Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1334: Chapter 1287: Eastern Wu’s Arrangements

”Even that is much better than marrying that fool, so stupid.” Xu Ning said nonchalantly, knowing full well the drawbacks of the Xu and Sun families’ political marriage.

While the Xu family isn’t considered an aristocratic clan under heaven, they do have some reputation among the noble families. The biggest advantage of marrying into the Sun family would be to breach the alliance of the Eastern Wu aristocratic families, but that wasn’t an easy task.

”Second Miss, though we’re under Liu Xuande’s rule here, speaking of the Sun family like that isn’t quite good.” The coachman said with a wry smile, flicking the whip.

”Hmph, the only one in the Sun family I can respect is Sunx Bofu. As for Sun Zhongmou, a mere caretaker with a slightly narrow mind; if anything happens to Sunx Bofu, the Sun family’s progress will come to a halt in this life. As for the other Sun family offspring, they’re just mediocre.” Xu Ning sneered, ”Of course, the Xu family is the same.”

”...” The coachman could only smile wryly, unable to respond, as this was typical of their Second Miss.

”Let’s go, to Ye City, Cold Crow and Luanfeng, we’ll see who prevails then.” Xu Ning raised her eyebrows proudly, believing she had a place among the world’s talents.

Xu Ning’s departure left her feeling cheerful, but the Xu family was thrown into chaos. The once favorable political marriage with the Sun family turned into a farce due to Xu Ning’s departure. Fortunately, no formal arrangements had been made, so no matter how ugly it got, it could still be salvaged.

”No choice, we’ll have to marry another woman from the clan.” The patriarch of the Xu Family determined from scanty clues gathered that his daughter had left Eastern Wu. Most noble families could only resolve issues within their own sphere of influence, and Xu Ning had already gone beyond the Xu family’s reach.

Fortunately, this was a political marriage, so the main character was irrelevant; the crucial aspect was the alliance between the Xu and Sun families, giving the Sun family a chance to intervene in the currently highly exclusive Eastern Wu aristocratic families’ alliance.

”The Xu family’s Second Miss actually ran away?” Sun Ce heard the news and unexpectedly burst into laughter, ”I never thought the Xu family’s upbringing would produce such a straightforward girl.”

Zhou Yu glared at Sun Ce, discontented. This was tarnishing the Sun family’s honor, yet Sun Ce laughed so heartily.

”I was against this marriage from the start. If it weren’t for the fact that the Second Miss of the Xu family was five years older than my third brother, and if it weren’t for Yuantan and you persuading me, I wouldn’t have agreed to such nonsense.” Sun Ce, completely ignoring Zhou Yu’s expression, spoke candidly given his relationship with Zhou Yu.

”You don’t understand; sometimes, noble families just seek peace of mind.” Zhou Yu rolled his eyes and said, ”But if it falls apart, it falls apart. Leave the rest to me to handle to prevent further occurrences. Has Yuan Gong said anything to you recently?”

”There’s a lot I don’t understand, but as long as you do, it’s not a problem.” Sun Ce said indifferently, ”As for my uncle, he hasn’t said much, except telling me the world is vast.”

Zhou Yu nodded without saying more. He’d met Yuan Shu several times recently and felt there was a hint of pity in Yuan Shu’s gaze toward them, though it might just be an illusion.

”Liu Xuande is preparing to marry someone from the Zhang clan as his legal wife. We should also prepare a gift to send over; just as the Money Exchange matter needs to be coordinated with Chen Zichuan, let Zizhong go pay a visit.” Zhou Yu thought for a moment and suggested to Sun Ce.

”Ah, such a trivial matter, Gongjin can handle it himself. Where is the action happening? I’ll go help.” Sun Ce decisively discarded such mundane affairs; he loved leading troops into battle, while he was terrible at governance.

”Recently, we’re preparing to move against Jiaozhou, but this battle cannot be commanded by you. Liu Xuande is pressuring the North; based on his previous actions, there could be results as soon as early next year, so we need to prepare as well.” Zhou Yu sighed and said.

”Our side’s sea ship construction is still at a standstill despite investing hundreds of millions of money. Although we’ve made considerable progress in tower ships and warships, we’re still clueless about sea ships.” Zhou Yu said helplessly.

Due to Liu Bei, Yuan Shao, Gongsun, and others up north consecutively using sea ships, all the feudal lords under heaven are now generally aware of their use; some just grasp it more than others. Zhou Yu hoped to establish an elite fleet for Sun Ce.

Not to mention anything else, just the fleets of Gan Ning, Taishi Ci, which have appeared multiple times along the Yangzhou coast, though not in an attacking manner, are enough to make a sage like Zhou Yu extremely wary.

Although Zhou Yu isn’t aware of Yiizhou east of Yangzhou, simply the appearance of Gan Ning and others suffices to let him understand that his previously considered safe rear is not truly secure under the shadow of sea ships.

More importantly, Zhou Yu realizes they absolutely can’t achieve building fortified towers and beacon towers across the entire coastline, staffing millions to ensure coastal safety.

Since that’s the case, the only available solution is to establish an excellent fleet. Not for offense, but at least defending their coastline shouldn’t pose a significant challenge.

Unfortunately, ever since Zhou Yu and Sun Ce expelled the Lul Family, Eastern Wu directly lost the core techniques of sea ship manufacturing. Even though Zhou Yu farsightedly invested heavily, hoping to quickly establish his own navy fleet, it was fruitless.

Up until now, Sun Ce’s navy is still stuck at the shipbuilding stage. Zhou Yu doesn’t have any good solutions either; even though they’ve managed to convert flat-bottomed boats into pointed-bottomed ones, the technical issues remain unresolved.

As a result, Zhou Yu has now made a firm decision: even if the inaugural pointed-bottomed boats are built with subpar quality, they must nurture them with naval forces to produce a batch. The several appearances of Gan Ning and Taishi Ci on the sea have served as a strong warning for Zhou Yu.

”Oh, Zizhong, that won’t work; Zizhong should handle the military affairs of Jiaozhou and Yangzhou, let Zigang take care of the Money Exchange matter instead; he told me he wants to meet Chen Zichuan.” Sun Ce rarely rejected Zhou Yu’s proposal, unable to do otherwise since he had promised Zhang Hong first.

Speaking of which, Master Zhang has been wanting to see Chen Xi once since regretting his decision, and even though he has now defected, this desire hasn’t waned; rather, it has intensified.

”Then let Master Zhang go. Zizhong will handle the military affairs of Jiaozhou and Yangzhou, and the Jingnan Region will be entrusted to Shiyuan. Once this battle is concluded, we should pause to recuperate internally.” Zhou Yu nodded, not bothering to ask why.

”Alright, as you say.” Sun Ce responded with vigor, ”I can’t go to the beginning of the Jiaozhou battle, but I mustn’t be absent from the final showdown.”

”No problem.” Zhou Yu answered helplessly; Sun Ce was just that kind of person, and he was used to it after all these years.