My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 198 Lü Bu Comes to Join Us
"A double trick?"

Chen Gong muttered to himself, while Gao Shun and Zhang Liao, who were beside him, also showed slight changes in their expressions.

"My lord, I find nothing laughable about what this young master Liu from Xuzhou said. Cao Cao is cunning and skilled in deception. How can I know that he is deceiving me?"

Gao Shun stepped forward and volunteered, saying, "This humble general is willing to lead a vanguard to probe the enemy. I request General Wen Yuan to lead five hundred iron cavalry to support me. I hope the general will grant my request."

Faced with Gao Shun's request to fight, both Chen Gong and Zhang Liao were somewhat tempted.

For some reason, Lü Bu just couldn't stand Gao Shun.

Even if the other party seemed loyal and humble, Lü Bu always felt that the other party was not one of him.

Upon hearing Gao Shun's request to fight and his words on behalf of Liu Feng, Lü Bu immediately became displeased.

“What your father said is wrong.”

Lu Bu rebuked him, saying, "You are also a general in the army. How can you so easily suggest advancing? The vanguard is the elite of our army. How can you so easily throw them into dangerous territory? You need not make excuses. You may retreat at once."

Gao Shun's position in Lü Bu's army was actually that of a guest general.

As a direct descendant of the Gao clan of Chenliu, Gao Shun's family was also related to Yuan Shao by marriage.

Yuan Tan's mother was a woman from the Gao family of Chenliu.

In addition, Gao Gan, who was also a member of the same clan, was Yuan Shao's nephew, and Gao Rou was Gao Gan's cousin.

At Gao Rou's suggestion, most of the Gao family went to Hebei to join Yuan Shao before the internal turmoil in Yanzhou. Gao Gan was even appointed by Yuan Shao as the governor of Bingzhou, and Gao Rou and most of the Gao family became his subordinates.

Gao Shun, on the other hand, was a direct descendant of the Gao family who remained in Chenliu.

Just by looking at how the Trapped Camp could produce seven hundred sets of iron armor in one go, one can see how strong Gao Shun's wealth and power are.

How could Lü Bu, who had a blood feud with Yuan Shao, trust Gao Shun?

After being reprimanded by Lü Bu, Gao Shun had no choice but to retreat.

Chen Gong and Zhang Liao swallowed back the words that were on the tip of their tongues.

After all, Lü Bu was the commander-in-chief. With a major battle imminent, if these generals opposed Lü Bu, then the battle should be called off.

Seeing Gao Shun leave, Lü Bu felt a great sense of relief.

After surveying the battlefield, Lü Bu pointed with his riding whip and said, "Gentlemen, look! Behind that forest and the left embankment, there must be Cao Mengde's ambush. Let's retreat first today and let his ambush suffer a bit. We can then conserve our strength."

In the end, Lü Bu surprisingly retreated back to his camp, much to Cao Cao's delight.

Throughout the day and night, Cao Cao's troops continued to return to their camp.

Overnight, tens of thousands of people rushed back.

By daybreak the next day, Cao Cao's army camp had grown to over 12,000 men, a force that was in no way inferior to Lü Bu's army.

Lu Bu still didn't know the specific situation in Cao Cao's camp, but he judged that the enemy had been exhausted and ordered an attack.

Since the withdrawal of troops yesterday, the slight ripples that had appeared have completely disappeared, and the battlefield in Yanzhou has returned to its original trajectory.

On this day, Lü Bu suffered a great defeat, being overrun by Cao Cao's infantry and cavalry ambush.

Cao Cao pursued Lü Bu for dozens of miles, forcing him to abandon his camp and flee in disarray.

Cao Cao sent troops to recapture the county towns of Jiyin and Shanyang.

Thus, the civil war in Yanzhou finally determined its ultimate victor.

Lu Bu no longer had the ability to launch a strategic counterattack and could only rely on the counties and prefectures in various places to make a last-ditch effort.

**************
The people in Xuzhou are unaware of this yet, and the weather gradually begins to get colder as November approaches.

On this day, Liu Bei was discussing with Liu Feng their plan to inspect the situation in Xuzhou next month, especially to see how Pengcheng was pacifying the displaced people.

Since Liu Bei took control of Xuzhou, he has never visited a county.

Previously, he had no choice but to act due to the circumstances, but now that the situation in Xuzhou has stabilized, the inspection tour will actually allow Liu Bei to have a stronger grasp of Xuzhou and a better understanding of the region.

Therefore, Liu Bei had the idea of ​​visiting counties.

If he were to go out to inspect the counties, someone would naturally have to stay behind in the prefecture. On the surface, he could entrust the task to Zhang Zhao, the Prefect, while the army would be led by Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Xiahou Bo.

Not to mention that Liu Feng was secretly stationed in Tancheng, so Liu Bei was naturally completely at ease.

Just as the two were discussing the time and route for their journey through the counties, Guo Jia suddenly requested an audience with Liu Bei.

After Liu Bei invited him in, he discovered that the man had brought some new news.

Guo Jia bowed to Liu Bei and his son, and then said, "My lord, I have just received two pieces of news. The first is that Wu County has been captured by Sun Ce, and the area north of Wu Commandery has been occupied by Sun Ce. The second is that Lü Bu suffered a great defeat and fled in disarray at Dingtao, and many counties in Jiyin have been taken by Cao Cao."

It must be said that Wu County has been resisting for almost half a year, and the weather is gradually getting colder, which is not conducive to logistics and siege.

Therefore, even Liu Feng began to doubt whether Xu Gong could actually survive the year.

Unexpectedly, Wu County still fell before the end of the year.

Liu Bei frowned slightly and pressed for an answer: "When did the city fall?"

"Ten days ago."

Wu County was captured by Sun Ce, and Xu Gong successfully escaped and fled to Youquan County to continue organizing resistance.

After several dozen days of fighting, Xu Gong was finally unable to withstand the Sun family army's offensive and fell under the sudden support of Sun Ce.

After Sun Ce acquired Wu County, he controlled at least half of Wu Commandery, including the most valuable parts of the region.

However, Sun Ce will likely need to rest for a while, and his army will probably be out of strength to fight again until next spring.

The continuous battles, especially the siege of Wu County, inflicted considerable casualties on Sun's army. Moreover, including the battles in Liyang and Guangling, Sun's army had not had a proper rest for more than a year.

"Fortunately, Prefect Wang has been watching out for us and helping us. He not only provided our prefecture with 20,000 shi of grain, but also sold a large amount of sugar cane to our prefecture."

Liu Feng suggested to Liu Bei, "Father, next time you make a deal, you might write a letter to Prefect Wang, informing him that in six months our army will be able to cross the sea to support Kuaiji. In this way, Prefect Wang can boost the morale of the soldiers and civilians of Kuaiji."

"good!"

Liu Bei nodded and accepted Liu Feng's suggestion. Only a fool would refuse such a beneficial and costless opportunity.

Afterwards, Liu Bei asked Guo Jia, "Fengxiao, what is the situation with Lü Wenhou? How could he have suffered such a crushing defeat?"

Guo Jia shook his head: "The specifics are unknown. I only heard that Cao Yanzhou besieged Dingtao for a long time without success and then seized wheat fields in Jiyin. After receiving the news, General Lü led troops from Dongmin to reinforce the area, clearly intending to catch Cao Yanzhou off guard. However, for some reason, he fell into Cao Yanzhou's trap and was defeated by their ambush."

Liu Feng sighed inwardly, thinking that Lü Bu was truly a hopeless case.

I've already written to him and reminded him so clearly, I can't exactly tell him, "Lu Bu, I'm from another time. Don't be a coward if Cao Cao's camp has no soldiers."
If that were the case, Lü Bu would have considered him a madman.

According to Liu Feng's thinking, since you, Lü Bu, have brought more than 10,000 men, you could at least send 1,000 men to take a look.

Cao Cao's entire camp only had about a thousand men, and most of them were sent out as ambushes.

Once these thousand men get up there, Cao Cao will have already lost. Even if there are ambushes, it won't matter, since the enemy's main force is just watching from behind.

"My lord, I believe that after this great defeat, Marquis Lü Wen is powerless to fight back, and it is only a matter of time before he withdraws from Yanzhou."

Guo Jia analyzed for Liu Bei: "In my opinion, Marquis Lü Wenhou and Prefect Zhang are most likely to come and join you, my lord. You should make plans as soon as possible."

Liu Bei understood Guo Jia's meaning; he wanted him to figure out his attitude towards Lü Bu and Zhang Miao as soon as possible.

Now, both Lü Bu and Zhang Miao are Yuan Shao's mortal enemies. If Liu Bei were to accept them, it would inevitably provoke Yuan Shao's hostility.

Yuan Shao's hostility was not something to be easily accepted; he was the most powerful warlord in the land. If he didn't accept him, how could he refuse him? After all, refusing the allegiance of Zhang Miao and Lü Bu because of Yuan Shao might have avoided Yuan Shao's hostility and resentment, but wouldn't it also have disappointed the heroes of the land?
If you are afraid of Yuan Shao and dare not accept Lü Bu and Zhang Miao today, will you refuse others tomorrow because you are afraid of Cao Cao? If so, will people still come to Liu Bei when choosing a lord in the future?

After pondering for a moment, Liu Bei told Guo Jia about the plan he had discussed with Liu Feng, and also wanted to hear his opinion.

"Send it to Beihai in Qingzhou?"

Guo Jia was slightly startled and hesitated, saying, "If we send it to Beihai in Qingzhou, it will inevitably arouse Yuan Shao's hostility. Moreover, if Yuan Tan raises an army to attack Beihai, Kong Wenju will definitely ask you for help. At that time, will you help him or not?"

"Preparations are made to go in person."

Liu Bei answered Guo Jia's question without hesitation.

Kong Rong and he admired each other and he helped him make a name for himself. If he didn't go to save Kong Rong, how would the world view Liu Xuande?
"Bei has already reached a reconciliation with Yuan Shao's envoy. Qingzhou, Beihai, and Donglai will respect Yuan Tan as the governor of Qingzhou. As long as Zhang Miao and Lü Bu do not rebel against Yuan again, Yuan Shao may spare their lives."

After thinking it over, Guo Jia felt that this was a helpless move. Liu Bei's acceptance of Lü Bu and Zhang Miao would bring more benefits than harm, while the loss of goodwill from Yuan Shao was a necessary price to pay.

“My lord, if that is the case, then you must inform Yuan Jizhou of this matter immediately.”

Guo Jia solemnly advised, "Yuan Jizhou is ambitious and fond of achievements, but he is indecisive and easily swayed by others' opinions. Your Excellency can bribe his attendants to speak well of you, which may have a remarkable effect."

Guo Jia's words thoroughly humiliated Yuan Shao, implying that Yuan Shao was both vain and easily swayed.

But it must be said that Guo Jia's words actually make a lot of sense.

Liu Bei already knew what was going on; it seemed he would have to prepare a generous gift for Xin Ping and Guo Tu.

As November drew to a close, the autumn harvest was largely complete in various regions, and the first batch of 200,000 shi of grain from Jingzhou arrived in Guangling.

After receiving the reply from Jingzhou, Liu Xian immediately sought an audience with Liu Bei.

The Jingzhou side indicated that they could accept the deal from the Xuzhou side, with only the price remaining as the remaining details.

After meticulous negotiations, the final prices for grains were set at 200 coins per shi for millet, wheat, and rice; 300 coins per shi for rice, sorghum, and soybeans; and 350 coins per shi for high-quality millet. Finally, fermented soybeans were levied at 500 coins per shi.

Salt was sold for 1200 coins per stone, coarse salt for the same weight of sugar, and snow salt for 12,000 coins per stone.

Of these, 200,000 shi of coarse salt, worth 240 million zhu, are required, while there is no limit to the amount of sugar and snow salt; the more the better.

Jingzhou promised to provide at least one million shi of grain, which, at an average price of 300 coins per shi, would be equivalent to 350 million coins.

Based on this calculation alone, Xuzhou would have to send at least 60 million zhu worth of sugar and salt.

As for whether to give frost sugar or snow salt, it mainly depends on which one Xuzhou is willing to give, so it is highly likely that it will be settled with 5,000 shi of snow salt.

Of course, if you really want frosting, you can buy it with an equivalent amount of gold, and there is no limit to the quantity.

Both parties calculate the value of the goods at the agreed price, then conduct financial offsetting, and settle the excess amount in cash and goods.

Today, the first batch of 200,000 shi of grain from Jingzhou has been transported to Tancheng. Because of the availability of waterways, the transportation is quite convenient.

Liu Feng actually wanted to expand the waterways in the south, but he lacked the financial resources and food at the moment. Otherwise, if he could dredge and deepen the Han Canal within Guangling, allowing large warships to pass through, the transportation efficiency would be even higher.

Liu Feng organized a fleet of ships to transport grain from Guangling to Xiapi.

Xiapi was a very convenient transit point, and the prime minister was Cao Bao, who was now deeply trusted by Liu Bei and his son, and was also Liu Feng's future father-in-law, so he was naturally loyal and reliable.

The arrival of the first batch of grain in Jingzhou brought a secret sigh of relief to Xuzhou as well.

If Jingzhou suddenly changes its mind, we can only rely on the more than 600,000 shi of grain obtained from the confiscation and the 100,000 shi of grain sold by Chen.

How can Xuzhou cope with so many refugees?

In just three months, more than 4,000 households and over 20,000 refugees have poured into Xuzhou.

It is foreseeable that the influx will continue to accelerate and increase in number.

If the growth rate doubles in the future, it is very likely that 20,000 households and 100,000 people will move to Xuzhou this year.

Even if one-third or even one-quarter of the rations could be used to sustain life during the off-season, each 10,000 people would still need at least 3,500 to 4,000 shi of grain.

What's even more frightening is next spring's planting season, when food supplies and seeds will be the biggest headache.

This year, Liu Feng's farmland will yield 400,000 to 500,000 shi of grain in the autumn harvest. In Qu County, he also confiscated a large area of ​​salt-owning land that was about to be harvested. These confiscated salt-owning lands will be able to supply at least several hundred thousand shi of grain in the autumn harvest.

As long as Jingzhou does not break the agreement, Xuzhou's vibrant and thriving state will remain unchanged.

As Liu Bei and his son had predicted, the Yangzhou battlefield brought great pressure to Sun Quan's army after the Xuzhou army crossed the river and entered Dantu.

Sun Ce had originally led another 4,000 troops to reinforce Wu Jing, and they captured Wu County in one fell swoop, putting the situation in a very favorable position.

However, as soon as the Xuzhou army entered the fray, they immediately turned the tide of the battle.

The previously crumbling Liu Yao coalition immediately stabilized. The quick-thinking Zuo Rong and Xue Li became more obedient, while Xu Gong fled to Youquan to continue gathering troops to resist Sun Ce. He even sent someone to contact Yan Baihu, wanting to attack Sun Ce from both the north and south.

Sun Ce left Wu Jing to guard Wu County and led his troops back to Qu'a.

At present, Sun's army has 20,000 troops in Yangzhou. In addition to Wu Jing's 6,000 troops, there are 6,000 troops under Sun Ce, 3,000 troops under Xu Kun who came across the river, and 5,000 to 6,000 heroes and commoners from Wu County and Danyang County who came to join them.

Half of Wu County cannot support so many people.

Therefore, Sun Ce had to leave enough troops to continue expanding next year, and he also had to dismiss some people, otherwise the five counties would not be able to support 20,000 people.

Fortunately, the sea route had not yet been cut off by the Xuzhou and Yangzhou armies, and Yuan Shu was still sending him a steady stream of food and military supplies, so the pressure on Wu Commandery was not great.

After Sun Ce returned to Qu'a, he sent his cousin Xu Kun with 3,000 troops to guard Dantu County, forming a defensive alliance with him. He then sent 1,000 new soldiers to Wuxi and Piling counties to ensure communication with Wu County.

Seeing that Sun Ce had finally calmed down and turned his troops back to confront him, both Wang Lang and Liu Yao breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Yao felt envious. At first, he thought Liu Xuande was just an ordinary person. Who would have thought that the other party was so good at fighting, and that he could even tame the unruly Danyang elite soldiers so obediently.

The fighting in Jiangdong has subsided, and the battle in Yanzhou has also come to a complete end.

Having lost the ability to retaliate, Lü Bu was attacked from both sides by Cao Cao and Yu Jin. Cao Cao led his army eastward along the Si River, while Yu Jin led his troops southward from Juye. At this time, Lü Bu only had a few thousand defeated soldiers, and the morale of his army had plummeted. His army's food supplies were also running out.

Let alone resisting Cao Cao, they were even incapable of defending the city.

Left with no other choice, he had to abandon Dongmin and rush towards Xuzhou, eventually arriving in Tancheng, hoping to seek refuge with Liu Bei.

A small change has occurred here. Although Zhang Chao, just like in the original timeline, is holding out in Yongqiu with Zhang Miao's troops and family, things have changed for Zhang Miao.

Zhang Miao did not take a few guards to join Yuan Shu in order to ask Yuan Shu to send troops to rescue Zhang Chao. Instead, he followed Lü Bu to join Liu Bei.

The reason for this difference is mainly due to Liu Feng's efforts.

The current power in Xuzhou is strong, and it is even more dominant than Yuan Shu. Moreover, it has a bad relationship with Cao Cao. This gives Zhang Miao a glimmer of hope, and he wants to come to Xuzhou first to see if he can persuade Liu Bei to take action.

They didn't expect Liu Bei to help attack Cao Cao, but they could at least persuade Cao Cao to spare Zhang Chao and the Zhang family's lives.

With this in mind, Zhang Miao, along with Lü Bu, Chen Gong, and others, went to Xuzhou to seek refuge.

When Lü Bu and his entourage arrived in Tancheng, Liu Bei, along with Liu Feng and others, personally went out of the city to welcome them.

Lü Bu was an exceptionally brave and valiant man, nine feet tall, with a face as white as jade, long arms and a slender waist. Judging by his appearance alone, he was truly a hero of his time. Compared to Lü Bu, Zhang Miao, Chen Gong, and others were quite ordinary, and even Zhang Liao, Zhang Wenyuan, paled in comparison when standing next to Lü Bu.

Lü Bu dismounted and went to greet Liu Bei.

This person is not only completely untrustworthy, but also has shockingly low emotional intelligence. He speaks and acts without any rhyme or reason, and is just a pretty face.

When Lü Bu saw Liu Bei personally come out to greet him, he was secretly delighted and said, "It is too kind of you, Governor, to come all this way to welcome me. How could I possibly accept such hospitality?"

"General, by killing Dong Zhuo and supporting the emperor, you will have rendered a great service to the world."

Liu Bei instinctively replied humbly, "I am but a brave man from the north. I am fortunate to have been given the temporary command of Xuzhou by Lord Tao. How can I compare to Marquis Wen?"

(End of this chapter)