Chaisang.
"General, Governor Zhou and Doctor Lu are here."
"Oh, Gong Jin and Zijing are here, please come quickly."
Sun Quan was sitting on the couch, leaning against Ping Ji and reading official documents. This time he mobilized tens of thousands of troops to besiege Hefei for more than ten days without success. He also heard that Cao Cao had mobilized reinforcements and came to attack him by land and water. At the same time, Zhang Zhao's army attacking Dangtu was also frustrated. He also heard that Liu Bei had gone south and began to occupy Jingzhou. These troubles made him very angry.
This time I returned to Chaisang because I wanted to discuss the next step with Zhou Yu and Lu Su, whom I trusted. At this time, his servant came in and said that Zhou Yu and his two men had arrived. Sun Quan immediately stood up straight and sat upright, waiting for Zhou Yulusu to come in.
"Zhou Yu and Lu Su see you, my lord." Zhou Yu came in, lifted up his robes, knelt down on one knee, and bowed respectfully to Sun Quan.
"Oh, Gong Jin, please get up. Please sit down quickly." Sun Quan also returned the courtesy respectfully. and asked them to sit down.
"I wonder what the Lord has ordered when he summoned us here at this time?" Zhou Yu asked.
"Oh, I received a letter from Zijing a few days ago, saying that it was your intention to transfer Youjiang Mouth to Liu Bei as a garrison. I have already approved it. I have already sent someone to take over."
"My lord, you are really decisive."
"Well, Gongjin and Zijing, I have something I want to discuss with you two."
"My lord, please speak clearly." Lu Su said.
"I want to march east and west with Gong Jin to destroy Cao's bandits, so I have deployed a large army to surround Hefei. Although the main force of our army is in Jiangling, last year He Gongmiao conquered Yi and She in Danyang and strangled the bandits to obtain ten thousand soldiers. Add to that Uehara has men and horses, and we can still mobilize 40,000 troops and horses. I just have a concern at the moment, and I don’t know how to solve it."
"My lord, what are your concerns? Please elaborate."
"That's Liu Bei. I've heard some rumors recently that Liu Bei is conspiring with Cao Cao to attack me from both sides. What do you two think?"
When Zhou Yu heard this, he immediately understood that Sun Quan's strategy of advancing east and west could take advantage of Cao's army's new defeat in Chibi and low morale to expand the results. If Hefei was captured, Xuzhou and Yanzhou in the north would be undefeated. However, he also realized that He Fei was not an easy bone to chew. Even if it is broken, how can it capture the land of Xuzhou and Yanzhou with Jiangdong's small force.
And the weakest link in this plan is Liu Bei beside him. If Liu Bei suddenly breaks the alliance at this time, he can take advantage of Sun Quan and Zhou Yu's armies to fight Cao Cao in the north and raid his rear. Then Soochow's situation is very dangerous.
In fact, whether it is Sun Quan, Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, Zhou Yu or Lu Su, they all know how fragile this so-called alliance is. At any time, one party will do something to tear up the alliance because of interests.
Zhou Yu said: "In my opinion, although Liu Bei cannot be trusted, his power is weak now, so he will not take the initiative to rebel against the alliance at this time. In the long run, this person is a great threat to me and must be guarded against." Once his wings are full, he will definitely take the opportunity to use troops against me. In this battle of Chibi, we contributed the most, but gained the least. Now Liu Bei took the opportunity to seize the four counties in Jingnan, and wrote a letter to guarantee that Liu Qi would be the governor of Jingzhou, taking all of them. Benefits. Why not write a letter and invite Liu Bei to come to Chaisang to discuss the distribution of land in Jingzhou, take the opportunity to imprison him, and lead the troops to surrender his deployment and serve the lord."
Lu Su shook his head and retorted seriously: "Gong Jin's plan is definitely not feasible. Now we are at war with Cao Cao. If we break the alliance and break the contract at this time, not only will the world laugh at my lord, but Cao Cao's side will also be very weak with the strength of my family." It is difficult to compete independently.
As for the conspiracy between Cao and Liu that the lord said, it must be Cao Cao's spies spreading rumors. You must know that Liu Bei and Cao Cao hate each other, how can they form an alliance. Moreover, Zhuge Kongming must have seen how important the Sun-Liu alliance was to them. How could they do something that was so embarrassing at this time? ".
"Zijing, this is what I am considering right now. And Gong Jin's words are not unreasonable." Sun Quan said after listening to the two men's statements.
"I received a letter from Liu Bei the day before yesterday, saying that he was sending troops south to help Liu Qi retake Jingzhou, but I haven't replied yet." Sun Quan then handed over another letter for the two of them to read.
Zhou Yu read the letter and said: "Liu Qi's father, Liu Biao, was originally the lord of Jingzhou. Liu Bei is now sending troops in Liu Qi's name, which is justified. Yu heard that Liu Qi is in very poor health, and he is very seductive and knows no restraint. Liu Bei knew this, and deliberately arranged beautiful women for him to enjoy every night. Liu Qi must be dead soon. Liu Bei wanted to take Jingzhou in his name and then replace him. This man looks simple and honest, but he is actually a treacherous person."
"Gong Jin, we can't stop Liu Bei from getting the four counties now. Why don't we do it as a favor and wait until Liu Qi dies to declare Liu Bei as the shepherd of Jingzhou. In this way, Cao Cao will know that the Sun-Liu alliance has not broken down, and he will not dare to send troops again. Go south. Wouldn't it be better to wait until the situation is stable before exploring Jingzhou?" Lu Su said.
In his heart, Sun Quan was actually leaning towards Lu Su's suggestion. Indeed, from his perspective, maintaining the alliance is currently more beneficial to him. However, how can we ensure that Liu Bei will not suddenly fall out of favor? He needed to do something more. Although Zhou Yu's suggestion was also for the sake of Jiangdong's career, now was definitely not the time for a military confrontation with Liu Bei.
Sun Quan suddenly said: "Gong Jin, Zijing, I heard that Liu Bei's wife just died of illness. What if I marry my younger sister to Liu Bei?"
"My lord, this is a good plan, but Liu Bei is already forty-nine years old this year. Will the third lady marry him?" Lu Su hesitated.
"If the lord wants to stabilize Liu Bei, marrying his sister to him as his wife is also a good strategy. But I'm afraid the little sister is unwilling..." Zhou Yu said.
Sun Quan lowered his head and looked a little embarrassed, "Right now, I am just thinking about how to tell my little sister about this matter."
Lu Su said: "I heard a rumor recently. I wonder if my lord and the governor know about it?"
The two asked in unison: "What is the rumor?"
"Miss Sun, she seems to be somewhat close to an alchemist."
When Sun Quan heard this, his face suddenly changed color, "Zijing, are you telling the truth?"
Lu Su smiled and said: "It's hard to tell the truth from the rumors in the market. Why don't you go and ask, my lord?"
"If this is true, I will definitely kill this person. Isn't it a joke to tell the story that the sister of the Lord of Jiangdong has a good relationship with an alchemist! And if it weren't for that Yu Ji Yaodao, how could my elder brother die early."
Zhou Yu glanced at Lu Su meaningfully and said, "Lord, please calm down. This may be Cao Cao's spies deliberately spreading rumors.
Sun Quan felt that it made sense, and temporarily suppressed his anger and said: "Quan already knows your suggestions. Although Gong Jin's plan is good, it is not appropriate for us to turn against Liu Bei now. Therefore, after Liu Qi dies of illness, we will report to Liu Bei." Let’s lead Jingzhou Mu. It can be regarded as a little benefit that I, Jiangdong, can give to our allies.”
After Sun Quan finished speaking, Zhou Yu wanted to say something more, but seeing that Sun Quan had already firmed up his mind, he stopped admonishing and said goodbye to Sun Quan and Lu Su.
Sun Quan came to the inner courtyard of the mansion to see Sun Xiaomei. The brother and sister usually have a good relationship. When Sun Xiaomei heard that her brother was coming back, she came out to greet her brother with a smile on her face. The two entered the room and sat down, chatting for a while.
"Brother, is everything going well on the front line?"
When Sun Quan heard his sister ask about He Fei, he felt a little annoyed. Without saying much, he went straight to the point and said, "Let's not mention this for now. Sister, I came here today to discuss something with you."
"Why is my brother so outspoken today? If you have anything to say, just say it."
"I heard rumors that you were with an alchemist..."
"His name is Zhang Moyang, and my sister likes him."
Seeing that his sister had nothing to hide, Sun Quan, who originally wanted to get angry, was unable to do so.
He knew that this girl usually spoke so calmly and never concealed her likes and dislikes.
Sun Quan's face was as dark as water and he asked: "Do you still remember what happened to eldest brother?"
"My younger sister knows, but the person who killed my elder brother was an assassin, not an alchemist."
Sun Quan suddenly raised his voice, "That's not okay! I've been doting on you since I was a child, and I've always been obedient, but this is definitely not okay."
"Is it because of his origin? My sister doesn't care." Sun Hao asked.
Sun Quan raised his voice and said: "I am the dignified lord of Jiangdong, and my sister-in-law is an alchemist. If you tell me, it will make people laugh. There are so many noble families in Jiangdong, but you can't look down on any of them, but you like an alchemist!?"
"Why can you men decide what you like, but I can't? The eldest brother can marry the eldest sister-in-law, and Zhou Yu can marry sister Xiao Qiao..."
Sun Quan's expression changed, he stood up, flipped his robe sleeves and roared:
"How can men and women be the same!"
Sun Quan felt that he had lost his temper again, and suddenly softened his voice and said: "I heard that Liu Bei recently lost his wife. I want to marry you to Liu Bei and be his new wife."
Sun Xiaomei was stunned when she heard this, and her expression froze on her face. She didn't expect her brother to say this to her.
"...Brother, do you know how old Liu Bei is?"
"Well, I'm forty-nine this year."
"Then do you know how old my little sister is?"
"My sister... is nineteen years old this year. I know that Liu Bei is... a bit older, but Liu Bei is a hero of the world, and it is not wrong for my sister to marry him."
In fact, Sun Quan felt sorry for his sister, but he still made his decision.
"This must be Zhou Yu and Lu Su's plan, right? If Jinmei is strong, the alliance between Sun and Liu will be strong forever, and Jiangdong's foundation will be safe."
Sun Xiaomei said something. She felt a little sad. Even if she had a good relationship with her brother, when he needed to sacrifice himself for the safety of the land, he would do it without hesitation.
"Sister, you can think about it carefully. If...if you really don't want to, brother, I can't force you, can I?" Sun's tone became softer.
"Well, brother, if my marriage to Liu Bei can keep my Jiangdong foundation safe, then...sister...let's get married...I have no parents, and my brother's words are my parents' orders. ....Sister...dare not disobey."
After saying these words with tears in her eyes, Sun Xiaomei went into the inner room.
At this time, she was still holding the talisman given to her by Zhang Moyang in her hand, holding it tightly. Sun Quan heard his sister's sobbing, but there was nothing he could do. If I can't maintain the inheritance laid by my father and brother, how will I face my father and brother under the spring? But my younger sister married Liu Bei, and their ages were too far apart...
If Sun Zhuo had softened and begged him at this time, perhaps Sun Quan would have changed his mind, but how could that be possible with Sun Zhuo's character?
Sacrificing his sister, but in exchange for peace in Jiangdong... Sun Quan thought of this, stood up and left decisively.
7017k
