After the matter was over, Sun Ce went to Yuan Shu to apologize and beg for forgiveness.
“I have trespassed into the general’s camp. I humbly request the general to punish me.”
Yuan Shu looked at this brave young man, who was eight feet tall and had eyes like lightning.
How should punishment be imposed?
He killed everyone with a single blow! If he was afraid of being punished, why would he kill someone on his turf?
Yuan Shu said, "Soldiers who mutinied should be punished; what is there to plead guilty about? Bo Fu is a capable commander and innocent. If only I had a son like Bo Fu..."
Yuan Shu suggested that they adopt Sun Ce as their godson.
Back then, when Dong Zhuo had Lü Bu as his adopted son, he was incredibly powerful.
Sun Ce refused.
He spoke of his maternal uncle, Wu Jing, the prefect of Guangling, and his cousin, Sun Ben, the governor of Yuzhou.
Wu Jing and Sun Ben had served Sun Jian in the campaign against Dong Zhuo and were recommended by Yuan Shu. After Sun Jian died in battle, Wu Jing and Sun Ben actually became subordinate to Yuan Shu.
When Yuan Shu dominated Huainan and occupied Shouchun, because Shouchun was the capital of Yangzhou, Yuan Shu drove away Liu Yao, who was then serving as the governor of Yangzhou.
Liu Yao was a distant relative of the Han Dynasty imperial family. In his youth, he was recruited by the Ministry of Works as an aide and later appointed as an Imperial Censor, but he did not take up any of these posts and instead spent his time hiding in the Huaipu area to avoid the chaos of war. In 194, shortly after being appointed by the court as the Governor of Yangzhou, he was driven out by Yuan Shu.
Liu Yao was on good terms with Wu Jing and Sun Ben at the time, and when Liu Yao was in trouble, Wu Jing and Sun Ben offered their help.
After Wu Jing and Sun Ben helped Liu Yao cross the Yangtze River to the south, they established an administrative center in Qu'a County, where Liu Yao established himself.
Liu Yao was the first to see that Yuan Shu harbored rebellious ambitions and plotted to usurp the throne, and the two were irreconcilable enemies.
Furthermore, Sun Ce had been besieging Lujiang for a long time and was determined to break through the city and bring down Lu Kang.
Lujiang and Qu'a are relatively close to each other. Sun Ce was also a man of Yuan Shu. Sun Ce was related to Wu Jing and Sun Ben. When Sun Jian died in battle, it was Sun Ben who led Sun Jian's troops to escort the coffin back to Wu County for burial. In addition, Wu Jing and Sun Ben were both appointed by Yuan Shu.
After much deliberation, Liu Yao concluded that Wu Jing, Sun Ben, and Sun Ce were unreliable.
Liu Yao was very worried about Wu Jing and Sun Ben, fearing that they would join forces with Sun Ce to annex his territory.
He had been driven out by Yuan Shu once, and he never wanted to experience that kind of life again, like a stray dog waiting for someone to rescue it.
Liu Yao decided to strike first and resort to force.
Before Wu Jing and Sun Ben could react, Liu Yao dispatched Zhang Ying, Fan Neng, and others to garrison Hengjiang and confront Wu Jing and Sun Ben.
Wu Jing and Sun Ben led their troops to attack Zhang Ying, but Zhang Ying turned out to be a ruthless man. Wu Jing and Sun Ben fought for almost a year but failed to conquer him.
Sun Ce said, "My uncle and cousin both wrote to me for help. The terrain around Hengjiang is unique, and the war is fierce. Liu Yao has become ruthless; he only cares about territory and has no regard for old friendships. My mother and sister are currently in Qu'a, which is under Liu Yao's control. I fear for my mother's life whenever I think of her."
"General, you know that my family used to have many people in the Jiangdong area. I want to lead troops there now to help my uncle and cousin defeat Fan Neng and Zhang Ying in Hengjiang. After the defeat is successful, I can recruit some more soldiers locally, at least 30,000. At that time, I will lead these men to help you pacify the world and achieve your great cause."
First, talk about family ties; then, talk about the situation; and finally, express your sincerity.
Sun Ce awaited Yuan Shu's reply.
Yuan Shu had previously gone back on his word to Sun Ce, promising him the position of Prefect of Lujiang. However, after he actually fought a bloody battle to capture Lujiang, he drove Sun Ce out of Lujiang and appointed Liu Xun as the Prefect of Lujiang.
Yuan Shu knew that Sun Ce was dissatisfied with him, but he still took advantage of the fact that Sun Ce was just a young upstart with no power and dared not show his strength.
In reality, Yuan Shu was already quite wary.
Both of them had their own worries.
Furthermore, Yuan Shu's assessment of the situation at the time indicated that Liu Yao occupied the Qu'a area, where the terrain was extremely complex. In addition, Wang Lang occupied Kuaiji, and even if Sun Ce went there and joined forces with his uncle Wu Jing and cousin Sun Ben, they might not succeed.
These people are just full of bravado.
At this moment, Yuan Shu was only thinking that he had agreed to Sun Ce's request to go to war.
He neither provided him with money nor manpower; Sun Ce was self-sufficient in everything else. He merely issued an order, and Sun Ce suffered no loss.
If Sun Ce wins, he will have manpower that can be used by him.
Therefore, Yuan Shu really went through the motions, petitioning the court to appoint Sun Ce as the Colonel of the Vanguard and acting General Who Annihilates Bandits.
When the imperial court received this petition, it made a show of providing Sun Ce with over a thousand soldiers and some superficial military supplies, while he only had a few dozen actual warhorses.
Only a few hundred people were willing to follow Sun Ce on his expedition.
Sun Yi was happiest when it came to going on another expedition.
"Finally, I can leave this godforsaken place! Once I get out here this time, I'll make a name for myself and drive away Zhang Ying, Fan Neng, and Liu Yao... Second brother, look, isn't that the Yuan family's maid?"
Sun Yi shouted to Sun Quan to look quickly.
In that corner, hidden by the branches, a little girl was holding a large bundle in her arms, waving vigorously.
She was very enthusiastic in recruiting.
Lu Meng clearly saw it, but ignored it.
Jiang Qin and Zhou Tai ignored it.
Sun Yi didn't believe it. He walked over and sternly asked, "What are you doing, sneaking around like that?"
The little girl blushed when she saw the imposing Third Young Master Sun.
The maidservant handed the heavy bundle in her arms to Sun Yi, saying, "Knowing that the generals are embarking on a long journey and that Miss Eleven cannot personally see them off, she specially instructed me to send some travel expenses to the generals."
After saying that, the little girl ran away with a blush on her face.
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