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

Chapter 329 has probably brought the situation to a standstill (5.5k chapters total).

Youfufeng, Mei County.

Dong Zhuo is having a very bad time lately.

He has been being tormented in Youfufeng for more than half a year.

In terms of military strength, Dong Zhuo had no shortage of troops.

When Dong Zhuo left Luoyang, his elite troops numbered over 5,000, plus the troops of Lü Bu, Wu Kuang, Xia Mou, and others, as well as some soldiers from the capital region, totaling nearly 10,000.

During the military campaign, Niu Fu organized several thousand new soldiers in Bingzhou and Hedong.

Upon arriving in Mei County, Li Jue and others joined them, and they recruited many able-bodied men on the spot.

The total number of personnel is over 20,000, half of whom are experienced elites.

This kind of unit, which is half veterans and half new recruits, is actually very strong—the new recruits are motivated and have aspirations, while the veterans have experience and can provide a safety net, making it stronger than a unit that is entirely composed of seasoned veterans.

But upon arriving in Mei County, Dong Zhuo found himself in a stalemate.

The nominal leader of the Liangzhou rebels was Wang Guo, a renowned scholar from Jincheng. Of course, Dong Zhuo knew that the actual main force was Han Sui and Ma Teng.

The rebel army was large, numbering over 60,000 in total, and they were not peasant armies—Xizhou was a poor, remote, and barren land with no peasant armies to speak of.

They were either powerful clans, mountain bandits, swordsmen, or Qiang, Di, and Hu cavalry.

Wang Guo was a typical powerful clan's armed force, Han Sui was a local warlord who could command the Qiang and Di tribes, and Ma Teng, a gangster boss, had a mixed force of swordsmen and horse bandits under his command.

If we include the able-bodied men and laborers who were taken hostage by the rebels, the total number of rebels would probably be over 100,000.

These rebel groups are inherently difficult to defeat.

Huangfu Song was stationed in Meiyang and basically ignored Dong Zhuo's orders.

There was a reason for this disobedience—Huangfu Song was the main general who led Liu Hong to pacify Liangzhou after Liu Hong's reinstatement, and Liu Hong was still alive at that time.

The gentry and officials of Xizhou, represented by figures such as Gai Xun, the Prefect of Jingzhao, and Sun Rui, the Commander of the Imperial Guard, openly and covertly supported Huangfu Song, which led to Huangfu Song gradually accumulating a force of nearly 20,000 men.

In order to avoid affecting the situation in Liangzhou and causing the rebels to launch a large-scale attack on Chang'an, Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo did not provoke Huangfu Song, lest they force the entire Sanfu region to join the rebels, which would be a real problem.

In other words, Huangfu Song did not obey Dong Zhuo's orders, but Dong Zhuo could not completely turn against Huangfu Song, otherwise the situation could easily turn into a two-against-one conflict.

Huangfu Song was no different—he dared not turn against Dong Zhuo either.

However, the two sides could not cooperate closely. Dong Zhuo and Niu Fu had military generals and warriors under their command from Xizhou and Bingzhou, while Huangfu Song and Gai Xun had noble families and powerful clans under their command from the Three Auxiliary Regions. The two sides could not get along and were both hoping that the other would send them to their deaths.

The rebel army of the kingdom, facing Dong Zhuo of Mei County and Huangfu Song of Meiyang, had no chance of winning against two opponents at once, and dared not divide its forces or launch a long-range attack.

As a result, the situation in the western state became a delicate balance.

Moreover, the situation Dong Zhuo faced was not just a stalemate.

— Just as Dong Zhuo set out from Luoyang to Liangzhou, Liu Xie was taken away by Liu Bei on an eastern tour, making it difficult for Dong Zhuo to use the court to suppress Huangfu Song.

In addition, Qingzhou was besieged during this period, and the Sanfu region and Qingzhou were too far apart, so it would take one or two months just to make a contact. By the time the news reached Liu Bei, Dong Zhuo would have already been too late.

Moreover, most of the Luoyang officials, such as Yang Biao and Wang Yun, did not like Dong Zhuo. Although they did not openly cause trouble, Dong Zhuo's requests to Luoyang were often evaded.

The usual excuse was that the emperor had been taken to Linzi by Liu Bei, so the information had to be forwarded to Linzi for processing, but in reality, the message was never even forwarded.

Dong Min did provide full support during his tenure as the Prefect of Henan, consistently providing money, grain, and supplies, but the support that Dong Min could provide was limited.

As for the relatives and friends that Dong Zhuo had previously arranged to serve as officials in Luoyang... most of them had only recently taken office and were unable to control a large number of corrupt officials, so they were mostly sidelined.

Honestly... appointing relatives to unqualified positions not only doesn't help, but it actually makes things worse.

Of course, it was precisely because the officials of Luoyang disliked Dong Zhuo that Dong Zhuo had no choice but to stand on the same side as Liu Bei, and they agreed in advance to each attack Guanzhong and Guandong respectively, so as not to hinder each other.

Unable to mobilize Huangfu Song, the situation in Liangzhou remained deadlocked, and Dong Zhuo originally intended to withdraw his troops.

However, Huangfu Song was stationed in Meiyang, and the kingdom's rebels were currently launching their second attack on Chencang.

Meiyang is next to Mei County, and Chencang is not far upstream from Mei County, while Dong Zhuo's troops and his entire clan are all in Mei County.

To protect his people, when the rebels first attacked Chencang, Dong Zhuo sent Li Jue and Guo Si with 4,000 men to rescue and occupy Chencang.

After Dong Zhuo led his army to Mei County, Li Jue breathed a sigh of relief. To avoid being killed by Wang Guo and Han Sui, the people of Jincheng, Li Jue held Chencang very tenaciously.

Chencang is the throat of Longxi, and it is located at the confluence of the Wei River and the Qian River, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. The city is also well-built. The rebel army's first attack on Chencang was repelled by Li Jue and Guo Si.

Not long after, the rebels returned with renewed force—if they didn't capture Chencang, they wouldn't be able to advance eastward on a large scale.

The second time, however, the kingdom's rebels clearly intended to besiege the city and attack its reinforcements—the main rebel force surrounded Chencang, but did not launch a full-scale attack.

This left Dong Zhuo in a situation where he could neither advance nor retreat.

If they lead troops to relieve the siege, it would be 20,000 against 60,000—Huangfu Song would definitely not provide support.

If they retreat, it would be tantamount to abandoning Li Jue and Guo Si, as well as Mei County, where the Dong family had just settled. Moreover, the supplies probably couldn't be completely transferred, and there weren't enough laborers available in Mei County.

In fact, there are not many people available in the entire Youfufeng area. There are almost no commoners left in this place now, and it is common to see a hundred miles of deserted landscape.

This wasn't done by the rebels; they were blocked at Chencang and couldn't even get into the eastern part of Youfufeng.

This was a scorched-earth policy implemented by Huangfusong and Gaixun last year.

Before Dong Zhuo launched his campaign, Huangfu Song believed that the forces were insufficient to defeat the Liangzhou rebels head-on. He discussed with Gai Xun, the Prefect of Jingzhao, to shrink the defensive line, implement a scorched-earth policy, and recruit soldiers to wait for the enemy to run out of food and retreat before launching a pursuit.

The strategy itself isn't really that bad... If they really had that strong organizational ability, they could have moved all the people and resources from Longxi, Anding and other counties to the vicinity of Chang'an, which would have indeed forced the rebels to have nowhere to resupply.

Therefore, from last year until now, Huangfu Song has not sent a single soldier to the rebel army.

For more than a year, Huangfu Song was busy recruiting soldiers, relocating people, conscripting laborers, and levying money, grain, and military supplies... He didn't even go to the rescue when Chencang was attacked for the first time.

When the rebels attacked Longxi, Huangfu Song was in Beidi and Anding, where he implemented a "scorched earth" policy, "procured military supplies," and trained his troops.

When the rebel army invaded western Youfufeng and besieged Chencang, Huangfu Song implemented a "scorched earth" policy in Youfufeng, clearing out counties such as Huaili, Meiyang, and Duyang.

Meanwhile, Gai Xun recruited soldiers in Chang'an, conscripting able-bodied men from those who had been forcibly transferred or requisitioned to Chang'an, which brought Huangfu Song's army to nearly 20,000.

The goal of scorched earth may have been achieved, but the problem is that this is equivalent to the rebels plundering Longxi and western Youfufeng, while Huangfu Song plundered Anding, Beidi, and eastern Youfufeng.

It's hard to say who fought harder, but in any case, large areas of farmland in Guanzhong were abandoned, and there were hardly any commoners to be seen. Only the lands of the powerful clans were still being cultivated.

This scorched earth policy effectively turned ordinary people into slaves of powerful clans in the Three Auxiliary Regions, resulting in 200,000 new unregistered households in Chang'an County alone.

As a result, Huangfu Song and Gai Xun gained the support of various powerful clans.

Since it was difficult to obtain decent supplies in the Three Auxiliary Regions, in order to ensure the supply of laborers and logistics, Dong Zhuo also sent troops to plunder everywhere in these months... "requisitioning" some laborers and grain, but this also made the relationship between Dong Zhuo and Huangfu Song and others more and more tense.

It's not about good versus evil, but about two sides vying for business... to be precise, three forces are competing for the same business.

The entire Guanzhong Plain, except for Jingzhao and Zuofengyi, was basically devastated. Large numbers of refugees fled to Hanzhong or Shu, or to western Jingzhou.

Currently, the rebels have been attacking the outskirts of Chencang for eighty days.

"My lord, that old scoundrel Huangfu has refused the order to reinforce Chencang again, saying that the time is not yet ripe and we should not act rashly."

Niu Fu reported back to Dong Zhuo.

"Can Li Jue and Guo Si hold on?"

Dong Zhuo's lips are already blistered. Originally, he could have rivaled Liu Bei and each got what he wanted, but now that Liu Bei has moved the emperor to Linzi, he will probably seize power soon, while Dong Zhuo himself will be trapped in Xizhou...

"I sent someone to check from a distance yesterday, and the defenses are quite tight, so there should be no problem."

Niu Fu replied, "Huangfu Song used this as an excuse to say that the rebels' morale was high and they should not be attacked forcefully. He said that Chencang was easy to defend and that they could surely defeat the rebels. He said that they should wait until the rebels lifted the siege before pursuing them."

"...Heaven knows whether he intends to pursue the rebels or our army...Whether Huangfu Song harbors any disloyalty towards the world is uncertain, but he certainly intends to kill us..."

Dong Zhuo frowned, his hand unconsciously patting his bulging belly. His chubby face, which had become somewhat loose due to the ravages of time, trembled with each pat.

“My lord… when I was in Luoyang incorporating He Jin’s troops, I met a man who might be able to relieve your worries.”

Niu Fu suddenly started recommending people at this moment.

"Who could it be? Unless it's Jia Wenhe... Alas, but Jia Wenhe is too far away to quench my immediate thirst..."

Dong Zhuo still couldn't forget Jia Xu.

"This man is a disciple of Master Shi, skilled in Taoist magic and divination... He is always accurate in his predictions, sir. You might as well give him a try..."

Niu Fu was an extremely superstitious man. Even when meeting guests, he would first have a fortune teller examine their faces to see if they were compatible with him in terms of yin and yang, and then divine good or bad fortune before he would even meet them...

"...Very well, let him divine the outcome." Dong Zhuo wasn't actually that superstitious, but in this stalemate, having a sorcerer consult a diviner might boost morale.

Before long, Niu Fu brought a sorcerer into Dong Zhuo's tent.

This person's face was somewhat peculiar, appearing somewhat aged with graying hair, yet he also looked very young, giving off a contradictory feeling of an 'aged youth'.

Moreover, his eyes were extremely indifferent, as if he were looking at dead people, and even his eyebrows and beard were somewhat gray.

This appearance piqued Dong Zhuo's interest even more: "I am perplexed today, unsure of whether this is auspicious or inauspicious. Please enlighten me."

"Please give your instructions, Lord Dong."

The sorcerer bowed very politely and slowly turned his gaze to the sheepskin map that was propped up on a frame inside Dong Zhuo's tent.

"May I ask your esteemed name? And why do you appear so old?"

Dong Zhuo's eyes lit up. He waved his hand to dismiss Niu Fu and the guards, leaving him alone to face the sorcerer.

"...Junior Li Ru."

Li Ru smiled bitterly: "Revealing heavenly secrets will surely bring divine punishment. I am not yet thirty years old, and my current state is due to my excessive divination, which has made me unforgivable by heaven."

Looking at Li Ru's skin and appearance, he does look like a young man in his late twenties, but his hair, eyebrows, beard, the crow's feet around his eyes, and his weathered face make it seem like he is sixty-two years old.

Dong Zhuo didn't care whether Li Ru used his life to divine, since all sorcerers followed this method, always using divine retribution to prove their accuracy. So he asked with some skepticism, "Since you have such divine insight, why don't you first divine the question I wish to resolve?"

"Master Dong wants to leave this place quickly, but he is hesitant and in a dilemma, not knowing whether he is friend or foe. This confusion must be because he wants to ask about friend or foe."

Unlike others who would keep things in suspense, Li Ru spoke very frankly: "After asking about friend and foe, Lord Dong might also ask about success or failure..."

Dong Zhuo was taken aback, then looked Li Ru up and down again before returning the greeting with a cupped hand: "Your divination does not use sacrificial vessels?"

"There is no need to rely on external things..."

Li Ru shook his head and smiled self-deprecatingly: "Actually, divination is not about using divination texts, but about using mental effort and mental calculation. Often, excessive thinking can even lead to the death of one's lifespan..."

In a daze, Dong Zhuo seemed to see Jia Wenhe again: "Please, sir, give me some advice."

"Now, Lord Dong is in a dilemma, and so are Wang Guo and Huangfu Song. Neither of them can withdraw, and neither dares to withdraw..."

Li Ru nodded and stepped forward, pointing to Chencang on the map: "Chencang has been besieged for eighty days. Normally, if a city cannot be captured after two months of siege, it should leave quickly. Wang Guo and his men have come from afar with 100,000 troops, and their food supplies have been greatly depleted. Why have they been in Chencang for so long?"

Dong Zhuo nodded slowly: "The kingdom also wants to withdraw but finds it difficult... Han Sui and Ma Teng are not on good terms with it?"

"The kingdom is to Han Sui and Ma Teng just as you are to Huangfu Song and Gai Xun."

Li Ru continued his analysis: "The emperor is no longer in Luoyang, and the imperial army is ready to fight. The Wang Guo and other bandits have wasted countless provisions and should have retreated to Liangzhou to establish their own independent regime long ago... But none of them dare to retreat first, and their fear is the same as yours and Huangfu Song's."

"...It's suddenly enlightening..."

Dong Zhuo let out a long sigh: "I wonder how to make the kingdom retreat quickly?"

"You only need to send someone to promise Han Sui and Ma Teng that they can occupy Liangzhou, abandon their evil ways and kill the kingdom, and recommend the two of them as generals... The kingdom will surely retreat."

Li Ru then pointed to Meiyang, where Huangfu Song was located: "If the Kingdom retreats, Huangfu Song will definitely pursue them to gain the spoils of war. If you, Lord Dong, simply make an agreement with Han Sui to let Huangfu Song and the Kingdom both suffer heavy losses, then you and Han Sui can both benefit."

"Hahaha... How could someone with your talent be a sorcerer?"

Dong Zhuo clapped his hands and stepped forward, taking out a purple ribbon and gold seal from his robes: "I, Dong, hereby appoint you as Minister of Works and Advisor, to be in charge of my affairs!"

A glimmer of light seemed to appear in Li Ru's lifeless eyes, but he still bowed his head and said, "I have committed a serious crime, and I am afraid it will be difficult for me to serve as an official..."

"crime?"

Dong Zhuo laughed loudly and shoved the golden seal into Li Ru's hand: "Hahaha... What crime is this..."

Li Ru opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing more, only bowing to receive the seal.

……

A few days later, one night, the rebels suddenly split into three.

Han Sui and Ma Teng's troops left Chencang and split into two groups, heading north towards Jingyang and west towards Tianshui respectively.

The kingdom's main force numbered less than 20,000.

The rebel army of the kingdom quickly lifted the siege and left Chencang. At this time, Huangfu Song seized the opportunity and quickly sent troops to attack the retreating kingdom.

They might not have been able to catch up, but when the kingdom's troops retreated north, they were blocked by a rockfall in the valley—this was certainly not a natural disaster, but rather something Han Sui had done.

Suddenly abandoned by two allies and trapped in the Longshan Valley, the kingdom had no choice but to order a desperate fight.

Huangfu Song pursued them to the Longshan Valley, where retreat was no longer an option, as Li Jue and Guo Si's troops appeared behind him. Although they claimed to be coordinating the pursuit, they were actually blocking Huangfu Song's retreat.

After three days of fierce fighting, Huangfu Song defeated the kingdom's army, killing more than 10,000 people. All of the kingdom's supplies fell into Huangfu Song's hands, and he indeed gained a great deal.

However, Huangfu Song himself also suffered heavy losses, with most of his elite troops perishing there.

The kingdom fled alone over the mountains, barely escaping with its life.

But just as he fled to Tianshui, Wang Guo was beheaded by Han Sui, who was waiting there.

Han Sui and Ma Teng took the head of the kingdom to Dong Zhuo and said that they had "abandoned darkness and turned to light to restore order" and "pacified the rebellious kingdom".

Subsequently, the two immediately led their troops in a retreat, successively withdrawing from Tianshui, Anding, Longxi and other counties, and completely retreating into Liangzhou.

Dong Zhuo sent people to take over the four commanderies of Tianshui, Anding, Longxi, and Youfufeng.

Huangfu Song then realized that he had been tricked in this battle... But now the strength of all parties had changed drastically, and Huangfu Song had no choice but to retreat to his hometown of Beidi County.

After killing the kingdom, Han Sui completely controlled its territory, and at this time he had already occupied the two commanderies of Jincheng and Xiping.

Ma Teng then took control of Wuwei and began sending people towards Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dunhuang.

Dong Zhuo submitted a memorial requesting the re-establishment of the Yongzhou Inspectorate, which would include Longxi, Tianshui, Anding, and the Sanfu region, with Chang'an as its capital.

Liangzhou was left with only six prefectures: Jincheng, Wuwei, Xiping, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dunhuang.

Dong Zhuo appointed Han Sui as General of Anqiang and Ma Teng as General of Andi, which can be regarded as an acknowledgment of their separatist rule over Liangzhou. Han Sui and Ma Teng "suddenly realized their mistake and abandoned the darkness to join the light," and assisted in defeating the kingdom's army and taking the kingdom's head. This was indeed a great achievement and was justifiable.

At the same time, Dong Zhuo submitted a memorial recommending Huangfu Song as Commandant of the Guards and Gai Xun as Grand Master of Ceremonies.

He wanted to transfer all these people to the imperial court to serve as officials so that he could control the entire Yongzhou.

It was April, which was a month ago.

……

Almost at the same time that Liu Bei received Guan Yu's military report, Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao's memorials also arrived in Linzi.

Liangzhou was stabilized, and the Kong family of Lu was exterminated.

Some gentry families in Lu County also "suddenly realized the error of their ways and turned to the light," similar in nature to Han Sui and Ma Teng... only on a smaller scale.

After Cao Cao pacified the State of Lu, he led his army to garrison the State of Pei. Currently, no one in Yanzhou or Yuzhou has rebelled anymore.

Liu Bei suddenly realized that the world seemed to have been pacified all of a sudden.
However, this "pacification" was far more dangerous than the previous times when wars were raging everywhere.

Han Sui and Ma Teng ruled Liangzhou separately.

Huangfu Song temporarily occupied the northern region, while Gai Xun remained in Chang'an as the Prefect of Jingzhao.

However, Dong Zhuo intended to effectively seize Yongzhou and control half of the capital region. Moreover, Dong Zhuo still gave Liu Bei face, and his memorials were all sent to Liu Bei in the form of requests and discussions.

Han Fu "pacified" the rebels in Bohai and Hejian, took the head of the King of Ganling, and submitted a memorial to Liu Bei to report his achievements.

In addition, Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, and Liu Yao, the governor of Yangzhou, also sent their official documents to Liu Bei to report on their new posts—why at this very moment, of all times…

Yuan Shu has been appointed general and has now effectively controlled Runan and Huainan. He has also submitted a memorial stating that he intends to suppress the river bandits on the Yangtze River.

In reality, the country was indeed divided into warlords, but in any case, the Han Dynasty still existed, and at least it wasn't a chaotic situation of warring states.

However, Liu Bei also knew very well that this peace would not last long.

Instead of directly dealing with any memorials, Liu Bei first issued an edict in Liu Xie's name to all officials with a salary of 1,000 shi or above.

He ordered all officials with a salary of 2,000 shi or above to come to Mount Tai to accompany him.

Liu Bei wanted to keep his promise and took Liu Xie to Mount Tai to pay homage to their ancestors.

—It's not about performing the Fengshan ceremony, but rather that there's no longer any war in the world, and it can be considered "pacified" on the surface, so it's time to offer sacrifices to our ancestors.

(End of this chapter)