Before Sun Ce left Donghai County, he received a reply from Tao Ying. He had already left Pengcheng and was leading more than 10,000 people to Xiapi.

Sun Ce was very satisfied with Tao Ying's cooperation, and Tao Ying was surprised by Sun Ce's decisiveness. The marching speed of pure cavalry was beyond the reach of infantrymen. Sun Ce moved quickly at an average speed of 100 miles a day. If it weren't for this, he would never be able to control Tan County. In just half a day, the Liu family in Tan County could receive the news and guard the manor tightly, which made Sun Ce sigh.

If you can't hold those heads, the East China Sea is the East China Sea of ​​the aristocratic families, not the East China Sea of ​​the Tao family. If you hold those heads, the aristocratic families will be afraid of the bad habits and dare not act rashly. Liu He himself also faces a dilemma and is afraid of something.

"General, be quick, accurate, and cruel." Tao Shang took a thumbs up when he saw Sun Ce before he could speak. "I admire him, admire him, this is the real quietness as a virgin, and moving as if he was rid of a rabbit."

Sun Ce smiled bitterly and pointed at the knight behind him. "Brother Zhongyun, I've been fighting for my life this time. Look, the people and horses are exhausted, and the wind blows. I finally raised a little bit of the pussy in the Mi family, but after running away in the past two days, it's gone again."

The pottery looked at the knights behind Sun Ce, envious, but did not have the intention to imitate them. The price was too high. With the conditions of Xuzhou, it was not difficult to build a cavalry of such a size, but the difficulty was to be willing to spend money. In spring, horses were thin, and if they wanted to maintain their horsepower, they could only feed the horses with food. Long-distance raids were exhausted, and horses with less physical strength fell to death often. If they ran, the loss would be even more astonishing.

"General, don't worry, we remember this time you have such thoughts for my father and son. I won't take away any money from the Chen family's property, and I will treat it as a reward."

Tao Ying patted his chest and was passionate. Sun Ce looked at him, laughed, and pointed at Tao Ying with a horse whip. "Brother Zhongyun, no wonder the Xuzhou family doesn't like you father and son, you are too smart. Ling Zun asked me to help beat Liu He and give me the piece of Pengcheng to me. He looked generous, but in fact he wanted me to defend the left wing for you. You now want me to help you take Pi and take the Chen family's property as a reward. You don't lose a penny. If you can't take Xia Pi, wouldn't I lose my capital?"

Tao Ying laughed. When he received the news from Tao merchant, he knew his father Tao Qian's intention, so he gave up Pengcheng without hesitation. At this moment, when Sun Ce made a fuss, he was not angry, but was very happy. Sun Ce joked with him because he did not treat him as an outsider. With his current image, without Sun Ce's support, it would be difficult for them to defend Xuzhou. Tao Qian was over 60 years old, and no one knew how many years he could live. Which of the two brothers would inherit Xuzhou has become a problem that Tao Qian must consider. In this regard, he has a clear first-mover advantage, and of course he would not let it go easily.

"General, you are doing more business, and I learned from you. The Yuzhou family betrays you, and the Xuzhou family is not a good thing. This time we need to rectify it." Tao Ying put away his smile, and a bit of hideousness appeared on his face.

Sun Ce agreed. Tao Ying was right, on this point, they had common interests.

The two of them joined forces. Tao Ying brought a large amount of supplies from Pengcheng, and there were more than 3,000 ships transporting supplies alone. Not only did they have food, weapons, but also a lot of luxury goods, wine and meat. Sun Ce felt that Tao Ying had been preparing to give up Pengcheng long ago, and all they could take away were left, leaving only an empty city.

This is understandable. Pengcheng is a place where military strategists must fight for, but the main defense is the enemy from Xiaoxian. Since Tao Ying did not intend to be an enemy with him, it would be meaningless to defend Pengcheng. What he gave up was burden, but what he gained was freedom, just like Sun Ce gave up Lu. He won more than half a year to pacify Jiangnan and his strength increased greatly. Now that Lu has not only returned, he has also obtained the Pengcheng he has always wanted.

If you want to give up, you must first give up and then gain.

Sun Ce ordered Sun Ben to seize Pengcheng and establish a defense line. In order to let Sun Ben get into the role as soon as possible, Sun Ce sent a letter to Zhang Zhao and asked him to arrange someone to assist Sun Ben. Zhang Zhao is a famous scholar in Pengcheng and his influence is much stronger than Sun Ben. Zhang Zhao is a literary figure and Sun Ben is a man of the same name, which can reduce unnecessary conflicts and even bleeding.

——

The previous Xia Pi prime minister was Zu Rong. After Zu Rong was killed by Liu He in a battle, Xia Pi fell into the hands of Liu He. When Tao Ying arrived, Xia Pi had already changed the garrison. Liu He's cousin Liu An, who assisted him was Chen Ying, the son of Chen Gui. Liu An was in his fifties and lived a pampered life. He had been two prefectures. His political achievements were mediocre, not good or bad, and his reputation was not good. Chen Ying was just young. When he was in high spirits, he was suddenly given important tasks. He was full of energy and was very active in doing things. He was mainly responsible for the defense of Xia Pi.

Speaking of which, the Sun family and the Chen family had an association. Sun Jian was once the Chief of Xia Pi. The Chen family was a well-known family in Xia Pi. The two sides must have had contact, but Sun Jian was a martial artist and liked to interact with the Huai Si Rangers. The Chen family regarded themselves as a Confucian scholar and did not like to recruit heroes. They were not on the same side as Sun Jian. A small county magistrate could not let the Chen family treat each other directly. When Chen Deng became an adult and the Chen family began to change their family style, Sun Jian had already left office again.

After Sun Ce and Tao Ying checked the situation in Xia Pi City together, they all felt that it was not easy to attack. They went to see the Chen family's main garden again. The Chen family was prepared and the manor was guarded relatively tightly. Most of the people gathered in the fort, and Chen Yu's younger brother Chen Cong was fully responsible. Without siege equipment, it was not easy to attack.

Tao Ying sighed regretfully, but he was still one step late.

Sun Ce didn't think so. The Chen family did not support Tao Qian at first, and it was not ready for a day or two. Chen Yu ran for Liu He, so the Chen family naturally prepared to respond. He asked Tao Ying to be calm and set up a camp in Yishan north of Xia Pi City, and made plans for the long-term. The purpose of taking Xia Pi was to prevent Liu He from going north. Tao Ying carried sufficient supplies and a large number of people. Cut down trees on the mountain, set up a camp, and guard Yishan, which would also play the expected role.

In the era of cold weapons, due to the limitations of technical conditions, attacking hardship is often a forced worst-case approach. The casualties of offense and defense are relatively large, usually more than four times or even higher. As long as objective conditions allow, the cost of sticking to defend is much smaller than attacking hardship.

Tao Ying accepted Sun Ce's suggestion and set up a camp in Yishan.

Yishan is northeast and southwest. The main peak is on the southwest side, nearly a hundred feet high. There is also a hillside on the northeast side, seventy or eighty feet high. There is a valley between the two peaks. Tao Ying stands the main village on the main peak and sets up camp between the two mountains, connecting the two peaks into one.

Standing on the main peak of Yishan Mountain, looking at Tao Ying's sketches and listening to Tao Ying's plan, Sun Ce was very satisfied. Although it was not outstanding, it was considered to be a normal person and had no obvious flaws.

"Brother Zhongyun has put in a lot of effort in the past two years. I will look at him with admiration for three days."

Tao Ying was very happy to receive Sun Ce's praise. "General, this is thanks to you. The two years ago, I was with you to fight in Xiaoxian County. Although I only benefited a lot from it for only more than a month, and finally found the direction of my efforts. I am not like a general who is born with a general, so I can only put some hard work."

Sun Ce smiled and said, "It is impossible to do anything. It is great wisdom to be willing to put in a stupid and hard work. People who always want to take advantage of the opportunity are just small cleverness." He paused and said, "If Ling Zun sees your achievements, he will definitely be very satisfied."

Tao Ying understood and wrote a letter in person, explaining the situation in Xia Pi and his own arrangements, and sent someone to Langya.
Chapter completed!