Ji Han Liu Zhang

Yecheng, the Left General’s Mansion.

In front of the mansion gate, Liu Bei stretched out his arm unusually and gestured to the visiting guest, "Young Master, please come in."

As the eldest son Yuan Tan, who was the guest of the emperor, was slightly respectful to Liu Bei, who was well-known in the world. He bowed and saluted, saying, "Lord Xuande."

It is no wonder that Yuan Tan, as the eldest son, was respectful and courteous to Liu Bei, a guest general. This was because Liu Bei had recommended him to the court as a talented person when he was the governor of Yuzhou. Liu Bei was his sponsor, so he should show respect.

Secondly, Yuan Shao was promoted to Duke of Wei, and the position of the successor was still undecided. Yuan Tan intended to win over Liu Bei, who had recommended him as a talented person, in order to strengthen his own power and increase his chances of winning the position of successor.

Therefore, when Yuan Tan and Liu Bei entered the palace together, he was half a body length slower than Liu Bei and acted very respectful.

After entering the mansion, Yuan Tan sat down as host and guest. He didn't waste any words. He told Liu Bei the purpose of his visit directly: "My father will lead the army south soon. Does Lord Xuande know?"

Liu Bei shook his head, indicating that he was not aware of the situation. "I saw the people and horses coming and going in Ye and the baggage being transported. I thought that the Duke of Wei would make a big move this year, but I didn't know where the troops were going... Now I heard what you said, I didn't expect that the army would be heading south."

As a guest general, Liu Bei was suspected of favoritism in the campaign to encircle and suppress Zhang Yan and Gongsun Xu. Therefore, he was unable to join the core meeting of the shogunate, and he was not very clear about Yuan Shao's actions of reorganizing the troops and stockpiling food and fodder.

However, Liu Bei's statement that he did not know that Yuan's army was planning to move south was actually a cover-up. As a veteran soldier, he made his own guesses based on the situation and had private connections, so he knew the direction in which Yuan Shao's army was going to move this year three or five days ago.

Now Liu Bei pretended to be ignorant, just to give Yuan Tan an opportunity to show their close relationship.

As expected, Yuan Tan showed a worried look on his face and said, "Lord Xuande didn't know! How could the chief clerk in the palace not pass on the news? It's really abominable."

The chief clerk is in charge of confidential information, and documents and messages usually need to go through the chief clerk. Now Liu Bei knew nothing about the movements of the shogunate, so Yuan Tan naturally put the blame on the chief clerk of the shogunate, blaming him for not conveying the news to Liu Bei.

After shirking responsibility, Yuan Tan apologized and said, "Lord Xuande, I will go back and tell my father about this and give a good lecture to one or two of the chief clerks."

"That's not necessary." Liu Bei waved his hand, as if he didn't care, and said, "I am a guest general, and there are some secrets that I shouldn't know. Otherwise, if they are leaked, it would be my fault."

"Let's not talk about that for now." Liu Bei did not give Yuan Tan a chance to reply. He ignored the fact that his family was not trusted by Yuan Shao and sent a blessing to Yuan Tan: "The army will go south to the Central Plains to attack Cao Cao, support the Han Dynasty, and assist the emperor. You must be involved in it and you will have a chance to show your wings."

Yuan Tan tried to be reserved, but still showed a happy expression on his face. He said modestly: "Cao Mengde held the emperor hostage, controlled the court, and killed loyal officials. People and gods alike hate him. My father fought against him because of the secret decree, which was actually for the emperor, the court, and the people... And Tan was able to join in and do something in line with morality. This is Tan's fortune, but it can't be said that he should spread his wings or not." Having said this, Yuan Tan's face was solemn, and he cupped his hands and said: "This time the army is heading south, my father means that the troops are divided into three routes, Henei is the right route, Qingzhou is the left route, and my father will lead the middle route... Tan is not talented, but my father ordered me to lead more than 10,000 troops on the left route, from Qingzhou to Xu and Yu, to attack Cao Mengde's left wing."

"I have heard that Lord Xuande has both literary and military talents, and my third brother Zhang Yide is brave enough to fight against ten thousand men. In addition, Lord Xuande once served as governor of Xuzhou and governor of Yuzhou. He must know the geography and customs of Xuzhou and Yuzhou very well. That is why I came to your house today, just to ask Lord Xuande to accompany me."

Liu Bei stepped aside and said, "I am a guest general and should serve the Duke of Wei. You are the Duke of Wei's eldest son. Since you have made a request, I will follow it... But this matter still needs to be reported to the Duke of Wei, so that I can follow you with a legitimate reason."

Yuan Tan looked relieved. He agreed, "This is a small matter. I will ask my father for it."

Here Yuan Tan said that he would go back and ask Yuan Shao to put Liu Bei in his army. In fact, he had already applied to Yuan Shao before he arrived, and Yuan Shao had already agreed to let Liu Bei join him in attacking Xuzhou and Yuzhou.

As for why Yuan Tan did not speak out, it was probably because he wanted to give Liu Bei a good impression and show that he valued Liu Bei's opinions and views, that is, he valued Liu Bei as a person, so he did not say that he executed first and reported later.

"It is said that Cao Mengde entrusted the land of Qingxu to the generals of Taishan, divided Langya, Donghai and Beihai into three counties: Chengyang, Licheng and Changliu, and appointed Zang Ba as the governor of Langya, Wu Dun as the prefect of Licheng, Yin Li as the prefect of Dongguan, Sun Guan as the governor of Beihai, and Sun Kang as the prefect of Chengyang. Cao Mengde did not intervene at all, neither leaving any soldiers nor appointing any officials."

"And Tan's troops are heading towards Mount Tai and Langya first. Lord Xuande may be familiar with these generals from Mount Tai."

As the art of war says, if you know yourself and your enemy, you can fight a hundred battles without danger. As the commander-in-chief, Yuan Tan planned to first get some information about the generals of Mount Tai so as to anticipate the enemy and gain the upper hand when attacking Xuzhou.

The person Yuan Tan was consulting was Liu Bei in front of him. Liu Bei used to be the governor of Xuzhou. He had dealt with Zang Ba, Sun Guan and other Taishan generals, so he should have some understanding of them.

Liu Bei did not disappoint Yuan Tan. He gave his personal opinion without hesitation: "Among the Taishan generals, Zang Ba is the leader. Zang Ba is a man of ancient benevolence. In the past, Xu Xi and Mao Hui, two rebel generals under Cao Cao, fled and joined Zang Ba. Later, Cao Cao asked Zang Ba for his support, but Zang Ba refused Cao Cao for moral reasons. He is not afraid of coercion, but puts morality first. Therefore, Zang Ba is very supported by his troops and the Taishan generals. He should not be underestimated."

"After Zang Ba, Sun Guan is the next best. Sun Guan is highly skilled in martial arts and extremely brave. He always leads the charge in every battle, not avoiding arrows and forgetting himself. If you are facing him, you should be especially careful... As for Wu Dun and Yin Li, they are just average talents."

After thinking for a while, Yuan Tan said, "As Lord Xuande said, among the generals at Mount Tai, there are those who are both virtuous and capable, and there are those who can be the best generals in the army, but I wonder if they can be used by me?"

He had the idea of ​​recruiting Zang Ba and Sun Guan. If Zang Ba, Sun Guan and other local powerful generals from Mount Tai could serve him, his chances of competing for the throne would be even greater. Besides, defeating the enemy without fighting is the best way to use troops.

Liu Bei pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Most of these Taishan generals are patriots. They are trusted and respected by Cao Mengde. If they are given the land of Qingxu, their hearts will be hard to shake. I'm afraid it will be difficult to lure them. But we can give it a try. Who knows, they may be willing to give up the dark and join the light." (End of this chapter)