In June of the third year of the Republic, Sun Shao gave two notes to the Son of Heaven at the same time, one suggesting that the Son of Heaven organize Wei and Shu to jointly pacify Xiliang, re-incorporate Xiliang into the territory of the Han Dynasty, and prepare for the next expedition to the Western Regions. A request to join forces with Wu to attack Funan, recover Yuenan County, and seek justice for the slain Yue merchants. The Son of Heaven did not give an immediate reply, he just published Sun Shao's two notes in the Han Gazette, and then added a note, understating that the general of Fuyi was commendable and a great loyal minister, and then asked the three kings of Wei, Shu and Wu to discuss the feasible surnames he suggested.

The Han Gazette is issued to the whole country, basically all counties and counties have a little face of the characters will subscribe to the Han Gazette, that is, even the peddlers and pawns have nothing to do and like to hear people talk about the new things in the Han Gazette, this King of Yue is now a man of the hour, and all his news will be talked about for a long time.

It's no wonder that although the three kings of Wei, Shu and Wu are all heroes who have been famous for a long time, but their fame is established on the accumulated bones of the Han people, there are not a few people who have killed for the right, like Cao Ying, Sun Quan and the like have a bad record of slaughtering the city, and the impression among the people is very bad, but this Yue King is very different, he single-handedly promoted the army conference, so that the Han who had been in turmoil for thirty years restored peace, although he also led the naval division to fight in the south and the north, he was a belligerent, but he did not fight the civil war, and killed the barbarians, He also likes to rob, but he robs to make life better for the people.

Have you ever seen such militants? Have you ever seen such a robbery? No. The common people are very simple, their expectations are not high, and whoever can treat them as human beings and who can bring them benefits will appreciate and worship whomever they want.

So this young Yue Wang is now the biggest talking point after tea and dinner, and the last hope when life is hopeless.

Sun Shao's anti-corruption work went smoothly, with the smuggling of warships to his brother Sheng Kuang's Sheng Gu was slapped twice by the old lady and took the initiative to surrender to Sun Shao, paid a huge fine, and after the newspaper stated that he would never do such a thing in the future, large and small unscrupulous businessmen either took the initiative or passively surrendered to the new imperial doctor Gu Yu, in just three months, the anti-corruption work was basically completed, and the fine paid allowed Gu Yu to experience the wealth of the Vietnamese people.

Due to the proper arrangement, the people who have just arrived in Vietnam to settle down ushered in the first harvest, looking at the golden grain, the people who left their hometowns finally breathed a sigh of relief, and no longer have to borrow money from the government, although the government did not say anything, but the kind and simple people who are willing to stretch out their hands to people every day, most people still have to save face.

In late September, the counties completed the plan, and Prime Minister Yu successfully completed the plan he set at the beginning of the year, doubling the population and doubling the taxes. Sun Shao, who had gone smoothly in various affairs, again proposed the expedition to Funan, Yu turned without saying a word, raised his hands in favor, the newly harvested rice was directly transported to the warship, and the 20,000 sailors set off in full gear, and the right general Chen Hai was ordered to assist Prime Minister Yu to turn over the remaining Qian Tang, and watched Yue Hai and others board the ship and go away.

Sun Deng took Zhuge Ke and Xie Jing to stand on Sun Shao's big boat, looking at the sails and shadows and the warships like clouds, and he was envious. Sun Shao's expedition this time, one building ship, nine medium-sized building ships, more than 50 medium-sized warships, small warships and baggage ships not counting the rest, the total strength reached more than 20,000 people, and a large number of accompanying merchants, and in addition to the two people around him, there were only 2,000 Zhou private troops led by Zhou Xun, Sun Shao arranged a building ship for him, which was all his belongings as the prince of Wu.

"It's finally gone." Sun Deng let out a long breath, and the stone that had been hanging in his heart for months finally fell to the ground.

"Yes, if you don't set off, this matter will become a joke." Xie Jing also smiled bitterly: "Lu Yuanjun has urged him several times, he is very difficult to fight in Jiaozhou, and without the help of the Yueguo Water Division, it is too difficult to take back Yuenan." ”

Lü Dai set out from Jianye in May, arrived in Hepu in mid-June, and after handing over to Buqi, who had been waiting in Hepu for a long time, he officially took office as the Jiaozhou Assassin, and he immediately arranged for the conquest of Yuenan, but he soon found that the dense mountains and forests not only made the march very difficult, but also a disaster for logistics and transportation, and he trekked in the mountains and forests for two months, and finally arrived in the territory of Yuenan. As soon as the people of Linyi, who occupied Xijuan City, heard that the army of Wu was coming, they were also single, and after looting on a large scale, they scattered in a hurry, leaving an empty city. Although Lu Dai, who got the news, was angry, he was also relieved, no matter what, the task of recovering Yuenan County was about to be completed.

No one expected that when Lu Dai rushed to the West Roll City day and night, preparing to receive the West Roll City, those Yi people came out of the mountains and forests and attacked Lu Dai's logistics troops. Lu Dai was unable to enter and occupy Xijuan City on the one hand, and on the other hand, he passed on the four counties of Hepu, Jiuzhen, Jiaoluan, and Yulin to levy and distribute people and transport grain and grass. As soon as this order was given, the people in Jiaozhou suddenly boiled with resentment.

In fact, Lu Dai can't be blamed for this matter, even if he is not attacked by the Yi people, the grain and grass are almost consumed, and those people from the Linyi Kingdom did not leave him a single grain. What's more, he miscalculated a time. He always thought that the time of the autumn harvest in Jiaozhou was also September, but he didn't expect the hot weather in Jiaozhou, and it was harvested at the end of July and August.

However, repeated requisition is by no means a simple matter, the amount of food required is one thing, and more importantly, the people of Jiaozhou have no confidence in Lu Dai, generally speaking, the army will not repeat the requisition of the people and grain and grass, once this situation occurs, it usually means that this war is in trouble, there may be a third or fourth time if there is a second time, so they push back and find various reasons to delay time, Lu Dai sent a few urgent letters, but the grain is still unable to enter the West Scroll City. Coupled with the attack of the elusive Yi people in the mountains and forests, Lu Dai's food was soon in short supply.

Lu Dai thought of Zhu Ya, and he sent people to rush to Zhu Ya with great difficulty, but was rejected by Shen Xuan, the Tainong Ling of the Yue Kingdom. Shen Xuan said, are you embarrassed to borrow grain from me? Your Wu country has no ability to defend Yuenan, so hand over Yuenan to us, now good, the merchants of my Yue country have been killed, their property has been robbed, and there is nowhere to buy grain, this year you have to tighten your belt and pass the day, how can there be food support for you, you better give me compensation first.

Lu Dai was so angry that he stomped his feet and scolded Shen Xuan for being shameless, who was Wei Ping, the previous Southern Taishou? He is the person recommended by your Yue Guo, he is incompetent, and he lost Yuenan County, what does it matter to me? Do you still want me to compensate? Who am I going to? I suspect you did it.

But he was angry, Shen Xuan couldn't hear it, and seeing that he was about to run out of food, Lu Dai was forced to have no choice but to withdraw from Yuenan County and return to Jiuzhen County to eat. As soon as they retreated, the Yi people of Linyi Kingdom came back, not only reoccupying Xijuan City, but also chasing after Lu Dai's ass. Lu Dai was hungry and hungry at this time, and he had no morale when he first arrived in Yuenan, and he escaped miserably all the way, when the eight thousand army returned to Jiuzhen, there were only more than five thousand left, and the remaining two or three thousand people were killed by poisonous insects and beasts in the mountains and forests, some were killed by miasma, some were killed by Yiren, and some simply disappeared.

Lu Dai couldn't think about it, so he could only defend Jiuzhen to the death, and sent several urgent letters in a row, asking Sun Quan to send reinforcements.

Sun Quan was also anxious at this time, in the first half of the year, Sun Shao was so engaged, the loss of household registration was nearly 20,000, and the counties adjacent to the Yue Kingdom were basically empty, and the taxes were also greatly affected, the generals complained, but no one took the initiative to seek justice with the Yue State, most of the generals who could be arranged in those poor counties were not strong enough, and the really strong people did not say anything, how dare they bare their teeth? You see that the new capital of the people is too stable to guard He Qi, he has a lot of household registration, and it is said that he also followed the back of Yue Guo to stain a little light, and by the way, intercepted some of the household registrations that fled to Yue Guo. When Sun Quan asked him if he could use force with the Yue Kingdom, He Qi moved with affection, knew it with reason, and persuaded Sun Quan bitterly, you provoke a war without reason, and you will definitely not win, or honestly repair government affairs internally and cultivate military equipment outside, which made Sun Quan so angry that his nostrils were smoking.

What Sun Quan could do was to order Bu Qi to move closer to Cangwu and be ready to support Lu Dai at any time, and on the other hand urge Sun Deng and Sun Shao to rush to the South China Sea as soon as possible. In the chaos of the south, he really felt the important surname of Jiaozhou, and the loss of this tax was serious. In the past, Jiaozhou was a granary and a treasury, and it used to be a battle for Sun Quan's bulging pockets, but now it is good, it has become a bottomless pit, and he wants to lose money upside down, who wants to do this.

Sun Deng was urged by Sun Quan to have a headache, but Sun Shao didn't send troops, he had thought about what he could do, and he had thought about everything, but he still delayed it until the end of September, and now he finally set off, but when he thought of the battle situation in Jiaozhou, Sun Deng still couldn't be happy. I went to Yuenan like this, how can I fight this battle? Can you win? If you can't win, then aren't you asking for trouble?

"Prince, the king of my family invites you to come in and speak." Zhou Yin was wearing a brand-new military marquis costume of the Destroying Blade Battalion, holding his chest straight, and said to Sun Deng proudly. Sun Deng glanced at him and shook his head helplessly. Outsiders really can't figure out this matter of Yue Guo, Zhou Yin's dignified Changle Guard Captain doesn't do it, he has to go to any of the military marquis of the Destroying Feng Battalion, and he is happy to pick up a bargain.

"Big brother." Sun Deng entered the cabin and saluted Sun Shao, who was sitting in front of the desk drinking tea. Since he was ignored by Sun Shao and them last time, he no longer dared to put the prince's score in front of Sun Shao.

"Sit." Sun Shao pointed to the straw mat on the ground and didn't raise his head.

Sun ascended the seat, and Sun Shao pointed to the teapot and teacup on the table: "If you want to drink and pour it yourself, your family will not be polite to you." ”

"Ugh." Sun Deng responded, reached out and lifted the teapot, poured a cup of tea for Sun Shao first, and then poured himself a cup, took a sip, and said with a smile: "Good tea, big brother, this is not Biluochun, the taste is very pure." ”

"Yizhou tea, just delivered." Sun Shao glanced at Sun Deng and smiled, "Zigao, how are you going to fight in the South China Sea?" ”

Sun Deng blinked: "Everything is up to the orders of the eldest brother, I went to the South China Sea just for a moment, and I can command it, that is, Zhou Xun's two thousand people, Lu Dai is the old general of my father, so he won't take me in his eyes." ”

"Hey, hey, hey......" Sun Shao was amused by Sun Deng's confession, he looked at Sun Deng, and suddenly said: "Zigao, you have grown up." ”

Sun Deng's nose was sour, and he almost burst into tears, he hurriedly lowered his head and drank tea to hide his gaffe. I don't know why, he can only feel a trace of warmth in front of Sun Shao, compared to his father Sun Quan, although he and Sun Shao are enemies, but Sun Shao can give him a sense of security. In Qiantang in the past few months, he has felt a lot, on the one hand, he has to be pressured by Sun Quan, and on the other hand, he has to bear the cold eyes of the monarchs and ministers of the Yue Kingdom, this is really hard, countless times more complicated than the taste he felt in the palace of Wu in Jianye.

"You have already performed the crown ceremony, and you are the crown prince of Wu again, this time you go to the South China Sea, we are two countries fighting together, and I can't take care of you like I did when I was in Liaodong." Sun Shao said slowly. Sun Deng's heart sank, and he couldn't help but raise his head to look at Sun Shao. Sun Shao smiled: "You don't have to look at me like this, I don't think you will be willing to let me take care of it for a lifetime." Zigao, when you grow up, you have to look at the problem from the perspective of the crown prince of Wu and even the king of Wu. ”

"This ...... I'm afraid it's not suitable, my father is in the prime of life, in good health, and he has been enjoying the country for a long time, and I just learned to deal with some government affairs with him. Sun Deng said in a snort.

"Hahaha......" Sun Shao smiled heartily, he nodded Sun Deng with his finger and said: "Zigao, you are too restrained, there are no outsiders here, I am your father's thorn in the eye, a thorn in the flesh, even if he thinks of saying that you are not in front of him, he will not believe me." What are you worried about? Or are you used to this cautious life? I remember that it wasn't like this when you were in Liaodong, eating meat in large pieces and drinking wine in large bowls, which was very refreshing. Why has it only been two years that you have become so cautious? ”

Sun Deng smiled awkwardly and did not say anything. The prince of the past two years has come now, he has been very cautious, he has to think twice before saying anything, think about it again and again for a long time, figure out what Sun Quan means, guess what others think, and live a very tired life.

"I mean, you have to look at things with this kind of vision, not to persuade you to seek power and usurp the throne." Sun Shao smiled and said lightly: "Sun Shao is still young, although Mrs. Wang is favored, but their mother and son have no support, even if your father wants to make him the crown prince, he must also consider the ideas of other people." ”

Sun Deng's heart moved, his lips moved twice, but he didn't say it. He knew that Sun Shao had a good relationship with the Gu family and the Lu family, although he dismissed Lu Ji's imperial historian this time, but then promoted Gu Yu of the Gu family, and Lu Ji had just married Sun Shangxiang, Gu Yong's wife Lu was very satisfied, and specially asked people to send a message to express their gratitude to Sun Shao. And the Zhang family because of the marriage with Gu Lu's family, now the relationship with Sun Shao is also very close, Zhang Wen some time ago because he offended too many people, someone wrote a letter to accuse Ji Yan of personal vendetta, and as a result, Zhang Wen was implicated, Zhang Wen was dismissed, but Sun Quan did not dare to clean him up like Ji Yan, just let him go home and live idle, in order to appease Zhang Wen, he also promoted Zhang Wen's younger brother Zhang Qi into the house as Langzhong.

In other words, if Sun Shao has said something, three of the four surnames of Wu can stand on his side of Sun Deng, which is a very powerful force, so strong that Sun Quan does not dare to take it lightly, on the other hand, there are Mrs. Xu and Mrs. Bu in the harem, and Mrs. Wang has no chance to become the queen at all, and Mrs. Xu and Mrs. Bu have a close relationship with Sun Shao.

Sun Deng nodded, his attitude obviously becoming much softer.

"After all, the help of others is just the icing on the cake, if you want them to continue to help you, in addition to bringing them benefits, the most important thing is that you must have your own strength." Sun Shao saw that Sun Deng's face softened a little, and further enlightened: "Strength is divided into two aspects, on the one hand, how many financial resources and soldiers are in hand, and on the other hand, you must have your own reputation and prestige. Do you think a family like the Gu family and the Lu family will help a weak and incompetent person? Zigao, if you want to go to the South China Sea, don't you just want to make a contribution? If you don't go to the battlefield and don't lead the troops into battle, how can the generals really believe in you? ”

"That'...... Then I'm going to war too? Sun Deng stammered, looking at Sun Shao with a little nervousness and pity in his eyes.

"You decide for yourself, I can't make decisions for you in this kind of thing." Sun Shao smiled, picked up the teacup again, and asked after a while, "How are your martial arts?" ”

"It's okay to be fit, but I haven't been in battle." Sun Deng said embarrassedly: "When I was in Jianye, I spent most of my time studying, and I rarely had the opportunity to practice martial arts. ”

"Reading? What books to read? ”

"Read Chinese books, read historical records, and read the Spring and Autumn Classics." Sun Deng thought for a while, and then said: "I have also read some Warring States Policy and military books, and of course, the New Classic of Mountains and Seas written by the eldest brother. ”

"Do you also read idle books like the New Classic of Mountains and Seas?" Sun Shao looked at Sun Deng with a smile.

"Look." Sun Deng's face flushed, the reason why he watched the New Classic of Mountains and Seas was mainly to deal with Sun Quan's inquiry. In fact, he was more receptive to the Confucian classics and was not too interested in books like the New Classic of Mountains and Seas.

"Hey, hey, hey......" Sun Shao saw Sun Deng's embarrassment, just laughed a few times evilly, and didn't ask any more. He sipped his tea slowly, looked at the slowly moving waterfront outside the cabin window, and said leisurely: "I won't force you, anyway, there is still more than a month to go, you can think about it yourself." If you want to go to the front line and feel the smell of blood, I will assign some people to protect you, and if you feel more comfortable sitting in the back, I have no objection. However, in order to ensure your safety, I suggest that Zhou Xun's 2,000 people be temporarily assigned to my subordinates to train together, otherwise, even if his people go to Yuenan, I am afraid they will not be able to play a role. ”

Sun Deng hesitated, he didn't know if Sun Shao really wanted to help him train Zhou Xun's men and horses, or if he wanted to take the opportunity to swallow Zhou Xun's subordinates, and even accept Zhou Xun together.

"Don't be in a hurry to answer me, there is time anyway." Sun Shao smiled and picked up the teacup: "Take advantage of the time to adapt to the life on the ship, you have been away from the fleet for almost two years, and I am afraid that you will not be able to adapt to the wind and waves at sea again." ”

"Yes." Sun Deng nodded and got up to say goodbye. Sun Shao didn't get up to see him off, just nodded in greeting. Sun Deng got out of the cabin, holding on to the railing and was about to get off the ship, when he suddenly heard a shouting in front of him, and he followed the sound to see that it was Sun Shangxiang's Flying Tiger. Sun Shangxiang and Guan Feng stood side by side on the flying house, pointing to the deck and laughing. Sun Deng looked to the deck again, and saw that Sun Luban and the two female pawns were surrounded by more than a dozen female pawns, their helmets had fallen off, their hair was scattered, and they looked embarrassed, but she was still covering each other back to back with the two female pawns, brandishing their war knives to slash left and right, struggling to break through, and her fierce appearance looked like a tiger cub.

Sun Deng was inexplicably stunned for a moment, frowned, and subconsciously looked at his boat. Zhou Xun was standing on the side of the gunwale, stretching his neck to look over there, beating the railing from time to time, looking very anxious.

Sun Deng returned to his boat, walked behind Zhou Xun, and coughed lightly, Zhou Xun, who was looking at it, came back to his senses and hurriedly saluted Sun Deng: "Prince, have you discussed it with His Royal Highness King Yue?" ”

"Well, it's been discussed." Sun Deng nodded silently: "He asked me if I wanted to come to the battle in person." ”

Zhou Xun's eyes flashed: "How did the prince reply to him?" ”

Sun Deng walked to the side of the board, looked at Sun Luban, who had just been pushed to the ground by more than a dozen female pawns and captured alive, and said unhappily: "Dignified princess, is it too much to scuffle with a group of female pawns?" ”

Zhou Xun glanced over there and smiled faintly, but there was a disapproving look in his eyes. The prince agreed to her march south with the army, and with her surname, she would inevitably go into battle. It's not a bad thing to practice more. ”

"You can see it, too." Sun Deng turned his face and glanced at Zhou Xun, and said with a somewhat sarcastic smile: "Bo Ying, do you also want to make meritorious contributions?" ”

Zhou Xun blinked, looked at Sun Deng for a moment, and suddenly smiled: "Maybe the minister and the monarch of the Yue Kingdom have stayed together for too long, this is very murderous, and when he sees someone doing it, he is inevitably a little impatient." However, the minister is the one who leads the troops, and killing or being killed is expected, so you can't go without meeting the enemy for the rest of your life, and you can't hide from it. ”

Sun Deng was a little unhappy by the meaning of Zhou Xun's answer, he frowned, bit his lip tightly, and turned into the cabin. Zhou Xun was about to follow, but his body just moved, and then stopped, he turned around and looked at the Flying Tiger, Sun Luban was called to Feilu, and was listening to what Sun Shangxiang and Guan Feng said, nodding constantly, maybe sensing Zhou Xun's concerned gaze, Sun Luban suddenly turned his head and looked at him, the eyes of the two intersected, Sun Luban raised his hand excitedly, and greeted him with a smile.

Hundreds of women on the Flying Tiger all looked over to this side, and a few female pawns rushed to the side of the boat, looking at Zhou Xun with presumptuous eyes, the undisguised love curtain in the eyes made Zhou Xun's face red, he couldn't resist these hot eyes, he ran away, walked too quickly, slipped his feet, and fell to the ground with a thud.

Laughter erupted from the Flying Tiger.

(To be continued)