Chapter 777: Dramatic changes in Huainan!

Huainan, Shouchun, noon
A worker in coarse linen clothes was led by the housekeeper to a side room in the inner courtyard of the Cao family compound. At this time, Cao Heng, the second master of the Cao family, was waiting quietly...
As soon as the worker entered the room, Cao Heng said impatiently:
"Zhang Ren, what's the matter? Do you have to meet me at this time?"

Zhang Ren, who had entered Cao's house disguised as a worker, heard this and preached in a serious tone:
"Just an hour ago, Xu Zhaojie personally came to the South City Camp and killed Zhao Yue. Right now, he is holding up his butcher knife and killing people wantonly in the South City Camp!"

Cao Huan was shocked when he heard this, but he quickly refuted:
"This is impossible! We have a spy next to Xu Zhaojie, and he sent me a message yesterday that Xu Zhaojie is still seriously ill in the Governor's Mansion and even vomited blood. How could he appear in the South City Camp to seize power?"

After hearing what Cao Huan said, Zhang Ren once again spoke in a very serious tone:
"Master Cao! I don't know what news your spy has given you, but the news I told you is absolutely accurate!"

"Your spy may have been deceived by Xu Zhaojie, or he may have been bribed by Xu Zhaojie. In any case, Xu Zhaojie is now trying to seize power in the southern camp!"

“Xu Zhaojie had bribed Zhao Yue’s deputy general Sun Dashan a long time ago. With the cooperation of Sun Dashan, Xu Zhaojie appeared in the camp south of the city and immediately killed Zhao Yue. Now he is cleaning up Zhao Yue’s cronies in the camp south of the city. His next step will definitely be to return to Shouchun to clean up…”

Although it was still a little unbelievable, seeing Zhang Ren's confident attitude, Cao Huan was also a little skeptical. Just when he was hesitant and didn't know what to do, Zhang Ren was very disappointed to see him like this and immediately took the initiative to say:

"Since you can't make the decision, please ask Old Master Cao to come out! We don't have much time left!"

Hearing Zhang Ren's words, Cao Huan hesitated for a moment but still spoke:
"You wait here!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Cao Huan left in a hurry. About a cup of tea later, a butler came over and took Zhang Ren to an antique room.

At this time, Old Master Cao, who was holding a cane, was sitting on the edge of the bed, while Cao Heng was waiting beside him. Although the old man's eyes were still sharp, his slightly messy hair and clothes showed that he was woken up from his nap.

When he saw Zhang Ren, an old man who had been influential for decades, he spoke directly:
"Where did you get your news from?"

Faced with Old Master Cao's culture, Zhang Ren hesitated and said:
"Hu Ben Battalion! Xu Zhaojie kept this operation very secret. He told the target to the Hu Ben Battalion a quarter of an hour before the action. Although my men delivered the message to me as quickly as possible, they were still a beat late. Now Xu Zhaojie is estimated to have completed the purge in the south camp. I hope you, Old Master Cao, will make a decision as soon as possible..."

If he still had some doubts about Zhang Ren's news just now, then after hearing that Zhang Ren's news came from the Huben Camp, Old Master Cao believed 90% of what Zhang Ren said!
After confirming the truth of the news, Old Master Cao closed his eyes in pain. The reason why he dared to compete with Xu Zhaojie during this period was not only because the Zhennan Army suffered a disastrous defeat in Hebei and Henan and was seriously injured, and even Xu Zhaojie himself was ill and the control over Huainan declined significantly, but also because he had the support of Zhao Yue!
Zhao Yue was one of the generals of the original Huainan Army. Because he took the initiative to surrender to Xu Zhaojie and was born into a wealthy family in Huainan, after Xu Zhaojie took control of Shouchun, Zhao Yue was not purged. Instead, his power increased because he was able to help the Zhennan Army recruit soldiers!

In the previous battle when Xu Zhaojie sent troops to Hebei and Henan, Zhao Yue was ordered to guard Huainan. Not only did this save Zhao Yue's life, but Zhao Yue, who controlled 20,000 troops, became the general with the largest number of troops in the Zhennan Army after the disastrous defeat of Hebei and Henan!

Because Xu Zhaojie surrendered in order to seek profit and avoid harm, Zhao Yue could not be said to be very loyal to Xu Zhaojie. In addition, after witnessing Xu Zhaojie's ruthless purge with his own eyes, Zhao Yue was also disheartened and feared that he would be treated the same way by Xu Zhaojie one day.

It just so happened that the Cao family, who had strange thoughts at this time, needed soldiers and military force as their support, so Zhao Yue and Old Master Cao hit it off and joined hands to fight against Xu Zhaojie. Therefore, Zhao Yue also brought his troops to the south camp to support the Cao family...

Faced with the alliance between the Huainan family headed by the Cao family and Zhao Yue, Xu Zhaojie, who always had a strong attitude, unusually chose to tolerate it.

Xu Zhaojie's tolerance caused divisions among the challengers.

One group believes that Xu Zhaojie should be defeated completely, Huainan is Huainan for the people of Huainan!
However, there is another group that believes that although Xu Zhaojie's strength was greatly damaged after the Battle of Hebei and Henan, he still has tens of thousands of people under his command. If a real fight breaks out, it is hard to say who will win or lose. What's more, even if Xu Zhaojie is defeated, there is still a more brutal Ye Mingsheng waiting behind him.

Therefore, they advocated quitting while the going was good, forming a new balance of power with Xu Zhaojie, and using Xu Zhaojie to fight against Ye Mingsheng.

The two factions have been arguing for more than a month, but they still haven't made up their minds. No one expected that Xu Zhaojie would secretly ambush at this time.

Now that Zhao Yue has been killed by Xu Zhaojie, the more than 20,000 soldiers under his command have also been taken away by Xu Zhaojie. At this moment, without the support of soldiers, their group of aristocratic families are basically doomed to fail!

Although he already knew that the situation was very unfavorable to him, Old Master Cao still had a last glimmer of hope at this time. He looked at Zhang Ren and said sincerely:
“Captain Zhang, I know that your General Coordination Office has many hidden players in the Zhennan Army. Although Zhao Yue has been killed, I, an old man, still have some arrangements. If the two parties work together at this time, we may be able to turn the tide…”

Hearing what Old Master Cao said, Zhang Ren sneered in his heart. He knew that Old Master Cao probably did not want to turn the tide, but wanted to find a scapegoat and encourage his men to resist, so that he could take the opportunity to retreat!

Although Zhang Ren was very disdainful of Old Master Cao's thoughts, he still preached seriously:

"You are joking, old man. My men are good at dealing with petty thefts, but how can they resist Xu Zhaojie's army?"

Seeing that Zhang Ren did not take the bait, Old Master Cao was a little disappointed. He wanted to persuade him again, but when he felt the determination in Zhang Ren's eyes, he decided not to waste his time and immediately instructed his son:
"Get ready to leave with your family!"

Hearing his father say this, Cao Huan was a little reluctant, but he nodded and said:
"Yes!"

After Cao Huan left, Old Master Cao took a deep breath and said to Zhang Ren:

"Captain Zhang, from now on, our Cao family will be in the hands of your Fengwu Army!"

After he finished speaking, Old Master Cao stood up with the help of his cane, as if he wanted to salute Zhang Ren. Seeing this, Zhang Ren was immediately shocked and quickly stopped Old Master Cao's action.

"You can't do that, old man! You can't do that! You're killing me!"

In response to Zhang Ren's dissuasion, Old Master Cao continued to preach:
“From now on, our Cao family will be loyal to the Fengwu Army for generations and respect Marshal Ye! The Cao family is willing to donate all the manpower, money and food to Marshal Ye…”

Hearing what Old Master Cao said, Zhang Ren also understood what this old fox meant. After hesitating for a moment, he also said:
"Since you said so, Old Master Cao, I promise to help your Cao family evacuate Shouchun smoothly!" After receiving Zhang Ren's promise, Old Master Cao relaxed a little, and then he said again:
"Zhang Kai, the general of Jinghai, is my student and son-in-law. He is loyal to our Cao family. In order to prevent any accidents, I secretly transferred 50,000 taels of silver and 100,000 dan of grain to him. In addition, our Cao family is secretly training 3,000 death warriors in Jinghai, so I would like to ask Captain Zhang to help send Cao Huan and others to Jinghai!"

Zhang Ren couldn't help but sigh when he heard this:

"Grandpa Cao, you are really a cunning rabbit with three burrows!"

Listening to Zhang Ren's words, Old Master Cao also smiled bitterly and said:

"It's just a precaution. I didn't expect that I would actually use this backup plan!"

After saying this, Old Master Cao continued:
"Once Cao Huan and his men arrive in Jinghai, they can use Jinghai as a base to call on our Cao family's relatives and old subordinates to fight against Xu Zhaojie together. This will be enough to give Xu Zhaojie a hard time. By then, the Fengwu Army stationed in Anqing and Hebei and Henan will launch a massive attack. Xu Zhaojie will undoubtedly be defeated due to internal and external troubles!"

Hearing the scene described by Old Master Cao, Zhang Ren couldn't help but be very moved and nodded immediately and said:
"I understand, old man, I will arrange it right away..."

Soon after Zhang Ren left, Cao Huan returned to his room and reported to his father:

"Father, everything is ready! Do you want to notify the other families?"

Upon hearing this, Old Master Cao shook his head and said:

"Too many people have left. Xu Zhaojie will react immediately. No one will be able to leave by then. Cao Huan, notify them after you withdraw from Shouchun for an hour!"

Cao Huan nodded and said:

"Dad, I understand!"

"You should also do it. I have arranged a carriage for you!"

Upon hearing this, Old Master Cao smiled and said:

"Huan'er! I won't go with you. My old bones can't stand your torture!"

After hearing this, Cao Huan was stunned for a moment and then said:
"Father, what are you doing? I have arranged everything. We can all evacuate..."

Cao Huan wanted to say something else, but Old Master Cao waved his hand to interrupt him and said:
"If I'm still alive, even if we retreat, Xu Zhaojie will definitely chase me all the way because he is afraid of my influence in Huainan. He will only feel at ease if an old man like me dies. You will have a chance to breathe after you retreat to Jinghai!"

"father!"

Seeing that Cao Huan was emotional and wanted to say something, Old Master Cao smiled and said:

"Foolish child! At your age, I should have gone to see my ancestors long ago. There is nothing to regret! Even if I don't die today, it will be difficult for me to survive this winter with my current body!"

After the words fell, realizing that time was running out, Old Master Cao did not comfort his son, but instead gave him instructions seriously;
"Although Zhang Kai looks like a loyal person, he is actually a treacherous person. It was only in the past two years that I saw his true colors. If I were alive, I would be able to suppress him. But if he knew I was dead, he would probably betray me!"

"So Huan'er, the first thing you have to do after you leave Jinghai is to capture Zhang Kai for me. I have already placed a hidden man next to him, that is his butler Liu Quan. As long as you find him, he will help you get rid of Zhang Kai!"

“Your uncle Cao Zhen is also in Jinghai. After you get rid of Zhang Kai, you can use his help to control the 5,000 soldiers under Zhang Kai. Together with the 3,000 assassins who were secretly trained, you will have nearly 10,000 soldiers in Jinghai. The money and food I left there are enough for you to sustain for a while…”

"If my prediction is correct, the Fengwu Army will immediately launch an attack on Huainan, trying to take over Huainan during the chaos. The Fengwu Army's dispatch will involve most of Xu Zhaojie's forces. In order to win, the Fengwu Army will definitely let you attack Xu Zhaojie's retreat!"

"Huan'er, remember the request to the Fengwu Army. You must obey it, but you can't obey it completely! You have to harass Xu Zhaojie's retreat on a small scale, but you can't put all your belongings on the line. Xu Zhaojie must be on guard against you. This man is a master at using troops. If you attack with your entire army, it is very likely that your entire army will be wiped out!"

"I have met the Jiangnan Governor Lu Jianchao once, so we have some friendship. When you arrive in Jinghai, remember to write him a letter and tell him that you are willing to stop Xu Zhaojie for Jiangnan in Jinghai!"

"Lu Jianchao has always been worried that Xu Zhaojie would take action against him, so he is most likely willing to help you. He has a factory built by the Fengwu Army, and the firearms are also very powerful. You can get firearms and money from him. With these things, you can slowly make your plans!"

Hearing his father's arrangement, Cao Huan felt extremely sad. He knelt on the ground and said:
"Dad, please come with us. I won't feel safe if you don't come with me!"

Seeing this, Old Master Cao preached seriously:

"I cannot live with you forever! From now on, the Cao family will depend on you. Remember not to bring disgrace upon the Cao family!"

“And on the day Xu Zhaojie dies, you must come to his father’s grave to offer sacrifices. This way, I will be able to rest in peace…”

(I don’t know if today’s chapter will be a bit abrupt, but the Yunbing battle and internal affairs are coming to an end, so I’ll use this chapter to introduce the story of the next month!)

(End of this chapter)