In the fifth year of Chuping, there were many people who had not spent the New Year at home. The princes were all fighting in various places. They had neither time nor the mood. Wang Yu was in Youzhou, Cao Cao was in Nanyang, and Sun Ce celebrated the New Year in Chaisang.
advent.
For Sun Ce, this year had a very noisy start. Everything originated from Cao Cao's flying pigeons and the military information in northern Xinjiang. Sun Ce did not discuss with Zhou Yu, the military advisor, like Cao Cao did, but took advantage of the opportunity.
When the ministers came to celebrate the New Year, they came to brainstorm ideas.
"Cao Mengde came here with the news from the north. I see that he doesn't have good intentions." Zhou Tai was a water thief, with a straightforward temper and he didn't mince words.
"What else do you have in mind? It's just to let us beat him harder." Chen Wu curled his lips and continued nonchalantly: "Now he is in a very embarrassing situation in Nanyang. If we hadn't beaten Huang Zu to death,
Maybe Liu Biao has already sent troops to the north. But there is nothing we can do to let him get some advantages. In public or private, we have to deal with Liu Biao first."
When talking about the feud between the two families, veteran Han Dang was deeply moved: "But Liu Jingsheng is difficult to deal with. Although he is weak offensively, he is defensive step by step. We have fought so many long-term battles, but it has always been difficult to achieve a breakthrough quickly.
In the city that was finally captured, all the food and grass were burned. This is exactly the strategy of strengthening the wall and clearing the field. It is difficult, difficult!"
When Sun Jian fought against Jingzhou, Liu Biao was defeated in every battle, and in the end he could only retreat. Even though Sun Jian was a sharp soldier, he couldn't do anything about this turtle. Later, Huang Zu's conspiracy was accidental, but even if Sun Jian avoided it,
It is impossible to capture Jingzhou with an ambush and fight to the end. They can only retreat after running out of food.
In the final analysis, Liu Biao, who had the support of Jingzhou's wealthy family, was very good at defending. Although Jiangdong now has strong troops and horses, he still does not have an overwhelming advantage against Jingzhou. It is really difficult to say whether he can take revenge.
"Otherwise, what else can we do?" As the topic changed, more and more people joined the debate. Lu Dai shouted: "Should we ignore our enemies and cross the river to attack Yuan Shu or Guangling? Now Chen Gui and his son are still the same as us.
Allies, if we attack them, nothing will happen. What if we are betrayed by them after crossing the river, then everyone will die with their bodies intact?"
He is from Hailing, Guangling, and was originally a county official in the county. Later, he avoided trouble in Jiangdong because he offended the powerful people in the county. After Sun Ce crossed the river and before joining the army, he was quickly reused. Although it was a blessing in disguise, when he mentioned the old events and
He was still furious with his enemy, and his enemy was none other than Chen Gui.
"Everyone, everyone. We have favorable geographical conditions in the east of the Yangtze River. We can defend it by taking advantage of the dangers. We can calmly explore Jingnan and the east of the Yangtze River to recuperate and recuperate. Let the heroes of the Central Plains fight each other. This is the reason why if they are strong and let others be strong, I will not move.
.Wouldn’t it be safer to wait until the weather changes, and when the enemy is busy and we are at ease, and then take advantage of the situation to take advantage of it? Why rush for the moment?"
Seeing that the topic was getting more and more biased, and even personal grudges were involved. Zhang Zhao couldn't sit still. He is now nearly forty years old, and is considered very old in Sun Ce's shogunate. What he says is naturally smooth and stable.
of firm words.
He didn't say this just to smooth things over, but from the bottom of his heart.
Ever since Sun Ce lost the battle with Wang Yu and Zhou Yu planned to take over Jiangdong, there has been an unsettling atmosphere within the Jiangdong Army. At best, it was determined and enterprising, at worst, it was impetuous.
Sun Ce himself was fine. Although he was silent for several days after that battle, which made everyone worried, he soon returned to normal. What is particularly gratifying is that the setback was like a whetstone, grinding away
The frightening energy of this young hero was replaced by a calm demeanor.
From this perspective, it is a blessing in disguise.
But the generals were far from taking it calmly. After Ling Cao died on the spot, Deng Dang and Sun Gui were both seriously injured. After several months of recuperation, although they saved their lives, they all became disabled. Sun
Gui lost an arm, and Deng Dang could no longer stand up.
Although it was inevitable for generals to die in battle, Sun Ce was not stingy. He extended great support and rewards to the families of Generals Ling and Deng, and even promoted Deng Dang's brother-in-law, Lu Meng, who was only 16 years old and was from Fupi, to replace him.
Deng Dang was in the position, but his colleagues fighting side by side were dead or disabled, and the generals must have felt uncomfortable.
Hatred not only brought high fighting spirit, but also caused everyone's eyes to be firmly fixed on Qingzhou, and instead put the opponent Jingzhou in a secondary position.
This is a very dangerous signal. In fact, there is no advantage in counterattacking Jingzhou from Jiangdong. Water warfare is more dependent on geographical advantages. Jingzhou has the advantage of going down the river from Jiangdong, and this advantage always exists.
.
Even if they gain the upper hand for a while and prevent the Jingzhou army from taking the lead, big trouble will still happen if they let down their guard. Liu Biao is not the kind of opponent who can be easily manipulated. Sun Jian back then has already verified this with his own life.
.
Zhang Zhao was calm by nature and originally did not agree with Sun Ce's strategy of going north to the Central Plains to compete with Wang Yu. Taking this opportunity, he put forward his own point of view, which attracted the civil servants to nod and express their agreement.
"Zibu's words are reasonable. The ancients said when talking about guarding the world: Soldiers are deadly weapons, and saints should not use them rashly. He also said: guarding danger is worse than guarding virtue. We have natural dangers in the east of the Yangtze River. If we continue to practice virtuous government and wait for the territory to be peaceful, If the mountain is not a disaster, then if we raise our troops to the north, how can we not be as strong as a broken bamboo?" The person who quoted the scriptures was none other than Gu Yong, a famous scholar in Wuxian County.
Speaking of which, this man had some connections with Wang Yu. He studied under Cai Yong and his knowledge was excellent. After Cai Yong arrived in Qingzhou, he once asked someone to send him a letter, inviting him to go to Taishan Academy to study with him.
However, Gu Yong learned from his teacher's knowledge, but he did not learn from the latter's indifferent and far-reaching character. He devoted himself to his official career and served under Zhou Xin, Xu Gong and Sun Ce successively. Among all the people, his qualifications were considered very senior.
"Since the war between Jiangdong and Jingzhou, the soldiers have been killed and injured, and the people have been displaced, but the gains are not as good as those of the enemies in E County, Xia Zhi County and other counties. If we cannot gain land and ensure people's livelihood, what is the use of winning every battle? Therefore, according to Yong's opinion
, instead of sending an envoy to Xiangyang, and the two families have stopped fighting and made peace, if my lord is unwilling to do so, he can ask Liu Envoy for money and food. Since he is in a difficult situation and has very little power, there is no reason why he will not refuse."
"Yuan Tan's words are very kind." Zhang Hong flicked his long beard and echoed: "In this way, the concerns of Youping and other generals can be eliminated. Our army will not move lightly. Naturally, there is no risk of being used by others.
Just like when the Western Qin Dynasty was in danger of sitting on Wei and Han. It sat and watched the six kingdoms weaken each other and finally gained the power of the world. If you underestimate your lord, think carefully."
The opinions of the civil servants were basically the same, and they all agreed to stop the war, make peace, and rest and recuperate.
On this point, Jiangdong and Qingzhou are relatively consistent. This is not a coincidence. During the war, civil servants did not have much room to play unless they could quickly occupy large areas of new territory. That is another matter.
The war between Jiangdong and Jingzhou has been going on for only half a year. Although the advantages are obvious, they have never been translated into reality. On the contrary, there are signs of instability within Jiangdong, which has just settled down. The mountains and rivers in various places are about to move. Yuan Shao's remaining troops, the former Danyang prefect Zhou
Xin also became active.
The three Zhou brothers all served for Yuan Shao. Zhou Ang and Zhou Tie both played a certain role in the battle between Cao Cao and Yuan Shu. Gongsun Yue died at the hands of the former. Although the latter was defeated by Sun Jian and Yuan Shu,
However, it bought a certain amount of time for Cao Cao, so that the latter could calmly face the invading Yuan Shu after completely defeating the Black Mountain bandits.
Zhou Xin persisted longer than his two younger brothers. His opponents changed from Sun Jian and Yuan Shu to Sun Ce, and he still fought repeatedly and persevered. Before Sun Ce pacified Jiangdong, he was originally attached to Wang Lang, but the latter climbed up
After Gaozhi, he simply abandoned Kuaiji County, and Zhou Xin had no choice but to flee on his own.
There was no news at first. But after Sun Ce pacified Jiangdong, he immediately launched an army to attack Jiangxia without waiting for a rest. This gave Zhou Xin a chance to breathe. I don't know who helped him, but now he is showing signs of resurgence.
There are many others like Zhou Xin, but he is just the most famous and the one who makes the most noise.
It has been unable to conquer the outside world for a long time, and there are many internal worries. Civil servants generally believe that it is time to revise the internal affairs.
The military generals were of course dissatisfied with such remarks, but compared to their eloquence, they were far inferior and could not argue with each other. And they were not worried, because they had a very domineering lord who allowed these sour men to talk wildly, as long as they
The Lord said: "I have made up my mind, there is no need to discuss it further." All I had to do was shut up.
Therefore, they did not argue, but turned their attention to Sun Ce, expecting their lord to show his domineering power again. On the other hand, the civil servants, headed by Zhang Zhao, also looked at Sun Ce with expectant eyes, hoping that he would make the right decision.
In response to the public's expectations, Sun Ce remained uncharacteristically silent. The generals' hearts suddenly sank, while the civil servants were delighted.
"We'll put this discussion on hold for now, let me think about it, and we'll disperse now." After a while, Sun Ce raised his head and waved his hand in a half-hearted voice, indicating that the military discussion was over and the meeting was dismissed.
Everyone looked at each other in shock, but they did not dare to disobey his wishes. They could only bow to each other and retreat, feeling confused in their hearts as to what the lord was causing trouble this time.
But a few people who were interested noticed it. While Sun Ce motioned for everyone to retreat, he kept his eyes fixed on his side. The person standing in that direction was none other than military advisor Zhou Yu.
…
"People say that Jiangdong is full of talents, but only when you are in the game do you know that Zhang Zibu, Gu Yuantan and others are not worthy of their reputation, or they are talents in a county, but they are far from Wang Zuo. The courage of the generals is commendable, but they lack
If you are distracted from thinking and cannot see the general trend of the world, what is the use of acting recklessly?"
Sun Ce sighed deeply and said: "If Wang Pengju's ministers were like Zhang Zibu, how could there have been the great feat of the Hebei War and Qingqi going down to Xuzhou to fight the Jianghuai River? If we cannot attack Jiangxia today, we will only be able to survive in a corner of peace in the future.
It’s my job, but this Jiangxia... is really difficult to attack, can Gong Jin teach me?"
Zhou Yu cupped his hands as a courtesy and replied calmly: "In public service, as a military advisor, I should take care of the Lord's worries. In private life, if you and I are sworn brothers, how can we separate each other?" After Yu read the letter, he had already had this idea in his mind, but
I don't know what my lord's determination is, so I don't dare to speak out. Now when Bo Fu asks about it, Yu dares to ask: Is my brother really going to compete with Wang Qiaoqi for the Central Plains?"
Zhou Yu changed his title three times in a row, and his tone became sharper each time. Sun Ce was not angry but happy. He held Zhou Yu's elbow and laughed loudly: "Others don't know my heart, how can Gong Jin not know? You have a life span of a hundred years, who can?"
Is there a place to die? Wang Pengju is a hero in the world. It would be great to be able to compete with him for the Central Plains and fight it out. If someone is worried that he has no plan to conquer Jiangxia quickly, why worry about the outcome in the future? If he has to worry about it, he will just deal with it!
"
Zhou Yu also laughed loudly, held Sun Ce's wrist with his backhand, and praised: "You are worthy of being an elder brother. If you show such pride as an elder brother, Yu's hard work will be in vain!" (To be continued...)