My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 425 Sun Ce Volunteers
Liu Feng saw a restless spirit on Sun Ce's face. The Little Conqueror would never have the chance to become a true Conqueror in this time and space, but his willingness to take on responsibilities and his desire to bring glory to his family remained unchanged even after he joined Liu Feng's forces.

However, Sun Ce himself is now very clear that it's best to get rid of those inappropriate thoughts in his heart as soon as possible.

Sun Ce had always possessed remarkable strategic vision. While serving under Yuan Shu, he volunteered to march south to Jiangdong.

At that time, Jiangdong was difficult to conquer, while Yuan Shu's northward expansion was quite smooth. Runan was the Yuan family's stronghold, and his protégés and former officials were all over the county. Even if they were unwilling to serve him, it would be difficult for them to put down their pride and oppose him.

The Eastern Han Dynasty was, after all, a society based on personal relationships, especially the relationship between protégés and former officials, which was almost indistinguishable from that between father and son.

In other words, Yuan Shu's reputation was so bad that it gave these powerful clans an excuse to refuse him. But even so, they could not openly oppose Yuan Shu because it would violate the moral standards of the time.

Sun Ce's decision to choose the difficult path over the easy one demonstrates a strong sense of the bigger picture.

"Bo Fu, please rise first."

Liu Feng was quite amiable towards Sun Ce, after all, the Sun family had a considerable number of surrendered generals and soldiers, and even after the army was expanded, the Sun family's troops still accounted for more than 20%.

If Sun Shangxiang weren't so young, only seven years old this year, there would probably be many people eager to play matchmaker.

However, even though Sun Shangxiang is still young, she has almost no other choice. As long as she grows up smoothly, she will inevitably be taken into Liu Feng's harem.

This has nothing to do with feelings. Even if Liu Feng only wanted to reassure the Sun family to serve him, he still had to do it.

Upon hearing Liu Feng's words, Sun Ce dared not delay and immediately got up and returned to his seat.

Liu Feng was very satisfied with Sun Ce's respectful and obedient attitude, and continued, "What Bo Fu said is indeed correct. As far as I know, Huan Boxu has been recruited by Zhang Shihong and is now the chief clerk of Changsha Commandery. Zhang Shihong values ​​him highly and almost listens to his every word."

"Huan Boxu played a role in Zhang Shihong's rebellion against Liu Biao. It was Huan Boxu who strongly advocated for the uprising and denounced Liu Biao's disloyal intentions to Zhang Shihong, which made Zhang Shihong determined to turn against Liu Biao."

Liu Fengxian affirmed Sun Ce's words and added a lot of information that even Sun Ce himself did not know. He then said, "The reason I summoned you all here is to ask you to teach me how Yangzhou should deal with the current situation."

After a moment of silence, Zhao Yun, one of the five leaders, finally couldn't hold back and was the first to speak.

“Young Master, Jingzhou is located upstream of our province and is blocked by Jiangxia Xiling. Unless Yuzhang naturally moves westward, it will be difficult to cross.”

Although Zhao Yun did not say it explicitly, the conservative tone in his words was quite strong, and his attitude was actually quite clear.

As everyone knows, there are only two routes from Yangzhou to Jingzhou: either by the Yangtze River or by crossing the mountains.

The former is hundreds of times smoother than the latter, and the manpower required is only a fraction of that of the latter. Only a fool would travel over mountains and valleys to set off from Yuzhang. Moreover, even if one took this route, after crossing the mountains, one would only arrive at Changsha County.

Although the south had gained many gentry and people from the Central Plains who had fled the chaos, the essence of Jingzhou was still north of the Yangtze River, not south of it. Going to Changsha would not have been of much significance to the entire Jingzhou.

Zhao Yun was worried that Liu Feng would rashly start a war with Jingzhou, so he was the first to jump out and persuade Liu Feng. In his view, the defense of Jingzhou's river was as solid as a rock, and the Yangzhou navy would be in grave danger if it went upstream.

As a key figure in the Yangzhou army, Zhao Yun naturally felt obligated to warn Liu Feng to pull back from the brink.

After hearing Zhao Yun's words, Liu Feng could only sigh inwardly. His fourth uncle was good in every way, except for his extremely low emotional intelligence. However, this was quite reasonable, since no one is perfect. His uncle Zhao Yun was outstanding in other areas, so it was only natural that he had some flaws.

Liu Feng's gaze swept over Zhong Yao, Chen Qun, and Dong Zhao, finally settling on the fat man.

Dong Zhao felt Liu Feng's gaze, and his face immediately fell.

Liu Feng clearly wanted him to step in and appease Zhao Yun.

Zhao Yun held a very high position in the Yangzhou army. He was on par with Taishi Ci, Liu Feng's archery and horsemanship teacher and trusted minister, and was one of the two major military leaders in the Yangzhou army. At this time, the army he led was an elite force second only to the Cuifeng Army, and was also the designated future new army.

Dong Zhao really didn't want to face Zhao Yun, but Liu Feng was giving him meaningful glances, forcing the fat man to rack his brains for a solution.

Although he was very unwilling, Dong Zhao could only explain under Liu Feng's gaze: "General, you may not know this, but Liu Jingsheng's attitude towards Yangzhou has changed. Previously, Liu Xun from Jiangbei defected and was taken in by him. Jingzhou is upstream of our province. If we cannot take advantage of this opportunity to strike first, I fear that we will be controlled by Jingzhou in the future."

Zhao Yun frowned. He was already aware of what Dong Zhao was saying, and after listening to Dong Zhao's words, he agreed with them.

However, Zhao Yun was still worried that Jingzhou's geographical advantage was too great, and its advantage in naval warfare was extremely strong and difficult to offset.

In the original timeline, the brothers Sun Ce and Sun Quan fought against Jiangxia many times, suffering more defeats than victories. This is enough to prove that Zhao Yun's worries were not unfounded, and his concerns were quite valid.

The problem is that Zhao Yun doesn't know the full picture of Liu Feng's plan; what he sees as correct is actually the correctness of the blind men and the elephant.

Do any of you have other opinions?

Liu Feng deliberately inquired about the other people present.

However, none of the people present could figure out what Liu Feng was thinking, and in such a rush, they had no concrete plan in mind.

Therefore, the hall fell silent again, and no one offered any suggestions except for Zhao Yun.

Liu Feng hesitated, pondering whether or not to make the Jingzhou plan public.

These people before him were all trusted confidants of the shogunate. They were either important ministers who had close ties with Liu Feng, such as Taishi Ci, Zhao Yun, Zhong Yao, Dong Zhao, and Chen Qun, or newcomers who were outstanding in talent and disdainful of Liu Biao, such as Zhao Yan and Du Xi.

Therefore, Liu Feng was not too worried about the plan being leaked.

In the end, however, Liu Feng decided to keep quiet for the time being.

The reason is simple: Liu Feng felt that now was far from the right time to make a move.

In the original timeline, Liu Biao spent over a year pacifying Jingnan, and we're only at this point; the climax is still a long way off.

Seeing that the guests had no further opinions, Liu Feng decided to adjourn the meeting.

At this moment, Sun Ce suddenly rose from his seat and knelt down, prostrating himself in the hall with an extremely humble attitude, his forehead touching the ground. He shouted loudly, "General, you are wise. My father fought many bloody battles for the country against Dong Zhuo, and although he was on the verge of death, he did not lose heart and finally succeeded. He was able to defeat the traitor Dong Zhuo, recover the capital, and serve the country and the people. As his son, I am also honored by this."

"It is a pity that when the emperor went on a western expedition, my father was blocked by treacherous people and could not advance into Guanzhong. Later, due to his poor judgment of people, he was deceived by wicked people and went to war against Liu Biao, but was wounded by Huang Zu's hidden arrow and eventually died on the battlefield."

“When my father died, Ce was only a dancer, but he was suddenly burdened with heavy responsibilities. He went astray, was deceived by Yuan Shu, and was sent to fight for the rebels in Jiangdong, causing chaos in Yangzhou. His crimes were very serious.”

"Fortunately, General Zuo did not abandon me, but showed me great kindness and pardoned the Sun family, allowing me to serve and redeem myself. I am deeply grateful and cannot express my gratitude. I only wish to do my best to repay even a fraction of your kindness."

"The Jingzhou incident is imminent. Our prefecture is adjacent to Jingxiang and is located downstream. Jingzhou and Yangzhou share the same river, so how can we not make preparations as soon as possible?"

Sun Ce spoke with great enthusiasm and earnestness: "General, I am willing to go to Changsha to visit Mr. Boxu and persuade Changsha to surrender on your behalf!" Liu Feng was greatly surprised. Apart from him, most of the people in the hall also looked at Sun Ce with sidelong glances.

To everyone's surprise, Sun Ce suddenly stepped forward at this moment, and even wanted to persuade Liu Feng to give up half of Jingzhou.

Yes, if Zhang Xian were to surrender to Liu Feng, Liu Feng would gain more than just Changsha Commandery; he would be able to obtain the entire four commanderies of Jingnan, and might even be able to launch his plan to annex Jingzhou ahead of schedule.

Liu Feng stared intently at Sun Ce for the full time it takes to brew a cup of tea. Sun Ce, on the other hand, remained obediently prostrate on the ground, not daring to raise his head at all.

My mind raced with thoughts, and I even considered asking the people around me for their opinions.

In the end, Liu Feng didn't ask anyone and made the decision on his own: "Good! Since Bo Fu has such ambition, how can I remain indifferent? Whatever you need for this trip, just tell the staff, and I will do my best to provide it."

Hearing that Liu Feng had actually granted his request, Sun Ce was overjoyed. Despite his confident words, he was actually worried that Liu Feng would not let him leave.

But Liu Feng had no qualms whatsoever and readily agreed to his request.

Ultimately, it comes down to the vast difference in their perspectives.

In Liu Feng's mind, Sun Ce was indeed a good general, but that was all.

Liu Feng's generous treatment of Sun Ce was more about winning over the hearts of the Sun family army and integrating them into his own forces.

It would be a pleasant surprise if Sun Ce himself was willing to serve him; even if he wasn't, he would still keep him around.

Even if he escapes, what can Sun Ce accomplish on his own?
Even the invincible Xiang Yu, the true overlord, ultimately met his end by committing suicide at the Wujiang River after becoming isolated. How much more so for Sun Ce, who was merely a minor overlord.

After the meeting adjourned, everyone left one after another, leaving only the three secretaries of the cabinet in the hall, sitting in the middle of the table, staring at Liu Feng.

Liu Feng couldn't help but ask, "Don't you have anything to ask me?"

Zhuge Liang revealed a faint smile, Pang Tong hurriedly covered his mouth with a small fan, while Lu Xun had a serious expression, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up high.

Although the three people had different expressions, they all meant the same thing: they had nothing to say.

Liu Feng couldn't help but smile bitterly. He had wanted to be a teacher and teach Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, and Lu Xun a lesson using the Jingzhou incident, but he didn't expect that these three shrewd individuals wouldn't give him the chance at all.

Clearly, Zhuge Liang and his two companions had realized that the Jingzhou rebellion might last a long time, and now was far from the best time to intervene. On the contrary, training the army step by step and clearing out the mountain tribes would be more likely to deceive Liu Biao and make him devote all his efforts to the south to quell the rebellion.

Liu Feng couldn't do anything about the three of them, so he simply got up and left.

********
"How dare Zhang Shihong?!"

In Xiangyang, Jingzhou, in the main hall of the prefectural government, Liu Biao roared like a lion, his beard and eyebrows flying.

Kuai Yue and the others rose and knelt down at the same time, shouting in unison, "My lord, please calm your anger!"

Looking at the civil and military officials kneeling in the hall, Liu Biao's anger only intensified.

These were the very people who repeatedly advised me not to touch Zhang Xian, saying that if I followed their wishes, Zhang Xian should have been removed long ago.

Zhang Xian was straightforward and honest, and he was at odds with Liu Biao. Although they were not exactly enemies, they disliked each other.

Liu Biao tried several times to get rid of Zhang Xian, but he was always stopped by the officials, both high and low, in the prefecture.

The reason is actually quite simple, and Liu Biao himself understood it very well.

Because Zhang Xian was from Jingzhou.

Zhang Xian was from Nanyang in Jingzhou. He served as governor in four different prefectures in southern Jingzhou, and was now the governor of Lingling, Guiyang and Changsha prefectures.

For the gentry of Jingzhou, this was a true ally. Moreover, with Zhang Xian in southern Jingzhou keeping Liu Biao in check, Liu Biao, under pressure, would be even more inclined to win over the powerful gentry of northern Jingzhou.

"I want to personally lead the expedition, I want to take Zhang Shihong's head down to the steps, personally question his crimes, punish his mistakes, and warn all traitors and villains in the world."

Liu Biao's gaze swept across the crowd in the hall, his face grim and his beard disheveled.

The many gentry members of Jingzhou in the hall looked at each other in disbelief, stunned by Liu Biao's announcement that he would personally lead the expedition.

Since Liu Biao entered Jingzhou, he had never led an army to fight a single battle in Xiangyang. He almost always expanded his territory through alliances and assassinations. Even the city of Xiangyang was won by Han Song and others who persuaded him to surrender.

Liu Biao never proved his ability to lead troops, let alone in a large-scale battle involving tens of thousands of soldiers.

"My lord! You must not!"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately erupted in uproar.

A large number of people desperately opposed the idea and tried to persuade Liu Biao to abandon his personal campaign.

In their view, Liu Biao had almost no talent for commanding a large army, and now the entire southern part of Jingzhou had rebelled.

With civil war looming in Jingzhou, Liu Biao, you'd better not stir up trouble.

Liu Biao seemed to have also sensed this from the attitude of his officials who were all advising him not to act impulsively.

But he was still angry.

What kind of person is Zhang Shihong? He has neither talent nor virtue, and only managed to get the position of Prefect of Changsha by serving his fellow villagers like dogs. If it weren't for these people's selfish motives and their insistence on stopping him, Zhang Xian would have been arrested and tortured long ago.

Liu Biao was quite confident in Zhang Xian's abilities. In his view, although he had never led a large army, Zhang Xian had no similar experience either.

"My lord, although Zhang Xian is incompetent, he has Huan Jie, Liu Pan, and others under his command who are both literate and skilled in martial arts. Huan Jie, in particular, once fought alongside Sun Wentai in the Central Plains and never suffered a defeat."

Prefect Han Song earnestly advised, "Your Excellency is of noble birth; how can you risk your life against rubble? Besides, there are many great generals in the prefecture; you can simply choose one to fight. Why must Your Excellency personally go into battle?"

Liu Biao gleaned the hidden meaning from Han Song's words, realizing that the other party did not believe he would take the initiative.

(End of this chapter)