Three Kingdoms: Take care of Lady Gan on behalf of Liu Bei at the beginning

Chapter 90 Zhuge Liang: Liu Wu actually has his eyes on Da Qiao, one of the two Qiao sisters from Jiangdong?

In the Guandong area, Liu Wu formed alliances and expanded his influence greatly.

However, Guanzhong was in the midst of war.

Han Sui and Ma Teng led an army of more than 100,000 troops and Cao Cao's 300,000 infantry and cavalry troops in a thrilling battle near Chang'an. At first, facing the step-by-step pressure of Cao Cao's army, Han Sui and Ma Teng were panicked and exasperated. Relying on their large number of cavalry, they launched a fierce attack on Cao Cao's position, but Cao Cao successfully resisted the offensive of the coalition forces of Ma Teng and Han Sui with his excellent defensive strategy and solid position.

Afterwards, Cao Cao began to use his wisdom and strategy. He used spies and false surrender to successfully alienate the relationship between Han Sui and Ma Teng, causing a rift within the coalition. At the same time, Cao Cao also sent elite troops to carry out night attacks and surprise attacks on Ma Teng and Han Sui, further weakening the combat effectiveness of the coalition forces of Ma Teng and Han Sui.

Under Cao Cao's clever strategy, the coalition forces gradually fell into a passive position. Finally, in a decisive battle, Cao Cao commanded the army to launch a general attack. The coalition forces were unable to resist Cao Cao's powerful offensive and were eventually defeated.

The hundreds of thousands of troops led by Han Sui and Ma Teng suffered a crushing defeat in this battle, most of them were captured, and were directly annexed by Cao Cao.

Cao Cao won the battle in one go, directly establishing his dominant position in Guanzhong.

However, Cao Cao did not enjoy the victory in Chang'an for long, as news of the incident in Jiangdong came.

Changan.

In the meeting hall.

Jia Xu, Cheng Yu, Guo Jia, Xiahou Dun, Xu Chu, Le Jin, Zhang He, Xu Huang, as well as Cao Hong, Cao Xiu, Xiahou Shang and other generals gathered.

"Liu Wu is not a good son. He married Sun Shangxiang but then stabbed Sun Quan. He deserves to die!"

Sitting in the main seat, the white-haired Cao Cao scolded Liu Wu for being a bad boy, his tone full of disappointment.

In the hall, Jia Xu, Cheng Yu and Guo Jia looked at each other and they all understood why Cao Cao was so angry and frustrated.

Not long ago, Sun Quan sent an envoy, wanting to join forces with them to attack Liu Wu. They all felt that this was a good opportunity for them to defeat Liu Wu and return to Guandong.

But, obviously, their joy was in vain.

Liu Wu actually cut off the source of the problem and was even willing to give up Xuzhou and use Sun Shao to divide the power of Jiangdong.

As a result, Sun Quan's power was greatly reduced, so the plan to attack Liu Wu together with them naturally fell through.

Cheng Yu hesitated for a moment, but still bowed to Cao Cao and said:
"Sikong, Yu believes that we still cannot give up Sun Quan. We should even form an alliance with Sun Quan."

Cheng Yu's words immediately attracted Cao Cao's attention.

Cao Cao frowned, looked at Cheng Yu, and asked:
"What? Sun Quan still has the ability to pose a threat to Liu Wu?"

At this time, all the civil and military officials in the hall frowned and looked at Cheng Yu.

Sun Quan's power has been greatly reduced. If he dares to attack Liu Wu, he will probably be beaten by Liu Wu.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yu shook his head and said affirmatively:

"Sikong, Yu believes that even if Sun Quan's power is greatly reduced and he is no match for Liu Wu, Sun Quan's occupation of Jiangdong is still a good ally for us to contain Liu Wu."

"First, Sun Quan still has troops at his disposal. Whenever he sends out troops, Liu Wu will have to send out a large army to respond. If we send a large army from Guanzhong to attack Liu Wu when Liu Wu is fighting Sun Quan, we can tie down Liu Wu's army and it will not be so easy for Liu Wu to destroy Sun Quan."

"Second, the relationship between Sun Quan and Sun Shao. Although there is a rift between the two, they are of the same surname, Sun. Whether Sun Shao is concerned about the coldness of the lips and the coldness of the lips, or because they are the only two princes in Jiangdong, Sun Shao will not sit idly by and watch Sun Quan be destroyed by Liu Wu."

"So, in Cheng Yu's opinion, Sun Quan's existence in Jiangdong can be regarded as a restriction on Liu Wu's existence."

After Cheng Yu expressed his attitude towards Sun Quan after his power was greatly reduced, Cao Cao suddenly became interested. He couldn't help but stand up and look at the map.

After taking a closer look, Cao Cao immediately felt that what Cheng Yu said made sense.

Sun Quan still had a lot of troops, so whenever he sent out troops, Liu Wu would have to send out a lot of troops to deal with them. If they also sent a large army to attack Liu Wu from Guanzhong when Liu Wu was fighting with Sun Quan, in order to contain Liu Wu, then it would not be so easy for Liu Wu to destroy Sun Quan. In this way, they still had a group of princes to contain Sun Quan.

Moreover, Sun Shao and Sun Quan both have the surname Sun. Although they have conflicts, it is unlikely that they will sit idly by and watch each other being destroyed.

In this way, although Liu Wu is the only powerful person in Guandong, Sun Quan's position is still very important.

"Good, good, not bad." Cao Cao suddenly became excited again and said directly:
"Send an envoy to Jiangdong and tell Sun Quan that we, Cao Cao, are willing to form an alliance with him. He must stand with us, Cao Cao. Otherwise, Liu Wu will swallow him up sooner or later!"

Cao Cao's voice was full of confidence.

He had no doubt that Liu Wu would swallow up Sun Quan if he had the chance.

Because Liu Wu's forces bordered Sun Quan's forces, it was impossible to leave them alone.

He also had no doubt that Sun Quan would reach a strategic alliance with him, Cao Cao.

Because Liu Wu's attack on Sun Quan was too harsh, and the strategy of making friends with distant countries and attacking nearby ones also meant that Sun Quan would always be on guard against Liu Wu.

Therefore, Sun Quan would ally with him.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly became relaxed.

Liu Wu's methods made them all feel uncomfortable, and Sun Quan's powerful princes collapsed in a short period of time.

"Now that Guanzhong has been stabilized, we should rest and recuperate, cultivate the land and train the troops. However, we should not relax our vigilance against Liu Wu. Liu Wu is too cunning and ruthless. He likes to plan before taking action. How do you think we should deal with Liu Wu?"

Cao Cao changed the subject and stated the next direction of development.

When Cao Cao first arrived in Guanzhong, the most important thing was to take root in Guanzhong.

However, he couldn't just sit back and watch Liu Wu develop.

Because, in the Guandong area, Liu Wu has occupied too many states. Judging from the territory alone, Liu Wu is now undoubtedly the number one prince.

Everyone frowned and thought as they listened to Cao Cao's words.

"Cough cough..." Guo Jia coughed lightly, attracting everyone's attention.

Cao Cao also looked at Guo Jia. Seeing that Guo Jia's face was getting paler, he frowned and said distressedly:
"Fengxiao, your health is getting worse and worse, you must take care of yourself."

Cao Cao could not help but care about him. Guo Jia was originally in poor health, and in recent times he had become increasingly weak.

Having experienced Xi Zhicai's untimely death, he was very concerned about Guo Jia.

"My lord, don't worry. Jia is fine. Jia does have some ideas about consuming Liu Wu." Guo Jia said.

"Feng Xiao, what brilliant idea do you have? Tell me now."

When Cao Cao saw that Guo Jia had a plan, his eyes suddenly lit up and he spoke without caring about anything else.

Everyone's eyes were also on Guo Jia. Guo Jia came to the map, pointed at Xiangyang, and said:
"Xiangyang is a place of four battles. Xiangyang is located at the crossroads of Nanyang County. It is connected to Jianghan in the south, Hankou and Xinyang in the east, Central Plains and Luoyang in the north, and Chang'an and Hanzhong in the west. Its geographical location is very critical. Because of its important strategic location, Xiangyang has become a place that military strategists must fight for, because it occupies a huge advantage."

"But, on the contrary, Xiangyang can send out troops to attack in all directions, but the four directions can also attack Xiangyang. In the east, Sun Quan of Jiangdong has already had conflicts with Liu Wu, so now, Zhang Lu of Hanzhong in the west can create trouble for Liu Wu."

"Hanzhong and Xiangyang are not far apart. Even before Liu Wu's power was established, Zhang Lu in Hanzhong must have been quite panicked. Jia thinks we should send someone to Hanzhong to win over Zhang Lu and let him send troops to attack Liu Wu. We can even provide backup for him in Guanzhong."

"In this way, as long as Sun Quan of Jiangdong and Liu Wu are at odds, and Zhang Lu's forces in Hanzhong are at war with Liu Wu, our support from behind will be enough for us to gain time to recuperate and consume Liu Wu." Guo Jia coughed lightly and offered Cao Cao a strategy to consume Liu Wu.

Guo Jia's strategy was simple, which was to let Zhang Lu in Hanzhong serve as their vanguard.

They don't need to take action personally, but they can continue to provide a lot of support to Zhang Lu to consume Liu Wu.

"This... is a good plan." After listening to Guo Jia's plan and looking at the map, Cao Cao felt that it was quite suitable.

"In that case, then we should send someone to Hanzhong immediately to win over Zhang Lu." Cao Cao made the decision quickly and spoke very decisively.

Cao Cao was very willing to not take part in the battle himself, but to rest and recuperate, and let Zhang Lu consume Liu Wu.

After Cao Cao made the decision, he returned to Luoyang.

And directly publish a manifesto and spread it to the world.

【Manifesto】：
The traitor Liu Wu was extremely unrighteous and disregarded the grace of Heaven. He held the Emperor hostage to command the princes, acted recklessly, bullied the Han Dynasty, and forced his clan kinsman Liu Biao to abdicate. His wolfish ambitions were obvious!
When Sikong Cao heard this, he was deeply saddened and indignant. Liu Wu's actions were against human ethics, destroyed the rules and regulations, caused unrest in the world, and brought disaster to the people. Such evil deeds are condemned by both humans and gods, and cannot be tolerated by heaven!
Now, I have issued an edict to the whole nation that Liu Wu should immediately release the emperor, return the government to Luoyang, bow his head and confess his crime to atone for his past sins. If he persists in his wrongdoings and continues to do evil, he will surely be punished by heaven and man, and his reputation will be ruined and his name will be infamous for eternity!

I hope that the princes, officials and people of the world will punish the traitors together, restore the Han Dynasty and bring peace to the world. I, Sikong, will live up to everyone's expectations, work together for great cause, and revive the prestige of the Han Dynasty!
Announce it to the world, and the envoys will hear about it.

【Signature】: Sikong Cao Cao!

The orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty was announced to all directions.

(Note: This manifesto was written in imitation of the ancient Han Dynasty style.)
The general meaning of this manifesto is that Liu Wu is extremely rebellious and has held the emperor hostage to control the princes, forcing Liu Biao, a relative of the Han royal family, to step down. He advises Liu Wu to immediately release the emperor and return to Luoyang, otherwise he will be condemned by both humans and gods and will not be tolerated by heaven. So Cao Cao calls on all the heroes in the world to attack him together.

Cao Cao issued this manifesto purely for empty talk and to show his presence, because Liu Wu's current performance was too dazzling.

However, the common people at the bottom did not know so much. His manifesto was from a commanding position, asking Liu Wu to return the emperor to Luoyang.

Liu Wu disagrees?
That is irrefutable evidence of treason.

When it comes to talking nonsense, Cao Cao is better than anyone else.

……

Xiangyang City.

After Liu Wu received Cao Cao's manifesto, he was so angry that he laughed.

"This old fellow Cao Cao really knows how to confuse right and wrong."

"Kong Ming, you will also report to His Majesty afterwards, and then draft a letter of proclamation and send it to the whole country."

In the hall of the General of Cavalry's residence, Liu Wu held Cao Cao's manifesto in his hand and said with a smile.

"Yes!" Zhuge Liang immediately bowed.

At this time, Pang Tong bowed to Liu Wu and said:

"My lord, the Jinyiwei received news that Cao Cao sent an envoy to Jiangdong and also sent someone to Hanzhong to seek an alliance with Zhang Lu to attack us."

Liu Wu finally chose to let Pang Tong be the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

In fact, now is the time when the princes are fighting, not the time for peace. Therefore, the commander of the Jinyiwei needs someone who understands military strategy. Otherwise, even if the Jinyiwei obtains important intelligence, but does not understand its strategic significance, or does not have the political sense, and misses the opportunity and decision-making, the loss will be too great.

Therefore, the first commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Pang Tong, was born.

When Liu Wu heard Pang Tong's words, he raised his eyebrows and said:

"It seems that Cao Cao still wants to ally with Sun Quan. So, Sun Quan should still ally with Cao Cao."

Pang Tong heard this and nodded:

"Jiangdong is east of Xiangyang. It is not surprising that Sun Quan has suffered a great loss this time and has joined forces with Cao Cao."

"Pang Tong thinks that it would be a good idea for the lord to win over Sun Shao and use him to contain Sun Quan."

Pang Tong expressed his views on this matter.

Liu Wu heard this, nodded, and said with a smile:

"In that case, let's send someone to invite Da Qiao and Sun Shao and his mother to come to Xiangyang."

"Cao Cao has been talking about the two Qiao sisters of Jiangdong. I want to see how beautiful they are. How do they compare to Mi'er?"

Liu Wu said with a smile, he was not worried that Sun Shao would refuse.

He will not do anything bad to Sun Shao.

He had already received the news that Lu Su and Zhou Yu had also followed Sun Shao. If he did something bad to Sun Shao, then everything he had done before would be meaningless. Sun Quan even hoped that he would do something bad to Sun Shao so that he could directly take back the divided power.

"This..." Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong were speechless when they heard that Liu Wu was actually thinking about Da Qiao, one of the two Qiao sisters from Jiangdong.

Now it seems that Cao Cao had that kind of hobby.

Liu Wu is not inferior either.

It is no longer a secret that Cao Cao likes other people's wives.

The statement that Cao Cao liked other people's wives does have some basis.

Because some of Cao Cao's wives and concubines were originally other people's wives. For example, Mrs. Du was originally the wife of Qin Yilu, a general of Lü Bu, and was later taken as a concubine by Cao Cao; Mrs. Yin was originally the daughter-in-law of He Jin, a great general of the Han Dynasty. Her husband died early, and she was later taken as a concubine by Cao Cao; Mrs. Zou was the widow of Zhang Ji, a prince of Xiliang, and was also taken in by Cao Cao. These facts show that Cao Cao did take in other people's wives.

Of course, Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong were not so repulsive or incomprehensible to Cao Cao's behavior.

Because there may be many reasons for liking someone else's wife.

Personal preference: Cao Cao may indeed have a special preference for mature, attractive women, who are often already someone else's wives.

Political considerations: In ancient times, marriage was often closely linked to politics. When Cao Cao took in these women, he might also have been trying to win over the forces behind them in order to consolidate his ruling foundation. For example, although Mrs. Du's ex-husband Qin Yilu was a general under Lu Bu, Mrs. Du herself might have a certain family background or influence; as the daughter-in-law of He Jin, Mrs. Yin's family background should not be ignored either.

Fertility needs: It should be noted that in ancient times, medical conditions were limited and it was very difficult for women to give birth. The advantage of other people's wives was that they had already given birth to children and had childbearing experience and fertility. For Cao Cao, this might be an effective way to ensure the continuation of his bloodline.

Therefore, this kind of behavior was common to Cao Cao.

However, they didn't say much.

"promise!"

"As for Zhang Lu, I will have the Embroidered Uniform Guard keep a close eye on him. However, it would be best if the court issued an imperial decree of amnesty to him," Pang Tong said to Liu Wu.

Liu Wu listened to Cao Cao's efforts to win over Zhang Lu, but in his heart he didn't believe that Cao Cao could do it. He issued an edict to Zhang Lu, but in fact Liu Wu felt that he might be able to take Hanzhong without bloodshed.

(End of this chapter)