During the Battle of Xiangshan, Marshal Cao Cao of the Wei and Han Dynasties led his elite troops to attack Xiangxian County and rebelled against him. He managed to escape back to Wuyuan from the siege, but then he suffered from a headache and fell ill. But even so, he did not withdraw easily, but still faced off against the Western Army's camp. During the period of recovery, he dispersed the wounded soldiers slightly, and the military affairs were discussed by Bao Xin, Chunyu Qiong, Jushou, and Cao Ren.
A few days later, Cao Cao moved to the Zhonghuang Taiyi Temple in the north of Lanling City to recuperate. This time, in addition to a dozen servants and thirty guards, the people who moved to the temple together only had more than a thousand soldiers and books. His clothes and hats are old, and they are nothing more than two or three sets of common items for winter and summer. There are also two sets of armor with arrow marks and several pieces of hunting uniforms. The Taoist priests in the temple were very surprised when they saw it, saying that Marshal Cao, a noble man like the one in the world, could be so simple.
The only thing that could be considered as luxurious clothing was an old silk brocade robe and cloak, which was given to him by his father Cao Song before his death. When Cao Cao became an official, he was recommended by Sima Fang to serve as the Northern Lieutenant of Luoyang. Cao Song was extremely happy. Before taking office, he took off his own cloak and tied it for his son. Cao Cao always kept his gratitude in mind and carried his cloak in his luggage no matter where he was.
Cao Cao rested in the temple for more than a month, and his body gradually recovered a little. He originally lay on the couch to warm himself by the fire all day, but later he was able to stay on the couch and read and walk in the winter. When he had nothing to do, he took out the strong bow that had been unstrung, re-strung it, and drew the bow every day to restore its strength. After more than ten days of this, my spirits gradually improved, and I often chatted with Dian Wei about the past events of the Luoyang dignitaries. The entourage was very happy and said that the marshal would recover soon.
One evening in late winter in December, Guo Jia, who had been staying in Linzi City to recuperate, suddenly came over. Guo Jia wore an indigo fox fur robe, wore wooden clogs at his feet, rode a maroon red horse, and came after a long journey. Cao Cao was very happy to see his rosy face, and the two of them played chess together on the couch. After talking for a few times, Guo Jia talked to him about the current war.
Guo Jiaxian said: "At present, the east and west are at odds between Ji and Zu. We only defend without attacking, and waste money and food. I am afraid it is not a long-term solution. During these days of rest, has Ming Gong thought about the follow-up?"
Cao Cao smiled bitterly and said: "I am also worried about this matter. People like Zang Ba in Qingzhou have no kindness at all. If I retreat and Liu Bei takes advantage of the situation to pursue me, I am afraid that I won't have anything south of the river. But if When it comes to confrontation, Liu Bei and I are both powerless, so we can only wait for change."
Guo Jia nodded slightly. He held the chess piece in his hand and tapped the chessboard: "Our army has many factions. If we wait for change, I'm afraid there will be a greater chance of change in our army."
Cao Cao couldn't help but laugh a little when he saw that he was in control of everything. He asked, "Then what's the best way to practice filial piety?"
Guo Jia said slowly: "Ming Gong, please don't forget that in addition to me and the Western Thief, there is also Wu Er here in Xuzhou!"
Wu'er? Guo Jiayu confused Cao Cao. After all, it was well known that Sun Ce served as the leader of the Western Dynasty. In the previous battle at Pengcheng, Zhou Yu was also able to defeat Shen Pei and buy time for the Western Dynasty to mobilize troops. How could he use Wu Er to win? Seeing Guo Jia's expression, Cao Cao suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said with a blessed heart: "You can lure him with benefits and lure him to another place."
Guo Jia immediately agreed and said: "Of course. Since the war in Pengcheng, Wu'er has not seen any movement in Xiapi, which shows that he is not sincere to the Western thieves and has no aggressive intentions towards the Central Plains. In my opinion, you can be gentle. To win over him and make him retreat without a fight, if Wu Er retreats and the Western bandit's flank is empty, how can he still gain a foothold in Xuzhou?"
Cao Cao was greatly moved, but after pondering for a moment, he asked again: "It's probably difficult to make Wu'er abandon his land easily. What should I do to make him return south?"
Guo Jia waved his hand and said, "It depends on what Wu'er says. I'll wait and see. The most urgent task is for Duke Ming to choose an envoy to discuss the interests and benefits with Zhou Gongjin in detail. If Zhou Gongjin can promise, everything will be done in the future. I don’t need to worry anymore.”
After hearing this, Cao Cao was convinced. When it came to selecting candidates, he originally wanted to send Zheng Hun as an envoy. After all, he had served under Yuan Shu before and was a colleague of Zhou Yu and Sun Ce. But as he spoke, he suddenly remembered the scene where Sima Yi came to advise him during the Battle of Huoshibu. He asked Guo Jia, "I want to use Sima Zhongda as my envoy. What do you think?"
Guo Jia closed his eyes and thought, and then said: "There are many young talents in Sun Ce's house. It would be appropriate to send Sima Zhongda to him. He is quite courageous and good at both civil and military affairs. It can also help Wu'er not think that there is no one under Ming Gong's house."
After hearing this, Cao Cao made up his mind to send Sima Yi as an envoy to Xiapi, and immediately summoned Sima Yi to meet him in Lanling. He asked Sima Yi: "The Wu people have been stationary in Xiapi for a long time. What do you think?"
When Sima Yi heard what Cao Cao said, he already guessed 70% or 80% of why he asked. So he replied: "The current confrontation between the East and the West is like two tigers fighting, and the people in the south of the Yangtze River cannot compete with them. However, the Wu people were invited by the Western Dynasty to fight in Xuzhou. Although they won the county, they entered the east-west formation. The fish and shrimp lying beside the swimming dragon will be in fear and unable to find a place to stay. I think Zhou Yu defended Xia Pi, in the name of assisting defense, but in fact he has been wanting to retreat for a long time, and his suffering has no name. "
Cao Cao smiled and asked: "Then do you think Wu Er can be an alliance?"
Sima Yi replied: "If Ming Gong sends an envoy to communicate secretly and know the benefits, Xuzhou will be easily accessible!"
Cao Cao asked back: "Then Zhou Yu will retreat without gain? I'm afraid it's not enough to just use profit and harm!"
Sima Yi slapped his forehead and said: "What the marshal said is true! From what Yi saw, we can first promise him money to provide food and crops, and then promise him chariots, horses and soldiers, and let him move the people south. I only want the land, and I will definitely succeed!" "
Cao Cao was very satisfied after hearing this and said to Guo Jia: "Sima Zhongda is an outstanding martial artist, unmatched by anyone of his generation!" So he made up his mind to appoint Sima Yi.
At this time, in order to paralyze the Western Army, Cao Cao returned to Wuyuan, massively reorganized and trained his troops, and mobilized troops extensively between the East China Sea and the State of Lu, making him look like he was about to fight the Western Army again. The Western Army also paid close attention to the movements of the Eastern Army, with scouts constantly traveling between Yanzhou and Qingzhou to speculate on the Eastern Army's latest military intentions.
On the other hand, Cao Cao transferred a large amount of gold and silver from Linzi, appointed Sima Yi, counselor of the Marshal's Mansion, as Army Sima and Shizhong, and was given the important task of uniting the Wu people. At the same time, Cao Cao ordered Xun Yu, who was in Xindu, to gather his troops and go south, pretending that he would cross the river from Puyang and attack Chenliu again, further confusing the Western Army.
Chen Chong and Liu Bei discussed privately and actually concluded that these actions of the Eastern Army were most likely a sheep move and were not intended to lead to a real decisive battle. However, it was difficult to guess Cao Cao's true intentions for a while, so they could only maintain the original strategy for the time being: Step up preparations for war, wait and see what happens, and strike later. This also gave Cao Cao time to make arrangements calmly.
He first sent ordinary envoys to the area of Quyang, which was far away from the main formations of the Western Army and Wu Army, and shot arrows into the city to show their friendship and goodwill. After receiving the letter of arrows, the Wu people remained calm and did not reply to the letter or inform the Western Army. However, after three days, they quietly changed the flags on the gate of Quyang City and added two more flags between the ordinary crimson Han military flags. A picture of Sun Ce's imperial flag.
When Cao Cao saw that there was no movement from the Western Army, and saw that Qu Yang changed his flag, he knew that the Wu people were indeed willing to negotiate peace, and he couldn't help but feel happy, so he sent Sima Yi officially as an envoy. Sima Yi still went to Quyang, and as expected he was accepted by the Wu people. The person who greeted him was none other than Sun Quan, Sun Ce's younger brother.
When they first met, Sun Quan and Sima Yi hit it off. Speaking of which, both of them were tall and had very strange looks: Sun Quan had a big mouth and a purple beard, and his palms were wide. People at the time said he had the appearance of a supreme being, while Sima Yi looked like a wolf and had tall bones and deep eyes. The villagers thought he must be a king. Extraordinary minister. In terms of speech and discussion, both of them advocated equal emphasis on civil and military affairs, and they had quite a lot in common. The two sat down and chatted, ranging from the customs and customs of Jiangzuo, Hebei, to the evaluation of the merits and demerits among the shogunate's talents. Unknowingly, they chatted from noon to late at night, until the rooster crowed at dawn, when the two stopped talking.
The next day, Sun Quan led Sima Yi from Quyang to Xiapi to formally meet Zhou Yu.
Zhou Yu was quite straightforward. He directly blocked out others and asked straight to the point in the room: "Zuo Chaqi has sent an envoy. What do you want?" In order to show his equal status, he did not recognize Cao Cao's self-proclaimed position of marshal, but called him The left chariot rider was previously given by the imperial court.
Sima Yi did not argue with this and replied slowly: "The marshal wants the land in Huaibei."
After Zhou Yu heard this, he was obviously not surprised by Cao Cao's request, so he continued: "Our army is entrusted by the imperial court, so how can we abandon the country's land and give it to the rebels? Zuo Chaqi is a bit of an idiot."
Sima Yi smiled and said: "General, why don't you mean what you say? Now the two heroes are fighting in the Central Plains. It's like a huge stone passing through a hall, and all those who stand are turned into powder. Polu Jiangdong has not been stabilized, but it has entered the chaotic land of the Central Plains. How can it be said that it is wise? It's not like this Taking advantage of the unrest in the Central Plains, seizing the seven counties of Jingchu and then entering Ba to seize Shu and cutting off the southern territory is the best strategy!"
These words were exactly what Zhou Yu was thinking. He had always opposed Sun Ce's premature interference in the affairs of the Central Plains, and thought it would be better to shift his strategy to the Bashu lands in Huainan. Now that he had witnessed the battle between the Eastern and Western armies with his own eyes, he felt that time was pressing even more, so he was extremely moved by Cao Cao's request for peace talks. After pondering for a long time, Zhou Yu said to Sima Yi: "Although the wealth is attractive, for Jiangdong, it is just a common thing. If you want to exchange for the city of Huaibei, it may not be enough."
Sima Yi heard the song and understood its elegant meaning, and immediately said: "I heard that the bandits in the east of the Yangtze relied on horseback to fight. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of horses in the east of the river, so it is difficult to show off. It is said that BMWs are given to heroes, and the marshal is willing to give thousands of war horses as gifts. I wonder what the general thinks?"
Zhou Yu was extremely satisfied with this and said with a slight smile: "In that case, let's discuss some details. I hope that after the spring starts, the people in both places can take a break."
The two have been talking about this matter for three days and put the relevant matters on paper. On Renzi in the twelfth lunar month, Sima Yi returned to Wuyuan with the treaty and recounted the details of the peace talks with Cao Cao. Cao Cao was extremely satisfied and gave Sima Yi a hundred gold coins on the spot, promoted him again and appointed him as a military advisor in the army.
