Chapter 56: Nanxiang County Magistrate
Early in the morning, Liu Bei was washing up.

Xu Shu walked over and stood at one side.

Seeing Liu Bei finished washing up, Xu Shu spoke up, "My lord, the White Goose Bandit was feeling guilty and escaped to Zhuyang at night. It seems that he did not receive any orders from Yuan Shao or Yuan Shang."

Black Bear kidnapped Yuan Huan and Yuan Tan successively. He was Liu Bei's disciple and former official, so his attack here was actually a counterattack.

Liu Bei frowned, feeling that it was impossible for a fleet to pass through Huai and Si smoothly, and that there must be some help from Yuan's forces.

Although he was defeated in the Battle of Rangshan last year, he still had more than 700 soldiers assigned to him by Yuan Shao.

It was easy for Yuan Shao to send people to take away this army. These people either had families in Hebei or were from Runan.

After a year of rest, the troops under his command were close to 4,000 people.

And the cavalry...where are the organized cavalry!

There are more than 500 horses in the entire army, but only 70 or 80 of them can be used for riding and combat.

The remaining horses can be used to pull carts or to be ridden by infantry, but they cannot be ridden into battle.

The cheap infantry can fight even on donkeys or mules, let alone slow horses.

But now, those who follow him are veterans who have experienced battles and are good at infantry tactics. It would be a waste to let them ride on slow horses to fight.

If we could get the hundreds of horses in Black Bear's hands, the effect would be completely different.

This is not just adding a knightly force of a hundred men, but adding an extra cavalry battalion!
Two hundred qualified knights charged in the front, and the heavy infantry riding on slow horses in the back joined the charge, which could not only cover up the disadvantage of slow horses, but also make up for the disadvantage of insufficient fast horses.

Over time, the number of horses was gradually replenished, and the infantry were trained to become qualified knights.

A cavalry battalion suddenly appeared on the battlefield. Could Cao's army be mentally prepared for this?

The construction of a chariot and cavalry unit is a technical science. Having fought for so many years, Liu Bei naturally knew how to equip a cavalry battalion with horses.

With a cavalry battalion that is beyond the expectations of Cao's army, you can deploy tactics unexpectedly and turn a battle of rout into a battle of annihilation!
A cavalry camp, located between Wanluo and Ruying, has strategic influence!
Building an infantry battalion requires money everywhere, from recruiting soldiers, purchasing and manufacturing equipment to food, wages and training; the cost of recruiting manpower and equipment will not exceed six million.

Five million of this is equipment costs, and the subsequent military maintenance costs range from eight hundred thousand to one million per month.

Liu Biao supported him in the Northern Expedition and provided him with money, food and equipment worth up to 50 million?
War is all about money; if you have no money, it’s a matter of converting human and material resources efficiently.

There is no need to be shy or conceal the fact that Liu Bei is in great need of those one hundred plus horses.

Even the nine large ships were short of equipment, manpower and other supplies!
By swallowing up this fleet and optimizing the structure, Liu Bei can have an additional cavalry battalion and a new infantry battalion.

This is different from the troops borrowed by Liu Biao for reinforcements, and they are completely under the command of General Zuo.

There are also nine large ships that will be handed over to the Mi Zhu brothers to manage, and Liu Biao will not treat them too harshly.

This caravan of nine large ships can help the Left Shogun's shogunate to support another thousand or so soldiers.

Liu Bei was faced with a choice. If he chose to cooperate, Black Bear might secretly instigate a rebellion and take away the 700 Hebei soldiers if he had a secret order from Yuan Shao.

But if we annex the other party, there will be too many benefits.

Liu Bei was still hesitant. Seeing Xu Shu was about to speak, Liu Bei raised his hand to interrupt him: "Cao Cao became famous for his cunning and cruelty. I cannot learn from him. Even if there is an emergency, I should not do it. Let's observe his actions. If he does many unjust things, don't blame me for being cruel."

"My lord, I am afraid that the big families in Jingzhou will be the first to succeed."

Xu Shu continued to state his point of view: "This talent given by God should not be wasted. I think the White Goose General has no intention of staying for long, and he is not a tolerant person. If he is successful at a young age, he may become a deadly enemy with the big families in Jingzhou."

Seeing that Liu Bei had no intention of changing his words, Xu Shu said, "I have warned him. If he is smart, he will lead his men north. Should we send a message to Guan Junhou to send more scouts to block Cao's spies from coming and going?"

"This is feasible. Yuanzhi should go back to Xinye first. There are many disputes in Xiangyang."

"Yes, I said goodbye to my friend and returned north by boat."

In Xiangyang City, there is the Zhennan General’s Mansion which looks like a palace.

Liu Biao and his son enjoyed breakfast together, and a similar piece of information was placed on the table.

Liu Biao was also confused. He didn't believe that Black Bear could successfully kidnap the two Yuans. It was more like a rumor.

He had seen Black Bear's face and strongly suspected that he was a scion of a prominent family in Hebei and that he had come to Jingzhou to urge Liu Bei to fulfill the alliance.

After all, when Black Bear went to Lumen Mountain yesterday afternoon, he didn't treat the heroes of Lumen Mountain as human beings at all.

If you treat them with respect, the scholars of Lumen Mountain will feel that you respect them and treat them as human beings.

Anyway, this is how Liu Biao felt. Pang Degong gave him a very bad impression.

Although Black Bear said bad things about himself there, the scholars in Lumen Mountain often said similar things when commenting on current affairs and talking about the world.

He is already sixty years old. He rode alone into Jingzhou twelve years ago and has stabilized Jingzhou for so many years. He has supported so many people in Jingzhou to live a peaceful life. Why are these people still not satisfied?
Is it as easy as it sounds to go on a war?

Given my age, it is impossible for me to lead the army in person.

But as long as he is still alive, he can maintain peace in Jingzhou.

People from all walks of life have become accustomed to this kind of peace and tranquility, and the cost of destroying this peace is too high.

Liu Qi never took the initiative to express his opinion, so Liu Biao asked: "If the rumors about Lumen Mountain are true, would my son be willing to befriend this person?"

"Father, Yuan Benchu's decision to dethrone the eldest son and enthroned the youngest son has been criticized by the world. Judging from the comments of Captain Hei, Yuan Jizhou must have some outstanding qualities. But Yuan Benchu ​​loved his sons and could not bear to judge. Now that Guo Tu and Xin Ping have been killed, Yuan Qingzhou's foundation has been destroyed. This is a good thing."

Liu Qi elaborated on his point of view: "How could Captain Hei kill Guo Tu and Xin Ping when he first entered Hebei? Shen Zhengnan and Yuan Jizhou must have contributed to this. I think Captain Hei left Hebei just to appease Yuan Qingzhou. His coming to our state to urge Lord Xuande to fight in the Central Plains was false, and his true intention was to cooperate with Yuan Qingzhou to take Guanzhong."

He observed the changes in Liu Biao's expression and carefully explained his position: "Looking at the guards on both sides of the Black Captain, we can see that the soldiers on his ship are elite. He started the rebellion less than half a year ago, how could he have such elite soldiers?"

"What my son said is also what I am worried about. This should be Yuan's plan."

Liu Biao made a judgment: "You try your best to help him expand his army. I want to see how long Xuande can endure. He has been interacting with Pang Degong and Sima Hui recently, which I don't like very much."

"Father is worried?" "I'm not afraid that he will do it, I'm afraid that he won't do it."

Liu Biao lowered his eyebrows and looked at his eldest son: "It is difficult to resist a dispute without dispute."

Then Liu Biao lowered his eyes to look at the back of his hand. The skin was loose and had spots.

Unfortunately, Liu Qi lacked the good reputation and name recognized by the world and Jingxiang, nor did he have the strong support of the army.

Even Liu Qi himself had a somewhat weak character. He was easily deceived by others, lacked suspicion, and was not arbitrary or stubborn.

It doesn’t matter whether Jingzhou can be passed on to Liu Qi. He has made great contributions to stabilizing Jingzhou and rarely interfered with the lives of Jingzhou’s people.

Even if the inheritance falls into the hands of others, they will still take good care of their own descendants.

But wouldn’t it be better if it could be passed on to your descendants?

Liu Biao still had some thoughts in his mind and was thinking about more inside stories of the fight between the brothers Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan in Hebei.

No matter how old and confused Yuan Shao was, he was not so confused as to not be able to distinguish between wisdom and stupidity.

Perhaps Yuan Shang was really an excellent successor with both civil and military talents, and his only mistake was that Yuan Shao was not decisive enough.

Obviously, Liu Qi, like himself, is good at maintaining the status quo.

Jingzhou's foundation has not yet been expanded outward, so maintaining the status quo... is too wishful thinking.

It is difficult to take action against Yuan Shao, so can I do it myself?
Thinking about these things, Liu Biao felt depressed and uncomfortable, so he said to Liu Qi: "Xuan De's northern expedition requires a trustworthy person to command the troops and garrison Wancheng. I intend to give you 3,000 soldiers and go to guard Wancheng to protect the grain route."

"Yes, I am willing to go."

Liu Qi stood up and responded, then took his leave.

He had more trust in Black Bear, and they had been in contact with each other for a longer time. Black Bear did not hide the situation in Hebei, and he did not hide the situation in Jingzhou.

More importantly, Black Bear had no intention of staying in Jingzhou for long. He wanted to take the Wugu Pass to cooperate with Yuan's attack on Guanzhong.

Without enough trust, how could Black Bear dare to carry out such a life-threatening combat mission?

So it was not that Black Bear kidnapped the two Yuan brothers to Liyang. It was more likely that the two Yuan brothers joined forces to get rid of Xin Ping and Guo Tu, sent Black Bear to Liyang together, and then parted ways after swearing an oath to each other.

Shortly after he left, Yi Ji, an official in the Zhennan General's office, went to see Liu Biao.

Bringing the latest news: "My lord, a report came from Zhuyang that Captain Hei's troops boarded their ships and drove their horses upstream against the Dan River, and no one knew where they were going."

"Leave him alone, give him more money and food, and let him do as he pleases."

Liu Biao looked at Yi Ji. Liu Biao became famous very early and many young men from his hometown followed him. Yi Ji followed him when he was young.

He thought of the deaths of Guo Tu and Xin Ping from Hebei, who were both founding fathers and former ministers who had followed Yuan Shao. It was because people like Shen Pei, a prominent family in Hebei, supported Yuan Shang that Guo Tu and other founding fathers and former ministers from other states died.

Guo Tu and Xin Ping from Hebei, if they were placed in Jingzhou, wouldn’t they be Yi Ji and Wang Can?
He was sixty years old, and Yuan Shao was only fifty-two or fifty-three years old.

Should I fully support my eldest son or suppress him?
Suppression has its advantages. Once Jingzhou falls completely into the hands of the imperial court after his death, at least his descendants will not lack wealth and honor.

If supported, after the transition from the old to the new, Liu Qi would not surrender, and the scholars who followed Liu Qi would also give it a try.

It doesn’t matter how many people die in the destruction of Jingzhou. What matters is that Liu Qi has no way to retreat and will die with many people.

The enemies are not just Cao Cao and Sun Quan.

The news of Guo Tu and Xin Ping's death would stimulate the outsiders in the Zhennan Shogun's shogunate... If he did not adopt an attitude that satisfied the Shanyang folks, they might take a radical stance.

There is no need to use military force. As long as the law is strictly enforced, there will inevitably be an endless conflict with the big families in Jingzhou.

This goes against the overall recuperation environment of Jingzhou, and is also not in line with the family's plan for a safe landing.

What was difficult for Yuan Shao now became Liu Biao's turn to be difficult.

Liu Biao read the official documents urgently sent from Zhuyang and thought about the strategy to appease the Shanyang villagers.

Just keep these people calm and don't let them cause trouble.

In terms of closeness, he had already settled down in Jingzhou for twelve years. To Liu Biao, there was not much difference between the Shanyang folks and the big families in Jingzhou.

After thinking it over again, Liu Biao said, "Nanyang is divided into three parts. There is Yiyang County in the northeast and Zhangling County in the southeast. Now Xuande is stationed in Xinye. I want to petition the court to appoint Xuande's old official as the governor of Nanyang County."

Yi Ji looked anxious and said, "My lord, although Nanyang is in ruins, it still has 30,000 households after being divided into the two counties of Zhangling. If it is given to Lord Xuande, I am afraid it will be difficult to check and balance in the future."

"How could I not know?"

Liu Biao said in a slow tone: "Therefore, I want to first divide the eight counties in the west of Nanyang into Nanxiang County, and recommend Ji Bo to lead Nanxiang, and then entrust the remaining Nanyang County to Xuande."

Liu Bei was a guest soldier, and guest soldiers should behave like guest soldiers.

If you are asked to settle in Xinye, you just need to settle and cultivate the land in Xinye and be self-sufficient.

Liu Bei had no shortage of officials, so developing and integrating the remaining Nanyang County was not a problem.

Because of Emperor Guangwu, Nanyang County was known as the Imperial Hometown, and many counties were separated from the surrounding counties.

With a population of over 2.5 million, it is like a small state.

Now that the split has taken place, things are back to normal.

With this move, Liu Biao cut the remaining Nanyang County into two halves, east and west, and the Wuguan Road happened to be located in the territory of Nanxiang County.

This cut off Liu Bei's communication channel with Guanzhong; even if the Yuan family obtained Guanzhong in the future, it would be difficult for Liu Bei to cooperate directly with his disciple Yuan Tan.

(End of this chapter)