Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 230: Cut off the food supply to Gongsun, restore Xihe

Youzhou, Ji County.

In the provincial government, Youzhou's civil and military officials gathered in the hall. Sun Zi stood in the center with his hands behind his back, while Liu Yu, who was sitting on the main couch, could not hide the joy on his face.

"Mr. Mu, the world is divided and the Han Dynasty is in decline. Dong Zhuo was the first to seize power. Fortunately, the princes and nobles contacted righteous men to kill Dong Zhuo. However, the remnants of the evil have revived. Li Jue, Guo Si and other thieves have led their people in rebellion, captured Chang'an, killed the princes and nobles, and held the emperor hostage."

Sun Zi spoke eloquently, saying: "Your Excellency originally wanted to raise an army to attack the bandits, but because of the disparity in numbers, you ordered me to go to Guandong to invite righteous men from all over the world to raise an army, wipe out the remnants of Dong Zhuo, and welcome the emperor to the old capital."

Liu Yu read the manifesto and said with emotion: "The Han Dynasty is in decline, fortunately Ji'an helped it. Guo and Li caused chaos in the capital, slaughtered ministers and officials, and were hated by both humans and gods. Now Ji'an is willing to fight the rebels, support the Han Dynasty, and welcome the emperor to Luoyang. How dare I not help him!"

Liu Yu looked at Sun Zi and asked, "How many soldiers and horses are there in Guanzhong? How much food and supplies does Ji'an need from Youzhou?"

"There are more than 100,000 rebels in Guanzhong, but they are divided among various generals. So although the rebels are numerous, it is difficult for them to unite."

Sun Zi hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Excellency, please consider that most of Youzhou's troops are under the command of Gongsun Zan. Mu Bo can send several thousand elite soldiers. As for food and grass, although our army now occupies Hedong and Henei, we are short of food and grass because we have just arrived. Therefore, I hope Mu Bo can allocate food and grass to the coalition army."

"I have three million shi of grain stored in Youzhou now, so allocating grain and grass won't be a problem!"

Liu Yu stroked his beard and hummed softly, and asked: "But I don't know who else Ji An wants to invite to send troops besides Youzhou?"

Sun Zi was shocked when he heard this. You know, Bingzhou now owns Hedong and Henei counties, which have only 800,000 to 900,000 dan of grain in stock, while Youzhou now has 3 million dan of grain in stock. According to the soldiers' monthly food intake of two dan, this is enough to feed more than 100,000 people for a year.

Sun Zi remained calm and answered respectfully, "My Lord, you want to invite Tao Qian of Xuzhou and Yuan Shu of Jingzhou to join the alliance, invite Tao Qian to gather the princes of Guandong, and ask Yuan Shu to send troops to Wuguan."

Liu Yu frowned slightly and said, "Yuan Shu is very ambitious. I wonder if he is willing to send troops?"

"Your Excellency wants to humbly give up the position of leader of the alliance to Yuan Shu, and is willing to recommend him as general together with Mu Bo. Upon seeing this, even if Yuan Shu has no intention of sending a strong army to expedition to Guanzhong, he will at least send a small force to support, in order to fully meet the alliance's request." Sun Zi said.

"Nominating Yuan Shu as the general is really unfair to Ji'an!" Liu Yu sighed.

Zhang Yu personally organized a reinforcement army to fight the enemy, but he could not enjoy the title of leader. In Liu Yu's view, Zhang Yu was undoubtedly making a big concession in order to welcome the emperor to Luoyang. If such people are not considered loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty, who else can be considered loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty?

"Mr. Sun has been busy and tired, so you may retreat and have a rest first. Let me discuss the alliance with you gentlemen." Liu Yu said.

"promise!"

Sun Zi bowed and took a few steps back. When he was about to turn around and leave the hall, he suddenly heard Liu Yu's question.

"Does Ji'an think this campaign can be accomplished?"

Sun Zi turned around and bowed to Liu Yu, saying solemnly, "Reporting to Mu Bo, Your Excellency said that this time we will send out the best troops from Bingzhou to defeat the bandits and welcome the emperor to Luoyang."

"it is good!"

Liu Yu nodded with satisfaction. He was not afraid of sending troops and food. His only worry was that Zhang Yu was fooling him.

After Sun Zi left the hall, Liu Yu looked at his trusted aides and asked, "Zhang Bingzhou is sending troops to fight the enemy. I want to send troops and food to help them. What do you think?"

Wei You, the official of the Eastern Division, said, "Reporting to the Lord Mu, although Zhang Bingzhou has raised an army to fight against the rebels with the intention of saving the emperor from danger, I am afraid that after taking Guanzhong, Zhang Jun will control the government and become Dong Zhuo again."

Liu Yu frowned slightly and said, "The emperor has returned to Luoyang. If Zhang Bingzhou becomes Dong Zhuo again, I can also raise troops to fight him. If I don't send troops to help, won't I just sit back and watch the emperor get into trouble? Besides, I have known Ji'an for many years. He is determined to help the world. Now he has humbly given up the position of leader, which shows his ambition."

Wei Youwei sighed. In his heart, the real hope of the world lies in Liu Yu. If Liu Yu could emulate Emperor Guangwu's revival and founding of the country, wouldn't Hebei have belonged to him long ago? Unfortunately, Liu Yu was a man loyal to the Han Dynasty.

Now that we are placing our hopes on Zhang Yu, aren't we hoping that Zhang Yu will return power to the emperor?

Unless Zhang Yu is loyal and willing to work hard for the Han Dynasty, he will sooner or later embark on the path of annexing counties and kingdoms and dominating the world.

Wei You thought for a while and asked, "The world is in turmoil, the Han Dynasty is declining and losing power. If we welcome the emperor to Luoyang, can Mu Bo have a plan to bring peace to the world?"

Liu Yu was silent for a long time, then said, "We should take it step by step. First, we should stabilize Hebei, and then we should stabilize the Central Plains. I want Gongsun Zan to send troops to support the alliance. If the coalition army goes to Guanzhong, we can still use Gongsun Zan to stop Zhang Yu."

"Gongsun Zan is currently stationed in Jizhou to fight with Yuan Shao for Qingzhou. If I order him to send troops to Guanzhong, I'm afraid Gongsun Zan will not be willing to do so," Wei You said.

Liu Yu's expression became serious, and he said, "If Gongsun Zan is unwilling, what's the point of me supporting his troops now?"

Gongsun Zan does not engage in production, and can fight Yuan Shao for a long time, and the only thing he relies on is Youzhou. After the lessons of the troubled times, Liu Yu knew that he must have a reliable army. If Gongsun Zan did not listen to him and sent troops, he would not mind cutting off Gongsun Zan's military supply. Moreover, Gongsun Zan often ignored his edicts, not only was he aggressive, but also repeatedly defeated Yuan Shao. If Gongsun Zan is supported for a long time, and he is allowed to grow stronger, wouldn't it make him more difficult to contain. Therefore, it is better to cut off Gongsun Zan's military supply and build his own Youzhou troops.

Cheng Xu frowned and advised: "If Mu Bo transfers Gongsun Zan to the expedition to Guanzhong, wouldn't it let Yuan Shao dominate Jizhou alone? The reason why Zhang Bingzhou sent troops to mediate is nothing more than worrying that Yuan Shao's power is too great to be stopped. So it is better to leave Gongsun Zan in Jizhou, and Mu Bo recruits other troops."

Liu Yu was firm in his attitude and said, "The most important thing now is Guanzhong, not Yuan Shao. Let Gongsun Zan follow Zhang Bingzhou to attack Guanzhong and welcome the emperor to Luoyang. As for the two counties of Jizhou, I will send someone to lead them."

After a pause, Liu Yu looked at Tian Chou and said, "Zitai, you will go to Bingzhou on my behalf to discuss the alliance with Lord Zhang to fight against the enemy."

"promise!"

Let alone Liu Yu's agreement to the alliance and his intention to stop supplying food and military supplies to Gongsun Zan. Now, Li Song, under the order of Zhang Yu, led his troops from Jinyang, passed through Yuli, and headed west along Lishi Road to attack the Xiongnu tribes along the Yellow River.

In addition to Li Song's own troops, there were also Zhao Yun leading a thousand cavalry to help, and his brother-in-law Huchuquan leading a thousand Xiongnu cavalry, a total of 7,000 infantry and cavalry.

In October, the weather was cold, the sun was high in the sky, and the mist was gradually dissipating.

In the yellow and barren valley, people shouted and horses neighed, cavalrymen collided and fought, and the fight was brutal and brutal.

The lance in Zhao Yun's hand was gone because it had stabbed a Qiang Hu cavalryman in the chest. As the cavalryman fell off his horse, Zhao Yun had no choice but to abandon the lance and draw out the ring-handled sword at his waist, and use his strong arms to continuously swing at the enemy cavalry.

With a scream, the ring-handled sword cut off the arm of the Qianghu cavalryman who passed by him. He didn't even have to look back to know that the enemy's arm was broken and he would bleed to death!

Another enemy cavalryman rushed over with a lance in his hand. Zhao Yun dodged the sharp spear tip by leaning sideways, then subconsciously leaned forward to avoid the enemy's subsequent sweep.

Zhao Yun squeezed the horse's belly with his legs, sped forward, and rode around behind the Qiang and Hu cavalry who were fighting with their comrades. With a flash of cold light, the Qiang and Hu cavalry was stabbed in the back and fell to the ground dead.

"happy!"

Zhao Yun urged his horse to where there were many Qiang and Hu cavalry, sometimes shooting with a bow or swinging with a scimitar, showing his bravery.

"No wonder you admire Zhao Yun so much. He is so brave that he leads his cavalry to charge into the enemy formation and kills back and forth." Li Song stood on the hill, overlooking the battlefield, and exclaimed: "His bravery is second only to Wen Yuan."

Li Song led 7,000 soldiers to plunder Lishi and first defeated the Lishi Hu who lived in Lishi. After that, Li Song explored the Xiongnu settlements and divided his troops into two groups to cross the Yellow River and plunder the Xiongnu tribes in the Sheyan River (Wuding River) basin.

When Li Song led his troops to the confluence of Zouma River and Sheyan River, he encountered the 4,000-strong Xubu tribe and immediately launched an attack. In order to protect their own tribe, the Xubu tribe gathered soldiers to resist.

Xubu Chanyu, the former leader of the Xubu tribe, was killed by Zhang Yu, and there was a deep blood feud between the two armies. Fortunately, the Bingzhou army was different from before. The Yunzhong Cavalry was a brave warrior who was good at cavalry at the border, and the Huguo Cavalry was the elite of Bingzhou cavalry. Their armor and weapons were much better than those of the Xubu Cavalry. Therefore, after only two charges, the Xubu Cavalry could not withstand the impact.

Xu Shu narrowed his eyes and looked over, saying, "General, the enemy cavalry is about to be defeated. Now let Captain Ke lead the troops to charge and kill them."

Not only was Guo Huai sent out by Zhang Yu, but Xu Shu, who had served Zhang Yu for a long time, was also sent out by Zhang Yu to serve as a military officer under Li Song.

"Let Ryan attack!"

Li Song looked at the Qiang and Hu cavalrymen who were being routed by Zhao Yun and said, "After defeating the Hu cavalrymen, let the troops follow their previous arrangements to plunder livestock and capture the Hu people."

"promise!"

As drums thundered on the battlefield, Ke Bi led his troops to launch a general attack, and Huochuquan led a thousand people to cut off the escape route of the Subu tribe.

Soon under encirclement and suppression, the Xubu Hu cavalry was defeated, leaving corpses everywhere. The Han cavalry rushed into the Xubu camp, killed the resisting Hu people, captured the old and weak, and looted livestock.

On October 6, the third year of Chuping, Li Song, Zhao Yun, and Shi Yi defeated the Subu tribe at Zoumashui, beheaded more than a thousand of them, captured more than 3,000 tents of the Subu tribe, and captured more than 100,000 cattle and sheep.

Three days later, Qubei summoned all the tribesmen to come, only to see a Jingguan made of skulls. Li Song had already led his troops back to Lishi for fear of being surrounded by the Hu people.

In order to prevent the Xiongnu from plundering Bingzhou, Zhang Yu ordered Li Song to build a fortress at the Yellow River ferry as an outpost for Lishi County. The Lishi Hu people who moved to Lishi County were incorporated into the household registration system, and the Xihe County government was restored to Lishi County, with a county magistrate appointed to serve.

Among the more than 3,000 captured tents, Zhang Yu kept the Hu people who were exiled as slaves and gave a thousand tents to Yu Fuluo, asking him to move to Zuoguo City. After that, he moved the rest to the northern frontier and divided 300 tents under the command of Shi Yi, 200 tents under the command of Ke Bi, and the rest were settled in the Mayi Duwei Mansion.

Seven thousand infantry and cavalry crossed the river to plunder. Thanks to the fact that Bingzhou had not violated the border for several years, the Xiongnu had almost no defense and were easily captured by Li Song. It is not difficult to imagine that if the Xiongnu had plundered after the autumn harvest every year, the Xiongnu tribes would have suffered terribly and would have been destroyed by Zhang Yu sooner or later.

(End of this chapter)