At the end of October of the 19th year of Jian'an, Cao Cao withdrew his troops and went back.

Sun Quan didn't dare to believe it, and still stationed his troops at the mouth of the water, waiting for the scouts to confirm that Cao Cao had withdrawn his troops.

At the beginning of November, Liu Bei, who was stationed in Xiling, also sent an envoy to Sun Qian, informing Sun Quan that he was about to go to Huainan Wancheng to discuss with Sun Quan a plan to deal with Cao Cao.

This Anhui County is the Qianshan City of Anhui Province in the later generations, and this place, together with Juchao County, Shu County and other places in the north, has been empty and has become a wilderness.

Because this is the confrontation area between the Lujiang River occupied by Liu Bei and the Lujiang occupied by Cao Cao, Cao Cao moved the people of Wancheng, Juchao, and Shuxian to Huaibei, and created an isolation zone in the frontline position in the Huainan region, so that Sun Quan and Liu Bei could attack Huainan in the north and it was difficult to replenish.

Therefore, this place has become a three-regardless area, Liu Bei's group did not occupy it, Cao Cao did not occupy it, Sun Quan's forces retreated to Jiangdong, and he also did not garrison troops here to defend, and tens of thousands of square kilometers became a barren land.

During this time, Sun Quan and Liu Bei corresponded daily, and because of Cao Cao's arrival, the two sides seemed to become intimate overnight, standing on the same side, and often sending envoys to each other to discuss how to deal with Cao's army together.

Now that Cao Cao is gone, Sun Quanhu is suspicious, and he is considering whether Liu Bei also wants to take the opportunity to annex him.

Don't blame him for being suspicious.

If it is four points today, Cao Cao and Liu Bei are powerful, and he and Han Sui and Ma Chao are far inferior to the two, so in the face of the offensive that the two may launch, they are under great pressure.

In particular, Cao Cao's threat is far less than that of Liu Bei, after all, Cao Cao's naval army is not strong, while Liu Bei has a strong naval army.

Fortunately, Lu Su thought that Cao Cao had just left, and it was impossible for Liu Bei to fight Jiangdong at this time, otherwise Cao Cao would immediately make a comeback to reap the benefits of the fisherman, so this time he came to the alliance, probably to personally discuss with Sun Quan about the alliance against Cao.

He suggested that Sun Quan should go with confidence.

Sun Quan then responded to the matter, and the two sides agreed to meet at the stone pavilion in the area of Trailer Township on November 8.

Shiting is located in the northeast of Anhui City, in history Sun Quan fought a battle of the founding of the Eastern Wu Kingdom here Shiting Battle, after this battle, Sun Quan was called the emperor, no longer the king of Wu of the Great Wei.

Liu Bei led an army of 100,000 and arrived in Songzi County on November 3, and then strictly reorganized the team, displayed the banner, and marched to Shiting.

Huainan was still prosperous in the early Yuanshu period, but in the late Yuanshu period, it suffered from repeated droughts and even Huainan people cannibalism.

Later, Cao Cao fought here, Sun Ce fought here, and even Sun Quan also fought the Lujiang Taishou Li Shu who occupied this place..... Then he slaughtered the city, and the head of the sword.

Now, Cao Cao has moved the people of Huainan and other places, and the city of Anhui has been barren for many years, overgrown with weeds, trees grow, and the fertile fields are not inhabited for thousands of miles, and there is a deserted scene everywhere.

After passing through Songzi, it was like leaving the human world and entering the primeval jungle, and it turned out that the official road connecting Songzi to Anhui City had long been covered by crazy plants.

Liu Bei rode on the Lu horse and looked into the distance, and saw that the former Qianmo Pastoral had become a thing of the past, and all he saw was broken and withered.

The villages along the way are left with ruins, and the mountains on the left and right are as dense as the dayless forests of Xichuan, with dead trees and branches covering the roads, and fallen leaves piling up into mountains, and the air is mixed with the freshness of the north wind and the indescribable smell of decay.

Zhao Yun told him that in recent years, the spring and autumn rains in Huainan have continued, and the Huaishui has skyrocketed, and the Lujiang River seems to be flooded, and there are wild lakes and ponds everywhere. Occasionally, you can see white bones in the ponds and fields, where the pavilions have collapsed and the water has flooded the ground.

Therefore, although Songzi is only more than 100 miles away from Wancheng, the road is extremely difficult to walk, and the road is cut off everywhere along the way, the wild lake floods the official road, and the swamps are lined up, and people will fall into it if they are not careful.

Liu Bei then ordered Zhao Yun to be the vanguard of the front and open up a path in the midst of thorns, while he led the main Chinese army to follow and slowly advance towards Shiting.

By November 7, Liu Bei's army finally arrived in Anhui at a speed of 30 miles a day.

To the east of Anhui City is a large area of hills, only the north is a small plain area between the southeast hills and the northwest Dabie Mountain, and it is dozens of miles to the north, and it will arrive at the stone pavilion realm.

The west and north of the stone pavilion are the mountainous areas of Dabie Mountain, and the east is a hilly high mountain, sandwiched between the two mountains, about more than 100 square kilometers of plain. The location of later generations is about the area of Yuantan Town, Qianshan City, Anhui Province, and the geographical location belongs to the only way from Cao's Lujiang River to Liu Bei's Lujiang.

When Liu Bei arrived at the stone pavilion on November 8, Sun Quan was already waiting here.

In order to avoid falling behind in momentum, he directly brought 50,000 troops of 70,000 troops stationed at the mouth of the water, and the number of people exceeded 10,000.

However, when he sat firmly in the pavilion of Shiting Village and waited for Liu Bei to come over, he saw an unforgettable scene.

I saw that on the vast horizon in the distance, a row of black dots that seemed to have no border first appeared, and then the black dots continued to move, standing on a slightly higher place and looking down, you will find that behind the black dots, there are countless dense black dots pouring in.

The sea of people composed of 100,000 troops made it impossible to see the end at a glance, and the banners were as dense as countless towering trees in the mountains and forests, covering the entire army. As the team marched forward, the ground seemed to tremble.

On a hilly hillside northeast of Shiting, Sun Quan, who was watching this spectacular scene, was obviously shocked by the powerful Liu Bei's army, and looked at it from a distance, but did not make a sound for a long time.

It wasn't until the army of Liu Bei's army approached that Sun Quan was silent for a moment and said to the left and right: "My sister-in-law is here." ”

The meeting place of the two sides is across the pavilion.

Sun Quanjun was on the east side of the stone pavilion, Liu Beijun was on the southwest side of the stone pavilion, there were pavilions in the middle, and there were ruined villages and barren fields in the distance, and the soldiers stood densely in the fields, between the roads and the dilapidated villages.

】

Liu Bei rode over and approached the stone pavilion, only Zhao Yunchen was accompanied by him, and Sun Quan was already waiting here, with Ling Tong and Zhou Tai by his side.

Seeing Liu Bei approaching, he turned over and dismounted and walked over, Sun Quan greeted him with a smile and said, "Xuande Gong." ”

"Zhongmou."

Liu Bei also smiled and went up and saluted: "Don't come to harm." ”

The last time they met was when Liu Bei went to Chaisang to marry Sun Shangxiang, and several years had passed.

"Xuande Gong, please."

Sun Quan beckoned Liu Bei to sit in the pavilion.

So they went into the pavilion, and in the pavilion there were mats, curtains hung on all sides, and the curtains rustled in the north wind.

A maid boils tea on a small stove on the side, then brews tea, and finally brings hot tea to it.

Tea art originated in the Bashu region of the Han Dynasty, and there were already records of the customs of the Bashu people drinking tea in the Western Han Dynasty.

But at that time, it was boiling tea, and all kinds of oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and spices were added to it.

Although there is no technology, this ruthless activity really tests people's taste buds, so it is only popular in the Bashu region, and has not spread to the Han Dynasty.

Until the beginning of Jian'an to Jian'an, Nanyang and other places rose up the roasted tea process, and then the Bashu merchants passed the roasted tea to Jiangdong, and the southerners drank roasted tea, which has been more than ten years.

At this time, the powerful families in Jiangdong gradually began to become popular with some new things, such as drinking fried tea, drinking spirits, playing chess, playing Go, practicing calligraphy, copying articles, and painting pictures of ladies.

They are all things that became popular after the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and it is up to He Yan to take the lead in leading the trend of Wushisan, which shows that the culture has spread greatly in the past 20 years.

Sun Quan raised the teacup in his hand and said to Liu Bei: "Xuande Gong, this tea ceremony originated in Bashu, and tea must be often tasted in Bazhou. However, these teas are cultivated in Jiangdong, and the taste is completely different from that of Bashu tea, please. ”

"Please."

Liu Bei also raised the teacup, took a sip, and immediately said: "Good tea, this tea is quite sweet." ”

"The right is just to quench your thirst."

Sun Quan also took a sip, and then said with a smile: "Gong came from afar, and met me here, just like this tea, it must have its own intentions when it comes from Bashu." ”

Liu Bei said with a smile: "Zhongmou and I are close to each other, and the two families of Liu and Sun are one, so it is time to move around." Now Cao Cao galloped south, Kou Luo Jiangdong, and now he went north to attack Guanzhong and Xiliang, at this time the north is empty, doesn't Zhongmou plan to take advantage of this opportunity to get the land of Xuzhou in Huainan? ”

Sun Quan fell silent.

After a while, he shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Gong Mo wants to entertain me, Cao Cao's soldiers and horses are known as millions of people, this time the army is pressing, my defense is already hard to support, how can I still have the power to go north?" Even if he goes west, there are many soldiers and horses in Runan, Yingchuan, and Xuzhou, and they may be able to reinforce in time. ”

Liu Bei immediately said: "Zhongmou and relieved, carefully report, Cao Cao's Huainan troops are extremely empty, Hefei and Shouchun only have a total of about 10,000 people to guard, and they are all transferred from Xuzhou. This time I want to go north to help Guanzhong, Yingchuan Runan soldiers and horses Cao Cao dare not move, I have a large army to guard Nanyang, the only soldiers and horses that can move are only Chen Du defenders, but Cao Cao is afraid that Chen will lose, do not dare to transfer troops, so Huainan is no man's land. If Zhongmou is based in Huainan, he will go on a northern expedition with me and restore the Han Dynasty, and in the future, the Son of Heaven will read Zhongmou's merits, and he will be the minister of Zhongxing. ”

"This ....."

Sun Quan hesitated for a moment.

Seeing that he hesitated, Liu Bei changed his attitude, played with the white porcelain teacup in his hand, and said in a surging voice: "Could it be that Zhongmou is unwilling to send troops?" Cao thieves have already been deceived to the door of Zhongmou's house, but Zhongmou hesitated, isn't it laughed at by the world. ”

"Forehead ......"

Sun Quan was provoked by him, and felt a little aggrieved in his heart, but he thought about forbearance, but in the end he still didn't express his position.

Liu Bei looked at him like that, and finally saw the dagger, and said with a suspicious look in his eyes: "Zhongmou's father and brother were blessed by the Son of Heaven and had to be in the court, so that there is now a foundation in Jiangdong." first suffered in the Son of Heaven, was imprisoned in Chen Du, and Zhong Mou was suspicious and did not enter, could it be that he had other plans? Want to take advantage of my trip to Guanzhong to plan Jingzhou? ”

Sun Quan's face changed suddenly, the teacup in his hand almost fell to the ground, just at this moment, a muffled thunder sounded in the sky, he loosened the teacup in his hand, and with a "snap", Zhao Yun, Chen Dao, Ling Tong, and Zhou Tai walked in at once.

At this time, the atmosphere in the arena was a little solidified, and the four generals looked at each other, quite a bit of tension.

Sun Quan reacted a little quickly, and hurriedly glanced at Ling Tong Zhou Tai, and then apologized to Liu Bei with a forced smile: "This thunder is loud, but it scared me, accidentally knocked over the teaglass, and asked Xuande Gong to forgive me." ”

"The saint is swift and the wind will change, and in my early years, I was also afraid of thunder, and I thought too much."

Liu Bei said with a smile: "Shicai is just a joke, I love Shangxiang husband and wife, you and I are pro-roll, how can you suspect that Zhongmou has its plans?" It's just that now the opportunity is rare, and the land of Huainan is in Zhongmou's hands, and it is easy to get, so I just have some doubts about why Zhongmou didn't take it, could it be that he forgot his father's and brother's ambition? ”

"Naturally not, naturally not."

Sun Quan waved his hand, pondered for a moment, and responded: "It's just that this matter is very important, although the Huainan Cao army is empty, but even if Huainan is obtained, it will have to face Cao Cao's millions of people in the future, so I am a little worried in my heart, and I hope that the prince will wait for two days, and I will go back and think carefully before replying." ”

Liu Bei said surgingly: "The enemy is strong and I am weak, and it is normal for people to have some concerns, then I will wait in Shiting for two days, and please Zhongmou to think carefully and don't make a wrong choice." ”

"It's nature."

Sun Quan got up and arched his hand: "Since that's the case, then I'll go back first." ”

"I'll send Zhongmou."

Liu Bei stepped forward with a smile, took Sun Quan's hand, and walked out of the pavilion with a smile.

In front of the two armies, the two sides behaved extremely closely, and those who didn't know thought they were long-lost father and son.

Until the final separation, it seemed that he was quite reluctant, Liu Bei rode on horseback and kept waving to see him off.

Sun Quan smiled on the surface, and his mother sold a batch in his heart, and gave an order, and the army returned.

It was not until the second day that Sun Quan returned to Misukou and summoned Lu Su, Zhuge Jin, Gu Yong and others to come to discuss the matter.

The city has now been built in the mouth of the river, specifically to control the entrance of the water and the Yangtze River, and at this moment in the palace of Sun Quan in the city, everyone is sitting in columns.

Sun Quan recounted the conversation between him and Liu Bei, and said viciously at the end: "Liu Bei deceived people too much, led 100,000 troops to the border of Gu, and also coerced Gu to attack Cao Cao, it is really a great shame, I will not take revenge, and I will not be a man." ”

Gu Yong hurriedly persuaded: "Wu Hou Mo wants to be angry, we are afraid of Liu Bei, and Liu Bei is not afraid of us." I am afraid that the purpose of leading troops and horses over this time is to deter us and others, so that we will not dare to act rashly. ”

"Not bad."

Zhuge Jin also said: "Wu Hou also knows that Cao Cao set up a plan to attack the east and the west, and the army was slightly Jiangdong, but in fact, the main force quietly went to Hedong to eliminate Han Sui and Ma Chao, and they were defeated, Liu Bei lost his horse breeding land, and it was difficult to go out of the pass to fight with Cao Cao, so he must rush to the aid of Han Sui Ma Chao." If his main force moves, Jingzhou is empty, and it is a matter of course that he has the heart to guard against us. ”

Hearing the persuasion of the two, Sun Quan sat down angrily, looked around and said: "Liu Bei asked Gu to attack Cao Cao, it's really a joke, Cao Cao is empty in Huainan, but Gu didn't plan to help Liu Bei contain Cao Cao's troops in Henan, and he wanted to be perfunctory to him, what do you think?" ”

"No."

At this moment, Lu Su suddenly said: "Marquis Wu should promise Liu Bei to send troops to attack Hefei." ”

"What?"

Sun Quan said angrily: "Zijing, you should understand that Cao Cao's navy can't wipe out Jiangdong and can't threaten Lone, only Liu Bei has the Jiangxia navy to attack Wudi, how can I not guard against Liu Bei, but I want to attack Cao Cao's reason?" ”

Lu Su groaned: "Only in this way will Liu Bei put his mind at ease, take away the soldiers and horses of Jingzhou, and gallop to the aid of Xiliang Guanzhong." Only in this way is our last chance to get Jingzhou. ”

"What's the explanation?"

Sun Quan didn't know what he meant.

Lu Su explained: "Wu Hou thinks about it, isn't Liu Bei coming this time because he is worried that Han Sui and Ma Chao will be defeated, and he shows his strength in front of Wu Hou? His main force was going to Guanzhong, and he was afraid that Wu Hou would attack the rear, so he came to deter Wu Hou. ”

"Not bad."

Sun Quan nodded.

Lu Su continued: "This shows that Liu Bei is jealous of Wu Hou, if Wu Hou is Liu Bei, will Wu Hou really transfer all the main forces to help Guanzhong?" ”

Sun Quan hesitated for a moment, shook his head and said: "Definitely not, at most tens of thousands of people will be transferred, and Jingzhou must have enough troops." ”

"That's it."

Lu Su said: "But Cao Cao is powerful, there are fewer people rushing to help, and he is afraid that he will not be able to win, so Liu Bei is worried and will force Wu Hou to fight Hefei." Wu Hou went to fight Hefei, and the troops would not be enough to attack Jingzhou, so he would be relieved and bold to withdraw Jingzhou's troops to compete with Cao Cao for Guanzhong. ”

"This ......"

Sun Quan hesitated: "Could it be that Gu really wants to fight Cao Cao to the death?" ”

Lu Su persuaded: "Not only to fight to the death, but also to be able to take Huainan down, so that Liu Bei will be more assured, and secondly, if Wu Hou can really seek Jingzhou one day, then Huainan Jiangdong Jingzhou will be connected together, and there will be tens of millions of soldiers and horses under his rule, and there may be a tendency to annex the north." ”

Annexation of the North?

Sun Quan's breathing became short.

Among the four, he ranks third in power, and there is a huge gap between him and the top two.

But if he can take advantage of Cao Liu's war in Guanzhong to occupy the two important lands of Huainan and Jingzhou in one fell swoop, then his power will be doubled in an instant?

It just sounds good, and the reality is cruel.

Because once he really does this, even if Cao Liu fights to the death in Guanzhong, I am afraid that he will immediately shake hands and make peace in the next second, and then raise troops to kill.

So after Sun Quan calmed down, he shook his head again and again and said: "If Gu really does this, then wouldn't Cao Cao and Liu Bei immediately send troops from Bashu and Henan to attack Gu on both sides?" There are still three rivers and three gorges to defend in this Bashu, but Nanyang and Huainan, a horse and a flat river, how can you stop it? ”

Lu Su said: "Therefore, it cannot be achieved overnight, this time Wu Hou can respond to Liu Bei's matter, and then prepare patiently, and when the time comes, send troops to the land of Huainan to confront Cao Jun." Wait for some time to delay and destroy Hefei, Kou Luo Shouchun, Liu Bei will be at ease with Wu Hou, wait for Jingzhou to be empty, suddenly the main force retreats, and then send troops to Jingnan, first get Nanzhou, and then take Jingbei. When Liu Bei learned that at this time, he would inevitably return to defense. Wu Hou can contact Cao Cao, willing to form an alliance with Cao Cao to attack Liu Bei, hoping that Cao Cao can hold Liu Bei's army, and after we pacify the entire Jingzhou, we can take Nanyang in the north and the Three Gorges in the west to block Liu Bei's army. At this time, Wu Hou negotiated peace with Liu Bei again and attacked Cao Cao together. With Jingzhou, and then two years of stable recuperation, Liu Bei went out of Hanzhong Kouluo Guanzhong, and the lord went out of Nanyang Huainan Kouluo Henan, so far the world is divided into three points, and the foundation of the lord has become. ”

"First make an alliance with Cao Cao, and then negotiate peace with Liu Bei?"

Sun Quan was stunned for a moment, then quickly lowered his head and began to ponder.

He is a qualified politician, and naturally knows that there are no eternal enemies and friends in the world of politicians, only eternal interests.

Lu Su meant to attack Huainan first to reassure Liu Bei, and when Huainan was captured and Liu Bei transferred the main force to Guanzhong, he immediately turned around and formed an alliance with Cao Cao, withdrew troops from Huainan and backstabbed Liu Bei, and attacked Jingzhou.

At this time, Cao Cao probably would not have an opinion.

Because Cao Cao was still entangled with Liu Bei in Guanzhong, Sun Quan was able to backstab Liu Bei and weaken Liu Bei, Cao Cao was afraid that he would agree to 10,000 yuan, and even conclude an alliance with a smile.

Therefore, Cao Cao's pass was easy, and he would not choose to withdraw troops from Guanzhong to fight him because of Sun Quan's attack on Huainan.

After forming an alliance with Cao Cao and Sun Quan's sneak attack on Jingzhou, Liu Bei must have been shocked and immediately withdrew his troops to protect Jingzhou.

But Cao Cao will hold him back, and Sun Quan can succeed calmly.

If it goes well, he will soon get the whole of Jingzhou, and if Liu Bei wants to withdraw to Bashu and attack him from the Three Gorges, he can use the Three Gorges to defend, and at the same time send an envoy to Cao Cao, hoping that Cao Cao will attack Hanzhong to put pressure on Liu Bei, and then send an envoy to discuss peace with Liu Bei.

Cao Cao was even more jealous of Liu Bei, and at that time it would be Liu Bei's weakest time, the main force was still confronting Sun Quan in the Three Gorges, and he definitely didn't mind falling into the well and attacking Hanzhong with a large army.

At that time, Liu Bei suffered from the enemy on his back, as long as he firmly defended the Three Gorges for a period of time, Liu Bei could not overcome it repeatedly, then the pressure on Cao Cao's attack on Hanzhong in the rear was most likely to choose to negotiate peace with Sun Quan, and he accepted the fact that Sun Quan got Jingzhou with grief and indignation, and went north to fight a decisive battle with Cao Cao.

Therefore, although he first attacked Huainan and then backstabbed Jingzhou, it seems that he offended the Cao and Liu families at the same time.

But as long as he skillfully maneuvers, taking advantage of the contradictions between Cao and Liu and repeatedly jumping left and right, under the condition that it is already an established fact, Liu Bei can only suffer this dumb loss, and has to pinch his nose to re-ally with Sun Quan.

In this way, Sun Quan can easily get Jingzhou, and even the land of Huainan. When the time comes, not only can you threaten Cao Cao, but you will also have the opportunity to eliminate Liu Bei, dominate the south, and peep into the world.

Of course.

It's all built on ideals.

In other words, Sun Quan had to convince Liu Bei that he had no intention of attacking Jingzhou before he could take the opportunity to backstab.

Then it is imperative to attack Huainan.

Thinking of this, Sun Quan suddenly seemed to have opened up the second vein of Ren Du, and said to Lu Su in surprise: "Zijing's words really make the lonely clouds see the sun." ”

Lu Su said in a deep voice: "This is the only way for Jiangdong to rise again at present, so I hope that Wu Hou will not be angry for a while and delay national affairs." ”

"Good."

Sun Quan nodded again and again, looked around at everyone and said: "Zijing is right, if Gu wants to win Liu Bei's trust, let Liu Bei think that Gu is fighting against Cao Cao, and if there is no rest of the troops to conquer Jingzhou, he will have to go north to capture Huai." Lone appointed Zijing as the governor of Jiangdong, and this year he first prepared to seize Huai, and next year he will officially set off to attack Huainan and seize Hefei! ”

"Yui!"

Everyone should be, everyone has a smile on their faces, Jiangdong is finally going to take his own steps!