My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 245: Sun Ce: First Northward Expedition to Chen Deng, Then Westward Expedition to Guan Yu
With Zhou Yu's intelligence, after listening to Hua Xin's initial statement, he only questioned "how could Cao Cao have the courage and strength to attack Liu Bei first regardless of Yuan Shao's threats."

But from beginning to end, Zhou Yu never thought of questioning the legitimacy of Cao Cao's attack on Liu Bei, or whether Liu Bei had colluded with Dong Cheng and Lu Bu to oppose Cao Cao.

Even Zhou Yu didn't think of it, so with Sun Ce's intelligence, it is even more impossible for him to question it.

Civil officials with a keen sense of politics, such as Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong, could only speculate at most that "Liu Bei and Dong Cheng must have been disgusted with Cao Cao and wanted to get rid of him so that they could serve the emperor themselves. As for rebellion, it should be unlikely."

They made such a judgment not because Zhou Yu or Zhang Fei lacked wisdom, but because the intelligence they obtained was not sufficient.

The level of information blockage in Jiangdong region is very serious. In the whole of China, perhaps only Yizhou and Jiaozhou can be compared with it.

Today is only the second day of March, and just a month and a few days have passed since the death of Dong Cheng and Lu Bu.

The information that Sun Ce and Zhou Yu had access to was all deliberately screened by Zhuge Jin and then leaked out.

Hua Xin was able to come thanks to Zhuge Jin who secretly turned a blind eye.

Sun Ce and Zhou Yu certainly did not know the existence of the "Secret Edict of the Emperor" and did not know that Dong Cheng claimed to have received the secret edict from the Emperor.

In their view, obeying the imperial edict of Xudu was natural and right. At most, it was "the will of the emperor in name but Cao Cao's in reality". They just saw through it but did not say it out loud.

……

Thanks to the fact that Zhou Yu did not receive enough information and asked questions that were not sharp enough, Hua Xin was able to cope with it for the time being.

Hua Xin calmly analyzed and persuaded him, "It is not surprising that Gongjin has such doubts. But Cao Gong is indeed decisive and will use troops against Liu Bei first.

Firstly, Cao Gong already knew that Liu Bei and Dong Cheng were colluding to rebel. Even if he didn't attack Liu Bei, if he really went to war with Yuan Shao in the future, Liu Bei would take advantage of the opportunity to attack him from behind. It would be better for him to join forces with General Sun from the beginning and eliminate a worry.

After all, Yuan Shao was not an accomplice of Dong Cheng and Lu Bu, and the current evidence did not prove that Yuan Shao was directly involved. Given Yuan Shao's indecisiveness, even if he wanted to go south, he might have hesitated and waited, scouting and investigating for a month or two, or even two or three months.

During this time, Cao Gong was confident that he could at least take back the Huaibei area of Xuzhou. If all went well, he might even be able to take back part of Huainan. As for the Jiangnan area, it would depend on General Sun to take it all. As for Huainan, General Sun would take as much as he could. "

When Hua Xin said this, his tone and expression were sincere.

Sun Ce looked at him dignifiedly the whole time, and didn't see any flaws.

He thought that Hua Xin was the envoy he sent to Xu Du two years ago. Although he was detained by Cao Cao, he was also a moral gentleman and a kind elder, and should not come back to deceive his former master.

Zhou Yu on the side just listened quietly, trying to find some clues from the words, but also failed to find any obvious omissions.

However, this also cannot be blamed on Zhou Yu - if anyone has to blame someone, it can only be blamed on Cao Cao for being so sinister, because he even deceived Hua Xin.

This is what Hua Xin was told before leaving Xu Du.

At that time, Cao Cao personally said to Hua Xin: "After the secret trial of Dong Cheng's remnants, the court learned that Liu Bei and Dong Cheng had already colluded secretly. The sharp armor such as the iron wire ring soft armor that Dong Cheng and Lu Bu wore when they rebelled was secretly provided by Liu Bei.

This matter is of great importance. In order to prevent Liu Bei from realizing that his treasonous behavior has been discovered and jumping into action in advance, it cannot be made public for the time being. Xu Ziyu will contact General Sun and work with the imperial army to attack Liu Bei from both north and south. Only then can the truth of all this be made public to the world."

Cao Cao knew very well that Hua Xin was a man who coveted fame and glory. Although he was not greedy for money or real power, he was definitely greedy for fame and status. If he gave him a noble high-ranking official position and a title, he might be able to control him.

But after all, Hua Xin was sent to Xudu as an envoy by Sun Ce two years ago and was forced to stay by himself. In his heart, is he more loyal to Sun Ce or to himself? Given Cao Cao's suspicion, he didn't want to take the gamble.

In that case, then cheat Hua Xin as well!

Moreover, Hua Xin set out from Xudu more than 20 days ago, and traveled in a low-key manner all the way, and only now arrived in the distant Jiangdong.

The day he set out was only four or five days after the death of Dong Cheng and Lu Bu. At that time, Cao Cao had just obtained the information about the iron wire ring soft armor seized by Geng Ji, and then told Hua Xin all this and asked Hua Xin to set off quickly.

Hua Xin was also unaware of the new news that gradually spread in Xudu City over the next twenty days. Sun Ce, Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao looked at each other and felt that what Hua Xin said was true. Sun Ce was embarrassed to refuse to send troops, after all, he had just taken over the post of governor of Yangzhou.

Zhang Zhao had the best political sense. He had realized that Sun Ce and Zhou Yu wanted practical benefits. They wanted Cao Cao to attack first and draw away the main force of Liu Bei's army in Huainan, and then he would send troops to take advantage. However, it was not appropriate to say this directly, so he helped to smooth things over:
"Sir Zi Yu, it is the duty of a minister to fight against the enemy for the imperial court, but the three counties of Wuhui have been at peace for a long time, and the general who conquered the south has been resting with the people, so we are not ready for war for the time being.

We still need to organize military supplies before we can go to war. It would be better if you could rest for a few days at the inn, and wait until our army has finished training and we can make further plans. "

What Zhang Zhao said made sense. Hua Xin had no choice but to back off to avoid embarrassment and agreed immediately.

Zhou Yu wanted to bargain, but was afraid of losing face. After Zhang Zhao helped him set the stage, Zhou Yu opened his mouth:
“In this case, please cooperate with our army in the next few days, Master Ziyu, and provide us with some military information you see along the way to Jiangbei, such as when will Cao’s army be able to attack Xiapi and Shouchun?
Please don't misunderstand, Lord Zi Yu. The time required for our army to prepare for war is fixed. Whether Cao's army comes or not, it will take that many days. But knowing ourselves and the enemy will enable us to cooperate better. "

What Zhou Yu said was, "How long it takes for our army to prepare for the attack has nothing to do with whether Cao's army arrives or not."
But a shrewd man like Hua Xin could certainly hear the subtext, which is "the preparation period actually required by our army will be just a few days later than the date of Cao's invasion, allowing Cao's army to take on the main force of Liu Bei's army in Huainan."

With the cover of Zhang Zhao's polite words just now, Zhou Yu's words about wanting to take all the benefits and not wanting to take any risks sounded less naked and more decent.

Hua Xin also knew that he couldn't force the other party at this time, so he casually revealed some of the situations he saw along the way:

“Since Gongjin has said so much, I, as an old friend, will tell Bofu about what I saw on the road—not as an envoy of the imperial court.

Indeed, when I set out from Xudu, I did not learn from Cao Gong the specific date of the imperial army's dispatch, but Cao Gong promised that he would use troops against Liu Bei as soon as possible. Over the next twenty days, I was on the road and could not find out more about the imperial army's deployment.

But three days ago, when I arrived in Huailing and Chuxian, I discovered signs that the Guangling garrison was being transferred north. During the next two days while waiting for the boat in Chuxian, I heard rumors that the troops from Guangling and Donghai would be transferred to Xiapi to defend against Cao Gong.

There is something even more incredible, which you may not believe - Bofu, Gongjin, do you know what happened to Chen Gong and Chen Gongtai?"

When Sun Ce heard Hua Xin mention Chen Gong, he immediately responded, "Isn't Chen Gong dead? Who in the world doesn't know that? Last year, Chen Deng surrendered to the court in Xia Pi. He had to start the rebellion earlier, but was blocked by Chen Gong and Zhang Liao, so he had to surrender to Liu Bei. Zhao Yun led his troops to Xia Pi, captured Zhang Liao alive, and put out Chen Gong. It is said that he retreated to his house and burned to death."

Hua Xin shook his head and said, "I thought so at the beginning, and this was also the result of Liu Bei's army's propaganda. But just before I crossed the river, I was shocked to hear a shocking news:
Chen Gong had been captured again by Zhuge Jin's men. He confessed that he had set fire to his own house in Xia Pi last year as a decoy, but in fact he placed the seal on the body of a murdered servant who looked similar to him, threw the body into the fire and burned it black, and then escaped over the wall.

Zhao Yun was deceived when he saw the silver seal facing the charred corpse. But recently Chen Gong's whereabouts were exposed and he was captured again. Zhuge Jin announced that because "opposing Cao Gong is no longer a sin", he pardoned Chen Gong and asked Chen Gong to assist Chen Dao in defending Xiapi and dealing with Cao's army entering the country.

Gongjin, Zibu, you are both smart people. There are some things I don't want to say in person, so as not to be accused of framing Liu Bei and Zhuge Jin. But with your eyesight, you should be able to see the truth behind this."

Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao were named and they looked at each other subconsciously, and both saw understanding in each other's eyes.

"Humph... Was Zhao Yun deceived? If Chen Gong was really alive, he must have been imprisoned by Zhao Yun and falsely claimed to have been burned to death. Otherwise, how could Chen Gong be resurrected as soon as Liu Bei and Cao Cao fell out?"

Zhou Yu was young and relatively impatient, and since he was surrounded by his own people, he spoke out his deductions openly.

After hearing this, Sun Ce felt more and more righteous, and criticized: "In this case, Liu Bei has long had the intention to rebel against Cao? In the early autumn of last year, when Lu Bu had not yet been completely destroyed, he dared to hide the rebel!

But he was still hypocritical to the outside world, criticizing Huang Zu for sheltering a traitor by taking in Yuan Shu's surrendered generals, and even used this as an excuse to attack and destroy Huang Zu! How shameless! Chen Gong was named by Cao Gong as a traitor who must be killed. He started to rebel against Cao two years before Cao Gong supported the emperor! Isn't his rebellion worse than Huang Zu's?"

Seeing that Sun Ce thought he had the moral high ground, Zhou Yu was afraid that he would be used by Hua Xin and Cao Cao, so he quickly poured some cold water on him: "Bofu, don't be angry. If this is true, it is indeed bad, but we should still send people across the river to investigate."

Sun Ce nodded. He was also a man of generosity and didn't want to haggle over the price, so he gave Hua Xin a little sweet treat:
"Don't worry, Lord Zi Yu! As long as our army confirms that Zhuge is indeed protecting and using Chen Gong, and that the Guangling and Donghai defenders are indeed being transferred to Xia Pi, we will naturally send troops to attack Guangling immediately! We will never break our promise!

To be honest, more than a month ago, our army learned that Guangling Governor Chen Deng was seriously ill and vomiting worms day and night and was unable to recover. This must be God's will to punish the traitors who rebelled against the Han Dynasty, and I am asked to eliminate the traitors for the country! "

Seeing that Sun Ce had already made the promise, Zhou Yu and Zhang Zhao thought about it and realized that the promise at least came with some preconditions, so they decided not to try to stop him.

Indeed, if Zhuge Jin really deliberately hid Chen Gong for more than half a year, then Liu Bei's loyalty to the court in Xu Du would have been in big trouble from the beginning!

If the army of Guangling is transferred north to resist the invasion of Cao's army, it would be a great opportunity to take advantage of it!

How could we miss such a good opportunity to eliminate the remnants and filth of the Han family?

(End of this chapter)