Han Ji

Shen Pei did not beg for mercy. He stood there, his body swaying slightly, blood dripping down his arm from his left shoulder.

Shen Pei asked, "Has the young master left?"

Liu Bei said, "Let's go. Heading towards Zhongshan."

Shen Pei was silent for a moment. "Okay."

Liu Bei said, "Shen Gong, will you surrender or not?"

Shen Pei said, "No reduction."

Liu Bei said nothing more. He ordered Shen Pei to be taken away and locked in a separate courtyard. He didn't tie him up, but he placed four personal guards at the door.

Jian Yong led his clerks into the city and set up tables to register the surrendered soldiers. There were more than 7,000 surrendered soldiers in total, many of whom were too hungry to stand. They were first given porridge at the soup kitchens, and their registration would be completed once they regained their strength. Each household was given one shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain, and soup kitchens were set up at every street corner.

Ye City. Yuan Shao's stronghold and the capital of Ji Province, is now in Liu Bei's hands.

After the fall of Ye City, the core counties of Ji Province gradually submitted to its rule.

The envoy of the Prefect of Wei Commandery arrived in Ye City on the fifth day after the city fell. He dismounted outside the city and walked into it. The envoy of Zhao Commandery arrived on the seventh day, bringing with him two carts of copper and iron in addition to provisions. The commanderies of Julu, Handan, and Lieren also sent envoys in succession.

Liu Bei did not touch these former officials. He allowed the prefects and magistrates of the various commanderies to retain their original posts, and only transferred a few civil officials from Luoyang to assist him. He summoned these people to the main hall of the governor's mansion.

"The Yuan family is the Yuan family, and the imperial court is the imperial court. You have governed the localities for the Yuan family, so we will not pursue your past actions. From today onwards, you will govern the localities properly for the imperial court. Starting next year, taxes will be reduced by 10%, and those in disaster-stricken counties will be reduced by half."

Anyang County was the first to open its granaries. Zhao County followed two days later. The porridge stalls were set up in front of the county government office, and large pots were cooking from morning till night. An old farmer squatted in a corner, drinking porridge, and muttered to himself, "This is a different kind of year than the one two years ago when the Battle of Guandu took place."

Guan Yu was stationed at the southern camp of Ye City, Zhang Fei at the eastern camp, Zhao Yun's cavalry returned to Luoyang to rest, and Zhang He's main force remained north of Ye City to monitor the direction of Zhongshan. Supplies were transported northward from the Liyang ferry crossing along the official road, with oxcarts working day and night.

All four gates of Ye City were open during the day. The drawbridge had been repaired and replaced with new cables. Merchants drove donkey carts into the city, and some people set up stalls at the city gates to sell steamed buns.

Qian Zhao sent a message from the north: After Yuan Shang arrived in Zhongshan, he wanted to regroup his old troops, but few responded. The governor of Zhongshan only gave Yuan Shang a residence, but no soldiers.

After fleeing from Cangting, Yuan Tan headed east. He took several dozen personal guards, changed horses several times, and crossed the Qinghe River from Weijun to Hejian.

The governor of Hejian was an old subordinate of Yuan Tan, but the city gates remained closed. Standing on the city wall, the governor said, "Young master, Liu Bei's power is too great; surrender." Yuan Tan cursed from below the city and turned his horse north.

He arrived in Bohai. The Bohai prefectural governor accepted Yuan Tan's seal of office, gave him two thousand soldiers, and assigned him several counties in the north of the prefecture. Yuan Tan established himself in Bohai and sent people to Hejian and Anping to contact his old subordinates.

As soon as Yuan Tan raised his banner, people came to join him. His former subordinates, the defeated soldiers who had been chased by Liu Bei and had nowhere to run, did not want to surrender to Liu Bei's local strongmen. By the end of September, Yuan Tan's territory included the western half of Bohai and several southern counties of Hejian, and he had about five or six thousand soldiers under his command.

He proclaimed himself Governor of Ji Province in Xindu and sent people to post notices everywhere, saying that Yuan Shang had abandoned Ye City and fled, that Liu Bei was a traitor to the Han Dynasty, and that the Yuan family was not yet extinct.

When the message reached Ye City, Liu Bei was looking at the autumn grain account book sent by Jian Yong. He closed the account book.

Jia Xu stood to the side, holding the chess piece in his hand. "Yuan Tan's efforts to win over his old subordinates in Jidong will only make Yuan Shang more isolated. Those who refuse to surrender have gone to Yuan Tan's side, which is perfect for gathering our thorns together, making it easier to strike them down later."

Liu Bei looked at the map and tapped the location of Xindu with his finger. "Have Qian Zhao send men to keep a close eye on Yuan Tan. Report back every mile he expands his territory east of Ji."

Early October. Ye City. A north wind is blowing.

Jia Xu spread out the entire map of Ji Province on the table. The Wei Commandery, Zhao Commandery, and Julu Commandery in the south were marked with blue, the Zhongshan Commandery in the north was marked with gray, and the Hejian and Bohai Commanderies in the east were marked with black.

He pointed to the black area to the east. "Yuan Tan still has five or six thousand men in Jidong. Yuan Shang has less than two thousand under Zhongshan. If we divide our forces now to attack Jidong, we'll have to spare at least twenty thousand men. There are less than twenty thousand men left in Yecheng. Yuan Shang is still in the north, Cao Cao has just swallowed most of Qingzhou in the south, and Xiahou Dun in Pingyuan County can step west at any time."

Twenty thousand men are enough to defend Ye City, but if Cao Cao advances from the south, the supply route between Ye City and Liyang will be cut off. Once the supply route is cut off, our men in Ye City will be surrounded and wiped out.

He paused, then drew a line between Zhongshan and Jidong with his finger. "First, stabilize Yecheng. When the river ice melts next spring, grain ships can transport grain directly from the Yellow River to the outskirts of Yecheng. Then, we can kick Yuan Shang of Zhongshan to the north and take over Jidong to the east. By then, with ample food and troops, we can reclaim the entire Bohai and Hejian region in one battle."

Liu Bei stared at the map in silence for a moment. "Next spring. First attack Zhongshan, then attack Jidong."

Zhang Fei spoke up from the side. "Brother, I can't stand that brat Yuan Tan calling himself the Governor of Ji Province in Xindu. Give me five thousand men, and I'll go and drag him back."

Liu Bei said, "No rush. Let him run wild for a few more days."

Zhang Fei slammed his fist on the table and fell silent.

Jia Xu added, "There's one more thing. Shen Pei is imprisoned in a side courtyard, and he hasn't surrendered. Feng Ji also hasn't surrendered. These two are former officials of the Yuan family, and they have deep roots among the Hebei gentry. If we kill them, the Hebei gentry will lose heart. If we don't kill them, they'll be useful in the future. Once Hebei is completely pacified, they'll naturally understand."

Liu Bei said, "Keep him locked up. Treat him well with good food and drink, don't mistreat him."

October to December. Ye City.

The soup kitchen remained open. Jian Yong had a notice posted at the city gate: the imperial court had exempted Ye City and surrounding counties from land taxes this year, and would reduce them by half next year. Farmers squatted in front of the notice to listen, and after listening, some stood up, patted their behinds, and said they would go home and repair their plows.

Officials from all counties were summoned to Ye City for a meeting. Liu Bei did not give a long speech, but only said one sentence: "You should manage your own small plot of land, and the court should manage taxes and soldiers. Report disasters and grievances."

The resettlement of displaced people was handled by Jian Yong, who led civil officials to various villages. Four camps for displaced people were set up around Ye City, each housing about a thousand people. At the beginning of winter, 30,000 shi of grain were transferred from Luoyang and distributed to the granaries of various prefectures. After registering, the displaced people received winter rations, consisting of two meals of porridge a day, sometimes with a little salt added.

Zhang He recruited soldiers for the Jizhou camp, including more than three thousand local farm boys. He set up a registration tent at the camp gate, and many people lined up for an entire day.

Shen Pei was imprisoned in a small courtyard in the north of the city. There was a well and a jujube tree in the courtyard. Shen Pei sat inside every day, sometimes getting up to walk around the courtyard a couple of times before returning to his seat. Liu Bei visited him once, through the window. Shen Pei heard footsteps, glanced outside, and then turned his head back inside.

Feng Ji was also locked in a side courtyard. Jian Yong asked him about the grain registers of Ye City several times, and Feng Ji handed over the remaining volumes in the cellar.

At the end of December, a heavy snow fell on Ye City. The snow completely covered the old camps and charred fences outside the city. People squatted by the stoves in the soup kitchens, drinking porridge, white steam rising from their bowls. The stone lions at the entrance of the governor's mansion were obscured by the snow. Liu Bei stood by the window and looked out; Ye City was a blanket of white.