The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 202 Pirate Empire Lianyungang

Sun Shao didn't know whether to laugh or cry, Sun Shao seemed to be addicted to being a rascal, and he became the king of Yue not only did not restrain himself, but tended to intensify.He grabbed Sun Shao and shook his head again and again: "Fengxian, my Royal Highness Yue, can you not embarrass me? You have a legitimate reason to send troops to Qingxu, but I can't. Once I send troops, it will become a threat to destroy the current situation." You are a sinner in such a good situation. Not to mention me, even the King of Wu can't bear this bad reputation."

"Who told you to send troops?" Sun Shao looked at Sun Shao inexplicably: "What use are your thousands of people?"

Sun Shao was stunned: "Then what do you mean?"

"I just want to ask you to move your troops to the north, saying that it is to prevent pirates from crossing the border to hide, and you are not allowed to cross the border to fight." Sun Shaoli said straightforwardly: "Of course, if you are willing to lend me some people who can be used, I will help you." Also very welcome."

Sun Shao smiled wryly: "Fengxian, are you planning on me?"

"What kind of talk is this?" Sun Shao disagreed: "Wu Yue is originally a family, and you and I are brothers. I didn't ask King Wu to ask you to come here. It's called calculating? Brother, I think you are prejudiced against me."

Sun Shao said he couldn't beat Sun Shao, so he had to turn around and recruit a middle-aged general with a strong figure and sharp eyes: "This is my trilogy general Gao Zhongyuan, he is the best under my men, I let him bring a thousand Qu Ying will follow you, okay?"

Sun Shao knew Gao Qian a long time ago, but he didn't expect Sun Shao to let Gao Qian follow him. After all, he was his confidant. When Sun Shao said this, he was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly to express his satisfaction.

"As for assisting you, I want to ask the king of Wu for instructions. This is the rule, and I think you can understand it." Sun Shao smiled: "Others, as long as it is within my ability, you can just ask, and I can help. .”

"Thank you very much." Sun Shao chuckled, "I have already submitted the request to the king of Wu to jointly ban the sea, and he will probably agree. Of course, your place is no exception. Prepare in advance. However, your people Don't leave the coast more than ten miles away, or I won't be responsible for any accident."

Sun Shao rolled his eyes. On the one hand, he opened his mouth like a lion, and on the other hand, he was so stingy and stingy. These two expressions blended so naturally on Sun Shao's face, which really opened his eyes.He said angrily: "Don't worry, my people are not that capable, and they won't violate the territorial waters of King Yue."

"That's good, that's good, so as not to hurt the friendship between the brothers." Sun Shao nodded reassuringly.

"By the way, Fengxian, you have to take good care of Wang Zideng, and there must be no mistakes."

"Who can say for sure?" Sun Shao laughed and said, "I can only pay attention as much as possible, but I can't guarantee it. The battlefield is dangerous, and no one can be sure, right?"

Sun Shao was completely speechless.Although he believed that Sun Shao would not intentionally harm Sun Deng, but Sun Shao's appearance made him feel restless and uneasy.

At the end of February, Sun Shao led his army to an unnamed island outside Guoqu County, Donghai, Xuzhou.This island is about ten miles away from the coast of Qu County, and the place is not small. It is about fifty or sixty miles long from east to west, and thirty to forty miles long from north to south. who.Su Chugao, who has been stationed on the island for several months, said that there are some barbarians on the island, but not many in number. After the army arrived, most of them hid in the deep mountains. Except for some small conflicts, they captured a few prisoners Other than that, basically nothing to do with them.

Sun Shao was very satisfied, and asked Su Chuleg to bring the captives. These barefoot barbarians gathered together with wary eyes, hugging their ragged clothes tightly, without saying a word.

"Is there anyone who can speak Chinese?" Sun Shao asked kindly.

The barbarians looked at each other, and finally suggested an old man whose waist was bent like a bow.Although the old man's Chinese is very awkward, he can still distinguish it more or less clearly.Sun Shao said to him, I am the King of Yue sealed by the Son of Heaven himself. From now on, all the islands in the sea will be my kingdom, and you are all my people. I hope you can go back and tell your relatives that I will not What is not good for you, the previous things were all misunderstandings, I will give you a little gift as an apology.After you go back, ask your leader to send someone to meet me, and I have more rewards.

The old man listened dumbly to the previous words, but when he heard the latter, his cloudy old eyes turned and he regained his energy. When Sun Shao really asked someone to take out the gift, not only the old man's eyes lit up, but those who couldn't hear The eyes of those who understand Chinese are also brightened.

"Give it to us?" The old man grinned toothlessly.

"It's for you." Sun Shao smiled. A few daily necessities and a few bolts of silk made them so happy, which shows that life in the mountains is not easy. "Go back and ask your leader to send more people. I have more gifts for you. If you still have doubts, I can send someone to take you to see my fleet."

Sun Shao asked Sun Song to take the old man and the others to the beach to see his fleet.Although Sun Song is talented, he is very good at dealing with people, knowing that Sun Shao intends to appease these barbarians and occupy this island, so he is very attentive to the old man.He very politely showed them first the cargo ship full of cargo, then the mighty and majestic warship, and finally arranged for them to have a meal, and gave them a wheelbarrow to take the The gift is pushed back.These barbarians were first dazzled by the mountains of cargo on the huge cargo ship, then frightened enough by the majestic warriors on the warship, and finally almost swallowed their tongues by the temptation of the delicious food, each of them was convinced, After bowing to Sun Song again and again, he left happily.

Sun Song successfully completed the task and came back to report to Sun Shao, who was very satisfied.Su Chugui was a little puzzled, there were at most two to three thousand barbarians, why bother to send people to beat them up.Sun Shao disagreed. He told Su Chugui and others that although there are not many people on this island, it is an excellent transit point. If you can spend a little money, you can win over these barbarian people and turn this place into a stable place. base, what's wrong?If they really don't know good from bad, it won't be too late to send troops to kill them.

Su's thick legs didn't matter, he never took those barbarians seriously, and he happily told Sun Shao that he had made Zang Ba miserable in the past few months.Zang Ba's navy was beaten by him so that he dared not go out to sea. This long coastline is a paradise for him to gallop freely.

"However, Cao Pi is here." Su Chugui finally said.

"What is he doing here?" Sun Shao was a little puzzled.

"It should be because we are afraid that we will take the opportunity to swallow Qing Xu." Su Chugui guessed: "Zang Ba is now afraid of both of us and Cao Pi."

"That's right." Sun Shao stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and said to Shi Bao, "Zhong Rong, go see Zang Ba and tell him that I invited him here... Lianyungang is here to discuss the matter of joint suppression of pirates." .”

"Lianyungang?" Shi Bao's eyes lit up: "A good name, the clouds that reach the sky, the water that meets the sea, a good name."

Sun Shao smiled, and thought, of course you don’t know that this place will be called Lianyungang a thousand years later, and there is also a mountain of flowers and fruits on it. The monkey was once the hero he admired most in his childhood.It's just that Lianyungang has been connected to the land a thousand years later, but now it's still hanging alone in the sea.If Zang Ba and Cao Pi didn't get the island while Zang Ba and Cao Pi were having their own ghosts, it would be a pity for conscience.

Zang Ba was having a headache. Su Chugui came to find a place and harassed the coast for several months. In order to protect his own territory and show that he still had the strength to occupy Xuzhou, he joined forces with Sun Guan, the governor of Qingzhou. After fighting several times, he tragically discovered that his navy was incomparable with the Aurora navy of these pirates.As for the warships, he also has a few warships that he took from Jiang Qin, but when it comes to the cunning of fighting, he is obviously not at the same level as Su Chuleg.I saw the shadow of Su's thick leg several times in the sea, but he couldn't bite him, but Su's thick leg seized the opportunity several times, swallowed the bait before the main force of the ambush arrived, and then fled the arrow, the timing was right It was indeed beneficial, as if Su Chukugai had participated in his military deployment, or he could predict the future and know his ambush circle like the back of his hand.

Later, he vaguely heard that Su Chugui had a tube called clairvoyance in his hand, which could see far away, and he vaguely understood something.

After several battles, all the warships seized from Jiang Qin were lost. Only relying on his own original warships, Zang Ba lost the ambition to fight for the front, so he honestly asked Cao Cao for help, but Cao Cao sent Several generals came and failed to solve the problem, but the matter got bigger and bigger, and finally even affected the negotiations in Wancheng, and was blackmailed by Yang Biao, and he had to leave Sanhe.

Of course Cao Cao was not convinced, and was also very annoyed with Zang Ba, so he sent Cao Pi to supervise the battle, and he must wipe out this group of pirates.

Cao Pi came to Xuzhou with an army of more than 1, and Zang Ba panicked. Cao Pi really came to suppress the pirates, or did he come to suppress Zang Ba?Just when he was undecided, Yue Wang Sun Shao arrived with his navy again, and together with Cao Pi formed a pincer attack on him.

Zang Ba is not stupid, of course he knows who the pirates in the sea are, and he also knows that Sun Shao's coming is not kind, and good people don't come.

Who isn't harboring evil intentions these days?including himself.

When seeing Shi Bao, Zang Ba was impressed by Shi Bao's beauty and surprised by Sun Shao's intentions.Of course he didn't believe Sun Shao's plan to jointly suppress the bandits - because Su Chuleg was his subordinate - but he saw another solution from Sun Shao's suggestion, maybe they didn't need to use force.

Zang Ba immediately passed the news to Cao Pi to see what Cao Pi's attitude was.Cao Pi listened, smiled slightly, and sent Sima Yi and Shi Bao back to Lianyungang to meet Sun Shao and discuss major plans together.

"Where's Brother Zihuan?" Sun Shao smiled when he saw Sima Yi, "Why didn't he come to see me directly?"

"Young master is preparing a banquet in Qu county to welcome the king." Sima Yi said neither humble nor overbearing.

Sun Shao curled his lips, thinking that Cao Pi led Zhang Liao and others to ride more than 1 steps in Qu County to meet me?Almost ready to kill me.He changed the subject calmly: "When will he go to the Western Regions?"

"After the East China Sea is pacified."

Sun Shao glanced at Sima Yi, was silent for a moment, and suddenly asked, "How is His Royal Highness King Wei recently?"

The corner of Sima Yi's mouth twitched, and his face became more respectful: "His Royal Highness King Wei has not been in good health recently."

Cao Cao spent two years with all his strength, intending to conquer Yizhou in one fell swoop and go down the river to unify the world. Seeing that Liu Bei's fuel was exhausted, Yizhou might collapse at any time. When he was only short of the final blow, he did not expect Guan Yu Breaking through from the middle with Sun Shao, he marched forward triumphantly all the way, captured Xu County at an unexpected speed, and shattered his ambitions.The Son of Heaven broke away from his control and re-established his capital in Luoyang. The spread of the Dahan Gazette connected the voices of resistance that had been fighting alone. Although it was not enough to shake his foundation, his 30 years of hard work can be said to have paid off most of it. The east flow.

Cao Cao fell ill, and he had a premonition that his days were numbered, so he was even more anxious to choose one of Cao Pi and Cao Zhi as his heir.Cao Zhi has been performing well since his service in Berkshire. He seems to have found his place on the battlefield and turned into another person—just like Cao Ren, he was unrestrained when he was young, but after he became a general, he put military law on his desk. , Strictly govern the army and be meticulous.In contrast, Cao Pi is slightly inferior in military affairs, but he is quite talented in mediating government affairs. Judging from the negotiations in Wancheng, he was able to seize opportunities and resolve potential dangers.

Which one to choose?Cao Cao found that he was still unable to make a decision. The two sons had their own strengths, and each had a group of supporters, but neither was perfect.Whenever this time, Cao Cao thought of Cao Xiu and Cao Chong, especially Cao Xiu.If he felt sorry for Cao Chong, then he felt more guilty towards Cao Xiu. If it wasn't for his absurdity, there would be no changes in Wancheng, Cao Xiu would not have died, and there would be no such problem today.

When people get old, they often fall into memories, and Cao Cao's memories have too many regrets and regrets. In the dead of night, he often burst into tears. He dreamed of Cao Xiu, dreamed of Cao Chong, dreamed of his younger brother Cao De, dreamed of his wife Liu Shi and Ding Shi, countless people appeared and disappeared before his eyes, which made him sleepless at night.

His body weakened rapidly.

At this time, Cao Pi was very anxious. He knew that he had not yet firmly established himself as the crown prince in his father's mind, and there was not much time left for him. He urgently needed a reasonable victory to show that he also had considerable military talents. As for being threatened by Cao Zhi.He thought about it, and finally fixed his eyes on Qing Xu.

Qing Xu is a heart disease of Cao Cao. Although Zang Ba, Sun Guan and others surrendered to Cao Cao, they were surrendered to him personally, not to the state of Wei.Once Cao Cao dies, Zang Ba and Sun Guan are likely to disagree, either to separate the regime, or to fall into the arms of Luoyang.Xuzhou is deserted and ruined, and gains and losses have little effect, but Qingzhou is different. Qingzhou, Jizhou, and Yuzhou are the main sources of strength for Wei State. Once Qingzhou is lost, Wei State's strength will be greatly affected.

So Cao Pi took the initiative to invite Ying and rushed to Xuzhou, nominally to cooperate with Zang Ba in fighting, but in fact he wanted to find an opportunity to replace Zang Ba.While replacing Zang Ba, he also needs to eliminate the threat of pirates to Qing Xu, and ensure Qing Xu's smooth transition instead of stabbing a hornet's nest.The reason why Cao Pi has this confidence is that Sun Shao is the key point. He believes that Sun Shao can help him, not out of morality, but out of interests-marrying Xiahou Hui to Sun Shao, Cao Pi never thinks that it will make him feel better. Sun Shao and him are of the same mind, he just hopes that Cao Zhi and others feel that he and Sun Shao have a good relationship, and that is enough.But from the current point of view, his goal has been achieved.

Sun Shao asked about Cao Cao's health, and Sima Yi knew that Sun Shao knew as much about the situation in Yecheng as he did. He could inadvertently provoke a civil strife in Yecheng, so knowing that Cao Cao's health is not good is not surprising. .

Asking about Cao Cao's health is not the point. The point is that Sun Shao knows that Cao Pi is in a bad situation and needs his help urgently.

Sima Yi is not an idiot, that's what he meant by the so-called listening to string songs.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Sun Shao said straight to the point.

"Young Master needs a big victory." Sima Yi didn't hold back any more, and said frankly, "A big victory comparable to the Battle of Langzhong."

Sun Shao smiled, resting his chin on one hand, and looked at Sima Yi with a smile: "What benefits can he give me?" After a while, he added: "I'm a businessman, and I don't do things that are not beneficial."

"What benefits does King Yue want?" Sima Yi asked back.

"Hahaha..." Sun Shao laughed loudly. He stood up, walked slowly behind Sima Yi with his hands behind his back, and suddenly reached out and patted Sima Yi on the shoulder. , looking straight at Sun Shao.Sun Shao had a mischievous expression on his face: "Sure enough, it's Wolf Gu Zhixiang. I said Zhongda, and I heard that Cao Gong wanted to kill you because of you, Wolf Gu Zhixiang. Is it true?"

Sima Yi was a bit embarrassed by him, this king of Yue didn't have the dignity of a king at all, he claimed to be a businessman at one moment, and at the same time he was affectionate like a friend for many years, this made him a little at a loss, he didn't know what kind of opponent he should treat him .He felt that it was very difficult to answer Sun Shao's question, so he had to answer vaguely.

"Zhongda, I haven't decided what benefits I want." Sun Shao rubbed his nose, thought for a moment and said, "Well, I'll talk to Zang Ba's envoy again to see what kind of benefits he can give me. , and then talk to you, how about it?"

Sima Yi frowned, hesitated to speak.

Zang Ba's messenger is his son Zang Ai.Zang Ai is in his thirties, with a strong build, and his face is very similar to Zang Ba's. Two slightly smaller eyes are shining brightly, and a thin wide mouth is hidden in the thick beard, which is tightly closed.

"Sima Yi didn't say anything, but I guess he should be able to promise me one or two counties." Sun Shao said calmly, "If we go further, I guess it will be Qu County and Haixi. I don't know what the Major General thinks?"

Zang Ai blinked his small eyes, nodded silently, and admitted that what Sun Shao said was basically reliable, and their father and son also estimated in the same way, but Sun Shao's frankness made him a little uncertain about Sun Shao's bottom line.

"I'm not interested in Qu County and Haixi." Sun Shao said, "The Major General probably knows that I like doing business and don't like farming—the money from farming is too slow, so these two counties are very important to me. It doesn't make much sense. I would like to use these two counties to make friends with the major general."

Zang Ai was at a loss. He looked at Sun Shao vigilantly. Sun Shao's territory in Yue State was the smallest. It is said that he should fight for land. Why didn't he want it?Could it be that you don't like it?

"Then what does His Highness want?"

"I want a promise from the major general." Sun Shao leaned forward, staring at Zang Ai, without moving. , When mooring in Xuzhou, you must ensure that my ship is safe and will not be disturbed by any accidents. Please rest assured, the major general, I will not lose any tax for you, but if someone wants to treat me as Fat pig slaughter, I will never agree."

Zang Ai gritted his teeth, his cheeks squirmed for a moment, nodded and said: "I can promise Your Highness, as long as my father and son are still in Xuzhou, I will ensure the safety of His Highness. I will not refuse His Highness's kindness."

"Very good." Sun Shao stomped the ground vigorously: "Also, this island is my territory, the major general won't have any questions, right?"

Zang Ai's eyebrows trembled, his eyelids twitched involuntarily, he pondered for a moment, then gritted his teeth: "Yes."

"Well, we are partners." Sun Shaolang said with a smile: "I will give the Major General a big order first, I don't know if the Major General is interested."

Zang Ai smiled, Xindao had long heard that Yue Wang Sun Shao liked to do business, and sure enough, the three words were not far from his profession.He nodded and said, "I don't know what your Highness needs, but as long as we can meet it, His Highness must rest assured."

"It's easy to say." Sun Shao's mouth twisted: "I want iron, a lot of iron. I know that there are several iron officials in Xuzhou, and they are all under the control of your father and son. Give me all the pig iron, the price is negotiable."

"So many?" Zang Ai was a little embarrassed.Xuzhou is not as good as it used to be, and it is supported by these few iron mines. Sun Shao wants a lot of iron, and they must not ask for high prices. This is equivalent to losing a lot of money.He hesitated and said: "This iron is controlled by the government. If your highness wants less, we can give some to your highness in private, but your highness wants so much, we..."

"Don't give it away for free." Sun Shao understood what he meant, and shook his head again and again: "Just according to your market price." He took a piece of paper from Sun Song's hand and sent it to Zang Ai: "This is Xuzhou Did the major general see any errors in the iron prices of several iron officials last year?"

Zang Ai took it over and took a look, and was taken aback. The iron prices of several iron officials of different grades were written on it by category, clearly and accurately.He smiled bitterly and said, "Your Highness knows Xuzhou well."

"To do business, of course you have to find out the market first." Sun Shao didn't think it was embarrassing, and returned to his seat: "If the major general can't make the decision, you might as well go back and ask Mr. Zang for instructions. I have plenty of time anyway, so I might as well wait another month. It’s a matter. The scenery on this island is good, and I’m planning to build a few small buildings for a few days. If you come and go often in the future, you will have to bother the major general.”

"Welcome." Zang Ai smiled politely, and then asked the most critical question: "Dare to ask Your Highness, how can I ensure that my father and son can sleep peacefully in Xuzhou?"

"What Cao Pi wants is military merit, not to cause chaos in Xuzhou. I will give him a military merit, and he will be satisfied if he thinks about it." Sun Shao smiled and comforted Zang Ai: "Now he is anxious to make meritorious service and go back to fight for the position, and he will not be willing to be trapped in the In the quagmire of Qingxu."

Zang Ai suddenly realized, and nodded again and again.

(End of this chapter)