Chapter 311: New and Old Contradictions
In Yuzhang, Sun Ben and Xu Kun inspected the warships and navy stationed by Poyang Lake.

The two men stood on the wooden platform in the command room of a three-toothed warship, looking around.

It is cloudy today, with strong southeast winds, and the newly replaced white flags and banners are fluttering around.

Both of them had their plain white cloaks lifted high, making them feel cool both physically and mentally.

A strategy for attacking Jiangxia had been formulated long ago, but in order to counter Cao Cao diplomatically, Sun Quan had been restraining the front line.

This battle was not only to establish the prestige of Sun Quan, but also to establish the prestige of the guard general Zhou Yu.

Therefore, Zhou Yu on the front line held the power to start the war, and he also cooperated with Sun Quan, waiting for a better time to start the war.

As long as they keep waiting, Sun Quan will not only be able to take advantage of Cao Cao in diplomacy, but will also be able to bring their positions closer.

A vassal is different from a subordinate or a subject. What Sun Quan wants more is a position of cooperation and competition.

If Cao Cao became the only powerful person, it would not be a situation that Sun Quan would be happy to see.

Inspired by role models like Sun Jian and Sun Ce, Sun Quan also felt that he was the youngest and could outlast Cao Cao.

So if he could delay Cao Cao and kill him, wouldn't that be his chance?

With this mentality, the Jiangdong Army was on high alert, seeking better results.

As a result, the Xu Du Incident occurred, causing an uproar within the Jiangdong army.

We have not yet fallen into the quagmire of war, and the Jiangdong Army has completed war preparations early. What does this mean?
This means that if the Jiangdong Army turns around and marches north to attack Cao Cao, they can catch the enemy off guard and achieve a surprise victory!
Sun Ben looked around and said, "Liu Fu was born in Pei State. I heard that many rebel officers and soldiers defected to the south and joined Liu Fu. If our army cannot capture Hefei in one battle during the Northern Expedition, we will definitely miss the opportunity to fight."

They were all people who had participated in the discussion on Dong Zhuo, although they were still very young at that time.

Xu Kun also looked around and asked, "You mean that our army is slow to move, so Cao Cao will deliberately allow his fellow villagers to escape and join Liu Fu's army in order to prevent our army from moving north?"

Sun Ben nodded and glanced at Xu Kun: "Now the difficulty lies with our army. Zhongmou will not let you and me be the vanguard, let alone Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Song Qian and others. He wants to wait for Zhou Yu. Zhou Yu will retreat from Baqiu to Dongpu and Ruxukou. Although it is downstream, it is also against the wind. It will take about seven days."

Seven days is enough time for Huainan to strengthen the Hefei defense line.

As for the Northern Expedition to attack Xu Du directly... Sun Ben and Xu Kun never thought that by taking advantage of the chaos to capture Lianghuai and Guangling, occupying the advantage of the Huai River, they could observe the changes in the Central Plains, and then wait for an opportunity to act, thus seizing the subsequent strategic initiative.

Therefore, it is necessary to capture Hefei and Shouchun and open up the Jianghuai channel; after this is opened, the Zhongdushui waterway in Guangling will be unobstructed, and materials from Jiangdong can be transported to the front line via the Zhongdushui.

Hefei, Shouchun, Xia Pi and Pengcheng, these four cities were captured one after another. Every time an area was captured, it meant that the Jiangdong Army would have more strategic room.

In this Northern Expedition, we must at least capture Hefei, otherwise we will not be able to explain to the soldiers in the army, and it will be difficult to suppress the big families in Jiangdong.

However, both Sun Ben and Xu Kun felt something was not right, because this was a war in which the army could not be arranged properly.

The veteran and battle-hardened generals in the Jiangdong Army could only play supporting roles.

There can only be two protagonists, Zhou Yu and Sun Quan.

If Zhou Yu needs to stay in Bachu to prevent a sneak attack by the Jingzhou army, then the protagonist can only be Sun Quan alone, and Zhou Yu's role will have to be given to new people close to Sun Quan, such as Lu Meng, Lu Su, Ling Tong, Zhou Tai and others.

If Liu Fu was only good at governing the people and was unable to make good use of the poor warriors from Liang Pei who came to him for help, then there was naturally a possibility that he would be able to sweep Xu Huai with great ease.

But what if?
What if Sun Quan and his group of trusted followers were defeated by Xu Huai and Liang Pei?

You know, those who surrendered to Liu Fu, as well as Liu Fu, can be regarded as Hei Xiong's fellow villagers, and this group of people are also the direct descendants of Cao's army.

Now the only one who can politically whitewash these people is Black Bear.

Therefore, these people must have a strong will to resist. Even if they hold the city and attack Hefei, they will lose a lot of troops.

When launching a fierce attack, should we send Sun Ce's old generals and veterans, or send new recruits such as Lu Meng?
How is the credit calculated after capturing Hefei?
Then how to fight Shouchun?
The officers and soldiers of the Jiangdong Army were very familiar with the terrain of Shouchun, and they generally lacked the confidence to storm the city by force.

Sun Ben had something in his heart that he was ready to tell Xu Kun. He trusted Xu Kun more than Sun Quan.

When he was hesitant, Xu Kun looked around casually and said, "Brother, my old subordinate Xuan Liang is quite trusted by the Grand Marshal."

"I also know about this matter. Why did this person come to lobby?" "There is no lobbying."

Xu Kun raised his hand and placed it on the guardrail, holding it tightly with his palm, narrowing his eyes: "Now Zhongmou is in name only, because he is afraid of you and me, and you and I will not submit to him. When he has a strong foundation, you and I will pay the price for what happened today."

Sun Ben turned around and looked at Xu Kun sternly: "I have paid the price."

"not enough."

Xu Kun raised his right hand and clenched his fist, tapping the painted leather armor on Sun Ben's chest. "This is the price. You can't escape, and neither can I. The Grand Marshal was born in the royal family of Chen, and the former subordinates of King Chen are scattered everywhere. According to Xuan Liang's letter, when the Grand Marshal crossed the Yangtze and Huai Rivers, he said that Zhongmou had planned to assassinate you and me; even Bofu's death was a conspiracy between insiders and outsiders."

If Sun Ce were still alive and needed an opportunity to fight a war like now, how could they have the chance to review the army and have a private chat?

The various units of the Jiangdong Army had already set out one by one like a pack of wolves, gathered at the front line, and broke into the city together.

Sun Ben frowned: "You have Xuan Liang as your guarantor, and my daughter is related to Cao. I am afraid that the Grand Marshal will investigate later."

Xu Kun also looked at Sun Ben seriously and said two words: "Marriage."

Ever since Xuan Liang's secret letter was delivered, Xu Kun has been unable to sleep or eat.

He had always doubted the truth about the cause of Sun Ce's death and was unwilling to accept Sun Quan's decision. After receiving the letter, he became more and more convinced that Sun Quan would target him once he gained a firm foothold.

After all, Sun Ben was a member of the Sun family, and his daughter was married to the Cao family. Even if Sun Quan was afraid of Sun Ben, he could tolerate it as long as Sun Ben kept his head down and behaved well.

Coincidentally, Sun Ben's daughter had not yet been officially married, she was just engaged; Xu Kun also had a daughter who was about to reach the age of 15.

Just like the marriage between Zhang Xiu and Cao Cao, the son of Cao Cao in the marriage was only seven or eight years old, so it could only be a marriage on paper.

Seeing Xu Kun's resolute and aggressive expression, Sun Ben looked up at Nong Yun and asked, "Why can I guarantee it?"

"Within ten days, I will let you see the letter written by the Grand Marshal himself."

Xu Kun raised his hand and patted Sun Ben on the shoulder: "You and I have come to this point, how to settle down safely is the most important thing. Haven't you seen Wang Yi, Yang Qiu and others build a villa in Nanshan?"

The two men fought for more than twenty years, and how many relatives and friends died in front of them when they were young?

Now his physical strength has begun to decline, and he no longer has a strong desire for women. He cannot even finish a fat chicken in one meal.

Both were generals officially appointed by the imperial court, one was Marquis of Duting and the other was Marquis of a county.

Especially Xu Kun, he is a county marquis, even if his rank shrinks in the future, he is still a stable marquis!
What kind of fundamental breakthrough can be achieved by following Sun Quan?
They both watched Sun Quan grow up. Don’t they know what kind of person Sun Quan is?

It is dangerous precisely because it can be seen clearly.

Sun Fu and his followers were killed. Although Sun Quan stabilized the internal situation and gained prestige from the killing.

But who wouldn’t feel chilled by being close to old ministers?
Even those followers who are close to the old ministers will actively support their own generals and resist to the end in view of what happened to Sun Fu!

The reason why Sun Quan was able to steal the chicken successfully was not because he was so smart, but because Sun Fu did not expect that Sun Quan, who had just succeeded to the throne, could be so cruel and arbitrary.

No one expected this, so Sun Fu's followers died, and Sun Fu was imprisoned and died in silence. Even Sun Ben didn't know exactly when he died.

The bottom line was broken step by step by Sun Quan. Who among the old subordinates of Sun Jian and Sun Ce would not be afraid?
There is as much disgust as there is fear.

This way of killing was unheard of during the time of Sun Jian and Sun Ce!

Especially this way of breaking your bottom line step by step makes the old ministers feel disgusted.

Even if you killed Sun Fu with a single sword on the spot, everyone would feel sorry for him but would not feel it was abrupt.

This kind of behavior is like that of Sun Jian's son and Sun Ce's younger brother, and is consistent with the style of the Jiangdong Army.

It is precisely this method of killing that walks step by step on the edge of the sensitive bottom line and breaks through bit by bit, like an elegant and deliberate hunt, which runs counter to the entrepreneurial atmosphere that the old ministers of Jiangdong agree with!

He was so petty even when killing someone. If Sun Ben hadn't been in front of him, Xu Kun would have wanted to laugh at him.

(End of this chapter)