Three Kingdoms: Let Yuan Shen be great again

Chapter 53 Sun Ce's Encirclement

Yuzhang Prefecture was certainly wealthy.

It's not that Yuzhang is particularly fertile; it's just that against the backdrop of widespread chaos, it was rarely affected by war, which naturally made it stand out as a beautiful and refined place, unlike other areas.

The problem is that Hua Xin herself doesn't have much money.

According to Yang Hong, Hua Xin's governing philosophy was called "governing by doing nothing."

So what exactly does "governing by doing nothing" mean?

High emotional intelligence: Governing with integrity and without disturbing the people.

Low emotional intelligence: Nobody cares if you're talking nonsense.

So Yang Hong immediately clarified things for his friend, saying that Hua Ziyu was pure and innocent, a penniless wretch who couldn't be squeezed out of anything.

Yuan Yao, however, didn't care at all: "I never intended to make money off poor people."

Yang Hong: "So, whose money are you trying to make?"

Yuan Yao: "Whoever has the money, they can make money from."

Who has money?

Nonsense, it must be the powerful clans from Yuzhang!

Previously, when deciding on the next strategic direction and looking for easy targets, Yuan Yao had a general understanding of the situation in Yuzhang County. Hua Xin's control over the local area was very limited. In places like Haihun and Shangliao, thousands of families were united around the powerful clans, gathering to defy orders and only symbolically sending a little coarse cloth as tax, ignoring the orders of Hua Xin, the governor.

They're not even afraid of the proper Prefect of Yuzhang. This is no ordinary troublemaker. We must take strong measures!

So Yuan Yao had a little scheme: could he use the pretext of supporting Hua Xin to go to Yuzhang County to play cards and make a quick buck, and then leave after making a fortune?

It is theoretically entirely feasible.

Actually...

That depends on Sun Ce's attitude.

It should be said that Sun Ce truly deserved the title of "Little Conqueror of Jiangdong," and was practically the honey badger of the late Eastern Han Dynasty. Not long after his failed attack on Huainan, he launched another military campaign, intending to annex Yuzhang Commandery.

That's understandable, actually.

Sun Ce's rule in Jiangdong was not governed by any universally accepted legal principles; he relied entirely on his superior military might to repeatedly crush all his opponents.

This major defeat in Hefei directly shook his military authority.

No one cared whether Guan Yu was an unexpected factor; all they knew was that the Jiangdong army had suffered heavy losses, losing half its strength and its former glory.

This forced Sun Ce to quickly organize a new military campaign to flex his muscles and prove that he was still capable of wielding a sword, in order to stabilize the situation within his territory.

On the other hand, this factor also contributed to Hua Xin's willingness to shamelessly ask Yuan Yao for help.

If it were Sun Ce at his peak a few months ago, he would have only needed to lead a large army to the border to make a show of force and intimidate him, then send an envoy to persuade him and give him a way out, and Hua Xin would have likely surrendered without hesitation.

Now that someone in the north has just defeated Sun Ce, why not try to defend it? What if they're willing to help?

Having figured this out, Yuan Yao was once again certain that he had to save Hua Xin.

Otherwise, if the other side sees that the situation is not good, they might simply shrug it off, allowing Sun Ce to not only gain Yuzhang for free but also successfully intimidate the internal forces of Jiangdong, which would be even worse.

Yan Xiang quickly stepped forward and advised, "Your Highness, the Battle of Yuzhang is imminent, but our army has just been reorganized and has not yet recovered its combat strength. Even if we wanted to support Hua Xin, we would be powerless to do so."

Yuan Yao waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, this isn't just a matter for our family. We don't need to mobilize the army."

Like Yuan Yao before him, Sun Ce was eager to establish his authority and needed to find a suitable easy target. However, he did not understand the basic principles of economic warfare and could only continue with traditional warfare. From this perspective, attacking Chen Deng across the river would be risky, and it would be more appropriate to bully Hua Xin.

Naturally, Sun Ce would also encounter the difficulty of Yuan Yao's reluctance to choose Yuzhang County as a breakthrough point, because it is sandwiched between multiple forces, and a rash attack might attract interference from others.

Sun Ce simply couldn't care less about that.

Then Yuan Yao felt indignant and wanted to stand up for Hua Xin.

"Brother-in-law, go to Jiangxia, no, go to Xiangyang as well, and explain the situation to Huang Zu and Liu Biao separately, urging them to join forces to aid Hua Xin and curb Sun Ce's wolfish ambitions!"

In this way, Yuan Yao wouldn't need to deploy too many troops; he could even send only Guan Yu, who could then roam freely without engaging in direct combat, focusing his energy on eliminating powerful clans.

No, that's not enough.

Yuan Yao quickly began to consider whether he could use this as an opportunity to unite with surrounding forces to suppress Sun Ce.

This concerns the long-term future of the Zhong family.

Given the dramatic changes in history, Sun Ce is unlikely to die by assassination again. Therefore, Yuan Yao clearly realized that a peaceful end was impossible between him and Sun Ce, and they would inevitably have to fight to the death sooner or later.

There's no other way; given their geographical ties, they can only lock each other in.

Since that's the case, we naturally need to plan ahead and make some arrangements in advance.

Have it.

Yuan Yao came up with a solution.

"Sun Ce's encirclement!"

When Sun Ce attacked Huainan last time, Yuan Yao had a similar idea and contacted a number of surrounding warlords, but few responded.

Given Zhong's status as a traitorous rebellious minister, it was difficult for everyone to openly support him. Even Cao Cao could only engage in clandestine underground deals, resulting in a less than ideal outcome for the alliance.

But this time, Yuzhang Prefecture is different.

Hua Xin was a prefect officially appointed by the imperial court, so there was no political risk in supporting the other side.

Moreover, Sun Ce had just finished conquering Huainan and then invaded Yuzhang. This militaristic style of waging war was likely to arouse further resentment from others. Even if they didn't help Hua Xin, they would have to find a way to stop the ruthless Sun Ce.

Thinking of this, Yuan Yao immediately replied to Hua Xin, first expressing his willingness to provide support, and then suggesting that the other party widely issue invitations to heroes, contact various warlords to form alliances and resist Sun Ce together.

The specific forces they contacted, besides Hua Xin himself in Yuzhang Commandery and Yuan Yao in Huainan, included Chen Deng in Guangling Commandery, Liu Biao and Huang Zu in Jingzhou, Yan Baihu and Xu Gong's remnants in Jiangdong, and Zhang Jin, the governor of Jiaozhou, who acted as the atmosphere group.

These people all had some kind of grudge against Sun Ce, and as long as someone took the initiative to organize this matter, their willingness to join the encirclement was indeed quite high.

As for how to provide support to the Zhong family...

After a brief discussion, Yuan Yao decided to send out 1,000 troops first, with Guan Yu's 500 swordsmen as the core, supplemented by 500 newly recruited imperial guards. It was a combination of experienced soldiers leading new recruits, allowing the new soldiers to broaden their horizons.

Not only that, Yuan Yao also planned to organize an officer inspection team of about fifty people, composed of promising young generals whom he favored and promoted, to take the opportunity to observe the military situation of other countries, both to learn and to gather intelligence.

"It's settled then. Go and prepare."

Everyone accepted the order and withdrew.

After everyone left, Yuan Yao turned around and looked at the map hanging in his room, feeling a little emotional.

Sun Ce, who occupies the lower right corner of the map, may seem to have only three commanderies, but he can stir up trouble on both sides of the Yangtze and Huai Rivers, to the point that even Cao Cao in the Central Plains felt a great threat, which shows his great reputation.

Yuan Yao: "The world is in chaos, and people are suffering. Sun Ce is stirring up trouble in Jiangdong. Relying on his strong military power, he is arrogant and disdainful of everyone. He raises an unjust army to attack an innocent country."

"Hmph, such an arrogant and domineering scoundrel—"

"I should be the one to do it."