The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 207 The Pirate Empire Liaodong Gongsun
Cao Zhang's suspicious look fell into Sun Shao's eyes, he showed a disappointed look, shook his hand, and said with a hint of contempt: "Forget it, you don't even want me to come to Youzhou, how could there be someone who conquered Goguryeo and Fuyu?" Ambitious. I'd better go to Gongsun Gong to discuss it. Although Gongsun's family lives in Liaodong, they have been fighting here and there for decades, but they still have some courage."

Cao Zhang blushed, and Sun Shao's last words made him very embarrassed. As the governor of Youzhou, although he had only been in office for a few months, he was no stranger to the affairs of the Gongsun family.As Sun Shao said, although the Gongsun family only occupied Liaodong, they have made great achievements in conquest of foreign tribes in the past few years by fighting for Karasuma in the west and Goguryeo in the east, which is not inferior to him, the governor of Youzhou.

When Sun Shao praised Gongsun's family, he accused him of fighting within himself in a disguised form, which made the upright Cao Zhang very depressed.But depression is depression, and things like cooperating with Sun Shao in combat involve too much, and he can't decide on his own, and he has to wait for Cao Cao's instructions before he can take further action.He is not Sun Shao, Sun Shao is the king of Yue, and he can make decisions on his own.

Although Cao Zhang was ashamed, he couldn't sit back and watch Sun Shao cooperate with Gongsun's family. This was the main purpose of his visit this time.Although the hope of restricting Sun Shao with military rations failed, he still couldn't give up.

"Your Majesty wants to contact Gongsun Gong?" Cao Zhang was a little annoyed.

"Is it not possible?" Sun Shao asked back: "I heard that when the king of Wei was Sikong, he once represented Gongsun Du as the prefect of Liaodong, the general of Wuwei, and was granted the title of Marquis of Yongning. If we don’t discuss it, should we conquer it by force?”

Cao Zhang frowned, hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Majesty doesn't know, Gongsun Gong is not some mighty general now."

"What do you mean?" Sun Shaoming asked knowingly.

"When my father was appointed as Sikong, he wrote a letter to Gongsun Du as Wuwei General, Liaodong Taishou and Yongning Hou, but Gongsun Du did not accept it. He claimed to be Pingzhou Mu and Liaodong Hou. He died of illness, and was succeeded by his son Gongsun Kang, who gave the Marquis of Yongning of the court as a consolation to his younger brother Gongsun Gong."

"Is there such a thing?" Sun Shaoyi was filled with indignation, "So, in his eyes, there is no court, no Duke Cao?"

Cao Zhang glanced at him contemptuously, thinking, what are you pretending to be, do you not know about this situation?Why bother to provoke me.

"Since this is the case, how can you, the governor of Youzhou, be indifferent? Such rebellious officials and thieves should have been wiped out long ago." Sun Shao slapped his thigh and said with emotion: "It is tolerable, which is unbearable, if I had known earlier For this kind of thing, please send an imperial edict to Liaodong. How about it, can you help, if you don't help, I will get rid of him myself?"

Cao Zhang was stunned: "Your Majesty wants to attack Liaodong?"

"Of course." Sun Shao said as a matter of course: "As the king of Yue who was proclaimed by the emperor, I have the responsibility to guard the land. Although Liaodong is not my territory, you are helpless. How can I sit idly by? I have to cross the border to attack the enemy. Don't worry, I will make an apology to the court, and I will definitely not implicate your Cao family."

Cao Zhang was taken aback. Sun Shao wanted to attack Liaodong. The emperor must have wished for it, but Cao Cao was definitely not happy.The reason is simple. If Sun Shao wins Liaodong, will he still spit it out?Let him go ashore in Liaodong and stand still. Wouldn't it be the same as stabbing the Cao family in the back?

Cao Zhang felt that the situation was serious, and he didn't dare to let Sun Shao fight alone. Even if he felt that Sun Shao's troops seemed not enough, he couldn't take the risk.He pondered for a moment, then said cautiously: "The king of Yue is so loyal to the emperor and patriotic, it really makes the foreign minister ashamed. As the governor of Youzhou, how can the foreign minister stay out of the matter? The foreign minister is willing to cooperate with the king to attack Liaodong. It's just... this I can’t rush things, I have to make more preparations, not only to recruit more troops, but also to ask Jizhou for food, grass and luggage, and I hope the king of Yue can give me some time.”

"How long do you want?" Sun Shao frowned in embarrassment: "What about my food and grass? The soldiers are not used to relying on fish for food."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I'll settle this matter." Cao Zhang knew that Sun Shao was blackmailing him again, but he had no choice but to pat his chest and promised to raise food for Sun Shao's navy immediately.Fortunately, Sun Shao has a large number of cargo ships with his army, and it is very convenient to adjust grain by sea to Jizhou and Qingzhou.In order to conquer Karasuma, Cao Cao excavated Pinglu Canal, Quanzhou Canal and other waterways connecting Jizhou and Youzhou, and Zhangshui, Qinghe and other waterways were also full of waterways, and grain transport ships could go all the way to Jizhou The hinterland is still very convenient.

Sun Shao agreed to Cao Zhang's request and stopped at Qinhuangdao. As the king of Yue, he sent a notice to Gongsun Gong, telling Gongsun Gong that he was about to arrive in Liaodong County when he patrolled the territorial waters, and asked Gongsun Gong to come to pick him up. At the same time, he sent someone to Luoyang The above table shows that it is possible for me to conquer Liaodong. At the same time, I will train sailors in the way of fishing in Qinhuangdao. The momentum is very large. Every day, two or three large boats and five or six thousand sailors are fishing on the sea. It starts early and goes late. Afterwards, they simply went out to sea for three or four days, and did not turn back until the boat was fully loaded.

Cao Zhang quickly raised the first batch of food and handed it over to Sun Shao. Sun Shao set sail again, left Qinhuangdao and sailed northward, continuing his itinerary of patrolling his own territorial waters.In October, the fleet arrived at the mouth of Daliaoshui (now Liaohe River).The Daliaoshui is the boundary between the Liaodong vassal state and the Liaodong County. Crossing the Daliaoshui to the south is the boundary of Liaodong County, and going up the Daliaoshui, and then turning into Daliangshui (now Taizi River), you can reach Liaodong County Zhixiang Pingcheng (near today's Liaoyang City).

The emperor issued an edict, authorizing Sun Shao, the king of Yue, to conquer Liaodong. At the same time, he was asked to contact Goguryeo, Buyeo, and Joseon countries, and ordered them not to forget their status as vassal states, and those who should pay tribute should pay tribute.Letting Goguryeo pay tribute is of course a cover, the emperor is actually reminding Sun Shao that you should pay tribute too.The city of Luoyang was to be rebuilt, but the emperor was so poor that no one in Wei, Shu and Wu would pay attention to him. Whenever he asked for money, he would cry and be poor, as if they were all beggars. Among the four kings, only Sun Shao was better, so the emperor had to ask Yue Reaching out, the advantage is that it gives you the right to conquer. What the emperor lacks now is money, and the most is imperial edicts.

When Sun Shao received the edict, it was equivalent to obtaining a license. On the one hand, he asked someone to send a letter to Yu Fan, asking him to consider the matter of paying tribute at the end of the year, and on the other hand, he told Cao Zhang, I have the authorization of the emperor now. up.Cao Zhang has also received Cao Cao's order. Cao Cao told him that it is possible to cooperate to break through Liaodong, but he must not let Sun Shao take advantage. Sun Shao's navy is very powerful, but there are few infantry and no cavalry. He must really want to occupy Liaodong. You can't Let him succeed, and buy horses, don't even think about it, not only can't help him buy horses, even if he buys horses himself, he has to find ways to make him dirty.

Cao Zhang did not dare to be negligent, and led an army of [-] cavalry recruited across the Liaodong vassal state, drove straight in, rushed to the Liao Tunnel between the Daliao River and the Daliang River, and captured the Liao Tunnel City with lightning speed. Then I sent someone to inform Sun Shao that I have arrived and can enter the army.

Yue Hai and the others cursed loudly.Cao Zhang occupied the Liao Tunnel first, which was tantamount to blocking the waterway. He obviously had bad intentions. This is not like an ally, it is even stricter than defending against the enemy.Sun Shao was very calm, he had long been psychologically prepared for this outcome, Cao Zhang was upright, but he was not stupid, it would be strange not to guard against him.Taizu said, fighting against the sky is endless joy, fighting against the earth is endless joy, and the most important thing is fighting with people is even more joyful.Of course you have to fight the enemy, how can your own people live in peace?Not to mention Cao Zhang, he and Sun Quan also have evil intentions, and the uncle and nephew had a great time fighting?

Although I feel very sad, but Sun Shao knows that the way of the world is like this. More rationally speaking, internal fighting is far more cruel and ruthless than external fighting. The so-called external struggle must first settle the internal, although it sounds very helpless, but I have to admit , most of the time this is the main contradiction.

"What's wrong with him occupying the Liao Tunnel?" Sun Shao smiled: "It's not us who are most restless, but Gongsun Gong, right?"

Sun Shao's analysis was very accurate, Gongsun Gong really couldn't sleep.

Although Liaodong is remote, it doesn't mean that Liaodong is closed, especially with the arrival of a large number of businessmen, Gongsun Gong not only knows the changes in the situation in the Central Plains, but also knows that the sea not far from him is not a sea without owners. Wang Sunshao's territory, and Sun Shao is patrolling the sea with a huge naval fleet.

Like Cao Cao and others, although Gongsun Gong lives next to the sea, he doesn't have much interest in the sea. He doesn't care much about who is the master of the sea. Therefore, although King Sun Shao of Yue sent an envoy, he was indifferent. I sent someone to find out that the navy of Yue State is powerful, but not strong enough to go ashore. More importantly, he has no cavalry. If he wants to compete in Liaodong, it is difficult to gain a foothold without cavalry.Therefore, although Sun Shao has [-] sailors, his arrival touched Gongsun Gong far less than Cao Zhang's [-] cavalry.When he heard that Cao Zhang had conquered the Liao Tunnel, Gongsun Gong was really anxious.Although he didn't know the famous saying "Sleeping on the side of the couch, how can others sleep peacefully", but the truth is the same in ancient and modern times, and he couldn't let Cao Zhang squat beside him with a [-]-step horse.

Whether it's war or peace, Gongsun Gong hesitated and called a group of ministers to discuss matters.

If Gongsun Gong's father, Gongsun Du, was around, he would not hesitate so much.Gongsun Du is a very domineering person. The reason why he can gain a foothold in Liaodong is because of his prestige by killing people.He was not only cruel to the barbarians, but also cruel to the people under him.Although Liaodong County is remote and cannot be compared with the Central Plains in all aspects, the custom of the rich and powerful families looking down on poor families is almost the same as that of the Central Plains.He was born as a petty official, and he became an official because of Dong Zhuo's subordinate Xu Rong, so people in Liaodong County didn't take him seriously. Gongsun Du's way of dealing with it was very straightforward, that is, to kill, and kill anyone who refused to accept.As soon as he came to office, he first summoned Gongsun Zhao, a vassal from Liaodong who was in command of Xiangping, to Xiangping, and beat him to death in Xiangping City. Jing, the violence of the method made the whole county tremble.Li Min, a famous scholar who was the prefect of Hanoi, fled his family to the sea because of fear, trying to escape the control of Gongsun Du.Gongsundu couldn't find anyone else, so in a rage, he ordered people to dig Li Min's father's grave, dissected the coffin and burned the body, and killed the clan he left in the local area to make rivers of blood.

Gongsun Du is accustomed to using violence to solve problems. If he knows that Cao Zhang is coming to the door, he will definitely attack with troops, and there will be no other reaction. It is impossible for him to be at a loss like Gongsun Gong.And his eldest son, Gongsun Gong's elder brother, Gongsun Kang, is also a ruthless person. Yuan Shao's sons Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang were defeated by Cao Cao. Even more fiercely, he tossed the cup as a sign, and all the ambush soldiers were out, and the Yuan brothers were dealt with.If Gongsun Kang is in power, facing the current situation, he will make a decision on whether to fight or surrender in the shortest possible time, and he will not delay like Gongsun Gong.

Seeing Gongsun Gong's nervous appearance, Cao Liu Yi, General Yang Yi and others who have assisted the Gongsun family since the beginning of Gongsun Dushi shook their heads repeatedly, feeling that the Gongsun family is not as good as the previous generation, and Gongsun Gong has no inheritance from Gongsun Du. It was a wrong choice to make him the governor of Liaodong.No matter how you look at it, Gongsun Gong doesn't look like Gongsun Du's son.

Indeed, not only is Gongsun Gong not like his father Gongsun Gong and elder brother Gongsun Kang in character, but he doesn't even look like him.Both Gongsun Du and Gongsun Kang look mighty, while Gongsun Gong is not small, but he can't match the mighty. He even looks a little cowardly, with a fat body, a round face, but no beard. The white and smooth chin is comparable to a woman's breast.Sparse eyebrows, slender eyes, and even a thin voice, like an eunuch.

To be more precise, he is actually an eunuch.This is Gongsun Gong's biggest secret, a secret that no one knows except him and his concubine Ji.In the eyes of outsiders, Gongsun Gong is very lustful. As the overlord of Liaodong, besides his wife, he has more than 20 concubines. Many people even say that he is greedy for sex and misleading the country, but no one knows. In fact, Gongsun Gong is not human at all. .

"Liu Gongcao, tell me quickly, whether it's war or peace, there must be an explanation." Gongsun Gong's fat face was trembling, and he looked at Liu Yi earnestly.

Liu Yi is over 60 years old. When he started to work hard with Gongsundu in Liaodong, he was still a suave and handsome young man. Now he has achieved fame, his body has grown fat, and his mentality has lost the momentum of the past. Facing the predicament in front of him, He is also very embarrassed.In front of so many people, Gongsun Gong asked him, but he had to ask, otherwise he would be ashamed of his reputation as the number one counselor in Liaodong.He coughed, and said slowly: "Ming Envoy, I think you should talk to Yue Wang Sun Shao first."

"Talk about it?" Gongsun Gong asked, "What and how?"

General Yang Yi was also very puzzled. He pressed the sword at his waist and frowned, "Brother Liu, although Sun Shao has 2 people, he is a navy man and has not gone ashore so far. We are at odds with you." Cao Zhangtan who is closer, instead of looking far away, went to talk with Sun Shao?"

Liu Yi raised his head and looked directly at Gongsun Gong. Gongsun Gong's fat face was greasy, which made him feel very uncomfortable: "Sun Shao is the king of Yue, and he has the emperor's edict in his hand. Although Cao Zhang has a strong army, his official rank is not as good as Sun Gong Shao, the right to fight or make peace is not in his hands, but in the hands of Sun Shao."

Yang Yi dismissively said: "What is an official rank? Although Cao Zhang is only a governor of [-] shi, but he has [-] paces, can he listen to Sun Shao? I think he is the first to occupy Liaotun City, and he probably has a meritorious service." the meaning of."

"You're right." Liu Yi nodded with a smile, "That's why I suggested that Shi Jun talk to Sun Shao instead of Cao Zhang?"

"What do you mean?" Not only Yang Yi was confused, but Gongsun Gong was also confused, and several other people also stared at Liu Yi.Liu Yi's status as the number one counselor in Liaodong since Gongsundu made them puzzled, but they didn't dare to doubt it. They just looked at Liu Yi eagerly, hoping that he could give him an explanation.

"Cao Zhang has strength, and if he doesn't take Sun Shao seriously, will Sun Shao be satisfied? Of course he doesn't want Cao Zhang to make meritorious service." Liu Yi explained with a bit of arrogance: "As long as we show a little sincerity, Sun Shao must be willing to stop the war. He can monopolize the credit, while Cao Zhang, although he has an army of [-], can only watch from the sidelines, making no contribution."

"What if Cao Zhang doesn't listen?" Gongsun Gong asked.

"If he doesn't obey Sun Shao's order, then we only need to deal with Cao Zhang. Maybe Sun Shao will help us deal with Cao Zhang." Liu Yi seemed to bow to Gongsun Gong respectfully, and further explained: "We As long as you submit a surrender form, you can preserve Liaodong, and maybe you can get the approval of the emperor through Sun Shao, why not do it?"

Gongsun Gong, Yang Yi and the others understood. Looking at each other, they all felt that Liu Yi's method was good. If Sun Shao and Cao Zhang could be separated, they would not have to face [-] troops, and it would be much easier to deal with them.Gongsun Gong's Pingzhou Mu and Liaodong Marquis were all self-appointed. In the past, Cao Cao was busy fighting in the Central Plains and had no time to deal with him. Now that the Central Plains is settled, Cao Cao will have to free up his hands to deal with Liaodong sooner or later. It is absolutely impossible for them to continue to enjoy themselves.If Gongsun Gong's official title was recognized by the emperor, then Cao Cao would have no reason.

"Just follow Mr. Liu." Gongsun Gong saw that there was no objection from the crowd, so he immediately made a decision, and Liu Yi was in charge of the negotiation with Sun Shao.After Liu Yi took the order, he immediately sent people to Xiangping City and found a businessman from Yue State.Liu Yi knew very well that among these merchants, there must be detailed operations arranged by Yue King Sun Shao. The reason why he has not dealt with them is because they are very responsible, and Liaodong also needs the exquisite goods they brought.

Liu Yi's guess was very accurate. A Kuaiji businessman surnamed Wei led the envoy he sent to a young man.

"I am Zhou Bing, the envoy of the King of Yue." Zhou Bing said straight to the point: "His Royal Highness, the King of Yue, will be very pleased if Gongsun envoy wants to submit, but you have nothing to prove. You must show a certain amount of sincerity. Let's meet and discuss."

"What promise do you want?"

"It doesn't matter what you say, you take me to see Liu Gongcao, I want to talk to him personally."

The person Liu Yi sent was hesitant. He looked at Zhou Dory carefully, hoping to see some clues from his expression.Zhou Dory sat drinking tea calmly, neither impatient nor arrogant.

"Okay, I'll go back and report."

"Okay!" Zhou Dory nodded calmly: "Liaotun is only a hundred miles away from Xiangping, and it will arrive sooner or later. You can figure it out."

Liu Yi quickly summoned Zhou Bream. When he saw Zhou Bream, Liu Yi was very hesitant. Zhou Bream was too young, he looked less than 30 years old, that is, 27 or [-] years old. Can he take on such an important matter?Talking to him, isn't it a bit too hasty?

Zhou Bream saw Liu Yi's worry in his eyes, and smiled faintly: "My Royal Highness Yue Wang is 28 years old this year, only one year older than me." After a pause, he continued: "The three generals of my Yue Kingdom , the average age is only 32 years old.”

"Sure enough, it's a young man who is a hero." Liu Yi was overwhelmed by Zhou Bing's calmness and calmness, and smiled appreciatively: "Jun Zhou has achieved such a position at such a young age, and his future prospects must be limitless. It is really a blessing for the King of Yue to have Lord Zhou to assist him." Fortunately."

"Thank you, Mr. Liu, for your compliment." Zhou Dory saluted without arrogance or impetuosity: "Zhou Dory is not a capable person, but only when he met His Highness, was he lucky enough to participate in confidential matters. There are a lot of talents in my country, people like me Vehicle volume."

Liu Yi smiled, not interested in talking about this kind of scene, so he changed the subject and talked about the current situation.He sighed first, and said in an extremely aggrieved tone: "Since the Yellow Turban, the world has been in chaos and the people have been displaced. Although Liaodong is remote, it has not been spared. Gongsun's father and son successively settled Liaodong, which is very helpful to the Han Dynasty. Credit, now the Son of Heaven and the King of Yue are misled by rumors, thinking that Gongsun Shijun has the heart of disobedience, it is really chilling."

Zhou Bin listened quietly, his face as calm as an ancient well, and when Liu Yi finished speaking, he said: "Rumors only stop with wise men. If Gongsun Shijun is really a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty, it doesn't matter if someone misunderstands him. As long as Shijun sends someone to the King of Yue His Royal Highness expresses his heart in front of him, and His Royal Highness King Yue will naturally understand. Although His Highness is young, he is extremely intelligent, he will definitely understand the Sacred Heart, and will not wrong a loyal minister, nor let a rebellious minister go."

Liu Yi frowned, very displeased with the threat in Zhou Bing's tone.He is willing to negotiate with Sun Shao, not because he hopes that Sun Shao can clear up their grievances, but because he hopes to use the conflict between Sun Shao and Cao Zhang to ease the crisis in Liaodong.Now Zhou Brem's tone is firm, which makes him feel that Sun Shao's will is very firm, and it seems that it is not easy to fool him.

Liu Yi felt it necessary to remind Zhou Dory.

"I heard that the king of Yue is dominated by naval forces, how many warships does he have?"

"Not many, twelve buildings and ships, including more than 130 large and small warships."

"That's all?" Liu Yi seemed regretful, but actually said disdainfully, "So, Cao Zhang is in charge this time?"

Zhou Bing smiled lightly: "If Jun Liu is willing to talk to Cao Zhang, I have no objection. However, Cao Zhang is eager to make contributions, but he is not in such a good mood as His Royal Highness Yue King. His Royal Highness Yue Yue has always believed in one thing, there is no benevolence and righteousness in buying and selling, but the price is optional. As the market fluctuates, the conditions that can be given now may not be given in the future.”

"What kind of conditions can His Royal Highness Yue give now?" Liu Yi asked indifferently.

"Profess the minister and accept the order of the King of Yue." Zhou Bream paused, and then said: "Liaodong can enjoy the same trading treatment as Yuejun and Zhuya, and get the supply of goods first, and sell grain, war horses and other corresponding materials at preferential prices. "

(End of this chapter)