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Volume 2: Set Sail Chapter 57: Show your sharp edge

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    Chapter 57: Showing off one¡¯s edge

    The team that was immersed in advancing was suddenly in chaos. The people behind looked at a large pit that suddenly appeared on the ground in horror. They watched the elephant struggling and roaring inside, making a shrill howl. However, the people in front were confused and didn't know what happened.  But people in the distance couldn't see what was going on here, and they were very dissatisfied with the companion who stopped and refused to leave, and yelled angrily.

    No one noticed that nearly a thousand crossbows showed their ferocious faces in the nearby woods. A loud sound of drums suppressed all the noisy shouts and curses. The crossbowmen, who had been aiming for a long time, rushed towards Ru Motou.  The fly-like Funan soldiers fired a deadly hail of arrows.

    The slow-moving team became an excellent target for aiming. The crossbowmen easily triggered the crossbow machine, and the long arrows roared out, flying between old or young tree trunks and lush branches and leaves, and accurately piercing into each one.  In Funan Bing's body, the sharp arrow wind caused the leaves to dance.  Most of the Funan soldiers wore simple leather armor and had no resistance at all in front of the iron arrows. The long arrows penetrated the body, blood burst out, and screams came one after another. The originally exciting journey home turned into death in the blink of an eye.  the road.

    Naturally, those who received the greatest attention were the soldiers on the backs of the war elephants. At least two-thirds of the more than a thousand crossbows were used to take care of them. Just after the first drum was beaten a few times, the ten war elephants lost control.  They roared and trampled the soldiers beside them indiscriminately. Their heavy hooves trampled each of the Funan soldiers until their muscles and bones were broken and their flesh was bloody. They even rushed the Funan soldiers who tried to form a small formation on the spot to fight back to pieces, and they were completely routed.

    Fan Zhan sat on the back of the elephant, his eyes widened with fear, but they had lost their luster, and his mouth was wide open, but there was no sound to shout out. In the first moment, he suffered a fatal blow.  Two crossbow arrows hit him at the same time.  Although he was wearing crocodile skin armor, two crossbow arrows that pierced his throat still took away his life without mercy.

    Fan Zhan died very unwillingly. He never thought that the Han people would dare to set up an ambush on his way back. He paid the price with his life for his conceit - the Han people had changed, but he could not put this to use.  The experience gained in life was conveyed to King Funan. When his head was sent to King Funan, he still had a shocked expression, which made King Fan Man of Funan feel chills.

    Along with Fan Zhan¡¯s head came a neatly written note with Chinese characters on it. Fan Man had a good level of Sinology and recognized these characters.  The writing is very gentle, but the meaning is very arrogant.

    "Anyone who offends our powerful Han will be punished no matter how far away he is!" There is a note on the back: "Sun Deng, Prince Wu of the Han Dynasty, warns King Funan."

    Fan Man's eyes were cracked. Fan Zhan was not only his general, but also his nephew. Now not only did the 7,000-strong army not survive, he was also beheaded. This feud had become bigger. Originally, he was still considering whether to fight with him.  In the peace talks with Wu State, he should first focus on dealing with Yue State. Now it seems that there is no need for this. He must face Wu Yue at the same time.

    "Assemble the army and attack Rinan again!" Fan Man's beard grew wild, he grabbed the piece of paper, tore it into pieces, and shouted loudly: "Cut off the head of this bastard prince and avenge Fan Zhan!"

    Soon, several messengers rushed out of Temu City, either on horseback or by boat, running in all directions.

    ¡­¡­

    In fact, Fan Man wronged Sun Deng. He did not fight that battle, nor did he write that note. It was all Zhuge Ke's credit.  Zhuge Ke was very enthusiastic. Before all the reinforcements arrived, he took a batch of grain and grass on the road. When he arrived at Xijuan City by sea, Chen Shi happened to return from Linyi.  As soon as he heard Chen Shi's comments, Zhuge Ke agreed, so Lu Dai allocated him 2,000 men, and rushed to Changshan with the 2,000 county soldiers he brought to set up an ambush. In order to catch Fan Zhan in one fell swoop, Zhuge Ke  After a lot of effort, he visited several nearby hills in the shortest possible time and dug holes wherever Fan Zhan might pass by.  The county soldiers he brought may still be a little skilled in fighting, but they are experts at digging pits. They worked together to figure out what might happen if the war elephants were frightened, and finally came up with the immoral plum blossom pits that emit smoke.  Zhuge Ke was amazed by the idea.

    As a result, none of the ten war elephants survived. Except for two war elephants who were shot dead on the spot, the other eight war elephants all fell into the pit. The trouble was that it took a lot of effort to get these war elephants out of the pit.  strength.

    Sun Deng was very satisfied with this result. In any case, Zhuge Ke gained a reputation in his first battle. He killed more than a thousand people on the spot, captured more than 3,000 people alive, and eight war elephants. His record was brilliant. Sun Deng  The only thing Deng felt uneasy about was whether the sentence Zhuge Ke wrote in his name was too much. Jie Qi was Jie Qi. If King Funan was angered and he raised an army to attack, wouldn't it be self-defeating?

    Zhuge Ke¡¯s answer to this was that there were two reasons why he had to do this: First, King Funan invaded Rinan brazenly. If his arrogance was not dampened, he would not put Wu at risk.In your eyes, what kind of kindness do these barbarians know?  If you don't beat him up, he won't listen to your talk of benevolence and righteousness.  Second, the King of Yue sent troops to attack Funan for a few businessmen. The matter was so big. If we don't show our thunderous methods, will Wu still want to be on an equal footing with Yue in the future?  Who would take Wu Guo seriously?  Probably even Fan Man will look down on the Wu State, so he must know that not only the Yue State cannot be provoked, but the Wu State cannot be provoked either. In other words, the Han people cannot be provoked.

    Although Sun Deng disagreed with Zhuge Ke's explanation, the matter had reached this point and it could not be taken back anyway. The current task was to deal with Ou Lian in Xijuan City. King Lin Yi, who no longer had Lin Yi Kingdom, did not know the situation.  Sun Deng left this opportunity to Lu Dai and asked him to drive the eight war elephants out of the city. Ou Lian suddenly knew that the situation was over, and angrily committed suicide at the top of the city, ending his glorious and tragic life.

    Xijuan City Kaicheng surrendered and Rinan County was recovered. Sun Deng immediately sent six hundred miles to report to Jianye urgently. At the same time, he was ready to fight. Anyone with any brains knows that the next war is inevitable.  In order to avoid fighting alone, Sun Deng sent Zhuge Ke to Linyi to meet Sun Shao, hoping that everyone would act in unison.

    Sun Shao smiled as soon as he saw the proud Zhuge Ke: "Yuan Xun, you dug the hole well."

    Zhuge Ke said modestly: "It's all due to His Highness's guidance."

    Then the two of them looked at each other and laughed heartlessly.

    After laughing for a while, the two sat down and Sun Shao invited him to drink tea. Zhuge Ke took a sip and his face suddenly turned bitter. He looked at the dark brown liquid in the cup and said, "Your Highness, why is this so bitter?"

    "Western Yi people call this thing the source of strength. It is said that drinking this thing can make you energetic." Sun Shao fiddled with what later generations called coffee in the cup, with a calm smile: "I wasn't very used to it at first.  But gradually you may like it.¡±

    "Really?" Zhuge Ke looked at the source of power that he took a sip and frowned: "I think tea tastes better."

    "Yuan Xun, you are not twenty years old yet, so you can't accept new things?" Sun Shao raised the corner of his mouth and smiled: "You will see many new things in the future. You can't be like those old scholars.  Always limit your vision to the area you are familiar with." He put down the spoon, picked up the cup and took a big sip, smacking his lips as he tasted it, and then said: "Curiosity is the most important weapon for people to explore the world. I see you  I asked you to try it because I had the courage and courage to do it, but I didn¡¯t expect that you wouldn¡¯t like it.¡±

    After Zhuge Ke heard this, he immediately felt that if he didn't drink this cup of something as bitter as medicine, he would be disrespectful to the King of Yue. He raised the cup fearlessly, drank it all in one gulp, tasted it calmly, and finally spit out a  Word: "Bitter!"

    Sun Shao couldn't help but burst into laughter.

    "Yuan Xun, Zi Gao sent you here just to joke with me, right?" Sun Shao laughed for a while, then put away his smile and said: "You have recovered Rinan and the mission has been completed. Why didn't he go back? Just see him.  Wouldn¡¯t it be better to collect it?¡±

    Zhuge Ke lowered his head and pondered for a moment. Sun Deng had expressed such thoughts, but he stopped him.  It would certainly be good for Sun Deng to leave now. If he retires after his success, whatever happens in the future will have nothing to do with him.  But Zhuge Ke saw the opportunity to fight. If Fan Man couldn't swallow this breath, there would definitely be a war in Rinan. Such an opportunity was very rare in Wu State. He had just tasted the sweetness, how could he leave Rinan at this time, so he  Sun Deng was persuaded by various reasons.

    But it was very dangerous to leave Sun Deng in Rinan. Zhuge Ke knew that it would not be easy to deal with the Funan army with just the strength in his and Lu Dai's hands. This was why he took the initiative to meet with Sun Shao.  The reason is that he needs Sun Shao's help.

    "Your Highness, the battle with Funan has just begun. Half of Fan Zhan's seven thousand army was lost at the hands of Your Highness, and half was lost at the hands of our Wu army. For Fan Man, this is just a warning." Zhuge Ke said carefully:  "But Fan Man, a barbarian, may not be able to understand Wu Yue's good intentions. It is said that he is familiar with my situation as a big man, but he probably has not read Taishi Gongshu, and may not be wiser than King Yelang. He wants to compete with me.  It is also possible for Your Majesty. Your Highness is coming to conquer the country, so we must be on guard against it."

    Sun Shao didn't speak, he just listened to Zhuge Ke and drank coffee slowly.  In general, although he felt that Zhuge Ke was not like his father Zhuge Jin, nor was he much like his younger brother Zhuge Qiao, who was adopted by his uncle, and was a bit too smart, but this young man had a strong enterprising spirit and was better than Zhuge Qiao.  The nerd Sun Deng was more to his liking.

    ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Zhuge Ke had this idea, and it played into Sun Shao's hands. He used deception to force Sun Deng to send troops, and was unable to negotiate with Fan Man. Isn't that the purpose?

     Zhuge Ke saw that Sun Shao was silent, knowing that he was waiting for him to make conditions, but he didn't have much choice.  Sun Shao's army is a naval force. He has the upper hand at sea and has created a brilliant record of easily annihilating the opponent's 3,000 naval forces. The more than 3,000 Funan naval forces are still working as coolies in the cabin. He  Fight if you can and leave if you can't. Wu Guo is not like that. He was able to win this time entirely because he was well prepared and Fan Zhan was very cooperative. He didn't even have any precautions and ran into the ambush.  Circle - Zhuge Ke is still a little confused. It is said that Fan Zhan is also a battle-hardened man, how could he be so careless?  He didn't know that Fan Zhan had been exhausted by Sun Shao's headhunting conference and was in a trance, so he rushed into his ambush circle in a daze. Of course, this was also related to Fan Zhan's psychological habit. Who would  It is not very benevolent to think that the Han people will annihilate him.

    "The main reason we won this time was that we restrained the opponent's war elephants very well. The forest was tight and the war elephants were attacked in a hurry. We took Fan Zhan and the soldiers on the ten war elephants for granted in the first strike.  As an attack target, it can be said that the people of Funan did not have time to react at all, and the first attack was on those pits. We spent a lot of energy on those pits from site selection to cover up." Zhuge Ke sighed and said seriously: "In the future  When two armies confront each other, it is impossible for the other side to give us such ample time to dig a hole. We must find a good way to deal with the war elephant between the two armies, otherwise, this will still be our nightmare."

    "Yuan Xun, win without being arrogant. Your state of mind is not simple." Sun Shao sighed and said half seriously and half jokingly: "Wu has you. If we can cooperate, you will be a good ally. If you can't cooperate, you  He is my fierce rival. Should I consider it and nip it in the bud?"

    Zhuge Ke¡¯s face tightened and he looked at Sun Shao subconsciously. Sun Shao¡¯s expression was serious. He didn¡¯t look like he was joking, but he seemed to be really thinking about this issue.  No matter how smart Zhuge Ke was, he was just twenty years old after all. In addition, he was familiar with the things in history that caused people to hate others because of their cleverness. He couldn't help but think of himself and became a little nervous for a while.

    Sun Shao looked at Zhuge Ke without saying a word, until he saw that Zhuge Ke was restless, and then he suddenly laughed. This smile was like a spring breeze breaking the ice, blowing away the increasingly heavy dark clouds in Zhuge Ke's heart.  See you when the clouds open.  Zhuge Ke said with a smile: "Your Highness is joking. Your Highness himself is like a god in using troops, and he has more capable generals. Among other things, Zhou Boying is the son of the governor, and his military ability is not inferior to mine. If one day the Wu Kingdom really wants to fight  , I¡¯m afraid he can make me unable to do anything without His Highness going to battle.¡±

    Sun Shao couldn't help laughing. He pointed at Zhuge Ke and said arrogantly: "Yuan Xun, you are so sharp-tongued. Not only do you want to help yourself out of trouble, but you also want to help Zhou Boying. Besides Zhou Boying, can I find someone else?"  No match for you? Xiao Zhuzi, you seem to be shy, but you are actually proud."

    Zhuge Ke blushed, and his little thoughts were not hidden from Sun Shao.

    "However, don't worry. Not to mention that I have never had the idea of ??fighting Wu Guo on the battlefield. Even if I had, I would not be such a villain. I would rather compete with you in a dignified formation." Sun  Shao said with emotion: "You don't know, it is not easy to find a close friend, but it is even more difficult to find a compatible opponent. Meng Degong and Yun Changgong are old, the heroes of the world are between you and me. Yuan Xun, we are now  Intimate friends, even if they become rivals in the future, they are also sympathetic rivals. Even if I have all kinds of tricks, I will not use them on you. Of course, I hope that we can always be friends, otherwise we will not always be deliberately cold.  is you."

    Zhuge Ke was inexplicably grateful. As Sun Shao said, from the beginning of their acquaintance, Sun Shao tortured him intentionally or unintentionally. On the one hand, he tempered his character, and on the other hand, he became a person like Sun Quan in Sun Quan's mind.  Shao was a loyal minister who couldn't take the bait. Now that Sun Shao, with his status as the king of Yue and his achievements in conquering the world, gave him such a high evaluation, how could he not introduce Sun Shao as his confidant?

    "Your Highness, if you are not talented, how dare you confront Your Highness." Zhuge Ke bowed and said, "I am willing to work with Your Highness to defeat Funan and spread the power of our great Han Dynasty thousands of miles away."

    "Very good." Sun Shao nodded: "Wei has Cao Ziwen, Wu has Zhuge Yuanxun, they are all heroes among the younger generation. I wonder what kind of people will come out of Shu State who can compete with you. I really look forward to it."  He paused and then said: "The capital of Funan, Temu City, is far away from Rinan. Even if Fan Man gathers a large army, it is not easy to get to Rinan. Moreover, once the army moves, it will take a long time and consume a lot of money.  If he only uses his own troops, he will have to guard against rebellion from the subject countries, and his troops will be dispersed. If he recruits soldiers from the subject countries, it will not last long, otherwise people will become unstable and he will collapse without a fight. Personally, I think he should seek to  Fight quickly and rely on the tyranny of the war elephants to tear apart your defense lines and directly defeat your army. There are two strategies at the moment. One, you stick to Xijuan City and attack and defend the city. That is me from the Central Plains.?They are good at showing off. If the Funan people attack the city, even if they have war elephants to help them, they can only force their troops under the fortified city. As long as you defend the city, you can win without fighting.  "

    Zhuge Ke thought for a moment, then shook his head to express his disapproval.  Sun Shao looked at him encouragingly, and then Zhuge Ke said: "If you are trapped in Xijuan, you will be massacred outside the city. The people are restless, and there will be no success in one year. They will fall into famine next year. Although Rinan has not been defeated, it will be with  It is in dilapidated condition, and allowing King Funan to march straight in will inevitably affect morale and be detrimental to the defense of the city. Besides, this time Fan Zhan invaded Funan and was completely wiped out by us. If King Funan enters Funan, we must at least severely injure him.  , but we don¡¯t have that strength.¡±

    "Then, I have another way." Sun Shao was not angry at all. On the contrary, he looked very happy. Zhuge Ke had thought carefully, which showed that he had already made a plan.  He went on to explain his plan: "There is another way, which is to fortify Changshan. This has the advantage that it will not affect the farming of Ninan, at least the food is guaranteed. The weather in Ninan is hot and the earth is ripe.  Three crops of rice a year are enough to supply the army. Moreover," Sun Shao raised his lips and showed a hint of a smile: "The army is fighting fiercely on the long mountain. The battlefield is your choice, so you can dig holes calmly."

    Zhuge Ke smiled, still a little worried: "Although there are dense forests on Changshan Mountain, there are no barriers. I have also noticed that Changshan Mountain is not tall on the one hand, and the waves on both sides are gentle, so it is not a suitable blocking place.  , if it is just an ambush, it is still possible, but as a defensive position for a long time, the geographical location is insufficient. Moreover, Changshan is nearly a hundred miles from north to south, and we have insufficient troops to defend ourselves. "

    Sun Shao rolled his eyes, thought for a moment, and asked, "Then what are your plans?"

    Zhuge Ke bowed his hands and said, "I have an opinion and would like to discuss it with Your Highness."

    "It's okay for Yuan Xun to speak out."

    "The commander of your highness is in the navy, and the commander of our army is in the land war. However, the number is too small, so we are stretched. The county troops are still being recruited, and the prince has also sent a request for help to the king. If the king agrees, the Guiyang area may be mobilized.  A large army will enter Jiaozhou to participate in the war, but firstly, this is not certain, and secondly, time is too late, and the long journey makes it difficult to transport heavy equipment. I am bold and want to ask His Highness to help, firstly, help our army transport food and troops, and secondly,  I would like to ask your highness to send someone to help us garrison Changshan. With your help, we can drag King Funan to Changshan. When the time comes, your highness will use the navy to harass the coast, making it difficult for him to take care of his head and tail, and he will be exhausted in less than three months.  , Funan will be exhausted, and Wu and Yue will win, so he cannot help but stop fighting and negotiate."

    "You want me to send people to help you fight?" Sun Shao's smile became a little weird: "Is this your idea or Zigao's idea? You were reluctant when I was asked to send troops into Rinan."

    Zhuge Ke smiled and said: "It was my idea. After weighing it repeatedly on the way here, I feel that we Wu and Yue should fight side by side and coordinate the coordination at the moment, so that we can block King Funan's revenge and protect the results of the battle. This idea has not yet been  When I have time to explain it to the Crown Prince, I won¡¯t make any assumptions and seek advice from His Highness first. If Your Highness thinks it is useful, I will go back and report it to the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince is wise and I think he can see the situation clearly.¡±

    Sun Shao secretly laughed. Zhuge Ke indeed had the qualifications to be a powerful minister, but he actually took it upon himself to discuss cooperation with him without Sun Deng's consent. This was quite courageous.  He nodded calmly, "There's no problem in transporting troops and food. I can just send some merchant ships there. The sporadic pirates along the way don't think they have the guts to come up with military food. As for sending troops to cooperate,  I can promise you that as long as Zigao doesn't object, I can send 10,000 people to help guard Changshan. However, the ugly words are ahead, and you will be responsible for the supply of food, grass and ordnance for these 10,000 people."

    Zhuge Ke smiled faintly and said, "Your Highness, ten thousand people are too many, five thousand is enough."

    Sun Shao turned his head and looked at him: "You are sure!"

    Zhuge Ke nodded solemnly: "I'm sure! Your Majesty's soldiers are elite and brave. One is worth ten. Five thousand soldiers are enough to serve as fifty thousand."

    Sun Shao sneered, Zhuge Ke said it seriously, but in fact, he was just making small calculations.  If the Yue army really numbered ten thousand, I am afraid that the dominance of the battlefield would not be with Wu but with Yue. Zhuge Ke did not want to be controlled by others, so he wanted to keep the number to a minimum. His biggest purpose may be to create the impression that Wu and Yue are one.  , to make King Funan have some scruples, and then use these five thousand people to contain him. When the time comes, he will be asked to send money and food, and he will not be able to withdraw easily.

    At such a young age, he is really good at calculations. This person is like a sharp dagger. After this training, his edge has been revealed.

    "Five thousand? Okay!" Sun Shao pondered for a moment and nodded affirmatively: "In principle, I agree with your suggestion, but you'd better discuss the specific details with Zigao before deciding. Yuan Xun, I'm not relying on my elders to show off my abilities. Please remind me.  A few words for you. Zi??Although he is lenient, my uncle is a very defensive person.  You are a newly-minted sword. You can be sharp when you are sharp, but you still need some experience. Don't end up with bad intentions due to good intentions.  He smiled and patted Zhuge Ke meaningfully on the shoulder: "I don't want such a good friend and opponent to hide his treasure box for some inexplicable reason just after he showed his due glory."  "

    Zhuge Ke was grateful and bowed to pay his respects.

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