After the Luoyang coup on April 11, although Liu Bei was unable to send troops to pursue Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao, he still sent people to leave the Luoyang area to inquire about their information and monitor their actions.
At the end of April, he received news that after Yuan Shu escaped, he returned to his hometown of Runan, received support from the Yuan clan in Runan, and raised a rebel flag in Runan.
And because he returned with a relatively large army, he quickly raised a team, and relying on the reputation of the Yuan family, he moved around, attracting powerful families to join his team, and launched a crusade. Under the banner of rebellion, he prepared to counterattack Luoyang and cause trouble for Liu Bei.
Yuan Shao's path was more rugged. It is said that he originally wanted to return to Runan and walked south for a while. However, for some reason, he turned northeast again and headed to Jizhou, where he went to join Han Fu, the current governor of Jizhou. Know what's planned.
At that time, Jia Xu suggested that Liu Bei send elite troops to attack them and get rid of these two restless elements, but Liu Bei thought about it and still did not agree.
Even if these two guys are killed, it is estimated that the disciples and former officials of the Yuan family will still rebel. There are also many people from the Yuan family serving as local officials. Just killing Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu will not completely solve the problem.
Therefore, it is better to let the two tool men Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu call on the world, and expose Yuan's disciples, old officials, and rebellious ghosts and snakes at once, so that he can use military means to kill these people and use physical means to kill them. Solve the problem with your breath.
Therefore, Liu Bei continuously transferred his elite headquarters to Luoyang, reorganized Luoyang's army, and also recruited troops from Sanfu Land and Yizhou, seizing every moment to enrich his military strength, just for this step.
In mid-May, the news that Yuan Shu distorted the facts and "raised troops to fight against rebellion" reached Luoyang. The Luoyang court reacted quite a bit to this, and Zhang Rang, Jian Shuo, Dong Chong and others also hurriedly got away from their respective enjoyments. He went out and found Liu Bei in the military camp outside Luoyang City and asked him for advice.
"Xuande, although the Yuan family has been eradicated from many forces, the world is so big that there are still many disciples and former officials of the Yuan family. If they all raise armies... will it be bad? What should we do?"
Just over a month later, Dong Zhong, who was addicted to drinking, sex and enjoyment, had gained a lot of weight, and was completely different from the lean appearance he had in April. This made Liu Bei lament the impact of the environment on a person.
It is said that many people took the initiative to seek refuge with him and gave him various gifts and money, including many famous scholars from the Jinwen school, which gradually made Dong Chong expand.
Despite this, after learning about Yuan Shu's revolt, Dong Chong still panicked and found Liu Bei, seeking a sense of security from him.
Liu Bei's reply to him also gave him a sense of security.
"During this period, I have been reorganizing the army and sorting out military affairs, just for these things. Don't worry, whatever comes into our hands belongs to us, and no one can take it away."
Liu Bei patted Dong Chong on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Don't worry too much. These things are all within my expectations. I am a general and I am in charge of conquering the world. This is within my responsibilities. Leave it to me. "
Dong Zhong looked at Liu Bei's calm expression and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Okay, okay, if you can say that, I feel relieved. I failed to catch them all before, but I must catch them all this time! In this way, the whole world belongs to us."
"That's natural."
The two looked at each other and smiled.
After Dong Chong, came Jian Shuo.
Jian Shuo also felt a little proud during this period. Many minor officials and officials who were originally unknown in Luoyang City came to him, gave him gifts, and asked him for official positions, hoping to climb up the ranks.
Jian Shuo used to be somewhat powerful, but that power was far from his current power, so the amount of wealth he could obtain now was unimaginable at the time.
Once the general environment changes and as soon as you have more money in your hands, your whole person will immediately become different from the past and start to enjoy it crazily.
He built various houses for himself, purchased all kinds of luxurious appliances, piled all kinds of luxurious ingredients into his home for free, and even bought several young and beautiful women to enter the house. I don’t know what ridiculous things he wanted to do. .
Because he enjoyed an unprecedented happy life, when he heard that Yuan Shu was coming to cause trouble, he was a little panicked and hurried to find Liu Bei. He had the same idea as Dong Zhong, and he came to seek a sense of security.
He didn't think he could deal with Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao with the Xiyuan Army he controlled.
For him, Liu Bei said the same thing, telling him not to worry, leaving the military issues to himself, and he could just enjoy it.
Jian Shuo was very happy about this.
"No matter what you need, Xuande just tell me. If I can do it, I will definitely help you!"
Liu Bei smiled on the outside, but in his heart he felt that this guy was doing him a big favor by not causing trouble for him. It was very painful to deal with the enemy while wiping the butts of his pig teammates.
After the Luoyang coup, Jian Shuo and Dong Zhong entered a state of luxury and enjoyment at light speed. Most of the surviving ten permanent servants also enjoyed luxury, and they looked quite arrogant and domineering.
Only Zhang Rang still retained his previous living habits and was not too arrogant. Instead, he took up work in Dongyuan.
When Liu Bei sent people to the Guandong area to investigate intelligence, Zhang Rang also sent many Dongyuan spies to the Hebei area to inquire about intelligence, and then exchanged information with Liu Bei, allowing Liu Bei to know a lot of news about Yuan Shao.
It can be said that Zhang Rang is the only guy among a group of insects who has done something a little bit.
So when Zhang Rang came to Liu Bei's military camp to ask him about his current situation, Liu Bei still welcomed him.
"In just over a month, Jian Shuo and Dong Zhong have already been enjoying themselves without knowing anything about the north, south, east, west, and south. I am preparing all the things. I am grateful to them if they don't cause any trouble. How can I expect them to do anything else? Now? It seems that you are much better than them."
Liu Bei poured Zhang Rang a glass of rice wine with his own hands. Zhang Rang took a sip and smiled.
"What, what do you mean by this are you blaming me for not enjoying the same luxury as them?"
"Don't say goodbye. There are already a lot of people enjoying luxury. In the past few days, many people from the Ancient Literature School have expressed dissatisfaction with me. If Yuan Shu hadn't suddenly launched an army, I estimate that within three months, there would have been another turmoil in the court. ."
Liu Bei shook his head and said: "The disasters brought by Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao are clearly visible on the outside, in the open place, but the disasters caused by Jian Shuo and Dong Zhong are internal, in the dark, and difficult to see. , it’s not easy to deal with when you see it.”
Zhang Rang put down the rice wine in his hand.
"You don't have any deep meaning in what you said. I want to appreciate it carefully."
"What to taste?"
Liu Bei rolled his eyes: "Don't tell me what happened. You don't know. The Ancient Literature School's response to the Modern Literature School's move towards Dong Zhong was huge. Many people are urging me to deal with the Modern Literature School in advance. Attack, or simply attack Dong Zhong to prevent them from forming an alliance."
"Then what do you think?"
Zhang Rang looked at Liu Bei and said with a smile: "I don't think you are panicked? You have expected it, right?"
"Hey hey hey."
Liu Bei nodded and said: "Old Zhang, do you know what I think about this matter? When I found out, I almost laughed to death. The Jinwen School seeks medical treatment indiscriminately, and Dong Chong is also a real quack. Not only If you can’t cure the disease, you have to take them to death together.”
Zhang Rang was stunned.
"What you mean by this sounds a bit problematic to me. Are you... planning to attack Dong Zhong?"
"It's not me, it's the Ancient Literature School."
Liu Bei shook his head and said: "It's not that Dong Chong doesn't know what the dispute between modern and ancient literature is, and it's not that he doesn't know my status in the ancient literature school, but he still did this and accepted the modern literature school. This shows that... He wants to deal with me, not me."
"this……"
"Although I don't know how the Modern Literature School convinced him, but since he accepted the Modern Literature School, he must die."
Liu Bei sighed and said: "I originally thought that the four of us could live in peace and harmony for at least a few years, but I didn't expect that in just one month, Dong Chong was already dissatisfied with the current situation. I guess if the news from Yuan hadn't come, He won’t even come to see me.”
"If I go against you, Dong Zhong will definitely die. After Dong Zhong dies... you won't want to deal with me, right?"
Zhang Rang looked horrified: "I'm not against you! I'm on your side! And you promised to keep me rich and prosperous throughout my life!"
"Yeah, I promised you, so of course I won't deal with you."
Liu Bei grinned: "But the same cannot be said for others. Lao Zhang, you have to follow me closely and not fall behind. Otherwise, it will be difficult for me to keep you."
"I'm afraid of what you said."
Zhang Rang whispered: "You don't really plan to attack me after you deal with the Jinwen School and Dong Zhong, do you? Can't you just stay quiet for a few days and live a comfortable life?"
"No one likes comfort."
Liu Bei smiled and said: "I like comfort the most, so I will do my best for this."
"I'm even more scared."
Zhang Rang rolled his eyes at Liu Bei and said slowly: "But if we don't talk about this now, how do you plan to deal with Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao? Yuan Shao hasn't taken action yet, but now that Yuan Shu has taken action, he is about to do it. Do you plan to take the initiative or not?" "
Of course, we have to wait until all the people who want to take the lead show up. "
Liu Bei sneered and said: "As soon as they were about to take action, I suppressed them to death. How could those with evil intentions dare to continue to show up? I have to wait until they all show up before taking action, and it is best to let them They hit me instead of me taking the initiative.
When they all come and emerge together inside and outside, wouldn't it be nice if I can take care of them all in one go? Otherwise, I am really worried that the prestige I have built up over the years will scare them all. Lao Zhang, don’t be idle. The Dongyuan spy in your hands has to work. "
"Didn't I send someone to Hebei to help you keep an eye on Yuan Shao?"
Zhang Rang asked in confusion: "What else should I do?"
"Monitor the people in Luoyang City."
Liu Bei smiled and said: "Can one mutiny kill all the evil-minded insects in the entire Luoyang City? I don't think so. There must be people with evil intentions lurking in the dark, waiting for the opportunity. The Yuan family sends troops to attack me. Isn’t it also a good opportunity to uncover these insects? Especially for those from the Jinwen School, wouldn’t it be even better if they find an opportunity?”
"So I really saw you right."
Zhang Rang sighed: "You are not a peaceful person. You will never give up until you achieve your goal. Forget it, I don't care so much. I will do whatever you want me to do, but don't forget you promised me Yes, make me rich and prosperous throughout my life."
"I won't go back on what I said."
Liu Bei nodded and said, "You don't let me down, and I don't let you down."
"It's a deal."
"It's a deal."
The two high-fived each other three times and made a vow.
(End of chapter)
