Chapter 319 Youzhou Changes Ownership
Drawing lots to decide military merits doesn't sound very reliable, but it's hard to say who shot the arrow that killed Gongsun Zan.
"If you must say, the arrow and knife wounds caused by these soldiers are not as accurate as those of the few, but the bleeding injuries they caused can still have a fatal effect. If you want to count, this horse is really a great contributor."
The ribs crushed by an adult warhorse trampling directly on a person's body are enough to be fatal.
Who knows whether these arrows might be one step behind the warhorse and kill Gongsun Zan?
Lu Lingju looked in the direction of the voice and raised his eyebrows: "If you don't know how to speak, you don't have to say anything."
The young man who spoke was the one they met when they defeated the Wuhuan forces. His name was Yan Rou.
According to him, he was captured by the Wuhuan people when he was a teenager.
But after years of living with the Wuhuan people, although he was a Han Chinese, he gradually gained the trust of these people.
Therefore, it was this person who was able to quickly gather a group of people as capital to negotiate cooperation with each other in the face of the sudden attack on the camp by Lu Lingju, Taishi Ci and others.
This cooperation is not off the table.
The Wuhuan people were not just the part gathered by Tadun. The people sent to Liaodong by Qiao Yan could not cause the destruction of their race, just as Qiao Yan personally led troops from Guyang Pass to kill only the Xiutuge Hu branch. So at Zhuge Liang's suggestion, they brought Yan Rou over.
The father of Linghu Shao, who served in Shuofang County of Bingzhou, once served as the commander of the Wuhuan Guard. However, he returned to Bingzhou and resigned from this position long before Liu Yu was defeated by Gongsun Zan, Tadun's influence among the Wuhuan reached an unprecedented level, and the Han Dynasty completely lost control over the Wuhuan.
In Zhuge Liang's opinion, if the entire territory of Youzhou fell back under the control of the court in Chang'an, the position of the Protector of Wuhuan would have to be re-established.
Compared with others, Yan Rou, who is both a Han Chinese and has a certain reputation within the Wuhuan, is undoubtedly more suitable for this position.
If this person is there to assist you in mediating the Wuhuan forces in the rear, the internal pressure will be greatly reduced when Youzhou needs to confront Yuan Shao at the junction with Jizhou.
Facts have proved that bringing Yan Rou along has a significant effect.
Although the possible role it may play in the long run has not yet been seen, it is quite useful at the moment.
Yan Rou came from Guangyang County, and was even more familiar with the coastal road from Liaodong and Liaoxi counties to Guangyang and Yuyang counties than Gongsun Du.
Whether it is planning a shortcut for marching based on the terrain, or avoiding possible confrontations in cities along the way, Yan Rou has his own ideas.
Thanks to his guidance, they were able to join the pursuit of Gongsun Zan before the end of the battle of Yuyang after killing Tadun in the vassal state of Liaodong, completely depriving him of the chance to survive the encirclement.
So even though Lu Lingju said this, he still respected this talented person who might be of great use in Youzhou.
She added in a low voice: "We don't have to divide the credit so clearly between General Taishi and me, or even General Gan, but we must divide it clearly with them. Why don't you understand this? The greater our merits, the more significant your contribution in leading us from Liaodong to Yuyang will be."
Lu Lingju gave him a look whose meaning was very clear - if he still wanted to get a sufficiently important commission from Chang'an, he should speak less when it was not necessary.
What's wrong with one of the generals on the opposite side being her father?
When clarifying the military achievements, the father and daughter must also settle the accounts clearly.
But before Lü Bu could say "rebellious woman" and take credit for ambushing Gongsun Zan and forcing him into a desperate situation, Zhang Liao said, "I think there is a point to what this gentleman said. Now is not the time to delve into this matter. If you really want to make a fuss, even the horses can be counted as merit."
"Although Gongsun Zan is dead, the entire territory of Youzhou has not yet been completely under our control. We are facing internal and external troubles. Why bother trying to determine who killed Gongsun Zan and then disrupt our position? Once the news of Youzhou's pacification reaches Guanzhong, you can make the final decision on this matter."
Qiao Yan never treated her own people unfairly. Even someone like Lu Bu, who had some flaws in his temperament, would be given a sufficiently suitable appointment by her.
It is expected that the military merit in Gongsun Zan's death will also receive a sufficiently fair judgment from her.
Finish the loosening tasks first.
In Zhang Liao's opinion, there are many areas where he can make great contributions.
As a person who was identified by Qiao Yan as a capable person, Zhang Liao's performance at this time was like that of a great general.
This was not the first time Taishi Ci had met Zhang Liao, but he felt that compared to the time when he had just stationed his troops at Juyong Pass, the nearly three years of defending the pass was by no means a waste for Zhang Liao, but rather a kind of training for him.
"What's the situation in Liucheng?" Zhang Liao asked.
This is exactly the point that was almost forgotten by Lu Lingju, but was completed by Zhuge Liang.
Hearing Zhang Liao's question, Zhuge Liang replied, "Liucheng is under the command of Gongsun Xu, the son of Gongsun Zan, and is assisted by his chief secretary Guan Jing. Gongsun Xu is not a concern, but Guan Jing is still a talent and is loyal to Gongsun Zan. Liucheng will be difficult to capture for the time being, so we did not try to attack it by force. We only sent people to guard the main roads to prevent it from going south. Now that Gongsun Zan has been beheaded, Liucheng is isolated and there must be many people who want to survive. We should first send a message to them to cause internal strife, and then attack the city."
The situations of Gongsun Zan and Liu Yan are different.
In name, Liu Yan was still a subject of the Chang'an court, and he did not actually put his disloyalty into action against Chang'an. Therefore, after his death, except for Liu Zhang, who usurped the throne and was brought to justice, his other sons were still treated well by Chang'an.
Gongsun Zan was his rival.
He almost killed Liu Yu and was also Liu Yu's rival because he had killed his son!
In this position, Gongsun Xu had no choice but to die.
But no matter how hard he fought in Liucheng, as Zhuge Liang said, it could not change the final outcome.
The influence of Gongsun Zan's death and the arrival of the royal army is not something that Gongsun Xu and Guan Jing can contend with alone. If the result of this civil strife can cause a significant loss of power within Liucheng, it will certainly be a good thing for those of them who intend to pacify Youzhou.
"Then I'll have to trouble Kong Ming and General Lu with this matter, and I'll ask Governor Gongsun to assist us," said Zhang Liao.
Although he is not the highest-ranking official here, Qiao Yan has made his arrangements for Youzhou very clear. Zhang Liao is the main general along this route, so it is reasonable for him to make the arrangements.
Upon hearing this, Gongsun Du gave Zhang Liao a look of gratitude.
Turning back to Liaoxi County to attack Liucheng was not a dangerous task. Instead, it was an action that would allow him to add another meritorious record after surrendering to Chang'an. With Zhuge Liang as a planner and Lu Lingju as a young general who could charge into battle, he only needed to provide a group of manpower from Liaodong County. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he won without any effort.
It is no wonder that Qiao Yan appointed Zhang Liao as the general manager of Youzhou.
Although this person is young, he acts in a steady manner, especially his emotional intelligence is quite high.
The fact that he called her "Young General Lu" instead of "Little General Lu" made Lu Lingju have a good impression of him, and she loudly accepted the task assigned to her by Zhang Liao.
"General Lü Zhonglang also bears a lot of responsibility," he turned around and said to Lü Bu, "Although our battles to capture the cities of Guangyang and Yuyang were not a big deal, every battle involves the migration of people. There may already be people fleeing Youzhou on the border between Youzhou and Jizhou at this time, and the news will surely reach Yuan Shao's ears later."
"I know. I will garrison Zhuo County as you said." Lu Bu replied without thinking.
If Gongsun Zan escaped from Yuyang County, Lu Bu would not be able to hunt him down and kill him, and he would have to guard that damn border, which Lu Bu would definitely not be happy about.
But the current situation is that he made a great contribution to the death of Gongsun Zan. Besides arguing with his daughter over credit, he saw that she had the bearing of a future famous general. So if he turned to Zhuo County at this time, he would not have to face Yuan Shao across the river or even become a turtle because of the border issue between the two states.
He went there to show off his military power and make the other side wonder in fear whether he would send troops!
If this is not the most suitable position for Lu Bu, what else is?
Zhang Liao added: "In addition, General Zhongda and General Gan should also go to assist."
Sima Yi's expression remained unchanged, but he couldn't help feeling a little helpless.
If he had previously sailed with Gan Ning from the mouth of the Liao River along the Bohai Bay, he already felt that being Gan Ning's military advisor was not easy. Now he had to cooperate with Lu Bu, which made it even more difficult.
Even though he prided himself on his good command of language and the ability to judge people by their manners, he still felt a sudden darkness before his eyes when he encountered such a combination, with Yuan Shao, who controlled Jizhou and Qingzhou, to the south.
Although this special position is more likely to establish merits that will make him stand out than Xuzhou...
Sima Yi still sighed silently.
But when it comes to the deployment of personnel, there was nothing wrong with what Zhang Liao did.
Lu Bu's border defense was stipulated by Qiao Yan himself. With his seniority and combat record under Qiao Yan, there was no problem in using it to threaten Jizhou and create the illusion of a possible attack.
The Juma River in Youzhou mentioned by Qiao Yan in the secret order is a river that rarely dries up in Youzhou. Even in the dry season, there is still water flowing through it. Even the Baiyangdian Lake, the pearl of North China, which it passes through, and the Bohai Sea into which it flows, still have relatively abundant water resources. It is a suitable place for Gan Ning to make use of his remaining energy.
You know, Gan Ning had already known about the change of ownership of Yizhou when the batch of military rations that came across the sea was delivered to Liaodong.
He did not have a strong sense of belonging to Liu Yan, and now he had accepted that he was no longer a subordinate of Yizhou, but a subordinate of Qiao Yan.
Since there is still an opportunity for him to win military merit and confront Jizhou, which belongs to the Yecheng court, head-on, there is no need for Gan Ning to refuse such a good thing.
This may be the only thing that makes Sima Yi feel a little comforted.
Both Lu Bu and Gan Ning have a strong desire to win and fighting spirit, which is much better than dealing with two people who are passive and lazy.
Fortunately, this is only a temporary arrangement.
After the battle situation in Youzhou is reported to Qiao Yan, some adjustments to the appointments should be made...right?
Even though he thought so, when Sima Yi looked at Zhang Liao and Taishi Ci, there was still a hint of regret in his eyes.
It would be great if the two of them could work together.
Unfortunately, Zhang Liao was responsible for cleaning up the affairs of Yuyang County and Youbeiping County, and eliminating as soon as possible the influence left by Gongsun Zan in these two counties after he became the governor of Youzhou. Obviously, it was impossible for him to participate in the border garrison so quickly.
Taishi Ci was called by Zhang Liao to assist.
"Brother Ziyi was an official in Donglai County, Qingzhou, and he also lived in Liaodong for a long time. He should be quite good at handling government affairs and understanding Youzhou. I'd be very sorry to trouble you to lend me a hand."
Taishi Ci had no reason to be unhappy when he received Zhang Liao's invitation for assistance.
"Thank you Wenyuan for calling me your sworn brother, but you have served the Lord several years before me, so there is no need to be so polite. If there is anything I can help you with, please let me know."
Zhang Liao smiled, "It's rare to see someone as capable as Brother Ziyi, who has been in the position of Grand Marshal's Office for two years and still holds the position. You must have played a role in Gongsun Zan's death and the pacification of Youzhou. Why bother about which came first?"
He pointed to the Shenbi Archery Battalion under Taishi Ci and said, "But since Brother Ziyi has already said that you can give me your orders, there is no need for me to be polite. Brother Ziyi, please take your men and the news of Gongsun Zan's death to the prefecture of Youbeiping County and bring the documents from the local treasury back to Yuyang. In addition, the prefecture of Youbeiping County is almost adjacent to Liaoxi, and one of the nearest county seats is Lingzhi, the former residence of Gongsun Zan——"
"Most of Gongsun Zan's clansmen live here. Since we had a limited relationship with Gongsun Zan in the early years, we rarely interacted with him. It would be better to invite a few talented and virtuous people here to settle the hearts of the Youzhou nobles. I will report this matter to you later."
Taishi Ci clasped his fists towards Zhang Liao, expressing his great admiration for his thoughtful arrangements.
The Youbeiping County seat and Liaoxi Lingzhi were not too far from here, so there was almost no need for the cavalry to travel long distances. It was enough to just make a certain threat of force, just like what Taishi Ci and his troops were doing at this moment.
By the time he delivered the document about Youbeiping mentioned by Zhang Liao to Yuyang, the restoration of order here after the loss of Gongsun Zan, the governor of Youzhou, had already begun under the management of Zhang Liao and the people he trained during his tenure as prefect.
As soon as Taishi Ci returned, he saw Zhang Liao holding up the account book in his hand and said to him, "I think I have to trouble Brother Ziyi to make another trip for me. I originally thought that what I wanted to do here was just to see how many people and acres of land were left in Yuyang and other places due to the battles we have fought in the past few days. Who knew that I would make an unexpected discovery."
"I originally thought that a man like Gongsun Zan, who was brave and valiant in suppressing rebellions in his early years and arrogant in the past few years, would not bother to do anything like hiding in three burrows. Who would have thought that he would not change the way of building forts in the north, and send all the tax revenue of Yuyang County in the past two years to Quanzhou."
Taishi Ci asked curiously, "Not in Liucheng?"
Zhang Liao shook his head. "Liucheng is located deep in Liaoxi, a place that few Central Plains troops can reach. It was used to settle his wives, concubines, and children, so as to leave a way out for himself. However, since Gongsun Zan dared to seize the position of Youzhou Governor, he would not be satisfied with just Liucheng. He naturally needs a strong city fortress to the south."
If there is no chance to use this place, it will just be a place for Gongsun Zan to accumulate his own private wealth, but if it is needed, it will be his bridgehead to go south to Jizhou!
Gongsun Zan obtained the position of Governor of Youzhou from Yuan Shao, but he really had no respect for Yuan Shao, his "ally".
"Yi Wenyuan means, how should we deal with this place?"
Zhang Liao replied, "Please ask Brother Ziyi to go and take inventory of the inventory here. When this list is sent back to Yuyang, I think the good news from Liucheng should have arrived by then, so it's a good opportunity to send it back to you at the same time."
This was originally a surprise that Gongsun Zan prepared for Yuan Shao, but now it might be something they prepared for Yuan Shao!
However, how to use these collected materials depends on your Excellency's intention.
Zhang Liao's estimation was not wrong. There was indeed a large amount of wealth, food, and military supplies stored in Quanzhou. Gongsun Zan even sent a large number of troops to garrison there. Even though the news of his death had spread in Yuyang County, these people did not desert their posts, so it took Taishi Ci quite a while to capture this place.
When he returned to Yuyang with the account books here, the work in Liucheng had basically been completed.
Guan Jing, a subordinate of Gongsun Zan, knew that he was at the end of his rope and was no match for them. When he realized that he could not send Gongsun Xu out in the chaos, or that there would be no one to go to even if he sent him out, he simply started a fire in Liucheng.
This loyal minister who gave Gongsun Zan many advices, just as he led his troops into Yuan Shao's army and died in battle for his master after learning of Gongsun Zan's death in history, chose to burn himself to death in Liucheng.
Several other people were burned to death here.
In addition to Gongsun Zan's son and cousin, there were also Gongsun Zan's three sworn brothers.
Yes, they are sworn brothers indeed.
Gongsun Zan himself was born into a minor official family and his mother was of low status, so he liked to make friends with people who were considered of low status according to the standards of the current era, such as fortune tellers and businessmen who were not well received in western Liaoning.
Gongsun Zan claimed to be the boss and made the fortune teller Liu Weitai, the silk merchant Li Yizi, and the merchant Le Hedang form a brotherly alliance with him, and even let his son marry their daughters.
The amount of wealth these people had was one thing; the fact that Gongsun Zan compared them to his own Qu Zhou and Guan Ying and treated them with sincerity was another.
Although they knew that Qiao Yan's followers would not necessarily vent their anger on them after successfully attacking Liucheng, and that there were still many preferential policies for merchants in Guanzhong, in order to repay Gongsun Zan's kindness to them, they also joined in after learning that Guan Jing intended to die for Gongsun Zan.
By the time Lü Lingju, with the assistance of Zhuge Liang, captured Liucheng, the fire in the city's government office had become too big to be extinguished.
For Lu Lingju, chopping off Tadun's head did not make her hesitate at all, and she did not frown at all when she surrounded and killed the White Horse Volunteers led by Gongsun Zan. However, hearing about the brothers dying together made the young general's face more sad.
"Let them be buried with honor, especially Guan Changshi, who can be considered a hero."
"Gongsun Zan lost his life for betraying his subordinates, but there are still people willing to die for him. Perhaps this is the contradiction of a heroic figure." Qiao Yan said after closing the battle report sent from Liaodong in his hand.
During the battle of Youzhou, she had already implemented all the arrangements for Yizhou. After the court received the report sent by Fu Gan, it arranged for her to be given the several official positions she needed most, and then she set off north.
When they reached Hanzhong, they happened to receive a letter sent by Zhang Liao.
The Battle of Youzhou was planned by her, so she had done her utmost to Gongsun Zan by giving him this final sigh.
From the planning to the progress to the completion of this war, there were things that she expected as well as things that surprised her.
The first surprise was the growth of those young people, and the second was that Zhang Liao had shown a look that made her feel more at ease.
She can now rest assured to leave the governance of Youzhou to the other party.
As for Yizhou, after the death of Liu Yan, the governor of Yizhou, the position of governor of Yizhou was abolished and replaced by the status of the inspector supervising the governance of the prefect.
The three positions that Qiao Yan was determined to obtain - Governor of Yizhou Wu Yi, Prefect of Zangke County Zhao Ang and Protector of the Qiang Man General Yao Chang - had all been awarded with imperial edicts. The remaining matters did not have to be completed within this year.
Especially for those southern barbarians located in the south of Yizhou, it may not be easy to find some of them, let alone capture them.
However, it is not important whether the opponent can be conquered as soon as possible, because the biggest gain for Qiao Yan from advancing into Yizhou is the fertile land of the Chengdu Plain and the control of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, which allows him to send troops to Jingzhou, Xuzhou and Yangzhou at any time. Everything else can be achieved slowly.
So when she went north, the instructions she left for Yao Chang were to be cautious in everything, and especially to be careful of diseases in the southern environment. If she really wanted to take action, she had to wait until the follow-up medical team from Chiyang Medical College arrived.
When Qiao Yan was thinking about this, Xu Shu suddenly interrupted her thoughts and asked, "My Lord, are you thinking about how to determine the merit of Gongsun Zan's death?"
In the battle situation of Youzhou that Zhang Liao sent to her, the situation of Gongsun Zan being hit by four arrows, which seemed like coincidence everywhere, was also written in it, and she was asked to decide the outcome of his military exploits.
The coroners of that time were still called Lingshi. Not only did they not have the professional autopsy skills of the coroners in the Tang and Song dynasties, but their status was also lower. It was almost impossible for them to determine the standard cause of death of Gongsun Zan.
Zhang Liao said that they treated Gongsun Zan's body with lime and sent it to Chang'an, but Qiao Yan said that it would be better for him to be buried on the spot.
When he thought about what happened in Youzhou at that time, Qiao Yan couldn't help but want to laugh.
She replied, "There's no need to worry about it. Anyway, we've already assigned the task of how to deploy animals. Now that there's one more animal that was shot by four arrows and then stepped on, it shouldn't be too strange to find out why it died, right?"
“…”That’s still a bit strange.
"It's just a joke." Qiao Yan suddenly changed his previous teasing tone to a serious one. "Yuanzhi, why do we have to compare the merits of this battle?"
"Yizhou and Youzhou have fallen into our control one after another. As long as we can hold these places, even if we don't take the uncivilized land in the south of Yizhou into consideration, I will have already occupied nearly half of the world."
"If I still don't dare to fight for the title of general for my subordinates, how can I have the courage to face the heroes of the world alone!"
Xu Shu heard every word she said clearly, and at this moment, he felt that his mind was even more excited than when he took over Yizhou!
What she said was "I have already occupied it", not that the emperor in Chang'an has already occupied this land!
When Qiao Yan returned to Guanzhong from Hanzhong, because of her military achievement of the surprise attack on Chengdu, she was even more impressive to the officials in Chang'an City than when she returned from hunting in Hanzhong that year.
Bingzhou, Liangzhou, Sili, Yizhou...
Could any powerful official before Qiao Yan have pieced together the Han Dynasty to this extent when it was in a state of disintegration?
Probably not!
So much so that when she stood in the court, she seemed particularly strange even though she had only been away from him for a few months since she left Chang'an for Hongnong County.
It's so strange that it's suffocating.
It also made Wang Yun more and more convinced that the Yizhou Rebellion was originally planned by Qiao Yan, which also meant that she was probably no longer satisfied with the position of a powerful official who supported the emperor to ascend the throne!
After adjusting his mind, he decided to carefully test her, "Grand Marshal, may I ask you a question about the incident in Yizhou?"
"Of course, you can, but..." Qiao Yan replied calmly, turning his gaze over, "Wang Situ, before you ask this question, or before we discuss the affairs of Yizhou in the court, I want to tell you something first."
Wang Yun's expression froze.
He felt that he had no intention of making a mistake. When Qiao Yan's eyes swept over him, there was a layer of coldness and mockery in them, which clearly showed that she had already seen through his thoughts.
But what if she knew?
Whether or not Wang Yun had the intention to overstep his authority while holding great power was not something he could determine.
Besides, even if she really wanted to do so, what could Wang Yun do?
Qiao Yan bowed to Liu Yu and said, "Your Majesty, please allow me to report that Gongsun Du of Liaodong has surrendered to Chang'an under the threat of warships sent from Hailing, Xuzhou. With the cooperation of the students of Leping Academy, he put down the Wuhuan rebellion in Liaodong's vassal state, and the Wuhuan Chanyu Tadun was executed."
If this was already news that shocked the court, then the second half of Qiao Yan's sentence was almost like a bolt of thunder.
"At the same time, Shanggu County Governor Zhang Wenyuan sent troops from Juyong Pass and joined forces with Pingbei Zhonglang General Lu Fengxian to successively capture Guangyang and Yuyang cities. The two routes from the east and west joined forces, and Gongsun Zan surrendered. His relatives have also been captured in Liucheng."
"Congratulations, Your Majesty. Youzhou has been conquered."
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