From a geographical point of view, Xiangyang should actually be in the political center of the Han Dynasty.
Because it is only more than 300 kilometers from Xiangyang to Luoyang.
Xiangyang City is located at the southernmost end of the Nanyang Basin. Through the Nanyang Basin, you can directly reach Luoyang.
The distance from Changsha to Luoyang is close to 900 kilometers. This is still Changsha County. Places like Lingling County and Guiyang County in later generations of Guangxi and Guangdong are one or two thousand kilometers away from Luoyang.
Although since the Western Han Dynasty, Changsha's economy and agriculture have developed very well, and its population has exceeded one million.
But it was so far away from a political center like Luoyang that people at that time treated even a county with a population of one million like Changsha as a remote area.
There was no way, in a feudal society with inconvenient transportation, being far away from the capital area was basically equivalent to being far away from the political center.
No matter how well developed you are and how prosperous your population is, if it takes several months to go to the capital, you will naturally not be valued by people in the political center.
This is a very real problem.
It was based on this consideration that Chen Mu arranged for Yuan Shu to go to Changsha in his early years.
But he still underestimated the Yuan family's manpower and material resources. He didn't expect that even if he was sent to Changsha, Yuan Shu would still have the money and people to form such a huge army.
Therefore, from a geographical perspective, in fact, the northern part of Jingzhou occupied by Liu Biao was very close to the various princes in the Central Plains.
Historically, Cao Cao was very afraid of Liu Biao's surprise attack on Xudu before the Battle of Guandu.
On the contrary, the four counties under his command, namely Changsha County, Lingling County, Wuling County, Guiyang County and Jingnan County, were very remote. Liu Biao's journey to the north to attack Luoyang was much closer than his journey south to the four counties to quell the rebellion.
Because Xiangyang is so close to Luoyang, Liu Biao became very nervous when he learned that the imperial army was going south to attack Nanyang in the name of conquering Zhang Xiu.
Everyone knows that Nanyang is very close to Xiangyang. If Nanyang falls, the distance from Wancheng to Xiangyang is only more than 300 miles. If the army advances at full speed, it will take as little as two days and as many as three days to reach Deng, north of the Han River.
county.
Therefore, after Zhang Xiu received several urgent official documents requesting reinforcements, Liu Biao quickly summoned his trusted generals and counselors to discuss the matter.
Liu Biao had many civil servants and generals under his command, but the ones who could really be called his confidants were Kuai Yue, Kuai Liang, and Cai Mao among the counselors, and Huang Zu, Wenpin, and his nephew Zhang Yun among the military generals.
Yes, that's right, Cai Mao was Liu Biao's counselor, not a general.
Because Liu Biao was first named the governor of Jingzhou by the imperial court, and later in the third year of Chuping, that is, in 192 AD, he made an offer to the Chang'an imperial court and was granted the title of General Zhennan by Dong Zhuo.
The reason why he is now Jingzhou Mu is because he paid tribute to Liu Yu's court in the first year of Xingwu, that is, 193 AD, and was granted the title of Jingzhou Mu by Liu Yu.
After being granted the title of General Zhennan by the imperial court in the third year of Chuping, he gave Cai Mao the position of General Zhennan's military advisor and asked him to assist him in managing Jingzhou instead of giving him military power, so Cai Mao did not control the Jingzhou Navy.
Historically, Liu Biao conquered Jingzhou on his own because of the planning of Cai Mao and Kuai Yue. Later, Liu Bei's Lu Ma leaped over Tanxi, and the two planned to kill Liu Bei.
Therefore, they can basically be regarded as Liu Biao's masterminds. Apart from Mrs. Cai, they are the actual number two and number three figures in Jingzhou.
As for others such as Deng Xi, Zhang Xian, Wang Wei, Pang Ji, Zhang Hu, Chen Sheng, Fu Xun, Han Song, Liu Xian, Wang Can, Gan Ning, Yi Ji, Lu Jie, Qi Wukai, Huo Jun, Han Xuan
Others are officials of all sizes in Jingzhou, not the core power level.
Some of them were originally close to Liu Biao, but later gradually became alienated; some were obviously very talented, but were not reused by Liu Biao; and some were simply left in the wild, such as Pang Tong, Xu Shu, Sima Hui, Pang Degong, etc., and were not promoted by Liu Biao. Therefore, from beginning to end,
There are only a few people in Liu Biao's core layer.
At this moment, in the meeting hall of Liu Biao in the Chengzhou Mu's Mansion in Xiangyang, incense was burning, and the aroma filled the room. Liu Biao, who was fifty-eight years old this year, looked old, with gray and white hair, and looked at everyone in the hall with tired eyes.
Since Huang Zu was guarding Jiangxia, there were only five people in the hall: Kuai Yue, Kuai Liang, Cai Mao, Wenpin and Zhang Yun.
Wenpin was a general who guarded the north of the Yangtze River. In the past, he was stationed in Deng County, north of the Han River. The troops in Xiangyang City were controlled by his nephew Zhang Yun and nephew Liu Pan, which was quite nepotistic.
However, Liu Biao also knew that the only generals who could really fight in Jingzhou were Wenpin and Huang Zu. Now that Huang Zu could not come, he had to immediately summon Wenpin to come up with ideas.
He looked around the crowd and said softly: "The imperial army attacked Nanyang under the banner of annihilating Dong Zhuo's remnant Zhang Xiu, but everyone knows that Nanyang is the gateway to Jingzhou. I think this move by the imperial court is Xiang Zhuang's sword dance with Pei Gong in mind.
Tell me, what should we do?"
Cai Mao's eyes rolled around twice, and he raised his hands and asked: "Ming Gong, what you mean is, do we need to rescue Zhang Xiu?"
"It's not about whether we need to save him or not, but how to save him."
Liu Biao said.
Although Cai Mao was said to be Liu Biao's adviser, his actual level was very sparse. Jingzhou's main plan was still with brothers Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue, so when he heard Liu Biao's words, he was completely confused and asked confusedly: "How to save? What else can be done?
Can’t we just send troops to save him?”
Liu Biao glanced at Cai Mao with slight disgust. If he hadn't been his brother-in-law, and the Cai family was a large family in Jingzhou, and he still needed to rely on the Cai family to maintain his rule in Jingzhou, he would have kicked this guy far away.
Fortunately, there are smart people. Kuai Liang said: "Ming Gong means that we cannot rescue in our name. Once Jingzhou sends troops, the imperial court will have reason to take action against Jingzhou."
"That......."
Cai Mao thought for a while and said: "If we can't save it in our name, how can we save it? In fact, in my opinion, that Zhang Xiu doesn't have the same heart as us, so why should we make enemies of the imperial army for his sake? It's worse than that.
Forget it if you don’t save me.”
"Foolish!"
Liu Biao sneered and said: "What Zhang Xiu is looking for for us is the Nanyang portal. If he is defeated and eliminated, and the imperial court occupies Nanyang, we can go south to Jingzhou and attack Xiangyang at any time. If we don't save him, will the imperial court attack me again when Zhang Xiu is destroyed?"
Degui, I believe you should understand the principle of cold lips and teeth dying."
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Yes, yes, yes."
Being scolded by Liu Biao, Cai Hao quickly shrank his neck and did not dare to speak.
"But......."
Wenpin hesitated and said: "Now the imperial court has not openly attacked our Jingzhou. The late emperor passed the throne to Liu Bei, and we have not expressed our position yet. If we send troops, wouldn't we offend the imperial court? By then, the imperial court will label a rebellious person, and I'm afraid
......."
"That's why I'm thinking about how to send troops appropriately."
Liu Biao also looked troubled, shook his head and said: "If they were disguised as bandits, how could there be tens of thousands of elite bandits in Jingzhou? It is impossible that the court didn't know that it was me who did it, and they would still launch an army to investigate the crime. If it were directly based on Jingzhou's
Sending troops in name is tantamount to rebellion, and you still cannot escape the consequences of the imperial troops marching south."
"Ming Gong, since you can't escape, you might as well break up and send troops directly!"
Kuai Yue suddenly said.
"oh?"
Seeing that Kuai Yue seemed to have something to say, Liu Biao immediately said: "Xidu should understand the consequences of breaking up."
Kuai Yue then said: "Of course it is clear, but if Ming Gong thinks about it, if we disguise ourselves as bandits, the court will definitely know it. Even if we don't know it, we can issue an edict saying that our governance is not good and bandits are rampant.
Therefore, we want to transfer Duke Ming from Jingzhou and replace him as a pastor from another state. If we don't comply, we can still start a war. The imperial court has the right to do so. All they want is an excuse to seize Jingzhou."
"yes."
Liu Biao sighed and said, "That's what I'm afraid of. The imperial court has great righteousness. Changing the governor is just a matter of an edict. If I don't obey, I will inevitably have to go to war."
Kuai Yue continued: "So it is better to break up with the imperial court. Everyone knows what the imperial court is thinking. The so-called lip cold teeth are dead, if you give up Nanyang today, they will take Xiangyang tomorrow. If Xiangyang is taken out, they will take the entire Jingzhou
.Jingzhou is the inheritance that Ming Gong worked so hard for, how can we give it up to him? I think the imperial army must be driven back in this battle."
"What should we do?"
Liu Biao asked.
Kuai Yue said: "The late emperor once said that he would pass the throne to the descendants of Emperor Zhang. However, Liu Bei adopted himself to Emperor Huan and pretended to be the heir of Emperor Zhang. This was undoubtedly caused by coercing the late emperor. Who among the princes in the world does not know this? It is just a hindrance.
Since the imperial court is so powerful, we dare not openly point it out. Now that the imperial court is approaching Nanyang, Ming Gong can immediately send out documents to call on all the princes in the world to fight against the rebels, force Liu Bei to abdicate, and return power to the descendants of Emperor Zhang."
Liu Biao stroked his goatee, frowned and said, "You want me to be the leader?"
"Exactly."
Kuai Yue replied without hesitation.
Hearing his words, Liu Biao's frown deepened and he said: "If this is the case, it will completely offend the imperial court. At that time, Jingzhou will probably become the first place that the imperial court will attack...
"
This is the reason why Liu Biao, or other princes in the world, have been silent, neither rising up to resist Liu Bei immediately nor recognizing the imperial court immediately.
In history, Cao Cao held the emperor hostage to order the princes. The princes from all over the country called him Cao Cao's thief. People who raised armies to resist were as countless as crucian carp crossing the river.
For example, Liu Bei was one of the best, and Liu Biao Sun Ce even threatened to attack Xu Du many times to welcome Emperor Xian back.
This is because, although Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty had a nominal court in Xudu at that time, people reached a general consensus that Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty was controlled by Cao Cao, and they raised the army to fight against Cao Cao rather than against the Han, thus carrying the banner of righteousness.
But now, after Liu Bei ascended the throne, no one was the first to stand up and oppose Liu Bei. The reasons are based on the following three points.
First, the Liu Yu court was an orthodox court recognized by all the princes in the world. Historically, Yuan Shao once wanted to make Liu Yu emperor because his inheritance rights were legal. Therefore, except for a few princes such as Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu who openly rebelled, the rest
The princes all nominally recognized Liu Yu's court, and Liu Bei's inheritance came from Liu Yu, which had a certain legitimacy.
Second, during the Liu Yu court period, under Liu Yu's call, Liu Bei, Sun Jian, Cao Cao, Liu Biao and others formed a superficial alliance. They were not hostile or grudges to each other. At the same time, Liu Bei did not hold the emperor to order the princes. He was Liu
Yu was the Qingzhou Mu recognized by the orthodox imperial court, so other princes who also regarded the Liu Yu imperial court as orthodox at that time could not have hostile intentions towards him, otherwise they would be disobedient to the imperial court.
Third, when everyone resisted Cao Cao in history, Cao Cao was not very powerful. Especially Liu Bei had fought with Cao Cao many times in Xuzhou and had long-standing enmity with Cao Cao, so those princes felt at ease in resisting Cao Cao, even if Cao Cao became more powerful later and Liu Bei
I will continue to resist for the sake of the Han Dynasty.
But now when Liu Bei succeeded to the throne, he was already so powerful that Sun Jian, Cao Cao, Liu Biao and others did not dare to fall out immediately. Whoever turned against him first would have to bear the wrath of Liu Bei's hundreds of thousands of troops.
Some people may dare to be the first to eat crabs, but no one dares to be the first to provoke a tiger.
Therefore, due to the above reasons, except for Liu Zhang who had proclaimed himself emperor in Yizhou and Yuan Shu who had rebelled against the imperial court before and was designated as a traitor by the Liu Yu court, Cao Cao, Sun Jian, Liu Biao and Lu Bu even doubted Liu Bei's throne.
The source of inheritance is not legal, and it may be because Liu Yu was coerced, but he did not dare to take the lead.
Now Kuai Yue proposed to Liu Biao that he should be the leader. Although Liu Biao knew very well that the imperial court's attack on Nanyang was probably a false attack on Guo, and the real target was the entire Jingzhou, he really had to make up his mind.
Still undecided.
After all, Liu Bei's current strength is not much worse than that of Cao Cao before the Battle of Chibi in history. Facing an army of hundreds of thousands, he is still under great pressure.
"Ming Gong!"
Kuai Yue said seriously: "I know that Duke Ming is worried that once Jingzhou is the first to stir up this matter, Liu Bei will be furious. But if Duke Ming doesn't do it, then Henan Cao Cao, Sun Jian and the others will not dare to do it. When the time comes,
The result can only be defeated one by one by Liu Bei. If Duke Ming pierces this layer of window paper first, Cao Cao, Sun Jian and the others will definitely respond, and they will not be without the power to fight Liu Bei by then!"
Liu Biao hesitated and said: "Xidu feels that if I am the first to stand up, will they really ally with me?"
Kuai Yue said: "Yanzhou in Yuzhou is very close to us. Although Zhang Xiu is urging urgently at this time, he should be able to hold on to Wancheng for some time. Why don't Ming Gong write letters to Cao Cao and Sun Jian respectively to find out their opinions?
If they had already had this intention, what if Duke Ming was the first to raise the flag? Anyway, the city of Jingzhou has high walls and thick walls, and a crowd of 100,000, so the imperial court will never be able to attack it in a short while."
"Write a letter to find out what's going on?"
Liu Biao seemed to remember something all of a sudden. He opened his eyes wide and said happily: "Yesterday, Cao Cao wrote me a letter. He seemed to want to make good friends with me. Is this a code for alliance?"
Sun Jian, Cao Cao, and Liu Biao often wrote letters to each other. In fact, not only them, but also Liu Bei also often wrote letters to Cao Cao, Sun Jian, and Gongsun Zan. In this era, writing letters is basically the same as long-distance phone calls, but writing letters involves interests.
Still have to fall out.
In history, Yuan Shu also wrote letters to form an alliance with Lu Bu, but when it was time to fall out, he did not hesitate at all.
Therefore, when they write letters to each other to express their deep affection, they are often false and submissive. It would be too naive to really believe how good their relationship is.
However, at this pass, because the imperial army was already close at hand, Liu Biao suddenly remembered the letter Cao Cao sent him yesterday, and for a moment thought that Cao Cao might be sending him some kind of message.
Fortunately, Kuai Liang was still sober and immediately said: "Ming Gong must never trust others. It would be bad if Cao Cao devises a plan to lure Ming Gong into his trap. It would be best if we try to find out what's going on first and if we can form an alliance."
And even if we form an alliance, we can’t completely believe it, we have to let them send troops.”
"That's right, I know."
Liu Biao's ability to ride into Qingzhou alone proved that he was also a great man. After being awakened by Kuai Liang, he also understood the intrigues among the princes, and those who naively believed in others would have their bones and dregs swallowed sooner or later, so he immediately said: "In this case, I
Write a letter immediately. In addition, Zhongye, lead 20,000 horses to the north first, wait and see the opportunity, and wait for my order!"
"only!"
Wenpin accepted the order and handed it over.
Liu Biao did not hesitate at that moment. After asking Wenpin to go north, he immediately prepared to write a letter to Cao Cao and Sun Jian.
While Liu Biao was still preparing to send troops.
At this moment in Changsha County, the prefect Zhang Xian had received the order from Chen Mu. Seeing that the imperial court agreed with him to raise troops, he said to the meritorious Cao Huanjie on the side: "Bo Xu, the imperial court has ordered me to raise troops to serve the Han Dynasty. Today is the day.
"
Huan Jie immediately said: "Liu Biao rebelled against the imperial court and often acted arrogantly when occupying Jingzhou. He should have been eradicated long ago. Duke Ming's move was in compliance with the destiny of heaven and should have been done long ago."
"Okay, everything is ready, let's start our troops today!"
Zhang Xian gave the order and prepared to formally launch a massive offensive against Liu Biao.