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

Chapter 299 Zhuge Liang devises another ingenious plan, Guan Yu and Tian Feng vie to serve him (1st update)
In Zhen Ding, Zhuge Liang led Tian Feng and Xin Ping on a journey that took them day and night.

Zhuge Liang's sudden arrival surprised Guan Yu, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Gao Rou, Zhang Yan, and others.

In the eyes of many, Zhuge Liang was always stationed in the rear and rarely left his post. Even when Yuan Shang tried to cut off Liu Bei's return route, Zhuge Liang was only in Zhuo County strategizing.

"Why has the strategist come in person? Has my elder brother given an order?" Guan Yu stepped forward quickly, solemnly offering Zhuge Liang the main seat, and asked in a deep voice.

Zhuge Liang did not stand on ceremony. He took the seat of honor and, with a gentle wave of his feather fan, briefly recounted the situation in Ye City, the current state of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, and other matters.

He added, “Shen Pei has recklessly adopted the strategy of burning his boats and breaking the cauldrons, and I predict that he will surely be defeated by Cao Cao! However, the families of the officers and soldiers of Ye City, as well as the common people of the city, are all innocent. How can they all die because of Shen Pei? Therefore, I have come here under the cover of night to help the loyal and righteous families of Ye City and the good people in the city to go north to Changshan to avoid the calamity of war!”

Upon hearing this, Guan Yu's phoenix eyes suddenly sharpened like blades, a chilling glint in them: "Shen Pei actually dares to take the lives of an entire city's soldiers and civilians hostage, gambling with Cao Cao for this victory or defeat?!"

Tian Feng, standing to one side, had a grim expression and sneered repeatedly: "Hmph! Shen Pei has always been arrogant and domineering, relying on the strength of his clan! In Shen Pei's eyes, the entire city's soldiers and civilians are supported by him, so how can his life compare to the survival of the Shen clan's legacy?"

Tian Feng was as unyielding as iron, and he hated people like this who disregarded the overall situation for their own selfish interests. Shen Pei regarded the people of the city as worthless gamblers for the sake of his clan's survival. How was his behavior any different from Cao Cao's?
Perhaps in Shen Pei's mind, only this strategy of mutual destruction could save him from certain death; however, in Tian Feng's view, Shen Pei was single-minded and lacked strategy, was ignorant of the overall situation, and only knew how to scheme.

Any strategy or plan devised without understanding the overall situation will appear pale and powerless in the face of the overall trend.

Xin Ping, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Gao Rou, Zhang Yan, and others were all whispering among themselves, expressing anger, pity, or sarcasm.

Zhuge Liang gently waved his feather fan, silencing the murmurs in the tent, and said, "Let's set aside the matter of whether the selection was right or wrong for now. Ju Shou has already entered Ye City on the orders of our lord, and we cannot delay any longer. Let's hear what I have to say."

Everyone tensed, and the hall immediately fell silent, save for Zhuge Liang's slow, resounding commands:

"Yan Liang and Wen Chou, listen to my command! You two are to lead a thousand light cavalry and rush to Handan City in Julu County. After entering the city, post proclamations everywhere, expounding on Cao Cao's atrocities of massacring the city, and urging the people to quickly go to Changshan or Zhongshan to avoid the calamity of war."

"Gao Rou, listen to my command! You are hereby ordered to collect this year's taxes immediately and to call upon the powerful clans and wealthy families in the prefecture to donate grain and fodder to aid those fleeing north to escape disaster. Anyone in the prefecture who delays or disobeys this order may be dealt with by having troops enforce the land survey order and strictly collect outstanding arrears from previous years!"

"Zhang Yan, listen to my command! Instruct the people of Heishan who are engaged in farming within the prefecture to donate according to their means if they have surplus grain. The situation is difficult, and we should help each other. Our livelihood depends on this. Once the situation stabilizes, I will increase their share and will never shortchange them."

"Tian Feng, listen to my command! You are hereby ordered to go to Julu immediately and persuade the powerful and wealthy families in the prefecture to mobilize their troops and retainers to assist you. All those who respond will be reported to the lord in person, and their merits will be greatly rewarded!"

"Xin Ping, listen to my orders! You are to go to Ye City immediately to meet up with Ju Shou. If anything changes, report back immediately; if nothing changes, then travel with Ju Shou."

Zhuge Liang exuded an imposing aura, and his military orders were arrayed in formation.

Tian Feng was originally from Julu and had once served as the Prefect of Jizhou. He was renowned and his reputation was so great that even a few words from him could make the powerful clans of Julu compete to offer him troops.

Although the private armies of powerful clans could hardly compete with Cao Cao's battle-hardened troops, Zhuge Liang's move was not intended to be a direct confrontation with Cao Cao. He had a clear plan for how to use the regular troops and the miscellaneous troops.

"Strategist!" Guan Yu stepped forward, his voice filled with barely concealed anxiety: "All the generals have military orders to carry out, but I alone do not! Why is that?"

The hall fell silent instantly, all eyes turning to Guan Yu before returning to Zhuge Liang in the main seat. “Yun Chang, please calm down,” Zhuge Liang’s voice was calm and composed, yet carried an undeniable weight. “I’m keeping you in the rear not because I have nothing to entrust you with, but because it is a crucial and important task that no one else can take on.”

"Strategist, please give your orders! I will not fail you!" Guan Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, his anxious expression gradually easing. Although he didn't know the specifics of the important task, he was content as long as he had a military command.

Zhuge Liang gently waved his feather fan, his tone subtly revealing a hint of doting: "If powerful families in Julu County were to mobilize their troops to assist them, they would need a valiant general to command them in order to deter those who refused to submit and to make them serve. None other than Yun Chang could do that!"

Guan Yu was overjoyed upon hearing this: "I will obey the strategist's orders!"

Zhuge Liang then carefully instructed, "Cao Cao is suspicious, so we can use a feint to scare him away! Remember, this battle is not a direct fight with Cao Cao, and we must not suffer too many losses of the private troops of powerful families."

Guan Yu nodded solemnly: "I will obey the strategist's wishes!"

As Zhuge Liang's military orders were issued and carried out, unrest arose among the people of Changshan, with many powerful and influential families in the county expressing dissatisfaction with Zhuge Liang's orders.

However, as Gao Rou led his troops to enforce the land measurement order, he remeasured the land belonging to the Changshan Chu clan, headed by Chu Ying, and strictly enforced the law to collect outstanding debts from previous years. He then confiscated the Changshan Chu clan's property with justification.

The powerful families in the county finally remembered the fear they had felt when they were controlled by Zhuge Liang: the Zhang family of Changshan had refused to fulfill the signed handover order, angering Zhuge Liang. Subsequently, under the personal supervision of Tao Sheng, the officials and soldiers of Zhending uprooted the once-powerful Zhang family in a single day, imprisoned the entire clan, and confiscated all the land, mansions, and wealth that the Zhang family had accumulated over the years.

Now the Changshan Chu family has followed in the footsteps of the Changshan Zhang family, so how could the remaining powerful clans dare to outwardly comply but inwardly defy them?
In contrast to the powerful and wealthy families of Changshan, the Black Mountain people who settled in Changshan and cultivated the land donated their surplus grain after Zhang Yan's announcement.

Firstly, Liu Bei's benevolence and virtue were widely recognized, and the people of Heishan admired him.

Both Zhang Yan's prestige remained, and the people of Heishan respected her.

The three reasons are that the Changshan Zhang family and Changshan Chu family had their property confiscated one after another, which made the people of Heishan both respect and fear Zhuge Liang. In addition, Zhuge Liang has always valued the authority of the law. Since he promised to "increase their share after the situation stabilizes", he will definitely fulfill his promise. The people of Heishan firmly believed this.

Meanwhile, Tian Feng's efforts to recruit powerful and wealthy families in Julu County to mobilize their troops for assistance were also progressing smoothly.

It must be said that although Tian Feng was loyal to his cause, his ability to easily persuade powerful local families to mobilize their troops and retainers to assist him with a single trip to Julu made him an extremely dangerous figure in the eyes of Yuan Shao, who was outwardly lenient but inwardly suspicious.

In addition, Chen Gong, a famous scholar from Yanzhou, started a rebellion by speaking out against most of the powerful families in Yanzhou while Cao Cao was on a distant expedition to Xuzhou, almost leaving Cao Cao homeless. This also made Yuan Shao wary of the famous scholars in his own prefecture.

Unfortunately, Yuan Shao was only concerned with the famous scholars of his own prefecture and forgot Tian Feng's loyalty and ability to serve. If he had been more tolerant of Tian Feng, the defeat at Guandu would not have happened.

In Handan.

Yan Liang and Wen Chou led their troops to the city first. Following Zhuge Liang's instructions, they posted notices after entering the city, expounding on Cao Cao's atrocities of massacring the city and urging the people to quickly flee to Changshan or Zhongshan to avoid the ravages of war.

　Update 1 is here!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)