Chapter 212 Zhou Yu: I am also the master's confidant

After Xun You's persuasion, Jin Mao agreed to Zhou Yu's suggestion that he should be the main general and follow Sun Ce into battle.

The first day of the first lunar month in the first year of Chuping.

Considering that Zhou Yu was too young to command the support of the people, Jin Mao sent the veteran Dong Xi as deputy general to follow the army.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Fei was unhappy and made a scene in front of Jin Mao.

"My lord, why don't you let me and Zhou Yu go to the battle? Who the hell is Dong Xi?"

This made Dong Xian very angry. He originally didn't want to lead the troops anymore, but now he wanted to compete: "My lord, it's only been a short time, and Zhang Fei has caused so much trouble?"

"This is happening right under your nose. If it weren't for your supervision, wouldn't Zhang Fei have exposed the matter?"

Indeed, Zhang Fei committed countless crimes, including causing trouble in brothels, beating soldiers, and insulting his superiors.

Because of this, Zhang Fei's butt was beaten to a pulp, but he still didn't learn his lesson.

"I was drunk and unconscious!"

Zhang Fei argued: "My Lord, have I ever made any mistakes during the war?"

"Of course not!" Dong Xi directly exposed his shortcomings: "Last time when you defeated Cao's army, didn't you take the wrong road?"

"If it weren't for the fact that my lord valued your talent, your head would have been moved long ago!"

Zhang Fei blew his beard and glared: "You bastard! Go out and fight for three hundred rounds if you dare!"

"Let's go!" Even though he couldn't win, Dong Xi didn't back down.

"Enough!" Jin Mao shouted, stopping the farce.

Zhang Fei glared at Dong Xi but didn't dare to talk back. Dong Xi glared back and neither of them gave in.

Seeing the two of them flirting with each other, Jin Mao thought of a trick: "Since both of you want to go, let's go together."

"what?"

They were both dumbfounded.

Dong Xi: "My Lord, I don't want to work with this guy!"

Zhang Fei: "My Lord, this dog can only do bad things!"

After saying this in unison, the two glared at each other again.

"Shut up!" Jin Mao scolded, "Yuan Dai! You are a veteran after all, have you forgotten the military rules?"

"From now on, if either of you two lets me hear words that go against unity, I will punish you severely!"

Dong Xi was startled and responded obediently: "Yes!"

It was the first time that Zhang Fei heard Jin Mao talk about this matter in person, and he kept it in mind.

"On this trip, Zhang Fei will lead his own 500 cavalrymen, Dong Xi will lead the second battalion of 2,000 men, Zhou Yu will escort the food and supplies, and will be the commander-in-chief of the military affairs."

"You two must obey Zhou Yu's command and not act on your own!"

"According to convention, unless it is an emergency, Zhou Yu needs your consent before he can mobilize your troops."

Zhang Fei couldn't help but ask curiously: "My Lord, what is an emergency?"

Jin Mao glared at Zhang Fei, "If there is an emergency, Dong Xi will let you know."

"Ah?" Zhang Fei said unhappily, "Then wouldn't I be a dog... a subordinate of Dong Xi?"

Jin Mao laughed and scolded, "Who told you to always get into trouble?"

Zhang Fei was even more unhappy: "How good is Dong Xi? He delayed the battle opportunity! He didn't accomplish anything!"

Dong Xi was dissatisfied and said, "It's better than you, the commander, getting lost!"

Seeing that the two were about to quarrel again, Jin Mao stepped in to add fuel to the fire: "What's the point of quarreling in front of me? You should supervise each other if you are capable. Whoever makes more mistakes will be rewarded according to merit in the future, and the loser will give all the credit to the winner."

"My lord, you are right!" Zhang Fei looked at Dong Xi with disdain: "Do you dare to accept the challenge?"

Dong Xi snorted coldly: "Why not?!"

Just then, Zhou Yu and Sun Ce came.

"Greetings to my Lord (Uncle)."

Jin Mao looked at the four people in the hall and chuckled, "Gong Jin and Bo Fu are here. It's a good opportunity for you four to be here, so I'll tell you all at once."

He recounted what had happened previously.

"Gongjin, the important task of supervising Zhang Fei and Dong Xi is now entrusted to you. I don't want any disunity in the army."

Zhou Yu thanked him, he knew that this was his lord paving the way for him to take charge of the army.

To be honest, Zhou Yu didn't expect the opportunity to independently command the army to come so soon.

Last night, he was still admonishing Sun Ce, but today the situation changed drastically and he had to lead his troops to help Sun Ce.

Xun You's strategy was much better than Zhou Yu's. Zhou Yu secretly decided that he must accomplish something with it.

Otherwise, if they are always suppressed by the Yingchuan advisers, how will the Yangzhou advisers be able to stand out in the future?

Not only that, there will be strategists from Jingzhou and even more places joining in the future.

As a member of Yangzhou's counselors, Zhou Yu had the responsibility and obligation to take on the important task.

On the one hand, the Zhou family was the most powerful family in Yangzhou; on the other hand, Zhou Yu was so proud of his talent that he surpassed all the other counselors in Yangzhou.

This further strengthened Zhou Yu's belief.

"Don't worry, my lord. Zhou Yu will do his best on this trip!"

Zhang Fei and Dong Xi were dumbfounded. They didn't expect that Zhou Yu was still a weakling. It seemed that they had to be more careful with their words in the future.

With Zhou Yu's assurance, Jin Mao looked at the confused Sun Ce with a smile and said, "I stayed up all night yesterday to come up with a good plan."

"When we go to Yuzhou, you are alone and weak. As your junior, I feel ashamed that I cannot help you with all my strength."

"I would also like to ask Ce'er to say a few good words for me."

Sun Ce dared not reply, and bowed, "Uncle, you are too kind."

"So good."

Jin Mao then repeated the arrangement to Sun Ce.

Sun Ce happily bowed again and said, "Uncle, you are so righteous! I thank you on behalf of my father!"

Jin Mao smiled and said, "Give the soldiers two days to rest and set out again on the fifth day of the first lunar month!"

"Yes!" Everyone bowed.

"Zhou Yu stays."

After everyone else left, Jin Mao took Zhou Yu's hand and walked to the door, feeling the cold breeze on his face.

"Gongjin, I was really disappointed when I heard about Sun Jian's intentions from Military Advisor Xun last night."

Jin Mao said with emotion: "In the previous battle, Sun Jian was unable to break through Huang Zu, and I didn't blame him."

"I don't blame you for taking advantage of the opportunity to occupy Nanyang County."

"I never thought that Sun Jian was so ambitious that he would abandon me!"

"I treat others with sincerity, but they treat me like dirt."

“It’s really cold!”

Zhou Yu didn't know how to respond, so he clasped his fists and said, "My lord, please let me know."

Jin Mao held Zhou Yu's hand, looked him in the eyes and said, "Last night I sent someone to deliver a letter to Sun Jian, agreeing to attack Liu Biao in Xiangyang on the eighth day of the first lunar month."

"If you encounter Sun Jian on this trip and he acts according to the agreement, you will help Sun Jian destroy Liu Biao."

"If Sun Jian insists on going to Yuzhou."

Jin Mao's face showed a fierce look: "No matter what method you use, you must stir up the situation and make Sun Jian and Kong, Zhang, Tao, and Liu become mortal enemies!"

As soon as Zhou Yu heard this, he knew that this was not part of Xun You's plan, but a sudden idea of ​​his lord.

Recently, Jin Mao's murderous intent has been growing day by day, and Zhou Yu is a little frightened, fearing that the Zhou family will suffer as a result.

However, behind the hidden murderous intent, Zhou Yu saw a different scenery.

As mentioned before, Zhou Yu is different from Xun You and is more radical.

After weighing the pros and cons, Zhou Yu agreed and put forward his own opinion. "My lord, this move is to delay the enemy north of the Huai River so that it will be easier to deal with the affairs of Jingzhou."

After his thoughts were exposed, Jin Mao admitted generously: "That's right! Gongjin, are you going to stop me?"

Zhou Yu shook his head and said, "No!"

"I have a plan that can break the deadlock in Jingzhou and even gain an extra state!"

Jin Mao frowned and said, "I can hardly manage half of Jingzhou. If I add another state, who will govern it?"

Zhou Yu puffed out his chest confidently and said, "Me!"

"you?"

Jin Mao laughed and said, "You haven't even grown all your hair yet, and you dare to say such big words!"

Zhou Yu was extremely confident at this time, and he held his head high and said, "From Gan Luo in the distant past to Guan Junhou in the near future, they are all young heroes!"

"Even if it's the Lord, he already owns Yangzhou at the age of only eighteen!"

"Zhou Yu is not talented, but I am willing to serve under my lord and govern a state!"

Jin Mao felt very comfortable with the praise and was compared with Gan Luo and Huo Qubing. This was a high-level flattery.

"Good good!"

Jin Mao said happily: "Tell me which state you plan to seize. If you can't tell me, I will leave it to you to manage."

Zhou Yu clasped his fists excitedly and said, "Yizhou!"

Jin Mao thought it was Yuzhou, but unexpectedly it was Yizhou.

Seeing that Jin Mao didn't understand, Zhou Yu took a piece of white paper and scribbled on it. After a while, a rough map of the Thirteen Prefectures of the Han Dynasty was drawn up.

"My lord, please look!"

Zhou Yu pointed to Yuzhou, southern Jingzhou, Yanzhou, and Xuzhou and said, "According to my lord's plan, my troops and Sun Jian will entangle the troops of the four states in Yuzhou."

"Normally, that's true."

"But Liu Biao and Yuan Shu may not necessarily support Kong Jun and help defend Yuzhou."

Zhou Yu pointed to Yizhou and said, "Yizhou Governor Liu Yan can prove this!"

Jin Mao nodded. The reason why Wuling County couldn't be taken was because of that old guy Liu Yan.

"Liu Yan and Liu Biao are both members of the royal family. They met in Luoyang in their early years. I don't believe that they have no contact with each other!"

Jinmao didn't believe it either.

Zhou Yu expressed his opinion: "In my opinion, Liu Yan was invited by Liu Biao to prevent the lord from occupying the four counties in southern Jing."

Jin Mao wondered, "Why would Liu Yan do this?"

"Of course I'm afraid of the might of the Lord's army!" Zhou Yu chuckled and said, "Jingzhou was rich and powerful, but it was destroyed by the Lord's attack. How can Yizhou be compared to Jingzhou?"

Zhou Yu revealed Liu Yan's thoughts in one sentence: "As governors of the same province, Liu Yan took a year and eight months to quell the rebellion in Yizhou. During this long period of time, my lord has been traveling back and forth between Xuzhou, Yangzhou, and Jingzhou, entering and exiting uninhabited areas."

“Who in the world is not afraid?”

Zhou Yu said confidently: "I predict that not only Dong Zhuo and Liu Biao do not want our lord to become stronger, but also Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao!"

"Not to mention the likes of Liu Yan and Tao Qian."

"If we let the lord take control of Jingzhou, they will probably be unable to sleep at night!"

"Alright! Alright!" Jin Mao was very pleased with the flattery, but pretended to be reserved and said, "Stop flattering me and talk about serious matters!"

Zhou Yu said "grievedly": "I am talking about serious matters."

Jin Mao raised his foot to kick, but Zhou Yu dodged with a smile.

"My Lord, in my opinion," Zhou Yu said sternly, "Liu Biao and Yuan Shu are nothing but dead bones in a grave, and can be destroyed at any time."

"On the contrary, Liu Yan owns the rich land of Yizhou. If we don't deal with him soon, he will become the biggest obstacle for our lord in the future."

Zhou Yu began to analyze again: "Yizhou is a place with rugged mountains and rivers. Liu Yan only needs to guard Wuling, and he can attack when he advances or defend when he retreats, and he will be invincible in the south."

"If we spend a long time to recruit the barbarians in the central and southern regions of Yizhou (referred to as the Southern Barbarians), and then plan to attack Yizhou, it may be too late."

"Why not take advantage of the fact that Liu Yan has not yet established a foothold in Wuling County and deal with it with all our strength."

Zhou Yu then pointed out the map of the various forces in Wuling County on a new piece of white paper.

"My lord, please look, the capital of Wuling County, Linyuan County, is only about 300 miles away from Jiangling County. Even if Wuling County Governor Cao Yin had ten times the courage, he would not dare to act rashly."

Then, Zhou Yu rowed westward, "The Wuxi barbarians are different. Since the Han Dynasty, they have been rebelling constantly, and the young and strong barbarians are quite capable of fighting."

"I think Liu Yan's main partner is the Wuxi Barbarians!"

This is a professional match. Jin Mao is best at dealing with barbarians: "This is easy."

"We only need one main battalion to suppress them. Two battalions are enough to wipe out the entire clan."

Zhou Yu was shocked by Jin Mao's murderous aura and suggested, "That's not necessary. My lord, just send someone who is fluent in the barbarian language with your surrender order to make the Wuxi barbarians surrender."

"So Easy?"

Zhou Yu smiled bitterly, thinking that his lord might not know his status in the hearts of the Baiyue barbarians.

The surrender order was a relatively high treatment. According to Zhou Yu's original idea, he only needed to send someone, and the barbarian king would surely come running to pay tribute.

Otherwise, considering the size of the Wuxi barbarians, they are not enough to fill the teeth of the Baiyue soldiers.

When it comes to mountain warfare, it might be an exaggeration to say that we are invincible, but it is certainly true that we have few rivals.

"Then let's do as Gongjin said."

Jin Mao said happily: "Oh no, I should call you Yizhou Governor Zhou Gongjin!"

Zhou Yu waved his hands repeatedly and said, "Don't worry, my lord. This is just to break the arm that Liu Yan stretched out."

"After subduing the Wuxi barbarians, we will send some people who understand the southern barbarian language to the central and southern regions of Yizhou to spread the name of our lord, and use both kindness and force to order them to cause chaos in Yizhou."

"Wait until the lord has completely secured Jingzhou, and then make a concerted effort to capture Yizhou!"

Zhou Yu came to the map of the Thirteen States again and waved his hands excitedly, saying, "That's it! The four states south of the Yangtze River belong to you, my lord!"

"By then, we can take Xuzhou and Yuzhou to the east, and Liangzhou and Sili to the west. If we advance steadily, the whole world will be at our fingertips!"

"Ah~" Jin Mao's mouth corners were almost upturned to the sky, but he still said: "Gong Jin, don't be too ambitious, eat one bite at a time, and walk one step at a time."

"Don't be anxious!"

Zhou Yu bowed and said, "Thank you for your teachings, my lord."

But in my heart I silently remembered the characteristic of "the lord loves to preach".

"It will be some time before we go to war." Jin Mao asked, "If Gongjin has some free time, please arrange something for me."

"I will definitely do my best!"

Jin Mao was very satisfied. He turned around, stared at the sketch drawn by Zhou Yu, and began to imagine a bright future.

As a result, when he turned around, he saw that Zhou Yu had not left yet.

"What else does Gongjin want?"

Zhou Yu looked around, and Jin Mao understood immediately. He withdrew everyone except Dian Wei and ordered Dian Wei to impose martial law within 30 meters.

"Go ahead."

Zhou Yu then said, "My lord, I have another plan to get rid of Wuling County Governor Cao Yin without tarnishing your reputation."

"only…"

Jin Mao's eyes lit up. Although Cao Yin, that bastard, had not colluded with Liu Yan, he had refused to surrender. Jin Mao had long wanted to destroy him.

"But it doesn't matter!"

Zhou Yu then said: "It's just that the person who bears the infamy of killing Cao Yin has become Sun Ce."

"I am worried that it will damage your relationship with Sun Yuzhou and the impact on your future conquest of Sun Ce."

Jin Mao liked Zhou Yu more and more as he watched him. "Just go for it boldly!"

"I'm glad Gongjin thinks so."

Zhou Yu thanked him excitedly. From today on, he was also his lord’s confidant!

(End of this chapter)