Wenpin defeated the Qin navy in the north and took advantage of the Wei army's raid on Wancheng to regain Xinye; Taishi Ci defeated the Shu army in Jiangling, causing Zhang Ren's 30,000 Yong'an army to return in defeat.
News of Jingzhou's two consecutive victories quickly spread to the Xuzhou battlefield.
Even though the soldiers of the Chu army had never heard the news of the war in Jingzhou before, they were all happy and excited at this moment. While the Xiaopei war has come to an end, the offensive and defensive battle for the last city in Xuzhou has not yet begun. The soldiers gathered around the campfire, drank wine, sang songs, and enjoyed a moment of tranquility.
"Woo~hoo~woo~hoo"
Several soldiers made strange screams of unknown meaning and danced an unknown joyful dance. The bonfire made their shadows flicker.
Such noisy sounds everywhere made Ji Shu feel more and more at peace. He slowly walked to a tent carrying a wine bottle and two wine glasses. The two soldiers at the door put down their spears and crossed them, blocking Ji Shu's way.
"Military advisor, you can't enter here casually."
Ji Shu glanced at the somewhat embarrassed guard, rolled his eyes and said.
"What? Brother should have just ordered me to be temporarily relieved of my military duties and not allow me to command operations. Has he already ordered me to be grounded?"
The two guards looked at each other with anxious expressions on their faces.
You must know that Ji Shu is firmly in the third position in the Chu State. What he said some time ago is almost equivalent to what Sun Ce himself meant. For some unknown reason, after the Battle of Xiaopei, Sun Ce suddenly ordered that Ji Shu be temporarily relieved of his duties as military advisor.
Is it because Ji Junshi said something that angered Wang Shang? Or did he run away from Guan Yu because of the battle of Xiaopei?
The soldiers were curious, but the officers above them didn't know about it, and the generals above them who knew about it kept silent, making the matter confusing.
According to common sense, after being relieved of military duties, you are just a white man. Not to mention entering and leaving some sensitive areas, even walking around in the military camp is not allowed. But without Sun Ce's clear order, who would dare to ban the king's sworn brother, not to mention the word "temporary" in "temporarily relieved of his duties" would make people have endless reveries.
The guard said bravely.
"Military advisor, please don't make things difficult for me."
It can be said that the prestige is still there and the military orders are unclear, so soldiers will inevitably become confused.
Ji Shu had a smile in his heart and said with a warm and angry look on his face.
"I was the one who caught the people here! Do you suspect that I am colluding with Xu Han's traitors? I have to come in tonight. You just report to big brother and see what he says?"
After saying that, Ji Shu pushed away the spear placed in front of him by the guard and walked straight into the tent.
The two guards did not dare to stop him anymore. They glanced to the side and quickly went to Sun Ce to report.
Ji Shu didn't care when he heard the noise outside, and even couldn't hold back a smile on his face. Turning his head, he looked at the scene inside the tent. A bed, a table, and a stack of books, it's not a big space, but it doesn't feel cramped either.
improvise!
Ji Shu looked at Xu Shu, who was kneeling in front of the table and seemed to be concentrating on reading a book, and shook the wine bottle in his hand, making a thin sound.
"Brother Yuanzhi, let's see what good things I brought to see you?"
Xu Shu had already heard the noise outside, but deliberately ignored Ji Shu and only lightly turned the book in his hand.
A hot face touches a cold butt.
Ji Shu was not embarrassed. He walked forward and knelt down on the cushion at the other end of the desk. He moved the books on the table to his feet little by little, making room for the wine glasses and flasks he brought.
Seeing that Ji Shu was not polite at all, Xu Shu couldn't help but said helplessly as he sat there and fiddled with his writing desk.
"What brings Mr. Ji here?"
"Come here to have a drink with Brother Yuan Zhi!"
I saw Xu Shu going back to reading in silence. Ji Shu gently set the wine glass and began to pour the wine quietly. A transparent stream swirled in the glass from top to bottom, and a clear aroma of wine floated up.
Xu Shu just sniffed it and knew it must be good wine without drinking it.
"There are many fine wines in this world, but this wine is even more intoxicating. Brother Yuanzhi, please."
After saying that, Ji Shu grabbed the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp, and burped at Xu Shu. Xu Shu hummed as the veins on his forehead jumped.
"Sir, do you think I don't dare to kill you?"
Xu Shu was not joking. Although he was Xu Han's military advisor, he was a Ren Xia in his early years. Later, after he read more and gained more knowledge, he gradually lost his temper. Even though Sun Ce captured him effortlessly, that was Sun Ce. In Ji Shu's place, even if Xu Shu had no weapons, he would definitely be able to kill Ji Shu before the guards came quickly.
"Brother Yuan Nao won't kill me."
Ji Shu looked determined and continued to pour himself wine leisurely.
"Why?"
Xu Shu looked at Ji Shu coldly. Ji Shu also stopped what he was doing, looked directly into Xu Shu's eyes, and said.
"Killing me on the battlefield is the duty of the king and his ministers."
"Now that Brother Yuanzhi has fulfilled his duties as a king and a minister, he is just waiting to die in our camp. The king of Chu treats each other with courtesy, but brother Yuanzhi kills the ministers of the king of Chu. This is unjust."
"What a scholar would not do."
Xu Shu was a little surprised. He didn't expect Ji Shu to see through his code of conduct. After being slightly surprised, he snorted coldly.
"You think you won?"
"What? Zhang Ren was shackled and returned to the west in the prison car. Cao Cao and Dong Zhuo were fighting fiercely in Wancheng. Zhuge Liang and Zhang Fei were defeated and lost their eastern territory. There is only one Xiapi left in the huge Xuzhou. Brother Yuan Zhi still has his way back. Isn’t it a miracle?”
Xu Shu's face instantly turned livid, and he stared at Ji Shu for a while before gradually softening. He grabbed the wine glass and drank it in one gulp, then looked at Ji Shu and said sternly.
"Why? The Chu State failed in the first Northern Expedition and suffered such heavy losses. Jingzhou was empty, and the Shu army marched eastward. How dare you lie to Sun Ce and let Jingzhou fight on his own? Are you really not afraid that all the princes in the world will divide the Chu State?"
"Not afraid."
Ji Shu paused and actually told Xu Shu about his analysis.
"The grievances between Cao Cao and Dong Zhuo are known to the world. Chu State lost nearly half of its troops. Cao Cao did not even negotiate peace with Dong Zhuo. Instead, he left Xu Han and Chu State to fight on their own, while he concentrated all his troops and went to the west."
"Cao Cao had an unusual obsession with Dong Zhuo."
"Of course, even so, I'm not completely reassured. If Cao Cao just pretended to fight Dong Zhuo to death and wanted to wait for an opportunity to trick Chu State again, the situation would be completely different, and my second brother and I would have to re-finalize our plans. So after going through When I arrived in Pengcheng, I told General Huang Gai my thoughts and asked him to help me test Cao Cao's true intentions."
Xu Shu narrowed his eyes and said sarcastically.
"You actually used Huang Gai as bait, does Sun Ce know?"
Ji Shu admitted that this move was risky, but he never thought of using Huang Gai as bait. I am afraid no one can predict whether Sun Ce will go crazy and lose his mind.
"I let General Huang Gai go because his eyesight is very important. He has experienced hundreds of battles. I believe he can make accurate judgments. But I did not expect that General Huang Gai would use such extreme methods to test Cao Cao. I gave him three Thousands of soldiers and horses would have been enough to cover his retreat."
If he had known that General Huang Gai was so fierce, Ji Shu would not have dared to send him.
Fortunately, the commander of the Wei army did not interpret the task of containing Chu as a fight to the death with Chu.
After a pause, Ji Shu filled both glasses with wine.
"Although the process was thrilling, I can finally conclude that Cao Cao will not take action against Chu again before he captures Liangzhou."
"I originally thought that Liu Zhang was cowardly and did not dare to conquer Chu; the only one left to guard against was Dong Zhuo. Even if the war went unfavorably, Dong Zhuo was beaten to Chang'an City without even having a chance to take action. I didn't expect that you would skip Liu Zhang and go to persuade Zhang Ren !”
