Sun Ce set off for Liyang to meet up with Wu Jing.
Along the way, people kept coming to join Sun Ce.
Sun Yi asked, "Why did everyone disperse when we returned to Shouchun, but now that we're going to fight a battle where we don't know if we'll live or die, so many people have come to follow us?"
Sun Quan looked at the ever-growing army, lost in thought.
Only Zhang Zhao saw the nail on the head: "Yuan Gonglu is at his last gasp. Bo Fu, do you understand the shift in public sentiment?"
He learned his lesson from the Battle of Lujiang. He treated the people along the way with benevolence, but was very strict with his troops.
He was magnanimous and open-minded towards those who came to him, and he knew how to recognize and appoint capable people.
By the time Sun Ce arrived at Wu Jing's camp, his forces had grown to five or six thousand men.
Sun Ce's mother and sister have been secretly moved from Qu'a to Liyang under the protection of Wu Jing's secret agents.
Once Sun Ce and Wu Jing's Sun Ben joined forces, coupled with Zhou Yu's troops guarding Danyang nearby, their advance across the river at Qu'a was unstoppable, and no one dared to confront them. As expected, Liu Yao was defeated and fled in disgrace.
Sun Ce occupied the Qu'a Dantu area.
His power grew, and he had his two brothers, Sun Quan and Sun Yi, as well as strategists such as Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong, and warriors such as Lü Meng, Lü Fan, Jiang Qin, Zhou Tai, Ling Tong, and Ling Cao who were loyal to him.
The news that Qiao Jingjing refused the lucrative offers from Yuan Shu and Cao Cao came around that time.
By this time, Sun Ce had achieved some success.
He certainly remembered the humiliation of leaving Lujiang, when he had won a battle but had to leave with his tail between his legs. He also remembered the lively and spirited woman.
That day, the woman sat beside him and drew many vivid little pictures for him, depicting how he picked mulberry leaves, raised silkworms, raised chickens and ducks, and managed the fishpond.
Undeniably, he did miss her during the time he was away from Lujiang.
The people around him, his own brothers, needless to say, followed him through thick and thin without complaint. His childhood friend Zhou Yu even led his soldiers to charge into battle alongside him, sometimes even at the forefront, never taking any credit for their service.
His advisors, such as Zhang Zhao, were genuinely considerate and thoughtful towards him, except for Zhang Zhao's unusual behavior regarding Qiao Jingjing.
This includes Zhu Zhi and others who are far away in Wu County.
Zhu Zhi was an old subordinate of Sun Ce's father, and was currently residing in Wu Commandery. Zhu Zhi had urged Sun Ce to leave Yuan Shu, but Yuan Shu's virtuous governance was not effective.
Zhu Zhi believed that Yuan Shu was arrogant, extravagant, and dissolute, possessing only a superficial appearance. He had gained too much prestige simply because of his family's long history of holding high office for four generations, but Yuan Shu himself did not have sufficient ability, foresight, or high moral character.
Therefore, Yuan Shu was destined to achieve nothing great.
Zhu Zhi said that Yuan Shu was a man who broke his promises, and that such a person was not worth following for long.
Sun Ce should occupy his own territory and take the opportunity to conquer Jiangdong to become self-reliant.
Furthermore, Sun Ce's uncle and cousin Sun Ben were all in the Jiangdong area, and they were all his own people. Taking advantage of this opportunity to defeat Liu Yao, Sun Ce occupied this area of Jiangdong.
Zhu Zhi's insights are extremely insightful.
Sun Ce is now more mature than before; he is no longer just a warrior.
After carefully considering Zhu Zhi's opinion, Sun Ce shared Zhu Zhi's insights with his brothers and subordinates.
Then, great minds think alike, and everyone is willing to work towards this goal.
They were tired of living like stray dogs, wagging their tails and begging for mercy from Yuan Shu.
When news of Sun Ce driving away Liu Yao reached Shouchun, Yuan Shu was greatly shocked.
I didn't expect this kid to be so fierce.
Yuan Shu then quickly submitted a memorial to Emperor Xian of Han, requesting that Sun Ce be appointed General Who Annihilates Bandits and that he be given higher official rank and titles.
On the other hand, Yuan Shu could never forget Zhou Yu's important role in this. With just one imperial edict, he removed Zhou Yu's father, Zhou Shang, from the position of governor of Danyang, recalled Zhou Shang and Zhou Yu back to Shouchun, and sent his own younger brother, Yuan Yin, to Danyang as governor.
Sun Ce immediately understood Yuan Shu's actions.
Isn't this to prevent him from expanding his influence in Jiangdong?
Good, let's take it one step at a time.
Now that he has the land of Qu'a in his hands, he should first consolidate his territory and avoid repeating the mistakes of Lujiang. He should no longer be used as a tool for Yuan Shu to conquer cities and territories, or to fight for Yuan Shu, thus incurring his constant suspicion.
"Brother, you're right!"
"We never want to live like that again!"
“Yuan Shu, he suspects you and fears you, yet he orders around your elder brother. You help him build territory, but you don’t provide him with any manpower.”
Sun Yi still felt aggrieved for his elder brother when he talked about these things.
A man walking between heaven and earth, his elder brother has truly done enough. He is always responsive to Yuan Shu's requests. If Yuan Shu tells his elder brother to go east, he goes east. If Yuan Shu tells him to attack Lujiang, he attacks Lujiang. If Yuan Shu tells him to withdraw from Lujiang, he actually withdraws from Lujiang.
But even with such a powerful elder brother, Yuan Shu still didn't trust him.
"Third brother, don't be impatient," Sun Quan said.
Some things require careful consideration.
Sun Ce nodded.
"I have something to entrust to you and my third brother."
Sun Ce told his two younger brothers about how Cao Cao and Yuan Shu were both offering large sums of money to hire Qiao Jingjing.
When Sun Yi first learned of this, he found it hard to believe.
"Brother, is that the woman you're talking about? The one who didn't want to have your child, she prefers farm work..."
Sun Yi was stopped by a look from Sun Zhongmou as he finished speaking.
Sun Quan said, "Brother, rest assured, my third brother and I will go to Lujiang City right away. We will keep it a secret and will definitely convey your message."
Sun Quan accepted the task, but his heart was pounding as he left.
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