My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 105: The Great Victory Report
Upon opening the courtyard gate, one could see Fu Shiren leading several armored soldiers, each holding a torch, surrounding two other soldiers.

Upon seeing Liu Bei, the soldier immediately knelt down, took out a bamboo tube from his bosom, and held it above his head: "Reporting to the Governor, I am a messenger from the Prince's army. Yesterday afternoon, our army encountered the army of Chang Xi from Mount Tai at Hongling, and a fierce battle broke out between the two sides."

"Oh? What was the result?"

A hint of joy flashed in Liu Bei's eyes. He stepped forward, took the bamboo tube, opened it, poured out the silk scroll inside, and waved to the messenger: "You may stand up and speak first."

The two messengers, their faces beaming with excitement and joy, responded and stood up.

The leader continued, "Our army routed the Taishan army with just one charge, killing four hundred and capturing over sixteen hundred. We also captured the enemy general Chang Xi alive. The Taishan army was completely annihilated, with not a single soldier escaping!"

"what?"

Liu Bei had just opened the silk scroll in the bamboo tube and hadn't even had a chance to read it carefully when he, Qian Zhao, and Fu Shiren were stunned by what the messenger said.

Suddenly, Liu Bei flew into a rage: "Nonsense! Do you know that lying about battle results is a capital offense!"

It wasn't that Liu Bei lacked vision, but rather that this news was simply too exaggerated.

Liu Bei agreed to let Liu Feng participate in the battle mainly to give him some experience and let him feel the environment and atmosphere of the battlefield. He didn't expect Liu Feng to achieve any military merits; he would be satisfied as long as Liu Feng didn't get injured.

"Are you trying to fool me into thinking I dare not kill you?"

With two thuds, the two messengers who had just stood up knelt down again, their joy vanished, replaced by fear and apprehension, not understanding why Liu Bei had suddenly become angry.

Liu Bei was furious. When did his precious son learn to lie about the results of battle?
Moreover, doing this in front of Qian Zhao not only made him lose face, but Big Ear Brother was also worried that Qian Zhao would have a bad impression of Liu Feng, which would affect his future.

Although the two messengers in front of them looked fearful, they still stammered out that they were not lying and that it was indeed a great victory.

"General Xia, General Xiahou, also, also took Changxi to take over Zengcheng."

The messenger was clearly delivering good news, but his expression was like that of someone mourning, yet no one present dared to laugh out loud.

Liu Bei was about to lose his temper again, but Qian Zhao stopped him.

Qian Zhao pointed to the messenger and reminded Liu Bei, "Brother, judging from this man's expression, he doesn't seem to be giving a false report."

Following the direction Qian Zhao pointed, Liu Bei looked over and indeed saw that the messenger's expression showed fear, grievance, and confusion, but not cunning, and he didn't seem to be lying.

"Is it really a great victory?"

"It was indeed a great victory! I, your humble servant, would stake my head on it."

When even a mere messenger dared to stake his life on it, Liu Bei's anger vanished instantly.

After calming down, Liu Bei realized that he had been overthinking things. It was all that rebellious son's fault. Why did he have to go to the front lines? He had made his father worry about him from behind.

After giving his unfilial son a good scolding in his heart, Liu Bei hurriedly opened the silk scroll in his hand and quickly read it by the light of the torch.

After reading it, Liu Bei clapped his hands together, holding the silk scroll, and shouted, "Good!"

Then, Liu Bei handed the silk scroll to Qian Zhao: "Zijing, quickly look at the silk scroll, your nephew has made a great contribution this time!"

Qian Zhao took the silk scroll and read it quickly. What was written in the scroll was similar to what Chuan Qi had said.

Liu Feng's troops decisively defeated Chang Xi in one battle, even capturing the entire enemy army. The enemy west of Tancheng has been wiped out, and Xiangben, Lanling, and Chengxian are no longer a threat.

Xiahou Bo and Chen Dao led their personal guards and Chang Xi to take over Zengcheng, while Liu Feng led the main force, the wounded, and the prisoners back. They would arrive in Tancheng in two or three days at the latest to present the prisoners to the governor.

Liu Bei was now completely relieved, and the smile on his face was impossible to hide.

Qian Zhao was also greatly shocked. Liu Feng had actually won a battle with fewer troops and annihilated the enemy.

Wait, shouldn't Liu Feng only be ten years old?

How can a ten-year-old lead an army into battle?

Qian Zhao felt her head was full of questions, and she had many questions she wanted to ask Liu Bei.

Seeing Qian Zhao's bewildered expression, Liu Bei burst into laughter, laughing non-stop.

"Aren, take the two messengers down there and treat them well, give them wine and meat, and let them rest well for the night. Give each of them five hundred coins as a reward tomorrow, and then let them go back."

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

Fu Shiren respectfully accepted the order and left with the two messengers who repeatedly expressed their gratitude.

Liu Bei then closed the courtyard gate, pulled Qian Zhao back into the house, and recounted in detail what Liu Feng had done since arriving in Tancheng.

As he spoke, Liu Bei suddenly burst into laughter.

Liu Bei was already extremely satisfied with Liu Feng. He had a stroke of genius, was precocious, could make money, and could recognize talent. At such a young age, he was already able to govern a county.

Although Liu Bei released Liu Feng, Liu Feng's intelligence and information continued to flow to his desk.

Every night before resting, he would carefully read through the messages about Liu Feng that were sent to him, even if these messages were likely from yesterday or even the day before.

But Liu Bei remained enthusiastic about it, and thus he was well aware of Liu Feng's actions in Xiangben County.

On the one hand, he was also a little angry. This unfilial son had actually sidelined Zijing. At such a young age, he was already acting so recklessly. What would become of him in the future? Did he even want to sideline his father?

On the other hand, he was very satisfied with Liu Feng's governance proposals, and even felt that there were many merits in them, which were worth finding opportunities to promote to other parts of the state in the future.

While satisfied, Liu Bei also harbored some concerns about Liu Feng's military strategy abilities.

After all, these are chaotic times, and the most important thing is the handle of the sword.

But now things are much better. Liu Feng has delivered a perfect answer, which puts his mind at ease.

Liu Feng needed meritorious service, which was the fundamental reason why Liu Bei agreed to let him go to the battlefield.

Even if Liu Bei only had one son, Liu Feng, Liu Feng would still need to have made contributions if he wanted to succeed him.

Without merit, how can one keep arrogant and unruly soldiers in check? Without merit, how can one control veterans of two dynasties?

Despite Emperor Guangwu's immense prestige throughout history, he still went to great lengths to pave the way for Emperor Ming's ascension to the throne.

Liu Bei didn't quite understand it when he read history books before, but now he understands it.

Qian Zhao originally thought Liu Bei was trying to answer her questions, but why did she have more and more questions the more she listened to him?

Even if a ten-year-old child is clever, precocious, or famous, he is still just a child.

After listening to Liu Bei's account, Qian Zhao still felt that her head was full of questions.

However, Liu Feng will soon be returning to Tancheng, and I believe his nephew should be able to give him some good advice.

***************
In Kaiyang City, Zang Ba and Wu Dun looked at each other in bewilderment.

This morning, when the messenger came to persuade Zang Ba to surrender, he also brought along Zang Ba's good brother, the purpose of which was naturally to ask Wu Dun to come and help persuade Zang Ba to surrender.

A few days ago, Wu Dun abandoned the city and fled, which can be described as resolute.

Unfortunately, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to abandon his trusted and key personnel.

If he goes out alone, there is still a good chance he can escape alive.

But if you try to escape with two or three hundred people, the speed will be much slower.

Even though Zhang Kuang set off much later, he still caught up with Wu Dun on the banks of the Ji River. The two sides were vastly different in strength, and Wu Dun's army had no intention of fighting. As soon as they clashed, Wu Dun suffered a great defeat and fled in panic.

However, Zhang Kuang was unlucky and Wu Dun managed to escape.

But Wu Dun's luck seemed to have run out. After escaping the Jishui River, he encountered Zhao Yun lying in wait for him, and in the end, he was unable to escape.

In this chase, Zhao Yun was the one who had the last laugh, infuriating Zhang Kuang.

Who told him to chase after them for so long and fight such a hard battle, only to have the greatest victory fall into Zhao Yun's hands?

In fact, Zhao Yun was also covering the rear of the entire army, fearing that if Wu Dun successfully broke through, he would be able to surround Zhao Yun's troops.

It was his first time leading a battalion alone, so he was naturally quite cautious. However, he did not expect his luck to be so incredible. He managed to break through the encirclement and achieve a great feat by relying on his own abilities.

It is evident that the rumor that all spearmen in the world were extremely lucky, with Zhao Yun receiving one dou (a unit of dry measure) of good fortune and the rest of the spearmen sharing two dou was not entirely unfounded.

Wu Dun naturally denied this, and even vehemently stated that he had resisted fiercely, but was no match for the white-horse-riding, silver-spear-wielding man on the other side, but that did not mean he was cowardly.

Unfortunately, everyone's attention remained on Zhao Zilong, who was basking in the glory of his achievements.

Zhao Yun remained as upright and humble as ever, treating Wu Dun with courtesy and without mistreating him. Upon arriving at Chen Deng's camp, he brought Wu Dun over and explained the whole story to Chen Deng, without concealing Zhang Kuang's contributions in the slightest.

Chen Deng was overjoyed. Guan Yu had already sent a report that although Zhang Kuang had failed to capture Wu Dun, he had captured his family.

In this way, Wu Dun's entire family is now in the hands of the Xuzhou army.

It was for this reason that Wu Dun was invited by Chen Deng to accompany the messenger to persuade Zang Ba to surrender.

"Brother, I'm sorry."

Wu Dun lowered his head in shame. Zang Ba had given him Jiqiu to garrison, so that he could give advance warning.

As a result, the Xuzhou army suddenly marched north, and he couldn't even send out a single message. He himself became a prisoner of the Xuzhou army.

Zang Ba laughed, seemingly unconcerned: "What's there to apologize for? You only have so few people, do you think I expect you to be able to hold Jiqiu?"

Although Zang Ba clearly didn't blame him, Wu Dun still felt very ashamed. After hesitating for a long time with his head down, Wu Dun raised his head slightly and asked in a low voice, "Then, brother, what do you plan to do now?"

Wu Dun's words silenced Zang Ba.

What should I do?
Zang Ba himself knew that this was an urgent problem. Tens of thousands of people in Kaiyang, three thousand comrades, and his own sons and confidants were all at stake.

Zang Ba always prided himself on being a rational person, never having excessive greed or desire, and always being able to assess the situation and make decisions that were most beneficial to his group.

This time, however, Zang Ba felt that some emotion was interfering with his decision, making it impossible for him to make up his mind.

Yes, Zang Ba himself knew that Kaiyang had reached a dead end.

If we don't surrender, we'll only bring down three thousand of our comrades and tens of thousands of Kaiyang civilians.

But he just wouldn't give in!
Not reconciled!

Wu Dun suddenly raised his head, stiffened his neck, and said, "Brother, why don't I stay and help you instead!"

Zang Ba felt a warmth in his heart, looking at his brother with tenderness in his eyes: "Fool, do I need your help to guard Kaiyang? Are you underestimating your brother?"

"No, it's not."

Wu Dun lowered his head in embarrassment.

Silence fell between them again. After a while, Wu Dun's voice rang out again, but much softer.

If you don't listen carefully, you really can't hear it clearly.

"Brother, why won't you lower your price?"

But Zang Ba heard it, and heard it very clearly.

He sighed and said, "I just can't get over it in my mind."

After a pause, Zang Ba continued, as if talking in his sleep: "Think about it, half a year ago, when we divided Langya, where was Liu Bei? In Beihai, Qingzhou. He was called the Chancellor of Pingyuan, but did he even have a single county in Pingyuan?"

"And what about us? The entire Langya region has to defer to us."

"Even though Xiao Jian was appointed as the Prefect of Langya by the imperial court, who in the entire Langya region recognized him at that time?"

"Fourth brother, do you know what I regret most?"

"what's up?"

“I regret not leading the troops south to rescue Tao Gong last year. Even if it meant giving up Kaiyang and Langya, I should have gone to Tancheng.”

Wu Dun then realized that his elder brother was jealous of Liu Bei. He was jealous that Liu Bei had easily obtained the position of Governor of Xu Province, that he had inherited the legacy of Tao Yuanming, and that he had the support of the scholars and powerful families of Xu Province.

Perhaps they're also jealous of the other person's abilities.

Zang Ba probably believed that his abilities were superior to Liu Bei's.

But who could have imagined that Liu Bei, after only half a year of ruling Xuzhou, would already possess the strength to swallow up the foundation he had built up over ten years?

Wu Dun knew this was a mental demon, and he couldn't console Zang Ba.

But he didn't want Zang Ba to die in Kaiyang, especially since there were many people he knew in Kaiyang.

"Brother, I'll be going now."

Wu Dun stood up to take his leave. Zang Ba looked up in a daze, and it took him a while to react.

"Okay, then I'll take you out."

After Wu Dun returned to Chen Deng's camp, he told him Zang Ba's thoughts in detail.

This was not a betrayal, but rather a hope that the resourceful Chen Deng and Lu Su could come up with a way to persuade Zang Ba.

Wu Dun had only one simple wish: that his elder brother could survive.

************
When Liu Feng returned to Tancheng with his troops, Liu Bei personally went out of the city to greet him.

He led Zhao on his left and Mi Zhu on his right, and went out of Tancheng for two miles to meet Liu Feng.

Faced with such a grand display, Liu Feng naturally dared not be negligent, and immediately dismounted and walked to Liu Bei's side.

"This humble one, Liu Feng, pays his respects to Father, Prefect, and Uncle!"

In terms of kinship, Qian Zhao is naturally superior to Mi Zhu, but in terms of status, Mi Zhu is far superior to Qian Zhao.

Even if only Qian Zhao were here today, even if all of Liu Bei's men were here, the second person Liu Feng would pay homage to would only be Mi Zhu.

However, Mi Zhu felt that he would prefer Liu Feng to call him by a different name.

"My lord, your son is a remarkable young man. At only ten years old, he has already protected the borders and the people and defeated a powerful enemy. The Records of the Grand Historian states that Gan Luo became prime minister at the age of twelve. I am deeply impressed by him. There is no greater prodigy than him."

Mi Zhu said, "But after meeting the magistrate's son today, I realize that Gan Luo's appointment as prime minister is not worthy of praise. Only someone like you, young master, who can rise from general to prime minister, is a true hero among men."

Mi Zhu's flattery hit Liu Bei right where it hurt, making the latter burst into laughter.

Then, Liu Bei stepped forward and helped Liu Feng up, holding his hand and saying, "Prefect, you flatter me today that you are capable of both military and civil service. You have achieved some military merit, but your civil administration is still far from sufficient."

Liu Feng wanted to roll his eyes at Big Ears, "Don't you feel any guilt saying such things?"

Your son has devoted himself to the cause of Xuzhou, working tirelessly and selflessly, almost to the point of selling himself. How dare you say I have no talent or ability?

Who created those hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land outside Xiangben County?
Who recruited Lu Su, Xu Sheng, and Pan Zhang?

It's your brother Qian Zhao next to you, not your son me, he's about to defect to Yuan Shao!
But could Liu Feng say these things?
Obviously not, so Liu Feng could only say with righteous indignation, "I will definitely learn a lot from you, Prefect, and try my best to become a capable official like you."

Liu Bei was overjoyed upon hearing this and nodded repeatedly.

Even Mi Zhu's usually calm face revealed a perfectly timed, flattered smile as he glanced gratefully at Liu Feng.

Liu Feng always felt that Mi Zhu was actually very capable, especially in his ability to judge people. Although he was not as good as Liu Bei, he was still first-rate.

When it was finally Qian Zhao's turn, Liu Feng said with deep emotion, "Uncle, we've finally been waiting for you."

In short, Qian Zhao's heart was burning with excitement.

This nephew is so good at handling things; the way he says it makes him sound just like a real uncle.
"Do you blame your uncle for not wanting to leave with you back then?"

When Liu Feng went south, he wanted to ask Qian Zhao to go south with him, but Qian Zhao did not agree.

By then, news of Liu Bei becoming the governor of Xu Province had already reached the north, since Liu Bei had even sent people to fetch his wife, children, and elderly relatives.

But Qian Zhao was a little unhappy. "Brother, all you care about is taking in your wife, children, and elderly parents. Have you forgotten that your brother is still waiting for your conscription?"

After failing to persuade Qian Zhao, Liu Feng became worried and hurriedly dispatched a swift cavalryman to Xuzhou to remind Liu Bei to recruit Qian Zhao.

Otherwise, given the difficulties and dangers on the road, Qian Zhao might not even have been able to receive Liu Bei's offer of service.

It is evident that Liu Feng sacrificed a great deal for Liu Bei.

Mentioning this, Liu Bei couldn't help but blush a little, as he had completely forgotten about Qian Zhao at the time.

So he wanted to change the subject, and coincidentally there was a topic that he was also extremely interested in.

"Come, let me see the soldiers you've trained."

Liu Bei was in high spirits and urged Liu Feng to see just how elite the thousand Danyang soldiers he had assigned to Liu Feng were, that they were able to win a battle against overwhelming odds and wipe out Chang Xi in one fell swoop.

Liu Feng had no objection to it; he could also see that not only Liu Bei was interested, but Mi Zhu and Qian Zhao were also quite interested.

When everyone reached the flank of Liu Feng's marching column, Liu Feng raised his hand and made a gesture, and Xu Sheng shouted loudly, "Right turn!"

Immediately, all the soldiers in the entire formation turned to the right.

This scene left Liu Bei, Mi Zhu, Qian Zhao, and others completely stunned.

It's no wonder they were so surprised; such neatness is practically unacceptable in this day and age.

Fortunately, unlike my Qing Dynasty, most people in this era are divided into left and right.

Since there's no distinction between left and right, how do you identify left-over-right lapel?

If you don't know the difference between left and right overlapping robes, how can you distinguish between Chinese and barbarians, or between Hu and Han?
Therefore, the difficulty of Liu Feng's troops practicing turning was much lower than Liu Feng had originally expected, and the progress was also greatly accelerated.

"How...how did you learn this?"

Surprised, Liu Bei remembered to ask Liu Feng, who was beside him.

Liu Feng smiled but did not answer, and then made a gesture.

Xu Sheng shouted again, "Pay respects to the Governor!"

The entire army raised their right hands together, holding them at chest level, and then gently pounded their left chests.

"May the governor be victorious! May Xuzhou be victorious! Our Xuzhou army is mighty!"

(End of this chapter)