The Three Kingdoms: The Oath of the Peach Garden, the Rise of the Han Dynasty

Zhang Fei was the first to jump up:

"Fourth brother, have you gone mad? Those eunuchs are all the same! What good are they, besides pointing fingers, embezzling, and breaking the law?"

"Third brother is right!" Guan Yu frowned as well. "Our army has strict discipline and efficient administration; why do we need eunuchs to supervise the army?"

Even Liu Bei looked puzzled: "Fourth brother, why would you willingly invite a wolf into your house?"

Under normal circumstances, Liu Bei trusted Li Chang implicitly, and even if Li Chang secretly mobilized troops, Liu Bei would not say anything. But it was different when it came to eunuchs.

Li Chang waved his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.

"You all only see the bad things about eunuchs, but you don't see the crisis we are facing now."

"Brother, you are now the Governor of Bingzhou, holding the title of Grand General and commanding tens of thousands of elite troops, controlling the military and political power of the entire Bingzhou. Can His Majesty rest assured?"

"The other governors are either senior members of the imperial clan like Liu Yizhou and Liu Youzhou, or important officials from powerful families like Huang Wan, and they all have their sons or younger brothers left in Luoyang as hostages. Only my elder brother is all alone, without even a child."

"Those people in Luoyang already see you as a thorn in their side. If they say a few bad things to His Majesty, saying that you are holding military power and plotting rebellion, even if His Majesty trusts you, a thorn will be planted in his heart."

Liu Bei's expression changed.

He only thought about governing Bingzhou well, but forgot about the art of imperial rule.

Sometimes he doesn't understand why people are so distrustful of others.

He could delegate all authority to his fourth brother as long as he was willing.

Li Chang continued:

"Rather than letting His Majesty be suspicious and passively waiting for him to send people to monitor us, we should take the initiative to request it. In this way, His Majesty will only think that we are loyal and have no ulterior motives."

"Moreover, by actively selecting people, we can maintain control."

I've already inquired about him. Bi Lan, one of the Ten Attendants, is greedy but quite clever, skilled in civil engineering and construction, but ignorant of military and political affairs, and doesn't have much ambition. We'll submit a memorial specifically requesting Bi Lan to come and supervise the army.

"After he arrived, we gave him enough respect, gave him unlimited money, and made sure he ate and drank well."

He has no son, so we can specially select a few people to take care of him in his old age. The money we give him will still be in our hands!

Not only will he not cause us trouble, but he will also speak well of us to His Majesty. He will also inform us of any disturbances in Luoyang immediately!

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent.

Everyone looked at Li Chang as if he were a monster.

While others were trying to avoid eunuchs, he took the initiative to invite them over and even planned to turn them into his own people.

They even planned out the eunuch's entire life, from birth to death.

Even the most upright Yue Yin found it hard to listen, but when he thought about dealing with eunuchs, his conscience softened!

Jia Xu stroked his beard, his eyes filled with admiration.

This move of retreating to advance is absolutely brilliant.

This not only completely dispelled the emperor's doubts, but also provided another source of intelligence in Luoyang, preventing a repeat of what happened with Ding Yuan.

High, it is high!

Liu Bei suddenly realized:

"Fourth brother is absolutely right! I had not considered this carefully. Let's do as you say. Immediately send a letter to Luoyang requesting His Majesty to send Attendant Bi Lan to Bingzhou to supervise the army."

Zhang Fei still looked annoyed: "But...those eunuchs are really awful!"

Li Chang patted him on the shoulder and laughed:

"Don't worry, Third Brother. With Bi Lan here, I guarantee he'll just quietly focus on his projects and won't interfere in military or political affairs. If he dares to cause trouble, I have plenty of ways to make him obey."

Three days later, a memorial with extremely humble wording was sent to Luoyang by express courier.

Inside the fruit and vegetable pavilion, Liu Hong was working in a way he hadn't done in a long time, but this time he was truly working.

Leaning back on the dragon throne, listening to Zhang Rang report on the movements of the governors of various prefectures, his face was gloomy.

"When Liu Yan arrived in Yizhou, rice bandits appeared in Hanzhong, preventing the court from sending people in."

Liu Yu was kind and loyal in Youzhou, but weren't you being too kind? How many sons of powerful families were under your command!

On the contrary, Huang Wan from a powerful family collected more taxes in Yuzhou? And Dong Zhuo of Liangzhou triumphed over the Qiang and Hu tribes again?

Bingzhou... never mind, it's too poor. An entire province of Bingzhou is less prosperous than a single prefecture in the Central Plains!

Liu Hong grew increasingly angry as he looked at the screen, and coughed repeatedly.

Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong quickly stepped forward and wiped Liu Hong's face with a silk handkerchief.

The entire piece of cloth was covered in blood!

Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong immediately felt like the sky had fallen!

He knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face.

"His Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, please take care of your health!"

Liu Hong shook his head. "What's the panic? I'm not dead yet!"

He continued to review the reports from various regions:

"But they all use the power I gave them to run their own territories! Do they even respect me as their emperor?"

Just then, a palace attendant entered carrying a memorial: "Your Majesty, Liu Bei, the Governor of Bing Province, has a memorial to present."

Liu Hong was so angry that he was completely dumbfounded:

"Hmph, what does he want? Food supplies? Armaments? Or an official position?"

He impatiently took the memorial and glanced at it casually.

But as he watched, his expression gradually changed.

From anger, to surprise, to disbelief.

Finally, he slammed his hand on the dragon throne and burst into laughter:

"Excellent! Excellent! Well done, Liu Bei! He has indeed lived up to my trust!"

Zhang Rang leaned over to take a look and was also stunned.

In his memorial, Liu Bei did not make any demands. Instead, he took the initiative to request His Majesty to send a eunuch to Bingzhou to supervise the army, and he specifically named Bi Lan, the Attendant-in-Ordinary.

Between the lines, there is nothing but loyalty and reverence for the imperial court.

Only at the very end did he add a few words: the money has arrived, and he hopes that some of his subordinates will become prefects.

"Your Majesty, this..." Zhang Rang was somewhat incredulous.

"This is a true loyal minister!" Liu Hong's voice trembled with excitement.

"Look at everyone else, they're all wary of me and the court. Only Liu Bei actively requested that I send someone to monitor him!"

"He has the Emperor and the Han Dynasty in his heart! He's a hundred times better than those scions of noble families who spout empty words of benevolence and morality!"

He immediately ordered: "Issue my decree! Liu Bei's request is approved! Order Bi Lan to depart immediately for Bingzhou to supervise the army. Reward Liu Bei with ten catties of gold and one hundred bolts of brocade!"

These rewards were still a portion of what Liu Bei had offered as tribute, ensuring that Liu Bei would see a return on his investment.

"Tell Bi Lan that once he arrives in Bingzhou, he is forbidden from acting recklessly or interfering in military or political affairs. He simply needs to keep a close watch and report any incidents to me immediately!"

"promise!"

Zhang Rang bowed and withdrew.

Meanwhile, at Bi Lan's residence.

Bi Lan was lying on a soft couch, counting her gold and silver treasures while looking at her design drawings. A servant was holding a glass of fine wine, and she was enjoying herself immensely.

Suddenly, a palace eunuch entered and read out the emperor's message.

Bi Lan's smile froze instantly.

"What? You want me to go to Bingzhou to supervise the army?"

He sat up abruptly; his world had collapsed!

What's going on? There wasn't a single word, it just suddenly stopped like this? Did he fail to complete his work and anger the emperor?

Or was it because those powerful families reported him for being greedy, and the emperor couldn't suppress it?

His face was filled with terror and reluctance as he faced the direction of the palace.

"Your Majesty! What kind of place is Bingzhou? It's a bitterly cold land, constantly at war, and infested with barbarians and rebels! I won't go! I won't go!"

The eunuch said with a forced smile:

"Attendant Bi, this is His Majesty's decree. Moreover, it was Liu Bei, the Governor of Bing Province, who personally requested your presence. His Majesty said that if you go to Bing Province, you will represent the court, and Liu Bei would not dare to neglect you."

"Besides, Bingzhou just won a great victory; it's overflowing with gold and silver treasures. If you go, are you afraid you won't reap the benefits?"

Bi Lan was still a hundred times unwilling!

He was a powerful and wealthy man in Luoyang, living a life of luxury. Why would he want to suffer in that godforsaken place?

But the decree had already been issued, and he dared not disobey.

All I could do was pack my bags with a long face.

I cursed Liu Bei and Li Chang a thousand times in my heart!

Why not stay in Luoyang? Why insist on sending me to Bingzhou to suffer!

When I get to Bingzhou, I'm going to make a killing and make up for all my losses!

As night falls and the air grows cooler, the fallen flowers of Luoyang turn to frost.

Bi Lan gazed at the palace in the distance, until all the twilight had faded.

He still had to go to receive the imperial decree and express his gratitude!