Ever since Zhou Yu sent troops to the north, Sun Quan has been hesitant in making military decisions and always felt uneasy.
In the past, Zhou Yu and Lu Su were the ones making the plans, and I thought I had the same views as them. But now that Zhou Yu is no longer around, I realize how important it is.
How could Sun Quan not be surprised when such a talent suddenly appeared
Full of expectation, Wu Guotai smiled and said, "Zhongmou, don't worry. This person is not an outsider, but also a descendant of the Sun family. There is no need to visit him."
"Oh?" Sun Quan was surprised and thought: "All the people in the clan are in office, and the rest are young and ignorant. Who has this ability?"
Wu Guotai said: "It is your brother Guoyi!"
"It's him?" Sun Quan's eyes widened in disbelief, and he frowned and said, "Guo Yi didn't show any talent when he was in Kuaiji, so how could he have such foresight?"
Sun Fu was of the same clan as Sun Quan. He was the son of Sun Jian's brother Sun Qiang, with the courtesy name Guoyi. His parents died when he was an infant, and he was raised by his elder brother Sun Ben. The two brothers helped Sun Ce pacify the three counties in the south of the Yangtze River, and he once served as the prefect of Luling.
After Sun Quan took over Jiangdong, he handed over his position as the prefect of Kuaiji to Sun Ben, and appointed Sun Fu as the commander, preparing to assist Bu Zhi in contacting the prefect of Jiaozhi, Shi Xie, to take Jiaozhou.
Unexpectedly, Liu Qi got there first. Shi Xie, who was even more envious of Liu Biao's reputation, sent people to Jingzhou to pay tribute. The issue of Jiaozhou was temporarily put on hold, so he had to order Sun Fu to be the governor of Jiaozhou to save face.
In the past few years, the two brothers have been in charge of Kuaiji and pacified the Shanyue. Although the territory is stable, there has been nothing surprising, which surprised Sun Quan.
Wu Guotai said with emotion: "In the past, Guoyi was young and energetic, and only knew how to lead troops to fight. After arriving in Kuaiji, he was deeply moved by the words of 'Wuxia Amon', and then he studied military tactics hard. It was only because I followed my brother to govern the country that I had no place to use my skills. This time, I heard that the battle in Huainan was lost, and 5,000 troops were transferred from Kuaiji to defend the Yangtze River. I came to see me specially. The conversation was extraordinary. As the saying goes, when a scholar is away for three days, he should be treated with new eyes!"
"So the state ceremony has changed like this!" Sun Quan was quite pleased with his advice to Lü Meng, which became a popular topic among the people. Hearing this, he was secretly delighted and said, "Since my brother has such a good idea, I will discuss it with him tomorrow."
Wu Guotai nodded with relief. After all this trouble, both mother and son were tired, so she ordered Sun Quan to go back and rest and recuperate first.
The next day, Sun Fu received a secret report and went to visit Wu Guotai in the mansion. He met with Sun Quan in the study. Sun Fu bluntly said that Cao was weak and Liu was strong at the moment. If they were not curbed, once the Central Plains were taken over by them, the three-way balance of power would be destroyed, the Cao family would be destroyed, and Jiangdong would be difficult to protect.
Sun Quan had long been jealous of Liu Qi's repeated victories and expansion of territory. He thought that this sick man was once called a pig dog, but now he was trying to climb over his head. How could he tolerate this
The two brothers conspired to imitate the deeds of King Huai of Chu, placing Liu Qi under house arrest to first seize Jingzhou, using the strength of the navy to guard the south of the Yangtze River, and then forcing Liu Qi to issue orders to seize Yizhou and Guanzhong to accomplish their great cause.
After discussing for most of the day, they even forgot about food and tea. After the discussion, Sun Fu said, "This matter concerns the great cause of the Sun family and the success or failure of Jiangdong. We must not tell anyone else about it."
Sun Quan nodded and said, "This is an external matter. Zhou Yu is not here now, so there is no need to discuss it with Zhang Zhao. It will not be considered as going against my brother's trust."
Sun Fu was overjoyed and clasped his fists, saying, "The Queen Mother has already deceived everyone in Jiangdong by faking her illness. Now it is a natural thing to do, and we can act according to the plan."
Sun Quan couldn't help but feel his blood boiling and he secretly clenched his fists. I can't defeat Cao's army in land battles, and I can't defeat Jingzhou's army in naval battles
The plan was decided, and that day he ordered his confidant Xu Xiang to take the letter from the Queen Mother to Jingzhou, not only to attend Liu Biao's funeral, but also to secretly persuade Sun Shangxiang to take Liu Qi home to visit her relatives and the old lady.
Three days later, Sun Quan gathered civil and military officials to discuss matters. According to the suggestions of Lu Su and Zhang Zhao, he reappointed officials of all ranks to govern the country, pacify the people, and allow the country to recuperate.
He replaced Bu Zhi as governor of Kuaiji, transferred Sun Ben as governor of Yuzhang, appointed Sun Fu as general of Annan, and put him in charge of the navy of Chaisang, secretly preparing for the dispatch of troops.
…
Compared to the silence in Jiangdong, Jingzhou at this time was full of joy, the people were happy, and the weather was good.
There were ships coming and going on the Xiang River, and merchants were coming in an endless stream. There were large tracts of rice fields on the north and south banks of the river. The output of the military settlements alone was enough to meet the food and fodder expenses of the Central Plains.
Although Liu Biao had passed away, it was a happy funeral and all the officials and people praised him. On the contrary, Liu Qi recovered the two capitals of the east and the west and returned to Xiangyang, where his reputation rose again.
With the coffin buried and all matters settled, Liu Qi had a rare moment of leisure at home and finally lived the life he had always dreamed of as a hands-off boss.
Xun Yu secretly handled all the political affairs in the rear. There was Liu Pan in Yizhou, Xu Shu in Guanzhong, and Zhong Yao was transferred to Chang'an to take up the post. There were Zhang Fei and Pang Tong in Luoyang, and Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang in the Central Plains. He didn't need to worry about anything.
One day, he was practicing swordsmanship with Sun Shangxiang in the garden, when Liu Neng suddenly came in hurriedly, smiling: "My lord, please stop playing with swords, there is something great going on."
Liu Qi put away his sword and looked at Du Linger laughing secretly with her hand covering her mouth while she was pregnant in the corridor. He corrected her dissatisfiedly, "This is practicing swordsmanship!"
"When I fight with the generals, that's practicing swordsmanship. When I fight with my wife, it can only be considered playing with swordsmanship."
Liu Neng explained seriously that since Liu Fu passed away last year, all the affairs in the mansion had been taken care of by him. Because he was smart and eloquent, he was loved by the ladies and they were no longer as reserved as before.
Liu Qi shook his head helplessly, but there had been too many happy events recently, and he had become somewhat numb. He asked calmly, "What's the matter?"
Liu Neng smiled and said, "Cao Pi sent Xiahou Mao to Xiangyang. He is waiting for you in the palace and has brought many gifts."
"This Xiahou Mao lost Guanzhong, but he is still valued by Cao Pi?" Liu Qi was a little surprised. He had already guessed his purpose, so he changed his clothes and went to the government office.
There were eight horse-drawn carriages parked in the backyard. Yi Ji and Pang Hong were directing the servants to unload the boxes. Xiahou Mao's face was full of pain as he listened to the people beside him checking the goods with paper and pen.
"Two strings of agate beads from the Western Regions, five ingots of Kushan red gold, five tiger whips from the northern frontier, a pair of jade bi disks, a purple-emerald necklace, a white jade bracelet..."
"Is that reasonable? Is that reasonable? Is that reasonable?"
Liu Qi strode into the courtyard, pointed at the dazzling boxes, and said sternly: "How can you accept bribes in broad daylight?"
Xiahou Mao was startled. Seeing Liu Qi coming in, he quickly put on a smiling face and bowed to greet him: "General Liu, I haven't seen you for several years. You are even more powerful than before. I came to visit you and prepared a small gift to show my respect."
Liu Qi said in a deep voice: "Don't you know that I am in mourning? Why do you send me such a thing of enjoyment?"
Yi Ji hurriedly came to the rescue and said, "General Xiahou was acting on public duty. My lord, you shouldn't be so cruel."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Xiahou Mao suddenly remembered the important matter and quickly ordered someone to fetch the imperial edict. He held it up with both hands and said, "I am also here on orders. Liu Qi, please accept the order."
Liu Qi was a little surprised. He quickly ordered people to prepare an incense table and received the emperor's order with Yi Ji and others. It turned out that the emperor commended Liu Qi for his contribution in pacifying the Qiang people in Longxi and the Han Sui rebellion, and promoted him to the title of Grand Marshal and appointed him to lead the military affairs in the south of the Yangtze River.
"Your Majesty, I will repay your grace with all my heart and soul, even if it means my death." Liu Qi took the imperial edict and ordered people to prepare a banquet.
Xiahou Mao rubbed his hands and said, "The prince ordered me to bring these gifts along. They are not to bribe the general, but to redeem my second uncle and his son. I hope the general will accept them."