Chapter 129: The Princes Rise When Dong Zhuo fled west with the emperor and the anti-Dong alliance disbanded, everyone understood that a new era had arrived. Because of Tian Ze's existence, the life trajectories of Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Gongsun Zan and others have changed slightly. Although Cao Cao was still ambushed by Li Ru, he was not completely defeated because of Liu Bei's help and still retained thousands of elite troops. Therefore, he did not go to Yangzhou to recruit soldiers, but returned directly to Chenliu. The prefect of Chenliu at that time was Zhang Miao. During the campaign against Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shao, having become the leader of the alliance, often behaved in an arrogant and overbearing manner. Zhang Miao could not stand this and criticized him bluntly many times. As a result, their originally close relationship quickly deteriorated. Yuan Shao even secretly ordered Cao Cao to kill Zhang Miao, but Cao Cao refused, thinking that Zhang Miao was their close friend and should not be killed. Therefore, Zhang Miao was very grateful to Cao Cao. Cao Cao's father Cao Song was not optimistic about Cao Cao's future, so Cao Cao never thought of returning to Pei County to develop. At that time, there were many bandits in Yanzhou, and Zhang Miao himself was incompetent, so he was also happy to accept Cao Cao. However, Cao Cao also felt that being under someone else's command for a long time was not a big deal. It just so happened that a group of Yellow Turban bandits in Bingzhou attacked the neighboring Weijun and Dongjun at this time. The governor of Dongjun, Wang Gong, was also a clean official. Although he had good conduct, his military ability was worrying. He was defeated by a group of bandits and died in the chaos.
Dongjun was originally close to Cao Cao, so Cao Cao took the opportunity to send troops and defeated the bandits in Puyang. Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, who was also a member of the Qingliu clan, was worried about how to deal with the bandits in Yanzhou. After all, he had appointed a group of people who were as virtuous as Wang Gong but incompetent. Seeing that Cao Cao performed so outstandingly and since they were allies, he simply recommended him to be the governor of Dongjun County and put him in charge of the area. This was exactly what Cao Cao wanted. After pursuing Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao's mentality has changed slightly. Especially for Yuan Shao, Cao Cao had lost his previous respect and trust, and was instead full of contempt. He wanted to get rid of his status as Yuan Shao's younger brother and work on his own. Really, this kind of boss has no future at all, and if things go wrong, he may even lose his life. Everyone in the Yuan family is cold-hearted and will abandon their employer after they have done their job. Moreover, there were so many bandits in Yanzhou, and the governor was an incompetent person like Liu Dai. Cao Cao felt that he was fully capable and had the opportunity to replace him. But before that, we still have to lie dormant and develop in Dongjun for a period of time. At this moment, Xun Yu, who was loyal to the Han Dynasty, took the initiative to surrender. Cao Cao was overjoyed and shouted "My Zi Fang" and appointed Xun Yu as Sima. Xun Yu, who was fully in charge of internal affairs, not only helped Cao Cao to quickly take control of Dongjun, but also encouraged people to engage in farming, forge weapons, store food and grass, recruit soldiers, and recommended a large number of talented people. This allowed Cao Cao's team to expand rapidly. With the Cao clan as the military support and the Yingchuan scholars as the literary support, he could take off as soon as the right time came. On the other hand, Liu Bei, who was then the Prime Minister of Liang State, was developing unexpectedly smoothly at this time. Not long after the campaign against Dong Zhuo ended, Kong Jun died of illness. Yuan Shu, who was then the prefect of Nanyang, saw an opportunity and immediately sent troops eastward, hoping to seize the opportunity to occupy Yuzhou. Although Liu Bei, who was still without a strategist at this time, had considerable military strength and reputation, he was still worried and didn't know what to do. Just at this time, Jian Yong recommended a talented person to him, Chen Qun. According to the original historical trajectory, Liu Bei recruited Chen Qun when he was serving as the Governor of Yuzhou and then the Governor of Xuzhou, and was full of ambition and complacency. He did not follow Chen Qun's advice, but insisted on advancing eastward, which led to his failure. Chen Qun was eventually captured by Cao Cao.
But now Liu Bei had gone through a lot of hardships to take up the position of Prime Minister of Lu. In the process, he deeply realized the importance of scholars. After the princes' campaign against Dong Zhuo, he was extremely eager for a counselor. Therefore, Liu Bei's attitude towards Chen Qun was quite humble and respectful, and he successfully gained Chen Qun's support and recognition and made plans for him. Under Chen Qun's manipulation, the governors of various counties in Yuzhou condemned and united to jointly resist Yuan Shu. Liu Bei was recommended by the governors as the governor of Yuzhou because of his reputation in defeating Dong Zhuo and his status as a relative of the Han royal family. For a time, nearly half of Yuzhou was under Liu Bei's command, and he was evenly matched with Yuan Shu, who controlled Nanyang, Yingchuan and nearby Runan County. Yuan Shu knew that Liu Bei was not easy to deal with, and that Liu Biao was eyeing Jingzhou, so after taking Runan County and encountering Liu Bei's army, he stopped his actions and marched south to occupy Jiujiang, confronting Liu Bei from north to south. Because Sun Jian was attacked by Liu Biao and was defeated and killed, his subordinates had to surrender to Yuan Shu. Together with the original Huben Army, the combat effectiveness of Yuan Shu's generals and troops should not be underestimated. Liu Bei was unwilling to compete with him for the time being, and the two sides entered a period of stability. In Liang Province, Gongsun Zan has built up a great reputation over the years. Relying on the White Horse Volunteers, an extremely abnormal elite force, he defeated the Western Qiang cavalry without any chance of fighting back. Although he was extremely cruel to the Hu people, no one in Xiliang, where the strong were respected, was angry with him for this. The Western Qiang cavalry, who were tortured to death, became more and more in awe of the White Horse General. Many Qiang tribes, who had long admired his name, took the initiative to join him. Especially after the princes' campaign against Dong Zhuo, Dong Zhuo withdrew to Chang'an and gradually lost his fighting spirit. Many of his Xiliang soldiers returned home, but they began to join Gongsun Zan because of his reputation. Gongsun Zan felt a little troubled at first when facing this group of Hu people who treated him with fanatical worship. Given his temper, he should have just killed all these people. But Xiliang is a very special place, even more chaotic than Youzhou. The Qiang and Han people have been mixed for hundreds of years, and it is almost impossible to distinguish between Qiang and Han people. Many Han people have Qiang blood. We can't just kill everyone. After thinking for a long time, Gongsun Zan finally figured it out. Receive! Those who are accepted are Han people, and those who are unwilling to come are Hu people! In this way, Gongsun Zan finally sorted out the differences between the Han people and the Hu people. From then on, he no longer targeted the people under his rule, and began to devote himself to foreign conquests. Except for the tribes that did not have a single member who could speak Chinese, Gongsun Zan accepted all the rest as long as they were willing to admit that they were Han people. For a time, the name of this White Horse General was known throughout Xiliang, and even the rebels such as Bian Zhang and Han Sui fled. In fact, if a fight really broke out, Gongsun Zan might not be able to defeat Huangfu Song and Dong Zhuo. But Gongsun Zan's talent and the cooperation of the White Horse Volunteers made him very suitable for fighting against the Hu people. It's absolutely a case of one thing conquering another. Whether it was the Xianbei, Wuhuan or Qiang people, they all mainly fought with cavalry. Although there were some differences in their combat styles, they used the same few tricks over and over again. The White Horse Volunteers under Gongsun Zan relied on their extreme speed to completely crush the Qiang people, who were also cavalrymen and had poorer equipment. Yizhou and Jingzhou were occupied respectively by Liu Yan and Liu Biao, two relatives of the Han royal family. They enjoyed themselves behind closed doors and had no intention of competing for hegemony. Yangzhou and Jiaozhou were still relatively peaceful, with no other princes occupying them for the time being. The prefects of each county were able to run their respective territories with peace of mind.
Sili became a deserted area, and in Qingzhou, only Beihai still had some popularity. Kong Rong, a clear-minded person, was practicing the policy of inaction and was busy opening schools and promoting Confucianism. Tao Qian, the governor of Xuzhou, had the best troops in Danyang and wanted to extend his influence to Yanzhou and Qingzhou, but he did not dare to do so due to the reputation of Liu Dai and Kong Rong. Tao Qian was quite capable in fighting when he was young, and he was able to deal with the Yellow Turbans with ease during his years as the governor of Xuzhou, but he is old now after all. He is nearly sixty years old and is now old, confused, and cowardly. His problems of listening to one side and appointing villains are getting worse and worse. Xuzhou is full of hidden dangers and it is difficult to achieve anything. For a time, many heroes emerged and all states in the world showed signs of separatism. A great era has begun. (End of this chapter)