The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 328 The Cao Clan Cannot Be Eliminated in an Instant
Both Yishui and Yiqiao are real historical sites.

But there are obviously no immortals.

Zhang Xiu, after being dragged across the bridge by Zhuge Ke seven or eight times, finally lost his patience and said:

"Zhuge Yuanxun, just say what you have to say!"

Zhuge Ke chuckled, released his grip, and pointed at Yu Fan's retreating figure, saying:

"Everyone in Jiangdong knows that Lord Yu deeply resented the humiliation of Jiangling back then."

“After the King of Wu submitted to the Han Emperor, he refused to serve in office and stayed at home studying the classics.”

"This sudden crossing of the river to the north, although there is a saying that he is mourning his former master, if you think about it carefully, back then he resigned as the chief clerk of the prince and returned to his hometown to become the chief clerk of the prince's enemy. This so-called affection for his former master is nothing more than that."

"Therefore, they must have other motives for coming here!"
Then, pointing at Zhang Xiu, he said:
"As for your father Zhang's thoughts, do you think I don't know? You certainly didn't come here to offer condolences!"

Zhang Xiu wanted to refute him when he heard him discussing Yu Fan.

Hearing this, he could only lower his head guiltily.

Zhuge Ke laughed heartily, then pointed to himself and said:
"Of course, I came here voluntarily, and I have my own agenda!"

Zhang Xiu looked up warily:

"What are you after? To stop us?"

"Stop? Why should we stop?" Zhuge Ke's smile widened.

"Isn't it more amusing to watch you all try to be clever and climb over someone else's wall, only to get humiliated and fall flat on your faces?"

"You!" Zhang Xiu was so angry that his face turned red.

But as a friend, he knew of Zhuge Ke's intelligence.

In recent years, apart from that great Han general, no one has really been able to make him suffer.

Even his own father couldn't do anything about him.

So he calmed himself down and asked in a low voice:

What makes you so sure we'll fail?

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Ke casually put his hands behind his back and said:

As the saying goes: The way comes from Heaven, but the success depends on human effort.

Whether a task can be accomplished depends 30% on fate and 70% on human planning.

"The matter you are plotting today has been entrusted to the wrong person; how can it possibly succeed?"

"In my opinion, you'd be better off relying on Generals Lu and Zhu than on a debater! After all, if the two generals can truly capture and kill Cao and Xiahou, they might be able to force the Wei generals to submit!"

Zhang Xiu had expected Zhuge Ke to offer some profound insights.

The result was just more calls for war and bloodshed, which was inevitably disappointing.

Wasn't the lesson of the late king's two defeats in Huainan enough to warn the people of Wu?

The Northern Expedition is a dead end.

Even just to force the Wei people to submit to the emperor was a difficult task.

Most of the Wei soldiers who defeated the late king are still alive.

Who should give in?

So, too lazy to have a serious discussion, she retorted:
"You've always prided yourself on being resourceful, so if you were in charge of this, how would you orchestrate it?"

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Ke stroked his beard, closed his eyes, and began to ponder seriously.

He paused for a moment before speaking:

"Currently, the Cao Wei army is actually divided into two sides, north and south of the Yellow River."

"The Wei emperor personally led the troops of the three prefectures of Ji, You, and Bing in Ye City."

"The rest are Cao Hong and Jia Kui in Yuzhou, Wang Ling in Yanzhou, Zhu Ling in Huainan, and Zang Ba in Qingxu."

"In the Henan part, Xuchang and Shouchun were originally equally important, while Qing and Xu were the outermost parts."

"But as the Han army gradually gained power in the Heluo region, Xuchang had already become a remote and desolate place."

"The center of gravity south of the Yellow River will eventually fall on the Huainan region, which has more abundant resources and grain."

"In my opinion, the north and south sides might one day turn into the Yuan family of old, with brothers fighting each other and becoming disloyal... Isn't what you're planning today based on this very point?"

Zhuge Ke paused slightly, but did not receive a response from his friend.

He gave a slight scoff and continued his analysis:
"But the Wei dynasty has dominated the Central Plains for decades and its power is deeply entrenched. As Lu Zijing (Lu Su) once said, it cannot be eliminated in the end."

"As for the bands on the north and south sides, in reality, they are Luoyang City, which is guarded by Zhang He."

"In the void, it was the accumulated power of Cao Cao and Cao Pi over the past decades that was then concentrated in Cao Rui alone."

"At least until Luoyang falls and Cao Rui's prestige is greatly diminished, it is unlikely that Huainan will abandon Ye City and seek another way out."

"This is precisely the reason why I am certain you will fail!"

"As for how to manipulate it..."

At this point, Zhuge Ke deliberately paused to create suspense, then looked at his friend. But when he opened his eyes, Zhang Xiu was nowhere to be seen.

I turned around abruptly and looked again.

It turned out that Zhang Xiu had already taken advantage of Yu Fan's self-talk to secretly catch up with him and enter Xiapi City together.

"A fool is not worth discussing things with!"

Zhuge Ke was so angry that he cursed loudly.

Looking down at the ancient Yi Bridge, and listening to the murmuring of the Yi River beneath it.

He sighed in a muffled voice:

"When will I finally see Huang Shigong on the bridge?!"

……

Wang Lang's ancestral home is in Tanxian County, Donghai District, Xuzhou.

Wang Su escorted the coffin back to his hometown, but did not choose to meet with the guests and old friends who came to mourn him in his ancestral land.

Firstly, Tanxian is remote, unlike Xiapi, which is located downstream of the Yi River and at the confluence of the rivers, and is more convenient.

Secondly, Cao Rui recently issued an edict relocating Cao Zhi from Xia Cai to Xia Pi.

Wang Su served as Cao Zhi's tutor, essentially acting on behalf of Cao Rui to supervise Cao Zhi.

Then naturally they can't be too far apart.

Of course, the actual logic might be the opposite.

Because Wang Su had to return to his hometown to observe mourning for his parents, Cao Zhi was relocated to Xiapi, which was not far from Tan County and was separated from it by a narrow strip of water.

This will make it easier for Wang Su to continue performing his duties.

It can only be said that Cao Wei's precautions against the imperial clan reached an unprecedented level of strictness.

In short, Cao Zijian, who had gone from being the Marquis of Xia Cai to the Marquis of Xia Pi, had whiter hair and beard than he had two or three years ago, and his appearance had aged considerably.

The only constants are the eloquent and eloquent writing, and the pursuit of a state of intoxication.

The wine served at the funeral banquet was not precious; in fact, it was rather coarse for someone of Cao Zhi's background.

But less than half an hour into the banquet, he was already completely drunk.

Holding a cup in one hand and a pen in the other, he wandered around the room.

Recite a line from the east, and a couplet from the west.

Before the servant could even grind the ink, a eulogy in memory of Wang Lang was already taking shape on his lips.

Due to the atmosphere of a funeral, the guests did not cheer on the spot.

But that didn't stop some people from taking the opportunity to wail and attract everyone's attention.

It was Yu Fan, a former official of Wang Lang.

Cao Zhi was not familiar with him and thought he was some local notable, so he went up to him, took his hand, and started chatting about all sorts of things.

They soon discovered that the other person was exceptionally knowledgeable, especially in their understanding of the I Ching, making them worthy of being a teacher.

Therefore, I intend to take him as my teacher and friend.

At this moment, someone stepped forward and reminded them:
"My lord, Lord Yu is a guest of the King of Wu, and he comes from Jiangzuo!"

"So what if he's the King of Wu? I was once the King of Yongqiu!" With that, he prepared to take Yu Fan to a side room for a detailed discussion.

But when he suddenly saw the strong and imposing figure of the person who spoke, his heart skipped a beat.

This man was none other than Zang Ba, the general stationed in Xuzhou.

Cao Zhi instantly sobered up, released his grip on Yu Fan's hand, took three steps back, looked around nervously, and then spoke in a flustered voice:

"Wu, the King of Wu has actually sent envoys to offer condolences for the king and prince?"

"Heavens, does the Emperor know about this?"

Zang Ba shook his head slightly, but his gaze lingered on the trio from Jiangdong.

Most of the other Cao Wei scholars who came to offer condolences did the same.

Yu Fan wiped his eyes with his sleeve, clasped his hands in a fist and said to the crowd:

“I am but a commoner from Jiangzuo, not anyone’s guest. Today I am here as a former official of a prince or nobleman, so there is no need for you to have any doubts.”

Upon hearing this, Cao Zhi glanced at Zang Ba, then at Wang Su, who was dressed in mourning clothes, and hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to respond.

Wang Su then turned his gaze to Zang Ba, his eyes narrowing slightly as if deep in thought.

Finally, it was Zang Ba who spoke:
“When Lord Yu said he was a commoner, I believed him.”

"But those two young men who came with him, with official seals around their waists, can't they also be unrelated to the King of Wu, can they?"

All eyes then turned to Zhang Xiu and Zhuge Ke.

(End of this chapter)