My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 99: After robbing Sun Ce of Wuhu, Sun Ce was forced to admit his mistake

When Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang led the victorious army that had conquered Linli Mountain and came to Jing County along the Jing River, Zu Lang was completely shocked. There was no resistance along the way, and as soon as Guan Yu's army arrived outside the city, he opened the gate of Jing County and surrendered in person.

The tribal chiefs of other counties in Danyang were also filled with awe and knelt down.

They didn't even know how Chen Pu was suddenly defeated. They only heard that the Han army had once again demonstrated their "magic skills" and were able to climb up cliffs and fly over eaves, and then attacked Chen Pu's guarding troops like heavenly soldiers, and then Chen Pu was destroyed.

This news obviously came from the mouths of the surrendered Chen Pu's troops, because indeed no soldier from the warring parties saw how Zhuge Liang helped Guan Yu's troops climb up the cliff.

Zhuge Liang discussed with Guan Yu before the war and said that they should block the news as much as possible and keep the existence of these new mountaineering equipment secret to enhance the deterrent effect. Although the Shanyue in Danyang had surrendered, it was unknown whether they would fight with mountain barbarians in other places in the future. If the secret could be kept well, it would ensure surprise when used next time.

Guan Yu deeply agreed with this, so after the battle he still did not allow those Danyang rock climbers to brag, but gave everyone a generous reward to keep them quiet. In the future he would also organize these rock climbers into a separate new army so that they would not have too much interaction with other original troops.

With the combination of financial rewards and severe punishments, the soldiers were willing to shut up, and the confidentiality work was done very well for a while.

The Shanyue people only knew the result of a defeat, so they could only use their own experience to reverse the process. It was not surprising that they finally figured out that the Zhuge family had the magic of flying.

Anyway, the Zhuge family already knew how to turn iron into gold, so having another magic of flying wouldn't seem to be a big deal. After all, the Shanyue people had a low level of education and were unable to understand more complicated situations.

……

"Lord Zhuge's magic is unparalleled, and General Guan is invincible! I am a barbarian and I am willing to surrender to the court and serve you! I will never dare to change my ways again!"

After the army was stationed in Jingxian City, Zu Lang personally toasted Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang to reward the troops, and also took out food to replenish Guan Yu's military supplies, and his words were extremely humble.

Zhuge Liang originally wanted to say a few words of modesty, but when he saw that the Shanyue people regarded him and his elder brother as immortals, it seemed that it could have a miraculous effect, so he stopped explaining and let the matter go vaguely.

When dealing with barbarians, sometimes it is necessary to rely on simpler and more brutal methods to win their awe and admiration.

Zhuge Liang understood this truth, so he just put on airs and responded accordingly: "If you can turn back from your mistakes, I will naturally give you a chance and treat you all equally.

Although my eldest brother's magic is not enough to turn any iron into gold, his method of refining copper and silver is ten or a hundred times better than the old method. Chungu County also has a Tongguan Town. I have observed the Feng Shui of Danyang counties and found that many of them can open mines.

My elder brother also told me about a method of "terracing" and various methods of growing and frying tea in the mountains. As long as the Shanyue tribes work quietly, whether it is mining and smelting copper, building roads and growing tea, or joining the army to suppress bandits, your people will naturally have no worries about food and clothing in the future, far better than in the past."

Zu Lang was overjoyed when he heard Zhuge Liang personally mention how to smelt copper and turn it into gold, and also said that he could look at geography and feng shui to find minerals. He immediately stated that the Shanyue tribes would definitely follow the development plan proposed by the Zhuge family in the future.

After Zhuge Liang had drawn a circle of pie, he finally changed the subject and said, "...But these are all things for the future, and they will not be accomplished in a year or two. Right now, there is another task that will prove your sincere repentance and loyalty to the court."

Zu Lang: "Please explain, sir!"

Zhuge Liang took a map and pointed downstream along the Jing River: "You Shanyue tribes are good at crossing mountains and ridges. You should be familiar with the terrain of the river valley along the Jing River. I want you to provide food for the army and open up the way for the army to go downstream and take Wuhu directly.

Yuan Shu has now proclaimed himself emperor, and Sun Ce, as an old general of Yuan Shu, has not yet officially broken with Yuan Shu. The General of the Southern Expedition has every reason to regard Sun Ce as a traitor. If you can help take Wuhu and prevent Liu Xun from colluding with Sun Ce, it will be enough to prove your determination to reform yourself. "

Zu Lang said without hesitation: "Wuhu? I am familiar with it. There is no county on both sides of the Jing River that I cannot visit. Please rest for a while today, General Guan. I will send a guide to help General Guan clear the way tomorrow morning!"

Guan Yu didn't say much the whole time. He just stroked his beard and pretended to be cool, and occasionally took a drink from the wine cup. After listening to Zu Lang's determination, he just nodded slightly. He left all the tasks that required talking to Zhuge Liang, and he was happy to be relaxed.

Guan Yu is now very clear: he is not good at eloquence, and since he is traveling with Zhuge Liang, he must hide his shortcomings.

……

Early the next morning, just after daybreak, Guan Yu's army, after a brief rest, went downstream and accelerated its march along the Jing River.

Zu Lang also urgently prepared a large number of small boats to save the troops some energy when marching.

When the Jing River flows out of the mountainous area of Xuancheng, the water speed is still very fast. It takes only one morning to travel downstream along a distance of nearly 100 miles.

When Guan Yu's army drove out of the mountains and entered the Wuhu Plain, they were only seventy miles away from Wuhu city.

Wuhu area had been occupied by Sun Ce's army two years ago, and there had been no fighting since then. Even when Liu Yao launched the most intense counterattack, he had not been able to reach this area, so the local Sun Ce's army was not on high alert.

In addition, Zu Lang, the commander of Jing County in the south, had been at peace with Sun Ce for more than a year. No one expected that a land force would suddenly rush out from the mountainous areas around Jing County and Wanling along the Jing River.

After Guan Yu's army entered the Wuhu Plain, they advanced for more than ten miles before the scouts of Sun Ce's army quickly sent a warning.

The people in the villages and towns along the way, when they first saw that there seemed to be a large group of Shanyue people among the attacking troops, could not help but hide in fear.

Guan Yu didn't care about these details at first, he just wanted to move forward quickly, but Zhuge Liang, who was with the army, noticed it and immediately suggested to Guan Yu:
"Yun Chang, let our scouts go out and carry more notices. In every village and town we pass through, we should issue notices to reassure the people. Tell the people that this is the royal army suppressing the rebellion, not the Shanyue invaders, so there is no need to panic."

Guan Yu thought it made sense. It was unlikely to launch a sneak attack on Wuhu County anyway. So, it would be better to raise the flag and win the hearts of the people in a legitimate way.

In fact, Sun Ce's expansion in Jiangdong has always been unpopular.

He started out as a general under Yuan Shu, and drove away the governors appointed by the court one by one, and then established himself. From Liu Yao to Lu Kang, Xu Gong, and Zhou Xin, which one was not officially appointed by the court? On the contrary, after Sun Ce killed them, the governors appointed by himself were all fake positions in legal terms.

Now that Yuan Shu has proclaimed himself emperor, Sun Ce has not yet drawn a clear line between himself and Yuan Shu and is still waiting for a good price.

This alone caused panic among the people in the Jiangdong occupied area at the time, and many knowledgeable people were worried that they would be forced to join the rebellion.

Zhuge Liang raised the banner of the deceased Liu Yao, Liu Bei, and Zhuge Jin, the newly appointed "Prefect of Danyang" by the legitimate court, and sent scouts with copied documents to reassure the people. The local people in Wuhu were quickly appeased.

In addition, the Shanyue soldiers sent by Zu Lang this time were only responsible for leading Guan Yu. They were being watched by Guan Yu and dared not act rashly and did not harm the people.

After seeing the situation clearly, some well-educated, intelligent and well-informed local gentry immediately chose to prepare food and drink to welcome the royal army.

……

At the beginning of the afternoon, in the government office in Wuhu City, Li Shu, the chief civil servant left in Wuhu by Sun Ce and the prefect of Danyang, received an urgent report from scouts in the south.

At this time, Guan Yu's army had been advancing into the Wuhu Plain for two hours, and was only forty miles away from the county town.

If Guan Yu's army had cavalry, they would have rushed out of the city by now. Unfortunately, Guan Yu's army crossed the Huangshan Mountain and marched through the Jingshui River Valley, and the cavalry could not cross the mountain, so they moved slowly.

"What? Guan Yu actually came from Jing County in the south? Isn't that Zu Lang's territory? Zu Lang actually surrendered to Guan Yu? And he even raised the banner of suppressing rebellion for the court?!"

Li Shu was totally unprepared, as he had not encountered the enemy for a year and a half. He was shocked when he heard the news. He quickly summoned Jiang Qin, the general left by Sun Ce to guard the river, and asked for countermeasures.

Jiang Qin was in the Wuhu Water Fort in the west of the city at the moment. Li Shu found him to discuss matters, and it took another half an hour. It was estimated that Guan Yu's army had marched more than ten miles. Jiang Qin was also shocked when he heard the news, and couldn't help but complain secretly: "Guan Yu's army actually has more than 10,000 troops? How did he suddenly attack Wuhu? Our Wuhu county is small, the city is low, and there are less than 2,000 soldiers and horses. How can we defend it? I wonder if the people outside the city have entered the city and fortified the city?"

When Li Shu heard this question, he felt quite angry:
"Those unruly people have surrendered to the enemy! They even offered Guan Yu water and food. Do you still expect them to defend the city and clear the fields? I heard that the enemy's general is named Zhuge Liang, and he is extremely vicious.

As soon as Guan Yu came, he sent people to spread the word that General Sun was a traitor and that the official positions he was given were fake, and that they were representing the court to suppress the rebellion!

Li Shu became angrier and angrier as he spoke, especially when he talked about Zhuge Liang.

Because Li Shu himself was the magistrate of Danyang County appointed by Sun Ce, and Zhuge Liang was the magistrate of Danyang County appointed by the emperor's decree, so he was definitely here to steal his job!
When a fake job meets a real job, how can he not be jealous?

After he finished speaking, he still felt unsatisfied and added: "Humph, I heard that Zhuge Liang was only a 17-year-old boy! Cao Cao was holding the emperor hostage, and that's clear enough! This kid can even be a county magistrate!"

Seeing that the county magistrate was so flustered, Jiang Qin's confidence in defending the city was also greatly dampened. He could not help but ponder and said, "The enemy is numerous and we are few, and the people are in turmoil. It is better to make plans early and retreat to Niuzhu, and join forces with Sima Zhou to defend the city!

Niuzhu is much more dangerous than Wuhu, with strategic passes on both land and water, unlike Wuhu, which only has river defenses and fortifications, but no strong fortresses or mountains. Moreover, if we retreat to Niuzhu, we will have enough time to prepare, withdraw the rural people back to the north of the pass in advance, and fortify the city and clear the fields to wait for the main force to come back for support. "

Jiang Qin's argument was based on the fact that Sun Ce had originally given him and Zhou Tai the task of ensuring the defense of the Yangtze River, so their forces were mainly sailors, and the focus of defense was also on blocking the Yangtze River. There was no strong city in Wuhu.

Jiang Qin and Zhou Tai were both pirates. In their early years, they committed crimes in the Chaohu Lake and Rushu River area of Lujiang County, and followed other Danyang heroes. After joining Sun Ce, Sun Ce mainly used them to quell sporadic rebellions and maintain the western front of the river defense, which can be regarded as professional counterparts.

When Li Shu heard that Jiang Qin was thinking about preserving his strength, he became more and more shaken, so he ordered: "Go to the water fort to prepare warships. Once the city is surrounded on three sides by land and cannot be defended, you must be ready to break out from the Yangtze River at any time.

Even though Wuhu cannot be defended for long, we cannot give it up immediately. What you said just now makes sense. We need to use Wuhu to buy time for the Niuzhu defenders to prepare. Otherwise, the enemy will advance too fast and Niuzhu will not have enough time to clear the fields and fortify its walls!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Qin immediately returned to the water fort to prepare.

Li Shu ordered his troops to pack up the valuables, armor and equipment in the treasury in preparation for the move, and at the same time sent scouts and messengers to the north to report the emergency.

After nightfall that night, Guan Yu's army approached Wuhu. After sending people to persuade them to surrender but failing, they set up camp five miles away from the city, preparing to build flying ladders to test the city the next day.

However, Li Shu and Jiang Qin could not live in peace for long. After a night of fear, Jiang Qin discovered early the next morning that on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, there was an enemy navy that was much larger than the Wuhu defenders and was approaching the water fort.

The enemy was attacking under Taishi Ci's banner, with an attitude of seeking revenge for Liu Yao's army.

Jiang Qin was shocked, knowing that once the escape route on the river was blocked, the Wuhu defenders would have difficulty escaping, so he immediately informed Li Shu of the situation.

Li Shu weighed the pros and cons again and again, and considering that the people in Wuhu City were unsupportive, the city was short and the soldiers were few, he finally gritted his teeth and ordered his soldiers to evacuate quickly on warships, leaving before Taishi Ci could encircle the Yangtze River escape waterway.

When Li Shu and his men were halfway through their escape, they met Zhou Tai's army coming from Niuzhu. Zhou Tai had just been ordered by Xu Kun, the governor of Danyang appointed by Sun Ce, to send troops south to reinforce Wuhu. Unexpectedly, before they arrived, the Wuhu civil and military officials had fled with their troops, so Zhou Tai had no choice but to join forces with Jiang Qin and return to Niuzhu to defend.

Before noon that day, Guan Yu launched another exploratory attack on Wuhu. Because the main force in the city had fled, only some local militiamen were left, and they immediately chose to open the gates to welcome the royal division, and Guan Yu entered the city almost without a fight.

Riding on a tall horse, Guan Yu was enjoying the pleasure of entering the city with high spirits. He could not help but sigh: "Zi Yu is really a trustworthy person. He promised not to let me help in vain, to ensure that I can enter Wuhu, and to support my brother across the river, and he actually did it.

From conquering Linlishan to forcing Zulang to surrender and taking Jingxian, and then to Wuhu, it took only seven days in total, defeating three powerful enemies and advancing over 300 miles. Even the famous generals in ancient times could not do more than this. Even if I had directly asked to give up the siege of Linlishan, and take a detour back to Chaisang, and then take the Yangtze River to Guangling, I might not have been able to make it in seven days. "

As Guan Yu spoke, he recalculated the account in his mind, and his emotion and disbelief were evident in his words.

Seven days, and there were two battles in between. If he had gone back and avoided the enemy, he would not have been able to reach Wuhu in that time.

Fighting is faster than walking. What kind of experience is this?

Soon after Guan Yu entered the city, Taishi Ci also occupied Wuhu Water Fort. Before Jiang Qin left, he set a small fire in the water fort, burning down many wooden buildings to prevent them from falling into the hands of the enemy. Taishi Ci had people put out the fire first, and was busy until the afternoon before he entered the city to meet Guan Yu and Zhuge Liang.

When Guan Yu asked about Taishi Ci's itinerary, Taishi Ci only said that he was assigned by Zhuge Jin. After the victory report of the battle of Linli Mountain was sent back to Chaisang, Zhuge Jin immediately ordered him to march to Wuhu, and finally he arrived at the same time as Guan Yu who came by land, with a difference of less than one day.

Guan Yu, who had tasted the sweetness, was full of enthusiasm and asked Zhuge Liang on a whim: "What do you think if our army pursues the victory and attacks Niuzhu directly?"

Zhuge Liang remained calm and said calmly: "Niuzhu has dangerous passes such as Jilong Mountain, which can be defended by both land and water. I am afraid it will be difficult to take it in a hurry. Moreover, this time we took Wuhu, which was more dependent on the advantage of surprise attack. The enemy army could not have expected that our army would suddenly appear from the mountainous area controlled by Zu Lang and launch a surprise attack, so that the enemy army would not be able to dispatch troops to defend.

The defenders of Niuzhu are already on guard, and Jiang Qin and Zhou Tai have joined forces. It will be difficult to capture it in a hurry. If our army attacks quickly and fiercely, Sun Ce will definitely withdraw all the troops in front of Kuaiji to fight us to the death. Niuzhu is the last gateway to Moling. Once Niuzhu is lost, Sun Ce will fight us at all costs for the safety of Moling. "

Guan Yu was in a state of pride and did not think highly of Sun Ce. He just snorted coldly:
"If we only take Wuhu and not Niuzhu, will Sun Ce admit his defeat? In my opinion, since we have already offended him, we might as well offend him thoroughly. Even the saints said: 'You laugh at someone who has taken 100 steps when you have taken 50 steps. Is that any different?'"

Zhuge Liang couldn't help laughing when he heard this, and thought to himself that Guan Yu was indeed less careful in reading than he was.

The book clearly says "If you can only take fifty steps and laugh at someone who can only take a hundred steps, what's the difference?", or "To kill someone with a stick or with a blade, is there any difference?", and both of these passages were said by Mencius.

However, Guan Yu's casual grafting and allusion was quite correct, so Zhuge Liang was too lazy to nitpick.

He answered objectively: "If we stop here and pretend that we don't want to threaten Moling yet, but just want to seize a port city that can block Yuan Shu's Ruxukou on the other side, then Sun Ce might really continue to hold on and not expand the conflict with us for the time being.

Because we are fighting the rebellion under the banner of the emperor's order, and because Sun Ce has not yet officially broken with Yuan Shu, we have an excuse. If we stop when we are ahead, and emphasize and hint at the reasons for our attack through various channels.

Sun Ce might give up the ambiguity and immediately send an envoy to Xudu to express his true feelings to Cao Cao, saying that he is willing to formally break with Yuan Shu and will not join the rebellion again, in order to ask Cao Cao to recognize that he is still a Han minister and order the Sun family to temporarily reconcile with us. In this way, although the two sides will inevitably have a war in the future, it is possible to make peace for the time being.

If Yunchang wants to take advantage of these few days to get more benefits, I have no objection, but we can't attack Niuzhu. Once we attack Niuzhu, Sun Ce's way to peace will be blocked, and Lord Xuande and we are indeed unable to deal with Sun Ce and Yuan Shu at the same time. Even if we stabilize Sun Ce for a year or two, wouldn't that be good?
Moreover, after Wuhu is in our hands, if we want, we can basically block Sun Ce's route to counterattack Lujiang County under Yuan Shu after he defected. Once Sun Ce really surrenders to the court and rebels against Yuan, and there is no way to expand his territory by attacking Yuan Shu, then we can pick up some time for development for nothing, while Sun Ce can only wait. After a year or so, the situation may change. "

Guan Yu focused his eyes and stroked his beard nervously. After Zhuge Liang's explanation, a development path that he had never imagined before seemed to suddenly open up.

"In this case, we might as well wait and see. Anyway, we have already occupied Wuhu, and we can intercept Yuan Shu's troops from Lujiang County along the river to attack Big Brother at any time, and keep Big Brother's flank safe.

This main goal has been achieved, and everything else is just a side benefit. Sir, you have a brilliant plan, so let's follow your plan."

Guan Yu no longer questioned, and Zhuge Liang followed his instructions and gave orders for the current deployment.

Zhuge Liang seemed to be right. Xu Kun in Moling City urgently strengthened the city defense, stationed troops in Niuzhu, and appealed to Sun Ce for help.

After a moment of anger, Sun Ce actually controlled his emotions and realized that the most important thing at the moment was not to counterattack Liu Bei immediately, but to send a prestigious envoy to the court first to clear his identity.

Because if they counterattack directly now, the Sun family will never be able to wash away the stigma of being "Yuan Shu's rebel party."

He had failed to sell the land when the price was right! Before he could sell it, the Zhuge family seized a small piece of land in the name of suppressing rebellion. This loss made Sun Ce very angry.

(End of this chapter)