Chapter 259 Join forces with Cao to fight against Liu and prepare for backstabbing
When it got dark, Jiangdong's scout ship had already sailed into Chaisang Port.
It has not been easy for Jiangdong's scouts in the past half month.
Although Sun Quan has been paying attention to the development of the Battle of Jingnan, Yiyang is very far away from Jiangdong after all, and Shen Chen deliberately blocked the news.
The Jiangxia navy blocked Baqiu, which meant that the Yangtze River's entrance to Jingnan was blocked. The scouts had to go overland or find ways to sneak across at night. Therefore, the Jiangdong scouts suffered a lot.
However, Sun Quan spent a lot of money in order to find out the information. Not only did he send dozens of scout teams, five to six hundred people, but he also spent a lot of money. He promised that the first person to bring back the information would be rewarded with a hundred golds.
It is said that a big reward must be brave. As early as October, some scouts had been lurking in Luoxian, Linxiang, and Yiyang. After the war was over, they immediately took huge risks and drove ships overnight along the Yangtze River to Henan. Chapter goes.
Although some scout ships were destroyed and people died, there were still one or two lucky ones who were lucky. They did not run aground on the rocks while sailing at night, nor were their ships capsized by strong winds and waves on the Yangtze River, and returned home safely.
This made it possible for Sun Quan to know the outcome of the Battle of Jingnan in less than fifteen days, which would have taken at least more than a month for news to spread under normal circumstances.
In the Chaisang County government residence, Sun Quan was woken up by his slaves while he was still sleeping. He learned that the war in Jingnan that he had been thinking about day and night was over, and he hurriedly got up from the bed to meet the scouts.
After he learned the information from the scouts, Sun Quan immediately sent someone to summon Zhou Yu and Lu Su to discuss important matters.
Zhou Yu was actually not in Chaisang at this time.
He is looking for the sun.
Xunyang and Chaisang are the two starting points for Yuzhang to enter Jiangxia.
You can only go by water from Chaisang, but you can go by land from Xunyang, especially Xunyang, which can go straight to Xiling, the Jiangxia administrative office, and Zhu County, an important port.
Therefore, no matter it is the Sun Ce period or the current Zhou Yu period, Jiangdong Army will deploy heavy troops in Xunyang.
Now Zhou Yu is also in Xunyang, training his soldiers every day, just waiting for an opportunity.
Soon after noon, Zhou Yu's ship arrived at Chaisang Pier.
Chaisang is actually more than 40 kilometers away from Xunyang, but because Xunyang is located slightly upstream on the north side of the Yangtze River, it is very fast to get down by boat, and you can reach Chaisang in one hour.
When entering the Chaisang County government residence, Sun Quan and Lu Su chatted for a long time. In fact, at this time, Sun Quan still had a lot of talents under his command.
For example, Gu Yong, the left Sima, Teng Dan, the Right Sima, Zhuge Jin, the middle Sima, Sun Shao, the governor of Lujiang, Sun Zhao, the shepherd chief of Yangzhou, Yan Zhen, the chief herdsman of Yangzhou, Jibu Zhi, the shepherd of Yangzhou, Yu Fan, the riding captain, and Lu Ji, the governor of Cao Cao, etc. .
But now there is no peace in Jiangdong, and the people of Shanyue have not yet been pacified. Previously, a large lake in Shenchen drowned the Jiangdong army, and countless generals, large and small, suffered losses. Therefore, the rear urgently needed a large number of officials to appease him, and he himself basically Only Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Zhuge Jin, Gu Yong Bu Zhao and others discussed it.
Zhuge Jin, Gu Yong, Bu Zhao and others are not yet at a high level. Lu Su was more and more valued by Sun Quan because he defeated Shen Chen in Zhoukou with less than a thousand men. If Zhang Zhao who stayed behind was included, then these three I am now Sun Quan's most important adviser.
Zhou Yu is now thirty-four years old. He should be at an age when he is full of energy and his oars and oars are turned into ashes while talking and laughing. However, now his face is slightly pale and he occasionally coughs. The sequelae of being flooded in Yi County still remain to this day. .
He walked into the hall. When Sun Quan saw him, he stood up and said, "Gong Jin."
"Wu Hou."
Zhou Yu bent down and cupped his hands, maintaining respect for Sun Quan. In fact, this respect rarely came from Sun Quan himself, but mainly from his elder brother.
Sun Quan also knew this, nodded and said: "Gong Jin, sit down quickly. Someone, bring some hot tea."
The style of tea frying first became popular in Jingzhou more than ten years ago, and then spread to Yizhou and Bashu, the origin of tea drinking by the Han people, and then slowly spread to Jiangdong with the merchant ships on both sides of the Yangtze River.
Because the fried tea is fragrant and refreshing, although not bitter, it gradually became popular in the south. In the past two years, Sun Quan, Zhou Yu, Lu Su and others often drank tea to refresh themselves.
After Zhou Yu sat down, the maid brought the hot tea, not in a cup, but in a tea goblet, which is said to have been imported from Jingzhou.
"Gong Jin."
Sun Quan waited for Zhou Yu to sit down and then said, "It has been cold in winter recently. How are you recovering from your old illness?"
Zhou Yu hurriedly said: "Thanks to Wu Hou's concern, my daily life has become much better."
"Um."
Sun Quan nodded and said: "The envoy who went to Liaodong a few days ago came back. Gongsun Kang sent some high-grade ginseng. I will send it to Gongjin's residence."
"Thank you, Marquis Wu."
Zhou Yu said: "Has Gongsun Kang agreed to form an alliance with the Marquis of Wu?"
"I haven't made a statement yet, I just said I'll wait and see."
Sun Quan's expression remained as usual.
Historically, he sent an envoy to Liaodong Gongsun Kang before the Battle of Chibi.
Worried that Cao Cao's army would go south and destroy Jiangdong, he sent an envoy to Gongsun Kang, hoping that Gongsun Kang would take the opportunity to invade Cao Cao's rear.
But Gongsun Kang refused at that time and killed the envoys he sent. Naturally, there was no interaction between the two sides.
The reason why Gongsun Kang rejected Sun Quan at that time was actually because he could not afford to offend Cao Cao. Therefore, when Cao Cao pursued Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi, he immediately killed them and dedicated them to Cao Cao.
But now Cao Cao has not yet unified the north, and has just captured Yecheng. Yuan Tan is still in Bohai, Yuan Shang, and Yuan Xi are in Youzhou. Therefore, Gongsun Kang has not felt the direct pressure from Cao Cao, so naturally he will not immediately fight with Sun Quan.
Fall out.
As for why Sun Quan contacted Gongsun Kang now, the reason is simpler.
Zhou Yu and Lu Su analyzed that Cao Cao could not turn a blind eye to the civil strife in Jingzhou. He would not be stupid enough to sit back and watch the emergence of a unified southern regime. Therefore, once there were changes in Jingzhou, he would definitely get involved.
Now is the most critical time for them in Jiangdong. Liu Cong, Liu Qi, and snipe are fighting each other. Sun Quan and Cao Cao both want to benefit from each other. This leads to the fact that these two current allies are at odds with each other. Sun Quan is secretly guarding against Cao Cao.
, so I contacted Gongsun Kang.
Not only Gongsun Kang, but also Yuan Shang, Yuan Xi, senior officials from Bingzhou, Han Sui from Guanzhong, and Zhang Lu from Xichuan all sent envoys.
The reason for contacting Zhang Lu was to make an agreement with him to fight against Liu Bei together, and to contact Han Sui, Gao Gan, Yuan Shang, Yuan Xi, Gongsun Kang and others. Naturally, he hoped that they would contain Cao Cao when he was devouring Jingzhou, so as to prevent Cao Cao from suddenly going south.
Make an attack in the east, attack in the west, and annex the south.
After all, even though Cao Cao seems to be contained in Hebei, everyone knows that Yuan Tan will be punished in the spring of next year at the latest within a few days. By then, Cao Cao, who has Henan and Hebei, will not be unmoved by the unrest in the south.
Therefore, Sun Quan must plan in advance, at least not at the critical moment when he, Liu Qi, and Liu Bei are competing for Jingzhou, and Cao Cao suddenly rushes from Nanyang or Runan to Jingzhou and Yangzhou to invade his territory.
"Gongsun Kang was located in remote Liaodong, but he coveted Shandong and sent fleets to harass Donglai several times. Maybe he had some ambitions."
Zhou Yu said: "It's just that Wu Hou still can't rely on outsiders, he has to rely on his own anger."
"I know that."
Sun Quan said in a deep voice: "Early this morning, the scouts sent to Jingnan to find out the news came back."
"oh?"
Zhou Yu hurriedly asked: "How is Jingnan now?"
Sun Quan said with a sullen face: "Just as Gong Jin Zijing expected, Cai Mao's entire army was wiped out. I knew that he was definitely no match for Liu Bei and Liu Qi, but I didn't expect that he would be defeated so quickly. If I had known, we should have warned him to be careful.
Just be wary of Liu Bei."
"This is too fast."
Zhou Yu murmured to himself.
Liu Bei initially formed an alliance with them in Jiangdong, and they thought Liu Bei was going to attack Nanjun with Liu Qi.
In this way, Liu Bei's army plus Liu Qi's army would have a strength of about 100,000.
In a battle with Cai Mao and Zhang Yun's more than 100,000 troops, both sides would suffer losses, so that Jiangdong could only benefit.
Unexpectedly, the two sides remained in a stalemate for more than half a year and refused to take action.
Jiangdong naturally knew how to watch closely, but in less than a month, things suddenly became incomprehensible.
Cai Mao's army, which should have been in a balanced situation, suddenly collapsed, leaving Zhang Yun alone to face Liu Bei and Liu Qi's army.
Is this okay?
What if Zhang Yun can't handle the pressure and surrenders?
So Sun Quan was a little worried.
Lu Su, who had been silent at this moment, said slowly: "With the current situation, Liu Cong will definitely be unable to stop Liu Bei and Liu Qi's army. It's hard to say which of them will win Jingzhou in the future, but at least we can't let them go so smoothly."
"Send troops now?"
Sun Quan asked.
Zhou Yu nodded and said: "We should indeed send troops, but before sending troops, we must contact Cao Cao."
"Contact Cao Cao?"
Sun Quan wondered: "Cao Cao is recovering Hebei now, so I'm afraid he has no time to take care of the south."
Zhou Yu said: "It is precisely because he is recovering Hebei that we must ask him for help. Otherwise, if Jingzhou is captured by Liu Bei, it will definitely not be what Cao Cao wants to see."
"But what if he takes advantage of the trend and goes south?"
Sun Quan worriedly said: "Cao Cao has captured most of Jizhou and Qingzhou. I heard that Yuan Tan fled to Bohai, and Cao Jun has also chased him. What if he covets the south and lures the wolf into his house?"
Zhou Yu smiled and said: "Cao Cao's rear is unstable. Isn't that why we contacted his princes from all directions?"
"Hmm"
Sun Quan pondered for a moment and said: "Then how can we induce Cao Cao to send troops?"
Lu Su's eyes narrowed slightly and he said: "Nanyang has a large population and fertile land. Cao Cao has been coveting Nanyang for a long time. If we make an appointment with him, if we get Jingzhou and he gets Nanyang, he will definitely send troops to help."
Although Nanyang is only a county in Jingzhou, Nanyang is the richest county with a population of more than two million, accounting for one-third of the current total population of Jingzhou.
The most critical thing is that in other places like Jingnan, it is difficult to manage the remote population, and there are powerful families who are obstructing it. As a result, the Jingzhou Muji actually controls a very small population in Jingnan and other places, and cannot raise taxes or troops at all.
Nanyang was different. Due to the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the place was crippled. There were almost no big families, only some small and medium-sized tycoons. The population and taxation were firmly controlled by Xiangyang.
It can be said that Liu Biao was able to have such a great momentum before his death because he defended the Nanyang Basin in front of Cao Cao. He was able to achieve this by relying on the demographic dividend flowing in from Guanzhong, Henan and other places, as well as the land and mineral resources of the Nanyang Basin.
Lu Su suggested using Nanyang as bait, which seemed to give Cao Cao only one county, but in fact it was equivalent to half of Jingzhou, because it had an easy-to-manage population, vast and fertile land, and many ready-made resources.
Once Cao Cao is allowed to control Nanyang, Jingzhou's strength will be reduced by at least half, returning to the history of Liu Biao quelling Zhang Xian's rebellion and killing a hundred thousand armored men.
So this bait is not only tempting, but also very tempting. What's even more powerful is that this land is not an enclave like Guanzhong, but a land directly bordering Cao Cao's base camp in Henan, where a large army can be stationed. The temptation for Cao Cao Very big.
However, Sun Quan had also coveted this land for a long time and said dissatisfiedly: "Nanyang is the place where Guangwu and Longxing prospered. In the past ten years, there have been few wars, the soil is fertile, and the population is prosperous. If Nanyang is given to Cao Cao, what will happen to Cao Cao?" Not invincible?"
Lu Su smiled and said: "Don't worry, Marquis Wu. Liu Bei wanted to exchange an alliance with us for the barbarian land of Jiaozhou. We had no choice but to agree. But Nanyang is not as good as Jiaozhou. Cao Cao will definitely covet Nanyang. But Wu Hou should not forget that the foundations of Liu Bei and Shen Chen are both in Nanyang."
"you mean?"
Sun Quan opened his eyes wide.
Lu Su said: "This strategy is to drive away tigers and swallow wolves. I heard that Xun Wenruo of Yingchuan used this strategy in the early years to make Liu Bei, Yuan Shu, and Lu Bu kill each other. In the end, Cao Cao won Henan."
Zhou Yu coughed twice and said softly: "Zijing's plan is very long. Although Cao Cao has not yet captured the north, it is at the end. He will definitely not go south immediately without eliminating his worries. He can send a small number of troops to attack." It's still possible to contain Liu Bei and Chen Chen's troops. If we attack from the north and south, we will definitely capture Jingzhou."
Sun Quan said worriedly: "Having said that, are we really going to give up Nanyang to Cao Cao?"
Lu Su smiled and said: "The north is unfair, Cao Cao does not dare to go south. After destroying Yuan Tan, he still has to go to Youzhou to annihilate Yuan Shang, Yuan Xi, and even Gongsun Kang of Liaodong. It is impossible to send a large number of troops for at least three years. At most, he can send one or two Thousands of troops came here just to pretend to attack. When the time comes, whether Nanyang will give or not, it won’t be the Marquis of Wu who has the final say?"
Zhou Yu said seriously: "Yes, our top priority now is to take the opportunity to attack Jingzhou. As long as the Jiangxia Navy is destroyed, we will at least be in an invincible position. This time we will kill Huang Zu and avenge Wuchenghou In the name of attacking Jiangxia!"
This was what they had planned long ago.
Although they had formed an alliance with Liu Bei before, they were only forced by the situation.
Therefore, the Jiangdong Counselor Group had long discussed that once Liu Qi, Liu Bei's group and Cai Mao and Zhang Yun's group were to fight and both sides would lose, they would tear up the alliance with Liu Bei in the name of Sun Jian's revenge, quickly intervene in the battlefield, and make a profit.
But they didn't expect Cai Mao to be defeated so quickly that they didn't have time to send troops immediately.
Fortunately, Zhang Yun still has tens of thousands of troops left.
If they can get Cao Cao to pretend to attack Nanyang and contain part of Liu Bei's army, then they can flex their muscles on the Yangtze River. As long as Huang Zu's Jiangxia Navy is destroyed, there will be no one on the Yangtze River that can threaten him in a short time. If they have access to their naval forces, they will be able to accomplish much.
After that, he contacted Liu Cong and joined forces with Zhang Yun to attack Liu Bei, defeated Liu Bei, and then annexed Liu Cong. The entire Jingzhou would naturally be at his fingertips.
As for the Nanyang Basin promised to Cao Cao?
sorry.
What did I promise you?
I forgot.
Definitely next time!
certainly.
These are the most ideal conditions.
The war is not only about confrontation between the two armies, but also about diplomatic mediation.
In history, there have been countless diplomatic mediations like this between the three families of Sun, Cao and Liu.
Therefore, Sun Quan sent troops this time to see if he could persuade Cao Cao to send at least tens of thousands of troops to pretend to make a big impression.