Sun Ce met with Cai Zhongcai and Cai He. As Zhou Yu expected, Er Cai came to offer his services because of the cold reception from King Yan.
Zhou Yu comforted them with good words, accepted the two men, and promised to reward Cai after defeating the Northern Army.
Cai Zhong and Cai He were overjoyed and left immediately.
Sun Ce frowned and said, "These two people have strange origins. I don't feel like they are sincerely surrendering."
Zhou Yu said with a smile: "The two of them didn't even take their children with them, so they must be pretending to surrender."
Sun Ce said: "Why not kill him?"
Zhou Yu shook his head, with a hint of excitement in his expression: "I am going to use these two people to deliver false news for me. It's ridiculous that Yuan Xi actually made such a failed move!"
Sun Ce frowned and said: "People say that Yuan Xi is like a god in his military skills. How could he show such a flaw?"
Zhou Yu said with a smile: "Yuan Xi is so successful that he has never suffered setbacks. Now that the world is level, he thinks that Jiangdong can be easily obtained like Hanzhong and Yizhou, so he relaxes his vigilance. This is what God has given you and me to defeat Yuan Xi.
Hee, a great opportunity to achieve great success!"
Sun Ce also felt excited.
Just as the two were discussing how to defeat Yuan's plan, the guards reported that the surrendered generals Zhang Yun and Zhang Cong asked to see them.
Zhang Yun was originally a naval general in Jingzhou. After Wei Yan attacked Xiangyang, Zhang Yun switched to Jiangdong for unknown reasons.
Sun Ce originally looked down on Zhang Yun, but Zhou Yu had the foresight to advise Sun Ce: "Yuan Xi will come to attack Jiangnan sooner or later. When the time comes, the two armies will fight on the Yangtze River, and they can only rely on the navy. Zhang Yun is only good at water warfare, and we in Jiangdong
It is not necessary, but it is a treasure for Yuan Xi. If we accept Zhang Yun, it is equivalent to weakening Yuan Xi."
Therefore, Sun Ce treated Zhang Yun favorably and gave him many rewards. He and his younger brother Zhang Cong were also made captains of the capital.
This time, Brother Zhang Yun asked for a meeting and brought the latest trends of the Northern Army.
"Yuan Xi forged iron chains to connect all the warships?" Zhou Yu frowned and repeated.
Zhang Yun said: "Yes, we saw with our own eyes that Yuan's army connected the boat with iron ropes, and the wind and waves of the Yangtze River were almost completely ineffective. Yuan's soldiers and generals rode horses on the boats, coming and going as if they were flying, and walking on the flat ground.
"
Sun Ce was shocked: "In this case, our army cannot rely on the natural dangers of the Yangtze River. How can we fight against Yuan Xi's hundreds of thousands of troops?"
After Zhou Yu pondered, he burst out laughing: "Destiny is mine! Yuan Xi is so exhausted that he actually came up with such a stupid trick."
Sun Ce asked why.
Zhou Yu said: "Yuan's army is so powerful that if you want to defeat it, you can only rely on fire attacks. But it is not easy to use fire attacks on the river. If one boat is burned, the other ships will inevitably scatter. Now Yuan Xi uses iron ropes to connect the ships
, isn’t it asking for death? It’s spring now, the southeast wind is strong, and our army has the right time, place, and people, how can we be invincible!”
Sun Ce was overjoyed. Zhang Yun also congratulated him, but Zhang Cong raised his hand and said, "Yuan Xi is very cunning. Could it be a trick to lure the enemy? My Lord, General Zhou, you must be careful not to fall into Yuan Xi's trap.
"
Sun Ce shook his head and said: "Gong Jin's wisdom is beyond your reach!"
Zhou Yu was quite friendly to Zhang Cong and said with a smile: "Bo Fu, don't scold Zhang Cong, he is also loyal. If Zhang Cong hadn't persuaded his brother Zhang Yun to defect to Jiangdong, Yuan Xi would have no available navy generals.
You may not be able to use iron ropes to connect boats."
Sun Ce asked: "Gong Jin, how do you want to use your troops?"
Zhou Yu said: "Before using troops, you must first use tactics. Bo Fu, you and I still need to play another show to force the Jiangdong Lu family to implement my strategic plan."
…
A few days later, a big event happened in Jiangdong.
Lu Jun, the head of the Lu family, spread unfavorable remarks in the army and talked about surrender, so he was imprisoned by Sun Ce. All the land of the Lu family was also seized by Sun Ce.
Gu, Zhou, Zhang and other prominent families in Wu County were all shocked and gave advice one after another. However, Sun Ce seemed to be determined and refused to give any face.
This information was naturally sent by Cai Zhong and Cai He to the north of the Yangtze River in small boats at night.
…
Bai Xiaowen sat in the big tent and received letters from Cai Zhong and Cai He, informing the generals.
Han Meng said excitedly: "The king's award to the Jingzhou nobles really made the Jiangdong nobles' hearts flutter. High, really high!"
The Jiangdong forces can be divided into two parts.
One is the Huaisi Group. Represented by Zhou Yu, the others include Zhang Zhao, Lu Su, Lu Meng, Zhuge Jin, etc. They are all former heroes who played a great role in Sun Ce's pacification of Jiangdong, and they are also the most trusted by Sun Ce. , is also the main force against Bai Xiaowen.
Second, the Jiangdong clan. After Sun Ce occupied Jiangdong, the Jiangdong clan treated him with suspicion and scrutiny. Sun Ce was also stubborn and did not like to be comforted and appeased. History books record that he "struggled thousands of miles to conquer all the land south of the Yangtze River. Kill his famous tycoon and make him powerful in neighboring countries."
The "killing of the famous tycoons" here actually meant that the people killed were all the famous clansmen in Jiangdong who were unwilling to seek refuge with Sun Ce.
Under the high-pressure policy, the relationship between the Sun Ce Group and the Jiangdong gentry was naturally tense.
If there was no Bai Xiaowen and Sun Ce was left alone, then there would be two possibilities: first, Sun Ce was backlashed by the Jiangdong nobles and assassinated to death; second, Sun Ce used force to subdue the Jiangdong nobles, and with the help of Zhou Yu, they divided and attracted them. for one's own use.
Suddenly someone came to report that a secret message had been delivered from Jiangdong.
Bai Xiaowen called people in.
The person who sent the letter reported his family name and said he was a general of the Lu family in Jiangdong. He was now sending a letter jointly signed by Lu Ji and Lu Xun, the "acting head of the family."
Bai Xiaowen asked: "Why the acting head of the family?"
The man said: "The head of the family, Lu Jun, is under the custody of Sun Ce, so he is temporarily replaced by the head of the family, his younger brother and nephew."
Bai Xiaowen opened the letter and read it. What was written in the letter was that Sun Ce from Jiangdong was tyrannical and cruel and bullied the township party. The Lu family was willing to join forces with other Jiangdong nobles to act as internal agents; they would soon rob Sun Ce's food and grass and submit to King Yan.
Bai Xiaowenzi read the letter carefully and said with a smile: "Okay." He rewarded the visitor generously and then wrote a handwritten letter instructing the visitor to bring it back as it was.
All the generals congratulated Bai Xiaowen: "The Jiangdong nobles have returned, Sun Ce has lost his way and has no help, and will be captured by the king soon."
Bai Xiaowen smiled and said: "Our army has connected boats with iron ropes and can cross the river. We will march southward one day. As long as we capture the mouth of Sanjiang and defeat Zhou Yu, the land south of the Yangtze River can be leveled with one blow."
After the generals dispersed, Li Shuyi asked doubtfully in the team channel:
"I remember that Lu Xun was the governor of Soochow."
Bai Xiaowen nodded: "During Sun Quan's time, there were four famous governors in Soochow, namely Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Lu Meng, and Lu Xun. The first three were all close associates of the Huaisi Group, and only Lu Xun was from a wealthy family in Jiangdong. This is okay. It can be seen that in different periods of Soochow, the balance of power between the old Huaisi tribe and the Jiangdong gentry, and the gradual decline of the Huaisi group."
Li Shuyi said: "Does Lu Xun really want to surrender?"
Bai Xiaowen said: "Now the conflict between Lu and Sun Ce is at its most intense. Of course he wants to surrender. But this surrender is not true."