Chapter 134: Liu Biao Compromises
In Xiangyang, Cai Mao hurriedly arrived at Liu Biao’s official residence, bowed in salute, “Does Lord have an urgent matter for me?”
In just two short months, Liu Biao suffered successive heavy blows. First, he lost Changsha Commandery, and soon Liu Bei used the pretext of the Northern Expedition to swallow his twenty thousand troops and all of Nanyang Commandery.
Thus in just two months, Liu Biao visibly aged, his hair and beard all turned white, he became doddering, and even walking required maidservants to support him.
But upon closer thought, it was also quite normal, after all Liu Biao was already seventy years old, and a life of seventy was rare since ancient times; his days were numbered.
Liu Biao coldly glanced at Cai Mao, his face gloomy as he asked: “Does the strategist not know about the Jiangling matter?”
“This subordinate knows!”
“Is this not an urgent matter?”
Cai Mao dared not make a sound. Liu Biao could not conceal his inner anger, pounding the desk with his fist: “Hundreds of large ships burned, and the entire barracks along with them—can this be explained merely as a fire started from warming oneself?”
“Reporting to Lord, Zhang Yun indeed bears undeniable responsibility for this matter.”
“It’s not a matter of responsibility, it’s the truth! The truth!”
Liu Biao was filled with anger, “Anyone can fool me, conceal the truth, but in the end it is I who suffers the fall of house and lost country, I who bears all the consequences, yet I do not even know where the problem lies? All hidden from me by you bunch of bastards.”
“Lord overstates it!”
Cai Mao wiped the sweat from his forehead, “This subordinate will immediately send people to investigate thoroughly—what exactly happened?”
Liu Biao coldly said: “Go investigate personally. Pass my command: suspend Zhang Yun from his duties as navy governor, and deal with him after the investigation concludes!”
“This subordinate obeys!”
Seeing Liu Biao truly enraged, Cai Mao dared say no more, hurriedly saluted and left.
After Cai Mao left, Kuai Yue, who had just entered, bowed and said: “Please quell your anger, Lord!”
Liu Biao forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart, nodded and said: “I am not angry. Speak freely if there is anything.”
“Jiangdong has replied.”
“What did they say?”
Kuai Yue hesitated a moment and said: “They say alliance is possible, but we must hand over Huang Zu to them; this is the foundation of the alliance between both sides.”
“Absurd!”
Liu Biao annoyedly snorted, “With such lack of sincerity, no alliance is needed.”
Liu Biao had originally hoped to join with Jiangdong to deal with the increasingly powerful Gan Ning, but unexpectedly Jiangdong could not forget old grudges, so this alliance was meaningless.
“Do not mention this matter again!”
“This subordinate understands. Additionally, there is a reply from Liu Bei’s side.”
Liu Biao hurriedly asked: “Did he agree that the army and Nanyang Commandery were only borrowed?”
Kuai Yue bowed and said: “He agreed, willing to sign an agreement with us for borrowing troops and borrowing Nanyang Commandery, for a period of five years.”
Liu Bei’s attitude barely gave Liu Biao a bit of face. As long as Liu Bei admitted to borrowing the twenty thousand troops and Nanyang Commandery, then the army and base still belonged to him, Liu Biao.
This made Liu Biao feel much more at ease in his heart; his previous anger toward Liu Bei and Wen Pin also gradually dissipated.
Liu Biao’s expression softened somewhat, slowly saying: “He is our northern bulwark. After signing the agreement, he is still my brother; I welcome him to Xiangyang as a guest.”
“This subordinate understands!”
Kuai Yue saluted and withdrew.
Although his anger toward Liu Bei had subsided, Liu Biao was extremely dissatisfied with the Jingzhou noble families headed by the Cai Family. Advanced in age, he found he was gradually losing control of the situation.
Liu Biao stood annoyed by the window, his mood very poor recently, with the trigger still coming from the Cai Family. Liu Xin had returned to report to him on the Huang Zhong matter, and only then did Liu Biao realize he had fallen for a counter-intelligence ploy, losing a great general for nothing.
He sent people to investigate the intelligence scouts Cai Mao had dispatched to Yuzhang Commandery, only to learn that the intelligence scouts had only gone to Chaisang and not to Nanchang County at all. How could they have seen Huang Zhong’s personal guards appearing at Gan Ning’s residence? This proved it was a lie fabricated by Cai Mao to frame Huang Zhong.
Secondly, his son Liu Cong told him that he had been captured alive by Gan Ning’s subordinate great general. Cai Yan did not hide his son but placed him on the commander’s ship, drawing the enemy army’s great general—this made Liu Biao very dissatisfied with Cai Yan. If his son Liu Cong had not been captured, the hostage exchange for Linxiang County would not have happened; with Huang Zhong staunchly defending Linxiang County, the Yuzhang Army could not have taken it, and Changsha Commandery would not have been lost so quickly.
All of this was the Cai Family’s doing. Liu Biao was furious in his heart but had no means to act; the Cai Family had marriage alliances with the other major noble families—one prospered, all prospered; one suffered, all suffered. Cai Mao also controlled the military power, leaving Liu Biao powerless.
The battle for Changsha Commandery made many things clear to Liu Biao. He wanted to establish his eldest son as heir, but these people insisted on establishing the second son as heir—what could he do? Liu Biao deeply felt his own isolation; these noble families were all in cahoots, and he alone could hardly oppose them.
For this very reason, despite Liu Bei strongly borrowing his Nanyang Commandery and twenty thousand troops, Liu Biao ultimately decided to keep Liu Bei. Though Liu Bei also had ambitions, Liu Bei could help him confront the noble families; on the front line of opposing the Jingzhou noble families, Liu Bei was his only ally.
Liu Biao let out a long sigh; he was old and must quickly settle the matter of establishing an heir.
Late in the eleventh month, a heavy snowfall fell swirling down, once again blanketing the banks of the Yangtze River in pristine white snow.
A massive fleet sailed in from the east on the Yangtze River, thick oiled cloth covering the ships, blanketed in a layer of glistening snowflakes.
This was the salt fleet sailing from Kuaiji Commandery, composed of three hundred three-thousand-shi cargo ships, fully loaded with five hundred thousand shi of salt.
At the forefront, two doujian towed as mother ships, with dozens of large oars powerfully rowing, several large iron hooks at the stern linking three hundred large cargo ships, stretching over twenty li.
Additionally, one hundred mengchong warships escorted; this was also a condition reached in the alliance treaty between Jiangdong and Kuaiji Commandery—Yuzhang Commandery’s official merchant fleets must have escorts, a lesson learned from Qiao An’s capture.
But warship escorts would inevitably infringe on Jiangdong territory, and Jiangdong disagreed. Jiangdong proposed a plan of Jiangdong Army and Yuzhang Army taking turns escorting within respective territorial waters, but Yuzhang Commandery rejected this plan, deeming Jiangdong Army warships unreliable.
In the end, both sides compromised: Yuzhang Commandery would not use large warships for escort, limited to no more than one hundred ships.
Thus, one hundred mengchong warships guarded the salt fleet, sailing parallel to the north of the salt fleet.
They guarded against river bandit robberies on one hand, but more importantly against interception by Sun Ben’s forces.
But what is feared comes to pass. That noon, as the ships sailed within Danyang Commandery waters, urgent warning bells suddenly rang on the river surface; nearly two hundred similar mengchong warships charged from the north.
Yuzhang Army warships met them in battle one after another; drum sounds boomed on the river surface, arrows fell like rain, fire oil bottles hurled at the enemy nonstop. Though the Yuzhang Army faced two-to-one odds, their offense and defense were highly organized, not falling behind in the slightest.
However, some of Sun Ben’s mengchong warships broke through the defensive line and closed in on the salt ships. Over a dozen Sun Ben troops rushed onto the salt ships, swinging blades to chop the bindings between ships.
Gan Ning had long learned from Sun Ce’s fleet lesson, not using hemp rope for binding but two thick iron chains. Battle sabers struck sparks flying, yet remained utterly unsevered.
At that moment, a volley of arrows rained down like hailstones; Sun Ben army soldiers on the salt ships were struck by arrows and fell one after another.
Over a hundred Jiangdong Army scout ships arrived to provide support, some shooting arrows from the south, others circling to the north to join the battle. Seeing the enemy reinforcements arrive, Sun Ben Commandery warships disengaged from the battlefield one after another and withdrew toward the north bank.
