The Three Kingdoms: Rise to Power Starting with Intercepting Liu Bei

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Qin Xuan stayed in Wucheng County for three days until Chen Deng arrived, travel-worn.

"Yuanlong, from now on, Wu County will be under your administration. You will be responsible for all political affairs. As for the defense of Wu County, I will entrust Xue Rengui with that."

"You two better not disappoint me. Two years from now, I want to see a vibrant Wu County, otherwise...!"

At Yan Baihu's residence, Qin Xuan held Chen Deng's hand and earnestly gave him some advice. Anyone who didn't know the situation would think it was a father giving instructions to his son.

Before Qin Xuan could finish speaking, Chen Deng confidently interrupted him, making a solemn pledge:

"My lord, if the population of Wu Commandery does not increase and the quality of life of the people does not improve significantly within two years, I, Chen Deng, will commit suicide to atone for my sins."

When Chen Deng saw that Qin Xuan trusted him so much and entrusted him with the administration of an entire prefecture, he was immediately moved beyond words. He solemnly pledged his loyalty to Qin Xuan, knowing that his talents would finally be put to good use.

"Hehe, Yuanlong, don't be so radical. Don't have suicidal thoughts even if you haven't achieved anything yet. I believe you can do a great job!"

Seeing Chen Deng's aggressive attitude, Qin Xuan's heart suddenly skipped a beat. He quickly advised the other party to adjust his mindset. After all, if Chen Deng continued to be so reckless, he might work himself to death, which would be a great loss for Qin Xuan.

Temporary infighting is far less effective than long-term high efficiency. Historically, Zhuge Liang was too infighting and too impatient, which led to his physical collapse and death before the age of sixty. Otherwise, Shu Han might have been able to hold on for a while longer.

"Thank you for your concern, my lord. I will remember it!"

After settling Chen Deng in and sending him away, Qin Xuan summoned Xue Rengui. After all, military and political affairs should be kept separate, and Chen Deng belonged to the local faction, whose loyalty to him was far less than that of the system's personnel. Therefore, Qin Xuan did not want him to get too involved in military matters.

"Rengui, you must be very clear about the importance of Wu Commandery. In addition to preventing other forces from entering Wu Commandery, I have asked you to take the time to train a navy and recruit skilled craftsmen to build dozens of warships. We are currently lacking a navy."

"Furthermore, you will also take over wartime command of Xiapi and Guangling. Zhang Liao and Gao Shun will all be under your command, understand?"

Xue Rengui was a character produced by the system, and his loyalty was beyond question. Qin Xuan did not treat him with the same politeness as he did with Chen Deng, and his tone was somewhat serious.

"Yes, my lord, rest assured, I will complete the task perfectly!"

Xue Rengui cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and answered loudly, but then revealed his inner concerns:

"My lord, building warships is relatively easy, but training a navy is something I know absolutely nothing about. That's extremely difficult!"

As a brilliant strategist, Xue Rengui was very insightful in his thinking. He would carry out his lord's orders without hesitation, but he would not readily agree to things he was not good at.

He was skilled at training infantry and cavalry, but he had absolutely no experience with the navy. After all, the navy's fighting style and environment were completely different from those of the infantry, and they were two entirely different things.

"I've already considered this. First, gather craftsmen in Wu County to build warships, recruit local young men who can swim, and train them in basic military skills. I'll figure out the rest for you!"

Qin Xuan had already considered Xue Rengui's concerns. Now that he had occupied Wu County, he could begin to build his own navy. Wu County had a large number of craftsmen who could build advanced warships and teenagers who were excellent swimmers.

Although Xuzhou also had one, it suffered greatly from war, and its shipbuilding industry was almost completely destroyed, making it impossible to develop a navy in a short period of time.

As for Qin Xuan's proposed method, it was to poach personnel. Historically, the Jingzhou navy was a force that could rival the Jiangdong navy, and many of the Jiangdong naval commanders even came from the Jingzhou navy.

People like Gan Ning of Jiangdong, Wen Ping of Cao Wei, and Huang Zhong, a general of Shu Han, all came from the Jingzhou army.

Now that Qin Xuan has the backing of such a powerful intelligence agency as Black Ice, how could he possibly let these people go?

"Yes, sir!"

Upon hearing that Qin Xuan was already confident, Xue Rengui felt relieved.

After giving all the instructions, Qin Xuan returned to Xuzhou that afternoon with the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry and other surplus troops, leaving only 10,000 troops for Chen Deng and Xue Rengui.

···············

On the other side, after several days of long journey, Zhou Yu, Huang Gai and others finally returned to Shuxian County, Lujiang. When they arrived at the Zhou family residence, Old Master Zhou, along with Wu Guotai, Sun Shangxiang and Sun Quan, were already waiting at the door to greet them.

Wu Guotai stood beside Old Master Zhou, her face filled with anticipation, holding the not-yet-three-year-old Sun Shangxiang in her arms. Thirteen or fourteen-year-old Sun Quan stood to the side, his gaze constantly sweeping over Zhou Yu and the others, as if searching for someone.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Yu and the others dismounted and quickly approached the crowd. They knelt in unison at Wu Guotai's feet, heads bowed, their voices choked with sobs:

"Madam, Uncle... Uncle Fu..."

Even with such a short sentence, Zhou Yu couldn't bring himself to say it.

The crowd waiting at the gate trembled. How could Lady Wu not understand the implication? A few years ago it was her husband Sun Jian, and now it was her eldest son Sun Ce's turn.

A flicker of pain crossed her eyes as she looked at Zhou Yu. Tears streamed down her beautiful face as she asked in a trembling voice:

"Why...why did he die in battle? No...wasn't it a three-way alliance?"

When Sun Ce went on the expedition, he told her that it was a joint operation by three parties and there would be no great danger, so she shouldn't worry about it.

But who would have thought that this would be a separation between life and death, with the white-haired sending off the black-haired?

Faced with Wu Guotai's question, Zhou Yu and the others found it difficult to answer, as they had been outmaneuvered by their allies, and it wouldn't sound good if word got out.

However, the thirteen or fourteen-year-old Sun Quan could not remain calm like Wu Guotai. His mind was not so mature, or rather, he could not accept Sun Ce's death. Ignoring the unspoken difficulties of Zhou Yu and others, he angrily approached Zhou Yu and loudly questioned him:

"Tell me, what exactly happened? My brother was so skilled in martial arts, why did he die in battle? What exactly happened?"

Sun Quan's furious voice drew a large crowd of onlookers, all eager to see what major event had occurred in the influential Zhou family of Shuxian.

Gossip has always been a favorite pastime in every era.

Seeing that more and more people were gathering around, Old Master Zhou hurriedly ordered his servants to drive them away and told Zhou Yu and the others to get up, saying that they should talk at home and not make a fool of themselves in front of everyone.

When Old Master Zhou spoke, no one dared to disobey. Everyone then returned to the main hall and sat down again. Sun Quan, his eyes red, questioned him once more.

Faced with Sun Quan's questioning, Huang Gai finally revealed the reason:

"It was Yan Baihu who colluded with Qin Xuan to try and eliminate us. Moreover, Liu Bei and the others slipped away without saying goodbye. Faced with the relentless pursuit of Yan Baihu and Qin Xuan, Bo Fu offered to cover our retreat, and that's how...!"

After listening, Sun Quan remained silent for a long time. For a moment, the only sounds in the hall were Wu Guotai's sobs and Sun Shangxiang's innocent babbling.

After an unknown amount of time, Sun Quan slowly raised his head and looked at Zhou Yu:

"What are your plans now? My brother can't just die like this, and my father's death must be avenged!"

Zhou Yu took a deep breath, stood up, and looked at Sun Quan with a firm gaze: "Zhongmou, we promised Bofu that we would wholeheartedly assist you, but you are still young and must study as soon as possible. I plan to lead Gongfu and the others, relying on Yuan Shu's banner, to develop our strength, conquer the counties of Yangzhou, and await a change in the situation!"

This was something Zhou Yu had discussed with Huang Gai and others on the way, to rely on Yuan Shu's banner to develop their own strength; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to achieve anything significant on their own.

A hint of surprise flashed in Sun Quan's eyes, but he finally nodded in agreement. He was still young and could only rely on Zhou Yu to take revenge, but this hatred was deeply imprinted in his heart.