Chapter 235: The attack and defense of Ba County change, Sun Jian uses the self-torture strategy

Zhi County.

After a day and night of inventory, Zhou Yu was pleasantly surprised to find that the harvest was much more than he had imagined!
There were more than 2,000 sets of full armor, more than 3,000 sets of cloth armor, nearly 5,000 sets of half armor, and countless weapons and supplies.

Is Liu Yan putting all his fortune on these two idiots, Gao Pei and Deng Xian?

Zhou Yu couldn't help but feel a little scared.

If he had not held back, it is possible that Zhou Yu would have been captured alive.

Fortunately, I learned good habits from my lord and always prepare for everything.

Unexpectedly, a fish really took the bait, and it was a big one.

After this lucky victory, Zhou Yu had to adjust his mindset and not take such risks again. He had to be fully prepared.

However, Sun Ce and Gan Ning did not think so. When they met Zhou Yu again, their attitude was obviously much more respectful.

"Captain, what should we do with the six thousand prisoners?"

Gan Ning asked, "Kill them all?"

Zhou Yu held his forehead and said angrily: "Gan Xingba, I asked you to recite the military regulations, but you refused to do so!"

"It's clearly written in the military regulations that prisoners are counted as one-fifth of the military merit based on the number of heads they take."

"You don't lack military merit, the soldiers do!"

Gan Ning smiled and said, "If we kill them all, wouldn't that mean we'll have 6,000 more heads? Wouldn't that mean we'll have more military merit?"

Zhou Yu said speechlessly: "Go back and memorize the military regulations carefully!"

"Kill innocent people and claim credit, kill prisoners and claim credit, ten of your heads are not enough to chop off!"

"So serious?" Gan Ning was frightened and broke out in a cold sweat. He made up his mind to memorize the military regulations carefully, otherwise, he would not know how he would die in the future.

In Gan Ning's eyes, everything about Jinmao is good except that the management is too strict, the punishments are too severe, and people are often beheaded.

“The terrain here is flat.”

Zhou Yu looked at the geomancy map and said, "It is adjacent to Jiangzhou County. We will incorporate these captives into the military system of garrisoning and farming."

"If there are any unusual movements, or if anyone is unwilling to undergo labor reform, Gan Xingba, you know what to do!"

Gan Ning responded excitedly: "Of course I know!"

After seeing Gan Ning off, Zhou Yu couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

"Jiangzhou is in a dangerous position. If we attack by force, with our limited military strength, it will be like hitting a rock with an egg."

"But if we take Zhi County as our base and cultivate the land to counter the enemy's will, there will always be a chance to help me break through Jiangzhou City!"

If it weren't for the help of the two idiots Gao Pei and Deng Xian, Zhou Yu would have had a lot of trouble to capture Zhi County.

Now that Zhi County has been taken and half of Ba County is in his hands, Liu Yan still has to be on guard against Zhou Yu going up the river at all times.

After passing the dangerous section from Yiling to Yangqu, from Linjiang to Jiangzhou, the water is calm, making it convenient for boats to travel.

Next, Zhou Yu only needs to wait for support from the rear and capture Jiangzhou County. Then the door to Yizhou will be wide open and he can attack wherever he wants.

There is no strong city behind that can stop the newly built Jingzhou navy.

Zhou Yu has already reported to Xi Zhicai, asking him to send more food and supplies during the dry season.

It would be best to have support, but even without it, Zhou Yu is confident that he can defeat Liu Yan.

Now and in the future, the most anxious person will be Liu Yan.

Jiangzhou is like the gate of a courtyard, and Zhixian is the courtyard of this house. Who would be happy to have a group of bandits living in his own courtyard?
Liu Yan will definitely take the initiative to attack, and Zhou Yu only needs to defend well to drive Liu Yan crazy.

After all, we have to thank those two idiots, Gao Pei and Deng Xian.

...

Let’s go back to the end of November.

Yangcheng, Yingchuan County.

Ever since Sun Jian received the report from Cheng Pu, he has been working hard to raise food and fodder.

However, Yingchuan County was a place where wars broke out on four occasions. After being looted by the Yellow Turbans led by Bo Cai and a coup d'état, only some powerful aristocratic families remained.

Later, Yuan Shu came and took away a large number of remaining powerful people.

Now those that remain are some tough nuts to crack.

For example, if Sun Jian dared to touch the Xun family, he would suffer revenge from Jin Mao and Cao Cao.

Even a clay man can still have some temper. If Xun Yu and Xun You knew that Sun Jian was harming the Xun family, they would definitely find ways to direct the blame onto Sun Jian.

Therefore, Sun Jian had a very difficult time during this period.

Either they are fighting bandits or they are on their way to fighting bandits.

There is no way, these bandits are the richest in the county.

After all, it's just a drop in the bucket.

The soldiers were visibly losing weight, and many of them were deserting.

Although the deserters were just new recruits, the blow to morale was fatal.

this day.

Sun Jian's scouts learned that Jin Mao and Yuan Shu were confronting each other in Luyang.

Jin Mao's 40,000 troops forced Yuan Shu's 60,000 troops to not dare to leave the city to fight!
What’s even more outrageous is that Jinmao is building a high earthen slope and assembling catapults. Judging from the number, there are no less than forty of them!

Ten towers on one side of the city wall!
This is the pace of destroying Luyang City!
You have to know that Luyang City does not have walls as tall as Wancheng City. Even after being reinforced by Yuan Shu, the city wall is only 3 inches (1 meters) high and feet wide.

Yuan Shu naturally knew the power of the catapult, so he quickly sent an envoy to meet Sun Jian while Jin Mao still needed time to assemble.

The first day of December.

Yuan Shu's envoy Yan Xiang met Sun Jian and encountered almost no obstruction along the way.

This was Jinmao deliberately making way for people to go out for help.

Yan Xiang also knew this very well. When he saw Sun Jian, he said straight to the point: "Sun Yuzhou, my lord was wrong last time, but if my lord is driven away from Luyang by the governor of Yangzhou this time, then you will be the next unlucky person!"

Sun Jian was horrified and quickly stood up and asked, "What do you mean, sir?"

Yan Xiang said: "You know, my trip was expected by Yangzhou Mu!"

Sun Jian seemed surprised, but in fact he was not surprised at all.

With so many talented advisers under Jin Mao, it would be strange if he couldn't predict the future.

Besides, it is better for Sun Jian if Yuan Shu leaves. At least Jin Mao keeps his word and will never stab you in the back as long as he promises to support you.

The key reason why Sun Jian was hesitant was that he did not want to go against his own wishes and stab Yuan Shu in the back.

Yan Xiang seemed to have anticipated what Sun Jian was thinking, and asked knowingly, "Sun Yuzhou is thinking that the governor of Yangzhou is your ally and will definitely not attack you, right?"

Yan Xiang shook his head and said, "Sun Yuzhou, do you remember the former governor of Wu County, Sheng Xian?"

"What did Sheng Xiaozhang get in return for advocating so hard for it?"

"House arrest!"

Yan Xiang confused the audience and said, "You saw it!"

"The governor of Yangzhou is not a kind person. If you hesitate, he will not forgive you easily!"

These words reminded Sun Jian.

Yup!

"What am I thinking about!" Sun Jian couldn't help but feel annoyed: "Even Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao, the brothers, can become enemies because of a little profit."

"Why did I think that Junior Brother wouldn't attack me?"

"If it were me..."

Sun Jian didn't want to think about it anymore, because if it were him, he would have taken action against an ally like himself long ago, so why would he wait until now?
"Yangzhou Mu Renyi!"

"but I…"

Suddenly, Sun Jian lost interest and stopped pretending, saying, "I understand your intention."

"Go back and tell Yuan Shu that I won't help him!"

Yan Xiang still wanted to gain some support: "Sun Yuzhou..."

Sun Jian immediately waved his hand and said, "See you out!"

Cheng Pu stood up immediately and tried to drive Yan Xiang away.

"ordinary man!"

Yan Xiang was furious and said, "Sun Jian, you bastard!"

Cheng Pu was already unhappy with Yan Xiang, and upon hearing this, he drew his sword and beheaded Yan Xiang in one swoop. Sun Jian turned around abruptly, and said angrily, "Cheng Pu! Are you going to rebel against me?!"

Zu Mao, Han Dang and other generals drew their swords and pointed them at Cheng Pu, who threw away his weapon in a very dignified manner, knelt on the ground and cried, "My lord!"

"When it is broken, it will be disrupted."

"Since you have offended Yuan Shu, you must not offend the governor of Yangzhou again!"

Sun Jian knew this truth very well, but Cheng Pu disobeyed his orders and acted on his own, which was the reason for Sun Jian's rage.

but!

Sun Jian was a great leader after all. He suppressed his killing intent and shouted angrily, "Take Cheng Pu down! Beat him with a hundred sticks!"

Han Dang and others couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. They had been colleagues for many years and really didn't want to go to war with each other.

When Cheng Pu was dragged away, Sun Jian rubbed his brows tiredly and waved his hand, saying, "All of you go down and make more preparations."

"Prevent Yuan Shu from launching a sudden attack."

"Yes!" the generals responded.

Soon, Sun Jian was the only one left in the tent.

After a while, Sun Jian's personal followers broke into the tent.

"I'm tired!"

There was anger and a hint of murderous intent in Sun Jian's tone.

What a lack of vision!

But this confidant was helpless and said, "My lord, the envoy of Yangzhou governor is outside the tent asking for an audience."

"I won't see anyone no matter what!"

Sun Jian was furious, but he reacted the next moment. He stood up suddenly, his eyes widened, and asked, "Whose messenger are you talking about?"

The personal attendant said tremblingly: "Yang... the envoy of Yangzhou governor wants to see you."

Jinmao messenger!
Sun Jian's mind suddenly became clear. He had to meet this person.

As a person of the same kind, Sun Jian knew very well that if Jin Mao became an enemy, he would definitely not show mercy.

Even Sun Ce, who was held as a hostage, would be implicated.

Of course, Sun Jian would never have thought that Sun Ce had been implicated, but Jin Mao did not restrict his freedom of life.

"Summon him quickly!"

Sun Jian hurriedly stood up, tidied his appearance, and then sat up upright.

After a few breaths, a man who was not very tall and wore a Confucian robe, but did not have the temperament of a Confucian scholar, entered the tent.

Sun Jian knew this person, Jin Yang, a relative who was deeply trusted by Jin Mao!

you do not say.

In the entire Jin family, only Jin Yang can call Jin Mao "Uncle" in public. If he is not trusted, would Jin Yang dare to call him that?
How could Sun Jian know that this was the reward given to Jin Yang by Jin Mao, and that Jin Yang had been specifically instructed by Xi Zhicai to call him uncle in front of him.

It cannot be said that it was premeditated, we can only say that we were prepared for a rainy day.

"Jin Yang, the envoy of the governor of Yangzhou, pays a visit to the governor of Yuzhou." Jin Yang's greetings were not standard and he even used the wrong titles, which looked very funny.

"See your seat!"

But Sun Jian sat upright and did not dare to underestimate him at all.

The two sat down.

It felt like there was a needle under the Golden Sheep's butt and he couldn't sit still, but he tried to imitate the Confucian scholars and forced himself to kneel, which made him look even more ridiculous.

Sun Jian tried to avert his gaze and asked, "What important matter do you want to tell me, Governor of Yangzhou?"

Jin Yang stood up and bowed again. In the past few years, he had followed Xi Zhicai and learned a lot of different things. He knew a little bit of everything, but was not proficient in them.

"Yuzhou Murong, my master knows that you don't want to break your promise, so he sent me here to offer you a painful plan."

In an instant, Sun Jian understood the whole story.

Good job Jinmao!

What a cruel heart!

No wonder Cheng Pu did such an outrageous thing, it turned out it was all Jin Mao's instigation.

At this moment, Sun Jian couldn't help but think of what Yan Xiang had said.

Even if this self-torture trick could perfectly help Sun Jian overcome this difficulty, Sun Jian did not want to experience the feeling of being played around by others a second time.

After figuring everything out, Sun Jian put on a warm smile and ordered people to bring wine and food and entertain them warmly.

Jin Yang thought his plan worked, so he followed Sun Jian in eating and drinking, and before he knew it, he got drunk.

Sun Jian took the opportunity to obtain intelligence.

Jin Yang told everyone he knew, but he loved to brag, which made Sun Jian stunned.

For example, Sun Jian asked: "Yangzhou Mu is not sure of victory, so he asked me to join forces to deal with the rear general Yuan Shu?"

Jin Yang was full of disdain: "Yuan Shu? A pile of dry bones in a tomb!"

"My uncle can be killed with a flick of his hand!"

Then, without Sun Jian asking any questions, Jin Yang revealed all of Jin Mao's deployment, except that the number had to be multiplied tenfold!
Twenty million shi of grain and fodder!

Four hundred catapults!

Twenty thousand powerful crossbows and forty thousand fully armored men!

In short, the more outrageous it is, the better.

Except for the number of people, everything else has increased tenfold, as if the heavenly soldiers and generals had descended to earth.

With this configuration, Sun Jian thought to himself that even Dong Zhuo couldn't withstand it, let alone Yuan Shu.

Sun Jian certainly had doubts, but he was not sure. After all, Jin Mao had always provided military rations in units of ten thousand dan.

Others might not know the details of his junior fellow apprentice, but how could Sun Jian not know?

Take the last time when Jinmao went on an expedition to Xuzhou. Whenever Sun Jian thought about it, he couldn’t help but curse inwardly, “What a waste of resources!”
Who would use two million dan of grain for a single expedition?

This is not food!

If so much food was given to Sun Jian, Dong Zhuo would be nothing!

Sun Jian was able to drive Dong Zhuo from Luoyang to Chang'an!
Therefore, although Sun Jian knew that Jin Yang was bragging, he didn't know how much truth there was in it.

"Fortunately, we didn't fall out." Sun Jian secretly congratulated himself: "Be patient for a while and everything will be peaceful. For the sake of the great cause, what does a moment of anger matter?"

This is why Jin Mao accepted Xun You's advice and dared to send Jin Yang as an envoy.

As long as the other party is not clear about the Golden Sheep's background, the Golden Sheep's bragging will leave him confused.

Commonly known as, setting off a smoke bomb.

The next day.

Sun Jian convened a general meeting.

At the meeting, Sun Jian made things difficult for Cheng Pu, not caring at all that Cheng Pu was injured, and forced Cheng Pu to leave for Luyang to help the governor of Yangzhou attack Yuan Shu.

In the end, Sun Jian still cooperated in this self-torture tactic.

He also allocated a thousand of the most elite cavalry to Cheng Pu instead of using old, weak and disabled soldiers to make up the numbers.

Sun Jian also figured it out. Instead of confronting it head-on, it would be better to let nature take its course.

A man can bend and stretch!
in the afternoon.

Cheng Pu, lying on the cushion, was still in shock.

The lord actually sent elite troops to him!

At this moment, Cheng Pu burst into tears and felt secretly guilty.

Unexpectedly, the Golden Sheep caught up with him and boasted to Cheng Pu, "General Cheng (Cheng Pu was Sun Jian's deputy general), Military Advisor Xun is so good at predicting things that he even thought of this!"

Cheng Pu asked in bewilderment, "Are you saying that all this was within the expectations of Military Advisor Xun?"

The Golden Sheep said with pride: "Of course not!"

"Military Advisor Xun is a master of predictions. This little thing is nothing to him."

"I'm going to tell you something important in secret, please don't tell anyone else..."

Soon, Cheng Pu fell for Jin Yang's boasting, and his guilt faded away.

(End of this chapter)