Chapter 456 - Zhou Yu"s Thoughts
In the morning, Tong returned to Jiangxia and regrouped with Huang Gai and others.
He did not come here to ferry anyone this time. However, he acted as a messenger. Tong told Huang Gai, "I"ve told Zhang He"s team to mobilize here. Their legion will arrive in about half a month, so you should use the chaos to move out of the city when they arrive."
Everyone bowed to Tong, "Thank you, your majesty!"
As Huang Gai, Zhang Hong, Zhang Zhao were cheering, Zhu Zhi looked distressed.
Among the crews, Zhu Zhi was also a subordinate of Sun Jian, but he leaned toward Sun Ce over Sun Quan after his lord had died.
Thus, he did not want the clan to split into two like this.
When Tong left the city, Zhu Zhi dispatched a messenger to Jianye in secret, hoping to inform Sun Ce.
"Please, stop them from splitting the clan."
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A month later, Sun Ce received the message from Zhu Zhi.
Upon finding out that Tong took his mother as his concubine, Sun Ce screamed in anger.
"ZHANG TOOOOOONNGGG!!!"
Losing his former wife was not enough, Tong had disgraced him by taking his mother, too.
It was an unintentionally indirect insult from Tong to Sun Ce, translated as "I f.u.c.ked your mom."
Technically, he should have been glad because his status was elevated to a relative of the emperor. If he were lucky, his rank would have been raised to a prince.
However, Sun Ce"s anger clouded his judgment, which made him unable to realize this point.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yu was calmer than his sworn brother. He wanted to grasp this opportunity to raise their status. Unfortunately, with Sun Ce"s mentality, it would be impossible.
"Has Sun Quan and Wu Guotai joined forces with Zhang Tong? This is interesting. Well, it"s a pity that Huang Gai, Han Dang, Cheng Pu, and two Zhangs join that side. I still have the new generation, Zhu Zhi, and Huang Zu."
It was a pity for Sun Jian"s former subordinates. Zhou Yu could not force them to come back since their heart was not with Sun Ce anymore.
Zhou Yu was aware that the foundation of Tong"s affiliate cities were solid, but he also knew that Tong"s successor issues were his weaknesses. If Sun Quan could take over Tong"s authority from the inside, they would still have a chance to destroy the Han Dynasty.
"In the other world, Yuan Shao"s successors fought each other instead of continuing fighting Cao Cao. In the end, all Yuans ended up dead. Zhang Tong is repeating Yuan Shao"s mistakes by having too many successors in line, and I don"t think that Liu Xie gets along with Tong."
Zhou Yu thought of Liu Xie, who Tong adopted. He also recalled that Tong had two new sons.
"Four successors. His court will be in chaos. I should capitalize on this!"
He thought of the Imperial Seal in Sun Ce"s hands. The strategist smiled.
Zhou Yu patted Sun Ce"s shoulder, "Bofu, calm down. This is a perfect opportunity for us!"
"Perfect what!?"
"Zhang Tong made a big mistake for taking in your mother. Do you realize that you"re now a prince?"
"Prince!? Do I have to call Zhang Tong FATHER!? NOPE! I"d rather die than kowtowing to that h.o.r.n.y b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"
"Haha, you don"t have to. Actually, can I have that Imperial Seal that Cao Cao gave us?"
Sun Ce"s face became solemn, "What are you trying to do with it? You won"t use it to make me another emperor, right?"
"Of course not. Proclaiming someone an emperor right now is stupid since commoners believe that the civil wars are over. I just want to bait someone into taking actions against Zhang Tong."
"Huh? Who?"
Zhou Yu snickered, "You"ll see. For now, let"s summon Zhu Zhi back. Sun Quan and others are lost cause now."
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A few days later
Zhang He"s Ghost Legion relocated from Xiangyang to Jiangxia as ordered by Tong. The sudden mobilization of 60,000 soldiers frightened the local civilians, Sun Ce, and Huang Zu.
After a casual 10 days of marching, they reached Jiangxia.
Huang Zu did not dare to intercept this army as he was working for Liu Biao on the surface. Had he picked a fight with Zhang He, he would be seen as a traitor or a rebel. Thus, he kept his private army in Jiangxia and rode out to welcome Zhang He Army with a few men.
Upon seeing the legion commander, Huang Zu stepped down from his horse and bowed to Zhang He.
"H-h.e.l.lo, great general. I didn"t know that your army is moving here."
Huang Zu was afraid that Zhang He might attack his city or steal it from his control, so he acted humble in front of this young man.
Zhang He waved his hand, "It"s me who has to apologize to senior that I didn"t inform you before the dispatch. Well, there is nothing to worry about."
"May I ask what mission you are doing here?"
"It"s a forced march drill. Staying idly in this region for too long will spoil the soldiers, so I have to keep them in shape."
It was an excuse that Xun You thought up for him in this kind of scenario. After all, Liu Biao and Tong were allies, so there was no reason for Lu Bu or Zhang He to move around in Jing Province without Liu Biao"s permission. However, training, drilling, and exercises were exceptions in the cooperation agreements between Tong and Liu Biao.
Therefore, Zhang He and Lu Bu could still move their troops around in the guise of training!
"W-Won"t your army consume too much provision for the mobilization? You know, soldiers will eat all the reserved stocks instead of finding their own food."
In this era, when soldiers garrisoned inside a city, it was common for the garrisoning soldiers to visit the town and buy food instead of eating the army"s provision.
Sometimes, army commanders limited the soldier provision by feeding them once or twice a day during a peaceful period. As for the rest of the days, they had to procure their own food from the city, using their own pocket money. This encouraged the soldiers to spend their hard-earned money on local food and lower their army"s food consumption rate.
Once mobilized, these kinds of policies would no longer be possible, so the commanders had to use their provisions to upkeep the soldiers. Moreover, soldiers expected bonuses in war as they usually cut their enemies" heads, ears, noses, or body parts as their trophies or proofs, and generals had to pay extra wages for these submitted games.
In summary, mobilizing consumed both fund and provision more than garrisoning inside a city!
However, the supply line coming from Henei belonged to Li Feihong, who had an unlimited stock of provision. After getting the cooperation from Cao Cao, a new logistic route had been established, connecting a chain of cities between Henei, Luoyang, Wan, Xinye, and Xiangyang.
Li Feihong sold food to Cao Cao"s cities as a bribe while he supported Zhang He, Lu Bu, and Liu Biao from afar, which was a win-win agreement to all sides. Cao Cao"s men also allowed Li Feihong"s men to move around freely in their territories in secret, which benefited Tong as well.
Xiangyang, where this trade route ended, received the boons from the channel. Liu Biao, Lu Bu, and Zhang He no longer had to worry about their food problems anymore.
Thus, marching around like this would not trouble Zhang He at all.
"It"s fine, senior Huang. Our provision is not an issue."
"O-Okay. Then, where will your army be staying?"
"I want my soldiers to get used to Jing Province"s culture and people. Do you mind if I allow my men to rest inside the city for a day or two?"
"I don"t mind… as long as they don"t cause troubles."
"Hahaha! They"re my disciplined soldiers. Don"t worry. If there is any issue, I"ll punish them and hand them to you."
"… If you say so."
In the end, Zhang He"s men entered Jiangxia unhindered.
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The next day
Zhang He"s men were richer than the local soldiers as the salary from Tong was 3 times higher than other armies. Because of such status, rumors circulated and spread by the visiting soldiers, who squandered their money for local products and food.
Smart soldiers brought wares that they brought from the capital, such as house tools, soap, and medicines, to Jiangxia to exchange for pocket money. Although the same items were sold in Jiangxia, the margin of the item price was enough to get some profit.
If only one or two soldiers brought in the goods, no one would have noticed it. However, out of 60,000 soldiers, one-fifth of them flooded the city with unique products from the north, which caused a stir in Jiangxia markets.
The influx of income boosted Jiangxia"s economy, which was welcomed by the local merchants and the officials. As a consequence, the local population got addicted to Tong"s soldiers. They wanted more of them to visit this city. Local merchants also had an inspiration to travel north to procure goods from Ye and resell it here.
This was a perk of tourist sites. By having visitors, the local businesses boomed. Coincidentally, Huang Zu discovered it by chance.
"It"s not so bad to reel in rich b.a.s.t.a.r.ds from the north. I should create a campaign and bait scholars, soldiers, and Zhang Tong"s citizens to come here and squander their money."
Because of his greed, Huang Zu temporally forgot about the hostages, Wu Guotai, Huang Gai, and others.
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Meanwhile, Huang Gai, Cheng Pu, Han Dang, Zhang Hong, and Zhang Zhao used this chance to mix in with Zhang He"s soldiers.
Zhang He also came here prepared. The moment he located the hostages, he sent soldiers to bring uniforms for Huang Gai and his men.
Once everyone geared as Ghost Legion soldiers, they slipped out of the city and entered Zhang He"s camp. Everyone, including their private soldiers, integrated with the army.
Unfortunately, Zhu Zhi went missing after the arrival of the legion, but Huang Gai and Zhang Zhao knew where he went.
"That guy isn"t one of us, huh?"
"He is on Sun Ce"s side from the beginning. We can"t help it."
It was a pity that their colleague chose the others over their lady and their third young master. They could only pray that they won"t meet each other as enemies in the future.
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Jianye City
Zhu Zhi returned to Sun Ce"s side. He knelt and reported the current situation in Jiangxia to Sun Ce and Zhou Yu.
It was heartbreaking for Zhou Yu even though they had expected this departure. In the future, they knew that these former comrades would end up as their enemies instead of allies.
In the other world, Sun Quan was also once his lord, and he even died trying to raise Sun Quan"s status and protect his kingdom. Unfortunately, they could only be enemies now.
"Sun Zhongmou. I respect your decision, but you picked the wrong side. I"m afraid that I"ll have to kill you along with Zhang Tong"s children!"