Chapter 433 Sun Quan’s conspiracy, new situation

Author: Playing with Basilisk

Chapter 433 Sun Quan’s conspiracy, new situation

At the end of June in the sixth year of Zhangwu's reign, the biggest news for the people of Xiangyang was naturally the frequent success reports of His Majesty's Northern Expedition.

After Guanzhong was recovered on the western front and the Han Dynasty returned to its old capital, many people were talking about the possibility that His Majesty would move the capital to Chang'an. However, some people thought that now was not the time to move the capital to Chang'an, so His Majesty would not move the capital immediately.

This view is indeed correct for discerning people. Recently, there has been no rumor from the imperial court that has contributed to the move of the capital to Chang'an. The people of Xiangyang are still the citizens of the imperial capital.

But soon another news spread throughout the south. After the battlefield on the Western Front, General Guan Yu also won a victory on the Huainan battlefield on the Eastern Front.

Although he did not regain Guanzhong like the Hussar General, he defeated Cao Xiu and continued to besiege Hefei. This made the city of Hefei crumbling and the recovery of Huainan was just around the corner.

For a time, the people of the Han Dynasty were extremely optimistic about the situation of the Northern Expedition. Everyone was in high spirits, and the young and strong people who wanted to join the army were like crucian carp crossing the river.

It's just that people tend to look at the surface, but people who are truly discerning look at deeper things.

For example, the true background of Cao Wei.

In the Anlehou Mansion in Xiangyang, Anlehou, who used to have a leisurely life, is now sitting in the backyard reading the newspaper. There are articles written by Zhuge Liang himself. His "Northern Expedition Table" is a quick thinking and eloquent description of the great situation of Liu Bei Group in more than a thousand words.

There is another person beside Sun Quan. This person is Fu Jun, the steward of the Anlehou Mansion. He was also the steward of Sun Quan's Jianye Wuhou Mansion before. He is a close confidant of Sun Quan's family in the inner house.

Since the betrayal of the Sima family and before Liu Yu started killing previous emperors, the late Han Dynasty was still relatively friendly to the surrendering princes and royal families.

For example, the princes Zhang Xiu, Zhang Yan, Liu Cong, Ma Teng, Zhang Lu and other princes accepted by Cao Cao in history all ended well except for Ma Teng who was killed because of Ma Chao's rebellion.

Cao Pi's treatment of Han Xian Emperor Liu Xie, and Sima Zhao's later treatment of Liu Chan were all okay.

It can be seen that at the end of the Han Dynasty, there was still faith in the world. When facing the old monarchs and ministers of the previous dynasty, the new dynasty often did not go on a killing spree, but mainly focused on appeasing them.

The same is true for Sun Quan.

Liu Bei was very benevolent and would not harm him. Not only did he give him a mansion, but he also allowed him to bring all the servants from Wuhou's mansion to Xiangyang to serve him.

Those old Jiangdong ministers who were willing to submit were given official posts in the Han Dynasty, and those who were unwilling to submit were given residences and land so that they could enjoy their old age in peace.

For example, Zhang Zhao and Zhang Zibu are unwilling to serve as officials, and currently live in a house in the west of Xiangyang City, just like Sun Quan.

At this moment, the Anlehou Mansion was quiet. It had been raining in Xiangyang recently, and the pattering raindrops beat on the pavilion, making a crisp sound.

Sun Quan's complexion was rosy, and in the past few years he had been recuperating in Xiangyang, he had become more plump. He ate and drank heavily every day, and he didn't have to think about those messy things, which made him healthy.

Fu Jun knelt down next to him, frowned and said, "Marquis Wu, Cao Pi has been defeated in consecutive battles, and Liu Bei is gaining momentum. I'm afraid he will really dominate the world in the future."

Sun Quan smiled and shook his head and said: "You only saw that Cao Pi was defeated on the surface, but you ignored that Cao Pi owned the entire north. He has sent less than 300,000 troops now. Do you think this is all the troops of Cao Wei?"

"What does Wu Hou mean?"

Fu Jun was surprised and said: "Cao Pi is hiding his strength?"

"He's not hiding his strength."

Sun Quan said: "He is just wasting Liu Bei's troops. Now it seems that both sides are defeated, but what if Liu Bei gets Guanzhong and Huainan? There are no people in the two places for thousands of miles. He continues to go north to attack Henan. Cao Wei's main force in the rear is used up. Liu Bei is It is impossible for the Northern Expedition to succeed."

This is a situation that anyone who has ever participated in the struggle for world hegemony can analyze.

It looks like Cao Pi is defeated miserably now.

The problem is that Cao Pi still has a large number of reserves in Luoyang, Henan, and Hebei, and the main force did not suffer any losses in Henan.

The current situation is that Cao Pi has lost the defense line in Guanzhong, and Cao Xiu has been defeated on the eastern front, but Hefei is still embedded in the hinterland of Huainan like a nail, and Guan Yu has not yet captured the entire Huainan area.

Therefore, Liu Bei had already tried his best, but Cao Pi only dispatched less than two-thirds of his troops, holding the defense line at his own border, waiting for Liu Bei to spend money and food on the Northern Expedition.

Even if the western front is defeated now, can Shen Chen really go all the way to attack Tongguan?

Obviously it is too difficult.

With Cao's army's military strength being exhausted, and the fact that he was waiting for work, Shen Chen, no matter how powerful he was, would probably only be in vain if he forced his way into Tongguan.

Therefore, Sun Quan believed that even if Huainan was lost, Cao Pi still had a chance to fight with all his country.

At that time, it was the time when the Southern Han Dynasty and the Northern Wei Dynasty were engaged in a life-or-death battle.

"That Cao Pi"

Fu Jun hesitated and said: "Cao Pi sent someone to find me and asked me to talk to Wu Hou about contacting the old ministry."

Sun Quan stroked his beard and pondered, and after a moment he said with serious eyes: "This matter needs to be done."

"Really want to do it?"

Fu Jun said: "But now the south is completely controlled by Liu Bei. What if he notices it?"

Sun Quan sighed: "This is Gu's last chance. If we can seize the opportunity, Gu can return to Jiangdong and dominate the entire southeast."

"Really? Isn't it too risky?"

Fu Jun was a little worried.

Although he is a prisoner now, at least he has enough food and clothing, and Liu Bei does not restrict him too much.

Apart from not being able to go back to Jiangdong, at least I can still walk around Xiangyang.

"nature."

Sun Quan said: "Think about it, when Cao Pi and Liu Bei fought, Cao Pi waited for work, and with the large number of soldiers and horses, the outcome was probably three to seven. Cao Pi got seven and Liu Bei got three."

"Um."

Fu Jun nodded in agreement. It is generally accepted that the foundation and national strength of the north are stronger than those of the south.

"But now that Shen Chen and Guan Yu have won a great victory, the strategy of forcing Cao Pi to consume Liu Bei is no longer applicable. He will definitely want to repel Liu Bei's main force as soon as possible, and then rush to rescue Guanzhong and Huainan to regain the defense line."

Sun Quan analyzed and said: "Then once Cao Pi is eager to start a war and transfers all his troops from the north to the south, the two sides will completely compete in national strength, and the outcome will be only 50-50. Once Liu Bei wins the final victory, then Liu Bei will live forever. How can I sit back and wait for death without being able to stand up? Only by letting Cao Pi win can I have a chance to return to Jiangdong."

Fu Jun said: "But now many of our old troops in Jiangdong are serving as officials for Liu Bei. Villains like Zhuge Jin and Lu Xun have now become Liu Bei's ministers and often accompany him. Who among the Jiangdong nobles we can find can Work for us?"

Zhuge Jin, Lu Xun?

When he mentioned these two people, Sun Quan's face changed slightly, and a trace of hatred flashed in his eyes.

Zhuge Jin was actually okay, because he surrendered only when he was in a desperate situation, and it was only for Zhuge Liang's sake that Liu Bei didn't make things difficult for him.

But Lu Xun, a villain, made preparations early and even sent away his last few troops. As a result, even if he wanted to flee north and went to seek refuge with Cao Pi, he had no army to protect him and was captured alive by Guan Yu.

Now every time he thinks of Lu Xun, Sun Quan wants to kill him.

However, Lu Xun was indeed talented, and he was like a fish in water under Liu Bei. Now he has become a mid-level official in Shangshu Province, following Liu Bei to make plans, and he is highly valued by Liu Bei.

So even if Sun Quan wanted to kill him, he couldn't.

"It doesn't matter."

When Sun Quan heard Fu Jun's words, he gritted his teeth and said: "There are hundreds of wealthy people in Jiangdong, and these people regard their land as their destiny. Hasn't Liu Bei been looking for excuses to strip away their land? I don't believe it. There is no one among these people who does not resent Liu Bei.

.”

Fu Jun thought for a while and said: "Marquis Wu, I know that many people are unwilling to serve Liu Bei. Liu Bei is now exchanging official positions for land. To serve in the south, he will have to hand over a lot of land and population. Some wealthy families would rather not serve as officials.

They clung to their ancestral property and did not hand over the people who lived in the fields. However, Liu Bei still robbed a lot of their land and property. Maybe there would indeed be a lot of people, but "

"Just what?"

"I'm just thinking, if I contact these people, how can I ensure that these people will not betray Wu Hou?"

Fu Jun said: "Think about it, Marquis Wu. Now Liu Bei is at the critical moment of the Northern Expedition. If there is chaos in the rear, it will definitely affect him. Cao Pi may win a big victory if he doesn't do well. So it is very important whether there will be chaos in the rear. If

If we are going to launch an uprising, those aristocratic families might report the matter to Liu Bei if they don't think so. This is a great achievement."

Betray the orphan?

Sun Quan suddenly fell into deep thought.

Fu Jun is right. The stability of Liu Bei's rear is related to the Northern Expedition, and he must attach great importance to it.

If he starts a rebellion at this time, it will indeed be detrimental to his Northern Expedition, and it may even allow Cao Pi to take advantage of the situation to win against him.

Therefore, if someone can report a rebellion in the rear, that person will definitely be rewarded heavily. Therefore, with such a conflict of interests, there is no doubt that some people will still choose to defect and rebel even if they are dissatisfied with Liu Bei.

After all, the Jiangdong family has three dissatisfactions. One is that the Liu Bei Group exploits their land and population and suppresses their basic base.

Second, the Jiangdong family joined too late and their political status was too low.

The third reason is that Liu Bei didn't pay much attention to them. He had the Jingyi family but no need for the Jiangdong family.

Therefore, it is normal for some Jiangdong families to be resistant to the Liu Bei Group.

But if Sun Quan is reported, these three people will naturally become different.

Liu Bei will definitely promote the whistleblowers on a large scale, and at the same time, he will also expand their land and population, and improve their political status. Will they not be much stronger than the collapsed Sun Quan?

It can even be said that if this is really done, many aristocratic families who say they will not serve Liu Bei and miss the Sun family will definitely choose to defect.

As the leader of the Sun Wu regime who was most closely integrated with the aristocratic family, Sun Quan understood the aristocratic family's urinal nature better than anyone else.

Thinking of this, Sun Quan's face suddenly became serious, and he nodded seriously and said: "Yes, what Bo Liang said is true. I almost got anxious for a while, which ruined a big thing."

Fu Jun then asked: "Then according to Wu Hou's wishes, should we still contact them?"

"connection!"
To be continued...