After the first battle in Chibi, the Sun-Liu coalition was in full swing. In order to temporarily avoid his edge, Cao Cao temporarily regained his strength, he drove all the warships to the north bank of Wulin, while the Sun-Liu coalition was stationed on the south bank of Chibi. The two armies confronted north and south with the Yangtze River and Han River as the boundary.

Reflecting on this battle is not only Cao Cao, who was the loser, but Sima Yi was also thinking that although the victory of the Sun-Liu coalition army was following the route planned by himself and Zhuge Liang, the result was also within their expectations.

However, after thinking about it carefully, Sima Yi found that all this did not seem so simple. From the time when Zhuge Liang deliberately arranged for Liu Qi to lead troops to Jiangxia, he handed over the main force of Fancheng to Guan Yu and avoided the main force of Cao's army through the water route. He and Liu Bei used the tens of thousands of people in the city to attract Cao Cao's attention, and also had a clear intention to attract Cao Cao until he chased him to Jiangling...

Thinking of this, Sima Yi suddenly realized:

It turned out that Zhuge Liang had already considered the overall plan from the moment Cao Cao entered Jingzhou. If this was the case, everything would make sense, and even he might be just a part of Zhuge Liang's plan.

At this moment, Zhuge Liang's carrier pigeon fell to the window of Sima Yi's cabin again. Sima Yi reached out to take off the cloth on the carrier pigeon and found that Zhuge Liang asked to meet him as soon as possible in the letter.

Before, Sima Yi mentioned the meeting between the two to Zhuge Liang many times in his letters, because in his opinion, there are many things that are difficult to explain in the letters and must be raised in person to get the answer.

Considering that Cao Cao's vigilance towards himself is no longer as serious as when he first arrived in Jingzhou, Sima Yi felt that the time was ripe, so he wrote back to Zhuge Liang and said that he agreed to meet in Puqi three days later.

After writing the reply letter, Sima Yi stuffed the cloth into the small bamboo tube, tied it to the legs of the pigeon and then released it away.

His every move was completely under Xu Shu's gaze...

Just as the battle between Cao Cao and Sun and Liu's coalition was about to break out, there were still eyes from the West that were always staring at this matter, that is, Liu Zhang, who occupied Xichuan for many years.

At this time, Liu Zhang was in a state of tension between the two sides for a long time due to the inconsistency between Zhang and Lu of Hanzhong. When he heard that Cao Cao had occupied Jingzhou again in just a few months, the war in Hebei was just settled, which made Liu Zhang even more restless. Because Cao Cao was at its peak now, he had already bordered Yizhou after controlling Jingzhou. Once he suddenly launched an offensive against Yizhou, then Zhang Lu in the north and Cao Cao in the south would be difficult for Liu Zhang to deal with it.

Taking this into consideration, he summoned the ministers to discuss how to deal with themselves.

As a member of Yizhou, Zhang Song was highly valued by Liu Zhang's favor and indeed had a very smart talent, but his unruly behavior attracted the disgust of most of the gentry in Yizhou and was highly despised by Huang Quan, Li Yan and others.

After a long time, Zhang Song found that Liu Zhang was cowardly and incompetent, and it was difficult to maintain the stability of Yizhou for a long time, so he had already planned to leave Liu Zhang. When Liu Zhang summoned civil and military personnel to discuss the matter, he took the opportunity to say:

"Reporting to the lord, Prime Minister Cao has reported that you are the General Zhenwei, which shows your intention to win over. In this case, why don't we send envoys to Jingzhou to show kindness to Cao Cao? One can form an alliance with him to avoid his attack on Xichuan in the future, and the other can also convince him to assist us in attacking Zhang Lu of Hanzhong from both north and south. In this way, we will have no concerns in Hanzhong."

As soon as these words were spoken, the ministers in the court sighed. Although Huang Quan and others did not have a good impression of Zhang Song's character, doing so at this time was indeed helpful to stabilize the situation in Yizhou, so they all agreed.

Finally, Liu Zhang agreed to Zhang Song's suggestion and sent him to Jingzhou with Zhang Song's strong recommendation.

Among all, only the military officer Fa Zheng saw the little Jiujiu in Zhang Song's heart. After the military agreement ended, he visited Zhang Song's home and sent off the idle people at home. After Fa Zheng pointed directly at Zhang Song's nose and shouted:

"Brother Ziqiao, as a minister, he actually turned his back on the Lord and looked up to Cao. You are so brave!"

Zhang Song had a very close personal relationship with Fa Zheng on weekdays. When he heard Fa Zheng breaking his scheming, he quickly reached out and held Fa Zheng and pointed at his hand. Then he sighed after seeing that no one outside the door eavesdropping:

"Xiaozhi, you know me. If Liu Zhang hadn't been embarrassed by the great use, I wouldn't have made such a bad decision. You and I can be extraordinary. If you and I were under the command of someone like Cao Cao, your future will definitely be limitless. How could you survive in this place?"

Fa Zheng saw that he said what he said in his heart and quickly changed his attitude:

"You want to use Cao Cao to seize Hanzhong first and then Xichuan, and become the top hero in Xiancheng to show your ambitions. I understand this, but have you ever thought about it? Cao Cao's current offensive focus is on Sun Quan. He has taken active comfort measures to Yizhou, Hanzhong, Xiliang and other places. How could he follow your advice to attack Zhang Lu at this time?"

Zhang Song disagreed with Fazheng's advice, and he said to Fazheng:

"In my opinion, if Cao Cao fought against the Sun and Liu coalition forces, the chances of victory are not high. The people of Jingzhou have not completely accepted him. In addition, his army has not received good repairs after long-distance travel. In addition, the water battle is not his director of Cao Mengde. He fights with Zhou Yu... Haha, the outcome is unpredictable..."

Two days later, Zhang Song took the generous gift from Liu Zhang to Cao Cao and went to Wulin where Cao Cao's troops were located in Jingzhou.

The carrier pigeon from Xichuan also flew quietly to Jiangxia's Red Cliff almost at the same time...

At this time, Sima Yi was preparing to meet with Zhuge Liang in Puqi. When he heard that Xichuan sent an envoy to come, he felt very strange, but he immediately guessed Liu Zhang's intention.

When Zhang Song walked along Yong'an, Zigui, Xiling, Jiangling, and Jiangnan to Wulin, he was exhausted.

When Cao Cao asked Sima Yi and Zhang Song's purpose of this trip, Sima Yi replied:

"A few years ago, Liu Zhang killed Zhang Lu's mother and younger brother, causing the relationship between them to completely break down. Both sides fought repeatedly. Although they had a victory or defeat, it made it difficult for Liu Zhang to gain a little advantage. I think the purpose of Liu Zhang sending Zhang Lu this time is to let you help him eliminate Zhang Lu and thus completely take back the land of Hanzhong."

After putting down the document handed over by the messenger from Zhang Song, Cao Cao nodded:

"That's right, although I will sooner or later go west to Hanzhong and then capture the entire Yizhou, but my attention should still be here at this time. The Sun-Liu coalition army just won is not good for us in terms of momentum, and I need to readjust the situation."

Sima Yi agreed with Cao Cao's view: "The Prime Minister is wise."

During the meeting with Zhang Song, Cao Cao briefly asked about the battle situation in Yizhou and wanted to expel the guests. However, Zhang Song tried his best to dissuade Cao Cao from the West at this time. At this time, he should focus on the West. To pacify Hanzhong, Cao Cao's most elite Hebei army was enough, and he should not throw his experience into the river waterproof war that Cao Cao was not good at.

Such words made Sima Yi deeply worried about Zhang Song's future situation. Sure enough, Cao Cao was furious after hearing Zhang Song's words, and loudly scolded Zhang Song for his daring to laugh at him for not fighting in a water battle, and drove him out.

Although Yang Xiu and others actively talked good things for Zhang Song, it was too whimsical to make Cao Cao give up attacking Jiangxia and occupy Jiangdong at this moment. Only then did Zhang Song realize that it was difficult for him to convince Cao Cao at all. In addition, both sides had no good feelings for each other, so there was no meaning to continue staying here, so he had to leave in disappointment.

In desperation, Zhang Song boarded the boat and prepared to return to Yong'an from Wulin against the current, and then changed the route.

Just when he was worried that he had not fulfilled Liu Zhang's mission and could convince Cao Cao, two masked men suddenly jumped up from underwater, stepped forward without saying a word, and directly covered Zhang Song with a black sack, forcibly took him on another small boat, and quietly headed towards the Red Cliff on the south bank under the moonlight.

When the black cloth above Zhang Song's head was unveiled, he saw that he was completely in a strange environment. Facing the strangers standing in front of him, Zhang Song had never experienced such a situation. He shrank to the corner and questioned them in a crying voice:

"Who are you? Why are you tied up here?"

The people standing in front of him were nothing but Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, Liao Hua and Zhao Yun who took off their night clothes.

Liu Bei stepped forward and helped Zhang Song up, who was trembling, and tried to comfort him:

"I am the left general Liu Bei of Xia Nai, who has been rude to the gentleman just now, so please forgive me."

When he heard it was Liu Bei, Zhang Song calmed down instantly. After looking around, he found that Liu Bei's handsome flag was hanging in the military tent. Only then did he confirm that he was in Chibi now.

After regaining his mind, he pushed Liu Bei's hand away and stood up, with a very dissatisfied tone:

"It is said that Uncle Liu is respectful to the wise and the nobles, and he is sincere in treating others. Today I will be considered to be aware of it."

At this time, Zhuge Liang stood up and explained: "Zhang Biejia, please do not blame my lord. Please use this method to ask the sir to come and count the worst. If it weren't for this, I'm afraid Cao Cao would have doubts about you. This is all my idea, so please forgive me."

After repeated apology from Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei, Zhang Song was not good at blame. After all, Liu Bei had the noble title of the Emperor of Han, so he could only accept it when he saw it:

"Well, I wonder what happened to Uncle Liu and Mr. Zhuge who tried so much to invite me?"

Liu Bei held a banquet to greet Zhang Song, and said to Zhang Song during the meal:

"I already know that Zhang Biejia encountered unfair treatment in Cao Cao. Today I asked you to come here just to tell me that Liu Bei was willing to conquer Zhang Lu for him and recover Hanzhong."

Zhang Song thought he had heard the wrong ears for a moment, so he put down the wine cup and sneered:

"Uncle Liu probably forgot that you don't have a place to stand now, and you only have more than 10,000 soldiers under your command. What you should worry about now is how to compete with Sun Quan to save your life, rather than thinking about those out of reach."

When he heard this, the generals led by Guan Yu suddenly looked unhappy at the dinner. Liu Bei stopped him with a glass of wine. Zhuge Liang stepped forward with a cup of wine and said, "I believe Mr. Xiaosheng of Chibi must have heard of it. It was just a preview to drive Cao Cao out of Jingzhou. In a short time, we will completely bury Cao Cao's Jingzhou navy on the Yangtze River. By then, Jingzhou is a land of no border. Liu Huangshu, the heroic and powerful man, must take Jingzhou as the foundation for his life. Do you dare to ask Zhang Biejia, do we have this capital?"

Zhang Song naturally knew it well in the first battle of Chibi. He also knew that Cao Cao, who was not good at water wars, would definitely fail. For this reason, he had to carefully consider his belongings. Since Liu Bei appreciated him so much and had the orthodox banner of the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, he thought that Liu Bei was different from Sun Quan and Cao Cao at this time, and was trying to seize a fertile land to cultivate his own power. It would be better to offer Xichuan to Liu Bei, and he would also be the primary hero of the land in the future.

After careful consideration, Zhang Song had already made up his mind. He bowed to Liu Bei and said:

"The West River has a fertile land of thousands of miles and abundant people. There are many dangerous peaks as barriers. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is the solid foundation for my Emperor Gaozu to open up the prosperous era of the Han Dynasty. Liu Zhang was indifferent and weak and did not have the ability to lead a state. I beg Liu Huangshu to take Yizhou as soon as possible, and lead the royal army to the north to settle the Central Plains in the future, and continue the glory of Guangwu Zhongxing..."

When he was in Longzhong, Liu Bei had already decided on the strategic policy of starting Jing and then Yi with Zhuge Liang, and informed Liu Bei in advance of the information source placed in Yizhou. In addition, Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi's careful cooperation made Zhang Song not get a satisfactory reply from Cao Cao, thus giving Liu Bei an opportunity to take advantage of it.
Chapter completed!