Meng De

  Gao Fei braved the wind and snow, leading his horse along the official road to the east, passing through Mei County and Wu Gong before arriving at Huaili City, where the governor of Youfufeng Prefecture was located. Gao Fei had been to Huaili City once before, with its high walls and deep moat, and the city inside was many times larger than Chen Cang, but at that time he was in a hurry to take up his post in Chen Cang and did not even visit his superior, the governor of Youfufeng Prefecture.

  Now, Gao Fei has come to this ancient city once again, but he sees flags fluttering on the city walls, swords and spears standing upright, and soldiers shuttling back and forth in the city, looking as if they are about to go into battle. Everything is different from the city he visited a month and a half ago.

  Gao Fei wore armor and Ma Jiu, behind him, was also dressed as a county lieutenant. The two rode straight into the city without anyone daring to stop them. After entering the city, Gao Fei had Ma Jiu ask for directions to the prefectural government office and then headed in that direction.

  The prefecture is located in the center of Huairi City, and the cold snow stands with a long spear. When they saw Gao Fei and Ma Jiu dismounting from their horses and wanting to enter the prefecture, the half-day unmoving guards held up their spears to block Gao Fei's path and shouted: "The prefecture is heavily guarded, without the general's order, no one can enter privately. Please report your name, we will inform the general, whether to see or not depends on the general's intention."

  Gao Fei felt the tense atmosphere of the entire city as soon as he entered, which was completely different from his time with Chen Cang. Moreover, he was about to meet the General of Chariots and Cavalry, whose position was second only to that of the Grand General and the General of Agile Cavalry among military officers. Such a high-ranking official would naturally put on airs, especially since this General of Chariots and Cavalry, Huangfu Song, also served as the Governor of Liangzhou. It was a matter of face.

  Gonggong raised his hands, and Gaofei loudly said: "I am Gaofei, the General who Suppresses Rebels and the Marquis of Douchang. I have come to pay a visit at the invitation of the Cavalry Commander Huangfu. Please announce my arrival."

  The halberd-wielding guards heard the name Gao Fei and stopped their weapons, clearing a path. In a loud voice, they said: "So it's General Gao, we've been rude to you. The general had previously instructed us that if General Gao came, he could enter directly without needing to be announced. Please come in, General Gao!"

  Gao Fei smiled and strode towards the government office, but suddenly heard the sound of clashing weapons behind him. The two long spears crossed again, blocking Ma Jiu's path. He glanced at Ma Jiu and instructed: "You go to the post station to rest for now, wait for my news there."

  "Yes, Master Hou!" Ma Jiu bowed slightly and sullenly led the two horses away.

  As he entered the government office, Gao Fei felt that there were guards standing every ten steps and sentries every five steps. He walked straight into the main hall of the government office, but saw that it was empty and did not have the grand scene of many officers standing at attention that he had imagined. Instead, there were only two people in the quiet and cold hall, one sitting upright in the center and the other standing in the hall.

  Gao Fei had just stepped into the hall, and with a glance at the middle-aged man sitting in the center, he saw that he was tall and sturdy, with a kind face and a hint of elegance between his eyebrows. He knew this person was Huangfu Song, so he hastily bowed and said: "Junior officer Gao Fei pays respects to General!"

  "Ah? So you are the newly appointed General Gao Feng who suppressed the rebellion?" The middle-aged man sitting in the center was indeed the Cavalry General Huangfu Song. He took a closer look at Gao Feng and saw that although he wasn't very tall, his military attire exuded a few hints of majesty. In a loud voice, he said, "Hmm, indeed quite majestic, worthy of being one of my fine sons from Liangzhou. I've heard about your defense of Chencang from both Fu Shu and Ge Xun, you did well, very good, with a bright future ahead."

  Gao Fei slightly raised his head and said, "Thank you, General, for your praise. However, the credit for defending Chen Cang also goes to Generals Fu Shuo and Ge Xun. I was just doing my duty."

  Huangfu Song heard Gao Fei's humble words and said: "Fu Shui and Ge Xun have indeed made contributions, but they are not as great as yours. If you hadn't led the troops to defend Chen Cang firmly, I'm afraid the three auxiliary states would have been threatened by the rebels. This time I called you here is also because there are things for you to do. You are now a general of the expedition against the rebels, but you don't have any personal troops under your command. I plan to assign 2,000 cavalry and infantrymen to you, let you lead them as your personal troops, follow the main army into Liangzhou, what do you think?"

  Gao Fei happily said: "I have sought it in vain, thank you General for your kindness."

  Huang Pu smiled and slowly got up from his chair, walked to Gao Fei's side, gently patted Gao Fei's shoulder, and said in a very calm tone: "You don't have to thank me yet, I have something for you to do. If you can accomplish it, that will be a meritorious deed."

  "What are your orders, General? I will certainly obey and rush into boiling water or walk through flames without hesitation!"

  "Good, you're indeed a man from Liangzhou, straightforward and to the point. I like people like you." After saying this, Huangfu Song turned his head to a Han man standing behind him and said, "Meng De, why don't you explain the mission to General Gao?"

  As soon as Gao Fei heard these two words, he was shocked and turned his head to look over, but saw that the person called Meng De by Huang Fu was short and slightly fat, with curly whiskers and a dark bronze skin tone. His thick eyebrows and eyes were neither too big nor too small, and although his facial features were regular, they were not symmetrical. In Northeastern dialect, it could be said that "he looked too damn ugly", which was really sorry for the audience.

  "Cao Cao Mengde?" Gao Fei saw the person in front of him called "Mengde" and asked tentatively.

  He didn't want to, that person smiled slightly, and his two small eyes narrowed into a slit. When he smiled, the two small dimples on his face appeared, and he clasped his fists and replied loudly: "I am Cao Cao, I have met General Gao!"

  "Cao Cao? My god, this person is actually Cao Cao?" He had thought that Cao Cao was a wise and powerful figure, but he hadn't expected the real Cao Cao to look like this. This made him somewhat disappointed, and even more ugly than that long-eared Liu Bei who looked like a gibbon. Gao Feng almost fainted, remembering how cool Cao Cao's portrait looked when playing the Three Kingdoms game before, at least it wouldn't be as embarrassing as this appearance.

  Gao Feng blinked his eyes and took a closer look at Cao Cao, but no matter how he looked, the appearance of Cao Cao in front of him was far from matching the inner strength of Cao Cao in history, belonging to the "short, short, rough" type. However, upon closer inspection, Gao Feng discovered the unique features on this twenty-year-old Cao Cao's face: a pair of eyes with a hint of purple under his thick eyebrows, a straight nose bridge that was not too high, and lips that were neither too thick nor too thin, all of which gave off an aura of royalty.

  "A capable minister in times of peace, a treacherous hero in times of chaos. Meng De's brother is truly one of a kind!" Gao Fei finally spoke up after being silent for half the day, saying something that was neither here nor there.

  Cao Cao bowed his hands and said, "Thank you, General Gao, for your praise. Let's talk about the serious matter at hand. From the latest news we received, the rebel army is stationed in Anding and Han Yang. I have devised a strategy with General Huangfu to attack from both east and west. The official road to Chen Cang is narrow and cannot accommodate a large army of 100,000 soldiers passing through quickly. However, Anding is different; although there are many big mountains between Anding and San Fu, the roads are wide, and an army of 100,000 can pass through quickly in a short period. Therefore, I hope General Gao can lead his troops to pretend to attack from Chen Cang, attracting the rebel forces in Anding to Han Yang. As soon as the rebels move, General Huangfu will lead the main force to attack and capture Anding. After occupying Anding, we can use it as a strategic location to transport all supplies and equipment, and our army of 100,000 can launch a fierce attack on Han Yang. At that time, General Gao and his troops can join forces with us to attack Han Yang from both sides, and we will surely be able to defeat the rebels."

  After listening to Cao Cao's words, Gao Jia thought for a moment and thought: "It turns out that I was asked to be a decoy... Hmm, letting me go to battle is better than not assigning anything to me. Cao Mengde's strategy is indeed good."

  "After the task is completed, General Gao will have achieved a great merit. After occupying Hanyang, General Gao can also lead his troops to attack Longxi. In this way, won't General Gao's hometown be recovered?" Huang Fu added hastily, seeing that Gao Fei was slightly hesitant.

  "Since it's a general's order, I, Hou Fei, will not decline. However, I'm not clear when we'll set out?" Gao Fei said with a bow.

  Huang Fu said, "The sooner the better. Today's weather is gradually turning cold, and the wind and snow are blocking the road, making it difficult to walk. If we delay for a few days, I will be punished by Your Majesty, and all the troops participating in the rebellion will be punished."

  Gao Fei said: "Alright then, let's set off today."

  Huangfu Song smiled and said, "However, you only have 2,000 men, which is a bit too few. Even if it's just for show, it should be done on a larger scale. Meng De, take the 5,000 cavalry from your unit and go with General Gao."

  Cao Cao clasped his fist and said: "Agreed!"

  Gao Fei thought for a moment, then said: "I venture to report to Your Excellency, I once recruited a local militia in my hometown, I don't know if it's possible to bring them along to confuse the rebel army?"

  "This is naturally good, but... maybe there will be no military pay..." Huang Fu said hesitantly.

  Gao Fei said: "Don't mention soldier's pay, these village braves were recruited from the countryside by General Mo himself, most of them are my Gao clan's juniors, they voluntarily contribute to pacifying Liangzhou, no need for any soldier's pay!"

  No need for military expenses, and a militia was added for free. This matter is good for anyone, and Huangfu Song said with great enthusiasm: "In that case, let this group of young soldiers be fully utilized to make some contributions to Liangzhou."

  "Thank you, sir, for your kindness! I will take my leave now!"

  Huangfu Song nodded and said to Cao Cao, "Meng De, pass on my order to take 2,000 soldiers from my central army and have them led by General Gao."

  "Promise!"

  As soon as the words fell, Gao Fei and Cao Cao walked out of the hall together. With Cao Cao's help, a 2,000-strong army was returned to Gao Fei's name. After that, Gao Fei and Cao Cao each led their own troops and marched towards Chen Cang in an imposing manner.