Choose Liu Bei at the start, I am the only one who knows the plot of the Three Kingdoms.

Chapter 601: Xie Family's Assistance

Although they were also two-handed weapons, his double whips had become a burden at this time. Zhang Ren's attacks were all very fatal. However, these attacks were all feints, and his real target was actually his wrist.

When Huang Gai heard the order to retreat, he breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to evacuate.

Sun Jian returned to the camp and looked at Zhou Yu.

"Gongjin, please tell me your plan. I hope your plan will not disappoint me."

"My lord, in the battle just now, our army lost more than 10,000 people, while Liu Bei only lost more than 5,000 people. The combat effectiveness of our two sides is completely not on the same level. Why should we continue to fight with Liu Bei? Besides, we now have Jiaozhou. All the available people in Yangzhou are in our hands. There is no need to fight to the death to take back Yangzhou. Even if we fight to the death, we may not be his opponent."

"So Gongjin, do you still want Yangzhou?"

When Sun Jian said this, his face had changed. He did not expect that after he withdrew his troops, Zhou Yu would still say the same thing to him.

"My lord, at present, Kuaiji County in Yangzhou is in our hands. It is like a nail stuck in Yangzhou. In my opinion, for now, this is enough. When we make a comeback, we can use this nail to take back the whole Yangzhou. Besides, aren't the four major families in Yangzhou still under our control?"

When Sun Jian heard this, his expression improved a little. He looked at Zhou Yu for a long time before nodding.

Although Sun Jian planned to give up, for the sake of safety, he still sent an additional 20,000 people to Kuaiji County via a small road.

Zhang Liao and his men rested in Danyang County for two full days before sending troops to Kuaiji County.

However, when they arrived in Kuaiji County, they found that Sun Quan had gathered nearly 20,000 people in the city from somewhere.

Among these 20,000 people, many were soldiers who were previously dispersed in Yangzhou.

Zhang Liao immediately sent people to surround the four city gates to prevent the number of people in Sun Quan's hands from increasing again.

Sun Quan looked at the people outside the city and felt much calmer than before.

Because this time, standing beside him was not only the famous general Lu Xun, but also several thousand special soldiers.

With these people, Sun Quan was sure that he could hold Kuaiji County for at least five days.

Zhang Liao launched a tentative attack on the city, but after several attempts, he failed to take it and suffered heavy losses. Even the Taishan Tiger Bandits lost more than a thousand people, and the people of the Anluo Empire lost nearly ten thousand people.

Surena looked at the 100,000 people he brought with him, who have now become only a few thousand people and have not yet achieved any results. For a moment, he felt a little dissatisfied.

Although the people he brought this time were all from the Roman Empire and he had no intention of letting many of them go back, when the day came when they all died, Surena still felt a little bit reluctant.

"General, we can't keep fighting like this. If we continue like this, I will have no choice but to withdraw from the battle here."

Zhang Liao looked at Surena who was walking towards him, and he did not seem dissatisfied with the threat in his words.

A hundred thousand soldiers have been reduced to a few thousand people today. Even I would not be able to accept it.

In desperation, Zhang Liao had to stop the siege plan and pass the news to Gu Rubing.

Looking at the battle report in his hand, Gu Rubing frowned slightly.

He launched a blitzkrieg, and the effect was good at the beginning. Even if Sun Quan was not captured, it was not a big deal. But how did Sun Quan manage to gather nearly 20,000 people in just two days?
The battle on Sun Jian's side has already come to this point. Even if there are soldiers who have been defeated, they should stay away from the battlefield and not go back.

Just then, a soldier came to Gu Rubing.

"My Lord, there is someone outside who wants to see you. They say it's the Xie family in Yangzhou."

"Xie family?"

Gu Rubing was stunned at first, but he quickly reacted.

This is a local aristocratic family in Yangzhou.

"Bring it in."

"Yes!"

Not long after, a handsome man holding a folding fan walked in, led by soldiers.

"I, Xie Feng, greet King Lie."

"Thank you, Feng?"

Gu Rubing remembered that Xie Feng was quite famous in Yangzhou and was known as one of the four talented people.

"So it's Hong Dao, I wonder what you're here for this time?"

Hearing this, Xie Feng looked at Gu Rubing.

"King Lie, do you know me?"

"Haha, how could I not know Hongdao's literary talent?"

Xie Feng was very pleased with Gu Rubing's words, and even his nervousness was relieved a little.

"King Lie, you are too polite. I came here this time on the orders of my family to help King Lie solve his problems."

"Oh? What do you mean?"

Xie Feng walked directly in front of Gu Rubing and looked around.

Gu Rubing certainly understood what Xie Feng meant, and waved his hand to let the soldiers around him leave.

"King Lie, aren't you curious about how Sun Quan managed to have more than 10,000 people?"

Gu Rubing didn't say anything, but continued to look at Xie Feng.

"Aren't they all soldiers who were dispersed? When two armies are fighting, it is very normal for troops to be dispersed."

In response to Gu Rubing's words, Xie Feng looked at him, then smiled slightly and said nothing more.

At this time Zhuge Liang pushed the door open and walked in.

When he saw Zhuge Liang coming, Gu Rubing walked over immediately.

"Prime Minister, you are here."

"My Lord, I heard that someone from the Xie family of Yangzhou has arrived, so I came over to take a look."

"So it's Prime Minister Zhuge. I've heard of your great name for a long time. It's a great honor for me to meet you today!"

"Thank you for being so polite, Master. I wonder if you are here to see our Lord regarding matters concerning Yangzhou?"

"Yes, but it seems that King Lie doesn't want me to help with anything."

Hearing this, Gu Rubing smiled awkwardly.

Zhuge Liang didn't know what was going on, but it was obvious that Gu Rubing had done something that made the person from the Xie family in front of him not very happy.

"Excuse me, Mr. Xie, I wonder why you came to us this time?"

Xie Feng looked at Zhuge Liang and found that when Zhuge Liang was talking to him, he sometimes even ignored Liu Bei. This was enough to show how high Zhuge Liang's position was in Gu Rubing's heart.

"Before, King Lie launched a surprise attack on Yangzhou. In less than seven days, he had reduced Yangzhou to only one county. But Sun Quan suddenly had more than 10,000 people, and these people were soldiers who were scattered all over Yangzhou. You should all know this, right?" Zhuge Liang nodded. He was a little confused at first, but after seeing Xie Feng coming, he had some clarity.

"In fact, these are indeed the soldiers who were dispersed, but Sun Jian's situation is not good. After being dispersed, these soldiers did not intend to go back, but some people forced them to go back, and these people are the other three major families in Yangzhou."

"The other three families? You still have four major families in Yangzhou, namely the Kong family, the Wei family, the Yu family, and then your Xie family. Do you mean that the other three families are on Sun Jian's side?"

"Of course you can say that. Originally, our four major families were on the side of Sun Zhoumu, but now the situation has changed. Of course, we have to reconsider our position."

Gu Rubing has never underestimated the aristocratic families in Jiangdong, among which many great figures have emerged.

Among them are famous talents like Lu Xun and Zhang Zhao. He has always been thinking about sorting out these aristocratic families after taking over Yangzhou, but he did not expect that these guys have caused him a lot of trouble now.

"Why did your Xie family choose me?"

Gu Rubing's eyes were very sharp at this time, staring at Xie Feng intently.

"King Lie, the reason is actually very simple. Our Xie family's main business is in Danyang County and Lujiang County, but now these two counties are in your hands. If we don't surrender to you, our business will not be able to continue."

Gu Rubing believed this point. For these aristocratic families, everything is based on profit. They only care about profit.

Just as Gu Rubing was about to accept Xie Feng, Zhuge Liang suddenly asked, "What help can you provide us?"

Upon hearing this, Gu Rubing tactfully shut his mouth.

"Prime Minister Zhuge, what do you mean?"

"Is my meaning clear enough? Your Xie family came here this time just to join us, and you also want us to help you get rid of the other three families. But I know that when you followed Sun Jian, you gave him whatever he wanted, so I want to know what your Xie family can give us."

Xie Feng didn't expect Zhuge Liang to be so direct, but he soon ran into trouble.

Zhuge Liang was right. He did come to seek refuge. However, when Sun Jian was in Yangzhou, he had already plundered all the money and food from these noble families. They had nothing left. They couldn't give all their business to Liu Bei, right? So he came here mainly to seek refuge with intelligence.

"Our Xie family can provide King Lie with intelligence about the entire Yangzhou."

"we do not need."

Zhuge Liang simply shook his head.

What kind of intelligence could the captain of the mobile nu team not obtain? Intelligence was a good thing for others, but for them, it was just chicken ribs.

Seeing Zhuge Liang speak so confidently, Xie Feng was suddenly at a loss.

"I wonder what Prime Minister Zhuge wants?"

"I want half of your Xie family's annual income from now on."

"Half of the annual income? Prime Minister Zhuge, why don't you go and rob? I thought I was negotiating with the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty, but I didn't expect to meet my peers here, all of whom are the kind of people who kill without bloodshed."

Xie Feng stood up, turned around and prepared to leave.

"Mr. Xie, you'd better think carefully about whether you want to cooperate with us. If you refuse, you will be our enemy, and your Xie family's business in Danyang County and Lujiang County will be lost. You told us that we want half of your income to give you face. Otherwise, we can take it all."

Xie Feng had never expected that Zhuge Liang, who was known for his talent and virtue, could be so sinister.

"This request is really too big and is completely beyond my control, so I have to go back and discuss it with the clan leader. Please give us something."

After saying that, Xie Feng turned around and walked outside without waiting for Gu Rubing to speak.

"Two days. In two days, we will take action to eliminate the power of your Xie family in the two counties."

Hearing Zhuge Liang's voice, Xie Feng left even faster.

"Prime Minister, what do you want to do with the Xie family's income?"

Gu Rubing didn't understand Zhuge Liang's actions at all.

"My lord, the aristocratic families are deeply rooted in Yangzhou. They can support whoever they want. Part of the reason for this is that the princes have not damaged their foundation, allowing them to choose at any time. What we have to do is to damage their roots so that they have no choice but to follow us."

"That's pretty ruthless! But do we really want to help the Xie family and deal with the other three major families?"

“Of course, these four major families finally had an internal conflict, so naturally we have to crush them completely. However, we can’t give all the meat to the Xie family. Only what we control in our own hands is the safest.”

After Xie Feng returned to the Xie family and told them Gu Rubing's request, the whole Xie family was in an uproar.

Half of their annual income is undoubtedly a waste of their money.

"Okay, everyone, be quiet."

An old man with a white beard sat in the main seat, looking at the noisy crowd.

"Isn't it just half of the annual income? We gave it to him, but Liu Bei actually wants so much. It seems that I must go and see it myself."

"Master, if you go there in person and something unexpected happens..."

"Humph, I just don't believe that Liu Bei would dare to do anything to me, Xie Zhen, in front of so many people."

When the people from the Xie family heard this, they didn't know what to say.

Since Zhang Liao had no way to follow Gu Rubing's instructions, he could only continue with his previous plan.

After two days of siege, Zhang Liao suffered considerable losses again.

In desperation, Zhang Liao had to call off the siege and walked outside the city wall with only five hundred iron pagodas.

"Does Sun Quan dare to come out and fight?"

Sun Quan stood on the city wall, looked at Zhang Liao, sneered, and completely ignored what Zhang Liao said.

Lu Xun, on the other hand, had some ideas in his mind.

Among all the Jiangdong generals, only Lu Xun guessed where Zhang Liao's character of fighting to the death came from. Looking at the five hundred iron pagodas in Zhang Liao's hand, Lu Xun wanted to swallow them in one gulp.

However, Lu Xun soon gave up the idea because he found that the Yangzhou army did not have any troops that could compete with the heavy cavalry like the Iron Pagoda.

Lu Xun and Sun Quan both chose not to listen to Zhang Liao's shouting and cursing outside the city.

Zhang Liao had no idea what to do with these two people who hid in the city without saying a word, so he could only return to the camp helplessly.

"Wenyuan, don't worry. The lord hasn't given us any news yet. He should have other preparations. Let's wait and see."

Pang De looked at Zhang Liao and could only smile helplessly and comfort him.

However, during these two days, instead of waiting for Gu Rubing's orders, Zhang Liao and his men waited for Sun Quan's reinforcements.

As they watched the 20,000-strong army slowly enter Sun Quan's city, they were completely helpless.

The reason is very simple, because among these 20,000 troops, there is a special army, the Gu tribe.

With these 20,000 people and the addition of the Gu tribe, Sun Quan's confidence increased greatly.

(End of this chapter)