My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 202 Better to offend Yuan than Cao

The following afternoon, Liu Feng was having a private conversation with Liu Bei in his house.

"Zhang Mengzhuo is also a headache."

Liu Bei leaned against the armchair and slapped his thigh, saying, "If he really speaks up, how should I, your father, respond?"

Liu Feng had just explained the situation to Liu Bei: Zhang Miao had brought the remnants of Chenliu to Xuzhou, but his younger brother Zhang Chao was trapped in Yongqiu County with his family and clan soldiers.

Without reinforcements, Zhang Chao was basically sentenced to death.

Given Cao Cao's ruthlessness, he would definitely eliminate any potential threats at all.

In the original timeline, Zhang Chao was beheaded and his entire family was exterminated.

There was no way around it; Zhang Miao had wounded Cao Cao too deeply.

Yuan Shao secretly ordered Cao Cao to kill Zhang Miao, but Cao Cao stubbornly refused to do so despite Yuan Shao's pressure.

Even in the most difficult times, when Cao Cao was forced to entrust his wife and children to someone else, the first person he thought of was Zhang Miao, not Yuan Shao.

Cao Cao had genuine feelings for Zhang Miao.

However, the deeper the love, the more intense the hatred, especially for someone as mentally sensitive as Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was inherently suspicious, so the fact that he trusted Zhang Miao so much was already an unprecedented level of friendship. Yet, Zhang Miao betrayed him and plotted to kill him.

How could Cao Cao not hate him to the bone and grit his teeth?

Zhang Miao was different from Chen Gong; Zhang Miao was his childhood friend, his closest confidant, and his business partner.

Chen Gong was essentially just an employee.

Bosses can be incredibly kind to their employees, especially capable ones; as long as they bring in profits, it doesn't matter if they come and go from the company a few times. But no boss is indifferent to a partner's betrayal; most would rather the other person suffer a terrible fate.

Zhang Miao's visit was definitely intended to borrow troops; otherwise, Zhang Chao and his family would surely perish.

However, this one problem proved to be very troublesome for Liu Bei to handle.

The first question is whether to lend it or not. If you don't lend it, then that's the end of the matter.

However, Liu Bei could not choose this option at all.

Even if he were to go to war with Yuan Shao directly, he would still have to lend troops to Zhang Miao to rescue his brother and family, just as Liu Bei had to take in Lü Bu.

Since both Zhang Miao and Lü Bu had been kind to Liu Bei, and Liu Bei had neither a family background nor a patron, could he really rise to power just by relying on his status as a member of the Han imperial family?

That's impossible. The least valuable thing Liu Bei had was that he was a member of the Han imperial family. Everyone in his hometown village was a member of the Han imperial family!

The two words that Liu Bei truly relied on to make Zhaolie (Liu Bei) were benevolence and virtue!
In the original timeline, his rescue of Kong Rong was for the sake of benevolence, his relief of Xuzhou was also for the sake of benevolence, and his harboring of Lü Bu was still for the sake of benevolence. At the walls of Xiangyang, his refusal of Zhuge Liang's surprise attack on Xiangyang and his strategy to control Liu Cong were still for the sake of benevolence.

Throughout his life, the person Liu Bei wronged the most was Liu Zhang, a fact he himself admitted, and which he used as evidence of his lack of virtue.

Before entering Shu, Liu Bei was truly benevolent for most of his life.

The reason Liu Bei clung so tightly to benevolence and virtue was that it was the only banner he had left.

Lacking a family background, he was looked down upon by scions of prominent families and noble clans; lacking a patron, he was looked down upon by high-ranking officials within the old system.

Therefore, he could only rely on his benevolence to attract the elite among the poor to join him, and to win over defeated warlords like Tao Qian.

This is also the true meaning behind Liu Bei's saying that every time he colluded with Cao Cao, his plans would succeed.

In modern terms, this is called opening up new tracks, creating new functions, and escaping the red ocean competition.

On the surface, it seems that Liu Bei is the one who can defeat his boss, and whoever he associates with will be the one who suffers the most.

But the truth is that Liu Bei was extremely cost-effective, and everyone loved the Liu Bei-style doorman.

Therefore, if Liu Bei does not help Zhang Miao today, his reputation for benevolence and righteousness will collapse, and the poor but talented people who originally followed him or wanted to come and join him will be disappointed.

How could Liu Bei, who valued profit more than benevolence, compare himself to Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, and even be considered equal to them?

Do you have their family background, reputation, students, or former subordinates?
Liu Bei was indeed very intelligent, and his benevolence was genuine. Until he entered Shu, wherever he went, no matter how difficult his situation, he always thought of doing something practical for the people. This is why the people of Pingyuan, Yuzhou, Xuzhou, and Jingbei always remembered Liu Bei fondly. Moreover, Liu Bei was the only warlord in the Three Kingdoms period who was recorded as never massacring civilians or looting cities.

Even when they entered Shu and captured Chengdu, they used the money from the treasury to reward the army, and did not directly plunder.

However, his benevolence was also deliberate, intended to avoid the fiercely competitive red ocean market dominated by Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, and to specialize in his own new path. No wonder he was able to achieve great success in the end.

Therefore, Liu Bei actually had no room to refuse Zhang Miao's request.

Since we can't refuse, instead of letting Zhang Miao squander our troops, we might as well try to do better.

“Father, I think it would be better for us to directly approach Cao Cao and ask him to spare Zhang Chao’s life, rather than lending him troops. Then we can send troops to help him leave Yanzhou.”

Yongqiu County, where Zhang Chao was located, was situated in the southern part of Chenliu Commandery in southwestern Yanzhou, only a little over a hundred li away from Liang State, separated only by the Sui River and Xiangyi County.

However, without Liu Bei's intervention, Zhang Chao's wish for his entire family to walk out of this seemingly short distance would have been nothing short of a pipe dream.

Because the famous hostage general Xiahou Dun had long been stationed in Xiangyi County to cultivate land, he not only restrained part of Zhang Miao's army in the surrounding area, but also supplied Cao Cao with a large amount of military food during the Battle of Dingtao.

Therefore, it is clear that Xiahou Dun's promotion was well-deserved. It was not that he had no merit, but rather that his merit was hidden from view.

Will Cao Mengde listen to my advice?

Liu Bei frowned, actually feeling a little uneasy. Back in Hebei, he had suffered quite a bit at Cao Cao's hands.

At that time, he cooperated with the armies of Shan Jing, Tian Kai, and Tao Qian, but was utterly defeated by Cao Cao, a defeat that left a deep scar.

Therefore, although Xuzhou's strength is currently growing rapidly, with well-trained troops and ample supplies, Liu Bei is still very cautious about actually going to war with Cao Cao.

"You deserve a generous gift."

Liu Feng stroked his smooth chin: "We have repeatedly pressured Cao Cao before, whether in Rencheng or in Yuzhou, he has yielded and endured because of Lü Bu. But now that we have completely defeated Lü Bu, Cao Cao is like a trapped dragon emerging from the abyss. If it weren't for the lack of food, he would probably have already caused trouble for our Xuzhou."

"Therefore, rescuing Zhang Chao at this moment is indeed extremely difficult, so we must offer a generous gift."

In reality, the current situation is still that Liu Bei is stronger than Cao Cao, but the real Cao Cao is a flesh-and-blood, emotional figure, not the wise and powerful, cold-blooded and calculating Emperor Wu of Wei in history books.

Cao Cao had always harbored resentment towards Xuzhou, and Liu Bei and his son did not want to provoke him into a fight.

Liu Feng even felt that Cao Cao's reaction when he heard that Xuzhou wanted to take in Zhang Miao was too unpredictable. He hoped that Xun Yu, Cheng Yu and Xi Zhicai's advice would be effective, but this would have to be based on offering generous gifts.

"What generous gift?"

"I have heard that Xi Zhicai is highly regarded by Cao Cao, but he is seriously ill. We can send him to Xuzhou for treatment to establish good relations with Cao Cao of Yanzhou. At the same time, we can also raise a batch of sugar, salt, and grain, no less than 20,000 shi. I believe this should be enough to win the understanding of Cao Cao of Yanzhou."

Although Cao Cao has defeated Lü Bu, the situation is still not good.

If it weren't for the generous assistance of Yuan Shao, the top-ranking figure, who scrimped and saved and provided substantial amounts of food and troops, he wouldn't have been able to survive the year.

Right now, Yanzhou is plagued by famine and small-scale locust plagues. There are corpses everywhere in and around the city, and disease is rampant. It's hard to say when a plague might break out.

Most importantly, Cao Cao was desperately short of food; even the rats in his granaries had starved to death. Therefore, as long as Cao Cao wasn't provoked, there was still room for negotiation.

Liu Bei felt a pang of heartache. He knew all too well how difficult it was to procure grain, and now he had to allocate more than 20,000 shi of grain all at once, which made him feel the pinch.

"Father, it was still worth it."

Liu Feng advised, "Zhang Miao is also a renowned scholar. If we can save his life, the famous scholars of Yan and Yu will be grateful to Xuzhou and my father."

"This is the only way forward for now."

Liu Bei was quite decisive. Although he was somewhat reluctant, once he accepted Liu Feng's idea, he immediately made a decision: "Then let Gongyou go and see Mengde."

Then Liu Bei asked, "What about Lü Bu? Why must we send him to Qingzhou? Wouldn't it be better to send him to Yuzhou, at least so as not to provoke Yuan Shao so much?"

Liu Feng smiled bitterly and said, "Father, if Lü Bu were placed in Yuzhou, which is located in the Central Plains and has convenient transportation in all directions, what kind of trouble do you think Lü Bu could cause with his brain? If we throw him into Donglai, which is surrounded by water on three sides and Kong Beihai on the other side, if he dares to touch Kong Beihai, then he will be turning against Xuzhou."

“But Yuzhou is bordered by Cao Cao to the north, Liu Biao to the left, and Yuan Shu to the south. Moreover, Lü Bu is a ruthless and faithless man. He can be so friendly with you today, but he can betray you without any scruples tomorrow.”

"At the same time, the Bingzhou army has extremely poor discipline. If he is left in Yuzhou, he will send troops to plunder the local area. Father, will you intervene or not? If you intervene, he will resent you. If you do not intervene, not only will your reputation be damaged, but Lü Bu will also think that you are weak and easy to bully."

"Not to mention that Cao Cao hates Lü Bu to the bone, and he has a legitimate reason to attack. If we put Lü Wenhou in Yuzhou, wouldn't that be giving Cao Yanzhou a huge gift for nothing, allowing him to enter Yuzhou under the guise of revenge and expand his power? You don't really think that this Lü Wenhou can be a match for Cao Yanzhou, do you? If he could really defeat Cao Yanzhou, why would he come to my Xuzhou?"

"Furthermore, to be frank, offending Cao Cao would be a much greater loss than offending Yuan Shao."

Liu Bei initially didn't understand Liu Feng's meaning, thinking that Liu Feng had said it backwards, but he realized it after being reminded.

“Yuan Shao is powerful, while Cao Cao is weak. We and Cao Cao are both in Henan. If Yuan Shao goes south, we may have a chance to join forces against him. But if we offend Cao Cao, no matter who wins, Yuan Shao will ultimately benefit. His power will grow stronger. I have only ever heard of two weak people joining forces to fight against a strong one. I have never heard of a strong and weak people forming an equal and stable alliance.”

"When Yuan Shao marched south, what difference was there between making an alliance with him and surrendering with bare hands?"

"Taking in Lü Bu and Zhang Miao is already enough to offend Cao Cao. I would rather send Lü Bu to Donglai to provoke Yuan Ji Province than provoke Cao Yan Province again, and I don't want to give Cao Yan Province a pretext to attack me."

"Besides, the best solution is probably to send a scourge like Lü Wenhou to Donglai to keep him in captivity as soon as possible, and then release him when Yuan Shao marches south."

Liu Bei suddenly realized that after listening to Liu Feng's analysis, Lü Bu indeed could not be allowed to go to Yuzhou.

Otherwise, who knows what trouble Lü Bu could cause in Yuzhou? Moreover, Yuzhou is right above Yangzhou. With such an "ally" who could betray them at any time, how could the Xuzhou army feel safe marching south to Yangzhou?

Moreover, if Cao Cao chases Lü Bu into Yu Province, should the Xu Province army go to his rescue?
If they were to rescue Lü Bu, they would not only be wasting the diplomatic gains they had made in negotiations with Cao Cao, but they would also be making themselves the party that broke the agreement, and would also create the situation of the great war between Yan and Xu that Xu Province desperately wants to see.

Isn't this just making things difficult for myself?
"So what exactly is the plan for Marquis Lü Wen? Will he really be sent to Qingzhou?"

Liu Bei asked with some concern, "Won't this offend Yuan Shao too much?"

Liu Bei clearly agreed with the opinion that Cao Cao should not be provoked any further, but he also did not want to provoke Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao was about to unify Hebei, and such a behemoth would make anyone feel afraid.

But Liu Feng was the only exception.

He was prepared for this.

In fact, Liu Bei's worries were completely unnecessary.

For two important reasons.

The first point is the issue of time.

Before 199 AD, the relationship between Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao was one of mutual antagonism, with Yuan Shao terrified by Gongsun Zan's attacks.

In the second year of Xingping (195 AD), which is the latter half of this year, Gongsun Zan defeated Ju Yi in Yi County, seized all of Ju Yi's carriages and horses, captured and killed thousands of people, and seized all the large carts and supplies.

This incident has actually already happened, but the news hasn't reached Xuzhou yet.

In this battle, the thousands of men Yuan Shao lost were not ordinary soldiers, but true professional soldiers who had tasted blood on the front lines. They were all battle-hardened elites who had decisively defeated Gongsun's army in the battles of Jieqiao and Longcou.

The loss of these people was devastating for both Ju Yi and Yuan Shao, and it would be difficult to make up for it.

At the same time, all the large wagons and supplies were lost, all gone in one fell swoop.

These were equipped according to the standard of 100,000 men, because they were prepared at the beginning of the year when Xianyu Fujun and his 100,000-strong army besieged Yi County.

Later, when Xianyu Fu ran out of supplies and retreated, Ju Yi still refused to give up and sent out the last wave of troops.

This happened several times in the following years. Yuan Shao was so upset by Gongsun Zan that he repeatedly sought peace with Gongsun Zan as the stronger party, but Gongsun Zan refused to agree. Therefore, Yuan Shao had no strength to invade Xuzhou before he could completely eliminate Gongsun Zan.

Another key point is that Yuan Shao completely annihilated Gongsun Zan in April of the fourth year of Jian'an (199 AD), and the latter died by self-immolation.

In June of the same year, Yuan Shao gathered 100,000 elite troops and began his southward march to Xuchang, completely turning against Cao Cao.

Was the relationship between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao not good enough?

Not only were they childhood friends, but he was also the top brother in the family. After Cao Cao seized the emperor to command the other warlords, he had to obediently hand over the position of general to Yuan Shao.

And so, without even a moment's hesitation, Yuan Shao turned against them and headed south.

Many people were deceived by the novel and thought that Yuan Shao was indecisive and repeatedly postponed his southward march.

In reality, Yuan Shao's southward advance was swift and decisive, and his plan was extremely meticulous, clearly premeditated.

Even if Liu Bei tries to please Yuan Shao, can his relationship with Yuan Shao be better than that of Cao Cao and Yuan Shao?

Since you've offended him now, he doesn't have time to deal with you for the time being.

No matter how much you try to please him, he'll still kill you the moment he has a spare moment.

So what is the point of sacrificing one's greatest virtue—benevolence—to appease Yuan Shao?

Liu Feng immediately analyzed for Liu Bei: "Father, I have heard that Uncle Gongsun has built high towers and deep moats in Yi County, stationed heavy troops, and supported each other. More importantly, he has also stored two million shi of grain in Yi County, which can be described as a city with high walls, deep moats, and sufficient food."

"Hiss... Two million koku!?"

Even with Liu Bei's composure, he couldn't help but shout out.

Where did my elder brother get so much grain?

Liu Feng smiled bitterly, “Ever since he murdered Duke Bo’an (Liu Yu), the entire Youzhou has risen up against Uncle Gongsun, leading to widespread rebellions and war. As a result, Uncle Gongsun did something that further enraged the people of Youzhou. He transferred all the grain in the Youzhou granary to Yi County for storage, intending to completely abandon Youzhou. Thus, at the beginning of this year, Xianyu Fu, with the assistance of Qi Zhou, Yan Rou, and others, joined forces with Ju Yi to send 100,000 troops, and in the Battle of Baoqiu, he defeated Uncle Gongsun, beheading nearly 20,000 and driving him out of Youzhou, forcing him to flee back to Yi County.”

"These two million shi of grain are the result of emptying all the granaries in the North, and most of it was accumulated by Duke Bo'an."

Liu Feng shook his head and sighed, "But it was fortunate that this happened, which caused the Youzhou army to run out of food and retreat in a sorry state. If Ju Yi had retreated with us, it would have been fine. If he had insisted on staying behind to seek credit, I'm afraid that once the food ran out, he wouldn't have been able to leave even if he wanted to."

“Feng’er is absolutely right.”

Liu Bei couldn't help but nod in agreement: "My elder brother is a master strategist, brave and daring in battle. He won't let go of this great opportunity to pursue and attack."

Liu Feng followed up, saying, "After this defeat, Yuan Shao may not recover until next year, let alone abandon Uncle Gongsun to attack us. Father, please rest assured. Besides, even if he really does make a move, he will go to Qingzhou to settle things with Lü Bu. What does that have to do with us? Moreover, we have already discussed that Yuan Shao is indecisive and easily swayed by others. We only need to bribe Guo Tu and Xin Ping, and we will have nothing to worry about."

After thinking it over carefully, Liu Bei realized that his eldest son was right, and he was finally relieved.

Liu Feng added, "Besides, if we don't send Lü Bu to Qingzhou, where else can we send him? As I just said, it would be even more troublesome if we put him in Yuzhou. Not only would it affect our army's southward march to Yangzhou, but it would also attract Cao Cao's hostility. Unlike Yuan Shao, Cao Cao now has plenty of energy and interest to compete with us for Yuzhou."

(End of this chapter)