My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 59 Rejecting Zhang Fei
Liu Feng then interjected: "I am already aware of Gong Cao's abilities. However, even a tiger will exert its full strength when hunting a rabbit. I believe Gong Cao should make thorough preparations."

After offering Chen Deng some advice, Liu Feng turned to Liu Bei and said, "In my opinion, we can draw 500 soldiers from Xiapi, another 500 from Donghai, and 500 from Danyang. Finally, we can select 500 from the surrendered soldiers of Langya to make up a total of 2,000. I think that should be enough to suppress the entire Dongguan prefecture for the time being."

Liu Feng's scheme showed how much he had worried about Chen Deng.

The five hundred soldiers drawn from Xiapi could be Chen Deng's trusted troops. His Chen family was the most powerful local force in Xiapi and had a high reputation among the soldiers. They could be relied upon as confidants.

The five hundred soldiers drawn from Donghai were also locals from Xuzhou, and they had a natural affinity for Chen Deng. With the support of the soldiers from Xiapi County, it would be easy for Chen Yuanlong to subdue the soldiers from Donghai County.

The selection of 500 men from the final Danyang soldiers was both a test for Chen Deng and an opening of a path for his future advancement.

The main force in Xuzhou was still the Danyang soldiers, who numbered nearly 30,000, accounting for three-fifths of the total number of soldiers in Xuzhou.

It is believed that the proportion of soldiers from Danyang will remain high in the coming years.

If you want to command troops and be able to lead them independently under Liu Bei, you must manage your relationship with the Danyang soldiers well.

Otherwise, internal strife could erupt, as Liu Bei in history has already shown, and the consequences could be dire.

Chen Deng was a native of Xuzhou, and his relationship with the Danyang soldiers had never been good.

The transfer of 500 men to his command was actually an opportunity for him to extend his influence into the Danyang army.

However, this also meant that Chen Deng was openly allowed to expand his influence in the military, something that a ruler would not agree to unless he trusted his subject to the extreme.

This fully demonstrates the extent of trust that the Liu family father and son placed in him.

"Feng'er's words are very wise."

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei pondered for only a moment before nodding emphatically and speaking earnestly and sincerely: "Yuanlong, five hundred men are far too few. I know you are bold and ambitious, talented and upright, and capable of becoming both a general and a prime minister."

However, Yuanlong, please take care of yourself and do not put yourself in danger.

Yuanlong's strategy against Bei is superior to that against Xuzhou.

"We can abandon Xuzhou, but we cannot abandon Yuanlong."

Chen Deng was incredibly astute; after Liu Feng made the suggestion, he quickly understood the goodwill and trust hidden within it.

Upon hearing Liu Bei's passionate and moving speech, Deng's eyes immediately reddened, and he pledged his loyalty to Liu Bei, saying, "I am of limited talent and learning, but I am honored that you, my lord, have not abandoned me and entrusted me with such an important task. I will do my utmost to repay you."

Liu Bei naturally offered words of comfort, further deepening the bond between the ruler and his subject.

After Chen Deng left, Liu Bei turned to Liu Feng and asked, "Feng'er, your actions today seem to indicate that you intend to involve Yuanlong in military affairs?"

Liu Feng secretly breathed a sigh of relief. His purpose was quite obvious. If Liu Bei hadn't asked, he would have been worried that something might have gone wrong.

Now that Liu Bei has asked the question openly, it shows that his father still trusts him a lot. As long as he answers properly, there won't be any lingering problems.

“Father, this is what I think.”

Liu Feng sat up straight and replied solemnly, "Xuzhou has always been a strategic military location. Even though Father has kept a low profile, kept to his duty, and guarded the borders of the prefecture without invading anyone."

But father, you must know that even if a person has no intention of harming a tiger, the tiger may still have the intention of eating the person.

Leaving aside the others, Yuan Shu of Huaiyang alone will never let our province go, but he is currently surrounded by enemies on all sides and cannot spare the energy and troops. Once the pressure from Liu Biao and Liu Yao eases, he will surely launch an attack.” Liu Bei naturally agreed with Liu Feng’s analysis, which was also the main reason for his long-standing worries.

Now, considering Liu Feng's strong recommendation of Chen Deng, Liu Bei came to a very obvious conclusion: "Could it be that you want Yuanlong to take charge on his own?"

"exactly!"

Liu Feng advised, "Xuzhou is a strategically important and battle-hardened region, and it is very likely that we will face multi-front wars in the future. If that happens, and only Father is fit to lead the army, how can Father possibly save the situation?"

Liu Bei was alarmed. Just as Liu Feng had said, Xuzhou was surrounded by enemies on three sides. Its terrain was flat, making it easy to attack but difficult to defend. It was impossible for him to defend against all three sides by himself. He would need at least two helpers.

After a moment of contemplation, Liu Bei asked Liu Feng for his opinion: "Feng'er, what do you think of your third uncle? Is he capable of handling things independently?"

Liu Feng thought to himself, "As expected, at this time, Zhang Fei was the real number two figure in Liu Bei's group, and Liu Bei himself was the one who was promoting him."

Whether it's out of affection or self-interest, Zhang Fei was far more important to Liu Bei than Guan Yu.

This is not only because Zhang Fei and Liu Bei were from the same hometown, but also because when Liu Bei first raised his army, Zhang Fei donated his entire family's wealth to support him, bringing with him a large amount of initial capital. Moreover, he never became arrogant and served Liu Bei as his loyal subordinate. He was also exceptionally skilled in combat and had military talent.

Which boss wouldn't cherish such original shareholders?
It's no exaggeration to say that at this point, in Liu Bei's mind, only Zhang Fei was a top-tier (T0) player, Guan Yu and Jian Yong were T0.5, and everyone else was T1.
It was precisely for this reason that Zhang Fei surpassed Guan Yu to become the first regional commander in Liu Bei's group to be able to stand alone, serving as the governor of Xuzhou and acting as the governor of the province. This was an act of trust akin to entrusting one's life to an orphan.

Unfortunately, Zhang Fei lost.

Historically, it is generally believed that Zhang Fei betrayed Liu Bei's trust, and that Zhang Fei carelessly lost Xuzhou.

Later, Guan Yu carelessly lost Jingzhou, and the two brothers conspired to betray Liu Bei, ultimately leading to Liu Bei's disastrous defeat at Yiling, in which all his elite troops were killed and his foundation was almost destroyed.

However, looking at this issue objectively in later generations, Zhang Fei's failure was actually inevitable, and even the cause and effect were reversed. Zhang Fei and Guan Yu were essentially tricked by Liu Bei.

Chen Qun had previously advised Liu Bei that Xuzhou was a murky place and he shouldn't get involved.

It's one thing if Liu Bei doesn't listen, but at least he should take it seriously, right?

The forces in Xuzhou were complex and intertwined. Liu Bei had never been able to completely assimilate the Danyang troops. Although relations between them had improved, the bomb was still there and had not been completely defused.

Since the bomb wasn't defused, the people left behind need to be properly arranged to ensure they won't detonate it, or if they do, they can keep it under control.

However, Liu Bei chose Zhang Fei to be in charge, and Zhang Fei indeed detonated the bomb;
Therefore, Liu Bei should at least share the responsibility for this mess with Zhang Fei.

As for Guan Yu, he was even more unlucky. He was even more wronged than Zhang Fei and was also betrayed by Liu Bei in a more tragic way.

“Father, Third Uncle is not suitable.”

Liu Feng naturally knew that going along with Liu Bei's words would definitely make him happy, but the price of that happiness would be too high.

Therefore, he had no choice but to speak frankly and directly: "My third uncle is rough and careless. Although he values ​​scholars, he looks down on common soldiers and despises the generals of Danyang."

Mencius said that the right time is not as important as the right place, and the right place is not as important as the right people.

My third uncle was born without popular support; his generals fought on the frontier but were not united internally. Is this not a major taboo in military strategy?

Liu Bei's expression was somewhat unpleasant, but he did not retaliate.

(End of this chapter)