Chapter 342: Death
Ten days...
At the beginning of these ten days, the first thing she announced was the news of Sun Ce's death.
In order to confuse Zu Lang, he had to keep the death a secret from him.
But at this time, most of the descendants of the four surnames in Wu County had been captured, and those who were still at large either knew nothing about it or had already guessed roughly what had happened. Announcing it and declaring that they would return to their hometown would allow some people to wait for orders from Wu County and not move their locations at will.
Those who were captured for this reason included Gu Yong, whom Qiao Yan wanted Cai Yong to rescue.
He was already a little confused because he had misjudged the landing site of the ship. Then the news of Sun Ce's death, which was officially spread to the outside world with Wujun as the center, made him even more unsure of how to react.
However, just as he was waiting for news from Wujun's ancestral home, he was arrested when his door was broken into.
Zhu Huan, who was with him in Qu'a, was still able to struggle with his courage, but Gu Yong could not do so.
Having worked as a civil servant for many years, he was caught red-handed and taken back to the Wu County prison, where he reunited with his father and brother.
"What's the current situation?" Gu Yong couldn't help but ask when he saw his relatives in prison who no longer had the dignified appearance they once had.
"What else could it be? We sent away a warrior, and instead a madman came." Someone on the other end replied to him. "She said we were unworthy of the name of a noble family. She actually detained us and only stayed in Wu County for one day before going to Fuchun. Unworthy... really unworthy!"
This "unworthiness" was actually further verified in her actions.
At this moment, Qiao Yan was indeed not in Wu County, but in Fuchun.
After all, Sun Ce's hometown was in Fuchun, Wujun, and his body had been sent back here from Tongguan by Sun Quan and his cousin Sun Ben.
Before reporting his death to the court in Chang'an and receiving the final imperial decree, his body would be temporarily kept here to receive tributes from his subordinates who came one after another.
Fortunately, the weather is not too hot now, and there are still a lot of ice cubes stored in the ancestral home of the four families in Wu County that have just been sealed off. It is not difficult to keep the corpse from decaying for half a month.
This young man who used to be as successful as his father is now lying there quietly, which really makes people sigh at the fickleness of fate.
Just as Qiao Yan was thinking about this, he suddenly heard someone behind him calling out "Grand Sima".
She turned around and saw Mrs. Wu walking towards her with a little girl who was only five or six years old.
Before Qiao Yan could reply, Madam Wu leaned over and bowed deeply to her, "Thank you, my lord, for killing the head of the Zhu family and avenging my son."
"Ma'am, you don't have to be so polite."
Madam Wu stood up and replied solemnly, "This is the proper etiquette. If you are not unwilling, I should bring my remaining children to kowtow and thank you in person."
Just as Sun Ce told her before he died, the inside story that Qiao Yan told him would not be known by his relatives and subordinates. At least, Mrs. Wu would not know it.
What she saw was that the Four Families of Wujun did not have any good feelings towards them because of her restraint on Sun Ce's actions when he attacked Wujun. Instead, they repeatedly set traps for Sun Ce, causing him to die in Danyang in the end.
Regardless of whether there are other people behind the scenes, the four surnames of Wu County are undoubtedly one of the biggest driving forces.
With such an existence, even if Sun Ce did not die at the hands of Zu Lang and Huang She this time, he would most likely fall into the next trap.
It's only a matter of time before you die.
Zu Lang is dead, how can they stay out of it!
But if Qiao Yan had not followed the clues and found out the existence of the Four Families of Wujun from Zu Lang, and if this Grand Marshal had not been in power and chopped off Zhu Rong's head without caring about the consequences of killing, even if she really wanted to take some revenge on them, she could only act according to the rules of Wujun and could not touch them at all.
Even if Sun Ce and Sun Jian's former subordinates acknowledged her as their mistress and were willing to fight for Sun Ce's death in Wu County and bring out the culprits, could she bear to see revenge and reckoning happen to these loyal ministers one day, leaving them to be plotted against by others at any time?
But Qiao Yan dared!
Her previous actions left no doubt that she had the ability to suppress the situation!
Although this first action may be impulsive, it has made Sun Ce's former subordinates willing to follow her arrangements.
Considering the situation in Yangzhou, this is crucial.
However, how Qiao Yan planned to use these people for his own benefit was no longer important to Mrs. Wu at the moment. All she cared about was her son's funeral and the fate of the murderers.
"Speaking of which, I heard that your Excellency has also temporarily suspended and investigated Lujiang Prefect Lu Jining?" Mrs. Wu asked immediately.
Qiao Yan replied, "Yes, although Lu Jining did not personally participate in the conspiracy, there were many exchanges between the four families of Wujun, and he was not completely unaware of the frictions. For example, he knew everything about Gao Kongwen, but he did not tell Bofu about it. As a result, Bofu did not expect that when he was personally fighting against Zulang, there was such a group of people behind him who were trying to stab him. He cannot escape the charge of knowing the truth but not reporting it."
Since she wanted to rectify the four surnames in Wu County, it was impossible for Qiao Yan to go easy on Lu Kang just because Lu Yi had made meritorious services under her command and Lu Yuan was her loyal minister.
Now that Lu Kang has been held accountable, it will be easy to capture the remaining members of the Lu clan.
She continued to talk to Madam Wu, "Ordinary failure to report something may just delay the delivery of some information, but this should be considered military intelligence, so it can never be treated as ordinary failure to report something. Moreover, the victim this time was the governor of Yangzhou. If we don't punish him, it will be difficult to establish a rule."
Madam Wu: "Your Excellency is right."
Although Lu Kang had made contributions to Sun Ce, he should still set an example in the face of this most crucial mistake.
"Huang Gongfu also asked me this question the day before yesterday, and I gave him another answer. I said that if these people in prison feel that there is still a superior named Lu Jining, they will definitely think that someone can find all the connections they can to plead for them. If pleading is useless, then put pressure on them. In short, if there is any way to make me take back my orders, I can try it first."
"In order to prevent Lu Jining from getting upset, it would be better to detain him as well so that he can listen to less nagging."
"..." Mrs. Wu couldn't help but sigh after hearing this serious but seemingly nonsense answer. Perhaps Lu Kang himself would not feel that such ruthless imprisonment was for his own good.
But right now, Qiao Yan is in power in Yangzhou, so let’s just do what she says.
First, Liangzhou recovered from a century-long Qiang rebellion, and then the Dongzhou scholars and Yizhou scholars in Yizhou reached a balance in the re-demarcation of official appointments. Then, Yuzhou divided Yingchuan and Runan into different areas for governance. It can be expected that Qiao Yan has his own ideas about the current situation.
Qiao Yan continued, "I don't need to hide some of my actions from my wife. Bofu worked hard to pacify Yangzhou during his lifetime, but now he has been murdered by a villain before his mission is completed. While we seek justice for him, we should also ensure that Yangzhou can enjoy long-term peace and stability for its people."
"I have been in Fuchun these days. Zhang Zibu and others are still in Wu County. We have confiscated the ancestral property of the four surnames in Wu County and filed the hidden households. The data is really shocking. I have asked people to temporarily list the legal and illegal income. However, there is no abacus team trained like the one in Guanzhong. I am afraid it will take some more time. By then, a clear answer will be given."
"Since we are going to have a clear argument with these Wujun nobles, it is better for us to have more reasons and evidence."
“This is one of them.”
Qiao Yan handed over these liquidation and investigation matters to Zhang Zhao after careful consideration.
In fact, Zhang Zhao was the candidate she chose as the governor of Yangzhou after Sun Ce's death.
First of all, this person has cooperated with Sun Ce's old subordinates for a long time. As Sun Ce's old subordinates will not be transferred away for the time being, he is more suitable than anyone else to stay here for a long time and holds certain military power.
Secondly, he was recruited by Sun Ce after he arrived in Yangzhou. He was not even a native of Yangzhou, but a native of Xuzhou who was living in Yangzhou. He had no deep connection with the Yangzhou aristocratic families, and was just suitable to be Qiao Yan's agent to carry out drastic changes here.
If I have to say anything, Zhang Zhao's sometimes relatively conservative attitude may not be the kind of subordinate that some leaders like, but for the current situation in Yangzhou and Qiao Yan's intention to control Yangzhou, he is the most suitable!
So for now, let him start by counting the illegal land and population of the four surnames in Wu County.
The registered population in Yangzhou is pitifully small; half of the remaining people are Shanyue people, and the other half are hidden households of aristocratic families.
If we don't take advantage of this quick and effective attack to create a gap, there will be nothing we can do in the future!
Madam Wu has always had a good sense of the overall situation. After hearing what Qiao Yan said, she nodded and said, "It should be so. You are new here, so you can't make any false accusations. Mr. Zhang is prudent and will not let you down."
Qiao Yan continued, "In addition, I first divided Bo Fu's men, the Jingzhou soldiers I brought, and Zhu Gongwei's Changsha soldiers into three groups."
"Is this also something that Ah Ren and I can hear?" Before Qiao Yan could continue speaking, Mrs. Wu interrupted her and asked.
As if in response to her question, the little girl, who was about five or six years old, poked her head out from the side and gave her a curious look.
At this moment, there is no sign of the future "talented and strong, with many of the brothers" on this girl's young face. Instead, she looks a bit like Fu Shou that Qiao Yan met in Luoyang eleven years ago.
I don’t know if it’s because she just lost her brother, but she still looks a little timid.
When she met Qiao Yan's gaze, she hid behind her mother again.
But perhaps because Qiao Yan was going to say something that her mother thought they couldn't hear, she pricked up her ears and took two steps away, fearing that she would miss any interesting news.
Qiao Yan couldn't help but find it somewhat interesting. He looked at it for a while before retracting his gaze and replied, "It's okay. Madam has a special status in Yangzhou. It's better to listen to some things you should know. Maybe you can give me some advice."
Although Mrs. Wu didn't think she could really come up with any useful suggestions, she still nodded to signal Qiao Yan to continue.
"The first team is to capture the escaped children of the four surnames of Wu County. They are also doing another job. The news of Bo Fu's death has been announced. The county officials who are about to welcome their new boss may be worried about losing their official positions. If they are worried about something, they will not handle civil affairs properly, which will inevitably cause trouble."
"So I asked people to notify them first. Those who have done a good job in government affairs don't have to worry about job transfers. Spring ploughing is approaching, and we don't know if there will be another drought this year. It's better to arrange various affairs first."
Madam Wu replied, "Your Excellency is right to worry. January is a short month. Three months ago, the land of Yangzhou was already full of spring. Farming cannot be delayed."
"The first team is led by Cheng Demou, Zhou Youping and others. They will circulate Zulang's head to all the counties. After the news of Bofu's death spreads, if there is any unusual movement in the Shanyue, anyone who enters the county will be killed without mercy. Within ten days, I want no one in the Shanyue to dare to make any unusual movement."
"It was easy for me to deal with Zu Lang this time, but I just took advantage of the advantage left by Bo Fu. Everything in the future requires long-term planning. For now, I will suppress him first and wait until this period is over."
"As for what happens next, that is something I cannot tell Madam for the time being."
The most effective way to deal with the Shanyue is to start from the things they care about most.
For these savage beasts in the mountains, the most important thing is to have enough food.
According to a set of standard practices for dealing with the Shanyue that Zhuge Jin's son Zhuge Ke later proposed, it was to take advantage of the Shanyue's preparations before the autumn harvest to harvest their grain in advance, and at the same time cut off their way out of the mountains, thereby cutting off the food supply channel and adopting the policy of only encircling but not attacking.
There are indeed many edible plants and trees in the mountains, but without rice and grain, people will starve, even if they have a strong body. At that time, even in order to find a way out, these Shanyue people will have to move from the mountains to the plains.
This is indeed effective, but there is room for operation only after the autumn harvest. The so-called "encircle but not attack" also requires sufficient manpower and familiarity with the terrain to complete, at least it is not something Qiao Yan can do at the moment.
It would be enough to use the death of Zu Lang and the defeat of the Shanyue in Jingxian as a deterrent.
"Your Excellency's move is to show Shanyue your attitude. Although my son is dead, the soldiers of Yangzhou have not lost their fighting spirit and can still deal them a heavy blow." Madam Wu smiled, "It should be so. As for what Your Excellency cannot say, I will not say anything more."
"The third route..." Qiao Yan hesitated for a moment before saying, "It's related to Gongjin."
When Zhou Yu was mentioned, Mrs. Wu couldn't help but reveal a look of surprise on her face.
Yes, it has been seven or eight days since Sun Ce's death. Madam Wu has met many of Sun Ce's former subordinates, but the most important character is missing among them.
Zhou Yu.
Zhou Yu, who knew Sun Ce since childhood and became his close friend, and who cooperated well with Sun Ce in the recovery of Yangzhou.
Even if he was in Xuzhou, it would take some time to deliver this news to him, but Zhou Yu had not appeared amid such a shocking change in Yangzhou, which was undoubtedly not a normal signal.
The only explanation is...
"Is Gongjin in danger now?" Mrs. Wu asked hurriedly.
"Yes, news came from Xuzhou that when Bofu intended to encircle Jing County, he had already planned to withdraw his troops. Unfortunately, he was chased and intercepted by Zhang Yide on the way, and was trapped in Huaiyin. Liu Xuande led his troops south and gathered in the middle road, making it even more difficult for Gongjin to escape."
"I intend to have Duke Yi, Gong Yi, and Zhong Ye lead their troops to the north to provide assistance, but there are still some points that need to be discussed about this method of assistance."
Order Han Dang, Jiang Qin and Wen Pin to rush to Xuzhou for assistance!
This was indeed feasible after Qiao Yan had made various well-organized arrangements within Yangzhou.
But when she said "this is a matter for discussion", Mrs. Wu heard some hidden meaning, "What do you mean by this?"
Qiao Yan replied: "The civil unrest in Yangzhou has not been quelled. If Xuzhou remains in its current state, we will eventually lose sight of one thing while focusing on the other. Rather than doing that, we might as well remove the wound and cure the disease!"
Mrs. Wu's face flashed with anxiety, "Are you going to abandon Gongjin?"
"No, of course not." Qiao Yan patted Mrs. Wu's hand to comfort her.
The friendship between Zhou Yu and Sun Ce was so close that Mrs. Wu regarded Zhou Yu as her other child. Sun Ce was dead, and if something happened to Zhou Yu again, it would undoubtedly be another stab in the back of her.
Whether out of the desire to comfort Lady Wu or out of the need to stabilize the situation in Yangzhou, Zhou Yu could not die.
"What I mean by removing the wound and curing the disease is to put it in a desperate situation and then survive!"
"Sun Bofu is dead?" Liu Bei was shocked when he heard the news.
Zhou Yu was still besieged in Huaiyin City. As the stubborn rock in the middle of the Huaihe River front in Xuzhou, he was unable to get any news from the outside world while being surrounded on all sides. However, Liu Bei outside could.
But this news always sounds like fake news.
"Are you sure this is not a false impression deliberately released by Yangzhou in order to catch us?" He denied the previous speculation halfway through his words, "No! No matter how much false information is spread, you can't joke about the life and death of the governor. The turmoil caused by the death of the governor of Yangzhou in the battle can never be compensated by Xuzhou's victory."
Sun Ce's temper was determined, and he would not make such a joke.
"It's not a false impression." Jian Yong, who brought back the news, replied, "According to the Yangzhou messenger we intercepted, a few days ago, a warship heading south from Jingzhou arrived at Tongguan and then landed in Wujun. Unfortunately, it was still a step too late."
"When Sun Bofu was on the verge of death, he entrusted Yangzhou to the Grand Marshal Qiao Yeshu who came here in person, and then passed away. Qiao Yeshu then went into the mountains to conquer the Shanyue people, and marched to Wu County to detain those who were related to the death of the Yangzhou governor. I'm afraid that he will be able to go north to Xuzhou to provide support in a few days."
"I suspected that this was just the messenger's one-sided statement, so I sent someone to Lujiang. Sure enough, I saw that the news of Sun Ce's death had spread to this place. His body was stopped in Shouchun, Wujun, and the Lujiang governor Lu Jining was dismissed from his post and taken for investigation because he was related to this matter."
Too fast.
All of this happened so fast.
The shock of Sun Ce's death had not yet subsided when Qiao Yan's series of strikes arrived.
If this was really just to provide them with false information, there would be no need to add the second half.
This is probably what really happened in Yangzhou!
Sun Ce died, Qiao Yan arrived, Zu Lang surrendered, and the four surnames were held accountable.
And with her fierce and violent attack, as long as she could temporarily contain the civil unrest in Yangzhou, no matter whether the means she used were too brutal, it meant that she had the opportunity to send troops to Xuzhou to break the balance.
"If this is the case, we must capture Huaiyin and occupy southern Xuzhou before Qiao Yeshu does. The current situation does not give us any chance to retreat and continue to rule by dividing the river."
Liu Bei quickly assessed the current situation.
Sun Ce's death was beyond everyone's expectations, and Qiao Yan most likely did not come for him, so her target was obvious, which was Xuzhou!
So she couldn't miss this opportunity to completely end the confrontation between the North and the South.
"Your Excellency is right," Chen Gui responded. "We can't take any chances."
Qiao Yan's usual performance would not allow anyone to take such chances.
Chen Gui looked towards the Huaiyin city wall in the distance and murmured, "But perhaps Sun Ce's death is also good news."
This is a good opportunity for them to take the initiative!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
