Chapter 195 Sun Jian's Ambition, Huang Zu
The tenth day of December.

Cai Mao finally arrived in Xiangyang.

Seeing the naked Jingzhou navy, Cai Mao was in tears.

Cai Mao came to find Cao Cao immediately.

After learning everything from the latter, Cai Mao believed that Cao Cao was a man of professional ethics, and all problems would be solved as long as Yuan Shu was dealt with.

Cao Cao thought otherwise: "Degui, if I were you, I would immediately lead the Jingzhou navy back to Nanyang County."

"Then, inform the whole county of what the general did, and all consequences will be borne by the general."

"This way, your reputation will be preserved, and Nanyang County will be more united. With such a small amount of military equipment, we will have it back in less than a year!"

Cao Cao also had selfish motives.

Who doesn’t hold a grudge?
Cao Cao was also feeling very angry because he was humiliated by Yuan Shu.

Since Nanyang County and Runan County are Yuan Shu's base, it would be more satisfying to ruin his reputation in Nanyang County and destroy his base than to confront him face to face.

Cai Mao felt that what Cao Cao said made sense. Nanyang County could produce high-quality iron materials and had complete workshop facilities. If everyone worked together, they could produce fully armed troops for 10,000 people in less than a year.

but!

Now that we are here, how can we leave without fighting?

Consume as much as you can.

Adhering to the principle of not wasting, Cai Mao advised: "Meng De, I know you have a noble character, you must help me this time."

Cao Cao also knew that he could not escape, so he agreed: "Then I will go to the south to guard against Sun Jian, the governor of Changsha."

Cai Mao smiled mysteriously and said, "No need."

"As long as Meng De can contain the area north of the Yangtze River and south of the Dabie Mountains, I will be satisfied."

This was the second time Cai Mao had mentioned this matter. Cao Cao couldn't help but ask curiously, "I heard that Sun Jian is a fierce tiger from Jiangdong. Who has the ability to stop him?"

Cai Mao said: "This man is called Huang Zu, from Jiangxia, good at archery, originally a bandit from the Jiangxia clan, and has close ties with other bandits in the county."

"Sun Jian does have some real skills, but we have to wait until he crosses Jiuling Mountain before we can tell."

The geography of Jiangxia County is very simple. Yuzhang County goes upstream along the Yangtze River, with Dabie Mountains and Jiuling Mountains to the north and south respectively. Entering the hinterland, it is divided by the Han River and the Yangtze River, with many lakes in between.

Jiangxia County was frequently flooded and had an extremely sparse population of only 40,000 households.

Having a small number of people does have one advantage. Those who survived, both men and women, were all the best. They could climb mountains and dive into water, and their ferocity was no less than that of the elite soldiers in Yangzhou.

Cai Mao had received news from the front line that Sun Jian was blocked in Yunmengze (Dongting Lake) and could not come up.

It is not known whether Huang Zu was so awesome or Sun Jian was just letting him go, but in any case, Sun Jian did not come to Jiangxia County to join Jin Mao as he said in the letter.

After hearing Cai Mao's explanation, Cao Cao finally figured out why Jingzhou, such a wealthy place, had such poor military preparations.

There are many unspeakable secrets hidden in the homes of the nobles.

Cao Cao didn't believe that Huang Zu could tie with Sun Jian without the support of the Jingzhou gentry.

Cao Cao had met and worked with Sun Jian. No one knew how powerful this man was better than Cao Cao.

The Jiangdong Tiger lives up to its name.

Therefore, Cao Cao did not believe the nonsense that Huang Zu, who just appeared out of nowhere, could stop Sun Jian's 6,000-strong army.

As for whether Cai Mao can persuade Yuan Shu, what does that have to do with him?
Cao Cao just wanted to have a fight with Jin Mao and make an assessment.

...

Yunmengze.

It has been nearly half a month since Sun Jian was blocked here since he led his army to set out at the end of November.

Seeing that there was little food and fodder left for a month, Sun Jian had to make a decision.

Just as Cao Cao expected, the Huang Zu and other clan thieves facing Sun Jian were all useless people, there was no way they could stop the fierce tiger of Jiangdong.

However, after Sun Jian's power grew, he became ambitious and did not want to live under Jin Mao's shadow all his life.

The strength of Yangzhou is obvious to the naked eye, and Sun Jian has no confidence in competing with Jinmao for territory.

Now that Jingzhou was about to be annexed, Sun Jian had to go to the north to seek a base for development.

Nanyang County is the best choice, followed by Nan County.

As for Jiangxia County, Sun Jian had no interest in it.

He didn't need to gain a foothold in Yangzhou, so this strategic location was meaningless to him.

The same day Cai Mao persuaded Cao Cao.

Sun Jian's side was also quarreling fiercely.

Since they were all military generals, they could only shout at the top of their lungs but could not come up with any rules.

Cheng Pu was deeply influenced by Jin Mao and was determined to surrender to Yangzhou, that is, to attack Huang Zu with all his strength.

In this way, there is no need to worry about food and weapons, and there will be a powerful ally in the future Northern Expedition. It is simply perfect.

But this faction only includes Cheng Pu, and most of them are neutral, with a few radicals.

Han Dang was the leader of the radical faction, and he was the one who had the most fierce quarrel with Cheng Pu.

"Demou (Cheng Pu's courtesy name), have you been in Yangzhou for so long that you have lost your mind?"

Han Dang shouted, "What's the point of staying in Yangzhou? How can we be as free as we are now?"

"It's easy for Lord Yi to say. If it were so easy to go north, Envoy Jin would have done it long ago. Why would he need me to wait?"

Cheng Pu said without showing any weakness: "Now, Envoy Jin has over a thousand horses under his command! Over ten thousand naval forces! And even more than forty thousand infantry!"

"You are so arrogant that you cannot do whatever you want with your strength like this, aren't you?"

Han Dang immediately began to attack him personally: "Hey, there is an envoy on the left and an envoy on the right. Are you a subject of the lord or a subject of the governor of Yangzhou?!"

Cheng Pu was furious: "Han Dang! How dare you insult me!"

After saying that, Cheng Pu drew his sword and wanted to fight Han Dang to the death.

If Han Dang was scared, he would not be Han Dang. He immediately drew his sword and stabbed back.

"choke!"

Four sword sounds.

"Cang!" "Cang!"

There were two collisions, but it was Sun Jian and his son who blocked two people respectively. Sun Jian looked relaxed and had enough strength to spare, but Sun Ce was struggling and his face turned red.

Sun Jian looked at Sun Ce with satisfaction, performed a sword flower, deflected the other three swords, and sheathed the sword in one go.

The sword and the knife are inseparable. Sun Jian is not only good at using the sword, but also good at using the sword.

Seeing Sun Jian’s statement, everyone stopped and waited for the final decision.

"My Sun family's ancestor is Sun Wu. How can we march and fight without rules?"

After Sun Jian boasted, he said, "There is a strategy in Sun Wu's Art of War called Besieging Wei to Save Zhao."

"Since the three northern counties of Jingzhou have been attracted by the governor of Yangzhou, why don't we go north and attack them by surprise?"

"By then, the Jingzhou army on the front line will be in chaos. I think with the talent of Yangzhou Mu, I will be able to seize the opportunity and defeat the enemy!"

Cheng Pu had been under Jin Mao's command for a long time, and he automatically thought about the food and grass, "My lord, what should we do about the food and grass?"

"It will only last half a month."

Seeing Han Dang glaring at him and about to scold Cheng Pu again, Sun Jian hurriedly stopped him and said, "Demou's words are mature and wise. This is something that must be considered."

Then, Sun Jian talked about another thing: "I heard that the governor of Yangzhou was also very short of food in his early years. How did he survive?"

Sun Ce is most familiar with this matter.

Although he was very reluctant to work for Jin Mao, Sun Ce still admired Jin Mao very much and pursued him as his goal.

The two men have similar family backgrounds, but Jinmao relied on his own efforts to reach the top of the world in just five years.

Sun Ce naturally studied this legendary experience carefully.

"Aunt, I know!"

Sun Jian frowned and shouted, "You need to be called by your position in the army!"

"Yes! County Magistrate!"

Sun Ce said: "The money seized from the Yangzhou governor's early property helped him get through the most difficult times."

"I see!"

Sun Ce was delighted and said, "The prefect wants to..."

"Hmm?" Sun Jian glared at Sun Ce sternly, stopping him from saying anything more. If this kind of talk got out, no one would dare to cooperate with Sun Jian anymore.

"Do you have any other questions?"

Sun Jian said generously: "Just say whatever you want to say. I am more open-minded than the governor of Yangzhou!"

No one had any objections anymore.

The next day.

Sun Jian no longer wanted to fight with Huang Zu in Yunmengze, and wanted to cross the Yangtze River and head north along the Han River.

the other side.

When Huang Zu saw Sun Jian's strategic shift, he thought he was going to escape, so he led 20,000 motley crowd across Yunmengze, intending to hunt him down.

Unexpectedly, after Sun Jian discovered something unusual, he turned his horses around with a thousand cavalrymen, charged back, and split Huang Zu's army into two parts.

When Sun Jian's army saw how brave their commander was, their morale was greatly boosted. They abandoned their food and supplies and turned around to attack.

Huang Zu was also a seasoned man and was not panicked by the sudden situation.

Beat the drum to inform each unit to enter the battle.

However, fighting a war is not just about the number of people.

Most of Sun Jian's troops were formed later, but they were better trained than Huang Zu's troops, and at least they were not in a situation where the front and rear were not in good contact.

Huang Zu encountered this situation. He did not understand the details of the large-scale military march, which led to very chaotic command.

However, Huang Zu also had his own unique features. He had a 3,000-man archery and crossbow brigade under his command.

Seeing that Sun Jian's cavalry was about to divide his men again, Huang Zu had no choice but to give the order: "Prepare for a volley!"

"General, no!" The deputy general grabbed Huang Zu and begged him, "Wait until the enemy rushes out before shooting."

Huang Zu broke free from his deputy general and drew his sword to kill him: "Anyone who disturbs the morale of the army will be killed!"

Huang Zu, with a ferocious look on his face, ordered again: "One volley!"

The deputy generals were all hacked to death, and others dared not to provoke him.

"Buzz"

Three thousand arrows were fired at the same time, and before Sun Jian's troops could react, they were already in front of them.

Countless screams were heard, and both sides suffered casualties. It seemed that Huang Zu's side suffered greater losses, but in fact, Sun Jian suffered the most.

In this round, more than 200 cavalrymen were killed or injured. Sun Jian, who was still pierced by feather arrows, felt that the pain in his body was nothing compared to the pain in his heart.

"Kill with me!"

When he saw Huang Zu's archers, Sun Jian could no longer remain calm and led his men to charge.

"Prepare for the second round of shooting!"

Huang Zu was already prepared: "The archers will throw high, the crossbows will shoot at low angles with the arms, and the crossbows will shoot horizontally with the feet!"

Huang Zu waited until the cavalry came into range before he shouted, "Fire!"

"buzzing"

Three waves of arrows shot at the cavalry from different angles.

This time Sun Jian was prepared: "Raise your shields! Divert the flow!"

"Roar!"

The originally colorful cavalry was instantly wrapped in black, like two black pliers, stabbing at the enemy formation.

After all, the warhorse's speed could not catch up with the rain of arrows.

The sound of "beep beep beep" was heard continuously. Most of the arrows were blocked, but a small number still hit.

Having lost more than two hundred cavalrymen, Sun Jian became furious just by hearing the screams.

Finally seeing the panicked faces of the enemy, Sun Jian threw down his shield, picked up a double-edged sword from the side of his horse, and swung it, leaving behind a trail of afterimages.

Blood flowed like a fountain.

It is like a beautiful rose field in full bloom, so enchanting.

Seeing Sun Jian so brave, Huang Zu turned pale with fear and gave the last order: "Disband on the spot!"

Unfortunately, two legs can never outrun four legs.

More than half of the three thousand archers were slaughtered, and only less than a thousand escaped.

This was due to the heavy losses of Sun Jian's cavalry. Otherwise, none of the 3,000 men would have been able to escape.

A post-war statistic.

Sun Jian was so angry that he almost vomited blood. There were only 400 cavalrymen left, and 200 of them were seriously injured. It seemed that they would not be able to mount horses in the future.

More than one thousand of the five thousand infantrymen were killed or wounded.

Although countless food and supplies were seized and more than 5,000 prisoners were taken, it was still beyond Sun Jian's expectations.

Helplessly, after the reorganization, Sun Jian had to select 2,000 of the most elite surrendered soldiers to supplement the manpower, and the remaining 3,000 were used as coolies to transport food and supplies.

Finally, he glanced at Yunmengze and said fiercely: "Huang Zu, I will remember you!"

...

Yuan Shu just happened to pass by Sun Jian, crossing the Yangtze River and Han River almost at the same time.

He was going to Xiling County, the capital of Jiangxia Prefecture, to stop the invading Jin Mao's troops.

Go back to a few days ago.

Cai Mao came to see Yuan Shu.

This time, Yuan Shu did not dare to be so frivolous with Cao Cao. He washed and tidied his appearance before formally meeting him.

Cai Mao was the representative of the Jingzhou gentry. Yuan Shu must have been crazy to do something that would destroy his own foundation.

Of course, Yuan Shu was a little crazy, but not now.

"Degui, what brings you here today?"

To show affection, Yuan Shu thought it was a good idea to call Cai Mao by his courtesy name.

Cai Mao, however, felt nothing and bowed, saying, "Greetings, General Hou."

"This time, I came here only to ask for military equipment from the Jingzhou Navy."

Cai Mao also knew Yuan Shu, and in order not to offend him, he explained considerately: "The military situation is urgent, and Nanyang County cannot produce so many weapons in a short time."

"Please help me, General."

"I heard that you have a number of weapons that have been cut down. I don't mind it, because the cavalry captain did the same thing."

It would have been fine if Cai Mao didn't mention Cao Cao, but as soon as he mentioned this name, Yuan Shu got angry: "It's Cao A Man again!"

"Why does he like to stand out so much!"

Cai Mao's words may seem humble, but in fact, they were putting Yuan Shu on the spot.

If Yuan Shu really takes some scrap copper and iron, then he can just wait for the Jingzhou gentry to come and deal with them.

But Yuan Shu felt extremely disgusted when he had to vomit out what he had eaten.

If you spit out half, not only will your reputation be ruined, but you will also lose half!
In short, Yuan Shu was very conflicted.

"Degui, you go back first."

Yuan Shu had no choice but to use the word "delay": "I will definitely give you an explanation."

Cai Mao was not willing to give in and asked, "Can you please tell me clearly, General, how many days will it take to give an explanation?"

Yuan Shu became angry again.

Why did no one care what Cao Cao did, and why was it so difficult for him to do something?
Yuan Shu made up his mind: "Tomorrow! I will explain to you tomorrow!"

Cai Mao thanked him and left.

Yuan Shu got so angry that he started throwing things.

After a while, Yuan Shu summoned his advisers.

After hearing what happened, Yan Xiang suggested: "My lord, why don't you return all the military equipment of the Jingzhou navy and make three agreements with the Jingzhou nobles."

"As for these weapons, you lent them to the Jingzhou navy for temporary use. They must be returned after the battle."

Yuan Shu smiled happily: "This is a great idea! Let's do it!"

(End of this chapter)