With the problem of food and wages being resolved, the Southern Expedition was officially put on the agenda. After a batch of new-style armies were delivered and his subordinates had changed their clothes, Sun Jian first led his troops to the expedition and marched towards Shaopi. He would conduct a brief station there, and then launch an offensive against Lujiang and Jiujiang. At the same time, he was also responsible for attracting Liu Xun's attention and covering up Sun Ce.

As the vanguard of Sun Ce's army, Huang Zhong also left Pingyu. He would rush to Pingchun area, meet with Li Tong first, and wait for an opportunity to break into Jiangxia.

Sun Ce kept his troops and continued to confuse Liu Xun's detailed work that might have been arranged in Runan. He made such a big noise in Runan, and the powerful Runan family might have secretly joined forces with Liu Xun to inform him. He stayed in Pingyu to make Liu Xun mistakenly think that Huang Zhong, and Li Tong was just to restrain his suspicious soldiers and did not really launch an attack. When Zhou Yu marched towards Jiangling, he might leave Yinling and support Chen Ji. In this way, Huang Zhong and Li Tong would attack quickly, seize Yinling and cut off Liu Xun's retreat.

Sun Ce believed that without him taking action himself, Huang Zhong and Li Tong would be enough to deal with Liu Xun, the waste. His mission was to continue to march into Jiangnan after taking down Jiangxia, conquering Changsha, and then prepare for the capture of Yuzhang.

In just a few days, nearly 20,000 troops were set off, and Pingyu City was very lively. According to convention, the army would vow to fight before going to war. The soldiers were sacrificing Chiyou, but only in the military camp, and outsiders would not be allowed to participate. Sun Ce broke the rules and obtained Sun Jian's consent, and invited some powerful families who were willing to cooperate to watch the ceremony and took this opportunity to show their strength. This move indeed had a great impact. For several consecutive days, the people in Pingyu City were talking about the strength of the Sun family. In the following days, several more families expressed their willingness to cooperate, and the work of Wu Zhou and others was progressing very smoothly.

Taking advantage of Liu Bei's opportunity to return to the city to report his work, Sun Ce handed over the built-in Snake Spear to Zhang Fei.

The moment he got the snake spear, Zhang Fei was so excited that he was like a child. "General, I... can I give it a try?"

"Of course." Sun Ce smiled and looked at Guan Yu quietly. Guan Yu stroked his beard and squinted his eyes, looking calm and gentle, but his eyes never left a snake spear. It was obviously jealous, but he refused to show it on his face, for fear that Sun Ce would make a joke.

No wonder he is too beautiful. The snake spear is 18 feet long, with a snake-shaped double blade four feet long, with a thick ridge and sharp blade. It is simply a long sword, which can be stabbed or cut. It has the same effect as the Overlord Killing in Sun Ce's hand, but it is longer and more suitable for fighting immediately. The spear rod is made of 14 feet long, with an oval shape, so that it is easy to perceive the direction of the spear blade and facilitates the function of cutting and cutting. The whole body is painted with black lacquer, and a hovering golden snake is painted with gold lacquer. The spearhead is the snake letter spitting out by the golden snake, full of ferocious beauty.

This golden snake was designed by Zhang Fei himself. Huang Yueying's skillful hand-painted it, and two real gold beads were inlaid in the snake's eyes. The whole snake suddenly came alive, as if it could rise into the air at any time. It is a treasure that combines technology and art.

With Sun Ce's permission, Zhang Fei took the spear and rode on the horse. He ran on the martial arts field. The Snake Spear was flying in his hands, blocking and slashing left and right, with a cold light shining and murderous aura. Zhang Fei made his spirit become stronger. The moment he rode his horse, he shouted loudly, and used the spear as a knife. With a light wave, he cut the wooden man stake used for practicing Fei into two pieces. The power of the chopping was no less than that of a thousand troops.

"Good spear, good spear." Zhang Fei was so happy that he couldn't stop himself. He couldn't even let go of the horse. He hugged it in his arms and came to Sun Ce. "Thank you, General." He also gave Huang Yueying a deep bow. "Thank you, great craftsman."

"I'm so happy!" Guan Yu snorted and turned his head. "No matter how good the weapon is, it's the same as the dead tree."

Zhang Fei said happily: "Brother Yun, I know you are jealous of me, and I don't blame you. If you have such a unique weapon, I will be jealous of you. What's wrong with not being able to go into battle? I can be proud for a few more days. After you get into battle, you have made contributions and have unique weapons, I will not have the chance to be proud."

Guan Yu was so angry that he looked up at the sky and said to Liu Bei, "You must work hard and strive to return to the battlefield as soon as possible."

Liu Bei forced himself to smile. "As the general's orders."

——

Yuan Tan slowly came to the hall with the help of two maids and sat on the table carefully. During the battle of Xiao Huang, he was seriously injured. Although he had good medicine for famous doctors, he still suffered a lot and could not move freely.

"Zi Xiu, I already know what happened at home, and I feel deeply sympathy." Yuan Tan sighed: "This Sun Ce is really a lowly person. If he uses such despicable means, he will definitely be despised by the world in the future. But you don't have to worry. If you have the opportunity to attack Jiangnan in the future, I will definitely hand over the task of attacking Wujun to you to avenge your revenge today."

Cao Ang hurriedly saluted. "Thank you, the envoy. But I came here today not just for the family disaster, but because I was worried that Sun Ce would plunder the aristocratic family in Yuzhou and collect food and grass. There might be a big war in winter."

"I know, he wants to attack Lujiang and Jiujiang." Yuan Tan nodded, showing a smile that was guaranteed to win. "I just received the news that Sun Jian has led 15,000 troops to Lujiang. I am worried that Chen Deng and Zhou Ang are not his opponent and are planning to send people to attack Liang Pei and support them."

"What about Sun Ce?"

"He is still in Pingyu, so he should be left behind." Yuan Tan was silent for a moment and smiled silently. "I heard that Sun Ce had just taken two concubines recently, and he was very happy in the room and rarely went to the military camp."

"What?" Cao Ang was stunned for a moment, suspecting that he had heard it wrong.

"You heard it right. Sun Ce rarely goes to the military camp recently." Yuan Tan raised his finger and tapped the case lightly. "Their food and salary are limited, and the possibility of fighting on both sides is not high. Since Sun Jian led his troops to fight, he naturally stayed behind. No matter what, Sun Jian is his father, and he is in his prime, so it is too early to retire. Alas, now it seems that you and I are still more comfortable."

Cao Ang didn't say anything. He believed that he did not have the ability of Yuan Tan and Sun Ce, nor their ambitions. When he was by his father, he felt very comfortable and had no restraint. However, he did not refute that having the opportunity to have the same illness with Yuan Tan can bring him closer to his relationship with Yuan Tan, which is good for him. This is something that Chen Gong has repeatedly discussed with him, and he has always kept it in mind.

"Who will the envoy send to attack Liang Pei?"

"Cheng Yu attacked Liang, Zhu Ling attacked Pei, and Liu Biao would lead his troops to attack Lu State. Zi Xiu, you can attack Taishan County with peace of mind. Revenge will affect your judgment."

Seeing that Yuan Tan had made up his mind, Cao Ang did not fight anymore. He originally wanted to fight for the task of attacking Pei Kingdom and give Cao Ren a chance to play. Cao Ren had been in Huai and Si for many years. He was very familiar with the geographical environment there and had the opportunity to make meritorious. Only by making merit can one get rewards and make up for the loss of the house being scouted. However, Chen Gong had taken care of him and could fight for it without having to make strong advice, so as not to cause Yuan Tan to be unhappy. There were many opportunities to make meritorious contributions, but his trust was very fragile. Once there was a rift with Yuan Tan, it would be difficult to make up for it.

"Here!"

Looking at the obedient Cao Ang, Yuan Tan was very satisfied. "Zi Xiu, have you ever married?"

Cao Ang shook his head. "I am still young, and my father is far away in Chang'an, so I don't have time to think about this."

"Oh, you are the eldest son and as a general, and you are fighting on the battlefield, how can you not get married and have children earlier, just to prevent accidents? This way, Liu Biao has a daughter who is very compatible with you. If you want, I can propose marriage to Liu Biao. How about Yucheng?"
Chapter completed!