Chapter 104 The situation in Jingzhou is out of control and Liu Biao is powerless!

The imperial decree ordering Jingzhou to send troops was soon transmitted to the residence of the governor of Jingzhou in Xiangyang.

Originally, Yuan Shu's troops were stationed in Nanyang, hindering the traffic between Jingzhou and the imperial court.

However, as Yuan Shu was defeated and fled to Huainan, the troops left behind in Nanyang either died, fled or surrendered, and Nanyang fell into the hands of the imperial court.

When the imperial edict reached Xiangyang, Liu Biao immediately summoned civil and military officials to discuss the matter:

"Your Majesty has ordered us to send troops to aid Liu Yao as soon as possible. If we continue to be perfunctory, I am afraid that His Majesty will be angry. Now that the imperial court has troops stationed in Nanyang, the army can go directly to Xiangyang. What do you think?"

The hall was filled with civil and military officials from Jingxiang, all of whom were from aristocratic families in Jingxiang.

Liu Biao entered Jingzhou alone and was able to control the power of Jingzhou so quickly. In addition to his own extraordinary abilities, he also benefited from the strong support of the Jingxiang family.

The union between Liu Biao and Cai was more of a marriage alliance.

The two sides complement each other and have their own interests. As the relationship becomes more and more complicated, they have become inseparable.

The Jingxiang families protested against the court's tax reform of "equalizing the land tax and the capitation tax", but Liu Biao could not force it through, so it remained on hold.

The imperial court ordered an expedition against Yuan Shu, but after he fled to Huainan and there was no direct conflict of interest, the Jingxiang families pretended to obey but secretly disobeyed, leaving Liu Biao in a dilemma.

Although he seemed to be in control of Jingzhou, he actually relied on the alliance of the aristocratic families. Now that he was in a difficult position to control, Liu Biao was also having a headache.

But now that Your Majesty has quelled Yuan Shao's rebellion in Jizhou, it is only a matter of time before the imperial army marches south.

Moreover, the imperial edict had been issued and it was no longer possible to refuse. They could not continue to maintain harmony with Yuan Shu and had to make a choice.

Unfortunately, Liu Biao still underestimated the abilities of his civil servants.

"My Lord, this is easy!"

Kuai Liang, one of Liu Biao's most important advisers, said:
"After Sun Jian, the governor of Changsha, died in battle, he was succeeded by Zhang Xian.

"This general has always been undisciplined, pretending to obey but secretly disobeying orders, and secretly instigating rebellion. With the rebellion of the five counties in southern Jing, we are already busy with our own affairs, so how can we have the energy to rush to Liu Yao's aid?

"There's no need to get involved in the dispute between the imperial court and the Yuan family!"

...

Cai Mao and others immediately agreed: "Zirou's plan is brilliant!"

"Although the rebellion of the five counties in southern Jing will affect the stability of Jingxiang, it is nothing compared to intervening in the dispute between the imperial court and Yuan Shu, and rushing to support Liu Yao. It is just a drop in the bucket!"

More and more people agreed.

After hearing this, Liu Biao remained expressionless, but he sighed in his heart and felt a great headache!
However, the Jingxiang family is not a monolithic entity!

This was also done intentionally by Liu Biao.

If a regime does not have multiple factions to check and balance each other, and one faction dominates, he, the lord, will be sidelined.

What any ruler must learn is the “art of checks and balances”!
At this time, Yi Ji spoke up. He was also one of Liu Biao's staff members. He frowned and said, "If we pretend to obey but actually disobey, we may anger Your Majesty!"

...

"If you don't tell me and I don't tell you, who will know?"

Cai Mao didn't take it seriously and chuckled, "The emperor is far away, and your majesty can't reach Jingxiang!"

...

"Yuan Shao's rebellion in Jizhou has been suppressed by the imperial court. Your Majesty's next military move will definitely be directed at Yuan Shu in Huainan. The imperial court's march south is a foregone conclusion. Is it really true that the emperor is far away?"

Yi Ji shook his head and said, "It's time to make a choice! With the imperial court's southward strategy, if we want to continue to play both sides and sit on the sidelines, we will end up with nothing and be directly targeted!"

...

"The imperial court is implementing the land-based tax system. If Yuan Shu in Huainan is really pacified, the Jingxiang family will be in danger of being destroyed.

"Our standing by and watching is already a sign of our loyalty to the court.

"Little did they know that those noble families who had fled south to Jiangdong to avoid disaster because of the land tax were joining forces to fight against the imperial court."

...

"We have the Jingzhou navy. If we intervene, the imperial court's troops will not be able to cross the natural barrier of the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers.

"If we just stand by and watch, we are actually stepping down from the imperial court!"

...

Soon, someone spoke out to refute Yi Ji, but some people also echoed Yi Ji, but their power was relatively weak. The aristocratic families in Jingxiang, as well as the civil officials from the gentry who fled to Jingxiang, naturally resisted the "taxation of land".

They were unwilling to go against the imperial court, and even less willing to help the imperial court suppress Yuan Shu. They just stood by and watched, trying to please both sides.

The two sides were arguing and could only look to Liu Biao in the end.

In fact, everyone already had a vague sense of Liu Biao's attitude.

Because Yi Ji and Liu Biao were from the same hometown and had been dependent on Liu Biao since childhood, Yi Ji's strong statement of obeying the imperial edict was obviously instructed by Liu Biao.

really.

When everyone looked at Liu Biao for his decision, he looked solemn and said:

"Zhang Liao has already led his troops into Nanyang, and the imperial court's troops are heading south one after another. A wise person should assess the situation and not resist stubbornly!"

Liu Biao made the final decision and followed the imperial edict to rush to Liu Yao's aid.

The civil and military officials were helpless and the meeting ended in a bad mood.

After the meeting, Cai Mao summoned his close colleagues, family allies, and other civil and military officials to hold another private meeting.

"The lord has decided to send troops. How should you and I respond?" Cai Mao asked in a deep voice.

Since the marriage between Liu Biao and Cai family, they quickly took control of the power in Jingzhou, and Cai family also took advantage of this opportunity to form alliances and become the number one family in Jingxiang.

Moreover, because Mrs. Cai gave birth to a son, Liu Biao favored her because of her son's status, which allowed Cai to gain military power.

Today, part of the Jingzhou navy is controlled by Cai Mao.

"My lord is ignorant, but we cannot follow him and seek our own death. The imperial court is promoting the equalization of land tax, which is to put us to death. If we help the imperial court, isn't it the same as digging our own graves?"

"But Your Majesty controls the military power of the world, and is decisive in killing. Now that Yuan Shao's rebellion in Hebei has been suppressed, it is only a matter of time before the army marches south. Can we stop the imperial army?"

"Why can't I stop it?!"

"The reason why Yuan Shao was defeated was because Jizhou had no strategic location to defend and was flat. The imperial court had infantry and cavalry under its command, so naturally they were able to crush the enemy with ease and sweep away thousands of enemies."

"But now the imperial court wants to go south, but it faces the dense network of waterways in the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers. Without a navy, how can it cross the natural barrier of the Huaihe River?"

"Even in Jingxiang, we have the Xiangjiang River and the Yushui River blocking us. The moat of Xiangyang City is hundreds of meters long. Does the court have any naval forces?"

If the imperial army wanted to go south to Jianghuai, there were only two ways to go - the first was to cross the Huai River, which required defeating Yuan Shu in Huainan. The second was to cross from Xiangyang and then go south to Jiangdong.

In the original history, Cao Cao took the second path!
"Yuan Shao also trained a navy, known as the 'Bohai Navy'. After his defeat, he was taken over by the imperial court. The imperial court is not without a navy, so we can't be careless!"

"Haha! The Han Dynasty only has three navies - Huainan Navy, Jiangdong Navy, and our Jingzhou Navy. As for the other naval forces? I'm not bragging, I'm just playing around!"

"That's true!"

These people are all from prominent families in the Jianghuai region, and naval battles are commonplace for the navy.

The northern troops mostly fought as cavalry, and naval battles were very rare.

This resulted in two situations:

There are more cavalry in the north and more navy in the south!

Even if the imperial court had strong troops and horses, and had suppressed the northern princes, and even Yuan Shao was defeated, so what? !
When we came to the Jianghuai region, there were no naval forces and we could only sigh at the river!

It is precisely based on this kind of self-confidence that they dare to pretend to obey the imperial edict and defy the emperor's will!

Cai Mao said:

"Then we have a deal. We will continue to deal with it perfunctorily. If the lord blames us, we must work together and unite as one. We cannot be defeated one by one. As long as we are united, the lord can do nothing to us!"

"It's natural!"

"It's all because of your Majesty being too ruthless! Allocating taxes to each acre is simply digging our own graves. Will we dig our own graves? Of course not!"

"It's settled!"

Cai Mao joined forces with most of the aristocratic families in Jingxiang to pretend to obey but actually disobeyed.

He did not even instigate a rebellion in the five counties of southern Jing, but instead used excuses such as insufficient military pay, lack of food and fodder mobilization, and soldiers avoiding fighting to delay sending troops to rescue Liu Yao.

When Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, heard the news, he was furious!
……

(End of this chapter)