My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 380 Meeting Liu Bei
Liu Feng's deepest impression was of the Second Prince, who single-handedly defended Jingzhou and Xiangyang, flooded the seven armies, shook the Central Plains, and almost forced Cao Cao to move the capital.

Therefore, he overlooked the difference between the two dimensions.

The most capable commander under Liu Bei at present is neither Guan Yu nor Zhang Fei, but Liu Feng himself.

Under such circumstances, how could Guan Yu still be arrogant in front of Liu Feng? Guan Yu was just proud, but he was not a fool.

Moreover, Liu Bei had no biological brothers. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were not simply generals; they were members of the imperial clan recognized by Liu Bei.

In the original timeline, only Guan Yu and Zhang Fei held positions of imperial relatives. Guan Yu was sent out to serve as a regional commander, while Zhang Fei was intended to be a relative of the imperial family.

Liu Shan married Zhang Fei's daughter, which was essentially a continuation of the Eastern Han tradition.

Therefore, as long as Guan Yu was clear-headed, he would never compete with Liu Feng for military merit.

In fact, Zhang Liao was able to leave the city and catch up with Liu Feng this time only because Guan Yu was lenient with him. Otherwise, Zhang Liao's actions alone, which constituted dereliction of duty, would have been punishable by death under military law.

It is clear that Guan Yu himself was happy to see this. Zhang Liao thoughtfully did things for him that he couldn't do himself, so why wouldn't he be happy to do it?

After listening to Zhang Liao's advice, Liu Feng's mindset changed somewhat.

Now, he is the master, and Guan Yu is the subject; this is the greatest distinction between them.

He could respect Guan Yu, but he didn't need to be afraid of him.

With his current military achievements and reputation, he is capable of commanding heavyweight uncles like Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

Therefore, Liu Feng immediately stated, "Wen Yuan, you can go back and tell your second uncle that my return north to see my father is precisely to plan a new campaign. If my father approves of the plan, a major battle will follow. Even if he does not approve, Jiangdong still needs reinforcements to maintain stability, and I will ask my father for help."

Zhang Liao was overjoyed: "This humble general thanks you for your service in the south!"

After sending Zhang Liao back, Liu Feng led Pang Tong and others northward and arrived at Shouchun.

Upon learning the news, Liu Bei personally led his civil and military confidants out of the city to welcome them.

Upon seeing his father, Liu Feng hurriedly dismounted and walked to greet Liu Bei.

"Your unfilial son has troubled Father to come out of the city to welcome you. I deserve to die. Please forgive me, Father!"

Liu Bei's face was full of smiles, and his eyes were filled with doting affection as he pulled Liu Feng up from the ground.

“My son has helped the court conquer the east and south, bringing peace to the southeast. I am overjoyed and would never punish you. Get up and come with me into the city.”

Liu Bei was followed by Chen Deng, Xun You, Lu Su, Liu Ye and others, who all stepped forward to greet Liu Feng.

Liu Feng showed no arrogance and immediately returned the greeting. Then, the group followed Liu Bei into the city.

That evening, Liu Bei hosted a banquet to welcome Liu Feng and then took him back to his residence, where father and son slept together in the same bed.

The following afternoon, when Liu Feng was alone with Liu Bei, he finally revealed his ambitions for Jingzhou.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei was greatly alarmed and said, "Liu Jing Sheng is a member of the Han imperial family and has always been respectful to the court. Before the new year, he even sent a large amount of grain, weapons, and wealth to Luozhong, which was praised by the emperor. How can we offend him without an imperial edict?"

Liu Feng had already prepared himself mentally for the possibility that Liu Bei might not support, or even oppose, the westward conquest of Jingzhou. However, Liu Feng had his own reasons to persuade Liu Bei.

“Father, Liu Jingsheng is subservient to the court because he needs it. Although he is a member of the imperial clan, he is quite ambitious.”

Liu Feng immediately recounted to Liu Bei what Liu Biao had done to the surrounding neighbors after entering Jingzhou.

"Now he has repeatedly gone south to raise troops in Jiaozhi, intending to privately install Lai Gong as the governor of Jiaozhou."

Liu Feng didn't hesitate to pin the blame on Liu Biao. In the original timeline, Liu Biao had actually done it. It's hard to say in this timeline, but putting this label on him first is definitely not wrong.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei frowned.

Liu Bei's influence is growing daily, and more and more scholars and warriors are flocking to him. Even many disillusioned scholars from Jingzhou are going down the river to Jiangbei to serve him.

Among these people were local scholars from Jingzhou, as well as scholars from the north who had come south to escape the disaster.

This was undoubtedly a good sign, but as Liu Bei's power continued to grow, it led to internal divisions within the group.

This is an inevitable factional division, which is difficult to avoid even during periods of unification, let alone in the present situation.

Fortunately, the division within Liu Bei's group did not unfold in the form of a successor.

Liu Bei now has three sons. His eldest son, Liu Feng, is thirteen years old. His other two sons are both sons born out of wedlock. His second son, Liu Shan, is only six years old, and his other younger brother, Liu Yong, is only four years old.

However, this Liu Shan and Liu Yong are not the same person as the Liu Shan and Liu Yong in the original timeline. It's just that Liu Bei had prepared the order of names for his sons for the Fengshan ceremony and Yongli ceremony long ago, so Liu Shan and Liu Yong still appeared.

Although Liu Bei currently has three sons, under the current circumstances, regardless of whether it's choosing the eldest son, the legitimate heir, the most virtuous, or the one with the most merit, Liu Feng is the only candidate. Furthermore, no scholar or family would dare to place their bets on Liu Shan or Liu Yong under these circumstances.

Therefore, the succession faction struggles that had occurred under Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Liu Biao, and even Liu Yan could not cause any trouble under Liu Bei.

Therefore, the division of factions under Liu Bei was mainly based on geography, but it was not as clearly defined as the divisions under Yuan Shao.

It also contained a great deal of influence on the division of the Han Dynasty's political situation.

For example, Xu Qiu was the largest emperor faction in the Xuzhou faction. Most of the officials in Xu Qiu's faction were from Xuzhou, especially from Guangling. Their political ideology was to be loyal to the emperor.

When Liu Bei was loyal to the emperor and pacifying the land, he naturally gained their service and assistance. However, if Liu Bei wanted to establish himself as an independent ruler, these people might abandon their support, and the more radical ones might even turn against him.

Similarly, the Flying Cavalry faction, represented by Chen Deng, had already secretly begun to plot their merit in following the emperor.

Most of the people in this faction were locals from Xuzhou, and they were all from humble backgrounds who were promoted by Liu Bei and his son Liu Feng. People like Lu Su and Liu Ye were key figures in this faction.

Similarly, some figures from other states, such as Jia Xi and Jia Kui from Hedong, were favored by Liu Bei and Liu Feng and were taken as confidants. As a result, they were accepted by Chen Deng, Lu Su, Liu Ye and others.

Overall, the biggest internal conflict within Liu Bei's group is still the debate over who should become emperor.

Fortunately, Liu Bei and his son always aligned themselves with the emperor. This time, when they went south to attack Yuan Shu, they specifically persuaded the emperor to issue an edict to punish him.

In addition, with Chen Deng and others being relatively loosely organized, yet with the most powerful Flying Cavalry faction in charge, the entire Liu Bei group still performed quite well in terms of unity and strength.

Liu Bei's reaction at this time was not only due to a slight feeling of pity for Liu Biao, but also because he was concerned that the lack of a legitimate reason for launching the campaign might provoke opposition from officials within his own faction.

In the original timeline, Cao Cao broke ties with the emperor too early, which meant that when he fought Yuan Shao, he couldn't use the emperor to sow discord within Yuan Shao's group.

Because both the scholars of Hebei and Henan believed that Cao Cao was a traitor to the Han dynasty, and that they were the righteous army that had come to rescue the emperor.

Despite Ju Shou's impressive rhetoric, he constantly berated Yuan Shao, claiming that Cao Cao was righteous in rescuing the emperor from chaos and punishing the tyrannical, and that the Cao family had welcomed the emperor to Xuchang and established a palace there. He argued that the current southward march was against righteousness. In the end, he blatantly praised Cao Cao, saying that the Cao family's laws were well-implemented and that his soldiers were highly trained.

They even went so far as to say that Cao Cao's military prowess was unmatched, and that Yuan Shao's arrogance would lead to his downfall.

But this was just a rhetoric Ju Shou used to get Yuan Shao to listen to him. If Ju Shou really thought that way, then why did he choose death over surrender when he was captured by Cao Cao after the war and even his son couldn't escape?
Shouldn't he have surrendered to the Cao family, the righteous army he admired?

On the contrary, a large number of scholars in Cao Cao's camp betrayed him and defected to Yuan Shao.

It's simply that I think Cao Cao and Yuan Shao are the same kind of people. Since that's the case, Yuan Shao is from a family that has held high office for four generations and is a famous family in the world, while you, Cao Cao, come from a eunuch family and your family background is not as good as mine. So even if I admit defeat, I have to admit to someone who makes me respect you.

Therefore, it is not wrong for Liu Bei to have such concerns.

The concept of righteousness can be worthless at times, but at other times it can be priceless, truly worth a million soldiers.

After hearing the negative information Liu Feng shared, Liu Bei was quite intrigued.

"If we can make the emperor see clearly what Liu Biao is doing and see through his disloyal intentions."

Liu Bei tentatively suggested, "Perhaps this would be feasible."

Liu Feng understood that his father still didn't want to confront the central leadership, lest the group be torn apart internally.

The allure of Jingzhou was too great, especially with the golden opportunity presented by the rebellion of Zhang Xian and Huan Jie. Liu Feng simply didn't want to miss it, so how could he possibly give it up for fear of alienating a small number of gentry members?

"Father, Yuan Shao will surely defeat General Yuan within the next two years."

Liu Feng then began to put pressure on Liu Bei from another direction: "After Yuan Shao pacifies Hebei, his military might will inevitably turn south. At that time, a million troops from Hebei will cross the Yellow River and head south, and Liu Jingsheng will lead the eight commanderies of Jingzhou and Xiangyang to the north to meet them. If the General surrenders without a fight, how will Father support the Han Dynasty?"

Liu Bei suddenly raised his head and stared intently at Liu Feng.

Liu Feng, however, looked back without flinching, and the two stared at each other for the duration of a full cup of tea.

"Then what do you think should be done?"

Finally, Liu Bei spoke first, but his voice had become much colder.

Liu Feng sighed inwardly, thinking that Liu Bei was still too soft-hearted.

In fact, it can be seen from Liu Bei's resume in the original timeline that Liu Bei was actually forced by Cao Cao to fight for the world.

There is very objective evidence.

In the fourth year of Jian'an, Liu Bei took advantage of the opportunity to block Yuan Shu from passing through Xuzhou to go north to join Yuan Shu, launched a mutiny in Xuzhou, and after regaining control of Xuzhou, he did not hesitate to side with Yuan Shao.

If Liu Bei hadn't been afraid of Cao Cao killing him, he would never have done this.

Because Yuan Shao's power at the time far surpassed that of Cao Cao, if Cao Cao won, the smaller warlords could still barely survive, but if Yuan Shao won, he would be a powerful ruler several times stronger than Cao Cao.

It is evident that Liu Bei had no intention of vying for the throne before going to Jingzhou.

He only wanted to switch sides to Yuan Shao because he couldn't stay with Cao Cao anymore.

After all, the line "Among all the heroes under heaven, only you and Cao Cao are truly terrifying" is too intimidating.

Who could sleep peacefully after hearing such words?

Cao Cao's artistic temperament once again backfired on him; with just one sentence, he completely shattered all the favor and respect he had shown Liu Bei.

“Father, even if we don’t take Jingzhou, our current military strength is already insufficient.”

Liu Feng cupped his hands and suggested, "The best course of action now is to expand the army."

Upon hearing Liu Feng's suggestion to expand the army, Liu Bei fell into deep thought, and after a moment, slowly nodded.

"Our current troop strength is indeed insufficient."

At present, Liu Bei's total military strength is around 100,000 men. Liu Feng led 30,000 to 40,000 men south, and another 20,000 to 30,000 men were deployed in the north. Now Liu Bei only has more than 10,000 men stationed in Shouchun.

The thought of his eldest son's judgment made Liu Bei somewhat worried.

Not to mention anything far in the past, my eldest son predicted that there would be a severe drought in the Huai and Si River basins.

Last winter was alright, with heavy snowfall. But since the beginning of spring, the five prefectures of Huai and Si have not had a single rain or snowfall. If it weren't for the large amount of manpower and resources invested in water conservancy projects over the past six months, Jiujiang and Lujiang in the Huai and Si regions would have truly suffered a complete crop failure this year.

"We should expand the army by 200,000."

Liu Feng said decisively, "Father now has 100,000 strong men under his command. After I swept through Jiangdong, I sent nearly 100,000 prisoners. These are all young and strong men who have experienced battle and are excellent soldiers. Now that the labor service is about to end, it is a good time to incorporate these troops into various units and expand the military strength."

The water conservancy projects in Huai and Si are almost finished, and these captured laborers certainly cannot be allowed to rest.

Once things stop, it's easy for rebellion to break out.

Even though Sun Ce has surrendered, it cannot completely pacify these people.

Therefore, expanding the military is an urgent task.

"Two hundred thousand!?"

Liu Bei looked surprised; this number was enormous, almost doubling the size of the army.

“Father, now that you are in charge of the military affairs of three provinces, Yu Province and Yang Province are vast and rich in resources. Moreover, since Yang Province has just been pacified, the Yue and Jingman tribes are restless and disregard the laws of the Han Dynasty, and have repeatedly come down from the mountains to plunder the people.”

Liu Feng calmly advised, "Without sufficient troops, Yangzhou will be difficult to stabilize, let alone deter Liu Jingsheng."

Liu Feng's words immediately reminded Liu Bei of Liu Xun's matter.

Liu Xun now only has four or five counties in the southwest, and they are also suffering from a severe drought.

According to intelligence reports, the summer harvest in Liu Xun's territory also failed completely, with no harvest at all. The people are now surviving on tree bark, wild vegetables, and the little remaining grain they have.

The price of grain in Shuxian County has risen to 400 coins per dou, an increase of more than tenfold.

Even so, there was still a shortage of supply; any grain that came on the market would be snapped up immediately.

Liu Xun has already sent someone to Jingzhou to request reinforcements, pleading with Liu Biao for help.

In the past six months, thousands of people have secretly fled to Liu Bei's territory, and it is foreseeable that the number of refugees will only increase, leaving Liu Xun with only a few empty cities in the end. It is even possible that before the cities are even empty, local gentry and powerful families will contact Liu Bei to surrender.

Liu Bei harbored considerable resentment towards Liu Xun, whose actions were undoubtedly a slap in the face to him. Liu Biao, who was Liu Xun's backer, clearly didn't take Liu Bei seriously at all.

In Liu Biao's mind, Liu Bei was probably still the weakling who needed to beg him to sell grain.

(End of this chapter)