My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 336 Applying Pressure to Major Families in Wuzhong
After returning to the city, Taishi Ci immediately informed the entire army that the enemy general Wu Jing had been captured alive.

At this time, the arrow in Wu Jing's thigh had been removed, and herbal medicine had been applied and the wound bandaged.

Wu Jing was quite valuable; he was recommended by Yuan Shu as the General of the Army and also served as the Prefect of Danyang, making him a high-ranking official with a salary of two thousand shi (a unit of grain).

The capture of such a high-ranking general of Sun Ce's army had an obvious boost to the morale of the entire Southern Expeditionary Army, while also severely damaging the morale of Sun Ce's army.

In an instant, shouts filled the city of Yuhang—the bandit general Wu Jing had been captured by General Taishi, and the bandit army should quickly lay down their weapons and surrender.

The more than one thousand Wu Jing soldiers in the city initially refused to believe it, but Taishi Ci directly sent Wu Yang to persuade them to surrender. From Wu Yang, they obtained definite information: everything the Southern Expeditionary Army said was true, without the slightest falsehood.

As a result, the morale of the remaining thousand-plus Wu Jingjun soldiers completely collapsed. Led by their officers, they surrendered and entered the prisoner-of-war camp of the Southern Expeditionary Army.

Subsequently, Taishi Ci obtained intelligence from the prisoners, learning that more than a thousand Wu Jing soldiers were escorting grain to Qiantang and would soon return to Yuhang.

Therefore, Taishi Ci made a decisive decision and appointed Xu Huang as the commander-in-chief.

At this moment, Xu Zhao volunteered to be Xu Huang's guide.

Taishi Ci agreed and appointed Xu Huang as the commander-in-chief and Xu Zhao as the deputy commander-in-chief, leading 400 cavalry and 6,000 elite soldiers out of Yuhang. They ambushed the 1,000 men who were returning to Yuhang.

From then on, Taishi Ci captured Yuhang in one night, annihilated the Wu army in two battles, and Xu Gongming killed Wu Da, the loyal and righteous colonel of Wu Jing's army, and beheaded more than 600 people. At the same time, he captured more than 3,300 people, and captured alive the enemy's main general, Wu Jing, the military supervisor, along with four of his captains and more than 100 officers of various ranks.

Taishi Ci immediately wrote a battle report and requested credits for Xu Huang, Xu Zhao, Gao Dai, and the meritorious soldiers under his command, and asked whether Wu Jingbei should be sent away.

At this time, Liu Feng was under the walls of Wu County. With the loss of Zhao Yun and Fan Neng's troops, the pressure on the Southern Expeditionary Army under Wu County had undoubtedly increased considerably.

In particular, the need to block the south of the city in advance not only increased the pressure on the Southern Expeditionary Army, but also greatly provoked Xu Kun inside the city.

Xu Kun never expected that the letter, which had clearly given him a few days to consider, would turn into a siege the very next day.

It wasn't until Zhao Yun and Fan Neng's army marched south that the garrison at the south gate of Wu County saw the long line of troops heading south and immediately reported it to Xu Kun. Only then did Xu Kun realize that Liu Feng had divided his forces and marched south.

In this way, Xu Kun's troops in Wu County would be positioned behind the enemy. If they were attacked after leaving the city, Zhao Yun and Fan Neng's troops would definitely suffer a terrible fate.

Xu Kun summoned Xu Yi, Zhu Chao, Sun He, and others to discuss the matter.

Everyone agreed that Liu Feng's division of troops was likely aimed at Sun Ce's main force.

At this time, Wu County's connection with Wu Nan and Hui Bei was blocked. Although it was not completely blocked, communication was already very difficult.

Therefore, Xu Kun and others in Wu County were unaware that Sun Ce had already taken the Chadu Ancient Road, successfully launched a surprise attack on Gaoqiantun, and broken through the Guling defense line. He had even captured Shanyin City, forcing Wang Lang and Yu Fan to drift on Jingruo Lake with hundreds of remaining soldiers, living in constant fear.

They still thought Sun Ce was still fiercely attacking the Guling defense line, while Liu Feng discovered Wu Jing's troops moving south and had no choice but to send troops south to try to contain Sun Ce's main force from crossing the river.

After discussing the matter, everyone decided that they could try a night raid on the south of the city. If they could defeat the Southern Expeditionary Army in the south, the battle situation would change dramatically, saving Sun Ce's army from many disadvantages.

After discussion, everyone decided that, fearing that launching the attack at this time would coincide with the Southern Expeditionary Army being at its most vigilant, they would set the time for midnight five days later. Xu Yi would be the commander-in-chief, Sun He the deputy commander, and three thousand elite soldiers would be selected to launch a night raid on the Southern Expeditionary Army south of the city.

Liu Feng was unaware of Xu Kun and his associates' conspiracy, as he was currently receiving Prime Minister Zhu.

This time, Prime Minister Zhu brought 50,000 shi of grain, as well as some military equipment and supplies, and 1,500 laborers. He even implied that the major families in the city were loyal to the court and the emperor and were willing to contribute to welcoming the Southern Expeditionary Army into the city.

Liu Feng knew that Zhu Xiang was reluctant to part with even this small amount of money.

If they were truly sincere, the four major families alone could raise 100,000 shi of grain. If other families in Wu County were added, even 200,000 to 300,000 shi wouldn't be a fatal number.

Wu County is the most developed and fertile land in the entire Jiangdong region, with the most high-quality paddy fields, a dense network of rivers and lakes, and complete water conservancy facilities. Wu County alone produces nearly ten million shi of grain every year, far exceeding that of ordinary counties and even several times that of some counties in the Northwest.

Liu Feng knew even better that although the major families of Jiangdong were currently being stingy, they were actually quite timid, a typical case of being timid but big-hearted.

Liu Feng was confident that as long as he applied some pressure, the powerful families of Jiangdong would back down on their own.

So, he sneered at Zhu Xiang without any politeness: "I have heard that you have close ties with the Sun family and have long secretly pledged allegiance to the traitor Sun. Did you come here to trick me?"

Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Zhu was struck dumb, as if struck by lightning, and even wondered if there was something wrong with his ears.

Fortunately, Zhu Xiang was quite capable and quickly calmed down. Looking at Liu Feng, who was sneering, Zhu Xiang was panicked. He knew that if he couldn't explain himself clearly, the powerful families of Jiangdong would most likely be replaced.

Why does the Southern Expeditionary Army say such a thing?

Zhu Xiang tried his best to put on a sincere expression: "We are all loyal to the court and have suffered greatly from the oppression of the traitor Sun. When we heard that the General of the South was ordered by the court to go south to Jiangdong, we were overjoyed and deeply grateful for the court's virtue and the general's prestige. How could we associate with the traitor Sun? Now Jiangdong has been plagued by war for years and there are many rumors. I beg the General of the South to investigate carefully."

Zhu Xiang's attitude was quite humble, clearly intimidated by Liu Feng's words.

Although Sun Ce only stayed in Jiangdong for two years, he had already taught the powerful clans of Wu how to respect warriors.

They had previously assumed that Liu Feng was only known to the imperial court, and they had become somewhat arrogant.

After all, the gentry of the Central Plains did look down on the gentry of Jiangdong, but no matter how much they looked down on them, they were still gentry. Gu Yong's great-grandfather, Gu Feng, had served as the governor of Yingchuan County, and Gu Yong himself was taken as a disciple by Cai Yong, a famous scholar from Yanzhou.

Sun Ce was a traitor, so let's leave that aside for now. But you, Liu Feng, are the General Who Conquers the South of the Imperial Court. You must obey the Emperor, the Imperial Court, and the officials in the court, right?

It was this illusion that led them to have the misconception of wanting both.

One of the root causes was that the Wu County gentry were too weak-willed and worried that resisting the Sun family would bring unnecessary losses.

Wouldn't it be better to just lie there and wait for Liu Feng to deal with the Sun family, and then they could come out and trick him?

But who could have imagined that Liu Feng would turn on them so ruthlessly, as if he were about to change the surnames of the prominent families in Wu Commandery?

While Zhu Xiang was pleading for mercy, he was also thinking about how to escalate the situation. After all, he was only blinded by greed, not truly stupid beyond redemption.

Zhu Xiang bowed his head, but Liu Feng did not say he would stop.

He snorted coldly, a sneer playing on his lips, and said, "Oh? Just a rumor? I've heard that Gu Yong, the head of the Gu family, has already joined Sun Ce's ranks and is handling his official duties. Although he doesn't have the title of magistrate of Wu County, he has the power of one."

Another bolt from the blue struck Zhu Xiang, and he almost fainted.

Where did this news leak from?
As a core member of the prominent Zhu family in Jiangdong, Zhu Xiang was well aware of Gu Yong's allegiance to Sun Ce.

Gu Yong, as a representative of the four major clans, served Sun Ce in exchange for Sun Ce's protection of them. However, it was agreed beforehand that Gu Yong would only perform duties, not hold a position; he could have the power, but not the title. Sun Ce understood that the major clans of Wu County would not openly pledge allegiance to him at the moment, and he was also severely lacking in administrative talent.

Gu Yong, the Gu family, and the major families of Wu County dared to do business with him precisely because they saw this point.

If Sun Ce agrees, at least he will still have someone to rely on, and he will also have established a lineage. If he really gains a foothold in Jiangdong in the future, he may be able to get their support.

If he doesn't agree, then the four major clans won't work for him. You can't just wipe out their entire families just because they won't help you, can you?

Then I'm afraid no one in the entire Jiangdong region will work for the Sun family anymore.

The result satisfied the prominent families of Wu County. Sun Ce's bottom line was indeed very flexible; he immediately agreed to their demands and even put Gu Yong in charge of the entire Wu County.

Although the position of magistrate of Wu County was given to Wu Jing, it was Gu Yong who actually carried out the work.

Even in Sun Ce's Wu Commandery, the governor's office relied heavily on Gu Yong.

After all, in this timeline, Sun Ce didn't have the chance to be a sycophant and win over Zhang Hong, Qin Song, and Chen Duan.

Therefore, Sun Ce couldn't even find a strategist, and administrative talent was extremely scarce. His dependence on and compromise with the powerful families of Wu County far exceeded that of the original timeline.

Zhu Xiang was pale and trembling, unable to speak.

He never dreamed that Liu Feng knew about such a confidential matter.
Could it be that Liu Feng had someone by Sun Ce's side?
What's even more frightening is that among the four major clans in Jiangdong, the Gu family is implicitly the leader. Even when Lu Kang was still alive, the Gu family firmly held the upper hand over the Lu family.

Otherwise, when Lu Kang was the governor of Lujiang, he wouldn't have brought his entire family to Lujiang, only to be attacked by Yuan Shu and Sun Ce, resulting in more than half of them being killed or wounded.

Now, Liu Feng showed no regard or goodwill towards Gu Yong and the Gu family, directly pointing out Gu Yong's name. This showed that Liu Feng had no fear or concern for the prominent families in Wu County, which chilled Zhu Xiang to the bone.

"Why don't you speak?"

Liu Feng sneered, "Is this also just a rumor?"

Zhu Xiang's legs went weak, and he immediately knelt down, bowing deeply to Liu Feng.

"We are guilty, and we beg the General of the South to punish us!"

Upon hearing Zhu Xiang's confession, Liu Feng coldly snorted, "Go back now."

Zhu Xiang raised his head in despair, his eyes filled with pleading.

"Since you have confessed your sins and shown remorse, then go back!"

Liu Feng continued, "After we get back, we should discuss how to redeem ourselves through meritorious service."

Zhu Xiang then realized that Liu Feng had sent him back to relay information because he felt Zhu was of low rank and lacked influence.

Zhu Xiang secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Liu Feng was willing to give him a chance, he was not on a dead end.

Seeing Zhu Xiang's expression constantly changing, Liu Feng remained calm. He knew the mentality and personality of the prominent families in Wu County all too well.

Although these people have a certain degree of loyalty, they are somewhat weak-willed and place great importance on their families.

Take Lu Xun and his son Lu Kang as examples. They were both renowned ministers of the Pillar State level, but they were extremely indulgent towards their families. The Lu family was one of the pillar families of the Wu Kingdom, but apart from Lu Xun and his son, the family was full of纨绔子弟 (spoiled brats).

This shows just how outrageous Lu Xun and his son's indulgence of their family had become.

Therefore, Liu Feng felt that even if he threatened to exterminate his clan, the major clans of Jiangdong would not dare to truly submit to Sun Ce, let alone now that he had given the other party a chance.

As it turned out, Liu Feng's judgment was quite accurate.

Upon hearing Liu Feng's words, Zhu Xiang's first reaction was not to rebel or simply defect to Sun Ce, but rather to think about how to please Liu Feng, gain his forgiveness, and protect his family.

"I am fully aware of Zheng Nan's intentions. Upon returning to the city, I will convey Zheng Nan's goodwill to my family, and atone for my crimes by performing meritorious service to repay Zheng Nan's kindness!"

Zhu Xiang was so moved that he wept bitterly, kowtowed several times, and then retreated step by step from the tent.

Zhu Xiang was extremely respectful, yet he received not a shred of sympathy from Liu Feng.

At this point, if they still hesitate and refuse to make any sacrifices, why should Liu Feng give them a friendly look?

Am I, the General Who Conquers the South, only worth 50,000 shi of grain?

********
Zhao Yun marched at an extremely fast pace, covering sixty li a day. He marched continuously for five days, using almost all his strength.

The differences between armies can be seen from their long marches.

Both Zhao Yun and Zhao Yun's troops traveled 60 li a day, but only 15% of their soldiers fell behind. They were gathered up by the officers at the rear of the column and continued to advance, so the worst consequence was that they arrived a few days late.

However, a full 40% of Fan Neng's group had fallen behind, and dozens more had completely disappeared without a trace, most likely having simply run away.

Moreover, Zhao Yun's side still retains more than half of its fighting strength, while Fan Neng's troops have basically lost their fighting strength and will need at least a day or two of rest to recover some of their fighting strength.

If Sun Ce's army had appeared at this moment, let alone an ambush, Fan Neng's army would probably have collapsed as soon as they set up their formation.

Zhao Yun dared to do this entirely because Zhou Yu paved the way ahead, eliminating most of the risks.

Wu Jing's troops could bypass Zhou Yu and launch a surprise attack on Zhao Yun, but the intelligence support required would be outrageous. Unless Wu Jing possessed supernatural abilities, he wouldn't even know that Zhao Yun had fled south, let alone take such a risk.

In just five days, Zhao Yun's troops had caught up with Zhou Yu's vanguard, and the rendezvous point was less than halfway between Yuhang and Qiantang.

After the two armies joined forces, in accordance with Liu Feng's orders, Zhao Yun was appointed as the commander-in-chief, Zhou Yu as the deputy commander, and Yu Mi, Fan Neng, Zhou Dao and other generals were put in command.

At the same time, Wang Sheng was appointed as a military advisor by Liu Feng and stationed in Youquan, taking on the important task of transporting grain to the south and ensuring the logistical supply of Zhao Yun's troops.

Zhao Yun continued to lead Zhou Yu's troops as the vanguard, while he led the central army to slow down, allowing the troops to rest and recuperate while waiting for the straggling soldiers to catch up.

After marching for another three days, when they were more than a hundred li away from Yuhang and Qiantang, they happened to run into the messenger sent by Taishi Ci.

(End of this chapter)