My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 428 Bo Fu Offers Advice
Although Huan Jie wouldn't admit it, he was quite honest about it.

In fact, he did place Liu Feng on the opposite side of Liu Biao, and he did so as a significant factor.

If Liu Biao hadn't taken in Liu Xun, nearly turning against Liu Bei and his son Liu Feng, Huan Jie might not have dared to so decisively persuade Zhang Xian to raise an army.

In the original timeline, one of the main reasons Huan Jie raised an army was that Yangzhou was now under Sun Ce's control. Yuzhang was directly connected to Changsha, and even if they couldn't cross the Yangtze River, Sun Ce could still use the Yuzhang shortcut to reinforce Changsha if he wanted to.

In this situation, Sun Ce's army did not need to worry about logistics, because the entire Jingnan region was in rebellion against Liu Biao.

As an allied force, Sun Ce's army could naturally obtain supplies in Jingnan, thus solving a large part of the problem of inconvenient transportation.

But no one expected that Sun Ce would actually die, and that he would die from assassination.

After Sun Quan ascended the throne, his first task was to regulate the unbalanced factions within the country, and his second task was to suppress rebellions in various parts of Jiangdong. He had no spare energy to interfere in the affairs of neighboring Jingzhou.

In the original timeline, Zhang Xian raised his army before the Battle of Guandu, while Sun Ce was constantly shouting about attacking Xuchang, which was actually quite subtle.

Sun Ce was a general of exceptional talent; he surely understood the principle of "to take something, you must first give it up," and he certainly understood the meaning of feinting to the east while attacking in the west.

If you look at the map, you'll understand how ridiculous Sun Ce's so-called sneak attack on Xuchang was.

First, Sun's army didn't have many cavalry units; the total number of warhorses in the entire Jiangdong region was estimated to be no more than five thousand. And the shortest route from Liyang on the north bank of the Yangtze River to Xuchang was approximately a thousand li (about 500 kilometers).

This route includes a vast, uninhabited area stretching for a hundred miles in northern Huaihe River. After that, one must cross Runan County, which is relatively densely populated and dotted with numerous counties, and several major rivers, including the Huai River, before finally reaching Xuchang.

This battle plan was a complete gamble, and one that was almost guaranteed to fail. Not to mention that Sun Ce, like a fool, kept talking about attacking Xuchang every day.

A more reasonable explanation is that Sun Ce was actually engaging in strategic deception, and the person he wanted to deceive was likely Liu Biao.

Sun Ce probably shared the same idea as Liu Feng: to take advantage of Liu Biao's army marching south, bypass them via the Yangtze River, and wipe out Liu Biao's large field army at the gates of Changsha.

Sun Ce's strength at that time was indeed far inferior to Liu Feng's at the present, but Sun Ce had one advantage, which was that he had already crippled Huang Zu.

Although Sun Quan suffered several setbacks at Huang Zu's hands later on, Sun Ce had already annihilated Huang Zu's elite navy while he was alive, along with Liu Biao's reinforcements.

If Sun Ce wanted to attack Xiling at this time, Huang Zu could hold the city and wait for reinforcements. But if Sun Ce only wanted to cross the Yangtze River, pass Jiangxia, and head straight for Dongting Lake, Huang Zu would be able to offer almost no resistance.

This was also the fundamental reason why Huan Jie boldly persuaded Zhang Xian to raise an army. With such powerful external support, not only would Liu Biao not dare to send troops, but even if he did send troops south, in Huan Jie's view, it would be nothing more than sending his head to his death.

But no one expected that Sun Ce would be assassinated. This rare black swan event directly caused great trouble for Huan Jie and Zhang Xian in the original timeline.

In this current world, because Sun Ce is no longer around, Huan Jie and Zhang Xian did not consider raising an army immediately. Although they still harbored resentment towards Jingbei, they were still lacking the motivation to rebel.

But no one could have imagined that in the middle of last year, Jingbei sent an envoy to inform Zhang Xian, Huan Jie and others that the tax rate would be increased by another 30% next year.

This caused an uproar in Jingnan. This 30% increase was based on last year's figure, and if judged by the standards of the first year of Jian'an, it would be 50%. Including the increases from previous years, Jingnan's tax revenue had doubled in just three years.

Huan Jie and others sent people to the north to inquire, and only then did they understand why taxes were being increased again. It turned out that Jingbei was planning to expand its army again.

This completely enraged the powerful clans and gentry of Jingnan. Even Huan Jie couldn't stop them, so he had no choice but to raise an army. Besides, if they really had to pay so much in taxes and grain, Jingnan itself could raise an army of 30,000 to 50,000 men. Why should they continue to be subservient to Jingbei?

This time, it was a complete accident, something even Liu Feng himself didn't expect. Instead, he succeeded by sheer luck.

In other words, Liu Feng was determined to take action against Jingzhou regardless of whether Jingnan rebelled or not, which is why he recklessly expanded his army. This, in turn, aroused Liu Biao's suspicion, leading to further army expansion. Furthermore, due to financial problems, Liu Biao increased his exploitation of Jingnan, ultimately pushing the region to its breaking point and causing it to rebel.

If Liu Feng had been hesitant and worried about provoking Liu Biao, fearing that Liu Biao would be too afraid to march south, he would have been caught between a rock and a hard place, neither daring to expand his army nor to provoke Liu Biao. In that case, Zhang Xian and Huan Jie would probably not have been able to raise an army.

For a moment, the study became completely silent.

After a long pause, Huan Jie finally spoke: "Is this the confidence you had when you persuaded me to surrender to Liu, Bo Fu?"

Sun Ce slowly shook his head and explained, "Brother, please don't misunderstand me. I was just analyzing the situation for you. In my opinion, your actions this time were indeed somewhat rash."

After a pause, Sun Ce feigned hesitation, which caught Huan Jie's attention, before pretending to struggle and saying, "Brother, I truly don't understand why you didn't send someone to Yangzhou to seek help from the Left General before you started your uprising?"

Huan Jie looked at Sun Ce and shook his head: "It's not that I, your foolish brother, haven't thought of this, but rather that the powerful clans and gentry of Jingnan are unwilling to accept it."

Sun Ce was speechless, and asked with some confusion, "Why is that? My lord is skilled in battle, and he treats scholars with respect. Moreover, why does he not gain the approval of the people of Jingnan?"

Huan Jie sighed deeply, then shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Sun Ce's confusion deepened, mistakenly believing that Huan Jie doubted his words. He went so far as to belittle himself, saying, "Brother, I have been taught by my father since childhood and have a talent for warfare. After my father was killed in battle, I had no choice but to rely on Yuan Gonglu. After that, I first captured Lujiang, then Qu'a, fought in Danyang, swept through Wu County, and ravaged Kuaiji. This is not my boasting, but the achievements I have made are worthy of my father's name."

Hearing Sun Ce's words, Huan Jie couldn't help but nod in agreement.

In fact, he had heard about Sun Ce's achievements in Jiangdong and admired him greatly. He repeatedly praised Sun Ce to his relatives and friends, saying that Sun Ce was a tiger son from a military family and that Sun Jian was no less than a tiger father.

He even considered recruiting Sun Ce as an ally. However, at that time, Sun Ce was still a subject under Yuan Shu, so Huan Jie had to give up on that idea for the time being.

However, in Huan Jie's eyes, Sun Ce was quite ambitious, and his actions did not suggest that he was willing to submit to Yuan Shu.

Therefore, although Huan Jie temporarily shelved his plan to find Sun Ce as an external ally, he did not give up the idea and continued to pay attention to the changes in the situation in Jiangdong.

Sun Ce was unaware of Huan Jie's thoughts and continued, "At that time, I was arrogant and thought that the heroes of the world were nothing special. I never expected that the day of my defeat would come so quickly. When my lord marched south, I was still unaware of the opportune moment and resisted stubbornly. I almost exhausted all my strength, but in the end, I was captured by my lord in a battle on the banks of the Qiantang River."

In reality, Sun Ce escaped, but he only had about a hundred cavalrymen left with him. His elite main force was wiped out, which was not much different from being captured alive.

"Brother, do you know the details of the battle?" Huan Jie shook his head again at Sun Ce's question. He had inquired about some of the situation and was quite surprised by the outcome, but compared to Sun Ce, who was directly involved, his information was naturally far inferior.

"At that time, I had 30,000 to 40,000 soldiers and thought I was able to fight a fair and square battle."

Sun Ce continued, a bitter smile appearing on his face: "But my lord actually managed to send his troops down like a divine army, successfully encircling my forces on the banks of the Qiantang River. To be honest, my brother, I even considered suicide at that time."

This isn't just something Sun Ce made up; he genuinely had a fleeting moment when he considered drawing his sword and committing suicide. His eventual breakthrough was due to the inspiration he received from his loyal subordinates, which forced him to pull himself together.

It can be said that in the battle on the banks of the Qiantang River, Liu Feng completely defeated Sun Ce.

“Brother, look at me, I am still a key general under the Left General, and a member of the Sun family's troops. The Left General uses my abilities just the same way. My father's right-hand men, Lord Cheng, Lord Han, and Lord Huang, have all been given important positions. Are the gentlemen of Jingnan really inferior to us prisoners?”

Huan Jie sighed deeply, realizing that Sun Ce had truly failed to understand his hint. Furthermore, Sun Ce's willingness to expose his own shortcomings to highlight Liu Feng's abilities and persuade him to see the truth also deeply moved Huan Jie.

Therefore, he had to explain seriously: "Brother, it is not that I am unaware of General Zuo's abilities, but rather that the people of the county have other ideas."

Sun Ce asked in surprise, "What are you thinking?"

Huan Jie smiled bitterly: "They want to play both sides and use the power of the Left General to pressure Liu Jingsheng in order to gain the opportunity to establish themselves. In particular, they heard about what the Left General did in northern Kuaiji last year and are afraid that it will happen again in Jingnan, so naturally they oppose my contact with the Left General."

Huan Jie spoke frankly, and Sun Ce suddenly realized that this was what these people were planning.

Immediately, Sun Ce felt admiration for the powerful clans and gentry of Jingnan. They were incredibly audacious to plot against Liu Feng.

After providing the information, Sun Ce had a new question: "Brother, if that's the case, why haven't the powerful clans of Jingnan considered siding with our lord yet?"

Huan Jie was slightly taken aback, then realized that Sun Ce had just persuaded him to surrender to Liu Feng.

Huan Jie thought the other person was referring to Liu Biao, and he was quite displeased.

But then Huan Jie's eyes lit up, but he immediately shook his head inwardly.

Seeing Huan Jie shake his head, Sun Ce immediately became anxious: "Brother, why is that?"

Huan Jie said with a wry smile, "How can they believe it if the slap never landed on their faces?"

Sun Ce understood, and although he was somewhat disappointed, another idea arose in his mind.

“Brother, since that’s the case, I have made great achievements in military strategy. If you don’t mind, I would like to serve as your advisor and counselor for Jingnan.”

Huan Jie was somewhat tempted by Sun Ce's suggestion.

Huan Jie witnessed firsthand how capable Sun Jian was in battle, and Sun Ce also displayed much of his father's prowess in Jiangdong.

Huan Jie thought to himself that in the entire Jingnan region, probably no one possessed Sun Ce's military talent. Moreover, Liu Feng, the Left General to whom Sun Ce served, was already at odds with Liu Biao, and from Liu Feng's perspective, he would obviously be happy to see Jingzhou divided between the north and south.

Therefore, Huan Jie revealed some of the military situation in Changsha.

"Currently, Changsha has an army of over 30,000 men. Half of them are soldiers from the four prefectures of Jingnan, half of the rest are retainers of powerful families from various regions, and the last part are newly recruited young men."

Huan Jie said, "We may be able to raise another 10,000 troops, but it depends on when the Jingbei army marches south."

Sun Ce was silent for a moment before speaking, "Brother, do you have a map of Jingnan?"

"Have!"

Huan Jie responded and personally fetched the map for Sun Ce.

Sun Ce stared at the map for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, then suddenly pointed to three locations on the map and said, "Brother, these are of utmost importance."

Huan Jie peered out and saw that the places Sun Ce was pointing to were Wangcheng, a strategic point north of Linxiang City, the capital of Changsha Commandery, and Luo County and Yiyang County, two key points on the lower reaches of the Xiang River.

Huan Jie asked, somewhat puzzled, "Bo Fu, Wangcheng is naturally of utmost importance, shielding Linxiang and controlling the Xiang River. The Prefect has already ordered the deployment of 5,000 men to garrison Wangcheng to protect Linxiang. But Yiyang and Luocheng are not on the Xiang River, so what is the purpose of guarding them?"

Sun Ce smiled and analyzed for Huan Jie, "Brother, Wangcheng is important, but Yiyang and Luo County are not to be underestimated. If I were the commander-in-chief of the Jingbei Army, these two counties would be the first to be captured."

“Why is this!?”

Huan Jie was shocked by Sun Ce's words. He really couldn't understand why Sun Ce valued these two cities so much.

Sun Ce continued to explain, “Brother, please look. Yiyang County is located at the confluence of the Zi and Huan Rivers, and it is also only a hundred li away from the Xiang River. If the garrison occupies this place, it can not only receive a continuous stream of reinforcements from Wuling County, but also threaten the rear of the Jingbei army at any time and cut off the Xiang River's logistics. Do you still think Yiyang is insignificant?”

As long as Yiyang remains in the hands of the Jingnan army, reinforcements from Wuling County can continuously arrive to the east, and Yiyang provides a reliable stronghold for them to assemble. Moreover, from Yiyang, it only takes seventy or eighty li of waterway to reach the Xiang River, threatening the Jingbei army's rear and supplies.

Similarly, Luo County is also located on the Boluoyuan River, a tributary of the Xiang River, and is even closer to the Xiang River, only about 20 or 30 li away. It is slightly different from Yiyang.

This distance can be reached by water in an hour with a favorable wind. If a navy could be stationed in Luo County, it could harass the Xiang River supply line of the Jingbei army almost every day.

Huan Jie suddenly realized that after Sun Ce's explanation, he finally understood the importance of Yiyang and Luo County.

Sun Ce concluded: "Luo County can be garrisoned with two to three thousand elite troops, supplemented by more than a thousand naval forces, equipped with fast boats and red horses, which can move swiftly like the wind, with the main purpose of harassing supply ships. Meanwhile, Yiyang should continuously gather the strength of Wuling County, in order to threaten the rear of the Jingbei army in the decisive battle. In this way, a great victory can be expected."

(End of this chapter)