Chapter 223 Kuai Yue persuades Jin Mao, Sun Jian breaks through the pass

Late fall means the big war is coming.

The unspoken rule of fighting after the autumn harvest continued in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.

It’s not that no one wants to go to war during normal times, it’s just that it’s impossible.

If the soldiers and horses are not moving, the grain and grass will go first.

What’s the point of fighting a war without food!

The Guandong coalition's campaign against Dong officially kicked off.

However, all this has little to do with Jinmao.

The last time Yuan Shao wrote to him, he tactfully expressed his desire to join forces with Jin Mao to attack Dong Zhuo.

Jinmao’s think tank was becoming increasingly powerful, and they could naturally see the world situation clearly. They wanted to agree in their hearts, but their reply was very tough.

We need war horses! We need livestock! We need iron ore!
Ask for what you need as an ally and through trade rather than force.

It's like saying, "I agree to the alliance, but I want to buy this and that. If you don't agree, you're destroying the alliance."

Yuan Shao's reply has not arrived yet.

Jinmao is not in a hurry. He will wait until Jingzhou is completely absorbed and then rob it directly.

Who else in the world can stop his military force?
nobody!
At least invincible south of the Yangtze River!

Some time ago, Zhou Yu was instructed to launch an offensive against Yizhou in Wuling County.

With less than 3,000 men, he managed to make Liu Yan's 30,000 men run around in circles, and the men had no choice but to hold on to Ba County and abandon the area east of Ba County and Hanzhong County.

To the east of Ba County (now Chongqing), the mountains are steep and the population is sparse. Liu Yan's subordinates were just formed and were no match for the second battalion of elite soldiers.

However, apart from the mountainous areas, Zhou Yu did not dare to invade too much, and the two sides were deadlocked at the junction of the plain at the bottom of the Ba County basin and the mountains and forests.

that's enough!
Zhou Yu's strategy was simple, which was to occupy the mountainous area to cover up the action of incorporating the Wuxi barbarians into the various barbarian tribes in the central and southern regions.

This is a strategy that will take a long time, but once it succeeds, with two fronts advancing simultaneously, Liu Yan will surely be defeated!
The third day of October.

Jin Mao received Kuai Yue with the etiquette of a county governor, and the latter remained calm and bowed with the etiquette of meeting a provincial governor.

There has been no war recently, and Xi Zhicai and Xun You have both been demoted to local administration, with Lu Su as their only adviser.

"Why did the envoy from Jingzhou come here today?"

Jin Mao sat high up at the top, and there was no need for him to speak for someone of Kuai Yue's level, as Lu Su was enough to handle him.

Kuai Yue knew that this was Jin Mao's way of intimidating him, so he made up his mind.

Before coming, Kuai Yue did his homework. Jin Mao disdained the alarmist rhetoric, so he decided to try a different approach.

"I am here on behalf of the Governor of Jingzhou to present a gift to the Governor of Yangzhou."

Kuai Yue spoke briefly and to the point, because that was Jin Mao's favorite way of speaking.

Sure enough, Jin Mao was tempted but did not say anything to stop it.

Lu Su didn't understand the twists and turns, but he always got to the point and asked, "Where is the gift?"

When Kuai Yue came, he had nothing in his hands and only brought a dozen followers to protect his safety. Lu Su saw it all.

Kuai Yue was not in a hurry and said in a pragmatic style: "Liu Jingzhou is willing to contribute half of Nanyang County's mineral resources as a gift every year."

He did not mention a word about what Liu Biao wanted.

However, Jin Mao understood what Kuai Yue said.

It was nothing more than asking Jin Mao to support Liu Biao in ascending the throne and seize Yuan Shu's foundation.

But what Liu Biao wanted to do was already being done by Yuan Shu, and he did it better, the only thing he had to do was pay some money and food.

So why help Liu Biao?
Just to save some money?

Jinmao begs to differ.

When Lu Su looked back, Jin Mao glanced at him and picked up the teacup to drink tea.

Lu Su was an honest man, but not a fool. If he didn't understand such an obvious meaning, he would not deserve to be named in history. He immediately knew what to do.

Lu Su asked sternly, "Kuai Yidu! Nanyang County already has a general who is also the governor of Nanyang. How can you be so generous to others?"

Kuai Yue naturally took in Jin Mao's expression and said calmly, "This is just a gift. I didn't come here for such a small matter."

Jin Mao was interested but not very much. This was a common tactic used by lobbyists. After having been tempered by Xi Zhicai, Xun You and others, he had long been immune to it.

Kuai Yue was a little anxious. He didn't expect Jinmao to be so difficult to deal with, so he had to reveal his trump card.

"Liu Jingzhou is willing to help Yangzhou Mu seize Yizhou!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Jin Mao's hands trembled, and the tea in the cup spilled onto the table. He could no longer pretend to be calm and looked up.

Kuai Yue looked at him confidently, not believing that Jin Mao would not take the bait.

"Tell me about it." Jin Mao finally said, "If you can convince me, I am willing to govern Jingzhou together with Liu Biao."

Before Kuai Yue could be happy, Jin Mao's expression turned fierce and he said, "If I find out that you are teasing me, then the Kuai family had better disappear from Jingzhou forever!"

"Otherwise, I will make you disappear forever!"

This is not just talk. That year, Jin Mao massacred at least 80,000 nobles in Jingzhou.

Although they were all "beheaded according to the Anhan Law", the gentry in the northern part of Jingzhou and even in the three nearby states of Yi, Yu and Xu all gave Jin Mao the title of "butcher".

If Jinmao is defeated and killed in the future, he will surely be cursed for a thousand years!
At that moment, Kuai Yue broke out in a cold sweat, and even Lu Su had cold sweat on his forehead. Jin Mao's murderous aura was too strong.

Kuai Yue did not dare to wipe the sweat off his face, and said, "I have a brilliant plan that can help the governor seize Yizhou."

This is very interesting. Kuai Yue did not say that Liu Biao had a strategy, but said that he himself had a strategy.

Jin Mao didn't catch the details, and poured another cup of tea. He regained his composure and said, "I'll give you an incense stick of time, go ahead and tell me."

Soon someone actually lit a stick of incense.

After the initial shock, Kuai Yue adjusted himself and started talking freely.

It was nothing more than that Kuai Yue could contact the gentry in Yizhou, and as long as the officials guarding the strategic positions turned against him, Jin Mao would be able to take control of Shu.

"Finished?"

Jin Mao asked with little interest: "Do you have any other plan?"

Kuai Yue was not frightened, but asked: "Does the governor think it is inappropriate?"

"It's more than inappropriate." Jin Mao sneered, "It's extremely inappropriate!"

"You have a big appetite. You actually want to take advantage of me!"

Jin Mao exposed Kuai Yue's lie and said, "You can welcome me into Shu, and you can also welcome Liu Biao into Shu. Why should I believe that after that, Shu will definitely belong to me?"

Unexpectedly, Kuai Yue was not at all panicked by his lie being exposed, and said very confidently: "No! Yizhou will only belong to you!"

Jin Mao sneered and laughed disdainfully.

"Well, if you don't have anything to say, get out of here."

Kuai Yue bowed but did not say goodbye. Instead, he pointed to the burning incense beside him and said, "The incense stick has not even expired yet. Are you going to break your promise?"

Jin Mao turned his head and looked at the incense, and found that it was still halfway burned. He said impatiently, "If you have something to say, say it now. If you have to fart, fart now!"

Kuai Yue was extremely tempted to die right there and then to uphold his belief that "a gentleman should not be humiliated."

However, the life and death of the Kuai family are in his hands, so he cannot be so selfish.

Kuai Yue suppressed his anger and explained: "No one can stop your attack!"

"Even if Liu Jingzhou took control of Yizhou, what would be the point?"

"If we can't resist it now, will we be able to resist it in the future?"

"Therefore, as long as it is accomplished, Yizhou will belong to you alone!"

Following Kuai Yue's line of thought, Jin Mao felt that it made sense. However, he could not fall into the other party's language misunderstanding during the negotiation, so Jin Mao turned his head and looked at Lu Su.

The latter immediately stood up and asked: "How can my lord believe how much of your words are true and how much are false?"

Kuai Yue then revealed his final trump card: "I am willing to use the 123 members of the Kuai family as hostages!"

"If you have any dissenting thoughts, the governor can exterminate all three clans of the Kuai family!"

Unexpectedly, Kuai Yue is such a ruthless person.

Jin Mao couldn't help but look at him with new eyes. After thinking for a long time, he asked the most concerned question: "How long will it take you to succeed?"

Kuai Yue was in a complicated mood, feeling relieved, angry, and aggrieved at the same time. It can be said that he had a mixture of emotions.

Because he knew that Jin Mao's asking this question meant that he was already interested, so he replied: "Three years at the shortest, five years at the longest."

This time is already very short, and Kuai Yue doesn't think anyone can take Yizhou in such a short time.

You have to know that Yizhou has natural defenses. Even if Zhou Yu can make Liu Yan run around in circles, he dare not attack head-on.

The weakness in military strength is only one aspect. Even if Zhou Yu had 50,000 soldiers, it would take him three to five years to take over Yizhou.

But Jinmao didn’t want to wait that long. The entire Three Kingdoms turmoil lasted only a few years?
After five years, the day lily has become unpopular!
"Two years!"

"I only give you two years!"

Jin Mao held up two fingers and said, "If you can't do it, then you can just quit here."

"I will pretend that you have never been here and let your people go."

It was a rare time for Jin Mao to be kind, but Kuai Yue did not cherish it. As if he wanted to release the anger he had suffered before, he said, "If the governor wants to kill me, just go ahead and kill me. Why use such a despicable method!"

“How can you do this in two years?”

Kuai Yue began to enumerate the time required for each procedure, and even with the most smooth arrangement, it would take more than two years.

This was something Jin Mao had overlooked. He was used to measuring the Han system according to the efficiency of the new system, but there was a big difference between the two.

Finally, after some discussion, Jinmao gave three years.

This is just a preliminary agreement on the alliance, and the specific details have not yet been discussed.

Jin Mao was not interested in arguing over these trivial matters anymore and left everything to Lu Su.

Since the Lu Su family is well versed in business and extremely sensitive to numbers, they are perfect professionals in these business negotiations.

In the end, Kuai Yue signed an alliance with a very humiliating treaty in exchange for Jin Mao's military support.

In other words, once Liu Biao captured Nanyang County, Jin Mao would help support and repel Yuan Shu.

This is not a problem. After all, one of the covenants of the alliance is that Jin Mao can station troops in Xiangyang, Nanjun, and repelling Yuan Shu is one of his obligations.

I don’t know what Kuai Yue is thinking. Isn’t this digging up Liu Biao’s foundation?
If you can't figure it out, don't think about it. Anyway, Jinmao is only concerned about making profits, so why bother about so many things?

...

The atmosphere in Jingzhou is weird, and the situation in Luoyang is not much better!

Fourteen princes gathered at Hulao Pass (also known as Sishui Pass), preparing to break through the pass and enter Luoyang City in one fell swoop.

There was also a vassal named Ma Teng who was still waving flags and cheering in Xiliang.

It is said that the Eight Passes of Luoyang were established by the former general He Jin in order to guard Luoyang.

They are the eight major passes: Hangu, Yique, Guangcheng, Dagu, Huanyuan, Hulao, Mengjin and Xiaopingjin.

Hangu Pass is in the west.

Xiaopingjin and Mengjin guard the Yellow River ferry in the north, and only 5,000 troops are needed to garrison there. If Yuan Shao wants to land here, he must have an extremely strong navy, which unfortunately he does not have.

Yique Pass, Dagu Pass and Huanyuan Pass are located in the south. Huanyuan Pass is backed by Mount Song and is easy to defend but difficult to attack. Yique Pass is located on the Yi River, and Dagu Pass is located on the mountainside of Mount Song, neither high nor low.

Guangcheng Pass is located further south, and there are three passes guarding behind it, but it is not taken seriously.

Therefore, when Yuan Shao's various princes were still gathering at Hulao Pass, Sun Jian was the vanguard and Yuan Shu was the rear guard. They took the lead, captured Guangcheng Pass, and headed straight for Dagu Pass, which had a relatively flat terrain.

Sun Jian and Yuan Shu became famous because of this, and the morale of the Guandong coalition forces was greatly boosted.

Dong Zhuo hastily raised an army to respond.

He only left 50,000 auxiliary troops to garrison Luoyang, led by his son-in-law Niu Fu.

Dong Zhuo also mobilized 140,000 soldiers, and personally led 100,000 soldiers and horses, and led generals such as Li Jue, Guo Si, Li Ru, Fan Chou, Zhang Ji, and Xu Rong to support Hulao Pass.

Another route was led by Hu Zhen, with Lu Bu, Hua Xiong and others as the auxiliary, leading 50,000 infantry and cavalry to support Dagu Pass.

The war is about to start.

In front of Hulao Pass.

Yuan Shao never thought that he had taken away all the princes in the south and only left Sun Jian to Yuan Shu, but he was already defeated by the other side.

Although the morale of his men increased greatly, Yuan Shao only felt a burning pain on his face.

"A once ignorant and unlearned dandy, his luck is too good, any random general can be so brave."

Yuan Shao couldn't help but wonder, "Could it be that Yuan Shu is destined to succeed?"

Little did he know that Yuan Shu had suffered under Sun Jian before he had such luck today. If he could do it again, he would never be willing to do it.

It was because Yuan Shao was unaware of this that he was particularly concerned about the attack on Hulao Pass.

The coalition was nominally led by Yuan Shao, but the actual commander was Cao Cao!
Wang Kuang, the governor of Henei, had over 10,000 powerful crossbowmen under his command, providing powerful firepower support for the siege.

Jibei Xiang Bao Xin had fled Luoyang long ago and recruited 30,000 infantry and cavalry, who were trained for a long time and became the main force for the siege.

The governor of Dongjun, Qiao Mao, the governor of Shanyang, Yuan Yi, the governor of Beihai, Kong Rong, and the governor of Shangdang, Zhang Yang, were the reserve troops, and they would take over when Bao Xin withdrew.

Gongsun Zan, cavalry, useless for siege, skip it.

Tao Qian, Liu Dai, Zhang Miao and so on, all of these people suffered repeated defeats at the hands of Jin Mao and Sun Jian, were no longer useful and became baggage soldiers.

In just three days, Hulao Pass will be breached.

However, Dong Zhuo arrived too quickly, and with heavy military guards, Hulao Pass was impregnable. The Guandong coalition forces retreated thirty miles to discuss countermeasures.

Fortunately, the beginning was very smooth and everyone's morale was high. Yuan Shao and others agreed that they should challenge Dong Zhuo outside the Great Wall.

The Guandong coalition forces have 200,000 men, so they cannot be taken by force. The only way to win is to let them out and fight.

But Dong Zhuo was not stupid. No matter how the Guandong coalition forces challenged him, he refused to leave.

Yuan Shao was extremely anxious and ordered a strong attack in order to avoid being outmatched by Yuan Shu.

Cao Cao immediately objected: "We can't attack by force!"

"The odds of victory have changed. We can only outsmart them!"

Seeing his little brother jumping around in front of him again, Yuan Shao felt a surge of anger in his heart.

Yuan Shu made him suffer a loss, but he endured it because he was the legitimate son and had the upper hand.

Jin Mao made him suffer a loss, so he endured it!
It's not time to take action yet.

Cao Cao also made him suffer a setback?
Why! ?

"Captain Cao!" Yuan Shao shouted angrily, "You are going too far!"

"Are you the only one who knows how to fight? Are you all ignorant of military affairs?"

Cao Cao knew that he would anger Yuan Shao but still insisted: "War is a place of life and death, we must investigate!"

"How can we raise an army out of anger?"

Yuan Shao snorted angrily: "Shut up!"

"Don't underestimate the heroes of the world!"

Then, Yuan Shao stood up, clasped his fists and asked, "Everyone, who is willing to step out?"

(End of this chapter)