Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 129 The Great Changes in Xuzhou, Yuan Shu's Resurgence

Cao Cao walked to the front of the battle line, his gaze falling on Gao Shun's kneeling corpse facing east, and he couldn't help but sigh heavily.

Just then, Cao Yan, Guo Jia, Dian Wei, and Zhang Liao arrived at the same place.

Cao Yan witnessed Gao Shun and some of the elite soldiers of the Trapped Camp bravely facing their deaths from afar, and couldn't help but sigh, "What a pity, they were all rare elites!"

Immediately, he called out to Cao Cao, "Brother, let Wen Yuan see General Gao off on his final journey."

Upon seeing that the newcomer was Zhang Liao, another fierce general under Lü Bu, Cao Cao immediately jogged towards Zhang Liao.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Liao quickly dismounted, knelt on one knee, and said, "This sinful general Zhang Liao pays his respects to Lord Cao!"

Cao Cao helped Zhang Liao up, his face showing regret, and said, "I truly did not wish to kill Gao Shun, but alas..."

Zhang Liao looked dejected and remained silent.

Upon seeing this, Cao Cao quickly said, "Lu Bu actually left his two strongest generals behind to cover the rear, which shows that he has no ability to use people. He only values ​​his few loyal followers from Bing Province. No matter how loyal and brave you and Gao Shun are, you will never win his heart."

Zhang Liao seemed to be deep in thought.

Cao Cao pressed his advantage, saying, "But I, Cao Cao, am different. I always trust the people I employ! If you follow me, let's work together to create a peaceful and prosperous world for all the people, what do you say?!"

Zhang Liao already harbored resentment towards Lü Bu, and Cao Yan's previous words further stirred his interest.

Seeing Cao Cao's sincerity, he finally gritted his teeth, knelt on one knee again, and said, "Thank you for not abandoning me, Lord Cao. I, Zhang Liao, am willing to serve you like a dog or a horse!"

Cao Cao was overjoyed and helped Zhang Liao up with both hands, saying, "Please get up quickly. From now on, we are brothers in arms!"

Having said that, he turned to his personal guards and said, "Go and tell Wenruo to prepare a banquet. I want to welcome Wenyuan back!"

"Yes!" The guards took the order and ran away.

At this moment, the system notification sounded.
Zhang Liao's favorability towards you has changed; current favorability: 35%.

After Zhang Liao surrendered, his favorability towards Cao Yan increased significantly.

Cao Cao and Cao Yan's entourage returned to Juancheng.

As for the task of continuing to pursue and kill Lü Bu, Cao Cao entrusted it entirely to Cao Ren, the Xiahou brothers, and Yu Jin, among others.

With the addition of Zhao Yun and Xiahou Lan, Lü Bu's remaining thousand-odd troops could no longer cause any trouble.

On the way back to the city, Cao Yan kept thinking about the more than one hundred survivors of the Trapped Camp.

After entering the governor's mansion, he said to Cao Cao, "Brother, more than a hundred soldiers from the Trapped Camp have survived. These are invaluable elites. I want to rebuild the Trapped Camp with them as the core."

Cao Cao pondered for a moment and said, "The Trapped Camp is well-equipped and has strict tactics, which places extremely high demands on its commander. Do you have a suitable candidate?"

Cao Yan shook his head and said, "I haven't thought of anything yet."

The commander of the Trapped Camp must not only be highly skilled in martial arts, but also possess outstanding military strategy and command abilities.

He had considered some people before, but they either already had their own troops or were in more suitable positions.

Unfortunately, this matter has to be put on hold for the time being.

……

Let's say,

While Chen Deng and Mi Zhu were plotting with Liu Bei on how to eliminate Tao Qian and then take control of Xuzhou, Cao Cao suddenly withdrew his troops.

Meanwhile, rumors about Tao Qian's collusion with Zuo Rong had already spread like wildfire.

When his shameful affair was exposed, Tao Qian immediately fell ill with anger.

He was really sick, and in a very serious way.

Tao Qian knew he was doomed, but in order not to implicate his family, he once again pleaded with Liu Bei to take over Xuzhou and hoped that Liu Bei would spare his family.

This time, Liu Bei did not refuse again, but accepted the seal of the governor of Xuzhou.

Liu Bei held the heavy seal of the Governor of Xuzhou in his hands, but he felt little joy.

He lived by the principles of benevolence and righteousness, and since Tao Qian entrusted him with this responsibility on his deathbed, he would certainly not harm Tao Qian's family. However, the position of Governor of Xuzhou was still somewhat illegitimate and questionable. At this moment, a man from the tent stepped forward.

This man was a minor official from Xuzhou, who was usually inconspicuous. But at this moment, he said to Liu Bei with a mysterious expression, "My lord, although I have now obtained the seal of the governor of Xuzhou, the court has not officially appointed me."

If the name is not correct, the words will not be proper, and everything will be difficult to proceed smoothly.

In my humble opinion, Your Excellency should try to curry favor with Yuan Shao.

Yuan Shao's family has held high office for four generations, and his disciples and former officials are all over the land. If we could get him to submit a memorial to the court on my behalf, and appoint you as the governor of Xu Province...

Then you, my lord, will have a secure seat in Xuzhou."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and said, "Gongsun Zan and I are good friends and have even formed an alliance. If we were to show goodwill to Yuan Shao now, wouldn't that be betraying Gongsun Zan?"

Furthermore, would Yuan Shao truly forgive and forget past grievances and petition the court on my behalf?

Seeing that Liu Bei was tempted, the minor official quickly advised, "My lord, you are wise. Gongsun Zan is far away in Youzhou and is currently preoccupied with his own troubles."

Yuan Shao, with his growing power, was eager to recruit talented individuals and expand his influence.

Lord Ming is known for his benevolence and righteousness, and he has also gained control of Xuzhou. If Yuan Shao can win him over, it will be entirely beneficial to him.

Moreover, this move is merely a temporary measure. Once your position in Xuzhou is secure, we can then devise other plans.

Liu Bei listened to his reasoning, and although he still had doubts, he also felt that there was some truth to it, so he nodded slightly.

Chen Deng watched all of this from the side, sighing inwardly but remaining silent.

Chen Deng came from the Chen clan of Xiapi, a representative of the local gentry in Xuzhou, whose family interests were deeply intertwined with those of Xuzhou.

In his mind, Liu Bei was merely a candidate who could temporarily maintain the situation in Xuzhou, and he had a "partner" relationship with him, rather than a monarch to whom he was to be loyal to to the death.

Furthermore, Liu Bei's current core members, such as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Jian Yong, all came from humble backgrounds and were incompatible with the aristocratic class, which created a persistent and difficult-to-remove barrier between Chen Deng and Liu Bei.

On the contrary, Mi Zhu, as a wealthy merchant, did not have the same awkward mentality as Chen Deng.

After several in-depth exchanges with Liu Bei, he pledged his loyalty to Liu Bei and recognized Liu Bei as his lord.

Liu Bei was aware of Mi Zhu's intentions. In order to further win over the Mi family and consolidate his power in Xuzhou, he took Mi Zhu's sister as a concubine.

Therefore, in Liu Bei's mind, Mi Zhu was far more reliable than Chen Deng, after all, the fate of the Mi family was now closely linked to his own.

Chen Deng now seems to be somewhat detached from Liu Bei's power circle.

But in reality, those who offered advice to Liu Bei, though seemingly acting in Liu Bei's best interests, harbored ulterior motives.

He had already been developed into a spy by the Eagle Guard, and his plan was to disrupt the original alliance between Liu Bei, Gongsun Zan, and Yuan Shu.

However, Liu Bei failed to see through the problem, and Mi Zhu was not good at scheming and plotting.

Chen Deng, the only one who noticed the problem, remained silent.

Liu Bei may seem to be enjoying boundless glory, but in reality, he is slowly falling into an abyss without realizing it.

News of Liu Bei's letter to Yuan Shao quickly reached Yuan Shu's ears.

When Yuan Shu learned that Liu Bei had actually shown goodwill towards Yuan Shao, he was furious.

Yuan Shu was always swift and decisive in seeking revenge.

Without hesitation, he immediately mustered his troops and attacked and captured the undefended Guangling County of Xuzhou (Guangling Prefect Zhao Yu had previously been captured by Cao Ren and taken back to Yanzhou).

Not only that,

Yuan Shu also sent men to coerce Xu Qiu, the governor of Runan, by threatening the lives of his family members, forcing Xu Qiu to submit to him and serve him.

Xu Qiu had previously allied with Tao Qian, but now that Tao Qian was dead and Liu Bei, who had inherited Xu Province, had openly betrayed the alliance and made overtures to Yuan Shao, Xu Qiu was left alone and powerless, and could only temporarily submit to Yuan Shu's tyranny.

For a time, Yuan Shu was thriving in Huainan once again.

(End of this chapter)