Liu Qi had not yet gone to Sun Quan to discuss matters. Unexpectedly, Sun Quan sent someone to invite him first. However, the time was not yet ripe, so he excused himself for one day because he was not feeling well.
Early the next morning, the informant arranged by Xi Guan came to report that Tai Shixiang had returned to the city, and Liu Qi immediately came to see Sun Quan and accuse him.
Sun Quan originally planned to invite Liu Qi to a banquet to discuss the matter, but the wedding day was coming soon and it was too late to postpone it any longer, so he had to send an order to discuss the matter at Liu Qi's suggestion.
Above the government office, Sun Quan sat high on the command post and set up a seat for Liu Qi. Jiangdong civil and military officers were arranged on the left and right. The civil officers were led by Zhang Zhao and lined up to the door. The military officers were led by Zhou Yu. The generals led their troops outside, making it appear that they were weak.
Sun Quan informed everyone about Ma Chao's plan to retaliate. Cao Cao had personally gone to Chang'an to resist the enemy and discussed taking the opportunity to send troops to attack the Central Plains.
Cheng Pu and other generals expressed their approval. Ruxu had won a great victory. The morale of Cao's army in Huainan was low, and Cao Ren was recuperating in Shouchun. This was a good opportunity to send troops.
Zhang Hong and Bu Zhi were opposed. The battles in the past few months had consumed a lot of money and food, and the men and horses also needed to recuperate. It was lucky that Cao Jun did not attack, but he still wanted to provoke others?
Sun Quan looked at Zhou Yu and saw that he had his head lowered. He was not as heroic as before. He was even a little absent-minded and confused.
Ever since the blind date at Ganlu Temple, Zhou Yu has been depressed and in a bad state. He has never been involved in the military. Could it be that he was interested in Shang Xiang or Da Qiao...
Sun Quan shook his head violently, getting rid of the absurd thoughts, and had no choice but to ask Liu Qi: "Sun and Liu are allied together to defeat Cao Cao. Now Cao Cao's thieves have gone to Chang'an, and Xuchang is empty. Does the general intend to march into the Central Plains?"
Liu Qi clasped his fists and said, "The traitor Cao is good at using troops. Although he went to Chang'an, he left Zhang Liao and Xia Houyuan to guard Yuzhou. If his troops enter the Central Plains, they will be surrounded by enemies on all sides and may not be able to succeed."
Zhang Zhao sneered when he heard this: "I heard that the Jingzhou troops have marched from Jiangling to Yizhou. The general keeps saying that he wants to revive the Han Dynasty, but he refuses to send troops to fight against the thieves. Instead, he uses troops from the same clan. Isn't it a breach of trust in the world?"
"That's wrong!" Liu Qi said with a smile: "Zhang Lu invaded the country with his troops, and Liu Jiyu sent an envoy to ask for help. It was out of the feelings of the same clan that I sent troops to help. It is natural for people of the same clan to help each other in times of trouble, so why should they fight? What to say?"
Zhang Zhao snorted slightly: "Since the general can help the same sect raise troops to suppress the bandits, and is now married to Jiangdong, he is also a close relative. It is even more important that we join forces to fight against the bandits. If Cao Cao's bandit is not eliminated, the world will never have peace. Isn't it a small gain but a big gain?"
Liu Qi looked at Sun Quan: "General, does he intend to take Huainan?"
Sun Quan nodded and said: "Cao's army is newly defeated and has low morale. It's time to take advantage of the victory to advance! Since you and I are allies and depend on each other, we should advance and retreat together. This will make it difficult for Cao's thieves to take care of the head and tail. We can attack the Central Plains in one fell swoop. Why worry about the big thing failing? ?”
Liu Qi smiled and said: "I am afraid that if I use the strength of Jiangdong, I will not be able to match Cao Jun!"
"How presumptuous!" Zhang Zhao was furious and said sternly: "General Liu, if you speak like this in front of the Marquis of Wu and all the civil and military officials, you might hurt the friendship between the two families, right?"
Everyone in Jiangdong looked at Liu Qi angrily, and no one felt comfortable being despised in front of him.
"You have misunderstood!" Liu Qi waved his hand and said: "I am not saying that the Jiangdong soldiers are incompetent, but the tactics are wrong. Using one's own shortcomings and attacking the enemy's strong points, there is no reason to win? In the Battle of Ruxu, Cao's thieves withdrew from the river, This is how we deploy defenses along the coast. If we give up the advantage of boats, neither Jingzhou nor Jiangdong can stop the sharp cavalry of Cao's army."
Gu Yong said: "The general threatened to raise troops to fight against the thieves and help the court, but he was timid and did not dare to use troops. If we all sit in the south of the Yangtze River, how can we wait for the thunder to kill Cao's thieves?"
Liu Qi smiled and said: "The area east of Jiangdong is vast, why should it be limited to Huainan? If you want to defeat Cao Cao's thieves, you should use your strengths. I have been planning for Wu Hou for a long time!"
Sun Quan was a little surprised. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "What do you have to say, general? I'm all ears."
Liu Qi said: "The navy in the east of the Yangtze River is the best in the world. If you want to defeat the enemy, you must take advantage of the navy! The southeast coast of Yangzhou is more than ten thousand miles away, leading directly to Hebei. The sea is wide, you can come and go freely, and you have a well-founded advance and retreat. Let me ask you Who dares to fight?"
"On the sea?" A light flashed in Sun Quan's eyes, as if he saw a ray of sunshine in the clouds.
Zhou Yu also suddenly came to his senses and looked at Liu Qi thoughtfully, weighing the pros and cons.
Cheng Pu said: "Although the general's words are reasonable, the sea is very windy and rough, and the direction is unclear. If you are not careful, both men and ships will be lost. How can we use troops?"
Liu Qi shook his head and sighed: "There are many islands connected along the coast, and fishermen come in and out all year round. With the strength of the Jiangdong navy, what should we be afraid of? Let's not talk about long-term things, let's talk about the immediate situation: with the navy out of Qu'a, along the coast to the north, There is no need to enter the deep sea, we can go directly to the mouth of the Huaihe River, advance by water and land, and attack from the north and south. It is easy to take Guangling, why must we decide the winner in Hefei?"
Sun Quan slowly unfolded the map, frowning, and all the civil and military officials also lowered their heads to discuss. This was a completely new method of warfare, and everyone couldn't agree on it.
The navy of the Han Dynasty was not strong enough. Although the Soochow navy was very powerful, it never thought of exploring the sea. In addition, there was no precedent for sea and land operations, so it was limited to the Jianghuai area.
Liu Qi's suggestion undoubtedly broke the ice beyond their knowledge and expanded the war to the sea. The situation was suddenly opened up, and there were naturally more tactics available.
It was also in his later years that Sun Quan had to explore the South China Sea and discovered the island of Taiwan because Jiangdong lacked resources. He only wanted to plunder the people and never thought about developing naval warfare.
Their instinctive fear of the power of Cao's army, coupled with their cognitive limitations, made them only focus on Jingzhou, and sneak attacks from behind were inevitable.
Sun Quan didn't dare to leave the water to provoke Cao's army, and he had a heart for hegemony. If he didn't attack Jingzhou, where else could he attack?
Liu Qi seems to be helping Soochow open up the situation, but in fact it is also shifting their goals and conflicts. As long as Soochow's navy goes to sea, it will not only focus on Jingzhou.
Once the Soochow coast is harassed, Cao Jun's defense line will be in trouble. The entire eastern coastline must be defended, which is enough for Boss Cao to have a headache.
During the discussion, Zhang Zhao asked again: "General Liu seems to be planning for Jiangdong, but in fact he is asking the Marquis of Wu to use military force to fight Cao's thieves alone. We in Jiangdong build a large number of warships and advance both by water and land, but Jingzhou does not have a single soldier?" "
Liu Qi said: "The main force of Cao's army is in Xuchang, and Zhang Liao is not an easy man. I believe you all know it! Although I am temporarily unable to invade the Central Plains, I will send troops from Nanyang to contain Cao's army and coordinate with Wu Hou. If Cao's thieves dare to mobilize Soldiers, I will take Xuchang."
Sun Quan snorted slightly and wanted to retort but could not speak. At this moment, he saw a man staggering in. His clothes were dirty and his hair was loose.
He knelt down and cried loudly: "Wu Hou, please save my father's life!"
When Sun Quan saw that it was Tai Shixiang, he hurriedly raised his hand and said, "What is this, my dear nephew? Get up and speak quickly!"
Tai Shixiang knelt down and climbed up to Liu Qi: "General Liu, I hope you can save my father, and you will be rewarded heavily."
Liu Qi was shocked and quickly stood up to help Taishi Xiang: "The young general's filial piety is really touching. I have admired General Taishi for a long time, but he knows nothing about medicine. How can I save him?"
