Chapter 57 Sharpness

The team that was burying its head forward was suddenly in chaos. The people behind looked at a big hole that suddenly appeared on the ground in horror. They looked at the elephant struggling in it, roaring, and making a sad howling. The people in front of them were inexplicable. They didn't know what was going on, and the people in the distance could not see the situation here. They stopped and did not leave. The companion was very dissatisfied and scolded angrily.

No one noticed that nearly a thousand crossbows in the woods next to them showed ferocious faces. A sudden drum sounded suppressed all the noisy shouts and curses. The crossbowmen who had been aiming at the crossbowmen for a long time shot deadly arrows at the headless flies.

The slow-moving team became an excellent target. The crossbowmen easily pulled the crossbow machine, and the long arrows roared out, flying between the old or young trunks and lush branches and leaves, accurately plunged into the bodies of the Funan soldiers one by one. The sharp arrow wind drove the leaves to dance. Most of the Funan soldiers wore simple leather armor and had no resistance in front of the iron arrows. The long arrows entered the body, blood burst out, and screams came one after another. The originally excited journey home turned into a road to death in a blink of an eye.

Naturally, the soldiers on the backs of the war elephants received the most attention. At least two-thirds of the more than 1,000 crossbows took care of them. As soon as the first drum was knocked a few times, the ten war elephants lost control. They roared and trampled on the soldiers next to them randomly. The heavy hoofs trampled the Funan soldiers one by one. The split, the flesh and blood were blurred, and the Funan soldiers who tried to form a small array to counterattack on the spot were scattered and defeated.

Fan Qian sat on the elephant's back, his frightened eyes wide, but he had lost his color. His mouth was wide open, but there was no sound to shout out. In the first time, he was fatally hit, and more than a dozen crossbows hit him at the same time. Although he was wearing crocodile skin armor, the two crossbow arrows passing through his throat still took his life mercilessly.

Fan Yan died and died very unwillingly. He never thought that the Han people dared to set an ambush on his way back home. He paid the price of his life for his conceit - the Han people have changed. However, he could not convey this experience of exchanging his life to the King of Funan. When his head was sent to the King of Funan, he still guaranteed. With a stunned expression, Fan Man, the king of Funan, was cold.

With Fan Yan's head, there is also a very neat note with Chinese characters on it. Fan Man's Chinese learning level is good, and he recognized these words. The handwriting is very gentle, but the meaning is very arrogant.

"Those who offend me, my strong man, will be killed even if they are far away!" Behind it was a payment: "The grandson of the great son of Wu in the Han Dynasty told the king of Funan."

Fan Man's eyes were fragmented. Fan Yan was not only his general, but also his nephew. Now he not only had a lifetime of 7,000 troops, but also beheaded. This hatred was big. Originally, he was still considering whether to make peace talks with the State of Wu. Let's concentrate on dealing with the State of Yue first. Now it seems that there is no need. He must meet at the same time. To Wu Yue.

"Gain a large army and attack the south again!" Fan Manxu grabbed the piece of paper and tore it to pieces. He roared harshly, "Cut off the head of this bullshit prince and avenge Fan Yan!"

Soon, several messengers rushed out of the special pastoral city, either riding horses, or taking a boat, running in all directions.

... In fact, Fan Man wronged Sun Deng. He didn't fight that battle, and he didn't write the note. This is 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 rushed to Xijuan City by sea, Chen Shi happened to come back from Linyi. As soon as he heard the opinions relayed by Chen Shi, Zhuge Ke agreed, so Lv Dai allocated 2,000 people to him, and even took 2,000 county soldiers he brought to Changshan to set up an ambush. In order to catch all Fan Yan, Zhuge Ke tried his best to walk around the nearby hills in the shortest time and dug where Fan Yan might pass by. Pit. The county soldiers he brought may still be a little skillful in fighting, but they are good at digging pits. They work together to figure out what may happen after being frightened. Finally, they came up with the immoral and smoking idea of a series of plum blossom pits, which made Zhuge Ke scream.

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

Sun Deng was very satisfied with the result. Anyway, Zhuge Ke gave him a long face in the first battle out of the mountain. He killed more than 1,000 people on the spot. The record of capture of more than 3,000 people and eight war elephants was brilliant. The only thing Sun Deng was worried about was that the sentence Zhuge Ke wrote in his name was too much. He was relieved. In case he angered the king of Funan and raised a large army to attack, wouldn't it be self-defeating?

Zhuge Ke's reply to this is that there are two reasons why he must do so: First, the king of Funan brazenly invaded the south. If he doesn't hit his arrogance, he will not pay attention to the State of Wu. What benevolence and righteousness do these barbarians know? If you don't hurt him, he won't listen to you. Second, the king of Yue can send troops to attack Funan for several merchants. The matter is so big. If we don't show the means of thunder, does the State of Wu still want to be on an equal footing with the State of Yue in the future? Who will pay attention to Wu Guo? Probably even Fan Man will underestimate the State of Wu, so we must let him know that not only the State of Yue cannot be provoked, but also the State of Wu cannot be provoked. In other words, the Han people cannot be provoked.

Although Sun Deng disagrees with Zhuge Ke's explanation, he can't take it back anyway. The task now is to solve the district connection in Xijuan City. The king of Linyi, who no longer has the Linyi Kingdom, does not know the situation. Sun Deng left this opportunity to Lv Dai and asked him to drive the eight war elephants out of the city. Qu Lian suddenly knew that the general trend had gone, and angrily committed suicide in the city, ending his glorious and tragic life.

Xijuancheng surrendered, and it was said that the south county was recovered. Sun Deng immediately sent 600 miles to report to Jianye. At the same time, he was ready to fight. As long as everyone with some brains knew, the next war was inevitable. In order to avoid fighting alone, Sun Deng sent Zhuge Ke to Linyi to meet Sun Shao, hoping that everyone would act in unity.

As soon as Sun Shao saw the spring breeze, Zhuge Ke smiled and said, "Won Xun, the hole is well dug."

Zhuge Ke said modestly, "It's all your Highness's good guidance."

Then the two looked at each other heartlessly and laughed.

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

"Xiyi calls this thing the source of power. It is said that drinking this can make you energetic." Sun Shao mixed what he called coffee in the cup with a calm smile: "I'm not used to it at first, but I may like it slowly."

"Is it?" Zhuge Ke looked at the source of power that was sipted by him and frowned: "I think tea is better."

"Yuan Xun, you are not yet 20 years old, can't you accept new things?" Sun Shao raised the corners of his mouth and smiled, "There are still many novel things you will see in the future. You can't always limit your eyes to the part you are familiar with like those old scholars." He put down the spoon, took a big sip of the cup, sip it, and said, "Curiosity is the most important weapon for people to explore the world. I see that you have the courage and dare to do it, so I will invite you to taste it. I didn't expect you not to like it."

Hearing this, Zhuge Ke immediately felt a little sorry for King Yue's appreciation if he didn't drink this cup of bitter medicine. He fearlessly raised the cup, drank it all, forced him to taste it calmly, and finally spit out a word: "Bitter!"

Sun Shao couldn't help laughing and burst into laughter.

"Yuan Xun, Zigao sent you here. It's not just to joke with me, is it?" Sun Shao smiled for a while and put away his smile and said, "You have recovered the south, and the task has been completed. Why didn't he go back? Wouldn't it be better to accept it when it's good?

Zhuge Ke lowered his head and pondered for a moment. Sun Deng had revealed such an idea, but he persuaded him. Leaving now is of course good for Sun Deng. He will retire after success, and it has nothing to do with him in the future. However, Zhuge Ke saw the fighter plane. If Fan Man couldn't swallow this breath, there must be a big war in the south. Such an opportunity is very rare for the State of Wu. He just tasted the sweetness. How could he leave the south at this time, so he persuaded Sun Deng for various reasons.

But it is very dangerous to leave Sun Deng in the south. Zhuge Ke knew that with the strength of him and Lv Dai alone, it was not easy to deal with the army of Funan. This is also the reason why he took the initiative to meet with Sun Shao. He needed Sun Shao's help.

"Your Highness, the battle with Funan has just begun. Fan Qian's 7,000 troops are half lost in the hands of Your Highness and half in the hands of our Wu army. For Fan Man, this is just a warning." Zhuge Ke said carefully, "But Fan Man's barbarians may not be able to understand the kindness of Wu Yue. It is said that he knows the situation of my big man, but he probably hasn't read the Taishi Gongshu. He may not be wiser than the king of Yelang. It is also possible to compete with me. Your Highness is coming to the country, and you have to guard against it.

Sun Shao didn't say anything. He just listened to Zhuge Ke and drank coffee slowly. Generally speaking, although he felt that Zhuge Ke was not like his father Zhuge Jin, and his brother Zhuge Qiao, who was adopted by his uncle, he was too smart, but this young man was very enterprising and had a more appetite for him than Sun Deng's nerd.

To start a full-scale war with Funan, of course, it's good to have an ally. With the State of Wu holding it on land, it's better for him to attack at sea than to deal with it alone. Zhuge Ke had this idea, which was right in Sun Shao's arms. He used fraud to force Sun Deng to send troops and could not negotiate with Fan Man. Isn't that the purpose?

Zhuge Ke saw that Sun Shao was silent and knew that he was waiting for him to open the conditions, but he didn't have much choice. Sun Shao's army is a sailor. He has the upper hand on the sea and has created a brilliant record of easily anniminating the other party's 3,000 sailors - the more than 3,000 Funan sailors are still working as a cooly in the cabin - he can fight if he can win, and leave if he can't win. Wu is not. The state of Wu can win this time is entirely because he has been prepared for a long time. Fan Yan was very cooperative. Unexpectedly, he didn't have any precautions. He bumped into the ambush circle with one head - Zhuge Ke still has some doubts. It is said that Fan Yan is also a person who has been in the battlefield for a long time. How can he be so careless? He didn't know that Fan Yan had been exhausted and in a trance by Sun Shao's headhunting meeting, so he ignorantly broke into his ambush circle. Of course, this also had something to do with Fan Yan's psychological habit. Who would have thought that the Han people would annihire him completely? This was not very benevolent.

"The main reason why we can win this time is that we have well restrained the other party's war elephants. The forest is cramped, and the war elephants are attacked in a hurry. In the first attack, we took Fan Yan and the soldiers on the ten war elephants as the target. It can be said that the Funan people have no time to react at all, and the first credit is those pits, from site selection to cover. It took us a lot of energy. Zhuge Ke sighed and said seriously, "In the future, it is impossible for the two armies to give us so much time to dig a pit. We must find a good way to deal with the war between the two armies. Otherwise, this will be our nightmare."

"Yuan Xun, win but not be proud. Your state of mind is not simple." Sun Shao sighed and said half seriously and half jokingly, "You are in the State of Wu. If you can cooperate, you are a good ally. If you can't cooperate, you are my strong enemy. Should I consider whether I should prevent it or not?

Zhuge Ke's face tightened and subconsciously looked at Sun Shao. Sun Shao's expression was serious. It didn't look like a joke, but as if he was really thinking about it. No matter how smart Zhuge Ke is, after all, he is just 20 years old. In addition, he is familiar with the things that are hated because of his intelligence in history. He can't help thinking of himself and became a little nervous for a moment.

Sun Shao looked at Zhuge Ke without saying a word and saw that Zhuge Ke was restless. Then he suddenly sneered. This smile was like a spring breeze breaking the ice, blowing the dark clouds in Zhuge Ke's heart more and heavier and more. Zhuge Ke smiled and said, "Your Highness is joking. Your Highness uses soldiers like gods, and there are more capable generals in the account. Among other things, Zhou Boying is the son of the governor, and the ability to use soldiers is not under me. If the State of Wu really wants to fight one day, I'm afraid that without Your Highness to fight, he can make me helpless."

Sun Shao couldn't help laughing. He pointed to Zhuge Ke and said, "Yuan Xun, you are sharp enough. You should not only relieve yourself, but also do something for Zhou Boying. Can't my men find your opponent except Zhou Boying? The little vertical, it seems to be arrogant.

Zhuge Ke blushed, and his little thought was not hidden from Sun Shao.

"However, don't worry, not to mention that I have no idea of fighting against Wu from beginning to end. Even if there is, I won't be such a villain. I'd rather compete with you with you." Sun Shao said with emotion, "You don't know that it's not easy to find a bosom friend, but it's even more difficult to find a rival. Meng Degong and Yun Changgong are old, and the heroes of the world are in you and me. Yuan Xun, we are now bosom friends. Even if we will become opponents in the future, we will also cherish each other. Even if I have all kinds of tricks, I will not use them on you. Of course, I hope we can always be friends, otherwise we won't deliberately neglect you all the time.

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 heart, and on the other hand, he also made him a loyal minister who could not be linked to Sun Shao in Sun Quan's mind. Now Sun Shao is the king of Yue. Zun, the achievements of the world, giving him such a high evaluation, how can he not introduce Sun Shao as a deed knowledge?

"Your Highness, if you are not talented, how dare you fight against your Highness." Zhuge Ke bowed and said, "I am willing to work with Your Highness to break through Funan and raise the power of our Han thousands of miles away."

"Very good." Sun Shao nodded: "Wei has Cao Ziwen and Wu has Zhuge Yuanxun. They are all heroes of the young generation. I don't know what kind of people in the Shu Congress can compete with you. I'm really looking forward to it." He paused and said, "The special pastoral city of Funandu is far away from the south. Fan Man is to gather a large army. It is not easy to rush to the south. Moreover, when the soldiers move, it will last for a long time, and the consumption will be very large. If he only uses his own soldiers, he will have to guard against the rebellion of the subordinate country, and the troops will be scattered. If the soldiers of the country are recruited, It must not last long, otherwise the hearts of the people will fluctuate, and he will collapse without fighting. Personally, I think he should seek a quick decision, rely on the strength of the war elephant to tear open your defense line and directly defeat your army. There are two plans at the present. First, you stick to the Xijuan City and attack the city to defend the city, which is my specialty of the Central Plains. If the Funan people attack the city, even if there are war elephants to help them, they can only stop under the strong city. As long as you defend the city, you can win without fighting.

Zhuge Ke pondered for a moment, but shook his head to express his disapproval. Sun Shao looked at him with encouragement, and Zhuge Ke said, "If you are trapped in the western scroll, you will be slaughtered outside the city. The people are restless and will not achieve anything for a year. Next year, you must fall into hunger. Although the south is not broken, it is no different from the broken, and allowing the king of Funan** will inevitably affect morale and be bad for defending the city. Besides, this time Fan Yan's invasion of Funan was completely anniled by us. When the king of Funan entered Funan, we should at least hit him hard, but we don't have that strength.

"Well, I have another way." Sun Shao was not angry at all. On the contrary, he seemed very happy. Zhuge Ke had thought about it carefully, indicating that he had a plan. He continued to say his plan: "There is another way, which is to fortification in the Mount Changshan. One advantage of doing so is that it does not affect the farming in the south, at least the grain is guaranteed. It is said that the weather in the south is hot and the ground is ripe, and the rice is enough to supply the army three seasons a year. Moreover," Sun Shao raised the corners of his mouth and showed a bad smile: "The army fought fiercely on the Changshan Mountain. The battlefield is your choice, and you can dig a pit calmly."

Zhuge Ke smiled and was still a little worried: "Although Changshan has a dense forest, there is no barrier. I have also noticed that Changshan is not tall on the first, and the waves on both sides are gentle, which is not a suitable place to block. If it is just an ambush, it is still okay. As a defensive position for a long time, it will be obvious. The land is not good enough. And nearly a hundred miles north and south of the Changshan Mountain, we are already short of troops, and we can't prevent it.

Sun Shao turned his eyes, thought for a little, and asked, "So what's your plan?"

Zhuge Ke bowed his hand and said, "I have a management opinion, and I want to check with Your Highness."

"It's okay for Yuanxun to speak out."

"Your Highness is in the navy, and our army is in the army, but the number of people is too small, so it is stretched. The county soldiers are still being recruited, and the prince has also sent to the king for help. If the king is willing, he may transfer the army around Guiyang to Jiaozhou to participate in the war, but on the one hand, it is not certain, and on the other hand, it is too late. In addition, it is difficult to transport due to the long journey. I have the courage to ask Your Highness for assistance. First, I want to help my army transport grain and soldiers. Second, I want to ask Your Highness to send someone to help us station in Changshan. With the help of Your Highness, we can drag the King of Funan to the Changshan Mountain. At that time, Your Highness will attack the coast with sailors, making him difficult to take care of his head and end. He is exhausted. Without March, Funan will be tired, and I, Wu Yue, will win. He couldn't help but keep fighting for peace talks.

"Do you want me to send someone to help you fight?" Sun Shao's smile became a little strange: "Is this your idea, or is it Zi Gao's idea? You were reluctant to send me troops to enter the south.

Zhuge Ke smiled and said, "It's my idea. After weighing it repeatedly on the way here, I feel that Wu Yue should still fight side by side and unify the dispatch, so that it is possible to block the revenge of the King of Funan and protect the results. Before I could tell the prince about this idea, I didn't think about it. I asked Your Highness first. If Your Highness thinks it's available, I'll go back and tell the prince that the prince is wise. I think he can see the situation clearly.

Sun Shao smiled secretly. Zhuge Ke really had the qualification to be a powerful minister. Unexpectedly, he was bold enough to talk about cooperation with himself without Sun Deng's consent. He nodded quietly, "There is no problem with transporting troops and grain. I can send some merchant ships there. The sporadic pirates along the way don't have the courage to fight for military food. As for the matter of sending troops to cooperate, I can accept you. As long as Zi Gao does not object, I can send 10,000 people to help guard Changshan Mountain. However, in the ugly words, you are responsible for the supply of food, fodder and ordnance for 10,000 of my 10,000 people.

Zhuge Ke smiled faintly, "Your Highness, there are too many 10,000 people, and 5,000 is enough."

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

Zhuge Ke nodded solemnly: "I'm sure! Your Highness's soldiers are brave, one is ten, and 5,000 soldiers are enough to be used for 50,000.

Sun Shao sneered at it, and Zhuge Ke said it seriously. In fact, he still had a small calculation. If the army of Yue is really 10,000, I'm afraid that the dominance of the battlefield will not be in Wu and Yue. Zhuge Ke is unwilling to be controlled by others, so he wants to keep the minimum number. His biggest purpose may still be to create the impression that Wu and Yue are integrated, so that the king of Funan has some scruples, and then use these 5,000 people to contain him, and then let him send money. It's not convenient to send food.

At a young age, the calculation is really good. This person is like a sharp dagger. After this training, he has revealed his sharpness.

"Five thousand? OK!" 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. Yuan Xun, I don't rely on the old to sell the old. I want to remind you a few words. Although Zi Gao is generous, my uncle is a very defensive person. You are a new sword. If you are sharp, you are sharp, but you still owe some old success. Don't do bad things with good intentions. He smiled and patted Zhuge Ke on the shoulder meaningfully: "I don't want such a good friend and opponent to hide the treasure box for some inexplicable reasons."

Zhuge Ke was very grateful and bowed his way.

(to be continued)