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

Chapter 217 Liu Bei: Your knowledge is thousands of years ahead of the present age
However, Li Yi and Ma Chao signed the famous "Qinghe Agreement" outside Fancheng.

Li Yi had made up his mind and was about to leave when Ma Chao suddenly grabbed Li Yi's arm and wanted to become sworn brothers with him.

When these words were spoken, everyone in the tent was shocked.

Zhang Fei said to Pang Tong who was standing beside him:
"We usually respect you a lot, sir. What ability does this Ma Chao have to become your brother?"

Pang Tong had not expected Ma Chao to act so rashly.

We all know that the three most powerful legions in the late Han Dynasty were Bing, Liang and You.

Let’s take a look at some other famous military leaders who came from these three places: Lu Bu, Ma Chao, and Gongsun Zan.

Then you will find out what they have in common: they are all good at fighting, but they are always a little stupid.

For example, as soon as Lu Bu saw Liu Bei, he called him "good brother".

When Ma Chao surrendered to Liu Bei, he also called him Xuande at the beginning.

However, after being reminded, Lu Bu no longer dared to shout.

Ma Chao had been a vassal for half his life, and in the second half of his life he began to act very cautiously.

It is almost catching up with Zhuge Liang's "caution throughout life", and the difference in his character before and after will make people sigh at the passing of time.

Speaking of which, in history, Ma Chao and Liu Bei were in-laws.

From Liu Bei's perspective, he certainly hoped to calm the restless heart of this wanderer.

From Ma Chao's perspective, he was a hero for half his life.

After surrendering to Liu Bei and living under someone else's roof, he often felt a sense of danger and fear, so he really gave up.

So people often say that Ma Chao is Lu Bu who was successfully conquered by Liu Bei.

But Ma Chao's influence is definitely far greater than Lu Bu's.

Apart from his own troops, Lu Bu had no further help.

But in addition to bringing money into the group, Ma Chao also has a huge influence in Liangzhou.

In Liu Bei's words, "The Di and Qiang tribes were all submissive, and the Xunyu tribe admired righteousness."

Therefore, after Liu Bei became emperor, he not only appointed Ma Chao as General of Cavalry and Governor of Liang Province, but also promoted him to Marquis of Yaxiang.

Ma Chao wanted to form a brotherhood with Li Yi, but he was actually afraid.

After all, I came to Bingzhou to start a business without knowing anyone, and I was always unsure about what to do.

"… Matters of this magnitude cannot be handled arbitrarily."

"How about I discuss this matter with Meng Qi after I have dealt with the affairs of Hebei?"

Li Yi gave Ma Chao a compromise suggestion.

With Li Yi's assurance, Ma Chao no longer insisted and just said:

"May you never forget what I said today!"

Afterwards, Li Yi ordered Pang Tong to join Ma Chao's army to assist him.

More food and fodder were provided to Ma Chao's army.

Ma Chao lifted the siege of Fancheng and led his troops towards Bingzhou.

After the siege of Fancheng was lifted, Li Yi sent an envoy to write a letter to Yuan Tan.

Afterwards, he took the initiative to withdraw his troops from Wei.

When Yuan Tan received the letter, he saw that Li Yi had helped him lift the siege of Fancheng, and also heard that he had led his troops to retreat from the Yellow River.

He was greatly surprised and immediately sent people to investigate.

The scouts reported that Li Yi had indeed led his troops to retreat south of the Yellow River.

After hearing the news, Yuan Tan was pleasantly surprised and said to those around him:
"Li Ziyu is truly a gentleman!"

……

Here, Li Yi led his troops across the river and returned to the Bai Ma front line.

The commander guarding Bai Ma was Lü Qian, who was left behind by Cao Cao. When he saw Li Yi's army returning, he hurriedly invited them into the city.

He gave a banquet and asked:

"Your Excellency went north to fight against the remnants of the Yuan clan. Why did you return so quickly?"

Li Yi explained:
"The Yuan family has deep roots and it will take time to conquer them."

"I have already made my strategic plan for this advance, and I will withdraw my troops back to Xuzhou."

Lu Qian was shocked when he heard this:

"Your Excellency is leaving?"

Li Yi nodded. He had only three strategic goals for this expedition.

First, seize the grain from Wei.

This can not only supplement Xuzhou's already tight food crisis.

It could also weaken the power of the Yuan family. In order to feed the people in Wei, Yuan Shang had to transfer grain from other counties.

From a long-term perspective, when the people of Jizhou live in hardship, they will naturally become alienated from the Yuan family.

After all, when one has enough food and clothing, one will know honor and disgrace; when one has a full granary, one will know etiquette.

When the people can't even afford to eat, who cares who your ruler is?
Of course, strictly speaking, Li Yi's action could not be considered as robbing the people of their food.

Because even if he didn't harvest the grain, it would be collected by Yuan's government.

Those people who farmed the land were just tenant farmers, and the government and landlords took the lion's share.

The lower class people will only leave enough to avoid starving to death.

After the government collects the grain, apart from using it for war, a portion of it will flow into the market.

Let ordinary people buy it and avoid starving to death.

Of course, this is only in peacetime.

The second strategic goal is to attack the Yuan family.

Now that the Yuan family is in transition, people are feeling uneasy.

During this expedition, Li Yi repeatedly dampened the morale of the new emperor Yuan Shang, which greatly damaged the prestige of the new emperor.

Not only will it deepen Yuan Tan's determination to fight for the throne, but it will also make the people of Hebei question the new monarch.

This to some extent shook Yuan Shang's rule in the north.

The third strategic goal is to use the opponent's strength to win over Yuan Tan by taking advantage of the situation.

It was not only because Liu Bei was Yuan Tan's sponsor, but also because Li Yi and Yuan Tan had a long history.

More importantly, Yuan Tan was the eldest son and had the legal right of inheritance.

If Xuzhou supported Yuan Tan's puppet regime in Hebei, it would save a lot of human and material resources.

Li Yi could also save a lot of effort in unifying the north.

Thanks to Yuan's marriage relationship, this plan became feasible.

People from Hebei hate people from Henan.
Using the Yuan family's name will make Xuzhou's work in the north much smoother.

To give a more vivid example,

In EU4, the resource points you consume by directly annexing a vassal are far less than the resource points you consume by directly conquering the territory.

And there is no need to suffer any rebellion in the meantime.

"If you leave, who will take care of the war in the north?"

Seeing that Li Yi was determined to leave, Lu Qian hurriedly asked.

"...Haha, the war in the north will naturally be handed over to Lord Cao."

"As a native of Xuzhou, it is not appropriate for Li to stay in Yanzhou for a long time."

Li Yi stood up and thanked Lu Qian.

The food in Wei had been looted and the strategic goal had been achieved, so of course he couldn't continue fighting here.

After all, even if Wei County was conquered, it would still be an enclave for Xuzhou.

It seems that Lu Qian wants to keep Li Yi, but in fact he wants him to work for Cao Cao for free.

Li Yi naturally refused, as a large army expedition was a thankless task.

Next, their battle line in Xuzhou should turn to Qingzhou.

Only by attacking from Qingzhou can we take over the land of Jizhou.

Of course, while Li Yi was robbing Wei of its grain, he also consumed a wave of Yuan Shang's troops.

Therefore, the grain from Wei was considered as the "hire money" that Li Yi paid to Cao Cao.

"I will not stay long. Thank you, General, for hosting the banquet."

"Thank Cao Sikong for me."

Li Yi declined Lü Qian's offer and led his troops back to Xuzhou.

But the war does not mean the end, but a new beginning.

They simply changed the direction of the battle line.

The threat posed by the Yuan family is decreasing, and the next step for Cao and Liu is to show their unique abilities.

He returned to Xia Pi and rested his troops temporarily.

Liu Bei asked Li Yi when he could move his troops north?
Li Yi said to Liu Bei:

"I have already met Yuan Xiansi during my expedition to the Wei territory."

"Yuan Shang has defeated me several times, which has dampened my spirit. Yuan Xiansi will surely want to compete with him even more."

"When the two Yuans fight, the brothers look at the wall, which is good for Henan."

Liu Bei was not surprised by the smooth progress of Li Yi's war in the north, but his expression became a little more serious.

He lowered his head in thought for a while, then slowly asked:
"According to your opinion, who would win in a fight between Yuan Xiansi and Yuan Xianfu?"

Li Yi hesitated for a moment and analyzed in an orderly manner:
"Even if Yuan Tan wins temporarily, he is still no match for Yuan Shang."

"In my opinion, let these two fight among themselves to weaken Hebei's strength."

"When Yuan Tan reaches his end, he will come to Xuzhou for help."

"Then it will be time for us to send troops north."

Liu Bei was overjoyed and praised Li Yi for his foresight.

He then asked about the affairs of Bingzhou, and Li Yi told him about them one by one.

Liu Bei frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and said slowly:

"I heard that Ma Mengqi has a great reputation in Liangzhou. He once fought in Hedong and conquered Bingzhou in one battle."

"Sir, you have chosen a hero like this properly, and I will fully support him."

Coincidentally,

At the beginning, Liu Bei liked Lu Bu, Ma Chao, Gongsun Zan, these military leaders who came from border areas, very much.

Liu Bei liked young and promising heroes who were very capable in fighting, like Ma Chao.

Li Yi then took out a list and handed it to Liu Bei.

"This is the first batch of aid materials list for Bingzhou."

"If my lord has no objection, please ask Mi Biejia to start the preparations."

"Then send it to Bingzhou to show Xuzhou's sincerity."

Liu Bei took a quick look and thought roughly:

One hundred thousand hu of grain and fodder.

Five hundred kilograms of iron.

Fifty pounds of gold and silver each.

Hundreds of sets of armor and fighting gear.

Ten cows, ten sheep, ten donkeys, and ten pigs.

And various sundries in varying quantities.

……

"...Well, sir, you always do things properly, so I'll do as you wish."

Liu Bei waved his hand and agreed to the list set by Li Yi.

Later, Li Yi selected some famous people from Xuzhou to deliver supplies to Bingzhou.

By the way, he stayed in Bingzhou to assist Ma Chao in governing the country.

At first, when Li Yi proposed to select people to go to Bingzhou.

Many people don't want to go.
Not only was it cold and harsh there, and they had to leave their homes, but they also had to face the threat of the barbarians.

Everyone stayed in Xuzhou, ate and drank well all day, and clocked out.

Who would go to a place like that?

In desperation, Li Yi could only use both soft and hard tactics to trick everyone into going to Bingzhou.

The general idea is that you go to the border areas to gain experience so that I can promote you in the future.

What's more, our government will provide subsidies for you when you go there.

The government will also help support your parents, wives and children.

Finally, under the pressure of Li Yi, several suitable candidates were selected.

They are,
Xu Yi is from Dongguan, Xuzhou.

The current magistrate of Quyang.

A native of Haixi, Guangling, his name was Xu Xuan.

He is currently the Gongcao of Guangling.

A native of Jiangdu, Guangling, Huang Xiang.

He is currently the Gongcao of Donghai.

A native of Huaiyin, Linhuai, Bu Zhi.

He is also the most capable one among all the candidates dispatched, and is currently Liu Bei's chief secretary.

Li Yi "packed" these people one by one and ordered them to go to Bingzhou immediately to assist in the administration.

At that time, we maintained correspondence with Xuzhou from time to time, and if anything happened, we had to report to Xuzhou as soon as possible.

After the arrangements were made, Liu Bei settled down for the past few days.

It happened that Yuan Ying was about to give birth, so Liu Bei put down his work and stayed with his wife.

Li Yi was always paying attention to the affairs in the north and maintained close contact with Tian Yu in Qingzhou.

Troops and horses were continuously dispatched to Qingzhou, and more than a thousand carts of grain were placed to transport food northward.

Not stated.

……

The words are divided into two parts,

However, when Yuan Shang heard that Li Yi had led the Henan army to retreat, he was overjoyed and held a banquet to celebrate.

He also issued a notice to reassure the people, saying that Li Yi was defeated by him.

The reason for this kind of publicity is helpless.

After all, Yuan Shang was a new king and he needed prestige.

As a result, he was defeated by Li Yi, and could only celebrate the tragedy.

But when the news reached Yuan Tan, he thought to himself that Mr. Li obviously backed off for my sake.

How can you, the youngest son who has no military achievements and has been defeated several times by Li Yi, inherit your father's title?
So Yuan Tan summoned Guo Tu and Xin Ping to discuss the matter.

"I am the eldest son, but I cannot inherit my father's business."

"Yuan Shang was unable to protect the people of Wei, and was unable to drive back Li Yi's troops. He does not look like a leader."

"I want to send troops to Ye and take its place."

"What do you think?"

Guo Tu offered a suggestion:
"Most of my predecessor's generals have already surrendered to Yuan Shang. Now he has grown strong and his claws are sharp."

“It’s really hard to imagine!”

Xin also commented:

"My army is in Wei territory, and we still rely on the support of the counties of Jizhou."

"If we attack Yuan Shang by force, we may not be able to win."

Yuan Tan gritted his teeth and said angrily:

"Could it be possible that I would let this child usurp my position?"

"I really don't want to give in!"

Guo Tu's eyes rolled around and he came up with an idea.

"My lord, don't worry. We are leading the troops outside and our forces are strong."

"Yuan Shang has just taken the throne, so he certainly doesn't want to start a dispute."

"Why not keep the troops outside the city and just let Yuan Shang and Shen Pei come out to drink."

"We will hide the swordsmen and axemen on both sides, and when they come out, we will hack them to death."

"In this way, great things can be settled!"

Yuan Tan followed his advice and led his army to Yecheng.

He stationed his army outside the city and sent someone to invite Yuan Shang to a banquet.

After hearing this, Yuan Shang immediately discussed it with Shen Pei.

The judge admonished:

"This must be Guo Tu's plan. If you go, you will be killed."

"It is better to seize the opportunity and attack them to restore the throne."

Yuan Shang thought to himself, if I can’t beat Li Yi, then how can I beat you?
So they put on their armor and mounted their horses, and marched out of the city with their army.

Yuan Tan saw from afar a large number of troops coming out of the city and knew that the plan had been leaked.

He immediately summoned Pang Ji and scolded him:
"The other day I led troops to defend your lord against the Henan troops, but your lord refused to send me more troops or return my armor."

"Now that I have returned, you will not allow me to enter the city."

"I will kill you to show the power of our army."

Pang Ji bowed and said:

"Rong Mou went out to see my master and said he came to see the general." Yuan Tan said angrily:

"You want to escape?!"

So, Pang Ji was executed immediately.

He also took Pang Ji's head to Yuan Shang.

When Yuan Shang saw this, he was not angry but happy, and said:
"Yuan Tan killed my ministers, so he deserves to be attacked!"

They immediately assembled their horses and attacked Yuan Tan's camp.

When the two armies faced each other, Yuan Shang mounted his horse and fought with Yuan Tan, shouting:

"I will treat you well and guarantee that you will be promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry."

"How dare you kill my ministers?"

Yuan Tan also rushed out with his spear in hand, cursing:

"You poisoned your father to death and usurped the title."

"You are here to kill me again!"

Yuan Shang was furious and led his troops to attack.

Yuan Tan also urged his troops to attack.

Yuan Shang personally braved the arrows and stones and fought at the front.

Hebei has a large number of soldiers and they are defending the territory, so their morale is high.

On the other hand, Yuan Tan was leading his troops outside, and the morale of his officers and soldiers was low and they had no desire to fight.

Soon, Yuan Tan's army was defeated.

Yuan Tan could only lead the defeated army and flee back to Pingyuan in panic.

"The day before yesterday, my troops were few, so we were defeated by Yuan Shang."

"I want to reorganize my army and fight Yuan Shang to the death."

"What do you think?"

Yuan Tan was defeated for a while, but he was not convinced.

He felt that Yuan Shang defeated him only because he relied on his large numbers.

When Guo Tu's plan failed, he proposed another one:
"Today, the general's country is small, with few soldiers and a lack of food and a weak position."

"Their army is strong and powerful, and we are no match for them."

"Yuan Shang will be defeated if he continues to come."

"I thought that the general had a history with Li Ziyu, and Lord Xuande also recommended him."

"Now you can ask Li Ziyu to pass through Qingzhou and attack Yuan Shang."

"If Li Lang arrives, he must first attack Ye."

"If Yuan Shang leads his troops to rescue us, you, General, can lead your troops westward and capture everything from Ye to the north."

"If Yuan Shang's army is defeated and his soldiers flee, we can gather them and use them to resist the Henan army."

"Besides, Li Ziyu has come from afar, and without food and money, he will not be able to hold out for long."

"We can still occupy Jizhou and make progress."

"If not, all the land north of Zhao will be ours, which will be enough to compete with Henan."

Guo Tu's idea was also very simple, but it was impossible to resist Yuan Shang with only Pingyuan and Le'an.

So we can only introduce foreign aid.

As for whether to choose Cao Cao or Liu Bei, each has their own advantages and disadvantages.

Cao Cao has a good geographical location. If he sends troops, he can attack Ye directly.

Liu Bei and Li Yi have old ties with Yuan Tan, so there is a greater chance that they will be asked to send troops.

As long as one side is willing to send troops to help them fight for the throne.

According to Guo Tu's idea, the best result is,

Li Yi led his troops to defeat Yuan Shang, and then Yuan Tan took advantage of the situation to collect Yuan Shang's troops.

He then occupied Jizhou and fought against the Henan army.

If the result is not ideal, then settle for the next best thing.

By giving the wealthy Wei County to the Henan Army, Yuan Tan could take the Jizhou territory north of the Zhao State.

Although it's not perfect, it's better than staying on the plains.

Yuan Tan thought this was a good idea. It would be difficult for him to fight against Yuan Shang on his own.

It just so happens that Qingzhou is adjacent to Xuzhou, not far away.

When Yuan Tan was about to send an envoy to Xuzhou for help, someone suddenly reported that an envoy had arrived from Jingzhou.

"An envoy from Jingzhou?"

Yuan Tan was stunned, not understanding why Liu Biao would come all the way to see him.

But the other party was the governor of a big state, and Yuan Tan didn't want to offend him, so he asked to come in to see him.

The envoy from Jingzhou was none other than Deputy Governor Liu Xian.

After the greetings, Yuan Tan asked about the purpose of the visit.

Liu Xian took out a handwritten letter from Liu Biao and gave it to Yuan Tan.

The book briefly says:

"Heaven sends disasters, and misfortunes flow in abundance."

"The passing of our respected master is mourned by the whole world."

"A virtuous heir will inherit the throne, and people near and far will place high hopes on him, and everyone wants to display their talents."

"In the past, during the Three Kings and Five Hegemons, down to the Warring States period, fathers and sons killed each other, and this may have happened."

“However, if one wants to achieve the goal of a king or to establish hegemony, there is no one who abandons his relatives and follows the opposite, thus shaking the foundation. However, he can achieve great things and pass on his achievements to future generations.”

"I hope my nephew will put aside past grudges and think about our old friendship."

"We are mother, son and brothers again as before."

The content of Liu Biao's letter is just one sentence:
My dear nephew, please stop fighting. You two brothers should unite and face the outside world together.

Why did Liu Biao send someone to reconcile the Yuan brothers?

On the one hand, it was because Liu Biao himself had a good relationship with Yuan Shao.

In the Han Dynasty, which advocated brotherly love and respect, the fact that two brothers attacked and killed each other was not something that was often publicized.

Liu Biao was listed among the Eight Horses and wanted to act as a peacemaker.

The second reason is also a point that many people often overlook.

That is, Liu Biao and his Jingzhou are quite powerful.

Historically, because Jingzhou did not have much combat power, it was easily taken by Cao Cao, which led people to think that Jingzhou was weak.

But during the Battle of Guandu, Liu Biao and Yuan Shao were in a confrontation between the north and the south.

The two most powerful people in the north and south are Liu Biao and Yuan Shao.

It was not until the death of Liu Biao and the collapse of the Jingzhou Group that the power of Sun Wu truly developed.

It was for this reason that Liu Biao had to step in to reconcile with the Yuan brothers.

Because the situation in Henan and Hebei was unclear during the Battle of Guandu, it was difficult for Liu Biao to take sides.

But now that Yuan Shao has passed away and the Yuan brothers are fighting among themselves, Hebei is clearly inferior to Henan.

Of course he had to come forward to persuade the two brothers to unite and face the outside world together.

Only in this way can Hebei continue to confront Henan.

In the eyes of princes such as Cao and Liu, they knew that in this era, the more they fought, the stronger they would become.

But Liu Biao always believed that as long as he did not give up, the world would belong to him sooner or later.

Liu Biao relied on his friendship with Yuan Shao and thought he could persuade Yuan Tan.

But Yuan Tan refused to accept it. He threw the bamboo slips and started to curse:

"Yuan Shang poisoned my father to death, and I am about to raise an army to avenge him."

"Liu Jingsheng is only good at talking big but not being practical."

"How dare you write a letter to persuade me?"

Liu Xian did not expect Yuan Tan to have such a big reaction, and hurriedly advised:

"General, Liu Jingzhou also has good intentions."

"As the ancients said, brothers are like your left and right hands."

"To fight with a brother now is like cutting off one of his hands."

"If a man abandons his brothers and does not love them, who else in the world can he be close to?"

"If you listen to slander, it will drive a wedge between family members."

"How can you achieve your goal just for a short period of time?"

"I hope the general will close his ears and not listen!"

Yuan Tan was furious and shouted:

"When my father was at Guandu, if your lord was willing to send troops, he could have joined my father in attacking from both the north and the south."

"Henan has already been decided!"

Liu Xian hurriedly explained:
"At that time, Zhang Xian was in turmoil, and the four counties in southern Jing all rebelled."

"That's why my Lord had to lead his troops to suppress the rebellion and was unable to respond to the call of our ancestors."

"The people of Jingchu can all attest to this."

Yuan Tan scolded:

"Jingnan was pacified last year, but your lord did not send troops at that time, did he?"

Liu Xian remained silent and could not answer. At that time, in the Battle of Guandu, even the arrogant Yuan Shao was defeated.

Unless Liu Biao was crazy, he would not dare to take action at that time and challenge Cao and Liu alone.

What Liu Biao did not expect was that Yuan Shao died of illness not long after being defeated.

Yuan Tan scolded Liu Xian and sent him away.

His thought was simple: Liu Biao could not provide him with any help, so there was no need to be nice to him.

But he didn't realize it at all.

He was able to take advantage of Yuan Shao's friendship with Liu Biao to win over this southern overlord.

Subsequently,

Yuan Tan sent Xin Pi to Xuzhou to help him seek help from Liu Bei and Li Yi.

……

Xuzhou, Xiapi.

After accompanying his wife that day, Liu Bei had nothing to do, so he wanted to go see Li Yi.

He is not very comfortable with his wife and prefers to be with his brothers.

Coincidentally, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were both there, so the three brothers went to visit Li Yi together.

When he arrived at the mansion, he was told that Li Yi had gone to urge for grain and was not there.

The grain from Xia Pi was mainly transported by water, and Xu County was an important transit station.

Liu Bei thought of making a trip to Xu County on the way.

It was a cold season at the time, and Zhang Fei felt sorry for his elder brother's health, so he advised:

"Just now, the servants at the Li residence also said that the master has been gone for two days and will be back tonight."

"Brother, you only need to wait until the master comes back in the evening. Why do you have to go out at this time in the wind and snow?"

Guan Yu also advised:
"It's cold right now, and my sister-in-law is about to give birth."

"Brother, it would be better for you to stay in Xia Pi and accompany your sister-in-law."

Liu Bei said to Guan and Zhang:

"I have seen Madam today, and she is fine."

"Sir, you work hard every day, and it's really hard."

"You all just want me to go to Xu County, which requires me to brave the wind and snow."

"I never thought that you have been braving the snow for two days!"

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were both silent and unable to answer.

Liu Bei had already walked out of the house, exhaled a breath of cold air, and said:

"If you are afraid of the cold, you can stay in Xia Pi."

"I will go to Xu County myself!"

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were shocked when they heard this and hurriedly chased after him.

"What are you talking about, brother?"

"If you don't even avoid death, why should you fear the cold?"

"Since you want to go, let's go together!"

Since Liu Bei's power continued to expand, the three brothers spent less and less time together.

It's a rare day for us to get together today, and it seems like the three of them can finally get together.

Unexpectedly, Liu Bei wanted to go to Xu County to see Li Yi.

This made the two brothers feel a little uncomfortable.

But how could Guan and Zhang know?

Because they were too busy on weekdays, even Liu Bei and Li Yi, who were in Xia Pi together, rarely met each other.

Liu Bei had been accompanying his wife for more than half a month, and he really missed Li Yi.

Once this thought comes, it cannot be stopped.

Even if it is cold and snowy, I have to go and see him.

The three brothers immediately rode on horseback to Xu County.

The two places were not far from each other, and it took about an hour or so to reach Xu County.

As an important water transport transit station in Xuzhou, this place operates all year round.

People come and go, the flow never stops.

When the magistrate of Xu County saw that it was Liu Bei who came, he hurriedly stepped forward to salute.

Liu Bei hurriedly said:

"I have nothing to do, so I came to take a look. You just go and do your work."

"Don't bother with my three brothers."

The county magistrate thanked him hurriedly.

Although he is a county magistrate, Xu County has a special geographical location.

Especially after Li Yi came to power, this place was used as an important transit station connecting Huainan and Yuzhou.

This place immediately became a hot spot, and the magistrate of Xu County got a lucrative job.

By the huge flowing water,
The annual income of Xu County was higher than that of a county chief.

This is not an exaggeration at all.

However, high income also brings high pressure.

When the war broke out, the magistrate of Xu County was extremely busy every day.

When he saw Liu Bei coming just now, he was secretly groaning in his heart.

It is not right to serve, nor is it right to stop what you are doing.

Fortunately, Liu Bei understood his difficulties and let him do his own thing.

Liu Bei walked among the crowd, looking around.

Found the man who stood out from the crowd and had a handsome appearance.

"……gentlemen!"

Liu Bei walked over with a smile.

At this time, Li Yi was leaning against a pillar, holding a pen in one hand and a piece of bamboo in the other, calculating something.

Hearing Liu Bei's voice, he stopped writing and asked:
"Why is the lord here?"

"...Hehe, I came to see how your work is going."

Liu Bei said half-jokingly.

When the leader comes to inspect our work on site, anyone would feel under great pressure.

But Li Yi would not do that. He does his work meticulously and is not afraid of any inspection from his superiors.

"What were you calculating just now?" Liu Bei asked again.

"...Alas, the operation was not going smoothly. Dozens of civilians died on the road."

“I’m thinking about providing compensation to their families.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei frowned and sighed:
"…It should be so. It should be so."

"Now that it's snowing heavily, the roads are difficult to travel on and the vehicles are difficult to transport. It's hard for everyone."

Li Yi closed the bamboo slips and suddenly said to Liu Bei meaningfully:

"My lord, now that you have arrived, I have something to share with you."

"This item may improve the efficiency of our military transportation."

really?

Liu Bei raised his eyebrows, unable to hide the excitement on his face:

"Sir, you are truly a rare talent in the world. I wonder what you are?"

"My lord, please follow me. I have just sent workers to make this thing, and it is not yet completely finalized."

Li Yi led Liu Bei to a workshop and showed him his latest achievements.

……

(End of this chapter)