Chapter 94: Using Da Qiao to seduce? Liu Wu joins the game
Sun Shangxiang cried with tears in her eyes. She was comforted by Liu Wu and Da Qiao. Although she didn’t say a word when she finally left, Liu Wu was relieved because he knew that Sun Shangxiang’s attitude had softened.

In fact, let Huang Zu come out and apologize to Sun Shangxiang.

In fact, this was already Huang Zu’s bottom line, and this was only for Liu Wu’s sake.

After all, Huang Zu and Sun Jian did serve different masters at the time.

Huang Zu was under Liu Biao’s command, so naturally he had to obey his orders.

Sun Jian was shot to death, and Huang Zu could do nothing about it now.

However, Liu Wu’s efforts made Huang Zu apologize to Sun Shangxiang, and Sun Shangxiang slowly resolved her worries.

This also made Sun Shao and Da Qiao both have a good impression of Liu Wu.

Two days later.

Sun Shao came to visit again.

If it is said that Sun Shao visited the General of Cavalry’s residence on the first day to test Liu Wu’s attitude.

So, when I visited him again today, I became closer to Liu Wu.

However, this time Sun Shao also brought someone with him, who was Zhu Zhi, the head of the Zhu family, one of the four major families in Jiangdong.

Sun Ce had a very close relationship with the Zhu family, one of the four major families in Jiangdong.

In other words, the Zhu family was a staunch supporter of Sun Jian and Sun Ce.

The representative figure of the Zhu family is Zhu Zhi, who has a deep connection with Sun Ce.

Zhu Zhi followed Sun Jian in his early years and experienced many battles together, such as suppressing bandits near Changsha, attacking the northwest warlord Dong Zhuo, and helping Xuzhou Tao Qian fight against the Yellow Turban Army. These common combat experiences laid the foundation for trust between Sun Ce and the Zhu family.

Zhu Zhi played an important role in Sun Ce’s conquest of Jiangdong. He not only saved Sun Ce’s family, but also helped him defeat Xu Gong, the governor of Wujun, and occupied Wujun.

It can be said that the Zhu family was highly trusted and valued under Sun Ce’s command at that time.

After Sun Ce’s death, Zhu Zhi, together with Zhou Yu, Zhang Hong and others, supported Sun Quan and helped him complete the transition of power smoothly.

However, once Sun Shao separated from Sun Quan, the Zhu family chose Sun Shao without hesitation. This was because, in recent years, the Zhang family had been more valued by Sun Quan under his command, and the Zhu family still had a basis of trust in choosing Sun Shao, the son of Sun Ce.

“My name is Zhu Zhi, and I’m honored to meet the General of the Cavalry. I’ve heard that the General of the Cavalry is young, brave, and a hero of the time. Seeing him today, I find that his reputation is well-deserved.” Zhu Zhi, with half of his hair white, bowed to Liu Wu with great energy.

“Mr. Zhu, you are in good health. Please take a seat.” Liu Wu accepted Zhu Zhi’s flattery with a smile and then made a gesture of invitation.

Zhu Zhi did not hesitate and sat down casually.

“I wonder, Shao’er, what’s the matter that makes you so anxious to see your uncle?” Liu Wu asked Sun Shao with a smile.

In the hall, Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong also looked at Sun Shao.

Today, Sun Shao brought Zhu Zhi with him, and it was obviously not as simple as that day.

Sun Shao glanced at Zhu Zhi and saw that Zhu Zhi was nodding to him. Sun Shao took a deep breath and said solemnly:

“My uncle asked His Majesty to confer Shaoer the title of Marquis of Peng and Governor of Xuzhou. Shaoer is extremely grateful for your support. However, after Shaoer took over Xuzhou, he realized how vast Xuzhou is and how difficult it is to govern a state.”

Sun Shao first expressed his gratitude to Liu Wu, and then mentioned the difficulties. Liu Wu was not surprised at all, as he had already seen that Sun Shao came to him today to ask for something.

“I wonder what difficulties Shao’er is in? Uncle, I will not sit idly by!” Liu Wu said with a smile.

Liu Wu was not afraid that Sun Shao would have difficulties, but was afraid that Sun Shao would not have difficulties. Only when Sun Shao had difficulties and he helped him, would Sun Shao have a better and closer relationship with him.

And this is what Liu Wu hopes to see.

Sun Quan has already sided with Cao Cao, so if Sun Shao sided with him, the Sun family’s power would be split into two, and they would no longer be able to attack him from both sides together with Cao Cao.

Just solve some problems.

In the hall, Sun Shao was delighted when he heard Liu Wu’s words. However, thinking of the speech Zhu Zhi had prepared for him many times before coming here, he suppressed his excitement and said to Liu Wu:

“Uncle, although Shaoer has occupied Xuzhou, he only has 10,000 or 20,000 troops under his command. If these troops are dispersed, they may not even be enough to deal with the powerful bandits and robbers. Shaoer even needs to be wary of his uncle. He does not have enough money and food to expand his army. Therefore, Shaoer hopes to borrow some food from uncle.”

Sun Shao stated his request.

Borrow food?

Liu Wu was not surprised by Sun Shao’s request. In fact, Liu Wu had also expected to borrow grain.

Even when the other party said that they only had 10,000 or 20,000 troops, Liu Wu curled his lips in his heart.

A large number of Jinyiwei were mobilized in Jiangdong. The Jinyiwei were no pushovers and knew clearly that Sun Shao had taken away at least 30,000 troops from Sun Quan.

However, Liu Wu showed an embarrassment on his face and said:

“Shao’er, do you want to borrow some grain? Yuzhou, Jizhou, Qingzhou, and Yanzhou have been at war for years, and Cao Cao has taken away too much grain. Uncle is also short of grain here. How much do you want to borrow?”

Sun Shao became nervous after listening to Liu Wu’s words. He didn’t know whether Liu Wu was telling the truth or not. Was there really a food shortage?
However, Sun Shao also understood that Yuzhou, Jizhou, Qingzhou, and Yanzhou had been at war for years, and they might not have much food. In addition, when Cao Cao moved to Guanzhong, he must have taken the food with him, so Liu Wu might not have much food.

Thinking of this, Sun Shao became a little nervous and looked at Zhu Zhi for help.

In fact, they had not decided on the specific amount of grain to borrow from Liu Wu, but planned to decide based on the situation.

When Zhu Zhi saw Sun Shao looking at him, he immediately bowed to Liu Wu and said:
“General, to be honest, Xuzhou’s top priority is to prepare the army, and we are indeed short of food. Therefore, we would like to borrow 200,000 dan of food from you. Of course, Xuzhou does not lend the food for free, but pays interest.”

Zhu Zhi looked at the situation and told the amount of grain to be borrowed.

In fact, this number is already quite a lot. One stone of grain is enough for an ordinary person to eat for one or two months.

Then, 200,000 dan of grain would be enough to feed 200,000 ordinary people for one or two months.

Enough to support an army of more than 50,000.

“Two hundred thousand dan of grain? That’s not a small amount!” Liu Wu looked serious when he heard that the other party wanted to obtain two hundred thousand dan of grain. He looked at Zhuge Liang and asked:

“Kong Ming, do you know that we can still mobilize money without affecting the stable amount of money and grain?”

Zhuge Liang was also embarrassed at this time, and said to Liu Wu:
“My lord, I’m afraid there isn’t 200,000 shi. Even if there is 100,000 shi, there won’t be any spare. However, the details still need to be calculated. I dare not say whether it can be squeezed out.”

Zhuge Liang said to Liu Wu.

Zhuge Liang was of course telling lies. Apart from anything else, the Jingzhou that Liu Biao previously occupied had countless grain storages, at least no less than 1.5 million dan. This made him a very wealthy man.

Today, Liu Wu is expanding his army on a large scale, using this grain. Even if Liu Wu launches a war involving tens of thousands of people, this grain can still support him.

In fact, last year, Liu Wu launched the curved plow, which greatly improved the farming efficiency and depth, and the grain harvest is expected to increase significantly.

But they can’t be so stupid as to just take it out.

In the hall, Sun Shao and Zhu Zhi listened to the conversation between Liu Wu and Zhuge Liang and became anxious. Zhu Zhi was better, as he felt that Liu Wu and Zhuge Liang were singing the same tune. However, he was not sure that Liu Wu had food. In fact, food was extremely precious in those days.

In the first year of Jian’an (196 AD), Cao Cao recruited farmers to cultivate land in Xuchang, and gradually expanded it to various states and counties.

When Cao Cao was facing a serious food shortage and his army was almost falling apart, his important adviser Cheng Yu once “plundered the people’s food, provided three days’ rations, and mixed it with human jerky”, that is, he maintained the survival of the army by plundering the people’s food and mixing it with dried meat.

It is enough to reflect the cruelty of the war and the severity of the food shortage at that time.

Of course, the situation in Xuzhou was not good either. After experiencing many wars and many plunders before, Xuzhou was out of food. Let’s not talk about whether to expand the army or not. Just the food for the 30,000 troops brought by Sun Quan was a headache for Sun Shao and Zhu Zhi.

“How can this be? Shao’er has just established Xuzhou, and it is in need of money and grain to stabilize the situation. As his uncle, how can I not support him? Immediately ask all states and counties to check the granaries and prepare grain. At least 100,000 dan of grain must be sent to Xuzhou within two months!”

Liu Wu slammed the table and spoke loudly, shocking Sun Shao and Zhu Zhi.

Liu Wu’s aura and attitude were definitely like a father appeasing his son.

The next moment, Sun Shao was immediately moved. In fact, 100,000 shi of grain was already a lot.

Even weeds, wheat bran and other things were mixed into the food.

It can be used as 200,000 to 300,000 shi of grain.

“This…Okay, Liang will give the order immediately, and Marquis Peng will definitely not be short of food.” Zhuge Liang seemed to be intimidated by Liu Wu’s power. He was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly bowed and said carefully.

“Don’t worry, Shao’er. Even if your uncle has to sell everything he has, he will still raise food for you. Don’t even mention the interest. Wouldn’t that be treating your uncle as an outsider?” Liu Wu said to Sun Shao.

Sun Shao was extremely excited at this time, and hurriedly said to Liu Wu:
“Shao’er thanks uncle, I will never forget your help.”

“Haha, Shao’er, you are being too formal. Come here today and don’t leave until you are drunk.”

On that day, Sun Shao was drunk and left the residence of the General of Cavalry with great excitement and joy. Liu Wu’s words were ringing in Sun Shao’s ears.

What? If you have any difficulties in the future, come to your uncle.

If I am not close to my uncle, who can I be close to? Can I be close to Sun Zhongmou?

Sun Shao’s feeling of closeness to Liu Wu reached its peak.

Another few days passed.

Sun Shao and Zhu Zhi had been waiting for Zhuge Liang to tell them how much grain they could borrow. When they heard Zhuge Liang say that they already had 70,000 dan, 80,000 dan, 110,000 dan, and so on, Sun Shao was completely relieved and his closeness to Liu Wu reached a peak.
Liu Wu can see the favorability level, and Sun Shao’s favorability level towards him has even reached 88.

This made Liu Wu exclaim that young people are easy to fool.

Before he even made any effort, the other party was already immersed in the role, unable to extricate himself.

On this day, on the tenth day since Sun Shao came to Xiangyang, in the study room of the General of Cavalry’s mansion, Liu Wu was handling military affairs in Youzhou and Qingzhou.

Pang Tong knocked on the door and walked in.

“My lord, the Royal Guards have discovered Cao’s spies, and they are planning something in Marquis Peng’s mansion.”

Pang Tong’s words made Liu Wu raise his head and his brows immediately frowned.

In order to show his support for Sun Shao, he chose a nice mansion for Sun Shao in Xiangyang City.

Peng Hou is Sun Shao.

“A spy for Cao’s army? What’s the plan?” Liu Wu asked with a frown.

The appearance of Cao’s spies at Sun Shao’s residence was undoubtedly an attempt to sow discord and destroy the relationship between him and Sun Shao.

“Is this matter related to you and Da Qiao, my lord?” Pang Tong said, but he looked at Liu Wu with some strange eyes.

“Da Qiao? Tell me about it?” Liu Wu asked with a frown.

“My lord, this is what happened. Sun Shao has been led out of the city by Cao’s spies. Only Da Qiao is left in the mansion. They will invite you to Penghou Mansion soon. Da Qiao has been drugged…” Pang Tong did not continue, but after hearing this, Liu Wu immediately understood the conspiracy of Cao’s spies.

This was probably because he wanted to insult Da Qiao’s innocence and then sow discord between himself and Sun Shao.

Liu Wu frowned. In fact, after meeting Da Qiao on the first day, Liu Wu had been thinking about whether there was a chance to bring Da Qiao into the backyard.

Da Qiao is truly stunningly beautiful.

In addition, Da Qiao is also a historical beauty. If he could accept her, she would be a special type of soldier. You know, with the passage of time, his Mongolian cavalry has been formed into an army, and other types of soldiers have been deployed to armies in various places. Now he has a firm control over hundreds of thousands of troops.

The more family guards the better.

However, because of Da Qiao’s identity, this is not easy to do.

This will easily cause a backlash from Sun Shao’s subordinates.

In the study, Liu Wu thought for a moment and felt that this might be an opportunity.

“Shi Yuan, come here and immediately have the Royal Guards capture all of Cao’s spies. Remember, they must be captured alive. Don’t let them commit suicide by taking poison. Also, have the Royal Guards disguise themselves as Cao’s spies, and so on… so on…”

In the study, Liu Wu and Pang Tong were whispering to each other.

When Pang Tong heard Liu Wu’s plan, his eyes widened and he looked at Liu Wu and said:
“My Lord, you, you want to get involved? Is it worth it?”

“Is it worth it? Go ask Cao Cao if it’s worth it?” Liu Wu glanced at Pang Tong and said.

“This…” Pang Tong was speechless. In the past, Cao Cao killed three wise men with one shot for Madam Zou. Madam Da Qiao was so beautiful, no wonder people like Liu Wu and Cao Cao liked her so much.

“Okay! I’ll have someone arrange it!” Pang Tong did not hesitate and immediately ordered people to take action.

Just when the Jinyiwei were spreading a wide net, a steward from Penghou Mansion came to ask for a meeting.

In the hall, Liu Wu and Pang Tong looked at each other and then let him in.

“General, my Lord Peng is hosting a banquet in my house to entertain you. Please be sure to come. Madam Da Qiao will also play the zither to express her gratitude to you for lending grain to Xuzhou.”

The housekeeper of Penghou Mansion said respectfully to Liu Wu.

“Oh, Shao’er wants to host a banquet, and Madam Da Qiao can also play the zither. Shao’er is too polite. However, since Da Qiao has come forward, it is difficult for this general to refuse. You go back first, and this general will come later.”

Liu Wu said after a moment of hesitation.

The housekeeper’s face lit up immediately, and he said hurriedly:

“Thank you, General.”

After the housekeeper of Marquis Peng’s mansion left, Liu Wu narrowed his eyes slightly.

Not long after, Liu Wu rode his horse and headed towards Marquis Peng’s Mansion, escorted by a group of guards.

(End of this chapter)