Overlord!

Chapter 308 Sun Ce is granted the title of Duke

Summer has just entered April, and the south of the Yangtze River is misty and misty, with the fragrance of flowers and fluttering catkins, just like a fairyland in poetry and painting.

The breeze blows across the face, and the vast expanse of rice fields are like emeralds inlaid on the earth. In the distance, the green mountains are like dark green, and the clouds and mist are shrouded, making it look like a fairyland. Nearby, the rice fields are sparkling and green, and the ears of rice hang low, indicating the upcoming harvest.

The farmers were dressed in short brown cloth, holding hoes, and worked hard in the fields. They either bend over to irrigate, drain, or adjust the water temperature; or sweat profusely while weeding and fertilizing, with smiles of satisfaction and hope on their faces. Under their careful care, the rice fields thrive and become a vibrant scene.

Sometimes there are egrets flying over, dotting the green rice fields, adding a bit of poetry and agility. In the evening, the sun sets in the west, and the afterglow shines on the rice fields, creating golden ripples, which is intoxicatingly beautiful.

This scene is like a paradise, making people almost forget that we are in troubled times. The south of the Yangtze River has been at peace for several years. People say that it was because the Zhuge family knew the art of dragon hunting and feng shui that they built Jiankang City on the dragon veins of the Yangtze River to calm the turbulent underground dragon veins.

Since the rise of the capital city of Jiankang, Jiangnan has really become well-off, and has not seen war for many years.

But a piece of news from the north broke the tranquility of the entire south of the Yangtze River like a bolt from the blue. Yuan Shao proclaimed himself emperor, founded his country as Great Zhao, and established his capital in Yecheng! Wei County was designated as the capital of Zhaoyin, and hundreds of officials were appointed to worship heaven and earth in the suburbs.

As soon as the news came, even the lowest level people knew that there was going to be another war in the world!

Before Yuan Shao proclaimed himself emperor, he felt that the world was full of chaos and the Liu family was weak. The fifth generation of the Yuan family was the auxiliary of the public, and the people returned to it. Proclaiming himself emperor was an act of obedience to nature and the people, and no one dared to resist.

None of the officials dared to confront him. But it was not until he became emperor that he discovered that Yu Nei was boiling and how unpopular he was!

The people were worried about peace and disliked his act of proclaiming emperor. Especially when the foreign enemies had not yet been eliminated and powerful enemies were on the side, he rashly overstepped his authority and proclaimed himself emperor. It was really an act that caused trouble.

The people were arguing about things, a large number of officials had their ribbons sealed and dismissed, and there were countless rebels among the princes.

The Xiongnu Chanyu took the opportunity to seize control of Xihe, saying that I know that there is an emperor of the Han family, but I have not heard of an emperor of the Zhao family.

A large number of princes in Youzhou who had already surrendered drove away the officials appointed by Yuan Shao.

The generals in Guanzhong are also ready to make a move, the loyal ministers in Hanoi are watching with their swords drawn, and the prime ministers everywhere are uneasy.

And the reason for this is because the whole world is waiting to see Sun Ce's reaction!

Just wait for Sun Ce to raise his arms and everyone will react. If Sun Ce agrees with Yuan Shao's proclaimed emperor, then princes, prime ministers, aristocratic families, powerful people, etc. from all over the world will rush to write letters to show their loyalty.

If Sun Ce angrily rebukes him for his rebellious behavior and raises troops to attack him, then all the other princes in the world will inevitably obey the material opinions and rise up to fulfill their ambitions. Yuan Shao rashly proclaimed himself emperor, which not only expanded his own ambitions, but also gave countless people the opportunity to support others for selfish gains.

And Yuan Shao quickly saw the situation clearly, or in other words, with the persuasion of his advisers, he quickly found the key to the problem.

After he proclaimed himself emperor, he sent envoys to report Sun Ce and hired Sun Ce's sister for his legitimate son Yuan Shang.

Sun Ce's statement at this time is related to the current situation of the world, and everyone is happy!

But just at this moment when everyone was watching, Sun Ce just ignored it. From the time Yuan Shao proclaimed himself emperor to August, for four months, Sun Ce seemed to be deliberately trying to torture the people of the world. any representation.

In fact, those who want to achieve great things must be able to keep their composure.

He will never be like a restless young man who can't hold his breath and act carelessly.

Four months may indeed be a long time for an individual.

But for a force, it is completely insignificant. What's more, in this era of slow traffic and horses, the news may have just been spread to remote areas in four months, and it has not yet had time to ferment.

Even in later generations, four months of settling down before declaring war is not too slow, and it is even more calm now.

In the history books, the enemy invaded in the autumn, and our side sent troops to counterattack in the spring. This is a very reasonable and coherent sequence. Later generations will not think that our side is weak at all, but will only think that our side is planning to act later and preparing for war.

Therefore, amidst the anxiety from all sides, Sun Ce was very calm. He even left Jiankang with his family in August when the sweet osmanthus was fragrant, and moved to Bailuzhou on the other side of Zhaoming Palace to go fishing to hone his character.

Of course, an important reason for moving out was to avoid Yuan Shao's envoy Xun Chen. In the past few months, Xun Chen had been anxious, his heart was burning like a fire, and his hair had turned a lot whiter in just a few days.

So much so that he came to Zhaoming Palace almost every day to ask for an audience, and Sun Ce had to move out of Zhaoming Palace. Bailuzhou is located in the middle of the river, surrounded by navy guards. Without the permission of the navy, no one can board the island, so Sun Ce finally had a few days of leisure.

However, in these troubled times, Sun Ce's days of stealing half a day's leisure will definitely not last long.

After Sun Ce enjoyed it for a few days, Zhao Yun said to Sun Ce who was fishing: "Your Majesty, I would like to see you."

The title given to Sun Ce is now really related to the current situation of the world.

Still calling Sun Ce a prince now shows Jiangdong's civil and military attitude. Because Yuan Shao had promised Sun Ce before he proclaimed himself emperor. If he supported Yuan as the emperor, Yuan Shao would make Sun Ce king.

But as the situation escalated and Yuan Shao became anxious, he no longer cared about the original agreement and increased the pressure time and time again. Finally, now, without waiting for Sun Ce to express his stance, he sent an envoy in advance and named Sun Ce King of Zhao and Wu.

If Sun Ce shows the slightest approval of Yuan Shao's move to proclaim emperor, his subordinates should call Sun Ce king at this moment!

Sun Ce raised his eyebrows and said, "Is Chang Shi here? There should be something important, so let Chang Shi come over."

Soon, Zhang Zhao arrived in front of Sun Ce under the guidance of the embroidered guards, raised his hands and said: "Greetings to the lord, the lord is so elegant. Now there is a boiling fire outside, but here the king is still calm and undisturbed by material opinions. .”

Sun Ce said with a smile: "This is the advice given by Zhang Qing, the shepherd of Jingzhou. The more troubled the situation is, the more we should wait and see the situation. Let the fire cook the oil and boil the heroes from all sides. After a while, they will flow out. Grease, revealing the undertones.”

Zhang Zhao nodded and said: "Mr. Zhang is indeed talented in planning the country. He can determine the world's destiny by strategizing. The current situation is indeed as Mr. Zhang expected."

"Oh? What happened?" Sun Ce smiled.

In the current situation, as long as you don't move, anything else that happens will be beneficial to you.

Any envoy arriving in Jiankang would bring benefits to Sun Ce.

Zhang Zhao said: "The Emperor Luoyang has sent his envoys to arrive today."

Fu means again. The first time Yuan Shao proclaimed himself emperor, the emperor sent an envoy to Jiankang, gave Sun Ce an ax and ax, increased the number of households in the city, and granted Sun Ce the power to control the troops and horses of the thirteen states in the world to fight against Yuan Shao.

In fact, Sun Ce's current official position is Grand Sima and Shizhong, supervising the Chinese and foreign armies, recording ministerial affairs, and assisting in government affairs. Thirty thousand households in the city!

If he were in the imperial court now, he would be the most powerful official in command of the world's troops.

At this point, it's almost impossible to end well.

After all, the most dangerous position in the world is that of the Grand Marshal of the World. This position is a thorn in the emperor's side and a thorn in the flesh. Either you will depose the emperor like Huo Guang, or the emperor will kill your whole family like Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty. Therefore, Sun Ce has never recognized this position.

That is to say, he did not express his support for Yuan Shao, nor did he express his support for the Han Dynasty.

This naturally made the Han Dynasty anxious. After all, Yuan Shao's army had already gathered in Henan and Hanoi!

Yuan Shao still needed allied forces to implement the plan he had planned when he attacked Dong Zhuo. Today, he himself can pull out hundreds of thousands of troops to directly threaten the corner of Luoyang from Mengjin in Hanoi and Jujube in Henan.

The emperor could not burn Luoyang again and flee to Chang'an, so Cao Cao urgently pulled out more than 30,000 troops. These troops were all government soldiers who worked in the farming season and served as soldiers in the war.

They even have to prepare their own weapons and bring their own personal tools such as knives, bows and arrows, chisels, sharpening stones, felt hats, and felt clothing. You also need to bring nine dou of wheat rice and two dou of rice.

This is only what individuals need to prepare. There are five of them in a team, and they also need to prepare the equipment needed by the team, such as chisels, hammers, baskets, axes, tongs, black cloth curtains, cloth troughs, military tents, etc.

As soon as the army marched, the people were under great pressure. The people were in dire straits, overwhelmed, and countless people fled.

Especially in July, many soldiers ignored the general's orders and returned home on their own to catch the autumn harvest.

These soldiers also knew very well that the Han Dynasty was on the verge of collapse, so their morale was low. Their priority was to ensure that their families had enough food to survive this disaster year.

Otherwise, even if they win the war, the Han Dynasty will not have the wealth to provide disaster relief, and their wives and daughters will die in the famine.

Even if Cao Cao was so ruthless and killed hundreds of people, he could not deter the soldiers from fleeing.

The people have been working hard in the fields and in the army for a long time, and the exile cannot be stopped. In Yingchuan, Yuzhou, and Nanyang, Jingzhou, a large number of refugees fleeing Sili are received every month.

Some of these refugees were not farmers, but they knew clearly that war was about to break out in Henan, so they fled the war in advance and took refuge in the south.

In this case, if the angel comes again, the emperor must have exploded with gold coins again.

Sun Ce then turned to look at Zhang Zhao and asked, "Why did the angel come here this time?"

Zhang Zhao said: "The emperor sent an envoy to confer the title of Duke of Song, and designated the four places of Chen, Liang, Pei, and Lu as princes and enfeoffed cities. He added the prince Jiuxi and hoped that the prince would send troops to attack Yuan Shao."

Sun Ce turned to look at the violently shaking fishing rod and said with a smile, "Did Chang Shi say I caught a big fish?"

Zhang Zhao replied seriously: "This is a turbulent current. The bigger the wind and waves, the more expensive the fish. Song Gong, it is obvious that you have gained a lot."

Zhang Zhao changed his title, and Sun Ce understood his attitude instantly.

Time to get started!

Sun Ce also sighed and said: "The evaluation of Yuan Shao by the world's heroes is so accurate. He is indeed a man who is generous on the outside and jealous on the inside. He pursues great things but cherishes his own life! Compared with Cao Cao, he is very different!"

If he had Cao Cao's courage and made Sun Ce the King of Song, Sun Ce might have to consider whether to temporarily recognize Yuan Shao to stabilize his territory.

But at the moment, both the Han and Zhao families are very determined.

Yuan Shao named Sun Ce King of Wu, which implied that Sun Ce should guard the southeast and should not overstep Wu's hegemony. In his plan, Sun Ce should separate himself from one side and not get involved in the Central Plains.

The emperor of the Han Dynasty also had a very strong attitude. He named Sun Ce the King of Song Dynasty in order to ask Sun Ce not to give up the Central Plains and fight Yuan Shao to the end.

The Song Dynasty has become a hegemon since the Spring and Autumn Period. In the Central Plains, the capital of the country is Shangqiu.

At present, the imperial court granted Sun Ce the title of Duke of Song, and even included the four kingdoms of Chen, Liang, Pei, and Lu into Sun Ce's fiefdoms.

This is now the core place in front of Sun Ce's territory!

If the Han Dynasty makes Sun Ce king again, the territory will continue to expand outward to include thirteen counties, which will include Cai, Ru, Zheng, Xu, Cao, Wei and other places, including the entire Yuzhou and most of Yanzhou .

This is exactly the boundary of Sun Ce's current territory. Once it is assigned to Sun Ce's fiefdom, how could Sun Ce give up these fiefdoms?

Therefore, the imperial court made Sun Ce the Duke of Song. Although it paid a huge price, it really forced Sun Ce to stand on the front line and confront Yuan Shao to the end.

Zhang Zhao also said: "Yuan Shaoxian was famous in the world for his majesty and vision. However, he was fond of schemes but not decisive, had talents but could not use them, heard good things but could not accept them, abolished his direct descendants and established concubines, sacrificed rituals and worshiped love, and the country fell. , it’s not unfortunate. In the past, Xiang Yu betrayed Fan Zeng’s plan and lost his royal status; Shao’s killing of Tian Feng was even worse than Yu Yuan!”

Sun Ce fought fiercely with the fish that bit the hook for a long time, and finally swung it hard and fished the big fish out of the water. He said with a smile: "It is indeed a big river fish, weighing at least seven or eight kilograms. Chang Shi left Let’s drink fish soup together!”

Sun Ce had the title of Duke of Song and had eaten the biggest fish, so naturally he wanted to give his subordinates a share of the pie.

With Sun Ce announcing his intention to resign as Duke of Song, the world finally had a clear direction and understood Sun Ce's attitude!

After all, after resigning hard, it’s time to resign three times!

Sure enough, when the imperial court heard that Sun Ce had finally responded, they were immediately overjoyed and sent three more princes to Jiangdong one after another to hold the festival. They repeatedly named Sun Ce the Duke of Song. Finally, after three times, Sun Ce expressed that he was too sentimental and accepted the position of Duke of Song.

Prior to this, a large number of civil and military officials such as Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong, Zhou Yu, and Lu Meng also announced their resignation from the Han Dynasty and became vassals of the Song Dynasty.

Sun Ce took Zhang Zhao as prime minister and established the Song Dynasty.

Regarding Yuan Shao, Sun Ce naturally refused his betrothal gift and reprimanded him for disregarding the favor of the court, creating evil and hypocrisy, and being arrogant in the times. He acted unethically, built the palace, appointed ministers, worshiped the people in the suburbs, harmed the people and destroyed things, and caused serious disasters.

He also established his youngest son Yuan Shang as the Eastern Palace, hired a noble daughter, abolished his direct descendants and established concubines, and sacrificed gifts and worshiped love. This is the way to bring about disaster!

So Jiangdong expelled all Yuan's envoys in Jiangdong, and his attitude was obviously beyond improvement.

(End of this chapter)