Tiger Guards

Chapter 386 Encircling Wei and rescuing Zhao
Two days later, Zhang Liao's troops marched out of Wankou and entered Yanxian.

After Zhang Liao and Qin Yilu occupied the city, they set off after midnight and arrived in Xudu to pay their respects to Zhao Ji.

When they arrived, the various armies inside and outside Xuchang were conducting morning training amidst the smoke from their cooking fires; they were only doing drills and nothing else.

Maintaining daily training with low physical exertion is beneficial for consolidating the command authority of middle and lower-ranking military officers.

Only through intensive interaction can military officers and soldiers accelerate integration and mutual understanding.

On the banks of the Ying River, after having breakfast, Zhao Ji began to peruse the regional war histories of Yingchuan and Chen.

The war histories since the Spring and Autumn Period are all within the scope of the collection. Although there are differences in the population, economy and regional strength of cities, the changes in rivers and terrain will not vary significantly.

For example, south of Xuchang, two rivers converge and flow southward, forming a large area of ​​marshland.

The Central Plains region has a rich network of waterways, which has also created various marshes and wastelands.

Over the past century, the climate has been unstable, the ditches and canals have been severely silted up, and the overall rainfall in the Central Plains is not as high as it used to be.

Therefore, the marshland south of Xudu degraded and became the fields of Xuxia.

The degraded swamps are only part of the problem. There are still large areas of swampy wasteland on the flat land south of Xutian and Xinji, and north of Yanxian, Zhengqiang, and Ruyang.

Since June, under the scorching heat, the edges of these swampy wastelands have turned into grasslands, passable by people and horses, but unsuitable for vehicles.

Even if a swamp degrades and its edge grasslands appear flat, a sudden heavy rainfall can cause many mounds of earth to rise up, like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

These marshes and wetlands also serve as water storage and flood discharge areas, and the soil itself is saline-alkali, so they have not been extensively reclaimed over the years.

The unique terrain meant that most wars took place near cities.

Since the Spring and Autumn Period, the wars between Yingchuan and Chen State have mostly taken place on the edge of the land, far from swamps or wetlands, that is, on the roads and in the cities.

Cities were often built on high ground so that they would not be submerged during floods; the same was true for roads.

Zhao Ji studied military history and speculated on and analyzed various war plans of Yuan Shu's side.

While studying the history of the war, my thoughts wandered, and I began to think about these swampy and rotten lands in the Central Plains in multiple threads... Everything has a good side and a bad side.

Objectively speaking, the existence of these swampy areas can effectively protect existing farmland, store water during the dry season, and release floodwater during floods.

If large-scale reclamation and destruction of wetlands occur, the Central Plains may also become desertified.

Even with a fully developed industrial age and sophisticated irrigation systems, the ecosystem remains fragile and lacks resilience against major floods.

If the dikes can hold back the floodwaters and allow for orderly flood discharge, then naturally there are no problems.

However, floods exceeding the limits of human resistance or droughts exceeding the limits of human and technological rescue can trigger massive disasters.

This is true in industrial societies, let alone in the present day.

Therefore, preserving enough swampy and wasteland is beneficial to the Central Plains as a whole.

If we were to forcefully adopt the idea that humans can conquer nature and exhaust all resources to cultivate the land, food production would surge in the short term, and the population would grow rapidly... But if droughts and floods were to occur frequently, tens of millions of people would go hungry. With such a high population density, diseases would also spread simultaneously, like a nuclear explosion. No agricultural society could withstand that.

In the long run, development of the vast plains along the Yellow River should be temporarily put on hold; it would be more appropriate to develop these large granaries once we enter the industrial age and overall sanitation conditions improve.

Otherwise, even the slightest setback could result in enough people starving, dying of disease, or dying in turmoil to circle the plains of Henan and Hebei several times over.

As Zhao Ji pondered, Cheng He, who was on duty outside, spoke up: "Grand Marshal, the General's envoy, General Zhang Wenyuan, requests an audience."

"How was breakfast?"

"It'll be ready soon. I'm about to arrange the meal."

"Their timing is perfect. Go greet them, I'll wait for them in the cafeteria."

"Here."

Cheng He agreed and led the two guards away.

When a large army is stationed, it is generally advisable to avoid acting alone.

Zhao Ji put the war history materials he had been reading into a cloth bag, tied the bag closed, and raised his hand to adjust the square black gauze hat on his head. This hat looked big and solemn, but it was actually very light.

He disliked wearing gold and jade crowns, as well as wooden crowns, and he also disliked wearing headscarves in the sweltering summer.

He wore a square crown with a bamboo frame and a layer of black gauze sewn on. When worn, the edges and corners formed a line with his eyebrows and the bridge of his nose, giving him a sharp and determined look.

After storing the documents, he placed his left hand on the hilt of his sword and walked towards the canteen in a pair of wooden clogs.

The canteen was a large shaded area, where the officers ate; small cubicles were enclosed by walls made of reeds, where Zhao Ji ate his own meals.

He sat alone not because he liked to eat alone, but because he didn't want to disturb the other officers' meal.

Especially at breakfast, the officers on night duty were in a hurry to eat, and then they needed to catch up on sleep afterward.

If he were here, these people would eat very slowly, which would affect their efficiency.

Zhao Ji always entered the cafeteria through the side entrance.

There was a basin of clean water inside. After washing up briefly, he sat in the main seat and picked up the teapot to pour himself some tea.

While they were drinking tea and eating cakes, Cheng He led Qin Yilu and Zhang Liao in. Qin Yilu still had scars on his face. He and Zhang Liao bowed and said, "Greetings, Grand Marshal." "Please sit down."

Zhao Ji extended his right hand to signal, then looked at Cheng He: "Serve the food, and give Generals Wen Yuan and Yi Lu each a pot of sweet wine to help them relax."

"Here."

Cheng He turned and left, and Qin Yilu and the other man did not refuse. After sitting down, they thanked him again.

Zhao Jicai asked, "How is the situation in Wandu?"

Zhang Liao remained silent. Qin Yilu took out Lü Bu's reply and held it with both hands, saying, "The matter has been quelled. This is a letter from the General. In mid-July, the General will lead the armies to escort the Emperor on his expedition against Yuan Shao."

A guard stepped forward and handed over the silk scroll. Zhao Ji opened it and read it carefully, saying, "Things have come to this point, which is not what the emperor wanted."

The emperor would certainly not be happy. This year, Yuan Shu has established his own regime, and the emperor has no urgent desire to rule personally. Naturally, he will not support the ministers, much less agree to the Liu family's rebellion against Lü Bu.

Zhao Ji folded the silk scroll and stuffed it into his sleeve pouch, then continued, "I will later submit a memorial to the Emperor to support the General. Jin Shang, the former governor of Yanzhou, was captured by Yuan Shu. Not long ago, Yuan Shu ordered Jin Shang to deliver a letter to me. When General Yilu returns to Wandu, he will take Jin Shang with him."

In terms of seniority, Jin Shang is also qualified to be appointed as one of the Nine Ministers; bringing him there would just be for show.

With more suitable candidates for high-ranking positions, Lü Bu could also boldly remove some of the more problematic officials.

The imperial court is a platform where the high-ranking officials can exert their influence through their protégés and former subordinates to reform the civil and military officials under Lü Bu's command. Relying on this platform, Lü Bu and he can also gradually place more conservative people into the ranks of the high-ranking officials.

The imperial court platform cannot collapse. Only by relying on the imperial court can we better and more cost-effectively control the middle and upper-level military officers and officials.

After Zhao Ji expressed his support for any purge by Lü Bu, he went to see Zhang Liao: "General Wen Yuan, have you come here to cooperate with our army in attacking Ji Ling at Ruyang?"

Zhang Liao cupped his hands and said, "Yes, this humble general and Wei Yangzu set off together, following the orders of the Grand General to come to the Central Plains to assist in the battle."

"In that case, I will give the order."

After some thought, Zhao Jilue said, "Ji Ling is currently stationed in the eastern suburbs of Ruyang, controlling the Ying River and the imperial road, and has no intention of dividing his troops. General Wen Yuan can attack and capture the three counties of Zhaoling, Zhengqiang, and Shangcai to replenish our supplies. Afterwards, Wei Yangzu's army will arrive. I hope that Wei Yangzu will garrison Yan County, and General Wen Yuan will lead the troops to attack and capture Ruyang."

The attitudes of these counties and towns were also wavering; basically, whoever's army arrived first would be able to seize control first.

Since they were ultimately acting on behalf of the Emperor and the court to punish the rebels, no matter how disgusting the officials and powerful figures in the counties were, few dared to resist them head-on... They lacked inherent moral authority unless they had enough troops stationed there to back them up.

Otherwise, any openly defiant rebel could be assassinated by his fellow villagers under the guise of righteousness and justice.

This is also a weakness of the rebels; without absolute military superiority, the officials and people of the surrounding counties dare not directly and fully support the rebels.

Zhao Ji assigned Zhang Liao the task of conquering various counties, but in reality, there was no need for siege warfare; the army could take over as soon as it arrived.

In theory, with enough troops, it would be possible to take over the twenty-odd counties in central and southern Runan one after another, but that would be pointless.

When Wei Yue's army also arrived, they cooperated with Zhang Liao to block the infiltration and influence of the rebels; then, through the Runan Prefecture, they issued orders to mobilize personnel and supplies to the remaining counties.

These people are at most perfunctory, making excuses to delay and not providing material support; they would never support the rebels.

This is also easy to solve. Just send several troops to patrol back and forth and wipe out the 'bandits'. Under the military threat, the counties will naturally cooperate to provide food and manpower.

For example, when Cao Cao was short of food during the Battle of Guandu, it doesn't mean that such a large region as Yingchuan, Runan, and Lianghuai was truly without food.

However, the local officials and people did not have a high opinion of Cao Cao and refused to provide him with supplies, choosing to wait and see whether he succeeded or failed.

The Battle of Guandu and other fronts depleted Cao Cao's mobile forces, making it impossible for him to mobilize and collect supplies.

The Battle of Guandu was so dangerous that Cao Cao even sent his grain requisition team to the front lines... Under such circumstances, the counties in the rear would not take the initiative to transport grain.

Currently, Yuan Shu's rebel army dares not engage in open battle, and our side has sufficient mobile forces, so we can directly draw grain and manpower from the counties of Ru and Ying.

Faced with Zhao Ji's perfectly normal military order, Zhang Liao stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "This subordinate obeys the order."

Zhao Ji and Zhang Liao had no prior contact, but when Zhao Ji withdrew his troops last year to organize the selection of candidates for the civil service examination, he recommended Zhang Liao's brother as a filial son, citing Zhang Liao's brother's filial piety in caring for their mother.

Zhang Liao's elder brother also passed the government's examination and was recruited by Minister Zhao Wen as an aide. With his status as a candidate for the civil service examination and his government background, the next step is to be appointed as a county magistrate, with a guaranteed income of 2,000 shi (a unit of grain).

After Zhang Liao took his seat, he asked, "May I ask how the Grand Marshal intends to defeat Yuan Shu's rebel army?"

Qin Yilu glanced at Zhang Liao, feeling that Zhang Liao shouldn't have asked that question.

Zhao Ji made no attempt to hide his intentions: "I have ordered Gan Xingba to organize the army and civilians in Zheqiu City to build a dam, intending to use water to attack Ji Ling's camp. Afterwards, I will lead the army down the river. If we can fight, we will fight; if we cannot fight, we will besiege Chen County, following the old strategy of besieging Wei to rescue Zhao. I hope that Wei Yangzu and General Wen Yuan can hold Ji Ling back... In fact, I also hope that Ji Ling can come to the rescue of Chen County, so that we can have a field battle."

This battle plan was something that even Zhao Ji would dare to propose to Yuan Shu, let alone Zhang Liao and Qin Yilu.

What could Yuan Shu do after hearing this?
The troops have already been deployed. Yuan Shu either continues to hold out in Chen County or takes the initiative to withdraw.

If he dares to retreat, the defenses that the rebels have built up over the past few months will crumble, and their morale will inevitably collapse!

Zhang Liao didn't think there was anything wrong with the battle plan, so he nodded in agreement.

Zhao Ji then looked at Qin Yilu and said, "My concern now is that Cao Cao is leading his troops south. I hope that the General can send troops from Yanzhou south to assist in the battle and act as a shield for us in the north. If Cao Cao arrives, we do not need the troops from Yanzhou to stop him. Just let us know two days in advance so that we can be prepared."

Zhang Yang, the governor of Yanzhou, was Lü Bu's man. When Zhao Ji sent a letter to Zhang Yang, Zhang Yang would cooperate by sending some troops to set up beacon towers, but he was not very enthusiastic about carrying it out.

By using Lü Bu to motivate Zhang Yang, Zhang Yang was also able to work more actively.

Upon hearing this, Qin Yilu immediately cupped his hands and said, "This humble general understands."

(End of this chapter)