Chapter 128 Time flies, goodbye Cao Cao In 197 AD, which was September of the second year of Jian'an, the situation in the world underwent a real change with the flapping of a butterfly's wings. First, Liu Bei took advantage of the war between Yuan Shu and Lu Bu to seize Pei State. Cao Cao, who became even more powerful than before, launched an all-out attack on Yuan Shu in the summer. As a result, Yuan Shu, who should have been still at ease, was forced to engage in battles passively and suffered defeat after defeat. By the beginning of September, the Cao and Yuan families had officially decided the winner. In this battle, the two families deployed a force of over 100,000. If auxiliary troops and civilians are included, the total number exceeded 200,000. During the First World War, more than 50,000 civilians and soldiers were killed or injured. In the end, Cao Cao occupied twelve counties along the Pingyu-Shangcai line and captured nearly 30,000 soldiers and horses. Yuan Shu was defeated, with more than half of his troops killed and he completely lost control of Runan.

But what no one in the world expected was that the biggest beneficiary of this battle was not Cao Cao, but Liu Bei, who only occupied the land of Pei and had no more than 30,000 soldiers and horses. While Cao Cao and Yuan Shu were fighting each other, Liu Bei, together with Lu Bu and Sun Ce, attacked Jiujiang County, won battle after battle, and captured Yuan Shu's capital Shouchun. For some unknown reason, the three families that were originally in an alliance suddenly started a war in Shouchun City. Some people say that it was because Liu Bei plotted against Sun Ce and joined forces with Lu Bu to kill him. Some people also said that Sun Ce was unhappy that Liu Bei entered the city and wanted to join forces with Lu Bu to attack and kill Liu Bei. Others say that it was Lu Bu who mediated and joined forces with Liu Bei to kill Sun Ce. But no one knows the truth except those who experienced it! But one thing is certain, it was Sun Ce who took the first move. After the three families attacked each other, the situation in Huainan suddenly became clear. For some reason, Lu Bu withdrew halfway, Sun Ce fled back to Jiangdong in defeat, and only Liu Bei's family annexed the entire Jiujiang. At the beginning of September, after persuading Qin Yi to surrender, Liu Bei was on his way back to Xincai. He followed the advice of his military advisor Qin Zhen and ordered Liu Pi and Gong Du to send troops to capture Yichun, Ancheng and other places. His headquarters was responsible for recruiting counties and prefectures along the way. At this time, with the Xincai and Ruyin line being cut off, Yuan Shu's sphere of influence was directly divided into two halves by Liu Bei. Liu Xun's troops are still there in Lujiang, but there are no more garrison troops in the southern cities of Runan. So as Liu Bei moved north, the counties surrendered one after another. In less than half a month, Fubei, Yuanlu, Qisi, Yiyang, Xinxi and other places were persuaded to surrender one after another. In a rage, Yuan Shu turned back and attacked Xincai fiercely, but was defeated again by Guan Yu and Cao Cao outside the city of Xincai. In the end, there were less than 20,000 soldiers left, and they retreated in disgrace to the State of Song northeast of Runan, unable to rise again. At this point, the campaign against Yuan Shu officially ended. Cao Cao gained one-third of the county, while Liu Bei occupied the entire Huainan.

Cao Cao did not express any dissatisfaction with this situation. After defeating Yuan Shu, he deployed his troops outside Xincai City, waiting for Liu Bei to join forces. However, during this journey, Cao Cao developed a great interest in Guan Yu. After learning that Xincai and Ruyin were captured independently by Guan Yu, Cao Cao began to admire Guan Yu even more. Although he was outside the city, he held banquets every few days and invited Guan Yu to attend them. Guan Yu did not refuse this matter, but when he left the city, he ordered Qiao Rui and Wen Ji to guard the city tightly to prevent Cao Cao's sneak attack. Seeing this, Cao Cao became even more surprised. He admired Guan Yu's ability to distinguish between public and private affairs, and he was also envious of Liu Bei for having such a loyal and righteous general. Under such circumstances, in mid-September, Liu Bei's troops finally arrived outside the city of Xincai. At this point, the two heroes met, and Qin Zhen also saw Cao Cao again. At this time, he was in Cao Cao's army outside Xincai City. Upon hearing that Liu Bei was leading his army to arrive, Cao Cao ordered his grain officer Wang Hu to kill sheep and horses for a banquet, and also asked his staff Mao Jie to enter the city to invite him to the banquet. Therefore, Liu Bei brought Guan Yu, Xu Qiao, Qin Zhen and others to the banquet. Originally according to Liu Bei's idea, this banquet would be held according to previous conventions, and Qin Zhen would not show up, so he could take over. Because the current situation is a bit special for them. Firstly, Cao Cao represented the imperial court and was the initiator of this war, but the fruits of victory were reaped by them. It is hard to guarantee that Cao would be resentful. Secondly, Qin Zhen had a special identity and was once an acquaintance of Lao Cao. Now that they met him again, it was difficult for them to explain. However, when Qin Zhen heard this, he immediately denied it and said that he must come forward. The reason was naturally very sufficient. It was just that Cao Cao was not Lu Bu. The huge intelligence network he personally established for Cao Cao was enough for Cao Cao to find out his identity during this period. In this case, there is no point in covering up. On the contrary, covering it up over and over again may even have a counterproductive effect. So he came to the banquet openly with Liu Bei and others. After entering September, the weather gradually became colder, and Qin Zhen also put away his coquettish feather fan and scarf, and changed into the autumn limited skin, black clothes and tall hat. Just like when he left Cao's camp, he walked into Cao Cao's camp. Along the way, many generals turned their eyes to him, some of whom Qin Zhen knew and some of whom he did not. He looked at everyone along the way without expressing anything. In just half a year, we have become strangers. When they reached the center of the army, they saw Cao Cao, dressed in a loose dark blue robe, waiting outside the camp. When he saw Liu Bei, he approached him and said with a smile: "Xuan De is finally here. I have been waiting for him for a long time!" Actually, this was the second time Cao Cao and Liu Bei met.

The first time was in Xuchang, when Cao Cao was in a high position and Liu Bei was like a lost dog. At that time, in order to check and balance Lu Bu, Cao Cao waved his hand and funded Liu Bei to make a comeback. Although he was cordial when they met, he did not take Liu Bei seriously. But at this time, facing Liu Bei, Cao Cao's attitude was very friendly, like a brother. He walked up to Liu Bei and held him tightly and would not let go. Seeing Cao Cao's behavior, Liu Bei returned the favor and said with a humble smile: "I am coming back from Hefei. It's a long journey. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long!" When Lao Cao heard this, his smile froze, and then he grinned again: "I know that Xuande has made great contributions, so I have set up a banquet here to welcome him!" "I am very happy to see Xuande coming. Let's have a chat in the camp!" When Liu Bei saw this, he raised his hand and said: "Cao Gong, please go first!" When he raised his hand, Cao Cao smiled and patted his hand, saying: "Xuan De sat at the table first. I saw an old friend coming, so I should see him first!" When Liu Bei heard this, he turned aside and said with a smile: "If you don't come in, how can I dare to enter?" "Wait until you meet your old friend, and then we can join you!" In just a few words, the two of them were already at loggerheads. Seeing that Liu Bei was not giving in at all, Cao Cao smiled again and nodded: "Just follow Xuande's words!" As he spoke, he looked behind Liu Bei, and after seeing Qin Zhen, he couldn't help but stop for a moment. But the next second, he shifted his gaze to Xu Qiu, stepped forward and said with a smile: "I haven't seen you for many years. I didn't expect that Mr. Xu is still as charming as ever!" Compared to Qin Zhen, Xu Qiong was an old acquaintance of Cao Cao, and both of them were members of the top scholar circle in the capital. However, Xu Qiu is older than Lao Cao, so he needs to be addressed as Xu Gong. When Xu Qiu saw this, he stroked his beard and smiled: "I am just a commoner now, how dare I trouble you, Sir?" When Cao Cao heard this, he held his hand and said with a smile: "Mr. Xu must have forgotten that when the emperor came to Xu, he wanted to recruit Mr. Xu as the court judge. The decree has been issued, but it's a pity that Mr. Xu was blocked by Yuan Shu and could not take up the post!" "Now that the great thief Yuan Shu has gone, I should go to the court to receive orders. How can I talk about being a commoner?" Xu Qiu listened, smiled and said nothing, glanced at Liu Bei and said: "To talk about this matter, it is thanks to the help of Xuande's generals, otherwise I would not be able to escape from this!" He had been an official for many years and had become an experienced person. Naturally, he could see that Cao had a grudge against Liu Bei and was deliberately ignoring him. But he had a really good impression of Liu Bei, so he took this opportunity to give him a suggestion. As soon as he finished speaking, Cao Cao's smile froze again, and he turned back and smiled at Liu Bei: "Xuan De's conquest of Yuan Shu was already a great achievement, and now taking back the jade seal and rescuing Xu Gong is an even greater achievement!"

"It's a pity that Cao doesn't dare to overstep his authority here. He needs to return to the court to show his merits!" Upon hearing this, Liu Bei smiled humbly again and said: "It was all thanks to Cao Gong's soldiers that we defeated Yuan Shu. I dare not speak of my contribution." "Xuan De is indeed too modest!" After hearing the words "We will fight again", Cao Cao smiled and shook his head, then he shifted his gaze to Qin Zhen. At this moment, Qin Zhen also looked up at Cao Cao. To be honest, since leaving Cao's camp, Qin Zhen has thought about the scene of meeting Cao again many times. At the beginning, he thought about the situation if he failed to leave and was caught by Cao Cao. Later, he joined Liu Bei's army. He had imagined the scene where Cao Cao would find out that he was under Liu Bei's command and personally lead his army to see him. Afterwards, it was like now, everything was settled, and it was the scene of seeing Lao Cao again. Before coming, Qin Zhen had rehearsed many times what words he would use when meeting Cao Cao again. Is it calm and indifferent? Or is it one thing to your face and another behind your back? However, all this turned into speechless staring at each other the moment they saw Cao Cao. After a moment of silence, he finally smiled, bowed to Cao Cao and said: "It has been more than half a year since we parted. I wonder if Cao Gong is doing well?" There was neither sarcasm nor complacency in his smile, but only the same neither humble nor arrogant attitude as he had that day in Cao's camp. Old Cao looked at Qin Zhen saluting with a dazed look in his eyes. It was as if I was instantly back to the side of the Yu River half a year ago. It seemed that Qin Zhen had also stood at the gate of his camp like this, quietly waiting for his reply. The same crown and long robe, the same heroic appearance. But as time went by, the two of them drifted further and further apart. In fact, just like Qin Zhen, Cao Cao had also thought about how to face Qin Zhen before coming. After all, it was he who almost personally drove Qin Zhen out of the camp. Although it was Qin Zhen who left on his own initiative, didn't he also intend to let Qin Zhen go? It should be noted that at that time Qin Zhen's prestige had reached a certain limit, and the gap between them was growing. For him at that time, if Qin Zhen stayed for a moment longer, it would be a huge risk. But he was unwilling to deal with Qin Zhen. In that situation, forcing Qin Zhen to leave became the only option. But he didn't expect that Qin Zhen would not remember their friendship at all, and would leave without saying goodbye and join someone else's team.

At the beginning, he still held out hope that Qin Zhen would return. But as things gradually developed, he began to regret and complain. Until now, when he met Qin Zhen face to face again, looking at that smiling face that seemed to have never changed, he suddenly had a feeling. It seems that Qin Zhen has not changed from beginning to end. The only person who changed was Cao Cao! Thinking about this, Cao Cao shook his head and said with a self-deprecating smile: "Since Zixuan left, Zixiu always complained that Cao did not keep Zixuan. But I always said to Zixiu, although you have lost a teacher, I have lost a close friend!" "After seeing him today, I know that Zixuan's heart has not changed. It shows that my friend is still here even though he is gone!" At this point, he smiled at Qin Zhen again: "Thank you for your concern, Zixuan. Are you all right?" "After parting for so long, are you still willing to be my friend?" When he said this, Xu Qiu was surprised, Guan Yu frowned, but Liu Bei had no expression at all. Qin Zhen saw this and said calmly: "Zhen and Cao Gong are old acquaintances. Why do you say that you are not friends with Cao Gong?" "Don't mention me. Everyone present here today is a loyal and good man of the Han Dynasty. We are all ministers in the same court and friends of Lord Cao. It's not just Chen." "Since all the wise men have arrived today, we should go into the tent and have a chat. It is not in accordance with etiquette to say more here!" He had been dealing with Cao Cao for such a long time that he knew Cao's tactics. We are in public now, why are you trying to be sentimental with him? If what Cao Cao said really comes true, there will be a lot of trouble in the future! If someone wants to use this as a way to sow discord between us, he can't fall for it. But as soon as he finished speaking, Cao Cao laughed and pointed at him and said: "It's been a long time since we last met, Zixuan is still so funny!" Having said this, Lao Cao couldn't help but think that Qin Zhen was still the same Qin Zhen, and his words and actions were truly flawless. But he didn't care about Qin Zhen's behavior, and simply turned around and said to everyone: "Zixuan is right. Today, all the wise men have arrived. We are all friends. Please come into the tent and have a chat!" After saying this, he took the lead and walked into the tent with everyone else. (End of this chapter)