Brother, stop curling up! You're curling up like the founder of the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 209 Liu Bei, risking his life for a great cause, ventures deep into enemy territory alone (Seeking subscriptions and monthly votes)
To determine whether a region is stable, the primary consideration is whether there are famine refugees fleeing the region year-round.

The more starving people fleeing famine, the more difficult it is for the region to maintain stability.

Although Jizhou is known as a prosperous land, the wealth belongs to powerful families and not to the common people.

Therefore, every time food supplies are scarce, a large number of starving people would flee their homes.

The starving people either starved to death while fleeing the famine, or joined the Yellow Turban Rebellion to survive.

Since Zhang Jiao raised his banner of rebellion, the grass on the grave of the Great Teacher of Virtue has changed seven times, yet the number of starving people and Yellow Turban rebels in Jizhou has not decreased but increased.

Over the course of seven years, countless people, including Heishan, Huanglong, Baibo, Zuoxiao, Guo Daxian, Yu Digen, Qingniujiao, Zhang Baiqi, Liu Shi, Zuozizhangba, Pinghan, Daji, Sili, Yuanzai, Leigong, Fuyun, Feiyan, Baique, Yangfeng, Yudu, Wulu, Li Damu, Bairao, Suigu, Kushen, and Luoshi, rose up in the valleys.

The larger ones cost twenty to thirty thousand, while the smaller ones cost six to seven thousand.

There was also Zhang Yan from Changshan, who colluded with bandits in the mountains and valleys of Zhongshan, Changshan, Zhaojun, Shangdang, and Henan, and his forces grew to a million.

If Jizhou was short of food due to natural disasters, it would be understandable. However, it is ironic that people like Shen Pei could shout, "With enough grain for ten years, great things can be expected!"

Grain is available in Ji Province.

Just as Li Shen described in his poem "Sympathy for the Peasants":
Sow a single grain of millet in spring, reap ten thousand grains in autumn; though there is no idle land under heaven, farmers still starve to death.

The abundant harvest in Ji Province was not for the common people, but for the powerful and wealthy.

Those who are well-fed chat and laugh about romance, unaware that starving corpses line the streets.
For example, as stated in a certain economics and philosophy manuscript:

Labor produces miraculous things for the rich, but produces abject poverty for the laborers.

Labor produced palaces, but it produced huts for the laborers.

Labor produces beauty, but it deforms the laborer.

Machines replaced manual labor, but this led some workers back to barbaric labor and turned others into machines.

Labor produces wisdom, but it produces dullness and idiocy in its workers.

The wealth of Ji Province is a false wealth, not the wealth of the common people.

Yuan Shao couldn't see through the facade of wealth.

Min Chun, who had followed Yuan Shao in the past, also couldn't understand it.

In essence, Yuan Shao and Min Chun were the same kind of people.

Therefore, Min Chun proposed sending the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans to attack Ye City to contain Yuan Shao.

In Min Chun's view, since the leader of the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans who had been won over had a grudge against Yuan Shao and was willing to accept Liu Bei's official position, it was equivalent to giving the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans an opportunity to make merit. They should accept Liu Bei's command to attack Ye City to restrain Yuan Shao.

Whether the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans had enough food or how many people would die in the process of attacking Ye City to contain Yuan Shao were not things Min Chun needed to consider. They were just a bunch of bandits; if they died, they died.

However, Liu Bei saw it very clearly.

Whether they had a grudge against Yuan Shao or wanted Liu Bei's official position, the goal of the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans was obvious: to survive!
Whoever allows the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans to survive is their true friend.

Liu Bei wanted to show the Yellow Turban rebels of Black Mountain through his actions: I don't need you to fight and risk your lives for me, I just need you to take the grain from the powerful clans and survive.

When Liu Bei's decision reached the Black Mountain, the Black Mountain leaders who had secretly received Liu Bei's seal and documents were all taken aback.

Although there are rumors in the Black Mountains that Liu Bei was a disciple of the Immortal of Nanhua and treated the Yellow Turbans well, it is believed that most of these rumors refer to ordinary Yellow Turbans.

The Yellow Turban leaders had more faith in food that could save their lives.

Instead of spouting empty platitudes to the leaders of the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans, or ordering them to attack Ye City to distract Yuan Shao, Liu Bei simply told them: Go, seize the enemy's grain and divide it among yourselves.

This left the leaders of the Yellow Turban tribes in Black Mountain with a deep sense of doubt: Who exactly is the thief?
"Would Liu Bei really go to fight Yuan Shao to cover our looting of grain?"

Black Mountain, a drug stronghold.

Bai Rao, Sui Gu, and other leaders gathered together.

Because they were closest to Hanoi Commandery, Yu Du and his men were the first to receive Liu Bei's order.

That blunt statement, "You're in charge of seizing grain, I'll be in charge of fighting Yuan Shao," doesn't sound like something a high-ranking general or imperial uncle would say.

Yu Du stroked the captain's seal in his hand, remaining silent.

This seal was sent by Liu Bei; not only Yu Du had one, but Bai Rao, Sui Gu, and others also possessed them.

a long time.

Yu Du said in a deep voice, "Regardless of whether Liu Bei will attack Yuan Shao, we must seize grain, otherwise most of the mountain people in each village will starve to death this winter."

In the eyes of the imperial court, the Yellow Turbans of Black Mountain were bandits who wreaked havoc on the region.

However, for the Yellow Turbans of Heishan, not seizing grain meant certain death.

When faced with survival, all etiquette and honor must take a back seat.

"Then let's trust Liu Bei this once! Let's see if he's really the senior brother of the Great Teacher of Virtue, as rumored." Bai Rao slammed his fist on the table.

When faced with the question of survival, there was no one else to trust but Liu Bei.

September of the second year of the Chuping era.

Liu Bei led his troops to Chaoge City in Hanoi Commandery, which was only two hundred li away from Ye City and less than forty li away from Liyang.

The prominent title "Liu, Imperial Uncle of the Han Dynasty" pierced Yuan Shao's eyes like blinding sunlight.

"Too crazy!"

"Liu Bei, you scoundrel, how dare you deceive me!"

Following Feng Ji's step-by-step plan, Yuan Shao first used a small force to suppress the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Heishan, while using the main force to guard against Liu Bei.

If Liu Bei sends troops, Yuan Shao will ambush him with his main force; if Liu Bei does not send troops, Yuan Shao will secretly deploy his main force to gradually erode the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans.

At the same time, they joined forces with powerful families in Hanoi, including Sima Fang and his son, to prepare a ruthless attack on Liu Bei.

Just as Yuan Shao had been waiting for two months and was concluding that Liu Bei would not send troops, he secretly dispatched his main force to gradually erode the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans, when Liu Bei appeared directly in Chaoge City, two hundred miles away.

What angered Yuan Shao even more was that Liu Bei had brought more than two thousand men this time!

Yuan Shao deployed 80,000 troops in Dongjun, Dongping, Jibei, Pingyuan, and Weijun, with 40,000 in Ye City alone.

Although the 40,000 men in Ye City were not as elite as the Lingyan Army, they were still far more elite than the troops led by Zhang Miao, Yuan Xu, and others in the past.

Liu Bei, with just over two thousand men, swaggered around two hundred miles outside Ye City, as if mocking Yuan Shao and his forty thousand men: "Don't misunderstand, I'm not targeting you, I'm saying everyone here is trash."

"Liu Bei's actions are always unpredictable. My lord, you must be wary of Liu Bei using a feint attack again," Feng Ji said hastily, stepping forward to advise the enraged Yuan Shao. Last time, when Liu Bei launched a surprise attack on Ye City, at least he had ten thousand men.

This time, Liu Bei showed off his military might, but he only had two thousand men.

No matter how you look at it, Feng Ji believes there is a conspiracy involved.

"What other conspiracy could there be? There's a rumor in Black Mountain that Liu Bei's sworn brother Zhang Fei is the reincarnation of the Great Teacher of Virtue, and Liu Bei is the Great Teacher of Virtue's senior brother. They must be trying to unite with the Yellow Turbans of Black Mountain!" Yuan Shao said bitterly. "The Yellow Turbans of Black Mountain are no threat. Leave 10,000 men to guard against them, and the rest of the troops will march to Chaoge. I will make sure Liu Bei never returns!"

Initially, Yuan Shao planned to lure Liu Bei out of his camp and then ambush him with his main force. However, since the ambush plan was proving ineffective, Yuan Shao decided to directly attack Liu Bei with superior troop strength.

With 10,000 men in Ye City, Yuan Shao was not afraid that Liu Bei would continue to play the "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao" trick.

“My lord, Liu Bei’s intentions are too obvious.” Feng Ji advised again, “Now is the time of autumn harvest, and the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans will surely come down the mountain to plunder the grain. This is the time to defeat the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans one by one.”

"If we attack Liu Bei now, he will surely flee when he sees that you have many men. If you pursue him, you may fall into Liu Bei's trap; if you do not pursue him, it will be a waste of your troops."

"It would be better to wait in Ye City, where we can fight the Yellow Turbans when they come, and fight Liu Bei when he comes. This way, we can be sure of success."

From a tactical standpoint, Feng Ji's tactics were not problematic.

With 40,000 troops stationed in Yecheng, they could easily wait for the enemy to tire themselves out; there was no need to go to great lengths to attack Liu Bei in Chaoge.

Under Feng Ji's persuasion and considering Liu Bei's consistent style, Yuan Shao calmed down again.

Although Liu Bei only had about two thousand men in Chaoge, he could send reinforcements from Luoyang and Mengjin. If Liu Bei could not be kept in Chaoge, neither pursuing nor not pursuing him would bring any benefit.

Just as Yuan Shao was determined to wait in comfort for the enemy to tire themselves out, Chunyu Qiong of Liyang sent someone to urgently request reinforcements.

Not only did Liu Bei swagger around in Chaoge, but after Yuan Shao did not react, he went directly to attack Liyang, which was more than 30 miles away.

Upon hearing the news, not only Yuan Shao was astonished, but Feng Ji was also unable to judge Liu Bei's intentions: "Could it be that Liu Bei is not going to join forces with the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans to attack Ye City, but is going to attack Yan Province instead?"

“That must be it!” Yuan Shao said indignantly, “That Liu Bei deliberately made us think that he was going to join forces with the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans to attack Ye City, but in reality, just like last time, he is using a feint to attack Yanzhou! If Liu Bei holds Liyang and blocks our army from going south to reinforce, Yanzhou will be in danger.”

Although he still had doubts, Feng Ji couldn't figure out Liu Bei's intentions.

If one cannot reach Liu Bei's level of thinking, it is impossible to understand why Liu Bei would risk his life to cover the Yellow Turban rebels' looting of grain.

Entering Chaoge was a ruse.

The attack on Liyang was also a ruse.

The goal was to mislead Yuan Shao into believing that Liu Bei was going to attack Yanzhou, thus preventing him from waiting in Ye City in comfort.

As long as Yuan Shao leads his army south, the Yellow Turban rebels of Heishan will have the opportunity to raid Wei County for grain.

Yuan Shao dared not hesitate any longer. On one hand, he ordered Zhang He and Gao Lan to go ahead, and on the other hand, he sent someone to deliver a message to Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Shen Pei, Ju Shou, and Tian Feng on the south bank of the Yellow River, telling the people of Yanzhou not to act rashly, lest they fall into Liu Bei's feint attack.

Subsequently.

Yuan Shao then ordered Feng Ji to lead troops to defend the city.

Among the civil and military officials in Ye City, Yuan Shao doesn't trust many.

If Feng Ji were not left in Ye City, Yuan Shao feared that someone in Ye City would rebel again, and if the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans were to break through Ye City, then the Ye City court would be completely disgraced.

Losing to Liu Bei could be attributed to a sneak attack by Liu Bei, and that victory and defeat are common occurrences in warfare. However, losing to the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans would truly make them appear as a disorganized rabble that sold their heads for a pittance.

Liyang City.

Seeing Liu Bei's swaggering and arrogant demeanor, Chunyu Qiong felt both angry and helpless.

Although he had two thousand soldiers, Chunyu Qiong dared not leave the city to fight Liu Bei, and only dared to use his words against Liu Bei from the city wall.

"Liu Bei, don't be so arrogant! This is Wei Commandery, not Yu Province! When the General's army arrives, you will surely die a horrible death!"

"I advise you to either retreat to Hanoi or surrender."

Seeing Chunyu Qiong hiding in the city, Liu Bei laughed and shouted, "Chunyu Qiong, you and I are old acquaintances, why do we have to be at odds every time we meet? In the past, you and Cao Cao were both officers of the Western Garden Army and both served Yuan Shao. Later, Cao Cao chose to follow me, while you continued to follow Yuan Shao."

“But Cao Cao is now the governor of Yan Province. He has not only civil and military officials following him, but also 50,000 Qingzhou soldiers under his command. How carefree and unrestrained he is! You, on the other hand, have the talent to govern a prefecture and county, but now you can only guard a small Liyang for Yuan Shao. I really feel sorry for you.”

"If you are willing to surrender to me, I will appoint you as the governor of Qingzhou. You will have civil and military officials following you and you will have the troops of an entire prefecture. Why bother being a mere garrison commander in Liyang?"

Chunyu Qiong became increasingly frustrated as he listened.

Although Liu Bei was instigating, his instigation hit Chunyu Qiong right where it hurt.

He had been working for Yuan Shao since Luoyang, but now Chunyu Qiong could only lead troops to garrison a single city.

To say that Chunyu Qiong harbored no resentment would be self-deception.

However, Chunyu Qiong was unwilling to surrender and follow Liu Bei.

Following Liu Bei when he was down on his luck is completely different from following him when he was at his peak.

"Liu Bei, do you think I would believe your instigation? The General has treated me very well. Although he did not let me govern a province or county, I will still be able to be ranked among the Nine Ministers in the future."

Chunyu Qiong tried to embellish his image to avoid losing face in front of Liu Bei.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Xu You stepped out from Liu Bei's ranks, ruthlessly tearing apart Chunyu Qiong's paper-thin pride: "Chunyu Qiong, you are all old acquaintances of Yuan Shao, so stop deceiving yourself."

"Yuan Shao calls you 'brother' and 'friend,' and you really think you're Yuan Shao's 'brother' and 'friend'? He makes a few promises to you, and you really think you'll be ranked among the Nine Ministers in the future?"

"Don't overestimate yourself. You come from the Chunyu clan, and in Yuan Shao's eyes, you are not even worthy of being ranked alongside the Nine Ministers. Letting you command troops is already the greatest favor you can receive."

"Surrender. With me and Mengde as guarantors, if the Imperial Uncle says you will be the Governor of Qingzhou, he will definitely make you the Governor of Qingzhou. Only as the Governor of Qingzhou will you have the opportunity to enter the court and become one of the Nine Ministers."

"How many generals who command troops have you seen who have entered the imperial court and become one of the Nine Ministers?"

Hearing Xu You's scathing attempts to persuade him to surrender, Chunyu Qiong became even more frustrated and simply retreated to the back, refusing to listen.

"Uncle, Chunyu Qiong is a stubborn man; it's extremely difficult to get him to betray Yuan Shao," Xu You said helplessly, spreading his hands.

"It's alright," Liu Bei said dismissively. "The messenger Chunyu Qiong sent to Ye City for help should have arrived long ago. As long as Yuan Shao brings troops to rescue us, my goal will be achieved."

He then laughed and said, "I have thwarted Yuan Shao's plans to suppress the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans twice in a row. Yuan Shao must be eager to capture me alive. I wonder how many troops he will bring to block me this time. If there are too few troops, the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans will have a hard time robbing grain."

Xu You also laughed: "If Yuan Shao's troops are too few, we can just forcefully defeat them, and the Imperial Uncle will not lose out. Given Yuan Shao's life-saving nature, if he wants to block the Imperial Uncle, he will definitely bring all his elite troops."

As they were talking...

A scout rode up and reported: "Uncle, a large army of the Yuan clan has arrived from the direction of Ye City. Judging from their banners, they number no less than 30,000."

Upon hearing the military report, Liu Bei was not alarmed but laughed: "Thirty thousand troops, fifteen times the size of mine, it seems we have no choice but to flee."

(End of this chapter)