After reading Zhou Yu's letter, Cao Cao couldn't help but laugh: "I thought Lu Bu was a foolish man who repeatedly betrayed his master, but I didn't expect that a wise man like Zhou Yu would also betray his master. This is really unexpected!"
Chen Jiao said: "Zhou Yu has a proud personality and is the minister entrusted by Sun Ce. How could he betray his master so easily? I'm afraid this is just a delaying tactic."
Cao Cao stroked his beard and smiled, "Otherwise, if Zhou Lang really agreed to surrender to Jiang Gan, there must be a trick. Not only does he not surrender, but he also wants Qingzhou to burn its boats, which shows that he has been greatly disappointed with Sun Quan. I will use the strategy of driving the tiger to swallow the wolf. This time I will go to the south of the Yangtze River!"
He then wrote back to Zhou Yu, agreeing to exchange Guangling for Qingzhou, and appointed Jiang Gan as the governor of Qingzhou as a reward. When Xiahou Dun led the troops to take over various places, he led his troops south and attacked Jiangdong in one fell swoop.
The rear was now pacified, and Cao Cao felt relieved. He ordered his army to march forward to the Huaibei camp.
Sima Yi led his generals to meet them. Cao Cao first inspected the three armies. Seeing that the land and water camps were very neat and tidy and the soldiers and horses were mighty, he could not help but nod secretly.
After returning to the central army, Cao Cao praised Sima Yi in person: "Zhongda was originally a literary official, but he has the ability to command troops, manage land and water transportation, and advance and retreat with moderation. Previously, he was wasted his talent."
Cao Ren also praised him, saying, "Zhongda is not only knowledgeable, but also well versed in strategy. If he had not seen through Lü Meng's scheme, Xuzhou would have been lost."
Cao Cao said with emotion: "Since Fengxiao passed away, Wen Ruo surrendered to Liu, and Jia Xu fled far away, I have always felt that I lacked someone to help me with major events. Fortunately, God has given Zhongda. I will appoint him as the military advisor today to help me fight the rebellion and pacify the south of the Yangtze River."
Sima Yi was humble, lowered his head and dared not look directly at Cao Cao, clasped his fists and said: "Your Majesty has entrusted me with this task, and I will do my best and sacrifice my life for it."
"What a loyal and good man!" Cao Cao nodded slightly, asked about the things in the camp, and discussed taking Shouchun again.
Sima Yi said: "Liu Qi has arrived in Hefei and is recruiting soldiers and winning people's hearts every day. He has no intention of sending troops yet. Prime Minister, you should take this opportunity to pacify Qingzhou first to eliminate future troubles, and then go south with all your strength."
Cao Cao laughed and said, "Zhongda, do you know why my army hasn't arrived yet? It's because of the Qingzhou incident. Jiang Gan has persuaded Zhou Lang to join me in fighting Liu Qi!"
Sima Yi clasped his fists and said, "If Zhou Yu was worried about Jiangdong, he should have followed the imperial edict and marched south to join forces with Huainan to take revenge. Why did he have to fight General Xiahou? Jiangdong has undergone a dramatic change, but Zhou Yu has been keeping his troops in Qingzhou, delaying for a long time. There must be something hidden, and he may have already contacted Liu Qi."
"Impossible, absolutely impossible!" Cao Cao waved his hands and laughed, "Liu Qi was trying to take Jiangdong, Zhou Yu was disappointed with Sun Quan and hated Liu Qi even more, how could it be possible..."
Halfway through his speech, Cao Cao suddenly became suspicious. He paused for a moment and said, "Don't worry too much about this matter. You have all been exhausted from the journey. Let's rest our horses and soldiers first. We will discuss the matter tomorrow."
After the generals withdrew, Cao Cao immediately ordered Cao Chun: "Send an urgent message to Yuan Rang at eight hundred miles speed. Be careful of Zhou Yu's tricks."
…
In the Hefei camp, Huang Gai and Lu Xun were on Liu Qi's side. After a period of rejection, the Jiangdong generals gradually accepted Liu Qi's existence.
During this period, Liu Qi implemented some new laws, from military camps to rewards, which were fairer and more transparent than the original method of Eastern Wu commanding troops with private troops, and were supported by the Wu army.
In addition, a new workshop was set up in Ruxu to manufacture repeating crossbows. Each general was equipped with one, and they were all amazed when holding it in their hands. Today's repeating crossbows can fire eight shots at a time. They are light and flexible and can be operated with one hand. It is a powerful weapon.
As for public opinion, when an anti-Cao manifesto was issued, the people of Huainan and Xuzhou were all delighted and rushed to sign up to join the army. Regardless of whether they could get revenge or not, just the chance of serving as a soldier, getting food and having generous rewards was enough to attract those displaced people.
In addition, Lu Su and Zhuge Jin worked together to implement the New Policy in Jingzhou, dividing the land according to population, exempting taxes for three years, and developing military farms in Huainan. These were things that were unthinkable in Jiangdong, which was controlled by aristocratic families.
Liu Qi had already set a precedent of the rise of Nanyang, and the calls for the revival of the Han Dynasty were growing louder and louder. When they heard that Cao Cao was leading his troops to the south of the Yangtze River again, the people hiding in various places came to surrender one after another. Some of those who had migrated to Jiangdong even secretly crossed the river to the north, just to get a piece of the land.
On this day, Huang Gai came to report that Yu Jin had led his troops to capture Lukou, and with the support of Gan Ning's navy, Sun Fu and his brothers were unable to resist at all. They abandoned the Chaisang Water Fort and retreated to Nanchang, hoping to use the mountain terrain to deal with the Han army.
Liu Qi smiled coldly. These two brothers were not a concern. They could not stop the three famous generals from joining forces. However, Sun Yu of Lujiang had an ambiguous attitude and was still hesitating. However, the situation in Jiangnan had stabilized and it was time to prepare to send troops.
Just as he was about to write a letter to Zhuge Liang, he saw a man coming in from outside the tent and yelling, "Brother-in-law, I miss you so much."
Liu Qi looked up and saw that it was his brother-in-law Xi Guan. He was a little surprised and asked, "Why are you here in front of the two armies instead of expanding your business in Jiangnan?"
"Who would want to come to Jiangbei in such a cold winter?" Xi Guan rolled his eyes and sat aside complaining, "Brother-in-law, you've made me suffer."
Liu Qi was stunned and asked, "Where did you get this from?"
Xi Guan asked, "Brother-in-law, do you still remember the printing factory?"
Liu Qi slapped his forehead and said, "Speaking of this, I want to ask, how is the Xinghan Newspaper going?"
"Good, very good!" Xi Guan clapped his hands and laughed, then sighed, "But it's also very bitter."
Liu Qi shook his head and smiled, "Papermaking, engraving, and printing are indeed time-consuming, but this is a matter of great benefit to future generations. I will make you the first person to print documents, comparable to Cai Lun, and your reputation will last forever. You don't know how many shortcuts you took, so why do you complain about the hardship?"
Xi Guan rubbed his brows and said, "I'm not here for the printing, but for your brother-in-law, Investiture of the Gods!"
Liu Qi frowned slightly: "Could it be that the book is not effective and takes up too much space?"
In order to promote the Xinghan Newspaper, Liu Qi decided to serialize the Investiture of the Gods, explaining the general plot in an oral way, and asked Xiang Lang to find several disciples to polish it. He told the story every month to attract popularity. Could it be that people of this era could not accept the Investiture of the Gods
"On the contrary!" Xi Guan walked up to Liu Qi, stared at him and said slowly: "Do you know how many people in Xiangyang chase me on the street every day, asking for newspapers and asking for what's going on?"
Liu Qi smiled and said, "Isn't this better?"
"Not good at all!" Xi Guan slammed the table and gritted his teeth, "Do you know how many rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs are piled up in front of my house every day?"
"Who is so bold?" Liu Qi snorted coldly, "You must have taken advantage of your power to bully others and offended the people, right?"
"Isn't it because of that story?" Xi Guan said angrily, "My manuscripts are running out, so I have no choice but to reduce the word count from 2,000 to 500 words per article, and publish them every other month. I have already angered the public, and not only was I thrown into the trash, but the young men in the library called me a eunuch..."
"Okay, okay!" Liu Qi suddenly understood why Xi Guan had rushed to the camp in a panic, and hurriedly pulled him to sit down, comforting him: "Don't worry, I will save the manuscript right away, and I will ensure the quality and quantity in the future!"
Xi Guan looked at Liu Qi angrily: "You said that."
Liu Qi nodded seriously and said, "If you break your promise, I will eat all those rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs."