I am not an ant thief in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 377, Time to Attack Yizhou
Of course, if you want to attack Yizhou, it is definitely not a matter of Liu Bei's private discussion!
Liu Bei invited Huangfu Li, Yang Biao, Zhang Wen, Zhao Qi and other senior court officials to his residence.

Then he told them straight to the point that he wanted to capture Yizhou after the autumn harvest!
Yang Biao worried: "The general has just led an expedition to Yangzhou, and now he is going to attack Yizhou. Even if the general can bear it, the army can't bear such a burden, and food and grass are also a big problem!"

Zhang Wen also said: "Yizhou's terrain is dangerous, and one man is in charge of the customs. Even if the conquest is only to see, it will be difficult to conquer it smoothly like this attack on Yangzhou. With the grain hoarded by the court now, even if there is an autumn harvest, I am afraid It is also difficult to support the army's attack for several months! Moreover, the imperial court has no good reason to attack Shuzhong. For the current Han Dynasty, the drought in Yanzhou is more important. Instead of attacking Liu Zhang, the imperial court should support Yanzhou!"

Zhao Qi said angrily: "It's a pedantic view, not to mention that the imperial court has no ability to support Yanzhou. Now Yanzhou listens to Yuan Shao better than the imperial court. You still regard Yanzhou as the imperial court's territory? Now there are imperial courts there. The territory is gone! Yangzhou was brought down by the generals with one sword and one sword. Liu Zhang in Yizhou is only the son of Liu Yan. What qualifications does he have to become a Yizhou shepherd? When the court's state shepherd can also be given privately! This is not a rebellion What is it?"

"The Central Plains no longer has the territory of the imperial court, but the vassals who ruled separately. What we have to do now is to find a way to strengthen the power of the imperial court. How can we use the power of the imperial court to strengthen the power of the princes like Yuan Shao? Do you really want to become Yuan Shao? Clan servants!"

"In the early years, Liu Yan ordered people to build the emperor's frame of honor, etc., and his wolf ambitions were clearly revealed. If Liu Yan hadn't been taught a lesson by a general, I'm afraid that Liu Yan would have proclaimed himself emperor in the middle of Shu. Liu Yan only built the emperor's frame. The guard of honor is enough for the imperial court to destroy Liu Zhang's clan, how can it be said that there is no reason!"

After being scolded by Zhao Qi, Zhang Wen suddenly didn't dare to speak anymore. He didn't want to join Yuan Shao, but his hometown in Yanzhou. Of course he wanted to take care of his hometown, but Zhang Wen forgot about it. own position in the court.

Huangfu Li thought for a while and said: "Although it is not the time to attack Yizhou in terms of food and soldiers' morale, but in terms of weather and people, it is the right time to attack Yizhou! If there is no civil strife in Yizhou, With the advantage of the terrain surrounded by mountains in Yizhou, no matter whether the imperial court sent troops out of Yiling or attacked Hanzhong, it would take human lives to pile them up. Even if the imperial court had an army of 20, it would be difficult to invade Yizhou. The internal turmoil in the state is a godsend opportunity for the big man!"

Because Liu Yan in this world was taught a lesson by Liu Bei, he died of illness a year earlier than in history, and his son Liu Zhang was in charge!

It's a pity that Liu Zhang in this world is not as lucky as Liu Zhang in the original world. The imperial court is in Jingzhou, and Yizhou is under great pressure. He wants the imperial court to appoint him as the shepherd of Yizhou, but the imperial court does not agree at all, so he named him A sense of injustice.

Although the Great Han is still divided as in the original history, the prestige of the Great Han is still stronger than that of the small imperial courts in history. things didn't happen at all.

Although the Han Dynasty was divided, the officials in various places still maintained the place according to the original experience of the Han Dynasty, just like the current Yizhou, the officials recognized Liu Yan as the Yizhou pastor, and even if the Han Dynasty wanted to take Liu Yan's position, he would be subject to the criticism of the officials in Yizhou. be opposed to.

But the Yizhou officials were not convinced that Liu Zhang became a Yizhou shepherd, and they didn't approve of such a thing as inheriting the father's position at all!Many officials were even dissatisfied with Liu Zhang's succession as Yizhou Mu, thinking that Liu Zhang became Yizhou Mu without being appointed by the imperial court was a rebellion!After Liu Yan died of illness, the whole Yizhou felt like it was about to move, and the whole Yizhou was about to storm!

So Liu Yan died of illness, and Liu Zhang, who felt that he was in danger, begged the court to appoint him as Yizhou shepherd immediately after he took office, and even sent envoys to spend huge sums of money to bribe the court's civil and military officials. No one was willing to help Liu Zhang speak.

joke!Yizhou Mu Dahan Shangqing is more important than Sangong. Liu Zhang is only 20 years old and has no achievements. Just because he is Liu Yan's son, he can become the Shangqing of a big Han. Why!I really took my own home in Yizhou!
Liu Zhang did not have enough prestige, and now he is not recognized by the court, and his reputation is not right. Soon there was a rebellion against Liu Zhang in Yizhou.Generals Shen Mi, Lou Fa, and Gan Ning rebelled against Liu Zhang in Bajun, and contacted the Xiangyang court, intending to ask the court to send a large army into Yizhou.
Liu Bei was surprised: "There is turmoil in Yizhou?"

He just returned to Xiangyang and didn't know the situation in Yizhou. If there were turmoil, it would be a godsend opportunity for Liu Bei.With someone leading the way and Liu Zhang's lack of prestige, it is really possible that Yizhou will be conquered by the imperial court!

Zhao Qi smiled happily and said: "I am still a strong man. I have just quelled the chaos in Yangzhou. Civil strife has occurred in Yizhou, and drought has also occurred in the Central Plains. Yuan Shao and others are unable to intervene in the affairs of Yizhou! Now they have calmed down Yizhou is a golden opportunity, if we waste this opportunity, I'm afraid it will be difficult for Yizhou to be controlled by the court in the future!"

The rebellion in Yizhou was essentially the result of the struggle for power between the Dongzhou faction and the local Yizhou faction.

When Liu Yan first took office in Yizhou, Yizhou was still in civil strife. Although Emperor Ling appointed Liu Yan as the shepherd of Yizhou and Marquis of Yangcheng, he ordered him to go to Yizhou to arrest him, but he was frugal and rectified the officials.Because the roads were impassable, the rebels were everywhere, and Liu Yan was temporarily stationed in the eastern border of Jingzhou.

At this time, Quejian had been killed by Ma Pengping, the leader of the Yellow Turban Army, but Ma Xiang, who had just proclaimed himself emperor a few days ago, was defeated by the army organized by Jialong in Yizhou.Jia Long then welcomed Liu Yan into Yizhou, and the seat of government was set in Mianzhu County.After Liu Yan took office, he appointed Jia Long as the school captain, and he moved to live in Mianzhu.Liu Yan appeased and took in those who escaped and rebelled, and tried his best to implement a policy of tolerance and grace, so that Yizhou was pacified by Liu Yan.

It can be said that Liu Yan relied on the local tyrants to stabilize the position of Yizhou Mu, but Liu Yan's ambitions were too great, and soon he allowed Zhang Lu to grow in Hanzhong County, and he used rice thieves as an excuse to block traffic , Since then, the liaison with the central court has been interrupted to separate one side.

At the same time, he further attacked local tyrants internally to consolidate his own power.Liu Yan was the first batch of princes who had the idea of ​​​​separatist regimes, and even had the idea of ​​becoming emperor. Naturally, he regarded Yizhou as his core territory and used Yizhou to fight for hegemony in the world. To fight for hegemony, the development of military equipment is indispensable. All of this requires money, and the only way for the big man to receive money is to fight against the powerful.

But this offended the local tyrants in Yizhou. The two sides who had been working closely together began to part ways. He led the army into Yizhou, but because Jia Long and others were killed by Liu Yan, the rebellion in Yizhou was easily put down by Liu Yan.

However, cracks began to appear in the cooperation between Liu Yan and the local elites in Yizhou. Liu Yan began to distrust the local officials in Yizhou, and with the chaos in the Central Plains, more and more refugees and party figures fled to Yizhou for refuge. Liu Yan, who didn't trust Yizhou's local aristocrats, began to reuse these outsiders to suppress Yizhou's local aristocrats!
Most of these people are from Sili and Nanyang, and a small part are from Yuzhou. Because they are all from the east, they are called Dongzhou people.
Liu Yan reused outsiders to suppress them, the natives, and the locals naturally stopped doing it. They also launched several rebellions, but they were all suppressed by Liu Yan, and it was because of these rebellions that Liu Yan distrusted the local clans even more. Liu Yan lost the hearts of the people in Yizhou. When Liu Yan died of illness and Liu Zhang came to power, the local generals in Yizhou rebelled immediately, and even contacted the court to drive Liu Zhang away.

That's why Zhao Qicai said that the great man's spirit is still there. If there is no rebellion by the locals in Yizhou, Liu Bei's invasion of Yizhou will be more difficult than in history. I am afraid that attacking Shuzhong will be easier than Deng Aiqi's attack on Yangping Pass. After all, Liu Bei still has the righteousness of the court behind him!But to conquer Yizhou, and then find a way to occupy Jiaozhou, the whole Han Dynasty still has half of the country in hand, and when the time comes to unite with the princes of the Central Plains, it may not be impossible to fight Lei Gong!
Therefore, in the eyes of Zhao Qi and other veterans, it is imperative to enter Shuzhong!
The conversation was divided into two parts. Liu Chong and Liu Biao came to Yuan Shao and told them about Liu Bei's decision. Relief in Yanzhou was impossible, but it did not prevent them from buying grain and grass in Jingzhou and transporting it to Yanzhou for disaster relief!
After hearing this, Yuan Shao said angrily: "The imperial court doesn't want to do anything, so does Situ have the same idea?"

From Yuan Shao's point of view, he had already given Liu Bei face by asking Liu Bei for help in such a humble way, but he didn't expect that Liu Bei would not give him face at all!
Liu Chong sneered and said: "Now Yanzhou is still the territory of the big man? You, Yuan Benchu, said you were the same in the Central Plains, and your prestige is higher than that of the imperial court. Now you come to ask the imperial court for help. You really think that all the civil and military officials of the imperial court are fools! Now you can be trusted in the court. Buying grain in Jingzhou is already giving you face, why don't you go to other places in the Central Plains to try and see who will sell grain to you!"

Liu Chong had a lot of opinions on Yuan Shao. He was originally the king of Chen, but after Yuan Shao occupied Yuzhou, he began to exclude him, the king of Chen, and forced him to flee to Jingzhou to join Liu Bei!If Yuan Shao hadn't threatened him with Thunder, it would have been impossible for him to intercede with Yuan Shao.

At this time, Xu You immediately persuaded: "We are all friends. At the beginning of the Central Plains, there was a lot of pressure to face Lei Gong. We had to train 20 troops, and we had to recruit 10 reserves. Such a huge army has put pressure on Si Li. Great increase, now the drought is coming again, without the support of the imperial court, it is difficult for us to maintain an army of 30, without this army, how can we resist Lei Gong?"

Liu Chong said: "Don't blame Lei Gong for everything. You Yuan Shao has no ability to defend the Central Plains, so let the imperial court send people to guard it. I am a big man and I still have no shortage of generals who can fight!"

"You mean that I can't fight!" This is the pain of Yuan Shao's life. Since he led the army, he not only defeated the Yellow Turban Army, but also lost all the way.Dong Zhuo can't beat it, and Lei Gong can't beat it either!
Liu Biao immediately persuaded, "We are all friends, why bother to say such ugly words!"

But he still said to Yuan Shao: "Now the imperial court is indeed unable to support Yanzhou. After all, Jingzhou now has to support the imperial court and maintain an army of more than [-]. Bar!"

Liu Chong said coldly: "If you really can't support the people in the Central Plains, you can move them to Jingzhou. Anyway, Yanzhou is going to become a battlefield. It may not be a good thing for the people to escape from Yanzhou!"

After speaking, Liu Chong left!After Liu Biao saluted Yuan Shao and the others, he also followed. He understood that his position was on the court's side, and he couldn't communicate too deeply with Yuan Shao and the others!
After the two left, Yuan Shao said angrily: "At the beginning, the imperial court should not have come to Jingzhou so easily, so that Liu Bei's humble settlement has gained momentum!"

Xu You said helplessly: "It is very rare for us to buy grain in Jingzhou now, and we have achieved our goal! We can't expect too much at first!"

Now that the princes are fighting for hegemony, food is the most precious resource. Xu Wei banned the flow of food out of Dagan a few years ago, and the smuggling of food was a dead end, because now food is a life for Dagan, dare to smuggle Grain is murdering Dagan's subordinates, so Xu Wei is very strict on grain smuggling. After a few merchants paid the price with their lives, the entire Dagan grain smuggling quickly disappeared.So even if Yuan Shao wanted to get food from Dagan, it was very difficult.

And Liangzhou to the west of Yuan Shao's influence is even more impossible. The basic agriculture there has been completely destroyed. Even if the population is only about 100 million, the vast territory of Xiliang still cannot support such people. They can only rely on plunder. Guanzhong lived, and this period of time was better. In order to deal with Lei Gong in Hebei, the princes from all over the country were forming cavalry, and Yuan Shao also bought 5000 Xiliang war horses.

The Xiliang people headed by Han Sui sell war horses for no money at all, only grain. A war horse costs 100 shi for grain, and even better ones cost 200 shi. Now Yuan Shao and the others only have the source of war horses in Xiliang. I can accept this condition.

This year, the sale of war horses alone allowed the big man to import more than 200 million shi of grain into Xiliang. For the first time, Xiliang has entered the days when it can eat without looting.

For Yuan Shao, war horses must be purchased. Even if people starve to death in the Central Plains, Yuan Shao was caught off guard by the drought, and Cao Cao and Tao Qian, who were to the east of Yuan Shao's strength, also suffered from drought in a small area, and they also prohibited the flow of food.

That's why Xu You said that it is very difficult to buy food in Jingzhou, because only Liu Bei is willing to give them food, although he has to buy it!

(End of this chapter)