He originally intended to surrender to Wei, so why did he end up restoring Han?

Chapter 106, Year 198 (Part 2)

Yes, after many nights of deep thought, Sun Ce finally realized that as long as he could seize enough and quickly from others, his regime could continue.

He set his sights on the easiest target in the surrounding area: Hua Xin of Yuzhang County. In his eyes, Hua Xin was nothing more than a pedantic scholar who had read a few Confucian classics; he, the Little Tyrant, could easily beat him to a pulp, and dealing with him would be a piece of cake.

The main reason is that among the many forces surrounding Sun Ce, this one seems to be the easiest to defeat.

Sun Ce's generals were quite enthusiastic about this attack plan, as it was another great opportunity to showcase their skills. Even if Zhou Yu and the others wanted to advise against it, they couldn't bring themselves to do so; they had already rejected Sun Ce's proposals many times, and it would be impolite to reject them again.

Upon learning that Sun Ce was preparing to launch another campaign, every household in Jiangdong prayed that God would bring disaster upon Sun Ce, even if it meant their own deaths. They said that the bastard was no longer human.

The three commanderies of Jiangdong waited and waited for one difficult day after another. Perhaps even the heavens could bear to see it, for Yuzhang, which Sun Ce considered the biggest loophole in the encirclement of Jiangdong, was now receiving an epic reinforcement.

The reason why Yuzhang Commandery was singled out from the four commanderies of Jiangdong is because the current governor of Yuzhang, Hua Xin, is actually doing well. In September of the second year of Jian'an, Taishi Ci led his more than a thousand troops out of the mountains of Jiangdong.

Previously, due to his hasty Northern Expedition, Sun Ce did not have a spectacular duel with Taishi Ci as in history, and thus failed to forge a friendship that blossomed from a fight. After Liu Yao's defeat and escape, Taishi Ci could only hide in the mountains to try to find a way out. After experiencing many hardships such as ambushes, assassinations, deceptions, and betrayals, Taishi Ci finally succeeded in reaching Yuzhang.

At first, the garrison of Poyang City in Yuzhang Commandery saw a group of people dressed like beggars marching out of the mountains and assumed that an elite Yue tribe was attacking the city again. They hurriedly closed the city gates and prepared for battle. It wasn't until Taishi Ci sent an envoy with a token that the misunderstanding was cleared up.

Taishi Ci originally wanted to continue working under his old superior, but when he arrived, he found that his old superior had already decomposed into dust, and the current person in charge was Hua Xin, the Prefect of Yuzhang. Having no other choice, he had to continue working for Hua Xin.

Taishi Ci's arrival directly filled the gap in Hua Xin's combat strength. Previously, he was worried that he didn't have any capable generals on his side, and that he wouldn't be able to withstand Sun Ce's arrival. Now, the only one who could fight Sun Ce to a standstill was Taishi Ci, which was enough.

Hua Xin personally admired Taishi Ci, a loyal and righteous man who refused to surrender to the enemy even after losing his leader, preferring to stay in the mountains. This is the kind of righteous man that only existed in the Spring and Autumn Period!

Therefore, in dealing with Taishi Ci, Hua Xin did not try to have the best of both worlds like Liu Yao. Instead, he immediately recommended Taishi Ci for the high-ranking position of Commandant of Yuzhang, which moved Taishi Ci to tears. Taishi Ci expressed his intention to support Hua Xin in the future.

After strengthening its military power, Hua Xin's economic strength also developed rapidly.

Liu Bei's Yangtze River trade network passed through Yuzhang, and Yuzhang seized the opportunity to develop Chaisang into a service station where merchants could stop to replenish supplies and rest. This arrangement not only helped the merchants but also allowed them to ride the economic wave of Xuzhou.

Merchants don't consider anything else; they want to make money as long as there is profit. Yuzhang is still a blue ocean market, with not many other forces establishing themselves here, so they are very willing to do business here.

If the first two moves were something that an ordinary person could do, then the subsequent actions directly showed that Hua Xin's methods were many times superior to those of warlords like Liu Xun.

Although Yuzhang and Xuzhou were closely connected economically, Hua Xin did not blindly side with Liu Bei in governance. Instead, he actively befriended Liu Biao of Jingzhou and became Liu Biao's vassal at a very high level.

Because of Hua Xin's reputation as a renowned scholar, Liu Biao could not treat him the same way he treated other vassals. He could only treat the envoy from Yuzhang well and give him the highest level of freedom. Liu Biao did this for no other reason than to make Hua Xin speak well of him in front of the people.

It must be said that Liu Biao was truly skilled at cultivating vassals. The area surrounding his directly controlled territory was basically filled with his henchmen. From Zhang Xiu, Liu Xun, and Huang Zu to the newly recruited Hua Xin, from Nanyang to Yuzhang, from Wancheng to Chaisang, an iron curtain descended across the Han Dynasty.

Other warlords who wanted to fight Liu Biao had to fight these puppets first. However, these vassal puppets were not Liu Biao's core strength, so even if they suffered heavy losses, Liu Biao didn't care.

For Liu Biao, the best outcome would be for his enemies and his vassals to fight to the death.

As the saying goes, kill the external enemy to eliminate external troubles, and kill the vassals to eliminate internal strife.

By the end of October of the second year of Jian'an, Hua Xin had greatly strengthened the overall strength of Yuzhang through a series of measures, and at the same time, Yuzhang had truly transformed into a small state.

In terms of governance, nominally submitting to Jingzhou meant he had gained the recognition and protection of Liu Biao's regime. Any power that wanted to harm him had to consider whether it was prepared to go to war with the powerful Liu Biao of Jingzhou. This relationship gave him an extremely strong deterrent.

Economically, riding the wave of Xuzhou's economic boom made Yuzhang Commandery wealthy. A prosperous Yuzhang could not only pay substantial tribute to Liu Biao on time to solidify relations, but also afford to support Taishi Ci's elite troops. At the same time, attacking a region with close trade ties to Xuzhou would anger Liu Bei, potentially leading to economic sanctions or even military intervention, significantly increasing the cost of attacking him.

Militarily, possessing Taishi Ci and a tough, hardworking elite force meant that Hua Xin was no longer a sitting duck. Anyone who wanted to annex him would have to pay a heavy military price, which deterred potential invaders.

This series of high-level operations also brought him considerable rewards.

He never betrayed the Han Dynasty, and every now and then he would send tribute to Liu Xie, though the amount was small, it was a token of his respect.

In the Han Dynasty, a nation that valued reputation, this was an extremely valuable asset for governance. The people of the world praised him, saying, "He did not change his principles even in chaotic times," which made him morally invincible.

At the same time, he did not participate in the warlord conflicts, but instead protected the borders and people, and helped the people become wealthy through trade. This contrasted sharply with the scenes of constant warfare in other regions, making Hua Xin a breath of fresh air in a chaotic world, and winning the heartfelt support of the people of Yuzhang and widespread praise from the literati.

Most importantly, he retained considerable initiative, and no matter how the world changes in the future, he still has the ability to make choices.

If Liu Bei eventually gains power, he will be a close trading partner, since he has never been Liu Bei's enemy.

If Cao Cao or Yuan Shao had unified the north, he could have directly submitted to the central government as a Han official without any burden.

Even if Liu Biao wins in the end, he can still occupy a high position by virtue of being a very obedient vassal.

In comparison, while Liu Xun's group in Huainan may not be considered to be rising again, it can at least be said to be making some progress.

Unlike the bountiful harvest in Hebei, Huainan experienced an unprecedented drought, with no rain for several months, exposing the riverbeds of some rivers. Under the impact of this severe drought, even drinking water became a problem for some residents, let alone agricultural production, which was severely threatened.

Grain production has hit a record low, barely enough to supply next year's seed crop. This is practically equivalent to a total crop failure, meaning all the work done this year has been for nothing.

Faced with this situation, warlords like Liu Xun were completely unable to handle it. Firstly, they lacked the awareness to deal with it; they didn't care at all how the people on this land were supposed to live. They only cared about whether the taxes they demanded could be collected and deposited into the treasury in a timely manner.

Secondly, he lacked the economic strength. Liu Xun only occupied Lujiang and half of Jiujiang Commandery, both of which had been extensively cultivated by Yuan Shu, resulting in a large exodus of laborers. Only a few old folks remained who would rather die than leave. Under such circumstances, Liu Xun was unable to fulfill his task of ensuring the amount of arable land. To expect him to lead the people in resisting natural disasters was truly the absurd talk of eunuchs.

Thirdly, Liu Xun had no water conservancy experts under his command, and no one gave him advice such as, "My lord, what facilities should we build in which places?" So when disaster struck, he didn't even know what the problem was.

This natural disaster also affected Xuzhou, but a large number of water conservancy facilities have been built in the Huai River basin of Xuzhou.

Various reservoirs ensure that there is still water for agricultural irrigation during the dry season, so the impact of this natural disaster on Xuzhou is almost negligible.

Liu Hua was finally ready to leave. He had been hoping that Liu Bei's army would come quickly to rescue him, and he had even planned how to promote himself to Liu Bei. But Liu Bei really only came for a short visit, occupied a few small cities vacated by Sun Ce, and then withdrew.

This left Liu Ye both disappointed and satisfied. Liu Bei knew when to stop, a truly rare quality. He knew his limits and wouldn't blindly pursue unrealistic goals. Unlike Liu Xun, who was already calculating how to spend his money before even winning the lottery.

But this means he will have to continue wasting his time under Liu Xun, this rude and low-intelligence warlord. When will Liu Hua be able to truly demonstrate his abilities?

Lu Su, whom Lu Wan and the others had been searching for for a long time without success, was also with Liu Xun, but he had not taken up an official post there. In his view, having a record of working under Liu Xun was a stain on his resume, and Liu Xun, lacking the ability to judge character, naturally couldn't see any talent in Lu Su.

He himself had a good impression of Liu Bei, but he was unable to go to Xuzhou due to the chaos of war in Huainan. Once the situation stabilized, he began to think about how to join Liu Bei's side.

Previously, his good friend Zhou Yu had also written to invite him to join Sun Ce in building his great cause, but Lu Su politely declined with a direct reply. Given Sun Ce's current demonstrated competence in domestic affairs, joining him now would be seen as someone who feels their early life has been too smooth and wants to push themselves a little harder.

While internal instability was rampant, external problems also emerged. Liu Biao's patience with Liu Xun gradually waned during this period. Liu Biao could understand when his vassals were disobedient, as few of his vassals were honest. However, Liu Xun had been gone for so long without handing over any of his income as protection money or sending any hostages to Xiangyang.

This greatly displeased Liu Biao. Hua Xin didn't send hostages because of their good relationship; Zhang Xiu didn't send hostages because he was a good fighter; Huang Zu didn't send hostages because he couldn't defeat him. What kind of person is Liu Xun?

Therefore, faced with the drought and impending famine in Liu Xun's occupied territories, Liu Biao did not even want to allocate funds for symbolic relief, but simply watched the situation in Huainan fester.

The New Year period was supposed to pass quietly, but things didn't stay peaceful. A major event, which Lu Wan believed was bound to happen, occurred in Xuzhou, though no one had noticed it yet.

After entrusting the three cities of Zhongli, Yicheng, and Yinling to Liu Qi for management, Liu Bei ordered Zhang Fei and Zhang Liao to lead their troops to Dongcheng to continue their work there.

Zhang Fei was very dissatisfied with this decision. These three cities were of great military significance. Controlling them would allow them to form a defensive position and become a bridgehead for advancing south.

As a result, it was handed over to a complete stranger, a silly kid, without any prior knowledge. Isn't this just child's play?

However, at that time they still needed to improve the defenses here and try to restore local production, so they had no way to go back and talk to Liu Bei about this matter in person.

In terms of governance ability, Zhang Fei was actually inferior to Zhang Liao. Therefore, Zhang Fei boldly delegated authority to Zhang Liao, saying, "I'm entrusting the construction to you. Don't worry, just do it. Since your second brother values ​​you so much, it means you really have some skills."

Zhang Fei wasn't trying to slack off; he was quite proactive and diligent in helping his elder brother. However, given the size of the territory and the fact that Zhang Liao was constantly being attacked by local officials from Xuzhou, he also needed to find a way to help Zhang Liao gain some seniority.

Zhang Liao also valued this opportunity highly and conducted a very detailed investigation into the geographical features of Huainan in order to facilitate the implementation of subsequent tasks.

Soon, Zhang Liao discovered some problems during his field visits, compiled them, and added his own opinions and suggestions, eventually writing a thick letter.