The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 203 Pirate Empire Veteran Pirate
Sima Yi waited for two days, but did not hear from Sun Shao. After inquiring again, he found out that Sun Shao was busy doing business with Zang Ba.While buying a large amount of Xuzhou's iron, he asked the accompanying merchant ships to sell a large amount of goods to Zang Ba, and there was a lot of barter among them-Xuzhou really had no money.

When Sima Yi heard the news, he was stunned for a long time. Is the king of Yue here to fight or do business?He wanted to go to Sun Shao to ask what happened, but he was in vain. The rear general Yuehai who stayed behind in the camp told him that my king had gone to visit the island.

"Island patrol? What island to patrol?" Sima Yi was at a loss.

"Of course it is this island." Yue Hai said with a smile: "It is the island where your step is now. My king likes it very much and named it Lianyungang. water and food, so the king took people to check."

Sima Yi was startled. He knew, needless to say, that Sun Shao and Zang Ba had reached some kind of deal, and Cao Pi's purpose of coming to Xuzhou would no longer be fulfilled.He didn't dare to be negligent, and hurriedly inquired, "When will His Royal Highness King Yue come back?"

"I don't know." Yue Hai scratched his head and looked at the vast ocean: "It is estimated that it will take ten days and a half a month for such a big place, maybe one or two months?"

Sima Yi's eyes darkened, and he almost lost his breath.A month or two?Whether Cao Cao can live another month or two is hard to say.He didn't bother to say more, while sending someone to report to Cao Pi, he asked Yue Hai for a small boat, and immediately went after Sun Shao.

When Cao Pi received the reward, his face turned pale with anger. He never expected Sun Shao to do him any favors, but he never thought that Sun Shao would be so ruthless and sold him out as soon as he turned around.He went to Zang Ba angrily, trying to frighten him first, and then negotiate with Sun Shao.Unexpectedly, as soon as they met, Zang Ba told him with great joy that he had made several big deals with the King of Yue and made a lot of money, especially that the King of Yue sold him three hundred knives, which were extremely sharp—it was too expensive , he is going to sell some more iron to exchange for some more swords.

Cao Pi tried the new saber, and then swallowed back the words that came to his lips.Although there are not many swords, but he knows what Sun Shao means. He and Zang Ba joined forces. If he wants to move Zang Ba, he must first consider Sun Shao's opinion.

Cao Pi had no choice but to ask Zhang Liao to accompany him to the island to meet Sun Shao with [-] Quying.Zhang Liao was so frightened that he dared not agree no matter what.But Cao Pi was a bully who weighed the weight—he was determined to take the risk, and he almost knelt in front of Zhang Liao.Zhang Liao had no choice but to personally lead the team and escort Cao Pi to the island, hoping that Sun Shao would not blacken Cao Pi because of their friendship back then.If you say that people are all forced out, Cao Pi would not have taken the risk of being killed before, but this time he was forced to a dead end, and finally made a brave move that he never thought of before.Even Sun Shao was a little surprised when he saw Cao Pi who was vomiting all the way: "Brother Zihuan, what do you want me to do in such a hurry?"

Cao Pi was very depressed, he asked Sun Shaoping to go to the left and right, and then smiled wryly: "Your Highness, I have not treated you badly, how can I deal with myself if you play this trick?"

"Your old mother hasn't treated me badly?" Sun Shao suddenly changed his face and grabbed Cao Pi by the collar: "Why didn't you tell me that Xia Houhui was still a child?"

Cao Pi was baffled, he would never have expected Sun Shao to say such a reason anyway, he looked at Sun Shao blankly: "My child... what's wrong? She's going to be eleven this year, although she's a bit younger, but... It's normal to marry." He didn't say a word, there are many people who especially like underage girls.

Sun Shao was very speechless, he pushed Cao Pi away, dumbfounded.On this issue, it seems that he and Cao Pi can't talk about going together, or that he can't talk about going together with many people, such as Xia Houhui, except for him, no one seems to think it's relevant. What's wrong, including Xia Houhui himself, thinks it's normal.

"Okay, tell me, what do you want from me?"

"Is there something I want from you, Your Highness doesn't understand?" Cao Pi was also anxious, "Why should Your Highness ask when you know it?"

Sun Shao secretly sighed, as the saying goes, when brothers do not get along, they always want to take advantage of outsiders.The reason why he didn't break up with Sun Quan was that he didn't want to be taken advantage of by others, but Sun Quan didn't seem to appreciate it.The tradition of Ning and Youbang, not domestic slaves, still has a long history.

"I know, you want to win a battle." Sun Shao put away his emotion and returned to his businessman's perspective. "Tell me, how can I help you? What benefits can you give me?"

Cao Pi was choked with anger, and just about to speak, Sima Yi quietly tugged at the hem of his clothes behind him.Cao Pi was startled, and only then did he come to his senses. The more angry he was, the calmer Sun Shao became, and the initiative was gone.He swallowed back the words that came to his lips, and changed into a calm expression: "I want to win a battle. Pirates in the East China Sea are rampant, the emperor is uneasy, the king of Wei is uneasy, and the results of the military elimination conference are finally achieved. , Seeing that it will be destroyed by these pirates again, as one of the four kings and the master of the Great Han Sea, isn't Your Highness in a hurry?"

Sun Shao was very surprised, this guy changed his face too quickly, and when the topic changed, he shifted the responsibility to himself.However, he also came prepared, and sighed: "Speaking of which, Gu is really ashamed."

Cao Pi rolled his eyes, saying that you are fat and you are panting, and you are called lonely.

"As the king of the sea who was proclaimed by the Son of Heaven, Gu also does not sleep at night. But you know, brother Zihuan. Although Gu, the king of Yue, is one of the four kings, but the country is small and the people are few, the sum of all the sailors is With 2 people, the sea is vast, and there are as many pirates as a cow's hair, Gu is invincible. Speaking of it, this is all your fault, but Gu will bear the responsibility. To tell you the truth, Brother Zihuan said, Gu is about to write a letter to the emperor, King Wei seeks justice."

"What does this have to do with my father?" Cao Pi was really puzzled.

"If it weren't for your exorbitant taxes, unrestrained plundering of the people's fat and pride, and the government forcing the people to rebel, how could there be so many pirates?" Sun Shaoyi said solemnly: "Let's not talk about it, the pirates in the East China Sea are not just today. Yes, many of them are Xuzhou citizens, who were driven into the sea by His Royal Highness King Wei's Xuzhou massacre. Brother Zihuan, are you right?"

Embarrassed, Cao Pi glanced at Sima Yi in embarrassment. Sima Yi was expressionless, as if he hadn't heard it.Although Sun Shao's words are suspected of being framed, they are generally true.Xuzhou is so desolate now, it is indeed inseparable from Cao Cao's massacre of the city back then, and many pirates entered the sea to become pirates because they couldn't survive.

"Brother Zihuan, have you ever heard of the great pirate Guan Cheng?" Seeing that Cao Pi's arrogance was suppressed, Sun Shao calmly added a handful of firewood.Cao Pi was taken aback, and nodded: "I know, this Guan Cheng was a remnant of the Yellow Turban, and he has been a disaster for the East China Sea for 30 years. My father and king personally conquered the East China Sea, so General Zhechong Le Jin and General Polu General Li Dian fought against him. It’s just breaking and leaving. Why, he’s still alive?”

"Alive, live well." It was the first time Sun Shao heard that Guan Cheng was originally a Yellow Turban Army. He just heard Su Chuleg say that Guan Cheng is now the boss of the Qingxu area, but most of his activities range In the Bohai Bay north of Qingzhou, so far we haven't had any contact with him, but since he wants to be the biggest pirate, of course he can't let Guan Cheng be free.He sent someone to contact Guan Cheng, but Guan Cheng didn't give any reply.

"So that's how it is." Guan Cheng hadn't gone ashore for many years to plunder, and since Qingzhou was taken care of by Sun Guan, Cao Cao hadn't received any news about him for a long time. He always thought that Guan Cheng was dead, but he didn't expect him to be alive. .After all, this is a veteran pirate.Cao Pi always thought that the pirates in the East China Sea were Su Chukuleg and his gang, but only now did he know that there was also Guan Cheng, a veteran pirate.He sneered, if this is true, Sun Guan, governor of Qingzhou, will be in trouble again.

"With the invincible navy of His Royal Highness Yue, Guan Cheng is nothing." Cao Pi smiled relaxedly: "Your Highness Yue is not sure, right?"

"Not sure." Sun Shao smiled and admitted frankly. "I'm not familiar with Bohai Bay, and I've never been there before. Now it's the north wind, and the weather and location are not advantageous for Gu. However, if there is brother Zihuan to help, Gu can still be alone."

"Me?" Cao Pi looked at Sun Shao in amazement, and thought to himself that this man has dug a hole for me again, if I can destroy Guan Cheng, why would I beg you?With Zhang Liao around, the battle on land is absolutely sure, but in the sea, it is no different from courting death.This kid doesn't want to lure me into the sea to clean up, does he?

"Exactly." Sun Shao smiled sincerely: "His Royal Highness King Wei is a famous soldier in the world. He has been invincible in the world for 30 years. Liu Bei and his like fled, but Guan Cheng was different. King Wei was helpless against him. Among them You must be able to tell the difference between Brother Zihuan, right?"

Cao Pi smiled bitterly: "I would like to make this contribution, but I don't have the ability."

"That's why I want to cooperate with you." Sun Shao patted his chest and smiled more enthusiastically.

Although Cao Pi was moved, he did not lose his mind. He said cautiously: "I would like to hear more about it."

Sun Shao smiled: "I have a strategy to ban the sea and submit it to His Royal Highness Wei Wang, have you read it, brother Zihuan?"

"I've seen it." Cao Pi stroked his beard and thought about it: "Your Highness said that the sea was banned, and then he was lured ashore, and His Highness used navy to cut off his back, and advance by land and water?"

"Great." Sun Shao slapped his thigh and praised loudly: "I just said that brother Zihuan has a talent for military affairs. I, the monarch and minister of the Yue Kingdom, have been thinking about a solution for a long time, but I have come to brother Zihuan to explain it in one word."

Cao Pi knew that Sun Shao was fooling him, but he was still unavoidably a little complacent. Everyone loves to listen to flattery, even saints, not to mention that Cao Pi is far from the realm of saints.Since he didn't need to enter the sea, he felt relieved and dispelled his doubts about Sun Shao.He thought for a while, if he could cooperate with Sun Shao to destroy Guan Cheng's group of pirates, it would be a credit, and it would be much better than returning empty-handed.If Sun Shao thought about it again and gave him the main credit, then he would be able to equal Cao Zhi's military achievements.

"It's just... In this way, the war may be protracted. His Royal Highness Wei Wang is not in good health, so he may not be able to work hard on this matter?" Sima Yi reminded with something in his words.Cao Pi was also a little worried, he glanced at Sun Shao uneasily, but Sun Shao smiled and said, "His Royal Highness the King of Wei spent his entire life as a soldier, how could he get sick so easily, the reason why your body is sick is nothing more than too much worrying things. Brother Zihuan can share his worries for him, so what else can he worry about? If you don’t worry about it, your body will naturally recover. If Brother Zihuan is afraid that His Royal Highness King Wei will not allow it, that’s fine. I’ll let my younger brother Sun Tai go. A trip to Yecheng."

"Sun Tai?" Cao Pi hesitated for a while before thinking about it. Sun Tai's mother was the daughter of his uncle Cao De, and he immediately became happy.Yes, Cao De died in Taishan County. Cao Cao has always taken good care of his orphan. His eldest son married Xia Houyuan's eldest son Xia Houheng, and his second daughter married Sun Kuang. They never saw each other again. Start with this girl.If Sun Tai were allowed to go to Yecheng, it might make him feel better and live longer.

"Your Highness is thoughtful, and the foreign minister admires it." Cao Pi showed a satisfied smile, cupped his hands and said.

"Without him, as a businessman, things to consider are inevitably more trivial." Sun Shao looked at Cao Pi with a smile, and twirled his fingers, meaning, what about my benefits?Cao Pi scorned him secretly, and said with a smile: "If this success is successful, I would like to ask His Royal Highness King Wei to lend you Chengshan as a transshipment terminal."

"Hahaha..." Sun Shao laughed. Chengshan is a small place at the easternmost end of Donglai County in Qingzhou. If you are sailing along the coast, Chengshan is a transit point that you can't get around anyway. It can be said that people who sail An important place to know.Cao Pi lent him this place. Although it was a bit generous to others, it has to be said that this is indeed a very attractive condition.Even so, he pointed to Cao Pi's nose and said, "Stingy!"

Cao Pi smiled: "I heard that His Highness sold three hundred ring swords to Mr. Zang?"

"There is such a thing." Sun Shao didn't mean to hide it at all.

"This...isn't appropriate?" Cao Pi made a deliberate annoyance.Sun Shao didn't care: "This is a business, one is willing to buy and the other is willing to sell, what's right or wrong?"

"Then if I want to buy it, will you sell it too?"

"Sell!" Without hesitation, Sun Shao laughed again: "However, the price...is precious." He paused, and then said: "Besides, I don't want you to use my knife to fight in the territory of the big man and kill me Man, if you go to the Western Regions, I can give you a little bit cheaper, half sell and half give away, if it’s a civil war, hehe, don’t blame me for being evil.”

Cao Pi blushed, he really wanted to use it to fight the civil war.As soon as he saw those knives, he was very tempted, and he was going to buy some more from Sun Shao. If the scheme couldn't solve Zang Ba, he would simply go to Ba Wang's bow. Unexpectedly, Sun Shao blocked his thoughts with a word.In his opinion, this is actually Sun Shao warning him: Zang Ba is my partner, so don't think about it.

"Of course it can't be a civil war." Cao Pi said solemnly, "I'm talking about going to the Western Regions."

"That's okay, when you send me an order, I will guarantee the supply." Sun Shao waved his hand and stopped discussing this topic: "Now let's discuss how to unite Qingzhou and Xuzhou to destroy the big pirate Guan Cheng."

Guan Cheng was 60 years old, his face was darkened by the sea breeze, his face was full of wrinkles, he had big hands and feet, and he was of medium build. Yi Gu: "I was born in the Yellow Turban, and I don't accept the edict of the emperor of the Han Dynasty. I don't even recognize this king of Yue."

Xia Houying slowly picked up the imperial edict, carefully blew off the dust on it, tried to slow down his tone, and said in substandard Luoyang official dialect: "The general thought that with your three or four thousand yellow scarf troops and hundreds of small fishing boats , can you resist the advance of His Highness King Yue? The Yellow Turban Army? The time when the Yellow Turban Army was the strongest has long passed, and now the big man is rejuvenating, and the sky is not dead yet, but where is your Huang Tian?"

Guan Cheng was furious, he stood up with a hush, pointed his halberd and shouted: "Zhuzi dare, is it not good to bully me with a knife?"

"The general's sword is not sharp, I don't know. However, I know that no matter how sharp your sword is, it will not be as sharp as the sword of His Royal Highness the King of Yue." Xia Houying said lightly without changing his face: "Although I, Xia Houying, is just a mediocre man, Since you dared to come all the way to see the general, of course you have made a perfect plan. You can kill me, but you have to be prepared to meet the wrath of His Royal Highness. Don't you even understand the truth that you don't want to be equal to His Royal Highness the King of Yue because you don't accept the imperial edict of the Great Han Emperor?"

Guan Cheng was tongue-tied, he was a rough man, he was good at fighting, and in terms of eloquence, he was no match for Xia Houying.But he couldn't lose face, so he forced himself to sneer calmly: "It's just a messenger, if you kill it, kill it, there is nothing to worry about."

"That's because you don't understand my king." Seeing that Guan Cheng softened, Xia Houying became more confident. He puffed up his chest and said loudly: "My king loves the people like a son. If anyone bullies his people, he will always We don’t dare to let it go. We, as emissaries, are traveling all over the world, so we naturally know the danger. Before we set off, the king has asked people to arrange our home. If there is any accident, not only the parents, wife and children at home will be safe, but he He will avenge us, and the culprit will be killed."

Xia Houying bragged about the truth and falsehood, and made Guan Cheng's heart flustered. He wanted to kill Xia Houying, a sharp-tongued son, but he was afraid that Sun Shaozhen was an extremely protective person like Xia Houying said.Besides, Sun Shao's army has already arrived in Xuzhou, so it's hard to guarantee that he has no intention of going north. Since the emperor named him the king of the sea, if he wants to make a living on Sun Shao's territory, he needs to give him some face.

Of course, if you give face back to face, this surrender is out of the question. After 30 years of being King Caotou, Guan Cheng has no interest in being anyone's subordinate.

In the end, Guan Cheng did not dare to kill Xia Houying. He drove Xia Houying away, then counted his luggage, and went into the sea to avoid the limelight.Everyone, including him, felt that although Sun Shao was the king of the sea named by the emperor, and his records in the South China Sea and the East China Sea were indeed good, but this was the Bohai Bay, and they were the bosses. The island is as familiar as the palm of his own hand. No matter how strong Sun Shao is, he is still an outsider when he arrives here. If he messes around, he will naturally leave in despair. Bohai Bay is still their fishing ground.

Things didn’t seem to be different from what Guan Cheng had expected. The sea was always calm, but the pirates who went out to inquire about the news came back and said that Qingzhou banned the sea. port, waiting for further notice from the government.

What surprised Guan Cheng even more was that from the notice torn back by the scouts, Guan Cheng saw two official seals, one from the Wei Palace and the other from the Yue Palace. Is Wang Sunshao really the king of the sea named by the emperor?
Yecheng, by the Xuanwu Pool, Cao Cao walked slowly holding Sun Tai's hand, a gratified smile appeared on his old face.Sun Tai's arrival lifted his spirits up a lot, and after a walk in the Xuanwu Pond with fresh air and green branches, his heavy body became much lighter.

"Zian (Sun Tai), isn't your mother worried when you come out to fight with the King of Yue?" Cao Cao murmured as he walked hesitantly, looking at the figure in the distance with his dim eyes.

Sun Tai pursed his lips and smiled: "Grandpa, elder brother is not here to fight, he is here to do business. The few of us who accompanied us increased our knowledge, and mother agreed."

"Business?" The corners of Cao Cao's mouth trembled, his gray beard fluttered gently with the spring breeze, he raised his wrinkled hand, and gently stroked it: "He brought twenty thousand sailors to do business? "

"He brought [-] sailors just to deter the ugly people and inspect his territory." Sun Tai said calmly, "As soon as the elder brother arrived in Lianyungang, the pirates ran away, even the pirate Guan Cheng in Bohai hid .Brother and General Five Senses are working together to plan a trapping plan to wipe out all the pirates in the Bohai Sea and ensure the smooth flow of business routes."

"It's his plan of naval escort and banning the sea again?" Cao Cao chuckled, "He really likes this move, and he never tires of it. However, use this method to deal with those pirates who come and go without a trace. , It’s indeed a way. When I conquered the East China Sea, I also thought about such a way, but because I didn’t have time, I had to drive away. I didn’t expect Guan Cheng’s life to be really long, and he’s still alive.”

Cao Cao's face darkened, he was very dissatisfied with Sun Guan's way of raising Kou's self-respect, but he had no choice.

"Now that the eldest brother and the five sense organs are working together, it will be difficult for him not to die." Sun Tai said confidently.

"It doesn't matter if you have five senses or not. The old pirate Guan Cheng is just old-fashioned. When you meet a wily little pirate like your elder brother, he is indeed no match." Cao Cao walked to a gazebo, leaned on the stone railing and stood facing the wind, and was silent for a moment. Said: "If there are no accidents, half a year should be enough."

Sun Tai didn't speak, and he said everything Sun Shao asked him to say. Judging from Cao Cao's expression, this grandfather who had never met had complicated feelings for Sun Shao.Cao Cao agreed with Sun Shao's plan to round up Guan Cheng, but Sun Tai didn't understand why Cao Cao was not very happy when he saw that Guan Cheng could be wiped out. On the contrary, he was very worried.

The bewilderment on his face did not hide from Cao Cao's eyes, Cao Cao secretly sighed, although Sun Tai and Sun Shao are very similar in age, but compared with Sun Shao, his scheming is obviously a world apart.Sometimes he also finds it strange that Sun Shao is far from his age and name as a martial artist if only from the perspective of deep scheming and the way he handles things. Cao Cao often has the illusion that the person who once sat opposite him The young man is actually an old man with profound experience in the world, but he has the skills to keep in good health and looks young.

(End of this chapter)