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

Chapter 238 Spring of the Second Year of Zhangwu, Liu Bei's Northern Expedition against Yuan Shao (Seeking subscriptions and monthly votes)
After careful consideration, Liu Bei named his son "Cheng".

The original meaning of the character “承” is “to lift up or accept”, and it can also be extended to mean “to inherit a legacy or take on a heavy responsibility”.

Naming a prince born to the empress with the character "承" (Cheng) is tantamount to directly declaring his status as the legal heir, expressing the expectation of him to take on the important task of governing the country, and emphasizing responsibility and ability.

Although Liu Bei did not yet know whether the child was intelligent and virtuous, the risk of establishing the eldest son as heir was obviously lower than that of deposing the eldest son in favor of the younger one.

If it is ultimately found that the eldest son is indeed incapable of inheriting the great responsibility, then it is not too late to consider it.

At least for now, Liu Bei needs to give his ministers an indication that the successor has been chosen and those who have other ideas can put their minds at ease.

Liu Bei named his daughter "Ping," reflecting his hopes for a peaceful and prosperous era and wishing her safety and well-being.

Taking advantage of the joy of having a son and a daughter, Liu Bei announced the national policy for the second year of Zhangwu at the New Year's court meeting: to attack Yuan Shao.

When this national policy was announced, many civil and military officials were astonished.

Grand Minister of Agriculture Zhou Zhong urgently advised, "Your Majesty! Although there was a period of rest and recuperation last year, the fighting in parts of Yan, Xu, and Yong provinces has not yet subsided, and the people's strength has not yet recovered."

“Now Yuan Shao occupies Hebei, and Yuan Shu is stationed in Jingchu. Although the Yuan brothers are not on good terms, they are both ruthless. If we launch a northern expedition against Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu will surely take advantage of the situation to attack our Yu Province; if we launch a southern expedition against Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao will not sit idly by.”

"Although these two Yuans are not allied, they will surely rely on each other's strengths. I implore Your Majesty to temporarily cease hostilities, stockpile grain, strengthen military preparedness, and strike them with swift and decisive force when the two Yuans are in internal strife."

Grand Master of the Palace Zhao Qi also spoke up to advise: "Jizhou is far away, and it takes a long time to transport grain, only one out of ten zhong! Last year, the various prefectures were barely able to catch their breath. If we forcibly conscript laborers now, the fields will be abandoned and the starving will continue to occur."

"Yuan Shao has just defeated the Black Mountain and the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou, and now commands an army of 100,000. His power is at its peak. Even if Your Majesty has a mighty army, you should avoid his sharp edge and not risk your life again as you have done in the past to try to win by chance."

Commandant Zhao Wen also stepped forward to offer his advice: "Now that the prince has just been born, the continuation of the ancestral temple is just being established. In the past, Emperors Wen and Jing spent sixty years in hiding their talents and biding their time, which laid the foundation for Emperor Wu's northern campaign against the Xiongnu."

"If Your Majesty were to follow Emperor Wu's example of exhausting the nation's resources with military campaigns, I fear it would damage the very foundation of the country! I urge Your Majesty to spend ten years recuperating: encouraging agriculture and sericulture, promoting education to build up the people's strength. Once the foundation is solid, why worry about unrest in the world?"

Subsequently, several others opposed the campaign against Yuan Shao, citing similar reasons: domestic affairs should be prioritized, the people's strength should not be exhausted, and the war should not be waged recklessly.

Then Xu Shu, the Assistant Minister of Agriculture, reported: "In my opinion, the Minister of Agriculture's statement that the two Yuans must be cooperating with each other has not grasped the fundamental truth! Yuan Shu usurped the title of 'Zhongjia' (the Zhong family), while Yuan Shao, although he rebelled, still supported the Liu clan. How could the two of them possibly be cooperating with each other?"

"The Grand Master of the Imperial Stud worries that transporting grain will exhaust the people's strength, but he forgets the principle of 'borrowing grain from the enemy' in Sun Tzu's Art of War! Last year, Yuan Shao annexed the powerful local lords and defeated the Yellow Turbans of Black Mountain. Wei Commandery has a large amount of grain stored up. Your Majesty has always used elite troops to defeat the enemy, rather than sending out large armies. If you send elite troops to Hebei to take the grain and fodder from Hebei for your own use, why do you need to forcibly conscript laborers?"

"The Commandant of the Guards recounts the events of the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing, but times have changed! During the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing, the Xiongnu were merely a border threat; now, the two Yuan brothers have divided the land, and if they are allowed to grow powerful, in ten years they may be more than just four provinces to control! Your Majesty named your son 'Cheng,' which is a declaration to the world that Your Majesty will inherit the foundation of peace. If we leave a great threat to our descendants, how can we speak of peace?"

Xu Shu's words directly refuted the views of Zhou Zhong, Zhao Qi, and Zhao Wen. However, the three were not the type to accept Xu Shu's words without rebutting them.

Zhao Qi's voice boomed like a bell as he sternly rebuked, "Xu, the Minister of Agriculture, said that 'obtaining grain from the enemy' seems plausible, but he has not considered the true situation in Hebei! Yuan Shao has 100,000 troops and controls the granaries in Ye and Handan, with heavy troops protecting the grain supply routes."

"If our army advances with elite troops, even with Your Majesty's past ability to launch a thousand-mile raid, I fear it will be difficult to break through their ten layers of defenses. At that time, we will be isolated on enemy territory, caught between a rock and a hard place. Wouldn't that be putting our soldiers to death?"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Yun, the Grand Master of Ceremonies, retorted sternly, “The Grand Master of Ceremonies only sees the dangers of war, not the hearts of the people! In the past, His Majesty risked his life to help the Yellow Turbans of Black Mountain seize grain, and many of the Yellow Turbans admire His Majesty’s kindness. Although Yuan Shao has 100,000 troops, many of them are Yellow Turbans. If they hear that His Majesty is attacking Yuan Shao, would they be willing to die for him?”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wen, the Commandant of the Guards, retorted: "The words of the Grand Master of Ceremonies are those of a military man. In the past, Xiao He was stationed in Guanzhong and ensured that the grain supply was never interrupted, which gave Emperor Gaozu the opportunity to pacify the world. Now that the court has just been established, how can we launch a distant expedition without ten years' worth of grain reserves? We should follow the example of Xiao He and widely develop military farms in various counties. This is the best policy."

Minister Xun Yu suddenly spoke up again: "How impractical is the Commandant of the Guards! The world is unpredictable and the universe is hard to fathom. Since the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling, there have been frequent natural disasters. Your Majesty has always been compassionate towards the people and cannot bear to see them suffer. As a result, the court's finances have been greatly depleted."

"Even if we accumulate grain over ten years, how much grain can we accumulate? The strategy of accumulating grain is not applicable to the present."

"Since ancient times, offense is worse than defense, and offense is the best defense. If Yuan Shao is ten parts strong, then destroy seven parts of his prestige; if Yuan Shao is five parts strong, then destroy three parts of his prestige; if Yuan Shao is three parts strong, then destroy two parts of his prestige."

"How can we wait idly for ten years and let Yuan Shao grow stronger? Even if Your Majesty is willing to wait, do you think Yuan Shao will just wait idly in Hebei for ten years as well?"

The officials debated, but Liu Bei remained silent, simply listening to their arguments.

Now that his family business had grown large, Liu Bei couldn't ignore the opinions of his officials.

Liu Bei was the decision-maker, and the officials were the implementers. If the implementers of a national policy do not know how to implement it or cannot implement it smoothly, then the national policy is problematic.

of course.

Liu Bei would not doubt the national policies he had established simply because of the opposition of his officials.

The reasons for launching a campaign against Yuan Shao this year are: first, because we have had a year to recuperate; second, because the troubles in Xuzhou have been resolved; third, to create an opportunity for Yuan Shu to attack Xichuan; and fourth, because Liu Bei wants to eliminate Yuan Shao's prestige before the natural disaster.

Natural disasters, in particular, are the most critical.

Liu Bei initiated a five-year plan in Guanzhong to cope with natural disasters.

In this era of poor transportation, it was difficult to launch a full-scale rescue operation in the event of a natural disaster, and without rescue, a large number of refugees would be left behind.

At this point, with Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu interfering, Liu Bei would be caught in a dangerous situation of both external and internal troubles, and a slight misstep could lead to total defeat.

Compared to disaster relief and rescue, defeating Yuan Shao was much easier.

By defeating Yuan Shao, Liu Bei could obtain a large amount of money and grain for disaster relief and rescue, and he wouldn't have to worry about Yuan Shao leading his troops south when natural disasters occur.

Born in sorrow, die in happiness.

Liu Bei must nip potential threats in the bud, just as he had in all previous battles, and always manage to gain a greater advantage over Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu.

As long as Liu Bei remains stronger than Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, he can continue to stay ahead of them.

For a hardcore player who doesn't give up, as long as they get ahead, they can stay ahead.

Liu Bei then turned his gaze to Jia Xu, who had remained silent, and asked, "Does the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat have any ideas?"

Jia Xu was resting with his eyes closed.

Because Jia Xu knew very well that once Liu Bei decided on a national policy, the next thing to think about was how to implement Liu Bei's national policy, what difficulties would be encountered in the process, and how to solve those difficulties.

Instead of refuting Liu Bei's national policy.

Looking at Liu Bei's rise to power over the past few years, he was always the one who decided the direction, while his subordinates, such as Jia Xu and Xu You, were merely assisting him in realizing his ideas.

Therefore, Jia Xu did not think about whether or not to attack Yuan Shao, but rather how to attack Yuan Shao, what issues to pay attention to during the process, and how to solve problems when they arise.

The officials' arguments went in one ear and out the other, not catching Jia Xu's attention at all. Therefore, when Liu Bei asked, Jia Xu simply replied, "I agree with Your Majesty's policy that we should attack Yuan Shao this year."

Clean and efficient, without explaining why they supported him, the main point was that if Liu Bei wanted to fight, Jia Xu would fight; and as bold and daring as Liu Bei was, so too was Jia Xu's strategic brilliance.

As for whether or not to fight, that was a question for Liu Bei to consider, not for Jia Xu. Only those who refuse internal strife can live long lives.

Upon hearing Jia Xu's reply, Liu Bei burst into laughter: "With the words of the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, I can rest assured that the rear is secure. The campaign against Yuan Shao is a national policy, and my ministers need not argue further."

Although Zhou Zhong and others still disagreed with attacking Yuan Shao this year, now that Liu Bei had made a decision, Zhou Zhong and others could only agree.

This time, Liu Bei did not use the feint attack strategy. Instead, he directly ordered Cao Cao of Yanzhou to garrison troops in the areas of Dongjun, Dongping, and Jibei, creating the impression that he was about to cross the Yellow River and launch a northern expedition.

Liu Bei then sent Grand Commandant Lu Zhi to Yingchuan to replace Guan Yu, the governor of Yu Province.

In addition to the Gebei troops and the garrison commanders of various prefectures, the Lingyan Army of Guan Yu, Zhang Liao, and Xu Chu was transferred to Hanoi.

Because Lü Bu went to Yuan Shu's side, the Lingyan Army lost a major general.

Liu Bei then ordered Zhang Fei to take over Lü Bu's camp, while Zhang Fei's central army camp in Yongzhou was handed over to Ma Teng and Zhong Yao, who were to lead a detachment to attack Bingzhou from Hedong.

Liu Bei personally led the White Feather Army, the Trapped Camp, and ten battalions of Lingyan Army infantry and cavalry, commanded by ten generals including Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Ma Chao, Dian Wei, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Taishi Ci, and Xu Chu, across the river at Mengjin and stationed themselves in Henan.

With the addition of horse armor, Liu Bei selected 500 elite cavalry to expand the White Feather Army to 800 cavalry, and the iron armor coverage rate of the ten battalions of Lingyan Army also reached 60%.

Of Liu Bei's seven disciples, apart from Fa Zheng from Guanzhong and Ma Chao and Sun Ce who were already in the army, Cao Ang, Zhuge Liang, Liu Ba, and Zhou Yu also accompanied the army.

The central army was led by Xu You and Xun You as military advisors.

The rest of the civil and military officials, such as Jia Xu, Xun Yu, and Xu Shu, were stationed in Luoyang to provide logistical support and stabilize the various prefectures.

It can be said that all the best and brightest were sent out.

By concentrating his forces in this way, Liu Bei was preparing to launch a decisive battle against Yuan Shao in Hebei.

As Xun Yu said: Since ancient times, offense is worse than defense. If Yuan Shao is ten parts stronger, then destroy seven parts of his prestige; if Yuan Shao is five parts stronger, then destroy three parts of his prestige; if Yuan Shao is three parts stronger, then destroy two parts of his prestige.

Although Liu Bei needed Yuan Shao to weaken the powerful clans in Hebei, he would not sit idly by and watch Yuan Shao grow stronger; once the leeks have grown too big, they must be harvested.

at the same time.

Liu Bei then ordered Bian Rang of Chenliu to draft a proclamation denouncing the rebels.

The gist of it is: to condemn Yuan Shao for usurping the throne and establishing a false emperor, to encourage the people of Hebei who were oppressed by Yuan Shao to resist, and to inspire the Yellow Turbans who had joined Yuan Shao's army to rise up in rebellion, etc.

In addition, Liu Bei also specifically constructed a growth path for Yuan Shao: plotting to kill He Jin, plotting to kill Liu Hong, plotting to kill Yuan Wei and Yuan Ji, plotting to kill Liu Bian, plotting to kill Han Fu, plotting to kill Liu Yu, and currently plotting to kill Liu He and establish himself.

The main focus was on a media offensive, exposing all the dirty deeds that could be linked to Yuan Shao.

This manifesto, written by Bian Rang, was as sharp as Chen Lin's manifesto criticizing Cao Cao.

Although Bian Rang is not particularly talented in any area other than showing off his writing skills, he is a good example of someone who makes the best use of his talents. He is very suitable for writing scathing denunciations against traitors.

the most important is.

Liu Bei's proclamation against the rebels was not merely copied and sent to Hebei in a few dozen copies. Instead, he ordered the Chang'an workshops to print three thousand copies urgently, and had spies distribute the proclamation in various counties and villages of You and Ji.

And the manifesto is still being reprinted!

Liu Bei's task for the Chang'an workshop was to produce 20,000 copies initially, and print more if necessary.

There are woodblock printing and suitable paper for printing. Except for the time and effort required for woodblock carving, the printing process is much simpler.

Although paper is not easy to preserve and is easily damaged, its advantage lies in its large quantity. If the quality is poor, quantity can make up for it, and there are always places that Yuan Shao cannot reach.

The fact that this proclamation could spread in such a worm-like manner is thanks to Yuan Shao's promotion of simplified characters in Hebei. Otherwise, if the proclamation had been spread in the past, the people of Hebei would not have known what it was written, and it would have been difficult for it to spread so quickly.

While using paper proclamations, Liu Bei also had dozens of copies made of silk proclamations that were not easily destroyed and secretly posted them in major cities.

Positive strategies should be used, as well as insidious schemes.

For a time, Hebei was engulfed in Liu Bei's overwhelming propaganda offensive. Almost every county was talking about Yuan Shao, and even some villages were discussing him, mostly gossip and secrets related to Yuan Shao.

This made Yuan Shao's temper grow more and more volatile each day, and he often drew his sword and smashed things.

Even Yuan Shao's lips were covered in blisters from anger and resentment.

Having lived for decades, this was the first time Yuan Shao had experienced what it meant to be known by everyone.

Since Liu Bei issued his proclamation a month ago, a large number of proclamations have appeared in the territory of You and Ji, despite repeated prohibitions.

The proclamation mentioned that Yuan Shao had used someone else to kill Liu Yu, which aroused suspicion among Liu Yu's former subordinates, Xianyu Fu and Tian Yu. They frequently sent people to contact Liu He, hoping to get the truth about Liu Yu's death from him.

Moreover, there were also former Yellow Turban rebels in Yuan Shao's army discussing the possibility of the chief disciple of the Immortal of Nanhua becoming the main force in the human world to fight against the false emperor and evil forces.

Before the battle with Liu Bei even began, the morale of the people and the army was already in turmoil.

After annexing powerful forces such as Shen Pei and suppressing the Yellow Turbans of Heishan and the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou who raided Ji Province, Yuan Shao thought that as long as he built up his strength for another three years, he could go south and fight Liu Bei.

Unexpectedly, Liu Bei didn't give them a chance at all. He didn't even give them a year, let alone three years. He attacked Yuan Shao when Yuan Shao was at the height of his power.

This time is different from before. In the past, they would use feints and sneak attacks, but this time they attacked head-on and even sent out a proclamation first.

Fortune changes like the wheel of fate, just as Yuan Shao once issued a proclamation to attack Liu Bei and Dong Zhuo.

　Emperor Juan was about to launch a northern expedition.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)