Chapter 159: Lujiang Crisis
Under the city of Lujiang, Sun Ce led thousands of elite troops to besiege Shu County.
Looking at the not-so-tall county town in front of him, Sun Ce's eyes were full of helplessness.
He didn't expect that a mere city like Shucheng would be so difficult to conquer.
There was no other way. Lu Kang's prestige was too high, and he was deeply loved by the people in Lujiang. Not only were his soldiers and civilians willing to die for him, but even many people from the surrounding Wujun and other places came to help him spontaneously.
Sun Ce also realized that Lujiang was not easy to capture, but Yuan Shu's promise to him made him determined to capture Lujiang.
His father had passed away and now he was living under someone else's roof. All his old subordinates had been recruited by Yuan Shu. This life was too difficult. He was determined to gain a piece of territory of his own and did not care even if it meant temporarily losing the support of the people.
In fact, before leaving, his close friend Zhou Yu had advised him that Lu Kang of Lujiang was deeply loved by the people, and the Lu family was a prominent family in Jiangdong, so why bother to fight for Yuan Shu? It would be better to wait for the right opportunity.
What's more, although Yuan Shu promised to appoint Sun Ce as the prefect of Lujiang as long as Sun Ce could capture Lujiang, Yuan Shu had also promised to appoint Sun Ce as the prefect of Jiujiang before, but didn't he break his promise later?
Yuan Shu is a man who cannot be trusted.
There was no intention of letting him leave at all. He was just making empty promises and making excuses.
Sun Ce knew very well that Zhou Yu might be right, but he still wanted to give it a try because it was too late!
The current situation in the world seems to have entered the fast lane because of Tian Ze's intervention. The situation of the four princes in the Central Plains separatist regimes has already formed.
The southern provinces of Yizhou and Jingzhou already had owners, leaving Yangzhou as the only province with a certain chance of success. The governor Liu Yao was an incompetent man, and he had not yet truly taken control of Yangzhou, so this was his best chance.
Unexpectedly, he ran into a wall at the gates of Lujiang City and failed to take it down after fighting for half a year.
Moreover, he had been ambushed by Gan Ning before. If it weren't for his strong strength and talent, he would have been in danger of being defeated and killed.
During the past six months, everyone in Shu County has become a soldier. Although on the verge of despair, they still have the strength to resist, and a small number of his soldiers have also been killed.
Sun Ce originally planned to fight Lu Kang for a while, after all, his troops were a little insufficient. Shu County must be short of food and grass, so if time passed, he could take it without a fight.
But Gan Ning's existence dispelled his idea.
Gan Ning was not the weak and incompetent Liu Yao. If Liu Yao sent troops to attack him, he was basically sending food and supplies. But Gan Ning was a fierce general, his martial arts were comparable to his, and he had a strong ability to lead troops in combat, and most of his subordinates were elite soldiers.
Thinking about the sneak attack now, Sun Ce still feels a little scared.
If he hadn't reacted quickly, his army would have been completely defeated. And he was able to survive because the other side didn't want to fight them, otherwise he would definitely not be able to defeat them.
He could see that Gan Ning was not someone who was willing to work for Liu Yao. As long as there were certain casualties, he would preserve his strength and evacuate, not caring about anything else.
But if Gan Ning keeps launching sneak attacks, he won’t be able to bear it!
"We must capture Shucheng in three days!" Sun Ce looked towards Shucheng with a firm gaze and said in a deep voice.
Any delay would lead to changes. Gan Ning's stationing near Wujun made him feel extremely uneasy and he had to take Lujiang as soon as possible.
"My lord, what should we do with Gan Ning?" the deputy general asked worriedly.
"Don't worry about him." Sun Ce showed a fierce look like a tiger: "If he dares to come, the worst that can happen is that both sides will be destroyed."
Previously, he was not prepared and had no idea where Gan Ning was coming from. Now that he knew clearly, he was not afraid of confronting Gan Ning head-on, but was only worried about being harassed by his continuous sneak attacks.
After his father's death, Sun Ce, whose talent had been awakened, was full of confidence. He thought that as long as he had a small number of troops in his hands, he could conquer the world.
Moreover, his father's old subordinates were still loyal to him. Moreover, he had a brother who was an unparalleled national hero.
Now all the troops under his command are provided by Yuan Shu, but as long as he can conquer a county, he can recruit his own troops and ascend to heaven.
In Shucheng, Lu Kang looked at the exhausted soldiers on the city wall and sighed in his heart.
When did the world become like this!
He was the prefect of Lujiang, but he was besieged by bandits in this county town and had no way out.
At this time, he was ready to live and die with Shucheng. Fortunately, all the tribesmen had been properly settled, and Boyan had been sent away. Except for some indignant people who came to be buried with him, the rest of the tribesmen should be safe.
Even if Wu County eventually fell, I believe that Ji Cai's lineage would be able to continue the incense by heading north to Youzhou.
Since the establishment of the Jixia Academy in Tian Ze, it has been attacked by aristocratic families all over the world. However, almost all the prominent aristocratic families have tacitly sent a few unworthy sons who were expelled from their families to study there.
Not only does he want to leave a way out, but he also wants to avoid being left behind too much.
The various noble families had already divided up the right to annotate various classics, so there were almost no major conflicts in academia. Each family studied their own subject and developed peacefully.
But now the Jixia Academy appeared, and the slogan of "a hundred schools of thought contending" was shouted, and tens of thousands of classics were produced, which instantly produced a catfish effect.
It would be fine if they all ignored it, and they could destroy the Jixia Academy when they had the chance in the future. But I am afraid that someone might have ulterior motives and sneak in to steal our skills in order to overtake us.
We are all thousand-year-old foxes and understand each other's thoughts thoroughly.
There will always be people who will take risky moves and place multiple bets for the future of their family.
Once the chain of suspicion appears, you can't just lie down and do nothing. If you don't send a few outstanding children from your family, if the Jixia Academy really comes up with something in the future, you will be passive.
Therefore, the Wujun Lu family also arranged a lot of manpower. Especially since they had been secretly communicating with Tian Zeben, they were naturally more willing to invest.
The next day, facing Sun Ce's fierce siege, the city wall changed hands several times. It was only thanks to the desperate efforts of the soldiers and civilians in the city that they managed to take it back and finally held on until dark.
But even if they managed to hold the city wall, looking at the soldiers on the wall who had suffered heavy casualties and were exhausted, Lu Kang knew in his heart that they might not be able to hold it tomorrow.
While arranging people to treat his soldiers, Lu Kang also ordered people to inform the people in the city of the situation, so that they would be prepared to avoid being harmed by soldiers and bandits.
"Sir, we will definitely not be able to hold on tomorrow. I will escort you away!" The general guarding the city slowly came to Lu Kang and said in a low voice.
During his years in Lujiang, Lu Kang had made remarkable political achievements, and the local people were extremely grateful for his kindness. Otherwise, they would not have come all the way to help even though they knew that there was war in Shu County and still risked their lives.
They didn't want the old lady to die here.
"I am the governor of Lujiang appointed by the court. It is my duty to defend the land and protect the people. Even if the city is breached, I should die for my country. How can I do such a cowardly thing?" Lu Kang shouted angrily.
"Anyone who talks about evacuating again will be killed. Even if the city is breached tomorrow, you don't need to save me. Stop the fighting to prevent the people in the city from suffering. This is the order of the governor!"
Seeing Lu Kang's unwavering determination, the soldiers all replied, "Yes!"
Lu Kang nodded slightly and prepared to go down the city wall to explain things to the people.
However, as soon as he turned around, the defending general carefully hit him on the back of the neck, knocking Lu Kang unconscious.
"My lord, I'm sorry."
He looked at the soldiers around him, but saw that they all seemed to be oblivious and continued to do their own things.
The garrison commander nodded to everyone, then called a group of his trusted aides and said in a deep voice, "Leave through the south gate with the envoy and head to Guiliu Creek. Someone will pick you up there."
"Remember, no matter what happens, you must protect the life of the envoy!"
"Yes!" said the confidants solemnly.
Seeing Lu Kang being taken away by his confidant, the defending general felt relieved and breathed a sigh of relief.
Now, he can die.
(End of this chapter)
