Not many people know what happened on Lin'an Street that day.
Just like an ordinary day, the people of Jianye lived their usual life without any disturbances.
It is not their turn to worry about matters of home and country. They are exhausted just running for survival. How can they have any energy left for the continuation of the country?
But even so, some people cannot ignore them.
At this moment, Sun Quan, who was distressed due to a major mistake, had been wandering around the prince's mansion for an unknown length of time. Just his devastated look made people wonder if he had suffered some kind of mental blow.
"The letter... can no longer be recovered. If my guess is correct, Liu Bei may have set off from Jiangling and will arrive at Chaisang soon——"
Sun Quan sighed heavily, his eyes curved downward, and even if he was not close to him, one could see his frustration.
Of course, Sun Quan guessed correctly. At this moment, Liu Bei had received the news from Jiang Qin from Wuchang, and had already dispatched a considerable fleet, intending to escort Liu Bei all the way.
Yes - everything about the marriage has been settled, but at this critical moment, the most important part of the marriage, the marriage partner, is nowhere to be found.
If Liu Bei arrived at Chaisang and asked about Sun Shangxiang's whereabouts, Sun Quan wouldn't know how to explain himself so that he could give up the idea that he was deceiving them.
"Zhong Mou, it's useless to be anxious. We have sent Pan Zhang and Zhou Tai to look for Shang Xiang. According to Guotai, she is actually very worried about Shang Xiang's whereabouts. After all, she has taken the name of exterminating bandits. If she can't fulfill it,
, just by occupying a seat out of thin air, some people in the army will definitely be dissatisfied."
"The terrain of Huidi is complicated. With Zhou Tai here, he is already the best candidate. If someone else comes, it will take a lot of time just to find the way in the mountains——"
There is nothing wrong with what Zhou Yu said - Shanyue, the current leader of the three belts in Jiangdong, was originally a group of lawless people active in Huizhou during the Yellow Turban era. As early as when Sun Quan's father and brother were still alive, they had already conquered Shanyue.
The main leaders of the group were all captured in one sweep, but the reason why the Shanyue remnants are still active near Jiujiang is because the terrain there is complex and extremely suitable for hiding their whereabouts.
If people like Zhu Huan and Zhu Zhi, who were born in Wu County or near Danyang, went looking for Sun Shangxiang, they might themselves get lost in the mountains.
But this is not the only thing Sun Quan is worried about.
"But we really don't have much time...and what if...what if Shang Xiang...she really fights Shanyue. With just her entourage, a small-scale battle is okay, as long as she disturbs Shanyue's large group of troops.
…”
The more Sun Quan thinks about it, the more worried he becomes. He can no longer tell whether he is worried that the marriage will not work out, or whether he is worried that Sun Shangxiang will be in danger. His inaction will only make Wu Guotai sad.
Zhou Yu and Lu Su sat across from each other, with warm tea in their hands. Compared to Sun Quan's anxiety, they seemed much calmer.
But despite this, they still felt great pressure from this matter.
"We can only postpone the war temporarily and try to delay Liu Bei...Zijing, I asked you to go to the Lu family to seek funding. What's the result?"
Sun Quan was just anxious, but Zhou Yu took some remedial measures.
Hearing what Zhou Yu said, Lu Su nodded:
"The Lu family is quite cooperative. After all, the current head of the family is the two brothers Lu Xun and Lu Mao. Needless to say, Lu Xun is now serving in the palace. He was transferred to Poyang before and is still on his way back.
This time I went to the Lu family, and the person I met was his younger brother Lu Mao - this man was ordered by his brother to hear that we needed support, so he agreed immediately."
"After receiving Liu Bei and others, we will take them to Wu County first, and then the Lu family will entertain them."
Lu Su is extremely reliable in his work. After all, his reputation is quite good among the new generation of Mesozoic officials in Soochow, as well as among the older generation of nobles... Of course, it is only limited to being good, and the nobles will look good on him.
This is already quite good. If Zhou Yu goes to discuss this matter, I am afraid that the Gu family and the Zhang family will rush to punish him after smelling Zhou Yu's arrogance.
In the eyes of the Gu and Zhang families, Zhou Yu was wearing the same pants as Sun Quan, a gangster. If they weren't worried about the publicity, they might have actually paid for Zhou Yu's murder.
In the first fat war, relying on the cooperation of the emperor and his ministers, Sun Quan wiped out the savings of the noble clan for many years, and took the opportunity to kidnap Zhang Zhao, Gu Yong, and others. Now the Gu and Zhang families are brewing strength all the time.
, planning to return to officialdom.
So...the Lu family is the best choice.
"Lu Xun... I have met him once before. If he can really control the Lu family steadily in the future, maybe... we will be able to provide a considerable amount of help."
Lu Su nodded and agreed with Zhou Yu's words.
But today, apart from these, there is nothing for the three of them to do.
——
Without Cao Cao's knowledge, what can be called the second formal alliance between the Sun and Liu families began.
Naturally, Cao Cao was not completely idle.
Cao Cao, who has been staying in Yecheng in recent months, is actually already working on major events in the next stage of his life.
Why did he gather his sons around him?
And why was the location of Tongque Terrace specifically chosen in Yecheng?
All this gradually became clear.
With the mobilization of troops and horses, anyone with a discerning eye could already see that Cao Cao was planning to move his position——
Yes, Xudu has been Cao Cao's base camp for many years and has now been built in a good way.
However, no matter how divided the dynasties were, not many emperors would set their capitals near dangerous front lines.
Xiangyang is not in danger for the time being, and Cao Cao does not intend to gather a large army again to launch an attack on the Jingzhou area in a short period of time - after taking Hanzhong, Cao Cao's territory is already quite stable.
On the Yizhou side, Jiang Wan is already here, following Yi Xiaotian's arrangements. Don't look at Liu Bei's aggressive attack on Yizhou. In fact, on the other side, Jiang Wan is also constantly infiltrating Yizhou. With Xing Daorong back then,
Liu Zhang's hostility towards Cao Cao definitely dissipated a lot.
Maybe one day, when Liu Zhang really faces a life-or-death decision, he might switch to Cao Cao's side in one fell swoop.
Of course, that's all for later.
Cao Cao was constantly building Ye City. Relying on the good economic and noble foundations near Ye City and Jizhou, it was definitely a wise choice to shift his position.
However, there is another reason why Cao Cao is so reassured about stabilizing the situation in the rear, and that is naturally because there is someone he trusts very much, who is currently implementing his own ingenious plan on the soil of Soochow.