Liu Qi asked Sun Quan to give up Jiangdong on the condition of preserving the reputation of Sun Quan and his mother. After burying Wu Guotai with great honor and observing mourning for three years until the situation in Jiangdong stabilized, he helped Sun Quan go out to sea to fight the invaders, conquer the South China Sea islands, expand the territory of the Han Dynasty, and make him a king to pass on his name to future generations.
After all, Sun Quan was a hero of the Three Kingdoms and had the ambition to be a king. Although he had no complaints against Wu Guotai, he was unwilling to accept the situation he had ended up in. He thought he was at a dead end, but after looking at Liu Qi's world map, he felt like the clouds had cleared and the sun was shining, so he readily agreed.
But the situation in Jiangdong was far more serious than they had expected. Not only were rumors spreading, but troops from various counties were also ready to move.
Zhang Zhao originally thought that if Zhou Yu went north, as long as Huang Gai and others could stabilize the morale of the army, his prestige would be enough to stabilize the people's hearts and make the people of Jiangdong wholeheartedly support Liu Qi. However, he overestimated himself.
Liu Qi was also in a state of panic at this time, especially because Cao Cao's return caught him off guard. He had clearly taken Wu Shi San, which was heavy metal poisoning and he would definitely die. So he took advantage of the internal instability of Cao Wei to first conquer Jiangnan and then Hebei.
Unexpectedly, Cao Cao staged a drama of rebirth and return of the King of Wei. I even suspected at one point whether Cao Cao had also traveled through time.
Just after returning from Ganlu Temple to pay respects to the deceased, Ma Su hurried over to see him, clasped his fists and said, "Congratulations, my lord. Congratulations, my lord."
Liu Qi asked in confusion: "Where does the joy come from?"
Ma Su said: "Yuzhang governor Sun Ben has indeed raised an army, and has joined forces with the sons of Wujun Sun Hao and Lujiang Sun Yu, and has mobilized the people under the banner of serving the king. There are already tens of thousands of people!"
Liu Qi was speechless for a while: "Is this considered a happy event?"
Ma Su said with a smile: "There have been undercurrents in Jiangdong for a long time, and the Sun family's children are even more eager to make a move. It is better to make a move early than late. If you are sick, the sooner you treat it, the better. The Sun Fu brothers are in a hurry to start a rebellion, and they must be ill-prepared. If they hold back and pretend to obey but secretly disobey, it will be a big trouble!"
"That makes sense!" Liu Qi couldn't help but nod his head. It is better to suffer a short pain than a long one. Since he knew that Sun Fu and others were going to rebel, it would be beneficial for him to start an army early.
Although Ma Su was young, he always had unique insights into things, especially intelligence, and he was often able to unravel the unusual and find strokes of genius. No wonder Zhuge Liang valued him so much.
Just as he was sighing, Ma Su smiled and said, "This was expected a long time ago, but it is not a happy event."
Liu Qi asked in confusion: "Is there really a happy event?"
"Yes!" Ma Su smiled mysteriously and asked, "There is a turmoil in Jiangdong, and people in various counties are uneasy. Is there anything you are worried about, my lord?"
Liu Qi said, "Only Sun Fu and his followers are not to be feared. Yu Jin and Zhang He have been preparing for a long time in Jiangling, and Yide is stationed in Jiangxia, so it will be easy to suppress the rebellion. However, Kuaiji Governor Bu Zhi is quite capable of commanding troops. Although he has a letter from Sun Quan, there is still no news. I don't know what his intentions are."
Ma Su nodded and said, "My lord, you are right. Bu Zhi is close to Sun Quan and does not know the real situation in Ganlu Temple. I am afraid he may be suspicious. If he is used by Sun Fu and others, it will not only bring disaster to himself, but also be a big problem!"
Liu Qi sighed, "Buzishan is well-versed in governance, and he has Zhang Zhao and Zhuge Jin to advise him. I hope he can understand current affairs and the general situation, and not go along with Sun Fu and others."
Liu Qi was well aware of Bu Zhi's abilities. He first helped Sun Quan pacify Jiaozhou and take control of Nanyue, and later served as the prime minister of Eastern Wu. He was a man of both civil and military talents. Moreover, Kuaiji had the largest territory in Yangzhou, and Sun Ce had a lot of trouble when he defeated Wang Lang. Once Bu Zhi raised an army, he would be more difficult to deal with than internal personnel such as Sun Fu.
Ma Su said, "I have a plan that can make Governor Bu let down his guard and surrender sincerely."
"Oh?" Liu Qi was overjoyed and asked hurriedly, "What's the plan?"
Ma Su said, "When Huainan was in chaos, Bu Zhi and his family moved to Jiangdong. There was a beautiful girl in his family who wanted to marry Sun Quan. Now that Sun Quan has been defeated and has to mourn for three years, why not take this girl as a concubine to appease Bu Zhi?"
Liu Qi's heart moved, and he asked, "Do you know the name of this girl?"
Ma Su replied, "She is called Master Lian, and is only 28 years old. She is beautiful and a perfect match for you, my lord."
It turned out to be Bu Lianshi, the Queen of Eastern Wu who was gentle and virtuous, not jealous, and would take the initiative to offer beauties to her
Liu Qi had not expected that he could intercept Sun Quan. He was excited, but he put on a stern look and waved his hand, saying, "A gentleman does not take away someone's love. Besides, the Han Dynasty has not yet risen. We still need to work hard. How can we indulge in beauty and waste our ambitions?"
"My Lord, you are wrong!" Ma Su clasped his fists and said, "Sun Quan has been in mourning for three years, and he knows that his status has changed drastically, so he has no intention of doing this. My Lord took Bu Shi as his concubine, not for her beauty or personal gain, but for the stability of Jiangdong and the early establishment of the royal family. This is a heroic act of sacrificing oneself for the country, why are you talking about being depressed?"
At such a young age, he is so tactful in handling matters. No wonder he is favored by Wolong.
Liu Qi also found that he liked this boy more and more. He looked up to the sky and sighed to hide his inner joy: "It is too abrupt not to discuss this matter with the Bu family. I don't know what their intentions are."
Ma Su smiled and said, "Don't worry, my lord. With Mr. Zhang as a guarantor, this will be accomplished."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Zhao came in from the door and clasped his fists and said, "As long as the general considers the overall situation, I am willing to go there shamelessly. Although the Bu family is in decline now, they are descendants of the 72 sages of Confucius, and are a good match for the general."
Liu Qi also realized at this time that it was probably Zhang Zhao's idea. This time when he went to Jiangdong again, the old man's attitude changed drastically, which might be related to his greatly increased strength.
If Guanzhong had not been taken, when they heard that Cao Cao had returned, something else might have happened.
First he took the lead in recommending himself to replace Sun Quan, and now he volunteers to be the matchmaker. This old man is really bad!
At this point, Liu Qi could only go with the flow and said, "Thank you very much, sir."
"As long as I can keep Jiangdong peaceful, I will do my best!" Zhang Zhao was overjoyed and immediately discussed the matter of marriage proposal.
Zhang Zhao felt embarrassed after failing to appease the people of Jiangdong this time, so he finally came up with a clever plan. Bu Zhi could be considered half his disciple, so this favor would benefit both sides.
While they were discussing, Lu Su came to discuss the matter and said, "The intelligence just came from Danyang. Recently, He Qi defeated the Shanyue in Yishan. The Danyang bandit leader Feizhan has fled into the mountains. I am afraid that he will unite with Sun Fu and others to cause trouble in the south of the Yangtze River. This is a real threat!"
Liu Qi said: "As long as General He is willing to help me secure Jiangdong, I can order him to guard Danyang. I will order Zhang Yide to lead his troops eastward to station in Qichun and Xunyang. We will see what Sun Yu's attitude is and then make a response."
Lu Su nodded and said, "General, what you said is very true. He Gongmiao is a great general of the imperial court. He is loyal, brave and valiant. He also has the ambition to support the Han Dynasty. He has fought against the Shanyue for many years and has experienced hundreds of battles. He is capable of pacifying the territory."
Liu Qi also valued He Qi very much. He was a rare all-round talent in both civil and military affairs. Although his reputation in Eastern Wu was not as loud as Taishi Ci and Gan Ning, he was invincible in the conquest of Shanyue.
He Qi was then appointed General of Annan and Governor of Danyang. Before the official document was sent out, Sun Shao came in hurriedly and reported: "General Liu, something bad has happened. Lang Zhi, a prominent family in Wu County, has gathered his clansmen to support Sun Hao's rebellion!"