Volume 1 Chapter 23 United in Deception

  Yan Liang was well aware that to make warriors risk their lives for him, military discipline and personal prestige were important, but fundamentally, they also needed material support.

  An army without enough food will defeat itself even before the enemy takes action.

  Yan Liang deeply understood this principle and also knew that, apart from being well-fed and warm, he needed to give his soldiers some extra benefits from time to time in order for them to feel that it was worth risking their lives for him.

  Today's two big battles, the tiger wolf riders under my command are all exhausted, it's time to reward them with wine and meat.

  The troops heard that there was meat and wine, their originally exhausted spirits immediately lifted again, cheering and jumping for joy, excited beyond measure.

  Yan Liang led these five thousand infantry and cavalry, escorting two thousand captives, rushing westward all the way to XinYe.

  It was late at night when they finally arrived in XinYe.

  Xinye City was left with less than a thousand defenders, and Zhou Cang, who arrived earlier, easily deceived the city gate by relying on Wen Ping's and Jingzhou's defeated army uniforms and flags, killing the remaining defenders and taking control of Xinye.

  Yan Liang led the main force to garrison in Xinye, and quickly ordered Liu Pi and Zhou Cang to lead thousands of soldiers out of the city, seizing some strategic points near Xinye. They built a facade of launching a large-scale southern campaign, planning to capture Fancheng in one fell swoop, cross the Han River, and press on to Xiangyang.

  Xinye is the northernmost department of Jingzhao, and it is also a rich and populous county. The accumulated money and grain in the county's treasury are enough to support Yan Liang's troops for a year.

  In accordance with the war codes of this era, when an army penetrates deep into enemy territory, its logistical supplies should be obtained by local plunder, and "living off the land" is the first choice.

  Yan Liang originally wanted to follow the usual practice and allow his soldiers to plunder Xin Ye, but after some thought, he realized that in the future he would still need to use Xin Ye as a base and establish himself there, so losing the hearts of the people would be a loss.

  Yan Liang ordered a strict prohibition against disturbing the people and, in order to reward his soldiers, he took out money and grain from the treasury and generously rewarded them.

  The soldiers got wine and meat rewards, and naturally they also went to plunder, although there were occasional disobedient and disciplinary phenomena, but overall they did not commit any crimes.

  At dawn on the third day, after a night's rest and washing away his fatigue, Zhen Lian came to the grand hall of the governor's mansion.

  At this time, it had been less than a day since those two major battles.

  Yan Liang knew that at this time, the Xiangyang side must have already learned about the fall of Xin Ye, and Liu Biao would not sit idly by while the gate of Jingbei fell. Next, there will be some action.

  Yan Liang still had many things to attend to and it was not yet time for him to rest easy.

  "General, Kuai Yue has arrived." Zhou Cang stepped into the great hall.

  Yan Liang waved his hand, indicating for them to bring it up.

  Before long, Kuai Yue, with a swollen nose and bruised face, was led into the hall in a sulky mood.

  Looking at him like that, I reckon he didn't suffer a little during the battle between the two armies, but unexpectedly survived in the chaos, lucky for him.

  Yan Liang sneered inwardly, but shouted on the surface: "How dare you slack off in front of Mr. Yidu, untie him quickly and let him sit down."

  The soldiers were busy untying Kuai Yue.

  Kuai Yue rubbed his muscles and bones, his tense expression slightly relaxed, and he knelt down at the lower seat.

  "I have long admired Mr. Yidu's great name, and the previous matter has startled you." Yan Liang slightly cupped his hands.

  "General Yan first claimed to be acting on the orders of General Yuan, coming to unite with our lord, but then suddenly attacked our army. In truth, I do not know what General Yan's true intentions are."

  Yan Liang's attitude made Kuai Yue's mood gradually calm, and the air of a famous scholar reappeared between his eyebrows, with a few words of questioning meaning.

  Yan Liang sneered and asked in return, "General Liu also claimed to be willing to support General Yuan, attacking Cao's rebels from both north and south. Now he is holding back his troops and watching the battle from a safe distance. What does General Liu mean by this?"

  "This...". Qu Yue suddenly became tongue-tied.

  Yan Liang didn't wait for him to explain, and continued: "General Yuan is extremely dissatisfied with Liu Shuaijun's attitude. He has given me a secret order that if Liu Shuaijun doesn't take concrete actions to support General Yuan, I should take the opportunity to teach Liu Shuaijun a lesson."

  Yan Liang was both deceived and cheated, shifting the blame for attacking Xin Ye onto Yuan Shao.

  Kuai Yue panicked as soon as he heard it.

  The battle of Guandu has been going on for a long time now. The signs that Cao Cao's forces are weakening have already appeared, and Yuan Shao's victory seems imminent.

  As Yan Liang said, if Yuan Shao had any resentment towards Liu Biao's inaction, then after defeating Cao Cao, the next target would likely be Jingzhou.

  Yan Liang's words were by no means alarmist.

  "Lord Yuan has truly misunderstood. My lord having agreed to unite with Lord Yuan, how could he not carry out his promise? It's just that the rebellion in the three southern districts of Jingzhou has not been pacified yet, and my lord finds it difficult to withdraw troops to march north and attack Cao. I hope General will be able to understand this difficulty."

  What Ke Yue said wasn't entirely nonsense.

  At that time, Changsha Prefecture was originally the territory of Sun Jian. Later, when Sun Jian went north to conquer Dong Zhuo, Liu Biao rode alone into Jingzhou and took advantage of the help of Kuai Yue and Cai Mao's two families to seize control of Jingzhou.

  Sun Jian lost his old nest and naturally hated Liu Biao, this usurper. From then on, the two families of Sun and Liu became sworn enemies.

  Changsha Commandery was nominally under Liu Biao's control, but the Sun family had been operating there for a long time and the local gentry did not truly submit to Liu Biao.

  In the previous year, Zhang Xuan, the governor of Changsha, led a rebellion against Liu Biao with the three counties of Lingling and Guilin. Liu Biao sent troops to attack and besiege them, but they were unable to capture them after several years of continuous attacks.

  It is often said that one must first stabilize internally before expanding externally. Kuai Yue's reasoning appears to be reasonable and in line with emotions on the surface.

  However, Yan Liang was very clear that everything Kuai Yue said was just an excuse for Liu Biao to seek self-preservation and wait and see the outcome.

  "I didn't expect Liu Shizhong to have such difficulties, it seems that Yuan Gong wrongly blamed Liu Shizhong... " Yan Liang muttered to himself, his tone had softened a lot, pretending to be moved by Kuai Yue's words.

  Kuai Yue's face showed a hint of joy, and he hastily said: "My lord's difficulties, I hope General will inform Lord Yuan on his behalf. Now is the time for us to join forces against Cao Zei, how can we fight among ourselves? General Yan, isn't that right?"

  He thought Yan Liang was still a general under Yuan Shao and had no idea what Yan Liang's purpose was in coming to Xinye.

  "Liu Shijun's difficulties can be understood by Yan Mou, but Mr. wants me to convey the matter to Yuan Gong, I'm afraid it's impossible." Yan Liang's words were meaningful.

  Kuai Yue was taken aback and for a moment couldn't hear the subtle tone in Yan Liang's words.

  At this time, Xu You, who had been waiting outside, saw Yan Liang's hint and strode in.

  "So Ziyuan is also here, it's been a long time." Kuai Yue hastily stood up to greet him, looking somewhat surprised.

  Xu You hastily stepped forward, pressed down Kuai Yue and cupped his hands: "You were momentarily careless, allowing your fellow townsman to suffer, you are truly ashamed."

  Xu You was from Nanyang Commandery, while Kuai Yue was from Xiangyang, Nan Commandery. Both places belonged to Jing Province, so they could naturally be called fellow townspeople.

  Xu You came on stage and didn't discuss official business either. He only exchanged pleasantries with Kuai Yue, reminiscing about their hometown, and started chatting casually.

  After several rounds of laughter and conversation, the atmosphere in the hall became harmonious, dispelling the previous animosity.

  "What General Yan just said, I don't quite understand, what do you mean by..." Kuai Yue hadn't forgotten the main topic and after a few rounds of idle chatter, he steered the conversation back on track.

  Yan Liang just kept his head down and drank, but didn't directly answer.

  As a master, it's not necessary to take action personally in every matter. Some things are more convenient when left to the strategist to discuss.

  Xu You understood and whispered: "Yidu, since you and I are from the same place, there's something on my mind that I don't mind telling you clearly."

  Seeing his mysterious appearance, Kuai Yue's nerves tensed up again.

  "In fact, I followed General Yan to Jingzhou this time, wanting to break away from Yuan Benchu and make a living on my own, and never serve the Yuan family again."

  Xu You spoke in a low voice and revealed the secret, but Kuai Yue was shocked to hear it, his expression changed suddenly.

  "Zi Yuan, what's going on..."

  Kuai Yue was shocked, his mind couldn't turn around for a moment. He thought Yan Liang wasn't a great general under Yuan Shao's command? Xu You wasn't a strategist who followed Yuan Shao for many years? Why did these two suddenly want to betray Yuan Shao? This is also too inexplicable!

  Xu You slowly and calmly told Kuai Yue about how Yan Liang was being envied by others, and how he himself had been framed by Jian Yi.

  Kuai Yue listened and gradually understood, his face still full of surprise.

  His gaze inadvertently shifted to Yan Liang, and he was amazed in his heart: "This Yan Liang is known for being brave but lacking in strategy, but I didn't expect him not only to be a god-like general, but also to have extraordinary courage, daring to make such a reckless move. Could it be that those rumors were all false..."