Liu Bei thanked and said: "The military advisor is wise, save Liu from the tiger's mouth again!"

Kong Ming said: "It is my duty to protect my lord. ”

Zhiming said: "Cao Cao will never stop his troops here, and we should seize the time to discuss the next step." ”

Everyone asked Kong Ming for advice. Kong Ming pondered for a moment and said, "Cao Cao is very fast with his troops, if I am not wrong, Cao Gongwen should have sent a meteor horse to Jiangling, it seems that it will not be possible to go there." Xiakou is located at the place where the Han River flows into the Yangtze River, adjacent to Jiangxia, and does not belong to the jurisdiction of Jingzhou and Dongwu for the time being. It is better to ask the lord to lead some of his men and horses to Xiakou to settle down, Liu Gongzi returned to Jiangxia and straightened out the soldiers, horses and warships, so that the two places became a corner, which was enough to resist the Cao army; if the whole army went to Jiangxia to settle down, it would be easy to attack and difficult to defend. ”

Everyone nodded, thinking that it was reasonable, but Liu Qi seemed to have concerns and did not respond.

When Liu Bei asked why, Liu Qi said: "I have a request, I ask my uncle to go to Jiangxia with me, and then go to Xiakou after the soldiers and horses are properly organized. ”

Kong Ming nodded: "It's okay to do this, what does the lord think?"

Liu Bei agreed, so he asked Guan Yu and Liu Mi and his son to lead 5,000 troops to guard Xiakou first, and place the rest of the people in Xiakou. Xiao Miao wanted to stay with him, so he followed.

On the way, Zhiming asked Guan Yu if he had encountered a surprise attack on the way to ask for help, and Guan Yu said that he had been attacked by a giant falcon, and Zhang Fei also said that he had encountered a giant falcon at the head of the bridge in Nagasaka, but fortunately he was rescued by lightning.

Zhiming said: "These giant falcons are all spells created by someone in the White Tiger Team, but don't worry, you don't have to be afraid of them in the future." ”

The two were puzzled and asked why. Zhiming half-jokingly said: "This is an agreement I made with God, and God will protect us to the end." ”

The two looked at each other. Zhang Fei thought: "This kid is sometimes unpredictable, and it seems that many things are under his control. Where did he come from?"

Seeing their puzzled faces, Zhi Ming hurriedly changed the topic: "Let's go to Master Kong Ming to discuss the future plan." ”

When he came to Jiangxia, Liu Bei gathered to discuss. Kong Ming said: "The Cao army is huge, and there are the magicians of the White Tiger team who are turning the clouds and rain, creating magic to suppress our army, I and General Guan were on the way to Jiangxia for help, we encountered the attack of Fangshu, fortunately General Guan was relieved of the difficulty. Therefore, with the current strength of our army, even with the strength of Jiangxia and Xiakou, it will be difficult to resist the enemy. In his humble opinion, Jiangxia was close to Eastern Wu, and the lord should take this opportunity to try to establish a cooperative relationship with Sun Quan, the lord of Wu, to fight against Cao Cao. ”

Zhiming said: "The military advisor is reasonable, the soldiers of the six counties in Jiangdong are full of food, and if our army unites with the army of Eastern Wu, we will be able to retreat from Cao." ”

Liu Bei was worried and said: "This method is very good, but it lacks a bridge for cooperation. Besides, there are many talents in Jiangdong, even if he is willing to help me, those strategists will definitely try their best to dissuade me, so forget it. ”

Kong Ming patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, my lord, I am willing to leave for Dongwu, with this three-inch tongue, I will be able to persuade Sun Quan." ”

Liu Bei said happily: "If this is the case, the Han family will be saved!"

Zhiming was worried: "If no one introduces you, I am afraid that it will be difficult for the military advisor to enter the palace." ”

Kong Ming said with a smile: "Don't worry, my brother Zhuge Jin is now serving in the Wu State, I can write a book first and send someone to send it to him, so that he can introduce it to me." ”

Zhang Fei said happily: "Why didn't the military advisor say it earlier! Then why are you worried about this?"

Liu Bei asked: "What do you think are the chances of winning this trip?"

Kong Ming said: "A conservative estimate is ninety percent. ”

"On what basis?"

"Sun Quan's most important person is Zhou Yu, the former governor, as long as he is convinced, Sun Quan will not say that he is convinced. I am fully sure that I will convince Zhou Yu. Kong Ming is confident.

Everyone was impressed.

Kong Ming immediately wrote a letter, saying that Cao Cao led a million-strong army to the south, aiming to annex Jingzhou and Eastern Wu, hoping that Sun Quan could join forces with Liu Beijun to fight against Cao, and wanted to go to Wu Palace to lobby in person, and asked his brother to introduce him on his behalf.

Considering the importance of the matter, Kong Ming decided to let Zhao Yun and Sun Qian bring the letter to Jiangdong. He called the two of them, took out a map of the eighty-one counties in the south of the Yangtze River, and said: "I have ordered someone to investigate in advance, and now Sun Quantun is a soldier in Chaisang, and my brother is also there." There is a red dot on the map, which is where he is. Sun Qian, you are familiar with the terrain of Jiangdong, so you will be the guide. Remember to look at the map when you get lost. ”

After that, he told them that they must hand over the letter to Zhuge Jin in person, and must not let outsiders hand it over, so as not to cause trouble.

Sun Qian asked, "Why didn't the military advisor go to Jiangdong to see my brother in person?"

Kong Ming said: "I must stay to assist the lord, and I will go later." ”

So, Zhao Yun and Sun Qian took letters, maps, and two soldiers, and set off in a wooden boat.

After being frightened back by Guan Yu, Cao Cao consulted with the generals and decided to rush to Jiangling as soon as possible, and Liu Bei must not be allowed to seize the opportunity.

The army came out of the city overnight. At this time, the guards of Jiangling were Deng Xi and Liu Xian, who had received the official letter of surrendering to Cao, and led the soldiers and civilians in the city out of Guo to greet them.

Cao's army entered the city. Cao Cao went to the county government to hold a military meeting after the two of them.

Cao Cao said to the generals: "As soon as Liu Bei walks and has no way out, he will go to Jiangxia." Although Jiangxia is under the jurisdiction of Jingzhou, its defender will be Liu Qi, and it is expected that he will not obey my orders and capture Liu Bei, but will assist Liu Bei against our army. Jiangxia and Soochow are close at hand, and Kong Ming will definitely strive for the help of Soochow. If it succeeds, our plan of rebellion will be difficult to achieve. ”

Li Dian said: "Liu Bei is currently helpless, and Sun Quan will not allow him." ”

Cao Cao frowned and said, "Having said that, Kong Ming will definitely go to Jiangdong to lobby Sun Quan in person, and with his sharp teeth, I am afraid that Sun Quan will be persuaded." ”

Strategist Xun You said: "At this point, we may have to make some compromises. The prime minister can write a sketch letter and send an envoy to Eastern Wu, asking Sun Quan to cooperate with our army to capture Liu Bei, and afterwards the two sides will divide the land of Jingzhou equally and form an alliance forever. Sun Quan is a wise man, and he will definitely choose to cooperate with us, and Jingzhou is also a place that Eastern Wu has coveted for a long time, and Liu Biao has just died, so it is expected that the other party will never give up such a great opportunity. ”

"I have no opinion on dividing the old man in Jingzhou equally, but I am afraid that Kong Ming will be preconceived and persuade Sun Quan. At that time, if Sun and Liu unite to form a united front, it will be very unfavorable for our Great Wei to level the southern territory. Cao Cao was worried.

"Sun Quan's sailors have a strong lineup, and if there is a water war, our army is really not necessarily an opponent. Cao Ren told the truth.

"Don't worry, Sun Quan will not send troops easily. Xu Shu spoke.

Cao Cao asked, "What is Xu Shenjun's opinion?"

"If Dongwu sends troops, the Yue people will definitely take advantage of the situation and seize their inheritance. Xu Shu analyzed from the perspective of internal worries.

Cao Cao had also heard that there was a free people in Jiangdong called the Yue people, who lived almost all of them in the mountains and forests, commonly known as "Shanyue". They did not accept the rule of Soochow and often had the intention of overthrowing the Soochow regime, so there were often Shanyue riots in Soochow. Sun Quan had sent troops to suppress and go up the mountains to suppress the bandits, but they were witty and flexible, and their whereabouts were secretive, and they often laid traps in the mountains to surprise the Wu soldiers. The army sent by Sun Quan either went and never returned, or suffered heavy casualties, which made people panic, and no one dared to go up the mountain. Sun Quan was troubled by this.

Hearing what Xu Shu said, Cao Cao remembered the matter of Shanyue and said: "Mr. is reasonable, Sun Quan did not dare to send troops easily before consolidating the rear. ”

At the same time, he sent meteor horses to Xiangyang, ordering Cai Mao and Zhang Yun to lead the elite navy and army to rendezvous, and together with the men and horses of the headquarters, they went south to fight together.

After Cai Mao and Zhang Yun heard the news, they immediately gathered all the elite soldiers under their command and went to Jiangling together. The two armies converged, and the navy and army totaled 830,000.

However, it is said that Sun Quan, the master of Wu, is twenty-six years old, young and promising, and is now the director of Chaisang County. When they heard the news that Cao Cao's southern expedition, Liu Cong's Xianzhou, and Cao's army had now stationed troops in Jiangling, they urgently gathered to discuss countermeasures.

The strategist Zhang Zhao said: "Cao Cao will definitely take the opportunity to take Jiangnan under his banner in the name of pursuing Liu Bei, and his ambitions will be clear. ”

Lu Su, a staff officer, said: "Jingzhou is a transportation fortress connecting the Central Plains, Jiangdong and Xichuan, and it is also a land of great wealth, and now it has fallen into the hands of Cao Cao, which is extremely unfavorable to the situation in our Eastern Wu. Now that Liu Biao is dead, please allow me to go to Jiangxia to inquire about Liu Bei in the name of 'mourning'. ”

Sun Quan agreed, so he explained to Lu Su and sent him to Jiangxia to "mourn".

When Lu Su came to Jiangxia, he met Liu Bei, Kong Ming and Liu Qi in the garden.

He expressed his intentions, handed over the silk gift to Liu Qi, and said: "I deeply regret the matter of Lingzun, and I hope that the prince will mourn and change as soon as possible, so as to calm the army's heart." ”

Liu Qi accepted the silk gift and thanked: "Thank you Lord Lu for your kindness and reminder, I will." ”

After Lu Su exchanged polite words with Liu Bei and Kong Ming, he asked: "Uncle Huang must also know about Cao Cao's million-strong army going to the south of the Yangtze River, I don't know how many Cao troops there are?"

When Kong Ming heard this, he thought: "Sun Jian (Sun Quan's father) and Liu Biao are enemies, so how can the two families have a funeral ceremony? Lu Su clearly came to inquire about the military situation under the guise of 'mourning'. ”

He glanced at Liu Bei. Liu Bei understood and said: "It's not a secret, Liu was chased and killed by Cao Jun all the way to this point, only to escape, and he didn't know the truth of the other party." ”

Lu Su expressed his doubts: "Uncle Huang was guided by Mr. Kong Ming to burn Cao Jun twice, how could he not know the enemy's situation?"

Liu Bei smiled and said, "Liu really doesn't know, Master Lu can ask Kong Ming, maybe he knows." ”

Lu Su asked Kong Ming. Kong Ming said: "Actually, I don't know very well, I only know that the enemy's army is huge, and our army can only temporarily avoid its front and cannot respond to the battle." ”

"Then what are Mr. Kong Ming's plans for the future?"

"I haven't thought about it yet, so let's avoid it here for now. ”

"How long are you going to avoid it?"

Kong Ming thought for a while and said, "After a while, we will go to Cangwu Taishou Wu Chen." Uncle Liu Huang had a relationship with him, and he should take us in. ”

Lu Su said disdainfully: "Wu Chen is a general, it is difficult to achieve great things, not to mention that he is difficult to protect himself now, how dare he take you in?"

Kong Ming asked rhetorically: "In the opinion of Lord Yilu, who is not a general?"

"Sun Quan, the lord of Wu, is the lord of my family. He is in the six counties of Jiangdong, the soldiers are good and the food is sufficient, and the corporal Lixian has already recruited a lot of heroes and heroes in the Jiangdong area, why don't you consider asking him for help?"

Kong Ming sighed and said, "I really thought about it, but I only hated that no one introduced me, and besides, General Sun didn't have much friendship with Uncle Liu Huang, so how could he take in our army?"

"Isn't Brother Ling Zhuge Jin a long history in our state? If you get his help, you won't have to worry about big things. ”

Kong Ming's eyes lit up: "Lord Lu is reasonable. My brother Zhuge Jin has been working in Guibang for several years, and he should be able to help. ”

He told him about writing a book and sending someone to his brother. Lu Suhan said with a smile: "It turns out that Mr. has already made arrangements, and he was tricked by Mr. just now." ”

"Alas, the times are pressing, and now there is only one way to cooperate with General Sun. Master Lu, with your support, I believe we can succeed!" Kong Ming patted Lu Su's shoulder vigorously.

Lu Su could clearly feel the sharp aura emanating from this person's eyebrows, both happy and uneasy. He thought: "Is the alliance between Liu Beijun and Wu Jun good or bad for Eastern Wu?"

In fact, his scruples are not unreasonable, after all, Kong Ming's wisdom is no less than that of any strategist in Jiangdong, and he has more than once turned the tide of the battle on the battlefield for Liu Beijun, who has been in adversity, although Liu Beijun is still at a disadvantage, but at least it can be shown that the strategies used by Kong Ming in the past have been successful. As for Liu Bei's work together with the military and the people, it is completely the result of Liu Bei's obstinate actions, and it has nothing to do with Kong Ming, otherwise the situation will be different. In cooperation with Liu Beijun, Soochow would inevitably use a large number of military forces, and was this within Kong Ming's strategy? How would Kong Ming treat Soochow after the end of the anti-Cao war? On the one hand, he was worried that the other side would cross the river and demolish the bridge; on the other hand, he even thought that it would be good if he could recruit Kong Ming to work for Soochow.