Ji Han Liu Zhang

July, the fourth year of Jian'an.

On the south bank of the Fen River, a strong city is gradually being built. From a distance, the city looks like a large box placed on a high platform. Its circumference is four miles. Because it is located on high ground, the city wall appears taller than that of an ordinary city.

"I heard that it was you who decided to build a city here." Lou Fa inspected the construction site and said to the people beside him with emotion, "I haven't been here before, so I don't know the situation here. Now I see it, I know at a glance that one man can block the pass of ten thousand men, similar to Jianmen. It can be said to be a strong, dangerous and important city."

Li Xiu, the general manager who supervised the construction of Yubi City, nodded. He had a great vision in city building and analyzed the benefits of Yubi City: "Yubi City is adjacent to the Fen River, so there is no need to worry about water. As for food and grass, the soldiers stationed in this city can resist an enemy ten times their number, so there is no need for too many soldiers stationed there, and the food and grass needed is not much. In addition, the high platform is flat and can be cultivated, so we can produce some food and grass for military supplies."

"It is located on a high platform with cliffs on three sides and only one side is open to the enemy. The passage on this side is also extremely steep. Even if Yuan Shao leads an army of 100,000, he will not be able to take down Yubi City easily."

"That's right." Lou Fa smiled. After thinking for a while, he said, "The current water channel is from the Fen River. If the enemy changes the waterway of the Fen River, we will have to worry about this."

"Don't worry, Zichu." Li Xiu pointed to the city and said, "This city is close to the Fen River. There must be water veins underground. After the city wall is built, Xiu will lead the soldiers to dig wells in the city as a backup water supply channel."

"It turns out that Zilang has already considered it carefully, but I am asking unnecessary questions." Lou Fa said a little embarrassedly.

"No need to do that." Li Xiu smiled and said, "If Zichu has any concerns, please tell me. I will sort them out for you and make Yubi City impregnable. If Yuan's army dares to attack in the future, I will knock out Yuan Shao's front teeth."

At this point, Li Xiu was surprised and said, "Since Yuan Shao conquered Yi County and annihilated Gongsun Zan last year, he has not taken any action until now. He has neither invaded Hedong to avenge the defeat of last year, nor marched south to Yanyu to conquer the Central Plains in one fell swoop. I don't know what he is planning."

Li Xiu was full of doubts about Hebei's silence. He couldn't figure out Yuan Shao's thoughts and didn't know what this giant beast of Hebei was looking at.

Even if Yuan Shao led his troops to invade Hedong, it would be better than the current situation in Hebei where there is silence. At least Li Xiu could know Yuan Shao's movements. There is only a thief who can steal for a thousand days; you cannot guard against thieves for a thousand days.

"It's the same for me. It's hard to know." Lou Fa shook his head. He also couldn't guess Yuan Shao's thoughts.

"That's fine." Seeing that Lou Fa couldn't give an answer, Li Xiu ignored the matter and laughed loudly, "Even if Yuan Shao doesn't invade Hedong, we will have enough time to repair Yubi City. When Yuan's army invades in large numbers one day, we will let them know what a strong city is."

"Speaking of which, Zichu, you have been ordered to guard Yubi City. When the time comes, it will all depend on your performance. Don't lose face!"

"Zilang, don't worry. Even if Yuan Shao comes with an army of 100,000, he will be helpless against Yubi City and can only retreat in disgrace." Lou Fa also laughed. Here Li Xiu was in charge of building Yubi City, and he was the governor who guarded Yubi City. He patted his chest and made a promise.

"Zichu is very heroic." Li Xiu praised.

Anyi.

Fa Zheng, the governor of Hedong, inspected the defensive facilities of Anyi City. Hedong was the barrier of Guanzhong and was located on the front line bordering Yuan Shao's forces. The most important thing was to repair the city, forge armor and weapons, and build Anyi into a strong city.

"Liang Dao, my lord really has a good eye for talent. You are indeed a man of governance talent." After inspecting the area, Fa Zheng praised Jia Kui, the chief secretary who was in charge of repairing the city.

Jia Kui said modestly: "Your Excellency is too kind, this is just an ordinary matter."

Fa Zheng shook his head and said, "Others are not as thoughtful and well-built as you are. Liang Dao, you are a talented person. You will surely soar in the future and your salary will be more than 2,000 shi."

Fa Zheng's temperament has always been like this. He would roll his eyes at those he disliked and not even bother to look at them, but for those he thought were talented, he would praise them vigorously and would not hesitate to give them compliments.

"Your Excellency's words are indeed embarrassing to Kui." Jia Kui smiled faintly and said modestly: "There are many people like Kui in the world, and there are also many people who are better than Kui. If Kui can stop at 2,000 shi in the future, it will be enough for my heart. I dare not hope to be above 2,000 shi."

"Liang Dao is a talent of a nobleman." Fa Zheng said with a serious expression, and added: "I will report this to you, my lord, and commend your merits."

"Thank you, sir." Jia Kui responded and thanked Fa Zheng.

The two of them walked and stopped, chatting about everything under the sun, and couldn't help but talk about Yuan Shao of Hebei, who was the current leader of the world's princes.

"Yuan Shao has not made any unusual moves so far, which seems a little abnormal." Jia Kui wondered. He knew that Yuan Shao had mobilized troops every year in the past, but it was already July this year, and Hebei was still silent. The silence was a little unusual.

Fa Zheng replied: "Perhaps Yuan Shao wants to take a rest after defeating Gongsun Zan. After all, Yuan Shao has been on the expedition for many years, and most of the people in Hebei are tired and poor. I'm afraid there is not much left in the warehouses. If we go to war again this year, tut tut tut..."

"Maybe." Jia Kui nodded, as if agreeing with Fa Zheng's point of view.

"Even if Hebei does not invade, we should take this opportunity to repair the city defenses and be prepared for any eventuality. We will wait until Hebei makes signs of an invasion." Fa Zheng gave the key points of Hedong's current governance.

"Your Excellency is right." Jia Kui responded.

Afterwards, the two of them continued their inspection one after the other. Looking at Fa Zheng's young back, Jia Kui's eyes seemed to be filled with thought. Fa Zheng was one year younger than him, but he became the governor of a county with a salary of two thousand stones, while he was one year older than Fa Zheng and only served as the chief historian of Hedong.

This was because Fa Zheng followed a wise man and attached himself to a powerful figure, so he was able to enter the upper class at a young age and hold a high position of 2,000 stones.

Thinking of this, Jia Kui sighed in his heart. If he could have met the wise Liu Zhang earlier, with his talents, he might have been an official of one or two thousand stones today.

At this time, Jia Kui realized the importance of choosing a master to serve. He used to follow the Hedong prefect Wang Yi, and his position was no more than a county magistrate. But now he followed the Grand Marshal Liu Zhang and was promoted to the position of Hedong Chief Clerk, second only to the emperor in the county.

"I wish I had met an enlightened ruler earlier." Finally, Jia Kui sighed deeply in his heart, and at the same time, he encouraged himself secretly that today he had met an enlightened ruler, and he should work hard to ascend to the position of a 2,000-stone official and live up to his talent.

Chang'an, the residence of the Grand Marshal. Previously, because the residence of the Grand Marshal had not been built, Liu Zhang had been handling government affairs in the county temple of Zhang Ji, the governor of Chang'an. Now that the residence of the Grand Marshal was completed, he moved to his own residence to handle government affairs. This way, he would be more legitimate and would not have to squeeze into the same office with Zhang Ji.

"What is the current progress of Hedong's defense?" Liu Zhang asked the chief clerk Xun You.

Xun You answered immediately, and he answered one by one according to the order of importance: "Under Li Xiu's supervision, the walls of Yubi City have been erected. Now they are building official residences and soldiers' residences in the city, as well as building granaries and digging wells for defense."

"Puban City was expanded and renovated by the governor Shen Mi, and now it has a brand new look. In the southwest corner of the city, a Stork Tower was built according to Ming Gong's instructions."

"The capital of Hedong County is Anyi. The Chief Secretary Jia Kui is good at administrative affairs and has extraordinary insights into building construction. Under Jia Kui's supervision, Anyi added four new city walls, the moat was widened and deepened, and the defensive equipment was neat and complete, which can be called a golden city and hot springs."

"Good, very good," Liu Zhang clapped his hands and praised. Using the right people made things much easier. With people like Jia Kui, Li Xiu and Shen Mi around, his expectations for Hedong's defense capabilities increased a lot.

At the same time, Liu Zhang did not forget to award rewards. For hard-working workers, timely rewards are very important and can maximize a person's potential: "Everyone who is diligent in his work can be rewarded one or two."

Xun You smiled faintly: "Yes."

……

Yecheng.

A mourning hall was built in the official temple's annex, with white silk mourning strips spread all over the annex. Now the entire annex was a sea of ​​white, filled with sorrow and sadness.

"Highway." A sad voice was heard. The owner of this voice - Yuan Shao, had a very sad expression on his face at this moment.

"Why did you leave this world? It makes me, your brother, feel sad."

Yuan Shao was sad, sad for his younger brother Yuan Shu. Earlier, Yuan Shu, who was desperate in Huainan, handed over a document, begging Yuan Shao to take him in. Yuan Shao, in order to wash away the contemptuous words of "brothers are incompatible", openly accepted Yuan Shu's surrender.

However, Yuan Shu's way to the north was blocked by Liu Bei and Zhu Ling sent by Cao Cao, which forced his good brother Yuan Shu to take the risk of going out to sea in order to cross the sea to reach Hebei.

But now, there was no news about Yuan Shu, who had been at sea for several months, and Yuan Shao learned from the fishermen on the coast that a ship flying Yuan Shu's flag was blown away from the coast in a storm and fell into the vast ocean.

With today's navigation technology, Yuan Shao knew that Yuan Shu was in great danger. So after waiting for two or three months and still having no news from Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao inferred that Yuan Shu was most likely buried in the vast ocean with no place to be buried.

Therefore, Yuan Shao ordered people to build a mourning hall for Yuan Shu, and planned to build a cenotaph for Yuan Shu after a period of memorial service, in order to create the appearance of a harmonious and loving brotherhood.

'Sometimes, the dead are more useful than the living.' Yuan Shao was filled with grief, but at the same time he was overjoyed. Although he could not see Yuan Shu prostrating himself before him, it was very likely that Yuan Shu had died in the sea, which made Yuan Shao very happy, and even happier than seeing Yuan Shu prostrating himself before him.

After all, if Yuan Shu arrived in Hebei, Yuan Shao believed that he needed to treat him well, otherwise it would be bad to get a reputation of being harsh on his brothers. In addition, Yuan Shu might use the fact that they were friendly and respectful to each other to threaten him, making Yuan Shao unhappy.

Now that Yuan Shu is dead, Yuan Shao can use the funeral ceremony to not only avoid treating Yuan Shu well, but also wash away the bad reputation of "brotherly feud". Isn't it true that dead people are more useful than living people?

After paying tribute to Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao left a few younger members of the Yuan family to cry while he returned to the lobby. Now that he was the ruler of Hebei, he had a lot of daily affairs to attend to, so he did not have much time to devote to paying tribute to Yuan Shu.

As soon as he stepped into the hall, Yuan Shao saw his deputy Tian Feng coming to greet him. Tian Feng said loudly, "Mingsir, great joy."

"Where does the joy come from?" Yuan Shao's face did not show any of the sadness he had when he was paying tribute to Yuan Shu just now. When he heard that there was good news coming, his face suddenly looked happy.

Tian Feng, leaning on his cane, said, "Liu Bei, whom Cao Cao sent to Xuzhou, took advantage of the unpreparedness of Xuzhou Governor Che Zhou and attacked and killed Che Zhou. He then stationed his troops in Xiaopei and rebelled against Cao Cao. Now a letter has come from Xudu saying that Cao Cao wants to personally attack Liu Bei. By then, Xudu will be empty and the army can march south to seize the Central Plains in one fell swoop."

"This is an opportunity God has given you!" Tian Feng stepped forward a few steps. "The only two people competing with you for the world are Liu Zhang and Cao Cao. If you can defeat Cao Cao and seize the Central Plains, you will have six or seven out of ten chances in the world. Then you can take advantage of the victory and move westward. Liu Zhang won't be a concern."

Yuan Shao showed little interest in Tian Feng's words of temptation. He waved his hand and said, "My dear, my brother Yuan Shu has passed away, and my youngest son is ill and in imminent danger. It is not a good time to leave Yecheng and mobilize troops to attack. Let's wait until my youngest son is better."

Tian Feng leaned on his staff and said sternly, "Mingsong, if you lose the chance to conquer the Central Plains in one fell swoop because of my child's illness, and lose the opportunity to fight that you have finally encountered, it will be too late to regret it in the future, and you will not be able to accomplish anything great."

"Why are you yelling so loudly?" "Is it that serious?" Two thoughts came to Yuan Shao's mind, and he looked a little unhappy. He had made the decision, but Tian Feng ignored his decision and insisted on asking him to accept the advice.

Seeing this, Guo Tu, who was standing beside him, tried to smooth things over: "My dear, Cao Cao has not set out yet. We can wait for a while until Cao Cao sets out for Xuzhou and fights with Liu Bei before discussing it."

"In addition, if our army moves south, I am afraid that Liu Zhang in Guanzhong will take advantage of our army's move south to make some plans. We need to think carefully about this and make a complete response."

Tian Feng held his temper and refuted Guo Tu, saying, "This is a vulgar view. If Cao Cao conquers Xuzhou in the east and defeats Liu Bei in an instant, our army will miss the opportunity. As for Liu Zhang in Guanzhong, we heard that he is building a city in Hedong. This is a defensive posture, not an advance. There is no need to worry about it."

"This opportunity is a gift from God to you. If you miss it, you may not have such an opportunity next time." Tian Feng took a few steps towards Yuan Shao and spoke again.

Yuan Shao had a dark face. He had not expected Tian Feng to be so tactless. He kept moving forward, spitting on his face.

Guo Tu was also annoyed by Tian Feng's words. He said in a veiled tone, "My dear, the world is in turmoil. There are always good opportunities. Why should we be so constrained by the current opportunity?"

"You..." Tian Feng glared at Guo Tu. Before he could finish his words, Yuan Shao interrupted him and said, "We'll discuss this later." (End of this chapter)