Cao Zhang's suspicious look fell on Sun Shao's eyes, he showed a disappointed look, shook his hand, and said with a hint of disdain: "Forget it, you don't even want me to come to Youzhou, how can you still have the ambition to conquer Goguryeo and Buyeo." I'd better go to Gongsun Gong to discuss, although the Gongsun family lives in Liaodong, but in the past few decades, they still have some courage. ”

Cao Zhang's face was red, Sun Shao's last sentence made him very embarrassed, as the assassin of Youzhou, although he had only been in office for a few months, he was no stranger to the affairs of the Gongsun family. As Sun Shao said, although the Gongsun family only occupied Liaodong, they had been fighting Karasuma in the west and Goguryeo in the east over the years, and they were still quite meritorious in their conquest of foreign tribes, which was not inferior to his Youzhou assassin history.

Sun Shao praised the Sun family, which accused him of infighting in disguise, which made Cao Zhang, who was surnamed Geng, very depressed. But depressed to depressed, cooperating with Sun Shao's battle is too wide-ranging, he can't decide it himself, and he has to wait for Cao Ying's instructions before he can take further action. He is not Sun Shao, Sun Shao is the king of Yueguo, and he can make decisions on his own.

Although Cao Zhang was very ashamed, he couldn't sit back and watch Sun Shao and the Gongsun family cooperate, which was the main purpose of his visit this time. Although the hope of using military rations to restrain Sun Shao was disappointed, he still could not give up.

"The king wants to contact Gongsun Gong?" Cao Zhang was a little unhappy.

"Can't you?" Sun Shao asked rhetorically: "When I heard that the King of Wei was Sikong, my cousin Sun Du was the general of Wuwei who led Liaodong Taishou and sealed the Marquis of Yongning. The territory of our Yue country is connected to Liaodong, and if we don't negotiate, can we conquer it by force? ”

Cao Zhang frowned, hesitated for a moment, and said, "The king doesn't know, Gongsun Gong is not a martial arts general now. ”

"What do you mean?" Sun Shao asked knowingly.

"When my father was appointed as Sikong, he wrote to Gongsun Du as General Wuwei to lead Liaodong Taishou and Yongning Hou, but Gongsun Du did not accept it, he called himself Pingzhou Mu and Liaodong Hou, worshipping heaven and earth in the suburbs, and using the Son of Heaven to drive. In the ninth year of Jian'an, he died of illness and was succeeded by his son Gongsun Kang, who gave the Yongning Marquis of the court as a consolation to his younger brother Gongsun Gong. ”

"Is there such a thing?" Sun Shao was indignant, "So, there is no court in his eyes, and there is no Cao Gong?" ”

Cao Zhang glanced at him with disdain, and said in his heart, what are you pretending, can you not know this situation? And why bother to provoke me.

"In that case, then how can you, the assassin of Youzhou, be indifferent? Such rebellious ministers and thieves should have been destroyed a long time ago. Sun Shao patted his thigh and said angrily: "It's bearable, it's unbearable, if I had known that there was such a thing, I would have asked Liaodong to be attacked a long time ago." What's the matter, can you help, if you don't help, I'll take care of him myself? ”

Cao Zhang was stunned: "The king wants to attack Liaodong?" ”

"Of course." Sun Shao said as a matter of course: "As the king of Yue who is personally appointed by the Son of Heaven, I have the responsibility of guarding the land, although Liaodong is not my territory, but you are helpless, how can I sit idly by?" It is necessary to cross the border to attack the enemy. You can rest assured, I will appeal to the court for guilt, and your Cao family will not be implicated. ”

Cao Zhang was taken aback, Sun Shao wanted to attack Liaodong, the Son of Heaven must not be able to ask for it, but Cao Ying was definitely not happy. The reason is very simple, if Sun Shao takes Liaodong, will he still spit it out? Let him go ashore in Liaodong and stand on his feet, isn't it equivalent to stabbing the Cao family in the back?

Cao Zhang felt that the situation was serious and did not dare to let Sun Shao act alone, even if he felt that Sun Shao's troops did not seem to be enough, he could not take this risk. He pondered for a moment and said cautiously: "King Yue is so loyal and patriotic, it really makes the foreign ministers ashamed. As a stabbing history in Youzhou, how can the foreign minister stay out of the matter? The foreign ministers were willing to cooperate with the king to conquer Liaodong together. It's just that...... This matter must be in a hurry, and I have to make more preparations, not only to collect more troops, but also to ask Jizhou for grain, grass, and baggage, hoping that King Yue can give me some time. ”

"How long will you take?" Sun Shao frowned a little embarrassed: "What about my grain and grass, the soldiers are not used to using all fish to fill their food." ”

"Don't worry, I'll solve this matter." Cao Zhang knew that Sun Shao was blackmailing him again, but he had no choice, so he had to pat his chest and make a package ticket, promising to immediately raise food for Sun Shao's sailors. Fortunately, Sun Shao had a large number of cargo ships with his army, and it was very convenient to transfer grain from Jizhou and Qingzhou by sea. In order to conquer Karasuma, Cao Ying once excavated the Pingyu Canal, Quanzhou Canal and other waterways to communicate Jizhou and Youzhou, and the waterways of Zhangshui and Qinghe are also very abundant, and the ships transporting grain can go all the way to the hinterland of Jizhou, which is still very convenient.

Sun Shao agreed to Cao Zhang's request, stopped in Qinhuangdao, he sent a notice to Gongsun Gong as the king of Yue, telling Gongsun Gong that he was about to arrive at Liaodong County to inspect the territorial waters, and asked Gongsun Gong to come to pick up the driver, and on the other hand, he sent someone to Luoyang to make a table, saying that he could conquer Liaodong, and at the same time in Qinhuangdao to train sailors in the way of fishing, the momentum was very large, two or three building boats every day, five or six thousand sailors fished on the sea, at first it was early and late to return, and then it was three or four days as soon as it went to sea, and the boat was not filled and did not look back.

Cao Chang quickly raised the first batch of grain and handed it to Sun Shao, who set sail again, leaving Qinhuangdao and sailing north, continuing his journey to patrol his territorial waters. In October, the fleet reached the mouth of the Great Liao River (now Liao River). The Great Liaoshui is the boundary between the subject country of Liaodong and Liaodong County, and it is the boundary of Liaodong County to the south across the Great Liaoshui, and it is the boundary of Liaodong County to the south, and then it goes up to Daliangshui (now Taizi River), and you can go straight to Xiangping City of Liaodong County (near Liaoyang City today).

The Son of Heaven issued an edict authorizing Sun Shao, the king of Yue, to conquer Liaodong, and at the same time asked him to contact Goguryeo, Buyeo, and Joseon, instructing them not to forget their status as vassals, and to pay tribute. Of course, asking Goguryeo to pay tribute is a pretense, and the Son of Heaven is actually reminding Sun Shao that you should also pay tribute. Luoyang City wants to be rebuilt, but the Son of Heaven is so poor that Ding Dang, Wei Shu Wu no one cares about him, as soon as he asks for money, he cries poor, as if they are all called Huazi, among the four kings, only Sun Shao is a little better, so the Son of Heaven has to reach out to the Yue Kingdom, the benefit is to give you the right to collect, the Son of Heaven is now lacking money, and more is the edict.

Sun Shao received the edict, which was equivalent to getting the license, and he asked him to send a letter to Yu Xuan, asking him to consider the matter of paying tribute at the end of the year at his discretion, and at the same time telling Cao Zhang, I now have the authorization of the Son of Heaven, if it is inconvenient, I will do it alone. Cao Zhang has also received Cao Ying's order, Cao Ying told him that it is okay to cooperate to break through Liaodong, but Sun Shao must not be allowed to take advantage, Sun Shao's water division is very strong, but there are few foot soldiers, and there are no cavalry, he must want to occupy Liaodong very much, you can't let him succeed, don't even think about buying horses, not only can you not help him buy horses, but he also buys horses himself, and he has to find ways to make him yellow.

Cao Zhang did not dare to slack off, and took the collected 20,000 cavalry troops to cross the Liaodong vassal state, drove straight in, and rushed to the Liao Tunnel between the Great Liao Water and the Great Liang Water, and captured the Liao Tunnel City with lightning speed, and then sent someone to inform Sun Shao that I had arrived and could enter the army.

Yue Hai and others scolded. Cao Zhang's preemptive occupation of the Liao Tunnel is equivalent to blocking the waterway, obviously with bad intentions, which is like an ally, it is even tighter than defending against the enemy. Sun Shao is very calm, he has long been mentally prepared for this result, Cao Zhang is upright, but he is not stupid, it is strange if he does not guard against him. Taizu said that fighting with the sky is endless, fighting with the earth, it is endless, and the most important thing is fighting with people, which is even more enjoyable. Of course, you have to fight with the enemy, how can your own people live in peace? Not to mention Cao Zhang, aren't he and Sun Quan also ghosts, and the uncle and nephew are having a lot of fun?

Although he feels very sad, Sun Shao knows that the world is like this, and it is more rational to say that internal fighting is far more cruel and ruthless than external fighting.

"What's wrong with him occupying the Liao Tunnel?" Sun Shao smiled: "It's not us who are most restless, but Gongsun Gong, right?" ”

Sun Shao's analysis is very accurate, and Gongsun Gong really can't sleep.

Although Liaodong is remote, it does not mean that Liaodong is closed, especially with the arrival of a large number of merchants, Gongsun Gong not only knows the changes in the situation in the Central Plains, but also knows that the sea not far from him is not the ownerless sea, these are the territory of Sun Shao, the king of Yue, and Sun Shao is patrolling this sea with a huge fleet of sailors.

Like Cao Ying and others, although Gongsun Gong lives next to the sea, he doesn't have much interest in the sea, who is the master of the sea, he doesn't care much, so although Sun Shao, the king of Yue, sent a messenger, he was indifferent, he has already sent someone to understand, the sailors of the Yue country are powerful, but not powerful enough to go ashore, more importantly, he has no cavalry, if you want to compete for power in Liaodong, it is difficult to gain a foothold without cavalry. Therefore, although Sun Shao had 20,000 sailors, his arrival touched Gongsun Gong far less than Cao Zhang's 20,000 steps. As soon as he heard that Cao Zhang had conquered the Liao Tunnel, Gongsun Gong was really anxious. Although he didn't know the famous saying "On the side of the couch, how can you allow others to sleep peacefully", but the truth is the same in ancient and modern times, and he can't let Cao Zhang squat next to him with 20,000 steps.

Whether it was war or peace, Gongsun Gong hesitated and convened the ministers to discuss the matter.

If Gongsun Gong's father, Gongsun Du, was here, he wouldn't be so hesitant. Gongsun Du is a very domineering person, and the reason why he can gain a foothold in Liaodong is because of his prestige by killing people. He was ruthless not only against the barbarians, but also against the people under him. Although Liaodong County is remote and cannot be compared with the Central Plains in all aspects, the customs of the wealthy families looking down on the Hanmen are not much different from those of the Central Plains. He was born as a small official, and he became an official because of Dong Zhuo's subordinate Xu Rong, so the people of Liaodong County did not take him seriously, and Gongsun Du's way to deal with it was very straightforward, that is, to kill, and whoever disobeyed would be killed. As soon as he arrived, he first summoned Gongsun Zhao, a native of Liaodong who was appointed to Xiangping Order, to Xiangping, and beat him to death in Xiangping City, and then killed the famous and wealthy Tian Shao's family who had been bad to him before, and the means were so fierce that the county was shocked. Li Min, a famous scholar who used to be the Taishou of Hanoi, was afraid and exiled his family to the sea, wanting to escape from the control of Gongsun Du. Gongsun Du couldn't find anyone else, and in a fit of rage, he ordered someone to dig up Li Min's father's grave, dissect the coffin and burn the body, and kill the clan he left in the local area with a river of blood.

Gongsun Du is accustomed to solving problems with violence, if he learns that Cao Zhang has come to the door, he will definitely send troops to attack, and there will be no other reaction, it is impossible for Gongsun Gong to be so helpless. And his eldest son, Gongsun Gong's brother Gongsun Kang is also a ruthless person, Yuan Shao's sons Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang were defeated by Cao Ying, cornered, came to Liaodong, ready to seize Liaodong, and made a comeback, but he didn't expect Gongsun Kang to be more fierce than him, throwing a cup as a number, ambushing the soldiers, and the Yuan brothers were done. If Gongsun Kang is in power, in the face of the current situation, he will make a decision in the shortest possible time whether to fight or surrender, and he will not delay like Gongsun Gong.

Seeing Gongsun Gong's nervous appearance, Cao Liuyi, General Yangyi and others, who had assisted the Gongsun family since Gongsun Dushi, shook their heads again and again, feeling that the Gongsun family was not as good as the next generation, and Gongsun Gong did not have any inheritance of Gongsun Du. No matter how you look at it, Gongsun Gong doesn't look like he is the son of Gongsun Du.

Indeed, Gongsun Gong not only has a surname that does not look like his father Gongsun Gong and his brother Gongsun Kang, but also does not look very similar. Gongsun Du and Gongsun Kang both look mighty, and although Gongsun Gong is not small, but he can't match Weimeng, he even looks a little cowardly, a fat body, a round face, but no beard, and a white and smooth chin comparable to a woman's chest. Sparse eyebrows, slender eyes, and even a somewhat shrill voice, like a eunuch.

More precisely, he was actually a eunuch. This is Gongsun Gong's biggest secret, a secret that no one knows except him and his wife and concubine. In the eyes of outsiders, Gongsun Gong is very lascivious, as the overlord of Liaodong, in addition to his wife, he has more than 20 concubines, and many people even say that he is greedy for sex and misleading the country, but no one knows, in fact, Gongsun Gong can't be a person at all.

"Liu Gongcao, say it quickly, whether it is war or peace, there must be an explanation." Gongsun Gong's face trembled with fat and looked at Liu Yi eagerly.

Liu Yi is more than sixty years old, when he followed Gongsun Du to start working hard in Liaodong, he was still a handsome young man, and now he has become famous, his body is also blessed, and his mentality has lost the momentum of the year, and he is also very embarrassed in the face of the current predicament. In front of so many people, Gongsun Gong asked him, and he couldn't help but speak, otherwise he would be ashamed of his reputation as the first strategist in Liaodong. He coughed and said slowly: "Ming envoy, the minister thinks that you should talk to Sun Shao, the king of Yue, first." ”

"Let's talk?" Gongsun Gong asked, "What to talk about, how to talk about it?" ”

General Yangyi also felt very puzzled, he pressed the sword on his waist, and his thick eyebrows were twisted together: "Brother Liu, although Sun Shao also has 20,000 people, but he is a sailor, and he has not gone ashore so far, we don't talk to Cao Zhang, who is closer, but go to talk to Sun Shao?" ”

Liu Yi raised his head and looked directly at Gongsun Gong, Gongsun Gong's fat face was shiny, which made him feel very uncomfortable: "Sun Shao is the king of Yue, and he has the edict of the Son of Heaven in his hand, although Cao Zhang has a strong army, but his officials are not as good as Sun Shao, and the right to fight or make peace is not in his hands, but in Sun Shao's hands." ”

Yang Yi dismissed: "What is the official, although Cao Zhang is only a six-hundred-stone thorn history, but he has 20,000 steps to ride, can he listen to Sun Shao?" I think he preemptively took the Liao Tunnel City, probably with the meaning of competing for merit. ”

"You're quite right." Liu Yi nodded with a smile, "That's why I suggested that you talk to Sun Shao instead of Cao Zhang?" ”

"What do you mean?" Not only was Yangyi confused, but Gongsun Gong was also confused, and several other people also looked at Liu Yi with wide eyes. Liu Yi's identity as the first adviser in Liaodong since Gongsun Du made them puzzled, but they didn't dare to doubt it, but they just looked at Liu Yi with their eyes, hoping that he could give an explanation.

"Cao Zhang has strength, if he doesn't take Sun Shao in his eyes, can Sun Shao be satisfied? Of course, he didn't want Cao Zhang to make meritorious contributions. Liu Yi explained with a bit of arrogance: "As long as we show a little sincerity, Sun Shao must be very willing to stop the war, so that he can monopolize the credit, while Cao Zhang, although he has an army of 20,000, can only watch from the sidelines, and the labor is fruitless." ”

"What if Cao Chang doesn't listen?" Gongsun Gong asked.

"If he doesn't listen to Sun Shao's orders, then we just need to deal with Cao Zhang, and maybe, Sun Shao will help us deal with Cao Zhang." Liu Yi seemed to owe a debt to Gongsun Gong respectfully, and further explained: "As long as we hand over a reduction table, we can protect Liaodong, and maybe we can also get the approval of the Son of Heaven through Sun Shao, why not?" ”

Gongsun Gong, Yang Yi and the others all understood, they looked at each other, and they all felt that Liu Yi's method was good, if Sun Shao and Cao Zhang could be separated, they would not have to face an army of 40,000, and it would naturally be much easier to deal with. Gongsun Gong's Pingzhou Mu and Liaodong Marquis are all self-proclaimed, Cao Ying was busy fighting in the Central Plains in the past, and had no time to clean him up, but now that the Central Plains is pacified, Cao Ying will have to free up his hands sooner or later to solve Liaodong, and it is impossible for them to continue to be free. If Gongsun Gong's official title is recognized by the Son of Heaven, then Cao Yingke has no reason.

"Just follow Liujun." Gongsun Gong saw that everyone had no objections, so he made a decision immediately, and Liu Yi was in charge of the negotiation with Sun Shao. After Liu Yi received the order, he immediately sent people to Xiangping City and found the merchants of Yue Kingdom. Liu Yi knew that these merchants must have been arranged by Sun Shao, the king of Yue, and the reason why they have not been dealt with is only because they are very responsible, and Liaodong also needs the exquisite goods they brought.

Liu Yi's guess was so accurate that a merchant surnamed Wei led the envoy he sent to a young man.

"I am Zhou Yi, the envoy of King Yue." Zhou Yi said straight to the point: "Gongsun makes the king have the intention of surrendering, His Royal Highness the King of Yue will be very pleased, but you have no evidence, you must show a certain sincerity, and His Royal Highness the King of Yue will meet and negotiate with you." ”

"What kind of commitment do you want?"

"It doesn't matter what you said, you take me to see Liu Gongcao, and I want to talk to him personally."

The person sent by Liu Yi was very hesitant, and he looked at Zhou Yi carefully, hoping to see some clues from his expression. Zhou Yi sat calmly and drank tea, neither looking anxious nor arrogant.

"Okay, I'll go back and report."

"Okay!" Zhou Yi nodded calmly: "The Liao Tunnel to Xiangping is only a hundred miles away, and it can be reached overnight, so you can do it yourself." ”

Liu Yi quickly summoned Zhou Yi, as soon as he saw Zhou Yi, Liu Yi was very hesitant, Zhou Yi was too young, he didn't look like he was thirty years old, that is, twenty-seven or eight, could he take on such an important thing? Isn't it a bit too hasty to talk to him?

Zhou Yi saw his worry in Liu Yi's eyes, and smiled faintly: "His Royal Highness the King of Yue of my family is twenty-eight years old this year, only one year older than me. After a pause, he said: "The average age of the three generals of my Yue Kingdom is only thirty-two years old. ”

"Sure enough, it's a hero out of a teenager." Liu Yi was calmly impressed by Zhou Yi's calmness, and showed an appreciative smile: "Zhou Jun has achieved such a position at such a young age, and his future prospects must be limitless. It is a blessing that King Yue can have Zhou Jun to complement him. ”

"Thank you Liu Jun for the compliment." Zhou Yi did not bow arrogantly: "Zhou Yi is not a capable person, but when he met His Highness, he was fortunate to participate in confidential matters." I have a lot of people in Vietnam, and people like me have a lot of people. ”

Liu Yi smiled, he was not interested in this kind of scene, and as soon as the conversation changed, he talked about the current situation. He sighed first, and said in a very aggrieved tone: "Since the Yellow Turban, the world has been in turmoil, the people have been displaced, and although Liaodong is remote, it has not been spared. Gongsun's father and son successively, pacifying Liaodong, has a lot of credit to the Han family, and now the Son of Heaven and the King of Yue are mistaken by rumors, thinking that Gongsun makes the king have a heart of disobedience, which is really chilling. ”

Zhou Yi listened quietly, his face was like an ancient well, and when Liu Yi finished speaking, he said: "The rumors stop at the wise, if Gongsun Zhijun is really a loyal minister of the Han family, even if someone misunderstands it, it doesn't matter, as long as the envoy sends someone to show his heart in front of His Royal Highness King Yue, His Royal Highness King Yue will naturally understand." Although His Highness is young, he is very intelligent, he will definitely be able to understand the Sacred Heart, and he will not wronged a loyal minister, nor will he let go of a rebel. ”

Liu Yi frowned, very unhappy with the threatening meaning in Zhou Yi's tone. He was willing to negotiate with Sun Shao, not in the hope that Sun Shao could clear their grievances, but in the hope of using the contradictions between Sun Shao and Cao Zhang to alleviate the crisis in Liaodong. Now Zhou Yi's tone was resolute, making him feel as if Sun Shao's will was very resolute, and it didn't seem to be easy to fool him.

Liu Yi felt the need to remind Zhou Yi.

"I heard that King Yue is a sailor, how many warships does he have?"

"Not much, there are twelve ships, including more than 130 large and small warships."

"That's all?" Liu Yi seemed to be sorry, but in fact said disdainfully: "So, this time it is Cao Zhang who is in charge?" ”

Zhou Yi smiled faintly: "If Liu Jun is willing to talk to Cao Zhang, I don't object." However, Cao Zhang's dedication is not as good as His Royal Highness King Yue. His Royal Highness the King of Yue has always believed in a rule that buying and selling is not benevolent, but this price also fluctuates with the market. ”

"What kind of conditions can His Royal Highness King Yue give now?" Liu Yi asked indifferently.

"Claim the title of minister and accept the orders of the king of Yue." Zhou Yi paused, and then said: "Liaodong can enjoy the same trade treatment as Yuejun and Zhuya, give priority to the supply of goods, and sell grain, war horses and other corresponding materials at preferential prices. ”

(To be continued)