Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 337: On Heroes, Swords and Shoes Enter the Palace
"Oh!"

In the flower garden, Yuan Shu was shocked and said, "Zhang Yu sent troops to Longyou in June and quelled the rebellion in Longyou in October. How could he use troops so quickly?"

"Not only that, Zhang Yu captured and killed all the rebel generals in Longshang, Han Sui was captured, Ma Teng surrendered, and Song Jian was beheaded." Yan Xiang said.

Yuan Shu walked along the corridor and exclaimed: "In the past, Longshang had been in chaos for many years. Generals such as Huangfu Song, Dong Zhuo, and Zhang Wen were unable to defeat them. The six counties of Liangzhou suffered repeated casualties, and the disaster lasted for more than ten years. However, Zhang Yu wiped out all the bandits in just a few months. It is unimaginable!"

How could Yuan Shu not know how difficult it was to deal with the rebels in Longshan?

The rebellion that had not been resolved for more than ten years was now resolved by Zhang Yu in one fell swoop. Even the arrogant Yuan Shu had to admire Zhang Yu's ability to use troops.

"Long is far and dangerous, its people are fierce, Han Sui is resourceful, and Jincheng is hard to capture. How come it took Zhang Yu four months to pacify Longyou?" Kuai Yue asked with a frown, not knowing the details.

"Zhang Yu first cut off Han Sui's food supplies. When Han Sui withdrew his troops, Zhang Yu pursued him for 500 miles in two days. At Xingguo, he led an exhausted army of 10,000 and defeated the 20,000 rebels in Longshang. During the battle, Zhang Yu led 200 armored cavalry to break through the enemy's formation and defeated the Long army. In one battle, Long was pacified." Yan Xiang reported truthfully.

Hearing this, Kuai Yue's brows relaxed and he said in surprise: "Zhang Yu, as your majesty, traveled 500 miles to wipe out the rebels in Longshan, led the troops in battle, and broke through the enemy's formation with his armored cavalry. It's really unexpected!"

In Kuai Yue's opinion, even if a monarch of Zhang Yu's status led the army to fight in person, shouldn't he be in command? Now he led the cavalry into battle, which made people feel unreal. Perhaps it was because of Zhang Yu's behavior of leading the troops that he had such a brilliant record in Xialong in April.

Yuan Shu felt inexplicably jealous and said calmly, "Zhang Yu is a sheepherder and horse herder. He is crude and brave. When he first joined the army, he led the troops and defeated the enemy with force. The people of Long are brave and fierce, so they should be used to fighting with Zhang Yu."

"What you said makes sense!"

Yan Xiang said, "In this era of great strife, strong soldiers and powerful horses are the most important. Zhang Yu is crude and brave, but he has many elite soldiers and horses under his command, so he should be a strong enemy for you!"

Yuan Shu disagreed and said, "Zhang Yu and Yuan Shao will fight sooner or later. I will sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. This will be the time for me to benefit."

Seeing that Yuan Shu was unaware of the elite troops under Zhang Yu's command and even looked down on them, Yan Xiang could not help but say, "The strongest troops in the world, the ones that people fear, are the troops of Bing, Liang, You, as well as the Xiongnu, Tuge, Huangzhong, and Xiqiang. Now they are supported by Zhang Yu and used as his minions. If you do not take them seriously, you may be defeated in the future because of underestimating the enemy."

Yuan Shu looked gloomy and said, "Jingchu relies on boats and ships. Although Zhang Yu has many cavalrymen, it is difficult to deploy them in a water town. Moreover, Danyang's troops are elite, and they are not inferior to the northern border people and the Qiang, Xiong and other Hu people. If victory or defeat is determined by the bravery of the troops, wouldn't the world be controlled by Dong Zhuo today?"

As he spoke, Yuan Shu saw that Yan Xiang wanted to continue, so he stretched out his hand to interrupt him and said, "I have my own thoughts on the use of troops, so please do not encourage others."

"Yes!" Yan Xiang responded depressedly.

After strolling into the house from the corridor, Yuan Shu sat on the couch for a while before thinking of the officials in the court. He asked, "Who has your Majesty been in contact with recently? Has Liu Xuande contacted your Majesty?"

"My lord, Your Majesty lives deep in the palace. Apart from occasional interactions with his father-in-law Dong Cheng, he rarely interacts with the ministers. And Liu Xuande is farming at home, ignoring the changes in the court!" Han Yin said.

Yuan Shu pondered for a moment and asked, "What do you think?"

Kuai Yue thought for a while and said, "Although Liu Xuande was born in a humble family, he is not a person who is willing to do farm work. Now Liu Xuande is farming in the backyard at home, I am afraid he has some plans."

"rational!"

Yan Xiang said: "Liu Xuande is loyal to the Han Dynasty. Your Excellency's actions of welcoming the emperor in vain will surely make Liu Xuande dissatisfied. Now Liu Xuande is farming, I am afraid he wants you to slack off and then secretly plot something big."

Yuan Shu tapped the table with his finger and said thoughtfully, "In that case, I will ask someone to invite Liu Bei to my house so that I can have a good conversation with him!"

"As ordered!"

After a while, at Huang Zhong's "invitation", Liu Bei changed into clean clothes and came to meet Yuan Shu.

In the courtyard, snowflakes began to fall, and Yuan Shu sat in the pavilion drinking alone.

"I pay my respects to the Prime Minister!" Liu Bei bowed respectfully to Yuan Shu.

"Xuan De has done something great at home!" Yuan Shu invited Liu Bei to sit down and said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei's face turned pale and he stood there at a loss. He thought that Yuan Shu had discovered his secret plan. "Sit down!"

Yuan Shu invited Liu Bei to sit at the opposite table and said with a smile: "It's not easy to have such leisure time while growing vegetables and farming!"

Liu Bei put his worries to rest, and sighed in secret, saying, "I have nothing to do, but now the Prime Minister has summoned me. What is it for?"

Yuan Shu poured a glass of wine for Liu Bei and said with a smile: "Nothing, it's snowing today, I think the scenery is beautiful, I don't want to drink alone in the snow, so I invited Xuande to enjoy the snow."

"Thank you for your kindness, sir!"

The two of them sat and drank for a while, and Yuan Shu suddenly asked, "If I remember correctly, Xuande and Zhang Ji'an had a friendly relationship. Do you know about Ji'an's visit to Long?"

"How could I not know?"

Liu Bei responded by saying, "Marquis Zhang is so powerful in Guanlong that he defeated the enemy in April. I admire him very much."

Yuan Shu continued to ask, "Who does Xuande think Zhang Ji'an is?"

Liu Bei was silent for a moment, then said, "Zhang Ji'an has outstanding military strategy, controls two states in Shanxi, and respects the emperor. He is a hero."

Liu Bei's evaluation of Zhang Yu was true. In his mind, Zhang Yu could be called a hero. Zhang Yu's military strategy was outstanding. He not only supported the Han Dynasty, but also controlled the Hu people and ensured the peace of the people.

Seeing Liu Bei praising Zhang Yu, Yuan Shu was displeased and said, "Zhang Yu is a shepherd and horse herder. Although he has elite troops, he is reckless in his use of troops. In my opinion, Zhang Yu is a powerful general, and can be called a hero, but he is less of a hero."

"Oh?"

Liu Bei was puzzled and asked, "Zhang Yuru cannot be a hero, do you have any candidate?"

Yuan Shu pointed at himself and said with a smile: "I have helped the Han Dynasty twice. First, I worked with Zhang Yu to move the capital to Luoyang, and then I welcomed the emperor to Wancheng to help the declining Han Dynasty. I wonder if Xuande thinks I am a hero?"

"I can be a hero!"

Seeing Yuan Shu boasting of being a hero, Liu Bei suppressed his dissatisfaction and smiled: "The Prime Minister has made great contributions to the Han Dynasty. He has conquered bandits for the emperor and brought glory to the Central Plains. He deserves to be called a hero."

Yuan Shu laughed happily and said, "It was just a joke. Am I the only one who can be called a hero in this world?"

"Then who else can be a hero?" Liu Bei asked.

Yuan Shu took a sip of tea and said, "Yuan Shao controls Hebei and has fought with me for many years. He can be called a hero for gaining the loyalty of the people."

"Besides Yuan Shao?" Liu Bei asked.

Yuan Shu suddenly pointed at Liu Bei and said with a smile: "Apart from Yuan Shao and I, Lord Xuande is loyal to the Han Dynasty and can be listed as a hero."

Liu Bei looked terrified, stepped back from the table, bowed, and said, "Prime Minister, I am ashamed of myself. Even Zhang Yu and Zhang Fei are not heroes, so how dare I call myself a hero? If outsiders find out, I will be ridiculed. Please take back what you said. I dare not accept the title of hero."

"Xuan De, why should you be so modest?"

Seeing Liu Bei's panic, Yuan Shu laughed a few times and asked, "Since I have done a great favor to the Han Dynasty, I wonder if Xuande thinks I can have the right to 'enter the court without kneeling, and to wear a sword and shoes when entering the palace'?
Liu Bei suppressed his anger and said, "This is not something I can talk about. I beg the Prime Minister to discuss this with you gentlemen."

"Does Xuande agree?" Yuan Shu stared into Liu Bei's eyes and asked in a deep voice.

"I think it's feasible!"

Liu Bei was furious, but for the sake of the greater good, he had to follow Yuan Shu's wishes.

ps: The fever has not subsided today, and I still feel a little dizzy, so the quality may not be high
(End of this chapter)