My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 109 A great harvest
With Zang Ba dealt with, Liu Bei's inner turmoil was completely eliminated, and his strength would be greatly expanded.

Cao Cao's two campaigns against Xu Province resulted in Langya Commandery suffering the least damage among the four commanderies affected by the war.

Of all the counties in Langya Commandery, only Jiqiu was massacred; the other counties remained unscathed.

These people, fields, and industries are all readily available, requiring no investment from Liu Bei, and will generate returns every year thereafter.

Putting aside everything else, the annual grain surplus of 250,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) alone allowed Liu Bei to support more soldiers or launch more campaigns.

Of course, Liu Bei would not give up so easily.

Compared to Zang Ba, that mountain eagle, Xiao Jian was simply a little fat sheep.

Moreover, Ju County was very prosperous and had not experienced the ravages of war.

Moreover, Liu Bei had already reorganized the prefectures, so how could he possibly keep Xiao Jian in Ju County as his so-called Langya Prefect?

As for the pretext for attacking Xiao Jian, it's easy to find one: "Disobeying the state and ruling a region"—these eight words are perfectly applicable to Xiao Jian.

After completely taking control of Kaiyang, Chen Deng and the others were overjoyed and immediately sent messengers to report the victory to Liu Bei.

Meanwhile, Guan Yu was assigned to guard Kaiyang, Zhao Yun and Xu Dan's troops escorted the Taishan army prisoners to Tancheng, and the remaining army was led by Chen Deng himself to continue north along the Yi River, first to Yangdu, then across the Yi River and heading straight for Ju County.

After Xiao Jian was forced to relocate to Ju County by Zang Ba, his life actually improved.

The counties north of Langya gradually began to support Ju County, making it the seat of Langya Prefecture and obeying Xiao Jian's orders.

After all, Xiao Jian was a legitimate prefect appointed by the imperial court, while Zang Ba was merely a cavalry captain, at most a high-ranking military officer with a salary of over two thousand shi (a unit of grain), and had no real jurisdiction over the local area.

In addition, the county magistrates and chiefs of various counties already looked down on Zang Ba's background, so they naturally switched sides and joined Xiao Jian's forces.

It can be said that Zang Ba was momentarily triumphant, but suffered a great loss in silence.

If Xiao Jian had been kept under control in Kaiyang, the entire Langya Commandery could have been ruled in his name.

But now, while forcing him to leave brings a sense of satisfaction, it also means losing most of the counties in central and northern Langya overnight.

Apart from the four southern counties of Langya controlled by his brothers, he couldn't collect a single penny of tax revenue from the other counties.

Unfortunately, Ju County is located in the central part of Langya, so even if he wanted to govern the counties in the north, he would have to get past Ju County first.

Tao Qian, seeing the advantage, ordered the recognition of Xiao Jian's status and put him in charge of the administration of Langya County, while Zang Ba was put in charge of military affairs.

Tao Qian had been worried that Zang Ba would continue to grow stronger in Langya and eventually threaten him as the governor.

Unexpectedly, the imperial court sent Xiao Jian to be the prefect, and Zang Ba made an even bigger mistake, banishing him to Ju County.

In this way, Tao Qian could keep the two of them in check and balance each other, so that neither of them would be able to threaten his position.

Tao Qian was happy, but Zang Ba began to harbor resentment.

This is also why Zang Ba gradually drifted apart from Tao Qian and came up with the idea of ​​switching allegiance to Yuan Shu.

Without exaggeration or denigration, it is true that in the early years of the Jian'an era, Yuan Shu had the most military-born governors of commanderies and kingdoms in the entire country.

The prefects of other warlords were almost all from prominent aristocratic families.

Even Tao Qian, who controlled eight or nine prefectures at his peak, only had one subordinate, Zuo Rong, who became a prefect. Cao Bao and Xu Dan could only become generals.

It is evident that Yuan Shu's approach to personnel selection can be considered, to some extent, "appointing people based solely on their talent."

Because he was living a comfortable life, Xiao Jian never thought he would be attacked by Zang Ba, so he didn't care about taking precautions.

Aside from normal defenses, there are no special defenses in the Kaiyang direction.

As a result, at noon that day, smoke rose everywhere outside Ju County, and wave after wave of soldiers landed from the ships, completely surrounding Ju County.

Having just defeated Zang Ba and conquered Kaiyang and Yangdu counties, the Xuzhou army was in extremely high spirits, which made Xiao Jian on the city wall tremble.

"Gentlemen, what should we do?"

Xiao Jian looked at Chief Secretary Tian Ju and Chief Clerk Chen Chuan, hoping they could come up with a solution.

Tian Ju was a member of the Langya gentry, and Chen Chuan was a powerful local clan.

After Xiao Jian arrived in Ju County, they were recruited as Chief Clerk and Chief Clerk, wielding great power in the county. They did indeed provide Xiao Jian with a great deal of assistance in various aspects, including taxation, governance, education, mulberry farming, and irrigation.

But now, Tian Ju and Chen Chuan are also dumbfounded.

When had they ever seen such a massive army, with such high morale and fighting spirit?

Not to mention Xiao Jian's legs went weak, the two of them were trembling with fear.

After a long while, Tian Ju finally came up with a solution: "My lord, these are troops from the prefecture and county; we cannot withstand them. We can send someone out of the city to inquire about their intentions."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jian was overjoyed and immediately agreed: "Excellent, Chief Secretary, you may go out of the city to comfort the troops and inquire about their purpose."

Tian Ju wanted to avoid going, but he couldn't refuse, especially since he was from Ju County, unlike Xiao Jian who was from out of town.

Since it concerns the local people and elders, Tianju Opera cannot be ignored.

Tian Ju hurriedly dispatched fifty oxcarts, loaded with hundreds of bushels of grain, dozens of pigs and sheep, one hundred jars of fine wine, two hundred bolts of silk, and one hundred thousand coins, to go out of the city to reward the troops.

When Chen Deng heard that Tian Ju was coming to comfort the troops, he immediately met with him and told Tian Ju about the state army's northern expedition.

Hearing that Zang Ba's Kaiyang had been captured, and that Yangdu, Linyi, Jiqiu, Zengcheng and other counties had also surrendered, Tian Ju felt as if he were in a dream and could not believe what he was hearing.

But he quickly realized that what Chen Deng said must be true.

After all, the army had already marched to the city of Ju. Even if Zang Ba hadn't been defeated, as long as he obediently allowed the prefectural army to pass through Kaiyang and arrive at Ju County, then whether he was defeated or not would be of no importance.

After Tian Ju returned to the city, he told Chen Chuan the news he had heard. The two of them discussed it and decided to surrender.

Whether it was Tian Ju or Chen Chuan, they were both locals from Ju County. When they saw the state army appearing at their doorstep, their first reaction was definitely to surrender.

If a real fight breaks out, the local powerful families will suffer the most.

Moreover, Langya Commandery originally belonged to Xuzhou, so there was no problem with obeying the orders of the Governor of Xuzhou.

The two immediately took action, contacting local powerful clans and gentry, and then together they went to Xiao Jian to persuade him not to resist.

"My lord, there are only 1,500 old and weak soldiers in the city. Even if all the able-bodied men in the city are mobilized, there will only be 3,000. Outside the city, there are tens of thousands of fierce and ruthless troops. Once the fighting begins, how can Ju County withstand it?"

With tears streaming down his face, Tian Ju pleaded earnestly, "Since we have been appointed by the Prefect, we should be loyal to him. But what have the people of Ju County done to deserve this? We beg the Prefect to have pity on the people of the city and open the gates."

Xiao Jian, his face contorted with tears, asked tremblingly, "Is it truly impossible to resist?"

Tian Ju and Chen Chuan said in unison, "Absolutely impossible!"

Xiao Jian sighed helplessly, "If that's the case, then let's open the city gates."

Tian Ju and Chen Chuan were overjoyed and quickly bowed down to flatter him, saying, "Your Excellency is wise!"

Xiao Jian of Ju County was caught completely off guard by Chen Deng's attack. After being persuaded by Chief Clerk Tian Ju and Chief Clerk Chen Chuan, he surrendered directly.

The same was true of this historical figure. He was initially arrogant and disrespectful, looking down on the border generals Liu Bei and Lü Bu. Later, he was so frightened by a letter from Lü Bu that he sent money and grain to them.

Then Zang Ba used it as a tool to make an example of them, easily defeating them and leaving Lü Bu no time to even come to their aid.

He was both incompetent and foolish. He was a typical scholar-official from the late Eastern Han Dynasty.

How could such a useless person be a match for Chen Deng?

Ju County had already fallen that day. Xiao Jian, accompanied by Tian Ju, Chen Chuan, and others, surrendered the city, and Chen Deng accepted the surrender.

Subsequently, in Liu Bei's name, Xiao Jian was dismissed from his post as governor of Langya Commandery and sent to Tancheng, while Tian Ju and Chen Chuan remained in their posts.

After Chen Deng entered the city, he inspected the granaries and found that there were as many as 340,000 shi of grain and more than 4 million coins piled up in Ju County. The treasury was filled with all kinds of silk and hemp cloth, as well as military equipment and armor, but unfortunately Xiao Jian could not use them.

Overjoyed, Chen Deng curiously asked Xiao Jian why the treasury was so full.

Xiao Jian replied that it was last year's tax, poll tax, field tax, and land tax, etc. After it was collected, it was not squandered, but was piled up in the government treasury, and he planned to hand it over to the court after the peace was restored.

Historically, these things and wealth benefited Zang Ba, allowing him to become incredibly wealthy and powerful. However, things are different now; they have all fallen into Liu Bei's hands.

Xiao Jian was so weak in the legs that he could barely walk before he left. Chen Deng, despite his disdain for Xiao Jian, made an exception and comforted him because of the large amount of wealth he had acquired.

Just because this man didn't squander the resources recklessly, but instead carefully stored up the produce from Ju County and the counties under Langya in recent years, Liu Bei would certainly not treat him unfairly.

Once Ju County fell, the counties of Beilangya naturally surrendered without resistance and were pacified with a simple proclamation.

These counties were originally brought under Xiao Jian's control in the name of the imperial court. Now that the official governor of Xuzhou has sent troops, more than 10,000 men, these counties dared not resist and naturally surrendered upon hearing the news.

After occupying Ju County, Chen Deng began to arrange the withdrawal of his troops.

Even though the Langya waterway was open and the cost of transporting food was low, the expenses for the army stationed outside were still far greater than when they were stationed there.

Now that all strategic objectives have been achieved, it is natural to withdraw troops as soon as possible.

While continuing to send messages to Liu Bei, Chen Deng, in accordance with the plan previously discussed between Liu Bei and Chen Deng, selected 500 men from the pre-selected troops of Donghai and Xiapi, then selected 500 Danyang soldiers from Zhang Fei's troops, and recruited 500 Langya County soldiers from the surrendered troops of Langya, for a total of 2,000 men, to be stationed in Dongguan.

The Yi River and Shu River connect Dongguan, Kaiyang, Ju County and Tancheng, so if anything happens, Tancheng can quickly send troops to support them.

In this way, the entire Langya region will once again fall under Liu Bei's control. This year's land tax calculation will be a large amount of extra income. In addition, with the reserves from Ju County and Kaiyang, Xuzhou will not only become extremely wealthy, but will also reap a very rich harvest.

Putting aside everything else, the Kaiyang warehouse alone contains over two million yuan in cash, as well as a large quantity of silk, hemp cloth, medicinal herbs, and other supplies.

These valuables were originally collected by Zang Ba and intended to be sent to Liaodong to purchase warhorses. However, after using the rock sugar and snow salt sent by the Mi family, these valuables ended up piling up in the warehouse.

As for the 340,000 shi of grain in Ju County, that was priceless.

To this day, the price of grain in neighboring Yanzhou is over ten thousand coins. It's a pity that we can't transport grain there to sell. Even if we have a good relationship with the gentry in Yanzhou, if we transport grain there now, there is a very high probability that it will be looted by the army, mutinous soldiers, bandits, gentry, powerful families, or even local farmers.

Neither Lü Bu's army nor Cao Cao's army, nor the starving people of Yanzhou, could stand idly by while a large amount of grain was available, let alone honestly raise money to buy it.

Moreover, grain is now a strategic resource, and no state or county is willing to sell it in large quantities. It's a little easier within a state, but it's strictly prohibited outside of a state.

This is why the Mi family had to bring out the millet steamer when they wanted to collect tens of thousands of bushels of grain.

Liu Feng and Chen Deng estimated that this batch of more than 300,000 jin of grain alone would be enough for Liu Bei to move his plans forward and send troops south to Guangling before the summer harvest.

The so-called quick step, step by step quick.

If they can capture Guangling before the summer harvest, all of Guangling's grain this year will belong to Xuzhou, and Yuan Shu's attempt to march north will become more than twice as difficult.

After conquering the entire northern Langya region, Chen Deng left behind the two thousand soldiers he had originally arranged to become Langya state and county soldiers, and then the entire army returned to Tan.

Although Langya is mostly mountainous, the entire route of advance was the official road through the central plains, and it was also aided by two waterways, making it very convenient and requiring minimal resources.

In the first phase, Tancheng prepared 80,000 shi of grain, more than half of which came from the grain reserves in Kaiyang.

Most of this grain was stockpiled in Tancheng, and a small portion was stockpiled in grain depots along the way, in preparation for the siege of Kaiyang. It was estimated that it could support the 25,000-strong army for one and a half months.

This calculation is based on our prediction of the remaining grain in Kaiyang. In one month, the grain in Kaiyang will run out.

Even if Kaiyang grits his teeth and refuses to surrender, Tancheng still has the grain reserves from the original army and the rations for the remaining months for the garrisoned households, which can be used as a temporary emergency measure.

Meanwhile, Liu Bei's side continued to procure grain, striving to raise another 30,000 to 50,000 shi (a unit of dry measure). This was partly to prepare for any eventuality and replenish the Kaiyang battlefield, and partly to allow them to continue northward after capturing Kaiyang, force Xiao Jian to surrender, capture Ju County, and take control of the entire Langya Commandery.

The results are now gratifying. The entire campaign took only eleven days and consumed less than 20,000 shi of grain. On the contrary, it yielded more than 300,000 shi in profit, which can be described as an unexpected joy.

When Chen Deng led his army back to Tancheng, Liu Bei led the civil and military officials of Tancheng to meet him five miles outside the city.

This great victory at Langya greatly enhanced Liu Bei's prestige, not only consolidating his rule over Xuzhou but also shaking the surrounding regions.

Not only was Yuan Shao in Ye City shocked, but Cao Cao, who was suffering a setback at Dingtao City, was also greatly alarmed. Yuan Shu, who was far away in Shouchun, was furious when he learned of this and smashed his favorite jade ruyi.

"In less than ten days, he conquered Langya. I never expected Xuande to possess such ability?"

Yuan Shao looked at the silk scroll on the table, his kind and gentle face filled with surprise.

At this time, Yuan Shao was discussing strategic plans for the spring with many officials in the hall.

A man dressed in a green robe, thin and with a face like an old crane, stood up and said to Yuan Shao, "My lord, there is no need to be surprised. Liu Bei is not a man of great ability. He only succeeded in his sneak attack."

"Oh?"

Yuan Shao became interested and asked leisurely, "Why do you hold this view?"

The speaker was none other than Guo Tu, a renowned scholar from Yingchuan. He first bowed respectfully to Yuan Shao, and then explained, "Liu Bei is just a soldier from the north. He falsely claimed to be under Lu Shi's command, first serving under Gongsun Zan, and later joining Tao Qian. He is nothing but a profit-driven person, not worth mentioning."

"Although he has now seized Xuzhou, it was Tao Qian who arbitrarily transferred the territory without the court's approval. I believe that the wise men of Xuzhou will be deeply ashamed of this. If he were to be law-abiding, it would be fine, but instead of protecting the people, he has raised an army and marched north, arbitrarily provoking border conflicts. This shows his warlike nature, and in time, he will surely be abandoned by the people of Xuzhou."

Guo Tu launched a tirade against Liu Bei, deeply belittling him, not because of any past grudges, but purely out of jealousy.

Guo Tu came from a prominent family in Yingchuan. Although his surname Guo was not among the four major surnames in Yingchuan, its actual strength and background were much stronger than that of the Chen family, to which Chen Qun belonged.

Unfortunately, after Dong Zhuo wreaked havoc, eighteen warlords rose up to attack him. As a result, Yingchuan, being too close to Luoyang, posed too great a threat and, along with Runan, the stronghold of the Yuan family, became the target of Dong Zhuo's heavy blows.

Generals such as Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji, and Fan Chou launched numerous attacks, implementing a strategy of plundering the territory, and looting the two commanderies of Yingchuan and Runan, almost leveling them to the ground.

In such a war, families like the Guo family, which had considerable wealth, obviously suffered heavy losses, while families like the Xun and Chen families, which were famous for their reputation but had less property, were the ones that survived the most.

Therefore, the Guo family, which was originally barely keeping up with Xun, Zhong, Chen and Han, has completely fallen behind and become a second-rate aristocratic family in Yingchuan.

After joining Yuan Shao, Guo Tu also made contributions, persuading Han Fu, together with Xun Chen, to return the governorship of Ji Province.

Why is it said to return it instead of give it up?
Because Han Fu, as governor, was essentially acting on behalf of Yuan Shao.

Han Fu was from Yingchuan County and was a protégé of the Yuan family. The two had a very close relationship. The reason why Han Fu was able to serve as the governor of Ji Province was because of the strong recommendation of Shangshu Zhou Bi and Chengmen Xiaowei Wu Qiong, which led Dong Zhuo to appoint him as the governor of Ji Province.

Both Zhou Bi and Wu Qiong were close associates of the Yuan family, and Yuan Shao was the governor of Bohai at the time.

The strong recommendation and arrangement by Zhou Bi and Wu Qiong were clearly paving the way for Yuan Shao, allowing him to smoothly gain control of the entire Ji Province through Han Fu's connections.

But no one expected that after Han Fu became the governor of Ji Province and tasted the benefits, he would not want to return it to Yuan Shao.

With the support of the local powerful clans in Ji Province, he actually began to establish his own independent territory, attempting to usurp power.

Yuan Shao could not tolerate this, so he deeply hated him. Later, after Han Fu surrendered again and handed over Ji Province, Yuan Shao was extremely cold to him, but he did not kill him again.

This is why, despite the advice of Geng Wu, Min Chun, Li Li, Ju Shou, and others, Han Fu was extremely confident that Yuan Shao would treat him well, simply because he was a former official of the Yuan family.

(End of this chapter)