My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 364 Taking Shanyin
However, Liu Feng didn't have too many concerns about this, because from a strategic point of view, the navies of the Lin and Jiao families were already trapped.

Even if Liu Feng's navy was no match for them, they could escape into Jingruo Lake. But if they wanted to escape far away from Jingruo Lake, they could either go west, out of Yuji County and into Qiantang, or go east, out of Shangyu and into the Cao'e River to reach the sea.

Now, both Yuji and Shangyu have been occupied by Liu Feng. Unless they abandon their ships and flee, they will be trapped and die in Jingruohu Town.

However, Liu Feng harbored some greed. The Lin and Jiao families' navies possessed many large warships. If he could capture them in Shanyin City, his own naval strength would undoubtedly increase.

After conquering Yangzhou, the next step of expansion must be approached with extreme caution.

Moreover, Liu Biao in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River could turn from friend to foe at any time. If such a situation were to occur, both sides would most likely have to rely on their naval forces for the decisive battle.

It's not that the army was useless, but in the Battle of Jingyang, the army's cost-effectiveness was far inferior to that of the navy.

Once the Yangzhou navy is defeated, Liu Feng will have no choice but to risk losing several times or even ten times the strength and being cut off by Jingzhou's navy, in order to break the passive situation with a land counterattack.

Sun Quan brought Liu Feng's requests and opinions back to the city. Before leaving, Liu Feng also summoned Zhu Zhi.

Upon suddenly seeing Sun Quan, Zhu Zhi was somewhat stunned, thinking that Sun Quan had been captured alive.

When Zhu Zhi learned that the Sun family was willing to surrender and that they would treat the rebels in Shanyin and the city as gifts, he breathed a sigh of relief and immediately became excited.

This is the military achievement of more than 50,000 people, as well as the achievement of governing Kuaiji Commandery.

That evening, Sun Quan returned to Shanyin City and told his elder brother everything Liu Feng had ordered and requested.

After listening, Sun Ce nodded and fell into deep thought.

Suddenly, Sun Ce noticed that Sun Quan seemed hesitant to speak, so he asked, "Second brother, just say what you have to say. What can't be said between brothers?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Quan immediately said, "I have a plan in mind, but I'm not sure if it's feasible."

"Oh?"

Sun Ce became interested and urged, "Whether it's feasible or not, tell me."

Sun Quan then revealed his plan. It turned out that Sun Ce's personal guard captain, Sun Ci, had previously clashed with Lin Long, the eldest son of the Lin family, but Sun Quan had witnessed the conflict and temporarily suppressed it.

They desperately need a breakthrough to change the status quo, and this is where they can make use of it.

If the timing is right, Sun Ci and Lin Long can clash again, causing Lin Long to suffer a minor loss. Sun Ce can then intervene at the opportune moment, showing favoritism towards Lin Long. Perhaps, under the guise of apologizing, a banquet can be held to invite the Jiao family to act as peacemakers, bringing both the Lin and Jiao families together.

If this were launched that very night, it would create a situation where there is no leader.

Upon hearing this, Sun Ce's eyes lit up, and he immediately felt that Sun Quan's plan was quite excellent. Most importantly, it was highly feasible, accurately predicting the arrogance and haughtiness of the Jiao and Lin families. As long as this method was followed, the Lin and Jiao families would indeed walk into the trap step by step.

"Quan Di, you've grown up."

Sun Ce looked at his younger brother with a complicated expression and sighed, "The child of yesteryear can now share his brother's burdens."

Sun Quan blushed slightly and said modestly, "I am but a fool who may have a brilliant idea. If you think this plan is feasible, then we need to set a general time and method of communication, and contact Zheng Nan."

Sun Ce nodded and immediately said, "Since this matter was planned by Brother Quan, you will still be in charge. When we are reckoning our achievements in the future, you can also recommend him to Brother Quan."

Sun Quan was secretly pleased and agreed.

********
Upon learning this, Liu Feng immediately agreed, but postponed the date by three days to allow Jia Kui's troops to occupy Shangyu.

Soon, a reply came from Shangyu.

With Wu Fan, Wei Teng, and others acting as inside agents, the city of Shangyu was now completely empty.

Jia Kui occupied Shangyu City without bloodshed, and then, with the full support of the Wu Fan, Wei Teng and other families, he provided relief to the disaster victims and won over the hearts of the people.

After receiving news from Shangyu, the various camps in Shanyin were ready for construction and launched a general offensive.

The following day, Sun Ce's personal guard captain, Sun Ci, clashed with Lin Long and broke the leg of one of Lin Long's attendants. Upon learning of this, Sun Ce immediately dispatched Sun Quan with lavish gifts to apologize and invited Jiao Lang to mediate.

To show his sincerity, Sun Ce said that he would host a banquet for the Lin family at the prefect's residence two days later, and also invited the Jiao family, other powerful families in the city, and the leaders of the Yue tribes to accompany them.

Seeing Sun Ce's humble gesture of goodwill, the Lin family felt honored and gladly accepted.

That evening, Sun Ce personally offered wine to apologize, which greatly pleased Lin Sheng and his son, causing them to develop a slight contempt for Sun Ce. At the same time, Sun Ce also sent a large amount of meat and wine to reward Lin and Jiao's naval troops.

The banquet that evening began at dusk and continued until midnight, with a lively atmosphere of clinking glasses and toasts. Meanwhile, inside the water fortress, the atmosphere was one of intoxication, with sailors and soldiers staggering about, clearly all quite drunk.

Under these circumstances, the two armies began their operation, guided by the moonlight.

The west gate, which Sun Ce had been holding firmly, quietly opened, and a large group of people, with straw in their mouths and gags in their mouths, poured in silently.

After entering the city, they immediately split into three groups. One group, led by Sun Ce's personal general, headed straight for the prefectural government.

The second group, led by the guide, rushed towards the dock.

The third group's target was the North Gate. Once they captured the North Gate and brought in the new army, they would head towards the East Gate. Their ultimate goal was to take all three gates and trap all the rebels inside the city.

Meanwhile, on Jingruo Lake outside the city, a fleet is quietly approaching the water fortress at the south gate of Shanyin City.

Ling Tong, Zhu Huan, and other fierce generals stood at the bow of the ship; their mission was to crush the enemy and serve as the vanguard for the entire army.

When the fleet arrived at the south gate of Shanyin, the gate was wide open and torches were being waved on the city tower, clearly indicating that the people there were there to meet them.

Ling Tong immediately responded with torches, and then personally led twenty small boats and one hundred and twenty brave men into the city first.

This action was taken to preserve a large force so that they would not be completely wiped out should something happen in the city.

However, Sun Ce had already been subdued by Liu Feng and was behaving quite obediently.

The entire water gate had been secretly controlled by people sent by Sun Ce. There were also Sun Ce's troops waiting to meet them at the dock. Ling Tong led the vanguard to land at the dock without any incident. Soon after, the main force of the fleet also began to enter the city and took over the key passes such as the city gate and city towers that were under the responsibility of Sun Ce's troops.

Immediately after the water gates were taken over, the naval soldiers began to take over the ships of Lin and Jiao's naval forces, giving priority to the larger ships.

Most of the sailors and soldiers on these ships had taken control of the shore fortress, and even the few soldiers left behind were already quite drunk.

Even the few who remained sober were no match for the Southern Expeditionary Army.

Those with quick wits who surrendered immediately could save their lives, while those who were slow to react naturally wouldn't even save their own lives. The Southern Expeditionary Army wasn't moving quickly, because ensuring secrecy was their priority; being slower wasn't a problem.

At three quarters past the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), a sudden uproar broke out in the city.

It turns out that the Southern Expeditionary Army has begun attacking the North Gate.

At this time, the Southern Expeditionary Army, with the cooperation of Sun Ce's army, had successfully controlled the high-ranking members of the rebel army in the prefectural governor's mansion.

The second expeditionary force to the south had also arrived at the dock and joined forces with the expeditionary force's navy.

The third route of the Southern Expeditionary Army then cooperated with Sun Ce's patrol team to attack the North Gate.

Although the plan was well-thought-out, without an inside accomplice, they ultimately failed to take control of the North Gate quietly.

However, the difference in strength between the two sides was too great. Although the guards at the north gate lit beacon fires and beat gongs to warn of the danger, they only held out for half a quarter of an hour before being overrun by the Southern Expeditionary Army.

Large numbers of troops from the Southern Expeditionary Army poured in from the North and West Gates, encircling the various military camps.

These military camps were based in civilian houses, and the people in the city were either displaced and driven out of the city, or they were crammed together.

As the prefecture capital, Shanyin had a permanent population of over 30,000. With the addition of officials at all levels and their families, the population could reach over 40,000 at its peak. Moreover, the city was not fully occupied, with a large number of vacant lands and houses.

Therefore, by simply driving a portion of the population out of the city, it would be possible to station an army of fifty to sixty thousand, which would also save the population from the burden of food consumption.

Originally, the Southern Expeditionary Army might have been caught off guard by the Yue soldiers who suddenly emerged from civilian houses during the street fighting.

But now that Sun Ce is an inside man, the Southern Expeditionary Army probably knows more about military deployments than the mountain tribe leaders and ordinary powerful clans.

Upon entering the city, the main force rushed towards several large military camps, while smaller teams dispersed to clear out the rebels who were rushing out of civilian houses.

Although the Southern Expeditionary Army gained the upper hand and subsequently achieved complete dominance, the battle was not over.

Just as Sun Ce revealed, although the Yue soldiers were extremely backward in their weaponry, they were very fierce. Moreover, because they were of a different ethnic group, they were afraid of being slaughtered after surrendering, and their determination to resist was much stronger than that of the local gentry and powerful families who rebelled.

The fighting in the city didn't completely subside until dawn.

When Liu Feng's army entered the city, Sun Ce, along with his younger brother Sun Quan, Sun Yi, and his remaining trusted generals Lü Fan, Chen Wu, and Sun Ci, personally came to welcome them.

Liu Feng, still on horseback, looked at Sun Ce kneeling in greeting before him, but instead dismounted and walked over.

Liu Feng personally helped Sun Ce up and jokingly said, "Bo Fu, this is the second time we've met today, isn't it?"

Sun Cejun's face flushed red, feeling extremely ashamed: "This sinful general has twice defied the general and resisted the royal army; his crimes are truly unforgivable."

"Bo Fu's resistance against the royal army was indeed wrong, but everyone makes mistakes, and Bo Fu was deceived by Yuan Shu, so the court will treat you leniently. There is no need to worry about this matter."

Liu Feng laughed heartily, patting Sun Ce's hand to reassure him. Then, he took off the ceremonial sword from his waist and tied it to Sun Ce's waist, saying, "How can a general be without a weapon? I present this sword to you, Bo Fu."

Sun Ce's eyes flickered slightly, somewhat surprised, and he couldn't help but wonder if Liu Feng wasn't afraid that he would take the other party hostage with a knife.

Although Liu Feng had shown considerable strength in helping him up, Sun Ce was not boasting; his strength was still superior to Liu Feng's, and his fighting skills and combat experience were far beyond Liu Feng's reach.

To be fair, Sun Ce really wouldn't dare to kidnap Liu Feng at this point. Even if Liu Feng came to him, he would still be someone he couldn't afford to offend.

Given Liu Feng's carelessness, Sun Ce, with his personality, couldn't help but have some doubts. Even if he didn't dare to actually take action, he could at least think about it.

Just as Sun Ce was getting restless, a menacing gaze fell upon him, and the intense sense of crisis made Sun Ce's whole body bristle.

When Sun Ce followed the gaze and saw Xu Chu, he couldn't help but exclaim, "What a brave warrior!"

Liu Feng followed Sun Ce's gaze and burst into laughter: "Bo Fu, this is Xu Zhongkang, a brave warrior from Pei State in Yu Province. He has the strength of nine oxen and two tigers, and is also trustworthy, loyal, and brave. He is my trusted and beloved general."

As he spoke, Liu Feng summoned Xu Chu to his side, then took Xu Chu's hand and placed it on top of Sun Ce's hand.

"You two should spend more time together in the future."

Sun Ce hurriedly bowed and accepted the order. He first bowed to Liu Feng, and then bowed to Xu Chu, saying, "I am a defeated general. I am grateful for the mercy shown to Zheng Nan, and I will repay his great kindness with my life. In the future, I will serve as a minister in the same court as you, and I hope you will give me your guidance."

Xu Chu, being a steady and humble man, immediately clasped his hands in a respectful gesture and replied, "I am but a commoner, but thanks to your kindness in the Southern Expedition, I have been able to follow you. How could I possibly accept your guidance, General?"

After some pleasantries, Sun Ce personally led Liu Feng into the city and to the prefect's residence.

At this time, in the prefectural governor's mansion, forty-nine powerful local families of Kuaiji were captured, along with seventy-three mountain tribe leaders of varying sizes.

The city had stored more than 600,000 shi of grain. Apart from the original stockpiled portion, the remaining hundreds of thousands of shi were transported to Shanyin City by waterway over the course of the past half month.

This is also why the rebels in Shanyin City were not worried about food shortages at all.

The city has so much grain stored up that it's enough for them to use for more than half a year. In addition, the Lin and Jiao families' naval forces can cover the ships transporting grain into the city to replenish supplies.

The rebels were full of confidence, betting that Liu Feng wouldn't be able to hold out.

But no one could have imagined that the banner they had raised would be the first to turn against them.

Although the fighting in the city lasted for half a night, the casualties were actually not many. Apart from the deaths and injuries of several thousand mountain tribesmen, the casualties of the local strongmen and their troops did not even break four digits.

The behavior of the local strongmen's troops severely affected the morale of the Yue soldiers, thus reducing a lot of trouble for the Southern Expeditionary Army.

In fact, this result is quite reasonable, as the powerful clans in Kuaiji are much more unseemly in their dealings with the powerful clans in the Central Plains.

Because of fierce competition, the gentry in the Central Plains were second to none in the Han Dynasty in terms of real talent, interpersonal skills, and attitude towards commoners.

More importantly, the Central Plains are known for producing talented people.

The reason why Cao Wei was able to fight against two opponents with increasing advantages was simply because the Central Plains had a strong foundation and a large population, which allowed it to attract more outstanding talents.

The situation is different in Kuaiji; even their way of playing is different from that in the Central Plains.

These peripheral areas inevitably bring with them some of the fighting methods of ethnic minorities, and they tend to be more blatant in their actions than those in the Central Plains.

(End of this chapter)