Tiger Guards

Chapter 355 Taking the Initiative to Break the Stalemate
In Wandu, the emperor was able to eat rice from Jingzhou again.

The news of Yuan Shu establishing his own regime immediately broke the stalemate between Lü Bu and Liu Biao.

Even if Lü Bu was greedy, he wouldn't dare to kill Liu Biao after Chen Wang and Liu Yao.

There are only five vassal states in the entire country. Although the other princes are still alive, to the people of the world, there is no difference between these princes being alive and dead.

Lü Bu dared not pressure Liu Biao too much, otherwise he would become a traitor like Yuan Shu.

Liu Biao also believed that Lü Bu possessed basic political common sense, and the two sides reached a consensus of mutual trust, thus easily resolving the stalemate.

In the past six months, the imperial court has begun to send county magistrates to Yizhou, taking advantage of the convenience of the Yangtze River.

Liu Zhang's succession to the throne was illegitimate to begin with, so how could he dare to forcibly refuse?
Yizhou was too remote, and Lü Bu had no idea of ​​eating in Yizhou.

They couldn't find a suitable replacement for Liu Zhang, and the emperor and the high officials didn't want to let Yizhou, this vassal state, perish.

Through negotiations and compromises among all parties, Lü Bu acknowledged Liu Zhang's legitimacy.

However, the relevant imperial edict was stuck in Luodu. Zhao Ji disagreed with it, so Liu Zhang could forget about obtaining a legitimate edict appointing him as governor.

Even without a legitimate imperial edict of appointment, the friendly attitude of Lü Bu and the emperor had already reached Liu Zhang.

Liu Zhang's new envoys also took the Yong route and arrived in Wandu.

The fierce battles that took place in the Central Plains had deeply shocked these people from the remote areas of Yizhou.

They thought that the war between Liu Yan and the local powerful families in Yizhou was bloody enough, but compared to the records of 50,000 to 60,000 heads being beheaded and more than 100,000 soldiers being killed in the Central Plains, that bloodshed was really nothing.

Although the powerful clans and gentry of Yizhou rebelled once, they continued to live their lives after Liu Yan quelled the rebellion.

Look at what Grand Marshal Zhao Ji did. He actually purged the powerful clans and powerful families in Taiyuan, and even emptied Shangdang.

When General Lü Bu retreated from the Central Plains to Nanyang, he brought not only 100,000 troops of various types, but also over 300,000 disaster victims. The powerful clans of Nanyang were also captured and disintegrated due to their instigation and creation of unrest in Xuchang.

Compared to Lü Bu and Zhao Yun, Dong Zhuo's harm only affected the court and the officials and people under his rule; while Liu Yan, out of respect for the dead, did not seem to go so far.

However, Yuan Shu was even more ruthless. He assassinated the King of Chen and annexed the country... Compared to other kingdoms, the State of Chen was more like an independent kingdom, and it was swallowed up by Yuan Shu in one gulp.

The changes in various parts of the Central Plains have made the people of Yizhou feel deeply uneasy.

And their unease is growing.

The envoy, Fei Guan, was Liu Zhang's cousin and received an invitation from Lü Bu.

Fei Guan's paternal aunt was Liu Zhang's mother; Liu Yan was from Jingling, Jiangxia. After entering Yizhou, many of his relatives left Jingzhou and moved to Yizhou to avoid the chaos and enjoy a better life.

Fei Guan, being skilled in social interaction, not a native of Yizhou, and a reliable person in Liu Zhang's eyes, became the chief envoy of the mission.

Compared to his elder brother Liu Mao, Liu Zhang trusted his cousin Fei Guan more.

Lü Bu was also in a very bad mood. He had recently been criticized a lot. Even the emperor attributed the deep-seated reasons for the death of the King of Chen and the destruction of the State of Chen to Lü Bu leading his army to seek food in Nanyang, leaving the King of Chen isolated and killed by Yuan Shu.

But King Chen is already dead, so what's the point of saying all this?
Fortunately, King Chen died, which deprived Zhao Ji of his grain supply base in the Central Plains.

The more Lü Bu thought about it, the more he felt that Zhao Ji would send troops to attack Yuan Shu.

He felt that Zhao Ji was similar to himself, a person who would seek revenge, not very magnanimous, and full of cunning.

If possible, Lü Bu hoped that Zhao Ji would enjoy himself in Bingzhou, Liangzhou, and Guanzhong, and never come to the Central Plains again.

The more you worry, the higher the probability that this will happen.

Therefore, Lü Bu could not simply wait idly; he had to launch a war mobilization before Zhao Ji could launch his campaign against Yuan Shu.

Despite relying on the army in Nanyang, Lü Bu was confident that he could sweep Yuan Shu aside and drive him into the Yangtze River to feed the fish.

The problem is also very serious: there is a shortage of food, and the pressure on food transportation is very heavy.

One cannot expect to be subjugated by the enemy. The fact that Yuan Shu immediately launched a war against Xuzhou after swallowing up Chen shows that Chen had very little reserves.

Last year's war and disaster relief efforts have nearly depleted Chen's grain reserves.

If Chen Guozhen truly had a considerable amount of grain reserves, Yuan Shu would never have attacked Liu Bei; instead, he would have marched his troops into Nanyang!
Going to attack Liu Bei now is simply because Liu Bei is easy to bully. Although Xuzhou has suffered from war in the past few years, the drought has not been fatal and the locust plague is small in scale.

Taking Xuzhou would alleviate Yuan Shu's food shortage.

Even though Yuan Shu didn't come to attack Nanyang, Lü Bu still had to organize a coalition to fight Yuan Shu because of Zhao Ji.

Liu Biao and Liu Zhang were excellent allies, and sending troops from these two places was more symbolic.

When they join forces with Zhao Ji, Zhao Ji will only have troops from Sizhou, Bingzhou, Liangzhou, and the Xiongnu; while Zhao Ji will have troops from Nanyang, Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Jingzhou, and Yizhou.

In particular, the armies of Jing and Yi provinces were troops from the imperial clans and vassal states, with a high proportion of Liu Bei's troops.

As long as the army of Yizhou participates in the campaign, Lü Bu is confident that he can secure the position of Governor of Yizhou for Liu Zhang and develop Liu Zhang into a stable ally.

He needed Liu Zhang's support, and Liu Zhang also needed the support of the court to consolidate his power in Yizhou.

Separated from Liu Biao by the Jing and Ba Mountains, Lü Bu was unlikely to engage in conflict or war with Liu Zhang. Zhao Ji, however, was different. After conquering Guanzhong and eastern Liangzhou, Zhao Ji would either target the northern barbarians or move south.

In the short term, Liu Zhang needs Lü Bu to provide legitimate protection; in the long term, he also needs Lü Bu's support if he wants to confront Zhao Ji.

Just as Zhao Ji sabotaged the Secretariat, preventing Lü Bu from granting Liu Zhang the position of Governor of Yizhou, Zhao Ji would also be unable to use the Secretariat to accuse Liu Zhang of being a traitor if Lü Bu caused trouble in the future.

With Zhao Ji stirring up the situation, Lü Bu's status was actually highlighted.

Without Zhao Ji, Lü Bu would be all alone in ruling the court... Liu Zhang wouldn't be so eager to deal with him.

Lü Bu and Zhao Ji were, in a sense, two sides of the same coin. With Zhao Ji on the outside, Lü Bu's position became increasingly stable, which also deterred many people from assassinating Lü Bu.

Lu Bu is bloodthirsty. If you kill Lu Bu, then when Zhao Ji enters the court, you'll be in for a brutal trial.

As long as Zhao Ji is alive, no one will be able to incorporate Lü Bu's army after Lü Bu's death, which is the biggest hidden danger.

Although Lü Bu could recognize this, it didn't stop him from disliking Zhao Ji.

Thus, Lü Bu, in a bad mood, summoned Fei Guan, Liu Zhang's envoy, and Liu Xian, Liu Biao's envoy from Lingling.

With a gloomy expression, Lü Bu said, "Yuan Shu's title is a great act of treason. I wish to raise an army to punish him and secure the state, but I fear my forces are insufficient. I wish to recruit 5,000 elite troops from Yizhou and 5,000 elite troops from Jingzhou to join forces with me to punish the traitor Yuan."

While Fei Guan was pondering, Liu Xian immediately replied, "General, rest assured, our province will provide our full support. We will not slacken in our efforts to provide troops, weapons, provisions, and cloth."

Lu Bu looked at Liu Xian, his tone softening: "So, exactly how much?"

"Eight thousand elite soldiers, with double the supply of armor and weapons. Three hundred thousand shi of rice will be transported before May, and one million shi of cloth will be transported by July."

Liu Xian gritted his teeth and followed up with his conditions: "However, there are many obstacles from the Jingnan side. I hope the General can do us a favor."

Obstruction came from Zhang Xian, the governor of Changsha, and Lü Bu gradually helped Zhang Xian to this position.

After the Nanyang Incident, Zhang Xian and Han Song naturally became traitors who opposed Lü Bu, and they even colluded with their fellow townsman, Zhang Jin, the governor of Jiaozhou, to oppose the imperial court and Liu Biao.

The most direct manifestation of this was that after Lou Gui absconded with the money to Jingnan, he completely stopped the private purchase and transportation of grain and even interfered with Liu Biao's grain allocation.

The ever-changing nature of allies and enemies is what makes a chaotic world.

Liu Biao naturally wanted to get rid of Zhang Xian, and he also wanted to get rid of Zhang Jin as well.

With various forces intertwined, the most difficult thing is to break the deadlock.

If the assassination of Prince Chen and the death of Liu Yao had occurred simultaneously, Yuan Shu would have been able to break through the current predicament and expand his power instantly. If he were to take over Xuzhou in one fell swoop and extend his influence northward to Qingzhou, he would truly possess half of the country and show signs of sweeping away all opposition.

Liu Biao was no exception; with various factors combined, it would be difficult for him to break the deadlock without external influence.

Controlling all the counties in Jingzhou except Nanyang was only the initial breakthrough for Liu Biao, giving him the right to intervene externally.

If we can conquer Jiaozhou or Yizhou in one fell swoop and control both provinces, then we will completely break the strategic deadlock, unite the people internally, and form a collective consensus to compete for supremacy.

The rivalry between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan in Hebei was a stalemate; only by eliminating the other could the stalemate be broken.

Liu Bei was caught in the middle of the situation, in Xuzhou, a place surrounded by enemies. He wouldn't even take Chen Deng, so how could he break the deadlock?

Zhao Ji also had limitations, but Li Jue and Guo Si were dying men, politically dead men, so attacking them wouldn't be a breakthrough.

Zhao Ji's limitations lie with Ma Teng and Han Sui, making peaceful coexistence between the two sides unlikely in the future.

Ma Teng and Han Sui were worried about being devoured by Zhao Ji, while Zhao Ji was also afraid that Ma Teng and Han Sui would raid his home base when he was waging war in Guandong.

Lu Bu also had his own scheme, which was the imperial court. It was difficult to break free from this scheme, so he could only try to expand it and include everyone in it.

Liu Zhang is no exception. As an illegal governor or prefect, he is currently very vulnerable and has not yet reached the level where he needs to break the deadlock.

Only after gaining autonomy and controlling the entire Bashu region will Liu Zhang face the challenge of breaking the deadlock.

Therefore, when Liu Xian asked this question, Lü Bu hesitated and turned to look at Yang Jun.

Based on the tacit understanding between Lü Bu and Zhao Ji, he adjusted the official positions in Jingzhou, and Zhao Ji would not cause trouble.

Theoretically and empirically speaking, Lü Bu could directly depose Zhang Xian and Han Song from their legitimate positions, allowing Liu Biao's side to directly control Jingnan and Jingbei.

As for Zhang Jin, the governor of Jiaozhou, Lü Bu hoped that Zhang Jin would live well and continue to cause trouble for Liu Biao.

Seeing Lü Bu's probing gaze, Yang Jun replied, "General, now that we have allied with Jingzhou and Yizhou, we should demonstrate our sincerity in forming an alliance. I believe that Zhang Xian is suspected of illegal activities, and he should be summoned to the court for questioning."

"also may."

Lu Bu gave his reply, knowing that Zhang Xian would most likely not dare to return to the court to report on his duties, so he went to see Liu Zhang's envoy, Fei Guan.

Fei Guan immediately said, "Zhao Wei, the chief official of this prefecture, is skilled in both civil and military affairs, and is loyal to the country. He can enter the court to serve as an assistant to the Grand General."

Upon hearing this, Lü Bu smiled and said, "If that is the request, I can certainly grant it. You may recommend this man to be appointed as a General of the Household, to oversee the troops of Yizhou, and to sail into Jingzhou to come to Nanyang to join me in attacking the rebel Yuan."

(End of this chapter)