Tiger Guards

Chapter 714 Retreat Three Steps

Outside of Yijing, the location of Sun Ce's reinforcements.

The chill of spring swept across both banks of the Yi River, which seemed even colder to Zhou Yu than when he led his troops across the river to the north in the twelfth lunar month.

As a result, Zhou Yu had difficulty falling asleep in his military tent, always feeling that cold air was seeping in from all directions, with gusts of cold air penetrating into the tent and his bed.

Therefore, as soon as it was slightly brighter, Zhou Yu dressed himself fully, wearing a winter sable cloak over his armor and deerskin gloves, and began to inspect the camp on horseback.

When Zhou Yu reached Chengpu's camp, he dismounted and walked inside.

At this moment, Cheng Pu was embracing a young widow from his hometown, a woman who made him feel close to him. His bed was warm and cozy, and he wouldn't get up early unless something unexpected happened.

When Zhao Ji was leading his troops into battle, he regarded women as monstrous monsters.

With the example set by those above and the fact that there were indeed outstanding battle results and examples, such things have been almost completely eliminated in Zhao Ji's army.

However, for other armies, the farther the army is from its hometown and the more arduous the marches and battles it experiences, the more relaxed its military discipline must be.

Otherwise, the soldiers would not dare to mutini and would instead flee in groups.

In order to maintain the cohesion of the expeditionary force, it is necessary not only to relax control over military discipline... This is like a dam breaking; if one part collapses, other aspects will also regress and fall into a state of semi-control.

As long as they are not on the battlefield or performing military duties, the entire military camp is like a bustling market, with soldiers doing all sorts of things.

Zhou Yu led a dozen guards through Cheng Pu's camp, which was already starting to get lively.

His guards looked around warily, not because they were afraid that some soldiers might suddenly rebel and attack Zhou Yu, but because gambling had become rampant in this camp, leading to increasingly obvious theft.

If soldiers who are heavily in debt can't pay it off quickly, then they'll really have to pay it off with their buttocks.

Let alone Zhou Yu, a foreign general, even Cheng Pu's personal belongings... these soldiers who had suffered heavy losses dared to steal them.

Cheng Pu, wanting to give Zhou Yu some face, reluctantly dressed himself without even putting on armor and went to the military tent to greet Zhou Yu.

At this moment, Zhou Yu was studying the letter sent by Sun Ce when he heard Cheng Pu's feigned hearty and cheerful laughter outside the tent. Zhou Yu put away the letter, stood up, faced the tent door, and bowed to Cheng Pu, who was about to enter: "Right Commander-in-Chief."

"I am sorry for not greeting you properly. May I ask what brings you here, Protector General?"

Cheng Pu returned the greeting with a cupped hand, and then stopped and bowed to apologize: "I patrolled the camp several times last night and was quite tired. I was unable to get up early, and I hope the Protector will forgive me."

"With the Right Commander-in-Chief personally overseeing the camp affairs, how could I dare to act strangely?"

Zhou Yu suppressed his smile, took out a letter from Sun Ce and waved it: "Good news has arrived."

Cheng Pu's eyes lit up: "What good news is it?"

As he reached out to take it, Zhou Yu grabbed the right arm of the book and dodged Cheng Pu's hand. The two looked at each other, and Zhou Yu smiled and said, "Right Commander, why don't you guess?"

Cheng Pu withdrew his hand, his brows furrowed in thought: "Could it be that Gongsun Du of Liaodong is responding to the imperial edict and is about to send troops to Liaoxi?"

Zhou Yu smiled without saying a word, deliberately teasing Cheng Pu: "Right Commander, guess again."

Cheng Pu asked tentatively, "Is it that Yuan Shao wants to cede Pingyuan to our army?"

Pingyuan is too important. If we can get Pingyuan, which is located on the north bank of the Yellow River estuary, we can directly threaten Yuan Shao's heartland. The alliance between the two sides will be more advantageous to Sun Ce's side.

Zhou Yu smiled and said, "Right Commander, guess again."

"I'm not guessing anymore, Guardian, please tell me quickly. If you don't tell me, I'll go ask the Left Commander."

Cheng Pu had just woken up in the morning and was feeling a little excited about fighting again, but Zhou Yu interrupted him.

Cheng Pu was genuinely annoyed by Zhou Yu's refined and unconventional manner.

He was a rough man, preferring to be straightforward and efficient. He disliked nothing more than Zhou Yu joking around with important intelligence. Cheng Pu no longer concealed his anger as he spoke.

Zhou Yu found it even more interesting and handed over Sun Ce's handwritten letter with a smile: "The imperial envoy has arrived in Jinan to reward our army for driving out Zhang Yang and recovering Yanzhou. Ce has enfeoffed Bo Fu as the Marquis of Qi, and the Right Commander has been promoted from Lieutenant General to General Zhenwei."

Upon hearing Zhou Yu address Sun Ce as "Bo Fu," Cheng Pu initially didn't think much of it, and Sun Ce wouldn't have thought it was inappropriate in person either. However, now that his good deed had been interrupted, Cheng Pu was even more displeased and subconsciously asked, "Where is the Left Commander?"

Meanwhile, upon reviewing Sun Ce's handwritten notes, it became clear that among the generals who crossed the river to aid Yuan Shao, Right Commander Cheng Pu was originally a Lieutenant General, Left Commander Xu Kun was also a Lieutenant General, and Zhou Yu was acting as the Protector of the Army in the capacity of Qi Lieutenant.

Zhou Yu didn't care about Cheng Pu's dissatisfaction at all. He was happy to chat and joke with Cheng Pu, which was giving Cheng Pu plenty of face.

He waited quietly. Cheng Pu looked at the things described in Sun Ce's letter and saw that Xu Kun, the Left Commander-in-Chief, had been appointed as General Who Pacifies Bandits... Although this was also a miscellaneous title, it was not as miscellaneous as General Who Reigns Might.

Then I saw that Zhou Yu was appointed by the imperial court as... General of Light Chariots.

Although this is also a miscellaneous title, it is at least a common high-level miscellaneous title, similar in nature to the title of "General of the Warships" or "General of the Valiant Cavalry".

Looking back on the nearly twenty years I fought alongside Sun Jian and his son Sun Ce, I'm now just a Zhenwei General.

Xu Kun was Sun Jian's nephew, and his clan was powerful and influential, so it was only natural for him to become a general who quelled bandits.

But Zhou Yu had only been a member for a few years?

Why do they have the right to ride on my head?
Although Cheng Pu could not understand Sun Ce's specific and true intentions, he did feel the suppression and checks and balances from Sun Ce.

Not wanting to vent his resentment on Sun Ce, nor to directly criticize Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu carefully studied Sun Ce's handwritten letter and chuckled: "It seems that our army crossed the river to relieve Yuan's army's siege of Xindu, and launched a pincer attack from both inside and outside to defeat Gongsun Zan. The court knows of our merits and has thus bestowed upon us the title of Zhenwei. It's a pity we failed to capture and kill Gongsun Zan, otherwise we would all be marquises!"

Zhou Yu also felt some regret. They crossed the Yellow River in December to join the battle and suddenly attacked Gongsun Zan from the flank, catching Gongsun Zan off guard. The entire army began to collapse from the outside... As for Yuan Shao, he also saw the situation and led his troops out to fight, which led to a great defeat for Gongsun Zan.

In the past, the annual winter battles between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan were always open confrontations, and this continued for three years. As a result, Gongsun Zan would be caught off guard by Sun Ce's reinforcements when he was slightly distracted.

Unfortunately, Gongsun Zan had no shortage of cavalry, and Sun Ce's army, lacking cavalry, lacked the ability to pursue and raid at long distances. Although Yuan Shao had cavalry, they were mostly deployed along the Hanoi line to be vigilant and prevent Lü Bu from cutting off their supply lines.

Cheng Pu suppressed his dissatisfaction, handed the letter back to Zhou Yu, and asked, "Commander, will Gongsun Du of Liaodong obey the imperial edict and send troops?"

"Very difficult."

Zhou Yu was in a good mood and recounted: "Yuan Shao also urged Gongsun Du to take Youzhou. However, Gongsun Du refused to send troops because the Liaodong Pass was far away and the spring floods made it difficult for boats to travel."

As he spoke, Zhou Yu asked, "What is the situation with the Liao Tunnel?"

Cheng Pu replied solemnly, “In the spring, when the winter snow melts, the accumulated water floods the roads, making them wet, soft, and muddy, impassable for people and vehicles. In the autumn, the roads are also flooded. However, I have heard from the Donghu people that Liaodong has learned about the Grand Marshal's tactics and already has many sled war chariots. If Gongsun Du is willing to send troops, we can easily attack his rear in the twelfth lunar month, causing him to fall into chaos without a fight.”

Zhou Yu listened and nodded slowly, probably having figured out Gongsun Du's bottom line.

It's about living a quiet life behind closed doors, surrendering to whoever wins, without losing one's position as a duke or marquis, while still protecting the territory and its people, and being worthy of the officials, commoners, men and women under one's rule.

He then put away Sun Ce's letter and said, "After I meet with the Left Commander-in-Chief, I will visit Yuan Shao at noon to discuss the matter of our army's withdrawal."

"Should our army retreat?"

Cheng Pu asked in surprise, but quickly replied with relief, "That's fine too."

Zhou Yu smiled but didn't explain anything.

As long as Gongsun Zan is alive, they and Yuan Shao are relatively solid allies; but if Gongsun Zan dies, how will Yuan Shao view their 20,000-plus men?

Besides, Gongsun Zan is half-dead now, what if Zhao Ji leads troops to his aid?
If there's no need, don't clash with Zhao Ji.

This was something Sun Ce repeatedly instructed him to do before setting out on his campaign.

On the land of Ji Province, to go to war with Zhao Ji for the sake of Yuan Shao... that's a huge loss.

(End of this chapter)