mtl008 Chapter 144 Disgusting Liu Bei
Chapter 144 Disgusting Liu Bei
Luoyang.
Cao Cao was recently unwell and unable to lead the army on campaign, so he had to stay in Luoyang to coordinate the supply of provisions and the army.
That morning, Cao Cao was in his study reviewing battle reports from various regions when his chief clerk, Liu Ye, suddenly rushed in, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, good news! General Zhang Liao has brought news of a victory; we have successfully captured Ruxukou."
"what?"
Cao Cao's facial features twitched violently, and he quickly stood up and reached out his hand. Liu Ye hurriedly handed the letter to him.
After reading it, Cao Cao laughed excitedly: "Great! We have finally captured Ruxu. From now on, the natural barrier of the Yangtze River will no longer be an obstacle for us."
After so many years, we have finally taken over this wretched place. With Ruxukou, the Wei army can connect the two banks of the Yangtze River and continuously send troops and provisions from the Central Plains to the south.
With the resources and strength of the Central Plains, they could wear down Guan Yu and Sun Quan to death, even if it meant attrition.
Currently, the Jiangnan region is not yet fully developed, and many areas are still in a primitive stage. Its population, food, and other resources cannot compare with those of the Central Plains. Once the Central Plains army crosses the river, it will overwhelm Jiangnan.
To put it bluntly, the biggest obstacle for the Wei army was the natural barrier of the Yangtze River. Without this natural barrier, the Wei army would be able to advance without hesitation.
Cao Cao read the letter several times before calming his excitement and said calmly, "Now that we have breached Ruxu Pass, we should choose our direction of attack. Notify everyone to come for a meeting."
Liu Ye bowed and said, "I sent people to report the good news on the way here. They will definitely come to pay their respects to Your Majesty upon receiving the news of the victory. They should be here soon."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Cao Pi, Zhong Yao, Jia Xu, and Sima Yi arrived one after another. Although Zhong Yao had been implicated in Wei Feng's rebellion and dismissed, it was to uphold the law, and Cao Cao himself still trusted Zhong Yao.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Cao Cao didn't mince words and went straight to the point. He handed the letter to the group and said with a smile, "We've finally captured Ruxu. Tell me, should we focus all our efforts on attacking Jiangdong next, or should we continue to attack Jiangling and recapture Jingzhou?"
After exchanging glances for a moment, Zhong Yao said, "Naturally, we should attack Jiangdong. Sun Quan is no longer a threat. As long as we take Jiangdong, we can persuade him to surrender. There is no need to waste our energy on him."
Cao Pi nodded and said, "I agree with Elder Zhong's opinion. With Lü Meng's withdrawal, Sun Quan has completely lost Jiangdong."
"More importantly, most of the Jiangdong gentry have followed Lü Meng to Jiangling. Currently, the small city of Jiangling is a gathering place for gentry from both Jiangdong and Jingzhou. There are many turtles in shallow waters and many demons in a small temple. Sun Quan has to spend most of his energy dealing with these messy relationships. How can he have the strength to deal with us?"
"Moreover, Sun Quan has just taken over Jingzhou and his foundation is unstable. He will have difficulty even protecting himself in the short term. He does not pose any threat to us."
"In comparison, Liu Bei and Guan Yu are our life-or-death enemies. Guan Yu has just taken over Jiangdong and his foundation is not yet stable. If we do not eliminate him now, it will be difficult to eliminate him once he has gained a foothold in Jiangdong."
"More importantly, we've got Ruxukou. Without the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, we can overwhelm Guan Yu with sheer numbers. It will be much easier to deal with Sun Quan after we take Jiangdong."
Sima Yi echoed, "Your Majesty, I agree with your opinion. Sun Quan and Guan Yu have broken ties and can no longer unite. Sun Quan has also suffered heavy losses and has no time to spare. In a sense, he has become our ally. We should not only refrain from attacking him, but also provide support to help him gain a foothold in Jingzhou, lest he be destroyed by Liu Bei and Guan Yu."
Liu Ye continued, "That's right. If Sun Quan is really destroyed by Liu Bei and Guan Yu, Jiangnan will be unified. It will be difficult to deal with Liu Bei then. Therefore, I suggest that Sun Quan be promoted and ennobled to win him over and at the same time help him stabilize Jingzhou."
Cao Cao frowned and said, "What you all say makes sense, but I have already appointed Sun Quan as General of Chariots and Cavalry and Governor of Jingzhou. What else can I appoint him as? Should I appoint him as Grand General?"
The position of Grand General was the most special one in the imperial court. During the four hundred years of the Han Dynasty, countless powerful ministers emerged, two-thirds of whom were Grand Generals. Back then, Yuan Shao was willing to fight Cao Cao to obtain the position of Grand General, which shows the allure of the position.
Appointing Sun Quan as Grand General was, in a sense, putting him above Cao Cao and Liu Bei, because while there could be many vassal kings during the Han Dynasty, there could only be one Grand General.
The Grand General was practically the de facto Vice Emperor of the Han Dynasty. Even if Cao Cao had lost his mind, he wouldn't have given such a crucial position to Sun Biyan.
But Sun Quan was already a General of the Cavalry, so what else could he be granted? Surely not a king?
Liu Ye tentatively suggested, "How about we appoint Sun Quan as Minister of Works? Being one of the Three Dukes would be a fitting title for Sun Quan. We could also add the position of Military Governor of the four provinces of Jing, Yang, Jiao and Yi, to annoy Liu Bei."
The position of "Commander-in-Chief of the Military Affairs of Four Provinces" was indeed disgusting. In this way, the entire army in Jiangnan, including Liu Bei and Guan Yu, was nominally under Sun Quan's control.
Although Liu Bei and Guan Yu wouldn't listen to Sun Quan, it's disgusting that such a superior suddenly appeared!
"Ha ha ha ha……"
Thinking of Liu Bei's humiliation, Cao Cao couldn't help but burst into laughter, saying gleefully, "Let's do it this way. Appoint Sun Quan as Minister of Works, enfeoff him as Marquis of Wu, and make him the military commander of the four provinces of Jing, Yang, Jiao, and Yi."
Although Sun Quan was honored as the Marquis of Wu, the title of Marquis of Wu was actually Sun Ce's. Before his death, Sun Ce petitioned the court to allow Sun Quan to inherit the title of Marquis of Wu and all his official positions, but Cao Cao never agreed.
Therefore, Sun Quan's official position for a long time was only a minor one: General Who Subdues Barbarians and Prefect of Kuaiji. This position was not even worthy of a seat in front of Guan Yu, who was the Marquis of Hanshou.
It wasn't until the Battle of Xiangfan that Cao Cao, in an effort to win over Sun Quan, bestowed upon him the title of Marquis of Nanchang, which was Sun Quan's first noble title.
Now, Cao Cao finally had a change of heart and gave Sun Ce's title to Sun Quan.
Cao Cao continued, "And there is Zhu Huan. He is not only the first meritorious official in capturing Ruxukou, but also the first general of Eastern Wu to surrender to the court after the Battle of Red Cliffs. We cannot neglect him. Let's do as General Zhang Liao suggested and appoint Zhu Huan as General Who Pacifies the South, Prefect of Danyang, and Marquis of Liyang."
Everyone bowed in unison and said, "Yes..."
Cao Cao waved for everyone to leave, but suddenly noticed that everyone was smiling except for Jia Xu, who had a furrowed brow. He asked curiously, "Wenhe, what are you thinking about? Is something wrong?"
To be honest, Cao Cao was very dissatisfied with Jia Xu because this old man was extremely unreliable and wouldn't say a word unless asked. He would only talk about things depending on his mood, making communication with him incredibly difficult.
Cao Cao sometimes really wanted to take a hammer and whack his front teeth a few times to see if he could loosen them.
Jia Xu frowned and asked, "Guan Yu's side is fighting fiercely, what is Liu Bei doing?"
Liu Ye replied, "According to news from the front lines, Liu Bei is still locked in a stalemate with Lu Xun in Yiling, and has launched several fierce attacks on Yidao City, which is defended by Sun Huan, but has been unable to capture it."
Jia Xu continued, "What about Guan Ping? If I remember correctly, he went to Jingnan with Zhao Lei and joined forces with Shamoke, the barbarian king of the Five Streams, and Xi Zhen, who feigned surrender to Sun Quan. They must have caused quite a stir in Jingnan, right?"
Liu Ye nodded and said, "Yes, but Sun Quan reacted quickly, sending Bu Zhi, Pan Zhang, Lü Dai, Zhuge Jin and others to launch a multi-pronged attack, forcing Guan Xing back to Wuling."
Jia Xu frowned and said, "It's not surprising that Guan Ping was forced to return to Wuling due to his weak position, but who is Liu Bei? Is it normal that he can't conquer a small city like Yidao for so long?"