Because Liu Xun had previously cleared the raiders in the territory, greatly suppressed the power of the powerful landlords, and distributed the land to the poor farmers, this series of measures had already won the support of the people of Yizhou.
When the news of the Yizhou Navy's expansion spread, many people came to sign up. Liu Xun gave Gan Ning full authority over the navy.
Of course, most of Gan Ning's former subordinates had regrouped and become the Yizhou Navy.
There weren't many Brocade Sail Bandits, only five hundred of them.
Of course, all of this could not escape Liu Xun's eyes and ears, but he did not care.
In a sense, this was all within Liu Xun's expectations and what he wanted.
Recruiting raiders to form a navy wasn't Liu Xun's first idea. There were actually precedents.
In the 10th century, Portugal was the most powerful colonial country in the world. It had the largest fleet in the world, the Invincible Fleet. However, such an invincible fleet was defeated by a mob of pirates recruited by the British.
Liu Xun was waiting to see how strong Gan Ning's pirates would be.
Soon, the navy had expanded by 20,000 men.
Including the original 10,000 sailors, there were a total of 30,000 people. Liu Xun ordered the construction of ships and prepared to go down the Yangtze River to attack Liu Biao of Jingzhou.
For this reason, an expanded military conference was specially held, with about a thousand people attending. This kind of thing was considered the first of its kind in this era.
Under normal circumstances, when a feudal lord prepared to attack another, only a few people, such as his core generals and strategists, would know. Very few people would do something like Liu Xun.
Not only did Liu Xun invite Zhang Song, Fa Zheng, Yan Yan, Gan Ning, Xu Huang, and his trusted aides, but he also invited a large number of high-ranking generals to the meeting. He also allowed everyone to speak freely, regardless of their positions.
"The world is currently in chaos, and the dukes are fighting amongst themselves. If our Yizhou doesn't take the initiative to attack, it's only a matter of time before others attack. The ones closest to Yizhou are Liu Biao of Jingzhou and Zhang Lu of Han. Everyone could speak freely and see if it was better to attack Zhang Lu or Liu Biao.”Liu Xun was the first to make a speech.
"Jingzhou Liu Biao is also related to the Emperor, but he ignored the feelings of the same clan and took in Yizhou traitor Liu Chan. "I think we should go down the river and attack Jingzhou after expanding the Yizhou Navy," Gan Ning said generously."Gan Ning is willing to be the vanguard.”
"This subordinate also agrees to attack Jingzhou. Liu Biao is fatuous and incompetent, but he claims to be a famous person in the world.”said one of Gan Ning's admirals.
"My lord, I think we should attack Han Zhanglu first. "In terms of strength, Liu Biao is strong and Zhang Lu is weak. If we attack Liu Biao and can't take him down for a long time, then Zhang Lu will attack us from both sides. It's easy to fall into a situation where we'll be attacked from both sides," said Xu Huang.
" Other than Sun Ce's navy from Jiangdong, I've never heard of any other vassal's navy that can match Liu Biao's Jing State Navy. It's probably not appropriate to attack rashly." Zhang Song's forehead was tightly locked.
" I heard that the Jingzhou Navy admirals Cai Mao and Zhang Yun are good at training soldiers. The Jingzhou Navy is the best in the world, so you have to be careful." The one who said this was an unremarkable army general.
"The Jing State Navy might be stronger than our Yizhou Navy. If you give me half a year, I'm sure I can train an invincible navy," Gan Ning said.
"If my lord really wants to attack Jingzhou, this subordinate has an idea. We might as well ally with Sun Ce of Jiangdong and attack Jingzhou together. As long as we declare that after the matter is settled, we will divide Jingzhou equally, Sun Ce might agree.”The person who said this was Wang Lei.
" Wang Lei's words are reasonable. Sun Ce of Jiangdong has a grudge against Liu Biao for killing his father. If we ally with him to attack Jingzhou, the chances of success will be greater," an unknown army general said.
"Jingzhou's geographical location is very delicate. Currently, all the forces are in a balance. Once this balance is broken, even if we take Jingzhou, we will immediately start a war with Sun Ce. "The Jing State doesn't have any natural barriers to defend. Even if we take the Jing State, the situation won't be very good," Fa Zheng said.
……
This was the benefit of a group discussion. They could listen to opinions from all sides and then analyze them comprehensively.
Hearing everyone's discussions, Liu Xun ordered his men to sort out the records of everyone's speeches. After some analysis, he gathered Zhang Song, Fa Zheng, and the other strategists, Xu Huang, and the other trusted generals for a secret meeting, and finally came up with an idea.
"Looking at the current situation, although our Yizhou Navy has a large number of people, we lack training. If we rashly start a war with the Jing State Navy, our chances of winning are not high.”
"The Han territory is higher than Yizhou. If we don't take it, after the other dukes take it, our Yizhou will lose part of its natural barrier.”
"What I mean is that we should secretly ally with Sun Ce and agree to attack Jingzhou together. At the same time, we should build ships and train the navy to create the illusion that we are preparing to attack Jingzhou. On the other hand, the army will quietly leave Jiameng Pass and attack Han without anyone knowing. What do you think of this plan?”Liu Xun put forward his own ideas after he gathered the opinions of all parties.
"Good plan. My lord, this is called building a plank road in the open and secretly attacking Zhang Lu. If we succeed, we can occupy Han and greatly increase our strength. "Even if we fail, as long as we send a brave general to guard Jiameng Pass, one man can hold the pass against ten thousand men," Zhang Ren said.
"However, Gan Ning needs to use this time to train his navy. On the other hand, it was also to prepare early. Once we conquer Han, we can lead our troops straight to Jingzhou.”
"Sun Ce's attack on Jingzhou was just enough to pin down Liu Biao and let us focus on taking Han. "When Sun Ce and Liu Biao fight until both sides are injured and realize that they have been tricked, we will have already won," Zhang Song said.
" My lord, this is a brilliant plan. Let Sun Ce fire the chestnuts for us," Fa Zheng said.
"Alright, during this period of time, I will focus on building ships and training the navy. If Liu Biao's navy didn't attack, then so be it, but if they did, they would make him return in defeat.
Liu Xun immediately assigned the tasks one by one. Fa Zheng, Zhang Song, and the others went to prepare themselves.
For a time, the Yizhou army sharpened their weapons and prepared for the coming of the day.
Gan Ning's navy trained in Chuanjiang all day long, shouting and killing.
A large number of craftsmen worked day and night, taking turns to build warships, creating the illusion that they were about to attack Jingzhou.
Secretly, messenger pigeons were sent out every day, sending out a large number of spies to pay close attention to Han Zhanglu's movements.
About ten days later, Liu Xun was reading the news sent by the messenger pigeon when his bodyguard reported,""A lady who calls herself Zhuo Sijun requests to see you, Milord.”
"This Zhuo Sijun, she didn't come early or late. She came just as I was about to attack Zhang Lu. What does she mean?”
" Please." Liu Xun pondered.
" Lord Prefecture Overseer, it's hard to enter this gate of yours. The noble gate is as deep as the sea. It's indeed not bad," Zhuo Sijun teased.
"Miss Sijun didn't come here this time just to make fun of me, right?”Liu Xun said.
"Am I such a person?" Zhuo Sijun pouted her lips playfully.
"I specially came to see you, my lord. How can I not appreciate it?”
"Is that so? We seem to have only met once.”
"Ah, my lord, you helped me kill the thief Gan Ning who stole my bride.”
"That is this official's duty, Miss Sijun need not take it to heart.”
"Daren is righteous, how could I not know? I heard that the Yizhou Navy Admiral is also called Gan Ning.”
"Inspector Gan only has the same name as Jinfan Thief Chief, so there's nothing surprising about it.”
"However, Inspector Gan looks very similar to that Jinfan bandit leader. They are almost identical. Perhaps they are long-lost brothers. " You killed his brother and used his younger brother. Sir, you really distinguish between public and private matters." Zhuo Sijun's lips curled up, seemingly praising him but actually mocking him.
"It seems that Miss Sijun has come to denounce this official?”
" It's nothing, it's nothing. Prefecture Overseer, you're worrying too much. I'm here to give you a gift. This is the list of gifts. Please accept it," Zhuo Sijun handed over the list of gifts.
This girl had been arrogant before, but now she was respectful. No one knew what she was up to.
Liu Xun opened it and took a look." 3,000 good horses and 5,000 pieces of ironware. This gift list is not cheap.”
"No merit, no reward. What conditions does Miss Sijun have?”Liu Xun said.
"I'm a citizen under your rule, how would I dare to negotiate with you? My Zhuo Clan only admires the Prefecture Overseer and wants to help him achieve his great cause.”
"Oh, on behalf of the people of Yizhou, I thank Miss Zhuo for your kindness.”
"Now that Lord Prefecture Overseer is going to war, my Zhuo Family will send horses and weapons. In the future, if Lord Prefecture Overseer needs anything, the restaurants, banks, brothels under my Zhuo Family's name, as well as my Zhuo Family's huge intelligence network, will all be at your disposal.”
"Alright, I, Liu Xun, will accept Miss Sijun's gift. From now on, I, Liu Xun, will form an alliance with your Zhuo Family and support you to become the number one family in Yizhou. In the future, I'll expand my territory and try my best to provide convenience for your Zhuo family in my territory.”
Liu Xun was a smart person. He knew what the other party meant when he heard the song. Although Zhuo Sijun didn't say it explicitly, how could he not understand the other party's meaning?
" Alright, Lord Prefecture Overseer is indeed straightforward. Let's high-five and form an alliance. From now on, we'll treat each other with sincerity." Zhuo Sijun extended his palm.
Liu Xun extended his palm and struck the other party's small hand. He felt that the place where he touched it was smooth and tender, like white jade.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly stopped those flirtatious thoughts.
"Those fine horses will arrive in Chengdu tomorrow. "As for the ironware, I'll rush it out within ten days. It won't delay Milord's matters, right?" Zhuo Sijun said.
"No, Miss Sijun is very thoughtful.”
" Miss Sijun is capable and capable in her work. She does not drag things out. She is truly a heroine, a heroine." Liu Xun gave her a thumbs up.
"I don't like being a heroine. If it weren't for the chaotic times, I would rather stay at home all day, be accompanied by needlework, and entertain myself with poetry and books.”
" Do you like the current me, or do you like the me who sings softly and splashes ink?" Zhuo Sijun looked at Liu Xun with a half-smile. His pink cheeks were rosy, and his eyes were moving. He looked like he wanted to refuse but not welcome him.
For a moment, the room was filled with warmth and spring.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]