In the winter of the 22nd year of Jian'an [217], Lu Su, the governor of Jiangdong, died of illness.

This incident also had a slight impact on the structure of the Sun-Liu Alliance under the three-legged alliance.

However, because Liu Bei ordered Guan Yu to send an envoy to the Sun family in advance, it temporarily allowed the relationship between the two alliances to continue to be maintained.

As he was engaged in state governance, Ma Liang returned from an envoy to Jiangdong under the orders of Guan Yu.

At least the two families still maintain an open alliance.

And in Yecheng Palace.

When Cao Cao, who was promoted to King of Wei, heard that the Sun and Liu families had not broken up for the time being, he had no choice but to endure it and had no idea of ​​rash action for the time being.

This also leads to the fact that after the year is over,

In the next year, the three families of Sun, Liu and Cao entered a period of peace and tranquility.

The whole world seems to be far away from the flames of war!

But if you are careful, you will find that peace is only short-lived.

Perhaps in the next one or two years, a cruel and fierce battle will break out.

This is because, although on the surface the three families are in harmony, in fact each family is secretly actively preparing for war in their border areas. A war is definitely inevitable!

In the twenty-third year of Jian'an [218], time passed slowly as the three parties recuperated.

In a blink of an eye, the new year is approaching.

With the passing of the new year and spring in March, it is the season when the grass grows and the orioles fly.

After the beginning of spring, you can see the willows across the river in various places, and the spring scenery is everywhere.

At this time;

The first thing that came from Cao's side was the first to make some movement.

In the royal palace of Yecheng, King Cao Cao of Wei summoned Sima Yi, Jiang Ji, Jia Xu, Liu Ye and other advisers to discuss important military matters.

After everyone arrived one after another, they all bowed their hands and said, "I'll see you, Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, you will be spared all courtesy!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

As the ministers were stationed on the left and right sides, Cao Cao, who was wearing formal royal uniform, squinted his eyes and glanced at everyone, and said slowly:

"Everyone, now that the New Year has passed, I personally want to launch my army to march south again. I have Jiangdong. I wonder if you have any suggestions for the southern expedition?"

After saying this, he immediately focused his gaze on everyone, his face faintly revealing a hint of expectation.

It is also his long-cherished wish to conquer the south and unify the south of the Yangtze River!

Originally, after the defeat at Chibi, he heard that Sun actually completed the defense change in Jiangling with Liu Bei at the suggestion of Lu Su to maintain the alliance.

Cao Cao felt a little disheartened for a while.

He felt that Sun and Liu were united against him, and the situation was extremely unfavorable!

It is also not conducive for him to lead his troops to the south again and unify the north and the south.

Originally, in the 20th year of Jian'an [215], Sun Quan decided to attack several counties in Jingnan. He thought that this would definitely cause the two sides to break up and fight!

But what I didn't expect was that with Lu Su's mediation, the alliance was restored again.

Although the Sun-Liu alliance slowly developed a rift, they repaired their relationship time and time again.

As Cao Cao grew older, he also became older.

He has gradually become disappointed, and he is afraid that he may not find the opportunity to break up the two families before he is buried.

But at the end of the previous year, Lu Su, who was specially responsible for garrisoning the lower reaches and handling affairs with Jingzhou, died of illness.

This undoubtedly allowed Cao Cao to see the dawn of victory again.

In addition, I have been quietly recuperating for a while now, recovering and developing.

It’s now a good opportunity to conquer all directions again!

Naturally, Cao Cao's inner ambition to conquer Jiangnan slowly burned.

As a result, as soon as the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an [219] arrived, he summoned his most trusted advisors to discuss the important military affairs of the southern expedition.

After listening to this, the ministers each noticed the vague expectation on the face of their own king.

Everyone fell into deep thought one after another, and there was silence in the palace.

After a while, it was Sima Yi who first warned: "Your Majesty, I do not recommend gathering all the troops to march south at this time."

"Isn't this an opportunity to go south?"

Unexpectedly, Sima Yi was the first to persuade with a solemn and solemn expression.

Seeing that there were people directly opposing his great cause of unifying the south of the Yangtze River in his lifetime, Cao Cao was unconsciously dissatisfied, but he still suppressed his anger and pretended to be nonchalant.

He then smiled, his eyes still scanning the faces of the other people.

The intention is already obvious!

"What do you think of what Zhongda said?"

Cao Cao stood straight and asked.

As he finished speaking, unexpectedly Jia Xu, Liu Ye, Jiang Ji and others all solemnly responded with their hands raised:

"Your Majesty, I agree with Sima Changshi's words!"

As soon as he said this, seeing that several of the people he was most proud of under his command held opposing opinions, even Cao Cao, who was originally very firm in his idea of ​​"Southern Expedition", felt vaguely shaken in his heart.

He was not originally a unique and arbitrary person, but he was also good at listening to the opinions of his subordinates.

Since everyone is now unanimously opposed to the Southern Expedition, I guess there are several reasons for this!

Thinking of this, Cao Cao turned his attention to Sima Yi again and asked: "Why does Zhongda think that now is not a good opportunity for the southern expedition?"

Hearing his softened tone, Sima Yi knew that this was because his king had relented, so he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly explained:

"Your Majesty, it was only in the summer of the 20th year of Jian'an that you led your army south to fight against the Sun family in Jiangdong at Ruxuwu Ferry in Juchao."

"Although the elite soldiers of our army had the upper hand in this battle, it eventually spread to the army due to the fact that our northern soldiers were not used to water warfare and the large-scale plague spread around Hefei at that time."

"Because of this, the king had to accept the peace envoy sent by Sun Quan and re-sign the armistice agreement with the Sun family."

At this point, Sima Yi paused for a moment before speaking, and then said again: "Although we rested with the people last year, we resumed production for a year."

"The land tax and harvests in various states and counties are quite good. Lu Su, the leader responsible for maintaining the Sun-Liu alliance in diplomacy, has also died of illness. It seems to be an opportunity for the southern expedition."

"That's not the case! Now the Sun and Liu families may be fighting each other secretly, but at least they are still in an alliance on the surface."

"If we lead the army to the south this time, it may only further promote the alliance between the two families, which will be detrimental to our long-term interests!"

"I hope the king will think twice before acting!"

In a eloquent speech, Sima Yi explained his point of view very clearly.

Cao Cao also understood at this time that it was indeed impossible to conquer Jiangnan.

His beating had the charm of promoting the relationship between the Sun and Liu families.

Indeed, in the long run, it will be detrimental to yourself!

"Then does Zhongda have a plan to divide the two families?"

After a while, Cao Cao asked again.

After hearing this, Sima Yi responded slowly: "Your Majesty, as a minister, I can send people to the east of the Yangtze River to secretly meet Sun Quan, the Lord of Wu, and make an appointment with him to attack Jingzhou together."

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"Even if Sun Quan doesn't respond to this move, we can still take the opportunity to test his tone and make a choice for our next strategic direction."

"Zhongda's words are very good!"

After hearing this, Cao Cao also smiled and affirmed.

Immediately afterwards, Liu Ye on one side couldn't help but stood up and suggested: "Your Majesty, although the time for the southern expedition is not suitable at the moment, I think we can lead the army to the west."

"Attack Hanzhong again and overlook the Shu region to curb the development of Liu Bei's power."

"This is a good idea!"
Chapter completed!