190-191: THE WAR FOR QING PROVINCE
Yan Province was ruled by Inspector Liu Dai, one of the many imperial scions living under the Han Dynasty. Having been appointed in the years following the Yellow Turban Rebellion, he now found himself in control of one of the most powerful provinces of the whole empire. He was an amazing administrator, efficiently running it all and ensuring that everything was in order. Really, there could be no better man to run the region. But just like everyone else, Liu Dai was worried of Dong Zhuo and his growing power. He feared that once this campaign against the White Wave Bandits was over the tyrant might decide to expand in the Central Plains, which would mean the annexation of Yan Province. Liu Dai couldn’t allow this, but he would not be able to resist Dong Zhuo if he came with an army. So he chose to expand instead, hoping to gain more territories and troops.
He decided to target the neighbouring Qing Province. They had also eyed for Fei County before it had been conquered by a Yan vassal, which only raised tensions between the two provinces. Now, there was the issue that Qing Province already had its own Inspector, Zang Hong. Zang Hong was known as a loyal man, a devout and virtuous ruler and a friend of the people. So Liu Dai couldn’t simply say he was corrupt and roll in. First he began to spread rumors about Zang Hong, saying that he was actually a rapist and an incestuous pervert who used to sleep with his mother. These kinds of rumors were easy enough to spread, as long as the coins were spent on the right people. For his part, Zang Hong was confused and disturbed by all these rumors ruining his image, but could do little about it. When he was finally satisfied, Liu Dai declared that he would bring the corrupt Zang Hong to justice and declared war for Qing Province. Zang Hong was horrified by this, and actually sent calls to his neighbours for help. Sadly, both Han Fu of Ji and Tao Qian of Xu had they own wars at the time. Thus he was forced to go to war alone as Liu Dai mobilized in August 190.
Both assembled their troops and prepared to march against the enemy. But as their armies advanced into enemy territories, both found themselves with the same problem: they lacked trust in their main commanding officer, who they (rightfully) believed was eyeing for their position. In Liu Dai’s case, this turned out to be even more of a problem, as he didn’t lead the troops himself at the start of the war (something that would change as mistrust grew). He had instead been forced to appoint his political rival Qiao Mao, the Administrator of Dong Commandery. Qiao Mao was the cousin of former Chancellor Qiao Xuan, which gave him a lot of influence in the Province. Liu Dai and his general had not trust for one another, but Qiao Mao was the best commander he had. Beside, both supported the annexation of Qing Province, so the true battle would be in who would be able to spin the eventual victory in their favor.
Meanwhile, Zang Hong took command of his own troops, although he brought as his second-in-command the respected scholar and administrator Kong Rong, a direct descendant of Confucius who had recently been appointed in the province. Just as Qiao Mao, Kong Rong’s familial ties to a famous figure led many to believe that he might be a better choice of leader than his lord. Now, Zang Hong had showed nothing but goodwill toward Kong Rong, and Kong Rong had in turn proved loyal and respectful of his lord. But Kong Rong was also ambitious, which was why he invited great men to join his side. Seeing how much people chose Kong Rong over him, it was no wonder that Zang Hong got nervous. He already felt his power endangered by the lies spread by Liu Dai, but now he had to watch for Kong Rong too, as the man held more sway over the troops than he did. This campaign would be a test to see if the two could mend their worsening relationship or if they could stay united.
Weirdly enough, both armies entered the other’s territory without any fight. Qiao Mao attacked the villages at the border between Yan and Qing, while Zang Hong and Kong Rong decided to start by besieging Fei County. Zang Hong tried to appeal to the local magistrate Zhuge Gui, asking him to open his gate and surrender the city. Zang Hong was honest enough that he broke off the siege to start negotiations, and even invited Zhuge Gui to a meeting. Zhuge Gui first sent his son Zhuge Liang, who asked that his father be allowed to return to the city if he refused to surrender after the negotiations. Zang Hong, who was impressed by the child’s calm and authority, agreed, taking an oath that no arm would be done to Zhuge Gui when he came out. He also forced Kong Rong to swear the oath, even if the general was less trilled about wasting time on such pointless negotiations.
Zhuge Gui did leave his stronghold to go to Zang Hong’s camp, and would indeed come out of it with a great respect for both Zang Hong and Kong Rong. However, he refused to surrender, saying that
“While I am honored to know that the people of Qing Province are virtuous, my loyalty lays with my lord, whose loyalty lays with Yan Province. As such, I cannot in good conscience betray that trust placed in me by welcoming you inside Fei County.” While they were disappointed, the Inspector and his main general understood and allowed Zhuge Gui to leave, parting on good terms with him.
Now, Ying Shao wasn’t going to abandon Zhuge Gui like that. He asked Liu Dai for supply, which the Inspector granted. This was actually supply requested by Qiao Mao, but Liu Dai believed this was meant to supply a deep strike into Qing, which might be used by Qiao Mao to take over the province for himself. Better to let a loyal subject like Ying Shao have it. With that supply, Ying Shao turned to the best administrator he had on hand,
Xiao Ru. He wanted Xiao Ru to pass for a merchant and then get the supply to Zhuge Gui. Xiao Ru gladly accepted this responsibility with no plan to accomplish the task whatsoever. He hated Zhuge Gui for taking Fei County from him two months ago. So why would he try to save that man? With some luck, Zhuge Gui would be killed in the defence of Fei County, which might force Ying Shao to appoint him instead.
So Xiao Ru headed toward the capital of Fei County, which was still besieged by Zang Hong and Kong Rong. He approached with his caravan of supply, looking like a merchant. But instead of trying to sneak in and give the provisions to Zhuge Gui, he would simply sell it to the besiegers and make a small fortune. The problem was that the besiegers were not idiots. When they saw this trade caravan suspiciously approaching, they immediately guessed that it was a disguised relief for Zhuge Gui. In fact, as he approached the camp, Xiao Ru and his men were spotted and stopped by Kong Rong’s youngest officer, the eighteen years old
Hu Zan.
Hu Zan had orders to stop any suspicious group approaching the camp, and this “merchant caravan” led by a stuttering man was suspicious indeed. Thankfully, this was all fixed by a small “donation” from Xiao Ru to Hu Zan. Always weak to this kind of persuasion, Hu Zan gladly accepted the sack of coins. Willing to repay the kindness of this “gift”, Hu Zan arranged for Xiao Ru to be brought in front of Kong Rong, although he kept the rest of the caravan under guard. Kong Rong heard what Xiao Ru had to say, how he was a merchant selling this supply in the hope of supporting Qing Province. He still stuttered the whole way through, a bit intimidated by this famous man. Kong Rong was not impressed, and instead accused Xiao Ru of being a spy. He was about to have him arrested when Hu Zan intervened, vouching for Xiao Ru. With his assistant’s approval, Kong Rong chose to believe the “merchant”, and even bought his supply for fair price. Before he left, Xiao Ru would thank Hu Zan for his support and even give him some coins as recompense. The two left each other in good terms.
But as Fei County was surrendering and Qiao Mao was capturing villages, someone came in to perturb the whole war. The lies about Zang Hong’s debauchery had spread beyond Qing Province, reaching the encampments of the small warlord Liu Bei. A small official who had risen to take over an entire county, Liu Bei was renowned as honorable, righteous and an all-around good guy. Once upon a time, he had sworn an oath in a peach garden to restore peace to the Han and defeat the rebels alongside Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who became his sworn brothers. And everything he heard about Zang Hong horrified him. What a decadent man, truly an enemy of the Han! He discussed with his two brothers of what to do. He wanted to free Qing Province of Zang Hong, but he hesitated about the path to take. Both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who wanted to see glory and battles, pushed Liu Bei to launch a campaign. Convinced, he entered Qing Province in early December 190, shocking both Zang Hong and Liu Dai, who had never expected a third party to jump in.
Qiao Mao began to contemplate the idea of joining force with Liu Bei, first against Zang Hong and then against Liu Dai. He sent envoys to request a meeting with Liu Bei, hoping that the two could meet while Liu Dai was occupied. As it turned out, the Inspector of Yan Province was dealing with a small peasant revolt on the other side of his territories. Liu Bei agreed to meet with Qiao Mao out of etiquette. Although he and his brothers were kindly received in the Qiao Mao’s camp, they were disappointed by what he offered. Both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei scoffed at the idea of cooperating with him, arrogantly boasting that they could defeat Zang Hong and his generals without his help. Meanwhile, Liu Bei didn’t like the idea of helping Qiao Mao overthrow Liu Dai.
“I will not fight a fellow member of the Imperial Clan, nor will I fight such a virtuous man.” he told Qiao Mao.
Qiao Mao was disappointed, but his days only got worst with the sudden arrival of Liu Dai. As it turned out, he had already crushed the peasant uprising a few months back and had simply kept the fact hidden from Qiao Mao. The news of Liu Bei joining had left him worried that Qiao Mao might attempt to betray him by allying with Liu Bei, so he decided to go take command of the troops himself. He actually met the leaving Liu Bei as he arrived. Liu Bei paid his respects to his more illustrious relative, as did Guan Yu. Zhang Fei didn’t seem to care, so Liu Bei had to force him to bow alongside them. Liu Dai quickly told him to get up, and the two had a drink, talking of the current situation of the Emperor.
Liu Dai welcomed Liu Bei to join his cause, thanking him for providing forces that could help him take Qing Province, and eventually, go save the Emperor. But showing some ambitions of his own, Liu Bei politely declined, saying that he believed that his illustrious relative might already have a lot on his plate with Yan province. Instead, by letting Liu Bei take over Qing Province, he would ensure that he had a loyal and righteous ally to his eastern border. Then they could march toward Luoyang and save the Emperor. Liu Dai was not thrilled with the idea, and in the end this would be their only meeting as he quickly ended discussions with Liu Bei once he realised that they wouldn’t join force.
Unlike Liu Dai, who took a slow and steady approach to war, taking positions on the border, Liu Bei chose to go for the heart of Qing Province, attacking Zang Hong’s seat of power. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who saw this as a chance to show their skills, pushed for the move, to which Liu Bei relented. Messengers were sent to Zang Hong the second that the flag of Liu Bei was spotted near the provincial capital. When they arrived, Liu Bei kindly asked that the garrison let them enter, so they could free Qing Province from the evil Zang Hong. The garrison refused, as they knew Zang Hong was actually a kind ruler. Angered by what he saw as an insult against his first brother, Guan Yu came forward and challenged the commander of the garrison to a duel. The commander agreed and came out, only to be promptly killed by the long bearded warrior.
Zang Hong received this news and started to panic. Fei County had been taken, but now he had to face both Liu Dai and Liu Bei. Kong Rong came forward and suggested a plan cooked up by his officer Hu Zan. Hu Zan suggested that they first dealt with the army of Liu Dai, which was four times larger than Liu Bei’s. They could use the dissentions between Qiao Mao and Liu Dai to their advantage, fighting both separately and thus denying their numerical advantage. King Rong backed Hu Zan’s plan and begged Zang Hong to follow it. But Zang Hong could not sit idly while the people of his capital were under siege. He took his troops and marched back home. Kong Rong convinced him to leave some troops under his command so he could continue some small sieges, which Zang Hong agreed. But as he led his troops away, many began to whisper into his ear of how Kong Rong had defied his authority, how he tried to take decisions in his stead. Doubts were creeping in his mind.
It was in early February 191 that Zang Hong finally arrived to face Liu Bei and his men. Zang Hong sent a messenger to Liu Bei, demanding why he was attacking him. Couldn’t they find a way to end this peacefully without hurting the commoners? Guan Yu met the envoy and didn’t even allow it in front of his First Brother. The tall bearded man arrogantly claimed that they had no time discussing with a corrupt man like Zang Hong, and that next time Zang Hong wanted to speak, he would have to come in person, and on his knees. Negotiations having failed, the two armies prepared for battle.
As he had half the troops Zang Hong had, Liu Bei planned a defensive strategy, especially as he feared that the garrison would come out and attacks his rear mid battle. Sadly, he was unable to keep his brothers in check, as Zhang Fei quickly broke rank and Guan Yu was forced to go after him, throwing the defensive strategy out the window. Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, now separated from their brother, decided to make their way on the battlefield and go straight for Zang Hong. They finally spotted the Inspector of Qing near the rear and charged at him. They killed two generals trying to protect their lord, and Guan Yu was even able to wound Zang Hong, but in the end the Inspector escaped. Still, this heroic push had galvanised Liu Bei’s troops and demoralised Zang Hong’s, and soon the troops of Qing were fleeing after their leader.
Victorious, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei returned to find the consequences of their actions. Just as Liu Bei had feared, the garrison had used the battle to attack Liu Bei’s rear. With his formation in shamble, they were able to get to Liu Bei and hurt him pretty bad before they were pushed back. Liu Bei had lost a hand in the fighting. Ashamed of their conduct, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei stayed silent as the injured Liu Bei tried to berate them for their conduct. He fainted in the middle of it.
Zang Hong’s defeated force retreated back to the border with Yan. This was a slow and arduous march, with everyone demoralised. It didn’t help that Zang Hong never fully healed of that wound he had received from Guan Yu. Things got even worst in May, when they learned that Liu Dai was chasing them. The Yan forces, already superior in numbers at the start of the war, where now twice as numerous due to the losses against Liu Bei. Zang Hong was forced to navigate through his own territories to escape him. He tried to reach to Kong Rong, demanding that he came back with the troops he had left him. But Kong Rong was in the middle of a series of siege, and abandoning them would leave his rear exposed as he joined back with Zang Hong. So he made the fateful decision of disobeying his lord’s order. To Zang Hong, this was the horrifying proof that Kong Rong might indeed be conspiring against him. He made a mental note to demand that Kong Rong explain himself once the war was over.
It was in June that Liu Dai finally caught up with Hang Zong. While Liu Dai would have normally been more cautious in his approach, the presence of Qiao Mao forced him to act more “heroically” so to control the narrative after victory. He took a group of loyal bodyguards and made his way to Hang Zong, wanting to kill the man on the battlefield. Hang Zong’s bodyguards interposed themselves, which resulted in a bloody melee between the two groups. Liu Dai was able slay one of the bodyguards himself, but he was heavily injured in the process. Meanwhile, Zang Hong was hit many times, leaving him badly hurt and forcing his bodyguards to drag him out of the battlefield. Once again the troops of Qing were defeated and fled, this time with their lord severely injured.
King Rong was surprised when he saw the army of Zang Hong arrived to his camp, and even more surprised when he saw the state his lord was in. Zang Hong was too hurt to lead or administrate the army, which led the officers to ask Kong Rong for leadership. He initially refused, but Zang Hong asked him to take command until he recovered. No matter the enmities between them, the focus was now on saving Qing Province. Kong Rong agreed to take command, and so he continued the sieges while Zang Hong laid in his tent in pain. Hu Zan was appointed as the commander of Zang Hong’s personal guard, a clear show of trust from Kong Rong’s part. Thus days passed, then weeks, then months, with Zang Hong not recovering. In fact, his state was only getting worst. In the end, the wounds and injuries he had endured were too much for him, and he died on the 19th of September 191 at the age of 27.
Hu Zan was the first to know, and so he immediately reported it to Kong Rong. As Zang Hong had no children, it didn’t take long for the army to demand that Kong Rong take over as Inspector of Qing Province. He accepted, although he did feign that it was only because the soldiers insisted. He soon entered in talks with the two invaders, who were fully willing to end this war. Liu Bei trusted that Kong Rong would be a just and righteous ruler, and so was happy to leave Qing Province in his hands. Liu Dai was a lot less interested about Kong Rong’s virtues, but he was severely injured and wanted to go back home to secure his power, which he feared might have been slipping since he got injured. He also hoped to use this peace to heal and recuperate. A futile dream, as these injuries would eventually kill him a few years down the line. Liu Bei and Liu Dai agreed to pull out of Qing and recognize Kong Rong as the new Inspector. Peace had returned to the province, and it seemed like Hu Zan and the other generals serving Kong Rong were on the verge of a quick ascension up the ranks.
