Chapter 2952: Chu and Wei marriage, Xu Bei fights to Qi (middle)
Chapter 2949: The marriage between Chu and Wei, Xu Bei’s battle with Qi (Chinese)
The reason why Liu Xiu was willing to sell prisoners of war instead of engraving all prisoners of war into the army, thereby increasing the total strength of the Chu army was actually a helpless move.
Liu Xiu had already done such a thing as reorganizing prisoners of war into an army or siege the city with prisoners of war. Unfortunately, not only did the effect be poor, but it almost caused a mutiny.
It has to be said that Sun Wu''s brainwashing of ordinary soldiers was quite successful. Just like no one dared to use Qin army prisoners of war, no one dared to use Sun Wu''s prisoners of war.
As early as the Sun Jian period, Sun Wu proposed to gather soldiers'' families, centrally manage and divide the land, which also completely tied ordinary soldiers to the battlefield of the Wu Kingdom, and he would not dare to rebel easily.
These prisoners of war cannot be killed or let go. After all, if they are killed, it will definitely arouse the common hatred of the army and the people of Jiangdong, thereby increasing the difficulty of the Chu State to completely destroy the Wu State.
But if we don’t kill, as the number of prisoners of war in the Wu army captured by Chu State, the difficulty of separating troops to supervise prisoners of war and the consumption of food and grass will increase rapidly.
Therefore, these Sun Wu battle uniforms that cannot be killed or placed have become a major problem that Liu Xiu has a headache about.
At this time, the three kingdoms of Wei, Song and Ming dynasties took the initiative to come to the door to capture the prisoners. This was a great thing for Liu Xiu. After all, he not only got rid of a big burden, but also earned back the funds and materials to destroy Wu. It was the best of both worlds, so there was naturally no reason not to sell it.
The Chu State had completely different attitudes towards the transactions between the Wei, Song and Ming dynasties.
Because Cao Wei was at the forefront of the anti-Qin period and suffered the greatest losses, although Liu Xiu knew that Cao Wei would be destroyed by Qin sooner or later, he also hoped that Cao''s army would last longer, so the Chu State had much preferential treatment to Cao Wei in purchasing prisoners than Song and Ming.
As for the two tyrants of the Song and Ming dynasties, Liu Xiu naturally had to slaughter them. After all, there were not many opportunities to grab money like this, but unfortunately, Zhu Di and Zhao Kuangyin were not stupid. They only bought water army prisoners instead of infantry to buy prisoners. This also made Liu Xiu feel a little regretful. After all, they could only make a small profit and could not get rich.
Liu Xiu didn''t expect how much money he made in Cao Cao. After all, he knew that Cao Wei was the poorest among the Three Kingdoms. He thought that the preferential treatment for Cao Cao was already great enough, but he still underestimated Cao Wei''s poverty and Cao Cao''s greed, and his appetite was so great that he wanted to buy all the prisoners of war in the Eastern Wu.
For Cao Cao, after the defeat in Yanxi, Cao Wei had urgently expanded his army and recruited the rebels of the Demon Sect, which allowed the army to increase its number, but its overall combat power was still too poor, and it was impossible to increase its combat power in the short term.
These Sun Wu prisoners of war in Chu were different. Although they were defeated by the Chu army, they were still well-trained soldiers. As long as they could be obedient, they would definitely be much easier to use than new recruits.
Cao Cao wanted to buy all these infantry prisoners, but even if Liu Xiu gave him the lowest discount, even if the materials were paid, he still couldn''t afford it. So he asked Liu Xiu to buy half of the insurance with installments and loans.
If Cao Wei wanted to make a loan before the war, Liu Xiu would naturally agree without hesitation. After all, although Cao Wei was poor, he was not weak. The wealth value of tens of thousands of prisoners of war was earned back by Cao Cao sent an army of tens of thousands of people to Yingzhou to fight a few battles.
But now Cao Wei has entered the countdown to the destruction of his country, and at this time he will definitely not be able to repay the loan. Although Liu Xiu wanted Cao Wei to continue to persevere, he would not do such an obvious loss-making transaction, so he decisively rejected Cao Wei''s loan and only agreed to the installment request.
Although Cao Cao was disappointed, he had no choice but to stop when he was about to get it. At the same time, he found another way to borrow money from the Song and Ming countries and strive to buy the remaining half.
The relationship between Chu and Wei was originally very ordinary, after all, there was no interest in the two countries, but because of the purchase of prisoners, the two countries had more ties, and the diplomatic relations became much better.
Therefore, when the news of Xiahou Wei was returned, Cao Cao was puzzled by this. He could not understand why Liu Yu was targeting his concubine Cao Ying, nor did he understand what role Liu Xiu played in it.
After some thought, Xun You said with a serious look on his face: "Lord, Liu Yu and Liu Xiu have ulterior motives."
Hearing this, Cao Cao had not spoken yet, but the prince Cao Ang on the side asked impatiently: "Did the military advisor guess why Liu Yu detained his sister and sent it to the State of Chu?"
Xun You nodded and smiled bitterly: "The spy in the school affairs office has recently sent back a rumor. Because it was too outrageous and Li didn''t care, he did not report it to his lord, but now looking at these two things may be related."
"What rumors?" Cao Ang asked.
"Liu Yu and Liu Xiu both fell in love with Miss Ying at first sight, and Liu Xiu voluntarily withdrew for the stability of the Shu-Chu Alliance, which made Liu Xiu capture the hearts of the beauty..."
Xun You''s explosive remarks made Cao Cao and Cao Ang dumbfounded. They were still curious about it as an outrageous rumor. Now it seems outrageous, it''s simply fake. No wonder Xun You is too lazy to report it.
Cao Cao showed a contemplative look on his face, while Cao Ang asked with a puzzled look: "The infant girl has never been to Shu and Chu, and has never seen Liu Yu and Liu Xiu before. How could she fall in love with her at first sight? This is simply nonsense."
"It''s indeed nonsense, but the rumors are purposeful. The reason why Liu Yu wanted Liu Xiu to marry Miss Ying was probably for the benefit of Chu State in Yingzhou, and the reason why Liu Xiu cooperated with Liu Yu was probably for..."
Before Xun You finished speaking, Cao Cao sneered and snatched the words: "For my son-in-law of Cao Cao, fortunately, after the fall of the Great Wei country, he took over the remnants with a legitimate reputation."
The reason why Cao Cao couldn''t figure it out before was just because of the lack of intelligence. When Xun You made the outrageous rumors, he had already guessed the purpose of Liu Yu and Liu Xiu. After all, this is actually not difficult to speculate.
Liu Yu and Liu Xiu''s plan actually had little impact on Cao Cao, after all, what he lost was only a concubine''s daughter.
But what really made Cao Cao angry was that the Wei State had not yet destroyed its country, but both Liu Yu and Liu Xiu agreed that Cao Wei would die, and they were even planning the matter after Cao Wei''s destruction in advance. This operation was really not very harmful and insulting.
Cao Cao''s reputation is polarized. Although he doesn''t care much about reputation, he still cares about face. However, Liu Yu and Liu Xiu insult him like this is simply a slap in the face. If he is indifferent, he will not even be able to protect his last dignity. "Liu Xiu is such a villain who is really fantastic. He actually has to rely on his orphanage to get a bargain. Haha, what''s wrong with me if I follow his wishes, but it''s hard for anyone to take advantage of whom."
Cao Cao had a sneer on his face, but he had already made plans in his heart.
Liu Xiu wanted to marry Cao Ying or Cao Wei''s son-in-law to openly accept the remnant forces after Cao Wei''s fall. Cao Cao had no choice but to stop him. After all, Cao Ying had been sent to Chu by Liu Yu, and it was obviously unrealistic to force the rescue of the people.
Although Cao Cao could not save his daughter and was not ready to save him, he was ready to use his plan.
Liu Xiu believed that Cao Wei would be destroyed by Qin sooner or later, and using Cao Cao''s son-in-law as his son-in-law, he could make profits after Cao Wei''s country was destroyed, but he ignored that Cao Cao could also use Liu Xiu''s father-in-law as his father-in-law to make profits. At that time, it depends on who will be more clever.
If you want to make profits through marriage, let alone Liu Xiu, no one in the world can compare with Cao Cao. After all, 70% of the forces at Cao Wei''s peak were obtained through marriage with the Qin Dynasty.
Now Liu Xiu wants to plot against Cao Cao by marriage. In Cao Cao''s opinion, this is like playing a big sword in front of Cao Gong and showing off his skills.
"Since Liu Xiu wants to be an orphan son-in-law so much, then how can he refuse?"
At this point, Cao Cao looked at Cao Ang below and said lightly: "An''er, you can go to Jianye in person to discuss the wedding date with your brother-in-law. Even if your orphan daughter is a concubine, it must be grand."
“Yes, Father.”
"By the way, remember to tell Liu Xiu that the final payment that had not been paid for the purchase of prisoners was regarded as his dowry to marry an orphan."
Cao Cao sneered and said, this is just the beginning. He has a series of follow-up plans. In short, he will not give up without taking a sip of blood on Liu Xiu. If he wants Liu Xiu to know that he dares to plot against him, Cao Cao will have to pay the price.
Before Xiahou Wei and Cao Ang arrived in Jianye, Liu Xiu learned that Cao Wei had suspended the purchase of prisoners.
Liu Xiu also knew that this was Cao Cao''s revenge after guessing his intention, but there was no good way. After all, he was still waiting for Cao Wei to accept his remnants after his country was destroyed. It would not be conducive to his recruitment if he really turned against Cao Wei. He could only regret negligently extorted Cao Cao.
Cao Wei’s purchase of prisoners was paid in three installments. He had paid two installments before, with only the last third remaining, and even if there was any loss, it would not be too great.
But what Liu Xiu never expected was that one-third of the final payment was just the beginning. Cao Cao also relied on him just like Ying Hao. He first proposed to let the remaining half of the prisoners of war serve as brides, and then he even used Liu Xiu''s father-in-law''s name, which might not have tempted the Chu merchants to purchase a large amount of supplies at a low price. His shamelessness was really a surprise that Liu Xiu was even open to his eyes.
Liu Xiu married Cao Ying just to take advantage of it, but now he has not taken advantage of it yet, and he has suffered a loss. First, half of the profits of colonizing Yingzhou were seized by Shu Han, and then he lost a large amount of profits from purchasing prisoners. In the future, I don’t know how much blood would be sucked by Cao Cao, so Liu Xiu felt like he was **** in a cocoon.
But he did not turn around, and this time he was planning for a long time. Even if he suffered a loss in the early stage, Liu Xiu could only grit his teeth and admit it. As long as the remnants of Cao Wei can come to a small part of the country, everything in the early stage will be worth it.
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Yuzhou, Yingchuan, Xuchang City.
Ying Hao looked at the two letters in his hand, one was sent back by a secret spy lurking inside Shu Han, and the other was a letter from Governor Xu of Qingxu, Zhang Liang.
After hesitating for a while, Ying Hao still opened Zhang Liang''s letter first. After all, compared to Shu Han, the news from Zhang Liang was more important.
Since the Qin army captured the western part of Yanzhou, due to frequent uprisings in the occupied area, in order to stabilize and ensure the safety of the food route, the Qin army had to suspend the offensive, intending to clear the troubles in the rear before marching, which also gave Cao''s army a chance to breathe.
The Qin Dynasty dispatched a million troops and divided the troops into eight groups to attack, opening up three major battlefields in the Central Plains, namely: Yanzhou, Qingxu and Runan.
On the battlefield of Qingxu and Runan, although the coalition forces suffered greater losses, and Zhu Di even took the initiative to give up Qingnan and retreat to Xubei, the losses were still within the scope of bear. The two sides had a win or defeat, and Yanzhou was actually the only one who collapsed was the battlefield.
Although the Qin army has suspended its strategy to Yanzhou, Qingxu and Runan have not stopped. It has only slowed down the offensive due to the war in Yanzhou, but it has not ceased.
On the Qingxu side, as the Ming army took the initiative to give up Qingnan and retreated to Xubei, the Ming army was at its lowest morale.
After leading his army to capture Qingnan, Zhuge Liang and Su Dingfang also wanted to expand the situation and fight the Ming army to the decisive battle, but they faced the same difficulties as Yanzhou.
The people of Qingnan were not convinced by the rule of the Qin Dynasty. The Qin army was unstable in the rear. Every time they arrived, they needed to divide their troops to garrison, otherwise there would be constant uprisings between big and small. In this case, they naturally needed to stabilize the rear first before they could go to war with the Ming army with all their might.
In order to solve this problem as quickly as possible, Ying Hao urgently transferred Zhang Liang to Qingnan and set up a special position for him, making him the first governor since the founding of the Qin Dynasty, thus being responsible for managing the military and political affairs of Qing and Xuzhou.
(This chapter ends)