Chapter 133 Zhou Xin: I Wrongly Accused Jin Mao
Throughout the meeting, Huang Gai talked about many matters and adjusted many details.

Zhou Tai couldn't help but admire him and silently kept all these things in his heart.

After the meeting, Huang Gai found Zhou Tai, handed him a scroll of bamboo slips and said, "This is the experience and lessons I wrote down along the way. If you don't mind, take it and have a look."

Zhou Tai was very moved and said sincerely, "Thank you very much, Gongfu! I will definitely do my best this time!"

"I believe you." Huang Gai joked, "If you have any insights, tell me so that we can make progress together."

"You have a great heart!" Zhou Tai praised, "I am not as good as you!"

Then he said, "Don't worry, I will also write down my experience and give you a copy when the time comes."

"A word is settled!"

Huang Gai leaned closer and said, "In fact, the lord once told me that I should record my thoughts on the march in time and compile them into a book for future generations to learn from."

Zhou Tai's eyes lit up, and he clasped his fists again and said, "Thank you very much, Gongfu! I don't know how to repay you!"

"Hey, we are all brothers, it's too formal to say that."

Zhou Tai nodded heavily.

It was not until Zhou Tai left that Huang Gai sighed: "My lord is really amazing. I still have a long way to go."

Originally Huang Gai was a very serious person, but after being influenced by Jin Mao, he gradually picked up some bad habits.

...

May 8th.

The water army is out again, and this time it is much better than last time.

Firstly, with Zhou Tai as the vanguard, Huang Gai had more energy to direct the troops; secondly, the soldiers no longer had any other thoughts and focused on accomplishing this great feat.

In the vanguard, Yu Fan followed Zhou Tai to Danyang County first. He wanted to persuade Zhou Xin, the governor of Danyang County.

This was not Yu Fan's original intention, but Jin Mao's intention. As a fellow native of Kuaiji, Jin Mao did not want to put the uncertainty in the hands of others.

No matter how attentive Wang Lang was, he was still an outsider and Jin Mao did not trust him.

Yu Fan knew this very well and practiced it several times every day along the way.

"Zhou County Magistrate..."

On this day, the vanguard had just arrived near Jianye County, Danyang County.

Suddenly, a large number of soldiers appeared on the shore.

On the south bank, the Danyang government troops were fewer in number, well-equipped, and somewhat neat.

On the north bank were Pan Lin's rebellious troops, a chaotic group, with some of them shooting arrows and throwing stones at random, without any killing power.

Zhou Tai walked out of the cabin, holding a loudspeaker and shouting towards the north bank: "I am the vanguard general under the command of the governor of Yuzhang County. I have come to help Danyang County suppress the bandits. Please let me know."

The soldiers on the north bank separated a path, and a general rode out on horseback, shouting, "Please go back, Danyang County does not need help from outsiders!"

Zhou Tai frowned and stopped the fleet from moving forward. Without the cooperation of Danyang County, they would be attacked from both sides.

At this time, Yu Fan suggested: "First Mate Zhou, please let me go alone and let me persuade the governor of Danyang."

Zhou Tai had no other choice.

Seeing that only one boat was coming, the people on the north shore just stood on guard but did not take any action.

When Yu Fan came ashore alone and explained his purpose, the leading general agreed to take him to see Zhou Xin.

Jianye County.

Zhou Xin has been very irritable recently.

This group of Danyang County gentry fled north without even saying a word when Zu Lang was in rebellion. Now that the situation has stabilized, they are clamoring for Zhou Xin to send troops to escort them back to their hometown.

The most disgusting thing is that these gentry have close ties with the elite soldiers recruited from Jianye and Danyang counties.

If one of them is not handled properly, it will be a total loss.

"The mouse is short-sighted!"

Whenever Zhou Xin recalled these unbearable things, he couldn't help but get angry.

"The prefect of Yuzhang County has sent someone to discuss something with you."

Zhou Xin frowned even more when he heard the report from his subordinates. "Jin Mao?"

"What is he here for?"

In the end, Zhou Xin met with Yu Fan.

"It's Yuyao Yu Zhongxiang." Zhou Xin took two steps forward, supported Yu Fan who was bowing, and said, "It's been a long time since we last met. What brings you here?"

Both of them were from Kuaiji County and were of similar age. They had met a few times when they were young. After they grew up, Zhou Xin went to Luoyang to become an apprentice, and they had no contact since then.

However, this did not stop Zhou Xin from expressing his joy, partly because he met an old friend and partly because of Yu Fan's fame.

"Wu Juncheng Yu Fan pays a visit to Danyang Junzhou."

Yu Fan did not appreciate it. After breaking free, he bowed again.

Zhou Xin was a little unhappy and sat back down in the main seat.

Yu Fan said to himself, "I came here only to ask you for a document on behalf of my master."

"I hope you can agree that my lord can temporarily take over the post of governor of Yangzhou so that the rebellion can be quelled as soon as possible."

Zhou Xin became even more angry and slammed the table and stood up: "What a robbery!"

"Jinmao's plan is really good!"

"Don't even think about it!"

Yu Fan seemed to have anticipated this, and continued to bow and said, "Danyang County Governor, please calm down. My lord has his own reasons."

Zhou Xin waved his hand and said, "No matter how big his problem is, it's not an excuse to watch him die without helping him!"

"Danyang County has lost four out of ten people after this disaster. That's fine, but Jiujiang County is almost a wasteland!"

“Jinmao clearly has the power to stop it, so why doesn’t it do it?”

Yu Fan avoided the question and said, "I heard that Governor Zhou has the ability to help the gentry stranded in Jianye return to their homeland. Why don't you do that?"

"Now that Zu Lang has crossed to the west, who else can threaten Danyang County?"

"Don't you want to put down the rebellion as soon as possible?"

"Humph!" Zhou Xin said angrily, "You are just showing off your power of words!"

Yu Fan said calmly, "You are almost the same."

Zhou Xin waved his hand and said, "I already understand your intention, please go back."

Yu Fan's expression changed at this point: "I heard that Governor Zhou loves his people like his own children. Have you heard of my leading the army?"

Zhou Xin's face changed drastically, but he said nothing.

Yu Fan continued to put pressure on him: "My lord has been waiting for a legitimate opportunity to go on the expedition. Now that you don't want to give it to me, please give up the position of governor and invite someone capable to take over!"

Zhou Xin fired back: "Are you talking about yourself?"

Yu Fan refused to give in and said, "So what!"

"It's better than you complaining here!"

Zhou Xin sat back and said dejectedly: "If it weren't for the common people, I wouldn't compromise."

Yu Fan said: "If it is really for the common people, you should have agreed long ago. Why are you pretending to be so hypocritical?"

"The people in your eyes are just the gentry outside, but have you ever thought about who the real people are?"

Yu Fan pressed on: "The real people are living in dire straits, being held hostage by Zu Lang and unable to be free!"

"If it were for them, you should have asked my Lord to come to Danyang County to take charge, instead of watching Jiujiang County fall and blaming my Lord for the deaths of Chen Wen and Fu Qian."

Yu Fan launched a critical attack: "They all died because of you!"

Zhou Xin said in disbelief: "Impossible!"

Yu Fan said no more, handed over a scroll of bamboo slips, and said, "I have already written the petition. If you really want to repent, please stamp it with the seal of the Danyang County Magistrate and sign your name!"

When Zhou Xin saw that Jin Mao just wanted the position of acting governor so that he could legitimately fight against the rebels, he signed while crying.

"It turns out that I really did wrongly blame Governor Jin!"

(End of this chapter)