Three Kingdoms: Daily settlement helps Liu Bei revive the Shu Han dynasty.

Sun Qian coughed lightly twice, waking Lu Yong, who was "fishing".

Lu Yong immediately sat up straight and then clapped his hands.

Xu Sheng responded to the call and entered the tent, leading several soldiers to carry in three wooden boxes.

Yang Hong glanced at the wooden box, stroked his beard, and remained silent.

Xu Sheng opened one of the boxes.

Inside were two jade ruyi scepters.

A pair of coral trees,

And a box of pearls from the East China Sea.

Yang Hong's eyes flashed with a greedy light for a moment, but he quickly withdrew them.

He forcefully suppressed the desires within him.

He picked up the teacup and took another sip.

He asked in a calm tone:

"What does the Army Division mean by this?"

Lu Yong smiled and said, "Chief Secretary Yang has been working tirelessly day and night to manage General Yuan's affairs. This small gift is hardly a token of my respect. If Chief Secretary Yang does not mind, I will send you a more generous gift in the future."

Yang Hong put down his teacup and looked at Lu Yong, thinking to himself, "Although this person is uneducated and incompetent, he is quite clever in dealing with people."

But he didn't respond to Lu Yong's words.

Instead, she changed the subject and asked:

"Guangling Commandery is now occupied by Zuo Rong and does not obey Liu Bei."

To trade territory that doesn't belong to you

Liu Bei's plan is a bit too ambitious.

Sun Qian's heart tightened, knowing that Yang Hong was not so easy to fool, and he couldn't help but turn to look at Lu Yong.

Lu Yong's expression remained unchanged, and he simply replied, "Zuo Rong was merely passing through Guangling when he saw the money and became greedy."

He killed Zhao Yu and allowed his men to plunder everywhere, so there was no way he could hold onto Guangling.

If General Yuan sends troops, Ze Rong will surely flee at the mere sight of him, and Guangling will be within easy reach.

"Our lord simply does not wish to compete with the general for credit, therefore he has come first to demonstrate his sincerity."

Yang Hong shook his head and said, "The six counties of Jiangdong are already in our lord's hands. Your actions are tantamount to snatching food from a tiger's mouth."

Sun Qian wanted to curse after hearing this.

Yuan Shu always disliked that place because it was remote and poor, and never gave it a second glance.

Now, in your mouth, Yang Hong, it has become his prize?

If you, Yuan Shu, truly valued Jiangdong, would you be waiting for someone else to take it over?

He turned to look at Lu Yong, and seeing that Lu Yong's expression was normal, he temporarily suppressed his anger.

Before Lu Yong could reply, Yang Hong suddenly asked, "Do you know Sun Jian's son, Sun Ce?"

Lu Yong nodded: "Of course I know."

"Sun Ce used the imperial seal to exchange for his father's old troops, and he probably also planned to move south and occupy Jiangdong."

Yang Hong paused for a moment, then continued, "Liu Bei was loyal and righteous, but Sun Ce was ungrateful."

If he were to seize Jiangdong, he would surely rebel in the future.

However, Liu Yao is currently recruiting soldiers in Qu'a, intending to oppose our lord. Therefore, Sun Ce was sent south to contain Liu Yao.

If Liu Bei could replace Sun Ce…”

As Yang Hong spoke, a sinister glint flashed in his eyes, revealing that he had long been dissatisfied with Sun Ce's ambitions.

Lu Yong knew that Yuan Shu had been fooled by Sun Ce, which was why he let him go south.

Sun Ce used the pretext of "assisting his uncle Wu Jing in attacking Hengjiang and Danglikou" to...

He claimed that if the matter succeeded, he could recruit 30,000 soldiers in Jiangdong and then assist Yuan Shu in pacifying the world.

This reason aligns with both filial piety and Yuan Shu's interests. If Yuan Shu were to forcibly obstruct it, it would conflict with his public image and make him appear suspicious and harsh.

But Yang Hong was different. As a strategist, he was more concerned with the overall interests of Yuan Shu's group.

Therefore, for a piece that is about to get out of control,

He'd rather just replace it.

Replace it with a piece that is easier to "control".

Little did they know, Lu Yong was actually the sixth brother.

Lu Yong understood the implication in Yang Hong's words and asked meaningfully, "Does the Chief Clerk mean that he hopes we will eliminate Sun Ce?"

"I didn't say that," Yang Hong squinted, completely shirking responsibility.

Listening to this, Sun Qian couldn't help but feel a little emotional: "Yuan Shu's subordinates are all scheming against each other and fighting amongst themselves. If I were to deal with them myself, I'm not sure I could handle them."

Lu Yong lowered his eyes, picked up the teacup, took a sip, and spoke slowly:

"Sun Ce was the bravest in the army, and he also had the help of Sun Jian's old subordinates."

If he were to take over Jiangdong, he would indeed be a major threat.

However, our lord currently has less than ten thousand troops and needs to prepare for a relocation.

"We simply don't have the resources to deal with Sun Ce."

Yang Hong stroked his beard without speaking, his gaze sweeping over Lu Yong's face.

Lu Yong put down his teacup and continued, "As the Chief Secretary knows, most of the soldiers under our lord are new recruits who have never fought in a large-scale battle."

Sun Ce's subordinates were all his father's old troops, seasoned veterans of many battles.

Our chances of winning a direct confrontation are slim.

"It would be better to wait until our lord arrives in Danyang and has a place to stay before making further plans."

Yang Hong's eyes flashed, and he thought to himself with a smile, "Young people are just young people. They revealed all their secrets with just a little bit of evasion."

Yang Hong feigned disappointment, sighed, and replied:

"The army division has a point."

After Liu Bei arrived in Danyang, he knew he would inevitably clash with Sun Ce sooner or later, so he was indeed proceeding without haste.

In other words,

If you go to Jiangdong, Sun Ce will definitely not let you go. You will have to fight him whether you want to or not!

Lu Yong knew, of course, that Sun Ce was an obstacle they couldn't avoid.

Moreover, he had no intention of going around in circles.

The Sun family, or rather Sun Quan, was the nemesis of the three brothers of the Peach Garden.

Guan Yu died at the hands of Lü Meng during Sun Quan's reign.

Liu Bei and Zhang Fei also lost their lives one after another in their quest for revenge.

Now that Lu Yong has pledged allegiance to Liu Bei, he must not allow history to repeat itself.

Whether it's Sun Quan or Sun Ce, not a single member of the Sun family should be spared!

Yang Hong wanted to use someone else to do his dirty work, but unexpectedly, he played right into Lu Yong's hands.

But Lu Yong couldn't appear too eager.

He had to make Yang Hong and Yuan Shu believe that he was being forced to deal with Sun Ce, rather than that he had volunteered for it.

This way, you can make yourself appear not to be scheming, but rather to be forced into it.

Before you are strong enough, don't reveal your ambitions too early.

The true principle is to develop stealthily.

Lu Yong stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Thank you for your understanding, Chief Secretary."

"When I meet General Yuan tomorrow, I hope the Chief Clerk will put in a good word for my lord."

"I will speak up, but I cannot guarantee how the general will decide." Yang Hong picked up his teacup and served tea to his guest.

Lu Yong and Sun Qian got up to take their leave.

Yang Hong escorted them to the entrance of the hall, watched them leave the mansion, and then turned back into the hall.

He walked up to the three wooden crates and waved for the servants to leave.

Once he was the only one left in the hall, a greedy and lewd smile slowly appeared on his face.

He bent down, picked up a jade ruyi, and gently rubbed it against his face...

.........

After leaving the Yang residence, Sun Qian finally couldn't help but ask:

"Strategist, does Yang Hong want to get rid of Sun Ce, but he can't do it himself, so he wants us to deal with him first?"

Lu Yong nodded and said, "That's exactly what he meant."

"Why doesn't the strategist agree? If Sun Ce occupies Jiangdong, wouldn't we be fighting him to the death if we went there?"

Lu Yong shook his head and said, "Sun Ce has Zhou Yu by his side. This man is exceptionally intelligent and not easy to deal with."

We are currently short of troops and under Yuan Shu's watchful eye. If we rashly agree, we will only be used as pawns.

"This matter is not urgent. We can discuss it in detail when we return to Xuzhou."

Sun Qian nodded thoughtfully.

Lu Yong continued, "The most important thing right now is to prepare what we will say when we meet Yuan Shu tomorrow."

If we can't reach an agreement on going south, everything else will just be empty talk.

"Yes." Seeing that Lu Yong was unwilling to talk about Sun Ce any further, Sun Qian wisely stopped asking.

Lu Yong turned to Xu Sheng and asked, "Wenxiang, how's the investigation going?"

Xu Sheng replied softly, "I've already found out."

He was from Dongcheng, Linhuai.

They are a well-known wealthy family in the area.

It seems they are now selling off their land in preparation for migrating south…