Chapter 152 Xun You visits Kuai Yue

Chapter 152 Xun You visits Kuai Yue

Sun Bi and Wu Jing looked at each other, both worried.

It is obviously not good news that the Xuzhou Army suddenly became so strong, especially when it turned from weak to strong. This is even more worrying news.

After recapturing Guangling, the Xuzhou Army officially stationed at their doorstep.

It is conceivable that conflicts between the two parties will become more frequent in the future, not less and less.

At this time, the final casualties of the Qiao Rui Army were reported.

More than 1,100 people were killed on the spot, more than 1,000 were injured, and hundreds were captured. The casualty ratio reached an astonishing 1:1.

This is also because the two sides are fighting against elites, with high damage tolerance and firm fighting spirit.

Just like Qiao Rui’s petty iron-armored heavy infantry Sima Department, with a strength of 200 people, more than 60% of them died in the battle before they broke up and fled. In the end, only 20 or 30 people were able to escape and return to the camp, which is about the same as the entire army. Overturned.

It can be said that after this battle, the Qiao Rui Department has completely lost its combat effectiveness. If it does not go back to reorganize and recuperate for a year and a half, it will not be able to recover at all.

"Guangling can't fight anymore."

Sun Ce simply sat next to Qiao Rui, frowning and said: "And the question now is, without Qiao Rui's men and horses, can we still cross the river. ”

Although the Sun Army could still scrape together 20,000 without Qiao Rui’s 10,000 people, but if they wanted to be able to sweep across Jiangdong with 20,000 people, then Sun Bi and Wu Jing would not have been defeated by Liu Yao. After crossing the Yangtze River, I settled in Liyang.

Sun Bi looked up at his cousin and said: "The Dan disciples on the opposite side have noticed signs of increasing their troops. There are several thousand more troops. They should be Xue Li and Zuo Rong. The river is not easy to live in."

Sun Ce nodded and asked Wu Jing: "Uncle, what do you think?"

Wu Jing also shook his head and was not optimistic about crossing the river: "I don't think so either. Besides, there have to be people left in Jiangdu, right? Shengde will definitely go back. Who will be left in Jiangdu and how many troops and horses will be left? If you leave less to deliver food to the Xuzhou Army, if you leave more, there will be fewer people to cross the river."

"Pa!"

Sun Ce clapped his hands and said with a smile. : "What you said, uncle and cousin, I think this is a rare opportunity. Even you think we shouldn't cross the river, so wouldn't Liu Yao and his generals think so even more? "

"In my opinion, let's take a rest in Jiangdu, let Shengde withdraw first, and then the whole army crosses the river."

Sun Ce became more and more excited as he spoke, and said with a bright face: "Jiangdu. We don’t want it anymore and leave it to the Xuzhou Army. I don’t believe that the Xuzhou Army will follow us to Jiangdong if they win Jiangdu.”

"Let's cross the river with the whole army and kill Liu Yao by surprise. First capture Dan Tu, go straight to Qu'a, and capture Liu Yao alive."

Sun Bi and Wu Jing looked at each other, even Qiao Rui, who was depressed Confused, he couldn't help but look up at Sun Ce.

Sun Ce, however, said confidently: "The Art of War says that you should be surprised and attack the unprepared. Even we ourselves felt that it was time to return to Jiujiang to rest, and Liu Yao would have never thought of it."

"I I will write the book in person and report it to General Zuo, asking him to make a decision."

When Sun Ce said this, a trace of worry flashed on his face. He was obviously worried that Yuan Shu would hesitate again and miss the opportunity.

"I sincerely ask my uncle, cousin, and Sheng De to join me in writing a letter to remonstrate with General Zuo."

Sun Bi, Wu Jing, and Qiao Rui were even more confused. Why did they involve us again as they talked?

But when it came down to this, a few people thought about it carefully and felt that Sun Ce's words were quite reasonable. The most important thing was that they no longer wanted to stay in Jiangdu to face the Xuzhou Army.

Instead of this, either withdraw to Jiujiang, or cross the river to fight Liu Yao. If he is defeated, he will stay in Jiangdong.

In Xiangyang, Jingzhou, Kuai Yue, who was looking through information at home, suddenly stopped, walked out of the study, and asked his servants to ask Xun You to come over and talk.

Kuai Yue and Xun You were old acquaintances.

The former general He Jin recruited heroes from all over the world, and both Kuai Yue and Xun You were recruited into He Jin's shogunate.

Kuai Yue was famous and held a higher position. He Jin appointed him as Dong Cao, and Xun You was appointed as the Huangmen Minister.

The position of Huangmen Shilang is a close attendant of the emperor. He conveys the imperial edicts for the emperor. It is an important position that can often come into contact with the emperor and edicts. It has always been regarded as a beautiful position by the ministers.

In real comparison, although Xun You's position seems to be lower than that of Kuai Yue, he actually has more potential than Kuai Yue.

This is the difference between the first-class nobles and the second-class nobles.

The Xun family cannot be compared with the Yuan family and the Yang family, but compared with the Jingzhou gentry like the Kuai family, they are still much stronger.

After Xun You arrived in Xiangyang, he naturally wanted to visit Kuai Yue, and the two had many contacts.

Xun You learned many general trends in the world from Kuai Yue, including the rise of Liu Bei in Xuzhou.

Therefore, Xun You also told Kuai Yue about Liu Bei's letter.

At that time, Kuai Yue was still jokingly calling Xun You's name, but it had already spread to the ears of the military men in the border counties.

But now Kuai Yue has changed his mind. From his point of view, Liu Bei seems to be more than just a border warrior.

Jingzhou is located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and is closely related to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. As long as you are careful, things in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River will easily be known to Jingzhou.

Previously, Jingzhou’s focus was on Yuan Shu, but things gradually changed during this period, and the situation of two forces, Liu Bei and Liu Yao, was added.

Kuai Yue was in charge of Jingzhou's espionage affairs at this time. After all the intelligence was collected, he would go through it first and select the reliable and useful information and submit it to Liu Biao.

But as Liu Bei's information continued to come, Kuai Yue's feelings about Liu Bei continued to change.

When Liu Bei first entered Xuzhou, Kuai Yue had the same idea as Chen Qun. He felt that Liu Bei was blinded by interests and greedy, and made a decision that exceeded his own capabilities.

But judging from what happened later, Liu Bei must have seen through the mystery at that time and thought of a set of effective solutions.

Otherwise, how could he have divided and annexed the Danyang army, which was very hostile to him, within half a year after entering Xuzhou, and squeezed a large amount of wealth and food from the Mi family to use it to farm and raise troops.

Step by step, link by link, after the wise man peels off the cocoon, an unparalleled hidden line will be formed.

Anyone who can make such a plan must have the power of ghosts and gods.

What shocked Kuai Yue even more was undoubtedly Banxun Dinglangya.

Kuai Yue thinks very highly of himself and has always been proud of his cleverness, but even he can't figure out how to do this.

If Liu Bei is not a genius, he must have capable people behind him.

Within half a year, the real power in Xuzhou has been controlled, and the future is really limitless.

Kuai Yue remembered that Xun You had mentioned to him that Liu Bei had written to him a month ago, asking him to go to Xuzhou with respectful words and a thirst for talents.

Although Xun Gongda was somewhat moved by the other party's sincerity, he felt that Liu Bei's innate foundation was still too poor. Moreover, there were too many factions under Liu Bei's command, and the internal friction must be very serious.

Kuai Yue disagreed. In his opinion, no matter how many factions there are, can there be more central factions?

If you just want to be a household dog, no matter how few factions you have, what's the use?

Therefore, Xun You was not tempted by this, and still stayed in Xiangyang to observe the situation.

However, Xun You still had a good impression of Liu Bei.

Kuai Yue therefore felt that this was a good opportunity to sell favors.

When Xun You came, Kuai Yue entertained him in the study.

In front of Kuai Yue, there was a small stack of documents.

After seeing Xun You, Kuai Yue stood up to greet him. While ordering tea, he joked: "Gongda, long time no see. How have you been recently? I heard about Xun You's literary outing, and I am very happy about it."

Xun You smiled implicitly and replied: "Sima Gong is too enthusiastic, and you are very grateful."

"Gongda, please sit down first."

Kuai Yue invited Xun You to sit down and wait for the beautiful maid to come up After finishing the tea, the two began to talk.

"Gongda knows, Minggong called me the day before yesterday to ask about Xu Yang."

Kuai Yue said while observing Xun You's expression.

Xun You had a natural expression, a smile on his face, and looked like he was listening attentively.

Kuai Yue then said: "This Commander Liu of Xuzhou is really immeasurable."

After finishing speaking, Kuai Yue felt that it was not enough, so he added: "It is unfathomable. "

Xun You became interested. He knew that Kuai Yue would not take the target lightly. If he took the initiative to mention Liu Bei to him today, he must have something to teach him.

“These are the Xuzhou intelligence collected by me in Jingzhou, Gongda can observe them by himself.”

Kuai Yue pointed to a small pile of silk in front of him, indicating that Xun You could take it himself.

Xun You shook his head: "This is a secret of the state and county. You are an outsider, how can you take it seriously?"

Kuai Yue laughed loudly: "There is nothing to worry about Gongda, these things , is the income of my Kuai family, not owned by the state or county, you can view it as you like. "This is the characteristic of the Eastern Han Dynasty. The noble family and the lord are called monarchs and ministers, but they are actually shareholders.

They are different from the Han family. The resources of the Han family are given by the lord, so they are closer to the master-slave relationship in later generations.

Giving resources to outsiders without the permission of the lord is considered treason.

But the great gentry of the Eastern Han Dynasty were completely different. They had independent manpower, and the money invested was also inherent in the family. They could share information with their lord, which was an exchange of information, not unconditional obedience.

This information itself belongs to the noble clan, not the lord.

In this case, they have the right and freedom to use the intelligence freely.

Not to mention that Kuai Yue only showed it to Xun You, even to Cao Cao, Liu Biao could only smile.

After all, the two families are in the same camp now. If the letters contain some rumors that have nothing to do with Liu Biao, what right does Liu Biao have to accuse Kuai Yue?

Seeing Kuai Yue's sincere attitude, Xun You also became curious, so he started reading.

Kuai Yue drank the tea soup leisurely and observed the changes in Xun You's expression.

Sure enough, just as Kuai Yue thought, Xun You's expression not only changed, but also became more and more obvious.

At the beginning, it was subtle and undetectable, and gradually his expression moved slightly, and in the end it was eloquent, which made Kuai Yue watch a good show.

But when Xun You put down the silk, his gloomy expression returned to calmness.

Kuai Yue smiled and gave the other party more tea soup, and asked meaningfully: "How about Gongda?"

Xun You shook his head and sighed: "You can only take a look at the truth."

Kuai Yue burst out laughing: "Why should Gongda blame himself? Yue also feels the same way."

Xun You frowned and said, "There must be an expert behind Liu Xuzhou to guide him."
< br>

Kuai Yue nodded in agreement, then changed the topic and asked, "Is Gongda interested in going to Xuzhou now?"

Xun You looked up at Kuai Yue, and then laughed: "Yes. "

Xun You was moved by Liu Bei's invitation before, but declined. Now he is interested again and even agreed to Kuai Yue's suggestion. This is nothing more than the general trend of the world.

Xun You didn't go because he felt that Liu Bei was stuck in a quagmire with no way out, and that going would only be a waste of his talents and time.

Even if you diversify your investments, you should go to places worth investing in, not just everywhere.

Moreover, Xun You's own character was modest and self-defeating. Not only could he devote himself to killing Dong, but he also gave up being the city prime minister and instead sought the position of governor of Shu County because he wanted to be wise and protect himself.

Kuai Yue's intelligence brought about earth-shaking changes for him, and Liu Bei turned out to be one of the heroes in the North.

To put it bluntly, Liu Bei is now stronger than Cao Cao.

Although he may still be a little inferior in terms of soldiers and horses, he controls more counties and has a higher dominance than his opponent.

Now I heard that Liu Bei is raising troops for a southern expedition and has captured Guangling County.

As long as Yuan Shu's army can be successfully repelled, Guangling County will naturally return to Xuzhou's jurisdiction.

In the eyes of tacticians like Xun You and Kuai Yue, Liu Bei had actually won by taking Guangling County.

If Yuan Shu is smart, all he has to do is retreat instead of counterattack.

Guangling County has a strong city and a large population. A frontal attack is just a waste of human lives.

Based on this, Liu Bei actually already has four counties, and he still has a lot of influence on Pei State. His strength may not be as strong as Yuan Shao, but he has already firmly entered the second echelon.

Considering that he had only been in charge of Xuzhou for half a year, the trend of trapping the dragon into the abyss had already taken shape.

"Good!"

After hearing Xun You's admission, Kuai Yue smiled with satisfaction: "In this way, after Gongda arrives in Xuzhou, you can exchange more information with me."
< br>Xun You nodded calmly: "This is inevitable."

Kuai Yue continued: "A few days ago, Duke Ming had already decided to let Liu Xian visit Xu and Yang to discuss the encirclement and suppression of Yuan Shu. . I have followed Ming Gong’s decision and sent people to notify Huang Gongzu and asked him to prepare for the boat to be launched into the river as soon as Mr. Liu arrives.”

"If Gongda doesn't give up, you can set off with Liu Xian, take the waterway to Guangling, and then go north to Tancheng. In this case, the journey will be much safer."

Xun You was overjoyed and thanked him: "That's it, I’m grateful for Yidu’s kindness.”

At present, the Central Plains is full of wars, and it is not easy to travel to Xuzhou safely.

Otherwise, it is really possible for Xun You to go to Xuzhou to take a look. Even if he still won't work for Liu Bei in the end, he would still like to express his gratitude in person.

Then the two chatted for a long time before Xun You said goodbye and left.

Kuai Yue sat in the study and thought quietly.

Since Liu Biao entered Jingzhou, he has had a good time cooperating with the local gentry in Jingzhou.

In this cooperation model, Liu Biao, the Kuai family, the Cai family, and even the Huang family are all vested interests, and the gains are extremely rich, but only Kuai Yue's own gains are actually relatively small.

Because of the awkward positioning of Kuai Yue.

At that time, Liu Biao was the co-leader of the entire Jingzhou Group. He was much stronger than Liu Xie and the newly succeeded Sun Quan, but much weaker than the gentry collaborators like Cao Cao and Yuan Shao. intermediate value.

The Kuai family is positioned as the civil servant group in Jingzhou, headed by Kuai Liang, while the Cai family controls the Central Army in Jingzhou, which is the main force of the state army. The Huang family is the representative of the powerful local snakes, controlling the largest private enterprise in Jingzhou. tribes and local military forces.

This triple power structure ensured the stability of Jingzhou's power, and Liu Biao looked for opportunities to strengthen himself.

Liu Biao actually did quite well. By the mid-term, he had already controlled part of the state army led by his nephew Liu Pan, and was assisted by scribes living in the north. His power continued to grow.

But Kuai Yue was very embarrassed.

First of all, he is from the Kuai family. The traditional sphere of influence should be the state and county officials group, but his position is that of a general. This is obviously reaching into the basic base of the Cai family. Moreover, the Kuai family is a Confucian noble family, but Kuai Yue himself is more inclined to Legalist thinking, and he can be said to be a Confucian scholar.

Secondly, although Kuai Yue was a general, he did not have direct troops.

The Kuai family has never been known for its strong tribes, and the only ones he can command are the Kuai family's own tribes, and he also needs the family's permission.

Finally, Liu Biao was deeply afraid of Kuai Yue because of his great fame, ability and impressive reputation.

Not to mention anything else, Liu Biao was extremely resolute in his attitude when he wanted to kill someone several times in the future, but as long as Kuai Yue tried to persuade him, he never succeeded in killing him.

Of course, this can also be explained as Liu Biao trusts Kuai Yue and listens to the latter's words.

But in this case, why did Liu Biao never dare to use Kuai Yue as his commander in the later period? When pacifying Jingnan, he would rather fight until Zhang Xian died of illness than give military power to Kuai Yue.

It can be seen that Liu Biao respected and feared Kuai Yue, relied on him, and was wary of him.

"Liu Bei came from the local area, but I didn't expect that he could win people so well."

After a while, Kuai Yue's chuckle sounded in the study: "Xun Gongda even hid in Xiangyang. It makes me a little envious that Liu Biao is still known to him.”

Kuai Yue originally thought that Liu Biao would be his Guangwu, but he was disappointed in the end.

Such is Kuai Yue's character. In the past, when he was at the residence of General He Jin, he was impressed by He Jin's courtesy, explained He Jin's situation in detail, and urged the other party to take a preemptive strike and eradicate the eunuchs.

To be fair, different people have different starting points for the same suggestion.

Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Kuai Yue and Chen Lin all urged He Jin not to hesitate and strike preemptively.

Yuan Shao had a conspiracy and wanted to control He and interfere in the government affairs. Cao Cao was sincere in getting rid of the official in exchange for integrating himself into the noble clan. Only Kuai Yue and Chen Lin hoped to assist He Jin to make a difference, so that they could repay He Jin's kindness while becoming famous.

But after He Jin showed hesitation and refused to listen to persuasion, Kuai Yue immediately changed his attitude and stopped persuading the other party, and instead acted wisely to protect himself. Immediately afterwards, Kuai Yue obtained the Ruyang Order from He Jinna and fled.

It can be seen that Kuai Yue actually has a very flexible principle of loyalty.

If they agree, they will stay, if they don’t, they will go.

Since Liu Biao cannot treat me as a national scholar, there is no need for me to repay him as a national scholar.

Second update!

Thank you to the brothers and sisters who cared about the old man's health. Thank you for your concern, which made the old man feel much more relaxed and comfortable during his illness.

The old man finally held on! No leave! I went to sleep, I was so sleepy that I couldn't even open my eyes. Brothers and sisters who are still waiting for the update, please pay attention to your health.

(End of this chapter)