Wan County, the administrative seat of Lujiang County, consists of the main city of Wancheng and the river crossing Wankou. Sun Ce ordered the navy to block Wankou, and he led his troops to Wancheng.
He marched all the way, and within a few days, he arrived at Wancheng from Pengze. However, to his surprise, the gate of Wancheng was open!
Sun Ce's first reaction was, could it be that the news that he was leading troops to attack had not reached Wancheng?
He immediately rejected the idea, because he specifically slowed down his march a hundred miles away from the city. The inns along the way must have spread the news of his arrival to Wancheng!
Sun Ce was immediately put off. In his expectation, after Li Shu learned the news, he immediately closed the city gate tightly, and then went to the city to ask for a loan of food. Li Shu naturally refused, and then he Now that we have an excuse, we should take the opportunity to attack the city!
Full of doubts, he rode his horse to the city and shouted: "Sun Ce from Jiangdong came to Wankou to borrow food!"
After a while, the suspension bridge was lowered at the top of the city, and a city gate official came out and said: "Please also invite the general to enter the city."
Zisun Ce was even more dumbfounded now. What's going on?
Why doesn't the other party follow common sense?
Just let yourself in like this?
Could it be that there is an ambush in the city?
Zhou Yu hesitated for a moment and said: "Bo Fu, let the front army enter the city. If they dare to cheat, they should be wiped out in one fell swoop!"
Sun Ce nodded and let a thousand soldiers enter the city as the vanguard. When the Wancheng gate officer saw the soldiers coming, he did not stop them and simply stepped aside.
Sun Ce and Zhou Yu saw that all the former troops had entered the city, and there was nothing unusual. They couldn't help but look at each other. Finally, Sun Ce gritted his teeth and said: "Let's go in together and see what medicine they sell in the gourd!"
Surrounded by their personal guards, the two rode into the city. They saw the city gate officer following them and said: "The Lord of the Palace is already waiting in the city to guard the Palace. Please ask the lower officer to lead the way for the two generals."
Seeing this, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu had no choice but to follow him blankly, wondering what the hell was this?
Was this Wancheng simply abandoned by the other party?
At the gate of the city guard's mansion, Li Shu had already been waiting outside. When he saw Sun Ce and Zhou Yu arriving, he quickly came up to pay homage: "Li Shu, the governor of Lujiang County, has met these two generals."
Sun Ce jumped off his horse and glared at Li Shu: "Do you know what I'm here to do?"
Li Shu apologized and said with a smile: "I heard that the general was short of food, so Shu immediately allocated two warehouses of food in the city for the general's use."
"There are only three warehouses of grain in the city now, which are used by the people in the city. Allocating two warehouses is already the limit. I hope the general will forgive me."
Sun Ce asked: "Do the people in the city use the grain from the official warehouse?"
"And why does Wancheng have so much food in three warehouses?"
In the Han Dynasty, a warehouse, also called a yue, was about three thousand shi, and a three yue was almost close to 10,000 shi, which was not a small sum.
Li Shu explained: "This is all arranged by Yuan Shijun."
"When Yuan Shijun entered the city, he collected all the remaining grain from every household and official warehouse in the city and distributed it uniformly, allowing the city to tide over the difficulties."
"These days, although the situation has improved slightly and people can buy food from other places, this method is still followed."
Sun Ce and Zhou Yu looked at each other and thought that this move was not trying to win over the people, right?
Sun Ce snorted coldly and said, "Now that we can buy food, what food can we keep?"
"I want to take them all away from Sancang!"
Seeing Li Shu's expression change slightly, he sneered: "What, you don't accept it?"
After hearing this, Li Shu smiled bitterly and said, "I dare to ask, general. Is the general here just to collect food, or to occupy the city?"
After hearing this, Sun Ce stared, "Why, what's the difference?"
Li Shu explained: "When the envoy left, he said that the general would probably come, so he left a few words for the general."
Sun Ce and Zhou Yu thought that the other party had indeed guessed their actions, but since the other party was so open-minded, could it be that he really didn't care about Wancheng?
Zhou Yu frowned and said, "What did Fierce Tiger say?"
Li Shu said: "The envoy said that if the general really wanted to take Wancheng, he would give it to the general to avoid additional casualties."
Zhou Yu snorted coldly, "He can see it clearly. I'm afraid that if you resist, it will be like hitting a stone with an egg, and the only ones who will be killed or injured will be you!"
Li Shu smiled and said: "What the general said is true, and the envoy also said the same thing that day, so I warned my subordinates not to resist if the general comes, to avoid misunderstandings."
Zhou Yu felt as if his heavy punch was hitting cotton. He was unable to exert any strength, so he had to say forcefully: "So, this city is ours now?"
"Since Fierce Tiger is interested, we won't be polite!"
Li Shu waved his hand and said: "General, don't be impatient, I haven't finished speaking yet."
"He said that after the general takes possession of Wancheng, he hopes to treat the people in the city well, especially to maintain their food supply."
"So I would like to ask the two generals if they want to transfer all the food in the city now?"
Sun Ce heard something was wrong in his words and asked doubtfully: "Why, I own the city, why can't I adjust the food supply?"
Li Shu sighed, "You two, please follow me and investigate, and you will know the truth."
Full of suspicion, the two of them followed Li Shu to a granary in the city. They saw a long queue of people lining up, holding bamboo chips in their hands to receive food.
Li Shu explained: "This is the rule set by the envoy. On a household basis, you can withdraw three days of grain and rice."
When Zhou Yu saw it, he sneered and said, "There are many misbehaviors among the people. How can they be honest and obedient?"
Li Shu heard this and said: "If anyone is found to be making trouble or committing fraud, he will be severely punished, and in serious cases, he will be expelled from the city."
"Some problems did arise at the beginning, but the commander was very experienced in this. With the help of the officials he brought, the official still managed to maintain order in the city."
"Although there have been some oversights these days, at least in this city, the people can at least have food to eat."
However, Zhou Yu keenly discovered that next to the granary, there was a huge wooden board for posting notices, but now it had rows of large numbers written in ink on it.
He raised his hand and said, "What is this?"
Li Shu heard this and said: "The general has good eyesight. This is the method that you came up with. It is the biggest difference between Gongcang under his rule and other places under his rule."
"What is written on it is the grain that is stored in the public warehouse every day, the grain that is withdrawn, and the remaining grain in storage!"
After hearing this, Sun Ce lost his voice and said: "How can the common people know about such a confidential matter?"
"If there is a shortage of food, won't the city be in chaos?"
Li Shu smiled bitterly and said: "In the beginning, the lower officials thought the same way, and there were indeed voices of dissatisfaction in the city at first, feeling that they were receiving less food."
He pointed to the stacks of linen hanging on the wooden board, with countless small characters written on them, "But later the people discovered that they could even check the food received by everyone, and there was no difference between everyone. When there was a food shortage, everyone was in short supply. Grain, these dissatisfactions will slowly subside."
"The lower official once remembered what the envoy said. People are not worried about scarcity but inequality. As long as they know that at least there is no difference in the food they eat, they will naturally try their best to maintain this rule."
"Because even the stupidest people know that if this rule is broken, no one can guarantee whether they can still get food, and they don't dare to take the risk."
"After all, what happened in the city before made them know how valuable it is to have a rule that allows everyone to eat."
Zhou Yu was the first to understand, and his face became gloomy. No wonder the fierce tiger was so confident. This was clearly telling him that as long as he can do better, Wancheng can take whatever he wants.
But if he doesn't do as well as I do, then Wancheng will become a factor of instability. If the nobles and people are dissatisfied, not only will Sun Ce's reputation and prestige be damaged, but Wancheng will also be the source of trouble.
The key is, can Sun Ce really do better than Yuan Xi?
Zhou Yu couldn't help but look at Sun Ce and found that the other person's face had lost its previous confidence and showed a bit of solemnity.
Li Shu thought to himself: "If the general only takes the grain but not Wancheng, then the subordinates will definitely note on the list where the grain went, and then the whole city will know that the general took it."
"If the general wants food in the city, he will probably not follow this set of rules. If the wooden sign disappears, the people will naturally be able to guess it."
"Of course, the general can also fake the numbers to make the people in the city feel at ease..."
"Shut up!" Sun Ce said irritably, "I am not that kind of person!"
His expression was gloomy and uncertain. The pit that the fierce tiger had left for him turned out to be right here!
Although the opponent did not defend the city, this conspiracy was extremely disgusting. It clearly put Sun Ce in a dilemma!
Seeing that Sun Ce had lost his composure, Zhou Yu advised, "Bo Fu, why don't we let the soldiers rest for a few days to reorganize military affairs, and then make a long-term plan."
Seeing what Zhou Yu said, Sun Ce knew that the other party couldn't think of a good way for the time being, so he had no choice but to nod in agreement.
On their way back, Sun Ce said to Li Shu: "You are quite good at doing things. Did the fierce tiger give up on you?"
"How about following me?"
After hearing this, Li Shu smiled bitterly and said: "The lower officials are frightened. It was only by chance that I was appreciated by the envoy, so I temporarily took over the post of county guard. In fact, my virtue is not worthy of the position."
Zhou Yu sneered: "What's going on? Do you have something in the hands of the fierce tiger? Is it a family member or something else?"
Li Shu shook his head and said, "No."
"Before leaving, the envoy said that if the general recruits you, just let me make my own decision."
"But Shu thought about it and felt that my only advantage is that I can repay my kindness. Since I have been kind to you, I will certainly hand over Wancheng to the general in order to repay you for your appreciation. "
"As for talent, I am self-aware. There are many talented people under the general. Any county magistrate I choose is better than me. I thank the general for his high opinion, but I know my own ability and I really have no shame in stealing a high position. Please let me Wancheng is safely handed over to the general, please leave."
Li Shu thought very clearly that working under Sun Ce was not so safe. It was okay to win people with talent, but those without talent would lose their heads if they offended Sun Ce!
After hearing this, Sun Ce was silent. He and Zhou Yu arrived at the city guard's mansion. After asking Li Shu to retreat, he said to Zhou Yu: "Gong Jin, I can do whatever I want. Why do you think that ferocious tiger can do more than me?" Unbridled?"
After hearing this, Zhou Yu wanted to say something derogatory about Yuan Xi, but when the words came to his lips, they turned into a sigh, "Bo Fu, this fierce tiger will definitely be our enemy in the future."
"If we let him take over the two counties of Yangzhou, we will have no choice but to retreat to the east of the Yangtze River. It will be difficult to look north, let alone plan for the world."
"Those who achieve great things don't stick to trivial matters. Just find an opportunity and kill them!"
After hearing this, Sun Ce hesitated and unconsciously flipped through the list of nobles in front of him. Just as he was about to speak, his eyes suddenly flashed, "Qiao Gong is actually in Wancheng now?"
(End of chapter)
