Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 334 How can one word describe chaos?
AD 195, the second year of Xingping.

Zhang Yu sent troops to attack Longyou in June, and defeated the coalition forces of Ma, Han and Song in Longshang in October. The campaign lasted for four months. The military prestige shook Lianglong, and the clans, Qiang and Di in Longshang came to Ji County one after another.

As Hanzhong County was close to Longyou, the prefect Zhang Lu was the first to get the news that Zhang Yu had defeated all the generals in Longyou. He was terrified and summoned all the civil and military officials in the government for consultation.

Nanzheng, the county seat.

Zhang Lu was wearing a Taoist robe made of Shu brocade, and he paced in the hall with his hands behind his back. His former immortal appearance was replaced by a sad face. He said, "The situation in Yizhou is grim. The governor of the state unfortunately passed away, and Liu Zhang was appointed as the ruler. His prestige is not as good as that of the governor. Undercurrents are surging in the counties of Bashu, and many people are unwilling to accept Liu Zhang as their leader."

"This year, Sun Jian took advantage of the death of his lord and the weakness of his ruler and led his troops to the west. He has already defeated Baidi and laid siege to Jiangzhou City, and Bashu is deeply involved in war. Zhang Yu led his troops to pacify Long. He set out in June and defeated Long in October. His military achievements were illustrious, and he was feared by Long. He dominated Shanxi and was feared by everyone."

Zhang Lu said to the crowd: "Although Hanzhong is surrounded by mountains and has fertile land, it can support tens of thousands of people. However, it borders Guanzhong to the north, Bashu to the south, and Longtu to the west, making it a battleground for military strategists. Therefore, in my opinion, it will be difficult for the Liu family to pacify Bashu, the Yuan family may rule Yizhou, and the Zhang family will occupy Longshang. If we want peace in Hanzhong, we may need to make friends with the surrounding princes."

After Sun Jian used the jade seal + Yuzhou Governor + Yingchuan County to exchange for the opportunity to send troops to conquer Bashu, he led tens of thousands of troops against Jiangxi to conquer Bashu in the spring of this year.

In March, Sun Jian led his troops to besiege Baidi for more than a month, and finally broke Baidi in April. When Liu Zhang heard that Sun Jian was attacking, he quickly sent Zhao Wei, who was stationed in Bazhong, as a general to resist Sun Jian's troops.

In April, after defeating Baidi, Sun Jian went up the Yangtze River and captured Qu, Yangqu, Linjiang and other cities, and met Zhao Wei's troops in Pingdu. The two armies fought on the Yangtze River. Sun Ce led a thousand elite soldiers as the vanguard, killed the vanguard Pang Le, and defeated several Shu armies in succession with boats, which greatly frightened Zhao Wei.

Seeing that he was no match for Sun Jian, Zhao Wei led his troops to withdraw from Jiangzhou and wrote to Liu Zhang in Chengdu for help. Sun Jian took advantage of the victory and marched forward, successively taking Linjiang, Pingdu, Zhixian, Fuling and other cities.

In May, Sun Jian led his troops to besiege Jiangzhou, and saw Yuan Shu welcoming the emperor. So, taking advantage of Yuan Shu's joy, Sun Jian sent people to Wancheng to commend Yuan Shu. He established Badong County from Qunin to Yufu, and appointed his cousin Sun Jing as the prefect of Badong; he established Ba County from Jiangzhou to Linjiang, and appointed his cousin Sun Ben as the prefect of Ba County.

Seeing that Sun Jian had made some initial achievements and greatly enhanced his own reputation, Yuan Shu could not refuse Sun Jian's request, so he agreed to Sun Jian's proposal and encouraged Sun Jian to capture Jiangzhou as soon as possible.

Jiangzhou was an important town in Ba County. Zhao Wei was very popular in Ba County. When he was defending Jiangzhou, the big families and powerful people in the city came to serve him and resisted Sun Jian.

Sun Jian led his troops to besiege Jiangzhou but failed, so he changed to besieging the city. During the siege, Liu Zhang ordered Pang Xi to lead troops to relieve the siege, but was defeated by Sun Jian's scheme. Pang Xi retreated to Dianjiang to station troops, hoping to contain Sun Jian's troops. Therefore, from May to October, Sun Jian led his troops to besiege Jiangzhou from the inside and defend against Pang Xi's troops from the outside.

Although Sun Jian had not yet conquered Jiangzhou, he had shown Zhang Lu the weakness of Yizhou. As the ruler of Hanzhong, he needed to carefully consider the current situation. How could he accompany the Liu family to perish?

Yan Pu said, "Master Dao, Zhang Yu had previously sent an envoy to show his goodwill to you. He said that you are the governor of Hanzhong and the general of the imperial guards. He spoke kindly and wanted to live in harmony with you. Now Zhang Yu has gone to the counties in Longyou and is in Ji County to appease the nobles. Why don't you send an envoy to pay him a visit and present him with generous gifts to make peace with him?"

Zhang Lu hesitated for a moment and said worriedly, "When Emperor Taizu won Longyou, he set his sights on Shu. Now Bashu is caught in a war. I am afraid Zhang Yu may want to spy on Hanzhong and lead his troops south to Yizhou to split Bashu with Yuan Shu."

Zhang Lu had to be afraid of Zhang Yu. Han Sui, Ma Teng, Song Jian and other rebel generals in Longshang had occupied the counties and prefectures in Longyou for more than ten years. The Eastern Han Dynasty launched several campaigns to suppress them, but they were all difficult to eliminate. Now Zhang Yu led his troops to conquer Longyou in just over three months, captured Han Sui, subdued Ma Teng, and beheaded Song Jian. He wiped out all the generals in Longshang who had been rebellious for more than ten years. His martial arts were amazing.

Zhang Lu was in Hanzhong. How could he not be afraid of Zhang Yu, who was so close to him and looked like a tiger or leopard? With Zhang Yu's current strength, he was fully capable of destroying Hanzhong.

Yan Pu stroked his beard and hummed, then he cupped his hands and said, "Zhang Yu is a young hero. He conquered Youyan in the north and Longyou in the west. He now controls Yongzhou and Bingzhou. He really has the ambition to rule the world. However, the most important place in the world is Hebei, so Zhang Yu and Yuan Shao have many conflicts. This year, Zhang Yu conquered Longyou to clear his worries; he contacted Daojun to bring peace to the backyard."

"In my humble opinion, Zhang Yu's biggest enemy is Yuan Shao in Hebei, not Hanzhong or Bashu. So if Daojun wants to keep Hanzhong peaceful, why not contact Zhang Yu and send an envoy to him to show goodwill. This will avoid making enemies with the Sun family in the south and Zhang Yu in the north."

Historically, the cause of the feud between Zhang Lu and Liu Zhang was that Liu Zhang killed Zhang Lu's mother. But Liu Zhang had just come to power and was facing Sun Jian's expedition. He did not dare to offend Zhang Lu at all. Instead, he treated him with courtesy. Therefore, Zhang Lu also recognized Liu Zhang's rule.

Zhang Wei nodded in agreement and said, "Brother, if Zhang Yu has no intention of looking south to Hanzhong, and you have nothing to do with Long's troubles, you may be able to take advantage of the unrest in Bashu and send someone to intervene in Bazhong's affairs."

"rational!"

Yang Ang said: "Sun and Liu are at war, and Bashu is in turmoil. Most of Daojun's troops are in Bazhong, so we can do something now!"

Seeing that everyone supported contacting Zhang Yu, Zhang Lu stopped pacing and asked, "To pay a visit to Lord Zhang today, only a wise and resourceful person can be competent!"

As he spoke, Zhang Lu looked at Yan Pu and asked, "You are quick-witted and far-sighted. Would you be willing to serve as an envoy to Ji County on behalf of Hanzhong?"

"Since the Taoist has entrusted me, I am willing to go as an envoy to Marquis Zhang!" Yan Pu stood up and accepted the order without hesitation. "Good!"

Not to mention that after discussing with his confidants, Zhang Lu sent Yan Pu to Ji County to meet the world-famous Zhang Yu. As time passed, the officials of the generals' mansion far away in Anyi also learned the news that Zhang Yu had defeated the generals in Longshang.

Anyi, the provincial capital.

"Good news!"

Su Ze walked quickly into the side room, bowed to Zhong Yao, and said with a smile: "Military Advisor, your Excellency has defeated all the generals in Longshang, marched more than 500 miles day and night, captured Han Sui, subdued Ma Teng, and killed Song Jian. If there is no major chaos in Longyou, your Excellency may be able to return before the first month of the year."

The pen in Zhong Yao's hand trembled, and the ink dripped down. Soon, a piece of neatly written paper was destroyed by the ink. However, Zhong Yao did not feel bad, and laughed: "I thought the war would last until next year, and I was just about to transfer grain to Chencang. Now, you have broken through Long in March and swept through all the counties to the right of Long. It is really unexpected!"

Su Ze praised him and said, "Your Excellency is a master of military tactics, and your military strategy is beyond compare. We are able to pacify Longyou thanks to your contribution. If we postpone the battle until next year, our army will be old and tired, Yuan Shao will attack us, and we will run out of food and grass, so we will have to withdraw."

Zhong Yao stroked his beard and nodded, agreeing deeply with him. He said with emotion: "In the past, Emperor Taizu repeatedly attacked Longyou but failed to defeat it because he could not defeat Wei Xiang quickly, so he escaped and was able to make a comeback. But you attacked Long in June and conquered it in October. How fast it is!"

The officials of the General's Office had actually prepared themselves mentally for a continuous battle when they went west to Longyou, especially the military advisor Zhong Yao, who prepared a large amount of military rations for a long-term confrontation. They did not expect Zhang Yu to conquer Longyou in three months, and only four months including the time wasted on the march, which was beyond everyone's expectations.

"Military advisor, now that you have conquered Longyou, should our army continue to prepare food and supplies?" Su Ze asked.

"The rebels in Longshan have been defeated, and you can now seek food in Longshan. I have asked people to prepare a month's worth of food in Chencang, so that you won't be left without food when you return." Zhong Yao stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "The most important thing for the General's Office right now is to prepare a list of officials to be sent to Longshan."

"Should we ask someone to invite Yang Jun here?" Su Ze asked.

"Not urgent!"

Zhong Yao pondered for a moment and said, "Let me write a letter to you first, informing you of the situation in the Central Plains in the past month. And Mr. Wen can first report the victory in Longyou to the gentlemen in the mansion, and send someone to inform the lady and the old man, so that everyone inside and outside can celebrate."

"promise!"

Su Ze took the order and left. Zhong Yao sat back on the couch and sorted out the situation in the Central Plains in his mind before writing. In order not to distract Zhang Yu, Zhong Yao had been handling the situation in the Central Plains on his own in the past few months. From June to November, Yanzhou could be described as "chaotic".

On the eve of Zhang Yu's expedition to Longyou, Yuan Shao stationed troops in Liyang and planned to control Henei, so he sent troops to help Cao Cao repel Lü Bu and Chen Gong. Lü Bu was defeated and asked Yuan Shu and Zhang Yu for help. Zhang Yu ordered Ke to lead 2,000 cavalry to support Lü Bu, and Yuan Shu sent Ji Ling to lead 10,000 infantry and cavalry to the north.

With the support of troops and horses, Lu Bu regrouped and fought with Cao Cao at Dingtao. With the cavalry led by Kobe, he defeated Cao Cao's troops. After the defeat, Cao Cao retreated to Juye Lake to station troops and asked Yuan Shao for help.

Yuan Shao, who was invited by Cao Cao, led his army southward and joined Cao Cao's army, defeating the coalition forces of Ji Ling and Lu Bu. Lu Bu led his troops to escape to Dingtao. Yuan Shao left Cao Cao to besiege Dingtao, and he personally led his troops to attack Chenliu.

Seeing that Yuan Shao had personally come to the fore, Yuan Shu led his army northward. In September, the two armies fought a fierce battle at Huating. Yuan Shao accepted Tian Feng's strategy, set an ambush and defeated Yuan Shu, who fled to Xiangyi.

After defeating Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao wanted to pursue the victory, but unexpectedly, the governor of Dongjun, Zang Hong, was dissatisfied with Yuan Shao's expedition against Zhang Miao, so he obeyed Zhang Miao's request and rebelled by occupying Dongwuyang. Upon learning of Zang Hong's rebellion, Yuan Shao was furious and led his troops back to besiege Dongwuyang, thus lifting the siege of Chenliu.

Yuan Shao led his troops to retreat. Cao Cao knew that he had too few soldiers and was no match for Yuan Shu and Lu Bu, so he withdrew the siege to Dongping and thought about his own future.

Seeing Yuan Shao leading his troops to withdraw, Yuan Shu intended to lead his troops to counterattack, but he was afraid that Wancheng would be in turmoil, and that the weather was getting colder and the river water was scarce, making it inconvenient to transport food and grass, so he withdrew his troops and returned.

When the two Yuans withdrew their troops to solve their worries, Lü Bu and Chen Gong led their troops east to Shanyang to find food and restore their strength. As there was no war in Yanzhou, Kobe said goodbye to Lü Bu, leaving a few hundred cavalry with Lü Bu and returning with a thousand cavalry.

By November, Yanzhou, which had been in chaos for a whole year, finally calmed down. However, for the various forces in Yanzhou, after two years of war, the counties were in decline, the land was barren, the population was scattered, bones were exposed in the wild, and there was no smoke for thousands of miles. It was no longer as prosperous as it used to be.

(End of this chapter)