"But will Cao Cao help us?..."
Sun Quan frowned slightly. He and Liu Bei had always been allies in dealing with Cao Cao.
Now he's being asked to ask Cao Cao for help? How could Cao Cao's army possibly send troops to rescue him?
At this moment, Zhang Zhao suddenly stepped forward and said, "My lord, the only one who can save our lives now is Cao Wei!"
"As the saying goes, if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. If Liu Bei occupies Jiangdong, it will also be a huge threat to Cao Wei!" Zhang Zhao said slowly.
Upon hearing Zhang Zhao's words, the other civil officials nodded in agreement.
The world is now divided into three kingdoms, each checking and balancing the others. If this balance is broken, it will be a bad thing for Cao Cao's army.
Sun Quan pondered for a long time, and finally sighed and said, "Very well, since that's the case, who is willing to go as an envoy to Cao Wei to ask Cao Cao to send troops to help our army defeat Jiangdong?"
At this moment, Zhuge Jin stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "My lord, I am willing to go!"
"Granted!" Sun Quan hesitated for a moment, but finally agreed.
After all, he had no suitable candidate other than Zhuge Jin.
…………
Upon hearing that Sun Quan had sent an envoy, Cao Cao immediately summoned him.
"Your humble servant, Zhuge Jin, greets King Wei!" Zhuge Jin bowed to Cao Cao.
Cao Cao raised his hand and said calmly, "Mr. Zhuge, please sit down! May I ask what brings you to Wei this time?"
Cao Cao is pretending to be ignorant when he knows the truth. The war between Sun Quan and Liu Bei is so fierce, I don't believe Cao Cao doesn't know that.
"King Wei, you are wise. Liu Bei has now occupied my Yuzhang Commandery and is using it as a springboard to try to seize my Eastern Wu. I have come here to ask you to send troops to help us, otherwise Eastern Wu will be in danger!"
Cao Cao smiled and said, "Then, Mr. Zhuge, do you know why Liu Bei wants to attack Eastern Wu?"
Zhuge Jin was immediately taken aback, then gritted his teeth and said, "Liu Bei is a wolf in sheep's clothing, coveting the rich lands of my Eastern Wu, which is why he launched a surprise attack on Eastern Wu."
"Oh? Wasn't it because you coveted the three counties of Jingzhou and killed Guan Yu and Zhang Fei that Liu Bei decided to invade Eastern Wu?" Cao Cao looked at Zhuge Jin with great interest.
Zhuge Jin broke out in a cold sweat and quickly retorted, "King Wei, you misunderstand. This is just a play orchestrated by Liu Bei himself. His real purpose is to annex Eastern Wu!"
No matter what Cao Cao said, Zhuge Jin simply refused to admit it, which was also a diplomatic tactic.
He needed to pin the blame for the war on Liu Bei in order to persuade Cao Cao to send troops, since a just cause was needed to justify the war.
"Hahahaha..." Cao Cao threw his head back and laughed loudly.
Zhuge Jin was puzzled and asked, "Why is the King of Wei laughing?"
"Mr. Zhuge is truly eloquent!"
Cao Cao stopped laughing and said, "However, I also have a piece of advice for you, and I hope you will remember it well."
"King Wei, please speak!"
"Leave a way out for others; don't push yourself to the brink!"
Zhuge Jin was taken aback, not understanding what Cao Cao meant by those words, but he vaguely felt that something was not quite right.
"King Wei, you should understand the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.' If Eastern Wu is destroyed, Cao Wei will also find it difficult to remain unscathed," Zhuge Jin said tentatively.
"Hehe, if Eastern Wu is destroyed, I will immediately send troops to fight Liu Bei and reap the benefits. Wouldn't that be better?" Cao Cao said with a sneer.
This instantly snapped Zhuge Jin out of his daze. He understood Cao Cao's intention: to use someone else to do the dirty work and watch the two tigers fight from the sidelines!
Zhuge Jin's expression shifted between light and shadow, and finally he took a deep breath and said, "The King of Wei is farsighted. If the King of Wei is truly like this, then I'm afraid his demise is not far off!"
"How dare you! How dare you spread such alarmist rumors!" Xu Chu roared, drawing his sword and taking a few steps closer.
Cao Cao waved his hand, signaling Xu Chu to step back, and said indifferently, "Oh? Then I would like to hear Mr. Zhuge's insightful opinion."
Zhuge Jin sneered and said, "May I ask, Your Majesty, how is the training of the navy progressing?"
Cao Cao paused upon hearing this. After all, most people in the north were not good at land reclamation, and even if they trained a navy, it was far inferior to that of Jingzhou and Jiangdong.
"Let me ask you again, King Wei, if Liu Bei conquers Eastern Wu and holds Jingzhou and Yangzhou in his hands, are you confident that your navy can defeat Liu Bei?"
"Among Liu Bei's advisors were his younger brother, Zhuge Liang, the Crouching Dragon; Pang Tong, the Young Phoenix; Fa Xiaozhi; Xu Yuanzhi; and other generals, including the world-renowned Xu Huang, Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao, and Ma Chao."
"Has the King of Wei forgotten the Battle of Hanzhong?" Zhuge Jin asked, staring at Cao Cao.
As the saying goes, "Strike the snake at its vital spot," Cao Cao's expression grew increasingly grave.
Indeed, if Liu Bei had conquered Eastern Wu, his power would have expanded significantly. At that time, he would have the natural barrier of the Yangtze River to rely on, and he would have had so many elite troops under his command.
"Hmph, even so, how do you know that my Wei Kingdom is no match? War is a battle of national strength!" Cao Cao said coldly.
Although I felt very guilty, I still had to save face.
Zhuge Jin shook his head and said, "King of Wei, Yizhou is a prosperous land. As long as Liu Bei can hold off King of Wei's army, can your Wei Kingdom afford to wait it out?"
Cao Cao fell silent.
The north is mostly a poor and impoverished region. If Yuzhou hadn't been still in Cao Cao's hands, his current situation would probably be even more difficult.
Zhuge Jin was absolutely right; Cao Cao simply couldn't afford to waste his resources.
Cao Cao narrowed his eyes and slowly said, "If I were to send troops, what benefits would I gain?"
Zhuge Jin raised an eyebrow. Cao Cao's words had already shown that he had been swayed by Zhuge Jin's silver tongue.
He was secretly delighted and quickly said, "Our Eastern Wu is willing to form an alliance with Wei. After defeating Liu Bei, we are willing to divide the nine counties of Jingzhou. Our Eastern Wu only needs three counties!"
Cao Cao's eyes lit up immediately. Jingzhou! He had been thinking about conquering Jingzhou day and night.
Now that Eastern Wu has offered him such a generous gift, wouldn't it be foolish not to accept it?
"Zhuge Jin, you have persuaded me. Go back and tell Sun Quan that Wei will soon send troops to attack Jingzhou!" Cao Cao slammed his fist on the table and made his decision.
Zhuge Jin was overjoyed and cupped his hands, saying, "This humble general thanks the King of Wei on behalf of the King of Wu!"
"Alright, you can go back now." Cao Cao waved his hand.
After bowing, Zhuge Jin turned to leave.
"slow!"
Suddenly, Cao Cao called out to him.
"King Wei, is there anything else you require?" Zhuge Jin asked respectfully.
"Your talent is no less than that of Zhuge Liang!" Cao Cao said meaningfully.
Zhuge Jin was taken aback, then said bitterly, "Thank you for your praise, King Wei!"
"Your younger brother, Zhuge Jun, is serving in my Wei state. You can go and meet him," Cao Cao said calmly.
"Thank you, King Wei, but with the great battle imminent in Eastern Wu, I must return to report and will have to leave now!" Zhuge Jin clasped his hands in farewell to Cao Cao and hurriedly returned to Eastern Wu.
Cao Cao watched his retreating figure and murmured, "This Zhuge Jin is quite a character indeed!"
"King Wei!" Xi Zhicai stepped out from behind the screen and bowed.
Cao Cao nodded and said, "Zhicai, do you think I should send troops?"
After a moment's thought, Xi Zhicai said, "King Wei, instead of attacking Jingzhou, we should take Yizhou directly!"
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