Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 213: Peace and Strike
In April, the situation in Hebei changed because Zhang Yu stationed troops in Changshan. Yuan Shao left Qu Yi to guard Wuyi and led his troops to withdraw to Yangtang; Gongsun Zan took the opportunity to station troops in Guanjin and planned to besiege Wuyi.

In addition, Yuan Shao sent Xun Chen to visit Zhang Yu in order to appease Zhang Yu so that he could deal with Gongsun Zan; and in order to gain Zhang Yu's support, Gongsun Zan sent Liu Bei as an envoy.

Zhang Yu learned that Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao had stationed their troops in Anping County, so he marched along Julu, passed Xiaquyang, and headed southeast for 150 miles to Shangbo.

Upon hearing that Zhang Yu had suddenly arrived at Shangbo, Xun Chen and Liu Bei arrived at the camp one after another.

"Your Majesty!"

Liu Bei looked serious and said, "Yuan Shao used the name of fighting against Dong Zhuo to annex the prefectures. He first killed Gao Yan and Yao Gong because he was greedy for money. Later, he broke his promise and persecuted Han Fu, the governor of Yuanzhou. Now General Gongsun has raised an army to fight against the enemy. I hope to get your help to attack Yuan Shao and divide the counties of Jizhou."

"General Gongsun controls five counties, namely Zhongshan, Boling, Hejian, Anping and Bohai. As for the remaining counties, Wei, Zhao, Julu and Ganling, we are willing to share them with you, so that the two families can be friendly."

Zhang Yu put down Gongsun Zan's letter and said with a smile, "Xuan De and I are old friends. How could he deceive me for Gongsun Bogui?"

"Now that all the counties and kingdoms controlled by Yuan Shao have been returned to me, isn't this a strategy of two tigers competing for food?"

Liu Bei looked embarrassed, feeling that Zhang Yu was extremely smart and would not be easy to fool.

Before he went on the mission, Gongsun Zan coveted the land of Jizhou. Even though the situation was not favorable to him, he still wanted to take advantage. So Gongsun Zan came up with a bad idea, which was to join forces with Zhang Yu to defeat Yuan Shao, who had a strong army, and then let Zhang Yu take over the counties and kingdoms occupied by Yuan Shao.

Gongsun Zan, on the other hand, took advantage of the fact that Zhang Yu and Yuan Shao were exhausted from fighting and sent troops to directly annex the remaining counties of Jizhou, thus achieving the goal of occupying the entire Hebei Province. How could Zhang Yu not see through such a shallow strategy?
Liu Bei hesitated for a moment, then tried to save the situation by saying, "General Gongsun has no intention of deceiving you. If you are willing to join forces with our army to attack Yuan Shao, General Gongsun is willing to give Zhongshan County to you to show his sincerity in the alliance."

Zhang Yu threw the letter onto the table and said in a deep voice, "I sent troops this time with the intention of helping Gongsun Zan, but now Gongsun Zan has allowed Xuande to trick me. Isn't he afraid that I will help Yuan?"

Seeing this, Liu Bei hurriedly apologized and said, "I did not intend to deceive you, but I was sent by General Gongsun. Now General Gongsun is afraid that you will help Yuan Shao and not Youzhou, so he asked me to divide Jizhou to get you to send troops. But now I heard that you are willing to help General Gongsun, how do you plan to solve the problem?"

Zhang Yu pretended to be melancholy and said, "Today, the emperor is in disgrace, and many heroes have risen up. Since the battle between Yuan and Sun, the people of Hebei have been displaced and have been living in misery. Therefore, I am sending troops to Jizhou this time, not with the intention of using swords, but to make the two gentlemen reconcile and make them withdraw their troops and return to their counties."

"I wonder if Xuande is willing to help me?"

Liu Bei was shocked. He did not expect that Zhang Yu sent troops to quell the war between Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao. If Zhang Yu's reason was valid, Zhang Yu was really thinking about the people. He was afraid that Zhang Yu had other intentions.

Judging from the current situation, after the defeat at Jieqiao, Gongsun Zan only had Hejian and Bohai in Jizhou. Although Gongsun Zan had 30,000 soldiers and horses, many of them were old and weak, not as good as the previous army, and were no match for Yuan Shao.

If Yuan Shao could be persuaded to stop using troops now, Gongsun Zan could take a breather and wait for the troops to gradually recover their morale before finding a way to fight Yuan Shao.

Liu Bei hesitated for a moment and said, "The current situation in Hebei is that Yuan Shao is strong and Gongsun is weak. Your Excellency wants the two kings to withdraw their troops and return to their counties. I am afraid Yuan Shao will be reluctant, but General Gongsun may agree."

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Lao Xuande reported to Gongsun Bogui that I have no intention of joining him in attacking Yuan Shao, but I do want to stop the fighting in Hebei. I will hold a meeting at Xiazhangting to help him resolve the conflict with Yuan Shao. If General Gongsun has no intention, don't blame me for standing idly by or sending troops to help Yuan."

"But if Yuan Shao has no intention of stopping his hostilities, I will join forces with Gongsun Bogui to attack Yuan Shao together!"

Liu Bei hesitated for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "In that case, I would like to report this to General Gongsun."

"good!"

Liu Bei did not dare to delay the news, so he reported it to Gongsun Zan. Not long after Liu Bei left, Xun Chen arrived.

"Chen is here to pay a visit to you, Lord Yuan, on your orders!"

Xun Chen presented the letter and said, "My lord has always been on good terms with you, but I don't know why you have sent troops to Jizhou and invaded our Hebei border?"

Zhang Yu glanced at the letter and said solemnly, "The whole land under heaven belongs to the king. The Han Dynasty still exists. How dare Xun Jun say that it is the territory of the Yuan family?"

Xun Chen blushed and said, "Your Excellency is the governor of Bingzhou, but now you are leading troops into Jizhou without authorization. Isn't this a violation of the law?"

Zhang Yu's tone softened and he said with a smile, "The emperor heard that the Yuan family and the two lords Gongsun have been fighting for a long time. Now he has pity on the people of Hebei and has ordered Yu to lead troops to Guandong to persuade the two lords to reconcile and stop the fighting."

Xun Chen was sharp-minded and asked, "What if Gongsun Zan doesn't stop fighting?"

Zhang Yu stood up, holding his sword, and said solemnly: "If Gongsun Zan does not listen to the emperor's words, I will lead my troops to help Yuan and attack Gongsun Zan's troops together. If Yuan does not stop fighting, I will help Gongsun and attack Yuan."

Hearing this, Xun Chen's face gradually showed anger, and he asked: "My lord claims to be kind to you, but why are you so aggressive? Now you send troops to favor Gongsun and humiliate my Yuan family. Are you taking advantage of my army's weak swords?"

"Be bold!"

Zhao Yun put his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to speak out to defend Zhang Yu, but Zhang Yu waved his hand, signaling Zhao Yun to sheath his sword.

Zhang Yu walked up to Xun Chen and said calmly, "I have no intention of favoring Gongsun. I just want to persuade the two gentlemen to reconcile. If the two families stop fighting, the boundary will be the territory of Jizhou currently occupied by the two families. Besides, Gongsun Zan still uses cavalry. Do you dare to say that you will definitely defeat Gongsun?"

Xun Chen quickly calmed down and said, "What about the Qingzhou territory?"

Zhang Yu raised his eyebrows, and said calmly: "I have received the order from the emperor to persuade Hebei to stop fighting and return peace to the people. Qingzhou is Qi territory, located on the coast. Let's see if the emperor can appoint a governor." Since there is no fighting in Hebei now, it is better to let Yuan and Sun fight for Qingzhou, and use Gongsun Zan to continue to contain Yuan Shao. If Yuan Shao has no place to use his troops, he may point his weapons to Bingzhou.

"I will hold a banquet at Xiabo Pavilion. I hope that Mr. Yuan can give me some favor and lead a hundred soldiers to attend the banquet!"

Xun Chen suppressed his anger, bowed and said, "Chen will report your words to my lord."

"good!"

Xun Chen walked out quickly, looked back at the big tent, flicked his sleeves and snorted coldly, his face gloomy.

With his wisdom, he has seen Zhang Yu's intention of sending troops this time, which is nothing more than to prevent Yuan Shao from unifying Jizhou. After all, Jizhou is the richest state in the world. Once Yuan Shao controls and completes the integration, he will become the most powerful prince in the world.

Zhang Yu intervened at the precise time and will become a powerful rival for Yuan Gong in the struggle for hegemony!

Xun Chen had not taken a few steps when he met Guo Tu who was blocking his way.

"Youruo, I wonder if you have gained anything from this visit to my lord?" Guo Tu asked with a smile on his face, knowing the answer.

Xun Chen sneered and said, "When you left your post and fled to Shangdang, I was still worried about your decision. Now seeing the methods of Lord Zhang, you will meet a good master. However, taking advantage of the situation to be a hero for a while is not a long-term solution."

Guo Tu said with a smile: "Don't worry about Bingzhou. The world is falling apart. Although Yuan Jun has great strategies, he is slow in action and is controlled by my master."

"Humph!"

Xun Chen snorted and said, "Bingzhou's population is declining, while Jizhou's population is rich. In the long run, Bingzhou will not be Jizhou's enemy."

Guo Tu said meaningfully, "The people are like heroes. Heroes choose their masters to serve, and the people choose a safe place to live."

Xun Chen thought of Zhang Yu's move to relocate people last year, combined with this year's military action, and immediately connected many things together.

It seems that Zhang Yu was well aware of the decline in the registered population in Bingzhou, so he simply took advantage of Bingzhou's geographical isolation and continuously recruited refugees from Hebei into Bingzhou. That is why Zhang Yu carried out the crazy relocation campaign last year.

This year, Zhang Yu took advantage of Bingzhou's geographical advantage and sent troops to take sides in order to maintain chaos in the Hebei region and allow more refugees to pour into Bingzhou. As the two states increased and decreased, the number of registered residents in Bingzhou gradually increased, while the number of registered residents in Jizhou gradually decreased.

In the long run, due to Zhang Yu's long-term interference, it would be difficult for Yuan Shao to defeat Gongsun Zan and unify the counties of Jizhou. In this way, Yuan Shao's idea of ruling the world by sitting in Hebei would be shattered.

I have been on several diplomatic missions, but I didn't realize Zhang Yu's intention until today when Zhang Yu forcibly intervened. I finally reacted. I am really ashamed of you!
“What a scheming person!”

"What a trick!"

Xun Chen said this several times, his tone showing both shame for not being able to see through the plan and admiration for Zhang Yu's far-sightedness.

Guo Tu smiled and said, "If You Ruo is unwilling to serve Lord Yuan, Tu would like to recommend You Ruo to you, the Lord."

Xun Chen looked unhappy and said, "I will return the above words to you."

After saying this, Xun Chen left angrily, wanting to inform Yuan Shao of the news as soon as possible.

Guo Tu looked at Xun Chen's hurried back and smiled triumphantly.

He had made great efforts to abandon Yuan Shao and join Zhang Yu. After all, Zhang Yu's reputation was far inferior to Yuan Shao's, and he had made the right bet. If he followed Yuan Shao now, he would not have a respected position and would probably only be a middle-level official.

Guo Tu hummed a little tune and staggered into the big tent to meet his lord Zhang Yu.

When Guo Tu entered the tent, he heard Xin Pi say, "Your Excellency has held a banquet to persuade Yuan and Gongsun to stop fighting. This has prevented Yuan Shao from plotting against Bohai. Yuan Shao will surely bear a grudge against you in the future."

"What's wrong with holding a grudge?"

Zhang Yu didn't care and said, "I live in Bingzhou and Yuan Shao lives in Jizhou. The strategy of sleeping on the bed does not allow a tiger to sleep soundly, so Yuan Shao and I have been enemies for a long time. The reason why he repeatedly shows goodwill to me is that he is afraid that my Bingzhou troops are in the west and the powerful enemy Gongsun Zan is in the east."

Compared with the gentle tone he used when talking to Liu Bei, Zhang Yu's stern warning to Xun Chen just now was obviously to use troops to put pressure on Yuan Shao and force him to agree to a ceasefire. After this, Zhang Yu's idea of maintaining a balance in Hebei was as clear as Sima Zhao's heart.

"Gong Ze, you should quickly go to Xia Bo Pavilion to set up a banquet, and write a letter for me to invite Gongsun and Yuan Shao." Zhang Yu ordered.

"promise!"

ps: There will be another chapter tonight

(End of this chapter)