The Nameless of the Common Clans

The way Sun Ce ended was somewhat surprising. Since Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang, he was the first prince to be assassinated, and he was also a prince known for his bravery. However, such a prince with the courage of ten thousand men was successfully assassinated.

As soon as the news came out, Liu Bei subconsciously strengthened his defense, and even Chen Mo selected a group of personal guards for himself.

As for the cause of Sun Ce's death, Cheng Pu sent people to hunt down the assassin who ambushed Sun Ce at the first time, but Yang Qing was well prepared. At that time, those who participated in the killing had their own identities. On the surface, they were all retainers of the Jiangdong noble families. Even if they were caught, the first step involved these Jiangdong nobles.

As for Yang Qing, after Chen Mo received the news of Sun Ce's assassination, he had not been able to get any news from Yang Qing. He didn't know whether he was dead or alive, but one thing was certain, Jiangdong was in chaos.

After Sun Ce died, who would inherit his position?

Although Sun Ce was the de facto ruler of Jiangdong, Jiangdong had a court in moral terms. Sun Ce's position as a general was not inherited by reason. Although Sun Ce was strong in recent years, there were also people in the Jiangdong court who did not respect Sun Ce and only respected the court, not Sun Ce. At the same time, Sun Ce supported Liu Ji for so many years, and the Jiangdong court still had some influence in Jiangdong.

Let's not talk about the pressure from the court for now. There were also disagreements within the Sun family. When Sun Ce died, he was in his prime, and the Spring and Autumn Period was in full swing. Naturally, he did not clearly establish an heir. He had one son and three daughters, and the eldest son Sun Shao. If we put aside the question of whether Sun Ce's position as a general could be inherited, Sun Shao was the most qualified to inherit Sun Ce.

Sun Shao is now fourteen years old. Although he is a little young in terms of age, in this era, a fourteen-year-old boy is already considered an adult.

However, many people in the Sun clan felt that Sun Shao was too young and that Jiangdong was surrounded by wolves. The young Sun Shao was not suitable to inherit the position of the Lord of Jiangdong. They were more inclined to let the 26-year-old Sun Quan inherit Sun Ce's position as the Lord of Jiangdong.

Led by Zhang Zhao, Gu Yong, and Zhang Hong, they supported Sun Quan to inherit the will of his father and brother. In addition, Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, and Han Dang also tended to Sun Quan. Emotionally, Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, and Han Dang naturally preferred Sun Shao, but they also knew that Sun Shao was too young to control the current situation in Jiangdong. For the sake of the overall situation, they could only choose Sun Quan.

In addition to these people, there were also many people who supported Sun Shao. It was a truth that everyone recognized that the son should inherit the father's business. In addition, there was a neutral faction headed by Lu Su, and there were also people in the Jiangdong court who secretly instigated.

"What a pity. If we have to deal with Cao Cao, this is the best time to attack Jiangdong!" In Suiyang, Chen Mo sighed as he watched the news from Jiangdong. This opportunity was really great, but he could only choose one between Jiangdong and Cao Cao. Cao Cao's 200,000 troops were a threat that Chen Mo could not ignore. Jiangdong could not attack because of Sun Ce's death, so Chen Mo was just going to fight Cao Cao with all his strength. The 20,000 Chen family troops in Guangling had been transferred to Langya by Chen Mo.

Even so, there was still some regret psychologically. There were not many such opportunities.

"You can't have your cake and eat it too. My lord, since you have made a decision, why worry about it? In short, Sun Ce's death this time is a great benefit to our army." Xu Shu on the side smiled and comforted him. It must be said that Sun Ce's death was really timely.

Without the threat of Sun Ce, Chen Mo can now fight Cao Cao with all his strength.

"We have to fight again, and we have to provide disaster relief. This year is not going to be easy!" Chen Mo sighed. In fact, it would be best not to fight. Unfortunately, Cao Cao would send troops anyway. The tactics used to deal with Sun Ce would not be suitable for Cao Cao. Therefore, Chen Mo had to tighten his belt this year.

Looking at Chen Mo who was crying poor to him, Xu Shu could only smile. He knew that the war was coming. As the defending party, the pressure on his master was indeed great. Not only did he have to preside over the war, but he also had to pay attention to the disaster relief in the Central Plains and the bandits in various places. The current situation was definitely not good for Chen Mo.

It is no exaggeration to say that the death of Sun Ce affected the whole world. The direct result was that the Sun-Cao alliance, which had been prepared to attack the Central Plains from two directions and drive Chen Mo back to Guanzhong, died without success. Because of the closed news, Cao Cao learned about this matter only when Zhou Yu ordered people to take a boat to Qingzhou to inform him. When he learned the news, Cao Cao had already ordered Xiahou Dun to station troops in Jiwu Mountain and prepare for war.

"How could Sun Ce be assassinated!" After hearing the news, Cao Cao looked at the messenger and felt dizzy. He almost fell down. Originally, this alliance had a great chance of winning. Now that Sun Ce is dead, even if he doesn't know the specific situation, Cao Cao knows that it is impossible for Jiangdong to send troops in a short time.

Cao Cao may see the situation in Jiangdong more clearly than those civil and military ministers in Jiangdong. The competition between the Jiangdong court, the Jiangdong gentry and the Sun family, whether the Sun family can continue to dominate Jiangdong is unknown, and whether Liu Bei will retake the three counties of Jiangxia in the name of Jingzhou Mu at this time is also unknown. After all, although Sun and Liu have an alliance, it is based on the premise that Sun Ce is alive and Jiangdong is strong. Now that Sun Ce is dead, many things can no longer be viewed with the same perspective as before.

"My lord!" Xu Chu on the side hurriedly supported Cao Cao.

Xun Yu let the messenger go to rest first. After the messenger left, Xun Yu looked at Guo Jia with some worry.

A minister looked at Cao Cao, hesitated for a moment and asked: "My lord, now that Sun Ce is dead, Jiangdong will surely be unable to take care of itself. Should our army continue to march?"

Although Cao Cao is in a bad state, this is also a key issue at this moment. Once Sun Ce dies, Cao Cao's allies are gone. The Southern Expedition, which originally had a great chance of winning, has suddenly lost half its chance of winning. How can it still fight?

"Fight!" Cao Cao signaled Xu Chu to retreat, supported the table and said in a deep voice: "This matter must be done."

Now the expedition against Xuzhou is imminent and has to be launched. Even if there are no allies, Cao Cao must fight this battle.

Qingzhou's current situation still has an advantage in terms of military strength, but this advantage will not last long. If Jiangdong slowly returns to stability before taking action, Chen Mo's side will probably be ready. How can they fight at that time?

"Lord, since Jiangdong can come in by water, why don't we also build ships and attack the East China Sea and other places by water?" A counselor said whimsically.

"Water warfare is different from land warfare. There are no generals in our army who are good at water warfare, and our soldiers are not used to water warfare." Cao Cao shook his head.

"My lord, the general is willing to lead a light cavalry across the Taihang Mountains, attack Ju County and other places, and harass the enemy's rear." Xia Houyuan stood up and said.

Chen Mo was guarding various key passes, but it was impossible for Chen Mo to guard the entire Taishan Mountains, which was hundreds of miles away. If he used a small force of light cavalry as a surprise force to attack the enemy's rear through Mount Tai, he might be able to break through the heavy defenses set up by Zhang He.

It's just that the army wants to fight over the mountain, and it's not an easy task in a mountain range like Mount Tai. Since ancient times, there have been only a handful of people who can do this.

Cao Cao looked at Xia Houyuan. After being silent for a long time, he nodded and said: "You have five thousand troops. You decide for yourself how to fight."

It's too impossible and unnecessary. This kind of battle over mountains is all about taking people by surprise.

"Here!" Xia Houyuan nodded and took the order.

"Wen Ruo." Cao Cao looked at Xun Yu and said solemnly: "I have to go to this battle personally. Wen Ruo needs to help me stabilize the rear."

"Don't worry, my lord." Xun Yu nodded immediately. Usually when Cao Cao sends troops, Xun Yu is responsible for the rear. This is obviously the case this time.

"The generals go and prepare themselves. In three days, follow me to the expedition!" Cao Cao looked at the generals and said solemnly.

"Here!"

The generals took orders and retreated.

Cao Cao personally conquered Langya, heading towards Suiyang. Chen Mo put Xu Shu in charge of the rear, and he rushed to Langya with Xun You and his generals, also preparing to personally supervise the battle. At the same time, the 20,000 Chen family troops in Guangling were also transferred by Chen Mo. Strengthen Langya's defense line.

…

The war in the Central Plains resumed, but Liu Bei was a little confused in the direction of Jingzhou. Should he take this opportunity to fight Nanyang again? Or he could take advantage of Sun's weakness to regain control of Jiangxia, Changsha, Guiyang and other places.

Undecided, Liu Bei summoned Zhuge Liang and Chen Gong to inquire about the matter.

"My lord, Chen and Cao are fighting, but Nanyang's troops have not been reduced. Our army has just lost its vitality. It is the time to recuperate and it is not suitable to fight again." Chen Gong looked at Liu Bei and said in a deep voice.

Liu Bei's strategy of Nanyang was not successful, which had a great impact on Liu Bei. Although wars were raging again in the Central Plains, Chen Mo's foundation was too strong now, and Nanyang was not as empty as last time. It would be difficult to get an advantage if he sent troops at this time.

"Jiangdong can be an ally, but it cannot be taken for granted." Seeing Liu Bei looking at him, Zhuge Liang sighed and said: "Now our army is weak. Although Sun Ce is dead, there is still Zhou Yu guarding Jiangdong. With this person here, with our army It is quite difficult to defeat the current situation. Moreover, even if we capture the three counties, we will still hate the Sun family. In the future, when Chen Mo takes over the Central Plains, if our two families are at odds with each other, Chen Mo will take advantage of it. I think that Jiangdong is not only unattackable, but we also need to take this opportunity to deepen our friendship. My lord can send envoys to Jiangdong to worship Sun Ce in order to preserve the friendship between the two families."

"Besides..." Liu Bei hesitated for a moment and finally nodded. His family knew about his family affairs. After the Battle of Nanyang, many problems of the Jingzhou Army were highlighted. It is really not appropriate to fight again at this time, but this opportunity is really rare now. Chen Mo The war with Cao Cao resumed, and Jiangdong Sun Ce died, and civil strife was inevitable. No matter which side he went to, there was profit, but his fists were not strong enough and he could not fight on either side. This made Liu Bei very uncomfortable.

"This is a rare time for self-cultivation. Liang thought that one can cultivate people's livelihood now, and the two can take the opportunity to send people into Sichuan to see if there is an opportunity. If Xichuan can be captured, even if Chen Mo occupies the Central Plains, our army can also reach the east. Jiangdong, fight against Chen Mo together, and divide the world into three parts!" Zhuge Liang bowed.

"I will follow Kong Ming's strategy." Liu Bei finally gave up on sending troops, and prepared to take good care of people's livelihood, train soldiers, and prepare for sending troops in the future.