My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 244 A real man lives between heaven and earth. How can he be depressed and live under others for a long time?
The fifth year of Jian'an, the second day of March, morning.

The east gate of Moling City.

A handsome general in his twenties, dressed in a red robe, brave and resolute, stood on the city wall with a sword in his hand, gazing into the distance at the Yangtze River with slightly dazed eyes.

"I heard that a mutiny broke out in Xudu last month, and Dong Cheng and Lu Bu were defeated and killed. I wonder what kind of chaos the Central Plains will be in because of this! Those princes who are against Cao must be ready to make a move!
Unfortunately, our army was surrounded on three sides by Liu Bei, with only the east side facing the sea. We had such a good opportunity to cause chaos in the world, but we had nowhere to attack and expand our occupation of prefectures and counties. What a pity!

A real man lives between heaven and earth, how can he be depressed and live under someone else for a long time? Gongjin, what do you think if we just take advantage of the chaos to start an army, regardless of the righteousness, and take a piece of land from Liu Bei first? "

The handsome general in red robe was none other than Sun Ce. Of course, he was speaking to Zhou Yu who was accompanying him on patrolling the city.

As he spoke, he couldn't help but slap the battlements of the city wall a few times with his palms to vent his depression.

The world has become so chaotic, who will care about the edict from Xudu in the future?
Sun Ce vaguely felt that the logic of the struggle for hegemony in the entire world was moving towards a more chaotic direction.

Zhou Yu, who was standing by, felt a little uneasy after hearing these remarks, but he could also understand Sun Ce's anxiety.

From the end of the third year of Jian'an to the beginning of the fourth year of Jian'an, Sun Ce's army wanted to march south to central Fujian and wipe out the last remnants of Wang Lang's forces. However, they were pushed back because their ships and navy were inferior to the enemy. They spent the next year licking their wounds and recovering.

For a whole year, Sun Ce's army had not carried out any military operations, and now they had almost accumulated enough strength. Unfortunately, their territory was completely surrounded by Liu Bei, and there was no soft persimmon to be squeezed.

If we don't tear open a hole in Liu Bei's territory, we will just watch the enemy grow stronger and stronger and eventually die a slow death.

Of course, there is another possibility - that is, in the process of Liu Bei's expansion, he offended a more powerful force that he could not afford to offend, and then was defeated. At that time, Sun Ce could join hands with that more distant terrifying existence to divide Liu Bei and gain some benefits from Liu Bei's fall.

But this kind of expectation is doomed to have no long-term future. Because if the terrifying existence in the distance, such as Yuan and Cao, can crush Liu Bei, after Liu Bei is finished, they will definitely continue to crush Sun Ce, and everything will be too late.

That would be equivalent to Zhao Kuangyin ordering Qian Hongchu to join forces to destroy Li Yu. After the destruction, could Qian Hongchu still expect to fight Zhao Kuangyin alone? - Although Zhou Yu did not know these later histories, the principles are the same.

"Indeed, if our army does not find an excuse to go to war with Liu Bei, we will eventually have no choice but to submit to the winner of the Central Plains hegemony battle, and we will never have the chance to personally fight for hegemony and eliminate the remnants of the Han Dynasty."

Zhou Yu first acknowledged Sun Ce's opinion in a fair tone, and then changed the subject.
"However, I think Liu Bei will definitely be involved in the struggle for hegemony in the Central Plains. Even if we want to take action, we should wait until Liu Bei's main force is tied down before we take action. We have been patient for a year, so we don't mind enduring a few more months. Perhaps the opportunity will come within these few months?

If Liu Bei supported Cao Cao, he might attack Langya County and Qingzhou, which were adjacent to Donghai County controlled by him, and gain benefits from Yuan Shao - but this possibility was not great, as Liu Bei and Yuan Tan had a good relationship.

Unless Cao Cao could really grasp some righteous cause and portray Yuan Shao as an enemy of the court like Yuan Shu, for example, blaming Yuan Shao for participating in the rebellion of Dong Cheng and Lu Bu, and saying that Dong Cheng was an internal response ambushed by Yuan Shao to cause chaos in the court.

If Cao Cao could not gain a legitimate advantage, Liu Bei might work with Yuan Shao to fabricate a charge of Cao Cao treason and take the opportunity to divide up Cao Cao's territory. Then his main force would most likely be poured into the battlefields of Xu and Yu. On the one hand, Liu Bei would definitely want to take back the entire Xuzhou, and he might even want to stab Chen and Cai in the back.

No matter what happens, I believe Liu Bei will not turn a blind eye to the chaos in the Central Plains and will not take any territory. Liu Bei's population and military strength are twice ours. Only when Liu Bei's main force is tied down can we have a chance of winning. "

Sun Ce listened very carefully without interrupting. Zhou Yu's analysis calmed his originally impatient and anxious mood a little, and he realized the gap in strength.

After Sun Ce figured it out, he sighed and said, "Well, let's wait for Liu Bei to mobilize his troops before we take action! I hope Liu Bei will be less greedy when he sees Yuan and Cao fighting each other. The greedier he is, the greater our chances will be!"

After a conversation between the two brothers, they felt that the plan was becoming clearer, so they quickly ended their city tour and prepared to go back.

Just as Sun Ce was about to go down from the north gate tower, he suddenly saw a line of fast horses galloping towards the outside of the city, shouting that they had urgent information to report.

Seeing that there were not many people around, Sun Ce personally ordered the gate to be opened. After the knights entered the city wall, they were about to turn into the inner gate and rush straight to the shogunate in the city, but Sun Ce shouted at the inner gate of the city wall to stop them.

The messenger took a closer look and realized that his lord was on the city wall. He quickly dismounted and said, "My lord, there is an envoy from the court in Xudu. It is none other than Hua Ziyu, the Lord Hua who was sent to Xudu by your lord two years ago. He is now the Grand Herald of the court. He is coming from the riverside north of the city!"

When Sun Ce heard that Hua Xin had returned, he was delighted: "Oh? Cao Cao actually wanted to let Hua Gong come back? The Grand Herald is one of the Nine Ministers, in charge of guests and tributes. He actually sent the Grand Herald as an envoy. Could it be that this matter is of great importance?"

The messenger didn't know much, so he just repeated the one or two sentences Hua Xin had just revealed: "It seems that Cao Cao wants to appoint you as the General of the Southern Expedition and the Governor of Yangzhou, and there are other important matters for you to handle."

"Yangzhou Mu?!" Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were both shocked when they heard this. Of course they knew that Yangzhou Mu was Liu Bei!
How could the imperial court appoint two governors of Yangzhou?
Zhou Yu reacted quickly and whispered in his ear, "Bofu, it seems that this is Cao Cao's plan to provoke us to go to war with Liu Bei! Liu Bei must have already fallen out with Cao Cao, and Cao Cao has realized that he cannot win over Liu Bei! If we follow this line of reasoning, we can conclude that Liu Bei must have colluded with Yuan Shao!"

Sun Ce nodded, agreeing with him: "Indeed, but Cao Cao has the emperor in his hands after all. He promoted me in the name of the emperor, and promoted me to governor of a state and general of the southern expedition at once. If I could really sit in such a high position, who in Jiangdong would dare to be respectful to me in appearance but not in heart?

Although the tribes in Jiangdong have been subdued by my military force, I know that they all see me as a tyrannical warrior who uses force to suppress others. I really need the legitimate position of Yangzhou Mu - it is useless for us to guess here, so we should quickly set up the ceremonial guard to receive Lord Hua. "

Sun Ce immediately ordered people to set up a ceremonial guard, an incense table, and a welcoming banquet at the General's Office. He personally led Zhou Yu and others to the city gate to welcome Hua Xin, and they were received by him soon.

"Lord Hua, how are you? After not seeing you for so many years, you've already been promoted to one of the Nine Ministers. I'm really disrespectful!" Sun Ce was the first to greet him with a smile on his face.

"Your Excellency is a young hero. How dare I compare myself with you in terms of title and rank?" Hua Xin also smiled and reminisced about the past with Sun Ce.

The crowd exchanged a few simple greetings, seemingly with a sense of respect and nostalgia, and after some polite words, they gathered together and headed towards the shogunate.

Hua Xin was no longer as exhausted as he had been when he had just crossed the river. He even changed his clothes inside and out, and put on a 17-foot-long ribbon with red and white patterns on a green background, the standard for nine ministers. He found a carriage and walked leisurely in a wide robe. (If the ribbon was too long, it would usually be folded three times, that is, the length was divided by eight, leaving about half a meter to hang on the waist)

Apparently, he had delayed in the riverside port town for so long that he arrived in Moling an hour later than the messenger, and he was packing his luggage to look presentable.

It was not a glorious thing to disguise oneself as a poor man and sneak through Liu Bei's defense zone.

Sun Ce did not pay attention to these details, but Zhou Yu saw at a glance that Hua Xin and his group were inappropriate.

Zhou Yu immediately became alert: Hua Xin must have sneaked into the counties controlled by Zhuge Jin, which means that the hostility between Cao Cao and Liu Bei has reached the point of tearing each other apart! Otherwise, as an angel of the court, Hua Xin would not have to worry about being intercepted in Liu Bei's territory!
However, Zhou Yu was currently unable to determine whether this situation was beneficial or detrimental to Sun Ce, so he saw through it but did not say anything, pretending not to know for the time being.

Anyway, as long as it is necessary later, he can point it out at any time. Given his relationship with Bofu, Bofu will trust him whenever he speaks, so there is no need to rush.

Everyone arrived at the shogunate, set up the ceremonial guard, and went through the formalities. Hua Xin then took out the imperial edict and formally read it out, promoting Sun Ce.

Sun Ce had no time to think about it. He had to accept the imperial edict out of courtesy. As for how to execute it after accepting it, that was another question.

Surrounded by a group of civil and military officials, Sun Ce announced that he would take office as General of the Southern Expedition and Governor of Yangzhou, and took over the seal and ribbon that Hua Xin brought from Xu Du.

The civil officials, led by Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong, immediately bowed and congratulated Sun Ce: "Congratulations, lord, on taking office as governor!"

Sun Ce did not dare to be careless. He just made a few fake gestures to indicate that everyone did not need to be polite. Then he asked Hua Xin suspiciously:

"Lord Hua, why is Liu Bei not mentioned in this edict? The court appointed me as the governor of Yangzhou, but what about Liu Bei, the original governor of Yangzhou? Or is it because he is the General of Chariots and Cavalry, so he should return to the central government and should not be the governor of the state?"

This question of Sun Ce was also of common concern to the main civil and military officials under his command, and everyone was eager to get an answer from Hua Xin.

This edict looks a bit strange, although it can be confirmed that it is not fake and was issued by the Xudu court.

It was only at this time that Hua Xin cleared his throat, took out a secret letter from Cao Cao to Sun Ce, and handed it over.

While handing it over, Hua Xin also verbally summarized: "Cao Gong found out that Liu Bei colluded with Dong Cheng and Lu Bu as his accomplices, and planned to attack Xu Du secretly to rebel! Fortunately, Cao Gong has many wise men under his command. Jia Xu saw through Dong Cheng's accomplices, allowing Cao Gong to defeat them one by one!

"Cao Gong's army will be divided into two groups and march south to attack Shouchun, Hefei, and Xiapi. Therefore, I would like to ask you to march north to attack Liu Bei. After the success, the land of Jiangnan and even Huainan will be yours. Cao Gong will not take a single cent more!"

When these words were spoken, all the main civil and military officials in Jiangdong, from Sun Ce onwards, were stunned.

Did Liu Bei collude with Dong Cheng and Lu Bu to rebel?
Zhang Zhao was afraid that Sun Ce would be squeezed out of his position, so he hurriedly tried to mediate: "I wonder if Cao Gong has any evidence for his claim that Liu Bei was plotting a rebellion? If it is irrefutable, why didn't he write it in the imperial edict, but showed it to others in a private letter?"

Zhou Yu, who was standing by, also pointed out a suspicious point: "Yuan Shao has been stationed on the Yellow River since last winter. Although he has not yet attacked the south, isn't Cao Cao worried that Yuan Shao will take action at any time? Would he dare to divide his troops to attack Liu Bei?"

(End of this chapter)