Double penetration: This Three Kingdoms has dragon energy

Chapter 117 The Governor of Yanzhou, Analyzing and Formulating Strategies
December 29th, the sixth year of Zhongping.

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, the imperial envoy Shi A, accompanied by several attendants, finally arrived in Fenggao County, weary from his journey.

He took out a bright yellow imperial edict from his sleeve, then opened it and read aloud: "By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees:"

I believe that the key to good governance of the empire lies in finding the right people, and the stability of the prefectures and counties depends on virtuous and capable governors.

Ji Qiu, the Prefect of Taishan Commandery, possessed profound knowledge and insight, and was quick-witted and capable.

Since assuming the responsibility of guarding the land, he has treated the people of Taishan Prefecture with kindness, governed the officials with strictness, encouraged agriculture and sericulture so that the granaries were full, and quelled bandits so that the villages were at peace.

He dredged waterways, eliminating floods; he built schools, promoting education and moral progress. His outstanding achievements were admired by both the court and the public.

Yanzhou was one of the nine provinces in the Yu Gong (a historical record of the Three Kingdoms period). It bordered the Yellow River and the Ji River, and controlled the Central Plains. Its land was fertile and its people were prosperous. It was a vital bulwark of the royal domain and an important military and national asset.

Ji Qiu is hereby specially appointed as the Governor of Yanzhou, overseeing all military, civilian, and administrative affairs of the prefecture.

I hope you will uphold loyalty and diligence, perform your duties conscientiously, rectify official corruption, pacify the people, ensure that farmers are free from famine, businesses thrive, and the military is well-prepared, so as to solidify the foundation of our dynasty.

Admire this! "

"Your subject Ji Qiu, receive the imperial decree!" Ji Qiu raised both hands high to receive the imperial decree, and then bowed.

Shi A helped Ji Qiu up and then congratulated him, saying, "Congratulations, Marquis Ji, on your promotion to the position of governor, and the governor of Yanzhou, one of the nine provinces under heaven. This is truly a cause for celebration!"

Shi A looked at Ji Qiu with a complicated expression. He had known Ji Qiu for almost two years.

In less than two years, Ji Qiu went from being a commoner to becoming the governor of a state.

This promotion speed is so fast, even a rocket couldn't catch up.

Of course, there are two reasons for this result.

On the one hand, Ji Qiu himself is indeed exceptionally capable, not to mention his numerous previous merits.

Despite being blockaded by the surrounding powerful clans for a whole year, they were not trapped and died in Taishan County.

That alone is enough to make Shia admire him!

On the other hand, it was also caused by changes in the overall situation of the world.

In times of peace and prosperity, no matter how capable Ji Qiu is, he could not have been promoted so quickly.

But aren't we in a chaotic world now?
Since it is a chaotic world, all the rules of a prosperous world can naturally be broken!

As the saying goes, "Golden carp are not meant to stay in a pond; once they encounter wind and clouds, they transform into dragons."

In this matter, Jin Lin is very important, but Feng Yun is also very important.

Only when the two are combined can this wonderful chemical reaction occur.

"Brother Shi, please don't tease me. Do you really think this is a good thing?"
"If Brother Shi truly believes so, then I am willing to submit a petition to relinquish the position of Governor of Yanzhou to Brother Shi, would that be alright?" Ji Qiu said with a wry smile.

Upon hearing this, Shi A waved his hands repeatedly and said, "No, no, what virtue or ability do I have to become the Governor of Yanzhou? Only Ji Hou can shoulder such a heavy responsibility!"

He then added, "In fact, Ji Hou should know in his heart that this imperial edict is not the will of the Grand Commander and His Majesty, but rather came from the hand of the traitor Dong Zhuo."

The Grand Commander and His Majesty also argued for Ji Hou in the court.

But alas, the affairs of the court are now entirely in the hands of that traitor Dong Zhuo; no one can oppose what he sets his mind to!

Both Shi A and Ji Qiu knew very well that the imperial edict appointing Ji Qiu as the governor of Yanzhou was definitely not well-intentioned.

The most important event in the world today is the campaign against Dong Zhuo, led by Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.

It is said that 300,000 troops from the Kwantung Army have gathered in the Suanzao camp!
Historically, even Dong Zhuo at the height of his power was terrified when faced with the coalition of warlords from Guandong.

After suffering only a minor setback, they immediately set fire to Luoyang and then moved the capital to Chang'an.

Not to mention Dong Zhuo, who was seriously injured in a fight with Ding Yuan and whose strength is now at most half of his historical peak.

He was naturally even more afraid of the Kwantung Army.

However, this fear is not entirely a bad thing.

At his peak in history, Dong Zhuo was incredibly powerful; while he was not as strong as the Guandong Coalition, he was not far behind.

Driven by the desire to preserve his strength, he decided to burn Luoyang and move the capital to Chang'an.

But he was also confident that he could escape from the pursuit of the Kwantung Army.

However, given the current situation, the disparity in strength between Dong Zhuo and the Guandong Coalition is too great, so they dare not directly burn Luoyang and move the capital to Chang'an.

Because doing so would inevitably affect morale.

With morale low, Dong Zhuo truly had no confidence that he could escape unscathed from the pursuit of the Guandong Coalition.

Therefore, Dong Zhuo, now weaker and on the verge of despair, had no choice but to muster his courage and fight the allied forces to the death!
Of course, the so-called "fighting to the death" is not simply fighting to the death.

They'll definitely have to resort to underhanded tactics.

So Dong Zhuo began searching the entire map for usable pieces.

Then, he saw Ji Qiu.

Ji Qiu is located in Taishan County, which is a fantastic location as it directly threatens the rear of the Kwantung Army!

If Ji Qiu could send troops to contain the Guandong coalition, it would greatly reduce the pressure on Dong Zhuo.

This was Dong Zhuo's original intention in appointing Ji Qiu as the governor of Yan Province.

Of course, it would be impossible under normal circumstances to expect a powerful governor like Ji Qiu to work for him with just the empty title of Governor of Yanzhou.

However, Li Ru analyzed the situation for Dong Zhuo, saying that Ji Qiu was different from other governors.

Ji Qiu was originally a pawn that the late Emperor Liu Hong placed in Taishan County to counterbalance the powerful clans of Guandong.

He had irreconcilable conflicts with the powerful families of Kanto, and it was impossible for him to surrender to them.

The position of Governor of Yan Province might not be enough to entice Ji Qiu to help Dong Zhuo send troops to restrain the Guandong Coalition.

But it was a spark that ignited a pile of dry wood!

Even if Ji Qiu is unwilling to take action against the powerful families of Guandong, will they be able to tolerate him once they learn that he has become the governor of Yanzhou?
Can they ignore Ji Qiu and calmly attack Dong Zhuo?

As long as they leave troops behind to defend against Ji Qiu, it will be good news for Dong Zhuo.

If they decide to take down Ji Qiu first and eliminate any future troubles, that would be even better.

Taishan County in late autumn was a place that was easy to defend and difficult to attack. If the Kwantung Allied Forces wanted to take down late autumn, they would have to spend a lot of troops.

This resulted in a situation where Ji Qiu was fighting against the main force of the Guandong Coalition in the front, while Dong Zhuo was reaping the benefits from behind.

Once the Kwantung Allied Forces have eliminated Ki-aki, they will also suffer heavy casualties.

Then Dong Zhuo can make his move and reap the benefits!

Shi A sighed, took out a token from his pocket, and handed it to Ji Qiu, saying, "The Grand Commander and His Majesty are also aware of Ji Hou's difficulties."

Therefore, they specifically instructed me to inform Ji Hou that the Commander-in-Chief has decided to grant you command of the Embroidered Uniform Guard branch in the area outside the Great Wall, which you previously applied for.

This is the token that commands those branch offices.

At the same time, His Majesty has ordered your promotion to Red Robe Scholar of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which is currently the second highest position in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, second only to the Grand Commander.

All the officers and soldiers of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, except for the Grand Commander, must obey your orders!

Having obtained the token to command the Embroidered Uniform Guard branches outside the Great Wall, one gains absolute leadership over these branches.

No one, not even Wang Yue, could bypass him and directly command these branches.

However, being promoted to Red Robe Scholar only grants basic command authority; his orders may be superseded by Wang Yue's orders.

Therefore, these two powers are still different.

However, the absolute authority over the token was limited to the areas outside the Great Wall.

The power of the red-robed scholar, however, extended to all the territories of the Embroidered Uniform Guard within the Great Wall.

Therefore, each has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Ji Qiu's face lit up with surprise. He had only tried to apply to Wang Yue for command of the Embroidered Uniform Guard branch in the area outside the Great Wall, and had not had much hope.

Unexpectedly, he has now not only gained control of the branch offices, but has also been promoted to a high-ranking scholar.

This is a real surprise.

He immediately feigned deep emotion, his eyes brimming with tears, and said, "The Grand Commander and Your Majesty have shown me immeasurable kindness. I will certainly serve Your Majesty with utmost devotion, even unto death!"

"Ji Hou is truly a pillar of the court. I will certainly relay Ji Hou's words to the Grand Commander and His Majesty in their entirety!" Shi A said with a smile, clearly very satisfied with Ji Qiu's performance.

Shi A then bid farewell to Ji Qiu, who invited him to stay for a New Year's Eve dinner before leaving, but Shi A politely declined.

The reason given was that he was under imperial command and could not delay; he had to immediately return to Luoyang to report back.

Of course, the real reason was probably the fear of the news being leaked and being ambushed on the way back.

After all, the powerful families of Kanto are now openly rebelling.

He was not safe at all traveling in this land of Kanto.

So Ji Qiu saw Shi A off.

After watching Shi A disappear at the end of the road, he immediately suppressed the emotion on his face and returned to the prefect's mansion.

On the way, he ordered his personal guards, "Summon Xi Zhong, Guo Jia, and Jia Xu to come to the prefect's residence to see me immediately!"

"Yes, sir!" The guard acknowledged the order and left.

So when Ji Qiu entered the main hall of the prefect's mansion, Xi Zhong, Guo Jia, and Jia Xu also entered the main hall at almost the same time.

"Greetings, my lord!" The three bowed to Ji Qiu in unison.

Ji Qiu waved his hand and said, "Alright, no need for formalities, please all be seated."

You all probably know the situation by now, right?
Shi Agang brought me the imperial edict appointing me as the governor of Yanzhou.

What are everyone's thoughts on this? Let's discuss!

"This is Dong Zhuo's scheme to use one tiger to devour another, my lord, you must be wary!" Guo Jia pointed out before Ji Qiu could finish speaking.

This was also the consensus of everyone present.

Xi Zhong laughed and said, "It's a pity that Dong Zhuo misjudged the situation of our army."

He didn't know that our army, which had been besieged by powerful clans for a year, had not only not become weaker, but had become even stronger!

Although the Kwantung Allied Forces did not know the specific situation of our army, they had a general understanding of it, which was one of the reasons why they lifted the blockade on Yanzhou and Yuzhou.

"This blockade is utterly futile, so why continue it?" Jia Xu continued, "Therefore, the Guandong Allied Forces will never send a large army to attack Taishan County; at most, they will leave troops to guard against our surprise attack!"

Ji Qiu smiled and said, "Even if the Guandong Allied Army only leaves some troops to guard against our army, it will still greatly reduce the pressure on Dong Zhuo."

Although I don't want Dong Zhuo to be completely wiped out by the Guandong Coalition, I need to let them fight each other head-on for a few battles first, so that both sides can deplete some of their strength.

Otherwise, both Dong Zhuo and the Guandong Coalition have left behind too much strength, which is detrimental to our army's subsequent plans!

"It wouldn't be difficult to get the Guandong Allied Forces to fight Dong Zhuo with all their might."

The Kwantung Coalition dared not fight Dong Zhuo head-on because they were wary of our army's strength and feared a surprise attack.

"Then we just need to let them know that our army is not in Taishan County and has no time to launch a surprise attack on them," Guo Jia said.

Ji Qiu nodded and said, "That makes sense. So how can we let the Guandong Allied Forces know that our army is not in Taishan County and has no time to launch a surprise attack on them?"

"It's very simple. All we need to do is send our troops to attack other forces!" Xi Zhong said.

Ji Qiu clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Well said! This is a great opportunity for our army to leave Taishan County, conquer cities and territories, and expand our strength!"

Sending troops is a matter that depends on the right timing, location, and popular support.

Moreover, favorable timing is not as important as favorable location, and favorable location is not as important as favorable human relationships!

Now, it is clear that there are enough men to send out troops in the autumn.

From a demand perspective, all departments have already exhausted their existing human resources and are experiencing manpower shortages, urgently needing external warfare to acquire new resources.

From the military's perspective, after more than a year of rest and training, their combat effectiveness and fighting spirit have been greatly enhanced, and their desire for battle is very strong.

From an external perspective, the Kwantung Coalition needed them to go out into the world so that they could set aside their concerns and fight Dong Zhuo with all their might!
When the internal and external are united, and the superiors and subordinates share the same desires, what else could there be but harmony among people?!
Ji Qiu asked again, "If our army is to go out, we don't know where to go?"

“Naturally, it will be one of the four surrounding states. However, which state to attack will depend on the intelligence Wenhe provides regarding the four states,” Xi Zhong said.

So Ji Qiu bowed to Jia Xu and said, "Then please tell us about the current situation in the four surrounding prefectures!"

"This is my duty, my lord, there is no need for such formalities."

Jia Xu returned the greeting and then said,
"If we want to choose a target from the four surrounding states, we must first understand the situation of the passages from Taishan County to the four surrounding states."

As is well known, since the establishment of the anti-Dong Zhuo alliance, Wang Kuang, who blocked the passage to Yanzhou, and Kong Zhou, who blocked the passage to Yuzhou, had already led their respective troops to Suanzao to meet with Yuan Shao.

Therefore, the roads leading from Taishan Commandery to Yanzhou and Yuzhou have actually been unblocked and are now open to traffic.

As for the situation in those two states...

Let's start with Yanzhou.

The current highest leader of Yanzhou is Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou.

However, his prestige within the state was not very high; he merely managed to maintain the interests of the powerful families in various counties within the state.

However, few of the truly powerful families residing in the fortified villages outside the city of Yanzhou paid him any heed.

There were no talented people willing to volunteer to serve him.

His main task at present is to deal with the Yellow Turbans in Yanzhou.

However, his military strategy was only average; in his battles against the Yellow Turbans, he was able to fight on equal terms.

Judging from the current situation, he will not be able to eliminate the Yellow Turbans in Yanzhou in the short term.

Now let's talk about Yuzhou.

The governor of Yuzhou was Kong Zhou.

This appointment was made by Dong Zhuo after he seized power, on the advice of Shangshu Zhou Bi, Chengmen Xiaowei Wu Qiong, and others, in an effort to win over the people.

However, like many other representatives of powerful families appointed by Dong Zhuo, Kong Zhou did not appreciate it.

He still led his troops to Suanzao to meet with Yuan Shao.

But regardless of whether Kong Zhou was the governor of Yuzhou or not, he did not actually hold real power in Yuzhou.

The real power in Yuzhou was in the hands of the Yuan family from beginning to end!

The Yuan family was based in Runan Commandery and their influence extended throughout the entire Yu Province. No matter who became the governor or prefect of Yu Province, they all had to act according to the Yuan family's wishes.

However, at present, most of the core members of the Yuan clan have died under Dong Zhuo's sword.

The only two remaining core members of the Yuan family were Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu.

But they haven't had time to return to Yuzhou yet.

Therefore, the Yuan clan of Yuzhou is currently in a state of leaderlessness.

Let's talk about Xuzhou next.

The Xuzhou passage through Taishan County was not unblocked. Although Zang Ba focused his main efforts on dealing with the Yellow Turbans in Xuzhou, he still left 10,000 troops to block the passage.

Therefore, if we want to attack Xuzhou, we must first open up this passage.

However, opening up the channel is not the end, but the beginning.

Because Xuzhou has a powerful ruler who truly unified the power of Xuzhou!
Tao Qian, courtesy name Gongzu, was a native of Danyang and served as the governor of Xuzhou.

He started as a student, served in various prefectures and counties, was recommended as an outstanding talent, and successively served as magistrate of Shu and Lu counties, governor of Youzhou, and advisor. He was upright and had great ambitions.

Later, he followed General Huangfu Song of the Left Chariots and Cavalry to fight against Beigong Boyu, and was appointed Yangwu Colonel. After that, he followed Zhang Wen to conquer Han Sui and Bian Zhang.

In the fifth year of the Zhongping era, the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in Xuzhou. Tao Qian was appointed by the imperial court as the governor of Xuzhou. He defeated the Yellow Turbans in Xuzhou and promoted the implementation of military-agricultural colonies to restore production.

It is not difficult to see from this resume that Tao Qian was no nobody. Before taking office as the governor of Xuzhou, he was a seasoned and valiant general.

When he took office as the governor of Xuzhou, he did not go alone.

He brought at least 30,000 Danyang soldiers with him!
Therefore, although he served as the governor of Xuzhou for only one year, he had already made many achievements.

The once formidable Yellow Turban rebels of Xuzhou have been suppressed in Kaiyang County and are now considered a minor threat to Xuzhou, unable to have any significant impact on the overall situation in Xuzhou.

This was only because we provided significant resource support to the Yellow Turbans in Xuzhou.

Without our support, they would not only have been able to continue occupying the Kaiyang area, but they would probably have been wiped out long ago.

After suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Xuzhou, Tao Qian began to gather refugees and establish military farms throughout the Xuzhou region to restore production.

This brought him a large amount of resources and manpower.

Tao Qian then used these resources and manpower to continuously expand his army.

According to the latest information, Tao Qian's powerful army still numbers over 100,000!

But that's not the most important thing.

Most importantly, Tao Qian gradually won over the hearts of the powerful families in Xuzhou through his series of actions, including suppressing the Yellow Turbans, gathering refugees, and restoring production.

Nowadays, most of the prominent families in Xuzhou have begun to serve Tao Qian.

As a result, powerful clans such as the Chen family of Xiapi, the Mi family of Donghai, the Liu family of Pengcheng, the Wang family of Langya, and the Xu family of Guangling, who all had great influence in various counties of Xuzhou, began to recognize Tao Qian's rule over Xuzhou.

Their recognition not only allowed Tao Qian to acquire a large number of talented individuals from aristocratic families, but also gave him the ability to mobilize the private armies of various powerful clans.

These families are different from the three major families of Taishan County that we previously wiped out.

Taishan County itself was not wealthy, and the three major families of Taishan County had not yet fully controlled the county, which meant that their power could only be considered as the lowest among the major families in the world!

Each family's assets consisted of nothing more than ten thousand private soldiers.

However, the families mentioned earlier are all powerful families that can influence the overall situation of a prefecture with their own influence.

Even among the most prestigious and powerful families in the world, they would rank in the middle.

Each family possesses at least 30,000 elite private soldiers!
If Tao Qian could mobilize all the private armies of these families, he would have a powerful army of over 300,000!
Finally, there's Qingzhou.

The Qingzhou passage has not been unblocked and remains completely closed.

Zang Hong stationed 30,000 elite troops along this passage, and even after Yuan Wei's death, they did not relax their vigilance!
Therefore, opening up the Qingzhou passage will inevitably require a tremendous amount of effort.

In terms of overall strength, Qingzhou is not weaker than Xuzhou.

The Tian family of Qi Commandery, the Kong family of Beihai Commandery, the Wang family of Donglai Commandery, the Sun family of Le'an Commandery, the Zheng family of Gaomi Commandery, and the Hua family of Pingyuan Commandery were all middle-class aristocratic families capable of influencing the military and political affairs of a commandery and possessing strong private armies of more than 30,000 men.

Among them, the Kong family of Beihai, the Sun family of Le'an, and the Zheng family of Gaomi were the most powerful.

Because the Kong family of Beihai is the lineage of Confucius, the sage of Confucianism, and has a patriarch named Kong Rong who is said to have awakened the true blood of the ancestral spirit.

The legacy of Confucian sages is of utmost importance.

It is said that descendants who awaken the ancestral spirit's true blood can possess some of their ancestors' abilities.

Kong Rong's abilities should not be underestimated!

The Sun family of Le'an is one of the families that inherited the legacy of Sun Tzu, the military strategist. It is said that their private army was the same Sky Chariot Army that Sun Tzu used to sweep across the world.

This is an extremely ancient and powerful secret technique for strengthening the military, which no ordinary military force can withstand.

The Zheng family of Gaomi had a great Confucian scholar of the time, Zheng Xuan!

A great Confucian scholar of our time, at least a first-rank junior scholar!
They not only possess great strength, but also great influence.

Zheng Xuan's disciples and followers are said to be found all over the world.

Every word and action they take has unparalleled influence and appeal.

For these reasons, these three families are exceptionally powerful. Although they have not yet reached the level of high-ranking aristocratic families, they are still among the pinnacle of mid-ranking aristocratic families.

However, unlike Xuzhou, Qingzhou does not have a core leader.

Compared to Tao Qian, who had gradually integrated the powerful families of Xuzhou, Kong Rong, although the prime minister of Beihai and the highest-ranking and most prestigious official in Qingzhou, could only govern the Beihai Kingdom.

Therefore, Qingzhou was a state where each prefecture was governed independently.

In conclusion, the difficulty of conquering the four provinces, in descending order, is as follows: Yan Province is the easiest, followed by Yu Province, then Qing Province, and Xu Province is the most difficult!

"Hmm, Wenhe has done a very good job of gathering intelligence on the four surrounding states. So, which state should we attack specifically?" Ji Qiu asked.

Guo Jia said: We definitely cannot attack Yanzhou. Who said attacking Yanzhou is the easiest thing to do? Besides, our lord has the official position of Governor of Yanzhou, so it is perfectly legitimate.

However, while it was easy to capture Yanzhou, it would be very difficult to hold it.

That place was in the heart of Kyushu, with no natural defenses, and it was too close to the Suanzao camp, so it was completely ineffective in making the Kwantung Allied Forces lower their guard.

Once our army sends troops to Yanzhou, they will surely send troops to meet us!

(End of this chapter)