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

Guangling Prefecture, Kuangqi City.

Chen Yu arrived weary from his journey.

Chen Deng was greatly surprised to see his uncle, who had always been in the north, suddenly arrive in Kuangqi City, so he asked him why.

"After Lord Yuan stepped down and relinquished his post, I lived in seclusion with Lord Yuan in Bohai. At the beginning of the year, General Zuo launched a seven-pronged attack on Cao Cao in the south. Lord Yuan believed that this was a golden opportunity to take revenge, so he gave me a token and sent me to Runan to persuade Lord Yuan's former followers and the remaining Yellow Turban rebels in Runan to respond to General Zuo."

"I also believe that we must seize this opportunity. Cao Cao has already personally entered Ye City to oversee the battle, and Xuchang is currently vulnerable. If we raise troops in Runan now, Cao Cao will return and we will lose Hebei; if we do not return, we will lose Xuchang."

Chen Yu spoke excitedly, his eyes filled with longing for fame and fortune, as he recounted the whole story to Chen Deng.

After the great victory at Guandu, the anti-Cao forces in Runan remained law-abiding, but this was a self-preservation strategy forced by Cao Cao's growing power.

Now, Liu Bei has inherited the power of Yuan Shao's remnants in the north. He not only blocked Cao Cao's five-pronged northern expedition last year, but this year he directly launched a seven-pronged southern expedition.

Even Yuan Shao, who was living a leisurely life in Bohai, could no longer sit still.

Yuan Shao had three of his four sons dead, leaving only his youngest son, Yuan Mai, in Zhuo County. His original favoritism towards Yuan Shang was transferred to his youngest son, Yuan Mai.

Yuan Shao understood this as well.

If Yuan Mai could not make great contributions in Liu Bei's process of pacifying the warlords, he would find it difficult to gain recognition in the future. Therefore, Yuan Shao sought out Chen Yu, who was also a descendant of one of the Three Dukes.

Chen Yu was once a prominent figure in his youth, but he lost power after being defeated by Sun Ce. He spent seven years under Yuan Shao without achieving anything, and instead witnessed the decline of Yuan Shao's power and the rise of Liu Bei's power.

Chen Yu would certainly be unwilling to grow old in vain beneath the bamboo spring.

After hearing Yuan Shao's plan, Chen Yu immediately agreed and was willing to go to Runan to persuade Yuan's former followers and the remaining Yellow Turban rebels in Runan to respond to Liu Bei.

Fearing that he could not manage alone, Chen Yu changed course on his way to Runan and went to Guangling to find Chen Deng, hoping to get his help.

“Yuanlong, your judgment back then was correct. Among all the heroes in the world today, only General Zuo can be called a hero. It’s just a pity that your father and I were too proud of ourselves and looked down on General Zuo, so we were unwilling to give him the greatest support. As a result, we have declined to this day and are even worse off than the Mi Zizhong brothers.”

Chen Yu sighed softly, his tone tinged with frustration. After all the arguing, he never expected that the one who would ultimately succeed was Liu Bei, whom he had initially looked down upon.

Fortunately, Chen Deng had a good relationship with Liu Bei; otherwise, even if Chen Yu wanted to take the opportunity to make merit and curry favor, it would have been in vain.

In a short while, Chen Deng also understood Chen Yu's purpose in coming to Guangling. Although he was very happy for Liu Bei, Chen Deng also understood that responding to Liu Bei in the south was not an easy task.

Even if he succeeded, Cao Cao would be furious and attack the counties of Runan, at which time the former officials and followers of the Yuan family who had responded to Liu Bei, as well as the remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, would all be slaughtered.

After pondering for a long time, Chen Deng said, "Uncle, if you want to go to Runan, you should think about a way out. If Cao Cao sends troops to attack, you can lead your men south to Jingzhou to seek refuge with Liu Biao. Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, and Huang Zhong under the Left General have close ties with Liu Biao. I believe Liu Biao will not abandon you in your time of need."

Chen Yu nodded: "I also have this plan. However..." He looked deeply at Chen Deng and asked again: "Isn't Yuanlong going to raise an army in response? Last year, strategist Zhuge Liang sent a large number of righteous troops into Qing and Xu provinces. In addition, the Left General was once the governor of Xu province. There should be many people in Xu province who will support the Left General. If Yuanlong raises an army in the name of the Left General, there will be no shortage of people who will respond. At that time, Cao Cao will be surrounded by enemies on all sides, and the situation will be settled!" Chen Deng frowned and said: "Last year, in order to create momentum, I lied and said that Sun Quan had stationed troops at Jiangkou and intended to move north. Although Cao Cao did not say it explicitly, he had already become suspicious of me. After that, Chang Xi rebelled, and Cao Cao became even more suspicious of the counties in Xu province. Even the governor of Xu province, Yuan Huan, was replaced by Cao Cao's confidant, Mao Jie. Xiahou Lian, a general of Cao Cao's clan, was also stationed in Xiapi city. This was because he was wary of me."

Chen Yu was taken aback and said, “If the ruler suspects his minister, then the minister will surely die. Since Cao Cao is wary of Yuan Long, he will definitely find an opportunity to transfer Yuan Long to another place. If we do not raise an army in response before the transfer order arrives, we will surely be controlled by Cao Cao in the future! In that case, it would be better for my uncle and me to raise an army together. If we are defeated, we can enter Jingzhou together.”

Chen Deng paced back and forth, deep in thought.

After a long silence, Chen Deng's eyes hardened, and he said, "In that case, Uncle, you may go to Runan first. I will create an opportunity to raise troops in Xuzhou. Success or failure depends on this moment."

After the agreement was reached, Chen Deng assigned Chen Yu dozens of elite soldiers to accompany him to Runan.

Subsequently, Chen Deng summoned his second brother, Chen Ying, and ordered Chen Ying to secretly infiltrate the Donghai Kingdom to contact the remaining forces of Chang Xi and lure them south to cause trouble in Xiapi.

Chang Xi had been in Xuzhou for many years, and had many loyal followers.

After Yu Jin killed Chang Xi, many of his loyal followers longed to avenge him but had no opportunity.

Chen Deng was a man of the lakes and seas, and he secretly sheltered many of Chang Xi's loyal followers. Therefore, as soon as Chen Ying entered Donghai, he quickly gathered more than a thousand of Chang Xi's old followers and falsely claimed along the way that he wanted to avenge Chang Xi.

Xiahou Lian was indeed fooled. He personally led two thousand infantry and cavalry to besiege Chang Xi's former troops and chased them all the way to Haixi.

Just as Xiahou Lian was preparing to wipe out Chang Xi's old troops in one fell swoop, Chen Deng suddenly arrived with his troops, falsely claiming that he had heard of bandits causing trouble in Haixi, and therefore led his troops to suppress them.

Although Xiahou Lian suspected that Chen Deng had secretly helped Liu Bei last year, he did not expect that Chen Deng would suddenly launch a mutiny.

Caught off guard, Xiahou Lian was captured alive by Chen Deng.

"Chen Deng, are you really planning a rebellion?"

Xiahou Lian was both shocked and furious at being captured so suddenly. As Xiahou Dun's younger brother, Xiahou Lian held a high position in Cao Cao's camp, otherwise Cao Cao would not have sent him to Xiapi to guard against a rebellion by the people of Xuzhou.

"Sikong has indeed become suspicious of me." Chen Deng sneered. "As the saying goes, you should trust those you employ and not employ those you doubt. Since Sikong has already become suspicious of me, it is only natural for me to raise troops to protect myself."

Xiahou Lian was greatly alarmed. At present, Cao Cao's military forces were almost all in Hebei. If Chen Deng raised troops at this time, who in Xuzhou could stop him?

"Wait, Prefect Chen, there must be some misunderstanding! It's not that the Minister of Works suspects you, but rather that someone is slandering you. You see, I didn't suspect you of any disloyalty just now, which is why you captured me alive. As long as you let me go back, I'll pretend that today's events never happened. I'll even recommend you for the position of Governor of Xuzhou, how about that?" Xiahou Lian, quick-witted, hurriedly tried to persuade Chen Deng with kind words.

Chen Deng scoffed, staring coldly at Xiahou Lian: "Don't try to fool me with such childish tricks. Since I've decided to raise an army in support of General Zuo, I must have carefully weighed the pros and cons. How could I change my mind because of your jest? You're just a military man; how could you possibly understand the grand scheme of things?"

Seeing that his persuasion had failed, Xiahou Lian flew into a rage again: "Chen Deng, you'd better think carefully about the consequences! Even if you respond to Liu Bei's call to arms, at most you'll force the Minister of Works to abandon the lands of Hebei. But don't forget, if the Minister of Works decides to attack Guangling, Liu Bei won't be able to save you!" (End of Chapter)