In a blink of an eye, it was the 14th year of Jian'an and it was spring again.
Spring seems to arrive earlier in Shu than in the Central Plains. Flower buds can be seen on the treetops in early February, and the whole city is green and full of vitality.
Liu Qi received eight battle plans from Liu Xun, but ignored them and practiced swordplay in his mansion all day. Recently, he had begun to learn the basics of swordplay and made rapid progress, which greatly boosted his confidence and made him practice even harder.
I have read many martial arts novels in later generations. Although theories may not be suitable for actual combat, some of the insights are quite useful. By integrating the sword skills taught by Wang Yue, Xu Shu is no match for him and can fight back and forth with Shi A.
One day, he was practicing swordsmanship with Zhao Yun when Xu Shu suddenly came walking quickly, holding a brocade box with two letters in his arms, and looking solemn.
Liu Qi put away his sword, wiped his sweat and asked, "News from Jingzhou?"
"That's right!" Xu Shu did not stop, motioning Liu Qi to go to the study and put down the brocade box. "There has been some movement in Jiangdong recently. Sun Quan sent an assassin to kill Taishi Ci, and Zhou Yu also sent a secret letter."
"Oh?" Liu Qi was a little surprised. It seemed that the trajectory of history had changed. He frowned and asked, "How can you be sure that the assassin was sent by Sun Quan?"
Xu Shu said, "The assassin's name is Zhou Shan, a general of the Sun family. He was spotted by Ma Su as soon as he arrived in Xiangyang. He was followed for half a month and captured in the clinic."
Liu Qi laughed and said, "Hiss—Ma Youchang, this kid is really good!"
Xu Shu nodded and said, "Ma Su is a smart man with a photographic memory. He knows Xiangyang very well and is very decisive in dealing with things. He will be of great use in the future!"
"This boy is teachable!" Liu Qi did not comment.
The fact that Ma Su was recognized by Xu Shu and Zhuge Liang shows that he is capable. It's just that he was possessed by Zhao Kuo and his reputation was ruined. Whether he can be reused or not depends on his performance in the later period.
Then he asked, "Zhou Shan is a general of the Sun family, and he is here to carry out such a confidential task. He must be a brave man. How could he be willing to disclose Sun Quan's secrets?"
Xu Shu said: "This man was carrying an ancient ingot knife, and we could have known about it once we checked, but he kept his mouth shut. Later, Kong Ming asked Taishi Ci to come out and tell him that Sun Ce had been poisoned to death, and Zhou Shan only then confessed the truth."
While Taishi Ci was receiving treatment in Xiangyang, Zhuge Liang cleverly arranged to let Taishi Ci know that he was poisoned, and revealed the news to Yu Fan, arousing the suspicion of both of them.
However, the two of them had a deep friendship with Sun Ce and were loyal to his dying trust, so they did not dare to believe it. While they were discussing it, Sun Quan sent an assassin, which made Taishi Ci so shocked and angry that he almost died on the spot.
Liu Qi pondered for a moment and asked, "Could it be that Sun Quan is worried that Taishi Ci's poisoning will be exposed, so he wants to kill him to silence him?"
Xu Shu laughed and said, "Zhou Shan is a family general adopted by Sun Ce. How could Sun Quan tell him about this? Otherwise, he would not have betrayed Sun Quan after seeing Taishi Ci was poisoned."
Liu Qi asked: "Then how did he convince Zhou Shan to assassinate him?"
Xu Shu replied, "It is because Taishi Ci has not been heard from for half a year and was once a general under Liu Yao that Sun Quan is worried that he might leak military secrets or even betray the Wu Kingdom, so he came up with this bad idea."
"What a mean person!" Liu Qi shook his head and sighed, "Sun Zhongmou is young and promising. He appoints talented people to important positions. He is highly respected in Jiangdong. He is open with his subordinates. Lu Su and Zhuge Jin both consider him a close friend. Taishi Ci is Sun Ce's best friend. How could he do such a foolish thing?"
Xu Shu said slowly: "It is precisely because he is Sun Ce's trusted old general that Sun Quan is worried!"
"The higher the position, the more selfish one becomes! Cao Mengde called on all the heroes in the world to fight against Dong Zhuo, but he never expected that one day he would become Dong Zhuo himself."
Liu Qi sighed. Jiangdong has been stable in recent years and Sun Quan has grown up. Naturally, he is eager to build up his own power. This is also human nature.
Xu Shu said: "Now Taishi Ci has doubted this matter and is unwilling to return to Jiangdong. As long as we can persuade him to redress Sun Ce's injustice, we can disrupt Jiangdong!"
"It's too early!" Liu Qi shook his head. If he caused chaos in Jiangdong at this time, wouldn't that give Cao Cao an opportunity
Xu Shu smiled and said, "This matter cannot be accomplished overnight. The timing is just right. Recently, the spies reported that Cao's condition has worsened. His health is deteriorating and he often faints. I'm afraid he won't live long!"
"Hmph, do you really think Wushisan is so delicious?" Liu Qi sneered. Just by looking at the sulfur in it, he knew it was not a good thing. He pointed at the brocade box and asked, "What is this?"
Xu Shu shook his head and said, "This secret letter is written by Zhou Yu. We dare not open it."
"A letter from Gongjin?" Liu Qi was a little curious. He opened the brocade box and saw two snacks inside. The other two were empty. He laughed and said, "This Gongjin is really stingy. He sent snacks and took two away."
Xu Shu was also puzzled: "Zhou Yu has returned to Chaisang to recuperate. Why did he come all the way here to send a box of pastries
"A box of pastries?" Liu Qi rolled his eyes, clapped his hands and laughed, "What a coincidence, it is God's will that you and I share it, Military Advisor will have a good time today..."
Then he picked up one and handed it to Xu Shu: "Come on, come on, try Xiao Qiao's cooking!"
Xu Shu did not reach out to take it, but clasped his fists and asked, "What is God's will?"
Liu Qi raised his eyebrows and smiled: "One box of pastries, doesn't that mean one pastry per person?"
"Uh..." Xu Shu was stunned, then laughed, "Although your explanation is wonderful, Zhou Yu is definitely not a boring person. He sent half a box of pastries from a thousand miles away, so I'm afraid there is a deeper meaning. It's better to finish reading the letter first, and then eat it."
"Okay!" Liu Qi picked up the letter helplessly.
I thought that if Pang Tong was around, he would definitely appreciate the humor. Xu Shu and Zhuge Liang are sometimes too rigid.
When he opened the letter, he found that it was three pages long. After scanning a few lines, Liu Qi's expression became serious. He quickly glanced through it and read it again.
After reading it, Liu Qi slammed the table and stood up: "We can't play with Liu Xun anymore, we have to return to Jingzhou as soon as possible."
Xu Shu asked hurriedly: "What happened?"
Liu Qi handed the letter to Xu Shu and sighed, "Zhou Yu... was also poisoned!"
Xu Shu was startled and took the letter. Zhou Yu told him in detail about the incident at Ganlu Temple and what Mrs. Wu said about her healing. He suspected that there must be something wrong with the pineapple cake and the ointment, and hoped to work with Liu Qi to investigate the matter.
Liu Qi thought for a moment and said, "It turns out that Zhou Lang knew about this long ago, but he didn't dare to investigate it easily because of Sun Ce's will. Is Sun Quan really the man behind this?"
After reading it, Xu Shu thought: "We have tested it before, and Zhou Yu was not poisoned. He and Sun Ce had eaten this pineapple cake a long time ago. It seems that the problem lies with the ointment."
"No!" Liu Qi shook his head and said, "As far as I know, Madam Wu did not treat Taishi Ci's injuries."
Xu Shu said, "Anyway, we finally have some clues. With Zhou Yu's involvement, it will be easier to investigate. We can ask Taishi Ci first."
"That was a close call!" Liu Qi wiped the crumbs off his hands and closed the brocade box. "This pineapple cake is the key item. Yuan Zhi will take it back to Xiangyang and ask Taishi Ci for evidence first."
Only Xu Shu knew many details of this matter. The war in Yizhou was basically over, and having Pang Tong and Fa Zheng as military advisors was enough.
After Xu Shu left, Liu Qi immediately issued an order, asking all camps to make preparations and march towards Luo City three days later.