Before Liu Qi went to discuss matters with Sun Quan, he unexpectedly sent someone to invite him first. However, the timing was not yet ripe, so he excused himself for a day on the grounds of being unwell.
The next morning, the spy arranged by Xi Guan reported that Taishi Xiang had returned to the city. Liu Qi immediately went to see Sun Quan and confessed his crime.
Sun Quan originally planned to invite Liu Qi to a banquet to discuss the matter, but the wedding day was approaching and it would be too late to delay any further, so he had to order the meeting to be held at Liu Qi's suggestion.
Above the government office, Sun Quan sat high on the commander's seat and prepared a seat for Liu Qi. The civil and military officials of Jiangdong were arranged on the left and right. Zhang Zhao was the first among the civil officials and stood at the door. Zhou Yu was the head of the military officials. The other generals were leading their troops outside and seemed outnumbered and weak.
Sun Quan informed everyone that Ma Chao had raised an army to seek revenge, and that Cao Cao had personally gone to Chang'an to repel the enemy, and they discussed taking the opportunity to send troops to attack the Central Plains.
General Cheng Pu and other generals all expressed their approval. After the great victory at Ruxu, the morale of Cao's army in Huainan was low, and Cao Ren was recuperating in Shouchun. This was a good opportunity to send troops.
Zhang Hong, Bu Zhi and others held an opposing attitude. They believed that the fighting in the past few months had consumed a lot of money and food, and the troops also needed rest. They were fortunate that Cao's army did not attack, so why bother to provoke them
Sun Quan looked at Zhou Yu and saw that he was lowering his head. He no longer had the heroic spirit he used to have and even seemed a little absent-minded. He felt confused.
Ever since the blind date at Ganlu Temple, Zhou Yu has been unhappy and not in a good state. He has never asked about military affairs. Could it be that he has long been interested in Shangxiang, or Da Qiao...
Sun Quan shook his head violently, throwing away the ridiculous idea, and asked Liu Qi: "Sun and Liu are allies, working together to defeat Cao. Now that Cao has left Chang'an, Xuchang is empty. General, are you interested in marching into the Central Plains?"
Liu Qi clasped his fists and said, "Cao is good at using troops. Although he left Chang'an, he left Zhang Liao and Xiahou Yuan to guard Yuzhou. If the troops enter the Central Plains, they will be attacked from all sides and it is unlikely to succeed."
Zhang Zhao sneered when he heard this, "I heard that the troops from Jingzhou have marched into Yizhou from Jiangling. General, you keep saying you want to restore the Han Dynasty, but you are unwilling to send troops to fight against the enemy. Instead, you are using troops against your own clan. Isn't this a breach of trust with the world?"
"That's wrong!" Liu Qi laughed and said, "Zhang Lu led his troops to invade the border, and Liu Jiyu sent an envoy to ask for help. I sent troops to help him because we are of the same clan. It is natural for people of the same clan to help each other in times of trouble. How can there be a fight?"
Zhang Zhao snorted: "General, since you can help your clan to raise an army to suppress the bandits, and now you are married to Jiangdong, you are also a close relative. We should join forces to fight the bandits. If Cao is not eliminated, there will be no peace in the world. Isn't this a loss of the greater for the smaller?"
Liu Qi looked at Sun Quan and asked, "General, do you really intend to take Huainan?"
Sun Quan nodded and said, "Cao's army has just been defeated and morale is low. It is time to seize the opportunity and advance! Since you and I are allies, we should advance and retreat together, so that Cao Cao will be unable to take care of both ends and conquer the Central Plains in one fell swoop. Why worry about not achieving great things?"
Liu Qi laughed and said, "I'm afraid even if we gather all the forces of Jiangdong, we still won't be able to defeat Cao's army!"
"How dare you!" Zhang Zhao was furious and said sternly, "General Liu, you are speaking like this in front of the Marquis of Wu and all the civil and military officials. I'm afraid it will hurt the friendship between our two families, right?"
Everyone in Jiangdong looked at Liu Qi angrily. No one would feel good to be looked down upon in person.
"You all misunderstood!" Liu Qi waved his hands and said, "I'm not saying that the Jiangdong soldiers are incompetent, but that their tactics are wrong. How can we win by using our own weaknesses to attack the enemy's strengths? In the Battle of Ruxu, Cao Cao retreated to the Yangtze River and deployed defenses along the coast, which was the case. Abandoning the advantage of boats, neither Jingzhou nor Jiangdong could withstand the sharp edge of Cao Cao's cavalry."
Gu Yong said: "The general claimed to raise an army to fight against the rebels and support the court, but he was timid and did not dare to use the army. If we all sit and guard the south of the Yangtze River, how can we wait for the thunder to kill Cao the thief?"
Liu Qi smiled and said, "Jiangdong is a vast territory. Why should we limit ourselves to Huainan? If we want to defeat Cao Cao, we should use our strengths. I have been planning for the Marquis of Wu for a long time!"
Sun Quan was somewhat surprised. He raised his eyebrows and asked, "General, what are your thoughts? I am all ears."
Liu Qi said: "The Jiangdong navy is the best in the world. If we want to defeat the enemy, we must take advantage of the navy! The southeast coast of Yangzhou is more than 10,000 miles long and can directly connect to Hebei. The sea is wide and we can come and go freely. We can advance and retreat with confidence. Who dares to compete with us?"
"On the sea?" A gleam of light flashed in Sun Quan's eyes, and he seemed to see a ray of sunshine through the gap in the clouds.
Zhou Yu also suddenly came back to his senses, looked at Liu Qi thoughtfully, and weighed the pros and cons.
Cheng Pu said: "Although what you said makes sense, the sea is windy and rough, and the direction is unclear. If we are not careful, all the people and ships will be lost. How can we use the army?"
Liu Qi shook his head and sighed, "There are many islands along the coast, and fishermen come and go all year round. With the strength of the Jiangdong navy, what is there to fear? Let's not talk about the long term, let's talk about the present: the navy will leave Qu'a and head north along the coast. There is no need to enter the deep sea. We can go straight to the mouth of the Huai River. We can advance by land and sea, attack from the north and south, and it will be easy to take Guangling. Why must we decide the outcome in Hefei?"
Sun Quan slowly unfolded the map with a frown on his face. The civil and military officials also lowered their heads to discuss the matter. This was a completely new tactic and everyone was divided on one opinion.
The navy of the Han Dynasty was not strong enough. Although the navy of Eastern Wu was very powerful, it had never thought of exploring the sea. In addition, there was no precedent for sea and land warfare, so it was limited to the Jianghuai region.
Liu Qi's suggestion undoubtedly broke the ice beyond their cognition and expanded the war to the sea. The situation was suddenly opened up, and naturally more tactics became available.
It was also in his later years that Sun Quan was forced to explore the South China Sea due to insufficient resources in Jiangdong. He discovered Taiwan Island, but he only wanted to plunder the people and never thought about developing naval warfare.
Their instinctive fear of Cao's army's strength, coupled with the limitations of their cognition, forced them to focus only on Jingzhou, and sneak attacks from behind were inevitable.
Sun Quan did not dare to leave the waters to provoke Cao's army, but he also had a desire for hegemony. Where else could he attack except Jingzhou
Liu Qi seemed to be helping Dongwu to open up the situation, but in fact he was also diverting their goals and conflicts. As long as the Dongwu navy went out to sea, they would not just focus on Jingzhou.
If the Eastern Wu harasses the coast, Cao's defense line will be in trouble. The entire eastern coastline has to be defended, which will be a headache for Boss Cao.
During the discussion, Zhang Zhao asked again, "General Liu seems to be planning for Jiangdong, but in fact he is asking the Marquis of Wu to go all out to fight against Cao Cao alone. Jiangdong has built a lot of warships and is advancing by land and sea, but Jingzhou has not moved a single soldier?"
Liu Qi said: "The main forces of Cao's army are in Xuchang. Zhang Liao is not an easy man to deal with. I am sure you all know this! Although I am temporarily unable to advance into the Central Plains, I will also send troops from Nanyang to contain Cao's army and support the Marquis of Wu. If Cao dares to mobilize troops, I will take Xuchang."
Sun Quan snorted slightly, wanting to refute but not knowing how to open his mouth. At this moment, he saw a man staggering in, his clothes were dirty and his hair was loose.
He knelt down and cried, "Lord Wu, please save my father's life!"
When Sun Quan saw that it was Taishi Xiang, he raised his hand and said, "My dear nephew, what is this? Hurry up and speak!"
Taishi Xiang could not get up from his knees, and he crawled to Liu Qi and said, "General Liu, please save my father. I will reward you handsomely."
Liu Qi was shocked and hurriedly stood up to help Taishi Xiang up. "The young general's filial piety is really touching. I have admired General Taishi for a long time, but I know nothing about medicine. How can I save him?"