Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 259: Sharing the same bed but different dreams, Ruoyou's plan
"Gongda, what is your opinion on the Hebei issue?"

Zhang Yu put the letter down, looked at Xun You who was sitting at the side seat, and asked.

After Zhang Yu summoned him in a letter and Zhong Yao persuaded him in a letter, Xun You left Yuan Shu's camp and entered Chang'an via Wuguan Road, where he took refuge with Zhang Yu in August. Zhang Yu appointed Xun You as the governor of Wudu and the military officer of the General of Chariots and Cavalry.

Xun You raised his head and made eye contact with Jia Xu, then said thoughtfully, "Gongsun Zan's attack on Youzhou may be Yuan Shao's doing!"

"Is Yuan Shao behind this?"

Zhang Yu paced back and forth, thinking, and asked, "Why did Gongda say that?"

Xun You sorted out his thoughts and said, "According to Zhang Yan's report, Gongsun Zan divided up the counties of Youzhou, but Yuan Shao turned a blind eye and only sent Qu Yi to attack Changshan. Moreover, Gongsun Zan occupied Qingzhou, but there has been no news of military events in Qingzhou since this spring. If there is no connection between them, it would be hard to convince people!"

Guo Tu frowned and said, "Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao have attacked each other many times, and the hatred between them is deep. If the current Hebei incident has something to do with Yuan Shao, I wonder what Yuan Shao can offer to resolve the hatred with Gongsun Zan!"

"The world is bustling with people; all for profit; the world is bustling with people; all for profit!"

Xun You said meaningfully, "The current situation in the world is like the seven kingdoms splitting up. Zhao and Wei have been feuding for many years, but Wei was able to take action because of Zhao's urgent situation. People in the world may have grievances, but there is no irreconcilable hatred between the princes."

Xun You then cupped his hands and said, "Although your plan to balance Hebei is brilliant, Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao are not fools. If Gongsun Zan has no ambition, he will be willing to obey Liu Yu. However, I see that Gongsun Zan is not a man of short ambitions. Now he is restricted by Liu Yu internally and trapped by Yuan Shao externally. Therefore, under the difficult situation, if Yuan Shao sends someone to persuade him, Gongsun Zan will inevitably be tempted."

Guo Tu seemed to have thought of something and said, "If the two of them unite based on interests, judging from the current situation, Yuan Shao may give the land of Youzhou to Gongsun Zan, while Yuan will take the six counties of Qingzhou separately."

"The land of Qingzhou belongs to the Yuan family, and the land of Youzhou is promised to Gongsun. This is a clever strategy. Now that Lord Liu has died at the hands of Gongsun Zan, it will be difficult for you to unite You and Ji." Jia Xu commented.

Zhang Yuwei sighed and said, "When Lord Liu limited the supply of food and rations, I was afraid that Gongsun Zan would rebel because of his desperate situation. So I often wrote to Lord Liu to persuade him to make peace with Gongsun Zan. Now that Gongsun Zan is in a desperate situation, he has turned against Lord Liu."

After a pause, Zhang Yu said with emotion: "I underestimated the heroes of the world. Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan have great ambitions. How could they be willing to be my pawns?"

Before the expedition to Guanzhong, Zhang Yu's proudest achievement was to forcibly maintain the balance of the situation in Hebei. He used Youzhou to check and balance Jizhou, and used Gongsun Zan to restrict Yuan Shao. However, facts have proved that he is not the only smart person in the world. Yuan Shao used the contradiction between Gongsun Zan and Liu Yu to successfully resolve his grievances with Gongsun Zan. He then used Gongsun Zan to eliminate Liu Yu and destroy his strategy of uniting Youzhou to control Jizhou.

Guo Tu consoled him by saying, "In the past, Bingzhou was in decline, and your army was inferior to that of Yuan and Gongsun, so you used You to control Ji. Now you have Henei, Hedong and Guanzhong, and your army is strong, so there is no need to ally with You to control Ji."

Zhang Yu nodded slightly and said with emotion: "Mr. Liu has been kind to me in Bingzhou. When there was a locust plague in Shangdang, if Mr. Liu had not allocated 300,000 dan of grain to me, we would not be as prosperous as we are today."

After a pause, Zhang Yu looked at the people in the hall and asked, "I want to avenge Lord Liu. What do you think?"

"Li Jue is still in Anding, Ma Teng and Han Sui are in Longxi. I am afraid that you will send troops to Youzhou, and the generals of Liangzhou will make a comeback." Guo Tu said worriedly: "Fan Chou, fearing your conquest, led his troops to flee to Longyou and took refuge with Han Sui in Jincheng."

After Liu Xie moved east to Luoyang, Zhang Yu began to discipline the generals in Guanzhong.

For example, Zhang Liao killed Wang Cheng on the grounds that he was late with his troops, and then he killed Zhang Heng who did not respond to military orders. Liang Xing fled to Anding out of fear and took refuge with Li Jue; Fan Chou, who had stationed his troops in Chencang, led the remaining troops to Longshan and took refuge with his friend Han Sui.

In addition to the generals who fled or died, there was also Duan Wei who obeyed orders. Duan Wei had previously stationed his troops in Shangluo, but because Shangyu was taken by Yuan Shu, Duan Wei led his troops into Guanzhong under the invitation of Jia Xu.

Zhang Yu saw that Duan Wei had no ambition and his behavior was different from that of the Liangzhou warriors. Whenever he was stationed in a place, he would promote agriculture and gather the scattered people. Therefore, Zhang Yu simply recommended Duan Wei as the governor of Beidi and ordered Duan Wei to lead his troops to the border of Qi County, which borders Beidi, to guard against the Qiang and Hu on the Loess Plateau.

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment, looked at Xun You and Jia Xu, and asked, "What do you think?"

Jia Xu assessed the situation in Guanxi and said, "The situation in Guanxi is complicated. Han Sui, Ma Teng, and Song Jian each occupy the counties in Longshang. The bandits have no long-term wisdom, but only short-term plans. Yuan family occupies two states, Gongsun Zan swallows Youzhou, and they are all powerful enemies of you. If you take Hebei, it will be difficult for the two to resist together!"

"Gongsun has persecuted Lord Liu and cannot be tolerated by the people of Youzhou. Therefore, you should take advantage of Lord Liu's remaining kindness to first stabilize the counties of Youzhou, and then use the geographical advantage to slowly attack Yuan Shao. If you do not attack Youzhou now, and wait for Gongsun to sit firmly in Youzhou, or Yuan Shao takes the opportunity to attack Youzhou, it will be a great harm to you."

Zhang Yu stopped and said, "If I send troops to attack Gongsun, and Yuan Shao raises his troops to help him, what should I do?"

Xun You said: "Lord Liu is the hope of the royal family and the support of the court. Now that he has been killed by Gongsun, the emperor must be furious. Therefore, the one who is eager to avenge Lord Liu should be the emperor, not you. You'd better wait for the news from the court..."

Before Xun You finished speaking, he saw the attendant walk into the hall and report.

"My Lord, General Liu Bei has come from Luoyang and wants to see you."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu couldn't help laughing and said, "Now that we are talking about the court, the court has sent people here. I guess Liu Bei's trip must be about the affairs of Youzhou."

"Your Excellency may as well meet him and see what the court's will is!" Guo Tu said.

"allow!"

"Yes!" After a while, the old acquaintance Liu Bei walked into the hall and saluted Zhang Yu.

"Prepare to meet the General of Chariots and Cavalry!"

"Xuan De came from Luoyang, I wonder what he is doing here?" Zhang Yu asked.

Liu Bei looked bitter and asked, "I wonder if you have heard about the events in Youzhou?"

Zhang Yu motioned Liu Bei to take a seat and said, "I have heard that Gongsun Zan framed Lord Liu and committed treason. Not only did he occupy Youzhou, he also murdered Lord Liu. This is a heinous crime!"

Zhang Yu was angry and said, "I still cannot forget the kindness of Liu Gong in allocating grain to help the people in Shangdang during the disaster years. Moreover, Liu Gong is the hope of the royal family and is loyal to the government. When you and I were fighting against the Liangzhou troops, we all relied on Liu Gong's grain supply from Youzhou."

Seeing Zhang Yu's attitude, Liu Bei said, "Your Majesty has learned of Gongsun Zan's actions and has issued an edict to punish him. He has also ordered Liu He to succeed Youzhou as governor and to attack Gongsun Zan to avenge Liu Gong. However, the capital has few soldiers and is far away from Youzhou. So now Your Majesty wants you to go to Youzhou. Do you want to?"

Although Liu Bei had previously served under Gongsun Zan and was appointed as the Prime Minister of Pingyuan, he broke off relations with Gongsun Zan because of Liu Yu and no longer had any contact with him.

Zhang Yu said ambiguously: "Your Majesty ordered me to send troops to attack Youzhou, how dare I disobey? The rebellion in Longshan has not been quelled, and I am afraid that after I leave Yongzhou, the Liangzhou troops will come back again. Moreover, I have a grudge against Yuan Shao. If I send troops to attack Youzhou now, I am afraid that Yuan Shao will help Gongsun Zan!"

Liu Bei hesitated for a moment and said, "To be honest, Your Majesty has sent Lord Zhu to Guandong to persuade Yuan Shao of Jizhou to send troops to attack Gongsun Zan. Today, the emperor's edict is here. Even if Yuan Shao has no intention of attacking Gongsun Zan, he will not send troops to help him."

Zhang Yu was worried and said, "Yuan Shao is cunning and treacherous. Gongsun attacked Youzhou and murdered Lord Liu. He took the opportunity to attack Zhang Yan and occupy the counties of Changshan. I am afraid he has a secret plan with Gongsun Zan."

Then, Zhang Yu told everyone what he and others had guessed before, but he was a little vague about it.

Hearing the speculation, Liu Bei frowned and said nothing. He originally thought that Gongsun Zan's assassination of Liu Yu was purely Gongsun Zan's. But now, after listening to Zhang Yu's speculation, it is possible that Yuan Shao was behind it.

"I already know what you are worried about!"

Liu Bei bowed and asked, "If Yuan Shao sends troops to attack Youzhou, or if Yuan Shao keeps his troops in place, are you willing to send troops to attack the enemy?"

Zhang Yu thought for a moment and said, "I am willing to send troops to Youzhou for the court, but the specific situation will depend on the situation."

"it is good!"

After chatting for a while, Liu Bei understood Zhang Yu's idea and said goodbye. As time was urgent, Liu Bei did not dare to rest and returned directly to Luoyang.

After Liu Bei left, Zhang Yu asked his attendants, "The court has appointed Liu He as governor of Youzhou, and now Yuan Shao is in Jizhou. Can we attack him?"

Xun You stroked his beard and thought deeply, then said, "As far as the current situation is concerned, Liu He will surely be able to gain the support of Liu Gong's former officials if he goes to Youzhou, so it will be beneficial for you to send troops to Youzhou. However, Yuan Shao will not sit idly by and watch you occupy Youzhou, and he may contact Gongsun Zan."

Zhang Yu felt that the situation was very difficult. Using the name of conquering Gongsun Zan was undoubtedly the best opportunity to push his power deeper into Hebei. However, since Yuan Shao was involved, it might not be that simple.

Since Jia Xu agreed to attack Youzhou, Zhang Yu looked at Jia Xu and asked, "Does Wenhe have any good ideas?"

Jia Xu gathered his thoughts and said, "Sir, if the Yuan family and Gongsun really form an alliance to gain benefits, but you attack Youzhou, Yuan Shao may just stand by and watch."

"Ok?"

"Wenhe Xiyan!"

"There is no room for two tigers in a mountain. Since Yuan Shao is worried about you, how can he not worry about Gongsun Zan?"

Jia Xu laughed and said, "So in my opinion, the harmony between the two is like sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams. If you send troops, Yuan Shao will be happy to see Gongsun Zan suffer a setback. If you want Yuan Shao to send troops, Gongsun Zan will be badly defeated, which will not be a big problem for Yuan Shao."

As he spoke, Jia Xu bowed and said, "In the past, when Qin and Zhao were fighting for Shangdang, it was not that Wei and Chu did not dare to rescue Zhao, but that they had no intention of doing so. So when Handan was besieged, the other states were afraid that Zhao would perish, so they all sent troops to rescue it, repelled the Qin army, and saved Zhao from the danger of perishment!"

"I dare not make a firm statement about the situation, but you must pay attention to the past experiences. So you may as well observe Yuan Shao's attitude first. If Yuan Shao accepts the order of the court and has no intention of sending troops, you can lead troops to conquer Youzhou, and withdraw the troops when you gain an advantage. Then observe the situation in Hebei, or you can send troops to Shandong to directly attack Yuan Shao."

"Wenhe knows people's hearts very well!"

Zhang Yu agreed with this and said, "Now we can follow your advice and observe Yuan Shao's attitude first, and then make plans for Ji when he is weak and in trouble!"

ps: There will be another chapter tonight

(End of this chapter)