The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

"That's it!"

"To lose to Xuande is fate!"

At Xun You's urging, Cao Cao did not slam his fist on the table and smash his bowl, ready to fight Liu Bei to the death.

Cao Cao's attempt to seize Jingzhou was a risky gamble, betting that Liu Bei would not be able to respond in time, and that he would then use the strength of his former troops from Yan and Yu provinces and the powerful families of Yingchuan to retake Xuchang.

Unexpectedly, Liu Bei's timely response far exceeded Cao Cao's expectations, catching Cao Cao off guard.

The complete defection of the Yingchuan aristocratic families deprived Cao Cao of his internal support; the families of his civil and military subordinates in Xuchang caused Cao Cao to lose the morale of his army; and Liu Xie's voluntary trip to Xiangyang to "seek death" caused Cao Cao to lose his sense of righteousness.

Without an inside ally, without morale, without a sense of righteousness, and with Liu Bei as the opponent, Cao Cao has only one way to turn the tide: summon a meteorite!

If Cao Cao didn't have the ability to summon meteorites, he would have had no choice but to agree to Liu Bei's conditions.

Clearly, Cao Cao did not possess the ability to summon meteorites.

"I agree to Liu Bei's conditions, but Liu Bei must come to Xiangyang City to see me in person." Cao Cao glared at him: "If Liu Bei comes, I will cooperate. If he refuses to come, I am willing to fight to the death!"

Cao Cao's words meant that Liu Bei should first disguise himself and enter Xiangyang to meet Cao Cao, and then leave Xiangyang to cooperate with Cao Cao in putting on a show.

However, there were also considerable risks involved. If Cao Cao harbored malicious intentions, Liu Bei would be detained in Xiangyang.

Xun You dared not make the decision himself, so he hurriedly sent someone to Xudu to deliver the message.

Upon hearing that Cao Cao wanted to let Liu Bei enter Xiangyang, Xu Shu, Guo Tu, and others all believed that Cao Cao had malicious intentions and advised Liu Bei not to fall for it.

However, Liu Bei overruled the objections of others and left a will: "If I am lost in Xiangyang, my son A Dou shall succeed me."

It must be said that Liu Bei possessed extraordinary courage; a cowardly person would never have dared to venture out alone.

However, Liu Bei had no worries about this trip.

Having fought Cao Cao for decades, Liu Bei understood Cao Cao, and Liu Bei understood Cao Cao.

In Liu Bei's view, Cao Cao had already agreed to the truce and peace proposal, but Cao Cao felt that he would lose face, so he needed Liu Bei to personally go to Xiangyang.

In fact, Cao Cao did think so.

Therefore, after learning that Liu Bei had crossed the river from Fancheng, Cao Cao came from Xiangyang to the river mouth to meet Liu Bei.

Although the two men had different political views and moral character, and harbored much hatred towards each other, they now felt a sense of mutual respect as the country was about to be unified.

It is the season when plums ripen.

Looking at the plums served by his personal attendant, Cao Cao couldn't help but sigh: "Thinking back to the past, when I and Xuande discussed heroes over green plums and wine, and talked about the world, Xuande seemed to have divine assistance. In just eight years, he took control of the situation and conquered the world. Seeing the plums again today, I have many feelings."

Liu Bei also expressed his feelings, solemnly saying, "The world has been suffering from war for too long. If we can stop the war as soon as possible, it will be a blessing for our Han Dynasty. Brother Mengde, the grudges between us are personal grudges. If we fight because of personal grudges and ruin the affairs of the country, it is not the behavior of a hero. Since ancient times, whenever the Central Plains are in turmoil, the surrounding small countries will covet the Central Plains and have the intention to invade. I really do not want to see the border people being plundered by foreign tribes again."

Although Liu Bei didn't say it explicitly, Cao Cao understood what Liu Bei meant: the civil war must not continue!

If Cao Cao truly wanted to confront Liu Bei, with the strength of Jing and Yi provinces, and by joining forces with Sun Quan of Jiangdong, even if he couldn't march north to compete with Liu Bei, he could still hold onto the three provinces and fight against Liu Bei for decades.

However, it remains unknown how many people will die in these decades, whether the unification will cripple the Central Plains, and whether foreign tribes will rise to power.

However, if Cao Cao had given up confronting Liu Bei, Liu Bei would have had enough energy and time to deal with internal and external threats such as Sun Quan and the powerful clans of Jiangdong, the powerful clans of Jingzhou and Yizhou, the Gongsun clan of Liaodong, the Xianbei in the borderlands, the Qiang people in the west, and the barbarians in the south.

This time, Cao Cao did not seek any further excuses. After seeing Liu Bei cross the river as promised, Cao Cao had no intention of fighting again.

That night.

The two, half-drunk, slept side by side in a makeshift tent by the river.

Liu Bei wasn't afraid of Cao Cao killing him in his sleep, nor was Cao Cao afraid of Liu Bei harboring malicious intentions at night. What happened next was almost exactly as Guo Tu had predicted.

Liu Bei secretly returned to Xuchang. Soon after, news arrived that Cao Cao had surrendered and that Liu Xie had retired. The officials, citing reasons such as "a country cannot be without a ruler for a day" and "the Grand Commandant is a member of the Han imperial family and should follow the example of Emperor Guangwu to succeed to the throne," supported Liu Bei to become emperor in Xuchang.

Liu Bei appointed Cao Cao as General Who Conquers the West and Governor of the Western Regions, and selected civil and military officials to garrison in Taqian City in the territory of Kucha, rebuilding the Protectorate of the Western Regions to oversee the various kingdoms in the Western Regions.

Cao Cao did not refuse this arrangement; on the contrary, it aroused his childhood ambition to become the General Who Conquers the West.

Perhaps out of mutual respect, and also to allow Cao Cao's civil and military officials to focus on governing the Western Regions and peacefully accepting Jingzhou and Yizhou, Liu Bei treated Cao Cao very generously.

But Sun Quan didn't receive the same treatment.

Firstly, after being driven out of Xuchang, Sun Quan fled south all the way to Shouchun. Secondly, Chen Deng captured Wu County, which was defended by Zhang Zhao, and Sun Quan and his civil and military officials and their families were all taken by Chen Deng.

Therefore, when Sun Quan led his civil and military officials to rescue Wu County, countless soldiers deserted, and in the end he could only flee to Kuaiji with less than three thousand men, barely surviving.

The emperor's dream vanished as a result.

In order to win over Zhou Yu and others, Liu Bei did not completely eliminate Sun Quan, but instead appointed Sun Quan as the Protector-General of Yamatai, allowing Sun Quan to lead his clansmen and confidants into Yamatai.

Although Sun Quan was unwilling, he did not have the courage to commit suicide, so he could only comfort himself by saying, "Yamatai only has a queen. If I go there, I can still be called a lonely queen."

Gongsun Kang of Liaodong, seeing Liu Bei's growing power, decisively chose to back down and volunteered to serve as an official in the court.

Entering the court as an official meant that Gongsun Kang gave up everything in Liaodong, only wishing to become a court official for a stable life.

Liu Bei did not refuse this offer. He not only promised Gongsun Kang a high-ranking official position and generous salary, but also appointed Guo Yuan, who had lived in Liaodong and knew the local customs, as the governor of Liaodong and oversaw the counties in Liaodong.

With the end of the wars in the Han Dynasty, all the prefectures and counties were in need of reconstruction and entered a period of recovery.

Just as Liu Bei was preparing to appoint Zhuge Liang as prime minister, Zhuge Liang took the initiative to seek out Liu Bei and volunteered to be the governor of Yizhou.

This move left Liu Bei completely baffled: "Now that the world has just been pacified, I still need my strategist to make decisions on many matters, yet my strategist wants to go to Yizhou. Why is that?"

Zhuge Liang had anticipated Liu Bei's question, so he replied, "Since Liu Yan entered Shu, Yizhou has severed ties with the imperial court. Over the decades, the powerful clans of Yizhou have formed their own independent faction. Cao Cao seized Yizhou by force, and the powerful clans of Yizhou are not convinced of Cao Cao's authority. Therefore, although Cao Cao surrendered, Yizhou may not necessarily submit to the imperial court. I have a good understanding of Yizhou and am willing to serve as the governor of Yizhou for Your Majesty for a few years, so that the people of Yizhou may all submit to the Han Dynasty."

After a pause, Zhuge Liang continued, "Moreover, there are many talented people in Yizhou. My personal visit will allow me to find capable individuals for Your Majesty. The court is in dire need of resources and needs money and provisions everywhere. My visit to Yizhou will also allow me to reorganize the Shu brocade workshops and establish workshops to produce Shu brocade in the name of the court. In this way, Your Majesty will not have to worry about money and provisions."

Zhuge Liang listed more than a dozen benefits of becoming the governor of Yizhou for Liu Bei, each one for the sake of the country, which moved Liu Bei even more.

Although reluctant, Liu Bei was aware of the current predicament of the country: everything needed to be rebuilt, and money and food were needed everywhere. If the people's livelihood and economy could not be developed, this newly established Han Dynasty would not last long.

With Zhuge Liang's entry into Shu, all matters came to a temporary end.

Besides listing more than a dozen benefits for Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang also missed the Shu region, which is why he volunteered to be the governor of Yizhou.

After Zhuge Liang entered Shu, news continued to circulate.

In the first year of Zhangwu (208), Zhuge Liang, the governor of Yizhou, issued a decree to build the Shu Brocade Workshop and recruited three thousand weavers.

"In the first year of Zhangwu (208), Zhuge Liang, the governor of Yizhou, issued a decree to repair the Dujiangyan Irrigation System annually, to make stone measuring rods for dredging, and to dispatch 1,200 soldiers to be responsible for dredging the river and maintaining the dikes year-round."

"In the second year of Zhangwu (209), there was a torrential rain in Shu, causing the river embankment to collapse and floods to rage. Zhuge Liang, the governor of Yizhou, designed a flood control embankment that was nine miles long and recruited soldiers and civilians to work together to repair it."

In the third year of Zhangwu (210), chaos broke out in the south. Zhuge Liang, the governor of Yizhou, personally led troops to quell the rebellion in the south, captured the rebel generals, and returned. All the tribes in the south submitted.

"."

"In the tenth year of Zhangwu (218), Zhuge Liang, the governor of Yizhou, requested to return to Luoyang. The emperor, recognizing Zhuge Liang's ten years of merit in governing Yizhou, appointed him as prime minister and made the crown prince A Dou (Liu Shan) his father, showing him the utmost favor." (End of this chapter)