Zhou Yu said: "If you want to join forces with Liu Qi, you need to join forces in Yanzhou. Although we are in Qingzhou now, there is a big river in the north and Mount Tai in the west. The county governor Zang Ba has a lot of military strategy. He has been here for more than ten years. It is extremely difficult to break. I need Ziyi to help me.”
Jiang Gan frowned and said, "Brother Yu, although he has intentions, does not understand the art of war. What can he do?"
Zhou Yu said with a smile: "Brother, there is no need to participate in the war! According to detailed reports, after Cao Pi succeeded to the throne, he had always been suspicious of Zang Ba. He originally intended to patrol east to collect his military power, but when Cao Cao returned to the court, the matter was dropped. Although it has not yet taken shape. , I expected that Xiahou Dun would be secretly watching, and Zang Ba was also worried. My brother brought a secret letter to Yanzhou to see Xiahou Dun, saying that Zang Ba had secret contacts with me and was waiting for an opportunity to stand on his own. I had my own plan to capture Mount Tai!"
Jiang Gan twisted his beard and nodded and said: "Brother's clever plan. Zang Ba was originally a bandit from Mount Tai. He surrendered to Tao Qian first, then to Lu Bu, and then to Cao Cao. He is actually a speculator. Brother Fool will definitely succeed if he goes there."
Zhou Yu knew that Jiang Qian had always been arrogant and exaggerated, so he told him: "As the saying goes, too much talk leads to mistakes. My brother gave the secret letter to Xiahou Dun for reading. Without going into details, he left the camp on the pretext of going north to see Cao Pi, so as not to harm himself. "
Jiang Qian accepted the order, and Zhou Yu took out a letter, which was written in Zang Ba's handwriting. There was also half a letter written by Zhou Yu in reply. He hid it closely and left for Yanzhou the same day.
Zhou Yu summoned officials of all sizes to discuss matters. This time Lu Xun brought many military generals from Jiangdong. Zhou Tai, Jiang Qin, Zhu Huan, and Chen Wu all volunteered to come. It was not that they did not want to go to the Central Plains to fight, but that Liu Qi had many talented people under his command. It's hard to get credit for joining the army.
At the thought of competing with Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Huang Gai, etc., everyone shook their heads. Although there were many fighters in the Central Plains, they could only be deputy generals at most. It would be better to go to Qingzhou to lead troops to kill the enemy. They would rather be the head of a chicken. Not for the queen of cattle.
Seeing many Jiangdong generals gathered together, Qingzhou officials were all shocked. Zhou Yu did not tell the truth until now. Everyone was pleasantly surprised. Originally, they were worried about the approaching Han army, but now they are relieved.
Zhou Yu announced Liu Qi's general order and ordered Lu Xun to be the governor of Qingzhou and the general to conquer the north. He handed over the military and political affairs of Qingzhou to Lu Xun, selected Zhou Tai and Zhu Huan as generals, and led 20,000 troops to conquer Jibei.
After the meeting, Taishi Ci was already waiting in the study room in the backyard. His father and his son returned to Beihai first. They originally planned to use their surprise troops to deal with Xiahou Dun, but the war in the Central Plains was urgent and Xiahou Dun went to Yanzhou. Qingzhou was safe and sound. Zhou Yu asked Taishi Ci not to reveal his identity for the time being.
At this time, seeing that the war in Huainan was over, Liu Qi had sent people to take over Qingzhou. Hearing that Zhou Yu ordered the general to send troops but did not summon him, Taishi Ci thought that he had forgotten his father and son, so he rushed to the government office and was in a panic.
Seeing Zhou Yu return, Taishi Ci greeted him at the door and asked, "Did Gong Jin forget me?"
Zhou Yu laughed and said, "You and I share weal and woe. We are here together because of the matter of Bo Fu. How could we forget the general?"
Taishi Ci said: "Although my beard and hair are white, I am not old. I have wasted several years. Now is the time to contribute to the country. Why doesn't Gong Jin use it?"
Zhou Yu said with a smile: "Ziyi's bravery cannot be ignored, so how can we not use it as a good general?"
Tai Shici asked doubtfully: "Then why did you not summon my father and son when you raised the account today?"
Zhou Yu said: "Ziyi has not revealed his identity so far. I have another great use. Now I am taking Mount Tai and entering Yanzhou. Ziyi will be a rare soldier!"
Taishi Ci then turned from worry to joy and asked hurriedly: "What's Gong Jin's clever plan?"
Zhou Yu said: "Taishan County is surrounded by mountains and the terrain is complex. Zang Ba has been here for more than ten years. As the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot suppress the local snake, so this place is extremely difficult to capture. I have ordered Jiang Qian to go to Yanzhou to alienate this person, and now we are launching an attack In Jinan, Xiahou Dun must order Zang Ba to rescue him. If he guards Mount Tai and refuses to send troops, the master will be suspicious of him. If he sends troops, he will fall into my trap."
Taishi Ci suddenly said: "Does Gong Jin want me to sneak into Mount Tai and seize the opportunity to seize the city?"
"Of course!" Zhou Yu nodded and said, "Zang Ba is brave and good at fighting. To capture this man, we must fall on Ziyi."
"Leave it to me!" Taishi Ci was overjoyed and beat his chest loudly, "In the first battle of my comeback, I will capture this thief!"
…
When Xiahou Dun arrived at Yanzhou, Puyang had already been lost, so he followed Sima Yi's strategy and used the terrain of Heze to block Zhuge Liang's army. They routed Cao Zhen to Cao County in the south and set up a defense line with Juancheng as the main camp in the north.
The two armies faced each other for several months, with each other winning or losing. Zhuge Liang sent out troops several times, but Sima Yi saw through them and turned his troops around, so he stood still.
In the past few days, I learned that Sima Yi had returned to Hebei due to vomiting blood and injuries due to the pain of genocide. The Han army was ready to move again. In the past few days, they had been dispatching troops and generals, scouting horses and galloping back and forth, and they were showing signs of advancing.
Xiahou Dun ordered all battalions to be on guard while waiting for an opportunity to defeat the enemy. Now that Yuzhou has been lost, Xuzhou has also been captured by Liu Qi. If the stalemate continues, he will sit back and wait for death, waiting for Liu Qi's army to move north and be attacked from both sides. How can he withstand it?
Tan Ma came to report that Guan Yu led his troops to attack Xiaopei, and tens of thousands of Dongwu troops entered Yuzhou from Caishui. Xiahou Dun became increasingly anxious and discussed with Cao Zhen and others how to defeat the enemy, but he was unable to do anything in the face of Zhuge Liang's deployment.
On this day, I was melancholy in my tent. Suddenly, my personal guard Zhong Jin brought in a scribe. I saw that he was dusty and had messy beard and hair. He had obviously traveled a long distance. When he looked carefully, he turned out to be Jiang Qian.
Xiahou Dun hurriedly ordered people to watch the seats and prepare wine for the reception. He asked doubtfully: "Sir, he is a well-known Jianghuai scholar. He has always behaved calmly. Why are you in such a mess now?"
"Oh, it's hard to explain in one sentence!" Regardless of his image, Jiang Gan took two sips of tea and told him about Cao Cao sending him to lurk in Zhou Yu's camp to secretly inquire about information. He sighed with emotion: "Who would have thought that no clues were discovered, but the prime minister... …”
When mentioning Cao Cao's incident, Xiahou Dun also felt sad for a while, clenching his fists and saying: "Although the Prime Minister often said that victory or defeat is a common matter for military officers, our generals deserved to die on the battlefield, but Pan Zhang, the dog thief, actually allowed the Prime Minister's head to be mutilated, leaving no life behind. Someone will take revenge."
Just as he was about to order someone to send Jiang Qian down to wash up and rest, Jiang Qian waved his hand and said, "Commander, wait a moment. I have traveled thousands of miles and risked my life to come here. I have something important to report."
"Oh?" Xiahou Dun asked hurriedly, "Sir, did you really find out the news from Zhou Yu?"
"Fortunately, I did not disgrace my life!" Jiang Qian took out the wrinkled letter from his arms. The envelope was wet with sweat. "Although I didn't know whether Zhou Yu and Liu Qi had colluded for a long time, I accidentally broke a secret: Taishan County Sheriff. Zang Ba secretly colluded with Zhou Yu and seemed to want to be independent."
"Hiss—" Xiahou Dun took a breath of air and snatched the letter, only to see that the seal had been opened. He frowned and said, "The letter has been read, what's the use of bringing it?"
Jiang Qian said: "I stole the book and escaped. Zhou Yu must have known it. He was rushing all the way. Before he could take a closer look, the general would know it after he saw it."
Xiahou Dun took out the letter and saw that it was Zang Ba who wanted to rebel because of Cao Cao's defeat, and wanted to join forces with Zhou Yu to establish himself in Qingzhou. The other letter was a reply from Zhou Yu, telling him to be patient, wait for the opportunity, and sit on the mountain to watch the tiger. fight.
Xiahou Dun was furious and shouted: "Zang Xuangao is so double-minded?"
Jiang Gan reached out to ask for a letter: "I am going to Handan to see the King of Wei, but I am afraid that this will delay the military flight, so I came to inform the governor and we will cross the river and go north later."
Xiahou Dun rolled one eye and said with a smile: "Sir, you are tired from traveling all the way. It is not too late to go to Handan after taking a day's rest. There is no need to be afraid in the camp that Zhou Yu will send people to kill you. Just rest in peace."
