Tiger Owl

Chapter 134 Liu Biao's Compromise
In Xiangyang, Cai Mao hurriedly arrived at Liu Biao's official residence, bowed respectfully, and asked, "My lord, do you have urgent business with me?"

Within just two months, Liu Biao suffered a series of heavy blows. First, he lost Changsha Commandery, and soon after, Liu Bei used the pretext of a northern expedition to annex his 20,000 troops and the entire Nanyang Commandery.

So in just two months, Liu Biao aged visibly, his hair and beard turned white, he became frail and needed maids to help him walk.

But upon closer reflection, it makes perfect sense. After all, Liu Biao was already seventy years old, and it's rare for someone to live to seventy; his time was drawing near.

Liu Biao glanced coldly at Cai Mao, his face grim, and asked, "Is the strategist unaware of what happened in Jiangling?"

"Your subordinate understands!"

"Isn't this an urgent matter?"

Cai Mao dared not utter a sound. Liu Biao, unable to conceal his anger, pounded his fist on the table and said, "Hundreds of large ships were burned, and the entire military camp was also burned. Can a mere fire caused by heating be explained away?"

"Reporting to my lord, Zhang Yun does indeed bear an unshirkable responsibility for this matter."

"It's not a matter of responsibility, it's about the truth! The truth!"

Liu Biao's face was full of anger. "Anyone can fool me and hide the truth. In the end, it is I who will lose my family and country, and I will bear all the consequences. But I don't know where the problem lies. You bunch of bastards have all covered it up for me."

"My lord, you are serious!"

Cai Mao wiped the sweat from his forehead. "This subordinate will immediately send someone to investigate and find out what exactly happened."

Liu Biao coldly said, "Go and investigate personally. Pass on my order to suspend Zhang Yun from his post as commander of the navy. He will be dealt with after the investigation is completed!"

"Your subordinate obeys!"

Seeing that Liu Biao was truly angry, Cai Mao dared not say anything more and quickly bowed before leaving.

Cai Mao left, and at that moment, Kuai Yue, who had just entered, bowed and said, "Please calm your anger, my lord!"

Liu Biao suppressed his anger and nodded, saying, "I'm not angry. Just tell me what's on your mind."

"They've replied from Jiangdong."

"What did they say?"

Kuai Yue hesitated for a moment and said, "They said an alliance is possible, but we must hand over Huang Zu to them. This is the basis for the alliance between the two sides."

"absurd!"

Liu Biao snorted angrily, "With such a lack of sincerity, it's better not to form this alliance."

Liu Biao originally hoped to join forces with Jiangdong to deal with the increasingly powerful Gan Ning, but he did not expect that Jiangdong would not forget the old grievances, so the alliance was meaningless.

"Don't bring this up again!"

"I understand. Also, Liu Bei has given a reply."

Liu Biao hurriedly asked, "Did he agree to lend the army and Nanyang Commandery?"

Kuai Yue bowed and said, "He agreed and is willing to sign an agreement with us to lend troops and Nanyang County for a period of five years."

Liu Bei's attitude barely saved face for Liu Biao. As long as Liu Bei admitted to borrowing 20,000 troops and Nanyang Commandery, the troops and territory would still belong to Liu Biao.

This made Liu Biao feel much better, and his anger towards Liu Bei and Wen Ping gradually dissipated. Liu Biao's expression softened, and he said slowly, "He is our northern shield. Even after the agreement is signed, he will still be my brother. I welcome him to visit Xiangyang."

"Understood!"

Kuai Yue bowed and withdrew.

Although his anger towards Liu Bei subsided, Liu Biao was extremely dissatisfied with the powerful families of Jingzhou, led by the Cai family. He was getting old and found that he was gradually losing control of the situation.

Liu Biao stood by the window, feeling troubled. He had been in a bad mood lately, and the trigger was still the Cai family. Liu Xin returned and reported on Huang Zhong's matter to him. Only then did Liu Biao realize that he had fallen for a counter-espionage plot and had lost a great general for nothing.

He then sent people to investigate the intelligence spies that Cai Mao had sent to Yuzhang County, only to find out that the spies had only gone to Chaisang and had not gone to Nanchang County at all. So how could they have seen Huang Zhong's personal guards appear in Ganning Prefecture? This showed that it was a lie fabricated by Cai Mao to frame Huang Zhong.

Secondly, his son Liu Cong told him that he had been captured alive by a general under Gan Ning. Cai Yan had not hidden her son, but instead put him on the commander's ship, which attracted the enemy general. This made Liu Biao very dissatisfied with Cai Yan. If his son Liu Cong had not been captured, there would have been no hostage exchange for Linxiang County. Huang Zhong would have defended Linxiang County to the death, and the Yuzhang army would not have been able to take it. Changsha County would not have been lost so quickly.

All of this was the work of the Cai family. Liu Biao was furious, but there was nothing he could do. The Cai family had intermarriages with several other powerful families, so they were all in the same boat. Cai Mao also controlled the military, leaving Liu Biao helpless.

The Battle of Changsha made Liu Biao see many things clearly. He wanted to make his eldest son his heir, but these people insisted on making his second son his heir. What could he do? Liu Biao felt deeply lonely. These powerful families were all in cahoots, and it would be difficult for him to fight against them alone.

It was for this reason that, despite Liu Bei forcibly borrowing his Nanyang Commandery and 20,000 troops, Liu Biao ultimately decided to keep Liu Bei. Although Liu Bei also had ambitions, he could help him fight against the powerful clans. On the front against the powerful clans of Jingzhou, Liu Bei was his only ally.

Liu Biao sighed deeply, realizing he was getting old and needed to settle the matter of establishing an heir as soon as possible.

In late November, a heavy snowfall blanketed the banks of the Yangtze River in white once again.

A huge fleet of ships sailed from the east of the Yangtze River, their boats covered with thick tarpaulins and a layer of glistening snowflakes.

This is a salt fleet that came from Kuaiji Commandery. It consists of three hundred cargo ships, each carrying a capacity of three thousand shi (a unit of dry measure), and is fully loaded with five hundred thousand shi of salt.

The foremost tractor ships were two fighting vessels, with dozens of large oars rowing vigorously. At their sterns, several large iron hooks were used to hook three hundred large cargo ships, stretching for more than twenty miles.

In addition, there were one hundred warships escorting the fleet. This was also a condition of the alliance between Jiangdong and Kuaiji Commandery. The official and merchant fleets of Yuzhang Commandery had to be escorted. This was a lesson learned from the capture of Qiao An.

However, escorting warships would inevitably infringe upon Jiangdong's territory, which Jiangdong disagreed with. Jiangdong proposed a plan where the Jiangdong army and the Yuzhang army would take turns escorting the ships across various territories. However, Yuzhang County disagreed with this plan, believing that the Jiangdong army's warships were unreliable.

In the end, both sides made concessions and reached a compromise: Yuzhang County would not use large warships for escort, and the number of ships would not exceed one hundred.

So a hundred warships escorted the salt fleet, sailing to the north, parallel to the salt fleet.

On the one hand, they had to defend against the river bandits' robbery, but on the other hand, they had to defend against Sun Ben's army's interception.

But what you fear most is what happens. At noon that day, while the ship was sailing within the territory of Danyang County, a sudden alarm bell rang out on the river, and nearly two hundred similar warships rushed in from the north.

The Yuzhang Army's warships met the enemy in battle. Drums thundered on the river, arrows rained down, and oil bottles were constantly thrown at the enemy. Although the Yuzhang Army was fighting two against one, their offense and defense were very well-organized, and they were not at a disadvantage at all.

However, Sun Ben's warships still managed to break through the defenses and get close to the salt ships. A dozen of Sun Ben's soldiers rushed onto the salt field and swung their swords to cut the bonds between the ships.

Gan Ning had already learned from the lessons of Sun Ce's fleet. Instead of using hemp rope to bind them, he used two thick iron chains to tie them up. His sword flashed and sparks flew as he slashed, but he was still not cut in the slightest.

Just then, a hail of arrows rained down, and Sun Ben's soldiers on the salt boat fell one after another, struck by arrows.

Hundreds of Jiangdong military patrol boats arrived to provide support. Some fired arrows from the south, while others circled around to the north to join the battle. When Sun Benjun's warships saw the arrival of the enemy reinforcements, they all withdrew from the battlefield and retreated to the north bank.

(End of this chapter)