Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 178 Three-step strategy to seize Taiyuan

"Sir, Li Jun, the governor of Taiyuan, is unwilling to lend us grain."

In the county government, Lü Fan looked helpless and said, "After Li Jun learned that Shangdang was hit by a locust plague, he ordered all counties to block the roads and not allow grain and grass to leave the country."

"Has Taiyuan County been affected by the locust plague?" Zhong Yao asked.

"There is a slight impact, but the impact of the locust plague is small, far less than the disaster suffered by our county!" said Lu Fan.

The locust plague did not last long, lasting only a few days in Shangdang County before disappearing. The fact that it has not affected Taiyuan may be related to the geography of the mountains and rivers in Bingzhou.

After all, Shangdang itself is a basin, and the closed geography prevents the spread of locusts. In particular, Shangdang County had just completed a large-scale locust killing campaign, which allowed Taiyuan County to escape disaster.

Although Zhang Yu was annoyed that Li Jun did not lend him grain, his expression was calm. He said, "We have borrowed 100,000 dan of grain and grass from various tribes in the county, which is enough to help the people in the county for a while. We cannot rely on Taiyuan, so we need to see the news from Youzhou."

"Ji has ordered people to intensify the planting of beans and wheat. If the beans can be harvested before October, plus 300,000 to 400,000 shi of grain for relief, by the beginning of next spring, we will have wheat rice to eat, and Shangdang will have nothing to worry about!" Du Ji said.

"The key now is whether Youzhou will provide grain to aid our army. Youzhou is thousands of miles away from Shangdang and needs to pass through Jizhou on the way. If Han Fu intercepts it, the grain from Youzhou will have difficulty reaching Shangdang." Zhong Yao said.

While everyone was discussing, Lu Fan took out a letter from his arms and presented it to Zhang Yu.

"Sir, when Fan arrived in Jinyang, Wang from Qi County sent me a letter asking me to give it to you, Sir!"

"Do you know what's going on?" Zhang Yu asked.

Lü Fan's expression became serious. He said, "Your Excellency, you may not know that there is a change in Dingxiang County. Zhang An, a native of Dingxiang County, killed the county governor Hu Qi and surrendered the chief secretary Li Song. He occupied Shanwu City and called himself the governor of Dingxiang. The governor of Yanmen, Guo Yu, led his troops to suppress the rebellion, but was repeatedly repelled by the rebellious people."

"Li Song surrendered to the bandits?"

Inside the hall, Zhang Yu's former subordinates all looked incredulous. In their minds, Li Song was Zhang Yu's staunch confidant, leading 700 Yunzhong cavalry to protect two Hun tribes, and also had soldiers from Chanhewu. How could he surrender to the enemy now?

Zhang Yang's expression suddenly changed, and he asked, "Ziheng, is the information we obtained wrong?"

"will not!"

Lu Fan shook his head and said, "Now all the officials in Jinyang City know about this matter, but I think there must be a reason, otherwise Wang would not let me present the letter to you."

After reading the letter, Zhang Yu suppressed his joy and said to everyone with a smile, "Don't worry, everyone. Zhang An is not an outsider, but a relative of mine. The reason why I killed Hu Qi is because Hu Qi coveted the money and goods in Sanhewu and repeatedly ordered people to force me. So I had no choice but to kill Hu Qi to protect my hometown."

"And the reason why Bosong surrendered to the rebels and respected Zhang An as his leader was because if I were to occupy Dingxiang under my name, people all over the world would not know right from wrong when they heard about it."

The expressions of everyone in the hall changed accordingly. Before, they were worried about Li Song's surrender to the rebels, but now they suddenly knew that Dingxiang was occupied by Zhang Yu's relatives. It was really a pleasant surprise that Zhang Yu had an extra county under his name.

Zhang Yang clapped his hands excitedly and said with a smile: "I don't know who Zhang An is, to be able to occupy Yanmen and even repel Guo Xuan's troops."

"Good thing!"

Zhong Yao was delighted and said, "Although Dingxiang is poor, it is adjacent to the border in the north and Taiyuan in the south. It is only separated from Shangdang by Taiyuan. If you can conquer Taiyuan, the three counties will be connected from north to south."

Few people knew about Zhang Yu's plan for Dingxiang. Because Zhong Yao was appointed as Zhang Yu's strategist, he knew that Zhang Yu asked Li Song and Shi Yi to plan for Dingxiang, but he did not expect that it would succeed so quickly.

Zhang Yu smiled for the first time in a long time and said, "Taiyuan has not been affected by the locust plague, and now Zhang An has occupied Dingxiang. If Shao Ran cannot borrow grain from Youzhou, it is better to conquer Taiyuan County before winter comes. After conquering Taiyuan, open the treasury to provide relief to the people of Shangdang!"

Can a living person die from holding in his urine?

Youzhou is not the only place in the world that has grain. If Youzhou does not borrow grain from Shangdang, Jizhou still dares not think about it, but it still has the courage to attack Taiyuan in conjunction with its cheap brother-in-law Yu Fuluo. Especially since Li Song and Shi Yi occupied Dingxiang, once Taiyuan was taken, the three counties would be able to form a line.

As for why he didn't dare to have any thoughts about Jizhou, the reason is not difficult to understand.

Jizhou in Han Fu's hands was a piece of tasty cake. Not only was Yuan Shao eyeing it covetously, but another incident occurred within the Guandong coalition a few days ago, in which Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, plotted to take over Jizhou.

After Liu Dai killed Qiao Mao and occupied Dongjun, he began to spy on the wealth of Jizhou and wrote to contact Han Fu's staff. In the letter written to Gongcao Liu Zihe, he even boasted that Dong Zhuo would die soon, and when Dong Zhuo died, he would lead his troops north to fight against the rebellion and kill Han Fu.

Liu Zihe handed the letter to Han Fu, intending to expose Liu Dai's conspiracy. However, Han Fu thought that Liu Zihe was trying to sow discord, and that the problem was not with Liu Dai, but with Liu Zihe, and threatened to kill Liu Zihe. Fortunately, his deputy Geng Wu protected him, so Liu Zihe was able to save his life, but he was also sentenced to forced labor.

Liu Dai was so arrogant because he had the capital to be arrogant. Liu Dai not only had the army of Yanzhou, but also had a marriage with Yuan Shao, whose wife was Liu Dai's sister. Therefore, Han Fu did not dare to turn against Liu and Yuan. Even if Han Fu's behavior was excusable, it was still difficult to conceal his weak character.

Jizhou was coveted by others. If Zhang Yu set his sights on Jizhou, Han Fu would be easy to deal with, but Liu Dai and Yuan Shao would be left waiting behind. Therefore, for Zhang Yu, taking Taiyuan was his goal.

"Conquer Taiyuan County?"

Lu Fan stroked his beard and thought for a moment, then said, "There is a surplus of grain in Taiyuan now, and your wife's family, the Wang family, is in Qi County. If you can take control of Taiyuan and distribute the grain in Taiyuan to help the people of Shangdang, there will be no worries this year."

Lü Fan paused and said, "Your Excellency is now the governor of Shangdang. If you want to attack Taiyuan, I don't know what name you should use!"

"At worst, we can learn from Yuan Shao. He can appoint himself as General of Chariots and Cavalry, and concurrently serve as Inspector of the Imperial Capital, and raise an army to attack Dong Zhuo. Why can't you lead your troops into Taiyuan and force Li Jun to leave the city to hand over grain?" Zhang Yang said nonchalantly.

Zhong Yao corrected him and said, "Although the world is in chaos, the Han Dynasty still exists. Your Excellency has made it his duty to support the world. Now you are leading troops to conquer across the counties. If you do not have a good reason, you may be criticized."

While thinking, Guo Tu suddenly had an idea and said, "Your Excellency is the General Du Liao, why don't you lead the troops through Taiyuan on the pretext of suppressing the rebels in Dingxiang. If Tu's prediction is correct, Li Jun is worried that your Excellency will lead the troops through the border, and will send troops to stop us, or refuse to provide food. At that time..."

"Use the pretext of attacking Guo!"

Zhang Yu tapped the table with his fingers and slowly told him the plan his wife Wang Ji had proposed.

"feasible!"

Zhong Yao said, "Since Dong Zhuo entered the capital, Li Jun has occupied the county and closed the roads, not paying tribute to the court, and his heart has gradually become arrogant. Now I lead troops across the border to fight against the rebels, Li Jun will definitely be suspicious. If anyone tries to stop me, I can kill him in the name of helping the rebels."

"good!"

Zhang Yu already had a plan in mind, and asked, "Have the heroes in Guandong made any moves now?"

"My Lord, Dong Zhuo sent Grand Herald Han Rong, Junior Treasurer Yin Xiu, Imperial Guards Hu Muban, Chief Architect Wu Xiu, and Yue Cavalry Captain Wang Gui to Guandong to persuade Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Liu Dai and others to withdraw their troops."

Man Chong reported, "Yuan Shao refused to obey orders, and Han ordered Wang Kuang to kill Hu Muban, Wang Gui, and Wu Xiu, and Yuan Shu to kill Yin Xiu. Only Han Rong was lucky enough to survive because he was famous throughout the country as an envoy to Liu Dai."

"Cao Cao has now returned from recruiting soldiers in Yangzhou, and has surrendered to Yuan Shao, stationing his troops in Henei."

"Humph~"

Hearing this, Zhang Yu sneered and said, "Wang Kuang is so stupid that he waits for Yuan Shao to send him around, killing his relatives and fellow townsmen. He will be defeated sooner or later!"

Under Yuan Shao's deception, Wang Kuang became a die-hard fan of Yuan Shao. He not only led the troops in person, but also provided food and supplies from Henei to Yuan Shao. He even killed his brother-in-law Hu Muban for the great cause Yuan Shao talked about, and his fellow villager Wang Gui also died tragically at his hands.

Moreover, Yuan Si met Han Hao in Henei while on his way to the mission and reported it to Yuan Shu. Yuan Shu was jealous of Han Hao's outstanding ability and poached him from Wang Kuang.

Wang Kuang didn't know that Yuan Shao had sold Wang Kuang and Henei County to Zhang Yu in order to seize Jizhou. And what else could Zhang Yu say about Wang Kuang except stupidity?

Wang Kuang is simply a big victim. He has been played around by Yuan family since the campaign against Dong Zhuo!

If Zhang Yu had followed Yuan Shao and his men to fight against Dong Zhuo, he would have been sold out by Yuan Shao or become Liu Dai's meal.

Looking back now, the Skeleton King Yuan Shu was loyal and at least knew how to share the spoils after taking Jingzhou. He recommended Sun Jian as the General of Suppressing Bandits, and even Jiangxia Governor Sun Xiang was recommended as the General of Defeating Bandits and was granted the title of Marquis of Xiang.

In troubled times, annexation is too cruel. In the past, the high officials of the 2,000-stone rank were feared by all the prefectures and counties, but now they are no match for a knife among the soldiers. If you don't want to be someone else's dish, you must be independent and even be the one who orders the dishes. Zhong Yao thought Zhang Yu was worried about Yuan Shao, and said, "Sir, Yuan Shao has stationed troops in Henei and is now planning to attack Jizhou. He needs your help. If you go to attack Taiyuan, Yuan Shao will definitely not help Li Jun. Moreover, Dong Zhuo has stationed troops in the capital, and Yuan Shao dare not send troops."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu smiled faintly and said, "Shangdang is in decline, how can it be in Yuan Shao's eyes? I am now asking about the coalition's movements, but I am waiting to see when the coalition will withdraw. If I am right, Liu Dai has no intention of fighting the enemy, and is greedy for the territory of the county and state, looking for an opportunity to annex the city."

Among the three allied forces, Liu Dai's true nature was revealed first and he began to annex territories; although Yuan Shu took over Jingzhou, he still did not forget to fight the enemy; Yuan Shao valued his reputation and did not dare to give up the banner of fighting the enemy.

Zhang Yu then instructed his men, "Now that we have come to this point, let each school train its soldiers to be prepared for any emergency."

"Yes!" Everyone obeyed in unison.

Before Yu Yi rushed back to Huguan, the civil officials carefully calculated and used the limited grain to provide relief to the people in Shangdang County; the military generals were eager to train their troops and wait for Zhang Yu's order to attack Taiyuan.
-
August is the time to plant old wheat. Although the people of Shangdang suffered from the locusts, resulting in poor millet and sorghum harvests, under the leadership of Zhong Yao and Du Ji, they squeezed out their food rations and planted a large area of old wheat so that they could still eat coarse wheat rice in the spring of the following year.

On August 10, after many days of running around, Yu Yi finally returned to Huguan.

On that day, Zhang Yu gathered everyone at the county government to welcome Yu Yi back after his successful mission.

Zhang Yu personally poured a bottle of wine and handed it to Yu Yi, saying, "Shao Ran has traveled three thousand miles and has worked hard. I will give you this wine to thank him for his contribution."

Although Yu Yi looked tired, his face was full of excitement. He said, "I have fulfilled my mission. Thank you for the wine!"

After saying that, Yu Yi reached out to take the wine and drank it all in one gulp.

Zhong Yao took the wine cup from Yu Yi and said with a smile, "Shangdang is plagued by locusts, and the Lord has issued a ban on alcohol. For the past month, the only person who can drink is Shao Ran!"

Everyone laughed, Yu Yi felt embarrassed, and said with a cupped hand: "Thank you for your kindness!"

"Sit down!"

Zhang Yu waved his hands to invite everyone to sit down, and asked, "Shao Ran, how does Liu Youzhou plan to transport 300,000 shi of grain to our county?"

Yu Yi bowed to Zhang Yu and said, "My Lord, Yan and Dai are thousands of miles apart. It takes 8,000 carts to transport 300,000 dan of grain, and the loss on the way is as high as 200,000 dan. Therefore, Liu Youzhou discussed with me and I thought we could exchange grain with Jizhou. Youzhou would send 300,000 dan of grain to Jizhou, and Jizhou would send 300,000 dan of grain to Shangdang. In this way, the loss of grain and grass on the way can be avoided. If Han Fu disagrees, Lord Liu will order Gongsun Zan to supervise the transportation of grain to me."

"Mr. Liu is a benevolent and noble man, and is willing to supply grain to Shangdang. Now Jizhou supplies grain to Shangdang, and Youzhou supplies grain to Jizhou. This arrangement is indeed ingenious, but I wonder if Han Fu will agree?" Man Chong asked.

"Han Fu will agree!"

Zhong Yao looked at everyone and said, "If it were someone else, it would be hard to say, but Han Fu is timid. Liu Dai wanted to plot against Jizhou, but he dared not say a word. Compared to Gongsun Zan leading troops across the border to deliver food, Han Fu would agree to transfer food and grass."

"I agree with Yuan Chang!"

Zhang Yu said: "Han Fu knows that he has no ability to protect Jizhou, so he is afraid of provoking a strong enemy. Now I send an envoy to Yecheng to explain the pros and cons to him, saying that the people of Shangdang are crying for food. If they cannot be appeased, they will leave Weijun in the east and seek food from the counties in Hebei. Han Fu will definitely agree when he hears this."

If Han Fu was replaced by Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao would not agree to this condition, because he would not allow others to sleep soundly beside his bed. Therefore, Yuan Shao would not agree to it, but would take the opportunity to strangle Zhang Yu to death.

But Han Fu is different now. As Zhong Yao said, Han Fu himself has no ambition to dominate, does not want to offend others, and only wants to preserve Jizhou. Therefore, Han Fu’s first reaction is that it is better to have less trouble than more.

"Then who should we send to communicate?" Lu Fan asked.

Zhang Yu looked around at everyone in the hall, his eyes fell on Man Chong, and said, "Bo Ning has a hot temper. Now Bo Ning can be sent to Yecheng as Shangdang's envoy to explain the pros and cons to Han Fu. Shao Ran can assist in the transfer of grain."

"Yes!" Man Chong bowed.

There is a science to selecting people to send as envoys. Liu Yu responds to soft words and not to hard ones, so Yu Yi needs to come forward and speak soft words; while Han Fu responds to hard words and not to soft ones, so Man Chong needs to threaten Han Fu with hard words.

"Then will we still attack Taiyuan?" Zhang Yang asked.

"Why not fight?"

Zhang Yu raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "In the past, Shangdang had no grain, so I wanted to take grain from Taiyuan to help the people of Shangdang. Now that Shangdang has grain, we should unify Bingzhou so as to help the country."

Before the locust plague, Zhang Yu intended to conquer Taiyuan. However, he had to stop because of the locust plague. A few days ago, Zhang Yu intended to take Taiyuan, with the intention of taking Taiyuan's grain to aid Shangdang, and also to unify Bingzhou as soon as possible.

Therefore, taking Taiyuan has always been Zhang Yu’s priority, and even something that Zhang Yu must accomplish.

As for why, the reason is not difficult to understand.

Bingzhou is adjacent to Jizhou. If Zhang Yu cannot unify Bingzhou before Yuan Shao occupies Jizhou, Yuan Shao is likely to intervene in Zhang Yu's plan. On the contrary, if Zhang Yu occupies Bingzhou, he will be qualified to intervene in the struggle between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan and annex Henei.

First, take Taiyuan and integrate Bingzhou; intervene in Hebei and gain a foothold in Henei; go west to Hedong and watch Guanzhong. This is the initial goal of separatism that Zhang Yu has formulated recently in response to the situation in the world. The above content is what Zhang Yu and Zhong Yao have communicated about recently.

Zhong Yao responded, saying: "Since this year, we have recruited refugees and there are more than 30,000 households registered in Shangdang. However, the land in Shangdang is barren and it is difficult to support a large army. Therefore, if we do not occupy the land of a state, it will not be enough to accomplish anything."

"Taiyuan County has two rivers, Jin and Fen, and fertile land. It has the benefits of salt, iron, and livestock, which is the foundation for establishing a business. In the Western Han Dynasty, there were nearly 170,000 households. Today, although there are only more than 30,000 households, the population is more than 200,000. Go to Taiyuan and check the household registration in the county. The household registration must be abundant."

"Your Excellency, unite the forces of the five counties of Shangdang, Taiyuan, Yanmen, Dingxiang, and Xihe, and send troops to resist Henei. The population of the state is one million, and we can support 50,000 soldiers. You will surely be able to support the country and save the people from the dire straits."

Everyone in the hall was excited. Lu Fan looked serious and said, "Your Majesty is well-known in Bingzhou. If you can take Taiyuan now, you will be able to intimidate Heshuo. Liu Youzhou has a heart to serve the country. If you lead the Youzhou cavalry to the west, we will work together to fight the enemy and welcome the emperor to Luoyang."

"color!"

Guo Tu was excited and said, "Yuan Chang's words point out the future of our army. Your Excellency must accept them!"

Zhang Yu laughed a few times and said to everyone, "At the beginning of the year, you didn't know why I appointed Yuan Chang as my military advisor. Today, I tell you that Yuan Chang always said this to me when he saw me. If we can succeed now, it is all thanks to Yuan Chang's planning!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the hall looked at Zhong Yao with expressions of surprise.

Zhang Yang raised his head and smiled, saying: "I have known that Yuan Chang has great talent, but you are not in a position to speak to us. Now I am honored to hear Yuan Chang's wise words!"

"I dare not!" Zhong Yao said modestly.

Zhong Yao's sudden appearance naturally caused dissatisfaction among the people, but as Zhong Yao's talent was displayed and time passed, everyone gradually recognized Zhong Yao. Especially now that Zhang Yu told some of the content of his conversation with Zhong Yao, the people who knew his depth admired Zhong Yao even more.

After chatting for a while, Lu Fan brought the topic back and asked, "When will you attack Taiyuan?"

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "When the grain arrives in Jizhou, I will send troops in the name of suppressing the bandits, so as to force Li Jun to send troops to block the danger and resist me. The time of sending troops can be tentatively scheduled for mid-September."

"Sending troops in September?"

Xu Shu thought for a moment and said, "It will be winter soon. If we can't leave Taiyuan quickly, we may be trapped by the heavy snow and the war will be prolonged!"

"If we don't send troops in September and delay until spring, there will be no food available in the county!" Guo Tu said.

"Then we need to fight quickly and decisively!" Xu Shu said worriedly.

Perhaps out of confidence in his own military capabilities, Zhang Yu was not worried about the expedition to Taiyuan.

Zhang Yu stood up, holding his sword, and said proudly: "In the new year, I will have a feast with you in Jinyang!"

PS: 5k words per chapter, counted as two in one for now. I have something to do tomorrow, so I need to take a day off. Three chapters will be updated the day after tomorrow, and the update target for this month is 20 words.

(End of this chapter)