Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 227: Alliance to fight the enemy, strategy to tire out the enemy

When Zhang Yu returned to Jinyang from Anyi, it was already August.

Soon after returning to the provincial capital, he received news from Changshan and Henei counties that Yuan Shao had been forced by Zhang Yu to mediate the war with Gongsun Zan. In order to completely resolve his worries, he led his troops into Luchang Mountain to encircle and suppress the Black Mountain bandits.

In May, he killed Yu Du and more than 10,000 of his followers. Afterwards, he advanced northward along the mountains and valleys, killed Zuo Zhi Zhangba, defeated Liu Shi, Qing Niu Jiao, Huang Long, Zuo Xiao, Guo Daxian, Li Damu, Yu Digen and other bandits, massacred them in their camps, and killed tens of thousands of old and weak.

The people of Heishan in the south of Taihang Mountain fled in all directions, crossing mountains and ridges to the west and entering Shangdang, where there were 3,000 families. Sui Gu led the local soldiers and civilians and more than 5,000 scattered people to seek refuge in Hanoi, and the rest, tens of thousands of people, sought refuge with Zhang Yan of Changshan.

Because Yuan Shao was afraid of the coalition forces of Zhang Yu and Zhang Yan, he stopped in Zhaojun and did not dare to continue marching north, so he returned to Yecheng to rest.

Zhang Yu looked at the memorials sent by the two counties and said, "Yuan Shao slaughtered tens of thousands of Black Mountain bandits. Although we have now eradicated all the bandits in the mountains, he has forced the people in the mountains to join our army, which has made the Black Mountain bandits hate Yuan Shao even more."

Zhong Yao said: "Winning the people is a small benefit. Now that Yuan Shao has no worries, he will be able to fight for Qingzhou with all his strength. I am afraid Gongsun Zan is no match for Yuan Shao."

"Gongsun Zan has Tao Qian as his support, Kong Rong is stationed in Beihai, and Yuan Shao wants to take Qingzhou, but he still needs to wrestle with him." Xin Pi said: "Our army must go to Guanzhong as soon as possible to prevent Yuan Shao from taking Qingzhou and becoming more powerful, and then sending troops north to drive Gongsun Zan."

Zhang Yu thought for a moment and asked, "What is the current situation in Yuzhou?"

"It was almost taken over by Yuan Shu!"

When talking about Yuzhou, Zhong Yao's face changed slightly, and he said: "Sun Jian defeated Zhou Yu and occupied Yingchuan County; Runan County was occupied by Yuan Shu, and Hui Qu was appointed as the governor; Pei State was owned by his cousin Yuan Mi, and is now temporarily under Yuan Shu. Only Liang and Chen counties were not owned by Yuan Shu."

"According to what Hanoi knows, after Liu Dai's death, the imperial court sent Jin Shang to be the governor of Yanzhou. When he arrived at Fengqiu, he was attacked by troops sent by Cao Cao. Jin Shang has now fled south to Jingzhou. Perhaps Yuan Shu will send troops to take Yanzhou directly."

"Yuan Shu occupies Jing and Yu provinces, and is already a powerful enemy. If he takes Yanzhou, he will dominate the Central Plains!" Lu Fan sighed.

Zhang Yu frowned slightly. In fact, he had expected Yuan Shu's rapid expansion, but the speed of the expansion was also beyond his expectations. Could it be that by allowing Yuan Shu to take control of Jingzhou, he really raised a 'Shu dad'?
Fortunately, Cao Cao took control of Yanzhou at that time, otherwise, with Liu Dai's military level, he would have been killed by Yuan Shu and Sun Jian.

"How is Cao Cao doing?" Zhang Yu asked.

"Cao Cao led his army and Bao Xin to defeat the Yellow Turban Army of Qingzhou, but Bao Xin died in the battle. Now Cao Cao has raised a large force to set up a siege, and he may be able to defeat the Yellow Turban Army of Qingzhou in the near future."

Zhong Yao stroked his beard and pondered, saying: "If Cao Cao can defeat the Yellow Turban Army, Yuan Shu will use Jin Shang's name to attack Yanzhou, and the two armies will surely fight fiercely. If Cao Cao is defeated, Yuan Shao will surely send troops to rescue him, so Yuan Shu's army will be slightly restrained."

It is not difficult to predict that next year will be the beginning of a great chaos in the world. He will raise troops to attack the rebels in Guanxi, Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan will fight for Qingzhou, and Yuan Shu and Cao Cao will fight for Yanzhou.

"The Central Plains is in chaos, and you and I can't take care of it for the time being!"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Right now, the rebels in Guanxi have occupied Guanzhong. If we want to accomplish great things now, we have to take Guanzhong. Guanzhong has a large population of at least one million people and abundant grain, which can support tens of thousands of strong soldiers. If we can take it, it will be equivalent to the population of an entire state."

The geographical conditions of Guanzhong were really good in troubled times. With the Qinling Mountains blocking the way, as long as the internal enemies were eliminated, Guanzhong would be peaceful and would then have a continuous supply of food and military supplies.

The fundamental reason why Guanzhong fell into a state of population decline in history was the internal strife between Guo and Li, and the war between Cao Cao and Ma and Han.

The war between Guo and Li that lasted for more than a year resulted in nearly one million people fleeing to Yi and Jing states. Liu Yan formed the Dongzhou Army with the population of Guanzhong who fled south, and Liu Biao formed an army to pacify the four counties in southern Jing.

Later, Cao Cao's war against Ma and Han triggered a wave of refugees from Ziwu Valley to Hanzhong. Thanks to these two waves of refugees, Zhang Lu wanted to be king with 100,000 households, and the Shen brothers became local overlords with more than 10,000 households.

Therefore, if Zhang Yu did not want to obtain the devastated Guanzhong, he had to conquer Guanzhong before the large-scale civil strife between Guo and Li, so as to avoid a large-scale loss of population in Guanzhong.

Li Song asked: "How will we conquer Dong Zhuo now? Should we follow the example of Yuan Shao and call on all the heroes in the world?"

Zhang Yu shook his head and said, "In the past, the world was at peace, so many people led their troops to respond. Today, the world is in chaos, and few people can respond to the call."

Guo Tu thought about the candidate and said, "Liu Youzhou is loyal to the emperor and patriotic. If we ask for troops to fight the enemy, he will certainly accept the order with pleasure."

"Correct!"

Xin Pi nodded and said, "Youzhou is rich and has many households. If we can get help from Youzhou, it won't be difficult to pacify Guanzhong."

"Most of Youzhou's soldiers are in the hands of Gongsun Zan. Even if Liu Youzhou sends troops, I'm afraid most of them will be newly recruited soldiers. So we can let Liu Youzhou send out a small number of elite troops, and he will supply food and food for the main army." Zhang Yu said.

It is best to use other people's money and food to achieve your own goals, especially since Bingzhou is currently short of food and grass.

"Apart from Liu Youzhou, who else is willing to send troops?" Zhong Yao frowned.

A person popped up in Zhang Yu's mind, and he immediately said, "Pingyuan Liu Xuande!"

Lu Fan asked in confusion: "Liu Bei is a general under Gongsun Zan. I wonder if he dares to lead the army on his own?" "Yes!"

Zhang Yu was full of confidence and said, "Liu Xuande of Pingyuan is not a general under Gongsun Zan, but a guest of Gongsun Zan. If he hears that we are going to fight the rebels and welcome the emperor, he will gladly accept the order and come to Bingzhou to join the alliance despite the dangers and obstacles."

At the moment, there were not many princes who were willing to follow Zhang Yu to fight the enemy, or who were willing to contribute their little to the Han Dynasty. Apart from Liu Yu of Youzhou, the only one was probably Liu Bei.

Zhang Yu paused and said, "Although I am on good terms with Yuan Gonglu, I wonder if Yuan Gonglu is willing to respond to the call and send troops now?"

"In the past, Zhu Jun asked Yuan Shu for troops to fight the bandits, but Yuan Shu only gave him a few thousand soldiers. Now that he is aiming for the Central Plains, I am afraid he will not respond to the call to send troops," Guo Tu said worriedly.

"otherwise!"

Zhong Yao had something in mind, and said with a smile: "Your Excellency, when you convene a meeting with the princes, you can recommend Yuan Shu as the general and modestly call yourself the general of the guards. Then send an envoy to Yuan Shu to tell him that your Excellency recommended him as the general. Yuan Shu will be so happy that he may send troops out of Wuguan to cooperate with your Excellency."

"This method may be feasible!" Li Song said, "When Yuan Shao was fighting against Dong Zhuo, he called himself General of Chariots and Cavalry, and Yuan Shu's official position was lower than Yuan Shao's. Now if we promote him to the position of general, Yuan Shu will know that his official position is higher than Yuan Shao, and he will be very happy, and he may send troops to support our army."

"If Yuan Shu sends troops to respond, I wonder how you plan to defeat the enemy?" Zhong Yao asked.

Zhang Yu stood up from the couch, paced with his hands behind his back, and said, "Our army will send troops from Hedong, and Zhu Jun will enter Guanzhong from Yaohan, and Yuan Shu will send a detachment to respond. In addition to the above, I intend to contact Ma Teng, but I wonder if he is willing to help me?"

If his memory served him right, Ma Teng had fought a war with Li Jue in history, which also involved Liu Yan. Now, he didn't know whether Ma Teng would agree. After all, his goal was to occupy Guanzhong, which was a conflict of interest with Ma Teng.

"Ma Teng?"

Zhong Yao stroked his beard and thought deeply. He said, "Ma Teng is a rebel in Longyou. He is not of the same kind as Li Jue, Guo Si and other former Dong Zhuo subordinates. Instead of persuading Ma Teng to send troops, it is better to make friends with Ma Teng first, and then reveal Ma Teng's actions to Li Jue. The two armies will surely become enemies because of this, and then Ma Teng will not be able to help Li Jue."

"What a brilliant idea!"

Zhang Yu raised his eyebrows slightly and said with a smile: "Li Jue is suspicious of Ma Teng. The two cannot get along. The troops in Longyou will no longer go east. If our army attacks Guanzhong, the troops led by the generals in Guanzhong can be used properly and the bandits can be wiped out in one fell swoop, and Guanzhong can be safe!"

"This year, we will contact the princes, alienate the bandits in Guanzhong, and hold an alliance in Jinyang. The troops in Bingzhou can train their weapons and horses, store up food and fodder, and prepare for the expedition to Guanzhong next year." Lu Fan said.

"Hmm~"

Zhong Yao hesitated for a while and said, "It is autumn now. You should send troops to plunder the Xiongnu. This will not only train the troops but also tire them out. You can also take the opportunity to recover the four counties west of the Dahe River in Xihe County so that Yu Fuluo can move to Lishi. Pingyang is the main road from Taiyuan to Hedong. How can we let the Xiongnu occupy it?"

After a pause, Zhong Yao added: "If the four counties west of the Yellow River can be restored, Yao can move the refugees to enrich the population of Xihe County. Although Bingzhou is called Xihe, Yanmen, Dingxiang, Shangdang, etc., there are only four counties in reality. And Xihe is called a county, but it is actually a county."

Zhang Yu stopped and said, "What Yuan Chang said makes sense. From Lishi to the west and Anding to the east, it is about 700 to 800 miles. The Xiongnu live in the mountains and valleys, and they have cultivated and multiplied. They know how to farm and graze. There are countless people in the tribe. It will take time to subdue the Xiongnu."

"So we can implement a strategy to tire out the Huns. Use cavalry to plunder the Xiongnu tribes, burn their grain, plunder civilians and take them eastwards, and obtain livestock to strengthen ourselves. Repeat this several times until the Xiongnu are tired, and then we can defeat them in one fell swoop."

The Loess Plateau is easy to defend but difficult to attack. The Xiongnu lived on the plateau. Even if Zhang Yu could subdue them, it would be difficult to manage them. Therefore, Zhang Yu did not intend to let the Xiongnu settle on the Loess Plateau, but planned to migrate them to the northern border and settle them in Daidi, so that the Han people could fill the living space on the Loess Plateau.

Now that the army is returning, it is better to let the soldiers plunder the Xiongnu before the attack on the rebels in Guanzhong. As Zhong Yao said, one is for training, and the other is to recover the counties west of the river. When the Xiongnu are exhausted, Zhang Yu can easily subdue them.

Li Song volunteered, saying, "Sir, the men in the Yunzhong Army under my command are good at riding, so I can lead them to plunder the Xiongnu."

"Can!"

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "I will mobilize the National Defense Army to assist them. Now is the autumn harvest season, and our army has not attacked the Xiongnu for several years. If we go in and plunder, we will surely gain something."

"As ordered!"

"Ziheng tells Gongming that the troops have left Guanzhong and can now be reorganized. If necessary, those who disobey orders and surrender can be executed. The surrendered soldiers must be subdued." Zhang Yu ordered.

Lü Fan was worried and said, "Sir, it is not appropriate to ask the commander to reorganize the troops. I am willing to go to the Hezhong Army to inspect it."

"Lao Ziheng is running around!"

"It's my duty!"

　The third update is finished!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)