My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 235 Father and Son Establish Their Own Residence

Anyone with strategic vision can see that, just like when Sun Quan and Liu Bei turned against each other, and the King of Wu of Wei even killed Liu Bei in battle, they still desperately hoped to restore their alliance with Shu Han, provided that Jingzhou was not given up.

Guo Gong was quite satisfied with this. He was originally a civil official from a gentry family, and although he had some ambitions and thought about establishing his own independent territory.

However, the two great heroes of the North and South taught him a lesson. In fact, if it weren't for Liu Bei's support in the later period, he would have been destroyed by Cao Cao long ago.

In official history, he didn't even last until the first year of Jian'an (200 AD), when the Liang Kingdom fell to Cao Cao, and Guo Gong disappeared completely from the annals of history after that.

Now, allowing Zhang Xi to retire due to illness and appointing him as the Minister of Works, one of the Three Dukes, with the support of Xuzhou, greatly pleased Guo Gong. What surprised Guo Gong even more was Xuzhou's promise that he could nominate the Prefect of Liang, a huge honor for him.

Guo Gong readily agreed and was willing to relinquish his military power. From then on, the ten thousand men under his command also came under the surname Liu.

Zhang Yang was promoted to General of the Guards, leaping from a miscellaneous general to a general of the Three Dukes, a significant advancement.

But Zhang Yang is actually quite sensible and clear-headed; he actually submitted a petition requesting to return to Hanoi.

He knew he wasn't powerful enough to stay in the central government, so he felt Hanoi was a better option.

Cao Cao really didn't want him to go back, but he couldn't refuse at this point.

Zhang Yang's return was a reasonable request and a sign of humility. Moreover, neither the local nor outside factions in Hanoi supported Cao Cao. If Zhang Yang were forcibly detained, Hanoi might simply defect to Yuan Shao.

After careful consideration, Cao Cao decided to take things slowly and thus agreed to Zhang Yang's memorial.

In addition, Liu Feng was promoted to General Jianzhong.

Originally, this general's title belonged to Liu Bei, but now that Liu Bei has been promoted to General of the Cavalry, the title has become vacant.

As Liu Bei's son and one of the key leaders of the army that came to the aid of the emperor, Liu Feng met with the emperor many times and made a good impression on him.

Both in terms of merit and personal relationship, Liu Feng should reward him accordingly.

Therefore, the emperor bestowed upon Liu Feng the title of General Jianzhong, which Liu Bei had once held, as a reward for the father and son holding the same official position. This was a highly praised story during the Han Dynasty.

In addition, at the urging of Zhong Yao, Zhong Ji and others, the emperor also granted Liu Feng the power to establish his own government.

At this point, Liu Bei and his son both established their own offices, allowing them to set up their own staff and have their own subordinates.

Liu Feng was very excited and specially wrote a letter of gratitude. He also said, "Yingchuan is adjacent to Luodu and is a vital transportation hub in the Central Plains. However, it has been occupied by the remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. I am willing to help Your Majesty to pacify it."

At this time, Yingchuan County was sparsely populated and rife with bandits. In particular, the remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion were the largest force in Yingchuan County, occupying a large number of counties and towns.

Liu Feng submitted a memorial requesting to go to Yingchuan to quell the rebellion on behalf of the emperor, but this was clearly not out of genuine goodwill.

On the one hand, he coveted the remaining population of Yingchuan, especially those controlled by the Yellow Turban Army. These were generally able-bodied young men who were relatively easy to register as households and could immediately generate taxes and grain.

These people are not militarily strong. Even if I don't go, Cao Cao can easily pacify them. At that time, those people will be meat in Cao Cao's bowl.

After reading it, the emperor asked his attendants.

This time, the ministers were in a relatively unified opinion; both senior and close advisors thought it was feasible.

After all, Yingchuan was too close to Luoyang, and in the eyes of the emperor and his officials, the Yellow Turban Army was a rebel force that was even more terrifying than the warriors of Xiliang.

The warriors of Xiliang could at least negotiate and negotiate, but the Yellow Turban rebels were likely to be deadly.

Therefore, the emperor issued an edict to commend Liu Feng and ordered him to launch an expedition on a chosen day to sweep away Yingyin.

Upon receiving the news, Cao Cao was immediately filled with doubt.

He instinctively suspected that Liu Feng had some kind of conspiracy, but for the moment he really couldn't think of anything wrong. Cao Cao never dreamed that Liu Feng was actually planning to help him with the demolition.

Liu Feng only vaguely remembered that there was a large group of Yellow Turban rebels in Yingchuan. Although it was far less than the million in Qingzhou, it still numbered one or two hundred thousand, divided into several groups, and entrenched in Yingchuan.

Meanwhile, there were also many Yellow Turban rebels in Runan and Pei, far more numerous than in Yingchuan.

Therefore, suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion not only helped Cao Cao and weakened his war potential, but also increased our own manpower advantage, stabilized the local area, increased income, and even trained and integrated the new Xuzhou army, increasing its combat experience.

This is a win-win situation.

In particular, Yingchuan and most of Runan are actually vast plains, making the suppression of the Yellow Turbans relatively simple and quick.

Only the Yellow Turbans in southern Runan can rely on the Dabie Mountains and other mountain ranges, which is a bit tricky, but the problem is not too big.

Since the barbarians in the Dabie Mountains and the Yellow Turban Army were also enemies, we could start from this point, winning over the barbarians while eliminating the Yellow Turban Army.

After careful consideration, Liu Feng immediately convened a meeting with Guan Yu, Liu Ye, Dong Zhao, Jia Xi, Du Ji, Pan Zhang, Zhang Liao, Taishi Ci, Zhuge Jin, and others, and had Zhuge Liang listen and record the proceedings.

At the meeting, Liu Feng presented the specific situation and his analysis, and asked for everyone's opinions.

Taishi Ci and Zhang Liao were quite interested after hearing this.

In open plains warfare, where the goal is to annihilate the enemy, the best tactic is cavalry flanking maneuvers, and both of them commanded a large number of cavalry.

Zhang Liao already had three or four hundred cavalrymen. This time, on his northward march, he was ordered by Liu Feng to purchase more than eight hundred warhorses and recruit more than four hundred skilled horsemen from the Three Rivers region, who were proficient in riding and archery.

Taishi Ci's troops were the same, even more so than Zhang Liao's, having purchased over 1,100 warhorses and recruited over 600 knights from the Three Rivers region. Adding to this the warhorses acquired from other places and the recruited knights, their numbers totaled over 2,000.

These knights and warhorses were temporarily incorporated into the ranks of Taishi Ci and Zhang Liao, which increased their cavalry numbers to over three thousand.

This doesn't even include the two thousand warhorses handed over by the Bai Bo military headquarters.

Among these warhorses, there were as many as eleven exceptional horses, like the legendary Shadow, 1,187 first-class horses, and the rest were all second-class horses.

At the same time, the entire Xuzhou army also purchased more than forty excellent breeding horses in Hedong, as well as more than one hundred skilled horse grooms and veterinarians.

These stallions, along with their grooms, veterinarians, and their families, have already been transported by water to Xuzhou. Three to five horse farms will be built around them, selecting the best pastures in Xuzhou and Yuzhou.

Along with these stallions and grooms, first-class horses were also transported south. Liu Feng had special arrangements for these first-class horses.

Seeing that he already had over a thousand first-class horses and over a thousand sets of iron armor, Liu Feng couldn't help but want to see if he could train an armored cavalry.

Even if it doesn't have the same overwhelming power as the Tang and Jin dynasties, it would still be an invincible force in the Central Plains region of Xu, Yu, and Yan.

The remaining second-class warhorses were all sent to the troops of Guan Yu, Zhang Liao, Taishi Ci, and others, to be used in conjunction with the newly recruited Sanhe knights to strengthen their cavalry forces in preparation for the upcoming great battle.

The entire reorganization plan has actually been underway since the beginning in Hedong, and it will be completely completed in another three to five days at most.

Moreover, Liu Feng still has plenty of time.

Jia Kui and Gao Shun's troops have just been sent out to suppress Chang Nu, and the follow-up operations will definitely have to wait until they return.

Meanwhile, Liu Bei was stationed in Liang at the time, and Liu Feng's plan would be communicated to Liu Bei first. If the two sides could successfully achieve the effect of advancing from the north and south, the entire war would be much more efficient and the results would be even more brilliant.

Therefore, while contacting Liu Bei, Liu Feng also dispatched a large number of scouts to Yingchuan to gather intelligence on the remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.

At the same time, the generals were informed of the entire objective and scope of the operation, giving them ample time to discuss the details and plans of the operation.

Liu Feng had only one requirement: to annihilate the Yellow Turban army in Yingchuan to the greatest extent possible, and especially to prevent any able-bodied men from escaping.

At the same time, he also transferred the command of the battle to Guan Yu.

In a major battle involving tens of thousands of men, Liu Feng had never commanded independently before, and his war experience was far inferior to Guan Yu's. Especially in cavalry, Liu Feng knew nothing, so this was a good opportunity for him to learn.

Guan Yu was somewhat surprised by this, but quickly accepted it.

Regardless of his status or military experience, Guan Yu was undoubtedly the second most outstanding figure in the Xuzhou loyalist army.

The generals were convinced by this, and after receiving the order, they began to discuss the matter with Guan Yu at the center. Liu Feng sat to the side, listening attentively, and occasionally offered his thoughts as suggestions for discussion.

For example, regarding the supplies for the cavalry, Liu Feng suggested that more horses be prepared. The key to this battle was to use speed to defeat slowness. It was essential to quickly divide the enemy into small strongholds and then force their surrender through battle.

In addition, because of the large number of horses, Liu Feng also suggested that large carts could be collected and used to carry armored soldiers to improve their mobility.

Yingchuan has many rivers, but they are not connected to the waterways of the Chen and Liang states, and they are not even connected to the Yellow River.

Its main rivers either originate from the mountains in the north of the territory or flow from Jingzhou. It's a pity that although its territory is in the Central Plains, its water system is connected to Nanyang in Jingzhou, otherwise Gan Ning and his navy could have been of great use.

However, even though the first two methods were already commonplace in later generations, they still caught the eye of Guan Yu, Liu Ye, and others at this time, prompting them to praise them repeatedly.

Liu Feng left Guan Yu and others to make plans, while he left the camp and headed directly to Yang Feng's camp.

The entire city of Luoyang faces south, with two gates on the north side, nestled against Mount Mang. The North Palace is located here. Opposite the North Palace is the South Palace, situated further south, with an ingeniously crafted sky corridor connecting the two palaces.

Unfortunately, both the North Palace and the South Palace were now in ruins.

The Zhao family compound, where the emperor resided, was located in the market area slightly to the right of the North and South Palaces. Only the wealthy and powerful could live there. Further east were the Upper East Gate and the Middle East Gate.

Cao Cao originally intended to station his troops here, but the emperor used the excuse of having too many troops and too little space to move him to the north. Instead, he stationed the troops of Dong Cheng and Zhang Yang at the upper and middle east gates.

The Xuzhou army had the largest number of troops, so they set up camp directly south of Nangong, controlling the four southern city gates. They could directly reach the Luo River from their gates, which also facilitated their rendezvous with Zhou Tai and other naval forces.

Yang Feng and Han Xian were assigned to garrison at the West Gate, with Yang Feng to the south and Han Xian to the north. The two camps were adjacent to each other, forming a defensive triangle.

Liu Feng went to Yang Feng's camp to ask for a favor and received an extremely warm welcome from Yang Feng.

Yang Feng was very satisfied with the emperor's reward; the position of General of Chariots and Cavalry was now a perfect one.

Yang Feng didn't think he could surpass Liu Bei and overthrow Cao Cao to become a general.

Moreover, Yang Feng's ambitions were not great. He only sought high-ranking official positions and the opportunity to participate in government affairs. Whether he was in charge of the overall administration was really irrelevant, since he wouldn't understand it even if he were given the overall administration. In the end, it was still the scholars who made the final decision.

Upon hearing that Liu Feng was coming to visit, Yang Feng, along with his nephew Yang Wei and his beloved general Xu Huang, went out to greet him.

After the two exchanged greetings, Yang Feng invited Liu Feng into the main tent.

"I have come here today with two important matters that I would like to discuss with you."

After Liu Feng sat down, he took the initiative to state the purpose of his visit.

The first thing is to make use of Xu Huang. For this campaign in Yingchuan, the more cavalry the better, and of course, the more excellent cavalry generals like Xu Huang, the better.

The second thing was to discuss future cooperation with Yang Feng.

Since Yang Feng was willing to align himself with Xuzhou, Liu Feng naturally would not refuse. In Liu Feng's plan, Dong Zhao, who had already been appointed as a court attendant, would be in full charge of Xuzhou's influence in Luoyang and would represent Xuzhou.

Therefore, Yang Feng's military strength, which was favored by the emperor, had considerable value.

Therefore, Liu Feng made a special trip to have in-depth exchanges with Yang Feng to consolidate the good relationship between the two sides.

Hearing that Liu Feng wanted to borrow Xu Huang, Yang Feng was actually a little reluctant to part with him.

Yang Feng truly valued Xu Huang, even grooming him as his successor; otherwise, he wouldn't have listened to Xu Huang's opinions in every selection process.

Xu Huang, however, was clearly tempted. Given his usual calm and composed demeanor, this wavering was practically a show for Yang Feng.

This made it impossible for Yang Feng to say no.

Therefore, the two sides agreed that Xu Huang would lead 800 cavalry south to assist in the battle, and at the same time, the Xuzhou army would supply Yang Feng with another 20,000 shi of grain.

Liu Feng also suggested that Yang Feng could select a suitable location within the Luoyang Basin for land reclamation. The land around Luoyang is quite fertile, sandwiched between the Yellow River and the Luo River, and surrounded by many rivers such as the Yi River, Yang River, and Gu River. Even though the water conservancy projects have been completely destroyed, there are still a large number of barren paddy fields that can be developed.

Xuzhou is willing to provide Yang Feng with a batch of farm tools and grain seeds.

Yang Feng was very interested after hearing this.

After arriving in Luoyang, Yang Feng's food and fodder pressure was reduced by half. Although the area around Luoyang was sparsely populated and overgrown with weeds, it also meant that the supply of fodder for the horses would be plentiful. Although warhorses need to eat fine feed, with sufficient horse feed, a large portion of the fine feed could be saved.

If they can successfully cultivate more land, even if it's only a few thousand acres, it would be a significant boost for Yang Feng and his team.

After discussing it with Xu Huang and Yang Wei, Yang Feng finally agreed to Liu Feng's request.

Xu Huang will temporarily lend Liu Feng's troops to fight in the south. Xuzhou will immediately allocate 20,000 shi of grain to aid the White Wave Army, and will also help them to cultivate land around Luoyang.

At the same time, Yang Feng promised that on major issues in Luoyang, he would follow Dong Zhao's orders and remain aligned with Xuzhou.

As for Han Xian, Yang Feng will be in charge. It would be best if he could be won over, but if he can't, it won't be forced.

After successfully making a deal with Yang Feng, he was invited to have a drink with Yang Feng.

At first, Liu Feng didn't understand why these people liked drinking so much.

But as time went on, the emptiness and boredom of his life made Liu Feng understand these people.

To Liu Feng's surprise, Yang Feng and Xu Huang were surprisingly good drinkers with an astonishing capacity for alcohol.

After finishing his drinking session, Liu Feng ignored Yang Feng's attempts to persuade him to stay and promptly left.

Returning to the Xuzhou army camp under the influence of alcohol, he had just dismounted at the main tent when he heard Zhuge Liang, who came out of the tent to greet him, say, "Young Master, the General came by earlier, presumably to see you."

"Oh?"

Liu Feng took the wet wipe and wiped his face, then asked, "Didn't you say what it was about?"

Zhuge Liang shook his head: "The General left when he saw you weren't there."

Liu Feng nodded, pondered for a moment, and concluded that Cao Cao was probably still here because of his memorial requesting to march south to Yingchuan to wipe out the Yellow Turbans.

After all, Yingchuan was Cao Cao's territory, and he should have realized the importance of population to some extent by now.

Yingchuan County currently has a population of at most 200,000 to 300,000, of which it is estimated that half are still Yellow Turban refugees.

If Liu Feng were to take advantage of the situation and also relocate all the surviving people of Yingchuan to Cao Cao's territory, then Cao Cao would probably be too heartbroken to even cry.

"Then we don't need to worry about him. If it's important, he'll come back sooner or later."

Liu Feng then inquired about the plans for the southward campaign.

Zhuge Liang did not answer immediately, but waited until he and Liu Feng entered the main tent before calmly replying: "We have tentatively decided on a three-pronged attack. One route will go out of Huanyuan Pass, take the official road directly to Yangcheng, and then follow the Ying River to Yangdi and Yingyang."

"The second route will start from Xinzheng, head straight for Changshe, take Yanling and Xinji, and then turn west to squeeze Xuxian, blocking the Yellow Turban rebels' escape route across the Wei River from the east."

"The last route is to exit through Yique Pass, start from Liang County, go southeast along the Ru River, take Jia County, Fucheng, Kunyang, and Dingling, and then from south to north, gather the Yellow Turban rebels in central Yingchuan, and finally encircle and annihilate them."

After explaining the initial plan, Zhuge Liang added, "If our lord can send troops from Runan to directly seize Yancheng County and Linying County, completely blocking the Yellow Turban rebels' southward route to Runan, then this encirclement and suppression will be a sure thing. If not, then the two flanks need to continue to extend southward, trying to occupy Yancheng County and Linying County before the Yellow Turbans move south."

Liu Feng thought about it and felt there was no problem. He also believed that it would be natural for Liu Bei to enter Runan after he took office as General of the Cavalry and Governor of Yuzhou.

Sending only four to six thousand men would easily block the Yellow Turban rebels' southward advance.

After all, according to previous intelligence, Yancheng County and Linying County were still under the control of Yingchuan and had not fallen into the hands of the Yingchuan Yellow Turbans.

The first thing left to do is see how well Jia Kui performs in his first battle.

(End of this chapter)