Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 352: All Scholars in the World Want to Become Han Officials

Different scholars learned the news that the King of Han had pacified Hebei from the announcement in the Nanyang relay station.

The officials in Jingzhou obtained the news through other channels.

After moving from Xiangyang to Jiangling in Nanjun, Liu Biao felt a little overwhelmed, as if the energy and spirit in his heart had suddenly been drained away.

The original plan was to send troops to pacify Jingnan as soon as possible while the main force of the Han army was heading north, but the military orders were delayed again and again.

Wen Pin, Cai Mao and others successively requested to fight, but were all rejected by Liu Biao.

He often leaned on the railing with Cai's daughter to watch the Yangtze River. Seeing the river flowing eastward and never returning, he sighed inwardly that life is short and the past is long.

Time is limited, so why rush? Life is busy and gains and losses are hard to measure.

Especially when he learned that Liu Xuande had already conquered Hebei and might attack Jingzhou next, Liu Biao undoubtedly felt very powerless.

In terms of soldiers and generals, Jingzhou is inferior to the Han army, in terms of land and people's strength, and in terms of the dangers of rivers, if the Han army breaks through Xiangyang, they can lead the cavalry directly to Jiangling City from the plains and wilderness. The nearby Jiangxia County is also surrounded by enemies on three sides, making it easy to attack but difficult to defend.

Moreover, even if the soldiers of Jingzhou wanted to resist, the gentry and powerful families under his rule would not risk being exterminated to help him fight against Liu Bei.

Without the help of these people, how could he defeat the King of Han? You know, he almost failed to defeat Sun Wentai back then, let alone Liu Xuande who swept across the world.

Faced with the current reality, the previous idea of ​​occupying Jingzhou has gradually subsided and rationality has returned.

The change in Liu Biao's demeanor naturally caught the attention of the various nobles in Jingzhou. Kuai Liang even went out of the city to find him and asked him directly, "Does Lord Jingsheng want to fight or surrender?"

When Liu Biao heard this, he waved his hand to let his wife Cai and Liu Qi, Liu Cong, and Liu Xiu leave. Then he walked to the riverside, looked at the surging Yangtze River, and sighed, "When Emperor Gaozu was the same age as me, he had already conquered the world, but I am old and weak, hunching my shoulders. I dare not seize Nanyang County in the north, I dare not occupy Yizhou in the west, and I dare not dominate Jiangdong in the east..."

"Now I dare not lead the army to take back power in Jingnan, because Liu Xuande's brother, Zhang Yide, is stationed in Nanyang, with covetous ambitions and eyeing Nanjun covetously."

"Now there is Zhang Wenyuan as the governor of Lujiang. He will move the county seat to Wan County. In addition to curbing Cao Mengde, he also wants to take Jiangxia."

"Zi Rou, facing this predicament, what do you think I should do?"

Liu Biao stroked his beard and sighed.

He was supported by the wealthy families in Jingzhou, and he could rely on the prestige of the imperial court to suppress these people.

At present, the imperial court's decrees could no longer extend beyond Guandong, and many people regarded Liu Xuande, who occupied Luoyang, as the orthodox one.

If the Han army moves south quickly next year, even if they are determined to resist, Jiangxia and Nanjun counties will lose more than half of their territory, and the rest can only be defended by the navy of Jingzhou.

This was the result of the Cai, Kuai, Huang, and Pang families standing on his side.

But if Xiangyang fell into Liu Bei's hands, would these nobles still work together with him? I'm afraid it's hard to say.

Liu Biao felt that he was in a very difficult situation, with almost no place to go.

If Yuan Benchu ​​occupied Hebei and the Central Plains, he would not be so passive, but the other party was a relative of the Han royal family.

They want to surrender but are afraid of losing real power. If they don't surrender, they may have no place to stand and no place to advance or retreat.

After hearing what Lord Jingsheng thought, Kuai Liang was speechless.

Previously, he was able to send troops to wipe out southern Jingzhou, but now the Han army has returned to Luoyang, the opportunity to capture Jingzhou has been lost, and he is forced to do so by justice.

Apart from surrendering the state, what other options are there? Even if we unite with Cao Mengde of Jiangdong, can we still fight against the King of Han?
Kuai Liang sighed inwardly and bowed, saying, "I thought that it would take at least three years for the King of Han to pacify Hebei, so I did not urge Duke Jingsheng to pacify Jingnan."

"I am a staff member, but I am ignorant of strategy, poor in plan and short of wisdom. I feel ashamed of Lord Jingsheng!"

"The situation is hopeless now. You must stop being indecisive. You should make a decision as soon as possible whether Jingzhou should fight or surrender."

Liu Biao looked back at the departing Cai and his third son. He hesitated for a long time, and finally shook his head slightly, and sighed to Kuai Liang: "Zi Rou, give me a few more months..."

The feeling of losing real power is too painful, and he needs more time to accept it.

……

While Jiangling was in shock, the news that the King of Han had conquered Hebei had already traveled downstream to Jingnan. After confirming the authenticity of the news, Changsha Gongcao Huan Jie immediately went to see Changsha Governor Zhang Xian and said excitedly, "The King of Han has put an end to the chaos with his military prowess and brought peace with his literary virtues. The whole world will surely be at peace with him."

"Liu Jingsheng, the governor of Jingzhou, is obsessed with greed and has divided the land, causing the mountains and rivers to be broken and the country to collapse. All loyal officials of the Han Dynasty can raise troops to fight him. At this time, why not first write a letter to Luoyang to let the King of Han know that Changsha, Lingling and Guiyang counties are willing to raise troops to return to the Han Dynasty, so that the King of Han can dispatch troops to the south, and then write a letter to Zhang Yide, the governor of Nanyang, so that Jingzhou will respond from the north and south."

"If the two armies join forces to defeat the traitor Liu Biao and recover Jiangxia, Nanjun, and Wuling, wouldn't it be easy?"

"A true man should judge the situation carefully before acting. Opportunities are easy to miss, so you should seize them quickly."

Huan Jie, who had a goatee, bowed with some excitement.

Zhang Xian, wearing a Jinxian crown, paced back and forth in the hall, thinking to himself that Liu Biao had looked down on him for a long time since he entered Jingzhou, and was arrogant and rude to others.

He relied heavily on the Cai family, the Kuai family and other noble families in northern Jing, and had been suppressing southern Jing.

After joining the King of Han in Nanyang, Liu Biao moved the capital of Jingzhou to Jiangling and stationed troops in Jiangxia and Wuling.

It is obvious that they are going to use military force against Jingnan. If they don't take the lead, they will definitely be controlled by others.

At this moment, Lingling, Guiyang and Zhang's old relatives can join forces to raise an army. Jingbei still needs to guard against surprise attacks by the Han army and dare not attack with all their strength. It is still unknown who will win or lose in this battle.

What's more, he has made great contributions to the Han Dynasty, and the King of Han will surely use him in important positions in the future.

When Zhang Xian thought about this, he made up his mind. Liu Biao had left him with no way out. If he didn't defeat Liu Biao, he would be defeated by him.

"Clang!" Zhang Xian drew his sword and chopped off the corner of the table, then said to Huan Jie angrily, "Liu Jingsheng is ignorant of fate and intends to seize control of a region. All the loyal officials of the Han Dynasty are gnashing their teeth in anger. I have decided to raise an army to fight him."

"For our great Han, eliminate the evildoers and support the Han Dynasty!"

Perhaps because he had been humiliated for a long time, Zhang Xian's reaction was much more decisive than Liu Biao's. After being persuaded by Huan Jie, he could not wait to raise an army.

At the same time, not only was there movement in southern Jing, but Zhao Wei, the General of the Eastern Expedition who was far away in Yizhou, also heard the news and began to unite with the Yizhou nobles, using the name of the King of Han to drive out Liu Zhang.

Not only were the scholars in Jingzhou, Yizhou, and Guanzhong shocked, but even the people in Jiangdong under the rule of Cao Mengde were moved, and everyone wrote letters requesting to return to the Han Dynasty.

The nobles in Guanzhong also secretly sent their clan members to avoid the city gates and rush to the capital Luoyang to pay homage to the king, even if they had to travel through mountains and rivers.

Liu Bei returned to Luoyang, but before he could mobilize his troops, his momentum was already unstoppable, sweeping across the world like a tsunami.

The few remaining princes were afraid that they would become targets of the Han army, so they sent envoys to Luoyang to ask to see the King of Han.

(End of this chapter)