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

Jia Xu did not answer immediately, but just smiled insincerely like a turtle.

Li Chang did not answer immediately, but only looked at Jia Xu, who was smiling insincerely like a turtle.

He turned his head to look towards the city wall. Although he couldn't hear anything there, the shouts of battle continued unabated.

"Mr. Wenhe, you've really misunderstood me!" He withdrew his gaze. "Everything I've done is solely to save the Han from their dire straits!"

Jia Xu took a few deep breaths, wanting to ask, "The Han Dynasty is basically fine now, so where are we in dire straits?"

If it weren't for Li Chang's actions, the people of Hanyang County wouldn't be in such dire straits.

Li Chang then changed his tone and asked a philosophical question:

"Mr. Wenhe, there is an out-of-control carriage with two roads ahead. One road will only kill one person, while the other road will kill five people."

If you could decide the direction the carriage would take, what would you choose?

How to choose?

Jia Xu thought to himself: Of course, I'll choose the one that won't hurt me, Jia Wenhe!

Li Chang ultimately did not let Jia Xu choose, and Jia Xu cautiously refrained from answering.

They looked at each other for a moment, but neither spoke. Some things don't need to be said too explicitly.

"However, there is one thing I must tell you in advance."

We arrived at the Prefect's residence.

Li Chang's tone suddenly changed again.

It wasn't the previous politeness and probing, nor the frankness and calmness of just now.

From the moment he entered, Jia Xu saw something on this young man's face that he had never seen before.

"When Wenhe first arrived, he first familiarized himself with the trivial matters of the army."

Li Chang said in a serious tone:

"I would like to trouble you to temporarily work with Jian Yong, Xiahou Lan, and Bian Zhang to manage internal and military affairs and familiarize yourself with our army."

"The fighting on the front lines involves Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Pang De; as for overall coordination in the rear, I'll leave that to you scholars!"

Jia Xu: "..."

He considered himself a great talent of his time! A veteran official from Luoyang, capable of strategizing and winning battles from afar!

I thought that after surrendering, I would be able to strategize and command the country!

I never expected to be crammed with all these trivial matters as soon as I arrived!

Watching Jian Yong buried in a pile of account books, Xiahou Lan constantly registering household registers, and Bian Zhang frantically copying military orders, Jia Xu's lips twitched.

The enthusiasm of Liu Bei's army is truly a bit too down-to-earth!

Helpless as he was, Jia Xu could only do as the locals do, taking the stack of documents and silently sitting down to process them.

They come, the security.

First, establish a firm foothold, then plan for the future.

Meanwhile, a thousand miles away, in the imperial palace of Luoyang.

Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, Liu Hong, was sitting in the makeshift Guoyou Pavilion, his brows furrowed, oh ho ho ho ho ho ho!

Years of war have left the national and private treasuries empty.

His long-awaited new palace construction has been delayed, and the palace is struggling to make ends meet. Even with the Ten Attendants working hard to raise money every day, it's still not enough for him!

Just then, a young eunuch rushed into the hall, knelt down, and shouted:

"Your Majesty! Great news! The urgent battle report from the military supervisor Zuo Feng, delivered over 800 li, has arrived from Liangzhou!"

Liu Hong's eyes lit up instantly, and after feeling comfortable, he put the beauty down.

Instantly breaking free from agitation, I became clear-headed and rational:

"Bring it here quickly!"

Upon receiving the battle report and unfolding it, Liu Honglong was delighted by the abundance of praise throughout!

In the battle report, Zuo Feng praised it to the extreme, and every single point demonstrated the power of money!

They made no mention of Liu Bei's army being trapped in an isolated city and narrowly escaping death, but instead focused on extensively publicizing:

Liu Bei and Li Chang, loyal to the country, led a small force of 20,000 to launch a surprise attack on Ji County and recovered the entire Hanyang Commandery in one battle!

He severely damaged 100,000 Liangzhou rebels, used a borrowed knife to kill the rebel leader Han Sui, and severely damaged Beigong Boyu!

The traitors' ill-gotten gains, including countless sums of money and grain, were confiscated and sent to Luoyang to replenish the national treasury!

All credit goes to Liu Bei and Li Changzhong for their bravery, skill in battle, and sound strategy!

All the controversies surrounding the dirty work and the confiscation of the wealthy families' money and grain were actually seized from the rebels!

Liu Hong was overjoyed!

He didn't care whether the process was true or false, nor did he care that the war in Liangzhou was still raging.

He only cares about two things!

First, someone has won a great victory, and it happens to be a distant relative of his in the imperial clan, which can bring him prestige!

Secondly, a large amount of money and grain were deposited into the treasury, which could be used to build palaces and fill his private coffers!

"Excellent! Excellent Liu Bei! Excellent Li Chang!"

Liu Hong slammed his hand on the table and laughed loudly, "Loyal ministers in troubled times are the pillars of the nation!"

With a mere 20,000 isolated troops, they swept away 100,000 rebels in Liangzhou and recovered a single prefecture. Even the greatest generals of antiquity could not have achieved such feats!

He urgently needed a victory to appease the court and the public, and even more urgently needed money and grain to fill the deficit.

Even knowing that the battle reports might be exaggerated or fabricated, he was willing to believe them as long as the money and supplies were real, and he had to believe them!

An imperial edict was immediately issued:

"By imperial decree! Immediately dispatch a eunuch to Liangzhou!"

Summon Liu Bei and Li Chang's troops and immediately return to Luoyang!

When the army returns, I will personally bestow honors and promote them beyond the usual ranks!

The remaining rebels in Liangzhou will be entirely suppressed by Huangfu Song!

He personally wrote the document, and a eunuch delivered it to the Imperial Secretariat.

In the Ministry of Personnel, some people still wanted to argue their case, but Lu Zhi also argued his case for the sake of his disciple.

Finally, the imperial edict was officially issued and sent by express horse to Ji County, Liangzhou!

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Just as the rebels were besieging the city, dust filled the air outside the city and horses thundered in the wind!

The vanguard of the famous general Huangfu Song arrived in Ji County.

"General Huangfu's army has arrived!"

The morale of the Han soldiers on the city wall soared!

Liu Bei personally went up to the city to direct the operation, and Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Pang De led their respective teams to break out of the city.

The battle raged for several days until Huangfu Song's main force arrived and crushed the enemy with overwhelming force.

A coordinated attack from both inside and outside, a pincer movement!

The 100,000 rebels were utterly powerless to resist.

The First World War was a resounding victory!

Bei Gong Boyu's remaining troops suffered countless casualties, and the remaining soldiers scattered and fled.

Without hesitation, he gathered his spying troops and fled to other counties.

Over the next ten days, Liu Bei's army, in coordination with Huangfu Song's army, advanced step by step to wipe out the remaining bandits in Hanyang County.

In just half a month, the entire Hanyang Commandery was recovered, and all the county towns were returned to Han control, completely stabilizing the chaotic situation in Liangzhou!

Just as military affairs were being sorted out in Ji County, an imperial edict from Luoyang suddenly appeared!

The imperial envoy, holding the document, entered the governor's mansion and loudly proclaimed the imperial edict.

Upon hearing the contents, Liu Bei was stunned.

He was full of ambition and originally wanted to stay in Liangzhou and follow Huangfu Song to completely quell all the rebellions and save the people from suffering!

To everyone's surprise, the imperial court directly summoned him to return to Luoyang immediately!

Huangfu Song stayed in Liangzhou to suppress the remaining rebels, and all subsequent events were no longer his concern!

Liu Bei was filled with resentment, but there was nothing he could do.

What left him even more speechless was the mindset of his 20,000 soldiers.

The entire army had traveled to Liangzhou, where they fought bitterly for months, defended the isolated city to the death, and fought bloody battles, leaving them physically and mentally exhausted.

Everyone was tired of the border battles and the mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Upon hearing that they could return to the capital, rest and regroup, the entire army cheered, their fighting spirit vanished, and they only wanted to return home as soon as possible!

With morale so low, even if Liu Bei had great ambitions, he had no choice but to compromise.

Military orders are absolute, and imperial commands are inviolable.

Li Chang didn't care at all. This was the result he wanted. He would leave the rest to Huangfu Song to handle. If any problems arose, he would come to Huangfu Song!

After three days of rest, we prepared to return home.

In the past three days, the situation in Ji County has seen another major positive development.

The various large and small aristocratic families, local gentry, and low-level officials in Liangzhou, who had previously been plundered by Beigong Boyu and affected by the war, have now come to a clear understanding of the situation.

Beigong Boyu was defeated and fled, Han Sui died, Bian Zhang returned to Han, and Liu Bei's reputation for benevolence, love for the people, not taking anything from them, and opening granaries to relieve the people spread throughout Liangzhou.

The small and medium-sized gentry and lower-level talents were afraid of being purged by the court after the war, and they were also unwilling to lose their money and grain for nothing.

In order to protect their family interests and future livelihoods, they all lowered themselves and shamelessly begged to join them!

A large number of local clerks, officials, martial arts practitioners, and village militia leaders from Liangzhou voluntarily joined Liu Bei's forces.

I do not seek high office or generous salary; I only wish to follow the benevolent General Liu, to escape the chaos of war in Liangzhou, and to seek a peaceful future in Luoyang.

Liu Bei was short of manpower and was too embarrassed to take money and provisions for nothing.

In just three days, Liu Bei recruited dozens of capable grassroots talents out of thin air and incorporated them all into his army.

The 130,000 shi of grain and countless bolts of cloth and money accumulated in the treasury were all loaded onto carts and taken back to Luoyang with the army, except for a portion that was left to replenish Huangfu Song's garrison.

Everything is ready.

Huangfu Song personally went out of the city to see him off. Seeing that Liu Bei had finished his reorganization and that there were more than 20,000 people, including some carefully selected prisoners, he was filled with emotion.

In just over a year, Liu Bei has almost reached the same level he had a year ago!

Too fast, too fast!

As the sun rises in the east, its morning light shines on the city walls of Ji County.

Liu Bei, clad in full armor, stood at the forefront of the army.

Behind him stood the fierce generals Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Pang Tong, accompanied by strategists such as Li Chang, Jia Xu, and Jian Yong.

Twenty thousand elite Han soldiers, gleaming in armor, marched with overwhelming force.

"All troops, march! Return to Luoyang!"

With the command flags waved and the horses' hooves thundered, the mighty army set off.