Tiger Guards

Chapter 366 Mutual Interference
Wandu, in the eastern suburbs.

Along both banks of the Yu River, wheat and rice fields stretch as far as the eye can see.

When Lü Bu went on his tour, the rice was sown in the spring, and the wheat was divided into two types.

The wheat planted near Wandu last autumn is winter wheat, also known as winter wheat.

The winter wheat matures the fastest, followed by the spring wheat planted this spring, and then rice.

In addition to these three staple grains, millet, sorghum, and various beans also ripen; as for vegetables, there has been no shortage since the beginning of spring.

The wheat had already sprouted ears, and farmers and military officers were patrolling various places. Some were pulling weeds, some were catching birds and rodents, and some were setting up straw figures to drive away birds.

Lu Bu came to the edge of the field, reached out and touched the wheat awns that had turned yellow and hardened, and a smile burst forth from the depths of his heart.

After the wheat was harvested, there was a steady stream of various grains, and he finally escaped the predicament of having to beg for food and survive by searching everywhere.

Zhang Liao and Wei Yue accompanied him. Lü Bu broke off a section of wheat ear, rubbed it between his hands to remove the husks and awns, and put the soft, green and white wheat grains into his mouth to chew.

With a sweet and refreshing taste, he said with a smile, "Back then, when we rushed into Nanyang with Dong Zhuo's head, Yuan Shu treated us with courtesy but never cared about our food. Later, in the battles of Hebei and Yanzhou, we fought to the death for a bite to eat. It's really lamentable."

Wei Yue also broke off a wheat ear and followed suit, chewing on the green wheat. He wanted to say something, but felt that there was no need to say anything at this moment.

Looking at the slowly swaying wheat field, Zhang Liao was filled with emotion.

As Lü Bu said, all those battles we fought were ultimately for a bite to eat.
Finally, we are able to eat the food from our own land. Judging from this year's climate change, even if there is a flood in the middle of summer, we can still harvest enough food for this year's use.

When the Nanyang region can barely be self-sufficient in grain, the pressure on Liu Biao to supply grain will be much less, and he will not resist too much.

For the people of Jingzhou, buying peace with grain is not a loss.

Human mentality is very strange, even with the same amount of exported grain.

When Lü Bu's territory lacked food, the people of Jingzhou felt resentful and unwilling to accept it; but when Lü Bu had enough food, the people of Jingzhou's emotions actually stabilized a lot.

Lu Bu continued to break off ears of wheat, preparing to take them back for his family to taste the fresh green wheat.

This type of green barley, after being steamed and mixed with yeast, undergoes a slight fermentation and becomes a delicious beverage or snack.

Wei Yue, Zhang Liao, Yang Jun, and others also picked plump, high-quality ears of wheat from the edge of the field.

Amidst the cheerful conversation, a servant rode up on horseback and reported: "General, urgent news from Guanzhong!"

He nimbly dismounted and quickly walked to the roadside outside the field, handing over a scroll of silk.

Lu Bu handed the wheat ears to Wei Yue, who also pulled up the wheat stalks, tied the wheat ears together, and followed Lu Bu to the roadside.

Lu Bu's smile vanished, and Wei Yue asked, "Brother, how is Guanzhong?"

"Yang Zu, guess."

Lu Bu gripped the silk scroll in his hand and looked at Yang Jun and Zhang Liao: "Ji Cai and Wen Yuan, you can also guess for now."

The group exchanged glances, all aware of Lü Bu's temperament; this was definitely not a good thing.

Zhang Liao and Yang Jun were unwilling to speak first, so Wei Yue tentatively asked, "Could it be that the Grand Marshal defeated Li Jue?"

"Not only Li Jue, but also Guo Si and others were wiped out by him."

Lu Bu handed over the silk scroll, his joy vanishing completely: "Without an imperial edict, he raised the banner of protecting the nation and punishing Yuan, and organized the surrendered soldiers in Guanzhong into the army of protecting the nation and punishing Yuan."

Without consulting the provincial government in Luoyang, Zhao Ji launched the National Protection Army. How is this any different from that of a local warlord?
Why can't he use his own Eagle Flying New Army and Five Battalions, instead of forming a National Protection Army to fight against Yuan Shikai?

What angered Lü Bu even more was that the army unit numbers they chose were so perfectly chosen, leaving him no room for maneuver whatsoever.

As for Li Jue and Guo Si being swiftly defeated by Zhao Ji... Lü Bu was not surprised at all. Not to mention Zhao Ji, he was confident that he could defeat Li Jue and Guo Si as well.

It would be very unprofitable to fight, and that's the problem: the blood feud between the former armies of Liangzhou and Bingzhou runs too deep.

If he or Zhang Liao were to lead troops to attack, Li Jue, Guo Si, and other generals would fear being wiped out. Faced with this life-or-death crisis, they would inevitably form a coalition and fight back fiercely, making it difficult to quell the rebellion and requiring more time and resources.

Zhao Ji was a new general from Bingzhou, and had no historical grudges with the armies in Guanzhong. This would not cause widespread panic or stress, so the situation could be quickly quelled.

The silk scroll was passed among the crowd. After reading it, Yang Jun said, "General, I imagine the Grand Marshal's envoy is already on the Wuguan Pass. The Grand Marshal initiated the righteous cause of establishing the Army to Protect the Nation and Oppose Yuan Shu, and you, General, have also been urging the provinces of Jing and Yi to act, though you are slightly behind the Grand Marshal." Lü Bu also felt annoyed and said irritably, "Yes, I thought he would be caught in a dilemma, which is why I recruited soldiers from Jing and Yi provinces to oppose Yuan Shu. By the time the elite troops from the two provinces were gathered, the heat of summer would have subsided, making it the perfect time to wage war. But he, without consulting me, raised the banner to oppose Yuan Shu. Now, the traitor to the nation is Yuan Shu. After eliminating Yuan Shu, it will be a piece of cake to summon Yuan Shao to court."

The group followed Lü Bu along the path to the dirt road outside. Lü Bu, with his long legs and angry heart, walked with a swagger: "Seeing him attack Yuan Shao, Yuan Shao is uneasy. If he also raises an army to rebel, then half of the country will not belong to the court. The world will be in turmoil, and people's hearts will be fickle. How can we quickly stabilize the world and bring peace to the people?"

Zhang Liao and Wei Yue didn't think there was anything wrong with Lü Bu's remarks; this was originally part of Lü Bu's plan.

After the elite troops from Jing and Yi provinces arrived and their provisions and weapons were fully prepared, they split into two groups. One group marched out of Wankou, passed through Ruying, and attacked Yuan Shu's followers who were entrenched in Chen. They then went down the Bian River into the Si River to fight a decisive battle in Xuzhou.

Another route was led by Liu Biao alone, sailing down the Yangtze River to join forces with the remnants of the troops under Hua Xin, the governor of Yuzhang Commandery, and Liu Yao. They then recovered Jiangdong, raided Huainan, and connected with Chen Deng, thus severing Yuan Shu's connection with Jiangdong.

Zhao Ji was the third force in the plan, intended to join forces with Zhang Yang to strategically contain Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.

Lu Bu genuinely didn't want Zhao Ji to cause trouble in Guandong again, as there were clear signs of a bountiful harvest this year.

The disaster victims of Ru Ying, Chen Guo, and Liang Pei are a huge resource.

When Zhao Jiruo sent troops to Guandong, he relocated a total of 70,000 to 80,000 households from Shangdang, Changshan, Zhongshan, and Zhongyuan last year; if he comes again this year, he is very likely to take away another 100,000 households.

With over 100,000 households, how much wealth can they create after resuming production? And how many troops can they support?

Whether as a warlord or one of the ruling officials of the imperial court, Lü Bu wanted to stop this matter.

His thoughts raced as he walked.

If Zhao Ji hadn't defeated Li Jue and Guo Si, his expedition to Guandong this year might have resulted in the plundering of over 100,000 households of disaster victims; and now that he has annexed the generals of Guanzhong, his expedition would only cause the relocation of even more people!

After withdrawing their troops and defending the passes, with a population of about three million in the six counties of Guanzhong, Hongnong, Taiyuan, and Hedong, they had already begun to show the strength of a powerful Qin.

If, like Qin annexed Yiqu, they were to devour the Xiongnu and the northern Hu again, the population would easily exceed four million. Considering the Han and Hu population in Liangzhou, it would easily exceed five million!

After recuperating for three to five years, Zhao Ji dared to declare himself king!

Yang Jun quickly followed Lü Bu. In the silence, the two had reached a consensus... they had to cause trouble!

They didn't even consider the attitudes of the emperor and high officials, assuming that these people would also cause trouble.

Now, in the west, there is Zhao Ji, who has become king without being king and established the Army to Protect the Nation and Oppose Yuan; in the east, Yuan Shu has established a system of officials and ministers who have become emperors without being emperors.

Strictly speaking, the court's enemies were no longer just Yuan Shu, but also Zhao Ji!

The problem is very thorny. You can't just join forces with Yuan Shao's group again and launch a campaign to protect the country and punish Zhao.

Not only was Yuan Shao in Hebei in a passive position, but the imperial court under Lü Bu's control was also in an extremely passive position.

Cao Cao, Liu Biao, and Liu Zhang were also restrained and unable to take any action; Liu Bei was on the defensive, struggling to survive, and had no energy or mind to plan for long-term development.
Zhang Yang was the same; he had to obey the court's orders. Hua Xin and Huang Zu were the same.

As for Zhang Xian, the governor of Changsha, he was recruited by Lü Bu to the court at the beginning of the year. Zhang Xian abandoned the governorship and fled to Jiaozhou.

Han Song, the governor of Lingling, was ordered to go to the capital but was left idle. Lü Bu sent people to take over the three commanderies of Jingnan and handed over Wuling to Liu Biao.

Basically, the Nanyang people who had been previously settled and appointed as county officials in Jingnan were purged and eliminated.

The three commanderies of Changsha, together with Hua Xin of Yuzhang Commandery downstream, formed another force that obeyed the imperial court's orders, and cooperated with Lü Bu to partially encircle Liu Biao and Huang Zu.

Given the current situation, if Yuan Shu is defeated, the immense military prestige will likely lead to the conscription of Liu Biao to the capital to serve as the head of the imperial clan.

However, Zhao Ji pacified Guanzhong in ten days and arbitrarily formed the Protectorate Army against Yuan Shu, directly disrupting Lü Bu's next battle plan to conquer Yuan Shu!

The only good news is that Zhao Ji did not rebel, and Lü Bu still has the influence to suppress Liu Biao and Liu Zhang, which can force them to gather their designated troops in Nanyang to participate in the war against Yuan Shu at the end of the summer.

Lü Bu boarded the carriage in a huff, and Yang Jun followed closely behind, immediately pouring cold water on Lü Bu's enthusiasm: "General, Yuan Shu is already at his end. He will surely send an envoy to Hebei to persuade Yuan Shao to join the rebellion; and with the Grand Marshal's army being so powerful and fierce, Yuan Shu would not dare to act rashly. I believe that Yuan Shu will also send an envoy to Xizhou, intending to incite the Grand Marshal to plot a rebellion."

Lu Bu's anger immediately dissipated. Judging from his own experience, if he had taken over the Three Auxiliary Regions and had Zhao Ji's current resources, how could he have been content to be just a Marquis of Pingyang, Governor of Bingzhou, or Grand Marshal?

After thinking for a moment, he waved his hand and said, "Ji Cai is overthinking it. He is not that kind of person. But we can't make enemies with him. After I pay my respects to the Emperor and explain the advantages and disadvantages, I will send an envoy to him to discuss the matter of suppressing Yuan's rebellion."

Without the support of the imperial court, how could Zhao Ji weaken and restrain his civil and military officials?
However, Zhao Ji is too young. If he becomes arrogant and the envoy sent by the court provokes him, and is further instigated by Yuan Shu's envoy, he could really cause a catastrophe.

(End of this chapter)