Chapter 173

All kinds of temptations were dazzling.

But no matter how they played tricks, the ultimate beneficiary would only be Gu Yi, the enjoyer.

Leisurely.

Two months had passed.

Recently, Bingzhou had been completely digested and absorbed by the Dong Zhuo Army.

In fact.

Bingzhou’s sense of belonging to the Dong Zhuo Army was not low to begin with.

Before Dong Zhuo entered the capital, the official position he nominally held was Bingzhou Inspector.

Although he never went to Bingzhou to officially take office.

But the title was placed there after all.

He was considered the highest administrative official of Bingzhou.

Besides this.

After the Bingzhou faction led by Lu Bu completely submitted, the Bingzhou people’s sense of belonging to the Dong Zhuo Army also became higher.

Plus, Lu Bu and Zhao Yun led the Bingzhou Wolf Riders and Xiliang Iron Cavalry to recover a large area of land occupied by the Southern Xiongnu.

This undoubtedly made the people of Bingzhou full of trust in the Dong Zhuo Army.

Without comparison, there is no harm.

The previous few Bingzhou Inspectors, except for Ding Yuan, were all losers.

In their hands, Bingzhou lost cities and land, which was extremely frustrating.

Now.

Lu Bu and Zhao Yun led the Bingzhou Wolf Riders and Xiliang Iron Cavalry to drive away the Southern Xiongnu, and in the hearts of the Bingzhou people, they instantly became existence like guardian gods.

Under such circumstances.

How could the people possibly feel resistant to submitting to the Dong Zhuo Army?

Moreover, the Dong Zhuo Army represented the regular army of the imperial court and was considered orthodox.

The people of Bingzhou couldn't find any reason not to submit.

At the same time.

Compared to the peace and prosperity under Dong Zhuo’s rule, the Huainan land was shrouded in the flames of war.

When the second Guandong Allied Forces attacked Dong Zhuo.

Sun Ce followed Gu Yi’s advice.

Abandoned the part of Yuzhou land he originally had, and instead went south to fight for the empty Huainan.

Huainan was not an ownerless land.

But a place of residence that the three Liu Bei brothers had finally obtained.

But because Liu Bei had not yet firmly established himself in Huainan, he had hurriedly led his troops north to respond to the anti-Dong alliance initiated by Yuan Shao.

This led to his rule in Huainan not being stable at all.

Where there is oppression, there is resistance.

Although some of the aristocratic families in Huainan had begun to invest in Liu Bei.

But there were also some local powerful families in Huainan who were full of resentment toward Liu Bei’s rule.

After Sun Ce arrived with his troops, these powerful families quickly defected to Sun Ce.

For those who took the initiative to defect.

Sun Ce accepted them all!

One by one, he accepted them all.

But Sun Ce’s reputation had long become a "rat crossing the street, everyone shouting to beat it" in the entire Great Han.

The aristocratic families of the entire Great Han regarded him as the "enemy of the aristocratic families"!

Such an executioner, how could the aristocratic families choose to cooperate with him?

Therefore.

Most of those who joined Sun Ce were some powerful families and mountain bandits who were dissatisfied with Liu Bei.

And those aristocratic families in Huainan.

Immediately reached an unprecedented unity!

They chose to unite against the outside world and spare no cost to prevent Sun Ce from attacking Shouchun City!

During the period when the three Liu, Guan, and Zhang brothers led their troops north to participate in the alliance, the person responsible for guarding Shouchun was Liu Bei’s fellow townsman and Chief Clerk Jian Yong.

Jian Yong was at best a talent who was okay at internal affairs and diplomacy.

Asking him to lead troops to fight was really making things difficult for him.

But currently under Liu Bei’s command, apart from the two brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

There was only one Jian Yong who could be called trusted.

Helpless, facing the aggressive Sun Ce, Jian Yong had to bite the bullet and lead a few thousand garrison troops to hold the line.

As a result, he was blown up by Sun Ce on the first day!

If it weren't for the private soldiers of the Huainan aristocratic families rushing up to defend the city without fear of death, I’m afraid Shouchun City would have been broken by Sun Ce on the first day.

After this battle, Jian Yong was scared out of his wits.

But if Shouchun were lost, everything would become empty talk.

Therefore.

Even though Jian Yong was terrified to the extreme.

He could only pretend to be calm, hoping to hold out until Liu Bei returned.

The angry Sun Ce, seeing that it was the aristocratic families who ruined his good deeds again.

Simply gave up attacking Shouchun City.

Instead, he launched a plunder of the commanderies and counties around Huainan!

The Huainan aristocratic families were all stupid!

This Sun Ce simply didn't play by the rules at all!

If these aristocratic families withdrew from Shouchun.

And turned back to protect those commanderies and counties that were being attacked by Sun Ce.

Not to mention whether they could hold them.

Even if they could hold them.

The Huainan aristocratic families would eventually suffer huge losses.

Moreover.

If Sun Ce made a feint and turned around to attack Shouchun City again.

Just relying on Jian Yong and those few thousand Shouchun garrison troops, what would they use to fight Sun Ce?

Not to mention Sun Ce himself.

Relying solely on Jian Yong and those few thousand Shouchun garrison troops, how could they possibly fight against Sun Ce?

Therefore.

After weighing the pros and cons.

The Huainan aristocratic families could only endure the pain of giving up.

Watching Sun Ce take the Sun family army and ravage their industries and land in various commanderies and counties in Huainan.

Just like that.

In a short period of time.

The power of the Huainan aristocratic families was weakened by at least fifty percent!

Fortunately, the three brothers Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei finally rushed back with the main army.

But... the three Liu, Guan, and Zhang brothers had encountered Zhang Liao’s surprise attack at Hulao Pass before and had lost the battle.

The number of soldiers lost was not small.

However... the three brothers Liu, Guan, and Zhang had previously suffered a defeat after being ambushed by Zhang Liao at Hulao Pass.

The number of soldiers lost was by no means small.