During the fierce fighting in the middle, Cao Cao and Liu Qi were trying their best to win over Sun Yu, the governor of Lujiang. The gains and losses in Lujiang were the key to the battle in Huainan.
If Sun Yu surrenders to Cao Cao, the communication with Yuzhang can be opened up. The Wei army can enter Penglize from Lujiang River, join forces with Sun Fu and Sun Yu, and form a siege on Huainan.
If Liu Qi captures the Lujiang River, Sun Fu will be isolated and helpless, and his defeat is imminent. Not only will he be relieved of his worries, but he can also take Pengcheng directly from Shiting from the Lujiang River, making the Wei army vulnerable to enemies from both sides.
Envoys from both sides had many exchanges. Cao Cao promised Sun Yu the governor of Yangzhou, granted him the title of general, Liu Qi sent Sun's children to persuade him, and Xiao Zhi used emotion and reason, but they all failed to convince Sun Yu.
In the blink of an eye, one month later, emergency letters from Yuzhang arrived like snowflakes. Poyang Lake clan thief Peng Cai and others were banned and exterminated. Nanchang was in urgent need, but Cao Cao was beyond his reach.
On this day, I was discussing with Sima Yi about taking Lujiang. Suddenly, Cao Chun walked in quickly with a happy face and said: "Congratulations, Prime Minister, the opportunity to take Hefei has arrived!"
Cao Cao was taken aback and asked hurriedly: "What happened?"
Cao Chun reported: "As expected by the prime minister, Liu Qi could not convince the crowd in Shouchun. He had disagreements with veteran generals Huang Gai and Han Dang, and went to Huainan to mobilize the navy in anger."
"Oh?" Cao Cao narrowed his eyes slightly. When things went as he expected, he became suspicious. He caressed his beard and pondered for a moment, then looked at Sima Yi: "Zhongda, what do you think about this?"
Sima Yi replied: "When Liu Qi first arrived in Hefei, he incited the people in the name of revenge and recruited more than 10,000 troops. At this time, when he arrived in Shouchun, he left the recruits and transferred to Huainan, fearing that he had other motives."
Cao Chun said dissatisfied: "I saw it with my own eyes in Shouchun. Huang Gai left in court, Liu Qi slapped the case and left. Jiangdong is already at odds with the generals. How can this be false?"
Cao Cao twisted his beard and sneered: "Liu Qi's son is cunning and scheming. What you see in detail may not be true."
Cao Chun said anxiously: "The Prime Minister previously predicted that the Jiangdong generals would be stubborn and disobedient to Liu Qi. Now it is indeed the case. Why do you doubt yourself?"
Cao Cao snorted slightly and said, "If Huang Gai and others just disobeyed the rebels on the spot and fell to the ground, this is the behavior of a warrior. But Liu Qi is a very tolerant person and the best at inspiring people. He will not run away in anger, but will stay. To convince the generals, this move would be unnecessary."
Cao Chun asked: "Now that Liu Qi has left Shouchun and there is no one in Jiangdong to take charge of the overall situation, why doesn't the prime minister take the opportunity to send troops?"
Cao Cao sighed: "I originally wanted to take advantage of their discord and take Hefei. Now that Liu Qi has left Shouchun, Huang Gai and others will definitely defend the city together. I guess Liu Qi must have seen my relatives coming to Pengcheng, and there is no chance to take advantage of it, so he wants to take advantage of Jiangdong." The navy force will capture Pi from Surabaya and take Xuzhou in a roundabout way."
Sima Yi nodded and said: "What the Prime Minister said is absolutely true. Although Liu Qi is in charge of Jiangdong, he is a foreigner after all, so he should bear the humiliation and bear the burden. In my humble opinion, this son's going to Huainan may be related to Zhou Yu's going south."
"Well -" Cao Cao's eyes flashed, and he was secretly shocked by Sima Yi's acumen. He stroked his beard and laughed and said, "Liu Qi's little tricks, how can he hide them from me?"
Sima Yi admonished: "Zhou Yu has no intention of surrender, and his movement south is unknown. The prime minister must be on guard. If he is really secretly colluding with Liu Qi, once the two of them meet up, Zhou Yu will command the navy and move across the Huaisi River. He will be a trouble to his confidants."
Cao Cao remained calm and said with a slight smile: "Don't worry Zhongda, I have already made arrangements for this matter. When there is news from Sun Yu, it will not be too late to take Shouchun. Wen Lie has already trained a navy of 100,000 in Huainan. I want to see if the golden scales of Xuyi can beat my Cao family's thousand-mile horse."
…
Sishui flows from Xiapi to Huaihe River. At the intersection of the two rivers, there are many lakes and waterways. Fuling Lake connects both sides of the Huaihe River, with Suiling in the north and Xuyi in the south.
After Jiangdong's surprise attack on Guangling, the navy entered the Huaihe River from Hangou and occupied the Huai River. The Wei army had no choice but to build a water stronghold in Suiling to choke the mouth of the Surabaya River and contain the Jiangdong navy.
The Jiangdong Water Village was built in Xuyi, which is an important place in Huainan. In the past, the warring states were fought for supremacy, and the princes gathered here for alliance. It was also the capital of the Chu State, so the terrain was very important.
Floods occurred frequently in Huaisi, and Fuling Lake continued to expand. Many previous lakes were gradually connected, with a water area of three to four hundred miles. The former capital of the Chu Kingdom had long since sunk to the bottom of the lake.
Liu Qi originally wanted to visit the old city to commemorate the ancients and borrow a poem to boost morale, but he fell into silence looking at the vast lake and the clusters of reeds.
Although the waters of Fuling Lake at this time were not as grand as the later Hongze Lake, not as grand as Dongting, and not as vast as Taihu Lake, it was already quite large and could be used by boats.
Outside the Xuyi Water Village, ships of all sizes were shuttled back and forth. From the water inlet to Shouchun, and for hundreds of miles along the coast, there were sentry ships. The two armies' small boats fought hundreds of times, with each suffering casualties.
The village was warm and warm, and bursts of laughter could be heard. Jiangdong generals were seen surrounding Liu Qi, their eyes were shining, and some even drooled accidentally.
A burst of fragrance could be smelled at the gate of the village, and the navy generals were all shocked to see that dignified royal nobles, such as the general and the Marquis of Xiangyang, could actually cook and do these women's things.
Since Liu Qi arrived in Xuyi, he neither discussed military affairs with Zhou Tai and others, nor inspected the water village. Instead, he filled the camp catching crabs as if he had seen treasures, claiming that he was going to make a delicious meal.
All the generals laughed. Could it be that Jingzhou people had never eaten fish before, so they caught this hard-shelled and clumsy thing? How could they eat it?
Liu Qi ordered people to tie up the crabs and put them in the cage. Half an hour later, everyone was shocked when they smelled the fragrance.
Before they came out of the cage, Zhou Tai couldn't help but exclaimed: "I didn't expect that these crabs could be steamed to be so delicious. If I had known this, why would our army worry about insufficient rations?"
Jiang Qin couldn't help but give a thumbs up: "I have heard about the general's name for a long time, but when I saw him today, he is indeed well-deserved."
Ma Zhong swallowed his saliva and asked doubtfully: "This thing has a fragrant smell, but it is covered in a hard shell. How to use it?"
Liu Qi opened the cage drawer and looked at the eight neat red crabs. With a look of emotion on his face, he took out one and said with a smile: "Today I will be the first to eat crabs."
He still remembered that Xuyi crabs in later generations were also very famous, with affordable prices and fresh and tender meat. He would never forget them after eating them once.
This time I visited my old place again. Although the terrain was very different, the crabs crawling all over the ground were exactly the same. They could be seen everywhere on the shore and on the boats. No one dared to eat them. It was a waste of natural resources.
Seeing Liu Qi peeling off the crab shell to reveal the crab roe inside, everyone curled their lips and looked disgusted. When Liu Qi picked a piece and fed it to his mouth, they looked like they had eaten shit.
"It's delicious, but the original taste is different!" Liu Qi nodded repeatedly and praised it endlessly.
"Is this... really delicious?" Seeing Liu Qi continuing to peel the shells and eating with gusto, Zhou Tai finally couldn't help but sit across from him, eager to try it.
Liu Qi pointed to the basket, waved his chopsticks and said with a smile: "Practice is the only criterion for testing truth. Everyone will know after tasting it."
The Jiangdong generals looked at each other and finally couldn't resist the temptation of the fragrance. They each took one and learned to peel it off in a decent manner, feeling the aroma fragrant.
Zhou Tai only took a small bite, and suddenly the scars on his face seemed to smile. He exclaimed: "It's really delicious. If you have a pot of wine, it will be better than a living god."
Liu Qi laughed and said: "Come on, come to Dukang!"
