Chapter 281: Northern and Southern Provinces

Guo Jia just laughed out loud.

To be honest, he has been envious of Jia Xu and Li Ru's working conditions for a long time.

Moreover, he dared to swear that not only him, but also the few people who knew Jia Xu's previous resume well, including Cheng Yu and Xu Shu, all envied Jia Xu's current retirement life.

Although it was indeed not easy for Jia Xu to go to Dong Zhuo first, how to say it?

If they can rest assured after finishing this round and be credited with a great achievement by the Lord, then it is not impossible for them to take some acting courses and try this extremely challenging job.

But now, as there are many things going on in Guanzhong, Jia Xu has to be directly dispatched back, and Guo Jia is again looking forward to a good show.

However, when he heard that Qiao Yan treated Jia Xu to work four days and rest two days, he began to envy him again.

"In fact, I think I can also go to Yuan Benchu ​​for help..." Guo Jia met Qiao Yan's warning eyes before he finished speaking. He coughed lightly and said, "It's just a joke. You can't go to their house and claim to be a relative just because there is a Guo Tu there, right?"

He's not bored.

Although they all came from Yingchuan and had the same surname Guo, people with the same surname in the same region may not be related at all.

It would not be credible for him, the Chief Clerk of the Grand Marshal's Office, to pretend to surrender to the enemy.

He should go for the summons first.

It’s just a pity that I didn’t get to see with my own eyes what kind of scene it would be like when Jia Xu and Li Ru argued over who was better in the performance of the two Qiao sisters.

It was inevitable that Jia Xu would return to Chang'an and be re-employed.

A year had passed since Dong Zhuo's death. Nowadays, people in Guanzhong no longer discussed how Qiao Yan had advanced to Chang'an. Instead, the topic was replaced by the new emperor's ascension to the throne, the new road in Chang'an, and the content of the drinking party. Jia Xu was not the culprit of the turmoil in the Han court, so even if he returned, he would not cause any waves.

The same goes for Li Ru. It has been quite a while since he was captured by Qiao Yan, enough for people to forget his special status under Dong Zhuo in his early years.

However, whether or not people will remember you is different from whether or not you want to come.

Anyway, being in Shangjun would not affect their ability to give advice to Qiao Yan, or even seize some necessary opportunities to make outstanding contributions.

Why must we go to the muddy quagmire of Chang'an?

But everyone is in the same situation, how can one person get a job while the other continues to be unemployed?

From Guo Jia's point of view, in order to drag Li Ru into the water, Jia Xu must have argued for the merits of his disciple. Li Ru probably did the same. Judging from the two's eloquence, the conversation would probably be very interesting...

Guo Jia sighed with regret.

If the confrontation and verbal battles in Shangjun were exciting, the turmoil in Yecheng was also very interesting.

After receiving the news from Qiao Yan that General Qu Yi, the General of the Eastern Expedition, had begun mobilizing troops and seemed to be planning to march into Jizhou via the Eight Passes of Taihang Mountains, Yuan Shao immediately gathered all his advisers and generals.

Just as Qiao Yan guessed, her high efficiency in mobilizing troops in her early years was enough to cause other forces to have a wrong perception of her -

As long as conditions permit, her large-scale marches every year can defeat her enemies with devastating force.

Now, the news of Bingzhou's troop deployment is undoubtedly a signal of declaring war!

It is still an extremely dangerous signal.

The only thing that made Yuan Shao feel fortunate was that among the things Yuan Xi gained from his trip to Chang'an, horseshoes had already been made here because of the lowest technical threshold. From June to July, all the cavalry troops under his command were armed.

If a cavalry encounter really occurred, the strain on his horse would be greatly reduced.

As the autumn harvest is approaching, part of the stored grain in the government treasury can be allocated to serve as military rations, eliminating the pressure of food for the march.

But this could not change the fact that when Yuan Shao heard the news that Qiao Yan had chosen to send troops at this time, his first reaction was not anger at being treated as a prey by her, but -

anxiety.

This anxiety was also clearly seen by the subordinates who came here later.

However, none of them could blame Yuan Shao for his mentality. After Yuan Xi sent the enemy's stuff from Chang'an to Yecheng, this gap was clearly displayed in front of everyone, and they could not ignore it.

Fortunately, Yuan Shao was now asking how to respond instead of how to counterattack and win, which made everyone present feel a little calmer.

"Speaking of which, isn't the timing of sending troops too coincidental?" Shen Pei spoke first. "We learned a few days ago that Tao Qian died in Xia Pi County and Xuzhou fell into a state of civil strife. Today, troops from Bingzhou are stationed in Taihang Mountains and are ready to march forward."

"You mean... Tao Gongzu's death is related to Qiao Yeshu?" Yuan Shao asked.

"That's not the case." Shen Pei shook his head. "What I mean is, is there a possibility that Xuzhou, as one of the few states that was affiliated with the Yecheng court, could have provided support to you, but the death of Tao Gongzu left you with one less helper, which is why Chang'an decided to send troops at this time?"

"If that's the case, the enemy is obviously farther away from Xuzhou than us, but they obviously got the news earlier than us, which is why they were able to mobilize troops so quickly."

Yuan Shao frowned.

Although it is not yet known how much help Xuzhou can provide him, it has indeed responded to him in name.

If the currently turbulent Xuzhou is not counted, even if the less obedient Youzhou is included, there are only four states.

But the Han Dynasty has thirteen states!

Precisely because the difference in strength became more and more obvious at this time, Qiao Yan sent out his troops without even waiting for the autumn harvest!

That makes total sense.

He is also right about another situation.

It takes time from receiving the news of Tao Qian's death to deciding to send troops, and then to sending the military report to Bingzhou for Qu Yi to dispatch military forces. Therefore, Qiao Yan must have learned about Tao Qian's death much earlier than Yuan Shao.

It would be impossible for her to do this unless she was fully aware of every move in Xuzhou and paid close attention to it.

She treated Xuzhou like this, so what about Jizhou?

Yuan Shao felt alert, knowing that Shen Pei's mention of this at this time should still make him cautious so as not to let his preparations for the battle be leaked.

He said, "There are two most strategic passes connecting Jizhou and Bingzhou, one at Fukou Pass and the other at Jingxing Pass. I intend to have two people lead their troops to station there, and then choose another person to patrol back and forth between the two passes to find loopholes and fill gaps, or find an opportunity to cut into Bingzhou and disrupt the opponent's offensive. I wonder if you have any suggestions?"

Ju Su replied: "In the current situation, it is better to defend instead of attack. Bingzhou chose this time to attack, which is both disadvantageous and advantageous to you. As long as you are willing to endure the reluctance this time and temporarily block the opponent's attack with the mountain terrain, it will actually damage the opponent."

Qiao Yan has been invincible since he launched his military campaign, and this has almost become an inherent perception.

Therefore, even if Yuan Shao did not defeat her once, as long as she could hold the defense, she would be able to build up her confidence.

Defense is much easier than counterattack, especially -

Now they have an extra person suitable for defense.

It was Gao Shun who was brought back by Ju Su and his entourage from Yuzhou.

For Yuan Shao, this is indeed a trustworthy candidate.

But before Ju Shou could express this suggestion, he suddenly heard someone outside shouting "Urgent news from Yuzhou", interrupting what Ju Shou was about to say.

Yuan Shao immediately signaled to temporarily interrupt the original agenda and let the news, which was classified as urgent, be delivered to him first.

Upon hearing the urgent news from Yuzhou, Yuan Shao subconsciously thought of Yuan Shu.

This guy had broken his leg earlier due to the attack by Ju Shou and Gao Shun, but based on Yuan Shao's understanding of Yuan Shu, a broken leg would not be enough to make Yuan Shu stop. Instead, it would make him vent his emotions in other ways because he would lose those enjoyable activities that he could do outside.

Is his hand still okay? Then you can also write something like "Shao is not the son of Yuan."

His mouth can still speak, right? Then you can still curse.

This is what Yuan Shao thought when Jian Yong, the envoy sent by Liu Bei, was brought to him.

He even felt that Yuan Shu had made progress this time. At least he knew how to spread rumors at close range, leaving him no chance to intercept the letter.

However, as soon as Jian Yong opened his mouth, Yuan Shao realized that he was wrong.

Jian Yong said that the scholars of Xuzhou approached Liu Bei and hoped that Liu Bei would be appointed as the governor of Xuzhou.

The expression on Yuan Shao's face suddenly became interesting.

When he had used Liu Bei as a thug to deal with Yuan Shu, he never thought that because Yuzhou, Peiguo and Xuzhou were adjacent, Liu Bei would get such a benefit for nothing.

But not to mention that Yuan Shao did not expect this, when Chen Deng rushed to Yuzhou and appeared in front of Liu Bei, Liu Bei had not expected that such a situation would occur.

Liu Bei was already shocked by Tao Qian's death, and the turmoil in Xuzhou also made him realize that a power could quickly fall apart and become independent. The suggestion to drag him into the situation made Liu Bei lose his composure.

After recovering from the news, Liu Bei immediately rejected Chen Deng's proposal.

According to the plan he made for his future, he should gradually defeat Yuan Shu's forces in Yuzhou, conquer and expand the territory step by step, and start as a county governor or be promoted to the governor of Yuzhou based on his military exploits. In the end, he would move forward step by step.

This kind of promotion is enough to offset the weaknesses in his early resume.

But what is going on now?

Xuzhou suddenly has no master, and he hopes to airdrop there?

Firstly, this would seem like taking advantage of someone's misfortune. Secondly...if he really took over this position, this sudden promotion would inevitably cause some problems in the coordination between him and Xuzhou.

To say that Liu Bei was not tempted by the position of Governor of Xuzhou would be to overestimate his status as a person without any desires.

Since his youth he had loved dogs, horses, music, and fine clothes, and he still retained some of these habits, but he knew better than some people who were controlled by desire what he could obtain through his own abilities.

The position of Xuzhou Mu is obviously a piece of gorgeous clothing that is exquisite but may not fit well.

But Chen Deng said two things to him.

One of them is the statement guessed by Qiao Yan.

He moved out the people of Xuzhou.

Liu Bei was not from Xuzhou, and he had no clear understanding of the extent of harm caused by the Buddhism preached by Zuo Rong in Xuzhou.

But he had witnessed the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the past.

When Chen Deng spoke to Liu Bei in a tone so serious that no one would suspect that there was any falsehood in it, about the unconditional trust and dedication of the people in Guangling County of Xuzhou to Zuo Rong, about the special corvée system in Guangling and the Buddhist temples and pagodas built there, and about the military rations stolen by Zuo Rong in Pengcheng and Xia Pi, Liu Bei could not help but form some associations, and his face became serious.

Then he heard Chen Deng ask: "General, you can't bear to see the people of Pei State involved in the war, and would rather urge the people to do things first and then confront Yuan Gonglu, but can you bear to see the people of Xuzhou fall into dire straits?"

The second is that Chen Deng said that Liu Bei had joined the army since his early years, but now he was just a general with no political power, driven by others and acting as a vanguard. He had powerful generals like Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, but he could not develop his power in a large territory. In the final analysis, it was because -

He was neither like Qiao Yan who could foresee the future and figure out a way out of the difficulties, nor was he like Yuan Shao who had so many counselors around him to plan for him.

In theory, Liu Bei's development process could not be considered a life of wandering and moving around, but when he heard Chen Deng's words, he couldn't help but be moved.

In particular, Chen Deng followed up by saying that Liu Bei was now in Yuzhou. It should not be difficult for the scholars in Yingchuan and Runan counties to come and join him if they had high hopes for him. However, they either went north to submit to Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, or went west to Chang'an to serve under Qiao Yan. Which one of them would come to Liu Bei to help him in his time of need?

No!

The only person who could be called an adviser to Liu Bei was Jian Yong, who was also from Zhuo County and whom he had known since his youth.

Unfortunately, he is better at debate than strategy.

Chen Deng then added that this situation occurred because most scholars, when seeking a place to be entrusted to themselves, would not only evaluate the potential and character of the lord, but would also look at how scholars with similar or different conditions were treated under the other party.

Since Liu Bei had no one under his command, how could he attract more people?

But now it is different. The scholars in Xuzhou are willing to make this beginning and are even willing to promote Liu Bei to the position of Mu of Xuzhou.

They only wanted Liu Bei to do two things:

First, he quickly dispatched troops to Xuzhou to suppress the rebellion of Zuo Rong in the southern part of Xuzhou and restore peace and stability to the people of Xuzhou.

Second, he cannot let down the Xuzhou scholars who have helped him today.

Chen Deng's remarks were like a powerful medicine that pierced Liu Bei's heart and lungs.

He entrusted the lives of the common people of Xuzhou and presented the sincerity of the Xuzhou scholars in front of him. How could Liu Bei say no?

The only thing he said was that although he was moved by the request of the Xuzhou scholars, he could not rashly send troops to Xuzhou without permission, and he had to inform the court in Yecheng about this matter.

Chen Deng accepted Liu Bei's proposal, but he also had a request: it had to be done quickly.

Military situation is like putting out a fire. If the garrison in Xuzhou did not reach the Huai River in time, and Zuo Rong went straight to the provincial capital, who knows how many of the scholars willing to support Liu Bei would be left in the end.

So Jian Yong quickly rushed to Yecheng with Liu Bei's handwritten letter, the petition of the Xuzhou scholars, and the letter of resignation written by Tao Shang and stamped with Tao Qian's provincial seal.

Yuan Shao was speechless for a moment when looking at this complete information.

If he was still in the original stable situation, he might have the capital to feel that Liu Bei was not qualified to sit on the position of governor!

How could such a ridiculous thing happen in the world?

But at this moment, Qiao Yan's soldiers in Bingzhou were ready to march, and Shen Pei had just said that Qiao Yan's mobilization of troops was most likely due to the death of the governor of Xuzhou, which left Yuan Shao without support. So now that Liu Bei can replace Tao Qian as the governor of Xuzhou and still stand on his side, isn't this also a blessing?

Yuan Shao's expression changed again and again. When he turned around, he saw the eyes of his advisers approving of this matter, and he suppressed his unwillingness.

He looked at Jian Yong in front of him and said, "I will ask your majesty for permission tomorrow."

Let him take another night to calm down.

When Yuan Shao thought that his former vanguard would soon become a governor on equal footing with him due to changes in the situation, he felt like vomiting blood.

Or perhaps, this idea was also due to the threats that Qiao Yan had repeatedly posed to him.

What he didn't know was that when Jian Yong was settled in the post house in Yecheng by his subordinates, a group of special guests also arrived in Chang'an.

The person in the lead was Zhang Yi's subordinate.

The journey from Xuzhou to Chang'an is much farther than that from Xuzhou to Yecheng. These people could only travel day and night with two horses each, and finally appeared in front of Qiao Yan at the earliest possible time.

Qiao Yan, who had been waiting for this moment, did not delay at all and directly reported the matter to Liu Yu. Afterwards, Chang'an urgently convened a meeting of important officials in the court.

After hearing about this series of unexpected developments in Xuzhou, even the usually steady Lu Zhi was a little confused. When they heard that Zhang Yi voluntarily requested to return to the court in Chang'an and raise an army to eliminate Zuo Rong, and that Yangzhou was willing to send troops to assist, everyone's eyes were on Qiao Yan.

The heroic feat of Qiao Yan shooting the governor with an arrow was brought up directly in the court by Emperor Ling of Han, so it's no wonder that they still remember it vividly.

"What are you looking at me for?" Qiao Yan raised his eyebrows. "It is a great honor to admit one's mistakes and then improve. If I still wanted to settle the matter with him, why would I ask His Majesty to convene this urgent meeting?"

This nonchalant tone made people feel that the conflict between her and Zhang Yi in the past might have been just one of them pouring a glass of water on the other.

Then they saw Qiao Yan step out and bow to Liu Yu. "Although Xuzhou is not a dangerous place, it is also the territory of the Han Dynasty. Zhang Zitai, the former governor of Guangling, dared to take on the heavy responsibility, denounced Zuo Rong, and recovered Xuzhou. It is appropriate to reward him with the title of governor of Xuzhou. If Your Majesty is worried that Xuzhou and Yangzhou are located in remote areas and are out of reach, it is inevitable that there will be chaos. You may set up a garrison at the border of the two states for supervision purposes."

She swept her eyes over Zhang Yi's subordinates who were still somewhat nervous, and said, "North of the Yangtze River estuary, there is a city called Hailing. In my opinion, we can station troops there to show the power of our Chang'an court!"