The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 14 Yuan Shao marches south to defend the emperor, Liu Bei's opportunity arrives.
After appointing Zhuge Liang as his strategist, Liu Bei had a clear direction for his endeavors and no longer stumbled around aimlessly, taking things one step at a time as before.

period.

Che Zhou heard that Liu Bei had recently appointed a new military advisor, so he came under the pretext of testing him.

When Che Zhou discovered that Zhuge Liang was just a boy under twenty, he wished he could slap himself on the spot.

I, a renowned scholar and the governor of Xuzhou, would actually come here specifically to test a callow youth?

Che Zhou concluded: Liu Bei did it on purpose!
He deliberately used a callow youth to deceive himself, thereby concealing his unknown conspiracy.

Ever since.

Che Zhou relaxed his surveillance of Zhuge Liang and ordered his spies to focus their attention on Liu Bei.

This move was exactly what Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang wanted.

To lull the charioteers into a false sense of security.

Liu Bei worked diligently from dawn till dusk every day, cultivating vegetables in the fertile fields given to him by Che Zhou, and would occasionally exchange vegetable-growing tips with the farmers.

Zhuge Liang, on the other hand, used the title of "Military Advisor and General under the Left General" to act as a "madman" in Xiapi.

He not only compared himself to Guan Zhong and Yue Yi, but also spoke eloquently when discussing military affairs, claiming that no one in the world could rival him!

He also called himself "Sleeping Dragon" and looked down on all the scholars.

Extremely arrogant!

If Zhuge Liang hadn't been using the title of "Military Advisor and General under the Left General," countless scholars would have secretly wanted to put a sack over his head and give him a good beating.

What Che Zhou didn't know was:
Although Zhuge Liang acted like a wild and unruly scholar in Xiapi, he managed to get to know almost all the famous scholars and talents in the city.

August.

Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao returned from Jiangting, bringing with them news of Yuan Shu's death.

The news of Yuan Shu's death did not cause much of a stir in Xiapi.

A pseudo-emperor who is merely clinging to life is not worth much attention.

Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao originally did not plan to come to Xiapi.

The reason they returned to Xiapi was that the two received a secret order from Cao Cao to "invite" Liu Bei back to Xuchang.

Che Zhou's secret letter intensified Cao Cao's fear and suspicion of Liu Bei.

Cao Cao secretly sent a message to Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao, instructing them to "invite" Liu Bei back to Xuchang after the campaign against Yuan Shao.

"General Zuo, now that Yuan Shu is dead, we should return to Xuchang to report back."

Zhu Ling was extremely polite.

It wasn't that Zhu Ling wanted to be polite, but Liu Bei had Guan Yu and Zhang Fei by his side, so Zhu Ling had no choice but to be polite.

Before coming to Xiapi, even Xu Chu, Cao Cao's most trusted Tiger Guard Colonel who could pull oxen backwards, had to be polite to Liu Bei. How could Zhu Ling dare to be presumptuous?

"General Zhu, although Yuan Shu is dead, his remnants are still alive. If we return now, these remnants will surely invade Xiapi."

"As generals, our duty is to protect the territory and ensure the safety of the people. We must not forget our duty as generals just because of the hardships of marching."

Liu Bei's official-sounding speech left Zhu Ling speechless.

With Che Zhou, the governor of Xuzhou, in Xiapi, how could he not deal with a group of ruthless bandits?
That excuse is far too obvious.

"General Zuo, how dare we disobey the orders of the Minister of Works?" Zhu Ling had no choice but to invoke Cao Cao's military orders and said with a forced smile.

The voice just fell.

Zhang Fei glared at her, his beard bristling: "Zhu Ling, you're so ignorant! My elder brother was speaking to you so kindly, just so you wouldn't be in a difficult position when you return to Xuchang to report."

"Even Cao Sikong said, 'Among the heroes of the world, only Cao Sikong and my elder brother are worthy of our respect.' Why should you interfere with my elder brother's actions? Not only are you tactless, but you are also using Cao Sikong's military orders to pressure my elder brother. What are you trying to do?"

Guan Yu narrowed his phoenix eyes, his tone low but imposing: "Zhu Ling, when my elder brother entrusted military power to you and Lu Zhao, he did not make things difficult for either of you."

"Although you two have served Cao Sikong for a long time, my elder brother has an extremely close relationship with him, one that is beyond the reach of ordinary people." "If Cao Sikong truly had military orders, why would he only give them to you two and not to my elder brother? Why don't you take out Cao Sikong's military orders and let my elder brother see them?"

"Guan believed there must be a misunderstanding."

Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao exchanged a glance, and suddenly felt a chill run down their spines.

Produce Cao Cao's military order?
If he could have taken it, Zhu Ling would have shown it to Liu Bei long ago.

This is because the military order contained the real reason why Cao Cao urgently summoned Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao back to the army, and Cao Cao also instructed in the order "not to let Liu Bei know!"
"Ugh."

Liu Bei sighed deeply.

"General Zhu, I have neither military power nor the governorship now. I only wish to seek a moment of peace in Xiapi. Why are you forcing me like this?"

"Please go back and tell Minister Cao that I only wish to be a simple farmer, growing vegetables to make a living, and I have no other desires."

Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao exchanged a glance and leaned closer to discuss.

"General Zuo is always brave, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are fierce generals. If you and I push each other too far, we will both suffer."

"The Left General's position is higher than ours. The Minister of Works has neither given the Left General a military order nor allowed us to leak the secret order. If we insist on asking, it would be an act of insubordination."

"It would be better to do General Zuo a favor and return to Xuchang to apologize to the Minister of Works. Now that Yuan Shao has marched south, the Minister of Works urgently needs the two of us to return with our troops, so I don't think he will punish us severely."

"That's settled then!"

After careful discussion, the two decided to turn a blind eye and play the fool for once.

"Therefore, we two will return to the Minister of Works and convey the General's message. Farewell!"

As Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao hurriedly left, Liu Bei's expression gradually became serious.

"Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao returned in such a hurry; something must have happened in Xuchang. Quickly summon the strategist!"

Although Cao Cao did not allow Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao to leak the secret order, this did not stop Zhu Zhiliang, who was wise after the event.

"In my opinion, Yuan Shao must have raised an army and marched south."

Zhuge Liang's assertion caused Liu Bei to frown.

Although Liu Bei had long anticipated a battle between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, he did not expect that day to come so soon!
"Yuan Shao has just defeated Gongsun Zan, and although his morale is high, the people are exhausted, the granaries are nearly empty, and taxes and corvée labor are heavy. If he marches south now, he will want to win a quick victory. This is underestimating Cao Cao."

Liu Bei couldn't help but think of Cao Cao's strategists such as Xun Yu, Xun You, and Guo Jia, as well as Zhuge Liang's evaluation of Yuan Shao: "He is outwardly lenient but inwardly suspicious, fond of scheming but indecisive."

Although he didn't witness it firsthand, Liu Bei could imagine the scene of Yuan Shao seeking his advice:

Strategist A proposed a three-year war of attrition against Cao Cao, while Strategist B proposed a swift and decisive victory. During the argument, Strategist B used underhanded tactics to frame Strategist A for being too powerful and intimidating to the emperor. Yuan Shao, who lacked decisiveness, arbitrarily concluded that Strategist A harbored ill intentions and thus adopted Strategist B's strategy of a swift and decisive victory.

Then I thought about it.

Liu Bei secretly thought that Heaven was protecting the Han Dynasty.

Currently, the apparent power dynamic is: Yuan is strong, Cao is weak.

If Yuan Shao had the same decisiveness as Cao Cao, Cao Cao wouldn't have needed to fight; he could have simply surrendered.

Once Cao Cao surrenders, Yuan Shao will surely usurp the Han throne.

Even if Yuan Shao wanted to become King Wen, his son would surely usurp the Han throne.

And now.

Internal strife and stagnation within Yuan Shao prevented him from fully utilizing his strengths, which not only gave the weaker Cao Cao an opportunity to win, but also gave Liu Bei the opportunity to conquer Hebei!

"Strategist, what should I do next?"

Liu Bei looked at Zhuge Liang.

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(End of this chapter)