My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 298 Liu Bei Arrives in Shouchun (Bonus Chapter)

On the day Liu Bei arrived in Shouchun, Liu Feng led civil and military officials out of the city for twenty li to welcome him.

Looking at the large group of people who came to greet him, Liu Bei saw that among the common people were many people from high-ranking families.

Seeing these renowned scholars who would never have given him a second glance now craning their necks to wait for him, Liu Bei felt as if he were dreaming.

Thinking back to two years ago, I was still wandering the world, without even a place to settle down.

Back then, I dreamed of owning a business empire, even if it was just a county.

But the result was that they could barely afford to eat.

My original dream was nothing more than to be a prefect of a county, to bring peace to the region and defend against foreign invasion.

What now?
However, he had already been appointed as a General of the Cavalry by the imperial court, which was even more prestigious than the two thousand shi he had dreamed of.

In a daze, Liu Feng had already led everyone to Liu Bei's presence.

Liu Feng led several people to him and introduced them, saying, "Father, this is Zhou Yu of Shucheng, son of Zhou Yi, the magistrate of Luoyang. Zhou Jinggong, the Grand Commandant during the reign of Emperor Huan, was his great-grandfather, and Zhou Zhonggong, the current Commandant of the Guards, is his great-uncle."

After hearing Liu Feng's introduction, Zhou Yu immediately stepped forward and bowed deeply to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei quickly stepped forward to help Zhou Yu up, saying, "I have long heard of Gongjin's talent. Zijing and Ziyang have both praised Gongjin's abilities before me. I only regret that my virtue is too shallow to have met Gongjin earlier."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yu was filled with excitement, shame, and gratitude towards Lu Su and Liu Ye. His face flushed as he said, "I am but a firefly, a thread of talent, how could I possibly deserve such favor from the General? Moreover, the young master has been corresponding with me for some time, but I regret that I was short-sighted and had no choice in my own destiny, so I could not have come to serve you earlier."

"OK OK."

Liu Bei then grasped Zhou Yu's hand and said, "It is not too late to have Gongjin now. Right now, heroes are rising up all over the world, and the emperor is trapped in Luozhong. This is the time for us to work together to restore order and revive the Han Dynasty. Gongjin, you should strive to achieve great things. When you succeed, you will surely be granted a title of nobility."

Liu Feng, who was listening from behind, almost burst out laughing. How could someone like Zhou Yu possibly be interested in Liu Xie?

When you succeed, I don't know if you'll be granted a title, but I know that Zhou Yu will most likely find you cold.

After introducing Zhou Yu, Liu Feng suppressed a smile and continued to introduce Sun Xiang: "Father, this is Sun Polu's cousin. He used to follow Sun Polu in his campaigns in the south and north. He once made great contributions in defeating the traitor Dong Zhuo and recovering Luozhong."

Sun Xiang was even more exaggerated than Zhou Yu. He knelt down and wept bitterly, confessing to Liu Bei: "I did not know the will of Heaven, I helped the wicked and opposed you, my lord, and brought disaster to Jiangbei. I am truly a sinner."

Regardless of how much sincerity Sun Xiang had in her words, her attitude was certainly on point.

Liu Bei would naturally not favor one over the other, and besides, Sun Xiang was a very important part of his eldest son's plan.

So Liu Bei released Zhou Yu and hurriedly stepped forward to help Sun Xiang up.

"Why do you say that, Wen Yang? I have also heard Wen Yang advise the highway authorities to reduce taxes, but he insisted on not listening. What can a general do, he is just a military man?"

Regardless of whether Sun Xiang tried to persuade him or not, Liu Bei heard that he had.

Sun Xiang was deeply moved, knowing that Liu Bei was vouching for him.

After all, Yuan Shu did inhuman things, whether in Nanyang or Jiangbei, almost no different from Cao Cao in Xuzhou.

Cao Cao could at least argue that he acted out of personal desire to avenge his father and brother, and that he did so to bring peace to the world. But Yuan Shu did it purely for his own selfish interests and personal enjoyment.

After calming down Zhou Yu and Sun Xiang, Liu Bei saw Yuan Huan and his face immediately lit up with joy.

"Yaoqing, have you come to welcome us too?"

Hearing Liu Bei's sincere call, even Yuan Huan, who was naturally modest, couldn't help but have tears well up in his eyes.

"My lord, Huan is late. Please punish me."

As Yuan Huan spoke, he bowed deeply in reverence.

Liu Bei naturally wouldn't let him have his way, so he quickly took two steps and grabbed the other man's arm.

"Why did you hesitate, Yaoqing? It is the perfect time to prepare for your visit."

Liu Bei's words of comfort warmed Yuan Huan's heart, and made surrendered generals such as Qiao Rui, Zhang Xun, and Li Ye in the rear very envious, or even jealous.

At the same time, Liu Bei's respect for scholars and his magnanimous and benevolent character greatly impressed ambitious and virtuous scholars like Yan Xiang.

Both Liu Bei and his son were exceptionally talented, which filled Liu Bei's army with optimism for the future and ambition to achieve great things.

Surrounded by a large entourage, Liu Bei entered the city of Shouchun.

Liu Feng naturally dared not let Liu Bei stay in the palace, and even he himself quietly moved out of the palace.

If Liu Bei found out that Liu Feng had actually spent the night in the palace, he would definitely teach his son a good lesson.

That night, the entire city of Shouchun was filled with celebration.

Liu Bei held a grand banquet for the entire army to reward his soldiers.

The promised tenfold reward has already been distributed, costing a total of fifteen million coins.

This time, Liu Bei generously rewarded the entire army, giving each person only a hundred coins, but the total amount was over four million coins.

In total, in just a few days, nearly 20 million coins have been distributed as rewards to the army, half of which were in the form of cloth and the other half in metal coins.

However, the money was well spent. Shouchun City alone has hundreds of millions of dollars, which explains why the once prosperous Jiangbei region has become so desolate.

Any place that is exploited like this by Yuan Shu is unlikely to prosper.

We should thank the agrarian society of the Eastern Han Dynasty for preventing a complete collapse.

In addition, Liu Bei held a grand banquet for the entire army, providing each hundred men with a jar of wine, a pig, a sheep, ten catties of pickled vegetables, and plenty of millet.

This was another considerable expense, but it was insignificant compared to the reward.

That night, Liu Bei was very happy and drank and made merry with everyone all night long.

I didn't wake up until the afternoon of the next day, and my head still ached a bit, which showed that I really drank too much yesterday.

Although there were many things to do, this was not the time for hard work. Liu Feng handed over the tasks at hand to the newly arrived Zhuge brothers and Jia Kui to handle temporarily. He listed the tasks he could not decide separately and left them for his return.

Liu Feng himself obediently stayed in Liu Bei's room to take care of Liu Bei, who had drunk too much.

When Liu Bei woke up, he saw Liu Feng taking good care of him, and he felt very warm inside, thinking that God had been very kind to him.

With a son like this, what more could a husband ask for?

Where is Yuan Shu now?

While enjoying the hot towel his son handed him to his face, Liu Bei asked in a low voice about Yuan Shu's whereabouts.

Liu Feng replied respectfully, "Yuan Shu originally occupied the royal palace, but I have moved him out and temporarily placed him under house arrest in the prefecture."

Liu Bei nodded, hesitating whether or not to go and see Yuan Shu.

How has he been these past few days?

Liu Feng laughed: "Yuan Gonglu has no skills, but he has a lot of ambition. These days we've been feeding him well and making sure he drinks honey water. It's strange, though. We can lower the standard of food and meals, but he just can't stand the honey water."

Liu Bei snorted, seemingly disgusted that Yuan Shu was still putting on airs even in this state: "Look what this man has ruined Nanyang and Jiangbei! He's simply not human. The Yuan family of Runan is famous throughout the land, how could they have produced such a wretch?"

Liu Feng, however, secretly stabbed Yuan Shao in the back: "The Yuan family members are all villains, and Yuan Shu is just the one who is least able to hide his true colors."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei couldn't help but glance at his son.

Why do you say that?

Liu Feng said in a low voice, "Father, as you know, the Grand Marshal once wanted to make Duke Bo'an the emperor. If Duke Bo'an hadn't vehemently opposed it, the Grand Marshal would have..."

Liu Bei remained silent; this matter was too famous, known throughout the land.

"Moreover, when we sent troops to Hedong to welcome the emperor, did the Grand Marshal make any move at that time?"

Liu Feng sighed, "Only after we welcomed the emperor to Luozhong did he submit a memorial to congratulate us."

At this point, Liu Feng pretended to be mysterious and said, "The emperor also has many grievances against the Grand Marshal, and even suspects the Grand Marshal's intentions."

Liu Bei was suddenly startled: "How did you know about this?"

Liu Feng whispered, "Naturally, it was what the Emperor told me. Although the Emperor didn't say it explicitly, he hinted at it."

Liu Bei sighed, "How difficult it is for the people of the world! It's all because these people are too selfish!"

Liu Feng nodded in agreement, "Who can disagree?"

Liu Feng played the role of a good son for a day, and Liu Bei also enjoyed a day of warmth.

The following day, Liu Bei broke free from his paternal and filial duties and resumed his position as the Lord of Xu Province and the Grand General of the Cavalry, overseeing the affairs of the three southeastern provinces. The meeting was highly confidential, yet attended by a considerable number of people.

This also shows how prosperous Liu Bei's army is now.

Liu Bei was naturally seated at the head of the table, and Liu Feng was seated at the head of the table on his left.

Whether as the eldest son of the legitimate wife or as the General Who Conquers the South of the Imperial Court, Liu Feng is fully qualified to sit here.

The following are Xun You, Lu Su, Liu Ye, Guo Jia, Yuan Huan, and others.

On the right side, Liu Pi was the leader, followed by Taishi Ci, Zhang Liao, Zhou Yu, Sun Xiang, and others.

As usual, Xu Chu sat behind Liu Feng, guarding him on both sides. However, there were three more people beside Xu Chu: the Zhuge brothers and Jia Kui.

Among them, Zhuge Jin attended as a secretary, Jia Kui attended as a bodyguard, and Zhuge Liang attended as a scribe appointed by Liu Feng.

At the beginning of the discussion, Liu Feng recounted Liu Xun's defection to Jingzhou and his attempt to seize control of southern Lujiang. He also described his two plans.

Sun Xiang was stunned after hearing this. He never expected that he, a descendant of the Sun family, would be involved in such a high-level meeting.

The Sun family members have always held an awkward position within Yuan Shu's system; they are treated well but lack trust.

In fact, Yuan Shu had always been conflicted about the Sun family. If he used them, he had to give them benefits and status; if he didn't, he couldn't defeat the others.

Yuan Shu wanted to cultivate Qiao Rui and Zhang Xun, hoping to replace, or at least partially replace, the Sun family members.

Although Sun Xiang held a high position under Yuan Shu and would be granted the title of General of Miscellaneous Ranks next year, he had never been qualified to participate in such a strategic meeting, let alone a strategic meeting targeting Sun Ce.

Seeing Sun Xiang drenched in sweat, Liu Bei and Liu Feng both laughed.

After exchanging a glance, Liu Bei reassured Wen Yang, "Wen Yang, there's no need to worry. I have always respected Sun Polu, and I will treat Bo Fu with courtesy before resorting to force. If he is willing to submit to the court, I will certainly petition the court for him to be rewarded. Even if he resists stubbornly, it has nothing to do with you, Wen Yang. Inviting you to this banquet is to show my trust in you, so please do not doubt yourself."

Liu Bei's words greatly shocked Sun Xiang, who couldn't help but rise from her seat and kneel down: "Your Excellency's kindness is so great, I am not a heartless person, how can I not be moved? Please rest assured, Your Excellency, if I dare to reveal even a single word of what was said in court today, may Heaven punish me."

"Why must Wenyang do this?"

Liu Bei rose and helped him up, sighing, "If I didn't trust Wen Yang, why would I have invited you to attend? Wen Yang, you need not doubt yourself in the future."

Sun Xiang was moved to tears and then returned to her seat.

The discussion resumed in the hall.

Liu Bei was the first to ask, "What do you gentlemen think of Zisheng's plan? Which of the two plans should we adopt?"

Everyone remained silent, but their minds were racing.

Everyone has selfish desires; this is unavoidable.

It's just a matter of how much personal interests might interfere with public duty.

Selflessness does exist, but it cannot be expected of everyone.

Although Zhou Yu and Sun Xiang had different reasons, they both hoped to choose the second option: to directly attack Liu Xun and recapture Lujiang.

Taishi Ci and others, on the other hand, were completely different. Lujiang was so small that it didn't even have a prefecture or kingdom left. They heard that some counties in northern Lujiang had already surrendered, and other counties would likely follow suit.

For the generals, this was naturally a pointless endeavor.

Moreover, compared to Lujiang, Jiangdong has four entire prefectures, a vast territory with numerous factions, making it an ideal place for various armies to operate. Not to mention, after dealing with Jiangdong, they can then march north along the river and follow Liu Xun to launch a punitive expedition against Jingzhou.

Therefore, Taishi Ci and others firmly supported the first plan, which was to first pacify Jiangdong and then move on to Lujiang.

Zhou Yu, true to his name, did not directly oppose the first plan, but instead tearfully begged Liu Bei to rescue his family.

At this time, although all of Zhou's elite troops had been mobilized, they were either in Wanling or Shouchun, leaving behind only the elderly and women and children in their hometown.

But these old people were precisely Zhou Yu's elders.

If it was out of necessity, then so be it; after all, the old man of the Zhou family had long been aware of the ways of the world.

But if we have the resources to provide assistance but cannot, we'll be the subject of gossip and criticism.

Moved by Zhou Yu's familial affection, Liu Bei comforted him, saying, "Gongjin, please rise first. We are here to discuss this matter. Please speak freely, and we will consider it carefully."

At this point, most people on the field agreed with the first plan, including Lu Su and Liu Ye.

At the beginning of the southern expedition, no one expected Yuan Shu to be so incompetent, let alone that Liu Feng would be able to sneak into Shouchun City.

Although Yuan Shu was easily defeated, many cities such as Shouchun and Ruyin surrendered without resistance, and the city was completely captured.

But all the credit was stolen by Liu Feng along the way.

If the merit of this southern campaign against Yuan Shu is ten parts, then Liu Feng's faction took at least eight parts.

The remaining two points were hardly enough for Liu Bei's three armies to divide among themselves.
As everyone can see, Jiangdong is the place for a new round of achievements and successes, so it's not hard to understand everyone's thoughts.

However, Liu Bei could not ignore the opinions of Zhou Yu and Sun Xiang, especially Zhou Yu, as filial piety was extremely important in the Han Dynasty.

Moreover, it is not only about younger generations showing filial piety to their elders, but also about lords supporting filial piety towards their subordinates.

Forcing someone to be unfilial will damage your reputation.

Even Liu Feng found this situation somewhat troublesome.

Suddenly, Liu Feng felt a slight pull from behind.

He turned around quietly without making a sound, and saw Zhuge Liang tugging at his clothes.

Upon seeing Liu Feng turn around, Zhuge Liang quickly whispered, "Young Master, do not forget the Jingzhou navy."

Liu Feng was suddenly jolted and realized what was happening.

Therefore, Liu Feng stepped forward and said, "Father, I'm afraid the second plan is not feasible for the time being."

Liu Feng suddenly spoke up, forcefully rejecting the second plan, which greatly shocked Zhou Yu and Sun Xiang, who stared at him in bewilderment.

Liu Feng felt their gazes, nodded to them with a rather heavy expression, and then continued, "It's because I hadn't considered the Jingzhou navy before."

Upon hearing Liu Feng's words, even the astute Zhou Yu immediately understood.

An attack on Lujiang would inevitably trigger a major war between Xuzhou and Jingzhou. The Jingzhou navy has always been famous throughout the world, with its brave and fierce navy and more than a hundred warships of various sizes, which is far superior to the Xuzhou navy.

The Xuzhou navy has begun to show results, but most of its ships are small boats, with only a few large ones.

This is also due to Xuzhou's previous strategy. Although large ships have begun to be mass-produced, it will take time and they cannot be launched and formed into combat-ready ships immediately.

Under such circumstances, a major battle broke out between Xu and Jing provinces, and Nanlujiang was in the hands of Liu Xun. The Jingzhou navy could then advance without any scruples and divide Jiangdong and Jiangbei in one fell swoop.

How will the Xuzhou army cross the river when the time is right?
The best course of action now is to first take Jiangdong, and then negotiate with Jingzhou on the issue of Lujiang to buy time.

Ultimately, whether it was war or peace, the initiative remained in Liu Bei's hands.

Most importantly, both Liu Bei and his son were worried that Sun Ce would gain power in Jiangdong, which would cause a lot of trouble.

Liu Bei pondered for a moment, then turned to Zhou Yu and said, “Gongjin, what do you think? I will personally write a letter and send it to Lujiang, asking Liu Xun to send your family here. If he refuses, I will rather give up Jiangdong than not bring your family here.”

Liu Bei had already put it this way, so what else could Zhou Yu say?

Moreover, Zhou Yu was indeed quite satisfied at this point. Although this meant that all the assets in Lujiang might be lost, at least the people were saved.

Besides, Liu Bei is only temporarily not taking Nanlujiang, not that he will never take Nanlujiang again.

Those assets won't run away; they'll be reclaimed eventually. For now, they're just being held by Liu Xun.

At this moment, Sun Xiang suddenly stepped forward and bowed to Liu Bei: "I have received great kindness from you, my lord. Now that you wish to cross the Yangtze River, I am willing to go to Liyang and persuade Sun Ben to come and serve me."

Sun Xiang's move was indeed unexpected.

Liu Feng never considered sending Sun Xiang to persuade Sun Ben to surrender. His plan was either to eliminate Sun Ben in Liyang or to drive him across the river.

But after Sun Xiang volunteered, he remembered that the Sun family was not actually united, and that Sun Ben was now the head of the Sun family.

It's quite possible that Sun Xiang wanted to persuade Sun Ben to surrender.

After all, after Sun Ce swept through Jiangdong, none of the Sun family members went to Jiangdong to help him; they remained with Yuan Shu and served him.

It wasn't until Yuan Shu, in his arrogance, declared himself emperor that the Sun family seemed to wake up. One by one, they abandoned their wives and children, relinquished their official positions as governors, and fled to Jiangdong to join Sun Ce.

If Sun Ben could serve Yuan Shu, why couldn't he serve Liu Bei?
Liu Bei's future prospects were far better than Yuan Shu's.

(End of this chapter)