After Wang Rui and Zhang Zi were killed, the news spread to Luoyang. Prime Minister Dong Zhuo was just happy about the news of the great victory over Bianshui, but when he heard that Yuan Shu had gathered a hundred thousand soldiers in Nanyang, he couldn't help but feel a headache. He slapped the table and sighed: "The thieves in the world are really like grass growing in the wind. Yuan Shao just retreated, and again When Yuan Shu comes, he will kill them all and steal them all."
Cai Yong, the general of the five officials, stepped forward and offered his advice: "If Duke Dong were to kill all the thieves in the world, they would of course be inexhaustible. However, their hearts are not pure, their Taoism is not correct, and they all have the ambition to become kings and hegemons." , Wang Rui and Zhang Zi were originally members of Yuan Shao's party, and now he was killed by Yuan Shu and Sun Jian, which is clear evidence. Now that the governor of Jingzhou is vacant, it is better to send a famous member of the clan to succeed him. If Yuan Shu competes with him, he will not dare to march northward with his entire army. , if Yuan Shu does not dare to strive for profit, he will take advantage of him, and the disaster in the south will not be a concern."
Although Dong Zhuo learned that Chen Chong was also involved in the rebellion against Dong, Cai Yong's deployment of people when planning for him often opened his eyes and convinced him that the smooth progress of moving the capital was inseparable from Cai Yong's support. There were only a few people from such a large noble clan who were willing to truly serve him, so he still trusted Cai Yong. Hearing the song and knowing its elegant meaning, he asked, "It was Liu Biao who was talking about Mr. Cai."
So Liu Biao of Shanyang was appointed as the governor of Jingzhou. After Liu Biao accepted the appointment, he was overjoyed and said to his eldest son Liu Qi: "The world is in chaos. I am going to Jingzhou. Although I am going to a dangerous place, it is just like the ancestors who went to Hebei to recruit heroes and serve. If you please the people, even if you cannot become an emperor, you can still become the overlord of a place." After receiving the seal and ribbon imperial edict, he immediately went south to Jingzhou with his family.
At that time, Yuan Shu garrisoned in Luyang and aggressively recruited bandits from various counties in Jingzhou. He made his own seals and ribbons, and recommended as many as seventeen captains, each with thousands of men. He also recommended Su Dai as the prefect of Changsha, and Sun Jian as the general of Polu. Jingzhou was frightened by Yuan Shu's momentum and turned to follow Yuan Shu as the leader.
When Yuan Shu heard that Liu Biao had been appointed as the governor of Jingzhou, he felt troubled. He neither dared to kill him nor wanted him to take office, so he ordered his soldiers to intercept Liu Biao's convoy and prevent him from leaving Luyang, putting him under disguised house arrest. After the arrangement was completed, Yuan Shu devoted himself to the Yuzhou governor battle in order to control the two states.
Liu Biao knew that time waits for no one. He considered the profit and loss, so he left his family in Luyang. He kept his name anonymously, took only the seal and ribbon edict, dressed in a black military uniform and a bamboo hat, dressed as a ranger, and rode south from Ye County alone, day and night. Passing through Nanyang County, he passed through Xiangyang without entering. Instead, he entered Yicheng first to plan how to recapture Jingzhou.
Liu Biao acted extremely secretly about this matter, and Yuan Shu was completely unaware of it, because the battle for Yuzhou was entering a critical juncture.
Since the Battle of Bianshui, Yuan Shao's coalition forces retreated to Suanzao. In this battle, the coalition forces lost nearly 30,000 people, most of whom were elite knights. This made the coalition forces greatly fear Dong's army and no longer wanted to advance and win. Instead, the princes They blamed each other and vented their anger on Cao Cao, saying that his plan was not good enough and that the light army advanced rashly and that was the reason for this great defeat.
Unable to bear the disturbance, Cao Cao simply left the coalition and went to Yangzhou to recruit new soldiers. Later, the princes argued that Kong Ni, the governor of Yuzhou, missed the deadline and did not advance or retreat with the army, which led to the defeat. Otherwise, how could the nearly 200,000 people not win? Then he turned to complain against Kong Min, and there were many discussions and slanders. The leader of the alliance, Yuan Shao, said nothing during the whole process and allowed the princes to criticize him.
As a result, Kong Min had a rift with the coalition forces. He immediately led his troops back to Yangdi, Yingchuan, and announced his withdrawal from the fight against Dong. Yuan Shu originally thought that this was a good opportunity to win over Kong Ni, so he sent Changnu to express condolences to Kong Ni. When Kong Ni learned that Yuan Shu had come to recruit him, he dismissed it and said mockingly: "Although I am at odds with Yuan Benzhu, I can't help but do it." Who is Yuan Jiujiu, who also wants to recruit me? How can he lead the Qing Dynasty to fight against Dong even if he hangs out with bandits and old soldiers all day long? "
When Yuan Shu heard this, he was very angry and tore up all the documents that were prepared to recommend Kong Ni as the commander of the Sili school. That night, he summoned an assassin in his tent and said to him: "If I can get Kong Ni's head, I will grant you five hundred gold."
The assassin was brought by Yuan Shu from Huben's army. He was famous as Cheng Hu. He was originally from Yangzhai, Yingchuan. He knew the environment of the city well and was good at cutting throats and killing people, so Yuan Shu entrusted him with this important task.
On April 16, Cheng Hu transformed himself into a Henan refugee and fled into Yangzhai City. He spent two days squatting in front of the county mansion to beg, observing the time when Kong Min entered and exited the mansion. He also secretly sneaked into the mansion with a hook during the curfew and spent two days. After figuring out the layout of Kong Min's mansion on the same day, he went out of the city and sent a letter to Yuan Shu, informing him that he planned to take action on April 25.
That night, he hid a fine iron knife in his arms. Dressed in black and with a black scarf around his mouth, he climbed over the wall from the wooden ladder and went out in the dark. He walked all the way to the corner of the county house, where a century-old locust tree stretched out its branches. After leaving the house, the clouds were dense that night and there was no moonlight. Narito threw the hook several times but failed to catch it, so he had to light a fire and check it before climbing over the wall. It was early summer, and there were just a few warblers perched on the branches. But when the households climbed up the wall, there was no sound, and not a single warbler woke up.
He crept like a cat on the eaves of the wall, passed seven or eight wing rooms, and went straight to Kong Niao's bedroom. There was a clear pond dug in front of Kong Niao's house, which was easily identifiable. Kong Niao had just had sex with his concubine before and was very tired. However, he found it difficult to fall asleep due to the hot weather and tossing and turning in bed, so he opened the window and let the cool breeze blow onto the bed, and fell asleep.
This time, Narito didn't even have to bother opening the door. Narito turned in and heard his snoring. He suddenly felt calm. He took a knife in one hand and a linen cloth in the other. He covered the mouths and noses of the two people on the bed, one by one, and soon the two of them were They were all dead. It wasn't until Cang Tou knocked on the door to clean the house at dawn that he realized that both of their bodies were completely cold.
As a result, Yangzhai was in chaos, and there was chaos inside and outside the city.
At this time, Li Min marched in with 20,000 infantry, surrounded Yangzhai that night, and declared to take over the Yingchuan Prefecture in the name of Yuan Shu. The prefecture was leaderless, and the former Yingchuan prefect Xu Yuan could not take the responsibility, so the prefecture finally had to submit.
Yuan Shu then recommended Sun Jian as the governor of Yuzhou, Li Min as the governor of Yingchuan, and Shu Zhongying as the governor of Runan. He also recruited the remaining Yellow Turbans from all over Yuzhou in the name of the imperial court. Brothers He Yi and He Man all came to respond, but within ten days , Yuan Shu sent a message to decide Yuzhou, and the army was expanded by nearly 60,000 in the account. It was really a big show.
Yuan Shu was taught by his own strategy, and he controlled the territory of two states. He proudly pressed Sun Jian and said: "Wentai, now Yuan Shao is defeated in Bianshui, the world is disappointed, and the only ones who can challenge Dong Qin are you and me. , attracted worldwide attention. Although Dong Zhuo has Yong and Si, I also control Jing and Henan. There are many households, and Dong Zhuo has more than a million. The common people in Guanzhong want to conquer the king. I wonder when you can go north to attack Dong?"
When Sun Jian met Yuan Shu, he praised him profusely and said that Dong Zhuo was not worth his salt. But now when it comes to military affairs, he is more serious. He analyzed Yuan Shu and said that today's soldiers are filthy and ignorant of military orders. Not to mention a hundred thousand people, even a million people cannot be regarded as one of the Liang people. The Battle of Bianshui is a precedent. He needed to train his army and fight, command the three armies to carry out orders, and understand the drum formation, so that the Northern Expedition could be successful.
Hearing Sun Jian's remarks, Yuan Shu was greatly disappointed, but Sun Jian was not trying to shirk the blame. He was indeed training his soldiers in Luyang day and night. When Sun Jian first came, the army was huge and loud, and Yuan Shu thought he was a majestic army. However, in early May, when Yuan Shu came to Luyang for a military parade, the army was very different. As he rode his horse in the ranks, although there was an occasional noise, Most of the three soldiers had a solemn look on their faces. They stood in strict military posture and fought like a long forest. Yuan Shu was riding among them. He felt filled with murderous intent. His expression couldn't help but change. After dismounting, he sincerely admired Sun Jian: "It's my short-sightedness. It's not my fault." If you know military affairs, I will leave all matters in the army to Wen Tai."
News of the successive defeats of Yuan Shao's coalition forces in Hanoi gradually spread from the north. Yuan Shu became more and more complacent. He had been unable to compete with Yuan Shao since he was a child. Yuan Shao was always the leader in the clan. At this time, Yuan Shao's performance was so disappointing that it became clear that he was Yuan Shao. ability. Thinking of the fact that he had an army of famous generals and had countless money, food and military resources, Yuan Shu seemed to have already seen himself taking the lead in the fight against Dong Zhong and entering Xijing first.
He completely forgot about Liu Biao.
On the fourth day of the fifth lunar month, a thief came to Luyang. He wore a canvas robe, half-bare arms, and carried three long knives in his waist. At first glance, he was a unique figure in Jingzhou. He held high the seal of the school captain. He knelt in front of the camp and asked to see Yuan Shu. The seal was made of coarse silver, with the word "Xiaowei" written in official script below. The seal did not have the delicate patterns like official seals, and it looked like it was a private forgery.
But the guard did not dare to neglect it when he saw it, because he knew that this seal was made by Yuan Shu in Wancheng and distributed widely in Jingzhou. He hurriedly led the woman to Yuan Shu. At this time, Yuan Shu was playing chess with Chang Nu, holding a bunch of chips in his hand, and he was about to take them all. Suddenly, a person came and disturbed his interest. The reason was inexplicable. While eating the preserves, he wondered: "What can I do? ".
When the man saw Yuan Shu, he immediately knelt down and cried bitterly. He told him directly that in the past ten days or so, great changes had taken place in Jingzhou. His leader Ji Jin was invited by Liu Biao last month, but he was attacked and killed by Liu Biao at the banquet. The crowd dispersed, and Yuan Shu was asked to lead the army to avenge the leader.
Yuan Shu was shocked when he heard this and hurriedly asked him for details.
It turned out that after Liu Biaodan rode into Yicheng, he obeyed the Yicheng order with an imperial edict, and then secretly contacted the Cai family in Xiangyang and the Kuai family in Zhonglu. These two families are large families in Nanjun, covering an area of 10,000 acres and having nearly 10,000 customers. Cai Mao, the leader of the two tribes, discussed with the brothers Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue: "Although Yuan Shu came from a high family, he was not famous. He favored clan traitors and despised scholars. Sun Jian killed an important minister of the country, but he actually entrusted him with an important task, which is comparable to Mu." A monkey with a crown cannot be relied upon after all. But after Liu Jing was promoted to the imperial clan, he was also known as the eight heroes, and rode into Jing alone. It can be said to be a bullfight in anger. We help him appease Jing Xiang, which is naturally far better than under Yuan Shu's rule."
So both tribes attached themselves to Liu Biao and secretly communicated with all the tribes in Jingzhou. Liu Biao also reciprocated the favor and promoted Cai Mao to be a special agent, Kuai Yue to be a Zhizhong officer, Kuai Liang to be the chief bookkeeper, and married Cai's daughter as his head wife.
On April 21st, in the name of offering money to make good friends, Kuai Yue lured the fifteen thieves to the middle house for a banquet. During the banquet, Kuai Yue arranged sword and ax hands in the side room. While the banquet was in full swing, he gave the order of throwing a cup, and all the bandit commanders at the banquet were killed. Cai Mao led his troops to attack the bandit commanders. Those who surrendered as prisoners survived, and those who refused died.
On the 23rd, the head of the deceased was built as a palace under the city by Pang Ji of Xiangyang. Kuai Yue entered the city again and told Zhang Hu and Chen Sheng, the Jiangxia thieves who had captured the city, to surrender. The two thieves had never seen such a scene, so they immediately asked to surrender.
Liu Biao was able to enter Xiangyang City, and then he issued a proclamation in the prefectures and counties, saying that anyone who colluded with the clan traitors would be killed without mercy. When the governors and magistrates of Jingzhou saw this thunderbolt method, their legs were rustling, and they became a habit of fleeing. Liu Biao appointed various high-ranking people in Jingzhou as officials. The man in front of him pretended to surrender. Seeing that Liu Biao was busy with government affairs, he escaped from Xiangyang's blockade and arrived in Luyang to convey the news.
When Yuan Shu learned the whole story, his heart was filled with anger, smoke was burning on his forehead, and even the candied fruit in his mouth was very painful to chew. He hurriedly sent people to hunt down Liu Biao's family, hoping to use them as hostages to force Liu Biao. Unexpectedly, Liu Qi was well versed in human relations and had spent the past month trying to establish relations with the guards. He left Luyang ten days ago, took a detour through Mianshui, and took a boat to meet his father.
In this drama to challenge Dong, the world thought that the princes would sing the majestic "Made by Heaven" together, but unexpectedly, the north sang the worried "North Gate", and the south sang "Blue Fly", which confuses the four kingdoms. In the end, When will anyone take heart?
On the sixth day of May, Guan Yu refused Yuan Shao's solicitation and went south to Luyang.
