Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 144 Draw
After Liu Daogui left, Yuan Can came out with a dozen Yuan family members wearing armor.

"This man has wicked ambitions, trying to buy off the soldiers' hearts. His plans are not small. Why doesn't he use the toss of the cup as a signal?"

"If we had thrown the cups just now, I would have been the first to die, and you would never have been able to leave the government office. The Liu family of Pengcheng are all tigers and wolves. You should go and take a look outside." Even now, Yuan He is still frightened.

What he was worried about was not only Liu Daogui, but also the Liu family's followers outside, who were lawless and capable of doing anything.

It is very likely that they were responsible for the looting of Yandu.

A few of the Yuan family members didn't believe it and ran out of the government office. They soon returned with pale faces, "They want to rebel... These lowly people are rebelling for 500 coins..."

Five hundred coins were nothing to them, but to ordinary soldiers, it was enough food for their entire family for five or six days.

"If he doesn't die, the Zhenglu Army Headquarters will no longer belong to our Yuan family." Another member of the Yuan family looked unwilling.

"If he dies, will the Zhenglu Army Headquarters belong to us?"

Yuan He's rhetorical question left everyone at a loss for words.

Everyone knows what Liu Daogui wants to do.

The Zhenglu Army and the Beifu Army are of the same origin. The predecessor of the Beifu Army was the refugees who moved south from the north. They have always admired the strong, and the soldiers will follow whoever is strong.

Even if Liu Daogui did not exist, the Zhenglu Army Headquarters would not necessarily belong to the Yuan family.

Yuan He is very familiar with this rule.

Times have changed. Since Emperor Sima Yao's inexplicable death, the last fig leaf of the Jin Dynasty has disappeared.

The prestige of the royal family and the noble families was weakened.

The aristocratic sects want to have a piece of the pie, the common people also want to have a seat at the table, and even these low-level soldiers are ready to move and are not content with the status quo.

This is an irresistible force that has been suppressed for a long time.

Not only Liu Daogui, but also Meng Chang, Liu Yi, Tan Zhi, Lu Zongzhi and others were not ordinary people.

Yuan He glanced at the Yuan family members. They were all experts in drinking, playing with women, and taking Wu Shi San. If they really went into a fight, this group of people might not be a match for Liu Daogui alone.

Although clad in exquisite iron armor and holding a sword, some of them had powder on their faces and hunched backs, seemingly unable to bear the weight of the armor. They lacked the tiger-like aura that had erupted from Liu Daogui just now...

He was not even as good as Lu Zongzhi and Zhuge Changmin who were by Liu Yi's side.

The Yuan family has been in decline for too long and has not produced any outstanding figures for a long time.

Therefore, he knew very well what would happen after the cup was thrown. "Forget it, this world is not owned by my Yuan family. We can only go with the flow and not go against the flow."

In this round of power struggle, the one who survives to the end is the winner, and the one who rushes out first will only become someone else's meal.

Yuan Can asked, "How do we explain this to Prince Xiang?"

Sima Daozi's order was to let the Yuan family take control of the General's Mansion in order to contain Jingkou.

Yuan He completed most of his task, taking advantage of the internal strife in the court to sideline Huan Hong, but when he looked back, he found that he had no control over his soldiers at all.

For the Yuan family, getting 10% of the salt profit from Liu Daogui is the best option.

The Yuan family has been up and down for so many years and has not climbed to the top, but it has accumulated a lot of experience. In this power struggle, every family must be cautious.

One wrong step and there is no recovery.

The Yuan family has reached its current state and cannot afford another failure.

Rather than saying that Yuan He was loyal to Sima Daozi, it would be better to say that he was loyal to his own family background.

"Prince Xiang can't take care of us for the time being. Do you think the Zhenglu Army Headquarters can really contain Jingkou? Don't forget, Liu Laozhi is also from the Pengcheng Liu family, and..."

Yuan He glanced at everyone and swallowed back all the words that followed.

There are some things I can't say right now, at least not to these younger generations...

Just then Du Shunu said outside the door: "Master, something big has happened again."

Everyone's attention was drawn to it. "What happened?"

"Yu Kai sent his son Yu Hong to persuade Wang Gong to raise an army to attack Sima Shangzhi and purge the imperial court. Wang Gong then joined forces with Yin Zhongkan and raised an army again!"

Almost everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Wang Gong met Sima Daozi in battle here, but the Zhenglu Army Headquarters was actually safe...

When Liu Daogui walked out of the Sima Yamen, Liu Zun, Gao Xun, Zhou Zheng, Zhao Lunzhi and others came to greet him.

The soldiers drew their swords and strung their bows and crossbows, looking murderous.

There were many unfamiliar faces in the crowd, but the expressions of worry on their faces were real.

Liu Daogui smiled bitterly in his heart, not knowing whether he was worried about himself or the allowance...

But the result is the same, feelings can be cultivated slowly.

"If anything happens to the soldier, we will grind Yuan He to dust!" Several old soldiers at the front cursed.

"Empress Huan doesn't care about us, so the Yuan family is nothing!"

The deaths of Huan Chengzhi, Xun Xinzhi, and Huan Daozhen greatly weakened the Huan family's control over the front.

Yuan He and Yuan Can had little prestige, which allowed Liu Daogui to take advantage of this loophole.

"Thank you all, it's nothing serious." Liu Daogui calmed the soldiers.

"Since there is nothing wrong with joining the army, then disperse and don't cause more trouble."

"Take care in the army."

"If you see this person again, please inform us as soon as possible."

The soldiers came up one by one to greet him, and Liu Daogui thanked them one by one.

Those who can come here today will be our family from now on...

Returning to the palace, Gao Xun said, "Wang Gong, Yin Zhongkan, and Yu Kai have raised an army."

Liu Zun said, "These people are shouting and clamoring, but no one dares to actually take action. They're all relying on others to take action. It's boring. I bet ten coins that Wang Gong will hide in Jingkou again!"

"You're right." Gao Xun smiled. "However, Wang Gong didn't take action, but Yu Kai did. He sent Runan Governor Duan Fang as the vanguard to attack Sima Shangzhi."

Wang Gong did not take action because Liu Laozhi was now in Pengcheng, guarding against the Xianbei people.

Of course, even if he came back, Wang Gong would not act rashly.

Liu Daogui said, "This time we're going to do it for real."

The reason there was no fight last time was because the atmosphere was not right, not many forces were involved, and each side was just shouting a few words.

But this time it’s different. More and more people are involved, and all major forces are prepared.

Sure enough, within two days, news came from the west.

Yang Qunqi led 5,000 naval troops as the vanguard, Huan Xuan led 5,000 troops to follow, and Yin Zhongkan led the main force of 20,000 and went east one after another. Yang Qunqi and Huan Xuan advanced to the mouth of the Peng River.

Wang Yu, the governor of Jiangzhou appointed by Sima Daozi, fled at the sight of the enemy. Huan Xuan sent a small force to pursue and capture Wang Yu. Yang Qunqi led his troops to Hengjiang, facing Caishiji south of the Yangtze River across the river.

Behind Caishiji is Stone City, and behind Stone City is Jiankang.

Wang Yu's escape without fighting allowed the Jingzhou West Palace Army to advance straight into the city as if it were an empty territory.

Sima Daozi sent Sima Huizhi, the younger brother of Sima Shangzhi, to lead the Jiankang navy to fight and stationed at Caishiji.

However, Yu Kai in the north was defeated, and Sima Shangzhi defeated the Yuzhou army in Cihu and captured and killed the vanguard Duan Fang.

The two sides have won and lost alternately, and it can barely be considered a draw.

(End of this chapter)