Chapter 12: All coincidences
On the river, after the three transport ships left, more than twenty ships inside followed out.

They did not dare to follow the transport ship and could only turn around and return to Xiaoxian.

As luck would have it, they encountered the United Fleet coming downstream.

Zhang Jun, the leader, was just about to discuss countermeasures with others when he saw the boats coming from downstream turning around one after another.

Seeing that they could not escape, some of the approaching ships tried to moor closer to the shore, discard their weapons, and act as if they were asking for surrender.

Before long, more than twenty ships were captured.

It also brought a shocking message to Zhang Jun and others: there was actually a group of pirates heading towards Si Shui?

This group of pirates dared to successfully attack and kill the Xiayi Wei... How could Zhang Jun and others not be horrified?
Walking in the same direction, they luckily missed each other.

So they took the twenty or so captured ships and entered the river again to repair and hide.

The other party has already left, and the probability of returning here is not high.

Originally, the three transport ships were anchored at the place where the fighting took place. Zhang Jun and others observed the traces of battle. Although this place had been cleaned, the fresh bloodstains on the ground were not fake.

New firewood was added to the dying campfire, and the flame was ignited to cook soup.

The nine leaders, both large and small, gathered together. Zhang Feng had a bitter look on his face. "Now we are no different from the pirates. If we release these people and ships now, the government will still believe us."

Liu Shijun of Yangzhou was from Xiang County, and was from the same county and fellow villager as them. He was not afraid of being rejected by the other party if he went to seek refuge with them.

But now he couldn't help but captured more than 200 people and so many good ships, including many people from Pei State. But who would be willing to give up the meat in his mouth now?

The more he thought about it, the more resentful Zhang Feng looked at Zhang Jun. He always felt that this man from Lu was too good at fighting. He had captured so many ships just by leading the team.

Zhang Jun was also wronged, what else could he do?
The other fleet dropped their weapons one after another, and the small boats that he was temporarily leading took the initiative to catch up.

When the team gathered again, all that was left was for him to preside over the division of the spoils. Should he refuse the fishermen with such eager and enthusiastic eyes?

Because you are the leader, you are asked to be in charge of the distribution. If you don't know what is good for you, don't blame your brothers for choosing other wise men.

Under the simple primitive military democratic system, Zhang Jun could only follow the crowd and accept his own fruitful results.

The other leaders were also full of resentment. Zhang Jun's achievements were so great that his prestige skyrocketed and he became like a big leader.

Zhang Jun didn't respond, and everyone just assumed that what Zhang Feng had just said was meaningless.

This is certain. Those who are willing to go to Huainan are all from poor families. Anyone who dares to give up the spoils will be spurned and abandoned by his former brothers.

If you meet someone with a mean heart and evil hands, be careful that he may push you into the water in the middle of the night.

How to say it, Zhang Jun, a native of Lu, brought a group of people from Liang to capture people from Pei and Pengcheng... and when they went to Huainan, these Pei folks were still able to prove their innocence.

As long as the personal safety of the captured villagers is guaranteed, I think Envoy Liu will not blame us too much.

While everyone was discussing, the three transport ships ahead, along with two small boats, were slowly approaching the Pengcheng Wharf.

The bow and sides of the transport ship were flying the Sun and Xu flags, so the officials in charge of the dock could naturally recognize them.

I wanted to find a place to hide, but after passing Xiao County, the terrain became higher and there were mountains on both sides, and there were no longer large areas of swamps, lakes, and reed mazes.

He simply drove the ship straight to the Pengcheng wharf. Although there had been some friction between the Sun and Cao families in the past two years, it was also a serious honeymoon period. Both sides needed such a heavyweight ally to stabilize the internal situation.

Cao Cao's son Cao Zhang was engaged to the daughter of Sun Ben, Marquis of Duting, the governor of Yuzhang County. Sun Ben was Sun Quan's cousin. When he was young, he followed his uncle Sun Jian in battles across the country and was a role model for the clan. Another person who was as famous as Sun Ben was Sun Jian's nephew, General Pinglu Xu Kun.

The official titles of these two were legally granted by the court of Xudu, and were definitely not some random titles like Colonel Lieutenant or General of the Central Army.

In the eyes of the officials at Pengcheng wharf, this was just the return of the small Jiangdong fleet that had left Pengcheng yesterday.

Even if taxes were collected, they would not be collected from Sun Quan and Xu Kun.

Xuan Liang, whose facial injuries had recovered a lot, took Black Bear off the boat and sat in the tavern at the dock with Pengcheng Jinwei, who had come to question him about his official duties, to chat and reminisce about the past and discuss the current situation.

The Jinwei was in his prime with a thick beard. He took a sip of the slightly turbid but sweet fermented rice soup and said with emotion, "Brother Xuan was lucky to escape danger. Xiao County was besieged by pirates last night. Most of our Pengcheng merchant ships have been dispersed, and the price of rice in the city has skyrocketed."

Xuan Liang was from Xia Pi. Given that Xia Pi and Pengcheng are only a few inches apart, there was no problem in saying that he and the man from Pengcheng were from the same hometown.

They spoke with the same accent, and Xuanliang looked like he had survived a disaster. He drank three bowls of fermented rice soup before he gasped and said, "The bandits are fierce, and the water supply is blocked. The only way now is to go through the Sishui River, bypass the Fengshui River, and enter the Weishui River. But it's hard to have peace here."

He also didn't expect that his own commander was followed by a group of pirates, numbering thousands and requiring huge supplies along the way.

The process of looting supplies will create more victims and refugees. If left unchecked, it will cause greater damage and involve more people.

Jin Wei also sighed repeatedly, with a look of reluctance on his face, and more of fear.

In the past, Cao Cao led his army into Xuzhou twice, and Pengcheng and Xia Pi were directly destroyed. Now, eight counties are just in name only.

Originally, the population between Pengcheng and Xia Pi was much more dense than that in other places in Xuzhou, but now it has become like the swamp wetlands in the central and southern parts of Guangling County.

No one has taken care of it over the years, the roads have become deserted and covered with weeds, the fertile paddy fields have turned into swamps and are completely abandoned.

If we want to restore it again, it is not enough for tens of thousands of people to work hard; we need to deploy people along various canals, so that we can restore the operation of the old water conservancy facilities and turn the swamps and rotten land into fertile paddy fields again.

The people of Xuzhou have already lost their courage and really don't want to fight anymore.

Guanjin Wei drank a bowl of fermented rice soup and confided some news that had reached his ears, gritting his teeth: "The lives of Pei people are precious now, and they cannot stand being destroyed by the bandits. I heard that the prime minister intends to open the waterway so that the bandits can leave on their own. If the troops are deployed to block the waterway, the bandits will retreat to Pei and cause chaos, and even if they have made contributions, they will be punished by the court."

Xuan Liang slammed his fist on the table and frowned, "Are we just going to let the bandits plunder our Xuzhou territory?"

"Cao Gong is so powerful, what can we do?"

Guan Jinwei scooped a spoonful of fermented sweet rice soup for himself, looked up at the clear sky outside the wine house, and said blankly: "I can only pray for good luck."

Xuan Liang also sighed and asked, "Wang Zhong, the General of the Central Army, is stationed in Pengcheng. Will he just let the bandits go?" "Brother Xuan, don't think highly of him. He relies on only six or seven hundred old soldiers to survive. He has made no achievements since he joined Cao Gong. Since he entered Xuzhou, he first attacked Liu Shijun and then attacked Donghai Changxi, both of which were too desperate to fight. If this man-eating bandit is not greedy for Cao Gong's reward, how can he be willing to work for the people of Xuzhou?"

Guan Jinwei was so angry that he punched the table. After calming down a little, he turned his head to observe the black bear who seemed to be his follower. Xuan Liang said immediately: "This is the descendant of my old friend, not an outsider."

Only then did Guan Jinwei nod his head, and after looking around, he said, "Since you have encountered the enemy army, why don't you fake your death and return home in wealth and honor?"

Going down the Sishui River, sailing during the day and resting at night, you will arrive in Xia Pi comfortably at noon the day after tomorrow; if you are brave enough, sailing at night, you will arrive in Xia Pi tomorrow evening.

Xuan Liang thought for a moment and said, "My lord has been very kind to me and it is hard for me to betray him. Besides, the enemy troops have entered our territory and Xia Pi is not a happy place. I am already old and it would be better for me to spend the rest of my life in Jiangdong."

He is nearly forty years old, which is considered old in these chaotic times, especially for someone from Pengcheng or Xia Pi.

Persuasion failed and the conversation soon ended.

After seeing off Guanjinwei, Xuanliang paid for the wine and returned to the boat with Hei Xiong.

On the deck, the sailors were already cooking soup. Xuan Liang stood at the guardrail, watching the few boats around the dock. He said to Black Bear, "Captain Qu, what will happen if I listen to him and go to Xia Pi?"

"Sun Quan and Xu Kun don't have control over the area north of Hefei. I think you should be safe."

"But the hand of my new friend can reach as far as Xia Pi."

Xuan Liang raised his chin towards the Guanjinwei's office and said, "My clan is ruined and none of my clan members are officials. If I return home, not to mention the seized property, these three ships alone will be tempting, and will only bring disaster and harm others and myself."

"Then stay in Xiapi for a few days. You can go back to your hometown and help me recruit some sailors. Nearly half of the people died last night. It's okay to sail with the current, but it will be difficult to move against the current."

Black Bear smiled and said, "If this man reaches Xia Pi, he will be beheaded."

There are already three transport ships, and each of them requires twenty-four black servants to row the boats. Once I learn how to steer the ship, I will also assign extremely strengthened black knights to steer the ship.

The rudder is very rigid and hard, and steering it requires a lot of strength. Ordinary black servants have endless endurance, but their resilience when bursting with power is not likely to be very optimistic.

It is impossible to kill people intentionally just to gather black servants. Given the current population density in Huainan and Huaibei, it is unlikely to encounter dead bodies.

Xuan Liang agreed with a smile, which was somewhat forced, and asked, "Can the commander cut off the roots? If not, our clan members will be harmed after we leave."

After hearing so many ancient stories that serve as warnings and wisdom, any rational person would regard rooting out the problem at its roots as a code of conduct.

“That’s how I always do things.”

Black Bear turned his head and looked southeast towards Xia Pi: "Is the tomb of Marquis Lü Wen's body in Xia Pi?"

This question was a bit obscure. Xuan Liang recalled for a moment before saying, "I heard that the emperor respected and loved Marquis Wen. Although Marquis Wen was hanged in Xia Pi and his head was sent to Xu Du, the emperor later sent the Tiger Guards to collect Marquis Wen's body, sew up his head, and bury it outside Xu Du."

"Is the tomb of General Gao Shun, who commanded the Xianzhen Camp, in Xiapi?"

"No, General Gao Shun's body was transported back to his hometown by his clansmen for burial. It should be Chenliu Yu County. Even Chen Gongtai was transported back to his hometown by Cao Gong's order for burial."

Seeing his own leader's scrutiny, Xuan Liang said immediately: "How could Marquis Wen be buried so casually? Moreover, after Xia Pi was flooded and captured, Cao Gong moved all of Marquis Wen's former subordinates to Xia Pi. Now Xia Pi is in ruins and nine out of ten houses are empty. There are not many people left. I wonder if Chen Deng and his son regretted it before they died."

Seeing that Xuan Liang seemed to be very resentful towards Chen Deng and his son, Black Bear signaled him to continue speaking.

It turned out that Chen Gui was later appointed as the prime minister of Pei State, and Sun Ce sent people out to sea to defeat Chen Yu of Haixi, who was Chen Deng's cousin. Then Sun Ce attacked Chen Deng.

After Chen Deng defeated the Jiangdong army, the court quickly upgraded Dongcheng, the southernmost part of Xia Pi, to a county and moved Chen Deng to be the governor of Dongcheng County.

Dongcheng was originally the base where Chen Deng presided over farming when he entered the officialdom. Last year, not long after Chen Deng took office in Dongcheng, he died of middle-aged illness at the age of 39. His father Chen Gui also suffered a blow and passed away soon.

Chen Deng died unexpectedly, and Chen Gui died soon after. Chen Yu was defeated and fled to Hebei, and the Chen family in Xia Pi collapsed. Later, under Sun Quan's advantageous pincer attack, the officials and people of Guangling surrendered, and the southern region is now controlled by Sun Quan.

The Chen family of Xia Pi collapsed right after Lü Wenhou, just as the prosperous Xia Pi is now in ruins.

According to Xuan Liang, the old people of Xia Pi had great resentment towards the Chen family, and many people fabricated stories among the people, believing that this was retribution for the Chen father and son.

The Chen family ignored the blood feud of Cao Cao's two massacres in Pengcheng and Xia Pi areas, and currying favor with Cao Cao sold out Lü Wenhou. Cao Cao flooded Xia Pi in winter... There was a lack of heating fuel, and the people in the city would remember clearly the suffering they had endured during the flooding and siege.

If you don’t dare to blame Cao Cao, then how can you not blame the father and son of the Chen family?
Black Bear listened to Xuan Liang's rambling story and tried to figure out the reason for a long time before sighing. The people of Xia Pi did not hate Lu Bu for his failure, but they hated the failure of the careers of Chen father and son.

The most hateful thing is that the Chen father and son died in the blink of an eye, without even having time to atone for their sins, make compensation, or protect their hometown.

He lacked any emotional empathy for the people of Xia Pi's experience and was just a little surprised...it turned out that Chen Deng and his son died so suddenly.

I originally thought that this father and son would be able to survive for a long time after breaking up the alliance between Yuan Shu and Lu Bu. I was deeply impressed when I watched Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

It's really sad that it disappeared so suddenly.

The so-called Xia Pi Chen family, whose native place is in Huaipu, Xia Pi, is adjacent to Guangling County together with Haixi County.

An intangible county boundary cannot stop the flow of human relations, so it is normal that most of the Chen family of Xia Pi have their roots in Guangling.

After Chen Deng thwarted Jiangdong's attempt, he should have developed the ambition to annex Jianghuai; after all, Chen Yu, who was defeated and fled, was his cousin, who had been the governor of Yangzhou and prefect of Wujun appointed by the Xudu court.

Considering the influence of the Chen family of Xia Pi and Chen Deng's personal talents and character, after Sun Ce's death, Chen Deng was confident that he could counterattack Sun Quan.

However, Cao Cao was exhausted after the Battle of Guandu and was being held back by Yuan Shao. He did not want to provoke another powerful enemy and urgently needed a heavyweight ally.

So they upgraded Dongcheng and stuffed Chen Deng there, but didn't arrange any strong people to take over Guangling, which resulted in Sun Quan taking away Guangling's elite population almost through diplomatic means. It would be more accurate to say that Chen Deng died of anger rather than illness.

Even though Chen Deng and his son were dead, there were still so many people in the Chen family of Xia Pi, but they all fell into decline and could not achieve anything. There must be some stories behind this.

Guangling had no strategic location to rely on, the Chen family of Xia Pi was destroyed, and Cao Cao was tolerant and gave in. Facing Sun Quan's encroachment, Guangling had no vitality left.

The more I thought about this information, the less interested I became in becoming an official.

If you are subordinate to others, you have to make concessions for the other party's development and the overall situation, which can sometimes really make people angry to death.

(End of this chapter)