Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 139: Appoint Mu Bo and Fight the Bandits in the East

In October, Liu Hong saw that He Jin kept postponing the time of sending troops on the grounds that Yuan Shao's troops from Xu and Yan provinces had not yet arrived, so he had no choice but to appoint Huangfu Song as the Left General and the Commander-in-Chief of the Front General Dong Zhuo, each leading 20,000 infantry and cavalry to lift the siege of Chencang.

In the same month, he sent the Left Colonel Zhang Yu to attack the Yellow Turbans in Gepi, and ordered the Commander of the Upper Army, Zhao Jin, to attack the Bandun Man.

At the end of the month, when Zhang Yu was ordered to lead his troops to the east, the chief of the imperial clan Liu Yu sent someone to invite Zhang Yu to discuss the matter.

In Liu Yu's mansion, servants were walking back and forth, putting clothes, books, and supplies into lacquer boxes one by one, looking like they were about to go on a long journey.

Seeing this scene, Zhang Yu asked, "Will Mr. Liu be transferred?"

Liu Yu invited Zhang Yu into the side hall and said, "The barbarians of Youzhou have been in turmoil for many years, and Gongsun Zan has been unable to control it. Your Majesty, remembering my past when I governed Youzhou, was known for my kindness and trust, and the barbarians were in awe of me. Therefore, I am now appointed as the governor of Youzhou, and have been ordered to stay in Youzhou and quell the unrest as soon as possible."

Having said that, Liu Yu closed the door and asked the people around him to leave.

Zhang Yu was sitting at the table, and asked in surprise, "Has Your Majesty decided to change the governor to a prefect? Why don't I see any decree issued by Your Majesty?"

"The decree has not yet been issued."

Liu Yu sat down at Zhang Yu's desk and said, "Yesterday, your Majesty summoned me to discuss policy with the Minister of Rites (Liu Yan) and the Minister of the Imperial Household (Huang Wan), and appointed me as the governor of Youzhou, the Minister of Rites Liu as the governor of Yizhou, and the Minister of the Imperial Household Huang as the governor of Yuzhou."

"As for the appointment of the governor, Your Majesty, follow the advice of the ministers and decide on a specific location to see how effective it is."

Zhang Yu congratulated him and said, "Yu congratulates Liu Jun on his appointment as governor of Youzhou!"

Liu Yu smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying: "The Hu people in Youzhou are rampant, the people are living in poverty, the soldiers are fighting year after year, and the treasury is tight. I have taken office in Youzhou, and my responsibilities are heavy. If I fail in my administration, I will fail to meet your majesty's expectations and disappoint the people of Youzhou!"

Apart from Liangzhou, which was occupied by rebel armies, Youzhou was the most difficult region to manage in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Although large-scale rebellions were resolved, the Wuhuan people were still entrenched outside the Great Wall and continued to plunder Youzhou, Jizhou and Qingzhou all year round.

In addition, due to years of war, Youzhou's financial system had collapsed, and Youzhou and Qingzhou needed to transfer 200 million coins every year. When Liu Yu was appointed, the most critical task given by the court was to restore the financial system and get rid of the situation where Youzhou needed financial transfer payments.

As for Liu Yan and Huang Wan, their tasks were estimated to be similar to those of Liu Yu. They needed to restore the finances of their respective states as soon as possible and let the wealthy states of Yi and Yu provide taxes for the court.

Zhang Yu pursed his lips. After meeting so many people, the two people he admired most in terms of moral character and talent were Liu Yu and Wang Yun. Both of them were devoted to the country.

"Mr. Liu has great righteousness in his heart, which is a blessing for the people of Youzhou!"

Zhang Yu changed his tone and sighed, "If Liu Jun leaves the capital, there will be no one to conspire with Yu on major issues."

Liu Yu pondered for a moment and said, "To be honest, I invited Ji'an to my house today to introduce someone to him so that after I leave the capital, Ji'an can work with him to revive the Han Dynasty."

"Could it be Yuan Benchu?" Zhang Yu asked.

Liu Yu shook his head and said, "Although Yuan Benchu is famous, he is cunning and has big plans. I had no choice but to work with him."

After a pause, Liu Yu said meaningfully, "The Yuan family, with three dukes in four generations, can be both a help and a hindrance to the Han Dynasty. If Ji'an is truly determined to support the Han Dynasty, he should not place too much trust in the Yuan family."

Zhang Yu secretly interacted with Liu Yu without telling Yuan Shu. However, he did not hide it from Liu Yu. He worked with Yuan Shu and prepared to cooperate with He Jin in plotting against the eunuchs.

As a scholar of the imperial clan, Liu Yu was neither pro-eunuch nor pro-in-law. To him, it was precisely because of the eunuchs and in-laws that the Han Dynasty had fallen into its current state.

"Yes!" Zhang Yu looked solemn and acted as if he was willing to accept advice.

Soon, the voice of Liu Yu's attendant came from outside the house.

"Master, Mr. Gai is here!"

"Please quickly!"

Hearing the words 'Mr. Gai', Zhang Yu's expression changed slightly. The surname Gai was indeed rare. The only person in the court with the surname Gai who was qualified to participate in the plan to kill the eunuchs was Liu Hong's confidant Gai Xun.

Just as Zhang Yu expected, as the door was pushed open, Gai Xun walked in.

"Hello, Mr. Gai!" Zhang Yu was the first to greet.

Gai Xun greeted Liu Yu first, and as he bowed to Zhang Yu, he said, "It's been a long time since I last saw you, Captain. How are you?"

"Very good!"

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "We are preparing troops and will be dispatched soon."

Liu Yu asked Gai and Zhang to sit down and said, "You two know each other well. When I leave Beijing in the future, I hope you two can work together."

Looking at Gai Xun sitting opposite him, Zhang Yu felt at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He did not expect that Gai Xun, who had forced him to go to Beijing before, would become his political ally today.

Gai Xun bowed and said, "I didn't accept Ji'an's gift before because I was public-spirited and Ji'an was loyal to the country. Why should I give him money? Besides, I don't like money." After Zhang Yu came to Beijing, in order to show that he had no ulterior motives, he not only expressed his loyalty to Liu Hong, but also gave gifts to Gai Xun, saying that he was biased and forgot the rules of being a minister. Fortunately, Gai Xun corrected him in time. Although Gai Xun met Zhang Yu, he confiscated Zhang Yu's gift and just perfunctorily replied with official language.

"You are a noble person, I am not as good as you!" Zhang Yu said.

Seeing the two men chatting, Liu Yu smiled and said, "For various reasons, I have not been able to meet you two in the past. Now I will be traveling to Youzhou to take up my post. I hope you two can work together to achieve great things and restore the Han Dynasty."

Gai Xun nodded and said sadly: "Although Ji An is in charge of the imperial guards, the chief eunuch has left the court. The eunuchs are powerful now. If we want to eradicate them, we still need He Jin's efforts. However, He Jin is a butcher. If he is allowed to take power, I am afraid that there will be another disaster."

Zhang Yu pondered and said, "Although He Jin has no great strategy, he is kind to the military officials. If he takes the throne and runs the government, he may eliminate the harm of eunuchs and promote wise men to the court, and the world may be temporarily peaceful."

"The harm caused by eunuchs is greater than that caused by relatives by marriage. We can temporarily form an alliance with He Jin to plot against the treacherous officials." Liu Yu said.

As he spoke, Liu Yu looked at Gai Xun and said, "Yuan Gu is deeply trusted by your majesty, but you are straightforward in your words, so please be careful of the eunuchs' frame-up."

Hearing this, Gai Xun was full of confidence and said, "I think your majesty is smart. What I am doing now is because the eunuchs are blocking good advice. Your majesty trusts me deeply. If I can't persuade you, what difference is there between me and the eunuchs!"

Liu Yu was gentle and did not want to argue with Gai Xun, so he cupped his hands and said, "In that case, I'll leave the affairs of the capital to Ji'an and Yuan Gu!"

"Yes!" Zhang and Gai responded with a bow.

The three of them chatted about some important matters, and Zhang Yu returned to the camp first, claiming that he was busy with military affairs.

Knowing the course of history, Zhang Yu wasn't surprised by Liu Yu's departure from the capital to govern Youzhou. However, he was surprised that Liu Yu recommended Gai Xun to him. Gai Xun was a man highly regarded by Liu Hong, and the fact that he could now form a political ally with him was somewhat helpful to Zhang Yu.

After returning to the military camp, Zhang Yu reorganized his troops for two days and then set out with more than 800 infantry and cavalry to attack the Gepi bandits.

Because the imperial court had sent handwritten letters to the counties along the way in advance, the infantry and cavalry led by Zhang Yu only carried weapons, armor, tents and other military supplies, while rations were provided by the counties.

On the way to the expedition, Zhang Yu took the time to study the current situation of the Gepi bandits.

Just like the Baibo bandits were named, the Gepi bandits were called the Gepi bandits because they rebelled in Gepi.

Where is Gepi?

It is located on the bank of the Huai River tributary, the Huai River (now the Hong River), in the territory of Yuyang County under the jurisdiction of Runan County. Historically, it was where Shi Le stationed his troops to spy on Shouchun.

Since they started their rebellion, the Gepi bandits originally wanted to march westward to capture the county seat Pingyu, but they were afraid that Pingyu was heavily guarded, so they took the route eastward and plundered the weak areas in Runan County, such as Xianyang, Songguo, Sishan and other counties, continuously expanding their own strength.

When the troops of Runan County were advancing to attack, because Song State, Sishan and other counties were close to Qiao County of Pei State, the bandits from Gepi invaded Pei State. The troops of Runan County were unable to cross the border to fight against them and eventually had to withdraw.

After the troops of Runan County withdrew, the bandits of Gepi fled to Runan to avoid the suppression by the troops of Pei State. When the troops of Runan and Pei counties joined forces to suppress the bandits, the bandits of Gepi fled north to Chen State.

In recent months, the Gepi bandits have been fighting bandits in the three counties of Chen, Pei and Runan, making the soldiers of the three counties suffer terribly. The bandits have even grown stronger, defeating the county soldiers twice in a row, and now their army has grown to a size of 10,000 to 20,000.

As for the leader of the Gepi bandits, they were the remnants of the Yellow Turbans in Runan, among whom were Zhang Yu's old acquaintances Liu Pi and He Man.

During the lunch break, Zhang Yu summoned his men to discuss the strategy of suppressing the Gepi bandits in the open air under the warm winter sun.

Zhang Yu sat on the chair, looked around at everyone, and asked: "The Gepi bandits are raiding the three counties. The three counties are unable to unite to fight against them, and the bandits are getting stronger. What do you think now?"

Zhang Feng thought for a moment and said, "Captain, the Gepi bandits have invaded three counties. Their leader is cunning and their army has tens of thousands of people. I'm afraid our army needs to contact the troops of Yuzhou and slowly suppress the bandits!"

"otherwise!"

Zhang Liao shook his head and said, "Although the enemy may have tens of thousands of soldiers, excluding the elderly, the weak, women and children, there are only a few thousand soldiers who can fight. It is safer to attack them slowly, but if the enemy notices, they may flee to Xuzhou and Yanzhou."

"So from Liao's point of view, let's see if we can find out where the Gepi bandits are and the strength of their troops. If we can find out their movements, our army can rush to them and fight, and strive to defeat the enemy in one battle."

Zhang Yu nodded slightly, looked at Zhang Yang and Gao Shun, and asked, "What do you think, Zhang Jun and Zixun?"

Zhang Yang stroked his beard and chanted, saying, "Captain, although the bandits have plundered the three counties, there are many powerful families in the three counties, and the powerful families have defended the forts, so the bandits are often difficult to defeat. If we want to investigate the bandits' movements, we can ask the powerful families at the borders of the three counties."

Gao Shun thought for a moment and said, "Captain, the Yellow Turbans are numerous, while our army is small. It is difficult to accomplish our mission without the help of troops from all over Yuzhou. Moreover, if we follow Wenyuan's advice, we may be able to defeat the Yellow Turbans, but the remaining troops may scatter. Therefore, if we want to defeat the Gepi bandits, in addition to suppressing them, we also need to appease the remaining troops."

"good!"

Zhang Yu looked thoughtful and said, "It is difficult for us to fully wipe out the bandits when we go to Yuzhou, so we want to suppress and appease them at the same time. However, if we want to suppress and appease the bandits, we still need the help of Yuzhou governor, otherwise the counties in Yuzhou may not cooperate with our army."

"Let's go to Yingchuan County first to meet with Yuzhou Mu!"

"promise!"

(End of this chapter)