My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 303: Sun Quan: Crossing Most of China to Join Cao

Three flowers bloom, each showing its own beauty.

Let’s go back a few days to late March.

That was when Cao Cao designed to deceive Yuan Shao, but Yuan Shao had not yet made the decision to send troops.

An unnamed bay along the coast of Langya County of Xuzhou and the area controlled by Yuan Tan.

This place is located at the root of the southern coast of Shandong Peninsula, roughly equivalent to Rizhao City in Shandong in later generations.

However, in the late Han Dynasty when coastal development was weak, this place was just an unknown mountainous wasteland. After landing, you have to go west over the Mengshan Mountain area and reach the Yishui River Basin before you can follow the river to find Zhuxian upstream and Juxian downstream.

In the distance, more than a dozen keel ships quietly approached. Because the shore was too desolate and there were no troops stationed there, the fleet landed safely without being disturbed by the local government.

Only a few fishermen noticed the situation and, fearing that enemy troops had entered the country, they fled in all directions or reported to the authorities.

The passengers on this fleet were none other than Sun Quan and his entourage.

Ten days ago, Zhou Yu fought desperately at the mouth of the Yangtze River to block Taishi Ci, Bu Zhi and Lu Yi, and successfully stopped Liu Bei's army from hunting down Sun Quan. But he also paid the price of about 3,000 troops being surrounded and forced to surrender.

When they set sail from the Zhoushan Islands, Sun Quan had four to five thousand men with him. After Zhou Yu's troops were cut off and surrounded and destroyed, Sun Quan now only has thirteen to fourteen hundred men left.

There were almost no generals left around him. Most of the generals that the Sun family had recruited in Jiangdong over the years did not choose to flee with him. They either died in battle, were injured, fled, or surrendered to Liu Bei obediently.

Most of the generals born in Jianghuai would fight for whoever occupied Jiangdong, and few were willing to travel thousands of miles to follow a down-and-out exile.

By Sun Quan's side, there are only Cheng Pu and Han Dang, two veteran generals from Youzhou, who have followed the Sun family for three generations. They were willing to return to the north after the fall of their master's family, so they followed to escort the young master.

In addition, there were only two underage attendant warriors, Pan Zhang and Ling Tong.

Ling Tong wanted to avenge the death of his father Ling Cao at the hands of Bu Zhi and Lu Yi, and he was still young and had not yet officially assumed military office.

After Ling Cao's death, Sun Ce felt sorry for Ling Tong and arranged him to be a close attendant to his brother. With such a close relationship, Ling Tong certainly would not betray Sun Quan.

Pan Zhang never followed Sun Ce, but served as Sun Quan's personal attendant and bodyguard.

More civil servants were willing to follow Sun Quan. One of the older generation, Lu Fan, followed him because he knew that he, like Zhu Zhi, was too deeply involved with the Sun family and it would be difficult for him to jump ship.

The younger generation includes Xu Xiang, Kan Ze, Hu Zong, and Wu Fan, all of whom were teachers and friends sent by Sun Ce to Sun Quan. That is, they taught Sun Quan and accompanied him in studying, and followed Sun Quan because of their personal relationship.

There's nothing strange about this. There are still three pounds of nails in a rotten boat.

Although the Sun family was unpopular and their followers scattered like monkeys when the tree fell, Sun Quan's personal friends were still willing to take risks and endure hardships with him.

All other civil servants from Jiangdong completely surrendered to Liu Bei, so these four exceptions were nothing.

……

Seeing that they had landed successfully, Cheng Pu and Han Dang could not relax at all.

As soon as the guards gained a foothold, Cheng Pu ordered his men to maintain order, move slowly westward, and not fall behind.

There were only a dozen war horses in the army. Basically, except for the generals and the children of the Sun family, everyone else had to walk.

Cheng Pu hurried along the way, reminding Sun Quan: "My lord, this place should be under the rule of Yuan Shao. Although it is remote, there are bound to be soldiers patrolling. We are unfamiliar with the place and can only rely on the map to find the way.

If we can bypass Zhuxian and Juxian, pass through the Yimeng wilderness, and enter Cao Cao's controlled area, we will be safe. But if we encounter patrolling Yuan troops on the way, please make a decision whether to fight and break through. After all, you are with your family..."

It was the first time for Sun Quan to take power and make a major decision. Facing Cheng Pu's reminder, he was also very difficult. After repeated thinking, he sincerely said:
"It is not advisable to fight and break out. We have no grudges against Yuan Tan, but we have been fighting with Liu Bei for years. Even though Yuan Shao and Liu Bei are allies in name, there has not been much substantive mutual assistance between the two families so far.

When Yuan Shao was defeated at Guandu, Liu Bei did not send troops to attack Cao to help Yuan. So even if we were discovered, we did not have to fight. At most, we could say that we were forced by Liu Bei and did not want to surrender to him, so we surrendered to Yuan Shao instead.

In this case, how can Yuan Tan reject someone who has come to him in desperate need? When Yuan Tan relaxes his vigilance, we can slowly make plans and sneak across the border to the Langya counties west of Yishui controlled by Cao Cao. It will not be too late.”

After listening to this, Cheng Pu remained silent, as if he was thinking about the feasibility of what Sun Quan said.

If we can get through without fighting, that would be even better. But I'm afraid that Sun Quan's "take it step by step" approach will only lead to more trouble.

Han Dang was very supportive and echoed, "I agree with what you said, my lord! Yuan Shao is Yuan Shao, Liu Bei is Liu Bei, we just have a grudge against Liu Bei. It is better not to charge hard, so as to avoid any harm to your family."

Inspired by my lord, I also thought of a plan - why don't we hide the lord's flag? It would be best if we don't encounter any interception at that time.

Even if we encounter him, we can surrender to Yuan Tan under my banner and just say, "Sun suffered a disastrous defeat in Jiangdong, and some of his generals were surrounded in Jiangbei when they counterattacked Guangling. Liu Bei's navy is powerful, and we cannot return to Jiangdong, so we can only go north along the coast to surrender to Yuan."

As for whether our main force was destroyed in Jiangdong and whether Jiangdong was completely pacified by Liu Bei, we can not mention it and keep it vague for the time being. The north and the south are thousands of miles apart, and Yuan Tan may not know the latest situation in Jiangdong.

Yuan Tan will not doubt us for supporting him with a thousand soldiers. At most, he will divide our military power and hand over the soldiers to other local generals in Qingzhou. But he will not restrict the freedom of surrendered generals who have been deprived of military power. As long as the master's identity is not exposed, after Yuan Tan relaxes his vigilance, the master can secretly cross the Yishui River from Ju County or other counties and enter Cao Cao's territory. "

After hearing Han Dang's change of tactics, Sun Quan and Cheng Pu immediately agreed with it.

Indeed, if Sun Quan revealed his identity and was intercepted, he would most likely be held hostage for a long time. But if he did not reveal his identity and sneaked through in a low-key manner, the situation would be different.

But in this case, Sun Quan would have to be prepared to sacrifice an old general and let this old general surrender to Yuan Tan in exchange for his own escape.

The surrendered general who revealed his identity would definitely be kept under strict surveillance and would never be given a chance to escape. All the surveillance would be drawn away by him.

Moreover, Sun Quan knew very well that he could not let Ling Tong or Pan Zhang carry the banner. Yuan Tan's army would definitely not believe it. You let a young man who is less than 20 years old lead more than a thousand navy and a dozen new ships to break through the siege and go north along the coastline for nearly a thousand miles. Does he have the appeal? Impossible, it's fooling fools.

Therefore, Cheng Pu or Han Dang could only carry the flag to attract the enemy's attention.

Sun Quan looked at Cheng Pu and then at Han Dang, and for a moment he couldn't bear to be the bad guy.

At this time, Han Dang took the initiative to jump out and said, "My lord! This plan is my idea. Why don't you let the troops march under my banner? De Mou was your right-hand man in the past, and I am just a cavalry general. My lord can do without me, but not De Mou.

If I am eventually imprisoned by Yuan, I can swear that I will never be an enemy of my lord in this life! It's not that I am disloyal to my lord and don't want to serve him for the rest of my life. I just know that my talents and courage are not as good as my virtues and strategies, so it's better to let me, a useless person, be a cover!"

Sun Quan was so moved that his eyes welled up with tears. He quickly helped Han Dang up and cried, "General Han, why do you say that? How could I doubt that you were disloyal to me? Even if it really comes to that, and you can no longer serve my Sun family, you will always be the most loyal soldier of my late father and brother! It's not you who is sorry for me, it's me who is sorry for you!"

After Han Dang bowed, he turned to Cheng Pu and said, "Demou, if I am imprisoned by Yuan, I will leave the lord to you!"

Cheng Pu also had mixed feelings: "Don't worry, Lord Yi! It may not have come to that point yet!"

After everyone agreed on a way to sneak across the river, they collected all the other flags and burned them, leaving only the flag with the word "Han" and the corresponding flag of the captain.

Sun Quan issued a gag order to all his family members and followers, and they were all required to dress up as Han Dang's followers and family members and not to address him as "Lord Sun Quan". Even Sun Quan himself was dressed up as Han Dang's secretary, and Cheng Pu was dressed up as Han Dang's military commander.

The group traveled day and night, crossing the Yimeng Mountains to the west.

Unfortunately, the Yimeng Mountains cannot be crossed in one day.

If you look at the Shandong map of later generations, you will know that from Rizhao on the coast to Ju County, or to Zhucheng, it is about 70 kilometers, which is equivalent to 140 li.

Moreover, the 140-li route was all mountainous, and the roads were difficult to travel. Sun Quan and his entourage followed the simplest map, but the map did not have detailed terrain markings. When the mountains were too steep to go straight, they had to take a detour.

Sun Quan's original intention was to stay away from Ju County or Zhu County and pass through the wild land between the two counties. Unfortunately, it did not go as he wished, and he still passed through the suburbs of Zhu County.

There is no other way. The reason why there are only these two places with county towns in this area of hundreds of miles is because these two places are where several valleys of the Yimeng Mountains meet. It is impossible to get across without walking along the valley.

The day after Sun Quan's troops crossed the mountain, they were stopped by a patrol of Yuan Tan's army.

Yuan Tan's army had received a report from fishermen in the coastal fishing villages the day before, so they came to search. They also mistakenly thought that Liu Bei's army had crossed the border by sea for no reason, so they came to investigate.

Because Cao Cao did not control any coastal counties between Qing and Xu, it was impossible for him to have a navy in this area.

Yuan Tan's army knew that Liu Bei was a friendly army, so they did not resort to violence right away. Instead, they asked about the situation first: "Are they soldiers under the command of the General of Chariots and Cavalry? Why are they entering the country without reason?"

Cheng Pu and Han Dang looked at each other, knowing that they could not escape this moment. Finally, Han Dang gritted his teeth and revealed his identity as planned, saying that he was a defeated general from Jiangdong, and that the Sun family navy had lost a decisive battle with Liu Bei's army at the mouth of the Yangtze River. He had drifted all the way north to this place, and begged Yuan Tan to take him in.

The general under Yuan Tan who led the team was greatly surprised, but he did not suspect anything. He just cautiously asked Han Dang to lay down his weapons first, and the ordinary soldiers followed him back to the counties for resettlement.

Han Dang said that he brought some clerks with him and begged for preferential treatment. Yuan Tan's generals saw that those people were wearing casual clothes and not armor, and they did not look like warriors, so they gave them lenient treatment.

Yuan Tan's army monitored Han Dang's return to the counties, disarmed his troops and placed him in a separate camp under the watch of Yuan's army.

Two days later, Guan Tong, an important general under Yuan Tan, rushed to the counties. He had also heard of Han Dang's reputation. After meeting Han Dang, he took Han Dang to Linzi to pay a visit to Yuan Tan.

Han Dang was so important that he could not escape, so he had to bite the bullet and follow Yuan Tan. Fortunately, his mission had been completed. While Guan Tong was keeping an eye on him and taking him to Linzi, Cheng Pu and Sun Quan had already changed their identities and secretly crossed the Yishui River from various counties and entered the area controlled by Cao Cao.

Sun Quan did not bring any soldiers with him, leaving the regular army of one thousand men to Yuan Tan. He only brought his own attendants and family members, and relied on the three generals Cheng Pu, Pan Zhang, and Ling Tong and dozens of plainclothes guards without armor to protect him along the way.

When crossing the Yishui River, Sun Quan looked back at the cities of Zhuxian on the east bank, still secretly hating them, and sighed softly: "I heard that Zhuge Jin was granted the title of a vassal because his ancestors were from Zhuxian? The two Zhuge thieves caused our Sun family to be destroyed. I really want to kill them..."

When Sun Quan was about to say something, he felt that he had lost his composure and finally stopped talking.

Cheng Pu, who was standing by, was afraid that something unexpected would happen, so he quickly advised: "My lord, why do you have to do this? The origin of the Zhuge surname is that before Emperor Yuan of the Han Dynasty, the Ge family of Zhu County moved to Yangdu County in the same prefecture. So how could there be a Zhuge family in Zhu County?
The Ge family in Zhuxian County descended from Ge Ying, who rose together with Chen Sheng at the end of the Qin Dynasty. Chen Sheng established Zhang Chu, and Ge Ying established Xiangjiang, a descendant of the King of Chu, and was killed by Chen Sheng. After Chen Sheng also died, Xiang Liang followed Ge Ying's example and opposed Chen Sheng, establishing Xiong Xin as the King of Chu Huai.

After the Han Dynasty came to power, Emperor Xiaowen appointed Ge Ying's grandson as the first vassal (Zhuxianhou), which was the origin of the title of "Zhuhou". Because the Ge family had the title of vassal, they were able to add "Zhu" to their surname after moving to Yangdu County.

Sun Quan was originally just feeling sad and angry, but after hearing what Cheng Pu said, he chuckled and said, "It seems that no wonder the Zhuge family is not a big deal! No wonder Zhuge Jin always preaches 'eliminating the remnants and filth for the Han family' to gain legitimacy!
It turns out that his ancestor was a coward who wanted to establish his own kingdom! During the time of Chen Sheng, Chen Sheng and his military minister Han Guang established their own kingdom. Anyone who had troops could claim to be a king! In such a situation, Ge Ying only dared to establish a descendant of the King of Chu. What a waste! No wonder Zhuge Jin only dared to assist Liu Bei now! Ge Ying was killed by Chen Sheng, and Zhuge Jin might not have a good ending!

Cao Cao today is comparable to Xiang Liang in the past. Cao Cao used the emperor's ability just as Xiang Liang used King Huai. Cao Cao was more tenacious than Xiang Liang. He met Lu Bu in Puyang, Zhang Xiu in Wancheng, and Yuan Shao in Guandu. Although he was defeated several times, he always persevered, unlike Xiang Liang who died at the first defeat.

If Xiang Liang had lived longer, Liu Bang would never have gotten the throne! Even if Liu Bei had Liu Bang's ambition, he could only defeat a man like Xiang Yu, but not a long-lived and persevering Xiang Liang! In today's world, the only person we can count on is Cao Cao."

After venting the resentment in his heart, Sun Quan finally felt better. He also suddenly learned from the past and thought of some hints that boosted his confidence. He no longer worried about physical revenge.

Cheng Pu was so shocked that he dared not say a word. After all, the Han Dynasty still ruled the country. How could Cheng Pu dare to comment when Sun Quan openly used people of the present time to represent Emperor Yi, Xiang Liang, Liu Bang, Xiang Yu, Chen Sheng, and Ge Ying in such a private occasion?

I didn't expect that the lord was so young, but his mind was so deep. I don't know what he usually thinks about. Fortunately, the lord still knows his limits and never reveals himself like this when there are outsiders around.

The group continued to move forward into Cao territory in silence, heading west. After walking for another half a day, they were finally intercepted by Cao's army patrolling along the Yishui River.

After Cheng Pu confirmed that the other party was Cao Cao's man, he was still cautious and did not dare to reveal Sun Quan's identity immediately. He only said that he was Cheng Pu, a general from Jiangdong, who had gone through great hardships to surrender to Cao after being defeated by Liu Bei.

The Cao army scouts did not suspect anything and saw that Cheng Pu had few men and posed no threat, so they immediately took Cheng Pu and his men back to Pengcheng in the rear.

Only after entering Pengcheng and ensuring his safety, and meeting Xue Ti, the new Prime Minister of Pengcheng appointed by Cao Cao after he defeated Lu Bu the year before, did Cheng Pu cautiously reveal Sun Quan's identity:

"This is the younger brother of General Sun, the governor of Yangzhou. He was defeated by Liu Bei and has come to seek refuge with Sikong Cao! Please introduce us to Lord Cao!"

(End of this chapter)