The negotiations could not continue after only two days. Li Feng arbitrarily interrupted Du Qiong, who was in the midst of an academic discussion, and said arrogantly to Zhang Wen and Zhang Cheng, "Don't say these useless things. Cao Wei is
Rebellion, I, the Han Dynasty, are the orthodox ones. The title of your King Wu was conferred by Cao Wei. This is a fact that no one can deny. We don’t ask for anything else. We only ask that you declare to abandon the title conferred by Cao Wei and then change it.
He professes himself to me as a vassal and makes him King of Wu. It's just a matter of name. He has nothing to lose. Why do you push back? You can't bear to abandon the secret and surrender to the bright, right? Well, since you won't listen to your talk, then you can only be tough.
I'll talk about it after I kill you.
Regardless of the anger of Zhang Wen and Zhang Cheng, Li Feng decided to terminate the negotiations. He only gave a deadline. The general said that the end of September is the deadline. If you don't want to conflict over this, then quickly persuade Sun Quan to surrender to my great Han Dynasty.
Otherwise, on the first day of October, my righteous army of the Han Dynasty will definitely appear in your territory of Wu.
After saying these cruel words, Li Feng walked away. As soon as he left, Du Qiong and Fei Yi couldn't stay any longer. They were supporting roles, Li Feng was the protagonist, and it was Li Feng who really made the decision, not them. Li Feng
It's useless for them to stay here if they leave.
The negotiations ended in vain.
Li Feng's toughness was beyond Sun Deng's expectation. Sun Quan ordered him to delay and let him and Du Qiong talk about it. The longer the delay, the better. However, he didn't expect that this idiot Li Feng didn't care at all and threw out a final
Deadline, gone.
This is not a negotiation at all, but an ultimatum.
Sun Deng did not dare to neglect, so he could only send the news back to Wuchang, and at the same time sent a large number of scouts into Guiyang, Lingling, Wuling and other places, and even as far as Jiaozhou to inquire about Wei Ba's movements.
…
Before Sun Deng's scouts could return, Wei Ba's official letter arrived first.
This official letter was sent from Jiaozhou, but when it was sent, Wei Ba was already on his way out of Jiaozhou. Wei Ba said very politely that the autumn harvest was coming soon, and according to the usual practice, after autumn, the capital examination would be held, and the standing troops of each county would be concentrated.
They will conduct a review together. This year is the third year that he has taken control of Jiaozhou and Jingnan. Many soldiers will retire and return to their hometowns, and a group of new soldiers will be recruited to supplement them. Therefore, this year's scale will be larger and last longer.
One point, in order to avoid causing misunderstandings in Wu State, the text is written to inform you. Don't be nervous. This is just a normal military parade, not a war.
This official letter was handed over by Li Feng. Of course Li Feng knew the contents clearly, and the arrogance on his face could be felt even ten miles away. Sun Deng looked pale and at a loss after reading this official letter. Where is this?
It is an official letter, clearly a declaration of war. Wei Ba not only wants to assemble an army on the border, but also recruits some men of suitable age for review. The total number will reach 70,000 or 80,000. At such a sensitive time, who dares to take it seriously?
He is reviewing, but who can guarantee that if an agreement cannot be reached, he will not march into Changsha on the first day of October?
There are only 20,000 people in Changsha, which cannot stop Wei Ba's pace. Once Wei Ba launches an attack, the fall may only take ten days.
After seeing off the proud Li Feng, Sun Deng summoned Zhang Cheng, Zhang Wen and others for discussion. Everyone looked at each other, but no one spoke, and the atmosphere seemed particularly oppressive. From the day they knew they were going to negotiate, they
We knew there was a possibility of war, but no one thought it would come so quickly.
It is still early August, and autumn harvests are being carried out or preparing for in various places. Wei Ba is based in the south, and the autumn harvest time is also the earliest. The area under his jurisdiction has already started the autumn harvest, about ten days earlier than Wuchang. But the autumn harvest
After that, we have to finish the food supply and carry out the major annual plans. It will not be finished until mid-September, which is why Li Yan set the deadline at the end of September.
They all thought that even if a war was to begin, they would have to wait until late September, and there would still be enough preparation time. No one expected that in early August, before the autumn harvest was over, Wei Ba could not wait to start preparations for the war.
He even sent this official letter with all seriousness.
The sound of war drums suddenly flooded into everyone's ears.
"This negotiation probably can't be concluded." Zhang Cheng coughed and broke the silence first. Except for Sun Deng, the nominal supreme general, he was the general in charge of the military in the Changsha defense zone. Wei Ba pressed forward step by step, and the war
The outbreak was imminent, and he had to prepare for war. "I think that I should report to the king immediately and ask the king to prepare. There are only 20,000 people in Changsha, which is seriously insufficient in strength. The king needs to mobilize more elites to help. In addition, our army
We have prepared a lot of ordnance, and the reserve of fire bombs is almost empty. Could you please your Majesty to allocate some?"
Sun Deng smiled bitterly: "All the fire bombs are in Yingchuan, and even Wuchang doesn't have any reserves. The homemade fire bombs are simply not up to standard and cannot be used yet. At this time, can Wei Ba still sell us fire bombs?
"
Zhang Cheng didn't say anything. He had already raised the problem. Whether it could be solved or not was Sun Deng's business. He had to fight even if there were fire bombs, and he had to fight if there were no fire bombs. He was mentally prepared for this, but he was not mentally prepared.
In order to solve the problem of insufficient combat readiness, Changsha may not be able to hold on even more without the help of fire bombs.
"Anyway, let the king be prepared." Zhang Wen also sighed: "When a tiger comes, you have to feed it with meat or use a knife. You can't be unprepared. Wei Ba has been recharging his energy over the years. He is probably very good.
I hope I can try my skills."
Sun Deng glanced at Zhang Wen and said nothing. He could hear the intention of retreating from Zhang Wen's words. Wei Ba had been recharging his energy in the past few years. Even when Li Yan attacked Nanyang, Wei Ba did not use all his strength.
In the past three years, he only used 10,000 standing troops and 3,000 personal guard battalions, and his losses were very limited. It can be said that in the past three years, although the ten counties under Wei Ba's rule could not be said to be in peace and prosperity, compared with other places,
This is undoubtedly a peaceful place. In contrast, the Wu State has mobilized troops year after year. It has hardly been without troops for a year. In order to buy fire bombs and war horses, it has paid a huge sum of nearly 200,000 gold, which has long been withdrawn.
The family is empty.
Comparing the two, it is clear who has the advantage. Since there is no advantage, there is no need to resist forcefully. It may be an expedient measure to lower your head, feed the tiger a few pieces of meat, and buy it some time to breathe.
This is Zhang Wen's intention, and probably also the intention of those Jiangdong aristocratic families who have families and businesses. They do not want to fight. Whoever Sun Quan declares to be his vassal has no impact on them. There is no need to fight to the death for such a title.
.Once a war breaks out, Sun Quan, who is already extremely poor, will definitely have to get money from them again: whether it is borrowing or asking.
Sun Deng looked at Zhang Cheng, who remained silent. Sun Deng looked at Sun Song again, and Sun Song shook his head gently, with a heavy face, obviously not very optimistic about the future. Zhang Wen is the representative of the Jiangdong family, and Zhang Wen is the representative of the Jiangdong family.
Cheng is the representative of the Jianghuai clan, and Sun Song is the representative of the Sun clan. Neither of them agrees with the war, but Zhang Cheng and Sun Song are not as straightforward as Zhang Wen said.
Sun Deng had no choice but to re-seal Wei Ba's official letter and send it to Wuchang. At the same time, he attached a war preparation plan, reporting the current situation to Sun Quan in detail and explaining the supplies he was short of. He hoped that Sun Quan could make up for it as soon as possible to avoid delays.
the war.
…
Just when Wei Ba's thin piece of paper made Sun Deng frightened, Meng Da led 10,000 elite troops to intercept a huge transportation team.
Three thousand war horses.
With so many war horses, it is certainly not a business that ordinary horse dealers can afford. These are war horses that Zhuge Liang sold to Sun Quan. The person responsible for escorting them was Yin Shang, a fellow countryman of Jiang Wei, who is now serving in the army in the Prime Minister's Office.
Facing Meng Da who blocked the road and robbed him, Yin Shang argued hard that this was a normal transaction between Prime Minister Zhuge and the King of Wu. Everything was legal. The King of Wu had already paid all the money for the goods. He was just ordered to send the war horse to him.
It was just escorted to Wuchang and handed over to Sun Quan. Besides, this was not the first time such a transaction had occurred. There had been no problems the previous times. Why did it go wrong this time?
Meng Da's explanation is simple: the general has an order. Before Sun Quan surrenders to the Han Dynasty, he is a potential enemy. No strategic materials can be transported to the territory of Wu, and war horses are certainly no exception. I don't want your war horses, just
Keep them for now. If one day Sun Quan agrees to the general's proposal and submits his credentials to His Majesty the Emperor as a vassal, I will return these horses in full and guarantee not to miss a hair. Of course, if Sun Quan refuses to surrender, I will
The soldiers under my command would ride into battle on these horses and beat Sun Quan into submission. But by then, it would be impossible for him to ask me to return the horses.
Meng Da also said to Yin Shang sincerely, I am also doing the prime minister a favor. War horses are the most important animals of the country. How can he sell war horses to Sun Quan when the war between Han and Wu is about to begin? This is collaborating with the enemy. I
By doing this, I hope to share the Prime Minister's worries. Don't worry. Go back and report to the Prime Minister truthfully. I believe he won't blame you.
Yin Shang was extremely angry and accused Meng Dadao, "You have just concluded that the negotiation will not succeed as soon as it begins? You are clearly breaking the covenant and forcing Wu to turn against you. If a war occurs, can you bear such responsibility?"
Meng Da dismissed it. How could I not know what Sun Quan's surname is? He is a bastard who refuses to fight and doesn't obey orders. Look at how General Zhennan bullied him. Isn't he just as obedient? The Prime Minister was very fond of Sun Quan.
Yes, but there was no time when Sun Quan didn't want to take advantage of him. Such a person would be dishonest if he didn't fight, and just giving him benefits would only spoil him.
When encountering a veteran ruffian like Meng Da, Yin Shang's eloquence was of no use, so he had to leave in despair. Three thousand horses were gone, and he didn't even get a receipt. He rushed back to Guanzhong day and night, and on the third day
He immediately reported the news to Zhuge Liang.
…
After Zhuge Liang listened, he sat silently for a long time. He said to Jiang Wei and Yang Yi who came after hearing the news: "Is it possible that Li Yan and Wei Ba are really ready for war and want to fight Sun Quan?"
Yang Yi couldn't respond, but Jiang Wei felt a little sad. Zhuge Liang had previously analyzed that Wei Ba couldn't really want to help Li Yan fight this battle, but now he raises such a question, it can only explain one problem. Zhuge Liang no longer has
Confidence gained, he doubted his previous judgment, and his once extremely strong self-confidence began to waver unconsciously.
The three armies can seize the commander, but the common man cannot seize the will. When his self-confidence begins to waver, how long can Zhuge Liang hold on?