I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 771: Storms Rising in Hedong
Bingzhou is the place where Su Yao started his career.

He had a lot of connections here, and the local prefect was one of the first to respond to his call to overthrow Dong.

Therefore, Su Yao first took Henei and Hedong, with the intention of opening up the Jin area.

Now, although Hanoi has been recovered, the threat from Ma Teng is also imminent. Before the new enemy arrives, Su Yao must take over Hedong to give himself a stable rear and place the battlefield outside the base.

Therefore, after receiving this news, Su Yao decided not to wait any longer and must pacify Hedong as soon as possible and then prepare for the battle against Ma Teng.

Therefore, Su Yao sent letters to the northern counties of Bingzhou, informing them that Ma Teng, the governor of Bingzhou, was a reckless order of Dong Zhuo, and asked them not to pay any attention to it and to prepare for war. At the same time, he immediately ordered the newly appointed county chief of Henei, Qian Zhao, and the General of the Guard Song Xian and others to help prepare food and supplies, and prepare to lead the army to conquer Hedong.

"General, the Baibo bandits have 100,000 soldiers, and the food and fodder I have now can only guarantee the supply of 5,000 troops for half a month, in addition to the grain needs of the capital and other places."

"More than enough!"

"Why would we need 5,000 troops to deal with a mob?"

Before Sima Lang finished speaking, Su Yao raised his hand to interrupt him:
"I don't need five thousand troops, only three thousand elite cavalry will do."

"Besides, there is also food stored in Hedong. The rest can be taken from the local area when we get there."

Sima Lang was stunned by Su Yao's words.

The Baibo bandits in Hedong have 100,000 soldiers, and even if they have water, they can be divided into several tens of thousands.

Moreover, Hedong was the salt and iron base of the Han Dynasty. The local arsenals were seized by the Baibo Army, so the quality of their troops would not be bad.

Only 3,000 elite cavalrymen, and they were still going to fight a siege? Sima Lang couldn't think of any way to win.

However, he was just an imperial censor, and even the Grand Tutor Lu Zhi's advice was useless in such military and national affairs, so Sima Lang just made a few suggestions and then gave up.

In the next few days, Su Yao led his troops westward and stationed at the Mengjin ferry to deploy troops.

In addition to the 200 Jinyiwei who accompanied him in the morning, Su Yao immediately dispatched troops from Luoyang and Henei.

The first were his own 500-horse Chiyun guards. Next, Su Yao ordered Hao Meng to bring 500 Henei knights, and Guan, Zhang, and Zhao each to lead 600 cavalry to gather together to attack Hedong.

In mid-May, the area east of the Yellow River was in turmoil.

Su Yao's quick victory in Henei County was like a strong east wind that blew away the haze hanging over the Luoyang court and made Hedong prefect Wang Yi feel unprecedented pressure.

"I think you have all received the news that the general intends to come to Hedong to quell the rebellion."

"What do you think we should do?"

How to deal with Su Yao?

That’s right, compared to dealing with the Baibo Army in front of him, Wang Yi was more worried about Su Yao behind him.

As for his words, his staff also expressed their agreement and approved of the statement of the prefect Wang Yi.

In their view, although the Baibo bandits had a large number of people and strong forces, the two sides were facing each other across the river, and the bandits lacked offensive capabilities, so neither side could do anything to the other.

They even had trade dealings with each other in secret. Although the two sides were enemies in name, a delicate balance had actually been formed long ago.

The Baibo bandits controlled most of the salt ponds and iron mines, but with enemies all over the world, they lacked the means to cash in.

The noble families who retreated to Anyi obviously had ways to help them solve the problem.

As a result, the imperial salt and iron government in Hedong County went completely bankrupt.

The Hedong families made a fortune by monopolizing the salt and iron production of the Baibo Army through smuggling.

This is also the reason why Hedong County has not made any positive response to the Baibo Army's occupation so far. The two sides have established an unspeakable tacit understanding.

However, Su Yao's arrival broke this balance and tacit understanding.

As a world-renowned general, Su Yao's fame had already spread throughout the world. He was victorious in every battle and his power was so great that even a powerful figure like Dong Zhuo was defeated by him.

If Su Yao took action and quelled the rebellion of the Baibo bandits, then their secret of making a fortune here would be very likely to be exposed.

However, this is not the most important issue.

After all, when it comes to smuggling, the people below are the ones who are worried, and it is impossible for him, the governor, to be blamed. What really frightened Wang Yi was the way Su Yao dealt with Hanoi!
A county governor was beheaded and his power was divided into three parts. Such institutional reforms would undoubtedly be extended to Hedong with his arrival.

Then, the power in his hands will be greatly weakened, and he may even lose his position as prefect.

This is the real crisis.

"We must not let the general enter Anyi!" aide Yang Qi shouted.

Yang Qi was born into the Hedong Yang family and was deeply involved in the smuggling of salt and iron. He was extremely resistant to Su Yao's arrival.

Now, seeing Wang Yi's behavior, he immediately instigated and suggested that Wang Yi take confrontational measures.

However, Hedong County was divided by the Baibo Army, with few soldiers and generals and no more than 10,000 combat troops. It was obvious that Wang Yi was deeply concerned about openly confronting the court.

Seeing Wang Yi's hesitation, Yang Qi became even more anxious. He knew that time was running out and he had to make Wang Yi make up his mind as soon as possible. So he further persuaded him:

"Grandmaster Wang, you are not unaware of the reputation of General Su Yao. Once he enters Anyi, there will be no chance for us to turn the tables!"

"The only solution now is to stay indoors and keep him out. At the same time, we can contact the Baibo Army and ask them to send troops to attack us from both sides."

"In this case, if Su Yao doesn't realize my intention, he will suffer a devastating blow under the city!"

"What?!" Wang Yi exclaimed, "You want me to form an alliance with the Yellow Turban bandits?!"

Yang Qi’s words shocked Wang Yi.

It is true that Su Yao's reputation and methods did make him feel deeply fearful, but joining forces with the Baibo Army to fight against the imperial court was undoubtedly an extremely dangerous path. If he failed, he would be cut off from the world.

"Those who achieve great things don't pay attention to small details!" Yang Qi urged, "The Baibo bandit is a wolf, and the general is a tiger."

"Choose the lesser of two evils. As long as we can persuade the Baibo Army to attack, then no matter how they fight, it will be a hundred benefits to us and no harm at all!"

Wang Yi was hesitant, but his staff members all gave him advice and persuasions.

However, the interests of both parties were not completely consistent. Wang Yi always wanted to leave a way out and was unwilling to go to the extreme and bring about unimaginable consequences.

Just when the situation was at a stalemate, another person stepped forward and said:
"Don't panic, Lord Wang. I have a plan that will satisfy both parties."

Wang Yi was surprised when he heard this:

"Mr. Wei, what plan do you have? Please tell me quickly!"

Mr. Wei, of course, is not Su Yao’s Wei Ming who is still far away in Liaodong, but his cousin in his hometown in Hedong, a descendant of the direct lineage of the Hedong Wei family.

However, his plan was very simple, just a slight improvement on other people's plans.

The Baibo Army still needs to be contacted, but Su Yao cannot be offended directly and act as if he is rebelling.

They could simply close the city gates, send people to deliver food and fodder to reward the army, and find an excuse like the chaos in Hedong and the unrest among the people to temporarily prevent the imperial army from entering the city.

"I heard that during Dong Zhuo's rebellion, his food reserves were destroyed and Luoyang was running low on food and grass."

"The general is only bringing 3,000 soldiers this time, so he may not be able to get anything out of the White Wave bandits."

"We just need to wait and see what happens and act when the time is right. Isn't that wonderful?"

When Wang Yi heard this, a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes, but then he nodded, thinking that Mr. Wei's plan did have its merits.

"Mr. Wei's words make sense. It will not offend the court, but will also delay time and wait for the situation to change."

Wang Yi pondered for a moment and said slowly:
"But, these Baibo bandits are always cunning. Will they really act according to our wishes?"

Before Mr. Wei could speak, Yang Qi smiled and said:
"Don't worry, Governor Wang. Although the Baibo bandits are brutal and cunning, they have great ambitions and hate the imperial court, especially Su Yao, to the core."

"As long as we promise them great benefits and then take the initiative to report the military information of General Su Yao, the Baibo bandits will definitely not let go of this God-given opportunity!"

When Wang Yi heard this and saw that no one had any objections, he finally made up his mind and immediately asked Yang Qi to be responsible for contacting the Baibo Army, while the gentleman from the Wei family was asked to prepare food and fodder in preparation for welcoming Su Yao.

(End of this chapter)