Three Kingdoms: I switched to Liu Bei, why are you crying, Cao Cao?

Chapter 18: Central Plains in chaos, Liu Bei seeks talents

In February of the second year of Jian'an, two major events occurred in the Central Plains.

The first thing was that at the beginning of the month Cao Cao conquered Zhang Xiu and returned with a great victory, shocking the court and the public, with all officials coming out to welcome him.

But the losses in this battle were not small.

First, military advisor Qin Zhen left angrily, and then general Dian Wei died on the battlefield.

Therefore, after Cao Cao returned to the court, the first thing he did was not to commend his own merits, but to personally mourn, erect a tomb for Dian Wei, and hold a funeral.

In order to commend Dian Wei's contribution, his son Dian Man was appointed as a doctor.

Afterwards, Cao Cao did another thing. On the grounds of Qin Zhen's great contributions, he personally presented a memorial to confer the title of Marquis of Yiyang Ting on Qin Zhen.

Unfortunately, Qin Zhen had disappeared by then.

According to rumors, when Cao Cao returned to Xuchang and heard that Qin Zhen was gone, he sighed and remained silent for a long time.

He ordered people to seal up his fields and properties one by one, and personally recruited more than a hundred tenants to manage his family business in the hope that Qin Zhen would return one day.

As for the actions of Cheng Yu and others in searching for Qin Zhen, Cao Cao did not pursue them.

He just secretly ordered spies in the army to search for Qin Zhen's whereabouts.

As for the second event, at the end of February, Yuan Shu used the imperial edict of Zhang Jiong, a native of Henei, to proclaim himself emperor in Shouchun, established the Zhong clan, appointed officials, and built shrines in the southern and northern suburbs.

As soon as this news spread, there was an uproar throughout the Han Dynasty.

First, Yuan Shu's wife Feng died due to a harem struggle, and Yuan Shu refused both Jin Shang and Xu Qiao.

Sun Ce then announced the severance of ties with Yuan Shu, sent Xu Kun to expel Yuan Yin, the prefect of Danyang appointed by Yuan Shu, and ordered Sun Fu to station in Liyang to resist Yuan Shu.

At this point, Yuan Shu was deserted by his friends and relatives, and the situation in the Central Plains became increasingly chaotic.

At this time, in a small county seat located in the north of Pei State in Yuzhou, Liu Bei was discussing affairs with his ministers.

Liu Bei was about seven feet tall, with a mustache and no beard.

There were two big men sitting beside him. One of them was broad-shouldered and more than nine feet tall, with a face as red as a date and a long beard.

The other man was broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, with a swallow-like chin, tiger-like beard, a leopard-like head and round eyes. These two men were none other than Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, two generals under Liu Bei.

In addition to these two generals, there were also Mi Fang, Fu Shiren and others.

Other civil officials Mi Zhu, Sun Qian and Jian Yong sat on the right.

Everyone gathered together, all with solemn and worried expressions.

Looking at the expressions of the crowd, Liu Bei couldn't help but sigh:

"Now our country is in misfortune, the princes are rising up, and Yuan Gonglu is committing such a heinous act. Can you please discuss what our army should do?"

At this time, Liu Bei was at the lowest point in his life.

On the surface, he was the Governor of Yuzhou, the General Zhendong, and the Marquis of Yichengting, but in reality he only had one county, Pei County.

Because it was located within the State of Pei, it was also called Xiaopei.

He did have a few talented people under his command, but his troops were pitifully small, with only over 10,000 newly recruited infantrymen, and their combat effectiveness was low.

Therefore, when faced with Liu Bei's questions, everyone looked embarrassed.

Only Guan Yu stroked his long beard and said:

"Yuan Shu has committed such a treasonous act, he should be attacked!"

As soon as he spoke, Zhang Fei said in a loud voice:

"Yes, what Second Brother said is true. We will march south immediately. I am willing to be the vanguard and help you capture Xiang County!"

Xiang County, the county seat of Pei State, is currently occupied by Yuan Shu's army.

But when Zhang Fei said this, Mi Zhu shook his head and said:
"General Zhang, I'm afraid this proposal will be difficult to implement. Xiang County is guarded by Yuan Shu's general Mei Qian, who has more than 15,000 soldiers and horses."

"As the Art of War says, if your force is ten, surround it; if your force is five, attack it; if your force is twice as many, divide it."

"Our army has only 10,000 soldiers, and they are all new recruits. We are not even strong enough to defend the city. How can we capture Xiang County?"

Zhang Fei frowned when he heard this:

"Mei Qian is just an unknown guy. If he dares to fight, I only need 5,000 soldiers to defeat him!"

"What if the enemy does not fight?"

Mi Zhu was a man of refined appearance and very handsome. Even when he was refuting, he was still graceful.

"If the enemy does not fight, but just defends the city, how can our army attack it?"

Zhang Fei was speechless and could only mutter:

"Well, if that's what you said, sir, then we don't have to fight this war anymore!"

Seeing this, Liu Bei shook his head and said:

"Yide, don't be rude. Zi Zhong is right!"

"Our army does not have enough troops to attack south!"

"I have called you all together today not to discuss the military march south, but to ask for your opinions, gentlemen. What should our army do?"

His words directly turned the conversation to Jian Yong and others.

Unfortunately, Jian Yong, Sun Qian and others are good at speaking and managing people's livelihood, but they are useless in military affairs.

The only one who understood the overall situation was Mi Zhu.

So after the three of them looked at each other, Mi Zhu still bowed and said:
"My lord, for now, our army cannot go south alone. It would be better for us to join forces with Cao Cao, Lu Bu and others to go south together to fight the enemy!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Jian Yong shook his head and smiled:

"We would like to do so, but our army is small. How can Cao Cao, Lu Bu and others respond?"

When he said this, everyone shook their heads again.

This is the problem. Liu Bei wanted to send troops south, but he couldn't get Cao Cao and Lu Bu to move at all.

The only thing they can do is wait for Cao Cao or Lu Bu to send troops and they will respond.

In short, the meat belongs to others, and Liu Bei can only drink the soup at most!
Thinking of this, Liu Bei no longer wanted to discuss and could only wave his hand and say:

"Well, now that our army is in this state, we can only wait!"

"Please come here, everyone, go do your own thing!"

When everyone saw this, they knew that Liu Bei was in a bad mood, so they all stood up, bowed and left.

Only Jian Yong stayed until the end, and was reluctant to leave. Seeing his old friend staying, Liu Bei looked up and asked:
“Why doesn’t Xianhe go?”

"I'm not going!"

Jian Yong grinned and said:

"I stayed here to help Xuande resolve the confusion in his heart."

The two knew each other when they were young, and when there was no one around, they would call each other by their courtesy names.

Looking at Jian Yong's smile, Liu Bei couldn't help but shook his head and laughed:
"Xianhe is truly my friend!"

Jian Yong listened and asked curiously:

"I see that Xuande is frowning today. Apart from Yuan Shu's usurpation, there must be another reason. I wonder why?"

When Liu Bei heard this, he lowered his head and laughed at himself:

"I am thinking of Yuan Yaoqing, Chen Changwen, Chen Yuanlong and others!"

Yuan Yaoqing is Yuan Huan, Chen Changwen is Chen Qun, and Chen Yuanlong is Chen Deng.

When he heard these three names, Jian Yong knew that Liu Bei was worried that he had no one to discuss things with.

These three people were all wise men who once served under Liu Bei.

Unfortunately, not a single one was kept.

Yuan Huan was the first one. He was recommended as a talented person by Liu Bei a few years ago. Unfortunately, he later went south to avoid disaster and joined Yuan Shu's army.

Chen Qun was the second one. He was originally Liu Bei's deputy driver, but later he went to Xuzhou and Chen Qun did not follow him. Now he is under the rule of Lu Bu.

As for Chen Deng, he was the person Liu Bei admired the most, and the two of them were in perfect harmony.

Unfortunately, Liu Bei lost Xuzhou, resulting in Chen Deng still being under Lu Bu's command.

The three wise men have all joined the enemy's army, which shows how miserable Liu Bei was.

Thinking of this, Jian Yong smiled and said:

"Nothing in this world can be as you wish!"

"Since you can't change it, you might as well forget about it!"

"Come on, let's go find a tavern and get drunk!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei laughed and said:
"There are still matters at the palace, Xianhe can go by himself!"

"Is it because the Lord has something wrong?"

Jian Yong smiled and said:
"I also have many things that I haven't dealt with yet. This day doesn't matter!"

As he said that, he walked up to Liu Bei, took his hand and went to the street.

Liu Bei could not resist his old friend's persuasion and had to go to the street with him.

When the two men walked down the street, passers-by all bowed and greeted them.

Although Liu Bei's territory was small, his reputation among the military and civilians in Xuzhou was quite high.

Liu Bei was also extremely kind to the people. Regardless of their status, they could sit at the same table and eat from the same bowl without any discrimination.

Therefore, whenever Liu Bei went out, he was like a star, with everyone treating him like the moon.

Seeing that the city was peaceful and harmonious, Liu Bei's worries faded a lot.

Jian Yong saw his frown relax and couldn't help but smile:
"You have to go out first. What's the point of staying in the house all day?"

The person who knew Liu Bei best under his command was actually not Guan or Zhang, but Jian Yong.

Because the two have been good friends since they were young.

He knew very well that Liu Bei's nature was not to be so bitter and vengeful, but that he was born to like fun.

When he was young, he liked fine clothes, fine horses and running dogs, and he roamed around in the underworld. He was also a spirited young man.

Unfortunately, he was later tied up in state affairs, and he became increasingly indifferent and stopped showing his emotions.

In fact, Liu Bei may have wanted to put aside the many state affairs and relax for a while.

Facing Jian Yong's teasing, Liu Bei smiled without saying a word. He just looked at the people on the street quietly, wondering who could bring peace to the world again.

Jian Yong saw him frowning again and couldn't help but smile:

"Xuan De, please don't be like this. There are so many geniuses in the world."

"Let's not talk about the distant past. Let's take Qin Zixuan, who was under Cao Cao's command, for example. Wasn't it reported recently that he had deserted Cao?"

"Now his whereabouts are in doubt. If we search for a few more days, maybe we can find him!"

"Xianhe is joking again!"

Liu Bei listened, smiled bitterly and said:

"Who is Qin Zixuan? The two Yuans were fighting each other and couldn't win. I, Liu Bei, only live in a small county and have no reputation outside. How can Qin Zixuan be willing to surrender to me?"

During this period, Qin Zhen's departure from Cao caused a lot of controversy.

Has he ever dreamed of Qin Zhen coming to surrender?

But it seems unrealistic when you think about it.

Who is Qin Zhen? He is a top strategist that both Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao wanted but could not get.

Although he is the governor of a state, he only occupies such a small piece of territory. How could Qin Zhen possibly come?

While he was thinking, he suddenly heard a song. He wondered:
"Xianhe, listen, where does the singing come from?"

Jian Yong was about to persuade them, but when he heard the song, he stopped talking. He listened carefully and heard a faint singing voice in the distance:

"When the heaven and earth are in turmoil, the fire is about to go out; when the building is about to collapse, even a single tree cannot support it."

"There is a wise man in the valley, who wants to seek the wise master; the wise master seeks the wise man, but he does not know me."

Hearing the singing, I looked up and saw a man singing and walking away.

Seeing this, he immediately said happily:
"Since this person can write songs like this, he must be very talented!"

But before he could finish his words, he saw Liu Bei quickly catching up.

PS: Zhang Fei's courtesy name in Romance of the Three Kingdoms is Yide, while his courtesy name in history is Yide. Liu, Guan and Zhang were not brothers in history. The setting here is based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

(End of this chapter)