Among the capable young generals Sun Ce left to Sun Quan were some figures that Sun Quan was very familiar with, such as Jiang Qin, Dong Xi, Ling Cao, etc. Coupled with Lu Meng and Zhou Tai who were brought by Sun Quan, Sun Quan believes that if the same lineup is put into the future, it will probably really scare the enemy!
Soon, Sun Ce led his troops and left, and the other core figures of the Sun family also took office. Only Sun Quan and some new soldiers and generals were left in the camp to practice every day.
This is a camp outside Wujun City. It is not too close to Wujun. On weekdays, this is a very large camp that can accommodate tens of thousands of people. There will be no bandits who are not discerning. commit. But now, there are barely 10,000 people left, and the entire military camp looks much empty. If it is not tidy up for a few days, it will give people a desolate feeling.
On this day, Sun Quan estimated the time and was ready to take action.
When Yan Baihu takes the initiative to attack, who knows what year and month it will wait? And with the speed at which Sun Ce was attacking the city, if the war hadn't started yet after Sun Ce defeated Chen Yu, then this matter would be a bit embarrassing. How to prove that Yan Baihu colluded with Chen Yu and tried to seize the lands in Jiangdong?
Therefore, this time difference must be grasped, neither early nor late. As long as a war starts here, regardless of victory or defeat, the direction of public opinion will be in favor of the Sun family.
However, this is only from the overall perspective. From Sun Quan's own perspective, his goal is not just to start a war, but to completely capture Yan Baihu before Sun Ce comes back! Sun Quan was not very obsessed with winning, he just simply wanted to kill Xu Gong.
The Xu family is a well-known family. The famous scholar Xu Jing and the critic Xu Shao are both members of the Xu family. They fled to Yangzhou to avoid the war, which was partly due to the tribute. Therefore, killing Xu Gong in normal times would have a very bad impact, similar to Cao Cao's killing and giving way to others. Mingshi is a sign in this era. No matter what the reason is, if you kill Mingshi, the people will have a feeling that you are persecuting Zhongliang. What the common people think is one thing, but what the other nobles think is even more important. Who knows if you will attack Xu Gong, and the next one will hit them? Moreover, a famous family like Xu Gong also has many close friends, and these people will also have grudges with the Sun family.
Therefore, if you want to kill Xu Gong with the least impact, now is the best time. Yan Baihu is a well-known bandit, so who told you to go and join Yan Baihu! Besides, among the rebels, who knows who Xu Gong is? The sword has no eyes. If you kill, you will kill. You can't blame others.
This time, Sun Quan was so concerned because he vaguely felt that this seemingly inconspicuous small change might lead to drastic changes in the world in the future!
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Around Wujun, in a certain barren mountain,
The wooden buildings stretch into a piece, and from a distance, they look like a tribe. Although the building is simple, it is relatively strong and can be regarded as a small fort.
Inside the cottage,
"Report~~~~Boss, I encountered an outside envoy in the mountains and was being chased by Sun soldiers. The situation is urgent and we didn't have time to report, so we rescued the person first." A younger brother suddenly rushed into the main camp of Dazhai. , the report said.
In the middle of the hall, there is a huge open mountain chair that can accommodate people. It is covered with a piece of white tiger skin. A tall and slightly fat man is sitting in it. This person is the famous mountain bandit Yan Baihu. !
In the hall, there were several elegant scholars who were not in harmony with the environment here. The leader was Xu Gong, who temporarily came to be attached to Yan Baihu. In the cottage, there was no strict management, so the boy ran in without asking for permission. In this regard, Xu Gong and others frowned slightly. Their conversation just now was interrupted. As literati and poets, they were indeed not used to some of the habits here. However, Yan Baihu, who was sitting in the main seat, was not surprised at all and was not angry at all.
"Oh? Where did the messenger come from?" Yan Baihu asked curiously.
Speaking of which, the reason why Yan Baihu has been able to grow in recent years is entirely due to the loneliness of the Sun family. Without the Sun family in Jiangdong, none of the new governors took the initiative to attack the bandits. After all, they had too much to take care of themselves just to defend themselves against foreign enemies. To deal with these bandits, whether Liu Yao, Wang Lang or Xu Gong, adopted a gentle strategy.
Of course, don't think that Wang Lang and others are cowardly, they are also quite capable. To put it simply, they are pitting bandits against bandits. They deliberately support a bandit who is willing to live in harmony with themselves and others, and annex other disobedient bandits. As a result, the bandits around Wujun are eventually reunited. Its leader is Yan Baihu! From a certain perspective, Yan Baihu is simply an officially recognized "orthodox" mountain bandit.
It is true that the methods of Wang Lang and others are indeed effective. The public security around Wu County has improved, and officials and people do not have to worry about harassment by bandits. They do not need to spend a single soldier, but only need to pay a little benefit in the long term. Overall, the advantages should outweigh the disadvantages.
However, this is only the view in the eyes of literati. In the eyes of military generals, this behavior of raising tigers is tantamount to trapping oneself in a cocoon. Originally, the bandits did not have a common leader, and they fought independently without causing much chaos. But now, they are all concentrated in one place. If you want to wipe out such a huge force, can you still wipe it out? Even at the critical moment, aren't you afraid that the bandit Yan Baihu will get tired of being a bandit and become ambitious and directly seize Wu County and Kuaiji?
It can be said that the behavior of Wang Lang and others was simply playing with fire, but fortunately, before Yan Baihu had any evil thoughts and the two parties were still in the honeymoon period, Sun Ce called.
As a result, Xu Gong and others were defeated and defected to Yan Baihu, and a strange incident occurred in which Wang Lang and Yan Baihu's army joined forces to fight the enemy together. Yan Baihu knew very well that everything he had now was all given by Xu Gong, Wang Lang and others. Therefore, he really didn't want Sun Ce to return to Jiangdong.
It's a pity that the bandits are bandits after all and cannot compare to the regular army. Sun Ce is also brave and cunning, and he quickly beats Wang Lang away. Nowadays, Yan Baihu is the only one left in the entire Wu County area. Yan Baihu has been worried all day long, fearing that Sun Ce will come knocking on his door at some point.
Fortunately, I heard that Sun Ce had led his troops north and could continue to survive for a while. However, Yan Baihu is still a little curious. Since Wang Lang has escaped, who else will take the initiative to contact him now? It seems like you don’t have any allies anymore, right?
"Bring the people up." Yan Baihu ordered.
Soon, a scarred, dusty, and dirty young man ran in, holding a letter in his hand and shouting,
"Leave it to Yan Baihu, Marshal Yan! I am my lord."
Before he finished speaking, the person fell down.
Xu Gong's eyes moved next to him and he quickly stepped forward to check.
"It seems that he fainted from exhaustion."
"Take the person down first and take good care of him." Yan Baihu ordered, stood up from the tiger leather chair, and immediately came forward, "Mr. Xu, I am illiterate, so you should help me read this letter."
