Tiger Guards

Chapter 564 Slim Hope
As the Han-Hu nomadic army led by the Grand Marshal slowly advanced eastward, the situation in Youzhou rapidly improved.

For Gongsun Zan, everything seemed to be like the changing seasons, with spring in full bloom and military and political affairs, as well as daily life, becoming easier and more pleasant.

However, there were also bad ones, such as the Grand Marshal's summons.

Zhao Ji ordered Gongsun Zan to lead 5,000 infantry and cavalry to the military fortress, out of the border of Shanggu County, to join the main army of the eastern expedition and serve as their guide.

Although when Yi Jing was besieged by Yuan's army and persuaded to surrender, Gongsun Zan once said that he would rather be a cavalry general of the Zhao family than a guest of the Yuan family.

But those were just empty words to boost morale on the battlefield. When it was time to take it seriously, that was his true feeling. But now that the Yuan clan's forces have withdrawn from Youzhou and Gongsun Zan's situation has improved, he is somewhat resistant to this conscription order.

Not wanting to refuse directly, he consulted with his chief clerk, Guan Jing: "Now the Grand Marshal has sent a letter to invite me, saying that I know the internal affairs of the Donghu and want to make me the guide for the army. However, those around me also have concerns, worrying that the Cao Jiande incident will recur."

Guan Jing sat down at the head of the table. Upon hearing this, he immediately became alert. His expression changed slightly, and he straightened his back and turned to Gongsun Zan, bowing with his hands clasped: "My lord, you must not listen to the words of petty men. Today, the Grand Marshal is leading more than 100,000 elite Han and Hu cavalry in a mighty march. The various tribes of Donghu have retreated and dare not engage in battle. Moreover, the soldiers and civilians of Youzhou have experienced many great battles and are weary of war. Furthermore, they greatly admire the Grand Marshal's achievements."

Guan Jing stood upright and solemnly, his gaze meeting Gongsun Zan's stare directly, showing no intention of dodging or backing down, appearing completely innocent and without a guilty conscience.

Gongsun Zan said in a deep voice, "The Grand Marshal has not yet arrived here. Why are you so biased towards him?"

"It is not that I am biased, but that I am doing this for your sake, my lord."

Guan Jing remained composed, his tone firm: "If the various Donghu tribes could unite, with a powerful enemy at our side, the Grand Marshal would naturally treat you with leniency. Now, the various Donghu tribes are fleeing far away, with only Youzhou standing in front of the Grand Marshal. The Grand Marshal is now a force to be reckoned with, full of vigor and ambition. How could he tolerate you? I urge you to condescend to avoid the Grand Marshal's sharp edge."

There's no way to fight them. Yuan Shao can besiege Yijing, and Zhao Ji can besiege Yijing just the same way.

When Yuan Shao besieged Yijing, the defending army did not collapse despite the possibility of reinforcements from the Grand Marshal, demonstrating resilience in holding out for help.

But if we provoke Zhao Ji, the Grand Marshal of Han, to send troops to besiege us, it will not only disrupt this year's spring planting, but also cause the defending army's morale to collapse... We can't expect Yuan Shao and the Donghu tribes to send troops to our rescue at this time.
Guan Jing didn't want to fight anymore. He was just a poor man from Taiyuan who had come to Gongsun Zan's place to be a chief clerk. It was clear that someone like him could never make it in his hometown.

By bringing the relatively intact Youzhou under the Grand Marshal's command, even if it was only temporarily subservient, Guan Jing would have made a great contribution by persuading people to surrender and promoting integration, and he would naturally have a chance to become a high-ranking official in the future.

Seeing that Guan Jing had no intention of starting a war, Gongsun Zan sighed deeply, his expression forlorn: "Shiqi, you know that although the Grand Marshal's army is impressive in appearance, its supplies are scarce. Now it may look like the Han army, but how is it any different from the Xiongnu and Xianbei armies of yesteryear?"

Guan Jing did not refute, but simply lowered his head and avoided eye contact with Gongsun Zan, tacitly accepting Gongsun Zan's statement.

While Grand Marshal Zhao Ji's eastern expeditionary army was indeed formidable, they could only march a few miles or more each day, moving forward while herding livestock, and the entire army lacked sufficient grain... However, they had herds of wild animals accompanying them. If Zhao Ji were forced to kill breeding animals and female livestock to serve as military rations, then the enmity would be immense.

Previously, when the Grand Marshal was campaigning against the Xianbei, herds of animals like the Jieyang, which were of no significance to the growth of the population, had already been eaten.

Now, the large armies that are now conquering the east and nomadic are left with only breeding animals, female livestock, and working cattle and horses.

If Gongsun Zan really wants to fight against Zhao Ji, he must first gamble on the morale of the garrison in Yijing; then he must gamble on Yuan Shao and the various Donghu tribes sending troops to his aid.

Morale is a fickle thing, especially in Youzhou, where survival is the priority and the local people are relatively pragmatic. Faced with the Grand Marshal, who is clearly ten times more skilled in battle than Gongsun Zan, the heroes of Youzhou naturally prefer to follow the victor.

Integrity and such things are a major taboo for the survival and development of Han and Hu heroes in the border regions.

Therefore, the first difficulty is that the morale of the defenders of Yijing is unlikely to be high. Xianyu Fu, Yan Rou, Wang Song, and others who were forced to surrender to Yuan Shao may join forces with other heroes from Youzhou to serve as the vanguard in the siege.

When these people surrendered to Yuan Shao and besieged Yijing, they would preserve their strength and avoid attacking the city. However, because of their past misdeeds of being forced to submit to the Yuan family, they had to shed blood to wash away their misdeeds and prove their loyalty to the Grand Marshal after they switched sides and submitted to him.

Yuan Shao had no way to deal with them, nor did he have the time to thoroughly deal with local bullies like Xianyu Fu.

But the Grand Marshal was different; he truly had the courage, ability, and rich experience to implement the land redistribution policy.

Using bloodshed and merit to gain the Grand Marshal's recognition of their current status is clearly a very profitable endeavor; following the Grand Marshal and emulating the deeds of Emperor Guangwu might also make them nobles of the new dynasty. If Gongsun Zan were to defend the strategically important city of Yijing against the Grand Marshal, the Han and Hu powerful clans of Youzhou would be laughing all the way to the bank.

As for the problem of the second reinforcement... even if Yuan Shao wanted to rescue Gongsun Zan, he had to consider another thorny and dangerous possibility, which was... what if the siege of Yijing was a trap set by Gongsun Zan himself?
Yuan Shao had this concern, and the Eastern Hu tribes, such as the Xianbei in the east, the Xianbei in Liaodong, and the Wuhuan in the three commanderies, also had similar concerns.

The powerful Xianbei royal court was destroyed because Kui Tou was arrogant and led more than 40,000 elite cavalry from the west and the royal court to rush to the aid of the Qiang tribes in the three prefectures. As a result, the soldiers and horses were exhausted and were completely annihilated by Zhao Ji in the Battle of Fushi.

If the Qiang tribes in the three prefectures hadn't suffered the same fate, from a retrospective perspective, the Qiang tribes seemed to be Zhao Ji's inside man and bait.

Therefore, Guan Jing agreed with Gongsun Zan's view that Yijing's fortified city could indeed block and hold off Zhao Ji's siege; however, after the two sides broke off relations, the choices and changes in the positions of other forces could not be determined at present.

This is a gamble. If he can hold Yijing and wear down the Han-Hu nomadic army of the Grand Marshal, then Gongsun Zan will once again become famous throughout the land!

Guan Jing did not refute, responding to Gongsun Zan's bold idea with silence.

Such silence is more dangerous than an on-the-spot rebuttal.

Gongsun Zan saw this, shook his head, and chuckled to himself, "To be subservient to a mere junior like this is a deep disgrace to me!"

In response, Guan Jing simply stood up and bowed deeply to Gongsun Zan: "Your Excellency once said that the Yuan family's attack was like that of ghosts and gods. How will the Zhao family compare to the Yuan family? I implore Your Excellency to consider the millions of soldiers and civilians in Youzhou. If war breaks out again, Yanzhou will serve as a cautionary tale."

“Yanzhou…”

Gongsun Zan murmured, then couldn't help shaking his head and chuckling maniacally.

Yanzhou, especially the area south of the Yellow River, extending nearly a thousand miles east of Xingyang, is already sparsely populated.

Although Luozhong and Guanzhong suffered greatly, with the downfall of Dong Zhuo and Li Guo, these two places are slowly recovering their population and are no longer the most tragic place in the world.

If Gongsun Zan chooses to oppose Zhao Ji, then Zhao Ji can naturally strip Gongsun Zan of his official titles and ranks, such as Marquis of Ji, General of the Vanguard, and Governor of Youzhou, through the imperial court. As a subordinate of the traitor Gongsun Zan, if he does not want to implicate his family, he either has to kill the traitor Gongsun Zan or watch others kill him.

Although the battle to protect the country and punish Yuan Shu failed to kill Yuan Shu, it demonstrated the influence of the Han Dynasty to all sides of the world.

If the Grand Marshal could launch the campaign to protect the country and punish Yuan Shao, he could naturally launch a similar war to wear down Gongsun Zan.

This was truly a thrilling game where the entire clan would perish after defeat, and Gongsun Zan was now much more sober.

Zhao Ji was different from Yuan Shao; he dared to kill anyone Yuan Shao dared to kill.

In terms of bottom lines, Zhao Ji and Yuan Shao have similar bottom lines, which have not yet been detected.

However, there is a difference: he had no enmity with Zhao Ji, but instead received many favors from Zhao Ji.

It was Zhao Ji who controlled the court and eliminated the negative impact of Gongsun Zan's attack on Liu Yu, allowing Gongsun Zan to once again gather the Han and Hu allied forces in Youzhou to fight against Yuan Shao.

Thinking of all this, Gongsun Zan lay down lazily and said to Guan Jing, "Shiqi's words make sense. I will select the elite troops and go beyond the Great Wall to pay homage to the Grand Marshal. However, Yijing is the foundation of our army, so I will entrust it to Shiqi."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I dare not fail to live up to your expectations."

Guan Jing bowed again, not believing that Yuan Shao would dare to cause trouble in Youzhou at this time.

Even if Yuan Shao wanted to take a risk, the powerful families of Hebei would advise him against it.

Hundreds of thousands of Han and Hu nomadic troops are rushing towards Jizhou. With people and horses eating each other, Jizhou will definitely be devoured!
(End of this chapter)