Chapter 421 Targeting Izu
Jiangdong, inside the Prince of Wu’s palace.
Sun Ce was practicing martial arts with Cheng Pu and Huang Gai.
Two years ago, he couldn't even beat two people in a one-on-one fight, but now he can easily defeat two people. His improvement is simply astonishing.
Zhou Yu was quietly reading the military book on the side, occasionally looking up to glance at the situation on the field.
"My lord, I can't do it anymore. I'm exhausted." After fighting for hundreds of moves in a row, Huang Gai said a little tiredly.
Although Sun Ce used a spear, not all spear techniques were agile, like Ma Chao, who had both strength and speed.
Sun Ce's Overlord Spear Skill focuses more on strength.
Because the Overlord Spear was so heavy, Huang Gai felt his arms slightly sore every time they fought.
Today, they have reached the limit of their martial arts and are even beginning to decline slowly.
But Sun Ce was still growing stronger rapidly and had left them far behind.
Especially after this battle in the Central Plains, Sun Ce, who originally needed to be dealt with seriously, no longer needed to be too careful when fighting the two of them.
Seeing that Cheng Pu and Huang Gai were a little tired, Sun Ce stopped the spear in his hand.
"Then take a break."
Upon hearing this, Cheng Pu and Huang Gai looked at each other in surprise.
What a sin I have committed!
Sun Ce could never forget Guan Yu's sword attack. After returning to Jiangdong, he began to practice martial arts madly, but in the end, they were the ones who got hurt.
After all, they are the only two most capable fighters left in Jiangdong.
"No, next time we have to call those two guys, Zhu Zhi and Dong Xi, to come. We can't mistreat the elderly like this."
Sun Ce walked aside without caring, picked up the teacup from Zhou Yu's side and drank it all in one gulp.
Seeing Sun Ce wasting things like a cow chewing a peony, Zhou Yu shook his head helplessly, picked up the teapot beside him and poured himself another cup.
"This tea tastes bitter, why do you like it so much, Gongjin?" Sun Ce asked, smacking his lips.
Zhou Yu's mouth twitched slightly: "You don't understand! I'm afraid you will never understand in this life."
"He's a tasteless guy who's just wasting things."
"This is tribute tea sent from Liaodong. If it weren't for that kid Lu Xun, I wouldn't be able to drink it."
Upon hearing this, Sun Ce couldn't help but sigh.
"What a pity. If I had known that boy was so powerful, I should have kept him."
Zhou Yu looked at Sun Ce with disdain and said, "You can't keep him. His grandfather Lu Kang has been at odds with you. If it weren't for the fact that the Lu family has such a large foundation in Jiangdong, I'm afraid he would have slipped away long ago."
Sun Cefalu looked annoyed.
We were still young back then!
Looking back now, it’s all dark history. Why did I want to fight to the death with Lu Kang at that time?
Seeing Sun Ce's annoyed look, Zhou Yu frowned slightly and said calmly.
"By the way, what do you think about the recent proposals from the Lu and Gu families?"
"Are you talking about the Yizhou incident?"
Zhou Yu nodded.
"I haven't thought about it yet. After all, although Yizhou is not too far away from us, it is not close either. Even if we take it, I'm afraid it won't make much sense."
"That's also a way out. What if..." Zhou Yu said.
Sun Ce smiled faintly and interrupted Zhou Yu: "I, Sun Bofu, do not need this retreat."
"The worst outcome is to live and die together with Jiangdong. Besides, Gongjin, didn't you say it before? Even if we lose, Tian Chengshou will not kill us."
"If that's the case, why choose this retreat route?" "Retreat to the island today, but what about tomorrow? Retreat to the sea?"
Sun Ce looked towards Chang'an with a disappointed look: "If it is really impossible, what does it matter if I give up the world? As long as I can protect the people of Jiangdong, why should I care about my life?"
Zhou Yu smiled slightly when he heard this.
This is Sun Bofu!
A sincere heart may seem reckless, but it is actually exquisite and can always see through the phenomenon to the essence.
"So you're going to stop this?"
Sun Ce shook his head again: "Although I don't want to get involved in the affairs of Yizhou, I am afraid that the Jiangdong family will not be willing. After all, they are scheming, and Yizhou means more than just a way out for them."
Although he always behaved carelessly, Sun Ce knew the situation in Jiangdong very well, he was just too lazy to use his brain.
Why bother using your brain when you can solve a problem with your fists? If you can't solve a problem with your fists, you can only rely on Zhou Yu's brain.
"So, I am prepared to neither support nor boycott."
"If the Jiangdong noble families want to do this, then go ahead and do it. It has nothing to do with me. It's just a small Northeast Plain."
Zhou Yu took a sip of tea and said, "That being said, managing Yizhou still requires a lot of manpower."
"To us now, population is extremely important. If the powerful families migrate a large number of people to Yizhou, it will be a significant weakening for us."
Sun Ce curled his lips in disdain and said, "Those people are not mine. It doesn't matter if there are more or less people. How much impact will it have on us?"
To some extent, Sun Ce and Tian Ze are the same type of people, both of whom have an extremely strong desire for control.
Unlike Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and others who were used to compromise and balance, Sun Ce always liked to suppress everything with force.
Only things that are completely under his control are considered by Sun Ce as his own.
Therefore, he doesn't care about the population of the aristocratic and powerful families.
Zhou Yu naturally knew what Sun Ce was thinking, but that was not how it was calculated.
Even if these populations are not theirs, as long as they exist, they can generate wealth and invisibly drive the development of the areas under their rule.
Transporting these people to Izu ultimately undermined their strength, but it was not obvious on the surface.
As long as we aggregate the data from all parties, we can definitely detect the impact behind it.
However, he was not prepared to stop this.
Because this is the trend of the times and he can't stop it at all.
If he tried to stop them, he would be making an enemy of the powerful families of Jiangdong.
Before this, even though Sun Ce had been suppressing them, the Jiangdong families were still in a state of half resistance and half cooperation, because Sun Ce had not completely touched their fundamental interests.
But this time is different.
Once stopped, Zhou Yu believed that the powerful families in Jiangdong would definitely rebel when they saw no hope. If nothing else, their support for Sun Ce would be greatly reduced.
Ugh!
He looked towards the north somewhat helplessly.
Tian Chengshou is such a formidable opponent.
He pulled down the powerful families with one hand, but opened another door. Isn't he afraid that these families will rebel in the future?
After the Central Plains War, although nothing seemed to have changed on the surface, the turbulent undercurrent had already surged. Even someone as sensitive as Sun Ce had noticed it, otherwise he would never have been willing to make this choice.
Apart from Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, the two unlucky brothers who were trapped, the aristocratic families under their command have already set their sights on Yizhou.
Similarly, the aristocratic families and powerful people in Yizhou also looked towards the Southern Barbarians, and the aristocratic families and powerful people in Jingzhou looked towards Jiaozhou.
The era of internal competition for the cake is over, and what follows is an era of large-scale plunder and development.
(End of this chapter)
