Chapter 274: Each Fights His Own
After Yang Fu cooked and prepared the caramel milk tea, he took out a map and spread it in front of the black bear.

Guan Yu and Zhang Liao's desks were also moved to both sides of the map, where they drank tea and ate wheat cakes together.

Guan Yu liked to drink salty milk tea, so he put half a spoonful of salt powder in his milk tea.

Zhang Liao didn't care. He just heard that there was a book called "Tea Classic" circulating in Guanzhong, which recorded many ways of drinking tea.

Zhang Liao had no idea about the soaring price of tea.

He doesn't drink tea, nor does he have the capital to speculate in tea.

Since he surrendered to Cao Cao, Cao Cao deprived him of his position as Prime Minister of Lu; since then, Zhang Liao has been assigned to Cao Cao's central army for a long time, and Cao Cao pays the military pay to maintain the army.

Zhang Liao had to pay for the military casualties and the retirement and return home of some veterans.

He couldn't save up the bonuses and salaries he received, let alone use them to buy or expand any business.

The generals and officers who led the troops were generally closely watched by Cao Cao and lacked opportunities to interact with local people, so they had no chance to start a business or develop a second source of income.

The various Caos and Xiahous are not included in this list, and neither are the officials of the imperial court.

Liu Xun was also special. He brought more than 3,000 people to join Cao Cao... or more accurately, they joined the court in Xudu. So while Liu Xun retained more than a thousand Lujiang top soldiers, he also had more than a thousand clan members. These servants ran industries and opened up sources of income. This was the confidence of Liu Xun, a powerful military officer.

As long as the clan servants are still there and the Liu Xun brothers still hold their official positions, they can continue to obtain very considerable profits.

If you have money, maintaining and recruiting troops is not difficult.

The imperial court is so large that there are too many official positions that need to be filled; how many can Cao Cao and his gang occupy?

Therefore, many small gangs in the Xudu court could only be regarded as Cao Cao's partners and friendly colleagues.

Liu Xun was a general and also served as the governor of Henei County, and his elder brother was the governor of Yuzhou. This brotherly combination was already a very powerful one.

If nothing unexpected happens, Liu Xun's group will be purged by Cao Cao sooner or later.

How to serve the donkey and put its meat on the plate is a task that requires long-term research.

At this moment, Zhang Liao was explaining the origin of the emperor's edict. Black Bear already understood that this was a counterattack by the royal family Liu.

Cao Cao has been trying to prove that he is not a traitor to the country. Just like during the periods of Dong Zhuo, Li Jue and Guo Si, they all tried their best to employ famous people from royal families.

It is very easy to prove that you are not a traitor to the country. Just use officials from royal families.

In addition to Liu Xun and Liu Fu, Cao Cao also had a heavyweight general, Liu Ruo, who was also General Jianwu.

This time, the decisive battle of Wankou seemed to be a coalition between Liu Bei and Liu Qi, but it was very likely to trigger Liu's overthrow of Cao, which would cause many officers in Cao's army to become neutral.

After the situation of Liu's overthrow of Cao emerged, Cao Cao's core strength collided with the main forces of Liu Bei and Liu Qi.

Therefore, when Cao Cao withdrew his troops from Liyang, he certainly freed the arm that was nailed to the ground; but as the Liu family turned against Cao, Cao Cao would lose an arm and a leg.

As Zhang Liao explained the origin of the emperor's edict, Guan Yu also calmed down.

Liu Xun's elder brother Liu Zhang is the governor of Yuzhou. Once the war breaks out, Cao's army's subordinates will no longer be a secret!

After Zhang Liao finished his story, he said, "Liyang has been unconquered for a long time, and because of the old incident of the secret letter, although the people of the Central Plains obeyed Cao Gong, many of them were unwilling in their hearts. The Grand Marshal started from Liangpei and roamed the Central Plains, and then started a business in Guanzhong. Later, he defeated the Xiongnu and rescued countless men and women. This made the loyal and brave officials in the court excited and encouraged, thinking that the Mandate of Heaven was with the Han Dynasty. As a result, Cao Gong's prestige was weakened, and the authority of the emperor was increasing day by day."

Guan Yu also added to Black Bear: "The Grand Marshal is from the royal family. My lord Xuande and Liu Jingsheng are both the elders of the royal family. Today, the emperor has issued an edict, and we should summon the loyal and good royal families from all directions to fight against the traitors and rectify the country."

After a pause, Guan Yu glanced at the silent Zhang Liao, and then said to Black Bear: "Zhong Sili once proposed that the government should govern the country. Although it has some shortcomings, it is also a good medicine. After the traitors are eliminated and the emperor is welcomed to Luoyang, the government offices of all parties will be established in the capital and participate in the national affairs and support the country. This is also a good way to govern the country."

Black Bear listened expressionlessly, picked up the tea bowl and took a sip of the rich caramel milk tea, thought for a moment, tilted his head and looked at Zhang Liao: "General Wenyuan, since you have come to me, do you have any advice for me at this time and place?"

Zhang Liao calmed down and bowed, "The Grand Marshal's clan is in Liangpei. We should not act rashly now. Otherwise, given Cao Gong's ruthlessness, the Liangpei Liu clan will surely be destroyed."

No one knows whether Hei Xiong is from the royal family of Liang or Pei. There are many Liu families in these two counties and kingdoms, and there are many prominent families.

Guan Yu was a little unhappy to see Zhang Liao, but he also knew that what Zhang Liao said made sense.

The Liu family of Liangpei is different from other places, this is Cao Cao's hometown.

In other words, the poor warriors from Liangpei were Cao Cao's fellow villagers and also Hei Xiong's fellow villagers.

When they are really at their wit's end, the core military officers of Cao's army will definitely turn to Black Bear with a Liang Pei accent.

Before the situation became bad, given Cao Cao's ruthlessness, he would never give his fellow villagers a chance to jump ship and would force them to massacre the Liu family of Liangpei.

Even if he forced Liu Fu to rebel, he would not stop.

Zhang Liao’s opinion was very simple: Black Bear should not be involved and Cao Cao should not be forced to do anything extreme.

As long as Cao Cao does not go too far, the Liangpei Liu family can remain intact, and the poor warriors of Liangpei, as well as Cao's relatives and clansmen, can also join Black Bear when they are at their wits' end.

Black Bear still listened expressionlessly. He had no interest in Liang Pei, a poor warrior.

If you really accept it, it will be troublesome when discussing origins and establishing how closely related each other is.

Now that Guanzhong has barely stabilized, there is no need to bring trouble upon ourselves.

It is enough to absorb a few people in small numbers. If there are too many people, it will not only impact the stable structure of Guanzhong, but also erode and seize the land at the grassroots level. The thinking circuits of the scholars in Guanlongxi Prefecture and the scholars in Guandong... are actually somewhat different.

During the 200 years of the Later Han Dynasty, the scholars of Xizhou were in a disadvantaged position and they were always thinking about opening up the Western Regions and making Guanzhong and Liangzhou great and important again.

Compared with the Kanto samurai, these people had a dream of a powerful empire.

Kanto is a land of abundant resources, active economy, high efficiency of land annexation, and more emphasis on the development and growth of families.

Historically, border troubles have been borne by Liangzhou, Bingzhou and Youzhou, so the people in Guandong naturally enjoy peace day after day and lack a sense of the overall situation.

The scholars in the border counties suffered greatly from the border troubles, and it was difficult for one place to suppress and resist the border troubles. Therefore, under the pressure of survival, the scholars in the border counties were more inclined to form a large alliance and have a sense of collective coordination. Between paying taxes and border troubles, they would gladly accept paying taxes and obeying management.

This is also the fundamental reason why the scholars in Liangzhou quickly accepted and recognized themselves.

The ideology held by the current middle and high-level officials of the Grand Sima Shogunate should not be impacted or destroyed.

Zhang Liao had seriously considered Black Bear and decided not to participate in the war against Cao, in order to maintain superficial harmony between the two families and give Cao Cao room to preserve his bloodline.

Give Cao Cao a chance and he will definitely not go to extremes.

Although Hei Xiong would squeeze the status of the scholars in the border counties after gaining the support of his fellow villagers, Zhang Liao, who came from a border county, could still exert influence on the military men of Liangpei.

If we follow his suggestion, even if Liang Pei’s military men are not reused in the future, we can ensure that this group of people will not fall into Liu Bei’s hands.

The initiative for promoting and employing talents lies in Hei Xiong's hands. With the support of the Liangpei township party members, Hei Xiong's position is more stable.

But Liu Bei would lose a lot and would most likely end up with an empty-shell court.

Guan Yu's thoughts were closely tied to Zhang Liao's. He was now representing Liu Bei and no longer cared about personal friendship.

Even Cao Cao was now a traitor in his eyes and must be conquered and defeated.

Zhang Liao remained calm and sought better development for Black Bear while leaving a way out for Cao Cao, which was considered to be worthy of Cao Cao's letting him go this time.

Yang Fu was watching calmly at this moment. He was the representative of the Guanlong scholars and there was no room for him to express his opinion at this moment.

Liangzhou was obtained in exchange for 100,000 Hun heads. They could only come to Black Bear in a gesture of submission, rather than Black Bear seeking cooperation from them.

These 100,000 Hun heads were the guarantee that Black Bear gave to Liangzhou. If any of the Hu people dared to invade Liangzhou, the 100,000 Hun heads would serve as an example.

Therefore, the scholars of Liangzhou are not qualified to influence Black Bear's decision.

Yang Fu could speak, but he could not afford the consequences of saying the wrong thing or expressing the wrong attitude, and neither could the people of Liangzhou.

Black Bear thought about it again and again, and then said, "I grew up in Liang State, and I really can't bear to bring trouble to the Liangpei people."

After making his statement, Black Bear went to see Guan Yu: "I remember that during the Battle of Bowangpo, I told Lord Xuande twice that he would fight his own battles and I would fight mine. Even though the orders came from two sides, we had the same goal and were able to work together. We launched a coordinated battle strategy and only Xiahou Dun and Yu Jin escaped with their lives."

Zhang Liao heard this for the first time and went to see Guan Yu in confusion.

Guan Yu nodded to Zhang Liao, acknowledging this statement. Zhang Liao couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Xiahou Dun and Yu Jin.

But I also feel that these two people were very strong enough to survive the defeat of the black bear and that man.

While thinking, Zhang Liao glanced at Lu Bu who was kneeling upright behind the black bear.

Seeing that Guan Yu did not refute this statement, Black Bear continued: "In this case, we will implement the strategy of tiring the enemy. Between April and May, Gan Xingba and I will attack Xiahou Dun. In June, when the heat of the summer comes, we will withdraw our troops. At the end of July, Lord Xuande will send troops to Wankou and join forces with the Liu brothers to attack Cao Cao. In mid-September, when the autumn grain in Guanzhong is stored, I will raise troops again and wait for an opportunity to fight."

Guan Yu listened, dipped his finger in tea and marked the date on the table, analyzing the feasibility.

After thinking for a while, Guan Yu looked at Black Bear and said, "Grand Marshal, can we fight until early June so that Cao's army has no time for summer harvest?"

"June is scorching hot, but the northern border is cool and pleasant. I have been invited by the Chanyu to meet with the envoys of the Hetao tribes at the Chanyu's royal court in June this year. If the talks go well, it will encourage the Han tribe to return to the Han, and the miscellaneous Hu tribes to join the Xiongnu."

Black Bear had nothing to hide and was not afraid of the news leaking out. The Hetao tribes were too far away for Liu Bei and Cao Cao to reach.

At this time, Black Bear looked at Zhang Liao and said, "When the time comes, we will also invite General Wenyuan to come with us to meet the heroes outside the Great Wall."

"Here."

Zhang Liao turned sideways to face the black bear and bowed solemnly in response.

When Guan Yu saw that Black Bear wanted to negotiate to absorb the Hetao tribes, he secretly felt that the influence of the 100,000 Hun heads was amazing.

I also understand Black Bear. No wonder he traveled thousands of miles to deliver the Hun heads collected on the battlefield to the Skull Nest in Tongguan.

Tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands are two completely different deterrent forces.

You can still bargain for the former, but for the latter, you either surrender or have your head thrown into the Skull Nest.

Guan Yu calmed down and picked up the wooden bowl of milk tea: "Just follow the Grand Marshal, we will each do our own thing."

Black Bear also picked up the bowl and made a promise to Guan Yu: "I will not sit idly by and watch the alliance fall."

Guan Yu changed from holding the bowl with one hand to holding it with both hands, and together with Zhang Liao and Yang Fu, they raised their bowls and drank from it, thus completing the alliance for this military action.

(End of this chapter)