Chapter 2656: Opening the door to drive away tigers and wolves, Sun Ce VS Sun Liu (Part 2)
Chapter 2656: Opening the country to drive away tigers and devour wolves, Sun Ce vs. Sun Liu (Part 2)
The news that Chu State suddenly launched an army to attack Wu forced Sun Ce to suspend his plan to attack Wu County. After all, things had to be prioritized.
Liu Xiu's 350,000 Chu troops attacked Wu, which brought the state of Wu to the danger of national subjugation. At this time, Sun Ce held the idea that he must first pacify the internal situation in order to fight against foreign aggression, so he really didn't distinguish between the priority and the importance during the Anti-Japanese War.
Chang Kaishen is no different.
Today, after nearly two years of cultivation, the Wu Kingdom has barely recovered from the fiasco at Lujiang, but its total military strength is only 330,000, not to mention that it is still in a state of east-west division by Sun Ce and Sun Quan.
After Sun Quan fled back to Wu County, he issued an edict from King Qin and gained the support of Wu County, Kuaiji, Linhai, and Dongyang County.
Sun Ceyue was also not idle. After seizing Jianye, he first ordered Sun Wu and Wu Zixu to take over the military power in Lujiang and Yuzhang, and then ordered Sun Bin and Lu Su to take charge of Jianye, appease and recruit powerful generals from all sides, and also achieved considerable results.
The results of the battle.
The garrisons in Yuzhang and Lujiang were all Sun Wu's old troops. Sun Wu and Wu Zixu held Sun Quan's edict and went to take over the army without encountering any obstacles at all.
The defenders in both places, from generals to ordinary soldiers, all hoped that Sun Wu would come back. Naturally, the defenders honestly handed over their military power. This also allowed Sun Wu and Wu Zixu to easily take over the hundreds of thousands of troops in Lujiang and Yuzhang.
With more than 100,000 garrison troops in hand, and the capital Jianye and its surrounding cities also under Sun Ce's control, the three counties of Danyang, Lujiang, and Yuzhang in the central and western parts of the Wu Kingdom were basically under Sun Ce's control.
As for Bo Pei, the governor of Panyang, and Xu Wen, the governor of Pengze, they were both from Jiangdong aristocratic families, and they were both promoted to positions by Sun Quan. Logically speaking, they should be devoted to Sun Quan.
However, as prefects, they only control part of the military power of the two counties, and most of the military power is in the hands of the garrison.
However, Pan Yang's general Han Qinhu and Peng Ze's general Tian Ji both fell to Sun Ce under the influence of Sun Bin.
Xu Wen and Bo Pi, who had few troops in their hands, would have been defeated by Han Qinhu and Tian Ji without Sun Ce taking action if they dared to side with Sun Quan, so they could only reluctantly side with Sun Ce.
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At this point, the situation in Jiangdong was completely clear, and the ten counties of Wu State were completely divided. Five counties in the west belonged to Sun Ce, and four counties in the east belonged to Sun Quan. Only Yizhou County was still waiting and watching, and the station as far away as Yingzhou had not received news.
Although Sun Ce controlled the five counties in the central and western parts of the Wu Kingdom, his time in power was still too short after all, and he did not have much time to sort things out, so there were still some cities and garrison guards under his command who were loyal to Sun Quan.
But in general, it is harmless. After all, the number of troops in the hands of these people is too small, and it will basically not have much impact on the overall situation.
At present, the number of troops directly in Sun Ce's hands does not exceed 220,000 at most, and most of them are scattered in Lujiang, Yuzhang, and Danyang. However, the invading Chu army has as many as 350,000 troops.
With the troops in Sun Ce's hands, he can barely protect himself. If he still fights with Sun Quan, he is really looking for death. Sooner or later, Liu Xiu will defeat him one by one.
Sun Ce was a man with an overall view, and with Sun Bin admonishing him, he naturally knew what to do and what not to do, so he had to give up the idea of conquering Wu Commandery eastward and instead first deal with the invading Chu army on the western front.
Wu and Chu have been attacking each other for many years, with Wu always attacking and Chu defending, so Wu's defense against Chu is not very strong.
The reason for this situation is naturally because Wu is on the offensive side and has more victories than defeats. There is also the invincible Sun Wu, so there is no need to defend.
But until Sun Ce was defeated and captured in Lujiang, and the strength gap between Wu and Chu was completely widened, Sun Jian was directly beaten to his senses, making him realize that in the future battle between Wu and Chu, Wu would probably be on the defensive side.
Only then did the defenses on the Western Front begin to be gradually strengthened.
After Sun Quan succeeded to the throne, although he negated most of Sun Jian's national policies, he implemented the plan to strengthen the defense of the western front. However, he also deprived Sun Wu and Wu Zixu of their military power on the same grounds.
Now Wu State has built a complete defense line against Chu on the front lines of Lujiang and Yuzhang in the west. Even if the invading Chu State is twice as large as itself, it will be impossible to break through Wu State's defense line in the short term, which is enough to support the reinforcements from the rear.
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But this time the Chu State invaded not from two groups, but from four groups. In addition to the two counties of Lujiang and Yuzhang, there were also the two counties of Panyang and Kuaiji, which were also attacked by the Chu State.
Even if the Wu State can block most of the invading Chu troops on the western defense line, what will the other two Chu kings do?
Under Sun Bin's rational analysis, Sun Ce also realized the seriousness of the problem. Facing the 350,000 Chu troops invading from four directions, it would be difficult to cope with the danger of national subjugation with only the troops at his disposal. He must
Only by joining forces with his second brother Sun Quan could he escape this disaster.
Judging from Sun Ce's understanding of Sun Quan, Sun Quan now probably wishes he could fight Liu Xiu so that both sides would lose, and then stand up to reorganize the situation.
It’s not surprising that Sun Quan would have this idea, but it’s not that Sun Ce looks down on Sun Quan, but that Sun Quan’s military talent is really too poor. He couldn’t defeat the Japanese pirates even with his absolute advantage at the beginning, let alone the stronger Chu army now.
Therefore, if he were defeated, Sun Quan would definitely not be Liu Xiu's opponent, and it would only be a matter of time before Wu was destroyed.
Only when Sun Ce and Sun Quan join forces, and Wu is united internally, and unites externally, can it be possible to overcome this crisis of national subjugation.
But the biggest question now is, Sun Ce is willing to put aside his grudges and join forces with Sun Quan, but is Sun Quan willing to ignore the past grudges and join forces with Sun Ce to repel the Chu army?
You must know that Sun Ce's power is much stronger than that of Sun Quan. If the Chu army had not suddenly attacked Wu, Sun Ce would have sent troops to attack Wu Commandery.
Sun Quan escaped because of the Chu army's attack on Wu. Once the Chu army was defeated, the two brothers would definitely meet each other. With Sun Quan's ability and strength, how could he be Sun Ce's opponent?
It’s the end of Sun Quan.
Therefore, Sun Quan will most likely not be willing.
Most people, including Sun Ce, felt that Sun Quan would not be willing, but Sun Bin still said: "There is no need to completely join forces with Sun Quan, as long as Sun Quan does not hold back or cause trouble when our army confronts the Chu army.
As for the invading four Chu armies, our army blocked the three Chu armies of Lujiang, Yuzhang, and Pan Yang, leaving the Kuaiji route to Sun Quan to deal with.
Our army and Sun Quan will fight each other without interfering with each other, so Sun Quan will definitely not refuse.
If Sun Quan refuses even this, it is enough to show that he has no sense of responsibility. Pang Juan, Zheng Zhilong and others who are still waiting and watching will definitely be completely disappointed with him and turn to the side of the lord."
When Sun Ce heard this, he couldn't help but nodded after thinking for a while.
Sun Quan's strength is not as good as his own. If he and himself are allowed to share risks, Sun Quan, who is already weak, will definitely not agree.
But the weakness only allowed Sun Quan to block the four Chu armies, and the 70,000 Chu army with horse reinforcements from the south route. With Sun Quan's shrewdness, he would not refuse, because he could not afford the price of rejection.
Although Sun Ce took over most of the Wu Kingdom, he did not officially claim the title of king. The nominal king of the Wu Kingdom was still Sun Quan.
Now that the Chu State's 350,000-strong army has invaded, intending to destroy the Wu State, if Sun Quan, the king of Wu, does not contribute at all and even causes trouble for Sun Ce, it is enough to show that he has no responsibility at all.
If this is the case, not only Pang Juan, but also Zheng Zhilong and other generals who have not expressed their opinions will be disappointed in him. I am afraid that many people in the four eastern counties who clearly support him will also be disappointed in him.
Therefore, if Sun Quan dared to refuse, he would be destroying his martial arts skills.
It has to be said that Sun Bin's plan was a conspiracy. It hit Sun Quan directly and gave Sun Quan no other choice at all.
As long as Sun Quan still wants to be the king of Wu, he cannot turn a blind eye to the invading Chu army and must contribute as much as possible. And when Sun Ce and Liu Xiu are dueling, at least he cannot openly hinder Sun Ce.
After Sun Ce understood the method, he felt that it was very comfortable for any monarch to have a resourceful counselor to assist him.
A wise counselor can help the monarch make fewer mistakes and take fewer detours, and achieve the greatest promise at the lowest cost.
Sun Ce has a deep understanding of this, and this coup is the best example.
"No wonder Ying Hao is so invincible. With Zhang Liang, Jia Xu, Guo Jia and many other top advisers assisting him, it's hard for Ying Hao to make mistakes even if he wants to."
Sun Ce secretly thought, and at the same time he was a little puzzled. After all, Sun Bin was so resourceful and he was from the Sun family clan. Why didn't his father reuse him?
"With my father's ability to recognize people, I shouldn't miss the pearl of Sun Bin."
Sun Ce couldn't figure out the reason, so he was going to find another opportunity to ask Huang Gai, Cheng Pu and other veterans.
"Mr. Zibu, this time you will be the envoy to go to Wu County to persuade Sun Quan." Sun Ce ordered.
Zhang Zhao didn't even think about it and said decisively: "Zhang Zhao will definitely live up to the expectations of the eldest son."
Sun Ce nodded, and then ordered: "Send an order to order Sun Wu to be the commander-in-chief and lead the three armies of Yuzhang, Pan Yang, and Peng Ze, a force of 150,000, to sit in Yuzhang County to resist the two Chu armies of Liu Xiu and Cao Shen.
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Wu Zixu was appointed as the Grand Governor of Lujiang and led an army of 50,000 to guard Lujiang County to resist Guo Ziyi's northern army."
Sun Ce's total strength was only 220,000, but he sent 200,000 troops to fight against Chu, leaving 20,000 troops for Jianye, which was obviously used to defend against Sun Quan.
Although if Sun Quan wanted to show off his face, it would be impossible for him to send troops to sneak attack Sun Ce's rear when Sun Ce and Liu Xiu went to war, but what if?
Sun Quan was a man who could do something as treacherous as patricide. Ordinary people's thinking and logic would not work on him.
If during the decisive battle between Sun Ce and Liu Xiu, Sun Quan sneaks into Sun Ce's rear and seizes Jianye, causing Sun Ce's food route to be cut off, it will be really tragic, so Sun Ce has to take precautions.
In addition, Sun Ce also ordered an emergency expansion of the army, armed and trained the people, and prepared for the worst.
Sun Quan originally had no intention of intervening, and asked Sun Ce to fight Liu Xiu in a fight that would hurt both sides. However, he did not expect that Liu Xiu would launch four armies to attack Wu at the same time, and Ma Yuan of the Southern Route Army would attack Kuaiji County.
At this time, Sun Ce sent Zhang Zhao to ask for a temporary truce between the two sides, and asked Sun Quan to block Ma Yuan's troops and protect Wu.
Sun Quan simply could not refuse such a request. If he refused, he would definitely be devastated.
"Damn it, this is a conspiracy, a naked conspiracy."
Sun Quan gritted his teeth and said, no matter how unwilling he was, he could only swallow this bitter pill and send troops to block Ma Yuan's army. After all, he was still the King of Wu.
If it were only Sun Quan, Sun Ce might be able to get his wish, but unfortunately there is Sima Yi beside Sun Quan, so it is naturally impossible for Wu to unite so easily.
"My lord, Sun Wu has never lost a battle against Chu. Even if his troops are at a disadvantage now, it may not be enough to enter, but it should be more than enough to defend Yuzhang.
Once Sun Wu delays the Chu army until they run out of food and retreats, Sun Ce will definitely turn his guns and send troops to conquer Wu Commandery eastward. By then I am afraid that we will all be killed by Sun Ce."
Sima Yi's words spoke to Sun Quan's heart. What he wanted was never to defeat Chu, but to make both Liu Xiu and Sun Ce suffer, so that he could benefit from it. But at present, this goal may be difficult to achieve.
Sun Quan had to stop Ma Yuan's southern route army, but without this Chu army, Sun Ce's pressure would be much lighter. With the abilities of Sun Wu, Sun Bin, Sun Ce and others, they might be able to resist the three routes.
The Chu army might as well.
If Sun Ce really defeated the Chu army and the main force was still there, it would be the end of Sun Quan.
Now Sun Quan was really panicking. After all, sending troops to block Ma Yuan and share the pressure for Sun Ce would be a slow suicide, and not sending troops would be a waste of martial arts.
Regardless of whether he sends troops or not, it is a bad thing for Sun Quan. How can he not panic?
At Sima Yi's suggestion, Sun Quan decided to take a dangerous approach, but he had to protect Kuaiji, so he had to find another way.
Sun Quan secretly sent an order to Bo Pu, the governor of Panyang, asking him to voluntarily abandon the south gate and Nancheng of Panyang County, and take the initiative to enter Panyang with Cao Shen's troops, in order to achieve the purpose of driving away tigers and devouring wolves.
In this case, even if Sun Wu can defend Yuzhang, he will definitely suffer heavy losses, and Sun Quan can distance himself from the relationship and hide in Wu County in the rear to reap the benefits.