pappabearbooks Chapter 97 Proposal
Chapter 97 Proposal
After the scouts left, the hall was deathly silent.
Lu Bu's chest heaved violently, clearly indicating that he was furious.
The fall of Hefei, Liu Xun's crushing defeat, and Zhang Xiu's madness and demise—a series of terrible news made him feel as if Yuan Tan had slapped him hard across the face.
It's clear that Yuan Tan's strength is inferior to his own.
Yet he felt so frustrated playing.
"Since the defeat at Langya, I have levied exorbitant taxes on Xuzhou, which is how I managed to train these 200,000 elite troops, yet we still suffer repeated defeats! That brat Yuan Tan has gone too far! I will personally lead the army to flatten Langya and march straight to Qingzhou! I will tear him to pieces!"
"Lord Wen! No! Absolutely not!"
Upon seeing this, Chen Gong quickly stood up to stop him.
"Lord Wen, please calm your anger and listen to what I have to say!"
Chen Gong pointed to the location of Yanzhou on the map.
"Lord Wen, please look! If our army were to launch a full-scale attack on Yuan Tan in the north, where would Cao Cao be? This man holds the emperor hostage to command the other lords; he is a cunning and ambitious figure, and has been eyeing us covetously for a long time! Why is he currently holding back his troops in Xuchang? It is precisely to watch us and Yuan Tan fight like the snipe and the clam!"
Upon hearing this, Lü Bu indeed calmed down.
He may be reckless, but he's not stupid.
Now, in the Central Plains, only Cao Cao, Yuan Tan, and Lü Bu remain, and the three are mutually restraining each other.
If one side recklessly initiates hostilities, the other side may reap the benefits.
Seeing that Lü Bu's anger was gradually subsiding, he continued speaking:
"Although Yuan Tan has just captured Lujiang, his base is in Qingzhou. The cities of Langya and Donghai are fortified and heavily fortified. How can they be taken in a day or two? My 200,000 troops are bogged down beneath these fortified cities. If we delay for too long and our troops are exhausted, and Cao Cao suddenly launches a surprise attack on Pengcheng and Xiapi, cutting off our retreat, then our army will be caught in a dilemma. What will we do then?!"
Lu Bu's expression shifted between anger and rage, his fists clenched, but his furious aura subsided slightly.
What Chen Gong said was precisely his deepest worry: Cao Cao.
Seeing that Lü Bu had taken his words to heart, Chen Gong immediately pointed to the Jiangdong region in the south of the map and spoke faster:
"Lord Wen, attacking Yuan Tan doesn't necessarily require a head-on confrontation! We should adopt a strategy of befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones! Yuan Tan has just captured Lujiang, and his power is expanding southward. Who is the most threatened? It's Sun Ce of Jiangdong!"
He drew a heavy line along the line between Lujiang and Hefei with his finger:
"Sun Ce has long harbored ambitions to conquer the Jianghuai region. How can he allow Yuan Tan to sleep soundly beside his bed? We should quickly send eloquent and persuasive men with generous gifts to Jiangdong to form an alliance with Sun Ce!"
Explaining the advantages and disadvantages, we agreed to a pincer attack from the north and south! My troops from Xuzhou will march north to feign an attack on Langya, thus containing Yuan Tan's main force from Qingzhou; Sun Ce, on the other hand, will lead the Jiangdong army by land and water to advance west and launch a strong attack on Huainan!
Chen Gong smiled and said:
"Yuan Tan's forces are scattered, making it difficult to defend both the north and the south. Huainan has just been annexed, and the people's hearts are not yet settled. How can they withstand the Little Conqueror's thunderous attack? Once Huainan is lost, Yuan Tan will be like a man with a missing arm, and Lujiang will become an isolated island!"
At that time, the wealthy lands of Huainan could be shared with Sun Ce, or at least the cities north of Lujiang could be reclaimed, and Yuan Tan's forces could be completely driven across the Huai River!
This is the best strategy: to avoid the enemy's strength and strike at their weakness, using their strength against them! It can severely damage Yuan Tan, forge an alliance with Sun Ce, and avoid direct conflict with Cao Cao—a triple win!
Lu Bu slowly loosened his clenched fist, staring intently at the map, his gaze shifting back and forth between Xuzhou, Qingzhou, Yanzhou, and Jiangdong.
Chen Gong's strategy clearly outlines another way to break the deadlock, a path with less risk and potentially greater returns.
Joining forces with Sun Ce to first weaken Yuan Tan's relatively weak defenses was indeed a much wiser move than directly attacking Yuan Tan's long-established stronghold in Qingzhou.
In particular, this would minimize the risk of Cao Cao cutting off their retreat.
After a long while, Lü Bu took a deep breath and slowly sat back down in the main seat:
"What Gongtai said... is very good!"
He slowly looked up at Chen Gong:
"Forming an alliance with Sun Ce is a matter of great importance. Who should be sent?"
Chen Gong clearly had a plan in mind:
"Jiang Gan of Jiujiang, courtesy name Ziyi, is eloquent and has a past relationship with Zhou Yu. He is suitable for this task."
"allow!"
Lü Bu made decisions extremely quickly.
"Immediately have Jiang Gan prepare to take this personal letter and generous gifts to Jiangdong! Tell Sun Bofu that as long as he is willing to send troops to jointly attack Yuan Tan, the land of Huainan will be decided by each of us according to our own abilities!"
Furthermore, Zhang Liao was ordered to expedite the preparations of the troops at Liyang, so that once Sun Ce agreed, they would immediately march out of Hefei to support the Jiangdong army!
……
Moling.
"Mr. Jiang, I have cleared up the matter of Marquis Wen. You may go and rest for a while."
After Sun Ce saw Jiang Gan off with a smile, the polite smile on his face vanished instantly.
"Gongjin, you heard it all. Lü Bu wants to form an alliance with me to jointly attack Yuan Tan."
Sun Ce said with some helplessness,
"Yuan Xiansi... moved even faster than I expected. In the blink of an eye, his foot was already on our threshold."
He was naturally aware of Yuan Tan's southward expedition to join forces with Liu Bei to attack Lujiang.
He has even started deploying an online army, ready to interfere.
But who could have imagined that Lujiang would be captured in just a few days?
Liu Xun is utterly stupid, like a pig.
Zhou Yu, dressed in white, calmly stepped out from behind the screen, his gaze sweeping over the map, and said indifferently:
"Bo Fu and Lü Bu are wolves and jackals. They are fickle, untrustworthy, and treacherous. To ally with them is not only like seeking a tiger's skin, but also lowers one's own status and tarnishes Bo Fu's reputation as the 'Little Conqueror.' Although Jiang Gan is eloquent, his master Lü Bu has the courage of a tiger but lacks the capacity of a hegemon. He is by no means an ally to be trusted."
Sun Ce raised an eyebrow:
"Oh? Does Gongjin mean to refuse Lü Bu?"
"good."
Zhou Yu nodded.
"Lu Bu is untrustworthy, Huainan is not easily conquered, and Jiangdong has only recently been unified, its people are exhausted. If we rashly raise an army, we fear utter destruction. The best course of action now is..."
Sun Ce shook his head and interrupted:
"Yuan Tan has just acquired Lujiang and seems to have great power, but his base is in the north. Huainan has just been annexed, and the people's hearts are not yet settled, so he is like a tree without roots. This is a golden opportunity! How can I not seize this opportunity to take Huainan?"
He glanced at Zhou Yu, whose face was full of worry, and smiled:
"Does Gongjin have any brilliant plan for me?"
Seeing Sun Ce so full of vigor, Zhou Yu was indeed too embarrassed to discourage him, and Sun Ce's statement that Yuan Tan's foundation was unstable was also true.
He sighed and said:
"If Bo Fu truly wishes to take Huainan, he should proceed gradually. As the saying goes, it is better to befriend those near than those distant, and attack those near. Bo Fu, do you know that in Huainan, the Qiao family of Shucheng and the Lu family of Lujiang are the most prominent aristocratic families, deeply rooted and with extraordinary influence? How can Yuan Tan win them over by force?"
He took a step closer, lowering his voice:
"Lord Qiao had two daughters, the elder named Da Qiao and the younger named Xiao Qiao, both of whom were exceptionally beautiful and awaiting marriage. Bo Fu, a hero in his youth, was also unmarried; Yu, too, was waiting in vain."
If we could marry the daughter of the Qiao family, wouldn't it be a match made in heaven? Once this marriage is settled, the Qiao family and the related gentry of Huainan will surely wholeheartedly submit to us.
Upon hearing this, Sun Ce was taken aback at first, then clapped his hands and laughed:
"Hahaha! Excellent! What a perfect match! Gongjin's plan is brilliant! Gaining a marriage alliance is better than gaining ten thousand soldiers!"
He naturally understood that marrying into the local elite families was the most effective way to stabilize his rule.
Zhou Yu continued:
"That's the first point. Secondly, the Lu family enjoys a very high reputation among the scholars of Lujiang. We can send eloquent and persuasive individuals to secretly meet with the elders of the Lu family, explain the advantages and disadvantages, and promise them substantial benefits. Yuan Tan is in the north, and his harsh policies are inevitable. How can he compare to how we in Jiangdong treat scholars? If we can get the Qiao and Lu families to secretly respond, then when our army marches north, Huainan can be pacified with just a proclamation!"
"With coordinated efforts from within and without, we will conquer Huainan!"
Sun Ce applauded in admiration.
"Without lifting a single soldier of Lü Bu's, Jiangdong can conquer this land alone! Gongjin's strategy is indeed superior to that of 100,000 soldiers!"
He paced excitedly around the hall:
"I will refuse Jiang Gan immediately!"
"Bo Fu, wait!"
Zhou Yu waved his hand to stop him.
"Lu Bu's request is not entirely useless. Jiang Gan can be kept at bay for now. Bo Fu can reply: The alliance is of great importance and requires time to consider. At the same time, order our army to conduct large-scale naval training in the Niuzhu and Ruxu areas, making it appear as if we are about to advance westward."
Sun Ce immediately understood:
"Is Gongjin planning to... feign an attack on one side while secretly advancing on the other?"
"Exactly!"
Zhou Yu laughed,
"This move can firstly lull Yuan Tan into a false sense of security, making him think that I intend to ally with Lü Bu and that my main force will head west, thus relaxing my vigilance against the southeastern part of Huainan; secondly, it can also stabilize Lü Bu, and we can even ask him for some money, food and weapons as a sign of 'sincerity' to keep him from bothering me for the time being."
Once my marriage alliance is finalized and my internal agents are in place, I can seize Lujiang and Hefei with overwhelming force! By then, Lü Bu will realize what's happening, but it will be too late! Huainan will already be in my grasp!
Sun Ce was deeply moved, as if he could already see the banners of the Jiangdong navy flying all over the city of Huainan.
He patted Zhou Yu's shoulder heavily:
"Very well! We'll proceed according to Gongjin's plan! I'll immediately arrange for someone to go to the Qiao family in Shucheng with generous gifts to propose marriage! We'll also make arrangements with the Lu family at the same time! Gongjin, no one but you can be the one to connect us and persuade the Lu family!"
Zhou Yu bowed respectfully.
"Yu, it is my duty."