I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 201 History is a Good Teacher
"I, Liu Bei, will never do anything against my conscience!"

Liu Bei pounded his chest in distress.

“Bowei and I used to drink and chat every day, and I thought Bowei had long considered me a brother. But now, just because of a few words from others, he’s going to climb over the wall and leave?”

Lu Jun then felt ashamed and quickly lowered his head to apologize to Liu Bei.

"Upon hearing this news, I was greatly shocked and could no longer think of anything else. I hope Xuande will not take offense."

When Liu Bei saw that Lu Jun's waist was bent to the knees, his anger subsided a bit, so he went up to help Lu Jun up.

“Zhongshan treats me like a brother, how could I possibly send troops to attack him?”

"The person who just came was indeed Yuan Shao's envoy. His main purpose in coming here is to urge me to send troops to harass Jiangdong, so as to force Zhongshan to return to his aid and relieve Liu Biao's siege of Jingzhou."

Lu Jun suddenly realized: "So it was Liu Biao who asked Yuan Shao for help!"

Liu Bei shook his head uneasily: "Judging from the messenger's words, it seems that Yuan Tan will personally lead troops to attack Jiangdong."

“This matter is of great importance. I will leave Yuan Shao’s envoy here to delay for a few days. You should return to Jiangdong as soon as possible and inform Lu Zhongyi or Zhang Gong about this matter so that Zhongshan can make plans as soon as possible.”

Upon hearing that Liu Bei was willing to help, Lu Jun was immediately moved to tears: "Xuande is so kind and righteous! I will never forget your great kindness!"

"Hurry up! Otherwise, I've been out for so long, and they might become suspicious!"

Liu Bei pressed his hand to his chest: "I chased after him only to tell Bowei! No matter what happens, I, Liu Bei, will never be the kind of person who betrays his promise!"

"If Yuan Tan really sends troops to attack, then I will definitely block his advance for Zhongshan!"

Lu Jun regretted his earlier distrust of Liu Bei. After bowing to Liu Bei, he quickly returned to Jiangdong and told his father Lu Kang and Zhang Zhao about the matter.

"Yuan Shao, why would he interfere at this crucial moment?"

Zhang Zhao was amazed, but Lu Kang was unimpressed.

"Is it strange that Yuan Shao's reach is so far?"

“When Zhongshan first came to Jiangdong, his position as the governor of Jiujiang was taken by Zhou Ang, whom Yuan Shao had appointed without his consent. It is not unreasonable for him to send troops now.”

Having lived through the Han Dynasty, Lu Kang had truly witnessed the scene where officials throughout the land were either "representatives" or "skilled."

It was only with the rise of warlords such as Liu Miao, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Lü Bu that the influence of the Yuan family of Runan was no longer so terrifying, but this does not mean that people have forgotten Yuan Shao's strength.

"Go and bring Zhongshan back."

Yuan Shao's reputation was far more terrifying than Yuan Shu's!
When Liu Miao met Yuan Shu, Yuan Shu had already passed his peak and was being relentlessly pursued by Cao Cao until he fled to Huainan. He was essentially a skeleton in a tomb.

But Yuan Shao is currently at the peak of his power!
A million strong army!

When other warlords said these words, it might just be boasting or intimidation, but when Yuan Shao said them, it meant that he truly had the strength to back it up!
Even if it were just his son Yuan Tan, his deterrent power would not be diminished in the slightest!

"Zhongshan has taken all his troops with him to attack Jingzhou this time. If he cannot return quickly, Yuan Tan may very well be facing the Yangtze River!"

Zhang Zhao also agreed to quickly call Liu Miao back to guard the house.

However, Zhang Zhao vaguely remembered something else—

"When Zijing was on a mission to Hebei last time, he encountered Xu You demanding bribes, so he did not meet Yuan Shao?"

"That is indeed true. Why did Zibu suddenly bring this up?"

Zhang Zhao: "Yuan Shao is indecisive."

"He ordered Yuan Tan to send troops, but he was not decisive. Instead, he sent an envoy to contact Liu Bei first, which shows that he did not take the attack on Jiangdong seriously."

"If he had advisors or staff around him to dissuade him at this moment, perhaps..."

Lu Jun immediately understood!

"Does Lord Zhang intend to bribe Xu You to persuade Yuan Shao to stop?"

"There's no need to dissuade him; even if it arouses Yuan Shao's suspicion, it will buy time for our lord to return to Jiangdong."

Lu Jun readily accepted the task.

“I’ve been to Hebei a few times and made some connections there, so they sent me there to see Xu You!”

------

Qingzhou, Beihai.

"Half a month has passed, and Liu Bei still hasn't given a definite reply. It seems we can't count on him."

Guo Tu resigned from his post to Yuan Tan.

"In that case, I shall make a trip to Xiapi."

Guo Tu rushed from Qingzhou to Xiapi and presented his apology, but Lü Bu didn't want to pay any attention to him at all. He even provided a small hut near the outhouse with a straw mat and a vat of water as his reception for Guo Tu.

Guo Tu didn't complain at all, and actually lived in such a house for ten days!

This performance led Lü Bu to make an exception and meet with Guo Tu once.

However, Lü Bu's attitude was far from friendly; on the contrary, he scoffed, "Yuan Shao drove me out of Hebei back then, so why is he sending someone to meet me now?"

Guo Tu remained neither humble nor arrogant.

"General, you are the renowned 'Flying General,' a hero who fought alongside Wang Yun to slay Dong Zhuo. If you had stayed in Hebei, you would have remained merely a general under Lord Yuan; but after leaving Hebei, you were able to successively occupy Yanzhou and Xuzhou, becoming a regional warlord. Given such different circumstances, which side would you choose?"

"Hmph! What a clever word!"

While verbally berating Guo Tu for his flattery, Lü Bu's expression actually softened, clearly influenced by the earlier compliments. "Tell me," he said, "what does Yuan Shao want with you?"

Lu Bu sat on the couch with his legs spread wide in a domineering manner—

"You can only say three sentences! If those three sentences don't satisfy me, then you don't need to go back to Yuan Shao!"

Guo Tu blurted out the first sentence—

"Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, sought help from Yuan Shao, asking him to attack Jiangdong in order to force Liu Miao to return to his camp."

Lü Bu: "What does Liu Biao's life or death have to do with me? You have something else to say!"

Guo Tu: "This battle was jointly launched by Liu Miao and Cao Cao. If they succeed, Cao Cao will gain Nanyang and connect it with Guanzhong, which will greatly increase his power!"

Lu Bu frowned slightly, but still refused to send troops: "Cao Cao's son, the eunuch, is indeed troublesome, but Liu Zhongshan is actually quite good. I have no intention of attacking him at this time!"

Guo Tu smiled slightly and finally uttered his third sentence.

"But now, Liu Miao is an ally of Cao Cao, isn't that right?"

"I've heard that Liu Miao once reveled with Cao Cao and Liu Bei on a high platform on the north bank of the Huai River, drinking and composing poetry with great enthusiasm. If you don't attack Liu Miao today, General... then in the past, if Cao Cao had asked Liu Miao to attack you, do you think Liu Miao would have agreed?"

Lu Bu's heart skipped a beat!
In terms of closeness, Lü Bu is clearly not as close as Cao Cao is to Liu Bei and Liu Miao.

Although things seem to be going well for now, in these chaotic times, there's nothing that can be said for sure.

If Cao Cao were to persuade Liu Miao to attack Xuzhou in the future, would Liu Miao still refuse?
Lu Bu finally hesitated and gradually calmed down his thoughts of killing Guo Tu.

"Attack Jiangdong? The first step is to take Huainan or Guangling!"

Lu Bu groaned at the thought of these two places: "Neither of these locations is conducive to cavalry movement; they are not places that can be easily conquered!"

Guo Tu replied, "General, you misunderstand. I did not mean to ask you to attack Jiangdong."

"Then what are you doing?"

"General, please attack Liu Bei and recapture Xiaopei!"

Lu Bu was stunned for a few moments, clearly not quite following Guo Tu's train of thought: "How did this bring up Liu Bei again?!"

Guo Tu: "Liu Bei has always been close to Liu Miao and Cao Cao. Now he is recruiting troops and stationing them in Xiaopei. Does the general not have any suspicions about him at all?"

"I've heard that Liu Bei now has over ten thousand troops. He's stationed in Xiaopei, which is like someone standing by your pillow with a knife. Can you really just sit idly by and do nothing?"

Lu Bu's two thick, dark eyebrows tangled together once again.

Liu Bei truly created a miracle in Xiaopei.

Not only did he recover his strength in just a few months, but he was also able to recruit an army of ten thousand men to command, which made Lü Bu both envious and wary.

Now that Guo Tu has brought this up, Lü Bu sighed and said, "Back then, I listened to Liu Miao's advice and settled Liu Bei in Xiaopei to resist Cao Cao, but I never expected him to grow so powerful!"

Guo Tu quickly added fuel to the fire: "Liu Bei is in such a state now, how can he be expected to defend the general against Cao Cao? It's more like Liu Miao is using Liu Bei to cut off your access to Yanzhou, preventing you from threatening Cao Cao's rear!"

"General, you are trapped in Xuzhou, and your power cannot be expanded. Liu Miao and Cao Cao, on the other hand, want to obtain the rich Jingzhou to strengthen their own power. If they really lead their troops to attack in the future, what should you do?"

Use Liu Bei to resist Cao Cao.

He used Liu Bei to restrain Lü Bu.

These two things are completely opposite!

Lu Bu had never imagined that Liu Bei's garrison in Xiaopei would have such an effect, and his face instantly darkened.

"How could Liu Miao be so malicious?"

"The general is too naive and kind; that's why he's so easily trusting of others."

Guo Tu's voice seemed to have a seductive quality.

"From Dong Zhuo to Wang Yun, and from Wang Yun to Liu Miao, all of these people were using the general!"

"Instead of being controlled by others, why don't you conquer Liu Bei, threaten the Central Plains, and achieve hegemony?"

Guo Tu spoke sincerely, making it impossible to notice the cold glint hidden in the corner of his eye.

While claiming he didn't want Lü Bu to be controlled by others, Guo Tu actually wanted Lü Bu to become the sharpest blade in the Yuan family's army!

If Lü Bu were to defeat Liu Bei and reopen the passage between Xu Province and Yan Province and Yu Province, Cao Cao would surely be alarmed and return to defend!

As for Liu Miao...

"General, you dislike traveling along the southern roads. Why not let Yuan Tan, the governor of Qingzhou, lead the attack?"

"When the general arrives, just make way for Xuzhou so that the army can rush from Qingzhou to Guangling and Huainan. In this way, the general will not have to worry about Jiangdong."

Lu Bu looked at Guo Tu in surprise: "You think you can defeat Liu Miao and seize Jiangdong like this?"

"Back then, didn't Emperor Guangwu easily pacify Jiangdong by only sending Fu Jun and Cen Peng?"

Guo Tu did not think that taking over Jiangdong was a difficult task.

History is always the best teacher.

If you follow behind Liu Xiu and take your first steps, you will surely reach the place where Liu Xiu is!

(End of this chapter)