Three Kingdoms: I help Liu Bei grow thousands of miles

"There are not many garrisons in Jiaozhou, but [-] of them are fallen soldiers. My lord should focus on Hefei. The black owl doesn't seem to have that much hostility. It just relies on "Lingnan Daily" to vent..."

Zhang Zhao knew that Jiaozhou was a thorn in Sun Quan's heart, but he had to figure out the priorities. Jiangdong's current enemy must not be Lantian.

Sun Quan nodded slightly, "Zi Bu's words are true, that Xuan Ou actually dared to run a school in Jiaozhou. This approach is simply an enemy of the world's nobles. I think he will die sooner or later. However, Jiaozhou is also full of waterways. Building ships in the South China Sea, do you want to attack Wuhui's rear by sea?"

Hu Ke explained: "It is said that according to the information obtained in Guangzhou City, Xuan Ou built sea-going ships to open up sea trade channels and completely make Guangzhou City a commercial city in Jiaozhou, and he very much encouraged businessmen to go to sea to explore, but I guess This move is 'Xiang Zhuang's sword dance is aimed at Pei Gong'..."

"Zecheng is saying..." Zhang Zhao hesitated to speak.

Hu Ke knew that Zhang Zhao had understood it, and then nodded with a smile, but Sun Quan didn't understand it for a while, and asked curiously, "What is Erqing talking about?"

Zhang Zhao cupped his hands and replied, "Xuan Ou's ship building is nominally to promote maritime trade, but in fact he wants to deal with Shi Xie who is far away in Jiaozhi. Zecheng, do you think so?"

"What the military adviser said is true." Hu Ke affirmed.

Sun Quan was enlightened at once, he stroked his purple beard, and then said to himself: "Shi Xie is a scheming man. At first, he only obeyed Jiangdong in name, and now he also obeys Xuan Ou in name. As Jiaozhou shepherd, he must Let the counties and counties in the region obey..."

Hu Ke continued to explain: "At present, the Weiyangong family occupies the three counties of Jiaozhi, Jiuzhen, and Hepu. The population and land account for half of Jiaozhou. Moreover, these three counties are blocked by mountains and forests, and they are not covered by the Yushui River system. It's easier to attack from the sea..."

The corners of Sun Quan's mouth raised slightly, and a sly look flashed in his eyes, "The black owl is so dangerous that it can't make it to Jiaozhou. It seems that I, Jiangdong, still have a chance to get back my things."

"The Shi family has been operating in Jiaozhou for decades with a solid foundation, and has been intact through several governors. It is not easy for Xuan Ou to easily eat up these three counties." Zhang Zhao echoed.

Hu Ke added: "The sea is very windy and the waves are very different. Warships are very different from inland river ships. I want to build a sea fleet. I don't want to spend too much time."

Sun Quanxi said: "The infighting between the Lanshi family is beneficial to Jiangdong. Shixie is old enough to die. At that time, Zecheng will take Shiying to Jiaozhi to inherit the title. Those three counties will easily become Jiangdong's territory. Xuan Ou After many years of planning, I finally got married for me, just thinking about it makes me excited..."

"My lord has a long-term plan, and I am... humble... I admire you..." Hu Ke replied hesitantly.

At this time, Hu Ke did not have any position, so it was inappropriate for him to call himself a junior general or a lowly position. Seeing this, Sun Quan pondered for a moment and said, "Zecheng was Shi Xie's marching chief before, and I will appoint you as the captain of Moling first. ...responsible for collecting information on Jiaozhou. This matter will be kept secret for the time being. On the surface, you are still a businessman from Jiaozhou. We still have to keep the black owl in the South China Sea safe and guard against your family members being killed..."

"Uh...thank you, my lord, for entrusting me with such a heavy responsibility. In fact, I'm still alone in my humble position..." Hu Ke returned the salute with awkward fists.

Captain is a lower military rank, but Moling has been renamed Jianye. Sun Quan gave this official position to deal with Hu Ke temporarily. After all, the contact time is not long enough, and Sun Quan still remains skeptical.

"I think Zecheng's appearance should be about the same age as me. Why haven't I got married yet?" Sun Quan asked in surprise.

Hu Ke shook his head and sighed: "The humble job wanders all over the world, and I have never met a lady, and I will forget it after a long time..."

Zhang Zhao and Sun Quan looked at each other and smiled, what do you mean they didn't meet Shuren?It's clear that you are very demanding and don't want to find a commoner in Guizhou. You still have the pride of being a poor family in your bones. Both of you are veterans, and you can tell the way by seeing Hu Ke's expression.

Sun Quanren didn't want to tear it apart, but comforted him: "If you are really suffering, you will be sincere. The women in Jiangnan are graceful and pleasant. I will choose a lover for you, and you can settle down in Jiangdong in the future."

"Thank you, my lord, I can't repay a humble job even if I die..." Hu Ke immediately bowed down on one knee with tears in his eyes.

"This is what I should do. As a human being, I should consider it for you." Sun Quan stepped forward to help Hu Ke up, thinking that he should buy people's hearts this time.

Sun Quan then struck while the iron was hot, and immediately asked his followers to arrange a residence for Hu Ke, and accompanied Hu Ke to take out the sealed goods.

After Hu Ke left, Zhang Zhao quickly remonstrated, "Yu Zecheng is alone at this time. If he uses it properly, he can become a lone wolf. My lord might as well be bolder."

"I still need to examine this person's ability. If he is really talented, he should use it." Sun Quan nodded affirmatively.

Sun Quan thinks more far-reaching than Zhang Zhao, Hu Ke can just pack it up, marry Jiangdong gentry, let his own people penetrate into the gentry and control the right to speak, then it will be easier to control, but the most important thing is to look at Hu Ke No matter how capable Ke is, he is too stupid to play against the group of Jiangdong gentry.

Just as Hu Ke expected, a few days later a cargo ship from Jiaozhou docked at Jianye Wharf, and the leader of the caravan alighted from the ship was Wu Sihei, a Vietnamese businessman he was very familiar with.

Chapter 449 It's a big deal

Under Hu Ke's "instigating rebellion", Wu Sihei finally agreed to become Jiangdong's secret agent, passing on the information of Jiaozhou and Jingnan by boat and merchants.

Because the identity of Lieutenant Hu Kemoling could not be made public, he opened a firm in Jianye with the support of Sun Quan, and transformed himself into a big businessman in Jianye City.

There are many workshops in Guangzhou City, and the products produced cannot be digested locally. Wu Sihei sent the surplus products to Jianye continuously for sale, and the profits obtained were shared with Hu Ke.

Sun Quan was fond of pleasure, but the general's mansion had a limited expenditure, and would often cut down the expenditure of his wives, concubines and children due to the shortage of property. Since Hu Ke's business was established, he had a wallet that could be withdrawn at any time.

Hu Ke was flexible and tactful, and he gained Sun Quan's trust in a short period of time, making him feel like a fish in water.

In order to make Hu Ke die, Sun Quan suddenly summoned Hu Ke into the palace in early October.

When Hu Ke entered the room, he found that besides Zhang Zhao, there was another young man dressed as a Confucian scholar.

Seeing Hu Ke, Sun Quan quickly pointed to the young man and introduced: "Zecheng, let me introduce you. This is Zhang Huishu (Zhang Wen), a young talent from Wu County. You should get to know him well."

"Admiration for a long time." Hu Ke cupped his fists and saluted.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Zhang Wen bowed his hands and nodded slightly.

"My lord called me here..." Hu Ke and Zhang Wen finished their salutes, and looked at Sun Quan with a puzzled expression, thinking that he didn't have any 'information' recently, could he ask me to withdraw money again?

Sun Quan ignored Hu Ke, but looked at Zhang Wen and asked, "How about Yu Zecheng?"

Zhang Wen nodded slightly, "He is a good-looking talent, but he opened a business in Jianye..."

Zhang Zhao next to him hastily added: "Zecheng originally came from a poor family in Jingzhao, but he started to do business because of the chaos of war, but the lord treats him very highly. Now Liu Bei's Anhan General, Mi Zizhong, was originally a merchant in Donghai, Xuzhou. So don't underestimate..."

"My lord, military adviser, who are you?" The second monk Hu Kezhang was puzzled.

Sun Quan explained with a smile: "Zecheng is young and promising, how can he not have a wife? Huishu (Zhang Wen) has a gentle and virtuous younger sister, who is now in her boudoir. I got through with Huishu's father, he said he came to see you specially today."

"Ah, this..." Hu Ke was dumbfounded.

Seeing this, Zhang Wen said flatly: "I'm just taking care of the third sister. Both father and lord have agreed, so just follow the normal procedure to get married."

"Uh...thank you, my lord...thank you, military advisor..." Hu Ke bowed his hands to Sun Quan and Zhang Zhao, and then paid tribute to his future brother-in-law, Zhang Wen.

Seeing the situation in front of him, Zhang Zhao couldn't help being a little envious of Hu Ke, because the big clans in Jiangdong were married to each other and maintained the influence of these families in the region all the year round. As the Huaisi faction, it was very difficult for him to integrate into it, and his eldest son also married Zhuge Jin's daughter.

Sun Quan stroked his purple beard and nodded with a smile, "Go get ready, I will be there to congratulate you in person."

"Thank you, my lord." Zhang Wen (Hu Ke) clasped his fists and saluted at the same time.

In the following time, Hu Ke made preparations from Na Cai, Wen Ming, Na Ji, Na Zheng and other etiquette, making it quite lively in the whole Jianye City, and everyone including Sun Quan was immersed in joy.

The happy time is always short. Sun Quan suddenly received news from the north that Cao Cao raised his troops again this winter and set off from Yecheng with great fanfare, intending to come south to seek revenge from Jiangdong.

Sun Quan felt his eyelids jumping, so he mobilized troops to defend Ruxukou.

Originally, Cao Cao returned from Hanzhong to Yecheng and became the king. Immediately afterwards, Shanyu Huchuquan of the Southern Xiongnu entered the court of Wei State. Cao Cao left him in Yecheng to be a high-ranking official and generous salary, and selected Han officials to help Youxian King supervise the Huns , Divide and rule made the Xiongnu's frontier troubles calmed down.

At this time, Cao Cao really had the feeling of being king and barbarians coming to court. He was in a high position and looked at everything around him so harmoniously, until those "Yangtze River News" appeared like mushrooms after rain.

First, famous people from Jingxiang began to spread the word on the Yangtze River News, and then a small number of people from Jiangdong followed suit. The most outrageous voice was Sun Quan's voice.

Cao Cao used to be like Sun Zhongmou when he had a son, but Sun Quan retorted that Cao Cao was an eunuch, because the eunuch had no ancestors, so he did the thing of forgetting his ancestors.

Cao Cao was furious after reading the Yangtze River newspaper, and then tore up the Yangtze River newspaper and smashed it on the ground. The pain caused him to sway from side to side and restless.

Cheng Yu, a counselor, asked curiously when he saw this: "The Yangtze River News has evil intentions. I have advised the king of Wei to ignore it. I remember that when Yuan Shao sent Chen Lin to make an appeal, the king of Wei was suffering from a headache at that time. Why could it be tolerated at that time? But now it looks like this?"

Cao Cao covered his head and waved his hands to explain: "Kong Zhang (Chen Lin) has beautiful articles. How can it be painful to read beautiful articles like drinking nectar?" "Yangtze River News" Liao Li and others are all mad dogs, and what they say is vulgar. It still stinks..."

"These crazy students will die like you Zhengping (Ni Heng) sooner or later. Why should King Wei disturb his mind for these incompetent Confucian scholars? Please take care of your body..." Cheng Yu continued to advise.

"Hmph, the incompetent Confucian scholar is fine with himself, but Sun Zhongmou actually insulted him. It's really embarrassing for Sun Wentai..." Cao Cao said angrily.

"Impossible? After all, Sun Quan is the lord of Jiangdong, so how could he act like a kid and scold him in the newspaper regardless of his status?" Cheng Yu was full of doubts.

Cao Cao sneered: "Zhongde can't figure it out, and Gu can't figure it out even more. Since this son is so ignorant of current affairs, Gu is going to raise 30 troops to flatten Jiangdong."

Cheng Yu hastily advised: "The so-called soldiers and horses do not move the food and grass first, and the food and grass of the 30 army need time to be dispatched. In addition, the soldiers are very tired after years of continuous battles..."

"The navy in Xuanwuchi has practiced for a long time, and it happened to be at Ruxukou to fight Sun Quan." Cao Cao's eyes were firm.

"What should we do with the dispatch of food and fodder? After Wen Ruo passed away, this matter has been difficult to handle..." Cheng Yu showed a bitter expression.

When Cao Cao conquered Hanzhong, there was a shortage of food and grass, so he asked Cheng Yu, who assisted Cao Pi, to raise food. However, Cheng Yu was unable to raise a grain of food in the place where the Yingchuan gentry was in charge. Cao Cao returned to Yecheng after the forced grain was loaded into the truck.

"Don't worry, Zhongde. I have made arrangements for the dispatch of food and grass. You and I will go with the army to conquer Sun Quan." Cao Cao ordered.

"Wei." Cheng Yu lowered his head and cupped his hands.

In August of the 21st year of Jian'an, Cao Cao promoted Tingwei (Dali) Zhong Yao to be the prime minister of Wei State, and was responsible for allocating grain and grass in the government affairs of Wei State. This was his compromise with the lying Yingchuan gentry.

In October, Cao Cao led 30 troops out of Yecheng to attack Sun Quan in the south. Along the way, the mighty army covered the sky with banners and banners, and the news flew to the world like wings.

At the end of December, Fa, the prefect of Shu County, was seeking to see Liu Bei with intelligence. He felt that the time to capture Hanzhong seemed to have come.

4 Chapter Fifty

Liu Bei read the information and urgently called Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong to discuss.

Fazheng happily suggested: "At the beginning of Cao Cao's proclaimed king, he raised troops to attack Jiangdong to establish his prestige, and only waited for the main force of Cao's army to be trapped in Jianghuai by Sun Quan. This is a good opportunity for the lord to take Hanzhong."

Pang Tong shook his head and said: "Sun Quan's [-] people were defeated by Zhang Liao's [-], maybe the Cao bandits can destroy Jiangdong, if Sun Quan fails, Jingzhou will be in danger..."

Zhuge Liang analyzed: "Although Sun Zhongmou is powerless in attacking, he has a dangerous position to defend. In addition, Cao Cao is not good at water warfare and may not be able to win. I am just worried that the battle between Sun and Cao will end too soon. Our army will be in trouble if we attack Hanzhong. After all, Deng Shizai has only been farming in Zitong for more than a year, and the accumulated grain in the warehouse is probably not enough to support this war."

"Everyone's words are justified. The road to Shu is difficult and inconvenient to transport. If there is no certain victory to win Hanzhong, the two years of recuperation will fall short..." Liu Bei frowned.

Fazheng argues with reason: "Cao Cao ordered Hanzhong to descend to Zhanglu, but he dared not claim power in Bashu. The hasty retreat to Yecheng was not because of lack of strength, but because there was a threat from the rear. Now Cao Cao is called the king and conquered Sun Quan, which is a god-given lord. machine;

The defenders of Hanzhong, Xia Houyuan and Zhang Yun, are not talented generals, and they will be able to overcome them with Yizhou's elite conquest. Besides, Hanzhong is the throat of Yizhou, a place of life and death. Based on this, we can plan Chang'an to enter the Central Plains, and the Central Plains can nibble away at Yongliangguang Expand the territory and soil, and you can hold on to the key points for a long time.My lord, please check carefully and don't miss the chance..."

Liu Bei nodded frequently when he heard Fazheng's words, "Xiaozhi's words are very good, so please..."

"My lord, please wait a moment." Zhuge Liang interrupted and continued: "Now that Sun Cao's battle is unknown, it is better to send scouts to investigate. We can prepare food, grass and supplies first, and it will not be too late to send troops after the battle is clear."

"It's better for Kong Ming to be more cautious. You should go prepare yourself," Liu Bei ordered.

Zhuge Liang and Fazheng immediately began to coordinate food, armor, and weapons, especially armored weapons that were not enough and needed to be stepped up. Pang Tong was sent to Zitong and Deng Ai to count the grain stored in the farmland, and the whole of Yizhou suddenly became lively in winter.

After a period of investigation, the food, grass, and armor in Sichuan are insufficient, especially the influx of more than [-] refugees in Zitong, and the consumption of Zhang Fei when he meets Zhang He in Dangqu. At least there will be enough after next year's autumn harvest. Troops set off.

Liu Bei is not going to fight unprepared now, so he postponed his plan to capture Hanzhong, but soldiers from all over the country have begun intensive training to hone their skills for the next sunrise.

In the winter of the same year, Lantian's daughter was born in Guangzhou. Liu Bei sent Yiji to congratulate him after receiving the news.

When Yiji set off from Chengdu, the wind was biting, but he was sweating in the heat when he arrived in Guangzhou. He seemed to understand why Lantian was so attached to Jiaozhou. The winter here is really comfortable.

Coinciding with the end of the new year and the warm winter, officials and friends at all levels came uninvited. The State Shepherd's Mansion in Lantian came and went every day, and the banquets were never stopped.

It was already mid-December when Yiji arrived, and he met Xu Shu, the deputy military adviser, as soon as he entered the courtyard.

"Uncle Ji, long time no see." Xu Shu smiled and nodded.

Yiji cupped his hands and saluted: "Mr. Xu is very polite, why are you here?"

Xu Shu explained: "I heard that Guangzhou City is warm in winter, so I specially brought my mother here to spend the winter..."

"Guangzhou city is really warm. It doesn't look like winter at all. I want to stay here for the winter and go back to Chengdu when spring blossoms in Yizhou." Yi Ji responded with a smile.

"Hanging around for too long, I'm afraid the lord will be worried. Uncle Ji is here to congratulate Ziyu, right? I'll take you to the back house to meet him. Ever since Mrs. Lan gave him a daughter, I heard that I haven't been to the front court for 20 days... "Xu Shu smiled wryly.

Yi Ji nodded in admiration, "General Lan is really kind..."

Xu Shu and Yi Ji came to the back house side by side, the warm sunshine shone in the small courtyard, and the table was full of melons and fruits that could coax one's mouth.

A group of people gathered around Lantian with smiles on their faces. The baby carved in powder and jade in his arms was Lu Lingqi's daughter Lanqing who was born last month, which meant that blue came from blue and was better than blue.

"Ziyu, look who's coming?" Xu Shu waved his hands and shouted.

Lan Tian looked up and saw that it was Yi Ji, he immediately picked up Lan Qing and greeted him: "Mr. Ji came from a long way, sorry I couldn't go out of the house to meet you..."

"I am here to congratulate General Nongwa on the order of my lord..." Yi Ji followed and offered gifts from Liu Bei and Gan Qian.

Lan Tian smiled and said, "Uncle Ji will stay for a few more days this time, and I will ask people to prepare more seafood such as abalone and sea cucumber, so that everyone in Yizhou can have a share."

"General Yide wrote a letter specifically to instruct my lord to prepare more good things to send. In addition, military division Zhuge issued IOUs to many people last year. This year, I will use things to redeem the IOUs." Yi Ji joked.

"Hahaha, Yide is indispensable to everyone." Lan Tian laughed loudly.

While talking, Gao Shun came over and asked, "Sir, is your arm sore? If it's sore, I'll help you for a while..."

"Sour? How much does Qing'er weigh? I can't hug enough." Lan Tian refused.

Gao Shun lowered his head and reminded in a low voice: "Sir, you have to be a little cautious about the feelings of the young masters. It has been more than ten days since Zhong Ling (Lan Ji) and Yuan Zhi returned to Guangzhou City, and you haven't been with him well..."

Lan Tian asked suspiciously: "Zhongling is already this big, and Boyang plays with him, and I didn't accompany them much when they were young."

"It was different at that time. After all, the children were about the same age at that time. Now you care too much for the young children, so you ignore the feelings of the two children." Gao Shun explained.

Lan Tian was an only child in the original world, so he couldn't feel the partiality of his parents. Lan Yuan and Lan Ji had conflicts when they were young, and he adopted the method of not helping each other. But now that he has a daughter, Lan Qing, he really puts in more time than the two boys. .

After Gao Shun earnestly reminded Lan Tian, ​​who was holding the baby in his arms, he finally came to his senses. He quickly walked to the dormitory and handed Lan Qing to Xu's mother, and then hurried to Lan Yuan's room with Gao Shun.

Xu's mother had nothing to do when she was in Guangzhou, and happened to meet Lu Lingqi who was confinement after giving birth. She was very enthusiastic and came to help. Although she was too old to do any heavy work, she could talk to Lu Lingqi to prevent her from getting bored and catching cold when she went out.

As soon as Lan Tian and Gao Shun walked out of the window, they heard the conversation between the two brothers in the room.

Lan Ji was the first to ask: "Brother, does father really like his daughter? He hasn't looked at me these days..."

Lan Yuan asked back: "It's a good thing that father is happy, aren't you jealous?"