Three Kingdoms: My Strategy Simulator

In less than half a day, the news of Liu Huangshu's arrival spread throughout Xiapi.

From high-ranking officials to common laborers, everyone knew about this news, which invigorated everyone in Xiapi City.

Cao Cao was conducting massacres, and Tao Qian was repeatedly defeated…

This caused the soldiers and civilians of Xuzhou to be filled with fear, afraid that Cao Cao's butcher knife would fall on them at any moment.

Therefore, even though the massacre had not happened long ago, many Xuzhou civilians had already begun to flee south to escape the disaster.

The arrival of Liu Bei was like a shot in the arm for the entire Xiapi City.

During the banquet where Tao Qian welcomed Liu Bei, countless officials and generals actively showed their goodwill towards Liu Bei.

Tao Qian was not annoyed by this, but instead repeatedly introduced and recommended Liu Bei.

The relationship between Liu Bei and Tao Qian could not be described as forgiving past grievances; it could only be said that Tao Qian judged a gentleman by his own petty standards.

However, Tao Qian was now in dire straits, and Liu Bei's personal visit to Xiapi was like sending charcoal in the snow, causing Tao Qian, who had lost all morale after repeated defeats, to suddenly awaken.

'Xuan De treats me with sincerity, so why shouldn't I entrust Xuzhou to him?'

Tao Qian looked at Liu Bei, who was surrounded by a large number of Xuzhou officials and generals, and his cloudy eyes showed a hint of determination.

He also entrusted his two sons, Tao Ying and Tao Shang, to Liu Bei, so that Tao Qian could rest assured.

When the temporary banquet was nearing its end, Tao Qian, in front of all the civil and military officials, directly took out the prepared seal of the Governor of the State and the tiger tally and walked to Liu Bei, saying.

"Xuan De, please accept this."

Liu Bei was so startled by this sudden change that he suddenly woke up from his wine and quickly said.

"Gongzu, what are you doing? I came to Xuzhou to help a friend and protect the people of Xuzhou, and I have no intention of occupying the land."

Tao Qian said solemnly in public.

"I know that Xuan De is righteous, but I am old and incompetent and can no longer govern Xuzhou for the Emperor, which has led to the massacre of the people of Xuzhou. How can I have the face to continue to hold Xuzhou?"

"Only a benevolent ruler like Xuan De can govern Xuzhou, which is what the people want. Please do not decline."

At this moment, Tao Qian had completely let go of his obsession.

Whether it was money or power, Tao Qian no longer cared about it.

More importantly, Tao Qian believed that if he handed Xuzhou over to Liu Bei, Liu Bei would definitely not mistreat Tao Qian's father and sons, and at least he could ensure the stability of his two foolish sons, Tao Ying and Tao Shang, for the rest of their lives.

Faced with the seal and tiger tally in front of him, it was impossible for Liu Bei, who had the world in his heart, not to be moved at all.

However, regardless of whether this was a test by Tao Qian, Liu Bei's political wisdom made it clear that he must not accept Xuzhou from Tao Qian's hands at this moment.

"No, no!"

Liu Bei refused again and replied.

"If Gongzu is worried about foreign enemies and wants to resign from the position of Governor of the State, don't worry!"

"I led an army of 100,000 into Xuzhou to help Gongzu defeat the Cao bandits and restore stability to Xuzhou."

Seeing Liu Bei's firm attitude, Tao Qian no longer insisted and had to say as a compromise. "Xuan De can temporarily decline the seal of the Governor of the State, but please accept the tiger tally."

After saying that, Tao Qian personally picked up the tiger tally from the tray and handed it to Liu Bei, saying.

"Xuzhou has been repeatedly defeated due to my stupidity, but it is not the fault of the Xuzhou soldiers who are timid in battle."

"I have always known that Xuan De has the ability to recognize people, and General Hou has never been defeated in battle. Please lead the Xuzhou soldiers to fight against the Cao army and give the Xuzhou soldiers a chance to avenge their shame."

Seeing the tiger tally that Tao Qian had raised with both hands in front of him, Liu Bei's expression changed, and he reached out to accept the tiger tally, saying.

"In that case, I will temporarily take charge of the Xuzhou tiger tally and lead the Xuzhou soldiers to avenge their shame against the Cao bandits."

"And I am willing to personally issue a military order. If the battle is lost, I am willing to commit suicide to apologize to the elders of Xuzhou."

As soon as these words came out, everyone present was convinced by Liu Bei, and their morale was greatly boosted.

Liu Bei also raised the tiger tally to signal to everyone, his eyes firm and confident.

It was true that the Cao army had been unstoppable in Xuzhou and had never been defeated, which had become a nightmare for all the civil and military officials in Xuzhou;

But what about Liu Bei?

Under Li Ji's intentional or unintentional intermittent blows, Liu Bei no longer dared to call himself "knowledgeable about military affairs", but Liu Bei's confidence in Li Ji was as firm as Mount Tai.

Therefore, in order to boost morale, Liu Bei generously made a promise in public.

Seeing that Liu Bei had won the hearts and support of the people as soon as he arrived, and that the morale was different from before, Tao Qian's mood was complicated, and he understood that he was no longer capable of governing Xuzhou.

"All Xuzhou soldiers will treat Xuan De as if they were the Governor of the State. Anyone who is disrespectful, Xuan De can behead him."

Tao Qian added fuel to the fire again, actively cheering for Liu Bei.

…

As Liu Bei, who was temporarily staying in Xiapi City, sent a letter to Li Ji, detailing the course of events, it caused an uproar among the civil and military officials in the army.

In everyone's imagination, Liu Bei's personal visit to Xiapi City could resolve past grievances with Tao Qian and allow the two sides to work together to resist the joint attack of Yuan and Cao, which was already a bold enough idea.

What many people did not expect was that their goals seemed to be set too low.

Tao Qian seemed to be bewitched by a "beauty trap" and was willing to give Xuzhou to Liu Bei for free.

At that time, there were 7,000 cavalry soldiers of Liu Bei in Xiapi City. Once Liu Bei accepted the seal of the Governor of the State, even if Tao Qian regretted it later, Liu Bei would have enough power to control Xiapi City.

Even after Liu Bei rejected Xuzhou, Tao Qian then chose to hand over the tiger tally to Liu Bei.

Zhou Yu said with a strange expression.

"Wouldn't it be considered that our lord took Xuzhou with a single ride?"

As soon as these words came out, they immediately gained the approval of everyone in the tent.

Cao Cao had spent so much effort but failed to obtain Xuzhou, but Liu Bei only showed up in Xiapi, and Tao Qian couldn't wait to give it to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei's charm was indeed somewhat beyond everyone's imagination.

Listening to everyone's praise for Liu Bei, Li Ji couldn't help but smile.

Only Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang's expressions were somewhat out of place compared to others.

Sima Yi purely felt that it was a fantasy, and subconsciously started from the dark angle of conspiracy theory, wondering if this was Tao Qian's plan…

However, Sima Yi's rationality was denying this guess.

The reason was nothing else, it was that if Tao Qian really had such scheming and ability, how could he have been chased by Cao Cao within Xuzhou and fled in panic?

As for Zhuge Liang, he shook his head and said.

"Teacher, Liu Huangshu's move is really too risky."

"As the saying goes, 'A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall'."

"When Tao Gongzu invited Liu Huangshu into the city, Liu Huangshu still planned to leave the cavalry outside the city. If Tao Gongzu intended to set up an ambush in the city, wouldn't Liu Huangshu be in danger?"

Although Zhuge Liang also knew that Tao Qian would never attack Liu Bei for any reason, otherwise Xuzhou would really face a joint attack from Yuan, Cao, and Liu, and Tao Qian would be undoubtedly dead.

However, Zhuge Liang still opposed Liu Bei's entry into the city like this.

(End of this chapter)