Chapter 109: Great Harvest
With Zang Ba solved, Liu Bei’s inner troubles have been completely solved, and his strength will be greatly expanded.
Cao Cao's two expeditions to Xuzhou caused the smallest damage to Langya County among the four counties affected by the war.
Only Jiqiu Yicheng was massacred in Langya County, and the other counties were all safe.
These populations, fields, and industries are all ready-made and do not require any investment from Liu Bei. There will be output returns every year in the future.
Not to mention anything else, the annual food surplus of 250,000 shi allowed Liu Bei to raise more soldiers or launch more conquests.
Of course, Liu Bei could not stop here.
Compared with Zang Ba, a mountain eagle, Xiao Jian is simply a little fat sheep.
And Ju County is also very wealthy and has not experienced the damage of war.
What's more, Liu Bei has already re-divided the county administration, how could he keep Xiao Jian in Ju County as his so-called Langya prefect?
As for the name of the crusade against Xiao Jian, it couldn't be easier to find. If he doesn't start from the state capital, he separates the local areas. There is no problem in putting these eight words on Xiao Jian's head.
After completely controlling Kaiyang, Chen Deng and others were very happy and immediately sent messengers to report Liu Bei's victory.
At the same time, Guan Yu was arranged to guard Kaiyang. Zhao Yun and Xu Dan escorted the prisoners of Taishan Army to Tancheng. The remaining army was led by Chen Deng himself and continued northward along the Yishui River, first to Yangdu. Then we crossed the Yishui River and headed straight for Ju County.
Xiao Jian's life has actually gotten better since he was forced to go to Ju County by Zang Ba.
The entire county in the north of Langya gradually began to support Ju County, regard it as the government of Langya County, and obey Xiao Jian's orders.
After all, Xiao Jian was the official governor worshiped by the imperial court, and Zang Ba was just a cavalry captain, a senior officer worth more than two thousand dan at the end of his life, and he actually had no jurisdiction over the local area.
In addition, the county magistrates and magistrates of various counties looked down upon Zang Ba's origin, so naturally they changed their banners and joined Xiao Jian's command.
It can be said that Zang Ba was proud for a while, but suffered a big loss.
If Xiao Jian had been controlled in Kaiyang, he could have ruled the entire Langya County in his name.
But now, it was satisfying to force him away, but most of the counties in central and northern Langya were lost overnight.
Except for the four counties in southern Langya controlled by his brothers, he could not collect a penny of tax from other counties.
Ju County is still stuck in the middle of Langya. Even if he wants to rectify the counties in the north, he must first pass Ju County.
However, Tao Qian also saw the advantage and ordered to recognize Xiao Jian's status and put Xiao Jian in charge of the government affairs of Langya County, while Zang Ba was in charge of military affairs.
Originally Tao Qian was worried that Zang Ba would continue to grow in Langya and eventually threaten him as a state pastor.
Unexpectedly, the imperial court would send Xiao Jian to be the county guard. Zang Ba even made a big mistake and drove him to Ju County.
In this way, Tao Qian can keep the two of them in check and balance, and neither party will be able to threaten his position.
As a result, Tao Qian was certainly happy, but Zang Ba began to harbor resentment in his heart.
It was also for this reason that Zang Ba gradually separated from Tao Qian and had the idea of turning to Yuan Shu.
Neither bragging nor slandering, before the early years of Jian'an, Yuan Shu had the most military governors in the country.
Almost all the governors of other warlords came from noble families.
Even though Tao Qian controlled eight or nine counties at his peak, he still only had one, Zuo Rong, as the county guard, and even Cao Bao and Xu Dan could only serve as generals.
It can be seen that Yuan Shu's employment of people can be regarded as a "meritocracy" to a certain extent.
Because Xiao Jian lived a comfortable life, he never thought that he would be attacked by Zang Ba, so there was no need to take precautions.
In addition to the normal defense, there is no special defense in the direction of Kaiyang.
As a result, at noon that day, smoke broke out outside the city of Ju County. Groups of soldiers landed from ships one after another, and Ju County was completely surrounded.
The morale of the Xuzhou army, which had just defeated Zang Ba and conquered the counties of Kaiyang and Yangdu, was extremely high. Xiao Jian on the top of the city was trembling with fear.
"Everyone, what should we do?"
Xiao Jian looked at Chang Shi Tian Ju and Gong Cao Chen Chuan, hoping that they could come up with a solution.
Tian Ju belongs to the Langya gentry clan, and Chen Chuan belongs to the powerful Langya County clan. They are both local wealthy families.
After Xiao Jian came to Ju County, he was appointed as a long history and meritorious official, and took control of the power in the county. He did give Xiao Jian a lot of help on weekdays, whether it was taxation, governance, encouraging students, or mulberry trees. Farming, water conservancy and irrigation are all inseparable from their help.
But now, Tianju and Chen Chuan are also dumbfounded.
When have they ever seen such a large army, with high morale and high fighting spirit.
Not to mention Xiao Jian's legs were weak, even the two of them were shivering.
After a while, Tian Ju reluctantly came up with an idea: "Master Fu, these are soldiers of the state and county. They cannot be used as soldiers. You can send people out of the city to inquire about their intentions."
Xiao When Jian heard this, he immediately felt as if he had found a treasure and immediately followed it: "It's great to be a good person. Chang Shi can go out of the city to work for the army and ask about his purpose of coming."
Tian Ju wanted to stay, but he couldn't refuse. Besides, he was from Juxian County himself, unlike Xiao Jian, who was a foreigner.
It concerns the local villagers and elders, so we have to go to the field drama.
Tianju hurriedly brought out fifty ox carts, loaded with hundreds of stones of grain, dozens of pigs and sheep, a hundred jars of fine wine, two hundred pieces of silk, and 120,000 yuan, to work out of the city.
When Chen Deng heard that Tian Ju was coming to work for the army, he immediately received him and at the same time told Tian Ju one by one about the situation of the state army's northern expedition.
I heard that Zang Ba’s Kaiyang had been captured, and counties such as Yangdu, Linyi, Jiqiu, and Zengcheng had also surrendered. The drama was like falling into a dream. I couldn’t believe what I heard. matter.
But he soon realized that what Chen Deng said must be true.
After all, the army has already arrived at Ju County. Even if Zang Ba is not destroyed, if he can honestly let the army of prefectures and counties pass through Kaiyang and come to Ju County, then will he be destroyed? It's not important anymore.
After Tian Ju returned to the city, he told Chen Chuan the news he heard. Together, the two decided to surrender.
Both Tianju and Chen Chuan are natives of Ju County. Seeing the state army appearing at their doorstep, their first reaction must be to surrender.
Once the war really starts, the ones who will suffer the most serious losses will be local powerful people like them.
Moreover, Langya County originally belonged to Xuzhou, so there was no problem in obeying the orders of Xuzhou Mu.
The two took action immediately, contacted the powerful local nobles, and then approached Xiao Jian together, urging the other party not to resist.
"Master Fu, there are only 1,500 old and weak county soldiers in the city. Even if the whole city is mobilized, the number of young and strong soldiers is only 3,000. There are tens of thousands of tiger and wolf divisions outside the city. Once the swords and weapons are matched, "How can Ju County resist?" ? Lord Wanwang Mansion takes pity on the people of Hecheng and opens the city."
Xiao Jian looked trembling and asked: "You really can't resist?"
Tian Ju and Chen Chuan said in unison: "It's impossible!"
Xiao Jian sighed helplessly: "In that case, let's open the city."
Tian Ju and Chen Chuan He was overjoyed and hurriedly bowed down and complimented: "The prince is wise!"
Xiao Jian of Ju County was not prepared at all and was caught off guard by Chen Deng. He was persuaded by Chang Shi Tian Ju and meritorious Cao Chen Chuan. He surrendered directly.
The same is true for this man in history. First he was arrogant and rude, looking down on Liu Bei and Lu Bu, the common men in the border army. Then he was frightened by a letter from Lu Bu and sent him money and food.
Then Zang Ba used it as a tool to scare the monkeys, and he was easily defeated, leaving Lu Bu no time to rescue him.
It can be said that he is both incompetent and stupid. He was a typical scholar-bureaucrat in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.
How could such a waste be Chen Deng’s opponent?
Ju County was defeated that day. Xiao Jian, accompanied by Tian Ju, Chen Chuan and others, went out of the city to surrender, and Chen Deng accepted it.
Later, in Liu Bei's name, Xiao Jian was dismissed from the post of governor of Langya County and sent to Tancheng, while Tianju and Chen Chuan continued to serve.
After Chen entered the city, he checked the warehouse and found that the grain and grass accumulated in Ju County amounted to 340,000 shi and more than 4 million yuan in money. The treasury was filled with all kinds of silk. Silk and linen cloth, as well as ordnance and armor, but it was a pity that Xiao Jian could not use them.
Chen Deng was surprised and asked Xiao Jian curiously why the treasury was so thick.
Xiao Jian replied that it was last year’s annual tax, oral tax, practice, mu tax, etc. After collecting it, he didn’t squander it carelessly. It has been piled up in the government warehouse, hoping to wait until peace comes. Submit it to the court.
Historically, these things and goods were cheap for Zang Ba, allowing Zang Ba to become fat in one breath, but it is different now, and they all fell into Liu Bei's hands.
Before Xiao Jian left, his legs were too weak to walk. For the sake of such a lot of wealth, Chen Deng made an exception and comforted him even though he looked down on Xiao Jian.
As long as this person did not squander randomly, but hoarded the output of Ju County and Langya counties in the past few years, Liu Bei would definitely not treat him badly.
As soon as Ju County is reached, the counties in Northern Langya are naturally invincible, and they will decide based on word of mouth.
These counties were originally gathered by Xiao Jian in the name of the imperial court. Now the real Xuzhou Mudu has sent troops. There are more than 10,000 people here. How can these counties dare to resist? Naturally, they will get wind of it. drop.
After occupying Ju County, Chen Deng began to arrange the withdrawal of troops.
The army is out, and even if the Langya waterway is open and the cost of transporting food is very low, the cost is far higher than when stationed.
Now that the strategic objectives have been achieved, it is natural to withdraw the troops as soon as possible.
While Chen Deng continued to send letters to Liu Bei, he followed the plan that Liu Bei and Chen Deng had discussed before, and dispatched 500 people who had already been selected from the county soldiers of Donghai and Xiapi. Then, 500 Danyang soldiers were mobilized from Zhang Fei's tribe, and 500 Langya County soldiers were recruited from Langya's local troops, a total of 2,000 people, stationed in Dongguan.
Dongguan, Kaiyang, Juxian and Tancheng are connected by Yishui and Shushui. If anything happens, Tancheng can quickly send troops to support.
In this way, the entire Langya has returned to Liu Bei's hands. This year's Tian Fu oral calculation will be a large amount of extra income. Coupled with the inventory from Juxian and Kaiyang, not to mention Xuzhou Eating until you are fat in one breath is extremely rewarding.
Not to mention anything else, there are more than two million in cash in Kaiyang's warehouse alone, as well as a large amount of silk, linen, medicinal materials and other materials.
Zang Ba originally collected these goods and planned to send them to Liaodong to buy war horses. However, he later used the rock sugar and snow salt sent by the Mi family, so these goods were piled up in the warehouse. .
As for the 340,000 shi of grain in Ju County, it is even more valuable.
In Yanzhou next door, the price of grain has so far been more than 10,000 yuan. It is a pity that it cannot be transported there to sell it. No matter how good the relationship with the Yanzhou gentry is, if the grain is transported there at this time, there is a high probability that it will be sold by the army. , rebels, bandits, nobles, powerful people, and even local farmers looted it.
Whether it is Lu Bu's army, Cao Cao's army, or the local Yanzhou people who are dying of starvation, it is impossible for them to leave a large amount of food indifferently, let alone raise money to buy it honestly.
Moreover, grain is now a strategic material, and no state or county is willing to sell it in large quantities. It is easier to say within the state, but it is strictly prohibited outside the state.
This is why the Mi family has to hire Mi Zeng if they want to collect tens of thousands of stones of grain.
Liu Feng and Chen Deng estimated that this batch of more than 300,000 yuan of grain alone was enough for Liu Bei to advance his plan and send troops south to Guangling before the summer harvest.
The so-called step is fast, step by step is fast.
If Guangling can be captured before the summer harvest, all the food in Guangling this year will go to Xuzhou. If Yuan Shu wants to go north again, the difficulty will be doubled.
After capturing the entire territory of Langya in the north, Chen Deng left behind the two thousand soldiers he had originally arranged and transferred them to Langya County soldiers, and then the entire army returned to Tan.
Although Langya is mountainous, the entire march route is an official road in the central plain, and it is also assisted by two waterways, which is very convenient and consumes very little.
Tancheng has prepared 80,000 shi of grain in the first phase, more than half of which comes from Kaiyang's grain reserves.
Most of this food is stored in Tancheng, and a small part is stored in grain stations along the way to prepare for the siege of Kaiyang. It is expected to support the consumption of 25,000 troops for one and a half months.
This is calculated based on our prediction of the food left in Kaiyang. In one month, Kaiyang City will run out of food.
Even if Kaiyang grits his teeth and refuses to surrender, Tancheng still has the original food reserves to support the troops, as well as the food rations for the farmers in the fields for the next few months, which can be used as a temporary relief.
At the same time, Liu Bei's side is still continuing to raise food, striving to raise another 30,000 to 50,000 shi of food. First, just in case, it can be replenished for the Kaiyang battlefield. Second, if Kaiyang is captured, it can rely on this The batch of grain continued northward, forcing Xiao Jian to surrender, taking Ju County, and controlling the entire Langya County.
The results are now gratifying. It only took eleven days in total, and the entire campaign plan consumed less than 20,000 stones of food and grass. In turn, more than 300,000 stones were gained, which was an unexpected surprise.
When Chen Deng led the army back to Tancheng, Liu Bei led the civil and military forces of Tancheng and went five miles out of the city to meet him.
This victory at Langya greatly increased Liu Bei's reputation. It not only stabilized Xuzhou's rule, but also shocked the world.
Not only was Yuan Shao in Ye City shocked, Cao Cao, who was frustrated at Dingtao City, was also shocked. When Yuan Shu, who was far away in Shouchun, learned about it, he became furious and smashed his favorite jade Ruyi.
"In just ten days, I have all bet on Langya. Who would have thought that Xuande could be so capable?"
Yuan Shao looked at the silk book on the table, his generous and kind handsome face full of surprise. color.
At this time, Yuan Shao was discussing matters with many people in the hall, discussing strategic plans after the spring.
There was a man wearing a green robe, with a thin body and a face like a crane. He stood up and said to Yuan Shao: "My lord, don't be surprised. Liu Xuande is not very powerful, he just succeeded in a sneak attack."
"Oh?"
Yuan Shao became interested and asked in a leisurely manner: "Why does Gongze have such a view?"
The person who spoke was none other than Guo Tuguo Gongze, a famous scholar in Yingchuan. First, he bowed respectfully to Yuan Shao, and then explained: "Liu Bei, a soldier from the North, pretended to be a Tolu master. He first followed Gongsun and then joined Tao Qian. He is just a profit-seeking person, why should he care?"
< br>"Although he has taken possession of Xuzhou now, it is Tao Qian who is selfish and has not been punished by the court. Thinking about the knowledgeable people in Xuzhou, he must be deeply ashamed. It would be fine if he kept his peace, but he did not He wanted to protect the soldiers and people, but instead raised troops to go north and started provocations on the border. This shows his militaristic nature. Over time, he will be abandoned by the soldiers and people of Xuzhou. "
Guo Tu sent Liu Bei out and sent him out. It was deeply demeaning, not because of any grudge against each other, but simply out of pure jealousy.
Guo Tu was born into a noble family in Yingchuan. Although his surname Guo was not among the four major surnames in Yingchuan, his actual strength and foundation were actually much stronger than those of the Chen family where Chen Qun belonged.
It is a pity that after Dong Zhuo's disaster, the eighteen princes joined forces to attack Dong. As a result, Yingchuan was too close to Luoyang and the threat was too great. Together with the Yuan family's base camp, Runan, it became Dong Zhuo's heavy attack. object.
Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji, Fan Chou and other capable generals attacked many times, implemented Baidi's strategy, sacked Yingchuan and Runan counties, and almost razed these two counties to the ground.
In such a war, families like the Guo family with a lot of property were obviously severely damaged, while famous families like Xun and Chen, who were famous for their reputation and had less property, were best preserved.
Therefore, the quasi-first-rate Guo family, who could barely keep up with Xun, Zhong, Chen, and Han, has completely fallen behind and become a second-rate noble family in Yingchuan.
After defecting to Yuan Shao, Guo Tu also made meritorious service, and together with Xun Chen persuaded Han Fu to return Jizhou Mu.
Why do we say surrender here instead of surrender?
Because Han Fu, the state shepherd, was, to put it bluntly, on behalf of Yuan Shao.
Han Fu is a native of Yingchuan County and a disciple of the Yuan family. The two parties have a very close relationship. The reason why Han Fu can serve as the shepherd of Jizhou is because of the strong recommendation of Shangshu Zhou Ao and Chengmen School Captain Wu Qiong. Worship him as the shepherd of Jizhou.
Both Zhou Ao and Wu Qiong were close friends of the Yuan family, and Yuan Shao was the governor of Bohai at that time.
Zhou Ao and Wu Qiong's recommendation arrangement was obviously paving the way for Yuan Shao to control the entire Jizhou through Han Fu's relationship.
But no one expected that Han Fu would taste the benefits after becoming Jizhou Shepherd and did not want to return it to Yuan Shao.
He actually began to stand on his own with the support of the local nobles and powerful men in Jizhou, hoping to occupy the magpie's nest.
How could Yuan Shao endure this, so he hated him deeply. Later, Han Fu surrendered again and handed over Jizhou. Yuan Shao was also extremely cold towards him, but he did not kill him again.
This is also when facing the dissuasion from Geng Wu, Min Chun, Li Li, Ju Shou and others, Han Fu was very confident that Yuan Shao would treat him favorably, simply because he was an old official of the Yuan family.
(End of this chapter)