Tiger Guards

Chapter 705 Between the Yangtze and Han Rivers
In the fifth year of Jian'an, spring arrived earlier than usual in Nanyang.

Early spring caused the already scarce winter snow to melt away early, and the wheat that Liu Bei had sown when he retreated to Nanyang last year to rest and recuperate also sprouted ahead of schedule, turning the fields into a tender green.

All the counties northeast of Wancheng were lent by Liu Biao to Liu Bei for garrisoning troops.

Liu Bei's main base was located in Ye County, Wankou. He set off from Ye County to Xiangyang to meet with Liu Biao to discuss this year's war.

Last year was a mediocre year for Liu Biao. Neither the war against the two traitors Lü and Zhao nor the pacification of Jiaozhou yielded any significant results.

In an attempt to win over Liu Biao during the coup, the Xu Du court wanted to hand over Jiaozhou to him.

Liu Biao then issued an edict summoning Zhang Jin, the governor of Jiaozhou, to the capital. Zhang Jin naturally raised an army in rebellion, but was quickly defeated by Cai Mao, who was sent by Liu Biao.

After his defeat, Zhang Jin attempted to take his valuables and detour to Nanzhong, hoping to seek refuge with Liu Zhang of Yizhou.

As a result, Zhang Jin was ambushed and killed by local strongmen, but the local and Han strongmen in Jiaozhou generally disliked Liu Biao.

Liu Biao's act of cavalry entering Jingzhou and luring and killing the Jingzhou general was too famous.

Liu Biao enjoyed the benefits of the quick and deceptive methods of the time, but he also had to bear the corresponding drawbacks.

He had negative credibility with the remaining powerful clans in Jingzhou, so why would the local Han clans in Jiaozhou be willing to submit to Liu Biao's rule?

If Liu Biao had abandoned Jingzhou and come to Jiaozhou to take up his post... then the resistance from the local Han and powerful clans in Jiaozhou would not have been so strong.

Now Liu Biao is leading the people of Jingzhou to conquer Jiaozhou, and the local Han and powerful families of Jiaozhou will be relegated to the second or third class.

Therefore, the local strongmen of Jiaozhou jointly elected Shi Xie as their envoy and supported Zhang Xian, the former governor of Changsha who had fled to Jiaozhou, as the governor of Jiaozhou.

Liu Zhang's side also had a long reach, and he remotely appointed Zhang Xian as General of Annan and concurrently Governor of Jiaozhou.

Zhang Xian and other Nanyang natives and Jingnan scholars, who were in exile, hated Liu Biao and lacked trust in the imperial court.

Under the command and coordination of these people, the allied forces composed of local strongmen and powerful families in Jiaozhou once again drove out Cai Mao.

If Cai Mao hadn't retreated in time, his Jingzhou army, which had entered Cangwu territory, would have been completely wiped out.

The climate and agriculture in Jingnan and Jiaozhou are different from those in the Central Plains, Jingbei, and Nanyang. Just as the first month of the lunar calendar began, war broke out again on the Jingnan battlefield.

Zhang Xian began his advance into Jingnan, where he clashed with Cai Mao in the two prefectures of Guiyang and Lingling.

Zhang Xian had many exiled people from Jingnan under his command. These people were capable of instigating their fellow villagers to raise troops and were also familiar with the local culture and geography.

This resulted in the two forces within the two prefectures of Lingling and Guiyang being intertwined, constantly fighting and besieging each other.

Therefore, Liu Biao was somewhat anxious and urgently sent an envoy to summon Liu Bei to Xiangyang to discuss matters.

While punishing the two traitors Lü and Zhao was certainly a matter of righteousness, Liu Biao was not very willing to take such a risk.

If we could conquer Jiaozhou and take over the trade in the South China Sea, then all sorts of luxury goods from overseas could flow in. As Liu Biao grew older, he became increasingly fond of these imported goods, especially various spices.

Anyway, Zhang Xian is definitely easier to defeat than Lü Bu. Even if you defeat Lü Bu, the next step will be more troublesome. You will have to border Zhao Ji, and also Yuan Shao and Sun Ce... Liu Biao has been in the midst of chaos for so many years. He would rather be neighbors with Zhao Ji than with Sun Ce or Yuan Shao.

Liu Biao's strategic focus shifting southward became increasingly obvious, and naturally, this could not be kept secret from Liu Bei.

Liu Bei and several dozen cavalrymen traveled along the Jingyu Highway, their brows furrowed as they looked at the military settlements and farmland on both sides of the road.

When the imperial court and Lü Bu moved to Nanyang, they massacred the powerful families of Nanyang and plundered enough wealth, grain, and people to sustain them for a period of time.

At that time, the scale of military farms was also very large. If the summer grain harvest could be completed normally, Lü Bu and the imperial court would be able to stand tall. Unfortunately, an early spring phenomenon occurred that year, which tricked the plants into sprouting prematurely. Fortunately, there was no late frost, which froze the plants and crops that had been tricked into sprouting.

Although there will be little rain later, it will still be enough to sustain the growth of crops.

However, as April drew to a close, the drought between Nanyang and the Jianghan Plain began to emerge, and not a drop of water fell throughout May.

Then, in June or July, a great flood broke out in the Jianghan Plain. Lü Bu and the imperial court fled back to the area between Ru and Ying, leaving Nanyang devastated.

This year's climate is quite similar to that of the third year of Jian'an.

How could Liu Bei possibly maintain a good mood under such circumstances?
With the climate unstable, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the starving soldiers and civilians to unleash the fighting power he wanted.

With a heavy heart, Liu Bei traveled unimpeded across the Han River to Xiangyang City, north of Xian Mountain.

On the eastern outskirts of Xiangyang, beside the Xiang River, there is a small estate that Liu Biao gave to Liu Bei.

Inside the manor, Liu Bei quickly washed up and then summoned Sun Qian, who had remained in Xiangyang to observe the changing situation, to his bedside.

Sun Qian was already used to Liu Bei's casual attitude, and he was well prepared to be consulted.

During his six months in Xiangyang, Sun Qian used his connections with classmates of Zheng Xuan's school and his status as a student of Zheng Xuan's school to travel around Xiangyang University and Lumen Mountain Academy, expanding his network considerably.

After Sun Qian was seated, Liu Bei, trimming his fingernails, asked, "I've heard that Zhang Lu in Hanzhong has raised an army in rebellion?"

"My lord, this is indeed true."

Sun Qian immediately began his narration: "Zhang Lu was originally ordered by Liu Jiyu of Yizhou to lead troops to Tianshui with Zhang Xiu, intending to join forces with Han Sui and the heroes of Tianshui to attack the generals of Liangzhou appointed by Zhao Yuansi. Unexpectedly, Zhao Yuansi secretly arrived in Tianshui. Although the heroes of Tianshui rose up at the same time, Zhao Yuansi's troops were swift. Because of his arrival in Tianshui, the morale of his troops was greatly boosted, and they defeated the heroes of Tianshui instead."

Liu Bei nodded slowly and said, "Yun Chang had previously deduced that Zhao Yuansi was not in Pingyang and strongly advocated advancing the troops. I also submitted a memorial to the Emperor and sent envoys to inform Yuan Shao and Sun Quan. Yuan Shao coveted the land of Youzhou and sent his troops to fight Gongsun Gui again; Sun Quan wanted to hold the land of Yanzhou and also held his troops still, missing such a good opportunity."

He was truly unwilling to accept defeat, even though after defeating Lü Bu, he would have to face Zhao Ji.

However, Zhao Ji might not be able to return in time. If Liu Biao, Yuan Shao, and Sun Ce had joined forces to attack the Luozhong Three Rivers region at that time...

There's no need to defeat Lü Bu, nor is there a need to launch a full-scale attack on Luoyang.

As long as they rely on the terrain and mountains within Luozhong to confront Lü Bu, the central government can establish a stable communication channel with Hedong and Hongnong. In this way, they can definitely launch a large-scale uprising against Zhao Ji before he withdraws his troops.

The best opportunity had passed. Zhao Ji risked his life to go west and wiped out Liangzhou. The loyal men led by Pei were unable to launch an uprising due to a lack of external support. As a result, Zhao Ji easily quelled the rebellion when he returned with his troops.

Such a golden opportunity was missed, and not much time had passed. How could Liu Bei possibly be happy?

He went to see Sun Qian, who continued, "Seeing the defeats of the armies in Tianshui and realizing the situation was hopeless, Zhang Lu wanted to withdraw his troops back to Hanzhong. Unexpectedly, Zhang Xiu, fearing the might of the Zhao family's army, sent an envoy to surrender to the Zhao family. Zhang Lu then killed Zhang Xiu and led his troops back to Hanzhong. However, Liu Jiyu, believing the advice of the provincial official Zhao Wei, accused Zhang Lu of killing Zhang Xiu without authorization and colluding with the Zhao family, and executed Zhang Lu's mother, brother, and hundreds of families of military officers and their relatives. Zhang Lu then rebelled and advanced from Hanzhong towards Ba Commandery. The strength of his army was so great that even Xiangyang had heard of it."

This news was only transmitted to Xiangyang by merchants from Ba County in the last two days; it is the latest news.

Liu Bei analyzed the inaccuracies and suspicious points, and simply nodded: "So, Liu Jiyu is preoccupied with Zhang Lu's rebellion and has no time to join forces with Zhang Xian for the time being?"

Given the harsh terrain of Nanzhong, it was impossible for Yizhou to provide Zhang Xian of Jiaozhou with money, food, supplies, or military equipment through Nanzhong... At most, they could conscript various Yi tribes in Nanzhong to form a volunteer army and provide Zhang Xian with a mercenary force that was different from the local Han and powerful families of Jiaozhou.

Besides these factors, Liu Zhang is currently tied down by Zhang Lu and cannot possibly sail downstream to attack Jingzhou.

After all, Liu Zhang was from Jiangxia, and Jingzhou preferred him to the cunning and ruthless Liu Biao.

(End of this chapter)