The request made by the King of Hanzhong can be said to be the key to the Jiangdong regime, leaving no room for anything.
The first few items seemed to be chopping their hands and feet with a knife. Losing the territory of Jingzhou and Jiaozhou, Jiangdong lost all the expansion achievements of Wuhou Jiye over the past ten years. From then on, Jiangdong's prestige and strength were thrown into the dust and completely lost its status as the world's dominance.
The last two items seem to be cutting flesh with a knife. If the king of Hanzhong controls E County and Chaisang, it is equivalent to blocking the river and the mouth of Poyang Lake, and can cut off the connection between the vast plains of the Gan River Basin and Danyang and Wu County at any time; then they can enter and exit the three counties of Yuzhang, Luling and Poyang at will, while gaining profits, while making trouble.
Due to its particularity, the Jiangdong regime has always had a fierce control over the local area. Zhuge Jin has no doubt that once the people of Jingzhou traveled to these three counties in large numbers, changes would occur in an instant. At that time, the Han army found a reason to cut off the mouth of Poyang Lake first, and then threatened the three counties, which would be easy to take.
If the three counties are lost, what else can the Marquis of Wu be left?
The Jiangdong regime is not just a stalk of the world, it is like a fish swimming under a cauldron!
By then, the sharp blade of the Han army was pressing against the neck of the Jiangdong people. Who can guarantee that the Han army will not go further? It is true that Jiangdong still has more than 100,000 troops, but the gathering of many wealthy tribes was not allowed to instruct Wu Hou at will. At that time, would the Jiangdong people still be willing to fight for the Jiangdong regime?
Can you expect another Red Cliff?
The Han army has already crossed the river! It is useless to set a hundred fires on the river!
Zhuge Jin felt heartbroken.
He went to Jiangdong because the young master of Wu was in charge of his career and was extremely ambitious, as if he was the hero who could stabilize the world. So far, seventeen years have passed, and the subordinates of Wu have not changed, and Jiangdong's subordinates have tried their best. But if they agreed to the request of the King of Hanzhong, can Wu still have ambition? What is the purpose of the loyalty of Jiangdong's subordinates after so many years of hard work and then?
"Kong Ming!" Zhuge Jin made up his mind.
He nodded slightly to Zhuge Liang, sat upright, and said in a deep voice: "Although the battle in Jiangling was caused by the incitement and deception of Cao's family, we are undoubtedly responsible for it. Since it has failed, we are also ready to pay the price. However, although I cannot make my life and kill the enemy for the lord's battlefield, I will not agree to such conditions, so that the country will be overthrown and the lord will be humiliated! If Kong Ming must bring me back such documents, he might as well call the soldiers in, kill my head, and send it back with the documents!"
Speaking of this, Zhuge Jin was so angry that he was trembling with his beard.
Zhuge Liang felt the emotions that were being held in his brother's eyes. His five fingers holding the feather fan were getting more and more forceful, so that his nails were embedded in his palms. He never thought that the brothers and relatives would say something like "kill my head". But at this moment, the two represented the interests of Sun and Liu, and they were never allowed to give in.
He said slowly: "I arrived in Jiangling yesterday, but from the mouth of the Jiangdong prisoners, I heard that the Marquis of Wu used his eldest son and Sun Deng as his charity, so he eased the relationship between the Cao and Sun families. With the Marquis of Wu, the heroic talent of Wu, who relied on his father and brother, he could not die to remove the debris for the Han family, but he used his relatives to feed the tigers, making him kneel to the Han thieves. At that time, I thought that for a hero like Wu, the so-called humiliation was nothing more than this."
"Later, I carefully asked about the situation of the Jiangling War that day, and then I learned that the eldest son of Wu Hou exchanged his eldest son for the Cao family's important general Zhang Liao as reinforcements, trying to fight against Guan Hou and General Lei with thousands of cavalry of Zhang Liao. At that time, I thought again that for the brave soldiers under Wu Hou, this is the so-called humiliation."
"I heard later that Zhang Liao was unable to block our general on the battlefield. He also found that after Wu Hou entered the surrounding area of ​​Jiangling, he was in chaos and was about to defeat him. Zhang Liao actually fought back and tried to take Wu Hou back to the north and control Jiangdong in the name of Wu Hou. So I thought again, for the warriors galloping on the battlefield, this is the so-called humiliation!"
"I then inspected the surrounding areas of Jiangling, and only then did I realize that Zhang Liao had not taken action. Wu Hou found that the battle was unfavorable and fled directly. He directly abandoned tens of thousands of people, He Gongmiao, who died on the battlefield for him, Ling Gongji, who fought to the death in Jiangling City, and Lu Ziming, who turned to the riverside and fought for the last breath! So I have to think that for the generals who commanded the crowd..."
"Stop!" Zhuge Jin slapped the desk hard, and the slap was louder than Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang leaned back a little, avoiding the sleeves of the robe that were waved by Zhuge Jin, and then insisted on finishing his words: "This is the so-called humiliation!"
He stared at Zhuge Jin without blinking: "If you want to be humiliated, Wu Hou has experienced a lot in the past. I think, although my brother used this as humiliation, maybe Wu Hou is very open and doesn't care? Previously, Wu Hou had all over the land of Wu, and there were 100,000 people, but he was not afraid of humiliation. My king made some rightful requests with the power of victory and released Pan Zhang, Xu Sheng and other generals. How could he be humiliated? Wu Hou may not be allowed to make a profit. Why should my brother worry too much for the Lord?"
Zhuge Jin couldn't answer. He pounded his chest and made a thud.
The curtain of the cabin was fluttering slightly, and a figure was shaking. Perhaps the servant outside heard the cabin screaming, afraid that the two brothers would start to fight.
The two of them sat upright.
Zhuge Jin panted, and it took a long time to calm down.
Zhuge Liang sat upright with his eyes and nose for a moment, picked up the cup that had been knocked over at the bottom of the boat, poured sweet wine to Zhuge Jin: "Brother, please drink."
Zhuge Jin snorted and did not raise his hand to pick him up.
Zhuge Liang kept his bow and worshipping posture.
Zhuge Jin muttered and complained twice, took the cup and put it back on the table.
At this moment, a wind suddenly passed, and the waves were rising and falling on the river. Zhuge Jin hurriedly stuck out his hand and pressed the cup to prevent it from rolling down.
"Brother, can you tell me the situation of my master in Guanzhong?" Zhuge Liang changed the topic and lowered his voice.
"I vaguely heard some. Cao's army is strong and has a sharp horse and a tiger step. It seems that even Xuande Gong is difficult to shake."
"I'm not hiding my brother, my army went north to Qinchuan this time, and the losses were severe. At this time, the King of Hanzhong gathered troops in Nanzheng, and the generals under my command had their own opinions. As the general of the military advisor who was in charge of the Grand Sima Mansion, I went to Jiangling to fight with the Marquis of Wu, which was also a reason."
“What’s the reason?”
"At first, the generals in the army thought that it was difficult to cross the mountains of Qinlong, and the people of Yizhou were exhausted when they reached Guanzhong. Even if they could defeat them, they would have half the result with twice the result. Therefore, the King of Hanzhong intends to re-transfer Jiangling to govern the three states, directly threatening Wan, Luo, and deciding between Yan and Yu."
Is Duke Xuande going to return to Jingzhou?
Zhuge Jin's heart beat a few times. He pondered for a moment and asked, "I remember that Kong Ming had always advocated the use of the main force of heavy troops to come out of Guanzhong. Now the discussions between the generals will have an impact on Kong Ming?"
"This is not. However, the generals are rushing and the central officials agree. If the King of Hanzhong decides, I will naturally follow it and will not argue."
"I see."
“There is another reason.”
"Kong Ming, please speak."
"Although the Guanzhong battle was very harmful, they were finally forced to withdraw their troops. The generals involved in it were mostly damaged, and they would inevitably be held accountable and demoted. At this time, the generals of Jingzhou, from the Guanhou, would defeat the soldiers of Jiangdong, and would be rewarded by our master. The generals of Yizhou were quite angry about this, and they all thought that they were fighting a tough battle, and the generals of Jingzhou were only capable of defeating weak enemies."
Hearing this, Zhuge Jin wanted to beat his chest again. He forced himself to maintain his demeanor and listened to Zhuge Liang continue to say.
"When I came to Jiangling, I had received the order from my Lord that I would gather food, supplies, and men in Jiangling in Jiaozhou and Jingnan, as well as build large-scale camps to make the war between Jing and Yang."
Zhuge Jin changed his color and said, "Kong Ming, don't be fooled by false words!"
Zhuge Liang shook his head: "The situation is like this, why should I fool you? Brother, can you tell me that just ten months ago, the generals of Yizhou wrote letters to propose that Yizhou was blocked and the attack was insufficient, and the rules were sufficient. You only need to use a small amount of troops to defend Hanzhong, which was enough to protect Yizhou's safety. Then, the Yizhou people could gather 100,000 elite troops, go south to the Yangtze River, and sweep across Wuhui."
Zhuge Jin said in a lost voice: "What a ridiculous proposal? How can a soldier be so frivolous in the country?"
"Not frivolous."
Zhuge Liang shook his head and lowered his voice again: "Brother, please know that the important generals under the command of the King of Hanzhong are nothing more than generals of the front, back, left and right, and Yijun. The former general is in Jingzhou, and the left general assumes the responsibility of Jiaozhou. The other three are directly under the jurisdiction of the King of Hanzhong."
"Yes. These five are all loyal and virtuous generals, and are well-known throughout the world."
"Now the former general, General Zuo is very meritorious, and the other three people under the central government are inevitably envious. Our Lord must be balanced in this regard, so he will definitely find a battlefield so that Yide, Zilong and Hansheng can all make a high-level journey and get the opportunity to make contributions and redeem themselves."
Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan again.
He said: "I thought that this battlefield should be in Jingxiang, and the enemy in Xiangfan must be defeated, so that the Hanzhong King can rest assured to settle in Jiangling. But if the elder brother insists on bringing back our documents, this battlefield cannot be directly placed in Yuzhang, Luling, Poyang and even..."
"Enough, enough." Zhuge Jin said moaning: "Kong Ming, stop talking."
Zhuge Liang bowed slightly: "Then, please work hard for your brother to make it so that the Marquis of Wu can truly understand my Lord's intentions."
Chapter completed!