Although Mi Zhu was not as clear about Zhuge Liang's abilities as Cao Wu, he had long heard Liu Bei talking about him every day.
Zhuge Liang said wait a minute, he could only pull Mi Fang to give him face and listen to what Cao Wu had to say.
Cao Wu smiled calmly and stretched out his arm. No one at the scene reacted.
"Uh...cough..."
Cao Wu pretended to cough and glared at Ah Liu, who then curled his lips and brought him a three-foot-long bamboo pole.
Cao Wu took the bamboo pole with satisfaction, squatted down on the spot, and drew a curve on the dirt in the yard.
Zhuge Liang and Ah Liu came around. Mi Fang put her sword back into its sheath first, and Mi Fang came together. They looked at the curve and didn't know what it was.
Zhuge Liang was extremely knowledgeable and said: "Is this... the Yangtze River?"
Cao Wu gave him a thumbs up. Even though the painting was so abstract, he could still recognize it. He was worthy of being a figure who knew three parts of the world without leaving home.
After that, he used bamboo poles to outline the general scope of the thirteen states in the late Han Dynasty.
Zhuge Liang praised: "Sir, you painted well!"
Cao Wu smiled in response. Compared with the heyday of the Han Dynasty, the map of the late Han Dynasty was actually not much larger than that of the Northern Song Dynasty. Cao Wu had played countless Three Kingdoms games and was already familiar with it.
After finishing the map, today, he was going to talk about Longzhong in front of Zhuge Liang's door.
The text that Long Zhong was talking about was included in the junior high school textbook, and it was required to recite the full text. Although Cao Wu was a poor student, he still remembered the outline.
He pointed at the map on the ground and said boldly: "I say your lord is short-sighted because he cannot see the general trend of the world!"
"Since Dong Zhuo's rebellion, the heroes of the Central Plains have risen together. Not counting the small princes for the time being, those who have joined the counties across states in the north are only two Yuan, Lu Bu, Gongsun Zan, Ma Teng, and Cao Cao. Now the north has been pacified, except for Ma Teng. In addition, Cao Cao has completed unification. Now there are five major forces in the world."
He connected the dots on his bamboo pole and named them one by one: "Ma Teng occupied the northwest, Liu Zhang occupied Bashu, Zhang Lu occupied Hanzhong, Sun Quan occupied Jiangdong, Wuling went to the south, Yanzhou went inward, and there were some small princes, but the most powerful one in the world was none. Cao Mengde!"
Mi Zhu nodded, the current situation in the world is like this, Cao Cao has dominated the world, and various places have become separatist forces.
Mi Fang said angrily: "My lord Xuande Gong, isn't he a powerful force?"
"Liu Bei is in Xiakou, and he is in constant panic. Why? He has no territory of his own! Even if it is Xiakou, doesn't it belong to Liu Qi? In troubled times, there are fights, and Liu Xuande is claiming to be a royal family member in vain. What is he fighting for? The territory is all over. No, what kind of force is it?"
Mi Fang hesitated: "This..."
Mi Zhu shook his head: "You also said that the general trend of the world is that all the princes are divided, so what should we fight for?"
Cao Wudao: "Cao Cao obeyed the emperor's orders but refused to submit. He took millions of people and swept across the world. Heroes in the world dare not compete with him. If you can't compete with Cao Cao, don't blame Uncle Liu."
"Sun Quan has been stationed in the east of the Yangtze River for nearly twenty years. He has lived in three generations: Sun Polu, Sun Tuini, and Sun Tuilu. Now the country is in danger and the people are close to him. The soldiers are using their lives to seize the opportunity. If they can't compete with Sun Quan, it's not the emperor's fault."
"But what about Jingzhou? Liu Jingsheng, named Bajun, rode into Jingzhou alone. He relied on the checks and balances between aristocratic families to support Jingzhou. He loved empty talk and elegance. Liu Biao, the third noble, was well-known, but he believed the slander and had his eldest son excluded. Let the youngest son take the position, and once he dies of illness, Jingzhou will collapse. Can you not compete with this Jingzhou?"
Mi Zhu said, "My lord is kind, and he and Duke Jing Sheng belong to the same clan, and together we are a barrier to the country. How can we steal Jingzhou from him?"
"Clan? Barrier?"
"When the Great Rebellion first broke out, the royal family still had three pastors in the world. Liu Yu pastored Youzhou, fought with the Xiongnu in the north, and fought against Yuan Shao in the south. Liu Biao pastored Jingzhou, and one man subdued the powerful nine counties. Liu Yan pastored Yizhou, cut off the Hanzhong Passage, and separated one side. Again. There is also Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, who expelled the Yellow Turbans and sacrificed his life for his country. Liu Yao, the governor of Yangzhou, rivaled Yuan Shu and fought for supremacy in Jiangbiao. Which of your lords is worthy of being called a barrier?"
With a "clang" sound, Mi Fang's sword was unsheathed again.
Cao Wu patted Mi Fang on the shoulder with a bamboo stick and said: "I said Jingzhou can be taken, not stealing it. Cao Cao Jinghui Nanzhi, Liu Cong tied his hands, nephew can't, uncle comes to take it, we are all members of the same family, Han clan clan affairs, can be called Steal it?"
Mi Fang was speechless and lowered her head to think.
Cao Wu continued: "Yizhou is obviously one of the top three most populous states, with thousands of miles of fertile fields and a land of abundance. Gaozu became an emperor because of it. However, Yizhou now does not have the courage to conquer the world. Why?"
"Because Liu Yan had no choice. Liu Yan had four sons, two of whom died in the Chang'an Rebellion. The youngest son, Liu Zhang, was more than conservative but not aggressive enough, so Liu Yan could only choose him."
"Then let me ask you, Mi Zhu and Mi Fang, your lord is also a clan member of the Han Dynasty, and the world is owned by the Liu surname. Since Liu Biao's son surrendered, Liu Yan's son does not deserve to own Yizhou, so what about Jingzhou and Yizhou? Why can't we fight for the Han family's barrier like my lord?"
Mi Zhu and Mi Fang settled down, and Mi Zhu thought more deeply. If he really occupied Yizhou, maybe with the topography of Yizhou, he would have a place in the Mi family.
Cao Wu took a deep breath. Next, it will be the national policy of Shu Han for decades.
"If we occupy Jingzhou and Yizhou, make peace with the Rong in the west, pacify the Yiyue in the south, and ally with Sun Wu in the east, the people's support will be strong."
"If there is a change in the world, I will order a general to leave Jingzhou and attack Luoyang. The emperor's uncle will personally leave Hanzhong and attack Chang'an. With the two capitals in hand, the world can be settled!"
In just two sentences, almost half of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms is summarized.
This is the famous Longzhong pair.
However, as everyone knows in later generations, Longzhong's pairing did not materialize in the end.
The most important reason is that Jingzhou is gone.
In that period of history, at the beginning of the 24th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao invaded the northwest. General Xiahou Yuan of the Western Expedition marched to the right of the pass and came to Hanzhong. However, he died at the hands of the veteran Huang Zhong in the battle of Dingjun Mountain.
After this, the battle of Hanzhong began, where generals gathered.
In May, Cao Cao abandoned Hanzhong and returned eastward in embarrassment.
Guan Erye, who was stationed in Jingzhou, believed that this was the moment when the world changed. According to Longzhong's strategy, he led his army to Xiangfan.
In that battle, seven armies were flooded and captured alive, and the north was shaken.
According to historical records, Yu was powerful in China.
However, there were only two months between the time when they shocked China and when they were defeated in Maicheng.
Because there was a sneak attack from behind.
The rats in the east of the Yangtze River betrayed their alliance, Lu Meng crossed the river in white clothes, and Mi Fang surrendered. What happened next has made those who read the history of the Three Kingdoms shed tears for thousands of years. It is truly a regret for the ages.
Ironically, less than half a year after Guan Yu's death, the real moment of change in the world that the Shu Han had been waiting for came.
In the spring of the twenty-fifth year of Jian'an, King Cao Cao of Wei passed away.
Maybe before Wuzhangyuan, when Jiang Wei was defeated and committed suicide, they had thought that if Guan Yu could wait another half a year, maybe everything would be different.
It is a pity that history has no ifs. After learning about the death of his second brother, Liu Bei raised 700,000 troops to take back Jingzhou, but Lu Xun burned his camp and died in hatred.
After that, Zhuge Liang went out to Qishan six times, and Jiang Wei attacked Wei eleven times, and failed several times. All because of the absence of Jingzhou and the strategic fulcrum, it was difficult to defeat four opponents with one fist. Even if we work hard, it will be difficult to accomplish the great cause of reunification.
Longzhong turned this into empty talk.
Now, Zhuge Liang, the creator of Longzhong Dui, and Mi Fang, the destroyer of Longzhong Dui, are both here.
Cao Wu looked at Mi Fang with a playful look in his eyes.
Mi Fang didn't quite understand, but Mi Zhu was already sweating on her forehead. Frowning, he thought about the possibility of realizing Longzhong's pair.
Zhuge Liang's eyes were blazing, and Longzhong was just thinking about the thoughts he usually had. He didn't expect that someone in the world had the same idea as him, and his analysis of the general trend of the world was also excellent.
"Sir's analysis coincides with Liang's. I wonder if you, sir, have ever thought about how to capture Yizhou with Xuande Gong's current military strength?"
Cao Wu smiled and said, "I think you have an idea of how to seize Yizhou. Why don't we write down our ideas and see if they are the same!"
"good!"
Between the two of them, Er Mi seemed to not exist.
Ah Liu's eyes on the side were gleaming. She had heard Zhuge Liang mention Longzhong's strategy, but she didn't expect that her own general could make such a conclusion.
The two idols in my heart cherish each other, which can be called a double chef's ecstasy.
She hurried back to the house and took two brushes.
He patted his forehead and went back to get a box of ground ink.
She patted her forehead again and wanted to go back to get the paper, but Cao Wu stopped her with a smile.
Zhuge Liang also said: "Just write it on your hand."
Ah Liu then rolled his eyes and stood quietly behind Zhuge Liang. He waited for Zhuge Liang to finish writing the beautiful cursive script in his hand, and then came behind Cao Wu to watch his crooked writing.
Cao Wu rubbed his elbow against her, indicating that his elbow was turned outward, and Ah Liu stuck out his tongue.
When Cao Wu finished writing, Ah Liu said "ah", clapped his hands and said with a smile: "Two gentlemen, what they wrote is exactly the same!"
