The Three Kingdoms Voyage

Chapter 276 Pirate Empire Arms Race
Sun Luban looked at Sun Deng, very embarrassed. On the one hand, she was eager to fight. She had just shown off her prestige on the battlefield, and she was not satisfied. She wished for another chance to fight. On the other hand, although she left for a general Wu State, came to Yue State, but in her heart, Wu Yue is still a family, whether it is the father king or the elder brother, they are all surnamed Sun, and helping anyone is not helping.If it wasn't for Guan Yu to lead the army, she wouldn't think too much about it, and would definitely ask to join the war. It's not only fun, but also can help the father, what a great thing.

But when Guan Yu was involved, this matter was a bit troublesome.Although Sun Luban has little scheming, she is not stupid. Of course she knows that Guan Feng made her famous in the battle outside Xijuan City. It was impossible for the female soldiers of the Tiger Camp to stop the Funan soldiers who were about to go crazy trying to escape. No matter how brave they were, they could only kill and injure a few more Funan soldiers at most, and they still couldn't avoid the fate of being swallowed up by the rout.

Out of very simple gratitude, Sun Luban was unwilling to fight Guan Yu, even for his father and brother.In her heart, Guan Feng is also a relative, no more distant than Sun Quan and Sun Deng.The reason for Sun Deng's frustration was that Sun Luban was pure-hearted. If she refused to help because of her relationship with Sun Shao and Guan Feng, how would Sun Shao and Guan Feng react?
Sun Deng sat silently. Standing behind him, Zhuge Ke clenched his fist and covered his mouth with a soft cough.Sun Deng turned his head to the side without saying a word, Zhuge Ke showed a smile, and said calmly: "Actually, the prince is in a hurry to go back this time, not because he wants to start a war with Shu. It has been 40 years since the first battle of Wancheng, General Guan advanced thousands of miles, took Cao Wei's vital points, and welcomed the emperor back. He was powerful in China and made the four kingdoms stand together. Such a hero, my prince also admires him very much, how can he fight against him? "

Sun Shangxiang and Sun Luban couldn't help being a little strange. They glanced at Zhuge Ke, and then looked at Sun Deng suspiciously. Sun Deng nodded and said with a smile: "What Yuan Xun said is right. I didn't rush back this time to fight with General Guan. Against the enemy. Wuyue, Shu and Wei, the eldest brother focuses on conquests overseas, regardless of the right and wrong of the Central Plains, but among the three kingdoms of Wu, Shu and Wei, Wei is the strongest, followed by Wu and Shu. If you want to support the emperor and reward the royal family, only Wu and Shu unite , to curb Cao's disobedience, the world will be safe. If Wu and Shu go to war, no matter who wins or loses, it will be difficult to fight against Wei. At that time, not only Wu and Wei will be defeated, but the world will also be in turmoil Unrest, people displaced, this is what I can't bear to see."

Sun Shangxiang was silent. She had seen a lot of people during the war, and she had personally experienced it when she was young. First, Sun Jian was fighting outside, and she traveled around with her mother and elder brother. Later, Sun Ce led the army to fight, and the situation was even worse. Jing has traveled many places together, and it is not uncommon for him to be cold and starved.Now that she is getting older and married to Lu Ji again, the Lu family has suffered even more because of the war. Although the Lu family will not take the initiative to talk to her, but thinking of the death of hundreds of members of the Lu family in Lujiang, that's a big deal. The resentment can still be felt to this day, like the ghosts of the undead lingering in her heart.If Wu Shu goes to war, not only Guan Feng will be embarrassed, but she will also feel embarrassed. She doesn't miss Liu Bei, but Liu Chan.She has been Liu Chan's stepmother for two years. At that time, Liu Chan was only three or four years old, and she was very dependent on her. Since she left the police, she has never seen Liu Chan again. I think she has grown into an adult like Sun Deng this year. Bar.

Liu Bei has been in poor health for the past few years, and he may die at any time. If he dies, Liu Chan will be the king of Shu. If Wu and Shu go to war, if Shu loses, the prospects are of course not good. If he wins, I am afraid it will be for Liu Chan Not a good thing either.Guan Yu is a great general, and Zhang Fei is a former general and the father of the crown princess. If he has done meritorious service, he must be a great general in the future, and the power of his relatives is inevitable.

Sun Shangxiang couldn't help feeling worried for Liu Chan when he thought of the disasters brought about by his relatives in history.But she couldn't think of any good solution, so she could only worry secretly. Now Sun Deng said that he didn't want to fight this battle. Although it couldn't solve the actual problem, it always gave her some hope of solving it.

"Then why did you come to see Eldest Brother?" Sun Luban asked in surprise, "Don't tell me you want to ask Eldest Brother to intervene?"

"I really think so." Sun Deng nodded sincerely: "At least, I also hope that the elder brother will not contribute to the interests of Yue." The army is going to fight, but the strength of Yue's armaments is currently unmatched, if my brother supports some of Shu's armaments, I just want to persuade them to make peace, I am afraid that General Guan and the others will not give me a chance to speak."

Sun Shangxiang nodded, and Sun Luban nodded after thinking for a while.

Zhuge Ke and Xie Jing looked at each other and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"What is Brother Zhuge up to?" Sun Shao looked at Shu envoy Zong Yu calmly and asked in a very friendly tone.The identity of Zong Yu, who is nearly 19 years old, is very subtle. He is a member of Nanyang'an. In the [-]th year of Jian'an, Liu Bei's attack on Luocheng was frustrated, and Pang Tong died in battle. As a last resort, Liu Bei transferred Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun and others to Sichuan.Zong Yu was Zhang Fei's staff at that time, and Zhang Fei trusted him a lot. When Zhang Fei was the prefect of Bajun, he was the chief secretary for a period of time. Later, when Zhuge Liang became the prime minister, he became the prime minister's chief secretary. , his identity is the right Zhonglang general who joined the army and served as the prime minister Guan Yu's Eastern Expedition.This time he went to Yue as an envoy, and he was sent to Funan.

Getting from Shu to Funan is not easy. Going by water not only needs to pass through the Yangtze River controlled by Wu, but also takes time. If you go by land, you also have to pass through Yulin County, Cangwu County, and jungle controlled by Wu. There are countless obstacles, but Zong Yu not only arrived safely, but only took a month, which surprised Sun Shao.

What surprised Sun Shao even more was Zong Yu's identity. Zong Yu was related to Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, and the relationship was not shallow, which showed his ability.Sun Shao is not afraid of the bad habit of judging the belly of a gentleman with a villain's heart. He suspects that Zong Yu knew Zhuge Liang before he made friends with Zhang Fei. Anzhong is not far from Xinye. Zhuge Liang cannot have a talent like Zong Yu known.If his conjecture is true, then Zong Yu's joining the army as Guan Yu is very suspicious. Was he just an official arrangement, or was Zhuge Liang placed next to Guan Yu?You know, Zong Yu's previous position was the prime minister's master book.

At this time, it is very important to find out what Zhuge Liang is thinking.

"The prime minister is raising food and supplies for the army." Zong Yu said neither humble nor overbearing: "However, although Yizhou has tried its best to recover in the past few years, it has not been able to recover. What happened in Yizhou County, the king was furious. The deceit is too strong, and he insists on sending troops to crusade. The prime minister is persuading him, but he is powerless to stop him. Now he has to support the army and appease the counties of Yizhou and Zangke. It is really difficult. The general understands the prime minister's help Difficulties, so I decided to ask the king for help, so I was sent here."

Sun Shao secretly laughed in his heart.It seems that Liu Bei ordered the expedition, largely for the sake of face.Yizhou County is thousands of miles away from the border of Jiaozhou, and there is a county of Zangke in the middle. The forces of Wu State were able to infiltrate it, instigated the local aborigines, killed a prefect, and kidnapped a prefect. If Liu Bei doesn't get angry, who knows that the Wu Congress will intensify in the future and go further into the territory of Shu?

In other words, the symbolic meaning of the Shu Kingdom’s conquest is greater than the actual significance. The Shu Kingdom is actually not ready for this battle. Did Sun Quan see through this, so he went forward without fear and without giving in? , resolutely refused to give in?
With the strength of the Kingdom of Shu, if Zhuge Liang fully supports the army, there should be no problem. Although Yizhou is not the strongest, the [-] army will be defeated in a few months, but Zhuge Liang still needs to be distracted at this time. To appease the counties in the south of Yizhou seems to be a matter of course, but it is a bit suspicious when you think about it.The southern part of Yizhou is in chaos, and this didn’t happen just today. Shu’s control over the southern part of Yizhou has not been strong. It doesn’t matter if it is appeased one day earlier or later. In other words, if there is no large army entering, even if Appeasement is only a superficial matter, and the actual problem has not been resolved. With Zhuge Liang's intelligence, how could he not see this?
Then there is only one explanation. Zhuge Liang not only disapproved of the Eastern Expedition, but also opposed it very much. Guan Yu led the army to crusade against Wu, and faced not only the shortage of food and grass, but also the contradiction of internal opinions.He is now a great general, and if he is defeated in this battle, his great general will probably be finished.

Perhaps Zhuge Liang was using this opportunity to trip Guan Yu.

So what did Liu Bei think?Does Liu Bei also have any opinion on Guan Yu, a great general? Otherwise, although he is not a wise man, he should be able to see Zhuge Liang's passive sabotage.Of course, Liu Bei's stupid tricks are also a normal phenomenon. In history, wouldn't he go against the crowd when he went out to attack Soochow?
"How does the prime minister want me to help?" Sun Shao's mouth twitched slightly, revealing a meaningful smile. After seeing the internal affairs of Shu clearly, he had an idea.

Zong Yu frowned inadvertently, he was very disturbed by Sun Shao's calmness.At this time, he didn't ask Liu Bei or Guan Yu what he thought, but directly asked Zhuge Liang what he thought. Could it be that his relationship with Zhuge Liang was closer than his relationship with Guan Yu's son-in-law?As Zhuge Liang's confidant, Zong Yu knew that Zhuge Liang and Sun Shao had cooperated several times, but these cooperations seemed to be official business, and there were not many personal relationships among them. Even Zhuge Liang's younger brother Zhuge Jun went to Zhuya Academy for official business. I don't know how many personal friendships they have.At this moment, the familiarity with Zhuge Liang shown in Sun Shao's tone made Zong Yu unable to figure out the mystery, and naturally he didn't know how to answer Sun Shao.

He thought for a moment, and could only say vaguely: "Now the war is under the full authority of the general, and I came to ask for help under the order of the general. The general hopes that the king can support some food, grass and ordnance. If you can threaten me from the side Jiaozhou, that would be even better."

"Does the king of Shu and the prime minister know that you are here?" Sun Shao chased after him.

Zong Yu frowned, hesitated for a moment before saying, "I'm not sure, I was appointed by the General, and the General should inform the King and the Prime Minister's Mansion."

"Well, I know." Sun Shao nodded and stopped asking. This sentence is already very clear. Zong Yu's coming here is Guan Yu's idea. Guan Yu has always been arrogant. Liu Bei still trusts such things. Of course, he would not embarrass him because of this kind of thing, but when it is time to settle the score, this is an unforgivable crime, no matter how light it is, you can be convicted of trafficking to a foreign country. "You rest here for two days to see the scenery of the special pastoral city. I will discuss it with the queen and try to support as much as possible." Sun Shao said braggingly: "I dare not say anything else. I am not short of food and armaments. Master Yuezhang opened his mouth, I can't be too stingy, I will send someone to take you to the armory in a while, tell me what you like, and I will try my best to meet your requirements."

Hearing such news, Zong Yu bowed to express his thanks, but his expression was a little ironic.

Zong Yu went out, and Guan Feng, who had been standing behind the scenes, came out, sat opposite Sun Shao, and asked puzzledly: "My husband is helping you so much, why is Zong Yu not happy? Could it be that the battle is really difficult? Is it a matter of food, grass, ordnance?"

Sun Shao smiled, leaned forward and took Guan Feng's hand, pulling her to his side.Although it is already October, the weather in Funan is still very hot. Guan Feng is wearing a thin silk dress. Although it is dyed with gorgeous patterns, the clothes inside can still be seen through. Except that the body is wrapped in opaque clothes, two The arms are almost completely exposed, and a piece of white skin is exposed on the chest. Below the knees, there are only a pair of leather sandals and ice skirts, which look very attractive.

"Husband..." Being held in Sun Shao's arms, Guan Feng blushed and struggled uneasily twice.Although there were no outsiders in the hall, Guan Feng, who was always reserved, was still not used to such intimate actions in broad daylight.

"Don't you want to hear my analysis of Master Yue's current danger?" Sun Shao blinked and said with a smirk.Upon hearing about his father, Guan Feng didn't dare to struggle anymore, and quietly leaned against Sun Shao to listen to his explanation.

"Could it be like this?" Guan Feng opened his eyes wide in surprise after hearing a few words.

"Although I don't dare to say for sure, but I'm pretty sure it's true." Sun Shao smiled, reached out and tapped the tip of Guan Feng's nose: "Don't forget, Zhang Fei's daughter is the Crown Princess. Once Liu Chan succeeds to the throne, Zhang Fei should be the general. Although Yue Zhang is two or three years older than Liu Bei, he has always been in good health. On the contrary, Liu Bei has been sick. If Liu Bei dies first, what will Yue Zhang do? Who can check and balance? He? If this long campaign is ineffective, or even a small quarrel, things will be different. With Yue Zhang's temper, he will definitely take the blame and resign, and Zhang Fei, as the former general second only to Yue Zhang, will succeed him as the general , it became a legitimate thing.”

Guan Feng gasped.With eyes wide open, it took a long time before he asked, "What should I do then?"

"It's okay." Sun Shao patted Guan Feng's shoulder and said with a disapproving smile: "Firstly, they are just afraid of Father-in-law and want to restrain him properly, so they don't want to deal with him. Secondly, they forgot, Your father also has a daughter who is queen."

"I... what use can I be? The most powerful state of Yue is the navy, and if the navy wants to reach Changsha, it has to cross the border of the state of Wu. Moreover, what is the difference between meeting with the state of Wu?" Guan Fengyao Shaking his head, he sighed, "In that case, it will be a war between Wu and Yue. Although I care about my father, I don't want to drag Yue into this inexplicable war. We just won Funan, and we It will take time to stabilize the popular sentiment in Funan, and expeditions cannot be taken lightly, nor is it necessary."

Sun Shao looked at Guan Feng calmly, and was very satisfied. Although Guan Feng was ignorant of tactics, he could still tell the difference between right and wrong.

"Don't worry, I have a solution." Sun Shao leaned into Guan Feng's ear and whispered a few words.Guan Feng listened attentively, nodded repeatedly, but finally couldn't help but blushed, gave Sun Shao a shy look, got up and ran away.

Under the leadership of Zhao Feng, Zong Yu visited the arsenal that had just been remodeled, especially the Liannu that had just been installed on the Temu City. Zong Yu didn't take it seriously at first, but was a little curious about the shape of the Liannu. Seeing that he didn't write the letter, Feng asked someone to demonstrate it.When Zong expected to see the powerful arrows shooting at an almost non-stop speed, he opened his mouth wide in surprise and lost his composure for a moment.

"How many such sharp weapons do you have in Yueguo?" Zong Yu immediately changed his expression and asked impatiently.

"It's not too many." Zhao Feng smiled, and walked forward with Zong Yu, while saying: "There are about ten to thirty such Liannu on each building ship, depending on the size of the ship. The size is less on medium-sized battleships. The standard configuration is one at the head and one at the end of each battleship. However, the bases of these crossbows can be rotated and can shoot in one direction at the same time. In general, there are about four or five in our Yue Kingdom Hundreds of such crossbows." Zhao Feng glanced at Zong Yu, his expression filled with pride: "The battle of Xijuan City and the battle of Dunxun, our army defeated the enemy with the powerful lethality of the crossbow. If we can match With a hundred of these crossbows, I believe that it will not be difficult for the prince to defeat the Wu army."

Zong Yu held his beard, rolled his eyes, and thought nervously.The Han Dynasty has always used bows and crossbows as the strongest weapon. Whether it is dealing with nomads dominated by cavalry or infantry, whether it is field battles or sieges, the number and performance of long-range weapons such as bows and crossbows are to a large extent. Determines the strength of strength.Now the Yue Kingdom has overcome the shortcoming of the slow shooting speed of the crossbow, and pushed the power of this weapon to a new height. They are no longer the most inconspicuous foil among the four countries, but have become a powerful force that cannot be ignored. With the addition of Xinde Funan, the food shortage problem has been solved, and the strength of Yue State has surpassed that of Wu Shu, and it can faintly be compared with Wei State.Shu and Wu are fighting each other. The state of Shu relies on the relationship between the great general Guan Yu and Sun Shao, while the state of Wu is one step closer. They both have the surname Sun. Even if Sun Quan and Sun Shao have conflicts, he will not watch Sun Quan get frustrated. .If Sun Shao supported Sun Quan with some of these Liannu, not only would the possibility of Guan Yu's defeat be greatly increased, but a small provocation might turn into a major defeat.

Zong Yu knew that it was impossible for Zhuge Liang to hope for such a thing to happen. They just hoped that Guan Yu would suffer a small setback, or that it would be unfavorable to advance, and they would never hope to suffer major losses.

"If the King of Yue can support some of these Liannu to the general, the general will be able to win the flag and win immediately." Zong Yu quickly put on a happy smile, caressing the Liannu fondly, and circled the Liannu After several laps, I looked at it carefully.

"Since Your Majesty said that you will fully support it, it must include such Liannu." Zhao Feng nodded: "Not only Liannu, but also swords and horses. As long as the general needs it, Your Majesty will definitely do his best to support it."

The corners of Zong Yu's eyes couldn't help twitching, feeling extremely embarrassed.Why is Guan Yu so strong now that even Liu Bei is afraid of three points?This has a lot to do with Sun Shao supporting Guan Yu with two thousand horses last time.Guan Yu did not take the two thousand horses alone. He donated one thousand horses to Liu Bei, which are now the cavalry horses of Liu Bei's personal guard Bai Erjun. The other thousand horses were donated to Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei and others. One person left [-] horses. Among the generals of the Shu Kingdom, Guan Yu has the largest guard cavalry, with a number of thousands of people. Moreover, with Sun Shao, his son-in-law, his war horses can be replenished every year, and can be used all the time. To maintain a strong combat power, the other generals are far behind him. Even the Baier Army wants to change their horses. It is not as convenient as him. The speed of replenishment is far behind the speed of loss. decline.

If he gets a large amount of weapons and horses this time, Guan Yu's strength will further expand. Even if he loses the battle, no one will dare to move him easily.

This is a dilemma. Requiring these supports is exactly the opposite of what Zhuge Liang and others expected. Without these supports, the risk will become too great and uncontrollable, which is also not what Zhuge Liang expected.

Zong Yu scratched his head very much, and the worry in his eyes became more obvious. When Zhao Feng saw it, he thought he was worried that Sun Shao would not give it in vain, and Guan Yu might not be able to pay such a price. The queen loves and respects General Guan very much. Although he is a father-in-law, he is no worse than his biological father. Although these things are expensive, of course they will not ask for so much money to give to General Guan, at most it is just a symbolic amount."

It's fine if he doesn't say anything, Zong Yu is even more worried when he says this.He glanced at Zhao Feng, hesitant to speak.He knew that many generals around Sun Shao were from the Guan family's personal guards. This person in front of him was probably the one who said that it was not appropriate to say Guan Yu's fault in front of such a person. However, he must think of a solution, and he must not let Wu Guo occupy Guan Yu can't be cheap if he has the upper hand.

Zong Yu thought hard for a moment, and suddenly he had an idea and came up with a plan.

(End of this chapter)