The Jagged Cavalry of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 485 484 Expedition to Jiaozhou (2)

Just as Sun Quan expected, the news of Zhang Yan's reform had already reached Jingzhou before the envoys sent by Zhang Yan arrived in Jingzhou.

The specific content of the reform, the most important one is to limit the imperial power. When Liu Biao heard about such a reform plan, he was very angry.

After all, Liu Biao is the clan of the Han family, and the Liu family is the master of the world. In the past, Zhang Yan still had the emperor and the Liu family in his eyes even if he was holding the emperor to order the princes.But now, as soon as the reform plan came out, the Son of Heaven was still the Son of Heaven in name, but the Son of Heaven was no longer the Son of Heaven before. His power was severely restricted, and the Emperor was useless, and the power was directly in Zhang Yan's hands.Liu Biao hated this behavior very much.

Therefore, Liu Biao immediately ordered his confidants to be summoned for a discussion, and Cai Mao, Zhang Yun, Kuai Liang, and Kuai Yue arrived one after another.

When Cai Mao, Zhang Yun, Kuai Liang, and Kuai Yue heard the content of Zhang Yan's reform, Cai Mao immediately said: "My lord, Zhang Yan is so bold that he doesn't take His Majesty seriously at all. My lord is a member of the Han family. Now His majesty was so humiliated by Zhang Yan, the lord should rise up to resist on behalf of the royal family, and the subordinates thought that the lord should issue a call to order the world to punish Zhang Yan's behavior, and lead the army to attack Pengcheng, and take the emperor from Zhang Yan. Rescued from the claws of the devil. In this way, the lord can achieve great achievements and leave a name in history."

Zhang Yundao: "My lord, this subordinate also means the same thing. Now I have a strong army in Jingzhou, with 30 soldiers and [-] armored soldiers. I can attack both land and water, and I will definitely make Zhang Yan feel uncomfortable. As long as I enter Pengcheng, my lord will become famous all over the world!"

Although Liu Biao despised Zhang Yan's behavior, he kept his sobriety before he was overwhelmed.When he heard that Cai Hao and Zhang Yun were actively launching a war, Liu Biao was still a little worried, because Zhang Yan's strength was too strong, and it was still unknown whether he could defeat Zhang Yan.

So Liu Biao glanced at Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue brothers, and asked, "What's your opinion?"

Kuai Liangdao: "Although Zhang Yan's power is great, his forces are too scattered. It hasn't been long since Hebei was pacified, and he will inevitably leave heavy troops guarding Hebei. Moreover, Sun Quan in Jiangdong is also a thorn in Zhang Yan's side. Zhang Yan will definitely deploy troops in Jinling County. If we deploy heavy troops, then the number of troops remaining in the Central Plains will be relatively small, as long as our army gathers heavy troops and storms the Central Plains, Zhang Yan will be unable to resist at all."

Kuai Yue said: "My lord, let Zhang Xiu, the prefect of Nanyang, be the vanguard of the front, lead the army to take Ao Cang first, and capture Luoyang, and hold every pass in Luoyang, so that Zhang Yan can be divided into two, and the connection between the east and the west can be cut off. , then no matter how powerful the enemy’s army is, they can’t even think about attacking in. In addition, Cai Dudu will lead the army to attack Runan, the eldest son will lead the soldiers of Jiangxia to attack Lujiang, and the lord will lead Liu Bei and other troops to attack in three directions. It will definitely exhaust Zhang Yan's army!"

After hearing this, Liu Biao said slowly: "For a long time, I have always put the overall situation first, but now Zhang Yan dares to do such a rebellious act. If I hold back, the world of the big man will be over."

Kuai Liang said: "My lord, before launching the war, you should send envoys to Xichuan, ask Liu Zhang to send troops to support him, and attack Liangzhou from Xichuan, and at the same time send envoys to Jiangdong to ask Sun Quan to attack Jinling. In this way, Zhang Yan will be in trouble. In the midst of a crisis, it is also very beneficial for our army to attack Pengcheng by holding back most of our troops."

"Okay! Let's act according to this plan." Liu Biao said firmly.

So Liu Biao sent envoys to Xichuan to contact Liu Zhang, and then sent envoys to Jiangdong.

And when Zhang Yan's envoy arrived in Jingzhou, Liu Biao followed Kuai Yue's suggestion, first followed the envoy enthusiastically, and pretended to accept Zhang Yan's appointment, and waited for the envoy to be sent away, and then began to dispatch troops. Quietly waiting for Xichuan Liu Zhang's response before making preparations for launching a war.

……

Zhang Yan's other envoy first entered Hanzhong from Yongzhou. Zhang Lu also warmly entertained him. Because of the disparity in his strength, Zhang Lu showed respect to Zhang Yan. When he learned that the envoy was going to Xichuan again, he sent someone to send him The messenger sent to Xichuan.

Yizhou, Chengdu.

Zhang Yan's envoy arrived here first, was received by Liu Zhang, and handed over the new seal ribbon of Yizhou Mu and the badge of the rank of major general to Liu Zhang.

Liu Yan, the father of Liu Zhang, was a descendant of King Lu Gong in the Western Han Dynasty.

However, Liu Yan witnessed the chaos of Emperor Han Ling's government and the decline of the royal family. He thought that the man's strength was about to expire, so he suggested to the court: "The governor and the prefect bribed officials, exploited the people, and caused people to betray their relatives. We should choose those important officials who are clean and honest. Go to serve as the governor of the local state and county, so as to guard and stabilize the world." He himself even invited himself to be the shepherd of Jiaozhou, intending to avoid the chaos of the world.

However, Liu Yan, who originally wanted to lead Jiaozhou to avoid disaster, asked the court to be the shepherd of Yizhou because Dong Fu said that Yizhou had the spirit of the emperor.So Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty took Liu Yan as the envoy of the supervising army and the shepherd of Yizhou, and was granted the title of Marquis of Yangcheng, and ordered him to go to Yizhou.

At that time, the governor of Yizhou was frugal and gathered great things in Yizhou, and greed was prevalent.Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty ordered Liu Yanqi to go to Yizhou to arrest Xi Jian and rectify the administration of officials.Because the road was impassable, Liu Yan was temporarily stationed in the eastern border of Jingzhou.At this time, Que Jian had been killed by the Yellow Turban thief Ma Peng, but Ma Xiang, who had just proclaimed himself emperor a few days ago, was defeated by the army organized by Jia Long in Yizhou.Jia Long then welcomed Liu Yan into Yizhou, and the seat of government was set in Mianzhu.After Liu Yan took office, he appointed Jia Long as the school lieutenant and moved him to live in Mianzhu.Liu Yan appeases and shelters those who escaped and rebelled, and tries his best to implement the policy of tolerance and grace, but he has ulterior motives in his heart.

The mother of Zhang Lu, the leader of the "Five Dou Rice Road", was very beautiful. In addition, she knew about ghosts and heresies, and had close contacts with Liu Yan's family. Liu Yan appointed Zhang Lu as the governor and Sima. Su Gu, the prefect of Hanzhong.After Zhang Lu gained power in Hanzhong, he killed Zhang Xiu, cut off the traffic, and beheaded the Han envoy. In a rage, Liu Yan killed Zhang Lu's mother and brother who stayed in Yizhou. This is a grudge.Afterwards, Liu Yan used the excuse of the "rice thief" Zhang Lu to obstruct traffic, and since then cut off contact with the central court.Liu Yan further attacked the local tyrants and consolidated his own power, so Yizhou was in a semi-independent state.

When the princes of the world attacked Dong Zhuo, Liu Yan also refused to send troops, and kept the prefecture on its own.Under the lobbying of Situ Zhao Qian, Ren Qi, the prefect of Jianwei, and Jia Long, who had made great achievements in quelling the chaos, rebelled against Liu Yan. Zhao Qian was ordered to lead an army into Yizhou, but because Jia Long and others were killed by Liu Yan, he withdrew his troops.

Under the chaos in the Central Plains, tens of thousands of refugees from Nanyang and Sanfu entered Yizhou. Liu Yan collected them all and called them "Dongzhou soldiers".Although this military force caused a lot of troubles among the people, it also became the decisive force for Liu Zhang to quell the civil strife in Zhao Wei after his succession.

In the second year of Chuping (191 A.D.), Liu Yan made a chariot weighing more than a thousand, and wanted to proclaim himself emperor.At this time, Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou, complained to the court, saying that Liu Yan's separatist rule of Yizhou seemed to show signs of rebellion, but Liu Yan's attention was drawn to him, and he dared not make any big moves.

Afterwards, Liu Yan complained of illness and asked the imperial court to send his son Liu Zhang, Fengche Duwei, from the capital to Yizhou. Liu Yan took the opportunity to keep Liu Zhang by his side.

In the first year of Xingping (AD 194), Liu Fan, the eldest son Zuo Zhonglang in the court, Liu Dan, the second son Zhishu Yushi, and Ma Teng, the general who conquered the west, planned to attack Chang'an, but the plot was revealed and they fled to Huaili. Defeated, returned to Liangzhou.Liu Fan was killed soon after, and Liu Dan was also captured and executed.Yilang Pang Xi sent Liu Yan's grandchildren to Shu to avoid being implicated.At this time, a fire broke out in Mianzhu, and Liu Yan's city mansion was burned. The chariots and vehicles he built were also burned to nothing, and the surrounding houses were also damaged. Liu Yan had to move the prefecture to Chengdu.The two sons who died of grief and fear of disaster soon died of back sores.

After Liu Yan's death, his son Liu Zhang succeeded his father and inherited the titles of Yizhou Mu and Yangcheng Marquis.However, Zhao Wei, Liu Yan's subordinate, believed that Liu Zhang was too weak to deter the whole state, so he conspired to rebel and replace him. As a result, Liu Zhang used the power of "Dongzhou soldiers" to put down Zhao Wei's rebellion and gradually stabilized the situation. ended his own rule in Yizhou.

But as Zhao Wei said, Liu Zhang is indeed too weak and does not have the aggressiveness of Liu Yan. Although Yizhou is still in a semi-independent state, Liu Zhang has nothing to do when facing the growing strength of Zhang Lu in Hanzhong , was often bullied by Zhang Lu, and the people with lofty ideals under him all thought of the Lord.

When Zhang Yan's envoy arrived here, Liu Zhang's friend did not drive Zhang Song, and suggested that Liu Zhang follow the current situation and join Zhang Yan, and use Zhang Yan's power to get rid of Zhang Lu in Hanzhong.

Liu Zhang was very moved by Zhang Song's words. Over the years, Zhang Lu has always been a headache for Liu Zhang. The troops he sent to fight against Zhang Lu always lost more than they won, so he accepted Zhang Song's suggestion and sent Zhang Song to fight against Zhang Song. Messenger, go to Pengcheng, to pay tribute to the emperor.

However, that afternoon, Liu Biao's envoy also came to Chengdu and told Liu Zhang what Liu Biao wanted to unite with Liu Zhang and fight against Zhang Yan.

But Liu Zhang's character was weak, and his father wanted to be emperor, but because of Liu Biao's memorial, he didn't fulfill his hegemony, so Liu Zhang didn't treat Liu Biao's envoy with courtesy.In addition, when Liu Zhang put down Zhao Wei's rebellion, Liu Biao took in a large number of people who defected from Yizhou, including Zhao Wei's family members, so Liu Zhang failed to eradicate Zhao Wei.Therefore, Liu Zhang did not have a good impression of Liu Biao.

Although they were both clansmen of the Han Dynasty, Liu Zhang and Liu Biao still had a gap in one way or another, so Liu Zhang decisively rejected Liu Biao's envoy and drove Liu Biao's envoy out of Yizhou.

At the same time, Liu Zhang asked the generals of Dongzhou soldiers to block the road from Yizhou to Jingzhou, completely severing relations with Liu Biao.

The next day, Zhang Song officially went to Pengcheng with a large number of gifts...

(End of this chapter)