Tiger Guards

Chapter 321: Each Shows His Abilities
On the northern outskirts of Pengcheng, Sun Ce rode alone on horseback.

The horses trod through the snow. Sun Ce stopped his horse on a small hill and looked around at the tombs of several Liu family princes and nobles.

His army gradually disintegrated and collapsed. Even Cao Bao's more than 5,000 Danyang soldiers left without saying goodbye and returned to their hometown to join Yuan Shu.

Sun Ce could no longer pay the soldiers in Danyang, and the army's food supplies were also in dire straits.

Although a lot of grain was transported when they left Xiapi, it would eventually run out.

By now, Sun Ce's main force had only 18,000 men left. In addition to the old troops left by Sun Jian, the Huai and Si soldiers, and his own troops, Sun Ce also held back more than 6,000 soldiers who were planning to mutini.

He was confident that he could suppress these soldiers and, under the pretext of their rebellion, demote them all to prisoners.

These low-cost laborers will become the main force for spring plowing and military settlement.

Only a small portion of his army was aware of and prepared for the cold. As December approached, Sun Ce's army was paying the price for its lack of preparation for the cold.

In Jiangdong, the textile industry was relatively normal, and replenishing cloth was very convenient.

This is Xuzhou, and it's practically impossible to replenish cold-weather supplies secretly. If it becomes known to outsiders, then if the enemy launches an attack, Sun Ce will be in trouble.

What makes things even more difficult is that Yuan Shao and Cao Cao have already sent messages to him, offering to protect him as the governor of Qingzhou.

The current governor of Qingzhou, Zang Ba, has only conquered Beihai, which, strictly speaking, means he has only occupied half of Beihai. The counties and kingdoms of Donglai, Le'an, Jinan, and Pingyuan still do not submit to Zang Ba.

Zang Ba was previously just a leader of refugees brought in and supported by Tao Qian, with his own forces numbering only three or four thousand households. Now, Zang Ba is merely a coalition of other refugee leaders, and his overall strength is certainly inferior to that of Sun Ce.

Abandon Pengcheng, head to the Ji River basin controlled by Cao Cao, and then sail down the Ji River to attack Qingzhou Beihai. This was the marching route Yuan Shao had set for him.

The governorship of Qingzhou and the former territory of Qi were both attracting Sun Ce.

Although Qingzhou is further north and the winters are colder, if the army moves out and prepares to abandon Pengcheng, the problem of insufficient cold-weather clothing... could probably be solved conveniently.

Having lost his foundation, Sun Ce lost all strategic resolve.

If we can capture Qingzhou, we might have a chance to become a player vying for supremacy once again.

If he had stayed in Pengcheng, not to mention Cao Cao and Lü Bu, even Liu Bei and Chen Deng would have found a way to get rid of him.

Sun Ce rode alone, and as he pondered, he saw dozens of riders searching at the foot of the mountain.

Sun Ce then went down the mountain and joined Cheng Pu and the others.

The group returned to the city together. Sun Ce summoned Taishi Ci, the two Zhangs, and Cheng Pu and others to discuss the matter around the fire pit.

Sun Ce presented Yuan Shao's handwritten letter: "Now the Right General and the Former General are locked in a stalemate at Xindu. The Right General is worried that Zang Ba will raid Pingyuan. He wants to recommend me as the Governor of Qingzhou. What do you all think?"

Cheng Pu turned around and exchanged a glance with Han Dang; both of them were from Youzhou.

The two then went to see Taishi Ci, a man from Donglai in Qingzhou. Taishi Ci frowned and remained silent.

His position was awkward. He was a fellow townsman of Liu Yao, but unexpectedly, Liu Yao was able to rise from the ashes, regain control of Jiangdong, and join forces with the forces left behind by Sun Ce.

If they were to seize Qingzhou according to Yuan Shao's plan, they could gain control over Liu Yao's clan. This would allow them to form a strange strategic alliance with Liu Yao, with both sides holding the other's weakness.

Cheng Pu cupped his hands and asked, "May I ask, General, does the Right General instruct our army to expel Zang Ba, or to cross the river and engage the Former General in battle after heading north?"

Everyone else was also watching Sun Ce with bated breath; this was a crucial question.

Back then, Sun Jian was completely fooled by a governor of Yu Province recommended by Yuan Shu, and was eventually sent to fight Liu Biao, where he unexpectedly died in battle.

If this is a nominal governorship, then we might as well not have one.

"I am ordered to drive out Zang Ba and subdue the bandits, pirates, and thieves in the various prefectures of Qingzhou."

Sun Ce handed the letter to Cheng Pu, who stood up and received it with both hands. After reading it carefully, he nodded slowly: "If the Right General is so sincere, it shows that he is truly sincere. I was just worried that Cao Cao might change his mind and launch an attack while our army is setting out."

As a nominal ally, would Cao Cao take the opportunity to attack?

Although Cao Cao did not kill Wang Kuang of Mount Tai, it was Cao Cao who instigated the Hu Wuban family to take revenge and kill Wang Kuang.

At the end of the Han Dynasty, there were three leaders of Mount Tai. Bao Xin died in battle, and Hu Wuban, representing the court, advised Wang Kuang to stop the war. Wang Kuang, the brother-in-law, had no choice but to kill Hu Wuban on the orders of Yuan Shao.

Another leader was Wang Kuang, the governor of Hanoi, who allied with Yuan Shao in Hanoi and plotted to seize Luodu. After Dong Zhuo launched a feint attack and crossed the river, Wang Kuang's main force was annihilated in one battle.

When Wang Kuang returned to his hometown to recruit soldiers, he was killed by the Hu Wuban family in revenge.

Subsequently, Mount Tai lacked any heroes and was easily controlled by Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.

Moreover, there were too many examples of infighting and annexation within the coalition against Dong Zhuo, so Cheng Pu's concerns were quite reasonable. Sun Ce went to see the two Zhangs, and seeing Zhang Zhao's worried expression, he bypassed Zhang Zhao and looked at Zhang Hong: "What does Master Zigang think?"

"Now that the Right General is powerful, Cao Jiande has been able to establish himself in the eastern part of Yanzhou by relying on the Right General."

After a moment's thought, Zhang Hong stated the situation: "Previously, the Right General forced Cao Jiande to hand over his family to Ye City, but Cao Jiande politely refused. Before the Battle of Chenliu, Cao Jiande controlled the two provinces of Yan and Yu, and his power was no less than that of the Right General. Therefore, I believe that the Right General's recommendation to appoint you as the Governor of Qingzhou was intended to hinder Cao Jiande from becoming too powerful."

Sun Ce nodded slowly; he shared the same view.

Zhang Hong continued, "Zang Ba was ordered by the court to expel Yuan Tan. There were two reasons for his success. First, Yuan Tan had just pacified Beihai, and the people did not support him. Second, the Grand Marshal had successively annihilated Gao Gan and Yuan Xi, thus tying down the Right General's army at Changshan. The Hebei troops could not come to his aid, so Yuan Tan was defeated."

"Therefore, Zang Ba is nothing more than a minor ailment to the Right General. Once the Former General has retreated to Youzhou, the Right General can send a detachment to drive Zang Ba away."

Zhang Hong gathered his thoughts and continued his analysis: "In the Battle of Chenliu, Cao Cao's main force was almost wiped out. I have heard that most of his wives, concubines, and sons have been sent to Ye City as hostages, leaving only his eldest son with him. If we can bring his eldest son into our army as a hostage, our army can march north to attack Qingzhou without worry."

As for whether he could defeat Zang Ba, even Zhang Hong didn't think it would be difficult.

A professional army should have no problem defeating Zang Ba and his band of refugee leaders, who lacked local support.

These bandit leaders from Mount Tai were only able to bully the less organized Yellow Turban rebels.

When they encounter border troops or the imperial guards of the capital, they are simply no match for them in open field battles.

Sun Jian's army was composed of a complex mix, with elements of border troops, making it more like a professional imperial mercenary force from the time of Emperor Ling. It was the fifth professional legion, independent of the capital's imperial guards and the three major border armies.

They were tricked by Yuan Shu back then, otherwise they wouldn't have ended up in this state.

If Yuan Shu had shown even a little respect to the powerful families of Nanyang, the Jingzhou army wouldn't have disintegrated and mutinied, leading to the death of his staunch ally Liu Xiang.

If Liu Xiang, the governor of Jiangxia Commandery, were still alive, Sun Jian could have maintained contact with the Jingnan region through Jiangxia and surrounded Xiangyang from three sides; he would most likely have been able to easily drive out Liu Biao, and Sun Jian himself would not have died in battle.

The events in Jingzhou back then were interconnected, and the resentment of Sun Ce and Sun Jian's former subordinates towards Yuan Shu remained strong.

Sun Ce listened and nodded slowly. In any case, many of Cao Cao's relatives were held by Yuan Shao. If Cao Cao's eldest son, Cao Ang, was brought into his army as a hostage, with Yuan Shao pressing him, Cao Cao would have no choice but to agree.

Immediately, Sun Ce asked in return, "General Right, you have led my troops north to Qingzhou. Is your purpose merely to expel Zang Ba and restrain Cao Jiande?"

The crowd exchanged glances, then looked at Zhang Hong, who replied, "Now that you are in Pengcheng, you are separating the Grand General from Liu Bei. If you were to head north and cede Pengcheng, it would provoke the Grand General and Liu Bei to fight over it. Pengcheng is the gateway to Xuzhou, and Liu Bei has no reason to give it up."

After a brief pause, and once everyone understood his meaning, he continued, "Judging from the General's character and domineering actions, how could he possibly allow Liu Bei to take back Pengcheng? I believe that after our army marches north, both sides will inevitably fight for Pengcheng. Although it may not escalate into a full-blown war, it will break their alliance and isolate both sides."

When it comes to his hometown, Zhang Zhao is easily flustered by his concern. Seeing Zhang Hong make such a judgment, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and feel at ease.

Sun Ce pondered for a moment: "In that case, I can do a deal with Liu Bei. I can take Pengcheng and exchange it for a lot of cloth to fund the army."

Zhang Zhao immediately cupped his hands in greeting: "General, I am willing to go on this mission to facilitate this matter."

If they couldn't get enough cloth, Sun Ce might actually strip the surrounding officials, civilians, men and women naked when he withdrew his troops.

Sun Ce didn't need to give the order; the army would go and seize it on its own.

Seeing that Zhang Zhao also supported going to Qingzhou, Sun Ce nodded: "Thank you for your help, Mr. Zibu."

At this moment, Sun He, who had been silent all along, spoke up: "It would be a real pity to leave like this. Liu Bei sent his envoy Sun Qian with a caravan to Bingzhou, presumably to trade horses. If our army is in Pengcheng, we can wait for their return..."

"No problem. Our army will share the burden for the Right General. After Qingzhou is pacified, we can also purchase Donghu horses through the Right General."

Sun Ce made his decision and looked at the clerk: "Draft a letter to Liu Bei request 10,000 bolts of cloth. The remaining grain and fodder in the city will also be handed over to him."

Since transport capacity is limited anyway, carrying about half a month's worth of food is enough.

Sun Ce was very confident that he could feed the enemy.

He also wanted to give it a try; he felt that he could do the same things Zhao Ji could do in Qingzhou.

Zang Ba couldn't even completely conquer Beihai, which shows that the powerful clans and bandits of Qingzhou are still quite strong.

I'm not afraid of them being strong, I'm afraid of these people being so weak they have nothing to eat.

As long as Qingzhou still has manpower and resources, Sun Ce is confident that he can sustain his war effort through warfare.

With Mount Tai blocking the way and Liu Bei also vying with Lü Bu for Pengcheng, it would be difficult for him to support Zang Ba.

So strategically speaking, he is still very confident.

From Sun Ce down, none of the military commanders were afraid of fighting!

(End of this chapter)