Tiger Guards

Chapter 419 Full of Troubles
Xu was stationed at the residence, and Wei Xu was ordered to inspect the area.

Looking at the line of grain carts belonging to Zhao Bu, he frowned, feeling very reluctant to leave.

Zhao Ji would allocate grain every two or three days, and the grain reserves with the army were well above the half-month warning line.

A standard grain cart can carry 25 shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain, and Zhao Ji has publicly stated that his army numbers over 110,000.

Zhao Ji's army numbered 31,000, Sun Ce's army numbered 37,000, and there were also more than 50,000 laborers.

Taking into account the consumption of various horses in Zhao Ji's army, the army's reserve grain of just over 300,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) is sufficient for deployment.

Each time Zhao Ji allocated grain from the imperial granary, he used 50,000 shi (a unit of dry measure), which was nearly twice the normal consumption within three days.

At the same time, Zhao Ji also sent people to cut rice paddies and fields near Chen County and Ruyang, or to graze horses directly in the wild, so that the consumption of horse feed was lower than normal expenditure.

Therefore, Zhao Ji had stockpiled at least twenty days' worth of field battle supplies in his army during this period. The more Zhao Ji took, the less was left for the imperial court.

Anyway, Wei Xu didn't like the feeling of being hungry, and although the army was short of food, he didn't go hungry.

However, given the current situation in the Central Plains, whoever has more grain reserves has the upper hand.

Look at Yuan Shu, he forced himself to come this far because of food shortages, and eventually burst his belly.

Wei Xu was also unwilling to provoke Zhao Ji, so he kept the matter in mind. When he returned to the city to report on his duties, he had dinner with Lü Bu and took the opportunity to mention the matter.

Upon hearing this, Lü Bu glanced at Wei Xu and asked, "Did you realize this yourself, or did someone remind you?"

"It was during my inspection that I suddenly realized that Yuan Si's hoarding of grain and fodder shows that he still does not trust our army."

"It's right that you don't trust them."

Lu Bu's tone remained unchanged: "The more abundant his grain reserves are, the less likely anyone will try to make things difficult for him when he comes to procure grain. If the army's grain reserves are insufficient, not only outsiders, but even I will despise him."

Lü Bu put down his chopsticks, took a sip of wine, and sighed, "He besieged Chen County very tightly, even driving away my scouts. But how could a large army move without leaving a trace?"

He only concluded this afternoon that Sun Ce had left with the main force ahead of schedule. Where could Sun Ce have gone?
They could either attack Jinan, Jibei, or Jiyin, and then take advantage of the situation to enter Qingzhou; or they could launch a surprise attack on Huainan and steal meat from Liu Bei's mouth.

If Sun Ce marches south, Sun Ben will definitely turn against Liu Bei and rejoin Sun Ce's army.

Liu Bei has become too arrogant now, but even with this arrogance, most of his subordinates are only temporary, just like Xiang Yu when he entered Guanzhong.

Chen Deng, Zang Ba, Chang Ba, and Zhao Fan submitted voluntarily, while Liu Xun and Sun Ben were coerced. Liu Bei himself had less than 20,000 troops, and he joined forces with Chen Deng and others, using the pretext of the court's righteous cause of suppressing the rebellion to temporarily coerce Liu Xun and Sun Ben into submission.

The fact that Liu Xun and Sun Ben were at odds with each other gave Liu Bei the opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

If Sun Ce were to follow the imperial court's orders to march south and seize territory, and Sun Ben were to break away from Liu Bei, then Liu Xun would certainly follow suit and break away from Liu Bei as well, thus bringing Liu Bei back to his original state.

If Liu Bei is allowed to continue to coerce Sun Ben and Liu Xun, it will actually strengthen his control over Chen Deng, Zang Ba, and others.

With Sun Ben, Liu Xun, and others leaving, Liu Bei's three-tiered coalition will retreat to two tiers, becoming a Xuzhou coalition led by Liu Bei, greatly reducing Liu Bei's threat level.

Lu Bu had a very favorable impression of Liu Bei, who came from a neighboring prefecture.

During his most difficult time, Liu Bei, acting on the orders of the imperial court and persuaded by Zhao Ji's envoy, replenished Lü Bu's food supplies and also sent him 5,000 soldiers from Danyang.

These provisions, along with the Danyang soldiers and the newly recruited soldiers from Liang State whom they forcibly borrowed from King Chen, were what allowed Lü Bu to withstand Cao Cao's repeated fierce attacks.

However, Liu Bei's forces expanded rapidly to over 100,000, which alarmed Lü Bu.

Zhao Ji allowed Sun Ce to undermine Liu Bei, and even if Lü Bu noticed, he would pretend not to know.

Now that Cao Cao has been lured and killed, and Sun Ce has led his army away from the Chen Kingdom battlefield, the problem facing Lü Bu has become increasingly acute: how to get along with Zhao Ji.

Especially when dealing with the issue of Yanzhou, Lü Bu also had his own ideas.

When Cao Cao was alive, Chen Gong and Yang Jun would help him, all in order to kill Cao Cao and avenge many people.

With Cao Cao lured and killed by Zhao Ji, Chen Gong and Yang Jun's focus shifted.

For example, how to preserve the vitality of the people of Yanzhou.

Zhao Ji's decision to lead his army to Yanzhou had already caused widespread anxiety and fear even before he set off.

Following the example of Cao Cao, Zhao Ji was able to cleanse Yanzhou of its innocence. Zhao Ji was very experienced in this regard, and Sun Ce was no less capable.

The scholars of Yanzhou did not even oppose Zhao Ji's killing of civilians; what terrified them was the implication of all scholars and powerful figures who had connections with Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was so domineering and ruthless. After experiencing the rebellion in Yan Province, the scholars and powerful families who were still able to live and develop in Yan Province were destined to have submitted to Cao Cao and had a very deep alliance with him.

Although there were many unavoidable reasons involved, when Zhao Ji wielded the imperial court's big stick, who cared about the details of compromising one's integrity, submitting to thieves, and serving thugs? Yang Jun was the first to react and had already reminded Lü Bu; while Chen Gong seemed not to have reacted yet, but he might realize it later.

Only by preventing Zhao Ji from going to Yanzhou can we fundamentally prevent this worrying situation from happening.

But if Zhao Ji doesn't go, how can the various armies in Yanzhou obediently accept being incorporated and integrated?

The various armies in Yanzhou were too complex, including the armies of the various officials and the Xiahou, as well as the local troops of the prefectures and counties of Yanzhou, the troops of powerful clans, the Yellow Turban Army of Qingxu who were stationed in military settlements, and the military settlement families who had migrated from Ruying and Liangpei in Yuzhou.

Only a heavy blow like Zhao Ji's can cause the various armies in Yanzhou to fall apart and each to look after their own future.

Otherwise, if these former subordinates of Cao Cao unite, they will wait for the highest bidder, demand exorbitant prices, and there is a high probability that they will all defect to Hebei.

If they joined Yuan Shao, they would only become second-rate figures; if they surrendered to the imperial court, their past crimes would be too heavy, and they would have almost no hope of turning their lives around. These people were the ones who could charge into battle, but none of them were qualified to be among the high-ranking officials.

If Zhao Ji doesn't go, among all those in the court who could achieve a similar effect, only Lü Bu is suitable.

But at this moment, would Lü Bu dare to leave Xuchang, leaving Zhao Ji to stay near Xuchang to oversee the campaign against Yuan Shu, and then claim this great achievement for himself?
The situation was so complicated. Zhao Ji was willing to leave the front lines and go to Yanzhou; but more and more people realized the situation and began to try to obstruct it.

Now, Lu Bu is not afraid of Sun Ce going to Huainan, but he is afraid of Sun Ce launching a surprise attack on the eastern part of Yanzhou; with Zhao Ji added to the mix, Yanzhou will be completely plundered by Zhao Ji and Sun Ce.

The amount of spoils seized is not important; the key issue is that Zhao Ji and Sun Ce will disrupt the old order in Yanzhou, causing Chen Gong to become disheartened and resentful, leading the people of Yanzhou to defect to Yuan Shao and plunging the court into chaos.

The more ruthlessly Zhao Ji and Sun Ce slaughtered the powerful clans in Yanzhou and wiped them out before they began to distribute the land, the more impenetrable Yanzhou would become.

The people who were allocated fertile land and houses would naturally support Zhao Ji.

In this way, Zhao Ji established a connection with Xuzhou, enabling him to directly influence the Central Plains.

At this point, who can still check and balance Zhao Ji?
Compared to Yuan Shu's system of titles and institutions, Zhao Ji's recovery of territory from the rebels and the equal distribution of land to so-called 'official tenants' can be summarized in four words: land restoration and equal distribution of land.

This practice of restoring land and distributing it equally is more like a rebellion!

The most distressed party was the imperial court. Zhao Ji's actions in restoring the land were impeccable; he himself did not seize the land of those who had followed the rebels, but instead confiscated it all, thus increasing the direct income of the county and prefectural governments.

Displaced people and disaster victims acquire land use rights as tenants of the government. Would these people be grateful to the imperial court and local government?
In order to cultivate a plot of land that costs 50% of the rent, these people will pick up hoes and pitchforks to protect everything Zhao Ji owns!
Look at the military households under Cao Cao's military settlement system. They served as soldiers in wartime and farmed in peacetime... and the land rent was also 50%!
Lu Bu was drinking and deep in thought when he suddenly said to Wei Xu, who was confused and felt he might be in trouble, "Tonight, go to Yuan Si's camp and deliver a letter for me."

Wei Xu secretly breathed a sigh of relief and didn't dare to ask any more questions: "Yes."

Lu Bu got up to go to his study when Yang Jun arrived at the door: "General, the Grand Master of Ceremonies requests an audience."

Upon hearing this, Lü Bu chuckled and said, "Please come in. We'll meet in the side hall while I change my clothes."

"Here."

Yang Jun cupped his hands in greeting, took a step back, and turned to leave along the corridor.

Lu Bu glanced at Wei Xu, who, alert, quickly followed.

In the study, Lü Bu took out a sheet of paper presented by Hedong. When he picked up a pen, Wei Xu had already prepared the ink for him.

Lü Bu picked up a brush, moistened it with ink, and without any regard for Wei Xu, quickly wrote over a hundred characters in one stroke.

Lü Bu then took out his personal seal, stamped it, folded it, and handed it to Wei Xu: "Keep it close to your body and be sure to hand it to Yuan Si in person. If he asks any questions, just say that the court is in turmoil and that I am not comparable to the likes of Dong Zhuo, Li Jue, or Guo Si. If the emperor issues an edict, I can only obey it."

Wei Xu had already realized what was happening and asked in confusion, "Brother, my family and Yuan Si have a combined army of over 100,000. What do we have to fear from the corrupt scholars in the court?"

"You don't understand, you can't kill them all."

Lu Bu raised his hand and patted Wei Xu on the shoulder, revealing a self-deprecating smile.

Cao Cao is already dead. If Yuan Shu were to die in Chen County as well, how things would develop would be beyond his control and prediction.

He didn't want to bother with the planning and strategizing; the simplest thing was to reset things.

Whether you persuade or scare them, get Zhao Ji to leave quickly.

As long as Zhao Ji stays in Xizhou, sharpening his sword, no one in the court will dare to touch him.

He could only breathe a sigh of relief when the eldest prince got older.

The tradition of emperors of the Later Han Dynasty killing their generals before assuming personal rule... How could Lü Bu possibly ignore this?
If a general who is related to the empress can be killed without hesitation, then it's even more true for a general who is not related to the empress.

Things have come to this point, and he doesn't care whether he becomes the emperor or the eldest son of the emperor. As long as he remains the regent, the right minister, and the general, it's not too bad.

(End of this chapter)