The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 68 Yuan Long’s Heroic Spirit (Please Read!)
If Liu Bei lost the bet, he might have to fight against Cao Cao and Yuan Shu at the same time.

But he chose to believe Li Yi. Even if he lost the bet, it was just one word: fight!

"Speaking of which, sir, you have planned a strategy to divide the world into three parts. Our army will take Jiangdong."

"…This is a place of fish and water. Since the preparations were made in Xuzhou, there has been no navy."

Liu Bei suddenly mentioned the construction of the navy.

Since their strategy was to develop southwards, they wanted to cross the Yangtze River and conquer Yangzhou.

Without a strong navy, it would not be possible.

Liu Bei came from the north and was used to fighting on horseback, so he was not very proficient in naval battles.

He currently has a naval warfare talent under his command, Guan Erye.

The seven armies were flooded, and Yu’s power shocked all of China.

Including when the Sun-Liu alliance later fought against Cao Cao, the Jingzhou navy that Liu Bei had incorporated was handed over to Guan Yu to lead.

Erye is indeed talented in this area.

However, the Second Master is currently helping Liu Bei command and train the Xuzhou soldiers, so he has no time to spare to train the navy.

That thing needs to be guarded around the clock.

What's more, compared with the abundant naval warfare talents in Dongwu, Lao Liu's current naval warfare talents are still limited.

"The other day, the lord recruited Zhou Tai and Jiang Qin from Jiujiang. Both of them are experts in naval warfare."

"If we can collect it, it will be of great benefit to the construction of the navy."

Li Yi mentioned Jiang Qin and Zhou Tai.

Both of them were from Jiujiang, in Yuan Shu's territory.

It’s a pity that Yuan Shu could not be used, so the two of them took dozens of warriors to join Sun Ce.

But when they really became famous, Sun Ce had already entered Kuaiji.

At present, Sun Ce has just defeated Liu Yao and is resting in Liyang. It is not known whether he has subdued Zhou and Jiang.

Anyway, Lao Liu had already sent people to conquer the area a long time ago, and had done everything that needed to be done.

As for whether these two people can be subdued, we can only leave it to fate.

As they were speaking, a servant reported that Chen Deng, the prefect of Guangling, had returned.

"Yuanlong has been in Guangling for a year. It's a rare day for him to return home. I will go and see him in person."

Liu Bei and Li Yi came to the inn together.

Chen Deng had been waiting there for a long time. When he saw the two men coming, he smiled and bowed:

"Envoy, Mr. Li, long time no see."

He looks much better than last year.

It should be because Li Yi helped him get rid of the parasites and taught him the correct way to eat sashimi.

His eyes also became bright and lively.

"...Haha, after not seeing you for a year, Yuanlong seems to be in better spirits."

Liu Bei smiled and patted Chen Deng on the shoulder.

He personally likes Chen Deng very much.

Besides, Chen Deng did a good job in Guangling over the past year, suppressing the rebellion there and without any trouble.

Li Yi exclaimed:
"Although Yiren is in Xiapi, I often hear people talking about you, Yuanlong, who is fair in judging rewards and punishments in Guangling and has great prestige."

"The people of Guangling fear and love you."

Chen Deng grinned:
"This is all thanks to the recommendation of the teacher. The teacher once said: It is better to retreat and weave a net than to stand by the abyss and envy the fish."

"Today, Deng has found a wider world in Guangling."

As he spoke, he took out two live fish from behind him.

"Sir, do you still remember what you said before, that you would share the sashimi of sea bream with me?"

"Deng returned to Xiapi this time, traveling day and night, fearing that the fish would die and become stale."

I didn’t expect that after so long, Chen Deng still remembered his original promise.

Li Yi was quite moved by these small details. He felt that he had made some close friends in this era.

"Good, it happens that the envoy is here too."

"How about the three of us sharing this bream sashimi?"

They both laughed and ordered the cook to prepare the bream and make it into sashimi.

"I came back this time to visit my old friend and to report the latest situation in Guangling to the envoy."

Chen Deng, still holding a piece of fish sashimi in his mouth, handed a stack of bamboo scrolls to Liu Bei.

A year later, in addition to governing Guangling, Chen Deng also measured the land and counted the population. Due to the war, the entire Guangling population was about 41.

Even so, Chen Deng still brought back 6 million coins and 200,000 shi of grain for Liu Bei.

This also included the money and grain he collected from suppressing rebellions.

Liu Bei was overjoyed and held his hand tightly, unwilling to let go.

Praise his abilities again and again.

"To have Yuanlong is better than to have Guangling!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he ordered his men to reward Chen Deng with 100 pieces of silk, 50 kilograms of meat, two fine horses, and ten servants.

Considering the administrative efficiency in ancient times, Chen Deng was able to accomplish all this in just one year, and we have to praise his great talent.

In history, Chen Deng did a very good job in Guangling and expanded his influence directly to the Jianghuai area.

This made Chen Deng have the ambition to conquer the south of the Yangtze River.

"How many days will Yuanlong stay in Xia Pi this time?" Li Yi asked.

"I'll only stay for three days and will be back soon." Chen Deng replied.

The reason he came back was, on the one hand, that he really missed his old friend and father, and on the other hand, he wanted to personally hand over the money and grain to Liu Bei in order to show off his political achievements.

"…Well, why don't you stay a few more days?"

A trace of disappointment flashed across Liu Bei's eyes. He was reluctant to see Chen Deng go back so soon.

"...Haha, a man's ambition should be like the Yangtze River, flowing eastward to the sea."

"If you are truly ambitious, you should send troops to annex Jiangnan as soon as possible to achieve hegemony!"

Chen Deng's eyes were as bright as stars. His outstanding political achievements in Guangling in the past year greatly boosted his self-confidence.

Liu Bei laughed loudly:
"Yuanlong's ambition is exactly the same as mine. I was just discussing with Ziyu a strategy of advancing to Jiangnan."

Chen Deng nodded:

"If you have such ambition, I will sacrifice my life for you."

"Speaking of which, I have brought back two people for you this time, and I was just about to recommend them to you for use."

"Oh? I wonder who those two are. Please come in."

Liu Bei was eager to find talented people, so he ordered Chen Deng to bring them.

After a while, a handsome scholar came in, looking quite energetic.

"Meet Envoy Liu, meet Mr. Li."

The scholar saluted Liu Bei and Li Yi.

Before Liu Bei could speak, Chen Deng introduced:

"This is Chen Jiao, Chen Jibi, from Guangling. Last year I appointed him as the county Gongcao."

"When I was in Guangling, I was lucky to have Ji Bi's help, otherwise I would not have been able to achieve this."

Well……

Liu Bei and Li Yi looked at each other. Isn't this the talent that Li Yi recommended to Liu Bei last year?

At that time, Li Yi said that Chen Jiao was a native of Xuzhou and was in Guangling, so it would be best to recruit him.

Unexpectedly, Chen Deng got there first.

Chen Jiao explained:
"It was only because Cao Cao brought disaster to Xuzhou that Jiao had to flee to Jiangdong to avoid the chaos, thus missing the chance to be recruited by the envoy."

"I hope you will punish me!"

I see……

Liu Bei expressed his understanding of this.

There were indeed many talented people in Xuzhou, but because of Cao Cao's conquests, too many people moved away to avoid the chaos.

Chen Jiao was one of them, but he was different from other scholars who fled from the chaos.

He still has feelings for his hometown.

During this period, he also rejected the invitations from Sun Ce and Yuan Shu and resolutely returned to his hometown of Guangling.

Chen Deng appointed him as Gongcao, and the two of them worked together to govern the devastated Guangling.

This friendship is truly touching.

……

……

　Brothers, please join the group! Just looking for a follow-up reading. Thank you for sticking with me for the last week!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)