People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 199 Infighting
After making friends with Liu Bei, Zhao Yun was suddenly attracted by some of the other party's characteristics.

He found that although Liu Bei was born in a lowly family like himself, he was a man of the highest caliber.
If it were just that, it would be fine. It only means that the other person is a relatively outstanding person.

But as they talked, he soon noticed that this man not only had a broad mind, but also had a sense of concern for the country and the people. He could clearly feel from his words the other party's sorrow for the current world and the suffering of the people.

What is even more rare is that although the other party is of low status now, he has the ambition to support the Han Dynasty. Such lofty ambitions can't help but make people admire him.

Zhao Yun himself is a man of upright character. When he suddenly met someone like Liu Bei, he immediately felt a sense of mutual appreciation.

"We've arrived. Jizhou has not been peaceful recently, and the governor is in a bad mood. Zilong, don't worry after you follow me in. I will find the right time to introduce you!"

The two chatted and laughed all the way, and soon they became close friends. However, when they arrived at the door of the government office, Liu Bei had to stop the topic for a while and gave Zhao Yun a few instructions.

How could Zhao Yun not agree? He immediately bowed heavily, his attitude speaking for itself.

After giving the instructions, Liu Bei took Guan Yu and Zhao Yun with him and walked in.

"Xuan De is here, please take a seat." Han Fu, who was sitting in the main seat, greeted them lightly when he saw them come in, and one could clearly feel the perfunctory tone in his voice.

Zhao Yun couldn't help but turn his head to look at Liu Bei, thinking that what Liu Bei said before about not being valued seemed to be true.

Liu Bei, on the other hand, looked calm. He bowed to Han Fu and took a seat aside. Guan Yu and Zhao Yun stood motionless on Liu Bei's left and right respectively.

After Han Fu greeted Liu Bei, he ignored him, which made Liu Bei feel helpless.

It has been more than two months since I came here, and Han Fu has always been so cold to me. If I hadn't brought more than a thousand soldiers and Liu Yu's personal letter, I'm afraid my treatment now would not be much different from Zhao Yun's.

However, Han Fu still gave Liu Yu some face in the end. Because of the handwritten letter, he allowed Liu Bei to be an individual attendant. But he also put Liu Bei aside and basically did not let him interfere in any affairs.

People like Han Fu are very realistic. How much resources you can bring to his side determines how loud your voice can be. Liu Bei has nothing but a mere 1,000 troops, which can only be described as shabby.

At worst, if Liu Bei had some extraordinary talents, he wouldn't mind paying some attention to them. Unfortunately, Liu Bei has not shown any extraordinary qualities so far.

On the contrary, Guan Yu, who was by Liu Bei's side, was a rare and powerful general. Although Han Fu was somewhat tempted, he had no shortage of powerful generals under his command, so he did not have any thoughts on it.

What is giving him a headache right now is the issue concerning his own generals, which makes him dare not easily employ outsiders whom he does not trust.

"Qu Yi rebelled against the governor of his own province, but he went to fight with Yuan Shao. What does he mean by this? Is he going to abandon me, Han Fu, and join Yuan Shao? Does he think that I, Han Fu, am inferior to Yuan Shao?"

Han Fu basically ignored Liu Bei and the others and just kept talking to himself. However, as he spoke, he became angry and could not help but slam the table hard, which scared the others.

This can be said to be the most upsetting thing that has happened to Han Fu in recent times.

After his general Qu Yi rebelled, Han Fu immediately led an expedition to suppress him, but was defeated by Qu Yi and had to run back in disgrace.

That would have been fine, but he could not tolerate the fact that Qu Yi was getting closer and closer to Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao was his mortal enemy, and he and he had been fighting openly and secretly against each other and were almost at odds. Qu Yi's behavior was undoubtedly a heart-breaking act.

Zhang He, Cheng Huan and Geng Wu all shook their heads helplessly. Qu Yi was from Liangzhou and was familiar with the Qiang people's tactics. His soldiers were already powerful. If he got help from Yuan Shao, he would be even more difficult to deal with.

Geng Wu immediately spoke up to persuade him: "Governor, the matter of Qu Yi cannot be resolved in a short time. It is better to let it go for now. Now there is a rebellion in the Five Elements Mountain in the west of Jizhou, and Youzhou in the north has just taken Youzhou and declared the establishment of a country. There are hidden concerns everywhere. Jizhou cannot afford to attack again."

Zhang He also quickly agreed: "I fought against the Yellow Turbans in Youzhou two or three years ago. Those bandits are definitely not a mob. Now that they are declaring the establishment of a country, they will sooner or later target Jizhou. We should make plans early."

Han Fu was silent for a while. Actually, he understood the threat posed by the Yellow Turbans. Ever since the Yellow Turbans defeated Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan, he had always felt like he was being stabbed.

It is really hard to sleep or eat well with such a brutal existence right behind me.

At the beginning of the new year, it was heard that the Yellow Turbans held a founding ceremony in Ji County and actually established their country in a serious manner. Although it was said that this country did not even have a monarch, which sounded a bit funny, Han Fu could not laugh.

After the Yellow Turbans established their state, their power was bound to grow greatly. Jizhou was adjacent to Youzhou, so if nothing unexpected happened, it would be the first place to bear the impact of the Yellow Turbans.

Neither Liu Yu nor Gongsun Zan could stop the Yellow Turbans, can I stop them?

Although Jizhou has a large population, vast territory and is rich, Han Fu still feels unsure about it. If possible, he would like to respond to the Yellow Turbans earlier, but now in addition to the Yellow Turbans, he has another enemy that poses a greater threat, and that is Yuan Shao!

"Yuan Shao is an ambitious man who has repeatedly opposed me. Now he has even provoked my Jizhou rebel general. Can't you see what he wants to do? Or do you want me to give up the position of governor to him?"

Han Fu still couldn't swallow this humiliation. He and Yuan Shao were just one step away from a falling out. If he gave in now, the other party would take advantage of him in the future!
Everyone felt uneasy when they heard this. The intensification of the conflict between Han Fu and Yuan Shao was not something they wanted to see. It was not only because of the external threat from the Yellow Turbans, but also because they did not want to be kidnapped by Han Fu. A fight with Yuan Shao would not do them any good.

Just when everyone was in trouble, Liu Bei, who had always been transparent, took the initiative to stand up and speak.

"I have something to say, and I hope the governor will know that the biggest threat to Jizhou is not Yuan Shao, but the Yellow Turbans. I participated in the war in Youzhou a few months ago and deeply understood the strength of the Yellow Turbans. They are definitely not small thieves who can be underestimated.

The Yellow Turbans are well-disciplined, fight bravely, are well-equipped, and are skilled in tactics. They are an elite force. If Jizhou is not prepared to deal with them, it will suffer in the future!"

Liu Bei stood up and looked around at everyone. Thinking of his previous experience, he felt heavy-hearted: "I am not exaggerating. The Yellow Turbans only need to mobilize an army of 50,000 to crush Jizhou!"

When these words were spoken, everyone present was shocked. They were not surprised, but felt it was ridiculous.

Although they all felt that the Yellow Turbans should not be underestimated, they did not regard them as such a formidable enemy. Who would dare to speak in such a tone when an army of 50,000 men crushed Jizhou?

What kind of place is Jizhou? If we were to select the strongest one among the Thirteen Prefectures of the Han Dynasty, Jizhou would definitely be one of the options.

There are many noble families, a dense population, and countless fertile fields here. It is simply not comparable to a barren place like Youzhou. It is a bit too much to think that 50,000 troops can go wild.

Everyone thought that Liu Bei was just talking nonsense, but Zhang He looked serious. He couldn't help but think of his battle with the Yellow Turbans in Youzhou several years ago.

That was one of the few battles in which he suffered a loss. His original purpose was to intercept and eliminate the local Yellow Turbans operating in the territory, and he fought very well. However, the Yellow Turban reinforcements from Youzhou caused him to suffer a great defeat.

He was almost wiped out in that battle, and the tragic result is still fresh in his memory. If the Yellow Turbans had the same fighting power as they did back then, with an army of 50,000,
Zhang He couldn't help but shudder. He knew that an army cannot be judged solely by its numbers. The quality of the army is actually more important than its sheer number of people.

If I were given a choice, I would rather fight a general army of several hundred thousand than a division of fifty thousand elite soldiers.

Zhang He wanted to say something, but when he looked up, he saw Han Fu frowning, with dissatisfaction almost written on his face, so he shut up.

"As the governor of this state, I would like to face external affairs with peace of mind, but how can Yuan Shao stay still? Xuande, there is no need to say such things anymore. If Jizhou is harmed one day, the responsibility will be on Yuan Shao, not me!" Han Fu snorted and blocked Liu Bei with just one sentence.

Liu Bei was very anxious. How could he devote his energy to internal fighting in the face of a powerful enemy like the Yellow Turbans?

When Liu Bei thought of the deaths of Zhang Fei and Liu Yu in battle, he wished he could destroy the Yellow Turbans. If he didn't want things to develop in an unfavorable direction, he had no choice but to do something himself!
Although Han Fu was selfish, what he said was true. It was useless to just target Han Fu. Yuan Shao was also the key.

"I wish to go to Bohai to meet Yuan Shao and persuade him to put aside his dispute and join hands with the governor to face the outside world!"

Liu Bei gritted his teeth, walked out, and solemnly asked Han Fu for orders.

Everyone around looked at him with awe. They were really shocked by Liu Bei's impartiality.

This kind of job is not easy to do. If you really go there, you will probably be asking for trouble, and you will be scolded by Han Fu when you come back. It is indeed not easy for Liu Bei to take the initiative to stand up.

Even Han Fu was slightly startled, but then he looked at Liu Bei with a more relaxed look: "Since Xuande has this intention, let's give it a try."

"Thank you, Governor!" Liu Bei gladly accepted the order, but he did not leave in a hurry. Instead, he turned to look at Zhao Yun and said to Han Fu, "There is another thing I would like to ask you to know. This is Zhao Yun from Changshan. I have heard of your reputation for a long time, so I led my people to seek refuge with you. However, I have not been able to see you for a long time. After seeing you, Liu Bei took the initiative to bring him in. I hope you will not be offended."

Zhao Yun also understood what he had to do, so he immediately stepped forward and bowed to Han Fu: "Zhao Yun from Changshan, I greet the governor!"

Han Fu frowned, obviously unhappy with Liu Bei's behavior, but considering that Liu Bei had just been assigned the task, it was not easy to say anything, so he nodded as a sign of agreement.

When he asked about Zhao Yun's situation again, he learned that Zhao Yun came from a poor family and only brought three to five hundred soldiers with him, so he didn't take it seriously.

Zhao Yun was simply given a few hundred more soldiers and made a low-level military officer before being sent away.

(End of this chapter)