Three Kingdoms: I switched to Liu Bei, why are you crying, Cao Cao?

Chapter 59 True and False, Doubts Dispelled

Although Mei Qian was confused, since he was placed in a place like Xiang County by Yuan Shu, he must be quite capable.

When he heard that it was Qiao Rui who came, he asked:

"Is Qiao Rui coming alone, or with his troops?"

"How many soldiers and horses do you have? How much baggage do you have? Are there other generals in the army?"

This soldier was summoned by Mei Cheng in a hurry. He was not that professional. After hesitating for a while, he could only stammer:

"General Qiao is leading thousands of troops, but he seems to have no baggage, and no other generals are seen!"

After hearing this reply, Mei Qian paced back and forth with his hands behind his back and asked:

"Since Qiao Rui said that our army had fallen into a trap, why was he so sure?"

The soldier was questioned by Mei Qian and was panicked for a moment. He didn't know how to respond and could only repeat what he saw.

His reply allowed Mei Qian to judge the current situation.

When he heard Qiao Rui say that they were defeated in Xia Pi and almost wiped out, Mei Qian nodded silently.

At least this part is consistent with the information he has received until now!

This proves that Qiao Rui was telling the truth!

The question now is why Qiao Rui's defeated army appeared in the territory of Pei State?
He had the same doubts as Mei Cheng. After Qiao Rui's troops were defeated, they should have headed south instead of coming to Xiang County!
However, he didn't need to guess about this question. He just needed to return to Xiang County and ask directly.

After thinking about it, Mei Qian paused, looked at the soldier and said:
"Well, I just want to go back to Xiang County!"

"Let me ask you, where is Qiao Rui's garrison now?"

When the soldier heard this, he was stunned and said:

"General, what are you talking about? General Qiao has been welcomed into the city by General Mei Cheng to rest!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Mei Qian's eyes bulged and he said:

"What did you say? Mei Cheng welcomed Qiao Rui into the city?"

When the soldier heard this, he thought he had spoken something, so he knelt down and said:

"General, please forgive me, General, please forgive me. I did see General Mei Cheng welcoming General Qiao into the city!"

However, Mei Qian no longer had the energy to pay attention to this soldier because he thought of a very scary possibility!
Now even Zhang Xun’s letters have been forged by the enemy, which means that Qiao Rui may also have problems!
If there is really something wrong with Qiao Rui, then Mei Cheng's action is tantamount to inviting a thief into the house!

It is even possible that Xiang County has fallen into the hands of the enemy at this time!

With this thought in mind, Mei Qian stepped out of the camp and shouted:

"All troops, listen up! Break camp immediately and return to Xiang County!"

At his command, the whole army suddenly became noisy.

Several quchang heard this and came forward to ask:

"General, it's already night, why are you in such a hurry?"

Mei Qian suppressed his panic and said hurriedly:
"My army may have been lured away by the enemy and may have entered the city!"

"If the enemy takes Xiang County, we will be homeless!"

When all the commanders heard the news, they were all horrified. They gathered their troops and rushed towards Xiang County.

In order to return as quickly as possible, Mei Qian even left the baggage train behind and led his troops to Xiang County first.

They walked like this all night, until the next morning, when they finally arrived at the city of Xiang County.

Looking at the big flag with the word "Yuan" on it flying over the city, Mei Qian felt relieved.

But under the relief, he became angry again, and came to the city gate and shouted:

"Open the city gate and let Mei Cheng come to see me immediately!"

When the guard at the city gate saw that it was Mei Qian who had returned, he did not suspect anything and hurriedly opened the city gate.

He also ordered the soldiers to wake Mei Cheng up.

But after Qiao Rui entered the city yesterday, Mei Cheng held a banquet to entertain him, and since he had drunk a lot of wine during the day, he got himself drunk.

Being woken up by the guards early in the morning, he started to curse:
"Who is this ballless person making noise outside? Don't you know I'm going to sleep peacefully?"

"If you quarrel again, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Seeing Mei Cheng like this, the guards didn't dare to shout anymore.

But at this moment, with a bang, Mei Qian kicked the door open, walked up to the couch, picked up Mei Cheng and asked:

"As a garrison commander, how can you be so drunk?"

Mei Cheng was held like this, feeling dizzy for a moment. He opened his eyes and was shocked when he said:

"Brother, why are you back?"

He thought it would take at least two or three days for Mei Qian to return.

I never expected that Mei Gan could get back in just one night!

But Mei Qian did not reply. Instead, he slapped Mei Cheng in the face and shouted angrily:
"Let me ask you, why did you let Qiao Rui's troops into the city?"

Mei Cheng was slapped and a swelling appeared on his handsome face.

Seeing Mei Qian so angry, he couldn't help but say with some grievance:

"Brother, why is that? General Qiao is not an enemy general, so why can't he be allowed into the city?"

Seeing Mei Cheng looking hungover, Mei Qian became even more angry and said:

"Don't you know there are only 5,000 soldiers guarding the city?"

"If he is different, how can you defend this city?"

"You know that Zhang Xu was defeated in Xia Pi, his troops were scattered, and Zhang Xun's whereabouts are unknown. Why did Qiao Rui suddenly come here?"

"If he has already betrayed us, what should you and I do?"

"With your current abilities, you still want to lead the army alone. You really overestimate your abilities!"

Mei Cheng had long been unwilling to be inferior, and upon hearing this, he glared and said:
"Brother, please don't think that I am unwise!"

"If I hadn't found out General Qingqiao's background, how could I dare to let him enter the city?"

"Not to mention that General Qiao only has 3,000 troops, if he had rebelled, why would he have specifically urged me to recall my brother?"

"If I don't let him into the city, and you return, brother, how can he take the city from outside?"

"Besides, if he really had ulterior motives, now that he has come this far and knows that his brother has left, how could he let go of such an opportunity!"

"There are only 5,000 soldiers in the city. If the enemy really comes to take the city, can our army really hold it?"

"Brother, you always say that I can't lead an army. So, brother, tell me, what should I do?"

"Should we just let Qiao Rui wait outside the city for his brother to return?"

"I'm afraid that by that time, my brother will be angry when he returns and I've offended him!"

"You just want to reprimand me, brother, why do you have to make so many excuses!"

He had a headache due to a hangover and was angry, so he no longer spoke with his usual respectfulness.

Mei Qian was speechless after hearing his words.

He was indeed angry just now because he was afraid of the consequences.

Because if there is any problem with Qiao Rui, Xiang County will not be able to defend it at all.

But when he thought about it, what Mei Cheng said made sense!
If there was something wrong with Qiao Rui, there would be no need to go through so much trouble!
Since the enemy army could reach Xiang County, they could attack Xiang County by surprise. There was no need to deceive the city in broad daylight. The most important thing was that Qiao Rui only had 3,000 soldiers. Once his army returned, this number of soldiers would not be able to capture the city.

Qiao Rui's initiative to ask him to come back was undoubtedly shooting himself in the foot.

By reasoning in this way, it can be proved that there is probably nothing wrong with Qiao Rui.

At least it can be proved that Qiao Rui and his troops were not here to take the city.

Thinking of this, Mei Qian looked at the red mark on Mei Cheng's face and felt a little regretful for a moment, thinking that he was too impulsive.

But he couldn't save face, so he could only say in a deep voice:

"Did Qiao Rui's troops make any unusual movements last night?"

Mei Cheng sneered when he heard this:
"If General Qiao really has any unusual moves, can you still show off your power here today?"

After being retorted by him twice, Mei Qian realized that he had gone too far and sighed:
"I was wrong just now!"

"Then you should stop being such a little girl. Isn't it because I am doing this for our sakes, our lives and yours?"

"Don't blame me, just go to sleep. I'll go see Qiao Rui first!"

After saying this, he put Mei Cheng down and turned to walk out.

He didn't notice the resentment in Mei Cheng's eyes at all.

After Mei Qian walked out of Mei Cheng's room, he thought for a moment and did not go to meet Qiao Rui.

Because it was still early, he came in a hurry. If he went directly to see Qiao Rui, it would seem too deliberate.

Since Qiao Rui didn't make any unusual moves, he simply continued to wait and see.

So, led by his followers, he headed towards the military camp in the city.

Cities like Sixiang County had no garrisons before the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Later, when the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out and warlords from all over the country fought against each other, a military camp was also set aside in the city.

Fortunately, Xiang County, as the seat of Pei State, is large enough, so the military camp does not need to be set up outside the city like in other small towns.

However, the capacity of this kind of military camp is not large and cannot accommodate many soldiers.

There were originally more than 15,000 soldiers and horses in the city, and now many more tents were added for Qiao Rui and others to live in, making the city seem quite crowded.

Looking at the newly erected tents on the street, Mei Qian called an officer and asked:
"Is this General Qiao's army?"

The officer replied hastily:
"That's right, the general's troops were all stationed here last night!"

Mei Qian listened without replying. He walked forward, opened a tent and took a closer look.

I saw five or six soldiers sleeping among them, all of them snoring soundly.

Even when he opened the tent, no one woke up.

Obviously, if he hadn't been on the road all the way here, he wouldn't have slept so soundly.

Seeing this, Mei Qian thought, if it was just as Mei Cheng said, if the enemy really had ulterior motives, last night was the best opportunity, and they naturally should not have behaved like this.

"Am I really overthinking it?"

He murmured, his doubts fading.

While I was thinking, I suddenly heard a voice behind me:

"General Mei? I didn't expect you to have led your troops back!"

Upon hearing this, Mei Qian hurriedly turned around, only to see a burly general standing behind him. It was the Qiao Rui he suspected.

Seeing him suddenly behind him, Mei Qian shuddered, turned around and laughed dryly:
"I thought the general was still sleeping and didn't dare to disturb him, but I didn't expect the general to get up!"

In fact, Qiao Rui was also surprised when he saw Mei Qian coming back, but he sighed on his face:

"The situation is so unfavorable now. As generals, how can we sleep peacefully?"

As he spoke, he stepped forward again and said with concern:

"General, have you been ambushed by the enemy while you are away?"

"No troops were lost!"

Seeing Qiao Rui like this, Mei Qian shook his head and smiled:

"There was no ambush. I didn't even go there to prepare. When I was halfway there, I found out that Zhang Xun's military report was fake!"

"I haven't asked yet, what happened now?"

"How could Zhang Xun's seal be in the hands of the enemy? And why did the general suddenly come to my Xiang County?"

As he smelled it, he naturally observed Qiao Rui's reaction.

Qiao Rui was prepared. Upon hearing this, he shook his head and sighed:
"This is a long story, and it's all our army's fault for not investigating!"

He simply recounted what had happened in Xia Pi before.

However, in the end, the plot turned out that he left with his headquarters, and no one knew where Zhang Xun went.

After saying this, he sighed:

"After my defeat that day, I wanted to lead my troops south."

"But later we found out that Lu Bu and Liu Bei had joined forces and wanted to take Xiang County first and then move south!"

"I thought that the two armies were strong, and although the general had a city, he didn't know the details, and was afraid that he would fall into the enemy's calculations, so I sent a letter to Ji Ling and others to gather the troops, and I led the remaining troops to help!"

"Then when we arrived outside the city, we found that the general had already sent out his troops. We knew it must be an enemy plot!"

"Although I don't know what the enemy is planning, but from what the general said, I'm afraid Zhang Xun has been captured by the enemy!"

Having said this, he raised his head and said:

"Fortunately, the general was smart and didn't fall into the enemy's trap, otherwise our army wouldn't even be able to hold on to Xiang County!"

These words were taught by Qin Zhen before he left.

The main theme is that the story is 70% true and 30% false, which cleverly explains the reason why Qiao Rui came to Xiang County.

After he said this, Mei Qian's doubts were completely gone.

People are like this. If Qiao Rui came alone, even if Mei Qian trusted him, he would still be on guard.

But once Zhang Xun's letter for help was received, Mei Qian would naturally regard Zhang Xun as an enemy.

In contrast, Qiao Rui, who took the trouble to come and report the news, became his subconscious friend.

With this mentality in mind, Mei Qian, combined with Mei Cheng's previous words and what he saw along the way, immediately believed Qiao Rui's words.

When he heard that Liu Bei and Lu Bu were going to jointly attack Xiang County, he frowned and said:
"I still have one thing that I don't understand. Since the enemy is going to attack Xiang County, why haven't we found any trace of the enemy yet?"

Upon hearing this, Qiao Rui shook his head and said:
"I don't know about that. All I know is that Lu Bu agreed to Liu Bei's request, but why he hasn't come yet? I don't know the details."

Seeing that Qiao Rui didn't know, Mei Qian nodded in understanding.

In his opinion, Qiao Rui's defeated army had done its best to detect the movements of the two armies.

As for the rest, it is difficult to expect Qiao Rui to provide any more information!
Thinking of this, he was about to speak when he saw a soldier coming up quickly, bowing and saying

"General, our scouts have already found the enemy. Liu Bei's army is marching towards Xiang County!"

Hearing this, Qiao Rui hurriedly said:
"General, this is not a good intention. You must handle it with caution!"

Mei Qian listened and nodded:

"I will summon all the generals to discuss this matter!"

He also wondered why the enemy wasn't moving, it turns out they were right here!
He felt relieved that he could detect the enemy's movements!

(End of this chapter)