Tiger Guards

Chapter 425 Clarifying the Thoughts
Inside Chenliu City, Chen Gong dismissed the messenger, his expression solemn.

After a moment's thought, Chen Gong turned and entered the prefectural governor's mansion.

Zhang Yang's gaze swept over, and he asked directly, "What is the court's response?"

Chen Gong had his own source of information, while Zhang Yang's source of information was Lü Bu.

After Chen Gong took his seat, he said, "Many officials in the court criticize the governor for being unwise, and they are all glad that the Grand Marshal led his troops north instead of entering Xu in a fit of anger."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yang let out a long sigh of relief and relaxed completely.

Zhao Ji has brought his troops to Yanzhou, so he can personally negotiate many things and still has room to maneuver and salvage the situation. Although he is in a passive position during the negotiation process, he still has the initiative in determining the scope and degree of leverage.

If Zhao Ji, in a fit of anger, led his troops to Xuchang to vent his grievances and resentment to the emperor, and if Lü Bu refused to engage in a direct confrontation or civil war, the emperor and his ministers would not care about Zhang Yang's life, nor would they care about the thoughts of Chen Gong and other people from Yanzhou.

Zhang Yang then asked, "The Grand Marshal is currently at the height of his power, what should we do?"

Without a moment's hesitation, Chen Gong said, "The Grand Marshal is heading straight for Chenliu City. The rest of the troops will simply split into two routes: the northern route will go to Dongjun to take Puyang and Lihu to defend against the invasion of the Hebei troops; the southern route will go down the Ji River to pacify Jiyin, enter Shanyang, Jibei, and Dongping. In my opinion, we should hurry to Dingtao to control the Ji River and block their main army."

Zhang Yang was even more troubled: "What should we do if the Grand Marshal sends troops to attack the city?"

Dingtao is the prefectural capital of Jiyin, located on both banks of the Ji River, and is a famous textile town in the Central Plains.

If the Ji River is truly blocked, Zhao Ji will definitely attack the city and will not give the defending general any face.

Even if the imperial court and Lü Bu sent people to mediate and make peace, it would be useless.

In any case, Zhang Yang didn't think he had the influence to seize Dingtao and make Zhao Ji reluctant to take action.

Fortunately, Zhao Ji has already led his troops north and will not turn back to invade Xu.

With such a large-scale military operation, Zhao Ji could no longer turn back south, which was a good thing for him, as it prevented him from becoming a victim of the court's compromise.

Because of such a large-scale military operation, it was tantamount to pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth if our side wanted to take all of Cao Cao's assets.

So whether it's him or Chen Gong, whoever defends Dingtao will face Zhao Ji's attack!

As long as the Xu Du court and the emperor still recognize Zhao Ji as the Grand Marshal, then if the dignified Grand Marshal of the Han Dynasty wants to enter Dingtao City, will you open the city gates or not?
If you don't open the city gates, then you are a rebel and a traitor!
Zhao Ji has already demonstrated in Fugou how Yanzhou will proceed.

If they voluntarily open the city gates, they might be dealt with leniently; but if they hold the city and stubbornly resist, they will definitely be considered traitors!

It is reasonable, justified, and legal.

As for the court in Xudu, how could it possibly deny Zhao Ji's authority?
It was a decision made by the various ministers and General Lü Bu during a court meeting of the Emperor. Grand Marshal Zhao Ji also chose to comply and was willing to lead 10,000 troops northward to resolve the issue of gathering the various armies of Yanzhou in northern Chenliu.

Instead, Zhang Yang divided his troops at the border of the state, preventing Grand Marshal Zhao Ji from advancing north, thus severely undermining the Grand Marshal's prestige.

Then the Grand Marshal ordered his troops to march north, and the General-in-Chief was unable to relieve them in time, which led to a breach in the siege of Chen County. The traitor Yuan Shu saw the opportunity, coerced men and women in the city into taking hostages, and broke out of the siege.

Following that, the Grand Marshal, relying on the prestige of the court, peacefully resolved the issue of the Yanzhou troops blocking the border of the province... It was already a great blessing that no civil war broke out; how could the emperor and the ministers in the court possibly hope for more?
It is perfectly reasonable that Zhao Ji was blocked from entering Yanzhou and had to quickly mobilize troops to march north.

In terms of Zhang Yang's actions, was he instigated by Lü Bu?
Zhao Ji used his authority flexibly and did not confront Lü Bu... Otherwise, the emperor and his ministers, who were like frightened birds, might very well have decided to sacrifice Zhang Yang.

As things stand, Chen Gong and Zhang Yang's adventure has already succeeded in its first step.

Taking over most of Cao Cao's legacy was no easy task.

One person must hold Dingtao to the death to buy time for the other.

Zhang Yang was unwilling, so Chen Gong persuaded him: "My lord, Yuan Shu has rebelled, and Liu, the governor of Xuzhou, has led troops from all sides to attack Huainan. It is only a matter of time before Yuan Shu is defeated. Although the Liu families in the world are vassal states, they are only nominal. The court can summon them to the capital with a single edict. Now, the only real threats to the Grand General are the Grand Marshal and Yuan Shao of Hebei."

Zhang Yang didn't want to hear this analysis and turned his head away: "What does this have to do with me?"

Chen Gong patiently explained: "The Grand Marshal, relying on the righteousness of the court, forced Cao Mengde to attend the banquet. During the banquet, Zang Gong's former subordinates assassinated Cao Mengde. Cao Mengde was Yuan Shao's henchman. If Yuan Shao loses Cao Mengde, it's like Emperor Gaozu losing Han Xin. How can he not be defeated? As Kong Wenju said, the Yuan family, with four generations of three dukes, are all bones in the tomb. Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao will also be defeated one after another. After that, only the Grand Marshal will remain in the world. If we can subdue and persuade the Grand Marshal to be loyal to the country, the Han Dynasty can be restored three times. The Grand General's achievements will be comparable to Lü Shang and Yi Yin, and you, my lord, will also become a pillar of the country's revival, and your name will be recorded in history."

Chen Gong's words make some sense. As things stand, besides Zhao Ji, Yuan Shao is the most difficult to deal with.

Liu Bei, Liu Biao, Liu Zhang, and Liu Ai each had their own hidden dangers. The imperial court issued edicts summoning them to serve as ministers and advisors, and as a result, one by one they would be forced to come to court under pressure. As for Gongsun Zan, Sun Ce, Ma Teng, and Han Sui, once the court could indirectly control the four major vassal states, the four of them would be even less of a problem.

So the real challenge is Zhao Ji alone. Zhao Ji's family background is not very strong, it can be described as weak. He is only slightly better than Lü Bu, and strictly speaking, he is similar to Ma Teng, and even worse than Han Sui.

But Zhao Ji's biggest challenge was the restoration of land and equal distribution of land. Although the official tenants under Zhao Ji's rule could only receive 50% of the land... in fact, the registered households in various places who paid 1/15 or 1/30 of the taxes had a tax burden that was already higher than 50%!
Currently, the official tenants under Zhao Ji's command only need to support the officials and the army; but if they were incorporated into the imperial court and placed under its direct control, they would also have to support the officials of the court, and taxes and materials might have to be collected by the court.

At the same time, the officials and troops under Zhao Ji's command were only responsible to Zhao Ji. After being incorporated into the imperial court, there will be more and more people and institutions that can interfere and ride on the necks of these people.

Therefore, if left unchecked, Zhao Ji's actions will gain increasing momentum until the greater good of the court can no longer restrain him, at which point the two sides will part ways and fight to the death on the battlefield.

While we still have the power to exert influence, we should work diligently to crack down on Zhao Ji and dismantle the self-sufficient organization he has built.

No matter how wonderful Chen Gong's description was, Zhang Yang still shook his head repeatedly: "Gongtai has never worked with the Grand Marshal and does not know how fierce he is. If I stay to defend Dingtao, he knows that I have a mild temperament and will definitely launch a large-scale attack. How can I dare to fight him?"

If the lower-ranking officers lead their troops to fight Zhao Ji and are wiped out, it won't affect those above them.

But Zhang Yang is different. He is already caught up in the war, so Lü Bu would not sacrifice him, and Zhao Ji would not let him go when he decides to take action.

That would immediately lead to a civil war between the two sides, which is not what Zhang Yang wants to see, and it also goes against the rosy prospects described by Chen Gong.

Chen Gong said helplessly, "Are we just going to give up like this?"

To Chen Gong's surprise, Zhang Yang nodded: "That's good. The Grand Marshal didn't kill Lüqiu Jian, but instead promoted him. This leaves me room to maneuver. If I insist on fighting with him, knowing the Grand Marshal as I do, he certainly won't let me off the hook."

Chen Gong was speechless, dumbfounded, and didn't know what to say.

Looking closely at Zhang Yang, is there really such a naive person?

Zhang Yang thought for a moment and then said, "Gongtai, the Grand Marshal is not a bloodthirsty person. Why not cooperate with the Grand Marshal to quickly stabilize Yanzhou? In this way, the officials and people can rest and recuperate sooner, and the court can also gain the help of Yanzhou and exert its authority over the vassal states."

The fate of the bandits in Yanzhou was of no importance to Zhang Yang.

Zhao Ji cleaned him up, which actually made it easier for him, the governor of Yanzhou, to do his job.

Yanzhou was crucial to Lü Bu, meaning he could leverage more power, greatly increasing the influence of the imperial court. He could send officials at the prefectural level to the vassal states, and also forcibly recruit their key advisors and henchmen to the court.

After serving in the court for three to five years, one becomes a pillar of the court, and is then dispatched to other vassal states.

After repeating this process two or three times, the separatist independence of Liu Biao and others could be dismantled. Subsequently, Liu Biao and others were successively summoned to the court, given high-ranking positions, and granted important titles and honors, and then retired with honors.

After swallowing up four major vassal states, what about the Western Regions that Zhao Ji has divided up...?

Zhang Yang gradually sorted out his thoughts. His biggest worry now was that Zhao Ji would appoint a new governor of Yanzhou on his own.

However, as long as Zhao Ji still adheres to the rule of the three departments, the selection of a new governor of Yanzhou can only be proposed and decided by the Secretariat, then approved by the Chancellery, and finally implemented by the Ministry of Personnel.

Lü Bu had too many intermediaries who interfered or vetoed, so under the Three Departments system, Zhao Ji could not appoint a new governor of Yanzhou behind the court's back.

In other words, there's no need for me to fight with Zhao Ji.

Given its proximity to Yuzhou, Zhang Yang has no chance of establishing a separatist regime. So, does it matter whether the Yanzhou rebels support him or not?

The absence of these people actually brings countless benefits!

Certainly, with the support of these powerful clans and local strongmen, they could immediately gather an army of thirty to forty thousand men.

Without these treacherous clansmen, Yanzhou might be able to mobilize more troops!

As Zhang Yang gradually came to understand these things, the way he looked at Chen Gong changed.

Seeing Zhang Yang's distant expression, Chen Gong said helplessly, "In that case, I will rush to Dingtao. If the men of Jiyin are willing to obey the court and let me defend the city, then we will block the Grand Marshal in Dingtao. Meanwhile, you, my lord, will rush to Puyang, seize territory to the east, and gather the armies of Yanzhou. Once the army is assembled, the Grand General will gather troops at the border of the state, and with the court mediating in between, I think the Grand Marshal, in his anger, will also give up the dispute."

(End of this chapter)