My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 498 Appeasing Jingnan
Cao Ren respectfully accepted the order. He understood that his task was very important, so he took the initiative to ask, "My lord, would it be possible to appoint Li Zheng as my deputy general?"

Li Zheng was the son of Li Qian, a powerful figure in Yanzhou. Li Qian was not only brave and skilled in battle, but also commanded tens of thousands of troops. He had previously assisted Cao Cao in the civil war in Yanzhou, helping him win the final victory.

However, the price was that Li Qian was killed by Xue Lan and Li Feng, who were Lü Bu's advisors.

Cao Cao did not mistreat the Li family. He allowed Li Zheng to take over his father's troops and also appointed Li Zheng as the Commandant of the Vanquishing Bandits and the Chancellor of Dongping State, effectively making him a vassal.

The Li family was powerful and had a large following. They had also cooperated with Cao Ren and had a harmonious relationship with him.

Therefore, Cao Ren was feeling weak at this moment and wanted to bring the Li family into his fold.

Cao Cao pondered for a moment, then shook his head and refused, saying, "The Li family still needs to guard Dongping for me. If we go to help you, Dongping will be vulnerable. If it falls, how can Jiyin survive alone?"

Jiyin County is currently the residence of Cheng Yu, who is acting as the governor of Yanzhou, so it is naturally not to be lost lightly.

Dongping Kingdom is located to the right of Jiyin County. If Dongping Kingdom is lost, it could very well trigger a domino effect, spreading to Jiyin, Chenliu, and even the Heluo region.

That would be a complete rout, and even with Li Zheng's assistance, Cao Ren probably wouldn't be able to hold Chenliu.

After being rejected, Cao Ren accepted reality and sat down without saying another word.

Subsequently, Cao Cao continued to arrange defenses in various regions, with Cao Hong stationed in Wancheng to secure Nanyang, while simultaneously replenishing manpower, food supplies, and military equipment to Heluo and Chenliu.

The remaining generals, including Xiahou Yuan, Yue Jin, Yu Jin, Han Hao, and Shi Huan, were all kept by Cao Cao's side for future use. Cao Cao himself was stationed at Pingyin to support Mengjin and aid Hanoi.

After arranging everything, Cao Cao sat in his seat, stroking his beard and deep in thought. For a moment, no one knew what he was thinking, so they all kept quiet, afraid of disturbing Cao Cao's thoughts.

After about half a cup of tea's time, Cao Cao suddenly raised his head and looked at Cao Ang sitting beside him.

"Zixiu."

Upon hearing his father call him, Cao Ang immediately stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your son is here. Please give me your instructions, Father."

Cao Cao stroked his short beard and said, "Go to Jingzhou and ask Liu Zisheng for help on my behalf."

Cao Cao's words startled everyone present.

Before the war even started, Cao Cao was already thinking of asking for reinforcements, which puzzled everyone.

Admittedly, Yuan Shao is now powerful, with well-trained soldiers, ample provisions, a large army, and numerous generals, including many fierce warriors. However, Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren, and others also believe that they are by no means weak. On the battlefield, it is not necessarily the case that the one with more troops will win. Otherwise, why would we need to fight? We could just count heads.

Xun You, Xi Zhong, Man Chong, and others seemed to be deep in thought, and some of them guessed Cao Cao's idea.

Cao Ang dared not question his father's order, but instead tried to subtly inquire, "Father, I am going to ask for help, but I don't know how to explain this to my father?"

Cao Cao had clearly planned ahead, and immediately instructed: "Please have Liu Zisheng write letters to Zhang Yang, Sui Gu, and Yang Chou, instructing them to defend Hanoi well. Also, please ask Liu Zisheng to send reinforcements to Chen State to support the Yanzhou front. If you can persuade Liu Zisheng to personally lead troops north, I will remember you as a great contributor."

Cao Ang was somewhat surprised, but he didn't dare to ask any more questions and immediately agreed.

Then Cao Cao looked at Man Chong and said, "Bo Ning, thank you for making the trip to Xuzhou."

Man Chong glanced at Cao Ang, then immediately rose from his seat and bowed: "Your humble servant dares not presume to accept the General's concern, but I wonder if the General has any words that Your humble servant needs to convey to General Liu?"

Cao Cao remained silent for a moment, then made up his mind and said, "Please ask him to send troops to Qingzhou to divide Yuan Shao's power and relieve the pressure on me."

"Here!"

Man Chong immediately complied.

**
Liu Feng stayed in Jiangling for three days, winning over all the surrendered generals. Even Liu Qi, Liu Pan, Liu Hu, and other relatives of Liu Biao were genuinely grateful to Liu Feng.

On the fourth day, Liu Feng directly ordered the release of Liu Qi, Liu Pan, and Liu Hu, and even Zhang Yun was included in the order. He sent special people to escort them to Luozhong to seek refuge with Liu Biao.

Liu Feng himself, along with his personal guards, Sun Ce's Changsha army, and Kuai Yue, Wen Ping, and others, traveled south along the Yangtze and Xiang Rivers to Linxiang, the capital of Changsha.

When Liu Feng arrived in Linxiang, Zhang Xian's son, Zhang Yi, led Huan Jie and other officials from Changsha, along with Tai Shici and other generals, to meet him twenty li outside the city.

Upon meeting, Zhang Yi immediately knelt down to beg for forgiveness.

It turned out that after Kuai Yue lifted the siege and withdrew his troops, Zhang Xian's health had improved considerably; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to seize Sun Ce's military power.

However, unforeseen events can happen at any time, and misfortune can strike at any moment.

When news arrived that Taishi Ci had captured Jiangling, Huang Zu had persuaded Xiling to surrender, and Liu Feng's army had entered Xiangyang without bloodshed, Zhang Xian's health deteriorated again, and his condition suddenly became serious.

When Taishi Ci's troops marched south, Zhang Xian naturally had no power to resist and could only open the city gates to welcome them.

Fortunately, after Taishi Ci entered the city, he only took over the city defense of Linxiang and did not interfere in local affairs, which reassured the gentry and powerful families of Linxiang somewhat.

"Since Lord Zhang is ill, I should personally visit him. How can you say it's a mistake?"

Liu Feng first helped Zhang Yi up, then gently comforted him, saying, "I have long admired your great name, Lord Zhang. Of the four prefectures in Jingnan, you alone were appointed as the governor of three prefectures, which shows your ability. Now that I have the opportunity to meet you, I must ask you about your ability to govern the people."

Zhang Xian had an impressive resume in Jingnan. He served as the governor of three of the four commanderies in Jingnan, especially Changsha and Lingling, where he served for more than five years. Liu Biao was the most qualified to comment on the extent of his influence.

Although Liu Feng is now very powerful, he does not want to use his power to intimidate others. He would prefer to persuade Zhang Xian to make a private deal and reach a consensus.

Zhang Xian helped Liu Feng stabilize Jingnan, win over the people, and restore tax revenue. In return, Liu Feng was not stingy in offering Zhang Xian a vacant position among the Nine Ministers, just waiting for him to enter Luoyang. As for Zhang Yi, as long as he did not harbor any ambitions, Liu Feng would certainly not be able to tolerate him.

As it turned out, Zhang Xian and his son were still quite clear-headed at that moment.

As soon as Liu Feng entered the city, Zhang Xian invited him to the prefectural government.

In the prefectural capital, the trembling Zhang Xian presented the complete list of Changsha's household registrations to Liu Feng to show his sincerity.

Liu Feng was overjoyed and immediately comforted Zhang Xian with kind words, promising him a position among the Nine Ministers, which he could take up in Luoyang once he recovered. As for Zhang Yi, Liu Feng was willing to release him directly if Zhang Xian wanted to take him with him to Luoyang.

If Zhang Xian wanted Zhang Yi to enter politics, Liu Feng guaranteed to secure him a place as a candidate for the civil service examination in Nanyang. Zhang Xian could choose any county in the five prefectures of Xu, Yu, Yang, Jing, and Jiao to serve as his official post.

Zhang Xian was overjoyed after hearing Liu Feng's terms.

If Zhang Xian and his son hadn't wanted to continue being the Prince of Linxiang, Liu Feng's terms would have been more than enough to satisfy their appetites.

With his father holding the highest rank in the imperial court and his son being a scholar-official, and the ability to choose his own place to serve as an official, if Zhang Xian was still not satisfied, his confidants Huan Jie and Liu Ba would probably think he was greedy and despicable.

As for the governorship of Jingzhou? If Zhang Xian had any sense at all, he wouldn't have made that request. He was a native of Nanyang, and according to the Three Mutual Laws of the Eastern Han Dynasty, he would never become the governor of Jingzhou, even if he died.

As for talents like Huan Jie and Liu Ba, Liu Feng would naturally not leave them idle.

Liu Feng treated Zhang Xian and his son with such great favor in order to win over Huan Jie, Liu Ba, and others.

Huan Jie goes without saying; he was loyal, trustworthy, persevering, and exceptionally talented.

The fact that Liu Ba was an enemy made Liu Feng feel very complicated.

In the original timeline, Liu Ba was Liu Bei's enemy.

He never thought highly of Liu Bei.

After Zhang Xian's rebellion was suppressed by Liu Biao, Liu Ba, a renowned scholar from Jingzhou, was captured and taken to Xiangyang by Liu Biao.

While in Xiangyang, in order to strengthen Liu Bei's power, Liu Biao intended to send Liu Ba to support Liu Bei.

Liu Ba was not only from a prestigious family, but also a renowned scholar from Lingling. Liu Ba's grandfather, Liu Yao, had served as the governor of Cangwu in Jiaozhou, while Liu Ba's father, Liu Xiang, had held the high position of governor of Jiangxia and was a political ally of Sun Jian.

However, Liu Ba himself extremely disliked Liu Bei and Liu Biao.

Big Ear Brother's succubus aura had no effect on Liu Ba. On the contrary, Liu Ba always believed that Liu Bei was not capable of achieving great things. His true love was Cao Cao, and he often showed disdain and contempt for Liu Bei.

At the same time, Liu Ba and Liu Biao had a deep-seated hatred for each other. Liu Ba's father died at the hands of powerful clans in Nanyang, and the mastermind behind these people was Liu Biao of Jingzhou.

Liu Biao disliked Liu Xiang intensely because Liu Xiang, as the governor of Jiangxia, supported Sun Jian, while Sun Jian's lord, Yuan Shu, was irreconcilably opposed to Liu Biao.

Therefore, regardless of Liu Biao's own efforts or Liu Bei's repeated attempts to recruit him, Liu Ba remained unmoved.

It wasn't until Cao Cao conquered Jingzhou that Liu Ba finally found a wise ruler and went to serve him. Later, he even volunteered to go to Jingnan to persuade the four commanderies of Jingnan to surrender to Cao Cao.

When Liu Ba arrived in Jingnan, everything was fine, and he successfully persuaded Cao Cao to surrender the four commanderies of Jingnan. However, when he was about to return to report, he found that he could not go back!

Zhou Yu set fire to Cao Cao, causing him to flee.

Liu Bei, whom he had underestimated, seized the opportunity to grow stronger and swept across the entire Jingnan region.

Liu Ba was unwilling to serve Liu Bei and disregarded Liu Bei's recruitment offer. He ran away to Jiaozhou, then detoured through Nanzhong to enter Yizhou, intending to return to Guanzhong via Hanzhong.

The plan was all set, but then another unexpected event occurred.

Liu Ba had just arrived in Chengdu when he caught up with Liu Bei betraying Liu Zhang. When he woke up, he found that Liu Bei was everywhere outside the city.

Liu Ba traveled thousands of miles across southern China, but couldn't shake off Liu Bei. In the end, what could he do but make do?

Fortunately, Liu Bei remained devoted to him and eventually got his wish. Liu Ba was moved by Liu Bei's sincerity and stopped running away, instead serving Liu Bei.

Even so, Liu Ba only changed his opinion of Liu Bei. As for Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, he still looked down on them. Zhang Fei once tried to stay at Liu Ba's house, but was ridiculed by Liu Ba without any politeness. Although Liu Bei was extremely angry, he could only sigh and comfort his third brother in the end, and did not want to blame Liu Ba at all.

Liu Ba possesses a wide range of talents. He is not only erudite and knowledgeable, but also proficient in law and even skilled in financial management. He is truly a rare talent.

No wonder that when Liu Bei besieged Chengdu, upon hearing that Liu Ba was also in the city, he was overjoyed and issued a death order: anyone who harmed Ba would be executed along with their entire family.

Even Chen Qun, who held the high-ranking position of one of the Three Dukes in Cao Wei and was entrusted with the care of Cao Pi, was a close friend of Liu Ba and even wrote a letter to Zhuge Liang to inquire about Liu Ba's health.

Upon meeting Liu Ba in person, Liu Feng could only say that Liu Ba is, after all, Liu Ba.

In stark contrast to Huan Jie's closeness, Liu Ba was quite arrogant.

This was not because Liu Ba was rude to Liu Feng, nor was it any real contempt. On the contrary, Liu Ba appeared taciturn, respectful and quiet, but his nature revealed an air of aloofness.

Liu Feng sensed something was amiss, but deliberately remained silent, instead taking Zhang Yi and Huan Jie's hands and leading them into the city.

After entering the city, Liu Feng's troops did not commit any offenses, but simply took over the city's defense fortresses.

Liu Feng himself, under the protection of Xu Chu and Sun Ce, went first to Linxiang Prefecture to visit Zhang Xian.

Zhang Xian did indeed have a serious health problem, but fortunately, he had a renowned doctor by his side to take care of him, so it did not lead to a major disaster.

Zhang Xian was deeply moved to see Liu Feng come to visit him in person.

Liu Feng quickly stepped forward and pressed him down onto the couch.

Zhang Xian's condition was quite clear, and there was absolutely no possibility that he was faking it. Moreover, Zhang Xian had rendered great service to his father and son, and Liu Feng did not want to spread rumors that he had mistreated him.

After calming Zhang Xian down, Liu Feng held his hand and asked, "I heard that you were ill, Lord Zhang, and I was very worried about you, so I came to visit you. How are you feeling now?"

Zhang Xian nodded with emotion, a hint of sadness in his eyes, and replied in a low voice, "I am old and my condition has worsened recently, so I'm afraid I won't recover."

Upon hearing this, Liu Feng frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "Lord Zhang is a pillar of Jingzhou, I hope you will take good care of yourself. I have a friend named Fan A by my side, who is a disciple of the divine physician Hua Tuo and is deeply trusted by me. If Lord Zhang does not mind, I will immediately send him to your residence to treat you."

Zhang Xian stared at Liu Feng for a moment, then slowly said, "In that case, I thank the general for his kindness."

Liu Feng immediately turned around and ordered Xu Chu to summon Fan A.

Then, he turned to Zhang Xian and said, "Lord Zhang is a renowned scholar of Jingzhou. The peace and tranquility of the people of Jingnan is all thanks to your efforts in protecting the territory and ensuring the safety of the people. Now that I have just acquired Jingzhou, I need Lord Zhang's assistance. I hope you will take good care of yourself."

Upon hearing Liu Feng's words, Zhang Xian's eyes flickered, and after a moment he said, "I have something to say, and I hope the general will forgive me."

Liu Feng hesitated for a moment before saying, "Please speak frankly, Lord Zhang."

Zhang Xian took a breath and slowly said, "General Zuo is young and promising, and has a kind heart. I am very pleased. However, the people of Jingzhou are diverse, with Han and non-Han people living together. We need to educate and cultivate them with virtue in order to make it last. We must not be too hasty."

Liu Feng understood that Zhang Xian was worried that he would be used again in Jingnan for the same reasons he had in Kuaiji and Wu County. So he comforted him, saying, "I will keep Zhang Gong's words in mind. My son and I are new to Jingzhou. If there is anything we have done wrong, I hope Zhang Gong will not hesitate to teach us."

Zhang Xian nodded slightly, seemingly pleased. After catching his breath, he said, "I have a son named Zhang Yi. Although he is not very talented, he is willing to serve Jingzhou. I hope General Liu will give him some guidance."

Liu Feng immediately smiled and said, "Brother, you have been by Zhang Gong's side for a long time, receiving his careful guidance and instruction. His talent is beyond question, and I will certainly give him an important position."

(End of this chapter)