Chapter 27: The Wind Rises and Clouds Gather (Part 1)

  A patch of blood stained the city gate, and Dian Wei and Zhou Cang led their troops in at the same time. The two men with overbearing auras suddenly charged forward like evil spirits, their sharp blades resembling the fangs of fierce beasts.

  The city guards originally wanted to close the gate and resist, but it was too late.

  Dian Wei took advantage of the momentum and swung his halberd, instantly killing the soldier who was about to close the city gate. Zhou Yu then arrived on the scene...

  The two of them suddenly charged into the city gate like a tiger descending from a mountain, as if entering an uninhabited territory.

  Two thousand men under the leadership of these two suddenly killed and went, for a time the defenders were stunned, some had not even reacted, and were split in half by Dian Wei's halberd. In an instant, these two thousand soldiers were like entering a sheepfold, killing the enemy off guard.

  Cao Xin was now at the very back of the army, but in his hand, he had Hou Cheng's head.

  With a cold gaze watching the crowd's frenzied slaughter, he suddenly put down a worry in his heart.

  Chen Liu...... This time it's finally taken down......

  Cao Xin let out a loud roar and joined the fray.

  One was a well-prepared and vigorous army, the other was an unguarded and uninformed rebel force. The capture of Chenliu was not a battle but a massacre.

  For Cao Xin, this is what happens when you mess with Cao Cao.

  No matter how Cao Cao treated himself, after all, the other party was his uncle, the biological elder brother of his father Cao De. For Cao Cao, Cao Xin did not tolerate anyone's invasion from the heart, at least for now...

  Perhaps Cao Xin's idea is a bit naive, perhaps one day he will understand, but at this moment, Cao Xin only has one belief, that is, as a minister, he should dedicate himself to his lord, because of his surname Cao, or in other words, to repay the kindness of his father's upbringing. At least for now, Cao Xin still hasn't felt any sense of foreboding threat.

  Perhaps Cao Xin will discover his own innocence later on. But everything is still too early.

  The massacre did not last long, as Zhang Miao and Hou Cheng's deaths had already taken away the mainstay of the defending troops, let alone any resistance.

  Before long, all the aristocratic families surrendered and laid down their arms.

  "Big brother! We've caught this guy on the city wall." By now, Zhou Bo had already taken off his upper garment, revealing his bare upper body. In his hand, he seemed to be holding someone, and judging from the appearance, it was the middle-aged man who was previously on the city wall.

  "Let him go!"

  A cold sentence, said with a faceless expression, and the latter was suddenly frightened, instantly loosening his grip on the other person's hand.

  "Hmph... Butcher!"

  He fell to the ground with a thud. Although the middle-aged man was somewhat disheveled, he faced the crowd's fierce and murderous gaze without flinching.

  "Butcher?" The disdainful repetition of the words sparked a sudden interest in Cao Xin, who couldn't help but sneer: "Do you know who I am?"

  The middle-aged scholar was taken aback and immediately looked up to see Cao Xin's face, but it was a moment of surprise: "Why isn't it Xiahou Dun?"

  However, this remark did not anger Cao Xin, but instead angered Zhou Yu, who was standing beside him. "Bah! What is Xiahou Dun? Listen up, you bird brain! My elder brother is the General Who Farms the Lands of the State of Yan under the command of Cao Gong, Cao Xin. How can a mere Xiahou Dun compare to that?"

  When he heard this, Wen Shi sneered: "Is the humble Tian Nong school lieutenant still more powerful than General Xiahou...?" However, when he said halfway through, he suddenly reacted and looked at Cao Xin in disbelief, saying: "You are that little strategist... Yan State Ah Xin?"

  "Not bad, it's really me, Cao Xin Cao Anmin." Unlike the previous one, Cao Xin spoke calmly and peacefully.

  "The people of Yanzhou all said that Yan Zhou's Ah Xin cried out in desperation, never thinking that Chenliu would actually be taken from him by you..."

  Just as the middle-aged man finished speaking, Zhou Yu suddenly shouted again: "You Confucian scholar, what do you know about Xuzhou and Ah Xin? Do you know that just now my elder brother used 2,000 people to defeat Hou Cheng's 5,000 cavalrymen who threw away their helmets and abandoned their armor? Moreover, it was only half a month ago. If not for my elder brother's clever plan, how could Cao Ang have captured Rencheng so easily?"

  "This..."

  Seeing that middle-aged man had nothing to say, Cao Xin furrowed his brow and gestured to Zhou Yu not to continue. Then he looked at the other party and said lightly: "You, what's your surname and name?"

  Cao Xing asked him questions, and he immediately smiled bitterly: "I am Liu Wei, the deputy captain under Chen Liu's governor..."

  Liu Yue? Never heard of him.

  "Are you willing to surrender?" was all he said, his face expressionless.

  The other party was stunned and looked a bit strange, saying: "You... aren't going to kill me?"

  "I didn't ask if you want to die! I asked if you're willing to surrender!"

  Under the cold gaze of the soldiers, Liu Yi suddenly felt a huge boulder weighing on his heart, but when he heard Cao Xin's words, it was as if the stone in his heart had vanished into thin air.

  Although he couldn't stand the arrogance of these people, he never wanted to die with a rebel's hat on. Following Zhang Mai was not his intention from the start. At this moment, as soon as he heard the other side ask if he was willing to surrender, Liu Yue hesitated and became indecisive.

  However, it was just a moment later that he barely managed to say: "Liu Yue... willing to surrender..."

  Upon hearing this, Cao Xin immediately smiled and helped the other person up, calmly saying: "This is very good, I was worried about the management of the army, if sir can help me share the burden, I am truly delighted..."

  "Thanks, sir... for sparing my life."

  Cao Xin waved his hand and said, "Alright, please trouble Mr. to help me count the prisoners and provide me with a detailed list of the luggage in Chenliu City, so I can prepare for withdrawal."

  One sentence, however, shocked everyone once again.

  "Where else does the master want to go?"

  At this time, Cao Xin smiled and said: "I plan to stay in Chenliu for three days to tidy up, then lead the army to leave Chenliu. As for where to go... Hehe, Mr. don't ask too much, I have my own plans."

  This time, Liu Xuan suddenly looked at this person with a strange gaze, but didn't know why the eighteen-year-old youth in front of him had an air of maturity that seemed to be thirty years old, as if he would feel at ease just by listening to his words.

  Liu Yue nodded and immediately accepted the order and left without hesitation.

  However, what everyone didn't know was that as they watched Liu Yue leave, Cao Xin secretly let out a sigh of relief.

  Chen Liu finally fell...

  This means that Lü Bu and Chen Gong will definitely be on their guard, and Lord Cao should also know the situation in Yan Province by now. Chenliu is not a place to stay for long, defending the city with only 2,000 people will not last long.

  Fortunately, this time he got a scholar, although it seems that no one has heard of him in history, but after all, he is Zhang Mao's strategist. In the future, long-distance running and managing trivial matters will definitely be common occurrences. Having one more person to manage them would greatly reduce Cao Xin's workload.

  After all, people like Zhou Ding and Wei are rough men. They can still manage to count the number of people on a daily basis, but if they really want to manage logistics, food, morale and other things in the long term, it's not that easy.

  Just look at why Liu Bang valued Xiang Yu so much.

  In a chaotic world, every talented person is a precious resource. Cao Cao knew it, Liu Bei knew it, and Cao Xin knew it even more.

  But now.

  This is the first step in preserving Shandong Province.

  Cao Xin, I guess you've made it...

  ;