"My lord, no!" Zhou Tai was the closest, jumped up and grabbed Sun Quan's arm.
"Don't stop me!" Sun Quan struggled hard and shouted: "Zhou Tai, do you dare to disobey me?"
"The general is not well guarded. My lord wants to kill him, so kill the general first!" Zhou Tai's arms were like iron hoops, and he grabbed the blade and turned to himself.
"Stop!" Cheng Pu stood up, grabbed the ancient ingot sword, and shouted: "The foundation of the third generation of Soochow and the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, how can my lord give up so easily?"
This shout was like a thunderbolt from the blue. Sun Quan was shocked. He took two steps back and leaned on the side of the ship. He said sadly: "How can I lead the three armies if I have ruined the reputation of all of you?"
Cheng Pu advised: "In the past, our ancestors were repeatedly defeated in battles. After a single battle, the Han Dynasty established a three-hundred-year-old foundation. How can we judge heroes based on success or failure? My lord inherited the inheritance of his father and brother, and was concerned about the safety of Jiangdong. We must not forget the entrustment given by Marquis Wu on his deathbed. "
The generals also knelt down and begged. Sun Quan stood silently for a long time before reluctantly agreeing. He felt defeated after losing his reputation in this battle.
He ordered the generals to reorganize their troops and train the navy in Chaohu Lake. At the same time, he sent people to Lujiang River to report the news, and transferred Zhou Yu to the front line to take charge of the overall situation and avenge the humiliation.
…
Soochow sent troops to attack Lujiang and Hefei. When the news reached Xuchang, all civil and military officials were shocked.
Cao Cao was defeated in Nanyang and his 300,000-strong army was wiped out. Since returning to Xuchang, he has been in a daze all day long, muttering about "disasters of water and fire". Who dares to add fuel to the fire at this time?
Cao Hong and Cao Xiu came to discuss with Xun Yu. Xun Yu said: "Sun Quan saw the defeat of Prime Minister Nanyang and wanted to take Huainan. If the Wu army makes a surprise attack and goes north, Sun Quan will come with a light force. With Zhang Wenyuan guarding Hefei, he can be safe for the time being."
Cao Hong asked anxiously: "What should we do if we wait for Zhou Yu to arrive in Huainan?"
Xun Yu said: "General Xiahou Yuan will not sit idly by in Xuzhou. As long as Zhang Liao blocks Sun Quan and sets up defenses along the Feishui River, Dongwu crosses the river and goes north without the benefit of boats. There is nothing to worry about."
Cao Xiu frowned and said, "Then how should we prepare now?"
Xun Yu said: "Now that Nanyang has been lost, Liu Qi's reputation is greatly shaken. The top priority is to rescue the two generals Xiahou Dun and Cao Ren, reorganize the troops and horses, and stabilize people's hearts..."
After a pause, he continued: "Cheng Zhongde's matter has made the Prime Minister lose the hope of the world. He must make a decision as soon as possible to save his face."
Looking at Xun Yu's eyes, Cao Xiu felt guilty and coughed lightly: "Sir, do you have any good ideas?"
Xun Yu was about to say something but stopped: "It's a very important matter. We can only wait for the Prime Minister's condition to improve and discuss it together."
"Young Sun Quan, you are ungrateful!" Cao Hong cursed: "The Prime Minister is currently unable to take charge of the affairs. I will personally go to Huainan and ask Bi Yan'er to personally intervene."
Xun Yu nodded and said: "The matter in Yangzhou requires a general to stabilize the morale of the army. If General Cao is willing to go, it would be the best."
After the two left, Xun Yu sighed helplessly and came to the Prime Minister's Mansion. He saw Jiang Ji and Dong Zhao were there, discussing the matter of moving the capital.
Liu Qi has captured Nanyang and may send troops to Xuchang at any time, and the civil and military officials in the court are also ready to take action. What if they are allowed to collude secretly?
Everyone has reached an agreement on moving the capital, but they can't decide whether to move to Luoyang or Yecheng.
Although Luoyang was the imperial capital, after it was burned down by Dong Zhuo, most of it was reduced to ruins and was in disrepair for a long time.
Rebuilding and repairing it would cost a lot of money. Cao Cao had just pacified the north and was still fighting everywhere. His troops and horses were short of money and food, let alone repairing the palace.
Cao Cao opened a government office in Yecheng for the sake of convenience. He did not need to visit him in the morning or evening to greet him. Everything was discussed in court, and all decisions, big and small, could be settled with just one memorial.
If the emperor is moved to Yecheng, he will be watched by ministers everywhere, just like in Xuchang, and there will be many troubles.
After hearing this, Xun Yu laughed and said: "The Prime Minister has made his own decision about moving the capital. He can leave it to the civil and military affairs as usual. We will share the Prime Minister's worries."
Jiang Ji wondered: "Moving the capital is related to the foundation of the country. Discussing this matter and making preparations in advance is to share the prime minister's worries. What else is more important than this?"
Xun Yu said: "Save generals Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun."
Everyone bowed their heads when they heard this. This matter was a state matter at a big level, and a private matter of the Cao family at a small level. If Liu Qi was rashly interfered with and killed the two of them, who would be held responsible?
Dong Zhao asked calmly: "I wonder if Ming Gong has any good plan?"
Xun Yu said: "Liu Qi detained the two generals without causing any harm to their lives. It must be like last time. He wants to ask the Prime Minister for something. He can send someone to negotiate first and test Liu Qi's intentions. It will be better when the Prime Minister's condition improves." Negotiate promptly.”
Dong Zhao nodded and said: "What Duke Ming said is absolutely true. I will immediately send someone to Jingzhou to test Liu Qi's intention."
Xun Yu asked again: "The whole world is already aware of Cheng Zhongde's incident. Do you have any suggestions to remedy this?"
Several people looked at each other, and Jiang Ji asked: "What is Wen Ruo's advice?"
This matter is even more sensitive. Everyone knows that there must be Cao Cao behind the scenes. Commenting without permission will lead to death. If it is not handled carefully, it will be infamy for thousands of years. Who dares to step forward?
Nowadays, the three most important things are all vying to handle the seemingly important but in fact insignificant matter of moving the capital, saving people and making amends, and no one dares to make a decision.
Xun Yu secretly sighed in his heart, they are all old foxes. Although he had countermeasures, he could not overstep others and could only wait for Cao Cao to make a decision.
Xun Yu was shocked when he heard the report of the battle in Nanyang. He did not expect that Cheng Yu would openly kill people to make military rations in Nanyang. This was not like what he had done in Yanzhou.
When he first recommended Cheng Yu, he called him a "Sage from Yanzhou", but he didn't expect that he would be so ruthless and inhumane. He died in the rebellion this time. I don't know whether to be happy or worried.
In the past few years, Cao Cao has been working hard to improve his reputation and maintain his court. After conquering the north, his reputation was greatly improved. However, this move caused him to plummet and was reviled by everyone in the world.
Although Cheng Yu tried to avoid a mutiny, the incident was revealed and was even more serious than the massacre of Xuzhou, and he would be reviled by future generations. It was not enough for the people to be outraged if only Cheng Yu had to bear the responsibility.
After returning home, Xun Yu hid in his study, his heart heavy. The Battle of Nanyang made him quite disappointed with Cao Cao, but he was somewhat looking forward to Liu Qi's rise.
"It's Xiao He who succeeds, and Xiao He who loses!" After a long time, Xun Yu suddenly sighed softly.
That night, the Prime Minister's Mansion quietly sent someone to invite Jia Xu to meet with Cao Cao together with Cao Xiu.
Cao Cao was lying on the bed, feeling depressed. Cao Cao asked, "How is the situation in Nanyang now?"
Cao Xiu reported: "Liu Qi did not send troops, but Sun Quan took the opportunity to go north..."
Cao Cao's expression changed slightly, and Cao Xiu hurriedly changed his words: "However, although Lujiang was lost, Zhang Liao defeated Sun Quan in Hefei and shocked Jiangdong. The third uncle has rushed to Yangzhou to assist, so the Prime Minister does not need to worry."
"Bi Yan'er..." Cao Cao snorted slightly and suddenly said with tears: "Nanyang is a lonely and sad place. I am so sorry that Mr. Cheng missed me!"
Cao Xiu hurriedly comforted him: "The imperial court has sent envoys to Jingzhou to negotiate, and they will definitely try to rescue the two generals."
Cao Cao sighed, looked at Jia Xu, who was folding his arms and saying nothing, and said: "Although Cheng Yu died in the king's affairs, what he did may not be enough to anger the common people. There are countless people who are taboo in the world, and they will definitely He will make slanderous remarks and blame this matter on me, does Wen He have any countermeasures?"
