Cao Mao suddenly understood.
That really was a possibility.
Although Cao Mao did not know Shi Ji, he did know about this man's deeds. Historically, after Sun 𬘭 slaughtered large numbers of generals, Shi Ji became the only top-ranking commander left.
Shi Ji had been deeply worried about this, believing Sun 𬘭 would move against him. His response was to send men to contact Shu Han, hoping to form a private alliance with them.
Reportedly, he told Shu Han that the Wu Kingdom was now in turmoil, all the generals who could fight were dead, and morale was low. He feared an attack by Cao Wei and hoped to establish private ties so they could support one another, rather than let Cao Wei sweep them all into the same net.
When the Shu Kingdom learned of this, they were delighted as well. Liu Shan dispatched General of the Right Yan Yu with five thousand troops to reinforce Baidi City's defenses, ready to support Shi Ji.
But soon afterward, Sun 𬘭 was ambushed and killed by Ding Feng and others, and only then did Shi Ji breathe a sigh of relief.
Now, however, the situation was clearly somewhat different.
Ding Feng, who had been capable of ambushing and killing Sun 𬘭, had fled, and Shi Ji had raised troops. Cao Mao suspected that Ding Feng had gone to Shi Ji and urged him to march against Sun 𬘭.
But Shi Ji was a very cautious man. His forces were inferior to Sun 𬘭's, and he also had to defend against Cao Wei. If he dared to take the initiative and raise troops, he must have had some prospect of victory.
Most likely, he had colluded with people at court and was preparing to find a way to kill Sun 𬘭.
Wang