dognovel Chapter 258 teaches Sun Quan the consequences of offending merchants.
Chapter 258 teaches Sun Quan the consequences of offending merchants.
Of the three major battles at the end of the Han Dynasty, the Battle of Yiling is the most regrettable.
The reason for the regret is simple. First of all, it was triggered by Sun Quan and Lü Meng crossing the river in disguise and betraying their ally, causing the death of Guan Yu. This was enough to arouse everyone's anger. No matter when, people hate the traitor the most, not the enemy.
Secondly, Liu Bei could have avoided this battle. He could have abandoned the Eastern Expedition and turned to the Northern Expedition, just like this time. He abandoned the career he had worked on all his life to avenge his brothers and led the entire nation's army on an Eastern Expedition, allowing later generations to experience what ultimate romance is.
Finally, it came down to the outcome of the battle. Liu Bei, who had fought for most of his life, suffered the biggest setback of his life at the last moment, not only completely burying the hope of the restoration of the Han Dynasty, but also losing his own life. How could such an ending not be lamentable?
For thousands of years since then, people have lamented the outcome of this battle, trying to figure out where Liu Bei went wrong and how they could have won if they were in Liu Bei's shoes.
With the rise of the internet, such discussions have become increasingly intense, and there are countless posts about the Battle of Yiling. Guan Xing was naturally one of the participants in the discussions. He argued with his roommates in the dormitory, with alumni at school, and with netizens online. As a result, he has a very deep understanding of the Battle of Yiling.
In Guan Xing's view, Liu Bei made several mistakes in the Battle of Yiling, the biggest of which was underestimating his enemy and thinking that Lu Xun was too young to take him seriously.
Secondly, Liu Bei and Lu Xun were locked in a prolonged stalemate at Yiling, from early spring to late autumn. During this time, Liu Bei did nothing but engage in a simple standoff and attrition, essentially handing the initiative in the war to Lu Xun for nothing.
Liu Bei did this in an attempt to break the deadlock with external forces, waiting for Cao Pi, who had already usurped the throne, to fall from power so he could lead his army south to conquer and divide Eastern Wu with him. However, Sun Quan was shameless. To prevent Cao Pi from launching a southern expedition, he took the initiative to submit and accepted the title of King of Wu, which was equivalent to changing himself from the Marquis of Wu of the Han Dynasty to the King of Wu of the Wei Dynasty. This almost made Zhang Zhao furious.
You must understand that Cao Pi had already usurped the throne and ascended to the throne; he was the Emperor of Wei, not a subject of Han. Instead of leading an army to punish him, Sun Quan accepted Cao Pi's investiture. What were you planning to do? Betray the Han Dynasty?
Although accepting Cao Pi's investiture was a reprehensible act, Sun Quan was shameless enough to resist.
Moreover, Cao Pi was a complete idiot. He actually believed Sun Quan after he accepted the investiture and let Sun Quan run wild. As a result, Sun Quan turned against him right after the Battle of Yiling. Cao Pi was dumbfounded, wasn't he?
Sun Quan and Cao Pi, one a shameless villain and the other a brainless idiot, put on a show of harmony between ruler and subject, which not only completely thwarted Liu Bei's plans but also led to Liu Bei's death.
What's that saying again? A wise man racking his brains is no match for a simpleton's quick thinking. I bet Liu Bei was cursing Cao Pi as a simpleton until his death.
Finally, Liu Bei was merciful. Seeing that the Shu navy could not defeat the Wu navy, and seeing that the weather was hot and the soldiers were complaining a lot, he withdrew the navy to the shore and abandoned the Yangtze River waterway, giving Lu Xun the opportunity to secretly cross the river and set fire to the river at night.
Guan Xing reviewed the information about the Battle of Yiling in his mind, and then wondered what he would do if he were Liu Bei.
If he were Liu Bei, he definitely wouldn't have stayed in Yiling and played a war of attrition with Lu Xun; instead, he would have quickly opened up a second front.
At that time, Ma Liang went to Wuling County to contact the Wuxi Barbarians and successfully persuaded the Wuxi Barbarian King Shamoke to join Liu Bei's camp.
Therefore, Guan Xing couldn't understand why Liu Bei would summon Sha Moke to Yiling to join him, even though he knew that the Yiling mountain area was small and the Shu army couldn't even deploy its own forces, instead of letting Sha Moke attack Jingnan.
It's important to know that the preparations for the Battle of Yiling alone took more than a year. This means that there was at least a year between Guan Yu's death and Liu Bei's entry into Yiling, which also means that Sun Quan occupied Jingzhou for more than a year.
A year can change a lot. In order to win over the gentry in Jingzhou, Sun Quan granted them too many privileges, but the cost of these privileges was borne by the common people of Jingzhou.
The common people aren't fools; they can certainly distinguish between Guan Yu's presence in Jingzhou and Sun Quan's control of Jingzhou. Comparing the two, they will inevitably feel a sense of disparity. If Ma Liang were to lead his barbarian troops into southern Jingzhou at this time, he would certainly receive a warm welcome from the local people.
The fact that the Xi brothers, Xi Zhen and Xi Hong, swept through seven counties in an instant as soon as they raised their troops is enough to prove that Sun Quan was not popular in Jingzhou. It is strange that Liu Bei did not take advantage of such a good mass base.
Guan Xing was very puzzled by this, so when Guan Yu was defeated at Maicheng, he suggested that Guan Yu go through Huarong Road to Jingnan and raise the banner of righteousness again.
Guan Yu adopted his suggestion and ordered Guan Ping and Zhao Lei to carry it out. Upon arrival, Guan Ping and Zhao Lei immediately contacted the Xi brothers and fought a back-and-forth battle against the Wu army in Jingnan, proving the suggestion was entirely feasible. However…
"General, may we come in?"
The shouts outside the tent interrupted Guan Xing's thoughts. Guan Xing stood up and called out, "Come in."
Soon all the officers of the rank of colonel and above entered the command tent. Guan Xing also stepped out from behind the screen and stood at the head of the table, with his hands behind his back, and said, "Ning Huan, tell me what you have found out."
Ning Huan nodded and said, "I got a list of merchants from Qian Yun. I originally wanted to pay these merchants to help me find information, but when the merchants learned that we were going to deal with Wu Jun, they not only did not accept money, but also took the initiative to collect information for us. They were more enthusiastic than me. They just asked us to keep their secret and not to tell anyone if anything happened."
Guan Xing sarcastically said, "That's for sure. Lü Meng's crossing of the river in disguise first and foremost harmed the interests of the merchants. After the crossing, the Wu army took the lead in increasing the number of checkpoints and intensifying the inspection efforts, which caused the merchants to spend an indefinite amount of time passing through the checkpoints. As a result, there were many examples of delays in delivery and even the spoilage of goods. How could the merchants not hate the Wu army to the bone?"
"This is a good thing for us. You actively contact merchants, and you can even entrust our tea, cloth and farm tools to the merchants who have made meritorious contributions to sell. Tell them that whoever makes meritorious contributions in this battle will have priority in purchasing our goods. After the battle, I will give priority to cooperating with them."
Traveling merchants are well-traveled and have a wide range of connections. They have dealt with all sorts of people, and can even befriend bandits in the mountains, since bandits also need their help to sell stolen goods.
One or two such merchants might not be much, but a group of them can unleash an unimaginable amount of power. If pushed too far, they might even be able to intercept Wu's army's supply routes.
Therefore, it is necessary to unite the merchants and use their connections to establish an intelligence network, so that Sun Quan knows the consequences of offending the merchants.
But dealing with itinerant merchants can't be based on sentiment alone. These guys are shrewd enough to be more cunning than monkeys; they only care about profit. There's plenty of profit to be made. For example, the priority right to purchase cloth and ironware alone is enough to make these merchants fight tooth and nail.
Ning Huan said excitedly, "That's great! I gave the merchants a few daggers to try and build a good relationship with them. They were very satisfied with our daggers and often asked me if I could buy more. Since the general has given permission, I will go ahead and do as I please."
Guan Xing nodded and said, "Yes, when you leave, take some tea, cloth and farm tools with you as gifts for everyone. Let them understand the quality of our products first. They will like them after they understand. Tell them about Wu Jun's situation."
Ning Huan said, "According to the merchants who travel to and from Nanchang, Wu troops from different directions have been arriving in Nanchang every day recently, mainly from Changsha County and Nan County. These Wu troops are well-equipped and highly motivated, and they look very difficult to deal with. Moreover, there are too many of them; the military camps outside the city are a dark mass that can't be seen at all."