"Hahaha, General Sun thought we used Lu Meng's name?" Lan Tian laughed.
"Otherwise?" Sun Quan asked confusedly.
Lan Tian continued to answer: "Before we captured Xiangyang, the prefect Lu Chang was captured by General Guan. This man is Cao Cao's favorite general. It is not too much to trade him for a small city of Cao Cao."
"What's the relationship between Lu Meng and Lu Chang?" Sun Quan heard from heaven.
"You don't remember the secret redemption so soon?" Lan Tian smiled mysteriously.
Sun Quan suddenly realized, "You mean... you replaced Lu Chang with Lu Meng?"
"Lü Chang resisted tenaciously before, how could he be returned to Cao Cao? So Cao Cao used Fancheng to 'ransom' Lü Meng..." Lan Tian explained.
Sun Quan cursed in his heart, "I'm afraid no one in the world is more sinister than you. You must be the one who gives Guan Yu advice." "By the way, what about Lu Chang?"
Lan Tian said nonchalantly: "General Guan chopped off the sacrificial flag, and later sent his head to Cao's army. I remember that General Guan won the battle that day."
Guan Yu killed Lu Chang in front of the formation, which would inevitably arouse Cao Cao's anger, leading to improper command and a huge defeat. Sun Quan thought to himself that this red-faced man was proficient in the art of war. As long as he stayed in Jingzhou for one day, Jiangdong might no longer be able to completely occupy the Yangtze River.
After explaining Lu Meng's affairs clearly, the delivery on the riverside was coming to an end. Zhu Ran and all the soldiers were already in place. Zhang Zhao rushed over to urge Sun Quan to board the ship.
"I fell into the trap of Cao Cao and made the mistake of launching a war against Jingzhou, which caused both the Sun and Liu families to suffer losses. Now the big mistake has been made, and Jiangdong has also paid a huge price. I hope the King of Hanzhong will ignore the past grudges and let our families reunite. Let's get back together and fight against the traitor Cao Cao together." Sun Quan bowed his hands to Liu Bei and saluted.
Upon seeing this, Liu Bei raised his hand and returned the greeting: "Zhongmou, you have to take care of yourself. Even if you really win Jingzhou, but you have to face the attacks of Nanyang and Huainan at the same time, that may not be a good thing. I am sharing the pressure for you. Let’s all recuperate and fight against Cao together.”
"Sun Quan was taught and said goodbye."
After Sun Quan finished speaking, he turned around and boarded the ship. Liu Bei and Lan Tian also walked towards E County.
What Lan Tian said just now had already made Zhou Tai's head spin. After getting on the boat, he couldn't help but ask: "Then what Lan Tian said must be false, right? How could Cao Ren and Cao Cao be so stupid?"
Sun Quan shook his head slightly, "It's hard to tell whether it's true or false."
Zhang Zhao followed up and said, "I think it's true, but Lan Tian is the only one who likes to play these tricks. Even my lord and Ziyu were deceived, and Cao Ren and Cao Cao were even more fooled."
The warship was loaded with the last batch of prisoners and sailed to Chaisang. Sun Quan was secretly pleased by Zhang Zhao's clever compliment. He stood on the deck and sighed: "Xuan Owl has many tricks and is difficult to deal with. Originally, I was worried about Ziming." To occupy Jingzhou, we have to face the three-sided attack from Cao Cao in the north, Liu Bei in Yizhou in the west, and Lantian in Jiaozhou in the south. It requires a large number of troops to garrison and defend, and a large amount of money and food to raise the troops. Now...sigh..."
Zhang Zhao quickly comforted: "As my lord said, occupying Jingzhou may not be beneficial. Liu Bei's words also make sense. We only need to hold on to Chaisang and Ruxu, recuperate with the people, clear out the Shanyue rebellion, train troops and armor, and wait for Cao Cao and Liu Bei to fight. When the enemy is badly wounded and bleeding, if we attack it again with troops from the east of the Yangtze River, we will definitely be able to expand the territory of the east of the Yangtze River, let alone occupy the entire Yangtze River, and even enter the Central Plains."
"Okay..." Sun Quan nodded excitedly, then looked at Zhou Tai and ordered: "After Chai Sang's funeral is over, Youping should go and supervise Ruxu."
"Wei." Zhou Tai cupped his fists.
"As for General Chaisang..." Sun Quan looked around at everyone and felt that no one was suitable.
"Lu Boyan is brave and resourceful, and he was able to escape unscathed from the conquest of Jingzhou. I think who else would be the new governor?" Gu Yong suggested.
The Jiangdong nobles have never fought for military power. Sun Quan has always guarded this red line since he came to power. The Huaisi generals on the ship looked at each other and thought to themselves, Gu Yong is crazy, right? Isn’t this move afraid of the Lord’s suspicion? Lu Xun had a big grudge against his lord.
Everyone thought that Sun Quan would refuse, but he smiled slightly when facing Gu Yong, and replied kindly: "I will consider Yuan Tan's proposal carefully when I get back, and we will make a decision after the funeral at the latest."
"My lord is wise."
Gu Yong bowed his hands in salute to Sun Quan, then looked at the stupid expressions of the generals, and secretly laughed at these people who could not understand the internal reasons. The Jiangdong nobles had paid for it, so they should be treated with such attention.
Watching the Jiangdong warships going down the Yangtze River, Liu Bei was full of doubts. He frowned and asked Lantian: "Ziyu, the terrain in E County is not dangerous, and it is far away from Xiakou. Why do you want to take it from Sun Quan?" ? Now it is empty and desolate, and it is always threatened by Chaisang..."
Lan Tian looked into the distance and replied: "The reason why Xiakou's location is important is that it connects the Han River and the Yangtze River. The Sun and Cao families have the opportunity to connect together and form a danger of encircling Jingzhou. Now Yunchang has captured Xiangyang and Fancheng. The Yangtze River and Han River have become our inland rivers, so we naturally need to push the defense line of Jiangxia forward, and set up two lines of defense in E County and Xiakou, which completely stopped Sun Quan from moving westward, and he could only go to Huainan to fight against Hefei."
Liu Bei nodded in affirmation, "Ziyu is really wise. Isn't this a different kind of power? The relationship between E County and Jiangxia is a bit like the relationship between Xiangyang and Fancheng."
"That's what I mean." Lan Tian smiled slightly.
"The county seat and docks in E County are too small. If it wants to become a military center, it must be expanded, but it will also waste people and money..." Liu Bei had a solemn look on his face.
"Brother-in-law, don't worry. The more than 10,000 captives that Yuan Zhi brought to Changsha will be brought over to build the city. The remaining Jiangdong prisoners will be sent to Changsha to farm." Lan Tian gave advice.
Liu Bei was overjoyed when he heard this: "Ziyu still has the bright idea. Then I will change E County to Wuchang and expand it according to Jiangxia's standards. You have experience in building Guangzhou City. How about leaving Wuchang City to you to supervise the construction? It can also prevent the rats from Jiangdong from getting sick." ."
"The reforms in the counties of Jiaozhou have not yet been completed, and the three counties of Jiaozhi, Hepu, and Jiuzhen have not been completely conquered. Rinan County rebelled against the king and arrested my businessman. I still have to go back to stabilize development. If you can give me thirty years, I will turn Jiaozhou into a prosperous paradise." Lan Tian replied solemnly.
Liu Bei nodded slightly, "Well, Ziyu has been planning for Jiaozhou for a long time. Since you are confident about your reforms, Bei will try his best to give you freedom, but Jingzhou cannot be ignored."
"Thank you for your trust, brother-in-law. Don't worry here in Jingzhou. Jiaozhou will continue to transport food and military equipment to Xiangyang, so that General Guan will not have to worry about his northern expedition." Lan Tian assured, patting his chest.
"I am convinced of this. Who else does Ziyu think can supervise the construction of Wuchang City?" Liu Bei asked.
Lan Tian commanded Gan Ning, who was greeting Chen Dao from the rear, and said: "Gan Xingba is a powerful general of our lord. With him leading the navy to guard Wuchang, Sun Quan will not dare to covet Jingzhou."
Liu Bei nodded in affirmation: "Heroes see the same thing."
