Chapter 2204: Liu Yu’s revenge? The Yizhou Incident
If you want to say who Liu Yu hates the most in the world, it is definitely Liu Ji.
When Liu Yu took over Yizhou from Liu Yan in danger, Liu Ji was just a small prefect of Ba County. However, he took advantage of his confrontation with Chi You to develop and expand, and then annexed Yizhou bit by bit.
As a result, the territory in Liu Yu's hands became smaller and smaller, and he even took away the title of 'King of Shu' that should have belonged to him;
It was just a ban, Liu Yu didn't care. If he could get Liu Ji to stop, it would be worth it.
Now that the Han Dynasty is in danger, Liu Yu doesn't want to fight with Liu Ji, but he still underestimates Liu Ji's viciousness.
No matter how Liu Yu gave in, Liu Ji never stopped persecuting him. After supporting Liu Bian to ascend the throne, he took advantage of the general situation to force him to give up Chengdu as the capital.
You know, Liu Yu's title is King of Chengdu, and Chengdu is his fiefdom. Without Chengdu, wouldn't his title of King of Chengdu be in name only?
In this regard, Liu Yu only felt that he had suffered a great shame and humiliation, but the situation must be strengthened. If he did not give up Chengdu, his fate would only be worse. If he gave up Chengdu, there would still be a life, and he would make plans later.
In the end, Liu Yu chose to endure the humiliation and voluntarily give up Chengdu. The result was not what he expected. After giving up Chengdu, Liu Ji actually stopped openly persecuting him.
After all, Liu Yu was a prince, and like the Tang, Sui, and Chu kingdoms, they all belonged to the Southern Han Dynasty.
Liu Yudu had already given up Chengdu to the imperial court as the capital. If Liu Ji continued to force him too much, it would only make the three kingdoms of Tang, Sui, and Chu miserable, and would not be conducive to the overall fight against Qin.
Although Liu Ji did not persecute Liu Yu openly, he continued to instigate him in various ways. He wished that Liu Yu would die soon.
Liu Yu was already accustomed to such methods as assassination and poisoning, and he even almost died three times.
But Liu Yu did not make any announcement to the outside world. Instead, he claimed that these assassins were sent by Chi You, hoping to dispel Liu Ji's wariness against him, but Liu Ji never relaxed his guard against Liu Yu.
Liu Ji's endless attacks also made Liu Yu completely understand that no matter how he retreated and compromised, Liu Ji would never let him go, and only one of them could survive.
Liu Yu didn't want to die, but with his own strength, fighting against Liu Ji, who controlled the Southern Han Dynasty, was tantamount to throwing an egg against a stone, so all he could do was endure the humiliation and bear the burden, waiting for an opportunity that would allow him to stand up.
Liu Yu originally did not believe in ghosts and gods, but after giving up Chengdu, he began to believe in Buddhism. He ate fasting, chanted and prayed to the Buddha every day, hoping to get an opportunity to avenge his shame.
Huangtian paid off, and after a long wait, Liu Yu finally got this opportunity.
In the Battle of Jingbei, the Shu-Chu coalition was defeated miserably, and the Shu army was almost wiped out. Even Liu Ji himself was wounded by an arrow from Zhao Yun, and his life or death was unknown.
This was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue for the Southern Han Dynasty, but for Liu Yu who had endured the humiliation, it was great news. He finally had the opportunity to take revenge on Liu Ji.
How much was the loss in the battle between Jingbei and Shu?
Before the war, the total military strength of the Shu Kingdom was 250,000, and it sent 150,000 troops to attack Jingzhou. After that, it first increased the main force of 30,000, and then sent Peng Yue to lead an army of 30,000 back to aid Nanzhong. In other words, the Shu Kingdom sent to northern Jingzhou.
The main force totaled 150,000.
In addition to the 150,000 main force, Liu Ji also mobilized 40,000 Southern Barbarian slave troops. In addition to the 30,000 troops recruited in Jingbei and the 30,000 prisoners of war, the total force mobilized by the Shu Kingdom in Jingbei has been
Reaching as many as 250,000.
But of the 250,000 Shu troops, only 20,000 fled back to Yiling, and the rest died in Xiangyang.
Liu Ji made his fortune quickly, and he also lost his fortune quickly.
Liu Ji lost most of the strength he had accumulated over more than ten years in this single battle.
Now there are only 130,000 troops left in the Shu Kingdom. Not only are they divided to guard various counties, but they also have to resist the invasion of the Southern Barbarian King Chi You. There are no extra troops left.
If Liu Yu hadn't grasped such a God-given opportunity, he would be sorry for his forbearance all these years.
"Brother, please send troops. If Liu Ji doesn't give us a way to survive, don't blame us for adding insult to injury." Liu Er said excitedly.
"Yes, brother."
Liu Zhang and Liu Fan also agreed. As for the other two brothers, Liu Dan and Liu Hao, they both died in Liu Ji's assassination.
The God-given opportunity was right in front of him, and Liu Yu had been waiting for this moment in his dreams. But when this moment really came, Liu Yu's administration was not only not excited at all, but also full of calm.
"Send troops? How to send troops? One hundred thousand southern barbarian troops have made a comeback. If there is internal strife with the Shu army at this time, it will only end up benefiting that barbarian Chi You."
After hearing Liu Yu's words, Liu Er, Liu Zhang, and Liu Fan showed unwillingness on their faces. Liu Er said: "But such a good opportunity, can't we give it up?"
"Give up? How is that possible?"
Liu Yu sneered.
Hearing this, Liu Er was a little confused and asked puzzledly: "Is there any way to avenge Chi You without taking advantage of him?"
"Of course."
Liu Yu's eyes flashed and he sneered: "The current master of Yizhou is not the Shu Kingdom, but the Han Dynasty.
Now that Chengdu is empty and the Southern Barbarians are back, His Majesty's safety cannot be guaranteed. As a member of the Han clan, I, Liu Yu, should lead my troops back to the capital to protect Your Majesty and resist Chiyou's invasion."
Liu Er, Liu Zhang and others suddenly realized that returning to Chengdu under the pretext of escorting and resisting the Southern Barbarians was indeed much better than going to war directly with the Shu army.
"But there are Shu troops guarding the passes along the way. Will they really let our troops pass?"
Liu Er asked, but he didn't think that the Shu general would let them go without starting a war.
"What if we have His Majesty's imperial edict?" Liu Yu sneered.
Liu Er's eyes suddenly lit up. If Liu Ji was still there, Liu Bian would naturally be a puppet. But now that Liu Ji was unconscious and the Shu army was leaderless, then Liu Bian, the emperor's imperial edict, would have weight.
"Liu Bian and Liu Ji are brothers, would he really issue such an imperial edict?" Liu Er asked in confusion.
"Yes, although Liu Bian and Liu Ji are brothers, Liu Ji only uses Liu Bian as a puppet. Not only does he not have the slightest respect for Liu Bian, the emperor, but he always scolds and even beats him.
Liu Bian has been dissatisfied with Liu Ji for a long time, and has secretly contacted Brother Wei, wanting to rely on Brother Wei to check and balance Liu Ji, but Brother Wei refused."
"Why did brother refuse?" Liu Zhang asked in confusion.
"Idiot, Liu Ji was at the height of his power at that time. If my brother went to block Liu Bian's knife, wouldn't he be seeking death?" Liu Fan said.
"Yes, the time was not yet available at that time, but now the time has come.
Liu Bending will issue an imperial edict to recruit his brother back to Chengdu. As long as we can obtain your majesty's support, we can return to Chengdu in an open and honest manner."
At this time, a cold light flashed in Liu Yu's eyes, and he sneered: "As long as we enter Chengdu, the person who holds the emperor hostage and orders the princes will no longer be Liu Ji, but me, Liu Yu."
In the afternoon of the same day, Liu Bian's envoy arrived and read out the imperial edict in public. The main idea was exactly what Liu Yu said, which was to let Liu Yu lead his army back to Chengdu to defend the capital and resist the invasion of the Southern Barbarians.
After receiving the imperial edict, Liu Yu decisively ordered the mobilization of soldiers and horses from all over the country, and then led an army of 80,000 towards Chengdu under the pretext of returning to Beijing to defend the capital and resist the southern barbarians.
Facing Liu Yu's army's request to pass the pass, the Shu army guards at the major passes along the way were naturally in an extremely difficult situation. It was not good for them to open the switch or not.
Although the generals of the Shu Army were hesitant about this, as Liu Ji had not yet woken up, they neither dared to disobey the imperial edict nor dare to risk serious consequences to prevent Liu Yujun from resisting the Southern Barbarians. In the end, they could only let Liu Yujun pass.
However, these generals never expected that as soon as they ordered the gate to be opened, Liu Yujun would reveal his true colors and forcibly collect the Shu troops in the pass.
Relying on Liu Bian's imperial edict, the 80,000-strong army led by Liu Yu encountered no obstacles. Not only did they arrive in Chengdu smoothly, but they also recruited 20,000 Shu troops, increasing their military strength to 100,000.
Outside Chengdu, Liu Yu, who was riding a maroon war horse, looked up at the city that had brought him shame, sneered and said to himself: "Liu Ji, I said that I will definitely come back. When you took advantage of the Southern Han Dynasty,
The imperial court took away my Chengdu, and now I will use the Southern Han Dynasty to take away everything from you."
Liu Yu had already calculated everything. He was also a member of the Southern Han Dynasty and a clan member of the Han Dynasty. Liu Ji was qualified to take charge of the government, and he was also qualified.
Therefore, Liu Yu did not need to go to war with the Shu army. As long as he controlled the Southern Han Dynasty, he could use this to take away the military power of the Shu army bit by bit, thereby achieving the goal of defeating the enemy without fighting.
As for Liu Ji, it would be best if he died from his serious injuries. If not, Liu Yu would find a way to get rid of him secretly.