Jia Xu pulled his beard and said calmly, "When the Prime Minister was about to fight, he had a headache. This was caused by Cheng Zhongde alone. What does it have to do with the Prime Minister?"
"Hmm?" Cao Cao narrowed his eyes, with a cold light flashing in them.
After a while, he suddenly relaxed and told Cao Xiu, "Wen Lie should report the war to the emperor immediately, and he will make the final decision."
Cao Xiu was stunned, not knowing what was going on. Jia Xu gently pulled his sleeve, and Cao Xiu understood what was going on. He clasped his fists and said, "As you command!"
Cao Cao then asked, "What do you think about moving the capital?"
Although bedridden, Cao Cao never stopped thinking. He had already thought of the problems that other people could think of. Given the current situation, if the capital was not moved, many people in the court would cause trouble.
Jia Xu said: "Nanyang has been occupied by Liu Qi, Xudu is in danger, the emperor is in danger, so he should move to Hebei to win the trust of the world. The prime minister has been ordered to suppress the rebellion, so he should go to the front line in person to command the three armies."
Cao Cao's eyes lit up, he stroked his beard and nodded, saying: "Wenhe's words are very much in line with my opinion."
What others saw as a difficult problem was solved by Jia Xu with just a few words. There was no need to repair Luoyang, nor to worry about Yecheng.
As long as Cao Cao and the emperor switched positions, all problems would be solved.
Cao Cao personally guarding Xuchang can stabilize the situation to the greatest extent and also gain a reputation for guarding the front line, killing two birds with one stone.
While people in the Central Plains were in panic, there was joy in Nanyang, and Liu Qi's reputation reached an unprecedented new height.
After Cao's army retreated, Liu Qi ordered Wen Pin to guard Ye County and Lu Chang to guard Bowang, in order to control the important road to Nanyang.
It goes without saying that Wen Pin's defensive ability is excellent, and Lu Chang is not an ordinary person either. Although he is not as outstanding as the Five Elite Generals, he is also a good defender.
During the Battle of Fancheng, it was Lü Chang who was guarding Xiangyang. Although Guan Yu besieged Fancheng and Xiangyang, he failed to capture either.
With these two double insurances guarding the gate to Nanyang, we can develop Jingzhou with peace of mind.
Of the more than 200,000 surrendered soldiers, 100,000 elite soldiers were selected and led by Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhang He. The rest of the strong men were assigned to guard various cities and maintain public security through farming.
The wounded and disabled were resettled in various places. The three counties in the north of Xinye were looted by Cao's army, and the population needed to be replenished in a timely manner.
There was also an unexpected gain. During Wei Yan's surprise attack on Bowang, he earned a reputation in Funiu Mountain. All the major mountain strongholds respected him as their leader and came to rely on him.
Liu Qi was overjoyed upon hearing the news and agreed to relocate the families of those heroes inland. He selected three thousand heroes from the green forest and formed the Red Flame Army under the name of Red-faced Yama.
Everyone in the Red Flame Army has unique skills. They do not need strict training, but they must be absolutely loyal. They are responsible for stealth, assassination, scouting and sentry on the battlefield, becoming a special forces unit.
Although they are all collecting intelligence, unlike the Flame Wind Battalion, these people are active on the battlefield, serving as scouts and warriors. At critical moments, they can even change the situation of the battle.
Wei Yan agreed with Liu Qi's idea very much. He was a person who liked to take risks. This kind of surprise attack and lurking combat method was perfect for him.
These past few days, I've been spending a lot of time with Xu Shu and the other two, discussing guerrilla tactics and camouflage skills. If they can be combined with the Yanfeng Battalion, they will be invincible and able to penetrate any pore.
In particular, Liu Qi's guiding ideology of going deep into the hearts of the people was highly recognized by the two.
"Everyone has the responsibility to build the Han Dynasty. We must unite all forces that can be united to make more friends and fewer enemies."
Liu Qi said this in a simple and easy-to-understand way, and he was well versed in the strategy of attacking the enemy's enemy's strategy.
Xu Shu has been very busy during this period. Selecting talents and building a system is always difficult at the beginning. If the initial selection is wrong, everything will be wasted.
What made Liu Qi most happy was that he found Shi A from somewhere. Shi A was Cao Pi's martial arts instructor, and he had poached him first.
It turned out that when Xu Shu was in Luoyang, he became acquainted with Shi A's teacher Wang Yue. After he was captured by the government, it was Wang Yue who asked people to rescue Xu Shu, including Shi A.
Wang Yue was the best swordsman in the Three Kingdoms and had once been the emperor's teacher. Liu Qi asked Shi A to find a way to invite the old man to Xiangyang so that he could teach him a few moves and train some guards, which would greatly enhance his security in the future.
But the busiest person was none other than Zhuge Liang. Although he had no specific tasks, he knew a little about military training, laws, public security, and water conservancy, and he gave instructions everywhere.
After receiving his guidance, everyone felt as if the clouds had been cleared and the sun had come out, and they came back to ask for advice. After a while, he ended up doing everything himself, and his presence could be seen everywhere.
Liu Qi was also helpless, but luckily Zhuge Liang was full of energy at that time and he was also enjoying it, so he decided to let those who are more capable do more work!
We should take this opportunity to recruit and train more talents and let them do their best, so as not to exhaust the prime minister to death.
On this day, he was looking for Zhuge Liang, pretending to discuss the improvement of the Qin crossbow, hoping to hook out his repeating crossbow. Xu Shu came to report that the Eastern Wu had indeed sent troops to attack Huainan, and Zhou Yu had already captured Lujiang.
Liu Qi smiled and said, "As expected by the military advisor, Sun and Cao Cao have been married for only half a year, but they are already at war. He is indeed an expert in backstabbing."
Xu Shu said: "Huainan is related to the Yangtze River defense line. The armies of Sun and Cao will definitely confront each other here. The general should rest his troops as soon as possible and take the opportunity to capture Xichuan."
Zhuge Liang shook his head and said, "Xichuan is a remote and dangerous place. The time has not come yet. We should not send troops rashly. The most urgent task is to rest and stabilize Jingnan. If Sun Quan encounters a setback in Huainan, he will surely turn to attack Jingzhou. I heard that Zhou Yu also intends to take Yizhou. I am afraid he will plot to take Jingnan and advance westward."
Liu Qi sneered and said, "Sun Quan couldn't even capture Huainan and Xuzhou, yet he still dares to covet Yizhou. He is stretching his hand too far. As long as Jiangxia and Jiangling counties are stable, we can cut off his route to the west."
Zhuge Liang said: "The four counties in southern Jing are vast and sparsely populated. Changsha and Guiyang are close to Yangzhou, so we should also prepare for a rainy day."
Liu Qi said: "Han Xuan, the governor of Changsha, was appointed by my father. He can be transferred back to Xiangyang to serve. However, Zhao Fan, the governor of Guiyang, has been entrenched here for a long time and I am afraid he will not obey orders."
Xu Shu said, "According to the spies, Zhao Fan and Cao Cao seem to be secretly communicating. If Nanyang fails, this man might start a rebellion. We should not rush this matter and should take our time."
Liu Qi nodded and said, "Among the four counties, Changsha is the most prosperous and connected to Dongting Lake. I am preparing to train the navy here. I can deploy heavy troops in Changsha, which is enough to deter the other three counties. Even if Zhao Fan has other intentions, there is no need to worry."
Zhuge Liang nodded and said, "General, your concerns are correct. Jiangdong's navy is strong and has taken full advantage of the Yangtze River. If there is no navy to contain them, they will be able to roam the river freely and threaten the territory. When they enter Sichuan in the future, they can also advance by land and water, which will achieve twice the result with half the effort."
Although the establishment of a navy requires a large amount of money and food, it has to be established. It is one of the necessary conditions whether it is to control the Yangtze River or to fight against the Eastern Wu in the future.
While they were discussing, Jiangxia suddenly sent someone to ask for help. Huang Zu learned that Zhou Yu had launched a surprise attack on Lujiang, and seeing that Chaisang was empty, he took the opportunity to send troops to Xiakou. At Shaxian, he fell into Huang Gai's trap and was defeated and killed.
Liu Qi slammed the table and cursed: "It's really hard to persuade the damned ghost with good words. It's hard to help you!"