My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 159 Bo Fu's Strategy
The agreement was reached, and two days later, Guo Gong led the remaining eight thousand troops back to their camp.

Guo Gong led the Yuzhou troops back quickly, but their choice of direction was rather unique.

Instead of returning by the original route, he took the route through Rencheng Kingdom, intending to travel by waterway through the Si River back to Liang Kingdom.

At this time, there was no prime minister in Rencheng Kingdom. Coincidentally, Rencheng Kingdom and Liu Bei were quite connected.

Besides its geographical indispensability, the most recent prime minister of Rencheng Kingdom was Xun You, whom Liu Bei and his son had been eagerly awaiting.

On that day, Xun You participated in the assassination of Dong Zhuo in Chang'an, but was reported and arrested and imprisoned.

He Yong, who was involved in the conspiracy, was imprisoned along with Xun You. However, He Yong's mental fortitude was so poor that he committed suicide out of fear and anxiety.

Unlike He Yong, Xun You was relaxed and at ease in prison, as if he were just on vacation. As a result, he happened to be there when Wang Yun killed Dong Zhuo, and was immediately pardoned and released from prison, and reinstated to his original position.

However, after Xun You was released from prison, he decisively saw that Wang Yun was stubborn and incompetent, impatient and short-sighted, and not someone worth assisting.

So, less than a few days after his release from prison, before he could even properly enjoy the praise from the virtuous gentlemen, Xun You decisively abandoned his official post and fled back to his hometown of Yingchuan.

As expected, Wang Yun soon failed due to the folly of his policies, and ultimately died and his policies came to an end.

Xun You was summoned back to his hometown by the government and given the official position of Prefect of Rencheng.

Xun You's appointment as Chancellor of Rencheng was a direct result of the death of Zheng Sui, the previous Chancellor of Rencheng, at the hands of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. The Chancellor of Rencheng before Zheng Sui was also in Xuzhou at this time, namely Xu Qiu, who was serving as Chancellor of Donghai.

Although Rencheng Kingdom was destroyed by the Yellow Turbans and its prime minister was executed, the people did not suffer too much damage. However, the loss of the prime minister and the flight of local gentry and powerful families left Rencheng Kingdom to rely solely on local strongmen and chivalrous heroes to maintain order.

Coincidentally, Zang Ba was quite adept at dealing with these kinds of people.

Guo Gong's Yuzhou army entered Rencheng four days later and encountered almost no resistance.

On the same day he entered Rencheng County, Guo Gong recommended Zang Ba to be the prime minister of Rencheng State.

Another day later, Zang Ba led the Taishan Army to Rencheng County, officially took office, and took over Rencheng.

As per the plan discussed with Liu Bei, Zang Ba led 3,000 main forces to garrison Rencheng County, providing central support. The Sun brothers led 500 men to Fan County, and Chang Xi led 500 men to Kangfu County.

Subsequently, Guo Gongcai led the Yuzhou army by water to Liu County in Pei State, and then returned to Liang State by land.

They came with an army of 10,000, but returned with only 20% of that number; it was a defeat no matter how you look at it.

However, Guo Gong was in a much better mood than when he arrived, mainly due to his mindset.

Before coming, Guo Gong was filled with anxiety, feeling that he was surrounded by wolves and tigers, and that if he was not careful, he would be taken over and become prey for others.

But now, Guo Gong felt confident. In any case, at least the three kingdoms of Yuzhou were nominally under his control, and he also had a stable and powerful strategic ally in Xuzhou.

Even if Cao Cao and Lü Bu in the north have decided who won and who lost, they wouldn't dare to easily come and touch me, right?
With this change in mindset, Guo Gong's perception of Liu Bei also changed drastically.

Previously, I thought that Liu Bei, a mere border military officer, was hardly qualified to be the governor of Xu Province.

He himself was only the governor of Yuzhou, yet this ignorant and incompetent soldier had become the governor. Tao Qian was truly muddleheaded on his deathbed.

Now I think that Liu Bei truly lived up to his name, and was indeed as benevolent as the rumors said.

It's no wonder that Guo Gong underwent such a significant change; he simply benefited from it all.

Aside from Liu Bei, who else could have, after annihilating Guo Gong in one battle, not seized the opportunity to annex Guo Gong's troops, not taken over the entire Liang Kingdom in his name, but instead kindly persuaded him to return his troops and even formed an alliance to make peace?

Based on this alone, Guo Gong decided to make Liu Bei his ally.

Upon returning to the capital of Liang, Guo Gong immediately opened the treasury and distributed 20,000 shi of grain, 800,000 coins, 500 sets of leather armor, and 400 bolts of various linen and silk fabrics to Tancheng as a token of his appreciation.

This is something for later, let’s not mention it for now.

The scene shifts back to Jiangdong, where Sun Ce is angrily interrogating Liu Yao's soldiers.

At this time, Sun Ce had successfully breached the city and entered Qu'a.

Although the morale of the Yangzhou soldiers in Qu'a was low, their commanders were quite capable, which made Sun Ce even more convinced that Liu Yao was in the city.

Unexpectedly, upon breaching the city walls, they learned that Liu Yao had already left Qu'a, and only a captain named Zhao Fan was in command. After the city fell, he broke out through the east gate.

Sun Ce was both amused and annoyed.

He was so eager to capture Liu Yao that he proceeded so cautiously, first cutting off Qu'a's access to the outside world, and then conscripting laborers and craftsmen from Dantu to build siege weapons, hoping to capture Liu Yao alive in one fell swoop.

In retrospect, all of that time has been wasted.

Liu Yao had already fled, and Qu'a was leaderless. It was very likely that on his very first day of arrival, if he launched a strong attack, even if it was just by using ladders to scale the walls, the leaderless city might collapse.

His own caution gave the young general Zhao Fan a chance to calmly reorganize the people's morale and secure the city's defenses.

"Liu Zhengli is a presumptuous scholar, an incompetent coward."

Sun Ce angrily cursed Liu Yao for being a coward, venting his frustration.

However, not all the news he received was bad.

The good news is that reinforcements from Liyang have arrived and are landing in Dantu today, and will reach Qu'a tomorrow.

Sun Ce had two paths to choose from.

One route was to proceed eastward, passing through Piling (later Changzhou), then Wuxi, and finally Wuxian.

This entire route leads to the heart of Wu County. Wuxi was once the capital of the Wu Kingdom, and both Wu County and Wuxi are fertile lands that have been developed for a long time, with a large population, fertile soil, and abundant produce.

The other route was to abandon the capture of Piling and instead turn west to meet Liu Yao's foreseeable counterattack.

Both paths have their own advantages.

The advantage of advancing eastward was that Wu Commandery did not have many troops at this time. Xu Gong was quite supportive of Liu Yao, providing him with money, food, and soldiers. He himself did not have many troops left, which was insufficient to directly resist Sun Ce.

If they advance eastward at this time, they will most likely drive out Xu Gong, capture Wu County, and obtain the rich resources of Wu Commandery.

The price was to completely offend Xu Gong and have to fight him. If Xu Gong blocked Liu Yao's advance eastward with the elite troops of Niuzhu, then Liu Yao would be attacked from both sides.

However, the benefits are also quite obvious. Not only can they obtain prime territory and acquire various supplies such as resources, wealth, and manpower, but they can also defeat Xu Gong first and eliminate one side of the enemy.

Xu Gong has clearly sided with Liu Yao. He won't assume that you're in a state of peace just because Sun Ce isn't attacking him.

If Sun Ce reveals any weakness, Xu Gong will attack him without hesitation.

The first option is to concentrate forces to deal with Liu Yao first, which would put Liu Yao in a predicament of being attacked from both sides.

With the need to defend against Yuan Shu's army at Liyang on the opposite bank of Niuzhu, and also to face Sun Ce's army advancing westward with all its might, it is indeed quite doubtful whether Liu Yao can withstand this pressure.

Once Sun Ce can defeat Liu Yao in open battle and capture Niuzhu, he can immediately establish contact with Yuan Shu in Jiujiang and obtain a continuous supply from Yuan Shu. Then, sweeping across Jiangdong will only be a matter of time.

Sun Ce waved his hand, ordering his men to take the Yangzhou soldiers away.

Having wasted considerable time in Qu'a, Sun Ce's army now needs to make an immediate decision: whether to advance east or west.

Sun Ce looked at Wu Jing, Xu Kun, Cheng Pu, and Huang Gai in the hall and humbly asked for their advice: "Uncle, cousin, and uncles, please feel free to speak your mind."

This time, Sun Ben did not come to provide reinforcements; only Wu Jing's troops arrived.

This was not because Sun Ben refused to come to his aid, or because he had any grievances against Sun Ce; it was simply something that had been agreed upon beforehand.

Sun Ce currently only has two counties, Dantu and Qu'a. Dantu is just a small town, so let's not talk about it. Qu'a County also doesn't have much grain stored up.

This was not because Liu Yao had foreseen it, or because Zhao Fan burned the grain supplies before leaving, but rather due to the special circumstances in Yangzhou at present. Yangzhou's elite main force was all at Niuzhu, so all the military rations were stored in the Niuzhu warehouse for the Yangzhou army at the Niuzhu defense line to use.

At present, although Liu Yao is the governor of Yangzhou, he is essentially just the leader of the local gentry and powerful families. All parties give him face and are willing to obey his orders to a certain extent, as well as supply him with military provisions and soldiers.

Therefore, it is unlikely that the state treasury is the largest storage facility, unlike in other state capitals.

There was no state treasury in Yangzhou at all.

Qu'a had only two or three thousand soldiers in total, and its stored grain was no more than ten thousand shi (a unit of dry measure).

Therefore, Sun Ce did not capture much military supplies after occupying Qu'a.

The army that Sun Ce's army relies on for supplies still has to rely on a steady stream of grain transported by water from Liyang to Dantu.

In this situation, having more soldiers is not necessarily better.

Sun Ce's main force plus Wu Jing's force already numbered 12,000, which was already quite a lot. If Sun Ben's force were added, the total size would be 20,000. Even with water transport, it would require a large number of ships, making it very easy for the Yangzhou army to harass them.

Even if you cut off their supply lines, just harassing them a few times a day would leave Sun Ce's side starving.

Rather than having everyone starve in Jiangdong, it would be better to leave Sun Ben in Liyang. This way, he could tie down some of Niuzhu's forces and even see if a suitable opportunity could be found to break through Niuzhu's defenses.

If even Sun Ben has come to Jiangdong, how can we expect Yuan Shu's personal guards, those useless bastards, to threaten the Niuzhu defense line?
"Since Liu Yao has already fled for seven days, I think it would be safer to head west. Leave 1,500 troops in Dantu and Qu'a respectively, and we will lead 9,000 main force westward."

Wu Jing waited a moment, and seeing that Xu Kun, Cheng Pu, and Huang Gai were all looking at him without saying a word, he understood what they meant and spoke directly: "Even if Liu Yao brings back 20,000 men, we can still defeat him head-on."

Wu Jing wasn't exaggerating when he said that the reason they couldn't capture Niuzhu before was because Niuzhu had long been fortified like a hedgehog and was defended by the most elite Yangzhou army.

Sun Ce's forces first had to cross the Yangtze River, and once ashore, they lacked large siege equipment, which is why they were repeatedly forced to retreat by the Yangzhou army.

In direct combat, when has Sun's army ever been afraid of anyone?

Wu Jing's words were somewhat conservative. In the eyes of Xu Kun, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and others, even if Liu Yao brought back 30,000 men, it would only require them to exert more effort.

Sun Ce looked at the map and nodded repeatedly, but remained silent.

After listening to Wu Jing's opinion, he fell silent again, his eyes fixed on the map, motionless.

Wu Jing was quite patient and didn't get angry at his nephew's strange behavior; instead, he calmed down.

Suddenly, the hall fell silent, and even the footsteps of the patrolling soldiers outside could be clearly heard.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Sun Ce suddenly asked, "Uncle, if I were to send you east to take the three counties of Piling, Wuxi, and Wucheng, how many troops would you need, and how long would it take?"

Wu Jing was taken aback for a moment, then asked in confusion, "Bo Fu, are you going to divide your forces?"

Upon hearing Wu Jing's words, Cheng Pu and Huang Gai, who were standing nearby, became anxious and hurriedly advised, "My lord, our army is outnumbered while Liu Yao's army is numerous. It would be extremely unwise to divide our forces at this time."

Sun Ce laughed and reassured him, "I know what my uncles and maternal uncles have said. I have a plan in mind, so please be patient."

"Speak," he said, glancing at Wu Jing again, clearly wanting Wu Jing to answer his question.

Wu Jing knew that his nephew had always been ambitious, so he could only suppress his anxiety and carefully plan ahead.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "I only need to bring my own troops. The siege weapons are all readily available. This place is not far from Piling, and there is a main road to travel through, so we can transport them directly from the city walls. If there are no unforeseen circumstances, I should be able to take Piling in ten days, Wuxi in the moonlight, and Wuxian within two months. However, I need to allocate more ships to them, otherwise it will be difficult to travel."

At that time, Jiangdong was not yet the Jiangsu province it would become. It was full of swamps and lakes. Without boats, it would be difficult to move an inch, or at least very inefficient.

Sun Ce didn't care at all and laughed loudly, "That's easy. Some time ago in Dantu and today in Qu'a, we captured quite a few ships. The large ships were incorporated into Li Yang's fleet, and the small ships can all be given to my uncle."

Wu Jing's troops were originally from Jiangdong, and their boat handling was almost instinctive. Even with a bunch of small boats, they were never worried about not having enough sailors.

"Then there's no problem."

Wu Jing nodded, having also discerned Sun Ce's intentions. He frowned and asked in return, "Bo Fu, do you really intend to divide your forces?"

Sun Ce suppressed his smile and nodded solemnly to his uncle: "Uncle, it's not that I want to divide the troops, but now is the best time to do so."

"Uncle, please take a look."

Sun Ce's words attracted the attention of Wu Jing, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and Xu Kun. Sun Ce pointed to the map and explained, "Our army's occupation of Dantu and Qu'a is like a sharp blade, cutting the connection between Wu Commandery and Danyang Commandery in two."

Sun Ce's words would certainly be incomprehensible to later generations. Dantu to Qu'a is only twenty li apart, so how could it sever the connection between Wu Commandery and Danyang Commandery?

In fact, Qu'a was important at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty because it was a vital hub connecting Wu Commandery and Danyang Commandery.

Below Qu'a lies a vast area of ​​swampy mud stretching for hundreds of miles, and further below this swampy mud area lies Zhenze, the largest lake in Jiangdong at the time.

The famous Taihu Lake is the posthumous name of Zhenze.

Although Taihu Lake inherited the name of Zhenze, its area is much smaller than that of Zhenze, which shows how large Zhenze was at that time.

In this way, if Wu County did not go through Qu'a, it could only go around to the south bank of Taihu Lake, detour to Wucheng County, then to Guzhang County, and enter the territory of Danyang County.

The detour is more than a few hundred miles long.

“Our army is short of food, but Liu Yao’s army has the Niuzhu granary, so their situation is much better than ours.”

Sun Ce frowned and patted the banks of the Yangtze River. Around Niuzhu, there were more than a dozen counties in Danyang Commandery.

Even those cities directly opposite Qu'a include Jurong, Hushu, Moling, Shicheng, and Danyang.

"If we resolutely advance westward, logistical pressure will be secondary. If Liu Yao retreats and relies on these cities to fortify themselves and delay us, are we really going to have to conquer them one city at a time?"

Sun Ce patted the map: "We only have about 10,000 men, but Liu Yao has at least 40,000. Xue Li and Zuo Rong are indeed not Liu Yao's direct subordinates, but they are stationed right in front of us. Xue Li is in Moling, and Zuo Rong is in Hushu. Are we not going to attack them when we pass by? Or will they just watch us pass by?"

"Therefore, we must plan carefully, take Wu Commandery first, and then force Liu Yao to leave Niuzhu and take the initiative to attack us."

Sun Ce revealed a confident expression and clasped his hands together: "When the time comes, we will defeat them in one fell swoop. In this way, the counties of Danyang will also be pacified by a proclamation and will collapse without a fight."

Wu Jing and the others then realized that Sun Ce had such a plan.

They pondered carefully, reflecting on Sun Ce's overall strategy, and had to admit that Sun Ce's thinking was indeed more comprehensive and on a higher level than theirs.

None of Wu Jing and the others considered what would happen if Liu Yao chose to avoid battle and hold out.

Although they didn't know exactly how much grain was stored in Niuzhu's granary, they knew it could hold at least enough for a year.

Therefore, Liu Yao does not lack food at present.

Even if he loses contact with Wu County, he can hold out for at least a year.

But if Sun Ce and his men don't take Wu Commandery, how can they hold out for a year?
The Yangtze River doesn't belong to the Sun family. Liu Yao's ships can also sail down the river. Do you really expect the supply fleet to have no problems for a year?

Even so, it only resulted in a draw and did not improve the situation at all.

Wu Jing remained silent for a moment, then said, half asking a question and half reminding, "Bo Fu, if I really go, you'll only have less than five thousand soldiers at your disposal."

Sun Ce's forces numbered no more than six thousand. He needed to leave at least one thousand men in Dantu and another one thousand in Qu'a, leaving him with a maximum of four thousand troops at his disposal.

Even if he squeezes the defenders to the limit, he can't exceed five thousand.

"Uncle, please rest assured. I believe Liu Yao is cowardly as a mouse. By the time he makes up his mind to advance eastward and recapture Qu'a, you will probably have already taken Wu County and returned in triumph."

Sun Ce, however, was quite confident and even offered, "Uncle, you can also take the more than two thousand Yangzhou soldiers captured in Dantu and Qu'a with you. They can be used as auxiliary troops, or you can select the elite to replenish the losses."

(End of this chapter)