Brother, stop curling up! You're curling up like the founder of the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 140 Chaos Erupts in Eight Provinces, Yuan Shu Launches a Surprise Attack on Liu Bei (Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets)
This period was exceptionally favorable for reforming land administration.

Liu Shou was granted the title of "Imperial Uncle" and raised a large amount of money in Luoyang to bring to Chang'an, thus gaining absolute dominance in terms of power, wealth, and military strength.

Yongzhou had a small population base, and even fewer large households. The killing of more than eighty powerful bandits still had a lingering influence, so even if the large households had grievances, no one dared to take the lead in opposing them.

With this year's harvest being poor, tenant farmers would not have enough grain to keep for themselves if they paid rent in the same way as in previous years, which naturally led to their resentment towards the large tenant farmers.

Liu Bei then used a combination of coaxing and intimidation, by signing new contracts with self-cultivating farmers and checking old accounts, to force large landlords to take the initiative to sign new contracts with tenants who resisted rent. At the same time, he reserved room for negotiation between tenants and large landlords by offering a 20% share of the difference.

If the rules are established during this autumn harvest, then the people of Nanyang will have an old calendar to follow when they enter Guanzhong in the future.

It's unreasonable to expect Guanzhong to make special exceptions for the arrival of Nanyang scholars and people just because Guanzhong has already accepted them.
If an exception is made, the people of Guanzhong will inevitably complain.

Rules must be established with decisive action from the very beginning.

Once the current residents of Yongzhou and the future residents of Nanyang have become accustomed to this rule, Liu Bei's credibility in the prefecture will be established.

Once credit is established, many things will become much easier to manage in the future.

Once Yongzhou rises to prominence, even more people will eagerly support Liu Bei.

When faced with the backward rules and regulations of other prefectures and counties, the emerging forces cultivated by Liu Bei would also develop a hierarchy of contempt for the old forces.

Barbarians are barbarians; they don't understand manners and only know how to treat people like cattle and horses.

Don't you know that only by treating people as human beings can you enable them to create more wealth?
what?
I'm trying to reason with you, and you just can't understand?
Indeed, you are all a bunch of unreasonable barbarians who need to be educated by us to understand what reason is.

As Liu Bei had predicted, Tian Zheng's advance made little impact, at most creating a few ripples.

As the state government established its credit, the number of people participating in water conservancy projects gradually increased.

The world is bustling with activity, all driven by profit. Earning a thousand coins a month is enough to tempt anyone.

During this period.

The three battalions of Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao, and Dian Wei also took turns going out to deter bandits and barbarian invaders from the directions of Anding Commandery, Beidi Commandery, and Fengyi Commandery.

Later, news came from Hedong Commandery that Guo Tai, a bandit leader from Baibo, had led his troops to invade Hedong. Although Xu Rong had not been defeated, he could not win either. Liu Bei then dispatched Zhang Liao, the Colonel of the Imperial Guard, to Hedong to assist Xun You in suppressing the rebellion.

Another letter came from Zhang Liao, saying that the Qiang and Hu tribes in Longxi Commandery showed signs of invading Hanyang Commandery, and he also sent Jia Xu's Sixteen Strategies for Pacifying the Qiang, asking Liu Bei to make a decision.

After deleting fifteen of the strategies, Liu Bei kept only one relatively peaceful one, similar to Zhuge Liang's "strategy of winning hearts and minds" in the campaign to pacify the south.

All under heaven belongs to the king, and all within the four seas are the king's subjects.

Liu Bei wanted to subdue the various tribes, not slaughter them. If the tribes were willing to voluntarily join the Han Dynasty, learn its culture, abide by its laws, cherish its people, and resist its enemies, then they would be the people of the Han Dynasty.

But outside of Yongzhou.

The rebel forces have also completed their initial deployments.

Yuan Shao, Ding Yuan, Wang Kuang, and Qiao Mao stationed troops in Hanoi; Zhang Miao, Yuan Yi, Bao Xin, and Kong Zhou stationed troops in Suanzao; Yuan Shu stationed troops in Luyang; and Han Fu remained in Yecheng to raise military provisions for the allied forces.

The warlords all recommended Yuan Shao as their leader, and Yuan Shao also called himself General of Chariots and Cavalry, which was a false official title given to the warlords.

Although Yuan Shu was very unhappy that Yuan Shao became the leader of the alliance, he did not argue with him.

Ding Yuan, Wang Kuang, and others were all friendly with Yuan Shao, so it was within Yuan Shu's expectations that they would recommend Yuan Shao as the leader of the alliance.

The appointments of Gai Xun, Liu Dai, Liu Biao, and Cao Cao as governors of the four routes were not smooth.

After Gai Xun entered Xuzhou, although he was helped by Chen Deng to enter Xiapi, Tao Qian, the governor of Xuzhou, was unwilling to relinquish power and joined forces with Zang Ba and Sun Guan to refuse to obey orders. Zhang Chao, the prefect of Guangling, also raised troops to attack Gai Xun in order to go north to join the alliance.

Liu Dai entered Lujiang via Yuzhou. Although he received support from Lukang, the governor of Lujiang, Zhou Xin, the governor of Danyang, also responded to Yuan Shao's call and raised troops to confront Liu Dai.

Liu Biao entered Jingzhou anonymously and rode alone into Yicheng. Although he received support from Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue of Zhonglu County and Cai Mao of Xiangyang, he was in a difficult situation because Yuan Shu controlled Nanyang, Su Dai controlled Changsha, Bei Yu controlled Huarong, Cao Yin controlled Wuling, Zhang Hu and Chen Sheng controlled Xiangyang, and Liu Xiang controlled Jiangxia.

Cao Cao suffered the most. Since almost everyone in Yan Province was an ally of Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shao deeply hated Cao Cao, he offered a bounty of a thousand gold pieces to hunt him down throughout Yan Province, preventing Cao Cao from even taking a single step into the province.

Fortunately, Huang Wan, the governor of Yu Province, knew that Cao Cao had heroic spirit and lent him a thousand soldiers. Cao Cao was stationed at Xiaopei to resist Zhou Yu, the governor of Yu Province appointed by Yuan Shao, while Huang Wan was stationed at Yangdi to resist Yuan Shu.

Liu Yu of Youzhou, persuaded by Zhang Jin, a retainer of Yuan Shao, expressed his support for Yuan Shao's campaign against Dong Zhuo and Liu Bei, and sent Xianyu Fu, Qi Zhou and others with several thousand cavalry to assist him.

Upon learning the news, Gongsun Zan strongly advised Liu Yu not to trust Yuan Shao, but Liu Yu did not listen. Instead, he angrily denounced Gongsun Zan for allowing his troops to plunder the people, saying that he was no different from Dong Zhuo and Liu Bei.

Gongsun Zan, who was already unwilling to be under Liu Yu's command, was furious upon hearing this and raised an army to confront Liu Yu. Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju's former subordinates also joined Gongsun Zan because they hated Liu Yu. Liu Yu had no choice but to urgently summon Xianyu Fu, Qi Zhou and others back to confront Gongsun Zan.

Although Jiao He, the governor of Qingzhou, also responded to Yuan Shao, no sooner had he left than the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou began attacking cities and towns. Jiao He had no choice but to return and confront the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou.

In a short time, war broke out in eight provinces: You, Ji, Qing, Xu, Yan, Yang, Jing, and Yu. Prefects, chancellors, magistrates, powerful families, local magistrates, Yellow Turban rebels, and river bandits either responded to Yuan Shao or established their own militias to dominate their respective areas.

Luyang.

Yuan Shu gathered his troops here for many days.

Huang Wan already held immense prestige in Yuzhou, and his subordinates Xun Yu and general Xu Chu, along with three thousand Gebei soldiers, were also renowned throughout Yuzhou.

If it were a warmonger, they would have directly confronted Yuan Shu in the face.

However, Huang Wan was very cautious. Not only did he hold his ground and refuse to fight, but he also borrowed several thousand crossbows from Prince Liu Chong of Chen to defend various cities.

While others defend a city like tortoises, Huang Wan becomes a hedgehog; if anyone dares to bite, he'll be covered in thorns.

Even with Yuan Shu controlling the people of Nanyang and having heroes from Jing and Yang leading troops to assist him, he could not do anything to Huang Wan.

Seeing Yuan Shao's growing power in the north, while he himself could only be blocked by Huang Wan, Yuan Shu was both angry and helpless.

"You are all heroes of the prefectures and counties, and you usually boast that you are unparalleled in the prefectures and counties. Now, we have more than 30,000 men, but we cannot even take down a small Xiangcheng in Yingchuan Prefecture. What makes you say you are brave? What makes you say you are wise?"

Yuan Shu's eyes were sinister.

When Yuan Shu first raised his banner in Nanyang, he easily gathered 10,000 soldiers. Then, heroes from all walks of life flocked to him, allowing Yuan Shu to amass more than 30,000 troops. This was only those who had already arrived in Luyang; there were also Sun Jian, the governor of Changsha, and others who were on their way.

This inflated Yuan Shu's confidence to the extreme, and he wanted to shout like Dong Zhuo: "The affairs of the world are in my hands. I will do it now, who dares to disobey?"

Because he had enough soldiers, Yuan Shu no longer cared about Yuan Shao's title of alliance leader.

Yuan Shu was even thinking about how to eliminate Yuan Shao after he had destroyed Dong Zhuo and Liu Bei.

Never thought.

Huang Wan extinguished Yuan Shu's arrogance, leaving him both ashamed and furious: "I, Yuan Shu, a descendant of the Yuan family who have held high office for four generations, command over 30,000 men, can't even handle this old man, Huang Wan?"
Disdained by Yuan Shu, all the civil and military officials lowered their heads in shame.

a long time.

Yuan Shu's son-in-law, Huang Yi, cautiously asked, "Why must we attack Huang Wan? Since Huang Wan refuses to fight, why don't we divide our forces and attack Taigu Pass, south of Luoyang?"

Zhang Xun retorted, "Huang Wan is only unwilling to fight now. How do we know that he won't attack Luyang when we go to attack Taigu Pass? Besides, we've already tied down Huang Wan, so why should we go to attack Taigu Pass to continue tying down Dong Zhuo?"

"With our forces tied down, wouldn't Yuan Shao and his allies easily break through Hulao Pass and capture Luoyang? Yuan Shao has already usurped the alliance leader position from our lord, so he should now be the one to hold back Dong Zhuo for our lord."

Huang Yi retorted, "But if we don't attack Taigu Pass, how can we break through Luoyang and seize the credit? What if Yuan Shao and his men break through Hulao Pass and enter Luoyang? Wouldn't our lord get nothing at all?"

Zhang Xun didn't know how to respond, so he snorted coldly, "Anyway, I don't agree to attack Taigu Pass. Taigu Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and there's also Yique Pass behind it. If we were to launch a strong attack, how many people would have to die to take it? As for how to attack, I don't know either."

Huang Yi was so angry she wanted to curse.

You don't know how to fight back against me?
Seeing the two start arguing again, Yuan Shu got a headache: "Enough! Do any of you have any better strategies besides attacking Taigu Pass? If not, let's discuss how to attack Taigu Pass."

Everyone looked at each other.

Everyone knows that Taigu Pass is difficult to capture, and Yique Pass behind it is even more difficult. Even if you fight to the death, you may not be able to enter Luoyang first.

Who would willingly do something so thankless and exhausting?

A moment later, Yang Hong, who had been appointed as the Prefect of Nanyang, suddenly spoke up: "Why doesn't our lord follow the example of how Emperor Gaozu and Xiang Yu joined forces to destroy the Qin Dynasty?"

Yuan Shu narrowed his eyes: "Chief Secretary Yang, please explain in detail."

Yang Hong stroked his short beard smugly and shook his head: "After Xiang Liang died in battle, King Huai of Chu, Xiong Xin, made a pact with his generals: 'Whoever enters Guanzhong first will be king.' Xiang Yu followed Song Yi north to rescue Zhao, while Emperor Gaozu led his army west into Guanzhong."

"After Gaozu's failed attack on Luoyang, he turned to attack Nanyang County, killed the Qin general Lü Yi, and entered Qin territory through Wuguan. He then bypassed Yaoguan, captured Lantian, and reached Bashang, finally conquering Xianyang. In contrast, Xiang Yu was still fighting Zhang Han in Zhao territory."

"The current situation."

Yang Hong glanced at everyone again, his tone even more smug: "Yuan Shao has a great momentum in Hebei, and Dong Zhuo has no choice but to gather a large army to defend Hulao Pass, just like Xiang Yu and Zhang Han in the past; while my lord gathers troops in Nanyang, if he also goes through Wuguan to enter Chang'an, it will be just like the momentum that Emperor Gaozu had when he destroyed Qin."

“Yongzhou is sparsely populated and cannot support many soldiers. In addition, the Qiang and Hu tribes are causing trouble, so troops must be divided to various places. Chang’an will definitely be empty. When Liu Bei entered Luoyang, he only brought two thousand soldiers, which also confirms my guess.”

"I have recently learned that a large number of people from Nanyang have entered Guanzhong from Wuguan to avoid disaster. In order to replenish the population of Guanzhong, Liu Bei has not only not closed the pass, but has also set up more post stations along the way to store food to accommodate the people from Nanyang. Although there are troops to maintain order, they are very few. This is a golden opportunity for my lord to launch a surprise attack on Guanzhong!"

"If our lord sends a strong army to seize Wuguan first, and then take the grain from the post stations for military use, the army can travel a hundred li a day from Wuguan to Chang'an, and arrive outside Chang'an in three days!"

"How can Liu Bei possibly resist?"

Seeing the astonished expressions on everyone's faces, Yang Hong stroked his short beard again and said, "Dong Zhuo is confident that Liu Bei is in Guanzhong, so he will not be wary of the rear. After we take Chang'an, my lord can use Liu Bei's banner to launch a surprise attack on Luoyang from Chang'an, and the world will be in your hands. Even if Yuan Shao is not convinced at that time, he will have no choice but to submit to my lord."

Seeing the increasingly astonished expressions on everyone's faces and Yuan Shu lost in thought, Yang Hong felt a great sense of relief.

A sense of vengeful pleasure also arose spontaneously.

Yang Hong, who once had everything he wanted in Runan, lost his family business because of Liu Bei and Huang Wan, and now can only rely on Yuan Shu as a minor official.

Yang Hong deeply resented Liu Bei. Although Yuan Shu's inability to conquer Yingchuan was partly the reason he proposed the plan to launch a surprise attack on Guanzhong, Yang Hong's main motivation was to destroy everything Liu Bei had.

What good is possessing Guanzhong?
So what if you become the emperor's uncle?
In the end, he was just an ordinary man who started out without any foundation.

Once I capture Liu Bei alive, I will make him kneel before me and see who I am!
A fierce glint flashed in Yang Hong's eyes; he wished he could immediately march on Chang'an.

Before Yuan Shu could speak, Zhang Xun, who also harbored a grudge against Liu Bei, chimed in, "Chief Clerk Yang is right! I have heard that Liu Bei is indiscriminately killing people in Guanzhong, and the people of Guanzhong hate him to the bone. If our lord's army appears outside Chang'an, the people of Guanzhong will surely welcome the royal army with food and drink!"

"I am willing to personally lead the army to raid Chang'an, and I am determined to break through Chang'an and capture Liu Bei alive for my lord!"

Zhang Xun was also very excited at the thought of capturing Liu Bei alive.

If it weren't for Liu Bei's help, Huang Wan would still be the governor of Runan. As a result, because of Liu Bei, not only did he lose his position as governor of Runan, but he also lost his family property accumulated over many years, and his wealth was also obtained by Huang Wan.

Now that he had the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Liu Bei, Zhang Xun was unwilling to fall behind.

After Yang Hong and Zhang Xun spoke, several other people followed suit in support.

Just when Yang Hong and Zhang Xun thought Yuan Shu would surely accept their suggestion, Huang Yi, who disliked Zhang Xun, retorted: "That may be true, but Liu Bei has always been brave and skilled in battle. In the past, he even defeated Ding Yuan's army of over ten thousand with only eight hundred cavalry. Where do you get the confidence to capture Liu Bei alive?"

Zhang Xun was furious upon hearing this: "How dare you underestimate me? Ding Yuan and his men are nothing but a rabble. How can they be compared to the strong army under our lord's command? I am willing to sign a military pledge: if I am defeated, please execute me, my lord!"

Huang Yi sneered: "If you lose, our lord will lose the opportunity to seize Guanzhong and establish his hegemony."

Before Zhang Xun could speak, Huang Yi turned to Yuan Shu and recommended, "My lord, now is indeed a golden opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Guanzhong, but the one who launches the attack on Guanzhong cannot be Zhang Xun!"

"Marquis Wucheng, Sun Jian, is brave and skilled in battle. He has also entered Guanzhong to suppress the rebels and is familiar with the terrain of Guanzhong. If Marquis Wucheng leads his elite troops to launch a surprise attack on Chang'an, our lord can set up a false flag in Luyang and then personally lead troops to provide support. We will surely be able to take Guanzhong in one fell swoop!"

Upon seeing Huang Yi directly recommend Sun Jian to replace him, Zhang Xun flew into a rage: "Huang Yi, how dare you insult me? How could I be inferior to Sun Jian?"

Huang Yi sneered: "If you have the guts, then have a contest with Marquis Wucheng. Whether it's martial arts or military strategy, if you win in either one, I will support you as the commander!"

Zhang Xun clenched his fists, his eyes blazing with fury, wishing he could kill Huang Yi.

Seeing that Zhang Xun remained silent, Yuan Shu, who had been deep in thought, made a decision: "In that case, we should quickly send an order to the Marquis of Wucheng, instructing him not to enter Luyang again, but to select elite troops to quickly seize Wuguan and launch a surprise attack on Chang'an. This will help me capture Liu Bei alive!"

(End of this chapter)