Chapter Fifty-Four Strategic Choice

  In order to let Emperor Xian of Han safely accept the Imperial Seal, Tao Qian deliberately left many flaws in entrusting Yuan Shu to present the Imperial Seal to Chang'an. Firstly, he did not ask Yuan Shu when and where to present the Imperial Seal to Emperor Xian of Han. Secondly, he did not say what action the Xu State army would take if Yuan Shu detained the Imperial Seal for private use. Thirdly, he did not require Yuan Shu to provide any collateral or guarantee, nor did he ask Yuan Shu to give him an army and grain in exchange like Sun Ce did.

  Facing Vice Director Tao's kindness, Yuan Shu really couldn't refuse. The civil and military officials under Yuan Shu also felt that Tao was offering a treasure to make peace in a clever way, which did not violate his oath and presented the jade seal to Yuan Shu. Seeing Yuan Shu's joyful expression, most of the officials strongly agreed with accepting Tao's request to "present" the jade seal on his behalf. After some polite words, Emperor Yuan finally reluctantly agreed to help, personally taking the national jade seal from Lu Su's hands, and his old face also smiled like a chrysanthemum.

  Riding on Yuan Shu's excitement, Ruan Yu, who was known for his ability to form alliances, took the opportunity to propose a request for a ceasefire, allowing Yuan Shu's army and Xu State's army to turn their swords into jade belts and join hands to resist the heroes of the world. Yuan Shu was soft on people's mouths and short on people's hands, and he also saw Tao Ying being respectful in his letters, humbly referring to himself as a junior and flattering him extremely. Considering that the notorious Zang Ba army had already made peace with Xu State's army, he accepted Tao Qian's command again, and the overall strength of Xu State's five counties had been enhanced once more, making it difficult to attack easily. Therefore, after weighing the pros and cons, Yuan Shu finally agreed to a ceasefire with Xu State's army and sent an envoy to Xu State to re-form an alliance with his former ally Tao Qian.

  Having fulfilled the mission entrusted to him by Tao Ying, Lu Su immediately bid farewell and returned to Guangling to report to Tao Ying. Yuan Shu sent Yang Hong to see him off, and also dispatched an envoy to Guangling, ordering Ji Ling and Chen Fen to withdraw their troops and leave Guangling. The war between the two families of Tao and Yuan came to an end with both sides emerging happy and gaining something. Only Sun Ce was left to suffer for choosing the wrong opponent for his first battle, losing not only his own life but also the imperial seal passed down by his father Sun Jian, losing thoroughly and cleanly.

  When Lu Su led the envoy back to Guangling, Ji Ling and Chen Fen led Yuan Shu's large army to retreat to Jiujiang. Zhang Bao personally led 8,000 relief troops to arrive at Guangling City, joining forces with Tao Ying and Zhang Zhou's Xuzhou army, greatly increasing the strength of the Guangling-Xuzhou army. The surrounding bandits were intimidated and gave up their plan to take advantage of the fire in Guangling, retreating hastily and not daring to provoke the fierce Tao Vice Director. The villagers who took refuge in the city also returned home one after another, resuming farming, presenting a thriving scene.

  It wasn't until they arrived at the foot of Guangling City that Lu Su found out that Tao Ying, Zang Ba and Zhang Hua were not in Guangling City, but had all gone to Jiangdu Ferry in the south on official business. Seeing that it was still early, Lu Su turned around and headed south to Jiangdu Ferry to look for Tao Ying's orders. After traveling a short distance to Jiangdu County, Lu Su soon found Tao Ying's troops at the Xu State Navy camp on the east side of the ferry, and met with Tao Ying himself.

  At this time, Tao Ying was on the watchtower by the river, admiring the scenery of the Yangtze River and gazing at the southern bank of the Yangtze River with a thoughtful expression. Besides Zhang Yi and Xu Sheng, there were also Zang Ba, Sun Guan, Wu Dun and other Langya generals by his side. A wine feast was also set up, allowing Tao Ying and others to enjoy the view while drinking. When Lu Su arrived at the watchtower, Tao Ying immediately laughed and welcomed him, bowing his hands and saying: "General, you have worked hard, please come and celebrate your triumphant return! I, Tao Ying, was unable to lead my troops to welcome you, and for this lack of etiquette, I hope you will forgive me."

  "Gentlemen, you have worked hard." Ruzi cupped his hands in respect and smiled, saying: "You know my temperament, I hate those who waste time on trivial matters. You didn't come to welcome me personally, which makes me feel much more at ease." After speaking, Ruzi pointed to Zang Ba and others beside him, curiously asking: "Are these generals the famous Langya generals?"

  "It's true." Tao Ying nodded, and then hastily introduced Ruzi to Zang Ba and others. Ruzi and Zang Ba and others paid their respects one by one, and then Ruzi bowed his hands and smiled at Zang Ba: "Proclaiming General Gao's words are as good as gold, his promise is worth a thousand pieces of gold, his righteousness is as thin as the clouds in the sky, really makes people admire."

  "General Lu's praise is undeserved." Zang Ba returned the courtesy, smiling as he said: "I'm a rough man, and I won't hide it from you, General. Initially, I told the young master that if he could bring back the head of the rebel leader, Gu Rong, I would return to serve under our lord once more. But in truth, I was just testing the young master, to see if he truly valued his subordinates. Who would have thought that not only did the young master immediately lead troops south, but also defeated over ten thousand rebels with just eight hundred of his own men, and actually brought back Gu Rong's head? If I were to go back on my word now, it wouldn't be just the young master who would lose face - even I myself couldn't bear to look at my own reflection."

  Zang Ba added, "It's just a pity that when I arrived in Guangling, Sun Ce's son had already been defeated by the clever strategy of Gongzi and Junshi. Yuan Pu was also persuaded by Junshi to agree to a ceasefire, so he didn't get to kill any enemies for Gongzi, it's really shameful."

  "General Huang's words are wrong. General, you returned to Lord Tao's camp, and Lord Tao has an extra pillar to hold up the sky, and the young master also has an extra arm to rely on." Lu Su smiled and said: "From now on, Lord Tao and the young master will use troops again, and they won't have to count the rice in the pot with their fingers. The lords of the world also dare not look directly at Xuzhou's five counties. All of this is the merit of General and the generals of Langya! The tens of thousands of people in Xuzhou's five counties have received many blessings from General, how can they just calculate the number of enemies killed by General?"

  Ruo Xu wore several high hats, and Zang Ba and Sun Guan, who were born in a humble family and had a strong sense of self-respect, were overjoyed to see him. They chatted with Ruo Xu as if they had known each other for a long time, and their conversation was extremely pleasant. After talking with Zang Ba and others for a while, Ruo Xu turned his head to look at Tao Ying, but saw that Tao Ying had already stood beside the arrow tower of the earthwork again, gazing at the south bank of the Yangtze River in a trance-like state, with two white silk handkerchiefs with written patterns in his hand. Ruo Xu knew something was unusual and hurriedly apologized to Zang Ba and others, walked to Tao Ying's side, and asked softly: "Sir, you are gazing at the river so intently, do you have something on your mind?"

  Tao Ying did not respond, but handed two silk handkerchiefs to Lu Su. Lu Su took a look and found that one of the handkerchiefs was a letter from Liu Yi, the governor of Yangzhou appointed by the imperial court. In the letter, Liu Yi told Tao Ying that he had expelled Wu Jing and Sun Ben, the maternal uncle and cousin of Sun Ce, from Qu'a in order to help the Xuzhou army resist the invasion of Yuan Pu and Sun Ce. As a result, Wu Jing and Sun Ben were forced to take Sun Ce's family to flee to Wanling. Therefore, Liu Yi hoped to form an alliance with the Xuzhou army to jointly resist Yuan Pu, and promised that after eliminating Yuan Pu, he would cede the Nine Rivers Prefecture to Tao Ying and his son as a reward.

  When another silk was unfolded, Lu Su finally understood Tao Ying's concerns. It turned out that on this silk, it was actually the military deployment map of Liu Yao's army in the Dantu area - it was very clear that after temporarily getting rid of Yuan Shu's threat, the greedy Deputy Director Tao had turned his wolf-like gaze to the rich land of Jiangnan again.

  "Gentlemen, in my humble opinion, it is absolutely impossible to form an alliance with Liu Yao." Lu Su said lightly as he refolded the letter and map of defense: "Liu Yao is a man with a heart like that of a wolf, who forgets righteousness when he sees profit. He is not a suitable ally. When Liu Yao first arrived in Huainan, he was driven away by Yuan Shu and had nowhere to go. It was Wu Jing and Sun Ben who welcomed him to Qu'e and helped him establish himself. As soon as Liu Yao gained a foothold in Jiangnan, he began to plot against Wu Jing and Sun Ben, using every means to intimidate them and swallow up their troops. Now that Sun Ce is dead, Liu Yao has completely broken with Wu Jing and Sun Ben, driving them out of Qu'e by force. Such an ungrateful and treacherous person will not only bring no benefit to our cooperation but also provoke Yuan Shu again, leading to another war between our army and his."

  "I certainly won't form an alliance with Liu Yu, he voluntarily proposed the alliance just to use my hand to deal with Yuan Su, I'm not that stupid." Tao Ying shook his head and suddenly said: "Zi Jing, in your opinion, if our army crosses the Yangtze River to attack Liu Yu, how much chance of winning do we have?"

  "With the strategy of a noble son, and with the bravery of the Langya army, attacking and destroying Liu Yao should have some chance of victory." Ruo Su replied with his hands clasped together, and then calmly said: "But in my humble opinion, whether or not you can destroy Liu Yao, it will only be a tactical victory, but a strategic defeat, winning small but losing big."

  "Please, Military Advisor, tell me in detail." Tao Ying shifted his gaze to Lu Su, feeling somewhat tense. For days, the plan to emulate the Young Conqueror Sun Ce's conquest of the 81 states of Jiangdong had been brewing in Vice Director Tao's mind, especially after receiving reinforcements from Zang Ba's army. With this, Tao Ying felt he had the confidence and strength to reenact the Young Conqueror's miracle and annex Jiangdong. That's why he came to the banks of the Yangtze River today, gazing out at the southern landscape and pondering his plan. But now, Lu Su, a first-rate strategist in the Three Kingdoms, had raised objections, making Tao Ying inevitably feel tense.

  "There are three reasons." Lu Su replied: "First, our army was unprepared while the enemy was prepared. When attacking Jiangnan, our army's grain, boats, and weapons were all insufficiently prepared. After Yuan Shu sent Chen Fen to lead the naval forces eastward, Liu Yao also dispatched General Zhang Ying from Niuzhu to lead the naval forces southward to monitor Chen Fen's movements and reinforce the military strength of Dantu, making preparations for our army's southern advance extremely sufficient, causing us to lose the initiative. The expedition against Liu Yao was not only urgent but also lacked follow-up momentum."

  "Secondly: The five counties of Xuzhou are far more important than Jiangdong. Now, the internal situation in the five counties is unstable and full of hidden dangers. Externally, strong enemies are watching closely, and those who covet Xuzhou are numerous. You, sir, do not seek to eliminate internal threats and stabilize your foundation, but instead head south to seize others' land. Isn't this a case of confusing ends and means? If you cross the river and fail to gain control of Jiangnan, and then something goes wrong in Xuzhou, where will you go?"

  At this point, Lu Su also paused and warned: "Moreover, in my opinion, the five counties of Xuzhou are actually much more important than Jiangdong. During the reign of Emperor Shun, a census found that the population of the five counties of Xuzhou was 2,790,000, which increased to over 3 million during the reign of Emperor He. The total population of Wu County and Danyang County is only 1,330,000. Although Xuzhou has suffered from war and its population has decreased sharply, Liu Yao only occupies more than a dozen cities in the northwest of Wu County and the northeast of Danyang County. The population, money, and land are far less than those of the five counties of Xuzhou. If you abandon the five counties of Xuzhou for the sake of gaining Liu Yao's land, isn't it abandoning the big for the small and losing more than you gain?"

  Tao Ying remained silent, continuing to listen intently. Lu Su, unafraid of Tao Ying's reaction, continued: "Thirdly, given the current situation, Yuan Shu will not sit idly by while you attack Jiangdong. Yuan Shu has been at odds with Liu Yao for a long time and has long had the intention of annexing Jiangdong. If you were to cross the river south to attack Liu Yao, Yuan Shu would inevitably send troops south immediately, taking advantage of the situation to launch a surprise attack. At that time, even if our army defeats Liu Yao, Yuan Shu's forces will be far stronger and better prepared, and they will surely take the greatest benefits for themselves. Meanwhile, our army can only gain limited benefits at most, and we will have inadvertently allowed Yuan Shu to establish a foothold in Jiangnan, inviting a wolf into our home and exhausting ourselves for nothing."

  "It's better to hear one word from you than to read ten years of books." Tao Ying finally spoke up, saying slowly: "In terms of strategy, I indeed lack too much. Some things can't be done just by following the rules."

  After finishing his speech, Tao Ying threw the map of Liu Bei's military deployment on the south bank into the rolling river waters and turned to Lu Su, saying: "Trouble Military Advisor to write a letter on my behalf to Liu Bei, telling him that our army has already made peace with Yuan Shu and cannot betray our trust and leave a name that will be cursed for eternity. We cannot agree to his request for an alliance. Please ask him to understand. Also tell Liu Bei that if he is willing, the Xu State military is also willing to sign a non-aggression treaty with him, open border markets for trade, allow the people of both families to come and go freely, and never engage in armed conflict again."

  "No, young master's move will be beneficial for Liu Bei to alleviate the pressure from Cao Cao in the north. I suppose Liu Bei won't refuse." Lu Su nodded in response.

  Tao Ying turned back, walked to the side of Zhang Ao and Zang Ba who were drinking and laughing, and bowed his hands to Zhang Ao, saying: "General Zhang, now that the battle in Guangling is over, I have decided to lead the Junzi army northward in a few days to return to Xuzhou to report to my father. After I leave, I will entrust Guangling Prefecture to General Zhang. When I return to Xuzhou, I will also ask my father to reward General Zhang and appoint him as the Governor of Guangling."

  "Governor of Guangling?" Zhang Yi was overjoyed, Guangling being one of the wealthiest regions in the world. Even if it's a bit ruined now, being able to govern Guangling is far better than serving as Cao Jue's deputy! So Zhang Yi hastily got up from his seat and bowed to Tao Ying to express his gratitude, saying with feigned humility: "Young Master's praise, I truly don't dare to accept..."

  "General, you don't have to be modest." Tao Ying shook his head and smiled: "Guangling is not only the financial hub of Xuzhou, but also a strategic location. To the west lies Yuan Shu, to the south Liu Yao, it's the most critical place. If we didn't entrust Guangling to General, an experienced and skilled veteran general like you, neither I nor my father would feel at ease."

  "That's all thanks to you, young master. Your kindness is something I, Zhang, will never forget." This time in the southern campaign, Zhang Yi was overjoyed and repeatedly thanked Tao Ying, while Zang Ba and Sun Guan on the side were extremely envious. However, this time in the southern campaign they didn't even get to reap any benefits, so they didn't feel that Tao Ying's rewards and punishments were unfair or biased against them.

  "General, please get up." Tao Ying helped Zhang Zhuo up and patted his hand, reminding him: "General, Guangling is adjacent to the Yangtze River, and the river is infested with pirates. Our naval forces have not fought for many years, and our military preparations are insufficient. The water soldiers lack training, and the warships are old and scarce. Therefore, General, you must pay attention to the naval problem in Guangling, and frequently drill the water soldiers and build more warships, so that our army can clear out the river pirates in the future."

  "Gongzi, rest assured that I will definitely remember your instructions and work hard to build the Xuzhou naval force." Zhang Yi didn't suspect anything and agreed immediately. Lu Su smiled slightly, knowing in his heart that Tao had a wolf-like ambition and was still greedy for the rich land of Jiangnan.

  The decision to leave Zhang Yu in charge of Guangling was finalized, and Tao Ying again discussed with Zang Ba the date of withdrawal, deciding to withdraw three days later and return to Xuzhou, so as not to lean too far south and give the enemy an opportunity to attack from the north. At the same time, Wu Dun volunteered to lead a army to stay in Guangling and help Zhang Yu guard it. Tao Ying was overjoyed at the good fortune of being able to split Zang Ba's coalition forces, but hesitated because he was worried that Zang Ba would suspect his intentions. Unexpectedly, Zang Ba also spoke up to show his sincerity in accepting the command of Tao Yan and his son, and Tao Ying immediately agreed, allowing Wu Dun to lead a thousand soldiers to stay in Guangling, and asking Zhang Yu to treat Wu Dun well, which Zhang Yu carefully remembered.

  Later, while chatting idly, Tao Ying raised his cup and sighed: "To be honest, I've been away from home for over a month, and I really do miss it. I wonder what the situation is like in Xuzhou now? Fortunately, my father's letter said that his illness has improved greatly; otherwise, I would have been restless in Guangling."

  "Has Master's condition improved greatly?" Zang Ba was taken aback.

  "Proclaiming elder brother, what's wrong?" Tao Ying suddenly felt a bad premonition in her heart.

  Zang Ba hesitated for a moment, but considering that Tao Ying would soon return to Xuzhou, he finally answered truthfully: "Young master, the lord is probably afraid you'll be distracted and didn't tell you the whole story. When I went to Xuzhou to apologize to the lord this time, the lord's condition seemed serious, gasping for breath, and couldn't speak with me for long before becoming exhausted."

  "How is that possible?" Tao Ying was shocked and put down his wine cup, saying in doubt: "When I set out on the southern expedition, my father's illness had clearly improved greatly already?"

  "There are unpredictable winds and clouds in the sky, and there are fortunes and misfortunes for people from dawn till dusk." Zang Ba comforted: "It's possible that Master is thinking of his son too much, worrying and exhausting himself, which has worsened his illness."

  Tao Ying did not answer, and with a suspicious tone, he analyzed: "Is that so? My father's illness is asthma, and the condition of asthma usually worsens in winter when the weather is dry. What reason is there for it to suddenly worsen in autumn? And this year, Xuzhou has had plenty of rain! Moreover, I have been winning battles in Guangling one after another, always reporting good news but not bad news. My father should be overjoyed and his condition should be improving, shouldn't it?"

  "This... I don't know what's going on anymore." Zang Ba didn't understand medicine and honestly shook his head in defeat.

  "Is it just a coincidence?" Tao thought to himself, "Changing my line of thinking, I brought this small force to conquer Guangling and encountered three strong enemies, Lu Bu, Sun Ce, and Yuan Shu. Any normal person would think that I am bound to lose, and absolutely wouldn't expect me to turn the battle around like this. In such a situation, if I were to be defeated or killed in battle, or trapped in Guangling, and then my cheap old man suddenly dies of illness, wouldn't it be someone's golden opportunity?"

  Thinking of this, Tao Ying secretly sighed: "After all, Lu Su was right. If the internal problems are not solved, I will be anxious to expand my power, but it will only be a loss. Fortunately, I didn't rush to attack Liu Yao with a hot head. My main energy must be placed inside first! Placed in Xuzhou this base!"