mtlumby2d Chapter 448 is all about stealthy development.
Chapter 448 is all about stealthy development.
Sun Quan couldn't possibly entrust all his troops to Lu Xun for the eastern expedition; he kept some for himself. After Lu Xun left, there were still nearly ten thousand troops in Jiangling City, but they were a mix of elite soldiers and new recruits, so their combat strength was not strong. Moreover, they were scattered around the city gates. There were less than two thousand guarding the general's mansion to protect Sun Quan's safety. In addition, there were five thousand brought back by Zhou Cheng, so there were only about seven thousand gathered around Sun Quan at present.
As for the guards at the major city gates, how could they be trusted at a time like this? Even if they were willing to pledge allegiance to Sun Quan, he might not dare to use them.
With only this much wealth left, Sun Quan dared not let them escape again, so he rushed to the training ground overnight to hold a mobilization meeting.
At Sun Quan's command, six or seven thousand men gathered at the drill ground. Sun Quan, clad in armor and holding a sword, approached the army and, illuminated by the firelight, shouted, "Soldiers..."
Relationships between people are always maintained by mutual interests. Who would be your friend if there were no mutual benefits? Who would be your subordinate if your boss didn't offer you benefits?
Therefore, Sun Quan didn't spout any nonsense about loyalty to the emperor and serving the country. Instead, after a brief introduction, he went straight to the point, clearly telling his soldiers about his decision to surrender to Liu Bei after Lu Xun's defeat. He also told them about Guan Xing's land reform in Jiangdong, how their families had already received land, and explained Liu Bei's reputation for benevolence and the benefits of surrendering to him. Only then did he reveal his true purpose.
"I have decided to surrender to Liu Bei and assist the King of Hanzhong in restoring the Han Dynasty. Those who are willing to surrender to Liu Bei, please stay. After the King of Hanzhong takes over Jiangling, you will return to Jiangdong with me to visit your wives and children and receive the land allocated to you. Those who are willing to surrender to Cao Cao, I will not make things difficult for you. Each of you will receive half a string of cash and leave."
As he spoke, his personal guards carried over several boxes, which were full of already strung-together Wuzhu coins.
The soldiers' eyes lit up at the sight of the copper coins, but they wisely refrained from taking any action. Instead, they shouted, "We are willing to follow our lord and restore the Han Dynasty!"
Although copper coins are desirable, they are nothing compared to the land that is allocated to one.
These ordinary soldiers, though not exceptionally intelligent, could still do basic accounting. They could distinguish between copper coins and land, so they made their choice without much hesitation. Led by the quick-thinking soldiers, they successively shouted the heroic words, "We are willing to follow our lord to restore the Han Dynasty."
Hearing the shouts of his soldiers, Sun Quan finally smiled with satisfaction. He believed that after this incident, it would be impossible for Zhu Yi to win over his soldiers with a mere amount of money.
Subsequently, Sun Quan accepted Zhang Zhao's suggestion to divide his forces into several routes. He ordered Hu Zong to lead troops to take over the East Gate, making it his last line of defense. He ordered Zhou Cheng to transport all available grain and fodder to the East Gate's barbican for storage. He ordered Xu Xiang to lead troops to take over the South Gate, while also informing the South Gate garrison of the land distribution to their families. He then eliminated all soldiers who were unwilling to surrender to Liu Bei. He then connected the East and South Gates, using the two southeast gates as a base, preparing to secure his retreat before slowly dealing with the rebels such as Zhu Yi and Zhang Yan.
Sun Quan was not in a hurry to quell Zhu Yi's rebellion because he had reinforcements. He believed that as long as Zhou Tai returned, he could easily deal with the rebels. Therefore, there was no need to rush the attack; he could simply hold the city gates and wait patiently.
Otherwise, if he were to fall into Zhu Yi's ambush and be driven out of Jiangling due to underestimating the enemy and acting rashly like Zhou Cheng, he would really only be able to look at the tall city walls and the wide moat that could carry boats and sigh in despair.
After doing all this, Sun Quan adopted Zhang Zhao's suggestion and took the roster to select all the soldiers with aristocratic backgrounds in the army and did ideological work with them again, forcing them to immediately choose sides. Those who surrendered to Liu Bei were transferred to logistics, and those who surrendered to Cao Cao were immediately dismissed, thereby ensuring the stability of the army.
Fei Yi arrived during the busy journey, and after exchanging information, they met up and began to prepare for holding their ground and waiting for reinforcements.
at the same time……
Zhu Yi successfully took over the North Gate and, through Pan Zhu's introduction, met Zhang Jing. He also met Liu Chan, Huang Zhe, and many representatives of the Jingzhou gentry and officials from Jiangdong.
At this moment, all the rebels were standing on the city wall looking at the General's Mansion. Zhu Yi, as the temporary leader of the alliance, stood in front of everyone and looked at the General's Mansion with a cold smile: "My lord, oh no Sun Quan, it is really strange that Sun Quan did not choose to attack us."
Liu Chan shook his head and said, "It's not surprising at all. Sun Quan definitely wants to wait for Zhou Tai to return before dealing with us. If Zhou Tai's army really returns, dealing with us might be a piece of cake. So we need to prepare in advance, gather all the troops and supplies of the gentry, and try to drive Sun Quan out of Jiangling and seize Jiangling City before Zhou Tai returns."
They don't have many rebel troops under their command, and if Sun Quan were to attack immediately, they might not be able to hold out. But since Sun Quan has chosen to prolong the conflict, it is very advantageous for them.
It should be noted that Jiangling was the domain of the Jingzhou gentry. Although the Jingzhou gentry did not have many troops inside the city, they had countless fertile fields and estates outside the city, as well as provisions and soldiers. Given time, they could easily raise tens of thousands of troops to fight against Sun Quan.
You blue-eyed thief, an outsider, think you can compete with us local bullies for Jiangling? How is that possible?
Zhang Jing sneered, "Don't worry, Zhou Tai won't be coming back. If he comes back safely, I'll change my surname to his."
Everyone turned to look at him, asking curiously, "What's going on? Tell us in detail."
Zhang Jing laughed and said, "Since everyone has decided to surrender to Wei, I won't hide it anymore. Doctor Jia has already arrived in Chaisang and made two preparations. First, he is to appease Zhou Tai and Lü Fan in order to win over Sun Quan. But if the attempt to win him over fails, Luo Tong and Xie Jing will launch a coup, kill Zhou Tai, and seize military power. I have already sent someone to report to Doctor Jia on Sun Quan's surrender to Liu Bei. Once Doctor Jia receives the news, he will immediately take action to eliminate Zhou Tai."
Jia Kui had two traitors from Jiangdong under his command: Luo Tong and Xie Jing. Both were veterans of the Wu army and had considerable influence among the garrison at Ruxukou. If they were to launch a mutiny, they might actually kill Zhou Tai if they were caught off guard.
The reason Jia Kui did not immediately kill Zhou Tai after entering Chaisang was because he still had expectations of Sun Quan. However, Jia Kui was no ordinary man and could not place all his hopes on Zhou Tai. Therefore, he made two preparations in advance: while appeasing Zhou Tai, he also had Luo Tong and Xie Jing win over the soldiers in the army and prepare for a mutiny to seize power.
As soon as Zhang Jing arrived at the North Gate, he sent someone out of the city to inform Jia Kui that with Jia Kui's intervention, the chances of Zhou Tai returning were slim.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yi slapped the wall excitedly and said, "That would be wonderful! But Lü Fan is, after all, a veteran minister of Jiangdong, and his son Lü Ju has become Guan Xing's prisoner. Would he betray Sun Quan and defect to the King of Wei?"
Zhang Jing laughed and said, "Don't worry. First of all, Lü Fan once advised Sun Quan to place Liu Bei under house arrest. He has a grudge against Liu Bei and dares not easily surrender to the big-eared thief."
"Secondly, Lü Fan is from Runan, which is now the territory of the King of Wei. Lü Fan has not returned to his hometown for decades. In addition, he is getting old and is eager to return home in glory and settle down. After all, Xiang Yu, the King of Chu, said, 'Wealth and honor without returning home is like wearing brocade at night.' Lü Fan came from a poor family. Now that he has been appointed as a general and a marquis, how can he resist returning home to show off?"
In his early years, Lü Fan was just a county official in Runan County. He took a liking to a girl from the Liu family in the city and went to propose marriage, but he was disliked by his mother-in-law because of his humble background. In the end, it was the Liu family girl who valued his talent...
He had no talent whatsoever; he was simply attracted to Lü Fan's good looks, which is why he persuaded his mother to marry him.
Having experienced such a fate, Lü Fan's greatest obsession in life was to return home in glory and make those who had looked down on him look at him differently. With such an obsession, how could he refuse Jia Kui's offer?
Zhang Jing continued, "Finally, let's talk about Lü Ju. Although Lü Ju became Guan Xing's prisoner, Liu Bei's reputation for benevolence and righteousness is widespread. Even if he knew that Lü Fan had surrendered to Cao Cao, he wouldn't make things difficult for his son. A gentleman can be deceived by reason, right? Lü Fan bullied Liu Bei because he was kind, so what could Liu Bei do to him? He couldn't really kill Lü Ju to vent his anger, could he?"
"So, if Lü Fan surrendered to Wei, he wouldn't have to worry about being purged by Liu Bei, nor would he have to worry about Liu Bei killing his son. He could even return home in glory and show off his achievements to his fellow villagers. What benefits could he possibly gain from surrendering to Liu?"
Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but a strange look appeared on their faces, because Liu Bei and Guan Yu were truly the kind of people who could be deceived, and who could be absolutely trusted even if they were enemies.
Take Zhu Yi for example. Even though Zhu Yi fought to the death with Liu Bei and became his mortal enemy, he still dared to entrust his family to Liu Bei before he died.
In Zhu Yi's view, an enemy like Liu Bei was more reliable than a relative like his uncle Zhu Ju.
Moreover, Zhu Yi wasn't the only one with this idea; everyone present thought the same way.
Pan Zhu said excitedly, "That's great! Zhou Tai can't come back, but General Jiang Ji will arrive soon. Once General Jiang Ji arrives, we will definitely be able to easily defeat Sun Quan and recover Jiangling."
Zhu Yi made a decision: "In that case, we don't need to rush. We just need to guard the north gate and wait for General Jiang Ji to come. But we can't let Sun Quan stay too comfortably. We still need to send troops to test Sun Quan's strength and gradually erode the city's streets and walls, but only on the premise of guarding the north gate."
Everyone agreed without objection. Therefore, in the following period, Sun Quan and Zhu Yi believed that they had a strong backer and did not rush to attack. Instead, they continued to consolidate their base and patiently waited for reinforcements.
As for who gets there first, that's up to fate.