There was continuous autumn rain for the next few days, and the weather in September suddenly turned cold and warm. After the officials involved left Beijing hastily, there was no response from the government and the public, as if nothing had happened. But at the end of that month, the emperor, who was in his prime in the Spring and Autumn Period, suddenly fell seriously ill. Although he was not life-threatening, he still suffered for a long time. His condition did not improve until mid-October. The imperial doctor who treated the patient said that it was caused by internal heat. He could just drink more concoction and rest in the palace. But what exactly caused the anger, not even the imperial doctor said, but everyone actually knew it.
Liu Bei was lucky enough to be there. When the emperor was ill, he participated in discussions in the Chancery and mobilized personnel for more than ten days in a row. When Jian Yong came to join him, he arranged for him to serve as King Wu's commander. When Jian Yong offended someone at court, Liu Bei transferred him back to Bafu and called Sun Qian to help Chen Chong. Dong Yue and Hu Zhen, who had been stationed in Fufeng for more than six years, according to the agreement, should be reinstated. Therefore, after Liu Bei and Chen Chong reached an agreement, they planned to transfer them and part of the Liang army to Bafu, and the rest of the Liang soldiers would return as appropriate. Lend to the people.
There are also some strategists and generals who have made great contributions in Bafu's battles over the years. Liu Bei also took this opportunity to ask for titles and titles for them.
Duan Xuan made a surprise attack on Zhangrao and resisted Xianbei. He first served as Yuan's army. He made outstanding contributions and was granted the title of Marquis of Yunzhong County.
Zhang Xian led the army to surrender, and was loyal to the country. He suppressed Xuzhou in the east and was named Marquis of Pengcheng County.
Sun Ce rebelled against Yuan Shu's army, Nanping Yangzhou, and was granted the title of Marquis of Wu;
Fazheng, Xunyou, and Xu Shu, as the masterminds, often came up with strange strategies and granted the title of Marquis of the Countryside.
In addition, there are 13 Xianghou, 26 Tinghou, and 49 Guannei Hou.
After the list of awards was announced, the courtiers were extremely shocked, and such large-scale awards were given based on merit. This had never happened since the founding of Emperor Shizu of the Han Dynasty, but it was blameless. After all, Emperor Gaozu had made an oath: "Those who have no military merit will not be awarded. "Hou", Bafu presided over the court's battles, and won successive victories. It was natural to be granted the title of marquis, and Liu Bei accumulated more prestige as a result.
After all this work was done, it was already the end of October in the blink of an eye. Suddenly the sky became clear, the sun cleared, and the sky and earth were filled with autumn colors. Chen Chong and Liu Bei traveled together for the first time in a long time. They searched for deep forests along the Weishui River and walked and hunted in them. However, it was already the turn of autumn and winter. The migratory birds had all flown south, the bears were preparing to hibernate, and most of the hares had crawled into their nests. They After wandering around for two hours, I didn't see any wild animals except a pregnant doe.
Fortunately, the two of them did not intend to hunt, so they simply released the doe and sat on the south bank of the Weishui River to fish, raising their poles and discussing their future plans.
"Although Yuan Shao is a serious enemy, it is really difficult to go south from Juyong to pacify Hebei. The mountain road is long and difficult to navigate, and there are Xianbei and Wuhuan on the side. And if they lose, it will be difficult to retreat."
After Liu Bei threw the bait down, he watched the buoy rise and fall with the ripples on the water. Then he talked about his experience in the battle. He concluded: "Ting Jian, it seems that if we really want to conquer Jizhou, Juyong and his party cannot leave." ”
Chen Chong sat next to Liu Bei, listened to what he said, nodded slightly and said, "That's true. Now it seems that if the army goes to Hebei, it is best to start from Luoyang and go north from Heqiao to attack Yecheng. In this way, we can transport grain by canal. It’s also convenient for knights to come and go. It’s just that the time is not yet ripe at this time.”
Chen Chong said that the time was not ripe, mainly because Qing and Xu states were not at peace. During the successive battles in Henan, rumors of Yuan Shao's collusion with the puppet government had already spread throughout the government and the public, but after all, there was no real evidence, so the court could not attack Yuan Shao. But during the war, this had to be taken into consideration.
After all, Jizhou is a large state. Once a war breaks out, the entire north and south of the river will be involved in the war. If Yuan Jun can send out a surprise force from Qingxu's side and only insert his close friends in the Central Plains, the negative impact on the war situation will be immeasurable. Chen Chong naturally suggested that Liu Bei should pacify Qingxu next year.
Liu Bei agreed with his suggestion, but he was also embarrassed: "I know what you mean, and I originally planned to do so. But after Qingxu is pacified, do you have any ideas about who should be comforted? These two states have been ravaged by the Yellow Turbans for many years. It is not easy to govern if the people's hearts are not attached to them for a long time."
Chen Chong was a little surprised and asked: "Didn't Xuzhou already agree that Zhang Xian will be the uncle? Is he incompetent?"
"In terms of talent in battle, he is pretty good, but when it comes to people's livelihood, he is not an expert, so he must be assisted by wise men."
Chen Chong smiled and replied: "That's enough. There are still many wealthy families in Xuzhou. As long as we can unite with them, it won't be difficult."
Only Qingzhou is really difficult to govern. It has been twenty years since the Yellow Turban missionary work flourished. If you want to convince the people, you have to appoint people who can manage the world. Such talents are very few in the current imperial court, and even more can be re-appointed. There is none. Chen Chong suddenly thought of Xun Yu and Xun Wen Ruo. In terms of talent, Wen Ruo was naturally one of the few prime ministers in the world. In terms of reputation, Wen Ruo's political achievements in Yanzhou were enough. The only problem is that Wen Ruo is now the most important minister under Meng De. If he is promoted to Qingzhou Shepherd, Meng De may be dissatisfied.
However, Chen Chong then thought about it. On the other hand, Meng De's ambitions were growing day by day and were reaching the point of transcendence. However, Wen Ruo and himself were on good terms, and had married a daughter to Chang Wen. The two families were already in-laws, and he was loyal to the court. He happened to have a friendship with Meng De for many years. If Wen Ruo could be brought out of Qingzhou, Meng De would Taking all things into account, his ambitions may be somewhat tempered.
Chen Chong wanted to tell Liu Bei about this, and Liu Bei also agreed very much. This Eastern Expedition originally required the use of Yanyu's troops. Since we had a plan in advance, we could make relevant arrangements during the expedition, and it would not lead to a big mistake. However, the two were so happy chatting that they didn't even notice that there was a fish biting the hook. When the attendant reminded them, the fishing line had been pulled off. As a result, the two sat on the shore for two hours and caught nothing.
Chen Chong joked with Liu Bei: "If Xuande loses the small fish, can he still catch the big fish in Guandong?"
Liu Bei didn't care and replied with a smile: "When I fish, I imitate Grand Master Jiang Wang. Those who are willing to take the bait are always the ones who take the bait."
Unexpectedly, this joke soon became true. At the end of October, Zhang Xian, the Zhendong general in Pengcheng, sent a message saying that an envoy from Xuzhou came secretly and wanted to see Liu Bei. The letter did not explain anything, but said that someone had been sent to escort the envoy and he would arrive in the capital soon. He hoped that the general would arrange it properly.
Liu Bei was confused, but he also knew that Zhang Xian would not lie, so after the envoy arrived, he pretended to go to Yuanjue Temple to worship the Buddha, but actually met the envoy secretly in the side hall. After the envoy entered the door, his words were shocking. He only heard him say: "General, the people of the five counties of Xuzhou are in danger, and the people will be in danger. Entrusted by the reputation of the five counties, I came here to ask for help from the general!"
Liu Bei didn't expect the envoy to say such words suddenly, and he didn't dare to be cautious about it. He quickly stepped forward to help him up, and then pulled him to the side of the case to inquire about the details. It turned out that the envoy was Chen Deng, a descendant of the Chen family in Xiapi.
Chen Deng was only two years younger than Liu Bei, but he was very well-known in Xuzhou. When he was twenty-five years old, he promoted Xiaolian as the county magistrate of Dongyang. After Tao Qian took office, he promoted him as the captain of Diannong school. It can be said that he was highly regarded. . However, after Guan Hai captured Xuzhou, Chen Deng was coerced by Guan Hai because of his excessive reputation and had to join the Linzi court as an official. It was not until the Linzi Rebellion that he got the opportunity to escape back to his hometown. However, Xuzhou was immediately occupied by Bai Bo's army. Han Xian and Yang Feng recruited famous people from various counties to join the government. Among them was Chen Deng's father, Chen Gui. However, the various ethnic groups in Xuzhou knew that he had no talent and virtue and did not intend to do their best for him. , but it is just a snake.
It's just that after the two battles between Ruying and Surabaya last year, the Qi and Han elites were destroyed, and Yuan Shu's territory was lost, the situation of the Baibo Army deteriorated to the extreme. Yang Feng, Han Xian, and Dugu Qubei discussed the next strategy several times, and they all thought that they could no longer fight the Han army. If you want to find a way to survive, you must either go south to seize control of Jiangdong, or abandon the army and go north to join Xianbei alone. Everyone had the experience of fighting with Xianbei, so they were unwilling to go north and were in favor of crossing the Yangtze River and going south.
As a result, in April of this year, Han Xian entered Dantu from Guangling and was unexpectedly intercepted by Sun Ce's army. Sun Ce first captured his ships and then defeated his army. Han Xian had to abandon 6,000 elite troops and fled back to Guangling with more than ten cavalry. .
After the battle with Dan Tu, the Baibo Army understood that Sun Ce was no match for water warfare, so they gave up all thoughts of going south. So he drank and had fun in the city all day long, just to get drunk today and not worry about tomorrow. If the army's money and rice are exhausted, they will set off on horseback to plunder the countryside for themselves, without caring about the people's livelihood. By July, the people's food reserves had been plundered, and the young crops in the fields had been trampled, and no one knew what the future would bring.
If that were the case, it would be fine, but in August, after news came that the Yuan army and the Han army had been in a stalemate for more than a month, Yuan Shu of Jiujiang suddenly sent an envoy to contact Xiapi. He proposed to Bai Bojun that he originally thought that no one in the world could resist the Han army, but now it seems that there is still Yuan Shao in China. Now that the land of Henan is in a deadlock, and he and Yuan Shao are brothers, he wants to join Yuan Shao. He sent envoys to see the Baibo Army this time, hoping that they could persuade Linzi to follow Yuan Shu to Beitou.
In the eyes of Yang Feng and Han Xian, Yuan Shu's proposal was originally nonsense. After all, the dispute between brothers Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao was well known to the world. It was fashionable to challenge Dong Zhi at that time and they restricted each other. Now that Yuan Shu has no more power than one county and no more than 10,000 people under his command, how can Yuan Shao be willing to accept him?
Unexpectedly, Yuan Shu sent another message saying: He actually has the imperial seal in his hand! As long as you dedicate this to Yuan Shao, no matter what grudges you have in the past, you will surely gain his understanding. Yang Feng and others were finally moved. After discussion, they agreed to the matter. When Yuan Shao and Liu Bei withdrew their troops, they sent envoys to Yecheng to contact them, and they had already obtained Yuan Shao's permission.
On September 14th, the envoys sent by Yuan Shao arrived at Xiapi and put forward conditions to Yuan Shu and Bai Bo's army: let them march north in large numbers at the turn of winter and spring. Not only did they lead the army, they also asked them to move north together with the people under their rule, leaving no one behind in the Han army.
Many scholars in Xuzhou were unwilling to move north, but Bai Bo forced him to fight with knives, bows and arrows. In a few days, he killed several celebrities and established his authority. As a result, countless people in the state were ruined. The state was in chaos, so Chen Gui and the local people were in chaos. After discussion, all ethnic groups wrote a blood letter requesting Liu Bei to send troops to rescue him, and attached a map of the counties in Xuzhou and Yuan Shu's route to Beitou.
After hearing this, Liu Bei couldn't help but look solemn. He had originally thought about how to pacify Qingxu next year. Unexpectedly, Yuan Shao moved faster. If he really succeeds in relocating the people, Hebei's strength will greatly increase in the future, and the outcome of the world may be unpredictable.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
Sorry, I found that after the volume update, the data dropped like crazy. Maybe this is just an online article. Although I can't make much money, I still hope that more people will read this book. There are not many manuscripts saved so far, so I only write once every two days. Update it, I will update it daily after saving more articles. After you finish writing, do an overhaul.
