Ji Han Liu Zhang

Xiapi.

Therefore, after Xuzhou Mu Tao Qian was attacked by Cao Cao and many counties in Xuzhou were slaughtered by Cao Cao's Qingzhou soldiers, he was old and frail and became ill due to worry and anger. On his deathbed, considering the mediocrity of his son and the ruined situation of the prefecture, he entrusted Xuzhou to Liu Bei, who led troops to help him.

Liu Bei, the uncle of the Han emperor who took over the post of governor of Xuzhou from Tao Qian, followed the ideas of the noble families and high-ranking officials in the state, changed his own family's status, and ordered Chen Deng to submit a letter to the leader of the alliance, Yuan Shao.

'The disaster has come down from heaven, and the disaster has come to our humble state. The state is about to be destroyed, and the people are without a leader. We are afraid that the treacherous heroes will take advantage of the situation and cause the leader of the alliance to worry about the end of the day. So we all regard the former Pingyuan Xiang Liu Beifujun as our leader, so that the people will always know that they have someone to rely on. At present, the enemy is rampant, and there is no time to put down the armor. I will send an official to report to the steward.'

Yuan Shao replied: "Liu Xuande is magnanimous, righteous and trustworthy. Now Xuzhou is happy to accept him. He is truly what we expect." Because Tao Qian died and the people of Xuzhou were without a master, Yuan Shao was afraid that treacherous heroes would take advantage of the opportunity to spy on Xuzhou, so he accepted Liu Bei, Gongsun Zan's junior.

The traitor here, without any surprise, refers to Yuan Shao's good brother Yuan Shu, whose greed for Xuzhou was obvious and he had long since claimed the title of Lord Xuzhou. Of course, in Yuan Shao's mind, the word traitor could also refer to Cao Cao, the governor of Yanzhou. Cao Cao was his lackey, but Cao Cao did not send his family to live in Yecheng, which showed that he was not loyal to his country.

Therefore, Liu Bei, who had just become the governor of Xuzhou and whose wings had just been expanded, left his senior brother Gongsun Zan and joined Yuan Shao.

At the same time, Liu Bei abandoned Tian Kai, the Qingzhou governor appointed by Gongsun Zan, and submitted a memorial to appoint Kong Rong as the Qingzhou governor, making a clear statement of abandoning Gongsun Zan and relying on Yuan Shao.

However, the post of Governor of Xuzhou was not an easy one, because Xuzhou had an accessible terrain and no dangerous passes to serve as obstacles, making it a place where brave cavalry could roam freely.

Apart from being bordered by the sea to the east, Xuzhou also needs to be heavily defended in the south, west, and north. For example, there is Yuan Shu of Huainan in the south, Cao Cao who occupies Yanyu in the west, and the bandits of Mount Tai in the north. As the saying goes, two fists cannot beat four hands, and there are too many holes, and there are leaks everywhere.

Therefore, although Liu Bei occupied Xuzhou and became a frontier governor, the situation was not very optimistic.

Especially when Liu Bei first took over Xuzhou, he had no popular support. Although he was the governor of Xuzhou, except for a few children of aristocratic families, such as Chen Deng, Mi Zhu, and Sun Qian, who strongly supported him, the military generals who held military power, such as Cao Bao, the defender of Xia Pi, and Xu Dan, the commander of the Danyang soldiers, were all hesitant about Liu Bei and failed to get close to him.

This was mostly because Liu Bei's post as governor of Xuzhou was decided by Tao Qian and supported by Chen Deng, Mi Zhu and other children of aristocratic families. As generals in command of troops, Cao Bao, Xu Dan and others did not have the merit of supporting him, so the relationship was a level lower.

However, relying on the support of the Xuzhou aristocratic families, as well as Liu Bei's personal charm and ability, he was able to secure the position of Mu of Xuzhou and became the Fangbo of Xuzhou.

However, although Liu Bei was proud, some people were unhappy. Yuan Shu of Huainan had always boasted that he would control Xuzhou and had given himself the title of "Emperor of Xuzhou" long ago. Now that Tao Qian, the former governor of Xuzhou, had passed away, the position of governor of Xuzhou had fallen into Liu Bei's hands, which Yuan Shu could not tolerate.

So in June of the first year of Jian'an, Yuan Shu mobilized the people and sent troops to attack Liu Bei, intending to take Xuzhou from Liu Bei while Liu Bei's foundation in Xuzhou was not yet stable. This should be regarded as "recapture", because Yuan Shu believed that Xuzhou was his territory from the beginning to the end.

Liu Bei, who was in Xia Pi, soon learned the news of Yuan Shu's attack. He gathered all the civil and military officials in Xuzhou to begin discussions.

However, before discussing how to fight against Yuan Shu, they first discussed the news from Guanzhong.

Liu Bei was delighted. He said loudly, "Since the death of the traitor Dong Zhuo, the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si have become the most ferocious. They bully the emperor and oppress the ministers. They have also tortured and harmed the people of Guanzhong..."

"Now Liu Yizhou has raised an army of righteous men to fight against the bandits. They marched from Chencang Road to Guanzhong. The elders of Guanzhong all welcomed them with enthusiasm. The two bandits Li Jue and Guo Si were terrified. Now the two bandits Li Jue and Guo Si have retreated to Chang'an. They are fighting like trapped beasts. They will be defeated and killed soon."

Liu Bei looked very happy about what was happening in Guanzhong, and in his heart, he was as happy as his expression. Since Dong Zhuo, what Li Jue and Guo Si had done could be said to have incurred the wrath of heaven and the hatred of the people and the world.

However, the local princes in the Guandong prefectures and counties turned a blind eye to the affairs in Guanzhong. They did not care that the emperor was humiliated by Li Jue and Guo Si, nor that the common people suffered at the hands of the bandits in Liang Province. None of them made any move to support the king, and they only thought about fighting each other, disregarding the interests of the world.

In the past, Liu Bei had wanted to save the people of Guanzhong, but he was too weak and had too few soldiers to do anything. Now, seeing his fellow clan member Liu Zhang raising an army to fight the enemy, he was naturally happy.

When you have such a happy occasion, you should get drunk.

Liu Bei had the idea of ​​holding a grand banquet, but now was not the time. Yuan Shu from Huainan, the young man who had been a prime minister for four generations, had sent troops to attack Xuzhou because of his own greed, and he needed him to deal with it.

"Yuan Shu has sent 20,000 troops, and his main force is heading towards Xuzhou. I think I should lead my troops to occupy Xuyi and Huaiyin, and not let Shu's troops set foot in Xuzhou." Liu Bei stated the topic at the beginning, expressing his determination to contend with Yuan Shu. At the same time, he pointed out two important cities that needed to be defended.

Xuyi and Huaiyin.

Xuyi is located in the southwest of Huaiyin. Except for the Huai River in the west, the whole area is low mountains and hills. The Qi River flows from the northwest and enters the Huai River on the opposite bank. Xuyi City is built on the mountain, with its back against the rolling hills, facing the surging Huai River and the vast Huainan Plain, which is very advantageous for defense.

Huaiyin is close to the sea in the east, the plain in the south, and the Huai River in the north. The Bian River from the Central Plains flows into the Si River in Pengcheng, flows southeast to the Huai River near Huaiyin, and the Zhongdu River from the north of the Yangtze River also flows into the Huai River at its eastern end. As the main waterway from the Central Plains to the south of the Yangtze River, the importance of Huaiyin can be imagined.

Chen Deng nodded in satisfaction. He said, "Your Excellency is right. As long as we can defend Xuyi and Huaiyin counties, Yuan Shu will be helpless against us and can only sigh."

"I wonder who the envoy sent to guard Xuyi and Huaiyin." Mi Zhu asked with a bow.

Liu Bei thought for a moment or two and said, "Shu has many soldiers and they are very brave. His generals may not be satisfied with them or find it difficult to resist them. I want to lead the troops to Xuyi and Huaiyin to defend them myself."

Mi Zhu immediately responded: "It is only you who can defend Xuyi and Huaiyin and repel Yuan Shu. No one else has the talent to do so."

"Mr. Mi is right. If it weren't for my brother, who else could have defeated Yuan Shu?" Zhang Fei said in a loud voice, as loud as thunder.

With Liu Bei, Mi Zhu and Zhang Fei singing the same tune, the decision was made to lead the troops to fight against Yuan Shu. Liu Bei, the governor of Xuzhou, would personally lead the troops to fight the enemy.

Chen Deng heard this, the corners of his mouth twitched slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he closed his mouth. Chen Deng felt a little uneasy about Liu Bei's decision to personally lead troops to defend Xuyi and Huaiyin. Now the important generals in the state, Cao Bao, Xu Dan and others, have not shown their loyalty and dependence on Liu Bei, and Liu Bei's light departure from Xiapi may be a little inappropriate.

Moreover, the fickle and difficult-to-maintain Wenhou, who was like a hungry tiger, was taken in by Liu Bei and was currently stationed to the west of Xia Pi, in the heart of Xuzhou. Thinking of Lu Bu, Chen Deng couldn't help but feel worried and a solemn look appeared between his brows.

Here Chen Deng roughly guessed Liu Bei's thoughts. When Liu Bei first arrived in Xuzhou, apart from the favor of leading troops to rescue Xuzhou, he did not establish any prestige. When Yuan Shu attacked, if Liu Bei could repel Yuan Shu, on the one hand, his prestige would increase greatly because of his military merits, and on the other hand, the words "faith and grace" would be widely spread in the hearts of the scholars and common people in Xuzhou. It can be said that it was a good thing to kill two birds with one stone.

At the same time, as a local governor, at this time of chaos and turmoil in the world, the military power must be firmly in Liu Bei's own hands, so that Liu Bei can feel at ease. Therefore, according to Chen Deng's thoughts, Liu Bei would not give the credit of repelling Yuan Shu to others, nor would he let others take over the military power.

"But now we have internal troubles, how can the lord act rashly?" Chen Deng glanced at the faces of Cao Bao, Xu Dan and others who had served under Tao Qian. He saw that Cao Bao, Xu Dan and others were like clay sculptures or wooden carvings. They did not say a word in the meeting, but just listened silently, looking very unhappy.

Chen Deng sighed silently in his heart. He knew the reasons why Cao Bao, Xu Dan and others were unhappy. These people were neither old friends of Liu Bei nor the heroes who supported Liu Bei as the governor of Xuzhou. They were just dragged into the situation and had to become Liu Bei's subordinates. They did not have a solid relationship between them as a monarch and his subjects, and there was no favor between them. This led to the dilemma of marginalization of Cao Bao, Xu Dan and others.

However, Cao Bao, Xu Dan and others are no ordinary people. They are not scholars, but generals who command troops. They are extremely flamboyant figures in today's world. Moreover, the troops under their command only know them and do not recognize others. It is not good for such people to be marginalized.

……

Yanzhou.

After a meeting, Cao Cao looked disappointed.

The discussion at today's meeting was about whether to send soldiers to welcome Emperor Liu Xie back to Luoyang, and to relocate Emperor Liu Xie to the land of Yanyu, and place him nearby under the control of Cao Cao. By controlling the emperor and possessing the righteousness of the court, Cao Cao could launch his own expeditions.

Of course, no one would say so blatantly at the meeting that one should hold the emperor hostage to control the princes. Holding the emperor hostage is something that only Dong Zhuo, Li Jue, Guo Si and other dogs from Liangzhou would do. Those attending the meeting today are famous scholars from Yanyu. They are all respectable people and naturally would not say such things.

For example, the counselor Mao Jie said: "Follow the emperor's orders to command the disobedient, cultivate the land, and store military supplies. In this way, the cause of hegemony can be achieved."

When it comes to the cause of hegemony, Mao Jie's words are relatively clear, far less decent than Sima Xunyu's words, Xunyu said: "Since at this time, serving the lord and following the people's wishes is great obedience; being impartial to conquer the world is great strategy; supporting justice to attract talents is great virtue. Even if there are rebellious people in the four directions, what can they do?"

Speaking of welcoming the emperor, Xun Yu called it a matter of great obedience, great strategy, and great virtue, and it was what Cao Cao, the loyal minister of the Han Dynasty who first advocated righteousness, should do. At the same time, Xun Yu said with some worry: "If it is not settled in time, the nobles will have their intentions, and even if we worry about it later, it will be too late."

That is to say, if Cao Cao did not go to welcome the emperor, Xun Yu was worried that the emperor might be welcomed by other heroes. At that time, even if Cao Cao wanted to go to welcome the emperor, it would be too late to regret.

When Cao Cao thought about Xun Yu's words, he looked thoughtful. He valued Xun Yu, the famous scholar from Yingchuan who abandoned Yuan Shao and joined him. After all, Xun Yu's talents were unparalleled in the world and could be regarded as those of a king's assistant.

But vaguely, Cao Cao felt that Xun Yu and he were somewhat similar in appearance but different in spirit. The two were on the same path of helping the common people and assisting the royal family, but Xun Yu's ultimate goal seemed to be different from his own. Instead, it was similar to when he was young. At that time, he dreamed of becoming the Han Dynasty's General Who Conquers the West.

But now, sitting in charge of Yan and Yu states, after enjoying his power and prestige for some time, Cao Cao had some other ideas.

In addition, not all counselors agreed to welcome the emperor. Most of them believed that Shandong had not yet been pacified, and the generals gathered around the emperor were difficult to check and balance. Therefore, the matter of welcoming the emperor could be planned a little later.

Therefore, Cao Cao was hesitant for a while about Xun Yu and Mao Jie's suggestion to welcome the emperor to Yanyu. In fact, he also wanted to welcome the emperor, but he did not want to truly respect the royal family and cede power to the emperor.

At this time, Cheng Yu came to the door and handed Cao Cao a document, a document sent from Guanzhong.

"Mingsir, there is news from Guanzhong." Cheng Yu said.

Cao Cao took the document, tore open the seal and began to read it. Originally, the news from Guanzhong was not something he was so concerned about, but ever since Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou, sent troops to Guanzhong, he attached great importance to the news from Guanzhong. In other words, the princes in Guandong now attached great importance to the news from Guanzhong.

After all, Guanzhong was the birthplace of the Han Dynasty. Although it was now desolate, it still had some foundation. The governor of Yizhou, Liu Zhang, followed the example of Emperor Gao and sent troops from Chencang to Guanzhong. This made the princes in Guandong feel worried and they were afraid that another Emperor Gao would be born from Guanzhong.

"Li Jue and Guo Si fought against Zhang Ji, and Zhang Ji was killed. Zhang Ji's nephew Zhang Xiu took his aunt Zou to Liu Zhang for refuge."

Cao Cao didn't care about Zou and Zhang Xiu. He had never heard of them. What he cared about was Zhang Ji. Zhang Ji was an old general of Liang Province with the same status as Li Jue and Guo Si, but he died just like that...

Cao Cao frowned and chuckled, "Liu Jiyu is really lucky. Before he could really fight against Li Jue, Guo Si and others, Li Jue and Guo Si's faction started fighting among themselves. Even a brave general from Liang Province like Zhang Ji died in the internal strife."

"It seems that Guanzhong will belong to Liu Jiyu sooner or later, and it will probably be this year."

Cao Cao sighed. The current situation was already difficult for Li Jue and Guo Si, and they even caused internal strife. They were simply courting death. Li Jue and Guo Si were certainly no match for Liu Zhang.

Time is of the essence. If Liu Jiyu takes Guanzhong, the emperor may be controlled by him. Cao Cao felt anxious. He was very worried that Liu Jiyu was different from Yuan Shao, who was resourceful but indecisive. He would most likely not let go of the opportunity to control the emperor.

"Zhongde." Cao Cao called out to Cheng Yu, who immediately bowed and obeyed his orders.

"Let Cao Hong lead the way, and we will go to welcome the emperor to Yanyu. Luoyang is a desolate place, not a place for the emperor to live."

"Yes." Cheng Yu was delighted when he heard this. He was one of the people who urged Cao Cao to welcome the emperor. In addition, unlike Xun Yu and Mao Jie, he had previously made clear suggestions to Cao Cao in private: "Hold the emperor to command the princes, and hold the great cause to punish the disloyal. In this way, hegemony can be achieved." (End of this chapter)