Goose Three Kingdoms

Chapter 570: The Art of Cultivation
In Ji County, it was drizzling when Zhang Fei returned.

When he came to Liu Bei's mansion, Liu Bei was cooking in the attic and enjoying the autumn rain.

Seeing that Sun Qian was also there, Zhang Fei bowed to Xu Shu and Sun Qian in turn before sitting down on the other side of Liu Bei.

Liu Bei picked up the chopsticks and handed them to Zhang Fei, and took the initiative to explain: "Yun Chang and Zi Long have gone to Liaoxi."

Zhang Fei took the chopsticks and picked up some meat slices from the small plate. He slurped a big mouthful, chewed and swallowed with a satisfied look on his face: "Dog meat tastes best when it snows or rains."

Liu Bei continued, "With the Grand Marshal's army at our side, and Yun Chang appointed as the commander of the Wuhuan Guard, the Wuhuan in the three counties are doomed. Now the Liaoze Lake is flooding, and the Wuhuan have nowhere to hide."

Zhang Fei nodded, this was also the reason why Tadun actively responded to Yuan.

The Liaoze Lake floods in autumn and is only passable for one or two months throughout the year except for the freezing period.

Otherwise, when the Liaoze Lake floods, the water will be too shallow for ships to sail and too muddy for vehicles to pass.

Seeing the fatigue that was hard to conceal on Liu Bei's expression, Zhang Fei also knew what was going on in Liaodong.

Although they seem to belong to Youzhou, it is not an exaggeration to say that the Liaodong counties and Youzhou are "across the sea".

Human resources were helpless when facing Liaoze.

If it were a shallow sea, there would be boats to cross it, but it is a swampy land that changes with the seasons.

Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to say that the Liaodong counties are overseas areas at present.

If I go to Liaodong, will I be able to come back later?

Liaoze is a natural barrier in Liaodong, and naturally it is also a natural barrier in western Liaoning.

Liu Bei sighed. At this time, Xu Shu said, "General Yide, the manpower of each county has been almost exhausted by the Grand Marshal. It is roughly estimated that no less than 800,000 men and women have migrated west."

These are all young and middle-aged people, and the old and young are not counted.

Of course, this is not the registered population of Youzhou. The loss of registered population in Youzhou is not large. Those who were relocated are the powerful and wealthy, the hidden households such as the retainers who did not pay taxes or serve in the military, as well as small tribes of miscellaneous Hu.

Now that the war is over, Liu Bei is under a lot of pressure.

The powerful families who were forced to relocate had lost their children, husbands, fathers and brothers, and they also had to endure the pain of bankruptcy and relocation.

Naturally, they would no longer worry about anything. In their eyes, it was Liu Bei, the General who conquered the Northern Territory, who caused this disaster.

If Liu Bei had not come, there would not have been so many troubles and disasters; if Liu Bei had gone to Feihujing for the meeting as planned, this war would not have been triggered.

It was not easy to blame his own family, and he would soon be living under the rule of Guanzhong, so huge pressure from public opinion fell on Liu Bei. It was no exaggeration to say that he was the target of public criticism.

Now that Liu Bei was going out to meet the migrating team, those women who had suffered a huge upheaval in their lives and were almost going crazy would definitely pick up stones to throw at Liu Bei.

The powerful and hidden households who were relocated made such accusations, and the officials and registered households who escaped the disaster also felt sympathetic and did not dare to get close to Liu Bei.

After this war, Yuan Shang, who returned in defeat, gained much more control. Although Liu Bei obtained most of the powerful and hidden households in Dai, he also captured 5,000 cavalry prisoners, and Wei Yan had 7,000 reorganized new troops.

After Guan Yu and Zhao Yun pacified the Wuhuan in the three counties, the indirect mobilization was even larger... but the people of Youzhou would no longer respect and support him.

"Eight hundred thousand?"

Zhang Fei also knew that Liu Bei was in a bad mood, but he could only suppress his unhappiness.

By coincidence, he missed such an important event as the expedition against Wuhuan.

Now is not the time to be upset. Zhang Fei tried to hold back his emotions, but was still shocked by the data Xu Shu presented: "Why are there so many people? Did the Guanzhong soldiers expand the punishment?"

Zhang Fei had no doubt as to whether there were a million hidden households in Youzhou.

But 800,000 people migrated... Zhang Fei was surprised and then suddenly realized: "No wonder the Grand Marshal was stationed in Dai County and sent soldiers to cut wood and build covered wagons and snow carts."

A covered wagon is a new type of vehicle that is specially used to pull bundles of grass, so the carriage is quite large.

Some baggage soldiers would spend the night in caravans. After gaining experience, they would leave space in the middle when loading bundles of straw, so that three or four people could squeeze into one caravan.

If the straw bundles on the cart were removed, more people could sleep. Zhang Fei also brought the blueprints of a covered wagon. As for snow carts, they were not difficult to make. If they wanted to conquer Liaodong quickly, they had to build snow carts to transport a large number of elite infantry, equipment, and supplies to Liaodong.

When Liu Bei and Xu Shu heard the word "snow chariot", they looked at each other. They naturally understood that the snow chariot made in Dai County could be used when withdrawing troops in winter, and could also be used to attack them.

Black Bear couldn't just leave them alone. Before withdrawing their troops, they had to launch an offensive against Liaodong.

The terrain of Liaoze also meant that once the troops were invaded into Liaodong, it would be impossible to withdraw easily.

This is a war where success is the only option and failure is not.

Otherwise, all parties will not let them have an easy time. If they want to survive, they can only replace Gongsun Kang and then go to war with the Dongyi countries.

The Gongsun clan's muddle-headed approach of appeasing the Dongyi people would certainly not satisfy Guanzhong.

After all, his general title would soon no longer be General Zhenbei, but General Zhengyi… Zhengyi was obviously a miscellaneous title, and giving a miscellaneous title the title of general was obviously a kind of consolation, but also a kind of belittlement of Yuan Shang.

Zhang Fei muttered a few words, picked up the meat slices in the soup pot with chopsticks, and said, "This time when I met the Grand Marshal, he no longer wore a mask, but the Grand Historian Wen Gong still wore it all day. I went to visit him, but he refused to see me."

After a pause, Zhang Fei continued, "I heard that there is a way of practicing in the Taiping Dao, which is to swear an oath to heaven and earth and then stop talking. Then, if you practice the oath, you can gain the blessing of the power of heaven and earth. If you open your mouth to speak, your energy will dissipate and your spirit will perish."

"Oh? Where did Yide hear this from?"

"There is a Taiping Dao priest in Pingcheng... The Grand Marshal has renamed Pingcheng Datong to promote his ambition of universal peace. His priest said this to the newly formed surrendered army, admonishing them to be careful with their words and deeds, to listen more and talk less. He said that the orifices of a person are connected to the universe, and if one talks too much, his spirit, energy and vitality will dissipate. Spirit, energy and vitality are the three treasures of a person, and are the foundation of spiritual practice."

Zhang Fei didn't want to discuss the war between the Wuhuan in the three counties, so he mentioned the extra experience he had seen this time.

Liu Bei was in a bad mood and had never had any interest in this kind of spiritual practice.

Xu Shu listened carefully and thought that there was some truth in these remarks, so he said to Zhang Fei: "Although I don't know whether keeping silent can strengthen the Three Treasures, it can indeed enlighten people's wisdom and enlightenment."

Zhang Fei observed Xu Shu: "Military Advisor, do you also think that the Taiping Dao's words make sense?"

"Ah."

Xu Shu put some fresh meat into the soup pot and said, "When I was young, I was a playboy and I did sword fighting with my friends. Later, I was arrested and shackled in the downtown area. During that time, I realized the truth about life. After being rescued by my friends, I gave up sword fighting and studied literature. Later, I went to Jingzhou and worshipped at Lumen Mountain, and then I achieved success."

"What do you think, Mr. Gongyou?"

Zhang Fei went to see Sun Qian again. Sun Qian looked like he was thinking seriously. He went to see Liu Bei, clasped his hands and said seriously: "My lord, in my opinion, General Yide should really focus on this."

"What Gongyou said makes a lot of sense."

Liu Bei smiled and raised his glass: "Drink it up."

Zhang Fei just smiled at the joke, picked up his wine glass and said, "If I can fight Taishi Wengong to a draw, what's the harm in not speaking a word in my life?"

After drinking, Zhang Fei was deeply moved by his mission to Dai County and could not stop thinking, "With the prestige and achievements of Taishi Wengong, he was able to humble himself and keep his integrity. He did not like fine wine and beautiful women, nor did he covet power. He lived a clean life and did not form cliques. He is truly a role model for our generation."

After a pause, Zhang Fei continued, "I heard that the Hexi troops will soon withdraw. After they withdraw, the Xiongnu and Du Liao troops will also withdraw, and they will be able to withdraw around mid-October. Brother, the Liaoze will freeze in mid-October, which is the deadline for our army to send troops. Don't anger the Grand Marshal again. We wanted to rescue our fellow villagers, but in the end, all of them ended up with broken families. Among all the counties, only the men and women in Zhuo County are separated from each other... I feel that the Grand Marshal will never be so easy to talk to next time."

Not directly allocating the women from Zhuo County to single soldiers as wives or as camp prostitutes was really a way of giving Liu Bei enough face.

The more face is given, the weaker the friendship between the two parties becomes.

Even if they fall out or go to war, the other party will not have any psychological burden.

Zhang Fei understood the black bear's mentality very well. It's better to part ways in peace than to fight back.

Seeing Zhang Fei say this, Liu Bei's resentment could only dissipate: "Just wait for Yunchang to send good news, and then find an opportunity to attack Liaodong."

Zhang Fei then felt relieved. Realizing that Xu Shu was observing him, he turned around and smiled at Xu Shu.

Xu Shu had a forced smile on his face. He was helpless about the current situation and could only accept Guanzhong's arrangement and cross the Liaoze to fight to the death in Liaodong.

It’s just like the fighting dogs and cocks in the Colosseum, where it’s hard to predict whether they will live or die.

(End of this chapter)