My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 255 Liu Bei's Hidden Dangers

When Lu Su entered the room, Liu Feng had already come out.

"Mr. Zijing, please forgive me for not greeting you properly."

Liu Feng bowed politely and then led Lu Su to the table.

"I apologize for my unauthorized visit and for disturbing Zheng Nan's rest."

At this point, Lu Su quietly changed how he addressed Liu Feng, which meant that he also regarded Liu Feng as his lord.

Liu Feng's strength and the special relationship between him and Liu Bei led to the formation of a unique dual monarchy system in Xuzhou. However, unlike ordinary dual monarchy systems, their dual monarchy system was less adversarial and more integrated.

This is because Liu Feng was involved in recruiting most of the famous ministers and generals, and even advocated for it.

Liu Bei, who held a higher position, actually achieved success somewhat due to the influence of others.

Furthermore, Liu Feng is not only Liu Bei's eldest son, but also his only legitimate son, and his performance is outstanding. At present, even Liu Bei himself would not change his successor.

"It doesn't matter."

Liu Feng smiled and said, "It's been a long time since I've seen Mr. Zijing. Today is a good day for us to have a chat."

After Lu Su sat down, Liu Feng ordered someone to serve tea.

Then, the room fell silent.

Lu Su seemed to be pondering how to begin. Liu Feng was somewhat surprised, but did not interrupt him.

After a moment, Lu Su raised his head again and looked at Liu Feng: "Zheng Nan, nowadays, Xuzhou seems to be thriving, conquering the south and the north, winning every battle, expanding its territory by thousands of miles, and extending its benevolence and power to the five states. But there are hidden worries in the heart, and I am deeply concerned."

Liu Feng's expression turned serious. Although he didn't understand what Lu Su wanted to say, he knew from the beginning that the question Lu Su wanted to raise was, at least in his own opinion, quite serious.

Liu Feng immediately replied, "I don't know what worries Xuzhou has that make you so concerned, sir. Please enlighten me."

"There is a hidden worry for the Lord!"

Lu Su's answer was truly astonishing, startling even Liu Feng.

Is it related to Liu Bei?
What went wrong with Liu Bei?

If he had been somewhat relaxed and condescending just moments before, Liu Feng was now genuinely starting to feel nervous.

"Why did you say this, sir?"

Liu Feng's voice became noticeably more urgent: "Please speak plainly, sir."

Seeing that he had successfully attracted Liu Feng's attention, Lu Su continued, "My lord, the lord's foundation was established in Xuzhou, but now he has vassals in Donglai and Beihai in the north, and has taken Rencheng, Lu and Pei in the west. Furthermore, he has received an imperial edict to oversee the affairs of Xu, Yu and Yang provinces. He can now rightfully march south to Jiangdong and sweep away Huaiyang."

"This is indeed a great opportunity to seize the three southeastern prefectures, and it can also lay a solid foundation for future conquest of the Central Plains."

At this point, Lu Su looked puzzled: "From my perspective, the emperor seems to have developed a desire for stability and is no longer willing to make any progress. In this era of great contention, the ruler chooses his ministers, and the ministers choose their rulers."

"Judging from this, the emperor's subordinates are all ministers who can assist the king and generals who can establish the dynasty. They all have the ambition to swallow the sun and moon and sweep across the world."

Lu Su looked anxious and said, "If our lord does not strive for progress and is content with merely protecting the borders, I fear there will be a disaster of disunity among the people!"

Liu Feng's expression changed slightly. He had indeed discovered this problem upon his return, but it was far less serious than Lu Su had described.

Lu Su exaggerated this issue considerably, which stemmed from his stance.

Because of his family background, Lu Su could be considered the most staunch supporter of Liu Ye, and he was actually quite similar to Liu Ye in character; otherwise, the two would not have become friends.

In essence, Lu Su had a very ambitious mind; he always thought about contributing to the establishment of the dynasty and becoming a minister who helped the emperor rise to power.

Therefore, they were particularly sensitive to Liu Bei's ambitions.

Such a minister is not afraid of his lord having too much ambition, but is afraid of his lord having no ambition at all.

Therefore, Lu Su keenly sensed that Liu Bei was becoming complacent, in other words, lacking the motivation to continue expanding.

This worried Lu Su quite a bit, because his vision allowed him to see very far.

Just as Liu Feng had expected, Lu Su's next words were elevated to the overall situation.

"Now Yuan Shao reigns supreme in Hebei, and Gongsun Zan is nothing but a skeleton in a tomb. After he murdered the former Grand Marshal, his ambitions vanished like bubbles. I heard that he once said he wanted to live out the chaos in Yi County. How could such a cowardly and cowardly man possibly stand against Yuan Shao, who commands 100,000 troops and governs the four provinces of Ji, Qing, You, and Bing?"

Lu Su asserted, “Gongsun Zan’s only advantage is his tall buildings and deep moats, his abundant reserves, and the alliance with the Black Mountain. In my opinion, this is merely a means to prolong his life, far from a way to defeat the enemy. If my plan is correct, he will surely lose if he holds out for too long. Gongsun Bogui can hold out for at most three years, and could be defeated as early as next year.”

"Once Yuan Shao completely wipes out Gongsun Zan and unifies Hebei, he will surely turn his attention to the Central Plains, with Cao Cao as his henchman and Liu Biao as his distant ally, while our Xuzhou will be left without any support."

Lu Su looked anxious and said, "At the right time, Xuzhou will have to mobilize the entire nation's strength to contend with them. How can we expand outwards? At that time, who knows if Xuzhou will be the one to lose what it has been defending for too long?"

Liu Feng remained silent. It seemed that Lu Su had been worried for a long time, otherwise he wouldn't have given such a long speech.

Thinking about it carefully, Liu Bei did become somewhat complacent. At least, heading south to Yangzhou was a pre-arranged plan they had discussed long ago.

Especially now that he has obtained the legal basis for Yangzhou from the emperor, it can be said that he has a legitimate claim. However, when Liu Feng brought up this matter today, Liu Bei's first reaction was that he did not have enough troops.

Xuzhou now has nearly 100,000 troops, of which more than 60,000 can be mobilized at any time. Almost all of its surroundings are allies, and only Yangzhou, the target of this operation, has enemies.

The northern provinces of Donglai and Beihai in Qingzhou almost completely blocked Yuan Tan's route south to Qingzhou. Moreover, it is said that Yuan Tan has already been transferred back to Jizhou by Yuan Shao to participate in the war against Gongsun Zan.

Cao Cao in the west was currently in a honeymoon period, and he was preoccupied with the central government. His primary target was the Three Rivers region, followed by Chen and Yingchuan. It was impossible for him to go to war with Liu Bei in the short term, and there were no irreconcilable conflicts between them.

Although the issue of Chen State was somewhat sensitive, Liu Feng had a way to resolve it. Even if Cao Cao wanted to take a hard line, Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, Man Chong, and others could persuade him to stay.

Speaking of which, Xi Zhicai is still in Xuzhou; I wonder if he survived.

Under these circumstances, Liu Bei had enough troops to mobilize 50,000 men to march south, and Liu Yao, Wang Lang, and Xu Gong, who were based in Yangzhou, would have to completely obey Liu Bei's orders, especially Liu Yao.

Liu Yao was able to have an army of 20,000 to 30,000 men entirely because of the support of the local powerful clans in Yangzhou. The reason why the powerful clans supported him was because he had the status and legal authority of the central government.

Now, Liu Bei, with an even stronger backing, also has this legal basis, which is even more righteous and powerful than that of Liu Yao. How will those powerful clans choose to act?

As for Wang Lang, he was a renowned scholar from Xuzhou and had connections with the Zhou family. In addition, with the Luo and Jiao families also involved, Liu Feng was confident that he could easily win over the loyalty of Kuaiji Commandery.

"I already know everything Mr. Zijing said."

After pondering for a long time, Liu Feng solemnly said, "Sir, your concern is truly a farsighted move. My father is benevolent and kind, and he puts the court and the people first, without considering personal gains or losses. Therefore, he has the idea of ​​protecting the territory and ensuring the safety of the people."

"But now, in this matter of great contention, if Heaven grants it to us, not taking it will only bring us harm."

Liu Feng said decisively, "I will persuade him."

Lu Su was overjoyed and rose from his seat to bow, saying, "I am not speaking for my own selfish reasons, but for the sake of Your Excellency, for Xuzhou, and for the people. I have no choice but to speak out."

Afterwards, Liu Feng and Lu Su discussed the cause of the matter.

After Liu Feng's great victory at Yingchuan, Lu Su immediately suggested that Liu Bei draw troops from Pei, Rencheng, and Lu to gather 20,000 soldiers and march south to Runan. At the same time, he asked Liu Bei to send a message to Liu Feng to enter Runan from Yingchuan, so that they could attack from both the east and the west and take Runan into their hands in one fell swoop.

This idea is largely similar to Liu Feng's, but it falls short in many details.

However, the timing is actually quite good, and the success rate is extremely high with little risk.

Unfortunately, after careful consideration, Liu Bei rejected Lu Su.

The reason is that he doesn't want to take risks.

This greatly shocked Lu Su. He had sensed that Liu Bei had become complacent before, but none of them were as impactful as this one.

In Lu Su's view, this was a plan that was almost foolproof, with virtually no risk, and it would also bring the second-largest prefecture in the land under heaven into his possession in one fell swoop. What a huge benefit that would be!

It should be noted that although Runan was the second-largest prefecture in the country, Nanyang has now completely declined, while Runan, although it has also suffered considerable losses, still retains an extremely strong foundation.

Runan today is undoubtedly the number one prefecture in the land.

The relationship between Cao Cao and Liu Bei was currently in a honeymoon phase, with Cao Cao's elite troops deployed to Luozhong. Yanzhou had only been peaceful for half a year, and there was no need for any military supplies to cause a ruckus. Liu Bei had essentially missed a golden opportunity, which made Lu Su even more worried about the future.

Although we missed the opportunity to attack Runan this time, we can still make up for it in the second half of the year.

Because this was not a fleeting opportunity, Liu Bei's contentment with small gains made Lu Su very uneasy.

That's right, it's about being content with small gains; countless people throughout history, like Liu Bei, had this mentality.

While in Xuzhou, he chose to relinquish the East Sea, leave Tancheng, and head to Xiapi in exchange for the Taishan bandits' tacit approval of his appointment as governor of Xuzhou.

Yes, it's just the default, not supported.

After entering Sichuan, he still did not take Huang Quan's correct advice to attack Hanzhong seriously. It was not until two years later, under the persuasion of Fa Zheng, that he launched an attack on Hanzhong.

But the first opponent was Zhang Lu, and the next opponent was Cao Cao. In just two years, the difficulty increased several times over.

However, the harvest was extremely poor. During Zhang Lu's time, Hanzhong had 100,000 households and a population of 600,000 to 700,000.

However, by the time of Cao Cao two years later, not only was the population of Hanzhong less than 100,000, but even the neighboring Ba Commandery had hundreds of thousands of people relocated by Zhang He.

For Yizhou, a province with a population of just over one million, the loss of hundreds of thousands of people is simply catastrophic.

If Liu Bei had listened to Huang Quan's advice and taken Hanzhong as soon as possible, Hanzhong alone would have been enough to support an army of 50,000 to 60,000. He could even have taken advantage of the Guanzhong War to form an alliance with Ma Chao and get involved.

This was almost entirely due to Liu Bei's complacent and easily satisfied nature, which sowed the seeds of a huge hidden danger for himself.

After seeing Lu Su off, Liu Feng didn't even bother to rest and immediately started working.

In his mind, the recruitment of refugees could be suspended, since all the surrounding counties and kingdoms of Xuzhou had already been taken over by Liu Bei.

The war in Yanzhou has ended, most of the population in Qingzhou has fled, and most of Yuzhou has been incorporated into Liu Bei's territory, although he cannot directly control it for the time being.

Recruiting more refugees would be a counterproductive move.

This portion of the money and grain can be saved and used to expand the army.

At the same time, a portion of the money and supplies reserved for military operations can be used to increase the scale of military expansion.

Because the state of Chen had military provisions.

Liu Feng's plan to take Runan was largely the same as Lu Su's, except that he needed to add a central route, which would start from Chen. Military supplies could be directly supplied using the tax money and grain compensated by Chen.

In this way, the whole plan appears much smoother and more comprehensive.

The route led by Guan Yu in Yingchuan, with the middle section of the Ying River, the Ru River, and the Yi River as its base, perfectly covered the western part of Runan. The route led by Chen Guoze, with the lower half of the Ying River as its base, covered the central part of Runan. The Xuzhou army, which started from Pei, had the Huo River as its base, covering the eastern part of Runan.

Moreover, the three armies will converge in southern Runan to suppress and contain Yuan Shu's two counties north of the Yangtze River, in order to coordinate with the Guangling army's plan to march south to Yangzhou.

Although such a large-scale campaign would inevitably require a huge investment of money and supplies, thus affecting the original land reclamation plan.

However, the situation is changing, and those in power must not cling to outdated ideas.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime window of opportunity, and moreover, the entire operation is actually extremely profitable.

The tax revenue from Runan alone was actually the tax output of the original land reclamation plan, not to mention the additional revenue from the three counties of Jiangdong.

The guaranteed income from this campaign is Runan, plus the three commanderies of Danyang, Wu, and Kuaiji in Jiangdong. If you're lucky, you might even get Yuzhang without a fight.

As for Lujiang and Jiujiang, once Jiangdong takes them over, will these two prefectures still be a problem?
If the war can be ended this year, and the next two years are spent recuperating, stabilizing the region, and increasing influence, then Liu Bei will truly be invincible.

With the support of the three provinces of Xu, Yu, and Yang, he could indeed command 100,000 armored soldiers, which would be no less than Yuan Shao's, and in terms of potential, he might even be stronger than Yuan Shao.

At least during the Eastern Han Dynasty, most of the iron and coal mines, as well as the iron and coal industry, were located south of the Yellow River. Henan's economy, population, and annual output far surpassed those of Hebei.

Yuan Shao could actually see this point, otherwise he wouldn't have gathered 300,000 troops, selected elite soldiers, transported grain and weapons, and marched south to attack Cao Cao in the second half of Jian'an 4, just after he had destroyed Gongsun Zan.

After finishing his work, Liu Feng went to bed to rest.

Lying in bed, Liu Feng secretly made up his mind that this time he would make Liu Bei follow his plan.

Even if we want to rest, we have to take Runan and Yangzhou first.

Liu Bei now only possesses legal authority and influence, but as long as he doesn't truly control the territory, the money, grain, population, taxes, and military equipment will not be his. And these are precisely the most important things.

The next morning, after washing up, Liu Feng went to Liu Bei's courtyard in person.

In fact, he didn't have to go in person; he could have simply sent a servant to inquire whether Liu Bei had gotten up.

However, in order to carry out his own plan, Liu Feng resorted to a self-inflicted injury ruse, which also served to show Liu Bei that he was still his good eldest son and a filial son.

Sure enough, when Liu Bei got up, he heard his personal servant report that Liu Feng had been waiting in the courtyard for more than half an hour. He quickly called Liu Feng in.

"My son, you've had a long and tiring journey. Why did you get up so early?"

It wasn't that Liu Bei woke up late, but rather that Liu Feng woke up too early.

However, Liu Bei still felt embarrassed to have made his eldest son wait in the courtyard for more than half an hour: "Next time, if there is anything, just have your attendant wake me up. Why wait foolishly in the courtyard?"

As he spoke, Liu Bei walked to the table and called out to Liu Feng, "You haven't had breakfast yet, have you? Have some with your father."

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, most commoners ate only two meals a day, but most nobles had started eating three meals a day, and the emperor even ate four meals a day, although two of them were snacks, not main meals.

Liu Feng came over and sat down to have breakfast with Liu Bei.

The diet of nobles in this era was actually quite simple.

Liu Feng's breakfast consisted of millet rice with salted fish and pickled vegetables.

However, thanks to Liu Feng's technological advancements, the salted fish produced in Qu County, Xuzhou, is now much tastier than the salted fish produced during the Eastern Han Dynasty.

After finishing his breakfast, Liu Bei put down his chopsticks and asked, "You've come to see your father so early, is there something important?"

Liu Feng nodded: "Indeed, there is something important. Xuzhou may seem to be thriving and prosperous, but in reality, it is in a dangerous situation. If we are not careful, we may lose everything."

Liu Bei silently recited phrases like "like oil being poured over a raging fire" and "a profusion of flowers," realizing that his eldest son sometimes came up with rather pleasing phrases. However, the brat was again using the threat of a dangerous situation to frighten him; he truly was not a proper son.

"Oh? What danger is there in Xuzhou at this moment that has led to the point of total defeat?"

Liu Bei was quite dissatisfied, feeling that Liu Feng was threatening him again.

Liu Feng then recounted his previous conversation with Lu Su, leaving Liu Bei utterly astonished.

“Father, Mr. Zijing’s attitude is probably not unique to him. When Mr. Ziyang was in Yingchuan, he also strongly recommended that we take this opportunity to go south to Runan.”

The first thing Liu Feng wanted to tell Liu Bei was that Lu Su's attitude was not just his personal attitude, but the attitude of many people.

This will help prevent Liu Bei from developing a negative view of Lu Su.

Liu Feng was determined to protect Lu Su, a staunchly loyal minister.

"Furthermore, Father, although you are now the General of the Cavalry, overseeing the affairs of Xu, Yu, and Yang provinces, and Uncle Jian and Mr. Liu have both been appointed as prefects by the court, these are merely empty titles, not real benefits."

Liu Feng spoke eloquently: "Now, Father, the only place where you can collect taxes and grain is the old territory of Xuzhou. The three kingdoms of Pei, Lu, and Rencheng are too small and have suffered from war. If they can support the garrison, it is already a relief for Xuzhou."

Liu Feng's words made Liu Bei realize something; it was indeed the case.

Although he nominally controlled three prefectures, only Xuzhou was truly productive.

At least Yuzhou still has some of the money and grain from Pei and Lu, although it is little, it is real income.

But Yangzhou really brought no benefits whatsoever, and even gave Liu Bei the illusion that he had some control over Yangzhou.

After listening to Liu Feng's words, Liu Bei took them seriously: "Then, in your opinion, what should your father do?"

(End of this chapter)