Tiger Guards

Chapter 444 Chen Gong's End

On the third day of the eighth lunar month, Zhang Liao began to withdraw his troops along the Ji River.

The war against the rebels in Huainan turned into a struggle between Lü Bu and Yuan Shu after Liu Bei withdrew his troops.

The heavy rains coincided with the high water season in Huainan, leaving Lü Bu and Yuan Shu separated by the Huai River, each seizing the time to nibble away at and plunder the surrounding resources to supply their armies.

Liu Xun, who was stationed on the south bank of the Huai River, also broke away from Liu Bei. After most of his Chen troops dispersed, the remaining Chen troops could no longer influence Liu Xun's decisions. With his old troops, Liu Xun could easily suppress the Chen troops.

Taking the initiative to withdraw from the battlefield against Yuan Shikai, Liu Xun headed south from Dangtu, heading straight for Hefei.

Hefei was being plundered by fleeing Chen soldiers. After Liu Xun went south and scared away these Chen soldiers, he persuaded the Hefei garrison commander to surrender.

His younger brother, Liu Xie, used a letter from Grand Marshal Zhao Ji as proof to take over as governor of Jiujiang Commandery. He moved the capital to Hefei and issued letters of surrender to the counties and powerful families south of Hefei, thus beginning his usurpation of Yuan Shu's legacy.

Liu Xun also pressed on, heading straight for Wancheng. He persuaded Chen Lan, Lei Xu, and others to defect, and then seized Lujiang County, taking over as its governor.

They simply couldn't wait for the imperial edict to appoint them as officials. The Huai River had overflowed, making communication between the two banks impossible. They could only charitably assume that the route for the edict was blocked, while they themselves might actually already be legitimate prefects appointed by the imperial court in Xuchang.

As long as their actions are legal, then their act of turning against the powerful clans and officials under Yuan Shu's control is naturally also legal.

Yuan Shu's army was bogged down in Shouchun, and within ten days most of the counties and towns in the two commanderies of Huainan had left him.

Yuan Shu was driven out by the people of Nanyang and Yuzhou in this way; after being defeated by Cao Cao, he fled to Yangzhou with several hundred followers, but was refused entry by Chen Yu, the governor of Yangzhou whom he had appointed.

Back then, Yuan Shu was able to gather powerful soldiers from all over the country to form a larger coalition, revive the army, and drive Chen Yu away.

Now that the two commanderies of Huainan have betrayed Yuan Shu again, Yuan Shu may only see it as a small farce.

As long as Lü Bu retreats, he is confident that he can turn back and kill Liu Xun and Liu Xie. He will even crush Liu Ai, the governor of Yangzhou in Jiangdong, in the process.

It wasn't that Yuan Shu was so arrogant, but rather that he had already figured out that very few people would actually risk their lives for the Han dynasty.

If it weren't for Sun Jian, who came from a humble background, taking credit for the victory and relentlessly attacking Dong Zhuo without regard for losses, causing Dong Zhuo to lose confidence in a decisive battle, the campaign against Dong Zhuo would have been limited to the eight passes outside Luoyang.

If Sun Jian had cherished the veterans of Jingzhou under his command a little more, or if Dong Zhuo had been more tenacious, the situation might have been very different.

Now, Zang Hong and Chen Wang are dead, and Cao Cao is dead too... Yuan Shu really can't understand who would still fight to the death for the Han Dynasty.

As long as all parties act rationally and seek to maximize their own interests, he will have the opportunity to rise again after this major downturn.

Yuan Shu remained calm and composed even in the eye of the storm, which indirectly stabilized the morale of his mid- to high-ranking officers.

However, the patients who had been sent to the Huai River and the Chen soldiers who were robbing and retaliating were about to ignite Huainan, something Yuan Shu could not have foreseen.

At this moment, Yuan Shu only wanted to stall until Lü Bu withdrew his troops, and then find a way to catch up with Lü Bu and give him a good beating.

On the sixth day of the eighth month, an envoy from Liu Ai, the governor of Yangzhou, arrived at the capital. Only with the intervention of Emperor Liu Xie was the appointment process for the brothers Liu Xun and Liu Xie as prefects quickly approved.

Thus, Liu Xun and Liu Xie became minor vassals outside of the four major vassal states.

Under Zhao Ji's deliberate guidance, the number of imperial princes and their followers became so equated with loyalty to the Han dynasty that they were considered equal to the number of princes and their followers.

Only by establishing more and more imperial princes can those in power in the court prove that they have no intention of usurping the Han throne; their current monopoly of power is merely an attempt to quell the chaos and restore peace to the world.

These governors and prefects, unlike the nominal kingdoms and marquises in various places, were actually in power under the rule of the Liu family.

As for the Liu family princes and nobles, they could only exercise the power of life and death over their servants within their own manors and palaces.

As for why these princes and nobles surnamed Liu lost their power?

Aside from the suppression by the imperial family and the centralization of power by the court to weaken the power of the feudal lords, these Liu-surname princes and nobles had nothing to do but rely on their privileges to compete with the common people and powerful clans for profit, accumulating enormous wealth through economic means. The more concentrated and rampant the presence of princes and nobles, the more fiercely the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in those areas.

When the Yellow Turban Rebellion passed through, they would show leniency to scholars with good reputations, but they would target and plunder the Liu family princes and nobles.

After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the local kings and nobles had no power to govern or command the army, and had lost the wealth accumulated through generations of exploitation. In addition, their bad reputation made it difficult for them to gain the support of the local people, so they lost power and were suppressed by the officials of the prefectures and counties and the powerful local gentry.

These so-called royal princes and vassal states had long lost their function of protecting the imperial family and the state.

Unlike the local officials, who held great power, the chief officials of prefectures and counties were more capable of protecting the Han dynasty in a practical sense.

Even if the current imperial family were to disappear, so many vassal states could elect one another or use other means to create a new imperial family, preventing the collapse of the Han dynasty.

Therefore, as long as Lü Bu was in power in the court, he could not attack or annex the imperial clans... With the example of Liu Ai succeeding Liu Yao, in the future, when officials of the imperial clans were transferred or died in office, Lü Bu would be responsible for selecting a new official from the imperial clan to take their place.

Unless Lü Bu can amass three or five loyal officials from the imperial clan, the various clans and vassal states of Yangzhou, Xuzhou, and Jingzhou will effectively block his efforts to expand his territory and increase his talent pool.

As for what happened after Lü Bu, Zhao Ji couldn't even imagine it, nor could he possibly predict things that far in the future.

However, with numerous feudal lords vying for power, the people suffered greatly... As this suffering intensified, the foundation of popular support built up over four hundred years by the Han dynasty would become increasingly thin.

Thus, on the eighth day of the eighth month, Zhao Ji led his army out of the west gate of Chenliu, crossed the river ten miles away, and boarded a boat. The entire army, along with more than ten thousand men and women from Chenliu who had gathered there, headed north along the Honggou Canal.

However, when they passed the Jishuikou, more than two thousand officials and soldiers were left to escort the people to continue north by boat, while Zhao Jishi led eight thousand infantry and cavalry down the Jishui River.

At this moment, Chen Gong was still holding out in Dingtao City, rallying the people and defending the city.

Thanks to Cheng Yu's savings from managing Jiyin, Chen Gong currently has ample grain reserves. Although he missed the autumn harvest outside the city, the grain reserves inside the city are sufficient to sustain him until the winter month.

In the eleventh and twelfth lunar months, wild grasses wither and snow covers the ground, causing Zhao Ji's cavalry to lose wild grass and greatly increasing logistical pressure.

Therefore, Chen Gong was confident in defending the city. Even if Lü Bu and Zhang Yang abandoned him, the emperor would not abandon him.

On the ninth day, Zhao Ji joined forces with Zhang Liao, who was besieging Dingtao.

Five thousand daredevils disembarked and took up their posts in the empty camp prepared for them.

The siege equipment was also prepared. After a brief inspection, Zhao Ji found that most of the equipment met his military requirements. He then said to Zhang Liao, "General Wen Yuan, do you have any old acquaintance with Chen Gongtai? If you have a deep friendship, I will let Chen Gongtai go today for General Wen Yuan's sake. As long as he leaves the city, I will give him a chance to plead his case before the Emperor. At that time, I will listen in with the Grand General and all the officials and await the Emperor's judgment."

The accompanying officers all glanced at Zhang Liao, who found the situation rather perplexing. After careful consideration, he bowed and replied, "Grand Marshal, I come from a remote prefecture and am not usually respected by Chen Gongtai. When I was under the General's command, I often led a separate unit and stayed in the field, while Chen Gongtai planned the entire army and served as the General's military advisor. Therefore, I have no prior acquaintance with Chen Gongtai."

Ignoring the changing gazes of those around him, Zhang Liao took a breath and said, "But for the sake of the Grand Marshal's reputation, I think we should send an envoy to inform the officials, men and women of Yu City. Let Chen Gongtai make his own decision. If there is any grievance or misunderstanding, we can ask him to explain himself before the Emperor."

“That’s feasible. I can write a letter to Chen Gongtai as a guarantee, and if there is any grievance or misunderstanding, I will apologize to him.”

Zhao Ji turned to look at Zhuge Jin, who was accompanying him: "Bring me pen and ink, I will write a letter to Chen Gongtai right away."

"Here."

Zhuge Jin left quickly, and Zhao Ji looked around again: "Who is willing to enter the city to see Chen Gongtai?"

Before anyone else could ask for the task, Zhang Liao cupped his hands again and said, "Let me do it."

Meeting Zhao Ji's gaze, Zhang Liao explained, "I have met Chen Gongtai several times. If I go and persuade him, I think I can quell this war."

As he spoke, he clearly sensed the sharp gaze of the daredevil officers, but Zhang Liao was not afraid. He glanced back at them, completely unconcerned.

(End of this chapter)