Overlord!

Hearing that Sun Ce wanted to inquire about someone, Zhong Yao was a little curious. Wuhou knew something about the officials in the court in Jiangdong?

So Zhong Yao asked, "Who does the general want to ask?"

"Therefore, General Xuanyi, Jia Xu, Jia Wenhe." Sun Ce said decisively, he was afraid that the imperial court would directly kill this poisonous man who caused chaos in the country!
The emperor may be more magnanimous, but you should never underestimate the liquidation ability of the scholar-bureaucrats.

As expected, Zhong Yao frowned, and said: "At the beginning, Jia Xu offered a plan to connect [-] people from the Xiliang tribe to counterattack Chang'an. As a result, Wang Situ was killed, the emperor was disturbed, and the court was purged. Now you are impeaching him for his crimes."

Sure enough, as Sun Ce expected, the hatred was not so easy to let go.

When Li Jue and Guo Si were in chaos, people in Guanzhong ate each other, and Qinchuan's bones were exposed in the wild for eight hundred miles.Wang Zhong was ridiculed by Cao Pi because he had eaten people.

Cannibalism is a very rare thing, and it is a breakthrough in human relations, so cannibals will be recorded in history.

Officials and celebrities like Wang Zhong were forced to eat people. One can imagine how many people in the imperial court, officials, family members, wives and daughters died tragically in the troubled times, and how many people were killed by the bandits of the Xiliang army.

It is almost impossible to say that they do not hate Jia Xu.

Sun Ce asked with concern: "Jia Xu has been imprisoned now?"

Zhong Yao shook his head, and said: "The Son of Heaven is credited with his escort. Don't ask about anything before the imperial edict of Jian'an. However, there are still officials searching for Jia Xu's crimes in recent years."

Sun Ce immediately said: "Jia Xu knows that soldiers are good at fighting, and he has good and ordinary talents. It is a pity to kill him. I dare to ask the court to appoint Jia Xu as the captain of cavalry to help our army fight against the rebels and defeat Yuan Shu. If you can, please Pay homage to the Holy Son of Heaven!"

Of course, Sun Ce's statement was more euphemistic, and it also gave the court a great deal of face.

Just like when Huangfusong pacified the Yellow Turban in Yuzhou, the battle was not going well.The imperial court appointed Cao Cao as the captain of cavalry, and led the army to help in the battle.This is a very normal thing.

As the only imperial court recognized in the world today, it is also reasonable and reasonable to send generals to the armies of the princes to link up with the princes and join forces to put down the rebellion.

Jia Xu, as the captain of cavalry, went to the Jiangdong army to help in the battle, and it would not damage the court's face.No one will feel out of place.

But in fact, this is Sun Ce buying Jia Xu from the court with a thousand catties of gold.

Zhong Yao was a little angry, but it was difficult to break out.

Because Zhong Yao suddenly discovered at this moment that the rumor of Wu Hou's loyalty may be just an illusion.

In the heart of Wu Hou, there was no respect for the imperial court at all.

Otherwise, Marquis Wu would not have made such a suggestion.

How can the local princes intervene in the employment of the imperial court?
What's more, he was lured with gold.In Marquis Wu's heart, he probably only regarded the imperial court as an object of charity and use.

But he found sadly that the attitude of Marquis Wu may be the real status of the court today.

The Han inherited the Warring States Remnants, and it was quite the style of the Spring and Autumn Period. It was quite common among the countries in the Spring and Autumn Period.

And the reason why Marquis Wu dared to make such a request to the court was not because of the ethos created by the court itself?During the reign of the first emperor, he sold officials and nobles, and used the state's famous utensils to obtain wealth.

Now that Wu Hou paid the three princes' expense to buy a riding captain, he couldn't even scold him.

Zhong Yao only felt filled with righteous indignation, and cupped his hands and said: "You will report to the emperor for the general. However, Jia Xu is a man with wisdom in his hands. If he is afraid of being punished, he may run away on his own and go to others. I dare not guarantee this for the general. become."

Sun Ce frowned upon hearing this.

If Jia Xu was worried about being liquidated and ran away to other princes, Cao Cao must have benefited!
After all, Jia Xu has always thought that Cao Cao is the hero of the world, including Yuan Shao is not Cao Cao's enemy.

If he wants to go to the princes, Cao Cao is close to Luoyang, so he must be the first choice.

There's no other way, Jia Xu is only resourceful, he can't pinch and count, and it certainly doesn't count that Sun Ce, who is far away in the east of the river, might try to get him.

If the officials in the court continue to persecute him, he may really run away in fear of execution.

Sun Ce can only gamble once, believing that Emperor Han is magnanimous enough.

And Jia Xu's willingness to vote for the court must have considered the fact that the emperor was young and wise.

So as long as Zhong Yao submits the report in time, Sun Ce believes that since Jia Xu has chosen this path, it is not so easy to leave for the princes, and there should be time!

From Jiangdong to Luoyang, if you don't march but envoys travel quickly, you can reach Luoyang in less than ten days.

Zhong Yao then stopped in Jiankang, waiting for the envoy to return to Luoyang.

The imperial court's treasury is now empty, and it is indeed necessary to send taxes from the southeast.A thousand catties of gold is indeed the wealth that the court urgently needs.

Because... the imperial court is also building an army!The fifth school of the Northern Army was rebuilt.

Sun Ce was also very interested in this matter, and asked Zhong Yao, "How is the situation in Guanzhong under the imperial court? Is it going well?"

Zhong Yao nodded, and replied: "Wang Yi, the prefect of Hedong, Zhang Yang, the prefect of Hanoi, and Yin Peimao of Henan have all rectified their troops and dispatched them for the imperial court. The imperial court is commanding more than ten thousand troops with chariot general Liu Yao. Collect Hongnong, return to Tongguan, join forces with Duan Yao and other generals in Guanzhong, the number of which is [-], and use the edict to punish the thieves, and all the attacks will be defeated."

"Guo Si was killed by his subordinate Wu Xi in Mei County, and passed on to the capital. The emperor ordered that the three tribes of the barbarians be killed."

"Li Jue also abandoned Chang'an and retreated to Huangbaicheng."

Huangbaicheng was an important town in the northwest of the Han Dynasty. In order to quell the Qiang rebellion, the imperial court stationed troops and food here.The location is in Chiyang County of Zuo Fengyi. Later, due to the Qiang Hu rebellion, the Han Dynasty lost Beidi County, so the overseas Chinese government moved to Chiyang County, which is where Chiyang is the county seat of Beidi County.

Overseas Chinese governance is also a unique term in this period. Due to the massive rebellion of the Qiang and Hu, the Han Dynasty lost a large number of prefectures, and the counties such as Beidi, Xihe, Shuofang, and Jiuyuan were no longer owned by the Central Plains.

Therefore, the prefects of the Han Dynasty and Cao Wei did not dare to take office, so they found a stable county in the interior and set it up as the overseas Chinese government, that is, the county government where the overseas Chinese lived.

Li Jue retreated to Chiyang and guarded Huangbai City, not only for the convenience of eating the granary, but also for contacting Qianghu in the border area.

It's just that now he has been reduced to the point where he has to rely on Qiang Hu for help. His power is obviously at sunset, and the generals in Guanzhong will definitely beat the dog in the water at this time.

Sun Ce said with a smile: "From this point of view, Li Jue is at the end of the road, and there is hope for the great man to rejuvenate."

Zhong Yao sighed and said, "Li Jue's death is just around the corner. But the generals in Guanzhong took advantage of the chaos to rise up, and more than a dozen of their troops gathered in the Sanfu area of ​​Guanzhong, causing serious damage. The imperial court is considering whether to send troops to conquer or appease their troops. "

Sun Ce remembered that in history, it was Zhong Yao who was the governor of Guanzhong in charge of festivals, who appeased the generals in Guanzhong and protected the court from the invasion of the west.

Then he said: "The most urgent task of the imperial court is to stop fighting with the generals in Guanzhong, resume farming and farming, restore the peace of the county, and return the people to their hometowns.

This point of view made Zhong Yao nod heavily. He felt like he had met a confidant in his life. He said with some excitement: "That's what I think. All the generals in the West are rising up. There is no power in the world and they are just content. Today, the country is rich." Noble title, get what you want, there is no big reason, not worrying about change.”

"It is advisable to take advantage of this opportunity to recruit refugees and stabilize Guanzhong. If more than [-] households are obtained, Guanzhong will be prosperous and the world will be prosperous."

"But the Son of Heaven and the Minister have no such intentions. They both want to spend a lot of money to recruit soldiers and rebuild the scale of the Forbidden Army. Now they are collecting money and food from the princes of the four directions for offerings. They want to build a grand plan and use force to quell it."

Sun Ce can also understand the thoughts of the emperor and court ministers.

The emperor was really afraid of having no soldiers in his hands, and being controlled by the foreign border generals and manipulating the court at will.

So if there is a slight relaxation, they must first build a military to achieve a situation that is not controlled by others.

If you devote all your efforts to internal affairs, the soldiers will be disarmed and returned to the fields, and the imperial guards will be weak. Once the princes take the opportunity to invade the court, the emperor will fall back to the previous situation of being bullied by powerful officials.

What's more, the imperial court can still receive tribute from the princes, so the imperial court does not have much sense of urgency to resume internal affairs.

However, the recovery of such things as internal affairs cannot be achieved overnight.

When the day comes, the princes will not pay tribute, and the matter will come to an end, and it may be too late for the imperial court to rebuild the internal affairs.

Zhong Yao went on to say: "The imperial court is now raising gold and silver, and is trying its best to form an elite imperial army of [-], with the intention of stabilizing Guanzhong in one fell swoop. ZTE's momentum may encounter ups and downs."

Sun Ce could only comfort him: "Perhaps a small defeat can make the court understand the situation and get back on track."

The size of the coalition army of the generals in Guanzhong is nearly [-], which is an existence that even Cao Cao cannot settle.If the imperial court does not appease the troops and enter Guanzhong to regain Jingzhaoyin, Zuo Fengyi, You Fufeng and other three auxiliary areas, [-] forbidden troops will march there, and with [-] enemies against [-] to [-] Xiliang troops, I am afraid that they may be defeated. .

Even if decisive measures were taken later, capable ministers were sent to pacify Guanzhong and the people were restored to colonization, they would not be able to recover in just a few years.

But in the troubled times at the end of Han Dynasty, the changes were so fast.One step slower, one step slower.Once the strength is greatly reduced, it will be like Liu Bei in Xuzhou, struggling and being controlled by others.

Zhong Yao had no other choice but to stay in Jiangdong for the time being.Receive Jiangdong tribute and return to help the imperial court strengthen its army.

While Jiangdong was waiting for the navy to return from Huainan, Jia Xu did not arrive. News of Cao Cao came first. He arrived first and launched a fierce battle with Yuan Shu's army.

Moreover, Cao Cao took the same route that Yuan Shu took when he retreated from Nanyang to Yuzhou. He quickly passed through Ru and Ying from Nanyang and entered Yuzhou.

Yuan Shu was horrified when he heard that Cao Cao had conquered him personally, so he went to Huai River and withdrew to Jiujiang, leaving his generals Zhang Xun, Li Feng, Le Jiu and others to guard Chenjun.

Cao Cao fought with him, defeated Zhang Xun immediately, and held four of his generals. Yuan Shu's army was weak, the general died, and all sentiments rebelled.Yuan Shu's Chen Xiang Yuan Si led his troops to surrender.

This battle result is also true proof, why Yuan Shu was so afraid of Cao Cao, when he heard that Cao Cao was coming to beat him, he abandoned the army and fled.

From the first battle of Kuangting, Yuan Shu formed an indelible psychological shadow on Cao Cao.In his words, he was rejected by Cao Cao's rebellion, fled away, and almost perished.

The difference between his military ability and Cao Cao's is really not 01:30 points.What's more, the soldiers are weak and can't compete with Cao Cao at all.

It's just that Cao Cao also took into account the pressure of food and grass, so he couldn't go deep with his army and fought all the way to Jiujiang.

The war between the two sides also reflects Jiangdong's geographical advantages.

Although Jiangdong took the lead in announcing the crusade against Yuan Shu, the two sides turned against each other, but the Yangtze River was separated. As long as Sun Ce did not send troops, Yuan Shu would have nothing to do with Jiangdong and could only look at Jiang and sigh.

However, Cao Cao had to fight Yuan Shu immediately, otherwise the hinterland would be directly threatened by Huainan soldiers.

This is also the biggest disadvantage of the land of the Central Plains.Grass belly with golden horns and silver borders, as princes, they are too vulnerable to interference and influence from surrounding forces.

Cao Cao was able to fight his way out of this chaotic place in the Central Plains all the way through blood, all because of the talent of the superhero!

Relying on his invincible military front, he successfully captured Chen Guo and a large area of ​​Pei Guo.

In the other direction, Liu Bei, who was also fighting in the Central Plains, did not go so smoothly.

He marched westward to attack Lu Bu, and the battle was very difficult.

Because Lu Bu really got funding from Yuan Shu this time.

Yuan Shu personally wrote to Lu Bu, saying: "The general has been fighting for years, and the army's food is scarce. Today, he has sent 30 shi of rice to meet the road. If he does not stop here, he will return to Luoyi; if it is a weapon, it will have little. , Size matters."

Lu Bu not only received 30 shi of military rations from Yuan Shu, but also tens of thousands of armor and equipment.

Yuan Shu was actually applying what Sun Ce did to Liu Bei to Lu Bu.Subsidize Lu Bu's soldiers with money, food, horses and equipment, and use them as the northern gateway.

This effect was very significant. Lu Bu regained his military strength a little bit and formed an army of 5000 people, but Liu Bei fought extremely hard.

Now the land of the Central Plains, the most indispensable thing is refugees.

As for Lu Bu, you can call him repeatedly cunning, you can call him lightly cunning and unrighteous, but he is still very generous, with the straightforwardness and boldness of a frontier warrior.

He claimed that he was not aggressive in his life, but he was fond of resolving conflicts. This is not because he is just talking nonsense.

He was captured on the Baimen Tower in Xiapi, and he said to Cao Cao: "I treat the generals generously, but the generals are treacherous when they are in a hurry."

Cao Cao had nothing to criticize him, but just reprimanded him, how can you be considered generous if you have an affair with the wives of other generals.

In this matter, the two of them belonged to the crow falling on the pig, and the eldest brother laughed at the second brother Hei.

Like married wives, which one of them doesn't?
Aren't Zhang Xiu's aunt and Qin Yilu's wife all taken over by Cao Cao?

You must know that Qin Yilu surrendered to Cao Cao.Guan Yu personally asked Cao Cao to ask for Qin Yilu's wife several times.

Cao Cao agreed with all his mouth, and then when he saw Qin Yilu's wife, he became interested and took the wife directly.

So that not only Guan Yu was gone, but Liu Bei also easily instigated Qin Yilu's rebellion.

Judging by Cao Cao's standards, Lu Bu's claim that he treats people generously is not really boastful.

As for the princes of the Central Plains, in terms of personal morality, they all laugh at a hundred steps.

However, in terms of military affairs, the results of Lu Bu's generosity were also very obvious. All his subordinates were rewarded generously, and the food they received was very rich, enough to support their parents and six relatives.

Therefore, Lu Bu's army is very powerful compared to other princes.

Yuan Shu gave him 30 shi of food and tens of thousands of weapons and war equipment, but he only formed an army of 5000 people, which is to form an elite army.

In the Battle of Pengcheng, Liu Bei carelessly underestimated the enemy, led his troops to besiege, and was directly defeated by Lu Bu's counterattack. If it were not for the lack of cavalry in Lu Bu's army, Liu Bei would lose at least thousands of people in this battle. (end of this chapter)