Tiger Guards

Chapter 430 Building Consensus

Jiyin, Dingtao.

Chen Gong marched hastily to capture Dingtao... well, it can't really be called capturing. After Cheng Yu, the former prefect of Jiyin, withdrew from the Chenliu front, he went straight to Fanxian and Juancheng, where there were people from Qiaopei, who were more reliable.

Cheng Yu dared not return to Jiyin, so when Chen Gong led more than a hundred officials and Chenliu righteous soldiers to Dingtao, the officials and people of Dingtao opened the city gates to welcome him.

Backed by the righteous cause of the imperial court and with the strong support of the officials and people of Yanzhou, Chen Gong is also rapidly mobilizing various forces in Jiyin County, hoping to have the ability to defend the city when Zhao Ji's main force arrives.

No sooner had Chen Gong captured Dingtao than Zhang Yang led 7,000 Yanzhou soldiers by boat down the Ji River, passing between the two cities of Dingtao, one to the north and one to the south.

No matter how fast Zhang Yang was, he was still a step slower than the Li family who migrated north, and failed to catch the fattest fish.

When Zhang Yang arrived at Juye Marsh, Taishi Ci and Sun Fu, who were traveling north from the eastern side of Juye Marsh via the imperial road, also attacked Fan County, but they were still half a day late.

The main population and important supplies here have already followed the Li family fleet and Cheng Yu down the Huzi River to the river mouth where Dongjun and Pingyuanjun meet. There is a relatively famous ferry here, which can be called Cangting Ferry; further downstream on the Yellow River is the main ferry downstream, Gaotang Ferry.

Thus, relying on the convenient waterway of the Ji River, Zhang Yang attacked Dongjun, Dongping, Shanyang, and Jibei ahead of schedule and began to recruit and accept rebels; Sun Ce also divided his troops and took a big bite because of the early march.

Zhao Ji personally brought up the rear, so his movements were relatively slow.

The army had more than 60,000 captives and prisoners. Apart from the prisoners captured in the Battle of Ruyang, the rest were all laborers "rescued" from Sun Ce.

Therefore, during the march, Zhao Ji's army was relatively fragile, lacked resilience, and could not withstand attacks.

Chen Gong, Zhang Yang, and Cao Cao's remaining forces could not withstand Zhao Ji's attacks, and his large marching column could not withstand Lü Bu's attacks either.

It wasn't that they were so afraid of Lü Bu, but that if the two sides went to war, this group of people accompanying the army would become a burden, would scatter, and would affect the performance of each army.

Zhao Ji personally covered the rear, which was the greatest respect he could show to Lü Bu.

This respect will definitely accrue interest.

On the morning of the sixth day after Cao Cao's death, Zhao Ji led more than 10,000 men who were covering the rear to begin the evacuation.

No sooner had he withdrawn than Lü Bu sent a detachment of 2,000 men to garrison Fugou. Before Wei Yue could attack Fule on the opposite bank, Yuan Huan, who was defending the area, led his troops in rebellion and joined Lü Bu's forces.

Within the city of Xudu, scouts were constantly on the move.

Lu Bu kept a close eye on the map of the counties and prefectures of Yan and Yu, and would often come to his desk to observe the changes on the map.

Yang Jun would move the wooden signs on the map based on reports from scouts near and far.

After dinner, Lü Bu brought mead to the map, observed the area around Fule and Fugou, and asked, "Can Zhao Yuansi launch a counterattack against Fugou?"

Fugou is the southernmost county of Chenliu Commandery in Yanzhou. Zhang Yang held off Zhao Ji there for a whole day.

Fule was located on the east bank of the Honggou Canal, and was the northernmost county of the Chen Kingdom.

As Zhao Ji had warned before, if Lü Bu entered Yanzhou, he would turn back and attack Lü Bu.

How could Lü Bu possibly be intimidated by Zhao Ji?
Upon hearing that Zhao Ji had withdrawn his troops and marched north, he couldn't resist the urge to act and ordered Wei Yue at the front to send 2,000 troops to garrison the empty city of Fugou.

Given the proximity, this army could be stationed in Fugou by the afternoon.

He himself did not enter Yanzhou, but only sent troops to garrison Yanzhou... As a general, does he not have this much power?
If he could lure Zhao Ji back to deal with those two thousand men, Lü Bu wouldn't care about the loss or gain of those two thousand men.

Using two thousand people and taking up Zhao Ji's time for another day, it's a win-win situation no matter how you look at it.

If Zhao Ji turns back and devours and incorporates these two thousand men, leaving no troops behind when retreating north, then Lü Bu will send another two thousand men.

If Zhao Ji left troops to defend, Lü Bu would also like to test whether his Grand General's Order could mobilize and incorporate this garrison.

There was no other meaning; it was purely to test Zhao Ji's bottom line and buy time for Zhang Yang and Chen Gong.

As for angering Zhao Ji, leading to Zhao Ji's entire army marching south to fight him... how could that be? From the moment Zhao Ji dealt with Lu Qiu Jian, the garrison commander of Fugou, according to procedure, Lü Bu concluded that Zhao Ji would not take the initiative to break the alliance or start a war.

Breaking the alliance would be of no benefit to the court or to either side.

At this moment, Lü Bu inquired about the situation at Fugou. Yang Jun pondered for a moment and immediately replied, "There are no reports from scouts, which means there is no unusual activity at Fugou. It is also possible that the Grand Marshal's scouts intercepted and captured our scouts; however, the fact that the scouts did not report anything unusual indicates that the scouts in Fugou, Fule, and the southern counties of Chenliu are traveling as usual."

"Send envoys to investigate; I need to know the exact situation first thing tomorrow morning."

Lu Bu stared at the map, reached into the military camp near Xuchang, pulled out a troop token, and placed it in Fugou: "If Fugou is still the same by tomorrow morning, send another three thousand men! I want to see where Yuan Si's bottom line really is!"

Yang Jun and the others looked worried, but Lü Bu smiled and said, "This is inevitable. If we are frightened by him today, how can I have the face to control the various armies? How can I command the troops of the world and assist the emperor and the country?"

Two thousand today, three thousand tomorrow, and five thousand the day after.

First, send 10,000 men to garrison various counties in southern Chenliu to test Zhao Ji's bottom line, and also to ensure the stability of the outer perimeter of Xudu and prevent Zhao Ji from launching a surprise attack.

If they were in each other's shoes, Lü Bu would also try to launch a surprise attack.

As the sun set, Zhao Ji had already withdrawn his troops a hundred miles away and crossed the Honggou River via a pontoon bridge in the western suburbs of Chenliu County, entering the abandoned Chenliu County town of Zhang Yang.

This city has lost its meaning for Zhang Yang, who wants to acquire Cao Cao's legacy in eastern Yanzhou.

Compared to Cao Cao's legacy, Chenliu Commandery was actually a burden.

Chenliu is located north of Xudu, and is the skull of Xudu. How could Lü Bu continue to let Zhang Yang hold it? It is obviously inappropriate for Zhang Yang, as the governor of Yanzhou, to still be holding Chenliu.

Therefore, Chenliu County will definitely be under the responsibility of Lü Bu's confidants in the future.

Within Chenliu City, scholars, prominent families, and officials either followed Chen Gong or went with Zhang Yang, leaving behind only an empty city with fewer than three hundred households.

Inside the city, Zhao Ji spent the night on the city wall.

While he was eating, Zhang Hong and Zhao Jian had already spread out a map and started marking it based on the information gathered during the day.

Zhao Ji ate quickly, rolled up his sleeves to wipe the grease from the corners of his mouth, sat in front of the map and looked down at the various military tokens on it. Seeing that Gan Ning had surrounded Chen Gong at Dingtao, he said: "Gan Ning is still not fast enough. Immediately issue an order to him not to worry about the gains and losses at Dingtao."

Dingtao spans the Ji River and has two cities, one to the north and one to the south. It was not something that Gan Ning's three thousand men could surround. This was more of a surveillance operation.

As long as Gan Ning remained stationed outside Dingtao City, the powerful clans and their troops from various counties in Jiyin would not dare to easily gather in Dingtao, and would be unable to join forces with Chen Gong and unite as one.

Zhao Ji smiled at Zhao Jian beside him and said, "Mr. Shumao, do you think Chen Gong would dare to launch a preemptive attack on our army?"

"Of course I wouldn't dare. It's easy for him to start a war, but difficult for him to stop it."

Zhao Jian frowned: "Does the Grand Marshal intend to lure Chen Gong into attacking?"

"I will go to Dingtao later. I want to enter the city to discuss military matters with Chen Gong. I want to see if he dares to open the city gates to see me."

Zhao Ji grabbed Gan Ning's military token and moved it to Juye Marsh: "Let Gan Ning rest tonight. We'll set sail for Juye Marsh first thing tomorrow morning. Zhang Liao will also arrive in Shanyang. With Gan Ning's support, Zhang Liao can take a boat north from Juye. Once the two of them meet, I won't have to worry about anything in the east."

"Here."

A clerk agreed and immediately wrote down the relevant military mobilization order.

He handed it to Zhao Ji for inspection, and Zhao Ji took out his personal seal and stamped it.

Immediately, Zhao Ji looked at the northwest corner of the map, which was the eastern part of Henan and most of Hanoi, where Zhao Yun had 12,000 men.

Zhao Ji reached out and grabbed Zhao Yun's chess pieces, dragging the bamboo strips downstream along the Yellow River for two hundred miles: "When will Zilong be able to garrison Baimajin and Yanjin? If the messenger can reach Hanoi today, and Cao Ang doesn't run away tomorrow, there will be no chance."

A few days ago, Zhao Yun was given the transfer order. With a few days of preparation and his existing savings, it wouldn't be difficult for Zhao Yun to gather enough transport ships and rafts.

Zhang Hong replied, "The Grand Marshal sent an order to Hanoi yesterday while he was at Fugou. Assuming a messenger can travel 500 li a day, the order should have reached Mengjin in Hanoi by this morning. Zhao Zilong has divided his troops and is advancing. His vanguard should be at Aocang, north of Xingyang, by this time tonight."

Zhao Yun's support army was very important. The fleet could assist in transferring prisoners and rescued laborers. These more than 60,000 people far exceeded the size of an army.

Once they are transported away, Zhao Ji will be able to move around lightly.

The reason for the slow action is that they are reluctant to abandon this elite population.

If we seize another one from Yanzhou... and rescue over 100,000 people, then this year's trip won't have been in vain.

"Yes, send another envoy to Jinyang and request another 10,000 men. I still maintain the same stance: Gongming must remain in Taiyuan; I will only feel at ease with him there."

The next 10,000 men continued to serve as a support, mainly assisting in transportation, escorting prisoners, and people.

The more troops gathered in the Central Plains, the less Yuan Shao dared to attack Taiyuan.

Crossing the river at Baima and Yanjin will take you to Liyang, which is only two hundred li away from Yecheng. Since we are closer to Yuan Shao's heartland, why should we worry about Yuan Shao attacking Taiyuan?
We don't need to worry about Yuan Shao, but we must be wary of the various Xiongnu tribes or other non-Han peoples causing trouble.

Keeping Xu Huang around ensures that the first wave of attacks during the suppression of the rebellion is fierce enough to quickly extinguish the flames and prevent them from escalating and getting out of control.

After routinely sending out a request for help, Zhao Ji stared at the map, pondering and analyzing the overall situation.

It's acceptable for Sun Ce to take a portion of Cao Cao's legacy. Sun Ce's purpose is to hold Qingzhou, strengthen his power, and allow him to hold out longer.

As for Zhang Yang and Chen Gong, they instead adopted a conciliatory approach, which allowed many wavering individuals to remain in Yanzhou, rather than having no other options and wholeheartedly following Cao Cao's former subordinates to surrender to Yuan Shao in the north.

How many can you catch by yourself?

By having Chen Gong and Zhang Yang bring these hopeful scholars from Yanzhou together, it would be much easier.

Therefore, Gan Ning had to withdraw from Dingtao so as not to hinder Chen Gong from expanding the pie.

After Gan Ning and Zhang Liao joined forces, they were more efficient at driving out Sun Ce, which would allow Sun Ce to inherit less of his legacy.

I need to slow down my pace a bit and give Zhang Yang time to win over and gather manpower.

However, we must deliver a punch to Lü Bu.

As he pondered, Zhao Ji's gaze fell upon the southern part of Chenliu.

Only by fighting against Lü Bu's army and triggering a local conflict could Zhang Yang and Chen Gong indirectly increase their appeal to the powerful clans of Yan Province.

Since they had all clashed with Lü Bu's army, wouldn't it be perfectly reasonable to then easily wipe out the rebel and riotous troops illegally recruited by Zhang Yang and Chen Gong?

Lu Bu, Zhang Yang, and Chen Gong have all clashed with me militarily because of protecting the powerful clans of Yan Province. Shouldn't the powerful clans of Yan Province be more proactive in supporting Zhang Yang and Chen Gong?
Once such a consensus is reached, how many people from Yanzhou can Cao Ang take away?

Do they really think the people of Yanzhou really like his eldest son?

(End of this chapter)