Goose Three Kingdoms

Chapter 512: Different Interests
Ji County, afternoon, a few dozen miles northwest of the city.

On the side of the road, by the water.

Shui (lei) is the Sanggan River, and Tian Yu is leading his white horse to wash the horse by the river.

He threw his armor on the shore, rolled up his trouser legs, and brushed the horse's body very carefully.

The horse also enjoyed it very much and let Tian Yu do whatever he wanted to it.

The sound of hurried horse hooves came from the southeast. Tian Yu just turned his head to take a look and continued with his work.

A dozen knights on the shore mounted their horses one after another, and some of those who were good at archery took bows and arrows and prepared to shoot on foot.

Soon, the knights coming from the southeast appeared in sight. Seeing that they were their own people, Tian Yu's followers let down their guard.

Tian Yu also came ashore and sat on a medium-sized rock: "How is Ji County?"

"As you expected, the Grand Marshal instigated the garrison commander Mi Fang to rebel, killed the school lieutenant Tian Yan and seized Ji County."

The messenger gave a brief description and added: "All gates of Ji County were closed. Servants looked outside and saw smoke rising from the city. People from manors and farms outside the city fled with their servants. Many of them said that the Grand Marshal was investigating those who had rebelled with Tian Yan. Their laws were severe and the people were afraid of them."

Tian Yu listened and pondered, then said to the people around him: "It makes sense that the Grand Marshal passed Feihukou too quickly. He has always been swift in commanding troops, and now that he has entered Ji County, he is trying to give his officers and soldiers a rest."

One of them felt sorry after hearing this and said: "If we had come a day earlier, we could have defeated him."

"We have rushed here from Dai County, our soldiers and horses are exhausted and we are short of manpower. Even if we set an ambush, it will be difficult to succeed."

Tian Yu thought about it and said, "This thief has found a place to stay, but he has also angered Lord Xuande. Now there are three things to do. First, send a horse to inform Lord Xuande. Second, call on the heroes of this state to resist the invasion of the great commander. The third is to get in touch with the general."

The people around were listening, but there was nothing much to add.

Ji County has been taken away. No matter what the specific process was, blood has been shed.

Both sides were clearly wary of each other, and if they rushed forward again, they would have lost the suddenness and disguise of an attack.

Tian Yu selected people around him to carry out the tasks, and he sent a second wave of people to recruit troops from the surrounding counties.

There is a limited amount of manpower around Ji County, and most people have a relatively stable attitude when it comes to choosing sides.

It is better for him to pull me over than to be coerced, deceived,

Anyway, the other party's attack on Ji County City was already morally untenable, so it was a good opportunity to hold them accountable under the name of the General Zhenbei's Mansion and mobilize the army.

Tian Yu was not prepared to take the stage in person before Yuan Shang's army arrived or Liu Bei made a formal and clear statement.

It is easy to get on stage, as you will be the center of attention, but it is difficult to get off the stage.

At this moment in Ji County, Black Bear was drinking tea with Mi Fang.

Mi Fang looked uneasy and anxious. Seeing this, Black Bear said, "General, don't you understand that if it weren't for Grand Historian Wengong, you would have died yesterday. They first pretended to be flattering and tricked you out of the city, then sent troops to seize the gate. All this can only be blamed on my good relationship with Lord Xuande, but the people of Youzhou cannot understand the trust and friendship between our two families."

"It is just as the Grand Marshal said, but I am worried about being held accountable by Lord Xuande."

Mi Fang said in a daze, "Besides, my elder brother is always strict. It's easy to talk to Lord Xuande here, but it's hard to talk to my elder brother at home."

Black Bear smiled and asked, "Who is the guard of the Zhenbei General's Mansion?"

"It was Wei Yan, the man from Yiyang, and the officer who stayed behind was Yuan Chen from Yingchuan."

"So it was him. I also saw Wei Yan during the Battle of Bowangpo."

Black Bear thought for a moment and said, "Ji County is already a troubled place for the general. I have vigorously purged the rebels in the city and obtained a lot of property and servants. I will take half of the property and put the other half into the treasury for the general to use. I will take all the craftsmen among the servants and combine them with the auxiliary troops I organized before. I want to form a baggage auxiliary force of about 4,000 people. I would like to invite the general to help me lead this auxiliary force. When I see Lord Xuande, I will plead for the general in person."

Mi Fang was not in a hurry to agree. Although she could accept this arrangement emotionally, she couldn't let go of her face if she agreed in a hurry.

Seeing him thinking, Black Bear said, "The remaining servants are all strong and healthy, or they are warriors. I want to organize them into an army and hand them over to Wei Wenchang for command. This way, after I leave, Ji County will be able to defend itself."

He could not trust other Youzhou troops, let alone Jizhou troops. He could not bring the families of Liu Bei's core team with him, so he had to strengthen the troops in Wei Yan's hands.

Mi Fang frowned, always feeling that Wei Yan was not worthy.

But he didn't want to stay here and face Mi Zhu's scolding. Liu Bei was easy to talk to. Besides, there would be no big problem for him to go out of the city to welcome Black Bear.

The biggest problem was that he failed to control Tian Yan, which led to these people trying to seize the door and a fight breaking out.

The dead was a famous captain in Youzhou, and this matter was very difficult to explain.

If he kept it for himself, it would make Liu Bei embarrassed.

If you follow them, you can completely shirk your responsibility.

But when he thought that Wei Yan might have an army of about four to five thousand powerful troops in one fell swoop, he felt really uncomfortable.

It's not that he cares so much about such a large army. He also knows that this is an emergency measure. When Liu Bei returns, this army will most likely be disbanded, leaving only a few reliable people.

Black Bear used brutal means to deal with the big families and powerful people in the city, and seized their mansions, money, servants and guards in the city; but the profitable assets such as manors, fields, ranches and mines outside the city were still in the hands of those families.

The family members have not died out. When Liu Bei returns in the future, the remaining family members will come to ask for the assets, servants and the like in the city.

But Wei Yan's experience of commanding an army of four to five thousand people is also very important. If he does a good job, he will naturally be promoted quickly in the future.

Seeing young people like Wei Yan get opportunities, Mi Fang was instinctively unhappy.

Therefore, he looked embarrassed, but still agreed: "Yes, I will go to the palace to inform Wei Yan and Yuan Chen later."

"Well, ask Wei Yan to select more than a hundred people to come to the barracks, and I will let them cooperate in the reorganization. There will inevitably be some casualties in this process, so make sure to explain it to him clearly."

After saying this, Black Bear took out a document with his Grand Marshal's seal and pushed it across the table to Mi Fang, saying, "This is my document. Show it to Wei Yan. There are also some Shu brocade, pearls and the like. The general will send them to the palace and they will be distributed by Lord Xuande's two wives."

"Yes."

Mi Fang bowed solemnly and couldn't help but think of Liu Bei.

His family provided Liu Bei with a lot of financial support, but Liu Bei always encountered various setbacks.

Even though he now controls the six eastern counties of Youzhou, the finances of the general's office and his personal property are still very tight.

Liu Bei was not stingy with things like Shu brocade and used them alone. He would usually give them to his brothers and partners first, and then to his wives, concubines, and relatives.

Especially in front of Liu Bei, Mi Fang felt despised and looked down upon.

It seemed that in Liu Bei's eyes, his family's behavior of risking their lives to follow him, sending thousands of servants and a large amount of property, was just like a meritorious dog.

Therefore, Mi Fang was never very happy during these years. As a playboy, he never lacked money to spend, and money was his only criterion for measuring things.

With the financial resources his family invested, by the time of Emperor Ling, his two brothers could have easily served as Nine Ministers and Three Dukes, and taken turns holding prominent positions in the court!
One can spend money to be an official while earning money as an official, without neglecting either, and have both fame, fortune and power.

But as for Liu Bei, he was always suppressed by Jian Yong, and later by Sun Qian and Xu Shu.

In a few years, we may not be as good as Wei Yan and Chen Dao.

Let’s look at the Grand Marshal. Although he has not yet been engaged to his two nieces, they are so far away that even the treasures such as Shu brocade and pearls cannot be compared to them.

If it were Liu Bei, he would always use his brothers and subordinates first. If there were any surplus, even if he was reluctant to use them, he would sell them and exchange them for money and food to support the army.

Life was always bitter and Mi Fang had had enough.

It's better now. I can take this opportunity to escape. It's better not to have to worry about Liu Bei and my brother's faces.

(End of this chapter)