Since the beginning of the Central Plains War, the war in the Northern Kingdom has never stopped, and Lu Bu's power has expanded at an alarming rate.
Of course, after Cao Cao obtained the six counties of Jingzhou, his improvement in strength was also visible to the naked eye.
Even Liu Bei, who was at the end of his rope, now owned the three counties of southern Hunan. At this point in time, Liu Bei had actually reached the pinnacle of his life.
After all, even though he had led Xuzhou Mu and Yuzhou Mu in the past, when he was most powerful, he only had the two counties of Pengcheng and Xiapi, with about 20,000 troops.
But now, with the territory of the three counties of southern Hunan in hand, the number of soldiers and horses has exceeded 40,000. Zhuge Liang is the literary leader, and Zhang, Huang Zhong, Wei Yan, Huo Jun and others in the military can be regarded as the carve-up of the interests of the Central Plains war.
After all, if Cao Cao, who had lost the battle between Cao and Lu, had not taken control of Jingzhou, they would not have been able to take Guiyang so easily and connect southern Hunan into one piece.
Of course, Sun Ce also took advantage of this period of time to get a valuable recuperation and digestion period.
Although he also succeeded in taking Jiaozhou as he wished, the whole process was not as smooth as Liu Bei's.
Jiaozhou is inherently complex. Except for Wu Ju who dominates the sky, Shi Xie has stayed here for so many years and has a clear understanding of the local customs and geographical environment.
Fortunately, the two forces were not entangled. After entering the territory of Jiaozhou, Sun Ce followed Zhou Yu's plan to make good friends with Wu Ju, and then sent troops to the South China Sea to form a confrontation with Shi Xie's 40,000 troops.
From the moment Sun Ce entered Jiaozhou, it was destined that Shi Xie would not be able to defend the city. After all, there were not many cities in this area that could be called a fortified city. Once the Jiangdong disciples chose the land-grabbing plan of encirclement and reinforcements, The situation can become extremely passive and may even lead to civil unrest.
Shi Xie had no choice but to let his sons Shi Ren, Shi Hui and nephew Shi Kuangti lead an army of 40,000 troops in the field. After all, Shi Xie was over sixty years old and was not Lian Po, so it was impossible for him to go into battle himself.
The four Shixie brothers occupy four counties in Jiaozhou. In terms of family background, they are really not much worse than those super wealthy families in the north. At least in this three-acre land of Jiaozhou, the Shi family is definitely a presence that responds to everything.
Naturally, the brothers from the scholar family who grew up in such an atmosphere are not considered to be playboys. On the contrary, they all have made some achievements in terms of military skills and bravery.
Of course, this is just to share the pressure for Shi Xie here in Jiaozhou. Facing the little overlord Sun Ce who has a think tank named Zhou Yu, these brothers are not enough.
With just a few tricks of attacking from the left and entering from the right, and a bluffing move to encircle the point for reinforcements, Jiaozhou soldiers and horses were beaten to the ground, and even Shi Lin and Shi Kuang were captured.
Fortunately, Sun Ce did not kill him, so Zhou Yu took the opportunity to use these two people as hostages and sent an envoy to meet Shi Xie, who wanted to persuade Shi Xie to surrender.
After all, Shi Xie was already in his mid-sixties. Even Liu Biao, who was only in his fifties, felt that his destiny was not permanent and had no intention of hegemony, let alone Shi Xie who was in Jiaozhou.
After Sun Ce returned Shi Lin and Shi Kuang, he decisively chose to surrender.
After receiving the support of several brothers from the Shi family, Sun Ce successively took over the four counties of Jiaozhi, Yulin, Hepu and Nanhai.
As for Wu Ju of Cangwu, he was not in a hurry to take action, but tried to stabilize the four counties he had obtained first.
In this regard, Sun Ce has put in a lot of effort.
On the one hand, he did not dare to leave Jiaozhou, and even used the patience that he had never had before, often traveling to counties and counties to attract people's hearts; on the other hand, Jiaozhou was far less wealthy than the Central Plains, and urgently needed to use Quyuan plow and Keel waterwheel to develop.
The curved shaft plows and keel waterwheels that the four counties needed to invest in were estimated to cost 50,000 gold. This was an astronomical sum, and Sun Ce had no money.
Moreover, when the scholar family was governing Jiaozhou, their life was extremely luxurious, and the battles they entered and exited were comparable to that of a vassal king. The direct consequence was that the treasury only had a few thousand in cash.
As a last resort, he could only speak to the four major families. In order to launch a battle to annex Jiaozhou, he had given up the position of governor of the four counties. Now he wanted this huge sum of money, but there was nothing to replace it. .
Not to mention that people from the four major families are definitely not willing to take up posts in Jiaozhou immediately. Sun Ce, who has just acquired the territory, does not dare to make drastic reforms like Lin Mo.
What can they do? Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong have to lick their faces and ask the four major families to borrow money. However, what is different this time is that they won the battle. Although they took some time to bargain, they still managed to get the money together. That's enough.
Then they began to vigorously supervise the construction of curved shaft plows and keel waterwheels and invest in land reclamation in various places. The forests here in Jiaozhou are too abundant, which is not really easy to cultivate. In addition, the coastal areas cannot be planted, so such investment is inconsistent with The output is definitely far lower than that in the Central Plains area.
But Jiaozhou certainly has its advantages. The fishery, tea and spices here are famous all over the world, which can always bring in a lot of income. As for agriculture, let's be self-sufficient now, and we will talk about development later.
Sun Ce spent a lot of time on the tasks of appeasing the people, developing, reorganizing the army, wooing aristocratic families, and annihilating Shanyue. The effect was very intuitive. People's hearts began to unite, and Jiangdong's outsiders were gradually accepted. Even Wu Ju was moved to submit. thoughts.
After all, Shi Xie's treatment was very good, which was very attractive to Wu Ju. He himself also understood that after the four counties were stabilized, Sun Ce would not be able to ignore Cang Wu.
So Wu Ju also wrote a letter to Sun Ce, expressing his surrender.
Everything was a matter of course. Who would have thought that when Sun Ce sent civil servants to take up posts, they were kicked out by Wu Ju? It was okay. Sun Ce felt that he had been tricked, and he immediately led his troops to overthrow Wu Ju.
After absorbing the Jiaozhou Army, his number of troops has reached 80,000. The only flaw is that he has no horses. However, Guangxin, your headquarters in Cangwu, cannot be said to be a strong city. If it is attacked by force, it will be destroyed within ten days. Can break the city.
"Wu Ju is an ordinary man, and it is impossible for him to suddenly go back on his word at this time. It must have been after Liu Bei captured Guiyang that he had a second thought. He heard that Liu Bei and Wu Ju were old friends, and the two counties were adjacent to each other, so he thought Change your course before the battle." Zhou Yu snorted coldly and analyzed.
In response to this, Sun Ce's veins bulged in his forehead and he cursed sternly: "Zhao Fan went to attend Liu Biao's funeral, but they forcibly detained him as a hostage when he returned to Guiyang. They talked about benevolence, righteousness and morality, and only engaged in rooster crowing and dog robberies.
He scolded Cao Cao all day long for coercing the emperor to order the princes, and Lu Bu for coercing Yuan Shang to order the northern kingdom. Didn't he himself hold Liu Qi firmly in his hands, the great uncle of the Han Dynasty? This is disgusting!
Isn't it true that forming an alliance with such hypocrites, who are so false as to be truthful and treacherous as to be loyal, is seeking the skin of a tiger? "
Earlier, Liu Bei had sent Sun Qian to discuss the alliance. At that time, Liu Bei was still in the territory of two counties. At that time, Sun Ce was reorganizing the territory of four counties and considered the issue of stability, but he did not refuse Liu Bei.
Anyway, for me, the alliance is still just a matter of words and does not require any actual actions.
When Cao Cao took control of Jingzhou, Sun Ce once secretly lamented that Liu Bei had foresight. Liu Cong was just a disciple of Gaoliang and there was nothing to fear. But Cao Cao was different. This guy not only had the strength to swallow up the land of nine counties, but also took care of himself. It's not impossible.
Of course, the biggest consideration is that if Jiangdong wants to grow, it must cross the Yangtze River.
The two Guangling battles gave Sun Ce a painful lesson, and the two Anfeng battles also showed him the valor of the Lu army in land battles. From Guangling to Lujiang, the more than 800 miles of water became an insurmountable obstacle that blocked Jiangdong's march into the Central Plains.
Zhou Yu initially suggested attacking Jiaozhou, firstly to divert the internal conflicts after the defeat, and secondly because he wanted to create a strategic backyard. Another reason that cannot be ignored is that he hoped to enter the Central Plains from Jingzhou.
Otherwise, he will be suppressed south of the Yangtze River by Lu Bu for the rest of his life and will never come back.
Therefore, both Sun Ce and Zhou Yu supported the alliance from the beginning. After all, Liu Bei wanted to protect himself, and Sun Ce, who had captured Jiaozhou, also needed to expand his territory in Jingzhou to have a chance to enter the Central Plains.
Of course he doesn't believe in the nonsense about helping the Han Dynasty, but the alliance can be regarded as a bundle of interests and can be done.
It's just that the situation has changed now. Regardless of whether Wu Ju's change of heart was due to Liu Bei's instructions or not, Sun Ce put this bad debt on the emperor's uncle's head.
Let’s put it aside if we don’t want to make an alliance. Cangwu belongs to Jiaozhou, and Jiaozhou belongs to me, Sun Ce. If you want to save me, send Guan Yu and Zhang Fei over, and join my Overlord Spear alliance.
"In these troubled times, if Liu Bei really only had two words of benevolence and righteousness, he would have died countless times."
Zhou Yu smiled bitterly. In his opinion, Liu Bei's benevolence and righteousness were actually the same as the emperor in Cao Cao's hands, they were just weapons to fight for supremacy.
"So, you also agree with me using troops against Cangwu?" Sun Ce looked sideways at Zhou Yu.
"Although Liu Bei controlled Zhao Fan and was able to enter Guiyang, he could not stabilize himself in a short period of time. What's more, if he dares to help Wu Ju now, Cao Cao would dare to cross the Xiang River to attack Changsha and Jiangxia."
Zhou Yu sighed, "But what my lord just said about seeking skin from a tiger can be regarded as a reminder to me. After gathering the land of Jiaozhou, our focus can be Jingzhou or Yizhou."
"It's a pity that Yizhou has mountains and rivers and natural dangers, and Jingzhou is not in our hands. If we can't combine water and land, we may not be able to defeat the hero of Yizhou."
The road to Shu is difficult, and it is difficult to reach the blue sky.
There are eight hundred miles of Qinchuan, and there are also majestic passes and many roads. Even if you are as dim as Liu Zhang, there is still a monolith.
No matter how tempting the charm of the Land of Abundance was, Sun Ce did not think he could annex the entire Yizhou by land from south to north.
"I have just come up with some ideas for this section. I still need to think carefully about how to do it."
Zhou Yu nodded slightly. Of course he also understood how dangerous Sichuan was, so he said instead: "Let's lead the troops to besiege Guangxin first. Liu Bei will definitely not dare to act rashly. Once he reaches that point, Wu Ju will understand that surrendering to the lord is his only option." choose."
Sun Ce hummed, immediately stood up, flicked his cloak, and strode out of the meeting hall.
Zhou Yu let out a breath and did not follow him out. He stared at the map of the Thirteen Han States hanging behind the handsome case.
The northern kingdom was initially settled and it would take some time to recuperate. Cao Cao took over Jingxiang and Liu Bei occupied the three counties in southern Hunan. It seems that the next war-torn place must be in the nine counties of Jingxiang.
Now Cao Cao and Liu Bei are in a secret fight, but after Lu Lin's son-in-law completely digests the northern land, he will definitely send his army south. At that time, Cao Cao must go north, and that node is a good opportunity to make a move.
The problem is, Cao Cao has the emperor, Liu Bei has Liu Qi, and Sun Ce has nothing on hand. Even if he barely manages to occupy one or two counties, there may eventually be civil strife among the four major families in Jiangdong.
In this regard, the natural disadvantages cannot be reversed.
Should we shift our focus to Yizhou? If we want to attack Yizhou, how should we plan? The water route is impractical, and by land alone, although the children of Jiangdong are brave, it will be difficult for them to break through this great gate in the world.
Zhou Yu twirled his fingers, his expression a little heavy. This problem was a headache, but it was also a future strategy that had to be decided. Taking one step at a time, the result would be slowing down one step at a time, and even becoming someone else's chess piece.
Even as proud as Zhou Yu, he still needs someone beside him who can discuss things at such a time. It's a pity that the people from the four major families can't help wholeheartedly. Lu Su is a member of Lu Bu, and Pang Tong is not as good as in history. Appeared in Jiangdong.
In the end, he could only rely on his own efforts to help Sun Ce move forward in this troubled world.
This is not the relationship between master and servant, but the relationship between brothers!
Although there are thousands of people, I have the courage and determination to go.
Xiangyang City, Pang Mansion.
As one of the four major families in Jingzhou, the strength is not weaker than that of the Kuai family. No matter what time, guests come here like clouds, and they are either rich or noble.
When Liu Biao was still alive, even Cai Mao would come to visit him from time to time. Liu Bei and Liu Qi would find opportunities to visit him. Even after Zhuge Liang left the mountain, he also visited Pang's house.
Now, the person in power here in Jingzhou has changed his surname to Cao. Because Cao Cao was busy settling the Cai family and the Kuai family, he only sent people to the Pang family to invite Pang Tong.
How could the noble Pang Tong accept an invitation in this way? Liu Bei had to visit the thatched cottage seven times. Who do you think I, Feng Chu, am?
Moreover, Cao Cao had just entered Xiangyang and did not dare to go too far. Therefore, the reason for Pang Tong's refusal was also very simple. His health was not conducive to his travels.
To say that he has no thoughts about Cao Cao is to deceive himself. After all, he is the man who holds the throne of the emperor. Even if the news of Xiahou Dun's death did indeed cause a lot of turmoil in Jingxiang, judging from the situation, Cao Cao is still doing well. choose.
"Lü Lin's son-in-law ruled the Northern Kingdom, and ruled the five states of Qingyou and Jixu. Oh, by the way, there are also three counties of Yangzhou. Cao Cao gathered Sizhou and conquered the six counties of Jingxiang and Xiangzhou. His military and financial resources were able to reach a higher level. The emperor in the palm of his hand holds great righteousness and is the only force that can compete with Lu Lin.
Shiyuan, how long do you have to wait before making a decision? "
In the inner courtyard of the Pang Mansion, Pang Tong, who was sitting under the eaves of the pavilion and feeling the fresh breath of the southern light rain, placed a map on the stone table. The latest situation of the various forces was marked on the map.
Obviously, he was also thinking about this issue, and he was so absorbed in it that he didn't notice when Pang Degong walked behind him.
"Uncle." Pang Tong quickly stood up and bowed.
Mr. Pang Degong just pressed his hands and sat down on his own. He looked at the map on the stone table and asked with a smile: "It seems that you are finally starting to make a choice."
"My uncle is laughing at me. My nephew was born with good luck, just like the nine-sky phoenix. He doesn't dare to choose his master at will." Even in front of his elders, Pang Tong may not be able to restrain his unruliness.
"I know you have always had a high self-esteem, but there are not many places left for the world's heroes. In this world, no one can stay out of it, let alone our Pang family."
Pang Tong's eyes darkened slightly and he frowned: "What instructions does uncle have?"
"Northern Kingdom, Lu Bu."
"Why?"
"I have been paying attention to Lin Mo since Xuzhou. He destroyed Yuan Shu, retreated from Sun Ce, defeated Cao Cao, and then took control of the Northern Kingdom. His methods are shocking to the world. Such talents are truly rare to see in a century."
Pang Degong sighed and shook his head, "Although you are extremely talented, if you meet that kid, you may not be able to defeat him."
Faced with Pang Degong's careful persuasion, Pang Tong was a bit disapproving and said with a smile: "Lin Mo does have some abilities. He can support Lu Bu in a desperate situation to step by step to become so proud of the world today. It is difficult for him to have an opponent. It is not an exaggeration to say that he will never encounter him in a century.
But if we meet on the battlefield, only God knows who will win! "
What Pang Degong said was actually similar to what Xu Shu said on the day of the poetry meeting. In other words, Xu Shu had the foresight to foresee Lu Lin's future early, so he simply stayed in Xuzhou.
But he was so confident when he rejected Xu Shu at that time. Now, he still doesn't change his original intention, and he still doesn't feel that he has really met her. He can grow three heads and six arms.
People are always like this, no matter how dazzling your past is, you will always have the idea that your opponent is just too weak.
At least, that's what Pang Tong thought.
After all, he has a high spirit, but the world is small, and there are not many people small enough for him to admire.
"So, you want to choose Cao Cao?" Pang Degong was not as optimistic as him, and his eyebrows knitted together.
"Not decided yet."
Pang Degong sighed and said seriously: "Listen to me, you can go to the North Kingdom and let the mountain people and Pang Lin enter Cao's camp. This way our Pang family will not suffer any loss."
Not putting eggs in one basket has always been the way of running the world for aristocratic families.
Let Pang Tong go to the North, and Pang Shanmin and Pang Lin enter Cao Ying. This is the only reliable way. After all, Pang Tong is the most talented person in the Pang family. Only he can make some achievements after entering Lu Ying.
And Pang Shanmin and Pang Lin were in Xiangyang, relying on the Pang family. Even if they couldn't help much in terms of strategy, they could at least show their support for the Pang family.
Seeing that Pang Tong was silent, Pang Degong continued: "I heard that Yuan Zhi is in Xiaoguan. If you go to him and ask him to introduce you, you can save some detours."
Now Xu Shu is the county magistrate of Pengcheng. He doesn't care about his high official position, but that he can enter the core area to serve, which means he has become a key figure in Lu Ying. If he speaks, things will be much easier to handle.
However, Pang Tong didn't choose Lu Bu at first. On the one hand, he looked down on his background, and on the other hand, he felt that Lin Mo's intentions were too vicious and he didn't like him.
If he went to Xu Shu again now, it would be a slap in the face.
To put it bluntly, even if he really wanted to go to Lu Ying, he would not rely on Xu Shu's relationship.
Crouching dragon and phoenix chick can settle the world, and dignified phoenix chick can still show his ability to prove his worth even if he joins the camp.
"Let my nephew think twice."
Pang Degong was a little helpless. Pang Tong's temper was as smelly and hard as the stones in the pit, and there was nothing he could do.
Just when he was about to leave, his eyes caught sight of the two places marked on the map on the stone table, and he frowned, "I understand Chang'an. That is Cao Cao's sphere of influence, but I don't understand Hanzhong. What do you want to do?"
"Xiahou Dun is dead, but Cao Cao is unable to rescue him. Bingzhou is about to change its owner. From my analysis, if he wants to take advantage of Lu Linweng's son-in-law to clean up the chaos in the northern country, he only has the three counties of southern Hunan and Hanzhong to choose from."
Pang Tong slowly put away the map and said, "Kong Ming is not easy to deal with. I think he will send troops to Hanzhong sooner or later. We should make plans early and submit a petition."
Pang Degong had already stood up, but after hearing this, he sat down again and said, "Use Hanzhong to give Cao Cao a certificate of surrender, then Chang'an."
He didn't continue, but Pang Tong already nodded, "It's not difficult for me to enter Chang'an. It just depends on whether it's worth it."
Pang Degong took a deep breath and opened his mouth, but he didn't say a word. He had to say that his nephew had a strong view of the overall situation and had already predicted the direction of the future war situation.
In the end, he just said in a low voice, "If you go to Chang'an, don't leave your tail behind. After all, Xiangyang is still in Cao Cao's hands."
"Uncle, don't worry." Pang Tong nodded firmly.
Hanzhong represents Cao Cao, and Chang'an represents the Northern Kingdom, but Pang Tong has not yet made up his mind about the choice between the two.
He always had a feeling of unfulfillment.
If Cao Cao could come to the door in person, he would already be on his way to Hanzhong at this time.
Lu Bu and Lin Mo.
Pang Tong frowned and reached out to help the raindrops falling from the corner of the eaves, with a confused look on his face.
(End of chapter)
