Volume 1 Jiangdong Fengyun Chapter 41: A House Full of Guests Yuan Gonglu
Yangzhou, Jiujiang County, Shouchun.
Yuan Shu held a New Year's banquet with his ministers in his increasingly magnificent palace.
Last year, Yuan Shu had the idea of becoming emperor, but was directly rejected by Yan Xiang. This year, Yuan Shu felt that he had to work harder.
"It's midnight and the new year has come! Last year, Chief Yan told a story that I think makes a lot of sense. This year we must work harder. Things like Lujiang, Xuzhou, Yuzhou, Jingzhou... and that 'Yangzhou Mu' must all be resolved! Do you have any good ideas?" Yuan Shu said.
At this point, three rounds of drinks had already passed.
His ministers had long been accustomed to Yuan Shu's frankness. In fact, under Yuan Shu's influence, his advisers and generals became more and more arrogant.
The genius is on the left and the madman is on the right.
The person closest to genius is not a mediocre person, but a madman!
Yuan Shu had also predicted that the decline of the Han Dynasty was irreversible, but his reaction was not to make early plans or take advantage of it. Instead, he immediately came up with the idea of "I should replace it."
A few years ago, when Liu Yu had not yet been killed by Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shao wanted to support Liu Yu in order to gain greater benefits for the Yuan family, and even sent people to discuss with Yuan Shu.
As a result, Yuan Shu directly refused, and felt that Yuan Shao had no ambition and was not as broad-minded , which led to the current confrontation between the two Yuans.
However... being half a step ahead is a genius, being one step ahead is a madman, and Yuan Shu obviously belongs to the latter.
After hearing Yuan Shu's arrogant plan, a man with a big beard, who was still wearing armor and helmet even at the banquet, and had very clear eye and nose contours, stood up and said, "Ling, I am willing to lead 30,000 troops to defeat Xiaopei and take Xuzhou to help the lord!"
This big man was none other than Ji Ling, a fierce general under Yuan Shu, and a rare military talent under Yuan Shu.
Moreover, after the failure of the attack on Xu last year, Yuan Shu's group had changed its mindset and the breakthrough point had shifted from Xiapi to Xiaopei...
"My lord, I am willing to stay in Chenliu to intimidate Cao Cao for you and protect General !" Qiao Rui (rui pronounced twice) also stood up and said at this time.
After Yuan Shu's group of heroes attacked Dong, he had a period of development when he had all the advantages. His influence spread throughout Huainan, radiating to Xuzhou, Yuzhou and Jiangdong. At his strongest point, Yuan Shu occupied most of Yuzhou, the entire Huainan, Nanyang in Jingzhou, and Guangling in Xuzhou...
Compared to that time, Yuan Shu's strength has shrunk a lot now. Nanyang was taken back by Jingzhou, and a lot of Yuzhou was taken away by Cao Cao... But Yuan Shu's confidence was not damaged. After all, his influence in Jiangdong has also expanded.
Now Yuan Shu is also adopting a tactic of attacking from all sides. On the one hand, he is attacking Xiaopei, and naturally he has to be on guard against Cao Cao on the other hand!
Liu Xun, who was the governor of Lujiang and had come back to report on his work during the New Year, also stood up and said, "Lu Kang has been resisting for a long time, and I have failed to fulfill my duties. Please punish me, my lord."
Liu Xun was one of Yuan Shu's generals. He looked fat and pale, with a neck that was almost gone, and a pair of eyes that were so small that they could not be seen...
In a corner, Sun Ce, who had been drinking alone, secretly curled his lips when he saw this.
Sun Ce had conquered Lujiang before, but in the end the position of prefect fell to Liu Xun, and Sun Ce had been dissatisfied with this for a long time.
Although Sun Ce had a lonely look on his face, his brows were still full of heroic spirit. He wore a red headscarf on his forehead and his short hair was casually tied up. His hair, eyebrows and pupils were all brown. It was unknown whether he had exotic blood. There was a short scar on his cheekbone, which made him look particularly wild.
In the same case with him was a handsome young man with thin lips and fine eyes, but he did not look sinister, but rather a bit lazy. His long silver hair was draped over his shoulders without any bun, and there was a red dot between his eyebrows, and it was unknown whether it was a birthmark or acquired...
It was Sun Ce’s sworn brother—Zhou Yu!
"Bofu, don't be anxious. Just wait for the right opportunity." Zhou Yu said in a low voice.
“Isn’t it urgent? Uncle Shang’s position as the prefect of Danyang is about to be removed, my uncle and cousin are also marginalized, and Yuan Shu…” Sun Ce said in annoyance in a low voice.
The Sun family from which Sun Ce was born, his maternal family the Wu family, and the Zhou family from which Zhou Yu was born, were all prominent families in Jiangdong. However, Wu Jing of the Wu family and Sun Ben of the Sun family, who were now working for him in Jiangdong, had both been deliberately suppressed by Yuan Shu.
"Can't wait? There is a faster way, but it requires something your father left behind." Zhou Yu said.
"You mean..." Sun Ce was a little confused.
At this moment, Yuan Shu called out, "Bofu! Why are you so listless today?"
"My lord, I have caught a cold and can't handle the alcohol," Sun Ce replied.
"Hahaha...you young people, how can you say no?" Yuan Shu said in a friendly manner.
Sun Ce: ...
Sun Ce really wanted to say that what he just said was “can’t handle the alcohol”, not “can’t do it”!
"My lord, since General Ji and General Qiao have requested the order, I cannot fall behind. I only need 5,000 strong men. I am willing to help you take Jiangdong. Then I will recruit soldiers in Jiangdong and contribute to your hegemony." Sun Ce requested.
Upon hearing this, Yuan Shu's eyes slightly moved, but he still said: "Bai Tu is a liar who deceives the world and steals fame. Wu Jun Yan Baihu is just a bandit, and Kuai Ji Wang Lang is a poor scholar... Bo Fu, you have a good sword, you should use it where it counts!"
"My lord..." Sun Ce wanted to say something else.
He even made up his mind that if Yuan Shu did not let him go to Jiangdong, he would rather claim to be sick and recuperate, and then think about the method Zhou Yu had mentioned before!
However, Yuan Shu said, "I will send you 8,000 naval forces and your own troops to Jiangxia to capture Huang Zu. Do you have the confidence?"
"Yes!" Sun Ce answered instinctively.
Huang Zu and he had a grudge for killing his father, and when Sun Ce heard this name, he ignored everything else...
Zhou Yu held his forehead helplessly - Bofu was still so easy to fool.
Jiangdong? Yuan Shu didn't dare to let the tiger go back to the mountains easily. The Sun family was originally a prominent family in Wujun. Sun Ce's mother's family, the Wu family, was also quite influential in Jiangdong. In addition, there was the Zhou family, and Sun Jian had a great reputation in Jiangdong during his lifetime...
If Sun Ce really returns to Jiangdong, I'm afraid he won't be able to control him!
On the contrary, Huang Zu of Jiangxia was nominally a subordinate of Liu Biao, but in fact he formed his own faction in Jingzhou. He had a strong army in Jiangxia and was very powerful. With 8,000 naval forces plus Sun Ce's own financial resources, Yuan Shu was not afraid of what he could do and just wanted him to contain Jingzhou.
[But it’s better this way…] Zhou Yu thought to himself.
He was more worried that Yuan Shu would be generous and give Sun Ce tens of thousands of naval forces and let them do whatever they wanted. Then Sun Ce and himself would join forces to break Jiangxia and kill Huang Zu to avenge his uncle Wen Tai. Once his father's revenge was achieved, Sun Ce would probably become Yuan Shu's sword and be used by him at will!
The more Yuan Shu is wary of and treats Sun Ce poorly, the more chance Zhou Yu has to wait for the day when the brothers join forces to sweep Jiangdong and even the world.
"My lord, I am willing to share your worries. I will lead 5,000 elite soldiers to bring back the deceiver Bai Tu!" Zhang Xun also stood up and said.
Yuan Shu was very proud for a moment, looking at his commanding generals such as Ji Ling, Qiao Rui, Liu Xun, Zhang Xun, as well as Yang Hong, Han Yin... Well, and the unpleasant-sounding Yan Xiang could barely be counted as one of them. These were wise men who were only slightly worse than himself, but could also be ranked in the top ten. It could be said that he had so many distinguished guests, so there was no need to worry about not accomplishing great things.
