Chapter 69: Being Blackmailed

  Ruo Zhen pulled Xun Yu to sit down on the soft couch and said: "This time going to Liangzhou, the war is dangerous, Ma Teng and Han Sui are entrenched in Liangzhou. Although they rely on the imperial court, but in fact they do not follow the imperial court's orders at all. The defeat of the Western Liang situation, General Ruo does not need to say that Wen Yu also knows. I don't know if Wen Yu has a good strategy to teach me, how can we stand firm in Liangzhou?"

  Xun Yu said calmly, "As you said, General, Ma Teng and Han Sui have great power, but they only superficially rely on the imperial court. In reality, they disobey the imperial court's orders. It is indeed not easy for you to establish a foothold in Liangzhou. However, it is still too early to discuss this matter now. Currently, Ma Teng occupies Hanshui, Wudu, and Longxi three counties. If we want to go to Liangzhou, we must pass through Ma Teng's territory. Moreover, Ma Teng's army lacks grain and fodder, and you have brought a large amount of military rations. Ma Teng will not let us pass through his territory smoothly."

  Lu Zheng said: "The general is worried about this point, so he stopped at Chen Cang."

  Xun Yu said, "If the general does not want to take a detour from Anding and Wuwei, he can only enter Liangzhou from Hanyang. However, taking a detour from Anding to Wuwei to get to Lingzhi is over 2,000 li away, and more than half of the grain and fodder will be consumed on the road."

  Luo Zheng also thought about this problem earlier, nodded and said: "What Wen Ru said is very true. This general only has 10,000 stones of military rations. By the time the main force arrives at Lingju, it's estimated that there will be just enough to eat, so we can only enter Liangzhou from Anyang."

  Xun Yu said: "At present, Ma Teng's attitude is still unknown. General, why not send someone to visit Ma Teng and ask him to borrow a road from Hanyang to enter Liangzhou? We can give him 2,000 shi of military rations. Let's see what Ma Teng says!"

  Luo Zheng thought for a moment and suddenly said: "How about taking Beidi or Anding as the foundation?"

  Xun Yu smiled calmly and said, "General, you've had this idea for a long time, haven't you?"

  Lu Bu did not conceal anything and said frankly: "That's right, since Dong Zhuo is unrighteous, don't blame this general for being disloyal. The road to the residence of the Emperor was blocked by Ma Teng and Han Sui, everyone knows that this general's trip to Liangzhou is like jumping into a fire pit. Dong Zhuo pushed this general into the fire pit again in order to appease Niu Fu and others, how could this general do as he wished? Why not petition the imperial court, using the unrest of the roads as an excuse, and head north to take Anding or Beidi, occupying one side?"

  Xun Yu shook his head and said, "Absolutely not."

  "What's wrong?" Luo Zheng furrowed his brow and asked.

  Xun Yu said: "Since the road is impassable, if Dong Zhuo summons the general back to Luoyang, what then?"

  Luo Zheng was silent and didn't speak, this is indeed a problem.

  Xun Yu continued: "If the general refuses to obey the imperial edict, Dong Zhuo only needs to grant high-ranking positions and generous rewards to Ma Teng and Han Sui, and bestow upon them large sums of money and grain with heavy interest to entice them. Then Ma Teng and Han Sui will surely lead their troops to attack. At that time, Dong Zhuo will again dispatch a large army to attack, and it will be impossible for us to survive."

  Luo Zheng said sternly: "What you said is absolutely right, I was too presumptuous."

  Xun Yu said, "For now, General, you should follow orders and take action. First, stabilize your foothold in Liangzhou before doing anything else. You can send someone to Long County to frankly tell them that our army wants to borrow a path to go to their territory, and first observe Ma Teng's attitude before taking advantage of the situation."

  Luo Zheng said with a sigh: "It can only be like this."

  He wrote a letter at once and had it delivered to Hanyang overnight.

  Chen Cang is over 300 li from Long County, and can be reached in two days by fast horse.

  On the fifth day in the afternoon, Xiao Jiao, who was sent to Long County to deliver a message, returned and brought Ma Teng's request.

  Ma Teng wanted to borrow 200,000 dan of military rations. Although his words were polite, they were no different from extortion.

  Luo Zheng's face immediately turned cold after listening to Jun Xiao's report, and his gloomy expression was frightening.

  With a wave of his hand, Xiao Xiao immediately went down to rest.

  Lu Zheng said in a low voice, "When our army left Luoyang, we only brought 10,000 stones of military rations. Along the way, we have been frugal and now we only have 8,000 stones left. Ma Teng asked for 20,000 stones of military rations, not to mention that I don't have it, even if I did, I wouldn't be able to give it to him."

  Xun Yu said: "It seems that Ma Teng never intended to let the general enter Liangzhou."

  Lu Zheng felt somewhat annoyed, got up and paced a few steps in the tent, saying: "Ma Teng's attitude, this general had expected. No matter how Ma Teng and Han Sui fought each other to death in Liangzhou, they absolutely did not want to let the imperial court intervene again in Liangzhou, and not letting this general enter Liangzhou was an expected thing. To enter Liangzhou, there is only one way: to stir up Ma Teng and Han Sui's fierce battle once more, then our army will have the opportunity to take advantage of their weakness and enter Liangzhou. Otherwise, even if we enter Liangzhou, it would be impossible to reach Lingqu."

  Xun Yu said: "At present, Han Sui and Ma Teng have just ceased hostilities and are on the verge of uniting, it's probably not easy to separate them."

  Lu Zheng sighed: "It seems that there is no other way but to go north to Anding, enter Wuwei from Anding, and then head to Lingju."

  Xun Yu sank into thought for a moment, then said: "It's not impossible to take the detour via Wuwei. General, you are leading an expedition against the Western Qiang on imperial orders. You can order Governor of Anding Huangfu Jian and Governor of Wuwei Mao to provide supplies along the way."

  Lu Zheng frowned and said: "Anding, Wuwei has suffered from war many times, and it's extremely poor. The people can't even fill their stomachs, let alone pay the imperial taxes on time. Even if Huangfu Jianxu and Zhang Meng have surplus grain, they won't give any to this general..."

  Suddenly an idea flashed through his mind, and he slapped his thigh, saying: "I've got it."

  Xun Yu smiled and said, "The Qiang barbarians in Liangzhou are still causing trouble and have not been completely pacified. General, your request to borrow grain from Huangfu Jianxiong and Zhang Meng is just an excuse. Once you enter Anding, you can use the pretext of putting down a rebellion to plunder the Qiang barbarians and provide food for the army."

  Luo Zheng burst out laughing and said: "Those who know me are like Wen Ru. This general has exactly this intention."

  Xun Yu said: "However, this matter is somewhat taboo. The general needs to report to the imperial court as soon as possible and explain the reasons."

  Luo Zhen thought so and immediately wrote a letter by hand, which was reviewed by Xun Yu before being sent to Luoyang with 800 li of urgency.

  The next day, the army set out from Chen Cang and headed north, entering the territory of Anding Commandery.

  Since the Qiang people, Bei Gong Bo Yu and Li Wen Hou, rebelled in the first year of Zhongping, the land of Liangzhou has been plagued by war, with the people suffering greatly. Many families fled, and by the beginning of Pingyuan, years of continuous warfare had almost turned Liangzhou into a scorched earth.

  Liangzhou originally had a small population, and after several years of war, the population of each county decreased by more than 50%.

  After entering Anding Prefecture, the army often went tens of miles without seeing any signs of human habitation.

  Everywhere they went, countless villages were destroyed, large tracts of land were left barren and overgrown with weeds.

  Lu Zheng stopped by the side of the road and sighed, "Although Liangzhou is a place of brave warriors, its population is a fatal weakness. Compared to the Central Plains, it's really far behind. Even if we can unify Liangzhou in the future, I'm afraid we won't have the strength to advance eastward."

  "It's also something that can't be helped."

  Xun Yu also rode a horse, wore a thick fur coat, and despite this, he was still frozen to the point of breathing heavily. "However, the geographical advantages of Liangzhou are not comparable to those of the Central Plains. The people here are fierce and the roads are treacherous, with many strategic points to defend. In the past, Qin relied on its control of Guanzhong to dominate the Central Plains, conquer the six states, and achieve unparalleled success. General, as long as you can unify Liangzhou, encourage good governance, promote population growth, and wait until there are enough people, you can then march into Guanzhong."

  Luo Zheng shook his head and said: "Although it's true, but this way, without thirty years, there is no hope of advancing eastward."

  He didn't finish what he was saying, thirty years later, Cao Cao probably unified Central Plains long ago.

  Even if Liangzhou's population is sufficient at this time, it is likely that there will be no more strength to attack the Central Plains.

  After all, the population of Zhongyuan is there, and even if Liangzhou is a place of heroes, it is difficult to unify the world.

  Cao Aman is not one of the six states. Facing a unified Central Plains, even if Qin Shi Huang were to be reborn, he would probably have no power to advance eastward.

  The army marched on and off, passing through Bao Luo Valley, and arrived at Wu Shi several days later.

  Luo Zhengxiang sent an envoy to Linjing and ordered An Dingtaishou Huangfu Jianshou to prepare the necessary food for the army.

  Huangfu Jian Shou heard the news and hastily gathered his staff to discuss countermeasures.

  Linjing, the official residence of the Taishou.

  Huangfu Jianxu looked around at the various officials and said, "Lu Langzhong wants to go to Lingzhou to take up his post, but he cannot pass through Hanyang. He wants to take a detour via Anding and Wuwei. Now he has sent an envoy ahead to discuss grain supplies. What do you gentlemen think?"

  As soon as the words fell, there was a subordinate official who said: "Sir, since the first year of Zhongping, Liangzhou has suffered several wars, and the people have been hanging upside down. Many families have moved out, and now even the common people can't eat their fill, where is there still surplus grain to give to Luo Zheng?"

  "Exactly!"

  Many officials and officers nodded in agreement, all disagreeing with providing grain and fodder for Luo Zheng's army.

  Huang Fu Jian Shou furrowed his brow and said, "However, if we don't provide him with grain and fodder, Luo Zheng is a man who has the habit of plundering. When he led his army to conquer Guandong, he let his soldiers plunder everywhere. If he also lets his soldiers plunder the counties, what should we do?"

  One of the officials said, "Your Excellency can rest assured. In the past, when we looted and plundered the eastern regions, it was unavoidable; our intention was to force the rebel army in the east to withdraw from the Tiger Pass. But times are different now; if they again loot and plunder, will the Emperor be able to forgive them?"

  Huangfu Jian nodded repeatedly and said: "This is a righteous principle, but how should we respond to Luo Langzhong?"

  There is a staff member who said: "He was ordered by the Son of Heaven to comfort and settle the Western Qiang, if he really refused to accept it, I'm afraid it's not good. Why doesn't the general order someone to transport dozens of stones of military rations to labor for the army, and then inform him of the actual situation, I reckon he won't refuse."

  "These words are very good."

  Huang Fu Jian Shou Xi said: "Just make up a whole number, and give him 100 stones of military rations!"

  "The adult is wise and enlightened."

  All the officials and attendants cheered in unison, looking at each other with smiles.

  Huangfu Jianxu ordered someone to gather laborers and escort 100 shi of military rations to Wushi.