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

Chapter 214: Su Qin is given the seals of the six kingdoms, and Li Yi is given the troops of the six princes (with the current power map)
But after Yuan Shao died, his youngest son Yuan Shang succeeded to the throne.

When Guo Tu and Xin Ping, who were part of Yuan Tan's party, heard the news, they were all shocked.

In desperation, he had to ask Yuan Tan to come over to see if the situation could be improved.

When Yuan Tan in Qingzhou learned that his father had died, he hurriedly led his troops to the scene.

However, he did not expect that Yuan Shang had already succeeded to the position of general with the support of Shen Pei and Pang Ji, and concurrently served as the governor of Jizhou.

Before Yuan Tan's men entered Jizhou, they heard that Yuan Shang had already succeeded to the throne. They were shocked and angry.

He was about to lead his troops into Ye to seek an explanation from Yuan Shang.

Guo Tu and Xin Ping went out of the city to stop him and advised:

"The lord is not in Jizhou, so Shen Pei and Pang Ji both made the third son their lord."

"Now that the matter has been decided, Shen and Pang must have made plans."

"If you enter the city at this time, you will be in trouble."

The political acumen of these two people is not comparable to that of Yuan Tan.

They knew that if you had come when Yuan Shao died, they would have been able to fight for your position no matter what.

But now Yuan Shang has succeeded to the throne and received congratulations from civil and military officials.

If you bring troops here now, it would be tantamount to rebellion.

If someone puts a random label on you, you won't be able to turn things around.

Yuan Tan was very angry and said:

"When it comes to marching and fighting, how can Xianfu compare to me?"

"When I was in Qingzhou, I relied a lot on my efforts to fight against the troops from Xuzhou."

"My father has just passed away, and he took advantage of my absence in Ye County to succeed to the throne."

"This is really unreasonable!"

After venting his anger, Yuan Tan calmed down and asked the two of them:

"It's come to this, there's no point in hating."

"How should I deal with it?"

Guo Tu suggested:
"My lord, why don't you lead your troops to station outside the city and observe the situation first?"

"I will go there in person to see what his attitude is."

Yuan Tan followed his advice and immediately ordered Guo Tu to enter Ye.

Guo Tu arrived at Ye County and met Yuan Shang, and exchanged greetings.

Yuan Shang asked first:
"I heard that my brother has arrived. Why don't you come into the city to see me?"

Guo Tunai said:

"The eldest son is ill in the army and cannot meet."

Yuan Shang smiled and said:
"Could it be that my brother doubts me?"

Guo Tu remained silent, which was considered a silent protest.

Although the number of people supporting Yuan Tan was not as many as that supporting Yuan Shang, there were still quite a few, and Guo Tu was an important figure among them.

He did so because he was certain that Yuan Shang would not dare to deal with him easily.

When Shen Pei saw this, he shouted sternly:

"In the past, my father deposed your lord and appointed my general as the heir."

"Send a petition to the ancestors and write a genealogy."

"Everyone in the country, near and far, has heard of it."

"Now that my general is in charge of the affairs of four states, your master should also pay a visit to congratulate my general."

Shen Pei's words almost tore the relationship apart.

The faces of the people present all changed.

Suddenly someone reported that Li Yi was leading a large army to attack Jizhou.

Seeing this, Yuan Shang comforted Guo Tu and his group:

"I received my father's will and appointed me as the master."

"Now that the enemy is approaching, we should work together to find a way to repel the enemy, and not let our brothers kill each other."

"Now I would like my cousin to be the General of Chariots and Cavalry, and I would like you to be the vanguard."

"I will dispatch troops to support you later."

When Guo Tu heard that Li Yi was leading a large army to invade Jizhou, he also knew that it was important to repel the enemy.

But Yuan Shang asked Yuan Tan to be the vanguard.

Doesn't this mean weakening his strength?
Guo Tu certainly did not want to suffer this loss, so he said to Yuan Shang:

"No one in the army can come up with a good plan."

"I would like to ask Shen Zhengnan and Pang Yuantu to assist me and my general and help us repel the enemy."

Yuan Shang knew that Guo Tu wanted hostages, so he naturally disagreed and said:

"I also want to rely on these two people to make plans sooner or later, so I can't leave them!"

Guo Tu tried hard to argue:

"Then you may send one of the two to go with us."

"What do you think, General?"

Only then did Yuan Shang seriously consider Guo Tu's proposal.

After all, if you want Yuan Tan to be the vanguard and consume his military strength, you can't do that without leaving a hostage.

After a moment of hesitation, Yuan Shang said to Pang Ji:

"Yuan Tu, you should follow Guo Gongze and go to my brother's army."

"Wait for your orders and help us to retreat Li Yi."

The reason why Pang Ji was chosen was because of his special background.

Regional discrimination was very serious in the late Han Dynasty, especially among scholars.
Those who supported Yuan Shang were typical large landlords from Hebei, represented by Shen Pei.

But Pang Ji was from Beihai, Qingzhou.

Logically speaking, Qingzhou was Yuan Tan's territory, and the Pang family, as a large family, should have supported him.

However, due to Yuan Tan's "virtuous governance" in Qingzhou for many years, Pang Ji disliked Yuan Tan as a person.

But Pang Ji is not a native of Hebei.

This made him unwelcome in Yuan Shang's camp and unpopular in Yuan Tan's camp.

It's a bit like being caught between a rock and a hard place.

Therefore, Pang Ji was a chess piece that Yuan Shang could discard at any time.

At the same time, Yuan Shang also needed someone to help him monitor Yuan Tan.

After looking around, there is no one more suitable than Pang Ji.

When Pang Ji heard Yuan Shang's order, he followed Guo Tu to Yuan Tan's army.

Yuan Tan asked how things were going, and Guo Tu said:
"Yuan Xianfu is very popular among the people, and it is not easy to win."

"Now Li Yi's army is approaching and invading Hebei. We should repel the strong enemy first."

"Gain enough fame, and then come back to fight for Jizhou."

Guo Tu's view was that Yuan Shang's position was already very solid.

The only solution now is to defeat the Henan Army and increase Yuan Tan's reputation.

In this way, they had an excuse to overthrow Yuan Shang's rule.

what?
"You want me to beat Li Yi?"

Yuan Tan opened his eyes wide, somewhat unable to believe his ears.

Not to mention that he was captured alive by Li Yi several years ago.

As of now, even if my father combines the strength of four states, he is still no match for Li Yi.

You, Guo Tu, actually asked me to use the troops I have now to compete with Li Yi's victorious army?

Guo Tu seemed quite confident and analyzed to Yuan Tan:

"In the past, the general was in Qingzhou, isolated and without help. Li Yi took advantage of his ease to wait for his opponent to tire out, and thus defeated him."

"When my father was at Guandu, Li Yi fortified his city and cleared the countryside. It took half a year for him to be defeated."

"Now Li Yi has led a large army across the Yellow River and invaded our border. What can he do to us?"

The previous two defeats were due to Yuan attacking Li Shou.

In ancient wars, the defender always had a much greater advantage than the attacker.

Therefore, Guo Tu believed that Yuan Shao suffered two major defeats.

But Hebei still has a strong foundation. As a defender, they can still achieve the kind of record that Li Yi achieved by "killing 70,000 to 80,000 enemies".

There is no problem in forcing him to retreat.

Encouraged by Guo Tu, Yuan Tan regained some confidence and led his troops to Fanyang for garrison.

Not stated.

……

In Henan, Li Yi defeated Yuan Shao’s main force at Cangting.

Knowing that Hebei's morale was greatly damaged, he urged Liu Bei to take this opportunity to conquer Hebei.

However, during this period, the internal group in Xuzhou began to question Li Yi's proposal.

Everyone advised:
"Although Yuan Shao is dead, Hebei's national strength is still there, so it is not easy to fall."

"If we march far into Hebei, the general will be unable to capture it and gain nothing from it."

"Within twenty days, our people in Henan will be trapped before they even fight."

"And after the two battles of Guandu and Cangting, Henan killed hundreds of thousands of Hebei people."

"The soldiers and civilians in Hebei all remember the revenge of their fathers and brothers, and they must all die, defend themselves, and refuse to surrender."

"It is unwise to attack at this time."

"It would be better to fix the internal affairs first and then slowly plan for Hebei."

"I hope the general will consider this carefully!"

Quarrels in internal meetings are common.

But in Liu Bei's camp, there were few situations where Li Yi agreed while all the ministers opposed.

Because at this time, everyone felt that Yuan Shao had been defeated and had died of illness.

If Hebei loses its backbone, it will not be able to surpass Henan in development.

Even Liu Bei felt that Li Yi was fighting a little too hastily.

The gentleman has always sought stability and taken every step carefully.

This time he was in a hurry to take the north, which surprised Liu Bei.

If we go north now, our army will change from the defensive to the offensive.

Not only has their advantage been greatly reduced, but people from Hebei now also have the "enemy" buff against people from Henan.

Even if we take over these territories, it will be difficult to digest the land there, right?

But Li Yi insisted on pursuing the victory. He analyzed for Liu Bei:

"Now that Yuan Shao is dead, there will be fighting within the Yuan family."

"Now is my weakest moment. If I don't take this opportunity, I will regret it later."

"...The public opinion is wrong."

Liu Ye stood up to refute Li Yi's point of view.

"Yuan Shao loved these two sons very much, so he did not establish them as heirs."

"Now, with Guo Tu and Pang Ji as his advisers, they will surely fight with each other and eventually become alienated."

"A quick attack will make the other brothers unite and hold our army together."

"If you can slow down the plan, they will definitely develop a fighting spirit."

"Now that you are attacking Hebei very urgently, Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang will definitely not fight among themselves."

“This is to replace the small with the big, and the dangerous with the safe.”

"May it be tried in public!"

Liu Ye's views also reflect the views of the officials in Xuzhou.

Since even Li Yi himself said that there would be strife within the Yuan family, why should we push it too hastily?

Xun You also came out to persuade Liu Bei:

"I heard that after Sun Ce died, Sun Quan succeeded to the throne, and this blue-eyed boy recently annexed Jiangdong and seized the land of Liu Xun in Lujiang."

"Danyang Yuan Yin feels deeply uneasy and has been asking our army for reinforcements since last year."

"Now that the war in the Central Plains has been decided, why not head south to Yangzhou and attack Sun Quan?"

"As for Hebei affairs, we will just wait for the times to change, and then strike when they do."

"It can be decided in one stroke!"

Xun You further expanded on Liu Ye's suggestions.

He thought that Sun Quan in the south had shown signs of gaining momentum, so he might as well kill him first.

A lean camel is bigger than a horse. Even if the Yuan family is in pieces, it will still be difficult for the Xuzhou army to deal with it.

It would be better to pick a soft persimmon first and hit Sun Quan in the south.

When Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan were fighting each other, they seized the land of Hebei.

Seeing that all his advisers opposed the expedition to Hebei at this time, Liu Bei began to waver.

Because deep down he actually felt that now was not the best time to conquer Hebei.

So he also stepped forward to persuade Li Yi:
"...Sir, I think what Ziyang and Gongda said makes sense."

"The previous expeditions to Guandu and Cangting consumed a huge amount of manpower. The war in Hebei will not be settled in one day."

"If we get bogged down in this war, all our efforts in Xuzhou over the past few years will be wasted."

"Only Sir, please consider it."

Li Yi knew that

What he has to do is a thankless and laborious task.

Because in history, Cao Cao also faced this serious problem after defeating Yuan Shao.

But the problem is that it took Cao Cao eight years to unify the north.

Big Ear Brother, do you also want to take eight years?

You know, Liu Bei was already 41 years old at that time.

This age was considered quite old in ancient times.

If I give you another eight years to unify the north, you will be almost 50 years old.

What's the point of talking about unifying the world and supporting the Han Dynasty?

Moreover, the longer the world is divided, the weaker the national cohesion will be.

Although the late Han Dynasty was a time of war among various feudal lords, it was due to the dual monarchy concept.

The subordinates all directly pay homage to their leaders, and the counties are directly regarded as states.

The county governor was directly regarded as the ruler of a vassal state.

So you will see that many officials of the Three Kingdoms would directly say "our country is like this and like that."

For example, Chen Deng said to Cao Cao in Guangling, "Our country is hanging upside down."

People like Shen Pei also said to Yuan Shao things like "Hebei's national strength is strong."

The weakening of national consciousness reached its peak during the Three Kingdoms period.

This also laid the seeds for the subsequent chaos.

So knowing that it is impossible to do it, we still do it.
Li Yi wanted to unify the north as quickly as possible.

As for the difficulties mentioned by Liu Ye and Xun You, Li Yi believed that these could be overcome.

As long as the mind does not slip, there are more solutions than difficulties.

Li Yi proposed his own solution to Liu Bei.

"My lord is related to the Yuan family, and my wife is also from the Yuan family, so we have this in-law relationship."

"People in Hebei should love me more than Cao."

"...Relying solely on in-laws may not be able to ease the hatred between the two places in a short period of time."

Liu Bei interrupted.

"I have my own plan to resolve the grudge, please don't doubt it, my lord."

Li Yi made a solemn promise to Liu Bei.

"…As for the issue of food and fodder."

"The Art of War says that those who are good at using troops will not register for service again, nor will they store food for more than three years."

"Take what is needed from the state, and rely on the enemy for food, so the army can have enough food."

"The autumn harvest is approaching. Send troops to Hebei. If we can quickly attack Yedi."

"Then we can harvest the wheat before Yuan Shang."

"This way, we can not only strike a blow to the Yuan family, but also solve the food and grass problem."

“Isn’t that the best of both worlds?”

Liu Bei pondered for a moment. The two solutions mentioned by Li Yi were both unknown.

The first problem is the hatred between the two places, so you can only choose to trust Li Yi. The second problem is the food and grass, so you have to grab the food and grass.

Given the richness of Ye, if we really harvested the land, it would indeed solve the problem of food shortage.

But this requires a lot of skill, as you are required to reach Ye in the shortest possible time.

We also have to harvest the wheat before Yuan Shang.

This requires a lot of micromanagement.

However, under Li Yi's insistence, Liu Bei finally chose to agree.

Grit your teeth and hold on, and fight to Yedi!
As for Cao Cao, he heard that Xuzhou would continue to fight northward.

He didn't dare to fall behind, for fear that this piece of fat meat would be eaten up by Xuzhou.

Therefore, although the alliance between Cao and Liu was not as solid as when the war started, it was still maintained on the surface.

Li Yi still led the troops in Henan to march north to Jizhou.

The army set out from Dongjun and stopped at Yin'an.

As usual, Li Yi sent people to survey the terrain before advancing.

During this period, he urged Liu Bei to leave the camp and meet the people of Hebei.

Liu Bei was reluctant at first, thinking that if the two places went to war, he would be one of the highest leaders.

You will definitely be hated by the people of Hebei.

However, Li Yi said:
"The people of Hebei must be seen at last. Escape is not a good idea."

Liu Bei followed his advice and led his civil and military officers out of the camp to meet the nearby people.

When the army was lined up on the river, they saw local natives lining the road to greet them with food and drink.

Liu Bei was greatly surprised and immediately went to meet the villagers.

The leader was an old man with white hair and beard. He quickly pulled him to sit by the river.

"How old are you, father-in-law?" Liu Bei asked.

“I’m almost seventy,” the old man replied.

"...Hmm! An elder too."

Liu Bei quickly stood up and bowed to express his respect to the old man.

"My soldiers have disturbed my hometown, and I feel very uneasy."

The old man stood up, led the elders behind him, and said to Liu Bei with a sincere face:
"During the reign of Emperor Huan, a yellow star was seen between Chu and Song."

"Yin Kui from Liaodong was good at astronomy and stayed here overnight."

"He said to the old man, 'The yellow star appears in Qianxiang, shining right here.'"

"Fifty years from now, a true man will rise in Zhuodi."

"If we count the years now, it has been exactly fifty years."

"Yuan Benchu imposed heavy taxes on the people, and the people all resented him."

"General Liu raised a benevolent and righteous army to comfort the people and punish the criminals."

"In the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao's army of one million was defeated."

"Just as Yin Kui said at that time, the people can expect peace."

After he finished speaking, the old man burst into tears and fell to the ground.

The elders behind him also knelt down and thanked Liu Bei.

Liu Bei was surprised and happy. He never dreamed that the people of Hebei would treat him so well.

I was so excited that I couldn't hide the smile on my face.

"How dare a person of few virtues take on what the old man says?"

Although he said this, Liu Bei was very excited in his heart.

He ordered people to bring wine, food, silk and brocade and distributed them to the old man and others in his group.

Then he took Li Yi's hand and said with emotion:

"When I was preparing to raise an army, I never thought that I would have such a reputation in Hebei!"

Li Yi said seriously:

"My lord, you have raised a righteous army to comfort the people and punish the criminals. How can the people not see this?"

"Now you can spread the words of the people to the whole army. You must know that we are here for the sake of justice."

Liu Bei was overjoyed and immediately followed his advice.

Go to the army in person and inform the entire army what has just happened.

Li Yizai remained by the river, with his hands behind his back, quietly looking at the clear river water.

The villagers who had just paid their respects to Liu Bei gathered around. The old man came behind him and bowed his head:
"Meet the Marquis of Tan!!"

Li Yi slowly turned around and helped the old man up.

"My father-in-law has worked hard just now."

The old man said seriously:
"It is our honor to be able to serve the Marquis of Tan."

A woman couldn't help asking:
"I wonder if Marquis Tan will keep his promise and let my son serve as a clerk?"

Upon hearing this, the old man glared at the woman fiercely.

"This person is stupid and his words are inappropriate. Please don't be surprised, Marquis Tan."

After the old man apologized, he couldn't help but say one more thing:
"I wonder if Marquis Tan will really allow my son to serve in the imperial court?"

Li Yi smiled and said:

"This is an easy matter, don't worry."

"A man cannot stand without trust. Since Li has made a promise, how could he break his promise to the people?"

That’s right, the meeting by the river with food and drink just now was exactly the “performance art” carefully arranged by Li Yi.

Otherwise, no matter how benevolent Liu Bei was, he would not allow the natives of Hebei to be so "ungrateful".

After all, Yuan Shao's criminal law was lenient and he was still very popular among the people in Hebei.

Li Yi designed this performance art also for the purpose of public opinion propaganda.

It can not only stabilize the morale of our troops, but also let them know that they are "righteous soldiers" and "the army of justice."

This belief will support them to continue fighting.

At the same time, it can also slowly resolve the hatred of Hebei people towards the Xuzhou army.

Because human psychology is to follow the crowd.

But the people of other counties and prefectures, upon hearing the other villagers, lined the streets to welcome the Xuzhou army.

Subconsciously, I would wonder if the Xuzhou army was not as terrible and vicious as the rumors said?
This kind of propaganda offensive was very common in ancient times, just like Yuan Shao criticized the Henan bandit army for its unforgivable crimes.

The price Li Yi paid was very small. He simply promised these ordinary people to find a job for their children.

It is worth noting that

Li Yi did not want to sell official positions or titles, but to give them official positions directly.

Just like civil servants, as long as they cannot reach the deputy section level.

It will always be just a clerk, not an official.

Li Yi simply gave them a formal position, which was equivalent to a stable job.

For ordinary people of that era, having an official in the family was considered a matter of honor for the family.

At the same time, Li Yi also began to vigorously develop the spy system.

There had been developments before, but due to numerous affairs, Li Yi’s focus was not here.

Liu Bei did not invest too many resources in this matter.

Now that everything has been decided, under Li Yi's suggestion, Liu Bei finally began to pay attention to the role of spies.

Cao Cao's military advisor Guo Jia was in charge of Cao Cao's espionage intelligence.

Li Yi gave this task to Pang Tong.

He is his own Gongcao, so it is convenient for him to report work.

Speaking of Pang Tong, here comes Pang Tong.

After Pang Tong returned from his diplomatic mission to Guanzhong, he told Li Yi the specific details of what he had said about Ma Chao.

"Oh? Ma Chao wants to meet me?"

"...Yes, when I came back, I heard that Ma Chao had already sent out his troops. I don't know how the battle went."

"Ma Chao has surrendered Bingzhou."

"...Hmm, it's so fast?"

Pang Tong opened his mouth slightly, thinking to himself that he was indeed the person the gentleman liked.

It turns out that you are a man of foresight.

When he first met Ma Chao, he thought that this man was just a common man with little courage.

But he was really brave and he conquered Bingzhou so quickly.

"Bingzhou is a vast territory with many Xiongnu people. When Gao Gan was in power, he also used a gentle policy to appease them."

"Ma Chao may not be able to hold on to Bingzhou for long, he must rely on my strength."

"You want to see me now, so you must want to ask for something in return."

Li Yi analyzed calmly.

Pang Tong frowned and asked:
"…Then sir, are you going to give it to me?"

"nature."

Li Yi thought without hesitation, "From the looks of it, the entire northern region needs to be governed by someone else."

"It is not appropriate for Henan people to manage it directly, as there may be civil unrest."

Liu Bei only saw the actors arranged for him by Li Yi.

But Li Yi actually came into contact with the people of Hebei.

Most of these people's brothers, relatives and friends died in Guandu and Cangting, and they hated the people of Henan very much.

Even though Old Liu is related to the Yuan family by marriage, he is not so easy to appease.

The best way to soothe hatred is time.

But Li Yi just didn't want to wait.

to this end,

The solution he thought of was to let someone else manage Hebei on his behalf.

Then, as time went by, the power in Hebei was taken back while the pain of the people in both places was resolved.

And Li Yi already has a suitable candidate.

"Shiyuan, can you write a letter for me?"

"Invite Ma Chao to lead his troops from Jinyang to help me attack Wei."

Li Yi thought that Ma Chao was not far away, and since he wanted to see him, he could let him come by himself.

The Ma family army is so powerful that it would be a waste if we don’t use it.

"Here."

Pang Tong took the order and left.

Afterwards, Li Yi issued another order that the entire army was not allowed to kill people, chickens, dogs, or rob property when passing through the countryside.

Violators will be punished as if they were murderers.

As a result, the army and the people were shocked and the people were all happy.

Liu Bei was also secretly happy.

That is to say, lead the army and continue to move forward.

Yuan Tan, who was stationed in Fanyang at the time, heard that the Xuzhou army was about to capture Yin'an and wanted to cross the Qinghe River.

Immediately lead the troops to resist them.

The army formed up into battle formation, and Yuan Tan sent his general Wang Zhao to fight.

Liu Bei sent Lu Bu out to meet the enemy.

Lu Bu rode out on his Red Hare and fought for only a short while.

He stabbed Wang Zhao to death with a single halberd.

He immediately swung the halberd behind him, and generals such as Cheng Lian, Wei Xu, and Hou Cheng led their troops to attack.

Directly break through the front of Yuan Tan’s army.

Seeing this, Liu Bei also drew his sword and led his troops to attack.

Unable to resist, Tan's army fled in all directions and retreated back to Fanyang in defeat.

After the initial victory, Liu Bei personally ordered people to prepare cattle and wine to reward Lu Bu's army.

When Lu Bu heard that Liu Bei came with wine and meat, he went out to greet him in person.

"Marquis Wen is invincible and will contribute more to the country in the future."

Liu Bei encouraged Lu Bu with a look of satisfaction, and he was still full of expectations for Lu Bu.

Li Yi had said this long before.

Thanks to his arrival, Liu Bei did not lose Xuzhou and was not stabbed in the back by Lu Bu.

Although the wind was going more smoothly, Liu Bei's state of mind was not tempered.

In history, after Liu Bei was stabbed in the back, his soldiers were extremely distressed and at one point they almost didn't make it back alive.

Since then, Liu Bei's mentality has undergone a drastic change.

His chivalrous spirit has diminished a lot, and he has realized that many things in the political arena cannot be handled with the mentality of the underworld.

This was Liu Bei's transformation from a chivalrous man to a politician.

But now Liu Bei, since he took over Xuzhou, has hardly suffered any major setbacks.

Everything went smoothly all the way, and he still retained a chivalrous spirit.

Li Yi didn't know whether this was good or bad, he could only give instructions and remind him from time to time.

But unfortunately, Lu Bu's personal bravery was too outstanding, and his troops were indeed strong.

Add the filter of eliminating traitors and confidence in one's own personal charm.

No matter what Li Yi said, Liu Bei always held a glimmer of hope for Lu Bu.

Now using Lu Bu to defeat Yuan Tan's front troops made Liu Bei even happier.

Bring people over personally to commend their achievements.

"...Haha, General Liu, thank you for your praise. Please take a seat in the tent!"

Lu Bu has learned his lesson now and no longer dares to call Liu Bei "brother" as he did before.

Of course, the main reason was that Liu Bei had been promoted to "Marquis of Xia Pi", the same title as his own.

And his position was one level higher than his own, so Lu Bu did not dare to look down on this former younger brother.

Liu Bei brought in wine and meat and distributed them to Lu Bu and his generals.

It can also be regarded as a reward for their hard work these days.

The generals received the wine and meat and expressed their gratitude one after another.

Li Yi said:
"General Lu personally killed Dong Zhuo, and shocked the barbarians with his might. Now he is fighting against the enemy for the country."

"Yu Guoda has made great contributions. Yi Dang personally toasts to the general."

Lu Bu and Li Yi have always had a good relationship, and Li Yi is a prominent figure recently.

From old ladies to children, everyone in the folks is talking about Li Yi's story.

Seeing him toasting personally, Lu Bu also raised his cup to greet him.

"...Hahahaha, thanks to the recommendation of the teacher, I was able to send the cloth to Runan."

"Ru'nan is rich, and Bu lives a carefree life here."

"I promised that I would do my best wherever I could be of use."

"What's more, we are fighting against the enemy for our country?!"

Li Yi took advantage of the situation and said:
"Yuan Tan was defeated and retreated to Fanyang. He will definitely hold his ground."

"Our army has traveled a long way and should not continue for long."

After saying this, Lu Bu immediately frowned and said in a deep voice:
"Don't worry, sir. The generals in Hebei are like grass."

"If General Liu and Mr. Li do not forsake me, I am willing to lead my army of tigers and wolves and cut off all their heads."

"Present it to your account!"

Lu Bu had drunk some wine and was praised by everyone.

He got so carried away that he took on the most difficult task in this battle.

All the generals were stunned, and Chen Gong's face was even gloomier.

I secretly curse you for being so impatient.

Do you feel proud just because someone says a few nice words to you?
We are just here to help out and gain military merit.

If you really want to capture a city, do you know how hard and tiring this task is?
But no one could say it in front of Liu Bei and Li Yi.

Li Yi reacted quickly and did not give Lu Bu a chance to regret. He immediately said
"...Okay, that's settled."

"General, lead your troops to attack Fanyang. I will lead the army to sneak across Qinghe River and attack Yuan Tan from behind!"

……

(This is Yuan's four-part diagram)

(Thanks to our group members Hitomi Asano for their loving drawings. These are just sketches, please do not go into details)

(End of this chapter)