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

In April of 197, the Luo River began to rise. Perhaps due to the severe drought a few years ago, the Luo River was higher this year than last year.

In the council hall of the Jin King's palace, maps of the three prefectures of Yan, Yu, and Xu were hung on the wall, with river defenses, counties, and grain depots clearly marked.

The red ink outlined a false route of advance, which everyone memorized.

Li Chang stepped forward, holding his tablet: "Brother, the time has come. We can issue a proclamation this year to punish Yuan Shu!"

After two years of recuperation, the six prefectures achieved consecutive bumper harvests from their agricultural settlements, and the government granaries had enough grain to feed the army for five years. Armor, arrows, and armor were piled up like mountains.

Along the Yellow River ferry crossings at Mengjin, Xiaopingjin, and Aocang, provisions and supplies had already been stockpiled and were ready to be transported south at a single command, heading directly to Yan and Yu provinces.

The audience was thrilled by his words!

Even those who most desire a stable and peaceful life just want to stockpile enough food for a year!

After years of war and disaster, there was simply not much food left to store!

But they didn't expect that Li Chang could actually hold back for two whole years!

They even managed to reclaim half of Yanzhou!

Li Chang continued:

"For matters of logistics and scheduling, we often ask Sima Gong and Yang Gong to take overall charge."

Four others from the Jixia Academy were selected to accompany the camp for practical training: Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi, Fa Zheng, and Xu Shu, who were respectively in charge of grain and fodder accounting, document delivery, and laborer allocation.

As soon as Li Chang finished speaking, all the officials in the hall understood.

These four individuals were all outstanding talents of the Jixia Academy, and their fame spread far and wide at a young age.

They were sent to train under the guidance of two veteran officials, ostensibly to assist with logistics, but in reality, they were being groomed for key positions.

Everyone knows that these people will be the pillars of the court in the future. After court, they need to check with their families to see if there are any women of marriageable age!

"However," Xi Zhicai stepped forward to add, "...but..."

"Cao Cao of Jingzhou must be guarded against. Although he nominally recognizes Liu Cong as the King of Chu and claims to be the legitimate successor of the Han Dynasty, it is unlikely that he will ally with the usurper Yuan Shu."

However, if after our army fights Yuan Shao, he leads his troops north and reaps the benefits, we will be in a passive position.

Li Chang nodded, seemingly deep in thought, and came up with something that would benefit the country and its people:

"Zhi Cai is right. We need to send a skilled debater to Jingzhou to meet Cao Cao and persuade him to follow the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty and not dare to act rashly."

At that moment, no one present expected that Cao Cao would help fight Yuan Shu.

At most, they will only be able to profit from Yuan Shu's defeat.

As soon as he finished speaking, Fa Zheng, who was listening at the end of the line, was overjoyed!

Today was the first time I was called in to sit in on a meeting. I never expected to find out that I could be interning at the central government and hear such good news!

Fa Zheng stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Prince Jin, Grand Secretary, I hereby recommend one person! Mi Heng, Mi Zhengping!"

He desperately tried to suppress the corners of his mouth!

"Mi Zhengping is unparalleled in eloquence and sharp in his words, and is known for his arrogance. If he were sent to Jingzhou to meet Cao Cao, he would surely be able to provoke him with his words."

Cao Cao cherishes his reputation and would certainly not kill him; on the contrary, he would be so angered by him that he would be too preoccupied with his own survival to have any intention of advancing north.

Li Chang nodded emphatically and then made the decision:

"Excellent! Then summon Mi Heng, appoint him as a Han envoy, and send him to Jingzhou."

This was done entirely for the sake of the Han Dynasty, without any selfish motives!

After the grand court session ended, Liu Bei left his core group of civil and military officials in a side hall to discuss the strategy for advancing the army.

The side hall didn't look like a side hall at all; a map was laid out on a table, and everyone stood around it.

The meeting was led by Li Chang, Jia Xu, Cheng Yu, Xi Zhicai, and Sima Fang, with Zhuge Liang and Fa Zheng in attendance.

They quickly finished discussing the general plan and some details.

"I will personally lead the main force of the central army, departing from the two commanderies of Jiyin and Shanyin in Yanzhou, heading south to directly attack the states of Liang and Chen, and then marching straight to Runan!"

Liu Bei is positioned on the thickest red line on the map:

"Generals such as Yide, Fengxian, Hansheng, Lingming, Gongming, Ziyi, Zhang Xiu, and Li Jue all followed the central army."

This is the main offensive force, with the strongest troops, and the goal is to defeat the enemy in the first battle and strike straight at their heart.

"The Eastern Front!"

Liu Bei's teachings moved eastward and landed in the territory of Xuzhou:

"Guan Yu was the chief general, with Wen Yuan, Xu Rong, and Guo Si as his deputies, and Xi Zhicai as his military advisor."

"Leave Langya and Donghai to attack the northern border of Xuzhou, thus tying down Yuan Shu's eastern army and preventing it from providing reinforcements to the west."

"The western front!" The instructor continued to move westward, stopping at the western side of Runan:

"Zilong was the chief general, with Junyi, Hanmeng, Gaolan, and Fanchou as generals. They bypassed Dongjun and Chenliu, passing through the border of Yingchuan."

With great fanfare, they marched straight towards the border of Runan, feigning an attempt to flank Yuan Shu!

"Only make a show of force, do not venture deep into enemy territory rashly; just draw his western forces away."

The three-pronged strategy was clearly laid out, like three sharp knives simultaneously thrusting into Yuan Shu's Huainan territory.

Li Chang added in conclusion:

"The various departments and 120,000 troops, along with 300,000 civilian laborers, were outwardly referred to as an army of 600,000."

A proclamation was sent throughout the land, declaring that Yuan Shu had usurped the title of emperor, a heinous crime, and that the Prince of Jin was raising an army to punish the rebel. This preemptive strike aimed to shake the morale of the army and the people.

Liu Bei stood up and glanced at everyone:

"Gentlemen, we raise an army for a thousand days, but we use it for only one day."

This southward campaign will pacify Huainan, subdue Xu and Yang, eliminate rebellious forces, and bring peace to the realm.

Everyone bowed in unison and said, "Yes, sir!"

……

In the bamboo grove of Jixia Academy, Mi Heng had just received the imperial edict to go on a mission to Jingzhou when he burst into laughter, laughing so hard he almost fell over.

"Han envoy? I thought it was something serious! It's one thing for Fa Zheng to be petty, but even the Grand Commander is resorting to such petty tricks?"

He shook his head and pursed his lips, saying:

"Isn't it just because they're afraid Cao Cao will send troops, so they want to find someone to provoke him and make him too embarrassed to move?"

"A Han envoy? I, Mi Heng, know exactly how one should act as a Han envoy!"

Bian Rang came in from outside and happened to hear this. He leaned against the door frame and laughed:

"What? Is Ni Zhengping a coward and doesn't want to go?"

"Who said I'm not going?" Mi Heng suddenly looked up and flicked his sleeve:

"If the Great Han is in trouble, how can I not go?"

At this critical juncture of punishing the rebels, if I were to shrink back, how could I possibly have the face to condemn those who hold positions of power without contributing anything in return?

Is he getting serious?

"I know I cannot compare to Lord Zao, who tilled the fields for the country and the people, and died in office."

But I understand this principle of national duty. It is my duty to undertake this mission!

Bian Rang laughed heartily upon hearing this and stepped inside:

"Well done, Ni Zhengping! With such a good thing happening, how can we let you steal the limelight all by yourself?"

"I'll go too. Your words are too sharp; don't really anger Cao Cao. I might be there to lend a hand!"

Mi Heng raised an eyebrow: "Bian Wenli is going too? Aren't you going to proofread your books?"

"There's no day when I can't proofread books." He waved his hand dismissively.

"The mission to Jingzhou, where I confronted Cao Cao and defended the Prince of Jin against the rebels, could not have been accomplished without me, Bian Rang!"

After they finished speaking, the two went together to the Prince of Jin's residence to ask for permission to accompany him.

Upon hearing this, Li Chang immediately agreed!

On the day of departure, Li Chang personally saw him off at the south gate of Luoyang.

Standing by the official road, Li Chang, seeing the two men in their official robes, deliberately put on a stern face and loudly addressed the officials who were seeing them off:

"You two, it's one thing to be arrogant in the academy, but you must restrain yourselves when you go to Jingzhou!"

Cao Mengde and his subordinates are mostly petty and narrow-minded, unlike me who is magnanimous!

If we really piss you both off, we might chop you both down, and then the literary talent of the Han Dynasty would be diminished by half.

Upon hearing this, Ni Heng laughed loudly and reined in his horse:

"Is the Grand Commander worried about our lives?"

"I'm worried that you'll get carried away with your words and ruin important matters."

Li Chang glanced at him.

Bian Rang also laughed: "Don't worry, Grand Commander. We both understand."

The two turned their horses to leave, but Mi Heng suddenly reined in his horse and turned back to look at Li Chang. His playful expression vanished, and he said seriously:

"The Grand Commander personally saw me off, and today's words, in the words of the Grand Commander, have made Heng look at me with new respect!"

"Don't worry, we two know what the Han envoy should do."