Chapter 30: Following Closely (3/3) Rolling on the Ground Begging for Recommendations

  Updated 10,000 words today, rolling on the ground begging for recommendations, clicks and collections.

  Guess what, in Jiunvcheng, Little Cao will meet which big shot?

  The answer will be revealed tomorrow!

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  "Are you going with your uncle?" As soon as Zhang heard this, she became anxious. She suddenly jumped up and shouted loudly: "No way, you can't go! You're so young, what's the use of going? Besides, that's a military camp, what are you going to do there?"

  Zhang was unwilling, and Cao Nan also opposed it.

  Deng Ji's eyes turned red, and he stepped forward to grab Cao Peng's hand. With some emotion, he said: "Ah Fu, your kindness is acknowledged by Brother-in-law... but I cannot take you with me. In the military camp, there are all sorts of people, good and bad mixed together. What if something happens to you? How could I be at peace? Listen to Brother-in-law's words, stay home and accompany Father and Mother well, as well as your sister. When I return from my mission, I will definitely take you out to have a good time."

  Shut up! I'm not a kid!

  Cao Peng smiled bitterly in his heart, but did not respond, and instead looked at Cao Jin.

  "Hey kiddo's dad, say something!"

  Cao Ju slowly raised his head, looked at Cao Peng and asked in a low voice: "Peng Er, what can you do to help your brother-in-law again?"

  As he spoke, Cao Ju's eyes swept over Cao Peng's arms and legs.

  That clearly means: Don't say you can protect your brother-in-law's safety, with this small body of yours, I reckon you're useless even in the army.

  Cao Peng smiled, smiling very brightly.

  That smile made Zhang's somewhat irritable mood calm down instantly, and also gave Deng Ji a feeling of being in control, just like Cao Peng.

  "Dad, as the saying goes, 'brothers are like tigers, and fathers and sons are comrades in arms.'"

  I'm not saying that my brother-in-law is no good, it's just that he's too honest and easily taken advantage of. With me by his side, at least I can help him come up with plans... I'm not saying that I'm particularly capable, but in certain aspects, I can help my brother-in-law avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble. Just like what my brother-in-law said earlier, the army is full of all sorts of people, and if someone as naive as him doesn't have someone smart to help him out, he's really going to get taken advantage of.

  Unfortunately, the child should be considered a sensible person...

  Cao Ju and Wang Meng nodded in unison.

  This kid is more than just understanding. He can sit with Sima Hui and Pang Yuan'an to discuss the overall situation of the world, it's simply being understood to the extreme...

  Cao Peng continued: "As for the second point, I'm young and followed my sister's husband, so I didn't attract attention. There are some things that I can do, but it's not suitable for my sister's husband to do. So, although my body is not very strong, my brain should still be okay."

  Besides, I've never seen much of the world in my life.

  Gan Luo became a prime minister at the age of twelve, and Huo Qubing chased after the Xiongnu for a thousand miles when he was eighteen, causing the Xiongnu people to be terrified. I remember my old teacher saying that reading ten thousand volumes is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Now that Brother-in-law has been summoned, isn't this also an opportunity for the child to broaden his horizons?

  It is better to travel with a thousand friends than to read ten thousand books.

  These idioms, Cao Ju had never heard of, but that didn't mean he couldn't understand their meanings.

  Upon careful consideration, it indeed makes some sense.

  Cao Ju thought for a moment, just about to speak. Wang Maiyi said beside him: "Dad, uncle, I'll go with Ah Fu. Ah Fu is clever and my martial arts are not bad either. Although it's not top-notch, ordinary people can handle it, and it's just right to protect Ah Fu and sister's husband. Moreover, I'm about the same age as Ah Fu, following sister's husband over there won't be conspicuous. Besides, Ah Fu said earlier that fighting tigers is like being brothers, although we're not biological brothers, but better than sworn brothers. If I go with him, I can take care of more things."

  Wang Meng was taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing.

  Cao Ju thought for a moment and felt that this statement was indeed reasonable.

  "Even if you go to Hu Tou," said Zhang, "it would be better for your uncle or father to follow you."

  "Cao Peng immediately opposed, 'Mother, if Father and Uncle Wang go in the past, it will be too eye-catching. Tiger Head and I are young and won't attract attention, but Father and Uncle Wang...I think it's enough for me and Tiger Head to go. Anyway, the time won't be long, let's just consider it as going out to play.'"

  Deng Jie had his heart set against it, but he couldn't find any reason to oppose it.

  Wang Meng and Cao Ju exchanged a glance, and Cao Ju stood up and said: "Since that's the case, then it's settled! Peng'er has great ambitions, so you can't oppose him anymore. Moreover, Shu Sun is a knowledgeable person, as long as the three brothers work together in harmony, nothing bad will happen."

  Old Wang, help me light the stove.

  I made two pieces of armor for Shunzi and also gave Afu and Houtou some, and had two suits of clothes made. Since we're going to the barracks, we can't go empty-handed."

  It's fortunate that Deng Ji had previously given Cao Quan the task of repairing weapons, so it wasn't too difficult to come up with two or three sets of equipment.

  Zhang and Cao Nan saw that things had been settled and it was no longer suitable to oppose them.

  Although still a bit nervous, compared to the earlier feeling of helplessness, it's slightly more stable.

  "Brother-in-law, is it going to be a fight?"

  Cao Peng and Deng Jie also helped Cao Quan in the past. Cao Peng asked quietly.

  Deng Ji no longer saw Cao Peng as a simple and naive young man. Not to mention Cao Peng's future identity as a Lu Men disciple, just based on what he said earlier, he was at least a perceptive person. When speaking with a perceptive person, the tone naturally became different, and the voice also became more serious.

  "Ah, I heard Cao Cao is going to send out troops!"

  Cao Si Kong is Cao Cao.

  The first year of Jian'an was undoubtedly a very important year for Cao Cao.

  In the first month, he adopted the suggestions of Xun Yu and Cheng Yu to decide on a western expedition to welcome Emperor Han; In February, Cao Cao attacked the Yellow Turbans in Ru'nan and Yingchuan, moving his base from Yan Province to Yu Province, and was enfeoffed as General Who Establishes Virtue; In June, Cao Cao was transferred to be General Who Guards the East, and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Fei Village; By July, he personally went to Luoyang to welcome Emperor Han, holding a ceremonial axe, in charge of the Imperial Secretariat, thus achieving his strategic high point.

  In September, Emperor Xian of Han appointed Cao Cao as Grand General and Marquis of Wuping.

  However, due to Yuan Shao's influence, Cao Cao soon made the Grand General and Yuan Shao, self-appointed Minister of Works, and acting Colonel of the Cavalry.

  In October, Cao Cao attacked Yang Feng and took in Liu Bei, who had been defeated by Lü Bu and was wandering about without a home.

  Liu Bei?

  Deng Ji smiled and nodded, "That's right, it's Liu Bei."

  Between words, Deng Ji did not show any respect for Liu Xiang, as if he was discussing an ordinary person.

  Isn't Liu Bei very popular among the people?

  Cao Peng couldn't help but ask: "Who is this Liu Bei?"

  "This... I'm not too clear about it either. All I've heard is that this person, along with Gong Sunzhan and Liu Deran, used to study under Lu Zhi. Later, when the Taiping Rebellion broke out, he led his troops to follow Zou Jing in suppressing the rebels and achieved merit, and was appointed as the Magistrate of Anxi County. However, this person wasn't very content with his position, and soon got into trouble for beating up Du You, and had to flee... Later on, when General-in-Chief He Jin widely recruited soldiers to resist the Taiping Rebellion, Liu Bei responded to the call, fought bravely in Xiaopei, and achieved merit again, becoming the Administrator of Xiapi. Not long after that, he was transferred to become the Magistrate of Gaotang County, and later even became the Governor of Gaotang."

  Cao Peng had never really inquired about Liu Bei's affairs.

  One is because he didn't have this opportunity, and the other is because Liu Bei's reputation was not loud.

  At least in Nanyang County, people who knew Liu Bei were not many. Deng Yi, as a clerk of Jiyang County, handled official documents and could access relevant information. If it were someone else, they might not have known that this Liu Bei was a mysterious figure.

  It seems that what Deng Jie said is somewhat different from Cao Peng's understanding.

  Moreover, from Deng Ai's tone, it can be heard that he is not particularly fond of Liu Bei...

  "What happened after that?"

  Later, he was defeated by the remnants of the Yellow Turbans and surrendered to Gongsun Zan, becoming a separate departmental administrator. Then again followed Qingzhou Governor Tian Kai, and fought several times with Jiuzhou Shepherd Yuan Shao, making some military achievements, leading Pingyuan County. It is said that during his time in Pingyuan County, he governed well and had a good reputation. When Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou, Liu Bei abandoned Pingyuan and went to rescue Xu Zhou's Tao Qian, who highly valued him.

  Tao Qian also petitioned Liu Bei to be the governor of Yu Province, but was not approved, so he stayed in Xiao Pei. After Tao Qian's death, it is unknown what means he used, but he took control of Xu Province and defeated Yuan Pu, thus gaining a considerable reputation. However, this person later accepted Lü Bu, only to be betrayed by him when he seized Xu Province, becoming one of his subordinates... In short, my impression of this person is that he was not an ordinary man, but rather someone who would switch sides as easily as changing clothes."

  Cao Peng didn't know if this was Deng Jie's personal view or that of the majority.

  But it's quite different from what he imagined, and overall, I don't feel too good about it...

  "A Fu, go to the warehouse and bring over that iron spear."

  Cao Peng responded with a sound and hastily ran to the warehouse, holding an iron spear that was about one zhang two chi in his hand.

  The weight of the snake spear is about over forty catties, and it's different from ordinary long spears.

  The so-called snake spear is not to say that its shape is like a snake, but refers to its length. In Han Liu Xie's "Shi Ming - Shi Bing", it says that the long spear of one zhang eight chi is called a snake spear. The iron spear snake spear is slightly different, with a shorter length, and the ridge of the spear blade is raised, with slight depressions on both sides of the ridge, allowing air to flow through and helping to pull out. In the late Eastern Han dynasty, there were not many people who used spears that were one zhang eight chi long, but iron spear snake spears were not uncommon.

  Cao Peng handed the spear to Cao Jing and asked in puzzlement: "Dad, are you going to repair the spear?"

  Tiger head is not good at using knives, likes to use spears.

  I found this spear yesterday, the base is not bad, after repairing it, although it can't be said to be a divine weapon, it can also pierce through double-layered armor and take someone's life. In a while, I'll make you a knife and Uncle Sun a sword. You two go and pick one out, see if you can find something suitable."

  It can be seen that Cao Ju is very careful.

  The son and daughter-in-law are going to the barracks, with a handy guy in hand, which can also add a bit of safety.

  Cao Peng responded with a sound and then called Deng Ji to go to the warehouse to select.

  This warehouse is a wing room in the front yard. The front yard has three rooms, Wang Meng and his son each occupy one room, and the remaining one becomes a warehouse for storing weapons. The two walked into the wing room, selecting weapons while talking.

  "Brother-in-law, where were we just now?"

  "Oh, Liu Bei..."

  "No, it's Cao Cao's decision to send troops."

  Deng Jiyuan slapped his forehead and laughed: "You distracted me, I almost forgot about the main thing."

  Cao Cao had taken in Liu Bei and was preparing to attack Xuzhou when news arrived that Zhang Yang had occupied Wan City and formed an alliance with Liu Biao.

  To be honest, Cao Cao was not afraid of Liu Biao and also not afraid of Zhang Miao's uncle Zhang Ji.

  But for this Zhang Xiuxiu, he had some reservations.

  As early as when Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang, Zhang Xiu was already a famous general of the Western Liang. Not only was he skilled in martial arts, but also well-versed in military strategy and tactics.

  When Zhang Ji was alive, Zhang Xiu was still subject to some restrictions.

  But Zhang Ji died, and he grasped the Western Liang army, and also got Liu Biao's help, stationed in Wan City, as if a nail was nailed behind Cao Cao.

  For this reason, Cao Cao even gave up his plan to attack Xuzhou and hastily returned to Xu Du.

  Deng Ji picked up an iron sword and made a few false moves in mid-air.

  "I figure, Liu Jingzhou's sudden reuse of Jiuniu City is for this matter." After saying that, he nodded his head in satisfaction and smiled: "That's it, I'll take it to Father and have him help fix it. Ah Fu, have you chosen your weapon?"

  "Let me take another look."

  Deng Ji nodded and walked out with his iron sword.

  As he walked to the door, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, turned around and looked at Cao Peng: "Ah Fu, why do you think I was summoned this time?"