novelSusiti Chapter 3 The visitor is not friendly.
Chapter 3 The visitor is not friendly.
Yuan Yao understood Yang Hong's thoughts and motives.
From a personal perspective, Yang Hong was a man of great social skill. He had maintained good relations with both Sun Jian and Sun Ce, and naturally did not want to fight each other.
From the perspective of Zhongshi's future, Yang Hong had proposed to join Yuan Shao, and if the northward expedition failed, relying on the old relationship between the Sun and Yuan families, going south to join Sun Ce would be his second choice.
Therefore, one should never antagonize Sun Ce.
However, Yuan Yao's considerations differed from Yang Hong's.
He was referring to a famous saying once uttered by Gongsun Zan, a renowned military strategist from the late Eastern Han Dynasty:
"Yes, what do you want to eat?"
In Yuan Yao's view, neither Yuan Shao nor Sun Ce were too far removed from the current Zhong clan regime. The most important thing right now was to figure out where tomorrow's food would come from.
It is obvious that Shouchun has been ravaged by Yuan Shu for many years and is now completely depleted. It is definitely not feasible to continue to hold out here.
We have to move and find a new place to stay.
Yuan Yao drew a simple map on the ground. To the north was Jiujiang Commandery, where the Zhong family lived, and to the south, across the Yangtze River, was Jiangdong, where Sun Ce lived.
Then, in the blank space between Zhongshi and Jiangdong, he emphasized it.
Yang Hong instantly understood Yuan Yao's meaning: "Does Your Highness intend to use this as a pretext to attack Guo and seize Lujiang County?"
Yuan Yao: "Exactly."
Lujiang County wasn't a particularly good place, but it was certainly much richer than Shouchun, which was almost barren.
What's even more interesting is that Lujiang was in a semi-independent state at this time, only nominally submitting to the Han Dynasty.
In fact, Liu Xun, the governor of Lujiang, was originally a subordinate of Yuan Shu. Later, when Yuan Shu usurped the title of emperor and suffered repeated defeats, Liu Xun took the opportunity to break away and establish his own independent regime.
Since he was a former subordinate of Yuan Shu, Liu Xun's combat strength was considerable, making him a perfect easy target for the Zhong regime.
The only difficulty is that, as a top figure in the late Eastern Han Dynasty (even if he was controversial, he was still popular), Yuan Shu's every move was being watched by everyone. If he really wanted to annex Lujiang, the other warlords would certainly not just stand by and watch.
This is the reason why Yuan Yao insisted on the southern expedition and raised the banner of attacking Sun Ce.
After all, the warlords of the Eastern Han Dynasty were generally inclined towards compromise and reconciliation. For example, if Zhongshi wanted to attack Liu Xun, everyone would certainly object. But if Zhongshi advocated fighting Sun Ce, they would mediate and be willing to stand by and watch.
As for Sun Ce himself, who was exposed, he will most likely be angry, but that's all he can do. He can't even send troops to help Liu Xun.
Because in Liu Xun's eyes, Yuan Shu was certainly a worthless person, so Sun Ce could be a good thing?
In this way, the Zhong clan could take advantage of the pretext of the southern expedition to seize Lujiang County, which was sandwiched in the middle.
As for the annexation of Lujiang, it was ultimately just a temporary expedient to prolong the war and did not solve the fundamental crisis of Yuan Shu's army. The future was still uncertain... Yuan Yao said he would take it one step at a time.
Yuan Yao: "I advise Zhong to first understand this basic concept of survival. Nowadays, people go hungry for nine meals in three days. Tell me how you explain this? You have no shame."
After this detailed exchange, Yang Hong generally approved Yuan Yao's proposal.
We can't disagree. If we delay in Shouchun for a few more months, Yang Hong will also run out of food.
With Yang Hong as the head of the civil officials, and his help in promoting the plan, the southern expedition quickly gained consensus in the court and became the latest strategic policy.
Three days later, Yuan Shu officially issued an order to attack Sun Ce, the traitorous minister of the Zhong clan regime. He appointed General Ji Ling as the vanguard, Chief Clerk Yan Xiang as the military advisor, and Prince Yuan Yao as the supervisor, leading an army of 5,000 southward.
It is worth mentioning that the young general Yuan Yao volunteered to join the army. In order to ensure his safety, Yuan Shu specially ordered Huang Yi, the Left General of the Household, to lead 1,000 imperial guards as his bodyguard.
Huang Yi felt like the sky had fallen when he received the order.
"Your Highness, you know the state of the Imperial Guards. How can they possibly protect us?"
"Brother-in-law, you've come at the right time! Quick, lend a hand!"
Yuan Yao didn't explain further to Huang Yi.
Firstly, because my brother-in-law has zero ability outside of capital, there's no need to waste words on him.
Secondly, Yuan Yao is really busy right now.
After being greeted by his brother-in-law, Huang Yi noticed what Yuan Yao was busy with.
He was directing a group of laborers to tie sacks of grain securely and load them onto carts.
Huang Yi looked shocked: "Where did all this food come from?"
"Not much, just a hundred shi." As for how he got it, Yuan Yao sneered, "Bought it, of course."
After witnessing the miserable state of Huang Yi's imperial guards a few days ago, Yuan Yao knew that such an army was useless and needed to be reorganized.
Of course, the premise is that people must be fed first.
Yuan Yao made some inquiries and discovered that although Shouchun City was severely short of food, the high-ranking officials had plenty of granaries.
In fact, a significant reason why the lower-ranking soldiers suffered so much was because these scoundrels withheld their military supplies.
It's not surprising. As the saying goes, if the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked too. With a god-like emperor like Yuan Shu, the Zhong family's ministers were naturally all treacherous officials, with no loyal ones. It was only natural for them to take a little for themselves.
So Yuan Yao set his sights on Yang Hong, hoping that this head of civil officials would take the lead and donate some grain to help overcome the difficulties together.
unexpectedly--
Yang Hong: "What does Your Highness want me to do?"
Yuan Yao: "Donate grain to relieve the disaster."
Yang Hong: "What are we saving by donating grain?"
Yuan Yao: "Donate grain to relieve the disaster."
Yang Hong: "What are you donating for disaster relief?"
Yuan Yao: "..."
With the campaign imminent, Yuan Yao made a desperate decision and simply packed up all the valuables in his mansion and stuffed them into Yang Hong's hands. In this way, he managed to extract 100 shi of grain from Yang Hong through what was essentially a forced sale.
One hundred shi of grain is not much, but fortunately, Huang Yi's Imperial Guards are severely understaffed. If we calculate based on more than three hundred men, it is enough to feed them for half a month.
That evening, Yuan Yao returned to the Imperial Guard camp in the west of the city with five carts of grain. He gathered all the soldiers together, first announcing his identity, and then stating that he would eat and live with them, sharing joys and sorrows, during the upcoming southern expedition.
Unfortunately, no one listened at all; everyone's eyes were gleaming with greed as they stared intently at the grain that Yuan Yao had brought.
Seeing this, Yuan Yao didn't waste any words and directly ordered, "Let's eat!"
The crowd was in a frenzy, cheering loudly.
Once the fragrant wheat porridge was in their mouths, everyone had no more doubts. At this moment, Yuan Yao, whom they had only met twice, had already surpassed their direct superior, Huang Yi, in their hearts.
Yuan Yao, however, was not satisfied and continued to put on a show to boost his prestige.
He went to the soldiers, showing concern for their well-being and occasionally handing out new clothes or shoes, while also loudly promising them a bright future.
"Rest assured, everyone, as long as I, Yuan, have food to eat, you will all be provided for!"
The public response was extremely enthusiastic, and Yuan Yao was very satisfied. He then sat down to eat with the soldiers, fulfilling his promise to share weal and woe.
Suddenly, he noticed something on the table and immediately feigned anger.
"Who caught the crab? You should really give up this bad habit of eating river fish; you can eat your fill of flatbread just as well!"
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Starting from Shouchun, heading south along the Feishui River, you will reach Lujiang in less than two hundred li.
This was the first time in Yuan Yao's two lives that he had accompanied a large army on a campaign. He was a little nervous, and considering that this trip to the south might be a matter of life and death for the Zhong clan's regime, he was even more concerned.
Fortunately, nothing went wrong during the march. The commander-in-chief was Ji Ling, one of Yuan Shu's top generals. Under his command, the more than 5,000 men maintained a pace of 30 li per day, neither too fast nor too slow. When they were almost at Lujiang, they even took a night to rest in Hefei, which was nearby.
After Yuan Yao finished remarking that "Hefei truly deserves to be called the foremost pass in Jiangnan," they officially crossed the Fei River and entered Lujiang County, Liu Xun's territory.
Unexpectedly, the army had only advanced a few miles when suddenly a cloud of dust billowed ahead. Scouts quickly reported that a troop of soldiers had appeared in the distance, carrying a banner with the character "Liu".
Then came further news: the person blocking their way was none other than Liu Xun, the Prefect of Lujiang!
Yuan Yao was startled and quickly found a high place to observe the military situation at the front.
There appeared to be several thousand infantrymen on the opposite side, their ranks stretching for almost a mile. Judging from the way they carried swords and bows, they were clearly not there to welcome Yuan Shu's army.
This scene immediately made Yuan Yao narrow his eyes: "This newcomer doesn't seem friendly."
Huang Yi, standing nearby, whispered a reminder: "You are the one who came here."