Chapter 43: The Gentleman's Demeanor
"Sun Ce, you little brat! You unprincipled and unfilial scoundrel! How dare you still have the face to speak such flowery words and deceive the world!"
Just now, Tao Ying suddenly scolded people with courtesy, which really frightened Sun Ce and Zhou Yu. However, in order to gain time, Sun Ce did not erupt immediately, but suppressed his anger and said loudly with a smile: "Tao Gongzi, I respect you as a gentleman, and I advise you kindly, why do you lower your identity and hurt people with evil words? Are you not afraid that others will laugh at you for losing your dignity and being rude?"
"Being rude and impolite is still better than you, a disloyal and unfilial scoundrel!" Vice Director Tao was indeed shameless, turning his back on Sun Ce and launching into a torrent of abuse: "Sun Ce, you little brat! I treated you with sincerity and courtesy, but you actually dare to try to deceive me with your glib words? Do you really think I'm like you, lacking in courage, intelligence, virtue, and integrity, with not a single truthful word in my mouth?"
Sun Ce's face changed color, and he subconsciously reached for the hilt of his sword. Zhou Yu, who was standing beside him, quickly pulled him back and whispered, "Bo Fu, calm down, General Cheng still needs time to encircle them from afar. Let me deal with Tao Yingxiong for now."
Having said that, Zhou Yu also stepped forward two steps on horseback and shouted to Tao Ying: "Tao Gongzi, I, Zhou Yu, ask you a question. What deceitful words did Bo Fu use to deceive you?"
"Is it a direct scolding? Or should I pretend to be a bookworm again?" Tao Ying's eyes rolled around for a few times, and he quickly made up his mind. "I'll pretend to be a bookworm again; otherwise, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu will definitely realize that I've already seen through their trick."
"Has Sun Ce's every word been a lie? You've brought enough provisions for three months, do you think I'll let you cut off my supply lines? Do you take me, Tao Ying, for a three-year-old child who can't even count? Your eight thousand troops, not counting the excess consumption and waste of the cavalry, even if all eight thousand were infantry, even if grain would grow legs and walk to Guangling on its own, each soldier consumes about two dan of grain per month. For three months, that's 48,000 dan! Each cart can hold 60 dan of rice, so you'd need 800 carts! But I've been checking along the way, and I know your army has at most 400 carts, including supply wagons and horse feed carts! Do you think your eight thousand followers can survive on porridge and rice soup every day for three months?"
Sun Ce and Zhou Yu were completely speechless, and they all thought in their hearts: "This bookworm, the account is calculated clearly."
"Sun Ce, you little brat! Originally on the battlefield it's every man for himself, but you despicable people deceive me with your words and cheat me. I don't blame you!" Tao Ying continued to scold: "However, in this life between heaven and earth, one should take loyalty and filial piety as the foundation! You are a Han minister, enjoying Han's salary, not repaying kindness, but instead assisting Zhou Yu in his cruelty, serving as Yuan Shu's running dog, raising troops to invade Han's city pools, harming the great Han people. This is disloyalty!"
"General Sun Jian, the conqueror of the barbarians, was your father. In those years when General Sun led his army to punish Dong, he won battle after battle and was about to achieve great success. At that time, the governor of Nanyang, Yuan Shu, was jealous of your father's military achievements and refused to provide him with food and grass, causing your father's efforts to be in vain, and also lost General Zu Mao! And you, as the son of General Sun, not only do not think about avenging your father, but also serve as a pawn for the enemy family, harming innocent people, and recognizing the enemy as your father, which is unfilial!"
"After your father's death, you first lived in Guangling. My father treated you with great kindness, giving you clothes and food, but you not only didn't repay his kindness, you also colluded with local villains and had ulterior motives! After my father drove you out of Xuzhou, you didn't even have a bit of remorse, instead you helped Yuan Shu raise an army to invade our territory and seize Guangling! Zu Maozu was your father's old subordinate and your elder, he died because of Yuan Shu, but you didn't even avenge him, instead you fawned upon Yuan Shu, flattering and trying to curry favor with him. In the future, when you go to the underworld, I don't know what face you will have to meet your father and Zu Maozu! Your lack of humanity and righteousness has reached an extreme, you are indeed a master of evil!"
Tao Ying cursed, and Sun Ce's face turned pale, but Vice Director Tao had not finished scolding yet. He continued to curse loudly: "Even if it were General-in-Chief Yuan Shu who didn't hold a grudge against you and took you in, giving you important tasks, he would have been extremely kind to you! But how did you repay him? You let Lü Fan persuade Yuan Shu to attack the east. Was it really just to help Yuan Shu achieve merits and expand his territory? You can fool others, but not me! Who doesn't know that you've long had ambitions, intending to establish yourself as a lord, and that the so-called expedition to the east is merely for you to seize territory and establish a base for yourself, thereby completely escaping Yuan Shu's control?! Your heart is like that of Sima Zhao; it's well-known to everyone! To forget kindness and betray righteousness to such an extent is rarely seen in history!"
"Son Ce, you are a shameless and ungrateful scoundrel! You have no loyalty or filial piety, no humanity or justice. You're just a pig-headed fool with no upbringing, a degenerate of the Han people! The greatest mistake your parents made was not strangling you to death at birth, leaving you to humiliate yourself and others, bringing shame to your ancestors and disgracing the entire Han nation! It's better to have given birth to a pig than to have raised someone like you!"
"Taoying, you little brat! I swear to kill you!!"
Sun Ce, who had a bad temper to begin with, could no longer endure the insults and finally lost his patience. He grasped his steel spear tightly in both hands, his eyes blazing red as he charged forward on horseback, roaring loudly like thunder as he rushed towards Tao Qian to fight him to the death. Fortunately, Zhou Yu, Han Dang, and Huang Gai were calm and quickly rushed over, grabbing Sun Ce firmly and trying to reason with him. Sun Ce struggled violently, shouting wildly, "Let me go! Let me go! If I don't kill that little Tao Qian today, I swear I won't be a man!"
"Sun Ce, you little boy, stop being so arrogant!" Tao Ying shouted again, waving his horse whip and provokingly saying: "Aren't you boasting that your martial arts skills surpass others? Aren't you trying to persuade me to give up Guangling County? Fine! I'll give you an opportunity. As long as you can walk in front of me for ten rounds without dying, I'll immediately dismount and kneel down, letting you deal with me as you please! Sun Ce, little boy, if you still have a bit of dignity, if you're still a man, then stop pretending to be brave and let others hold you back from not daring to fight me!"
"Ah————!" Sun Ce suddenly let out a loud roar, his voice far surpassing the one that had killed Fan Neng. Under the crazy secretion of adrenaline, he actually flipped over Zhou Yu, Han Dang and Huang Gai, three great fierce generals, and directly threw Zhou Yu and Huang Gai off their horses without stirrups! Then Sun Ce rode his horse with his spear held high, charging straight at Tao Ying, shouting repeatedly in a voice like thunder, "Tao Ying, you little boy, come and surrender!"
"Sun Ce, you little brat, come and meet your death!" Our Deputy Director Tao has also entered the state, drawing his sword and charging straight at Sun Ce, who is already in a frenzied rage. "Sun Ce, you little brat, accept your death!"
"Taoying, you little brat!" Sun Ce's eyes were spewing fire and blood as he charged at Taoying with his spear, vowing to pierce him through with a single thrust!
"Sun Ce, you little kid!" Tao Ying also rode forward on horseback, shouting loudly, "This time I'll spare your life!"
The words had not been shouted out, when Deputy Director Tao suddenly turned his horse's head and escaped back to the main array. Seeing that Tao Ying had suddenly escaped, Sun Ce, who was in a state of furious anger, slightly stunned for a moment, and suddenly a loud and clear voice rose from the ranks of the Junzi army: "The Master said: To govern with virtue is like the North Star, which remains stationary while all the other stars revolve around it. The Master said: In the three hundred poems of the Book of Poetry, there is one phrase that sums them up: 'Think without evil!'"
In the midst of the neat and tidy array, a sudden burst of arrows shot out from the light cavalry led by Tao Ji, who had been hiding behind the two heavy cavalry units. Over a hundred riders drew their bows simultaneously, releasing over a hundred blue-feathered arrows that flew in unison towards Sun Ce, densely covering his front, back, left and right! The suddenness of the attack caught even someone as agile as Sun Ce off guard, leaving him flustered and unable to react in time...
"Bo Fu——!" Zhou Yu cried out in despair as he struggled to get on his horse.
"General Xiajiang——!" Huang Gai, who had just pulled the reins of his horse, also cried out in unison.
"General, be careful!" The only one who didn't fall off his horse was Han Dang, who urged his horse to rush over and protect Sun Ce, but he was still a bit too slow. When he was still ten or so steps away from Sun Ce, the poisonous arrows of the Junzi army had already flown in front of Sun Ce...
"Despicable!"
Xiao Ba Wang is still Xiao Ba Wang. As the Junzi army's light cavalry approached, shooting arrows wildly, Sun Ce was unable to block them and in a moment of desperation, he shouted loudly and threw down his steel spear, flipping to one side and hiding under the horse's belly. Although he was hit by two arrows, he managed to avoid more deadly shots from the Junzi army's light cavalry. However, his mount was hit by dozens of arrows, let out a loud whinny, and suddenly exposed Sun Ce who was hiding under its belly...
"The Master said: Guide them with government, regulate them with virtue, the people will be at peace and without shame. Guide them with virtue, regulate them with ritual, they will have a sense of shame and also be orderly."
Although he did not expect Sun Ce's war horse to give the Junzi Army Light Cavalry a second chance, Tao Ying was also unable to issue orders and command, but the well-trained Second Team of Junzi Army Light Cavalry still charged up without batting an eyelid - this is also entirely due to the conditioned reflex cultivated in strict training. Immediately afterwards, the second batch of arrows shot out neatly, with the arrowheads all pointing at Sun Ce, who was exposed by the war horse's hooves...
"Hooray!!"
Xiao Ba Wang is indeed Xiao Ba Wang. At this critical moment of life and death, Sun Ce let out a loud roar, and with another swift movement, he flipped over the horse's back again, dodging the poisonous arrows of the Junzi Army in the nick of time. However, his poor warhorse was hit by dozens of arrows, letting out a mournful whinny as it fell to the ground, once again exposing Sun Ce to the enemy's arrows...
"At fifteen I set my heart on learning; at thirty I took my stand; at forty I came to be free from perplexities; at fifty I understood the Decree of Heaven; at sixty my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth..."
The third team of gentlemen's army light cavalry rushed up, the third batch of feathered arrows shot out again, densely shooting towards Sun Ce. The war horse had already fallen to the ground, and Sun Ce, who was hit by at least five arrows, didn't even have a chance to hide under the horse's belly. At the same time, the fallen war horse also pressed down on Sun Ce's left foot. Sun Ce also didn't have the opportunity to roll over and dodge, he could only close his eyes in despair and secretly say: "I'm doomed."
"General!"
Just as Sun Ce was about to die under the arrows of Junzi's army, the sky above him suddenly darkened. Han Dang, a former general of Sun Jian, shouted loudly and jumped off his warhorse, spreading his arms in mid-air like a hang glider, pouncing towards Sun Ce, pressing down on Sun Ce's body before the arrows fell, using his body to block Sun Ce tightly. The third batch of arrows from Junzi's army mostly hit Han Dang, instantly turning him into a hedgehog-like figure.
This string of actions was swift and fierce, leaving onlookers bewildered. It wasn't until Sun Ce's life was in danger, pinned down by Han Dang, that the main force of Sun Ce's army reacted. Without needing an order from Sun Ce, over a thousand veteran soldiers who were formerly under Sun Jian's command charged forward, brandishing their blades and guns, their eyes blazing with fury as they shouted "Kill!"
"Fall back!" Seeing that Sun Ce's army had launched a charge, Tao Qian gave the order to retreat as soon as his army was within two arrow-lengths of Sun Ce's forces. The well-trained cavalry quickly turned their horses around and retreated, while the light cavalry in the rear also did not engage in battle, turning their horses around and retreating in formation, shooting arrows back at the enemy as they went, without giving Sun Ce's army any opportunity for close combat.
"Kill!" Sun Ce's infantry and cavalry shouted as they surged past Sun Ce and Han Dang, chasing after the despicable and shameless Junzi army. Sun Ce, who had barely escaped with his life, didn't feel any sense of celebration, but instead quickly struggled out from under his warhorse and Han Dang's body, holding Han Dang's body and shaking it as he wailed, "General Han! General Han! General Han! Come quick, save General Han!"
Han Dang was beyond salvation, with arrows stuck all over his body from head to toe. At least ten more arrows had pierced his chest and abdomen, and the fresh blood stained Han Dang's chest and Sun Ce's entire body crimson red. It was only thanks to his robust physique that he didn't die on the spot. However, when Sun Ce managed to flip Han Dang over with great difficulty, Han Dang merely forced a smile at Sun Ce before fresh blood flowed from his mouth. His head lolled to one side, and he became another sacrifice to the despicable tactics of the Junzi Army. The heart-wrenching, ear-piercing cries echoed across the battlefield: "General Han! General Han———!"
"General Han!" Zhou Yu also rushed up, knelt on the ground and hugged Han Dang's body, crying out, "General Han, it's me who wronged you! I didn't expect Tao Ying to be so treacherous and shameless. It was my fault for advising Bo Fu to respond to Tao Ying's words! General..."
"Brother! Brother——!" The person who cried the most sorrowfully was another veteran general, Huang Gai. He and Han Dang had fought side by side for decades, but today they were suddenly separated by life and death. With his eyes wide open, he watched as his comrade fell into the enemy's hands. The strong and unyielding Huang Gai cried until his eyes bled, and the sky grew dark.
"Taoying Xiaoer, I swear to kill you!" Sun Ce roared again, ignoring the multiple arrow wounds on his body, picked up his steel spear and rushed onto Huang Gai's warhorse, holding his spear and charging towards Junzi Army once more. Huang Gai and Zhou Yu feared that Sun Ce would lose control of himself in his rage, so they hastily led their troops to follow him.
Like the Battle of Guangling ten or so days ago, the Junzi army still adopted the Mangudai tactics, relying on their revolutionary horse equipment to fight and retreat, galloping while shooting arrows backwards with poisonous arrows smeared with horse dung to suppress the momentum of Sun Ce's army's charge, especially paying attention to suppressing the charging speed of Sun Ce's army's cavalry. Although Sun Ce's cavalry could not shoot arrows while charging, they still bit tightly on the tail of the Junzi army, gritting their teeth and swearing to cut the eight hundred damned pseudo-gentlemen into pieces and execute them slowly!
"General Cheng Pu, it's all up to you." Zhou Yu, who was closely following Sun Ce, secretly prayed, "I hope you have already circled around to the rear of Tao Ying's troops and blocked that pretender's escape route. If not... we..."
Zhou Yu's prayer had not yet finished, when a stunning event occurred. The Junzi army adjusted its direction in the charge, drawing a semicircle as it rushed northward, evading Cheng Pu's ambush from behind. Seeing this scene, Zhou Yu suddenly cried out in dismay, "It's all over! Tao has definitely guessed that we have troops circling around to his rear! This hypocrite, I really underestimated him!"
The Junzi army suddenly turned north, not only avoiding Cheng Pu's ambush but also thoroughly disrupting Sun Ce's pre-war deployment. If it were any other time, Sun Ce would have definitely ordered a retreat, because for the infantry and cavalry mixed Sun Ce army to catch up with the all-cavalry Junzi army that had rotating war horses was simply an impossible task. But now it's different, Sun Ce, who was already furious, didn't care whether he could catch up or not, and didn't listen to Zhou Yu and Huang Gai's advice, leading his troops in a crazy pursuit. As a result, this gave the Junzi army the opportunity to expand their victory and practice their archery skills.
"Taoying Xiaoer! Halt! Halt! I'll engage you in a fierce battle of 300 rounds!"
In the midst of Sun Ce's furious and enraged shouting, the main force of his army, a mix of infantry and cavalry, closely pursued the rear of the Junzi Army, not giving them any chance to escape. The Junzi Army, which was at an absolute disadvantage in terms of numbers, galloped wildly while keeping a safe distance from their pursuers, and at the same time, they shot arrows back at the enemy with great precision and speed, having learned from the previous battle where they had wasted too many arrows. This time, the Junzi Army's soldiers made sure to fully draw their bows before shooting, maintaining the full force of their arrows, and especially paid attention to their aim, effectively and continuously killing and wounding the enemy. The Sun Ce army was thrown into chaos, crying out in terror but unable to do anything about it.
With the guidance of the outstanding vanguard Lu Su, the Junzi army quickly got back on track and entered the hilly area in the northwest of Dongcheng. On this relatively narrow and rugged terrain, the Junzi army's horses, equipped with horseshoes and adept at adapting to their environment, were able to move swiftly without hindrance. In contrast, Sun Ce's cavalry was struggling, with many horses suffering injuries from stepping on sharp rocks and losing their hooves. The proud Dawan horses and Xiyu horses were constantly hesitant, whinnying in distress and refusing to advance, greatly reducing the speed of the cavalry. Only the infantry could maintain full speed, but how could they possibly keep up with the Junzi army's cavalry, who considered escape speed more important than their lives?
Seeing the cavalry of the Junzi Army killing Han Dang and fleeing farther and farther away, Sun Ce finally had no choice but to rein in his horse. The only two sentences he repeatedly cried out with a loud voice were: "Tao Yingxiao! Tao Yingxiao! I swear to kill you! I swear to kill you——!" After shouting until the end, Sun Ce simply turned over and dismounted his horse, kneeling down beside the road and crying out in grief for Han Dang's unfortunate death.
"Bo Fu, people can't come back to life after they die, you should be more frugal with your grief." Zhou Yu's hand landed on Sun Ce's shoulder, and he sighed, saying: "Bo Fu, it seems we've chosen the wrong opponent. We thought Tao Yingxue was just a pedantic scholar who was all talk and no action, a fat sheep that could be easily obtained in Guangling. Now it seems we were all wrong - Tao Yingxue is not only a wolf in sheep's clothing, but also a snake! A venomous snake!"
"Taoying Xiaoer!" Sun Ce roared, punching the ground with a fist and leaving a deep imprint. He shouted wildly: "If I don't avenge today's humiliation, I, Sun Ce, will be ashamed before heaven! Pass down the order, the whole army will retreat back to the city, rest for one night, and set out tomorrow to attack Guangling directly. I won't believe that Taoying Xiaoer would leave Guangling unguarded!"
"Rush to Guangling?" Zhou Yu furrowed his brow, subconsciously recalling the open terrain east of Dongcheng and the terrifying mobility speed of the Junzi Army. However, after a moment's thought, Zhou Yu realized that Sun Ce's words were not just an outburst of anger, but rather extremely clever - the Junzi Army was clearly heading for their own army's supply line. If they tried to protect the supply line and engage in a battle of wits with the Junzi Army in the complex terrain of Dongcheng, it would be difficult to annihilate this cunning enemy, and would only waste precious time and even more precious supplies. The only solution was to rush straight to Guangling, forcing the Junzi Army to return and rescue Guangling, thereby avoiding a guerrilla war with them.
Moreover, Zhou Yu also knew a little-known secret of Sun Ce's army, that is, this time Sun Ce's eastern expedition had never expected to have follow-up supplies and did not need to protect the grain path at all!
……………
At the same time, in the army of Junzi, after thoroughly getting rid of Sun Ce's pursuit, the Junzi army also stopped its rapid gallop and changed to dismounting and walking on foot, thus conserving horse strength. It was also at this time that Tao Ying finally found an opportunity to talk to Lu Su, smiling and asking him: "Zijun, after watching our Junzi army's battle with Sun Ce's little ones today, what do you think? Do you feel that our Junzi army's methods are not quite glorious, not quite upright and just?"
"On the battlefield, you scheme and I plot, one of us will die and the other will live. As long as our goal is righteous and just, it doesn't matter what means we use." Lu Su smiled and replied: "If even the chaos of war requires righteousness and justice, then the Han army might as well abandon cavalry and infantry battles and return to the chariot clashes of the Spring and Autumn period. Moreover, even during the Spring and Autumn period, when armies formed up in arrays and deployed their war chariots, didn't the various lords of the land still employ clever tactics and cunning strategies? It's only natural for a general to use strategy, what's wrong with that?"
"Zi Jing, I ask you to be the military advisor of Junzi Army, it is really the most correct decision in my life!" Tao Ying laughed loudly, very satisfied with Lu Su's open-mindedness and understanding, without any pedantry.
"Gongzi, I have something to worry about," said Lu Su. He didn't dwell on the issue of whether Tao Ying was humble or not, but instead thought for a moment and said: "Today's battle showed that Sun Ce pretended to negotiate with our army, taking advantage of the opportunity to send troops to encircle and attack our rear. Although our army recognized the trap in time and avoided it, this proves two points. First, Sun Ce is very clear-headed and has no intention of underestimating us; second, Sun Ce's young general has a certain understanding of our military tactics, knowing what we will do next, which is why he set up the ambush ahead of time, trying to capture our entire army at once."
"I have the same feeling." Tao Ying nodded and said, "Actually, I knew long ago that my Junzi Army tactics would be studied and emulated by the enemy sooner or later. I just didn't expect it to happen so quickly. It's only been a dozen days since my battle with Lü Bu, and Sun Ce has already figured out my basic tactical moves and even set up traps accordingly."
"Gongzi, have you ever thought about this issue?" Lu Su raised another question, "With Sun Ce's ability as a young man, and his understanding of us, will he honestly stay in the eastern city and entangle with us in the complex terrain of the eastern city, wasting time? What would Sun Ce think and see if he were to rush and penetrate into the western part of the eastern city?"
"This……" Tao Ying began to hesitate and felt that he had been too presumptuous, thinking that Sun Ce would definitely engage in guerrilla warfare with him. How could he not have considered another possibility - by rushing to Dongcheng to tie down Sun Ce, wasn't he indirectly telling Sun Ce that defending Guangling needed time?
"Gentlemen, I have another question," Ruzi suddenly asked: "Today on the battlefield, you severely scolded Sun Ce for deceiving Yuan Shu and gaining his trust, ordering Lv Fan to send troops to Guangling. It wasn't for Yuan Shu to expand his territory, but for Sun Ce himself to seize land and take advantage of the opportunity to get rid of Yuan Shu's control - I don't know if these words were spoken randomly or if there is really such a thing?"
"What are you asking this for?" Zi Jing asked. Tao Ying was taken aback and honestly replied, "To be honest with you, I was just talking nonsense."
Having said that, Tao couldn't help but add another sentence, "However, I'm not completely talking nonsense. I know Sun Ce's son's character, ambitious and unwilling to be inferior to others. I'm afraid he has already harbored the ambition to get rid of Yuan Shu's son and stand on his own."
"If so, why didn't the young master consider another plan?" Lu Su said with a smile: "If we let Yuan Shu know about Sun Ce's ambition and make him believe that Sun Ce has this intention, then..."
"Ah!" Tao Ying suddenly let out a loud cry, startling the surrounding gentlemen soldiers who were leading their horses - thinking that Tao Ying had been bitten by a snake. Then Tao Ying slapped himself in the face and scolded himself: "I've really been studying to the point of stupidity lately, how could I be so foolish as not to think of the 'divide and conquer' strategy? If Yuan Shu thinks that Sun Ce is trying to establish independence, Yuan Shu will definitely order Sun Ce to retreat and withdraw from Guangling!"
"Besides ordering Sun Ce to retreat, there is another possibility, that Yuan Shu will send another army to attack Guangling." Lu Su smiled and said: "However, it doesn't matter. The second army sent by Yuan Shu, its primary purpose is no longer to take Guangling, but to monitor and control Sun Ce. As long as the enemy's morale is divided and scattered, the brave and good fighter Sun Ce will be restricted again, and it will be even easier to defeat the enemy."
Lu Su added, "Of course, there is a third possibility, one that would be most beneficial to us. Yuan Shu orders Sun Ce to withdraw his troops, but Sun Ce refuses to comply. Yuan Shu, in anger, sends troops to Guangling and uses military force to compel Sun Ce to retreat. With your abilities, defeating the enemy would be as easy as turning over one's hand."
"Excellent plan! Excellent plan!" Tao Yong repeatedly praised, and then hurriedly asked: "Zi Jing, you are a native of Jiujiang, and you understand both Yuan Shu's son and Sun Ce's son better than I do. In your opinion, how should our army use strategy to separate them?"
"It's easy." Lu Su smiled slightly and said, "May I borrow a brush and paper for a moment?"
A coarse cloth used for writing notices was quickly obtained, and Lu Su first found a relatively flat stone by the road, then wrote in front of everyone with a flourish: "In the past, General Sun Jian's son, Colonel Sun Ce, hereby issues a proclamation to the world: Yuan Shu of Huainan has always been without virtue or good deeds, presumptuously taking the highest position for himself, and has long harbored intentions of usurpation and rebellion. He often speaks of becoming emperor, and his actions are contrary to morality and justice, angering both heaven and man! Today, I follow heaven's will and respond to the people's wishes, leading my army to take a stand on its own, no longer subject to Yuan Shu's commands or restrictions. On the appointed day, I will lead my troops to punish the rebels, repaying the emperor's kindness above and comforting the hopes of the people below. The military officers and civilians under Yuan Shu's command who see this proclamation should follow my righteous actions, lead their troops to surrender, and join me in reporting to the imperial court and punishing the rebellious bandits. If they do not comply, I will exterminate their nine clans! This is announced beforehand, so let everyone be aware."
Having finished writing, Lu Su flicked the remaining ink from his brush and laughed loudly: "Yuan Shu is a person with a stern face and thin heart, suspicious and jealous. Seeing this notice, even if he doesn't believe it, he will surely order Sun Ce to withdraw his troops! Your Excellency only needs to send someone to post this notice on the city wall of Shouchun, and Sun Bofu will be in great danger."
Tao Yong grasped Lu Su's right hand with both hands and laughed loudly: "Zi Jing, you are indeed a born military strategist!"
"Gentlemen are overpraising me, I really don't dare to accept it." Lu Su modestly declined.
"Actually, the most ideal military advisor for Junzi Army is you, but unfortunately, you can only be ranked second. There's someone else who suits my taste and is more suitable, but unfortunately, I can see him but can't get him. Tao Ying sighed quietly and thought to herself: "That old poisonous thing is about to escape from Chang'an, should I send someone to give him a gift and make friends with him? With him on my side, what do I have to fear from Zhou Yu's petty ghost or Zhuge Liang's old demon and Sima Yi's old thief? Even the consumptive devil Guo Jia and Xun Yu would have to yield to him!"
