Tiger Guards

Chapter 268: Enemies in the Same Industry
Baima County, respect the elderly.

The Chenggong family had lived here for generations. When Jia Tong pursued Cao Ren here, Cao Ren had already withdrawn.

The entire elderly home had been set on fire, and the bodies of men and women lay outside the inner wall.

All their clothes were stripped off by Cao's soldiers, and some women even had their long hair cut off by Cao's soldiers.

The men's bodies were incomplete, and most of their heads were chopped off by Cao's army.

Jia Tong sighed and said, "Let's search for them. If there are any survivors, bring them back to Yan County. The rest of you can rest and recuperate. We will evacuate in half an hour."

"Here."

The surrounding military officers responded that after following Zhao Ji in the war, fighting in the north and south for more than a hundred days, some of them were no longer used to this kind of situation.

Whether it was Taiyuan, Shangdang, or Zhongshan, even if it was to destroy a big family, Zhao Ji mainly used administrative coercion and rarely used military violence.

Therefore, this massacre of civilians more or less shocked the Bingzhou army.

The people of the Central Plains attacked each other so brutally that the Bingzhou soldiers who witnessed this became more vigilant.

On the other side, Yuan Shu had already crossed the Huai River and began to organize his army to salvage and clear the various warships and transport ships sunk by Guan Yu.

Only by dredging the Sishui River navigation could Yuan Shu's army move forward unimpeded.

At this time, Cao Cao sent the intercepted Sun Ce messenger and memorial to Yuan Shu's army.

Yuan Shu was not surprised at all by this.

After carefully reviewing Sun Ce's memorial, Yuan Shu asked his attendants, "Is this Cao Cao's counter-espionage scheme?"

The chief clerk of the Left General's office, Yan Xiang, the chief secretary, Yang Hong, the counselors Li Ye and Han Yin were present, as were Zheng Hun of Xingyang, Zhang Cheng of Henei, Liu Fu of Pei, Yuan Huan of Chen, Shu Shao of Chenliu, Zhou Shang of Lujiang and others.

Sun Ce's memorial was circulated among the people, and everyone had a solemn expression. If Sun Ce really got the imperial edict of permission, then not only would this battle be in vain, but Wujun and Danyangjun might also change and follow Sun Ce in turning against his country.

Both Yuan Shao and Cao Cao experienced the emperor’s personal expedition for the first time, and they were caught off guard and at a loss as to what to do.

Many commonly used methods are unable to deal with the emperor's army.

Unless you openly rebel, this will directly trigger huge internal changes, which is no different from a decisive defeat.

Yuan Shu was a bit special. The many defeats he suffered at the hands of Cao Cao actually strengthened the morale of Yuan Shu's side.

Judging from Yuan Shu's daily behavior, there were not many loyal people under his rule.

These people followed Yuan Shu, not because they were afraid of Yuan Shu's reckless behavior, but because they were afraid of Yuan Shu's failure.

After the memorial was circulated, Yang Hong suggested, "Why not ask Mr. Shi Shiyi to identify the handwriting?"

No one objected, so Shi Yi Guan, the historian of the Left General's office, who was sitting at the last seat, stood up, stepped out of the line and saluted Yuan Shu, then took the memorial and read it carefully.

Shi Yi Guan was from Nanyang and was good at calligraphy.

When Emperor Lingdi established the Hongdu Gate Academy, Shi Yi Guan's eight-point calligraphy won the championship and was regarded as the best of the time.

He is good at writing large characters of more than one meter in length, and is also good at writing fine characters.

Before the world was in chaos, the alcoholic Shi Yi Guan used to exchange calligraphy for wine, and was like a small human money printing machine.

Often, the words written on the walls of restaurants will be dug away along with the wall paint by other people.

Shi Yi Guan's special proficiency in fine handwriting played a key role in conveying military intelligence to Yuan Shu's side.

He glanced casually at the silk memorial, then looked solemnly at Yuan Shu and bowed, "My lord, this was written by Zhang Zhao and Zhang Zibu of Pengcheng."

"Is it Zhang Zhao, without a doubt?"

"I guarantee on my life that this is Zhang Zibu's handwriting."

As Shi Yi Guan spoke, he bowed to the people around him at the table. He was very confident in his profession.

Yuan Shu waved his hand, his expression becoming serious: "Sir, please take a seat."

"Here."

After Shi Yi Guan saluted, he poured himself a glass of wine before sitting down, then sat down at the desk, waiting for the writing task.

Yuan Shu looked around at everyone and smiled, "As expected of Sun Wentai's son, who will go to Xia Pi and summon Sun Bofu to see me?"

They all looked at each other, and Yuan Shu also looked at them. He continued, "Take this memorial to Sun Bofu and tell him clearly that if he comes to our army in person, I will forgive his past. However, I want Zhang Zhao's head."

Zhang Cheng stepped out and bowed, "My lord, I am willing to go."

His tone was firm, his eyes glaring, and he seemed to be eager for this opportunity.

The Huangmen Lang Zhang Hong and Zhang Wenwei killed by Zhao Ji were Zhang Cheng's cousins; Zhang Cheng's brother was also called Zhang Zhao, who followed the emperor to the east as a counselor and died in the chaos of war.

It cannot be said that Zhao Ji killed him. Zhang Hong drew his sword and tried to assassinate him, but was wounded by Zhao Ji and then killed by Pei Mao.

But when the news reached Zhang Cheng, the blame naturally had to be put on Zhao Ji.

Seeing Zhang Cheng's resolute demeanor, Yuan Shu nodded, stood up, and personally poured a glass of wine, handing it to Zhang Cheng: "Let me give you a toast first."

Upon seeing this, he ordered the historian Yi Guan to pick up a pen and write an official document with appropriate content so that Zhang Cheng could use this document to persuade Sun Ce.

Yuan Shu had his own ways to contain Sun Ce. He knew how Sun Ce had gained Xia Pi, and how Yuan Shu would make him lose it. Sun Ce's only chance was to obtain the imperial edict before Yuan Shu could react, and then unite and improve the morale of his troops.

But his first wave of messengers were captured by Cao Cao and sent to Yuan Shu.

The second wave of messengers was led by his cousin Sun Hong, who was riding a horse towards Yuan Shu's army, with a letter of greetings in vulgar words attached.

Even if the third wave of messengers successfully reached the imperial court, the imperial court was about to leave Hulao Pass... and was getting closer and closer to Zhao Ji, so what could they do?
Zhao Ji would not betray Liu Bei's interests, so who among the court officials would dare to take the lead in betraying Liu Bei?
If he can betray Liu Bei today, he can betray Zhao Ji and Lu Bu tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.

Even if Zhao Ji could tolerate it, Lu Bu would not.

Lu Bu has been thinking about the regret of the defeat in Chang'an for so many years. If he finds an excuse, he will definitely not hold back.

Under the protection of Yuan Shu, Sun Ce killed many people and many diplomatic and internal problems were solved by Yuan Shu.

This led to Sun Ce becoming accustomed to acting recklessly and instinctively ignoring the importance of mutual trust among allies.

Here in the Central Plains, under the rule of the imperial court, we still have to pay attention to what we should pay attention to.

Sun Ce had long adapted to the law of the jungle and believed in it...Liu Bei had obviously lost his usefulness and should be abandoned by Zhao Ji and Lu Bu.

He is obviously a better fighter than Liu Bei. He cooperates with Lu Bu, Chen Gong and Zhao Ji on behalf of Liu Bei... Is there a problem with this?

In Sun Ce's opinion, there is no problem at all!

All of this was done to support the Han Dynasty. The court led by the Zhao family was gathering all its strength to punish the two Yuans and the Cao thieves. Even a refugee leader like Zang Ba could be appointed as the governor of Qingzhou.

He is the dignified Marquis of Wucheng, and now he has turned against his enemies in the battle line. He really should not be blamed, but should be highly praised and used as a role model!
Not only Sun Ce, but also Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong believed that the court would not miss this opportunity.

After all, they only took Xia Pi from Liu Bei, not completely annihilated him. There was still a lot of room for maneuver, and they did not do things to the extreme.

Against the backdrop of punishing the two Yuans and the Cao thieves, anyone who opposed them was worthy of being won over by the court.

As for the situation in Xia Pi, without Sun Ce, if Yuan Shu's other troops arrived, the Danyang soldiers in the city would also rebel and respond.

This is because Liu Bei’s foundation is too shallow and cannot withstand shocks. What direct relationship does it have with Sun Ce?
Unfortunately, from the beginning to the end, Zhao Ji had no intention of staying in charge of the court for a long time.

No matter how well the imperial court develops, it is not as important as every brick and tile of Jinyang City.

Zhao Ji is a rare non-utilitarian person who values morality towards his allies... This means that Sun Ce and his gang are destined to run into trouble!

So, when Zhang Cheng brought his handwritten letter and memorial to Xia Pi to meet Sun Ce, Zhao Ji's envoy also arrived at Yuan Shu's army.

Sun Hao’s head was irrefutable evidence and could not be denied.

What made Yuan Shu even more angry was the handwritten letter Zhao Ji gave him, which only had twelve words: Do not allow the vicious dog to hurt people, and fight again next year.

Even though he was angry, Yuan Shu expressed similar greetings to Zhao Ji out of politeness.

At the same time, reward the envoys well. Rewarding the envoys is to give face to Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji really gave him face. By not accepting Sun Ce's surrender, he gave Yuan Shu enough face.

Another group of envoys who arrived at Liu Bei's army were in a more embarrassing situation. Liu Bei was now in a dilemma.

The food from the East Sea Kingdom could not be transported and the operation efficiency was low. The troops on the front line were not well fed and lacked equipment.

It was impossible to provide any decent food for the envoys, and it was even more impossible for him to send several captured royal women to serve Zhao Ji's envoys like Yuan Shu did.

Even so, Zhao Ji's envoy brought the support that Liu Bei desperately needed!
It doesn’t matter that the army is temporarily hungry, Liu Bei can hold on for a while.

What they fear most is that the court represented by Zhao Ji will abandon them and choose Sun Ce... If this happens, two-thirds of the current 30,000-strong army will switch to Sun Ce.

Fortunately, Chen Deng brought more than 10,000 people to join Sun Ce, and left all the food to Liu Bei before leaving, otherwise it would be really difficult for Liu Bei to hold on.

In order to help Liu Bei regain his footing, Zhao Ji summoned Xu Qiu, the prime minister of Donghai and a native of Guangling, to the court and gave him a position as a minister to temporarily accommodate this guy.

This would free up the position of Prime Minister of Donghai to house Liu Bei's people, giving Liu Bei a place to stay and strengthening his rule over Xuzhou in the future.

Not only Xu Qiu, but also Langya Prime Minister Xiao Jian was recruited into the court, and Zhao Ji appointed Zhao Fan as the Prime Minister of Langya.

To the north of Langya was the refugee leader led by Zang Ba, to the south was Liu Bei, and in the middle were the Langya scholars who supported Zhao Ji. Xiao Jian was a native of Donghai, so naturally he would not stubbornly refuse this official transfer.

If he dares to refuse, he won't have to set off. Given the current situation, he will die in Langya!
Over the past six months, Zhao Yan's network of contacts has been recovering. Many of his indirect relationship networks have not only recovered on their own, but are also expanding on their own!
Despite the great distance between them, the Zhao family's grandparents and grandchildren now have a greater influence on Langya than Fu Wan.

Not only here, but even Wang Lang, the governor of Kuaiji County, Zhao Ji sent envoys to summon Wang Lang to the court.

Taking advantage of his brief control over the imperial court, Zhao Ji also began to recruit famous scholars from all over the country.

If possible, he wanted to cooperate with Liu Yao and Yuan Shu to jointly take down Sun Ce.

Colleagues are the biggest enemies. Not to mention anything else, just Sun Ce’s age and his recklessness.

If Sun Ce really took control of the area between Jiang and Huai, Zhao Ji, who was far away in Taiyuan, would also be very worried.

We can't gamble on low-probability events like assassins. Anyway, the opportunity is rare now, so we should demolish it if we can.

Others like Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Lu Bu, even if they just wait for their age, can turn these heroes into old men!

The remaining window of operation this year is getting shorter and shorter. When all parties run out of food, they will have to sit down and negotiate to redistribute official positions and territories.

After this round of distribution, it will be difficult to adjust the county magistrate's position in this way.

(End of this chapter)