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

Liu Bei immediately made arrangements for all the generals, leaving only Zhang Fei and Lü Bu behind.

This is not just about fighting a war, but more importantly, about pacifying the people!

Liu Bei looked at the two of them; their abilities lay elsewhere!

Zhang Fei was taken aback and asked, "Then what about me? Eldest brother, fourth brother, what am I, Zhang Fei, supposed to do?"

Lü Bu also asked, "Me too!"

Li Chang smiled and said, "You all have another important task!"

He pointed to Ye City!

"This city is easy to defend and difficult to attack; it needs two valiant generals like you!"

Zhang Fei and Lü Bu nodded in satisfaction!

They have no problem conquering cities and seizing territory, but appeasing the people? That's not their job!

……

That evening, Jia Xu and Cheng Yu were already waiting in the makeshift secret room.

The golden candlelight flickered, casting the shadows of the two people onto the earthen wall, making it appear gloomy and dark.

Sure enough, Li Chang lifted the curtain and came in again not long after.

The three exchanged knowing glances, understanding each other instantly, before starting to chat about other trivial matters.

Jia Xu didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point:

"Grand Commander, I have something to say that I've been holding back all this way."

Li Chang sat down, picked up the bowl of goji berry tea, and took a sip:

"Mr. Wenhe, please speak."

"The severe drought and locust plague in these four prefectures..." Jia Xu paused, his eyes fixed on Li Chang.

"How did the Grand Commander manage to do that? Was it a mistake, given the disaster in Guanzhong?"

Cheng Yu also asked:

"Yes, Grand Commander. The people are going crazy, saying that you sacrificed the heads of 100,000 barbarians and summoned drought demons and locust gods to bring disaster to Yuan Shao's territory."

We didn't believe in these unorthodox methods, but... this is too much of a coincidence!

It's only been a year since we last saw the Grand Commander, and sure enough, such a major incident has occurred!

"Grand Commander, what is it? Speak plainly! That way we can devise strategies to address these natural and man-made disasters in the future!"

Jia Xu patted his chest: "You know us, don't you? Have we leaked even a single detail so far?"

The two spoke very directly: Can you actually control natural disasters?

They dared to ask mainly because they had heard that Jizhou was spreading unfounded rumors, so they didn't have to worry about being blamed!

Li Chang almost spat out his tea, quickly put down the teacup, feeling both annoyed and amused:

"How could you two gentlemen believe in folk rumors!"

If I, Li Chang, truly possessed the ability to summon wind and rain, or to bring about locusts and drought, why would I need to fight wars? I could simply strike down Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and the like with a bolt of lightning, and the world would be at peace!

"Then why not?" the two asked.

Li Chang shook his head and explained seriously:

"This drought is due to the weather and climate."

In the past two years, there has been little rainfall in the north, and there was also little snowfall before the Lunar New Year. Our Guanzhong and Bingzhou regions have been building water conservancy projects every year, with many canals and sufficient water storage, so the fields can be irrigated and the drought situation is naturally mild.

In Hebei, Yuan Shao was only concerned with fighting wars. The irrigation canals collapsed and no one repaired them, and the terraced fields were neglected. With less rain, disasters naturally occurred.

As for locust plagues, they are common occurrences.

When the drought recedes, riverbanks and low-lying areas dry up and become hard soil. Locust eggs are buried in that dry soil, and the hotter and drier the weather, the faster they hatch.

Our fields are well-cultivated, and the people are diligent in pest control, so locusts can't cause any trouble.

Vast tracts of farmland in Hebei were left unattended, allowing locusts to multiply rapidly. When they flew, they blotted out the sky, becoming a plague.

After thinking for a moment, he added:

"And the so-called plague is not caused by any evil spirits. It is because the corpses are not buried and rotting, the drinking water is not clean, and the people are displaced and starving, which makes them susceptible to disease."

We can prevent it by burying the bodies in advance, boiling water, and drinking disinfectant.

To put it bluntly, these are all natural principles of the universe, not things I can summon.

"I just knew these things because I read a lot in the past, so I took precautions early."

After listening, Jia Xu and Cheng Yu looked at each other, half believing and half doubting.

The Grand Commander actually tried to reason with them? But it does seem to make a lot of sense!

If you say you don't believe it, Li Chang's explanation is so logical and reasonable. If you say you do believe it, it's just too much of a coincidence!

He can even anticipate things, as if he had planned it all along.

Jia Xu stroked his beard and smiled:

"Regardless of whether it was the Grand Commander's doing or not, being able to take precautions in advance and save the people is a good thing."

Cheng Yu nodded emphatically: "Absolutely. Regardless of natural disasters or human intervention, as long as we can win the war and bring peace to the people, that's enough."

The two exchanged another glance, and the same thought crossed their minds:

"It seems I'll have to write something down for posterity! Firstly, to prevent the Grand Commander from making baseless accusations and letting them take the blame! Secondly, to let everyone see the real Grand Commander!"

Li Chang smiled helplessly and didn't explain further.

"It seems I'll have to write more to leave a lasting legacy! Firstly, to prevent people like those two shameless scoundrels from spouting nonsense, and secondly, to leave behind a true picture of myself for posterity!"

The more you try to explain something, the worse it gets; the more you try to justify it, the more it seems like it's actually true.

As long as we can save the people and stabilize Jizhou, let them think whatever they want.

But who exactly tarnished his reputation?

"Let's not talk about this anymore." Li Chang looked at the map on the table. "Yuan Shao is dead, and the people of Ji Province are in a state of panic. We can't just keep besieging Ye City."

We also need to watch out for Yuan Shu in the south!

Throughout the entire process, they did not ask why Liu Bei was not allowed to wait until the two Yuan brothers were in internal strife.

Having followed him for so long, they tacitly knew that Liu Bei must be worried about the people of the four prefectures at this time.

……

Guan Yu finally drew his treasured sword!

A large blue flag with the character "关" (Guan) on it was unfurled in the autumn wind.

Guan Yu, clad in green robes and golden armor, stood on his horse with his sword drawn—he was none other than General Guan!

The unknown red horse pawed at the ground, but for some reason, it always reminded Guan Yu of Lu Bu's Red Hare.

Behind him stood 15,000 infantry and cavalry, with Xu Rong, Zhang Liao, Qian Zhao, Tian Yu, and others positioned on his left and right.

The armor gleamed in a continuous barrage, its murderous aura causing half of the locust swarm in the sky to scatter.

"Pass on the order."

Guan Yu narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly and pointed his long sword forward:

"Head south! Take Ji Province!"

"Here you go!"

The military order was given, and the army set off!

At this point, even Xu Rong and his group didn't see any problem!

With everything arranged in the rear, Guan Yu confidently entrusted Ju Shou and Zhuge Xuan with overseeing Youzhou!

They were tasked with overseeing border defenses and transporting supplies.

Guan Yu was single-mindedly focused on pushing southward.

With Yuan Shao dead and the various factions in Hebei leaderless, it was the perfect time to launch a full-scale invasion.

The northeastern part of Hebei is already in complete chaos!

When news of Yuan Shao's death reached the south, the local officials initially tried to suppress it, as if burying their heads in the sand.

When the truth could no longer be concealed, everyone was as if they had lost their parents.

The drought had been followed by a locust plague, resulting in a complete crop failure. All the grain and fodder had to be transported from Ye City along the Zhang River. Now that Ye City was besieged, the grain route was cut off, and the granaries of the various prefectures had long been empty.

Several Yuan soldiers were left in northern Jizhou to hold them back and draw their attention.

The soldiers were only allowed to drink one or two meals of thin porridge a day, and the number of deserters was increasing day by day.

The people ate tree bark and grass roots, and fled south with the old and young, hoping that Liu Bei's army would come to attack as soon as possible.

"Now that the Duke of Jin's army has arrived, does that mean we'll have enough food?"

"I heard they open soup kitchens everywhere they go, a hundred times better than the Yuan family!"

"The Yuan family is finished, what's the point of continuing to defend them?"

The people were already yearning for change, and the army had lost all will to fight.