Ji Han Liu Zhang

Chapter 513: Stork Tower

The fourth year of Jian'an, early March.

Although it was March, it was still chilly. Standing on the city wall of Puyang, strong wind whistled past. Liu Zhang could not help but wrap himself in his fur coat as he felt a little chilly.

"Puban is the gateway to Guanzhong. We must be careful and cautious. If anything happens in Puban, I will not be able to sleep peacefully in Guanzhong."

Liu Zhang carefully warned Shen Mi, but although he was giving words of warning, there was a smile on his face and his expression was not very serious.

This was because Liu Zhang had full confidence in Shen Mi. Shen Mi had followed him for a long time and could be considered one of his key followers. Needless to say, his loyalty was outstanding. As for Shen Mi's military talent, Shen Mi's troops were always known for their neatness and there were few mistakes when defending the city.

Therefore, Liu Zhang confidently handed over the important town of Puyang to Shen Mi. At the same time, in order to enhance the importance of Puyang, Liu Zhang raised Shen Mi's official position and appointed Shen Mi as the governor of Puyang, commanding 3,000 soldiers to garrison Puyang.

Shen Mi, who was tall and had a dark face, heard Liu Zhang's instructions and responded loudly: "Please rest assured, my lord. As long as I am here, Puyang will be here. If Puyang is lost, I will not live alone. I will live and die with Puyang."

Liu Zhang nodded. He was very satisfied with Shen Mi's attitude. Without saying too much, he just patted Shen Mi on the shoulder as encouragement.

Next, Liu Zhang, led by Shen Mi, the governor of Puyang, walked around the city of Puyang. His original intention of coming here today was to inspect the completeness of Puyang's city defense facilities.

As they walked, Liu Zhang asked Shen Mi a few questions, such as whether the height of the city wall needed to be raised, whether a barbican should be added in front of the city gate, and whether a tower should be built at the corner of the city.

When he arrived at the west wall of Puban City, Liu Zhang stopped and looked towards the rolling river. The sound of the river's endless flow also fell into his ears.

“The water of the Yellow River comes from the sky, rushes to the sea and never comes back.” Facing the great river that gave birth to Chinese civilization, Liu Zhang recited an elegant sentence from the immortal poet.

"Mother River!" This is the respectful name given to the Yellow River by later generations. As a person with a soul of later generations, Liu Zhang naturally has a different feeling for the Yellow River.

However, the Yellow River, as a mother river, is not a gentle mother. Normally, the Yellow River has surging waves for thousands of miles, feeding the people living in countless boats on both sides of the river.

But once something happens, the mother Yellow River will move east and west according to her temperament, flooding thousands of miles and causing continuous disasters. Over the past thousands of years, the Yellow River's estuary alone has changed a lot.

It is because of the rampant existence of the Yellow River that China was forced to unify and not be divided into countless small countries like Western Europe.

After all, if there is no unified government in the north and no powerful authority to coordinate and allocate resources, it is impossible to manage the Yellow River that runs across the north. In the divided north, each prince will only harm his neighbor and will not care about the life and death of others. Maybe he will be happy if his neighbor dies.

This is also the reason why Liu Zhang was obsessed with geography before. The humanities, customs, and traditions of a place are often shaped by geography. Wind, rain, frost, snow, the four seasons, the big rivers, mountains, forests, all of these have shaped Chinese civilization.

"We can build a city tower here." Liu Zhang said, pointing to the southwest corner of Puban City.

"Hmm?" After a moment's silence, Liu Zhang suddenly smiled and told Shen Mi: "As for the name of the tower, it will be called Guanque Tower."

"Yes." Although Shen Mi didn't know why Liu Zhang wanted to build a tower in the southwest corner and named it "Stork Tower", which was named after birds and beasts and was not majestic enough, he always agreed to Liu Zhang's orders without thinking about anything else.

After staying in Puban City for a day or two, Liu Zhang, surrounded by his personal guards, set out on the road to Anyi, the capital of Hedong County.

Now that spring plowing is approaching, there is a busy scene of farmers on both sides of the road. If you don’t plant in spring, there will be no harvest in autumn. Once the solar term arrives, the same scene will be seen everywhere in the north.

When Liu Zhang just set out from Chang'an, there were busy farmers on both sides of the road. They were busy plowing the land, diverting water for irrigation, and sowing seeds in preparation for the summer harvest.

However, Lord Liu Zhang did not set an example by tilling the fields himself as he did last year. Instead, he set out for Hedong and left his Chief Secretary Wang Shang and Chief Clerk Xun You to guard Chang'an City.

The reason for this was that Liu Zhang planned to personally inspect Hedong and win the hearts of the people there. Hedong, as the gateway to Guanzhong, was too important.

Liu Zhang traveled non-stop all the way and arrived in Anyi after a few days. At this moment, outside Anyi, many famous officials and celebrities in Hedong came out of the city several miles away to greet Liu Zhang and expressed their warm welcome.

When Liu Zhang's carriage slowly stopped, Hedong Prefect Wang Yi, led all his officials in Hedong, all knelt on the ground and paid great tribute to Liu Zhang.

"Your Excellency, your Excellency, is greeted by your subjects." Everyone seemed to have rehearsed the phrase, and it was spoken with perfect accuracy, so much so that everyone spoke in unison.

"You don't have to be so polite." Liu Zhang acted as if he was showing respect to a wise man and stepped forward to help Hedong governor Wang Yi up from his kneeling position.

At the same time, Liu Zhang looked at Wang Yi's appearance and figure. As an official of the Han Dynasty, he was able to hold an official position of two thousand stones. Wang Yi's image had been officially screened. He had a decent face, dignified eyebrows, a straight figure, and a vigorous aura. He had the style of a celebrity.

"Please." Liu Zhang took the initiative and invited Wang Yi to get on the carriage with him. They went to Anyi together. At the moment, the wilderness several miles away from the city was not a good place to have a conversation.

Soon, Liu Zhang and officials from Hedong arrived at the Anyi County Temple and sat down in order as host and guest.

Liu Zhang first appeased the officials in Hedong, and then went straight to the point and said to Wang Yi: "I heard that Wang Qing used to study under the former Grand Commandant Liu Kuan, and he is very talented and can be a doctor. I have always admired your talent. This time I am in Hedong, I want to invite Wang Qing to return to Chang'an with me, so that I can ask you for advice sooner or later. I wonder if Wang Qing is willing."

Wang Yi heard this, and after a while, he swallowed the words of refusal in his mouth, and bowed to Liu Zhang and said: "It is a blessing for Wang Yi to be valued by you, sir. I am willing to follow you to Chang'an."

When the country was in turmoil, Wang Yi enjoyed power and authority in Hedong for several years. He really liked this feeling and was unwilling to give up his power to others.

This was also the reason why Wang Yi raised his army to resist when the imperial court appointed Gao Gan as the new governor of Hedong. Logically, Wang Yi should now seize the opportunity to control Hedong.

But after being besieged in Anyi by Gao Gan last year and witnessing the might of the Shu army, Wang Yi realized that he was not a man who could achieve hegemony, and his desire to establish his own regime in Hedong faded away.

Wang Yi decided to give up. As long as he could keep his family and wealth, he planned to let the wise man in front of him do whatever he wanted. After all, he had always heard that this great Sima was unparalleled in benevolence and virtue, and was an elder of the time. He thought that if he took away his position as the governor of Hedong, he would definitely compensate him from other places. Soon, just as Wang Yi had guessed, Liu Zhang comforted him and said, "You will follow me to Chang'an, so you will have something to do, so as not to waste your talent and youth. I intend to make you the governor of Yongzhou. Are you willing to take on this responsibility?"

"I will obey your orders, sir." Wang Yi continued to show a submissive attitude. At the moment, he wanted to surrender to Liu, so he immediately let Liu Zhang do whatever he wanted.

After pacifying Wang Yi, Liu Zhang held a banquet to entertain a group of officials from Hedong. At the same time, at the banquet, he announced the appointment of Fa Zheng as the prefect of Hedong and Jia Kui as the chief secretary of Hedong, and made personnel adjustments in Hedong.

After living in Anyi for several days, Liu Zhang, in addition to replacing the governor of Hedong, also took measures to relocate the families of Wei and Fan, two prominent families in Hedong, to Guanzhong.

Here Liu Zhang did not force the Wei and Fan families to migrate to Guanzhong, but instead asked for the opinions of Wei Gu and Fan Xian. As expected, Wei and Fan agreed to the migration.

After all, Hedong is the barrier of Guanzhong. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Hedong will sooner or later become the battlefield of the fierce struggle between Yuan Shao and Liu Zhang outside the city. If the family stays in Hedong, for Wei Gu and Fan Xian, the worst outcome would be the overthrow of the family. Of course, it would be best to move to Guanzhong to preserve the family.

In addition, Guanzhong was a vast area with few people, so Wei Gu and Fan Xian did not have to worry about not having enough land to support their families or having conflicts with the natives of Guanzhong over land issues.

After staying in Anyi for a few days, Liu Zhang continued his journey. He came to Dongyuan City, then went from Dongyuan to Jiangyi County, and then continued forward, leaving the Yuncheng Basin and coming to the Linfen Basin.

He looked at the endlessly flowing Fen River and saw the Emei Plateau, which was the location of the Yubi City in later generations. Of course, at present, there was only an empty land on the Emei Plateau and no city was built.

"Gao Huan is a happy city." Liu Zhang's eyebrows curved, revealing a bad idea.

……

Huainan.

Since Shouchun was captured by Cao Cao, Yuan Shu's life became worse and worse. Especially after the drought broke out in Huainan, Yuan Shu even had difficulty in raising food and fodder for his soldiers, causing his soldiers to suffer from hunger and cold.

Although the soldiers had a hard life, it was not as hard as the people in the Jianghuai area. The people in the Jianghuai area were currently living in dire straits. In the Huainan area, which used to have smoke from cooking fires everywhere and people's lives were prosperous, many counties were deserted and even cannibalism broke out.

The people under his rule were living in poverty and taxes were insufficient. Yuan Shu, who was struggling to survive in Jianghuai, had a harder and harder time. As he could not provide enough food and fodder, his soldiers and soldiers defected one after another and left Yuan Shu in search of a chance of survival.

Just like Lei Bu and Chen Lan, when the situation of Yuan Shu's decline and destruction was irreversible, they defected from Yuan Shu and went to the Qiang Mountain to become bandits.

As soldiers and officers continued to defect, Yuan Shu's situation became increasingly deteriorating, to the point where Yuan Shu's group could no longer be maintained.

Now in the fourth year of Jian'an, Yuan Shu was almost desperate and actually planned to seek refuge with his former subordinates Lei Bu and Chen Lan, but was rejected by the two.

"You bastards." Yuan Shu cursed at the messengers who had returned from Lei Bu and Chen Lan. "I treated them so well on weekdays, giving them dogs, horses, brocade, gold, silver and other valuables. But when you were in trouble, they just sat there and did nothing."

"How hateful, how hateful." Yuan Shu cursed, but unfortunately cursing Lei Bu and Chen Lan could not solve the current problem. He was now on the brink of life and death and had to find a way to survive.

That's all. Yuan Shu's eyes were dark and his face lost its luster. He called his chief clerk Yan Xiang and said dejectedly, like a defeated rooster, "Chief clerk, I agree with your last suggestion. I will send a letter to Yuan Shao's maid, saying that I am willing to return the title of emperor to him, and only ask him to take me in."

"Yes." Yan Xiang lowered his head and agreed.

After saying this, Yuan Shu turned around quickly, so as not to let Yan Xiang see the tears sliding down his eyes and his defeated look.

……

Yecheng.

There was a document made of silk placed on the table in front of Yuan Shao. He read it over and over again, but he could not hide the smug look on his face, and he lost his usual calm and restrained demeanor as a monarch.

This was handed to him by his younger brother Yuan Shu. The text on the silk cloth meant that the Liu family had lost the Mandate of Heaven. The current situation in the universe is like the Seven Kingdoms' strife at the end of the Zhou Dynasty and the Liu-Xiang rivalry at the end of the Qin Dynasty. It's time for the strong to receive the Mandate of Heaven. Brother, you own four states and a million households. Liu Zhang, Cao Cao, Liu Biao and others are no match for you. You are the one who deserves the Mandate of Heaven and will take over the Liu family's lost Mandate of Heaven. I, Yuan Shu, am willing to return the title of emperor to you, and I will follow your lead.

"Hahaha." Yuan Shao finally couldn't hold back any longer. He burst into laughter, with tears of excitement streaming down his eyes.

Yuan Shao was very happy that Yuan Shu had returned the title of emperor to his family. He was happy that Yuan Shu could see the situation clearly, but what made Yuan Shao even happier was that Yuan Shu bowed to him. Yuan Gonglu, the former fierce devil on the road, actually bowed to his brother who was born to a maid and whom he had always looked down upon. Nothing could make Yuan Shao happier and more cheerful than this.

After laughing a few times, Yuan Shao said to himself: "I am the man of destiny."

However, Yuan Shao did not intend to accept the title of emperor handed over by Yuan Shu. Although he was extremely eager to become emperor, Yuan Shu's current miserable situation told Yuan Shao that the Liu family had nurtured scholars for 400 years and had accumulated a few loyal and righteous people.

Therefore, Yuan Shao planned not to do anything that would bring disaster upon himself, without conquering Guanzhong, clearing Yanyu, and defeating the two great enemies, Liu Zhang and Cao Cao. He had a clear understanding that he would not do anything that would only bring false reputation and bring about real disaster, and would not attract the fear and joint efforts of the heroes of the world for the sake of a mere title of emperor.

Although Yuan Shao did not intend to accept the title of emperor offered by Yuan Shu, he was still willing to accept Yuan Shu. He was somewhat impatient to see Yuan Shu act like a defeated dog in front of him and kneel down to him, a servant.

"Great." Yuan Shao called his secretary and asked him to keep the documents handed over by Yuan Shu carefully. He would read them from time to time.

Then Yuan Shao issued an order: "Send a letter to Qingzhou, asking Qingzhou to send people to welcome Yuan Gonglu who is heading north. Yuan Gonglu must be welcomed to Yecheng in good condition without any mistakes."

"And you know, Gonglu is my good brother!"

(End of this chapter)