My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 360 A Feast for the Buddies of Liu Bei

After fleeing the battlefield of Qiantang River, Sun Ce took a long detour and returned to Shanyin City from the south bank of Jingruo Lake.

Although he set off first, Zhu Zhi arrived just the day after he returned to Shanyin City.

Sun Ce held Zhu Zhi in extremely high regard. Zhu Zhi's qualifications were no less than Cheng Pu's, but his background and origins far surpassed Cheng Pu's. More importantly, Zhu Zhi was essentially a major shareholder in Sun Ce's group.

Not only did he rescue Sun Ce's mother and siblings, but he also single-handedly rallied several thousand followers to support Sun Ce in the south of Wu Commandery. Cheng Pu, at best, was merely a high-ranking official with stock options.

Upon hearing that Zhu Zhi had arrived, Sun Ce was overjoyed, assuming that Zhu Zhi had also seized the opportunity to break through the encirclement.

Therefore, Sun Ce immediately went to the gate of the Shanyin Prefectural Governor's Mansion to greet Zhu Zhi.

But when he heard that Zhu Zhi had come to persuade him to surrender, he fell silent.

Sun Ce's feelings were extremely complicated at this moment. Rationally, he knew that what Zhu Zhi said was true.

The situation between Liu and Sun is all too clear. Let alone whether the Sun family can turn the tide, they don't even have the resources to put up a stubborn resistance.

Moreover, the conditions offered by Liu Feng were truly extremely generous. The two sides clashed and fought a series of battles, until finally he gave his all in a decisive battle on the banks of the Qiantang River.

It could be said that they had already lost completely, but Liu Feng actually gave them the opportunity to surrender, and even guaranteed the safety of their mother and siblings, and even Sun Ce himself had a chance to escape.

Sun Ce believed that if he were in Sun Ce's shoes, he probably wouldn't be able to offer such generous treatment.

Liu Feng is currently a dignified General Who Conquers the South. If he were to go back on his word, it would severely damage his reputation. The Sun family, on the other hand, is nothing more than an insect in late autumn, its life hanging by a thread. There is nothing for Liu Feng to deceive them about.

But Sun Ce was still quite dissatisfied.

Who is Liu Feng?

Three years ago, let alone Liu Feng, even his father Liu Bei was just an unknown figure.

How many people in the world know Liu Bei?
And what about my own home?
My father was a dignified General Who Destroyed the Enemy, who fought for the court in the south and north, defeating the traitor Dong Zhuo in battle after battle, forcing him to retreat from the capital in disgrace. He was even recommended by Yuan Shu, the eldest son of the Zhong family, to be the governor of Yu Province.

His fame and popularity at the time were almost unparalleled.

Sun Ce had a reputation for talent in the Jianghuai region since childhood, which made the Zhou family of Lujiang want to win him over. They went so far as to have their family member Zhou Yu befriend him, and later even invited Sun Ce to move to Shucheng, the capital of Lujiang County, where the Zhou family lived.

Liu Feng was just a country boy. Although he had some reputation in the north, he was nowhere near as good as me.

But now, Liu Feng is the master of the palace, while he is a prisoner.

How could Sun Ce possibly accept this?

But if he didn't accept it now, destruction would be imminent. Sun Ce was also deeply worried about his mother and younger siblings.

Just as Sun Ce was hesitating, Chen Wu suddenly came looking for him.

Chen Wu looked excited. After entering, he glanced at Zhu Zhi, then quickly walked up to Sun Ce and whispered something to him.

Sun Ce was also suddenly shocked, and then looked at Chen Wu in disbelief, while the latter nodded vigorously.

Sun Ce didn't say what had happened, but he respectfully said to Zhu Zhi, "Uncle, please rest for a while. I have urgent business to attend to."

Zhu Zhi nodded. Although he was very puzzled, he didn't press the matter and instead took his leave.

"All the cities have rebelled!?"

As soon as Zhu Zhi left, Sun Ce impatiently asked Chen Wu.

"No, it's not."

Chen Wu shook his head, and seeing the joy on Sun Ce's face freeze, he quickly said, "General, they have rebelled against the Southern Expedition and are supporting you as their leader."

It turned out that the news Chen Wu rushed in to report was that the cities of Beihui had actually rebelled again.

After news of Sun Ce's crushing defeat spread, the morale of the people in these cities and counties began to waver, and the soldiers were filled with apprehension.

Sun Ce knew without a doubt that someone was secretly plotting to surrender to Liu Feng with his and his family's heads as a gift.

In Shanyin City, where he was located, the Lin and Jiao families were among the first to rebel when Wang Lang was trapped in the city.

The main members of both clans withdrew from Shanyin City to their warships overnight. Although they were still docked in Shanyin City's port, they were subtly opposed to the navy loyal to Sun Ce.

The two sides were on the verge of exploding, indicating that a rebellion by the Lin and Jiao clans was imminent.

"Emper me?"

Sun Ce looked on in astonishment, almost thinking that Chen Wu had gone mad.

Chen Wu quickly stepped forward and said, "Lin Sheng and Jiao Lang have arrived outside the mansion to request an audience."

"How dare they come here?"

Sun Ce felt his mind was blank. Lin Sheng was the head of the Lin family, and Jiao Lang was the head of the Jiao family. After learning of Sun Ce's defeat, the two of them immediately fled to the ship and have been making trouble at the port these days.

Their sudden appearance outside the mansion seeking an audience—are they trying to send lambs to the slaughter?

Did they really think they were going to surrender and didn't dare kill them?
Sun Ce revealed a ferocious smile, his eyes filled with murderous intent. "I'm truly sorry, but I'm willing to test the sharpness of my blade with your neck."

Seeing Sun Ce's expression, Chen Wu knew that the other party still hadn't understood. He quickly racked his brains and finally came up with a good word: "General, Lin Sheng and Jiao Lang have come to serve you outside the mansion."

"Serve me!?"

Sun Ce finally understood why Chen Wu looked so happy; he had misunderstood earlier.

These two people came to the prefect's residence to show their loyalty to him?

A surge of immense joy welled up within him, but Sun Ce forced himself to remain calm and asked Chen Wu, "Why would such a fickle and treacherous person make such a decision?"

Chen Wu quickly revealed what he knew: Liu Feng's order had been sent to all the counties and towns in Beihui.

Upon hearing that all county magistrates, county heads, county assistants, and officials with a salary of 100 shi or above were to be imprisoned and questioned for abandoning their land to join the bandits, the Northern Assembly immediately erupted in uproar.

Although Liu Feng seemed to have held back, arresting only officials with a salary of 100 shi or above, the majority of officials in a county were actually those with a salary of less than 100 shi.

But in reality, the key lies with this Hyakugoku.

The local gentry and powerful families who were able to hold official positions of 100 shi or above in the county were almost all local strongmen in the county, and their power was unparalleled in the county.

Therefore, they often filled the lower-ranking officials with collateral relatives, branches, and disciples of the family.

These minor officials, with salaries below 100 shi (a unit of grain measure), acted like capillaries, becoming assistants to these powerful clans in controlling the local counties.

Therefore, although Liu Feng only arrested officials with a salary of 100 shi or above, the lower-ranking officials below 100 shi were all other people's dogs. When the master was beaten, how could the lackeys not rebel?
At Liu Feng's command, almost overnight, most of the counties in Beihui reversed their stance, transforming from plotting to betray the Sun family and surrender the city to becoming staunch loyalists to the Sun family.

Of the ten counties in the north, except for Yuji County, where Liu Feng's troops were stationed, and Yuyao County, where the Yu family lived, the other eight counties all rebelled. Even Wushang County, which had not surrendered to Sun Ce before, rebelled and sent people to Shanyin to pledge allegiance to Sun Ce. Upon hearing this news, Sun Ce felt both happy and worried.

To everyone's delight, Liu Feng suddenly went mad for some unknown reason, and managed to force all eight counties in Beihui to rebel.

It was like a giant pie had fallen right on his head.

With the support of the eight counties in the north, he might be able to raise another army. Shanyin City is well-fortified and located on a strategic route, so there might still be a chance to turn the tide.

Worryingly, he now has almost only Chen Wu and Lü Fan left to rely on. Even if he includes Sun Quan, Sun Yi, and his personal guards, he has no more than two people.

Once the army expands, even setting aside the issue of controlling its strength, just figuring out how to ensure the newly recruited soldiers are capable of fighting will be enough to give him a major headache.

Unless Liu Feng continues his madness and stays in Yuji for another year or two, without advancing eastward.

Otherwise, even with the help of these people, he would most likely not be able to hold on.

Having missed this opportunity to persuade Zhu Zhi to surrender, the chances of such favorable conditions appearing again are slim.

"Let them in first."

Sun Ce hesitated for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, still unable to make a decision, and decided to wait and see.

Afterwards, Sun Ce met with Lin Sheng and Jiao Lang.

Previously, Sun Ce raised his butcher's knife in Shanyin City and wiped out several families, including the Zhou and He families. Lin Sheng and Jiao Lang saw him as a butcher, but they had no choice but to kneel and serve him because of his military might.

This time, however, Lin Sheng and Jiao Lang seemed like completely different people. They praised Sun Ce to the skies, spoke bluntly, and were extremely obsequious.

In addition, the two men, representing other powerful families inside and outside Shanyin City, contributed a large sum of money, grain, weapons, and troops.

At this time, Sun Ce did not lack food. He still had more than 80,000 shi of grain in Shanyin City alone, half of which was grain.

What he lacked was manpower and military supplies.

The defeat at the Battle of Qiantang was devastating, a complete annihilation of the army. Not only were the officer corps and elite main force wiped out, but also all kinds of military equipment, weapons, armor and machinery in stock.

Lin Sheng and Jiao Lang were well aware of this, and they directly gathered more than 2,700 long and short weapons, more than 500 sets of leather armor, more than 80 bows, more than 30 crossbows, and more than 100 large shields.

They practically emptied the coffers of every family in Shanyin.

In addition, there were more than 2,300 able-bodied men, including the last retainers and laborers of each family, who could be said to have given their all.

The reason why everyone is working so hard is thanks to Liu Feng.

If it weren't for his order that pushed these powerful clans and gentry of the Northern Alliance to the brink of disaster, how could they have entrusted their last remaining assets to Sun Ce?

Even though Sun Ce was quite pessimistic about the situation, he was still shocked by the grand gestures of Lin Sheng and Jiao Lang.

This is just Shanyin County.

Although Shanyin County was the seat of the prefecture and was adjacent to Jingruo Lake, the land within its borders was fertile, the produce was plentiful, and the people were wealthy and prosperous.

But the other seven counties combined should be able to withstand three or four Shanyin counties, right?

In that case, he could immediately raise an army of nearly 20,000 men, and still have the fortified city of Shanyin to rely on.

Although Liu Feng's military might is formidable, the north is not stable. As long as I hold my city and do not lose it, if something happens in the north, he will inevitably be forced to withdraw his troops and return north. Perhaps this is where my opportunity lies.
Sun Ce had already lost much of his confidence due to Liu Feng's defeat, and as a qualified, even excellent, general, his assessment of the strength of both sides was quite objective.

He didn't believe he could defeat Liu Feng with his less than 20,000 new recruits.

Sun Ce astutely realized that his only chance of winning was to stall.

For the next few days, Sun Ce hosted banquets for Zhu Zhi every day, and he made no attempt to hide the situation on his side.

Zhu Zhi was also shocked after hearing this.

He also completely failed to understand the significance of Liu Feng's actions.

However, he had already surrendered to Liu Feng by this time, and strictly speaking, he was now a subject of the Liu family, no longer a subject of the Sun family.

Moreover, he came here with only one mission: to persuade Sun Ce to surrender.

Therefore, Zhu Zhi still tried his best to persuade Sun Ce, and what he said was all substantial and hit the nail on the head, all of which were things that Sun Ce was extremely worried about.

My biggest concern is the safety of my mother and younger siblings.

Even so, Sun Ce still couldn't make a decision.

Zhu Zhi's words were indeed moving, but unfortunately, the gentry of the North had given too much.

Just as Sun Ce had anticipated, the other seven counties also sent their most respected figures to Shanyin to pledge allegiance to Sun Ce, and even staked their last savings on him.

The powerful clans and gentry of the eight counties in the north contributed a total of more than 300,000 shi of grain, 11,000 able-bodied men, more than 13,000 weapons of various types, more than 4,900 sets of leather armor, as well as supplies such as longbows, crossbows, and shields.

In addition, they contributed more than a hundred blacksmiths who could repair and forge weapons, replenish arrows, and repair tools.

This level of support truly demonstrates their sincerity.

Moreover, due to the change in attitude of the local gentry and powerful families in various counties, from resistance to support, all the troops that Sun Ce had sent to the counties could be withdrawn back to Shanyin. Without the gentry and powerful families stirring up trouble, the loyalty and stability of the surrendered soldiers in Sun Ce's garrison were greatly enhanced.

In this way, seemingly overnight, Sun Ce became a powerful warlord with 20,000 troops again.

However, Sun Ce himself was well aware that his 20,000 troops were really weak. If he were to go out and fight Liu Feng in the open field, he would only be considered to have the military prowess of Bai Han if he could withstand the enemy's all-out attack for even half an hour.

Zhu Zhi stayed in Shanyin for seven days but still failed to persuade Sun Ce.

Although Sun Ce did not explicitly refuse, he continued to recruit the powerful clans and gentry of Beihui, train soldiers, and mobilize resources. He did not seem to be surrendering at all.

Zhu Zhi eventually gave up on the idea of ​​persuading them to surrender.

It's been seven days already. If I don't go back soon, Liu Feng might start to suspect I've betrayed him. Even if I do go back then, they'll probably suspect I'm deliberately buying time for Sun Ce, right?

At this point, Zhu Zhi firmly refused Sun Ce's offer to stay and then took his leave.

Zhu Zhi rushed back to Yuji, weary from his journey, and immediately sought an audience with Liu Feng, wanting to apologize to him.

"What crime has Lord Zhu committed?"

Liu Feng looked puzzled. Although Zhu Zhi had been gone for more than ten days, if Zhu Zhi wanted to rebel, he wouldn't need to come back at all.

If the attempt to persuade him to surrender failed, Liu Feng would not punish him. After all, the Sun family's surrendered troops were still in a tense mood, and there was no need to increase the risk for such a small matter.

(End of this chapter)