My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 233 A Gathering of Fellow Villagers
The two sides finally agreed that Yuan Shao would be promoted to Grand Marshal, enfeoffed as Marquis of Ye, hold a position higher than the Three Dukes, be granted the authority to establish his own government, be given a bow and arrows, a staff, an axe and halberd, and a hundred Tiger Warriors, and be appointed Governor of Ji Province, governing the four provinces of Qing, Ji, You, and Bing.

Cao Cao was promoted to Grand General, concurrently serving as Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, overseeing all government affairs, and governing the two provinces of Yan and Sili.

Liu Bei was promoted to General of the Cavalry (the Three Dukes Generals have the authority to establish their own offices and do not need additional favors), his rank was equal to the Three Dukes, he was enfeoffed as Marquis of Qiao, appointed to oversee the affairs of the Secretariat, and was given a bow and arrows, a staff, an axe and eighty Tiger Warriors, and was given the three provinces of Yu, Xu and Yang.

Guo Gong, the governor of Yuzhou, was dismissed and ordered to come to the capital to serve as the Minister of Works, one of the Three Dukes.

Yang Feng was promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry, a rank equivalent to the Three Dukes, and was granted the authority to command troops. He was also appointed to oversee the affairs of the Secretariat and participate in the administration of state affairs.

Zhang Yang was promoted to General of the Guards, a rank comparable to the Three Dukes. He was granted the authority to establish his own government, served as the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, participated in the administration of the court, and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Jinyang.

In this way, Yang Feng was able to stay in Luoyang, while Zhang Yang not only held a high position in the court and participated in government affairs, but also avoided dying at the hands of Yang Chou in the future. It can be said that this was worthy of his cooperation this time.

In the original history, the position of Grand Commandant would have been given to Yuan Shao, the position of Minister of Works would have been held by Cao Cao, who would have been in charge of all officials and government affairs, and the position of Minister of Education, Zhao Wen, would have been a long-lived official who remained in office until he was recruited by Cao Pi, which can be considered as his last effort for Emperor Xian of Han.

However, it seems that apart from Zhang Xi having to resign and give way to Guo Gong as in history, the other two should be able to remain in their positions for a while longer.

Given Yang Biao's personality, he would likely have a good fight with Cao Cao.

Without the traitor Dong Zhao, Ding Chong alone would likely be unable to achieve his goals, and the situation might be even more difficult than in the original history.

Many people believe that after Cao Cao used the emperor to command the disobedient, he immediately and successfully suppressed the officials and took control of the government.

In fact, that was not the case at all. When he first took control of the government, Emperor Xian of Han even gave him a show of force, with the imperial guards wielding swords and halberds at his head. After he came out, he touched his neck and asked those around him, "Is my head still there?"

However, Cao Cao only fell for this trick once. The second time he came, he had a large army leading the way and a large entourage on both sides.

Therefore, Emperor Xian's attempt to intimidate the emperor was actually quite unsuccessful and even broke the rules.

Cao Cao was originally attending court in a lawful and orderly manner, but you insisted on intimidating others. This not only failed to increase your prestige, but also gave Cao Cao an excuse to break the rules.

Even if one wanted to expand the monarch's power, this is not how it should be done.

As for the other families receiving rewards, they can submit their own memorials to the court, and the court will have no reason to refuse.

After the discussion, both parties were quite satisfied with the division.

Cao Cao originally wanted to dismiss Gongsun Zan as General of the Vanguard, but was dissuaded by Liu Feng.

Gongsun Zan was already in a weak position. If he were to be dismissed from his post as a general by the court, the morale of his troops would likely be further shaky, needlessly accelerating Yuan Shao's pacification of the north.

Upon hearing this, Cao Cao greatly agreed and retracted his previous statement, praising Liu Feng highly.

However, Liu Feng did not believe a single word Cao Cao said.

Historically, Cao Cao never dismissed Gongsun Zan, so his sudden mention of him now is merely an attempt to damage Liu Bei's reputation.

Regardless, Gongsun Zan had a close relationship with Liu Bei. When Liu Bei took over the government to support the emperor, the court immediately issued an edict to dismiss Gongsun Zan. Could Liu Bei possibly explain to everyone in the world that Cao Cao did it and that it had nothing to do with him?

That widow Cao is wicked; she's full of evil schemes.

Guo Gong, Zhang Yang, Yang Feng, and others contributed significantly to the emperor's return to the east. Although they all achieved great success in the end, they ultimately became bargaining chips on the trading table.

Essentially, it's because these few people are too weak.

Liu Bei was once just as weak and insignificant.

Fortunately, Liu Feng has arrived, and he has successfully changed everything. He not only defended Xuzhou for Liu Bei, but also expanded his influence in all directions.

In particular, persuading Liu Bei to move his garrison to Yuzhou was a cleverly conceived move.

Now the entire Xuzhou region has been taken over by Liu Bei, and both the scholars and commoners are devoted to him.

Under these circumstances, Liu Bei no longer needed to personally oversee Xuzhou. Moreover, Xuzhou's geographical environment was indeed somewhat remote, quite a distance from the heart of the Central Plains, and most importantly, it was too far from Luoyang, the capital, which made it difficult to respond promptly to the situation in the capital.

Therefore, it would be appropriate to place Guan Yu in charge of Xuzhou.

As for Zhang Fei's third uncle, he might become the governor of Yuzhou, or he might go directly into General Liu Bei's mansion and continue to follow Liu Bei. With the addition of titles and rewards, Zhang Fei would not have to worry about being neglected.

While Liu Feng and Cao Cao were dividing up the spoils and vying for power, a group of retainers arrived outside the Xuzhou army camp. This group consisted of over a thousand men, both infantry and cavalry, all carrying bows and spears, and it seemed that about five or six out of ten of them owned horses.

Although the team had come from afar and was weary from their journey, it immediately aroused the vigilance of the Xuzhou army.

Before long, a squad of armored soldiers rushed out of the camp, shields in front and crossbows behind, forming a battle array against the camp, and inquired about the purpose of the visit.

The two men, a burly strong man and a scholar in plain clothes, ordered everyone to stay outside the camp before coming to the camp gate to request an audience with Jia Xi and Jia Kui.

Jia Xi was in the army camp at the time. Hearing this, he came out of the camp in surprise and found that the people who came were Jia Bin, his cousin, and his son-in-law Liu Fu.

Jia Xi stepped forward in surprise and learned that these people had actually come to seek refuge with him and Jia Kui.

The area east of the river has suffered from severe drought for three consecutive years, and the White Wave Bandits and Yellow Turban Rebellion have also been invading the region. Not to mention ordinary people, even landlords have no surplus grain.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, neither the Liu family of Hedong nor the Pei family of Wenxi were powerful or noble families. Compared to the Yuan family of Runan or the Yang family of Hongnong, they were far inferior to even the second-tier families of Xun, Chen, Zhong, and Han.

Therefore, upon hearing that Jia Xi and his grandson had been recruited by Liu, the governor of Xuzhou, and had now returned to Hedong with the Guandong loyalist army to welcome the emperor back to the east.

The entire Xiangling County was in an uproar. The Jia and Liu clans were considered large clans in Xiangling. After discussing it, they decided to have Jia Bin and Liu Fu lead a group of able-bodied men from the clans who were struggling to make ends meet to seek refuge with Jia Xi and his grandson.

As a result, when the news spread, even relatives and friends from several surrounding counties came to join them, and the number of people grew exponentially, almost all of them being strong and healthy, many of whom even had horses.

“Grandfather, this year is another drought, and the summer harvest is in jeopardy. The clan is really struggling to survive. When we heard that you had returned, the elders in the clan discussed it and decided that they had no choice but to come and seek refuge with you. So they asked me to bring them here.”

Jia Bin, courtesy name Wenyou, is a direct descendant of this branch of the Jia family clan. He was skilled in archery and horsemanship from a young age and possessed considerable strength.

Liu Fu, who was standing to the side, bowed and said, "Grandfather, the situation of my clan is similar to that of Brother Wenyou. I humbly request that you take us in."

Jia Xi was having a bit of a headache. It wasn't that he was unwilling to help, but there were just too many people coming.

How can someone suddenly join a group of thousands of people?

However, Jia Xi was no ordinary person. He quickly calmed down and, after questioning Jia Bin and Liu Fu in detail, finally understood the whole story.

Of these more than a thousand people, the Jia family actually accounted for only a little over a hundred, and the Liu family was about the same. Among the remaining people, more than two hundred were fellow villagers from Xiangling County. Although they were not surnamed Jia or Liu, they were powerful clans that had intermarried for many years.

Over the years, everyone has been fighting amongst themselves while supporting each other.

Seeing that the Jia family had found a way out, it was only natural for other clans to follow suit.

The last six or seven hundred people were the villagers from Hedong surrounding Xiangling, as well as young and strong wandering knights who joined them on their southward journey.

These people were struggling with food and supplies, and they also admired the might of the Guandong loyalist army. Therefore, they wanted to join the army with Jia, Liu and others.

After clarifying the situation, Jia Xi dared not delay and temporarily settled these people outside the camp, but ignored Jia Bin and Liu Fu's request to allocate a batch of grain.

Military provisions are limited, and although Jia Xi has authority over them, how can he let personal matters interfere with public duties?
Liu Feng was young, but he couldn't tolerate any wrongdoing.

If this matter is truly investigated, Jia Xi's white hair may not be able to be saved.

However, although Jia Xi did not allocate any grain to them, he took out all the rewards he and Jia Kui had received, as well as all their personal belongings, and gave them to Jia Bin, instructing him to buy food in the surrounding countryside.

When Liu Feng received the news and came out of Anyi City, he was also shocked to see an extra camp.

The camp established by these more than a thousand people and more than three hundred warhorses was quite large, comparable to the camp of two or three thousand infantrymen.

Liu Feng did not rush back to the camp, but instead reined in his horse and looked around.

Although the camp was hastily built, it was arranged in a well-organized manner, with three gates and a main road over a hundred meters long, specifically for cavalry to organize counter-attacks.

This alone shows that the camp's builder was at least a competent cavalry commander.

Liu Feng couldn't help but gasp in amazement; the world was vast, and there were countless heroes.

This unknown soldier turned out to be a qualified cavalry commander.

Unfortunately, in the future, after the older generation of outstanding figures died, the cavalry commanders of both Shu and Han became weaker and weaker, and Eastern Wu didn't even have any cavalry units at the campaign level anymore. As soon as Liu Feng returned to the camp, Jia Xi was already there to greet him.

Jia Kui was not in the main camp at this time; Liu Feng had sent him to Jiangyi to collect horses.

"Young Master, I am incompetent..."

Upon seeing Liu Feng, Jia Xi immediately apologized.

Liu Feng waved his hand and helped the other man up, saying, "What crime has Military Advisor Jia committed? The fact that the villagers have come to join us is a sign that our loyal army has gained many supporters. It is not the Military Advisor's fault."

Jia Xi pleaded guilty because he had ulterior motives. In order to gain merit, he wrote a letter back to Xiangling, asking his clansmen in the village to prepare for the purchase of horses, hoping to win merit in this way.

What Jia Xi didn't expect was that while the villagers did indeed purchase a batch of warhorses as he requested and sent them over, they also brought over a thousand strong men with them.

"Haha, it's alright. Since they want to join the army, let's take them in first."

Upon hearing this, Liu Feng burst into laughter: "However, we need to make it clear to them first that we are going back to Xuzhou. If they try to leave after entering the camp, they will be punished as deserters."

Jia Xi quickly expressed his gratitude.

With Liu Feng's permission, Jia Xi began to count the number of people and livestock in the new camp. He found 1,187 strong and brave men and 613 horses, half of which were purchased on behalf of the Xuzhou army. Among them were 106 first-class horses, showing that the Jia and Liu families of Xiangling had also put in a lot of effort.

Therefore, Liu Feng wrote a letter and allocated ten days' worth of rations, temporarily organizing them into a separate battalion, with Jia Bin and Liu Fu temporarily in command, pending further selection.

At the same time, another 3,000 shi of grain were allocated and sent to Xiangling, as funds to purchase horses and recruit brave men.

This gesture not only earned Jia Xi's deepest gratitude, but also moved Jia Bin and Liu Fu to tears.

The extra two thousand bushels of grain were a life-saving treasure, worth a fortune, in this year of great famine.

The army was about to return east, but because Guo Tu stationed himself in Ji County, Henan, the emperor was alarmed and dared not go east.

The emperor's outwardly fierce but inwardly weak demeanor was fully revealed, which also proved once again Yuan Shao's status as the most powerful warlord in the land.

Six days later, news came again from Hanoi.

Just as Liu Feng had predicted, Guo Tu stopped moving after arriving in Ji County, and Yuan Shao did not send the emperor's memorial to Anyi.

Now everyone relaxed and decided to set off for Luoyang in three days.

During this period, Jie County also successfully sent back the news.

Guan Ping, Guan Yu's eldest son who was left in Jie County, led dozens of members of the Guan family clan in Jie County, along with more than a hundred fellow villagers, a total of more than two hundred people, up the Su River to seek refuge in Anyi.

Liu Feng personally went out to greet him and accompanied his second uncle to receive his elder brother.

Liu Feng's first impression of Guan Ping was that he resembled him.

Guan Ping looks so much like Guan Yu, he's a mini-Guan Yu.

Unlike his father, Guan Ping lacked Guan Yu's arrogance and pride; instead, he was somewhat insecure.

This is understandable, as the father fled after committing murder before the child was even born, leaving the mother and child alone in their hometown, not even knowing whether the father was alive or dead.

Fortunately, the Guan family clan took good care of Guan Ping and his mother; otherwise, Guan Ping would never have grown to this age.

Upon hearing news of Guan Yu, and learning that he was actually a trusted general of Liu, the governor of Xuzhou, and that they were as close as brothers, the Guan family was overjoyed. They quickly gathered a group of able-bodied men and escorted Guan Ping to join the army.

This is how things are these days. When Cao Cao started his business, he relied on the initial investment from his good brothers Cao Ren and Cao Hong. People like Liu Bei, who couldn't get help from their clans, were extremely rare. Not to mention that Hedong is currently suffering from years of drought, and everyone, from ordinary people to powerful clans, is looking for a way out.

Guan Ping was raised by his clan, and now he needed to give back to his clan. The way to do so was to lead the clan members to join Guan Yu.

Guan Yu had ample authority to accept all two hundred-plus members of the Guan family clan and fellow villagers.

However, Guan Yu did not speak, but instead adopted a posture of obeying Liu Feng's decision.

Liu Feng chuckled inwardly. It seemed that his second uncle wasn't so arrogant and domineering after all. At least in front of him, his second uncle was very humble and cautious, and valued his nephew's opinions highly.

The reason why Guan Ping brought so many fewer people than Jia Bin and Liu Fu was mainly because Jie County was too convenient. Before the people in the surrounding villages could get the news, Guan Ping had already arrived in front of Guan Yu.

Otherwise, given Guan Yu's current status and influence, Guan Ping could have gathered at least one or two thousand people to join him.

Liu Feng reorganized Guan Ping's troops into a separate unit, and appointed Guan Ping as the temporary commander of this separate unit, in charge of all its members.

This is the advantage of having a close or distant relationship. Jia Bin and Liu Fu led over a thousand men and several hundred warhorses, yet they only held temporary positions as garrison commanders. Guan Ping, on the other hand, with only two or three hundred men, was immediately granted the title of Commander of a Separate Division, and his future prospects were already limitless.

In late January, the emperor's entourage finally set off, arriving in Wenxi three days later.

After resting in Wenxi for a day, they left Wenxi the next day and headed to Wangwu Mountain.

On January 25th, the large group entered Wangwu Mountain and officially entered Zhiguan Pass.

Li Le and Hu Cai then left the loyalist army and stayed in Hedong.

The emperor, deeply grateful for Li Le and Hu Cai's meritorious service in the Battle of Hongnong, earnestly tried to retain them.

Unfortunately, Li Le and Hu Cai were determined to leave, so the emperor had no choice but to bestow the last thousand-odd shi of grain from the palace upon them. Compared to later emperors who dared not even protect the innocent Empress Fu and her entire clan, Emperor Liu Xie at this time still possessed a sliver of humanity.

Meanwhile, the purchase of horses by the Xuzhou army in Hedong was gradually coming to an end.

Zhang Liao, Taishi Ci, Jia Kui, and other generals and officers of the Xuzhou army who had gone out to purchase horses and recruit elite knights also began to converge on the main force of the loyalist army with their rich hauls.

On the second day of the second lunar month, the emperor left Zhiguan Pass and arrived at Zhi County two days later.

Unexpectedly, at this time, Guo Tu, who was living in seclusion in Ji County, suddenly made a move.

He did not suddenly come to welcome the emperor; rather, he dispatched a thousand men to escort three thousand bushels of grain to present to the emperor.

Guo Gongze was truly adept at interpersonal relationships. This small gift earned him considerable favor from Emperor Liu Xie, who sighed with his attendants that even Yuan Shao had such a loyal and capable person by his side.

The emperor rested for two days in Zhi County before hastily setting off again.

Although the emperor knew that Yuan Shao would not come, he was still somewhat worried and afraid.

Yuan Shao left too many negative impressions in his mind.

Zhang Yang organized another batch of grain in Hanoi, about two thousand shi (a unit of dry measure), and earnestly requested that it be presented as tribute to the emperor.

The emperor was very pleased and couldn't wait to issue an imperial edict, bestowing upon Zhang Yang the title of General of Anguo before he even returned to Luoyang.

After the emperor set off from Zhi County, he arrived at the Yellow River in just three days.

The Xuzhou navy had already assembled large ships and sailed into the Yellow River towards Pingyin Ferry.

When the emperor arrived at the Yellow River, a large number of warships were already waiting for him.

This time, when the emperor crossed the river, there weren't even enough fingers to hold in the boat.

After several years, as if a lifetime had passed, Emperor Liu Xie finally set foot on the land of Luoyang once again.

At this point, the Emperor's return to the east was largely complete.

On February 10th, the emperor set foot in Pingyin, officially announcing his return to the former central government of the Eastern Han Dynasty, now the incomplete Henan Yinzhong.

The ruins of Henan Yin are quite astonishing, especially the imperial palace, which was almost completely burned down.

Liu Feng, Cao Cao, and others were overjoyed as their return to the east was about to be a great success, but at the same time they also strengthened their vigilance to prevent any trouble from happening.

Therefore, the two jointly dispatched hundreds of knights to scout out Luoyang and the surrounding area, so as not to frighten the emperor's carriage.

(End of this chapter)