He originally intended to surrender to Wei, so why did he end up restoring Han?

Chapter 62 Deliberate Leakage

Mi Zhu interjected, "But if we want to go south to Yangzhou, we can't possibly do without cooperating with Liu Biao, can we?"

"Sun Ce, the Little Conqueror, has swept through Jiangdong in just a few years. He will not be defeated by us easily."

"Looks like we have no choice but to accept his proposal?"

"No, Liu Biao miscalculated one step." Lu Wan suddenly raised her head: "He was too confident. Why would Liu Xun, Huang Zu, and Sun Ce follow his lead? These three are no pushovers. It would be strange if they just stood by and watched Liu Biao make his move."

Liu Bei, unaware of the underlying grudges and feuds, found this assertive statement quite surprising: "Ah? Huang Zu wouldn't go along with his wishes either?"

Lu Wan then answered, drawing on the information she had previously read: "Of course. Huang Zu had always obeyed Liu Biao's orders but not his orders. He only dared to act this way because of the geographical advantage of Jiangxia. After Liu Biao conquered Lujiang and Jiujiang, Huang Zu was the first one to be sacrificed to the heavens."

"Liu Xun is the same. He can even betray Yuan Shu, who promoted him. What else is he incapable of doing?"

""

"Sun Ce is another story altogether; he's an irreconcilable enemy."

"So, my lord, don't be afraid of offending people. Look, if you offend Liu Biao, you'll immediately gain three more allies." Lu Wan added to herself: "It's just that none of these three allies are very reliable."

"So, in that case, should we communicate with these three?"

"No, there's no need for that. Besides, doing so would completely sever ties with Liu Biao. Our goal is to take control of Jiujiang County without provoking Liu Biao. That's the bare minimum. Otherwise, it will be very difficult for our army to defend the river."

Governance is the art of possibility; overly drastic actions can easily destroy that possibility. Therefore, the most important point in governance is not to go too far, but to leave room for maneuver, just in case it comes in handy later.

Lu Wan thought for a moment and offered his suggestion: "Could we subtly reveal that Liu Biao's envoy has arrived in Xuzhou and is engaged in some shady dealings with the people of Xuzhou?" However, we shouldn't directly state that Liu Biao's purpose in coming is to form an alliance with our army, allowing the three parties to figure it out themselves. This way, we avoid a complete falling out with Liu Biao while still creating disruption.

Lu Wan knew that all three parties were intelligent and would try their best to gather information after learning of this news. In the current tense situation, even a small matter could cause a person to lose their composure. All three parties would react to this news, making the situation in Huainan even more murky, thus giving Liu Bei the space and opportunity to fish in troubled waters.

It was mid-to-late February, and the seeds for spring planting had been sown. The people living on this ancient land once again used their hardworking hands to cultivate for the future. During this time, even the most unscrupulous warlords of Xiliang kept quiet and did not disturb the people's work, because they knew that if they caused trouble at this time, they would have to play wilderness survival for the next year.

However, among this constellation of brilliant figures at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were three exceptions: Liu Xun, Huang Zu, and Sun Ce.

Because the stalemate was ongoing, the three men had all their labor force drawn to the front lines. Although they weren't directly sent to the dangerous front lines, but rather conscripted as civilian laborers to transport supplies, many still deserted or died during the transport, leaving the rear areas short of manpower.

Of the three, Sun Ce's situation was the most prominent and troublesome. Jiangdong had already exhausted a great deal of manpower and resources due to his constant campaigns, and Sun Ce should have been recuperating for at least a year and a half. However, he suddenly marched north to fight Liu Xun for Huainan, which led to the Jiangdong people, who should have been resting, being conscripted to transport supplies again. Countless people braved the biting winter winds to build a supply line for Sun Ce. Sun Ce was comfortable, but the countless laborers who froze to death along the way stirred up many forces that had previously been subservient to him.

So after receiving news that Liu Biao had sent an envoy to Xuzhou, Sun Ce could no longer sit still and began preparing to retreat. But a problem arose: how to retreat?

Liu Ye's fortress-pushing tactics disgusted Sun Ce. He was pushing the front line little by little to his doorstep and refusing to come out to fight no matter what. Even if he was lucky enough to defeat a team that came to build a fortress, Sun Ce could not inflict much effective damage. He did not have many cavalry and could not kill people by chasing down the fleeing troops.

Even with his strong infantry, Sun Ce couldn't break through several layers of fortifications, especially since most of his troops were conscripts left behind by Yuan Shu. After finally capturing one, they saw many more such fortifications on the other side. No one wanted to fight a hopeless battle, and soon Sun Ce's soldiers began resisting orders to storm the fortifications. Later, on Zhou Yu's advice, Sun Ce's army began constructing their own fortifications, finally halting their retreat.

Now, retreating presents a dilemma. If they empty all the supplies in the county they currently control and take everyone with them, the frontline fortifications might be left undefended, allowing the Liu-Huang allied forces to advance unimpeded and drive them down the Yangtze River. But if they leave people behind to defend, they won't be able to take many men back with them.

Just as Sun Ce was feeling uncertain and uncertain, the two people opposite him reacted even more intensely than Sun Ce.

The people under these two men were relatively well-off; they had managed to accumulate some wealth in the past, and although life was tough now, they could still grit their teeth and survive. So they didn't take this opportunity to broaden the men's horizons. Just as they were catching their breath, thinking that Sun Ce was about to be finished, news came from Xuzhou that Liu Biao had been sent as an envoy, which struck the two men like a bolt from the blue.

Liu Biao's mission to Xuzhou couldn't possibly be to declare war, given the vast distance between them; nor could it be merely for trade, as the Yangtze River is currently blocked, preventing anyone from crossing. Therefore, there's only one explanation: Liu Biao is seeking an alliance with Liu Bei.

So, if we continue to think about this, why did Liu Biao seek an alliance with Liu Bei? What common enemy did they have that required the combined power of two powerful governors to eliminate?

After some thought, Liu Xun and the others concluded that their target was unlikely to be Cao Cao. While Cao Cao was powerful, he was still a formidable opponent compared to Liu Biao. Cao Cao had recently suffered a humiliating defeat, with his own son killed by Zhang Xiu, a subordinate of Liu Biao. If a mere vassal was this powerful, how strong must Liu Biao's core forces be?

Following this line of thought, Liu Biao's only target is Sun Ce, who is the only one in the vicinity who has a grudge against Liu Biao, and also borders both Liu Biao and Liu Bei.

Liu Ye was the first to realize this and the quickest to understand Liu Biao's thoughts: "General, we are in grave danger!"

"Will Sun Ce lose his temper and launch a preemptive attack, risking everything?" This thought lingered in Liu Xun's mind. In fact, it wasn't just Sun Ce who was afraid of Liu Xun's attack; Liu Xun was also afraid of Sun Ce.

In particular, Sun Ce had once charged relentlessly on the battlefield, utterly destroying Liu Xun's troops. Had Huang Zu not arrived in time to reinforce him, Sun Ce could have directly reached Liu Xun. This incident left a deep psychological scar on Liu Xun and was one of the direct reasons that prompted him to adopt the fortress tactic. There was no way around it; this Little Conqueror was truly too formidable in battle, quite like the legendary Hegemon-King of Western Chu.

Liu Hua shook his head, disagreeing with Liu Xun's view: "That's unlikely. Given Sun Ce's personality, he would have attacked long ago if he could. What I'm worried about is, what if Xuzhou and Jingzhou really unite to attack Sun Ce? After dividing up Jiangdong, Liu Biao's strategic focus will shift to us!"

Liu Xun was stunned by this view. After Liu Biao finished off Sun Ce, wouldn't he want to find the easiest targets to deal with?

Liu Xun sought refuge with Liu Biao for protection, to give him the time and energy to build up his strength, not to become Liu Biao's dog!

"Mr. Ziyang, what should our army do then? Should we invite Huang Zu to a banquet first, and then—" Liu Xun said, gesturing with his hand as if making a downward slicing motion. He continued, "After that, we'll annex Jiangxia Commandery and see what Liu Biao can do then!"

Liu Hua turned his head to the side under the pretense of coughing, and secretly rolled his eyes. What kind of worthless fish and shrimp would try to learn the Feast at Hongmen? Do you think someone like you can even understand how to play that game?

However, since his life was still in Liu Xun's hands, Liu Hua couldn't openly look down on him, so he had no choice but to start analyzing things for Liu Xun.

"General, Huang Zu has always been at odds with Liu Biao. Killing him will not only not cause Liu Biao any loss, but might even prompt him to report you to His Majesty and give you some sinecure to go to Xu County."

"You might as well just kill me!"

Who doesn't know that the current imperial court is just a sinecure, and the real power lies with Cao Cao's staff? Letting an ambitious man like Liu Xun spend his life in a sinecure is less desirable than simply killing him.

Liu Ye then offered his suggestion: "Let's forget about the 'Feast at Hongmen' and invite Huang Zu over for a frank and open discussion. It might have a surprising effect."

Soon, Liu Xun's messenger arrived at Huang Zu's camp and invited Huang Zu over in no time.

When Huang Zu stepped into Liu Xun's military tent, his expression was not good. He was wearing armor, his hand was always on the hilt of his sword, and he was followed by several burly personal guards. Huang Zu was clearly wary of this sudden invitation.

"General Liu, the war is tense right now. Is there something urgent that you suddenly summoned me here?"

Huang Zu got straight to the point, his tone a little stiff. As he spoke, he kept observing the situation inside the tent, just in case someone might be hiding in some corner.

Liu Xun did not answer Huang Zu directly, but looked at Liu Hua instead.

Liu Ye calmly stood up and said to Huang Zu, "General Huang, you have had a long journey. However, today's matter is too important, so I would like to invite you here for a face-to-face meeting."