After seeing off Yan Yu and Wang Lian, Taishi Ci came to Xu Yan and explained his plan.

Xu Yan was very worried. Taishi Ci was good at fighting, but there were too few 300 people. Yan Baihu's men and horses were all mobs, and they were mostly related to local aristocratic families. Most of the Wujun aristocratic families had already depended on Sun Ce, and Yan Baihu's probably surrendered to Sun Ce and took the opportunity to lure Taishi Ci into the wreck.

Xu Yan's thoughts make sense. If Sun Ce wants to go to Kuaiji, he must have passed Wu Cheng. No one knows whether Yan Baihu met Sun Ce, but it is obvious that they did not fight, otherwise Yan Yu would not have said anything. Yan Baihu claimed to be Yan Jiao's descendants, and was originally from Wu County. Wu Cheng was Sun Jian's fief and the territory of the Shen family. The Shen family and Sun Ce had a very good relationship. Shen You also commanded the battle of Wu County on behalf of Sun Ce.

Combining various factors, Xu Yan felt that Yan Baihu was not trustworthy. Taishi Ci could not rely on him, but also had to guard against him. Once he was surrounded, these three hundred people were not opponents at all. After leaving Taishi Ci, they were not opponents of Zulang, so they could only give up the Tongguanshan Village to retreat south.

Taishi Ci knew that Xu Yan was right, but he still had to take risks. Liu Yao was preparing for Yuzhang. Once Sun Ce occupied Kuaiji, he would soon advance westward to attack Yuzhang. If he could hold Sun Ce a day, Liu Yao would have more than one day of preparation. Yan Baihu was unreliable, so he would just be on guard against Yan Baihu, so he could not sit idly by and watch Sun Ce attack and destroy the Kuaiji family.

He also tested Yan Yu. Judging from Yan Yu's reaction, it seemed that Yan Baihu had not yet relied on Sun Ce. The Xu family in Yangxian had already been destroyed, and Tongguanshan would give up sooner or later. It would be better to take this opportunity to retreat south. Fight side by side with Yan Baihu and others to establish contacts. When retreating south, you can also avoid conflicts and choose some good territory.

Xu Yan could not persuade Taishi Ci, so he had to agree. He selected more than 300 strong young and strong overnight, equipped with weapons, each with dry food for ten days, and rushed to Qian Tang with Taishi Ci. The remaining people were led by Xu Yan and retreated south at the right time.

The next morning, just as dawned, Taishici left Tongguan Mountain.

Taishici's actions failed to escape Zulang's eyes. But Zulang thought Taishizi was going to attack him, but he never expected Taishici to go south. When the scout reported that Taishici was getting farther and farther away and never returned, he realized that he had misjudged the situation. While sending someone to notify Sun Ce and Guo Ting, he told them to be careful of Taishici, and at the same time launched an attack. Only Taishici could fight him, and without Taishici, these bandits were not his opponents at all.

In order to hold Zulang up, Xu Yan struggled to hold on for three days, suffered more than 300 casualties, and finally withdrew from Shimen Mountain and headed southwest.

——

"Look, your understanding is still very deep." Sun Ce shook the paper in his hand, smiling. "Shengjun, if you are poor, you will change, and if you change, you will understand. This is the case. The Confucian school is the same. When you are born as a scholar, you must not only dare to criticize others, be good at criticizing others, but also dare to criticize yourself and be good at self-criticism, so that you can continue to make progress. Congratulations, you are reborn."

Sheng Xian smiled embarrassedly, very embarrassed. No matter what, he finally put down a big stone in his heart. In order to write this article that satisfies Sun Ce, he has been suffering these days. Because he failed to complete the task within three days, Sun Ce even wanted to lock him in a car and show his public. If it weren't for Yu Fan's entreatment, he would be very embarrassed this time.

"General, then can I... leave?"

"Yes." Sun Ce carefully put the paper away. "You can go anywhere, of course I am very welcome to stay so much."

Sheng Xian quickly declined. He never wanted to see Sun Ce again, and he didn't want to do it in the future. Sun Ce did not force him. After all, Sheng Xian was a scholar, a little aloof. If something happened, such a person was useless. Let him study and do his studies.

Sun Ce asked Pang Tong to send Sheng Xian out of the camp, and then invited Yu Fan to read it. Sheng Xian's articles quoted from classics, and he could understand the general idea, but he didn't dare to say that they all understood. If Sheng Xian played some Spring and Autumn styles in it, he would be embarrassed. But thinking about Sheng Xian's cowardly look, he probably didn't dare to do it either.

Sure enough, Yu Fan curled his lips after reading it. "There is nothing wrong with the article, but the general doesn't have to care too much. Sheng Xiaozhang is just complaining about it, and he may not be convinced."

Sun Ce smiled. "Zhongxiang, what do you think of the crime of slandering?"

Yu Feng frowned. "General, you don't need to mention such a despicable method of the Legalists."

"This is not entirely a matter of the Legalists. The Confucian Spring and Autumn Prison is not much better. How should the Spring and Autumn Period be resolved? It has not been unified yet, so how can it be used to punish the Prison? The starting point may be good. The law is nothing more than human feelings, but if the standards are not well mastered and as they please, it becomes a mess. The reason why whispers can become a crime is that Confucianism made contributions at the beginning."

Yu Fan grinned and said nothing. Although he might not agree with Sun Ce's opinion, he could also hear that Sun Ce did not agree with guilt in his insults.

"Do you think I have printed thousands of copies of this article and made Sheng Xian famous? Will he be grateful to me?"

Yu Fan stared at Sun Ce for a while, his cheeks twitched, but he was very moved. He thought that Sheng Xian would end after writing the article, but he did not expect that Sun Ce had no intention of letting Sheng Xian go, and he wanted to spread this article by Sheng Xian. With Sheng Xian's reputation, this article will soon spread throughout the world. Combined with the court's initiative to re-emphasize the style of martial arts, the distinction between civil and military may be further improved. It is not only good news for military personnel, but also good news for people like him who are both civil and military.

"General, although it is a good thing, is it against the gentleman's style of doing this? At least he should say something to him."

"When did I say I am a gentleman?"

"Well……"

"Zhongxiang, you are a madman, I am a warrior. No matter what you and I do, they will not be regarded as gentlemen. Since that is the case, we will just go straight and be worthy of our conscience. Sheng Xiaozhang is cowardly. Do he dare to be the first in the world? He helps me speak out and I help him become famous. What's wrong with it? Don't worry, he will definitely be grateful to me in the future."

Sun Ce smiled proudly, but Yu Fan was speechless. However, he had to admit that Sheng Xian had enough knowledge and reputation, and had a much greater influence than Sun Ce. Once this article was published, the response would definitely be great. With Sheng Xian's personality, no one forced him, he would not dare to do such a thing at all.

"What's so happy?" Guo Jia walked in, greeted Yu Fan, and said to Sun Ce with a smile: "General, I just received the news from Zulang that Taishici left Tongguan Mountain."

Sun Ce was shocked and did not care about Sheng Xian's affairs, so he quickly asked what happened. Guo Jia told the situation. Zulang discovered that Taishi Ci had left Tongguan Mountain three days ago, and the direction was unknown. He sent someone to deliver the message, but the messenger encountered an accident on the road and wasted time. He rushed to the opposite camp this evening.

Sun Ce pulled the map and pondered for a while. "Taishi Ci came out of the mountain and only brought three hundred people. Where would he go?"

Guo Jia said lightly: "All the elites are coming out, and they are moving quickly. Naturally, they are the place to save them." As he said, he reached out and nodded at Guling's position, and his fingers crossed a distance and landed in the camp across the river. "But he has no ship, so the most likely location he chooses should be here."
Chapter completed!