Chapter 72: The loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty enjoyed good weather and harvests, while the treacherous ministers and rebels caused continuous droughts!
Jizhou.

After Yuan Shao obtained Weijun, he immediately began to clean up and integrate the entire Jizhou.

Spies have been sent to observe Youzhou in the north, Qingzhou and Yanzhou in the south, Taihang Mountains in the west, and Bingzhou further west.

After the integration of Jizhou, it was already late September, and Yuan Shao's army immediately began autumn plowing work.

Unfortunately, there was a severe drought throughout the Han Dynasty, and Jizhou was also affected. The water levels of the Haihe River and the Yellow River systems dropped to historical lows.

Fortunately, there are two major water systems, so Jizhou does not fall into the dilemma of having no water available. As one of the three major plains of the Han Dynasty, the Jizhou North China Plain has a unique geographical location.

But what Yuan Shao couldn't understand was that it rained in Qingzhou.

"Why is it that it is not raining in Yanzhou, Xuzhou, and Jizhou, but only in Qingzhou?"

Yuan Shao looked at the intelligence from the spies and looked at his civil officials and military officers with some doubt. After annexing Han Fu's team, his lineup of civil officials and military officers became more abundant.

Everyone was also surprised and confused.

Feng Ji guessed, "My Lord, maybe it's because Qingzhou is close to the sea and the humidity is high?!"

"But Bohai County is also by the sea, so why is it not raining in Bohai? It has been almost five months without rain. If this continues, even though Jizhou has the Haihe River and the Yellow River systems, it will still be affected by drought!"

Yuan Shao was originally the governor of Bohai. This was his territory. Because it was close to the sea, it had sea salt workshops and shipbuilding industries, which made it the core of Yuan Shao and attracted much attention.

Everyone is puzzled!
At this time, Guo Tu said:

"My lord, it didn't rain in the counties surrounding Qingzhou, but it rained in Qingzhou alone. And it was after Liu Bei suppressed the Yellow Turban Rebellion and took control of Qingzhou.

"Although we are baffled, we can use a trick to spread the word that Liu Bei is destined to be the heir. If we spread this to the capital, it will surely alienate the relationship between Liu Bei and Your Majesty!"

...

Hearing this, Yuan Shao's eyes lit up, and he woke up from his worry that Jizhou had not seen rain for several months. He nodded and said:

"This is a brilliant plan, Your Majesty, given his character, will definitely transfer Liu Bei away from Qingzhou. We can take this opportunity to directly place our troops there!"

Everyone agreed!

Since Liu Bei suppressed the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Qingzhou, he has surrendered 100,000 soldiers and horses and a population of over 500,000.

Coupled with Qingzhou's original population of millions, Liu Bei's power suddenly expanded rapidly.

And with Guo Jia's assistance, he has already posed a threat to Yuan Shao!
If they can use the "strategy of sowing discord" to alienate the trust between Your Majesty and Liu Bei, they can easily attack Liu Bei and Qingzhou.

But before they could make a move, a messenger suddenly came to report: "General, the spies in the capital have reported that it has been drizzling in the capital recently!"

"..."

The surprise that Yuan Shao had just felt suddenly cooled down.

Feng Ji asked the messenger, "Can the spies tell me whether it is drizzling rain or heavy rain? Is there a flood disaster in the capital?!"

After the drought, two secondary disasters will occur - one is the locust plague and the other is the flood.

Since there was no locust plague in the capital but rainfall instead, according to historical records, heavy rains would follow droughts, followed by floods.

This may also be the reason why everything will turn into the opposite extreme and everything will decline after reaching its peak.

That's why Feng Ji asked this question.

The messenger thought for a moment and then said, "The spies said that it has been drizzling in the capital for several days, but they didn't mention flood disasters."

Feng Ji asked a few more questions and then stopped asking.

Yuan Shao said impatiently: "Go down and claim your reward!"

"Thank you, General!!!"

After the messenger withdrew, Yuan Shao sighed and said:
"It's raining in Qingzhou and the capital, but it hasn't rained in Jizhou for months. Some are dying of drought, and some are dying of floods. God is blind. It's still drizzling. It's going to be a heavy rain, and it will cause a flood disaster. How good would it be?"

No one agreed, but their expressions were a little ugly!
The capital has good weather and good harvests, so as long as we can hold on for a few months and plant grain and fodder, the food crisis will definitely be alleviated.

Their advantage was weakened again.

Yuan Shao's army naturally didn't know that this was actually Liu Bian's way of looking at the emperor's qi + the imperial seal, using [good weather and good harvests] to suppress the country's destiny!
As long as the area is controlled by Emperor Liu Bian of the Han Dynasty and loyal ministers of the Han Dynasty, the effect of [good weather and good harvests] can be achieved.

After Liu Bei suppressed the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Qingzhou, he completely controlled Qingzhou, and naturally, it also came with [good weather and good harvests].

Yanzhou was not affected because there were still some Yuan clan members causing chaos, such as Shanyang Prefect Yuan Yi.

Youzhou was originally controlled by Liu Yu, but as Gongsun Zan fled to Youbeiping and caused chaos, it was not affected.

Naturally, they cannot see these mysterious fortunes and national destinies.

In the end, I can only sigh that God is blind.

But there are also a few people who sighed that this is because the Han Dynasty is still alive and well and they still have the mandate of heaven!

As everyone was thinking differently, Guo Tu bowed and said:
"My lord, although we cannot use the Mandate of Heaven to alienate the relationship between Your Majesty and Liu Bei, we can still say that Liu Bei has the Mandate of Heaven from Your Majesty, which will more or less have some effect.

In addition, we also need to infiltrate and destroy Qingzhou, and we cannot let Liu Bei develop in peace. Otherwise, he will become a major concern for us!"

...

Yuan Shao nodded and immediately sent people to infiltrate Qingzhou, bribe Liu Bei's soldiers, and mobilize the victims of Qingzhou.

But in fact, Yuan Shao also understood that these methods had little effect.

The Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou wreaked havoc in the province, causing war and devastation, and the people hated them to the core. Liu Bei's suppression of the Yellow Turbans in Qingzhou had won the support of the people.

Feng Ji offered a suggestion:
"My lord, although I cannot alienate the relationship between Liu Bei and Your Majesty, I may alienate the trust between Liu Bei and Cao Cao and others, and even make them go to war against each other."

"Oh?! What's Yuantu's brilliant plan?" Yuan Shao asked.

Liu Bei and Cao Cao were both loyal ministers appointed by Your Majesty. They were staunch loyalists to the Han Dynasty and were naturally their targets.

Liu Bei is the governor of Qingzhou, and Cao Cao is the governor of Dongjun of Yanzhou. If they can provoke them to go to war with each other, or even affect Qingzhou and Yanzhou, they can fan the flames and fish in troubled waters!

Feng Ji smiled and said:

"My lord, do you know that Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, lived in seclusion in Langya County, Xuzhou? Langya County is adjacent to Qingzhou, Qi State and Beihai. If Cao Song died and the blame was put on Liu Bei, given Cao Cao's temperament, he would definitely turn against him!"

"This……"

Yuan Shao was a little hesitant. After all, Cao Cao was his childhood friend. Was this too much?!
"My lord, those who achieve great things do not care about small details!"

Feng Ji advised, "If this plan succeeds, we can not only deal with Qingzhou, but also affect Yanzhou, killing two birds with one stone!"

Yuan Shao gritted his teeth and nodded heavily, saying, "Follow the plan!"

"promise!!!"

The civil and military officials in Yuan’s camp immediately began to plan and arrange for this tactic.

This sinister and cunning behavior made some of Han Fu's team who had just joined Yuan's camp feel disdain and sneer.

People like Ju Su and Tian Feng were both loyal and righteous men. If they were not forced by the situation, they would never have colluded with Yuan's camp.

But now, after hearing what he said, he just watched from the sidelines, not getting involved.

Yuan Shao's original team naturally saw through the lofty attitude of these people. The two sides were clearly divided and had formed their own factions.

The reason why he did not take action against Ju Shou, Tian Feng and other Han Fu's original men was to avoid affecting Yuan Shao's reputation.

If they attacked Han Fu's civil officials and military officers who surrendered to Yuan Shao, who would dare to surrender to Yuan Shao in the future? In fact, Han Fu's civil officials and military officers were from Jizhou, while Yuan Shao's civil officials and military officers were from Yingchuan and Runan in Yuzhou. They each had their own circle of relatives and friends, and they had their own interests.

Amidst all these thoughts, Gongsun Zan sent a special envoy to inform them of a piece of information:
"Youzhou Governor Liu Yu has finished collecting grain and grass and is about to transport them to the capital. Governor Gongsun asked General Yuan if he wanted to intercept them?"

"Where is Liu Yu's grain transportation route?" Yuan Shao asked.

"Liu Yu decided to take a detour through Bingzhou."

"Haha, are you worried that I might take action?" Yuan Shao sneered, then nodded and said, "Liu Yu is so wary of me. If I don't take action, won't I disappoint him?"

Yuan Shao controlled Jizhou and had been preventing any party from transporting grain to the capital.

Yuan Shu cooperated with him in the Huai River area, and he took the lead in the Yellow River area. And far away in the border of Youzhou, Gongsun Zan took action.

This group of Yuan's followers influenced almost half of the Han Dynasty.

And it is the location of the two richest plains——

Jizhou where Yuan Shao is located controls the North China Plain!
Yuan Shu's Nanyang affects the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River plain!

The Northeast Plain where Liaodong is located has not been developed yet!
These places have also been the mainstay of the Han Dynasty's tax revenue over the years!
As for the direction of Xiliang, Yuan's tentacles have not yet extended there because they were interrupted by the capital.

In fact, even if they can control it, they are too lazy to pay attention.

It is true that Xiliang is a bitter and cold place, and it is not even enough to be self-sufficient, so how can there be enough food and fodder to support the capital?
Yuan Ying worked together and immediately joined forces with Gongsun Zan to attack Liu Yu.

The last time Yuan Shao sent an envoy to persuade Liu Yu to surrender, he was rejected. He even used Liu Yu's son Liu He to threaten him, but Liu Yu remained unmoved.

Since Liu Yu refused to drink the toast, they would no longer be polite!

Of course, Liu Yu’s reputation was too high, so this matter required Gongsun Zan to take the lead, while Yuan Shao’s army assisted in secret.

In addition, Zhang Yan of the Black Mountain Army and Yu Furuo's troops who are causing chaos in Bingzhou can also cooperate.

……

Upon hearing the news that Liu Yu's grain escort team had set out, Gongsun Zan immediately led the newly formed "White Horse Volunteer" troops to pursue and kill them.

Although it was only a month's time, with the financial and food support from Yuan Shao, Gongsun Zan immediately recruited soldiers and formed a new White Horse Volunteer Army with a number of more than 5,000 people.

Many of them ride two horses!
In fact, Gongsun Zan did not lack knights, because Youzhou was often invaded by barbarians. Everyone was skilled in archery and horse riding, but they lacked excellent war horses.

A war horse costs 2 to 10 coins, and a good horse costs more than 20 coins. Compare this with a cow at 500 coins and a piece of linen at coins, and you can see how expensive war horses are.

Not to mention the need for grooms, feed and other supplies after purchasing war horses, which would cost an astronomical amount.

In the past, Gongsun Zan could only afford 3,000 good horses at most to form the "White Horse Volunteers", and the rest were knights riding ordinary war horses.

But with the support of the Yuan family, Gongsun Zan immediately became arrogant!

Yuan Shao also spent a lot of money to make Gongsun Zan confront Youzhou Mu Liu Yu. This also made Gongsun Zan feel Yuan Shao's sincerity!
Money can make anything possible!

Gongsun Zan was originally unhappy with Liu Yu because Liu Yu was benevolent and loved the people. Gongsun Zan, on the other hand, was aggressive and allowed his subordinates to plunder the people because he raised cavalry. Naturally, their political views were opposite, and their reputations were very different.

This means that the two of them are like water and fire, and there will be a fight!
But Liu Yu, the former governor of Youzhou, had a very high reputation and was also Gongsun Zan's superior. He had no way or reason, or even the ability, to take action against Liu Yu.

Now, with Yuan Shao's support, Gongsun Zan has nothing to lack.

This time, in order to block Liu Yu from transporting grain and grass to the capital, Yuan Shao even sent his nephew Gao Gan.

But despite the joint efforts of both parties, they ended up with nothing!

Liu Yu’s grain transport convoy was just a cover!
Gongsun Zan and the high officials looked at each other in bewilderment, wondering where Liu Yu would transport his grain to the capital? !
They immediately sent out spies, but in the end they found nothing.

……

Just when Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao's army set their sights on Youzhou, Liu Yu's grain transport team had already passed through the Jundu Pass of the Eight Passes in Taihang Mountains, and transported grain from Changping, Guangyang County, Youzhou to Zhuo County, Youzhou.

Then he went to Zijing Pass from Zhuo County in Youzhou, crossed Puyin Pass, and arrived at Laiyuan in Zhongshan, Jizhou.

And here, the Zhen family of Zhongshan in Jizhou has already provided support for Liu Yu.

The Zhen family of Zhongshan is the descendant of Zhen Han, the Grand Tutor of the Han Dynasty. Zhen Han's father-in-law, Kong Guang, the Marquis of Boshan, was the 14th generation grandson of Confucius and the son of Kong Ba, the Grand Tutor. The Zhen family has continued to hold the positions of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers for generations.

When it came to Zhen Yi's generation, he inherited the title of Marquis of Ancheng Township.

Zhen Yi had three sons and five daughters, the most famous of whom was Zhen Mi, first the wife of Yuan Shao's second son Yuan Xi, then the wife of Wei Wendi Cao Pi, and the mother of Wei Mingdi Cao Rui. The prototype heroine of Luoshenfu!
The Zhen family is a prominent family in Jizhou and one of the top five wealthy merchants in the world.

Originally, the Zhen family was one of the aristocratic families that supported Yuan Shao, but because the Wei family in Hedong was looted, the hero of "the best village in the world" became famous throughout the world.

As one of the five largest merchants, he naturally gets information quickly.

Through intelligence analysis, the Zhen family guessed that the imperial court must be behind the looting of the Hedong Wei family.

This made the Zhen family a little panic!

The Hedong Wei family is also one of the five largest merchants in the world. They are like lips and teeth, and they feel sorry for each other!
At this time, the Zhen family naturally did not completely side with Yuan Shao and try to resist the invasion of imperial power. Instead, after a thoughtful meeting, the Zhen family leaders decided to bet on both sides!
Therefore, they took the initiative to contact the imperial court and decided to donate half of their wealth, which was almost five million shi of grain!
The governor of Youzhou, Liu Yu, had only 500,000 dan of available grain and fodder in the state!
If these grains can be transported to the capital, it will alleviate the capital's grain crisis and allow the capital to have enough time to cultivate land and wait for the sweet potatoes, potatoes and corn to mature and be harvested!
Therefore, Emperor Liu Bian of the Han Dynasty highly praised the performance of the Zhen family who were aware of the times!

The Jinyiwei took a detour from Bingzhou and went directly to Zhenjia through the Eight Passes of Taihang Mountain. Here, they used it as a transit point to receive the grain and fodder collected by Liu Yu, the governor of Youzhou, and escorted it to the capital together with the grain and fodder of the Zhen family.

If it were anyone else, they might not be able to escort such a huge amount of food and fodder, but the Zhen family is one of the five largest merchants in the world, so they naturally have their own transportation channels.

This resulted in Gongsun Zan and Gao Gan coming to nothing.

However, even if they transported 5.5 million dan of grain in batches, it would be impossible to conceal it from the public.

When they entered Bingzhou, they were still captured by spies from Yuan's camp.

Yuan Shao was in Jizhou and out of reach, so he wanted Yu Furuo to lead the attack and Zhang Yan of the Black Mountain Army to outflank and intercept.

But the Southern Xiongnu soldiers under Yu Fuluo were now in a difficult situation, as they were being hunted down by the Bingzhou Army led by Lu Bu!

If Bingzhou was not a vast territory with few people and if Yu Fuluo's men were not all skilled cavalrymen, they would have been surrounded and killed by Lu Bu and his Bingzhou army.

Now they are barely holding on, relying on the mobility of their cavalry to avoid pursuit by Lu Bu and other Bingzhou troops, and have no spare energy to intercept this batch of grain and fodder.

And Zhang Yan of the Montenegrin Army is even worse off!

After the news of Liu Bian's tax reform of "equalizing the land tax and the capitation levy" came out, even the aristocratic families wanted to fan the flames and quote out of context in an attempt to cover up the content of the "equalizing the land tax and the capitation levy."

But there are always rumors spreading.

Even though the Han people have a low literacy rate and most of the people are illiterate, the lower class has their own wisdom and they will try to find out the truth through indirect means.

The Black Mountain Army under Zhang Yan were all farmers from Hebei who had participated in the "Yellow Turban Rebellion". They became bandits not because they really wanted to occupy the mountains and become kings, but because they had no other choice and were living in dire straits.

However, the tax reform of "equalizing the land tax" gave them hope.

Therefore, many farmers in the Montenegrin Army wanted to give up their evil ways, abandon darkness and return to farming life.

The Montenegrin Army was once known as a "million-strong army", but once the tax reform policy of "equalizing the land tax" was announced, at least half of the farmers would leave!

There are deserters in the army, let alone bandits? !
Zhang Yan can’t be kept!
Every moment, Black Mountain Army soldiers were fleeing with their families. It was impossible for Zhang Yan to keep them there because it would arouse public anger!
Some of these fleeing farmers went to Jizhou, some went to Yanzhou, and some went directly to the capital.

When the farmers who went to Jizhou found that Yuan Shao did not implement the "taxation per acre", they fled to Yanzhou and Qingzhou again.

Zhang Yan was busy with his own affairs, so naturally he had no spare energy to intercept the grain transport convoy, even though he coveted the grain.

But I am still unable to do that!
In this way, the Zhen family's grain transport caravans passed through Taihang Pass in Bingzhou in batches and entered Henei County.

Under the escort of Wang Kuang, the governor of Henei, he entered the capital Luoyang!
(End of this chapter)