The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 262 Pirate Empire Fighter Plane
Funan Bay in June is a rainy season. The humid and sultry air always makes people feel wet, and the weather changes are always unexpected. Just now, the sun was still in the sky, and suddenly there may be dark clouds and heavy wind and rain. Thunder and lightning.

Sun Shao held the pen and looked at the smooth Donglai paper, but he didn't write for a long time. He was stunned for a moment, then slowly put down the pen, raised his head, looked at the pouring rain outside the window, and sighed softly. Standing up, walking to the window, looking at the foaming sea, I was speechless for a long time.

"Your Majesty." Xia Houhui, who was learning Funan and Tianzhu from Qin Sai next door, heard Sun Shao's sigh, walked over, held on to the door frame, and looked at the background of Sun Shaoyi standing in front of the window, with a flash of worry in his eyes .

Maybe it was because of the weather, or maybe it was because of the delay of the battle, Sun Shao was also in a very bad mood.It has been almost ten months since the troops were sent out in September last year, and they started to fight smoothly. They killed Fan Zhan one after another and captured Fan Jinsheng alive. As for Mi Jian, he survived for another few months without being defeated.Although Funan is very nervous right now, Sun Shao is not at ease either.

Wars cost money. More than 2 troops went to Funan. Although there were a large number of merchant ships to help transport supplies, the pressure was still very high.Now both sides are fighting for consumption, and his consumption rate is obviously much faster than Fan Man's consumption rate. Relying on the solid business foundation accumulated in the past few years, this expedition is in the name of venting anger for the businessman. The businessmen are more supportive, and he is still not stretched.

However, Sun Shao knew that both he and Fan Man were riding on the back of a tiger, and neither of them could get off. Fan Man would lose nothing if he lost. His prestige will also be severely hit, and all deviant policies based on his personal charm will also be questioned, and the new Yue State is likely to be completely devastated.

No one can retreat, but no one can eat anyone. Fan Man is no match for him at sea, and it is really difficult for him to attack Temu City.It is true that the more than 1 people he has are elites, but it is definitely not easy to win the special pastoral city with these 1 people.There is no waterway for large ships outside the city of Temu, large siege equipment cannot be transported to the city, and it is impossible for Fan Man to watch him drive outside the city of Temu. Pastoral copy.

This is all due to one person, Fan Man is not that incompetent Gongsun Gong.Although Fan Man, who has been fighting for decades, has always been at a disadvantage, he did not leave much opportunity for Sun Shao to take advantage of. Although the spies who sneaked into the special animal husbandry city sent some news, they were either seriously behind or not too big. usefulness.Most of the nobles in Funan Kingdom are related to Fan Man, and most of them are military generals who fought in the battlefield. If they want to instigate rebellion or assassinate them, they are not sure enough at present.

It was not easy for Sun Shao to train such a group of people. He didn't want to risk their lives. Shao has never ordered to do anything.

I haven't reached that point yet, I can still hold on, Sun Shao said this to Zhou Dory, although he is not so sure in his heart, but in front of his subordinates, he can't show his wavering no matter what.He must have been shaken, even if it was just a slight hesitation, it would magnify level by level and become an irreversible collapse.

It is easy to cast the net, but it is not so simple to recycle it.

"Yuanrong." Sun Shao glanced back, with a satisfied smile on the corner of his mouth.Xiahouhui was born intelligent and had an innate interest in languages. During the time he followed him on the expedition, Xiahouhui helped him deal with some confidential documents while learning the barbarian language from Qin Sai and others. He wanted to conquer Funan. Xia Houhui studied Funan characters day by day, and wrote all the documents for Funan by herself. "Have you finished today's lesson?"

"I'm done." Xia Houhui showed an innocent smile, holding a piece of text that he had just practiced with both hands, and jumped in front of Sun Shao: "Look, my lord, have you made any progress?"

Sun Shao took a look at it and nodded again and again: "Okay, very good, Yuanrong, you are indeed talented in this area."

"Hee hee, thank you for your praise." Xia Houhui smiled playfully on purpose, and then stood beside Sun Shao. She is 14 years old this year and has grown very fast in the past two years. She is already six feet one inch, standing beside Sun Shao. There is also a bit of a woman around.She looked up at Sun Shao who was frowning slightly, and said with a soft smile, "Is Your Majesty worried about the war?"

Sun Shao hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Yes, what I envisioned is too simple. So far, there has been no civil strife in Funan, and it seems that the stalemate will continue. Our army is a guest army, and the stalemate lasts too long. It's not a good thing. I'm worried...wealth will not last."

Xia Houhui smiled, but his demeanor was very calm: "The 70 army has only been out for half a year, how can it not be able to sustain it? I think that when Emperor Xiaowu conquered the Huns, he spent more than ten years before and after, and all the wealth he had accumulated for [-] years was exhausted. There are many bankrupt people above the middle class, and there are millions of refugees, and the Yue Kingdom is far from reaching that point, why should the king worry?"

Sun Shao looked at Xiahouhui with some puzzlement. In his opinion, the amount of wealth consumed in this battle was astonishing, enough to cause public resentment. Why didn't Xiahouhui take it seriously?
"My lord, you pay too much attention to the so-called public opinion." Xia Houhui held the window railing, stretched out his fingers to smooth out a strand of black hair on his cheek: "It is true that the one who wins the hearts of the people wins the world, but it is far from what the king thinks." It is so serious. Just like the king expects the people of Funan to rise up against Fan Man, the king is too worried about the resentment of the people of Yue. In fact, from the point of view of his concubines, the king's expedition is for the benefit of everyone, not just for his own. Self-interest, not to mention that it is only half a year now, and the tax can still afford it. Even if the wealth is insufficient and the tax needs to be increased, the people may have some complaints, and the trouble will not be out of control. The people in Funan may hope that the king will do it King Funan, bring them some benefits, but if you want them to raise troops to respond to the king, the possibility is very small."

"So, the gains and losses of the people's hearts have nothing to do with the safety of the country?" Sun Shao raised the corners of his mouth, revealing a teasing smile. Inadvertently, his agitated mood calmed down a bit.Xia Houhui smiled slightly: "Your Majesty, you must be thinking about the Yellow Turban Army, or about the rebels of Emperor Gaozu at the end of Qin Dynasty? Isn't that right?"

Sun Shao nodded, he did think of such an example.

"However, your majesty must also know that Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's rebellion was caused by unbearable Qin's tyranny, but it was more of a coincidence. If they hadn't encountered heavy rain and could safely reach Yuyang to guard the border, they would have Will there be an uprising in Daze Township? How many years has Zhang Jiao been organizing the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the civil society? How did the relatives and eunuchs of the Han Dynasty come to power, and it didn’t start until the Zhongping period?”

Sun Shao was taken aback for a moment, this was inconsistent with the philosophy he had always upheld, but what Xia Houhui said seemed to make sense, he didn't know what to say for a while.He turned around, leaned against the window, and said with a smile: "Go on, I think you have been holding back for a long time, and today you finally said it."

Xia Houhui blushed. She had indeed held back for a long time, but Sun Shao had been walking smoothly. She wanted to remind him that there was no chance. Now that Sun Shao is in trouble, he must be able to calm down and listen to her opinions. .She has not always agreed with Sun Shao's philosophy of governing the country. She feels that Sun Shao is a little too sensitive when it comes to dealing with people's hearts, and he is too lenient towards the people.You must know that governing the country is easy and difficult. If you treat them well, they will not be satisfied. They will hope that you will get better and better. Satisfaction is only temporary, and if the superior is too lenient, the subordinates will easily indulge, and indulgence will easily breed troubles, etc. If something goes wrong and then dealt with seriously, it will naturally arouse dissatisfaction.Yuan Shao's defeat is such an example. Yuan Shao occupied the land of four states and was strong. Why did he lose to Cao Cao, who was far inferior to him?Not only because Yuan Shao's ability is not as good as Cao Cao's, but more importantly, he is not strict in controlling his subordinates, and he indulges courtiers like Fengji and Fengji too much.For example, this time Cui Qian made his own claim, obviously he could use more to attack less, but in order to gain prestige, he chose to use less to attack more, which obviously violated Sun Shao's established plan, and it was a sign of arbitrariness. Shi's impeachment did not give Cui Qian a promotion, but he rewarded Cui Qian with an island. This is tantamount to encouraging the generals to make their own decisions in disguise, which is a very bad sign.

Cui Qian has established a prestige, but whose prestige is he establishing?Is it Sun Shao's prestige or Cui Qian's own prestige?
Xia Houhui knew that Sun Shao was very assertive, and usually didn't listen to him very much. When the two talked about political issues, most of the time it was Sun Shao who was talking and she was listening. She has been very busy all the time, and she has won consecutive battles, and she is even more proud of herself. Whenever she mentions such a topic, Sun Shao just laughs and remains silent.

It is quite rare to be able to listen to her quietly like today, but now that Sun Shao is worried about the war, she must be relieved of him, and not to mention such unpleasant things too much.

"The Yue Kingdom has accumulated a lot of wealth in the past few years, and the king's army is not large. With the strength of the Yue Kingdom, it will not be a big problem to support it for a year or two." Xia Houhui paused, and then continued: "Besides, everyone knows that if the king can take Funan, it will be beneficial to the country and the people. Even now, although Funan has not been taken down, after the Funan navy was wiped out, the South China Sea fell into the hands of the king. They have already felt the obvious benefits from it, so how could they make unreasonable criticisms about the temporary consumption? Your Majesty might as well send someone to ask those merchants what their attitude is towards this war."

Sun Shao nodded, feeling a little more relaxed.Funan has not yet won the mainland, but half of his goal of monopolizing the South China Sea has been achieved. Both Deng Ai and Wei Wen have sent good news, which comforted his uneasy heart a little.

Deng Ai and Zhang Zhao went south all the way, Xuanhua the barbarians, and rushed to the sea area of ​​Java along the last north wind. Their Xuanhua achieved good results. The footprints of those barbarians have never traveled too far. Most of the navy sent by the legendary Han Dynasty showed their admiration for the kingdom of heaven. Besides, Deng Ai and the others mainly aimed at establishing diplomatic relations, not forcing them to surrender, and they did not have much resistance, especially in the After Deng Ai defeated the two Yi tribes who were jealous of the goods they brought, the myth of the invincibility of the Han navy became their most solid backing. Along the way, nearly a hundred small islands, large and small, expressed their willingness to surrender Vietnam.

Wei Wen's journey was a bit more difficult. If Deng Ai was a peaceful journey, then Wei Wen's journey was more bloody.First, he destroyed the Motuo country, and then attacked and killed four small countries loyal to Funan. Only then did the dozen or so small countries be suppressed. These small countries all cautiously took a wait-and-see attitude. Although they did not express their willingness to respond to Funan's war, they obviously had no enthusiasm for shaking Yue.At present, Wei Wen has circled to the west coast of the peninsula, less than a hundred miles away from Dunxun Port, and has already contacted Cui Qian, ready to attack Fan Jun's troops from the west at any time.

The battle situation is gradually changing in favor of Sun Shao, but the speed is very slow. Before there is a qualitative change, Sun Shao still can't rest assured. What disappoints him most is that after various efforts, the internal rebellion in Funan is still not complete. It turned out that the Funan aboriginal people and tribes all expressed their affection for Sun Shao, but it was rather difficult for them to stand up against Fan Man.

There is no civil strife in Funan. Although Fan Man's life is difficult, it is far from unsustainable.

While gnashing his teeth at Fan Man, Sun Shao also began to reflect on his mistakes. After experiencing a series of successes, he seemed to think things too ideally.At this time, it seems very wishful thinking to use the distinction between Hua and Barbarians to attempt to launch the so-called people's war.Be nice to the people of Funan, they are very welcome, but to risk their lives to fight against Fan Man, that would be too far-fetched.What's more, the communication is underdeveloped. Once thousands of captives are scattered in the huge Funan country, they almost disappear. A single spark can be sown, but it will take time to start a prairie fire.Fan Man announced a one-year tax reduction, which basically canceled out Sun Shao's efforts.

Sun Shao became a little irritable because of this, and was very worried that if he could not win Funan as soon as possible, it would cause dissatisfaction among the people. Now listening to Xiahou Huiyi, he also realized that his idealization had two aspects. On the one hand, he overestimated Funan The role of the people, on the other hand, is too sensitive to the reactions of the people of Yue.In fact, with the current system, even if the merchants of the Yue Kingdom are dissatisfied, they will not overreact in a short period of time. The conflicts will always accumulate to a certain level before they erupt. Of course, at that time , it will be too late to think of a way.

Sun Shao is not a person of this era. He has been demanding himself with standards beyond the era. Not only has he won a good reputation and popular support for him, but he has also made him overly sensitive to the public opinion. Little do he know that the people today are not as good as the people at that time. consciousness.

Sun Shao was thinking about Xia Houhui's opinion when there was a sound of footsteps outside. Although the footsteps were not hurried, they still revealed a trace of urgency.Sun Shao raised his head and saw Zhou Bing walking in with an urgent letter.

"My lord, Fan Man has left the city!"

Sun Shao was taken aback for a moment, then stepped forward to take the urgent document in Zhou Dory's hand, scanned it quickly, then raised his head, stroked his forehead and sighed, heaved a long sigh of relief, Fan Man finally couldn't hold on anymore, he wanted to Recaptured the Jinchen Kingdom, opened up the road to the south, and finally came out of the special animal husbandry city.

"Let the generals discuss the matter." Sun Shao waved his hand and said loudly.

"Here." Tu Hu replied gruffly, and walked out happily.Not long after, Yue Hai, Zhuge Zhi and others arrived. They were very happy to hear the news that Zhou Dory had just received. Fan Man left the city, so they had full confidence in fighting him.

However, on the issue of how to fight, everyone's opinions are divided.Yue Hai said: "Fan Man led an army of 1 out of the city. Although there are only less than 1 guards left in the city, they have a city to rely on, but they don't have powerful siege equipment. If they go to attack the city, You can only use the most primitive method of ant attachment, and the casualties will be huge, so it is better to follow Fan Man. Although Fan Man has [-] people, the fighting power of the Funan soldiers is not strong, so we have a greater chance of winning. Defeating Without Fan Man, it will be much easier to get the special pastoral city."

As soon as Yue Hai's words fell, Zhao Xiu shook his head again and again, and he said: "Although Fan Man only has 1 people, and the strength of the Funan soldiers is indeed not as good as ours, but they have elephant soldiers and are familiar with the terrain. They are fighting in the jungle in this weather, no time, no place, who is sure to win? Although Temu City has a city, it is more difficult for us to attack the city, but Zhou Sima's people are in the city. City is not impossible."

The two insisted on their own opinions, and neither could convince the other. Ma Hui agreed with Zhao Xiu's opinion, while Dun Wu agreed with Yue Hai's opinion.Perhaps it was because he felt that he was not from Sun Shao's close confidant, and his clan brother Zhuge Jin was also the left general of Wu. Zhuge Zhi had always been relatively low-key. It can be seen from his face that he has a different opinion.

"Ji Gong, just speak up if you have any ideas, let's discuss and discuss." Sun Shao casually called Zhuge Zhi's name.

Zhuge Zhi raised his head in embarrassment, first glanced at Sun Shao, then at Yue Hai and the others cautiously, and then slowly said: "I... think it's not appropriate to attack the city."

"Why?" Zhao Xiu snorted in displeasure.

Sun Shao frowned, Xia Houhui was right, the generals under him seemed a little too aggressive.It's okay to be arrogant to the enemy at ordinary times, why not have a bad attitude towards your own people?
"Ji Gong, tell me why it's not appropriate to attack the city?" Sun Shao deliberately smiled.

"I think it's not easy to siege the city. Fan Man has been running Temucheng for nearly 30 years. Although he is now forced to leave Temucheng to rescue Jin Chen, how could he not make arrangements? Although Fan Man has left the city, Fan Jinsheng But he has already returned to Temu City, he has not only been on the battlefield, but also fought against us, he knows our tactics and strength, and having him in the city makes it more difficult for us to attack the city." Zhuge Zhi spoke not fast, But he spoke fluently, and it was obvious that he had thought it through.Having said that, he paused for a moment, looked at the faces of everyone, especially Sun Shao, and saw that Sun Shao was calm and thoughtful, so he was relieved, took a sip of tea, and then continued Said: "Besides, what if we fail to attack the city and Fan Man comes back after killing him, what should we do?"

When Zhao Xiu heard this, he was speechless. He opened his mouth and said unconvinced: "Then what do you mean, let's go after Fan Man?"

"I think chasing Fan Man is more assured." Zhuge Zhi nodded, and before Yuehai spoke, he said: "However, I don't approve of following Fan Man. As General Zhao said, fighting Fan Man in the jungle , we not only do not occupy the sky, but also do not occupy the advantage of the land. Besides, our army is superior to the navy, so it is obviously not wise to abandon the boat and go ashore, and trek long distances in the jungle. I think that we should use the boat to follow Fan Man."

Zhuge Zhi raised his head and looked at Sun Shao with piercing eyes: "We know that no matter which way Fan Man goes, he is definitely going to save Jin Chen. In that case, why don't we intercept him directly by sea?"

"Sea route?" Yue Hai and Zhao Xiu glanced at each other, and suddenly they laughed at the same time, Zhao Xiu said with a smile: "Yes, we forgot, this is what we are best at. They walk, we take a boat, and wait for work at leisure." , choose the opportunity to fight, this is the best policy."

Sun Shao smiled slightly: "Fengying, I haven't heard you praise someone for a long time."

Zhao Xiu was a little embarrassed, and cupped his hands, not daring to say anything.He's not stupid, so of course he heard something in Sun Shao's words.

"Ji Gong, your idea is very good." Sun Shao saw that there was no objection from the crowd, and immediately made a decision: "Let's set off to pursue Fan Man today, everyone should pay attention, it is a windy season, storms can come at any time, and the Funan Navy is gone. We can safely and boldly sail offshore, and if the weather is not right, we will dock in the port, and we must not cause unnecessary casualties."

"Here." The generals stood up and took orders.

……

Sitting in the big tent, Fan Man looked at the thin and capable scout in front of him, resting his chin with one hand and stroking the handle of the knife with the other.

"Have the Yue people come after them?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, they are chasing us by boat." The scout nodded repeatedly: "They are very fast, and they are not far from us."

"how many people?"

"Five big ships and about fifty small boats." The scout murmured a few words: "If they don't go ashore, we can't get on the ship, and their scouts are very brave. We...we can't catch prisoners."

"I see." Fan Man nodded angrily, "Have you seen King Yue's battle flag?"

"I see." The scout relaxed a little, and nodded again and again: "King Yue's warship is the largest, and there is an eagle on his bow, which is very recognizable."

"It's good to be here." Fan Man's eyes showed a sharp smile, "It seems that this kid is not stupid, and he didn't attack the special pastoral city. However, this jungle is more dangerous than the pastoral city. It's good to come, Ben The king wants to see how he swallows this king's [-] army."

(End of this chapter)