Chapter 106: Liu Bei, Cao Cao and other generals are dispatched to the Huaihe River front!

"Your Majesty, Liu Biao of Jingzhou is seriously ill. His wife's family, the Cai family, holds great power in Jingzhou. They pretended to obey the imperial edict to help Liu Yao, but secretly disobeyed it. This is a rebellion against the court, helping the tyrant to commit atrocities, and is extremely treasonous!"

The news from Jingzhou quickly reached the capital, and the Jinyiwei delivered it to the palace as soon as possible, several hours faster than the military intelligence and battle reports from the court.

This made Liu Bian very satisfied!
As Liu Bian took control of the six prefectures in Hebei, land reform and the land-based tax system were implemented, the court's food crisis and financial problems were alleviated, and there was naturally sufficient funds to support the development and growth of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

As Liu Bian formulated the strategy of moving south, the Jinyiwei had already begun to deploy in the south. In addition, the "No. 1 Manor in the World" under its control had infiltrated the underworld, so no matter how things happened, they could not escape Liu Bian's attention.

It has truly been done - monitoring the world!
"After the imperial edict was issued, Liu Bian suddenly became seriously ill? Was this intentional, or has Liu Biao already lost control of Jingzhou?"

Liu Bian raised his eyebrows slightly and asked in a deep voice.

If it's too coincidental, it's not a coincidence anymore.

Suzaku reported:
“Your Majesty, Jinyiwei spies have infiltrated the aristocratic families in Jingzhou, including the Cai family.

"Liu Biao was somewhat hesitant after responding to the imperial edict, but he finally decided to send troops to help Liu Yao. However, his wife's family Cai Mao and the aristocratic families of Jingzhou opposed it.

"Finally, Liu Biao tried to deprive the Cai family of their rights and made Liu Qi, the eldest son born to his ex-wife, his heir.

"This action angered the Cai family, causing them to secretly attack Liu Biao, which caused Liu Biao to become seriously ill and bedridden!"

...

"Did Cai poison Liu Biao?"

Liu Bian was somewhat alarmed. How could this poison make Liu Biao seriously ill but not kill him?

Could it be a small amount of arsenic? !

The reason why Liu Bian knew this was because of the incident in Water Margin where Pan Jinlian fed Wu Dalang poison and killed him.

It's arsenic!

...

However, Suzaku looked a little strange, but finally revealed everything:
"That's not the case. Cai Shi didn't dare to poison Liu Biao, and they also needed Liu Biao as their banner. If Liu Biao died, Jingzhou would probably change hands, and they would lose everything.

"The method used by the Cai family is to do the opposite. They did not poison Liu Biao, but gave him tonics, so that Liu Biao was hot and had music and singing every day to relieve his internal heat. In the end..."

...

After hearing this, Liu Bian's expression also became a little strange!

Liu Biao was already in his fifties and had reached the age where he was no longer able to do anything.

This forced nourishment eventually made him indulge in reveling every day, which was nothing more than overdraft!
This thought was fleeting, and Liu Bian quickly became serious and ordered in a deep voice: "Call the civil officials and military officers to discuss the matter!"

Disobeying the emperor's will is an unforgivable crime!

"promise!!!"

The civil and military officials in Beijing immediately entered the palace to discuss the matter. The Left General Huangfu Song, who had been stationed in Tongguan recently, happened to return to Beijing to report on his work. The General Zhu Jun was also in the capital, together with the Grand Tutor Lu Zhi, the three generals gathered together.

Lu Zhi, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun, these are the three famous generals of the late Han Dynasty in the future. They are not only good at fighting, but also loyal to the Han Dynasty!
However, when Zhu Jun was discussing matters, he kept an absolute silence, because this Yangzhou incident involved his son Zhu Hao, and he needed to avoid suspicion.

Liu Bian didn't care about it. The Han Dynasty was currently using the system of recommendation for appointment of candidates, and had not yet introduced the imperial examination system.

Zhu Hao was qualified to be the prefect of Yuzhang County in Yangzhou in terms of reputation, ability, and even family background.

This time, the conflict with Liu Biao's recommendation that Zhuge Xuan be appointed as the prefect of Yuzhang was entirely due to the time difference.

After browsing the intelligence from Yangzhou, everyone was shocked that His Majesty's intelligence network was faster than that of the court and the military, but they remained calm.

If he doesn't even have his own private army to monitor the whole world, he is not the ruler of a country or the master of the Han Dynasty, but a puppet emperor!

Everyone present knew that the power that His Majesty used to monitor the world was none other than the Embroidered Uniform Guard, whose commander Suzaku even participated in government affairs.

Perhaps the East Factory is also on this list!

Cao Zhengchun, the director of the East Factory and the most loyal eunuch in front of His Majesty, is His Majesty's close attendant and a die-hard fan, and often regards himself as "Your Majesty's most loyal dog."

The Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot are the forces that Your Majesty uses to monitor the world!

Those who can serve as officials in the court are not ordinary people, but they pretend not to know. As a subject, they sometimes need to pretend to be stupid.

They still have some cunning in this aspect!

At this time, Xun You said:
“Your Majesty, Liu Biao entered Jingzhou alone and was able to quickly control Jingzhou because of the loyalty of the Jingzhou noble families. The two sides helped each other and benefited each other, and now the situation has become so serious that it is difficult to get rid of the old family.

"Among the aristocratic families in Jingzhou, the Cai family, which was married to Liu Biao, undoubtedly became the leader and the decision-maker. Moreover, Cai gave birth to the second son, Liu Cong, and had been trying to depose the eldest son and enthronize the youngest son. This made the aristocratic families in Jingzhou recognize and believe in him.

“That’s why, after the Cai family managed to make Liu Biao seriously ill, they were able to quickly control the military power of Jingzhou. And their goal was the same, to resist the court’s reform of the land tax.

"Although they did not completely side with Yuan Shu, this move inadvertently formed a pincer attack with Yuan Shu, a hidden strategic alliance. If the court wants to attack Jianghuai, Jingzhou will also be a must!"

...

After hearing this, Liu Bian did not express his opinion!
The imperial court had already announced its decision to mobilize troops against Yuan Shu in Huainan, and everyone in the world knew about it. But it had not made any statement about its decision to mobilize troops against Jingzhou.

If the imperial court issues an edict to attack Jingzhou, many unexpected situations will occur.

For example, he made Jingzhou completely lean towards Yuan Shu. For example, he made the civil officials and military officers in Jingzhou who were loyal to the Han Dynasty turn against them in battle.

Xun You wanted to use this incident to order the royal army to march directly to Jingzhou. This was a legitimate excuse and he had a legitimate reason to do so!
But the problem is!

This move may lead to a war on two fronts - Jingzhou and Huainan!

After Xun You finished speaking, Xun Yu immediately cupped his hands and said:
"Your Majesty, Jingzhou Xiangyang is located on the Han River. The moat is more than 5,000 meters long and more than 200 meters wide. We must use the navy to approach the city.

"However, the imperial court lacks naval forces. If Zhang Liao is ordered to build a temporary naval base in Nanyang, it will be difficult to pose a threat to the Jingzhou navy.

“The court’s navy now only has the Bohai Navy seized from Yuan Shao. Now, under the development of Qingzhou Governor Liu Bei, the fleet has nearly a hundred ships.

"This Qingzhou navy needs to be divided into two groups to defend the Qingzhou coastal defense line, and also needs to be divided into two groups to go south to confront Yuan Shu in Huainan.

"Originally, it was possible to enter the Huaishui area from the mouth of the Huai River, but after Yuan Shu captured Xuzhou and Guangling, the court had lost control of the Huai River mouth.

“If we continue to move southward to the Yangtze River estuary, Guangling has already fallen into the hands of Yuan Shu, and Jiangdong Wu County and Danyang County have fallen into the hands of Sun Ce, so it will also be difficult to move deeper into the Yangtze River.

"In this case, if the imperial court divides its troops to deal with Jingzhou and Jianghuai, it will inevitably end up losing one while focusing on the other."

Xun Yu was opposed to fighting on two fronts.

Just like when Xun Yu opposed the court's decision to go to war on all fronts, this put enormous pressure on the logistics of food and fodder, and it would collapse if one was not careful!

Now he is leading his troops southwards, seemingly only attacking Jingzhou and Jianghuai, which means he is fighting on two fronts.

But the problem is that the six prefectures in Hebei and the border areas controlled by the imperial court all need to be guarded by troops.

Otherwise, the enemy only needs to sneak into the six prefectures of Hebei and stir up trouble, which will cause the imperial court to be attacked from all sides.

The outside must be safe first!

And these military expenditures are astronomical figures at every moment.

In addition to this military consumption, it was also necessary to fight on two fronts, and this was based on the premise that the court lacked naval forces.

Xun Yu disagreed with this proposal! After he finished speaking, the civil officials and military officers started a heated discussion. Some agreed with Xun You's proposal, but they also thought that Xun Yu's statement was more stable!

Even though the imperial court now controls the six prefectures in Hebei, it seems that the food and financial crises have been alleviated.

But the cost of war is astronomical, and if we are not careful, everything will collapse!

They should seek stability!
After hearing this, Liu Bian looked at Xun Yu and asked, "Wen Ruo, how do you think the court should lead the troops south?"

"..."

Xun Yu suppressed his objection. He believed that the court should postpone sending troops and recuperate for three to five years before directly marching south.

Even if war breaks out on two fronts, Xun Yu is confident that after three to five years of development, the imperial treasury has been replenished and can withstand the consumption of war.

But the problem is that Xun Yu knew that His Majesty could not wait, so he could only say:

"Your Majesty, order Zhang Liao to lead his troops to Nanyang, confront Xiangyang, besiege but not attack, and intimidate Xiangyang! The court will gather its main forces to attack Jianghuai. I think we can first retake Xuzhou Guangling County.

"Guangling is where the Huaihe River meets the sea, and Piling is where the Yangtze River meets the sea. The strategic location is too important, and this is a place that must be fought for!
"However, Buddhism was prevalent in Guangling and Xiapi. Yuan Shu relied on the reputation of Buddhism to deceive Buddhists and secretly joined forces with local aristocratic families. This is how he defeated Tao Qian's troops in Xuzhou and took control of Guangling.

"With Guangling, Yuan Shu can rest assured that he will be able to occupy Huainan. Similarly, if we want to attack Yuan Shu in Huainan, we must also take Guangling back!"

...

After hearing this, Liu Bian nodded.

The reason why Yuan Shu needed to seize Guangling County was because the current estuary of the Huai River was in Guangling.

It was not until the Song Dynasty that the Yellow River "took the Huai River into the sea" and the Huai River changed its course into the Yangtze River, forming a "7"-shaped turn.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Huai River flowed directly into the sea from Guangling.

If Guangling was under the control of Xuzhou, Xuzhou’s troops could attack Huainan on the left at any time.

Therefore, it is imperative for Yuan Shu to seize Guangling County in Xuzhou!

With Xuzhou and Guangling County, Yuan Shu completely controlled the Huaihe River defense line and could rest easy!
After that, Yuan Shu only needed to capture the Jiangdong area and control the Yangtze River defense line.

With the "natural barrier of Jianghuai", he can use it to divide the world and rule it according to the river!

In fact, this is also the strategic thinking of Lu Su on Sun Quan's "Couch Strategy" in the original history.

Because of this, Tao Qian of Xuzhou lost Guangling County, which made Liu Bian somewhat disappointed!
Of course, Liu Bian also knew that although Tao Qian seemed to be the governor of Xuzhou, he actually only controlled counties such as Pengcheng.

At that time, Xuzhou experienced the impact of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and the people suffered devastating losses and were devastated by war. Their homes were broken up and their wives and children were separated.

Under such circumstances, the reason why Tao Qian was able to quickly stabilize Xuzhou and resume production was not only because he promoted Buddhism and gave the people a glimmer of hope, but also because he made use of the children of Xuzhou's aristocratic families.

For example, Tao Qian recommended Chen Deng of Xia Pi as the commander of agriculture to implement military farming in Xuzhou.

Chen Deng was the son of Chen Gui from Pei County. The Xu family was also a family of nobles and a top family in Xuzhou.

Tao Qian also appointed Mi Zhu, a wealthy businessman from Xuzhou, as his deputy. The Mi family was one of the five largest merchants in the world.

Later, she spent all her family wealth to send her sister Mi Zhen into the palace. Now, because of her son, she is honored as a noble lady and is a member of the royal family.

Tao Qian, the governor of Xuzhou, was simply unable to completely control Xuzhou and have his words carry the final say.

Xuzhou Mu Tao Qian could only be said to have co-governed Xuzhou with the aristocratic families.

The Battle of Guangling must have been caused by conflicts of interest, as the noble families of Xuzhou secretly made trouble for Tao Qian, which led to his defeat and the loss of Guangling County!

After all, the imperial court was pushing for the tax reform of "equalizing the land tax"!

But even so, Tao Qian's loss of Guangling was a dereliction of duty!
Considering that there was no successor candidate yet, Liu Bian only reprimanded Tao Qian and did not dismiss him from his post!
But now it is imperative for the imperial court to send troops south!

Liu Bian had the idea of ​​replacing Tao Qian.

...

All the officials present were old foxes.

After Xun Yu said that "it is imperative to recapture Guangling County", Liu Bian fell silent, and it was obvious that he was moved!
If one is tempted, one will naturally consider the incident in which Tao Qian, the governor of Xuzhou, lost Guangling a few months ago.

At this time, Minister Wang Yun reported to the emperor, "Your Majesty, Xuzhou Governor Tao Qian has repeatedly reported to the emperor, saying that he is old and wants to retire!"

"The imperial court is now sending troops south. Xuzhou is too important. Changing the generals easily may cause unrest in the army."

Liu Bian did not say that Tao Qian could not be replaced, but he was worried that changing generals at the critical moment would cause turmoil.

In response to this attitude, some officials immediately made suggestions, saying that what the Han Dynasty lacked the most was talent and loyal ministers.

"Your Majesty, Liu Bei, the governor of Qingzhou, has made outstanding achievements in his administration and is loved by the people. His soldiers are good at fighting, and the Qingzhou navy has been trained by him. When the court sends troops south, he will be the main fighter. He can be transferred to Xuzhou to govern!"

"Liu Bei..."

After hearing this, Liu Bian was somewhat moved!

In this life, with the sudden appearance of Liu Bian and his intervention, he was able to turn the tide and save the country from collapse, thus changing a lot of history.

At least it would be impossible for Cao Cao to massacre Xuzhou and give up Xuzhou three times!

Liu Bei was doing well in Qingzhou, and Liu Bian had never thought of transferring him to Xuzhou. But now that an official had mentioned this, Liu Bian thought it was feasible.

Liu Bei was in charge of Qingzhou and was familiar with internal affairs, so he could take over Xuzhou as soon as possible.

Moreover, he loved his people like his own children and was benevolent in his administration, and was praised by people from all walks of life in Qingzhou. Xuzhou was right next to Qingzhou, so naturally they had heard of him.

In this way, Liu Bei would have little resistance in transferring Xuzhou!
Liu Bei has Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Taishi Ci under his command, and now Guo Jia is also serving under him.

Qingzhou soldiers and Qingzhou navy are all Liu Bei's military performances.

The former Liu Paopao has become a high-ranking official in a certain place!
"Liu Bei was transferred to serve as governor of Xuzhou..."

"promise!!!"

Liu Bian transferred Liu Bei to the front line in Xuzhou, so Tao Qian went to Beijing and was given a nominal position to live out his retirement.

At this time, someone said:
"Your Majesty, in the battle to pacify Yuan Shao in Jizhou, Cao Cao, the governor of Dongjun, deserves the most credit. He has outstanding military ability. As the imperial court is sending troops south, why not promote him to the governor of Yuzhou to confront Yuan Shu in Huainan?"

"Cao Cao..."

After hearing this, Liu Bian thought deeply for a moment, nodded and said, "Appoint me as the governor of Dongjun and take up the post of governor of Yuzhou!"

"promise!!!"

When the imperial court sent troops south, it was inevitable that the positions of civil and military officials would be reshuffled.

Liu Bian gathered the wisdom and efforts of all the people and ordered his civil and military officials to recommend talents to provide more support for the fight against Yuan Shu in Huainan.

Liu Bei, the governor of Qingzhou, Cao Cao, the prefect of Dongjun, and other civil and military officials rushed to the front line.

……

(End of this chapter)