Chapter 313
There were seventy thousand of the Jingzhou navy at Xiakou in Jiangxia. They were the main army.
"Military advisor. Why is the entire army here at Sanjiangkou?" Wen Pin was overseeing the main camp at Xiakou. On the other hand, Zhuge Liang was the military advisor. The soldiers brought along were supposed to be from Sanjiangkou. However, Zhuge Liang had brought the soldiers out to Xiakou and only left behind about three thousand men. Wen Pin felt that this was odd.
"General Wen Pin. Didn't Milord order us to go and eliminate Zhang Shuo?" Zhuge Liang replied with a smile as he shook his fan.
"That river bandit Zhang Shuo?" Wen Pin thought about what this individual was like. Although Zhang Shuo would have several thousand men, they were just mobs. They would only have small boats. They would have already been eliminated had the nobles in Jingzhou not desire to use them for secretive actions. However, Zhang Shuo had made a mistake of fighting against the wrong people, that was the merchandise of the Cai Family. As a result, Liu Biao gave the order for their elimination. If it was just to teach them a lesson, a few thousand men would be enough. To eliminate them, twenty thousand men was more than enough. However, Zhuge Liang brought thirty thousand men, leaving behind only a few thousand old weak soldiers and ships that had not been outfitted with ballistae. This made Wen Pin feel suspicious.
Zhuge Liang continued to wave his fan as he detected Wen Pin's suspicion. His eyes glinted and said, "General Wen Pin. I believed that Milord asked for their elimination, so I brought the soldiers over. Besides that, we need to replenish the provisions. There is also a new ship coming in, so I thought of going over to take it back!"
"Provisions? New ships?" Wen Ping finally 'understood' that Zhuge Liang came for the new warships and provisions. It was also true that a new ship would be coming from Jingzhou. This was because ships would be somewhat decayed after a long time regardless of whether they were remodelled or not. So, new ships would be sent over along with provisions. Zhuge Liang was really effective at obtaining information. Wen Pin had planned to first give his subordinates the new ships. He was unsure whether it was because Zhuge Liang was popular. However, Wen Pin himself was unable to keep things a secret and could only take a portion of the new warships.
"Now that you have brought all the soldiers here, what about Sanjiangkou?" Wen Pin was in a bad mood now that he knew that his new ships would be divided. That being said, he must not have a falling out with Zhuge Liang. So, he could only give Zhuge Liang a hard time.
"Haha. General. Have you forgotten that Milord is now having a truce with Sun Ce?" Although Zhuge Liang said this, he actually felt really uncomfortable from this fact. He would not have behaved is such a risky manner if Liu Biao had not been so short sighted. Jingzhou would only be stable if there had been balance. However, the situation has changed. An overlord would appear in the North after Cao Cao and Yuan Shao's decisive battle. This would cause instability in the South. If the overlord were to attack, the first to fight would be Liu Bei and Lu Bu. Meanwhile, Sun Ce would also not dare to attack Jingzhou. However, Liu Biao insisted on watching them kill each other, before entering the fray. This would be good if he was someone that forges ahead. He would be able to benefit from the others. However, Liu Biao was already half dead. Once Lu Bu is defeated, Jingzhou would be their next targets.
Liu Biao's actions were not good for Jingzhou and was also bad to the Lu Bu's Army. Right now, the Lu Bu's Army lacked soldiers and provisions to hold back Sun Ce. Now that his great cause was about to disappear, the optimistic Zhuge Liang started to take risks.
"Yes. There is a truce." Wen Pin also felt somewhat emotional. Both sides had been at war for a long time as the Yangtze River was dyed red with blood. Wen Pin also knows that Jiangdong were their worst enemies. However, they had indirectly helped Jiangdong from the truce.
"So, there is nothing to be worried about!" Zhuge Liang said with a smile, stopping Wen Pin's questions.
"We still need to be careful. After all, they are very ambitious!" Wen Pin still felt reserved.
"Hm?" Zhuge Liang gave Wen Pin a look and asked, "General. What is your opinion on Lu Bu?"
"My opinion?" Wen Pin shook his head and waved his hand. "I have no opinion on him! I am simply unable to understand Milord's thoughts." Wen Pin was also speechless. It was obvious that Lu Bu could somewhat be considered an ally as none of Jingzhou's neighbours were good people. Aside from Liu Zhang who does not want any dealings with anyone, Sun Ce, Zhang Xiu and Liu Bei were people who were waiting for an opportunity to lay their hands on Jingzhou. Once Lu Bu is gone, they would set their sights on Jingzhou. This was why he could not understand Liu Biao's thoughts.
"Haha." Zhuge Liang could not help but nod at Wen Pin. Liu Biao could not be blamed for this. After all, the man is old and he was no longer as brave. Besides that, the Cai and Kuai families controlled half of Jingzhou. Once the war in the North is over, they would give Quanzhou away. Why would they want to give their soldiers and provisions away to the Lu Bu's Army?
"I will divide fifty of the new ships with you!" Wen Ping said to Zhuge Liang. However, Zhuge Liang was still looking at Wen Pin. Wen Pin believed that Zhuge Liang was not satisfied with this and gritted his teeth. "Sixty ships! I cannot go any higher!" This was a total of about one hundred ships. As Zhuge Liang's main camp was stationed at Sanjiangkou which was the front lines, more than half was given to him. "You can have ten thousand provisions!"
"Sixty ships and ten thousand provisions it is then." Zhuge Liang replied. He was not actually here for either of those.
"If there is nothing else, take the ships and return to Sanjiangkou." Wen Pin waved his hand and replied. Zhuge Liang cupped his fist and then bid him farewell.
After Zhuge Liang left the barracks, Li Yan and two bodyguards approached him. "Military advisor. How was the discussion?"
"Ten thousand provisions and sixty new ships! Quickly dispatch people to receive it and avoid daydreaming!" The two bodyguards then moved quickly. "Oh right. Zheng Fang, how was business?"
Li Yan looked around him and saw nobody. He then quietly replied, "It is almost done. We already control half of the wall. I am not sure about the remaining half but Zhong Miao had already made preparations. We would receive news about it soon."
"This is a matter of great importance and must be done carefully! If we cannot control the other half of the walls, we kill our way in! Kill all those that refuse to surrender and spare none! We must let none know about what we are doing." Zhuge Liang viciously suggested.
"Also, spare Wen Pin regardless of whether he surrendered or not. Just tie him up and throw him on my flagship!"
"Understood." Li Yan nodded.
"Zheng Fang. Do you regret following me?" Zhuge Liang asked. "There is still time if you feel regrets. I will not make things difficult for you. You just need to say that this was all my idea!" Zhuge Liang's actions were very serious. It would be great if it succeeded but failure would mean the extermination of his entire family. Not even his teacher would be able to protect him. Even if he was successful, his reputation would be destroyed. Rather than having one's good name go down in history, he would be wishing for his name to not go down history at all.
"Military advisor. Are you saying you don't need me anymore?" Li Yan knelt in front of Zhuge Liang.
"Haha. Zheng Fang. I, Kong Ming, promise you that as long as I have the position, I will not neglect you! Go and make the preparations and wait for my order to act in unison!" Zhuge Liang patted Li Yan's shoulder.
The navy at Xiakou was caught in an indescribable mood.
Chapter 314
Just before Zhuge Liang left Wen Pin's main camp, a Jingzhou navy arrived in front of it. He looked around as though afraid that someone would see him. "Is the general in?" When he reached the entrance, he was stopped by Wen Pin's bodyguards.
"Who are you?" The two bodyguards stood in front of the man.
The man looked at the two and spoke, "Greetings. I am a subordinate of Huo Jun of the navy, and a general of a thousand men, Zuo Chao. I have something important to inform General Wen Pin. I hope the two of you could help me notify him!" Zuo Chao said as he gave both of them some money.
"Looking for the General?" The two bodyguards did not dare to receive the money. Wen Pin was very strict. The soldiers were not even allowed to have thoughts of receiving bribes. If they do, they would be chased away. This was why Wen Pin do not have good connections at Jingzhou and have also offended quite a lot of people. If it was not because of Huang Zu's defeat at Jiangxia, Wen Pin would not have obtained his position.
"Alright. Wait here while we go in and inform him." Wen Pin was shocked that the bodyguards did not accept his bribe but smiled when they went in to make their reports.
"Huo Jun, a general of a thousand men wants to meet me?" Zhuge Liang had just left. Now, a subordinate of Huo Jun came looking for him. Wen Pin was wondering why this man did not look for Huo Jun or Huo Jun's superior, Zhuge Liang. Wen Pin did not want to see him. However, he was a man that was strict to his subordinates in the army and also to himself. "Let him in." The bodyguards accepted the order and Zuo Chao was brought into the camp.
Zuo Chao immediately knelt after he entered. "General of a thousand men, Zuo Chao, greets General Wen Pin!"
"Hm." Wen Pin nodded and put down the military book in his hand. "Are you the one that wants to meet me? What do you want? Why did you come all the way here to speak to me instead of your superior, Huo Jun?" Wen Pin already had a bad impression of Zuo Chao. This was partly because of Zuo Chao's appearance. The other reason was because he knew that Zuo Chao had tried to bribe his men. "Speak if you have something important to say. I am busy with important matters and have no time for nonsense!"
Zuo Chao could understand Wen Pin's thoughts and knew that Wen Pin had a bad impression on him. He knew that he would be chased away if he does not impress Wen Pin. "General. I simply do not dare to speak of this with Huo Jun!"
"Do not dare? Haha. You do not dare to speak of this with Huo Jun but you dare to speak of this with me? If you came here to flatter me, I would have already chased you out as I hate these kinds of vile characters!" Skipping ranks to report on others were actions of a slanderer. This meant that he would be a person of vile character. In fact, Wen Pin had something similar done towards him before.
"General. I am here truly because of a problem with Huo Jun. I am not flattering anyone!" Zuo Chao said looking apologetic. His expression made him seem even more hateful.
"Get out! Now! I will pretend I did not hear anything! If not, I will charge you with the crime of slandering your superior officer and then hand you off to Huo Jun for punishment!" Wen Pin felt disdain for the person who truly came to slander others. He went back to pick up the military book on the table but the next words caused him to almost drop it again.
"General. Huo Jun wants to rebel!" Zuo Chao tried his luck. He originally intended to have a discussion with Wen Pin before informing him about this but now, he was no longer able to.
"What! Huo Jun wants to rebel?" Wen Pin was truly frightened by Zuo Chao's words and was stumped. "You truly do not fear death. I gave you a chance but you threw it away. Looks like I have to send you to Huo Jun and have him punish you!" Wen Pin believed it was unlikely for Huo Jun to want to rebel. After all, Zhuge Liang was around and would control Huo Jun's every move. If this was true, it meant that Zhuge Liang wants to rebel. However, Zhuge Liang had very close relations to the entire Jingzhou from various connections. This also meant that Zhuge Liang would not rebel.
Besides that, Zhuge Liang has nowhere else to go if he were to rebel. He is unable to go to Jiangdong because Zhuge Jin was there. They cannot all invest on the same person.
Another reason would be that Zhuge Liang would lose his reputation if he were to rebel. Scholars like him would not care about position and wealth but their reputation. A good example would be the many others during the Three Kingdoms era that did not care about their lives as long as they had good reputation. There would be no benefits for Zhuge Liang if he were to rebel. Besides a bad reputation for himself, he would also cause a bad reputation for his whole family. He would not be able to go to Jiangdong because his brother is there. The next choice would be Lu Bu, but the Lu Bu's Army would not be able to last much longer. In that case, it would be better to remain at Jingzhou.
"Men! Send this despicable person to General Huo Jun! Let General Huo Jun punish him!" Wen Pin did not waste any time and thought of sending Zuo Chao straight to Huo Jun.
"General. I am speaking the truth! You must believe me!" Zuo Chao was now afraid. What he said was true. He found out when he accidentally heard Zhuge Liang and Huo Jun speak with each other. That being said, he had no evidence. He reported this for wealth and position. If he were to be sent to Huo Jun, his life would be gone. "General. If you don't believe me, you could go and see for yourself. Look outside your camp. How many faces can you recognize? Also, Zhuge Liang came here and dispatched Huo Jun and Li Yan gift provisions on the first day itself. What do you think Zhuge Liang and Huo Jun are trying to do?"
"Hm?" These words made Wen Pin start to think again. He questioned his two bodyguards to find out that Zhuge Liangs actions were quite big. The provisions he gifted were of high class, so much that the low ranked officials were bribed. This was because Huo Jun or Zhuge Liang were impatient and that they would not have another chance to do it if they didn't.
"They are going to act tonight! If nothing happens tonight, feel free to hand me over to General Huo Jun! I will have no complains!" Zuo Chao continued to speak.
'Tonight? If that is the case, leaving him alive for now was not a problem.' "Fine. I will spare you for now. If your words are true, you will gain merits. If not, I will not only hand you to General Huo Jun but have you executed in front of the entire army!" Wen Pin said as he looked at Zuo Chao. If the man's words were true, he would need to make preparations. Otherwise, he would have Zuo Chao executed to appease the army.
"Thank you General!" Zuo Chao was extremely happy. It was as though he went from hell to heaven. He had heard about this from Zhuge Liang and Huo Jun's conversation. He would not have reported this otherwise. As he was certain about the rebellion, he started daydreaming. He would not expect to be a military advisor after Zhuge Liang's fall. However, he was excited to at least become a general of ten thousand men.