Tiger Guards

Chapter 356 Things must turn against each other when they reach their extremes
In Taiyuan, Jia Xu went out to inspect the counties of the prefecture and encouraged farmers and livestock.

While in Yuci, I received intelligence about the Hebei military situation.

More accurately, it was about the military situation in Shangdang. Xue Hong, the governor of Shangdang, voluntarily abandoned the prefecture and went south to Henan, then to Chenliu to join Zhang Yang.

Knowing he was no match for the Hebei soldiers and not wanting to commit further bloodshed, Xue Hong voluntarily gave up.

He left easily, and the officials he had assigned to various counties in Shangdang either abandoned their posts and fled, or led the people who were willing to follow him to migrate to Taiyuan or Hanoi.

Some county magistrates who led officials and civilians back to Taiyuan arrived in Yuci, bringing not only news of the fall of Shangdang, but also news of Yuan Shu's claim that he had gathered a large army to launch a three-pronged attack on Xuzhou.

Upon hearing this, Jia Xu sighed deeply: "The chaos in the world began with the Yuan family, and it also reached its peak with the Yuan family."

He strongly suspected that Yuan Shao had already begun to follow in Yuan Shu's footsteps.

If Yuan Shu were to conquer Xuzhou and sever the southeast, and then preemptively declare himself emperor, he would certainly have no shortage of people willing to serve him.

Scholars had been suppressed for a long time, and many were dissatisfied with the Han dynasty's system.

Yuan Shu repeatedly suffered defeats but never gave up, and each time he was able to rebuild his power. The reason was that Yuan Shu was very popular, and this popular support came from the aristocratic families who opposed the Han dynasty and its system.

When Yuan Shao fled from Luodu, he chose Hebei instead of other places, which was naturally the result of in-depth research and repeated consideration.

There's no other reason than that Hebei has become a stronghold for anti-Han sentiment.

The Zhang brothers were from Hebei, and the Yellow Turban Rebellion's headquarters were also in Hebei.

When Huangfu Song quelled the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Hebei, Yan Zhong, the magistrate of Xindu County, was dismissed from his post and advised Huangfu Song to establish his own independent regime.

After Huangfu Song refused, Yan Zhong returned to his hometown in Liangzhou. Han Sui, Ma Teng, and others rebelled, and their leader, Wang Guo, was executed after a military defeat. They then tried to forcibly support Yan Zhong as their leader.

Yan Zhong looked down on these people, and after becoming the leader of the rebel army, he accomplished nothing and died of illness.

As a renowned scholar from Liangzhou, Yan Zhong died of illness in his old age, frustrated and unfulfilled. It is also possible that Han Sui, fearing Yan Zhong's influence, secretly executed him.

Jia Xu knew about Yan Zhong's affairs because Yan Zhong had appreciated him and spread his fame when Jia Xu was still a young man and had not yet made a name for himself.

Later, Wang Fen, the governor of Ji Province, attempted to launch a mutiny when Emperor Ling returned to his hometown. This was not only due to Wang Fen's arrogance, but also because the people of Ji Province were willing to follow him and had this collective consensus.

Therefore, Yuan Shao chose Hebei because he valued the consensus among the anti-government groups there.

In contrast, there was no such consensus in other parts of the Kanto and South regions; even if brilliant individuals believed that the world was about to descend into chaos and made preparations in advance, they would only associate with heroes and prepare for the turmoil.

In regions where there is no consensus against the imperial court, the small number of people who oppose the court will be overwhelmed by public sentiment and dare not express their opinions.

Faced with persecution from the imperial court and local officials, few of these people were able to raise an army in rebellion or successfully resist.

The empire was ultimately too large, and the size of the army that an individual could command and lead was limited.

If one successfully rebels, one will control several counties and become a clan leader, a local strongman, or a leader of displaced people, but it will be difficult for one to gain official status.

It is impossible to divide counties and prefectures without a large number of like-minded people.

Otherwise, local powerful clans alone could distract and waste your precious strategic time.

Previously, when the people of Hebei were under Han Fu's command, they were determined to rebel; but when Yuan Shao seized Ji Province, the people of Hebei split into three groups.

One faction sided with the more arrogant Gongsun Zan, another with Yuan Shao, and yet another, still clinging to their former lord Han Fu, was ravaged and destroyed by Yuan Shao. Besides these three factions, there was also the ever-present neutral faction.

Although Han Fu and his former subordinates were destroyed and disintegrated by Yuan Shao, they were still related to Yuan Shao's supporters.

Therefore, the Hebei people, who were originally determined to rebel, were not so rebellious after joining Yuan Shao's forces, and were even somewhat obedient... This chaste and virtuous reaction was interpreted by Jia Xu, an experienced man, as the Hebei people using this to blackmail Yuan Shao.

Ju Shou, Tian Feng, and Shen Pei were not against rebellion; rather, they did not want to be easily used or manipulated by Yuan Shao.

Only if Yuan Shao makes enough concessions to satisfy these people will they be willing to offer their support for Yuan Shao's formal separatist regime.

After all, this step is extremely difficult. If they succeed, they will become founding fathers and dignitaries of the new dynasty; if they fail, they will not only lose the wealth and honor of several generations, but also the good reputation accumulated by their ancestors.

But now Yuan Shao and the people of Hebei no longer have the time or space to wait for a higher price.

Yuan Shu merely established a separatist regime in the southeast. After taking control of Qing and Xu provinces, it would be in accordance with the situation for Yuan Shu to sever the eastern kingdom and proclaim himself the Eastern Emperor.

By then, Yuan Shao and the people of Hebei were in a passive position; no matter what choice they made, they could only achieve second-rate results.

Yuan Shu's establishment of titles and systems indirectly proves the necessity, justice, and foresight of Zhao Ji's purge of the powerful clans in Taiyuan; it also proves that Lü Bu's actions in Nanyang were correct.

This will prevent those high-ranking officials from continuing to criticize Zhao Ji and Lü Bu, and will further boost the cohesion and action of Lü Bu's side.

Yuan Shu had the advantage of time over Yuan Shao, while Zhao Ji and Gongsun Zan had the advantage of space over Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao is now sending troops to probe and capture Shangdang in order to gain more room for maneuver in his next move.

It can only be said that Lü Bu's decision to lead his army to Nanyang for food had a very negative impact.

Zhang Yang himself was already struggling to hold his own, let alone Xue Hong, who was under his command. Xue Hong dared not defend Shangdang because he knew he couldn't; given this consensus, the officials and people of Shangdang also dared not support Xue Hong.

Thus, the Shangdang Heights were easily seized by Yuan Shao.

But does it matter?
In Jia Xu's eyes, none of this mattered. Crossing the Taihang Mountains to fight Yuan Shao would not bring much benefit even if they won.

Similarly, after Yuan Shao took Shangdang, he did not dare to advance his troops towards Taiyuan.

For both sides, Shangdang was merely a buffer zone and a boundary.

If a decisive battle is to be fought, it should either be fought in Dai, Zhongshan, and Shanggu counties north of the Taihang Mountains, or in Hanoi and Dong counties.

This is a lesson learned from the Battle of Changping between Qin and Zhao. Neither side would launch a full-scale attack on Shangdang, or cross Shangdang to fight a decisive battle along a long supply line.

It's not that large armies can't pass through the Shangdang Heights, but rather that it's difficult for large armies to deploy.

Last year, Zhao Ji could only lead a small number of troops to fight in Changshan. Even when he joined forces with Zhang Yan, he dared not rashly engage in a decisive battle with Yuan Shao.

Even if they won, they wouldn't be able to annihilate Yuan Shao's entire army. In the end, they would still have to engage in a siege, wasting time and manpower, which would only benefit Gongsun Zan and Cao Cao.

After careful consideration, Jia Xu concluded that something was about to happen in Hebei, and immediately returned to Jinyang to discuss the matter with Zhao Yan.

At the same time, a messenger was dispatched on a flying horse to inform Zhao Ji.

The war on the front lines could not be stopped. All Jia Xu and Zhao Yan could do was to divide their troops and garrison them, and be wary of Yuan Shao's vanguard troops causing sabotage after entering Hedong and Taiyuan.

Although the Yuan army's invasion caused minor damage, it would severely damage the Zhao family's prestige and give the Xiongnu a chance to escape.

Two days later, Zhao Jizheng led the cavalry across the river.

He stayed on the east bank and received Jia Xu's urgent message.

Jia Xu made the worst prediction about Yuan Shao's situation: that Yuan Shao would make the biggest concession to the scholars of Hebei, and the two sides would completely merge.

This would not only tarnish the reputation of the Yuan family, but also undermine the reform efforts of Zhao Ji and Lü Bu.

It seems like a lose-lose situation... but the scholars not only lose their dominance in moral discourse, but also their moral constraints.

If this were the Spring and Autumn Period, and Yuan Shao had also formally established a regime and carved out his own territory, then we would have entered the Warring States Period.

Even in the chaotic Spring and Autumn Period, there was still a universally recognized emperor or sovereign; but during the Warring States Period, although there was order within each state, rules were no longer observed when they fought against each other.

When the various forces become like the Warring States period, the intensity of the war will escalate dramatically.

Although they still fight annihilation battles now, they often leave some room for maneuver; if the Warring States period is truly completed... Zhao Ji feels indifferent.

What he did in Taiyuan and Shangdang was commonplace during the Warring States period, and there was nothing surprising about it.

It is also possible that the oppression from himself and Lü Bu led many scholars to despair, which prompted them to actively encourage Yuan Shu to establish a separate regime and oppose the Jian'an regime.

In this way, they could balance the burden of being both traitors and officials of the new dynasty.

Otherwise, facing attacks from themselves and Lü Bu, they would be unwilling to resist, but if they resisted, they would be seen as traitors, putting them in a very passive position.

Rather than passively taking a beating, it's better to establish a new dynasty.

Therefore, the formation of all this before us has its own disruptive factors.

Zhao Ji fell into deep thought. Han Shu brought in lunch and asked, "Grand Marshal, what's going on in Taiyuan?"

"Not only about the events in Taiyuan, but Yuan Shu also held a suburban sacrifice to Heaven and Earth at the beginning of the month, calling himself Zhongshi, and establishing empresses, concubines, and civil and military officials."

Zhao Ji hurriedly handed the secret letter to Han Shu. Seeing that Han Shu did not react, Zhao Ji said bluntly: "Yuan Shu has rebelled and is only one step away from declaring himself emperor. Yuan Shao has sent troops to seize Shangdang, and Mr. Wenhe has determined that Yuan Shao will also rebel. We don't have much time left."

"Yuan Shu has rebelled?"

Han Shu stared blankly at the silk scroll in his hand, utterly puzzled: "What is he after?"

"I don't care about anything else, maybe it's so that I can experience the life of an emperor before I die."

Zhao Ji joked, picked up his chopsticks and bowl, blew on them, and then said, "The court is on our side. They can't win, so they'll have to establish a new dynasty. There's no need to worry, the two Yuans will fight each other on their own."

Han Shu looked distressed and felt a pang of anxiety. He folded the silk scroll and asked, "Grand Marshal, are they really going to fight amongst themselves?"

“The hatred that arises between brothers is so intense that it is hard for outsiders to compare with it.”

Zhao Ji added a vinegar cloth to the bowl, stirred it, and looked down at it, saying, "Yuan Shu is powerful, and Yuan Shao has a strong army. How can they wake up until they are at their wits' end?"

Seeing Zhao Ji's confident demeanor, Han Shu still couldn't understand.

They've already rebelled and declared themselves emperors, why don't they join forces? Are they going to wait until their clans are wiped out before they join forces?
(End of this chapter)