Chapter 852: Fengxiao's Strategy

The departure of Yuan Shao, Han Fu, and Gongsun Zan was of course a blow to the Allied Army. Because Yuan Shao's departure was not just Yuan Shao's departure, but also the feudal lords who were currently standing in line and attached to him also left together.

When Yuan Shao was organizing the army, they all found reasons and urgently withdrew their troops. Especially Cao Cao, who had lost a battle after Dong Zhuo moved west to Chang'an, and his soldiers had all been wiped out. Over the past period of time, he had seen the conduct of this group of people even more. Now that Yuan Shao was retreating, and he himself had no soldiers or generals, of course he shouldn't continue to cope here. So he also took the remaining people and withdrew with Yuan Shao; he wanted to go back and continue to raise an army.

Now there was the Dong thief in the Central Plains and the Wang thief in the north. Heaven did not bless the Han, and everyone understood that the chaotic times had begun.

It wouldn't work if it didn't begin. Now if Dong Zhuo issued an edict in Chang'an for the feudal lords to raise a great army to crusade north against the Wang thief, they definitely wouldn't do it. That was the business of Yuan Shao, Han Fu, and Gongsun Zan. But if they didn't go, they would lose great righteousness.

On the other hand, if the Wang thief was powerful and Yuan Shao and the others couldn't block him, then if their troops were unfavorable, they would also be beheaded. After all, they knew clearly how the Wang thief treated people like them. Although they were still trading until now, it didn't delay him from killing them.

So they all, without exception, although they were kidnapped by Yuan Shao and it was hard to withdraw, all sent letters to those left behind in their headquarters to recruit more soldiers to wait for changes.

Compared to the feudal lords who all had territory, Liu, Guan, and Zhang, who only had the three brothers and no reliance, were much more shabby.

"Lord Xuande came with General Gongsun. Now that General Gongsun has returned to attack the Wang thief, why doesn't Lord Xuande leave?"

On a hillside, the feudal lords looked at the Allied Army of Yuan Shao, Han Fu, and Gongsun Zan walking north for dozens of li. At the waist of the mountain, seeing Liu Bei looking blank, Mi Zhu, an attendant from another family who followed Xuzhou Governor Tao Qian, asked this.

"Zizhong has traded with Wang of Liaodong, and even promised his clan's daughter to him, and presented meteorite swords and sweat-blood horses. You should know that I once fell into trouble in Liaodong and was fortunately protected by Wang Yan. First, he made me a village chief, and later promoted me to a general's attendant, giving me much promotion. Now that Brother Gongsun has returned north to crusade against him, how can I help Brother Gongsun crusade against my benefactor? Therefore, I stay here to contribute and crusade against Dong Zhuo."

Liu Bei sighed and answered like this.

The reason he gave certainly existed. But what he didn't say was that Huang Zhong and Taishi Ci were two great generals who were quite capable of fighting. And there was the even more capable General Wang. If the three brothers had no soldiers and only relied on their own martial prowess to find trouble with Wang Yan, Huang Zhong and Taishi Ci were one thing, but if they provoked the General Wang who was sitting in command to lead the army himself, that would be seeking death. The three of them hadn't lived enough yet.

Moreover, he knew Liaodong best—reserves, population, troops, armaments, products, etc. He had come into contact with accurate and detailed data during the half year he was a general's attendant, which was the precious method of governance he had learned. Now that he had annexed You Province, grain and fodder were definitely insufficient, mainly because the consumption of Liaodong's soldiers and civilians was large and they ate a lot.

But they could definitely hold out. General Wang could fool a group of scholars into learning planting and animal husbandry with old farmers, summarizing experience, constantly promoting it, and coming up with doctors of agriculture and animal husbandry, giving them high courtesy. There were also doctors of engineering, researching various efficient methods of farming and harvesting. As long as they waited another year, the harvest in You Province's fields would start to be wealthy again. As long as they saved for two or three years, they could occupy more places.

It was precisely because he knew Wang Yan's strategy well that he thought about seeking opportunities in the south.

And he could say for sure that even if Yuan Shao, Han Fu, and Gongsun Zan didn't return this time, Wang Yan definitely wouldn't continue to head south, but would save for two or three years before talking. And for the next step of the plan, he didn't think Wang Yan would take Ji Province, but would head west to plot Bing and Liang, and even the Western Regions. He had always heard Wang Yan say that the Western Regions must be occupied, and he wanted to look further west, just like he wanted to build ships to go east to search.

What he was even more certain of was that the Allied Army of Yuan Shao, Han Fu, and Gongsun Zan would definitely not be able to defeat Wang Yan, but would instead be beaten by Wang Yan until they fled in panic.

With all these reasons, plus the status of General Wang as his benefactor, he wouldn't go back to be beaten...

Mi Zhu nodded. He certainly knew these things, which was also why he had a good attitude toward Liu Bei now. It was mainly because people from the Mi clan had dealt with Liu Bei in the General's Mansion before and had a high evaluation of him. Moreover, this time the feudal lords gathered to crusade against Dong Zhuo, Guan Yu beheading Hua Xiong with warm wine, and Liu, Guan, and Zhang fighting Lu Bu were all outstanding major events. After coming into contact, their conversation was not vulgar and they had strategies in their chests.

Therefore, even if this didn't fit history, and even less the plot of the original *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, under various reasons, Mi Zhu still had a very good impression of Liu Bei.

He asked: "I have always heard that Lord Xuande has the ambition to restore the Han imperial house and revive the flaming Han. Given the current situation, I don't know what you will do?"

Liu Bei waved his hand, shook his head, and smiled bitterly: "A drifting person, what ambition can I speak of? It's just waiting for spring to continue the crusade against the Dong thief."

Mi Zhu understood; it was just taking one step at a time.

After thinking about it, he stepped closer and whispered: "My Lord in Xuzhou once told me that you three brothers are true heroes and he values you very much. Now Yuan Shao, Han Fu, and Gongsun Zan have all stopped their troops and left. The feudal lords currently in Luoyang are not united in heart, and it is difficult for their strength to be the same. I predict it will be difficult to pass autumn before they stop their troops. At that time, it will surely be the feudal lords rising, conquering each other, and the world will be in chaos.

My Lord in Xuzhou is in poor health and I fear he cannot last long. Xuzhou is wealthy but is a place of four battles, and his sons are all unable to shoulder heavy responsibilities. At that time, if Lord Xuande is there, with your heroism and righteousness, and your great ambition to restore the Han imperial house, the people of Xuzhou will definitely follow your lead."

"Zizhong, do not speak. How can I do such unfaithful, unrighteous, and unbenevolent things? Tao of Xuzhou has always had a reputation for virtue and treats the people very generously; he is a true gentleman. A great man stands in the world, holds a righteous heart, walks a righteous path, and performs righteous deeds. Such unfaithful, unrighteous, and unbenevolent things, I will definitely not do. Even if I drift to the four seas, what does it matter? I only seek to have a clear conscience."

Liu Bei spoke righteously and refused very simply, without even hesitating.

Mi Zhu looked at Liu Bei, who didn't seem to be faking, and smiled: "Lord Xuande has high righteousness; it is truly my villainous heart that underestimated your heroism and righteousness. However, since Lord Xuande is drifting and has no reliance, after the feudal lords disperse, even if you don't plot for Xuzhou, staying there for a while to wait for changes and plot for the future, what does it matter? Lord Xuande should follow my words; I will speak to Lord Tao and ask Lord Tao to invite Lord Xuande."

Several people stood in the corner. Except for Guan and Zhang, no one heard what they said. Seeing Mi Zhu speaking sincerely and even winking at them, Guan Yu stroked his long beard moved by the wind: "Big Brother, what Mr. Mi said is very good. Big Brother has high righteousness and does not plot for Xuzhou, but we are drifting and have no reliance, which is not a long-term plan. Since Mr. Mi can persuade the Governor of Xuzhou to invite us, why not temporarily attach ourselves to Xuzhou? Having a place to stay and then making other plans is not too late."

"Second Brother's words are very right. Big Brother, why not follow Mr. Mi's words?" Zhang Fei nodded vigorously, his loud voice suppressed as he leaned in and whispered, "Now Wang Yan has taken You Province, and his momentum has been formed. Yuan Shao and other generations will definitely not be a match for Wang Yan. Big Brother has the Han imperial house in his heart and should make a decision early. If one day Wang Yan's troops arrive at the Yangtze River and we three brothers are still drifting, everything will be over."

After taking refuge in Liaodong, Zhang Fei maintained enough respect for Wang Yan. Now when mentioning Wang Yan, even behind his back, and even thousands of miles away, it wasn't "Wang thief" anymore. This was progress...

Liu Bei pondered for a moment and finally nodded: "Since it is so, I will follow Zizhong's words and temporarily attach myself to Xuzhou."

Mi Zhu smiled and cupped his hands: "Lord, please set your heart at ease; this matter will surely succeed."

Afterward, everyone watched the team go far away, but what was different was that Liu Bei looked at the feudal lords in front...

The movements in You Province were hard to hide from Ji Province, so the movements in Ji Province were naturally hard to hide from You Province.

The weather had warmed up, the ice had melted, and another year of spring had arrived.

The land of You Province radiated new vitality. After a winter, the fields had been measured and divided. The farm tools, draft oxen, horses, and seed grain stored in Liaodong had all been transferred over long ago. Of course, it wasn't just these; even armaments were pulled over cart by cart.

Armaments were key materials. Especially since Wang Yan practiced "everyone is a soldier," armor and weapons were constantly being produced and manufactured. The Great Supervisor of the General's Mansion's Manufacturing Bureau led a group of craftsmen and studied various tools and weapons with the doctors of engineering in the Wenchang Pavilion, constantly improving production and manufacturing methods, as well as armament styles. The blacksmiths in You Province also transferred a batch to manufacture weapons.

County magistrates organized implementation, and healthy men between eighteen and thirty-five were each given a set. Moreover, after receiving the armaments, they could also go to the blacksmiths to adjust them to make the armor fit better. A considerable portion of this came from the blood of powerful clans, officials, and landlords, because the iron mines were dug by them...

Of course, the armaments were not yet enough to cover the adult men of You Province; this was a long process.

Although oxen and horses were still insufficient, the tools had been improved, and it wasn't impossible for commoners to plow the fields with human labor. On the other hand, there were troops transferring manpower to plow the fields. They didn't use single-person plows, but a large row of more than ten plowshares, with two groups of people taking turns to operate them. Pulling a large row at once was quite fast, and it also exercised the body, cultivated sharing joys and sorrows, and cultivated the commoners' trust in the army.

If industrial mechanization couldn't be achieved, then human mechanization would be achieved. This point was implemented quite thoroughly. And Wang Yan, from beginning to end, also gave an order to make farming faster and harvests more abundant, and gave considerable support, with two large departments of engineering and agriculture constantly studying it.

Perhaps many times, many creations looked like a joke, but Wang Yan of course wouldn't laugh, because that was the creativity of the ancient ancestors as seen by him, a person from two thousand years later.

No matter how ridiculous things were, after precipitation, they were also the wisdom of ancestors respected by later generations...

Wang Yan, in a green shirt, after inspecting the situation around Ji County, rode his sweat-blood horse back to the City Lord's Mansion in the city.

This horse was a gift from the Zhen clan, a genuine thousand-li horse that took a long time to find. It had high endurance, strong explosive power, and was quite tall. Compared to ordinary warhorses, it was half a leg taller.

Actually, this horse of his could also be called Red Hare, because it was also red. But Wang Yan of course wouldn't do that. After all, the Red Hare ridden by Lu Bu was now famous all over the world. If he named it Red Hare again, it would be too much of a suspicion of picking up others' wisdom.

Therefore, because there was some white on the horse's hooves, he named it "Treading Snow."

The horse trotted lightly; it liked spring very much...

Arriving at the General's Mansion, he just took off his outer shirt and put on a single garment when a personal guard came to report that Guo Jia requested an audience.

Wang Yan nodded and came to the front hall like this, seeing Guo Jia, whose skin was much rougher.

Last year, Guo Jia came to defect, full of ambitions, and was sent by Wang Yan to be a village chief. In autumn and winter, when You Province was taken, there were not enough officials. Wang Yan examined the policy essays of all the village chiefs under his command, talked about the advantages and disadvantages of the political system, and talked about the insights of working with commoners. After reading all the policy essays of the village chiefs, he rearranged the positions and transfers one by one.

Guo Jia's understanding was relatively clear, and he came from a humble background, so he had more empathy for the commoners at the very bottom. After being a village chief at the very bottom, he highly recognized General Wang's political line, and the policy essay he wrote was quite good.

Coupled with the shortage of officials, Guo Jia was transferred up two months early. If he had greater ability, he would exert greater value. Now he was a General's Attendant and concurrently the Ji County Magistrate.

He had wisdom, and it wasn't just that he was good at strategy and strange ideas. Talented people, even if they weren't good at governance, as long as they had experience and accumulation, were not comparable to ordinary people. One was being a secretary, and one was being the top leader of a place; Guo Jia did both quite well.

Seeing Wang Yan come out, Guo Jia cupped his hands and said: "General, Huang Zhong sent someone to report this morning that Yuan Shao, Han Fu, and Gongsun Zan have raised an army of one hundred thousand to attack, and they will definitely reach our border within ten days."

Wang Yan waved his hand, signaling Guo Jia to sit down and talk. He sat lazily on a large wooden chair, one foot stepping on the edge of the seat, very dashing. He shook his head and smiled: "They are all scum. Now that it is time for spring plowing, they ignore the people's livelihood and raise an army to attack, harming the people and wasting materials. The harm is great. But for the sake of their own private struggle for hegemony, for the gain or loss of a city or a piece of land, sure enough, those who eat meat do not care about the lives of us commoners. It is truly deserving of death."

Listening to the General's shameless remarks, Guo Jia was unable to complain.

Why did they come to attack? Wasn't it because you snatched You Province? And you killed Gongsun Zan's whole family, making Gongsun Zan homeless with an army of twenty thousand. How could he not fight for his life...

"Given the current situation, how does Fengxiao think we should deal with it?"

Guo Jia, who had been distracted, gathered his mind and said: "Now that they have come to attack, there are three reasons. The General entered You Province and slaughtered Gongsun Zan's family members, leaving him with no reliance and nowhere to stay. He will definitely swear to kill us; this is the first reason. The second reason is that Han of Ji Province fears the General will head south and has to join forces with Gongsun Zan to attack us."

"The third reason lies in Yuan Shao. He is the Bohai Prefect, but his Yuan clan has been the Three Ducal Ministers for four generations, and his students and old acquaintances are all over the world. Although Han Fu is his superior, he actually has no command and is even more afraid. Now that Han Fu has allied with Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shao fears being annexed by him and also fears we will head south, damaging his foundation, so he has to come to attack together."

"Jia thinks these three each have their own thoughts and are truly not worth worrying about. The General has no intention of heading south, but will deeply cultivate You Province and settle the people here; it will take two or three years. Moreover, in the land of Fuyu in the north, there is still a large area of fertile land that has not been reclaimed. The Fuyu barbarians do not engage in production and waste heaven's gifts. Liaodong also needs to migrate to solidify the borders and annex the Fuyu barbarians."

"Also, because the north is bitterly cold, the General plots for the land of the Western Regions to make the million commoners in our north have a warm winter. Bing and Liang provinces are places that must be taken. Last year, Jia came north to defect and told the General that we should garrison Yanmen to choke the Central Plains, which is also a matter of great importance. Therefore, within three or five years, we may not have the surplus strength to head south."

"Han Fu is a rat who seeks comfort and has no ambition. If we don't attack, he will definitely be content with the state of mutual resistance. Therefore, raising an army to attack is because he fears the General's momentum. The General can write a letter to tell him the truth, and he will definitely be content with this and spare his troops."

"As for Yuan Shao, Jia has also heard of him. Observing his actions, he is a person who likes to plot but lacks decisiveness, and is also not worth worrying about. Now that the feudal lords are rising and the chaotic times have arrived, the Yuan clan is a high-ranking and noble family, and the favor of four generations of Three Ducal Ministers will definitely make him have the heart to chase the deer of the Han. Now that he comes to attack us, he will definitely not fight us to the death, and will also spare his military strength. The General can also write a letter saying we have no intention of plotting for Ji Province and can help him plot for Ji Province; he will definitely remain still."

"Only Gongsun Zan has the hatred of killing relatives and seizing land from the General and will fight to the death to report his family hatred and also wants to seize the land of You Province. Although he has an army of twenty thousand, his soldiers are all young and strong men of You Province, and their families are now under the General's rule. Jia thinks that persuading surrender before the battle can break them. You Province will have two more tens of thousands of young and strong men, and the people's strength will be even greater. Even if Gongsun Zan is lucky enough to keep his life, he will already be a dog that has lost its home and is not worth worrying about."

Listening to Guo Jia's coping method, Wang Yan laughed: "Fengxiao truly has a good strategy and has obtained the way of attacking the heart. I will follow your strategy. The letter will be written by you. When the enemy army arrives, just shoot it into the enemy formation with an arrow; there is no need to send an envoy to persuade. Although there is a saying that when two armies fight, do not behead the envoy, but with a great army in hand, life and death are at will. Playing with tongue and lips, if the matter is not reached, it will be dangerous. A good life does not need to be wasted like this. As for persuading Gongsun Zan's soldiers to surrender, I will go personally to show my sincerity."

"Also, send troops to temporarily stop farming. The You Province army should be gathered at the three border locations. Although there is a good strategy, I fear changes, so we must be prepared for a confrontation."

"The General is thoughtful and has the people in his heart. With the General's personal arrival, Gongsun Zan's subordinates will definitely surrender without a fight. The current crisis will be resolved."

"Fengxiao, do not praise me too high. If I fail to persuade surrender, what then? Commit suicide, or kill you to hide my shame and anger?" Wang Yan waved his hand amusedly. "Just make arrangements. Tomorrow, come with me to the station. Since the troops were stationed, I haven't been there to check the actual situation. This trip is just right to inspect."

Guo Jia didn't talk nonsense, smiled, cupped his hands, and led the order away.

Now that he was serving in the General's Mansion and had more contact with General Wang, he felt more and more that he was a peerless wise lord; he was truly too powerful. Today's atmosphere was all created by him alone. His chest was broad and he could tolerate people. He didn't doubt those he employed and didn't employ those he doubted. He was far-sighted, his nature was transcendent, and he treated people like a spring breeze.

And looking at his actions, he was truly worried about the commoners, not just shouting slogans. The support of the commoners and the leaning of the people's hearts were unprecedented and might not be reached in the future.

He couldn't explain how Wang Yan, who came from a commoner background, had such insight and means. In the end, he still agreed with everyone's consensus: the General was heaven-sent...

Guo Jia left to arrange matters, and Wang Yan returned to the back house to play with his children.

This time, Yuan Shao, Han Fu, and Gongsun Zan coming to attack was truly not a crisis.

This army of one hundred thousand was definitely not a false claim like Liu Yu's, but truly one hundred thousand. Just as Guo Jia said, the three each had their own thoughts, and only Gongsun Zan was truly fighting for his life. The so-called "three monks have no water to drink"—what did You Province have to do with Yuan Shao and Han Fu? Guo Jia's strategy lay in this. As long as he didn't raise an army to head south, everything would be easy to talk about.

Even Guo Jia's operation was redundant. Even if there was nothing, Yuan Shao and Han Fu wouldn't fight a serious war; at most, they would pretend to fight and cope. The main reason for this was that during the time they returned from Luoyang, the defense of Ji Province wasn't very strict, and Wang Yan could have taken it in one battle, but he didn't do it. Yuan Shao and Han Fu naturally realized that Wang Yan taking You Province was already eating too much.

Similarly, Gongsun Zan would also realize this. But he couldn't not fight, because he had nowhere to stay if he didn't. So the probability was that he would make empty promises, ceding the land of You Province as a reward for Yuan Shao and Han Fu's hard work in sending troops.

Once this relationship was straightened out, then it was clear how the enemy would act.

The first contact would definitely be fierce, in order to test his, Wang's, reality and see the combat effectiveness of the army. If it collapsed at the first touch, there would be no need to talk nonsense. At that time, Gongsun Zan would definitely not survive; it would be the struggle between Yuan and Han.

If they couldn't beat him and the fight was too difficult, then it would be just coping, and they would have to be content with the status quo.

As for Gongsun Zan, Wang Yan was confident that he could go and teach the soldiers to recite the words, and he could scatter Gongsun Zan's army with one shout. Once Gongsun Zan was broken, Yuan and Han wouldn't have so many things to do and would only care about fighting each other. They would even have to win over Wang Yan, hoping Wang Yan would stand on their side.

A problem that could be solved by one battle didn't need to have two letters sent. However, if this letter was sent out, it would save the casualties of the first battle, provoke Yuan Shao's plot, and arouse Han Fu's vigilance—all good things.

As for who would dominate Ji Province, Wang Yan didn't care. Yuan Shao or Han Fu, either one was fine. Neither of them was an opponent, or rather, General Wang had no opponents.

After all, he truly didn't want his face. Relying on plundering commoners and powerful clans for support, he was very confident that he could lead the troops he currently commanded to fight from north to south, and then from south to north, and it wouldn't be a big problem to make a round trip like this, killing those feudal lords until they had no way to heaven and no door to earth. The casualties and the damage caused to the commoners were of course another matter...

With the strategy set, Guo Jia led General Wang's order and gathered all the troops who were farming for the commoners in You Province, including the three thousand Yingwu Guards and the later three thousand militia, all heading south to supplement the three armies of Huang Zhong, Taishi Ci, and Zhou Cang.

At the same time, he wrote two letters and copied two more, all written to Yuan Shao and Han Fu, and even used the seal of "General Tianwu, Wang Yan." The role of this seal was the same as the Imperial Seal. Whether it was government decrees, legal documents, or general's money, this seal was on them.

The reason for writing so many was mainly because Guo Jia couldn't judge which side Yuan, Han, and Gongsun were all fighting for. So he wrote three copies and sent them to Huang Zhong, Taishi Ci, and Zhou Cang respectively. If the opposite side was Yuan Shao or Han Fu, just send it over.

After writing the letter and attaching instructions, he sent three messengers to deliver them.

He also arranged for the inspection heading south, the accompanying personal guards, grain, officials, etc. These were all things his secretary had to consider. In addition, he had to make work arrangements for Ji County. After all, he was also concurrently the county magistrate. Even if he was a genius and highly efficient, the messy work still kept him busy until his feet hit the back of his head... ===== CHAPTER 857 =====

After finishing the letter and attaching his instructions, he dispatched three groups of messengers to deliver them.

He also made arrangements for the southern inspection tour, including the accompanying personal guards, provisions, officials, and so on; these were all things he, as secretary, had to consider. Additionally, he had to manage the work arrangements for Jixian County. After all, he was still concurrently serving as County Magistrate. Even though he was a genius with high efficiency, the messy, miscellaneous work still kept him so busy he was running around in circles...