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

Chapter 40: The Last Big Trouble in Xuzhou (Please Read!)

"I still have a few pots of green plum wine in my house. You can bring them so that I can drink with you."

Li Yi gave an order.

This green plum wine was sent by some officials from Xuzhou these two days.

This is a society where human relationships are important, let alone the officialdom.

This kind of thing is not uncommon in official circles.

Although green plum wine is not uncommon, it is brewed in the south.

The climate there is hot and humid, so the green plums produced there have better flavor, and the green plum wine brewed there is naturally more unique.

Li Yi explained to Liu Bei eloquently:

"My lord, this plum wine has a sour taste. It would be better if peach blossom petals were added to the wine to neutralize it."

"The wine has a three-tenths peach fragrance and a ten-tenth green plum sourness. The two complement each other and the taste is superb."

Liu Bei was overjoyed when he heard this. Even though he was not a greedy person, he became very interested in Li Yi's way of eating.

"Sir, you are indeed a master of this art and a great drinker. I admire you deeply."

"Now that Xuzhou has been conquered, it is all thanks to you, sir. Today I will drink a thousand cups with you and not go home until I am drunk!"

Li Yi burst out laughing.

"My lord, you are wrong. Xuzhou has not been settled yet, and there is still one important thing that has not been done."

oh……?
Liu Bei's smile froze instantly. He had thought that he could take a break from his busy schedule with Zi Yu today, but he still had to slack off.

Li Yi took a deep breath and said earnestly:

"I know what the lord wants. He is afraid that I will be tired and does not want to put pressure on me."

"But my lord, as the head of a state, shouldering all matters, he still did it himself."

"How can Yi be a lazy, slack, and lazy person?"

Are you kidding? Do you really think that I, Li Yi, became a company executive thanks to "My Boss Dad"?
Then we rely on our real ability of self-discipline!

"Xuzhou has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. It is located in the Central Plains, connected in all directions, and has no strategic location to defend."

“It’s easy to attack but hard to defend!”

"If we think of defending and waiting for the attack, we can only sit and wait for death. Sooner or later, we will be destroyed by other princes."

"Only by taking the initiative can we strike first and gain the upper hand!"

Li Yi elaborated on his strategic approach.

It is true that Xuzhou needs to develop, but if it only develops without expanding outward it will definitely not work.

Because Xuzhou has no strategic location to defend, it would be too passive if we don't take the initiative to attack.

Liu Bei's expression was solemn. Had he not thought about this question before?
"I also know what the military advisor means."

"But now that Xuzhou has been settled, it is not appropriate to start a war."

It’s not that Liu Bei doesn’t want to fight, the problem is who can he fight now?
Yuan Shao in the north, Cao Cao in the west, or Yuan Shu in the south?

Or is it Kong Rong, who is right above his head and has the best relationship with him?

"My lord, you have misunderstood my intention."

Li Yi explained, "I just proposed a strategic plan, not saying that we should fight now."

If you don't have the skills, don't take on the job.

Li Yi still understood this principle.

"So what does sir mean...?"

“In order to fight against the outside world, we must first settle down at home!”

Li Yi said seriously.

hiss……

This answer is even more vague.

As for internal stability, Liu Bei had already appeased those factions in Xuzhou that needed to be appeased, won over those that needed to be won over, and suppressed those that needed to be suppressed.

Next, we can only rely on time to slowly test it.

Are there any other issues in Xuzhou that need to be resolved immediately?

Liu Bei thought for a moment and asked:
"Are you talking about Cao Bao, sir?"

Li Yi shook his head. "Since the defeat in Pengcheng, the Danyang faction has lost all its fighting spirit and will not be able to stir up any trouble in the short term."

Liu Bei thought about it again and answered:

"Could it be that Guangling, many counties and towns here have sided with Yuan Shu, and Chen Yuanlong may not be able to suppress them."

"If Yuan Shu swallows Guangling, it will directly threaten Xiapi. Is this a top priority?"

Li Yi burst into laughter:
"My lord, don't underestimate Chen Yuanlong and the family behind him. This boy has many tricks up his sleeve." "With him here, Guangling is nothing but a scabby disease."

"What's the point of talking about it?"

Liu Bei fell into deep thought for a long time before he slowly spoke:
"Langya."

This time, Li Yi finally nodded.

Liu Bei did not feel relieved.

The five counties and kingdoms of Xuzhou are Xia Pi, Langya, Guangling, Donghai, and Pengcheng.

Among them, Pengcheng and Xia Pi were firmly controlled by Liu Bei.

Guangling has sent Chen Deng to suppress it.

The marriage between Li Yi and the Mi family has caused the forces in the East China Sea to lean towards him, so there is no need to worry.

That can only be Zang Ba from Langya in the north.

Why didn’t Liu Bei feel relieved?

Because he had always adopted a conciliatory strategy towards Zang Ba.

Although Langya was nominally a county of Xuzhou, in fact it had become the base for Zang Ba's separatist rule.

This means that Zang Ba was a vassal of Langya.

Rather than saying that Liu Bei had no concerns about Zang Ba, it would be better to say that he did not include Langya in his rule from the beginning.

Liu Bei voluntarily gave the north and northeast of Xuzhou to Zang Ba and Chang Xi.

The evidence is that Liu Bei took the initiative to move the seat of Xuzhou from Donghai to Xia Pi.

This is Liu Bei's sincerity.

The subtext is that Langya and the northern part of the East China Sea will be left to your Taishan Gang.

We do not offend the river.

So why didn't Liu Bei think of Zang Ba at first when he was discussing with Li Yi?
Because he never intended to have Langya.

The other counties were at least nominally still under his jurisdiction as the governor of Xuzhou, but Langya was completely Zang Ba's personal territory.

"Sir, you said you don't want to expand outward at this time, but do you still want to use military force against Zang Ba?" Liu Bei asked.

Li Yi laughed softly and said:

"My Lord, you are wrong. What I just said is that we must first stabilize the country before we can resist foreign aggression."

"My lord is the governor of Xuzhou, and Langya is a county of Xuzhou. Doesn't Langya belong to my lord?"

You...!
Liu Bei was both angry and amused, and cursed inwardly: "Sir, you are a smart man, why do you pretend to be stupid in front of me?"
Don’t you know that I gave Langya to Zang Ba a long time ago and never included Langya in the discussion of the Xuzhou issue?

No, no, no, to be more precise.

Starting from Tao Qian, Langya was given to Zang Ba.

Liu Bei was just following Xiao's rules.

To Liu Bei, Zang Ba was at most an external threat, not an internal threat.

The internal troubles should be the Danyang faction and the Xuzhou aristocratic families. These are the internal troubles.

Zang Ba should be classified in the same category as Yuan Shu in the southeast and Cao Cao in the northwest.

But if we calculate it this way, which one of Cao Cao and Yuan Shu is not a greater threat than Zang Ba?

Why did the military advisor pay particular attention to Zang Ba?

"My lord, please take a look."

Li Yi picked up the chopsticks and tapped them gently on the stone table.

"North of Langya is Qingzhou. My lord came from Qingzhou, so you should know where Qingzhou is now."

When it comes to Qingzhou, Liu Bei seems to have some enlightenment.

He had previously assisted Tian Kai in Qingzhou against Yuan Shao.

He just ran away halfway and started over in Xuzhou.

When he was around, Tian Kai was no match for Yuan Shao.

Now that Liu Bei is gone, Tian Kai is afraid that he will be even less able to defeat Yuan Shao.

Once Tian Kai is defeated, Qingzhou will fall into the hands of the Yuan family.

Then Langya, as the northern gateway of Xuzhou, would directly border the Yuan family.

At this time, Zang Ba, who was guarding the gate, sided with the Yuan family.

Then the Yuan family will be able to march straight in and wipe out Xuzhou!

　Please read it! Please read it! Please read it! Please read it! Please read it! Please read it! Please read it! Please read it! Please read it! Please read it! Please read it! Please read it!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)