Chapter 148

The three were chatting idly.

Suddenly, they heard a report from a guard that an envoy from Yizhou had arrived and had brought news of Sun Jian's death in battle.

Old Dong and Gu Yi looked at each other and immediately sent someone to call Li Ru over, deciding to meet this so-called envoy in the council hall first.

In the council hall,

Old Dong sat at the head.

Sitting on the left and right sides were Gu Yi and Li Ru respectively.

Kan Ze, with Sun Quan and Sun Shangxiang, stood below Old Dong.

"In other words, Wentai has unfortunately died at the hands of the Guandong rebels?"

Old Dong's face showed a trace of sadness as he asked Kan Ze.

"Reporting to the Prime Minister, that is indeed the case."

"My late lord has unfortunately passed away."

"Now, the old troops are under the command of the young lord Sun Ce."

Kan Ze answered truthfully.

"Wentai was a loyal official of the Han dynasty and spent his whole life performing countless meritorious deeds for the Han dynasty."

"Today, to be harmed by rebels is truly a huge loss for the Han dynasty."

"I am heartbroken by this!"

Dong Zhuo's ability to tell lies with his eyes open could be called the pinnacle of perfection.

If Sun Jian, who had killed countless imperial officials,

could be called a loyal official of the Han dynasty,

then I'm afraid there would be no one in the world who could be called a rebel.

"Wenyou, Wentai was a loyal and heroic person."

"He gave his life for the country; this matter must be made known to His Majesty."

"We must not let the descendants of a meritorious official feel slighted!"

Dong Zhuo instructed Li Ru with a show of pretense.

The latter naturally understood instantly.

Anyway, Sun Jian was already a dead man.

The so-called memorial to the Emperor

was actually just to posthumously honor him.

Adding an official title or a title of nobility or something.

But this action, at least in front of Kan Ze and the others, showed Old Dong's sincerity.

However, posthumously honoring Sun Jian was only one of them.

Kan Ze's main purpose for coming here today

was to have Sun Ce inherit Sun Jian's former position as Yizhou Governor

and at the same time request reinforcements from Dong Zhuo.

When Kan Ze proposed this, Dong Zhuo did not rush to agree, but said he had to report to the Emperor first before making a decision.

And the matter of borrowing troops was the same routine of response.

This couldn't help but make Kan Ze feel somewhat uneasy.

If these two tasks could not be completed smoothly,

the situation Sun Ce faced in Yizhou

would undoubtedly be even more difficult than it was now.

But no matter how anxious he was, it was useless.

Old Dong sent guards to settle Kan Ze and the three of them down first.

Subsequently, he began to discuss with Li Ru and Gu Yi whether to agree to Kan Ze's request.

"My lord, that Sun Ce has always had Sun Jian's courage; it is quite appropriate for him to inherit Sun Jian's former official position."

"Moreover, Sun Ce now has a blood feud with Yuan Shu and the others."

"It is impossible and he will not defect to Yuan Shu's side."

"But the matter of borrowing troops is probably not feasible!"

"First of all, sending troops to Guandong conflicts with the strategy our army previously set!"

"The reason why you previously appointed Sun Jian,"

"the purpose was precisely to make him and the Guandong aristocratic group fight like dogs."

"Now, this old dog Sun Jian is dead."

"This little dog Sun Ce should take over for Sun Jian and continue to confront the Guandong aristocratic group."

"However, if you send troops to support Sun Ce,"

"then this vicious dog Sun Ce would be equivalent to losing its original purpose."

"Moreover, my lord, you must never forget,"

"the reason why that group of Guandong warlords dared to engage in civil war"

"is because they feel that the threat of you, my lord, is no longer hanging over their heads for the time being!"

"But if you send troops to support Sun Ce,"

"no matter how many troops are sent,"

"this group of Guandong warlords will definitely turn into frightened birds the moment they get the news!"

"Even temporarily setting aside their mutual grievances and forming a coalition again to confront you, my lord, is a highly likely occurrence!"

Li Ru analyzed.

Hearing this, Dong Zhuo and Gu Yi both nodded in agreement.

Especially Gu Yi.

He knew deeply the nature of that group of Guandong warlords.

To put it plainly, it was called bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

It was precisely because Dong Zhuo, this big boss, moved the capital to Chang'an and shifted his focus to Guanxi that the group of Guandong warlords dared to fight among themselves.

But if Dong Zhuo, this big boss, suddenly showed signs of wanting to return to Guandong,

given the character of that group of Guandong warlords, they would definitely stop their infighting in minutes and unite against the outside!

Therefore, sending troops to support Sun Ce is absolutely not advisable!

Not even a single soldier can be sent over.

Otherwise, the strategic plan originally set by the Dong Zhuo army would very likely collapse as a result.

Then... could it be that we just ignore Sun Ce?

Of course, we cannot ignore him completely.

The best method is to bring a third-party force into the game.

Let this third-party force continue to form a check-and-balance relationship between Sun Ce and Yuan Shu.

Gu Yi knew deeply that Sun Ce's capability was probably even above Sun Jian's!

Historically, Sun Ce pacified Jiangdong, and it didn't take long.

But the vast territory he conquered became the foundation for the Eastern Wu regime in the future.

From this, it can be seen that Sun Ce was really fierce.

But the situation the Sun Ce army is facing now

is actually not optimistic.

Yuan Shu has the Yizhou aristocratic group as a wet nurse to constantly recover health.

Although he was also beaten up by Sun Jian,

now Sun Jian is dead.

Sun Ce's prestige cannot be compared with Sun Jian's for the time being.

The deterrent power of the Sun family army against the Yizhou aristocratic families will also decrease accordingly.

It can be foreseen that

in the period after Sun Jian's death,