Xu Shu shook his head and said, "Cao's army is approaching, Jiangdong's general is seriously injured, and the situation is critical. Now is the time to fight Cao with all our strength. How dare Sun Quan create more trouble?"
Liu Qi said: "It seems that Wu Guotai really wants to see me. If I go to Jianye again, I may miss the opportunity to enter Shu."
Xu Shu smiled and said, "When you get to the bridge, you will find that things will go smoothly. Xiahou Mao has been away from Xiangyang for a long time. According to his schedule, he will arrive at the army soon. Perhaps the war will be over in a few months."
Liu Qi thought so too. Although he knew some historical events and the fate of some characters, as he changed the situation of the Three Kingdoms, many things had changed their direction. He needed to respond flexibly and take one step at a time.
He ordered all the generals to gather and go to the central army tent. Gan Ning came in and complained, "Damn it, that Ling Tong kid is here again. I'd better not go."
When they met at the camp gate just now, Ling Tong's eyes were as big as the copper bells around his waist, which made Gan Ning very uncomfortable.
"So it's Ling Tong who's leading the troops!" Liu Qi was moved and said with a smile, "If Xingba doesn't go, Zhou Yu will surely become suspicious. We are aboveboard, so why should we be afraid of him?"
"Would I be afraid of him?" Gan Ning's eyes widened and he snorted coldly, "I just don't want the general to fall out with the people of Jiangdong because of my personal grudge."
Xu Shu laughed and said, "If General Gan doesn't go, how can we ask Dongwu to send troops first?"
Gan Ning was startled, then laughed and said, "Jiangdong rats, they haven't fought for a month, so it's a good time to use the method of provoking them."
Huang Zhong hurriedly reminded: "In the Dongwu camp, you should be more careful when speaking."
After everyone packed up, they left Liu Pan to guard the camp and went to the central army tent to discuss military affairs.
In the Eastern Wu camp, Zhou Yu was already sitting in command, discussing countermeasures with several important generals including Cheng Pu, Lu Su, and Zhuge Jin.
Lu Su frowned and said, "The Marquis of Wu sent troops to urge us to go to war, but Cao Cao has deployed troops properly. Ruxu Fort is easy to defend but difficult to attack. What should we do?"
Cheng Pu sighed, "The commander-in-chief is not afraid of fighting. It is because Cao's army has more soldiers than ours, and General Taishi is injured and has to retreat. He does not want to lose too many troops, so he can only wait for the right opportunity. If he launches the war hastily, the loss may outweigh the gain."
Zhou Yu frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "Since Liu Qi has come to help us, how can we let him take advantage of us without doing anything? I will use a trick to provoke him. I will ask the soldiers of Jingzhou to go ahead and fight against Cao's army. I will wait for the opportunity and then we can do it!"
Zhuge Jin immediately felt something was wrong and hurriedly reminded him: "The governor must not anger Liu Qi, otherwise it will be difficult to explain to Yu Guotai."
Zhou Yu smiled faintly and said, "Don't worry, sir. I know what to do."
While they were discussing, the garrison informed them that Liu Qi had arrived. Zhou Yu told everyone to cooperate with him, ordered everyone to go to the tent, and went out to greet him in person.
After the greeting, they entered the big tent. Zhou Yu showed some humility and took the commander's seat, with Liu Qi sitting on his right. The generals lined up on the side, and the civil and military officials of Jiangdong stood on the left.
Zhou Yu said, "The Lord of Wu has seen that we have not fought for more than a month and is very concerned about the war ahead. He has now sent General Ling to reinforce us so that we can quickly defeat Cao Cao. What do you think?"
Everyone looked at Liu Qi. It was his turn to speak now. Liu Qi had no choice but to ask, "The Grand Commander has been keeping his troops on hold. Is it because Cao Cao set fire to the battlefield and he dared not go out to fight, or is there another reason?"
All the generals in Jiangdong were furious. Zhou Yu's eyes were slightly stern and he sighed, "I am not afraid of the enemy. It is just that we do not have enough weapons in the army and it is not convenient to go out to fight."
Liu Qi asked with a smile: "I wonder what else the army is lacking?"
Zhou Yu said, "In a water battle, bows and arrows are used first. In the previous battle with Cao's army on the Yangtze River, we lost countless arrows and could not make them all at once, so we waited."
Liu Qi asked, "How long will we have to wait?"
Zhou Yu replied: "It will take at least three months to make one hundred thousand wolf teeth. Even if all the forces of Jiangdong are mobilized, it will take two months. Now a month has passed, and it will take more than a month."
Liu Qi said, "Mrs. Wu is eager to be summoned. How can we keep her waiting? Does the Grand Commander have any other plans?"
Zhou Yu smiled and said, "Now that the water battle is not going well, we have to use land battle instead! General, you defeated Cao Cao in Nanyang with all your wisdom and strategies. Can you attack Cao Cao's main camp from Qibao Mountain? If the western camp can be attacked, the Ruxu water camp will be unable to hold out. If I send out the navy, Cao Cao will surely be defeated."
Liu Qi frowned and said, "Qibao Mountain is steep and easy to defend but difficult to attack. Cao is familiar with the art of war and must have prepared for it. I'm afraid it will be difficult to succeed."
Zhou Yu sneered, "General, since you are the son-in-law of Jiangdong, you should share the worries of the Marquis of Wu. You defeated Cao Cao so quickly in Nanyang, why didn't you offer any plan when you got to Jiangdong? Is it true as the rumors say: you only rely on the plans of Crouching Dragon and Phoenix, and without these two, you are like a fish out of water, at a loss?"
Gan Ning was furious when he heard this and said, "What nonsense! When Cao Cao invaded Nanyang, General Liu advocated a war with all the people, and we fought against him. Cao Cao was so scared that he dared not covet Jingzhou anymore. Now he is coming to take Jiangdong, just because you are weak and dare not fight. Now it seems that it is true!"
Huang Gai shouted angrily: "Gan Xingba, how dare you bully me, Jiangdong, because there is no one there?"
Gan Ning laughed wildly and said, "We came to help in the battle. The Jiangdong troops should have been the main force, and we should have been the auxiliary force, to defeat Cao Cao together. Now you dare not meet the enemy, but ask us to be the vanguard. May I ask where the Jiangdong troops are?"
All the generals were furious. They had originally planned to provoke the generals, but instead they were provoked by Gan Ning and they all asked Zhou Yu to fight.
Zhou Yu's face was gloomy. He raised his hand to signal everyone to leave. He took a deep breath and looked at Gan Ning: "So, General Gan is willing to be the vanguard to break into Cao's camp?"
"Of course!" Gan Ning clasped his fists and said, "As long as the commander-in-chief gives the order, I am willing to be the vanguard, break through Ruxu, and charge into the enemy camp."
Zhou Yu was secretly delighted, glanced at Liu Qi, and said loudly: "You must know that there is no joking in the army!"
Liu Qi also hurriedly reminded: "General Gan, there is no joking in the army!"
“Even if there are mountains of swords and seas of fire ahead, I have no fear to help the general relieve his worries.” Gan Ning bowed and clasped his fists.
Then he turned his head and glanced at the generals of Dongwu, his arrogance was evident in his words. Finally, he looked at Zhou Yu and said with a proud smile: "But I am afraid that after we leave, Cao thieves will come back again. Then we will have to ask Jingzhou for help again, and it will not be a long-term solution for us to run back and forth. Instead of doing this... it is better to let General Liu take charge of Dongwu. Cao thieves will not dare to look directly at Jiangnan again, once and for all!"
"How dare you!" Zhou Yu flew into a rage and slammed the table and shouted.
"How dare you!" Cheng Pu and others also stepped forward, surrounded Gan Ning, and glared at him.
Ling Tong stepped out of the line, clasped his fists and said, "General, I have taken the initiative to ask for your order to lead the troops to help in the battle. I am willing to be the vanguard to defeat Cao, even if I die, I will have no regrets!"
Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and others also asked for orders again, completely forgetting Zhou Yu's instructions. Seeing Gan Ning crossing his arms with his nose in the air, they couldn't help but get angry.
Liu Qi sat aside with a calm demeanor, and it was perfect for him to use Gan Ning's ruffian look to mock others. Just that look made people want to rush up and punch him twice.
Zhou Yu glanced at Liu Qi, who had a smile on his face, and with an idea in mind, he ordered everyone to leave, then put on a smiling face and asked, "What do you think, General?"
Liu Qi clasped his fists and said, "Since the army cannot go out to fight due to lack of arrows, how about I replenish the arrows and defeat Cao together?"
Zhou Yu was overjoyed and nodded, saying, "If you can provide us with arrows, we can go to battle today."
Liu Qi shook his head and said, "It was agreed that I would only send troops, and all the food and supplies would be provided by Jiangdong. If you want me to provide additional arrows, I can't do it for nothing."
Zhou Yu was startled: "I wonder what the general's conditions are?"
"Of course I'll pay for it!" Liu Qi stretched out his hand as a matter of course, "As a relative, I'll give you a 10% discount. Isn't that reasonable?"