Chapter 88: The "fierce" Sun Jian and the full-blown hatred of Liu Biao
Although Huang Zhong could not guess all of Ji Hao's intentions, after learning that Sun Jian was going to be let go, he understood very well that Ji Hao just didn't want Sun Jian to die in his hands, but that he was not unable to defeat him.

Therefore, he did not change the plan immediately, but still lured Sun Jian in according to the original plan.

It was just that he left a retreat route for Sun Jian during the ambush.

Sun Jian was unaware of this and thought that he had finally outwitted Huang Zhong after days of planning. He led his army directly to the cement factory at night, and was so confident of victory that he showed a smug smile.

"Even the brave Overlord ended up committing suicide at the Wujiang River. What's the point of being brave? You need your brain to fight a war!"

As he spoke, Sun Jian gave an order and the army headed straight for the cement factory.

As for himself, even when his "plan succeeded", he still led 10,000 soldiers to watch outside and be on guard at all times - this caution, it must be said, really lived up to his name "Jiangdong Tiger".

The tiger is the king of beasts, ferocious yet sensitive, and more vigilant than ordinary beasts!
However, no matter how ferocious a tiger is, it is only ferocious, not invincible: when tens of thousands of soldiers entered the cement factory, they immediately discovered that something seemed wrong with the rooms inside, and a pungent smell filled the air.

After smelling it carefully, I was even more confused.

Because it was not the legendary "cement raw material" lime smell, but flour smell. No one knew when the quicklime in the cement factory was replaced with white flour.

"Let me go!"

At Huang Zhong's command, his soldiers lit fires and shot arrows to detonate the trap.

The next moment, flames shot up into the sky.

What happened to Yuan Shu in the Mechanical City was what happened to Sun Jian this time: looking at the scene that was like heavenly fire and listening to the explosion that was like thunder, he was completely stunned.

"Out of 80,000 men, 70,000 are gone? I don't believe it!"

Sun Jian roared and wanted to rush forward.

But water and fire were merciless. He felt a stinging pain on his head and face when he got about ten feet away, and was unable to rush into the sea of ​​fire.

I could only watch my sons die.

"Is this an ambush? My lord, go back quickly!" someone said.

But at this moment, a craftsman carefully poked his head out from the tunnel next to him and was caught by them. He was so scared that he peed himself, and the smell made Sun Jian hold his nose.

After some interrogation, I found that I was not wrong.

"There is no ambush. It is the cement plant's self-destruct device. Whenever enemy troops approach the cement plant, it will be activated, causing heavy casualties to the enemy." said the man.

Then he fell to the ground, trembling.

He added, "Sir, please don't kill me. I didn't start the fire. I know how to make cement. If you spare me, I can give you the cement recipe. Actually, there is no big secret. Just add some flour and rice paste to the lime, mix them, and then burn them."

This made Sun Jian's eyes light up.

"Just the recipe isn't enough, right?"

"Someone has to coordinate the supply. I'm Zhang San, the director of the cement factory here. I'm responsible for supplying cement to Qiaojiazhuang!"

In the end, Sun Jian accepted Zhang San's surrender.

I didn't doubt anything.

In this era, craftsmen had a very low status, almost the same as soldiers, and were all so-called "lower class people". Restricted by the influence of Emperor Wu of Han's "Confucianism as the only orthodoxy", even the descendants of Lu Ban were considered untouchables.

Among the “scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans”, he is only slightly better than a pure businessman.

Not even as good as farmers.

It is normal to work for whoever you are caught - but what people don’t know is that in Jingzhou, the status of craftsmen is far higher than that of ordinary people. Those who can be responsible for an entire factory must not only have superb skills, but also be trained by “Mr. Datong”.

In fact, Zhang San is an agent!

"General, we cannot retreat!" After Zhang San surrendered, he immediately said, "As far as I know, Yuzhou's troops have all gathered in the south, and a tight net has been set up. And in the east, Jia Xu who is stationed in Xuzhou has also been dispatched. He should have arrived at Qiaojiazhuang today. If we go back now, we will be attacked from both sides!" These words made Sun Jian change his face.

He immediately sent someone to investigate.

Soon he got the news that the place where he landed and the previous camp had been occupied by the Xuzhou navy. Jia Xu had dispatched an unknown number of troops, which were densely packed on the river surface.

In the south, the defense line guarded by Zhao Yun also shifted eastward to meet Jia Xu.

The Datong army assembled by land and sea, looking as if they were ready for a decisive battle with him.

"Good guy, I didn't retreat rashly, otherwise I would be in trouble today!" Sun Jian said, and suddenly smiled, and said: "Their defense is indeed tight, but if we bypass Daoshu City, head west to Xuchang, and leave through Sizhou, what can they do?"

Thinking of this, he immediately ordered his men to advance at full speed and penetrate into the heart of Yuzhou.

At this point, all the actors from Yuzhou came online: First, Huang Zhong chased Sun Jian for hundreds of miles, and although he killed many of Sun Jian's men, he still let him escape.

Immediately afterwards, Zhao Yun returned with two thousand lightly equipped men to block the enemy.

However, Sun Jian hid in the woods and missed his target.

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Xiu and Wei Yan teamed up to intercept them, but were defeated by Sun Jian's "feint to the east and attack in the west" tactic, pretending to attack Shucheng and breaking it, and successfully bypassed Xuchang and escaped.

Even if there were only a few hundred soldiers left, he was still there and Zhang San was firmly in his hands.

At this point, Ji Hao was furious.

Directly issue a reward. Anyone who finds clues about Sun Jian will be rewarded with a thousand gold coins and be granted the title of a marquis of ten thousand households. Anyone who can personally capture the head of the traitor Zhang San will be rewarded with ten thousand jins and be granted the title of a hereditary county marquis!
Not only did it shake the entire Ji camp, but Liu Biao was also alarmed.

"Is it necessary to offer such a huge reward for a traitor?"

"I heard from the grapevine that he seems to be the director of a cement factory in Yuzhou. That is a special official position in Jiying. It is not among the civil and military officials, nor is it in the judicial field. It is in the field of 'engineering', which is equivalent to a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Industry." Cai Mao said.

As soon as these words were spoken, Liu Biao's eyes lit up immediately.

"Cement, it's cement, send someone immediately, and stop him no matter what!"

……

At the same time, on the other side, Sun Ce was feinting an attack on Yuzhou to contain Ji Hao's main force, and at the same time worriedly asked: "Gongjin, can my father escape this time?"

Even though my father was unfair, he was still my father after all.

There are still feelings.

Sun Ce, who understood Jingzhou's power better than anyone else, was genuinely worried about Sun Jian.

"Don't worry, Bofu. I received news that the lord has defeated the interceptions of Huang Zhong, Zhao Yun and Wei Yan and has entered the territory of Sizhou. He is returning via Jingzhou!" Zhou Yu said.

Upon hearing this, Sun Ce immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

It is very easy for a large army to move around instead of attacking a city.

As long as they bypass the checkpoints through mountains, forests and rivers, they will be able to return soon. Jingzhou is not a place that Ji Hao can reach.

"But, wasn't my father too brave this time?" Sun Quan, who was only in his teens, asked doubtfully.

This made Zhou Yu frown, and he always felt a little uneasy in his heart.

Then not long after, he received news: Sun Jian, who had escaped from Yuzhou's tight control, was intercepted by Liu Biao, who had been waiting for a long time, just as he entered Jingzhou.

He was shot to death on the spot.

However, the traitor "Zhang San" from Ji Hao's side was nowhere to be found, and Liu Biao claimed that he had not seen him!
(End of this chapter)