Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 188 Avoid

Kuaiji County.

Shanyin City was packed with people inside and outside the city, more than 300,000 people, and more refugees were pouring in from all directions.

The years of planning by Tianshidao finally came into play at this moment.

Between the Jin Dynasty and the Tianshi Dao, the people of the Three Wu and Eight Counties chose the Tianshi Dao.

However, after hearing Liu Lao's words, Sun En changed his tone again. He no longer wanted to replace the Sima family, but wanted to use the Qiantang River as the boundary to split the Three Wus.

But reports of defeat came one after another from the front.

"Reporting to the General, Lu Gui was captured by Liu Jingxuan, Wuxing was captured by Xie Yan, Xu Yunzhi was defeated and captured, Qiu Weng fled into the sea... Both armies are heading straight for Kuaiji!"

"How come it came so quickly!" Sun En was shocked.

Liu Laozhi was very famous. In the Battle of Feishui, his 70,000 Northern Army defeated the 850,000 Di Qin Army. The more than 300,000 people under Sun En's command were not even considered an army.

In such a hurry, no effective internal management was established, and people just gathered together in a large crowd.

"Report—Liu Laozhi's vanguard, Liu Jingxuan and Liu Yu's troops, have crossed the Qiantang River and are heading straight for Shanyin!"

The situation is becoming increasingly unfavorable.

The Northern Army was as fast as lightning, crushing everything in its path with terrifying force.

"With Shanyin City in our hands and 300,000 men under our command, Liu Laozhi is exhausted after traveling so far and is ready for a fight! If we delay for two or three months, the Jin Dynasty will fall into chaos." Lu Xun strongly advocated a war.

It's not that he is arrogant, but he has thought it through carefully.

As long as the main force of the Northern Army is held back in the east, the Huan family in the west will definitely take advantage of the opportunity.

By then, the imperial court will be unable to take care of itself and will definitely transfer Liu Laozhi back.

But Sun En was in a state of panic all day long and had no confidence at all against Liu Laozhi.

Originally, he wanted to rely on powerful people like Lu Gui, Qiu Weng, and Xu Yunzhi to resist the Northern Palace Army, but in less than half a month, they were wiped out. There was also an unheard-of incident of one person chasing and killing thousands of people. The rumor spread among the Taoists, further intensifying the fear of the Northern Palace Army.

Sun En had not yet had time to integrate the Taoists under his command.

"The Northern Army has won victory after victory, and their momentum is as high as a rainbow. Liu Laozhi is invincible and has many brave generals under his command. I believe we are invincible and should temporarily avoid his attack. If we are trapped in Shanyin, we will be doomed. The Huan family will never send troops unless our army suffers heavy casualties!"

Xu Daofu pointed out the key.

The Huan family is not a pushover. They want to reap the benefits and will not send troops easily until the Tianshi Dao and Beifu Army have exhausted their last drop of blood.

In the current situation, the most likely scenario is that the Tianshi Dao will be the first to use up their last drop of blood, while the Beifu Army will only suffer a minor scratch.

The reason was simple: the three counties of Eastern Wu were defeated too quickly, catching the Tianshi Dao off guard and completely suppressing their momentum.

It is not an easy task to turn more than 300,000 people into an army.

The Tianshi Dao is good at misleading people, but is not good at internal management, and it still does not have a framework.

Sun En called himself the General of the Eastern Expedition, which made him look a bit weaker in terms of momentum. Even Lu Song, who broke into the palace that year, knew to give himself the title of "Da Dao Ji Jiu"...

"What should we do now?" Sun En didn't want to fight, nor did he dare to fight.

Xu Daofu said, "We should bring our young and strong men across the sea. The Jin navy will be completely destroyed and won't be able to harm us. Our navy can come and go freely along the southeast coast, avoiding the strong and attacking the weak, wearing down the Northern Army. Within two years, the Northern Army will be exhausted and will be able to launch a counterattack. A single battle will decide the outcome!"

The navy of the Tianshi Dao could not only sail on the Yangtze River, but also controlled the sea and operated on the islands for many years.

After taking Kuaiji, they seized more than 50 warships from aristocratic families, greatly increasing their strength.

The Northern Army was invincible in field battles, but the Tianshi Dao dominated the sea.

However, Sun En was reluctant to give up the prosperous Kuaiji. He had planned to use it as his capital to rebuild the Wu Kingdom and continue the glory of the Sun Wu Kingdom. Xu Daofu advised again, "I think Liu Laozhi is a fickle man. He will definitely not be favored by the nobles. Even without our intervention, the nobles will not let him go."

Liu Laozhi's betrayal of Wang Gong became a stain on his life.

Before this, Wang Gong had also worshipped him as his brother.

It was only because the Tianshi Dao rebelled that the imperial court had to reuse him.

"Third, the Three Wus and Eight Commanderies were destroyed in the flames of war. The foundation of the Jin Dynasty has been shattered, and the Sima family's luck has run out. Someone must take their place. Whoever can endure to the end will reap the benefits. General, if you want to achieve great things, you must not make mistakes."

Xu Daofu talks eloquently and has become the think tank of Tianshi Dao.

Every suggestion hits the heart of the current situation and is convincing.

Lu Xun said: "The vanguard of the Northern Army has already crossed the Qiantang River. It is difficult for 300,000 troops to retreat quickly..."

Xu Daofu had already made up his mind. "The Northern Army is extremely greedy. They can scatter their wealth and children along the way. They are only focused on grabbing them and naturally have no intention of pursuing us. The situation is urgent. Should we defend or flee? General, make a quick decision."

Whether you stay or leave, there is always a glimmer of hope.

The most foolish thing to do is to do nothing, hesitate, and wait for the Northern Army to come and attack.

"Let's go!" Sun En really didn't have the courage to fight Liu Laozhi...

Wuxing.

Liu Daogui thought it would be a tough battle, but he didn't expect Sun En to run away.

He ran so resolutely, without any hesitation, and even left the mighty city of Shanyin behind.

At that time, Liu Yu's reputation for bravery was spreading throughout the Three Wus and Eight Counties. He chased and killed a thousand people in Wu County alone, and his name shook the Jiangzuo region. Liu Daogui defeated the coalition forces of Qiu Wang and Xu Yun in Wuxing with a smaller force, and his reputation rose rapidly.

They were hyped up by gossipers as the "Twin Pearls" of the Northern Palace.

During the Wei and Jin dynasties, the gentry praised each other with exaggerated words.

Wang Gong was praised as "clean and pure as a willow in the spring moon," and Yin Zhongkan was praised as "a man with the talent to command an army and govern a country."

Compared to the aristocracy, the "double gems" of Liu Yu and Liu Daogui were nothing. After all, they were real military achievements, and they were leaked from within the Northern Palace Army...

Troops from all directions headed south, fighting for the wealth and children left behind by the evil bandits. Even many civilians who had not joined the bandits were implicated. The Northern Army rushed in, burned villages, and took away wives and daughters. The land of the Three Wus was filled with wailing...

Although the Tianshi Dao retreated, the Three Wus and Eight Counties were also abolished.

The ripe crops in the fields were left unharvested. Rather than working hard to harvest the crops, the soldiers of the Northern Palace would rather rob property and children.

Some groups even killed each other in a fight over property.

If Sun En had the courage to counterattack at this time, the Northern Army would probably repeat the mistakes of the Battle of Linzhang.

Liu Daogui suddenly discovered a problem. The Northern Army was not a monolithic entity. Its combat strength was uneven. The strong ones were Liu Laozhi and Sun Wuzhong, and it was hard to say about the others.

"Join the army..." Tan Ji, Liu Zun and others looked at each other with burning eyes.

I also want to join the looting team.

Liu Daogui couldn't stop them. The wealth was piled up on the road, and he couldn't let the soldiers just watch helplessly. "Go..."

The soldiers cheered and headed south.

Only Liu Huaishen remained indifferent. "The Tianshi Dao's retreat to the island is a brilliant move. They can recuperate and train their elite troops. If they return one day, they will cause even greater harm."

Liu Daogui said, "When water comes, we can block it with earth; when soldiers come, we can resist them with soldiers. Why worry about the future? Besides, the people who should be worried are the noble families in Jiankang City."

(End of this chapter)