My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 179: Dispatching Troops to Dongye
God is my God, Sun Ce really didn't expect that Liu Bei would send an envoy to erase the legal basis for his planned sea crossing operation from this angle: "Wang Lang has retreated to Fujian, and his original excuse for attacking Wang Lang on the grounds that Wang Lang was colluding with the remnants of the traitor Yan Baihu no longer exists. You should quit while you are ahead, and it would be unjust to fight again."

Of course, in today's chaotic times, the princes don't really care about whether something is "unjust". After all, justice depends on the size of their fists.

If a pedantic waste like Wang Lang stood on the moral high ground and condemned Sun Ce for being unjust, Sun Ce would not pay any attention to him at all and would just kill him with a smile.

Because Wang Lang's fists were not hard enough, and the handle of his knife was not hard enough, he was not qualified to reach the stage of talking about righteousness.

As the saying goes, culture cannot stand without military power, and military power cannot last long without culture.

I can't even stand still, so what does it matter to you whether it takes a long time or not?
Literature has never been about solving the problem of killing to start a business. Literature is about solving the problem of justifying the killing after killing, establishing the legitimacy of rule, and making the ruled wholeheartedly accept your rule.

Even when Cao Cao saw Chen Lin's manifesto, he did not say that Chen Lin's writing was useless. He just said, "Since ancient times, those who are good at literature need to be supported by military strategy. Although Chen Lin is good at literature, Yuan Shao is not good at military strategy, so he is not worth worrying about."

But Sun Ce is facing a different situation now.
Because Liu Bei's fists were harder than his, if Liu Bei were allowed to take advantage of the situation, the situation would be extremely bad.

Perhaps the retribution would not come within a few months, but Sun Ce did not want to live in fear all the time.

So he winked at Zhang Zhao several times, asking Zhang Zhao to quickly come up with a set of legal basis to refute this guy Bu Zhi.

Zhang Zhao was actually quite helpless, because he also felt that what Bu Zhi said made sense. Perhaps this was the line Zhuge Jin taught him, but it was indeed solid.

Finally, after procrastinating and thinking for a long time, Zhang Zhao had to speak hastily:
"Bu Zhonglang, the General of Chariots and Cavalry's opinion does make sense, and the General of Suppressing Rebellion will seriously consider it.

But Wang Lang has not admitted his guilt yet. He would rather flee to Minzhong than refuse to obey the king's army. It is clear that he is unwilling to obey. The general who is fighting against the rebellion must eradicate all evil in order to correct the world's perception.

His crime of colluding with the remnants of Yan Baihu was clearly reprimanded by the imperial court. If he had the imperial court in his heart, he should have come to the court to confess his crime and let the ministers of the court discuss his punishment in person. I wonder if Bu Zhonglang agrees with this? Although the anti-rebel general's style is a bit rough, it is also because he is dedicated to the public and hates evil as an enemy, and he has no selfish motives. "

Bu Zhi did not back down when he heard this and immediately retorted: "The imperial court's order is for the general to first kill Yan Baihu and other remnants of the Shanyue rebels. Have all the remnants of the Shanyue rebels been killed now? Don't you even know that there are priorities?"

Zhang Zhao: "The general who is fighting against the rebellion also wants to kill the remaining remnants of the rebels first, but these Shanyue bandits have fled into the mountains, making it difficult to find their tracks. Although we are close, it is difficult to kill them. It's not that we don't want to kill them, it's that we can't find them.

Although Wang Lang is far away, we can cross the sea to attack him, but we can know his whereabouts. This is also a step-by-step approach to suppress the rebellion, not giving up the near to seek the far. "

After all, Zhang Zhao was the best strategist in Jiangdong, so he could still make up for the polite words. Even when the situation was unfavorable, he still tried his best to help Sun Ce cover up the lie and barely maintained his face.

After hearing this, Sun Ce finally felt relieved. He thought to himself that if Bu Zhi came to disrupt the situation again next time, he would just pretend to be sick and let Zhang Zhao take a group of advisers to deal with it!

Bu Zhi saw that Zhang Zhao had a solid foundation in seizing the name of justice, and he also knew that he would not gain much benefit today, so he could only stop while he was ahead. He changed his angle and argued:
“Since this is the case, if you insist on wondering whether Wang Fujun should plead guilty, then I have also received orders from the General of Chariots and Cavalry to go to Dongye for inspection and persuade him to take the initiative to confess his guilt to the court.

I also hope that the general who is fighting against rebellion can be patient for the time being and give me time to resolve this matter peacefully! Once Wang Fujun's memorial is recognized and pardoned by the court, if you still insist on attacking, it will be disrespectful to the court!
Moreover, the reasons I mentioned before will be reported to the imperial court by the General of Chariots and Cavalry, so that the ministers in the court will know what you have done! Please also give the General of Suppressing Rebellion a formal reply to the letter of inquiry that the General of Chariots and Cavalry asked me to send. Farewell! "

Sun Ce subconsciously glanced at Zhang Zhao, hoping that he would continue to refute. But Zhang Zhao shook his head secretly, indicating that it would be better to stop talking about this topic, so Sun Ce did not insist.

After Bu Zhi left, Sun Ce sighed and complained. Zhang Zhao also advised:

"General, we are ultimately not in the right in this matter. If Cao Cao had not been afraid of Liu Bei and had not protected our army, it would have been difficult for me to explain away Bu Zhi's accusation to this extent.

It is better to quit while you are ahead. When Liu Bei has time in the future, he will definitely find an opportunity to bring up today's matter, so you should be prepared."

Sun Ce snorted coldly: "How else can I prepare? Do you think I don't want to fight quickly? Isn't it necessary to plan carefully when leading an army across thousands of miles? Oh, send someone to find Gongjin! I wonder how the sea vessels have been prepared in the past few days."

The straight-line distance from Wuxian to Dongye on the sea is 1,300 miles.

Even if we set sail from the newly occupied Juzhang County (Ningbo Port) on the Ningshao Plain, it is exactly one thousand miles away by water. It is no exaggeration to say that it is a thousand-mile expedition.

As for Linhai County (Taizhou) further south, there is no qualified port infrastructure at all, and one has to take the sea route to Linhai from Juzhang. There is no supply of military rations in Linhai. The southernmost departure point for Sun Ce's troops to invade the south could not be beyond Juzhang.

The expedition was thousands of miles away, with mountains and uninhabited areas in between, so they had to cross the sea. Sun Ce had not been prepared for a naval battle before, so it was normal to spend several months to raise enough ships.

So after taking Shanyin in September, Juzhang at the end of the month, and Linhai in October, Sun Ce prepared for more than a month but still could not implement the next plan.

Sun Ce and Zhang Zhao complained for a while, and soon Zhou Yu was called over. Sun Ce casually asked about the preparations.

Zhou Yu immediately reported: "Now our army has collected enough warships to carry 5,000 to 6,000 men, and can also carry enough food for 5,000 men for three months, so that we can sail a thousand miles along the coast to fight."

Sun Ce was annoyed for a while, and asked casually: "With five or six thousand people, I am afraid we are not sure to defeat Wang Lang. Moreover, we are on a long expedition of thousands of miles, and we cannot afford to make mistakes in the backup and supply. If we forcefully transport eight thousand people, how long can we last?"

Zhou Yu also looked embarrassed: "If we forcefully transport 8,000 people, it will only take up a lot of space for food transportation, and it may only be enough for 8,000 people to eat for one month."

Sun Ce sighed, "We have to continue to requisition ships! Let's speed up the construction of those existing ships! We must take advantage of the severe winter and the first month of the year to attack Dongye.

The area of central Fujian is hot and full of miasma. Once summer comes, the situation will be troublesome and the soldiers may not be able to adapt to the local climate."

Zhou Yu didn't want this to happen, but he couldn't coax Sun Ce on this issue and had to respect the facts:
"It takes that long to build a ship. Even if we rush it, it will take until the middle of the twelfth lunar month to set sail. Moreover, the ships we build can only be used to transport troops and are definitely not up to the task of fighting. It will take at least the first lunar month of next year for the army to arrive in Dongye."

Sun Ce waved his hand in annoyance: "Then it's all up to Gongjin!"

……

Bu Zhi got Sun Ce's official reply to Liu Bei's questioning, which gave him a small handle on Sun Ce and Zhang Zhao, putting them in an awkward position.

Of course, this kind of handle has not yet come into play. When Liu Bei wants to take action in the future, these will be mines buried for Sun Ce in advance.

After completing the main task of this stop, Bu Zhi prepared to continue heading south. He stayed in Wu County for another day, then returned to Huating and prepared to go out to sea.

On the other hand, Lu Yi had not been idle since he said goodbye to Bu Zhi four days ago. He kept his word and set out from his hometown of Huating the next morning, riding sixty miles to Wu County to visit his uncle Gu Yong. Lu Yi deliberately staggered his time with Bu Zhi to minimize outsiders' associations. Bu Zhi came with great fanfare the night before, while Lu Yi came late and low-key the next afternoon.

Given the generations-long marriage relationship between the Gu and Lu families, no one would ever doubt why he came to visit his uncle and aunt.

After arriving at Gu's house, Lu Yi was not in a hurry. He followed normal etiquette and chatted with Gu Yong for a long time.

Gu Yong is only 32 years old this year, but he is already a grandfather - his wife Lu is two years younger than him, but she gave birth to their eldest daughter at the age of fifteen, and then their daughter gave birth to a son at the age of fifteen. One has to sigh that their family is really outrageous in terms of branching out.

Gu Yong was a serious person. He only gave some polite words of advice to his nephew, telling him not to forget to study and cultivate himself. Then he asked his son Gu Shao to come out and told him to learn from his cousin with a stern face, as if he was taking "other people's children" as a role model.

Gu Shao was unlucky to have such a father. Apart from obeying his father's orders, he was completely unable to resist.

Lu Yi took the opportunity when his uncle was teaching his cousin a lesson to express that he had something to talk to his aunt about.

Gu Yong told him to do as he pleased, and Lu Yi went to the back house to meet his aunt.

When the aunt and nephew met, Lu Yi first laid the groundwork for how his family was being recruited by General Liu Yangzhou, but he didn't say it in detail. He only said that he was willing to work for the future of his clansmen, but it was difficult for him to give up the family business in Wu, so he hoped to find an excuse to split up the family.

After hearing this, Mrs. Lu felt that it might not be good for her nephew's reputation, and asked worriedly, "If there is a rumor about re-establishing a new head of the family and dividing the family property, won't it affect your career in the future?"

Lu Yi: "My nephew has his own plan, which has also been approved by the secret envoy of the General of Chariots and Cavalry. The General of Chariots and Cavalry should understand my family's difficulties."

Mrs. Lu didn't understand strategy, but she knew that her nephew had studied military tactics for four years, so she didn't insist and just let it go.

Before leaving, Mrs. Lu only asked one last question: "This matter should be kept secret, but if your uncle asks about it, maybe he will know the inside story. Your uncle has always been upright and honest. If we don't let him know the inside story, he will think that our Lu family has caused a scandal that violates filial piety and brotherhood. I don't know how angry he will be, which is not good."

Lu Yi thought about it and it was true. His uncle Gu Yong was a rigid person who didn’t even drink, but he was very good at handling major issues.

Rather than hiding this kind of thing from him, it would be better to speak out. With Gu Yong's serious temper, there is absolutely no need to worry about it being leaked.

Maybe he could even help the Lu family keep secrets and supervise each other.

Lu Yi thanked his aunt, and Lu immediately called her husband, who was still scolding her son outside, to the back house and directly pointed out the Lu family's intention to serve the General of Chariots and Cavalry.

Gu Yong was indeed slightly surprised when he heard this, but it was completely invisible on the surface.

After calming down for a while, Gu Yong just said calmly: "Each family has its own decision. Why bother telling me about your Lu family's affairs? If such a big thing is not kept secret, you will lose your life!"

Lu Yi quickly explained the cause and effect and the specific plan. After listening, Gu Yong confirmed that the Lu family did not make this up on impulse. After a long silence, he finally nodded:

"The Sun family was not meant to be a permanent ruler. They just relied on their military might to temporarily usurp Wuhui. It's a good thing that you are willing to join the court to quell the rebellion. Don't worry about the family affairs. I am here, and my brother Ji and my nephews will be able to cover it up."

Lu Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief. When his uncle said this, he knew that the clansmen who stayed in Wujun were completely safe. In this way, the Lu family had a way out on both sides. Even if Liu Bei could not defeat him within a year or two, there was no need to worry about the long night and many dreams.

With Gu Yong's power, it is easy to protect a few people.

……

In the next two or three days, everything went according to Lu Yi's plan.

As luck would have it, a dispute broke out within the Wujun Lu family over the power of their brother and nephew to manage household affairs. Lu Yi was forced to hand over power and let his uncle Lu Ji take charge of the household affairs.

Lu Yi was indignant about this, and he resorted to some tricks of "taking advantage of the last opportunity before decentralization to transfer property and hide servants" in order to get more actual benefits.

Other big families who were somewhat close to the Lu family also shook their heads secretly when they saw the Lu family's situation. They thought that the previous generation of the Lu family had died early, and the young generation was not able to take over. If something went wrong, the Lu family would not be able to achieve great things in the future.

Lu Yi took the opportunity to gather together those in the clan who knew hydrology, had been to the sea, and the guests and servants who were responsible for long-distance water trade.
He found a few ordinary boats that were not suitable for sailing, and then took the opportunity to move - Lu Yi also wanted to find a sea ship, but unfortunately several of the Lu family's sea ships had been requisitioned by Sun Ce, and the Lu family had reported to the outside world that the family could no longer provide sea ships. So it was better not to use the sea ships this time, so as not to leak the news and arouse suspicion, which would irritate Sun Ce.

The day after Bu Zhi left for his mission to Sun Ce, Lu Yi also led his men on a long voyage, claiming to be a merchant. In fact, after two days of sailing, he barely arrived at the pirate island of Shengsi Islands in Yongdong and joined Bu Zhi.

"My dear brother, you are willing to come here, which is truly noble. The General of Chariots and Cavalry will certainly not treat you badly in the future. Please get on board. Your small boats can stay here. They are not suitable for long voyages."

Bu Zhi directly invited Lu Yi's people to board his boat.

When Lu Yi saw Bu Zhi's ship, he was also shocked. He had never thought that a ship could be built like this: "What kind of ship is this? Why does it look so... smooth? It's obviously a good ship that can ride the wind and waves!"

Bu Zhi was also very proud of the other party's inexperienced look, and said proudly: "This is the result of the ingenuity of the princes and brothers, it is extraordinary! How about it, with such a good ship, are you confident that you can intercept Sun Ce's grain transport fleet at sea in the future?"

"We have to actually sail for a few days to be sure, but Zhuge's name is indeed extraordinary," Lu Yi did not dare to be arrogant and his words were very cautious, but his admiration was beyond words.

As he was talking, he suddenly remembered something and continued to ask, "By the way, Brother Bu, I have another request when I came here."

Bu Zhi: "Just say whatever you want."

Lu Yi: "Our Lu family was able to escape this time thanks to my uncle, Lord Yuan Tan, who covered for us. When I was away, many of our clan members relied on him for protection. If the General of Chariots and Cavalry can successfully suppress the rebellion and drive away the Sun thief in the future, I wonder if you can help Lord Yuan Tan get the position he deserves."

Bu Zhi: "How difficult is this? Although I have not received the lord's order, I have heard the lord talk about the wise men in Wu, headed by Lord Yuan Tan. If a man of high moral character and prestige like Lord Yuan Tan comes to surrender, it would be no problem for him to be the governor of a county."

Lu Yi: "Thank you, now I have an explanation to my family. To avoid any more trouble, let's set sail for Dongye as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)