Chapter 338: Conquering Zu Lang
There were bursts of crying in the house.
Qiao Yan looked at the scene in front of him and slowly left the place, handing it over to Sun Ce's subordinates and relatives.
She stood in the courtyard, looked up at the dim stars above her head, and let out another sigh at the passing of this young hero.
Revealing some secrets that are too subversive for him before his death may be a respect for him, but it may also be a kind of cruelty to him.
But this kind of revealing information is something Qiao Yan has to do at this moment!
When she came to Yangzhou as a Grand Marshal to intervene in the operation, after Sun Ce's death, it was entirely possible that his subordinates formed another force around the still young Sun Quan or Sun Ce's cousin Sun Ben.
Once it is no longer bound by the Chang'an court, it will be almost no different from the force that controls Yangzhou.
Not to mention that most of the achievements that Sun Ce had made in Yangzhou over the years would be abandoned overnight, leading to the collapse of his foundation. Just the checks and balances between the Shanyue, Yangzhou aristocratic families and warlord forces were definitely not good news for Qiao Yan, who intended to take over Yangzhou for his own use!
In another possibility, even in front of her as a "good witness", Sun Ce handed over the Sun family and subordinates to Zhu Jun. Zhu Jun's loyalty to the Han Dynasty meant that all the preparations that Qiao Yan had previously made to plan for Yangzhou became useless.
Either way, it was a situation she didn't want to see.
Rather than risk this direction of development, she might as well make a more dangerous and radical decision.
Reveal the hidden things behind this to Sun Ce and let him make a decision himself.
When the mastermind behind the death became clear, she, who was visiting the patient sitting by the bed, was no different from the villain.
But if we look at the world, since the first year of Jian'an, and even since the fourth year of Zhongping when she became the governor of Bingzhou, she is by no means a bad person to the people of the world.
Now that it is impossible for him to avenge himself, will he allow more people to be dragged into the vortex of the upper-class struggle, or allow his family and subordinates to return to a stable situation?
Sun Ce chose the latter.
Qiao Yan also bet on the right result!
She withdrew her gaze from the sky and saw a young child outside the door struggling to jump out of an adult's arms, with tear marks on his face. He shouted that he wanted to join the army, and then he was dragged away.
"Who is that?"
As soon as she opened her mouth, she heard Zhou Tai coming out from behind and replying, "His name is Ling Tong, and he is the son of Commandant Ling. He was taken to Wu Commandery a while ago, so we brought Madam Wu here and brought him here as well."
"He...he is just like Zhu Ran, and can't quite accept the news of his father's death."
Qiao Yan replied, "I understand. I will ask Zi Bu to draft a compensation amount for the soldiers who died at the hands of the Shanyue in this battle. They don't need to bear the responsibility for failing to protect the Lord."
After she finished speaking, she looked at Ling Tong being taken away and was distracted for a moment.
Perhaps they were also the ones who prompted Sun Ce to make the decision.
He himself went to fight against Huang Zu because of his father's death. Huang Zu's death prompted Huang She to fight back at the cost of his life. Huang She's action of killing Zhu Zhi first made Sun Ce see his former self in Zhu Ran. This completely changed the situation of Sun Ce insisting on going into the mountains to fight against the Shanyue.
This cycle of revenge for his father finally ended with Sun Ce's death from poisoning, which may be the best outcome for everyone.
If all the Jiangdong disciples were to become hostile to Qiao Yan, they would be constantly biting each other in the future.
Sun Ce himself has suffered greatly, so how can he hope that his subordinates' descendants will continue to live in such a life?
This was his last act of kindness as the governor of Yangzhou.
It was also the last stroke he left before his exit.
Now I just hope that those who guessed that Sun Ce made this decision can appreciate his good intentions and not make any decision that they will regret.
For example, Zhou Yu.
Zhou Yu, who was in Huaiyin, looked at the siege troops below the city with a gloomy expression.
He couldn't help feeling anxious when he thought that Sun Ce, who was in Yangzhou at the moment, might be in a fatal situation because of his attack on Shanyue.
Last night he even had a moment of palpitations for no apparent reason, as if some terrible accident had happened.
But if he could still send out messages and receive letters from outside the day before, today his possibility of leaving the city has been almost completely cut off.
Liu Bei's reinforcements from the north have completely turned the central route into a situation where the northern forces of Xuzhou have the upper hand!
"General Zhou, do you think that the men of Governor Zhang and Grand Marshal are..." Are they intentionally trying to harm you?
Zhou Yu's entourage also looked at the scene outside the city and asked the same question.
Zhou Yu quickly interrupted him, "Be careful with your words!"
Although he had some doubts about Jia Xu, he just kept them in his heart and there was no need to speak them out.
Although he was under siege at the moment, the manpower of Liu Bei's siege team was still within the limit he could afford, and it did not come to the point where the soldiers in the city had to defend the city to the death to save their lives.
The letter Jia Xu sent the day before was also able to convince him.
Jia Xu said that now the troops were being sent out in three directions. Although the metaphor might be a bit inappropriate, if one must explain it, it could be compared to Tian Ji's horse racing.
Even though the regional confrontation is not a best-of-three system, after all, if there is a collapse in one of them, it is possible to end up in a situation of losing everything. But as long as their two routes can reach the nest one step ahead and seize the opportunity of victory, and their middle stream can still contend with the opponent's top configuration and not let it pass, they will definitely win in the end.
Zhou Yu is facing this situation at the moment.
What’s more…
Jia Xu wrote in the letter that they might not be outnumbered three to three, but could be outnumbered four to three.
When Pang Tong persuaded the Pei State of Yuzhou to defect from Liu Bei to Cao Cao, he also brought along Lu Su who had been captured by them. Because the two had a bet, after returning from Yuzhou, he listened to Pang Tong recounting his experiences from Nanyang to Chang'an, from Chang'an to Bingzhou, and from Bingzhou to Xuzhou.
Lu Su finally decided not to be a prisoner standing as an outsider in the Battle of Xuzhou, but to stand on the side of the southern forces of Xuzhou.
Lu Su's defection was most likely the chip that actually broke the balance in this three-pronged warfare situation.
"Or maybe it's five against three." Jia Xu opened the letter and saw that Qiao Yan had someone send the letter to inform him that she had arrived in Yangzhou and hoped that Jia Xu could delay the confrontation for another half a month.
After hearing these words, Jia Xu knew what Qiao Yan was prioritizing.
However, the news that Qiao Yan had arrived in Yangzhou did not need to be told to Zhou Yu for the time being, as was the case with Lu Su's defection.
After all, he really is in a situation where he cannot send out messages now.
We can't blame him for concealing something, right?
He closed the letter and started writing a reply to Qiao Yan.
[Lu Zijing and Pang Shiyuan have arrived in Langya.] 】
Everything was still developing in the direction they had planned, so Qiao Yan could rest assured to take care of the situation in Yangzhou first, and it would not be too late to go north to Xuzhou.
There is no rush in Xuzhou yet, and it is even less so in other places.
Just like Cao Cao, who was in Yanzhou, only received the letter that Guo Jia had deliberately delayed for a few days until this moment.
The invitation to meet at Hulao Pass in a month seemed to everyone like she was going to make some special arrangements like she did in Yingchuan and Runan last year.
As a war had just broken out between Jizhou and Youzhou at the end of last year, Cao Cao even had some doubts as to whether Qiao Yan wanted to use this great victory to persuade him to surrender.
And "Hulao Pass" is indeed a place that easily makes people think too much.
In fact, Hulao Pass was not the boundary between Sili and Yanzhou, but was still within the territory of Sili, serving as a barrier to Luoyang. When Dong Zhuo was in control of the government in Luoyang, he ordered Hu Zhen and Hua Xiong to guard Hulao Pass, and inflicted a defeat on the reinforcements sent by Cao Cao, Yuan Shao and others along the way.
Is there any hidden meaning behind her choosing this place to meet?
Not to mention that Cao Cao would make such speculation, after he calmly sent this invitation to Yecheng, Yuan Shao also had to think a lot.
He even thought about not only Qiao Yan's intention, but also Cao Cao's.
Why did Cao Cao send this meeting letter to Yuan Shao?
Considering the situation of Pei State in Yuzhou defecting to Cao Cao at the beginning of last year, Yuan Shao did not hesitate to think that Cao Cao's behavior was even more unfavorable to him.
Is there a possibility that Cao Cao's subtext is that if Yuan Shao cannot hand over the position of Yuzhou Mu to Cao Cao, he might reach an alliance through the invitation at Hulao Pass and then turn around and give Yuan Shao a head-on blow!
But if Qiao Yan were to say it, she had made this move just to give Yangzhou and Xuzhou enough time to change the situation...
Sometimes, it’s better not to think too much.
On the second day after Sun Ce's death, she summoned all of Sun Ce's old subordinates who were in Tongguan to her side.
Of course, not only Sun Ce’s subordinates attended the meeting, but also Sun Ce’s mother, Mrs. Wu, and Sun Ce’s brother Sun Quan.
Sun Ce was able to rein in the killing spree in Wujun thanks to the effective persuasion of this mother. This shows that although her appearance is somewhat gentle, she is actually a gentle yet strong person in her heart. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with letting her participate in this discussion that will determine the future of Yangzhou.
Seeing that Madam Wu and Sun Quan were also here, Huang Gai looked at Qiao Yan with a bit of respect.
Last night, Sun Ce entrusted his son to Qiao Yan, so Huang Gai and others were unable to change their position for a while. Today, seeing that the old people of the Sun family were still there and did not directly turn this place into the meeting place of the Grand Marshal's Mansion, Huang Gai and others felt much better.
He turned around and saw Cheng Pu, who had just arrived this morning. Seeing the same dazed look on his face, he knew that he was probably feeling the same as he was.
Yeah, who can change their stance so quickly?
A few days ago, it was Sun Ce who sat at the top, but now it was replaced by Qiao Yan. For people like Huang Gai and Cheng Pu who had followed Sun Jian before, it was even more difficult to accept such a change.
Qiao Yan interrupted their thoughts by saying, "Last night, Mr. Zibu and I asked a lot of questions about the Shanyue. They all said that the mountains in Danyang are dangerous and the people are strong and resolute, so the Shanyue are a nuisance. It is indeed true. But I still have one question."
Seeing that everyone was looking at her, Qiao Yan said, "The battles to annihilate the Shanyue over the years, including Bofu's siege of Yan Baihu after he took over Wujun, have proved one thing. Although these Shanyue bandits have their leaders, metallurgy to support the manufacture of weapons, and trade to accumulate materials, they do not have a large-scale battle formation, nor the ability to deploy strategies. Although they gather in the mountains and forests, they can be wiped out with careful arrangements. Zu Lang has clearly shown that this is not the case."
"Who taught him this skill of irritating the enemy step by step and luring them deeper into our territory?"
Huang Gai was startled when he heard this, "Not Huang She?"
Qiao Yan shook his head: "General Gongfu, have you ever seen a Shanyue leader like Zu Lang easily believe the words of a desperate criminal?"
Won't.
Huang Gai put himself in Zu Lang's shoes and felt that it was impossible!
Whether it was Huang She's act of killing Zhu Zhi, the former governor of Yuzhang County, or the timing and method he chose to assassinate Sun Ce, or his suicide after he succeeded, they all carried an extremely strong tendency towards self-destruction.
Even if he did as he said and could really kill Sun Ce, Zu Lang would most likely not choose to join forces with Huang She under such an unsecured situation.
Unless... there is another force involved between these two parties.
And this force has enough credibility in Zu Lang!
"In addition, fortunately General Gongfu was thoughtful enough to bring back the bodies of the Shanyue people who participated in the ambush in Yishan this time. Some of them looked fine in their attire at first glance, but a closer look revealed something unusual."
Qiao Yan glanced at Zhou Tai, who immediately stood up from his seat and brought the three bodies into the hall shortly after he left.
"General Zhou was present when these three people were checked and saw clearly that their outer garments were of Shanyue style, but their inner garments were not."
Cheng Pu had arrived the latest and was very upset for missing Sun Ce's last words. He quickly stood up and walked towards the three bodies. He soon noticed something was wrong.
Qiao Yan was right. The inner garments of these three corpses were made of a material unique to Wu County.
And it is only used by people from wealthy families.
If this was the proceeds of robbery or trade, it shouldn't be so exactly the same.
"It's not just clothes." Qiao Yan pointed at the arms of the three men and said, "The Shanyue people grew up in the mountains and forests. Although they also make a living by farming, most of them are good at climbing. The bones and muscles of their arms are very different from those of the soldiers recruited in Yangzhou County. In General Cheng's opinion, which type do these three people belong to?"
The arms of the Shanyue soldiers probably fit the description of "ape arms", and the three corpses in front of Cheng Pu at this moment were no different from the Yangzhou soldiers he saw every day!
In other words, they may not be from Shanyue!
I'm afraid there must be someone else involved behind this. Otherwise, Sun Ce would not have been so easily tricked and ended up dying young.
"I will not make any judgment on who is behind this for now." Qiao Yan said as he signaled people to take the three bodies away again.
But everyone saw that when she said this, her eyes fell on the face of Lu Kang, the prefect of Lujiang, who was at the table, for a moment, and she showed no mercy to the father of her capable subordinate Lu Yuan.
The four surnames in Wu County are of the same blood, and the possibility that the Lu family is unaware of the difference is very low.
But no matter whether Lu Kang chose to support silently or felt that it would not cause any problems, the fact is that he chose to conceal it.
He also probably knew about the situation in which several other families loaned Xu Gong's retainers to Shanyue.
Being looked at by Qiao Yan's sharp eyes, Lu Kang's gaze dropped for a moment and he looked at the table in front of him. This kind of show of concealing one's guilt immediately made Zhou Tai, who had the most impatient temper, slam the table and stand up.
But before he could open his mouth to scold, he saw Qiao Yan raised his hand and motioned for him to sit quietly.
"I said, I won't make any speculations or judgements about the people behind the scenes or those involved," she looked at the people in all directions and said, "Let's take down Zu Lang first, and we can talk about other things later!"
"Once we catch them, all the circumstances will be clear, and there won't be any wrongful convictions!"
"That's right, let's capture Zu Lang first." Cheng Pu immediately said, "If the Grand Marshal's men are short of manpower, that's fine. I have already sent troops from Kuaiji County. Since Kuaiji has been pacified, the dispatch of these troops will not cause any trouble."
He would never be willing to accept this unless he avenged Sun Ce's blood feud, and I'm sure no one present would be willing to accept this either.
At most, because of Sun Ce's lesson, although everyone wanted to go into the mountains to capture Zu Lang immediately, they also planned to listen to Qiao Yan's arrangements first and make every move carefully.
If Qiao Yan said that Sun Ce's hasty advance led to his tragic death, and she couldn't follow in his footsteps, then regardless of whether Sun Ce had entrusted his son to them or not, they would probably argue with her.
Fortunately, this Grand Marshal was not the type to avoid war, and it was expected that he would be able to seek justice for the rebellious general.
Qiao Yan said, "I have a plan, but I need you to cooperate with me. Are you willing?"
Before Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and others responded, Madam Wu spoke first, "If you can help my son wipe out the Shanyue bandits and let them rest in peace in the afterlife, it would be fine even if you need me and the Grand Marshal to cooperate."
"That's not necessary," Qiao Yan replied, "I just need to borrow Sun Bofu's identity. Please keep the death a secret for the time being."
"You said Sun Ce is here again?" Zu Lang was shocked when he heard the report from his subordinates.
The fact that Sun Ce's garrison troops were withdrawn from Jingxian to Tongguan and that he was seeking famous doctors from all over the place did not escape Zu Lang's notice. In his opinion, this was a sign that Huang She had succeeded and that the poison had penetrated into Sun Ce's lungs and was beyond cure.
But he never expected that in just two or three days, Sun Ce would make a comeback?
"Not only are they coming again, it seems... it seems that they have reinforced their troops." The subordinate who went to investigate replied, "But Huang's poison arrow must have hit him. When I saw him from a distance, his face was pale and very thin, and it seemed that he had changed to a lighter gun than before."
Zu Lang laughed when he heard this, and the tense mood he had just felt when he heard that Sun Ce had returned disappeared completely.
Still sick, attacking again...
Isn't it because of his unwillingness that he has to rush to his ancestor's territory to teach him a lesson?
"Mobilize the troops!" Zu Lang stood up and walked out. "Even the lively Sun Bofu can't do anything to me. I want to see--"
"What kind of trouble can a guy who is still sick cause?"
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