Chapter 17: The Spy Chief Chooses Zhou Yu

  "Wolf smoke rises, looking north to the rivers and mountains, dragon rises, horse neighs, sword energy like frost. Heart like the vast Yangtze River water, twenty years of galloping, who can resist? Hate wants to go wild, long knife points forward, how many loyal souls are buried in foreign lands."

  What a pity to die for one's country, but no regrets. Tears of blood and sorrow overflow, as the horse hoof goes south and people look north. The grass is green and yellow dust flies high. I wish to defend our land and reclaim our territory, China will rise again and be respected by all nations.

  When singing for the second time, Sun Ce changed the Yangtze River back to the Yellow River.

  Sun Ce thought that only in this way, the song could be considered truly complete! In Sun Ce's natural consciousness, China naturally included the Yangtze River and the Yellow River.

  We should thank Tou Qianbei, such a great song, how can it not be passed down from generation to generation? Let it be born in this most suitable era ahead of time!

  When Sun Ce started singing this song in his deep and slightly rough voice, the originally spacious tent seemed to have suddenly shrunk. The entire military camp was filled with this majestic voice, until it could no longer hold such a grand sound, letting it drift out and spread to the surrounding camps.

  When all the generals in the account sang together with Sun Ce's tune for several times, they suddenly found that the same song came from outside the military account.

  As soon as he walked out the door, he saw that outside the tent were rows and rows of soldiers standing densely. They also joined in with the generals to hum a tune, their voices growing louder and louder, seeming to shoot straight up to the clouds in the sky, even dispersing the thin wisps of cloud that had gathered there.

  Suddenly, Sun Ce found that everyone present, including himself, had tears streaming down their faces. Didn't this song express the hardships of his father's expedition back then?

  Among the people present, even if they were not the brave warriors of "who can resist" in those years, they were also the young masters of Jiangdong who grew up listening to their heroic deeds. Who would not be proud of it? Who would not have a feeling about it?

  At this moment, Sun Ce firmly believed: "With their sincere support, I will surely succeed!"

  Looking at this large group of soldiers in front of me, with tears streaming down their faces and singing loudly, Ah!

  Among them, who has not charged forward with a long sword on the battlefield? Who has not shed tears on their way home? Who does not have comrades-in-arms who will forever remain on yesterday's battlefield? And who has not engaged in fierce battles to the death with the enemy?

  Who says being heartless is heroic! Sun Ce knew that the men around him with tears streaming down their faces were the real heroes. This was what it meant to be a hero with a soft heart.

  Sun Ce believes that with his emotional self, he can achieve perfection in this world beyond just being a warlord.

  May all regrets never come again! Only wish for a peaceful world for all living things!

  The singing finally subsided gradually. Sun Ce believed that the souls of these people in front of him were no longer the same as before.

  Because they have a new military soul, because of Sun Ce, who pointed out the goals and hopes that they can strive for. This is an army with hope, so how far is victory?

  Sun Ce announced the decision that had just been discussed and passed by everyone, and naturally there was no dissent. The crowd was excitedly discussing these new rules. Sun Ce feared that everyone would be too excited to get up for training in the morning, so he had to disperse them by force.

  "Get back to camp and go to sleep, tomorrow early, whoever is late will be punished." Everyone dispersed under my strong threat with the help of Han Dang, Sun He, Chen Wu and others. Each returned to their own camp, as for whether they slept or not, that was no longer a problem for Sun Ce to worry about. The only thing he needed to worry about was their little buttocks.

  Sun Ce and Zhou Yu returned together to the main military tent, the two lay on a hard board field bed, not seeming very crowded.

  Zhou Yu asked: "Bo Fu, I haven't seen you for two years, and I find that you have really changed a lot."

  Sun Ce laughed and said: "Hasn't he become even more handsome? If he's more handsome than you, then I'll steal the spotlight from you in front of the beauties. Haha."

  Zhou Yu smiled and said, "If we talk about appearance, you were not better-looking than me to begin with. Don't come here to mock me again. But Gong Jing feels that your level of handling things has greatly improved compared to when we parted ways in Shucheng last time."

  I admire you even more now, feeling that you have made rapid progress. Speaking and doing things are all neat and tidy, handling is logical and clear, and many things can make me suddenly enlightened like a wake-up call.

  "Gong Jin is truly delighted for your progress. Even more so, I am satisfied that in this life, I can have a friend like you!"

  Sun Ce looked at him deeply: "Gong Jian, don't flatter me anymore. I am the same as you, having friends with similar interests and broad minds like you as good brothers is the greatest happiness of my life."

  "From the moment we first met, I firmly believed that our lives would shine with a brilliance that would make the world look up to us, under each other's support!"

  "Remember, in this chaotic world, no matter what, we must take good care of ourselves! I hope that after we've fulfilled our dreams and grown old peacefully, we can still hold hands like now and travel together to all corners of the land."

  "I know you've always liked music, chess, calligraphy and painting, the things that gentlemen love. But your body also needs to work hard and exercise."

  I don't want to grow old without you by my side! Starting tomorrow, I'll teach you a set of exercises that I've recently learned from the great doctor Hua Tuo. It's very beneficial for your health. You must learn it and stick with it."

  Zhou Yu smiled and said: "You're here again. Didn't we agree that you wouldn't force me to learn martial arts, and I wouldn't force you to learn the zither?"

  "This time the kung fu is really different, you'll know once you learn it. Just consider this general's first command to be executed by you. Understand and execute, don't understand even more must execute. Haha!"

  Zhou Yu laughed again: "You've just become a captain, and you're already acting like a general. You're really an official fanatic. Be careful that General Yuan doesn't hear about it, or he'll not only take away your captaincy, but also chop off your head."

  "But fortunately, today was a narrow escape. If I had handled this matter, we would have been in trouble today! It's really frightening to think about it now. I wonder if there are still any traitors here!"

  Sun Ce smiled and said, "We're just two little devils, not even worth looking at in Yuan Shu's eyes. I reckon no one will come to monitor our actions for the time being. Moreover, this spy was also sent by Ji Ling privately, he revealed it before he died."

  They simultaneously smiled, and Zhou Yu continued: "However, when it comes to spies, I think we should also have our own spy team. Otherwise, if we want to be independent in the future, there will be no source of intelligence. At that time, it would be like a blind man riding a blind horse, which would be very passive."

  Sun Ce nodded: "Gong Jian, you're right. This is a problem that must be solved. I think this matter will have to trouble you, and you'll be in charge of it. You can be my spy chief, specializing in collecting and analyzing intelligence for our army from all sides. How about it?

  "My current subordinates were all previously following my old father, others are clear about this, and no one has the talent in this aspect. Only you have not yet served, few people know you, and you have great talents, knowing the importance of things."

  Besides, I have identified a target person. If I'm not mistaken, he should have at least one good spy talent. It's just unknown whether he will join our camp or not. I'll go try and when there's a result, I'll let someone come find you to report back."

  "Alright, Gong Jian will return to Danyang tomorrow and start preparing. However, it seems that for now, we'll have to temporarily borrow some manpower from my uncle. In the future, we should mainly focus on cultivating our own people."

  Sun Ce nodded in agreement with Zhou Yu's idea: "We can take in some orphaned children who have lost both parents and give them professional training. Children from such a background can endure hardship and are easy to cultivate loyalty to our army. As long as they're not too stupid, they should all be able to become talented individuals."

  "Be quiet for a moment," Sun Ce asked Zhou Yu, "As for that matter we discussed last afternoon, what's your take on it?"

  Zhou Yu suddenly regained his spirit and lowered his voice, saying: "I think it's feasible, tell me your detailed plan."

  Although he knew that the guards outside were his most trusted men, Sun Ce still leaned in close to Zhou Yu's ear and whispered: "My plan is for you to go and replicate the object hidden at home. With your skills, it must be done flawlessly, but it's best to leave a few easily discoverable flaws."

  "After all, we are the only ones who have seen that thing now. What it has become is still up to us to say."

  Later, we'll see the situation and send it to Yuan Shu. He will surely have a surge of ambition, and at that time, we can naturally leave him with a clear conscience. In fact, even if he doesn't have a surge of ambition, I will arrange for some people to blow wind in front of him and inflate his heart.

  After listening to the plan, Zhou Yu nodded repeatedly: "Bo Fu is now more and more profound! This plan is closely linked, we must be the biggest beneficiaries.

  Moreover, as long as Yuan Shu has this ambition, he will inevitably take the bait. From his words and deeds since he had two states, I can see that this person will inevitably take that step.

  "When the time comes, we'll bring out the real thing and completely shatter his hopes. Alright, let's do it this way, I'll go back tomorrow to prepare! What a great plan, it seems like we're getting more and more cunning! Hehehe..."

  Two people fell asleep amidst low laughter.

  The next morning, the two of them woke up early, and the stars in the sky were still twinkling. The fresh spring breeze blew on people's faces, making them suddenly refreshed and invigorated.

  Every morning, Sun Ce deeply breathed in the nearly two-thousand-year-old unpolluted air.

  It just feels like the whole person's body has become refreshed and transparent. This kind of unadulterated life is extremely hard to come by in later generations. Think about it, at that time, there were only about one percent of the population on the entire earth, and no industrial pollution. How could it not be unadulterated? For Sun Ce, this was also a kind of happiness!

  Sun Ce and Zhou Yu stood in a corner of the training grounds. Sun Ce was seriously teaching Zhou Yu, Hua Tuo's Five Animals Play. He guided him to make the correct posture, while telling him the key to breathing and internal energy circulation.

  With his intelligence, he learned and memorized all the contents in just over an hour. Sun Ce once again reminded him to practice diligently and not to slack off."

  Although he looks like his body is still relatively good now, Sun Ce does not want him to die young at the age of 36 in this life.

  Sun Ce must eliminate all harmful factors. Of course, he now looks still strong and robust, but Sun Ce's strength is not comparable to his at all!

  Zhou Yu looked at Sun Ce with a puzzled expression and reluctantly agreed to his request.

  But in his heart, he was thinking "I don't know what's wrong with Sun Bofu who never asked himself to practice martial arts. Why does he have to learn these strange animal shapes?"

  "It's really damaging to your handsome image to say such things, and if others see it, you'll be laughed at."

  Have you ever seen a handsome bear dog? Or have you ever seen such a handsome monkey! Or have you ever seen that handsome deer with its neck twisted?

  "How embarrassing!"

  But after coordinating with the oral formula and practicing it once, I felt that my body was indeed much lighter. Compared to usual sword dancing and archery, it's even more comfortable.

  Considering he's being so serious this time, let's just bear with it a bit. At most, hide from people a bit and find a corner to practice in.

  The dignified and elegant young master of the Zhou family can't possibly be making a fool of himself in public!