Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 963: Willing to Go Before the Horse
After everyone left, Taishi Ci tried to stand up. Lu Xun quickly came up to help him, but Taishi Ci waved his hand and refused. After a lot of effort, he slowly stood up.

Taishi Ci had a look of dejection on his face and said, "It's me who's holding me back. I can only pretend to be in front of everyone to stabilize the morale of the army. Who would have known that I can't actually lead the troops on the expedition now."

"If I had been a little better, Shouchun would have sent troops long ago. Why have we reached this point?"

Lu Xun comforted him: "General, it's just a recurrence of his old injury. He will recover slowly for a few months and he will definitely recover as before."

Taishi Ci shook his head and said: "You don't need to comfort me. I know what the situation is. I just hope that I can still go into battle on the day when the war with Jiangdong begins."

"I only regret that I failed and failed to kill Zhou Yu that day, which allowed Jiangdong to become so arrogant!"

Lu Xun consoled him: "The root cause still lies with Sun Quan. If Zhou Yu is killed, there will be others."

"The general's battle that day shocked Jiangdong so much that it still dares not to pry into Jianghuai. It's all the general's fault."

Taishi Ci sighed: "But what worries me is that there are many strong generals under the lord's command, but the navy generals are lacking, and this is exactly Jiangdong's strength."

"A battle between water and water has to be decided on the water in the end. If you lack generals, you will not be able to win."

A flash of red floated on Da Qiao's face, "You can marry yourself if you want, don't make arrangements for me."

"But we are short of manpower here, and there are still too few generals like the general who can do both water and land warfare."

Soon, Shouchun began to mobilize troops frequently. Everyone in the city knew that this was a precursor to preparations for war. As for who to fight, there were different opinions.

Lu Xun also agreed: "Not only can Liu Jingsheng not be defeated, but Liu Yuzhou cannot be defeated. Xiangyang is the key to the fight for Jingzhou, and Huang Zu of Jiangxia cannot lose it, because this is Xiangyang's retreat."

Da Qiao's hand that was flying the needle stopped for a moment, and then he said nonchalantly: "What are you thinking about? Your Majesty is always fighting, how can you ever have any time off?"

Taishi Ci sighed: "Except for Jiangdong, Jingzhou has the most naval generals. However, it seems that there are many of them at both ends. If more people join Cao's army in the future, Liu Biao will collapse. Then I, Shouchun, will We are under attack from both sides, so we must try to delay this happening.”

Without raising his head, Da Qiao skillfully embroidered a quilt and said, "What are you worried about? Shouchun is the safest place in Jianghuai. Who would attack here without a long eye? Shouchun can't beat others."

"His female relatives don't see him a few times a year. Isn't it the same even if my sister is married?"

Xiao Qiao sighed, "Sister is pretending to be stupid. Of course I don't mean that. I mean that the heartless guy has been gone for more than a year. Apart from writing two letters, do you think he will stay in Beijing in the next few years?" Isn’t the earth coming back?”

"The letter also said that after he left Shouchun, he first attacked the Central Plains and then went to Bingzhou without stopping at all."

Taishi Ci smiled and said, "Although I'm not like before, it won't be a problem to kill a few Jiangdong generals by then!"

Xiao Qiao let out an angry cry, turned around and scratched Da Qiao's armpit, "Sister said as if she didn't care, who is the one who is always in a daze?"

Xiao Qiao fiddled with a few notes casually, propped up his cheeks, and said gloomily: "I know, the time he spent in Jicheng is not more than the time he spent in Shouchun."

Xiao Qiao fiddled with the strings absentmindedly, looking sideways at the oriole on his fingers, and said: "It's a fight all day long, when will it end!"

Lu Xun also said depressedly: "This gap is difficult to make up in a short time. After all, the Sun family trained a large number of navy generals in the process of pacifying Jiangdong."

"It is only because of my lord's appreciation that I have come this far. How can I live up to my trust?"

"I will first send a small group of troops to harass Yuzhou, and at the same time increase the number of troops in Chaohu to put pressure on Wankou. If we don't make some gestures, they really think Shouchun is a soft persimmon!"

"If Jiangdong really wants to attack Jiangxia, we will have to break up with Jiangdong. At worst, I will lead the army myself."

Lu Xun was emotionally affected and said: "Okay, I will accompany the general!"

"This is an advantage, but it is also a disadvantage. It relies too much on water battles. When the land battle decides the outcome, Jiangdong will no longer have the advantage."

The news also reached a mansion in Shouchun City, where the young and old Qiao were sitting in front of the window talking.

"When it's quiet at night, my sister is there too."

Da Qiao was so angry that he picked up the needle and tried to prick Xiao Qiao. Xiao Qiao was so frightened that he retracted his hand. Da Qiao said angrily, "You are a grown man now. Be careful what you say, or you will be laughed at."

Xiao Qiao looked at the gleaming steel needle, finally shrank back, puffed out his cheeks, and said depressedly: "I'm really bored."

"This makes you leave for more than a year, and you still don't know when you will come next. If you leave again, why don't we sisters have to wait for another two or three years?"

"We have already passed the age of marriage, and in a few years we will all be old!"

Da Qiao was about to speak when a laugh came from the window, "Summer is almost here, and the girl is still feeling spring."

When Xiao Qiao heard that the voice belonged to Feng, she pouted and said, "Madam, you make fun of me too!" Feng walked in the door, greeted Xiao Qiao, sat down and smiled, "Miss Xiao Qiao, she is still like this no matter what time she is. You are so innocent and innocent, I really envy you.”

"I'm afraid that in another twenty or thirty years, the girl will still be like this."

Xiao Qiao said gloomily: "Having said that, the children of noble women of the same age as me are several years old. I feel like wrinkles are about to appear on my face!"

Feng laughed and said, "Sister, I'm seven or eight years older than you. Are you talking about me?"

Xiao Qiao quickly confessed, but Feng came over and said mysteriously: "I'll tell you a secret. Your Majesty once said that women in their twenties have more flavor."

Xiao Qiao was surprised and said: "Really?"

"What did the envoy say?"

Feng Shi leaned closer to Xiao Qiao's ear and whispered. Xiao Qiao's face turned red, but he still suppressed his curiosity and listened. Da Qiao on the side also listened to it, and his face turned red. , I thought Feng’s words were still so direct!
She raised her head and felt that the spring breeze coming from outside was already a bit warm, and she couldn't help but feel dazed again.

As the days passed, Shouchun mobilized troops more and more frequently, and some warships began to cross the Huaihe River to attack the border of Yuzhou that harassed the north bank.

At the same time, the warships from Chaohu Lake began to go south, and camps were gradually established at the southern exit of Chaohu Lake. This inevitably caused conflicts with the Jiangdong Army stationed in Wankou.

In response, Cao Jun and Sun Quan Jun sent troops to reinforce their defenses at the same time, and the atmosphere in the Jianghuai area became tense for a while.

Cao Cao was doing well. After all, Yuzhou was vast and could not be suppressed by Yuan Xi's army in the Shouchun area. However, the situation in Jiangdong was different.

Because when they attacked Jiangxia, all the supplies and baggage passed through the Yangtze River, and Wankou was stuck on the Yangtze River artery. If Yuan Xijun really wanted to take back Wancheng and Wankou, the Jiangdong army would be cut off, and the head and tail would not be able to see each other. If Being attacked from two sides, there is still the danger of destruction.

Therefore, the Jiangdong Army that was attacking Jiangxia also temporarily slowed down its offensive. At the same time, it established a land passage in the direction of Yuzhang to prevent Yuan Xi's army from launching an attack. At the same time, it sent a letter to Wu County to report the emergency.

After Zhou Yu received the information, he went to Lu Su to discuss it and said, "Does Zijing think Fierce Tiger will send troops?"

Lu Su shook his head and said, "I don't know, don't ask me."

Zhou Yu knew that Lu Su was angry, because Lu Su was extremely opposed to Jiang Dong and Cao Cao joining forces, so he smiled and said: "Zijing, you still have this temper."

"Although joining forces with Cao Cao is seeking skin from a tiger, does Zijing really think that the fierce tiger is a good person?"

"Look at what he has done. He is always trying to control Jiangdong's life. I think he is much more dangerous than Cao Cao!"

Lu Su sighed after hearing this, "But does Gong Jin know that if my lord is attached to Cao Cao, he may become a rebel in the future and his reputation will be ruined?"

A trace of helplessness flashed in Zhou Yu's eyes, "Zijing should know what the lord wants most."

"Besides, what's the difference between what we're doing now and those of rebels?"

Lu Su blushed, "This was not the case when Marquis Sun was alive!"

Sun Jian and Sun Ce were both called Sun Hou in private. Zhou Yu knew that Lu Su was referring to the former. In the second year of Chuping, Sun Jian defeated Dong Zhuo outside Luoyang City, captured Luoyang, expelled Lu Bu, and restored the Eastern Han Dynasty mausoleum that Dong Zhuo had destroyed. The Han ancestral temple was swept away and the ancestral hall was built as Tailao, and as a result, the imperial seal inherited from the Han emperor was obtained.

Later, Sun Jian dedicated the jade seal to Yuan Shu. However, at that time, no one would deny that although Sun Jian had acted recklessly to kill Han Dynasty ministers before, he was already considered a member of the Han Dynasty among the feudal princes. A very loyal minister.

Zhou Yu patted Lu Su on the shoulder and said, "Zijing, as the Yangtze River rolls along, a new generation replaces the old, and the world's situation has long been different."

"What's more, Cao Cao kidnapped the emperor. No matter how the edict was issued, the title given to the lord is still the title of the Han court. Who in the world can say that we are rebels?"

"It's Fierce Tiger. Maybe he has been given a title by the Han court now?"

"Oh, I forgot," Zhou Yu couldn't help but laugh, "Cao Cao is afraid that he will be sealed by force, but it will be a good show."

Lu Su knew that Zhou Yu was referring to Cao Cao's title of Duke, but he used Sun Quan and Yuan Xi as a test. He couldn't help but angrily said: "Cao Cao let the lord serve as a pawn to explore the way. As a vassal of the lord, it is a shame!"

Zhou Yu knew that he could not convince Lu Su for a while, so he couldn't help but sigh: "Zijing, in this world, there are very few people who can stick to what they originally thought and persist all the way to the end. Although I don't agree with your views, I am still very persistent in you." Admire."

"Perhaps in a few years, my lord will rely on you for assistance."

After he finished speaking, he coughed a few times. Lu Su also felt sad after hearing this. Zhou Yu's health has been deteriorating since the battle in Chaohu Lake. He began to cough up blood occasionally, and then became more frequent. This may not be a sign of longevity.

Soon, news came out in Xudu that both Sun Quan and Yuan Xi had accepted the emperor's canonization, so hundreds of officials wrote again, asking the emperor to grant Cao Cao the title of Duke.

Of course, Cao Cao was blamed for Yuan Xi taking the order. When the news reached Wuyuan, Yuan Xi, who was about to set off with Lu Lingqi, was immediately laughed out of anger.

(End of this chapter)