Ji Han Liu Zhang

Chen Deng is dead.

In the early spring of the sixth year of Jian'an, Liu Zhang saw an obituary among a group of messages sent by spies from Guandong, which was the news of the death of Chen Deng, the prefect of Guangling.

This was not a very important piece of news for the chief clerk Xun You, so when Xun You sorted out the documents that should be delivered to Liu Zhang's desk today, he placed the document recording the news of Chen Deng's death at the lower middle of the documents.

But for Liu Zhang, he attached great importance to this news, because the two states of Qing and Xu, which nominally belonged to Cao Cao, were not actually completely controlled by Cao Cao.

For example, Cao Cao entrusted Taishan and Langya counties to Taishan bandits such as Zang Ba and Sun Guan, while Cao Cao promised Xia Pi and Guangling counties to Chen Deng, a local tyrant in Xuzhou.

Cao Cao's approach was not because he did not value the Qingxu area, but because he was unable to do so.

Yuan Shao was like a giant beast lying across the north of the Yellow River, leaving Cao Cao with neither enough time nor energy to completely control the two states of Qing and Xu.

Therefore, Cao Cao simply handed Qingzhou and Xu over to local tyrants, used Taishan bandits such as Zang Ba and Sun Guan to resist Qingzhou Governor Yuan Tan, and used Guangling Prefect Chen Deng to contain Sun Ce in Jiangdong, only to ensure peace and stability in the east so that he could focus on Yuan Shao in Hebei.

Therefore, Chen Deng was not just a local official, but a local lord with a semi-independent nature.

This can be seen from the fact that in the Records of the Three Kingdoms, Chen Deng was recorded in the same biography as Lu Bu, Zhang Miao, Zang Hong and others. After all, when the Records of the Three Kingdoms was recording biographies, the people who were recorded in the same biography generally had similar identities and status, such as the Five Tiger Generals, the Five Elite Generals, and the Twelve Tiger Ministers of Jiangdong.

Chen Deng did a very good job in meeting Cao Cao's needs. In the past, Sun Ce sent Sun Quan to lead troops across the river to attack the Kuangqi City where Chen Deng was stationed. At that time, Sun Quan's military strength was ten times that of Chen Deng. However, Sun Quan's title of "Sun 100,000" was not for nothing, so the result was not surprising. Sun Quan was defeated by Chen Deng and returned.

After this victory, Chen Deng became ambitious and determined to conquer Jiangdong.

Liu Zhang looked prepared. If Chen Deng had not died, there might have been a great war between Xuzhou and Jiangdong. And if Chen Deng, a man of great talent from the lakes and seas, really annexed Jiangdong, it would have been a great show.

Unfortunately, Chen Deng, who loved eating sashimi, was harmed by the parasites in the sashimi. His ambition to annex the Jiangdong land was shattered with his death.

At the same time, after Chen Deng's death, the situation in Xuzhou and Jiangdong also changed.

First of all, there is Sun Ce. When Chen Deng was alive, Sun Ce was threatened by Chen Deng all the time. He was restrained in doing things because he was worried that Chen Deng would cross the river and attack Jiangdong.

Once Chen Deng dies, Sun Ce's pressure will be greatly reduced. At the same time, Liu Biao of Jingzhou will probably have a hard time. If nothing unexpected happens, there will be a big battle between Jingzhou and Jiangdong this year.

But it's hard to say. After all, Sun Ce might first plot to take over the Jianghuai and Qingxu areas. After all, Chen Deng is dead, and Jiangbei has lost a pillar, so there is an opportunity to covet.

Secondly, with the death of Chen Deng, Cao Cao could, in the name of the emperor, extend his hand into Xuzhou and completely bring the semi-independent Xuzhou under his control.

Of course, Cao Cao also had to take up the responsibility of guarding against Sun Ce. Otherwise, if Jianghuai was completely taken by the Little Overlord Sun Ce, then the Little Overlord would probably become the Big Overlord. However, according to Liu Zhang's speculation, Sun Ce's first priority target should be Jingzhou. Huang Zu and Sun Ce had a feud of killing their father, and this feud was irreconcilable. Jingzhou was located in the upper reaches of Jiangdong, and had extreme geographical interests, which was a life-and-death situation.

Therefore, if Sun Ce could obtain Jingzhou and the entire Yangtze River, it would be the situation of Sun Wu in the future.

After putting down the obituary of Chen Deng, Liu Zhang pondered for a while, and then asked Xun You: "Recently, Zhang Lu of Shangyong has sent me many letters, requesting to surrender and move to Chang'an. I am willing to agree to it and obtain the land of Shangyong. I wonder what you think."

Zhang Lu of Shangyong was sandwiched between the three forces of Liu Zhang, Liu Biao and Cao Cao, but recently, perhaps because he had gained enlightenment, he actually gave up the idea of ​​​​separatist rule and asked Liu Zhang to surrender.

Liu Zhang was skeptical at first. After all, Zhang Lu was expelled from Hanzhong by him, and their relationship was not harmonious. At first, there was no contact between the two sides.

Later, when Liu Zhang swallowed up Yongliang and took over the strategically located Hedong, Zhang Lu seemed to be frightened and for the first time sent an envoy to offer local products to Liu Zhang.

Next, Yuan Shao marched into Hedong, but was blocked by Yubi and returned empty-handed. Zhang Lu then sent an envoy to Guanzhong again and handed over a handwritten letter, which implied surrender.

By now, Zhang Lu had made his intention of surrendering known to the public. He openly declared that he would surrender to Liu Zhang and offered the household registration and land registration of the three counties of Xicheng, Shangyong and Fangling in advance. His sincerity was evident.

It was after receiving the household registration and domicile records of the three counties of Xicheng, Shangyong and Fangling that Liu Zhang was convinced of Zhang Lu's sincerity in surrendering. As for why Zhang Lu put aside the past and his old grudges and was thinking of surrendering, he was convinced.

Liu Zhang estimated two reasons. One was that among the heroes of the universe, his reputation and power were first-rate and he had the strength to dominate the world. Zhang Lu intended to surrender this time because he wanted to surrender early and get more generous treatment, rather than waiting until the situation became clear before surrendering, when the treatment would be lower.

As for the second point, Zhang Lu, as a Taoist, did not have a strong desire for power. In history, when Cao Cao attacked Hanzhong, Zhang Lu intended to surrender to Cao Cao, but his brother Zhang Wei did not listen, so he put up a resistance at Yangping Pass.

Later, when Cao Cao managed to break through Yangping Pass and Zhang Lu abandoned Nanzheng, he did not burn down the treasury, but sealed it and left it intact to Cao Cao. This was not what a local lord should do.

After all, he is a Taoist priest, he can see things in a positive way and think positively.

Xun You was silent for a moment, and then responded, "Liu Biao is old and has no ambitions. He only wants to preserve Jingxiang. You kept Zhang Lu in Shangyong because Shangyong is close to Xiangyang. You were worried that Liu Biao would be terrified if you took Shangyong."

"But now Liu Biao is being forced by Sun Ce, and the situation is desperate. We can take Shangyong, and Liu Biao will not dare to take any action. It should have no impact on our alliance with Liu Biao."

In both his words and deeds, Xun You revealed his frivolous attitude towards Liu Biao. Liu Biao was really useless and was beaten by a junior like Sun Ce. If it weren't for Huang Zhong's bravery and some victories, I'm afraid Liu Biao's eight generals would have lost face.

Therefore, Xun You followed Liu Zhang's idea and took Shangyong, the buffer zone between Guanzhong and Jingxiang, and swallowed up the three counties of Xicheng, Shangyong and Fangling without considering Liu Biao's attitude. (End of this chapter)