Zhuge Liang chatted with Zhou Yu and Lu Su for a long time, and Zhang Xi finally understood what these people were talking about.
They were debating who should take the lead in the Sun-Liu Alliance alliance, who should take the leading position, and who should bear what responsibilities.
This issue is related to the distribution of interests after the war, and it must be discussed carefully.
If Cao Cao wins, then this covenant will naturally be meaningless, but if Cao Cao loses, the formulation of this covenant will become very important.
Zhuge Liang argued with Zhou Yu from the beginning about whether Liu Bei was asking for help or forming an alliance. This was the purpose.
Once Zhou Yu believes that Liu Bei is here to ask for help, then you have to repay the favor of saving his life after the war. By then, Jiangdong will be able to swallow the biggest victory in one go. Leaving some scraps for Liu Bei can be said to be benevolent and righteous, and he does not treat his allies badly. .
Zhuge Liang definitely couldn't agree to this condition, so he insisted that Liu Bei was capable of fighting, and that the two sides were forming an alliance, not that Liu Bei was desperate and took refuge.
In other words, from the beginning, both Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu knew that the other party would definitely resist Cao Cao and would not choose to surrender.
So for the two of them, the most important thing at the moment was to finalize the details of the Sun-Liu alliance.
The two of them were arguing back and forth, refusing to give in to each other, but Zhang Xi suddenly caught on to something inappropriate in Zhou Yu's words and said so many cruel words.
To be honest, Zhang Xi cannot be blamed for this. After all, Zhang Xi has no experience in such verbal negotiations in his entire life, and Zhuge Liang did not explain this matter to Zhang Xi beforehand. Zhang Xi really didn’t know that there was such a thing. Lots of twists and turns.
Moreover, Zhang Xi originally felt that this description in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was very confusing. As Sun Ce's best friend, Zhou Yu was also the first person to support Sun Quan and lead the Huaisi Group to treat Sun Quan as a minister. It was impossible for him to surrender to Cao Cao.
In "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", the civil servants and generals must be repeatedly tested, and in the end they must be inspired by Zhuge Liang to make up his mind. Can this highlight what kind of characteristics of Zhou Yu? !
So Zhang Xi watched Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang struggle over the issue of whether Liu Bei asked for help, and he couldn't help it. With such time, wouldn't it be better to be honest with each other and discuss how to defeat the enemy? !
Zhou Yu also made a slip of the tongue, and as a result, Zhang Xi caught him and squirted, which made Zhou Yu feel bad.
Although it was used for bargaining, he really shouldn't have said this when he said that Sun Quan could gain the title of feudal prince by surrendering to Cao Cao.
One is sorry for Sun Quan who has always trusted him, and the other is sorry for Sun Ce who has passed away. It is really a bit ungrateful.
So Zhou Yu thanked Zhang Xi seriously for helping him point out this faux pas.
But what needs to be fought for must continue to be fought for. Zhou Yu did not ask whether Liu Bei asked for help, but in the blink of an eye he said that he would form an alliance with Liu Bei, and Liu Bei could not help at all.
At this time, Lu Su, who advocated the Sun-Liu alliance, obviously would not sit idly by. Fortunately, Zhou Gongjin was so elegant and magnanimous. If it were someone else, Zhang Yuanchang might have ruined the Sun-Liu alliance with just one word.
Zhang Xi also belatedly realized that he had almost done something bad. He did not dare to say anything at the moment, and looked at Zhuge Liang, Lu Su, and Zhou Yu quarreling with each other.
Lu Su was also busy. He had to help Zhou Yu fight for Jiangdong's interests, and he had to help Zhuge Liang persuade Zhou Yu and promote the Sun-Liu alliance.
In the end, the three people talked back and forth for more than an hour, and a framework was roughly formed. Then Zhuge Liang took Zhang Xi and left.
As soon as he left the gate of Sun Quan's courtyard, Zhuge Liang looked at Zhang Xi who was in a low mood, smiled and consoled him, "Although Yuan Chang's words just now were inappropriate, they also helped Liang a lot, making Zhou Gongjin no longer avoid resisting Cao. As for the gaffe, Zhou Gongjin has always been magnanimous and will not embarrass Yuan Chang, so Yuan Chang does not need to blame himself too much."
Zhang Xi remained silent. He knew that this was Zhuge Liang trying to comfort him, but Zhang Xi also had his own principles - if it was his own fault, he had to admit it.
Therefore, after returning to Guanyi, Zhang Xi obediently admitted his mistake to Zhuge Liang face to face.
Zhuge Liang didn't take it seriously and continued to comfort Zhang Xi.
After all, Zhang Xi is still young. When he was Zhang Xi's age, it was inevitable that he would not think things through carefully.
The key is that Zhang Xi realized his mistake and was willing to admit it later. This quality is better than that of many people. After a few more years of training, he will be able to take on major responsibilities.
No matter what, Zhuge Liang got the result he wanted when meeting Zhou Yu this time.
Early the next morning, Zhou Yu went to meet with Sun Quan, and at the military meeting, he stated the reasons for sending troops to resist Cao Cao.
To put it simply, it was to settle military accounts for Sun Quan in front of the civil and military ministers, and to make Sun Quan realize that Cao Cao was not invincible without an 800,000-strong army.
Earlier, Zhuge Liang helped Sun Quan see clearly the consequences of his surrender. Later, Zhou Yu told Sun Quan that we could win against Cao Cao. In this way, Sun Quan had nothing to hesitate.
Sun Quan, 26 years old this year, is not a yellow-mouthed kid without his own opinions, nor is he a mediocre leader without enterprising spirit. He immediately decided to unite with Liu Bei and send troops to fight against Cao Cao.
He immediately appointed Zhou Yu as the commander-in-chief of the left, Cheng Pu as the commander-in-chief of the right, and Lu Su as the captain of the Zan Army. Zhou Yu commanded 30,000 Jiangdong naval forces and 20,000 army troops to fight against Cao Cao.
This is all the troops Sun Quan can control now.
Sun Quan was also worried that there were not enough soldiers, so he stated that he would continue to organize reinforcements in Chaisang, which meant that he would persuade the Jiangdong family to send troops and lead the troops as Zhou Yu's backup.
"If you can handle it, you will do it sincerely. If the encounter is not satisfactory, then return it to me. I will fight Meng De."
Sun Quan's words were quite powerful and moved Zhou Yu very much.
But Zhou Yu knew in his heart that what Sun Quan said meant that if his front army could not win, then Sun Quan would not be able to organize a rear army at all. This was the case in the battle of E County.
This group of Jiangdong aristocratic families are each faster than the other when it comes to picking up bargains and fighting against the odds. They are really going to encounter some setbacks. They all know how to guard their own three-acre land and bite whoever comes.
Therefore, after Zhou Yu accepted the order, he began to assemble his troops and organize military affairs. As for the alliance with Liu Bei, he left it to Lu Su to handle it.
Lu Su received Sun Quan's instructions to form an alliance with Liu Bei, and then went to Guanyi. After discussing the details of the alliance with Zhuge Liang, he submitted it to Sun Quan and saw that it was correct. Cross the river and let Liu Bei see it and use his seal.
It was stipulated in the alliance that the two families would form an alliance to fight against Cao Cao, and Jiangdong's army would use Jiangxia County to go north. Jiangxia would need to open counties along the way to ensure Jiangdong's army's supplies and food routes, and at the same time be responsible for protecting the smooth flow of food routes.
At the same time, the Jiangxia Navy will go into battle together with the Jiangdong Navy and obey the command of the Left Governor Zhou Yu. However, the commander of the Jiangxia Navy will still be someone from Jiangxia, and the Jiangdong Army will not interfere with the military command.
As for the troops of Cao's army that may go down the Han River, and the troops of Cao's army that may enter from the north of Jiangxia, the armies of the Sun and Liu families form a coalition and are commanded by Liu Bei. They must ensure that these two groups of Cao's troops are blocked to prevent these Cao's troops from threatening the water. Army flank.
On the whole, the covenant is fair.
Although Liu Bei's army paid more, it was basically a consumption of money, food and materials. The main anti-Cao troops were mainly from Jiangdong.
After all, Liu Bei was weak, and being able to achieve such a result was already a reflection of Zhuge Liang's ability.
After Liu Bei saw such alliance conditions, he stamped and confirmed it without thinking much. By the way, he asked Lu Su when Zhuge Liang and Zhang Xi would return to Jiangxia. He couldn't lack these two people in his army.
Lu Su tactfully told Liu Bei that Zhuge Liang, as the contact person of the alliance between the two parties, needed to stay within the coalition to be responsible for coordination, and that Governor Zhang Xi had high hopes for him and hoped to keep him in the army.
The alliance had just been formed, and it was in the honeymoon period of the alliance. Liu Bei couldn't forcefully call people back for a while, so he had to agree to Jiangdong's arrangement.
Zhuge Liang didn't care, he was just like in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Zhou Yu even specially arranged a small boat for him to ride, and he was not tired at all while traveling leisurely.
But Zhang Xi couldn't do it. Zhang Xi had to report to the military camp every day.
Zhang Xi just doesn’t understand. If you, the majestic Zhou Gongjin, don’t fight against Zhuge Liang, why are you looking for me? !
This thing is full of evil.
After staying in Zhou Yu's camp for a few days, Zhang Xi finally understood Zhou Yu's purpose of recruiting him.
"I heard that when the general was in Jiangxia, he was in charge of military drills and was proficient in land warfare. Therefore, Yute invited the general to come and help train the army and horses. I hope the general will not refuse!"
Zhou Yu still had a smile on his face and bowed to Zhang Xi in an approachable manner. He had no objection to Zhang Xi just because Zhang Xi suspected of accusing him of being ungrateful.
But Zhang Xi was quite embarrassed when facing Zhou Yu's request.
The co-author heard that he was good at training soldiers, so he asked himself to help train soldiers? !
"The Commander-in-Chief is very complimentary!" Zhang Xi hurriedly returned the greeting, and then said, "To be honest with the Commander-in-Chief, those who meet in Xi are engaged in land warfare. Now that Jiangdong is defeated by Cao Cao, all they use are navy troops. Xi really doesn't understand the secrets of navy troops. , please ask the governor to invite Gao Ming."
Right, you are commanding a naval force, so what can you do with land warfare? !
Besides, how can you be so careless as to help you train soldiers these days? Don't you know that the training methods of soldiers are generally kept secret? !
Although it is said that they have formed an alliance
"Well, Fa Yu knows how to practice water warfare. However, water warfare can defeat Cao Cao, but it cannot defeat him. After defeating Cao Cao, it is necessary for the water army to go ashore and fight on land to defeat the enemy and break the city. Since we are allies, I hope the general will not hesitate. Thank you very much for teaching me the art of land warfare."
You are going too far. How can you ask for military secrets when forming an alliance? !
This kind of thing
"This matter is important. I dare not deceive the general. I will not give an answer until Xi asks my lord." Zhang Xi said with cupped hands.
Zhou Yu did not embarrass Zhang Xi. He nodded and said that it was okay. He also said that if Zhang Xi was really in embarrassment, he could personally write a letter to Liu Bei. He believed that Liu Bei would not refuse for the sake of his allies.
Zhang Xi didn't believe this guy's nonsense. After getting off duty, he hurried to Zhuge Liang's boat and asked Zhuge Liang for his opinion.
But Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "I already knew Zhou Gongjin's intention, so there is no harm in telling him!"
Zhang Xi was stunned and said to himself, are you not afraid that the two families will fall out in the future? If his level of land warfare is high, it will cause more trouble for you? !
Zhuge Liang continued, "Now that the two alliances are good, the training of troops is important, but if Zhou Gongjin really wants it, my lord will not refuse it even if he thinks about it. After all, it will take the efforts of Jiangdong soldiers to defeat Cao Cao and pass on his land warfare methods, which is also good for us." It’s not without its benefits.”
After saying these high-sounding words, Zhuge Liang pulled Zhang Xi over and whispered in Zhang Xi's ear, "I think Yuan Chang's training method, military posture and Cuju, can be passed on, but the mandarin duck formation cannot be passed lightly. If you ask, Yuan Chang will refute this as the Lord's secret method, and you don't know it either."
Good guy, this is right, this is Zhuge Liang.
(End of chapter)
