Tiger Guards

Chapter 485 Things change and people change
Xuzhou, Xiapi City.

Gongsun Zan's proclamation was delayed by two days, but his private message also reached Liu Bei.

Liu Bei could only convene his civil and military officials to discuss the matter, and those who participated in the meeting were Jian Yong, Mi Zhu, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Sun Qian, Liu Yan, Xiahou Bo, and Chang Ba.

Of these eight people, four were civil officials and four were military officials, sitting on the left and right sides respectively.

Many things cannot be dealt with only when they come to a head, such as the Zhao family's gradual encroachment on Xuzhou.

Compared to other provinces in the country, Xuzhou is not very large in scale, with the largest prefecture, Guangling, located in the south.

However, the people were generally prosperous, and they only enjoyed good days for five or six years after the Yellow Turban Rebellion was quelled.

As a result of the Luoyang Coup, when Dong Zhuo moved the capital to Chang'an, the people of Heluo and the refugees from Guanzhong flocked to him... As a result, Cao Cao's army massacred Pengcheng, and the refugees from Xizhou who had gathered near Pengcheng were slaughtered by Cao Cao's army along with the surrendered soldiers and civilians from Xuzhou.

Even now, given Xuzhou's favorable geographical conditions, it would only take a year to recover and straighten out what's been hanging in the balance.

Xuzhou was a battleground on all sides, far inferior to strategically important places like Hedong, Taiyuan, and Guanzhong.

Even if Zhao Ji led his men to plunder, the troops he left behind could maintain order in the heartland by guarding the passes.

This is a geographical advantage that Xuzhou can hardly achieve. Last year, Yuan Shu marched north to invade Huaipu, and Liu Bei went down the Si River to meet him. As a result, Sun Ce successfully launched a surprise attack on Xuzhou.

With no natural defenses, after Sun Ce seized Xiapi, the other counties adopted a wait-and-see attitude, remaining neutral... This was what chilled Liu Bei's heart.

After experiencing such a betrayal, who in their right mind would dare to lead troops to resist a similar opportunity in the future?
He had no personal grudge against Yuan Shu, and his actions to stop Yuan Shu were all for the sake of the greater good of Xuzhou.
However, after the loss of Xiapi, the people of Xuzhou turned their backs on them.

If it weren't for Zhao Ji remotely directing Xu Qiu, the Chancellor of Donghai, and Xiao Jian, the Chancellor of Langya, to send troops and supplies to support Liu Bei, he would have suffered a major setback last year.

Even the most elite and loyal troops will starve to death in waves when the army runs out of food!

Anyone can rely on military force to carry out emergency evasion and seize food; but Liu Bei, as the governor, values ​​his reputation and integrity, and he alone cannot steal.

Xuzhou, however, has long been exhausted by repeated wars.

A year of recuperation is only enough to get him back to normal.

If we want to bring order to Xuzhou, reorganize the local troops, and have the resources to wage war abroad, it will take at least three years.

Liu Bei only needs three peaceful years; he is confident that he can prove his abilities to the world.

However, in his current state of extreme exhaustion, the arrival of Gongsun Zan's proclamation against Yuan Shao and his urgent private messages made Liu Bei even more hesitant.

The war has progressed to this point and has nothing to do with so-called personal grudges; it has become a regional competition.

For example, when Cao Cao first massacred Xuzhou, Cao Song was still in Langya Kingdom seeking refuge, frequently feasting with the King of Langya, living a blissful and carefree life.

Cao Cao's massacre of Xuzhou was an attempt to seize the opportunity to break the confidence of the people of Xuzhou and to conquer Xuzhou. Even if he could not conquer Xuzhou by force and brutality, he wanted to cut off the limbs of the people of Xuzhou so that they would not be able to interfere with Cao Cao's central plains from the flanks and the eastern front for the next ten years.

Liu Bei's current goal is to restore Xuzhou, which has been severely damaged. However, if he intervenes in the power struggle between Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao in Hebei, the restoration of Xuzhou will be delayed indefinitely.

The most crucial point is this: playing in winter will exhaust the last bit of hope for the people of Xuzhou.

If we can rest and recuperate, we can maximize the recovery of spring planting, and then eat wild vegetables, river fish, and grass roots throughout the summer to survive until the summer harvest. Then the situation in Xuzhou will improve.

At the very least, there should be basic war reserve rations in the government granary.

With sufficient supplies of grain, Liu Bei had the resources to resist when Lü Bu attacked Xuzhou.

Without provisions for war, Liu Bei would be in dire straits if Lü Bu forcibly conscripted him into the capital or launched a military campaign against him.

At this moment, everyone in the hall was reading Gongsun Zan's proclamation. Jian Yong, the second-ranking civil official, spoke first: "General, you are more than a step behind. When the Grand Marshal issued the proclamation, calling on people across the country to protect the country and fight against Yuan, you pretended to ignore it. Now you still want to fight against Yuan, which is really puzzling to me."

Jian Yong didn't give him a good look. Last year, Zhao Ji remotely controlled the two counties of Donghai and Langya to support Liu Bei, which helped Liu Bei stabilize the situation.

This year, Xuzhou was also plunged into a bitter battle. It was Zhao Ji who led his troops into the sweltering heat and delivered a powerful blow to Yuan Shu's heart, which led to Liu Xun's defection.

Otherwise, if Liu Xun had flooded Pengcheng first and Zhang Xun had flooded Xiapi next, they wouldn't be where they are today.
Compared to Zhao Ji, Gongsun Zan, his former elder brother, showed little concern for the survival of Liu Bei's side.

The chief civil official was Mi Zhu, the Prefect of Xuzhou. Although he was in the chief position, he did not think he should speak or express his opinion on such an important matter because he did not understand Gongsun Zan.

Liu Bei was quite speechless about Gongsun Zan, and people from his hometown kept coming to him, bringing him information about Gongsun Zan's whereabouts. Gongsun Zan had already abandoned Ji County, the core of Youzhou, probably realizing that attacking Liu Yu was unpopular. As the former general, Marquis of Ji, and Governor of Youzhou, staying in Ji County would make him vulnerable to being plotted against by the complex network of Youzhou locals.

Therefore, a military settlement was established on the banks of the Yi River south of Ji County, and Yijing was built, storing millions of shi of grain.

As a result, all factions in Youzhou feared Gongsun Zan's power and dared not resist him, thus maintaining a superficial rule.

Every winter, when Gongsun Zan raises the banner of war, various factions in Youzhou will actively mobilize and respond, becoming allies of Gongsun Zan. Last year, they went to Hebei to plunder and returned with a full load.

Most importantly, during each winter mobilization, all factions in Youzhou were able to get a full meal at Gongsun Zan's place.

The military settlement along the Yi River ensured that Gongsun Zan's territory was never short of food.

With only a little over ten thousand infantry and cavalry, Gongsun Zan could rely on the military garrison at Yishui, so he was not short of food.

With grain in hand, whenever food was scarce in winter, Han and Hu soldiers who wanted to eat would come to Gongsun Zan to serve him.

This is also Gongsun Zan's unique mobilization mechanism, which distinguishes him from other parties. Although it is different from Yuan Shu's mobilization mechanism, both are quite peculiar.

Perhaps when Zhao Ji raised the banner of protecting the country and fighting against Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan also wanted to start a war with Yuan Shao. However, at that time, the Han and Hu armed forces in Youzhou were still able to eat their fill and were afraid of Yuan Shao, so they would not actively respond to Gongsun Zan's call.

But regardless, Gongsun Zan had already missed the best opportunity.

If Gongsun Zan had raised an army to confront Yuan Shao at that time, and waited for Zhao Ji to deal with Yuan Shu and Cao Cao before launching an attack on Hebei, Yuan Shao would have been torn apart instantly.

But if that's the case, does Ji Province belong to Gongsun Zan, Zhao Ji, or the imperial court?
In short, Gongsun Zan was constrained by the special mobilization mechanism and also harbored selfish motives, which is why he chose to delay launching his attack at this time.

Since Zhao Ji withdrew his troops, Yuan Shao's vanguard generals attempted to pursue him, even reaching the eastern counties of Hanoi. However, they were frightened away by Zhao Ji, who then took advantage of the situation to launch a sweeping campaign against the six eastern counties of Hanoi.

Then Yuan Shao's army marched east to relieve Qingzhou and was locked in a stalemate with Sun Ce at Jinan, showing signs of exhaustion.

It can be said that Yuan Shao has already exposed his weakness, and Gongsun Zan is now jumping out to bite Yuan Shao to death and annex him.

If Liu Bei were still the Chancellor of Pingyuan four years ago, he would definitely support Gongsun Zan in unifying Hebei.

But now he is the governor of Xuzhou, one of the four major vassal states of the imperial court. Even if he continues to follow the imperial court, he has the potential to become a high-ranking official in the future, and may even be legally and reasonably granted the title of king.

Therefore, the former elder brother now sees the other party's behavior as inappropriate no matter how he looks at it.

Besides, what good would it do to defeat Yuan Shao?

At that time, facing Gongsun Zan, who was several times more formidable than Yuan Shao, Zhao Ji and Lü Bu, who also came from neighboring counties, would inevitably be more harmonious and would choose to join forces to defeat Gongsun Zan.

A decisive battle involving hundreds of thousands of people is bound to break out, one that could determine the fate of the North.

The winner among the three parties will inevitably take a tougher stance to control the court; the only thing the four major vassal states can do next is to unite to support the emperor and quell the rebellion.

Xuzhou, located in the Central Plains, was the first to be affected!
Liu Bei failed to see the benefits of Gongsun Zan's swift conquest of Ji Province and his rise to power in Hebei; he only saw the various dangers lurking around the imperial court and Xu Province.

After Jian Yong criticized Gongsun Zan's strategic vision, Guan Yu, seeing that Mi Zhu hadn't spoken, expressed his own opinion: "If Gongsun Bogui cared about the Han dynasty and its people, even if his strength was insufficient, he would have raised an army and marched south when the Grand Marshal's proclamation to protect the country and punish Yuan Shao arrived. Yuan Shao would have either cleared the way or raised an army to resist. Now it's clear that Gongsun Bogui is no longer the White Horse General of yesteryear. How can we judge today's affairs based on past friendships?"

Zhang Fei immediately chimed in: "As Second Brother said, if he were still the White Horse General of yesteryear, such a thing should not have happened."

Xiahou Bo and Chang Ba were not familiar with Gongsun Zan, so they remained silent.

Liu Bei nodded: "This is a major matter. If we receive the Emperor's decree, even though Xuzhou is exhausted, I will do my best to cooperate. I will reply to Brother Bogui on this matter and also submit a memorial to the court to request instructions."

Guan Yu, Jian Yong, and the others nodded in agreement.

Liu Yan and Sun Qian also agreed with this view. Liu Bei's future is bright. As the most skilled warrior among the four major vassal states, the future emperor will surely rely on him.

The simplest way for the imperial court to gain control of the four provinces from the four major vassal states was to grant four new kingdoms.

In exchange for the right to govern four provinces through the succession of royal power... If there is a chance for stability in the world and the Han Dynasty can be restored, the four major vassal states will be able to secure their rule and will not resist strongly.

Therefore, Liu Bei, by closely following the imperial court, could at least obtain a kingdom or fiefdom.

This is the essential difference between the major and minor feudal lords and the governors and warlords of other surnames. When the situation improves, they can negotiate a peaceful resolution; when the situation is bad, they can still turn the tide and do what Emperor Guangwu did.

(End of this chapter)