Han officials

Chapter 284 Xuzhou, a City Abundant with Talent [4K]

Guangling Prefecture, within the city of Guangling.

As a spring rain fell, a slight chill filled the morning air.

However, early in the morning, a rhythmic sound of turning the ground came from the backyard of the prefectural government.

Zhao Yu, the governor of Guangling, skillfully used a hoe to loosen the soil that had been dormant all winter.

Unlike typical prefectural governments, the garden in the backyard of the Guangling Prefectural Governor's residence had no exotic flowers or rare plants. Instead, rows of fruits and vegetables stretched out, resembling a rural farmhouse.

This gave the already quiet prefectural residence a rare sense of returning to simplicity.

Unfortunately, the visitor arrived in a hurry, breaking the tranquil and peaceful atmosphere.

Watching Zhao Yu's busy figure in the garden, the registrar Luan An couldn't help but stamp his foot and say:
"My lord, what time of year is it and you're still farming?"

Zhao Yu remained unmoved upon hearing this. After finishing the last bit of work in the corner, he straightened up, rubbing his back while holding the hoe, and laughed nonchalantly:

"We have to farm all the time, otherwise what will we eat?"

In this regard, Zhao Yu greatly admired Wei Zhe's land reclamation method, regarding it as a true panacea for saving the country.

In his view, although the military settlement system originated in the border counties, the inland counties actually needed this model more.

Therefore, after becoming the governor of Guangling, Zhao Yu also implemented the system of military farming within his territory.

Therefore, after Tao Qian abdicated, Zhao Yu was the first to express his submission to Wei Zhe.

From this perspective, Zhao Yu and Chen Gui can be considered two extremes.

After all, the Zhao clan of Langya was a prominent family in the prefecture, and Zhao Yu was a representative figure of the Langya gentry.

However, compared to Chen Gui, Zhao Yu was upright and studious.

During the Zhongping era, he was recommended as a filial and incorruptible official and later served as the magistrate of Ju County. After the Taiping Dao rebellion, he assisted in suppressing the Yellow Turbans, but he did not want to accept any reward and thus resigned and returned home.

In the first year of the Chuping era, after Tao Qian took office as the governor of Xuzhou, he heard of his reputation and forcibly recruited him as his assistant. Later, he was transferred to the position of governor of Guangling, where he remains to this day.

It was precisely because he was too upright that Zhao Yu treated Zuo Rong with courtesy when Zuo Rong was traveling to Guangling in the original history, but unexpectedly he was killed by Zuo Rong instead.

However, being upright also has its advantages, which makes Zhao Yu and Chen Gui, who are both from aristocratic families, completely different people.

For example, at this moment, upon hearing the news from Tancheng that Sun Ce had been appointed General of the Cavalry and recruited as Colonel of the Vanquishing Army, in charge of the troops of Guangling Commandery, Zhao Yu calmly nodded and said, "In that case, we shall obey orders."

Upon hearing this, the registrar Luan An immediately became uneasy and said with a worried expression:
“My lord, this is a chaotic order. How can Sun Ce, a mere youth, be in charge of the military affairs of a prefecture?”

At this point, Luan An couldn't help but step closer and whisper:

"The General of the Flying Cavalry's move is clearly aimed at you; we must not be careless!"

Judging from Luan An's anxious and agitated appearance, he was clearly just short of shouting "reduce his power."

After all, the governors of the five prefectures of Xuzhou were all former officials from Tao Qian's era, so it was perfectly normal for Wei Zhe to replace them with his own people.

But his vision is clearly far inferior to Zhao Yu's.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yu only said one sentence:

"If I can bring peace to Xuzhou, what does it matter if I give up my official post?"

Anyway, at worst he can just resign from his post and return home, which will allow him to focus on his studies.

Seeing that Zhao Yu had said this, Luan An could only sigh helplessly, completely speechless.

It must be admitted that Zhao Yu was an anomaly in this chaotic world, an anomaly like Liu Yu.

However, Zhao Yu's unconventional behavior almost caused the inexperienced Sun Ce to strain his back.

Before he went to the prefectural government with the appointment, he had already prepared for rejection. He had even thought of his words, ready to give Zhao Yu a righteous and stern speech when he disobeyed orders, and then use diplomacy first and then force to gain military power.

The young Sun Ce couldn't help but feel secretly smug, thinking that his actions might even go down in history.

Sun Ce was stunned to find that Zhao Yu had agreed so readily.

Fortunately, Zhou Yu coughed in time to bring him back to his senses, preventing him from losing his composure on the spot.

Seeing this, Zhao Yu said nothing, but stroked his beard and smiled:
"I can give you the military tally, but the current situation is unpredictable. I wonder if Commander Sun has any plans to deal with it?"

Sun Ce was prepared for Zhao Yu's question and calmly replied:

"Cao Mengde was no ordinary man, as can be seen from the fact that he regained Yanzhou after losing it."

Therefore, he will not be satisfied with just seizing Xiapi after entering Xu this time; he must have other plans.

"However, of the five commanderies and kingdoms of Xuzhou, Guangling Commandery is currently the most dangerous."

At this point, he immediately drew his sword and drew a simple map of Guangling County on the ground.

Then Sun Ce pointed with the tip of his sword at Haixi County, the northernmost part of Guangling Commandery, and said with a furrowed brow:

"Once Haixi falls, Cao Cao can isolate Xuzhou from the north and south, leaving Guangling in a state of isolation."

"If I'm not mistaken, Cao Cao should already be leading his army toward Haixi."

"We must not lose Haixi!" Zhou Yu nodded heavily upon hearing this, saying, "If this place falls, Guangling will also be difficult to survive!"

Although Wei Zhe allowed Cao Cao to conquer cities and seize territory in Xuzhou, only thinking about cutting off his rear, there are always smart people out there.

After analyzing the situation for a long time, Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, these two good buddies, deduced that Cao Cao was very likely to attack Haixi.

This is also the main reason why Sun Ce rushed to the prefectural government to take up his post today.

After listening to Sun Ce's analysis, Zhao Yu pondered for a moment and couldn't help but sigh:

"Like father, like son," this saying is absolutely true!

After this unconventional interview, Zhao Yu finally put aside his last reservations and handed over the command of five thousand county soldiers to Sun Ce.

……

Regardless of how impressed Zhao Yu was with Wei Zhe's ability to recognize talent.

After obtaining the military tally, Sun Ce quickly took control of the county troops.

Despite his young age, Sun Jian did leave him with some solid foundation.

For example, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang, and Zu Mao were called family generals, but in reality they were all veterans of the battlefield.

Let alone a mere five thousand county soldiers, even if there were twice that number, the four of them could still manage them.

This is actually the way many military families have established themselves.

After all, no matter how brilliant a general's strategy is, it still needs to be carried out by his subordinates.

Without a group of personal guards and generals to control the army, it would most likely end up like Cao Cao five years ago, unable to manage even with over ten thousand elite troops from Danyang, and nearly dying in the chaos of war.

After gaining control of the county troops, Sun Ce immediately ordered Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang, and Zu Mao to lead three thousand county troops by waterway to support Haixi as quickly as possible, lest it be too late.

As for Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, they led the remaining two thousand men toward Ling County, attempting to slow down Cao Cao's army.

Of course, Sun Ce also knew that Cao Cao's army was large and that it would be difficult for his two thousand five hundred men to stop them.

However, Sun Ce was quite accomplished in the art of "military strategy".

He was well aware of the importance of the phrase "southern boats and northern horses" in warfare. Therefore, from the beginning, Sun Ce did not intend to confront Cao Cao's army head-on. Instead, based on the complex water system of Xiapi, he planned to lead his troops by boat with Zhou Yu, taking advantage of the southerners' expertise in naval warfare.

No matter how skilled Cao Cao was in battle, he was ultimately a coward on the water!

To be honest, Sun Ce's tactic of "attacking from the water" in naval warfare actually had some effect.

Although he suffered many casualties in the process, he at least bought time for Huang Gai and the others.

On the eve of Cao Cao's army's arrival at the city, Huang Gai and others led reinforcements and finally succeeded in entering Haixi.

In a short time, the strength of the Haixi garrison increased significantly, reaching a total of four thousand.

Evening, at the foot of Haixi City.

Looking at the dense array of Wei army banners on the city wall, Cao Cao's face was extremely gloomy.

However, Cao Cao was always determined, and Sun Ce's little trick did not deter him from his determination to attack Haixi.

That evening, he had another in-depth conversation with Chen Gui and once again obtained more than 10,000 followers.

There was nothing they could do; after all, Huaipu County, the stronghold of the Chen family of Xiapi, was the closest to Haixi.

If you start from Huaipu and travel downstream by boat, you can reach Haixi in just one hour.

The next day, after a brief rest, Cao Cao launched a full-scale attack on the city without hesitation.

……

Meanwhile, on Pengcheng Kingdom's side, Wei Zhe, after making the arrangement of "the first battle is the decisive battle," also put aside his concerns.

As orders were issued from Pengcheng, Wei Zhe focused his main efforts on Pei State.

However, the arrival of an uninvited guest that evening interrupted Wei Zhe's contemplation.

"Who?" Wei Zhe, who had come to his senses, didn't quite hear clearly.

Upon hearing this, Mi Zhu immediately stepped forward, presented the visiting card, and explained in detail:

"This man was named Zhang Zhao. He was a famous scholar from Pengcheng. He studied the Zuo Zhuan and refused to be recommended as a candidate for the civil service examination."

"He was a close friend of Zhao Yu, the prefect of Guangling, and Wang Lang, the chief administrator, and they often visited each other to debate the classics."

“When Tao was alive, he admired Zhang Zhao’s great reputation and wanted to recommend him as a talented scholar, but Zhang Zhao refused. This angered Tao, who believed that Zhang Zhao was looking down on him, so he imprisoned him. Zhang Zhao was only released after Zhao Yu, the governor of Guangling, intervened.”

"This man is indeed very talented, but he is quite arrogant. Although he is from Xuzhou, he has never served as an official in the prefecture."

At this point, Mi Zhu's expression became somewhat complicated.

He actually admired Zhang Zhao's detached attitude, but unfortunately he couldn't imitate it.

After listening to Mi Zhu's words, Wei Zhe finally confirmed that this Zhang Zhao was the future Prime Minister of Eastern Wu.

Thinking of this, Wei Zhe became interested and immediately ordered his personal guards to bring him over to meet him.

A moment later, a middle-aged man with a tall hat and wide sleeves, and a refined demeanor, came to the front of the hall and performed the proper rites.

It must be admitted that Zhang Zhao's appearance alone is far superior to Mi Zhu's.

Wei Zhe did not put on airs as the overlord of Hebei. Instead, he smiled and pulled Zhang Zhao to sit down in the pavilion.

After the servants brought him some soup and snacks, he even personally poured a cup for Zhang Zhao before looking sincerely at Zhang Zhao across from him and saying:
"You are a virtuous and talented man from Xuzhou. You have come to visit me so late at night. I wonder what you can teach me?"

At this moment, Zhang Zhao was already quite excited by Wei Zhe's smooth little combo.

Even though he knew that this "treating the virtuous with respect" tactic was a common method used by those in power, he still couldn't help but be influenced by it. After all, knowing something is one thing, but actually encountering it is another.

Moreover, those in high positions often disdain to use such methods even if they know about them.

Tao Qian is a prime example; if renowned scholars and Confucianists disobeyed his orders, he would even go so far as to imprison them and force them to comply.

Compared to his many peers, Wei Zhe's achievement was already quite surprising to Zhang Zhao.

Sincerity! At this moment, Zhang Zhao felt only a deep sense of sincerity!
So he immediately changed his mind and went straight to the point:

"Does Your Excellency intend to travel to the State of Pei?"

“…Not bad.” Wei Zhe nodded, though surprised.

It can be said that Zhang Zhao made Wei Zhe realize his talent with just one sentence.

After all, being able to deduce Wei Zhe's next attack direction from the slightest clues is no ordinary feat.

However, Zhang Zhao's talents were not limited to that.

In fact, he realized something was wrong as soon as he learned that Wei Zhe had led his troops to Pengcheng.

Since the chaos in Xiapi was known throughout Xuzhou, Wei Zhe's decision to go to Pengcheng instead of Xiapi clearly contradicted the rumors circulating about the movements of the Wei army.

Having confirmed his own conjecture, Zhang Zhao immediately said solemnly:
"I can roughly guess your intentions, my lord. But that is precisely why we should not have allowed Xiapi to fall into chaos. Doing so would only have emboldened Cao Cao and wasted the resources of Xuzhou."

"Having lived here for a long time, I am well aware of the local customs and traditions. The affairs of the Chen family in Huaipu cannot represent the overall situation in Xiapi."

"How can the selfish desires of one family or clan sway the hearts of 600,000 people in Xiapi?"

"Compared to Cao Mengde, the people of Xiapi are still willing to submit to the general, but now they have no choice but to submit."

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhe immediately fell silent.

He finally understood what Zhang Zhao meant: this guy just couldn't bear to see the people of Xiapi get killed by Chen Gui and his son this time.

Because if Wei Zhe's strategy succeeds, then the people of Xiapi will basically be labeled as rebels.

Regardless of their original intentions, the future of this generation will be ruined.

From this perspective, Zhang Zhao did indeed come to advise Wei Zhe out of personal motives.

However, after listening to Zhang Zhao's analysis, Wei Zhe also felt that what he said did make some sense.

Even if he wanted to attack Cao Cao's rear, he shouldn't have pushed all 600,000 Xiapi civilians to Cao Cao's side.

After all, the more Cao Cao's strength increased, the more difficult it would be for Cao Cao to capture him in one fell swoop later.

Therefore, he really shouldn't have allowed Cao Cao to comfortably digest and utilize the many resources of Xiapi.

Thinking this, Wei Zhe looked at Zhang Zhao opposite him again and said seriously:
Now that you have noticed this loophole, what plan do you have in mind?

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhao immediately replied without hesitation:
"This matter is not difficult. Your Majesty only needs to issue an order to suppress the bandits!"

“With rewards in the form of wealth and official titles, the people of Xiapi can hunt down Cao Cao’s soldiers for a reward. In this way, heroes and chivalrous men will have a way to go and will naturally not go astray and join Cao Cao in rebellion.”

Zhang Zhao's plan was not actually hoping that the people of Xiapi would actually defeat Cao Cao's army, but rather to give the local people and powerful families hope, so that they would not give up and blindly follow Cao Cao down the wrong path.

As long as they don't help Cao Cao, it's a disguised way of limiting the growth of Cao Cao's army.

In this way, Zhang Zhao's goal was achieved.

After figuring out the intricacies of the situation, Wei Zhe looked at Zhang Zhao with increasing admiration.

Although Zhang Zhao's words are simple, the human relationships and calculations involved are extremely complex.

But Zhang Zhao was able to simplify the complex and easily turn it to his own use!
Wow, this is truly a talent fit to be a king's advisor!
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Wishing everyone a happy and healthy Dragon Boat Festival, and also a happy Children's Day!
(End of this chapter)