Chapter 1178

"What happened to Mengde?"

Cao Ren, with his head pressed to the ground, said in a grief-stricken voice with a sob: "Eldest brother... has died in battle!"

"Impossible!"

Duan Yu shook his head with furrowed brows: "How is that possible!"

"Mengde has tens of thousands of troops in Yanzhou, who could kill him?"

"Impossible!"

Although he said it was impossible, Duan Yu was already filled with grief in his heart.

He didn't want to admit it because Cao Cao was one of the few close friends he had.

Since transmigrating, although there were more and more people around him.

But there were really not many who could be called friends.

Tie Shitou, Wang Hunu, Liu Bai Tu, and Chen Qing'an, those he had met earliest, could only be considered his younger brothers.

And the later Zhang Liao, Zhang Xun, and those who kept joining his command, could only be called subordinates.

Even people like Jia Xu could not be called friends; at most, they could be considered half-friends.

He could ask Jia Xu and others how to handle government affairs and how to plan for the future, but he could not treat them as friends.

Superior and subordinate, that is superior and subordinate.

As the absolute ruler of Liangzhou, as a ruler who sits at the very top, he can love his soldiers like his own children, and he can also show compassion to his subordinates, but he cannot make friends with the soldiers and subordinates under his command, because this is the great taboo of a ruler.

What is a friend?

It is the exchange of hearts between each other, it is the object of pouring out when you have bitterness that you cannot speak to others.

It is when you are in trouble, he comes to help from thousands of miles away without hesitation, not seeking profit, only seeking friendship.

When he first arrived in Luoyang and met Cao Cao and Yuan Shao for the first time, the two of them treated him with sincerity.

With the status of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao at that time, it is no exaggeration to say that they treated him with sincerity.

Later, he went to Liangzhou, and when facing the Qiang tribe, the two of them came from thousands of miles away from Luoyang and fought for him in Liangzhou.

When he was trapped in Yunwu City, he could entrust his life to Cao Cao and Yuan Shao.

This is what a friend is.

To repay the favor, and also out of guilt in his heart, he could give more than three thousand warhorses to Cao Cao.

When they met again while suppressing the Huang Jin, the two became comrades-in-arms again.

In fact, the only people Duan Yu could call friends.

Were Cao Cao and Yuan Shao.

Once upon a time, he thought more than once, if history were really the same as the past, and Cao Cao were to grow into that treacherous hero of the chaotic times, how would he face Cao Cao?

Could the two of them confront each other with swords?

Or, if he became a person like Dong Zhuo, holding the Emperor to command the world, would Cao Cao, like in history, gather allies and send troops to conquer him?

Duan Yu felt he wouldn't.

He felt that Cao Cao would stand on his side without hesitation.

If he didn't have such great certainty about Yuan Shao, he still had absolute certainty about Cao Cao.

Therefore, he had never thought about what he would do to Cao Cao in the future when competing for the world.

He had even thought of a retreat for Cao Cao.

But he had never thought that Cao Cao would die.

"Who!"

Duan Yu almost bit through his back teeth as he looked at Cao Ren.

The anger surging in those eyes seemed to be able to burn mountains and boil the sea.

"Who killed Mengde!" Duan Yu asked through gritted teeth.

"Zhang Rao!"

Zhang Rao?

Duan Yu furrowed his brows.

What kind of unknown small character was this, how had he never heard of him?

"He is the Qu Shuai of the Qingzhou Army, Zhang Rao."

Qu Shuai of the Qingzhou Army, Zhang Rao?

Duan Yu suddenly seemed to remember.

When Kong Rong was serving as the Chancellor of Beihai, he had been defeated several times by a group of Huang Jin.

And the person who defeated Kong Rong was called Zhang Rao, a Qu Shuai of the Qingzhou Huang Jin, with two or three hundred thousand troops under his command.

But even knowing who this Zhang Rao was, Duan Yu did not believe that Cao Cao would be killed by Zhang Rao.

Although Cao Cao at this time had not yet grown into the treacherous hero Cao Cao of later times, had not experienced so much, had not been blackened, and did not have so much experience in marching and fighting.

But Cao Cao was Cao Cao, and his military talent was beyond doubt.

Yanzhou had tens of thousands of troops, plus the warhorses he had supported.

Even if Zhang Rao had two or three hundred thousand people, he did not think Zhang Rao could defeat Cao Cao head-on.

Historically, the opportunity for Cao Cao's rise was the Qingzhou Huang Jin.

At that time, Cao Cao also occupied Yanzhou, and then gathered a million Qingzhou Huang Jin to form a Qingzhou Army of 300,000, which was how he broke through thorns and thistles.

Duan Yu could understand that history's fate arranged for Cao Cao to face the Qingzhou Army again.

But why could Zhang Rao defeat Cao Cao?

Duan Yu knew that anger could not cloud his reason.

So he didn't rush to deny it, but looked at Cao Ren and asked how Cao Cao died.

Cao Ren explained the whole process of the matter one by one, including how Liu Bei, who was the Chancellor of Langya at the time, intervened.

And how Liu Bei later blocked them from getting revenge, he told everything one by one.

"Marquis of Ji..."

Cao Ren said with tearful eyes: "Before my eldest brother died, he told me to take Zixiu to find the Marquis of Ji and let the Marquis of Ji avenge him."

"My eldest brother specifically instructed me to bring his eldest son, Zixiu."

"My eldest brother believed that the Marquis of Ji would definitely avenge him."

"It's just that we were blinded by hatred at the time, and we were determined to avenge my eldest brother, which eventually led that insidious villain Liu Bei to report to the imperial court and impeach us."

"The imperial court reprimanded us, and we had no other way, so we came to seek refuge with the Marquis of Ji."

"Please take us in."

After speaking, Cao Ren kowtowed to the ground again.

Duan Yu took a deep breath, then bypassed the desk in front of him and came to Cao Ren, then reached out and helped little Cao Ang, who was kneeling on the ground, to stand up.

Young Cao Ang had a firm gaze, and although his eyes were filled with tears, he did not cry out loud.

"He is Mengde's good son." Duan Yu comforted him softly, then took him into his arms.

"Mengde's son is my son, and Mengde's enemy is my enemy."

"Zixiao, get up. As long as I am here, as long as you are in Liangzhou, no one has the ability to hurt you."

"I will definitely avenge Mengde. Let alone that he Zhang Rao relied on Liu Bei, even if he relied on anyone, he must die!"

"These words are spoken by me, no one can keep him!" ===== CHAPTER 1180 =====