Wei Xiaobao's Three Kingdoms Adventure

Chapter 126: Sure Win, But Encountering a Traitor

After Cao Cao moved the capital to Xuchang, he adopted the suggestions of Xun Yu and others to implement the military farming system. After several years of development, both the population and grain production increased significantly.

Liu Bei in Xuzhou also followed Cao Cao's example and implemented the military farming system. In just one year, it attracted a large number of vagrants to flock to Xuzhou, which made Liu Bei and his subordinates feel safe and peaceful.

Seeing that no one supported the Southern Expedition, Zhuge Liang asked Wei Xiaobao, "Bozhi, why didn't you say anything?"

Wei Xiaobao thought to himself, "What can I say? Should I tell everyone the story of how you borrowed the east wind to burn down Red Cliff? Well, you do have a point. Now is indeed the best time to attack Sun Ce. It's a pity that these guys are afraid to gamble anymore after winning a few battles. If it were me, I would seize the opportunity and bet everything. If I win, I'll win happily, and if I lose, I'll lose bitterly!"

Wei Xiaobao asked Liu Bei, "Brother, do you remember what Cao Cao and Yuan Shao said about Sun Jian when we were in Ji Province?"

Liu Bei nodded and said, "They both praised Sun Wentai as a fierce tiger from Jiangdong."

Wei Xiaobao continued, "A tiger father will have a tiger son. The son of a tiger is likely to be a tiger himself. I have seen this Sun Ce twice. I am afraid he is even more fierce than his father."

Zhao Yun echoed, "When my second brother went to fetch Xiao Qiao, I also witnessed Sun Ce's attack on Shouchun. Judging from the way he deployed and commanded his troops, he was definitely no ordinary man."

Wei Xiaobao nodded and said, "Sun Ce has been able to endure for many years under Yuan Shu, and has grown stronger with the thousands of soldiers borrowed from Yuan Shu. He must not be underestimated. If we let him develop for a few more years, by the time Yuan Shao and Cao Cao are done fighting, both the north and the south will come to attack, wouldn't that be even worse?"

Zhuge Liang laughed heartily and said, "The one who understands my heart is Bo Zhi. When you kill a tiger, you should do so while it's weak. If you wait until it's fully grown, it might just be time for it to strike back."

Everyone discussed in a low voice.

Liu Bei asked, "How do we capture the six counties of Jiangdong?"

Zhuge Liang said, "After the wheat harvest in Xuzhou this summer, there will be enough food and fodder for a year's use. Within that year, we can capture Lujiang, Ruxukou, and Wanjiang Port. Then, we can train our navy and guard against the enemy in Jiangxia. Then, we can cross the river and capture the other five counties. Sun Ce won't have many troops stationed in Lujiang, so capturing Lujiang won't be difficult. The difficulty lies in training the navy and guarding against the enemy in Jiangxia."

Liu Bei asked, "Military Advisor, do you have any plan to break this situation?"

Zhuge Liang said, "Jiangxia Governor Huang Zu is a subordinate of Liu Biao and Liu Jingzhou. If you can go to Xiangyang and form an alliance with Liu Jingzhou, the enemy in Jiangxia will not be a threat. Our army is composed entirely of northern generals, so we need to seek out talented people from the south to train our navy."

Yang Hong said, "Military Advisor, I once met a man named Lü Fan in Shouchun. He was an expert in shipbuilding and had considerable experience in naval training. However, Yuan Shu had no intention of conquering Jiangdong, so Lü Fan was useless in Shouchun. He later followed Sun Ce to Jiangdong. If we can persuade him to surrender, it will help us resolve our naval concerns."

Zhuge Liang nodded and said, "There's another man named Liu Ye in Shouchun. I wonder if General Yang has heard of him?"

Yang Hong said, "I've heard of this man, but I've never interacted with him. Liu Ye was a well-known young man with the talent to assist his father. He was a descendant of Emperor Guangwu's son, Prince Fuling. In his early years, he accompanied Liu Xun to Lujiang. After Liu Xun defected to Yuan Shu, Liu Ye despised Yuan Shu and retired from the world."

Zhuge Liang said, "My lord, after we capture Lujiang, we must find this man."

"Just as the military advisor said."

With the strategic thinking unified, the next step was to make tactical arrangements. Zhuge Liang dispatched the brothers Mi Zhu and Mi Fang to continue garrisoning in Pengcheng, dispatched Sun Qian and Yuan Huan to guard Xiaoguan, and left Qiao Rui to guard Xiapi. Liu Bei, commanding the rear, led Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao, Wei Xiaobao, and Yang Hong to Shouchun. He also assigned Guan Yu's eldest son Guan Ping and Zhou Cang to jointly oversee the transportation of military provisions.

After their marriage, Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao moved to Wei Xiaobao's house to live with Diao Chan and others. Zhuge Liang then gave Liu Bei advice, asking Diao Chan, Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao to assist Qiao Rui in managing the government affairs of Xia Pi.

Liu Bei did not agree at first, after all, it was not appropriate for a woman to be accepted in a formal setting.

Zhuge Liang advised Liu Bei not to be too conservative in his personnel decisions, and mentioned the story of Mo Mu and Luo Zu, who assisted the Yellow Emperor in unifying the empire. This reassured Liu Bei, who agreed to allow Wei Xiaobao's three wives to participate in the administration of Xia Pi. After the summer harvest, Zhuge Liang led an army of 30,000 to attack Lujiang, with Guan Yu and Zhang Liao as the vanguard, Zhao Yun as the left wing, Zhang Fei as the right wing, and Wei Xiaobao as the rearguard.

Sun Ce's scouts had already learned that Liu Bei had stationed troops in Shouchun, and Sun Ce had also sent Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and Taishi Ci to guard Lujiang.

Taishi Ci was a fierce general recruited by Sun Ce from Liu Yao, the prefect of Yangzhou. He was good at using cavalry, so he was specially transferred to Lujiang by Sun Ce.

Guan Yu and Zhang Liao's vanguard troops were soon blocked by Taishi Ci. The two sides fought for three days without a clear winner, so the vanguard troops stopped advancing.

When Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun's troops arrived, they were harassed by Huang Gai's archers from a long distance and had to retreat to defend.

Zhuge Liang changed his army formation, using Zhang Fei's infantry to lure Taishi Ci deeper into the enemy territory, then ordered Guan Yu and Zhang Liao to split up and ambush, and ordered Zhao Yun's cavalry to sneak up on Huang Gai from behind.

As expected, Taishi Ci fell for the trick and led his cavalry to chase Zhang Fei's infantry. Just as he was about to enter the encirclement of Guan Yu and Zhang Liao, a troop suddenly appeared from the side.

The newly arrived troops happened to collide with Wei Xiaobao's baggage and food troops. After a few rounds of fighting, half of the food and grass were snatched away by that team.

Zhou Cang led his men in pursuit, but was ambushed and captured alive.

Zhuge Liang was in the military tent pondering the origins of this surprising force when a scout came to report.

It turned out that the person who robbed the food and grass was Gan Ning, a subordinate of Huang Zu, the prefect of Jiangxia.

Even Zhuge Liang, with his brilliant foresight, could not have predicted that after Liu Biao and Liu Bei reached an alliance, Jiangxia Prefect Huang Zu would actually dare to allow his men to rob military supplies.

In desperation, Zhuge Liang could only temporarily station troops for defense and sent Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao to recover military supplies and rescue Zhou Cang.

The first time Wei Xiaobao led troops, he was stabbed in the butt. He was so angry that he volunteered to fight.

With the help of Zhao Yun, Zhuge Liang finally agreed to let Wei Xiaobao follow Zhao Yun and Zhang Liao to chase Gan Ning.

The roads between Jiangxia and Lujiang were mostly mountainous, and Gan Ning greedily robbed a lot of baggage, so he marched too slowly and was caught up by the troops of Zhao Yun and his two companions.

Seeing that the enemy had more people and more power, Gan Ning shouted in front of the formation that he wanted to challenge Zhao Yun in a duel.

Gan Ning, holding a snake spear and a short bow on his back, rode a dark red Dayuan horse, a pheasant feather in his hat. He stood sideways on the road and said to Zhao Yun, "Will you leave your name, General?"

"Changshan Zhao Zilong!"

"Very well, I am Gan Ning, Gan Xingba. I see you are weak and timid, do you dare to fight me? If I win, you will withdraw immediately; if you win, I will return the baggage and food to you."

"bring it on!"

(End of this chapter)