Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 37 Cao Liusun (please follow up)
AD 203, the eighth year of Jian'an, February.

Liyang, Cao Jun’s camp.

In the large tent of the Chinese army, a middle-aged man was sitting on the couch. He was less than seven feet tall, with dark skin, and because he was approaching middle age, his figure was fat and out of shape. His appearance was not unusual.However, his serious demeanor, sharp eyes, and majestic temperament made it impossible for anyone to look directly at him.

This man is Liu Bei's lifelong rival, the great Han Sikong Cao Mengde!

"Fengxiao, how is the battlefield in Hedong?"

Guo Jia read the military information from Guanzhong and said: "My lord, Zhang Derong (Zhang Ji) has successfully persuaded Ma Shoucheng to send troops to help. His sons Ma Chao and Pang De led ten thousand cavalry to fight, and they were assigned to Zhong Sili (Zhong Sili). Under Yao's tent, we will follow him to attack Guo Yuan, Gao Gan, and the Shanyu of the Southern Xiongnu. Now our troops have arrived in Pingyang and are confronting them."

"it is good!"

After Cao Cao welcomed the Han Emperor, although his power did not expand significantly, his influence actually expanded dramatically.In the Guanzhong area, he appointed Zhong Yao as Sili Xiaowei to balance the Liangzhou warlords.During the Battle of Guandu, Zhong Yao also sent [-] war horses to Cao Cao.

After Guandu, in order to cooperate with the frontal force to attack Yecheng, Zhong Yao sent troops from Guanzhong to attack Hedong.However, he met his nephew Guo Yuan and led a large army to rescue him. Zhong Yao had few soldiers and horses, so he sent Zhang Ji to ask Ma Teng and Han Sui for help.

After Zhang Ji's persuasion, Han Sui and Ma Teng not only sent reinforcements, but also sent their sons to Xuchang as a hostage.Obviously the two of them were optimistic that Cao Cao could unify the world after taking Hebei.

Cao Cao laughed a few times and said: "De Rong must have made great achievements. The troops east of Hedong are weak. Now Yuan often has thousands of troops in Guanxi, which is enough to compete with Gao Gan and Guo Yuan."

"Exactly!" Guo Jia said: "Guo Yuan is a headstrong man, and Yuan Chang can defeat him. If Guo Yuan is defeated, Hedong can go down. Once Hedong falls into the hands of the lord, Bingzhou can be easily obtained."

After a pause, Guo Jia said: "The matter at hand lies with brothers Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang."

Cao Cao waved his hand nonchalantly and said: "Mancheng (Li Dian) and Zhongde (Cheng Yu) have led the troops to defeat Gaofan and control the river water and food roads. If Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang do not go to war, their food and grass will be lost." Cut it off. Our army will just sit back and wait for it to go out to fight, and then attack it."

Cao Cao was currently confronting Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang in Liyang. In order to cut off the Yuan brothers' food supply, he had ordered Li Dian and Cheng Yu to defeat Gao Fan, the governor of Wei County.

Different from romance, there are very few pure counselors in history. Cheng Yu is a general who leads troops in battle, Zhong Yao is a general who goes out of town, even Jia Xu, an old tough guy, can lead troops in battle, and Xun Yu is like a logistics manager.In Cao Cao's army, only Xun You and Guo Jia were pure military advisors and counselors.

After all, simple strategists and counselors are not popular and cannot win much military merit. After Emperor Gaozu brought peace to the world, Zhang Liang and Chen Ping only ranked 62nd and 47th among the heroes.

While flipping through the letters, Guo Jia saw the letter from Jingzhou and said with a smile: "My lord, there is a letter from Cai Mao of Jingzhou. He said that Liu Qi and Liu Bei were planning to conquer Jiangdong. He was worried that Liu Qi would make great achievements in Jiangsu and replace Liu Cong. Let me wait for him. Should we send troops and horses to the south to show off Liu Biao's strength, so that we can strengthen our troops in Nanyang and reduce the number of troops under Liu Qi's command?"

After hearing this, Cao Cao took the letter, read the content on it, laughed, and said: "Liu Xuande is very restless, and he actually wants to attack Jiangdong."

With that said, Cao Cao put down the letter and said: "De Gui's concerns are not unreasonable, but Sun Quan from Jiangdong is also disobedient. Someone asked him to send a hostage to Xuchang, but he actually used words to talk about it."

Huo Jun was right in his nonsense that day. After the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao relied on his military power to ask for protons from Sun Quan.Sun Quan hesitated, and with Zhou Yu's persuasion, Sun Quan vetoed Cao Cao's request.

"What do you mean, my lord?" Guo Jia asked.

Cao Cao pondered for a while and said: "Although Sun Ce is dead, Jiangdong should not be underestimated. Sun Quan's unwillingness to send the protons shows that he obeyed openly and secretly. Now Liu Bei wants to attack Jiangzuo, and let him and Sun Quan have internal conflicts. When he unifies the Central Plains, he can If we attack Jianghan, the south can be conquered!"

"My lord, Liu Bei is a talented man, but he will never be subordinated to others. If he goes to the east of the Yangtze River, if Sun Quan cannot stop him, it will be a danger to the lord. We should prepare for him and not let him become powerful. It is better to follow Cai Mao's words and send troops southward. Deter Liu Biao and use Nanyang to gain troops. If Liu Bei has fewer troops, it will be difficult to defeat Sun Quan." Guo Jia suggested.

Cao Cao nodded slightly and said: "What Fengxiao said is not unreasonable. Now let Yuan Rang (Xiahou Dun) lead 3000 troops to Xiping and spread the word. Do not fight with the enemy."

"promise!"

After speaking, Cao Cao stroked his beard and stared at the map of the Central Plains hanging in the camp.I thought to myself, if I can sweep Henan and unify Hebei, if I can conquer Wu and Chu, and accept the surrender of the northwest, then the world will be settled.

At that time, the Han Dynasty was replaced and the lone general ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor.

……

Xiangyang, the eldest son's mansion.

Liu Bei walked into the hall with an ugly face. When Liu Qi saw this, he asked, "Uncle, what can Cai Mao say to stop him?"

During the time when Huo Jun left Xiangyang, Liu Bei and Liu Qi had a close relationship. Under Liu Bei's charm offensive, Liu Qi gradually called Liu Bei his uncle to show their close relationship.

Liu Bei shook his head and said: "Cai Maoyan said that there was a fire in the Jiangling Ordnance and Baggage Second Storehouse. The food, grass and equipment originally planned to send troops were damaged. The troops can only be sent out after a delay of one month." Liu Qi angrily took a picture of the table and said: "Shanghai In the past month, I have urged Cai Mao many times, but he mostly refused with words, and now he said that there was a fire in Jiangling, how could it be such a coincidence."

"Are there any penalties for the personnel?" Liu Qi asked.

"The people who guarded the second warehouse of grain, grass and equipment under Cai Maoyan took office not long ago, and now they have all been imprisoned and executed." Liu Bei said.

"How could such a coincidence happen?" Liu Qi sneered and said, "From what I can see, it must be Cai Mao's fault."

After saying that, Liu Qi sighed and said: "Zhongmiao is heading to Jiangxia today for the second month, but we are unable to send troops. Cai Mao is really hateful!"

"Uncle, what should I do now?"

Liu Bei thought for a moment and said calmly: "I have reported to the envoy about the fire in Jiangling. The envoy urged Cai Mao to get supplies from other places as soon as possible, so that he can dispatch troops in the spring and summer when the water rises, which is conducive to a water war. Jiangdong, and Cai Mao has also agreed, and even if he comes to think of it, Cai Mao would not dare to go against his will again."

"Bo Wei, has there been any reply from Changsha?" Liu Bei asked.

Hearing this, Liu Qi smiled, took out the letter from his sleeve, handed it to Liu Bei, and said: "Brother Pan has agreed to send troops. He said that when our army sends troops, he will ask Xiangyang to fight and lead the Changsha troops to attack Yuzhang to help me. Wait to contain Tai Shici."

Liu Bei also laughed when he read the contents of the letter.Next, Cai Mao wanted to find an excuse to delay time, and this letter might be used.

In the letter, Liu Pan stated that Changsha has a lot of military resources, food and grass, and they can be mobilized if the army needs them.At the same time, Taishi Ci's soldiers often harassed Changsha, and many people in Changsha were robbed. He hoped to send troops to Jiangdong to restore peace to Changsha.

Liu Bei raised his head and looked at the map of Jiangdong hanging on the wall.I thought secretly in my heart, prepared for Zhongmiao's suggestion, took Jiangzuo as the base, took Qingxu above, connected to Jingyi to the west, built the emperor's title, and promoted the Han Dynasty.

However, if it fails, I will be inactive for the rest of my life!
……

Wu County, Wu County.

In the government office, I saw a young man of about 20 years old. He was tall and tall, long at the top and short at the bottom. He was wearing armor and looked quite heroic.

This man is none other than the new lord of Jiangdong, Sun Quan, the governor of Kuaiji!
Holding his sword, Sun Quan said to the handsome general: "Gong Jin, I am alone in conquering Jiangxia. Now I will have to pay more attention to Gong Jin in the affairs of Wu County."

Zhou Yu slightly cupped his hands and said: "My lord, Huang Zu has guarded Jiangxia for many years. It cannot be conquered in one moment. It must not be underestimated. It is enough to win this battle. By then, my lord can take advantage of Huang Zu's power to intimidate other counties. All generals. Among them, Xu Pinglu has always been talented in military strategy and can command a large army. I hope my lord will listen to him."

The Xu Pinglu mentioned by Zhou Yu was Pinglu general Xu Kun.

Xu Kun was born in the Xu family of Wu County, and his mother was Sun Jian's sister.He is cousin to Sun Ce and Sun Quan. He followed Sun Ce in the early days of his army and made outstanding achievements.After Sun Ce pacified Jiangdong, he was appointed as the governor of the army, Zhonglang General, and oversaw the troops and horses of all the ministries.

After Sun Ce died of illness, Sun Quan came to power. Although Zhou Yu was named the Central Protector, the real military power was in the hands of Xu Kun.

In the early days of Sun Quan's rise to power, Li Shu, the governor of Lujiang, rebelled.In order to conquer Li Shu, Sun Quan personally conquered Lujiang. However, Sun Quan, who had just ascended the throne, did not have high prestige. In fact, Xu Kun was leading the army.After Xu Kun conquered Lujiang River, he was granted the title of Marquis of Guangde County and the official title of General Pinglu.

In Jiangdong, the last person who could hold the title of county marquis and lead generals with various titles was Sun Ce.At the moment, Sun Quan is only trying to conquer the generals and lead the governor of Kuaiji.

Zhou Yu now leads Jianwei Zhonglang General, who is only one level higher than Huo Jun's Xiaowei.Even after the Battle of Chibi, Zhou Yu was only a partial general, a head lower than Xu Kun.

Sun Quan raised his sword and said with a smile: "Don't worry, how can I not accept Xu Pinglu's opinion?"

After leaving the lobby, Sun Quan looked up at the blue sky and whispered to himself: "When will I be able to truly take charge!"
-
ps: After Sun Ce pacified Jiangdong, the people who served as governors in various places were almost their own relatives, so Sun Ce was more like the boss of the family business.Sun Ce died of illness, and the relatives who have shares in the company must have different thoughts.Sun Quan was 19 years old when he came to power. What influence could he have?

If it weren't for the protection of Xu Kun and the return of Zhou Yu with his troops, Sun Quan probably wouldn't have been able to take the throne.

Let’s talk about three dark histories before Sun Quan came to power.

When Sun Ce was in charge of Jiangdong, Lu Fan was in charge of finances.Sun Quan privately asked Lu Fan for the property in the treasury, but Lu Fan refused to give it, and Sun Quan hated him.

At the age of 15, Sun Quan became the magistrate of Yangxian County. He secretly misappropriated the county's money. He was afraid that his brother Sun Ce would find out, so he asked Zhou Gu, a meritorious official, to make false accounts for him.

Sun Quan and Zhou Tai stationed troops in Xuancheng, but bandits caused chaos.The thieves attacked the camp, and the soldiers were lax in their defense. When they reached Sun Quan, Sun Quan had just mounted his horse.If Zhou Tai hadn't sacrificed his life to save him, Sun Quan would have died long ago.

(End of this chapter)