Three Kingdoms: Fusion of Entries, Change of Destiny

Chapter 209 Cao Situ, what a righteous man!

Everyone present knew that
Since the governor of Qingzhou was killed by the Yellow Turbans, the position has been held by Yuan Tan and Tian Kai.

After Yuan Tan defeated Tian Kai, the entire Qingzhou region is now basically Yuan Tan's territory.

Therefore, Qingzhou currently has no official administrator appointed by the imperial court, and is nominally considered a no-man's-land.

Cao Cao appointed Liu Bei as the governor of Qingzhou in an attempt to undermine Liu Bei's secret alliance with Yuan Shao, leaving Liu Bei with no way out.

However, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei did not think that offending Yuan Shao was a big deal. After all, they had secretly allied with Yuan Shao, but Yuan Shao had not provided them with any substantial support.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei felt his worries lessen and breathed a sigh of relief.

A hint of joy appeared on Guan Yu's face.

After a moment's thought, Zhang Fei also felt that this might be a turning point. He chuckled and whispered to Guan Yu, "Minister Cao, you really are a righteous man!"

Zhang Fei's voice, even when he spoke softly, sounded just like an ordinary person shouting.

Everyone in the tent heard what he said to Guan Yu, and they couldn't help but laugh.

Although Xuzhou was lost, Liu Bei was not too heartbroken.

After all, Xuzhou has many powerful families and various forces that are deeply entrenched, making it extremely difficult to manage.

On the contrary, due to the Yellow Turban Rebellion in earlier years and the subsequent chaos caused by Tian Kai and Yuan Tan, most of the local gentry and wealthy families in Qingzhou either died or fled, making it naturally easier to govern.

Moreover, Liu Bei had served under Tian Kai, the governor of Qingzhou, for a period of time, so he was quite familiar with Qingzhou.

Finally, Liu Bei lost Xuzhou himself. After Lü Bu seized most of Xuzhou, Liu Bei's position as governor of Xuzhou was effectively meaningless.

If Cao Cao wanted to forcibly reclaim Xuzhou, Liu Bei indeed had no way or reason to stop him, since the court had already shown him extraordinary leniency by not holding him accountable.

Liu Bei never expected that even after his defeat in the campaign against Yuan Shu, Cao Cao would still submit a memorial to the emperor recommending him as the governor of Qingzhou.

This favor made it hard for Liu Bei not to feel favorably toward Cao Cao.

A hint of joy appeared on Guan Yu's face. Seeing that Liu Bei was still in a daze, he couldn't help but gently poke Liu Bei's waist with his finger and whisper, "Brother, quickly thank the emperor!"

Liu Bei, after being poked by Guan Yu, realized what he was doing upon hearing his words and quickly bowed, saying, "Liu Bei thanks Your Majesty and Minister of Works for your kindness!"

Cao Cao nodded to Liu Bei and said, "Will Liu Qingzhou continue to join the army to fight against Yuan Shu, or will he go to Xuchang to pay his respects to the Emperor and officially assume the post of Governor of Qingzhou?"

Liu Bei pondered for a moment, then bowed deeply: "I am willing to follow Minister of Works and continue the campaign against the false emperor Yuan Shu!"

"Excellent! As expected of Liu Xuande, loyal, righteous, and brave!" Cao Cao was clearly very satisfied with Liu Bei's choice.

Then he said to Liu Bei, "Xuande, why don't you temporarily join the General of the Rear's command and follow his orders?"

Liu Bei had fewer than two thousand soldiers capable of fighting, making him completely incapable of fighting alone. Therefore, he had no objection to Cao Cao's arrangements.

Moreover, he clearly received the goodwill that Cao Yan had just shown, so he readily accepted, saying, "Liu Bei, I am willing to follow the command of the General of the Rear!"

Cao Yan gave a gentle smile and said, "In that case, I would appreciate your guidance, Brother Xuande."

Cao Yan has won so many classic battles on the battlefield in the past two years, how dare Liu Bei instruct Cao Yan?

He quickly bowed and said, "I am preparing to learn from the General, and I dare not presume to offer any guidance."

After exchanging pleasantries and mutual compliments, the two successfully raised their favorability rating to 45%.

"Old Liu, you can't escape my grasp after all!" Cao Yan thought to himself.

……

at the same time,

Wei Zhen returned to Chenliu County from Fuyang County.

Ma Jun remained in Fuyang County, serving as the county magistrate and concurrently the chief administrator of the Fuyang Workshop. Wei Zhen had only been back a short time when he received requests from several subordinates to recruit more people.

You should know that the Chenliu workshop now has a full six thousand people, which is more than the garrison of many county towns!

Faced with Wei Zhen's surprise, his subordinate Zheng Lin explained with a wry smile, "There's really no other way! The General has just too many ideas, and every idea, whether mature or not, needs manpower to implement and verify."

Moreover, once a successful idea is transformed into a physical product, manpower must be allocated specifically for its production.

In addition, Fuyang County is taking away 100 people today and 200 people tomorrow...

We only have about four thousand people left here, which is really not enough!

Zheng Lin's words made Wei Zhen fall into deep thought. He couldn't help but think, "I didn't expect that I already have more than six thousand men under my command?! Could this be considered a large army on another battlefield?!"

Then, Wei Zhen couldn't help but sigh, "Sometimes I really want to know what the General Hou's brain is made of... why he always has so many ingenious ideas!"

"Chief Secretary... Chief Secretary?" Zheng Lin called out cautiously when he saw Wei Zhen lost in thought.

Wei Zhen then came to his senses and said to Zheng Lin, "Since we are short of people, let's recruit more and bring the number to six thousand. I will report the relevant information to the General of the Rear."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Lin's face lit up with joy, and he replied, "Alright! We'll get right on it!"

The ranks of craftsmen were growing larger and larger, but Wei Zhen was not happy about it.

He still yearned for the imperial court or the battlefield, but now that Cao Yan had assigned him to logistics work, he felt somewhat frustrated by his unfulfilled ambitions.

Wei Zhen's sigh was overheard by Han Hao, who had rushed over.

Han Hao was Xiahou Dun's subordinate, holding the official position of Agricultural Commandant, responsible for all matters related to military and civilian settlements in Dongjun.

He came to the workshop to urge them to deliver the farm tools, such as the curved plow, hoe, and sickle, that he had ordered earlier.

September is already here, and the autumn harvest is about to begin.

This year, Dongjun has reclaimed over 100,000 hectares of land, and farm tools are urgently needed everywhere.

"Why does the Chief Secretary sigh like that?" Han Hao clearly saw through Wei Zhen's thoughts.

He approached Wei Zhen, bowed respectfully, and said, "The workshop's research and improvement of tools have greatly enhanced agricultural and production efficiency, and significantly increased tax revenue in various regions."

The wind-powered waterwheel and the soon-to-be-released dragon-bone waterwheel will surely benefit countless people and leave their mark on history!
Even with a rough estimate, the workshops could bring in tens of millions of dollars in revenue for the government every year!

Its value is immeasurable. The General entrusted it to you, truly regarding you as a trusted confidant.

Wei Zhen certainly understood this principle, but he hoped even more to fulfill his father's last wish and become an official of the imperial court.

However, he also believed that as long as he continued to do his current job well, Cao Yan and Cao Cao would definitely not forget him.

Having figured this out, Wei Zhen felt much more at ease. He smiled and asked, "Did Yuan Si come here again to urge me to deliver the farm tools as soon as possible?"

"Hahaha! Since Chief Clerk Wei knows why I've come, please deliver the farm tools as soon as possible," Han Hao said.

"To be honest, two thousand craftsmen from Chenliu have been transferred away, and we are severely short-handed. However, we will speed up the recruitment process, so please be patient," Wei Zhen replied.

"I can't wait! It's already September, and the harvest will be in another month!" Han Hao said anxiously.

"What can we do? Who told you to cultivate so much land this year?" Wei Zhen asked helplessly, spreading his hands.

"I have no choice. The population of Dongjun has increased too much today, so we can only keep reclaiming new land."

"If the other lords heard what you said, they might not be able to resist coming to plunder Dongjun!"

"That's wonderful! Our Prefect Xiahou stands on the city wall every day, looking around, probably wishing someone would come knocking on his door so he could have his fun!"

"..."

(End of this chapter)