My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 331 He Qi Seeks Help
Although Sun Ce only had about three hundred men by his side, they were unstoppable and no one could stop them. Even the intact Kuaiji Army might not be able to stop them, let alone the current routed soldiers.

Sun Ce ignored the fleeing soldiers and civilians running around and chased after Zhou Xin.

Zhou Xin himself rode a horse, but few of his personal guards had horses. Therefore, unless Zhou Xin abandoned most of his personal guards and fled with two or three trusted men, they could not increase their speed.

In his pursuit, Sun Ce even removed his heavy iron armor and donned only a leather suit, chasing Zhou Xin with all his might.

Seeing Sun Ce getting closer and closer, Zhou Xin gritted his teeth, cracked his whip, and abandoned his personal guards to flee on horseback.

As soon as Zhou Xin ran away, apart from the three trusted men with horses, the other dozen or so guards scattered and fled for their lives.

Sun Ce watched Zhou Xin ride away on horseback, his handsome face contorted with rage, he was furious.

Just then, Huang Gai's voice came from behind him: "Bo Fu, mount your horse!"

Sun Ce turned around in surprise and saw Huang Gai riding over, holding the reins of another horse in his hand.

Sun Ce hurriedly went to meet him and mounted his horse.

Sun Ce had accompanied Sun Jian to Yuzhou, and by the time he was born, Sun Jian had already made his fortune, suppressed Xuchang, captured Xu Zhao alive, and was already a proper official with a salary of 200 shi (a unit of grain), having served as the assistant magistrate of Yandu, Xuyi, and Xiapi counties. His career path was much smoother than Liu Bei's.

Therefore, Sun Ce had excellent learning conditions from a young age. He was able to study literature, horsemanship, archery and riding skills were quite good.

Sun Ce mounted his horse, and before he was even fully seated, he was already whipping it repeatedly, making Huang Gai, who was watching from the side, jump in fright.

There were no stirrups at this time; only a few places had single-sided foot pedals that resembled stirrups, which can be considered one of the predecessors of stirrups.

Unexpectedly, Sun Ce leaped a few steps forward and forcefully reined in the horse, even though he was relying solely on his leg strength to grip the horse's belly while still holding a long sword in his right hand.

Just as everyone was wondering why Sun Ce had stopped, he turned around and shouted to the crowd, "Do you have any bows and arrows?!"

Someone rushed out from the crowd, holding a longbow and a large bag of arrows above his head: "General, here are the bow and arrows."

"good!"

Sun Ce was overjoyed. He swept past Zhou Xin, then whipped his horse again, and his warhorse galloped off in pursuit.

Fearing that Sun Ce might be in danger, Huang Gai and the others whipped their whips repeatedly and pursued him relentlessly.

Zhou Xin was already fleeing in panic when he heard the sound of horses' hooves behind him. He turned around in confusion and saw Sun Ce, who looked like a handsome but evil-looking man, already riding up after him.

Zhou Xin was startled. He gritted his teeth and shouted to his attendants, "Stop him! I will take good care of your families!"

Upon hearing this, the three attendants knew they had no choice but to accept. If they refused, not only would their parents, wives, and children be left without support, but the world would also look down on them.

"Master, please hurry! We will cover your retreat!"

The three men gritted their teeth, slowed their horses, and prepared to turn back to block Sun Ce.

But just as the horse slowed down and the last man turned his head, an arrow pierced his throat, and he fell headlong off the horse.

The other two were shocked. They weren't afraid of dying, but dying meaninglessly would be too pathetic.

The two looked at each other and saw the same thought in each other's eyes.

"Kill him!"

The two men had successfully turned their horses around, and simultaneously cracked their whips, then held their small riding shields to their vital points.

Without bows and arrows, they could only passively take hits. Their only way out was to charge forward, hoping to knock Sun Ce over, or at least get close to him to launch a counterattack.

Sun Ce sneered and fired another arrow, striking the horse squarely in the chest. The horse, in pain, lost its footing and fell to the ground.

Although Sun Ce's archery skills were not as good as those of Lü Bu and Taishi Ci, they were still quite remarkable among military generals.

Historically, when Xu Zhao and his two companions attempted to assassinate Sun Ce, Sun Ce preemptively struck and killed one of them with an arrow.

It should be noted that Xu Zhao and his two companions were not Han Chinese, but Yue people from the mountains, and all of them were skilled archers. They carried bows and arrows with them and had no intention of engaging in hand-to-hand combat with Sun Ce.

If Sun Ce's archery skills were comparable to Taishi Ci's, these three would have had no chance at all; they would probably have been shot dead by Taishi Ci at the very beginning of their attack.

After Liu Yao's defeat, Taishi Ci fled into the mountains and proclaimed himself the Prefect of Danyang.

He won over the Yue people in the mountains with his superb archery skills, then gathered up Liu Yao's defeated troops, and subsequently conquered cities and occupied six counties west of Jing County.

This shows just how formidable Taishi Ci's archery skills were.

After shooting down two people in succession, the third person had already rushed close, and with Sun Ce's archery skills, there was no time to draw his bow again.

So Sun Ce flicked his left hand, slung the bow behind his back, and then reined in his horse, causing it to shift a step to the left, narrowly avoiding the opponent.

As they brushed past each other, Sun Ce gently pulled his long sword, opening a large gash in the man's abdomen. A mass of hot, viscous entrails gushed out, rolled to the ground, and were trampled to pieces by the horses.

After dragging his sword, Sun Ce didn't even look at his opponent, and immediately spurred his horse to chase after Zhou Xin.

After the city fell, Wang Lang immediately boarded a ship.

The warship he was in wasn't large, but it was big enough to carry twenty or thirty people. That was after reserving enough food and supplies for twenty or thirty people. If you didn't consider those, it could even squeeze in fifty or sixty people.

At this time, Wang Lang only had about thirty personal guards by his side, and there were more than a dozen boats around him gathering the defeated soldiers.

Wang Lang looked nervously at the dock, hoping to see Zhou Xin and Yu Fan as soon as possible.

Soon, a group of people rushed out from the west side of the city, led by Yu Fan.

There were still more than a thousand people when they retreated, but by the time they reached the dock, there were less than four hundred left. The rest were either intercepted or separated from the group. Many others, seeing that the defeat was irreversible, secretly left the group and ran away.

Wang Lang, disregarding his scholarly demeanor, shouted at the top of his lungs toward the shore, "Zhong Xiang, where is the Ming Dynasty?"

Yu Fan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that there were still boats on the dock. His biggest fear was that by the time he arrived at the dock, all the boats would have already left the shore.

Yu Fan, who was directing the remaining soldiers to board the ship, suddenly heard Wang Lang's shout and was immediately overjoyed. However, after he understood what he was hearing, his face darkened.

"Brother Da Ming, have you not arrived yet?"

Yu Fan was initially puzzled, but then suddenly realized what was going on.

The south gate of Shanyin should actually be called the southwest gate, as it is closer to the west of the city. Yu Fan and his group only need to walk in a straight line to reach the dock.

But it's quite a distance to get here from the East Gate where Zhou Xin is located, no wonder Zhou Xin sent him a message first, but arrived later than him.

"Zhongxiang, come aboard first."

Wang Lang shouted at Yu Fan, while directing the small boat beside him to quickly move closer and pick Yu Fan up.

Right now, all he cared about was Yu Fan, and he just wanted him to get on the ship as soon as possible.

Yu Fan stood on the shore and looked around. The more than four hundred people who had followed him had already been arranged to board the boats and were queuing up to board. He breathed a sigh of relief and then went down the pier to prepare to board the boat.

Not long after, a small boat pulled up to the pier. The soldiers on board helped Yu Fan board the boat, and then immediately rowed hard, quickly leaving the shore.

Just as Yu Fan stood at the stern of the ship, looking at the chaotic scene of war and even the flickering flames in the city, Zhou Xin rode his horse towards the dock.

Yu Fan couldn't possibly see clearly from a distance, but anyone in the city who owned a warhorse must have a high status.

Yu Fan shouted loudly towards the shore, "Is that Brother Daming?!"

“Brother Zhongxiang, it is indeed I!”

Zhou Xin was overjoyed; she had finally escaped.

Sun Ce is like a demon. He looks decent enough, but when it comes to fighting, he's just like his father.

The memory of how Sun Jian, fully armed and wielding his weapons, broke through their camp outside Yangcheng and caused the city to fall seems to be still vivid in my mind.

"Ashore!"

Yu Fan immediately ordered the soldiers on the ship to dock. Seeing Yu Fan's small boat moored on the pier in the distance, he knew that once he got on board, he would be safe.

A smile appeared on Zhou Xin's lips, but the next moment, the smile froze completely as an arrowhead, stained with crimson, protruded from the front of his throat.

Zhou Xin felt all the strength in his body disappear, and he couldn't even hold onto the reins. He tumbled over and fell off the horse.

Wang Lang on the warship and Yu Fan on the small boat were dumbfounded, feeling as if their throats were choked and they couldn't speak.

Not long after, another rider emerged from the smoke and fire. Sun Ce reined in his horse, dismounted, and walked to Zhou Xin, who was covered in blood and unable to speak, revealing a sinister smile.

Then, Sun Ce drew a short sword from his waist, held the hilt with one hand and the blade with the other, and plunged it directly into Zhou Xin's neck. With a swift motion, he slashed and severed Zhou Xin's head.

Then, Sun Ce stood up and held Zhou Xin's head high: "The traitorous general has been beheaded; those who surrender will be spared!"

Wang Lang, Yu Fan, and the other soldiers from the Kuaiji Army were all speechless, staring blankly at the handsome young man who looked like a demon.

********
In late January, Liu Feng set out from Wuxi with Xu Sheng as the vanguard, Jia Kui's troops as support, and Fan Neng's troops as the rearguard. The army set off and arrived at the city of Wu in less than seven days.

Just as Xu Kun had predicted, Liu Fengjun began large-scale construction projects after arriving.

This relieved Xu Kun, who felt he could hold on for another month.

The next morning, Liu Feng sent a knight who shot arrows into the city.

When the soldiers in the city found the arrow, they discovered that it had no arrowhead and instead had a letter tied to it.

The soldiers dared not delay and immediately handed it over, which was passed down through the ranks until it reached Xu Kun.

When Xu Kun received the letter, he assumed it was a letter from Liu Feng urging him to surrender.

Xu Kun was no longer the same person he had been before; having witnessed the fighting prowess of the Southern Expeditionary Army, his mindset had changed. Although Xu Kun would still not betray Sun Ce, he wouldn't fight to the death if the conditions were right.

Therefore, Xu Kun opened the letter and began to read it.

To Xu Kun's surprise, the letter was not a letter urging him to surrender, but a letter that leaked secrets.

It directly tells Xu Kun's Southern Expeditionary Army's siege plan, with a focus on the south of the city.

In his letter, Liu Feng directly informed Xu Kun that this time, the siege would no longer involve leaving one side open. Once the camps in the east and north of the city were completed, the construction of the camp in the south would begin.

As for the west of the city, it is the starting point of the Han Canal, which leads directly to Zhenze. The entire Han Canal runs out from the southwest of the city, covering the entire western city of Wu County.

There is only one water gate here for ships to enter and exit.

Xu Kun's expression changed slightly. Although even the south of the city was besieged, theoretically, the west side of the city could still exit through the water gate. However, the Sun family's navy had already been routed by the Southern Expeditionary Army's navy and could only retreat into Wu County, effectively blocking the waterway.

From this perspective, the south of the city was actually Wuxian's last chance for survival.

At first, Xu Kun did not understand why Liu Feng sent this letter.

But now I understand a little better; this is putting pressure on myself.

If he wanted to surrender, he had no right to delay. If he wanted to hold out, the Southern Expeditionary Army would not spare Xu Kun and his troops this time.

Xu Kun's expression turned quite ugly.

In addition, Xu Kun also realized that the other side had given him enough time to consider, and this time was the time for the Southern Expeditionary Army to build the main camps in the north and east of the city.

Xu Kun gave a bitter smile. The reason he was willing to stay behind to cover the rear and persuade Wu Jing to leave first was clearly because he also had the intention of surrendering.

The battle in Wuxi instilled fear in him.

Faced with such a fortified city and his own determination to defend it to the death, Liu Feng, without resorting to any tricks or direct attacks, actually captured it in just two months at the cost of fewer than a thousand casualties.

This left Xu Kun with absolutely no confidence in defending Wu County.

The reason he went to great lengths to persuade Wu Jing to leave was not only because Wu County did not need so many garrison troops, but also because he had a ulterior motive.

He was truly terrified after being beaten in Wuxi. Xu Kun was worried that if Wu Jing didn't leave and insisted on holding out and refusing to surrender, what would he do?
Rather than being trapped in such a passive situation, it would be better to persuade Wu Jing to leave first. If one can defend, one should defend; if not, one should leave. If one can neither defend nor leave, then one should surrender.

Looking at the letter, Xu Kun's face contorted with rage, his teeth clenched, yet he remained unable to make a decision.

At this time, in Liu Feng's camp outside the city, construction projects were in full swing everywhere.

Although it was winter and the ground was frozen solid, fortunately, this was Jiangdong, which was much warmer than the north. Secondly, the Xuzhou army had acquired many iron tools, such as iron hammers, hoes, and shovels, which greatly improved efficiency.

Liu Feng's large tent was set up immediately so that he could handle military affairs there.

At this moment, Liu Feng was receiving a brave and strong man.

This man's surname was He, given name Qi, courtesy name Gongmiao, from Shanyin County, Kuaiji Commandery, and he was an officer in the Kuaiji Army.

Sent by Wang Lang, they set sail from Shangyu to seek help.

"Reporting to Zheng Nan, my lord is in imminent danger. I implore Zheng Nan to immediately send troops to rescue Shanyin."

Like Dong Xi, He Qi surrendered to Sun Ce when Sun Ce marched south to attack Wang Lang and launched a surprise attack on Gaoqian Village.

Dong Xi was simply a defector of Gao Qiantun, while He Qi was different; his status was much higher than Dong Xi's.

If Dong Xi was merely a mid-level, or even low-level, powerful figure, then He Qi's family was a renowned scholar from Shanyin, and also a powerful family.

He Qi himself started as a county official and later served as acting magistrate of Shan County. His career trajectory was actually quite similar to Gan Ning's. If Gan Ning hadn't rebelled, he would have risen through the ranks in Shu in a similar manner.

In the Battle of Guling, He Qi and his family were originally neutral and did not bet on Wang Lang.

This time was different, because the situation had changed drastically. Although Sun Ce's military strength was similar to that in history, his potential was much smaller.

Historically, when Sun Ce marched south to Kuaiji, he had already occupied most of Danyang and most of Wu Commandery, possessing at least the strength of one and a half commanderies. However, now, while he was making frequent victories in the south, he suffered repeated defeats in the north.

Furthermore, since Danyang had never fallen into Sun Ce's hands, the He family and most of the powerful clans of Kuaiji made the wrong judgment and bet on Wang Lang.

Now that Shanyin is besieged, He Qi has no choice but to leave the city and detour through Shangyu to seek help by sea.

There's a very counterintuitive little-known fact: maritime transport isn't necessarily more developed the later it's developed.

In reality, the Song Dynasty was the most prosperous period for maritime trade and transportation, followed by the Han Dynasty. Of course, the Ming Dynasty cannot be defined in this respect. Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean were indeed technologically advanced and large-scale, but they only happened once. Later, the Ming court couldn't even manage the maritime transport of grain, let alone other things. However, during the same period, the scale of smuggling ships was terrifyingly large.

From the Western Han Dynasty onwards, tribute and taxes from Jiaozhi (including northern Vietnam) were transported by sea via Houguan to the Yangtze River, and then transported to the Central Plains via the Han Canal. At that time, a large number of seagoing vessels were responsible for sea transport, and although the technology was not as advanced as in later periods, the scale was considerable.

Therefore, it was quite reasonable for He Qi to seek help by sea.

He Qi himself was tall and robust, with an upright appearance, and his gaze toward Liu Feng was full of reverence and pleading.

He Qi was a native of Shanyin, and he had many relatives and friends in Shanyin City. He could hardly imagine what the consequences would be if the city fell.

Liu Feng remembered that He Qi was quite capable, a talented person who excelled in both literature and martial arts. Although he couldn't compare to those top talents, he could still be considered a talent who scored over 70 points in both areas.

The first thing Sun Ce did after taking Kuaiji was to recommend He Qi as a candidate for the civil service examination, which shows that the He family had a high status in Kuaiji Commandery, second only to the Zhou and Yu families, and even above the Lin and Jiao families.

"How many troops are still in Shanyin City? In your opinion, how long can Shanyin hold out?"

Liu Feng noticed He Qi's anxiety and asked him directly about the military situation.

Upon hearing this, He Qi's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly replied, "There are only six thousand intact county soldiers in the city, and another two or three thousand defeated soldiers. If we have time to reorganize, they can be put to a fight. However, Sun's army is in hot pursuit and will arrive at Shanyin City soon. Shanyin City will only have two or three days to prepare at most."

Liu Feng frowned and stood up, pacing back and forth in the tent.

He still has to deal with the enemy in Wu County, so he definitely can't come to the rescue of Shanyin.

If we want to save them, we can only rely on Taishi Ci and Zhou Yu.

(End of this chapter)