Overlord!

After the coalition forces of Cao Cao and Sun Ce captured Jiangxia, Cao's army withdrew from Pingchun, Xiyang, Pixian and other places in the north of Jiangxia and returned to Runan.

The unwilling Cao army massacred thousands of local households and looted the city.

Therefore, Lu Meng led his troops to pursue Runan, and raided Cao Hong, the general of Cao's army at the rear. He defeated his army and returned with more than [-] heads beheaded.

The relationship between the two sides is just like this situation. Although they maintain their boundaries in name, privately they are already at war with each other.

However, with the arrival of the twelfth lunar month, the weather was freezing. In this turbulent atmosphere, both sides could only contain their fighting spirit and reached a temporary peace. Each guarded their boundaries. Only the envoys of both sides were arguing fiercely. .

Cao Cao was trying his best to build a defense line along the Huaihe River to stop Sun Ce's Northern Expedition.

Sun Ce was also trying his best to transport grain, grass, and military supplies to Jiangxia, preparing to launch a massive attack on Liu Biao's last stronghold, Nanjun, after the spring plowing in the coming year.

However, as Sun Ce captured Jiangxia, the entire Jingzhou was shaken, and the Jingxiang gentry were divided. Sun Ce ushered in a meaningful envoy in Jiangdong, Shi Huanjie, the meritorious officer of Changsha County.

Sun Ce personally hosted a banquet to receive the envoy from Changsha County.

The reason for such generous gifts was that Huan Jie was very kind to the Sun family.

In the early years, when Sun Ce's father was the governor of Changsha, he recommended Huan Jie as Xiaolian, so Huan Jie was recruited by the imperial court as Shangshu Lang.

Later, Huan Jie returned home for the funeral because of his father's death, and happened to catch up with Sun Jian who killed Liu Biao in the battle.Huan Jie risked his life and went to see Liu Biao and asked for Sun Jian's funeral.Liu Biao felt his righteousness and promised to help Sun Jian's coffin back home.

With this kind of kindness, Sun Ce would naturally treat Huan Jie with the highest courtesy.

In addition, it was Zhang Xian, the governor of Changsha whom Huan Jie successfully lobbied, who launched a rebellion, which greatly weakened Liu Biao's power.

Zhang Xian and Liu Biao have been at odds for a long time. Zhang Xian is from Nanyang. He has served as the chief of Lingling and Guiyang successively. He is very popular in Jiang and Hunan, but he has a weak and stubborn personality.Liu Biao looked down upon his background and was not very polite to him.Zhang Xian held a grudge and saw Liu Biao's decline, so he led Lingling and Guiyang counties to rebel.Liu Biao attacked and failed for several years.

This is Sun Ce's biggest ally in attacking Liu Biao and Liu Biao's mortal enemy.

Huan Jie came on behalf of Zhang Xian to test Sun Ce's attitude. After greeting each other, Huan Jie got straight to the point and asked: "Zhang Changsha and the general suffered the same illness as Liu Biao, and together they raised up a righteous army and eliminated thieves from the world. What Zhang Changsha said Worry, after the general defeats Liu Biao, what is his ambition?"

Sun Ce did not answer, but asked: "I wonder what Zhang Changsha's ambition is?"

Huan Jie immediately replied: "There are many barbarians in Jingnan. They are hypocritical and changeable. It is a country that is rebellious. If you don't control it for the sake of fame, its power will be unstable. Zhang Changsha is willing to be the lord of Jingnan and guard Jingnan as a general." Let’s make peace with the general. I wonder what the general wants?”

Just as Sun Ce was about to speak, Zhang Zhao coughed heavily.

Sun Ce reacted immediately, laughed heartily and boldly, and immediately changed his words when he reached his mouth, saying: "Liu Biao is unvirtuous and abuses all directions, so he causes misfortune and resentment, and we will fight against it together. Jingxiang is an important place in the country, and he has virtue." Only those who live there can live there. What does Zhang Changsha want to be the lord of Jingnan? The lone general went to the court to declare that Zhang Changsha is the shepherd of Jingzhou and the general of Pingnan!"

"How about making peace with Nanjun, Jiangxia and Jingnan, respecting the emperor together, and resisting Cao Cao?"

What do you want to pretend to be King Qi?If you want to be sealed, just be the real King of Qi!

Huan Jie laughed and said, "This is very good. When Zhang Changsha heard this, he would be ecstatic and unable to sleep at night."

But Huan Jie immediately suppressed his smile, looked at Sun Ce with a straight face, and said, "General, why did you treat me like a fool? The general wants to conquer the world, but Zhang Changsha wants to stay in one place. This can be said to be grabbing food from the tiger's mouth." , how can we be safe?"

Sun Ce smiled slightly and said, "Why did Duke Huan say this? This is Gu's sincerity. Zhang Changsha believes it, why do you doubt it?"

Huan Jie replied generously: "There are no two days in the sky, and there are no two kings in the earth. A king does not want to annex the world but wants to dazzle future generations. This is unprecedented in ancient times and modern times."

"In the old days of the Warring States Period, the princes relied on their strong armies and vast territory to help each other, saying that this was enough to be passed down to the world, and no one could be in danger. They indulged in their emotions and were afraid of hard work, which made Qin gradually become arrogant, so it merged with it. Now that's it .”

"Recently, Liu Jingsheng was in Jingzhou. He had a hundred thousand soldiers and a mountain of wealth. He was not as small as Cao Cao and the generals. He competed with them and sat back and watched his strength, so he was made a prisoner."

"In the past, Wu Zixu said: "In the past ten years, there have been gatherings and ten years of lessons. Twenty years later, Wu Qi is a swamp! "Fu Chai relied on his own strength. Hearing this, he decided to kill Zixu without any intention of overcoming the enemy. How could he regret it in the face of defeat? If he is smaller than Wu, he will still be in trouble for Wu. How much more powerful is he?"

"In the past, the Qin Dynasty only managed to capture Guanxi'er, and even attempted to annex the six kingdoms. Now the general has captured all the land of Wu and Yue, including the homeland of soldiers and horses, the groves of scholars, and the Jingyang Mountains as far as the eye can see from the sea."

"Although I don't have the talents of a minister at this level, I don't think far ahead, but I still know that I am concerned about the long-term separation of the two!"

Sun Ce was finally moved. He could see that Jing and Xiang would definitely be unified and the two powers would not be able to coexist. This was not a very commendable thing.

I am afraid many of the heroes in Jingxiang have this thought.

But Huan Jie, as Zhang Xian's envoy, brought this matter out to Sun Ce, which is worthy of attention.

Sun Ce then asked seriously: "If Jiangdong and Jingnan cannot exist together for a long time, how will Duke Huan deal with himself?"

Huan Jie finally stood up, knelt down solemnly and saluted Sun Ce, and said: "I want to assist the general to promote the king's hegemony. Although there are thousands of soldiers in Changsha, they will destroy Chen's soldiers and destroy the army's generals. If you want to win a battle, , then the strength of the soldiers and generals is really not equal. The talents of the generals of the Ming Dynasty are used to take advantage of the short period of Zhang Changsha; This achievement is just like turning the palm of your hand back."

Sun Ce raised his brows. Huan Jie's plan was very simple, yet very sharp and swift. It went straight to the point and cut through the mess quickly.

As long as with his support, Jiangdong's army marched straight into Changsha with light troops and captured Zhang Xian, the land south of Jing could be peaceful without a fight.

After all, the three counties of Changsha, Guiyang, and Lingling gathered in rebellion entirely because of Zhang Xian's reputation. As long as Zhang Xian was captured, it would depend on the remaining three counties that could be used to spread the message in Zhang Xian's name.

The situation is a bit like Liu Bei's entry into Shu. As long as Chengdu is captured, the entire Yizhou will be in peace without a fight.

The same thing is that Fazheng felt that Liu Bei was the hero of the world, while Huan Jie also felt that Sun Ce had great talents and great strategies and was a wise master who could assist him.

Compared with Zhang Xian, who just wanted to separate Jingnan and defend it.Sun Ce, who had the desire to dominate the world and the heart to devour the world, indeed appeared to be more talented and in line with Huan Jie's ambition.

He Huanjie was a famous scholar in Changsha. Could it be that his lifelong ambition was just to stay in a county with Zhang Xian and serve as a county official?

Obviously, assisting Sun Ce, ascending to the Emperor's Hall, and supporting the world as a minister are Huan Jie's true pursuit and ambition.
Sun Ce thought about Huan Jie's suggestion and felt that it was very feasible.

After all, in history, when Liu Biao failed to attack Jingnan for several years, it was precisely because of Zhang Xian's death that he successfully pacified Jingnan.

It can be said that the hopes of the army and people in Jingnan are all tied to Zhang Xian.

As long as Zhang Xian is eliminated, Jingnan's army will immediately collapse.Then Lu Meng, Zhang Fei and other generals will attack them and defeat them immediately.

However, Sun Ce frowned slightly and asked: "This is about a thousand-mile border in southern Jingnan. There are tens of thousands of armored men, but Duke Huan is the only one. Is he weak? Is it possible that there are talented people who can plan big plans with the public?" Huan Jie's proposal was very good, but Sun Ce It is difficult to pin all the Jingxiang hegemony on one person.

You must know that if it were just Huan Jie's idea, it would be completely alone and would not be enough to affect the general trend of the people in the three counties of Jingnan.

But if there are a large number of famous people to help, it will be the general trend for the entire Jingnan to surrender to Jiangdong after Zhang Xian.

Even if there are opponents, it is difficult to resist the mighty tide.

Huan Jie immediately said: "Is there more than one person in Jingnan who agrees with me? However, things are kept secret, so I only discussed this matter with a few people. The most talented person among them must be Liu Ba. This king is the best in the world. A prodigy who can be the general’s confidant!”

Liu Ba?The most talented person in the world?Sun Ce's eyes immediately lit up, was he the Liu Ba he knew so well?

Sun Ce immediately asked: "Who is he?"

Huan Jie introduced: "Liu Ba, also known as Zichu, was born in Haoyang, Lingling. He was well-known in the prefecture and county for his talent and learning at a young age, so he was recruited by the county government to be the chief official. Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou, was appointed as the chief minister, and he was not able to recruit outstanding talents. At once."

Promote talented people!
This is something that only a state is eligible to elect every year.Every talent candidate is extremely important.Either the person being recommended is extremely talented and becomes a genius in the world.Either the person being elected is extremely powerful and has great win-win value.

For example, after Liu Bei became the pastor of Xuzhou, he promoted Yuan Tan as a talented person.After Sun Ce took charge of Yangzhou as a pastoralist, he recommended Yu Fan as a talented person.

Liu Biao recruited him one after another and promoted him as a talented person, but he refused to accept the offer.

Sun Ce asked curiously: "Liu Ba has a grudge against Liu Biao? Or is he not worthy of Liu Biao?"

Huan Jie shook his head: "This matter will start when the king attacks Dong Zhuo."

"Is it related to my father?" Sun Ce was surprised. He really didn't know that his family had a connection with Liu Ba.

"Of course." Huan Jie put his hand on his chin and said calmly: "In the sixth year of Zhongping, the late emperor passed away. Dong Zhuo caused chaos in the government and ran rampant in the capital. All the prefectures and counties raised righteous troops to fight against Zhuo. The princes were also there. When we raise troops in Changsha, I will praise you today: Your Majesty is thinking of fighting in peace, and the mountains and hills are blocked, and you are so loyal and brave!"

"However, Wang Rui, the governor of Jingzhou at that time, was neither talented nor moral. During the previous uprising in Quxing, Lingling and Guiyang rebelled against Zhou Dynasty and Guo Shi also raised troops to respond. Wang Rui once attacked Lingling and Guiyang together with the prince, because the prince was a military attaché. , he has always been contemptuous and rude in his speech. He also disagreed with Cao Yin, the prefect of Wuling."

"The whole world has raised a rebel army to attack Dong Zhuo. Wang Rui threatened to kill Cao Yin first to eliminate future troubles before sending out troops. Cao Yin was greatly frightened, so he forged a message from the imperial envoy Guanglu doctor Wen Yi and sent it to the prince, saying that Rui For his crime, he was ordered to be punished and presented with a petition. The prince then accepted the message and ordered his troops to march to Jiangling and kill Wang Rui."

Sun Ce knew this, and Sun Jian launched an army to attack Dong Zhuo in the north. On the way, he killed Wang Rui, the governor of Jingzhou, and Zhang Zi, the governor of Nanyang.

Although this incident was of great military power, it also made Sun Jian completely offend the Jingzhou nobles, and the prominent families in Zhou were not without fear.

Of course, Sun Ce felt that whether he killed these two men or not, Jingzhou would not be able to respect Sun Jian as its leader.

Just like Wang Rui and Zhang Zi, they always looked down upon Sun Jian just because he was a military attaché.They only regarded Sun as a warrior, so how could they welcome Sun Jian as the shepherd of Jingzhou?
"But what does this matter have to do with Liu Ba?"

Huan Jie explained: "It is very relevant. Liu Xiang, Liu Ba's father, was the governor of Jiangxia and a general of the bandits at the time, and he was of the same mind as the princes. The people of Jingzhou were resentful and raised their troops to attack him. Liu Xiang was unfavorable in the battle and was defeated and died."

"When Liu Biao first entered Jingzhou, he also disagreed with Liu Xiang. When Liu Xiang was defeated, he sent Huang Zu as the prefect of Jiangxia and sent troops to detain Liu Ba in order to kill him. He sent Liu Xiang's former confidants several times to secretly deceive Liu Ba and said, Liu If Mu wants to harm each other, he can run away with him. Liu Ba will not respond, and Liu Biao will dispel his murderous intention. He will eliminate them several times, and promote talented people, but Liu Ba will not respond."

Sun Ce suddenly realized, so to speak, Sun Ce's father Sun Jian and Liu Ba's father Liu Xiang are still family friends!
It was Liu Biao and the Jingxiang scholars who killed Liu Xiang and captured Jiangxia. They also imprisoned Liu Ba several times in order to harm him.

He conquered Jiangxia and wanted to destroy Liu Biao, not only to help Liu Ba regain his father's old business, but also to help him avenge his shame!

The hatred between Liu Ba and Liu Biao is exactly the same as the feud between Sun and Liu Biao.

He must be punished to avenge him!
The same hatred and hatred refers to the relationship between Sun Ce and Liu Ba.

This is indeed a talented person who can be trusted as a confidant.

As for Liu Ba's talent, Sun Ce couldn't understand it better.

This is what Zhuge Liang said himself: "I am not as good as Zi Chuyuan in strategizing!"

It was he who together with Zhuge Liang, Li Yan, Fazheng, Yi Ji and other five people formulated the "Shu Ke".

Of course, his most famous thing is the invention of straight money.

At that time, Liu Bei captured Chengdu, and all the soldiers abandoned their weapons to fight and went to the treasuries and mansions to compete for treasures.

The treasury in Chengdu was completely empty, and the military supplies were insufficient.Liu Bei was very worried.So Liu Ba suggested: "This matter is easy to hear, but we should cast a hundred coins to pacify all the merchants, and make the officials official." Liu Bei followed this, and within a few months, the treasury was full.

When Liu Bei ascended the throne as King of Hanzhong, he appointed Liu Ba as Shangshu Ling.

Shangshu Ling!This was a position that only Xun Yu and Xun You could hold in the Han Dynasty and Cao Wei respectively.

From this we can know which level Liu Ba's talent is comparable to.

Zhuge Liang said that he was not as good as Liu Ba in strategizing, which was by no means an exaggeration.

You must know that Xun You made plans in Baima, Yanjin and other places, and used troops to help Cao Cao defeat the masses with a small number, and defeated Yan Liang and Wen Chou's army.

During Zhuge Liang's Northern Expedition, if Liu Ba had been the mastermind and participated in strategizing, perhaps the Northern Expedition would have had a different ending.

But even so, Liu Ba never showed his talent in the world!
The main reason is that Liu Ba not only looks down on Zhang Fei, but even Liu Bei.

He wandered for half his life, hiding from Liu Bei. After Liu Bei conquered Jingnan, Liu Ba began to flee south to Jiaozhi, and then fled from Jiaozhi to Shuzhong. In the end, he still did not escape Liu Bei.

Even under Liu Bei, he had no peace of mind, and serving in Shu was a helpless move. His original intention was to take advantage of the road to defect to Cao Cao again.Liu Bei once said bluntly that Liu Ba wanted to return to the north, and he was lying here.

Therefore, although Liu Bei knew that he had talents, he failed to put them to good use.

Liu Ba was also suspected, so when he went to court to discuss matters, he just stood aside respectfully and silently. After going to court, he did not have personal relations with courtiers except for official matters.

It's a pity that such a talented person in the world died early due to frustration and regret.

Now that he wanted to take the three places in Jingnan and throw them to Jiangdong, Sun Ce naturally wanted to use them seriously. He immediately replied: "Today's matter should be shared with you! If you get Jingnan alone, you and I will each guard the house." bit." (End of chapter)