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

Chapter 224: Liu Bei: Ziyu will never let me down. I am willing to entrust all the affairs of the Northern Kingdom to you.

Lu Su set guidelines for Liu Bei to govern the north.

"To protect Jizhou is to protect China."

"If Jizhou were to cause rebellion, Yuan Shang would be spared death, but Yuan Tan would certainly harbor treacherous intentions."

"The north cannot be pacified, so Liu Biao will protect Jiang and Han, and Sun Quan will sit on Wu and Hui, then it will be difficult to conquer the world."

"I hope you will lead your troops to conquer Hebei first, and then cultivate the land to store military supplies."

"To the south, we face Jing, Chu, Wu and Yue, but we demand that they pay tribute but they refuse to pay."

"Then the whole world will know the public opinion, and everyone will be at peace."

"The world is at peace, and the Han Dynasty can be revived. This will benefit the country in the long run."

Although Li Yi is not here, as a colleague in the company, they would communicate about work issues privately on weekdays.

Lu Su admired Li Yi's unique insights, so the policy of stabilizing Hebei basically followed Li Yi's policy.

Basically, he would first focus on stabilizing his rule in the north and not be in a hurry to expand his power.

Eating one piece of land in Hebei is equivalent to eating four or five pieces of land in other places, which needs to be digested slowly.

After digesting it, you will be able to strengthen your own power.

Then consider annexing the relatively weaker forces in the south.

"...Good, I will submit a petition to the Emperor."

"Mr. Ziyu was transferred to the post of governor of Jizhou."

Although Liu Bei was reluctant to give up Li Yi, he also realized how important Hebei was.

Apart from him, there is no better candidate to stay in the North.

In the north today, in addition to the remnants of the Yuan family, there are also the former subordinates of Liu Yu in Youzhou, the Wuhuan in the three counties, the Southern Xiongnu in Bingzhou, and the high-ranking officials who are also restless.

If all these troubles add up, if we are not careful, we may lose Hebei.

"...In this case, the position of Qingzhou Mu will be vacant."

After Liu Bei finished writing the memorial to commend Li Yi, he also realized a new problem.

This governor position is no different from other official positions.

Due to the dual monarchy at the end of the Han Dynasty, local officials were basically equivalent to a vassal state.

The governor is a real "local emperor", which is definitely a good job.

But it is more real than positions like the Three Dukes.

After all, the current Han court is in name only.

Therefore, the allocation of the post of Qingzhou Mu must be done with caution, as so many people are watching it.

Liu Bei closed his eyes and thought quietly about who to give Qingzhou to.

Seeing this, Lu Su put forward his own opinion.

"...Mingsir, when Marquis Li Tan was appointed governor of Qingzhou, he led his troops on a long expedition."

"Only Tian Guorang remains as the director of Qingzhou."

"I think the Marquis of Tan may want Tian Guorang to take charge of the military and political affairs of Qingzhou."

Lu Su did not explicitly say that he wanted Tian Yu to take over as the governor of Qingzhou, he just simply expressed his own opinion.

"Tian Guorang was frugal and simple, lived a clean life, and had clear rules and regulations."

"When he followed Marquis Tan to pacify Qingzhou, he also made outstanding military achievements and achieved remarkable results."

"Mr. Li Tan praised his talent several times and has intended to cultivate him over the years."

"Do you think it would be ok?"

By the end, Lu Su had almost made it clear.

But Liu Bei did not answer in a hurry.

After a long time, he slowly opened his eyes and waved.

"I understand what Zijing means."

"But I have considered it carefully just now, and I still need to find another candidate for the post of Qingzhou Mu."

This……

Lu Su was stunned, but did not object to Liu Bei's decision.

Liu Bei took the initiative to explain:
"Don't I know Guo Rang's talent?"

"It's just that Guo Rang is still inexperienced and needs more experience."

"I intend to let my brother Yunchang take over the post of Qingzhou governor."

"I will go to Linzi to take up my post on a chosen day."

Although Tian Yu is talented, the organization has its own considerations and the leader has his own concerns.

As they were all brothers who conquered the world together, Liu Bei would definitely give priority to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei who followed him earlier.

These two people are not only capable, but most importantly, they have absolutely loyal supporters.

Of course Liu Bei would give priority to taking care of his old brothers. He couldn’t let them down, right?
Although Guan and Zhang may not care about this.

But as a boss and a leader, you can't just stop taking care of your subordinates just because they don't care about you.

Liu Bei was well aware of these unspoken social rules.

"When Marquis Tan was here, Qingzhou was generally stable, and it was not the main battle front."

"Send General Guan out, shall we?"

Lu Su still needs to be persuaded.

Liu Bei put away the memorial he had prepared and said:

"...Okay, Zijing, you don't need to persuade me anymore."

"I have made up my mind. It is settled now."

"As for future matters, we will discuss them later."

"Let's make this arrangement for now. If the situation changes in the future, it won't be too late to make adjustments."

"As for Guo Rang, I will recommend him as Prime Minister of Qi."

"I will manage the matter together with Yun Chang. There is no need to mention this matter again."

Considering Qi's status in Qingzhou, the prime minister of Qi was basically equivalent to the second-in-command of Qingzhou.

Liu Bei made this arrangement because he hoped that Tian Yu could assist Guan Yu, so that the two could complement each other's strengths and weaknesses.

Let’s work together to govern Qingzhou well.

This place is neither poor nor rich.

However, its superior geographical location means that it is not affected by the war and can engage in production development with peace of mind.

Liu Bei believed that within a few years it would be able to restore its productivity to the level before the "Qingzhou Rebellion".

At that time, it will be connected to Jizhou in the north and Xuzhou in the south, and can serve as an important channel for transporting materials.

As Liu Bei's sphere of influence expanded, he carefully considered the candidates for each region.

Except that Xuzhou was guarded by himself.

Liu Bei gave Jizhou, the most important province in the north, to Li Yi, the man he relied on and respected the most.

Qingzhou was handed over to Guan Yu, who had followed him for many years, worked hard, and had outstanding military exploits.

As for Huainan in the south, Liu Bei handed it over to Chen Deng of the Chen family.

On the one hand, when he came to power, he followed Li Yi's advice and appointed Chen Deng as the prefect of Guangling.

It has been deeply rooted in the south for many years and has become powerful.

At the same time, Liu Bei also needed the influence of the Chen family to help him contain the clan leaders and noble families in the south.

After the discussion was completed, Liu Bei sent the drafted memorial to the court in Chen.

The book briefly says:

——"In the past, Yuan Shao invaded the outskirts of Beijing and fought with me at Guandu. At that time, my troops were few and food was scarce, so I truly believed that I was no match for him."

"I discussed this matter with Yi, and Yi disagreed."

"Build a strategy for victory and advance."

"I was greatly inspired, and I decided to fight to the death with Yuan Shao."

"We finally destroyed their tribe and recovered the Han territory."

"Swallow the vicious tribe and conquer the four states."

"This is Yi's far-sightedness. His ability to foresee the opportunity of victory or defeat is unparalleled in the world."

"If I am not resolute and retreat to Xiapi, Shao will crush me and march forward."

"Our army is in a state of collapse, and has no chance of victory."

"Yi's strategy is to use destruction to survive and disaster to bring fortune. His plans are different and his achievements are different. This minister cannot match him."

"That is why the late emperor valued the meritorious officials who were able to lead the army, and gave little reward to those who captured the enemy."

"I request that the discussion be re-evaluated and that Chou Yi's household be appointed as governor of Jizhou."

"To honor their achievements."

At that time, Emperor Liu Xie of the Han Dynasty read the memorial submitted by Liu Bei. While he felt that the war in the north had finally ended, he had new troubles.

It turned out that just yesterday, Cao Cao also sent a memorial.

He requested to be appointed as the governor of Jizhou and concurrently the governor of Yanzhou.

Although everyone knows that Jizhou is currently divided equally between Cao and Liu.

But both Cao Cao and Liu Bei wanted to compete for the title of "Mr. Jizhou".

After all, politics is a game of face, and everything must be done in a legitimate way.

Although you and I divide Jizhou equally, if I were the "Jizhou Mu", I would be superior to you.

“…This is difficult to handle.”

Liu Xie is already 22 years old this year, and is no longer the young emperor when he first entered Chen.

Although he doesn't have much real power, he is not a fool.

Liu Xie could see what the current situation in the world was like.

With the decline of the Yuan family in the north, doesn't it mean that the struggle for supremacy between Hebei and Henan will turn into a struggle for supremacy between Cao Cao and Liu Bei?

The current competition for the position of "Mr. Jizhou" is the first confrontation and test between Cao and Liu.

Liu Xie was caught in the middle, with no power to make decisions, and felt very uncomfortable.

What's even more uncomfortable is that no matter who he gives the position of Jizhou Mu to, he will offend the other party.

The ministers in the court were divided into three factions.

One faction is the staunch royalist faction, one faction is the pro-Liu faction, and one faction is the pro-Cao faction.

Of course, the supporters of the Cao and Liu factions were mainly officials supported by the two of them.

As the "former officials" of Cao and Liu, they naturally supported their sponsor.

The Liu supporters said:
"Your Majesty, General Liu is a relative of the Han Emperor. He has made outstanding contributions in this Northern Expedition."

"The post of governor of Jizhou should be given to General Liu."

The pro-Liu faction starts by trying to establish a family relationship with the emperor. Their reason is that we are one family with the emperor, so we should promote the virtuous without avoiding relatives, right?

Moreover, in this war, we in Xuzhou contributed the most.

The post of Jizhou Mu should be given to our boss Liu.

But the Cao supporters refused to give in and immediately spoke out in opposition:

"I think it is inappropriate. General Liu now controls five states, but the silk and grain tribute he pays every year is very little."

"In addition to his meritorious service in protecting the emperor, Cao Sikong was also the number one contributor in the extermination of the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si."

"Besides, during the Battle of Guandu, Sikong Cao defended the city and cleared the fields. His hard work and contributions are great, so he must be rewarded."

"The post of Jizhou Mu should be given to Cao Sikong."

The pro-Cao faction also has something to say. We have already suffered losses in the division of Hebei land.

You, Liu Da'er, have occupied so much fertile land, but the amount of gold, silk and grain you pay as tribute every year is almost the same as ours.

How can it be possible that you get all the good things?

Besides, you said that Xuzhou made the greatest contribution, but this time the main battlefield was fought in Yanzhou.

The damaged infrastructure, personnel, land, and livestock will all be blamed on our Boss Cao.

If the losses on the home front are taken into account, we in Yanzhou have made much greater efforts than you in Xuzhou.

Why should Jizhou Mu give it to you?

The Cao and Liu factions were in conflict with each other, but the royalist faction led by Yang Biao and Han Rong was very dissatisfied.

"In the court, in front of the emperor, you are ministers."

"How can you argue like a gossiping old woman?!"

"Do you still have the emperor in your eyes?"

The person who spoke was Taiwei Yang Biao.

Yang Biao was a veteran minister who had served three dynasties. He was also from the Hongnong Yang family.

Apart from the Yuan family of Runan, they are the only two families with three dukes in four generations.

Therefore, Yang Biao was considered a figure in the court whose words carried considerable weight.

When everyone saw that Yang Biao was furious, they all held up their tablets and asked the emperor for forgiveness.

Liu Xie took advantage of Yang Biao's power and put on airs. He waved his sleeves and said:
"We will discuss this matter later. Dismiss your meeting!!"

After leaving the court, Liu Xie immediately found Yang Biao, held his hand, and said with tears in his eyes:

"General Yang also saw it today."

"How can these ministers take me seriously?"

"They only care about their own future and supporting their sponsor."

"Cao Cao and Liu Bei rescued me from the two thieves, Kuai and Si. I thought they were heroes who served the king well."

"But in my opinion, he is the same as Li Jue and Guo Si."

"Just not as domineering as those two thieves."

"I have been fortunate enough to rule Chen for six years, and the government has never been under my control. All government has been governed by Xu County and Xia Pi."

"I only appointed a Huangmen assistant minister at first, but it was rejected by the two of them."

"General Yang, do you think I am like the emperor?"

The Yellow Gate Minister was a close minister responsible for conveying the emperor's edicts and had the right to participate in confidential affairs.

Liu Xie wanted to promote the Yellow Gate Minister himself, both as a test and to support his own followers.

So as to slowly get rid of the control of Cao and Liu.

But Cao Cao and Liu Bei both had keen political acumen.

Although the Yellow Gate Assistant Minister was not as high-ranking as the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers and his position was not very important in the central government, he played an extremely important role as a close minister to the emperor.

So there is no doubt that Cao Cao and Liu Bei almost joined forces to refute Liu Xie's move to replace the Yellow Gate Minister.

"Cao and Liu are now powerful and have many minions. Your Majesty must be patient for a while."

Yang Biao sighed and tried to comfort and enlighten Liu Xie.

Liu Xie took a deep breath and smiled bitterly:

"I have been on the throne for thirteen years, and there has not been a single day when I was impatient."

"In the past thirteen years, I have not had a single day of happy and carefree life."

"After Dong Zhuo's death, two thieves, Li Jue and Guo Si, rebelled."

"The two thieves, Kuai and Si, are dead, and I am now bound by Cao Cao and Liu Bei."

"I am behind bars, with no control over politics, and I don't know when this life will end."

Yang Biao comforted softly:
"If Cao Cao and Liu Bei were to dominate, it would be even more difficult for Your Majesty to handle it."

"Now that the two families are at a stalemate, Your Majesty can maneuver with ease and use the opponent's strength to counter the opponent's."

"I will benefit from the fight between the two families."

"When necessary, we can also bring in Liu Jingsheng and Sun Zhongmou as external aid."

"Send them to the capital to defend the king and fight against the rebels."

Liu Xie frowned and shook his head:
"Chen is too small and is firmly controlled by Cao Cao and Liu Bei."

"If we bring in foreign troops without authorization, I'm afraid we will anger Cao and Liu."

"Besides, the example of Dong Zhuo who brought in foreign troops is still before our eyes."

"Even if it works, I'm afraid that after sending Cao and Liu away, Sun and Liu will come."

Ugh……

Yang Biao let out a long sigh. How could he not know that this was a very difficult task?
The entire State of Chen was surrounded by the forces of Cao Cao and Liu Bei.

The imperial court was filled with their own confidants.

It can be said that there are powerful soldiers outside and rebels inside.

We cannot expand outward, and we cannot develop from within.

What they got was a copy of hell that was even more difficult than the one they had faced under Dong Zhuo, Li Jue, and Guo Si. Liu Xie and Yang Biao, the king and his minister, could not think of any good way to break the impasse.

"... Never mind. It's hard to make a decision right now. I can only take it one step at a time."

Liu Xie stood with his hands behind his back, looking a little helpless.

"Now Cao Cao and Liu Bei have both asked me for the post of governor of Jizhou."

"According to Lord Yang's opinion, who should I give it to?"

Yang Biao stroked his beard, frowned, and analyzed in a deep voice:

"Now Liu Bei is powerful, while Cao Cao is weak."

"It should be given to Cao Cao, but I'm afraid if I give it to him, it will make Liu Bei lose face."

"Besides, Liu Bei's men are kind-looking but evil-minded, and their methods are cruel and ruthless."

"If we offend him, who knows what he will do to trip us up."

Liu Xie asked hurriedly:

"If I insist on giving it to Cao Cao, can I attract Cao Cao's support and help me fight against Liu Bei?"

"If he is willing to help me achieve my ambition, I will not hesitate to give him power."

"Even if he is Huo Guang, I will not care."

Yang Biao frowned and shook his head.

"Cao Cao is a treacherous hero in the world."

"It's not something we can easily control. I'm afraid Cao Cao can't be Huo Guang."

"I want to be like Wang Mang and Liang Ji instead."

After a slight pause, he analyzed:

"As for Liu Bei, he has great ambitions and is definitely not willing to be inferior to others."

"Besides, they are both members of the royal family..."

Yang Biao didn't dare to say any more, otherwise it would be considered treason.

What he meant was that Liu Bei had soldiers, power, territory, and a group of loyal brothers under him.
Moreover, his surname is Liu.

If Cao Cao were to come, he might have to pretend to be King Wen of Zhou for the time being.

Liu Bei didn't even need to make any transition, he was directly granted the title.

"……hiss."

Liu Xie took a deep breath, feeling a chill down his spine.

It was the first time he felt so scared under Cao Liu.

He had witnessed with his own eyes how his brother was deposed by Dong Zhuo and pulled down from the throne.

Liu Bian had been nailed to the pillar of shame in history, and Liu Xie did not want to follow in his footsteps.

"Lord Yang, I also know that this time Cao Cao and Liu Bei are competing for the post of governor of Jizhou, which is a test between the two of them."

"But in my opinion, the two may not fight in such a short time."

"According to your opinion, how should I protect myself in this struggle?"

Liu Xie asked hurriedly.

Yang Biao pondered for a while before speaking slowly:

"In my opinion, Your Majesty might as well not give it to anyone."

"Just let them accept the order and take leave."

What does it mean to accept the order and worship the holiday?

"Chengzhi" means to follow the emperor's will.

"Baijia" means to grant an official position.

Of course, in reality, the emperor did not mean that.

This was just an excuse for the warlords to appoint officials privately.

Because official positions like provincial governor did not belong to warlords, but to the imperial court.

The recipient theoretically established a monarch-subject relationship with the emperor.

The custom of taking leave was particularly popular during the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period.

The most typical example is Yuzhou.

During Yuzhou’s heyday, there were actually three “Yuzhou Governors” at the same time.

They are Liu Bei, Guo Gong and Sun Ben.

Tao Qian himself recommended Liu Bei for the post of Yuzhou governor, without any official recognition.

Sun Ben was recommended by Yuan Shu and was not officially recognized.

Guo Gong was indeed conferred an honor by the imperial court and had official insignia, but it was the imperial court controlled by Li Jue and Guo Si.

Liu Bei and Tao Qian, Sun Ben and Yuan Shu, all of them were warlords who accepted orders and served in vain for their own pleasure.

This behavior itself undermines the imperial power and reduces the emperor's majesty.

But since there was a precedent, Liu Xie now wanted to protect himself in the struggle between Cao and Liu.

All we can do is acquiesce to their acceptance of the leave.

In desperation, Liu Xie could only acquiesce to Cao Cao and Li Yi serving as the governor of Jizhou at the same time.

The most troublesome thing has been solved.

But there are still a lot of rewards waiting for Liu Xie to review.

Although Liu Xie knew that these rewards were just a face-saving measure in order to persuade Cao and Liu to leave.

But the fact that he was willing to do it at least indirectly acknowledged that he was the emperor in name only.

Just give the reward. Liu Xie doesn’t dare to refuse it anyway.

But this was just reviewing and bestowing rewards, which still gave Liu Xie a headache.

The first is Cao Cao.

This old thief actually demanded the restoration of the prime minister system and requested to be promoted to the position of prime minister.

Cao Cao, this guy, challenged the authority of the Han court as soon as the war in the north was settled.

It's really hateful!
Liu Bei was fine, he just asked to be promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry.

If you want to be serious, the prime minister is definitely more important than the general of chariots and cavalry.

But Cao Cao as prime minister is not the same as the prime minister he served in history.

Historically, when Cao Cao was the prime minister, he was in charge of both military and political affairs.

But now that the two superpowers are ruling together, there must be some water in Cao Cao's position as prime minister.

At least it cannot be compared horizontally with Liu Bei's General of Chariots and Cavalry.

Liu Xie agreed to the requests of Cao and Liu.

Soon the reward quota was announced.

Cao Ying:

Cao Cao was promoted to prime minister and his fief was increased by 2,000 households.

Cao Hong was appointed as General Lifeng and granted the title of Marquis of Guomingting.

Yu Jin was promoted to Lieutenant General and was granted the title of Marquis of Yishou Ting.

Li Dian was promoted to General and granted the title of Guannei Hou.

Le Jin was granted the title of Colonel of Suppressing the Enemy and the title of Marquis of Guannei.

Cheng Yu was promoted to General Zhenwei.

Xun Yu continued to serve as the Minister of the Chancellery and was granted the title of Wansui Ting Hou.

Guo Jia was promoted to Military Advisor General and granted the title of Marquis of Weiyang Ting.

……

Liu Ying's side:

Liu Bei was promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry and his fief was increased by 2,000 households.

Li Yi was appointed as the governor of Jizhou and his fief was increased by a thousand households.

Guan Yu was appointed as the governor of Qingzhou and his fief was increased by 500 households.

Zhang Fei was promoted to General Pingbei and his fief was increased by 500 households.

Zhao Yun was transferred to be the Prime Minister of Pingyuan.

Chen Deng retained his post as prefect of Guangling and concurrently served as prefect of Jiujiang.

Tian Yu was promoted to Prime Minister of Qi.

Huang Zhong, Qian Zhao, Chen Dao and others were promoted to generals and granted the title of Guannei Hou.

……

The rewards were given and everyone was happy.

The envoys split into two groups, one group returned to Xia Pi to report to Liu Bei.

He went north to seek out Li Yi and others to award him official titles.

When Liu Bei saw that the reward had been approved, he suddenly thought of a problem.

That is, since Li Yi has become the governor of Jizhou, he will have to stay in the north for at least a long time.

As a result, his wife and children were separated and could not see each other.

then,

Liu Bei ordered the preparation of horse-drawn carriages to send Madam Mi, Madam Yuan and others to the north to live with Li Yi.

Sun Qian secretly said to Liu Bei:
"Li Ziyu is a world-renowned genius who has never tasted water in his life."

"He already had a large number of supporters in Xuzhou, and now he has taken over Jizhou."

"If something changes, it will be hard to undo what has been done."

"It might be a good idea to leave one daughter in Xuzhou, or let the son be raised in Xiapi."

"Just in case something unexpected happens."

Liu Bei scolded:

"Zi Yu and I met in times of trouble. We swore to live and die together. Our bond is as strong as Mount Tai."

"I will not let Ziyu down, and Ziyu will not let me down."

"Now he is training for the war in Hebei, and his wife and children cannot see him once a year."

"Now, fathers and sons cannot see each other, and husbands and wives cannot be reunited. This is inhumane."

"I would rather die than do this!"

After that, he accused Sun Qian again:
"I know Gongyou has good intentions, but you have worked with Ziyu for several years, don't you know what kind of person he is?"

“May this statement never be repeated again!!”

Sun Qian said with emotion, "My lord is truly a gentleman!"

He was even more impressed with Liu Bei and expressed his willingness to handle the matter personally.

Liu Bei agreed with his words and ordered Sun Qian to be responsible for relocating Li Yi's family.

Then he ordered Mi Zhu to allocate 100 kilograms of gold and silver, 200,000 coins, and 10 cattle and horses to subsidize the Li family's household expenses.

He was also given 500 boy servants to use for travel.

Mi Zhu followed the order. After all, he was his brother-in-law, so it didn't matter who the money was given to.

When Mi Zhu told Mi Zhen about this, Mi Zhen said:
"My husband always says that a tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind."

"So we strictly follow the family tradition and do not allow anyone in our house to use their power to bully others."

"General Liu has overdosed on my husband. You may seal up the reward in the government treasury."

"After we leave, we will inform General Liu so that it can be used by the government."

Mi Zhu felt sorry for his sister and advised Mi Zhen to accept it.

Mi Zhen refused to accept it, and thought that the war was not over yet.

The people of Hebei are all in pain and hatred for losing their loved ones.

Therefore, this move to the north should not be too drastic so as not to irritate the people of Hebei.

Mi Zhu couldn't persuade his sister, so he had to agree.

Soon, all the books and supplies in the mansion were loaded.

Starting from Xia Pi, passing through Qingzhou, and heading towards Bohai Sea.

Not stated.

……

But after Li Yi resigned from Cao Cao in Wei, he returned to Bohai.

Not long after, he received a memorial from the imperial court.

He knew that he had become the governor of Jizhou.

The people around him congratulated Li Yi one after another.

"Jizhou is rich, with a population of one million. General Liu gave Jizhou to you, which shows how much he treats you."

Li Yi's face did not show any joy, knowing:
“The capable ones work hard, the wise ones worry a lot.”

“Thus it is said that those with great talent have great responsibilities, and those with great virtue have deep responsibilities.”

"My lord ordered me to lead Jizhou in the hope that I could conquer the north as soon as possible."

When everyone heard this, they praised Li Yi's sense of responsibility.

"Okay, the day before yesterday I led Xu Chu ahead to arrest Yuan Tan and bring him back to me."

"How did things go?"

Li Yi asked.

Li Yi's newly hired "secretary" Zhen Yao came over and reported to Li Yi:

"My Lord, when General Xu led his troops through Ganling, he saw Yuan Tan."

"Yuan Tan said he wanted to seek revenge on Yuan Shang, so he refused to come to see me."

Don’t want to come and see me?

Li Yi frowned and sighed:

"Do you doubt me?"

Zhen Yao bowed and said:
"My Lord, now that you have taken over the post of Governor of Jizhou, all other counties and prefectures in Jizhou should keep their troops in place and wait and see what happens."

"Yuan Tan raised an army in Qingzhou and asked for help from Xuzhou. His original intention was to fight for Jizhou."

"Now he must be feeling dissatisfied because he feels that he failed to obtain Jizhou."

Ha ha……

Li Yi sneered, "I didn't expect that the second Yuan'er would be so disobedient."

I also heard where Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan are now.

Zhen Yao replied that before this, Yuan Tan had successively plundered several counties including Ganling, Anping, and Hejian.

In addition, Yuan Shang had been defeated before, and Yuan Tan took advantage of the situation to annex part of his troops, which greatly increased his strength.

At the moment, the strength of Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang is barely equal.

They were engaged in internal strife and fighting in Hejian.

Li Yi stroked his beard and said thoughtfully:
"Hejian is not far from here. If I send troops, we can arrive in half a day."

Then he asked, "How long have they been fighting?"

"Reporting to the Lord, the scouts reported that the two families have been confronting each other for more than a month."

Haha ...

Hearing this, Li Yi couldn't help laughing again.

I thought to myself, Yuan Shao was famous throughout his life, but why were all his sons short-sighted?

Now that Jizhou has been divided up between Cao, Liu and Gua, these two do not want to join forces to resist foreign enemies, but are still fighting among themselves.

If it doesn't work, you can just choose a side.

"Then, assemble the troops for me."

"I set up camp on the other side of the Zhang River. I will not fight, but only observe the movements of the two families."

"If the internal fighting between the two families causes great losses, I will take advantage of the situation to take it over."

"If one family wins, I will help the defeated to win."

Previously, Li Yi considered supporting Yuan Tan because of the relationship between Liu Bei and Yuan Tan.

But Yuan'er is really not very obedient.

Now that he has the "Yuan family members" in his hands, Li Yi has more choices.

All you have to do is sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, then wait for the price to rise.

(End of this chapter)