Chapter 509: Blue Eyes and Purple Beard
A hero with purple beard and blue eyes can make his officials loyal. In the twenty-fourth year, great achievements were made, and the dragon and the tiger were in Jiangdong. -------Ming. Luo Guanzhong's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"
It is said that the second sister Zhuge Ruoxue is like a blazing fire, and when she hears the wind, it becomes rain. Speaking of the eldest brother Zhuge Jin, she wants to follow Zhuge Liang to Jiangdong to visit the sister-in-law whom she has never met. Zhuge Liang's objections were ineffective, and the others had nothing to do, so the tour group took off.
Speaking of a tour group, Gan Ning, Zhuge Liang, and Lu Su were all nervous. After all, they were going to a strange place, and they were once hostile parties in the fight for control of Jiangxia. The boat sails along the Han River and into Jiangxia. The scenery along the way is endless, and the two snows are so breathtaking that I can't even mention them.
On this day, the river gradually widened, and there were several patrol warships ahead, under the banner of Qinglong Army. Suddenly he saw Gan Ning's warship brigade and hurriedly waved the flag to signal. After a moment, several long blasts of horns sounded, and a warship that was exactly the same as Gan Ning's flagship quickly anchored from the military port in front. The paddles on both sides were like hot wheels at Nezha's feet, approaching Gan Ning's fleet at high speed. Gan Ning and everyone else stood on the bow of the ship to watch. They saw a veteran standing on the bow of the opposite ship. He was dressed in a short military uniform and covered with leather armor. His face was like a king's, with a flowing white beard. He held a horizontal sword in his hand. He looked majestic and upright. It is Huang Zhong, a veteran of the Green Dragon and Seven Tigers. There was a Confucian general next to him, with fair complexion, a slight moustache, thin lips and handsome eyes, and a dagger hanging from his waist. He looked at him like a spring breeze. He was Jiangxia military advisor, navy planner, and Yingchuan prince Xi Zhicai.
The two ships quickly approached, and Huang Zhong was surprised when he saw six or seven people on the bow of Gan Ning's ship. Finally, the two ships came together smoothly. Huang Zhong and Xi Zhicai connected the planks across the country and saluted together: "I've seen the great military advisor! I've seen General Gan!" Zhuge Liang and Gan Ning hurriedly returned the salute.
Nominally, Zhuge Liang is the new chief military advisor of the Qinglong Army, and Gan Ning is the commander of the Navy Corps. Their status is indeed above Huang Zhong and Xi Zhicai. However, Jiangxia is the front line of Jingzhou and the most important defense against Jiangdong and Huangzu. Huang Zhong and Xi Zhicai also have heavy troops at hand. The total number of Jiangxia Qinglong Army's land and water troops has reached 100,000, which can be said to be a high-ranking position.
Xi Zhicai's style is as good as before, and it seems that he has changed his fate of dying young in official history. Long-term military training has also made Xi Zhicai physically stronger. After finishing greetings with Zhuge Liang, Xi Zhicai's eyes fell on the two beauties behind Zhuge Liang and said with a smile: "Who are these two ladies? It is rare to see them in the military. They are really a little red among the greenery."
Ruoxue was actually a little shy and hid behind her eldest sister. Mengxue lowered her head slightly and said, "We are Kong Ming's eldest and second sisters, and this is my younger brother Zhuge Jun. This has caused trouble for the general." Xi Zhicai said in surprise: "So they are Kong Ming's siblings?"
Zhuge Liang was already confused, and he quickly explained: "They... are good friends of the two young ladies from the Qiao family in Jiayu County, Jiangxia. They are here to visit their friends this time."
Xi Zhicai couldn't help but said with relief: "Haha, that's it. It's simple. Jiayu County is nearby. I will immediately send a warship to escort the two sisters to Jiayu to land."
Mengxue nodded and said, "Thank you so much, Commander Xi!" Ruoxue couldn't hold it in anymore, and now she was no longer shy. She walked around from behind her sister and said, "Master Xi! I'm not in a hurry to see the Qiao sisters. Let's go with our brother and Gan The general is here to meet the talents of Jiangdong. Aren't you going to meet with the Wu army on the other side of the river soon? Let's go there together and have a look. In addition, we also need to ask the little overlord Sun Ce to let us meet our sister-in-law. "
Xi Zhicai's face darkened, he stretched out his hand to touch the back of his head and murmured: "Who is your sister-in-law?" Ruoxue said anxiously: "She is the wife of my eldest brother Zhuge Jin!"
Xi Zhi then saw that Ruoxue was still beautiful even though her eyebrows were raised. Although her eyebrows were wrinkled, her big watery eyes were looking at her like a deep pool. She couldn't help but feel soft in her heart and looked at Huang Zhong for help. . The veteran Huang Zhong was so naughty. He just pretended not to see it. Xi Zhicai looked at Gan Ning again and saw that Gan Ning and Huang Hansheng were chatting passionately. They knew they were in love and couldn't refuse. So he walked down the slope and said: "Well! In this case, Then could you please condescend to the two young ladies and dress up as soldiers on my ship, so as not to arouse suspicion?" Ruoxue said with a smile, "I know there are a lot of military advisors!"
Xi Zhicai had absolutely nothing to do with Ruoxue, Zhuge Liang felt very sorry for his two sisters, and Gan Ning didn't dare to offend Ruoxue, so the matter was settled as soon as he said it. Following Huang Zhong's order, Gan Ning's and Huang Zhong's troops merged and marched to the mouth of Sanjiang. They saw the river going eastward, turbid currents rolling in, endless waves of smoke, golden scales swimming, and sand gulls gathering. Ruoxue looked very proud and said loudly: "If I were a man, I would definitely be able to become General Qinglong!" Everyone laughed secretly, but no one dared to answer.
As the warships entered the Yangtze River, Xi Zhicai added: "However, since we have to cross the border together, let me explain the layout of Jiangxia. The geography of Jiangxia is very complex. Although Huang Zujun is the smallest, it still has not officially surrendered to Sun Wu. There are still some warships on the river flying Huang Zujun's own flag, but they don't dare to be hostile to us and the Wu army. This time, General Xingba's warships are nominally to help Sun Wu's army resist Cao's army, so Sun Wu allows us The warships crossed the actual control boundary and directed Xiakou Military Port as a dedicated berthing unit. It can be said that Jiangdong Sun Ce's sincerity is very sufficient this time." Everyone nodded in agreement.
Huang Zhong sighed: "In the past, if it weren't for Huang Zu's constraints, we would have occupied this great river and mountain long ago. Today, Sun Wu has no choice but to ask us for cooperation, and he wishes he had to ignore it. But when he thinks about it, our army and Soochow are at loggerheads. If Cao Cao unified Jiangdong, where would our peace be?"
Zhuge Liang was thoughtful. He had already understood the complicated situation in Jiangxia. Today, he would definitely start from the premise of how to unite to resist Cao Jun. As for Huang Zu's issue, Sun Wu would definitely not agree to directly attack Huang Zu, so he had to put it aside for now. Zhuge Liang thought of this and said to Huang Zhong: "This Huang Zu, why did he neither surrender to Sun Wu nor Qinglong? In the ordinary days of the Han Dynasty, was there a surveillance post against Huang Zu?" Huang Zhong shook his head and said: "Everyday warships There is surveillance, but the internal situation of Huang Zu is not clear. If Kong Ming is interested, the mistress has arranged a hidden sentry in Queyue City."
Zhuge Liang nodded slightly and said: "Jiangxia is divided into three parts, which is very complicated. Since Huang Zu is unwilling to surrender, there must be deep-seated reasons. Han Sheng, we might as well do more land and water attacks on our side against Huang Zu." defense."
Xi Zhicai was slightly startled when he heard this, thinking that Kong Ming was really cautious in using his troops. Interjected: "What Kong Ming said is absolutely true. This time our warships dispatched troops to Xiakou Port, the defense of Hanyang City, the base camp behind us, is weak. If Huang Zu takes the opportunity to attack, it may be difficult to resist. However, Huang Zu seems to have been keeping a low profile to ensure peace. , the troops are not enough, so he shouldn’t attack rashly, right? Even if he captures Hanyang, what good will it do to him? "
Huang Zhong also felt that he was too cautious, and Zhuge Liang explained: "The premise for the Qinglong Army to send troops to help Sun Wu is that Sun Wu will not plot against us. If Huang Zu joins forces with Sun Wu and wants to seize the entire Jiangxia that has been undecided for many years, they can take advantage of our large army." Outside, there is a surprise attack on Hanyang, Hanyang is lost, and Sun Wu rebels. When the time comes, our army will be isolated and helpless, and our food and grass will be cut off. What should we do?"
As soon as these words came out, Xi Zhi couldn't help but take a deep breath. He originally thought that Soochow and Cao Cao would not come back to seize Jiangxia due to the war. From this point of view, the situation was far from that simple. Xi Zhicai murmured: "What a Zhou Gongjin, would he really take advantage of this moment to plot to seize Jiangxia?"
Zhuge Liang said coldly: "How can a mere Jiangdong satisfy their ambitions? I have long seen through their ambitions for Jingzhou, so I let Ling Cao train in Yuzhang. If necessary, the army will cross Dongting, Baqiu and Hengyang. By then, the entire Jiangling and even Lingling will be within the range of the Soochow warships arriving in ten days."
Huang Zhong was shocked and said: "In this case, why are you helping him? Hurry up and pull the team back, and you still care about Soochow's life and death."
Zhuge Liang said: "No! If you don't enter the tiger's den, you won't catch the tiger's cubs. This is a good time for us to go deep into Soochow. For the great cause of the Qinglong Army, even if we die in a foreign land, we must unify Jiangdong as soon as possible."
Xi Zhicai nodded slightly, admiring Zhuge Liang's prudence, courage and vision in his heart, and said with a smile: "In this case, our army can allocate its forces reasonably. Han Sheng and I will guard Hankou, while Kong Ming and Gan Ning will go deep into Soochow and act according to the opportunity. We can be invincible." Zhuge Liang said: "Soochow can help with Gan Ning's 200 warships and 20,000 sailors."
Everyone was making plans when suddenly they saw the sound of three cannons coming from where the sails were rising, and a large number of naval forces appeared on the wide river in front. The flag was red with white trim, with a big black "Wu" on it, and some Huanglong flags are mixed. From a distance, it can be seen that the ships are of different sizes. On top of the largest ship, there is a young man in black standing proudly.
The warships got closer and closer, the horns sounded, and the speed of the ships on both sides quickly slowed down. The flagships on both sides quickly came closer. I saw that the young man was eight feet tall, with purple beard and blue eyes, bright eyes, a square mouth, and a handsome appearance. Qiwei, wearing thin black metal armor and a black battle robe with yellow dragons, was blown by the fierce river wind and fluttered behind him, showing a fierce domineering and standard straight figure.
The soldier behind Xi Zhicai was none other than Zhuge Ruoxue, who had put on makeup and said softly: "Is this the little overlord Sun Ce? He is really domineering."
Xi Zhicai shook his head slightly and said: "No, no! This man is Sun Ce's younger brother. Sun Quan is said to have a son like Sun Zhongmou!"
If you want to know what happens next, listen to the explanation next time.
