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

Chapter 227: Tianshu, Crouching Dragon and Phoenix, the Three Horses Driving the World
However, when Liu Bei was holding a "talent recruitment conference" in Xuzhou, he unexpectedly met the famous Mr. Sima Hui, the Water Mirror.

Not only did he give his strategist Li Yi the title of "Tianshu", he also strongly recommended the Zhuge family of Langya.

Liu Bei has already obtained the two stars Tianshu and Fengchu, and now Wolong is also within reach.

Hearing that he was resting in the inn, Liu Bei insisted on going to pay him a visit in person.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei both advised:

"My elder brother is the General of Chariots and Cavalry of the imperial court and the governor of Xuzhou."

"If we talk about subordinates, then Zhuge Kongming should be considered as a subject of the elder brother."

"If you want him to come, brother, just send a summons."

"Why bother to go and invite him in person?"

"Besides, we have to wait until he wakes up from his nap?"

It is normal for Guan and Zhang to have such thoughts.

After all, Liu Bei at this time was no longer the same as when he first entered Xuzhou.

Today, he is a descendant of the Han Dynasty, a General of Chariots and Cavalry, and a relative of the Yuan family, and his territory spans five states.

It is not an exaggeration to say that he is the number one prince in the world.

Why should we pay attention to an old clan that moved back from Jingzhou?
Especially when Liu Bei first entered Xuzhou, he mostly issued conscription orders and rarely took the initiative to ask for favors.

Liu Bei explained:
"The reason why the conscription order was issued before was probably because the person was not in Xiapi, but in another prefecture."

"Now, this famous Mr. Wolong is in my inn."

"Besides, my dear brother, haven't you heard about the story of King Wen of Zhou visiting Jiang Ziya?"

"King Wen is so respectful of the wise, how can I fall behind?"

"I will go and invite you personally, and I will not neglect you, sir."

He then pointed to Guan Yu and said:
"Yun Chang, please don't leave. You are already the governor of Qingzhou."

"This recruitment banquet is actually a farewell party held by me for you."

"After the banquet, you can pack your bags and go to Linzi immediately to take up your post."

Brother...

Guan Gong was about to say something, but Liu Bei just waved his hand:

"... Go ahead."

Guan Yu was startled, then he cupped his hands and said in a deep voice:

“…Yes, as you command.”

Liu Bei then took Zhang Fei with him to the post station to look for Kong Ming.

Half a mile away from the posthouse, Liu Bei dismounted and walked.

Zhang Fei couldn't help laughing:
"Brother, you are too careful. You are so far away, how can you disturb the gentleman?"

Liu Bei did not respond and walked straight forward, where he met a young man of about thirteen or fourteen years old.

"Young man, may I ask if this is the inn where Mr. Kong Ming stayed?"

Liu Bei smiled slightly and bowed.

The young man replied:
"My brother is taking a nap, so why don't you ask the general?"

It turned out that this young man was Zhuge Jun, a boy from the Zhuge family.

When he met Liu Bei, he was still holding a book in his hand and reading diligently.

Liu Bei was secretly surprised and sighed that he was indeed from the Zhuge family.

"I am Liu Bei, General of the Cavalry of Han, Marquis of Xia Pi, and Governor of Xuzhou."

"Because I admire Mr. Kong Ming's talent, I have come here specially to pay him a visit."

When Zhuge Jun heard that it was Liu Bei himself who came, he was slightly shocked, and he bowed and said:
"It's General Liu. Please wait a moment, sir."

"Wait for me to wake up my brother."

The Zhuge family has moved back to Langya, Xuzhou, and Liu Bei is their immediate superior.

You must not offend them.

"Hey! No need to bother."

Liu Bei quickly grabbed Zhuge Jun's sleeve to stop him.

"Since the gentleman is still taking a nap, I will just wait outside the museum."

"...Well, that's fine."

Although Zhuge Jun felt that it was inappropriate, he didn't want to go against Liu Bei's wishes.

He went to read on a stone desk.

Liu Bei put his hands in his sleeves and stood there waiting.

It was the coldest month of winter.
The north wind is biting and the snow is falling.

Liu Bei waited for more than an hour.

Seeing that it was getting dark, Zhang Fei yawned and finally became a little impatient.

"...This gentleman is so arrogant."

"It's snowing heavily today. Brother, you are so rich, but there is no one to take care of you."

"He is fine, lying on the bed, unable to get up."

"But we are left here braving the wind and snow, enjoying the air conditioning!"

Liu Bei glanced at him and scolded:

"If you are afraid of the cold, go back first!"

Zhang Fei hurriedly said:

"It's snowing hard right now, and the weather is freezing. I'm just worried that you might be worried."

"Besides, even if Kong Ming is very talented, he may not be able to surpass Mr. Li."

"Mr. Li doesn't seem to be so arrogant, let alone Kong Ming?"

With Li Yi as an example, he is well versed in the ways of the workplace and is very capable of handling things.

This even gave Zhang Fei the illusion that all scholars should be like Li Yi.

He is talented, a gentleman, humble and polite.

As the saying goes, once you have seen the sea, all other waters are but puddles; once you have seen Mount Wushan, all other mountains are but mounds.

There is Li Yi's pearls and jade in front, and Xu You's rubble behind.

This made Zhang Fei no longer superstitious about scholars, and he believed that scholars should be divided into two categories dialectically.

"Once upon a time, Duke Huan of Qi wanted to see the wild man from Dongguo, but he went back five times before he was able to see him."

"Besides, do I want to see the great sage?"

"There is only one Li Ziyu in the world, and there is only one Zhuge Kongming."

"Why does Yide have to compare the two of them?"

Liu Bei had known countless people and knew that this person had many faces.

Li Yi understands the workplace and knows how to handle things, which is his strength.

Mr. Zhuge is a man of temper and pride, which is his character.

There is no right or wrong, it's just a matter of people.

Although Zhang Fei no longer complained, he was still unhappy.

After a long time, he suddenly saw the person in the hall turning over and getting up.

Liu Bei raised his body subconsciously, and saw the person in the hall stretching lazily and reciting a poem:
"Who will wake up first from the dream? I know it myself."

"I slept enough in the thatched cottage in winter, and the sun was setting outside the window."

Well……

For some reason, after hearing this poem, the corners of Liu Bei's lips unconsciously curled up slightly.

After the gentleman finished reciting the poem, he turned over and asked the boy beside him:
"Are there any guests coming?"

The boy replied:

"General, Liu Xuzhou has been waiting outside the hall for a long time."

Zhuge Liang stood up hurriedly.

"Why didn't you report it earlier? There's still room for you to change clothes!"

Then he went into the back hall, and after half a while, he straightened his clothes and came out to greet her.

Liu Bei looked up and saw that Zhuge Liang was eight feet tall, with a face as handsome as a jade and a very majestic appearance.

Wearing a crane cloak and standing in the snow, she looks even more radiant.

I feel like I am a god.

The last time Liu Bei felt this way was when Li Yi was cleansed.

Liu Bei stepped forward and saluted:
"Liu Bei, the governor of Xuzhou, is the last descendant of the Han Dynasty."

"I have heard of your great name for a long time, and it is well-known to me."

"I was busy with military affairs and was unable to visit you."

"I heard that you have arrived at the post house, so I came here in the snow and wind."

"It is a great honor to be able to see your appearance, which greatly comforts my admiration for you."

Zhuge Liang returned the greeting to Liu Bei with his feather fan and said with a gentle smile:

"Langya is a vulgar person, lazy by nature."

"I am deeply ashamed to have the General come here in person."

After the two of them exchanged greetings, they went into the museum to talk.

Liu Bei ordered Zhang Fei to wait outside the hall. Zhang Fei laughed secretly:

"My brother couldn't walk when he saw the famous scholar."

"He hasn't seen Mr. Li for several months, and today he visited Kong Ming."

"I'm afraid we'll have to talk for three days and three nights before we're willing to give up."

Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang entered the main hall and sat down as host and guest, with a boy serving tea to them.

"Because Mr. Shuijing highly praised your talent, I made a special trip to visit you."

"I hope you will teach me, sir. I am willing to listen to your instructions."

Zhuge Liang smiled and said:
"Li Tanhou and Pang Shiyuan are both great men of the time."

"Liang is just a farmer, how dare he talk about world affairs?"

"General, if you have any questions, you can ask these two."

"Why should we give up the beautiful jade and seek the hard stone?"

Liu Bei also smiled and said:

"Sir, don't be too modest. A man with extraordinary talent for governing the world should not sit in confinement until his death."

"Besides, Li Ziyu is in Jizhou, and Pang Shiyuan is far away in Bingzhou."

"I still lack people who can consult me for advice, so I hope you will think about the people of the world."

"To enlighten the ignorant and teach them."

Zhuge Liang said:
"...In that case, Liang would like to hear the general's intentions."

Liu Bei's eyes lit up, and he bowed and said:

"Bei started out in Zhuo County, but his family fell into poverty and he had no choice but to make a living by weaving mats and selling shoes."

"At that time, the mountains, rivers and people were all destroyed by war."

"Good conscience and kindness will keep away from the disaster of war."

"I overestimate my own capabilities and want to spread justice to the world."

“So I raised the army for several years, not to show off my bravery and kill, but only to save the people.”

“Being surrounded by like-minded people has enabled me to achieve some success.”

"But I still regret that my wisdom and skills are so short-sighted that I have not achieved anything yet."

"Mr. Wei enlightened his ignorance and saved him from his misfortune. He is truly fortunate!"

Zhuge Liang analyzed in a deep voice:

"Now that the general has destroyed the Yuan family, the land of Hebei will belong to the general sooner or later."

"The general originally took the lead in Xuzhou to quell the threat posed by Zang Ba in Langya."

"The five counties were united, and the people were all happy and content."

"Hebei is a rich land in the world. Although it is now in ruins, it still has a large population."

"So the general must govern the area north of the Yellow River without first securing it."

"We have already defeated Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang. If we divide our forces to attack one of them first, the two Yuan brothers will just sit back and watch what happens."

"If they have time to gather their troops to harvest wheat in Hebei and eat the grain in the livestock, the Yuan family can be defeated in one fell swoop."

"I think they will flee to Youzhou. We can ally with Gongsun Kang of Liaodong to capture the two Yuan brothers."

"After defeating Yuan, we will connect with Bingzhou in the west and use Ma Chao to control Gao Gan and the barbarians."

"Bingzhou's superior position threatened Cao Cao's flank, so Cao did not dare to move lightly."

"If the north is pacified, the two powers can be united."

"The only person you are worried about, General, is Cao Cao."

"If we can defeat Cao Cao, we can conquer the Central Plains and the world!"

Liu Bei was surprised and delighted when he heard this, and thought to himself:

"It's exactly the same as what Ziyu taught me!"

Li Yi also urged Liu Bang not to rush into external expansion and to focus on pacifying the north first.

The best strategy is to conserve food, livestock, and grain and store up military supplies.

As the saying goes, great minds think alike. Liu Bei saw that Zhuge Liang was able to point out the crux of Liu Bei's group.

It is exactly the same as the strategic policy set by Li Yi.

Just from these words, Liu Bei knew that Kong Ming had great talent, so he stepped aside and bowed to thank him:

"The master's words suddenly opened my eyes, and made me see the blue sky as if the clouds and mist had been cleared away."

"Although I am of low reputation and low virtue, I hope you will not abandon me and come out to help me."

"I always listen to your wise instructions and regard you as my teacher."

Zhuge Liang sighed:
"Li Tanhou has the talent to govern the country and save the world. Pang Shiyuan and I are old friends. I know that he is also a talent to assist the king."

"General, with these two people assisting you, the world will be settled sooner or later."

Liu Bei said quickly:

"If you are willing to come out and help, wouldn't the chaotic world be settled sooner, and wouldn't the world be at peace sooner?"

"Sir, don't you care about the people of the world?"

Who would complain about having too many talented people under them?
Moreover, as Liu Bei's territory continued to expand, he would eventually need to send some of his capable confidants to other places.

Then there must be an injection of fresh blood.

At this time, Zhuge Liang was only in his early twenties.

And Li Yi will be thirty next year.

At the age of thirty, time passes too quickly.

As the saying goes, every generation has talented people.

As one generation of talent grows old, a new generation must take its place.

Didn't Liu Bei also hope that someone would take over Li Yi's position a hundred years later?

Of course, Liu Bei is not young anymore.

He started his army relatively late, and spent most of the first half of his life in vain.

He is 42 years old this year and is very likely to die before Li Yi.

Especially with Yuan Ying's natural birth, Old Liu finally got a son after a long time.

Let’s not worry about whether he still has the energy to have a second or third child.

But he can now be considered as having a son in old age, so he has to pave the way for future generations.

Liu Bei rarely met Wolong, so he insisted on asking him to come out of seclusion. He stood up, held Zhuge Liang's hand, and wept:
"...Sir, if you don't come out of the mountain, what will happen to the common people?"

After he finished speaking, his tears wet his sleeves and clothes.

Seeing that he was sincere, Kong Ming shook Liu Bei's hand and said:
"Since the general has not abandoned me, I am willing to serve you like a dog or a horse."

Liu Bei was overjoyed, and ordered Zhang Fei, who was waiting outside the hall, to present the prepared gold, linen and silk.

When Zhang Fei heard his elder brother shouting, he secretly sighed that it was done so quickly!

But on second thought, my elder brother has been looking for talented people over the years.

The number of people that Li Yi recommended to Liu Bei alone could not be counted on one hand.

Old Liu is quite experienced when it comes to dealing with wise men.

So he brought the gifts of gold and hemp into the hall, but Zhuge Liang of course refused to accept them.

Liu Bei explained:

"I heard that you have moved your family back to Langya. The journey is long and the expenses are huge." "So this is not a gift to recruit a great sage, but a token of Liu Bei's love."

Only then did Zhuge Liang agree to accept it, and he invited Liu Bei to spend the night together in the guesthouse.

The two of them slept on the same bed with their feet touching, and slept soundly all night.

The next day, early morning.

Early in the morning, Liu Bei saw Guan Yu off to Qingzhou to take up his post.

He then formally appointed Zhuge Liang as Military Advisor and Lieutenant General.

Liu Bei's rewards were as generous and magnanimous as usual.

When Liu Bei first met Li Yi, he was just a country boy, but Liu Bei ignored everyone's objections and appointed him as his military advisor.

At that time, Liu Bei had to bear tremendous pressure.

But now, when Zhuge Liang had no achievements at all, Liu Bei appointed him as Military Advisor and Lieutenant General, and no one dared to say much.

One reason is that Liu Bei’s prestige is now high enough to suppress everyone.

Second, with Li Yi’s outstanding performance as an example, who would dare to question Liu Bei’s decision?
Liu Bei also has something to say. At the beginning, I went against the majority opinion and appointed Li Yi as military advisor.

You all say that he is a young boy with no real talent or knowledge.

Are you being slapped in the face now?
Now I have found another Zhuge Liang who is even younger than Li Yi at that time.

Who among you is dissatisfied and who dares to say more?

Everyone really didn't dare to say much, and anyone could see it.

Previously, Li Yi was the Army Advisor and General of the Household. Now Li Yi was promoted and went to Hebei.

Liu Bei immediately gave the vacant position to the newly hired Zhuge Liang.

This is obviously to train him to be the next Li Yi, and let him take over Li Yi's position!
In other words, after Li Yi, Zhuge Liang is likely to become the new second-in-command of Xuzhou.

As the future vice president, there is no need for anyone to offend him.

As soon as Zhuge Liang was appointed as a general, many officials came to congratulate him with gifts.

Zhuge Liang refused to accept any of them and ordered everyone to take them back.

The officials looked at each other and discussed:

"When Li Tanhou was alive, he never took the initiative to ask for bribes from us."

"However, during festivals, we send gifts, and the Marquis of Tan is often happy to accept them."

"Tan Hou always takes care of us."

"How come the newly appointed military advisor refuses to accept even a small gift?"

Many people sighed with trepidation:

"...Alas, we have known the Marquis of Tan for many years."

"If I had known about the assignment, I would have asked to be transferred to Jizhou."

"Now that Marquis Tan has left, I wonder what the new military advisor's personality is like."

All the officials were uneasy and missed Li Yi.

……

The words are divided into two parts,

Speaking of Li Yi, he was chasing Yuan Tan in Anping at that time.

Yuan Tan adopted Guo Tu's strategy and drove the common people to the front to serve as the vanguard.

So he drove out the people of Anping overnight, and they all held swords and guns and obeyed his orders.

The people cried and fled, but were all killed by Yuan Tan.

A few people managed to escape.

He happened to run into Li Yi's marching troops, so he took the initiative to ask for asylum.

Li Yi accepted it and asked the reason.

Only then did they realize that Yuan Tan was using the people of Hebei as human shields and drove them out of Anping first.

"Why is Yuan Xiansi so tyrannical?"

Even Li Yi felt that Yuan Tan's move was too crazy.

The people of Anping are, after all, the people of Yuan family, their fellow villagers and elders.

Yuan Tan's move was simply retrograde.

"...Alas, Yuan Xiansi has failed to live up to my expectations, and also failed to live up to the expectations of my lord."

Li Yi sighed somewhat self-blamingly.

He originally wanted to support Yuan Tan to take the throne, undermine his power, and thus indirectly rule Hebei.

In this way, Li Yi's team's work in Hebei will be much smoother.

But plans cannot keep up with changes. Who could have thought that Yuan Tan would be obsessed to this extent?
Everyone advised:

"Yuan Tan used the common people as soldiers, bullying us into not daring to fight."

"It's better to break it in one fell swoop to avoid trouble."

Li Yi shook his head and rejected it decisively:

"Now I am the governor of Jizhou, and the people of Jizhou and my son are also my governor."

"Besides, when I first arrived in Xuzhou, I adhered to General Liu's philosophy of putting the people first and regarding the people as the most important."

"If we raise an army to attack them, won't we have to make an exception right from the start?"

Everyone was stunned when they heard this.

When Li Yifang arrived in Jizhou, he was indeed crazy about "establishing his character".

He did not even show his status as Marquis of Tan to others, but instead first regarded himself as the son-in-law of the Yuan family, and then as the Governor of Jizhou.

This move is nothing more than an attempt to downplay the hatred between the people and the fellow countrymen in Hebei as much as possible.

It’s not me, it’s the soldiers.

Now that the war is over, we are all one family from now on. Why should we fight against each other with swords and guns?

Therefore, Li Yi adopted a conciliatory strategy towards the second Yuan'er at the beginning.

Whether they listen or not is their business, but whether Li Yi does it or not is Li Yi's business.

This is done for the fellow countrymen in Hebei to see.

Let them know that it’s not that I, Li Yi, am heartless, it’s really the Second Yuaner who is doing the wrong thing.

Huang Zhong sighed and said:

"You can't fight me, and you can't leave me."

"Isn't there no solution?"

Chen Dao said loudly:
"Sir, you are always resourceful. How could you be stumped by such a small matter?"

"Besides, we have come a long way and have survived the most difficult Battle of Guandu. What does this matter?"

Li Yi smiled bitterly and said:
"This is no small matter."

"Yuan Tan doesn't care about the lives of the people of Hebei. He has lost everything and is just fighting to the death."

"But I want to stay here for a long time, so I must not kill the local people."

Everyone looked at each other, all at a loss as to what to do.

Do you really want to say whether this battle is difficult to fight?

That is indeed not difficult. How could Yuan Tan achieve anything by gathering a bunch of ant-like soldiers?
Not to mention competing with Xuzhou's group of battle-hardened warriors.

The real trouble is the people who act as meat shields in the front.

This brutal tactic of driving the civilians in front requires generals to find a balance between military action and moral ethics.

If these generals had come, they would have charged directly.

It doesn’t matter how many casualties there are among your people. We just want to kill Yuan’s army.

But as the supreme leader of Jizhou, Li Yi cannot ignore his reputation, which will be detrimental to his subsequent ruling work.

Seeing that no one answered, Chen Dao took the initiative to suggest:
"Can we just charge ahead and have the soldiers kill Yuan's army?"

"Just don't hurt the common people."

As soon as this statement came out, it was immediately refuted by everyone:

"On the battlefield, swords have no eyes."

"If the two armies really start a fight, who will care about the lives of ordinary people?"

Chen Dao was speechless and had nothing to say.

It would be too unrealistic to expect no casualties at all.

As a result, everyone turned their eyes to Li Yi.

Waiting for him, the supreme commander, to make the decision.

Li Yi bent over the desk, quietly observing the battlefield map.

After a long time, he slowly spoke:

"Yuan Tan's move is to drive us out of Anping."

"So that I can fight with Yuan Shang."

"Why not take advantage of their own strategy and withdraw our troops now?"

When everyone heard this, they immediately wanted to speak out to persuade them.

Fighting a war is not like traveling. Changing the direction of a large army is a very troublesome and difficult task from a technical point of view.

Before anyone could speak, Li Yi's voice came again:

"...Don't be alarmed, I haven't finished speaking yet."

As he spoke, Li Yi pointed at the map and tapped it lightly.

"Our army can retreat to Anyi first, which is the entrance to Anping."

"Han Sheng and Shu Zhi can each lead 500 brave cavalrymen and station them at Guanjin and Xiabo."

Everyone gathered around to look at the map.

Guanjin and Xiabo are the two small counties on the left and right in front of Anyi.

It was equivalent to Li Yi setting up a pocket formation to lure Yuan Tan into the trap.

Huang Zhong and Chen Dao, as surprise troops, can avoid head-on confrontation and fight in a roundabout way.

Attack Yuan Tan's main force in a roundabout way to reduce casualties among the people.

Everyone thought that this was the best solution at the moment and was about to accept the order when Li Yi arranged a new tactic.

"Tomorrow at Anyi, we can lure Yuan Tan to come to the battlefield and talk."

"We don't fight."

"Use words to interfere and expose the atrocities of Yuan's army."

"So as to incite Yuan's soldiers to revolt and encourage the people to rise up in resistance."

Li Yi was good at reading people's minds, and he was almost 99% sure about this rebellion.

As the saying goes, where there is oppression, there is resistance.

The reason why these people captured by Yuan Tan did not dare to resist was simply because they were afraid of Yuan Tan's military power.

If we instigate a rebellion on the battlefield tomorrow, we will have the support of Li Yi's army.

They felt more confident.

Although their rebellion may not necessarily have a decisive impact on the war situation.

But all the casualties caused were borne by Yuan Tan alone.

...Alas, this prodigal son has squandered his father's fortune.

Li Yi couldn't help but think of the family business he inherited. He managed it so carefully, but who could have thought that something like this would happen in the end?
After making two arrangements, Li Yi made the last one.

"Gongming, go buy some food, clothes, and supplies."

"After the war ends tomorrow, do your best to appease the people."

"...here."

Xu Huang bowed and accepted the order.

The next day, it was dawn.

The south is bustling with people.

A large number of Anping people were carried in the front and driven forward.

The shouts were loud and the cries were deafening.

Soldiers and civilians rushed out together and headed straight for Li Yi’s camp.

Yuan Tan sent out scouts to investigate, and they reported back that the camp was empty.

"……empty?"

Yuan Tan frowned, thinking to himself that Li Yi was a very cunning man, and he didn't know what tricks he would use next.

"—Report."

Another scout came on horseback to report.

"General, we have seen a large number of Henan troops in the direction of Anyi."

"Is it Li Yi's men?"

"I didn't dare to look closer, so I couldn't find out clearly."

"But Anping County shouldn't be able to find any other large forces."

Yuan Tan ordered his men to continue driving the people forward, heading straight to Anyi.

Before they knew it, the army had passed Xiabo and Guanjin.

Huang Zhong and Chen Dao, who were lying in ambush on both sides, were secretly delighted when they saw Yuan Tan's army coming in.

It turned out to be just as you expected.

The people around him suggested taking advantage of the opportunity to attack, which would surely cause chaos in Yuan Tan's army and save the people.

Huang Zhong and Chen Dao both rejected this suggestion.

"Your Excellency often says that when marching to war, one must keep calm."

"Now you must divide the enemy forces at Anyi to buy time."

"It won't be too late to attack after their attention is distracted."

Therefore, the troops from Xiabo and Guanjin were not in a hurry to attack.

Yuan Tan was unaware of the ambush and marched straight towards Anyi.

Unexpectedly, Li Yi had already set up his troops there and had been waiting for a long time.

Li Yi took the initiative to urge his horse to go out into the battle and ordered his men to call Yuan Tan to come out.

Yuan Tan wore fish-scale armor and rode out with a spear in hand.

As soon as he went out, Li Yi scolded:
"Yuan Tan! I treated you very well and even recommended you to General Liu."

"Why did you become disloyal and cause chaos in Jizhou?"

Yuan Tan was stunned. He never expected that he would be called out to be scolded.

He was not convinced at the moment and cursed:
"I summoned you to cross the river to help me wipe out the rebels and stabilize Hebei."

"How could you steal the power of Jizhou while I was away?"

"Now that you have obtained the post of governor of Jizhou, I have lost most of my soldiers and gained nothing."

"Based on what you have done, do you dare to say that you treat me well?"

Li Yi said calmly:

"Yuan Benchu committed treasonous acts, and my family obeyed the imperial edict to fight against him."

"Here is the Emperor's decree, you can check it."

"I recommend you to General Liu and give you a chance to redeem yourself for your crimes."

"Why don't you thank me, but blame me instead?"

When the soldiers of both armies heard this, they all felt that there was something wrong with what Li Yi said, but they had no way to refute it.

Perhaps this is what people often call "sophistry".

"As for the matter of Jizhou Mu, this is an imperial edict, how can I disobey it?"

"Besides, the whole world belongs to the Han people."

"My lord is a descendant of the Miao people of the Han Dynasty. It is legitimate for us to occupy the land of Hebei."

"How come it becomes 'invading your realm' in your mouth?"

"Even though the land of Hebei should have belonged to the Yuan family."

"My mistress is from the Yuan family, and is the legitimate daughter of the Yuan family."

"My wife, Li, is also a daughter of Yuan."

"No matter which way you count it, occupy Hebei."

"It's all legal!"

……

(End of this chapter)