Liu Qi went to the Marquis' Mansion to pay a visit to Wu Guotai. Sun Shangxiang, who was always wearing armor, sat obediently in the sedan chair.
When the people of Jiangdong saw this, they all admired Liu Qi's methods. He was worthy of being a royal noble. He trained his daughter to be so docile right after marriage and finally made her behave like a woman.
When I returned to the inn in the evening, I saw Xu Shu and Ji Miao squatting by the flower bed, looking intently with their heads close together, but there was nothing on the ground.
Liu Qi asked curiously, "What are you two doing?"
Xu Shu raised his head and said with a smile: "Sir, you have arrived at the right time. Come and have a look."
Liu Qi walked over and saw an ant nest on the ground. A blood-stained piece of cloth was being pulled into the hole by the ants. He asked, "Where is this piece of cloth from?"
Ji Miao said: "This is Zhou Yu's blood."
Liu Qi was surprised: "Where did you get it from?"
Ji Miao replied: "Today Zhou Yu suddenly vomited blood and fainted. Please go and treat him. I used acupuncture to let some blood out, but..."
"Zhou Yu was not poisoned?" Liu Qi understood and frowned as he looked at the piece of cloth that the ants were fighting over.
Since discovering that Taishi Ci was poisoned, the first person Liu Qi and Xu Shu suspected was Sun Quan. It was reasonable for them to get rid of Sun Ce and then eliminate Sun Ce's former subordinates one by one.
Moreover, as far as Liu Qi knew, Zhou Yu, Taishi Ci, Lu Su and other old ministers who had followed Sun Ce earlier all died of illness, while veteran generals such as Cheng Pu, Han Dang and Huang Gai died of old age, which was really too much of a coincidence.
A few days ago, I was still discussing how to get the first blood of Zhou Yu and Lu Su, but I didn’t expect to get it so soon.
But Zhou Yu was not poisoned. Could it be that the speculation was wrong
Xu Shu stood up and sighed, "It seems that the only way to make a conclusion is to find out whether Taishi Ci and Sun Ce were poisoned by the same poison."
Ji Miao frowned and said, "Sun Ce's blood has already dried up. If we want to dissolve it in water to check, we need to try again. We can only go back to Jingzhou and try again."
Since they were about to leave Jiangdong, Liu Qi stopped dwelling on the matter and asked, "What disease did Zhou Yu have?"
Ji Miao said, "He had abdominal cramps before, and occasionally fainted. Although this time it was due to the busy military situation, I saw from his pulse that it was depression that hurt his body, and anger that attacked his heart, causing him to vomit blood."
Liu Qi was puzzled. Zhou Yu vomited blood several times and finally died of a sudden illness. Could it be a heart attack
I can't help but think of Prime Minister Zhuge Liang. The two were known as "the Rising Sun of the Time". They were outstanding heroes of the time. They loved and killed each other. They both worked hard to repay the kindness of their lord and died in the army.
To die before accomplishing the mission will make the hero cry for a long time!
He accidentally discovered that Taishi Ci was poisoned, and thought he had grasped the key, but he didn't expect Zhou Yu to be fine, and he was at a loss again.
Zhao Yun was busy getting married and could not serve as a bodyguard. Liu Qi no longer went out easily and spent every day with Sun Shangxiang, and they were very happy.
Three days passed in a flash, and Sun Quan personally sent Liu Qi to Niuzhu, which was considered to be a great honor to him. Except for Xi Guan who stayed in Jiangdong to open a restaurant, everyone else boarded the ship and said goodbye.
Seeing Sun Quan watching the fleet go away and standing on the shore for a long time without moving, Sun Kuang smiled and said, "Could it be that you are worried about me, brother?"
Sun Quan sighed, "My little sister is strong-willed and willful. We are thousands of miles away. If she gets into trouble, no one will be responsible. Mother is worried about her, so how can I not worry about her too?"
Sun Kuang said with emotion: "My younger sister has been fond of watching military affairs since she was young. She is strict and upright. We are all afraid of her. Since she is willing to obey Liu Qi, she must be of the same mind. Since she is married, she belongs to the Liu family. Second brother, don't worry too much."
Sun Quan was slightly startled, and murmured: "A daughter who is married off is like water spilled..."
The plan he had made with Zhou Yu and Lu Su to take Jingzhou in Chaisang had turned out to be nothing but empty talk. Not only was Liu Qi not to be underestimated, but even Sun Shangxiang no longer shared the same mind with him. He could not help but feel lost.
Sun Kuang advised: "The ship has sailed far away, please go back, second brother!"
Sun Quan came back to his senses and shook his head, saying, "The war is imminent. I am going to Jiangbei to inspect the three armies and boost morale. Fourth brother and the other officers will return first."
Sun Kuang said goodbye and left. Sun Quan stepped onto the warship and looked at the rolling river and the waves. His eyes became deep.
If he was just seeing Liu Qi off, he would never have seen him off so far. Even if Sun Shangxiang was there, he could not lower his status and give Liu Qi such a great face.
He was just seeing them off as they crossed the river to the north. Since the defeat of Cao's army, the soldiers of the front army were still guarding the front line. Going to comfort them in person would help rally people's hearts.
Moreover, this trip has a deeper meaning: while veteran generals like Zhou Yu are away, he should select some talents from the army, train and employ them, so that they can truly become his own strength.
…
Finally leaving the quagmire of Jiangdong, Liu Qi breathed a sigh of relief and secretly felt fortunate. Compared with the methods of the Jiangdong aristocratic families, the Cai Mao brothers were simply at the level of elementary school students, otherwise they would be very difficult to deal with.
When the boat passed through Lujiang, Liu Qi called all the generals onto the tower ship and told them that there might be pirates at the mouth of the lake ahead and they should be more cautious.
Gan Ning laughed wildly and said, "Son of a bitch, they came to me to rob. I'll tell them to feed the pig dragon."
Liu Qi waved his hand and said, "Zhou Yu has set up an ambush here, ready to catch all the pirates in one fell swoop. We don't need to take action, we just need to lure the thieves out."
Gan Ning was dissatisfied and said, "Zhou Lang, you are using us as bait, and you don't even bother to give us some benefits."
"Who would be willing to be bait if there is no benefit?" Liu Qi said with a smile: "Later, the enemy army will be in chaos, Xingba will lead his troops to attack again, and the supplies will be divided up and everyone will keep their own."
Gan Ning was overjoyed and clenched his fist, saying, "I want them all!"
The fleet continued to move forward, and under Gan Ning's command, it changed its position without making a sound. The boats carrying women and servants were in the middle, the warships were on both sides, and the Jinfan Army was in the front, ready to defend against the enemy at any time.
In the evening, we passed the mouth of Pengli Lake. At this time, the south of the Yangtze River had entered the rainy season. The water level of Pengli Lake was rising. From a distance, the water surface from north to south was vast, with no end in sight, as if we were in the sea.
The setting sun was shining obliquely, and the sea was vast and misty. When we were about to pass the lake mouth, suddenly the sails of the boats in front of us fluttered, surrounding the entire river surface from afar, and there were also fleets pouring out from the north and south directions of the lake mouth.
The river wind was howling, and a large ship came downstream with a fleet. The flag of Eastern Wu was hung on the mast, and the navy was dressed as Wu troops, with a huge momentum.
The general on the bow laughed and said, "Liu Qi, we have been waiting for a long time in compliance with the order of the Grand Commander."
Liu Qi stood at the bow with his hands behind his back and asked in a cold voice: "Where is Zhou Yu? Come and tell me your name!"
"Hahaha, the Grand Commander has led his troops to attack Jiangxia!" The man laughed and said, "I am Xu Sheng, the garrison commander of Chaisang. I am here to kill you. Jingzhou now belongs to the Marquis of Wu!"
Liu Qi pointed at the bow and shouted, "Peng Cai, you are being used by Cao Cao, and you don't even realize that you are about to die?"
The man was surprised: "You...how do you know it's me?"
Liu Qi snorted coldly, "Cao is too busy to take care of himself and has already been defeated and returned to the Central Plains. You are still working for him here. You are really stupid."
“Hey, little Liu Qi, so what if you recognized me?” Peng Cai saw that his identity was exposed, looked at the fleet that had surrounded him, pointed at everyone and laughed wildly, “I’ve got you all beat today. Even Emperor Gaozu can’t save you even if he’s reborn. I say that!”