Chapter 338

Chapter 338: Strategist Cannot Ascend the Throne? Volume 10: The World in Chaos, the Time of the Deer Hunt Chapter 338: The Desire to Conquer Zu Lang

The room was filled with the sound of crying.

Qiao Yan watched the scene before her and slowly withdrew from the place, leaving it to Sun Ce’s subordinates and family.

She stood in the courtyard, looking up at the dim stars above, and sighed once more at the passing of this young hero.

Revealing some secrets that were too颠覆认知 for him before his death might have been a sign of respect, but it was also a form of cruelty.

But for Qiao Yan, this was a necessary move at this moment!

As the Grand Marshal who had come to Yang Province to intervene, after Sun Ce’s death, his subordinates could very well form another force around the still young Sun Quan or Sun Ce’s cousin Sun Ben.

If they could not be bound by the court in Chang’an, it would be almost no different from a separatist force in Yang Province.

Not to mention that Sun Ce’s efforts over the years to consolidate the various commanderies in Yang Province would be largely abandoned overnight, leading to the collapse of his foundation. The mutual checks and balances between the Shanyue, the noble families of Yang Province, and the warlord forces were also not good news for Qiao Yan, who intended to consolidate Yang Province for her own use!

Alternatively, even if Sun Ce entrusted the Sun family and his subordinates to Zhu Jun in the presence of this “benevolent witness,” Zhu Jun’s loyalty to the Han Dynasty would mean that all the preparations Qiao Yan had made to plan for Yang Province would be in vain.

Either way, it was a situation she did not want to see.

Rather than risking such a development, she might as well make a more dangerous and unconventional decision.

To reveal the hidden things to Sun Ce and let him make a choice himself.

When the幕后推手 of death showed signs, she, who sat by the sickbed, was no different from a villain.

But looking at the world, since the first year of Jian’an, or even since the fourth year of Zhongping when she became the Prefect of Bingzhou, she was by no means a villain to the people of the world.

In the situation where he could no longer seek revenge for himself, would he drag more people into the vortex of上层争锋, or would he let his family and subordinates enter a stable situation?

Sun Ce chose the latter.

Qiao Yan also bet on the right result!

She withdrew her gaze from the sky and saw a young child struggling to jump out of an adult’s arms at the door, his face streaked with tears, shouting that he wanted to join the army, and then being dragged away.

“Who is that?”

She had just spoken when Zhou Tai, who had come out from behind, replied, “He is Ling Tong, the son of Captain Ling. He was brought to Wu Commandery recently, and we brought him here after bringing Madam Wu.”

“He… like Zhu Ran, cannot accept the news of his father’s death.”

Qiao Yan replied, “I understand. Later, let Zibu draft an amount for the抚恤金 for the soldiers who died at the hands of the Shanyue. As for the问责 for failing to protect the Prefect… they need not bear it.”

After finishing her words, she watched as Ling Tong was taken away, lost in thought for a moment.

Perhaps they were also the ones who prompted Sun Ce to make his decision.

He himself sought to avenge his father by attacking Huang Zu, and Huang Zu’s death led to Huang She’s desperate counterattack. Huang She’s killing of Zhu Zhi first made Sun Ce see his former self in Zhu Ran, which ultimately led to his insistence on entering the mountains to fight the Shanyue.

This cycle of vengeance ended with Sun Ce’s death from poisoning, perhaps the best outcome for everyone.

If the子弟 of Jiangdong were to become enemies with Qiao Yan, it would lead to endless mutual strife.

Sun Ce himself had suffered deeply from this, so how could he wish for his subordinates’ descendants to live in such days?

This was his final act of mercy as the Prefect of Yang Province.

It was also the last stroke he left before his exit.

Now, we can only hope that those who can guess Sun Ce’s decision will, in light of his苦心, not make any decisions they might regret.

For example, Zhou Yu.

In Huaiyin, Zhou Yu looked grimly at the攻城军队 below the city.

Thinking that Sun Ce in Yang Province might be in致命 danger due to his attack on the Shanyue, he could not help but feel anxious and uneasy.

Last night, he even had a sudden palpitation, as if something terrible had happened.

But if he could still send messages out and receive reports from outside the day before, today he was almost completely cut off from the possibility of leaving the city.

Liu Bei’s reinforcements from the north had turned this central route into a situation where the northern forces of Xuzhou held the advantage!

“General Zhou, do you think that the Prefect of Zhang and the Grand Marshal’s men are…” Are they intentionally trying to harm you?

Zhou Yu’s attendant, also looking at the scene below, asked this question.

Zhou Yu quickly interrupted him, “Be careful with your words!”

Although he had some doubts about Jia Xu, such suspicions should be kept to oneself and not spoken aloud.

Although he was currently under siege, the攻城队伍 of Liu Bei was still within his capacity to handle, and it had not yet reached the point where the city’s soldiers had to fight to the death to protect their lives.

The letter Jia Xu sent the day before was also convincing.

Jia Xu said that currently, there were three routes of出兵, and although the analogy might not be entirely appropriate, it could be compared to Tian Ji’s horse racing.

Even though the regional交锋 was not a system of three battles and two victories, as long as one place collapsed, it could lead to a complete loss. But as long as their two routes could reach the巢穴 first and seize the opportunity for victory, while their central route could still抗衡 the top配置 of the opponent and prevent them from crossing, they would ultimately win.

Zhou Yu was currently in this central对抗.

Moreover…

Jia Xu wrote in the letter that they might not be three against three, but four against three.

When Pang Tong persuaded Pei State in Yu Province to defect from Liu Bei to Cao Cao, he also brought along Lu Su, who had been captured by them. Due to a bet between the two, after returning from Yu Province, he listened to Pang Tong recount his experiences from Nanyang to Chang’an, from Chang’an to Bingzhou, and then to Xuzhou.

Lu Su ultimately decided not to remain a captive on the sidelines in this battle of Xuzhou, but to stand with the southern forces of Xuzhou.

And Lu Su’s defection could very well be the筹码 that truly打破 the balance in this three-route battle.

“Or perhaps five against three.” Jia Xu, upon opening the letter, saw that Qiao Yan had informed him that she had arrived in Yang Province and hoped that Jia Xu could拖 the对峙局面 for another half month.

Upon seeing this, Jia Xu understood the轻重缓急 in Qiao Yan’s mind.

However, the news that Qiao Yan had arrived in Yang Province need not be told to Zhou Yu like the news of Lu Su’s defection.

After all, he was indeed in a situation where he could not send messages out.

This could not be blamed on him for有意隐瞒, right?

He closed the letter and began writing a reply to Qiao Yan.

[Lu Zijing and Pang Shiyuan have arrived in Langya.]

Everything was still developing according to their预设的方向, so Qiao Yan could安心地先料理完毕 the situation in Yang Province before heading north to Xuzhou.

And since Xuzhou was not in a hurry, other places were even more so.

For example, Cao Cao in Yanzhou only just received the letter that Guo Jia had deliberately delayed for a few days.

The invitation to meet at Hulao Pass a month later seemed to everyone as if she was going to make some special arrangements like last year’s division of Yingchuan and Runan.

Given that there had just been a battle between Ji Province and Youzhou at the end of last year, Cao Cao even suspected that Qiao Yan might want to use this great victory to彻底说服 him to surrender.

And “Hulao Pass” was indeed a place that easily made one think more.

In fact, Hulao Pass was not the boundary between Sili and Yanzhou, but still within Sili, serving as a屏障 for Luoyang. When Dong Zhuo held the court in Luoyang, he stationed Hu Zhen and Hua Xiong at Hulao Pass, and even caused Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and others to suffer a defeat in this route of援军.

Was there a deeper meaning in her choice of this place for the meeting?

Not only would Cao Cao make such speculations, but after he坦然地 sent this invitation to Ye City, Yuan Shao would also have much to think about.

He…





Even thinking about it, it’s not just about Qiao Yan’s intentions, but also Cao Cao’s.

Why did Cao Cao send this meeting letter to Yuan Shao?

Combined with the situation at the beginning of the year where Pei State in Yu Province defected to Cao Cao, Yuan Shao couldn’t help but think of Cao Cao’s actions in a more unfavorable light.

Is there a possibility that Cao Cao’s underlying message is that if Yuan Shao doesn’t hand over the position of Governor of Yu Province to Cao Cao, he might form an alliance at the meeting under Hulao Pass and then turn around to give Yuan Shao a heavy blow!

But if Qiao Yan were to say it, she left this move just to buy enough time for the situation in Yang and Xu Provinces to change…

Sometimes, it’s better not to overthink things.

The day after Sun Ce’s death, she gathered all of Sun Ce’s old subordinates who were in Tongguan.

Of course, it wasn’t just Sun Ce’s subordinates who attended, but also Sun Ce’s mother, Madam Wu, along with Sun Ce’s younger brother, Sun Quan.

Back then, Sun Ce’s killings in Wu Commandery were reined in thanks to the effective persuasion of his mother, showing that while her appearance might be gentle, her inner temperament is firm. So, having her participate in this discussion about the future of Yang Province was not a problem.

Seeing Madam Wu and Sun Quan also present, Huang Gai couldn’t help but show some respect in his gaze towards Qiao Yan.

Last night, Sun Ce entrusted his subordinates to Qiao Yan, making it hard for Huang Gai and others to immediately accept this change in position. Today, seeing Sun’s old acquaintances still here and not turning the place directly into the Grand Marshal’s council chamber made Huang Gai and others feel a bit better.

He then saw Cheng Pu, who had hurried over only this morning, and seeing the same dazed expression on his face, knew that his feelings were probably the same.

Yes, who could switch positions so quickly?

Just a few days ago, Sun Ce was sitting at the top, and now it’s Qiao Yan. For people like Huang Gai and Cheng Pu, who first followed Sun Jian, it’s even harder to accept such a change.

Qiao Yan’s words interrupted their thoughts: “Last night, I consulted with Master Zibu about many things related to the Shanyue. It’s said that Danyang’s mountains are treacherous, and the people are fierce, hence the Shanyue gather in groups causing trouble, and indeed it is so. But there’s one thing I still don’t understand.”

Seeing everyone’s eyes turn towards her, Qiao Yan said: “The battles to exterminate the Shanyue over the years, including Bo Fu’s siege of Yan Baihu after taking over Wu Commandery, all prove one point: although these Shanyue bandits have their leaders, support for forging weapons through metallurgy, and accumulate supplies through trade, they don’t have large-scale battle formations or strategic deployment capabilities. Although they gather in the mountains, with careful planning, they can be exterminated. But what Zu Lang showed is clearly not like this.”

“Who taught him the skill of provoking step by step and luring the enemy deep?”

Huang Gai was stunned, “Wasn’t it Huang She?”

Qiao Yan shook her head: “General Huang Gai, have you ever seen a Shanyue leader like Zu Lang easily believe the words of a fugitive?”

No.

Huang Gai put himself in Zu Lang’s shoes and thought, no!

Whether it was Huang She’s act of killing the former Prefect of Yuzhang Commandery, Zhu Zhi, or his choice of timing and method to assassinate Sun Ce, and then his suicide after succeeding, all showed a very strong self-destructive tendency.

Even if he did as he said and really killed Sun Ce, Zu Lang would most likely not choose to ally with Huang She under such unsecured conditions.

Unless… there was another force involved between the two.

And this force had enough credibility with Zu Lang!

“Moreover, among the Shanyue who participated in the ambush in Yi Mountain, fortunately General Huang Gai was thoughtful and brought back their bodies. Among them, a few, at first glance, seemed to have no problem with their attire, but upon closer inspection, something was off.”

Qiao Yan glanced at Zhou Tai, who immediately got up and left, soon bringing three bodies into the hall.

“General Zhou was also present when these three were examined, and it was clear that their outer clothes were of Shanyue style, but their inner clothes were not.”

Cheng Pu, who had arrived the latest and missed Sun Ce’s last instructions, quickly got up and walked over to the three bodies, soon noticing the anomaly.

Qiao Yan was right, the inner clothes of these three bodies were made of a fabric unique to Wu Commandery.

And it was the kind used by wealthy families.

If it was said that these were obtained by the Shanyue through robbery or trade, they shouldn’t be so uniformly similar.

“Not just the clothes.” Qiao Yan pointed at the arms of the three, saying: “The Shanyue people, living in the mountains, although they also farm, are mostly good at climbing, and their arm bones and muscles are very different from the soldiers recruited from Yang Province’s county cities. In General Cheng’s view, which type do these three belong to?”

The arms of Shanyue soldiers probably fit a saying, which is “ape arms,” but the three bodies in front of Cheng Pu were no different from the Yang Province soldiers he usually saw!

In other words, they might not be Shanyue people!

There must be someone else behind this, otherwise, Sun Ce wouldn’t have been so easily set up, leading to his untimely death.

“I’ll refrain from judging who the person behind the scenes is for now.” Qiao Yan said while signaling to have the three bodies taken away.

But everyone saw that when she said this, her gaze momentarily fell on the face of Lu Kang, the Prefect of Lujiang, not sparing any face for the father of her capable subordinate, Lu Yuan.

The four surnames of Wu Commandery are closely connected, and it’s very unlikely that the Lu family didn’t know about this anomaly.

But whether Lu Kang silently chose to support or thought it wouldn’t cause any problems, the fact is he chose to conceal it.

He probably also knew about the other families lending Xu Gong’s retainers to the Shanyue.

Under Qiao Yan’s sharp gaze, Lu Kang’s eyes momentarily dropped to the table in front of him, this ‘no silver here’ behavior immediately made the most impatient Zhou Tai slam the table and stand up.

But before he could start to rebuke, Qiao Yan raised her hand to signal him to sit down quietly.

“I said, I won’t make any guesses or judgments about the person behind the scenes and those involved for now,” she looked around at everyone, saying: “First, capture Zu Lang, and we’ll talk about the rest later!”

“Once we capture them, everything will be clear, and there won’t be any wrongful convictions!”

“Right, first capture Zu Lang.” Cheng Pu immediately chimed in, “If the Grand Marshal’s forces are insufficient, it’s no problem, I’ve already ordered troops to be dispatched from Kuaiji Commandery. Since Kuaiji is pacified, this troop movement won’t cause any trouble.”

Without avenging Sun Ce’s blood feud, he would never be satisfied, and presumably, no one present would be satisfied.

At most, with Sun Ce’s lesson in mind, although everyone has the idea of immediately going into the mountains to capture Zu Lang, they also plan to first listen to Qiao Yan’s arrangements, to proceed step by step.

If Qiao Yan said that Sun Ce’s hasty advance led to his untimely death, and she couldn’t follow in his footsteps, regardless of Sun Ce’s last words, they would probably argue with her.

Fortunately, this Grand Marshal is not one to avoid battle, and it seems she can seek justice for the General Who Conquers the Rebels.

Qiao Yan spoke: “I have a strategy, but I need everyone to cooperate with me a bit, are you willing?”

Before Cheng Pu and Huang Gai could respond, Madam Wu spoke first, “If it can exterminate the Shanyue rebels for my son and bring him peace in the afterlife, then even if I need to cooperate with the Grand Marshal, it’s no problem.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Qiao Yan replied, “I just need—to borrow Sun Ce’s identity, and please keep the mourning secret for now.”

“You say Sun Ce is coming again?” Zu Lang was startled by his subordinate’s report.

Sun Ce’s troops withdrew from Jing County back to Tongguan, and the fact that he was seeking famous doctors everywhere did not escape Zu Lang’s notice. To him, this was a sign that Huang She had succeeded, and Sun Ce was poisoned beyond cure.

But he never expected that in just two or three days, Sun Ce would come back again?

“Not just coming back, it seems… it seems he’s also increased his troops.” The subordinate who went to investigate replied, “But Huang She’s poison arrow must have hit him, I saw him from a distance, his face was pale and thin, and he seemed to have switched to a lighter spear than before.”

Hearing this, Zu Lang laughed, the tension from hearing about Sun Ce’s return completely disappeared.

Still sick, and coming to attack…

Isn’t that just his unwillingness acting up, wanting to come to Zu Lang’s territory to seek another lesson?

“Deploy the troops!” Zu Lang got up and walked out, “A lively Sun Ce couldn’t do anything to me, let’s see—”

“What kind of waves a sickly guy can make!”