Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 436 Time is not forgiving

Sun Quan is the mastermind behind the scenes?

Everyone was surprised for a moment.

With Sun Quan's performance today, he doesn't look like the main messenger.

Lai Min asked: "Prime Minister, if Sun Quan is the mastermind, he really dare not say that he misses Jiang Dong, but why Zhang Zhao and the others?"

Zhuge Liang said with a smile: "Indeed, it can be understood that Sun Quan did not contact the rebels, because he did not even contact Zhang Zhao and the others. But how can this not prove that he was plotting and did not dare to tell Zhang Zhao and the others?"

Everyone was even more confused now.

Fei Yi said, "Prime Minister, I don't quite understand."

Zhuge Liang explained: "Actually, looking at Sun Quan's performance today, you can tell that he is being cautious. You have to understand one thing, unless you are extremely stupid, otherwise, if you really don't have the heart to return to your homeland, why bother to make such a gesture? Don't tell me your Majesty Don't Sun Quan understand the benevolence of the crown prince?"

Yin Mo suddenly realized: "I understand. If Sun Quan didn't have a rebellious heart, he might as well admit that he misses his homeland openly. Instead, it would be normal. If he is covering it up and pretending that he doesn't miss Wu, it means that he has ghosts in his heart."

"good."

Zhuge Liang sighed, "His behavior today is too much."

This sentence means that Sun Quan's acting skills are too poor.

It stands to reason that Sun Quan is not an idiot, knowing that this is a test, even if it is the first time to refuse to say that he does not want to miss Wu, the reason can be justified.

But it would be too stupid to put all the responsibility on Zhang Zhao for the second time, and it might as well be his own idea.

In the era of the Han Dynasty, when the local complex was relatively heavy, it was not a sin for a person to miss his hometown.

Liu Bei is also a well-known person who pays attention to teaching and learning. Since Sun Quan, as a prince, has surrendered, he will not kill without reason without reason and excuses.

To kill Sun Quan just because he thought of his hometown would be a blow to Liu Bei's reputation for benevolence.

So it's better to admit that it's not a bad thing, but it will make people feel at ease.

But he just pretended to be crazy and stupid, which was quite deliberate.

The main thing is that the characters are different.

In history, Liu Chan was fond of thinking about Shu, but Sima Zhao had no doubts. That's because Liu Chan's personality was like that.

Since he ascended the throne, Zhuge Liang and others have been in charge of political affairs for decades. Even after Zhuge Liang died of illness, several of Zhuge Liang's successors, the Sixiang of Shu Han, were in charge of state affairs.

And he himself enjoys himself in the rear all day long, and rarely dictates state affairs, so he feels like a puppet, a dou who cannot be supported.

Because of this, no one would doubt him even if he behaved poorly, looked like a fool at the banquet, and was reluctant to leave.

What about Sun Quan?
His character design is that he inherited the great cause of his father and brother as a young man. He looked like a hero in the early days, and he personally led troops to fight many times. He can be called the overlord.

What's more important is that his previous performance was not too bad. Under Jiangdong's internal and external troubles, he defeated all kinds of rebels, quelled the Shanyue Rebellion many times, and at the same time firmly controlled Jiangdong's power.

Such a character suddenly becomes so stupid, it will give people a feeling that he is deliberately pretending to be stupid.

And the more he does unnecessary cover-ups, it means he has a guilty conscience.

What could make him feel guilty?
Naturally, it was the fact that someone in Jiangdong was plotting a rebellion that Zhuge Liang had investigated before.

Therefore, Zhuge Liang believes that the initiator of this incident may be Cao Wei's side, who sent people to contact Sun Quan in order to set off a rebellion in the rear and make Liu Bei's foundation unstable.

But the main messenger of the rebellion must be Sun Quan.

Only he is familiar with all the aristocratic families in Jiangdong, and knows which aristocratic families are unwilling to submit to the Han court, so that he can contact those people.

Judging from today's temptation, Zhuge Liang also confirmed this point. His cover-up was a bit too much, and it was exposed instead.

Hearing Zhuge Liang's analysis, Liu Chan quickly said, "Then Prime Minister, how should we deal with Sun Quan?"

"Worries are in the belly, landslides become diseases, and disasters rise from Xiaoqiang to rule the country. Logically speaking, such disasters should have been eliminated as soon as possible."

Zhuge Liang thought for a while, and then said: "But since we have discovered it, let's wait and see what happens. When it happens, we will have the right to get rid of it. It can be regarded as the last chance for Sun Quan."

"What does the prime minister mean, just let Sun Quan continue to do it? Wait until he shows his feet, and then catch him all at once?"

Laimin asked.

"Ah."

Zhuge Liangliang nodded: "If he is smart, he should go back and think about it, and know what he should do. If he chooses the wrong path, then we can't blame us."

Everyone looked at each other and agreed.

Anyway, they didn't actually do anything to Sun Quan. If the prime minister made a wrong judgment, it doesn't matter.If Sun Quan was really the mastermind behind the scenes, they would naturally set up traps and wait for Sun Quan to get into the trap.

Everything is under their control, so there is no need to worry.

And while Liu Chan, Zhuge Liang and the others were discussing this matter, Anle Hou Sun Quan also returned to his mansion in a carriage.

Liu Bei allowed Sun Quan to keep his servants and property in the mansion, so the mansion is full of his original people.

However, Sun Quan was still afraid that someone would choose to turn his back on him and act as Liu Bei's eyes and ears, so every time he discussed important matters, he used the excuse of admiring the scenery in the backyard to keep his servants a little far away, and whispered with Fu Jun in the garden.

In this way, it will not be like plotting with the door closed in the room, arousing suspicion, and it will not be overheard by many people.

At this moment, Sun Quan was sitting cross-legged in the back garden pavilion, and the servants serving nearby were more than ten zhang away. He said to Fu Jun in a low and serious voice: "Bo Liang, what happened to the matter I asked you to contact?"

Fu Jun replied: "There are more than ten families who are willing, and each family has hundreds of people. Now it can probably gather thousands of people. It's just that there are no suitable generals and no one to lead the army."

Sun Quan was silent for a moment, and said: "I have someone to choose for the leader of the army. A Gu has always been loyal to me. He should not have served Liu Bei now, but returned to his hometown in Wu County. You send someone to contact him, he knows How to do."

"Yes."

Fu Jun nodded.

The A Gu that Sun Quan said was called Gu Li, who was Sun Quan's assistant and a close supervisor. Because of his loyalty, decisiveness, integrity and stamina, Sun Quan liked him very much.

Now the generals of Soochow are dead and surrendered, and there are very few who can be used. We can only let the loyal Gu Li lead the army.

After Fu Jun answered, he asked, "How is Liu Chan summoning Marquis Wu this time?"

Sun Quan caressed his beard and said: "During the dinner, Liu Chan asked me if I thought about Wu, and I said I am happy here, but I don't think about Wu. This is probably something a normal person would answer. Liu Chan didn't dare to do anything to me, he just tried it out. .”

"That's fine."

Fu Jun was relieved, this is a very clever answer, if he said thinking about Wu, he would definitely be suspected by Liu Chan, so even if he misses Wu Di in his heart, if he doesn't say it, it is for self-protection.

"only."

Sun Quan hesitated a little.

Fu Jun asked, "Just what?"

"It's just that Zhuge Liang didn't say a word during the dinner, and he kept staring at Gu, which made Gu's hair stand on end."

Sun Quan sighed.

Liu Chan is easy to fool, but Zhuge Liang is not a good fool.

He was worried that these rhetoric could not deceive Zhuge Liang at all, and it would be terrible if Zhuge Liang found out the clues.

Hearing Sun Quan's words, Fu Jun asked quickly, and Sun Quan told him everything about the banquet.

Now he dare not look for Zhang Zhao and others, one is that the goal is too big, and the other is that he is not sure of Zhang Zhao's attitude, so he can only discuss with Fu Jun.

Knowing what happened to Sun Quan during the banquet, Fu Jun thought for a while and said, "There is no need for Marquis Wu to worry. If Zhuge Liang became suspicious, he might have already sent someone to imprison Marquis Wu. Now that there is no movement outside the mansion, it should be fine. What's more, even so, Zhuge Liang has no evidence."

"Ah."

Sun Quan nodded and said: "Liu Bei is full of benevolence and righteousness. In order to block the mouth of the world, he will not dare to kill Gu for no reason. As long as Gu does not make mistakes, it is enough for them to not be able to catch them. You should let Cao Pi deal with these things. people to do it, and try to show up as little as possible.”

"Yes."

Fu Jun nodded.

In fact, until now they have contacted Jiangdong's old department, and they did not come forward in person.

Shen Chen often has a network of spies in the north, who are responsible for investigating the enemy's situation and spying on military affairs. Why didn't Cao Pi deploy internal support in the south?
Therefore, what Sun Quan and Fu Jun did was to hand over the contact list to Cao Pi's internal response, and let Cao Pi's people contact those Jiangdong aristocratic families and old ministries in Jiangdong.

He himself didn't show up, and even those Jiangdong families who were linked together didn't know that there was Sun Quan's shadow behind it.

So Sun Quan was not worried that he would be exposed.

The only thing he thought about was, if things really went smoothly in the direction he thought, how would he escape from Xiangyang City, and how would he quickly seize power after returning to Jiangdong?

This is a big problem, and he has to think about it carefully before he can come up with a perfect solution.

.

.

In the sixth year of Zhang Wu, the world was turbulent and turbulent. Whether it was for Cao Wei or Ji Han, it was a critical year.

At the end of last year, Liu Bei brazenly launched the Northern Expedition. The war lasted for a year, and the momentum in the south was like a rainbow.

It's just that Cao Pi didn't use all his strength at the beginning. He adopted defensive tactics and wanted to rely on Chang'an, Henan, Huainan and other places to hold Liu Bei back.

Liu Bei's main force was exhausted, food, grass, soldiers and horses trekked long distances, and the three-way northern expedition fortified cities.

And he still has a large number of reserve soldiers in Luoyang, Hebei and other places, and the food and grass are also replenished nearby, far from traveling thousands of miles like Liu Bei.

So if he can stick to it for a year or two and empty out Liu Bei's three-year recuperation, he will have the opportunity to go south and drink horses in the Yangtze River.

It's a pity that his strategy and tactics are correct, but the executor abilities of the two sides are different. Zhong Yao is indeed not weak, but he is far less powerful than Shen Chen.

Under Shen Chen's onslaught in Guanzhong on the West Front, Chang'an City was broken, Zhong Yao was captured, Xia Houmao was beheaded, and Cao Wei was forced to retreat to Hedong and Tongguan.

In Huainan on the eastern front, there was an unexpected factor that Cao Xiu did not trust Zhang Liao. As a result, Cao Xiu did not deploy a line of defense in the Peiguo area of ​​Runan as originally planned, and led his troops southward, where he was defeated by Guan Yu.

Hefei had been under siege for a year. There was a lack of food and grass in the city, and the morale of Cao's army was low. Even Zhang Liao himself fell ill after learning that Cao Xiu went south because he didn't trust him, which made the soldiers in the city even more uneasy.

The only good news is that as Cao Pi was forced to have no way out, Liu Bei Group's offensive could only go so far for the time being.

Shen Chen's breakthrough in Chang'an is already the limit. If he wants to continue to advance in Tongguan and Bingzhou, he still needs sufficient preparations, and it cannot be done overnight.

Huainan sent more troops to Cao Pi, and transferred Luoyang's guards to the south so that Cao Xiu could stabilize his position.

In this way, at least in terms of the overall situation, although Cao Wei was slightly defeated due to the defeat on the western and eastern fronts, he still stabilized the situation and did not suffer a crushing defeat.

It's just that with the protracted confrontation, Liu Bei's health deteriorated every day, especially this winter, when it snowed in Henan and the cold wind howled, he occasionally felt the wind chill and showed signs of vomiting blood.

In Dingling County, Liu Bei's commander's camp was filled with the smell of medicine.

Liu Bei lay on the hospital bed, coughing lightly.

Yang Yi, Jiang Wan, Dong He, Huang Quan, Zheng Du, Zhuge Jin, Lu Xun and other staff officers accompanied him with worried eyes.

Ma Liang was outside the tent at this time, and asked the doctor who had just checked the pulse: "How is it, imperial doctor?"

The doctor shook his head at him and said: "I'm sick, Your Majesty is old and has reached the age of destiny, but he is busy with military affairs all day long, I'm afraid."

"Ugh."

Ma Liang sighed.

His Majesty's health has not been very good since the beginning of this year.

The prime minister and the general of the hussars also opposed his plan for the Northern Expedition, because they were afraid that His Majesty would have health problems.

It's just that His Majesty insists on conscripting personally, there is no other way but to do so.

As a result, my poor health was exhausted due to the military affairs for a year, and I fell ill after all.

Last night, His Majesty vomited blood and nearly fell into a coma, causing everyone to be in a mess.

Now at such a critical moment, His Majesty is in poor health, how can it not make them feel at ease?

When Ma Liang returned to the tent, Liu Bei had gradually come to his senses.

Seeing Ma Liang approaching the edge of the log, he asked softly, "Ji Chang, what did the imperial physician say?"

Ma Liang removed the sad expression on his face, changed into a smile and said: "The imperial doctor said that your majesty just catches a cold occasionally, and it's not a serious illness. You just need to rest well to recover."

"You don't need to lie to me, I know my body."

Supporting his sick body, Liu Bei leaned against the edge of the wooden slump with the support of his attendants, and sighed: "I am already sixty-seven this year, and I have reached the year of my destiny. Even if I die, it is common sense. It's just that I can't die. , If I die, the great cause of the Northern Expedition will revive the cause of the Han Dynasty cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough cough

As he spoke, he coughed violently again.

Ma Liang, Yang Yi, Jiang Wan, Dong He, Huang Quan, Zheng Du, Zhuge Jin, and Lu Xun immediately surrounded them.

Jiang Wan persuaded, "Your Majesty, why don't you retreat to Nanyang first."

"Yes, Your Majesty, your body is important."

"Although the Northern Expedition is important, if you don't have a healthy body, how can you eliminate Cao Wei and rule the world?"

"Your Majesty should go back to Xiangyang to take care of your body first, and wait for your health to improve before going north to the Central Plains."

Everyone persuaded.

Liu Bei's temples were gray and his hair was already grey-brown. He couldn't hide the exhausted expression on his face, and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.

After finally calming down his cough, he said slowly, "Zhen, I will never retreat."

"Your Majesty, even if you don't retreat, your Majesty should go back."

Ma Liang knelt down on the ground on one knee, kowtowed to Liu Bei in grief and indignation: "Your Majesty said something very disrespectful, if your Majesty overworked, and the middle way collapsed during the Northern Expedition, because of your Majesty, the three armies would have to withdraw to the south. Wouldn't it delay the great cause of the Northern Expedition even more?"

"What Ji Chang said is true, Your Majesty."

Yang Yi also knelt down on one knee, and begged bitterly: "It would be better if the three deputy prime ministers lead the army and His Majesty sits in the rear to recuperate the body, rather than working hard at the front line."

"Your Majesty, please go back."

"Your Majesty, please go back."

"Your Majesty, please go back."

Many courtiers also knelt down on one knee and petitioned Liu Bei.

They didn't want to retreat, it's just that Liu Bei's body couldn't stand the toss now, and if he couldn't go back to recuperate, he might not last long.

Seeing the deep affection of the crowd, Liu Bei glanced at everyone with cloudy eyes, and finally sighed: "That's it. That's it."

After saying these words, his condition seemed to be more serious, and he fell limply on the wooden floor, but he was less angry and more dead.

years.

Will never show mercy to anyone.

　Go on blind dates in other places on Saturdays and Sundays, one chapter a day until Monday, and try to update after returning.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)