"General, something bad has happened. The Prime Minister has fallen ill. Please return to the city immediately.”Li Wei hurriedly said to Cao Zheng, who was inspecting the army.
"What is it? Prepare the horses and return to the city immediately." Cao Zheng hurriedly ordered.
"Yes."
"At this moment, the Tiger Guards have surrounded the Prime Minister's residence. The Prime Minister has ordered that no one is to be seen except for you, General.”Li Wei said after he followed Cao Zheng to the Prime Minister's Estate.
In the room, Cao Cao was lying on the bed. Sitting beside him was the weeping Madam Ding. The remaining wives and concubines were at the side.
"Father." After Cao Zheng returned, Madam Ding heaved a sigh of relief.
Cao Zheng slowly walked to Cao Cao's side. At this moment, Cao Cao was already unconscious.
Hua Tuo was treating Cao Cao.
"Divine Doctor Hua, how is my father?”Cao Zheng asked Hua Tuo after he brought him to a remote place.
"Young Master, the Prime Minister's illness is caused by excessive fatigue and a heart attack. If he wanted to treat it, he could only use medicine to suppress his headache.”
" If we want to cure it, we can only do..." Hua Tuo was stopped by Cao Zheng.
"Divine Doctor Hua, please prescribe the medicine. As for the other method, I advise you to never say it out loud.”
After Cao Zheng finished speaking, he brought Hua Tuo back.
On the other side, Cao Ang was seriously ill. Cheng Yu was fully in charge of the situation in Xu Prefecture. Although Cheng Yu had invited dozens of famous doctors who claimed to have excellent medical skills, they were helpless against Cao Ang's illness.
In Guangling City, after Liu Bei was taken in by Chen Deng, he used Chen Deng's name to recruit soldiers and horses in Guangling and other places. Because Chen Deng's reputation was not bad here, Liu Bei quickly recruited 20,000 soldiers and horses, and his two sworn brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were in charge of training them. He also recently accepted a general, Runan Chen Dao, who was very skilled in martial arts and loyal to Liu Bei.
"Big Brother, I heard that there was an outbreak of plague in Xu Prefecture. Cao Cao's son, Cao Ang, has fallen ill. Many of the soldiers guarding Xu Prefecture have been transferred away. Currently, Xu Prefecture is only holding on with Cheng Yu. Xu Prefecture is unprecedentedly empty.”Zhang Fei came in and said to Liu Bei.
"Good, looks like the time is ripe. Third brother, I have a letter personally written by Master Zheng Xuan and a letter I sent to Yuan Shao. Please send someone to Hebei to give it to Yuan Shao.”Liu Bei ordered.
"Yes, don't worry big brother." Zhang Fei accepted the order.
On the other hand, after Cao Zheng had entrusted Xiahou Dun to guard Xu City, he had brought Hua Tuo's men to Xu City to treat his eldest brother Cao Ang.
Even though Cao Zheng knew that Cao Ang had a slim chance of survival, he was unwilling to accept this fact. His subordinates were even more unwilling to stop Cao Zheng.
However, when Cao Zheng arrived at Puyang, a convoy from Xuzhou was heading toward him.
Cao Zheng looked and saw that the leader was Cheng Yu.
When Cheng Yu saw Cao Zheng, the stone in his heart was finally lifted.
It turned out that two nights ago, Liu Bei had sent Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Chen Dao to attack Xu Prefecture. As Xu Prefecture was empty, Cheng Yu could only withdraw from Xu Prefecture.
On the other hand, Cao Ang was already terminally ill and did not have much time left. After a few days of traveling, his condition worsened rapidly.
"General, something bad has happened. Eldest Young Master is about to die.”The attendant hurriedly reported to Cao Zheng.
Cao Zheng hurriedly went to see Cao Ang.
At this moment, Cao Ang no longer had the ambition he had in the past. He only had a weak body as he looked at Cao Zheng reluctantly.
"Big brother." Cao Zheng grabbed Cao Ang's hand tightly and said,""Big brother, hold on. We'll go home tonight.”
Cao Zheng said as he held Cao Ang's hand tightly.
"It's useless, second brother. I thought I could help you and father shoulder some of the heavy responsibilities. I didn't expect that today, not only did I lose Xu Prefecture, but I also destroyed myself.”Cao Ang said weakly.
"No, big brother, it's fine. The city is gone. I can take it down again." Cao Zheng said indifferently.
"Second brother, take good care of mother. Don't ever let her down. Help me take good care of Lin 'er and my unborn child.”After Cao Ang finished speaking with difficulty, he passed away that night.
It was the scorching summer of June. In order to prevent the corpse from rotting, Cao Zheng could only cremate it and bring Cao Ang's ashes back to Xuchang.
However, when a house leaks, it rains overnight. After Yuan Shao received Liu Bei's letter and discussed it with everyone, his strategists agreed to take advantage of Cao Cao's illness to send troops south.
At the same time, Liu Bei had also taken Xiapi, Pengcheng, Xiaopei, and other places. Other than Donghai and Langya, the remaining four counties of the six prefectures of Xu had submitted to Liu Bei.
In the south, Runan Yellow Turban rose again, Liu Pilong surrendered to Yuan Shao, and the two summoned tens of thousands of soldiers and horses to attack the city and seize the land.
On the main battlefield, Yuan Shao gathered 400,000 troops and set up defenses along the Yellow River, eyeing Xuchang like a tiger watching its prey.
Inside, Lady Bian had also begun to stir after learning that Cao Ang was dead.
There were also many ministers in the court who secretly communicated with Yuan Shao.
At this moment, Cao Zheng could only mobilize 200,000 troops, excluding the troops that needed to be stationed in various places. There were less than 80,000 people left. Compared to Yuan Shao, there was almost no comparison.
However, Cao Zheng knew that this battle had to be fought. Whether they won or not, they had to fight. Otherwise, the Cao Corporation would die without a burial place. They had no way out.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。