In Weiyang Palace, Xu Shu had already been waiting here.
Since then, she has personally served as an envoy, promoted Cao Cao's southern expedition, and promoted Liu Zhang to the title of queen.
While Xu Shu proved his talent, he also naturally gained recognition from everyone.
Nowadays, Xu Shu has a place among the top think tanks of Qin State.
"Tell me, is there any news?"
Liu Zhang seemed to be smiling but not smiling, and asked questions.
Jia Xu and Xun You almost never went to Guigong to look for Liu Zhang, which shows that things are not simple.
The moment he saw Xu Shu, Liu Zhang further confirmed his suspicion.
The three of them looked at each other, and finally Xu Shu stepped forward.
"Report to King Qin, the accurate news has been sent back!"
"Cao Cao's southern expeditionary army suffered heavy casualties. In the end, only 50,000 of the 300,000-strong army were left. More than 500,000 civilians also suffered casualties of more than 100,000!"
"As for the food, grass and baggage consumed, it is countless!"
"Conservative estimates suggest that within the next five years, Cao Cao will not be able to return to the strength he had before the Southern Expedition!"
Good news indeed!
Liu Zhang was overjoyed and the corners of his mouth gradually turned up.
No wonder I have to go to Gui Palace to look for myself. This news is really urgent!
"Cao Cao, Cao Cao, King of Wei, these two words make you drift!"
Xu Shu was deeply impressed by Liu Zhang's contempt.
"The King of Qin clearly learned that Cao Cao was obsessed with building iron chain warships and ignored the plague that was raging in the army. That's why the casualties were so heavy!"
"It is said that the Yangtze River was once occupied by floating corpses!"
Liu Zhang nodded slightly, and an imaginary picture appeared in his mind.
This time the Chibi Battle seemed less exciting than in history, as the two sides did not break out into a fierce battle.
In fact, the development process and final outcome are almost exactly the same.
All of them induced Cao Cao to build a series of warships, all of them were plagues that broke out in Cao Cao's army, and all of them were that Cao Cao burned his ships and retreated.
The only difference is that the commander-in-chief was changed from Zhou Yu to Lu Xun.
"Didn't Zhou Lang capture Jiujiang County? Did Sun Quan make any moves?"
What Liu Zhang was most concerned about was the Huai River battlefield.
With Liu Bei watching over Nanjun at all times, the situation in the Yangtze River War has almost been determined.
But the Huai River battlefield is different.
Today, Cao Cao is in a period of weakness, and will face more serious internal and external difficulties. It is inevitable that Sun Quan will take advantage of him.
"Reporting to the King of Qin, Sun Quan stopped moving north after taking Guangling County."
"Now Cao Cao and Sun Quan are demarcating the Huai River, and both sides have stopped and made peace."
Liu Zhang nodded slightly, not much surprised by this result.
In fact, he always believed that Sun Quan's expansion could only reach the Huai River at most.
After all, in history, Sun Quan often abandoned Lujiang County and completely retreated to the south of the Yangtze River.
Without Zhou Yu's great power, Sun Quan would have been unable to break through the nightmare of Hefei and enter the Shouchun he dreamed of.
Thanks to Zhou Yu's bravery, Sun Quan no longer has to bear the hat of Sun Shiwan.
However, Liu Zhang did not think that the two sides would quietly stop fighting.
"Oh? Did the two sides reach a tacit agreement to end the war? Now that Cao Cao has become like this, Sun Quan doesn't have any ambition at all?"
Xu Shu's eyes flashed with admiration, and he admired the viciousness of Liu Zhang's eyes.
"The King of Qin is wise!"
"Cao Cao officially appointed Zhou Yu as the prefect of Jiujiang County and Cheng Pu as the prefect of Guangling County in the name of the imperial court."
"At the same time, it was decreed that Sun Quan, Marquis of Wu, be promoted to Duke of Wu! He was also granted the title of Grand Sima, Governor of Jingzhou, and Military of Yangzhou!"
When Liu Zhang heard this, he instantly showed a look of horror.
"What! Has he become a public official?"
This news far exceeded Liu Zhang's expectations.
How old is Sun Quan?
He is only twenty-two years old this year!
Furthermore, although the Marquis of Wu was a hereditary successor to Sun Ce's title, he was also the highest-level county marquis.
In the entire history of the Han Dynasty, there were only a handful of people who were county marquises at the age of twenty.
Liu Zhang originally thought that Cao Cao would give Sun Quan a high-level general position, and at most give him command of the southeastern military.
Unexpectedly, he managed to do it right in one step and gave it directly to the Duke!
That's the Duke!
In the entire Han Dynasty, only Wang Mang and Liu Zhang held this position.
Sun Quan, a twenty-two-year-old Duke, is far more majestic than Liu Zhang and Wang Mang!
After a long time, Liu Zhang slowly exhaled and sneered.
"Haha, Cao Cao is really willing to give up!"
"Even without the duke, Sun Quan would not have the ability to continue going north."
"Now that I gave it to the Duke, wouldn't it mean that I was running back to Moling to build the country?"
The temptation of founding a country is great, who can resist it?
Cao Cao is an example!
The southern expedition to Jingxiang is so urgent that we must first return to Yecheng to establish the Wei State!
Sun Quan is no older than a weakling, how can he resist this temptation?
As he thought about it, Liu Zhang despised Cao Cao even more.
Fortunately, Cao Cao has not said, "If there is no one in the country, I don't know how many people will be called emperors and how many people will be called kings!" 'This sentence.
Otherwise, he had single-handedly brought about the throne of Duke Wu and King of Qin, how could he have the face to face the people of the world?
"King Qin, Cao Cao only gave Sun Quan the title of Duke, but did not give him the right to found a country."
"Today Sun Quan can only exercise the rights of a chariot and cavalry general."
Liu Zhang raised an eyebrow, showing surprise again.
Without the establishment of a country, there would be no way to install hundreds of officials, and the fiefdom would only be Wuxian.
For Sun Quan, apart from being able to call himself an orphan, it has no substantive meaning.
There is actually not much difference between the Duke of Wu who did not establish the country and the Marquis of Wu who was conferred by the imperial court.
Furthermore, Liu Zhang proclaimed himself duke and established the Qin State, and Cao Cao proclaimed himself king and established the Wei State, but only Sun Quan was proclaimed duke and not allowed to establish the state.
Isn't this a naked humiliation?
"Hey! What's wrong with Cao Cao? He granted the title of Duke but refused to establish the country?"
"Isn't this just disgusting to Sun Quan? Isn't he afraid that Sun Quan's brain will get hot and his army will invade Xuzhou?"
Jia Xu, Xun You, and Xu Shu looked at each other, smiled and shook their heads.
The three of them disagreed with Liu Zhang's words at the same time.
"King Qin, this is Cao Cao's brilliance!"
"Oh? Why do you see it?"
"Cao Cao canonized Sun Quan as Duke of Wu. Although he did not give him the right to found a country, it gave him the hope of founding a country!"
Xu Shu's words suddenly made Liu Zhang realize.
"The Commander-in-Chief of Jingzhou and the Military of Yangzhou!"
"good!"
Xu Shu smiled and nodded.
"Being a duke but not establishing the country means that the merits of founding the country have not been achieved! But Cao Cao also granted Sun Quan the title of General of Chariots and Cavalry, Commander of Jingzhou, and Military of Yangzhou!"
"Isn't this a clear statement to Sun Quan that if we capture Jingzhou, we can establish a country?"
"Cao Cao's plan kills two birds with one stone, it's really not that simple!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Jia Xu also stood up.
"Cao Cao also made Lu Xun the prefect of Jiangxia, Zhou Yu the prefect of Jiujiang, Cheng Pu the prefect of Guangling, and Lu Meng the prefect of Lujiang!"
"Among them, the long histories of the three counties north of the Yangtze River, including Jiujiang, Lujiang, and Guangling, were all canonized by the imperial court in violation of common sense. They are all members of the Huaisi faction!"
"Cao Cao's move not only aroused conflicts between Sun and Liu, but also divided Sun Quan's internal rule!"
"If you are not careful, Jiangdong will never have peace again!"
