Chapter 1020 A smile hidden in a knife
“Report!”
Representing the most urgent situation, the passing cavalry rushed straight towards the central army.
“Your Majesty, urgent report from the front: General Sun was attacked by thieves at the foot of the mountain, all the attacking tools were burned, and General Sun died in battle!”
"What!"
When Sun Quan heard the news, he was suddenly struck by thunder. He swayed and almost fell down.
“My fourth brother died young. Not only could I not take care of my nephew, but I actually caused my nephew to die in front of the battle, under the yellow soil. How should I face my fourth brother?”
Sun Tai is a real royal clan member of the Wu Kingdom. Before the official attack on the city, a royal clan member died, and all the siege equipment was burned.
This is undoubtedly a huge blow to Wu Jun.
Sun Quan drew his sword in grief and shouted:
"I and the Wei thieves have an unequal hatred. I will not return to our army until Hefei is destroyed this time!"
After finishing the oath, he immediately ordered Lu Xun, who had just arrived in Wancheng, to lead the army to Xiaoyaojin to protect the army's retreat, while he ordered the entire army to break camp and rush to Hefei.
Lu Xun received the edict and said to Zhuge Jin:
“Your Majesty is moving the army to the north because it is expected that most of Wei’s troops will be attracted by Shu and will not be able to assist Hefei.”
"It's just that in my opinion, if Wei loses the pass, it can still retreat to Wanluo, but if it loses Hefei again, the Central Plains will be difficult to stabilize."
“At present, Wei Guo Guanzhong is in danger of being lost, so it is very likely that Hefei will be defended.”
"Wu has lost the opportunity in this Northern Expedition. Your Majesty is already a little too impatient this time."
The delay in sending troops was originally a decision made by Lu Xun and Sun Quan after discussion.
Over the years, Shu has won many battles against Wei, and it can be said that it has an elite army.
However, Wei State accounts for more than half of the world, so it can be said that the country is the strongest.
Therefore, the struggle between Wei and Shu in Guanzhong should be protracted, and it is best to be protracted.
No matter which side wins in the end, it will consume a lot of national power.
At the same time, this is what Wu Guo wants to see most.
In the end, whether Shu retreats or Wei is defeated, Wu can take advantage of the stalemate between the two countries to go north.
Either Xiangyang or Hefei, not to mention taking them all, even if you only take one, it will be considered a big profit.
It's just that God's calculations are not as good as those of humans. No one expected that the situation in Guanzhong would change so quickly.
Coupled with the inconvenience of information exchange, by the time Wu State reacts, Shu State will not only be close to conquering Guanzhong, but it seems that even Bingzhou and Hedong may be included in it.
At the current situation, not to mention Sun Quan who was anxious, even Lu Xun also lamented his miscalculation.
Zhuge Jin asked: "What should Yi Boyan think?"
Lu Xun sighed: "Wei's situation in Guanzhong is unfavorable. Feng Mingwen has occupied Hedong and may threaten Tongguan at any time."
"Now the Wei State is sending troops from Jingzhou and Wancheng to go to Wuguan to reinforce Guanzhong. Wu should pretend to attack Hefei, but in fact it is better to wait for the opportunity to attack Xiangyang."
“Wu’s great advantage lies in boats. Whether it is Jiangling or Jiangxia, there are rivers connecting Xiangyang. This just takes advantage of boats.”
“As long as Dawu takes Xiangyang, even if Shu takes Guanzhong, if they want to send troops to the east in the future, they will most likely go through Hedong or Tongguan, not Wuguan.”
To put it bluntly, as long as Da Wu can capture Xiangyang, even if the Shu soldiers really dare to come out of Wuguan, facing Wancheng with the Wei army in the east and Xiangyang with the Wu army in the south, will they dare to march eastward with confidence?
And when Da Wu went north from Xiangyang, there was no danger to defend Wancheng. It was much more convenient than the Shu army going through Wuguan.
When Guan Yu came to Xiangfan, he was able to force Cao Cao to think about moving the capital. After Wu captured Xiangyang, sooner or later, Wancheng would also be included in his pocket.
The only shortcoming of this plan is whether it will cause an overreaction from Shu if the army suddenly gathers in Jingzhou.
But it’s not a big problem.
After all, most of the troops of the Shu Kingdom are now in Guanzhong, and Yong'an's troops cannot threaten the Jingzhou army.
In addition, as long as the army really attacks Xiangyang, Shu will understand Wu's intentions.
At worst, your Majesty will write a letter and explain to the Lord of Shu afterwards, and the two countries will be in peace.
I just didn’t expect that Your Majesty would be so anxious to capture Hefei after learning that Shu had gained in Guanzhong.
Zhuge Jin consoled him:
"As the saying goes, if you lose the east corner, you will gain the mulberry tree. Even if you cannot capture Xiangyang, it will be the same if you capture Hefei."
Lu Xun hesitated to speak, but finally nodded: "That's right."
When attacking Xiangyang, there are boat divisions to help isolate reinforcements, and they can even rely on the momentum of the Shu people in Hanzhong.
Can Hefei be the same?
Attacking Hefei would be much more difficult than attacking Xiangyang!
It’s just that the matter has come to this, no matter how much we say, it’s useless.
It's better to act according to His Majesty's instructions first.
Just when Wu State was gathering troops in Hefei, on the south bank of the river outside Jianye City, two medium-sized warships were being untied and roped up. It seemed that they were preparing to cross to the north bank.
Most of the people on the boat were young men in their teens or 20s. Everyone looked excited and nervous, and they were in a hurry to make preparations for departure.
Sgt Wu, who was usually stationed at Jinkou, was standing not far away at this time, watching these novices make mistakes from time to time, and then burst into bursts of uncontrollable laughter.
“Mr. Ma, you really don’t need our help?”
Lu Yi also had a kind smile on his face, looking at the young gentlemen who came from Shu, and asked Ma Su.
It’s just that he is not a kind person to begin with, so this kind smile looks more like a gloomy sneer.
"No, no, no," Ma Su said quickly, "I have been here for several months. No matter how many people talk about the skill of maneuvering a ship, it is just lip service."
“After all, you have to do it yourself to learn the skill, and let them do it.”
Lu Yi did not force it. Anyway, this matter was an internal decision of the Shu people, and it was not something he could comment on.
All he could do was to give a few more warnings, which would be considered as doing his best:
"This Jinkou can only ferry one or two thousand people. It is not considered a big Jinkou, so it is not used by the army on weekdays."
"During His Majesty's Northern Expedition, it would be convenient for Mr. Ma and other gentlemen to practice boating here."
Ma Su raised his hands:
“It’s very thoughtful of Mr. Lu to help us find such a place. I would like to thank you on behalf of all the students in the college.”
At the moment, everything revolves around the Emperor Wu's crossing the Yangtze River and his northern expedition. The students he brought over from the Han Dynasty to study are considered guests of the Wu State, and they have not yet mastered the method of water warfare.
So we can only stay in the rear with nothing to do.
“Hey!” Lu Yi waved his hand quickly, “Mr. Ma, you are too polite. If it is convenient for others, it is convenient for yourself!”
As he spoke, he subconsciously glanced at the boats on the shore, and then lowered his voice:
“I heard that among the students who came this time, there were also disciples of Feng Junhou?”
Ma Su nodded: "That's right."
Lu Yi gave a high-five and his face lit up with joy:
"That's right. When Qin Xiaoshi went to Liangzhou, he had a very pleasant conversation with Feng Junhou and had a close friendship. Now that his disciples have come to Jiangdong, how can the Xiaoshi Office not make it convenient?"
When Ma Su heard this, a knowing look appeared on his face:
"That's it! In fact, Junhou attaches great importance to Luo Langjun and Fu Langjun. If Junhou Feng knows that Lu Xiaoshi takes care of these two gentlemen like this, he must be grateful."
"I've seen you, I've seen you! Your Majesty is well-known, so it's an honor for us to get to know each other."
Lu Yi said "Seeing the outside world", but an uncontrollable smile of satisfaction appeared on his face.
That's what he was waiting for.
With the deepening of cooperation between Wu and Shu, Jingzhou ships more and more jaggery to Shu every year.
Brown sugar, wine, woolen materials from Shu, and even war horses from Liangzhou were also continuously sent to Wu.
The school office is now not only involved in the business of brown sugar and woolen materials, but also occupies a large share in it.
Why has the school affairs office tried every means to set up checkpoints and collect taxes over the years?
Isn’t it just to raise money, food and supplies for His Majesty?
If the school office had a channel for promoting the Han Dynasty before, why would it cause local complaints just to get such a small thing?
It can be said that that trip to Liangzhou greatly resolved the crisis in the school affairs office and regained His Majesty's trust.
But there is no doubt that people who have no long-term worries must have short-term worries. I was lucky enough to escape this time. Who can guarantee that I will be so lucky next time?
From Lu Yi's point of view, he still needs to find ways to consolidate the status of the school affairs office in His Majesty's heart.
The things that the school affairs office can do for His Majesty are, first, to monitor officials at all levels and state and county clerks, and second, to raise money, food and materials for Your Majesty.
Needless to say, there is no need to mention the officials and officials of the school. After all, how can a perfect person be found in this world?
Even if you can't catch the other party's omissions, as long as you have a mouth and ears and have heard about it, you can still do it.
But the money, food and materials are different.
After all, the school affairs office can make things happen out of thin air, but it can't produce money, food and materials out of thin air, right?
Hence, it is necessary to maintain a good relationship with the leader of the Xinghan Society.
Ma Su was originally from a wealthy family in Jingzhou, so his treatment of people would not be too bad.
Coupled with these years of experience, he can now be considered a clear-eyed person. At the moment, he was holding Lu Yi's hand affectionately:
“Yes, yes, I was too polite.”
Lu Yi felt a few things being stuffed into his hand. He looked down slightly and saw that the exposed corner of the paper was very familiar - it was the unique paper of the banknotes.
Then I heard Ma Su say something meaningful:
"I'm not polite. Mr. Lu will never be polite to us in the future."
Lv Yi understood the pun.
He put the money into his wide sleeves without leaving a trace.
But seeing Ma Su reaching into his arms again, taking out a few bills, he deliberately said loudly:
"We borrowed the treasure land and got help from Principal Lu and the officers and men. It was just a small gift, but it was not respectful. We also asked Principal Lu to use it to treat the officers and soldiers to a meal of wine and meat."
This time, Lu Yi saw the number on the note openly: 100 pieces of high-quality wool.
Turn over the next page: Ten jars of mead.
Turn over another page: Ten pounds of brown sugar.
Lu Yi's eyes widened: These Shu people were so generous to his mother that they could actually give out such things to those dead soldiers!
He wanted to be greedy, but Ma Di took it out in front of everyone, so he could only swallow his saliva, and forced a smile with some distress:
"Mr. Ma is really thoughtful. My officers and soldiers have thanked you for your generous gift."
She touched her cuffs subconsciously. The money she just took was just a lot more. This time she planned to do a favor, but she didn't expect to make a fortune.
Not wanting to buy the goods, Lu Yi simply made a favor and passed the news to the defenders on the spot.
After learning about this, Sergeant Wu, who had been watching the joke from a distance, suddenly cheered.
Unlike Jingzhou, Jiangdong is not yet well known to most people. It is only popular among the upper-class dignitaries who have caravans with Shu.
But for things like wool, brown sugar, etc., even if the top soldiers at the bottom are not qualified to see them, they are still famous for a long time.
Even if what you get in the end is not these rare items, but converted into food or cloth, it is enough to make people excited.
Those who were impatient even ran to the water and began to give enthusiastic instructions to the students.
They have been guarding Jinkou for a long time. Even if they don't know how to command water battles, they are very familiar with boats and ships.
With their guidance, the students went much smoother.
Before leaving, Lu Yi handed another talisman to Ma Su:
“Mr. Ma, although the army has now entered Chaohu Lake, there are still many patrol boats in the river.”
"If you are questioned, just say that the school office is inspecting the tax checkpoints under His Majesty's orders. As long as you don't stray into a military important area, you will be fine."
As the secretary in charge of the school affairs office, Lu Yi is far more informed than others.
Your Majesty just received news from the front the day before yesterday, inquiring about the transaction of war horses between the school office and the Shu people.
Although he didn’t know what was happening ahead, Lu Yi, who knew Sun Quan’s thoughts well, knew:
Your Majesty asked about this specifically, and most likely he wanted to get more war horses from the Shu people.
The coming of these people to Jiangdong is part of the Shu-Wu war horse trade agreement. It would not be wrong to put more effort into them.
“Don’t worry, Principal Lu, I plan to let them go around the river a few times to get familiar with how to operate the boat. Even if they get to the north bank, they will never get close to Chao Lake.”
“Then I wish you all the best.”
“Thank you.”
“Set sail!”
…
On the second day, the two medium-sized warships of the Wu army guarding Jinkou came back carrying the young men of Shu, and some people greeted them warmly:
"came back?"
"came back."
“Oh, the water is floating so much that even after sleeping on the boat for one night, some people still feel uncomfortable.”
“I’m afraid I’ve never spent the night on a boat before. I’ll get used to it if I sleep a few more times in the future.”
“Hahaha, isn’t that why you brought them out this time?”
“Mr. Ma is right, he is right.”
Everyone knew that these young gentlemen were guests invited by His Majesty, and they received a lot of benefits. Instead of laughing at them, the defenders agreed.
“I’ll take them back to rest now, and come back tomorrow. I’d like you to help take care of these two boats.”
“It should be!”
In this way, when the state of Wu was busy with the Northern Expedition, Ma Di led a group of students to practice on their own.
A few days passed.
“Is Mr. Ma here again?”
"yes!"
“Come on, come over and lend a hand!”
“No, no, no, no, no, no need to bother the soldiers this time, just let them do it themselves.”
Ma Su quickly stopped him.
“Oh, listen to Mr. Ma.”
“I’ve already sent people to bring some wine and food over, and I’ll be here soon. Come on, let’s go and pick them up.”
As Ma Su said, he pulled the generals of the Wu army away.
“Wine and food?”
The general swallowed.
As a low-level officer, he did not have many opportunities to eat meat, let alone drink.
He glanced at the young men hesitantly and said, "Is this okay?"
"Why not? Principal Lu has told me a long time ago that this is just a small town, and there is nothing much going on on weekdays. That's why we were asked to come here to practice boating."
Ma Di said nonchalantly, "Besides, there are only two boats. No matter how you look at them, you can't see the flowers. Let's go and let you have a drink."
Officer Wu Jun thought for a while, and that was true.
“Then sir, won’t you follow us on board?”
"Just let them go to the river alone and I will follow them. What kind of experience is this?"
“That’s right, sir, please come first.”
“Okay, let’s go!”
Hearing that the Shu people actually asked someone to bring food and wine this time, the two hundred officers and soldiers stationed at Jinkou were all happy.
Seeing that Wu Jun didn’t even notice this, the temporary captain Luo Xian shouted to Fu Qian on the other boat:
“Are you ready?”
“Not yet, wait a moment.”
Fu Qian responded with his mouth, but something he was holding in his hand became unstable and fell into the water.
“Oh, that’s bad!”
As he spoke, he took off his robe and jumped directly into the water.
The students on the same boat were also in a hurry, and two others also jumped into the water.
After a while, the three people surfaced, and the people on the boat hurriedly pulled them up.
After this little accident, Fu Qian finally shouted:
“Okay, let’s sail!”
The two warships began to row slowly toward the river.
Other than this little accident, it looked the same as the previous times.
No one knows that a foot below the water, invisible to the naked eye, there is a specially treated tough thin line, one end of which is tied to a nailed underwater stake.
If you keep following this line, you will find that at the other end of it is the warship where Shu students practice their operations...
(End of this chapter)