Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 846 Yangzhou Navy
"Liu Biao is truly a mediocre person. He actually gave up Jingzhou just a few days later."

Liu He looked at the urgent reports submitted by Zhang Yong and Gao Shun one after another, and felt both angry and ridiculous.

Qian Li looked at a document and said, "The three northern counties of Jingzhou all fell into Cao Cao's hands. These three counties have a large population of about 3.3 or 400,000, almost the same as Yanzhou. In addition, Yuzhou has about 5 million people, and the three southern counties of Xuzhou have about 1.6 million people. In this way, the total population under Cao Cao's rule must have exceeded 10 million. They are all rich places in the Central Plains with abundant money and grain. This is a bit tricky."

Although Qian Li was not very proficient in marching, deployment of troops, and tactical strategies, he was indeed an expert in organizing government affairs. As early as when Cao Cao captured Nanyang County and headed straight for Jingzhou, he had already retrieved all the household registration, land and other information of Jingzhou and was familiar with it by heart.

Xun Yu followed up by saying, "Whether it's Yuan Shu, Tao Qian, or Liu Biao, they are not powerful leaders. Although they occupy strategic and rich places, they cannot make full use of their resources and talents. Therefore, in the battle for supremacy among the princes, they were swallowed up in the blink of an eye. However, Cao Cao is a great hero of the time. With his ambition and mind, he will surely be able to quickly appease the Jingzhou gentry and make them a major force. In addition, the Jingzhou troops are almost intact and have all surrendered. If he recruits some new soldiers, Cao Cao will be able to have no less than 350,000 or even 400,000 troops in a few months."

"Da da da……"

Whenever Liu He encountered a difficult problem and couldn't think of a clue for a while, he would tap the table with his fingers. Xun Yu and Qian Li were already very familiar with his habit, so they kept silent and stopped disturbing his thoughts.

After a long while, Liu He slowly spoke: "What do you two think if we take advantage of the fact that Cao Cao has just occupied Jingzhou and has not yet established a firm foothold to attack Yuzhou with a large force?"

"I think it is inappropriate." Xun Yu denied it immediately.

Liu He looked over and said, "Why? Now the Xianbei and the Western Qiang tribes have surrounded and suppressed the Baima, Lejie and other Qiang tribes. Liangzhou is almost safe. In the Youzhou area, Kebineng led the remaining troops and fled far away to the border. The whereabouts of Wuhuan are unknown. After the last disastrous defeat, they are already struggling to survive. Now Goguryeo is eyeing them covetously, and I am afraid they are also on the verge of destruction. In this way, the north of our Han Dynasty has been pacified. The court has 700,000 troops, and can allocate at least 300,000 to attack Yuzhou. How can we not succeed?"

In Liu He's mind, the only person in the world who could stop him from completing the great cause of unification was Cao Cao. As long as Cao Cao died, he would be able to conquer the world within a few years.

Xun Yu said, "Your Majesty is right. With our powerful army of 300,000, we can surely win if we attack Yuzhou. But Cao Cao is a cunning man, and he must have made some preparations. Moreover, he is a master of military tactics, no less than your Majesty and the other generals. He has been operating in Yuzhou for many years, and several strategic towns have been built like iron barrels by him. Even if our army can win, it will take a long time and cause great losses. Isn't it like a snipe and a clam fighting each other, and benefiting others in vain?"

"This..." Liu He narrowed his eyes and gently stroked his short beard: "What Wen Ruo said is indeed reasonable. But Cao Cao has just gained the land of Jingzhou. If we don't conquer him as soon as possible, I'm afraid he will send troops to the south and capture the entire Jingzhou. In this way, his power will be even greater and it will be even more difficult to deal with."

"Haha, how could Your Majesty have forgotten? There are still other princes in the world who are subject to the court. Why don't Your Majesty use them to deal with Cao Cao?"

Xun Yu's words enlightened Liu He: "Yes, Xuzhou and Yangzhou both have heroes. Why should I only think about wasting my own strength? If I draft an order immediately..."

A few days later, a manifesto spread far and wide.

"I have heard that loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness are the great virtues of a person and must be observed. In the days of Emperors Huan and Ling, foreign relatives abused their power and eunuchs caused disasters. The traitor Dong entered the capital, and the eagles and dogs barked, causing the people to suffer and the country to fall. Fortunately, our ancestors blessed us and the gods protected us. Now, the wise emperor has eliminated the traitors and bravely stabilized the eight directions. The four seas are peaceful and the barbarians are respectful. This is a blessing for the country and the people."

"Cao Cao of Yanzhou was a descendant of eunuchs. His grandfather Cao Teng, together with Zuo Guan and Xu Huang, was a demon. He was greedy and tyrannical, and harmed the people. His father Cao Song was greedy for power and robbed the treasury. He was also a great villain at the time."

"Cao Cao repeatedly provoked the imperial court, attacked Luoyang, robbed the royal family, and killed meritorious officials. Thanks to the leniency of the two holy emperors, he was not punished. Instead of thinking about serving the country, he committed crimes, abused his power, bullied his master, used his ministers to hold the emperor hostage, and committed crimes against his superiors. He is truly disloyal and unfilial, and is truly guilty of treason."

"Now I am calling on loyal and righteous men from all directions to fight against the evil and stubborn. Whoever captures the head will be granted a title of 5,000 households, and whoever saves the Marquis of Qiangyin from danger will be granted a title of 10,000 households. Broadly show your kindness and trust, and distribute rewards. Announce it to the world, so that everyone will know that the holy dynasty is in trouble. As ordered!"

Yangzhou, Yuzhang County, Chaisang City.

After Sun Jian was named General Pingnan by Liu He, he used Yuzhang County as his base and launched expeditions everywhere. In just a few years, he drove the Shanyue rebellion that was active in Yuzhang, Kuaiji and other places all the way to the southern mountains. Not only did he recruit tens of thousands of Shanyue surrendered soldiers for his own use, he also recruited soldiers on a large scale and trained naval and land armies. His strength was no longer what it used to be.

Sun Jian walked to a pier somewhere in the suburbs of Chaisang and looked at the mighty navy fleet on Pengli Lake with both surprise and delight.

"My nephew Gongjin is truly a rare talent. He is turning 20 and I, as his uncle, have not prepared a generous gift for him, but he has given me one first."

Sun Ce, who was standing by, held his head higher than anyone else: "Of course, Gongjin has almost spent all his family wealth to train these two thousand navy soldiers. Father, you must reward him well."

"Haha, that's for sure." At this time, the fleet slowly approached the shore, and Zhou Yu, wearing armor, walked down from it: "My nephew greets my uncle."

Sun Jian stepped forward and grabbed his hand: "Come, Gongjin, follow me into the city. You have worked so hard to train the navy. Today, the mission is accomplished, and I should welcome you back."

A grand banquet was held in a mansion somewhere in the city, and everyone was toasting each other.

"Now that our navy is complete, given time, these two thousand men will be able to become a navy of 20,000 or even 100,000. By then, who in the land of Jiangnan will be able to rival your father? I congratulate you first, your hegemony will be accomplished."

Sun Ce stood up, raised his glass to Sun Jian, and then drank it all in one gulp.

Sun Jian was already very happy today, and after hearing this, he naturally smiled.

"My son, you are right. I have the courage of Ce'er, the wisdom of my nephew Zhou Yu, and I have the assistance of all the generals. What else do I have to worry about? Come, let's drink this cup to the full."

Everyone raised their wine bottles and drank from them. For a moment, everyone was having a great time at the banquet.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Zhou Yu suddenly said, "My nephew heard that three days ago, the emperor of Luoyang sent an imperial edict to order my uncle to be the governor of Jingzhou and at the same time appointed Bo Fu as the governor of Changsha. Is this true?"

Sun Jian smiled, put down the wine jar, and said: "Yes, not only that, all the generals under my command have been granted titles, and the four counties in southern Jing have all been granted titles under my Sun family."

"Then I wonder how uncle intends to deal with it?"

Sun Jian said without hesitation: "Although Liu He is not as generous as old Liu Yan, I think Liu Yan is just a dying man. Although Yizhou is easy to defend and difficult to attack, it is difficult for him to achieve great things. Therefore, when he conferred the title of King of Lujiang on me, I did not accept it."

Zhou Yu's eyebrows twitched: "So, uncle is going to accept the title from the Luoyang court and send troops to occupy the four counties in southern Jing?"

Sun Jian nodded: "Of course. Now that Liu Biao is dead, I am justified in sending troops to seize the four counties. Cao Cao is a big shot, but I am not afraid of him."

"Father is right. In my opinion, let alone the four counties in southern Jing, we should also seize Nan County, Jiangxia County and Nanyang County in northern Jing. I am willing to be the vanguard and conquer cities and territories for father to enhance the reputation of our Sun family."

Sun Ce stood up suddenly, clasped his fists and asked for orders, which made Sun Jian very happy: "My son is indeed very brave. Okay, your father will order you to..."

"Uncle, wait a minute." Zhou Yu interrupted the two of them. Sun Jian was fine, but Sun Ce seemed a little unhappy.

"Why? Gongjin, do you still want to compete with me for the position of Vanguard General? I am your elder brother, and an elder brother is like a father, you have to give in to me."

Zhou Yu smiled and said, "Brother Bofu is too impatient. I haven't said anything yet."

Sun Jian also said, "It's not too late for you to listen to what Gongjin has to say."

Zhou Yu looked at Sun Jian and said, "Uncle, I think that we should only obey half of the Luoyang imperial edict."

Sun Jian was stunned for a moment, then he asked with interest: "Why only follow half of it?"

"Cao Cao is now powerful, welcoming Emperor Xian and conquering the three northern counties of Jing. He is so powerful that he can compete with the Luoyang court. The court issued this decree in the name of praising your merits in fighting the enemy, but in fact it wants your uncle to send troops to fight Cao's army so that he can reap the benefits. When both sides are defeated, the emperor of Luoyang will lead a million people to wipe out Jing and Yang in one fell swoop. How can we stop him?"

(End of this chapter)