The way Sun Ce ended his life was a little surprising. Since Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang, he was the first prince to be assassinated and died. He was also a prince known for his bravery, but he was such a prince with a courage that no man could match.

, but was successfully assassinated.

As soon as the news came out, Liu Bei subconsciously strengthened his defenses, and even Chen Mo selected a group of personal guards for himself.

As for the cause of Sun Ce's death, Cheng Pu immediately sent people to hunt down the assassins who ambushed Sun Ce. However, Yang Qing was well prepared. Those who participated in the killing at that time all had their own identities. On the surface, they were all from the Jiangdong family.

Even if a retainer of a wealthy family is caught, the first step will involve these Jiangdong wealthy families.

As for Yang Qing, after Chen Mo received the news of Sun Ce's assassination, he never got any news about Yang Qing. He didn't know whether he was alive or dead, but one thing was certain, Jiangdong was in chaos.

If Sun Ce dies, who will succeed him?

Although Sun Ce is the actual lord of Jiangdong, morally speaking, Jiangdong has a court. Logically speaking, Sun Ce's position as general has no right of succession. Although Sun Ce has been strong in recent years, there are also people in the Jiangdong court.

People who don't buy Sun Ce's face only respect the imperial court and don't respect Sun Ce. At the same time, Sun Ce has supported Liu Ji for so many years, and the Jiangdong imperial court still has some influence in Jiangdong.

Putting aside the pressure from the imperial court, we will say that there were also differences within the Sun family. When Sun Ce died, he was in his prime and at the peak of the Spring and Autumn Period. Naturally, he had no clear successor. He had a son and three daughters. The eldest son, Sun Shao, would

When it comes to the question of whether the position of general Sun Ce can be hereditary, the person most qualified to succeed Sun Ce is Sun Shao.

Sun Shao is now fourteen years old. Although he is a bit young in terms of age, at this time, a fourteen-year-old boy is already considered an adult.

However, many people within the Sun family feel that Sun Shao is young and is now surrounded by wolves in Jiangdong. The young Sun Shao is not suitable to inherit the position of the lord of Jiangdong. They prefer the 26-year-old Sun Quan to succeed Sun Ce as the lord of Jiangdong.

The position of the Lord.

Led by Zhang Zhao, Gu Yong, and Zhang Hong, they support Sun Quan in inheriting the legacy of his father and brother. In addition, people like Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, and Han Dang are also inclined towards Sun Quan. Emotionally, people like Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, and Han Dang are naturally more inclined.

Sun Shao, but they also knew that Sun Shao was young and might not be able to control the current situation in Jiangdong. For the sake of the overall situation, they could only choose Sun Quan.

In addition to these people, there are also many people who support Sun Shao. It is a principle that everyone agrees that sons inherit their father's legacy. In addition, there are neutral factions headed by Lu Su, and there are also people in the Jiangdong court who are secretly instigating.

"What a pity. If we have to deal with Cao Cao, now is the best time to attack Jiangdong!" Suiyang, looking at the news from Jiangdong, Chen Mo sighed, this opportunity is really great, but between Jiangdong and Cao Cao,

He could only choose one. Cao Cao's 200,000 troops were a threat that Chen Mo could not ignore now. Jiangdong could not attack because of Sun Ce's death. Chen Mo just went to fight Cao Cao with all his strength. Guangling's 20,000 Chen family troops had been transferred to Langya by Chen Mo.

Even so, I still feel a little regretful because there are not many opportunities like this.

"You can't have your cake and eat it too. My lord has already made a decision, so why bother about it? In short, Sun Ce's death is a great benefit to our army." Xu Shu consoled him with a smile, and had to comfort him.

He said, Sun Ce died at the right time.

Without the threat of Sun Ce, Chen Mo can now fight Cao Cao with all his strength.

"We have to fight again and provide disaster relief. This year is not going to be easy!" Chen Mo sighed. In fact, it would be best not to fight. Unfortunately, Cao Cao will send troops anyway. The tactics used to deal with Sun Ce are not suitable for Cao Cao.

Therefore, Chen Mo has to tighten his belt this year.

Looking at Chen Mo who was crying to him, Xu Shu could only smile. He knew that the war was coming. As the defender, his lord was under great pressure this time. Not only did he have to preside over the war, but he also had to provide disaster relief in the Central Plains and the bandits from all over the country.

Note that the current situation is definitely not good for Chen Mo.

It is not an exaggeration to say that Sun Ce's death affected the entire world. The direct result was that Sun Cao's alliance, which had prepared to attack the plains from two directions and drive Chen Mo back to Guanzhong, ended without any problem. Cao Cao's news was blocked because of the closure.

When he learned of this, Zhou Yu ordered people to take a boat to Qingzhou to inform him. When he learned the news, Cao Cao had already ordered Xiahou Dun to garrison troops at Jiwu Mountain and prepare for war.

"How could Sun Ce be assassinated!" After Cao Cao heard the news, he looked at the envoy and felt dizzy. He almost fell down. Originally, this alliance had a great chance of winning, but now that Sun Ce is dead, even if it is not

Knowing the specific situation, Cao Cao also knew that it was impossible for Jiangdong to send troops in a short time.

Regarding the situation in Jiangdong, Cao Cao may have a clearer view than the civil and military ministers in Jiangdong. The competition between the Jiangdong court, the Jiangdong gentry and the Sun family is unknown. Whether the Sun family can continue to dominate Jiangdong is unknown, and whether Liu Bei will

It is also unknown to retake the three counties of Jiangxia in the name of Jingzhou Mu. After all, although Sun and Liu have an alliance, it is based on the premise that Sun Ce is alive and Jiangdong is strong. Now that Sun Ce is dead, many things cannot be viewed from the previous perspective.

Saw it.

"Lord!" Xu Chu on the side quickly supported Cao Cao.

Xun Yu first asked the envoy to go and rest. After the envoy left, Xun Yu looked at Guo Jia worriedly.

A minister looked at Cao Cao, hesitated and asked: "My lord, since Sun Ce is dead, Jiangdong will definitely have no time to take care of itself. Should our army continue the expedition?"

Although Cao Cao is in a bad state, this is also a key issue at this moment. Once Sun Ce dies, Cao Cao's allies are gone. The Southern Expedition, which originally had a great chance of winning, has suddenly lost half its chance of winning. How can we still fight?

"Fight!" Cao Cao signaled Xu Chu to retreat, supported the table and said in a deep voice: "This matter must be done."

Now the conquest of Xuzhou is imminent and has to be launched. Even if he has no allies, Cao Cao must fight this battle.

Qingzhou's current situation still has an advantage in terms of military strength, but this advantage will not last long. If Jiangdong slowly returns to stability before taking action, Chen Mo's side may have already been prepared. How can they fight at that time?

"Lord, since Jiangdong can come in by water, why don't we also build ships and attack the East China Sea and other places by water?" A counselor said whimsically.

"Water warfare is different from land warfare. There are no generals in our army who are good at water warfare, and our soldiers are not used to water warfare." Cao Cao shook his head.

"My Lord, I am willing to lead a group of light cavalry to cross the Taihang Mountains, attack Ju County and other places, and harass the enemy's rear." Xia Houyuan stood up and said.

Chen Mo was guarding key passes, but it was impossible for Chen Mo to guard the entire Taishan Mountains, which was hundreds of miles away. If he used a small force of light cavalry as a surprise force to march through Mount Tai and attack the enemy's rear, they might be able to break through the heavy defenses set up by Zhang He.

It's just that the army wants to fight across the mountain, and it's not an easy task in a mountain range like Mount Tai. Since ancient times, there have been only a handful of people who can do this.

Cao Cao looked at Xia Houyuan. After being silent for a long time, he nodded and said, "You decide for yourself how to fight against your five thousand troops."

It's too impossible and unnecessary. This kind of battle over mountains is all about taking people by surprise.

"Here!" Xia Houyuan nodded, followed the order and left.

"Wen Ruo." Cao Cao looked at Xun Yu and said solemnly: "I have to go to this battle personally. Wen Ruo needs to help me stabilize the rear."

"Lord, don't worry." Xun Yu nodded immediately. Usually when Cao Cao sends troops, Xun Yu is responsible for the rear. This is obviously the case this time.

"The generals go and prepare themselves. In three days, follow me to the expedition!" Cao Cao looked at the generals and said solemnly.

"Here!"

The generals took orders and retreated.

Cao Cao personally conquered Langya and headed towards Suiyang. Chen Mo put Xu Shu in charge of the rear, and he rushed to Langya with Xun You and his generals, also preparing to personally supervise the battle. At the same time, Chen Mo also transferred the 20,000 Chen family troops from Guangling.

Strengthen Langya's defense line.

…

The war in the Central Plains resumed, and in the direction of Jingzhou, Liu Bei was a little confused. Should he take this opportunity to fight Nanyang again? Or should he take advantage of the Sun family's weakness to regain control of Jiangxia, Changsha, Guiyang and other places.

Undecided, Liu Bei summoned Zhuge Liang and Chen Gong to inquire about the matter.

"My lord, Chen and Cao are fighting, but Nanyang's military strength has not been reduced. Our army has just lost its vitality. This is the time to recuperate and it is not suitable to fight again." Chen Gong looked at Liu Bei and said in a deep voice.

Liu Bei's Nanyang strategy was not successful, and this had a great impact on Liu Bei. Although wars were once again in the Central Plains, Chen Mo's foundation was too strong now, and Nanyang was not as empty as last time. It would be difficult to get an advantage if he entered the army at this time.

"Jiangdong can be an ally, but it cannot be taken for granted." Seeing Liu Bei looking at him, Zhuge Liang sighed and said: "Now our army is weak. Although Sun Ce is dead, there is still Zhou Yu guarding Jiangdong. With this man here, with our army

It is quite difficult to defeat the current situation. Moreover, even if we capture the three counties, we will still harm the Sun family. In the future, when Chen Mo takes over the Central Plains, if our two families are at odds with each other, Chen Mo will be able to take advantage of it.

I think that Jiangdong is not only unattackable, but also needs to be taken as an opportunity to deepen our friendship. My lord can send envoys to Jiangdong to worship Sun Ce in order to preserve the alliance between the two families."

"Besides..." Liu Bei hesitated for a moment and finally nodded. His family knew about his family affairs. After the Battle of Nanyang, many problems of the Jingzhou Army were highlighted. It is really not appropriate to fight again at this time, but this opportunity is really rare now. Chen Mo

The war with Cao Cao resumed, and Jiangdong Sun Ce died, and civil strife was inevitable. No matter which side he went to, there was profit, but his fists were not strong enough and he could not fight on either side. This made Liu Bei very uncomfortable.

"This is a rare time for self-cultivation. Liang thought that now one can cultivate people's livelihood, and the other two can take the opportunity to send people into Sichuan to see if there is an opportunity. If Xichuan can be captured, even if Chen Mo occupies the Central Plains, our army can also reach the east.

Jiangdong, fight against Chen Mo together, and divide the world into three parts!" Zhuge Liang bowed.
Chapter completed!