Chen Chong visited Cai Yong twice more in the first ten days. Seeing that Dong Bai's whereabouts were not exposed, he gradually felt relieved and started preparing for the Eastern Expedition.
As for the Eastern Expedition, there was actually not much that Chen Chong and Liu Bei could do.
As early as the beginning of their arrival in Beijing, Chen Chong and Liu Bei had made plans in private. After confirming the victory of the war, the most important thing was to march eastward to Linzi. However, how to do it depends on the situation. After all, after such a terrifying bloody battle
Afterwards, no matter how brave the people of Bingzhou were to sacrifice, they had to rest and recuperate for a period of time.
Therefore, when Liu Bei returned to Beijing from Bingzhou, he only brought 30,000 troops. Ten thousand of them were needed to rebuild the Northern Army. Only 20,000 troops actually followed Liu Bei out of Hangu eastward and became the main force of the Eastern Expedition. Moreover, during the successive wars between Liang and Bin, the loss of war horses was extremely serious, with nearly 60,000 horses lost. So after Chen Chong left the stallions behind, he could only provide Liu Bei with less than 8,000 war horses and only 10,000 pack horses.
On the left and right, the scene of nearly 80,000 knights charging back and forth on Longshou Plain will probably never be repeated again. But there is nothing to be done about it. The only good news is that although there are not enough war horses, there are many armors, which are distributed and prepared for the Eastern Expedition.
Basically, everyone in the army is wearing armor.
On December 23, after Chen Chong transferred 50,000 hu of wheat flour to the camp in the north of the city, all the grain, grass, baggage, heavy weapons and armor needed by the army were distributed.
As the New Year is approaching, Liu Bei has already promised that once the preparations are completed, the soldiers can go into the city to rest for a while. The soldiers are naturally overjoyed. After counting the supplies, they all go into the city to play one after another. Looking at the empty
In the military camp, Chen Chong, Liu Bei, and Zhang Fei had nothing to do for a while, so they simply rode their horses for a walk on the south bank of the Weishui River.
The snow was covered with snow, and the dry branches on both sides were covered with snowflakes. When the slightest breeze blew, the willow branches would shake off a burst of snow flakes, revealing the unique desolate atmosphere of winter. But the three people did not care, they talked about it.
What happened next was that the horses' hooves left traces on the snow, revealing the dead grass stems and leaves buried deep in the snow. Some ants crawled out, looking up at this great world, which seemed so crystal clear at this moment.
When Chen Chong was talking about the idea of taking back the small money and recasting the big money, Liu Bei looked at the deep ice on the Wei River. He suddenly became excited and rode his horse on it. The horse's hooves stepped on the ice and made a crisp sound. This made Liu Bei extremely excited.
With emotion, he said to Chen Chong: "You and I are like carps under the ice. Although we know how to go against the current, we can't see the sky above the ice!"
Chen Chong and Zhang Fei both smiled heartily, knowing that he was thinking about the replies of the Guandong princes a few days ago, so they all rode up to him. Chen Chong pointed his riding whip to the east and encouraged Liu Bei: "As long as the sun is still there,
, the ice will definitely thaw."
Liu Bei followed Chen Chong's eyes and looked to the east. The weather was excellent at this time, the sun was shining high, even the snow seemed to be the color of the sun, and the mountains and forests were filled with the fragrance of snow. He couldn't help but imagine the vast land of Guandong.
above, is it the same situation?
In the past few days, Taiwei Ma Rixi, Situ Zhao Qi, and the new Yangzhou Shepherd Zhao Wen, who were envoys to Guandong, wrote back to the court one after another, describing what they saw and heard in Guandong. It can be said that everything was not going well.
The first was Situ Zhao Qi. He left Huguan from Shangdang and arrived at Ye County. He first met Shen Pei and others who were stationed in Ye County. When Shen Pei learned that the angel had arrived, he did not dare to delay and immediately sent someone to escort Zhao Qi from
Wei Jun went all the way north to Bairen County, where he met Yuan Shao, the shepherd of Jizhou.
At this time, Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao were fighting back and forth at the border of Julu in Changshan. Gongsun Zan used his military strength to win several battles first, but Yuan Shao had strong troops and did not suffer any serious losses in the end. After several battles, the Jizhou armies became increasingly adept at fighting. Now,
Gongsun Zan gradually gained the upper hand, so Gongsun Zan did not dare to take any action easily, and the two sides faced off across the river.
After learning about Zhao Qi's arrival, Yuan Shao went to great lengths to prepare Zhao Qi's courtesy as expected by Chen Chong. He always addressed Zhao Qi as Duke Zhao when he spoke and bowed down when he did anything. He prepared food and clothing for Zhao Qi, which can be called a luxury.
However, when he learned that the imperial court ordered him and his two men to stop fighting, Yuan Shao finally showed a look of trouble. After all, he had been fighting hard for a year and saw that he had an advantage. Just when he was about to regain the lost territory, the imperial court asked him to negotiate.
It was really hard for him to reconcile.
Fortunately, Qi Bijia engaged in Jushu's remonstration and said: "Ming Gong was originally a county governor, but he was able to be appointed as a state pastor. This is because Ming Gong's trustworthiness is more important than anything in the world, and his loyalty is widely spread! But when Han Gong died,
Chaos broke out, and Gongsun Zan took advantage of the situation to raise troops. We have been fighting until now, and we have not been able to quell the chaos. Why? It's all because although Duke Ming was supported by the prefectures and counties, he was not appointed by the imperial court after all. If his name is not correct, his words will not go smoothly.
There are such disasters! Now that the imperial court ordered Ming Gong and Gongsun Zan to stop the army, they actually recognized Ming Gong as the governor of the state. This is an emergency solution. Why did Ming Gong refuse?"
Such an analysis immediately made Yuan Shao change his mind and agreed to peace talks between Zhao Qi and Gongsun Zan. Then Zhao Qi crossed the river to meet Gongsun Zan on the north bank. Gongsun Zan was now in dire straits in the military situation. After learning the peace talks proposal, he naturally went there happily. The two sides were at the bank of the river.
They reached an agreement, and Yuan Shao appointed his brother Gongsun Fan as the Prime Minister of Zhongshan, and his son Gongsun Xu as the Prime Minister of Changshan. Both sides stopped their troops and were not allowed to start war without any reason.
But regarding the Eastern Expedition to Gengcang, both parties said they would go back and inventory the supplies before discussing it, and they would reply to the court after one month.
On the other side, Taiwei Ma Rixi entered Nanyang from Wuguan and went straight to Yin County along the Dan River. When Liu Biao heard about Ma Rixi's arrival, he immediately left Xiangyang to meet Taiwei in Deng County, which is forty miles north of the city. After the meeting, the two men
The conversation was very pleasant, and finally Liu Biao and Ma Rixi sat down together and entered Xiangyang City together.
When talking about the peace talks with Zhang Jin and the Eastern Campaign against Gengcang, Liu Biao claimed that Zhang Jin had repeatedly entered the country to plunder, and that he was not the cause of trouble. Moreover, Zhang Jin had a secret collusion with Zhang Xian, the governor of Changsha. The two met in secret to ask for prophecies.
The king sealed the kingdom and imitated the intention of Qin, Zhao and Tuo to separate the kingdom and hand over the country.
How could he, as the governor of Jingzhou, sit idly by and ignore such serious harm to the country? It was his duty to eliminate the evil and suppress the bandits, so he was loyal to the country by fighting against them. If he stopped here, it would probably be detrimental to the country.
If the imperial court insists on negotiating peace, please try to eliminate this worry first. Since you have no worries, you will naturally send troops to help with the Eastern Expedition.
Ma Rixi was originally doubtful and planned to go south to Jiaozhou to discuss matters with Zhang Jin. However, he was getting older and could not stand the humidity in the south. When he arrived in Jiangling, he began to fidget constantly. Finally, he fell ill in Xiaoling and could no longer go forward.
, so I had to send someone to reply to the court and let the court try to deal with it.
The latest was Zhao Wen's reply. Chen Chong appointed Zhao Wen as the shepherd of Yangzhou. He originally had two plans. One was to make Yuan Shu stop his ridiculous behavior of attacking Yangzhou, and the other was to make Zhao Wen reorganize the order of Yangzhou.
It is extremely important for the Eastern Expedition. If Yuan Shu can still take the overall situation into account and turn north to attack Qingxu, Chen Chong can still let him live.
When Zhao Wen passed through Runan and arrived in Shouchun, Yuan Shu was still attacking Yangzhou. Within half a year, he had captured Jiujiang and Danyang counties. At this time, he was attacking Lujiang from the north and south. However, Lu Kang, the prefect of Lujiang, won the hearts of the people and defended the city with all his strength.
Yuan Shu actually made no progress for half a year.
Lu Kang boldly said that Yuan Shu was unfaithful and unjust, and his talents were low. He could not conquer a city with ten times the number of people. Such deceivers and robbers were ashamed to be the sons of the Yuan family. When Yuan Shu heard this, he was furious and sent Qiao Rui and Zhang Xun.
, Sun Bi, Wu Jing, Sun Ce and other armies continued to attack Lujiang, but still failed.
Under such circumstances, as soon as Zhao Wen paid a visit to Yuan Shu, he only had time to mention the purpose of his visit. Yuan Shu then placed Zhao Wen under house arrest in a grand manner, snatched Zhao Wen's state animal seal and the Emperor's Jie Yue, claimed to the outside world that he had been appointed by the imperial court, and ordered his generals to step up the attack.
Shuxian, Juchao. Zhao Wen had no choice but to write down the situation in Yangzhou in handwriting, print his fingerprints, and send his entourage back to Chang'an to report the message. He emphasized in the letter that with Yuan Shu's performance, not only would the war in Yangzhou be difficult to stop, but he himself would be afraid
It is also difficult to preserve.
It should be said that the reactions of Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan were in line with Liu Bei and Chen Chong's expectations. Although Liu Biao's matter was unexpected, there was still something that could be done. When it comes to Yuan Shu's actions, it is really speechless. According to Chen Chong's original
The plan was to take advantage of the undecided public sentiment in the Kanto region, use the expedition to win over Gengcang, restore the imperial court's prestige, and gradually regain the prefectures and counties. However, the current situation is still much lower than the two expected. Therefore, Liu Bei expressed such emotion when he rode up the Wei River. p>
Liu Bei turned to Chen Chong and asked: "Jizhou Youzhou said they would reply after the year. Do you think they will send troops to assist?"
Chen Chong shrugged and replied: "Liu Bo'an is a loyal elder. After hearing the edict, he will definitely send troops to help. It's hard to say for Jizhou."
"Yuan Benchu, a man with a good reputation, will not be able to pluck out a dime of his hair."
"Yes, maybe he will send some food and supplies, but I don't think it is possible for him to send troops to help."
"How should Jingzhou respond?"
"It's not difficult to do." Chen Chong frowned and analyzed: "Liu Jingsheng is unwilling to negotiate peace with Zhang Jin. It seems that he is afraid of Zhang Jin, but in fact he is afraid of Zhang Xian. After all, Jingnan is the heart of the country, and it only takes one day to go north to Jiangling from Changsha.
It is normal for him to have difficulty sleeping peacefully. After all, Liu Jingsheng took office alone, and his friendship with the wealthy families in Jingbei has reached its limit. If he wants to influence Jingnan, he can only use the pretense of war."
"It's similar to how we planned the Eastern Expedition." Liu Bei first praised him, then hesitated for a moment, and then said: "You mean, we conquered Zhang Xian and entered the dynasty to give Liu Biao a favor?"
Chen Chong shook his head slightly and said: "Then we are like scalpers, letting him pierce his nose and go away. Xuande, after you lead the army to Luoyang, go straight south to Xiangyang and show off the Wuhan River. When Liu Biao comes out of the city to meet him, you
He first promised to conquer the country, and then accused him of the imperial justice. He was promoted and demoted, and then Liu Jingsheng realized the force between you and me."
Liu Bei laughed when he heard this and said: "It's a bad idea." He touched his chin and thought carefully, and said slowly: "It's just that Yuan Gongli has no other solution."
"Then we can only give up. What's the pity for the country's rebellion?" Chen Chong thought of the old incident of asking Dong Dong, and suppressed his anger in his heart. He said in words: "Tomorrow I will be the emperor. I will first convict and sentence him, and then announce the guilt to the world.
Yuan Shu, a fool like him, how can he survive if we don't give him some help!"