Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

Chapter 284 Catching the Enemy Jungler!

The reason Liu Bei divided his forces to meet the attack was that he did not intend to defend Hulao Pass and wait for others to attack.

The best option is to quickly launch an attack to find the enemy and eliminate these scourges from Guandong while Lu Bu and Guo Si are still around.

If we linger in the fortress and wait to be attacked, it can easily give others the illusion that the 'Kwantung Coalition' is stronger.

Those fence-sitters will only help the side they think is stronger. If they are being 'suppressed and beaten,' the reinforcements that were originally supposed to come may not come at all.

First, we need to find opportunities to win several major battles and set the tone for punishing the rebels. We don't need to win in one battle, but at least we need to make the situation look good so that we can snowball positively.

Moreover, Liu Bei's own forces were a mix of various factions, making unified deployment difficult.

If they are forcibly brought together, the different training methods and combat habits of each unit will make it difficult for them to cooperate closely, which will instead affect the overall combat effectiveness.

It should be noted that Liu Bei's own troops, including Xu Rong's, actually numbered only a little over four thousand.

Moreover, although Xu Rong joined Liu Bei, this "joining" should actually be regarded as an "investment".

Xu Rong was neither a retainer nor an official under Liu Bei. Xu Rong was a Han official who had previously invested in He Jin, and after He Jin's death, he invested in Liu Bei.

……

Here is a logic that is easily overlooked by later generations: retainers, subordinates, and Han officials all obeyed the command of a lord, but their natures were completely different.

Those who were completely dependent on Liu Bei included: Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Bian Bing, Chen Feng, and Zhang Yan (Zhang Baiqi).

The officials and advisors who followed Liu Bei included: Jian Yong, Jia Xu, Qian Zhao, Zhang He, Tian Yu, Bai Yao, Zhuge Xuan, Sun Qian, Mi Fang, and Shi Ren.

The Han officials who invested in Liu Bei included Xianyu Fu, Xu Rong, Zang Ba, and Mi Zhu.

Zhao Yun's situation was rather special. Originally, Zhao Yun, like Zhang He, was a courtier with his own troops. However, after being convicted by his brother, in order to change Zhao Yun's status from a criminal to a free citizen, he had no choice but to rejoin Liu Bei, thus becoming a retainer.

Although Jian Yong and Qian Zhao had the best relationship with Liu Bei and were the most senior, they were not Liu Bei's retainers, but his subordinates.

After all, they were fellow disciples, and their relationship could be considered as one of family. Liu Bei could not treat them as his retainers—this was not a matter of personal relationships.

The retainers were completely dependent on Liu Bei's family and were loyal to Liu Bei's family. They could be regarded as family members and treated as relatives.

—This can be seen as the original team when the family business was first established.

The subordinates were not dependent on each other, but rather followed one another. They were loyal to Liu Bei's faction, and Liu Bei was their "monarch," hence they called Liu Bei their lord.

—They can be regarded as core employees recruited after the company grows.

Although subordinates are not considered family members, they are still considered servants, meaning they are only loyal to their lord. Orders from the court or the emperor usually do not carry much weight. However, subordinates are free to come and go, and can leave their posts and change jobs as long as they do not infringe upon the interests of their lord.

Only those who were Liu Bei's retainers and subordinates, those who addressed Liu Bei as their lord, could be considered 'lord and subject' to him.

As for the Han officials who joined Liu Bei, they were either seeking political asylum or making investments; their relationships were cooperative, not based on loyalty.

They would never call Liu Bei their lord. They might address him as a brother if they were on good terms, but they would never call him their master.

—They can be seen as investors or franchisees who invested their assets, reputation, or troops into Liu Bei's forces.

Xianyu Fu was recommended by Liu Bei as the Commandant of Lulong Pass, Zang Ba was recommended by Liu Bei as the Cavalry Commandant, and Xu Rong was the Commander of the Central Army of the Han Dynasty who joined Liu Bei after He Jin's death.

These people all had their own retinues.

They were all officials of the Han Dynasty. They would invest in Liu Bei, regard him as their leader, and cooperate with or obey his leadership. However, Liu Bei could not interfere with their specific actions and choices.

In other words, Liu Bei could command Xu Rong, but he could not force Xu Rong to hand over his troops for unified management. Xu Rong was merely a partner willing to stand on Liu Bei's side and seek common interests.

There's no such thing as betrayal or resignation for these Han officials, because they weren't subordinates at all; it was just a cooperative relationship, and it was normal for them to separate and reunite.

This is a situation that is easily confused—people who seem to belong to the same faction are not necessarily the lord's subordinates; many are investment partners who do not refer to the faction leader as 'lord'.

This situation is the norm in the Han Dynasty.

The reason why the title of General of the Open Office is so valuable is that a General of the Open Office can employ many staff members in his staff, and the selection of staff members is a method recognized by the Han Dynasty for selecting formal officials—it does not require going through the process of recommending filial and incorruptible officials, and they can directly participate in the selection and assessment of officials.

This makes it easy to attract investors.

The same applies to Dong Zhuo's side.

Niu Fu was Dong Zhuo's son-in-law, so he was naturally a retainer.

Niu Fu led Dong Zhuo's central army, which consisted entirely of Dong Zhuo's private soldiers. Niu Fu's status on Dong Zhuo's side was equivalent to that of Guan Yu.

Guo Si, Zhang Ji, and others were subordinates of Dong Zhuo's general's office. These people led their own troops and were subject to Niu Fu's supervision.

Only these men's troops could be considered Dong Zhuo's troops.

Lü Bu's defection to Dong Zhuo was similar to Xu Rong's; Lü Bu was actually Dong Zhuo's investment partner.

When Lü Bu killed Ding Yuan, it was an act of betrayal by killing his lord as a subordinate, and he seized Ding Yuan's troops to use as his own capital.

However, when Lü Bu joined Yuan Shao, he was actually investing in Liu Bian. At that time, Liu Bian was Lü Bu's nominal lord, while Yuan Shao was actually the chief operating officer who attracted investment.

Afterwards, Liu Bian returned to the capital, Yuan Shao left Luoyang, and Lü Bu and Zhang Yang no longer followed Yuan Shao, which was justified because Liu Bian was still alive at that time.

After learning of Liu Bian's death, Lü Bu, now without a lord, had a legitimate reason to seek refuge with Dong Zhuo. Lü Bu had also invested in Dong Zhuo with his military force as capital to protect himself; he was not Dong Zhuo's retainer or advisor. To gain mutual trust with Dong Zhuo, they swore a blood oath, a custom of border warriors, promising never to betray each other.

This wasn't the typical idea of ​​a godson; rather, it was a vow by Lü Bu to obey Dong Zhuo as if he were his father, a gesture meant to demonstrate his sincerity.

To show intimacy, they may address each other as father and son, but in essence, they remain independent partners.

Although he himself swore to obey Dong Zhuo's wishes, his troops were not Dong Zhuo's soldiers, but still the Bingzhou Army of the Han Dynasty.

However, since Lü Bu actively sought refuge with them, this is different from passively accepting their offer.

Unable to capture the market, Lü Bu's company proactively invested in the Dong Group, willing to accept the Dong Group's controlling stake, only wanting dividend rights but not voting rights, but Lü Bu's company still operated independently.

If we don't do this, and the company runs out of cash and can't continue operating, forced to accept a merger or declare bankruptcy, then the Lü family company will cease to exist...

Lü Bu was not Dong Zhuo's direct employee; he was the manager of a subsidiary controlled by the Dong Group. Of course, Dong Zhuo and he could be considered as superior and subordinate to each other.

As for Zhang Yan of Heishan and Yang Feng of Baibo, this is not an investment relationship, but an allied force, an equal ally of Liu Bei.

— That is, external alliance companies.

The same was true for Yuan Shao; his retainers were his loyal followers.

His subordinates included Feng Ji, Xu You, and others.

Chunyu Qiong and Wu Kuang were both investors. Chunyu Qiong was only on good terms with Yuan Shao, not Yuan Shao's subordinate—they could refuse Yuan Shao's orders.

As for the twelve routes of the Kwantung Army, they were all external alliance enterprises.

……

In this situation, Liu Bei naturally sent Xu Rong, Lü Bu, and Xu Huang on separate routes.

Liu Bei's own troops set off separately.

There were four routes in total, which corresponded exactly to the four routes of the Kwantung Allied Forces reported by the scouts.

After the enemy splits its forces to attack, it is impossible for scouts to always be able to detect the enemy's movements. The main purpose of splitting up the forces is to search for the enemy and seek to annihilate the enemy's manpower.

If the opportunity arises, we should take Xingyang directly to cut off their retreat, or we could also cut off the allied forces' supply lines.

Hulao Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack. The pass is not wide and does not require many people to be stationed there. Liu Bei sent Zhao Yun with 600 men to garrison it as a logistical base to prevent his own supply lines from being cut off.

Sometimes Liu Bei felt a little disoriented, because the four groups of troops that launched the attack really resembled some kind of game played in later times...

There is a river between Chenggao and Xingyang called the Bian River.

There is a bridge in the middle of the Bian River, which is called the Bian River Bridge. It is an official bridge on the imperial road that is three zhang (about 7 meters) wide.

It was October, and the Yellow River's water level had dropped. Although the roads were still somewhat muddy, most of them were passable.

There are two fortresses on the west bank of the Bian River. This is the outer fortress outside Hulao Pass, forming a strategic triangle with the pass. It is a garrison station outside the pass, and it is also responsible for the transfer of supplies during peacetime.

To the east of the Bian River, and in the north and south of Xingyang, there are two grain transport warehouses. Xingyang was a transit point for grain transport, and goods transported from the Pu River and Bian River to Luoyang had to be transferred to the Luo River in Xingyang. There were many warehouses there.

Xu Rong took the "upper route"... which is to the north. The granary city north of Xingyang is called Aocang, located next to the Junyi Canal, which connects the Pu River and the Bian River. That was very likely the location of the Guandong Allied Army's granary, because transporting grain from Chenliu via the Junyi Canal was the most convenient route.

Liu Bei's troops took the 'middle route,' which is the route along the Bian River Bridge, and it is also the closest route to Xingyang City.

Lü Bu's troops took the "lower route." He had a large number of cavalry and planned to bypass the Bian River from the south and head straight for Cangcheng, south of Xingyang. That place was called "Gushi," a settlement of canal workers that had formed during the heyday of the Grand Canal.

As for Xu Huang, he's playing jungle...

Xu Huang was indeed hunting in the wild. He wasn't very familiar with the terrain, so he didn't take the Bian River Bridge or the official road.

Based on his habit in Baibo Valley, Xu Huang led his troops northward along the river for a while, intending to find a shallow bay where they could easily cross the river and launch a surprise attack on Xingyang County.

When Xu Huang reached the shallows of the canyon a dozen miles north of Bianshui Bridge, he accidentally encountered Bao Xin and Bao Tao, who were also preparing to cross the river to launch a surprise attack on the Hulao Pass fortress.

This was an encounter battle. The canyon terrain limited visibility, and the scouts on both sides could not be sent far. When they met, they were only three miles apart, and both sides were preparing to cross the river through the shallow water.

Upon seeing the large number of people on the other side, Xu Huang quickly sent a message to Liu Bei, saying that he had encountered a large number of wild troops and was worried that he could not win the battle, so he asked Liu Bei to send reinforcements immediately...

In fact, Xu Huang underestimated himself too much—having stayed in Baibo Valley for a long time, he had only seen Bingzhou cavalry and Hedong elites, and didn't know much about the troops in other parts of the Han Dynasty.

River valley wetlands are the natural terrain for the White Wave Army.

Upon receiving Xu Huang's plea for help, Liu Bei naturally did not delay. Learning that the enemy was across the river from Xu Huang, he hastily marched his troops, intending to quickly cross the Bian River Bridge to capture the enemy's roaming enemy... cough, to join forces with Xu Huang to launch a pincer attack on Bao Xin.

When Bao Xin and Bao Tao encountered Xu Huang, they were also extremely flustered. Their troops were recruited from Mount Tai and were considered mountain troops, and they were all raw recruits.

Although they outnumbered Xu Huang by a factor of two, they were equally worried about being outmatched in this valley terrain...

So he quickly sent a message to Cao Cao, saying that they had encountered the enemy's elite troops, whose military appearance was quite well-organized, and asked Cao Cao to quickly lead his troops to their aid.

Cao Cao and Bao Xin had a good relationship, and Cao Cao also led his troops on a rapid march, intending to quickly cross the Bian River Bridge and attack Xu Huang from both sides with Bao Xin...

(End of this chapter)