Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1095: The Southern and Northern Expeditions (Two Chapters Combined into One)

Winter has arrived, the earth is bleak, and most provinces and counties in the north have welcomed the first snow of the year. Even in Nanyang, Jingzhou, there was a light snow two days ago.

In Xiangyang City, the snow on the ground had long been cleared away, and only the occasional glimpse of white on the eaves could reveal some traces of the snow.

The sunny day after the snow is often the coldest time of the winter, especially when this sunny day is accompanied by a biting northwest wind, which leaves only a few people on the streets of the usually prosperous Xiangyang city.

A carriage stopped outside the palace gate. This was the imperial palace that Cao Cao had built in Xiangyang City for the so-called emperor, Liu Xie. After Cao Cao's defeat, Emperor Xian of Han, who was even more tragic than anyone in history, fell into the control of Sun Ce.

Three men in fur cloaks walked out of the carriage, one middle-aged and two young men. They were all thin and elegant, with sharp eyes. They were Sima Fang and his two sons Sima Lang and Sima Yi.

Ever since the Sima family successfully persuaded many families in Jingzhou to welcome the Sun family into their fold, their status under Sun Ce has risen rapidly, and their say in Sun's army is now second only to Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu.

The three men walked straight into the palace gate. The guards at the gate did not stop them, nor did they interrogate or search them. The Sima family had the honor of riding horses into the palace and wearing swords and shoes to go to the hall, but they acted modestly and always followed their duties and rules every time they entered the palace. Therefore, there was no need for the guards to search them.

Compared with Cao Cao, Sun Ce was obviously much more domineering. Although Cao Cao did not take Liu Xie seriously and was in charge of the government alone, at least on the surface, he still observed etiquette and held a small court every three days and a large court every five days, still showing an attitude of respecting the emperor.

Sun Ce moved directly into the imperial palace, placed Liu Xie under house arrest in the harem, and presided over court meetings himself. Except for the title of emperor, he was almost the same as the emperor in other aspects.

The three of them arrived outside the main hall, where many "ministers" were already waiting. Soon, an eunuch came out and shouted, "Arrive at court..."

The ministers entered the palace, with Zhang Zhao as the head of the civil officials, followed by Kuai Liang, the current head of the Kuai clan, a prominent family in Jingzhou. The military generals were led by the veteran Cheng Pu, followed by Zhou Yu.

Sun Ce did not sit directly on the dragon throne. Instead, he placed a smaller chair next to the dragon throne, sat on it, and looked down at everyone.

"Greetings, Grand Marshal." Everyone saluted.

Sun Ce gave him a false helping hand and said, "My colleagues, there is no need to be so polite. There is only one thing to be discussed in today's court meeting."

He raised a finger and said, "After the beginning of next spring, I will discuss our military strategy. If you have any ideas, please feel free to speak up."

It was obvious that everyone had known about this topic for a long time. Soon, behind Kuai Liang, a man who looked somewhat like him was about to step out, but was stopped by Kuai Liang. He shook his head secretly at him, and the man stepped back.

Zhang Zhao was the first to speak up. "I think that our army has just gained Jingzhou, and most of the soldiers in Jingzhou have surrendered to Liu He outside Hulao Pass. Our army has not grown significantly, and the people of Jingzhou are just beginning to settle down. It is not appropriate to fight a big war. It is better to recuperate, recruit soldiers, store food and grass, and wait for three years to gather an army of 200,000 or 300,000, and then launch a northern expedition."

Zhang Zhao is now just over forty years old, in the prime of life, with a high reputation and an extraordinary status among the civil officials in Jiangdong. As soon as he speaks, many civil officials echo him.

Lu Su, who was standing at the back, opened his mouth and seemed to be hesitant to speak. He looked at Zhou Yu and saw a hint of disdain and sarcasm on his face. He understood what was going on and gave up the idea of ​​coming out to express his support for Zhang Zhao.

At this time, a civil official refuted: "Zi Bu's words are absurd."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw Chen Qun. He was looking at Zhang Zhao with anger on his face, and there was a hint of scolding in his tone.

"Now that Cheng Liang has died in battle, the pseudo-imperial court in Luoyang has lost a great general. In addition, Liu He's queen mother, Xu, has just passed away. I heard that Liu He was in great grief and fainted several times. Luoyang has suspended court for more than ten days. Moreover, although Liu He's side won the battle of Hulao Pass, they also suffered heavy losses. They were able to win because Liu Bei changed sides in the battle. Otherwise, the outcome would be unknown."

"Now that Liu He is drowning in grief and anger, the enemy's morale is bound to be greatly dampened. Although our army was defeated at Hangu Pass, the death of our old lord has aroused the anger of the entire army and raised their fighting spirit. Under such circumstances, even if we cannot capture Luoyang, it will not be difficult to capture Yuzhou, where the enemy's foundation is not stable. If we wait until the enemy retreats, it will be extremely difficult."

Zhang Zhao sneered, "Changwen and Liu He have a grudge for killing their father and exterminating their clan. Moreover, their ancestral tombs and ancestral temples are all in Yuzhou. It is not surprising that they would say such things."

When Chen Qun heard this, his eyebrows immediately raised: "Old man, are you slandering me for using my public office for personal gain?"

"How dare you be so rude in the court?" Zhang Hong shouted angrily.

"Chen Qun's words make sense. It's obvious that you are weak and incompetent and are afraid of Liu He's power."

For a time, a fierce quarrel broke out between the northern civil officials such as Yan and Yu who had surrendered to Cao Cao and the Jiangdong civil officials such as Zhang Zhao.

Sun Ce frowned and said, "What's wrong with making so much noise? Why don't you stop talking?"

Everyone immediately fell silent.

Sun Ce looked at Zhou Yu, his expression softened instantly: "What do you think, Gongjin?"

Zhou Yu then took a step forward and said, "My lord, what you all said makes sense. However, as the saying goes, even the wisest man can make mistakes. Although you all have great knowledge and talents to assist the king, you have overlooked one point."

Sun Ce became interested after hearing this: "Gongjin, tell me in detail."

Zhou Yu said: "Whether it is to rest and recuperate or to march north as soon as possible, both are based on our Jiangdong, and have never considered the enemy's movements."

He turned around and looked at the many civil and military officials. "Two months ago, the Sichuan and Shu troops led by Zhang Ren were ambushed by Zhang Liao, Zhuge Liang, and Du Xianzhi, and the entire army was wiped out. Zhang Song secretly colluded with Liu He and offered Hanzhong to Meng Da. Old Liu Yan died of fear. Ten days ago, Zhang Liao and three others led an army of 150,000 to Jiange. Liu Zhang was weak and incompetent. Under the persuasion of Zhang Song, Fa Zheng, Huang Quan, Li Yan and other officials, he opened the gate of Chengdu and surrendered in person at Jiange. Now the land of Yizhou belongs to Liu He."

Zhou Yu then looked back at Sun Ce and said, "My lord is wise and intelligent. I am sure you will be able to imagine what Liu He will do after he seizes Yizhou."

Sun Ce pondered for a moment, then said: "We will go down the river from Yizhou, cooperate with the troops of Yuzhou, attack from both sides, and try to seize Jingzhou. Then, we will use Jingzhou and Xuzhou as springboards to capture Yangzhou, and then Jiaozhou, and unify the world."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's faces changed color. They obviously had not considered that Liu He would take the initiative to attack.

If what Sun Ce said is true, given Liu He's current strength, the Han Dynasty will fall completely into his hands in one or two years at the fastest, or three to five years at the slowest.

Zhou Yu had obviously anticipated everyone's reactions. He hesitated for a moment and then continued speaking.

"My Lord, that is exactly what happened. Zi Bu just said that we should rest and recuperate, store up food and manpower, which is indeed a necessary measure. However, please think carefully about how many states and counties our army has occupied, and how many tens of thousands of people are under its rule? And how about the states and counties under Liu He's rule, and how many people are there?"

Lu Su took the initiative to respond: "Our army governs the two states, and Jiaozhou can barely provide support. It has a population of more than 1.76 million households, about 8 million people. Now that Liu He has taken Yizhou, he controls ten of the thirteen states of the Han Dynasty, with a population of about 30 million, which is beyond the reach of our army."

"Haha, Zijing really knows it very well." Zhou Yu said with a smile.

"According to this situation, if both the enemy and us recuperate together and after a few years, do you think the gap in strength between us will become wider or narrower?" Zhang Zhao and others were speechless for a moment and looked at each other, not knowing how to respond.

Sun Ce had a smile on his face, and seemed very satisfied with the change in the situation.

"Gongjin, there's no need to keep us in suspense. In your opinion, how should our army be deployed?"

Zhou Yu immediately bowed and said, "In my opinion, we should combine the two strategies of conserving and fighting."

"How can we find a combination?"

"First, according to what has been said above, it is imperative to take the initiative to send troops. This is not only to seize Yuzhou as Mr. Chen Qun said, to lay the foundation for the future attack on Luoyang, but also to make Liu He too busy dealing with our offensive and unable to gather a large army to invade Jingzhou from Yuzhou to the south. At the same time, we can use the war to clearly distinguish rewards and punishments, so as to gradually rally the morale of our newly surrendered soldiers."

"Secondly, our army has just entered Jingzhou. There has been no war in this area for many years. The land is fertile. Compared with Jiangdong, which is full of hills and mountains, Jingxiang is the best choice for farming and raising troops. Liu He has been encouraging people to cultivate land and reclaim wasteland for many years. Half of the wasteland reclaimed by the people was permanently owned by them, and the other half was temporarily cultivated. After the reclaimer died, the land would be taken back by the court. Moreover, for every three acres of wasteland reclaimed, one acre of the original cultivated land tax could be exempted. If the cultivated land was left uncultivated for one year, the tax would be doubled the next year. If the land was left uncultivated for two years, it would also be taken back by the court. Therefore, in just over ten years, in the northern states and counties, everyone cultivated their own land, worked hard, and every household had surplus food. The court thus stockpiled countless military rations."

"I think our army can learn from this strategy and make some adjustments to attract refugees and mountain folks to enter the counties, grant them farm tools, and encourage them to cultivate and produce more. At the same time, we can recruit craftsmen to build warships, ships, and other water warfare tools and equipment, so that we can prepare for a showdown with Liu He on the river in the future. This is a strategy that maximizes our strengths and avoids our weaknesses."

Sun Ce's eyes lit up when he heard this, and even Zhang Zhao and others couldn't help but nod secretly with expressions of approval.

"Gong Jin is indeed a pillar of the country. With such a good plan, why should we be afraid of that little Liu He?"

Just when everyone thought that today's court meeting would end, Sima Yi suddenly stood up.

"My lord, I have something to say."

"Second brother, you..." Sima Lang was anxious. It had come to this critical moment. Why was his second brother going out to join in the fun? If he said it right, it would be suspected that he was stealing the credit from Zhou Yu. If he said it wrong, it would be even more ignorant of the heaven and earth, which would damage the prestige of the Sima family in the master's heart.

When he was about to go out to stop him, his father Sima Fang shook his head and said softly, "Don't worry, Zhongda has always been smart and has many ideas."

Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were a little surprised by Sima Yi's sudden appearance, but they didn't take it too seriously.

Sun Ce asked, "What do you think, Zhongda?"

Sima Yi said: "Zhou Gongjin's plan is of course brilliant and extraordinary. I am young and inexperienced, so I dare not raise any objection. However, in my humble opinion, if our army wants to compete with Liu He, these two strategies alone are not enough to make up for such a huge disparity in strength."

"Oh?" Sun Ce became interested: "What other methods does Zhongda have?"

Zhou Yu also looked at him expectantly.

Sima Yi remained calm and unperturbed: "In addition to the northern expedition, our army also needs to march south."

As soon as he said this, everyone was shocked.

"Southern Expedition?" Sun Ce frowned slightly. "Shi Xie in Jiaozhou to the south has already surrendered. If we conquer him now, wouldn't that be considered as a betrayal?"

Sima Yi said, "No. Your lord is a man of great integrity and a great hero, but Shi Xie is a complete villain. He is a fence-sitter who can easily be swayed by the wind. Your lord sent people to ask him to surrender. Although he agreed on the surface, he stationed heavy troops on the border and refused to pay tributes such as food, iron ore, cloth, and corals. He showed no sincerity. Moreover, I have heard from merchants that Shi Xie has been recruiting soldiers and horses in recent years, and he intends to continue to expand his territory to the south. He has built city walls, watchtowers, and sentry posts. It is clear that he has a rebellious heart. If we do not collect such a vicious villain now, he will become too powerful to be eliminated when he is fully grown, which may be a disaster for the court and for your lord."

Sun Ce showed a look of delight, but the civil officials present could no longer sit still.

"This is absolutely unacceptable." Lu Su could no longer hold back.

"Our army is not as strong as Liu He's. We are weak against a strong enemy and need to rely on the right time and place. If we divide our forces to march south, wouldn't that be cutting off our own path?"

Zhou Yu, who was standing aside, also looked indifferent, but Sima Yi knew very well that Lu Su's words must have been secretly approved by Zhou Yu.

He replied calmly, "Zi Jing's words are indeed reasonable, but you are focusing on one thing and losing the other."

"Our army has the natural barrier of the Yangtze River. The northern army is not good at water battles. Even if we take Yizhou and occupy the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, most of the soldiers in Yizhou are good at mountain warfare. Therefore, when it comes to water battles, our Jiangdong troops are the best. Even if Liu He goes down the river, our army is absolutely sure to defeat him on the river."

"As for the Gao Shun Corps in the north, even if Zhou Gongjin leads the army to block it, it will be difficult for them to achieve anything within a few years. During these few years, our army needs to quickly accumulate strength, otherwise it will still be defeated sooner or later."

Lu Su quickly calmed down and lowered his head to think.

Zhang Zhao refuted again: "The south is surrounded by mountains, the land is barren, and there are many unruly people. Even if we conquer it, what good will it do?"

Sima Yi unexpectedly glanced at him with disdain, which made Zhang Zhao feel unhappy.

"Mr. Zibu, what you said is absurd. Far from being barren, these mountains are full of treasures. Once they are collected and developed, I dare to assert that the resources produced from them alone can support an army of no less than 100,000."

Zhang Zhao was about to mock Sima Yi when he heard this, but Sima Yi continued talking without giving him a chance to interrupt.

"Since Liu He ascended the throne, he has developed commerce and travel, allowing products from all over the world to circulate in the north and south. The price of sea salt produced in Xuzhou will triple when it reaches Jizhou. The price of silk produced in Sili will be five times higher when it reaches Jingzhou. The benefits are by no means ordinary."

"And in these mountains, there are furs, animal bones, rhino horns, various minerals, spices, and many treasures produced in the South China Sea. The several large caravans I have met, every year, just obtain materials from the Shanyue, Nanman, and Jiaozhou, and transport them to the Central Plains for sale. The profits they make are no less than billions, and this is just a drop in the bucket."

Everyone present was a little surprised to hear these words, and Sun Ce was even more delighted.

Sima Yi turned around and bowed to Sun Ce. "My lord, if you trust me, I only need 20,000 men. Within two years, I will wipe out all the Shanyue tribes and completely conquer Jiaozhou. By then, I can support a large army with just this barren and useless mountain, ready to be deployed at any time."

"Well, Zhongda has a sharp vision and is loyal and brave!"

Sun Ce clapped his hands and laughed: "Come here, appoint Sima Yi as the General of the Central Army to pacify the barbarians, reward him with 500 pieces of silk, and in the spring, lead 20,000 troops to the south to conquer!"

(End of this chapter)