Danyang County, governed by Yangzhou, is most famous for its elite warriors who fight to the death.
Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Tao Qian, Sun Ce and others have all achieved success with the help of Danyang soldiers.
After Cao Cao conquered Dong, he brought Xiahou Dun here to recruit troops. After Liu Bei whipped the postal governor, he also went to Danyang to recruit brave soldiers. Even Tao Qian's only source of confidence to compete with Cao Cao was the elite soldiers from Danyang.
Therefore, there is a saying that the best soldiers in the world came out of Danyang.
Danyang has some similarities with Xiliang. The people here are very martial and have been practicing martial arts since they were young. Due to the steep mountains and difficult life, the people here are extremely tough in battle.
In fact, a large part of the Jiefan soldiers created by Sun Quan in his later period came from Danyang.
It is worth mentioning that the administrative seat of Danyang has always been Wanling. After Sun Ce drove away the prefect appointed by Yuan Shu, he did not choose to station in Wanling County, but in Jianye where the dragon and the tiger were dominating.
In Jianye City, on the school grounds, the army was reorganizing, transporting grain and grass, or transferring ordnance.
Wearing purple brocade clothes and a sword named Baihong tied around his waist, the seventeen-year-old boy looked at the soldiers.
The young man has purple eyebrows and blue eyes, a sharp mouth, a square mouth, and an unusual appearance. He is Sun Quan who was ordered by Sun Ce to supervise the army to Guangling.
Generally speaking, it takes less than four or five days for an army of 30,000 people to prepare and go out for battle.
If you include the time spent supervising the transportation of grain and fodder, sometimes it even takes more than half a month.
But it only took Sun Quan two days from the time he received Sun Ce's letter to the moment he was ready to go on an expedition tomorrow.
It’s not that Sun Quan had outstanding internal affairs skills and dispatched troops like the wind. These tens of thousands of people had already prepared for war before Sun Ce went on the expedition. After the defeat of Anfeng, Zhou Yu seemed to be sure that Cao Cao would attack Xuzhou. .
As for the supervision of food and grass, I have to thank Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong. In order to raise food and grass, the two of them lobbied in front of the four major families.
Although these two Zhang's assistance to Sun Ce was not as good as Xun Yu's assistance to Cao Cao, they also helped resolve many internal conflicts.
"General, frontline report!" A scout ran to Sun Quan, who had purple eyebrows and blue eyes, and handed over a bamboo slip.
This battle report is none other than the information about Cao Cao's defeat to Lu Bu two days ago.
Sun Quan was so frightened that he quickly closed the bamboo slips.
This march was precisely because Cao Cao occupied Xiaoguan and formed an encirclement of Xuzhou, so they rashly headed north to Guangling.
As a result, they had just mobilized their troops and had not even left the city when the news of defeat came.
At only seventeen years old, he was in a panic. If he went by his subconscious thoughts, he should give up going north to Guangling, but he was not sure what Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were thinking.
The most terrible thing is that he can't find anyone to ask. Even Er Zhang, who is still loyal to the Sun family, is still the representative of the family's interests. If he reads this battle report, he will definitely give up.
For a moment, he was in a dilemma and didn't know how to choose.
According to what was said before, it would take at least two days for Sun Ce and the others to reach Guangling. If there was a storm, it might be delayed for another day or two. In other words, at this moment, he had to make his own decision.
Since ancient times, heroes in Jiangdong have been born young. This is true. After a brief panic, Sun Quan quickly calmed down.
He opened the bamboo slips again and read the contents clearly. Xiao Guan changed hands and Cao Cao was defeated.
In other words, he only defeated the twenty or thirty thousand people in Xiaoguan City, and the real army did not have time to enter.
If this is the case, there will inevitably be a confrontation for a certain period of time after Xiahou Dun's 100,000 troops arrive, and Lu Bu still cannot escape immediately.
From this perspective, even if Guangling's morale is better than expected, it is still necessary to go north.
After closing the bamboo slips again, Sun Quan made a bold decision and continued crossing the river to Guangling.
According to the original plan, they stationed themselves outside the city first. If Sun Ce and Zhou Yu felt that the time was not right, they could withdraw later and only lose some food and grass. It is always better than missing a good opportunity.
In terms of mind, it is remarkable that a seventeen-year-old boy can make such a bold decision about life and death.
Of course, all choices are based on the foundation of strength. Sha Xian won countless gold and abundant food and grass. This is the Sun family's confidence.
The generals participating in the war included experienced veterans Han Dang and Ling Cao, as well as leaders of the younger generation, Chen Wu, Jiang Qin, Ding Feng and Pan Zhang, plus 30,000 Jiangdong elite soldiers.
What about the other side?
Of the six thousand soldiers and horses, only Zhang Liao was a worthy figure. Sun Quan was also thinking, how could he lose in this situation?
To put it bluntly, I can’t lose even if I want to.
Jingzhou, Xinye City, in the political hall.
Zhang Fei's beard trembled with laughter, "Don't the slaves of the third surname always boast about how powerful his son-in-law is? He was defeated by Cao Cao!"
It was not Zhang Fei's pattern to add insult to injury, but he began to hate Lu Bu when Xuzhou was robbed. After the battle of Anfeng, he also disliked his son-in-law. Seeing that they were not doing well, he felt relieved.
In fact, at this time, Cao Cao had been forced to retreat to Xiangxian County, but they did not know it and still took the first battle report, which was the first battle of Xiaoguan's change of ownership.
This is what Liu Qi sent to Liu Bei. This is the time limit of the information.
"Cao Cao is a traitor to the country after all. As officials of the Han Dynasty, we hope that Lu Bu can win." Liu Bei sighed casually.
After he came back from Xiangyang and found out Liu Biao's temperament, he became less concerned about the battle between Cao and Lu.
Or it could be said that it was a kind of helplessness. Now he was sitting in Xinye, accomplishing nothing. He was unable to save the emperor from Xuchang to serve his country, and he was unable to raise righteous soldiers to accomplish a great cause and eliminate the national traitors. He held the official position of Xinye County Magistrate and did nothing.
Guan Yu on the side said nothing, these things were not as interesting as the spring and autumn in his hands.
"Lord."
After Jian Yong walked into the inner hall, he bowed and saluted first, and then handed a bundle of bamboo slips to the desk. "These are the terms for the taxation of Xinye next year that I have agreed with Gongyou. Please take a look at it, my lord."
"Thank you for your hard work, Xianhe." Liu Bei nodded to the slightly bloated Jian Yong who was bowing in front of him.
Speaking of Jian Yong, he actually knew Liu Bei earlier than Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, and he was probably similar to Gongsun Zan, having known each other since they were young.
Moreover, he has been following Liu Bei since the Zhuojun uprising, and he is considered one of the old team members.
"Too much"
Liao Liao looked at the front, and Liu Bei shook his head and objected, and said in a deep voice: "Now that the world is full of wars and the people are in great difficulty, I can bear to increase taxes."
"My lord, you have already reduced the autumn harvest tax by 20% for the people. If we don't make adjustments from this tax, we won't have the money and food to expand our army." Jian Yong looked embarrassed.
When Liu Bei fled from Anfeng to Jingzhou, he only had more than 600 people left with him. It had been a while since he came to Xinye, and his army had only expanded to 1,000 people. The speed was not slow.
You know, there are 70,000 to 80,000 people in Xinye City. Not to mention more, it should not be difficult to expand the army to 7,000 to 8,000 people. However, if this rate is maintained, it will not reach 8,000 people in another ten years.
"Anyone who has achieved great things in ancient and modern times has always put the people first, the people first, and the people first. The king is light but the people are noble. Now if I serve the people for personal gain, I would rather die than do it." Liu Bei sighed, Guan Yu, who was immersed in the Spring and Autumn Period, couldn't help but put down the bamboo slips in his hands and nodded slightly to express his agreement.
"Uncle Renyi, on behalf of the people of Xinye, thank you very much." As he spoke, a person walked out of the hall, wearing a white Confucian robe and a standard Shan Yang beard. The voice came before the person arrived.
"Uncle Ji is here."
Liu Bei put down the terms and stood up, smiling and saying, "Come on, come on, please sit down."
Yi Ji Bo was from Shanyang County, Yanzhou. He was from the same hometown as Li Dian, but he came to Jingzhou in his early years and attached himself to Liu Biao.
After Liu Bei arrived, he would come to visit him every now and then, more frequently than Liu Qi.
Yi Ji admired Liu Bei's reputation for benevolence and righteousness, and Liu Bei was willing to make friends with people like Yi Ji who had been living in Jingxiang for many years. The two of them hit it off.
After being rejected by Pang Degong three times, Liu Bei was not discouraged. He changed his mind and asked Yi Ji to find a way to get acquainted with Pang Tong first and express his thoughts. As long as Pang Tong is willing to help, everything will be fine.
After all, the head of the family is Pang Degong, but the rising star of the Pang family is Pang Tong.
"Uncle Ji, did you come to see Pang Shiyuan today?" Liu Bei asked someone eagerly to bring him a cup of tea.
"See you, but..."
After Yi Ji took a sip of tea, he said with a smile: "Pang Shiyuan said that he still wants to study behind closed doors, and may make a decision after a few years."
At least there was no clear rejection, so Liu Bei was not discouraged, and asked again: "It doesn't matter. I have been looking for him for many days, and I have some clues. Why don't I pay him a visit in person this time, or I can make a sincere move."
As soon as Liu Bei stood up, Yi Ji quickly stopped him, with a troubled expression on his face, and he was a little unsure of how to speak.
"Uncle Ji, if you have something to say, you might as well say it directly."
After pondering for a while, Yi Ji put down the tea cup and said in a deep voice: "This Pang Shi is a young man who has made a lot of achievements and is the future head of the Pang family. He is inevitably a bit unruly. I'm afraid he won't be able to see the emperor when he leaves."
No matter how stupid Liu Bei was, he could still tell that what he said earlier was because Yiji was concerned about his own face and didn't say it clearly. In fact, it was because he, Pang Shiyuan, didn't want to see him.
That's right. If he could be tempted so easily, Liu Qi would not be in a situation where he was surrounded by enemies. Liu Bei sat down again and gave a bitter smile.
Zhang Fei on the side was not happy anymore, his eyes widened and his voice sounded like thunder, "Okay, my brother is the emperor's uncle. First, he was rejected by Pang Degong three times, and now he, Pang Tong, has also been shamed!"
Zhang Fei, who became more and more angry as he thought about it, turned red and waved his hand, "Brother, leave it alone. I, Zhang Fei, are going to find Pang Tong. He doesn't recognize his brother as the royal uncle of any of the four major families. Then ask him if he does." The Zhangba Snake Spear in my hand!"
"Third brother, don't be reckless."
Liu Bei called softly and said helplessly: "Everyone has his own ambitions, so don't force yourself."
Liu Bei, who had always been regarded as a mat weaver and shoe seller by princes from a noble family, did not care about this level of humiliation.
However, all the roads were blocked, and I couldn't help but feel at a loss.
He is very aware that his current situation is quite similar to that of the young master Liu Qi. If he wants to rise again and compete with the national thief Cao Cao and the powerful Lu Bu again, he must get the support of the Jingxiang clan.
If you don't have this, even if you recruit 8,000 soldiers with just a mere new field, what will happen.
It is absolutely impossible for the Cai family to be on the same front as him. According to Liu Qi, he encountered many obstacles on the way from Anfeng, and now he also expressed hope that Liu Biao would drive him away.
Although the Kuai family has not made a clear statement in this regard, it is clear from the fact that Kuai Yue and Kuai Liang returned their invitations that they do not want to interact with them.
The Pang family has been rejected by both the new and old heads of the family, so the only solution for now is to start with the Huang family.
Liu Qi once said that Huang Zu of the Huang family supported him. Unfortunately, after Sha Xian's defeat, Huang Zu's influence in the army was no longer what it used to be.
Then, we can only find the most prestigious person in the Huang family. Liu Bei asked patiently: "I heard that the Huang family looks after Huang Chengyan. Not only that, this person also has a very high reputation among the Jingzhou nobles. Can Ji Bo learn?"
Yi Ji nodded, "Of course I have heard Mr. Huang's name, but I only heard his name and never saw him. I heard that he, Mr. Shui Jing, Sima Hui, Mr. Pang De, and others often sat in the mountains and forests to cook tea, or Talk about national affairs, or comment on heroes.
However, his whereabouts are uncertain and there is nowhere to look for him. "
In this way, Huang Chengyan and Pang Degong were also close friends, and Liu Bei keenly captured this key information.
He had never heard of Sima Hui's name, and Liu Qi had never mentioned this person, but if he could make friends with the elders of the two major families, he probably had a strong reputation among the scholars in Jingzhou.
Liu Bei, who had already exhausted all means but with no results, could only use Huang Chengyan as the last resort.
He stood up, walked to Yi Ji, clasped his fists and said, "Uncle Ji, I have lived in Jingxiang for many years and have good relations with the local scholars. Could you please find out where Huang Gongduo is staying? I will go and pay him a visit." .”
Yi Ji returned the gift, paused and said, "Don't worry, uncle. I have some friendship with Cui Zhouping from Boling. I heard that he has contacts with these people. I will visit him personally in a few days."
"Thank you very much."
Liu Bei hesitated for a while and then added: "By the way, I want to ask about Mr. Shui Jing, Sima Hui. If possible, I would also like to pay him a visit."
"It will be done." Yi Ji bowed again, then turned and left.
Looking at the other party's leaving figure, Liu Bei's eyes wandered a little.
He was still very grateful to Yi Ji. Since arriving in this new country, he was the first person to take the initiative to visit him.
Although there was little gain from this matter for the Pang family, they were still busy running errands, and Liu Bei was grateful.
"Brother, are you really going to condescend to find those old rotten scholars?" Zhang Fei became even more unfavorable towards the Jingzhou scholars.
If we get the chance, we might have to deal with Pang Yi.
"Brother, what the third brother said is not completely unreasonable. The eldest brother has already shown full sincerity in this matter. If people don't appreciate it, why bother themselves and ruin the face of the Tian family." He never spoke. Guan Yu couldn't bear it anymore.
Liu Bei glanced at the two brothers, with a wry smile on his lips, "If you want to achieve great things, why not stingy with a mere reputation. Compared to the emperor who was humiliated in Xuchang, our grievances are nothing."
When the two heard this, they had no choice but to give up, hoping that Yi Ji could bring back good news.
(End of chapter)
