The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 106 Defeating Liu Bei is Easy? Even Zhuge Liang Couldn't Help But Laugh (1st Update)
Liu Bei adopted Pang Tong's remedial plan and then drove to Ju Shou's house.

After inquiring about Ju Shou's illness from Ju Shou's servant, Liu Bei did not go inside to see Ju Shou, but left a letter for him and then left.

The servant dared not delay and hurried inside to see Ju Shou.

Ju Shou had anticipated Liu Bei's visit and had prepared more than a dozen ways to politely decline Liu Bei's offer.

However, to Ju Shou's surprise, Liu Bei merely visited the house and then left a letter before departing.

Upon reading the line in the letter, "I had a grudge against you in Liyang in the past. I was afraid that you would hinder my campaign against the six prefectures because of the old grudge, so I repeatedly sent my regards in the hope of resolving the conflict," Ju Shou couldn't help but sigh deeply.

"I am no match for General Zuo's magnanimity!"

Pang Tong was right; Ju Shou was suffering from a heart ailment.

Unwilling to betray Yuan Shao's kindness, yet also unwilling to betray Liu Bei's generosity, he was caught in a dilemma, and his worries and anxieties turned into a mental illness.

Subsequently.

Ju Shou then sent a servant to reply to Liu Bei with a letter containing only eight characters: "Not in that position, do not concern yourself with its affairs."

"If you are not in a position, do not concern yourself with its affairs," a saying from the Analects of Confucius, Taibo, reflects the consistent Confucian attitude towards life. Zengzi said, "A gentleman's thoughts do not go beyond his position," and Mencius said, "It is a sin for someone of low rank to speak loftily." The Doctrine of the Mean also states, "A gentleman acts according to his position and does not desire anything beyond it," and "Those in high positions do not oppress those below them; those in low positions do not curry favor with those above them."

Ju Shou's attitude was quite clear: he would take care of matters of education and culture, but he would not consider anything else.

This "giving up" mentality stemmed not only from Liu Bei's kindness to Ju Shou, but also from Ju Shou's disappointment with Yuan Shao and his son Yuan Xi.

Yuan Shao refused to allow Liu Bei to serve as governor of Zhuojun, thus preventing Liu Bei from establishing his reputation in Youzhou and conquering the six commanderies; Yuan Xi refused to transfer Ju Shou to take charge of education in Youzhou, thus giving Ju Shou a strategy to hinder Liu Bei's actions in Zhuojun.

What frustrated Ju Shou the most was that Liu Bei knew to come and visit, but Yuan Xi turned a deaf ear! If you don't come to visit me and don't grant me authority, how can I help you restrain Liu Bei?

Ju Shou's idea was good, but if Yuan Xi really had such magnanimity and wisdom, he could have competed with Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan. How could he have allowed Xianyu Fu to submit to Cao Cao right under his nose?

"Ju Shou only needs to focus on education, so I have nothing to worry about."

Upon receiving the letter, Liu Bei felt relieved.

The situation is still uncertain, and there is still a long way to go.

With tens of thousands of civilians settled and autumn planting proceeding smoothly, and Ju Shou refusing to assist Yuan Xi, Liu Bei shifted his focus to conquering the six commanderies of Youzhou.

As public opinion fermented over the days, news of Liu Bei's plan to attack the six commanderies also reached the ears of Yan Rou and others.

Yan Rou, who was entrenched in Guangyang County, was the first to be affected!
This was because Guangyang County was closest to Zhuo County, and Ji County, where Yan Rou was located, was only a hundred li away from Zhuo County, where Liu Bei was located!
If Liu Bei wanted to launch a surprise attack on Ji County, he could set off in the morning and arrive in the evening.

Ji County.

Yan Rou urgently summoned his chief secretary, Qi Zhou, to discuss the matter.

Qi Zhou once served as an aide to Liu Yu. After Liu Yu was killed by Gongsun Zan, Qi Zhou, along with Xianyu Fu, Xianyu Yin, and Yan Rou, led a campaign against Gongsun Zan. After Gongsun Zan's death, Yan Rou took over as the governor of Guangyang and appointed Qi Zhou as the chief clerk of Guangyang to assist in governing.

"Liu Bei has always been on good terms with Gongsun Zan. Now that he has just returned to Zhuojun, he wants to attack the six counties of Youzhou. Could it be that he wants to avenge Gongsun Zan?" Yan Rou's face was fierce and his tone was extremely unfriendly.

The six commanderies of Youzhou that Liu Bei wanted to attack, whether it was Yan Rou of Guangyang Commandery, Xianyu Fu of Dai Commandery, Wang Song of Yuyang Commandery, or the kings of Wuhuan, were all members of the allied forces that had attacked Gongsun Zan in the past.

Therefore, in Yan Rou's view, Liu Bei was avenging Gongsun Zan!
Qi Zhou was also deeply worried: "Previously, Liu Bei's envoy Jian Yong entered Guangyang County to recruit us, but we drove him away. Now that Liu Bei is about to send troops to punish us, this matter will probably not end well!"

Thinking of the earlier expulsion of Jian Yong, Qi Zhou sighed again.

At the time, neither Qi Zhou nor Yan Rou took Liu Bei seriously, believing that Liu Bei was just like Chen Yu, the former warlord of Xuzhou who now only held a sinecure, and was merely a desperate man who had sought refuge with Yuan Shao.

It was not uncommon for those under Yuan Shao's command to fall from local tyrants to become homeless and helpless, much like Chen Yu.

Unexpectedly, Liu Bei received a completely different treatment from Chen Yu and other homeless dogs. He was able to obtain a real position under Yuan Shao, "serving as the governor of Zhuojun"!

Yan Rou was furious. She slammed her right hand heavily on the wine table and said angrily, "Yuan Shao is no good either! When he was fighting Gongsun Zan, he promised us many benefits; after defeating Gongsun Zan, he wanted to discard us like birds after their bows were used. First, he sent Yuan Xi as the governor of Youzhou to try to seize our military power. When he saw that Yuan Xi was useless, he sent Liu Bei into Zhuojun to plot against us. Such a faithless and ungrateful person is extremely detestable!"

Qi Zhou sighed, "That's true, but Ji County is only a little over a hundred li from Zhuo County. With our military strength alone, we can't stop Liu Bei! The Prefect needs to make plans as soon as possible!"

Guangyang is a small county with only five cities. It has also suffered from war and has fewer than 10,000 registered households. Yan Rou's troops number less than 2,000 at most!
With such a small force, it is virtually impossible to stop Liu Bei, who is over a hundred miles away!
"I, Yan Rou, am not one to sit idly by and wait for death!" Yan Rou said fiercely, "Chief Secretary Qi, quickly send someone to contact Xianyu Fu of Dai Commandery, Wang Song of Yuyang, and the kings of Wuhuan. Tell them that if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. If they don't come to my aid, Liu Bei can defeat the six commanderies of Youzhou one by one! I want to see what Liu Bei is capable of, daring to talk about attacking the six commanderies!"

In Yuyang.

Wang Song, the governor of Yuyang, was also discussing countermeasures with Liu Fang, his subordinate, and Xianyu Yin, the cavalry commandant.

After defeating Gongsun Zan, Wang Song acted like a local tyrant in Yuyang, doing whatever he pleased. More than 20,000 households in the nine cities of Yuyang supported Wang Song alone.

With the allure of such imperial power, coupled with the emboldening presence of five thousand infantry and cavalry, Wang Song was naturally unwilling to relinquish the nine cities of Yuyang.

Cavalry Commandant Xianyu Yin was the first to declare: "We'll meet force with force, and we'll dam water with earth. Liu Bei has his troops, and so do I. What is there to fear? With my long spear and carved bow, a thousand men will come, and a thousand will die!"

Any brave and strong general will not easily admit to being weaker than others.

A general is the courage of his soldiers; if a general has no courage, his soldiers will have no courage either.

In Xianyu Yin's eyes, whether it's Yuan Xi or Liu Bei, who is superior or inferior can only be determined by fighting them!

Liu Fang, however, was deeply worried: "I greatly admire the bravery and strength of the Cavalry Commandant. However, Liu Bei is the Prefect of Zhuojun appointed by Yuan Shao. His attack on the six commanderies must have been authorized by Yuan Shao. Defeating Liu Bei is easy, but how to deal with the aftermath and resist Yuan Shao is the real challenge."

Xianyu Yin sneered: "If Yuan Shao comes, I'll kill him without hesitation!"

That being said, Xianyu Yin's words sounded like a show of bravado masking underlying weakness.

Yuan Shao could easily field an army of 100,000. The 5,000 infantry and cavalry of Yuyang were too insignificant in the face of such an army and could not embolden Xianyu Yin!
Wang Song frowned and looked at Liu Fang: "Then what do you think we should do?"

　Asking for monthly ticket
　　
　
(End of this chapter)