Cao Rui would certainly be very uncomfortable if a foreign minister laughed at him in the palace hall.
But what can he do?
"Your envoy is joking... I, the Wei Dynasty, have no idea of holding an imperial examination for the time being." Cao Rui said calmly, then changed the subject and asked: "I wonder where your envoy came from when he came to Luoyang this time?"
It was not uncommon for the Han Dynasty to send envoys to Wei.
Usually there is something important,
Only Liu Chan would send envoys here.
Zeng Shu smiled and said: "Foreign ministers coming to Wei this time naturally bring a happy event to His Majesty."
"Oh???" Cao Rui still said calmly: "I don't know, what kind of happy event is it?"
The Han Dynasty's happy event for the Wei Dynasty is simply nonsense.
"Back to your majesty!" Zeng Shu said: "Although Han and Wei had fought against each other before, that was all in the past. Now Han and Wei are allies and neighbors."
Give me a handful first,
Then Zeng Shucai asked: "I wonder what your majesty thinks?
What is the situation in today’s world?”
"???" Cao Rui was stunned for a moment, wondering what this person meant.
The situation in the world.
Isn’t it because your Han Dynasty is very powerful now?
You have taken away the status that originally belonged to Wei Dynasty. Do you need to show off to me here?
Cao Rui deliberately didn't answer the call, I don't know why.
"Your Majesty must feel that..." Cao Rui did not speak, but Zeng Shu said: "As long as the alliance between Wei and Wu is divided into three parts of the world, it can continue to be maintained. Wei can still maintain its current status, right?"
After the Han Dynasty occupied Guanzhong, Cao Wei often allied with Soochow to contain the Han Dynasty or help attack the Han Dynasty together.
Just——
Soochow, this ally, is really unreliable.
Either they were defeated as soon as they engaged the Han army, or they took advantage of the situation and turned around to attack the Wei Dynasty.
"It's just...this Soochow...sigh..." Zeng Shu sighed and said: "Sun Quan has no faith and is double-dealing." After saying that, he paused: "In the past, when your country was strong,
I, a big man, was once an ally with Soochow, but I also suffered a lot of harm from this ally."
"General Guan's troops shocked Xiangfan -" Zeng Shu sighed: "As an ally, Sun Quan not only failed to help our Han Dynasty contain your country, but instead took advantage of our unpreparedness to stabbed our army secretly, which ultimately led to General Guan's defeat and death." /p>
Zeng Shu deliberately mentioned the past events many years ago. At that time, Cao Rui was still a child, but as a descendant of Cao Wei, he naturally knew the process and results of this battle.
Just——
How could Zeng Shu suddenly mention this matter?
"Your Majesty!" Zeng Shu saluted and said: "Later, because of my lord's wisdom and prowess, my country became more and more powerful, and your country also made an alliance with it..." At this point, Zeng Shu paused deliberately and glanced at Cao Cao. Rui, at the same time looked at the ministers of Cao and Wei, and said: "But Sun Quan failed to help your country contain our big Han. Instead, he allowed my big Han to defeat them easily and occupy their city.
Harvest their subjects."
This is a bit arrogant.
Just,
Cao Rui, and the ministers of Cao and Wei,
Still no answer, they also wanted to know what the Han envoy wanted to say today.
"Your Majesty, everyone!" Zeng Shu suddenly said with certainty: "My Majesty, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, intends to unite with your country and attack Soochow together. After the Soochow is conquered and destroyed, the Han Dynasty is willing to equally divide the territory of Soochow with your country."
As soon as Zeng Shu finished speaking, the entire hall fell into silence. There had been some low-pitched discussions before, but now, the entire hall was eerily quiet.
"Conquer Wu?"
Cao Rui's eyes widened and he asked doubtfully: "Does your country want to conquer Wu?"
Cao Rui really didn't expect that Liu Adou would be so ambitious or courageous.
Last year we had a battle with the Wei Dynasty in the Battle of Jinzhong, and just one year later, we were ready to take action against Soochow.
"That's right!" Zeng Shu nodded and said: "Sun Quan of the Eastern Wu Dynasty went back on his promise and is not worthy of standing alongside the Han and Wei Dynasties... Therefore, my Lord wants to send troops to destroy them."
"!!!"
"Destroy it?"
In the Wuchang Palace, Sun Quan also stared wide-eyed, unable to believe his ears. He felt that he must have heard wrong.
"That's right, Your Majesty!" Li Jie said with a smile: "Cao Wei is a traitor who usurped the Han Dynasty. Killing his king and destroying his country has always been the national policy of my great Han Dynasty."
Li Jie, a native of Jianwei County, Yizhou, was originally a member of the imperial guard of Chengdu, the old capital of the Han Dynasty. In the third year of the founding of the Han Dynasty (AD 225), he joined the training of the new army of Emperor Liu Chan.
After completing the training, Li Jie has been lurking in Cao, Wei and Dongwu.
During the Battle of Guanzhong, he revealed to Meng Da that Sima Yi had sent troops to attack Shangyong. He wanted Meng Da to persist longer or defeat Sima Yi.
But in the end, it only slowed down Sima Yi's attack speed, and he died at the hands of Sima Yi in the end.
In recent years, Li Jie has been lurking in Wuchang, the capital of Soochow.
A few days ago, he received news from the Emperor Liu Chan, asking him to go see Sun Quan, the Great Emperor of Eastern Wu, as an envoy of the Han Dynasty on July 2.
Sun Quan was naturally not curious about Liu Chan's desire to destroy Wei, but now he was surprised for a simple reason.
Although the Han Dynasty is very powerful now, it has just experienced the Battle of Jinzhong and only one year has passed. Is the Han Dynasty really ready to destroy Wei?
"Does your country intend to destroy Wei?" Sun Quan stroked his beard lightly and smiled: "Are you fully prepared?"
"Hahaha!" Li Jie also smiled and said: "Your Majesty, in the past ten years, there have been several wars between Han and Wei. Is there a precedent for our great Han to be defeated?" He paused for a moment, and then said with a somewhat proud look.
: "Even last year, the Wei-Wu coalition... ultimately failed to defeat our great Han."
Sun Quan frowned slightly when he heard this, obviously unhappy.
Because this is exposing his scars.
Originally, last year, I thought that while Liu Chan and Zhuge Liang were busy with the Western Expedition, Wu would join forces with Cao Wei to attack the Han. Not to mention destroying the Han, at least it would allow Wu to expand its power to Yizhou.
However, Wu's tens of thousands of naval troops were barely annihilated before they entered Shu.
What's even more exciting is that the Han Dynasty also took the opportunity to occupy Wu's Lingnan area.
After a huge defeat, Wu finally had no choice but to sue for peace from Chang'an, and at the same time, all the Lingnan region was assigned to the Han Dynasty.
Moreover, Da Wu is still attached to Da Han.
Hum——
The more Sun Quan thought about it, the angrier he became. Unexpectedly, only a year had passed before Liu Adou sent someone to expose his shortcomings.
However, Li Jie didn't care about this. He glanced at Sun Quan and then said: "Your Majesty, I, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, also thought that your Majesty once sent envoys to attach themselves to the Han Dynasty..." After saying that, he paused, and then said: "If this were not the case,
Perhaps I, the great Han, will send troops to your country first this time."
"You——" Sun Quan suddenly became furious.
Li Jie's words are a bit harsh. In other words, Liu Adou has always regarded me as his younger brother. Otherwise, I, Da Wu, should be destroyed first?
"Your lord is very ambitious!" Sun Quan said solemnly: "But, does your country have the appetite to conquer the world?"
"Hahaha——" Li Jie smiled and said: "Your Majesty, after nearly ten years of development, my great Han Dynasty now has hundreds of generals, and the total number of soldiers and armor far exceeds that of Wei and Wu."
As he spoke, he paused, and then continued: "Even regardless of the number of soldiers and armor, the advanced weapons equipped by our Han army are enough to dominate the world. Who in the world can stop it?"
Li Jie came here to scare Sun Quan. According to the emperor Liu Chan, Sun Shiwan was a coward. He had no merit other than sneaking around and taking advantage of others. He was no worse than his father and brother.
More importantly, Sun Quan had no intention of annexing the world. He only wanted to establish the Three Kingdoms and just preserve his existing territory.
Also, Soochow's naval force is very powerful, ranking first in the Three Kingdoms. Its army is simply a bunch of rabble. It may be useful to leave them to defend the city, and let them attack the city and take out the stronghold, which means they will be killed.<
/p>
For example, last year Lu Xun led tens of thousands of troops to attack Jiaozhou, but after fighting for several months, he failed to shake Li Yi, Guan Feng and his wife.
In addition, the Soochow Army is basically infantry-based, because Soochow lacks horses, unlike the Han Dynasty and Cao Wei, which have a natural supply of horses.
In this era of cold weapons, there is no cavalry and all reliance is on infantry. If you want to compete in the world, it is equivalent to not knowing the heights of the world and seeking death.
Sun Quan wanted to be angry, but it was an indisputable fact that the Han army was powerful and well-armed, so strictly speaking, what Li Jie said was not an exaggeration at all.
Cough cough cough——
Sun Quan coughed twice and then asked: "I wonder when your lord will send out troops... How do you want me, Wu, to respond?"
Since Liu Adou wants to destroy Wei, when will he launch the attack?
"This -" Li Jie paused and then said deliberately: "It depends on whether your majesty is willing to hunt with my big man... If your majesty agrees to cooperate with our army, my lord will determine the specific schedule for attacking Cao Wei."
Sun Quan was stunned and asked with a gloomy face: "If I choose to remain neutral and not help each other, what will happen to your country?"
"Haha——" Li Jie laughed loudly and said: "If this is the case, please prepare your army for war and wait for our Han cavalry to enter Wu Kingdom."
"Presumptuous!"
The courtiers of Soochow who had been silent all this time were furious. One of the middle-aged military generals shouted sternly: "Shu people are arrogant, but do they think I have no one in Wu?"
As he said that, the general raised his arms, as if if you don't speak up, I'll punch your head off.
However, Li Jie did not get angry but smiled instead, and handed over to Sun Quan and said: "Your Majesty, please think twice. If your Majesty refuses my Han army to join forces to attack Wei..."
"What do you mean, sir?" Sun Quan asked.
Li Jie smiled and replied: "If Jie has not returned to Chang'an within the month, my Lord will definitely unite with Cao Wei..."
Before Li Jie could finish what he said, Sun Quan felt a slight chill on his back.
He naturally understood what Li Jie meant.
That is to say, if Li Jie does not return to Chang'an within the month, Liu Adou will join forces with Cao Wei. What will he do with Cao Wei?
Do you still need to think about it?
Of course, we must unite with Wei to destroy Wu.
Niang Xipi——
A single big Han has already made it difficult for Wei and Wu to resist. If Han and Wei join forces to attack Da Wu, will Da Wu still be able to resist it?
Oh, no——
At this time, the entire hall was eerily quiet.
The general who was rolling up his arms just now snorted but also put down his sleeves.
Sun Quan was very angry, Liu Adou was not a human being.
This is too much to deceive.
If there is a monarch like this, if he cannot unite with me, he will unite with my opponents to attack me?
Shameless, shameless.
Sun Quan secretly cursed Liu Chan thousands of times in his heart, but he also knew very well that the big man at the moment really didn't dare to offend him. If he really pissed off Liu Chan, he could destroy Wu even without joining forces with Cao Wei.
In fact, Sun Quan also thought about sending envoys to Luoyang now to join forces with Cao Wei to attack the Han Dynasty.
But——
Cao Wei just suffered a major defeat in Jinzhong last year, and Cao Rui was captured alive by the Han army. At this time, Cao Wei may not have the courage to attack the Han again.
Cao Wei did not dare to attack the Han Dynasty, but Liu Adou could send troops to Soochow at any time if he wanted to.
Oh, no——
Sun Quan is Sun Quan. After all, he is the oldest among the monarchs of the Three Kingdoms, and he is almost sixty years old now.
As the saying goes, scheming.
......
July 28.
Chang'an, Weiyang Palace.
Xuanshi Hall.
"Hahaha!"
Liu Chan burst out laughing, and then said to Zeng Shu: "Ai Qing is really a great talent, let Cao Rui and Sun Quan fight each other...hahaha!"
Zeng Shu did not dare to take credit. He said: "The humble ministers are terrified. It all depends on your majesty's planning."
Liu Chan was very satisfied. That day in prison, Liu Chan asked Zeng Shu, what he said was that the Han Dynasty was suffering from internal and external troubles. When Liu Chan asked him about the external troubles, Zeng Shu pointed out that the Han Dynasty's front line was too long. If the Wei and Wu coalition forces attacked, the Han Dynasty would not be defeated by the two sides. The country will be destroyed, but it will also slow down the development process of the Han Dynasty.
So when Liu Chan asked him how to prevent it, Zeng Shu thought that it would be necessary to prevent Wei and Wu from uniting, and it would be best to let them fight again.
As long as Soochow, Cao and Wei do not unite, the Han Dynasty will naturally not be afraid of the front being too long.
After some thinking, Liu Chan came up with such a method.
At the same time, two groups of envoys were sent to Luoyang to tell Cao Rui that we are about to attack Wu. We hope that your country will send troops to help, and then the world of Soochow will be divided equally.
He also gave a specific plan for sending troops, that is, the Han army would move from south to north, sending troops from Jiaozhou and Guilin counties, and Cao Wei would cross the Yangtze River and attack Wuchang.
Of course, Liu Chan knew that Cao Rui would definitely choose to sit back and watch the fight between the tigers and the tigers. When the battle between Han and Wu became fierce, or when both sides were hurt, the Wei army would come back to reap the benefits.
Cao Wei remains neutral.
Well, if Cao Wei can really maintain neutrality and Liu Chan really wants to attack Wu, given the current strength comparison between Han and Wu, as long as Cao Wei doesn't hold back, it is really possible for the Han army to destroy Soochow.
After all, the strongest force in Soochow is the navy, but the current border between the Han and Soochow is not just the Yangtze River. If the Han sends troops from Jiaogui, it will still be difficult for Soochow to stop it. Maybe it won't take long before the Han army We can march to Wuchang City.
Soochow Navy?
The Han army did not pass through waterways. No matter how strong the Soochow navy was, what could it do?
But——
Once the war between Han and Wu begins, Cao Rui will never choose to sit on the sidelines. As long as the Han army continues to mobilize troops to Soochow, Cao Rui may take the opportunity to send troops to merge with the state and Guanzhong. Of course, he may also send troops to defeat Wu.
However, Liu Chan believed that if that time came, Cao Rui would choose to conquer the Han.
Why?
Because if you want to curb the development of the Han Dynasty, the world must continue to maintain the three kingdoms. If Soochow is attacked and destroyed by the Han Dynasty, the next one to be attacked and destroyed will naturally be Cao Wei.
Cao Rui is certainly not stupid.
However, Liu Chan has never thought about launching a war at all. Whether it is against Soochow or Cao Wei, the Han Dynasty now needs time to recuperate and develop.
The purpose of sending envoys to Wei is to tell Cao Rui that we are preparing to conquer Wu. Are you interested in getting a share of the pie? If so, then send troops.
Of course, if you are not interested, then just watch my Han annex Jiangnan and destroy Soochow. The strength of my Han will make it even more difficult for you, Cao Wei, to shake.
Regarding Cao Wei, Liu Chan only needs them to remain neutral.
But when it came to Sun Quan, Liu Chan chose to use intimidation.
The routine is the same. Our two countries will go together to destroy Wei, and Soochow must follow my big Han to destroy Wei, otherwise I will immediately join forces with Cao Wei to destroy you.
Liu Chan predicted that Sun Quan would not dare to offend the Han Dynasty, and of course he would not dare to offend Cao Wei.
But if he was asked to choose between the two, he could only choose the big man.
Li Jie smiled and said: "Sun Quan said that they are willing to work with my great Han Dynasty to jointly attack Cao Wei, and then divide the world of Cao Wei equally."
"Hahaha!" Liu Chan laughed loudly.
"Your Majesty!" Zeng Shu asked, "We can send people into Wu quickly, so that Soochow will take the lead in sending troops to contain the Wei army, and our army will go out from the east of Tongguan. Because our army is going to attack Luoyang, the capital of Cao Wei, so I hope Soochow will be the first to attack." Contain the Wei army so that our army can quickly attack Luoyang."
"Yeah!" Liu Chan nodded with satisfaction and said, "This plan is very good. I don't think Sun Quan will be suspicious..." Liu Chan paused and then said, "This time we have to let Wei and Wu fight. No."
A few days later.
The Han Dynasty sent envoys to enter the Wuchang Palace.
The method used was still intimidation. The Han envoy said that in order to ensure that Soochow was sincerely attached to the Han Dynasty, at the same time, the Han army wanted to attack Luoyang, the capital of Cao Wei.
Therefore, this attack requires Soochow to send troops first, so that Cao Wei thinks that only Soochow will attack Cao Wei. When Cao Wei starts to dispatch troops, the Han generals will leave Tongguan and attack Luoyang, the capital of Cao Wei.
If Soochow refuses, the Han army will immediately attack Wu.
Although Sun Quan was hesitant, after some analysis by the Han envoy, he still threatened.
Sun Quan agreed.
Because he agreed with the Han envoy's analysis, he was also afraid that the Han army would attack Wu.
Also, even if Soochow Wu restrains some of Cao Wei's troops, there may be a certain amount of pressure.
But when the Han army sends troops to Tongguan, Cao Wei will definitely withdraw a large area of troops back to Luoyang to rescue the capital. At that time, the pressure on Soochow will be relieved immediately.
November 16, the first year of the Han Dynasty (AD 240).
Luoyang Imperial Palace.
Cao Rui glanced at the report and sneered: "This old boy Sun Quan is very courageous. I haven't raised an army to attack him yet, but he comes to attack me first?"
"Your Majesty!" General Sima Yi also said: "Sun Quan is nothing to be afraid of. Our city, Fancheng, has high walls and deep walls. How can it be captured by those rabble from Soochow?"
"Yes!" Cao Rui nodded. Naturally, he was not worried about Soochow. After all, Soochow had been fighting for so many years. Although Soochow made several Northern Expeditions, it did not gain any advantage except for occupying Jiangxia.
Their battle to capture Jiangxia was also because the main force of the Wei army was restrained by the Han army.
However, since the Wu army has begun to attack the city, Cao Rui certainly will not ignore it.
"General!" Cao Rui said: "I will appoint you as the general governor, lead 30,000 soldiers from Jingxiang, and go immediately to rescue Fancheng."
"No!" Sima Yi responded.
Then, Cao Rui said again: "Cao Shuang!"
Grand Sima Cao Shuang came out and said: "The humble minister is here."
Cao Shuang is the son of the former general Cao Zhen. He is one of the generals who can lead troops in the Wei Dynasty. The other generals are now stationed at the border.
After all, Cao Shuang was also a descendant of the clan. After Cao Rui ascended the throne again, he worshiped him as Grand Sima.
"I have appointed you as the Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Conquest. I will immediately lead 50,000 troops to aid Hefei."
Cao Shuang responded: "I obey the order!"
Soochow suddenly sent troops to the Northern Expedition, and they went northward in two ways. One was led by General Lu Xun with an army of 50,000 to attack Fancheng, and the other was led by Sun Quan himself.
No surprises.
One hundred thousand troops arrived at Hefei New City.
......
......
This chapter has been completed!