A 'Pibo' sound exploded, and a spark flashed on the candle wick, breaking the quietness of the room.

"Lord, Jiangdong is the root of the lord and most of the people here. If this foundation is gone, how can the lord gain a foothold?"

Zhou Yu's words are very simple. Of course, the reason why it is simple is that he doesn't want to say too badly. There are no fools here, so he naturally knows what Zhou Yu is going to say. If Sun Ce really chooses to travel east, then he is willing to give up his ancestral property and hometown, and also the land that depends on his foundation. In this way, how many people will choose to continue to follow Sun Ce?

By the same token, how many soldiers who left their hometown can continue to support Sun Ce unswervingly?

Sun Ce nodded silently. Zhou Yu was right. His roots were in Jiangdong. If he lost his roots, he would lose his vitality. In the difficult environment of a foreign country, he had to rely on the support of Fang Zhiwen and Yiren to persist in fighting. Sun Ce could not do such a thing as giving his lifeline to others. Even if Sun Ce could do it, could everyone here accept it calmly?

Zhang Hong looked at Zhang Zhao and felt unstable. As a native of Xuzhou, Zhang Hong himself did not have much benefit in Jiangdong, so in Zhang Hong's view, going east is a feasible option, and Fang Zhiwen is worthy of his reputation. Besides, in terms of substantial interests, having an extra thug will undoubtedly benefit Fang Zhiwen without any harm. Even if Sun Ce becomes bigger on Yingzhou Island in the future, not to mention that Yingzhou is not big, just the restrictions of the navy can lock Sun Ce, the young tiger, firmly on Yingzhou Island. Therefore, for Fang Zhiwen, there is no need to frame Sun Ce.

As for the fundamental issue Zhou Yu mentioned, it is a big problem. But this is not an insurmountable difficulty, because even if it is really a transit to the east, it will definitely be the troops crossing the sea at the beginning, and it will not gradually begin to transfer the people after a stable chassis is drawn. This process takes time, and after the new land is available, these Jiangdong clans may reconsider it.

Zhang Zhao thought more. When he was discussing with Fang Zhiwen, Guo Jia once said that the Jiangdong clan who restricted Sun Ce was exactly the one who was in charge of Sun Ce. If he could cleverly take advantage of the opportunity of transiting east, this influence could be fundamentally eliminated. Not to mention anything else, at least he could replace the old clan with a new clan and re-form a stable elite class.

Compared to defending Jiangdong and waiting for an opportunity that I don’t know if it can appear, Zhang Zhao is now more inclined to cross the east.

"Lord. Gongjin is right. All the soldiers in our army are children of Jiangdong. If we want to travel east to Yingzhou to other countries, then various problems will inevitably arise. Born and raised here, Jiangdong is our roots, and we must not give up!"

Sun Ben's words basically represent the voice of the Jiangdong clan. Zhu Zhi and Gu Yong, who had never made a statement, nodded in agreement. Sun Ce glanced at everyone and smiled faintly and said, "I understand that Jiangdong cannot give up! Then, the rest is to decide on the relationship with Liu Bei, whether to continue fighting for Changsha, or to give up Changsha to make peace with Liu Bei again, and then plan to retake Lujiang and even Guangling."

Zhang Zhao sighed in his heart, and couldn't help feeling a little depressed. He was completely disinterested in the active speech and discussion of the gains and losses of Liu Bei. Guo Jia's words at that time were fermenting in Zhang Zhao's heart. Sun Ce was waiting patiently, but the people around him were striving to grow and develop. Will Sun Ce really have an opportunity? Or in the end he could only become bait for others.

Also, the attitudes of Zhu Zhi, Gu Yong and others are really strange. Their families are running maritime trade and should be able to clearly know the strength of Youzhou and Tianxiahui at sea. Even if they don’t see it, they can see it by calculating the trade volume. However, they are so secretive about this and must have other plans.

Lord! He is still too young, deceived by these slick aristocratic elites. He is trusted by Sun Jian and entrusted with important tasks. He cannot watch Sun Ce embark on a dead end! And Zhou Yu, this young man is too arrogant and easily gained the title with the right to become sworn brothers with Sun Ce. Although he is smart enough, he is too rash and too self-righteous, but he doesn't know that this will kill Sun Ce.

Until the discussion was over, Zhang Zhao only heard that it seemed to have decided a major direction. The final bottom line was to give up Changsha in exchange for the possibility of reconciliation with Liu Bei. This was not the result. In fact, after Liu Bei took Changsha, he had no reason and ability to continue to advance eastward. This issue was completely useless to discuss.

"Since that's the case, I will write a letter to Qin Songzhao to do this, and I will return to Linxiang as soon as possible. Please Gongjin for Jiujiang. As for Moling... Mr. Zibu will be more distracted. If nothing else, let's break up and go back to his place tomorrow."

"promise!"

Zhang Zhao stood up and bowed, walked slowly at the end. When everyone left the door, Zhang Zhao turned around and entered the door again, asking to see Sun Ce again.

Sun Ce was about to go back and change his clothes to rest, but when he heard Zhang Zhao ask for a meeting, he paused and still asked someone to take Zhang Zhao to the back hall.

Seeing that Sun Ce had changed into daily clothes and there was no one else in the room, Zhang Zhao walked in a few steps and knelt opposite Sun Ce, and spoke slightly hurriedly: "Lord, my subordinates have some personal relationships that need to tell the lord separately, please don't blame me!"

"Why did Mr. Zibu say this? You are an important official who was entrusted by your father. If something is wrong with someone doing something wrong, just point out that someone is not a person who doesn't listen to his opinions."

"It's not because they have opinions about the lord, but those aristocratic races! They are misleading the lord and trying to harm the lord!"

"What?!" Sun Ce was frightened and his waist suddenly thrust up. But then, Sun Ce suppressed the shock in his heart, sat down again, looked at Zhang Zhaoqiang and asked calmly, "What do you mean? Did Mr. discover something?"

"Lord, Zhu Zhi and Gu Yong and other Jiangdong clans have always had large trade deals with Youzhou and Yiren. The lord should know this, right?"

"I know it, but this cannot be said that they are suspected of collusion, right?"

Zhang Zhao shook his head, did not answer, but continued to follow his own ideas:

"Then the lord also knows that Zhu Zhi and Gu Yong have ships traveling between Youzhou and Jiangdong?"

"I know! But..."

"Lord, what my subordinates said just now must have thought that their subordinates exaggerated their words, but just to persuade them and ignore the facts?"

"this......."

"My lord, although my subordinates are not talented, they will not lie. My old eyes are not yet faint. I can see what is strong and what is weak. I can count clearly. Everything I said is true just now, and there is no false statement. If my lord doesn't believe it, you can go and see it yourself, and you don't have to go far, and you can see it in the waters near Xiaoye Island."

Sun Ce's face was flushed and said awkwardly: "I didn't doubt Mr. But does this have anything to do with what Mr. said just now?"

"Yes! Since the subordinates can see what they can see as soon as they go out to sea, how could Zhu Zhi and Gu Yong not know? Are these two people both closed their eyes and listened? No, they must be people who always keep their eyes open for the benefit of the family, so they probably knew about these things for a long time, but they had told their lord this matter? Moreover, when the subordinates said it just now, although they did not refute it, they did not help their subordinates confirm the matter, which means they must have other plans in their hearts. Lord, these people are already half-hearted, lord, lord should think twice!"

Zhang Zhao finished talking about his worry in one breath, his eyes were fixed on Sun Ce. The expression on Sun Ce's face was constantly changing, and his palms were unconsciously clenched and relaxed, showing the complex changes in his heart.

"Mr. Zibu, are these... all true?"

"Lord, see you clearly!"

"But......a certain family is also engaged in maritime trade."

"No, General Sun Ben did not go out to sea directly, but was carrying goods. Zhu Zhi and Gu Yong and others were in charge of the shipping. These two people had contact with Fang Zhiwen for a long time, and it was probably to deliberately conceal this point, or Fang Zhiwen's request. Anyway, no matter what the purpose was for, these two misled the lord and made the lord misjudgment of Yiren and Fang Zhiwen's true strength."

"But...what can I get a wrong estimate? At least we won't go to war with Fang Zhiwen and Yiren now, and we won't be able to see the future."

"Lord, this is not a matter of actual losses, but an attitude. The aristocratic clans' ambiguousness in these matters shows that they cannot trust too much. From this, they need to be re-examined after extending to their other opinions."

Sun Ce suddenly realized and nodded, "Mr. Zibu still thinks that we should travel east to Yingzhou to set off a new situation?"

"Yes, my subordinates do have this idea. Jiangdong is a dead place, and the forces around us are stronger than us. In the end, they will focus on our fat piece of meat. The chances are not lacking, but slim. On the other hand, Yingzhou is also a dead place, but the enemy is only foreign tribes. Even if the foreign tribes are destroyed in the future, with Fang Zhiwen's actions, they will not compete with the lord for the small Yingzhou. If this foundation is there, wouldn't there be more opportunities? However, what my subordinates said just now has nothing to do with this matter. They just want to remind the lord to pay attention to, don't believe too much in the words of the aristocratic races, otherwise it would be too late to be betrayed by them."

Sun Ce frowned and thought for a while, Zhan Yan said, "I'll pay attention. Thank you Mr. Zibu for reminding me. But I still think that our army's foundation is in Jiangdong. Even if the aristocratic races are unwilling to cross the east for their own interests, the soldiers will be the same. People are the same, and no one is willing to leave their hometown."

"The lord is saying that if the subordinates, Zi Gang and others are willing to leave their hometown?"

"This...is not the case, Mr. Zibu must not misunderstand..."

"I understand, I will say this. Please be careful and cautious! General Zhengbei's words are very unpleasant, but they are facts. If even the value of a thug is gone, I am afraid that General Zhengbei will reconsider the issue of belonging to Yuzhang and Danyang. Lord, the foundation is not all. The way to choose is to give up, and Lord thinks twice!"

After Zhang Zhao finished speaking, he stood up and gave a bow, turned around and left silently, leaving only Sun Ce, sitting there in a daze with a heart of turmoil. The lights were dim and the night was dark, and many people couldn't sleep day and night.
Chapter completed!