The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 115 Liu Bei: My military advisor is comparable to Su Qin and Zhang Yi
After discussions between Liu Bei, Li Yi and Chen Deng, they finally decided to form an alliance with Liu Ba.

As for the content of the covenant, it has not been drafted in detail.

But it can be roughly divided into: Liu Biao sold grain and ships to Liu Bei at a fair price.

Liu Bei would tacitly allow Liu Biao to participate in the discussion of Yangzhou affairs in future wars against Yuan Shu.

Even if Liu Biao wanted to demand the right to report on Lujiang and Yuzhang in the future, Liu Bei would turn a blind eye.

The content of the alliance was roughly as follows. After it was confirmed, Liu Bei ordered Sun Qian to return to Jingzhou with Liu Xian.

He made his attitude towards Lujiang, Yuzhou and other territories west of Yangzhou clear to Liu Biao.

"My lord, there is still a messenger who has not left."

"I put it on hold earlier as a means of delaying the matter, but now that the lord has returned."

“How to deal with the unknown?”

The person Li Yi was referring to was naturally Xu Shao.

He came on behalf of Liu Yao, the governor of Yangzhou, and wanted Liu Bei to send troops to cooperate with Liu Yao in attacking Sun Ce.

In particular, Guangling is only separated from Sun Ce's Dantu by a river and can be reached in the next day.

In addition, Liu Bei and Liu Yao are both relatives of the Han emperor, so this is almost the best reinforcement Liu Yao can find at the moment.

Times are different now, and the Liu Bei today is very different from the Liu Bei in history.

In history, Liu Bei was still hiding in Xia Pi City at this time, relying on the support of the Mi and Chen families to rule the devastated Xuzhou.

The number of troops that could be mobilized was barely less than 20,000.

But now, Liu Bei has unified the five counties of Xuzhou and expanded his sphere of influence to Qingzhou, Yanzhou, Yuzhou and Yangzhou.

Moreover, if Xuzhou mobilizes the entire country, it will be able to mobilize a combat-ready force of up to 70,000 people.

Of course, Liu Bei would not mobilize an army of this size unless he had no other choice.

Because the daily expenditure of money and food alone is an astronomical figure.

Anyway,
Liu Bei is now a powerful prince in the East, and his position will not be easily influenced by any prince in the world.

From now on, he needs to be extremely cautious in every decision he makes and properly handle the relationship with the surrounding princes.

"...Liu Zhengli from Yangzhou?"

Liu Bei stroked his beard and looked hesitant.

"This is difficult. Liu Yangzhou and I are both from the same royal family, and he is also the governor of Yangzhou appointed by the imperial court."

"Now that you have asked me for help, I should save you."

"It's just... that Sun Lang..."

Although Sun Ce had won a great victory in the Battle of Qu'a, in reality Liu was still strong and Sun was weak.

Not to mention the disparity in military strength between the two sides, the local scholars and powerful people all supported Liu Yao.

Not to mention Xu Gong of Wujun and Wang Lang of Kuaiji were both on the same side with Liu Yao.

No matter how brave Sun Ce was, he only had two counties in his hands.

Originally, there was not much chance of winning against Liu Yao, so we had to send troops to cooperate with Liu Yao in the joint attack.

Then Sun Ce really has no fun.

Liu Bei can also be considered a strategist.

He can understand the current situation.

If Sun Ce had stayed behind, the threats facing the southern part of Guangling would only be the two counties of Qu'a and Dantu.

But if Liu Yao destroyed Sun Ce, Guangling would be threatened by most of Yangzhou.

By that time, would Liu Zhengli really take into account the friendship of the rescue that day and not expand his influence to Xuzhou?

Moreover, the strategic policy set by Liu Bei's group was to conquer the south of the Yangtze River first, and then combine the strength of Xu and Yang states to control the world.

By fattening up Liu Yao, would you create a big enemy for yourself?

"In order to fight against Yuan Shu, we in Guangling have almost cut back on food and clothing, and have wasted no money on military expenditures. If we really send troops to attack Dantu."

"In the end, I'm afraid I'll end up making wedding clothes for others."

Chen Deng hit the nail on the head.

Helping Liu Yao to trade at a pure loss.

Liu Yao was the real governor of Yangzhou. Once he eliminated his old enemies, it would be easy for him to maintain his control of Yangzhou.

This is obviously not in the interest of Xuzhou's own security.

Prior to this, the North had allied with Yuan Shao and secretly won over Yuan Tan, thus eliminating the threat to northern Xuzhou.

In the west, he made peace with Cao Cao again, and at the same time supported Guo Gong of Liang State, controlled Lu and Pei, and improved the defense of western Xuzhou.

Finally, in the south, the constant fighting with Yuan Shu was also to resolve the security risks in the Guangling area.

The current affairs of Jiangdong are nothing more than the struggle between Sun Ce, a subordinate of Yuan Shu, and various factions led by Liu Yao of Yangzhou.

"Liu Yao is quite powerful, and Xu Gong and Wang Lang are on the same side with him."

"If Liu Yao is allowed to take control of Yangzhou, it will definitely not be a good thing for Xuzhou."

Li Yi analyzed for Liu Bei calmly.

"So I think it is better to reject Liu Yao's request for reinforcements on the grounds that Xuzhou is short of food."

This reason is very reasonable.

After all, everyone knows how many battles Liu Bei fought in the past year, especially the recent conflicts with Yuan Shu in Guangling and Zhongli.

The amount of food consumed is absolutely astronomical.

Liu Yao had nothing to say when the request was rejected on the grounds of insufficient food and fodder.

"But Sun Ce is still a hidden danger after all."

"I heard that he is recruiting soldiers in Qu'a and intends to capture Wujun next year."

"If they really take it down, we can consider sending troops to aid Liu Yangzhou."

When Liu Bei heard this, he suddenly understood.

The military advisor's strategy is still as shrewd as ever.

Now Liu is strong and Sun is weak, so we cannot help Liu Yao.

As long as we leave Sun Ce alone, he will expand towards Wujun and Kuaiji areas.

We can allow him to develop for a while, but as soon as he conquers the Wujun area, we will immediately support Liu Yao.

Restrict Sun Ce to Wujun and prevent him from continuing to develop.

There is only one purpose for doing this.
Balance the power of Sun and Liu and let the two families fight each other in Yangzhou.

As long as Jiangdong is not unified, Liu Bei will have enough time to deal with Yuan Shu with all his strength.

If Liu Bei had destroyed Yuan Shu and unified Huainan.

Even if Jiangdong was truly unified, how could it be able to stop Liu Bei's army?
By that time, Liu Bei had inherited Yuan Shu's legacy, and his navy had already taken shape.

It is as easy as pie to conquer Jiangdong.

"Wonderful! Wonderful!"

Liu Bei was deeply impressed by the strategic concept proposed by Li Yi.

But don’t forget that Yuan Shu’s influence also extends to Yuzhou.

Liu Bei also attacked the states of Lu and Pei in Yuzhou.

If Huainan is annexed, Pei and Lujiang will be within our grasp.

"In this case, let's adopt Ziyu's advice and reject General Xu for now."

"But we can promise him that if Sun Ce invades Wujun and harasses Wu territory in the future, Xuzhou will never sit idly by!"

What I mean is, although we can't cooperate with you to attack Sun Ce together.

But if Sun Ce threatens Liu Yao's safety in the future, we will definitely not stand by and watch him die.

It is equivalent to giving an independent guarantee, which is full of sincerity.

When Sun Ce becomes powerful in the future, we will be able to communicate with him at the first time and cooperate in sending troops.

"Although we have taken Zhongli, Yuan Shu is powerful and wants to annex his Huainan territory."

“I don’t know how many years it will take.”

Liu Bei picked a big boss to fight right away. Although he was confident that he could win, he was conservative about the time it would take.

For example, in Shouchun, the capital of Yuan Shu, Cao Cao used 60,000 troops to attack it, while Yuan Shu had less than 10,000 troops defending the city.

In this way, it took Cao Cao several months to conquer it.

War would seriously slow down economic development, and Liu Bei only hoped that Xuzhou would not be bogged down in the quagmire of war with Yuan Shu.

"Yuan Shu's perverse actions brought disaster to the people of Huainan."

"The lord's attack is a righteous act to comfort the people and punish the criminals."

"Even if the lord does not send troops to destroy him, the heavens will take it away."

Li Yi comforted Liu Bei and boosted his confidence.

There was another very important reason why he strongly recommended Liu Bei to attack Yuan Shu first.

Yuan Shu’s peak period is about to pass.

In another year or two, Huainan will suffer a very serious drought.

People in the Jianghuai area were living in dire straits, many places were deserted, and cannibalism occurred on a large scale.

Even Yuan Shu's own soldiers were suffering from hunger and cold.

How could Li Yi let go of such an opportunity?

By then, the fat piece of meat of Huainan must not fall into the hands of Liu Yao, Liu Biao, or even Sun Ce.

Li Yi advised Liu Bang to deal with Yuan Shu with all his strength in order to capture Huainan as soon as possible.

Fortunately, people in the Three Kingdoms period had a strong sense of fatalism.

Li Yi was a hermit whom Liu Bei trusted deeply, and Liu Bei believed in his prophecy that Yuan Shu would not live long.

……

The next day, noon.

Liu Bei summoned high-ranking officials from Guangling to meet the envoys from Yangzhou.

Liu Bei sat in the main seat and Li Yi sat in the second seat.

The rest of the civil and military officials at all levels took their seats in turn.

Xu Shao had been looking forward to Liu Bei's return day and night in Guangling these days.

Now that Liu Bei had just returned, he was willing to summon him the next day.

Xu Shao was overjoyed and followed the attendants into the main hall.

Liu Bei straightened his body and smiled kindly:

"Mr. Zijiang, please take a seat." "Thank you, sir!"

Xu Shao bowed and took a seat slowly.

Although Liu Bei already knew Xu Shao's intention, he still asked according to the procedure:
"You have come all the way here and it has been hard. I wonder why you are here in Xuzhou?"

Xu Shao straightened his back, bowed to Liu Bei, and said solemnly:
"My lord Liu Zhengli was the governor of Yangzhou appointed by the imperial court, but Yuan Shu of Huainan sent troops to attack my prefecture for no reason, disregarding the imperial court's rules and regulations."

"The day before yesterday, my lord was defeated by Sun Ce, a general under Yuan Shu, in Qu'a. Now he has regrouped and plans to recapture the two counties of Qu'a and Dantu."

"I have long heard that Liu Xuzhou is kind and righteous, selfless and dedicated to the public, and loyal to the emperor and the court."

"I think he will not ignore the suffering of the people in the south of the Yangtze River, nor will he sit idly by and watch Yuan Shu bully the Han emperor's relatives."

"So I was sent here to ask Liu Xuzhou for help."

"I beg Liu Xuzhou to send out his troops to Jiangdong for the sake of the millions of people in Yangzhou, to uphold the orthodoxy and resist Yuan Shu."

"Practice benevolence and justice, help the people, and save the people from danger!"

Xu Shao spoke so passionately that he almost cried.

This left all the Xuzhou officials, including Chen Deng, stunned.

Are you all wondering whether it is necessary to be so exaggerated?

If you don’t know, you might think your lord is doomed. Now Liu Yao’s troops and territories are several times that of Sun Ce.

But when Xu Shao spoke it, it sounded as if Liu Yao was the one who was about to die.

Liu Bei did not speak in a hurry, but seemed to be lost in thought, as if he was thinking.

Xu Shao is very good at moral blackmail.

All he talked about was the court and the people.

To put it bluntly, isn't it just a fight between two princes?
What's more, Liu Yao's overall strength is still several times stronger than Sun Ce's.

"Mr. Zijiang, I'm here to see you."

Li Yi stood up and spoke first.

"Mr. Ziyu, be polite!"

Xu Shao immediately bowed in return. In his heart, he still had great respect for Li Yi.

Li Yi put his hands behind his back, frowned slightly, and pretended to be embarrassed:

"When you came here last time, you asked me to send troops from Guangling to Dantu."

"At that time I said that my lord had not returned from the military parade at Sheyang Lake, and we could not make a decision."

"This is only one of the reasons. There is another reason why Guangling should not send troops."

Xu Shao was slightly startled, and could only ask:

"I would like to hear the details."

Li Yi continued:
"Xuzhou has suffered repeated wars in recent years, especially when Cao Cao's troops came and slaughtered Pengcheng."

"Half of the land is scorched, and refugees are everywhere."

"My lord is kind and generous. He spared no effort to use military rations to help the victims. He lived frugally and lived a simple life. That is why the people of Xia Pi are so happy today."

"But Mr. Zijiang should also know that Xuzhou has been using troops since the beginning of the year without a single day's rest."

"Let's not talk about the distant places. Let's just talk about Huainan Yuangong Road. We just repelled the army of Zhang Xun and Qiao Rui in Guangling not long ago."

"In a situation like Xuzhou, we can only reduce taxes and levies, stop reforms, live with the people, and resume production. It is really not appropriate to start another war."

"Mr. Xu is also a famous scholar. Can you bear to see my Lord save one person and kill another?"

Li Yi asked a soul-searching question.

Who doesn't know how to use moral blackmail?

Chen Deng also stood up and joined in:
"Zi Yu is right. We fought a bloody battle against Yuan Shu in Guangling, which helped relieve the pressure on Liu Yangzhou."

"Now Liu Yangzhou controls most of Jiangdong. Can't he deal with a small Sun Ce?"

"Xuzhou is in decline, and lacks both money and food. Although my lord wants to help Liu Yangzhou, he is unable to do so."

"Now my lord has decided to cultivate land in Guangling, and after two years of harvest, production in Xuzhou will be restored."

"I will personally send soldiers south to assist Lord Zhengli!"

Chen Deng's talk of righteousness is just a blank check he has always written.

When he first advised Liu Bei to take over Xuzhou, he wrote a blank check for 100,000 infantry and cavalry.

"Does Lord Xuande really intend to watch someone die without helping?"

Xu Shao understood what the people of Xuzhou meant.

All they talk about is that they have no money, no food, no people, and can't fight anymore.

But didn’t I see that you guys had a lot of fun fighting against Yuan Shu?
This is clearly asking for compensation.

Then Xu Shao could only choose to continue persuading and see if he could lower the price as much as possible.

"Moreover, Yuan Gonglu is arrogant and extravagant, and he is proud of his noble family background, and he looks down on Lord Xuande."

"He took charge of Yangzhou affairs and was also called the Earl of Xuzhou, which proved that he had the ambition to annex Xuzhou."

"Now we unite with our Lord to fight against powerful enemies together."

"I hope Lord Xuande will take into consideration the friendship between us and our kinsmen."

"Think twice!"

Xu Shao is trying to change the concept.

What does your attack on Sun Ce have to do with Yuan Shu?
Besides, when it comes to fighting Yuan Shu, we in Xuzhou have contributed a lot.

At this time, Lu Su also spoke:

"What Mr. Zijiang said is truly good advice."

"We in Xuzhou will never stand by and watch someone die without helping him."

"Wait until next autumn harvest, when we have collected all the money and grain in Xuzhou."

"We must send troops to rescue!"

After the autumn harvest?

It’s too late to make any use of it. The battle has already been fought and the outcome has been decided.

Xu Shao frowned. It seemed that these people from Xuzhou would not release their eagles until they saw the rabbit.

It won't work if I don't give some benefits...

Xu Shao hesitated for a moment and spoke again:
"As long as Guangling is willing to send troops to Dantu, Yangzhou is willing to pay 10 million yuan and 800,000 hu of grain!"

This amount of money and grain is actually quite large.

Liu Bei was about to speak, but Li Yi asked first:
"I don't know the amount of money and grain. When can it be delivered?"

Yes, getting it in your hands is the key.

Sir, you really react quickly, Liu Bei thought.

Xu Shao answered without hesitation:
"After my lord defeats Sun Ce and recaptures Qu'a and Dantu, I will hand over the full amount!"

What’s the matter? Do you want to get something for nothing?
Li Yi almost laughed out of anger at this remark.

Give it after the matter is done?
Now whether Xuzhou sends troops or not depends on Liu Yao's mood.

But after the success, whether Yangzhou would provide money and food would depend on Liu Yao's mood.

Do you think I'm stupid?

It's not like someone hasn't made empty promises of money and food and then not delivered them in the end.

The Skeleton King next door often does this.

Even if Liu Yao's bottom line is not as low as Yuan Shu's, he can just find a random excuse.

For example, the treasury is tight and cannot take out so much money and grain at once, so it can only give you half of it first, etc.

By then, wouldn't it just be a matter of Liu Yao's words?

All the Xuzhou officials present sneered at this statement, and some even had cold smiles on their faces.

It was like watching a play, and he was certain that Liu Bei would not get involved in this war.

But Liu Bei still politely asked a key question:
"Since Liu Yangzhou wants me to send troops, I wonder how many people he wants me to send?"

hiss……

Xu Shao took a breath of cold air.

This is a tricky question.

Of course he hopes the more the better, but it's hard for him to say it out loud.

"This Sun Bofu is the son of Sun Wentai, the former fierce tiger of Jiangdong. He inherited his father's bravery and valor and is capable of standing on his own."

"Besides, he has received financial support from the Zhou family in Lujiang and has received his father's old subordinates. His strength should not be underestimated."

"My lord was too careless before, which led to his defeat."

"So I think that if you want to completely eliminate Sun Ce, Guizhou must send out at least 10,000 people."

what! ?

When these words were spoken, everyone present was shocked.

Liu Bei could only mobilize 60,000 to 70,000 people in the entire Xuzhou.

Xu Shao actually proposed that Xuzhou dispatch one-seventh of its troops to deal with Sun Ce.

This is not a question of whether we can defeat Sun Ce, but who will reimburse the military expenses?

"I wonder if Guizhou will bear the expenses of the Xuzhou army's weapons, food, and manpower?"

Chen Deng asked.

Xu Shao started coughing violently. The reason why he didn't want to talk about how many troops to send was because he was afraid of being asked this question.

When it comes to military expenditure, Liu Yao is really living in a very difficult situation now.

Previously, he had stored a large amount of military equipment and food in Niuzhu.

Unexpectedly, Sun Ce sent out a surprise attack and captured Niuzhu.

Liu Yao's wallet suddenly became tight.

"To be honest, Yangzhou cannot afford so much money and grain for the time being."

Xu Shao looked a little tired, "But we must keep our promise."

"As long as Sun Ce is destroyed, with the wealth of Yangzhou, can't we collect tens of millions of money and grain within a year?"

"Mr. Zijiang, what you said is wrong."

Li Yi stood up to refute Xu Shao.

……

(End of this chapter)