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

That night, at Huangfu Song's residence.

After hearing Liu Bei's purpose, Huangfu Song sighed:

"Xuande, the entire court knows about Ziqian's injustice. But since the Ten Attendants are involved, no one dares to speak up easily."

"General," Li Chang said, cupping his hands, "we also know the difficulties. Therefore, in our memorial, we never mentioned the word 'injustice,' but only said that Lu Zhi's scorched earth policy in Guangzong trapped Zhang Jiao's main force and made the greatest contribution to suppressing the Yellow Turban Rebellion."

His Majesty values ​​merit over reason. As long as he perceives releasing Lu Zhi as a reward, not a correction of a mistake, this matter will surely succeed.

Huangfu Song's eyes lit up: "Mingdao, this plan is brilliant! Zhu Jun is my comrade-in-arms. I'll go find him right now, and the three of us will jointly submit a petition, which we'll hand over first thing tomorrow morning!"

"Thank you, General!" Liu Bei bowed deeply, his voice trembling with excitement.

The next morning, Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun took the lead, and dozens of generals who had quelled the rebellion, including Liu Bei and Li Chang, jointly submitted a letter.

The memorial only described Lu Zhi's military achievements and correct strategies, without mentioning Zuo Feng's solicitation of bribes and framing of Lu Zhi.

He stated, "If Lu Zhi had not trapped and killed Zhang Jiao in the early stages, we would never have been able to quell the Yellow Turban Rebellion so quickly."

The day after the memorial was submitted, Emperor Ling of Han issued an edict: pardoning Lu Zhi and restoring him to his original position.

The news brought jubilation to the inn.

On the surface, this appears to be a coalition of generals from the Yellow Turban Rebellion, but in reality, it carries the weight of a scholar-official alliance with the military, putting pressure on Liu Hong!

That night, countless things were broken in the Luoyang Imperial Palace!

Early on the third day.

Liu Bei, along with Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Li Chang, and Lu Zhi's old subordinates, waited early outside the gate of the Court of Justice.

Just after Chen Shi (7-9 AM), the gates of the Court of Justice slowly opened.

Lu Zhi, dressed in faded casual clothes, walked out slowly.

Although he had lost a lot of weight and had a few strands of white hair at his temples, his eyes remained resolute and his back remained straight, showing no sign of dejection or dejection.

"Father!"

Lu Zhi's eldest son, Lu Yu, quickly stepped forward, took his father's arm, and his eyes were red.

During the months his father was imprisoned, he traveled everywhere and suffered a lot. Now that his father has finally been released, he can no longer hold back his tears!

"My beloved teacher!"

"General Lu!"

"Lord Lu!"

Liu Bei and the others also stepped forward and bowed in greeting.

Looking at the young faces before him, Lu Zhi's eyes flashed with warmth as he helped each of them to their feet.

"Thank you all for coming to pick me up. I am unworthy of your kindness and trouble."

"You flatter me, Master!" Liu Bei said excitedly. "If it weren't for your guidance and mentorship back then, I wouldn't be where I am today. It is my honor to be able to do my part for you."

The crowd escorted Lu Zhi back to his residence in Luoyang.

Looking at the familiar plants and trees in the courtyard, Lu Zhi sighed deeply, looking even more weathered.

"Although the Yellow Turban Rebellion was quelled, the sky over the Han Dynasty became darker than before."

I heard in prison that the Ten Attendants are selling official positions and titles, even more so than before! His Majesty only cares about enjoying himself! And... well, let's not talk about it.

This city of Luoyang, though seemingly prosperous, is actually a volcano, ready to erupt at any moment.

He turned to look at Liu Bei, his expression changing as if he had seen a glimmer of hope in the darkness, his eyes filled with relief:

"Xuande, in less than a year, you went from being a commoner to leading eight thousand elite troops, quelling the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Youji, and even risking your own safety to save me from prison."

"I knew I hadn't misjudged you back then. The future of the Han Dynasty may well depend on young people like you."

Liu Bei quickly bowed and said, "Sir, you flatter me. I am unworthy of such praise."

"But, sigh..." Lu Zhi sighed and shook his head. After this prison experience, he seemed to have understood more things, but even though he understood them, he couldn't solve them, which made him even more miserable!

"Sir?" Liu Bei asked, puzzled.

But Lu Zhi simply patted Liu Bei on the shoulder, immediately changing his tone: "Xuande, have you prepared a welcome feast for your master?"

He didn't want the current darkness of the Han Dynasty to taint Liu Bei!

Liu Bei patted his chest, "Sir! I learned a skill from my fourth brother, so I'll cook for you myself!"

At this time, the Confucian scholar was almost proficient in both literature and martial arts, without a trace of pedantry, and without any of the saying "A gentleman keeps away from the kitchen"!

Lu Zhi laughed heartily, "Alright, let's try Xuande's cooking today!"

That night, the master and apprentice, along with Lu Zhi's son, didn't leave until they were completely drunk. And once they were intoxicated, they certainly wouldn't return!

It wasn't until two days later.

Temporary accommodation.

Li Changcai had Liu Bei convene a secret meeting with everyone.

"Zigan Gong has been safely released from prison; now it's our turn to take care of ourselves."

Li Chang looked at everyone and said, "In a few days, His Majesty will reward those who have made great contributions in suppressing the rebellion. What kind of official position do you all think we should ask for?"

Zhang Fei was the first to speak: "Of course! He'd be a general in a border region! Ideally, he'd go to Bingzhou or Liangzhou, fighting the Xiongnu and Xianbei every day—that would be truly exhilarating!"

Guan Yu nodded:

"Yide is right. Although the border regions are harsh, they are good for training troops. Although the Yellow Turban Rebellion has been quelled, foreign tribes still frequently invade our borders. This is the time for us to serve our country."

Zhao Yun echoed, "I am also willing to go to the border region. Bingzhou is rich in fine horses. If we can train an elite cavalry in Bingzhou, it will definitely be of great use in the future."

Jian Yong nodded, but did not offer any opinion.

Xiahou Lan took out the account book and did some calculations:

"Although the counties in the Central Plains are good, the powerful families and clans are deeply entrenched, and we, as newcomers, have no chance to make any progress."

Moreover, horses are expensive in the Central Plains, and our limited reserves cannot support many cavalrymen.

Liu Bei nodded, almost as if he were about to add, like Zhang Fei, "I'm the same way!"

Everyone's opinions were similar, and in the end, they all looked at Li Chang.

Even Liu Bei was the same; they were used to letting Li Chang make the decisions.

Li Chang has been thinking about this all along.

It depends not only on the development prospects of the territory, but also on the willingness of the team members.

Each territory in the east, west, south, and north directions has its own advantages and disadvantages.

But as long as he, Li Chang, Liu, Guan, Zhang, and Zhao have so many talented people, why should he be afraid of not having a good position?

At his peak, Yuan Shu was the warlord with the largest territory, military strength, and population, but he still perished!

Under everyone's gaze, Li Chang put down his teacup:

"In that case, we should seek the position of governor of northern Bingzhou!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback.

"Bingzhou?" Jian Yong exclaimed in surprise. "Bingzhou is a poor border region. I've heard that it's inhabited by both Han and non-Han peoples, and there are constant rebellions and wars almost every year. People are trying to avoid it as much as possible?"

"It is precisely because everyone else is hiding that we have an opportunity," Li Chang explained.

"Think about it, everyone. Qingzhou and Xuzhou have remnants of the Yellow Turbans and are controlled by local powerful families; the Central Plains are full of powerful families. Why should they give it to us?"

The south is too far, and powerful clans abound. Our foundation is weak, and our soldiers are prone to acclimatization problems; they won't be able to establish themselves there.

"Only Bingzhou, with its vast territory and sparse population, has weak aristocratic families, with almost no powerful ones."

Moreover, Bingzhou is known for its horses and its people for their fierce spirit. As long as we can establish a foothold, we can train an invincible cavalry force within three years!

"More importantly, the court in Luoyang is now rife with undercurrents, with eunuchs, imperial relatives, and powerful families fighting to the death, making it difficult for us to achieve anything."

Staying in Luoyang will only lead to being dragged into this sooner or later!

"Once we reach Bingzhou, we can focus on developing the people's livelihood and defending the Han Dynasty against the northern barbarians!"

Liu Bei looked at Li Chang, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

He thought about Li Chang's words carefully, and the more he thought about it, the more reasonable they seemed.

"Fourth Brother is right." Liu Bei nodded heavily. "Let's do as Fourth Brother says! We should ask for official positions in Bingzhou!"

Tomorrow I will go and ask General Huangfu and Master Lu to put in a good word for us before His Majesty.”

Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun were all overjoyed upon hearing this.

They originally wanted to go to the border regions to fight, and now that they could go to Bingzhou to serve as governors, it couldn't be better.

Jian Yong and Xiahou Lan exchanged a glance and no longer objected.

They all trusted Li Chang's judgment.

However… Li Chang looked towards the direction of the Luoyang Imperial Palace. The plan was wonderful, but whether it would come to fruition was uncertain!

Life is full of disappointments, so hopefully this time it will be one of the few.