My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 13 Big Ear Brother, Zhao Yun and Tian Yu, run!

But when he thought of Chen Deng's shared ideals and his unwavering support, he was extremely worried that marrying Cao Bao would cause Chen Yuanlong to distance himself from him.

Seeing Liu Bei's solemn expression and silence, Liu Feng smiled bitterly to himself.

Even after all this, Liu Bei was still concerned about Chen Deng's feelings.

Thinking about it another way, it's understandable. After all, Chen Deng should be considered the first first-rate scholar who truly believed in Liu Bei, trusted Liu Bei, and invested in Liu Bei.

However, Liu Feng had long ago made up his mind that this matter must be carried out.

Now that the truth has been revealed, Liu Feng has no choice but to persist until he achieves his goal.

Therefore, Liu Feng decided to increase the intensity of Big Ears Brother's training.

"Father, do you know that Uncle Zilong and Uncle Guorang are leaving?"

"What!?"

Liu Bei, who had been able to maintain his composure, finally broke down. He stared at Liu Feng in shock and disbelief.

Historically, Zhao Yun left Liu Bei after Liu Bei took control of Xuzhou, citing the death of his elder brother as the reason. Tian Yu left even earlier, after Liu Bei decided to go to Xuzhou, he left under the pretext of returning home to take care of his elderly mother.

Tian Yu hasn't left yet because of Liu Feng's butterfly effect, but Liu Feng knows that without a major change, Tian Yu will leave sooner or later.

"Zilong and Guorang are leaving? How come I didn't know?"

Liu Feng replied solemnly, "This is precisely where your mistake lies, Father."

"My fault?"

Liu Bei was initially surprised, then suddenly remembered something and became guilty, clearly having thought of something.

Liu Feng, however, showed him no mercy and directly exposed his secrets: "The other day, Father divided the six thousand soldiers into three parts. In addition to the part that you personally led as the central army, the other two parts were given to my second uncle and my third uncle respectively, and I appointed my second uncle and my third uncle as captains."

Uncle Zilong and Uncle Guorang had followed their father for a long time, remaining loyal through many lows and tribulations, truly showing their unwavering devotion. Now that their father has taken over as governor, he seems to ignore Uncle Zilong and Uncle Guorang, offering them no titles or honors.

In their eyes, wasn't their father someone they could only share hardship with, but not wealth with?

Liu Bei's expression changed several times, finally turning into a bitter smile: "I only have a little over six thousand men under my command. The war in Xuzhou has just ended, and we are completely out of money and supplies. Your second and third uncles were the first to follow me, so I can't possibly wrong them, can I?"

"That's not what I meant."

Liu Feng stabbed him in the back, saying, "Father's words are certainly correct, but right now we have four thousand elite soldiers at our disposal. Are you going to remain indifferent and watch Uncle Zilong and Uncle Guorang feel disheartened and abandon you? You must know that today is a time of great contention. Not only can the ruler choose his ministers, but the ministers can also choose their rulers!"

“Father, your lineage is already dwindling. The only ones you can truly rely on are your uncles Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, Uncle Jian, and Uncles Zhao and Tian. If two more of them are gone, who will you have left to rely on? You must not wait until Uncle Zilong and Uncle Guorang are gone before you regret it.”

Liu Bei was silent for a moment, then sighed deeply: "Feng'er is right. I have mistreated Zilong and Guorang. They followed me through times of crisis, fought in the south and north, shed blood on the battlefield, shared joys and sorrows, and never complained. Now that I am in charge of Xuzhou, I really cannot wrong them."

Liu Bei had to admit that he was genuinely tempted. These four thousand soldiers were officially registered; if they were under Cao Bao's command, he would still have to pay for their upkeep.

Now that they're under his command, it's like gaining four thousand soldiers out of thin air without spending a penny or a grain of rice, while Cao Bao's side has lost four thousand. This instantly reverses the balance of power by eight thousand.

Moreover, if the marriage alliance were to succeed, Cao Bao would become a relative of the Liu family by marriage, and Liu Bei's forces would completely overwhelm the Danyang faction.

Finally, Liu Bei made up his mind. Even if it meant personally apologizing to Chen Deng, he would still accept these four thousand men and retain Zhao Yun and Tian Yu.

Once he made up his mind, Liu Bei immediately regained his composure: "Then, in Feng'er's opinion, what should your father do?"

Liu Feng, who already had a plan, presented his proposal: "Father, please allow me to explain. I think we can divide these four thousand men into three groups. Two groups of one thousand five hundred men each will be led by Uncle Zilong and Uncle Guorang, and we will also recommend them as captains to be stationed in key counties. The remaining one thousand men can be given to me. The talents I asked you to recruit should be arriving soon. Once they are all here, we can put them to the test and select them for promotion."

Upon learning that Liu Bei had taken control of Xuzhou, Liu Feng sent a silk scroll to Liu Bei before Liu Bei even arrived, requesting him to issue a decree to recruit several people.

The first among them was Lu Su, Lu Zijing, from Dongcheng County, Linhuai. Following him were Chen Jiao from Dongyang, Guangling; Liu Ye from Chengde, Huainan; Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin from Xiacai, Jiujiang; Xu Sheng from Ju, Langya, and others.

However, Zhuge Xuan was not mentioned here. It was not that Liu Feng disliked Zhuge Wuhou, but that Zhuge Xuan did not think highly of Liu Bei. Even if he were recruited, he would only be turned away. Liu Feng could only make other plans, which will be discussed later.

Of all these people, Lu Su was a man of exceptional talent and virtue, possessing both ability and integrity. He was also the most sought-after talent by Liu Feng, whom Liu Bei was determined to recruit.

Of the others, Liu Ye has the lowest probability.

This person is wise, resourceful, far-sighted, and possesses a strong strategic vision.

Historically, however, he and Liu Bei were extremely incompatible. Despite being a member of the Liu clan, he was determined to follow Cao Cao. Not only was he unmoved by the Sun family's offers of service, but he also repeatedly advised Cao Cao to kill Liu Bei to eliminate future troubles.

As for Chen Jiao, Zhou Tai, Jiang Qin, Xu Sheng, and others, the key lies in two words: skill and speed.

Historically, Zhou Tai, Jiang Qin, and Xu Sheng all went to Jiangdong in that year to join the Sun family. Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin, in particular, were from the same hometown and were loyal to each other, joining Sun Quan's forces together.

Chen Jiao was from Guangling. He had sought refuge in Jiangdong, but ultimately refused the offers of Yuan Shu, Sun Ce, and others, and returned to his hometown.

This talent, as long as Liu Bei occupies Xuzhou, even if he is not recruited this time, will surely be able to join Liu Bei's staff sooner or later.

Lu Su was a capable advisor to the king, Liu Ye was a brilliant strategist, Chen Jiao was a capable minister of state, and Zhou Tai, Jiang Qin, Xu Sheng, and Pan Zhang, who had already followed Liu Feng, were all capable generals.

If Liu Bei could bring them all under his control and make them his trusted confidants, his original followers would greatly increase in strength, truly becoming a three-way force for Liu Bei to counterbalance the Xuzhou and Danyang factions.

This was Liu Feng's strategic plan to become Big Ears.

Liu Bei truly lived up to his reputation as a powerful figure. Although his abilities in various aspects were only above average, he was skilled at employing people and open to others' opinions. He was especially eager for talent, granting all of Liu Feng's requests and even increasing the gifts by 30%, his desire for capable people was evident in his words.

Liu Bei nodded. He had few talented people under his command, and the vast majority of them were scholars from Xuzhou and warriors from Danyang. Deep down, he was quite uneasy.

(End of this chapter)