Ji Han Liu Zhang

Wujun.

"One is a duke, the other is a king. Cao Sikong is really generous in his actions."

Although they were clearly words of praise, the tone was unfriendly, and even contained an element of anger. One could sense that the person who spoke was unhappy about Cao Cao's act of pretending to be the emperor and making Liu Zhang the king and Yuan Shao the duke.

However, it is no wonder that Sun Ce was angry for saying this. After all, in the second year of Jian'an, Yuan Shu usurped the throne and proclaimed himself emperor. In order to win him over, Cao Cao ordered the counselor Wang Yu to appoint him as the Cavalry Commandant and inherit his father's title of Marquis of Wucheng. At that time, he had conquered most of the counties and prefectures in Jiangdong and had tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. However, Cao Cao clearly needed his help, but was reluctant to give him even the position of general.

So Sun Ce secretly sent someone to reveal his unhappiness to the Counselor Wang Ju. After weighing the pros and cons, Counselor Wang Ju appointed him as the General Ming Han on behalf of the emperor, and only then did he get the position of general.

In the third year of Jian'an, in order to seek promotion in official rank, Sun Ce contributed local products to Xudu, twice as much as the tribute in the first year of Jian'an, and was rewarded with the titles of General Suppressing Rebellion and Marquis of Wu.

Logically speaking, Sun Ce should have been satisfied with being promoted to general and granted a title of nobility at such a young age. However, compared with Liu Zhang and Yuan Shao, the rewards he received from Xu Du were indeed too meager.

A feeling of shame of being despised lingered in Sun Ce's heart, causing him to speak angrily. He was particularly unhappy with Cao Cao, who was in charge of state affairs and controlled the emperor.

Zhou Yu, who was originally stationed in Baqiu, returned to Wujun from Baqiu after hearing that Sun Ce was assassinated by Xu Gong's retainers, and was currently sitting at the table.

After hearing Sun Ce's complaints, Zhou Yu tried to comfort him, saying, "Liu Zhang controls Yong, Liang, Bashu, and Yuan Shao controls Ji, You, Qing, and Bing. Not only are they strong in military power, but they are also in places that are easy to defend but difficult to attack. They are both the strongest vassal states in the world."

"Cao Cao lived in the Central Plains, in the Yan and Yu regions, which were well connected and had no dangerous or important passes. He was afraid of Yuan Shao and Liu Zhang's invasion, so he gave out rewards lavishly to show his goodwill towards Yuan and Liu."

Sun Ce snorted, "Yuan Shao and Liu Zhang will invade the Central Plains. I can also invade the Central Plains, but Cao Cao has not shown any favor to me. He only regards me as a general who suppresses rebellion. The title is really low. With my power today, Cao Mengde should at least grant me the title of Four Expeditions and Four Towns."

Zhou Yu smiled calmly. He understood the reason for Sun Ce's bad tone. He then comforted Sun Ce, saying, "Compared to false reputation, real benefits are far less important. Bofu, you control the land of Jiangdong and have tens of thousands of soldiers. You are ready to conquer the south. Why do you need to seek false reputation?"

"Moreover, there are many people in the world who are burdened by false reputation. If the reputation is too loud, every word and action will be noticed by the world, and they will inevitably be involved in many things. For example, Cao Cao repeatedly forced Liu Zhang to grant the title of king, which made Yuan Shao angry and he sent troops to Hedong this year."

“So rather than seeking false fame and suffering real trouble, it is better to be in a humble position, not to be noticed by the world, so that it will be much easier to do things and there will be fewer obstacles.”

"Gongjin's words are consistent with my thoughts." Sun Ce laughed out loud. Zhou Yu's words made him feel less depressed.

"But I have no intention of harming the tiger, but the tiger is harmful to people's hearts!" Sun Ce then sighed and said, "Cao Cao stationed Yan Xiang in Shouchun and Chen Deng in Guangling. I think he is guarding against me and plotting against Jiangdong."

"As for Yan Xiang and Chen Deng, Yan Xiang lacks in military strategy but has more literary talent, so he is unlikely to cause any harm. However, Chen Deng is both civil and military, and Guangling is close to Jiangdong. If we don't take him down soon, he will be a big disaster."

"Chen Deng has both literary and military talents, and is a great threat to Jiangdong." Zhou Yu nodded and said, "However, Guangling recently sent a letter saying that Chen Deng is suffering from a serious illness, chest tightness, red face, and even difficulty eating. His life hangs by a thread, and I'm afraid he won't be around for long."

"What a pity." Sun Ce did not look happy when he heard this, but showed a look of regret. If it was really as Zhou Yu said, he and Chen Deng would not have the chance to fight, which disappointed him who wanted to compete with Chen Deng. "In your opinion, Gongjin, should we advance north to Qingxu, or west to Jingxiang?"

With Yan Xiang being mediocre and Chen Deng seriously ill, Sun Ce began to think about advancing northward. He wanted to annex Huainan, Qingxu and other places in one fell swoop, and make great plans to advance into the Central Plains.

"In my humble opinion, today Yan Xiang of Shouchun is talented and Chen Deng of Guangling is on the verge of death, so they will not pose any threat. As for the threat to the north, we should advance westwards to Jingxiang and plan to conquer the Chu territory." Zhou Yu gave his opinion.

"Why?" Sun Ce leaned forward and asked. In his heart, Central Plains was more important than Jingxiang. After all, if one wanted to rule the world, Central Plains was indispensable, and Jingxiang was a remote place, not an important place.

Zhou Yu smiled and said, "Qingxu is a place with accessible terrain, where elite cavalry can gallop and fine horses can run fast. Now we are short of horses in Jiangdong, especially good horses. If we go to fight for Qingxu, we will take advantage of our weakness and meet the enemy's strength."

"We have many ships in Jiangdong and a strong navy. Jingchu is located upstream and is intimidating us. Moreover, Liu Biao and Huang Zu have a great grudge against us. There are many inferences. We should attack Chu first."

"If we can take over Jingchu and control the entire Yangtze River, our situation will be even more powerful, and we can be compared with Yuan Shao and Liu Zhang. Cao Mengde will not dare to look down on our Jiangdong heroes."

"Hmm." Sun Ce nodded, looking thoughtful.

……

"Zi Yu, I heard that you are planning to leave Jiangdong and travel to Jingxiang." Yan Junren was still outside the house, but his voice had already been uttered and reached Zhuge Jin's ears.

"Yes." Zhuge Jin replied, expressing his affirmative attitude: "I have already traveled most of Wuzhong. The rest is not worth seeing. I should turn to other places."

"Besides, my brother Zhuge Liang now lives near Xiangyang. I haven't seen him for a long time. He has sent me letters to invite me many times before. I will accept the invitation and go."

"So that's how it is." Yan Jun nodded. He originally wanted to persuade Zhuge Jin to stay in Wuzhong, because he had a close relationship with Zhuge Jin and he hoped to be able to spend time with him day and night and discuss scriptures with him.

But Zhuge Jin was meeting with his younger brother Zhuge Liang under the pretext of meeting him. Out of brotherly love, Yan Jun could not say anything more, so as not to hurt the bond between the two families.

"Zi Yu is going to Jingchu, but he is interested in serving under Liu Jingzhou." Yan Jun asked tentatively, concerned about Zhuge Jin's future.

Zhuge Jin shook his head and said, "I am going to Jingzhou only to meet Kong Ming, but I have no intention of becoming an official... Well, maybe I will stay in Jingzhou for a few months, and then I will travel to Bashu and Guanzhong. I should go and see the beautiful mountains and rivers."

"Guanzhong?" Yan Jun raised his eyebrows, as if he had noticed something: "Is Ziyu interested in serving under the King of Qin?"

"It's hard to say." Zhuge Jin's tone was vague, neither confirming nor denying: "Just travel around more, as for the matter of officialdom, it depends on my heart." (End of this chapter)