My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 337 Target: Qiantang
Upon seeing Zhou Yu, the messenger hurriedly reported: "General Taishi, with the assistance of Xu Zhao and Gao Dai of Yuhang, launched a night raid on the city two days ago and successfully captured Yuhang. He has sent me to convey the latest information to the General."

Zhou Yu was greatly alarmed upon hearing this, and then he keenly realized that if Yu Hang were to be moved, wouldn't Qiantang become an isolated city?

There are three cities north of the Qiantang River, which together form an equilateral triangle.

Fuchun stands isolated at the innermost point, forming the apex. The cities of Yuhang and Qiantang are located slightly to the north, together with Fuchun, forming an equilateral triangle with a short base and a long side, with the base slightly tilted towards the northeast.

Therefore, the army coming from the north will not be able to threaten Fuchun unless it captures either Yuhang or Qiantang.

Zhao Yun and Zhou Yu's troops happened to come from the northeast, and they were closer to Qiantang than to Yuhang.

Now that Yuhang has been recovered and Qiantang is within reach, it is like an isolated city with no one to help it. Isn't this heaven helping us?

Zhou Yu conceived a plan and, accompanied by his messengers, went to the central army to request an audience with Zhao Yun.

The group quickly arrived at the central command post, and after being informed, Zhao Yun immediately granted them an audience.

The army was still on its way, so Zhao Yun specially found an open space to meet them.

"General, Yuhang has already been captured by General Taishi!"

Upon meeting, Zhou Yu was the first to announce the good news.

At the same time, he carefully observed Zhao Yun's facial expressions.

Zhou Yu secretly thought this was a great opportunity to test Zhao Yun's true character.

Zhou Yu saw and appreciated Liu Feng's respect and closeness to Zhao Yun.

As a latecomer, he was neither a confidant of Liu Bei nor Liu Feng.

Although it seemed that Liu Bei and his sons were very kind to him, Zhou Yu knew very well that this kindness was likely fake, or even if it was real, it was just Liu Bei and his sons' love for talent.

However, Zhao Yun was a trusted confidant of Liu Bei, and his relationship with Liu Feng was more like that of uncle and nephew.

This kind of close relationship is something that money and talent cannot buy.

Zhou Yu believed that as long as Zhao Yun remained steadfast, he would undoubtedly become a high-ranking general under Liu Bei. He wanted to maintain a good relationship with Zhao Yun, and catering to his preferences was a very effective tactic.

Moreover, Zhou Yu also wanted to see what kind of personality Zhao Yun had. If Zhao Yun was narrow-minded and jealous of talent, then he was obviously not a suitable investment target.

"What!?"

Zhao Yun was taken aback, but then his face lit up with joy: "General Taishi deserves the greatest credit!"

Zhou Yu carefully observed the joy on Zhao Yun's face and confirmed that the other party was genuinely happy for Taishi Ci. For a moment, he was speechless.

General Zhao's mind is far too broad.

This southward expedition was led by Zhao Yun as the main general, with Taishi Ci and Zhou Yu as his deputies. Although Taishi Ci was currently leading a separate army, once they joined forces, he would still have to obey Zhao Yun's orders.

Although Taishi Ci had the authority to command a division of troops, he attacked and captured Yuhang without informing Zhao Yun first.

While objective reasons such as the urgency of the situation and the inconvenience of communication certainly existed, if Zhao Yun were narrow-minded, he would definitely feel that Taishi Ci was stealing credit, and how could he possibly praise Taishi Ci for the greatest contribution?

Zhou Yu felt relieved, and a sincere smile appeared on his face.

"What the general says is very true. General Taishi has indeed made the greatest contribution this time."

Immediately afterwards, Zhou Yu suggested, "General, General Taishi has brought us, the Eastern Route Army, a golden opportunity."

"Oh?"

Zhao Yun's expression hardened, the smile on his lips vanished, and he asked seriously, "General Zhou is known for his wisdom and resourcefulness. I humbly request your guidance to help me succeed."

"General, you flatter me. How could I not do my utmost while serving under your command?"

Zhou Yu said modestly, and continued, "Now that Yuhang has been captured by General Taishi, Qiantang is practically an isolated city. Moreover, I just inquired and it is highly likely that the news of General Taishi's capture of Yuhang has not yet spread."

Zhao Yun was somewhat moved, but then he heard Zhou Yu continue, "General, if our army marches south quickly and surrounds the enemy in Qiantang before they can escape, we can achieve new merits!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yun's eyes lit up. After pondering it carefully for a moment, he looked up and said, "Gongjin's words are brilliant. I think they are feasible."

He Qi and Zhou Bin, who were standing beside Zhao Yun and Zhou Yu, immediately stepped forward and requested in unison, "Bin (Qi) knows the roads well and is willing to be the army's guide!"

Zhao Yun and Zhou Yu exchanged a glance and burst into laughter.

He Qi was extremely excited. Since Zhao Yun set off, he had traveled sixty li a day and covered three hundred li in five days. Zhou Yu was also moving at an astonishing speed ahead. In just seven or eight days, the army was almost at Qiantang.

How could He Qi not be grateful to Liu Feng, Zhao Yun, Zhou Yu, and others?

Now, having heard that Taishi Ci has captured Yuhang and left Qiantang isolated, and that Zhao Yun and Zhou Yu are preparing a surprise attack on Qiantang, He Qi immediately stepped forward, willing to pave the way for the army.

Once we capture Qiantang and successfully cross the Qiantang River, we'll only be three or four days away from Shanyin.

Even though He Qi was extremely anxious, he felt that such a speed of reinforcements was like a dream.

Before he arrived, no matter how well he planned, he never dared to hope for such a rapid rescue.

He Qi was already extremely grateful that the reinforcements could arrive in Shanyin within a month.

Zhao Yun made a quick decision: "Alright, in that case, let He Qi be the guide, Zhou Dao the vanguard, Gongjin, you personally command the vanguard to lead the way, and I will lead the central army to follow and support your troops."

Fan Neng's eyes were full of envy, and he was even a little jealous of Yu Mi, but he was not qualified to compete for it. After all, his troops had suffered heavy losses, and his combat strength needed to be gradually restored.

If they were to march hastily now, although his troops might not rebel, they certainly wouldn't be able to get going.

Knowing his own limitations, Fan Neng could only watch helplessly as Yu Mi beamed with joy.

After assigning tasks, Zhou Yu immediately sped up, with Zhou Dao as the vanguard and Yu Mi as the rearguard, and the entire army accelerated southward.

The messages sent by Taishi Ci included not only reports of achievements but also the latest military intelligence.

According to Taishi Ci, Zhou Yu learned that there were only a thousand soldiers guarding Qiantang City, led by Sun Ben's younger brother Sun Fu. The other thousand men were responsible for protecting the grain transport from Qiantang to the south of the Qiantang River.

Therefore, Sun Fu was completely unable to monitor the area north of Qiantang; at most, he could only send out some scouts to remotely control it.

Once Zhou Yu's army arrives at Qiantang, unless Sun Fu is decisive enough to abandon everything and flee the city immediately, he will most likely be trapped inside.

Moreover, with this news and knowing the true situation in Qiantang, Zhou Yu could march without any pressure and didn't need to worry about Sun Fu's ability to ambush him.

In order to maintain combat effectiveness, Zhou Yu did not travel as extravagantly as Zhao Yun, who traveled sixty li a day. Instead, he increased his speed to about forty to forty-five li a day. As a result, he arrived at the foot of Qiantang County at noon on the third day.

Sun Fu was lucky to detect Zhou Yu's forces' movements a day in advance. If he had been unlucky, or had been careless and failed to send scouts north, he probably wouldn't have noticed until Zhou Yu's army was at the city gates.

This is the power of people's hearts and minds.

Liu Feng was acting on imperial orders, making him a legitimate member of the government army. He also had a good reputation and now had the strong support of Sheng Xian.

This meant that among the powerful clans and gentry of Jiangdong, apart from a few who had already placed heavy bets on Sun Ce or those who were unable to disembark, the rest would absolutely not choose to help Sun Ce, even if they didn't help Liu Feng.

Otherwise, Taishi Ci could have stayed at the exit of the passage between Dongtiao Creek and Tianmu Mountain for two whole days and nights without Wu Jing noticing, as if he were blind.
In fact, several of the local powerful clans in Yuhang had already received the news.

Among them was Xu Zhao, who, after meeting with Xu Zhong, received two or three more reports from tenant farmers outside the city.

It's clear that these local tyrants were very well-informed, since outsiders would find it difficult to keep information under wraps in such a short time. However, these powerful clans chose to play dead, ignoring Taishi Ci's camp, and some, like Xu Zhao, even went so far as to defect.

If it were any other warlord entering Xuzhou, even if they weren't under constant surveillance, anyone who saw them would have tried to inform Liu Bei.

After all, the gentry of Xuzhou are now Liu Bei's base of support; just look at the Chen family, the Mi family, the Zhang family, the Qin family, and the Zhuge family.

These prominent families of Xuzhou had already sided with Liu Bei, and their interests were largely aligned when resisting foreign invasion.

This is one of the reasons why Liu Feng treated Sheng Xian with such courtesy, even though he knew Sheng Xian was not very capable.

Moreover, Sun Ce was not unaware of this principle; he simply couldn't put it into practice.

He fawned over Zhang Hong like a sycophant for years, but Zhang Hong never relented, only offering him a suggestion. It wasn't until after he swept through Jiangdong that he personally went there and, with the respect due to a master and disciple, finally persuaded Zhang Hong to come out of seclusion and assist him.

Sun Ce had a very high starting point in military affairs. Not only was he exceptionally talented, but his father also left him a wealth of talent and resources.

Sun Jian alone left behind four or five thousand retainers, all of whom were veterans of countless battles. The officer corps was also extremely loyal, which is why Yuan Shu was so determined to hold onto them. He really wanted to recruit these people for his own use.

If these veterans hadn't been loyal, they would have been corrupted by Yuan Shu long ago.

In the end, Yuan Shu had no way to deal with them and could only return them to Sun Ce.

Besides his father's old retainers, there were four powerful relatives: Sun Ben, Sun Xiang, Wu Jing, and Xu Kun. Each of these powerful relatives had anywhere from tens of thousands to thousands of retainers under their command.

As for Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and Han Dang, they were actually considered part of Sun Ce's old troops. They didn't have many men of their own; in essence, they were just in charge of the troops on behalf of Sun Ce.

The stronger a country is militarily, the weaker it is politically.

The Zhou family wanted to win over Sun Ce and make him their henchman. Zhang Hong was flattered by Sun Ce for three years but refused to come out of seclusion to help him. The Lu family owed Sun Jian a great debt of gratitude. When Sun Jian was the governor of Changsha, he risked his life to go out of the border to fight bandits and saved the Lu family.

However, Lu Kang is a man of principle. In private, I thank you for saving my nephew, but politically we are still on different paths and cannot work together.

Sun Ce only had a handful of capable men under his command, such as Zhu Zhi and Lü Fan.

Even after Huan Jie risked his life to retrieve Sun Jian's remains from Liu Biao, he preferred to return to his hometown of Changsha rather than serve Sun Ce.

Therefore, it wasn't that Sun Ce recklessly went on a killing spree; he simply felt that the path of appeasement was no longer viable, so he switched to establishing his authority and coercing the gentry to cooperate.

Sun Ce was actually quite intelligent. When he was on his deathbed, he entrusted his legacy to Sun Quan, rather than his most favored son, Sun Yi, which shows that Sun Ce had good political skills. It's just that even a skilled cook can't make a meal without ingredients.

Zhou Yu was doing the same thing again. He was almost at the foot of Qiantang County when Sun Fu in the city was still completely unaware of what was happening, while the powerful clans in the city had already received the news.

"What? The Southern Expeditionary Army is less than twenty miles from the city?"

Hua Zheng, the head of the Hua family in Qiantang, was shocked by the news and nearly fell over.

The Hua family of Qiantang was the largest clan, and one of their ancestors was Hua Xin, a county councilor. Hua Xin shared the same surname and pronunciation as Hua Xin, but they were not from the same clan. However, Hua Xin himself was quite talented, and his reputation was exceptional, especially in Qiantang.

In the early Eastern Han Dynasty, Qiantang was not a prosperous place. On the contrary, it was quite barren due to the flooding of the Qiantang River and the frequent inundation of the land by seawater.

At this time, Hua Xin was serving as the Chief Clerk of Wu County. He obtained the governor's permission to raise funds to build a dike with earth and stones to prevent the seawater from overflowing.

At that time, Huaxin used all his family's wealth to recruit anyone who could bring a bushel of soil and stones, and he would give them a thousand coins.

The people of Qiantang admired Huaxin's reputation and flocked to the site. Before the dike was completed, they stopped working on it, and those carrying earth and stones abandoned it. The dike was thus completed and renamed Qiantang, laying the foundation for the development of the Qiantang region.

At the same time, from that point on, the Hua family became the most powerful family in Qiantang.

After Zhu Zhi arrived in Qiantang, he received strong support from the Hua family, and this support was quite substantial.

Zhu Zhi easily obtained 50,000 shi of grain, 1,000 able-bodied men, and a large quantity of military equipment and supplies from the Hua family.

When the Hua family supported Zhu Zhi, Liu Feng had not yet crossed the river, while Sun Ce was preparing to launch a pincer attack from the north and south to seize Youquan, open up the north-south transportation route of Wu Commandery, and launch an attack on Hui.

After weighing the options, Hua Jia concluded that Wang Lang was unlikely to be able to stop Sun Ce and Zhu Zhi, which is why he gave Zhu Zhi such strong support.

They truly never imagined that Liu Feng, once he crossed the river, would be even more outrageous than Sun Ce.

It took Sun Ce a whole year to conquer half of Wu Commandery.

In just three months, Liu Feng had already reached their doorstep.

Hua Zheng was so shocked by the news that he almost fell over.

"It was reported by several villagers from outside the city overnight."

Hua Zheng's younger brother, Hua Zhong, suddenly came to report.

Hua Zheng quickly grabbed his younger brother's hand and asked, "Where is he?"

Hua Zhong hurriedly replied, "The person is in the mansion, and I have already had someone keep an eye on them."

"Good! Good!"

Hua Zheng nodded repeatedly, gradually calming down. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "First, reward each of them with two thousand coins and two bolts of silk. Then, arrange a meal of wine and meat for them. After they finish eating, let them rest in the mansion. Send someone to their home to inform them that they will be returning in a few days."

In most cases, these messengers would not be silenced. Although only a few villagers came, it was very likely that everyone in the village would know that they had come to deliver a message to the Hua family.

If the Hua family really wipes out all witnesses, the reputation of the village will be completely ruined.

Therefore, Hua Zheng only thought about how to keep it a secret, and never thought about silencing him.

"Okay! I'll get on it right away!"

Hua Zhong nodded vigorously and turned to make the arrangements.

Unexpectedly, Hua Zheng grabbed him and said, "Have the servants take care of it. Once you've made the arrangements, come back quickly. I have something to discuss with you."

"yes, Sir."

Hua Zhong hurriedly went out to make arrangements, while Hua Zheng remained seated, his face contorted in a grimace, as if he were engaged in an intense internal struggle.

After Hua Zhong returned, Hua Zheng suddenly said, "Make preparations, and then go and surrender to the Southern Expeditionary Army."

"What!?"

Hua Zhong suddenly raised his head, his face full of shock.

Hua Zheng ignored him and continued, "Not only do you have to go, but you also have to denounce your brother to the Southern Expeditionary Army and expose your brother's actions of supporting Commander Zhu."

Hua Zhong was stunned, but after a moment he understood.

My brother is sacrificing himself to save the family.

Hua Zhong was overwhelmed with mixed feelings. He knew that this was the responsibility of everyone in the family, but he had a very good relationship with his elder brother. When his father died, Hua Zhong was only six years old. His elder brother raised him like a father and treated him even better than his own son.

But now, is the elder brother also going to sacrifice himself for the family?
Hua Zheng could see the complex emotions in his younger brother and comforted him, "Alright, I'm already over forty, so I'm not going to die young. There are still twenty miles of night road ahead, so you must be careful."

Hua Zhong had no choice but to follow his brother's instructions. Time was of the essence, and he had to set off immediately.

But just then, a flash of inspiration struck him: "Brother, I have a plan that may save the family, and you won't have to sacrifice yourself."

(End of this chapter)