People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 182 Estrangement
"Okay, okay, the three warriors coming to help me today is just the right thing to do. My new army is being prepared, and the three of you can all be settled!"

In the office, Liu Yu was smiling happily. Although this gesture was a bit of a show, he was really happy. Having talented people come to him really eased his worries.

It’s not that Liu Yu doesn’t have people who can use his talents now, but there are no particularly useful people under him.

And just after a conversation and probing, he felt that Liu Bei had an extraordinary bearing and his personality was very similar to his own, so he naturally liked him and regarded him as a talent.

Moreover, when introducing Liu Bei, Gongsun Zan also said that Liu Bei was a descendant of King Jing of Zhongshan. Although such a relative of the Han royal family was no longer valuable, he was still a person of the same surname, which would naturally make Liu Yu like him more.

Even the two men following behind Liu Bei, one could tell from their figures and temperament that they were first-rate tough guys, more than qualified to be his subordinate generals.

"I intend to appoint Xuande as the military commander, and Guanyu and Zhang Fei as the military commanders of other units!"

While speaking, Liu Yu had already addressed Liu Bei by his given name, and with a smile on his face, he seemed even closer: "If you are willing, you can take up your posts and train the troops tomorrow. Once you have achieved results, you can go east to fight the Yellow Turbans!"

Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei looked at each other, nodded, and then bowed to Liu Yu to express their gratitude.

Honestly speaking, Liu Yu's arrangement was already a great favor to them. After all, before this, the three of them were unknown people who could not even get on the stage. Now, they could take up military posts and command troops, which was something they had never thought of before they came.

Liu Bei was naturally happy to be valued so much, but then he became worried.

The more Liu Yu appoints talents beyond the limit, the more it shows the predicament of the government. If Liu Yu had talent under his command, he would not have resorted to this. It can only be said that the Yellow Turbans have pushed the government into a corner, and it is obvious that life is very difficult.

Although they have a place to stay temporarily, how long can the government maintain this situation?

In Youzhou today, the Yellow Turbans are in charge, and the government is the bullied wife.

No matter what, we must train our troops and fight well. First, we must defend the territory of Youzhou for the Han Dynasty. Second, we must repay the governor's kindness. Third, we must destroy the Yellow Turbans and eliminate the disaster for the Han Dynasty!

Of course, I, Liu Bei, must also make a name for myself and make a career in this unfair world!

As Liu Bei was muttering to himself, he saw a clerk walk into the office, running in in a panic with a message: "Liu Zhou Mu, an angel has arrived, bringing the emperor's edict!"

After these words were spoken, everyone present was dumbfounded. They looked at each other, not knowing how to react.

How could there be any imperial edict now? The young emperor was being intimidated by Dong Zhuo and could not do anything at all. The so-called imperial edict was just a proxy from Dong Zhuo.

But the embarrassing thing is that, from a legal point of view, this is the will of the emperor and his subjects must obey it.

Gongsun Zan frowned and said, "Governor, I think we should not meet them. Just drive them away. It will be difficult to deal with them if we really meet them."

Liu Yu was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "There is nothing to be afraid of. Let the messenger come in and read the imperial edict. I want to see what tricks Dong the thief is up to."

Liu Bei was a little anxious, and stepped forward to advise: "The governor must know that this is Dong the thief threatening the emperor, and you must not obey the thief's wishes."

Liu Yu glanced at Liu Bei and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Xuande. I am not a stupid person and will not be tied up by the thieves."

In this way, Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan felt relieved. It was difficult for them to live in Youzhou under the current situation, so it was better not to get involved in Dong Zhuo's affairs.

Even when various places raised armies to fight against Dong Zhuo, Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan had no intention of joining in.

Although Liu Yu wanted to help the Emperor of Han Dynasty resolve the crisis, he couldn't leave at the moment. The Yellow Turbans were eyeing him covetously, so he couldn't go anywhere.

Under the current circumstances, no matter what the so-called imperial edict says, Liu Yu will not really obey it.

Soon, the envoys from the capital came in. Liu Yu, Gongsun Zan, Liu Bei and others, without even any etiquette preparation, stiffly asked the envoy to read the imperial edict.

It was not that they disrespected the emperor's majesty, but that they did not want to flatter Dong Zhuo.

Although the angel wanted to lose his temper, when he saw the cold eyes of several people, he suddenly realized that this was not his home court and he might really die if he didn't understand the situation. So he didn't dare to lose his temper and just started to read obediently.

"It has been a long time since the disaster in Youzhou began. If the generals fight against the Yellow Turbans, they will be defeated. If they defend, they will be defeated. Now that the territory has been lost one after another, the Yellow Turbans have become rampant.

Youzhou Governor Liu Yu and Po Lu Colonel Gongsun Zan were in charge of Youzhou's military and political affairs, and they should be held primarily responsible for the current situation.

The threat of the Yellow Turbans cannot be ignored. Since the two of you are incapable of doing anything about it, we should let Jizhou Governor Han Fu take charge of Youzhou’s military affairs, so that we can unite the forces of Youzhou and Jizhou and try to recover our territory!"

When the messenger finished reading the imperial edict carefully, Gongsun Zan immediately stood up, staring at the messenger with a pair of tiger eyes, and his hand was already on the hilt of the sword, as if he was going to kill the messenger in anger. It was Liu Yu who stood up and reprimanded him first, and then suppressed him: "Dong Zhuo, the thief, pretended to be the emperor's edict, and dared to shamelessly accuse us. Don't you know that he, Dong Zhuo, is the biggest traitor of the Han Dynasty? Go back and tell him that now the heroes of the world have gathered together and his death is not far away, so just wash your neck and wait!"

When Liu Yu spoke, his tone was so angry that the messengers below were scared half to death.

Fortunately, the messenger finally felt relieved when he heard that he still had a chance to go back and report the news. However, he was even more afraid to act presumptuously. He could only nod cautiously and then ran out in a hurry.

Gongsun Zan frowned and withdrew his hand from the hilt of the sword, looking somewhat dissatisfied.

What he hated most was Liu Yu's soft-heartedness. What else could he say to the envoy sent by Dong Zhuo? He could just kill him with a knife. Why did he let him go back?

Gongsun Zan was naturally angry when he was pointed at and insulted like that, but now he could only endure it.

Liu Yu was also in a bad mood, but to be honest, he could not refute the accusations in the imperial edict. As the military and political leaders of Youzhou, he and Gongsun Zan had an unshirkable responsibility for the Yellow Turbans becoming such a scourge today.

Gongsun Zan said: "The old villain Dong Zhuo is making a lot of nonsense, the governor does not need to pay attention to it."

Liu Yu remained silent upon hearing this, but the worry between his brows could not be resolved with just one sentence. This inexplicable edict was not as simple as Gongsun Zan, the warrior, thought.

Not only Liu Yu realized the problem, but Liu Bei also understood it: "Bogui, this edict is obviously a plot by Dong Yu to sow discord. The governor may not care about it, but what Han Fu will think is beyond his control."

Gongsun Zan suddenly realized what was going on when he heard this: "Xuan De is saying that the thief Dong also sent the same imperial edict to Han Fu?"

Liu Bei nodded: "I'm afraid that's the case. This strategy will only work if it alienates the two sides. Han Fu must have the imperial edict in his hand by now."

Gongsun Zan was stunned for a moment, and said uncertainly: "Even so, Han Fu would not really fall for it. If he believed this and wanted to fight us for Youzhou, it would be a huge joke."

Liu Yu said meaningfully: "He may or may not, but we must anticipate the worst. Given the current situation, anything can happen."

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Zan immediately realized the insidiousness of this plan.

After sending the imperial edict to both parties, each side will anticipate the other party's reaction, thus forming a chain of suspicion.

However, he then discovered a problem. Even so, as long as both sides maintained a certain degree of restraint, they could still live in peace. It was really wishful thinking to think that the two sides would really start a fight based on this imperial edict.

"Even so, we just need to take some precautions and I don't think it will be a big deal." Gongsun Zan advised.

"That's the only way. However, we can't act rashly. It will be even harder to defeat the Yellow Turbans. Otherwise, we can't guarantee that Han Fu will take advantage of the situation and enter Youzhou with the imperial edict."

Liu Yu sighed, thinking that bad things were happening one after another in these troubled times. Now that the Han Dynasty had collapsed, many heroes in the world had to seek development for themselves. In this situation, it was really hard to say whether Han Fu would be greedy and do bad things.

"During this period of time, we should focus more on Jizhou. If Han Fu makes any move, we can respond in time. As for the Yellow Turbans, they have been relatively well behaved recently, so we won't think of attacking them for now."

After Liu Yu finished speaking, Liu Bei bowed and accepted the order, and Gongsun Zan also nodded in agreement.

It has to be said that they were a little annoyed by this imperial edict. Although the probability of something going wrong was not high, it still required them to keep an eye on Han Fu, which made their already stretched energy even more insufficient.

Liu Bei also felt secretly regretful in his heart. He had originally wanted to train his troops and fight the Yellow Turbans as soon as possible, but now he had to give up for the time being.

But then his mind suddenly skipped a beat and an idea popped into his mind.

This strategy of sowing discord may seem insignificant and of little use, but it actually helps to create a more comfortable environment for the Yellow Turbans. It seems to be of the greatest benefit to them!

Is this a coincidence, or was this plan originally devised by the Yellow Turbans?
However, this idea did not last long in Liu Bei's mind. The Yellow Turbans wanted to collude with Dong Zhuo to ask for the imperial edict. Why should Dong Zhuo give it to them?

Liu Bei felt that this possibility was too low, so he didn't think about it too deeply. Perhaps it was just a coincidence.

Afterwards, several people said goodbye and left one after another, and some subtle changes also took place in Zhuo County. In addition to maintaining the old affairs of guarding against the Yellow Turbans, Zhuo County also devoted a small part of its energy to keep an eye on Jizhou.

This subtle change is not easy to be noticed by people, but in the eyes of real professionals, they can always see something through some clues.

Therefore, Li Zheng, who was in charge of defense in Zhuo County, secretly wrote a coded letter and sent it to the Yellow Turbans through his own secret channels.

(End of this chapter)