Chapter 952: Jingchu! Getting started!
Jingchu, Sun Mansion

In a luxuriously decorated side room, several beautiful dancers were dancing to the sound of music played by musicians. In the main seat, Sun Chenggong was drinking wine with two concubines serving him on his left and right...

Although he was eating delicacies carefully prepared by the chef, drinking decades-old wine, and had a beautiful woman by his side, the drunken Sun Chenggong did not look happy at all, and a hint of sadness emerged in his expression!
Since his father Sun Liangyu passed away last year and Wang Dayu rebelled and brought Xu Zhaojie into the house, all the prefectures and counties in southern Jingchu fell into the hands of the Zhennan Army.

Sun Chenggong wanted all the time to expel the Zhennan Army and revive the Jingchu foundation left by his father. To this end, he successively contacted the Luoan court and appointed Xu Snake to the Fengwu Army. He did not dare to slack off for the slightest!
It was also under Sun Chenggong's plan that the Jingchu Army gradually recovered some vitality. At this time, Xu Zhaojie led his troops south to the south of the Yangtze River, which immediately gave Sun Chenggong an opportunity.

What surprised Sun Chenggong even more was that the Fengwu Army also supported him in conquering his homeland and was even willing to sell firearms to the Jingchu Army.

Sun Chenggong had always been obsessed with the prefectures and counties in the southern part of Jingchu that were occupied by Xu Zhaojie. Now with the support of the Fengwu Army, he had no scruples and directly appointed Zhao Zongchang, a veteran of the Jingchu Army, to lead the main force of the Jingchu Army to recapture Hezhou, Hengzhou, Yongshao and other places occupied by the Zhennan Army...
Because the main elite forces of the Zhennan Army were taken by Xu Zhaojie to conquer Jiangnan, the Zhennan Army left behind in Hezhou, Hengzhou, Yongshao and other places was just a detachment!

Therefore, Sun Chenggong was very optimistic about this conquest operation, and even believed that the war would most likely be over within half a month!
However, the reality is that Zhao Zongchang, who he had high hopes for, achieved little result after fighting for nearly three months, suffered nearly 10,000 casualties, and consumed countless money, food and supplies. He only captured two county towns, and failed to capture any of Hezhou, Hengzhou, and Yongshao!
This not only gave Sun Chenggong a hard slap in the face, but also made him realize that he had underestimated the combat effectiveness of the Zhennan Army and overestimated the combat effectiveness of the Jingchu Army under his command!

Although the expedition to the south had reached a stalemate, Sun Chenggong was unwilling to accept failure, so his first thought for the current dilemma was to change generals. Since you, Zhao Zongchang, are not capable, then I will let someone else take over. Anyway, the next one can't be worse!

However, what Sun Chenggong never expected was that it was Zhao Zongchang who fought the war like this, which was extremely annoying!

But the young general promoted by Sun himself is even more of a useless piece of mud!
At the time when I need them to stand up and acknowledge their mission, they all blame each other, and no one dares to step forward·······························

However, perhaps because he knew his shame and then became brave, after being criticized and reprimanded by himself, Duan Zhibao, the deputy commander of the Jingchu Army, who was promoted by him, finally stood up and expressed his willingness to replace Zhao Zongchang and continue to attack the prefectures and counties in the south.

Sun Chenggong had always admired Duan Zhibao's talents, otherwise he would not have promoted him to be the commander-in-chief. Although he was a little disappointed with Duan Zhibao's previous shirking of responsibility for the war, Sun Chenggong was very pleased to see Duan Zhibao stand up again, and felt that he was not hopeless!

Since Duan Zhibao stepped forward, Sun Chenggong immediately arranged for him to replace Zhao Zongchang and take over the command of tens of thousands of Jingchu soldiers on the front line!
Before leaving, Sun Chenggong even promised the general whom he had brought up single-handedly that as long as the war was fought well and Hengzhou, Hezhou, Yongshao and other places were captured, he, Sun, would definitely not be stingy with rewards and would give him whatever he wanted!
Duan Zhibao thanked Sun Chenggong for this and made a request, which was that Sun Chenggong should do his best to ensure the supply of the army to the front line, and send medicines, gunpowder, food and other resources continuously, so as not to let the soldiers on the front line encounter logistical difficulties!

Sun Chenggong would naturally not refuse such a reasonable request, and he immediately agreed to it.
However, although Sun Chenggong agreed readily, the difficulty of this matter will not be reduced in the slightest························

Although Jingchu is not considered a poor province among the provinces of the Great Zhou, it is hard to say how wealthy it is!
Last year, there was another wave of war. Not to mention the common people, even the landlords did not have much surplus food. Therefore, the war has lasted for nearly three months. Although the logistics and finances of the Jingchu Army are not at the point of exhaustion, they are also in a difficult situation. Most of the stocks in the warehouse have been basically gone.
Just an hour ago, twenty-seven officials from the Provincial Government and the Censorate jointly petitioned Sun Chenggong, hoping that Sun Chenggong would stop the war and start anew with the people!
Sun Chenggong was extremely conflicted about this. He also knew that the current civilian situation was not very good. The cost of the war was borne entirely by the common people, many of whom were already very exhausted. If they were further exploited, things like peasant uprisings would most likely happen!

Sun Chenggong is not a tyrannical and unjust person. If it were any other time, he might really choose to cease fire, but the problem is what Duan Zhibao said in the letter he wrote to him.

Although the enemy still occupies Hengzhou, Hezhou, Yongshao and other places, the enemy has been exhausted after months of fighting. Now is the time for both sides to compete in endurance and will. Whoever has a stronger will and greater endurance will win the war.

This letter encouraged Sun Chenggong deeply. He also felt that no matter how powerful the Zhennan Army was, the troops stationed in the prefectures and counties in the southern part of Jingchu were just a small detachment of the enemy army...
After three months of attack from our side, the enemy has been on the verge of collapse. If we make one more effort at this time, the enemy will most likely collapse completely!

But if I choose to give up, all my efforts will be wasted, and the enemy will have a chance to catch their breath. It will be even more difficult to recapture these prefectures and counties!

Although he understood the truth, Sun Chenggong couldn't help but feel a little worried when he thought of the officials' warnings about possible peasant uprisings.

Although the ceasefire now is very embarrassing, it has little impact on his rule over Jingchu. If the fighting continues, there will be no problem in the short term, but if the enemy persists for a few months, the situation will be very serious. By then, the people will rise up in rebellion, and that will be no joke!

In addition to the war on the front line, there was another thing that made Sun Chenggong feel like a thorn in his throat and unable to sleep or eat!
This incident was a series of assassinations that broke out in Hanyang City a few days ago. Several officials were killed by assassins, including Cheng Pingzhi, the most important think tank of Sun Chenggong.

Sun Chenggong was also very angry about this matter, and immediately asked the City Defense Department and the Censorate to jointly investigate, and the case must be solved within three days!
The City Defense Department and the Censorate were very efficient and soon found out that this incident was done by the Thousand Tiger Guards of the Zhennan Army. Their purpose was to create panic in Hanyang City and make the officials of the Jingchu Army feel insecure, so as to contain and affect the war situation on the front line...
In addition to this investigation result, they also captured a lot of Thousand Tiger Guards. Since the matter made sense, Sun Chenggong did not think much about it. He just ordered the execution of all these Thousand Tiger Guards and asked the front-line soldiers to increase their offensive and achieve results as soon as possible to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy!
Although Sun Chenggong was heartbroken by Cheng Pingzhi's death, he thought that was the end of it. However, what Sun Chenggong never expected was that the Thousand Tiger Guards contacted him and told him that the serial assassinations in Hanyang City were not done by them, the Thousand Tiger Guards!
The real culprit behind the serial assassinations is the Fengwu Army's Coordination Office. In addition, there are generals in the Jingchu Army who have been bribed by the Fengwu Army, and the purpose of the Fengwu Army doing so is to take over Jingchu!
Sun Chenggong dared not disbelieve the warning of the Thousand Tiger Guards, but he also dared not believe it completely!

Although he had never met Ye Mingsheng, Sun Chenggong had exchanged letters with Ye Mingsheng. From Ye Mingsheng's reply and the various actions of the Fengwu Army, Sun Chenggong could feel Ye Mingsheng's determination and will to conquer the world!

Therefore, even though the Fengwu Army supported him in taking back Hezhou and other places that were captured by the Zhennan Army and sold him firearms, Sun Chenggong was secretly wary of Ye Mingsheng and the Fengwu Army in his heart.

Previously, because the Fengwu Army’s main experience was used to deal with the Luoan court, its attitude towards the Jingchu Army was relatively friendly, so the two sides were able to live in peace...
However, with the fall of the Luoan court, everyone in the world knew that the next step of the Fengwu Army would be to march south to unify the Great Zhou, so the threat of the Fengwu Army made Sun Chenggong feel like a thorn in his side. When he thought of the powerful combat capability of the Fengwu Army, Sun Chenggong couldn't sleep well at night!

Although he was very afraid of the Fengwu Army and worried that the Fengwu Army would attack Jingchu, Sun Chenggong was also skeptical about the warning of the Thousand Tiger Guards. After all, although the Fengwu Army was a major threat, the relationship between the two sides was still good. The Zhennan Army was fighting with the Jingchu Army, and the two sides were fighting to the death, so Sun Chenggong also felt that the Thousand Tiger Guards were not really warning him and were likely trying to sow discord.

He wanted to sow discord between the Jingchu Army and the Fengwu Army, and between himself and the generals under his command!
This would make him feel threatened by the Fengwu Army and start to doubt whether his subordinates were bribed by the Fengwu Army. This would cause internal friction within the Jingchu Army and even make him stop attacking Hezhou, Hengzhou and other places. Then the Zhennan Army would be able to survive!

Precisely because of such considerations, Sun Chenggong was skeptical about the warning from the Thousand Tiger Guards. For this reason, he arranged for his confidant Sun Liu to secretly investigate who the real culprit of the recent serial assassinations in the city was. He wanted to wait for the answer to this question before making this decision!

But before that, Sun Chenggong wanted to observe more and not make a decision in a hurry!

But speaking of it, Sun Liu has been investigating for almost seven or eight days. I wonder how the investigation is going. Whether he has found any results...

Thinking of this, Sun Chenggong drank another cup of wine. Just as he was about to have sex with the concubine beside him, a servant suddenly came over and reported:

"Marshal, Lord Sun Liu has something important to report!"

Sun Chenggong was also very surprised to hear this. He had just thought of him but did not expect him to come over immediately. He nodded and ordered:
"Let him in!"

"Yes!"

Although he was a little drunk, Sun Chenggong understood that Sun Liu came here most likely to report the results of his investigation, and this matter was undoubtedly a military secret at present, so Sun Chenggong also dismissed the concubines, dancers, musicians and others in the room.

After these people left, a middle-aged man of ordinary appearance came to Sun Chenggong.

This middle-aged man was Sun Liu. Although he did not hold any official position in the Jingchu army, he was born as a servant of Sun Chenggong and was deeply trusted by Sun Chenggong. Sun Chenggong was willing to let him handle all the big and small matters.

"Your humble servant Sun Liu greets the commander-in-chief!" Upon seeing Sun Chenggong, Sun Liu immediately bowed and saluted!
In response, Sun Chenggong waved his hand and asked impatiently:
"How is the investigation going? Was it done by the Fengwu Army?"

Facing Sun Chenggong's question, Sun Liu said very cautiously:

"Reporting to the Marshal, I have not yet found out whether this incident was done by the Fengwu Army..."

Sun Chenggong was immediately disappointed when he heard this. Just as he was about to say something, Sun Liu continued:

"Although we haven't found out whether the Fengwu Army was responsible for this, my investigation has found out that Zhao Dawei, the official in charge of investigating this case, accepted money from Anqing businessman Guo Yuan!"

"Some people have seen Guo Yuan and General Duan Zhibao interacting very closely recently. It seems that their relationship is very special!"

Before Sun Liu finished speaking, Sun Chenggong couldn't help but narrow his eyes, although Sun Liu said that he had not yet found out whether the Fengwu Army was responsible for this incident!
But if this incident was done by the Thousand Tiger Guards, why would Guo Yuan give money to Zhao Dawei?
What was Guo Yuan’s purpose in giving money to Zhao Dawei?
Since Guo Yuan has such a close relationship with Duan Zhibao, what does he want to do?

Thinking of this, Sun Chenggong suddenly had several questions in his mind. He immediately made a decision and ordered:
"Sun Liu, bring Guo Yuan back to me! This must be done in secret, and don't alert anyone else!"

Hearing Sun Chenggong's instructions, Sun Liu nodded confidently and said:

"Got it! Marshal, I'll take action now!"

Just when Sun Chenggong was about to give some instructions, there were suddenly several loud noises outside. Just when Sun Chenggong was at a loss, a servant ran in and reported:

“Marshal, fires have broken out in several places in the city, and people outside are shouting that Sun Hui and Lu Hu have rebelled…”

(End of this chapter)