Chapter 862 Zhongmou
Sun Quan was in Longkang, which was not very pleasant.
At this moment, he was lying on the enemy's corpse, his bloody clothes and iron armor mixed together, looking out of the city.
The thick smoke rising into the sky from the burning outside the city burned away Sun Quan's ordinary life, but the ashes left behind were his resentment towards his father Sun Jian.
Yes, I am indeed the second son, and everything my father has has nothing to do with me, but I, Sun Quan, have no such intention at all. From the beginning to the end, I just want to be a dandy.
But even this too humble request was rejected by his father, and he was thrown to the treacherous front line of Huai River.
Does his father really want to die like this?
Thinking of this, another handsome and tough figure appeared in Sun Quan's mind. He was his brother, the handsome one who was loved by heaven and earth, Sun Ce.
Sun Quan once heard the magicians at home say that in this world, there are sixty-one jiazi, and each jiazi cycles, and every four hundred years, a saint will appear.
Four hundred years ago, Xiang Yu, the overlord of Western Chu, emerged from the land of San Wu. And four hundred years later, all around him, in Sun Quan's heart, his brother was the reincarnation of that overlord.
The same bravery of heaven and man, the same unparalleled heroic spirit.
Zhong Ling Yuxiu is beautiful, God loves her, maybe she is talking about a person like her brother.
If he hadn't understood his brother's excellence, how could he, Sun Quan, engage in horse-fighting at such a young age? Gan made a rice bug?
But...
But the father, brother, and son have already retreated to this point, why do they still push the son to death?
Thinking of this, Sun Quan's unwillingness finally coalesced into one thought:
"How can I, Sun Quan, not be the lord of Jiangdong?"
But when he was thinking about competing with his brother, apart from the unwillingness and anger, there might also be a graceful figure haunting his mind.
That's his sister-in-law, Da Qiao.
……
When Sun Quan's ambition was growing, Dong Xi, who had just cleaned a circle around the city, came over with a bowl of millet.
Dong Xi is eight feet tall and has a majestic appearance. He was formerly the chief of the Gaoqian Pavilion in Kuaiji.
Later, Sun Jian returned to Wu County and took charge of Kuaiji. It was at that time that Dong Xi joined Sun's shogunate.
Because his status was unknown when he defected, Sun Jian just saw his bravery and majesty, so he sent him to Sun Quan as a subordinate general.
It was precisely for this reason that when Sun Quan was sent to the Huainan Army by his father for training, Dong Xi also followed him and stayed with him.
In fact, if Dong Xi hadn't been there, Sun Quan, who was outside the city at the time, wouldn't have been able to run back.
When Dong came over, he didn't realize what Sun Quan was thinking.
Of course, Sun Quan's so-called ambition seems to be of no use. After the Taishan Army surrounded Longkang, if there were no reinforcements to rescue him, Sun Quan would still be dead.
In such troubled times, ambitions, emotions, and ambitions are often a bit cheap, but only those who survive in the end are qualified to talk about these things.
When Sun Quan saw the rice in Dong Xi's hand, Sun Quan, who had been fighting for a long time, felt completely helpless and just scooped up the rice with his hands and put it in his mouth.
Dong Xi just took one look and stopped paying attention to Sun Quan, but continued to look at the Taishan Army outside the city.
The number of Taishan troops surrounding Longkang looked large, but judging from the combat skills displayed by these enemies in the morning, there should not be many real Taishan troops here.
But even though most of the Taishan troops outside the city are not qualified warriors, their will is very high.
Even though they had already experienced a morning of siege battles, these people were still building siege equipment with high spirits.
What Dong Xi saw at this moment was a group of soldiers in single clothes, with the help of several small officials in black, making a device that he had never seen before.
At this moment, Dong Xi felt a sense of absurdity in his heart.
Although he has been living in the Jiangdong area, he still has some understanding of the composition of the Taishan Army.
Aren't these people just a miscellaneous army of Guizhou chiefs, thieves, and disciples? Why are there so many ingenuities? Doesn't it mean that only those wealthy families have knowledge?
This did make Dong Xi a little confused.
Dong Xi was not surprised that Qian Shou Cheng's army was able to fight. After all, who didn't have enough strength?
But the Taishan Army he had noticed was superior to these people by an era in terms of system construction and honor and morality.
Being capable of fighting and being civilized, this made Dong Xi, a grassroots military officer in a remote small place in Jiangdong, confused.
Could it be that the people of the Central Plains have developed to this level?
But while Dong Xi was stunned, Sun Quan next to him misunderstood that he was trying to find a way to break the situation.
He appreciated his general even more.
After licking the last grain of rice in the bowl, Sun Quan stood up, walked to Dong Xi, and also looked at the dense enemy troops outside the city.
Sun Quan is a smart man, and he is extremely smart, otherwise he would not know how to hide his clumsiness at such a young age.
Of course he understands that no matter how much ambition and ambition he has in his heart, if he can't pass this hurdle, it will be a joke.
Therefore, he took the initiative to interrupt the silence and sighed:
"When I was in my hometown in Wu County, I always heard people say how good the Taishan Army was. In this morning's battle, these Taishan Army were really extraordinary."
But after hearing this, Dong Xi stopped talking.
He didn't want to hit Sun Quan, and was worried that if he knew that there were very few real Taishan troops outside, his Erlang might really collapse.
In fact, Dong Xi didn't think much of his own son Erlang. He spent his whole day either chasing horses or fighting dogs or hunting for flowers. Compared with his brother, he was just like clouds and mud.
Sometimes he also envied the warriors in Sun Ce's shogunate. They could fight on the battlefield with such a lord and make a name for themselves. How could they be like him, being a guard dog?
But even though he despised him in his heart, Dong Xi was a traditional warrior who valued loyalty and perseverance. Since the Lord sent him to Erlang's side, he would send Erlang out even if he risked his life.
Thinking of this, Dong Xi suddenly said:
"Erlang, a certain family will definitely protect you and rush out."
Sun Quan was stunned for a moment, then smiled, feeling very warm in his heart.
Although he is not the Emperor of Soochow in the future, he is already quite powerful. No matter how he feels in his heart, he still hides his emotions very well.
His mother once told him that if a person's preferences are easily guessed by the people below, it will be a disaster.
Sun Quan once again turned the topic to the enemy troops outside the city and asked:
"At this moment, while the enemy is building fortifications, we might as well gather our troops and rush outside the city. Even if we can't kill those people, we can still destroy these equipment."
Dong Xi smiled and did not answer Sun Quan's words. Instead, he picked up the bag on the ground and put it on his head.
But the bag was stained with blood and was slippery. Dong Xi took out a scarf from his arms and wrapped it around his head, and then put the bag back on.
Sun Quan was watching from the side. After he finished doing the work, his anxiety calmed down a lot.
Then he heard Dong Xi shake his head and said:
"How can you not make equipment in the camp instead of running to the battlefield? There are smart people in the enemy's army. I'm afraid this will just put bait for us and mobilize us to go out of the city and jump into the trap."
Sun Quan was stunned.
He just lacked military experience, so he didn't expect it. Soon, Sun Quan thought of another way:
"But just letting the enemy build equipment outside is not an option. Longkang City is small, and if the enemy builds it for a few more days, they will kill us all. So we still have to burn it. What do you think of our night attack?"
And before Dong Xi could speak, Sun Quan himself added this idea:
"After noon, let's go out of the city and pretend to attack. When the enemy's ambushes are everywhere, we will retreat. Then we will attack again at night, and we will definitely hit."
Dong Xi was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that Erlang had never been on the battlefield, but he was very clever in this strategy.
Sure enough, it was appropriate for the lord to give Erlang the word Zhongmou.
But even though he agreed with Sun Quan's idea, Dong Xi still shook his head and refused.
After being rejected repeatedly, Sun Quan's face became a little ugly and he asked stiffly:
"Oh, why this time?"
No matter how rough Dong Xi was, he knew that he might have offended Erlang, so he smiled quickly and replied:
"Erlang, the main reason is that we are young and cannot afford to take this risk. Is there any chance that your military strategy will be successful? It certainly is, and it is in line with the art of war. But Erlang, have you ever thought about who the enemy's general is? What kind of character is he a master of the art of war? We don’t know anything about this.”
Seeing that Sun Quan was really thinking seriously, Dong Xi was also quite happy, so he spoke in more detail:
"Sun Tzu once said that if you know yourself and the enemy, you will never be defeated in a hundred battles. Whether a military strategy is effective does not depend on how cunning and clever it is, but whether it is designed for the enemy's general. I once heard a sentence from my lord, and I also gave it to Erlang today."
The so-called lord is Sun Jian.
Hearing this, Sun Quan felt uncomfortable. He didn't know that his father's words needed an outsider to convey them.
Dong Xi naturally didn't know that Sun Quan was in trouble again, but recalled those words:
"A good strategy is always just to think one step more than your opponent. If you think twice, that's the worst strategy."
Not to mention the resentment Sun Quan felt towards his father, but when he heard these words at this moment, he had a complete epiphany.
That is to think twice before acting, and what kind of thinking should be done.
The first thought is to think about who the opponent is, the second thought is to think about what the enemy thinks about it, and the third thought is if the enemy thinks like this, what should I do to defeat him.
At this moment, Sun Quan seemed to have a feeling of enlightenment and began to truly understand many things.
Over there, Dong Xi continued:
"Erlang Zhice is most afraid of meeting two kinds of people, one is the old-fashioned person, and the other is the experienced military master. As long as he encounters any of them, the brothers we send to the night attack will not be the same. Want to come back alive”
Now Sun Quan understood what Dong Xi was worried about.
The Huainan troops in Longkang City totaled no more than 800 people, and most of them were new troops with weak combat effectiveness.
There were only a few elites, and those who could be sent for night attacks could only be elites. Once they were all left outside the city, Long Kang would definitely not be able to defend the city from behind.
But if you want to understand, Sun Quan still can't accept doing nothing.
We all saw the enemy troops in action, and if we didn't respond to anything on our side, wouldn't we just wait to die slowly?
So he asked unwillingly:
"Old Dong, if you have any plans, please tell me quickly. You can't wait to die."
Dong Xi laughed, and then said meaningfully:
"Erlang, I used to be like you when I was young. I felt that once I saw something clearly, I had to do it. Otherwise, it would be better to just continue to understand. But later I worked as a pavilion for a long time, and I gradually understood a truth, that is, Sometimes it’s best if you don’t.”
Dong Xi did not continue to keep the secret, and told Sun Quan straightforwardly what he would do next:
"When the enemy laid siege to the city, I already sent people downstream to look for Governor Wu for reinforcements. With the speed of the boat division, reinforcements will arrive tomorrow. In that case, why take the risk?"
If Sun Quan had some realization, he suddenly said:
"So you talked to me so much just to make me happy? You could have said it earlier, but you still talked to me a lot?"
Now Dong Xi couldn't bear it any longer and laughed.
Then, Sun Quan also laughed.
Their laughter diluted the sadness on the city wall, and it seemed that tomorrow would not be so difficult.
But is war that simple?
……
Sun and Dong on the top of the city may not know that the person surrounding them at the city is a Taishan Army general named Ren Jun.
In the Taishan Army, Ren Jun was specialized in civil engineering and was especially good at building bridges. This time, he took 800 of his troops and protected thousands of craftsmen as they went south along the east bank of the Whirlpool River.
When passing by Longkang, I heard from the local troops here that a wave of Huainan soldiers had come here, burning and killing captives along both sides of the Guoshui River, causing harm to the place. Ren Jun was so angry that he led the troops here.
Originally, with his military strength, he only planned to annihilate the Huainan soldiers scattered in the wild, but unexpectedly, when the children of Peijun heard that Ren Jun was part of the Taishan Army and were going to fight the Huainan soldiers, they were the ones who responded. There are so many people gathering.
The folk customs in Pei County have always been fierce, otherwise there would not have been a Gaozu entrepreneurial team back then. These people hated the Huainan soldiers, but they just lacked a leader. Now that the Taishan Army is here, it is the surrender of the entire community and the whole village. .
Ren Jun was also good at caring. He selected three thousand warriors from those who surrendered to the army, divided them into troops according to military laws, and used the old Taishan Army as the core military officials. After a little training, they were brought over.
In fact, Ren Jun is also quite bold, because once such a mob goes out in the field, they may not be able to defeat the Taishan Army. But who told Ren Jun to encounter the Huainan New Army?
The physical quality of these people is not as good as that of the children of Pei State, not to mention the elite Taishan Army warriors who are here to join the battle.
So to a certain extent, this is also a kind of meeting the opponent.
Of course, at this moment, Ren Jun didn't know that the second son of the Lord of Jiangdong was in that small town. For him, removing hundreds of Huainan soldiers in the city would also be a way to avenge the children of Pei State.
The Taishan Army's experience in winning the people is gathered from these little "little things".
For Ren Jun, this was of course a trivial matter. Not to mention the three thousand Peijun disciples he had summoned, even the troops he brought with him could crush the Huainan soldiers in the city.
So at this moment, Ren Jun's mind was not at all on the so-called Longkang City, but on these children of Peijun.
He found that after training, these people could be used as engineers to build bridges when he went south to Huai River.
That's right, Ren Jun's most important task on his trip south this time is to find a suitable place in the Wukou area to build a pontoon bridge across the Huai River.
This is certainly not easy, but it is by no means an impossible task.
The key is to find a suitable location to build the bridge, because the Huai River is different from the Yangtze River further south. It has many smooth roads deep into the water, so the width of the water surface is not too long in some sections of the river.
When the Taishan Army went south to Kyoto last year, they learned the method of erecting the Mengjin Crossing Bridge, so they are still confident about erecting the Huai River Floating Bridge this time.
But if these children of Pei State can be trained into qualified engineers, then Ren Jun will definitely be more confident.
So at the moment, he was focused on the children of Pei State, and teaching them how to build siege equipment was just to practice their skills.
But Ren Jun didn't know that it was his unintentional act that directly caused the Shouchun war to slide in another direction.
Because at this moment, the main force of the Huainan Army stationed at the mouth of the vortex was sailing northward towards Longkang.
(End of chapter)