Summary of the previous chapter: Sun Quan was not nervous when Ma Xiaoquan suddenly appeared. He also gave Ma Xiaoquan a seat. In this way, Ma Xiaoquan also participated in the alliance between Sun and Liu. However... at present, both parties only have intentions. The reason is very simple.
Sun Quan still hesitated...
Sun Quan was silent.
He had to remain silent. The silence at this moment was the best time to calm down. Although Ma Xiaoquan and Zhuge Liang were both present, and his confidant Lu Su was also present, if he did not remain silent, Sun Quan knew that he would be furious again.
As a lord, if you don't know how to suppress your emotions, then what qualifications do you have to be a lord?
Looking at Sun Quan who was silent, Ma Xiaoquan and Zhuge Liang glanced at each other and cast approving glances.
The silence was not only to calm down temporarily, but also to think about what Zhuge Liang had just said.
It's not like Sun Quan has never thought about the structure of Cao's army. To be honest, from the beginning of Cao Cao's attack on Jingzhou, Sun Quan sent spies to pay close attention to Jingzhou's movements.
When his father Sun Jianqiang attacked Jiangxia and was killed by Huang Zu, Sun Quan always had a knot in his heart. Although his father's body was later replaced, Sun Quan still thought about one day being able to get involved in Jingzhou.
It is a pity that Cao Cao has taken the first step, which makes Sun Quan very depressed: firstly, he is depressed that Cao Cao wants to beat him, and secondly, because Sun Quan also wants Jingzhou.
Thinking of this, Sun Quan asked Zhuge Liang: "If Cao Cao is defeated by us, how should we plan for Jingzhou?"
Sun Quan's words were very clever. He said "planning" rather than "dividing", which proved that Sun Quan still had some doubts in his heart.
Zhuge Liang smiled slightly and said: "General Sun, don't worry too much. Cao Cao's northern army cannot win a water battle. If you can send out elite soldiers and strong generals to work with us, we will definitely be able to defeat Cao Cao. After Cao Cao's defeat, he will definitely return to the north.
At that time, with the strength of General Jingzhou and Soochow, we can form a tripartite situation with Cao Cao!"
When Sun Quan heard this, he was secretly happy and asked again: "Do you mean this by Duke Xuande?"
Zhuge Liang nodded: "My lord, I have the same heart, and even more so, General Sun!"
Sun Quan then clapped his hands and said happily: "Okay! Very good, haha..."
Ma Xiaoquan looked at Zhuge Liang and spoke lightly.
Zhuge Liang is also good at lip reading. Ma Xiaoquan spoke and Zhuge Liang smiled slightly. After Ma Xiaoquan finished speaking, Zhuge Liang said a few more words of lip reading. The two of them were standing at an angle opposite to Sun Quan and Lu Su, so the two of them did not
aware of.
What Ma Xiaoquan said was: With Xuande's character, how can he stay under others for a long time? Kong Ming, just fool him. If you really win, I'm afraid you will attack Jingzhou first.
Zhuge Liang said: Master Shangxian, it’s good that you know, haha, I think Master Shangxian is on our side.
...
At night, Sun Quan hosted a banquet in honor of Ma Xiaoquan and Zhuge Liang. On the one hand, it was to introduce the two of them, and on the other hand, Sun Quan also informed his subordinates of his intention to ally with Liu Bei.
When Sun Quan announced his decision to unite with Liu Bei to fight against Cao Cao, a bunch of ministers immediately came out to dissuade him, among which Zhang Zhao was the most vicious.
Sun Quan had a gloomy face, and he had nothing to say to Zhang Zhao. After all, when his brother Sun Ce entrusted Jiangdong to him, he said, "Don't forget to ask Zhang Zhao about internal matters." When he took over Jiangdong's foundation at the age of 18, Zhang
Zhaoya did help him a lot.
However, Sun Quan knew Zhang Zhao's thoughts.
He was afraid of death. To be precise, he was afraid that Sun Quan would implicate him and his family if he failed to resist Cao Cao.
Sun Quan also believed that all the ministers who came out to persuade him had the same thoughts as Zhang Zhao.
There was a leak in the house and it rained all night. Just when Sun Quan was hesitating, Cao Cao's envoy came again.
As soon as the messenger saw Ma Xiaoquan present, he immediately said respectfully: "I have met the Supreme Immortal!"
Jiangdong's ministers were not interested in Ma Xiaoquan at first. After all, everyone thought he was Cao Cao's man.
But the people who had just passed by Zhang Zhao and others who had surrendered to Cao were making such a fuss that the ministers immediately looked at Ma Xiaoquan with admiration.
Ma Xiaoquan knew that these people were counting on him to put in a good word after Cao Cao came over.
Ma Xiaoquan nodded slightly to the messenger and waved his hand: "You are here to deliver the letter, put it down, and then you can leave!"
The messenger was stunned for a moment, but he still obeyed Ma Xiaoquan's words.
Ma Xiaoquan stepped forward, picked up the letter himself, unfolded it and read it once. Then he walked to Sun Quan, shook the letter and said, "Zhongmou, do you want to read this letter yourself, or should I read it to you?"
Sun Quan glanced at Ma Xiaoquan, with a hint of confusion in his eyes.
"You'd better ask Mr. Hou to read it for a moment!"
Ma Xiaoquan nodded, opened the letter again, and read it again: "Well, Cao Cao's writing is a bit literary, so I won't read it that way. Yeah, I'll translate it into straightforward words that everyone can listen to.
.....Cao Cao said that he led troops to Jingzhou on the order of the emperor and surrendered Liu Cong of Jingzhou. Now, Cao Cao said that he has gathered an army of 800,000. Oh, there are so many, eight
One hundred thousand, eh, not bad, it seems you have some money to fight!"
After Ma Xiaoquan finished speaking, he raised his eyebrows and handed the letter to Sun Quan.
Sun Quan took the letter with trembling hands, only glanced at it for a few times, and immediately threw the letter on the ground.
Lu Su stepped forward and carefully picked up the letter. Just as he was about to shake it and read it, Zhang Zhao stepped forward and snatched the letter.
With a "pop" sound, Zhang Zhao just finished reading and sat down on the ground.
When the ministers who surrendered to Cao Cao saw it, they all came forward and read Cao Cao's letter together.
After only a dozen breaths, the sound of "pop, pop, pop" was heard continuously, and some even fainted and fell unconscious.
Zhang Zhao took three steps forward and said in a trembling voice: "My lord, Cao Cao is a man of the tiger and wolf, holding the emperor hostage to order the princes. On the surface, he is using the banner of the emperor, but in fact it is his own selfish desire. We openly resist him, which is unjustifiable."
It didn't go well. Now he has got Jingzhou's navy. I heard that the navy was trained by Jingzhou's surrendered generals Cai Mao and Zhang Yun. In this way, the natural dangers of the Yangtze River may not pose a threat to Cao Cao. Our military strength is too different compared to Cao Cao's.
Now, my lord, I beg you, for the sake of my people in Jiangdong, I beg you..."
Ma Xiaoquan curled his lips and thought to himself: Zhang Zhao kept saying that Cao Cao was being blamed, but I think he also blamed Sun Quan a lot. What do you mean for the people of Jiangdong? Damn, it's not all for officials and nobles like them? Hypocrisy
Dead!
After thinking about it, Ma Xiaoquan would not say it out loud. He wanted to see if Sun Quan had the courage to resist Cao Cao. If so, it would be easy to say anything. If not, Ma Xiaoquan would have to give him a proper beating.
Sun Quan was angry and annoyed, and couldn't speak. He had no choice but to tell everyone that he needed to go to the toilet.
Seeing Sun Quan go out, Ma Xiaoquan winked at Lu Su, saying that your lord has gone out, and if you want to say something, go and tell him quickly.
Lu Su had already had this intention. He nodded slightly to Ma Xiaoquan and then ran out.
After half a stick of incense, Lu Su came back alone, and his face was ugly, as if he had something unspeakable to hide.
Zhuge Liang stepped forward and asked quietly: "Zijing, what's wrong?"
Lu Su smiled bitterly and said: "My lord is undecided. No matter how I persuade him, my lord is still hesitating!"
Zhuge Liang also looked troubled when he heard this.
Ma Xiaoquan patted Zhuge Liang and Lu Su on the shoulders: "I'd better go!"
The two nodded.
...
Sun Quan did not go to the toilet, but stood under a side room and looked at the night sky.
The night sky in Chaisang is very beautiful, with dots of stars covering the earth like an extra-large silver-colored curtain.
Sun Quan let out a long sigh, and his eyes became moist unknowingly.
Ma Xiaoquan walked gently to Sun Quan, patted his shoulder, and comforted him: "Zhongmou, how are you thinking?"
Sun Quan swallowed hard several times and choked with sobs: "Master Hou, I am hesitant, hesitant!"
Ma Xiaoquan asked Sun Quan: "Did Zijing chat with you just now?"
Sun Quan nodded.
"Okay, well, did Zijing also say that he should let Zhou Yu come back?"
Sun Quan looked at Ma Xiaoquan in surprise and nodded again.
"Then ask Zhou Yu to come back! I'm sure he will let you decide!"
"good!"
...
Late at night, Sun Quan immediately repaired the letter and sent it to Zhou Yu in Fanyang.
Zhou Yu received Sun Quan's letter and immediately sailed back to Chaisang.
Those who greeted Zhou Yu were Zhang Zhao and others, while Sun Quan rested in his bedroom on the pretext of being ill.
Zhou Yu knew what Sun Quan was thinking, and he opened Sun Quan's bedroom door regardless of the politeness of others.
After closing the bedroom door, Zhou Yu said respectfully: "Master, you...eh?"
Zhou Yu raised his head and looked at the purple-haired man sitting next to Sun Quan's bed in surprise.
Sun Quan chuckled and said: "Gong Jin, come and introduce me to you, this is the Immortal Marquis!"
Zhou Yu snorted coldly: "What is Cao Cao's lackey doing here in Jiangdong?"
Sun Quan looked a little embarrassed, but Ma Xiaoquan was still magnanimous. He clapped his hands and said, "Haha, General Zhou is really heroic. He even scolds people so directly. Not bad, not bad!"
Zhou Yu said: "Lord, what is he here for? Is he here to persuade you to surrender?"
Sun Quan got off the bed, shook his head and said, "No, the Marquis is here to suggest that we resist Cao Cao!"
"Oh?" When Zhou Yu heard this, the anger in his heart immediately dissipated, "Kang Cao? What's going on?"
On the other side, Lu Su stepped forward and said: "Gong Jin, the Marquis was personally conferred by the emperor, not by Cao Cao. Don't be mistaken about this. Furthermore, the Marquis and Zhuge Liang were both present together.
You are here to serve as an envoy for our Sun-Liu alliance to fight against Cao Cao."
Ma Xiaoquan glanced at Lu Su helplessly and thought to himself: This Lu Zijing is really good. As soon as he said this, I became Liu Bei's envoy again, haha, that's fine.
Zhou Yu and Lu Su had a close relationship. In the past, Zhou Yu borrowed grain from Lu Su, and Lu Su lent Zhou Yu half of it without hesitation. From then on, the two became close friends who talked about everything.