After Liu Bei captured Sun Quan, he immediately released the news that he was willing to trade Sun Quan to Dajing in exchange for Prince Liu Chan of the Chu Kingdom. He also mobilized Yangzhou literati to submit articles to the Jingguo newspaper "Tianxia News" to spread the news. The louder the better.
Within three days, the whole world knew about this.
No one expected that Liu Bei would take the life of Sun Quan, the emperor of Wu State, to exchange for the crown prince of Chu State with Jing State. This twist and turn was really big and surprising.
Zhang Xiu was stunned for a moment when he heard the news.
He smiled bitterly and said: "What a good Liu Bei, all his wishful thinking has gone into my harem. This is a long way to go. He exchanged the Prince of Wu and Dajing for the crown prince of Chu, haha!"
Jia Xu said calmly: "But I have to say that Liu Bei's move is a high one."
Jia Xu knows Zhang Xiu's character very well. As long as Sun Shangxiang comes to Zhang Xiu and complains, he is probably 80-90% sure that Chu's plan will succeed. However, using Sun Quan is like exchanging Liu Chan, which is too cheap. .
But as an adviser, he could never get too involved in Zhang Xiu's harem affairs and could only give indirect reminders.
Moreover, although Zhang Xiu loves his women, he is not a fool. He will not show mercy because of his wife and daughter's cries. The woman's compassion will definitely be exchanged for some benefits.
The biggest benefit at present is the two counties of Guiyang and Lingling.
Originally, the emperor and ministers of Jingguo had the same idea, which was to exchange Liu Bei's family for these two counties, so they did not rush Gan Ning to take it by force. Unexpectedly, Sun Quan came out halfway and compromised Jingguo's bargaining chip.
Zhang Xiu listened to Jia Xu's lukewarm words, looked at him and smiled. This old fox is really smart. He obviously wanted to remind himself, but he acted calmly and simply provoked him.
After thinking about it, he pretended to sigh helplessly: "Empress Sun has sent a letter in her own hand, begging me to save her brother Sun Quan. I think that the strength of the Chu State is already far inferior to what it used to be. As long as I rest and recuperate in Dajing for a few years, I can make a comeback in one go." If you break it, besides, hurting the wives, daughters, and family members will damage my reputation as Dajing, it is better to send Liu Bei’s family members away in exchange for Sun Quan’s return.”
Jia Xu was anxious after hearing what he said: "Your Majesty, no! Liu Bei has great ambitions and should not be underestimated. If he does not seize the opportunity to reduce his wings in time, it will be a disaster for me, Dajing! I hope your Majesty will investigate carefully."
Zhang Xiu nodded with satisfaction: "Well... what Ai Qing said is reasonable, but with Liu Bei having Sun Quan as a bargaining chip, our exchange terms may be compromised."
Jia Xu said: "The conditions remain unchanged. It is still the land of the two counties. He, Liu Bei, will have to change if he doesn't."
Zhang Xiu looked at him: "Ai Qing, what's your plan?"
Jia Xu said: "Your Majesty, the warships and weapons provided to Wu have been fully prepared. Our navy has also been prepared in Jiangbei to assist Wu in fighting south. General Gan Ning pressed his troops on Guiyang and forced Liu Bei to compromise. He will not You have to change it.”
Zhang Xiu nodded: "Okay, let's do it this way. Let the people from the Ministry of Etiquette take care of this matter. Just leave the affairs in Jingzhou to Yidu. There is only Liu Ye in Chang'an, and he has no ability to do all the work." , you and Li Ru should return to Chang'an as soon as possible."
Jia Xu asked: "What about the Central Plains?"
Zhang Xiu thought for a while and said, "Well... back then, when the senior cadres did well in Bingzhou, they were transferred to serve as governor of Yuzhou to implement national policies, Jia Mu was transferred to be governor of Yanzhou, Li Dan was transferred to be governor of Xuzhou, to implement national policies, and... …The generals at all levels have made great contributions in this battle. Let the people in the Military Governor’s Office draw up a list. After careful consideration, I will reward them one by one, including Chen Wu!”
Speaking of Chen Wu, Zhang Xiu felt heartbroken.
Chen Wu was generous and benevolent in the army and was deeply loved by the soldiers. He made many military exploits after following Zhang Xiu. He was also the founder of the Dajing navy and made indelible contributions to the development of Dajing. He did not expect that when he was about to unify the world, he would be Guan Yu beheaded him.
What's even more heartbreaking is that he also wants to erect a tombstone for Guan Yu and give him a grand burial.
Some things are not what he wants, they are forced by reality and he has no choice. The world is full of opinions, so he has to stop the literati in the world and build a monument for Guan Yu. Even the emperor who is ninety-five years old has many things to do. It is helpless.
Of course Jia Xu knew what Zhang Xiu meant when he mentioned Chen Wu.
In terms of actual military exploits, Chen Wu's military exploits are naturally inferior to those of Zhang Liao, Ma Chao, Wei Yan and others, but Chen Wu's contribution to the navy in obscurity is also indelible.
He said, "General Chen Wu is the founder of our navy army. He has made great contributions. I think I can make him a marquis."
This answer hit Zhang Xiu's fancy.
He nodded and said: "Well... General Chen Wu worked hard and made great achievements, so he was named Songzihou, a second-class general."
"I obey the order!" Jia Xu accepted the order.
…
In Lujiang County.
The country of Wu suffered the greatest loss in this battle. It was originally the second largest country in the world, but now it has become a weak country with only two counties. After such a big change, no matter how good-hearted people are, they cannot withstand such a huge loss. Traumatized, Sun Ce personally participated in the battle across the Yangtze River, but suffered the loss of not having a warship, and the Wu army suffered heavy losses.
Coupled with the news that Jianye had been destroyed and his family members had been captured, Sun Ce turned his head in an instant.
Looks old.
Seeing Sun Ce like this, the civil and military officials of Wu State shed tears of grief.
Zhou Yu endured the grief in his heart and persuaded Sun Ce: "Your Majesty, Jingguo has responded and is willing to exchange Liu Chan for the royal family. Please don't worry about it. The warships assisted by Jingguo will arrive in three days. By then, we can fight back to Jiangdong." , regain the land of our four Jiangdong counties."
Sun Ce shook his head sadly.
Now that the four counties in Jiangdong are occupied by Liu Bei, he wants to take them back. How can he take them with the land of two counties?
Who doesn't know that the war is not about people, but about money and food? How many soldiers and horses can be supported by the two counties? How can you fight with Liu Bei?
Of the 50,000 soldiers and horses who had retreated from the battlefield in the Central Plains, after several brutal battles, only more than 30,000 were left, and the food and fodder of Lujiang and Jiujiang counties were exhausted. What could they use to fight Liu Bei?
Zhou Yu also knew that these were words of comfort, but Sun Ce's condition made them worried, so he said these words to comfort his heart.
Sun Ce slowly stood up and looked at the howling autumn wind outside, feeling even more sad in his heart. He recalled how heroic he was when he exchanged the national jade seal for 3,000 elite soldiers to acquire the land of six counties in the east of the Yangtze River. Now he still has 30,000 elite soldiers in his hands, including many fierce generals. , the worst possible outcome is to start all over again!
He took a deep breath and drank: "Prepare your horses and wine, I'm going out hunting!"
Seeing that Sun Ce's face had regained some healthy look, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly ordered people to prepare war horses and wine, allowing him to indulge for a while, and then led everyone to restore the majesty of Wu.
