Chapter Eighty-One Entering Anhui Province Again

  The incident of Liu Mang fighting the tiger the day before did not affect the army's march on the second day, and Lü Bu may have known about Liu Mang's exhaustion from fighting the tiger, so he let Liu Mang's city defense troops serve as the rear guard for the entire army to continue marching.

  The rear army and the front army are separated by a half-day's march.

  Liu Mang slept until the sun was high in the sky before waking up, fortunately, there was Cheng Yu, a diligent and dutiful marshal in the army, who could lead the troops to set out as soon as Liu Mang got out of bed.

  Before leaving, Liu Mang visited He sisters again, mainly to see if He Yu's wound was infected.

  The wound on He Yu's mouth had not fully scabbed over, so she could only stay on the stretcher.

  He Yue, who had been quiet and well-behaved, didn't show any unusual behavior upon seeing Liu Mang's arrival. On the other hand, He Yu, who was usually calm and composed, showed a hint of fluster. Upon seeing Liu Mang's pale face due to excessive blood loss, she actually blushed slightly.

  She found out from her sister that the white silk cloth wrapped around her chest was tied by this person in front of her, and also the torn white silk dress and the fallen bellyband.

  "Much better?" Liu Mang didn't know that He Yu would be so surprised by his arrival, and asked very normally.

  "Ah, thank you General Liu for saving my life!" He Yu said without hesitation. Liu Meng not only rescued them from the jaws of death but also helped her bandage her wounds, so saying "saving my life" was no exaggeration.

  "No need to thank me!" Liu Meng said. To be honest, he didn't want to save the two at all. The war horse was frightened and ran in front of the tiger. Later, the bandaging was also taken advantage of by Liu Meng.

  Judging from He Yu's complexion, she should not have been infected. Otherwise, she would have had a fever by now. "The wound has been bandaged, but the dressing needs to be changed and medicine applied!" Yesterday, they could only clean and bind the wound because there was no medicine for treating injuries. Now that they are in the big camp and have access to such medicine, it's natural that they would use it.

  "Still want to change the fabric?!" Yesterday's scene had already made her extremely embarrassed, and seeing Liu Mang was hard enough for her to lift her head up again, now she still had to go through it once more.

  "Hmm! That white gauze might not be clean!" The wound had been bandaged for a long time and needed some air.

  "Can't it stay as it is?!" He Yu felt that things were fine just the way they were now.

  "Suit yourself, but if your wound gets worse, I won't be able to help you!"

  Actually, general bandaging can last for three days. What Liu Mang needs this time is just to apply medicine. The medication for external injuries can accelerate the healing of wounds.

  "Sister, you'd better change!" Just as He Yu was hesitating, He Yue on the side actually helped Liu Mang speak.

  "But!" He Yu really didn't want to go through it again, this required taking off half of her clothes and exposing her embarrassing parts in front of others.

  "Sister, have you forgotten that Zhang Guan's son used to be in our household?" Qiao Yue said.

  "Zhang Guan's son?!" He Yu's delicate face had a worried look, Zhang Guan's son was because of a small scratch that eventually worsened and lost his life at a young age.

  He Yu glanced at Liu Mang, then looked at her sister, gritted her teeth and thought that since she had already been seen once, it didn't matter if she was seen again.

  "Trouble General Liu!"

  This time, Heyu was awake, so Liu Mang couldn't make any extra moves like last time. He took off his shirt and removed the white silk cloth, sprinkled medicinal powder on the wound, and then used boiled water to soak a piece of cloth to bandage Heyu up. The entire action was done in one smooth motion.

  It was He Yu who, due to her sudden wakefulness, had a shy expression on her face, and subconsciously crossed her arms, blocking Liu Mang's line of sight, inadvertently adding a touch of charm.

  "The medicine has been exchanged! My great army is about to set out, and I will send someone to escort you to Shucheng." Since the He sisters were family members of high-ranking officials in Sun Ce's army, they would naturally be taken care of if sent to Shucheng, so there was no need for Liu Mao to intervene again.

  "Thank you so much, General!"

  After a small team of cavalrymen from the Cheng Yu faction escorted the two women away, the main army set off.

  After Shucheng is Shiting, which is a strategic town. Its terrain is treacherous and can be said that if you want to enter Jiangdong and Lujiang, you must pass through Shiting. If troops are stationed in Shiting to block the way, Lü Bu's army will have to attack Shiting, and at the very least, they will lose tens of thousands of men, and it is not certain whether they can take it down.

  The Battle of Shi Ting can illustrate its strategic importance.

  Fortunately, Sun Ce's tolerant policy allowed Lü Bu's army to pass through Shi Ting smoothly. Lü Bu's army was not afraid of war, but did not want to fight an unnecessary war.

  When they passed by Shiziting, everyone's face was very solemn. Although Sun Ce said to let go, the mind of being on guard against others cannot be absent. The whole army was on high alert, and after passing by Shiziting, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

  "The whole army is marching hastily, and just ahead is Wan City. Once we arrive in Wan City, there will be hot food and pitched tents waiting for us!" Sun Ce's army had sent a guide to inform Lü Bu that everything was ready in Wan City, so Lü Bu ordered the entire army to march hastily, planning to rest once they arrived in Wan City.

  If Sun Ce's army is still well-received, if they can fight a battle in the open wilderness with an opponent as strong as Bianzhou Iron Cavalry!

  Wancheng, in the Spring and Autumn period, Puyang was the fiefdom of the State of Wu, under the jurisdiction of the State of Wu, and the capital of the State of Wu. In the Han Dynasty, it was not the seat of government of Lujiang, but during the Eastern Han period, Lujiang Governor Lü Kang moved the Lujiang Prefecture to Wancheng City to avoid war.

  Lu Kang may not know, but Lu Xun must know. Lu Xun is the great-grandson of Lu Kang and studied for many years under him.

  Later, Yuan Shu took an interest in Lu Kang's Lujiang and sent Sun Ce to attack it. After the city was broken, he died of illness, and the Lu family also declined from then on. Even the declining Lu family could make Sun Ce lose his reputation, and later he had to compromise and use Lu Xun.

  After Sun Ce captured Wancheng, Wancheng was not under his control and was instead given to Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu appointed one of his own men as the governor of Lujiang. Later, when Yuan Shu's forces were defeated, Liu Xun took over Lujiang. After that, Sun Ce overthrew Liu Xun, who then fled to Cao Cao with his tail between his legs. As a result, Wancheng is now under Sun Ce's control.

  With Wuchang as a bridgehead, Sun Ce can attack the Central Plains and retreat to Wu Yue. This is an excellent strategic location, but it is also a place of four battles. On one side is Jiangxia, Huang Zu and the Sun family have been sworn enemies for a long time. Cao Cao's Yuzhou is on the other side, waiting for Cao Cao to finish the Battle of Guandu. In history, Wuchang has changed hands several times.

  "This Sun Bofu seems to have some skills!" Shucheng still can't see the prosperity of Lujiang, but when he arrived in Wancheng, he could see it. The streets were bustling with people coming and going, and there were many merchant teams on the road, which was a kind of confidence and recognition for Sun Ce's army.

  "Sun Ce was Liu Xun, after all!" Chen Gong said. "Although Liu Xun is not capable of being a lord of a region, he is good at governing the land. Letting him be a governor is a waste of his talent! Moreover, Lu Kang before him was also a capable person, which can be seen from his transfer to the administration of Lujiang."

  "No matter what, Sun Ce is far superior to his father!" After Sun Jian's death, he left behind only a few old generals for Sun Ce, and even some of the old generals were not obedient to Sun Ce. The soldiers above were all swallowed up by Yuan Shu.

  Even Yu Xi only exchanged for a few thousand soldiers. With these few thousand troops, Sun Ce swept away Wu Yue and took down Lujiang.

  Lü Bu and Chen Gong's conversation was cut short as the vanguard suddenly brought news that someone was approaching from ahead.

  "It should be me who welcomes Lord Wen!" said Sun Ce's envoy with a bow.

  "Are you going to welcome me?!" Lü Bu was stunned for a moment. Although Sun Ce was only the Governor of Kuaiji and the General Who Subdues Rebels, compared to Lü Bu, the General Who Pacifies the East and the Governor of Xuzhou, he was much weaker. However, Sun Ce had territory, having already pacified Jiangdong, and it could be said that in terms of actual strength, he was stronger than Lü Bu, not weaker.

  But now Sun Ce has come out to greet him, leaving Lü Bu somewhat bewildered.

  "Let's go to Gongtai!" Sun Ce had come to welcome him, and this place was about 50 miles away from Wucheng. As a lord, he should return the courtesy, so Lü Bu decided to go and meet him.

  The army was still on the move, and Lü Bu took Chen Gong and Liu Mang with him. The three of them rode towards Sun Ce and his men in the distance.

  "In front of us is Wen Hou's brother Lu Bu! Sun Ce spoke up first."

  "Exactly!" Lü Bu echoed back, Lü Bu's side had only three people because the main army was nearby, but Sun Ce's side also had only two people. This really took guts, wasn't he afraid that Lü Bu would directly capture Sun Ce and seize the Sun family's foundation?

  "Haha!" A warhorse galloped out, with a crimson mane on its head, holding a long spear in hand, wearing a purple and gold armor. A sorrel horse stood under the sunlight. "I've long heard of Lord Wen's great name but never had the chance to meet him. Today, I can finally see his majestic presence! I am Sun Ce, Sun Bofu, here to welcome Lord Wen!"

  "This!" Chen Gong and Lü Bu exchanged a glance, both with a strange expression. This outfit, this hairstyle, and the red warhorse - if you didn't look at his face, he was almost a carbon copy of Lü Bu from back in the day! But now, Lü Bu's set of ocean-blue holy robes made him almost unrecognizable compared to before; if he were still wearing that bright purple golden armor today, it would be hilarious!

  Two Lü Bu? One big one small haha.

  "Haha, the son of Sun Jian is indeed a tiger cub! You're also very impressive, very impressive!" It's rare for someone to receive such praise from Lü Bu, even Cao Cao only got an evaluation that he was afraid of him.

  "Father?!" Lü Bu mentioned Sun Jian, causing Sun Ce's eyes to dim for a moment, but he quickly recovered.

  "Lord Wen is being overly generous!" A young scholar on the side helped Sun Ce respond.

  "Who is this?!" Chen Gong also spoke up.

  "Oh, I forgot to introduce him to you, this is my brother Zhou Yu, Zhou Gongjin!" Sun Ce didn't mention what position Zhou Yu held in his army, but directly called him his own brother, which shows how much he valued Zhou Yu.

  "Zhou Yu?!" Chen Gong took another look at the young scholar.

  "Is that Zhou Yu?!" Liu Mao also cast his gaze over, Zhou Yu, can be said to be a perfect high-rich-handsome, both civil and military, literary talent can govern the country, martial arts can stabilize the nation, his wife is also a beautiful woman Xiao Qiao, admired by everyone. If it weren't for Zhuge's existence, Zhou Yu would have been the main character, unfortunately he was played to death by Zhuge Village Husband.

  "This must be Mr. Chen Gong!" With Chen Gong, Lü Bu can accomplish something and make people fearful. Chen Gong can be considered the first strategist of Lü Bu's army. "Younger generation Zhou Yu has met sir!" Zhou Yu is inferior to Chen Gong in terms of age and knowledge, but as a Confucian scholar, he respects his teacher and values morality. Now that they are not on opposing sides of a battlefield, they should maintain the proper etiquette.

  "No need for so much courtesy, no need for so much courtesy!" Chen Gong smiled and declined, then glanced at Liu Mao with a sidelong glance, implying that he saw how this young man was not showing him the proper respect, while even Zhou Yu and Sun Ce's second-in-command treated him with such deference.

  "Cut!" Liu Mang snorted.

  "This must be the King of Shu!" Sun Ce and Zhou Yu also noticed Liu Miao, this title of King of Shu was really just a joke. The land of Shu was still in Liu Zhang's hands, Lü Bu's army didn't even have a foothold, this so-called King of Shu was simply a laughingstock.

  However, Zhou Yu and Sun Ce gave Liu Mao sufficient respect in terms of etiquette.

  "It's nothing, nothing!" Liu Mang was praised by an outsider for the first time.

  Under the deliberate or intentional flattery of both sides, Lü Bu's army and Sun Ce's army got along harmoniously.