si-mexico Chapter 112 Cao Ren decisively defeats Sun Ce! Zhou Yu searches for his brother!
Chapter 112 Cao Ren decisively defeats Sun Ce! Zhou Yu searches for his brother!
"Hehe, apart from a few sentries, there are no organized sailors around this waterway."
"It seems that Cao Cao really doesn't take my Jiangdong navy seriously!"
Sun Ce stood with one hand on his hip and the other holding the Phoenix Spear, looking mockingly at the river not far away.
The Phoenix Spear was made by Sun Ce based on the blueprints of the Overlord Spear left behind by Xiang Yu.
Due to the age of the drawings, it is impossible to distinguish whether they are genuine or not.
However, Sun Ce used the Phoenix Spear very smoothly.
"No! My lord, look over there!"
Huang Gai pointed towards the water gate, several miles away.
Beside the water gate, tens of thousands of naval troops were densely packed together!
Who else could be the leader but Cao Ren?
"This...how is this possible?"
Sun Ce was stunned.
Didn't they say that... Cao Cao's biological father only gave him five hundred sailors in total?
How come Cao Cao's army suddenly has tens of thousands of soldiers?
Moreover, these soldiers didn't seem to get seasick.
This shows that even if they are not elites, they already possess a certain level of combat capability!
Nima!
Sun Ce only brought four thousand soldiers with him on this northward expedition.
The number of people on the other side appears to be well over ten thousand!
With four thousand against ten thousand, where does the advantage come from?
In an instant, the morale of Sun Ce's side plummeted.
"Oh no! The enemy might be lying in ambush!"
Han Dang suddenly shouted.
Sun Ce looked around at the reeds following the sound.
In the reed marshland, countless reeds swayed in the breeze.
At this time of year, the wind isn't very strong; in fact, there's almost no wind at midday.
The reeds are swaying so vigorously, there's definitely someone inside!
"My lord, please order a retreat immediately!"
"Otherwise, our army will likely suffer heavy casualties!"
Huang Gai, Cheng Pu, Han Dang, and Zu Mao reached a consensus and unanimously requested Sun Ce to retreat.
Sun Ce's fingernails were already embedded in his flesh.
He is not willing!
The Jiangdong navy was unparalleled in the world; the only navy comparable to it was the Jiangxia navy under Huang Zu.
But who exactly is Cao Cao?
Northern lords!
Which northern warlord would keep a navy?
Or even tens of thousands of sailors!
This is ridiculous... Did Cao Cao's military funds just fall from the sky?
Such extravagance?
If only Sun Ce had this money! He wouldn't need to work for that heartless boss Yuan Shu at this point.
Envy, jealousy, and hatred twisted Sun Ce's character.
However, Sun Jian's army is no longer the monolithic entity it was during Sun Jian's time.
Huang Gai, Cheng Pu, Han Dang, and Zu Mao were four staunch supporters of Sun Ce.
Sun Ce's maternal uncle, Wu Jing of Danyang, and his elder cousin, Sun Ben, harbored thoughts of breaking away from Sun Ce and going it alone.
To be precise, it was that they did not obey Sun Ce's decision to inherit the Sun family army.
After all, Sun Ce is still young, only seventeen this year. (Historically, Sun Ce died at the age of twenty-five.)
Can a seventeen-year-old boy, inheriting such a large family business as the Sun family, handle it?
This water is too deep! Ce'er, if you can't handle it, let your uncle and older cousin handle it!
Therefore, although this time he was working for the unscrupulous boss Yuan Shu, if he returned empty-handed, his uncle Wu Jing and his cousin Sun Ben would definitely raise further questions about Sun Ce.
Whether Sun Ce can still hold onto his position as head of the family at that time is really hard to say!
But in the end, reason prevailed over recklessness.
Sun Ce decided to lead his troops in retreat.
But I didn't expect it.
After he retreated five or six miles, Cao Ren actually ordered a pursuit!
Because Sun's army had no will to fight, another five or six hundred soldiers died.
This was a further blow to Sun Ce.
On the other hand, Cao Ren's side was greatly encouraged!
In fact, Sun Ce had no idea that the only elite force under Cao Ren's command was the five hundred naval soldiers that Sun Jian had given to Cao Cao.
As for the newly added 2,500 sailors, they can only be considered to have initial combat capability.
The remaining "ten thousand" soldiers were made up of soldiers from the army.
Although most of them were seasick.
However, due to the poor visibility at midday and the fact that they were positioned behind Cao Cao's naval forces, Sun Ce was unable to discern the true strength of Cao Cao's army!
In the reed marshes, it was only a group of Cao Cao's soldiers who were putting on a show!
In this instance, Cao Ren was referring to the story of "seeing enemies in every bush and tree" that Su Yu had told him.
Although only five or six hundred enemies were eliminated.
But this was a battle that Cao's army was likely to lose, yet Cao Ren won it, which is truly remarkable!
……
As if he had lost his parents, Sun Ce sat alone on the bow of the boat, staring blankly at the gray sky.
It was already dusk, and several hours had passed since the defeat.
"Bofu, eat something."
“When you were your age, your father was just a city gatekeeper in Qiantang County.”
"Compared to him, you're already quite good."
Zu Mao came to Sun Ce's side and brought him a bowl of porridge, trying to comfort him.
But Sun Ce simply shook his head, looking dejected:
"If my father were still alive, he would probably be very disappointed in me, wouldn't he?"
"My uncle Wu Jing and cousin Sun Ben—when my father was alive, they never dared to go against him."
"When it came to me, only a few uncles were still willing to support me out of respect for my father."
Seeing Sun Ce in this state, Zu Mao, who had always been regarded as a close friend by Sun Jian, said anxiously:
"Bo Fu! What are you saying?"
"Wu Jing and Sun Ben look down on you, then prove yourself to them!"
"Also, you're only seventeen this year, but you're the older brother of Zhongmou, Yi'er, and Xiang'er!"
"If you don't support the Sun family, what will happen to them?"
"If you give up now, you'll be a real coward! Even your father in heaven will despise you!"
After being scolded by Zu Mao, Sun Ce suddenly stood up from the boat.
"Uncle, you're right."
“Zhongmou and the others are still young. As their elder brother, I must show the strength and authority that only a father should have! Only in this way can I protect them!”
Zu Mao was very pleased.
He saw in Sun Ce the indomitable spirit of Sun Jian.
Although Sun Ce is still young, youth is hope.
Ultimately, the future of this world is in the hands of young people.
After returning to Runan.
Sun Ce remained calm in the face of Yuan Shu's ridicule and the contempt of his cousin Sun Ben and uncle Wu Jing.
A hidden dragon lies dormant in the abyss; there's no need for him to rush things.
Once they have truly achieved something, the soldiers of Sun's army will naturally know who they should follow!
Soon after, Sun Ce received a letter from Lujiang.
At the end of the letter were a few large characters.
Zhou Yu, Zhou Gongjin!
Sun Ce's thoughts were suddenly drawn back to his youth.
Zhou Yu and Sun Ce were the same age, with Sun Ce being only one month older than him.
Zhou Yu always addressed Sun Ce as "elder brother".
After reading Zhou Yu's letter.
Sun Ce replied:
"Thank you for your concern, Gongjin. I am doing well."
"However, I miss Gongjin very much, and I don't know when I will be able to see him again."
What Sun Ce didn't know was...
After Zhou Yu sent his reply to Lujiang, he quickly packed his bags and set off for Runan.
The Zhou family of Lujiang was also a prominent family with two generations of high-ranking officials.
When two consecutive generations produce several high-ranking officials, it is called "two generations of three high-ranking officials." It doesn't necessarily mean there are only two high-ranking officials; it could be three, four, or even more.
As for the Yuan family's four generations of three dukes, it actually means that four generations of the family produced multiple dukes in succession!
The exact figure is that eleven people from four generations have achieved the rank of Grand Minister!
Among all the prominent families at the end of the Han Dynasty, none had more members who held the position of one of the Three Dukes than the Yuan family.
However, the Zhou family, with two generations of high-ranking officials, was already considered a large family.
The elders of the Zhou family suggested that Zhou Yu go and join Yuan Shu, and they arranged a letter of introduction for him, so that he would at least be appointed as a county magistrate.
But Zhou Yu had no respect for Yuan Shu.
It would be better to nominally join Yuan Shu, but in reality serve my good brother Sun Ce!
……