Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 198 Three Families Divide Hope
In May, Gongsun Zan invaded Jizhou in the south in the name of attacking Dong, went down to Hejian, defeated the Jizhou army at Wusui, and stationed in Anping County.

Zhang Yu joined forces with Zhang Yan of the Black Mountain Army and led his troops out of Taihang, entering Jizhou in the name of suppressing the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou. He conquered the counties of Changshan and sent troops south to Zhao.

At the same time, in order to force Han Fu to give up his throne, Yuan Shao led his troops to Yanjin and planned to go north to attack Yecheng.

For a time, Jizhou was in crisis and Han Fu was extremely worried!

In June, Yuan Shao seized the opportunity and sent Gao Gan, Xun Chen, Xin Ping and others north to lobby Han Fu.

Xun Chen was quite eloquent and persuaded Han Fu that Gongsun Zan was going south while Zhang Yu was invading the south with his troops, and all the counties in Jizhou would respond. Yuan Cheqi was also leading his troops eastward, and Qu Yi was rebelling internally. Now the situation was troubled both internally and externally, and Mu Bo was in danger, so he should make plans early.

Han Fu, who was timid by nature, was immediately worried by what Xun Chen said and asked for a way out.

Then, Xun Chen guided Han Fu to examine the gap between himself and Yuan Shao, saying that Yuan Shao was far superior to him in reputation, ability, and favor. Now Zhang Yu and Gongsun Zan were about to march to the city of Ye, and if he did not let Yuan Shao intervene in the situation, his life would be in danger.

Now Yuan Shao and he are allies, so it is better to give Jizhou to Yuan Shao to avoid being harmed by Sun and Zhang. Moreover, he is a former official of Yuan family, and Yuan Shao is also his former official. If he gives Jizhou to Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao will be deeply indebted to Han family. Then he will not only not worry about his life, but also get the reputation of giving way to others.

Under Xun Chen's instigation, the timid Han Fu finally decided to give up his throne to Yuan Shao. Upon learning the news that Han Fu gave up his throne to Yuan Shao, Geng Wu, Min Chun, Li Li and others met Han Fu. Even though they tried hard to persuade him, saying that Jizhou had well-trained soldiers and sufficient food, it was difficult to change Han Fu's decision.

To show his sincerity, Han Fu even took the initiative to move out of his official residence and asked his son to hand over the seal of Jizhou Mu to Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao was overjoyed to see Han Fu's cooperation. He accepted the seal and called himself "Mr. of Jizhou".

Fearing that Han Fu might suddenly change his mind, Yuan Shao personally led his elite troops to Yecheng. When Yuan Shao's troops arrived in Yecheng, Han Fu knelt down to greet them.

Seeing this, more than ten of his men abandoned Han Fu and ran away. Geng Wu and Min Chun resisted with knives, so Yuan Shao ordered Tian Feng to kill them.

At this point, Yuan Shao created a crisis in Jizhou and, through political manipulation, took control of Yecheng in just five or six days and became the nominal governor of Jizhou.

The news that Yuan Shao became the governor of Jizhou soon spread from Yecheng, Weijun to Zhang Yu.

Changshan Yuan clan, in the county government.

"As expected, Han Fu is timid and weak. He knows he is no match for me and Gongsun Zan, so he has given the position of Governor of Jizhou to Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao's troops have already entered Yecheng, and Wei County has been occupied by him." Zhang Yu handed the letter to his left and right to read, and said.

Guo Tu looked at the map of Jizhou and said, "Gongsun Zan defeated Han Fu's army in Wusui and has taken Anping County. Together with the Hejian County he had previously occupied, Jizhou is now divided into three parts."

As he spoke, Guo Tu smiled and said to everyone: "Judging from the current situation in Jizhou, I'm afraid it will become more complicated and chaotic."

Xin Pi handed the letter to Xu Shu and said with a faint smile: "Our army seeks civilians instead of land, so the two families should fight for it."

There are nine counties and kingdoms in Jizhou, which are now occupied by the three families of Sun, Yuan and Zhang respectively. The current situation is complicated, or it can be said that the forces are intertwined.

Gongsun Zan sent troops from Youzhou and occupied the two counties and states of Hejian and Anping.

Yuan Shao had previously been appointed governor of Bohai, and with the addition of Wei County where Yecheng was located, the number of counties and kingdoms controlled by Yuan Shao was the same as that of Gongsun Zan.

Zhang Yu accepted the surrender of the Fifth Warehouse of Changshan County and occupied Changshan County together with the Black Mountain Army.

Apart from the five counties that were clearly occupied by the three families, the remaining four counties, Zhongshan, Zhao, Julu and Ganling (Qinghe), were located within the sphere of influence of the three families respectively.

Zhang Yu was separated from Yuan Shao by the State of Zhao, and from Gongsun Zan by Zhongshan; and Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao, because they controlled the most counties and kingdoms, were separated from them by the two counties and kingdoms of Julu and Ganling (Qinghe) respectively.

If nothing unexpected happens, Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan will inevitably start a battle for the two counties and kingdoms of Julu and Ganling in the future.

In addition to relocating the people of Zhao and Zhongshan counties, Zhang Yu will hand over the two counties to Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao respectively to avoid disputes with the two.

As for whether the Black Mountain Army is willing to participate in the fight for the two counties of Zhao and Zhongshan, it is not something Zhang Yu can decide.

After reading the letter, Xu Shu asked, "Now that Yuan Shao has taken Weijun, how should our army respond?"

Zhang Yu thought for a moment, then looked at Guo Tu and asked, "Gong Ze, how are the people from various tribes being relocated now?"

Guo Tu gathered his thoughts and said, "My Lord, Commandant Zhang led more than a thousand infantry and cavalrymen to Zhongshan to relocate people. However, due to the unfamiliarity with the local conditions, the relocation was not very effective. According to the report sent by the messenger yesterday, they only managed to gather 700 households under the pretext of Wuhuan looting."

"How about the relocation of Zhao's people?" Zhang Yu asked.

"Zhao State has achieved great results!"

Talking about the relocation of Zhao people, Guo Tu looked very proud and said, "Tu ordered people to forge a letter, saying that Yuan Shao led his troops to take Weijun, Gongsun Zan fought for Anping, and used money to bribe poor people to pretend to be refugees, saying that the Yellow Turban Army rose up in Taihang, and now if they want to find a safe place to live, they have to go west to Bingzhou."

"According to Governor Lu's report, each of the three schools has nearly 10,000 old and weak people gathered there,"

Guo Tu was ordered to spread rumors and bribe the village elders to take the lead in moving their homes, and he did a good job.

Zhang Yu sent Lü Fan to lead the troops of various schools to march southward into the counties of Zhao State, while Xu Ling, the prime minister of Zhao State, stayed in Handan and refused to come out. Lü Fan then went to the outlying counties and spread rumors that Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan, and Zhang Yu would fight in Jizhou and Zhao State would become a battlefield.

In this context, Guo Tu hired poor people to pretend to be refugees fleeing disasters and spread the news of the chaos in Jizhou to the counties of Zhongqiu, Bairen, Xiangguo and other counties affiliated to Zhao. After some operations, affected by the situation in Jizhou and under Guo Tu's coercion and inducement, the Zhu clans of Zhao took the lead in moving north to Jinyang. When the villagers of Zhao saw the Zhu clans moving north, they followed their example and migrated under the coercion of the soldiers and officials of the Du Liao Army.

"The State of Zhao is a little small, with only tens of thousands of people gathered from the three schools." Zhang Yu said regretfully.

Zhao State was the state with the smallest population and county towns among all the states in Jizhou. Apart from Handan, which was defended by Prime Minister Xu Ling, it only had four subordinate county towns. Before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, its registered households were only over 30,000, and its population was less than 200,000.

"Sir, Commandant Zhang has gained few people in Zhongshan now, so why not let him go south to Julu County? Julu has fifteen counties, and before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, it had more than 100,000 households."

Guo Tu pondered for a moment and said, "Yuan Shao is in Weijun and Gongsun Zan is stationed in Anping. The two will surely quarrel over Julu County. At that time, the counties will be in chaos and bandits will arise everywhere. This will be a good opportunity to relocate the people. Therefore, Your Excellency may as well ask the various commanders to relocate the people to Jingxing, and then gather in Gaoyi, Changshan County, and divide the troops to enter Julu to relocate the people."

"it is good!"

Seeing that Guo Tu's plan was feasible, Zhang Yu nodded and said, "Jizhou has a rich population. This time we send troops to Jizhou, we can't just move tens of thousands of people. Now we should take advantage of the dispute between Sun and Yuan to move more people to Taiyuan. Even if we dare not say 100,000, at least 70,000 or 80,000 people should be moved."

Zhang Yu worked so hard to send troops, not to help Yuan Shao, but to take advantage of the chaos in Jizhou to relocate the people on a large scale. Zhang Yu set the target of relocating people at 10,000 households, that is, 50,000 to 60,000 people. Judging from the current situation, it seems that relocating 1,000 to 2,000 households is not a problem.

Xu Shu saw that Zhang Yu's appetite was getting bigger and bigger, and asked worriedly: "Our army has relocated so many people. If Yuan Shao sends someone to inquire and refuses to give us Henei County, I don't know what to do?"

Zhang Yu was not worried. He smiled and said, "Gongsun Zan is eyeing us covetously. He is plotting to seize Jizhou. Even if I occupy Zhao, Yuan Shao will not dare to offend me. But considering our future relationship with Yuan Shao, I can hand over the four counties of Zhao to him."

“As for Henei County, if Yuan Shao doesn’t give it to me, I will lead the Bingzhou soldiers to take it myself.” Zhang Yu sneered.

Zhang Yu was not really worried that Yuan Shao would not give him the Henei County that Yuan Shao had promised him. Gongsun Zan was not a good person, so how could Yuan Shao dare to offend him and Gongsun Zan at the same time?

"My Lord, General Zhang is here!"

While Zhang Yu was speaking, the attendant stepped into the hall and reported.

"Please quickly!"

Seeing Zhang Yan arriving late, Zhang Yu stood up from the bed and prepared to go out to greet Zhang Yan.

Before Zhang Yu could take a few steps, he saw Zhang Yan enter the hall laughing and said, "As Du Liao said, Han Fu really gave Jizhou to Yuan Shao. Now Gongsun Zan has stationed his troops in Anping, and I have obtained Changshan County. Jizhou is divided into three parts."

Zhang Yu stepped forward and hugged Zhang Yan warmly, saying with a smile: "I have been waiting for you in Yuanshi for a long time, why are you so slow in sending troops?"

Zhang Yan shook his head helplessly and said, "May and June are the seasons for harvesting wheat and planting beans. My soldiers are busy with farming, so it took quite a while."

As he spoke, Zhang Yan looked at the situation in the hall and asked, "Du Liao is talking to his subordinates, but Yan is abrupt!"

"It doesn't matter!"

Zhang Yu and Zhang Yan sat hand in hand and said, "I was discussing the situation in Ji Province with my subordinates. I wonder if you are interested in Zhao State?"

"what for?"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Yuan Shao has taken Weijun and will certainly covet Zhao. I now have four counties of Zhao in my hands, and I originally intended to hand them over to Yuan Shao. However, if you intend to take over Zhao, I can hand over the four counties of Zhao to you."

"According to Du Liao's original intention, the four counties of Zhao will be given to Yuan Benchu!"

Hearing this, Zhang Yan shook his head and said, "Don't think that I, Heishan, have a million people, but I only have 200,000 or 300,000 people. If Du Liao does not station troops in Shandong, Yan will not be able to compete with Yuan and Sun for the counties outside Changshan."

"good!"

Seeing that Zhang Yan had little appetite, Zhang Yu said with a smile: "In that case, I will give Zhao to Yuan Shao, and let Sun and Yuan decide between the two counties of Zhongshan and Julu."

After a pause, Zhang Yu said, "I have something to ask for, and I'm afraid I need your help!"

"But what about the relocation of people?" Zhang Yan asked.

"Of course!"

Zhang Yu said: "I want to move the people westward to Taiyuan, and we need to pass through the area under your jurisdiction. There are many people, so I will send troops to guard them along the way to prevent them from being robbed."

"Easy to say!"

Zhang Yan was very generous and said with a smile: "Du Liao gave me Changshan County. It is just a small matter of relocating people. Yan will certainly help."

Although the two of them each got what they wanted, it did not prevent Zhang Yan from being grateful to Zhang Yu. After all, if Zhang Yu had not revealed the information, it is estimated that Zhang Yan would not understand until Jizhou was in chaos.

Zhang Yan was particularly grateful to Zhang Yu for recommending him as the prefect of Changshan.

After all, Zhang Yan was a Yellow Turban bandit, and although he was granted amnesty by imperial decree, it was difficult for him to gain recognition from the warlords. Now that Zhang Yu had asked Liu Yu to endorse him, how could Zhang Yan not be grateful?

(End of this chapter)