ushernet Chapter 110 Breaking up
Chapter 110 Breaking up
Chen Er said softly, "Imagine that the Yue people in the mountains probably didn't have gunpowder technology, so their firearms must have come from a powerful warlord who had designs on the Jiangdong region. And who could that person be?"
“Yuan Shu!” Guo Jia exclaimed, “Only Yuan Shu would do such a thing. Moreover, after occupying Yangzhou, Yuan Shu’s next expansion direction is only Xuzhou, Jingzhou, and Jiangdong. Jingzhou is the territory of Liu Biao, the Prince of Nanyang, a member of the imperial family. Before completely breaking with the Han court, Yuan Shu cannot attack Jingzhou. So he only has Xuzhou and Jiangdong left. To attack Jiangdong, he needs a navy. Yuan Shu does not have a large-scale navy. So he chose to attack Xuzhou first and then Jiangdong. However, Jiangdong has gradually united. So Yuan Shu used the Yue people to weaken Jiangdong.”
“That’s right, this person can only be Yuan Shu. However, I didn’t expect that Yuan Shu would have such a brain.” Chen Er touched his forehead and said. He felt that things were a little different from what he had imagined. Yuan Shu actually knew how to use such advanced techniques. However, Chen Er was not particularly concerned about this matter. After all, he must have the ability to become a regional overlord. Moreover, Yuan Shu had some outstanding talents under his command.
"How could that fool Yuan Shu have such wisdom? This must have been planned by Yuan Shu's strategists. Yuan Shu is nothing but a freeloader."
"My lord, to what extent should our aid to Jiangdong go?" Xi Zhicai asked the most crucial question.
Chen Er said to Xi Zhicai, "Sun Ce is a capable fellow, and his younger brother Sun Quan is also a man not to be underestimated. We only need to give Sun Ce the right guidance. As for providing assistance, I don't want to end up creating a powerful enemy for myself."
Chen Er paused slightly, then said to the crowd, "On the contrary, I would rather aid the Shanyue people and help them gain greater fighting power."
"What?" Everyone was confused. What was Chen Er trying to do? No matter what, the Yue people were a different race. As someone who had long advocated for the interests of the Han people, why would Chen Er want to help the Yue people?
“The Yue people cannot be entirely considered as a foreign race.” Chen Er noticed the doubts of the crowd and said to them, “There are two plans for aiding the Yue people. First, the Yue people are an excellent source of soldiers. If we can bring them under our rule, it will be more beneficial for our future development of the south.”
“My lord is right. The ancient Yue Kingdom was actually a Han Chinese state, and the Yue people in the mountains also had Han Chinese ancestry, although this was deliberately ignored,” Xun You stepped forward and said.
"So, the Yue people can be utilized?" Guo Jia said excitedly. The Yue people are skilled in mountain warfare, which is exactly what the autonomous region's army lacks. When Chen Er marches south in the future, mountain warfare will definitely become a key issue. Therefore, it is essential to establish good relations with the Yue people.
“We can provide the Yue people with food and supplies, but only if they stop harassing Jiangdong, especially the Sun family, and turn their attention to Yuan Shu’s territory.” Chen Er said to everyone, “However, there are limits to harassment. We cannot kill civilians indiscriminately. War is a war for soldiers, and we cannot bring killing to civilians.”
"What you say is very true, my lord."
"There's no rush. We'll discuss this after Man Chong returns from the south." At this time, the envoy sent by Chen Er to Jiangdong to offer condolences to Sun Jian was none other than Man Chong. Man Chong traveled south aboard naval warships, along with three hybrid-powered ironclad warships that served as escorts. Large steam engines were used on the ironclad warships, but at this time, the steam engines were simply too large, resulting in limited fuel capacity. Therefore, all the ironclad warships used hybrid power. However, these three were experimental vessels. After a few years, when the technology matures, perhaps the autonomous region's navy will usher in a true steam age.
Chen Er could already imagine the shock that group of people would feel when his ironclad warships arrived in Jiangdong. This was exactly the effect Chen Er wanted. Of course, Chen Er never imagined that doing this would create a powerful enemy for himself in the future.
"I'll wait to understand."
After the meeting, the top leadership of the autonomous region reached a consensus on the strategic direction for Jiangdong. However, this was all laying the groundwork for the future, and these matters were to be carried out in secret and could not be exposed. At this time, Chen Er's only action that was exposed was the construction of a city on the grassland.
After the meeting ended, Chen Er took off his magnificent robes and put on the most ordinary clothes. He walked out of the back gate of the Prince of Wei's mansion with only two guards dressed in the same manner. Some other guards were hidden in the distance, hanging behind Chen Er.
It turned out that Chen Er was in the mood for a private visit today. When the three women saw him dressed like this in the manor, they knew that he was going to play his commoner game again. Knowing that Chen Er rarely had a chance to relax, the three women did not disturb him or insist on taking them with them. They knew what their beauty would bring if they went out, so when they went out, the three women were always accompanied by dozens of guards. When they saw dozens of guards from the royal palace, no one in Yuyang City dared to provoke them.
Chen Er never imagined he would encounter such a melodramatic plot today. Could this be the legendary protagonist's halo, bringing bad things wherever he goes?
Just as the guards relaxed their vigilance, a girl bumped into Chen Er. Normally, Chen Er could have easily avoided this, but the powerful Chen Er had already noticed the servants chasing after the girl. Intrigued, Chen Er deliberately let himself bump into the girl, and that was the end of it. The servants naturally surrounded Chen Er and the girl.
"Sir, please save me, I don't want to be taken back by them."
Hiding the girl behind his back, Chen Er asked her, "Who are they?" Chen Er looked around at the men of the blue-clad servants, thinking that he might be the one to end the life of a spoiled brat today. This plot, which he had seen in countless novels in his previous life, seemed to be about to befall him.
"Boy, get out of the way, we don't want to hurt you," the head servant said to Chen Er.
Chen Er frowned and asked, "Why should I move aside? It's not a good thing for a bunch of grown men to make things difficult for a little girl."
"Young man, I advise you not to meddle in other people's business. That girl is a maid who ran away from our household. You'd better not get involved."
"Run away?" Chen Er asked, puzzled. Why would he run away? After Chen Er took control of Youzhou, he had already issued a law that stipulated that servants and maids could only exist as hired hands.