Summoning the Peak of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 2953: The marriage between Chu and Wei, the battle between Xu Bei and Xu Bei begins (Part )
Chapter 2949: The marriage between Chu and Wei, the battle between Xu and Bei begins (Part )
The reason why Liu Xiu was willing to sell prisoners of war instead of incorporating them into the army to increase the total strength of the Chu army was actually a helpless move.

Liu Xiu had long ago reorganized prisoners of war into an army or used them to attack cities, but unfortunately, not only was the effect poor, it almost caused a mutiny.

It has to be said that Sun Wu's brainwashing of ordinary soldiers was quite successful. Just like no one dared to use Qin's prisoners of war, no one dared to use Sun Wu's prisoners of war.

As early as the time of Sun Jian, Sun Wu proposed to gather the families of soldiers, centrally manage them and divide the land. This would completely tie ordinary soldiers to the battlefield of Wu State, and they would not dare to rebel easily.

These prisoners of war could neither be killed nor released. After all, if they were killed, it would surely arouse the hatred of the military and civilians in Jiangdong, thus increasing the difficulty for the Chu State to completely destroy the Wu State.

But if they were not killed, as the number of Wu prisoners captured by Chu increased, the difficulty of dividing the troops to guard the prisoners, as well as the consumption of food and fodder would increase rapidly.

Therefore, these Sun Wu battle uniforms, which could neither be killed nor released, became a big problem that gave Liu Xiu a headache.

At this time, the three kingdoms of Wei, Song and Ming took the initiative to come to Liu Xiu to ask for captives. This was a blessing for Liu Xiu. After all, it not only got rid of a big burden, but also earned back the funds and materials to destroy Wu. It was the best of both worlds, so there was naturally no reason not to sell.

The Chu State had a completely different attitude towards its transactions with the Wei, Song and Ming States.

Cao Wei was at the forefront of the anti-Qin campaign and suffered the greatest losses. Although Liu Xiu knew that Cao Wei would be destroyed by Qin sooner or later, he hoped that Cao's army could hold out longer. Therefore, Chu was much more favorable to Cao Wei than Song and Ming in purchasing prisoners.

As for the two local tyrants of Song and Ming, Liu Xiu would naturally take advantage of them. After all, there were not many opportunities to rob money like this. But unfortunately, Zhu Di and Zhao Kuangyin were not stupid either. They only bought naval prisoners of war and not infantry. This made Liu Xiu feel a little regretful. After all, he could only make a small profit but could not get rich overnight.

Liu Xiu had not originally expected to make much money from Cao Cao. After all, he knew that Cao Wei was the poorest of the Three Kingdoms. He thought that the preferential treatment he gave to Cao Cao was already big enough. However, he still underestimated Cao Wei's poverty and Cao Cao's greed. His appetite was so big that he wanted to buy all the Eastern Wu infantry prisoners of war.

For Cao Cao, even though Cao Wei had urgently expanded its army and recruited the Demon Sect's rebel army after the great defeat in Yanxi, the number of troops had increased, but the overall combat effectiveness was still too poor, and it was impossible to increase the combat effectiveness in the short term.

These Sun Wu prisoners of war in Chu are different. Although they were defeated by the Chu army, they are still well-trained soldiers. As long as they can be made obedient, they will definitely be much more useful than new recruits.

Cao Cao wanted to buy all these infantry prisoners of war, but even if Liu Xiu gave him the lowest discount, even if he used goods as payment, he still could not afford it. So he asked Liu Xiu to buy half of them first in installments or through loans.

If Cao Wei wanted to borrow money before the war, Liu Xiu would naturally agree without hesitation. After all, although Cao Wei was poor, it was not weak. The value of the wealth exchanged for tens of thousands of prisoners of war could be earned back by Cao Cao sending an army of 10,000 people to Yingzhou to fight a few battles.

But Cao Wei was now in the countdown to its demise, and it certainly had no ability to repay the money borrowed at this time. Although Liu Xiu wanted Cao Wei to continue to persevere, he would not do such an obviously losing business, so he decisively rejected Cao Wei's loan and only agreed to the request for installments.

Although Cao Cao was disappointed that he failed to fool Liu Xiu, he had no choice but to quit while he was ahead and find other ways to borrow money from Song and Ming dynasties in order to buy the remaining half.

The relationship between Chu and Wei was originally very ordinary. After all, the two countries had no vested interests involved. However, because of the prisoner purchase, the two countries had more contacts and their diplomatic relations also improved a lot.

Therefore, when the news about Xiahou Wei came back, Cao Cao was completely puzzled. He could not understand why Liu Yu had set his sights on his concubine's daughter Cao Ying, nor did he understand what role Liu Xiu played in it.

After some contemplation, Xun You said solemnly, "My lord, Liu Yu and Liu Xiu have ulterior motives."

Hearing this, Cao Cao hadn't said anything yet, but Prince Cao Ang on the side couldn't wait to ask: "Military Advisor, have you guessed why Liu Yu detained his sister and sent her to Chu?"

Xun You nodded and smiled bitterly, "The spies of the school affairs office in the country recently reported a rumor. Because it was too outrageous, Li didn't pay much attention to it, so he didn't report it to the lord. But now it seems that these two things are probably related."

"What rumor?" Cao Ang asked.

"Liu Yu and Liu Xiu both fell in love with Miss Ying at first sight, but Liu Xiu took the initiative to withdraw for the stability of the Shu-Chu alliance, which allowed Liu Xiu to capture the beauty's heart..."

Xun You's explosive remarks stunned Cao Cao and Cao Ang. They were wondering before whether it was an outrageous rumor, but now it seems to be really outrageous and obviously fake. No wonder Xun You was too lazy to report it.

Cao Cao looked thoughtful, while Cao Ang asked in confusion, "I have never been to Shu and Chu, and I have never met Liu Yu and Liu Xiu before. How could I fall in love with them at first sight? This is simply nonsense."

"It's really nonsense, but there is a purpose behind the rumor. The reason why Liu Yu wants Liu Xiu to marry Miss Ying is probably for the interests of Chu in Yingzhou, and the reason why Liu Xiu cooperates with Liu Yu is probably because..."

Before Xun You finished speaking, Cao Cao on the side sneered and interrupted, "For my status as Cao Cao's son-in-law, after the fall of the Wei Dynasty, I can legitimately take over the remnants."

The reason why Cao Cao couldn't figure it out before was simply because of the lack of intelligence. But when Xun You spread that outrageous rumor, he had already guessed the purpose of Liu Yu and Liu Xiu. After all, it was not difficult to guess.

The calculations of Liu Yu and Liu Xiu actually had little impact on Cao Cao. After all, all he lost was a concubine's daughter.

But what really made Cao Cao angry was that although the Wei Kingdom had not yet been destroyed, both Liu Yu and Liu Xiu tacitly acknowledged that Cao Wei would be destroyed, and even planned in advance what would happen after the destruction of Cao Wei. This wave of actions was indeed not very harmful but extremely insulting.

Cao Cao's reputation was polarized. Although he didn't care much about his reputation now, he still cared about his face. Liu Yu and Liu Xiu's insults to him were like a slap in the face. If he remained indifferent, he would not be able to keep his dignity. "Liu Xiu is such a whimsical villain. He wants to take advantage of being an orphan's son-in-law. Haha, I will follow his wishes, but it's hard to say who will take advantage of whom."

Cao Cao had a sneer on his face, but he already had a plan in his mind.

Liu Xiu wanted to marry Cao Ying to gain the status of Cao Wei's son-in-law, so as to openly take over the remaining forces after the fall of Cao Wei. Cao Cao had no way to do this and could not stop it. After all, Cao Ying had already been sent to Chu by Liu Yu, and it was obviously unrealistic to rescue him by force.

Although Cao Cao had no way to save his daughter and had no intention of doing so, he was prepared to take advantage of the enemy's strategy.

Liu Xiu believed that Cao Wei would be destroyed by Qin sooner or later, and that he could use his status as Cao Cao's son-in-law to gain profits after the fall of Cao Wei. However, he overlooked that Cao Cao could also use his status as Liu Xiu's father-in-law to gain profits. At that time, it would depend on whose means were more sophisticated.

When it comes to making profits through marriage, no one in the world can compare with Cao Cao, let alone Liu Xiu. After all, 70% of Cao Wei's power at its peak was gained through marriage with the Qin Dynasty.

Now Liu Xiu wanted to use marriage to plot against Cao Cao. In Cao Cao's view, this was simply showing off one's skills in front of Cao Gong.

"Since Liu Xiu wants to be my son-in-law so much, how can I refuse?"

At this point, Cao Cao looked down at Cao Ang and said calmly, "Ang'er, you should go to Jianye in person to discuss the wedding date with your brother-in-law. My daughter must be married in a grand manner even if she is a concubine."

"Yes, Father."

"Oh, remember to tell Liu Xiu that the remaining balance for the purchase of prisoners will be considered his dowry for marrying the orphan girl."

Cao Cao sneered and said that this was just the beginning, he still had a series of follow-up plans, in short, he would not stop until he sucked a mouthful of blood from Liu Xiu. He wanted to let Liu Xiu know that he would pay the price for daring to plot against him.

Before Xiahou Wei and Cao Ang arrived in Jianye, Liu Xiu learned that Cao Wei had suspended the balance of the purchase of prisoners.

Liu Xiu also knew that this was Cao Cao's revenge after he guessed his intentions, but he didn't have any better solution. After all, he was still waiting to take over the remnants of Cao Wei after its demise. Turning against Cao Wei would not be conducive to his recruitment. He could only regret his negligence in paying installments to Cao Cao.

Cao Wei's purchase of prisoners was paid in three installments. Two installments had already been paid, leaving only the last third. Even if there was a loss, it would not be too great.

But what Liu Xiu never expected was that the balance of one third was just the beginning. Cao Cao also relied on him just like he relied on Ying Hao in the past. First, he proposed to use the remaining half of the prisoners of war as a betrothal gift. Later, he even used the name of Liu Xiu's father-in-law to induce the Chu merchants to purchase large quantities of supplies at low prices. His shamelessness really opened Liu Xiu's eyes.

Liu Xiu married Cao Ying just to take advantage of him, but now he has not taken any advantage yet, but instead he has suffered losses. First, half of the profits from colonizing Yingzhou were snatched away by Shu Han, and then he lost a large amount of profits from purchasing prisoners. He didn't know how much blood he would lose to Cao Cao in the future, so Liu Xiu felt like he was tying himself up in knots.

However, once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back, and this time he was planning for the long term. Even if Liu Xiu would suffer losses in the early stages, he had to grit his teeth and accept it. As long as a small number of the remnants could come after the demise of Cao Wei, all the early steps would be worth it.

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Yuzhou, Yingchuan, and Xuchang City.

Ying Hao looked at the two letters in his hands. One was sent back by a spy lurking inside Shu Han, and the other was from Zhang Liang, the governor of Qingxu.

After hesitating for a while, Ying Hao opened Zhang Liang's letter first. After all, compared with Shu Han, the news from Zhang Liang was more important.

After the Qin army captured the western part of Yanzhou, due to frequent uprisings among the people in the occupied area, in order to maintain stability and ensure the safety of the grain route, they had to temporarily suspend the offensive and planned to clear up the troubles in the rear before advancing. This also gave the Cao army a chance to catch its breath.

The Qin Dynasty dispatched a million troops, divided into eight routes, and also opened up three major battlefields in the Central Plains, namely: Yanzhou, Qingxu and Runan.

On the Qingxu and Runan battlefields, although the coalition forces suffered greater losses, and Zhu Di took the initiative to give up Qingnan and retreat to Xubei, but overall the losses were still within the tolerable range. Both sides won and lost, and Yanzhou was the only battlefield that collapsed.

Although the Qin army has temporarily suspended its attack on Yanzhou, Qingxu and Runan have not stopped. They have only slowed down their offensive due to the war in Yanzhou, but have not stopped fighting.

On the Qingxu side, as the Ming army voluntarily gave up Qingnan and retreated to Xubei, the morale of the Ming army was at its lowest.

After Zhuge Liang and Su Dingfang led their troops to capture southern Qing, they also wanted to expand the war and have a decisive battle with the Ming army, but they faced the same difficulties as in Yanzhou.

The people in southern Qing were dissatisfied with the rule of the Qin Dynasty, and the Qin army's rear was unstable. They needed to send troops to garrison wherever they went, otherwise there would be constant uprisings of all sizes. In this situation, it was naturally necessary to stabilize the rear first before they could fully fight the Ming army.

In order to solve this problem as quickly as possible, Ying Hao urgently transferred Zhang Liang to Qingnan and specially established the post of governor for him, making him the first governor since the founding of the Qin Dynasty, and thus responsible for managing the military and political affairs of Qing and Xu states.

(End of this chapter)