When the news of the war in Xiliang reached Jingzhou, the military and civilians were delighted. After the harvest, they discussed the current situation in the world.
Liu Qi was compared to the reincarnation of Emperor Gaozu, the second Emperor Shizu. He left Hanzhong and took Guanzhong this year, returned to Luoyang next year, pacified the Central Plains in three years, and revived the Han Dynasty in five years.
The people of Nanyang Imperial City are even more proud. When Liu Qi revives the Han Dynasty, two true dragon emperors will emerge here. This is truly a place of wealth and prosperity.
When Zhuge Liang returned from training his troops in the camp, he saw Guan Yu standing under an old locust tree, staring blankly, which was a rare sight for him. He had neither read the Spring and Autumn Annals nor practiced with the sword.
Although Guan Yu did not go on any expeditions in the past few years, he never stopped practicing sword skills and studying the Spring and Autumn Annals every day. Without the distraction of swords and sabers, he interacted with Li Dian, Yang Jun and others, devoted himself to reading, and gained a deeper understanding.
Not only did his entire temperament change, becoming even more unfathomable, but he also mastered the Spring and Autumn sword technique and was working hard to perfect it. Why did he look so worried today
Hearing Guan Yu sigh softly, Zhuge Liang stepped forward and said with a smile: "Your Excellency sighed so much today, could it be that your martial arts have reached a bottleneck and cannot be broken through?"
Guan Yu turned around, stroked his beard and sighed: "No matter how skilled you are in swordsmanship, if you can't kill the enemy, it's just a show. What's the use of it?"
Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan and said with a smile, "So you want to go to war, my Lord."
Guan Yu said with emotion: "Since the battle of Nanyang, I have been ordered to defend the border, train soldiers and recuperate. It has been nearly three years since I went on a campaign. The Qinglong sword has not been stained with blood, and I am already thirsty for blood!"
Zhuge Liang said with a smile: "Your Excellency is both civil and military, and has the qualities of a great general. You can break through the enemy's lines and defend a region, just like Lian Po of Zhao and Ma Yuan of Han. If it weren't for Yun Chang occupying Nanyang, Cao's army would have been eyeing Jingzhou sooner or later. Can our Lord Gong'an rest assured to conquer the four regions and recover the lost territory?"
Guan Yu stroked his long beard, glanced at Zhuge Liang, shook his head and smiled, "Military advisor, please stop flattering me. If a man does not make achievements, how can he dare to compare himself with the ancients?"
Zhuge Liang was slightly startled and sighed, "I have heard that Yunchang is well-versed in the Spring and Autumn Annals and has quite a lot of experience. He can actually see through my scheme. This is really impressive."
Guan Yu scratched his beard and smiled complacently, his eyebrows slightly raised: "I am not only familiar with the Spring and Autumn Annals, but also have a dabbling in the Four Books and Five Classics. If a person does not make progress, what is the difference between him and a rotten wood?"
Zhuge Liang nodded and smiled, "Confucius said: When three people walk together, there must be one person who can be my teacher. Yunchang's words make me feel ashamed of myself."
Guan Yu waved his hands, but couldn't help asking, "Back then, the military advisor in Longzhong planned to take Xichuan so that we could march into the Central Plains from two directions. Now that the lord has already taken Guanzhong, when can we go north?"
Zhuge Liang said, "I came here today for this matter, and I want to discuss it with Yunchang."
"This is not the place to talk, please come in, military advisor!" Guan Yu was overjoyed and hurriedly invited Zhuge Liang to his study.
He ordered Guan Ping to serve tea, and after he sat down, he could not wait to say: "When the lord left, he told me that all matters in Jingzhou and the Central Plains should be decided by the military advisor. Now that Cao Cao is heading north and the war in Guanzhong is imminent, this is a godsend opportunity, and I think it should not be missed."
Zhuge Liang said: "Yunchang is right, but the general situation is like this, and the details may not be fully prepared. The war in the Central Plains will affect the whole body. If we don't go out, we will win."
Guan Yu frowned and said, "I wonder what the military advisor is worried about?"
Zhuge Liang said, "To conquer the Central Plains, I need support from Jiangdong. I need to tie down Xuzhou's troops from Huainan so that they have no time to support me. I expect Sun Quan to cross the river and march north to Xuzhou in half a month after learning about Xiliang's news. There is no need to worry about this."
Guan Yu nodded and said, "In this case, why not send someone to contact Jiangdong and jointly march north?"
Zhuge Liang shook his head and said, "The people in Jiangdong are divided. Now that Zhou Yu is not in the army, most of them want to sit back and wait. If I take the initiative to contact them, Sun Quan will think that I have ulterior motives and want to use Jiangdong. Only if he takes the initiative to send troops can he reject the advice of his ministers."
Guan Yu also knew about Taishi Ci and the others, and snorted coldly: "Jiangdong's rats only know how to fight among themselves. Since Sun Ce, they have accomplished nothing, which really disgraces the name of Jiangdong heroes."
Zhuge Liang added: "Even if Sun Quan goes north, you and I must not rashly send troops. Otherwise, I would have spread rumors and reorganized my forces to prepare for a northern expedition. Sun Quan would go north on his own without any communication."
Guan Yu frowned and said, "The troops and horses of Jingzhou are well-trained and well-stocked with food and grass. I wonder what else the military advisor is worried about?"
Zhuge Liang said, "To take the Central Plains from Nanyang, Ye County and Kunyang are the necessary places. In order to develop Jingzhou and absorb money and grain from the Central Plains, the lord gave up Ye County and turned it into a market, claiming that the whole world will gather here, everyone will be equal, people will come and go freely, and property will be protected. Once Nanyang sends troops, Ye County will be razed to the ground and turned into ashes. This move will surely lose the hope of the world."
"This..." Guan Yu frowned, twirled his beard and pondered in silence.
He was only thinking about mobilizing troops for war and had never considered these details. It was only after Zhuge Liang reminded him that he realized the importance of these matters.
Guan Yu attached great importance to trust and loyalty, and he could not let Liu Qi break his promise and lose faith in the world.
Zhuge Liang was at a loss as to what to do. The best solution was to cancel the Ye County market, but this was tantamount to telling Cao's army that they were going to send troops, thus leaking military secrets.
Just when he was feeling helpless, Guan Ping came in again and reported, "Father, Xiahou Mao has sent a letter."
"Hmm?" Guan Yu frowned and said, "I have never met Xiahou Mao before. What do you want from me?"
He took the letter and saw that it was signed by Xiahou Mao. He couldn't help but be curious. He opened it and took a look. He was immediately furious. His eyes widened and he shouted in a stern voice: "Send Zhang Wei to see me immediately."
Guan Ping was shocked and hurried to call for help. Zhuge Liang also looked stern and asked, "Did Zhang Wei betray you?"
"Hmph, this is outrageous!" Guan Yu pushed the letter to Zhuge Liang. He was so angry that he could not sit still and stood up and paced back and forth.
Zhuge Liang looked at the bright clothes in his eyes and chuckled, "This Xiahou Mao is quite interesting!"
Not long after, Zhang Wei came in and saw Guan Yu's angry face. He bowed carefully and said, "My Lord, I wonder what you want me to do for you?"
"Zhang Wei, you did a great job!" Guan Yu stared at Zhang Wei and said coldly, "Why didn't you report the marriage between Xiahou Mao and me?"
"Ah, this?" Zhang Wei was shocked. Looking at the letter handed over by Guan Ping, he didn't know how to reply for a moment.
When Xiahou Mao mentioned this matter at the beginning, although he agreed verbally, he knew that Guan Yu would never agree, so he didn't dare to bring trouble upon himself and didn't even mention it.
Unexpectedly, Xiahou Mao actually took it seriously. Seeing that there was no reply for a long time, he thought that his status was not enough, so he wrote a letter directly to ask Guan Yu. This guy really doesn’t know his own weight
Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "Xiahou Mao comes from a famous family. If the two families can get along, Yunchang and Yide will be even closer to the Xiahou family. They can be the internal supporters to conquer the Central Plains. Isn't that wonderful?"
Guan Yu's face turned purple, and he said in a deep voice: "A real man should achieve success with his strategy and sword. How can he use his family as hostage?"
Zhuge Liang said: "In my opinion, the one who stirred up the world must be Xiahou Mao. Please think about it."
"How can my tiger daughter marry a dog son?" Guan Yu snorted coldly, turned around and said to Zhang Weiyan: "Take the letter back to Xiahou Mao. If you dare to talk nonsense again, be careful that your head will be in danger."
Zhang Wei was so frightened that he was sweating profusely. He put away the letter and hurriedly retreated.
Zhuge Liang also said goodbye and left, ordered someone to call back Zhang Wei, tore the letter into pieces, gave him a few instructions, and ordered him to go to Ye County overnight.