My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 145 Unexpected Changes
This morning, Qian Chun actually came looking for me.

After arriving in Jiangdu and discovering that the secret passage at the water gate was still there, the clever young man immediately planned to return north.

When they were halfway there, they heard that Liu Feng had already led his troops to attack Guangling, so they turned back to Guangling to look for him.

Finally, in Guangling City, he encountered Liu Feng.

According to Qian Chun's report, the underwater passage still exists and is unknown to others. He ventured in at night and found that the exit was still hidden and could accommodate dozens of people.

Liu Feng was overjoyed and rewarded Qian Chun handsomely as instructed, also awarding him a first-class merit.

Qian Chun was overjoyed and repeatedly kowtowed in gratitude.

This trump card is Liu Feng's trump card.

However, Liu Feng was still thinking about how to use it. Anyway, Liu Bei and the main force of the Xuzhou army had not yet arrived, so there was still plenty of time.

In the days that followed, Liu Feng reorganized the city's defenses, sent out scouts to investigate the enemy's situation, repaired the damaged East Gate, and used his wealth to compensate the residents of Guangling County whose houses had been demolished.

The Xuzhou army did not commit any offenses, and Liu Ye handled the situation well, initially winning the hearts of the people in Guangling County and bringing peace and stability to the soldiers and civilians.

Liu Feng also sent people to the Iron Official Camp to transport all the iron armor, armor plates, and iron ingots stored there back to Guangling County. He also sent all the craftsmen with him.

For a time, only iron smelting craftsmen and laborers remained in the Ironworks. Liu Feng also improved their living conditions by one level, giving them an extra 10% of their daily rations. He also specially allocated some medicine and established regulations that the injured could rest and recuperate, and return to work after they recovered. During this period, their food would be provided by the government.

These actions, coupled with the strict implementation by the new officials, surprised and delighted everyone in the Iron Official Camp, and their work efficiency improved significantly.

Everything was proceeding smoothly, but Liu Feng never expected that the biggest surprise would come from his own father.

On this day, he was having a meeting with generals such as Zhao Yun, Taishi Ci, Xu Sheng, Pan Zhang, and Zhou Tai.

They discussed drawing elite and brave soldiers from Zhao Yun, Taishi Ci, and Xu Sheng's troops to supplement and expand Rushan Camp to three hundred men, and then drawing elite soldiers from Guangling County to supplement the Xuzhou army.

At this time, there were still three or four hundred soldiers in Guangling County who were intact. However, these men were all loyal and elite, and were considered staunch supporters of the Li family. Otherwise, they would not have been able to hold out until the end.

At the same time, Liu Feng also recruited two hundred skilled archers in Guangling County and assigned them to Rushan Camp as auxiliary troops. They were also assigned to the role of archers and received relatively generous treatment, receiving one hundred coins, half a shi of millet, and half a bolt of hemp cloth per month.

Because of the fixed salary and the availability of the current hard currency of grain and hemp cloth, it caused quite a stir, and the quality of the selected light soldiers far exceeded Liu Feng's expectations.

This further solidified Liu Feng's idea of ​​building a professional army in the future.

However, you can't take too big a step, otherwise you won't be able to run and you might even tear your balls.

Before a large-scale professional army can be built, the problems of finance and food must be solved first.

Just when everything was going quite smoothly, a close attendant came to report that Liu Bei had sent someone.

Liu Feng was somewhat surprised. Calculating the days, his father should have already arrived in Gaoyou, and in another seven or eight days he should be able to reach Guangling City.

We don't know why they sent someone at this time.

"Invite him in."

At Liu Feng's command, the messenger waiting at the door entered, took out a letter from his chest, and respectfully placed it in front of Liu Feng.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Liu Feng nodded. His habits from his previous life had made him the epitome of being approachable and friendly in this life.

Anyone who gets to know Liu Feng will marvel at his humility and kindness, as he treats everyone with the gentle warmth of a spring breeze.

The messenger was clearly surprised and pleased, obviously pleased with Liu Feng's words of thanks.

Liu Feng opened the letter and read it carefully. His expression remained unchanged, but his heart was filled with great turmoil.

The letter contained two things. The first was to inform Liu Feng that the situation had changed.

Chen Yi, the prime minister of the State of Lu, sent a special envoy to request assistance, explaining that Guo Gong had attacked the State of Lu without cause and occupied the northern part of the State of Pei.

Although Chen Yi was incompetent and virtually unknown in history, he enjoyed considerable prestige during the late Eastern Han Dynasty, largely due to his father's name, Chen Fan.

Scholars throughout the land regarded Chen Fan as a role model, and naturally, they would consider it an honor to associate with Chen Yi.

Although Yuan Shao later surpassed Chen Yi, it did not mean that Chen Yi had completely faded into obscurity.

Guo Gong's attack on the State of Lu provided Liu Bei with a golden opportunity to intervene in Yu Province.

The problem is that Liu Bei also faces another golden opportunity: to recapture Guangling County and unify the territory of Xuzhou.

These two golden opportunities were presented to Liu Bei at the same time, and he would most likely only be able to choose one.

It's not impossible to have both, but the difficulty level is extremely high, and it involves a great deal of risk, with a high probability of dying from overeating.

The second thing is that Liu Bei was clearly tempted, so he deliberately stopped at Gaoyou and stopped heading south. At the same time, he sent messengers to urgently summon Liu Feng and Liu Ye to come and talk.

After reading it, Liu Feng opened the map and began to study it.

It can be seen from Liu Bei's invitation to go to Gaoyou that Liu Bei wanted to take everything, and the reason he had this idea was obviously because he was inspired by the capture of Guangling County.

In Liu Bei's view, with Guangling as a strong city to rely on, and with eight thousand elite troops, one or two thousand auxiliary soldiers, and several thousand strong men, as well as plenty of wealth and food, it could hold out for at least a year or two.

Liu Bei personally led the main force westward, overwhelming Guo Gong in both the quantity and quality of his troops. Moreover, he could easily sever the connection between Guo Gong and the Liang Kingdom, cutting off their logistics. At most, he could annihilate Guo Gong within a few months.

Then, turn your troops south, defeat Yuan Shu, and you can have both the bear's paw and the fish.

However, in Liu Feng's view, Liu Bei had become somewhat arrogant and overconfident, and his expectations were too high.

"Uncle Zhao, teacher, Mr. Ziyang, I'll leave Guangling City to you for the time being. My father has summoned me and wants me to go to Gaoyou immediately."

Liu Feng felt that time was tight, and besides, the work in Guangling had been sorted out, so he could just proceed step by step and there was nothing to worry about.

So, after giving a brief explanation and confirming the transfer of power, he invited Liu Ye over and prepared to leave with Zhou Tai.

Pan Zhang then jumped out to escort Liu Feng, but Liu Feng kept him there.

As the Rushan Camp had just expanded, how could Pan Zhang, as a separate commander, leave at this time?

Pan Zhang was reprimanded by Liu Feng, but he dared not harbor any resentment. He could only obediently stay in Guangling and vent his pressure on training the soldiers.

Escorted by Zhou Tai, Liu Feng and Liu Ye first took a small boat to Hangou, and then transferred to a larger boat, speeding towards Gaoyou.

On the way, Liu Feng took out the letter and handed it to Liu Ye to read.

Upon seeing this, Liu Ye was greatly shocked and closed his eyes to ponder deeply.

After a long while, Liu Ye opened his eyes again and his first words were: "Young Master, Guo Gong cannot be captured."

Liu Feng nodded in agreement: "Indeed, we can't arrest them."

"Oh, what a pity."

Liu Ye shook his head and sighed, "If my Xuzhou army hadn't already used up all its strength, it would truly be a golden opportunity."

"It's not exactly a great opportunity."

Liu Feng laughed and said, "If we take over most of Yu Province, then not only Yuan Shu and Cao Cao, but also Yuan Shao, Liu Yao, and Liu Biao will all regard us as potential enemies."

The combined power of Yuzhou and Xuzhou is simply too great.

Yuzhou was the most important province in the land, although its population was two to three hundred thousand fewer than that of Yizhou. However, Yuzhou was located on a plain with convenient transportation, and its population density was several times that of Yizhou.

Although the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Dong Zhuo Rebellion successively caused enormous damage to Yuzhou, resulting in a sharp drop in Yuzhou's population to less than half of its peak.

Even so, if Liu Bei had complete control of such a fertile province, it could have at least 300,000 to 400,000 households and could support 30,000 to 50,000 professional troops.

The professional army here is based on the late Eastern Han Dynasty, not the professional army of the later Tang Dynasty.

This is not nonsense.

After the Battle of Guandu, it took Cao Cao seven years to conquer Ji Province, only to discover that he had gained an additional 300,000 troops there, which made him ecstatic. What does this 300,000 troops mean?

First of all, it certainly wasn't 300,000 soldiers. Even with the conscription system of the late Eastern Han Dynasty, where soldiers were only provided with food but not pay, it would have been impossible for a mere Yuzhou to support 300,000 soldiers.

Secondly, it's definitely not just about people; the word here is "得" (de), not "有" (you), there's a difference between the two.

The most likely candidate is male soldiers, meaning that after taking over Ji Province, Cao Cao acquired 300,000 male soldiers who could pay taxes and fight for him.

Based on the Han Dynasty's ratio of approximately three men to twelve men, 300,000 men would roughly equate to a population of 1.2 million.

Including the population hidden by local powerful clans and gentry in Jizhou, there are still about two million people left.

Judging from the proportions, this answer has a certain theoretical basis.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Ji Province was the largest province in Hebei in terms of economy and population. Its capital was located in Gaoyi, Changshan State, but Yuan Shao was stationed in Ye City.

Ji Province comprised a total of 9 prefectures and 100 counties, with a population of 91 households and 593 million people.

This data represents the peak data before the turmoil at the end of the Han Dynasty.

Subsequently, Ji Province was severely affected by the Yellow Turban Rebellion, followed by the Zhang Yan Rebellion, the struggle for power between Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan, and the seven-year war with Cao Cao that began at Guandu.

Given the intensity of these battles, it would be quite reasonable to retain one-quarter to one-third of the registered households.

Based on this data, it can be inferred that Yuzhou, which was also a major disaster area during the Yellow Turban Rebellion and had experienced a major crackdown by the Xiliang army, likely still had a population of three to four million at this time.

This number would absolutely overwhelm Xuzhou, not to mention that Yuzhou itself harbors deadly poison.

Runan Commandery in Yuzhou was the foundation of the Yuan family, while Pei State in Yuzhou was the foundation of the Cao family.

When Cao Cao, who was born in Pei State, was fighting Yuan Shao at the Battle of Guandu, there were various rebellions and uprisings in Yu Province behind him. Not only could Cao Cao not get supplies of soldiers and weapons from Yu Province, but he also had to waste troops to suppress them.

Cao Cao couldn't achieve what he couldn't by holding the emperor hostage, so Liu Feng didn't believe that his family could completely win over the hearts of the people of Yu Province simply by relying on the Chen families of Chen Gui and Chen Ji.

Yu Province is a typical example of a double-edged sword. If it were to be on good terms with Yuan Shao, Yu Province would be easier to stabilize, and it does have a lot of manpower and resources. But if that were the case, would this be Yu Province belonging to the Liu family or the Yuan family?

After listening to Liu Feng's analysis, Liu Ye expressed his agreement.

Indeed, compared to other places, Yangzhou was more independent. Independence meant it was easier to submit. It did not have a strong local gentry to dominate, and the Yangzhou gentry were naturally inferior to the gentry of the Central Plains.

"If that's the case, then not only will you not be able to defeat Guo Gong, but you would also be able to win him over to form an alliance with me."

After thinking for a while, Liu Ye put forward a new idea: "If we can make Guo Gong nominally an ally but in reality a vassal, he is, after all, the governor of Yuzhou appointed by the court, and can rightfully inspect the various prefectures."

Liu Feng somewhat agreed with this opinion, but wasn't very interested.

After all, he knew that Cao Cao would welcome Emperor Xian of Han at the beginning of next year. At that time, Cao Cao would be able to control the emperor and command the princes. Whether Guo Gong could keep his position as the governor of Yu Province would be up to Cao Cao's word.

However, if these allies and vassals come easily, then it is certainly better than having none at all.

The waterway was much faster than the land route, and in just two days, they arrived in Gaoyou.

Liu Bei had been waiting for Liu Feng and Liu Ye in Gaoyou City for a long time. As soon as they arrived, he immediately summoned them.

"Feng'er, Ziyang, I intend to appoint Zilong as commander-in-chief, Ziyi as assistant commander, and Xu Sheng, Pan Zhang, and Zhou Tai as generals, to defend Guangling for three to six months. What do you think?"

Upon meeting, Liu Bei couldn't wait to reveal the plan he had been sketching out for several days.

“I personally led a large army westward to cut off Guo Gong’s retreat route on the shore of Weishan Lake and annihilate him within the territory of Lu.”

Liu Bei revealed a smug look: "I estimate that it will take at most a month and a half to save the State of Lu and then return south. All in all, it won't take more than three months."

"Father, I'm afraid things are not that simple."

Liu Feng was not buying it at all and pointed out incisively: "If we really follow Father's plan, Guo Gong's main force will be lost, and Liang's city defenses will be useless. Should Father take it or not? If not, it will be given to Cao Cao or Lü Bu for nothing."

Then, Liu Feng continued, "Chen Yi of Lu has requested aid. Father, should we send troops? Should we go or not? Lu is located in a strategic location, with roads leading in all directions. If we advance, we can threaten the heart of Yanzhou; if we retreat, we can shield the east of the sea. If we do not go, we will certainly not have such a good opportunity again."

"If we occupy Liang and Lu, then Pei is a vital transportation hub connecting Liang and Lu. It has abundant land and a large population. Father, will you occupy it or not? If you don't, Prefect Chen's father still holds the title of Chancellor of Pei. If he comes to you for help, will you really refuse?"

"In this case, even if Father has 20,000 soldiers under his command, it may not be enough to prepare for the newly occupied land. How then can he march south and repel Yuan Shu?"

Liu Feng's words were deafening and thought-provoking.

Following Liu Feng's line of thought, Liu Bei realized that he had indeed oversimplified the matter.

This is a series of interconnected schemes, each link leading to the next, drawing you in without you even realizing it.

Just as Liu Feng said, once Guo Gong's main force is wiped out, Liang will only have three or four thousand old, weak and disabled soldiers left, and its defenses will be practically non-existent. Can he really resist this temptation and watch Liang be occupied by Cao Cao and Lü Bu, while he leads his troops south to rescue Guangling?
Liu Bei pondered for a moment, then according to Feng'er's opinion, should our army continue south and first completely recapture Guangling?

"That's not what I'm suggesting."

Liu Feng had already considered everything on his way here, and now he recited the prepared statement: "The State of Lu must be saved, but Guo Gong must not be destroyed."

"The State of Lu must be saved, but Guo Gong must not be destroyed?"

Liu Bei pondered Liu Feng's words and suddenly realized something.

Liu Feng sighed: "If my Xuzhou had accumulated enough wealth for three to five years, I would be willing to guard Guangling for a year for you, so that you could swallow up the three counties of Yuzhou. However, although the prefecture has some money and grain now, it is just a drop in the ocean if we want to expand the army."

What Liu Feng was referring to was actually a theoretically better solution.

With him stationed in Guangling to defend against Yuan Shu, and given Guangling's fortifications and accumulated grain reserves, holding out for a year or two would be no problem.

In this year, Liu Bei could first eliminate Guo Gong, then take over the three kingdoms of Lu, Pei, and Liang. At the same time, he could expand his army on a large scale in Xuzhou, recruiting another 20,000 to 30,000 men. In this way, his territory would expand, his army would increase, and his finances would also increase, forming a virtuous cycle.

Moreover, the target is a county or state where the Yuan family has less influence. Once it is captured, and the family recuperates for three to five years, they will have enough resources to either sweep southwards to conquer Yangzhou or head north to confront Cao Cao and Yuan Shao.

Although the risks were high and the one-and-a-half-year hiatus was difficult to endure, there was still a chance to get through it.

However, the current reserves are insufficient for large-scale military expansion. Even if money and food are used to the fullest extent, the maximum expansion can only be five to ten thousand men. The difference is too great. Not only can we not make it big, but we also risk being overfed.

That's why Liu Feng rushed over to try and dissuade Liu Bei, worried that once Liu Bei got greedy, he wouldn't stop, and at that point, even the foundation of Xuzhou might be shaken.

"Exactly!"

Liu Ye agreed, saying, "Your Excellency can certainly raid Guo Gong's retreat route, but in the end, you must let him go and allow him to return to Liang safely with his troops. In this way, we can ensure that Liang does not fall into the hands of Cao Yanzhou and General Lü, thus buying us time to acquire Lu and Pei in the future."

At this point, Liu Ye paused, glanced at Liu Feng, and continued, "If we can get him to be on friendly terms with Xuzhou, that would be ideal. Even if we can't, we must at least ensure he retains the strength to face Cao Cao."

After listening to Liu Ye's advice, Liu Bei sighed deeply, finding it reasonable, and could only accept reality.

"In your opinion, what should our army do next?"

Liu Bei already had a plan in mind, but he still wanted to hear the opinions of his son and Liu Ye.

"Father, let Uncle Tian garrison Gaoyou, and then lead the main force back west. I will guard Guangling for Father. Within three months, even if Yuan Shu attacks with all his might, we can keep the city intact."

Gaoyou is an extremely crucial point. If Yuan Shu's army has sufficient troops, it can besiege Guangling while simultaneously sailing upstream to seize Gaoyou.

Once Gaoyou is captured, Guangling will be completely cut off from Xuzhou. Not only will it be surrounded, but it will also be isolated. The impact on morale and public support will be unimaginable.

Moreover, even if the Xuzhou army returned from the western front and wanted to reinforce Guangling, they would have to attack Gaoyou first. Only after capturing Gaoyou could they continue south to Guangling.

Therefore, Gaoyou had to be garrisoned, and a large number of troops had to be stationed there.

If Tian Yu can stay in Gaoyou, then Liu Feng can rest easy in Guangling.

Liu Bei didn't hesitate for long and nodded in agreement.

After final discussions, it was agreed that Liu Bei would lead 12,000 elite troops, including his personal guard, Zhang Fei's battalion, and Zang Ba's battalion, on a westward expedition to rescue the State of Lu, while Tian Yu would remain to guard the counties of Gaoyou and Ping'an.

Guan Yu continued to operate in Dongcheng, containing Yuan Shu's military forces in Shouchun and Liyang.

Liu Ye served as a military advisor and directly followed Liu Bei on his western expedition. Ultimately, the administration of Guangling County fell to Liu Feng.

(End of this chapter)