Relying on the convenience of smooth sailing, on the morning of the twenty-fifth day of the first lunar month, the news that Deputy Director Tao personally led the Xuzhou army to attack Chaisang City was finally sent to Chungu, to Xiao Yuan Sangong, and to Sun Quan, who had a ghost in his heart. And after hearing the news, Sun Quan, who was already in his heart, was completely desperate, if it weren't for the fact that he was being closely guarded by Yuan Shujun's soldiers because of the failure of the fraudulent surrender, Sun Quan almost wanted to follow the example of Yang Changshi in Xuzhou and smear the soles of his feet.

But fortunately, in addition to being angry and scolding Tao thieves, Xiao Yuan Sangong couldn't bother to torture Sun Quan if he had really seen Deputy Director Tao, once Chaisang in the upper reaches was lost, it was equivalent to inserting a knife in the back of Xiao Yuan Sangong, and Xiao Yuan Sangong could only quickly organize a team of sailors to attack and rush to Chaisang's rescue.

When the grain and grass needed for the sailor to go against the current was still being loaded on the ship, there were two more bad news about Xiao Yuan Sangong like a thunderbolt on a sunny day, the first was of course the bad news that the Jingzhou Navy Division suddenly wore a pair of pants with the Xuzhou army, and the second was the bad news that Song Qian, the general of Chaisang, was killed by the Jingzhou general Gan Ning in the water battle, and the remnants of the Chaisang garrison opened the city gate and surrendered to the Xuzhou army, and then Xiao Yuan Sangong was also as stunned as Sun Quan, and the same complete despair.

"Tao Ying exterminates the thief! Liu Qi thief! How dare you do that?! ”

After complete despair, of course, it was a complete outburst, and in the midst of rage, Xiao Yuan Sangong even gathered all the soldiers and horses in his hands to go in to recapture Chaisang City, and shouted out the faint words of fighting to the death with Deputy Director Tao, fortunately the lord Bo Yanxiang, Changshi Shushao and the general Chen Fen and others were held to death, and Yan Xiang also hurriedly reminded: "Lord, it may be easy to send a large army to recapture Chaisang, but after the main force of our army advances westward, what should I do if Liu Xiangpifu takes the opportunity to attack?" The pottery thief's Chaohu sailor also took the opportunity to go south and attack our army's city and land in Danyang. ”

Xiao Yuan Sangong was stunned, and then remembered that he had countless good neighbors in his previous life, one would take advantage of the fire to rob, and one would fall into the well more than one another, if he dared to mobilize the main force to move westward, not to mention that the Xuzhou Navy led by Lu Su would definitely surround Wei to save Zhao, and the sworn enemy Liu Miao would definitely take advantage of the fire to rob, maybe Xu Gong, Wang Lang, Yan Baihu and Zu Lang, these good neighbors would also stick in and throw a few absolutely not small green stones on their heads that had fallen into the well.

After a pause, Xiao Yuan Sangong roared again and roared: "What can you do if you don't send troops?" Do you want to let the pottery thieves occupy Chaisang and occupy Poyang Lake? Threaten the rear of the lone team and Yuzhang County, a place of money and food, at any time? ”

"Don't be angry, lord." Shu Shao also persuaded: "It's not impossible to send troops to recapture Chaisang, but at the moment our army must do two things, one is to find out the enemy situation of Chaisang, know yourself and know the other in order to win a hundred battles, and the other is to conclude a formal alliance with Liu Miao as soon as possible, agreeing to join forces to resist the invasion of pottery thieves, relieving the worries, and then the lord can rest assured that he will go west and make every effort to recapture the important town of Chaisang." ”

"Mr. Zhong Ying has a point." Yan Xiang quickly echoed: "According to the opinion of his subordinates, it is best for the lord to follow the example of Tao Ying and Cao Ying, the two thieves, and agree to Liu Xiang's previous proposal, and the lord and Liu Xiang exchange their sons-in-law as hostages, only in this way can our army be truly worry-free when it moves westward, and you can also rest assured that you can join forces with Liu Miao to fight against Tao Qiang!" ”

Xiao Yuan Sangong was a little hesitant, and Sun Quan, who was named to join the army on the other side, couldn't wait to stand up, knelt down on his knees in front of Xiao Yuan Sangong, kowtowed and said loudly: "My lord, Weichen Sun Quan is willing to atone for his sins, go to Niu Zhu to visit Liu Xuan, and strongly persuade Liu Xuan to exchange protons with the lord to conclude the alliance between Qin and Jin, and join forces to resist the pottery thief!" ”

The answer to Sun Quan was a kick from Xiao Yuan Sangong who suddenly flew in, and the tip of the hard cowhide shoe was in the middle of Sun Quan's face, kicking Sun Quan so much that his face was full of flowers, and even a tooth was lost, and then Xiao Yuan Sangong roared again, "Drag out this vertical that eats inside and out, and cut it!" ”

"The lord spares his life, the lord spares his life! Lord, please spare Weichen's life, Weichen is loyal to you! Wechen is loyal to you! ”

Sun Quan shouted and begged for mercy, but Xiao Yuan Sangong, who was angry, waved his hand, and immediately a few guards pounced, dragging Sun Quan up and leaving, fortunately, Yan Xiang took into account that Xiao Yuan Sangong now has a shortage of experienced generals, and at this time, cutting Sun Quan will inevitably force Wu Jing and Sun Ben away, and pleading hard in front of Xiao Yuan Sangong, trying to justify that the current situation is unknown, and there is no evidence to prove that the loss of Chai Sang is the collusion between Sun Quan and Deputy Director Tao, misleading Xiao Yuan Sangong to cause Chai Sangong to lose his life, and trying to persuade Xiao Yuan Sangong to take back his life, It is recommended that Sun Quan be temporarily imprisoned, and it is not too late to ask for punishment as appropriate when the situation is clarified. Xiao Yuan Sangong reluctantly withdrew the order and ordered Sun Quan to be put on death row and convicted.

Sun Quan, who was paralyzed into a puddle of soft mud, was dragged away, but the matter of persuading Xiao Yuan Sangong and Liu Miao to abandon their previous suspicions and work together was not over, because they did not dare to conclude whether the Xuzhou army would launch a war to occupy the entire territory of Jiangdong, for the sake of prudence, Yan Xiang, Shu Shao and Chen Fen and others all urged Xiao Yuan Sangong to strike first and conclude an unbreakable alliance contract with Liu Xiang first, so as to prevent Liu Xiang from completely falling to the Xuzhou army and making the army fall into a difficult predicament again, but Xiao Yuan Sangong was always hesitant. I can't make up my mind.

Of course, there is a reason why little Yuan Sangong is hesitant, he has such a precious son as Yuan Ji in his forties, and he is not yet fifteen years old, how can little Yuan Sangong be willing to send him to his rival as a hostage? Moreover, the emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, no matter how downtrodden the little Yuan Sangong is now, the arrogance of the fourth third prince is still in the chest of the little Yuan Sangong, and he took the initiative to send a low-voiced envoy to his long-time rival Liu Xuan to bend down to ask for an alliance, and he also handed over his only son as a hostage, doing such a humiliating thing - Xiao Yuan Sangong's face is not thick to the point of Deputy Director Tao, Boss Cao and Uncle Liu Huang!

In the middle of the night, another new accident appeared, because of the changes in the upstream, in order to guard against the Xuzhou army and the Jingzhou sailors going downstream, Xiao Yuan Sangong naturally dispatched the sailors to fortify the river tightly, and as a result, the patrol boat inadvertently intercepted a suspicious boat from the upstream, captured a suspicious man who carried prohibited weapons and resisted the search by force, and found a secret letter from him stamped with the seal of the Xuzhou Thorn - That is, the letter that Jia Lao Poison reminded Deputy Director Tao to beware of being intercepted by Yuan Shujun on the waterway.

After reading this letter from Deputy Director Tao to Liu Xuan, the complexity of Xiao Yuan Sangong's mind in his chest is simply beyond the description of pen and ink, anger, trance, anger, fear, fear, and even joy, all kinds of thoughts, gritting his teeth and thinking for a long time, Xiao Yuan Sangong suddenly slapped the table and shouted: "Cut off the messenger of the pottery thief!" Then send someone to contact Liu Xiangpifu, and say that Lone wants to meet with him in person and discuss the alliance in person! ”

The person who served as the messenger to Deputy Director Tao this time was the guard of the Xuzhou Thorn History Mansion transferred by Xu Chu, and he was quite angry, although he was injured and heard Xiao Yuan Sangong drink the order to behead himself, but he didn't even say a word of begging for mercy, he struggled to stand up and walked with his head held high, but the lord Bo Yanxiang over there jumped out and shouted: "Slow! Push it out first, but don't rush it. ”

Stopping the guards from beheading the Xuzhou messenger, Yan Xiang turned to Xiao Yuan Sangong and said, "Lord, didn't you find this very strange? The pottery thief invited Liu Xiang to form an alliance with him to join forces to flank our army, such a big event, the pottery thief should send a Xuzhou official with sufficient status, take this book to Niuzhu to meet Liu Xuan, and formally negotiate with Liu Xuan to form an alliance, but now the pottery thief has sent an ordinary messenger with no official or official position to carry this letter to the east, and invited Liu Xiang to form an alliance with him by letter, which is almost child's play, which seems to have another deep meaning. ”

"What else does it mean?" Xiao Yuan Sangong was stunned and hurriedly asked, "What is the meaning?" ”

"Maybe the pottery thief wanted to deliberately let the lord intercept this letter." Yan Xiang pointed out sharply, "Liu Miao is located in the lower reaches of our army, our army has a strong water surface force, and it is very likely that the letter of the pottery thief will be intercepted by our army through the waterway, and it is unlikely that such a low-level mistake will be made with the deception of the pottery thief, so the truth of this matter is likely to be that the pottery thief deliberately did this, and deliberately wanted the lord to see the letter he contacted Liu Xuan." ”

"Why is the pottery thief like this?" Xiao Yuan Sangong was even more surprised.

"The pottery thief should want the lord to see the conditions he made to Liu Xiangpifu." Yan Xiang replied succinctly, "Divide the land of Jiangdong equally, and draw the Yangtze River and Taoshu Ridge with Liu Xiangpifu as the boundary, this condition is impossible for our army to agree, but the pottery thief can agree to it!" The pottery thief's move, or just to tell the lord that he wants to compete with him to win over Liu Xuan, our army will definitely not be able to afford the price he can offer. ”

Xiao Yuan Sangong didn't speak with a straight face, and here is also a wordy explanation, Deputy Director Tao's Jiangdong demarcation plan is actually to give the most elite land in Jiangnan in this era to Liu Xuan, and also give Wang Lang, Yan Baihu and Xu Gong and other weak Jiangnan rookies to Liu Xuan to bully and exploit, but Deputy Director Tao himself only left Yuzhang County, which was still very poor and remote in this era, and Liu Biao Liu Shoumen, who was more powerful than Xiao Yuan Sangong, blocked Liu Mian for Liu Xuan, who was stronger than Xiao Yuan Sangong, under such conditions, Liu Mian only had to believe a little bit of Deputy Director Tao's sincerity, will not be tempted.

is still under such conditions, but Xiao Yuan Sangong didn't even dare to write a blank check to Liu Xuan, because Deputy Director Tao has a rich and prosperous rear in Xuzhou, and he doesn't have the Jiangdong essence land east of Taoshu Ridge and doesn't worry about supporting the Jiangnan army, and if poor little Yuan Sangong asks him to hand over the grain-producing area east of Taoshu Ridge now, it will be tantamount to asking for Xiao Yuan Sangong's life.

"Don't be anxious, my lord." Yan Xiang analyzed again: "According to the opinion of his subordinates, since the pottery thief deliberately let our army know the conditions he gave to Liu Xiangpifu, then there must be other follow-ups, the lord may wish to prepare for both, one is not to kill the pottery thief messenger first, be a man and leave a line, and then see each other later, first see what the pottery thief will do next, and then improvise and formulate countermeasures." The second is to send an envoy to contact Liu Xuan, and persuade Liu Xuan to form an alliance with our army and join hands to resist the invasion of pottery thieves. ”

Speaking of this, Yan Xiang quickly added after a little calculation, "If Liu Xiangpifu refuses, or takes the opportunity to fall into the well and take advantage of the fire to rob, the lord can also try to reconcile with the pottery thief through negotiation, for example, send a sailor to help the pottery thief cross the Yangtze River downstream, in exchange for the pottery thief to return to our army's Chaisang town, since the pottery thief wants a foothold in Jiangdong, instead of letting him gain a foothold in the rear of our army, it is better to let him gain a foothold in the rear of Liu Xiangpifu, which is also much beneficial to our army." ”

Xiao Yuan Sangong continued to sulk for a long time with a straight face, and finally nodded, and said weakly: "Let's do it, put that pottery thief messenger in prison for the time being, and then let Shu Shao go to Niuzhu to see what Liu Xiangpifu's attitude is." ”

…………………… When Shu Shao, an important minister of Yuan Shujun, rushed to Niu Zhu to meet Liu Xiang, Liu Xiangjun, who had already received the news of Chaisang, not only couldn't hide his gloating look, but also put forward the conditions for reconciliation and alliance that were so harsh that little Yuan Sangong was furious that he was like a thunderbolt -- requiring Xiao Yuan Sangong to withdraw from the entire territory of Danyang County and hand over his only son Yuan Ji as a hostage, and then to return the grain and grass that Xiao Yuan Sangong had extorted from Liu Xiangjun before. Or double refund!

Of course, Shu Shao had the courage to agree to such a condition, and he only persuaded Liu Shao not to be blind and shoot himself in the foot. Liu Xuan's strategist Shi Yi, who couldn't make you happy, also stood up and strongly advised Liu Xuan to accept it when he saw it, and never covet the small profits in front of him, forcing potential friends to the side of the most dangerous enemy. It's a pity that even the old nest was robbed by Xiao Yuan Sangong, Liu Xian, made Jun remember the old hatred, said that he couldn't listen to Shu Shao and Shiyi's contrary advice, and proudly declared............ "Forced Yuan Shupifu to the side of Tao Ying's thief?" The pottery thief robbed all the important towns of his Yuan Shu Pifu, and directly threatened the rear hinterland of his Yuan Shu Pifu, and he Yuan Shu Pifu was brave enough to make an alliance with the Tao Thief! Look at how he was swallowed by the exterminating pottery thief with a belt and bones! ”

"A shaft is not enough." This is Mr. Yi's heartfelt words after Liu Xuan's refusal to adopt the anti-ear advice, "Maybe Yuan Shupifu may have been swallowed by the pottery thief with belt bones, but before that, our army may have been swallowed by Yuan Shupifu with belt bones, or after that, our army will also have to be swallowed by the pottery thief with belt bones!" ”

……………… Finally put down his body and whispered once, but in exchange for such a humiliating consequence, the anger in the chest of the arrogant little Yuan Sangong can naturally be imagined, but at this time, Mr. Jiang Gan, one of the ace diplomats in Xuzhou, came, not only respectfully met with Xiao Yuan Sangong, but also politely presented Deputy Director Tao's request for peace and explanation letter with both hands.

In this letter, Deputy Director Tao first respected Wen'an to his uncle as a niece and son-in-law, and then told Xiao Yuan Sangong in a humble manner that the reason why he sent troops to seize Chaisang was not to rob his wife and uncle of the land and city, but to dredge up the contact with the friendly Liu Biao's team, but the matter was too late to report to his uncle, so there was a little conflict with his uncle's team, and he begged his uncle for forgiveness, so as to satisfy the arrogant self-esteem of his uncle who was born in the family of the fourth and third princes.

Of course, Deputy Director Tao's letter also stimulated Xiao Yuan Sangong, for example, Deputy Director Tao was not greedy enough, and he wanted to rent the neighboring cities of Liling and Haidun from his uncle in order to establish an advance base and send troops to help Liu Biao's friendly army quell the rebellion of the traitor Zhang Xian. However, after seeing that his niece and son-in-law said that he would only borrow for three years and pay 30,000 yuan of military rations every year, Xiao Yuan Sangong's mentality was finally balanced a little - this attitude was much stronger than that of Liu Xuan.

On the one hand, there is the insatiable and insatiable rival Liu Xuan, and on the other hand, the kind, face-giving and greedy son-in-law Deputy Director Tao, the little Yuan Sangong who is in a critical situation has certainly made a wise choice. Considering that it is difficult for the self-army to start a full-scale war with the increasingly powerful Xuzhou army, and also considering the urgent need to take the essence of Jiangdong and hoard grass and grain, and considering that the sworn enemy Liu Xiang is greedy for small profits, and joining forces with him is to rely on the mountains and mountains and rely on the flow of water, Yan Xiang and Shu Shao and others also strongly persuaded Xiao Yuan Sangong to make a wise choice, so Xiao Yuan Sangong quickly made a decision:

"I only lend the two cities of Chaisang and Liling to you for two years, and I must pay 40,000 yuan of grain and grass to Gu every year to repay Gu's kindness of borrowing land! This is the final limit of loneliness, which is non-negotiable! ”

Xiao Yuan Sangong doubled the bargain, but Jiang Gan nodded without hesitation - because Deputy Director Tao's reserve price was actually only borrowed from Chaisang for two years, and he also paid Xiao Yuan Sangong 50,000 Hu military rations every year. And after finalizing this important matter, Jiang Gan bowed his hand to Xiao Yuan Sangong and said: "Duke Ming, my lord has a small request, and Wan Wangming promises." ”

"Say!" Xiao Yuan Sangong replied very simply.

"Please Duke Ming hand over the thief Sun Quan to my lord for disposal." Jiang Gan replied respectfully.

"Hand over Sun Quan?" Xiao Yuan Sangong, who had almost forgotten Sun Quan, asked suspiciously: "Why do you want to hand over Sun Quan alone?" ”

"Duke Ming, please forgive the minister for forwarding the original words of the lord." Jiang Gan replied honestly: "My lord said that although the soldiers are not tired of cheating, but the son of Sun Quan and the thief in order to avenge the murder of his brother by the hand of the Duke of Ming, in front of Lu Zijing, the governor of our army, was clever in front of Lu Zijing, the commander of our army, and even swore in blood, and deceived Lu Dudu into sending troops to attack the Spring Valley, which almost caused a full-scale war between your and our two armies, which is really hateful, and if you don't kill this thief, it will be difficult to eliminate the hatred in the heart of my lord!" ”

"And that matter?" Xiao Yuan Sangong was a little surprised.

"Absolutely." Jiang Gan nodded, and explained: "Don't dare to deceive the Ming Duke, because of his greed for merit, he mistakenly fell into Sun Quan's tricks, and almost caused a war disaster, and he has been demoted by the head of my family and the public official, deprived of the title of Governor of the Water Division, demoted to the rank of Captain of the Navy Commander, and seized 100 households. But that Sun Quan Xiao'er deceived our army into smuggling across the Spring Valley without knowing from Ming Gong, trying to provoke a full-scale war between your and our armies, and used Ming Gong's hand to avenge his brother's murder, ignoring thousands of lives in Jiangdong, and he deserved death! I also asked Ming Gong to hand over this thief to our army to punish him, so as to thank the innocent people in Jiangdong and remove this big trouble for Ming Gong. ”

Xiao Yuan Sangong and Yan Xiang glanced at each other, and for a while they didn't quite understand Deputy Director Tao's intentions, Mr. Jiang Gan observed his words, and hurriedly said: "Ming Gong, my lord's move is also for the sake of the friendly coexistence between your and our two armies, that Sun Quan Xiao'er is very good at disguise, and he will never forget the revenge of killing his brother, if he doesn't get rid of it as soon as possible, it will become a huge hidden danger for the friendly relationship between your and our two armies, and I hope that Ming Gong will investigate it deeply." ”

Xiao Yuan Sangong blinked his mung bean eyes, and said after a while: "Go back and tell your father-in-law that Sun Quan Xiao'er wants to use Gu's hand to avenge his brother Sun Ce. ”

"Duke Ming, but my father-in-law has explained, and he wants the ministers to bring Sun Quan Xiao'er back to fatten." Jiang Gan argued.

"Sun Quan is a subordinate of Lone, how to deal with it is Lonely's matter, Hugh has to say again." Xiao Yuan Sangong rudely refused.

"No." Mr. Jiang Gan reluctantly agreed, and then muttered in his heart: "Telling so many lies, I'm so tired!" Dry! What exactly does the lord want to do? really demoted Lu Dudu by one level for no reason, and ordered me to say these words in the letter, this is to kill Sun Quan's son, it's like trying to save Sun Quan's son! Could it be that Sun Quan is really the internal annihilation of the main public security inserted in Yuan Shu's army?! ”

(To be continued)