Chapter 44, Chapter Eleven: Unexpected Trouble
For the first time, Liu Jun was in charge of a region and barely slept for the first two months, working tirelessly day and night. He was experiencing firsthand the same kind of hard work that Liu Kun had done when Bingzhou was first established.
Li Xiong had sent Li Feng to harass the city several times, and there were also many spies in the city who were loyal to Li Xiong. There were several mutinies, but they were all thwarted one by one.
With war raging everywhere and the people suffering, Liangzhou was no exception. However, after a hundred battles, there were still thirty to forty thousand households, which pleased Liu Jun. He immediately turned the unclaimed wasteland into military farms and organized the able-bodied young men into soldiers.
The local powerful families, who had intended to seize land and harbor people, were naturally unwilling. Some wanted to open the city gates and surrender to the enemy, while others led their tenants in rebellion. Their disgraceful behavior was endless. Liu Jun, who was looking for an opportunity to establish his authority, immediately had two local powerful families publicly executed by dismemberment and their lands and estates divided up. He then offered official positions to those who obeyed him as a form of appeasement. Subsequently, Liu Jun personally met with the former officials of Liangzhou, examining each of them. Those who were even remotely competent were retained, and vacancies were filled by his own advisors. Zhuge Quan, the Linghu father and son, Liu Dan, and others were all granted high-ranking positions, as were his retainers Liu Yong, Lu Jing, and Yin Xiaocheng. He did not consider the reputation of scholars who came to join him, but rather their abilities.
After all, he had little foundation and not much wealth, so he couldn't afford to support idle people.
In addition, by claiming to be a descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan and by leveraging the prestige of the Zhuge clan in the former Shu region, he gained considerable support from the remnants of the Shu Han dynasty.
With a combination of measures, the situation in Hanzhong quickly stabilized.
Around June, Liu Kun sent a proclamation to the prefectures and counties, agreeing to meet in Pingyang in October to jointly attack Liu Han.
As a son, Liu Jun was naturally the first to respond, but looking at the other prefectures and counties, there were very few who responded.
Therefore, the plea to defend the emperor and punish the traitors ultimately became empty words.
Liu Jun then focused on strengthening his military and promoting agriculture in Hanzhong, hoping to gain a foothold as soon as possible and cooperate with Sima Ye's Guanzhong and Liu Kun's Bingzhou in the future.
Fearing that the Hu people would grow fat and strong after autumn and take the opportunity to invade, Liu Jun braved the scorching heat and was busy with border affairs all day long.
Unexpectedly, at this time, Bingzhou sent him two concubines, Guo and Dou. Guo was a concubine's daughter from his grandmother's clan, while Dou came from the Tuoba Xianbei, originally surnamed Hedouling, and seemed to be from the clan of Dou Bin, the chief of the Meilu Hui tribe.
Liu Jun had no interest in women, but Dou was a gift from Tuoba Yilu, and in the family letters, both Guo and Cui had given him a long lecture, which was nothing but nonsense about the three unfilial acts and the greatest misfortune of having no offspring. Considering the chaos of war and the uncertainty of when he might die, he decided to take her in.
At the end of August, Guo discovered she was pregnant and sent the good news to Bingzhou without mentioning it.
On the day of Mid-Autumn Festival, a small banquet was held to invite a few close friends for a get-together, and extra food was provided for the soldiers.
Unexpectedly, in the middle of the night, they suddenly heard a quiet argument outside the door.
"Your Excellency has already retired for the night. Is there anything that can't be discussed tomorrow?" It seems that Lu Jing is on night duty today.
Yin Xiaocheng replied anxiously, "Yes, this is an urgent report from Bingzhou."
"Bring it in." Liu Jun, still tipsy, rubbed his forehead, got up, and opened the door.
Yin Xiaocheng quickly presented it with both hands, but Liu Jun opened it and fell backward in surprise.
Hao Yu, the Prefect of Bingzhou, and Xing Yan, a military commander, had a grudge against Liu Kun. One night, after an argument, they fled to Han, revealing all the weaknesses and strengths of Bingzhou's defenses. Liu Cong then ordered Liu Yao and other generals to attack Bingzhou with a large army. Liu Kun was unable to return in time to defend the province after his eastern campaign, and Gao Qiao, the Prefect of Taiyuan, surrendered Jinyang to Han. Both of Liu Kun's parents were killed.
Liu Jun wore the lowest mourning clothes, and all of Liu's family retainers and servants were also dressed in full mourning.
Inside the mourning hall, Liu Jun was kneeling in front of the memorial tablet, lost in thought.
For the past two days since hearing the devastating news, he has neither eaten nor drunk anything, nor spoken a word. No matter who tries to persuade him, he remains lying motionless on his bed.
Three days later, he suddenly stumbled to his feet and went straight to the mourning hall.
Although the shogunate members were concerned, they were also afraid that their words might be inappropriate and cause Liu Jun to act impulsively. After much discussion, they still recommended Liu Dan, who was calm, from a noble family, and close in age, to play the villain.
Liu Dan stood outside the door, feeling bitter inside.
After hesitating for a long time, Liu Dan knocked on the door, "My lord."
"Is this to show respect for the Way? Come in."
Liu Dan took a deep breath and went straight to the point, "Does Your Excellency wish to send reinforcements to Bingzhou?"
Liu Jun's face was pale, his eyes were bloodshot, and his cheeks were thin, but his gaze remained clear. "If I were Liu Yao, I would definitely send a large force to harass Hanzhong or guard the key roads along the way. Even if I went now, it would be of no use. It would be better to defend Hanzhong. If we really can't take back Bingzhou, we will still have a prefecture to live in. So, even though I am anxious, I cannot go back."
Liu Dan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. "What you say is absolutely right. The Han army is powerful now. If we want to make a long-term plan, we need to proceed slowly."
"I'm sorry to have worried you all," Liu Jun said gently. "Actually, I've been thinking these past few days that most people think I'm sincerely observing mourning and have no interest in military affairs. Given such a good opportunity, Li Xiong will definitely not sit idly by and will most likely seize the chance to attack Liangzhou. If we can do the opposite and take Bazhou County by surprise, then the situation of attack and defense between us and Li Xiong will be different."
Liu Dan never expected that, despite his grief, he would still have the energy to consider the battle situation. He murmured, "Stone can be broken, but its strength cannot be taken away."
Only then did he notice a map with the ink still wet on the ground, and several scattered sheets of paper covered with dense cursive script.
"Could this be the painting you created these past two days, sir?" Liu Dan asked in surprise.
Liu Jun nodded, "There is an old map of the Shu Han dynasty in the headquarters. I copied it several times larger and made some minor revisions based on what I have seen during the recent military campaign. When I have some free time later, I will make a few more copies and give them to the generals."
Seeing that he was not discouraged, Liu Dan's spirits lifted. "Should I summon everyone in the headquarters?"
Liu Jun forced a smile. "We will discuss matters in the main hall in two hours."
Watching Liu Dan's departing figure, he lay down on the futon fully clothed and drifted off to sleep.
In the dream, there was no war or famine, no prisoners in jail, no unfilial children, and no separation of life and death. My grandparents strolled leisurely into the chaotic underworld.
In the first year of Jianxing, Li Xiong, taking advantage of Liu Jun's mourning period, sent Li Xiang with a large army to attack Liangzhou, but failed to capture it. At the same time, Liu Jun personally led cavalry to attack Bazhou, killing the governor Zhang Bao. He then launched a surprise attack from the rear, capturing the commander-in-chief Li Xiang alive.
Liu Jun used Li Xiang as a hostage, demanding Fuling County within ten days. Li Xiang hesitated and wavered. After ten days, Liu Jun killed Li Xiang and cut off his arm, which caused a rift between Li Xiang's former subordinates.
On the day the army attacked the city, Liu Jun, dressed in mourning clothes, personally climbed the city gate. He kowtowed to the north, his clothes filled with blood and tears. His soldiers were all moved to tears, and their fighting spirit soared.
Li Xiong suffered a major defeat, and eight thousand of Li Xiang's former troops came to surrender.
Six months later, Liu Jun personally led a large army into Bazhong, where he either killed or subdued the bandits from Nanyue, thus connecting Hanzhong, Bazhong, and Baxi into one region.
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