Tiger Guards

Chapter 387 Historical Inertia

In Chen County, Yuan Shu climbed the western city wall and looked out to observe the area outside the city.

Behind him was the Honggou Canal, and in front of him stretched an endless expanse of lush rice paddies.

The rice paddies will not be ready for harvest for another month. Even if we set them on fire now, it won't burn them clean in a short time.

How to deal with the rice paddies in western Chen County was a very urgent problem for Yuan Shu.

The Yuan family of Runan... There are several branches of the Yuan family of Runan, but the one that specifically refers to the lineage of four generations of three dukes refers to the Yuan family of Ruyang.

Ruyang is adjacent to Chen County, and Yuan Shu really couldn't bring himself to destroy the rice paddies on the western outskirts of Chen County, that is, on the southwest bank of the Honggou Canal.

Even among the officials and commoners of Chen County, there were still people pulling weeds in the rice paddies, and there were also field officials organizing and allocating irrigation water.

The fertile fields near Chen County were basically owned by the royal family of Chen and were public lands of the Chen Kingdom, subject to unified management.

Therefore, the paddy fields in the suburbs had no direct relationship with the officials and common people, and the harvest belonged to Yuan Shu.

The Yuan family of Runan and Prince Chen lived across the county from each other and had disliked each other for a long time.

If the two sides had a good relationship, things wouldn't have escalated to this point.

During the campaign against Dong Zhuo, the most organized and professional army under the command of the various factions in Guandong was that of Prince Chen, followed by the Hebei troops and the Jingzhou troops.

However, the scholars thought too much and refused to cooperate with Prince Chen. Otherwise, by supporting Prince Chen, they might have been able to defeat Dong Zhuo in one battle.

Now that Yuan Shu has acquired the territory of the Prince of Chen, he is not overjoyed... because the Prince of Chen has not lived well for the past seven years.

Although the State of Chen was well-supplied with resources due to the irrigation provided by the Honggou Canal and the Woshui River, in order to maintain domestic order and deter external threats, the King of Chen maintained a standing army of more than 30,000 men.

Therefore, the State of Chen did not have many reserves and lacked the confidence to wage a full-scale war against the surrounding counties.

Due to the suppression by the Yuan family, the scholars of Ruying, and the scholars of Liangpei, the Prince of Chen was unable to expand outwards in a reasonable manner.

The snowball never started rolling; Chen Guo was basically stuck in place.

However, compared to the rapidly declining surrounding counties, the State of Chen was already quite wealthy.

Just as Yuan Shu was making his routine city patrol and taking a walk for exercise, his chief clerk Yang Hong quickly climbed up to the south gate, intercepted Yuan Shu, and handed him a letter from Ji Ling: "Your Majesty, urgent report from Ruyang."

Yuan Shu glanced at Yang Hong, and only then did Yang Hong suppress his surprise.

Yuan Shu calmly reached out and took the book, opened it to read, and after staring at it for a moment, said to his attendants, "Zhao Ji's military strategy is not as good as Cao Cao's."

Immediately, the silk scroll was passed to the chief clerk Yan Xiang. After reading it, Yan Xiang circulated it among the others. Yuan Shu continued, "If Cao Cao were to wage war, he would divide his forces after arriving in Luoyang and send troops out of Hulao and Yique, gathering forces from all over the Central Plains to march towards Chen. Zhao Ji, on the other hand, is slow to act. I hope Lü Bu will strike first."

If Cao Cao had been in command, the entire Chen kingdom would have been engulfed in war long ago. The Cao army, which had come lightly equipped, would have been in dire need of supplies and provisions. The soldiers, who had come under the scorching sun, would have needed to plunder in order to boost morale.

Since Zhao Ji raised the banner of protecting the country and opposing Yuan Shikai, the order of Chen State has remained unchanged and has not been disrupted. The summer harvest was also completed smoothly.

Since the campaign against Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shu has not won many battles, but he has a wealth of experience in losing, making him arguably the best in the land.

After suffering many losses, one eventually learns the ropes.

Yuan Shu was from Ruyang, so he was naturally familiar with the terrain of Ruyang; he also knew Ji Ling and knew that Zhao Ji's water attack plan had frightened Ji Ling.

If Zhao Ji's proposal to launch a subsequent water attack on Chen County was a deliberate attempt to scare people, it's just like last year's construction of a dam on the Zhang River to flood Ye City during the autumn floods—both were attempts to frighten people.

I've never done it before, so I don't know how effective building a dam in Shangdang would be.

However, given the different terrain of Ruyang, attacking Ji Ling with water would be highly feasible.

Didn't generations of Ruyang people know about the convenient transportation to Ji Ling's campsite?
It is clear that the Ying River floods frequently, so the area currently does not possess the natural conditions to become a prosperous city.

The current difficulty lies here: Ji Ling cannot abandon the camp and retreat before the battle, as this would shake the morale of the people of Chen, Ru, and Ying, as well as the various armies.

In other words, even if Ji Ling's entire army were wiped out, it would still demonstrate his courage in resisting the Han Dynasty.

However, the disadvantages of evacuation are quite obvious.

After Yuan Shu had Cao Cao belittle Zhao Ji's military skills, he asked his men, "Gentlemen, do you know what Zhao Ji intends to do?"

The strategist Li Ye stepped forward, turned sideways, and bowed: "Your Majesty, I believe their military strategy is nothing more than flooding Ruyang and then taking the opportunity to attack the General's camp. If that fails, they will divide their forces to invade Chen."

Zhao Ji's decision to lead troops to attack Chen County is the quickest way to break the deadlock. Yuan Shu is not surprised; Chen County is well-fortified and has ample reserves, and he is confident that he can hold out against Zhao Ji until autumn.

Therefore, with a calm demeanor, he asked, "Anything else?"

If the situation is dragged out until Xuzhou is pacified, the morale of the entire army will be further boosted, while the morale of the Han army will suffer a setback.

Once the armies in Xuzhou have had a brief rest, they can be led to turn around and attack Zhao Ji.

With an army of over 100,000 men marching in, they might be able to sweep away Zhao Ji and Lü Bu.

The Han dynasty lost its virtue and treated scholars like thieves. How could scholars be willing to die for the Han dynasty?
Yuan Huan and He Kui exchanged a glance. Yuan Huan then cupped his hands and said, “My lord, we must be wary of Sun Ce. I fear that Sun Ce is the one who will help you achieve your great cause. In my opinion, given Sun Ce’s decisiveness, he might abandon Mount Tai and devote all his strength to helping you. Zhao Ji has Lü Bu in the west and Sun Ce in the east; these three are tigers and wolves in this world. If they form an alliance, their power will shake the heavens.”

Yuan Shu fell silent, then pouted and stared at Yuan Huan: "Would Cao Cao let Sun Ce pass?"

Even if any two of these three joined forces to fight Cao Cao, Cao Cao would fortify his city and defend it to avoid open battle.

Sun Ce is particularly special because he excels at besieging cities and attacking fortified positions.

The siege was extremely brutal, and what made Sun Ce special was that when carrying out siege warfare, his officers and soldiers were able to more ruthlessly draw resources from the surrounding area, transferring and releasing the negative emotions brought about by the siege.

When Yuan Shu asked the question, He Kui replied, "Now His Majesty's power shakes the world, and Hebei is filled with anxiety. If Sun Ce were to raise an army to fight against him, I imagine Cao Cao would just sit back and watch the outcome."

Among the strategists, Zhang Fan of Hanoi looked solemn. His younger brother, Zhang Cheng, had been ordered to appease Sun Ce's army, but Sun Ce still insisted on rebelling and killed Zhang Cheng. Another younger brother, Zhang Zhao, was also serving under Yuan Shu and was on the battlefield in Xuzhou.

In addition, there was a cousin named Zhang Hong, who became a Gentleman of the Yellow Gate after the emperor moved the capital east. He conspired with Attendant-in-Ordinary Ding Chong to assassinate the treacherous minister Zhao Ji, but failed and was killed on the spot by Zhao Ji.

The Zhang family of Hanoi was also a noble family, one of the most prominent families in Hanoi. However, by their generation, they had lost the opportunity to develop and could only rely on others.

Without a second thought, Zhang Fan stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, I am willing to go to Hebei to persuade the Governor of Ji Province. Now that we brothers are of one mind, we can reclaim the old territory of Liu Han; if we fight each other, we will surely be targeted by tigers and wolves such as Lü Bu, Zhao Ji, and Sun Ce.”

Yuan Shu frowned; he felt he had a significant advantage.

As long as Zhao Ji and Lü Bu are held back, the armies in Xuzhou will be able to launch a counterattack when they turn back east.

But he also knew that the greater his advantage, the more likely Yuan Shao and Cao Cao would come to attack him.

Furthermore, to strengthen control over subordinates, a strong external alliance is necessary.

If they could truly form an alliance with Yuan Shao, both sides would have greater control over their generals and subordinates.

If placed under Yuan Shao's command, Yuan Shao could quickly assimilate Cao Cao and make him his top general.

Thinking of Yuan Shao's petty nature, Yuan Shu couldn't help but smile: "I know that Gongyi has far-sighted considerations. But given Yuan Shao's character, he would rather perish with me than offer any assistance. This time, he sent an envoy to Hebei. Knowing my predicament, he will surely instigate Cao Cao to march south. If I do not act, he will not know the truth and will not take any action."

Seeing that Zhang Fan was about to speak, Yuan Shu waved his hand and said, "Gongyi, there is no need to persuade him anymore. Going to Hebei will be of no use and will only make him a laughingstock. Whether Chen wins or loses the decisive battle, it will cost Gongyi his life."

As he spoke, Yuan Shu couldn't help but chuckle, "That's settled then. I'll wait here for Zhao Ji to arrive. The rice paddies outside the city are my gift to him."

Anyway, he couldn't bring himself to burn the rice paddies. If someone else were to guard Chen County, he could subtly suggest that they carry it out.

But now that he is personally guarding the city, he must take into account the attitude of the former people of Chen.

The former Chen troops under Liu Xun's command are currently the main force besieging Pengcheng on the Xuzhou battlefield.

After being surrounded, Guan Yu wanted to break out and fight in the field, but the old Chen army was well-equipped. Just that one elite crossbow alone was enough to deter Guan Yu from going out of the city to challenge them.

If you accept the allegiance of the officials and people of Chen, you must consider their feelings.

While it's true that it's impossible to protect something, it's somewhat unacceptable to actively sabotage it.

Ultimately, Yuan Shu did not want to disappoint the civil and military officials of Chen who had betrayed King Chen and followed him.

We can admit defeat, but we must not lose the hearts of the people.

As the saying goes, what you fear most is what will happen; the one who knows you best is always your greatest enemy.

While Yuan Shu was discussing Sun Ce, Sun Ce heard that Zhao Ji had left Yique Pass and joined the campaign to protect the country and oppose Yuan. He issued a proclamation to the surrounding counties and mobilized all his troops, both old and new. The massive force of more than 30,000 men passed through Xiaqiu, Kangfu, Dongmin, and Shanfu, and their vanguard had already reached Meng County in Liang State.

When the army passed through, the scene was one of utter devastation; both men and women were forcibly conscripted.

His envoy, Zhang Hong, also arrived in Xuchang today, representing Sun Ce in requesting a new official position from Zhao Ji.

(End of this chapter)