Chapter 83 Digging a Big Hole for Jiangdong

Why did it suddenly collapse?

In fact, it was not that Wei Yan was so powerful, but that Huang Zu's so-called "80,000 soldiers" were exaggerated. People of that era liked to exaggerate the strength of the troops, collect empty salaries, and did not pay enough attention to equipment.

Some of the soldiers were incomplete in armor.

The combat effectiveness is actually not high.

In addition, Wei Yan's guerrilla warfare exhausted their morale. When they really fought, they lost the courage to fight as soon as they found that they could not cut the opponent's armor.

As one thing grows while the other shrinks, quantity is actually of no use at all.

A tiger among a flock of sheep will never lose no matter how hard the fight goes.

What is remarkable about Wei Yan is the ratio of battle casualties, which he controlled at an extremely low level, showing that he was worthy of his later status as "the great general of Shu"!

"My lord, how is General Huang doing?" Wei Yan asked.

Obviously, he was also concerned about whether Huang Zhong, who had joined him, could be converted to a regular employee.

You have to know that he was the deputy commander of the Datong Army and Wei Yan's immediate superior.

Once he becomes a regular soldier, he will have a backer in the Datong Army.

"Han Sheng's army is different. Although they also have 80,000 troops, Huang Zu's 80,000 are just a mob. After they were incorporated, they could only select less than 5,000 qualified soldiers." Ji Hao shook his head and said, "As for Sun Jian's 80,000, they are real elite soldiers who are good at water battles and can fight and retreat!"

Because of his appearance, Sun Jian did not die due to the butterfly effect.

Instead, he succeeded in rising to power by superficially allying himself with Yuan Shu and became one of the most powerful princes in the world.

Judging from the several fights between them, Huang Zu was not on the same level as him at all - in the original book, the reason why he was killed by Huang Zu was because he was too aggressive and was hit by a hail of arrows and was shot to death.

So, who shot the arrows?

Ji Hao guessed that it might be Huang Zhong, who was just a minion at the time but possessed unparalleled archery skills.

He had worked under Huang Zu, and no one cared if his minions shot arrows.

It is very likely that Sun Jian could be killed with one arrow.

As for the credit, of course it belongs to Huang Zu, because his soldiers shot and killed him!

"Most of Liu Biao's side is blocked by mountains, so there is not much long wall to build. After Huang Zu is defeated, we can start building it. When he gathers his army again, the Great Wall will be built. We can leave Wei Yan and Zhang Xiu to guard it!" Guo Jia said, "For now, we should dispatch troops to help General Huang. Otherwise, he may not be able to defend the city alone!"

It’s not that he doesn’t trust Huang Zhong, but if Huang Zhong wants to stay there, he must have the support of the Datong Army.

Pin down Huang Gai and Zhou Yu at the border of Jingzhou.

Otherwise, if the two sides joined forces, Sun Jian, who is now under the butterfly effect, would be able to mobilize 200,000 elite troops. It would be possible to fight against 800,000 with 80000, but it would be difficult to fight against 200,000.

Not to mention Zhou Yu’s own strategy, which was something that even Cao Cao’s 800,000 troops could not withstand!

"Well, the mission I gave Han Sheng is just to defend Qiaojiazhuang, but the overall game cannot be controlled by him alone. It's time for us to dig a big hole for Dongwu!"

Ji Hao said this and suddenly laughed.

He picked up a pen and wrote a letter to Sun Jian: Brother Wentai, it has been several years since we last met at Hulao Pass. I miss you very much. I wonder if you miss me?

A few days ago, someone said that you led troops to attack my Yuzhou. Haha, I didn’t believe it.

What is our relationship?
There must be a villain behind this!
It is also said that my nephew Bofu, who is visiting me in Yuzhou, will be given a cup of poisoned wine. We should not believe it and let the treacherous villain reap the benefits!
——Ji Hao.

This letter is openly a reminisce about the past, but is also a covert threat.

If threatening Sun Ce can make Sun Jian withdraw his troops, then everyone will be happy. If not, it doesn't matter. Ji Hao has prepared a second plan for this.

"Isn't that reasonable?"

On the other side, after receiving the letter, Sun Jian was so angry that he slammed the table.

The armies were engaged in battle, but the son was in the hands of the enemy.

A problem indeed.

But can he withdraw his troops?

The old cunning man understands the old cunning man best. He has stationed troops in Chunshen area in recent years, but he has seen with his own eyes how tall Ji Hao's Jianghai City opposite is, and how Ji Hao's navy is changing with each passing day.

How could we let him take over Yuzhou so easily?

If he did not send troops, in three to five years, Yuzhou would become a solid wall between the north and the south. Combined with Xuzhou, the northern land would have nothing to do with him, Sun Jian.

There is no chance to hit even if you want to.

On the contrary, if he occupied Yuzhou, he could reach Xiliang to the west and attack Liu Biao to the south. Even if he couldn't take it down, he could harass it and prevent Ji Hao from building the Great Wall.

At least before Yuan Shao unifies the northwest and fights against Ji Hao, Ji Hao cannot be allowed to succeed!
"We have to fight, but Ce'er is always a problem in Ji Hao's hands!" Sun Jian thought for a moment, and finally said: "Immediately issue an edict to make my son Sun Quan the crown prince!"

He thought of a way out.

That was to abandon Sun Ce, make his youngest son Sun Quan the crown prince, and determine the successor.

In this way, a son who is not an heir, although still a hostage in the hands of the enemy, will not affect the advance and will not affect the stability of Jiangdong itself.

However, Sun Jian did not notice that after the order was issued, the expressions on the faces of some old ministers became unnatural.

If he gains the world, the crown prince will be the prince and the future emperor.

Although Sun Quan was known as a child prodigy since he was young, many people placed their bets on Sun Ce. If Sun Ce died, everyone would be entrusted to assist Sun Quan, but Sun Ce is still alive.

If Sun Quan is made the crown prince, what will they do in the future?
Even Zhou Yu, who was far away in Jiangxia, was stunned when he heard the news.

"My lord, where does this put Bofu?" Zhou Yu frowned.

Hearing this, Huang Gai tried to say, "Could it be that this is just a delaying tactic? After welcoming back the eldest son, we can make him the new emperor, right?"

But Zhou Yu shook his head.

How can the title of Crown Prince be changed casually?

Many people have already placed their bets on Sun Quan, and now that their bet has won, they are on the verge of becoming successful. But if things change later on, and all their fame and wealth are in vain, wouldn't people's hearts be dispersed?
"To put it bluntly, the lord has always favored the second young master!" said Lu Su.

After Sun Ce's death, he, Zhou Yu, Lu Meng and others were all staunch supporters of Sun Quan. But when Sun Ce was still alive, Huang Gai, Zhang Zhao, Zhou Yu, Lu Su and Lu Meng all tended to support Sun Ce.

If he wasn't a close confidant, Sun Ce wouldn't have entrusted his son to him before his death!
"If you think so, you have fallen into the trap. This is Ji Hao's conspiracy!" Zhou Yu said.

……

On the other hand, when Sun Ce learned that Sun Jian had made Sun Quan the crown prince, he was also stunned.

Although he had the idea of ​​passing the throne to his younger brother, and had even prepared to give the throne to his younger brother Sun Quan instead of his son, he was still unhappy when his father gave the position of crown prince to Sun Quan while he was still alive.

It is Sun Jian’s freedom to choose who will be his successor.

But didn’t Sun Ce support Jiangdong?
Didn't he risk his life for Yuan Shu to gain his trust, and have the opportunity to develop steadily with Sun Jian behind him?
If he hadn't fought Taishi Ci for three days and three nights, would Jiangdong have been able to conquer him? If he hadn't been sincere, would he have won the heart of a proud man like Zhou Yu to serve Jiangdong?
Some of those civil and military officials started their careers with Sun Jian, while others were poached from Yuan Shu's army.

Huang Gai and Cheng Pu, that’s it!

"Bofu, I've kept you here for several months. All good things must come to an end. After attending my wedding with Xiao Qiao and Da Qiao, you can go back!" Ji Hao said.

This surprised Sun Ce.

"You'll let me go back?"

"Correct!"

In the end, what Sun Jian did not expect was that Sun Ce was directly released by Ji Hao.

After completely giving up on his eldest son and making his second son the crown prince, Sun Ce suddenly returned, giving hope to those who had originally placed their bets on him.

They all suggested that Sun Jian appoint a new crown prince.

The new bettor tried his best to stop it, and the two sides argued endlessly.

This made Sun Jian very worried.

"Ji Hao, Ji Hao, I originally thought you were going to use Ce'er to threaten me, but I didn't expect you to dig a big hole for me here. Good, very good!"

Immediately, his expression turned cold.

He added, "But am I the only one who has the problem of succession? Someone, go spread rumors and say that the fourth princess of the city king is bullied because she has no relatives. She has to go hunting in the mountains to eat, and her son can't even get enough food. He is still drinking milk at the age of three!"

This is of course nonsense.

Lu Lingqi went into the mountains to hunt because she liked it, and her son drank milk at the age of three because milk was popular in Qingzhou, and for the sake of their children's development, most parents let their children drink it.

But Lu Bu didn't know.

It doesn't matter even if you know it.

What’s important is the reason, a reason to get my grandson back!

"If you go to deal with Lu Bu, you will not be able to take care of Jiangdong. At most, you can send Zhao Yun to contain Gongjin. When the time comes, Huang Zhong will be alone. I wonder how he will defend!"

(End of this chapter)