Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3487 Avoiding Topics

The sky is different in ten miles.

Large-scale snowfall and ice-cold disasters occurred in Mobei, Youzhou, but they were not felt in other parts of the Han Dynasty.

People's joys and sorrows are different.

Even if you occasionally feel sad about the death of a rabbit or a fox, it will soon be diluted by other things and then forgotten.

This winter of the ninth year of Taixing was not cold in Jiangdong, and it even had only a few light rains now. There are many nobles wearing thin clothes and long sleeves, playing leisurely on the riverside. For these people, the war in the Central Plains and the casualties among the people may not be more important and attractive than the coquettishness of another beauty or the wink of a courtesan.

In this winter when artillery fire roared in Hedong and Heluo, Cao Cao had been forced to adapt to the new changes in the war and began to find ways to preserve his own strength in order to maintain the morale of his soldiers under the bombardment of long-range weapons, especially artillery. , Cao Jun has reduced the number of large-scale phalanxes, and began to try to form small-scale military formations like the hussar generals.

However, Jiangdong's soldier pattern has not changed much.

Even when Zhou Yu was seriously ill and Jiangdong withdrew its troops on a large scale, there were still many nobles who were not worried, but were relieved, feeling that the war was far away and that spring would come next.

Since the battle between Cao Cao and Fei Qian began, there have been two major types of voices in Jiangdong.

War, peace.

In Jiangdong, the voices of He and Zhan were originally louder than Zhan, especially after they continued to fight and did not achieve any good results, they almost overwhelmingly pressed Zhan's part to the ground and rubbed it.

What's even more interesting is that when the voice of "peace" became the mainstream, it seemed that peace had come to Kodong.

Before that, some people might have hoped to write something about the conflict between the East and West Shangshu in the north of the river. But now, in Wu County, I don’t know how many people are already fighting for themselves. Looking for a way out.

Anyway, who should I vote for?

What's the difference between a full-blood cast and a residual-blood cast?

In fact, Jiangdong can't be regarded as blindly weak. For example, when it comes to dealing with Shankoshi, he is also forceful.

After Shamoko's troops ate up and occupied the county's food reserves, they expanded to the surrounding areas again. The expansion this time was even disorderly, and there was no order from Shamoko.

Normally, a large-scale attack by the army must at least inform the leader, but Shanyue is used to being undisciplined, and Samoko only received the news after the battle had begun in the front. Although Shamoko had previously sent letters to various tribal leaders, saying that the war had reached a certain stage and that they needed to shrink their defenses to prepare for Jiangdong Army's counterattack, it was obvious that these tribal leaders didn't take it seriously at all.

Perhaps because of greed for Jiangdong's wealth, or perhaps because of blind confidence in their own military power, the Shannan Vietnamese launched an attack on the rich land of Jiangdong.

But this time, the Shannan Vietnamese did not fight so smoothly...

Compared with attacking small counties in areas with many mountains and rivers, attacking the relatively flat hinterland of Jiangdong requires a long journey. Even if there is no supply system in Shanyue, it is starting to feel a little weak.

It is absolutely impossible to send troops to Jiangbei, but it is absolutely impossible for Shanyue to invade the hinterland of Jiangdong.

After all, it was understandable that he did not dare to confront the world-famous Feicao, but it would be a joke if he could not even cower in the face of Shangyue.

Faced with Shanyue's advances, all ethnic groups in Jiangdong began to join hands to resist Shanyue.

In a sense, if all the tribes in Jiangdong can maintain such a cooperative attitude and spirit of mutual cooperation for a long time, then it is possible to attack the Central Plains, let alone repulse Shanyue. But unfortunately, at this stage, Jiangdong is not weak at home, but it is extremely difficult to fight out.

After it was determined that Governor Zhou Yu was critically ill and Sun Quan completely compromised, Jiangdong determined the battle strategy with Shanyue almost as quickly as possible, and started the battle at an extraordinary speed!

In less than half a month, the entire battlefield was completely under Jiangdong's control. Shanyue collapsed everywhere. Jiangdong's soldiers, led by the gentry's sons, advanced with great success. Not only did they regain the lost territory, but they also pursued Shanyue all the way to the Wuling area. They burned, killed, and looted Shanyue's stronghold, and the violence that Shanyue inflicted on the Han people's cities was doubled back to Shanyue.

During the war, Shamoko's personal bravery did not turn the tide. Instead, he was surrounded by many people. He almost got dumped and was seriously injured. He had to fight to the death to rescue him before he survived.

If the Jiangdong-Sangyue rebellion ended with Jiangdong's victory, some of the things that the Shanyue side showed in terms of security during this process also shocked some people in Jiangdong.

As the final casualty figures were tallied up, when they arrived at Sun Quan's place, Sun Quan's face became even more ugly. When he saw Zhang Zhao, he couldn't help but complain: "If Shanyue does this again and again, Jiangdong will not be saved sooner or later!" 』

Zhang Zhao's eyes were still steady, "The people of Shanyue are nothing to be afraid of." If you don’t know heaven and earth, if you don’t know reverence, you will fail sooner or later. 』

Sun Quan's implication was that Jiangdong was only united when dealing with Shanyue, and he wanted to ridicule the Jiangdong nobles, but Zhang Zhao also had something in his words, and he immediately choked Sun Quan and got stuck in his trachea, which was extremely uncomfortable!

Zhang Zhao didn't care about Sun Quan's expression at all.

In Jiangdong, the rich are the boss!

Do you, Sun Quan, have money?

Why pretend if you don't have money?

Sun Quan has no money, no people, no soldiers, and he wants to mock others?

Why don't you pretend to be a grandson?

Zhang Zhao reported all the accounts of this period to Sun Quan in a serious manner, and then asked Sun Quan if he had any instructions.

What instructions could Sun Quan have?

"Since the lord has no other instructions, please use the seal!"

Zhang Zhao pushed the report forward and signaled the attendant next to Sun Quan to take it up.

Sun Quan wanted to curse, "I don't need the seal, you old man!"

But after a moment of luck, Sun Quan frowned and asked someone to take the seal and stamp it on Zhang Zhao's report.

Zhang Zhao still saluted in a serious manner and said goodbye.

Zhang Zhao was impeccable in terms of etiquette, but Sun Quan felt that he was worshipping a statue instead of his master.

Sun Quan felt that he was like a clay statue. Although everyone would show respect when passing by him, that was all...

If someone wanted to knock him down one day and sculpt a new statue, there might be a few people who would lament and say it was a pity, but they would soon bow down to the new statue!

The more Sun Quan thought about it, the angrier he became, but he only dared to put his hands under the table, holding his knees tightly, not daring to lift them up, and his expression was still trying to remain stable.

Because if he couldn't even be a good statue now, and even the gold powder on his face was cracked, revealing the clay inside, someone might want to knock him down now...

Sun Quan gritted his teeth and asked someone to call the school official.

In a sense, the school officials are Sun Quan's "eunuchs". Once Sun Quan is in trouble, they will definitely be finished. Therefore, some things are more or less related to Sun Quan's interests, and they will be done according to Sun Quan's wishes.

As for other people, Sun Quan has completely lost trust in them.

Zhang Zhao doesn't care whether Sun Quan believes in him or not. When he walked out of Sun Quan's general's mansion, his steps were steady.

For Zhang Zhao and other people in Jiangbei, as well as the Jiangdong gentry, there is one thing in common. They all hope to have a "weak master" rather than a "strong monarch".

It is not good for Sun Quan to be too incompetent, but if Sun Quan is too capable, they will also be unhappy.

Like Sun Quan now, he is a qualified "master" in the minds of Zhang Zhao and others, as well as the Jiangdong gentry.

Keep to himself and don't make trouble.

As for eating, drinking, playing, gambling, smoking, etc., it doesn't matter. It's just Sun Quan's personal hobbies. It's not a big deal. As long as it doesn't hinder the gentry from getting benefits, then they are still good lords...

Zhang Zhao's main opponent now is not Sun Quan, nor Zhou Yu, but Gu Yong.

As for who will be the next lord after the unification of Jiangbei in the future, and whether he will become the "wise ruler" in their hearts...

By then, Zhang Zhao will be old and may not see that day, so he can only take care of the present and believe in the wisdom of future generations.

『Gu Yuan sighed...』

Zhang Zhao looked up, looked at the dim sun in the sky, then muttered something, shook his head, and left the general's mansion.

Gu Yong claimed to have defeated 100,000 Shanyue in Changsha County, captured 20,000, and beheaded 50,000, which can be called an "epic" victory. He also submitted a petition to Sun Quan to surrender Shanyue, and proposed that for these Shanyue captives, only the chief culprit should be executed, and the rest should be exempted.

The Han people who survived in Changsha County were very dissatisfied with Gu Yong's memorial, saying that the Shanyue had committed numerous blood debts, and they should be pardoned?

However, in Wu County, a large number of nobles said that although the Shanyue were extremely vicious, they were actually just forced to buy for nothing. If they could live on, who would like to do this? If Jiangdong could give the Shanyue some opportunities to contribute their labor and show their value, and could forgive their past and even give them a full meal, it is conceivable that most of the Shanyue would not continue to resist.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Gu Yong's memorial caused a big stir in Jiangdong. Many people participated in the discussion on whether these Shanyue should be pardoned, but not many people talked about the defeated Jiangdong army, and no one mentioned Zhou Yu who was critically ill...

……

……

In Jiangbei, which the Jiangdong people avoided talking about, Cao Cao seemed to have become a topic that people in Xu County, Yingchuan avoided talking about.

Cao Cao knew the threat of Guanzhong navy to the Central Plains, so he was willing to replace the navy of the Cavalry Army at any cost. What was more dramatic was that even though Cao Cao had fought a relatively good sniper battle against the Tongguan branch of the Cavalry Army, he was unable to arouse the interest of the nobles in Xu County. On the contrary, many nobles felt that Cao Cao's battle was really inexplicable. He did not deal with the cavalry of the Cavalry Army properly, but competed with the navy of the Cavalry Army...

Rumors spread privately. Xu County, which seemed to be far away from the war, was actually like boiling water, with steam puffing out from under the lid.

In a villa on the outskirts of Xu County, a middle-aged man and a young man walked up the hill along the mountain path slightly ahead and behind.

The middle-aged man was Cui Yan, and the young man behind him was a member of the Zhen family, with a single name of Zhen.

"One day in the mountains, I saw beautiful mountain flowers, so at the beginning of spring, they were transplanted here..." Cui Yan walked and pointed to a flower bed beside the mountain pavilion in the distance and said, " I never imagined that this spring would be so cold that the fields would suddenly freeze with frost... so many transplanted flowers and plants were almost destroyed, and only these tenacious ones were left... The power of plants and trees, and their desire to survive under the frost and cold, are really touching... …』

While talking, the two of them arrived at the mountain pavilion.

The pavilion is on a hillside with a wide view.

The servants were all halfway up the mountain and did not follow the two of them to the pavilion on the top of the mountain.

Cui Yan walked into the pavilion and patted the pillars of the pavilion. "I remember that this pavilion was built to commemorate the death of the party. Now... this pavilion has also aged..."

Zhen Zhen slightly cupped her hands and said, "Mr. Cui is a role model for us." If Mr. Cui had not been able to resist the wind and frost in the past, how could we and the younger generations enjoy the rain and dew now? 』

Cui Yan laughed and pointed at Zhen Zhen, "I've heard that Zi is really smart and good at talking. Now that I've seen him today, he is indeed well-deserved!" 』

The two laughed and the atmosphere seemed to be very harmonious.

After a few more pleasantries, Cui Yan said: "Zizhen seems to be very busy these days..."

Zhen Zhen's eyes flashed, "Mr. Cui is in charge of national affairs and working hard on paperwork. He is really busy... This kid is just running around for mundane things, how can he be called busy?" No, Cui Gong invited me, and the boy came immediately..."

"Haha, don't belittle Zizhen..." Cui Yan said with a smile, "Zizhen travels back and forth for the needs of the people...Businessmen exchange what they have with each other and make up for the deficiencies with what is left. This is the way of heaven. How can it be " Can the word "secular things" be summarized in a nutshell? There is nothing important to do when I invite Zizhen to come here recently... I just live in Yingchuan for many days and am unaware of the changes in the country, so I took the liberty to invite Zizhen to talk about some local things to relieve my homesickness..."

"Mr. Cui is dedicated to serving the country, and I admire him so much!" If Mr. Cui asks something, he will definitely tell you everything! ” Zhen Zhen said with cupped hands.

Cui Yan nodded, stretched out his hand to ask Zhen Zhen to sit down in the mountain pavilion, and after pondering for a moment, he said: "I wonder what the current situation in Jizhou is like among the scholars?" 』

Zhen Zhen rolled her eyes and said, "Mr. Cui, how can I know about the Scholars' Wenhui when I'm running a lowly business as a merchant?" 』

Cui Yan narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Fang Caizi really said that he knew everything he knew..."

Zhen Zhen pondered for a moment, "Just some superficial remarks... For example, if the Prime Minister wins, then Jizhou should have a few more years of peace..."

"What if it's invincible?" Cui Yan asked.

Zhen Zhen raised her eyes and looked at Cui Yan, "Does Mr. Cui mean anything by this?" 』

Cui Yan waved his hand and said: "The matter of military affairs has always been divided into victory and defeat since ancient times." Is there any way in the world to be victorious in every battle? You can talk about victory, but you can also talk about defeat. 』

Cui Yan paused and gestured around the pavilion, "It's just you and me here... Besides, you and I are both citizens of Jizhou. Although we are different in age, we have the same local accent!" You really don’t need to be so shy! In this battle, the Prime Minister, from someone's point of view, even the number of five or five is not enough... His Majesty also asked for advice during the meeting, bluntly stated the victory or defeat, and did not shy away... Zizhenda need not be like this, could it be that he can't believe that someone ? 』

Cui Yan said "no need" twice in a row, which made Zhen Zhen feel a little helpless, so she could only sigh and said: "Mr. Cui's words are serious... The world is in chaos, and naturally some people are talking about it in private... But the war has not yet been decided. , and there is Cao's school secretary looking around, it is inevitable that there will be some..."

Cui Yan nodded, "Understood." What is said here is only known to you and me, heaven and earth. 』

If it were a few years ago, Cui Yan would have felt it was an insult to him even if he glanced at Zhen Zhen. How could he sit together and have a nice discussion?

The attitude of noble family members towards others is not necessarily based on the current status of both parties, but also has future expected bonuses.

It's like buying a stock.

Zhen Zhen is the leader of the Zhen family's caravan, traveling between Jizhou and Yuzhou.

Although the Zhen family did well in business, originally, to Jizhou people, they were considered to be those who pursue the pursuit of fame and fortune, and were not worthy of elegance. Moreover, the Zhen family failed to invest in the Yuan family. After the fall of the Yuan family, it can be said that they almost lost their pants...

Who would have thought that Zhen's underwear was still shaking in Guanzhong!

Regardless of the color of those underwear, after shaking now, even someone like Cui Yan will have to be polite to Zhen.

Cui Yan went straight in, which also made Zhen Zhen a little embarrassed. After thinking for a moment, he slowly said: "The people of Jizhou are in confusion." Since autumn, there have been rumors... One says that the hussars are lacking in strength and cannot be maintained. As long as the Prime Minister holds on for a while, they can win..."

"Aha!" Cui Yan nodded, "What about the other idea?" 』

"Another theory..." Zhen Zhen glanced at Cui Yan, "Then it's naturally the opposite... It's said that the prime minister's defeat has been determined, and even if he supports it, he won't have much time..."

"This is how people's hearts are..." Cui Yan nodded and said, "However, I heard something else..."

Zhen Zhen's eyes flickered, "I don't know what Mr. Cui said about what he heard?" 』

"No matter what the world is like, and no matter what is right or wrong..." Cui Yan said slowly, "I heard someone rumored that if the prime minister is defeated, he will have to cut off the north of the river and use the Qiao cavalry to herd the horses before he can stop the army. Strike… I don’t know whether it’s true or not? 』

North of the river is naturally Jizhou.

Zhen Zhen suddenly felt a chill on her back.

This rumor was actually spread by him.

As a descendant of the Zhen family, this can be said to be the third time he has made a bet.

For an ordinary family, if they bet once and fail, it is basically the end. The Zhen family was lucky and had Zhen Mi.

Before, some people from the Zhen family wanted to pick peaches, but they were beaten up and their hands and feet were broken. They realized that the Zhen family could rise again, not relying on the Zhen family in Jizhou, but on the idle chess pieces in Guanzhong. Although it has not been heard so far how the general of the cavalry will place Zhen Mi, most people think that this is a matter of time, even the Zhen family thinks so.

In addition, in the past period of time, the Zhen family has been acting as an agent for Guanzhong products and selling Western spices, making a lot of money. Many people even believe that Zhen Mi is the future mother. Although in Jizhou, although they still say that Shandong is so and so on the surface, their minds have already flown to Guanzhong...

This time, the rumor of "cutting the north of the river" can be regarded as a test of the Zhen family.

But Zhen Zhen didn't expect that he had only arrived in Xu County for a short time, and the rumor had already reached Cui Yan!