Chapter 43, Chapter Ten: Reaping the Benefits
On the night they were five li away from Hanzhong, Liu Jun led his troops to camp in a mountain valley.
At night, Liu Jun inspected the terrain as usual, only to find that Zhuge Quan was not asleep, but waiting outside the camp with his horse.
"Why is Lord Zhuge still not resting?" Liu Jun quickly spurred his horse forward.
Zhuge Quan mounted his horse and laughed, "In my twilight years, who has so much to sleep about? Why haven't you rested yet, my lord?"
Since he was appointed governor of Liangzhou, everyone started calling him Lord Yiming. At first, Liu Jun felt a little uncomfortable, but as time went on, he gradually got used to it.
Liu Jun laughed and said, "I can't fall asleep without patrolling the camp or surveying the terrain every day. If I'm always scheming over trivial details, I'm destined to never accomplish anything great."
This was the first time in Liu Jun's life that he had been able to lead his troops and take charge on his own. In addition, he had made a point of changing his impulsive nature, so he was extremely cautious in both governing the government and the military.
“No. ‘Difficult things in the world must be done from easy things, and great things in the world must be done from small things.’ At your age, you have such a mindset. How can you not achieve great things?” Zhuge Quan praised, then changed the subject, “However, now that the Li family has rebelled, even if you have the court’s appointment, it will probably be of little use in Bashu and Hanzhong.”
Liu Jun nodded. "Besides, I don't have many troops. Even if I manage to capture Hanzhong, I'm afraid I won't be able to hold it if Li Xiong leads his troops to attack. Do you have a way to break this deadlock?"
Zhuge Quan shook his head. "Li Xiong is a kind and generous man, but he cares a lot about his reputation. Besides, although he has been at odds with Luo Shang for several years, judging from his behavior, he still has the intention of paying tribute and becoming a vassal. He may not be willing to break off relations. If you do not take the initiative to attack, he will definitely not send troops to attack."
"That does have some of Liu Bei's ideas." Liu Jun pursed his lips, gazing at the dilapidated city walls of Liangzhou. "Now that Hanzhong is undefended and Li Xiong has no time to spare, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
"Taking Hanzhong is not difficult; the difficulty lies in defending and governing it," Zhuge Quan said, stroking his beard.
Liu Jun sighed, "We still need to send someone to contact the Zhang family in Liangzhou and the Di people in Guanzhong. It's a pity that we have too few staff members in Bingzhou, and we are really short-handed when we need them. However, we can only take it one step at a time."
"Report!" Yin Xiaocheng arrived on horseback, looking alarmed. "I just went to investigate and found that Hanzhong is in complete chaos."
"Zhang Guang, the governor of Liangzhou, fought for more than half a year against Yang Hu, a remnant of the peasant leader Wang Ru. Later, Yang Nandai, the Di king, allied with Yang Hu due to personal grudges, and Governor Zhang and his clansmen were all killed in battle! Later, Governor Hu abandoned the city and fled, and Yang Nandai, a Di man, proclaimed himself governor. Later, Yang Hu wanted to lead the officials and people of Liangzhou to join Li Xiong..."
This was the first time Liu Jun had heard the details of Liangzhou. He frowned and interrupted him, "So Hanzhong is now in Yang Nandi's hands?"
“Yes,” Yin Xiaocheng said hurriedly, “Yang Nandi has occupied Hanzhong, and Yang Hu wants to surrender to Li Xiong. In addition, Zhang Xian in the city has raised an army and also wants to drive out Yang Nandi and join Li Xiong…”
"What?!" Liu Jun exclaimed in shock. "If that's the case, then Hanjia, Fuling, and Hanzhong will fall under Li Xiong's control. The situation is hopeless!"
Zhuge Quan pressed his hand down, his already cloudy eyes calm and still. "My lord, do not worry. The dust has not yet settled. At worst, we will return to Bingzhou and have made a wasted trip. What loss is there?"
Liu Jun also calmed down, "What you say is absolutely right."
He gripped the Flying Sword in his hand, his gaze fixed on Hanzhong. "Zhang Xian's rabble is no match for Yang Nan's Di people. Neither side will have many troops. Let's observe and wait for them to decide the victor before we reap the benefits."
In the seventh year of the Yongjia era, Zhang Xian raised an army to drive out Yang Nandai. Yang Nandai was defeated and fled, and his troops were captured by Liu Jun, the governor of Liangzhou. Liu Jun defeated Zhang Xian, gathered his troops, and then killed Yang Hu in Nanzheng, reclaiming the officials and people of Hanzhong.
Liu Jun then recruited the defeated soldiers, pacified the refugees, repaired the city's defenses, and made peace with the Di people of the Yang clan.
In April, the imperial edict arrived in Hanzhong.
Liu Jun had no official robes, so he had to wear the crown prince's ceremonial robes to receive the imperial decree.
The imperial edict was short, stating that in the first month, Emperor Liu Cong of Han forced Sima Chi, dressed in blue, to serve wine at a banquet. In the second month, someone falsely accused Sima Chi and Yu Min of secretly conspiring with Liu Kun to seize Pingyang. Consequently, the emperor, along with more than ten Jin officials, were executed. In the fourth month, the tragic news reached Chang'an. Sima Ye mourned, then donned the coming-of-age ceremony, ascended the throne, granted a general amnesty, and changed the era name. Those who followed Sima Ye—Qu Yun, Guo Mo, and Suo Lin—received high-ranking official positions and generous salaries. Jia Pi was appointed General Who Conquers the West and Governor of Yongzhou, while Wen Qiao was appointed Chief Secretary and Governor of Jingzhao.
Liu Kun was removed from his original titles of Grand General and Commander-in-Chief of the Military Affairs of Bingzhou, and was further granted the titles of Attendant Gentleman of the Palace and Acting General of the Imperial Guard.
Liu Jun was appointed Governor of Liangzhou and concurrently General Jianwei established his headquarters.
Sima Ye has already ascended the throne?
Before Liu Jun could react, he felt his sleeve being tugged, and then he heard the wailing of elders such as Zhuge Quan and Linghu Sheng behind him. So Liu Jun dared not delay any longer and immediately knelt down and wailed loudly.
After everyone had finished crying, the messenger who delivered the imperial edict pulled Liu Jun aside and handed him Sima Ye's secret letter.
Upon opening it, he first received congratulations on capturing Hanzhong, then began to complain, saying things like "In Chang'an, there are fewer than a hundred households, and weeds and thorns grow like forests," that civil and military officials have no carriages, official robes, or seals, and that there is only enough food to last a year, and so on. Finally, he saw Wen Qiao's handwriting, which was actually a message relayed to him about Liu Kun's side...
Liu Jun slowly put down the letter and said to Zhuge Quan in a deep voice, "My lord has been deceived by Shi Le. Recently, he has been keeping a close eye on things. My brother-in-law suspects that Shi Le intends to take action against Youzhou and Jizhou."
“Youzhou is right next to the Xianbei, and Jizhou and Bingzhou have always been interdependent. If he really succeeds, the consequences will be unimaginable!” Zhuge Quan immediately realized the seriousness of the situation.
"Please, Lord Zhuge, draft a secret letter for me immediately. I want to advise the Lord. In addition, we also need to put some effort into dealing with Wang Jun." Liu Jun paced a few steps. "I want to write a letter to my elder brother. He is currently a hostage in Xianbei. Perhaps he can be of use."
Seeing his decisiveness, the envoy hesitated and said, "Furthermore, Shi Hu launched a strong attack on Ye City, and Ye City fell. Immediately afterwards, Your Majesty appointed Liu Yan as the governor of Yanzhou and stationed him in Linqiu."
Speaking of Yanzhou, it's quite a joke. Back then, Liu Kun appointed Jiao Qiu as the governor of Yanzhou, Xun Fan appointed Li Shu as the governor of Yanzhou, and Sima Rui, the Prince of Langya, appointed Xi Jian as the governor of Yanzhou. One Yanzhou had three governors, each occupying a prefecture, leaving the people at a loss.
Liu Yan was the son of Liu Yu and the cousin of Liu Jun. Together with Liu Kun and his son, the Liu family produced three governors.
Unfortunately, Bingzhou was already poor and weak, Liangzhou was newly established and could change hands at any time, and with Yanzhou at most three parts, the combined strength of these three governors was probably not even a fraction of that of Liu Cong or Shi Le.
The realm is now governed by various factions: the Emperor, the Prince of Langya, Wang Jun, Liu Kun, and other powerful regional officials, along with the various Hu tribes and the displaced people like Li Xiong, all of whom serve in the court. Each province has at least two governors. At this juncture, these loyal ministers of the Great Jin show no interest in working together to defeat the enemy; instead, they are engaged in intrigue and power struggles. How can the dynasty not perish?
Now we only hope that Liu Kun can heed our advice, set aside past grievances, and prevent Youzhou from falling into the hands of Shi Le.
But things rarely go as planned.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com