Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 280: Boldly Supplying Food and Relocating People Back to Jin

In June, the court ordered Zhu Jun to seek food in Hongnong on the grounds of a shortage of food and fodder; and sent Kong Rong to Fengyi to persuade Wang Hong to provide tribute to the court.

In order to get Wang Hong to provide grain, Liu Xie issued an edict to posthumously title Wang Yun "Wenzheng", calling him Wang Wenhou.

"Wen" means governing a country and establishing a reputation, and "Wen" means being strong and not violent. Therefore, "Wen" is the highest posthumous title for civil officials. The court posthumously named Wen Zheng and Wang Yun, obviously trying to win over the Wang family.

When Kong Rong arrived in Fengyi with the imperial edict of reward, Wang Hong not only went out of the city to greet him, but also violated the prohibition of alcohol and invited Kong Rong to a banquet in his mansion and invited famous scholars in the county to attend.

At the banquet, Kong Rong praised the father and son Wang for their loyalty to the emperor and their patriotism. He also tried to win over the famous scholars of Fengyi on behalf of the emperor and deliberately ignored Zhang Yu's existence.

After the guests were pleased, they dispersed. Kong Rong kept chatting with Wang Hong and they did not rest until late at night.

The next day, Wang Hong invited Kong Rong to discuss matters, and his close aides and confidants were present.

Kong Rong stroked his beard and said with emotion, "I used to work with Master Zi in Yuzhou. Master Zi was loyal to the Han Dynasty and diligent in the people's affairs. He was a wise minister of his generation. When Dong Zhuo entered the capital, I was posted to Beihai, living in a remote coastal area. It was a long way to get rid of the enemy. Master Zi endured humiliation and devoted himself to the enemy. After going through hardships, he finally killed Dong and became the backbone of the Han Dynasty."

As he spoke, Kong Rong looked at Wang Hong and said, "Marquis Wen is your brother, which is an honor for the Wang family. When Rong traveled west, the emperor was very concerned about the Wang family and asked me to say hello to you!"

Wang Hong smiled and said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. However, I am responsible for the duties of a feudal lord and it is difficult for me to travel east to Luo. Please express my gratitude to Your Majesty on my behalf."

"Ok!"

Kong Rong changed the topic to food and fodder, and asked, "The capital is suffering from drought and locust plagues. I wonder how the Guanzhong area is doing?"

Wang Hong pondered for a moment and said, "Although Guanzhong suffered from drought and locusts, the grain prices in Guanzhong and Sanfu are still under control because the Zheng and Bai canals are unblocked. Moreover, Taiyuan has the Fen and Jin rivers flowing through it, so the autumn grain can be harvested this year."

There is a reason why Bingzhou could become a peaceful place in troubled times. In addition to being able to avoid war, Taiyuan is surrounded by mountains and hills, which can prevent locusts from invading. In addition, there are rivers crisscrossing the county, so there is still river water for irrigation when there is drought. In addition, the crops such as wheat, millet, and beans planted do not require much water, so the reduction in production is not much.

Hearing this, Kong Rong sighed and said, "You don't know, we recruited refugees last year, and we wanted to resume production this year, but we suffered from drought and locusts, and the price of grain in the capital soared. The emperor and his ministers tightened their belts and sent me to Fengyi to ask for grain. Let's see if the king can supply grain to Luoyang!"

The two most critical canals, Zheng and Bai, in Guanzhong were not within the jurisdiction of Jingzhao Yin, but within the jurisdiction of Fengyi. Therefore, for the imperial court, if Fengyi could supply grain to Luoyang, it would be able to alleviate the food shortage problem in the capital area!

Wang Hong looked hesitant and did not dare to agree to Kong Rong directly.

Seeing Wang Hong remained silent, Kong Rong asked, "How much grain can you provide to the court?"

Wang Hong hesitated and said, "Bing and Yong are short of food. The Chariot and Cavalry Department has issued an order prohibiting the export of food. I want to supply food to the court now, so I need to ask the Chariot and Cavalry Department for their opinion!"

Kong Rong laughed a few times and said, "You are Zhang Yu's elder. How can an elder ask a junior's opinion? Besides, the reason why Zhang Yu is now the General of Chariots and Cavalry and has achieved his current success is all thanks to you and my brother!"

"Do you want Your Majesty to starve?"

"Don't dare!"

Although Wang Hong supported Zhang Yu's career, it did not mean that he could ignore the Han Dynasty, so he belonged to the Han faction in Zhang Yu's group. Especially since the court had just conferred a title on Wang Yun, he was grateful to the Han Dynasty.

Seeing Wang Hong's hesitation, Kong Rong said, "Zhang Yu has gone on a long expedition to Youzhou. If you send someone to inquire about it now, I'm afraid that by the time you send the food, people in the capital will have already started eating each other!"

Under Kong Rong's persuasion, Wang Hong decided to supply grain.

As Kong Rong said, without the support of the Wang family, how could Zhang Yu rise so quickly? Moreover, Wang Hong thought that his status was different from others. He was not only an official under Zhang Yu, but also Zhang Yu's father-in-law. All of Zhang Yu's subordinates respected his status.

Not only did he marry his daughter to him, but his sons and daughters all served under Zhang Yu, and his Wang family and Zhang Yu were one and the same. Now that he was supplying food to the court, Zhang Yu could not say much. Moreover, in his eyes, if Zhang Yu knew that the court was having a hard time, he would definitely agree.

"Since the imperial court is short of food, how dare Hong turn a blind eye!" Wang Hong said sternly: "Wenju, please wait for a few days. Hong will send county officials to collect food and grass."

Kong Rong was overjoyed. He held Wang Hong's hand and said, "The grain from Fengyi alone may not be enough to supply the court. Why not ask you to transfer grain from Henei to the capital?"

Seeing that Kong Rong's request was becoming more and more excessive, Gong Cao Xu Ying stood up and reminded him, saying: "Your Excellency is the ruler of Fengyi and can still transfer Fengyi's grain. However, Henei is not under your jurisdiction, so it may not be appropriate to interfere in Henei's affairs now. Moreover, Fengyi is adjacent to Anyi, so it is better to ask Military Advisor Zhong's opinion first."

Kong Rong smiled and said, "Your Majesty is a subordinate son-in-law and must obey his orders, so why not ask the Cavalry Department first?"

Wang Hong was annoyed and said, "What does my correspondence with my son have to do with Zhong Yao? Besides, Cheqi is my son-in-law, how dare he disobey my orders?" Wang Hong was not only Zhang Yu's father-in-law, but also the teacher of Zhang Yu, Li Song, and Sun Zi before they entered officialdom. Therefore, he was always proud of his status and was ashamed to obey Zhong Yao, and was even more unwilling to be on the same level as Sun Zi, Dong Zhao and other juniors. Now, under the stimulation of Kong Rong, Wang Hong, for the sake of face, veiled his inner thoughts.

Xu Ying knew that he could not persuade Wang Hong, so he could only withdraw quietly and report to the Chariot and Cavalry Office alone. After all, although he was Wang Hong's subordinate, he was also an official who was received by Zhang Yu. For his own future, it would be beneficial and harmless to report Wang Hong's actions to the Chariot and Cavalry Office.

Not to mention that Wang Hong, at Kong Rong's request, decided to bypass the Chariot and Cavalry Office and supply Fengyi's grain to the court. Now Zhang Yu, who was far away in Youzhou, did not know what was happening in Guanzhong, but was dealing with the affairs of Hebei.

On the north bank of Yishui River, Zhang Yu’s army camp.

Inside the tent, Guo Tu reported the military situation and said, "Sir, Qu Yi led his troops to camp thirty miles away from Yijing. Yuan Shao must have seen that you have the potential to destroy Gongsun, so he sent Qu Yi to help!"

"I'm afraid it's more than that!"

Xun You pointed to the map of Bingzhou and said, "Yuan Shao sent Qu Yi north, which means he has already used force against our army. As I expected, in addition to sending Qu Yi, Yuan Shao may send troops to Shangdang or take Henei."

"In this case, our army may need to withdraw and return for support!" Zhao Zi said.

"How is the migration of the people in southern Yan?" Zhang Yu asked.

"Zu Wei has already relocated tens of thousands of people from Puyinxing in Zhuo County to Daishuo!" Guo Tu said, "It's thousands of miles along the way, and Wen Shu, the governor of Zhuo County, provided them with food!"

In order to relocate the people, Zu Wei first tricked them into repairing the canals, then sent people to explain the situation to cause panic among the people, and then sent troops into the countryside to relocate them. If he met someone who missed his homeland, he would force them to relocate.

Zhang Yu acquiesced to Zu Wei's operation. It took Zu Wei only half a month to relocate almost all the people on the north bank of Yishui River. He then chose the shortest route, which was from Puyin Xing in Zhuo County to Yanbei.

The governor of Zhuo County was Wen Shu, a descendant of the Wen family in Qi County, Taiyuan, and the uncle of Wen Shao. He had served in Youzhou since the reign of Emperor Ling of Han, and was first promoted to governor of Zhuo County under Liu Yu. After Gongsun Zan took office, Wen Shu wisely turned to Gongsun Zan.

After Gongsun Zan defeated Zhang Yu, Wen Shu sided with Zhang Yu. Seeing Zhang Yu relocating the people of southern Yan, he took the initiative to help on the way and provided military supplies and fodder to Zhang Yu's army.

"good!"

Zhang Yu thought for a while and said, "Since the people have been relocated and Qu Yi has led his troops to help, it is not appropriate to fight Gongsun for a long time. Now we can withdraw our troops in three days, return from Zhuojun to Daishuo, and then return south to Taiyuan."

In the original history, Qu Yi was Gongsun Zan's mortal enemy, and the two attacked each other. But now, because of Zhang Yu, the two have joined forces to fight. This is quite interesting!

After a pause, Zhang Yu ordered: "Order Li Song to go from Puyinxing to Taiyuan first, then go south to help Shangdang and observe the situation in southeastern Shanxi."

"As ordered!"

Among the eight passes in Taihang, the road to Puyin is the most complicated. It not only shares the same northern route with Feihu Pass to Daishuo, but can also go southwest to Taiyuan County. If the army is to withdraw to the south, Zhang Yu will ask Li Song to return to Shangdang first to prevent Yuan Shao from using troops in Shangdang or Henei.

In fact, Zhang Yu was not worried about the situation in Bingzhou. He had arranged for Hao Zhao to guard Shangdang and Zhang Yang to station in Henei some time ago.

There is no need to say much about Hao Zhao. Just looking at his historical performance, we can know that he is more than capable of defending Huguan. It would be impossible for Yuan Shao to break through Huguan City even if he fought for several months.

Zhang Yang said that although Henei had no strategic location to defend, Zhang Yang had been rooted in Henei for a long time, and now there was still Chaoge County of the imperial court as a buffer, so it would not be a big problem to defend for a month or two. Therefore, letting Li Song return to provide assistance first was more to prevent problems in Henei.

"May I ask you, sir? I have found many wise men in Youzhou, but I don't know how to meet them now?" Guo Tu said.

Zhang Yu pondered for a moment and said, "Wen Shu of Zhuo County is a fellow villager of Bingzhou. I am withdrawing my troops from Zhuo County and will visit Wen Shu on my way through Zhuo County. So you can summon the wise men of Youzhou to Zhuo County and let me meet them one by one."

The best way to assert sovereignty over a state is to recruit local talents. Although Liu He was the governor of Youzhou, he relied more on the great families of Youzhou, such as Xianyu Fu, Tian Chou, Qi Zhou, etc. It was not easy for him to protect his territory. Therefore, if the children of Youzhou wanted to be rich and noble, they could only get a small honor by joining Liu He and Xianyu Fu, Qi Zhou and other Youzhou governors.

But Zhang Yu's situation was different. He controlled Bingzhou and Yongzhou and half of Youzhou counties, making him one of the most powerful princes vying for hegemony over the world. Therefore, if he could be recruited by him or even appreciated by Zhang Yu, his future would be limitless.

Guo Tu said: "I have sent people to invite all the scholars to Zhuo County to wait for your summons!"

"good!"

(End of this chapter)