Chapter 350 Military Report Arrives in Ye
All rivers will eventually return to the sea...
Zhou Yu could not be sure whether what Qiao Yan meant was that the trend of the world's reunification had become an unstoppable trend with the advantages she had established during her conquests in the south and the north, or whether she was saying that Sun Ce's death was just a part of these natural laws.
But perhaps she was also saying that the rushing flow of all rivers into the sea was the state he should maintain at this moment.
One can no longer look back.
If Yangzhou wants to stop being a place chosen for exile of officials over the years, if he wants to fundamentally change the situation where the Shanyue people are rampant, and if he wants the descendants of the Zhou family in Lujiang to step into the central government and realize their ambitions, he must stand on the side of Qiao Yan at this time when there is no second choice.
The two-way choice between the master choosing his minister and the minister choosing his master is sometimes not that simple.
No matter how many unknown secrets are behind it, at least he cannot have any doubts now, otherwise it will only give other enemies an opportunity to take advantage.
And this enemy may not be just Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.
"I have a suggestion, I wonder if you would like to listen to it." Zhou Yu suddenly said.
Seeing Qiao Yan nod, Zhou Yu continued, "Please ask the lord to meet Yu Fan and Yu Zhongxiang."
After crossing the river, you will reach Dantu in Wu County, Yangzhou.
By the time we reached Fuchun on horseback, another day had passed.
There was less than half a day left until Sun Ce's burial.
Zhou Yu went to see Sun Ce for the last time. Qiao Yan had no intention of disturbing the two brothers' reminiscing about the past. Instead, he began to think about Yu Fan that Zhou Yu mentioned.
Lu Yuan had once told her the name of Yu Fan.
At that time, Sun Ce had just obtained the position of prefect of Kuaiji recommended by Qiao Yan. Lu Yuan went south to deliver the gift from Qiao Yan to Sun Ce, and sent some of Lu's children to Bingzhou. Lu Yuan mentioned that there were not many famous scholars in Wuhui who saw the potential of Sun Ce, and among them, Yu Fan was a rare one.
His father, Yu Xin, was the governor of Rinan in Jiaozhou at that time. However, at the end of last year, the governor of Rinan died of illness, and Yu Fan resigned from his post and returned home to mourn for his father.
If Yu Fan was a man of sharp tongue and outspokenness, he could compete with Ni Heng, but this was obviously not his greatest ability.
In history, Sun Quan once commented on him, saying that even if he was not as good as Fuxi, he should be better than Dongfang Shuo, referring to his ability in divination.
Yes, he studied the Book of Changes and criticized several predecessors who made annotations on the Book of Changes. He said that Zheng Xuan and Song Zhong both made their own annotations, and Song Zhong was slightly inferior to Zheng Xuan, but both of them had not yet entered the door and their works should not be shown to others. As for Ma Rong, the teacher of Zheng Xuan, Lu Zhi and others, one could study the Book of Changes with him, but not be considered a fellow traveler.
Among all the people in the world who annotated the Book of Changes, the only one who can be considered better than others is Xun Shuang. Unfortunately, there is a sentence he wrote, "Make friends in the southwest and lose friends in the northeast", which has the opposite meaning of the original text, and no one knows where it came from. He also listed the chapter praising the Four Symbols of Dayan as the beginning of the volume, which is an even more ridiculous interpretation. But this is already more than other ordinary people, so we can't ask for too much.
If this guy wasn't really capable, considering that Zheng Xuan was still teaching in her Leping Academy and Xun Shuang was buried in Taihang Mountains, Qiao Yan should have learned from Sun Quan and sent Yu Fan to Jiaozhou to sober him up.
"I heard that you once said something to Bo Fu, saying that the white dragon fish surrendered, was trapped in Yuqie, the white snake released itself, and Liu Ji killed it. I hope he will pay attention to this matter. Is it true?"
The white dragon was transformed into a fish and trapped by Yuqie. It says that the white dragon came down to earth, turned into a fish and was shot in the eye by Yuqie.
The white snake released itself and was killed by Liu Ji. It means that the son of the White Emperor turned into a white snake and was beheaded by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang.
These two sentences are to advise Sun Ce not to always travel secretly with too few ceremonial guards, otherwise he might encounter unpredictable disasters like the White Dragon and the White Snake.
Unfortunately, with Sun Ce's temper, he would not listen to Zhou Yu's straightforward advice, let alone Yu Fan's relatively roundabout way of expression.
Yu Fan, who was standing in front of Qiao Yan, was still wearing mourning clothes because his father had passed away, but perhaps these mourning clothes could also be considered as being worn for the master he had chosen.
Most of the officials in Yangzhou were in awe of Qiao Yan because of her swift and decisive actions. Even if they were not afraid of her, they regarded her as the new master because Sun Ce entrusted his son to her. Only Yu Fan stood there with an awe-inspiring and inviolable attitude.
Hearing Qiao Yan's question, he said, "What if I said it, what if I didn't say it?"
Qiao Yan replied: "Gongjin asked me to come and see you. I would like to hear what suggestions you have for me."
Seeing that Qiao Yan seemed to be asking seriously, Yu Fan replied, "The Grand Marshal should not live in Chang'an in the next two years. I just cast a hexagram today and saw Dui below and Kan above, which means the five-line change is imminent. There is a suspicion that his head and body will be separated."
Qiao Yan's expression did not change, he just asked: "Then where would you like to live?"
Yu Fan thought for a moment and replied, "Chang'an is a place of wealth and prosperity."
It is unclear whether Chang'an, a wealthy place, is more suitable for Yu Fan to live in than Jiaozhou, a place of exile.
But Qiao Yan originally thought that because of the friendship between Yu Fan and Sun Ce, when he met the other party, he would actually meet a thorn in the flesh, but he did not expect that this was not the case.
However, no matter what Yu Fan saw with his own eyesight during this period, or what Zhou Yu said in the letter to Yu Fan before returning to Yangzhou, his attitude at this moment was not bad news for Qiao Yan.
Qiao Yan waved his hand and said, "Then go ahead, but——"
"I don't actually believe in prophecies or destiny."
However, some people will believe it, especially if they have a helper.
Of course, at this moment, Chang'an had not yet received the letter submitted by Qiao Yan regarding the official positions in Yangzhou and Xuzhou, and naturally had not yet heard of Yu Fan's remarks.
The first person to receive the news about Xu Yang's battle situation was Yuan Shao.
Since the beginning of the year, news from Xuzhou had been arriving one after another. In order to prevent the sudden change in Youzhou last year, Yuan Shao simply formed a temporary meeting group with Xin Ping, Guo Tu, Xu You, Shen Pei and others, and had them live next door to his residence.
As Xin Pi had not yet been transferred, he was temporarily left in the north.
As early as when there were unusual movements in Xuzhou, this meeting group had already made suggestions to Yuan Shao, asking him to support Xuzhou to prevent Liu Bei, Chen Deng and others from having difficulty defending their territory.
But then Qiao Yan arrived and deployed his troops in Luoyang, and there seemed to be news of unusual movements in Youzhou, forcing Yuan Shao to make a choice between taking care of himself or Liu Bei first.
Later, he received news that Qiao Yan had invited Cao Cao to meet at Hulao Pass. After his subordinates temporarily dissuaded him from the idea and confirmed that Cao Cao's intention was to show that he would not form an alliance with Qiao Yan, rather than to force him to give up the position of Governor of Yuzhou, Yuan Shao breathed a sigh of relief.
However, this series of changes has made it difficult for Yuan Shao to focus on the area to the southeast, and he can only pay attention to the changes in the Sili Xiaowei Department and the border areas between Yanzhou and Yuzhou.
He even considered whether he should loan Xu You to Cao Cao first, and let him take one more person with him when he went to Hulao Pass to keep the appointment. However, he thought that such an action would inevitably make Cao Cao feel that he was suspicious of him, so he finally suppressed it.
However, what made him feel a little relieved was obviously not the breakthrough progress he had made on a battlefield somewhere, but the fact that his young third son Yuan Shang, with his support, officially came into the public eye and participated in the discussion of political affairs with Yuan Shao's tacit consent.
But at this time, Yuan Shang had not yet reached adulthood, and it was only then that Yuan Shao felt that he did not show favoritism among his sons.
Although his eldest son Yuan Tan was adopted by his eldest brother Yuan Ji and was no longer considered his son, the title of legitimate lineage still belonged to this eldest son. He now had troops stationed in Donglai County, and it was obvious that he was exercising the duties of the Qingzhou Governor on behalf of his father, who had been in Yecheng for a long time.
In terms of status and reputation, Yuan Shao felt that he had given Yuan Tan a lot.
Although the second son, Yuan Xi, had been deceived by the court in Chang'an, Yuan Shao did not hold him accountable. He even arranged a marriage for him in advance after his wife passed away. The wife was the daughter of the Zhen family in Hebei, and he planned to wait until Zhen Mi was fifteen years old before getting married.
Whether in terms of trust or the marriage of his children, Yuan Shao felt that he had given Yuan Xi a lot.
With this in mind, he only brought Yuan Shang to his subordinates and let him listen to these military and political affairs. How could it be considered that he was overly partial to him?
Yuan Shao looked at his handsome son sitting in the hall with satisfaction, feeling that he had brought great honor to himself. At the same time, he unfolded the report on Liu Bei sent by his subordinates and was immediately overjoyed.
This letter was sent to Yuan Shao by Liu Bei, Chen Gui and others after they intercepted the messenger from Yangzhou and launched an operation to round up Zhou Yu, hoping that Yuan Shao could restrict Qiao Yan's actions in Yangzhou while Xuzhou was too busy to get out of the war.
This letter should have been sent out long ago, but the express horse fell ill halfway through the journey and the letter was delivered in Taishan County, so it was not delivered to the post station in Yanzhou as soon as possible. As a result, when the letter arrived in Yecheng, it was actually more than two days later than it should have been.
But Yuan Shao didn't know all this, and he saw the mention of Sun Ce's death in the letter at a glance.
Sun Ce is dead?
This was simply the first good news Yuan Shao had received since the beginning of the year!
Ever since Qiao Yan supported Liu Yu to ascend the throne in Chang'an, Yuan Shao has been thinking every day why not let this great commander who personally led the expedition die in a battle, so that he would not have to face so many troubles.
But everyone knows that Qiao Yan's fighting ability is not much worse than that of the top generals, and he is half his age.
Unless something unexpected happens, Yuan Shao will definitely die first.
But at this moment, the news of Sun Ce's death seemed to make him see a possibility that was originally only a luxury.
The youngest among all the governors of various states died unexpectedly on his way to fight Zu Lang!
Liu Bei and Chen Gui both judged that this was not a piece of news created by the enemy to confuse them, and no one would joke about the news of the governor's death, so the credibility was quite high.
If Sun Ce could pass away due to such circumstances, why couldn’t Qiao Yan?
These young men, relying on their own superior abilities, acted recklessly and stood on the opposite side of Yuan Shao. Now it was finally time for them to suffer.
But before Yuan Shao could feel proud for long, he saw the second half of Liu Bei's letter, which said that Qiao Yan had arrived in Yangzhou and completed the conquest of Zu Lang, and also captured the four surnames of Wujun, and might go north to Xuzhou in the near future.
If they fail to achieve the desired effect in the encirclement and suppression of Zhou Yu, Yuan Shao must provide support as soon as possible, in case Qiao Yan himself participates in this battle and Xuzhou is unable to withstand the pressure of the combined attack of these two parties.
The joy on Yuan Shao's face froze on the spot.
"Is she the King of Hell?" Yuan Shao slammed the letter in his hand on the table in anger. "She had just arrived in Yangzhou when Sun Ce died. She was able to take over the power of Yangzhou smoothly and completed the task of eliminating Zu Lang."
If Qiao Yan's men could arrive in Yangzhou later, causing unrest within Yangzhou because of Sun Ce's death, or even better, turning Yangzhou into a group of loose sand, he would have the opportunity to win over people from it.
Zhou Yu, who is currently in Xuzhou to provide support, will have to return to Yangzhou to quell the rebellion. The stalemate in Xuzhou's territory will be broken in an instant, and even the southern part of Xuzhou may be completely taken back.
But Qiao Yan came too quickly and achieved his results too efficiently, leaving no chance for anyone to intervene.
Even if Liu Bei, who wrote the letter, hoped that Yuan Shao would interfere with the situation in Yangzhou in his spare time, it was originally an idea of trying everything possible. He still placed more hope on his own calculations against Zhou Yu. After all, it was almost impossible to let Yuan Shao have any influence on Yangzhou from such a long distance.
Unless Yuan Shao could travel from Qingzhou to Yangzhou across the sea and then launch a military blockade.
But regardless of whether Yuan Shao's men had the ability to conduct naval operations, the time it took for the ships to advance, compared with Qiao Yan's usual efficiency in mopping up, would probably mean it was too late.
"It may not be too late. I heard that Sun Bofu has a cousin named Sun Hao, who has always been a bit rebellious and does not have a very good relationship with Sun Bofu. If he can be recommended as the governor of Yangzhou, perhaps he can really create some trouble for Qiao Yeshu." Xu You took the letter from Yuan Shao, looked at its contents and spoke.
"However, as the Lord said, it may be too late for us to have any impact on Yangzhou. Qiao Yeshu would not casually issue such a conscription order to Zhou Yu. It is very likely that she has basically taken control of the situation in Yangzhou and is sure that the old people of the Sun family will not do anything to disobey her, so she sent the letter to Zhou Yu."
"It would be better to make some arrangements to support Xuzhou."
"If father needs me, I am willing to share his worries." Yuan Shang, who was at the table, immediately responded.
Xu You's eyes drifted for a moment, but thinking of Yuan Shao's love for his son Yuan Shang, he tried his best to control himself and did not say anything like "This is not suitable for the third young master to do."
He glanced at the other people present and, as expected, saw similar expressions on their faces.
Perhaps only Yuan Shao himself would think that this was a commendable expression of Yuan Shang's filial piety, rather than that the young man was too ambitious.
But Yuan Shao still had some ideas. He himself was no match for Qiao Yan, and his underage son was even less likely to be one.
After Yuan Shao praised Yuan Shang for a few words, he turned to Xu You and asked, "Ziyuan, do you think it is possible to capture Xuzhou before Qiao Yeshu goes north if Cao Mengde sends troops from Yuzhou?"
Letting Cao Cao send troops was actually a very dangerous decision, especially when Yanzhou and Yuzhou might face the influx of troops from Sili.
But no matter how dangerous it is, it's worth a try.
You have to know that Qiao Yan and Cao Cao had an invitation to meet at Hulao Pass. If everyone thought that Cao Cao was going to keep the appointment, then who would have thought that he would attack Xuzhou at this time.
Xu You thought about it and replied immediately: "It is possible, but you must send troops from Henei County at this time to create some pressure on the west. At the same time, it will serve as Cao Mengde's reinforcements, so that he can feel at ease to send troops."
After receiving this response, Yuan Shao's expression looked much better.
But before he could be happy for long, a sound of urgent news was heard from outside.
Although the content of the urgent report had not yet appeared in front of him, Yuan Shao's subconscious reaction to the several blows had caused him to stand up first and walk to the table to prevent himself from kicking the table again in anger.
The messenger who came to report did not realize that there was such a meaning behind Yuan Shao's actions. Thinking of what he was going to report, he did not even have the courage to look up at Yuan Shao. Instead, he knelt down on the ground after quickly entering the place and said in a trembling voice:
"Mingsir, urgent news from Xuzhou: Liu Xuande has been defeated along the Huai River front, Zhang Yide has died, Liu Xuande, Guan Yu, Chen Yuanlong and others have been captured, Qiao Yeshu has personally led the army north, landed at sea, and ordered all counties to execute Liu Shijun in three days. I'm afraid there is only one day left."
Yuan Shao's face changed drastically. "What did you say?"
The messenger murmured, "I said...Xuzhou has fallen into the hands of Qiao Yeshu, and the forces in the northern part of Xuzhou have been completely defeated."
Yuan Shao: “…”
When Yuan Shao heard this, he felt dizzy.
"Father--"
Yuan Shang had just participated in the meeting for the first day, and he never expected that he would witness such a scene.
He watched helplessly as Yuan Shao, bombarded with such news, suddenly ran out of breath, fell backwards and fainted.
It was not until a medical officer was quickly transferred here that he was able to breathe smoothly and wake up slowly.
Yuan Shao was still holding the letter about the situation in Yangzhou that had just been delivered to him. Thinking about the report from the messenger he had just heard, he wondered if he was hallucinating. For example, the letter was intentionally withheld for more than a month and was only delivered to him then. Otherwise, why would such an unexpected change occur?
Yangzhou was taken by Qiao Yan - anyway, it was not Yuan Shao's territory, so he could treat it as having nothing to do with him.
But the complete loss of northern Xuzhou was like taking away another piece of meat from his already not-so-rich rice bowl.
What should he do now?
In short, this is definitely not the time for him to sit back and wait for death.
He held Yuan Shang's hand and squeezed out a few words from between his teeth, "Order...Order Cao Mengde to return to the court to discuss matters in Yecheng!"
If we don't unite our forces to attack him, he will be finished!
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