Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 323: Dismissal of Zhou Yu, the End of the Blue-Eyed Thief
The generals' eyes became more and more unfriendly, but Lu Su's expression did not change at all. However, he gave Zhou Yu some face and did not continue speaking.

Because he knew that even if he told the truth that the emperor was not held hostage by Lu Bu, no one would believe what he said.

These generals in the hall are the Sun family's confidants who have been through thick and thin with them. Their interests have long been tied to the Sun family, and they can only accompany Sun Quan to the end.

So it doesn't matter what the truth is.

What matters is that they are unwilling to surrender.

Because once they surrender to the imperial court, the Sun family and they will most likely be liquidated. Even if they are not liquidated now, they will be slowly dealt with in the future.

However, the reason why he still offered to surrender even though he knew this was that he wanted to test the attitudes of Sun Quan and his generals.

After listening to Lu Su's advice, Sun Quan shook his head and said, "I have a grudge against Lü Bu for killing my brother. Surrender is out of the question. Moreover, Lü Bu is a traitor who is holding the emperor hostage."

"Cao Cao has betrayed his alliance, usurped my throne, and seized my foundation. I hope you can lend me a helping hand."

Surrendering to the imperial court was a dead end for him, and his only option was to find a way to take back Jiangdong.

Thanks to the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, there is still a chance to survive and live in peace in a corner.

Lu Su said: "Now we can either surrender to the imperial court or send troops back to Jiangdong. There is no third option."

"If the general insists on going to war with Cao Cao, remember to make a quick decision. The longer the delay, the more disadvantageous the situation will be for the general."

What solution is there?
Cao Cao had already settled in Jiangdong and had gained the support of the Jiangdong families. If Sun Quan wanted to take back Jiangdong, he could only attack by force.

Sun Quan nodded slightly, and then said to Zhou Yu: "You are guilty of letting Cao Cao take over Jiangdong. I will immediately remove you from the position of Grand Commander and let General Cheng take over."

All the generals were shocked by Sun Quan's decision.

Since Zhou Yu took office as the Grand Commander, his achievements have been obvious to all, and everyone from top to bottom is convinced of his status.

Although he committed a crime this time, he should have made amends for his crime, but Sun Quan actually dismissed Zhou Yu from his position?
"Lord, this..."

Cheng Pu spoke up to plead for Zhou Yu.

But Sun Quan raised his hand to stop him, looked straight at Zhou Yu, and asked, "Gongjin, do you have any objection?"

Zhou Yu sighed inwardly, clasped his fists and said, "Yu, I accept the punishment."

Sun Quan then withdrew his gaze from him, and then ordered Cheng Pu and other generals: "Immediately stop fighting with Zhang Liao, mobilize all troops, and take back Danyang and Guangling counties first while Cao Cao's foundation is still weak!"

"This matter cannot be delayed!"

Cao Cao has just entered Jiangdong and has not yet gathered all his forces. The deployment of troops has not yet been completed. Now is the best time for them to retake Danyang and Guangling counties.

"promise!"

All the generals obeyed the order.

Seeing this, Lu Su shook his head secretly.

Faced with the imperial army approaching and Cao Cao stabbing him in the back and taking over his lair, Sun Quan dismissed Zhou Yu under such circumstances, and his end was probably not far away.

He glanced at Zhou Yu standing beside him and thought to himself, "No matter what, we cannot let Gongjin follow Sun Quan to his doom."

……

Donghai County, Tan County.

Zhang Liao and Sun Quan have been fighting for Xuzhou for a long time.

Before he arrived in Xuzhou, Xuzhou was almost taken by Sun Quan. However, as he entered Xuzhou and launched a counterattack, the lost land was slowly regained.

Now both sides occupy half of Xuzhou respectively, forming a confrontation situation and fighting for the cities of various counties and counties.

However, the recent war has become somewhat stalemate.

"Why has this thief suddenly become more difficult to deal with than before? He has seen through my plans several times in a row. Has he suddenly become smart?"

Zhang Liao looked at the sand table in front of him with a frown.

When he fought against Sun Quan before, he was invincible, as if he was assisted by God. He recovered half of Xuzhou in a short time.

But recently he found that Sun Quan had become much more difficult to deal with. Not only had his battles been seen through several times, but he even lost a city. This had never happened before.

"General, our previous offensive was too hasty. We might as well slow down a bit and make a detailed plan before attacking again."

"The strength of Sun the thief should not be underestimated. The generals under his command are also quite brave in battle. We should treat him with caution."

Taishi Ci, who was standing by, made a suggestion upon hearing this.

Since entering Xuzhou, the war with Sun Quan has been smooth sailing and victories have been continuous. He clearly felt that the pace was a bit too fast, which would easily reveal flaws.

"It's urgent."

Zhang Liao shook his head and pointed to another battle report on the table: "Fengxian has already taken Yanzhou and is approaching Guandu. He is much faster than us."

"If he takes Yuzhou but I haven't taken Xuzhou yet, I will definitely be ridiculed by him, and I won't be able to raise my head in front of him anymore."

Although he had also heard that Lu Bu was able to quickly occupy Yanzhou because Cao's army did not resist, Lu Bu's speed of conquering cities and seizing territories was indeed faster than his.

He has only now recaptured half of Xuzhou.

Suppressing these thoughts, Zhang Liao asked Taishi Ci, "Ziyi, what has Sun Yu done in the past few days?"

Taishi Ci thought for a moment and replied, "There is not much movement, but according to the report from the scouts at the front, they are evacuating their troops to the rear."

"Ok?"

Zhang Liao raised his eyebrows and asked in surprise, "Evacuate to the rear? Are you sure the scouts' information is correct?"

Right now he and Sun Quan are confronting each other in Xuzhou, each occupying half of it. Sun Quan is withdrawing his troops at this time. Does it mean that he doesn't want to fight him anymore and wants to retreat back to Jiangdong?
Or do you have any other plans?

Taishi Ci said: "The intelligence is accurate. Sun Quan is indeed retreating, but the specific reason is unknown. The scouts are still investigating."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Liao fell into deep thought.

But at this moment, Qu Yi hurried into the camp and said to Zhang Liao: "General, the scouts have sent back an urgent report that something has happened in Sun Quan's rear!"

"Cao Cao led an army of 30,000 across the Yangtze River and stationed in Jiangdong. He has already captured several counties in Jiangdong!"

Zhang Liao and Taishi Ci's faces changed when they heard this.

"let me see!"

After Zhang Liao reacted, he snatched the information from Qu Yi's hand, then read it carefully, with shock in his eyes becoming more and more intense.

He finally understood why Sun Quan suddenly withdrew his troops. It turned out that his base in the rear was destroyed by Cao Cao, so he was rushing back to take back the lost territory!

But what surprised him even more was Cao Cao's actions. The army did not fight on the front line, did not defend its own territory, but instead went to take over Sun Quan's territory.

"I see……"

After Zhang Liao read the intelligence several times, he raised his head with a serious expression and said in a deep voice: "We have all been deceived by Cao Cao. What a trick he used to build a plank road in the open while secretly marching through Chencang!"

He had to admire Cao Cao's methods.

Shameless, but clever!
Taishi Ci asked: "General, what should we do now? Sun Quan's retreat has been cut off by Cao Cao. Should we attack immediately?"

"No!"

Zhang Liao shook his head firmly, rejecting Taishi Ci's suggestion. "There is no benefit in attacking now. You were right before. We should slow down our offensive."

"Let's let the Sun thief and the Cao thief fight each other. When they have exhausted each other's strength, it won't be too late for us to reap the benefits."

Enemies who are forced into a desperate situation usually have two extremes: either they collapse directly or they counterattack before their death and become extremely vicious. Sun Quan's current strength cannot be underestimated. His retreat has been cut off, and he is facing this enemy in front of him. He has been forced into a desperate situation.

If he launched an attack at this time and continued to put pressure on Sun Quan, even if he could defeat him in the end, he would suffer great losses himself.

It would be better to watch Sun Quan and Cao Cao fight each other first.

After making the decision, Zhang Liao turned back to his desk, quickly wrote a memorial, handed it to Qu Yi and said, "Send someone to pass the news back to Yecheng immediately, eight hundred miles away!"

"promise!"

Qu Yi clasped his fists in response, then turned and left.

……

Jizhou, Yecheng.

Xuanshi.

Liu Xie threw aside the last processed memorial, stretched himself lazily, and relaxed his exhausted body.

"Finally it's done."

He has become busy again recently because Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang both rushed to the front line, and the only people who can share the government affairs with him are Jia Xu and Guo Jia.

Jia Xu likes to slack off and is serious about his work, but he is a Buddhist and is not very good at domestic affairs.
Guo Jia was indeed diligent, but due to his frail body, Liu Xie did not dare to let him get too tired.

So he has to shoulder this burden himself.

But it is said that it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to

After experiencing the ease of being a hands-off emperor, he is a little uncomfortable now that he is busy again.

This made Liu Xie more determined to form a cabinet.

If these tasks are not shared among the ministers and the emperor has to handle everything alone, then what is the point of having these ministers?

Seeing Liu Xie's exhausted look, Jia Xu stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the green plums grown in my home are ripe and it's the right season for eating them."

"The weather is nice today, why not have a drink?"

Speaking of drinking, Guo Jia's Adam's apple moved up and down, and he said, "Wenhe is right. Your Majesty has been too tired recently. You should take a good rest and pay attention to your health!"

Liu Xie heard this and teased: "Are you concerned about my health? You are obviously just craving for wine."

"Your Majesty, please forgive me." Guo Jia said bitterly, "Because Your Majesty asked me to stop drinking, I haven't tasted alcohol for several months. These days are really hard to bear."

He has now given up taking Wu Shi San.

I haven't drunk alcohol for a long time.

Although my health is indeed much better than before, I just feel that life is meaningless and I can't stand the smell of alcohol.

"Then I'll make an exception for you today."

Liu Xie smiled and asked Jia Xu to send someone to his home to pick some green plums, and then he chatted with the two of them about the war situation in Yanzhou.

"Kong Ming has broken Cao's army's formation, and Zilong and Wen Gong have killed two generals under Cao Cao respectively. It can be said that their achievements are remarkable."

"I will reward them handsomely when they return."

Liu Xie was in a very good mood at this time. The news was brought back yesterday and caused an uproar in the court.

Zhuge Liang made him proud this time. He proved his ability with his strength and shut up those people in the court.

In addition, Zhuge Liang also said in the memorial he gave him that they should take Guandu in one fell swoop and defeat Cao's army.

"With Kong Ming's talent and General Zilong's bravery, it is easy to break the formation. But in the final analysis, it is still your majesty's vision that has discovered such a great talent."

Jia Xu offered a dragon fart without leaving any trace.

Liu Xie laughed and scolded: "You old fellow, you keep saying these things all day long. Could it be that you have had enough of being a virtuous minister and want to become a slanderous minister?"

Jia Xu said solemnly: "I don't know what a virtuous minister or a slanderous minister is. I am just a loyal minister to Your Majesty."

Faced with such a textbook-like standard answer, Guo Jia on the side could only admire him. In terms of emotional intelligence and pleasing the emperor, he could not catch up with Jia Xu even if he flattered him.

"Okay, you're old now, stop talking nonsense to me."

Liu Xie stopped smiling and started talking to the two about serious matters, saying, "Kong Ming and Zhong Da speculated that Cao's main force was going to steal Sun Quan's territory."

"What do you think of this inference?"

In the memorial submitted by Zhuge Liang, he elaborated in detail the point of view that he and Sima Yi had speculated, and then let him make the final decision.

He had been thinking about this matter all night yesterday but had no clue, so he brought it up to discuss with Jia Xu and Guo Jia.

"There's a strong possibility."

Guo Jia touched his chin, thought for a moment and said, "If Cao's main force is still there, he will not give up Yanzhou so easily."

"In addition, what Kong Ming said is very true. Even if the Cao thieves and the Blue-eyed thieves join forces, they will not be a match for the royal army. Their defeat is only a matter of time."

"So instead of joining forces to fight against the imperial court, it is better to concentrate all the troops, population and supplies in Jiangdong and rely on the natural barrier of the Yangtze River to resist."

Smart people all have the same idea. After reading Zhuge Liang's memorial, both Guo Jia and Jia Xu agreed with their inferences.

Liu Xie nodded slightly after listening.

There was a hint of emotion in his eyes.

As expected of Cao Cao, when it comes to being insidious, cunning, and selfish, there are few people in the world who can match him.

His strategy actually fooled everyone.

Having done something like stabbing his ally in the back, Cao Cao will be labeled a rat from now on.

"Your Majesty, no matter what Cao Cao's plan is, I think the first priority is to capture Guandu. We must not sit idly by and watch Cao Cao move the people and supplies of the two states away."

"Otherwise, even if we occupy Yanzhou and Yuzhou, we won't gain much."

Jia Xu said, his expression somewhat serious.

Liu Xie nodded and said, "Don't worry, with Kong Ming and Zhong Da here, Guandu won't be able to stop them for long."

"Besides, I have an idea."

Guo Jia and Jia Xu sat up straight after hearing this.

He looked like he was all ears.

Liu Xie did not keep the secret and said bluntly: "Cao Cao stabbed the blue-eyed boy in the back. The alliance between the two sides has broken down and they have become enemies. I want to add fuel to the fire."

"I intend to issue an imperial decree to the Blue-Eyed Thief. As long as he can help the court defeat Cao Cao, I will pardon all his crimes."

"What do you think?"

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. If he had issued an amnesty order before, Sun Quan would probably have sneered at it, but now the situation is different.

If Cao Cao succeeds in stealing Jiangdong, Sun Quan's retreat will be cut off and he will be caught in a dilemma. At this time, his pardon order will be invaluable.

He didn't believe that Sun Quan would not be tempted!

The biggest advantage of doing this is that you can use Sun Quan's power to deal with Cao Cao and avoid your own losses, which is killing two birds with one stone!
(End of this chapter)