Tiger Guards

Chapter 454 Hebei Sends Troops
In Ye City, Cao Ang's messengers arrived one after another.

From initially entrusting his mother and brothers to Yuan Shao, vowing to fight the Zhao traitor; to later having the entire army defend Yan County to contain the Zhao traitor, waiting for your army to attack from both sides, you will surely defeat the Zhao traitor.

Cao Ang also had his pride; he couldn't possibly fight to the death with one wave of messengers and then beg for help and offer his services like a dog or horse in the next.

Cao Ang's words were tactful, but Yuan Shao could naturally understand that the other side was eager to ask for help.

Although he was furious that Cao Ang had pursued him without permission, if he were in Cao Ang's shoes, he would have led his army to fight Zhao Ji if Zhao Ji had treated his father's head this way; and if Zhao Ji had played with his own head like this, he would have hoped that his son would lead his army to fight him.

Yuan Shao was already unhappy that Zhao Ji had handled Cao Cao's head in this way.

He has already submitted a memorial to the emperor on behalf of Cao Cao, requesting Cao Cao's head so that the body can be sewn up and buried.

The emperor did not respond, but Zhao Ji took Cao Cao's head to Suanzao to offer as a sacrifice to Zang Hong... This gave Yuan Shao a very bad impression, as if Zhao Ji couldn't afford to slaughter an ox and had to make do with a sheep instead.

Perhaps Zhao Ji wanted to offer his own head as a sacrifice to Zang Hong.

As the sun set, Yuan Shao's Right General's office held a meeting hall where his staff and the governor of Ji Province were gathered.

The crowd was divided into groups and discussing the matter, with the shogunate staff, mainly from outlying provinces, advocating for war.

They followed Yuan Shao to Hebei to use the manpower and resources of Hebei as resources for starting their own businesses... This can be considered a very high-end consumable.

People from Hebei are not necessarily loyal to the Han Dynasty; they may be loyal to the Han Dynasty, but they are even more loyal to their own interests.

Similarly, they could transfer their loyalty to the Han dynasty to Yuan Shao, provided that Yuan Shao made some concessions.

Compared to the various warlords, Yuan Shao was a picky person who wanted to be a strong and unrestrained ruler rather than another Emperor Guangwu.

He could compromise by stripping Yuan Tan of his right to succession and replacing him with Yuan Shang, who was educated by a native of Hebei and grew up in Hebei in his youth.

The name Yuan Shang already hinted at something.

Shang means superior.

However, Yuan Shao was somewhat resistant to the subsequent compromises and integrations, especially after Ju Yi's death, when he missed the best opportunity for many things.

But Ju Yi could not live, because Ju Yi could not be simply defined as the leader of the Han-Qiang mercenary force in Liangzhou.

He could not serve as a mere fist under Yuan Shao, because Ju Yi was a powerful Han clan in Liangzhou and had his own political stance; moreover, Ju Yi's ancestral home was in Pingyuan, and his lineage could be traced back to Ju Wu, the teacher of Prince Dan, who assassinated the King of Qin.

If we fail to decisively kill Ju Yi and allow Qu Yi to make contact with the imperial envoy and obtain the court's support, then we will become another Lu Bu, Zhao Ji, or Gongsun Zan.

As a result, the internal and external antagonism in Ji Province has become increasingly apparent, and Yuan Shao finds it difficult to use the righteousness of the imperial court to suppress or mediate the conflict.

This year, Yuan Shao was further put on the defensive because of Yuan Shu's rebellion, Kong Rong's open declaration that the Yuan family, which had held high office for four generations, was now nothing but bones in a tomb and had no practical significance, and Zhao Ji's initiative to protect the country and oppose Yuan.

Now it's clear that supporting the current imperial family is no longer beneficial; on the contrary, it will subject them to suppression from Lü Bu and Zhao Ji at every turn.

Therefore, the current war may bring some changes to Hebei.

If a war is lost and no advantage is gained, then naturally there will be no change; the past will remain the same as the future.

If an advantage is gained in the war, it will boost the self-confidence of the people of Hebei, making them swell with confidence. Perhaps then they can be guided to formally break away from the Xudu court and support a new emperor.

Inside the council hall, Xu You, an official of the shogunate, wandered around, gathering information and conspiring.

Xin Pi, the younger brother of Xin Ping who was killed by Zhao Ji with Yuan Xi's official seal last year, also traveled around. Xu You only interacted with people from other states, while Xin Pi humbly inquired about the attitudes of Ju Shou and Tian Feng.

Ju Shou had originally proposed to support the emperor in punishing the disloyal, but he acted too late.

A pragmatic person like Ju Shou naturally wanted to escape the current quagmire of the political environment.

After all, with Yuan Shao's defeat, it wasn't just the Yuan family and these outsiders begging for food who suffered; the major families of Hebei, as well as ordinary officials and commoners, would also be doomed and become prey for external forces.

"The Right General has arrived!"

Registrar Geng Bao strode in from the side door behind the screen, announced something, and the small groups of three to five people in various parts of the hall dispersed and returned to their posts.

Soon, Yuan Shao arrived, clad in armor. Behind him stood the imposing Yuan Shang, also dressed in gleaming gold armor, wearing a golden helmet, a sword at his left hip, and holding Yuan Shao's helmet in both hands. Yuan Shao took his seat at the head of the table. Behind him, on the background wall, was a carved character "Yuan," decorated with wheel patterns to highlight the noble and long-standing lineage of the Yuan family.

"Greetings, General Right."

"Please excuse the formalities and be seated."

Yuan Shao surveyed the crowd, and after everyone was seated, he spoke: "Cao Zixiu, son of Mengde, raised an army to pursue Grand Marshal Zhao in order to avenge his father. Now his forces have been thwarted and he is besieged in Yan County. Although his more than 20,000 men are veterans of countless battles in the Central Plains, their provisions are insufficient for five days. There are no troops left to transport provisions or relieve the siege. Now, the son of an old friend has asked me for help. What should we do?"

Xu You straightened his back and clasped his hands: "My lord, in my opinion, we should immediately send an envoy to mediate with Grand Marshal Zhao and ask for a ceasefire. If that fails, we should also mobilize troops to relieve Cao Zixiu's siege."

“I have already sent an envoy, but I fear it will be difficult to satisfy him.”

Yuan Shao then said, "Grand Marshal Zhao Ji is a young man full of youthful impetuosity, and he has never cared about the difficulties faced by officials. Only by making him aware of the difficulties will he be willing to withdraw his troops. How can a mere envoy's three-inch tongue accomplish this? I intend to divide my forces and march directly towards Hanoi, making it appear as if we are going to Luoyang. Once his retreat is cut off, he will naturally consider my proposal. What do you all think?"

Seeing the flourishing careers of Lü Bu and Zhao Ji, Yuan Shao gradually changed his style of doing things.

Previously, he would have brought up this issue to let people from Hebei and other provinces express their opinions, and then he would choose the best ones to adopt.

Now, they simply present their own viewpoints and let these people supplement them.

They take responsibility for their mistakes, but they are also very efficient at getting things done.

Seeing that Yuan Shao had made a decision, Ju Shou cupped his hands and said, "My lord, in my opinion, the detachment of troops in Hanoi should not be too small, for a small force will not be able to accomplish anything."

Yuan Shao stroked his beard, and seeing that no one objected, his mood improved somewhat. He then asked, "How much would be appropriate?"

"The vanguard of 5,000 elite troops should prepare to depart immediately and set off at the fourth watch tomorrow. The follow-up troops should not be less than 20,000. It is advisable to mainly use troops from the four commanderies of Changshan, Zhao, Julu, and Zhongshan. Your Excellency should personally lead the elite troops of Wei Commandery to Liyang. This way, you can support Cao Zixiu and enable him to organize his troops and hold firm, waiting for the situation to change."

Ju Shou then said, "Lu and Zhao have bullied the emperor and forged an imperial edict to appoint Sun Ce as governor of Qingzhou. We should now withdraw Zhao Ji's troops and wait for them to retreat before sending our main army down the river to attack Sun Ce."

We cannot allow Qingzhou to resist Sun Ce alone; if we leave it unattended, the powerful clans of Qingzhou might surrender to Sun Ce in a fit of anger.

The flank of Qingzhou cannot be lost; losing it would leave us vulnerable to attacks from both sides and would allow Gongsun Zan to regain control of the situation.

However, we cannot rush to rescue Qingzhou. The powerful clans of Qingzhou must bleed themselves before going to the rescue to earn their gratitude.

It's like using Sun Ce to prune the powerful clans of Qingzhou, making them more obedient and suitable.

September is approaching, the autumn harvest in Hebei has ended, and various prefectures, kingdoms, and powerful local lords have begun preparing for war. Mobilizing the army now would be twice as effective and highly efficient.

If the mobilization is slow, or if the subordinates are perfunctory, Gongsun Zan will not wait quietly.

This autumn and winter is destined to be another year of fierce battles.

Ju Shou was essentially speaking on behalf of the people of Hebei. He no longer referred to Zhao Ji as Grand Marshal Zhao, but only as Zhao Ji and Lü Bu. If the situation worsened, he would directly call the other side the two traitors, Lü and Zhao.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao felt reassured: "Then I will trouble you, Commander, to take charge of this detachment in Hanoi."

"I accept your order."

Ju Shou rose and bowed deeply in respect.

Yuan Shao then looked at Tian Feng: "Sir, you are in charge of overseeing the transportation of grain and fodder, as well as the mobilization of troops."

This was the usual arrangement, and Tian Feng, without a word, cupped his hands and said, "Your subject obeys."

Yuan Shao then looked at Shen Pei: "Zheng Nan is to guard Ye City, and to investigate traitors and apprehend thieves."

"Here."

Shen Pei responded in a deep voice and also rose to bow deeply.

Yuan Shao looked at the other members of the staff and said, "Everyone, come with me to Liyang. We will set off early tomorrow morning."

"Take orders."

(End of this chapter)