Tiger Guards

Chapter 739 Gears of Destiny
As May approaches, in Linzi, Qingzhou.

Sun Ce preferred the bustling and scenic city of Jinan to Linzi.

The focus of development will differ depending on which city is chosen as the seat of government.

Linzi's advantage lies in its seafaring routes. Whether it's the maritime trade routes with Youzhou and Liaodong, or the routes around Jiaodong heading south through Langya, Guangling, and the Three Wu regions, these are all Sun Ce's retreat routes and reliable tentacles for him to launch attacks and exert influence.

Forced by Zhao Ji's strategic counterattack, Sun Ce had no choice but to launch a war against Zang Ba ahead of schedule.

Actually, now is not a good time to start a war. It's not that Zang Ba is difficult to defeat, but starting a war now has a certain probability of drawing Zhao Ji's main force here.

By attracting Zhao Ji's main force, Yuan Shao would benefit, and Yuan Shao would have the opportunity to annex the lands of Yan and Zhao in one fell swoop, becoming a powerful ruler with a population of one million and an army of one hundred thousand, second only to Zhao Ji.

With a standing army of 100,000 soldiers, when it comes to a life-or-death struggle, they can easily mobilize an army of 300,000 to 400,000.

Yuan Shao, who only controlled Ji Province, or Yuan Shao who controlled both You and Ji Provinces, were in completely different situations.

If Sun Ce initiates the war prematurely and attracts Zhao Ji, Yuan Shao's power will increase. Sun Ce will either be killed or severely wounded, and even if he wins, it will be a Pyrrhic victory.

When the strength of these allies increases and decreases, things will truly change, transforming from a partnership into a master-servant or father-son alliance.

Faced with Yuan Shao's request to elevate the nature of the alliance, and driven by the need for survival and development, Sun Ce's decision to recognize Yuan Shao as his adoptive father was not considered a disservice to his own family.

In any case, he was always independent and would never go to Ye City to be beholden to Yuan Shao or to support his nominal adoptive father, whose ambitions were as strong as ever.

After becoming sworn brothers, the benefits are significant. Both sides can reduce military buildup in border areas, allowing for more rational use of military resources. They can also leverage each other's influence to counterbalance internal separatist forces.

There are too many benefits; how could Sun Ce be such a pedantic person?
Now, Sun Ce has made the decision to attack Zang Ba, but as the military order is about to be issued, he hesitates deeply.

Human nature is complex. Sun Ce also wanted to form a genuine alliance with Yuan Shao to counter the alliance between Lü Bu and Zhao Ji, who were father-in-law and son-in-law.

Therefore, in order to achieve final victory, Yuan Shao was willing to suffer some losses, forcing Zhao Ji to send troops to Qing and Xu, thus creating an opportunity for Yuan Shao's Youzhou battlefield. Once Yuan Shao annexed Youzhou and gained control of Hebei, he could rely on the natural defenses of Taihang Mountain to fight and hold off Zhao Ji.

To suffer a loss for the sake of ultimate victory is certainly a noble act... Sun Ce personally does not reject such a noble act, but the thought that this loss might cause him to feel bloated is not a fate that Sun Ce can easily let go of or accept.

Zhao Ji is terrifying. When Zhao Ji sends troops to Qing and Xu provinces, the opportunists in Yan and Yu provinces along the way can be transformed into loyal and righteous men who endure humiliation and hardship.

Once this unstoppable momentum begins, it could potentially escalate into a dam-breaking situation.

Not only would the counties and prefectures of Yan and Yu provinces turn against them, but this surge of influence would also break the morale of the counties and powerful clans of Qing and Xu provinces, causing Sun Ce's army to split and collapse before the decisive battle even began.

Sun Ce wasn't lacking confidence in his own army, but rather he was very confident in Zhao Ji's intimidating power.

Sun Ce naturally trusted his old troops from Huai and Si provinces, but he did not trust the armies of the four provinces of Yan, Yu, Qing and Xu.

Zhao Ji was worried about rebellion under his command, Yuan Shao had similar concerns, so how could Sun Ce be exempt from it?

East of Linzi City, at the military camp on Daxian Mountain.

Feeling quite troubled from his solitary contemplation, Sun Ce stepped out of the tent and said to Song Qian, who was on duty, "I will issue the military orders when I return."

"Here."

Song Qian agreed, but still asked, "Where are you going, my lord?"

"Feeling troubled, I went out of the camp to clear my mind."

After speaking, Sun Ce adjusted the sword at his left waist. The climate in Qi was mild, and spring came early. At this moment, Sun Ce wore a light green brocade robe, over which was a gray-brown sleeveless arrow vest.

Song Qian opened his mouth, wanting to offer some advice, but seeing Sun Ce's displeased expression, he wisely kept quiet.

Sun Ce led a few of his elite cavalrymen out on horseback. When Song Qian saw Sun Ce and his men galloping out of the gate, he immediately instructed the officer beside him, "Go and inform Commander Zhou quickly."

"Here!"

The officer dared not delay. He agreed, took the token handed to him by Song Qian, and hurried off to find Zhou Yu in the neighboring camp.

After Sun Ce agreed to Yuan Shao's proposal to form a sworn brotherhood, Zhou Yu also joined in, officially becoming Sun Ce's sworn brother and one of Yuan Shao's adopted sons.

This led to a sharp rise in Zhou Yu's status in the army, and due to the influence of the Zhou family of Shucheng, Zhou Yu also gained more trust and support from the scholars.

Song Qian knew he couldn't persuade Sun Ce, but he had to personally oversee all the military orders written in the camp, so he could only place his hopes on Zhou Yu at this moment.

The people of Qingzhou would not think more highly of Sun Ce just because he was promoted to Marquis of Qi by the court, just as the people of Hedong and Taiyuan would not immediately change their mindset because of Zhao Ji's change of title.

Four hundred years have passed since the Qin and Han dynasties. Who still cares about the old stories of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods?

Sun Ce may have claimed to be a descendant of Sun Wu and a minor branch of the Tian Qi clan, but what was the point of that?
The prominent Sun clans of Beihai and Le'an were at the forefront, and these two clans alone would not easily bow down to Sun Ce, let alone other large clans with pre-Qin lineages.

Ultimately, Sun Ce's branch of the Sun family was a mixed lineage that wandered in Jiangdong... Fundamentally, the ancestors of this branch couldn't make a living in their hometown, so they went to a distant place.

How could a true direct descendant be reduced to making a living in a foreign land?
Four hundred years have passed. If someone is truly successful and misses their hometown, they will naturally find a way to move back to the place where their ancestors rest.

However, this branch of the Sun family has been scattered and has not even had a proper lineage. Other ancient clans in Qi can accept it with their noses held back, but the Sun family of Beihai and the Sun family of Le'an cannot be accepted.

Therefore, the prestigious position of Marquis of Qi that Sun Ce had so desperately pursued did not bring him the various conveniences he had imagined.

In terms of background, it was actually because of the Sun family name that the ancient clans of Qi looked down on him the most... as if a long-standing sense of pride had suddenly awakened in these people.

It wasn't that these people deliberately despised or provoked the Sun family; rather, they understood the underlying reasons and instinctively looked down on these impoverished descendants who relied on military might, held the court hostage, and returned to their hometowns in a show of force.

The ancient clans and prominent families that have inherited their lineage from the pre-Qin period generally look down on Sun Ce. How can the ordinary people of Qingzhou view this?
Although sons of prominent families served in government and ordinary people served in the military, they ultimately looked down on Sun Ce's background. If they couldn't seize the opportunity, so be it; but if the opportunity did come, these people would rather be Zhao Taishi's henchmen than let Sun Ce, the descendant of a once impoverished family, go.

Indeed, the ancient powerful clans of Qi would rather bow down to Zhao Ji, an outsider, than submit to Sun Ce.

This has little to do with the relative strength of Zhao Ji and Sun Ce; it's simply a matter of despising Sun Ce and the ancestor who, even Sun Ce was unaware of, initially left his hometown to seek development elsewhere.

The more these ancient clans trampled on Sun Ce's pride and glory, the more noble they seemed to become.

This may just be a game of strategy based on consensus. In any case, the cold and resistant attitude of the ancient clans of Qi made Sun Ce very unhappy.

This was also an important reason why he agreed to Yuan Shao's request for a sworn brotherhood; it seemed that by leveraging the influence of the Yuan clan of Runan, he could force the ancient clans of Qi to acknowledge him.

However, after the sworn brotherhood was formed, the contempt and alienation from the ancient clans became even more pronounced.

Although they dared not raise an army in rebellion, they dared to appease Sun Ce.

When the opportunity arises, how could these people just sit idly by?

(End of this chapter)