Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 88 Entering the City
So far, Liu Daogui still has many doubts that have not been solved.

Cao Tengyun was not stupid. He should have known that Liu Daogui had the Pengcheng Liu family behind him, and Liu Laozhi was in Pei County, four or five hundred miles away. Cao Tengyun dared to do this, so he must have something to rely on.

But no matter what he relies on, or what conspiracy he is brewing behind the scenes, Liu Daogui only believes in one thing: cut the Gordian knot.

The last thing a gambler should have is hesitation.

As long as you act fast enough, all conspiracies and tricks will be exposed.

If we control the Cao family and take over the city, all the conspiracies will be shattered.

On a midsummer night, the starry sky illuminates the road ahead.

The iron armor around him clanged, and eight flags fluttered in the night wind.

Every time he killed someone or set fire to something, Liu Daogui became inexplicably excited, as if he had endless energy. Looking back at the soldiers around him, they were all the same, wearing iron armor and rushing on the road, as if they were tireless.

Even if someone falls behind, there will be comrades supporting them on both sides.

The art of war begins with teaching and warning.

Soldiers are also human beings, and as human beings they have human nature. It all depends on how they are taught and disciplined in daily life.

Before dawn, the city of Prophecy appeared on the horizon ahead.

Liu Daogui asked the soldiers to rest for half an hour, drink water and eat some dry food to replenish their strength.

Many old soldiers of the Northern Army fell to the ground and began snoring, but the soldiers were still very excited.

Liu Daogui brought more than 30 soldiers including Liu Zun, Liu Guangzhi, Xu Changming, Gou Zhong, Yin Shan, etc., wearing armor and holding a ring-handled sword in his hand, and walked towards the city as if nothing had happened.

The stars were still lingering in the night sky, and a hint of dawn had already appeared on the distant horizon.

"I am Liu Daogui, a member of the expeditionary army. I have been invited to discuss matters. Open the city gates immediately!"

In the dim light, a loud voice rang out.

Several heads popped out from the city walls, "Why did General Liu come only now?"

"Didn't I just say that? I was invited by Patriarch Cao to come and discuss matters."

There was silence on the city wall. After a few breaths, "Do you have any letter?"

"Why, do you doubt me?" Liu Daogui had come all the way in a hurry, so what evidence did he have? If he couldn't trick the city gate open, his efforts would be in vain.

"Please forgive me, soldier. If you don't have any evidence, you can only enter at 1:00 AM, after daybreak."

These days are not peaceful, so it is understandable that the defenders are more cautious.

Liu Zun roared, "Stop talking nonsense, the military situation is urgent. If you delay, I'll take your dog head!"

The Cao family members seemed to be very afraid of Liu Zun. When they heard his voice, they fell silent for a moment, and then reluctantly turned the capstan.

Squeak, squeak...

The city gate slowly opened like a panting old man, revealing the dark city wall inside.

Liu Daogui was about to go in, but was stopped by Liu Zun, who then took the lead and stepped into the city wall.

It was quiet inside, with no movement at all.

Liu Guangzhi and Liu Heipi then followed in, with Liu Daogui walking at the end.

As soon as they entered the inner city, Liu Guangzhi led his troops to the top of the city wall.

"What is this?" The defenders were confused and didn't know what was happening.

"If you keep talking, I'll chop off your head."

There was dead silence on the city wall.

Not long after, Liu Heipi arrived with more than a hundred elite soldiers.

It was dawn and some people in the city had already gotten up early, carrying hoes and preparing to go out of the city to work.

Once the Cao family becomes alert, all previous efforts will be wasted.

Most of Liu Zhong, Mao Dezuo and others have not been seen yet.

"No more waiting! Hei Xiong will lead twenty men to control the city gates, and the rest of you will follow me to attack the Cao family!" Liu Daogui made a quick decision. "Understood!"

People who rose early in the city knew Liu Daogui and Liu Zun.

But what was strange was that as soon as he saw Liu Zun, he avoided him from afar, as if he saw the god of plague.

This saves a lot of trouble.

When it was bright, Liu Daogui and more than 170 veteran soldiers were already standing at the gate of the Cao family.

Several servants of the Cao family were still sweeping the gate. When they saw Liu Daogui and Liu Zun, they stopped sweeping and stepped forward to greet them, "Greetings, General Liu."

After visiting the Cao family so many times, I almost became familiar with everyone in the Cao family.

Liu Daogui ignored him with a stern face and pushed the door open with everyone else.

It's like being in a deserted place.

The Cao family had not made any preparations at all, and did not expect Liu Daogui to suddenly come and kill them.

Once you step through this door, half of the task is done. The remaining half is to control Cao Tengyun.

But before they could even start looking, Cao Tengyun and a group of Cao family members came out to greet them. Seeing the murderous Northern Army, their faces turned pale, "Liu... Join the Army..."

Liu Daogui sneered, "Your Excellency summoned me here in such a hurry, shouldn't you give me some explanation?"

Clang…

The soldiers behind him drew their ring-handled swords, strung their bows and crossbows, and headed towards Cao Tengyun.

Liu Zun and Liu Guangzhi each led their soldiers and surrounded them from the left and right.

"It must be a misunderstanding. Our two families are of the same origin, why would it come to this?" Cao Tengyun was an old hand after all, so he pretended to be confused.

"It has come to this. Do you still think that I know nothing?" Liu Daogui glanced at Cao Ji behind him.

Among the children of the Cao family, he was the only one who understood the righteousness of the matter, but at this moment he lowered his head and said nothing.

At this time, the sound of armor clanging was heard outside. It should be the Cao family's troops arriving.

Cao Tengyun seemed to have someone to lean on, and his voice became more confident. "What do you mean by joining the army?"

Liu Daogui shouted, "Are you not satisfied until the Cao family is destroyed?"

The sound was like thunder, booming in Cao's mansion.

Cao Tengyun's body shook, his face turned pale. He might not care about his own life, but he definitely cared about the entire Cao family.

"The life and death of the Cao family depends on your one thought. I advise you not to make mistakes!" Liu Daogui rushed here with his troops, which was already the biggest deterrent.

The heads of the people killed in Qingguangzhai were piled up in the north of the city, which not only frightened the Taishan bandits, but also frightened the Cao family.

At this time, Cao Ji finally stood up and said, "General, please forgive me. It's not that my Cao family has betrayed us, but... Zhang Fonu Bai Longzi has defected to Murong Shao of Yan State. This trip south is under the orders of Yan State. If my Cao family does not cooperate, the Yan army will one day march south and destroy our clan. Moreover, Murong Shao promised that after the success of the plan, my father will be appointed as the prefect of Lanling."

"You are so bold that you are only afraid of the Xianbei people. Aren't you afraid of the Northern Palace Army?" Liu Daogui was very disappointed.

Cao Ji said, "If the Jin Dynasty truly desires to conquer Shenzhou, our Cao family is willing to serve as its vanguard, loyal and devoted, and never regret even if we die nine times. However, the Jin Dynasty has no interest in the northern lands. The Northern Army may come today and leave tomorrow, leaving us at a loss as to what to do."

Liu Daogui's anger was half gone.

The Jin Dynasty launched nine northern expeditions, and each one ended in disastrous defeat.

Zu Ti was angered to death by the Sima family.

Yu Liang was defeated by Shi Hu in Zhucheng, an important town north of the Han River. Generals Mao Bao and Fan Jun jumped into the water and died. The 10,000 elite soldiers who had been trained hard for many years were all killed or wounded.

Yin Hao took advantage of Ran Min's killing of the Hu people in Hebei and launched two counter-expeditions to the north, forcing Zhang Yu and Yao Xiang to rebel. Luoyang and all the cities in Huaibei fell.

Huan Wen's three northern expeditions yielded some gains, but his motives were impure. He won first and then lost twice, severely damaging his vitality...

The last one was Xie Xuan's Northern Expedition, which had the greatest chance of success. He had already recovered the Central Plains, but was stopped by the Emperor and Sima Daozi...

The people who suffered the most casualties in each Northern Expedition were the people of the Northern Kingdom who were loyal to the Jin Dynasty...

(End of this chapter)