a low voice: "But the soldiers are never tired of deceit, so Duke Wei can use his tricks."

Cao Cao was overjoyed and asked quickly: "Will the plan come out?"

Cheng Yu whispered a few words to Cao Cao. Cao Cao nodded repeatedly and finally pondered for a moment, "But this requires Liu Jing's cooperation."

Cheng Yu laughed, "If what I expected was not bad, Liu Jing would send an envoy to come soon."

At this moment, a guard reported in the hall: "Report to Duke Wei, a quick message came from Hedong County. The King of Han sent the Minister of Shangshu Sima Yi to Bingzhou. He had entered Hedong County and was coming towards Taiyuan."

Cao Cao and Cheng Yu looked at each other and couldn't help laughing together

Sima Yi entered Bingzhou from Pujin Pass, passed Hedong County, and headed north. Because the two major mountains of Taihang and Luliang ran across the east and west Bingzhou, the east and west routes from Hedong County to Taiyuan were divided into two routes. One was east of the Luliang Mountains, extending to the north along the Fenshui Valley, passing through the Shique Valley in the middle, entering Jiuze Lake, and then heading north to reach Taiyuan.

Another road is to go west of Luliang Mountain, pass through Xihe County, enter the west of Taiyuan County, and then go east through Luliang Mountain to reach Taiyuan. Relatively speaking, the west of Luliang Mountain is relatively desolate and sparsely populated, while the Fenshui River Valley east of Luliang Mountains is a densely populated agricultural area.

Sima Yi chose to walk through the densely populated Fenshui River Valley. More than a hundred members of the delegation took three large boats to the north along the Fenshui River. That afternoon, the fleet passed Yong'an County. The big ship cut through the waves and slowly headed north under the pull of the boatmen on both sides of the strait. Sima Yi stood at the bow of the boat, looking at the picturesque scenery on both sides of the straits with his hands behind his back, with a large area of ​​forest distributed at the foot of the mountain. There were endless rice fields on both sides. It was early September, and the rice fields were green and yellow, rising and falling with the wind, as if it was a spectacular sea of ​​rice, which made Sima Yi feel relaxed and happy.

At this time, a soldier led the boatman forward and said, "Military advisor, the boatman said there is something important."

"What's the matter?" Sima Yi asked back.

"Mr. Qibing, the next step is Guan Juejin. There is a dangerous shoal of dozens of miles, that is, the Rat and Chop Valley. No ships with more than a hundred stones cannot pass, and only small boats can pass."

Sima Yi frowned, "I used to walk through the Fen River by boat, and the road was smooth, so where was there any dangerous shoal?"

"That was a lot of years ago. About five years ago, a large mountain in Rat Gulf collapsed, and countless huge rocks rolled into the river, causing the river to be blocked for a while. Later, the government organized civilians to dredge the river channel, but the manpower and material resources were limited, so they could never fully restore the smooth flow of the past, forming a 30-mile-long rocky beach, which was very dangerous and the large ship was easily smashed."

"What should I do?"

The boatman said helplessly: "Either take a small boat or take a land route, cross Gaobiling to the east, or take the west bank of Fen River, pass through Jiahu Fort, and arrive at Lingshi County, you can continue taking the boat. This distance is about 80 miles."

Sima Yi thought about it and found that they were numerous, as well as the betrothal gifts given to Cao Cao by the King of Han. It was obviously unrealistic to take a small boat and could only go by land. Sima Yi asked again: "Where can you rent mules and horses by land?"

"Yes! Yes! There are a large number of mules and horse teams available for rent on the east and west coasts, and the business is booming. Don't worry about this problem."

Sima Yi had no choice but to nod and said, "Okay! Then we will get off the boat and go to Jahu Fort on the West Bank."

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Half an hour later, the fleet arrived at the Yindi Guanxi Wharf. Everyone got off the boat, found a large team of mules and horses, and checked the supplies. Everyone rode their horses and walked towards the north.

The area where they are located is a canyon about a hundred miles long, called Rat and Bird Valley. As the name suggests, it means that the terrain is dangerous, and only mice and birds can pass through the canyon. On both sides of the canyon are rolling mountains, with Gaobiling to the east, with a dangerous terrain and a slightly slower terrain to the west. There is a small town in the mountains called Jiahu Fort.

Due to the rampant bandits in the mountains and the numerous thieves, the town of Jahubao built a fort wall around it and had a spontaneous militia defense organized by the local government. The reason why Jahubao is important is that it is the only place on this section of more than 100 miles of mountain road.

However, Sima Yi was not very worried. They had more than 20 people in their delegation, and the remaining eighty were all elite guards from the Eagle Strike Army. It was no problem to deal with bandits and bandits. There were more than a dozen mule men accompanying them, who were responsible for taking care of their luggage.

At dusk, a huge team entered the gate of Jahu Fort, and the Jahu Fort suddenly became lively. Jahu Fort is located at a dangerous place on the hillside, and it is a must-pass road on the mountain road. There are hundreds of buildings in the fort, with more than a thousand people living in, most of them are hostels and taverns, and two small-scale brothels.

Although Jiahu Fort had no worries about business, the arrival of the Han envoys led to a competition among the hostels, and Sima Yi finally chose the largest hostel.

The team moved into the hostel in a mighty manner. The soldiers took off their luggage boxes from the mules and horses and carried them into the hostel. The mule driver and his friend led the mules and horses into the stable behind them. The hostel shopkeeper came out. He was knowledgeable and could see that the identity of these people was extraordinary. His attitude became extremely respectful. He nodded and bowed to Sima Yi and said, "Please rest assured that the shop will do its best to make everyone live comfortably and sleep soundly."

At this time, Sima Yi looked at the situation around the hostel and found that there were many people eating in the dining hall on the other side. Everyone was watching their special guests, whispering from time to time. Several of them looked fierce and did not seem to be good. Among them, a man sitting in the corner was about forty years old, with thick eyebrows and a long scar on his face. His eyes were particularly fierce, and he was staring at him coldly.

He heard the leader of the Mule and Horse Team say on the road that one of the big reasons why there has never been any accident in the Jahu Fort for decades is that it has reached a tacit understanding with the bandits. As long as the bandits are not causing trouble in the fort, they can come and go freely. It is conceivable that among these people who are eating, there should be spies from the bandits.

Sima Yi frowned. He was not afraid of bandits, but he didn't want an accident to happen halfway. Sima Yi ordered everyone to clean up and then come out for dinner. When Sima Yi and everyone came to the dining hall, all the guests had already left, and only a group of them were left in the dining hall.

At this time, the mule husband leader sat next to Sima Yi and whispered: "When I entered the store just now, did you notice a middle-aged man with a scar on his face?"
Chapter completed!