The next morning, Sun Ce summoned the generals to discuss matters, and after a New Year's dinner together, he announced his march to Runan, striving to repel the invading barbarians as soon as possible, restore peace, and avenge the dead.

Sun Ce stayed in Lujiang for more than half a month and claimed that he would conquer the bandits, but he did not take the initiative to attack. He left Shucheng without a single arrow. After leaving Shucheng, he followed the steps and showed no sign of rushing to fight. The generals had some opinions, but no one would say it. Last night, the ambush was successful, and Zheng Bao was annihilated in one battle. The main force of Zhang Duo's troops finally breathed a sigh of anger. Now he is going to launch an official attack again, and he is in a good mood and agrees with a loud promise.

Sun Ce ordered someone to notify Cheng Pu and ask him to accept the prisoners. Zheng Bao, Zhang Duo and others were beheaded and displayed in public, and the other bandits were handled by Cheng Pu. Most of the two strongest bandits were wiped out. Most of the bandits and river bandits in Lujiang had become a mess. With Cheng Pu in charge of the finishing, Sun Ce would not have to worry about it.

The arrangements were made, and under the rising sun on the first day of the New Year, the army drove towards Runan.

Considering that the opponents are all cavalry and come and go like the wind, once attacked, the infantry would not have time to set up a formation, Sun Ce sent most of the personal guards out to let them perform the functions of scouts. Each fifty person is a team, each with one chief and deputy captain. Once the enemy situation is discovered, two cavalry will be sent to return and change it in turn to ensure that the information can be transmitted quickly and reliably. This is also to allow them to warm up before the war. If they encounter small scouts on the other side, they can immediately go to the battle without asking for instructions and ensure victory.

Sun Ce himself was not idle either. Under the protection of Bai Lishi led by Yan Xing and Ma Chao, accompanied by Guo Wu, Chen Wu and others, he focused his main energy on the cavalry, but temporarily handed over the command of the main force of more than 10,000 infantry to Guo Jia.

A day later, Sun Ce arrived at Yingkou and received a message from Sun Ben: The three thousand cavalry entering the country were heading east, and they are now in the Qi County area within Pei State, and it looks like they are going to enter Xuzhou.

Sun Ce secretly called out badly. He didn't know what Liu He and others wanted to do, but he knew that Tao Qian was not well with the Xuzhou family and his control was not as good as him. Chen Deng and his son were openly dependent on Yuan Shao, and Tao Qian could not do anything to them. Once these cavalry entered Xuzhou, the situation in Xuzhou would be more difficult than Runan, and Tao Qian was in trouble with internal and external affairs, and might even be defeated by it.

Sun Ce discussed with Guo Jia and decided to lead the infantry and cavalry of the personal guards to chase after him, restrain Liu He and others, so that they did not dare to divide their troops to attack everywhere and reduce damage. Guo Jia led the main infantry force to follow up, and then asked Xu Kun, Sun Ben and Wu Jing to set off from their respective garrisons to gather at the Xuyu border, and cooperated with the Xuzhou army to encircle and annihilate the three thousand cavalry.

The strategic plan has been decided, and the tactical level, especially the short-term situation, is changing rapidly, and it is impossible to predict it. Sun Ce can only make a decision on the spot. Sun Ce also has talent in this regard. Guo Jia has confidence in him, but only reminds him not to put the cart before the horse, don’t treat himself as a general, and show off his courage.

Sun Ce agreed and immediately led Yicongying, Bai Lishi and his personal guards to set off. For safety and convenience, he did not rush to cross the Huai River, but walked east along the south bank of the Huai River, first entered Jiujiang, took Shouchun and Xiquyang, and fed to the counties along the way, reducing the burden of supplies and moving forward lightly.

Wu Jing received the news and ordered the pavilions of all counties and townships along the way to prepare for the reception, and rushed to Dangtu to meet with Sun Ce in person.

Compared with Cheng Pu, Wu Jing, the prefect of Jiujiang, has a harder job. Zhou Yu, the prefect of Jiujiang, is a famous scholar and gets along well with the powerful people of Jiujiang. The Zhou Yu brothers were killed and Jiujiang was occupied by Wu Jing. Those people were very unhappy. Although they did not oppose it openly, they refused to cooperate and secretly organized resistance. There are no big mountains in this area, but there are many waters, nearly a hundred large and small. In summer, the rain is long and the water is connected together, with hundreds of miles in a radius. Those people rowed boats and shuttled through the dense reed marshes. Not to mention the expedition, whether they can go around after entering is a question.

Wu Jing was very distressed and said to Sun Ce half-jokingly that if he had known that this Jiujiang prefect was so difficult, he would have stayed in Pingyu after Sun Ce's suggestion. In just over a year, his hair had been half white.

Sun Ce knew that this area was difficult to manage, with low terrain and swamps everywhere, and there were also a series of lakes such as Weishan Lake, Hongze Lake, and Gaoyou Lake in later generations. Moreover, the original forests were densely packed with beasts such as tigers and leopards, and it was not a piece of cake to hide a few thieves.

However, Sun Ce was not in a hurry to have the experience of governing Wu Hui. Thieves were just the last, and the powerful aristocratic families were the foundation. Thieves were either invaded by the aristocratic families and had to become bandits, or they were funded and supported by the aristocratic families and even directly controlled by the underworld. If they control the powerful aristocratic families, the thieves became water without a source and tree without roots. At that time, they would be much easier than they are now.

Of course, Wu Jing's hard work has something to do with his lack of ability, otherwise he would not have suggested that Wu Jing stay in Pingyu at the beginning.

"When you finish this battle, you'd better go back to Pingyu."

Wu Jing shook his head repeatedly. "Forget it, Pingyu is not much easier. You have been rectifying it for so long and spent so much effort. As a result, when Yuan Shao came, almost the entire Runan was shaken."

"It's just a few clowns who jump out, it's not a problem. It's better to jump out, and I can deal with them. This kind of idiot who has the eyes and knows Mount Tai is not qualified to survive in troubled times."

Wu Jing shivered. Sun Ce seemed calm and gentle, but he heard Sun Ce's murderous aura. The father and son of the Sun family liked to kill people, but they were slightly different. Sun Jian killed them if they were too anxious, without asking about the consequences. Sun Ce could tolerate them and did not kill people easily, but either he would not kill them. If he killed them, he would not kill them, but would directly destroy the family. This time, the Runan family responded to Yuan Shao and gave him a chance. I don't know how many people he would kill at that time.

"Is there any aristocratic family that doesn't go around with Yuan Shao?"

Wu Jing thought for a while. "There is one, I have borrowed grain from him."

"who?"

"Lu Su. He was from Dongcheng. When I was conquering Quanjiao and Fuling bandits, I passed by Dongcheng. The military rations were tight, so I borrowed grain from him."

Sun Ce looked at Wu Jing. "Since there is such a person, why don't my uncle recruit him?"

Wu Jing smiled wryly and spread his hands. "I don't want to. But Lu Su refused to rely on Yuan Shao because he couldn't stand it. So he just waited and watched, and he might not be willing to surrender to me. When he borrowed me food, I wanted to invite him to the curtain to express his gratitude, but he refused."

Sun Ce didn't say anything more. What a person Lu Su was? Wu Jing didn't see his ambition at all. He regarded him as an ordinary tycoon who wanted to cling to Yuan Shao but failed. Lu Su naturally treated him as an ordinary person, so how could he be willing to be arrogant? Heroes cherish heroes, not everyone can see them. Only when he meets someone he likes like Zhou Yu, will he reveal his heart. Now that Zhou Yu is too busy and can't walk away, let me complete this historical mission.
Chapter completed!