Tiger Guards

Chapter 232 Meng Hou Lu Bu
Yuzhou battlefield, July 14th.

Anti-Cao forces were mobilized together, and during this period, the people of Yanzhou led by Chen Gong parted ways peacefully with Lu Bu.

Their breakup actually won King Chen's trust.

King Chen was also afraid that Lü Bu and Chen Gong would join forces. Seeing that they had separated and were both carrying out the imperial edict, King Chen joined in.

On July 14th, Huang-Lao believers in Chen, Liang, Lu, and Pei all began to prepare for the festival.

Laozi was from the State of Chen, Zhuangzi was from the State of Liang, Zhang Ling was from the State of Lu, and the State of Pei was sandwiched in between. The powerful, officials and people generally had a tradition of admiring Huang-Lao.

During this busy festival, King Chen received the imperial edict and raised an army, issuing a proclamation to all the counties to formally attack Cao Cao.

In order to persuade King Chen to start a rebellion, Zhao Ji offered the bargaining chip of the general.

As long as Prince Chen takes action, Cao Cao will have no chance of living a stable life.

Lu Bu only has so much capital. If his offensive is blocked, he will not be able to fight to support the enemy and will collapse immediately.

Prince Chen had enough confidence to deal with Cao Cao, and the rules and regulations that restricted Prince Chen were easily erased by Zhao Ji.

As for what kind of monsters can be raised in the future, that is a matter for the future.

Just like the Northern War that was about to break out...few people had the concept of blitzkrieg and raid warfare.

Before starting a war, give people around you an opportunity to learn about the situation, discuss it, and re-align themselves.

If he led the troops to attack directly... if the attack was successful, it would be like forcing a final conclusion, which is not what a gentleman would do; if the attack failed, no matter what the reason, he would be criticized by public opinion.

Although Prince Chen had a standing army, he still issued a manifesto and took the lead in launching a public opinion war with Cao Cao.

That night his manifesto reached Lü Bu and Chen Gong respectively. Lü Bu did not have time to assemble the troops, so he led his troops out of Shanyang Dongmin at night and headed straight for Liang State along the Chidao Road; Chen Gong also sent troops from Pei State and headed straight for Ruyin.

In a year of disaster like this, no one lacks soldiers. As long as there is food, there are soldiers.

Lu Bu rushed out first, followed by Zhang Liao with his troops, and Wei Xu followed behind with his family.

Gao Shun was from Chenliu. When the family split up, Lu Bu forced him to stay and he followed Lu Bu's main force.

Lu Bu was very anxious. He did not expect that King Chen would suddenly raise an army and denounce Cao Cao without any warning.

The Liang State has basically been finalized, and this expedition to the Liang State is a move for Lu Bu.

After arriving in Liang State, he had to reconsider his development direction.

Cao Cao's main force was stationed in Yingchuan and Chenliu, so the two counties of Yingchuan and Runan given to him by the imperial court as governor of Yuzhou were difficult to penetrate; on the contrary, the four vassal states in the east were easily taken over by Chen Gong.

The current Prime Minister of Liang is Luo Jun, the former Prime Minister of Chen.

Chen Gong expanded too much, absorbing the young and strong among the victims. Lu Bu could no longer judge how many troops he had.

In other words, since the imperial edict was conveyed, 70% of the army that had expanded during this period was taken away by Chen Gong and his gang, leaving only 10%, about 3,000 to 4,000 people, for Lu Bu.

The other 20% were in Liang State, and these soldiers were recruited based on the relief grain from Chen State.

It was people from Yanzhou who took over the eastern part of Yuzhou, and it was also these people who recruited soldiers for disaster relief. Naturally, the control of the military force was in the hands of these people.

But Lu Bu was the governor of Yuzhou, and he wanted to go to Liang State to seize control of Liang State’s new recruits!
There were not many new soldiers in Lu State. Most of the people who could escape had already escaped, and the remaining people were not short of relief food. It was impossible for them to risk their lives for a little food.

Chen Gong himself had captured the new recruits from Pei State. With 20,000 to 30,000 hungry new recruits in his hands, he naturally didn't care about the 5,000 to 6,000 new recruits from Liang State.

What benefits would it bring to Chen Gong if he turned against Lu Bu?
Lu Bu was certain of this and marched towards Liang State with great fanfare.

In the middle of the night, he camped in Shanfu City, Shanyang. The next stop was Menghou State in the Kingdom of Liang, which was his fiefdom.

As Lü Bu took a nap under the campfire, Wei Yue came to advise him, "Tomorrow we will enter Liang State. If we suddenly break into the camp and seize the newly recruited soldiers, I'm afraid King Chen will be displeased. I'm also worried that Chen Gongtai will ally with Yuan Shu."

If we can seize the Liang army from King Chen, then there is also a chance that we can seize the Pei army from Chen Gong and his group.

"I was appointed Marquis of Meng and Governor of Yu Province by the Emperor. How could I not mobilize the troops of Liang?"

Lü Bu half-closed his eyes, his tone slightly agitated, "Chen Gong is allied with Yuan Shu, so why should I be afraid of him? Are you afraid of him, Yang Zu?"

"Of course I'm not afraid."

Wei Yue simply sat aside. "I'm concerned about the court. Prince Chen's sudden rise of an army and his appointment as Grand General... this is truly beyond our expectations. Prince Chen has a strong army, excellent equipment, and ample food reserves. What if he orders us to take control of our army?"

Lu Bu was only appointed as the General Zhendong by the court. As long as he recognized the court, he had to accept King Chen's order to be the general.

Thinking of this, Lu Bu suddenly realized why he had sent troops in such a hurry. It was because he was afraid that King Chen would repel Cao Cao and take Yingchuan and Runan before him.

By that time, he will have lost his footing.

At present, we have broken up with Chen Gong and his group. Without Chen Gong to lobby all parties and obtain sponsorship, it will be difficult to supply food in the future.

Wei Yue looked worried again and said, "I'm worried this is the plan of the Marquis of Pingyang. He suddenly appointed King Chen as the Grand General without informing our army beforehand. This is really unreasonable. Although it may be a surprise attack, our army and Cao Cao are both in a passive position. And Zhang Yang..."

"Zhang Yang wouldn't lie to me. Zhao Ji didn't seize his troops. The two of them pledged their loyalty to each other. They are reliable for the time being."

Lu Bu had his own judgment. As long as the alliance still had room to continue fighting, there was no need for Zhao Ji and Zhang Yang to betray each other.

But when Prince Chen suddenly became the Grand General, Lü Bu felt deeply distressed, feeling that the Emperor had failed him. He whispered, "Prince Chen's appointment as Grand General was not the Emperor's original intention; it was merely a temporary measure. Once Cao Cao is driven out, things will change."

Wei Yue nodded. He had no choice but to accept the current situation. As a military group wandering in the Central Plains, they had always lacked a reliable base.

After thinking for a while, he stood up and said, "Brother, continue to rest. I will go on night patrol."

"Wait, call Yilu." Lu Bu was also unwilling to sleep. He stood up and took out the map. He was confident that he could take over Liang State and temporarily control Liang State.

But what to do next?
Should he enter the State of Chen and form an alliance with King Chen to fight against Cao Cao, or should he go up the Bian River to attack Cao's army in Chenliu?

There was no need to annihilate many of Cao's troops. As long as he brought more than 10,000 people to Chenliu, Cao Cao would be unable to take care of both ends.

If Cao Cao returns to confront him, Prince Chen will be able to easily capture Yingchuan, and Chen Gong and Yuan Shu will be able to divide Runan.

Runan was the largest county in Yuzhou and was mountainous. Even Chen Gong and King Chen could not swallow it all at once. There were also too many relatives, former officials and students of the Yuan family here, and these people temporarily obeyed Cao Cao.

If they seize the opportunity now, they will naturally rebel again and become subordinate to Yuan Shu.

Therefore, attacking Chenliu would only benefit Prince Chen, Chen Gong and Yuan Shu; although Cao Cao also suffered a loss, as the bases of Ru and Ying counties that he had carefully managed for nearly a year were gone.

The loss of Ru and Ying counties frightened the people of Ru and Ying, and inevitably led to alienation.

The counties in Yanzhou that were forced to surrender will also be ready to move... Instead of this, why do we need to be the governor of Yuzhou? Wouldn't it be better to be the governor of Yanzhou?

Lu Bu's eyes rolled and he immediately made a decision.

Since I have broken up with Chen Gong, let's just break up completely and not get entangled in this trivial matter in Yuzhou.

He could give up the post of Governor of Yuzhou, but he could not give up Zhang Liao and Wei Yue's posts as Governor of Yingchuan and Governor of Runan easily. He had to get something from King Chen, Chen Gong and Yuan Shu.

By exchanging food from them, he was confident that he could fight back to Chenliu.

Even if it cannot stand firm, it can break through Chenliu and go to the eastern part of Henan Yin, rely on the defense of Xingyang area, integrate into the court, and form an alliance with Zhang Yang in the north across the river, and rely on each other.

Zhang Yang would not watch him starve and would definitely help him.

Therefore, the governors of Yuzhou and Yanzhou can be discarded.

If Zhao Ji, a young boy, could remotely control the imperial court and build a coalition army to besiege Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, then he could do it too.

By then, we will make friends with distant countries and attack nearby ones, and punish the rebellious people on the emperor's behalf. Not to mention Yuan and Cao, even Zhao Ji will be able to be controlled at will!

Just as Lü Bu made up his mind, Qin Yi came over quickly and bowed, "Lord."

"Please excuse me, Yilu, to go to Hanoi. I have some letters to deliver to Zhang Yang, Yang Biao, Zhao Ji, and Your Majesty."

"Here!"

Qin Yi bowed deeply and accepted the offer. Qin Yi was also a descendant of the remnants of the four counties who migrated inland. He was over eight feet tall, had a dignified appearance, and an elegant temperament.

He was also highly regarded by Dong Zhuo and was recruited into the prime minister's residence.

Because he was good at negotiation, he served as Lu Bu's external envoy.

Qin Yi looks a little thin due to being on the road all the time.

Signaling Qin Yi to sit aside and rest, Lu Bu began to gather his emotions and write letters to various parties.

Not only the north, he also wrote about King Chen, Chen Gong, Liu Bei, and Yuan Shu.

He was really fed up with these shabby places in Yan and Yu provinces.

It would have been fine if these people had played tricks on him, but even Zhao Ji had tricked him and set a big trap for him.

Looking back now, he gave the four eastern states of Yuzhou, which could have been easily taken over, to Chen Gong and his group of Yanzhou people, and gave him the two counties of Ru and Ying, which Cao Cao had worked so hard to manage, with Prince Chen in between. It seemed that he had no good intentions at all.

No wonder Chen Gong wanted to leave. Not only did he become more independent, but he probably also guessed the change in King Chen's stance.

You should know that Zhao Ji initially appointed Chen Gong as the prime minister of Chen State. Although Chen Gong could not manage the military and political affairs of Chen State, he had the opportunity to communicate directly with King Chen.

The current Prime Minister of Liang is the former Prime Minister of Chen, Luo Jun.

The people who were going to Liang State to rob were actually King Chen's outer troops.

During this period, the relief food for Liang State came from Chen State.

If he doesn't seize this batch of new soldiers, what will Lu Bu use to fight Cao Cao?
They are so poor that they can only rob with a clear conscience.

Halfway through writing the letter, Lu Bu stopped again... His brows were furrowed, he still couldn't bear to part with the 20,000 or 30,000 new soldiers in Chen Gong's hands.

Chen Gong had three ideas: one was to launch a surprise attack to seize Shouchun and seize Yuan Shu’s grain reserves; the second was to seek revenge on Cao Cao; and the third was to save Zang Hong.

His refusal to seize Shouchun was the main reason for Chen Gong's disappointment.

Without his own elite troops who had experienced many battles, Chen Gong would not be able to capture Shouchun with the remnants of his defeated generals and new recruits.

But now we have lost the opportunity to attack Shouchun. Should we go directly to attack Chenliu and rescue Zang Hong?

Lü Bu, who was at a loss as to what to do in this rapidly changing time, immediately wrote a sincere apology letter to Chen Gong with a try-it attitude, hoping that Chen Gong could send troops to help, attack Yanzhou together, and rescue Zang Hong.

Anyway, let King Chen fight in Yuzhou on his own.

Even if we can't defeat Cao Cao, we can still hold back Cao Cao's main force.

It's impossible that Prince Chen and Cao Cao negotiated with each other and allowed the main force of Cao's army to retreat to Chenliu?

With a little simple and beautiful hope, Lu Bu wrote a letter seriously, hoping to reconcile with Chen Gong as before.

(End of this chapter)