Chapter 248: What is the joy or the sorrow? In an autumn rain, the Battle of Fanchang was officially declared over. In this battle, Liu Bei deployed a total force of nearly 40,000 troops and successively captured two large camps of Sun Ce's army. A total of more than 4,000 Sun Ce's soldiers were killed or wounded, and more than 6,000 were captured. In addition to the 5,000 people taken away by Sun Ce, there were also soldiers and horses that fled from various places, and almost all of Sun Ce's main forces were wiped out. The price was not small, with more than 3,000 casualties from the fierce attacks and pursuits. But this price is undoubtedly acceptable. Because with the fall of Fanchang, the gates to the three counties of Jiangdong were completely opened. From here to the east, there is a smooth road for hundreds of miles. Not only Danyang County, but also Wu County and Kuaiji County are under the attack of Liu Bei's army. They entered the Jiangdong Plain in one fell swoop, completely destroying Sun Ce's early strategic layout of defending against the enemy from outside.

Therefore, even though many soldiers were killed or injured this time, it was still within Liu Bei's acceptable range. Of course, no matter how happy he was inside, Liu Bei would not show it at all. Accompanied by Qin Zhen and Liu Ye, he entered Sun Ce's military camp. Along the way, whenever he saw injured soldiers, he went forward to comfort them. As they walked along the way, they arrived at the main tent and heard the number of wounded soldiers being reported. Liu Bei said: "All our wounded soldiers should be given proper medical treatment, and the names of the dead should be clearly identified. We will comfort them after we return to the army tomorrow!" The reason why war costs money is not only because of equipment, but also because of the rewards and comfort of soldiers. In this era, most of the princes were just makeshift teams. They could be rewarded for victory, but not necessarily comforted for defeat. But Liu Bei's subordinates were different. Following Qin Zhen's suggestion, they re-established the system of comforting the soldiers. As the population was now dispersed and a large amount of farmland was barren, Qin Zhen suggested to Liu Bei that farming and warfare be combined with military farming. To put it simply, different strategies are adopted according to the soldiers' family backgrounds. If a person is a refugee's son or a farmer who has settled in a settlement and died in battle, he or she will immediately obtain the right to cultivate the land allocated to them. This kind of farming right is documented in a piece of paper deed and cannot be resold or transferred, which is equivalent to official ownership of the land. On this basis, the military farming policy also had corresponding benefits to reduce the amount of grain to be handed over. If a farmer's son has land at home, after he dies in battle, the government will subsidize him with oxen, cloth, grain and other supplies, and also reduce or exempt his taxes. The simultaneous implementation of these two systems avoids large-scale one-time financial expenditure. The policy of combining in-kind compensation with taxes also brought real benefits to the soldiers' families. Although this policy did not require much expenditure, it greatly boosted the morale of Liu Bei's subordinates. After all, compared with the princes like Yuan Shu who didn't care about the lives of his soldiers, Liu Bei's actions can be called good governance. Seeing this, the soldiers under his command were willing to fight for it and sacrifice their lives. Liu Bei certainly knew about this, so after every battle he would instruct his troops to record the names of the casualties so that he could provide targeted assistance after returning.

After giving these instructions, it was time to meet the prisoners. This time, Liu Bei's army captured many prisoners, but the two people who interested Liu Bei the most were Zhang Hong and Chen Duan. As the two men were brought forward, they both looked depressed and sad. Seeing this, Liu Bei asked the two of them why. Then he saw Zhang Hong lower his head and said: "It's because General Han died and we haven't been able to collect his remains, so we are sad!" Liu Bei naturally didn't know who General Han was, so he asked his name and found out it was Han Dang, so he frowned and said: "This man is an old subordinate of Sun Polu. I have also heard of him. I didn't expect him to die in battle here!" "Since he was a loyal and righteous man, his body should not be scattered. I wonder who killed him?" Zhang Hong and Chen Duan had no idea what was going on, so Jian Yong stepped forward and whispered: "This man was killed by General Zhao. The general attacked from the rear camp and this man blocked his way, so he was stabbed to death by the general." "Because I admire his courage, the general has ordered his body to be collected!" When Liu Bei heard that it was Zhao Yun who killed him, he nodded secretly and said to the two: "You two don't have to do this. The general's body has been collected by our army. You will be able to see it when it is buried tomorrow." When Zhang Hong and others heard this, they looked at each other and bowed their heads to express their gratitude. Liu Bei originally wanted to try to persuade the two to surrender, but seeing their appearance, he knew that they were not the kind of people who would surrender easily, so he simply had them taken away and kept under good guard. After such a meeting, Liu Bei suddenly became a little bored and said: "From this perspective, Sun Bofu is quite good at using people. As long as the soldiers are willing to die for their country, even scholars like Zhang Hong will not surrender easily!" "They are all loyal and righteous men. It is a pity that they cannot be used by our army!" Liu Ye heard this and nodded, echoing: "Sun Lang is not someone you can easily deal with, and he has many loyal and righteous men under his command." As the two of them spoke, they both felt that Sun Ce was different from ordinary princes and was extremely difficult to deal with. Seeing this, Qin Zhen shook his head and laughed, saying to the two of them: "You two are wrong. This is not just Sun Ce's achievement, but also the influence of Sun Jian." "Fortunately, we have already entered Jiangdong. Otherwise, in a few years, it will be difficult to break the Jiangdong situation." "These people are all die-hard Sun clan loyalists who do not know the greater good and deserve to die." "Although he died heroically, we must not show the slightest mercy!" In fact, what the two of them are feeling now is probably what the three great families will feel about in the future. The reason why Wei, Shu and Wu were able to establish their own countries was because of a large number of loyal ministers. Liu Bei was still lamenting the pity of the death of Han Dang and others, but he didn't think from the beginning that they could persuade any of them to surrender. Thanks to Sun Jian's influence, none of the four pillars of Jiangdong will surrender. Also because of Sun Ce's personal charm, Zhou Yu, Jiang Qin, Zhou Tai, Chen Wu, Dong Xi and others would not surrender easily. In this case, every death of these people is a good thing for them.

So seeing Liu Bei like this, he had to remind Liu Bei to realize that those they were killing were all enemies. You can only be happy for their death in battle, and you cannot feel sad when seeing the enemy general die in battle. After all, these people died in battle at the cost of the lives of their soldiers. If Liu Bei felt sad for these people, then how could their soldiers feel sad? When Liu Bei heard this, he understood what Qin Zhen was worried about, and he nodded and smiled: "Military advisor, your words make sense. Sun Lang is quite capable of employing people, so our army should not underestimate him!" "Now that Fanchang Spring Valley has been breached, there will be no more dangerous places blocking our way eastward." "But I don't know how our army should move next?" Facing his question, Qin Zhen smiled seriously and said: "This is not something our army should worry about. Sun Ce has lost two battles in a row this time. He has lost both his military and civil service, and suffered heavy casualties!" "Danyang is obviously difficult to defend, but it depends on how Sun Lang deploys his troops. Our army will make further plans." "Now our soldiers have been fighting for more than half a month, and they are exhausted." "We should reward the three armies and then march north to join forces with General Taishi." "If Sun Ce holds on to Danyang, we will join forces to attack Wanling. If he retreats, we will advance again!" When Liu Bei heard this, he readily agreed. Then he heard that Zhang Fei had killed Huang Gai again, so he ordered the slaughter of pigs and sheep to reward the three armies. On the other hand, it is said that Sun Ce received Taishi Ci's false report and led his troops to reinforce Chungu. As autumn rain fell overnight, they set up camp halfway to avoid the rain. Although it was not uncommon for soldiers to fight at night or in the rain during war, it was rare for troops to march in the rain. The reason is that rain will increase the soldiers' load and cause hypothermia. In addition, since most soldiers at this time wore linen clothes, the friction with the body would increase after the rain, and a forced march would only be counterproductive. Sun Ce had been leading troops for many years and knew this truth, so he did not go directly to Chungu as Zhuge Liang had expected. However, despite this, he was still worried because the road was blocked by rain. Because he had discussed with Zhou Yu before, he believed that Liu Bei would adopt the strategy of dividing the troops and let Taishi Ci launch a surprise attack on Kuaiji from Yuzhang. But with the arrival of Liu Bei's army, he found that Liu Bei's army did not divide its troops as they expected! Taishi Ci's arrival is obviously a very straightforward example. Liu Bei's army adopted a completely opposite strategy. Not only did they not divide their troops, but they also concentrated all their forces in one place. Under such circumstances, their military strength was at an absolute disadvantage. Dividing troops everywhere not only failed to strengthen the defense, but instead created weaknesses everywhere. It can be said that Qin Zhen used the simplest tactic to put them in their current predicament. But this was not what he was most worried about. What worried him most was that the current situation gave him a very uncomfortable feeling! He always felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure it out.

If Zhou Yu were around now, he might be able to discuss it with Zhou Yu. Unfortunately, Zhou Yu was not around, so he could only sit in the tent and ponder over what had given him this strange feeling. While I was thinking about this, I suddenly heard footsteps outside the tent, followed by a hearty voice saying: "It's so late at night, brother, are you still studying military books?" As he was speaking, a young man in a straw raincoat walked into the tent. This person is Sun Ce's brother-in-law Hong Zi, who is also Sun Quan's brother-in-law. In the original process, Zhuge Jin was recommended to Sun Quan by this person. However, in this timeline, Hong Zi is still serving as the chief clerk under Sun Ce. Because they had to defend the big camp, Zhang Hong and Chen Duan were both staying behind, so Sun Ce took them with him to handle military affairs. Seeing that it was Hong Zi who came, Sun Ce couldn't help but shook his head and said: "I'm on my way to reinforce the army now, so I don't have the leisure to read a book here." "It's because I'm upset and can't sleep, that's why I'm like this!" Seeing how worried he was, Hong Zi walked over and sat opposite Sun Ce and said: "I wonder what exactly is worrying me, elder brother? I'd like to hear the details!" After hearing this, Sun Ce hesitated for a moment, then said what he was worried about, and said in a deep voice: "If it were normal, Liu Bei's army would have marched south to this point, with no troops to hold them back. They should have divided their troops into different places, leaving our army exhausted." "But now the enemy has concentrated all its troops here, even sending the troops of Yuzhang Taishi Ci here." "There are no loopholes in our army's defenses now, but I always feel that there are loopholes somewhere." "I have been thinking about it, but I still can't figure it out. I wonder if Bo Xun (Hong Zi) could help me with some advice?" When Hong Zi heard this, he immediately shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Brother, you know I am not good at this, and I am afraid that I will make trouble for you!" Upon seeing this, Sun Ce quickly said that it was okay and that he just needed someone to talk to him. Seeing his determined look, Hong Zi couldn't refuse. He thought carefully for a while and then said: "If you follow my words, I can actually detect something a little different." "But I don't know if this is what you are thinking!" "In my opinion, the enemy's different location is in their military deployment!" "Just now, my brother said that Gongjin inferred that the enemy would split up, but Liu Bei did the opposite." "But the enemy army has even transferred Taishi Ci's troops from Yuzhang." "Why has the army that marched south to Lingyang not moved yet?" "You must know that after our army's mobilization order, only Sun Boyang's 3,000 soldiers were stationed in Jing County. If the enemy army wants to mobilize troops, Lingyang should not move!" Having said this, he smiled again: "This is just my humble opinion. If it's useless, just take it as a joke!" The reason why he was able to get along with everyone under Sun Ce was because he was a smooth person.

But at this moment, when he finished speaking, he saw Sun Ce sitting there with a cold face and not saying a word. Seeing this, Hong Zi thought he had said something wrong, and said hurriedly: "Brother, why are you like this? Is it possible that what I said is wrong?" But before he could finish his words, Sun Ce suddenly slammed the table and said anxiously: "Not good, I'm afraid the enemy has set up a false report!" "Pass on my military order, return immediately, otherwise our camp will be in danger!" Having said this, without waiting for Hong Zi to reply, he strode out of the tent. Only Hong Zi was left sitting there in confusion. He was just talking casually, could he be right? (End of this chapter)