Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 171: A Lifetime of Wandering

In December, Liu Bei returned to Xia Pi County to deal with matters from various states. At the same time, news came from the Langya County in the north that Zang Ba, who was stationed in Kaiyang, finally thought it through. Despite the persuasion of Chang Xi, Sun Guan, Wu Dun, Yin Li and others, he decided to take a boat alone to Xia Pi to meet Lord Xuande.

Before leaving, Zang Ba said to the people who came to see him off: "Since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the world has been in turmoil and the people have been resentful, and the world has been torn apart, and countless lives have been lost. Xuande's wise judgment was gifted by heaven, and his good strategies led the talents of the people. Therefore, he was able to defeat the minority with the majority, defeat the chaos with the order, defeat the weak with the strong, and defeat the rebellion of relatives with the obedience of the world. Therefore, he was able to win ten battles and a hundred battles."

"Envoy Liu is magnanimous and generous. He even accepted the Yellow Turban leader, let alone us. Don't worry about me. I will be back soon and find a title for my friends."

Zang Balang smiled and bowed before getting on board.

I believe that Lord Xuande will not do anything to him. As long as he has the heart to save the world, he will not kill him.

If you bet wrong, then you are wrong, but you are only half a step ahead.

Guan Hai, the commander of Mount Tai, has stationed his soldiers from the elite camp in Langya. The auxiliary soldiers transferred from Beihai County have been handed over to Yu Jin, who was promoted for his military merits. It is said that Yu Jin is good at training soldiers and is also a troublesome opponent.

If you don't go to pay your respects now, once the Danyang soldiers in Donghai are trained, you will be surrounded on three sides with a knife at your neck.

Liu Bei had guessed some of Zang Ba's thoughts, so he offered him conditions that he could not refuse early on.

Either surrender completely or be driven out to sea. He would never tolerate any powerful bandits roaming around in his jurisdiction.

"Envoy, this is a letter from Marquis Wen of Liyang." The clerk walked quickly across the hall and handed over the urgent letter.

When Lu Su, who was handling affairs nearby, heard this, he stood up, bowed, took the document from the clerk, stamped it, and handed it to Liu Bei with both hands.

Wherever Liu Bei went, the affairs of the three states had to be sent there. When he left Xia Pi, many affairs of the states and counties had piled up like a mountain.

Only during the war would the amount of documents sent to Liu Bei's army by the county governors be relatively reduced.

Liu Bei opened the wooden tablet and after reading it carefully, he couldn't help but laugh and said, "It seems that Fengxian has really thought it through this time. He actually allowed me to transfer Zhang Wenyuan to Xuzhou."

Earlier, when Tao Qian recommended him as the governor of Xuzhou, Lu Bu sent Zhang Liao to congratulate him. He wanted to sell the captured war horses and military horses to various southern states, but was quietly blocked by Guo Fengxiao on the grounds of law.

In the end, he could only sell hundreds of the military horses to Liu Xuande at a fair price, and Liu Bei ordered the Huben Cavalry to replace some of the injured horses to the county couriers in Yan and Qing states. These important transportation routes all needed horses to ensure the normal operation of the couriers to deliver official documents.

Liu Bei bought not only horses, but also the horse doctor of Wen Chou's cavalry captured by Lu Bu at a high price. He set up stables in each post station, with stable keepers and stable assistants who were responsible for raising horses, and horse doctors were placed nearby to take care of the working horses.

If a horse becomes thin, sick, lost, or dies suddenly, the stationmaster, postmaster, pavilion chief, stable boy, stable assistant, and horse doctor will be held accountable and punished and compensated according to the severity of the matter.

Liu Bei was afraid that some things would become his own by officials while he was using them.

In addition to stamping the horses' legs, a horse register was also established. Every horse's coat color, characteristics, gender, age, and height were recorded in detail and backed up in each county to prevent fraud.

Liu Bei was repairing and improving the damaged systems in various states and counties while weakening Lu Bu's power. As a result, after winter, Lu Fengxian could not afford to support his cavalry and his finances were almost broken. Some soldiers even stole horses and fled. His wife tried to persuade him several times, and Zhang Yang, who had moved to Pingyuan, also sent a letter saying, "Fengxian should see the situation clearly early and not be like him, who lost everything except his family.

After fighting for half their lives, the warriors in the border counties still have to find their place and think about how they should spend the rest of their lives with their descendants. They can't just go into battle with spears in hand and kill the enemy when they are old.

When you fled Chang'an without taking the emperor with you, the emperor fell into the hands of Li Jue and Guo Si. His situation was far worse than when Dong Zhuo was still there, and he was bullied to every degree.

If the emperor gains power, as long as someone mentions the past, the emperor will bear a grudge and your entire family will be exterminated.

There is only one person in the world who can accommodate you, and that is Lord Xuande. If you insist on doing it your own way, I am afraid that there will be no chance to write to you again in the future. I can only go to the tomb to offer wine and worship, and hope Fengxian will take care of himself. "Tongzhou Zhang Yang's heartfelt words made Lu Bu think for several nights, and finally he was willing to bend down and surrender.

Liyang and Dangyin were both given to Liu Bei. He did not mention in the letter that he was the Inspector of the Imperial Capital, nor did he mention that he had passed through Bingzhou after joining forces to defeat Yuan Shao.

Liu Bei was shocked and tentatively transferred Zhang Liao thousands of miles away to Xuzhou, but he didn't expect that Lu Bu also agreed.

He even said that he had other brave and wise men under him, such as Cheng Lian and Wei Yue, who could be mobilized by Lord Xuande. In his letters, he was very respectful to Liu Bei and no longer showed any sign of being arrogant.

Liu Bei held the wooden tablet for a while, and finally said with emotion: "Fengxian has really changed."

He then wrote back to Lu Bu, asking him to continue to station his troops in Liyang until he had dealt with the affairs of Xuzhou. That would be the time to seize the three counties of Weijun, Ganling and Bohai.

He took out an empty bamboo scroll and wrote to Guan Yu, asking him to transfer some food and grass to Lu Fengxian, and sent careful clerks to Liyang and Dangyin to see if there were any changes in the soldiers.

Only the real reaction of the soldiers can show whether Lu Bu is willing to surrender.

Liu Bei thought: "Liyang and Dangyin have fallen into my hands. Yuan Benchu, who is far away in Youzhou, will be completely uneasy when he hears about it."

Regardless of whether he defeated Gongsun Zan or not, Liu Xuande had no constraints in the direction of Yecheng. No matter how high and thick the city walls were built, it could not change the situation of being surrounded, not to mention that if he defended for too long, he would eventually lose.

Liu Bei thought that Yuan Shao would withdraw his troops from Youzhou and return to Yecheng by February or March next year at the latest, and the decisive battle between him and Yuan in Hebei was imminent.

It would probably take more than a year or two to wipe out Yuan Benchu, who still occupied several counties in Bingzhou and Youzhou. After all, while he was developing, Yuan Shao was also not standing still. When he attacked Gongsun Zan, he captured Zhuo County, Shanggu County, Dai County, and Guangyang County.

Moreover, if we want to completely eliminate all of Yuan's disciples and former officials in Jizhou, it will take more effort.

As for the many princes in the south, they originally wanted to lure Yuan Shu to capture Pi, but unexpectedly he did not take any action. Even the prophecy of Dai Han Tu Gao dissipated a lot, and the nursery rhymes were no longer sung in Xuzhou.

The move before establishing a title and proclaiming himself emperor also stopped, and only Ji Ling and Sun Ce stationed their troops near Xia Pi and did not move, which made Liu Bei slightly stunned.

This won't do. Now that you have all learned your lesson, how can I feel at ease returning north to fight against Yuan Shao?

Just at this time someone handed over a secret letter saying that the wealthy families in Xuzhou were secretly colluding to rebel. Liu Bei saw that it was his old acquaintance Xin Pi who came to inform on him.

He and other scholars were nearly discovered by knights when passing through Yanzhou, so they got separated. After revealing their identities with the secret letter and seal given by Lord Yuan, they finally found several powerful families who were dissatisfied with Lord Xuande.

Xin Pi gathered the nobles together and then prepared to cross the river to look for Cao Cao and Yuan Shu.

Before leaving, he wrote a list of the nobles who were involved in the rebellion and gave it to Lord Xuande, but Liu Bei returned it to him after reading it.

In the face of Xin Pi's surprised gaze, Liu Bei chuckled and said he had already noted it down.

Let him take the list of people involved in the rebellion across the river to Cao Cao. Yuan Shu cannot keep the secret and the news may leak out easily. It would be better to just tell Cao Mengde.

Looking at all the princes in Yangzhou, Cao Mengde was the only one that made him most worried. Liu Bei smiled and said, "I heard that Mengde has occupied three counties in Yangzhou and has many talented subordinates. If we don't make a plan to attack him now, he will become a trouble in the future. Please help us lure Cao Mengde across the river."

Xin Pi nodded suddenly, not expecting that Lord Xuande and Lord Yuan would respond in unison.

(End of this chapter)