Second-hand time travel: Liu Bei, the big-eared bandit

When Han Sui arrived at Xiaohuaili, he no longer raised the banner of "purging the court of corrupt officials," and even sent gifts to Liu Bei.

The gift was a few felt blankets, a specialty of Jincheng County. They weren't particularly valuable, but giving felt blankets in winter certainly showed a willingness to make peace.

Liu Bei left the camp and arranged to meet Han Sui on the battlefield.

Both men left their guards a few dozen paces behind them, then stepped out separately, their horses' heads touching as they spoke.

"Wen Yue has raised troops several times for a reason, but I wonder what the reason is this time?"

Upon arriving, Liu Bei immediately offered Han Sui a way out: "Is it to pacify Liangzhou, or to protect the emperor?"

"...Song Jian harmed people with his heretical cult, drove out Han officials, and wreaked havoc in Longxi...As a general of the Han, I, Han, naturally have to punish and destroy this evil thief."

Han Sui, being quite sensible, seized the opportunity to back down: "I only heard that Your Majesty has moved the capital and that there are rebels causing trouble in Guanzhong, so I led my troops here to await Your Majesty's orders..."

"Hahaha... Wenyue is indeed a loyal subject of the emperor."

Liu Bei laughed: "Since you have come to protect His Majesty, would Wen Yue be willing to go to Chang'an to serve His Majesty?"

Han Sui also laughed and said, "If I go to Chang'an, I'm afraid no one will be able to control the bandits in Longxi... Please tell His Majesty that I am willing to obey His Majesty's decree, but the border affairs are heavy, and I, as an official guarding Liangzhou, dare not be negligent in the slightest."

Both of them have equally thick skin and can lie without batting an eye.

Han Sui did not hide his desire to continue being the local tyrant of Liangzhou. What seemed like nonsense was actually a condition he set out—he wanted to take real control of Liangzhou and wanted the court to appoint him as the governor of Liangzhou.

If Liu Bei agrees, then Han Sui can join forces with Liu Bei.

Whether Liu Bei wants to deal with Ma Teng, Song Jian, or Liu Yan, it doesn't matter, as long as Liu Bei is willing to let Han Sui expand his power.

Liu Bei smiled and asked in a low voice, "To govern Liangzhou... is a written agreement absolutely necessary?"

Han Sui also said in a low voice, "Now that Liu Junlang's army has advanced into Chang'an, does the Prime Minister not need my help?"

"Haha... Brother Han is truly wise and righteous; this is a blessing for the Han Dynasty!"

Liu Bei laughed again, his voice suddenly rising: "Brother Han is willing to help me, I have no worries!"

The guards behind Han Sui clearly heard Liu Bei's voice and all looked at Yan Xing.

Yan Xing breathed a sigh of relief.

Han Sui was taken aback: "So, the Prime Minister has agreed?"

He had expected the talk to be long, but he hadn't anticipated that Liu Bei would be so easy to talk to...

“Wen Yue has previously had unrewarded military achievements, and the court should make amends for them.”

Liu Bei still smiled and said, "Now that the written agreement can bring stability to Liangzhou, it is only right to govern Liangzhou with the written agreement. Why should I refuse?"

Official rank doesn't matter; they can easily find a pretext to dismiss him in the future. It would be troublesome if Han Sui didn't want to be an official anymore...

If Han Sui could be made governor of Liangzhou, then Li Jue could naturally be made governor of Hanyang, and Duan Wei could be made governor of Jincheng...

If there weren't a den of tigers and wolves, how would you throw those unruly soldiers into it?
Han Sui clapped his hands and laughed: "Hahaha... I never expected the Prime Minister to be so magnanimous. I should have made the Prime Minister my friend long ago!"

The two appeared to be having a pleasant conversation, but in reality, they both knew that it was only temporary.

Liu Bei could not keep Han Sui outside the control of the court indefinitely.

Han Sui could not possibly accept the imperial court's assignment.

However, the two of them laughed from time to time, which made everyone on both sides feel much more relaxed.

Many of Han Sui's personal guards were Hu people. Seeing that there was no hostility from either side, they stepped forward to observe, peeking out from behind Han Sui in layers.

Seeing this, Liu Bei smiled and asked, "What are you here to see?"

"We are all from the borderlands, and we have never seen what the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty looks like..."

Cheng Gongying, standing behind Han Sui, said.

"I'm just a human being, I don't have three heads and six arms, I just have a lot of friends..."

Liu Bei laughed and said, "Since you have come here, you are guests, and I should treat you all to a meal."

Afterwards, Liu Bei sent some meat to Han Sui's guards and treated them to a meal right there on the battlefield. Only then did the host and guests return to their respective camps in high spirits.

After the meeting, Liu Bei's entire army retreated to Huaili, and once again ceded the Xiaohuaili camp to Han Sui for encampment.

……

Meanwhile, Pang De returned to Ma Teng's army.

Ma Teng was both shocked and furious when he learned that Ma Chao had returned defeated.

He cursed Ma Chao for being useless while also cursing Yan Xing for deserting the battlefield.

Ma Chao was already running a fever, and when he vaguely heard Ma Teng scolding him, he felt extremely uncomfortable. So he simply ordered his men to send him back to Long County, so he would no longer stay with Ma Teng.

Later, Ma Teng heard that Han Sui and Liu Bei had met and were having a pleasant conversation, which made him even angrier.

"Han Wenyue actually plots against me?!"

Ma Teng gritted his teeth and asked Pound for all sorts of details.

All Pang De knew was that Yan Xing had been brought to Liu Bei's camp by Xu Shu, and that Yan Xing had subsequently defeated Ma Chao. Pang De truly knew nothing else.

However, Pound mentioned his suspicion that Liu Yan had grain but was not distributing it.

For Ma Teng, it was already strange when Han Sui received Liu Bei's letter before, and now that Han Sui and Liu Bei are colluding, it seems that Han Sui is indeed going to "abandon darkness and embrace light" again.

Every time Han Sui "abandoned darkness for light," it always involved sacrificing his allies...

Judging from the current situation, the ally who was sacrificed is most likely Ma Teng, since Yan Xing has already taken action against Ma Chao.

Once this suspicion arises, it cannot be suppressed.

Out of fear and anxiety, Ma Teng sought advice from another ally.

This other ally was Yuan Tan.

Yuan Tan himself didn't really have any ideas, but he did have some capable people under him, such as Feng Ji.

After learning about Ma Teng's situation, Feng Ji suggested to Ma Teng: "Since Han Wenyue is unethical, General, why don't you strike first!"

This isn't actually a bad idea. Han Sui's main force is currently in Xiaohuaili. If Ma Teng quickly returns to Han Sui's territory, such as Jincheng and Hanyang, and uses the Longdao Road to block Han Sui's return, then he could really catch Han Sui off guard.

"If I strike first, wouldn't I be seen as unethical?"

Ma Teng was indeed somewhat tempted, but also hesitant: "Han Wenyue and I are sworn brothers..."

"Han Sui and Bian Zhang are comrades-in-arms, and he is also from the same hometown as Wang Guo... General, the various tribes in Guanzhong could have joined forces to take Jingzhao together, but because each tribe had its own selfish motives and plotted against each other, they lost the initiative."

Feng Ji advised, "Lord Liu is withholding grain and refusing to supply it, and Han Sui is plotting against you, General. It is no longer possible to take Jingzhao. We can only take a place that we can hold to avoid being controlled by others."

"Now, General, the only places you can take are Hanyang and Jincheng. Moreover, you are already in a precarious situation. If you are swayed by personal feelings, I'm afraid your life will be in danger..."

“If General leads his troops to Jincheng, my lord can cover the rear and station himself at Chencang to block Han Sui.”

Feng Ji's words actually make sense. The reason why the Guanzhong coalition was able to defeat them one by one was because the various factions were not united.

After Feng Xun's death in battle, Yuan Tan and Feng Ji went to Long County to seek Ma Teng's help.

Ma Teng was unaware of the 'Yuan family replacing Liu' plan. He did take in Yuan Tan, but not to help him. Instead, he wanted to strengthen his own forces, since Yuan Tan still had several thousand remnants of his army.

At that time, Dong Zhuo had just been killed, and Ma Teng was already close to Long County in Fufeng. With the unexpected arrival of this guest army, he also had the intention to march into Jingzhao under the instigation of Feng Ji.

However, before Ma Teng could advance, he heard that Chang'an had been captured by Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji, and others.

So Ma Teng shrank back again.

After Liu Bei entered Chang'an and announced the relocation of the capital, Long County also received news of Yuan Shao's death in Liaodong. Feng Ji and Yuan Tan once again encouraged Ma Teng to raise an army to purge the court of corrupt officials, and they contacted the governors of various counties to join the uprising. The alliance of Ma Teng, Han Sui, Liu Yan, Xia Yu, Yuan Tan, and others was based on this, but the leader of the coalition was not Yuan Tan, but Liu Yan.

Not long after Liu Yan captured Hanzhong, he heard that the imperial court had moved the capital to Chang'an. Feeling uneasy, he asked Pang Xi to contact Ma Teng, which led to this multi-party alliance plan.

Such multi-party collaborations always present many problems.

When Yuan Shao organized the Guandong Coalition, each faction had its own agenda, and as a result, Liu Bei quickly defeated them.

This problem is even more prominent in this Kansai coalition.

Liu Yan harbored selfish motives and wanted to use others as cannon fodder.

Yuan Tan's army was small and his generals few, so he was willing but unable to act as the main force and could only secretly contact various parties.

Han Sui was extremely slow in deploying his troops, only daring to launch a major offensive after Xia Yu successfully infiltrated Chang'an.

Ma Teng was unwilling to attack the stronghold and lacked supplies, so he waited for Han Sui to send troops together. As a result, they set out ten days later than planned, and Xia Yu was beheaded before they arrived at Beiyuan.

Xia Yu was the only one who put in the most effort, but he also died the fastest.

Looking back at the current situation, Ma Teng realized that, as Feng Ji had said, the only thing he could do was to consider how to strengthen his own power.

"Then let's strike first..."

Ma Teng finally made this difficult decision.

Shortly thereafter, Ma Teng withdrew from Meiyang, and the entire army headed west.

Pang De led troops to Hanyang, Ma Teng led the Qiang and Di tribes north to Jincheng, and Yuan Tan was stationed at Chencang to guard against Han Sui's retreat and counterattack.

……

……

After stabilizing Han Sui, Liu Bei led his troops back to Chang'an quickly.

At this time, Chang'an was under siege, but after defeating Ma Chao and Pang De, several troops had already been sent back, and Jia Xu was also in Chang'an, so it would not be so easy for Liu Yan to quickly capture the fortified city.

Generals such as Duan Wei, Zhang Xiu, and Du Ji defended Chang'an flawlessly. Duan Wei even launched a cavalry counterattack, destroying Liu Yan's siege towers.

Seeing that the siege had dragged on without success, and hearing that Liu Bei had returned with his army, Ma Teng had withdrawn his troops, and Han Sui had remained inactive...

It's clearly impossible to fight this game anymore.

To avoid being attacked from both sides outside Chang'an, Liu Yan wisely chose to retreat quickly.

In fact, Liu Yan was very capable in commanding troops, and even his withdrawal was very methodical—the deployment of the withdrawal best reveals the level of the commander.

The area around Chang'an was relatively open, so in order to avoid being pursued by a large force during the retreat, Liu Yan chose to retreat south along the Fengshui River, first to the edge of the Qinling Mountains.

It is currently the dead of winter, the weather is freezing cold, and the abundant water has been frozen, making the river the fastest route for troop withdrawal.

This choice is actually quite reasonable. The only problem is that the water level has just risen and some parts of the ice surface are not fully frozen.

When Liu Yan led his troops in retreat, he unfortunately broke through the ice and fell into the icy water.

Although Pang Xi quickly pulled him out, he fell seriously ill from the cold.

At night, Liu Yan began to have a fever and talk nonsense. Many sores appeared on his back, indicating that his bodily functions had become disordered after being exposed to the cold.

Falling into the ice is actually a very common occurrence in winter. It's quite normal to occasionally encounter a shallow hole in an ice surface that looks passable for vehicles.

Even if a large army stumbles during a march, they can be rescued.

But these days, such situations are usually attributed to "divine retribution"...

Liu Yan had just led his troops to attack Chang'an, and immediately encountered this unfortunate situation; it really seemed like he was under some kind of curse.

There were many superstitious people in Liu Yan's army, and Liu Yan himself was a believer in divination and destiny.

Of course, he didn't go to Yizhou because he heard that Yizhou "had the aura of an emperor." Rather, it was after he went to Yizhou that the rumor of "Yizhou having the aura of an emperor" spread.

That night, only the stars in the northern sky, such as Ziwei, could be seen, while the stars in the southern sky were not visible, making it seem as if all the stars had fallen.

Yizhou is in the south, and the southern stars are not visible, which is certainly not a good omen... But this is the coldest time of winter, and every few days in winter, stars will set in the west, and the southern stars are not visible near Chang'an anyway.

But Liu Yan clearly didn't know that the constellations visible in each location were different...

He lay on the stretcher gazing at the stars, and upon seeing this particular constellation, he let out a mournful cry and exclaimed, "My life is over..."

After saying that, he fell into a coma.

On Liu Yan's way back to his army, most of the Wolf Valley Di took advantage of the night to leave Liu Yan's main force.

These Di soldiers were led by Wu Yi, but Wu Yi was not a Di person; he was simply more trusted by Liu Yan.

Of Wu Yi's five military commanders, four were Di people, and all four of them deserted. Of Wu Yi's four thousand men, only his own force of about seven hundred remained.

This could be even greater than the losses from being pursued...

The one who suffered the greatest loss was Liu Yan himself.

Just over ten days later, upon returning to Hanzhong, Liu Yan died from a carbuncle on his back.

……

……

On the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Han Sui received the seal of office of the governor of Liangzhou.

Liu Bei didn't care about appointing Han Sui as governor, because many other people were appointed at the same time.

Li Jue was appointed as the governor of Hanyang (Tianshui), and Duan Wei was appointed as the governor of Jincheng... These two prefectures were the core territories of Han Sui.

Guo Si was appointed as the governor of Longxi, and Fan Chou was appointed as the governor of Anding.

All of these soldiers were banished by Liu Bei.

These appointments are obviously for the purpose of stirring up trouble.

When Han Sui became the governor, he was the nominal superior of the military leaders, but none of them obeyed him, and Li Jue also had a grudge against Han Sui.

Moreover, while receiving the seal of the governor of Liangzhou, Han Sui also received news that Ma Teng's troops had attacked Hanyang and Jincheng.

Han Sui immediately led his army to Jincheng. When they arrived at Chencang, they found that Chencang had been occupied by Yuan Tan.

But, but.

Yuan Tan and Feng Ji certainly wouldn't help Ma Teng resist Han Sui...

Yuan Tan did indeed hold Chencang, but what Ma Teng didn't know was that as soon as Han Sui's main force returned, Yuan Tan betrayed Chencang...

It was sold to Han Sui.

In return, Han Sui gave Yuan Tan a thousand warhorses and two thousand laborers.

Yuan Tan then turned around and tried to seize Ma Teng's original territory...

……

……

A chaotic battle in Liangzhou was inevitable, while the Three Auxiliary Regions enjoyed a temporary period of peace.

On the first day of the new year, Liu Xie announced a general amnesty and formally changed the era name.

The reign title was changed to Jian'an (196). (End of this chapter)