Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 185 Yuan Shu: Rebellion, Rebellion
Zhou Yu said this in a spirited manner and bowed, his eyes subconsciously falling on Liu Shijun, wanting to see if he was satisfied with Zhou's plan.

As Liu Shijun is a hero of the world, he should be able to understand the implicit meaning of his words.

"With the help of Zhou and Gongjin, there is no need to worry about the defeat of Yuan Shu." Liu Bei was immediately overjoyed and said with a smile.

This was the first powerful family from Huainan to come and surrender. Even if it was not Zhou Yu who came, he could not ignore it.

Liu Bei chatted with Zhou Gongjin for a while, and it happened that the head of the Liu clan came with him, wanting to exchange land for allowing the clan members to take up official positions.

Seeing this, Zhou Yu had no choice but to bow and leave with a feeling of reluctance.

After dealing with all the clan leaders and completing the land measurement in Pengcheng, it will be time to go to Pei State.

Liu Bei looked at Dian Wei and Lu Su beside him, pointed to Yuzhou and said with a smile: "We should recover the Central Plains on this trip."

On March 20th, more than 7,000 soldiers marched in battle formation, with flags and drums connected in front and back. They marched south along the Pengcheng River, passing through Xiaoxian, and then to Xiangxian in Peidi.

Before leaving, many elders from powerful families came to the road to see him off, and both sides were crowded with people.

Finally, Liu Bei instructed Man Chong to strictly control the land measurement, bowed to the clan leaders, mounted his horse and led the cavalry away.

When passing by Xiao County, he met Tao Gongzu's two sons, Tao Shang and Tao Ying, who were still in mourning. The two men bowed and did not dare to look up at Liu Bei.

Liu Bei was curious and asked why. Tao Shang bowed his head and said, "When my father was alive, we two brothers wanted to serve you like a brother and a father, so we dare not act rashly or be disrespectful."

Liu Bei was stunned when he heard this, then he gritted his teeth and said earnestly: "Your father really has good intentions."

Tao Ying is not younger than him, and Tao Shang is even a few years older. It was thanks to Tao Gongzu that he was able to say it, and his ghost is still lingering and can be seen everywhere.

Liu Bei cursed in his heart.

Suddenly he had the urge not to go to pay respect to Tao Qian, but fortunately he was able to control his temper, and although he cursed in his heart, he still had a smile on his face as he helped the two men up, saying, "Mr. Tao is so filial that he has lost a lot of weight by mourning for Mr. Tao. You must take good care of yourself."

As soon as these words were uttered, Tao Shang and Tao Ying almost burst into tears. They couldn't help but hold their heads and cry. They had never suffered such hardship in their lives.

Filial piety was particularly important in the Han Dynasty, and mourning for loved ones was taken to a new level by scholars at this time.

In the early Han Dynasty, the "Book of Filial Piety" was just an elementary reading material for Confucian scholars and was not considered elegant. However, now it has become on par with the "Spring and Autumn Annals" and the "Chenwei Divination".

Scholars should read the Book of Filial Piety carefully, know how to respect filial piety, and feel that all people have emotions and nature. Although Yao and Shun could not eliminate emotions, they could only make their nature overcome emotions. Compliance with filial piety can overcome the desire for enjoyment and various desires of being a human being, and even make people not afraid of life and death.

Especially during the funeral of close relatives and friends, one should not only feel grief and longing, but also should retire even if he is a governor of a rank of 2,000 stones. If he has even the slightest attachment to the post, he will be considered an unfilial son.

During this period, the brothers Tao Shang and Tao Ying were deprived of all kinds of enjoyment. The beautiful musicians and dancers they kept were given away to outsiders by Tao Qian during his lifetime, and their concubines were forced to stay in Xuzhou. They could only mourn here with their wives and children, and could no longer hear the intoxicating sounds of stringed instruments. They ate poorly and lived in poor conditions.

My wife is plain-looking and they have been married for many years, so there is no need to surprise me anymore. I find it more interesting to touch her skin than to caress my wife.

Life like this is unbearable after just a few months, what if it continues for another two years...

Thinking of this, they couldn't help but feel sad. Hearing Lord Xuande's gentle voice asking this, tears instantly came to their eyes. The two brothers just wanted to hug each other and cry.

They knew very well that they had no talent and that their current wealth and status were all gained through fighting and plundering. Even if Xuzhou was handed over to them, they would not be able to hold on to it. It would be better to leave those manly ambitions to a man like Liu Shijun.

The sons of the Tao family had no ambitions and only wanted to spend their lives fighting cocks and running dogs. But no one knows his sons better than his father. Tao Qian was afraid that the two sons would not be able to control themselves and create a scandal that would damage the reputation of the Tao family during the mourning period, making the Tao family famous all over the world, so he simply cut off their escape route.

Liu Bei was also slightly stunned, thinking about how physically and mentally exhausted he was from mourning. It was just a casual remark, but why did he have such a big reaction? He cried so heartbreakingly that it was touching.

He patted the other's arm to comfort him, and said with emotion: "Mr. Tao gave birth to two loyal and filial sons."

Some people behave badly when their elder relatives are alive, but they will change their ways after they pass away. These two people may be the same.

Filial piety was prevalent in the world at that time, so it was inevitable that Liu Bei misjudged it and interpreted it as filial piety.

Dian Wei, Lu Su, and Zhou Yu who were with the army also nodded as they did not know the details about Tao's son.

Guan Hai and Liu He were leading the troops to set up camp so they did not follow.

The entire army stayed in Xiao County for a day to rest. At dawn the next morning, the army broke camp again, and the baggage carts were pulled slowly from north to south by horses.

While the army was on the march, Liu Bei received two letters urgently sent by Chen Gui, saying that for some reason Sun Ce led his troops near Hong County and did not respond to the Yellow Turbans in Runan.

However, the Yellow Turban Army in the west was advancing rapidly and had already laid siege to Qiao County. Its leader He Yi also divided his troops into two groups to attack Ling County and Dan County.

If Dan County is lost, the county town of Xiangcheng will be exposed to the Yellow Turban army, and Pei is in urgent need of reinforcements from Lord Xuande.

After reading the letter, Liu Bei immediately wrote back, saying that he was only two hundred miles away from Xiang County and would arrive in three days, so the monk should not worry.

After watching the messenger ride away in a hurry, Liu Bei turned to Zhou Yu and said, "Sun Bofu is indeed a man of his word. Since he is staying at the outskirts of Hong County, when Yuan Shu cuts off his food supplies, Xuzhou and Xiapi can provide him with millet and food. Gongjin can write back to let him have no worries."

"Thank you, sir." Zhou Yu said with a bow.

He had been exchanging letters with Sun Ce these days and knew that Sun Ce had ignored Yuan Shu's military orders on the grounds that he would not serve as the prime minister of Pei State, which made Yuan Gonglu very angry and he even kicked over several sheets of paper on the desk.

However, Yuan Shu refused to give him the position of Prime Minister of Pei. Sun Ce made a compromise and asked to be appointed as the governor of Jiujiang or Lujiang. This angered Yuan Shu so much that he even shouted at his chief clerk Yan Xiang and chief secretary Yang Hong, "You are a rebel! Sun Lang dares to rebel against me. I am the benefactor of the Sun family, how dare he be so unreasonable! He is taking this opportunity to ask for an official position. If all officials follow his example, how can I control my subordinates?"

Yang Hong coughed repeatedly to remind Yuan Shu, and Yan Xiang also frowned, saluted and said: "Mr. Yuan, you still need to be careful with your words and actions."

Yuan Shu knew that he had just spoken out of turn in front of everyone, so he sat down calmly.

"Mr. Yuan, you can first give the post of Lujiang governor to Sun Ce. After all, he is currently leading his troops in battle in Pei State and cannot rush to Lujiang to take up the post. As for tomorrow's affairs, we can discuss them later. There is no need to rush now."

Yang Hong stroked his beard and spoke meaningfully.

Yuan Shu was delighted and said, "This is a good strategy."

The Lujiang Zhou family had an official in Shouchun who could naturally pass the news to Zhou Yu.

"Bo Fu, don't choose the wrong road at the critical moment..."

Zhou Yu said secretly.

He told Sun Ce the truth and just waited for the other party to choose.

(End of this chapter)