The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 258 The Pirate Empire

Fan Man's lips trembled, her face was pale, and she clenched her fists tightly, wishing she could rush up and beat Fan Xun to death.It had been half a month since he had not heard from Fan Jinsheng, and he already felt a little uneasy, but he always believed in Fan Xun's judgment. After chasing him far away at sea, it was too late to send the news back.

But he never expected that when Fan Xun sent the news about Fan Jinsheng, the entire army was wiped out, and none slipped through the net.

Fan Man did not believe the news, even if Fan Xun offered Fan Jinsheng's saber, he would not believe it.

Eight thousand sailors who have been in the sea for many years will be wiped out, and there will be no survivors?Who believes it?
However, Fan Man has fought in court and on the battlefield for many years, and he is still a hero. Although he is very angry, he still keeps himself from erupting. He knows that losing his temper at this time will not help.

"How many sailors are there in Yue Kingdom?" Fan Man let out a foul breath, put down Fan Jinsheng's saber, and asked calmly.

Fan Xun was sweating like rain. As soon as he received Shi Bao's solemn statement, he knew that he had been deceived by the Yue people again. Either the strength of the Yue people was far less than [-], or the warships of the Yue country were far more than he had seen. Of course, it is more likely that neither is right.At first he was a bit lucky, hoping that Shi Bao was cheating him again, but after he took a look at Fan Jinsheng from a distance and got Fan Jinsheng's saber, he believed it.

The frightened Fan Xun only took three days to rush back to Temu City from Linyi. The continuous running for three days and nights made him exhausted, and his physical and mental strength reached the breaking point. Maybe he will die of exhaustion.

Fan Man didn't yell at him, but the anger hidden in her heart was even more frightening.

Fan Xunqiang held on and didn't fall down, but he didn't know what to say anymore, he only knew he was wrong now, and he still didn't know how much he was wrong.How many troops does Yue have, and how powerful are their warships?Fan Jinsheng may know these things, but Fan Jinsheng is in the hands of the Yue people, and they have no chance to talk to each other at all.

The Yue people did it on purpose, Fan Xun knew it, but he was helpless.

"I...don't know." Fan Xun finally spit out these words, and fell softly to the ground.Fan Man moved her body, hesitated for a moment, sighed, and ordered someone to carry Fan Xun down to rest.His eyes fell on the letter of credentials that Fan Xun brought back. It was still written in upright and majestic Chinese characters, but now in his eyes, every word was like barking teeth and claws, with a hideous face.

After a long time, Fan Man opened the letter of credence, and after reading two words, he frowned, his extremely long white eyebrows trembled, and then he frowned.

Sun Shao's tone was very polite, far from the arrogance Fan Man had imagined. He first explained the battle of Jin'ou Island. He was not there at the time, so the annihilation of Fan Jinsheng's entire army was not in his plan. After chasing him too closely, the soldiers couldn't help but get angry, so they hit hard.Then he said very kindly, "There have been fights, but it is better to settle the enemy than to make peace. I am willing to send Fan Jinsheng back, as long as you pay the ransom of ten war elephants. Xiang's soldiers are all native Funan people and can speak simple Chinese.As for your navy soldiers, I am screening them. If they are from Funan, then I will not interfere with their stay. Those who are willing to stay in our navy of Yue State will be welcome, and those who are willing to return to Funan will be released.Others, I can't release them so easily, otherwise I can't explain to the soldiers that you have to pay the ransom, the amount of the ransom is up to you, no matter how much I will accept it.

Then, Sun Shao changed the subject and began to talk about the negotiation between the two parties. Sun Shao opened his mouth and not only demanded the narrow strip south of the Jinchen Kingdom from Fan Man, but also asked Fan Man to send the area including Linyang Kingdom (ancient Thailand) to the south. The West Coast is all in his hands.His reason is very simple, you don't have a navy, you have no strength to guard the coast, and you can't even deal with a pirate, why don't you leave it to me, and I will help you deal with the pirates.

Compared with this condition, other things, such as how much rice the Funan Kingdom should provide him every year, and the right to garrison the Oe port, were not worth mentioning.Most of these places that Sun Shao wants are the vassal states of Funan Kingdom. The land directly controlled by Funan accounts for less than [-]% of the area of ​​Funan Kingdom. However, this is the passage for businessmen to travel between Tianzhu, Dahan and the South China Sea islands. The business taxes collected accounted for [-]% to [-]% of the total taxes of Funan Kingdom. If all these were handed over to Sun Shao, then Funan Kingdom would no longer have the strength to develop.

Even if the land in Funan is fertile, how can one make a fortune just by farming?Three to five years of accumulation may not be enough to fight a big battle.

Fan Man was so angry that he gritted his teeth, and tightly clenched the letter of credence into a ball with his big hands. His eyes were wide open, his nose was flaring, and his heavy breathing could be heard clearly. Fortunately, Fan Xun was not in front of him, otherwise, would he be frightened? Die is really hard to say.

Fan Man threw the letter of credence aside, stood up, and paced back and forth quickly in the hall with his hands behind his back. His steps were big and quick, and he stepped on the floor with a thumping sound. He had a strong body and vigorous movements. , making it impossible to see that he is an old man over [-] years old.Sometimes he walked quickly, sometimes stopped, looked up at the exquisitely decorated roof, sometimes shook his head and sighed, sometimes sneered again and again, after a while, he suddenly stopped and stared at the The credential that had been crumpled up by him sneered, "Come on, let's fight."

Fan Chang and the others were quickly summoned, and Fan Man, who had recovered his calm, handed them the letters of credence that had been re-leveled one by one, and said in a calm tone: "Jin Sheng was defeated, and the entire navy was wiped out. The country requires the letter of credence for negotiation, you see how to deal with it.

Fan Chang was the first to read the national book, before he finished reading he jumped up and cursed: "These shameless Yue bastards dare to bully me like this, do they think they can be unscrupulous after defeating our navy? Father, my son and minister are not talented, I would like to invite troops to attack Rinan, take back Linyi, and teach these Yue bastards a lesson."

"Don't worry, wait for them to see, let's discuss it together." Fan Man waved her hand, signaling Fan Chang to be calm.Fan Chang blushed with anger, but he didn't dare to disobey Fan Man's order, so he sat down angrily, and threw the letter of credence into Fan Jun, the general next to him.When Fan Jun read it, his face was full of anger, and he handed over the credentials to the next one.

Not long after, there were a few more beasts in heat in the temple, each breathing heavily and furiously.

"Let's discuss the matter of ransom first." Fan Man said flatly: "First, whether or not to redeem, and second, how much should we pay for ransom."

Everyone turned their eyes to Fan Chang in unanimous agreement. Fan Zhan died in battle, Fan Jinsheng was captured, Fan Xun was half dead from exhaustion, and Fan Chang was the head of the courtiers.Fan Chang hesitated for a moment: "Of course the redemption is necessary, but how much to pay for the redemption has to be discussed carefully. The Yue people are cunning and untrustworthy. The reason why they don't ask for a price, but let us bid, seems generous, but in fact Concealing evil intentions, my son is worried that if the money is less, it will chill the hearts of the soldiers. There may be some people who are greedy for the wealth of the Yue Kingdom and would rather join the Yue Kingdom Navy than come back. They are familiar with our coast, and with them It is very unfavorable for me to help. If I pay more money, I am afraid it will be unsustainable. The navy is gone. Even if we do not agree to the conditions of the Yue Kingdom, I am afraid that the business tax will be greatly reduced. These thousands of people ransom……"

Fan Man remained silent. He heard some discordant voices from Fan Chang's words. Fan Chang seemed unwilling to redeem these people, including his brother Fan Jinsheng. As for the price, it was all an excuse. Funan Kingdom has been established for so many years, how could it not even be able to pay the ransom for thousands of navy soldiers.

"What do you think?" Fan Man turned her gaze to Fan Jun and the others.

Fan Jun and the others were a little hesitant, of course they would not fail to hear Fan Chang's voice.Fan Jinsheng was defeated, and even if he was redeemed, he would not be able to become the crown prince. It was already certain that the position of crown prince belonged to Fan Chang. Is it necessary to make trouble with Fan Chang at this time?However, Fan Jun and the others were worried again. After all, Fan Man was still in office. From his heart, he definitely hoped to take back Fan Jinsheng. Helplessly, he ruined his son's life in the hands of the Yue people.

"I think, just as the eldest prince said, the redemption is for the redemption, but how much it costs, but it needs to be considered carefully."

Fan Jun and others said the same thing, but basically the same meaning, neither Fan Man nor Fan Chang should be offended.Fan Man sneered inwardly, but her face remained calm: "Well, let's send an envoy to negotiate the price with him. Now, let's discuss his other demands. Tell me, should we cede the land or not?"

"Of course not." Fan Chang blurted out without thinking. "Although we have no sailors, we still have enough infantry to control the harbors along the way. Don't their sailors stop at the ports? If we give him all these places, our strength will be greatly affected, and they However, the strength has increased sharply, for us, it is to drink salt water to quench our thirst, the more we drink, the thirstier we become, until we die of thirst.”

"If we don't cut it off, we will have to prepare the whole country for war. Not only will we conscript the strong men in the country, but we will also conscript the soldiers of the country." Fan Man said worriedly: "The last time I was raped by that old man Liu, who said that Funan people are also descendants of Yan and Huang. For that matter, the people are very uneasy now. If we enlist them to fight against the Yue Navy, it may cause riots. If the Navy does not fight, our prestige will be greatly reduced, and some people in the vassal state will be ready to move. Conquering them... can be done. ?"

Fan Chang was speechless, he was obviously not as thoughtful as Fan Man.But he thought for a while, and then retorted: "Those rumors that confuse people's hearts, although there are many rumors in Temucheng, how many ordinary people know about it? Just hit those guys who spread rumors hard, and it shouldn't be possible to control people's hearts. Question. As for those vassal states, even if they have dissent, can they still enter the sea with their families? After all, their families are still on the land. Conscripting their soldiers to fight against the state of Yue just empties their strength and is more conducive to our control. Since they are scattered everywhere, if they are bewitched by the people of Yue, wouldn't they cause even bigger troubles?"

Fan Man remained silent, watching Fan Chang talking.Fan Chang finally expressed his plan. Although the navy was defeated, Funan's combat strength was still there. He should gather a large army to invade Funan, capture Linyi, and drive the Yue people into the sea.They have no place to stand, can they continue to float on the sea?At that time, they had only one way to go back to Zhuya.If you want to negotiate, you have to talk about it at that time. If you talk about it now, Funan will be at a disadvantage.

Fan Man didn't make any comments, but just said one last sentence, if you want to fight, you have to make peace first, stabilize the Yue people first, and mobilize the army to attack Nichinan.As long as Rinan is taken down, Linyi is in the bag.The top priority is to redeem Fan Jinsheng and those navy soldiers first.

Fan Man didn't discuss with Fan Chang anymore, he directly agreed to the ransom demand of the ten war elephants, as for those sailor soldiers, he also offered a normal price, and then authorized Fan Xun, you go to Lin Yi to talk, no matter what Why, hold them for three months.I just want to hold back the Yue people for three months and tell them not to join forces with the Wu people, so I can take down Nichinan, and then they will have the final say on how to talk about it.

Fan Xun felt ashamed. Although his body was still very weak, he still started on the road. Because he could no longer ride a horse, Fan Man sent someone to report to Linyi first, and then asked Fan Xun to go to Linyi on a soft chair and walk slowly. It's okay, it's going to take time anyway.At the same time, Fan Man began to recruit troops. Before that, the army had already been recruited in every possible way, but now they were just assembled and handed over to Fan Chang, Fan Jun and others to rush to Ninan.

Fan Man stayed by himself and led an army of [-] to guard Temucheng. He believed that even if the navy of Yue State was powerful, it would be very difficult for them to go ashore and capture Temucheng.Fan Man, who has fought all his life, has enough confidence in this.

After receiving the reply from Fan Man's first messenger, Sun Shao sneered twice without saying a word.He had never dreamed that Fan Man would surrender without a fight. In that case, it would be impossible for him to occupy Funan for so many years.Sun Shao has never been afraid of playing tricks and tricks, tricks are not useless, but in the face of strength, tricks are just icing on the cake, unless you meet someone with well-developed limbs and a simple mind, otherwise, if you want to survive only by tricks, that's really hard. Some idiots are dreaming.He is not a reckless man, and neither is Fan Man, so what they have to contend with is not only power, but also strength. This strength is not only hard power such as large numbers of people, but also soft power, such as economy, such as culture.Besides, when it comes to tactics, a barbarian like Fan Man, who heard some stories about Han people, wants to compete with Sun Shao, who has been indoctrinated in the strategy culture for more than ten years in 2000, what is it?
Slowly simmering the soup well, Sun Shao had plenty of time to challenge Fan Man.

Sun Shao called Sun Song, Zhou Xun and others, and He Da, who had just arrived in Linyi, also received a summons. They rushed to them, Sun Shao briefly explained Fan Man's answer, and He Da grabbed the short note. Xu sneered: "This old monkey still wants to use a strategy of slowing down the army, making friends from afar and attacking close to him, but after all, he has never seen a big market. If he really wants to divide Wu Yue, he should give some benefits. Back then, Qin State wanted to make friends from afar and attack close to him. Moved out to bribe the countries of Qi and Yan, but this old monkey refuses to suffer even verbally, he treats us as fools."

Sun Song was not so excited, but just said lightly: "Country people only know how to drill mountains and forests, but they have no experience. It's very normal."

He Da glanced at Sun Song: "Are you saying that Fan Man is from the country, or that I am from the country?"

Sun Song was taken aback for a moment, then remembered that He Da was also a person who drilled in mountains and forests, and quickly laughed: "Bo Zhi, why do you think so? Can Fan Man compare with you? If he stands with you, that is A beggar standing next to a rich man. You, really, have to have confidence in yourself, can I, Sun Song, say that you are ignorant?"

He Da tugged at the well-cut brocade clothes on his body, and smiled quite smugly.He has never met the King of Funan, but he has seen the merchants of Funan.The weather in Funan is hot, and the people in Funan do not have the habit of dressing. They usually wear a cloth pocket around their waists and are topless, both men and women.Of course, the merchants who can go to Zhuya will not be like this, but their clothes should be compared with the clothes of big men, and it is by no means empty words to say that they are monkeys.He Da is also one of the Han people who pays great attention to appearance, with luxurious clothes, and he is tall and tall, with a good-looking appearance. Doesn't the black and thin Funan people look like monkeys in his eyes?
"Okay, Bo Zhi is here, and he hasn't received him yet. If Ziqiao says something wrong, then he will be fined to catch Bo Zhi." Sun Shao waved his hand, "All of us will accompany him."

The crowd burst into laughter.

Sun Song grinned, laughed twice, and continued, "Your Majesty, what Bo Zhi said is right. Apart from agreeing to the conditions for the redemption of Fan Jinsheng, the Funan people are in between. Prepare for war. Once a big war breaks out, Wu and Yue will join forces to fight against the enemy. I wonder how your majesty will plan?"

Sun Shao smiled: "It's no problem to join forces to fight against the enemy, but too many people can't go there. The 8000 tigers and wolves from our country of Yue have entered Rinan. Can the people of Wu sleep peacefully? They are defending against the enemy." While guarding the Funan people, I am afraid they will also guard against us. Instead of this, it is better to make less effort, so as not to be counterproductive. Here, including the troops brought by Bo Zhixin, there are still 6000 people in total, Cui Qian's and Yuehai's 1000 7000 people are already on standby at Funan Bay, I will take [-] people to join them at Funan Bay, and the other [-] people will be led by the queen, waiting to enter Nichinan to assist Zigao in the battle."

Sun Song breathed a sigh of relief, he was just worried that Sun Shao would take advantage of the opportunity to seize Rinan, even if he had no such plan, but if too many people entered Rinan, Sun Deng would be worried, and now that Sun Shao made such an arrangement, it seemed that Sun Shao not only did not have this Thoughts, and possible suspicions have been taken into account.

Guan Feng was taken aback for a moment, and turned to Sun Shao with suspicious eyes: "I'll stay?"

"You stay." Sun Shao nodded solemnly, put away his smile, and raised his voice, "He Da, Zhou Xun, Ding Feng."

He Da, Zhou Xun and Ding Feng stood up, clasped their fists and saluted: "The minister is here."

"The three of you follow the queen's command and assist the state of Wu to defend the front line of Changshan." Sun Shao said to Ding Feng in particular: "You lead the destroying front battalion, which doubles as the queen's trilogy battalion. Be careful of the queen's safety."

"Here." Ding Feng replied loudly: "Please don't worry, Your Majesty, as long as the minister is here, the queen will never be harmed in the slightest."

"I trust you." Sun Shao smiled, turned around and said to Sun Shangxiang: "Fifth General, your Flying Tiger Battalion will also stay, and it will also serve as the queen's personal guard camp. Sun Song is in charge. Remember, this time we are fighting together, as long as our interests are not harmed, Prince Wu should take the lead and follow his command."

"Here." Sun Shangxiang didn't dare to be negligent, and promised.Sun Shao's words are tantamount to handing over the command of the overall situation to Sun Deng, and even Guan Feng has to obey Sun Deng's command. This is a huge concession made for Sun Deng's meritorious service. The captain of the personal guard, on the one hand, is because Guan Feng is the queen, and her safety cannot be ignored. On the other hand, she hopes that she will use her dual identities as a best friend and an elder, so as not to embarrass Guan Feng too much, and at the same time prevent Sun Deng and others from going too far.

"Besides, Dahu is a militant, you have to watch her carefully and don't let her get hurt."

"Here." Sun Shangxiang agreed again.

"Your Majesty." Guan Feng stood up, and said to Sun Shao with a firm expression, "My concubine cannot agree to the arrangement of your Majesty."

Sun Shao was a little puzzled, thinking that he made her unhappy by letting her listen to Sun Deng's arrangement.

"Your Majesty, please take away all the Destroying Front Battalion." Guan Feng laughed softly: "There are Fifth Generals, General Fuyue and General Zhou. My safety is completely safe, but Your Majesty wants to go on an expedition. They are all sailors, although they can go ashore to fight, they are not as good as the elite of the Destroying Front Battalion. With the Destroying Front Battalion by your side, the servants and generals can fight with peace of mind."

Sun Shao was a little ashamed, he thought of a gentleman with a villain's heart, how could a straight-hearted woman like Guan Feng be as complicated as he thought.He smiled and shook his head: "Don't worry, I took a thousand Destroyer Battalion away, besides, I won't land and fight easily."

Guan Feng insisted again and again, but Sun Shao still declined, Guan Feng had no choice but to back down.

"Your Majesty's going here is only intended to be a restraint?" Lu Ji said puzzledly, "If that's all it takes, the Left General and the Rear General are enough. Even if there is any conflict between them, all you need is an edict from the Majesty. Just designate them who will be the chief general and whoever will be the deputy general. Why do you need the king to conscript? There are not enough troops here, why don’t the king sit in Linyi?"

Sun Shao shook his head: "Shi Zhongrong sent back the news that Wu is recruiting troops, and the strength of the troops should not be a problem. I'm going to Jin'ou Island, just to put more pressure on Fan Man. Only by preventing him from going all out, the battle of Changshan will be more serious." There is hope." He smiled, and continued: "I asked him for the land south of Jinchen, but if he didn't give it to me, I had no choice but to grab it. This time I'm going to make a boning knife, and I'll kill him one by one. Don’t worry, I have force, but I won’t do anything with force alone, I have to compete with Fan Man for soft and hard things, and I have to convince him no matter what.”

If Lu Ji realized something.

(End of this chapter)