Chapter 171: Intelligence gap, the hidden enemy behind To Qin Zhen, Sun Ce was an outsider in the Battle of Lujiang. Because Sun Ce and Liu Xun were two relatively independent forces, they did not have much influence on each other. They designed it without considering the influence of Sun Ce. But in a sense, Sun Ce is also a related person. Because Lujiang is adjacent to Jiangdong and connected to Danyang in the south, its geographical location is extremely important. Once Sun Ce knew about this, he would not remain silent. Upon hearing the information brought to him by Taishi Xiang, Qin Zhen said in a strange way: "So, before Yuan Fu went north, Sun Ce had already pacified Wujun?" "That's right, Military Advisor, you may not know that Sun Ce has done a great thing by pacifying Wujun this time!" Taishi Xiang spoke to Qin Zhen vividly, as if he was telling a story: "I heard that after Sun Ce captured Wujun, Yan Baihu and others were beheaded."

"In addition, two large families, the Wang family and the Xu family, with hundreds of people, are also implicated!" "I heard that even infants were not spared. Men, women, young and old were killed one after another!" "The blood flowed into the river, and the water did not clear up for several days. This is really a cruel act!" Hearing this, Qin Zhen couldn't help but think that Sun Ce had finally decided to target the aristocratic families. In the original course, Sun Ce's attitude towards the gentry was tough. As a result, after Sun Ce's death, Jiangdong fell into the brink of disintegration. It was Bi Yan'er's flexibility that brought it back. Now in this timeline, due to the change in the situation, Sun Ce is more ruthless towards the Jiangdong gentry. If Sun Ce can keep it up, then there will be no problem. But if Sun Ce encountered an accident, I am afraid the resistance of the Jiangdong gentry would be even more intense! Thinking of this, he couldn't help but think about the assassin in history who led to Sun Ce's death. In the original story, Sun Ce was assassinated, but he still had doubts about the identity of the assassin. The record says he was a retainer of Xu Gong, but it is also possible that it was planned by Guo Jia. After all, Cao Cao was fighting the Battle of Guandu at that time, and Sun Ce unified Jiangdong and was planning to attack Xu Du to welcome Emperor Xian. At this special moment, Cao was a little scared, but Guo Jia directly judged that Sun Ce would die at the hands of an ordinary man. All his actions indicate that there is a possibility that Guo Jia will take action. Only Guo Jia personally participated in the planning, so he could be sure that Sun Ce would die at the hands of a "common man". Therefore, Qin Zhen inferred that it was most likely a coordinated effort of the two parties, with Guo Jia persuading Xu Gong's followers to provide intelligence and taking the opportunity to kill Sun Ce. Solved the biggest problem at the lowest cost. Now as the situation continues to change, Sun Ce's ending is likely to change. However, this gave him an idea. Perhaps he could follow suit and assassinate Sun Ce directly!

But there is a big problem in doing this: their intelligence agencies are too backward! Intelligence plays a decisive role in the process of striving for hegemony. Generally speaking, when strategists design, they do not make designs based on groundless inferences or conjectures. Most of the time, we deduce the enemy's movements based on known intelligence and take active or passive measures. This is also the reason why he spent a lot of effort to set up an intelligence agency for Lao Cao. The foresight of a time traveler is limited! When the situation changes to a certain extent, the butterfly effect will cause these foresights to gradually disappear, or even become misleading. At this time, it is very important to establish a sound intelligence agency! Establishing an intelligence agency requires a lot of money and energy. It was not difficult for Cao Cao, but for Liu Bei before him, it was nothing but a pipe dream. Therefore, he had never mentioned the intelligence agency to Liu Bei before. But now, as their power grows, the establishment of intelligence agencies becomes more urgent. Just like now, as soon as he left Shouchun, he was like a half-blind man. Apart from the information he could grasp, it was difficult for him to know any details of the outside world. This feeling was extremely painful, like the fog of war, blinding his eyes and making him unable to see the overall situation. While thinking, Qin Zhen looked at Taishi Xiang again and said: "Yuan Fu, do you know when Sun Ce conquered Wujun?" Upon hearing this, Taishi Xiang hurriedly said to Qin Zhen: "Around the middle of last month!" When Qin Zhen heard this, his heart skipped a beat and he said: "It was pacified in the middle of last month? What has Sun Ce done since then?" It should be noted that they sent out their troops in early February, and when they launched the attack, Sun Ce was still attacking Wu County. And now it is early March, and he has indeed pacified Lujiang. But he didn't know what Sun Ce had been doing for more than half a month! There was no news from the south, and he thought Sun Ce was still suppressing the rebellion, but he didn't expect that Sun Ce had already escaped so early. In more than half a month, if Sun Ce returned, he would probably have reached Danyang! For a moment he couldn't help but frowned and said: "If you knew that Sun Ce had already conquered Wujun, why didn't you report it?" When Taishi Xiang saw him like this, he laughed and said: "Why is Lord Qin so angry? Sun Ce is far away in Jiangdong. He has his father to protect him. Lord Qin has nothing to worry about!" "In fact, our army has already found out that after Sun Ce pacified Wujun, he led his troops south to Kuaiji!" "My father is leading his army in Danyang, and Sun Ce is leading his army south. If they return, our army will surely know first."

"Now that the Qin King has captured Lujiang, he can come south to reinforce at any time. Even if Sun Ce returns, we are not afraid!" He smiled to himself and couldn't help thinking that Qin Zhen was too cautious! You have to know that his father has been dealing with Sun Ce for such a long time, so Qin Zhen doesn't have to worry, because his father will also be on guard against Sun Ce. In addition, now that the passage has been opened, Liu Bei's troops can continue to move south. If there really was any unusual military intelligence, his father would take the initiative to ask for help. Now, they are not worried, but Qin Zhen is worried instead. But as he was thinking this, he saw that Qin Zhen's expression was becoming more and more serious, until finally he narrowed his eyes with a complicated look, as if he was thinking about something. Seeing this, Taishi Xiang's smile gradually faded, and he couldn't help but say: "Why does the military advisor look like this? Did the kid say something offensive?" Seeing that Qin Zhen's expression was not right, he thought Qin Zhen was angry and asked hurriedly. But as soon as he finished speaking, Qin Zhen said in a deep voice: "Let me ask you, if the enemy army moves south and uses the navy to return, how long will it take?" When Taishi Xiang saw this, he was stunned and said: "What do you mean, military advisor?" "Hasn't the enemy already marched south to Kuaiji? Why are they returning with their navy?" He naturally wondered why Qin Zhen made such a judgment. You know, if Sun Ce wanted to return, he could go directly west from Wujun. If we use the navy and set out directly from Dantu, the speed will be much faster. It only takes two days to reach Danyang. If we go south to Kuaiji first and then return with the navy, wouldn't that be multiple actions in one? But while he was wondering, Qin Zhen had already stood up and shouted outside: "Someone come quickly and tell me the message!" After saying this, he did not even look at Taishi Xiang, but came to the desk, unfolded the silk paper and wrote quickly, while writing he said in a deep voice: "Yuan Fu is still young, and he doesn't know how powerful Sun Ce is. This man can conquer the vast Jiangdong area with more than a thousand soldiers and horses. How can he be easy to deal with!" "Right now, your father has occupied Wanling Jing County. Although he has not informed us that he has joined forces with our army, your father is not an ordinary person. Sun Ce is naturally afraid that he will join forces with our army!" "If Sun Ce hadn't conquered Wu County, it would have been fine. But now that he has, there's no reason for him not to return!" "He seized Wujun but then led his army south. How could we not have a plan for such an abnormal move?" "This is a plan to show contempt for you and to attack from the east while making a feint to the west!" "You all just thought that he was determined to go south to Kuaiji. Isn't that exactly what the enemy is trying to do?" "If he returns from Kuaiji by water, he can reach Danyang in just three to five days." "Our army has just taken Lujiang and is unable to move south. Ziyi is unprepared, so how can he resist Sun Ce's troops?" "If Sun Ce retakes Danyang, it will be difficult for our army to move south, but I am afraid that Ziyi is also in danger now!" Listening to Qin Zhen's explanation, Taishi Xiang trembled suddenly.

If Qin Zhen's words were true, wouldn't Sun Ce have already arrived in Danyang? Fortunately, he thought Sun Ce was still in Kuaiji and was not too worried. But if Sun Ce has already arrived in Danyang, then it would be a big disaster! Thinking of this, he felt hot all over and stood up quickly and said: "Boy, return to Spring Valley now and inform father to be on guard!" As soon as he stood up, Qin Zhen stood up first and said: "It's too late to go now. If we calculate by time, our army has just taken Lujiang, and Sun Ce may have already reached Wanling!" "Now that Sun Ce has arrived, what's the point of you going alone?" When Taishi Xiang heard this, his eyes suddenly turned red and he turned around and said: "But my father is in danger. As a son, how can I just stand here and watch?" After all, he was young and had never experienced anything serious. When he saw this, he immediately panicked. Seeing this, Qin Zhen stepped forward and patted Taishi Xiang on the shoulder and said: "Don't worry, Yuanfu. If I didn't know about this, it would be fine. Now that I know, I will definitely find a way to deal with it!" "Fortunately, you crossed the river and headed north this time, so your father would have less to worry about. Otherwise, if Sun Ce came this time and took you as a hostage, your father would have had a hard time doing anything!" "You are here now, don't act on your own. As long as you are still here, Ziyi will be free of worries. Although you cannot win, you will not be defeated either!" He still had great confidence in Taishi Ci's abilities. The only thing to worry about is Taishi Ci's family problems. Taishi Ci had only one son, Taishi Xiang. As long as Taishi Xiang was fine, Taishi Ci would not have too many worries. Even if the city falls, it will be difficult for Sun Ce to capture it! Compared with Taishi Ci, the problem he is facing now is more difficult! Because if Sun Ce was returning with the navy, he might have already seen through their purpose of establishing a navy. If Sun Ce blocked the Chungu River outlet in advance, their navy would be blocked. Without the navy, Sun Ce could use it to block the Yangtze River, making it difficult for their troops to move south to Jiangdong. In this situation, no matter how strong their military force is, they will be put in a passive position! Even if Taishi Ci relied on Liu Yao's old subordinates to help them occupy Yuzhang, they would be defeated by Sun Ce sooner or later. This is the situation he least wants to see! So after saying a few words to comfort him, Qin Zhen waited for the messenger to arrive and handed over the order, saying: "Immediately split into three groups to send messages. One group will inform Qin Yi and ask him to return with Chen Zhang to guard against Sun Ce's surprise attack on Liyang and other cities!" "A message was sent to Lu Su, ordering him to lead his troops out of Chaohu Lake as soon as possible and to guard against Sun Ce's navy!" "A message to Zilong, hurry back to Wanxian and prepare to follow me south to Danyang!" "Order all the generals in the city to gather their troops and wait for orders immediately. There must be no mistakes!" As this series of orders were issued, the soldiers rushed out of the palace. Watching Qin Zhen finish everything, Tai Shi Xiang finally calmed down for a while. No matter what, at least they and their son have Liu Bei as their backing! Qin Zhen looks so calm and steady, so things should still be under control. But he didn't know that Qin Zhen was also quite nervous at this moment.

On the one hand, they were afraid that Taishi Ci would accidentally die in Danyang, and on the other hand, they were also afraid that they would be a step too late and let Sun Ce take the lead! But as a military strategist, he had to remain rational no matter what. At a time like this, anyone can mess up, but he can't! But as his messenger set out, bad news arrived in the night: "Military Advisor, urgent news from Liyang, saying that a large number of navy troops are approaching on the river!" "Report! Liu Xun's Congyang stronghold was attacked by the enemy's navy. It was first destroyed and all the ships were captured by the enemy's navy!" "Military Advisor, Commander Lu Su has sent a letter saying that our army has spotted a large number of Jiangdong ships at the river mouth!" "Our ships are stuck in Chaohu Lake and have difficulty moving eastward!" "General Zhao Yun sent a message saying that Sun Ce has recaptured Spring Valley and General Taishi Ci is missing!" Faced with this series of bad news, Qiao Rui and others were naturally shocked and didn't know what was going on. However, Qin Zhen couldn't help but sigh when faced with this situation. It is the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. He originally thought that since Lujiang had been secured and Jiangdong was in chaos, this battle might be a complete success. Now it seems that it is too early for him to be happy. The combination of Zhou Yu and Sun Ce is indeed far more difficult to deal with than ordinary princes! (End of this chapter)