Chapter 35 Chapter Thirty-Three

After the capital was moved, as the days passed, the Chang'an capital gradually showed the prosperity of the imperial city streets, and the order also improved. Dong Zhuo's majestic momentum has remained the same since he moved here. He supports the Son of Heaven, takes the role of the Son of Heaven as his assistant, is an extremely human minister, and claims to be the prime minister of the country. . one day.His counselor Li Ru told him: "Xiangguo." "What is it?" "Recently, Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan fought across the Pan River..." "Hmm. It seems so. How's the situation?"

"Yuan Shao's side showed a slight defeat, and retreated far from Panhe. However, the two armies are still facing each other, and it has been more than a month." "It's better to fight. Both armies have betrayed me." "No. The imperial court has been here for a long time, but after moving the capital, it is busy with internal affairs, and the affairs of the world have been thrown aside. In this way, the majesty of the imperial family cannot shine everywhere." "What's the best way?" "I thought that Xiangguo should play the emperor's edict and send an envoy to Panhe to persuade the two armies to cease fighting and let them repair it."

"That makes sense." "Both sides have suffered heavy casualties, and it is time to be exhausted from fighting. Therefore, both parties will be happy to accept the edict to negotiate peace. Moreover, this kindness will naturally become obedience to the prime minister." "It's really a good opinion!" Dong Zhuo quickly went up to the emperor and asked for an imperial edict, and sent Tai Fu Ma Rikou and Zhao Qi to go to Guandong as emissaries. The imperial envoy Ma Taifu first came to Yuan Shaozhai to convey the imperial edict.Then he went to Gongsun Zan and brought Dong Xiangguo's proposal for reconciliation and arbitration.

"If Yuan Shao has no objection..." One side said.The other party also said: "If he retreats..." Both sides followed suit and obeyed the imperial order. So Ma Taifu called the generals of the two armies in a pavilion by the Panhe Bridge, asked them to shake hands and exchange lamps, and then went back to the capital. Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan also assembled troops and horses on the same day, and returned to their fiefdoms.Later, Gongsun Zan expressed his gratitude to Chang'an, and by the way, asked Liu Bei to be named Marquis of Pingyuan. The imperial court's reply arrived quickly.Gongsun Zan repaid Xuande with this, saying, "This is my humble gesture to you."

Xuande thanks for his kindness and will go to the plains.Before leaving, Gongsun Zan hosted a farewell banquet.After the banquet was over, a person quietly came to visit Xuande's residence.This person is Zhao Yun Zilong. As soon as Zilong saw Xuande's face, he said, "It's only tonight, we have to say goodbye." With tears in his eyes, he was reluctant to part. Zilong didn't intend to have a long discussion, so he immediately made up his mind and said, "Brother Liu...take me to Pingyuan when we set off tomorrow. It's very difficult to say this, but I can't bear to part with you...I already admire you so much in my heart. is you."

The hero who smashed ghosts and gods bowed his head like a girl. Xuande has long been fascinated by the character of Zhao Zilong, now that he has come to tell his parting feelings, he said: "It is not easy to get a good friend in the village. I will go back to the plain in a moment, and I can't bear to part." Zilong looked gloomy, and sighed: "Actually, I also know that Xiayuan is under Yuan Shao's banner. But seeing how immoral Yuan Shao's actions have been since Luoyang, he turned to think that Gongsun Zan is the wise king of peace. , This is the time to vote... But he accepted the peace envoy sent by Dong Zhuo in Chang'an, and immediately made peace with Yuan Shao, and he was content with small achievements. From this we can see that he will not be a great weapon, and he will never be a hero to save the world's poor. In short, go with Yuan Shao." Then he confided his sincerity to Xuande. "Brother Liu. Please! Let me accompany you to the plains. I think you are the one who can make a difference in the future. Please!... Treat me as a retainer, forever..."

Zilong knelt on the ground with a sincere expression, begging bitterly. Xuande closed his eyes, fell into deep thought, and said, "No. I'm not so talented. However, if we meet again in the future, let's relive today's friendship... Now is not the time. After I leave, you should do your best to help Gongsun Zan Before the time comes, Quanqi will be by Gongsun Zan's side. This is entrusted to you by Xuande." After being enlightened, Zilong was also very helpless, and said with tears: "Then wait for the opportunity." He stayed. the next day.Zhang Fei, Guan Yu and others set off with troops and horses, Xuande walked in front, and went back to the plain... That is to say, from this moment on, he finally got a local seal.

But there is a man named Yuan Shu who is the prefect of Nanyang.This person is Yuan Shao's younger brother, who was once in charge of food and grass under Yuan Shao's banner. After returning to Nanyang, my brother still had no intention of rewarding him.This made him full of complaints, thinking, "It's unreasonable!" He wrote a letter to his brother and asked: "I hope to get a thousand famous horses in northern Hebei as a reward for following. If you don't give it, you have another idea." Yuan Shao was probably very annoyed at his younger brother's insistence on rewards, not only did he not bring a single horse, he didn't even reply.

Yuan Shu complained greatly, and since then the brothers have been at odds.However, all the resources of soldiers and horses depended on his elder brother, and Yuan Shu immediately fell into financial difficulties.So he sent someone to Liu Biao's office in Jingzhou, and asked to borrow 20,000 hu of military grain and rice, but Liu Biao politely refused. "This guy was also instructed by my brother." Yuan Shu was furious, and finally showed signs of giving up on himself. He sent secret envoys to sneak across the river to Dewu in the dark and send a letter to Sun Jian of Eastern Wu.

The letter reads: It was Yuan Shao's conspiracy that the former intercepted the prince on his way back from Luoyang in order to seize the seal, and made the prince suffer unspeakably.Today, we are discussing with Liu Biao to attack Jiangdong, with the intention of plundering the land of the Duke.But the public quickly raised troops to capture Jingzhou, and I also helped with soldiers.The public won Jingzhou, and I took Jizhou, and at the same time, I can avenge two revenges.And make no mistake! This is a tributary of the Yangtze River, and the city is on the verge of a sea-like lake.The city of Changsha, where Sun Jian lives, enjoys the benefits of water, a lively culture, and sufficient military equipment.

When Cheng Pu came back from his journey that day, he was surprised to see four or five hundred warships moored in line on the bank of the river, with a huge amount of food, weapons and horses on board. "Where is such a big battle going to be fought?" He sent someone to ask the sailors, and he replied, "I don't know. It seems that General Sun Jian ordered to fight in the direction of Jingzhou." "Amazing!" Cheng Pu delayed his return home and entered the city on the way. He asked his colleagues and generals why, and he was even more surprised. He immediately had an audience with the prefect Sun Jian, admonishing him not to be reckless, and said: "As far as I know, the ship is full of armaments that conspired with Yuan Shu to attack Liu Biao and Yuan Shao. However, you believe that with a secret letter, you share fate with Yuan Shu, it is too dangerous! " Sun Jian smiled and said, "No, Cheng Pu. I also know the danger. Yuan Shu is a deceitful villain... However, I am not relying on his strength, but relying on my own strength." "But, you have to have a reputation for raising troops!" "Yuan Shao humiliated me in Luoyang, and Liu Biao was instructed by him to stop our army on the way, and let me, Sun Jian, return in defeat. Now, I want to avenge my grievances." Cheng Pu had no more advice, and took the initiative to personally supervise and prepare for the war. More than 500 warships are waiting to set sail on an auspicious day on the river.This situation spread to the ears of Liu Biao in Jingzhou early.He held a military meeting, asked the generals for advice, and said, "What should I do?" At this time, a counselor named Kuai Liang came out to express his opinion, saying: "There is no need for the enemy to make a fuss about this. Huang Zu of Jiangxia City can be made to guard the key points, and the army of Xiangyang in Jingzhou can be held as the rear army. It is expected that Sun Jian can't do it across the river." Move freely." Everyone agreed: "That's true." So the soldiers of Jingzhou were assembled to defend completely. The waters of Hunan, the north shore of the lake, and the Yangtze River Basin finally showed signs of stormy waves. Speaking of this time.Sun Jian was about to go to war, but because of the women and children in his family, he made waves first. His main wife, the Wu family, had four sons: the eldest son, Sun Ce, styled Bofu; the second son, Sun Quan, styled Zhongmou; the third son, Sun Yi; and the fourth son, Sun Kuang. Wu's younger sister is Sun Jian's favorite concubine, and she has a son and a daughter: son Lang and daughter Sun Ren. In addition, the concubine Yu's concubine gave birth to a son: Zisun Shao, whose name is Gongli. The incident happened the night before the order to "fight tomorrow".Sun Jian's younger brother Sun Jing led the large group of children to his elder brother Sun Jian's pavilion solemnly. "It's my younger brother... ah, this large group is here. We're going to play tomorrow. Is everyone here to celebrate my going out?" Sun Jian was in a good mood. "No, brother." Younger brother Sun Jing said solemnly, "I brought your children here to admonish them not to fight, not to celebrate." "What, admonishment?" "Yes. Your life is important. If something goes wrong, what will so many masters and misses do? The children's mothers, Mrs. Wu, Wu Ji, and Yu Meiren, all asked me to ask you to dispel this idea." "Nonsense! It's about time..." "It's better than withdrawing the halberd after losing the battle." "Say less unlucky words!" "Sorry! But brother, if you face the chaos in the world and fight to save hundreds of millions of people, I will never stop you. Even if the three wives and seven children sigh, I, Sun Jing, will definitely take the lead in celebrating the battle. However, this time This war is a personal grievance, a petty desire and righteousness of one's own. For this reason, the soldiers were killed and injured, and the common people suffered. This kind of military campaign should be cancelled." "Shut up! How can you and the little girl understand?!" "No, even if you say that, I will..." "Don't stop talking! You say that the teacher is born without a name, but who understands my Sun Jian's mind!? I also have a lofty ideal of saving the world and helping the people. Just wait and see, now I will rule the world and promote the name of the Sun family." "Woohoo!" Sun Jing finally fell silent. Therefore, Mrs. Wu's eldest son, Sun Ce, a seventeen-year-old handsome youth with pink face, stepped forward quickly and said, "If father insists on joining the battle, he must bring me along. Among the seven brothers and sisters, I am the oldest." Hearing the courageous words of the eldest son, Sun Jian, who was at a loss, seemed to be saved, and his mood improved, and he said, "Well said! You have been outstanding among the brothers since you were young, and you are also very useful. It is not in vain that I see you like this! I'm leaving tomorrow, you can go back and prepare!" Sun Jian glanced at the group of children and his younger brother again, and said, "Second son, Sun Quan, you must work together with uncle Sun Jing to protect the family." The second son, Sun Quan, said: "Yes." He answered clearly, staring at his father's face and saying goodbye. Sun Ce's mother, Mrs. Wu, heard that the eldest son, who had gone with his uncle to remonstrate, would instead go out to fight with his father. She said, "That's unreasonable! Call that child!" and sent a maid to fetch Sun Ce.But before dawn, the eldest son, Sun Ce, was no longer in the city. Sun Ce had expected in advance that once his mother found out, she would come to stop her.He was a young warrior, quick as a young eagle.All I can think about is "I have to be the first..." Before my father set off for the expedition, he came to the bank of the big river before dawn, boarded a warship early, set sail first, and attacked the enemy Dengcheng (now Dengzhou, Henan) . At dawn, the battle drums sounded.The Changsha army rushed from the city gate to the river bank.More than 500 warships joined each other and headed for the Yangtze River. Sun Jian heard that his eldest son, Sun Ce, had already led ten warships to set off before dawn, and praised him for his courage, but he was worried that his beloved son would be in danger when he went into battle for the first time, and thought to himself: "Don't let the enemy threaten Sun Ce." So a hundred thousand rushed to the enemy's Dengcheng. Liu Biao's first line of defense, with Huang Zu as the general, set up a solid defensive position along the coast. Sun Ce arrived ahead of his father's main force, and used his only warships to attack for a while.But the bows and arrows salvoed on land, and the warships could not even approach. At this time, more than 500 warships of the Wu army surrounded Sun Jian's leading boat, and deployed a boat formation on the river.Sun Jian sent a small boat to fly over to deliver an order, saying: "Sun Ce, don't worry!" So Sun Ce retreated and joined his father's boat formation. Sun Jian made full preparations, lined up shields and crossbowmen on each ship, and fully pulled the strings of the bows and crossbows.Just hearing the sound of "Chong!", the warship raised white waves and rushed to the river bank. Then, when shooting, the boats put down their small boats and sent elites wearing halberds and swords to land.That formation is really going to break through the coastal defenses in one go. However, the enemy should not be underestimated. The general Huang Zu in the defensive formation had already been waiting in full force, he said: "The enemy is coming!" He waited quietly for the warship to approach, without firing a single arrow. Seeing the right time, Huang Zu gave an order: "Fight!" Immediately, flying arrows struck like a storm on the numerous archery towers built on the bank and behind the shield walls and earth barriers stretching hundreds of meters. The two armies shot at each other, the flying arrows sounded, and the arrows exchanged between the land and the river, covering the sky and the sun.The yellow and turbid Yangtze River rushed fiercely to the river bank, splashing mournful droplets.The elite soldiers on the small boat tried to land in groups, and they were all shot and killed one by one.The corpse was quickly washed to the end of the muddy current and disappeared like grass. "Withdraw! Withdraw!" Seeing that the arrow battle was not going well, Sun Jian immediately retreated the boat array out of the range of the arrows. He changed tactics.After nightfall, he collected all the nearby fishing boats, connected them with countless small boats, and ordered people to light a red bonfire, making it look like they were about to attack at night. It was pitch black on the river, only the fire could be seen very clearly.The enemy on land said in surprise: "This is amazing!" Bows, crossbows and fire arrows, shoot as much as possible, even more than in the daytime. However, there was not a single soldier on the boat, only the waterman who rowed the boat.Obeying Sun Jian's order, Shui Fu used up all his arrows in vain to make the enemy army use up all his arrows, and only shouted "Oh-oh-oh" on the dark river. At dawn, small boats and fishing boats scattered away before the enemy could see their true colors.Then at night, repeat the same strategy. In this way, for seven days and seven nights, the enemy was deceived by bonfires with empty ships every night.Just when the enemy army was exhausted, one night, the warship was really full of strong soldiers, and they landed in a large scale, smashing Huang Zu's camp to pieces. All the sailors on board landed in the wilderness, turning into a cloud-like army. The next day, Huang Zu, the enemy general who fled into Dengcheng, launched another fierce attack with Zhang Hu and Chen Sheng on his wings, intending to repel Sun Jian's army. As a result, the two armies were in turmoil. Generals Zhang Hu and Chen Sheng galloped across the battlefield with bloodshot eyes, making up their minds to "not let Sun Jian and the others survive." Offend my city, what do you want?" Hearing this, Sun Jian looked around and said, "You exaggerated grass thief! Who will take down these two with me?" Under the curtain, Han Dang said: "I'll go!" After saying that, he swung his knife and took Zhang Hu straight. After more than 30 battles, the sparks were clanging, and the eyes of the two heroes spewed fire. Seeing this, Chen Sheng yelled "I'll help you", while helping Zhang Hu attack Han Dang, making him miserable. Just when Han Dang was in a dangerous situation, Sun Ce, who was beside his father, took the bow held by the servant, drew the string to the full, pressed it against the corner of his eye, said "look at the arrow", loosened the string and released the arrow. Chen Sheng screamed and fell off the saddle. "Ah..." Zhang Hu was afraid, so he pulled his horse and fled.Han Dang chased after Zhang Hu, and chopped down Zhang Hu's helmet. "The second general has been beheaded!" Hearing this, the whole army began to be shrouded in the shadow of failure.Huang Zu was in a terrible state of distress, he mingled with his defeated army fleeing like a spider, and ran away flattering his horse. "Capture Huang Zu alive!" "Caught him alive!" The young warrior Sun Ce chased after him with a gun.Several times, Sun Ce's gun has approached his back. Huang Zu discarded his helmet, dismounted at last, and mixed with the soldiers on foot, crossed the river dangerously, and fled into Dengcheng. In this battle, Jingzhou's army was in chaos, and Sun Jian's flag was planted all over the wilderness.Sun Jian quickly marched into the Han River and stationed the water army on the Han River. "Huang Zu was defeated!" The fast horses came one after another to report the defeat, and Liu Biao turned pale. Kuai Liang said: "Since this is the case, we can stick to the city and send an emergency envoy to ask Yuan Shao for help." "This plan is clumsy!" At this time, Cai Mao objected, and said boldly, "The enemy army has already attacked the city. How can I entrust my life and death to others for rescue. Although I am not talented, I am willing to go out of the city to fight." Liu Biao agrees. Cai Mao led more than 10,000 riders out of Xiangyang City and set up a camp at Mount Xian (to the east of Xiangyang, Hubei today). Sun Jian swept the enemy forces everywhere, and won many victories. With his power and influence, he quickly defeated the enemies at Xianshan. Cai Mao, with high eyesight and low hands, fled back to Xiangyang City with the remnants of the disastrous defeat. Seeing that Cai Mao lost a lot of troops and fled back brazenly, Kuai Liang, who was said to be a coward in front of Liu Biao at first, scolded in front of his face, "Have you seen the end?" Although Cai Maoji apologized face-to-face, Kuai Liang still asked the prefect to behead him according to the military law, saying: "If you don't use my strategy, you must be responsible for such a big defeat." Liu Biao was helpless, and comforted: "No, now is the time when a person's life cannot be wasted..." In the end, he did not allow Cai Mao to be killed. Because Cai Mao's younger sister is a peerless beauty, Liu Biao dotes on her very much recently. Kuai Liang had no choice but to say no more.Dayi and the harem are always in conflict and entangled.But now is not the time to argue. "The only ones we can rely on are Tianxian and Yuan Shao's rescue." Kuai Liang devoted himself to the defense of the city with a solemn determination. This city of Xiangyang is backed by mountains and surrounded by water on three sides. This is known as the danger of Jingzhou, and it is a key place unparalleled in the world.Even when Sun Jian's army came to the city, they were very upset and impatient, and the soldiers and horses showed signs of fatigue and boredom from an expedition. So one day.The wind blew fiercely.Sun Jian's army camped in the wild suffered from dust and wind for half a day.Somehow, the flagpole of the Chinese army's "handsome" flag broke with a "click". The banner with the word "handsome" is the banner of the commander-in-chief of the whole army, and the soldiers are all seized by a sense of ominousness.In particular, the aides surrounded Sun Jian with cloudy brows and said, "This matter is no small matter! The war has not gone well recently, the soldiers and horses are getting tired, and they are far away from home, and the trees on the battlefield are showing signs of winter. Now that the new wind is blowing up, the Chinese commander The flagpole is broken. Everyone has a bad feeling. Why don't we retreat for now?" Sun Jian laughed and said, "Ahahaha... are you all so superstitious?!" Sun Jian didn't care.But it is related to morale, he also seriously added: "The wind is the breath of the heaven and the earth. The new wind blowing before winter is to announce the coming of winter, not to break the flagpole. Everyone thinks it is strange, but it is just a confusion of people. This city One more attack and it will be captured. How can we abandon the enemy city that is already under our control and withdraw our troops?!" It makes sense to say so.The generals said nothing, heeded what Sun Jian said, and went back to try to revive their morale. The next day, Sun Jian's army attacked the city again with loud shouts.Fill the trenches, launch rockets, and send light soldiers to climb the city walls on rafts.But Xiangyang City remained motionless. It's frosty.It rains and snows every night.On the Xiaoxiao battlefield, only dead bodies attract Jackdaw's favor.