Chapter 49: Alliance against Cao

In ancient times, there was a Tang Kingdom, which was located in the middle of Shanxi. Later, the second emperor of the Zhou Dynasty, Zhou Gong was regent during the reign of King Cheng of Zhou, and then the Tang Kingdom was granted the place to King Wu's youngest son Tang Shuyu, which was Jin Kingdom.

Later, the kings of Jin State went crazy and tried to be strong, and once defeated Geng, Huo, Wei, Yu, Guo and other countries, and defeated Lirong and other tribes. Later, Duke Wen of Jin, Chong'er defeated Chu, making Jin the overlord of the Central Plains. However, in the late autumn, the Jin State officials Zhao Xiangzi, Wei Xianzi, Han Xuanzi and others caused rebellion and divided Jin into three parts, namely Zhao, Wei and Han in the Warring States Period.

The surnames and clans of ancient people were different. In the pre-Qin period, the names of noble men were called by clans rather than clans. For example, Qin Shihuang, Ying and Zhao clans, we call him Ying Zheng, but at that time, they were called Zhao Zheng. The monarchs of Jin State were descendants of King Wu of Zhou, and their surname was naturally Ji. Later, when Tang Shuyu's son changed the name of the country to Jin State, the monarchs of Jin State became the Ji surname and Jin State.

Later, Zhao, Wei and Han, the kings of Zhao were named Ying, while the kings of Wei and Han were both named Ji, and they were also considered to be a clan of Jin. If the princes of the three families divided Jin were named according to their current surnames, they should be called Ying Xiangzi, Ji Xianzi and Ji Xuanzi.

Sima Zhao looked at the tablets in front of him with a slightly dull look, and finally, he discovered names that he was very familiar with.

"Jin Weizhu, Jin Chong'er, Jin Huan..." The names of the kings of Jin State appeared in front of Sima Zhao.

"Uncle San, what are these?" Sima Zhao asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"They are all ancestors of our Sima family!" Sima Fu said, taking a breath slightly, and then said: "Our Sima clan was originally surnamed Ji, and was a direct descendant of the Jin royal family. Later, the three families divided Jin, and our Sima family members wandered to this Henei County, changed their names and surnames, and finally saved some blood."

"After hundreds of years of ups and downs, our Sima family finally gained a firm foothold in this Hanoi County. The three princes who divided Jin at that time, that is, the enemy of our Sima family, had long been destroyed by the Qin people."

"Now our Sima family, let alone in this Hanoi County, is one of the best big families even looking at the entire Central Plains. But this is still far from the great Jin Dynasty that dominated the world, our ancestors!" Sima Fu sighed slightly as he said this.

"I am actually a descendant of the Great Jin State back then?" Sima Zhao glanced at the enshrined tablets, and then looked at the night pearls inlaid on the walls around him. Sima Zhao finally believed what Sima Fu said. Perhaps only the Jin State back then could have such a big move and produce so many night pearls.

"Xiao Zhao, our Sima family has been tolerant for the past few hundred years, but we have never given up and worked hard to restore the glory of our Great Jin State back then! Now, I tell you all this, I hope you can pass on your will. If you have the chance in the future, you must restore the glory of our Great Jin State!"

"Restore the Great Jin Dynasty?" Sima Zhao looked at Sima Fu hesitantly.

"Haha, Xiao Zhao, I know that this sentence is not easy to restore the Great Jin Dynasty! If our Sima family had the current power thirty years ago, and as many talents as now, they might be able to seize the world like Cao Cao and achieve a career of dominance. Unfortunately, our brothers were born a little late... But Xiao Zhao, don't be discouraged. Our generation is not good, and you are not good, and your descendants. For hundreds of years, our Sima family has been waiting. I don't care about this moment. As long as we don't give up, one day we can restore the glory of our Sima family!"

After hearing Sima Fu's words, Sima Zhao nodded fiercely, and prayed silently in his heart: "Blessings of ancestors and ancestors, if we, Sima Zhao, gain power in the future, we will rebuild the glory of our great Jin Dynasty! If we have the opportunity in the future, I will definitely re-establish Jin State!"

Yecheng.

Cao Pi died of illness, and Cao Rui naturally inherited the throne.

Later, Cao Rui appointed Cao Zhen as the Grand Sima and Sima Yi as the Grand Marshal according to Cao Pi's will. Other officials also had rewards.

However, what everyone unexpectedly expected was that Xu Shu was actually named Prime Minister by Cao Rui! Xu Shu suddenly became the number one person under the emperor.

After Xu Shu entered Cao's camp, he did not say a word and never offered any strategy to Cao Cao. His political achievements were not outstanding on weekdays. As Xu Shu gradually grew older, Xu Shu was gradually forgotten. Unexpectedly, he has become the leader of civil and military officials. This surprised many people.

In terms of qualifications, Xu Shu also joined the Wei Kingdom since the time of Cao Cao, and can be regarded as a veteran of the three dynasties. However, because Cao Pi's reign was relatively short, there were many veterans of the three dynasties in the Wei Kingdom. Speaking of ability, Xu Shu had been famous for almost twenty years, but after joining the Wei Kingdom, he did not make much achievements. In addition, he was a surrendered general himself, so Cao Rui's move made many people quite dissatisfied.

Compared with many other ministers, Xu Shu had no advantage at all. Being able to become the prime minister only shows that Cao Rui had great trust in Xu Shu, so everyone began to inquire about the relationship between Cao Rui and Xu Shu.

There is no airtight wall in the world. Under the investigation of many interested people, the relationship between Xu Shu and Cao Rui has finally become clearer. Only then do we know that when Cao Rui was the most unsuccessful, Xu Shu helped Cao Rui and finally helped Cao Rui ascend the throne.

It is easy to add icing on the cake, but it is much harder to provide timely help. Xu Shu helped Cao Rui in the most difficult time, and finally took the position of prime minister, and everyone had nothing to say.

Politics is an investment, and it is an investment with the greatest benefits. It is also an investment worthy of everyone's life. Investors with good vision are like Lu Buwei. If they have a rare product, they will eventually gain a country.

After Xu Shu became prime minister, he immediately became abnormal and immediately became high-profile and issued one after another. Xu Shu's talent in internal affairs was not as good as Zhuge Liang, but he could also be called a top talent. In the current Wei State, the old and young are in a period of alternating talents. Xu Shu's emergence immediately shocked the ministers. In a blink of an eye, the criticism about Xu Shu in the court was calmed down.

When the news of Cao Pi's death reached Shouchun, Sun Quan immediately decided to fight to the north, but was stopped by Zhuge Jin. Zhuge Jin suggested to Sun Quan that he would join forces with Shu and attack Wei together, and asked A Dou to send troops to attack Tongguan and Wuguan. At the same time, Lu Xun attacked Xiangfan, and Sun Quan attacked Xuzhou, pulling the defense line of Wei into three sections, so that he could not take into account the ending.

According to Zhuge Jin's plan, in Chang'an, if the attack on Tongguan is the Hongnong Plain, then the Shu army can attack Luoyang and threaten Xudu and Nanyang at the same time; and if the Shu army breaks through Wuguan, it will directly advance to Wancheng. Both plans will threaten Wancheng, Wancheng is the rear of Xiangyang. As the saying goes, Wancheng is the enemy's rear, Sima Yi on the front line of Xiangyang is equivalent to being cut off. If Sima Yi did not retreat to Xudu at that time, he would inevitably be annihilated by the Shu army and Wu army. Therefore, Sima Yi would undoubtedly retreat, and the Wei State would lose the entire Nanyang County and even the Sili area.

Similarly, if Lu Xun's side made progress and captured the Xiangfan line, Nanyang would inevitably be out of protection and would threaten Xudu. Similarly, if the Wei army lost Nanyang, it would be equivalent to losing Wuguan, and the Shu army could enter from Wuguan. Later, whether the Wushu coalition forces attacked Xudu or attacked Sili, it would be easy. Sima Yi was difficult to resist.

On the east side, Xuzhou has no danger to defend. If Sun Quan can win, the entire Xuzhou, Qingzhou, and even Yanzhou will be captured by the Wu army. Once Yanzhou is lost, Sili and Xudu will face three-way attacks between the two countries, which will inevitably be difficult to last. This is even more terrifying for the Wei State than the previous situations.

So counting, Wei State has four points to defend, but no one of these four points should be lost. As long as Wu and Shu State can successfully capture one of the points and move the whole body, they will achieve the entire battle situation.

Zhuge Jin's suggestion was immediately adopted by Sun Quan. Now that Cao Pi has just died, the political situation of Wei State is unstable, which is a great opportunity for an attack. As long as one of these four attack points is successful, Wei State will lose at least one-quarter of its power.

But Sun Quan took into account another issue, that is, the issue of interest distribution. To put it bluntly, it is how to distribute the territory captured.

In this regard, Sun Quan suffered a loss. It was because he did not negotiate well that Jingzhou was almost denied by Liu Bei. Now, among the plans proposed by Zhuge Jin, the eastern front is easy to say. Xuzhou, Qingzhou and Yanzhou are too far from Shu Han, and Shu Kingdom is unable to do anything even if he wants to get into it. However, Nanyang is different. Sun Quan does not want to make wedding dresses for others like the Battle of Chibi, so Sun Quan thinks that it is better to discuss the division of territory first so as not to have another dispute in the future.

Zhuge Jin could see how much threat the four routes of attacking Wei would pose to Wei, let alone Zhuge Liang. Compared to Zhuge Jin, Zhuge Liang could see the fifth route, which was the Gongsun family in Liaodong.

Gongsun in Liaodong had a Gongsun family that had only risen for fifty years, but now it is also a prince.

Speaking of the Gongsun family, we have to mention Gongsun Du, who was also a prince of the same era as Cao Cao and Liu Bei. At that time, the Gongsun family in Liaodong was just a small family, and the head of the Gongsun family, Gongsun Du, was just a minor official. Gongsun Du and Xu Rong, the general under Dong Zhuo, were fellow townsmen. When Dong Zhuo was the prime minister, Xu Rong recommended Gongsun Du as the prefect of Liaodong. In the following years, the Central Plains was in chaos, and the princes were unable to take care of Liaodong, which gave Gongsun Du a lot of room for development.

At that time, Liaodong was under the jurisdiction of Youzhou, but neither Liu Yu, Gongsun Zan nor Yuan Shao paid attention to the remote and sparsely populated Liaodong. Gongsun Du was honest and did not step out of Liaodong. Gongsun Du, whose power gradually increased, took this opportunity to establish himself as the Marquis of Liaodong and the Governor of Pingzhou, and then attacked Goguryeo in the east and expedition to Wuhuan in the west. In addition, a training department also led a naval army to capture the Shandong Peninsula. After several years of opening up the territory, the territory occupied by Gongsun Du could at least catch up with a moderate-sized state of the Han Dynasty.

However, Liaodong's location does have its limitations. Although Gongsun Du has recruited refugees and even recruited wise men such as Guan Ning and Bing Yuan, the population of Liaodong is still not large, which is still inferior to the war-torn Central Plains.

In the ninth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao and his great victory in the Battle of Guandu were invaded by Jizhou in the northern expedition. In order to appease Gongsun Du, Cao Cao recommended Gongsun Du as General Wuwei and was granted the title of Marquis of Yongning Township. In the same year, Gongsun Du died of illness. Gongsun Du's eldest son Gongsun Kang attacked Gongsun Du's official position and title. Later, Gongsun Kang attacked Goguryeo several times, and captured Goguryeo's capital and dominated Liaodong. However, in the year when Liu Bei ascended the throne, Gongsun Kang also died of illness.

Gongsun Kang died of illness, and it is logical that Gongsun Kang's son should be inherited. Gongsun Kang has two sons, one is Gongsun Huang, and the other is Gongsun Yuan.

However, when Gongsun Kang died, Gongsun Huang and Gongsun Yuan were both young, and Gongsun Kang had a younger brother named Gongsun Gong. How could the two youngest sons fight against Gongsun Gong? So the prefect of Liaodong was obtained by Gongsun Gong.

The first thing Gongsun Gong did after he came to power was to send Gongsun Kang's eldest son Gongsun Huang to Luoyang as a hostage. According to Gongsun Gong's plan, he was the eldest son of Gongsun Kang. He has always been the eldest son who inherited his father's position and was also the biggest threat to him. As long as he sent Gongsun Huang to Luoyang, no one would threaten his position and he could always be the prefect of Liaodong.

Perhaps because of the cycle of nature, not long after Gongsun Gong came to power, he suffered a serious illness and lost his fertility. It happened that Gongsun Gong had not given birth to a son. In short, the position of the prefect of Liaodong would fall to Gongsun Gong's two nephews sooner or later.

A few years later, Gongsun Kang's two sons have grown up and are no longer the two ignorant teenagers. Especially the second son Gongsun Yuan, who has begun to peek at the position of the prefect of Liaodong. After all, the eldest son Gongsun Huang is not in Liaodong. Once Gongsun Gong has something to do, Gongsun Yuan will become the heir.

Zhuge Liang had noticed this a long time ago, so Zhuge Liang planned to instigate Gongsun Yuan, and then let Gongsun Yuan lead troops to attack Youzhou, involving some of the Cao army's forces.

The envoys of the Eastern Wu finally arrived in Chang'an and submitted a letter of state to Adou, hoping that both sides could send troops together to attack Wei.

Taking advantage of the time when Cao Pi had just died, it was just a coincidence with A Dou's idea. When Liu Bei died, Cao Pi also caused great trouble for himself, but now it is time for Cao Rui to help Cao Pi pay off his debts.

However, the envoy of the Eastern Wu made another request, that is, no matter what, Nanyang belongs to the Eastern Wu, and whoever takes over other places will be counted as the one who takes over them.

Shangyong of Shu Kingdom still borders Nanyang. A Dou naturally refused to give up Nanyang for no reason. However, in order to form an alliance, A Dou still summoned Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong and others to discuss.

In the study, Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang had arrived first before Adou came.

"Haha, Sun Quan has a big appetite and wants to directly demand the entire Nanyang!" Pang Tong had a smile on his face, but because Pang Tong was ugly, this smile gave people a sense of despicability.

Pang Tong smiled, looked at Zhuge Liang next to him, and said, "Kong Ming, this is all your fault. You relied on Jingzhou and refused to give Sun Quan to others. Now Sun Quan is scared by you. I call for Nanyang..."

"Haha, it's just a Nanyang, just give it to him!" Zhuge Liang gently slapped the feather fan in his hand. Although it was winter and Zhuge Liang was wearing a thick fur, the fan was held in Zhuge Liang's hand without any disharmoniousness.

"Give it to him? Kong Ming, when did you become so generous? When I was in Longzhong, I went to your house to drink a glass of wine, and I had to worry about it for several days. How could I bear to give Nanyang County to Sun Quan now?" Pang Tongyi said with a smirk.

"Shi Yuan, think about it, is Nanyang today still the same as Nanyang? What's wrong with the current Nanyang today if it is given to Sun Quan?" Zhuge Liang said.

"Prime Minister, why is this?" A Dou's voice came from behind, and then A Dou flashed out from behind the screen.

"I've seen Your Majesty!" Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong greeted Adou at the same time.

"Forgive me, there are only three of us, and you don't need to be polite. By the way, Prime Minister, you just said to give Nanyang to Sun Quan. Why is this?" A Dou asked.

"Your Majesty, Nanyang is no longer as good as that of the time. After experiencing the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Nanyang has become in decline. Later, Cao Cao moved the people of Nanyang to Yingchuan, Runan and other places. Now Nanyang has only a piece of fertile land, but there are not many people." Zhuge Liang answered.

In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Nanyang was once the number one county in the Han Dynasty. It was the strength of Nanyang County, with a medium-sized state. The prosperity of Wancheng, the capital of Nanyang, was no worse than that of Luoyang. However, during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Nanyang was also one of the hardest hit areas. At that time, Ma Yuanyi, the Yellow Turban Army, wanted to raise an uprising in Luoyang, but the matter was broken and the car was broken. Zhang Mancheng of Nanyang immediately rose up and killed the governor of Nanyang County, and then summoned more than 100,000 tribes. Although Zhang Mancheng was still killed later and the Yellow Turban Army in Nanyang was also pacified, Nanyang was indeed seriously damaged, and more than a dozen cities turned into rubble, and Nanyang was no longer as prosperous as it was back then.

Later, Yuan Shu became the prefect of Nanyang, but it turned out to be a mess. Later, Zhang Xiu occupied Nanyang and fought with Cao Cao twice, which caused trouble for all living beings. By the time Cao Cao occupied Nanyang, Nanyang County was no longer as prosperous as 30% of the time during the reign of Emperor Ling.

After the Battle of Chibi, Liu Bei surrendered to Liu Biao and was arranged in Xinye as a barrier to resist Cao Cao. Guan Yu once captured Wancheng. Cao Cao realized that Nanyang would become a battlefield, so he simply moved the people of Nanyang to Yingchuan and Runan to the military farming, such as Deng Ai who went to Runan at that time.

It can be said that Nanyang is not as prosperous as Emperor Ling, so in Zhuge Liang's opinion, I would give it to Sun Quan without feeling sorry.

Adou thought for a while and asked again: "Prime Minister, what you said makes sense, but taking Nanyang can threaten Yingchuan and Luoyang. If you give Sun Quan this way, it would be better! Moreover, Nanyang is only a Wu Pass away from Chang'an. I think Nanyang is still quite important."
Chapter completed!