"If you start with loyalty and keep it with prudence, you will never be defeated. If you look for opportunities and deceit, you will not be able to end it."————————[Yimen Reading Notes]
The north has been suffering from frost for a long time, and the time south of the Yangtze River has finally reached a state of solemn freezing.
The temperature at this time was originally lower than in later generations, the road was cold and hard, and the autumn wind was sharp. But once a person's heart is not here, the more he wants to go, the more he can't stop him.
There is a long pavilion outside Wuhu City, planted with peach, apricot and other fruit trees. In the spring and autumn, the flowers are red and the fruit is fragrant. Even in summer, the ground is covered with green shade, forming a scene of its own. But in winter, it is like people retracting their frozen hands.
The branches and leaves are hanging down, which makes people feel ugly. Wuhu is an important town in Danyang County along the Yangtze River. It has a wide river and a deep harbor. In the past, it was the transportation hub between Jiangdong, Jingzhou and Huainan.
port.
After Sun Ce crossed the river, he built a water fortress here, stationed heavy troops, and transported troops and supplies. The people made Wuhu appear somewhat morbidly lively and prosperous in this chaotic world.
Sun Ce, the newly promoted lord of Jiangdong and the bandit general, personally rode a horse to accompany a young man in his twenties out of the city. He walked all the way here, with only a few guards following him in the distance.
When he arrived at the pavilion, Sun Ce reined in his horse, but the young man drove the horse forward a few steps. When he noticed that there was no movement around him, he slowly turned the horse's head and looked back:
"You and I have worked together. Although there is no righteousness between monarch and minister, there is still a bit of friendship. Just send it here. Now that we have to say goodbye, the general should go back." The young man was gentle and dressed like a scholar, but he was very heroic.
, there is a bit of sharpness in his eyebrows. After all, he was ordered by his mother at the age of seven, and he killed evil slaves at the age of thirteen. His courage as a young man, and a nobleman of the Tian family, made him famous in Jianghuai very quickly. Xu Shao, who avoided Yangzhou, even called him
He has the talent to help the world.
Sun Ce would never let go of such a person until he was sent here. He forced a smile and said: "Why should Ziyang see you outside? You and I can work together well. Now that you are leaving, how can I not let him go?"
An extra ride? I just want to go to Shuizhai to see the building boats, so this is a good way."
The young man was none other than Liu Ye of Huainan, a legitimate clan member of the Han Dynasty after King Liu Yan of Fuling. Since he became famous, he had been living in seclusion in the countryside, waiting for the opportunity. Zhou Yu knew that he had scales on his belly and that he was from the Liu family.
They were all top choices, so before going to Chang'an, he recommended him to Sun Ce. In the hope that with Liu Ye's presence, Sun Ce could not only get help, but also under his influence, he could deepen his relationship with Lu Kang and other Yangzhou nobles.
contact without deviating from the planned route for him.
Sun Ce obeyed the advice of his childhood friend and condescended to recruit him several times. It happened that the local tycoon Zheng Bao supported his own troops and planned to gain Liu Ye's reputation. After repeated coercion, Liu Ye could not avoid it, so he took advantage of Zhou Yu's letter and surrendered.
Liu Ye indeed lived up to everyone's expectations. Under his advice, Sun Ce relied on thousands of his old troops to establish a foothold in Jiangdong in a short period of time, wipe out Zulang, and attack Zuo Rong. Now he is sitting on Danyang, Yuzhang
, Wu County, the huge Jiangdong, has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, and now only one Kuaiji is still in the hands of Pingnan General Lu Kang. However, Lu Kang is already in his seventies and has low energy. He can support thousands of soldiers and horses until now.
It's just that Sun Ce still wanted to leave some room. But just like this, Lu Kang was already overwhelmed by the endless Shanyue in Kuaiji, and there was no way he could threaten Sun Ce in the slightest.
Originally, the two of them were supposed to be in harmony with each other and sit together in Jiangdong. Step by step, under the command of a thin line drawn from far away by people like Guo Jia, Zhou Yu, and Xun You, they set an example for the imperial court and worked the hardest in exchange for
The greatest achievement.
But now everything has changed. The originally clear future began to become uncertain from the moment Wei Jie died. The slender and tough thread became looser and looser at the top of the head without knowing when, until it was almost imperceptible.
.
Compared with Sun Ce's complacency and reluctance to give up, Liu Ye's complacency from the beginning gradually turned into disappointment. His expression was cold. He didn't like the scene of being separated from others, and he didn't like to see a person who was originally
The things he hoped for came to nothing before his eyes. After saying a few words, Liu Ye lost interest and turned around to leave.
Sun Ce's expression changed, and he hurriedly stretched out his hand to hold his reins: "Don't do this, we may not see each other again in the future. Zi Yang must not forget that Gong Jin is still in Chang'an, and he will definitely take care of you for me, as long as there is no one in the world."
Things, you and I can still meet."
Liu Ye didn't have the intention to study the meaning behind Sun Ce's words, but when he looked directly into Sun Ce's bright eyes, the young man's confidence and arrogance were as sharp as a sword, as if as long as the other party said it, he would do it no matter what.
Seems to be enough.
I really don’t know how many people he gathered under his command with this look and were completely devoted to him. This included Liu Ye himself. Under the gaze of these bright star eyes, he couldn’t help but agree to the other party’s solicitation.
Looking back now, maybe Zhou Gongjin was the first person to be impressed by the other person's spirit, right?
Liu Ye didn't want to look into Sun Ce's eyes anymore, as if he was afraid that his heart would be shaken. He turned his head and opened his mouth several times to speak, but hesitated. In the end, he just said: "If you are still thinking about Zhou Gongjin,
From now on, don’t have anything to do with him. Now that things have come to this, don’t teach him how to do things in court."
"What are you talking about!" After hearing this, Sun Ce actually advised him to cut off his relationship with Zhou Yu. He immediately said angrily: "Gong Jin and I have grown up together and have a deep friendship. How could I harm him? Do you still want to hurt him?"
Do you regard me as such a disloyal and unjust person?"
Without waiting for Liu Ye's reaction, Sun Ce argued again: "I have already made it clear to you that I did not expect that the Wei envoy led Zuo Rong into the city that day. I originally thought that Zuo Rong had a despicable character.
Everyone in the southeast knew that anyone who took him in would be scheming and plundering their property. After all, Wei Shijun was also the governor of the imperial court. How could he open the door to thieves and get involved with such people? Not to mention with him.
I went together to attack, saying that we would not leave the city and just sit back and watch while we exterminated the thieves, but he wanted to..."
In fact, Liu Ye knew these things roughly. Although he stayed in Danyang that day and was not in front of the army, he only had to inquire afterward to know that most of the inside story was in line with what Sun Ce said. Wei Jie probably thought that Sun Ce, as a general under Yuan Shu, was worried about him
After defeating Zuo Rong, Hui would take advantage of the situation to attack Yuzhang, so he wanted to join forces with Zuo Rong to defend against the enemy. However, he did not expect that in the face of this crisis, Zuo Rong would still see Cai Rong and become murderous towards him.
"So when the general saw the city on fire and Wei Shijun fled, he did nothing." Just thinking about it, Liu Ye had already made up his mind to leave, and he couldn't change it no matter what: "After this experience,
Everyone in the world knows the general’s heart.”
"Zi Yang——"
"The river is rushing, and I have to cross the river and go north, so I'll say goodbye." Without waiting for Sun Ce to explain, Liu Ye refused to listen, pulled the reins out of Sun Ce's hands, and left with a whip.
When Sun Ce tried to stop him symbolically for the last time, Liu Ye stopped unexpectedly. This was not because he had changed his mind, but because he looked at Sun Ce and the few guards following him and kindly reminded him.
: "A general is the leader of an army. When traveling, do not rely on the courage of one person, lest you be alone."