Tiger Guards

Chapter 456 A Small windfall
In Liyang, General Chunyu Qiong, a frontline commander, stood deep in thought in front of a leather map.

Since Ma Yuan invented the concept of a primitive sand table by rubbing rice to create mountains, the Hebei Army also had its own sand tables.

However, Chunyu Qiong was already very familiar with the terrain of the Central Plains and Hebei. He only needed to look at the rough leather map to fill in the details in his mind.

The biggest advantage of this is that his subordinates will find it difficult to learn his military tactics, and he will not leak military intelligence or secrets due to the betrayal of his subordinates.

Even if he were defeated, he would only have primitive, crude maps around him, so he wouldn't reveal anything.

Cao Ang, from Puyang on the south bank, suddenly launched an attack, catching Chunyu Qiong off guard.

There was no time to dissuade them, let alone to provide support or coordinate the operation, or to put pressure on Zhao Ji to share or contain Zhao Ji's forces for Cao Ang.

In short, Chunyu Qiong was very reluctant to fight such a sudden war that left him with little initiative.

In particular, he didn't want to fight Zhao Ji again.

This isn't a matter of fear or not; rather, this war was entirely caused by Cao Cao and his son.

As a former colleague of the Eight Colonels of the Western Garden, Chunyu Qiong knew very well that Cao Cao had not completely submitted to Yuan Shao and still harbored a certain ambition.

Otherwise, with Yuan Shao backing him up, Cao Cao would have had no reason to heed Zhao Ji's urging and reprimands.

Let alone a mere Grand Marshal with no experience, even if the emperor sent an envoy to rebuke him, Cao Cao was thick-skinned enough to simply hold his troops in place. What could the emperor do to Cao Cao?

Ultimately, Cao Cao still wanted to make a good impression on the court and the emperor in order to obtain a higher official position and be on equal footing with Yuan Shao, so that he could break away from Yuan Shao.

Family members and hostages can be ransomed, so Cao Cao still has a chance.

Unexpectedly, Zang Hong, a former subordinate of Zhao Ji, lost control and seized the opportunity to assassinate Cao Cao.

Chunyu Qiong had dealt with Zhao Ji before and knew Zhao Ji's military style very well... If Zhao Ji really wanted to kill Cao Cao, he would definitely strike at Chenliu immediately and would not give the various Cao army units gathered in Chenliu a chance to break out or escape!
Therefore, Chunyu Qiong, an observer, still believes that Cao Cao's death was an accident.

Since the person is dead, there's no need to make things difficult for Zang Hong's former officials.

It was also because Cao Cao's former subordinates mutinied and fled upon hearing the news that they harbored great hostility towards the court. This was the key factor that led the court to condemn Cao Cao as a villain after his death.

If Cao Cao's former subordinates had stayed obediently in Chenliu, whether they had been incorporated by Zhao Ji, Lü Bu, Chen Gong, or Zhang Yang, the imperial court would have certainly handled Cao Cao's affairs properly after his death, and at least the title of Marquis of Feiting could have been passed down.

Therefore, Chunyu Qiong had no sympathy for Cao Cao and his soldiers. Cao Cao was too greedy and took risks, which led to his accidental death. His soldiers were afraid of being purged, which resulted in Cao Cao's reputation being ruined after his death, and Yanzhou was left in ruins.

He stood in front of the map, pondering these matters repeatedly, feeling a lump in his throat, and longed to confide his grievances to someone.

He genuinely didn't want to fight Zhao Ji; he felt it was pointless.

Neither side is prepared to annihilate the other. Is such a war meaningful?
Military officers would occasionally enter the barracks with military reports to inform Chunyu Qiong of the mobilization and marching status of the nearby armies.

The regular garrison in Liyang numbered only over three thousand, of which fewer than seven hundred were on regular guard duty or stationed there. The rest of the soldiers were settled in the vicinity of Liyang for farming and garrison duty.

Similar garrisons, varying in size, were stationed in the counties south of Ye City and on the north bank of Dongjun.

These soldiers need time to assemble, so Chunyu Qiong has no troops to interfere with or intervene in the war on the south bank today.

The soldiers were fully assembled within two or three days, but they still needed a period of pre-battle training before they could enter a state of combat readiness.

All of this takes time. During the training period, we can replenish equipment, uniforms and flags. In short, there are all sorts of small things to do. How can we go straight to the battlefield?
As Chunyu Qiong studied the map and calculated the number of soldiers he could gather before nightfall, a subordinate official hurried to the door: "General, General Zhao, the bandit pacifier, requests an audience."

"he?"

Chunyu Qiong turned to look at his subordinate, who presented the visiting card with both hands.

Chunyu Qiong picked up the visiting card and saw that it was indeed Zhao Rong, his former colleague from the Eight Colonels.

The military commander Jian Shuo attempted to forcibly enthrone Liu Xie, but the Ten Attendants dared not take the risk and betrayed Jian Shuo. Jian Shuo was left isolated and was executed by He Jin.

When Bao Hong, the Colonel of the Lower Army, led his Xiyuan Army to join forces with the Yuzhou troops to suppress the Yellow Turban Army in Gebei, Yuzhou, he was impeached by Huang Wan, the Governor of Yuzhou, for embezzlement and was sentenced to death.

Dong Zhuo could pay money to have his death sentence reduced or be spared, while Bao Hong was executed in prison before Emperor Ling died, and had no chance of being reinstated.

The Commandant of the Central Army was Yuan Shao, and the Commandant of the Army was Cao Cao; the Assistant Commandant of the Left Army, Zhao Rong, followed Cao Cao, while the Assistant Commandant of the Right Army, Feng Fang, followed Yuan Shu.

Left Colonel Xia Mou followed the mainstream of the court, eventually joining Dong Zhuo, and died under mysterious circumstances.

The lowest-ranking Right Colonel was Chunyu Qiong, who chose to follow Yuan Shao. Above the Eight Colonels of the Western Garden was the Supreme General Liu Hong.

The eight colonels have distinct ranks, seemingly parallel, but in reality, excluding Liu Hong, they can be divided into four levels: two major and two minor.

Unfortunately, Chunyu Qiong was relegated to the bottom tier.

Zhao Rong's current title of General Who Pacifies Bandits was also appointed by Yuan Shao; it's the same principle as when the warlords petitioned Cao Cao to be appointed General of Valiant Might during the campaign against Dong Zhuo.

Zhang Liao is now the officially recognized and appointed General Who Pacifies Bandits by the imperial court.

When Chunyu Qiong looked through Zhao Rong's visiting card, he noticed that it was quite thick and contained a silk scroll with a gift list.

Upon seeing this, Chunyu Qiong naturally smiled.

He didn't lack such a small thing, and Zhao Rong's attitude pleased him: "Go and invite him. I'll meet him in the front hall. Military affairs are busy, so please ask him to wait a moment."

"Here."

The subordinate official took a few steps back, turned around, and left. Chunyu Qiong suppressed his smile, turned back, sat on the couch, and pondered Zhao Rong's intentions.

If it's just a simple introduction, this isn't difficult.

It would be impossible to send troops to Puyang to help Cao Cao's family members cross the river.

Currently, Liyang is undefended. He merely sailed his warships out of the water fortress and anchored them on the north bank to make a show of force, without any troops to interfere with the battle on the south bank.

Moreover, he knew Yuan Shao well, and he would not offend Yuan Shao's taboos without a clear order to send troops into battle.

Just then, another military officer rushed over: "General, Captain Jiang's troops have reached within ten miles of Liyang!"

"Order them to immediately go to ten miles west of Liyang, board the ship, and await further orders!"

Chunyu Qiong responded, and he felt much more relaxed. With Jiang Qi's two thousand-plus men arriving, the Liyang army had swelled to five thousand and finally began to show some defensive posture.

He did not intend to let Jiang Qi's troops enter Liyang before the other troops arrived.

After waiting for about 15 minutes, Chunyu Qiong finally came to the front hall to see Zhao Rong.

After joining Cao Cao's forces, Zhao Rong was a general with no special skills, and he did not participate in any military operations. Even when he accompanied the army, he was only a senior staff officer.

Therefore, Zhao Rong was quite stout and large, pacing back and forth in the hall like a door panel, his face covered in sweat.

Chunyu Qiong arrived at the gate, saw the situation, and asked, "How is the battle on the south bank?"

"This is very bad, extremely bad."

Zhao Rong stepped forward and cupped his hands to Chunyu Qiong, but he couldn't bend down. So he pulled Chunyu Qiong, who was about to return the greeting, and walked into the inner hall. After going around the screen, he said, "This morning, the Jin army under Gan Ning captured Baima. The Baima garrison of more than two thousand men collapsed at the first touch!"

Zhao Rong's voice was urgent: "As far as I know, Gan Ning attacked from both land and water, and the Bai Ma garrison was attacked from both sides. They were caught off guard and suddenly collapsed. The families of the soldiers in Puyang are still unaware of this. If they were to find out, they would surely be thrown into chaos and it would be difficult to control! I request that Zhongjian send officials and soldiers to Puyang to reassure the people."

Chunyu Qiong sat down, his brows furrowed. "Without Lord Benchu's order, my army is unable to provide assistance. To be frank, Cao Zixiu's troops have moved too quickly, and my army has not yet fully assembled. My forces can only defend Liyang. As you know, Zhao Zilong is a fierce general under the Grand Marshal. He is currently leading his troops to retreat by boat. If he suddenly attacks and strikes Liyang, and we lose Liyang, my head will be in grave danger."

Zhao Rong was even more anxious: "Then Zhong Jian, what should we do?"

"Your family is already in Yecheng. I will give you at most five transport ships, under the pretense of transporting military equipment, to go to Puyangjin."

Chunyu Qiong raised his hand and placed it on Zhao Rong's broad back, patting it lightly with his palm, implying, "How much we can use depends on fate."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Rong squinted and thought for a moment: "Let the boats depart at night, so that most of the men and women on the south bank will be unaware. Otherwise, if everyone fights for the boats, who knows how many people will die in vain."

He lowered his voice and said, "I will find someone who can cross the river. Half of the money and goods will be given to the person who can cross the river. Brother Zhongjian will take 70%, and I will give him 30%."

"Thirty percent is a bit too little, I feel bad about it."

Chunyu Qiong also lowered his voice: "I will send my trusted confidants with me on the boat. When we reach the river, we will kill them all. In this way, there will be no hidden dangers. After the boat reaches the north bank and we unload the goods, we will hang it in the river and sink it, claiming that it was captured by Gan Ning on the south bank."

The belongings of the five ship passengers were enough for the two men to recruit more followers.

Zhao Rong pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded: "We will follow Zhongjian's suggestion."

(End of this chapter)