Liu Bei's wedding was very grand and lively.
But after marriage, things should be done as they should be.
Moreover, just three days after Liu Bei's wedding, Liu Bei, who was supposed to be immersed in the joy of his wedding, suddenly held a small military meeting.
The people who participated were the people in Xiakou.
Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhuge Liang, Zhang Xi, Mi Zhu, Sun Qian.
The reason why this military discussion was started was because Liu Bei received a letter from Xu Shu's clipper ship. The letter said a very strange thing.
Zhou Yu of Nanjun has been mobilizing troops and horses very frequently during this period, and seems to be making big moves.
Xu Shu didn't pay much attention to it at first. After all, the autumn harvest had just ended. Xu Shu thought it was Xiangyang who had done something, which caused Zhou Yu to respond accordingly.
But then Xu Shu realized something was wrong
If it was pressure from Cao's army in Xiangyang, then Zhou Yu should concentrate his troops to the north and face Ju.
But in fact, Zhou Yu placed his troops in the south, just on the other side of the Youjiang Estuary.
This made Xu Shu immediately alert.
Of course, Xu Shu did not think that Zhou Yu was going to invade Yizhou, but thought that Zhou Yu was finally going to attack Youjiangkou.
Taking advantage of the opportunity of his lord's wedding to launch a surprise attack, this possibility is not impossible.
Therefore, Xu Shu dared to pick up the horse and deliver the message to Liu Bei, and he began to organize his army to prepare for war. At the same time, he notified Pang Tong behind him to pay attention to the direction of Wuling and Changsha to prevent Zhou Yu from attacking from the east to the west and directly cross the river to attack these two counties.
Liu Bei was also shocked when he received the letter, and quickly held a military meeting to discuss Zhou Yu's purpose of doing this.
Is it going to destroy the Sun-Liu alliance? !
Zhuge Liang was also a little unsure. After all, Zhuge Liang also understood Zhou Yu's attitude.
Zhou Yu recognized the necessity of the Sun-Liu alliance, but there was a prerequisite - within a specific period of time.
At that time, Cao Cao's army was pressing down on the border, and Jiangdong alone could not fight against Cao Cao, so the existence of the Sun-Liu alliance was necessary.
But now, Zhou Yu captured Jiangling, gained the largest grain-producing area in Jingzhou, and established defense lines in various important places in the north of Jiangling. The entire Nanjun only needs to face the pressure from Xiangyang. Will Zhou Yu continue to persist at this time? It’s really hard to say about the Sun-Liu Alliance.
Compared to going to Cao Cao, the Liu Bei Group actually put more pressure on Jiangling.
To the east of Jiangling is Jiangxia County, where the Liu Bei Group has the largest number of troops stationed. It also obtained Wulin and other places after the Battle of Jiangling, which is equivalent to a springboard to enter Nanjun.
Liu Bei was stationed at Youjiangkou on the opposite side of the river, and he refused to return it. As a result, Jiangling had to divide his troops to defend, for fear that Liu Bei would break the alliance and attack Jiangling first.
Although the four counties of Jingnan and Jiangdong occupy part of the county in the north of Changsha and the east of Wuling, in general, they are not as powerful as the Liu Bei Group, and these territories may be cannibalized by Liu Bei at any time.
If Zhou Yu wanted to use this to stabilize Jiangling's defense and expand transportation links from Changsha to Yuzhang, it would not be impossible to use troops against Jingnan.
The situation in Jingnan is actually very chaotic, especially in Wuling and Changsha counties. The forces of the Jiangdong Army and the Liu Bei Group have always been at odds with each other. If Zhou Yu wants to attack the Liu Bei Group for the safety of Nanjun, it is really justified.
Therefore, Zhuge Liang's suggestion was to strengthen the alert in Jingnan on the one hand, and to send people to Jiangling and Chaisang respectively to inquire about Zhou Yu and Sun Quan's intentions.
This is courtesy before fighting. Even if the covenant is broken, Liu Bei's group cannot bear the blame.
Only Zhang Xi raised a possibility.
"Could it be that Zhou Gongjin wants to attack from the east and attack from the west first to station troops and supplies in Baling, Changsha, and then go up the river to attack Yizhou?!"
This is not a random guess, Zhang Xi has basis.
Although in history Zhou Yu was on his way back to Jiangling from Chaisang, he fell ill in Baling and had to recuperate on the spot, and finally died of illness.
But the situation now is different from that in history.
Jiangxia is not in the hands of Jiangdong, but in the hands of Liu Bei, so it is difficult for Zhou Yu to avoid the surveillance of Liu Bei's army and mobilize troops, horses and ordnance from Jiangdong to Jiangling through the Yangtze River waterway.
Nanjun also had to guard against Cao's army in the direction of Xiangyang. It was impossible to mobilize the entire army. Zhou Yu could only mobilize about 10,000 to 20,000 mobile troops in Nanjun.
With just such a small number of people, how could Zhou Yu advance westward? !
But Baling is different. It is a good place to supply soldiers and ordnance.
Zhuge Liang was also slightly stunned, and then he began to recall the map in his mind and was shocked to find that what Zhang Xi said was really possible.
Baling is located in the north of Changsha, bordering the Yangtze River to the north, Baling Lake to the south, and can be connected to Yuzhang County in the east of the Yangtze River. By stationing troops here, Zhou Yu can avoid the surveillance of Liu Bei's army on the Yangtze River waterway on one side, and can pass through on the other side. Yuzhang County received soldiers' ordnance supplies from Jiangdong. Once the time is right, Zhou Yu can directly send troops westward and march upstream along the Yangtze River to Zigui, Bajun and other places.
Moreover, there is a convenience for Zhou Yu to take Yizhou, that is, Yiling is now under the control of Jiangdong Army and owns Yiling. It is equivalent to having a springboard into Sichuan.
Although attacking up the river was a bit against military common sense, Liu Zhang did not arrange too many defenders in Badong. If Zhou Yu advanced quickly, it would not be impossible to quickly occupy Badong, attack Bajun, and completely open the door to Shu.
"If this is the case, my lord, please send an envoy across the river quickly to inquire about Sun Quan's intentions." Zhuge Liang hurriedly asked Liu Bei for orders and said, "Furthermore, please return the three generals to the mouth of the Youjiang River quickly. Once the Jiangdong Army moves westward, we will march along the river." Stop it and never let it pass."
There is no reason why Zhuge Liang is not in a hurry. If Jiangdong is allowed to take Yizhou, Liu Bei will really be completely suffocated in Jingnan, and "Longzhong Duel" will not be realized.
Liu Bei naturally understood what Zhuge Liang meant. Years of experience in the army did not come in vain. With Zhuge Liang formulating a plan for him, Liu Bei naturally also knew the importance of Yizhou to him and quickly sent Sun Qian across the river to Chaisang. He ordered Guan Yu to gather Jiangxia soldiers and make a possible attack on Lukou, forcing Zhou Yu not to send troops easily.
After making these preparations, Liu Bei also specially thanked Zhang Xi.
"If it hadn't been for Yuan Chang's warning, I might have fallen into a trap!!!" Liu Bei took Zhang Xi's hand and said with emotion.
Zhang Xi was naturally very happy, after all, this was recognition from his boss.
But after the military meeting ended, Zhang Xi couldn't help but feel a little melancholy.
If Zhou Yu has arrived at Baqiu, he should not be far away from death.
After all, he is a hero of a lifetime, with a feather fan and silk scarf, and Zhou Gong Jin, whose oars and oars were wiped out in ashes while talking and laughing, is also his fate.
Although he had not worked with Zhou Yu for a long time, Zhang Xi could not deny Zhou Yu's charm, so before leaving Jiangling City, Zhang Xi kindly reminded Zhou Yu to pay attention to the arrow sores.
Success or failure depends on destiny.
After all, from the Liu Bei Group's perspective, Zhou Yu's life would do more harm than good.
Now that everything that needs to be done has been done, Zhang Xi doesn't feel sorry for Zhou Yu. He just feels a little sorry for his wife.
Sun Shangxiang has always regarded Zhou Yu as his elder brother, and he regards Zhou Yu as her husband. She knew that her uncle was going to die but did not save him. If Sun Shangxiang found out, he would probably hate himself to death, right? !
After returning home, Zhang Xi looked at Sun Shangxiang who greeted him. He opened his mouth several times, but finally held back.
It's really hard to say. I can't say that I watched the sky at night and discovered that Zhou Yu was not going to die soon.
Another thing is that keeping Zhou Yu alive is not in the interests of the Liu Bei Group after all, even if he is regarded as an older brother by his wife.
To a certain extent, Zhang Xi felt that he should have something in common with the three generals.
Well, forget it, hide it in your heart and never talk about it.
After a few days like this, although Sun Shangxiang felt that Zhang Xi seemed to have something on his mind, he really didn't take it to heart.
One is that Sun Shangxiang also has her own things to do. She needs to learn how to run a household.
On the other hand, Sun Shangxiang also knew that Zhang Xi would be exposed to many core secrets of the Liu Bei Group. These things could not be leaked casually, not even to his own family members.
What's more, Sun Shangxiang just got married not long ago, and she still has a strong brand of Jiangdong on her body. Zhang Xi would not say certain things to her even if he wanted to avoid suspicion.
Sun Shangxiang understands these.
Since Zhang Xi doesn't tell me and Sun Shangxiang doesn't ask, I have to be a good and virtuous wife.
In the past few days, things have developed step by step.
Guan Yu gathered Jiangxia's troops in Xiakou, which naturally attracted Jiangdong's attention. Especially now that Zhou Yu was stationing troops in Baqiu, Sun Quan also wanted to know the purpose of Liu Bei's army.
At this time, Sun Qian crossed the river and asked Zhou Yu why he stationed troops in Baqiu. After thinking for a long time, Sun Quan finally decided to have a showdown with Liu Bei.
Zhou Yu stationed troops in Baqiu to attack Yizhou.
Not only that, Sun Quan also invited Liu Bei to send troops together. The two sides joined forces to attack Liu Zhang. After taking Yizhou, the two sides divided Yizhou equally.
Sun Quan is putting all his cards on the table.
The reason for doing this is that Zhou Yu is already ready and ready to go at any time.
On the other hand, Sun Quan did not want the Sun-Liu alliance to break up, so he adopted this method of retreating to advance.
Regardless of whether you and Liu Bei agree to jointly send troops, I have informed you anyway. I have fulfilled my friendship as an ally and told you clearly that Zhou Yu's troops in Baqiu are not aimed at you. The alliance between Sun and Liu is still there. If the alliance is broken, then It's your responsibility.
Another one, I have informed you that I am going to take Yizhou. If you agree, then fine, we will send troops together. When Liu Zhang is defeated, we will divide it equally. But if you don't agree, then you have to open up the waterway and let us pass. , our logistics supply lines cannot be blocked.
You can't just let me take Yizhou if you don't want to take it yourself. There's no such thing in the world, right? !
Sun Quan's move made Liu Bei very uncomfortable.
Does Liu Bei want to take Yizhou? !
I definitely want to.
But split equally with Sun Quan? !
I definitely don't want to.
If we develop for another two years, maybe I can monopolize Yizhou myself. Why should I share it equally with you?
Originally, if Sun Quan didn't explain his words and didn't invite Liu Bei to Sichuan, then Liu Bei could still pretend to be ignorant and block Jiangdong Army's supplies from time to time, or simply guard the Yangtze River waterway and prevent Zhou Yu from advancing westward through the Youjiang Estuary.
At worst, we can argue with each other afterwards, blame each other, and then find a way out, and the matter will be over.
But Sun Quan's direct showdown this time made Liu Bei uncomfortable.
Because Sun Quan only gave Liu Bei two choices, and Liu Bei had to choose one.
Or, let's attack Yizhou together and divide the battle equally.
Or, I can attack Yizhou myself. As an ally, you can't block me or block the way.
(End of chapter)
