Sheng Xian was dead!
When Sun Jian heard the news, he was listening to the battle report.
After a night of fighting, his 40,000 troops had fought two battles. One was to attack White Tiger Mountain, and the other was to ambush Xu Gong.
During the battle to attack White Tiger Mountain, because White Tiger Mountain suddenly caught fire, it caused chaos on the mountain.
When Zhao Yun and Dian Wei saw this, they retreated to the outside of the stronghold and blocked the exit. They took one captive each.
After seizing White Tiger Mountain, the two of them persuaded the rebel soldiers in the direction of Stone City Mountain to surrender.
In the end, during this entire battle, Sun Jian's army had less than a thousand casualties.
On the other hand, there were more than 15,000 captives.
As for the remaining people, they either died in the chaos of war, died in a fire, or took the opportunity to climb over the mountain and escape into the mountains. Their fates were varied.
Compared to the battle at White Tiger Mountain, the casualties at Xu Gong's ambush were much greater.
The casualties in this battle were close to 1,500.
However, the number of captives was also huge. There were as many as 7,000 people.
After the two battles, Sun Jian's army had less than three thousand casualties, but more than twenty-two thousand prisoners.
This loss ratio had clearly exceeded Sun Jian's expectations.
Hearing this news, Sun Jian naturally expressed his joy.
Unexpectedly, the news of Sheng Xian's suicide came.
"Is Sheng Xian really dead?"
Sun Jian furrowed his brows slightly. He seemed to be very surprised by this news.
After all, although their goal was to force Sheng Xian to land, they had no intention of killing him.
He didn't expect Sheng Xian to choose to commit suicide on the eve of his surrender!
This unexpected ending made him feel a little confused!
"Reporting to my lord, the news I received is indeed so!”
In front of Sun Jian, the scout cupped his hands and said,"
"Other than Sheng Xian committing suicide, the city gates of Wu County have already been opened.”
"Lord Zhang Yi, the Lord of Duty of Wu County, is leading a group of subordinates and is waiting for Lord at the city gate!”
"Alright, I got it!"
Hearing this, Sun Jian waved his hand and said,"
"Go down and receive your reward!"
"Yes!"
The scout was delighted to hear this and hurriedly left.
After the scout left, the generals behind Sun Jian burst into cheers.
Sheng Xian's death was an accident for Sun Jian, but it was a victory for them!
Amid the cheers, Zu Mao hurriedly stepped forward and said,"
"My lord, since Wu County has already surrendered, why don't our army head directly to Wu County?”
"Yes, Father!"
Sun Ce hurriedly said,"
"Now that Wu County has surrendered, our goal has been achieved!”
"Who cares if that old Sheng Xian lives or dies? We just need to accept the city!”
"Hehehehe…That's good too!"
Sun Jian revealed a smile when he saw the joy of his generals.
"In that case, let's pack up and head towards Wu County!”
"We accept your orders!"
When the generals heard this, they all went down and began to clean up.
As the simple camp was closed, Sun Jian's 30,000-strong army escorted 20,000 captives and rushed toward Wu County.
In less than four hours, the city of Wu County appeared in front of everyone.
Compared to Wanling, the city was even taller, almost comparable to Jiujiang County's Shouchun.
Similarly, the queue waiting at the entrance of Wu County was also more luxurious than Wanling!
Sun Jian had yet to lead his troops to the entrance when he saw the commoners lining the two sides of the entrance to welcome him.
Among the commoners, a group of officials were waiting at the door with the seal of the county governor.
Seeing this lively scene, all the generals were overjoyed.
After so many battles, this was the first time he had received such a warm welcome.
Sun Ce looked at the scene in front of him and couldn't help but smile at Baili Ming."
"Sir, you see, I didn't expect the people to love our army so much!”
"It can be seen that our army has won the hearts of the people!”
He was extremely happy as he laughed and joked.
However, looking at his expression, Baili Ming shook his head without hesitation and smiled."
"Bofu, you can't just look at the surface when looking at a problem!”
"You think it's a good thing just because you see the people lining the streets to welcome you?”
"I'm afraid that's not the case!"
"Sir, what do you mean?"
When Sun Ce heard this, he was shocked.
"Isn't this a good thing?"
Sun Jian, who was standing in front of the two, obviously heard their conversation. He couldn't help but turn around and say,
"Ruo Zhong, could it be that there's a problem?”
Faced with the father and son's doubts, Baili Ming smiled and said,"
"There's not much of a problem. It's just that it's not a good thing. It can only be considered a mixture of good and bad!”
"What do you mean by mixing good and bad?"
Sun Jian hurriedly asked.
When Zhou Yu and Wang Can heard this, they also looked over.
Faced with everyone's reaction, Baili Ming smiled and said,"
"There are good and bad things in this matter. We have to look at it from two aspects!”
"First of all, it's naturally a good thing that the people are willing to welcome our army here!”
"But the bad thing is, why are they welcoming us?”
"Now that Sheng Xian has committed suicide, although it is considered suicide to avoid punishment, it is still considered the death of his parents. Under such circumstances, why are the people happy?”
"Unless Sheng Xian is guilty of a heinous crime, the people would not do this!”
"Similarly, since it's not because of Sheng Xian, then it could be because our army got rid of Yan Baihu and Xu Gong!”
"Perhaps these two forces have always been two mountains pressing down on the people of Wu County. Our army has eliminated them, so the people have come out to welcome them.”
"But the problem is, how do these people know about these things?”
"Without a doubt, it was the government and the aristocratic families in the city who informed them!”
"To be able to inform the entire city in just one morning and then let the people go out to welcome our army.”
"Although this is an act to please our army, it also shows how much control these officials and aristocratic families have over the people!”
At this point, his eyes narrowed slightly.
"At this point, does my lord still think that this is a good thing?”
"This... There really is a problem!"
Hearing Baili Ming's words, Sun Jian also realized that something was wrong.
He hadn't noticed it before, but now that Baili Ming said it, he immediately felt it.
It seemed that the influence of the aristocratic families and officials in Wu County was far stronger than that of other counties!
Was this a good thing?
Of course not!
Because this meant that these aristocratic families could welcome him now, and in the future, they could also welcome their enemies like this!
The reason why he was welcomed was not because these aristocratic families welcomed him, but because he had defeated Sheng Xian, and these aristocratic families came to curry favor with him.
It was as if he didn't care about Sheng Xian's life at all.
How could this be a good thing?
Other than Sun Jian, Sun Ce and the others also realized that something was wrong. They looked at Baili Ming and said,"
"Sir, what should we do about this?”
Sun Jian also said,
"That's right, Ruo Zhong, how should we deal with this?”
Upon hearing this, Baili Ming shook his head lightly and said,"
"It's not convenient to talk about this outside. We'll talk about it after we enter the city!”
"At least they are welcoming us now. This is good news!”
"As for other matters, we'll talk about them after we enter the city!”
"That's the only way!"
When Sun Jian heard this, he nodded slightly and continued to move forward.
Not long after, as the carriage arrived, the officials outside Wu County hurriedly bowed and said,
"We welcome the Provincial Governor!"
"Alright!"
When Sun Jian saw this, he smiled and said,"
"Everyone, please rise!"
Then, he got off his horse and said with a smile,"
"Why are you all here?"
As soon as he said this, the officials in the city bowed again. The person in the lead carried the wooden tray with the county governor's seal and bowed.
"This one is Zhang Yi, reporting to the provincial governor.”
"We are here because we know that the Provincial Governor is here, so we came to welcome him!”
"But last night, for some reason, our county governor Sheng Xian committed suicide in the county governor's manor.”
"We don't dare to make a decision on our own. Now, we present the seal of the county governor and ask the provincial governor to make a decision!”
"I see!"
When Sun Jian heard this, although he already knew the reason, he still pretended to be sad and said,
"I led the army here this time to see Mayor Sheng. I didn't expect that Mayor Sheng would have already passed away while we were on the way to eliminate the bandits!”
"What a misfortune for the country!"
"Since that's the case, forget it. I know about this!”
"I wonder if Mayor Sheng has a family in the city?”
When Zhang Yi heard Sun Jian lamenting about Sheng Xian's death, he first revealed a sorrowful expression. When he heard the last sentence, he wiped his tears and said,
"Provincial Governor, Governor Sheng has a wife and two sons. The eldest son is eleven this year and the second son is nine this year.”
"Oh!"
When Sun Jian heard this, he pondered for a while and said,"
"Since that's the case, send someone to make arrangements. Don't neglect the family of Mayor Sheng!”
As the saying went, a man's death was like a lamp going out. Since Sheng Xian had committed suicide, Sun Jian naturally wouldn't kill him.
When Zhang Yi heard this, he hurriedly said,"
"Don't worry, Provincial Governor. I'll send someone to arrange it right away!”
"Good!"
When Sun Jian heard this, he looked at the officials and smiled."
"In that case, don't just stand here!”
"Go back first. After my army enters the city, we will deal with the position of governor!”
"We will obey!"
When the officials heard this, they naturally did not dare to waste time and made way for him.
When Sun Jian saw this, he naturally mounted his horse and shouted loudly,"
"All soldiers, listen up! Follow me into the city!"
With a loud shout, the army once again entered the city. The huge army walked on the streets, causing the commoners on both sides to look at them and point at them.
Just like that, Sun Jian's army officially entered Wu County.
When they arrived at the Prefectural Governor's Manor, Sun Jian changed out of his military uniform and arranged for the generals to settle down. At the same time, he ordered someone to call Baili Ming over for a small meeting.
As for the participants, there were only Sun Jian, Sun Ce, Baili Ming, and Zhou Yu.
Obviously, this meeting was a meeting of Sun Jian's trusted aides. Even Baili Ming's secretary, Wang Can, was excluded.
As soon as everyone arrived, Sun Jian asked Baili Ming impatiently,"
"Ruo Zhong, what happened today, continue!”
"What do you think of today's matter?”
Not only Sun Jian, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu also looked at Baili Ming and said,"
"Please enlighten me, Mister!"
Faced with the trio's questions, Baili Ming did not smile this time. Instead, he slowly stood up and said,"
"Everyone, the problem this time is not as simple as it seems!”
"If we don't handle this well, the threat of these families will be far greater than the threat of Xu Gong and Yan Baihu!”
"The trouble of the aristocratic families?"
Sun Jian and the others could not help but frown when they saw Baili Ming's grave expression.
Only Zhou Yu said to Baili Ming after pondering for a moment,"
"The hidden danger that Sir mentioned, could it be the four families of Wu and Zhong?”
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