My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 61 Chen Qun's Family Letter
With 20,000 troops mobilized, they could also consolidate some of their forces. Furthermore, they had 2,000 elite troops stationed within Tancheng County, making the situation virtually foolproof.

But the words of decision that were about to come out of his mouth turned into a question.

“Feng’er, but if Cao Jianwei leaks the news and Zang Ba gets it in advance, then we’ll be in big trouble.”

Liu Feng nodded in agreement, then changed his tone: "Father, but this risk is worth taking. First, it can win Cao Jianwei's heart; second, it can gain Cao Jianwei's assistance; and third, it can establish Father's credibility in the prefecture and county."

Besides, I still trust Cao Jianwei. If there's any risk, it's more that I'm worried someone among Cao Jianwei's men might betray him and leak information.

The child has a nascent idea; Father, please consider whether it's feasible.

"Feng'er, please tell me quickly."

“Father, we can first invite Cao Jianwei to our residence for a discussion and reveal the whole plan to him to gain his trust. Then we can instruct Cao Jianwei not to leak it out, but only to use the handover of troops as an excuse to reorganize the army.”

A reliable force can be dispatched first, while Cao Jianwei's troops can set off with other Danyang soldiers. This would both increase the frontline fighting strength and ensure the safety of Tan County.

However, there is still a risk of leaks, so it's not foolproof.

After hearing this, Liu Bei fell silent.

After pondering for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, I finally made a decision.

“Feng’er is absolutely right. It would be very beneficial to talk about this matter, but it would be very harmful to keep it to ourselves. So why should we be afraid of the risks?”

Liu Bei resolutely said, "You should handle this matter. I grant you permission to inform Cao Jianwei of the plan."

"Yes, father."

Liu Bei had made his decision, and it aligned with Liu Feng's wishes, so he naturally obeyed respectfully.

"I remember there's something else you need to say, let me tell you that as well."

"Forehead……"

Liu Feng felt guilty, but in the end he couldn't suppress his inner desire: "Father, in this plan, I want to personally take charge of the grain procurement."

"You want to take responsibility for this?"

Liu Bei said nonchalantly, "That's easy, just a few official documents. I approve."

Liu Feng was sweating profusely; he hadn't expected Liu Bei to misunderstand.

"No, no, I meant to..."

Liu Feng gritted his teeth: "I want to go to Kaiyang to collect grain myself."

"What!?"

Liu Bei jumped up instantly: "How can this be allowed? Absolutely not!"

"Father, please allow me to explain in detail."

"I won't explain it in detail, I forbid it!"

“Father, there is no danger in this matter. Although Zang Ba of Kaiyang has the ambition to establish his own territory, he has no intention of rebelling. He merely wants to occupy Langya and bargain with you. Even if I go there in person, there will be no problem…”

"It's not acceptable to not have it!"

Liu Bei's attitude was extremely firm, leaving no room for negotiation: "You stay obediently in Tan County and are not allowed to go anywhere!"

Seeing Liu Bei's agitation, Liu Feng knew the matter was hopeless for the time being, so he could only lower his head and say, "Yes, Father." Seeing his father's anger, Liu Feng knew that anything he said at this moment would be wrong, so he quickly slipped away.

At this time, Chen Qun was writing a letter at home, a letter to his father.

When Liu Bei entered Pei State and was appointed Governor of Yu Province by Tao Qian, Chen Qun joined Liu Bei's forces and served as the Prefect of Yu Province.

Afterwards, although he failed to persuade Liu Bei not to enter Xuzhou, Chen Qun himself still followed Liu Bei to Xuzhou, while his father Chen Ji stayed in his hometown of Xuxian, Yingchuan.

As Chen Qun had predicted, the situation was extremely precarious when he first arrived in Xuzhou.

Cao Bao and Xu Dan's Danyang troops joined forces with Chief Clerk Cao Hong to protect themselves and distanced themselves from Liu Bei. Zang Ba, on the other hand, did not obey the orders of the state and was practically a separatist. The situation in Guangling County in the south was the worst. After losing its governor, it began to lean towards Yuan Shu.

If it weren't for Chen Deng and Mi Zhu's strong support for Liu Bei and their goodwill towards him, and Liu Bei's continued attention to him, he probably would have long ago considered returning home.

However, things started to change after Liu Bei's eldest son, Liu Feng, arrived in Xuzhou.

The earliest change was that the eldest son, who rarely went out, suddenly visited Cao Bao. In just one meeting, he persuaded Cao Bao to cede four thousand troops and transfer them to the jurisdiction of the state.

Following this, Liu Bei announced the establishment of military agricultural colonies and promoted generals such as Zhao Yun and Tian Yu to serve concurrently as local county magistrates, responsible for the specific affairs of the colonies. Surprisingly, local gentry such as Chen Deng did not object, allowing the appointment to pass easily.

Then, the Mi family began to continuously supply Tancheng with resources, ostensibly for the use of the governor's land reclamation.

Rumors are circulating that the Mi family is about to form a marriage alliance with the Earl of Zhou, and the sum of money involved is likely to be in the tens of millions.

At this crucial moment, Liu Bei suddenly summoned Chen Qun for a private meeting, intending to ask him to write letters to Xun You in Xiangyang and Guo Jia in Yecheng, requesting that they be recruited to serve in Xuzhou.

Chen Qun didn't believe it at first. Even he, a fellow villager, didn't know that Xun You was in Xiangyang. How could Liu Bei, a man from Hebei, possibly know about this?

But Liu Bei confidently told him that after Xun Gongda obtained the position of Prefect of Shu Commandery from the court, he wanted to go to Shu to serve as an official, but was prevented by the war and could only stay in Xiangyang.

Hearing this, Chen Qun began to believe it and agreed.

However, before writing the letter, Chen Qun still told Liu Bei that although he and Xun Gongda had met, they were not friends.

As for Guo Jia, there was absolutely no interaction between them; they had never even met him, only heard about him from Xun Yu, Guo Tu, and Xin Ping.

Liu Bei was very understanding. He simply expressed his hope that Chen Qun could express his sincerity as much as possible. Finally, he hoped that Chen Qun would write in his letter that Liu Bei invited them to visit Xuzhou. If they still did not want to stay in the end, he could even send someone to escort them back to Xuxian.

Chen Qun was somewhat surprised. Even though Liu Bei had always valued talent and was eager to recruit capable people, this was the first time he had seen him adopt such a humble attitude.

Xun Gongda was indeed talented. He was quick-witted and discerning in his youth, and at the age of thirteen, he was able to detect that the former official who came to observe mourning for his grandfather was problematic.

Guo Jia was not a well-known figure, yet Liu Bei ranked him alongside Xun You. Could it be that Guo Jia's talent was no less than that of Xun Gongda?

Suppressing his doubts, Chen Qun immediately wrote two letters for Liu Bei.

After reading it, Liu Bei was very satisfied. He invited Chen Qun to stay and talk, and happily told Chen Qun that the critical situation in Xuzhou had changed.

Through his unremitting efforts, he has reached a reconciliation with Cao Bao.

If they can successfully join forces with Cao Bao, the other members of the Danyang faction will lose their leader and cease to be a threat.

With the visible support of Chen Deng and Mi Zhu, Chen Qun miraculously discovered that Liu Bei was actually showing signs of gaining a foothold in Xuzhou.

Although the situation was still fraught with danger, Liu Bei actually only controlled one county, Tancheng.

Regardless, everything is turning for the better, which is beyond Chen Qun's original plan.

(End of this chapter)