Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1157 Young Sun Quan
Jiangdong, Danyang County, in the mountains and forests outside Wanling County.

A young man, about seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing a golden helmet and armor and holding a precious carved bow, was riding a horse and galloping in the bushes, aiming his arrow at a gorgeous tiger that was also running towards him a few dozen steps ahead.

"Ouch..."

The tiger was extremely ferocious. It roared from sixty or seventy steps away, and its terrifying power came directly at the boy's face, scaring the warhorse under the boy so much that it sneezed several times and slowed down its pace.

"You evil creature, are you courting death? Why don't you fight bravely with me?"

The young man was furious and squeezed the warhorse with his legs. After all, this warhorse was a rare BMW. Although it was a little afraid of the ferocious power of the tiger, under the intimidation of its master, it still mustered up the courage to rush out again.

"Roar..." Still thirty steps away, the tiger suddenly jumped up, opened its bloody mouth, and pounced towards the young man.

"Duh!"

The young man let out a low shout and suddenly shot out the arrow in his hand.

"Whoosh..."

With the sound of breaking air, the arrow hit the tiger's right eye. The tiger felt pain and fell to the ground, its huge body crushing countless plants.

"Ha, this big insect is my prey."

The young man was so proud and proud that his eyes were bloodshot with excitement. He put down his bow and arrow, took out his spear, jumped off his horse, raised his spear and stabbed the tiger's neck.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, something strange happened.

The tiger roared and suddenly jumped up, and with its claws it slapped the spear away. The young man felt a sharp pain in the knuckles. He looked down and saw that the knuckles of both hands were broken and bleeding.

However, the tiger was still roaring and pouncing at him. The boy didn't care about the injury on his hand and rolled on the ground in panic, avoiding the tiger's attack. But after only this one encounter, the boy, who was so complacent just now, was now scared pale.

Before the young man, who was still gasping for breath, could react, the tiger had already landed on the ground, turned around quickly, and pounced again in almost the span of a breath.

The young man hurriedly threw his sword and dagger over, but the tiger turned its head to avoid them and immediately pounced in front of the young man, ready to bite his head.

"My life is over!"

When the young man closed his eyes and waited for death, he suddenly heard a voice in his ear.

"Don't hurt the young master, the evil beast will die!"

Almost at the same time, the young man felt a strong wind blowing past him. He opened his eyes carefully, only to see that the tiger was stabbed from the side by a long spear. Blood was gushing out, and it was obvious that the spear had penetrated very deeply.

Then a strong man came running like a gust of wind, jumped onto the tiger's body, and without waiting for the tiger to move, he swung the sword in his hand and stabbed it into the tiger's neck.

"Ouch..."

The tiger struggled desperately before dying, throwing the strong man off its body, then stumbled around, and soon after, it finally ran out of blood and fell to the ground and died.

The sturdy man wiped the blood off his face, put away his sword, walked up to the young man and bowed to him.

"I am late in coming to your rescue, please forgive me, young master."

The young man was still in shock, and after hearing the strong man's words, it took him a long time to come to his senses. He then stood up with the help of the big tree next to him.

"Not too late, not too late, General Ling has arrived just in time, and he should be credited with a great achievement."

General Ling remained calm and said, "I dare not take credit for it. It's just that the young master shot the tiger with his own hands today. His bravery is comparable to that of the flying general Li Guang. I and my companions have poor mounts and cannot catch up with the young master. When I came here, I saw the young master kill the tiger. I really admire him."

The young man was stunned when he heard this: "I shot the tiger with my own hands? This tiger is not..."

He suddenly realized what was happening halfway through his words.

"Yes, yes, I killed him with my own hands. General Ling is right."

The young man's originally frightened face suddenly turned into complacency, and there was a bit more appreciation in the look he gave General Ling.

Just then, the sound of horse hooves was heard. The two turned around and saw a middle-aged scholar and more than a dozen men who looked like guards rushing over.

When he got closer, the scholar glanced at the tiger's corpse not far away, and then looked at the bloodstains on the two men, as if trying to identify whose bloodstains they belonged to. After a moment, he breathed a sigh of relief, and then walked over with a stern face.

"Young Master, you are so precious, but you are putting yourself in danger today. This is not a wise move."

The young man smiled awkwardly, seeming to be a little afraid of this Confucian scholar.

"Mr. Zibu, you are too serious. I know my limits..."

It would have been better if he hadn't said this. Once he said it, the scholar's face became even gloomier.

"Sense of propriety? Humph. What status do you have? How can you do such a reckless thing? If you act like a hero among wild beasts in the mountains, if something goes wrong, where will Jiangdong be? Where will you put us? Where will you put the lord?"

The young man's face turned stiff after being scolded by him. He smiled apologetically and said, "Yes, yes, Mr. Zibu's teaching is right. I will definitely keep it in mind."

General Ling came to the rescue: "Mr. Zhang Zibu, today the young master shot and killed a tiger with his own hands. He should be a role model for all the heroes in Jiangdong. You should praise the young master."

The scholar was a little surprised when he heard this, then he looked at the two of them again, and then he saw the halberd and sword on the tiger, and then he sneered.

"Hehe, if you say so, then it is so. There is news coming from Hanzhong, please return to the city as soon as possible."

"Yes, yes, let's go back now. I think brother has returned victoriously, and we should celebrate. Let's go, let's go now." When the young man was about to get up, he suddenly turned his head and gave orders to General Ling.

"Oh, take this tiger's body with you, peel off its skin, and make a cushion for me."

In the government office...

"How is it possible? Brother was defeated so miserably?"

Sun Quan was dumbfounded when he heard the reply from the front.

Not only him, but everyone present, including Zhang Zhao, Ling Cao and others, their first reaction to the news was four words - the sky is falling and the earth is collapsing.

Zhu Zhi, the governor of Danyang, who was standing by, had a gloomy face and said "not good" three times in a row.

"My lord, during this expedition, more than half of our veteran soldiers from Jiangdong were taken away. The loss was so heavy that almost all the veterans were injured. I'm afraid it will be difficult to launch a large-scale expedition within three years. If the northern army goes south again, it will be difficult for us to organize other troops to resist the enemy except for the navy. It's really bad."

Ling Cao snorted coldly: "Humph, with the Yangtze River as a natural barrier, we will fight bravely. The navy alone is enough to protect the country and the people. After a few years of recuperation, it should not be difficult to train another 100,000 elite troops."

Zhu Zhi shook his head repeatedly: "Alas, how easy is that? If we can capture Hanzhong this time, even if the losses are great, our army will have enough time to recuperate. However, the Battle of Hanzhong was a great defeat, and the enemy army may attack by land and sea. Gao Shun, Liu Bei and others will cross the river and head south, and the Yizhou troops will attack from Hanzhong."

"We have seen with our own eyes how magnificent the tower ships used by Liu Bei, Xu Huang and others were. Even on the river, we may not be able to win easily. Facing the enemy troops coming from Yizhou, it is a land battle, which I am afraid is really difficult to resist."

Ling Cao was very unhappy when he heard this: "Humph, according to what you said, we might as well surrender to Liu He."

Zhu Zhi became angry when he saw him making sarcastic remarks again and again.

"Ling Cao, what do you mean by this? Do you want to put Zhu in an unjust position?"

Ling Cao glanced at him and said, "General, you are overthinking. I am a straightforward person and I will speak my mind. If I have offended you, I hope you will forgive me."

"伱......"

Zhu Zhi was about to explode but was interrupted by Sun Quan.

"Well, the country is in crisis, do you still have the mind to quarrel?"

The two of them stopped quarreling.

Sun Quan looked at Zhang Zhao beside him and asked, "Mr. Zibu, what do you think we should do now?"

Zhang Zhao hesitated for a moment and replied, "The current situation is critical. In addition to what Governor Zhu just said, there is another matter that is even more urgent."

Sun Quan hurriedly asked, "What's the matter?"

Zhang Zhao said: "Half of the troops used in this expedition to Hanzhong are the old soldiers from Jiangdong left by the old lord, and the other half are the former Cao army that surrendered, as well as the troops offered by various tribes in Jingzhou, such as the troops led by Wei Yan, Huang Zhong, and the Shen brothers."

"Among our Jiangdong empire, the Jingzhou nobles were the weakest. That's why they were eager to gain merit and sent troops to support the lord in conquering Hanzhong. If they win, it won't matter much. It will just allow the civil and military officials of Jingzhou to occupy a few more important positions in the court, and it will also strengthen the strength of the lord's army."

"But this battle ended in a great defeat. In order to protect their own interests, the nobles of Jingzhou will have to find someone to take the blame for the defeat, and the person who takes the blame will definitely not be a Jingzhou person."

Sun Quan seemed to understand. "Yes, that's right. They want us Jiangdong people to bear the blame for the defeat, but the Jiangdong generals cannot agree to it. This will inevitably cause chaos in the court. The external threat has just started, and internal strife has also occurred. This is a disaster that will destroy us."

Zhang Zhao nodded and said, "That's right. After the lord returns, he will naturally guard the Jingzhou area. Most of the Jiangdong soldiers in and outside Xiangyang City were taken to the battle on their own initiative. Now the soldiers guarding the city are mainly from the Jingzhou nobles. Once such a change occurs, there is no guarantee that there will not be internal strife."

"Generals Ling and Zhu are both descendants of local noble families in Jiangdong. Now Wu County is guarded by General Sun Youtai, a relative of the lord and the young lord, so it is safe for the time being. Therefore, Zhao believes that the two generals should organize their troops and wait for the lord's edict to arrive, and then rush to Xiangyang immediately to contain the noble families in Jingzhou."

The two men thought what he said made sense and did not dare to delay any further. They retreated back to their respective military camps to prepare.

Sun Quan sat high in the main seat and looked at Zhang Zhao: "Sir, you sent the two away, but do you have anything to say?"

Zhang Zhao had a "teachable" look on his face: "What I just said is only half of the story. The other half is not worth telling to outsiders."

Sun Quan was puzzled. "Generals Zhu and Ling are both my Jiangdong elders and confidants. How could they not know this?"

Zhang Zhao nodded and said, "This matter is of great importance and must be handled with caution. Young Master, have you ever thought about how you would respond if you were faced with the quarrels and blame-shifting between the nobles of Jingzhou and Yangzhou?"

Sun Quan thought for a moment and said, "I'm afraid there will be a massacre and rivers of blood."

"Yes, that's right." Zhang Zhao was very satisfied.

"The nobles of Jingzhou first rebelled against Liu Biao and then against Cao Cao, so the lord naturally does not trust them. Moreover, now that they have suffered such a great defeat, even Zhou Gongjin is seriously injured and unconscious. The lord is upset and has nowhere to vent. Once the nobles of Jingzhou take the opportunity to attack the nobles of Jiangdong, it will surely provoke the lord's anger and he will raise the butcher knife against them."

"However, the nobles of Jingzhou are no ordinary people. They will definitely resist with all their might. By then, the civil strife will not stop. The Northern Army only needs to send two generals to lead 100,000 troops each to attack from both sides. Our Jiangdong foundation will surely be lost within half a year."

Sun Quan frowned and said, "What should I do? Sir, do you have any good advice for me?"

Zhang Zhao narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke in a lighter voice: "This matter is both difficult and easy. Think about it, young master. The key to this matter is that the interests of the various noble families have been damaged. If there is a way to recover such losses, then all parties will not pursue the responsibility for the defeat. At that time, the lord can appease them a little and stabilize the people's hearts in Jing and Yang again."

Sun Quan was increasingly puzzled: "This battle was such a huge defeat, with such heavy losses, how can it be easily recovered?"

Zhang Zhao smiled mysteriously, "Young Master, have you forgotten the deal that a Chamber of Commerce visited you on several occasions in the past few months? At that time, in order to avoid being slandered by villains, you were unwilling to participate in government affairs and came to Danyang to hide. But now the country is about to fall, and you should do your best."

Sun Quan was stunned at first, then he quickly smiled in understanding.

"Quan knows it."

(End of this chapter)