Tiger Guards

Chapter 483 Tactical Poisoning
The next day, as dawn broke, Zhao Ji's small fleet set sail.

As the sun gradually rose higher, the temperature became cool and pleasant, and the sunlight was just right. Zhao Ji stepped out of the cabin and went to a high place to look at the scenery on both sides of the river.

Because of the mild winter and no snowfall, the good fields irrigated by the Fen River on both sides of the river are either overgrown with weeds or covered with patches of withered wheat.

The villages near the rivers and roads recovered the fastest. Looking around, Zhao Ji could no longer see any decent ruins of villages, towns, or post stations.

I felt relieved, but some things still made me a little unhappy.

For example, if Jia Xu had not listened to his advice and had stuck to the original plan, he would have avoided the summer heat while stationed in Luoyang and instead trained the surrendered troops from Guanzhong.

Then, on the Central Plains battlefield, our side will shine even brighter.

However, if they fought too fiercely, Cao Cao would definitely be very wary.

It was precisely because he had played too conservatively that Cao Cao was more eager to return to the imperial court, so he took the risk and gambled, confident that he would not kill him and cause greater turmoil.

With Cao Cao's death, chaos ensued in Yan Province, which was a natural consequence and would further strengthen Yuan Shao's power.

If Cao Cao were in Cao Cao's shoes, he probably wouldn't have taken action either.

Cao Cao is one issue, but there's also the imperial court and Lü Bu. If I reorganize the troops in Guanzhong before leaving Hulao Pass, Lü Bu will definitely not send troops to assist me; he will be on high alert from the start.

Furthermore, regarding the Xuzhou battlefield, Jia Xu was unaware of Liu Bei's situation. Jia Xu worried that the collapse of the eastern front in Xuzhou would allow Yuan Shu to gain the upper hand. If that happened, Yuan Shao would also overturn the table, rendering the imperial court utterly useless.

Ultimately, Jia Xu offered advice for himself, but chose a position from which the imperial court would benefit the most.

My initial plan had a high potential because I believed in Liu Bei and the people of Xuzhou's ability to hold the line; however, Jia Xu and my grandfather did not understand Liu Bei's resilience, so they saw the lower limit and risks in their eyes.

Jia Xu urged the war to begin ahead of schedule, and the revised plan allowed them to consistently score above 65 points, whereas they themselves only saw themselves as scoring between 25 and 80. Therefore, their stance wasn't the problem; the issue lay in their judgment of information.

Knowing Liu Bei's resilience, he devised his own plan, which involved rolling dice and getting a score between 40 and 95.

But what good is it if you roll 95 points?

The annual recovery rate of grain production is what it is, and it takes time for our core personnel to develop and grow.

It is impossible for a single epic victory to make the world admire and worship it.

This is not the chaotic period at the end of the Qin Dynasty. In that era, there was no experience, and things were pacified quickly by following the established pattern.

After the chaos of the late Qin Dynasty and the Xin Dynasty, who would dare to surrender easily now?
Even if they surrender, without launching a counterattack, the other side's influence will not be eliminated; on the contrary, there is a possibility that they will raise their arms and shout slogans to rebel again.

If a large-scale massacre of surrendered soldiers and the purging of subordinate forces are carried out, the complex relationships among various personnel within the organization will make it difficult to generate cohesion and will not be attractive to outsiders.

Therefore, large-scale mergers should not have been undertaken in the first place, especially the mergers of regions with strong historical foundations and resilient local cultures should have been carried out through gentle means.

This place is like a facehugger; if you manage to eat it, you'll become parasitized.

Therefore, this year's war against Yuan Shikai in the Guandong region was a worthwhile one. By trapping and killing Cao Cao, it was a huge gain in the long run.

With Cao Cao gone, a destabilizing factor, the future changes in the Guandong region are much easier to predict.

Even if Lü Bu is skilled in diplomacy, who can he possibly win over?
Liu Bei has strategic value that can be won over, but is Liu Bei really that easy to buy off or win over?

If the situation becomes unstable even slightly, the emperor, who is now twenty years old, will be able to show Lü Bu what the glorious traditions of the imperial family are.

Zhao Ji was genuinely worried that Lü Bu would stabilize the Central Plains and become a second Cao Cao, who was also skilled in military affairs.

There was really no other way, so they had to send Consort Dong and most of the noblewomen to the court. These noblewomen, who had experienced various political upheavals from birth to adulthood, would enhance their husbands' political experience by one or two levels, as well as their enthusiasm, no matter who they married.

Fearing that Lü Bu might actually restore the Han Dynasty, and also fearing that Lü Bu might die suddenly, they had no choice but to send these women, whose blood flowed with the genes of political struggle, to Lü Bu's generals and officers. This would enhance their political experience, but also increase the instability.

In other words, this also reduces the upper limit of Lü Bu's group's performance and increases its lower limit.

While Zhao Ji was lost in thought, whenever there were military outposts on both sides of the strait, a cavalry of more than thirty men would be mobilized to patrol and escort the ships for dozens of miles before withdrawing.

To ensure his safety, Tiger Step Knights are temporarily gathering at the southern end of Sparrow Rat Valley. They will participate in the land escort, directly to Cold Spring Pass at the northern end of Sparrow Rat Valley.

The rest of the journey was much safer, with the only potential danger being the Sparrow Valley section. The Fen River has many bends and shallows, and the mountainous terrain makes it easy for thieves to hide.

Therefore, Lengquan Pass has blocked the southbound waterway, prohibiting other official ships from sailing south.

At this moment, the Tiger Step Knights participating in the escort missions on both sides of the strait... in addition to the Tiger Step Army, will also bring their family members to accompany them.

Zhao Ji was not lacking in guards; he just wanted to take a look at the cattle and horses stored in the military settlements on both sides of the strait. When rewarding military merits, cattle and horses were the most common rewards.

Official herdsmen are responsible for breeding superior breeds and expanding the population; if the use of animal power can be rapidly expanded among the people, the only option at present is to rely on military households who are exempt from corvée labor, as they have more time to manage their household businesses.

In terms of the area of ​​farmland used for animal husbandry and the amount of fodder produced, it is easy to achieve a balance.

This means that under stable social order, the amount of arable land a person has determines the number of cattle and horses they can raise... Due to wasteland and rotation, they can actually have more livestock.

All of this is predicated on the fact that the government cannot arbitrarily requisition livestock, which is the main source of wealth for the people. If the government forcibly requisitions livestock, it will severely dampen the enthusiasm of the people to own and increase their livestock.

Once the central government sets a precedent, the state, prefecture, and county levels will dare to repeatedly impose heavy taxes, levies, and rents on a small scale.

Another prerequisite is that the climate must be relatively stable. In the event of a severe drought, even grass will not grow, and people and livestock will face a survival test. There should also be no frequent floods, as these are the root cause of various disasters and diseases.

Just as Zhao Ji disbanded his army and headed to Jinyang, the main force of Yuan's army, which had gathered in the Liyang area, also sailed down the river.

Sun Ce also assembled his army in Jinan, preparing to fight a decisive battle with Yuan Shao there.

Sun Ce focused on defense and had no intention of dividing his forces to attack and plunder eastern Qingzhou or the Jiaodong Peninsula. He deployed his entire army on the south bank of the Ji River and built defensive fortifications in Licheng.

Having abandoned the narrow strip of land along the north bank of the Ji River and the south bank of the Yellow River, Yuan's army could easily land at Cangtingjin and Gaotangjin.

However, the problem is also obvious: Yuan's army lacks boats to cross the Ji River.

Yuan Shao was locked in a prolonged stalemate with Sun Ce. Once Gongsun Zan completed his mobilization, Yuan Shao would be completely on the defensive.

In order to bring about a decisive battle as soon as possible, Yuan Shao had no choice but to order the armies of Qingzhou to assemble at Le'an, downstream of the Ji River, in an attempt to launch a pincer attack.

However, the fleet of ships belonging to the Sun clan, including Sun Ben, Sun Jing, and Sun Quan, who had evacuated from the Yangtze River, headed north by sea.

After completing its final resupply in Langya, this massive fleet of over 20,000 men, plus their families totaling over 50,000, sailed around the Jiaodong Peninsula, deploying troops along the way and dividing its forces to attack and plunder the undefended Donglai County and Beihai Kingdom.

With their rear unstable, the various armies of Qingzhou either took the initiative to negotiate peace and submit to Sun Ce, the governor of Xinzhou, or took their families and troops across the Ji River and the Yellow River to retreat to Pingyuan State.

All Yuan Jun's main force could do was keep a close watch on Sun Ce and provide some protection and assistance to the powerful clans of Qingzhou who were migrating or fleeing.

Sun Ce's infantry defended the front while his navy flanked and carried out guerrilla warfare, resembling a sword and shield.

The western Jinan defense line was a shield, while the eastern line was a long sword for offense.

Between stillness and movement, relying on the navy, a technologically advanced force far superior to that of Hebei, the Hebei troops dared not take risks, even without direct confrontation.

Ju Shou, Yan Liang, and Wen Chou's armies have already experienced the power of a professional navy near Hanoi. Who would dare to risk a decisive battle?

While the two sides were locked in a stalemate, Gongsun Zan was making the most of the time to mobilize his forces.

They sent envoys to Zhang Yan, Sun Ce, Liu Bei, Lü Bu, and Zhao Ji respectively, attempting to form an alliance to eliminate Yuan Shao in one fell swoop.

Sun Ce ignored Gongsun Zan's enthusiastic proposal and instead sent someone to deliver Gongsun Zan's letter to Yuan Shao.

Liu Bei was willing but unable to act, as the war potential of Xuzhou had been completely exhausted, and he would not have the ability to launch any external operations before the autumn harvest next year.

As for Lü Bu, he only began to withdraw his troops in an orderly manner after the epidemic in his army was suppressed, but he still maintained a threat to Shouchun, which made Yuan Shu trapped in Shouchun and unable to send troops to coerce the counties of Huainan to submit again.

The longer they remain outside Yuan Shu's control, the stronger the local powerful families in the Huai River region will become in their resistance against him.

If Yuan Shu's methods of extortion and coercion could lead to continued victories and territorial expansion, people could tolerate it and continue to follow him.

However, Zhao Ji and Lü Bu struck Yuan Shu twice in succession, leaving him dizzy and exposed. Which of the heroes of Lianghuai would dare to bet on Yuan Shu?

(End of this chapter)