Late Han Zhao Tang

Springtime in Chengdu.

Sun Ce sat upright on his high couch, reviewing military documents, and sighed, "Last year, during our campaign against the southern regions, our army ventured deep into the barren lands, returning in the autumn after a spring campaign. We had just pacified five commanderies and subdued hundreds of thousands of Han and Yi people, boasting of our great achievements. We intended to take advantage of Zhang Yu's southern campaign against Yuan Shu to launch another attack on Hanzhong in order to seize control of Yizhou. I never imagined that Yuan Shu would be so incompetent, captured by Zhang Yu in a single battle."

Last spring, in order to bring the southern regions under his rule, Sun Ce personally led a campaign against the various powerful and barbarian leaders in the south. Unlike Zhuge Liang's strategy of winning hearts and minds, Sun Ce focused on massacres, purging the powerful clans in the south, slaughtering the rebellious barbarian leaders, and relocating tens of thousands of southern barbarian households to Bashu to serve as soldiers. He also acquired two thousand fine horses, greatly increasing his military strength.

Upon returning to Bashu, Sun Ce was initially proud of his victories. However, upon learning that Zhang Yu had captured Yuan Shu and subjugated the Chen Kingdom in less than two months, Sun Ce's pride vanished, replaced by a strange sense of melancholy.

"Liu Bei swept through Southern Chu, and Cao Cao seized Yangzhou in the process. The two formed an alliance to resist Zhang. Your Excellency, you occupy the southwest, isolated and without support, and cannot resist the Tang alone. In my opinion, it would be better to form an alliance with Cao and Liu, and uphold the Han Dynasty, so as to resist China," Fa Zheng said.

Sun Ce put down the messenger's document, looked at his younger brother Sun Quan, and asked, "What does Zhongmou think?"

“Brother, the situation in the world is clear today. If we do not surrender to Tang, then we must resist Tang. But resisting Tang is not something that our Sun family alone can withstand. We need to find allies to resist together. The fact that the Sun and Cao families have jointly sent envoys to visit you shows the sincerity of your intentions!” Sun Quan said.

"good!"

Sun Ce laughed and said, "I have long desired to form an alliance with the two families to resist Zhang. Now that the two families have taken the initiative to invite me, how can the Sun family refuse!"

With that, Sun Ce gestured to Sun Quan and said, “Zhongmou has always been resourceful and wise. I will now receive the envoy.”

"And what about your elder brother?"

“Tomorrow, I will go hunting in the mountains. You should first discuss matters with the envoy. After we have reached an agreement, I will meet with him when I have time,” Sun Ce said.

"promise!"

Seeing that Sun Ce was neglecting state affairs for hunting, Xu Jing advised him, "General, as a ruler, you should command heroes, employ wise men, and establish great achievements. How can you drive them to the wilderness to compete with wild beasts? If you encounter trouble, wouldn't you become a laughingstock to the world?"

Xu Jing, courtesy name Wenxiu, was a native of Runan Commandery. During the reign of Emperor Ling of Han, he served as Imperial Censor. Fearing persecution by Dong Zhuo due to the uprising of righteous men in Guandong, Xu Jing abandoned his post and fled, first seeking refuge with Kong Zhou, the governor of Yu Province. After Kong Zhou's death, Xu Jing then sought refuge with Chen Wen, the governor of Yang Province. After Chen Wen's death, Xu Jing went south to seek refuge with Wang Lang, the governor of Kuaiji.

At that time, Yuan Shu surrendered Jiangdong and recruited Xu Jing as an official. Xu Jing, fearing Yuan Shu would usurp the Han throne, fled to Jiaozhou and sought the protection of Zhu Fu, the governor of Jiaozhou. Later, Zhu Fu died, and seeing the uprisings of the barbarians in Jiaozhou, Xu Jing traveled through Nanzhong and sought refuge under Liu Zhang.

When Sun Jian conquered Ba and Shu, Xu Jing was appointed as the Prefect of Yi Province. After Sun Ce ascended the throne, Xu Jing was appointed as the Chief Clerk and put in charge of the affairs of the Governor's Office of Yi Province.

Currently in Bashu, Xu Jing and Fa Zheng are the ministers whom Sun Ce relies on.

Upon hearing this, Sun Ce was displeased and said, "I am not hunting for pleasure, but to train my cavalry. The defeat we suffered at the hands of the Tang people was not due to my strategy, but because the Tang soldiers were elite, fierce and skilled on horseback. Do not say more, I would not let personal matters interfere with public duty."

Seeing that Sun Ce's emotions were rising, Xu Jing, who was of a softer nature, dared not say anything more.

In fact, Sun Ce obtained more than two thousand horses from the south; if we count the short-legged packhorses, there were at least nearly ten thousand. However, those horses were too short for cavalry use, so the slightly taller ones were used as warhorses, bringing the total to only two thousand. In order to concentrate his military strength, Sun Ce established the Jie Fan Army, with a strength of two thousand men, and appointed Han Dang as the commander-in-chief.

The following day, while Sun Quan was entertaining the envoy, Sun Ce led several hundred cavalrymen out of the city in a grand and imposing manner, which was known to all the people of Chengdu.

Although Chengdu is a fertile land, the northwest direction is adjacent to the Jiulong Mountain (now Danjing Mountain), with complex terrain, plains and forests, and few people, making it suitable as a hunting ground.

They set off at the crack of dawn, urging their horses to gallop, and by noon, Sun Ce had arrived at the place of the spring hunt.

Sun Ce reined in his horse and rode slowly, inspecting his entourage. He saw that the riders were full of energy, each carrying a bow and arrows, eager to try their skills. Sun Ce nodded, looking quite satisfied.

"My lord, the cavalry are all in position now. Shall we order them to go hunting?" Han Dang rode forward and asked.

"Can!"

Sun Ce pointed with his riding whip to the open woods ahead and said, "Men, whoever catches the most game today will be richly rewarded by this lord!"

"drive!"

With a wave of the command flag, hundreds of riders galloped forth, their hooves echoing across the plains, the hills and fields filled with cavalry.

"go!"

Seeing the cavalry leap out, Sun Ce laughed loudly and said to Han Dang, "I have heard that there are tigers near Jiulong Mountain. Now we have come here to hunt wild beasts and rid the people of this scourge. You lead the cavalry to train, and I will lead the cavalry to hunt."

With that, Sun Ce spurred his horse and rode off.

Seeing this, Han Dang feared that Sun Ce alone would be no match for the fierce tiger, so he hurriedly ordered more than ten riders to follow. Han Dang then rode to Jie Fan's army camp and directed his cavalry to hunt.

In reality, training skilled cavalrymen is difficult through archery alone. This is because the reaction time in actual combat is extremely short, while during training, individuals tend to relax due to the absence of external threats. Therefore, the training environment differs significantly from that of actual combat, greatly impacting the performance of cavalrymen.

Hunting was the only form of combat that closely resembled actual warfare. Cavalrymen cooperated, driving prey and using bows to shoot at moving targets, making it almost identical to cavalry combat. Therefore, even nomadic peoples emphasized hunting to maintain the fighting strength of their cavalry. For agricultural peoples, however, due to cost, hunting was a luxury, unless encouraged by the state.

Fishing and hunting peoples, situated between nomadic and agricultural societies, also possess formidable individual combat skills due to their long-term hunting practices. Furthermore, they can quickly absorb agricultural technologies, enabling them to forge weapons and armor comparable to those forged by agricultural societies. Therefore, their individual combat strength may actually surpass that of nomadic peoples.

Of course, the biggest problem for fishing and hunting peoples is that their power is scattered. Because they live in the area between the Changbai Mountains and the Heilongjiang River, transportation and communication are very inconvenient. Under normal circumstances, it is difficult to form a unified political power unless there is external intervention.

Not to mention that Jie Fan's cavalry was hunting under Han Dang's command, Sun Ce was galloping through the mountains and forests for a while, and with the strength of his horse, he gradually widened the gap between himself and the other cavalry.

Because the surrounding cavalry were mostly from the Jie Fan Army, the cavalry did not pursue at high speed, but maintained a certain speed to avoid disturbing Sun Ce's hunt.

"Shut up!"

As Sun Ce raised his bow to shoot the deer, four people suddenly emerged from the forest and blocked his path.

Sun Ce tightened the reins and asked in a deep voice, "Who are you?"

The lead rider said, "I am a soldier under General Han. We are here hunting deer. I wonder if we have disturbed the general."

After speaking, at the signal of the lead rider, the remaining three riders slowly approached Sun Ce. Seeing that the four riders were acting strangely and that they looked like they had never seen him before, Sun Ce became very wary and said, "I know all of Han Dang's riders, but I have never seen you before."

Before he finished speaking, Sun Ce swiftly drew his bow and shot. The lead rider was caught off guard, and the arrow struck his throat, causing him to fall instantly.

The remaining three riders were terrified and raised their bows and arrows, shooting them rapidly at Sun Ce.

Three arrows shot through the air, heading straight for Sun Ce's head and chest.

"what!"

The two were only ten paces apart, and Sun Ce was unable to dodge in time, instantly being struck by three arrows. One arrow hit his cheek, one hit his arm, and the other missed.

Sun Ce, enduring excruciating pain, let out a scream and fired another arrow, felling one rider. The remaining two riders abandoned their bows and galloped forward, brandishing their swords.

"Sun Ce, we are retainers of Zhu Bao, and today we are here to avenge our lord!"

One of them, shouting hoarsely, swung his sword at Sun Ce.

Enraged, Sun Ce ignored the pain and drew his sword to retaliate.

In the blink of an eye, Sun Ce cut down one assassin with a single stroke. The other assassin was terrified and tried to throw his halberd at Sun Ce.

Before the halberd was drawn, Sun Ce arrived on horseback and fired more than ten arrows, turning the assassin into a pincushion.

Seeing that all the assassins were dead, Sun Ce's adrenaline subsided, and he suddenly felt a sharp pain. Unable to control his horse, he suddenly fell headlong.

"My lord!"

"We failed to protect them; we deserve to die!"

The cavalry rushed forward and saw that Sun Ce had been struck by two arrows, with hot blood flowing out. Everyone was terrified.

"Find Han Dang!"

In his pain, he had no time to pay attention to his riders, and Sun Ce called out with difficulty.

"promise!"

A short while later, Han Dang arrived on horseback. Upon seeing Sun Ce lying on the ground bleeding profusely, he immediately showed a look of tension.

"My lord!"

"Righteous Lord!"

Sun Ce gripped Han Dang's hand tightly and said painfully, "After returning to Chengdu, we will keep the news under wraps and summon Xu Jing, Fa Zheng, Xu Kun, and Sun Quan to our residence."

"promise!"

Han Dang stopped his tears and said, "Your Excellency is blessed by Heaven and will surely be safe and sound!"

As he spoke, Han Dang ordered someone to urgently find a doctor and stopped the cavalry training, preparing to send Sun Ce back to Chengdu.

Before Sun Ce returned to the city, a fast horse sent the message back to Chengdu.

At that moment, Sun Quan and Fa Zheng warmly entertained Liu Bei's envoy Cheng Bing and Cao Cao's envoy Bu Zhi. The group had a pleasant conversation about the alliance of the three families to jointly resist Zhang Yu.

"Second son!"

The attendant, sweating profusely, entered the main hall through a side door and immediately called out to Sun Quan upon seeing him.

"What's wrong? Why are you in such a panic?" Sun Quan asked, frowning.

The attendant leaned close to his ear and whispered, "When the eldest young master went hunting, he was attacked by Zhu Bao's men. He has been shot with two arrows, and his condition is difficult to assess. We urgently need to summon the young master and the military advisor back to the manor."

Sun Quan's expression changed slightly, but since Cheng Bing and Bu Zhi were both at the banquet, he quickly regained his composure and said to the two with a smile, "My mother is unwell today, and my elder brother is out training troops. I'm afraid I need to return home to inquire after him."

"Put the old lady first!" Cheng Bing said, bowing.

"We can talk about it later!" Bu Zhi said tactfully.

Sun Quan looked at Fa Zheng and said, "My mother has something she wishes to ask you, sir. Please come back to the mansion with me."

"good!"

Fa Zheng was suspicious, but he knew there must be a reason, so he answered.

After Sun Quan and Fa Zheng left, Bu Zhi became suspicious and said, "Lord Sun is not an impolite person. His sudden departure from the hall suggests that something important has happened."

Cheng Bing stroked his beard and pondered for a moment, then said, "The old lady is unwell, but she has servants and doctors to take care of her. Now that Mr. Sun and Fa Xiaozhi have left at the same time, there must be something going on."

"Could it be that Zhang Yu sent someone to persuade the Sun family to surrender?" Bu Zhi asked in confusion.

"Judging from Sun Ce's character, he is not the kind of person who would willingly submit to wealth and status!" Cheng Bing said.

"Let's stay in Chengdu for now and see how the Sun family responds." (End of Chapter)