In fact, Sun Quan also planned this. Although now that he has re-established the alliance with Shu Han, he cannot make any big moves against Nanzhong. However, since the Shu Han court has not sent troops to quell the rebellion, maintaining the status quo in Nanzhong is also very good for Soochow. .
Therefore, Sun Quan still secretly promised Yong Kai that as long as he could hold off the Shu Han's counter-rebellion army, he would bargain with the Shu Han court for him in the future to achieve a self-reliant situation for the southern and central regions.
So when Yong Kai saw that Sun Quan had reached this point, he couldn't say anything more. Now he could only rely on himself for everything. As a hero of the generation, he knew that only if he was powerful enough could he have a big enough voice.
"A famous family? It's just a traitor from the former Qin Dynasty. It is comparable to the princes of the Yong family." Yong Kai laughed and said: "Third brother, tomorrow I will order the troops to rest for two days, and wait until Lu Kai and the others are exhausted. Siege the city.”
Yongjie also felt that this was the only plan for now, and immediately responded: "Yes, brother."
While the various forces in the South and China were scheming, Cao Pi, the emperor of Cao Wei, held a court meeting in Luoyang Palace in the capital to gather civil and military forces to discuss conquests from all directions.
"My lords, the world is in turmoil and the world is restless. Xishu and Dongwu are now arrogating false names, separatizing the mountains and rivers, and refusing to obey the king's rule. If these two thieves are like this, our country will naturally raise righteous soldiers to fight against them. However, things have their own sequence. , There are priorities in conquering. Do you think China should conquer Shu or Wu first?"
It has been four or five years since Cao Pi became emperor. The ministers of the Wei State have already become familiar with the monarch's temperament. Asking about such major conquest matters in the court shows that the emperor has already made a judgment in his mind. Even if everyone has their own thoughts, they are unwilling to say more. What.
However, there were so many talented people in the Wei State. Although the scholar-bureaucrats respected the emperor, they all had their own thoughts. Many people suspected that the emperor wanted to conquer Wu.
However, Liu Ye, the veteran counselor of the Wei State, came out and said: "Your Majesty, today the country is divided into three. Wei is super strong and Wu Shu is weak. Among them, Western Shu is the weakest. Liu Bei is the only leader of Western Shu. The only famous general in Shu is Guan Yu, but now that both of them are dead, it is really difficult to support Western Shu with only a few generals."
"Although Zhuge Liang has the talent to know the world, it is difficult for him to stand up to the critical situation alone. This is the opportunity for your majesty to unify the country."
"I ask your Majesty to send a large army out of the Qinling Mountains to destroy Shu in one fell swoop. If Shu is destroyed, it will be difficult for Wu to survive. If we train like this for several years, build a large ship from Shu and sail down the river, directly attack Jiangling and Jianye, then the defeat of Dongwu will be around the corner. Your Majesty's great cause It can be done."
Cao Pi couldn't help but feel excited when he heard Liu Ye's grand plan. Two years ago, he failed to listen to Liu Ye's plan to attack Wu, which resulted in nothing. Today, he heard Liu Ye's plan for the overall situation. He not only thought about it secretly, but also felt that this plan was feasible.
However, Liu Ye is a descendant of Liu Yan, King of Fuling, the son of Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty. He is much closer to Liu Bei than Emperor Guangwu, and he is a serious lineage of the Han Dynasty.
Although this man devoted himself to Cao Wei, Emperor Wu of Wei and his son had always had a trace of suspicion about him deep in their hearts, fearing that this man, on the surface, was facing the Wei family, but in fact, his heart was towards the Han Dynasty.
If Liu Ye knew about the suspicions in the hearts of Cao Cao and Cao Pi, Liu Ye would definitely cry out that he was wronged.
Although he is a direct descendant of Emperor Guangwu, he has long been disillusioned with the Han Dynasty. From the bottom of his heart, he felt that the Han Dynasty could not be revived, so it was better to win a good future for the family in the new dynasty as early as possible.
In particular, Liu Bei, a remote clan member, not only did not surrender to Cao Cao's power, but became the leading figure in the resistance against Cao Xinghan. This made Liu Ye, the descendant of Emperor Guangwu, hate Liu Bei even more, and was reluctant to eliminate his power early.
But how did Liu Ye know that although he sincerely planned for Cao Cao and his son, Cao Cao and his son never really believed in him. If he knew this intention, he didn't know how he could see Emperor Guangwu underground.
Although Cao Pi had always had a suspicion about Liu Ye, a close branch of the Han family, he had to admit that Liu Ye's words were indeed reasonable. If the Shu Han could be destroyed while it was weakening, Soochow would be the only one left. It's easy to deal with.
"What do you think of Liu Shizhong's plan?" Cao Pi asked excitedly.
Zhongshu, an important minister in Gu's wife, ordered Sun Zi to come out and report: "Your Majesty, I think what Liu Shizhong said is inappropriate."
Sun Zi was a close official of Cao Pi. His courtesy name was Yanlong and he was a native of Zhongdu County, Taiyuan County.
This person lost his parents when he was three years old and was raised by his brother and sister-in-law. When he grew up, he entered Taixue and was appreciated by the then Situ Wang Yun. Wang Yun admired him because he was knowledgeable and talented. Later, he was recommended as a county magistrate because of his filial and honest family background.
At that time, Cao Cao welcomed the emperor of Han Dynasty to Xudu and was appointed Sikong. Cao Cao used the official position of Sikong to establish a hegemony and recruit talents from all over. Sun Zi was recruited as an official by Cao Cao.
However, at this time, Sun Zi's brother was assassinated and killed by thieves. In order to avenge his brother, Sun Zi assassinated the enemy who murdered his brother and then took his family to avoid his hometown and could not go to his post.
Later, after being recommended by his friend Jia Kui, he finally joined the Prime Minister Cao Cao's account. He successively served as a meritorious official in the prime minister's office, a planner, and joined the army. He was praised by Xun Yu, the minister's order.
After Cao Pi inherited his father's throne, he planned to usurp the Han Dynasty. Sun Zi and another minister Liu Fang were his confidants. After the establishment of Cao Wei, Sun Zi successively served as Secretary Lang and Shangshu Youcheng. He moved to Zhongzhong to write orders and give affairs.
After Cao Pi became emperor, he immediately changed the Secretariat Department to the Zhongshu Department. Since Sun Zi and Liu Fang had the same seniority, Liu Fang was appointed as the Zhongshu Supervisor and Sun Zi was appointed as the Zhongshu Ling.
Although Zhongshu Jian was placed before Zhongshu Ling, they were in the same class, and they were in charge of the government together, which was the first time that a high-ranking official in Zhongshu was the prime minister.
So at this time, Sun Zi was an important minister in the court of Cao Wei. Seeing him speaking out against Liu Ye's plan, Cao Pi straightened his body and asked, "Oh? I wonder what Sun Qing has to say?"
Sun Zidao said: "Your Majesty, although what Liu Shizhong said is reasonable, he ignored the terrain of Western Shu and Zhuge Liang's talents."
"Oh? Please tell me in detail." Cao Pi said curiously.
Sun Zi received Cao Pi's encouragement and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Western Shu is far away in the southwest, separated from Guanzhong by high mountains, and the road is dangerous and difficult to defeat. In the past, Emperor Wu raised a large army to compete with Liu Bei in Hanzhong to fight for Western Shu. After all, it was difficult to transport grain and grass. , the front was too dangerous and too long and had to withdraw, so Liu Bei succeeded in Shu.
"If Your Majesty now sends troops to Western Shu, he will inevitably face the pain of road migration and the difficulty of transporting food and grass. In addition, Zhuge Liang is good at governing the country. Although his country's army is weak and the people are weak, there are dangers on the Shu road, which is enough to resist the king's army. .”
"If the king's army cannot attack for a long time, it will only waste money, food and national strength. Therefore, I think that if your majesty raises an army, it is better to attack Wu instead of Shu."
When Liu Ye was retorted by Sun Zi, he couldn't help but sneered in his heart. These civil servants had never experienced the ups and downs of troubled times, but only tried to cater to their superiors. How could they understand the principles of rejuvenating the country and ensuring peace?
Liu Ye sneered in his heart, but said calmly on his face: "Your Majesty, it is Zhuge Liang who is good at governing the country. We cannot give him a chance to breathe. We must work hard and raise a large army to conquer Western Shu and defeat it in one fell swoop."
He was also afraid that Cao Pi would not be able to convince him, so he persuaded: "Your Majesty, now most of the troops in Western Shu have been damaged, and they have also lost Fazheng, Liu Ba, Ma Liang, Ma Chao, Huang Zhong and other civil and military ministers, and there has been another rebellion in the three counties of Nanzhong. , it is God's opportunity for your majesty to use force, and your majesty must cherish it.
"Once this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is missed, it may be difficult to find it again in the future. I hope that Your Majesty will never be afraid of the difficulties of the Shu road. It is only right that we use a large army to defeat this opportunity in one fell swoop."
