Chapter 174 Death of Sun Jian
Under such a strong attack by Sun Jian, Huang Zu had no chance to cross the river.
This was because the troops that attacked Huang Zu were not just those that came by land.
The leader of the grain team sailing on the water was Cheng Pu, who had fought with Sun Jian for many years.
Before the big ship arrived, the small boat had already floated along the river and fired countless arrows at the Jingzhou defenders on the river bank.
After more than a year of training in Dongting Lake, these Changsha disciples were already proficient in naval warfare. Once they gained control of the action, they destroyed all the iron chains on the river and sailed across the water.
If Huang Zu crossed the river, he would be walking into a trap.
His only choice was to travel by land, head straight to Nanjun, and find a big city to take refuge in.
So in Sun Jian's view, he not only wanted to intercept Huang Zu at this end of the Han River, but also to intercept him before he entered the city.
"The nearest county to Jingling is Dangyang," Sun Jian ordered as he led his cavalry in pursuit, "Bofu! Lead a group of men and horses straight to Dangyang. If Huang Zu really goes there, be sure to intercept him for me."
Sun Ce immediately agreed and turned his horse to change route.
Huang Gai, who was standing by, wanted to dissuade Sun Jian from chasing after him, but he felt relieved when he saw that Sun Jian remained rational after hearing the order, and did not make the decision to pursue after being angered by Huang Zu's repeated harassment.
After Han Dang was appointed by Sun Jian to accompany Sun Ce, he exchanged glances with Zu Mao, indicating that Sun Jian must be taken good care of in the future to prevent him from advancing alone and being taken advantage of by the enemy.
It’s just a pity that Huang Zu didn’t care about his soldiers at this moment. He threw away everything that would slow him down and fled north.
The soldiers he left behind along the way became a barrier to hinder Sun Jian's pursuit.
When he finally broke through this last line of defense, he had already passed Zhang Mountain on the bank of the Han River.
I wanted to chase him again, but it was already late.
Huang Gai wanted to persuade Sun Jian to rest for a while before chasing him, so he said, "Looking at the current situation, Huang Zu is not planning to go to Dangyang, but after being defeated by us, he plans to abandon Jiangxia and meet up with Liu Biao in Xiangyang. I think you might as well wait for Bofu's troops to be transferred back to Dangyang, and for the infantry in the rear to catch up, and then slowly approach Xiangyang."
If the decisive battle had to take place in Xiangyang, Sun Jian would not be able to capture the city with just this cavalry. He would have to wait until the troops in the rear caught up.
It doesn’t matter if I can’t catch up with Huang Zu now.
Anyway, if Liu Biao was defeated, Huang Zu would not be able to escape.
It’s better to do things more safely.
However, Sun Jian defeated several of Huang Zu's intercepting teams in succession. The momentum of his previous quick attack to break down their defense had been repeatedly provoked into irritability. How could he be persuaded like this?
He looked ahead and said, "No, we can't stop yet! Lankouju is more than a hundred miles ahead. It is the boundary between Jiangxia and Nanjun at the Han River, and it has always been an important town. If Huang Zu is allowed to defend the city, it will be much more troublesome than him entering Dangyang. We must stop him."
But looking at the soldiers who had followed him in the battle since Yunmengze and had not had much rest, and whose faces showed some fatigue, Sun Jian decided to let them set up camp on the spot first, have a hot meal, and then continue on their journey after resting for more than half an hour.
When the entire army set out again, the sound of horse hooves in the dark night returned to its previous thunderous state, and rushed towards the next city at full speed.
But also in this night, another team that had been dispatched early to deliver the message for the messenger was waiting for Sun Jian's arrival.
They were Zhang Ji and Huang Zhong who had stationed their troops at Lankou earlier.
Huang Zu, the governor of Jiangxia, came with his defeated army, which was already included in the plan that Jia Xu had Dong Zhuo write to Liu Biao.
Huang Zu really wanted to defeat Sun Jian directly, but when he saw Sun Jian's march, he knew that he really didn't have the ability to do so, so it would be better for him to just follow the plan.
According to Jia Xu's analysis, Sun Jian, this fierce tiger, would never fall into prison easily. He could only arouse his fighting spirit first, and then block his momentum again and again, until -
The last trap.
Twenty miles south of Lankouju is a low mountain range.
Zhang Ji touched the spear in his hand, and a sharp look flashed in his eyes.
In the letter he wrote to Liu Biao, Dong Zhuo had made his current situation quite clear.
Zhang Ji did not know that the letter Zhang Xiu wrote to him was actually intended to prevent Dong Zhuo from suspecting his loyalty and to prevent him from being implicated by his nephew's surrender. He just felt that he really had to show some impressive military achievements in order to gain a firm foothold in the Liangzhou Legion.
Being stationed in Chang'an did not show that he was still useful. This move to Jingzhou was precisely his best opportunity.
He turned to Huang Zhong who was standing beside him and said, "General, please support me later."
Huang Zhong was promoted by Liu Biao. At this time, he was loyal to Liu Biao and naturally had to help him resist Sun Jian's offensive.
He knew clearly that if Lankou was lost, it would take Sun Jian at most half a day to reach Xiangyang.
They have no way out!
If we cannot take advantage of this opportunity to kill Sun Jian, we will have to meet outside the city of Xiangyang.
Huang Zhong replied, "Please rest assured, General Zhang. Although it is not the behavior of a real man to shoot an arrow in the back, in order to protect Jingxiang and your Excellency, I have to apologize to Sun Wentai."
Sun Jian is truly a powerful general in the world. One cannot help but admire him. It's a pity that he stands on a different standpoint.
After hearing the ground shaking sound approaching from the south, Zhang Ji suddenly rode out on his horse.
The Liangzhou cavalry who were traveling with him also followed in a well-trained manner.
Before they had walked far, Huang Zu, who had deliberately slowed down before arriving at this place, and Sun Jian, who had caught up with him from behind, both came into Zhang Ji's sight.
Well done!
Sun Jian did not notice this abnormality at all.
It was not uncommon for him to gain overwhelming advantage over the enemy in battle, and this time against Huang Zu was no exception.
For him, it was only natural that he could catch up with the remnants of Huang Zu before Lankouju arrived.
The rest halfway through the journey made him not feel tired at all from fighting at night. Instead, he seemed to have accumulated enough strength. The moment he realized that there were no more guards around Huang Zu to form a defensive formation for him, Sun Jian swung his sword without hesitation to repel the enemy in front of him and went straight for Huang Zu.
Since he participated in quelling the rebellion in Kuaiji and Xuchang in the second year of Xiping, he has fought bravely in every battle. It is precisely because of his leading by example that he has become the unique core of the team.
Today's battle is no exception!
In the moonlight, Sun Jian's leading figure with a striking red cap was clearly seen by the soldiers behind him.
Zu Mao was worried about Sun Jian's move, but at the same time he was moved by his amazing appeal, so he rode his horse and followed him.
This is the General Po Lu they are following!
However, when Sun Jian was about to swing his sword towards Huang Zu's head, a long spear suddenly blocked his way.
Sun Jian paused and looked at the person who came with a cold gaze.
But on the battlefield, the armor of the cavalry commander reflected a silver light, making it impossible to see his appearance for a moment, and it was temporarily difficult to recognize his origins.
Before Sun Jian could ask about his origins, the enemy's attack became more and more fierce.
The cavalrymen traveling with this man broke into the formation almost at the same time, cutting Sun Jian's team chasing Huang Zu into two halves.
Compared with the soldiers under Huang Zu, these people seemed to have a seasoned temperament and had experienced many battles, so Sun Jian did not dare to relax.
"You thief!" Sun Jian shouted loudly and raised his sword to chop.
Based on his estimation after just one encounter, this was indeed an unexpected opponent for him, but even so, he was not afraid of such a challenge!
It's just a matter of killing one more opponent!
This thief was an excellent marksman. His cavalrymen were not at a disadvantage in the melee with the troops led by Huang Gai and Zu Mao, which instead encouraged Sun Jian's determination to fight more bravely.
His eyes were blazing with fire, and he almost forgot the fatigue he had felt during the pursuit, and focused all his attention on Zhang Ji.
However, he didn't expect that his opponent was so fierce. After realizing that he was no match for him, he turned around and retreated quickly.
Sun Jian thought that the other party was a hero who fought on horseback like him, but when he turned around, he saw that the guy had already run away after making a feint.
Even Huang Zu, who he had almost captured before, disappeared due to the interference of the cavalry.
Sun Jian was extremely angry and resolutely chose to give chase. 1
Be it Huang Zu or this sudden appearance of an expert spearman, both of them put his fighting spirit, which he urgently needed to relieve, in a state of limbo. If he could not kill one of them tonight, he would not be able to let it go!
Zu Mao had just killed a cavalryman in front of him when he could only see the backs of Sun Jian and his followers chasing after him.
In his haste, he even forgot to call General Sun and only shouted "Wentai".
But that voice had long been drowned out by the sound of horse hooves around, not to mention the words he said afterwards.
"This seems to be——"
It’s the Xiliang Army!
Distracted by the surrounding trees and caught off guard by the enemy's sudden attack, Sun Jian's troops were unable to recognize the origins of this cavalry at the first sight.
They just thought that Liu Biao wanted to ensure that Lankou would not be lost, so he ambushed such a powerful team here.
With the will of the Jingzhou families to defend Xiangyang to the death, there is indeed a chance to put together such a cavalry team.
But when Zu Mao chopped down the enemy who had not yet retreated, he clearly heard the other party curse something.
The clash of swords did not cover up the sound, and made him realize a fact in a split second.
He had heard that accent before!
But it was not when fighting in Jingzhou, but when attacking Dong Zhuo.
His heart skipped a beat and he had a very bad feeling.
This does not seem to be the team under Liu Biao, but more likely the Xiliang Army.
Why are the Xiliang Army here?
Whether Liu Biao asked Dong Zhuo for help, or Dong Zhuo took the initiative to intervene in the war in Jingzhou, it meant that the place ahead that Sun Jian was chasing after was likely to be a trap.
When he thought of this, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "No! Overturn! Get the Wentai back!"
It would be fine if the front had a clear view, but the forest and undulating terrain ahead were much more serious than the position where they were fighting now.
This is not the opponent's defeat! That means changing the combat environment!
But not only did Sun Jian fail to hear Zu Mao's warning, but Sun Jian himself had already disappeared from their sight.
Zu Mao's vigilance reached its peak.
He hoped that even if Sun Jian was ambushed ahead, he would be able to break out of the encirclement with his bravery and return here. Even if we have to wait until dawn to take action.
However, the opposite happened.
When he and Huang Gai reorganized the troops to prevent enemy attacks and moved forward, they heard a battle ahead and went in pursuit, but from afar they saw the Xiliang general holding off Sun Jian's offensive.
At the same time, an arrow shot from the forest pierced Sun Jian's forehead with precision and ruthlessness.
This is at least an arrow shot from a crossbow! It is also an arrow that is enough to kill you!
Sun Jian, who was shot by an arrow, groaned and fell off his horse!
"Wentai!"
"General Sun!"
Huang Gai and Zu Mao shouted urgently.
But after Huang Zhong succeeded in his attack, Zhang Ji decisively stabbed Sun Jian in the neck again, as he was simply afraid that this fierce tiger from Jiangdong would not survive the battle.
This is also a move that will eradicate the problem completely.
The little consciousness Sun Jian had left was only enough for him to hear the other side giving the order to counterattack, and then he died completely.
Almost at the same time, it was not just the Western Liang Army under Zhang Ji who lured the enemy to withdraw, but Huang Zhong and his generals also launched a counterattack.
You know, Huang Zhong was appointed as the General of the Central Army by Liu Biao because he was the first to charge into the enemy lines and was the bravest among the three armies during the attack on the Jingzhou clan bandits, but not because of his archery skills.
The purpose of cooperating with Zhang Ji to kill Sun Jian was to behead the enemy first. Now it depends on him to lead the troops in frontal combat!
The death of Sun Jian left his troops in a state of disarray. Even though Huang Gai and Zu Mao encouraged the soldiers with the will to win, they were unable to successfully counterattack under the joint siege of Zhang Ji and Huang Zhong.
In the ensuing melee in the forest, Zu Mao was killed by Zhang Ji, and Huang Gai snatched Sun Jian's body and headed straight for Dangyang.
Relying on his impression of the surrounding terrain and taking detours, Huang Gai finally got rid of the enemy's pursuit at dawn and completed the reunion with Sun Ce.
He dragged his exhausted body, carried Sun Jian's body, and knelt in front of Sun Ce.
Sun Ce was struck by lightning.
He had just received a message from his father asking him to return to the army to reunite, but he never expected that what he was waiting for was not his father's next order, but the news of the death of his father and Zu Mao.
The boy, who was only sixteen years old, gritted his teeth as he looked at his father's body that would never make a sound again, and the blood color still remaining on Huang Gai's face. He couldn't help feeling sad when he thought about how high-spirited they were when they set out to denounce Liu Biao in the north.
But he knew that now was not the time to dwell on sadness.
Liu Biao's subordinates and the suddenly appearing Xiliang Army might advance cautiously and be temporarily left behind by them, but if given the chance, they would definitely choose to completely wipe out Sun Jian's forces in Nanjun.
He also needs to reorganize his troops and withdraw as soon as possible.
His father is dead, but he, Sun Ce, cannot fall!
In his grief, he felt that perhaps he should not have joked with his father that day, asking his father to share some of the burden with him. Now he had to face sharing the burden in such a situation.
But he quickly gathered his emotions and wiped away his tears, "Uncles, my father trusted you the most when he was alive. Now that Sun Ce is not talented enough, I would like to ask you to lend me a helping hand."
Huang Gai, Han Dang and Cheng Pu, who had come ashore by water, saluted Sun Ce and said, "I will do whatever you ask, young general."
"Now we have one way to go, which is to return to Changsha County. With General Zhu's reputation and my father's blood feud, I, Sun Ce, have the confidence to gather a team again and compete with Liu Biao again!"
What they lost were cavalry, not warships, and even their infantry still retained their strength. It was not difficult to return to the south of the Yangtze River. If Liu Biao wanted to launch a large-scale attack and capture Changsha County, it would not be enough to rely solely on Dong Zhuo's support.
This is the safest way.
However, Sun Ce said in a resounding voice: "But I don't intend to do that!"
They crossed the river to fight with soldiers from Changsha.
Although they fought all the way to Nanjun this time, they not only suffered heavy casualties, but also lost their commander Sun Jian.
If you want to make a comeback, it's not as simple as saying a few words of mobilization.
Liu Biao would not give him such time to develop peacefully.
If Liu Biao were allowed to further gain a foothold in Jingzhou, he would never have the opportunity to go north again.
So he must break through this current predicament!
Thinking of what he had said to Sun Jian that day, Sun Ce continued, "When my father was still alive, we could not attack Yuan Shu because he and my father both accepted the commission of the court in Yecheng. Otherwise, it would be a disloyalty. But now we don't have to worry so much."
"Let's go to Lujiang!"
Go to Lujiang to fight Yuan Shu!
Sun Jian's subordinates were grieving for the general's death, but at the same time they were extremely pleased to see Sun Ce displaying the demeanor of a commander-in-chief at this moment.
The young man, who seemed to have grown up overnight, bowed deeply to them and continued, "I am not a talented person, but I beg you to cross the Han River with me, lift the siege of Shu County, join forces with the governor of Lujiang, defeat Yuan Shu, seize Yangzhou, and then plan for Jingzhou. Changsha is guarded by General Zhu, and my mother and younger brothers and sisters are safe. Now we might as well give it a try to find a way out!"
Sun Ce was definitely not someone who was willing to be trapped in a difficult situation.
His combat acumen would never allow him to take the ordinary path.
After Sun Jian's death, even the title of General Po Lu no longer restricted them. So why not give it a try - first swallow up Yuan Shu's forces, and then strike back at Liu Biao!
He was not afraid of Liu Biao.
So he will come to take revenge sooner or later!
There was a loud thunder outside.
Then it started to rain.
At the end of September in Liangzhou, the autumn rain that had been delayed for this year finally fell.
Qiao Yan looked out the window and saw that the fine raindrops outside the window quickly merged into one, and finally turned into a pouring rain.
But what's interesting is that according to the news sent to her by various counties in Liangzhou, the rain stopped in Zhangye County of Liangzhou and did not even cover the entire Zhangye County. Even Wuwei County only covered half of the area.
It is basically located at the foot of the Qilian Mountains.
The three counties with slightly more rainfall are Jincheng, Beidi and Anding.
This uneven rainfall made Qiao Yan even more determined to complete the water storage and adjustment project in this place as soon as possible to prevent drought disasters in a few years from causing a fatal blow to Liangzhou, which had finally restored order.
She withdrew her thoughts on the water conservancy project and turned to look at the report in front of her.
The sudden changes in Jing and Yang states can truly be described as earth-shattering, just like a rainstorm sweeping across the country.
Zhang Ji, who entered Jingzhou from Wugu Pass, joined forces with Huang Zhong, the General of the Central Army under Liu Biao, and Huang Zu, the Prefect of Jiangxia, and successfully ambushed Sun Jian twenty miles south of Lankouju, making this fierce tiger of Jiangdong die here.
This means that, at least in the next one or two years, Qiao Yan will no longer be able to openly receive reinforcements from the south to attack Dong Zhuo.
Therefore, she had to make the situation in Liang Province more stable to prevent Dong Zhuo from finding an opportunity to take advantage of it.
After Sun Jian's death, Zhang Ji led Dong Zhuo's troops to retreat quickly back to Wuguan, and returned to the position of guarding the pass of Guanzhong Plain. This made Liu Biao, who had been worried that Dong Zhuo would take the opportunity to occupy Nanyang County, very relieved.
At the same time, Sun Ce did not choose to retreat to Changsha and rely on Sun Jian's base in Changsha County to move north again. Instead, he took Sun Jian's body and his old subordinates and headed straight to Shu County, Lujiang.
As early as April this year, Yuan Shu surrounded Shu County on the charge of treason against Lu Kang, the governor of Lujiang, for not providing military rations.
After a long period of unsuccessful siege, he had originally planned to take a break and see what was happening with Sun Jian and Liu Biao, but he ended up becoming the one causing the excitement.
Sun Ce, filled with grief and indignation after losing his father, broke into Yuan Shu's camp in the middle of the night, and almost beat Yuan Shu up as if he were Liu Biao.
Yuan Shu was shocked and tried to organize an army to resist Sun Ce's attack, but he was beaten by Sun Ce, who was blinded by bloodshed, and fled back to Jiujiang County in panic.
And Sun Ce was indeed a hero who was no less powerful than his father.
At the same time that Yuan Shu was attacking Lujiang, the court in Yecheng also appointed Yuan Yin, who was from the Yuan family of Runan, to replace Zhou Shang, the former prefect of Danyang. Zhou Shang was also Zhou Yu's uncle. This gave Sun Ce an excuse to march into Danyang.
In just half a month, Sun Ce, with Sun Jian's former subordinates and with the assistance of Zhou Yu, took control of Lujiang and Danyang counties, and faced Yuan Shu, who had retreated to Jiujiang, across the river. For a while, neither side could do anything to the other, and they were temporarily in a truce.
Until this information was delivered to Qiao Yan's desk.
Guo Jia had long been assigned by Qiao Yan a mission to lure Zheng Xuan to Bingzhou, but because he still needed to flatter the Hexi nobles, it was not suitable for him to leave so soon, so he stayed here. After reading the letter handed over to him by Qiao Yan, he could not help but marvel at the role played by Jia Xu's undercover work in Dong Zhuo.
It is not possible to gain Dong Zhuo's trust just by being a Liangzhou native.
But Jia Xu not only achieved this, he also sent Dong Zhuo's subordinates to Jingzhou at an appropriate time, killing Sun Jian in one fell swoop and winning more room for development for Qiao Yan. He was truly amazing.
The fact that he was in Chang'an and yet managed to stir up the situation in Jingyang into this state was enough to make Jia Xu one of the top three advisers under Qiao Yan.
It is no wonder that when Qiao Yan got the position of Governor of Bingzhou, he deliberately asked for Jia Xu from the then Taiwei Mansion. Even though Jia Xu had been slacking off under Qiao Yan's command before, it did not affect his being valued by the prince, who even took him to climb a mountain.
Guo Jia touched his chin, read the letter in his hand again, and felt a sense of crisis.
He couldn't help but ask again: "Does your Excellency feel that Wen has crossed the line in this matter?"
Jia Xu's silent plot killed Sun Jian, which was good news for Qiao Yan.
It's still great news.
But Sun Jian had a harmonious and friendly relationship with Qiao Yan anyway, and sending him directly to see the King of Hell would inevitably be suspected of exceeding his authority.
So Guo Jia wanted to hear Qiao Yan's attitude.
Amid the sound of rain outside, she closed her eyes and pondered, while the sound of her fingertips tapping the table remained calm and rhythmic.
Sun Jian...
Sun Jian is a hero.
When he suddenly heard the news of his death, Qiao Yan thought of the first time they met.
At that time, Qiao Yan had not been in this world for long, and whether he saw Sun Jian or Cao Cao, there was an indescribable subtlety in his feelings.
Especially these people are still in their humble beginnings and their careers are in the initial stages.
She couldn't help but think of the meeting in Luoyang during the campaign against Dong Zhuo.
As the leader of the second team that rushed into Luoyang, Sun Jian had an unconcealable passion and sharpness, and could be considered one of the first-tier figures in contemporary times who had a talent for commanding troops.
As she closed her eyes in deep thought, the scene in front of her seemed to emerge where Sun Jian said that he would join forces with Zhu Jun to attack Chang'an from another route. How heroic he was.
But since she had instructed Jia Xu to let the chaos in the south develop in a direction that was favorable to our side, Sun Jian's fate seemed inevitable.
Jingzhou and Yangzhou cannot fall into the hands of a man like Sun Jian who has both military power and appeal, otherwise they will sooner or later become a major concern for her.
Guo Jia heard Qiao Yan's fingertips suddenly pause.
It was at this time that he heard Qiao Yan speak: "Feng Xiao, I have always believed in one truth——"
"To be kind to your enemies is to be cruel to yourself."
So Sun Jian died and that was it. Jia Xu did a great job!
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