Tiger Guards

Chapter 426 Returning Home Team
When news of Cao Cao's death reached Sun Ce's army, he had only been away from Chen County for a day and a night, and had just entered the territory of Liang.

The Liang Kingdom was originally a large country, but it was repeatedly reduced to only nine counties. These nine counties were densely populated, so its territory was not large, even smaller than that of the Chen Kingdom.

Before Sun Ce could be surprised, Zhao Ji's military order arrived along with news of Cao Cao's execution.

After marching for two more days and nights, Sun Ce passed through the three commanderies of Liang, Jiyin, and Shanyang... It looks like a lot, but it was actually only six counties.

After passing through these six counties, Sun Ce stationed his troops at Kangfu in Rencheng State.

Rencheng Kingdom was the smallest, with only three counties.

The army had reached a critical point where it needed to rest and recuperate, and Sun Ce also needed to reassess the changing situation.

According to Zhao Ji's previous plan, when he passed through Rencheng and Lu and entered Taishan County, the imperial envoy team would catch up with him and grant him the titles of Governor of Qingzhou, General of the Rear, and Marquis of Qi.

In other words, in as little as four or five days, or as long as one day or seven or eight days, he could transform himself into a governor, county marquis, or general of the four directions, on par with Yuan Shao, Liu Bei, and Gongsun Zan.

But now, with Cao Cao dead and Yan Province in turmoil, he only needs to send troops north to intercept Cao Cao's main assets.

You could easily grab a handful of veterans—tens of thousands of them.

Without the righteous support of the imperial court, these people would only be temporarily attached to him. If there were any disturbances in the future, they would definitely abandon him.

Zhang Zhao stayed in Langya to assist Zhao Fan in managing the four Yellow Turban families who had been relocated there; Zhang Hong also stayed with Zhao Ji as if he were a hostage.

At this moment, Sun Ce wanted to find a few strategists with a global perspective to discuss the matter, but he couldn't find any.

To avoid unnecessary disputes arising from each general speaking their own opinion during the meeting, and also to maintain control of the situation, Sun Ce had no choice but to ask each of them individually.

The first person he consulted was Taishi Ci. Taishi Ci was extremely important; if they wanted to take Qingzhou, Taishi Ci alone could almost stabilize the Jiaodong Peninsula.

Inside the tent, Taishi Ci raised his hand to his chin, gently stroking his thick beard with his thumb. He pondered for a moment, his brow furrowed: "General, Cao Cao's violent death must have been due to the Grand Marshal's sudden action. Otherwise, judging from the Grand Marshal's past military campaigns, he would never have allowed Cao Cao's army to scatter. He must have arranged for an inside agent to seize the army in one fell swoop."

"Yes, that's what I thought too; it was a sudden thing."

Sun Ce also shared his perspective: "If we wanted to seize Cao Cao's troops, we could have waited until Cao Cao's various armies converged at Chen County, then launched a strong attack on the city. After that, we could have executed Cao Cao for neglecting his duties, losing troops, and delaying the battle. We could have easily obtained his troops. Given Cao Cao's cunning, if he had known that the Grand Marshal harbored murderous intent before attending the banquet, he would certainly not have gone. Therefore, Cao Cao's execution was an unusual move by the Grand Marshal, making it difficult for all sides to respond, and the Grand Marshal naturally could not strike first."

As Sun Ce spoke, he stood up and paced back and forth, continuing, "I am not greedy for Cao Cao's troops, military supplies, or wealth. Rather, after leading my troops back to Mount Tai according to the Grand Marshal's orders, if I wait for an imperial envoy and they do not arrive, wouldn't I be missing a golden opportunity!"

As Sun Ce spoke, he looked indignant, not because he was angry that Zhao Ji might break his promise, but because he remembered Yuan Shu's repeated breaches of promise to him.

More importantly, the court had already appointed him as the Chancellor of Langya; it was he who was swayed by Yuan Shao's appointment as the Governor of Qingzhou and left Langya to lead his troops north.

Just like Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao used Sun Ce's intimidation to scare away Zang Ba, and also frightened the various clan leaders of Qingzhou to side with Yuan Shao.

Immediately, Yuan Shao broke the agreement and sent Sun Ce away with the position of Prefect of Taishan, ordering Sun Ce to stop Liu Bei's encroachment.

Yuan Shao did not completely break his promise, because the original governor of Qingzhou, Zang Ba, was not defeated by Sun Ce, but rather Zang Ba himself withdrew his troops; and the various commanderies and kingdoms of Qingzhou were not subdued by Sun Ce, but rather they voluntarily submitted to Yuan Shao.

During this process, Sun Ce's army suffered no losses; on the contrary, it replenished its strength and supplies along the way.

Therefore, Yuan Shao felt justified in unilaterally changing the agreement and settling Sun Ce in as a reward for his service.

Mount Tai was still ceded from Cao Cao. Yuan Shao easily obtained Qingzhou for free, paying only for Mount Tai, which was under Cao Cao's control.

Sun Ce lost the Langya Kingdom, which was recognized by the imperial court, and also lost the hearts of Zhang Hong and Zhang Zhao.

After circling around the northwest of Mount Tai for so long, and then being placed in Mount Tai after entering Qingzhou, it all seems like a huge loss. Having been deceived by Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao one after another, and having already abandoned his position as Chancellor of Langya, it's quite normal for Zhao Ji to break his promise to him.

Even if Zhao Ji did his best to secure these official positions for him, Sun Ce's past misdeeds were difficult to erase, and any slight obstruction from Lü Bu or others would stall the process of appointing him to an official post.

This is not Zhao Ji's fault, but rather Sun Ce's own foundation was not strong enough.

Therefore, leading troops into Mount Tai now would most likely result in nothing and become a laughing stock; however, if troops were to stir up trouble in eastern Yanzhou, it would increase their value in winning over allies and gain the support of Lü Bu or the imperial court.

In that case, Zhao Ji would be even less likely to break his promise.

Even if Zhao Ji is unwilling to take the initiative to push forward the official appointment process, if Lü Bu pushes it forward, Zhao Ji can't possibly object again.

Sun Ce paced back and forth, while Taishi Ci was also deep in thought.

Upon closer examination, Taishi Ci also wanted to go to the eastern part of Yanzhou to pull off a heist.

The major and minor leaders of Qingzhou had already submitted to Yuan Shao and handed over hostages. Yuan Shao easily obtained a relatively stable Qingzhou through various means.

Therefore, if we enter Qingzhou as the governor appointed by the imperial court, we certainly won't get any decent support from the major clans or powerful families.

Then the only option is to fight our way through, terrifying the powerful clans of Qingzhou, simply repeating what happened in Jiangdong.

Last year, they could scare all the big and small warlords in Qingzhou. Even if these people unite this year, what is there to fear?
So when they passed through Yanzhou, they gathered a group of Cao Cao's old troops and then attacked Qingzhou together.

Anyway, these people are terrified and can easily be pulled away by me.

If we don't seize too much land or people, but only take away those powerful and influential people who are easily swayed and who are resistant to or afraid of Zhao Ji and Lü Bu, Zhao Ji probably won't care too much.

Yuan Shao could send troops to intervene at any time, and Zhao Ji still needs his help.

He himself could not do without Zhao Ji, the Grand Marshal. Only with the support of the court and the Grand Marshal could he legitimately punish the Qingzhou traitors.

Sun Ce pondered for a moment, then turned to Taishi Ci and said, "Ziyi, how about we divide our forces here? Ziyi, lead your troops and Guoyi as my detachment, head north to Juye Marsh, pass through Fan County and Dong'e, and enter Jinan State. Along the way, gather Cao Cao's old troops. When the imperial envoy arrives, I will appoint Ziyi as the Chancellor of Jinan State."

Taishi Ci was from Donglai in Qingzhou. He was so poor that he relied on Kong Rong to support his elderly mother. He was definitely not a powerful or influential figure.

Taishi Ci's core followers were also his colleagues who followed Liu Yao, scholars from Qingzhou and Xuzhou who had fled south, and refugees. Therefore, Taishi Ci had an instinctive enthusiasm and fervor for returning to Qingzhou to start his own business.

At the same time, Sun Fu was to accompany Taishi Ci, and the two of them together recruited Cao Cao's former troops along the way, guaranteeing at least 10,000 soldiers who could fight.

Cao Cao's army was inherently ruthless, and it was particularly effective against the Qingzhou rebels.

More importantly, the Yellow Turban Army in Qingxu was settled in the areas of Fanxian, Dong'e, and Juancheng. When Taishi Ci and Sun Fu passed through, they were able to influence most of the Yellow Turban Army settlement areas in Qingxu.

These Qingzhou soldiers possess a deadly offensive capability against the local bandits.

If we could gather most of the Qingzhou soldiers and return to their hometowns together, then sweep eastward and slaughter them... the Qingzhou bandits could be crushed into dust with a flick of the wrist!
Upon hearing this, Taishi Ci rose and pondered for a moment, then solemnly cupped his hands and said, "This humble general obeys the order!"

Sun Ce was also afraid that Taishi Ci's actions would cause too much trouble and anger Zhao Ji, so he instructed him, "Nothing should be overdone. The greatest credit for killing the traitor Cao belongs to the Grand Marshal."

"Yes, I will finally understand."

Taishi Ci immediately responded, he also dared not imagine how much destructive power this returning group would unleash if they really brought together a migration of hundreds of thousands of Qingzhou soldiers and their families.

(End of this chapter)