My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 332 Heading South to Aid Yin
But why save them?

Liu Feng never intended to actually rescue Shanyin; even if he did, it would only be a show of it.

Liu Feng's various actions since crossing the river have been meticulous and calculated, all aimed at driving away one enemy to devour another.
Of the six prefectures in Yangzhou, Yuzhang Prefecture was undoubtedly the most difficult to manage. After all, Yuzhang was almost entirely composed of towering mountains, with peaks clustered together and mountains stretching endlessly.

What's even more terrifying is that these mountains are inhabited by people, specifically the Yue and Nanman tribes who frequently come down from the mountains to rob people.

Moreover, Yuzhang Commandery is vast and rich in resources, making it very difficult to conquer and exterminate. The best approach is to subdue and divide the barbarians, then win over the more Sinicized "civilized" barbarians while attacking and annihilating the more dangerous "raw" barbarians.

Apart from Yuzhang, it should be Kuaiji Commandery.

Apart from the area in northern Zhejiang that later became known as Kuaiji Commandery, the rest of the region was no different from Yuzhang.

But what's worse than Yuzhang is that the powerful clans here are extremely difficult to deal with, and they even entered the aristocratic stage earlier than those in the Central Plains.

Whether it was the Zhou family, the Yu family, the He family, or the Jiao family of Kuaiji, they had all become highly aristocratic clans. They not only monopolized the path to officialdom, but also owned large tracts of land. Most importantly, they maintained a considerable number of retainers.

Especially the last point, which is something that the gentry of the Central Plains could not do.

This situation is inseparable from the geographical environment of Yangzhou. Although the Yue and Nanman people were driven into the mountains by the Han people, they survived in the mountains.

In this way, the roles of offense and defense are reversed. Others can come down the mountain to rob you, but if you want to go into the mountain to surround and annihilate them, you will easily lose your way and be led into a dead end by the mountain tribes.

Therefore, the powerful clans, both large and small, in places like Kuaiji and Danyang maintained considerable private armed forces to guard against the Yue people and the southern barbarians who would come down from the mountains to rob them.

This approach wouldn't work in the Central Plains.

Even the Yuan family, which had produced four generations of high-ranking officials, dared not support a retinue of several thousand men, but in Kuaiji, Yuzhang, and Danyang, it was commonplace.

Take the Zhou family of Kuaiji as an example. In the Battle of Yangcheng, the more than 20,000 troops of the three Zhou brothers were mainly composed of three parts.

One of them was the 7,000 Yuzhou soldiers brought by Zhou Yu. This was a local army assembled by the powerful clans and gentry who supported Zhou Xin after he was recommended by Yuan Shao to be the governor of Yuzhou.

Secondly, there was Zhou Xin, who was serving as the governor of Danyang at the time, and the nine thousand Danyang soldiers he brought to support his younger brother.

The last six thousand men were Zhou Ang's private soldiers from Kuaiji, who were sent to fight for his younger brother.

This time, in order to support Wang Lang, the Zhou family gathered several thousand more troops, which shows how powerful the military was in Kuaiji.

Take He Qi himself as an example. Several years ago, he served as the magistrate of Shan County. As is well known, the magistrate's salary was 600 shi (a unit of grain), and the number of households under his jurisdiction was less than 10,000.

During his tenure, He Qi executed Si Cong, a county official who committed evil deeds under the guise of chivalry.

The Si family was one of the most powerful clans in Shan County. They immediately launched a rebellion. This small but powerful clan in the county was able to gather more than a thousand people to attack the county seat in no time.

This family was merely an ordinary powerful clan in a county with fewer than 10,000 households, which shows just how powerful the private military force of the powerful clans in Kuaiji had become.

If this had happened in the Central Plains, it would have been wiped out by the imperial court long ago. But in Kuaiji, it was a common sight, and even powerful clans couldn't survive without strengthening their power.

This is the unique ecological environment of Kuaiji.

Therefore, in Liu Feng's eyes, even if he could accept the powerful clans and gentry of Kuaiji, he would still have to suppress them. If he could get rid of a group of them through other people, that would be even better.

Liu Feng had been harboring the desire to take action for a long time, and the best tool for him was undoubtedly Sun Ce, also known as Sun Bofu.

Sun Ce was fierce and strong-willed, and sometimes impulsive and prone to losing his temper.

As long as I push him a little from behind, it's really easy to figure out what Sun Ce will do.

Could it be that the powerful clans of Kuaiji could change their nature and hand over their entire fortunes to Sun Ce?
To put it bluntly, although Wu County is the heart of Jiangdong's gentry, when it comes to being troublesome, Wu County can't even come close to Kuaiji and Yuzhang.

Especially in Kuaiji, there were still people rebelling when Sun Quan declared himself emperor, while Wu County had long been as obedient as a dog.

After all, the military equipment of the Wu County scholars was not strong. Lu Xun (Lu Yi was later uniformly referred to as Lu Xun) and Zhu Huan were both local warlords in Jiangdong who were only promoted after they joined Sun Quan.

Even Sun Quan initially looked down on Lu Xun and Zhu Huan, only using them to infiltrate and balance the military power of the Huai-Si faction.

Sun Quan was quite lucky, as both Lu Xun and Zhu Huan possessed high military capabilities.

Liu Feng stepped forward and helped He Qi, who was kneeling on the ground, up. He patted He Qi's right arm and said, "Gong Miao, you may not know this, but our army is currently trapped under Wu County. Wu County is the seat of Wu Commandery and the capital of the Wu Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, it has always been the most important city in Jiangdong and the seat of Kuaiji Commandery."

"This city is very fortified."

Liu Feng sighed, "Although I am confident of taking this city, can Shanyin hold out?"

He Qi's face was pale. There were indeed eight or nine thousand soldiers in Shanyin City, but these soldiers had just been defeated by Sun Ce.

Moreover, these soldiers were not elite troops. If Sun Ce's army hadn't been unable to overcome the Kuaiji army's water fortress and take Guling, they would have already achieved great success.

Sun Ce crossed the river several times, but the Kuaiji army could not stop him.

Later, the Kuaiji army simply stopped guarding the riverbank, allowing Sun Ce's army to land, while they themselves retreated to the fortified city of Guling to hold off Sun Ce. Then they mobilized their navy to block the river, threatening Sun Ce's retreat and forcing him to retreat back to the north bank of the river.

Yu Fan's clever trick was so effective that it nearly drove Sun Ce to despair.

If it weren't for Sun Jing providing the Chadu Ancient Road, Sun Ce would have had a real hard time breaking Yu Fan's move.

He Qi was well aware that Shanyin City would be difficult to defend unless there was external assistance.

And the most recent foreign aid is undoubtedly Liu Feng.

"Zheng Nan! Lord Wang is anxiously awaiting our arrival in Shanyin City day and night. The people of Shanyin yearn for Zheng Nan as if he were a rainbow. Shanyin is now in imminent danger. Without reinforcements, the city will surely fall!"

He Qi was truly frantic at this moment, as his He family was still in Shanyin City.

In fact, it's not just the He family; the Zhou and Yu families are the same.

The reason was that the Guling defense line was breached too quickly, leaving Shanyin with almost no time to react.

These powerful families in Kuaiji were all very wealthy and powerful. Not to mention their industries, they didn't even have time to move their valuables, wealth, and grain.

Sun Ce arrived only one day later than the routed soldiers, and after just a moment's hesitation, they were all trapped in Shanyin City.

If you really want to escape, it's feasible to go across Jingruo Lake in the south of the city, since Sun Ce doesn't have a navy.

However, Wang Lang, Yu Fan, and Zhou Xin were determined to defend the city. They confiscated all the ships and prohibited anyone from leaving the city, threatening to kill anyone who violated this rule as a traitor.

Since Prefect Wang Lang set an example, other powerful clans and gentry could not openly oppose him. Otherwise, they might as well rebel and surrender the city, which would have brought them even greater benefits.

The powerful clans of Kuaiji truly looked down on Sun Ce, and at this moment they had all placed their heavy bets on Wang Lang, having already incurred a great enmity with Sun Ce. Now that they had turned against him, they would suffer too much loss.

Especially since Liu Feng is in the north and has already captured Youquan, if they can just hold on a little longer and persevere, the situation will improve once the Southern Expedition moves south.

Therefore, the powerful clans of Kuaiji still wholeheartedly supported Wang Lang in defending the city, and at the same time sent He Qi out of the city by waterway to seek help from Liu Feng, hoping that Liu Feng could go south as soon as possible.

He Qi really went all out, kneeling down to Liu Feng again and even kowtowing.

The force was so great, it was as if he didn't care about his head at all. Each thud was incredibly heavy, and after only three or five thuds, blood was already seeping from his forehead.

After Liu Feng deliberately made He Qi kowtow a few times, he pretended to be alarmed to stop him.

"Gong Miao, what are you doing?"

"Zheng Nan, I beg you, please send troops!"

He Qifang's face was covered in tears, and blood was flowing down his forehead, mixing with the tears and staining his face blood red.

"Qi is a useless man, unable to repay the kindness of Lord Wang above, nor to relieve the plight of his elders and fellow villagers below. He only wishes to emulate the sage Shen Gong's weeping at the Qin court and die weeping in the southern expedition tent."

It must be said that He Qi's words were quite touching, and his emotions were indeed very sincere.

Even though Liu Feng had his own schemes, he was moved by He Qi.

"Gongmiao, get up first."

Liu Feng tried to pull him up, but couldn't. He Qi was determined to stay kneeling on the ground and refused to get up.

Although Liu Feng was strong, He Qi was also very strong and was exerting all his strength. Liu Feng's hasty pull was naturally ineffective.

He Qi wept blood and said, "If Zheng Nan does not agree, I will kneel here and die."

Liu Feng sighed and said with feigned helplessness, "Gongmiao, if you kneel here forever, how can I discuss with you a plan to rescue Shanyin?"

Upon hearing this, He Qi looked up at Liu Feng in disbelief. Liu Feng, however, felt a pang of regret. "My trusted advisors are all absent; otherwise, I wouldn't be needed to play the role of the admonitor."

"We will never forget the kindness shown in the southern campaign!"

He Qi kowtowed again, shouting, "Although I am of humble talent, I know gratitude and righteousness. From now on, if Zheng Nan has any orders, I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

"Why is this so?"

Liu Feng sighed, accepted He Qi's greeting from a distance, and then helped the other man up again.

This time, He Qi obediently stood up.

“Gongmiao, come with me.”

Liu Feng immediately turned around and led He Qi to the table: "There are more than 30,000 of my troops under the city of Wu, but Wu is a fortified city. We need to leave at least 20,000 behind to trap Xu Kun's troops in the city."

"Although Youquan was under General Zhou's command, the troops in Wucheng were not capable of being of great use. Only the 10,000 men under the command of the two Zhous and Yu Mi were of good use."

Liu Fengxian explained the situation, and what he said was true, which made He Qi nod repeatedly.

Then, He Qi turned his hopeful gaze to Liu Feng.

After a moment's thought, the latter decided, "I intend to take Gongjin as the vanguard and head south first. Then, I will draw Zhao Shufu's troops from the main camp, and supplement them with Fan Neng's troops, and head south overnight to catch up with Gongjin. I hope we can meet on the banks of the Qiantang River and work together to relieve the siege of Shanyin."

Upon hearing this, He Qi's eyes turned red. He had entered officialdom quite early, becoming a county official in his teens and acting county magistrate in his twenties. He was later promoted to county magistrate in two different places.

The people of Kuaiji are known for their fierce and unruly nature. The unique circumstances have led to the extreme military strength of the aristocratic clans and the Yue tribes, making rebellion a common occurrence.

During his three terms as county magistrate, He Qi quelled three rebellions.

Therefore, he himself was quite skilled in military affairs and naturally saw that Liu Feng's adjustment was not easy and involved a great deal of risk.

For example, if all the elite troops of the Yuquan army were to be mobilized and they were defeated, how could the rabble in Yuquan City possibly defend the city?
Even Liu Feng's own troops, who were originally almost certain to capture Wu County, now have to transfer 10,000 elite troops and besiege Wu County to prevent Xu Kun's troops from abandoning the city and heading south. This undoubtedly increases the difficulty several times over.

With Zhou Yu guarding Youquan, even if Xu Kunnan escaped, he would only have escaped.

However, if Zhou Yu and Zhao Yun went south, and Xu Kun successfully escaped south, then Zhou Yu and Zhao Yun would be caught in a pincer attack by Sun Ce's army.

Therefore, He Qi was quite satisfied. If this still couldn't save Shanyin, then Liu Feng couldn't be blamed.

Therefore, He Qi immediately knelt down three times, willingly and respectfully kowtowing to Liu Feng.

"Even if we were to be shattered to pieces, we could never repay even a fraction of the kindness shown to us in the southern campaign!"

Seeing that He Qi had no further objections, Liu Feng immediately beat the drum to summon the generals.

Afterwards, Liu Feng, who was with He Qi to meet the generals, briefly explained the situation. Without seeking the opinions of the generals, he made a decisive decision and directly issued orders and assigned tasks.

Zhao Yun and Fan Neng immediately stepped forward to receive the order.

At the same time, the original plan was greatly changed. Instead of waiting for feedback from the city, Jia Kui's troops were ordered to move to the south of Wu County to protect the rear of Zhao Yun and Fan Neng's troops.

The generals immediately accepted the order, and He Qi knelt down and pleaded, "My heart is with Shanyin, and I am burning with grief. I beg you to grant me permission to go south with you."

Liu Feng immediately agreed, "Alright!"

********
A day later, Zhou Yu in Quan City had already received the news.

Liu Feng ordered Quan's troops to march south to relieve Shanyin, but stressed that they must prioritize their own safety and pave the way for the main army to follow.

As for Liu Feng's ulterior motives, he naturally couldn't reveal them to Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu himself was a powerful figure in Yangzhou. Although he would most likely agree with Liu Feng's approach, there's always a chance of something going wrong. Moreover, even if it was kept secret, it wouldn't have any negative impact on Zhou Yu's actions, so why should Liu Feng take the risk?

Upon receiving the order, Zhou Yu dared not delay. He immediately reorganized his troops and entrusted the defense of Youquan to Wang Sheng. He himself, along with Zhou Bin, Yu Mi, and their soldiers, left through the south gate and rushed south.

With Zhou Yu's troops leading the way, Zhao Yun and Fan Neng's troops were able to march south at full speed, sometimes covering as much as forty or fifty li a day.

In this way, the two forces can meet on the banks of the Qiantang River, with a combined strength of over 20,000 men, enough to at least ensure their own safety.

Zhou Yu and Zhao Yun were unaware that reinforcements of over ten thousand men were on their way.

Taishi Ci had already arrived in Wucheng and sent people to contact Wu County and Youquan.

Upon receiving Taishi Ci's message, Liu Feng was overjoyed and ordered Taishi Ci to head south and join the southern relief army.

The more than 10,000 soldiers under Taishi Ci had two destinations at this time.

First, they could march north to Wu County to fill the gap left by Zhao Yun and Fan Neng's departure. In this way, Liu Feng's army would be more than three times the size of Xu Kun's, and there would be no need to worry about the enemy sneaking out of the city.

The second option is to head south to reinforce Zhao Yun and Zhou Yu, thus strengthening the army's forces. Although this option would put some pressure on Wu County, it would be more beneficial to Liu Feng's grand plan.

The reinforced southward army will have more than 30,000 troops, and they will all be veterans.

Even when facing Sun Ce alone, he was not at a disadvantage at all.

Sun Ce had already lost the Wu Commandery territory he had cultivated for over two years. To maintain his army, he had no choice but to ruthlessly exploit new territories. In this way, even if Sun Ce wanted to keep the powerful clans and gentry of Kuaiji, his military leaders would force him to do so.

Therefore, Liu Feng did not hesitate to choose the second route, ordering Taishi Ci and Xu Huang's troops to rush south.

At the same time, Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin's troops were also sent south to cover the main army's crossing of the Qiantang River, while Dong Xi and Gan Ning continued to follow Liu Feng's main force, but did not go ashore and remained on the boat.

********
Xu Zhao, who was in Yuhang City, was terrified and sweating profusely. He was filled with gratitude towards Gao Dai.

He had previously intended to surrender the entire city to Liu Feng, but unexpectedly, on the morning of the third day, a large force of 10,000 men arrived outside Yuhang City, all of whom were soldiers of the Sun family.

If Xu Zhao hadn't listened to Gao Dai, wouldn't he be in trouble now?

Xu Zhaocheng was indeed the most powerful man in Yuhang, but he was not the only powerful man in Yuhang.

Many families in Yuhang City have placed heavy bets on Zhu Zhi, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to raise an army of several thousand people.

With these families in the city, if Xu Zhao were to rebel, even defending the city would be difficult.

But he couldn't wipe out all these families. Firstly, he didn't have the strength or time, and secondly, he was worried about incurring public wrath and being attacked by all the powerful clans in Yuhang.

Therefore, Gao Dai's advice to Xu Zhao not to be impatient was tantamount to saving the lives of Xu Zhao's entire clan.

Xu Zhao was well aware of how ruthless Sun Ce's army was towards traitors.

Sun Ce's army heading south was naturally Wu Jing's troops. In order to speed up the march, Wu Jing's troops did not carry much food, so they hoped to resupply in Yuhang.

When Zhu Zhi and his men crossed the river, they took some of the grain with them, but there was still a considerable amount of grain in Yuhang, which could not be transported all in a hurry.

Therefore, Wu Jing's troops were able to replenish their food supplies smoothly after their arrival.

Wu Jing heard that Sun Ce was launching a fierce attack on Shanyin, and that Zhu Zhi, Cheng Pu, and Huang Gai had already rushed to reinforce the area. At this time, the troops in Yuhang, Qiantang, and Fuchun counties had been completely depleted.

However, both places had just finished the autumn harvest and still had a large amount of grain. Previously, when Sun Ce's army was north of the Qiantang River, in addition to the grain transported from Wu County, it was also provided by the three nearby counties of Yuhang, Qiantang, and Fuchun.

Even so, it only consumed one-third of the grain in Yuhang, Qiantang, and Fuchun, leaving a lot of grain remaining.

Zhu Zhi and his men rushed to reinforce Sun Ce, risking their lives to capture Shanyin. As long as they had enough food, they didn't care about transporting supplies for the time being.

But Wu Jing now has an idea.

He still has over nine thousand soldiers under his command, and it would be more than enough to send another three or four thousand elite troops from Shanyin.

The remaining five or six thousand soldiers could then recruit able-bodied men from the three counties of Qiantang, Yuhang, and Fuchun to transport grain, at least across the Qiantang River.

With Wu Jing's strategic vision, he knew very well that once the Southern Expeditionary Army caught up, Sun Ce's army could only follow Liu Yao's example and rely on the Qiantang River and Guling to hold their ground.

Therefore, leaving grain north of the Qiantang River is tantamount to aiding the enemy.

If he transports one more shi of grain to Jiangbei, it's equivalent to Sun Ce's army gaining one more shi and the Southern Expeditionary Army losing one shi. Considering the losses incurred in transporting grain to the front lines, he might even earn an extra three shi of grain.

After discussing the matter with his generals, including Wu Jing, Sun Fu, and Sun Xiu, they all agreed that it was a wise move and unanimously approved it.

Wu Jing immediately ordered Sun Fu to go to Fuchun and Sun Xiu to go to Qiantang. Wu Jing himself was stationed in Yuhang to do everything possible to transfer grain to the south bank of the Qiantang River. After crossing the river, the grain could be temporarily stored in Gaoqiantun.

(End of this chapter)