Before the clipper Jianye sent the message arrived at the front line, Gan Ning and Lu Xun had already captured Dantu Water Village. They thought it would be a fierce and tough battle, but it turned out that the people guarding the water village were all old and weak.
Lu Xun sailed into the water stronghold in a fighting ship, and after meeting Gan Ning, he sighed: "The lights in the water stronghold were not dimmed last night. I thought Sun Shao would still hold on, but he ran away."
"The Sun family is a trapped beast and is still fighting. If we don't run away, we will capture them all. General Lu left two thousand men to garrison. We will chase directly to Wu County and capture Sun Quan so that we can return to our master." Gan Ning did not take it seriously.
Lu Xun then made a suggestion: "It's three hundred miles from Wu County. General Gan can continue to march by land and collect Qu'a, Piling, Wuxi and other counties along the way. Finally, we will block the Songjiang estuary by water. We will finally meet at Wu County."
"With the help of Shiyi (Lü Ju) and Gongxu (Luo Tong), we should be able to easily conquer the cities along the way. See you in Wuxian then." When Gan Ning spoke, he glanced at Su Fei intentionally, signaling Su Fei to be wary of Lu Xun .
"See you in Wu County." Lu Xun cupped his fists and returned the greeting.
Su Fei and Gan Ning have been friends for many years, and they can understand with just one look that Lu Xun surrendered too carelessly. Even with Lan Tian's letter as a guarantee, it would be too difficult for Gan Ning to be completely reassured and wary.
The two armies and horses immediately separated at Dantu. Gan Ning marched on the land where the cities were densely packed. He passed many villages and cities that were in a mess, as if they had just experienced a military disaster.
When Gan Ning was resting in Qu'a, he looked at the desolate scene in front of him and couldn't help but ask Luo Tong: "People say that Wu County in the east of the Yangtze River is so rich. How come there are thieves in this place?"
"The Shanyue bandits hide in the southern mountains and will never come to these places." Luo Tong didn't understand either.
Gan Ning asked again: "I don't see any young people everywhere. Could it be that he was recruited by Sun Quan? How many people do you plan to bury with him?"
"Well, there is indeed such a possibility." Luo Tong looked embarrassed. Suddenly he saw Lu Zheng returning from riding, so he pointed ahead and changed the subject: "Shiyi has come back from inquiring about information, and we will know the truth soon."
Lu Ju arrived in an instant, cupped his fists and saluted the two of them: "General Gan, Gongxu."
"What's going on? Why aren't there any young people? Were they taken away by Sun Quan?" Luo Tong asked eagerly.
"Sun Quan not only raped young men, but also spared young girls and young women, and also took away money and food from the city's treasury." Lu Zhi's voice was very low, and he was ashamed to say Sun Quan's name.
"What? How is this different from a bandit? That purple-bearded rat wife and concubine is trapped in Jianye, and now he is looking for beauty among the people? I don't know what to say about him, he deserves to end up like this." Luo Tong stomped his feet angrily.
"Who knows?" Lu Ju shook his head and smiled bitterly.
After hearing this, Gan Ning said sternly: "Since the people were robbed by Sun Quan, we should try not to disturb the people when we pass by. They are under the rule of Mr. Sun Quan now. They have been using military rations to satisfy their hunger in the past few days. After Wu County is defeated, we will reward the three armies."
"Wei." Luo Tong and Lu Zhi clasped their fists at the same time.
Gan Ning did not encounter any resistance along the way, and Lu Xun's waterway was unimpeded. The fleet arrived at the mouth of Songjiang River, but no ship was found, so he had a bad feeling.
When Lu Xun's ship sailed into Zhenze (Taihu Lake), he saw not only a warship but also a larger fishing boat during the march. He confirmed his suspicion that Sun Quan ran away.
On September 12, Lu Xun arrived in Wuxian three days earlier than Gan Ning. He also saw the scene that Gan Ning saw on the road. His eyes were filled with desolation and dilapidation. He killed the goose and took the eggs. He probably never thought about coming back.
Under the empty city gate, the golden wind blew the fallen leaves and fluttered. Lu Xun raised his head and let out a long sigh before riding into his hometown.
When Lu Xun entered Wuxian, Sun Quan had already led a vast fleet and sailed north along the offshore sea. At this time, he reached the waters near Yandu.
Sun Quan personally commanded hundreds of warships and drove thousands of large fishing boats, marching like migrating birds. In addition to the more than 30,000 remaining soldiers, the remaining 60,000 to 70,000 young men and women were forcibly recruited during this period. , even though Sun Quan went into exile in despair, he actually managed to collect one hundred thousand.
When Sima Shi proposed to go to Liaodong, Sun Quan instructed his resourceful adopted son to start preparations. He thought that instead of relying on others, it would be better to take the people with him, so that he could be self-sufficient in times of crisis.
"Having taken this step alone, Marquis Wen regrets staying with me? If I follow your brother Zhao back to the Central Plains, I won't have to wander on the sea. The distant relatives of the Sima family in the Central Plains should take care of your brothers. Maybe there will be some A stable home." Sun Quan glanced at the south, and then said dejected words to Sima Shi.
Return to the Central Plains?
Master Sima shook his head and smiled bitterly, and glanced at his crotch, thinking that if the two brothers left together, maybe his side would be completely cut off.
"Don't say that, foster father. My home is wherever my wife (Sun Luban) is. It's a pity that my grandma (Bu Lianshi) is stuck in Jianye." Master Sima lowered his head and sighed.
"I am very happy and contented to have the prince and Dahu by my side. As for your maternal aunt, I won't mention it." Sun Quan looked at the densely packed fishing boats and thought, "Isn't it easy to find a young woman?"
"My son has asked many fishermen that the sea is rougher in autumn and winter, but the winds and waves become smaller the further north you go, so I suggest you not to walk too fast and find a landing place early in the evening." Master Sima said with his fists clasped.
Sun Quan then added: "In addition to anchoring each ship deep, it is best to connect the ships with ropes to prevent them from being overturned by waves at night."
"Well, the boat will dock later, and I will personally make arrangements." Master Sima nodded lightly.
After Sun Quan gave up on Lu Xun, he regarded Master Sima as his confidant and consulted him on all matters, no matter how big or small. Now the more he looks at his son-in-law, the more he likes him.
Without the existence of the 'Wu Hou' Sima Shi, Sun Quan would most likely not have gone north, but would have taken these people to find an unnamed desert island to end the remaining days of King Wu of the Wei Dynasty.
"By the way, I think of the past when the Yuan family was destroyed. Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang also fled to Liaodong, but were finally killed by Gongsun Kang. How does Marquis Wen think Gongsun Gong would treat Gu? If the Gongsun family had this kind of virtue, wouldn't we? A sheep entering a tiger's mouth?" Sun Quan's face suddenly became heavy when he thought of this.
Master Sima thought for a while and then replied: "We are slightly different from the Yuan family now. Besides, the situation in Jiangdong has not lasted for half a year and cannot be spread to Liaodong. As long as the adoptive father does not show up easily, we can use the excuse of the two families to do business and buy Ma, maybe we can use the false road to attack Guo and take Liaodong. Besides, Wei is our ally, so Gongsun Gong should not be so rude."
"False way to attack Guo?" Sun Quan suddenly remembered Zhou Yu's sneak attack on Jiangling, and thought that this strategy was not very effective, and then frowned: "We have tens of thousands of people, how can Gongsun Gong not be suspicious?"
"Don't worry, foster father. When we reach the border of Qingzhou, we can temporarily stop at the deserted beach. If we are discovered by the local defenders, we can lie and claim that we have Cao Pi's permission. Maybe there will be food and grass assistance." Sima Shi had already thought of it. Countermeasures.
"Shan, I have Marquis Wen like a fish in water." Sun Quan smiled happily.
However, the thoughts are full, but the reality is extremely skinny.
A huge fleet of tens of thousands of ships sailed at sea for half a month and finally approached Donglai, Qingzhou. However, they were hit by wind and waves one after another, and half of the ships were overturned in the sea. Tens of thousands of young men and women who were forcibly brought here were too late. If you stage Titanic, you will be buried in the ocean.
Just when Sun Quan's confidence was hit hard, a small fleet came across the sea and gave King Wu of Wei another choice.
The sailors of this fleet were poorly dressed, had very strange hairstyles, and spoke a barbarian language that Sun Quan could not understand. Only a few of the hundreds of people could speak Chinese.
Seeing Sun Quan's huge fleet, the Yi people felt as if they were seeing gods, claiming to be the envoys of Queen Himihu.
(End of chapter)
