Liu Qi didn't know why Zhou Yu suddenly suspected the cause of Sun Ce's death, and said helplessly: "This is Sun's matter. The Marquis of Wu has already consolidated the foundation of Jiangdong. Now is the time for us to unite and fight against the rebellion. Why bring up the old matter again?"
Zhou Yu drank a glass of wine and sighed, "Bofu and I were like brothers. His death broke my heart. Although the murderer was executed, the person behind the scene may not be just the dead Xu Gong..."
At this point, Zhou Yu looked at Liu Qi again and said, "As the saying goes, those who are involved are often confused. As an outsider observing the situation, how do you view this matter?"
Liu Qi thought that in history, Zhou Yu was extremely loyal to Sun Quan, and there was no record of him investigating the cause of Sun Ce's death. Why was he entangled in this matter in front of him today
Could it be that they were worried that Ganlu Temple might discover some clues themselves and were deliberately testing them
His mind was turning, but his face remained calm. He sighed and said, "In the past, our two families were enemies and confronted each other. At that time, I was suppressed by the Cai family and rarely left the house. Please forgive me for not making random guesses."
Zhou Yu's eyes were slightly stern, and he sneered, "General, you are now the son-in-law of Jiangdong, but you are unwilling to clear Bofu's name. Could it be that you really came here just for the sake of marriage, and let Miss down for her whole life?"
Liu Qi said helplessly, "I am lucky to be chosen as the son-in-law by the Queen Mother. I should work with Marquis Wu to eliminate the bandits for the country. How can I create trouble and disturb Jiangdong? Even if my elder brother was murdered, the matter should be investigated by Marquis Wu and the governor. I can't stay in Jiangdong for long. Isn't it unnecessary?"
Zhou Yu paused for a moment, raised his glass and said, "General, what you said is very true. Now is the time to defeat Cao and revive Han. How can we sacrifice public interests for personal gain? Your plan for the Huainan naval battle is truly unique. If Bofu had heard your advice earlier, how could he have been killed in Dantu?"
Liu Qi raised his cup and said, "If my elder brother had gone to Guangling and the governor had gone to sea, Jiangdong would have been governed across the river long ago. The governor will conquer Huainan this time, and he will surely be blessed by the heroic spirit of General Sun and win the battle."
In fact, if you think about it, Sun Ce was too arrogant back then. Jiangdong had just been pacified and people's hearts were not settled, but he dared to divide his troops into two routes to expand his territory.
The commander-in-chief took Guangling and pressed on to the Central Plains. The deputy commander-in-chief settled Yuzhang and attacked Jiangxia. Only the Little Overlord dared to do this. Even a strong man like Cao Cao did not dare to start a war on two fronts.
Although Sun Ce swept across Jiangdong and was invincible, his opponents were Yan Baihu and Wang Lang. When he arrived in the Central Plains, they were not so easy to deal with. He failed to defeat Huang Zu twice.
If Sun Ce and Zhou Yu had joined forces and worked together, with Sun Quan acting as Xiao He to stabilize the rear, Jiangdong's start would have been better than Cao Cao's.
"I wonder what your plans are after you return?" Seeing that Liu Qi would not budge, Zhou Yu had no choice but to return to the point. "I heard that Zhang Lu attacked Xichuan and has penetrated deep into Shu Road. Why not attack Wei to save Zhao and send a surprise attack to take Hanzhong?"
Liu Qi was startled when he heard this, then he clasped his fists and said with a smile, "Thank you for your reminder, Commander. However, Hanzhong is far away from us, so we need to make long-term plans. But Commander, don't worry. When I return to Jingzhou, I will immediately transfer Guan Yu to Nanyang to reorganize the troops and make a show of threatening the Central Plains, so that Cao's army will not dare to act rashly."
Zhou Yu had just tried to test her, and what he wanted was this sentence: "As for Yun Chang's mighty power, I will feel relieved!"
Liu Qi smiled and said, "I wish the governor a successful start and a march into the Central Plains. We will work together from east to west and restore the old capital."
"That's exactly what I want!" Zhou Yu took a deep breath and said loudly, "What Bofu has not done, I, Zhou Yu, will complete!"
The two men raised their glasses and laughed. Although they still had doubts in their hearts, they reached a consensus on the war and discussed how to deal with the Pengli pirates. Liu Qi still had to pay a visit to Wu Guotai, so he took his leave first.
Zhou Yu sent Liu Qi away with a frown on his face. Even after he had tried to test him, Liu Qi still refused to tell him about Da Qiao. Did he doubt himself
As he was walking with his head down, Xiao Qiao came up from the corridor and asked, "General Liu... still refuses to speak?"
Zhou Yu sighed lightly and shook his head. Last time at Qiao Xuan's house, Zhou Yu tested Liu Qi in front of three people, but Liu Qi didn't say a word. Zhou Yu thought Liu Qi was afraid that Qiao Xuan would be implicated. Today, when he invited him alone, Liu Qi still kept his mouth shut, and he felt annoyed.
"Although my sister is going to Jingzhou, the matter of Bofu..." Xiao Qiao looked at Zhou Yu distressedly, "How does my husband plan to deal with it?"
Zhou Yu thought for a moment and said, "My elder sister is going on a long journey. Please prepare some clothes for her. I have my own ideas."
Xiao Qiao paused and advised, "The matter of Bo Fu is just your own wild guess, and your husband was entrusted by him to protect the Jiangdong foundation. Although I am stupid, I also know that loyalty and filial piety have been difficult to achieve since ancient times. Since you are marrying far away, you should just pretend that this matter never happened, okay?"
"Don't worry, I will make the decision myself!" Zhou Yu forced a smile and walked towards the backyard.
Just then he saw two pine and cypress trees under the corridor, which were planted by him and Sun Ce. They boasted that their friendship would last forever and that their great cause would be like these pine and cypress trees, with strong roots and luxuriant leaves.
He couldn't help but recall the scene of the two of them drinking and chatting happily in the mansion, him playing the piano and Sun Ce dancing with the sword, and an inexplicable sadness welled up in his heart.
Ever since he accidentally heard Da Qiao's words in Ganlu Temple, Zhou Yu felt that his ambition had been greatly frustrated, and he no longer did things as wholeheartedly as before.
Whenever I planned wars in the past, I would think of Sun Ce. My heart would be filled with passion for loyalty to my good friend. Carrying the ambitions of both of them, it seemed as if they were still fighting side by side, with great heroic spirit.
Now the situation is completely the opposite. Whenever he thinks of Sun Ce, he becomes uneasy. All that appear in his mind are the sinister faces of those aristocratic families. The entire world of Jiangdong has become gloomy.
As a confidant, he could not turn a blind eye to the clues, but as a minister, if Liu Qi did not take the initiative to ask him to do this, he would be disloyal if he secretly investigated it.
What's more, Sun Ce has been dead for eight years, his body has turned to dust, and there is no way to investigate what happened back then. The only clue is that silk handkerchief.
On the one hand, he had to be loyal to his friend's trust and protect the important task of Jiangdong's foundation, and on the other hand, he had to deal with the injustice of his confidant being murdered.
Zhou Yu was stunned, his emotions surging, and he was extremely confused for a moment, deeply regretting his past decisions.
When Sun Ce was murdered, even Cao Cao wanted to add insult to injury. In order to stabilize the situation, he pushed the blame of the assassination onto Xu Gong and let the matter go.
If the attitude of the aristocratic families had not been considered at the beginning and the matter had been investigated carefully, perhaps Sun Ce would have been avenged and the situation in Jiangdong would have been stabilized.
When Sun Ce first went to Jiangdong, many so-called famous scholars and nobles opposed and denounced him, which made Sun Ce so angry that he started a killing spree. Although he was at odds with the noble families, he still conquered his kingdom.
Sun Ce once boasted that the only way to make these selfish and noble guys surrender was to draw their swords and guns, and compromising with them would be like drinking poison to quench thirst.
Now the aristocratic families are like the grass and trees after spring, growing stronger again, with intertwined roots and hundreds of private armies. I'm afraid Sun Quan will inevitably have to take action against them in the future.
This is no longer the Jiangdong created by Sun Ce, but a Jiangdong full of conspiracy and shrouded in a huge shadow.
The wind suddenly rose, blowing through the pines and cypresses, and the sound of the wind was whistling, as if Sun Ce was roaring!
Zhou Yu shuddered all over and felt a sharp pain in his heart. The blood rushed into his chest. He screamed, fell backwards, and vomited blood.
The servant nearby hurriedly helped him up. Xiao Qiao rushed over after hearing the news. She called for a long time but he was unconscious. She hurriedly sent someone to ask Ji Miao for help.