Chapter 320: Amazing Results...
You...Youzhou has been settled?
Wang Yun almost bit his tongue because of this sudden news.
Under the impact of this news, he almost forgot what he originally wanted to say to Qiao Yan.
Some say that Qiao Yan's actions in Yizhou were against the rules, and that Qiao Yan's strategy of advancement was too risky. If her plan failed, it would surely plunge the court in Chang'an into chaos. Or should she let the emperor's name spread to the remote areas of Yizhou, and not let the recovered areas only remember her, Qiao Yeshu?
The moment she brought out the news that "Gongsun Zan and Tadun were killed, not only Liaodong, but even Youzhou has returned to their hands", Wang Yun had only one thought left -
Is he...is he hallucinating something?
But he soon discovered that he did not have this auditory hallucination.
Because when he looked around, his colleagues all looked astonished and confused as he did, and they were in the same state as if they were in a dream.
Liu Yu, who was at the top, was not much better.
No matter how calm these people were, their minds would be shattered by the news of Gongsun Zan's death.
Youzhou, that is the Youzhou with the longest distance!
If we say that in Qiao Yan's first sentence, she sent people to rely on the sea navigation method to set out from Hailing in Xuzhou to Liaodong and persuade Gongsun Du to surrender, it was already shocking, and it was even impossible to judge whether she proposed to set up the Hailing garrison because of the Xuzhou incident that year for this moment. The second half of the sentence was something that no one dared to imagine.
Earlier this year, Chun Yujia was upset with Qiao Yan for not sending out troops in the previous two years because of her preparations for natural disasters.
It was just that in the middle of the year, the drought in Guanzhong really forced people to focus on this matter. In addition, because of the various preparations made by Qiao Yan in advance, Guanzhong not only completed the protection of people's livelihood, but also accommodated refugees in the eastern part of Sili.
Regardless of whether he was afraid of being attacked by Ni Heng's sharp tongue again, Chunyu Jia temporarily stopped.
After these controversial voices were suppressed, even if she still focused on domestic affairs rather than external expansion this year, no one would say a word against her.
But she didn't.
When Yuzhou fell due to the death of Yuan Shu, she foresightedly launched an attack on Yuzhou and seized Yingchuan, the springboard from Sili to Yuzhou.
Liu Yan's son Liu Zhang and the Yizhou native Zhao Wei intended to seize the position of Yizhou Mu and even become independent from the court. However, she used Yinping Road, a vassal state of Guanghan, to complete a surprise attack on Chengdu and thus took control of Yizhou.
If these two marches only showed her response to crises, using offense instead of defense to achieve her goals, and even just enough to gain enough benefits and territory from it.
So this last thing...
There was no cross-border attack or fight for heirs inside Youzhou. It was clearly a plundering war planned by Qiao Yan!
How difficult is it to take Youzhou in one fell swoop?
Emperor Liu Yu once served as the governor of Youzhou and was expelled from the country by Gongsun Zan. He knew this better than anyone else.
The surrender of Gongsun Du of Liaodong, which Qiao Yan mentioned in a casual tone, sounded almost impossible to Liu Yu.
Liaodong is a place that should be called a frontier even more than Bingzhou. In Liu Yu's view, it is not impossible for Gongsun Du to become independent there after his strength gradually develops.
So what if a ship arrived in Liaodong? As long as the number of people is not as large as the population of Liaodong, he can easily destroy the ship.
Not to mention that he cooperated with these people to persuade Gongsun Du to send troops from Liaodong to defeat Tadun of Wuhuan!
As for Zhang Liao, who was at Juyongguan, and Lu Bu, who had been raising horses and transporting brine, if their names had not been mentioned again by Qiao Yan, everyone would have almost forgotten that they had participated in Qiao Yan's expedition to the frontier.
How can we forget how majestic they were at that time?
He is a fierce general who is as fierce as a tiger out of a cage once he goes out to fight!
However, having said that, Liu Yu still felt a little dazed when he heard that even Gongsun Zan died at their hands.
It’s been almost three years.
Almost three years had passed since his eldest son Liu He died in the chaos of the battle between Gongsun Zan and him.
I don't know if it was because in the battle on Binhai Road that year, if it weren't for Zhang Liao's rescue, he would have almost died there. This situation of being rescued from the brink of death has appeared in his dreams countless times at midnight, making his perception of Gongsun Zan increasingly develop in the direction of unpredictable strength.
Now, when he suddenly heard the news of his death, Liu Yu's first reaction was not a sense of relief, but rather a feeling of confusion.
Gongsun Zan was not a mediocre person, but in Qiao Yan's few short sentences reporting his military exploits, he seemed like one.
What about him? What should he be considered as someone who was once defeated by Gongsun Zan?
Qiao Yan, who said the words "Congratulations, Your Majesty, Youzhou has been conquered" in a resounding voice, seemed not to notice his frustration at all. She looked around and said, "Why do you have such expressions? Gongsun Zan only knows how to use the people's money to support the army in Youzhou and engage in war. Although he has the title of Youzhou Governor for several years, he is not the governor of Youzhou in reality. At best, he is just a local soldier of Youzhou."
"Also, thanks to the kindness Your Majesty bestowed upon the people of Youzhou in the past, Wenyuan, carrying the name of the Chang'an court, broke into the border from Juyongguan. Few cities were defended by Gongsun Zan, and some opened their gates and surrendered, waiting for the arrival of the royal army. It is not difficult to achieve victory in the entire battle."
It's so simple to say.
But if Gongsun Zan really couldn't even defend the border, how could he lead his White Horse Volunteers?
There may be some truth in what Qiao Yan said.
For example, what she said about Gongsun Zan only using the income of Youzhou to support the army and not considering the lives of the people at all, there is a high probability that this is true.
After all, this was the reason for the conflict between Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan when Liu Yu was still in Youzhou.
But the statement of opening the city and surrendering would most likely happen after Gongsun Zan's death.
But why did they need to expose her little word game at this time?
Although Youzhou and Yizhou were remote, Qiao Yan had no need to lie about her military achievements.
From this perspective, it can be seen that after two years of accumulation, their Chang'an court had doubled its territory in just less than half a year. Who could still complain about this capable and warlike Sima?
Even though...her tone today didn't seem as humble as usual.
She turned to Liu Yu and said, "Now that Youzhou has been taken, there are only two things left to do."
"One is the defense of the border between Youzhou and Jizhou. Among the people that Wenyuan temporarily dispatched, Sima Zhongda still lacks experience in military planning. This battle line involves several counties. I intend to send Gongda to Zhuo County to assist. However, if this arrangement is to be made, there must be a military supervisor."
It is obviously not enough to rely solely on Xun You's position as a military officer in the Grand Marshal's Mansion.
If Qiao Yan was leading the troops himself, it would be fine for him to serve as a military advisor, but it would not work when there were two troublemakers, Lu Bu and Gan Ning, under him.
Liu Yu asked, "I wonder what position Ye Shu wants to get for Gongda?"
"The Cavalry Commander, Ju Shou, who was under Yuan Benchu, has held this position for the past few years. There is a change in Youzhou, and the troops are stationed on the border. The person sent by Jizhou is very likely to be him. At least we can't let Gongda suffer a loss in front of the enemy."
"Besides..." Qiao Yan paused and continued. "Those who have contributed to the suppression of the civil unrest in Yizhou have all been granted titles, and those who fought in Youzhou are no exception. Your Majesty will reward the generals according to their merits."
Liu Yu did not think there was anything wrong with rewarding people based on their merits. Even Wang Yun felt that as long as Qiao Yan did not deliberately seek presumptuous treatment for herself and demanded the special title of king from the Marquis of Leping and the Grand Marshal, he could suppress his doubts about her in his heart and not show them for the time being.
But when Gongsun Zan's body was sent to Chang'an, these people were dumbfounded.
Qiao Yan pointed at Gongsun Zan's body and said, "When they surrounded this man, the White Horse Volunteers blocked their way, so the people who were encircling him had no choice but to shoot him with arrows, leaving these arrow wounds. Unfortunately, by the time they took Gongsun Zan out of the chaos, he was already dead, and there was no way to tell which arrow killed him."
Wang Yun, Chunyu Jia and others immediately became alert.
Qiao Yan then said, "Your Majesty, why don't you reward all four of them to show their merit in killing the bandit leader?"
Wang Yun: “…”
Chun Yujia: "..."
This looks like it was staged!
How could it be so absurd that one person had four fatal wounds at the same time and yet wanted to reward each person who took action according to their merit!
If Qiao Yan were to say it herself, she really followed the principle of seeking truth from facts and did not exaggerate the achievements of Zhang Liao and others against Gongsun Zan at all. The situation of these four people competing for credit was completely an accident.
But in the eyes of people like Wang Yun who had "prejudices" against her, she was just using unreasonable means to win military merits for her subordinates!
Yes!
As the Grand Marshal, she is no longer suitable for further promotion, otherwise people will inevitably think that her actions go against her promise to Emperor Ling of Han. However, it is not a bad idea to promote her subordinates one by one.
But if some of them were originally just government officials or even commoners, what's the difference between this and directly saying that she wants to form a complex and intertwined force under her command?
Even the Yuan family of Runan, a family with three ministers for four generations, has never promoted their disciples to this point...
Wang Yun was silent for a long time, and finally said: "The Grand Marshal's actions seem a little unreasonable."
Qiao Yan sneered and asked, "Speaking of reason? You, Wang Situ, have never seized a state or a county, but you have been able to sit in the position of one of the Three Dukes by relying on your merits in protecting the emperor in Chang'an and your experience as an official?"
"If I let you lead the troops in Youzhou, I wonder how far you can go with your ability to...throw away the former emperor!"
"You!" Wang Yun's face suddenly turned red with anger.
Qiao Yan did not give him any face and replied, "Why, isn't what I said true? At this special time, if you cannot give enough rewards to the generals, you can see whether they will go south for you. Or you can ask Yuan Benchu what kind of treatment they will get if they defect to Yecheng."
"I think Yuan Benchu wouldn't mind picking up bargains from us."
This may not be called picking up a bargain!
Even the youngest among them have shown the potential to become generals and top strategists, turning the Leping Academy graduation examination, which was once mocked by Liu Yang to Yuan Yao, into a grand show of talent.
If Yuan Shao was not blind, he would know how formidable opponents they would become if they could grow up.
Not to mention just a few more holes on Gongsun Zan's body, even if Gongsun Zan was pierced into a hedgehog, Qiao Yan wouldn't mind using this method to verify their credit.
"If there is no reward for meritorious service, who would continue to do such a life-threatening job? Not everyone can sit in the hall of honor like you, Wang Situ."
Qiao Yan didn't even look at Wang Yun's expression, and turned directly to Liu Yu, "Your Majesty, please make a wise decision on this matter."
Liu Yu: “…”
Now the question was thrown before him.
What's even more troublesome is that while Qiao Yan was denouncing Wang Yun, he did not give a standard answer as to what kind of position he should seek for his subordinates.
The only thing she gave was an appointment suggestion to Xun You who was about to go to Zhuo County, allowing him to compete with Ju Su on the opposite side with the official position of Cavalry Commandant.
Who should those who actually participated in the battle to capture Youzhou compete with?
This is really a headache.
He first persuaded Qiao Yan and Wang Yun to stop arguing by saying that the matter needed to be carefully considered. Then he summoned all the officials of the Shangshutai, who were exclusively responsible for the inner court, to assist him in making some decisions.
Unfortunately, Xun Yu, the minister who could have provided him with some advice, was still in Luoyang at the time, handling the people's livelihood management issues in Luoyang for Qiao Yan. The position of Shangshu Ling was still vacant, and there were very few people he could ask for advice.
However, he did not notice that among the people who were being consulted by Liu Yu as a member of the Secretariat, one of them had an expression of confusion and doubt about life.
It was Tian Feng who was sent by Yuan Shao as an undercover agent.
Who can tell him why he has to face such difficulties while being promoted?
What kind of situation is it to decide the official position of the person who is about to launch an attack on his former employer?
If he told his experience to the people in Jizhou at this moment, probably no one would believe such a coincidence.
But this kind of thing really happened.
When Liu Yu threw this question to them with an earnest look, he was determined to get an answer from them and obviously did not give him a chance to avoid it.
But wait!
Tian Feng originally felt a little depressed that he had to be involved in such a matter. When he thought that the change of ownership of Youzhou meant that Jizhou might soon become a place of war, he became even more anxious. But suddenly at this moment he realized something.
The emperor wanted to reward the heroes in the battle of Youzhou. Since the appointment was made from the Secretariat of the inner court, it was often necessary for the eunuchs to read the imperial edict and reward the troops.
For Emperor Ling of Han, who was close to the eunuchs, this position would most of the time be given to the Yellow Gate and the Constant Attendant, and it even became an effective means for them to accept bribes. But for Liu Yu, this matter would either be given to his ministers in Youzhou, or to the members of the Shangshu Tai who assisted in political affairs.
Zhuo County - only one step away from Jizhou.
If he could go and announce the decree, he would not be far from returning!
This was clearly not a hard job, but his best chance to return to Jizhou.
The only thing he had to do now was to come up with a set of imperial decree plans that would satisfy both Liu Yu and Qiao Yan, so that the matter of announcing the decree would naturally fall into his hands!
The undercurrents in Chang'an City unconsciously cast a shadow on this victory of quickly capturing two states. But if one must say it, it was a victory after all, and it was much better than the situation in Yecheng.
When Yuan Shao saw the messenger rushing in with a panic, he frowned so much that a fly could be squeezed to death. "What a panic he is!"
Isn’t there enough shocking news this year?
Yuan Shao even felt that his psychological endurance had been thoroughly trained.
First, the celestial phenomena showed a drought just as Qiao Yan had predicted in Chang'an, and the accompanying locust plague also gave Yuan Shao a headache.
On the one hand, he had to guard against the public resentment caused by these disasters, and on the other hand, he was uneasy about the emergence of printing technology in Chang'an.
It was in such a situation that the news of Tian Feng's promotion came along with Qiao Yan sending a palm-leaf fan used for digging wells to Jizhou, which made him think for a long time about what the other party was thinking.
The subsequent war in Yuzhou made him feel uneasy about the expansion of Cao Cao's power and confused about the possible information channels that led to Qiao Yan's quick reaction. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel that such a situation after Yuan Shu's death might be the best outcome for him.
The result is still not over even after all this!
About ten days ago, news came from Chang'an that Liu Yan, the governor of Yizhou, had passed away. Yizhou ended the state of having a governor in charge and returned to being supervised by a provincial governor. This meant that from then on, Yizhou would be completely at the mercy of Chang'an. Yizhou's grain and grass were even sent by water to Xuzhou, which was in confrontation between the north and the south.
This piece of news made the advantage in the amount of arable land that Yuan Shao had originally thought of completely disappear.
It can only be said that under the persuasion of his subordinates, he could confirm that due to the inconvenient transportation between Yizhou and Guanzhong, and the fact that there was no land adjacent to Yuan Shao's territory, the danger he faced was not as great as he had imagined.
Even so, Yuan Shao still turned the table over.
With such a "jewel" in front of them, why haven't his subordinates been trained to have sufficient ability to withstand it?
If word got out that he looked so flustered, wouldn't people laugh at him for not being able to discipline his subordinates?
The person who reported the news felt extremely wronged.
Who wouldn't panic after hearing such sudden news?
In order to prevent Gongsun Zan from moving south, Yuan Shao strengthened the northern defense line and handed over the task of conquering Yuan Shu to Liu Bei.
The person who was in Youzhou at that time was Gongsun Zan, but now...
"Ming Gong! Something big has happened!"
The messenger spoke with a panic tone, "Youzhou Mu Gongsun Bogui was killed by Gongsun Du and Zhang Liao, and Youzhou fell into the hands of the Chang'an pseudo-court. At this moment, they have deployed troops in Zhuo County, and General Gao, who is closest to that place, has already rushed over. The enemy has not yet crossed the Juma River, but if the entire army is dispatched, General Gao said that he may not be able to stop them. Please send troops to support them as soon as possible."
The General Gao that the messenger mentioned was not Gao Shun who was stationed at Xingkou in Taihang Mountains to guard against Qu Yi's attack, but Gao Lan, one of the famous generals in Hebei.
He was originally sent by Yuan Shao to the north to keep an eye on Gongsun Zan for any unusual moves, but he never expected that he did not see Gongsun Zan's intention to go south to show off his power. He only received such terrible news from the people affected by the war and the subsequent changes in the garrison of Zhuo County.
On the other side of the Juma River, it was no longer Gongsun Zan's defenders, but Lu Bu's troops!
The other side even prepared a navy in Baiyangdian.
Gao Lan had never heard of the famous Jinfan Bandits in Yizhou, and Gan Ning's contribution in the Battle of Youzhou had obviously not yet reached Gao Lan's ears. He could only guess from the troops that the other party was preparing there that he was definitely not a landlubber general.
Lu Bu alone was enough to give Gao Lan a hard time, and now there was a naval general of unknown origin. What would happen then?
Gao Lan sent someone to Youzhou secretly to find out what the situation was, and at the same time he sent someone to deliver the news to Yuan Shao.
This is not the time to start a war for Jizhou!
We need food, but there is not enough food.
Weapons were needed, and a lot of the iron ore mined was used as well-drilling tools.
Even the terrain is not advantageous.
After Youzhou changes hands, the Bingzhou army will no longer need to cross the Taihang Mountains to complete its march towards Jizhou. They can directly march south. What a terrible thing!
The cup in Yuan Shao's hand fell to the ground.
The moment he heard the news, the countless thoughts that flashed through his mind were no different from those that Gao Lan had when he learned about this.
Compared to leaving the table immediately after hearing the news, perhaps this loss of composure on the spot, not knowing whether to stand or sit down, showed better how distracted he was at the moment.
But this was definitely not the time for him to be stunned!
Yuan Shao immediately returned to his thoughts and asked the messenger, "Where is Tadun, who has joined forces with Gongsun Bogui?"
He followed the advice of his subordinates and adopted means of dividing Tadun and other Wuhuan people, but this was only to prevent him from joining forces with Gongsun Zan and causing trouble for Yuan Shao, and he did not directly weaken Tadun.
Gongsun Zan could have thought of joining forces with Kebi of the Xianbei branch and Tadun of the Wuhuan to attack Liu Yu, so why did he forget to ask Tadun for help today?
When the messenger set out from the northern part of Jizhou, he had not received any news related to this, so of course he didn't know this.
However, another piece of news was soon delivered to Yecheng from the north. Perhaps because the horses were running faster on the road, the new messenger appeared in front of Yuan Shao when he just summoned his subordinates.
"General Gao asked me to tell Lord Yu Ming that the trouble in Youzhou...is not just in the western half. Gongsun Du in Liaodong has surrendered to Chang'an, several Wuhuan tribes have been brutally slaughtered, and Tadun is also dead! There are no signs of civil unrest over there, so they may send troops to Jizhou at any time."
"Mingsir, please quickly support General Gao!"
If they don’t send troops to help defend, Jizhou will really face a devastating disaster!
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