Act now!
Since the news that Sun Ce had fallen into the hands of the Demon Sect had reached Sun Quan, it naturally also reached Huang Zu, who was just across the border.
Sun Quan believed that this period of time would be the most slack time for Huang Zu. Maybe he will hold a banquet to celebrate tonight. After all, even if someone guessed that Sun Quan might be in Jiangxia, no one could imagine that after being hit by this, Sun Quan would still have the heart to go to the battlefield.
"Lord."
Soon, Zhu Ran rushed over,
"I have already contacted the next merchant ship. Lord, you and General Ling Cao and the others can pretend to be my followers for the time being and board the ship with me?" Zhu Ran suggested.
Due to Huang Zu's blockade in Xiakou, not only ordinary merchant ships were unable to pass, but many pedestrians who wanted to go upstream and downstream were stranded on the riverside. Either, find a way to pass by land, or temporarily stay overnight in a nearby town, or, just make some connections and leave by a merchant ship that can pass.
Although those who were eligible to be released by Huang Zu were all businessmen related to the Jingzhou gentry, but businessmen, who made money by being friendly, especially when doing business in the Yangtze River Basin, how could they completely ignore their relationship with the Jiangdong gentry? Therefore, Zhu Ran had no problem sneaking into these caravan ships. As long as he didn't bring many people with him, the other party would naturally be willing to provide convenience and sell Zhu Ran a favor.
This was what Sun Quan had learned early on. He was not surprised. Moreover, the merchant ships waiting in line to pass were basically stranded in Jiangxia. Sun Quan also knew exactly which merchant ship the next merchant ship would pass through. only. . . . .
"You want to go too?" Sun Quan said to Zhu Ran, he had never said this beforehand. Sun Quan knew that these people were worried about their own safety, so he tried every means to accompany them.
"Hehe." Zhu Ran smiled. Because he studied with Sun Quan when he was a child, Zhu Ran was not as reserved as Dong Xi and others in front of Sun Quan. "My lord, I have already told people about my plan to board the ship. If we have to change it temporarily now, I’m afraid people will be suspicious of it.”
"What a good boy! You've learned how to kill first and then show off!" Sun Quan pointed at Zhu Ran speechlessly and said this, but the man also laughed, and his heart felt warmer.
"But if you come in person, aren't you afraid of being suspected?" Sun Quan said suddenly. Zhu Ran was Zhu Zhi's nephew. Even before Zhu Zhi had no son, he was raised by Zhu Zhi as his own son. Although Zhu Ran does not have an official position in Jiangdong, his status still makes people doubt his official background. Normally, this is of course convenient for Zhu Ran, but during sensitive periods, Zhu Ran's identity is definitely not a good help. Even if the people in Jingzhou are willing to help Zhu Ran, they will definitely be wary of Zhu Ran at all times.
"If I don't get involved, I'll use my connections, and others will find out about me, which will make people even more suspicious. But if I get involved, with my status, no normal person would think that I would risk my life, so it will naturally be mitigated. Suspicion." Zhu Ran explained, "In addition, there are not many of us this time. Even if the other side wants to guard against me, it is probably because they are guarding against my behavior after I get there, and are worried that I will spy on military affairs or something."
"But Lord, we don't have much of a problem here, but what about the army that will follow?" Zhu Ran said suddenly, with a worried expression, "The army is dispatched, and at such a short distance, it may not be able to hide it from Huang Zu's scouts. And the soldiers boarded Ships are very time-consuming. If we don't act in advance, we won't be able to catch up later. Even if we really succeed in cutting off the iron rope, if our fleet fails to keep up, the enemy will still have time to pull up another iron rope. of."
In response, Sun Quan just smiled mysteriously,
"Don't worry, I have ordered Dong Xi to make preparations."
"Since the Lord said so, I don't have to worry." Zhu Ran nodded, and then stopped talking.
Seeing this, Sun Quan couldn't help but ask,
"Do you have any other concerns?"
"No! No more!" Zhu Ran shook his head quickly. Don’t forget what day it is today? Today is the day when the news comes that Sun Ce fell into the hands of the Demon Sect! As a result, Sun Quan never mentioned this topic, so Zhu Ran naturally wanted to explore Sun Quan's tone. Even if Sun Quan doesn't give a clear plan, he should at least give an attitude and let everyone know what to do. If that doesn't work, you can at least refute the rumors first and control the spread of "rumors". Are you going to let the rumors continue to develop and ferment?
However, this topic is too sensitive. Don't you know that Sun Quan is keeping this matter in his heart and forcing himself not to think about it? Or does Sun Quan actually not care about the life or death of his eldest brother Sun Ce, and doesn't even want Sun Ce to come back? Therefore, even considering the childhood relationship between Zhu Ran and Sun Quan, Zhu Ran did not dare to think too much on this topic, let alone ask more questions. Whatever Sun Quan told him to do, he would do it. For other things, it would be better to explore less.
Even Zhu Ran is like this, let alone others? On this day, in Jiangxia, no one among the senior officials who knew about Sun Quan's existence dared to mention Sun Ce. It was as if this incident had never happened and there were no rumors at all. Everyone was quietly doing their part, and the silence was a little depressing.
??????
Xiakou, the other side,
"Good news! Really good news! Hahahaha!"
Huang Zu couldn't help laughing when he learned that Sun Ce was captured by the Demon Sect, but soon, Huang Zu, who was always cautious, stopped smiling and asked in a deep voice,
"Is this source reliable?"
"The source is absolutely reliable." The following replied, "If you want to know about Sun Ce, we also sent people there. I heard that the battle was very fierce. Many forces took action, and the Demon Sect also paid a lot of effort. It took a heavy price to finally take Sun Ce away. Many people witnessed that battle, and the news cannot be false."
"With so many forces, they can just let the Demon Sect take people away?" After all, Huang Zu didn't see it in person, so he subconsciously had doubts.
"I'm afraid everyone wants to capture Sun Ce alive, so they haven't done anything serious?" the subordinate guessed.
Huang Zu thought for a while and nodded.
"It makes sense. No one wants to kill Sun Ce in public, as that would completely offend the Sun family. In comparison, it is better to let the Demon Sect get Sun Ce than to let Sun Ce fall into other forces. Probably for this reason, all parties went along with the flow and acquiesced. achieved this result.”
Having said this, Huang Zu had a smile on his face again,
"This is the best! If Sun Ce dies, Jiangdong will soon be monolithic again. If Sun Ce comes back, Jiangdong will be even better than it is now. But Sun Ce didn't die but failed to come back. Not to mention that Jiangdong will be split into two, at least there is nothing that can be done about it. Focus your efforts in one place! Time and destiny! What happens after Sun Wu? What about the little overlord of Jiangdong? What about being the best in the world? This Jiangxia is destined not to belong to your Sun family!"
