The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 17 I am willing to gather infantry and cavalry to serve you, help you and save the people (Please read it later!)

Tao Qian wanted to give Xuzhou to Liu Bei, but in fact Liu Bei and his men had already made mental preparations these days.

But I didn't expect the people of Xuzhou to be so anxious. Only a few days after Tao Qian's death, these people were already eager to establish a new leader.

Liu Bei has discussed this matter with his subordinates many times in the past few days, but no conclusion has been reached.

Until now, Liu Bei's group still has doubts about whether to take over Xuzhou.

The people of Xuzhou were urging them to move, but Liu Bei's group was not ready yet.

Chen Qun, who had come with him, stood up and shouted:
"… Envoy."

Liu Bei glanced sideways and saw Chen Qun shaking his head solemnly.

Liu Bei then turned to Mi Zhu and the others and said:

"Yuan Gonglu is near Shouchun, you can give him the state."

"... Envoy, this!"

Mi Zhu didn't expect Liu Bei to refuse, and was a little at a loss.

Chen Deng was a veteran in the officialdom. He saw at a glance that this was Liu Bei's delaying tactic.

Then he went down the stairs and said:

"Yuan Gonglu is arrogant, licentious and extravagant, and is not a leader who can bring order to chaos."

"Now we would like to gather 100,000 infantry and cavalry for you, so that we can help you, save the people, and protect the royal family."

"The lower ones can cede land and defend the borders to accomplish the merits of the princes."

Li Yi sneered on the side, this Chen Deng can be considered as a pie in the sky leader.

He is really good at bragging. With a combined force of 100,000 infantry and cavalry, he might be able to reach the sky.

Historically, Chen Deng did promise to help Liu Bei raise 100,000 infantry and cavalry.

But this was just a pie in the sky that Chen Deng painted to trick Liu Bei into accepting Xuzhou.

Because until the end, Chen Deng did not help Liu Bei to figure it out.

On the contrary, after Lu Bu's surprise attack on Xuzhou, Chen Deng did not save Xuzhou for Liu Bei. Instead, he and his family took the opportunity to welcome Lu Bu into Xuzhou.

This certainly does not mean that Chen Deng likes Lu Bu more than Liu Bei, but that the noble families in Xuzhou found that Lu Bu is easier to control than Liu Bei.

Why did Chen Deng want Liu Bei to take over Xuzhou so much?
Because Chen Deng's views basically represent the views of all the scholars and powerful people in Xuzhou.

They acted tyrannically in Xuzhou, but were unable to resist foreign enemies like Cao Cao.

So they needed a very capable fighter, and Liu Bei was their choice.

But who is Liu Bei?

Never give up and never give in.

He is an ambitious hero, how could he allow himself to be manipulated by the Xuzhou family?

So when the scholars and powerful people in Xuzhou found that Liu Bei was not so easy to control, their relationship with him began to gradually become distant.

At this time, Lu Bu, who was also an excellent military leader but whose political ability was far inferior to Liu Bei's, appeared.

Of course, the scholars and powerful people in Xuzhou would be more willing to welcome Lu Bu.

Now Chen Deng, out of consideration for his family's interests, hopes to help Xuzhou welcome a new master and protect the territory and the people as soon as possible.

In fact, what these local nobles hate most is troubled times.

Because in troubled times, anyone with a gun can become a king and disrupt the old order.

The ones who suffer the most are the vested interests who have already climbed to the top of the pyramid.

Chen Deng was very resolute and said in a firm tone:

"If the envoy does not listen to Xu, then Deng will not dare to listen to the envoy either."

What this means is that if the envoy does not agree to our request, then we cannot follow his arrangements.

It's clearly a threat.

Chen Qun was furious when he saw this, and shouted angrily:
"Why is Chen Yuanlong so rude!"

Chen Deng glanced at Chen Qun and said:
"Are you Chen Changwen from Yuzhou?"

Chen Qun nodded, "It is the humble Chen Qun."

Chen Deng bowed and said:
"I have long admired your great name, sir. Now we are following the will of Lord Tao and wish to entrust Xuzhou to Lord Xuande."

"Since Lord Xuande is a descendant of the Han empress, and has a heart of benevolence and righteousness, how could he bear to see the people of Xuzhou die in the wilderness?"

"How could you not have the blood of a hero, and the heart to help the emperor and the people?" It has to be said that Chen Deng was indeed a man of outstanding talent. He approached the issue from both a moral and practical perspective and forced Liu Bei to accept Xuzhou.

But Chen Qun was also a smart man, so he could just listen to what Chen Deng said but not believe it easily.

You said you wanted to help Liu Bei gather 100,000 infantry and cavalry. Where would these 100,000 troops be placed?

Why weren't you guys pulled out when Cao Cao massacred Xuzhou before?
Whose territory are we defending by ceding land?

Are we helping you, the Xuzhou nobles, defend the border?
Chen Qun laughed coldly:

"Yuanlong said that he would gather 100,000 infantry and cavalry for you, but that was just a lie."

"All under heaven belongs to the king, and all the people are his subjects. To cede land to defend the border is too rebellious."

Chen Deng was not annoyed when he heard this. Instead, he replied calmly and composedly:

"Although Xuzhou has been massacred, it still has millions of households and countless fertile fields."

"Besides, Xuzhou is adjacent to the East China Sea, the people are prosperous and the country is rich, it is indeed a place of dominance."

"If you don't take what I give you today, you will suffer the consequences."

"A man should never miss a good opportunity when faced with a problem."

Chen Deng's words were flawless. He emphasized that Xuzhou's foundation was still there, and it was not entirely bragging.

Because no one in Xuzhou knows the actual situation in Xuzhou better than Chen Deng.

When Tao Qian was in office, he appointed Chen Deng as the Commandant of Agriculture, which is equivalent to the current Minister of Agriculture.

Chen Deng was indeed a man of great talent. Under his governance, not only was famine in Xuzhou reduced, but a large amount of grain was also accumulated.

While attracting a large number of people to join him, it also accumulated countless wealth for Xuzhou.

So much so that when all the states in the Central Plains were suffering from famine, Xuzhou still had spare money to build the Golden Buddha Temple.

However, the ancients always spoke nonsense when it came to numbers.

Chen Deng said he would help Liu Bei raise an army of 100,000, and then he claimed that Xuzhou still had a population of one million after the disaster.

There were no detailed statistical tables in ancient times, so who knows whether it is true or false?

Seeing Chen Qun and Chen Deng arguing with each other, Li Yi stepped out to mediate:

"You two don't need to argue. The post of Xuzhou Mu is a heavy responsibility and cannot be decided in a short time."

"Please allow us to discuss this, how about that?"

This is said tactfully so as not to offend either side.

Seeing Li Yi's elegant and imposing manner, Chen Deng asked:

"Are you Mr. Li Ziyu, who helped the envoy defeat Cao's army?"

"It's me."

Li Yi nodded and smiled, "Captain Chen is well-informed. I have only been out of the mountains for a few days, but Captain Chen already knows my name."

Li Yi secretly sighed that in the ancient times when information was so limited, Chen Deng could actually know his name so quickly.

All I can say is that they are indeed a noble family, and their hands are really wide.

Chen Deng gave Li Yi the feeling of a smiling tiger, but his smile at this moment was very kind and did not reveal much malice.

"A real man should make friends with heroes all over the world, let alone a world-class genius like Mr. Ziyu."

"Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou twice, and he was so arrogant that our Xuzhou army defeated him repeatedly. Sir, you were able to defeat him in your first use of the army."

"I really admire Jiao Deng."

Although he didn't know whether Chen Deng was sincere in what he said, Li Yi still cupped his hands in gratitude:
"In terms of both military and literary skills, and his courage and determination, Yi is far inferior to Captain Chen."

Although this was a compliment, Chen Deng found it very useful.

He was a conceited person, and Li Yi's evaluation of him was exactly how he evaluated himself.

"……Hahaha."

Chen Deng laughed loudly:

"It seems that I have met a bosom friend in Xuzhou, but I regret that I still have official business to attend to and cannot be distracted."

"Otherwise, I will drink a thousand cups with you until we are drunk!"

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(End of this chapter)