Huang Yueying didn't mention the Zhuge Fruit again, so Tian Yang didn't plan to mention it either. He then went back with Hei Guang and the others.
Let's talk about Sun Quan first. Sun Quan was a decent person with decent abilities. It was just that in his later years, he didn't manage to find a successor properly. As a result, many talents were killed. Lu Xun was a typical example.
However, now was not the time. The current Sun Quan was still not bad.
"Zhuge Liang was actually defeated by Cao Zhen. The Cao Clan really has many capable people. However, compared to Cao Zhen, Cao Xiu was even more infuriating. Di Dan was one thing, but Han Dang's son, Han Cheng, was also persuaded by him to betray him, causing me to lose face.”
Sun Quan said angrily.
"Since that's the case, let's counterattack.”Lu Xun said with a faint smile.
"Counterattack." Hearing Lu Xun's words, Sun Quan was slightly taken aback.
"The time is ripe now. If we can defeat the Wei Kingdom on our own, we will be able to hold our ground in the negotiations with Zhuge Liang.”Lu Xun's eyes flickered as he spoke.
"Did Boyan think of any good ideas?”Sun Quan asked with anticipation.
"…Ambush poison." Lu Xun replied after thinking for a moment.
"Bury the poison?" Sun Quan clearly didn't understand what Lu Xun meant.
"After a dog has enjoyed a few sumptuous meals in a row, it won't doubt whether there's anything wrong with the food that comes next. Even Cao Xiu, this shrewd hound.”Lu Xun said the same words as Tian Yang and Zhuge Liang.
"I understand. When Cao Xiu successfully absorbed so many people from our army, he would be too lazy to investigate who was faking their surrender.”
"We will use people who pretended to surrender to trick Cao Xiu into coming here and make the lake and river in River East his burial ground.”
Lu Xun's mouth. Horn sneered.
"That being said, who can bear this heavy responsibility? I'm afraid that Cao Xiu won't be able to persuade those who are too insignificant, and Cao Xiu won't believe those who are too important.”Sun Quan's eyes flickered with worry.
"Because of this, there is someone you must meet.”
As Lu Xun spoke, a person walked into the meeting hall and respectfully cupped his hands towards Sun Quan.
Seeing this person, Sun Quan couldn't help but be stunned," Isn't this Poyang Prefecture Governor Zhou Ziyu?”
"Zhou Fang greets the Autarch."
"Boyan, the candidate you mentioned is Ziyu?”Sun Quan asked,
"Actually, Ziyu recommended herself. With Ziyu's past achievements and performance, such a brave and resourceful person was indeed qualified for this task.”Lu Xun said indifferently.
"It's just that…with Ziyu's current status, I'm afraid Cao Xiu won't trust her easily.”
Since it was someone Lu Xun thought could do it, Sun Quan naturally had no objections. He was worried that Cao Xiu wouldn't trust him easily.
"You still remember the Battle of Red Cliff, right? At that time, what method did Lawrence and Old General Huang use to deceive Cao Cao?”
Zhou Fang pouted. He raised his horn and asked.
" A trick to hurt yourself…In that case…" Sun Quan's eyes instantly lit up, and he was rather excited. He said.
"In the past, there was Huang Gongfu who was beaten up to deceive Cao Cao. Today, I, Zhou Ziyu, broke my hair to earn Cao Xiu.”
Outside Chang 'an
Cao Zhen said with a pained expression," Because of my momentary soft-heartedness, Cao Zun and Zhu Zan died in battle.”
Cao Ling, on the other hand, was very calm and did not feel the slightest bit of heartache over the death of her relatives.
"Great General, please don't blame yourself. I saw with my own eyes that Cao Zun and Zhu Zan were so eager to gain merit that they didn't listen to orders, resulting in their deaths.”
"That being said, it is true that the two generals left behind several young orphans. Use my food city to feed them.”
When Cao Ling heard this suggestion, she fell silent for a moment before saying," That's good too…After all, the child is still the most pitiful victim.”
Hearing Cao Ling's words, Cao Zhen frowned slightly and thought to himself, As expected, does being an orphan remind her of her childhood trauma?”
"Great General!" At this moment, a shout woke Cao Zhen from his thoughts.
A scholar wearing a crown hat hurriedly walked over, looking quite anxious.
"It's Zhong Da! What brings you here? It was not easy to come here from Jing state.”Cao Zhen smiled and went up to greet him.
Zhong Da was talking about Sima Yi, a filial piety person from Wen County, Hanoi County. He was an outstanding politician, strategist, and strategist of the Wei Kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period. He was also the founder of the Western Jin Dynasty.
Sima Yi had once served as the Commander-in-Chief, General, Grand Marshal, and Grand Tutor of Cao Wei. He had assisted the three generations of Wei as an important minister. Later on, he became a powerful minister who controlled the government of Wei. He was good at scheming and had many meritorious achievements. Among them, the most remarkable achievements were the two times he led the army to successfully resist Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition and the expedition to pacify Liaodong. It has made important contributions to the development of farming economy such as wasteland and water conservancy.
After the death of Sima Yi, he was posthumously named Xuanwen. His second son Sima Zhao was granted the title of Queen of Jin and Sima Yi was posthumously named King Xuan. After Sima Yan proclaimed himself emperor, Sima Yi was honored as Emperor Xuan and his temple name was Gaozu.
"After the Great Sima received the surrender letter from Wu Ni's Poyang Prefecture Governor Zhou Fang, he personally led a hundred thousand soldiers to welcome Zhou Fang.”Sima Yi said.
"Wen Lie (Cao Xiu) is too rash. This is really not like him. In the past, the Imperial Emperor had praised him as the "Cao Family's Thousand Li Horse". How could this horse lose its hooves like this?”Cao Zhen was shocked when he heard that.
"However, this Zhou Fang has his reasons for surrendering. Not only did he state the seven things in his letter, but he also broke his ambition in front of the Great Sima.”Sima Yi touched his chin and analyzed.
"Didn't Huang Gai do something similar in the past? It was not surprising that Zhou Fang imitated him today.”Cao Ling said seriously.
"Then I will inform Da Sima to detain Zhou Fang just in case.”Sima Yi immediately put on a serious expression and planned to leave.
"Not only that, but we also need Jia Kui and Zhu Ling to go and provide support. This matter had to be done quickly. If he was slow, even Wen Lie's life would be in danger.”
As he spoke, a worried expression appeared on Cao Zhen's face.
Cao Zhen's worries came true. Cao Xiu was tricked by Zhou Fang's feigned surrender into going deep alone. He was attacked by Lu Xun, Quan Cong, and Zhu Huan from three sides and was defeated at the stone pavilion. Fortunately, Jia Kui helped him to escape, but after receiving such a blow, Cao Xiu fell ill after returning to Luoyang.
da Sima Fu
"Wen Lie, the princess and I have come to see you.”Cao Zhen and Cao Ling stood in front of Cao Xiu and said with concern.
At this moment, Cao Xiu's face was weak and his face was rather pale. It was obvious that he was already beyond cure.
"I'm sorry, but I don't have the face to see you now.”Cao Xiu said with an ashamed expression.
"Wen Lie, pull yourself together! You are the Cao family's stallion." Cao Zhen consoled.
"It's just a defeat. We'll get it back from Sun Quan later.”Cao Ling also comforted Cao Xiu.
"I am not pained by Shi Ting's defeat, but by my own petty jealousy. When I saw Zidan (Cao Zhen) defeat Zhuge Liang, I was filled with jealousy and was afraid that Zidan's status would be higher than mine. Therefore, he was anxious to fight a great victory so that he could compete with the victory in Longxi. He didn't think that he would fall into Sun Quan's trap just like that. Now that he had lost his master and humiliated his country, he really didn't have the face to face the Imperial Emperor and Emperor Wen.”
As he spoke, Cao Xiu's expression became more and more pained. Cao Ling, who saw this scene, already knew what was going on.
"Uncle Wen Lie's heart is already dead, I'm afraid he won't live long.”Thinking of this, Cao Ling closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She wanted to rely on this to ease her mood.
"Zi Dan, Princess. The future of Great Wei is in your hands.”
After saying that, Cao Xiu looked at Cao Zhen and Cao Ling with a serious expression and said heavily.
"What are you saying? Man Cheng and Li Ming have left. Are you going to abandon us too?”
Hearing Cao Xiu's words, Cao Zhen's expression changed as he spoke with a pained expression.
"I'm sorry, I've really reached the end.”Cao Xiu shook his head and said," Internal and external troubles are about to arrive. The next step will be a major test for His Majesty and you. I think you should be very clear about external threats.”
Hearing Cao Xiu talk about the foreign invasion, Cao Zhen stopped comforting Cao Xiu and began to answer Cao Xiu's questions.
He knew that Cao Xiu's heart was already dead. It was useless to continue persuading him like this. It was better to let Cao Xiu leave in peace.
"There's Sun Quan in the east and Zhuge Liang in the west. It won't be easy to deal with a pincer attack from both sides. Therefore, it was better to take the initiative and use a bait to lure Zhuge Liang. In view of the previous failure, Zhuge Liang's only route was to leave San Pass and march towards Chencang. I've sent Hao Zhao and a thousand soldiers to defend Chencang. Although Zhuge Liang knew that Chen Cang was on guard, he must have taken advantage of Hao Zhao's lack of people and insisted on attacking. However, he did not know that Hao Bodao was good at defense and Zhuge Liang would not be able to defeat him. At that time, we will take advantage of the enemy's weakness to pursue and annihilate them.”
"Sun Quan's army isn't good at land warfare, and the Jiangdong gentry lack the spirit to forge ahead. The east side can be handled by the local garrison. Although Jia Kui was dead, the court had already let Man Chong take over Yuzhou. If the situation worsened, he could also be appointed governor of Yangzhou. Man Chong followed the Imperial Emperor after the rebellion in Yanzhou, and his loyalty was unquestionable. When he followed his uncle Cao Ren to fight against Guan Yu, he definitely had the ability to stop Sun Quan.”
"Looks like you have no problem dealing with Zhuge Liang and Sun Quan.”Cao Xiu secretly heaved a sigh of relief. Then, he asked again," What about internal affairs?”
"Forgive Cao Zhen for being ignorant."
At this moment, Cao Ling, who had been silent all this while, spoke up," I heard Grandfather say to Imperial Father that Sima Yi has the appearance of a wolf and is ambitious. He might not be a minister in the future.”
"Well said. The princess is indeed powerful. She is not inferior to the emperor.”Hearing Cao Ling's words, Cao Xiu's eyes immediately lit up. He could not help but praise Cao Ling before continuing.
"Sima Yi can tolerate what others can't. He claims to be a noble, but from time to time, he does things to curry favor with the royal family. Although such a person is an indispensable talent of our Great Wei, the way he is willing to abandon all principles for power and position is really terrifying.”
"You're worrying too much. In my opinion, Zhong Da is a loyal person. Such behavior should be due to his nature.”
In any case, up until now, Cao Zhen had not found anything wrong with Sima Yi.
"Zi Dan, be careful of Sima Yi!"
Seeing Cao Zhen's nonchalant expression, Cao Xiu could not help but emphasize it again.
Not long after Cao Zhen and Cao Ling left, Cao Xiu died of a carbuncle on his back and was given the posthumous title of Marquis Zhuang. His son Cao Zhao succeeded him.
In July of the fourth year of Zhengshi (Year 243), Cao Fang, the Emperor of Wei, issued an edict to offer sacrifices to the late Great Sima Cao Xiu and 20 other old ministers of Wei who had made outstanding contributions in the ancestral temple of Cao Cao.
Hanzhong Assembly Hall
"Everyone should know that Lu Xun of Dong Wu defeated Cao Xiu in the stone pavilion, and Cao Xiu died not long after. Now that the Cao rebels were focusing all their attention on the east, Guanzhong must be empty. This was a good opportunity to go north again.”
Zhuge Liang stood at the head of the meeting hall and said to everyone with a serious expression. It was obvious that Zhuge Liang was planning to launch another Northern Expedition.
"Prime Minister, where do you plan to send your troops this time?”Yang Yi asked.
"Liang has already demoted himself to General of the Right. Duke Wei, please stop calling me Prime Minister.”Zhuge Liang first said this, then continued," This time, we will leave San Pass and head straight for Chencang. General Zhao Yun was in charge of pretending to repair the plank road leading to Ji Valley, making the enemy think that the main force would set out from Ji Valley.”
"This is a plan to build a plank road in the open and secretly cross the Chen Cang. Prime Minister…no, General is indeed a god.”Yang Yi immediately flattered.
"General, you must not. If someone were to guard Chencang, just a few thousand soldiers would be enough to make our army unable to move.”
At this moment, Wei Yan stood up and stopped him.
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