Weird Three Kingdoms

Chapter 3487: Topics to Avoid
The sky is different in ten miles.

There was a large-scale snowfall and cold disaster in Youzhou and Mobei, but it was not felt in other parts of the Han Dynasty.

People's joys and sorrows are different.

Even if there is occasional sadness, it will soon be diluted by other things and then forgotten.

The winter of the ninth year of Taixing was not cold in Jiangdong, and it even rained a few times. Many sons of the noble families wore thin clothes with long sleeves fluttering, and played leisurely by the river. The war in the Central Plains and the casualties were perhaps not as important and attractive to these people as the coquettish grumble of a beauty from another family or the seductive glance of a courtesan.

In this winter when artillery fire roared in Hedong and Heluo, Cao Cao was forced to adapt to the new changes in the war and began to find ways to preserve his own strength. In order to maintain the morale of the soldiers under the bombardment of long-range weapons, especially artillery, Cao's army has reduced the number of large-scale phalanxes and began to try to form small-scale military formations like the General of Cavalry.

However, the soldier pattern of Jiangdong has not changed much.

Even when Zhou Yu was seriously ill and Jiangdong's troops withdrew on a large scale, there were still many gentry sons who were not worried. Instead, they were relieved, thinking that the war was fading away and spring would be coming next.

Ever since the war between Cao Cao and Fei Qian began, there have been two major voices in Jiangdong.

War and peace.

In Jiangdong, the voices of peace were originally louder than those of war, especially after continuous fighting without any good results, which almost overwhelmingly pressed the war part to the ground and rubbed it.

What’s even more interesting is that when the voice of “peace” became the mainstream, it seemed that peace had come to Jiangdong.

Before this, perhaps some people would have hoped to do something about the conflict between the East and West Secretariats north of the Yangtze River. However, up to now, in Wu County, I don’t know how many people are already looking for a way out for themselves.

It doesn’t matter who you vote for.
What is the difference between throwing with full health and throwing with low health?
In fact, Jiangdong cannot be said to be completely weak. For example, it was also strong in dealing with the Shanyue issue.

After eating and drinking all the food reserves in the occupied counties, Shamoke's troops expanded to the surrounding areas again. This time the expansion was even disorderly, and there was no order from Shamoke.

Normally, a large-scale military attack would at least have to be informed to the leader, but the Shanyue were used to being lax, and Shamoke only received the news after the battle had already started. Although Shamoke had previously sent messages to the leaders of each tribe, indicating that the battle had reached a certain stage and that they needed to shrink their defenses and guard against a counterattack by the Jiangdong Army, it was obvious that these tribal leaders just hummed and hawed, and did not take it seriously at all.

Perhaps because of their greed for Jiangdong's wealth, or perhaps because of their blind confidence in their own military strength, the Shanyue Vietnamese launched an attack on the wealthy land of Jiangdong.

But this time, the battle between Shanyue and Yueman was not so smooth...

Compared to attacking a small county town in a mountainous area, attacking the relatively flat Jiangdong hinterland is a long journey. Even though the Shanyue people have no supply system, they are beginning to feel a little weak.

It is of course absolutely impossible to send troops to Jiangbei, but it is also absolutely impossible for the Shanyue to invade the heartland of Jiangdong.

After all, it is understandable that he does not dare to confront the world-famous Fei Cao, but it would be a joke if he was afraid to even face Shan Yue.

Faced with the Shanyue's increasing aggression, the various ethnic groups in Jiangdong began to join hands to resist the Shanyue.

In a sense, if the various tribes in Jiangdong can maintain such a cooperative attitude and spirit of mutual cooperation for a long time, then not only can they repel the Shanyue, but they can also attack the Central Plains. But unfortunately, at this stage, Jiangdong is not weak in defending its territory, but it is extremely difficult to attack it.

After confirming that Commander Zhou Yu was critically ill and Sun Quan had completely compromised, Jiangdong determined the battle strategy with Shanyue at almost the fastest speed and launched the battle at an extraordinary speed!
In less than half a month, the entire battlefield was completely under the control of Jiangdong. The Shanyue collapsed everywhere. Led by the sons of the gentry, the Jiangdong soldiers advanced rapidly. Not only did they recover the lost territory, but they also chased the Shanyue all the way to the Wuling area, burned, killed and looted the Shanyue's strongholds, and doubled back the violence that the Shanyue had inflicted on the Han cities.

During the battle, Shamoke's personal bravery did not help turn the tide. Instead, he was surrounded from multiple directions and was almost killed. He was seriously injured and only survived because of the guards' desperate rescue.

Although Jiangdong ultimately won the Shanyue rebellion, some of the things that happened in the Shanyue side during this process in terms of public security also frightened some people in Jiangdong.

As the final casualty figures were tallied up and reached Sun Quan, his face became uglier and uglier. When he saw Zhang Zhao, he couldn't help but complain: "If Shanyue continues to be like this, Jiangdong will be lost sooner or later!"

Zhang Zhao's eyes remained steady. "The Shanyue people are nothing to be afraid of. They don't know the heavens and the earth, and they don't know how to be respectful. They will fail sooner or later."

Sun Quan's implication was that Jiangdong was united only when dealing with the Shanyue. He wanted to satirize the Jiangdong nobles, but Zhang Zhao also had a hidden meaning in his words, which immediately choked Sun Quan so much that his breath got stuck in his trachea and he felt extremely uncomfortable!
Zhang Zhao didn't care about Sun Quan's expression at all.

In Jiangdong, only those with money are the boss!

Are you, Sun Quan, rich?

What to install if you have no money?
Sun Quan now has no money, no people, no soldiers, and yet he wants to mock others?

What are you thinking of if you don't just act like a grandson?

Zhang Zhao reported all the accounts for this period to Sun Quan in a serious manner, and then asked Sun Quan if he had any instructions.

What orders could Sun Quan give?
"Since the lord has no other instructions, please use the seal!"

Zhang Zhao pushed the document forward and motioned the attendant beside Sun Quan to take it.

Sun Quan wanted to curse, "I don't need a seal, you old bastard!"

But after thinking for a while, Sun Quan frowned, asked someone to bring a seal, and stamped it on Zhang Zhao's report.

Zhang Zhao bowed and said goodbye in a formal manner.

In terms of etiquette, Zhang Zhao did his job impeccably, but Sun Quan always felt as if he was worshiping a statue instead of his lord.

Sun Quan felt like he was a clay statue. Although everyone showed respect when they passed by him, that was all...

If one day someone were to tear him down and sculpt a new statue, there might be a few people lamenting and expressing their pity, but they would soon bow down before the new statue!

The more Sun Quan thought about it, the angrier he became, but he only dared to put his hands under the table. He tightly grasped his knees and did not dare to lift them up. He still tried his best to keep his expression calm.

Because if he can't even be a good statue now, and even the gold powder on his face has cracked, revealing the clay inside, someone might want to overthrow him now...

Sun Quan gritted his teeth and sent someone to call the school official.

In a sense, the School Secretaries are Sun Quan's "eunuchs". Once Sun Quan is in trouble, they will definitely be finished. Therefore, there are some things that are more or less related to Sun Quan's interests and they will be done according to Sun Quan's wishes.

As for other people, Sun Quan no longer trusted them at all.

Zhang Zhao didn’t really care whether Sun Quan believed in him or not. When he walked out of Sun Quan’s general’s mansion, he walked with steady steps.

For Zhang Zhao and other people in Jiangbei, as well as the Jiangdong gentry, there is one thing in common: they all hope to have a "weak master" rather than a "strong king."

It is certainly not good if Sun Quan is too incompetent, but they would also be unhappy if Sun Quan was too capable.

Like Sun Quan now, he is a qualified "lord" in the eyes of Zhang Zhao and others, as well as the Jiangdong gentry.

Be law-abiding and don't cause trouble.

As for eating, drinking, playing, whoring, gambling, smoking, etc., that doesn't matter. They are just personal hobbies of Comrade Sun Quan. They are not a big deal. As long as they don't hinder the nobles from making profits, then they are still good lords...

Zhang Zhao’s main opponent now is not Sun Quan or Zhou Yu, but Gu Yong.

As for who will be the next lord after Jiangbei is unified in the future, and will he become the "wise ruler" in their hearts...

By that time, Zhang Zhao will be old and may not see that day, so he can only take care of the present and believe in the wisdom of future generations.

"Gu Yuan sighed..." Zhang Zhao looked up at the dim sun in the sky, then muttered something, shook his head, and left the general's mansion.

Gu Yong claimed to have defeated 100,000 Shanyue troops in Changsha County, captured 20,000, and beheaded 50,000, which was an epic victory. He also submitted a petition to Sun Quan asking him to surrender the Shanyue prisoners, and suggested that only the main culprits should be executed, while the rest should be pardoned.

The Han people who survived in Changsha County were very dissatisfied with Gu Yong's statement, saying that the Shanyue had committed numerous blood debts, yet they wanted to be pardoned?

However, in Wu County, many sons of noble families said that although the Shanyue were extremely vicious, they were just forced to buy for nothing. If they could make a living, who would like to do this? If Jiangdong could give the Shanyue some opportunities to contribute their labor and show their value, and could forgive their past mistakes and even give them a full meal, it is conceivable that most of the Shanyue would not continue to resist.

Whether intentional or not, Gu Yong's memorial caused a stir in Jiangdong. Many people participated in the discussion on whether or not to pardon the Shanyue people. However, few people discussed the defeated Jiangdong army, and no one mentioned Zhou Yu who was critically ill...

……

……

In Jiangbei, where people in Jiangdong avoid talking about him, Cao Cao seems to have become a topic that people in Xu County, Yingchuan avoid talking about.

Cao Cao knew the threat of Guanzhong navy to the Central Plains, so he was determined to replace the navy of the Hussar Army at all costs. What was more dramatic was that even though Cao Cao had fought a relatively good sniper battle against the Hussar Army Tongguan Branch, it did not arouse the interest of the sons of the noble families in Xu County. On the contrary, many sons of the noble families felt that Cao Cao's fighting was really inexplicable. He did not deal with the Hussar Army's cavalry properly, but competed with the Hussar Army's navy...

Rumors spread privately. Xu County, which seemed far away from the war, was actually like boiling water, with billowing steam puffing out from under the lid.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

In a mountain villa on the outskirts of Xu County, a middle-aged man and a young man were walking up the hill along the mountain path, slightly one step ahead of the other.

The middle-aged man is Cui Yan, and the young man behind him is a member of the Zhen family, with a single name, Zhen.

"One day in the mountains, I saw beautiful mountain flowers, so I asked people to transplant them here in the spring..." Cui Yan said as he walked, pointing to a flowerbed next to a mountain pavilion in the distance, "I never thought that this spring would be so cold, and the fields would be frozen in frost... Most of the transplanted flowers and plants were almost dead, and only these ones survived tenaciously... The strength of the plants and their desire to survive in the frost and cold is really touching..."

As they were talking, the two arrived at the pavilion on the mountain.

The pavilion is on the hillside and has a wide view.

The servants were all halfway up the mountain and did not follow the two men to the pavilion on the top of the mountain.

Cui Yan walked into the pavilion and patted its pillars. "I remember that this pavilion was built to commemorate the Party Prison Incident. Now... this pavilion has become old..."

Zhen Zhen bowed slightly, "Mr. Cui is a role model for us. If it weren't for Mr. Cui to withstand the wind and frost in the past, how could we, the younger generation, enjoy the rain and dew now?"

Cui Yan laughed and pointed at Zhen Zhen, "I've heard that you're smart and good at speaking. Today I see that you're really as good as your reputation!"

The two of them laughed and the atmosphere seemed very harmonious.

After a few more pleasantries, Cui Yan said, "Zizhen seems to be very busy these days..."

Zhen Zhen's eyes flickered, "Mr. Cui is in charge of state affairs, and he is really busy with paperwork... I am just running around for mundane things, how can I be called busy? Look, Mr. Cui invited me, and I came right away..."

"Haha, Zizhen, don't look down on me..." Cui Yan said with a smile, "Zizhen is traveling back and forth for the needs of the people... Businessmen exchange what they have and what they don't have, and use their surplus to make up for their deficiencies. This is in accordance with the way of heaven. How can it be simply described as a "vulgar thing"? I invited Zizhen to come here recently, not for any important matter... It's just that I have been living in Yingchuan for many days and don't know how my hometown has changed, so I took the liberty to invite you to talk about some things in my hometown to ease my homesickness..."

"Mr. Cui is devoted to the country, I admire him very much! If Mr. Cui asks you anything, I will tell you everything I know!" Zhen Zhen said with a bow.

Cui Yan nodded, extended his hand and asked Zhen Zhen to sit down in the pavilion. After a moment of silence, he said, "I wonder what the scholars in Jizhou think about the current situation?"

Zhen Zhen rolled his eyes, "Mr. Cui, you are a businessman, how can you know about the literary gatherings of scholars?"

Cui Yan narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Just now you said that you would tell me everything you know..."

Zhen Zhen pondered for a moment, "These are just some superficial remarks... For example, if the Prime Minister wins, Jizhou should have a few more years of peace..."

"What if we can't win?" Cui Yan asked.

Zhen Zhen raised his eyes and looked at Cui Yan, "What does Mr. Cui mean by this?"

Cui Yan waved his hand and said, "The military has always been a matter of victory and defeat. How can there be a way to win every battle? If you can talk about victory, you can also talk about defeat."

Cui Yan paused for a moment, motioned around the pavilion, "There are only you and me here... Besides, you and I are both from Jizhou, although we are of different ages, we share the same accent! Zizhen, you don't have to be so shy! In my opinion, the Prime Minister's battle is a 50-50 chance... Your Majesty also asked for advice during the court meeting, and spoke frankly about victory and defeat, without avoiding the issue... Zizhen, you don't have to be so shy, don't you trust me?"

Cui Yan said "no need" twice in a row, which made Zhen Zhen feel helpless. He could only sigh and said, "Mr. Cui, you are too serious... The situation in the world is in chaos, and naturally some people are talking about it in private... However, the war is not yet decided, and Cao's school official is investigating everywhere, so it is inevitable that some..."

Cui Yan nodded, "I understand. Only heaven and earth know what is said here."

If it were a few years ago, Cui Yan would have felt it was an insult to even look at Zhen Zhen for one more second. How could they possibly sit together and have a conversation in a friendly manner?
The attitude of the children of the gentry towards others is not necessarily based on the current status of both parties, but also on future expectations.

It's like buying stocks.

Zhen Zhen was the head of the Zhen family caravan, traveling between Jizhou and Yuzhou.

Although Zhen's business was doing well, to the Jizhou people, it was considered to be a money-chasing business and was not worthy of being in the upper class. Moreover, Zhen's investment in Yuan's failed, and after Yuan's downfall, it was almost lost...

Who could have imagined that Zhen's underwear was still shaking in Guanzhong!
No matter what color the underwear is, now that they are shaking, even a figure like Cui Yan has to be polite to Zhen.

Cui Yan went straight to the point, which made Zhen Zhen a little embarrassed. After thinking for a moment, he slowly said: "The people in Jizhou are in chaos. Since autumn, there have been rumors... One said that the Hussars are short of manpower and it is difficult to maintain. As long as the Prime Minister can hold on for a while, he can win..."

"Aha!" Cui Yan nodded, "What about the other theory?"

"Another theory..." Zhen Zhen glanced at Cui Yan, "That's the opposite... It says that the Prime Minister is doomed to fail, and even if he holds on, he won't last long..."

"That's how people think..." Cui Yan nodded and said, "But, I have heard that there is another saying..."

Zhen Zhen's eyes flickered, "I wonder what Mr. Cui heard?"

"Let's not talk about what's going on in the world, or whether the East is right or wrong..." Cui Yan said slowly, "I heard someone say that if the Prime Minister loses, he will have to cede the land north of the Yellow River and let the cavalry herd horses before they can stop fighting...I wonder if it's true or not?"

To the north of the river is naturally Jizhou.

Zhen Zhen suddenly felt a chill on his back.

He was actually the one who spread this rumor.

As a descendant of the Zhen family, this can be regarded as his third bet.

For an ordinary family, if they fail in a bet, it would basically be the end of them. However, the Zhen family was lucky and had Zhen Mi.

Previously, some people from the Zhen family wanted to pick peaches, but they were beaten to pieces, and they realized that the Zhen family could rise again not by relying on the Zhen family in Jizhou, but by the idle chess pieces in Guanzhong. Although it has not been heard so far how the General of the Cavalry will place Zhen Mi, most people think that this is a matter of time, even the Zhen family thinks so.

In addition, the Zhen family has been selling Guanzhong products and spices from the Western Regions for a while now, making a lot of money. Many people even believe that Zhen Mi is the future mother of the family. Although she still talks about Shandong on the surface in Jizhou, her mind has already flown to Guanzhong...

This time, the rumor of "ceding the land north of the Yellow River" can be regarded as a test by the Zhen family.

But Zhen Zhen didn't expect that he had just arrived in Xu County for a short time before the rumor started to spread and had already reached Cui Yan!