Chapter 203

Chapter 203

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 6: The Two Provinces’ Tiger’s Roar, the Silk Road Reopens, Chapter 203: Soldiers at the City Gates

Book: Can a Strategist Not Ascend the Throne?

Chapter 203: Soldiers at the City Gates

When Jia Xu stepped into Li Jue’s office, a hint of mockery flashed in his lowered eyes.

The saying “Even wearing a dragon robe, he doesn’t look like the Son of Heaven” was most vividly embodied in Li Jue.

Dong Zhuo lost his courage due to old age and the defeat in Luoyang, but Li Jue’s vision was simply too narrow.

He occupied Dong Zhuo’s study, lounging on a soft couch, flipping through documents.

Seeing Jia Xu enter, he casually asked, “Why do you insist on talking to the Prime Minister? He no longer has the ability to support your decisions. We’ve already done what we needed to do. Given his temper, he won’t give us a chance to turn back. We might as well think about the attack plan after we secure Liangzhou.”

Li Jue wasn’t worried that Jia Xu would switch sides back to Dong Zhuo at this point.

Jia Xu’s mind was sharp, but the military power in Chang’an was gradually falling into Li Jue’s hands. Even Wang Yun, representing the court’s power, stood on his side. A few words from Jia Xu couldn’t change the situation.

Once Liangzhou was secured, he would send Duan Wei out to prevent any interference.

Then, he could rightfully replace Dong Zhuo, rather than just being a temporary placeholder.

The thought of being called “Prime Minister Li” instead of “Colonel Li” or “General Li” filled Li Jue with satisfaction. He even brushed off his wife’s complaints about not leaving opportunities for their son to earn merit.

Moreover, Dong Zhuo’s petty nature meant he would hold grudges.

Back when Huangfu Song disagreed with him on battle strategies in Liangzhou, Dong Zhuo saw him as a mortal enemy. Today, he would surely resent Jia Xu for betraying him.

How could Jia Xu possibly turn around and help Dong Zhuo out of his predicament?

Unless he didn’t care about the future at all!

Dong Zhuo thought the same way.

He believed that since Jia Xu had already helped him eliminate Sun Jian, they were co-conspirators. Naturally, it was better to stick with him than to side with Qiao Yan.

Both lines of reasoning were logical, but they missed one crucial point—

Jia Xu had never considered serving either of them in the future.

So there was no need to talk about “the future.”

Jia Xu glanced around the study, now in disarray due to Li Jue’s changes, and replied, “I went to confirm how the General is treating the Prime Minister and the Son of Heaven.”

He coldly said, “General Li, forgive my bluntness, but now is not the time for you to relax. Feeding him cow bones? Do you realize what kind of message that sends? The Prime Minister’s generals aren’t all dead yet!”

This scolding made Li Jue lean back, no longer mocking Dong Zhuo, and he replied, “I understand. I’ll handle it as you suggest.”

“Enough…” Jia Xu waved his hand in frustration. “I came to remind you of two things.”

Hearing Jia Xu had advice, Li Jue quickly straightened up. “Please, speak.”

Jia Xu: “First, if we secure Liangzhou, there are many follow-up effects to consider. For example, after Dong Huang took over Chang’an’s defense, Fan Chou was stationed at Huayin. Now that he’s been sent to Liangzhou, the defense east of Chang’an is too weak.”

“If we advance into Liangzhou, we’ll need to reinforce our troops. The defense in Guanzhong will inevitably be lacking. Whether Qiao Yan wins or we do, we can’t guarantee that the eastern warlords won’t attack from Luoyang.”

Li Jue was startled. “How could they…”

“Why couldn’t they?” Jia Xu interrupted firmly.

“Don’t forget, some want to eliminate us and support the Son of Heaven in Chang’an, while others want to remove him and make the Son of Heaven in Ye the only one. Whether they come under the banner of rescuing the Emperor or eliminating traitors, they’ll have a reason.”

“Moreover, General, your conflict with Lord Lu over the autumn harvest temple sacrifices led to his imprisonment. This gives them another reason to question Chang’an.”

“Cao Cao, the Governor of Yanzhou, is expanding under the guise of governance. With no one in Yanzhou to oppose him, he has the opportunity to send troops.”

Hearing this, Li Jue quickly asked, “What should we do then?”

Jia Xu replied, “Reinforce Huayin to prevent enemy attacks. Choose generals from your own family. Also, befriend Yuan Shu.”

Befriend… Yuan Shu?

Li Jue looked puzzled.

The first part of the suggestion made sense, especially the idea of choosing generals from his own family.

Li Ying and Hu Feng had gone to Liangzhou, leaving at least one or two capable men to defend Gaoling. That decision was sound.

But the second part was harder to grasp.

He asked, “Yuan Shu was the first to advocate for the Son of Heaven in Ye, and he’s in a precarious position himself. Why bother forming a relationship with him?”

Yuan Shu’s attitude toward their Liangzhou army was no secret.

He had been forced to flee Luoyang because Dong Zhuo had betrayed the Yuan family.

Dong Zhuo had nearly wiped out the Yuan family’s main branch in Luoyang during the warlords’ campaign.

There was bad blood between them!

Moreover, Liu Bei had recently taken Pei State, and his general Zhang Fei had killed Qiao Rui in battle. Yuan Shu was on the brink of collapse. Allying with him would only add a burden.

It didn’t sound promising.

But Jia Xu simply gave him a disapproving look. “That’s not entirely accurate. As someone who will soon hold great power, you must understand that times change.”

“Do you think Yuan Shu still respects the Son of Heaven in Ye?”

To Li Jue, if Yuan Shu had three or four parts respect before, now he probably had none!

As he pondered this, his thoughts drifted to Jia Xu’s words: “someone who will soon hold great power.”

That sounded much better than the earlier scolding.

First, he was reprimanded for disrespecting Dong Zhuo and the Son of Heaven, and now this. The contrast made it even more satisfying.

Jia Xu seemed unaware of Li Jue’s distraction and continued, “Yuan Shu tried to ally with Qiao Yan and Gongsun Zan, but Yuan Shao attacked him. Liu Bei’s title of ‘General Who Pacifies Bandits’ was given by the Ye court, implying Yuan Shu is a bandit. In that case, he might as well switch his allegiance to the Son of Heaven in Chang’an.”

“I dare say, if you pacify Liang and Bing Provinces and return to Luoyang, the first to congratulate you will be Yuan Shu! So if we extend an olive branch, he’ll take it.”

Li Jue muttered, “But if Liu Bei drives him out, wouldn’t he be useless to us…”

“General…” Jia Xu sighed. “You underestimate Yuan Shu too much.”

“He may not hold other parts of Yu Province, but he will definitely hold Runan. Besides, Liu Bei is merciful. After taking Pei State, he delayed his advance due to the local hardships, facing off against Yuan Shu along the Wo River. This won’t be resolved within the year.”

Jia Xu calmly analyzed the situation, and Li Jue found it increasingly convincing.

Jia Xu continued, “In fact, we only need Yuan Shu to act as a barrier against the eastern warlords. We don’t need to provide any real support in his conflict with Liu Bei.”

Li Jue still didn’t fully understand, but he felt Jia Xu made sense.

He quickly replied, “You’re right. What’s the other matter?”

Jia Xu said, “General Duan can be sent to the Liangzhou battlefield at any time. What about General Zhang?”

Initially, Li Jue had considered Zhang Ji as a potential ally, but past conflicts and Dong Zhuo’s trust in Zhang Ji made him hesitant.

Now was the time to consider him.

He asked, “What do you think, sir?”

“Send Yan Xing to assist him.”

The word “assist” was emphasized, and its meaning was clear to Li Jue.

Whether Zhang Ji made any moves or not, he would be dealt with!

Li Jue pondered for a moment, then asked, “Why not send Yan Xing to Liangzhou?”

He had convinced Yan Xing to join him by promising not to abandon the campaign against Liangzhou, unlike Dong Zhuo.

If Yan Xing wanted to avenge Han Sui, he could only rely on Li Jue’s forces.

But sending him to guard Jing Province seemed contradictory.

Jia Xu replied, “It’s all about how you phrase it. Tell him that Zhang Ji’s presence could affect the Liangzhou campaign. Securing Zhang Ji and his troops will ensure the pacification of Liangzhou. Once that’s done, deploy him to the southern front and then send him to Liangzhou. That way, he won’t miss any battles.”

Li Jue’s face lit up.

That was well said!

If things went as Jia Xu suggested, he could consolidate his position on multiple fronts before the first victory in Liangzhou was reported.

He stood up and…








Jia Xu performed a salute, deeply feeling that his initial decision to win over Jia Xu was the most correct one. “Sir, you truly live up to the reputation of having the talent of Liang Ping. I will proceed as you suggested.”

He secretly thought to himself that Jia Xu, with his talent of Liang Ping, was far more reliable than Wang Yun, who had the talent to assist a king.

If it weren’t for Jia Xu’s meticulousness, he would have missed many opportunities!

He immediately sought Liu Xie and issued three edicts.

The first was to win over Yuan Shu.

Since the court in Ye City wouldn’t grant Yuan Shu the title of Governor of Yu Province, they would give it to him instead.

But the condition was that Yuan Shu must keep an eye on Dong Commandery. If Cao Cao made any moves to send troops, Yuan Shu should hinder him slightly.

In the letter sent along, Li Jue, posing as Dong Zhuo, mentioned that he had dispatched 20,000 troops from Chencang to attack Liangzhou. Soon, Qiao Yan would face trouble, and once he re-established relations with Liangzhou, he would surely send a few good horses from Liangzhou to support Yuan Shu.

The second edict was to have Yan Xing garrison Shangluo and join forces with Zhang Ji.

Privately, Li Jue relayed Jia Xu’s instructions to Yan Xing.

The young man, who was “quite loyal to Han Sui,” immediately accepted the order.

What made Li Jue feel particularly pleased was Yan Xing’s response: “Just the fact that you, General, dare to attack Liangzhou and take action shows that you are far more capable than Dong Zhuo. I will surely eliminate a threat for you.”

The phrase “more capable than Dong Zhuo” struck a chord with Li Jue.

He immediately waved his hand and, in addition to the 2,000 men originally assigned to Yan Xing, gave him an extra 500.

The third edict was Li Jue’s request for Jia Xu.

Thinking that Jia Xu had been so considerate of him, it wouldn’t do to keep him nominally as a false assistant to the Governor of Bingzhou.

That just didn’t sound right.

So he had Liu Xie issue an edict to summon Jia Xu to the court as a Palace Attendant, effectively removing him from the subordinate system of the Governor of Bingzhou.

This way, it would show that he valued Jia Xu more than Dong Zhuo ever did.

Jia Xu probably didn’t expect that Li Jue would pull off such a move of bestowing favors and promotions at this time.

After leaving Li Jue’s study, Jia Xu began to calculate the ripple effects of the fire he had just stoked.

With the capabilities of the Marquis and the strength of Bingzhou, the 20,000 troops from Liangzhou would be easily handled.

Once the Marquis led his troops eastward, Li Jue, facing threats from two fronts, would have no choice but to flee with the young emperor.

To the north was Bingzhou—no go. To the west was even more out of the question.

As for the east…

The east was also not an option.

While he was in Chang’an, Yuan Shu might show him some courtesy due to his overtures, but if he fled, Yuan Shu wouldn’t consider him an ally.

Instead of allying with Li Jue, Yuan Shu, under pressure from Yuan Shao and Liu Bei, might prefer to kill Li Jue and return the young emperor to Qiao Yan, hoping to curry favor with her.

That left only the south as an escape route.

And when that time came, Yan Xing, stationed in the south, would “escort” him properly.

This was the basic direction Jia Xu and Qiao Yan had agreed upon before heading to Chang’an.

In this plan—

Once Qiao Yan attacked the Three Adjuncts from Liangzhou and took control of the Guanzhong region, connecting Liangzhou and Bingzhou, she would possess a power that would make the world take notice.

At that point, no matter whose hands Liu Xie fell into, he would be a hot potato!

Any regional governor would think it better to return him rather than hold onto him like Dong Zhuo did, which only brought Qiao Yan’s wrath, resulting in the loss of land and lives.

But paying lip service to Liu Xie as the Son of Heaven and actually having him nearby were two entirely different things.

So the best outcome would be for him to be captured by bandits and then disappear.

After that, it would be Qiao Yan’s stage to shine.

Within this grand framework, Jia Xu had already delivered a flawless performance.

Of course, before that, Yan Xing needed to be successfully stationed in the south, and Li Jue needed to have some advantage when facing Dong Zhuo’s reinforcements.

So before Yan Xing headed south, Jia Xu gave him a few more instructions.

“Dong Zhuo will likely send Duan Wei as the first messenger, but I suspect it will be a two-pronged attack from Duan Wei and Zhang Ji. By my estimate, Zhang Ji should already be on the way.”

“You have over 2,000 soldiers. Zhang Ji, rushing to reinforce Chang’an, will bring at most 3,000. The numbers are sufficient.”

Jia Xu pointed at the map of the Sili region before them. “You know the principle of attacking halfway across the river.”

“I want you to defeat Zhang Ji as he crosses the Ba River, let his remnants flee to Duan Wei, and then send a message to Chang’an before continuing south to garrison Shangluo. What to do next, I’ve already explained to you.”

Yan Xing nodded.

Jia Xu patted his shoulder. “Go, I await your good news.”

As Yan Xing headed south to ambush Zhang Ji, the edict appointing Yuan Shu as Governor of Yu Province was also sent eastward.

The messenger, using a relay system with two horses per rider, quickly reached Luoyang, then headed south through the Huan Pass into Yingchuan, and finally delivered the message to Yuan Shu in Runan.

Li Jue, persuaded by Jia Xu, gave this reward without hesitation. Yuan Shu, seizing the opportunity, accepted the title just as swiftly, without even consulting his advisors.

Hearing of Yuan Shu’s hasty decision, Yan Xiang, Yuan Huan, and Yang Hong exchanged helpless glances.

They were not surprised when Yuan Shu assigned them a task.

In his previous letter to Qiao Yan, he had already labeled the Ye City court as “nominally Han, but actually a band of traitors.” Now, with the edict from the Son of Heaven in Chang’an, he felt even more emboldened.

He immediately decided to have his advisors and officials draft a more cultured proclamation denouncing Liu Bian as illegitimate.

“General…”

Yan Xiang had barely started speaking when Yuan Shu interrupted him.

“No need to say more,” Yuan Shu raised his hand. “Let me ask you, has the little emperor in the north already granted Liu Bei an edict, allowing him to invade Yu Province?”

As Jia Xu and Li Jue had predicted, while Liu Bei’s combat skills might not match Qiao Yan or Huangfu Song, his methodical approach—reclaiming city after city in Pei State and steadily building up—had been a thorn in Yuan Shu’s side.

Though Liu Bei hadn’t inflicted a second major defeat on him, this steady progress felt more mocking than a swift attack.

And because of Qiao Rui’s death, Yuan Shu dared not cross the river to attack, fearing another encounter with Liu Bei’s fierce generals.

He planned to conscript troops in Yingchuan and Runan after the autumn harvest, then consider driving Liu Bei out of Yu Province.

The title of Governor of Yu Province from Liu Xie was truly a godsend.

If Yan Xiang and the others weren’t present, he might have even said that with this title, he could legitimately recruit talented individuals from Runan and Yingchuan to his side, surely finding a few truly capable ones!

Even without saying it, Yan Xiang could guess his thoughts from his expression.

He sighed. “That may be so, but he is still the son of the late emperor. We cannot trample on his dignity so freely.”

Yan Xiang knew that this wasn’t just about a false emperor—it was about the authority of the Han dynasty!

But Yuan Shu didn’t seem too concerned. “As long as we pay lip service to the legitimate line, that’s enough.”

He didn’t want to dwell on the topic and quickly shifted to another matter. “Let’s not talk about this for now. Take a few more days to refine the wording. In your opinion, who will win the battle in Liangzhou?”

Yuan Shu had initially thought Qiao Yan would be the one to attack Liangzhou first. But in the letter he received, Li Jue, posing as Dong Zhuo, informed him of the surprising news that Guanzhong had launched a counterattack first.

This was… quite impressive!

Qiao Yan’s previous disregard for his overtures had left Yuan Shu with a lingering resentment, and he secretly wished someone would teach this undefeated troublemaker a lesson.

Comparing this to the considerate gesture from Chang’an, even praising him as the rightful heir of the Yuan clan and the hope of the noble families, his heart leaned heavily in their favor.

But recalling that Qiao Yan had still managed to send support to Youzhou to assist Liu Yu against Gongsun Zan, he felt a bit uncertain again.

Seeing that Yan Xiang still seemed troubled by the earlier task, Yuan Shu turned his gaze to Yuan Huan. “Yaoqing, what do you think?”

Yuan Shu respected Yuan Huan, as he hailed from the Chen Commandery Yuan clan.

The Runan Yuan clan was a branch of the Chen Commandery Yuan clan, but due to the Chen Commandery clan’s emphasis on humility and self-restraint, the Runan branch had far surpassed them in political influence over generations.

Even though Yuan Huan’s father, Yuan Pang, had once held the position of Minister over the Masses during the Guanghe era, he hadn’t achieved any high-ranking positions. Having studied in the Jianghuai region earlier, he had no choice but to join Yuan Shu’s camp.

As fellow members of noble families, especially those who didn’t amass personal wealth, they served as moral benchmarks.

Their presence alone could garner significant support for Yuan Shu.

Yuan Huan met his gaze and calmly replied, “Those who grow arrogant early often face defeat. I don’t have high hopes for Dong Zhuo.”

The letter’s boastful tone about their impending victory in Liangzhou carried too much arrogance, making Yuan Huan feel something was off.

His intuition wasn’t wrong.

By the time the letter reached Runan, Qiao Yan’s troops had already gathered at Chencang.

The next day, 30,000 soldiers marched eastward, heading straight for Mei Fortress!