Chapter 129 There is...
Borrow grain from Qiao Yan? It was thanks to Yuan Shao that he came up with this idea.
Lu Zhi felt extremely embarrassed just thinking that Qiao Yan was able to deploy 20,000 to 30,000 troops on the south bank of the Yellow River to threaten Dong Zhuo, while he could only dispatch 2,000 to 3,000 people, most of whom were Liu Bei's followers. He could only gather here with these people who sent troops from various places to discuss how to break through Xuanmen Pass.
Yuan Shao was not polite at all and actually wanted to borrow food from Qiao Yeshu!
But if you think about it, it is indeed a fact that the army here is short of food.
Liu Dai, Kong Rong, and Zhang Miao were all appointed by Dong Zhuo as prefects and governors. It was true that they had only been in office for a short time, relying entirely on their reputation as celebrities and the righteousness of attacking Dong Zhuo. Qiao Mao, Sun Jian, Bao Xin and others had been in office for a little longer, but the harvests in various parts of the Central Plains in recent years had been nothing but mediocre. Although the situation was better than the earlier drought, it was normal that there was no surplus grain in the treasury.
The only two people who could be said to have sufficient military supplies here were Bao Xin and Qiao Mao. One of them was the Prime Minister of Jibei and the other was the Prefect of Dongjun. Together they had more than 5,000 grain carts.
Of course, this number is actually exaggerated.
In order to reassure the soldiers here, the bottom of the grain carts was filled with grass and stones, and the real military rations were placed on the top.
These rations are indeed insufficient to supply the entire army with food.
But this is definitely not a reason for Yuan Shao to take advantage of Qiao Yan at this time!
Seeing Lu Zhi's expression of fear, as if he was about to open his mouth to argue, Yuan Shao continued, "Lord Lu, I am not deliberately making things difficult for the younger generation, but you have seen the current situation. First, there was friction between Sun Wentai and Zhang Ziyi, which ended with Zhang Ziyi's death. In the past few days, the friction between Liu Yanzhou and Qiaodong County was mostly due to the soldiers' need for food. If we rashly let them join forces to attack Chenggao at this time, if the plan fails, I am afraid that further disputes will lead to civil strife at any time. By then, we will not be able to eliminate the bandits, but will instead be treated as prey by others."
"I also know that asking Qiao Bingzhou to give more food is really difficult for her, but she defeated the Xianbei twice before and brought back a lot of loot, so her soldiers have meat to eat. She also set up a military settlement on the Baidao River. Even though the border area is poor and the harvest is poor, it is actually her own military rations..."
"If we can defeat the thief Dong, and go back to other places to take up new posts, supervise people's livelihood and restore farmland, we will definitely repay her double. This is also a last resort."
Yuan Shao's words sounded very high-sounding. If Qiao Yan knew that he used military rations as a pretext, he might have praised him for being able to find excuses.
Who made the dispute between Yanzhou Governor Liu Dai and Dongjun Prefect Qiao Mao over military rations actually lead to a bloody incident after the coalition forces were disbanded, ending with Qiao Mao's death.
However, it is not known whether Yuan Shao really delayed his advance due to lack of food or for other reasons.
He relied on the reputation of the Yuan family of Runan, so when he and Yuan Shu, one in the north and the other in the south, launched an attack on Dong Zhuo, it was no exaggeration to say that they received a hundred responses.
But what if we successfully capture Luoyang City?
The current emperor Liu Xie once fled because of Yuan's burning of the Nan Palace. Even Dong Zhuo's entry into the capital was more or less caused by Yuan Shao.
Even though the various changes were not what he could have predicted, after the emperor got rid of Dong Zhuo's constraints, he had a completely justifiable reason to settle accounts with the Yuan family.
Even if the emperor chose to continue to entrust the Yuan family with important tasks because of what the traitor Dong did and the accumulation of the Yuan family over the years—
But although Yuan Shao was adopted by his uncle and was considered a half-legitimate son, it was an indisputable fact that Yuan Shao had to be subordinate to his uncle because Yuan Ji, the real eldest son of the Yuan family, was still alive.
By then, it will be difficult for him to enjoy such treatment again.
Even though he was not crazy enough to hope that Yuan Ji would be killed by Dong Zhuo by killing Rao Longzong, Zhou Hui, Wu Qiong, Zhou Bi and others, he also hoped that he could gain more bargaining chips in this state and then achieve the goal of getting rid of the thief.
He was originally quite handsome, and when he said this, Lu Zhi was stunned for a moment.
But it was not that Lu Zhi could not say anything to refute Yuan Shao. It was simply because he could not convince the other party when the other party had already completed his own logical consistency.
"This is too shameless..." A voice suddenly came from the corner of the meeting room.
Yuan Shao looked in the direction of the voice and saw the face of a brave warrior who was also very calm. Seeing Yuan Shao looking at him, Zhang Fei was not intimidated by the other party's identity. Instead, he raised his voice and replied: "I am not wrong. You said that there is a loan and a return, but in this natural disaster, why don't people in Bingzhou store more food for themselves? Why do you have to exchange it for a promise that may not be fulfilled? It's not like you have nothing to do just to fill your stomach."
"Yide." Liu Bei reminded Zhang Fei to shut up.
Yuan Shao frowned, "Is this also what Xuande meant?"
Yuan Shao looked down on Liu Bei based on his status, but he was able to make friends with the horse merchants in Jizhou, and half of the people he brought with him were cavalry, only slightly less than the 700-plus cavalry of Jibei Xiang Bao Xin. This was enough for him to be the leader of a team who could communicate with everyone on an equal footing.
What's more, Lu Zhi is now the leader of the coalition, and Liu Bei, as his disciple, can naturally be regarded as his deputy.
Under such circumstances, Yuan Shao had to take Liu Bei's thoughts into consideration.
"If you want to hear the truth, then I can only say yes. Although I, Liu Bei, do not occupy a state like Marquis Qiao, I am not willing to ask for military rations from him for this reason. May I ask Benchu, if Marquis Qiao borrows military rations, will we share some of the credit with her after our successful march?"
Yuan Shao remained silent and did not answer.
If he were really asked to answer this question, the answer would probably be - no.
Military rations are military rations, and military merits are military merits. Yuan Shao made a clear distinction between the two.
Liu Bei asked again: "If Marquis Qiao is unwilling to lend the military rations, then Benchu will choose not to send troops for the time being. Should she bear the blame for the missed opportunity?"
This doesn’t seem to be a difficult question to answer. Yuan Shao himself would take the lead and find the best person to take the blame for not sending troops.
Liu Bei said this and bowed to Yuan Shao: "I can't change Benchu's mind. If Benchu still wants to borrow food from Marquis Qiao, please don't worry about my soldiers. I will naturally find a way to solve the problem of military food."
"Don't worry about me." Cao Cao said in a deep voice.
He thinks it's shameful to hang out with these people!
If it weren't for Zhang Fei's straightforwardness in expressing his thoughts first, Cao Cao would have spoken long ago.
How could it make sense for Qiao Yan to take the initiative to attack Dong Zhuo, provide them with the opportunity to fight, and also provide them with military rations!
He looked at several people in the tent and saw clearly the movements on their faces when they heard Yuan Shao's suggestion.
The East County Governor Qiao Mao was actually a relative of Qiao Yan, but he didn't even try to argue at this time, which made Cao Cao feel a little pathetic.
Cao Cao vaguely remembered that Qiao Yan had mentioned in the letters she exchanged with him that she had brought Qiao Mao's second daughter to Leping to study in order to maintain contact with the Qiao family of Yanzhou.
But this fragile connection is clearly not as important as the benefits that lie ahead.
Such a group of people...
Even if Lu Zhi, Liu Bei, and he were here, according to the coalition's rule of minority obeying majority, and the burden of denouncing the justice of Dong the traitor, there was no way they could dispel the idea of borrowing grain.
Cao Cao felt extremely disappointed.
If it was this kind of group of people who were trying to revive the Han Dynasty, would it really be possible for the Han Dynasty to revive?
Even if they beheaded Dong Zhuo and convicted him, who knows if another person as treacherous as Dong Zhuo will appear tomorrow!
This kind of greed may evolve into an evil spirit at any time!
Cao Cao thought of his previous conversation over wine with Qiao Yan in Yan Xili, and of her two, no, three, consecutive trips outside the border to attack the Hu people in order to maintain peace in Bingzhou. He felt that Ye Shu's actions were not worth it.
In this world, people like Lu Zhi who can give in for justice will only be regarded as good-natured people who can be bullied. People like Qiao Yan who guard the border and govern the people's livelihood will only be regarded as money bags that can be used to supply military rations.
So ridiculous!
Without even waiting for Yuan Shao to say anything else, he bowed to Lu Zhi and Liu Bei, then lifted the curtain and walked out.
If he stayed longer, he was afraid of hearing Yuan Shao say something due to the pressure of the current situation, which would make him respond with "this boy is not worthy of being a consultant".
Just as Cao Cao guessed, although a few people chose to withdraw from the request for military rations from Bingzhou Mu, when it was indeed feasible, this matter was still mentioned in the letter to Qiao Yan agreeing on the time of the attack.
After receiving the letter, Qiao Yan read it for a long time before she realized that she had been too shallow in her estimation of Yuan Benchu's shamelessness!
"I originally thought that he was just passively slacking off, or competing with Lord Lu for the position of leader, but I never thought..." Qiao Yan held the letter and turned to Jia Xu, Guo Jia and others, his face was speechless, "He is even blackmailing me?"
Jia Xu thought to himself that he had seen a lot of things in Liangzhou and Luoyang, but he had never seen anyone asking for military rations so confidently.
But when I think about the fact that the other party comes from the Yuan family, which has three generations of officials, it makes sense.
He asked, "So that's what Qiao Hou thinks?"
"Given the current situation, we still have to provide food." Qiao Yan replied with a serious face.
Naturally, she could also think of the same questions that Liu Bei would think of. Although the result she most hoped to see was that Yuan Shao and others were intercepted outside Xuanmen Pass when she successfully attacked Luoyang, she absolutely did not want to leave any handle for herself in front of others, so she could borrow the grain if Bingzhou could really afford it.
but--
"But the method of lending and the method of repaying the grain must be determined by us."
Did Yuan Shao forget that when she came to the capital to ask the emperor to promote General Du Liao, even though she was kind enough to reveal the emperor's plan to Yuan Shao, the one who benefited the most in the end was not General Han Fu, the General Du Liao, but Qiao Yan, the Governor of Bingzhou.
Because of this restriction, when Han Fu wanted to show his support for Yuan Shao and others in their uprising against Dong Zhuo, Qiao Yan detained him on the grounds that "the governor was away and wanted to do something illegal", and even transferred Qu Yi to the camp by the Yellow River.
Han Fu didn't dare to say a word against such behavior.
She has always been a person who would never let herself suffer any loss, so how could she let Yuan Shao take advantage of her!
"Fengxiao, I want you to go to the camp of the Suanzao Alliance." Qiao Yan said.
Guo Jia replied, "Yuan Shao is a man who likes to show off his achievements. Even if it is the food sent by you, he will probably tell the soldiers in the army that he got it himself. If you don't put a limit on this, it is hard to guarantee that all the credit will fall on Yuan Shao's head."
"This is one of them." In response to Yuan Shao's behavior of plotting against her, Qiao Yan tapped the table with her fingertips at a speed that seemed a little more hurried than usual.
But Guo Jia soon saw an unfathomable smile on her face, as if she had already found a way to restrict Yuan Shao.
She waved at Guo Jia and said, "Just do as I say."
Two days later, in the Suanzao camp, the envoy sent by Qiao Yan stood in front of Yuan Shao.
It was the fourth year of Zhongping when Guo Jia came to Leping. Now two years have passed. This young man, who is still one year away from officially coming of age, does not have to follow the rules because he serves under the governor of Bingzhou and travels outside.
The handsome young man, raised by the climate and soil of Bingzhou and the diet of Leping, bowed to Yuan Shao.
Although Yuan Shao was a bit shameless, he always showed respect to the wise and humble. Seeing that the envoy sent by Qiao Yan was a scholar with outstanding temperament and appearance, he seemed to attach great importance to this meeting and was very polite to him.
Since Lu Zhi and Liu Bei were unwilling to borrow grain from Qiao Yan and had already made their own preparations, Yuan Shao received Guo Jia alone to discuss the relevant matters of borrowing grain.
"Marquis Qiao means that since we are all contributing to the Han Dynasty, it would be fine for Bingzhou to provide more rice and grain. However, it is not the harvest season in Bingzhou yet, so all we can use is last year's stockpile. At most, we can only provide 50,000 dan."
Fifty thousand stones?
The number Guo Jia said far exceeded Yuan Shao's original estimate.
A hint of joy flashed across his face, but he still maintained a certain air of authority and replied, "Marquis Qiao has such a heart for the country, and he is truly a leader among the people of high ideals. If this battle can save the emperor from the hands of his enemies, Marquis Qiao will be credited with the greatest achievement."
Guo Jia complained in his heart, what kind of status do you, Yuan Benchu, have to make such a promise?
Even without considering this, Your Excellency does not need your superficial efforts. You must do something practical.
He thought so, and his face remained calm. He continued, "It is not difficult for us to take out these 50,000 stones from the place where we stationed our troops. However, Yuan Zhonglang also saw that my lord and Niu Fu were facing each other on the river. If there was any movement in the camp, it would still be noticed by the other party. If the matter of transporting grain and grass was told to the thief Dong, it would undoubtedly inform him of our intention to march forward."
Yuan Shao: "So what does Lord Qiao mean?"
Guo Jia replied, "It would be better if Marquis Qiao wrote a letter to order the governor of Shangdang County to transport the grain and grass from Fukou Pass, through Jizhou, and down to Suanzao. It would be closer and would not miss the opportunity to fight."
As for how they decide to spread the word along the way, that is their business.
If Yuan Shao's good friend He Yong was not in Luoyang at this time, being held hostage by Dong Zhuo, but was by his side, he should have sounded the alarm when he saw Guo Jia's relaxed and carefree behavior.
But at this moment, he didn't feel that the plan was coming to fruition. He only thought that once the food was in hand, he, as the person who made the suggestion, could also do the Allies a favor and it wouldn't hurt to let Qiao Yan take some advantage.
Yuan Shao replied: "It would be even better if it were so."
Guo Jia added, "In addition, Marquis Qiao meant that since it is a loan, it must be repaid. Although she is the governor of Bingzhou, she is not a vassal who controls a region in Bingzhou. The 50,000 dan of military rations could have been used to support the army outside the Great Wall. Now it is just a temporary measure to divert them. Fortunately, Yuan Zhonglang has a long history of fame and is the hope of the Central Plains. Since he mentioned in his letter that he would repay the loan, he should not break his promise."
"According to Marquis Qiao's idea, it would be troublesome to divide the repayment among many people. If Yuan Zhonglang doesn't mind, why don't you take on the 50,000 shi by yourself?"
Yuan Shao thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
Anyway, they had no intention of paying it back. It made no difference whether he was the only one who owed the money or each of them owed Qiao Yan a little.
With his reaction, the rest will be easier.
"but--"
Guo Jia cleared his throat, "Let me be frank. Right now, the primary task is to defeat Dong Zhuo. The governors of the various counties have just arrived. Even Yuan Benchu is now just a Tiger Guard Lieutenant General in name only. In this case, they have to wait until next autumn harvest to pay back the money. We in Bingzhou are not so unreasonable. We will ask them to return the money in September next year. But at least they have to give me a written document stating that they owe the money."
"Yuan Benchu is a family of three ministers for four generations, so I don't think he would default on his debts. But our family is poor and we still need a guarantee. We don't need to pay the interest until September next year, but if he delays the repayment for one day, I will trouble Yuan Benchu to add one grain of wheat to the 50,000 dan of military rations. If he delays for two days, I will add two grains. If he delays for three days, I will add four grains. If he delays for four days, I will add eight grains, and so on. If he breaches the contract, I will legitimately come to his house to ask for the money, and I will make him count for me!"
Yuan Shao was about to get angry when Guo Jia bowed to him and said, "This is what my lord said. If Yuan Zhonglang is willing to write this IOU, 50,000 dan of military rations will be delivered immediately without any delay."
"..." Yuan Shao was first choked by the words "a nominal Tiger Guard General", and then heard the strange rule of delayed return.
This delayed increase of one or two grains of wheat sounds like a joke. Compared with the 50,000 shi of military rations, these few grains of wheat are not even a fraction. I'm afraid the key point in this sentence is "count it for me"!
Qiao Yeshu is already sixteen years old this year. If she had changed her identity, she would be old enough to get married. How could she do such a childish thing!
But Yuan Shao had already planned to default on the debt, so it didn't matter even if she wrote eight or sixteen pills.
He thought for a moment and replied, "Then write it. Qiao Bingzhou's timely assistance is not easy, and I really can't let you suffer any loss."
Suffer a loss?
They didn't suffer any loss!
When Guo Jia was leaving the camp holding the document with Yuan Shao's official seal and signature, he ran into Cao Cao.
Cao Cao had seen Guo Jia before with Qiao Yan, during the martial arts competition, and he recognized him at this time.
"Qiao Bingzhou asked you to come here..."
Guo Jia replied: "I was asked to come and discuss the matter of sending grain with Yuan Zhonglang. Now it is important to capture Luoyang, and other matters are not important for the time being."
Cao Cao was stunned for a moment and sighed, "Ye Shu is indeed a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. I am not as good as her, but she has suffered a huge loss this time."
How could he not understand Yuan Shao's temper? At least you won't give back the benefits you get from others.
But he saw that Guo Jia's expression did not change, and he said: "I remember that Captain Cao and Yuan Zhonglang were close friends since childhood. If you don't mind my being presumptuous, I would like to ask Captain Cao a question."
"Just ask."
Guo Jia smiled meaningfully, "Has Yuan Zhonglang's arithmetic ability always been so poor?"
"......?" Cao Cao did not understand the purpose of this question.
Guo Jia obviously didn't want Cao Cao's answer and left the Suanzao camp directly.
When he set out from Mengjin to Suanzao, Qiao Yan's letter to send people to Shangdang to gather food had already been sent out. Guo Jia joined the grain-delivering team and then turned back.
During this period, Qiao Yan had exchanged letters with the Suanzao Allied Forces again, completely clarifying the time of the march.
The official attack on Luoyang was launched five days later.
That was June 13th of the first year of Guangxi.
It was the rainy season in Luoyang, and the water level of the Yellow River also rose significantly. Although the passes of Mengjin and Xiaopingjin did not extend the range to the flooded area.
However, these two places were not permanent checkpoints. In order to guard against Qiao Yan's army and expand the recruitment of military personnel, they had to deploy some soldiers outside the pass in the form of camps.
This is not a comfortable environment already, and it is muddy during the rainy season. If the drainage in the military camp is not done well, it will be even more unbearable.
Niu Fuxing had heard a lot of gossip in the military camp. It was said that they had been stationed here for nearly a month and a half, but they had not seen the joy of winning the battle. Instead, they felt the torture of camping here. However, the Prime Minister was living happily in the city of Luoyang. What was going on?
Even at the beginning of the month when there was no moonlight, the enemy did not take the opportunity to attack by boat, leaving them waiting for several nights in vain. Now they were afraid that they would not come even more.
Such complaints, compared with the soldiers on the other side who were running and training vigorously on the river bank, made people feel even more unbalanced.
But how could they know that, taking advantage of the slackness of the defenders at the two passes in guarding the river island, the soldiers under Qiao Yan had already practiced with sheepskin bags countless times at night on the section from the north bank of the river to the river island.
Although some of them did not know how to swim before, they could use a rope to tie something equivalent to a lifebuoy, and even the most incapable of swimming would have to learn to swim.
Now everything is ready!
Qiao Yan looked up at the sky.
Perhaps because it is going to rain again tomorrow, the sky is covered with dark clouds today, which just happens to cover up the moonlight completely.
What a perfect time and place!
As she raised her hand to signal, the handover signal in the camp was quickly transmitted silently.
The soldiers wearing leather armor and carrying weapons, just as they had done in their nighttime training, quickly ran towards the sheepskin bag that belonged to them, and then formed a group and headed out of the camp towards the west.
They needed to first run upstream for about eight miles carrying the sheepskin bags, then swim to the island in the middle of the river, and then go downstream.
Qiao Yan officially set off an hour later.
This was also the time she gave these soldiers to reach the island in the middle of the river, eat the dried meat they carried, and restore their strength.
At the same time as she issued her second order, two huge sheepskin rafts were carried to the shore and placed at a distance from the wooden boats, right in the opposite side's visual blind spot.
The sheepskin raft made of six hundred sheepskin bags can carry up to thirty tons, as tested by Qiao Yan.
This means that she can use these two sheepskin rafts to transport hundreds of heavy armored soldiers under her command to the other side.
Qiao Yan himself also boarded one of the sheepskin rafts.
The raft, equipped with three heavy oars at the front and back, entered the water with a somewhat dull sound.
But amid the whistling of the night wind and the sound of the surging river, this sound would never attract anyone's attention. At most, people would think it was just the sound of waves hitting the river bank.
Dian Wei and Qu Yi, who was ordered by Qiao Yan, each led 200 soldiers to board a raft and used the shields carried by the shield soldiers to block the attack.
Even after the raft was full of people, the sheepskin raft still floated steadily on the water.
After they stood still, in the solemnity where even the sound of armor was almost inaudible, Qiao Yan raised his hand and issued the third order.
sail!
Each heavy paddle requires two people to operate, which is the guarantee for this large raft to operate on the Yellow River.
Qiao Yan stood behind the first row of shields and looked forward. The Mang Mountain on the other side of the river was almost invisible in the dim night. The only thing that was clear was the faint flicker of fire above Mengjin Pass.
As the commander-in-chief, she should not have put herself in such a dangerous situation, but this battle of crossing the river could not be lost. She also needed to command the remaining troops to cross the river, as well as block the reinforcements from the direction of Xiaopingjin.
In this case, she must come here in person!
But by the time he reached the river, the only regret he had for personally supervising the battle had completely disappeared.
Who has ever seen such a way of crossing a river?
Under the gloomy sky tonight, there is no romance of "the waves carrying the moon away", only two large sheepskin rafts carrying iron-armored soldiers breaking through the waves.
In front of her, three thousand soldiers carrying sheepskin bags were floating in the river, moving eastward downstream. Even though she could not see their movements clearly, she could see a black line that continued to point to the landing point at the arc in front.
They formed an offensive force that could not be stopped by even the power of nature!
Qiao Yan couldn't help but tighten the spear in his hand.
Cross the river! attack!
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