On the Xunyang River, there was a small boat with light sails rolled up. Gao Qi sat on the bow and played a flute sound softly. The flute sound was clear and melodious, and spread far and wide.
The thin mist, the faint song, everything seemed so peaceful and comfortable. However, who would have thought that this small boat would soon be surrounded by thousands of people.
There were only two people on the boat, the boatman and Gao Qi. After Gao Qi finished playing a song, he inserted his flute into his waist. He was wearing a white robe and stood slowly on the bow of the boat, with his hands behind his back and his eyebrows knitted.
He frowned, with a hint of sadness on his fair and handsome face.
The boat rode the wind and sailed slowly towards the shore of the Xunyang River. When it was about to reach the shore, warships flying the flag of the Wu State surrounded it from all directions, surrounding the small boat in a narrow sea.
in waters.
"Who is coming?" On the deck of a large warship, a general wearing armor and a silver helmet asked loudly.
Gao Qi looked around, with a look of disdain and contempt in his eyes, and chuckled: "I didn't expect that such a big pomp would be used to welcome a weakling like me.
Your Commander-in-Chief really thinks highly of me."
"Are you... the prefect of Jiangxia invited by our governor to attend the meeting?" On the deck of the warship, the general asked after hearing Gao Qi's words.
Gao Qi nodded and said, "Exactly."
The general waved his hand immediately, and the warship slowly sailed away, lining up in a row directly in front of Gao Qi. Then the warship beat a rumble of drums. As the drums rumbled, the general stood at the bow of the ship and clasped his fists.
Said: "I am Lu Meng, the general of the Wu Kingdom across the Yangtze River. I have seen Gao Zhifu."
"It turns out to be General Lu. I have admired him for a long time." Gao Qi cupped his hands and said.
"I heard that the governor of Jiangxia is an old man who is half a century old, but when I saw him today, I didn't expect him to be so young. The rumors are really unbelievable." Lu Meng looked at Gao Qi and said slowly.
"Haha, General Lu heard it right. The previous magistrate of Jiangxia was an old man who was half a hundred years old. I just took office. General Lu, this is not a camp of your army. It is unavoidable to talk on the Xunyang River.
Isn’t it bad hospitality?”
Lu Meng smiled and said: "Don't be surprised, sir. I will take you to see my chief governor right now."
Turning around, Lu Meng immediately shouted: "Make way for your Excellency to pass by!"
So Wu's navy was divided into two sides, and the boatman punted the boat and passed through it carrying Gao Qi.
Lu Meng kept looking at Gao Qi. Seeing that there was no fear on this man's face, he felt it was very strange. He thought to himself: "At such a young age, he has such courage and dares to come to the meeting alone.
You really don’t take us Wu people seriously..."
So, Lu Meng turned around, summoned a personal attendant, whispered a few words in the personal attendant's ear, and the personal attendant quickly left.
In Xunyang City, Zhou Yu was sitting on a small pavilion in the middle of the river, playing the harp. The sound of the harp was lingering, giving people a very wonderful feeling. Everyone who heard the music felt that the surroundings seemed to be a paradise. It was so.
of tranquility.
Not long after, a burst of rapid footsteps disrupted the sound of the piano, and a thumping sound came from the wooden floor, which made people feel very harsh. People listening to the piano looked sideways at it, but they saw a scout running very fast.
In a flash, he knelt in front of Zhou Yu.
"Reporting to the Grand Governor, General Lu Meng of Hengjiang sent news that the prefect of Jiangxia came alone to attend the appointment..."
Zhou Yu pressed his hands on the sound of the piano, and the sound suddenly stopped. His slightly closed eyes opened for a while, and he immediately shouted: "Xu Sheng, Ding Feng!"
"The end is here!"
"We can prepare a banquet, arrange singing and dancing, and I will personally entertain this Jiangxia magistrate..." Zhou Yu said lightly.
"promise!"
Zhou Yu stood up slowly, glanced at the generals standing around, and immediately shouted: "Ling Cao, Zhu Ran, drive all the warships to the middle of the river, and display them by the riverside of Xiaji, Chen Wu, Pan Zhang, Jiang
Qin led the army to move forward and wait for orders from my government."
All the generals replied in unison: "No!"
Zhou Tai was beside Zhou Yu. Seeing that everyone had errands but him, he asked, "Grand Governor, what about me?"
"You stay with me and go with me to entertain the prefect of Jiangxia," Zhou Yu said.
"Yes, Grand Governor."
Outside the north gate of Xunyang City, Wu's honor guard team was arranged very neatly, and the propaganda team was also arranged neatly. Zhou Tai rode a tall horse and led fifty cavalrymen behind him to wait there quietly. He saw the front
On the road, a team from the Kingdom of Wu came gracefully. The leader was a young man in white, with a face like a crown jade and eyes like shooting stars. He looked so handsome and dashing.
"Didn't you say that the governor of Jiangxia is an old man over fifty years old? Why is he a handsome young man?" After seeing this, Zhou Tai turned around suspiciously and asked, "Is the scout's information wrong?"
"General, no, the scouts' information is always accurate."
Zhou Tai couldn't figure it out, so he stopped asking. When Gao Qi was brought nearby by Wu's troops, he rode his horse forward, raised his hands to Gao Qi on horseback and said: "Wu Guo Town
Northern General Zhou Tai has met the prefect of Jiangxia."
Gao Qi also responded politely: "The prefect of Jiangxia, under the account of the prefect of Jingzhou of China, has met General Zhou!"
Seeing that Gao Qi didn't say his name, Zhou Tai had a look of displeasure on his face and asked, "I wonder what you call me, sir?"
"Haha, when I see the Governor of Zhou, I will inform you. Although General Zhenbei has a high and powerful position, in our country of Huaxia, he is indeed a third-rank official. As a prefect, I am still a second-rank official. When you see me, you should treat me with courtesy.
That's right, at least you should get off your horse and pay homage." Gao Qi said with a smile.
"You..." Although Zhou Tai was unhappy, what Gao Qi said was true. General Zhenbei was indeed the third rank in the general system of the Huaxia Kingdom. The civil and military system of the Huaxia Kingdom was very clear, and the military and political affairs were separated, so in general
Understand, even if a general is very powerful, he still has to pay homage to his superiors when he sees them. This is a matter of etiquette.
"General, the Grand Governor said, you must not cause any trouble..." Seeing that Zhou Tai was about to get angry, the people around him immediately comforted him.
Zhou Tai suppressed the anger in his heart, jumped off the horse reluctantly, and said to Gao Qi: "I met the prefect in Zhou Tai!"
"Well, that's right. We are allies, and the most important issue between the two countries is etiquette. If you do this, it is the etiquette of a big country!" Gao Qi said obediently after getting an advantage.
"The Governor has been waiting for the Magistrate for a long time. I would like to ask the Magistrate to come with me into the city." Zhou Tai said to Gao Qi with a cold expression on his face.
Gao Qi smiled and said, "Then I'll have to help General Zhou."
From the beginning to the end, Gao Qi never got off his horse. Under the leadership of Zhou Tai, he came to the county government office in Xunyang City. At this time, he got off the horse and followed Zhou Tai into the county government office.
In the lobby of the county government office, Zhou Yu's eyes immediately lit up when he saw Zhou Tai and Gao Qi coming in. He didn't expect that the prefect of Jiangxia was so young. From his appearance, body shape and temperament, it was not difficult for Zhou Yu to guess.
Gao Qi is a pampered place
He thought of the past and the affairs of the Huaxia Kingdom, and seemed to have heard from the scouts that the eldest son of the Huaxia Emperor, Gao Qi, had been in Jingzhou, so he asked tentatively: "Is it possible that you are the person who has been rumored for a long time recently?"
Yan Hou?"
Gao Qi smiled and looked at Zhou Yu carefully. Seeing that Zhou Yu was unusually elegant, extraordinary in temperament, and handsome in face, he cupped his fists and said, "Gao Qi, the prefect of Jiangxia, has met the governor of Wu!"
When Zhou Yu heard Gao Qi's name, he confirmed that he was right. He looked at Gao Qi's appearance carefully and found that his eyes and nose were indeed very similar to Gao Fei's. He laughed and said slowly: "Yan
Hou has good eyesight, but what I didn't expect was that Yan Hou would come alone to attend the appointment. Isn't Yan Hou afraid that I will use some treacherous means to threaten your country by not letting Yan Hou go back?"
Gao Qi said with a smile: "If that's the case, then I can just wish for it. I can also enjoy the scenery of the south of the Yangtze River. I heard that there are many beauties in Wu State. Maybe I can also get a wife."
Seeing that Gao Qi showed no fear at all, Zhou Yu said, "Hou Yan is indeed brave. He dared to say such words to me. He is indeed like a father. Marquis Yan, please sit down!"
Gao Qi politely bowed his hand in response to Zhou Yu and said nothing more.
After Zhou Yu saw Gao Qi sitting down, he said: "I am really impressed by Yanhou's ability to come as promised. However, things are things, and friendships are friendships. The incident the day before yesterday when our navy accidentally rammed and sank your army's patrol boat was just an incident.
Misunderstanding, there was heavy fog on the river at that time, so our navy couldn't see clearly, and accidentally bumped into your patrol boat. Please forgive me, Lord Magistrate."
Gao Qi said: "I already know about this matter. Our army and your army are allies. I think your army will definitely not do something that harms the two alliances. I have made proper arrangements for this matter.
There is no need for the Grand Governor to worry too much. I came here today as scheduled because I wanted to discuss another matter with the Grand Governor..."
Seeing that Gao Qi's intention was not this, Zhou Yu asked, "Oh, what is it?"
"Although our two countries are allies, our systems are different and the areas under their jurisdiction are also different. Your army has repeatedly shuttled back and forth in our waters in the name of training naval forces, seriously disturbing our fishermen along the river.
Therefore, I hope that the Grand Governor can put some restraints to prevent future conflicts from escalating and causing unnecessary disputes. By then, I am afraid that it will really damage the alliance between our two countries." Gao Qi said neither humble nor overbearing.
said.
"Marquis Yan, aren't you right? Our naval forces were clearly trying to catch water thieves in the river, and the thieves fled to your waters. Out of our alliance, our army decided to sail into your waters to help you."
The country captured the water thieves to avoid losses to the fishermen of your country. Your country should be grateful to our army, why do you turn around and say that our army is wrong?" Zhou Yu said.
Gao Qi smiled and said: "Admiral Zhou, you are really good at talking..."
"Both each other..." Zhou Yu also said with a smile.
Gao Qi put away his smile and looked at Zhou Yu's wise eyes. He couldn't help but feel an extra layer of pressure in his heart. Facing such a person, he was afraid that it would be difficult to get any benefits from the state of Wu. He had previously assisted Xun You in Jingzhou to deal with these issues.
The problem has never been revealed to others in person, and there are also opinions from Xun You, Sima Lang, and Zhuge Jin. Now that he faces Zhou Yu alone, he may not be able to do what he wants.
"No wonder my father has always praised Zhou Yu. This guy is really difficult to deal with. He has repeatedly used water troops to test the strength of our army. What is the purpose? Is the war between Huaxia and Wu really going to break out? But the Northwest War
If there is no peace, if there is another dispute in the southeast, it will fall into a two-front war..." Gao Qi thought secretly.
Seeing that Gao Qi didn't speak, Zhou Yu asked, "Yanhou, what are you thinking about?"
Gao Qi shook his head and said, "I was wondering if I should meet your Emperor!"
"Haha, I don't think that is necessary. Our Majesty has entrusted me with everything here. You and I are the same." Zhou Yu said with a smile.
After Gao Qi heard this, a glimmer of light burst out in his eyes, and he hurriedly said: "I'm afraid it's different. You are a minister, and the emperor is a monarch. How can it be the same? If it is the same, then who is the emperor or a minister, or you?
Is it you?"
Zhou Yu was speechless for a moment, but he didn't expect Gao Qi to catch him. He immediately explained: "Although Your Majesty and I are not real brothers, we are better than real brothers. Your Majesty's business is my business. Please don't distort the meaning, Marquis Yan..."
"In just one month, Wu Guo and our army have had many conflicts in the river. I can forget about the collision and sinking of the patrol boat this time, but I hope that such things will not happen again in the future. Otherwise, I will
The Huaxia Kingdom does not deserve its name, and its 300,000-strong navy is not just a decoration!" Gao Qi suddenly said sharply.
Zhou Yu had a kind face and said: "Don't be angry, Marquis Yan. Let's talk about this matter slowly. It's just that the waters around the pheasant area of Xunyang Road have not been finalized, so it has become a dispute between our two countries. If we can resolve it,
If the pheasant is returned to our country of Wu, perhaps this kind of thing will not happen."
Gao Qi said: "Back then, the magistrate of Xiazhi County rebelled, and your Wu Kingdom could not conquer it for a long time. Later, we invited the Huaxia Kingdom to send troops to help us, and agreed that whoever captured the city would own Xiajian County. Later, our country's General Huya led his army to conquer Xiajian.
County, with one fell swoop, we captured the city of Xiajie. Our army occupied the city of Xiajie County as agreed, so why not? Do you want to break the agreement?"
"Has there ever been such an agreement? Why haven't I heard of it?" Zhou Yu glanced back at Zhou Tai and said with a smile.
Zhou Tai said: "It seems not!"
"It just seems like?" Zhou Yu asked again.
"Indeed not, I will guarantee it with my life." Zhou Tai said firmly.
When Gao Qi saw Zhou Yu cheating, he had no choice but to do so, because it was only a verbal agreement and no written agreement was made. Until now, Gao Qi finally knew what Wu Guo's intention was. He had been harassing Wu Guo for a month. It turned out that he wanted to
Return to the lost Xiaji County.
"Hahaha, Grand Governor, it turns out that this is your intention. Why didn't you tell me earlier? If you had told me earlier, why bother and waste so much time? With just a word from me, Xiaji County can be returned to the State of Wu.
Gao Qi said with a smile.
Zhou Yu asked doubtfully, "Do you really mean what you said?"