While everyone was puzzled, Chen Qun picked up a pen and paper.
"Write that from today onwards, I, Cao Cao, will be promoted to Duke of Wei. As for the capital, it will be Ye City!"
Hearing this, the Ministers immediately nodded.
Cao Cao was not stupid.
At this time, the world was not yet settled. If he rashly claimed the title of King, he would inevitably become a traitor.
The name of usurping the Han would be established.
Cao Cao knew better than anyone what happened after Yuan Shu claimed the title of Emperor.
If he was like Yuan Shu, he would not end up like him. However, it would be inconvenient to recruit talents.
At present, there were still many scholars supporting the Han Dynasty. If he lost talents because of this, the gains would not make up for the losses.
However, his position would not change. He would only change his title to Duke.
He would still be a Han official. He would only be able to establish a capital and become a legitimate Duke.
The purpose was the same, but the nature was different.
Hearing this, the Ministers immediately knelt down.
"Yes, Milord!"
At this time, on a trade route.
Liu Bei Army had 27,000 soldiers left. There were also 20,000 Xiliang Army. They had been running through the night and were exhausted.
Liu Bei wiped his sweat and said to Zhuge Liang,
"Military Advisor,
Although I borrowed troops from Ma Teng to take Jingzhou, if Cao Cao sends troops to invade, we will not be able to resist. Do you have a good plan? "
"Moreover, if I order the troops to retreat, the Xiliang Army will not be satisfied. Naturally, they will not be so handy."
Zhuge Liang smiled faintly and said,
"Don't worry, Milord. This will not happen."
"Even if Ma Teng is angry with us, it is only anger. At this time, he can only ally with us."
"The army besieging Xu Chang is mostly Xiliang troops. How can Cao Cao let Xiliang go so easily?"
"Right now, we're all in the same boat. He won't be disloyal."
"As for the Cao Army, we do not need to worry."
Hearing this, Liu Bei was puzzled.
"What does Military Advisor mean?"
Zhuge Liang gently waved his feather fan and said,
"That Zhou Yu pretended to withdraw his troops, but in reality, he went back to accumulate troops and prepare to attack Jingzhou. His goal is the same as ours."
"Right now, Cao Cao's army is returning to Xuchang. Bai Feng has also brought the Ferocious Cavalry back to Xuchang."
"In Jingzhou, there are only 20 thousand men left to defend against the Jiangdong Army."
"Furthermore, in the battle with the Jiangdong Army, many of these 20,000 troops have already been lost."
"Right now, we have close to 50,000 soldiers in our hands. With the Jiangdong Army attacking, Jingzhou is definitely in the bag."
Liu Bei frowned.
"Although Military Advisor's words are correct, if that Sun Quan wants to take over Jingzhou, I'm afraid it won't be so easy for us to compete."
Although the Jiangdong Army had experienced the Battle of Red Cliff, their current numbers were still many times that of Liu Bei. It would not be easy to fight for Jingzhou with them.
Zhuge Liang smiled mysteriously.
"My lord, do you think that Sun Quan will attack Jingzhou?"
Liu Bei was no fool. When he heard these words, he immediately narrowed his eyes.
"Military Advisor means that this attack on Jingzhou is Zhou Yu's own idea and not Sun Quan's?"
Zhuge Liang nodded his head in agreement and continued:
"This subject has been to Jiangdong before. The situation in Jiangdong is extremely unstable right now. The external threat has just been resolved, so Sun Quan will definitely not send troops to attack Jingzhou."
"Moreover, Zhou Yu's strategists will definitely be leading the attack. Right now, Jiangdong is already extremely busy."
Liu Bei nodded.
"But even if Zhou Yu insists on doing things his own way, he still has military power. When outside, a general cannot obey the orders of the ruler. Even if Sun Quan orders him to withdraw his troops, it will probably be useless."
Zhuge Liang suddenly stopped waving his feather fan and narrowed his eyes.
"Thus, we need to get rid of Zhou Yu as soon as possible."
"What?"
Liu Bei was stunned.
"Get rid of Zhou Yu? Isn't that the same as making an enemy of Jiangdong? "
"Our army still doesn't have a stable territory. If we make an enemy of Jiangdong, we will definitely be besieged on all sides."
Zhuge Liang shook his head and continued.
"We are making an enemy of Zhou Yu, not of Jiangdong."
"Sun Quan will definitely not fight us for Zhou Yu."
"On the contrary, if we get rid of Zhou Yu, Sun Quan will be on good terms with us."
Seeing that Liu Bei was somewhat confused, Zhuge Liang continued to explain.
"Zhou Yu belongs to Sun Ce's faction and has always been extremely unhappy with Sun Quan's power. He also has military power and is a huge problem for Sun Quan."
"But Sun Quan doesn't dare to touch Zhou Yu. Not only does Zhou Yu have military power, there are also many officials in Jiangdong who support Zhou Yu."
"If we get rid of Zhou Yu, these officials will lose their backbone. When the time comes, it will be much easier for Sun Quan to clean up those who don't get along with him."
"In this way, we can obtain Jingzhou and also rope in Sun Quan. Why not?"
Hearing this, Liu Bei suddenly understood. Then, with a grave expression, he said, "I understand.
"I understand what Military Advisor means. However, Zhou Yu is currently leading an army. How are we going to get rid of him? This is a difficult problem."
Hearing this, Zhuge Liang smiled.
"My Lord, Liang has a plan …"
…
At this moment, in Sima Manor.
Sima Zhao and Sima Shi were playing chess.
"Elder Brother, today's Recruitment Meet is very lively."
Sima Zhao laughed and placed a piece.
Sima Shi also had a smile on his face.
"I just didn't expect that this Cao Zhi gongzi would openly oppose Bai Feng. He's really unscrupulous in order to rope in the landowning households."
Sima Zhao nodded.
"Even though Bai Feng is the Prime Minister's personal Military Advisor and wields great power, offending him is bound to bring harm."
"But from the looks of it today, Cao Zhi gongzi has won. After all, he has already successfully roped in the landowning households. Gongzi Pi still hasn't expressed his stance, I'm afraid …"
"Who said that Cao Zhi won?"
At this moment, a rather stern voice sounded.
Sima Shi and Sima Zhao quickly put down the chess pieces in their hands and clasped their hands.
"Father is back?"
Sima Yi nodded and narrowed his eyes.
"When will the two of you gain some knowledge?"
"Cao Zhi has lost, and he has lost completely!"
"This Yang Xiu is also a mediocre person who only knows how to play some petty tricks."
Sima Zhao was confused.
"Father, what do you mean?"
"The landowning households and Bai Feng are at odds. Cao Zhi gongzi must have roped in the landowning households. How could he have lost?"
Sima Yi sneered.
"Even the Prime Minister is trying his best to promote a commoner as an official."
"Although the commoners are not as powerful as the landowning households, they represent the hearts of the people!"
"Cao Zhi has indeed obtained the support of the landowning households, but there is no benefit in doing so!"
"He has lost the hearts of the people and he still wants to become the heir? That's wishful thinking! "
"Thus, Yang Xiu and Ding Yi are all muddle-headed!"
Sima Yi narrowed his eyes.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
