Chapter 210: Friends in the past, but their identities are in doubt today

Run December 28th.

Jiangling County.

As the Spring Festival is approaching, Jinmao doesn’t even have time to go home to see his wife, as he is busy every day.

News came from Nanyang County that Liu Biao had arrived to take office. In just ten days, he had united many of the Jingzhou nobles and initially gained a foothold.

Yuan Shu received support from Runan County and his troops were quickly assembled. It was said that the situation had recovered.

Dong Zhuo's reward to Sun Jian also came down. Jin Mao was so angry that his teeth were itching. This bad seed should be eliminated!
Yuan Shu, the enemy, was given the position of Rear General. Not only did his ally receive no benefits, but he was also targeted at every turn.

Dong Zhuo deserves to die!

Look at Sun Jian’s imperial decree: Governor of Yuzhou, no problem with that; Marquis of Wucheng, that’s a big problem!
This move is not only intended to destroy the relationship between Jinmao and Sun Jian, but also to undermine Jinmao's foundation.

Moreover, the troops sent to various places did not bring back good news. Except for Jiangxia County and Changsha County, Lingling County, Guiyang County and Wuling County all encountered stubborn resistance.

Wuling County had the smallest population, just over 40,000 households, but it resisted most fiercely.

Jin Mao was in charge here personally, but he was unable to take it quickly. After careful investigation, he learned that the barbarians in Wuling County had the support of Liu Yan, the governor of Yizhou, which was why they were able to compete with each other.

Lingling County had the largest population, and Huang Gai, a native of Lingling, was not very effective. The fellow villagers, especially Zhang Xian, the prefect of Lingling County, did not give him face.

This was a good official who was deeply loved by the people of Guiyang and Lingling. Earlier, when Zhou Chao and Guo Shi launched a rebellion, Zhang Xian sat firmly in the county seat and turned a blind eye to the outside world.

Li Wen, the prefect of Guiyang, followed suit and immediately started shaking.

This gave Ling Cao, who was leading the suppression, a headache. He wrote to Jin Mao every three days, asking him to kill this guy.

If Xun You and Zhou Yu hadn't stopped him, Jin Mao would have allowed Ling Cao to kill him.

Xun You was afraid that Ling Cao would disturb the people, and Zhou Yu was afraid that Jin Mao would order Ling Cao to massacre the people. It was because Jin Mao's temper had become worse recently, and he wanted to exterminate all three clans if he was unhappy with the nobles.

As a result, most of the nobles in Jiangling County fled, and the remaining small group who were unable to move were trembling in fear, fearing that the butcher's knife would fall on their heads at any time.

The people of Jiangling County treated every day like New Year's Day. With tens of thousands of troops here, there was endless work to do and endless meals to eat. In addition, Jinmao was friendly to the people and quickly gained their support.

Unfortunately, this is Nanjun, where the gentry holds absolute power. It will take at least four or five years for the people to turn things around.

Jingzhou is more difficult to digest than expected, and there are constant disputes outside.

News came from Zhou Tai of Guangling County.

With the joint efforts of Tao Qian, Zhang Miao, Liu Dai and Kong Ji, the Yellow Turbans in Xuzhou rushed to Qingzhou.

Xuzhou is liberated!

Tao Qian, Zhang Miao and Liu Dai, who had freed up their hands, wanted to send troops to attack Guangling County.

Fortunately, Kong Rong was anxious to return to Yuzhou to protect his territory from Sun Jian, and he invited the three men to send troops to assist.

This slowed down the offensive.

But it was not a long-term problem. When the news came, Jin Mao was furious, but he really could not spare any manpower to eliminate Tao Qian and others.

Jingzhou seemed to have become a quagmire.

Neither advancing nor retreating.

However, the bad news does not end there.

Lunar New Year's eve.

An unexpected guest came to Xiling County.

Sun Ce!

It also brings a news that is neither good nor bad, but overall, it is still bad news.

Backyard of Xiling County.

Jin Mao, accompanied by Dong Xi and Dian Wei, met with Sun Ce alone.

Xun You and Zhou Yu have become increasingly disobedient recently, which makes Jin Mao very annoyed and he can't do anything.

Jin Mao did not tell the two of them about Sun Ce's coming, nor did he plan to ask for their opinions.

He has already sent people to Changsha County to call back Xi Zhicai, as it is more convenient to use family members.

"Meet the governor of Yangzhou."

As soon as they met, Sun Ce saluted to Jin Mao very politely. The latter smiled and said, "Bofu, it's strange. What should you call me?"

The corners of Sun Ce's mouth twitched, he lowered his head to hide his expression, and said in a muffled voice: "Uncle."

"Hey~" Jin Mao was very happy: "Hurry up and find a seat for my good nephew!"

Just as Dian Wei was about to take action, Dong Xi quickly brought a throne to Sun Ce.

Sun Ce was very uncomfortable sitting on it, he still preferred to sit on his knees.

"My dear nephew, you won't leave this time, right?"

Jin Mao said expectantly: "I need you to help me. Look at my 50,000 troops. Wherever you want to go, I will arrange it for you!"

Sun Ce quickly stood up and bowed to express his gratitude: "Thank you for your kindness, uncle. I still need some experience."

"Oh."

Jin Mao's face was full of disappointment: "Then something's wrong."

"Tell me, what's the matter?"

Sun Ce clasped his fists and said carefully, "My father sent me here to ask for your opinion on whether or not to go to Yuzhou."

As if he was afraid that Jin Mao would misunderstand him, Sun Ce quickly said, "Uncle, rest assured, father will never accept the reward from Marquis Wucheng."

Then, he said very bluntly: "We are always one family, we won't do two different things!"

It’s strange that Sun Ce could say things that he could say fluently to other people, but he found it difficult to say them in front of Jin Mao.

After hearing what Sun Ce said, Jin Mao didn't care about anything else and stood up happily and said, "Well said!"

"Why should we have different opinions when we are one family?"

Then he began to pace again, thinking carefully about how to answer this question.

Dong Zhuo's intention was very simple, which was to separate Sun Jian from Jin Mao. Even with Jin Mao's current knowledge, he could tell the difference.

Sun Jian is a sharp knife in his hand. Although he is not very obedient, he is sharp enough and invincible.

If they fell into Dong Zhuo's trap of luring the tiger away from the mountain, then Jingzhou would have to fight on its own.

If it were in the past, Jinmao would not be worried.

Now with internal and external troubles, Jinmao really doesn't want to disconnect with Sun Jian.

Without Sun Jian in Nanyang County, if the new Liu Biao joined forces with Yuan Shu and Liu Yan, there would be big trouble.

It is very likely that this trip to Jingzhou will be in vain.

So Jin Mao asked, "Brother, if you stay in Nanyang County, what do you need me to do?"

If he had no request, there would be no need for Sun Jian to send Sun Ce to see him. He could just start working and be done with it!
Sure enough, Sun Ce clasped his fists respectfully and said, "My father told me that our army is now isolated in Wancheng, and we only have enough food and supplies for two months, so we cannot pay taxes locally."

"Therefore, I need your support, uncle."

It turned out that when Liu Biao came to Jingzhou, he quickly recruited the two brothers Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue, and made a marriage contract with Cai Mao's second sister to gain Cai Mao's support. He soon gathered a force in Nanyang County.

Originally, after Sun Jian defeated Yuan Shu, he could do whatever he wanted in Nanyang County.

Compared with Yuzhou, which is surrounded by enemies, Nanyang County is many times better. If Sun Jian could gain a foothold here, he would not go even if he was offered the title of Governor of Yuzhou.

However, everything turned around after Liu Biao arrived. The gentry in Jingzhou seemed to have found a backbone and united to resist Sun Jian.

Liu Biao was also very cunning. Instead of staying in Nanyang County, he went to Xiangyang County in Nanjun to establish a base.

Even if Sun Jian wanted to attack Liu Biao, he would have to travel a long distance and encounter difficulties from various nobles on the way, which would not be worth it.

In addition, Yuan Shu in the east had the support of Runan County and was starting to become nervous again. If Sun Jian dared to leave Wancheng, he would have no chance of coming back.

In the end, Sun Jian had no choice but to consider the clear path pointed out by Dong Zhuo. He was also worried that Jin Mao would think too much, so he sent Sun Ce to explain and ask for his opinion. After listening to Sun Ce's explanation, Jin Mao was moved: "Bo Fu said that Liu Biao is in Xiangyang?"

Sun Ce nodded.

"How many troops are there in Xiangyang?"

Jin Mao's face showed a fierce look as he asked, "If I lend you 5,000 elite soldiers and horses, will Bofu dare to take Liu Biao's head for me?"

Sun Jian's act of killing Zhang Zi, the former governor of Nanyang County, eventually gave Jin Mao a huge hint.

Since we can’t solve the problem, we might as well solve the person with the problem!
Anyway, none of these nobles are good people.

Hearing Jin Mao's question, Sun Ce was extremely unwilling, so he pretended not to know: "Uncle, please forgive me, I don't know how many troops there are in Xiangyang."

Jin Mao's face was full of disappointment, and then he thought that there was no decent military force in Jingzhou, and the strongest ones were him and Sun Jian.

Then he asked, "If I send a brave general to lead 10,000 elite soldiers, would you dare to attack from Wancheng and help me destroy Liu Biao?"

Sun Ce did not receive any hint from Sun Jian in this regard, but he knew that his father would definitely be willing to do it.

But Sun Ce didn't want to!

These days, as he came into contact with more and more noble families, Sun Ce understood one thing deeply: without the help of the noble families, it would be impossible for the Sun family to become stronger.

What good is Sun Jian if he can’t govern the place no matter how good he is at fighting?

Changsha County is a typical example. Under Sun Jian’s governance, the local county residents did not live better, but worse.

So, Sun Ce pretended to have received instructions from Sun Jian and said, "Father is unwilling to send troops."

He further explained: "There are less than 5,000 soldiers left in our army. If we attack rashly, we will be attacked by Liu Biao and Yuan Shu. Then everything will be over!"

Jin Mao had no advisers by his side, and couldn't tell the truth from falsehood. If you put yourself in his shoes, you wouldn't be so reckless. I think an old veteran like Sun Jian would definitely not be willing to take such a risk.

War is no joke!

But in order to support Sun Jian, Liu Biao had to be killed first, and Xiangyang happened to be located on a major transportation route.

Isn't this contradictory?

"Ah~"

Jin Mao said helplessly: "I would like to join forces with my brother, but if we don't get rid of Liu Biao, there will be no way forward."

"How about this, I'll write a letter and Bofu will take it back to give to my senior brother. I'm willing to share Jingzhou with him!"

The toughest bone was thrown to Sun Jian, the plan was perfect.

Sun Ce had no better idea, so he agreed.

"Today is New Year's Eve, and I don't care about this night."

Jin Mao said with a refreshed look, "Bofu, stay here for now. It won't be too late to come back next year."

Sun Ce thanked him and said goodbye.

As soon as Sun Ce walked out of the Xiling County Government Office, he ran into Zhou Yu and Xun You who were rushing over.

Zhou Yu and Xun You looked at each other, and the latter hurried into the backyard of the government office.

"Bofu, long time no see!"

Zhou Yu stepped forward and the two hugged each other tightly before separating.

"Gongjin, how are you?"

Zhou Yu waved his hand and said, "Hey, it's only been a few days, you still take it seriously."

Sun Ce laughed.

"It's cold here, let's go! Let's go to my house to drink and eat meat. This year, you'll be lucky enough to stay with me to celebrate the New Year!"

Sun Ce teased back: "Gong Jin, you can call some beautiful ladies, but I haven't had sex for half a year!"

"It's nothing, it's nothing."

The two men came to Zhou Yu's residence arm in arm. It was called a mansion, but in fact it was just a courtyard, which was purchased by Zhou Yu.

Jinmao is a vampire that is involved in all industries. Most of the money Zhou Yu spends goes into Jinmao's pocket.

Fortunately, the salaries and rewards were generous, almost like Jinmao passing money from one hand to the other.

However, Zhou Yu did not call the beautiful lady over, and Sun Ce knew that the other party must have something important to discuss.

After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.

Zhou Yu then asked Sun Ce about the purpose of coming to Xiling County.

Sun Ce did not hide it. In his opinion, Zhou Yu was Jin Mao's confidant and he would know these things sooner or later.

"Destroy Liu Biao?"

Zhou Yu's expression changed slightly, and he asked, "This doesn't seem like your style. Did Sun Changsha really say that?"

What Zhou Yu said is very interesting. He did not call Sun Jian Sun Yuzhou, which shows that he did not want Sun Jian to go to Yuzhou, which is not in the interests of Jinmao.

Sun Ce keenly sensed the key information and continued to coax, "No, my father only wanted to go to Yuzhou, but he was worried that Yangzhou Mu would misunderstand him, so he sent me here to explain."

Zhou Yu smiled and pointed at Sun Ce: "You, don't you even believe me?"

Sun Ce played dumb and pretended to be ignorant.

"Look at you, your hands are tucked into your sleeves." Zhou Yu pointed at Sun Ce's arm and said, "This is what happens when you lie!"

Sun Ce subconsciously stretched out his hand, then closed it again, and said with a smile: "Gongjin, I have changed."

Unexpectedly, Zhou Yu also sighed and said, "Yes, you and I have both changed!"

Then Zhou Yu talked about his pain: "Since we got Jingzhou, the lord has become eager for quick success and sometimes even refuses to listen to the words of military advisor Xun."

"He is bent on dealing with the nobles, and his methods are extremely bloody and violent."

"I can't persuade you."

Then, Zhou Yu glared at Sun Ce angrily, "Speaking of which, it's all your father Sun Changsha's fault!"

"If it weren't for him, the lord wouldn't have become like this."

Sun Ce's face was filled with helplessness. He tried his best to stop it, but it was of no use. However, talking about his father behind his back was not what a filial son should do.

I can only bear it.

Zhou Yu changed the subject and said, "I see you didn't get Sun Changsha's instructions at all, and you still want to conceal the news, right?"

Sun Ce had a blank expression on his face and sat upright.

Zhou Yu said earnestly, "Bofu, please don't do anything stupid. Just hand over my master's letter to Sun Changsha intactly, and everything will be fine."

He tempted again: "Just think about it, if Sun Changsha becomes Sun Nanyang, he can march north to attack Luoyang and establish an unprecedented achievement!"

"Even if you lose a few battles and retreat southward, my Lord will be your solid backing. We will be able to regroup in a short time and fight back!"

"You have a great achievement right before your eyes. What are you hesitating about?"

Sun Ce suddenly realized something and said, "Thank you for your advice, Gongjin. I almost missed a great opportunity!"

Then he picked up the wine bottle and said, "Come on! Let's drink!"

Zhou Yu happily clinked glasses with Sun Ce.

When the two men covered their faces with their sleeves, the smiles on their faces disappeared almost at the same time, and each of them had his own calculations.

We were once good friends, but now we are like strangers when sitting together.

After a brief conversation, Zhou Yu found out Sun Ce's background and instigated him to inform Sun Jian.

If everything goes well, things will develop as Zhou Yu said, but if there are risks, Sun Jian will have to bear them alone.

Even though Jin Mao didn't understand Zhou Yu and Xun You, and even the misunderstanding led to estrangement, Zhou Yu still wholeheartedly considered Jin Mao.

Maybe this is the character of a scholar!
(End of this chapter)