Tiger Guards

Chapter 378 Dire Situation
Qin Yilu led a dozen knights, each with three horses, bypassing the Wanluo Highway and taking the Hanya Road, arriving in just over two days.

When he arrived in Nanyang, the more than 3,000 men under Gan Ning's command were about to reach Wankou Ye County along the Jingyu Highway.

Meanwhile, Zhao Ji's vanguard troops began to move at night and hide during the day, advancing from Yique Pass towards Luyang and Wankou.

Nanyang, the General's headquarters.

Lu Bu looked through Zhao Ji's letter with a displeased expression.

Seeing Zhao Ji's urgency, he said, "The summer heat is at its peak, and Zhao Yuansi's urgent use of troops shows that Xuzhou is in imminent danger."

Qin Yilu dared not say much. Li Su, also from the same hometown, loved to express his opinions. He was sent to suppress the Xiliang rebels, but was defeated and killed.

Now, who cares about the life or death of Li Su's wife and children?
Wei Yue spoke up from the side: "If Xuzhou falls, Yuan Shu's more than 100,000 troops will take food from Xuzhou, rest and reorganize on the spot, and then march west to join the battle in August. With the great victory of conquering Xuzhou, the Grand Marshal will definitely not be able to resist them."

"So I'm in a difficult position."

Lu Bu pointed to the southwest: "Liu Zhang's envoy promised to send 8,000 elite troops, but in the end only 5,000 mixed troops from the four barbarian tribes left Kuimen. By the time they arrive in Nanyang and join the battle, it will be early August at the earliest. Liu Biao is the same, he actually used 3,000 rabble to appease the court."

Wei Yue, Yang Jun, Zhang Liao, and Qin Yilu, who were present, all remained silent. There was also Liu Ba, the chief clerk of the Lingling Guard, who had been recruited.

After hearing about the unrest in Xuchang, Liu Ba stayed in Jiangxia to observe the situation. Later, after Lü Bu withdrew to Nanyang and massacred the powerful families of Nanyang, Liu Ba simply went to join Hua Xin.

People from Nanyang and Ruying were gradually purged from various departments of the shogunate, and scholars from Jingnan were also unhappy and took the initiative to withdraw.

Now that the various departments of the Grand General's office have barely filled the vacancies, Lü Bu is not very satisfied with these people.

Fortunately, Yang Jun was very capable, skilled in both literature and martial arts, no less so than Chen Gong.

After a moment's thought, Zhang Liao spoke up: "General, we can't just sit idly by and watch the Grand Marshal fight Yuan Shu for the summer and autumn grains of Ru, Ying, and Chen. If the autumn harvest in Nanyang is poor this year, I'm afraid Liu Zhennan won't do his best to supply them as he did last year. Without rice from Jingzhou, how will the million soldiers and civilians of Nanyang survive?"

Lu Bu was also aware that he was now viewed very poorly within Jingzhou, with his actions of transporting grain last autumn and winter being seen as raising a tiger to cause trouble.

Now, living next to a tiger means that when the tiger is hungry, it will eat you; when the tiger is full and energetic, it will torment you. In short, a consensus to completely oppose Lü Bu has been formed and is growing rapidly.

What's even more distressing is that in the nearly one year following the Battle of Chenliu, Zhao Ji annexed the Three Auxiliary Regions. If nothing unexpected happens, he will gradually seize control of the various prefectures of Liangzhou, Bingzhou, and Sizhou through decrees and personnel adjustments. Xuzhou is also highly influenced by Zhao Ji.

But what about himself, the great general?
He did indeed capture Nanyang, but more and more scholars began to distance themselves from him, while others actively sought to attach themselves to him. But how many could he trust?

The governor of Yu Province almost sided with Yuan Shu, outwardly obeying his orders but inwardly disobeying them.

When Yuan Shu's army withdraws from Xuzhou and heads towards Ruzhou and Yingzhou, the people of Yuzhou will officially side with Yuan Shu.

And then there's Yan Province. It's such a large province, but Zhang Yang barely controls Chenliu. The main part of Yan Province is still controlled by Cao Cao and Yuan Shao.

The world is so vast, yet his influence as a great general is confined to Nanyang. How could Lü Bu not be discouraged?

He also wanted to restore the Han Dynasty, but the officials and scholars in various places did not cooperate.

It's one thing to outwardly comply with orders but inwardly defy them, but if one continues to formally disobey them, it will further damage his prestige.

Therefore, Lü Bu dared not issue orders that were too self-serving, and focused all his attention on waiting for the autumn harvest in Nanyang.

After the autumn harvest, supplies will be stored away, freeing up the army's manpower. Then, the troops can march out of Wankou, eat the readily available grain from the Central Plains, and fight Yuan Shu and Cao Cao together.

At that time, when the Grand General issues his decrees throughout the land, who would dare disobey?

Of course, it would be best if Yuan Shu broke through Xuzhou beforehand, thus crippling Zhao Ji.

Now that Zhang Liao has also volunteered for battle, Lü Bu could not refuse: "The summer heat is oppressive, and Wen Yuan is determined to send troops. I cannot spoil Wen Yuan's enthusiasm. Therefore, I hereby appoint Wen Yuan as General Who Pacifies Bandits and as my vanguard."

Zhang Liao took a deep breath, stepped forward, and bowed, saying, "This humble general obeys the order."

Lü Bu then looked at Wei Yue: "Yang Zu can serve as Wen Yuan's successor. Wen Yuan will fight as a guerrilla, with the key being to seize the grain from Xuchang; Yang Zu will guard Wankou and support Wen Yuan."

"The last general takes orders."

Wei Yue also stepped forward and bowed. Lü Bu did not make detailed arrangements for the two men's troops, but Wei Yue could guess that the army under his command was definitely larger than Zhang Liao's.

At most, Zhang Liao could be given some additional troops, increasing his force to five thousand; while his own army would need to be around ten thousand.

Only in this way can we firmly establish ourselves at Wankou and defeat any possible attempts by Yuan Shu to obstruct or intercept us; at the very least, we can hold our ground against him.

Like Lü Bu, Wei Yue also did not believe that now was a good time to launch an attack.

Wait another half a month or twenty days, and the situation in the Central Plains will become clearer.

The longer it goes on, the clearer the situation becomes.

The longer Liu Bei held off Yuan Shu's main force, the less Yuan's army could rest and recover, making them easier to defeat.

Defeating Yuan Shu is not the goal.

The key is to completely conquer Yuzhou and Lianghuai; ideally, one should take Xuzhou in one fell swoop and bring Liu Bei into the court.

After assigning Wei Yue and Zhang Liao to the task, Lü Bu turned to Qin Yilu: "In mid-July, I will personally lead the main army out of Wankou to attack the traitor Yuan Shu. The Emperor and the high officials will also accompany the army. Rest for two days and then inform Zhao Yuansi of this matter." "Yes, sir."

Qin Yilu simply agreed, and the group tactfully took their leave.

Lü Bu invited Yang Jun to stay for dinner and discussion. Lü Bu felt that his figure was noticeably bloated and couldn't help but think of Dong Zhuo.

When Dong Zhuo was young, he was physically strong, and when he served as the governor of Bingzhou, he was still a strong middle-aged man.

Even when he led his troops to Luoyang, Dong Zhuo maintained a good physique.

However, after retreating to Guanzhong, Dong Zhuo built the Mei Fortress and ordered the ministers and officials of the Three Departments to come to the Mei Fortress to discuss matters, completely undermining the Chang'an court.

From that time on, Dong Zhuo's body swelled rapidly, to the point that he needed servants to operate the toilet sticks when he went to the toilet.

Now, Lu Bu gripped his thighs with both hands, which were noticeably swollen. Although the flesh was taut, it was no longer as solid and firm as before.

"His thigh muscles have grown back, yet this great man has not accomplished his great deeds; it is truly lamentable."

Lu Bu was in a bad mood, so he grabbed some honey water and drank it to relieve his worries.

Seeing this, Yang Jun comforted him, saying, "General, you hold the highest position among ministers, assisting the emperor and the country, and ensuring that the million soldiers and civilians of Nanyang can live in peace. How can you say that your achievements are not accomplished?"

"Ji Cai, don't try to comfort me. The drought is not abating this year, and the starving people in Nanyang will rebel on their own. How can that be considered making a living?"

Lu Bu gave a self-deprecating smile: "If I had been more patient and investigated more carefully when Xuchang was in turmoil, I wouldn't have made the people of Nanyang, Jingnan, Ruying and other places my mortal enemies."

He has always lacked scholars, and defeating Yuan Shu is a new turning point.

Enhancing the prestige of the court and himself would naturally attract many scholars to join him; at the same time, those scholars who followed Yuan Shu would inevitably realize the difference between death and serving the court and would choose to serve the court.

And since we've got these people on our heels, we're not worried about them not doing their jobs properly.

As Lü Bu mocked himself, he was still thinking about how to eat Yuan Shu's corpse.

Choosing to eat in Nanyang now seems like a bad move.

But who could have imagined that Yuan Shu, who was starving to death, would dare to assassinate the King of Chen, and that the officials and people of Chen would still submit to Yuan Shu?
Who could have imagined that Nanyang would experience such a severe drought this year?

Yang Jun didn't know how to comfort Lü Bu, because Lü Bu didn't need comforting; he was just waiting for an opportunity.

Yang Jun could only refill Lü Bu's cup with honey water and say, "The Grand Marshal's military tactics are always swift and fierce; I fear Yuan Shu will find it difficult to withstand him."

Lu Bu stared intently at Yang Jun, then suddenly smiled: "You and I both know that Yuan Si's military tactics are swift. Do you think Yuan Shu and his ilk don't know that? It is precisely because they know that they are stationed in Chen State and unwilling to advance on Ru and Ying. I imagine Yuan Shu is also in a dilemma, wanting to adopt a scorched-earth policy, yet fearing that he will lose the support of his fellow villagers."

Yang Jun nodded in agreement. If he were in charge of the defense, he would definitely send troops out to plunder supplies and sabotage the autumn harvest.

But Yuan Shu dared not do that, especially in the Ruying region.

As soon as Yuan Shu gave this order, the scholars of Ru and Ying would come to ask Lü Bu to send troops, and the ministers and the emperor would also urge Lü Bu to send troops.

Since Cao Cao's initial pacification of the Ruying region last winter and spring, there has been a lack of 'bandits' here, especially large groups of remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

If there were such a large group of Yellow Turban remnants or bandits, Yuan Shu could naturally indirectly implement a scorched earth policy.

However, Cao Cao had already cleaned up the area once, and Lü Bu had also divided his troops to clean it up once, leaving the Ruying region lacking people who could do such dirty work.

A moment later, Lü Bu had almost finished eating and said to Yang Jun, "Tomorrow I will go out of the city to practice my horsemanship in the morning and evening. If anything happens in the city while I am away, Ji Cai, please send a messenger to inform me immediately."

"Yes, I understand."

Yang Jun got up and saw Lü Bu out the side door. Lü Bu rubbed his abdomen and realized that his belly had indeed swelled up noticeably.

I wasn't aware of this before, but now I feel that I'm not as quick and agile as I used to be when I walk.

Back in the backyard, his wife, Lady Yan, along with a maid, helped Lü Bu change clothes and wash his feet. Lü Bu held a bronze mirror and carefully examined his face in the candlelight: "Life in Wandu is so comfortable, I have become so fat without even realizing it."

Lady Yan didn't take it to heart. She held up another candlestick and said, "My husband is about to go to war. Building up his strength will be beneficial for the battle."

"No, prepare the meal at cockcrow tomorrow. I want to get up early and go out of the city to practice riding."

Lu Bu tried pressing down on his chin and, sure enough, saw a double chin, which made him even more furious: "If Zhao Yuansi sees this, he will surely harbor rebellious thoughts."

“He would not rebel because his husband is fat and strong.”

Lady Yan moved to stand in front of Lü Bu, observing his face, and couldn't help but chuckle: "Not to mention my husband, even those high-ranking officials have become much fatter."

Lu Bu didn't want to continue the topic, so he said instead, "If anything happens in the city after I leave tomorrow, Madam, light the beacon fire in the mansion. The decisive battle in the Central Plains is imminent, and Yuan Shu will not sit idly by and wait for his death."

The riots in Xuchang threw Lü Bu into disarray, and with such a positive effect, Yuan Shu had no reason to stand idly by.

Organizing a rebellion in Wandu would have been entirely possible for Yuan Shu, given his influence.

(End of this chapter)