binnovel Chapter 142 Cai Hou Paper
Chapter 142 Cai Hou Paper
Chapter 142 Cai Hou Paper
Wang Gong stared at Zang Ba, his expression changing.
All of them were "recruited" by Qiao Mao for various reasons, and the most special one among them was undoubtedly Zang Ba!
Zang Ba came to surrender with his troops, and was very unruly, so even Qiao Mao could not do anything to him.
Zang Ba put the knife on Wang Gong's neck and asked coldly, "Where are my wife and children hidden?"
Wang Gong felt the sharp blade on his neck and trembled. He held on and said, "Captain Zang, listen to me..."
puff
Zang Ba swung his knife fiercely, and then blocked it back.
Wang Gong's whole body was stiff and his legs were shaking violently. He subconsciously reached out to touch his neck. There was a thin cut, and it seemed like no blood was felt, but it hurt like a needle!
Zang Ba stared at him coldly without saying another word.
Wang Gong's scalp tingled and he said, "It's in the backyard of the government office."
Zang Ba put away his knife and turned to leave.
Wang Gong asked anxiously: "What are you going to do?"
Zang Ba ignored him completely, picked up the knife and left in a hurry.
Wang Gong covered the wound on his neck with his right hand, feeling flustered. He thought about it and sighed dejectedly, saying to himself, "That's it!"
His wife and children were also in Qiao Mao's hands, so he couldn't take care of them now. He put some account books into his pocket, took some valuables, and left silently.
Zang Ba separated from Wang Gong, and without any fancy moves, he directly summoned his old subordinates and rushed to the government office.
At this time, Qiao Mao and a group of people were patrolling the city wall.
He watched the government troops retreat and smiled at Bai Rao, "Captain Bai, what I said is right, isn't it? The more urgent the Cao army's attack, the more it shows that they are short of food and grass. In the cold winter, they have nowhere to find food. They can either retreat or wait for their own collapse!"
Bai Rao played with the knife in his hand. Seeing that Cao's army had indeed retreated, he said with a playful look, "General Qiao, I have good news for you."
"Oh?" Qiao Mao was a little surprised. Is there anything in Puyang City that could be hidden from him?
He looked at Bai Rao and asked, "What good news?"
Bai Raoju thrust the knife back with a clang, saying, "I'm afraid Yecheng won't be able to hold out for much longer."
Qiao Mao's expression suddenly changed. He stared at Bai Rao intently and asked, "Can you capture Yecheng?"
Bai Rao smiled complacently and said, "Whether it's true or not, Governor Qiao will know in a few days."
Qiao Mao's heart was shaken and his eyes flickered.
He formed an alliance with the Black Mountain Army only because he wanted external aid, not an "ally" who could march straight into Jizhou and capture Yecheng!
"Governor, it's bad, Zang Ba has rebelled!" Before Qiao Mao could think about it, a captain appointed by him suddenly ran up and shouted urgently.
Qiao Mao's expression suddenly changed. He quickly walked downstairs and shouted, "Stop him!"
Bai Rao was a little surprised. He caught a glimpse of Cao's army preparing to attack the city again. He stared at Qiao Mao's back, thought for a moment, and turned in another direction.
By the time Qiao Mao arrived, Zang Ba had already rescued his wife and children, and was surrounded with hundreds of people.
Seeing that everyone was looking at him with strange eyes, Qiao Maogan's eyes darkened and he shouted to Zang Ba: "Zang Ba, surrender immediately and I will spare your life!"
Seeing that he was surrounded, Zang Ba was not afraid and said, "Qiao Mao, now, if you open the north gate and let me go, we can talk about it. If you insist on forcing me, I will open the south gate and let Lu Bu enter the city!"
"You dare!" Qiao Mao was shocked and angry.
It is indeed Zang Ba’s men who are guarding the South Gate!
Zang Ba chopped off the spear not far in front of him and shouted, "Whoever dares to stop me will die together with me!"
As he spoke, he stepped forward with a knife in hand and forced the soldiers on the bridge in front of him to retreat.
No one dared to stop him. They all looked at Qiao Mao, waiting for him to make a decision.
Qiao Mao didn't expect that Zang Ba would be so bold!
But if he killed Zang Ba, the South Gate would collapse instantly, and Lu Bu and Cao Cao would definitely seize the opportunity and kill their way in!
Qiao Mao's expression was uncertain, his eyes were full of murderous intent, and he couldn't make a decision for a while.
"Governor! Look!" a soldier exclaimed.
Qiao Mao looked up and saw that the granary was suddenly on fire.
Qiao staggered and almost fell to the ground, and was hurriedly picked up by several soldiers.
"Go, go, go quickly!" Qiao Mao was terrified and didn't care about anything else and said urgently.
Zang Ba looked back with a cold gaze, then protected his wife and children and ran straight to the South Gate.
At the same time, outside Puyang City.
Guo Jia drank his wine, looked at the fire in Puyang City, and said to Cao Cao with a smile: "General, did your letter work?"
Cao Cao was not sure either. His narrow eyes flashed with excitement. He said, "Yes or no, we will capture the city today!"
"attack!"
Cao Cao waved his hand and shouted in a deep voice.
All of Cao Cao's troops were pushed forward.
Not far away, Ding Yuan would not miss this opportunity either. He shouted, "Order Lu Bu to attack the city with all his strength. He must be the first to enter and capture Qiao Mao and the others!"
The city of Puyang had already collapsed. Cao Cao and Ding Yuan joined forces and easily broke in with almost no effort.
In less than half an hour, Cao Cao rode into the city majestically on horseback.
"Has Qiao Mao been caught?" Cao Cao looked at Xiahou Dun and asked.
Xiahou Dun said, "He ran away, and Miaocai led people to chase him. However, there were many family members of the Qiao family, and I captured them all."
Cao Cao's expression was slightly cold, and he said, "Pass my order on. Search all of Yanzhou for the Qiao family and exterminate all three clans!"
"Yes, sir!" Xiahou Dun responded loudly.
He turned around and dragged the families of all the rebels to the gate of the government office and beheaded them all, regardless of gender, age or status, a total of four or five hundred people!
When Ding Yuan rushed over, he saw corpses all over the ground. He was shocked and stared at Cao Cao on the steps, unable to say a word.
Cao Cao said expressionlessly, "General Ding, if Puyang is captured, please join me in submitting a petition to the court."
Ding Yuan never expected that Cao Cao was so cruel. He twitched the corners of his mouth but did not refuse.
At the same time, in Luoyang City, the Imperial Palace.
Pan Yin held a plate in his hand and handed it to Liu Bian, saying, "Your Majesty, this is the new paper developed by the descendants of Marquis Cai. I am presenting it to your Majesty for your inspection."
"Lord Cai?"
Liu Bian was startled for a moment, then reacted. He took it, touched it first, then looked at it carefully, compared it with the one on his desk, and said with a smile: "It is indeed more delicate, softer, and less rough."
Liu Bian said, and couldn't help picking up the pen to test it. He wrote a few words and nodded, "It's smoother, not rough, good paper!"
Liu Bian picked up the stack of papers again, looked at them carefully for a while, then looked at Pan Yin and said, "You just mentioned the descendants of Marquis Cai? Does Cai Lun have any descendants?"
Pan Yin paused and said, "It is said that this is the case. It seems that there is a family tree with Cai Taichang, and it was introduced by Empress Tang."
Liu Bian said "oh" but did not comment.
Nowadays, people use all kinds of connections to establish connections, and often go back several or even dozens of generations. Who can tell the difference?
However, he looked at the stack of papers with his eyes slightly narrowed. Just now, a thought flashed through his mind, which made him very excited, but when he tried to capture it, he couldn't remember it.
"and many more,"
Liu Bian suddenly looked at Pan Yin and said, "You said that Tang Ji introduced them? Are they in the palace now?"
Pan Yin said: "Yes, Cai Taichang and Cai Zheng are outside Jingfu Palace, and Cai Xiaoniang is in the palace of Empress Tang."
'Why does Cai Wenji always come to the palace?'
Liu Bian muttered inwardly, "Let them in."
"Yes." Pan Yin responded and stepped back.
Liu Bian sat on the chair, looking at the stack of papers quietly, still thinking about the flash of inspiration that had just come to him.
Not long after, Cai Yong and Cai Zheng came in one after another.
"Your Majesty, I am Cai Yong and your humble servant Cai Zheng. I am honored to see you." The two men saluted.
"No need to be polite." Liu Bian looked at Cai Zheng, who had a moustache, triangular eyes, and the look of a mercenary businessman.
Cai Zheng bowed his head, looking very respectful, and said, "Your Majesty, my papermaking skills are all inherited from my ancestors. I have made some minor changes and would like to present them to Your Majesty."
Liu Bian looked at him, and his heart moved. He said, "You said, this is Cai Hou paper, passed down from our ancestors, are you the only one who knows how to make it?"
Cai Zheng said: "Your Majesty, yes. This kind of paper is very special. It requires materials and processes that are quite different from the past. It took me more than ten years to make some improvements..."
"How much are these papers?" Liu Bian interrupted him and asked with burning eyes.
Cai Zheng was startled, raised his head and looked at Liu Bian carefully, saying: "Your Majesty, these have cost me about 800 coins in total."
"Eight hundred?"
Liu Bian's face showed surprise. He reached out and picked up a stack of notes on the table. After a quick estimate, there were about sixty or seventy of them.
One piece costs more than ten cents!
Liu Bian thought about it and said, "Can the cost be reduced?"
Cai Zheng had no idea why Liu Bian was asking this. He glanced at Cai Yong and answered more cautiously, "If we simplify it carefully and use more materials, we can save one or two hundred coins. What I offer to Your Majesty is the best, regardless of the cost. Please understand, Your Majesty."
I went to several places with my broken computer and wasted most of the day. Today's update is a bit small. I will continue to work hard tomorrow and update 10,000 a day~
Shamelessly asking for monthly tickets~