Chapter 127 Sun Jian and Sun Ce's Chrysanthemums Are No Longer Preserved
Luoyang, Xiyuan.

Ever since Dong Cheng came to cause trouble last time, Xun You has personally led the troops here, and also let Gao Shun be stationed at Xiyang Gate to take over the imperial guards to be on the safe side.

"Minister, Liang County sent an urgent report, a red secret letter!"

Red represents the highest alert level and the most urgent military situation.

After a while, Xun You finished reading the contents of the secret letter at a glance. His face suddenly changed and he ordered to gather all the Northern Army generals stationed in the capital.

After everyone gathered, Xun You immediately took out the military token that Wang Jing had given him before leaving and announced to everyone the news of sending troops south.

"Everyone, there is an urgent military situation right now. Sun Jian and Yuan Shu have a total of 50,000 troops. They have joined forces and intend to attack the capital. I have received news that the enemy's vanguard has approached Liang County. If we don't stop them, Luoyang will be in danger."

Wang Jing and Xun You originally planned to go fishing in Luoyang City, but they never expected that the coalition forces of the princes could not hold back any longer. Apparently, someone in the capital secretly contacted Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu to inform them of the news.

However, before leaving, Wang Jing had made a contingency plan, so when Yuan Shu launched an attack, Xun You was not panicked, but began to deploy his troops calmly.

"Xu Rong!"

"The general is here!"

"You lead two thousand Huangzhong volunteers and rush to Liang County with light cavalry and fast horses. Please make sure to defend the county. If the enemy dares to force a crossing of the Yi River, you can attack them halfway across."

"The last general takes command!"

Xu Rong was also a courageous man. He was worried that he had just joined Wang Jing's army, but he had not made any achievements and was not being valued. Now, someone came from afar to offer him military merits and heads. How could he not be ecstatic?

After receiving Xun You's order, he did not hesitate and immediately selected two thousand light cavalry from his Huangzhong Yicong, galloped at full speed at night, and rushed south to the front line.

Ten miles east of Liang County, there was also a middle-aged general with high morale. He arrived at night with a light force and set up camp at Baoyu Mountain. Then he rushed to Liang County for investigation with only a dozen of his followers.

He is really brave!
This person was none other than Sun Jian, the founder of the Eastern Wu regime in the history of the Three Kingdoms, the Tiger of Jiangdong who single-handedly defeated Dong Zhuo and forced him to move west to Chang'an.

"Father, is this Liang County?"

Beside Sun Jian, there was a young general standing with vigor. He was about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a childish look on his face, but he had a heroic and brave air. His eyebrows were as straight as swords, slanting into his temples, and his eyes were as sharp as knives, revealing his edge.

This person was Sun Jian’s eldest son, the Little Overlord Sun Ce, also known as Sun Bofu.

"I will definitely come out on top in this battle!"

Sun Jian looked towards the top of Liang County City, his eyes were as sharp as torches, and his eyes were burning with a fiery desire to fight.

When Dong Zhuo was wreaking havoc in the capital, Sun Jian responded to Yuan Shao's call and wanted to make achievements on the battlefield, ennoble his son and wife, and glorify the Sun family.

Although Sun Jian was a descendant of the military saint Sun Wu, it was a pity that by the time of his grandfather's generation, the family had already completely become commoners, and their family relied on growing melons for a living. As a result, although Sun Jian had talent, he was only a county official, and was not considered to be in the mainstream in the officialdom of the imperial dynasty.

In order to restore the glory of his family, he had to compromise and use the financial and material resources of Yuan Shu to form an army. Liang County would be his first step on the road to success, so he could not afford to lose.

"This place is only sixty miles away from Luoyang. As long as we capture Liang County and cross the Yi River, we can reach the capital within a day. By then, we can eliminate the emperor and punish the ministers. My lord will surely become famous and feared by the world."

In his early years, Cheng Pu served as an official in the prefectures and counties. He was handsome, had strategies and was good at answering questions. What he said was very much to Sun Jian's liking and made him laugh.

"Okay, you should encourage each other with me. If you win this battle, I will definitely reward you according to your merits. You can expect to be promoted to a marquis or a general!"

"Wan Sheng!"

All the generals surrounding Sun Jian were delighted when they heard this promise. Then everyone became highly motivated and wanted to rush into Luoyang right away to kill the traitors and achieve unprecedented achievements.

"Once the army arrives tomorrow, we will attack the city immediately!"

Sun Jian was full of expectations, but what he waited for was not reinforcements, but Xu Rong, a master of military strategy of the Xiliang Army!
In the early morning, Xu Rong's troops arrived at Longmen Mountain in the north of Liang County. The Huangzhong Yicong under his command was very famous and was known as "the best in the world". It was one of the most famous foreign mercenaries in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

The tribe got its name because it lived in the Huangshui River Basin. Its main members were the Lesser Yuezhi and a part of the Lushui Hu people. It was first established in the second year of Zhanghe, more than a hundred years ago, by Deng Xun, who was then the Protector of the Qiang. He adopted young and brave men from the Huangzhong Yuezhi and Lushui Hu people as his volunteers, and called them the Huangzhong Yicong Hu.

The Huangzhong Yicong were well versed in archery and horsemanship, had flexible tactics, and strong will, making them one of the strongest armies in the world.

Xu Rong himself was also an experienced military commander, especially good at commanding cavalry in battle, and was the second best military strategist in the Western Liang army after Li Jue. After arriving at the outskirts of Liang County, Xu Rong did not rush to lead his troops into the county, but instead chose to set up camp on a plain ten miles outside the city.

At this moment, the news also reached Sun Jian's troops at Baoyu Mountain, east of Liang County, where the main camp of Sun Jian's troops was located.

The scouts sent by Sun Jian soon reported important military information: "My Lord, enemy forces have been spotted in the north of the county, and the commander is Xu Rong!"

"How could the support from Luoyang come so quickly!"

In the camp, all the generals cried out in surprise: "And why is Xu Rong the leader? Hasn't he always been a subordinate of Dong Zhuo?"

Due to poor information flow, Sun Jian and others were still unaware that Xu Rong and the remnants of the Xiliang Army had surrendered to Wang Jing. Therefore, when they suddenly encountered Xu Rong and the Huangzhong Yicong, everyone was confused.

"Hahaha, so what if it's Xu Rong? I just happen to have a score to settle with him!"

Sun Jian shouted angrily, awakening everyone from the shadow of the Xiliang army being the best in the world. The low morale instantly soared: "That's right, Xu Rong is just a common man, there is nothing to be afraid of!"

All we can say is that the Tiger of Jiangdong is indeed a brave and powerful general. He has this kind of personal charm that can turn decay into magic, and he can boost morale with just a few words.

Cheng Pu asked the scout for more details, and then compared the map, but frowned directly: "Xu Rong is indeed a famous general. He is really difficult to deal with. At this time, he is stationed outside and does not attack. He and the Liang County garrison are in a mutually supportive position, threatening our rear at all times, making it impossible for us to attack the city with all our strength. We must leave half of our troops to guard against his surprise attack."

The fighting power of the Huangzhong Yicong was gained through fighting in mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Although the statement that they are "the best in the world" may be an exaggeration, they are indeed rare brave soldiers in the world, and their fighting power cannot be underestimated.

Han Dang, the commander of the other army, also echoed, "Now that the Liang County defenders know that reinforcements have arrived, they will fight to the death. It will be three times more difficult for our army to break through the city. This is really despicable!"

Sun Jian, who originally wanted to easily capture Liang County, had to wait for the arrival of the main force, and then arrange his formation and prepare to storm the city.

It is located in the low mountain and hilly area in western Henan Province, surrounded by mountains. The Yi River runs from southwest to northeast, dividing the Yichuan Basin into two.

This place is easy to defend but difficult to attack. We cannot launch a surprise attack, so we can only take it down by force.

Fortunately, Yuan Shu was still respectful to Sun Jian at this time and did not jump out to hinder him. Instead, he provided Sun Jian with great help in terms of military equipment, food and even manpower.

In terms of status, Sun Jian was currently a general under Yuan Shu and had to rely on the Yuan family of Runan, to which Yuan Shu belonged.

Of course, Yuan Shu also had to rely on Sun Jian's powerful military force, so the two sides cooperated very tacitly. Before the arrival of reinforcements from Luoyang, Yuan Shu successfully met with Sun Jian at the foot of Baoyu Mountain.

Yuan Shu had a large army, sufficient food supplies, and a prominent family background.

Sun Jian's soldiers were devoted and brave.

If the two can work together, they would truly be a match made in heaven. After all, each has something that the other does not have but is in desperate need of, forming a strong complement.

After gathering the troops together, Sun Jian was worried that something might happen if he delayed too long. After all, he didn't know how many enemy reinforcements would come from the capital. It would be a hassle to wait, so Sun Jian decided to launch a fierce attack on Liang County immediately.

Sun Jian was indeed worthy of being the peerless general in history who defeated Dong Zhuo and Lu Bu successively. After arranging his troops, he did not sit in the back and let his men fight desperately, but led the way and personally participated in the siege battle under the rain of arrows from the top of the city wall, which greatly boosted his own morale.

Even the middle and low-level generals under Yuan Shu who came from aristocratic families were inspired by the personal charm of Sun Jian, the fierce tiger of Jiangdong, and rushed towards the city wall with roars.

In just half a day, Liang County was in danger and the east gate of the county was almost lost.

"Haha, father is indeed brave. Perhaps tonight, we can rest in peace in the city."

"That's right, let's take Liang County in one fell swoop!"

Behind the battlefield, Sun Ce looked up at his father's tall and majestic back, and couldn't help but feel excited, looking forward to becoming a brave and domineering man like his father one day. In the military tent, the generals under Sun Jian's command were also smiling: "Our army's morale is high, Liang County looks like it will be captured any day, and I hope the imperial court's reinforcements can arrive more slowly."

"There will be no more reinforcements."

At this moment, Yuan Shu suddenly broke into the big tent with his men. His handsome face exuded a cold and gloomy look that kept strangers away, like an elegant but deadly venomous tongue.

Yuan Shu's eyes flashed with two cold lights. With an arrogant look, he glanced around with contempt, then walked to the main seat and sat down.

That was supposed to be Sun Jian's position.

Sun Ce was young and hot-tempered. He was about to yell at him, but Cheng Pu and Huang Gai stopped him and whispered to him, "Young Master, don't be impulsive!"

Yuan Shu was an arrogant and overbearing person, and was very unpopular.

But he has money!
No one in this world hates money!
What's more, Yuan Shu was very generous and gave too much, which helped even a proud man like Sun Jian to be humble and obey Yuan Shu, a son of a noble family.

Not to mention that at that time the Yuan family of Runan was the number one family in the Yanhan Dynasty, with students and former officials spread all over the country, and political followers throughout the court and the country, making it a top-notch force in the world.

If Sun Jian offended Yuan Shu, he would probably immediately face the dilemma of being cut off from weapons and food. Even a peerless master needs to eat, and eat much more than ordinary people.

Yuan Shu sat proudly in the tent. Sun Jian's subordinates thought that they were cooperating with Yuan Shu, but in Yuan Shu's view, the status of both parties was not equal at all. The so-called cooperation was simply a venture investment or employment by the Yuan family in Sun Jian.

Yuan Shu controlled Sun Jian's troops just like an emperor controlling his military generals on expeditions. He used logistical supplies such as food and fodder to control Sun Jian's troops and made them learn to obey his orders.

However, during the morning's siege battle, Sun Jian's limelight made Yuan Shu very unhappy. He also felt an inexplicable threat and was afraid that he would not be able to continue to control this fierce tiger from Jiangdong.

That's why he came here at this time, wanting to suppress this group of unruly so-called fierce generals and make them understand who is the real boss in the entire army.

At the same time, because of Yuan Wei's relationship, Yuan Shu had a lot of intelligence in Luoyang City. He looked down on Sun Jian and others who lacked counselors and strategies. He laughed contemptuously and said, "Wang Yuanxu was seriously injured in the battle to capture the Xiliang Army and can no longer move. Although Xun Gongda holds the military order and commands more than 10,000 soldiers and horses of the Northern Army, he dare not leave the capital easily at this moment. Therefore, it is impossible for Liang County to get reinforcements."

"But Xu Rong's troops are currently stationed in the Longmen Mountain area north of Liang County. They are also the world-famous Huangzhong Yicong."

Sun Ce was a young and inexperienced man who was not afraid of a tiger. He did not give Yuan Shu any face and refuted him on the spot.

As a result, his words were met with an even more disdainful sneer from Yuan Shao: "Foolish! Xu Rong only brought two thousand men with him to confuse us. I'm sure he won't dare to attack us, otherwise..."

"Report! A large cavalry unit appeared behind our army!"

Yuan Shu didn't even have the chance to finish bragging before he was slapped in the face.

Xu Rong really dared to tease the Sun-Yuan coalition forces, and he started with a Thousand Years of Killing. Regardless of whether the damage was great or not, the key point was that this move was extremely insulting!
Sun Ce could not help laughing out loud on the spot, and the generals standing beside him were mostly veterans who had followed Sun Jian in starting the army. At this moment, they were all holding back their smiles, as if they wanted to laugh but did not dare to.

Yuan Shu almost lost his temper on the spot, his face turned as red as a monkey's butt.

Deceiving too much!

Old man Xu Rong, you are going too far!
"Xu Rong, how dare you bully me like this! What are you still standing there for? Why don't you gather your troops and fight immediately? I want Xu Rong to be torn into pieces, otherwise I will never be able to relieve my hatred!"

Yuan Shu was so angry that he didn't even care about the manners and demeanor that a noble family should have. He was furious, his eyes were red, like a hairless baboon whose buttocks had been ripped off.

His domineering attitude of giving orders made the proud and strong-willed Sun Ce very unhappy.

How can I, the little tyrant Sun Bofu, be a slave of yours, Yuan Gonglu? How can I allow you to order me around like this?

But the hand that takes the favor is short, and the mouth that eats the favor is soft. Although my father is brave in battle and has a group of loyal generals to assist him, he has no territory, no money, and no food, so he can only seek shelter from the Yuan family.

Since the Sun family is already living under someone else's roof, how can they be so tough?
So Sun Ce could only walk out of the tent silently, gather his men, and lead his troops to fight Xu Rong.

Behind the Sun-Yuan coalition, Xu Rong was leading 500 cavalrymen to kill people everywhere: "Haha, what a pleasure!"

Having fought on the battlefield for most of his life, Xu Rong had long been accustomed to conquest and killing, and also liked the excitement of dancing with death. He held the reins, wielded the sword, and deployed his military tactics to move freely on the battlefield.

"Come and kill with me!"

Tianzheng Wudian is both a martial art and a military strategy. It can be combined with battle formations to stimulate the evil spirit of soldiers, strengthen the entire army, and enhance combat effectiveness.

The Huangzhong Yicong was already one of the strongest armies in the world. At this moment, under the leadership of Xu Rong, they were fully prepared and were killing people in all directions, like a tiger among a flock of sheep. In just a short while, they defeated several thousand enemy soldiers, killing the Sun-Yuan coalition forces and making them flee in disarray, greatly disrupting Sun Jian's offensive.

Just when they were about to capture Liang County, Sun Jian failed because his own army's chrysanthemums exploded. He was furious and immediately turned his gun around and killed Xu Rong.

But how could it be so easy for a large army to change its formation?

Sun Jian needed time to change his formation, but Xu Rong was a first-rate general of the time and had been in battle for a long time. As one of the four schools of military strategists, the school was the best at judging changes in the battlefield situation. Xu Rong was proficient in the "Wei Liaozi" art of war, so how could he give Sun Jian this time?

When Sun Ce and Sun Jian led their troops to rescue their own troops, they didn't even see Xu Rong's back, but only saw the mess on the ground.

As early as a quarter of an hour ago, Xu Rong and his Huangzhongyi men had already escaped without a trace.

"My lord, shall we pursue?"

"How can we catch them? They all have four legs. Can we catch them with two legs?"

Before Sun Jian even uttered a word, his generals began to fight among themselves.

There's no way around it. Anyone would be angry about this. This fight is really infuriating.

Sun Jian had to step in and suppress the accusations: "Okay, everyone, stop talking and don't let outsiders laugh at us. There is no need to rush into the siege. If we can't take it today, we can fight again tomorrow. With our army's combat power, it is only a matter of time before we take Liang County."

Once he opened his mouth, naturally no one dared to complain anymore.

The morale, which had originally fallen, also recovered slightly.

But after continuing the siege the next day, Sun Jian realized that he was still too young.

Ginger is still spicy.

Xu Rong, that old bastard, is coming to kill us again!
They either bring cavalry to cut off your food supply or they attack the coalition forces from behind. This style of fighting, which does not fight you head-on but instead attacks you from the underside, is simply unethical and has no morals.

Sun Jian also has a bad temper. You can play with me, but at least pay attention to the degree and frequency.

Let's have a war and you come and fuck my ass every day. We're all men, who can stand this?

"Xu Rong, you are going too far!"

"My Lord, I don't think we should attack this city anymore. I will be unhappy if I don't kill this old man first!"

Old generals under Sun Jian, such as Cheng Pu and Han Dang, were all furious. They all said that one should not touch a tiger's butt, but Xu Rong not only touched it, but also stabbed it directly, and more than once.

Even a clay man could be made angry by him, not to mention Sun Jian's subordinates, who were all hot-tempered tough guys.

After leaving the main force to monitor the defenders of Liang County, Sun Jian immediately led his core combat force and rushed angrily to Xu Rong's camp.

"General, the enemy is coming."

The scouts sent by Xu Rong to investigate the enemy soon returned to report the news.

(End of this chapter)