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

Although Sun Quan wished he could tear Xun Yu to pieces, he had no choice but to accept Xu Sheng's suggestion and go to Chen County.

Chen County was garrisoned by Gu Yong, the governor of Yu Province, with 3,000 troops. It was also the only place in Yu Province, apart from Xuchang, that was still under the control of Sun Quan.

At present, it is clear that Xuchang can no longer be stayed. If it remains, Sun Quan will be trapped in Chenliu like Zhou Yu and unable to escape.

Xu Sheng and others escorted Sun Quan and his family to escape Xudu quickly. As for Consort Sun in the palace, she had already been shot dead by an arrow by the enraged Fu Wan.

Fu Wan wanted to take control of Xudu as the Commandant of the Cavalry, but Xun Yu surprisingly cooperated with Fu Wan. Not only did Xun Yu not vie for military power, he also helped Fu Wan to appease the officials and people of Xudu.

Although he didn't understand what Xun Yu was thinking, Fu Wan naturally accepted the offer of power, which Xun Yu was willing to relinquish. He assigned all six of his sons to command troops, with four guarding the four gates, one stationed at the palace, and one accompanying Fu Wan to the General's Mansion.

Upon learning that Sun Quan had gone to Chen County, Fu Wan, fearing that Sun Quan would lead the troops from Chen County back to Chen County, sent someone to Liu Bei, who was besieging Zhou Yu in Chenliu, to order Liu Bei to attack Chen County.

He already regarded himself as a great general.

Upon hearing the news, Liu Bei did not hesitate and ordered Yan Liang to divide his troops to attack Chen County.

What Fu Wan didn't know was that Sun Quan had no intention of counterattacking Xuchang at this moment, because Zhang Zhao, who was left to guard Wu County, was urgently sending a message claiming that "Chen Deng is attacking Wu County very aggressively."

All the counties in Yan and Yu have rebelled, Xuchang has been lost, Zhou Yu is trapped in Chenliu, and now the old stronghold of Wu Commandery is being attacked by Chen Deng. Sun Quan feels as if he is dreaming, and everything seems so unreal.

"How could a great general like myself suffer such a defeat?"

Looking at the urgent report in his hand, Sun Quan had no choice but to adopt Gu Yong's suggestion and mobilize all the troops from Chen County to march south to Shouchun to join forces with Zhang Hong.

By the time Yan Liang arrived in Chen County, Sun Quan had already entered Huainan along the Lao River.

Under Xun You's planning, Liu Bei drove Sun Quan out of Xuchang with almost no effort.

However, Liu Bei did not enter Xudu because of this. After fleeing from Xudu to Huainan, Fu Wan sent another imperial edict to Liu Bei.

The imperial edict essentially ordered Liu Bei to lead his troops back to Hebei to await rewards.

Looking at this edict, which was clearly suspicious, Liu Bei's usually kind eyes showed more annoyance.

You've taken off your pants, are you showing me this?

If Liu Bei really returned to Hebei, it would be no different from the female-oriented online novel where someone storms the palace just to get an apology.

Moreover, even if Liu Bei really wanted to return to Hebei, none of the civil and military officials who followed him south would allow him to do so.

After spending so much money and resources, and losing so many soldiers, Liu Bei just wanted to return to Hebei with a single sentence?
War is not a game!

"Grand Commandant, the treacherous officials in the court have not yet been eliminated. How can we retreat?" Xu Shu took the lead in volunteering: "Although Fu Wan is the Empress's father, since the Han Dynasty, there have been countless instances of relatives of the empress dowager overpowering the emperor. This edict must be a forgery by Fu Wan!"

With a single sentence, Xu Shu defined the nature of the imperial edict sent by Fu Wan.

Guo Tu also said, "We have come south to serve the emperor on the emperor's secret edict. We have not yet seen the emperor. How can we retreat? Who knows if this is not Sun Quan's strategy of retreating to advance?"

The other civil and military officials also offered their opinions, and although their words differed, their meanings were almost the same: they vowed not to return until they entered Xuchang!

Liu Bei had no intention of retreating, and seeing that his civil and military officials were all advising him to advance, he became even more determined: "My mind is made up. I will quickly take Chenliu and march my army to Xudu."

Zhou Yu was already struggling to defend Chenliu, and upon hearing that Sun Quan had fled Xuchang, he was both surprised and suspicious. However, when Liu Bei sent Fu Wan to deliver the imperial edict to Chenliu, Zhou Yu had no choice but to believe it.

The imperial edict not only ordered Liu Bei to withdraw his troops back to Hebei, but also stated that Sun Quan fled south, Consort Sun was executed, and Liu Xie regained control of the court.

It wasn't difficult for Zhou Yu to determine whether the edict was true or false.

Zhou Yu had long anticipated the troubles caused by Xun Yu and Xun You, but Sun Quan was arrogant and overconfident, believing he could control Xun Yu and Xun You and refusing to heed Zhou Yu's good advice, which led to his utter defeat.

Liu Bei admired Zhou Yu's talent and did not make things difficult for him. He promised that as long as Zhou Yu opened the city gates and surrendered, he would be allowed to return to Jiangdong to fulfill his loyalty and righteousness.

With the situation hopeless, Zhou Yu knew that holding out in Chenliu would be pointless, so he agreed to Liu Bei's terms. Liu Bei kept his word and not only let Zhou Yu leave, but also allowed him to take more than 300 cavalrymen from Chenliu with him.

As for the remaining surrendered soldiers, Liu Bei wasn't so naive as to leave them all to Sun Quan.

"I have a word of advice for the Grand Commandant: Xun Yu and Xun You, uncle and nephew, are quite cunning and will never be sincere towards you! If you cannot kill them, you should not use them either, otherwise you will surely suffer the consequences of their betrayal in the future! My lord's defeat was all because of these two traitors!" Zhou Yu deeply hated Xun Yu and Xun You, and he did not forget to remind Liu Bei before leaving.

Watching Zhou Yu leave, Liu Bei was filled with a renewed appreciation for talent: "Zhou Gongjin is exceptionally intelligent. If he can be employed by me, the southeast will be safe."

Seeing this, Xu Shu advised, "Once our lord has taken control of the situation, all the talented people in the world can be put to use. We should hurry to Xuchang!"

Liu Bei understood this principle, which is why he let Zhou Yu go today.

Once in control of the overall situation, talented individuals like Zhou Yu can be recruited for the country's use.

After years of war, the country is in ruins and needs to be rebuilt. If all the talented people are killed, it will be very difficult to govern the region in the future.

For example, if all the powerful clans in Jiangdong surrendered voluntarily, Liu Bei would not be able to force them to relinquish the land and people they had annexed through conquest. However, if he did not resolve the issue of the land and people annexed by the powerful clans in Jiangdong, Liu Bei would not be able to truly control Jiangdong.

There are ways to wage war and ways to make peace, and whether it is war or peace, Liu Bei needs outstanding talents to serve him.

After Chenliu fell, Liu Bei no longer stayed there.

The army marched south to Xuchang without hindrance.

As Liu Bei's army approached, Fu Wan of Xudu panicked.

Fu Wan never expected that Liu Bei would disobey the imperial edict, not only refusing to retreat to Hebei, but also pointing his troops at Xuchang!

Xun Yu, who had long seen through the situation, could only sneer.

Xun Yu's cooperation with Fu Wan in pacifying the officials and people of Xudu indicates that he knew Liu Bei would personally visit Xudu after Sun Quan left.

Since he could no longer cooperate with Cao Cao, Xun Yu naturally had to demonstrate his value and prestige to Liu Bei. Even if he could no longer serve as Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Xun Yu would still have a place among the high officials.

As for Liu Xie?

In Xun Yu's eyes, Liu Xie was merely a symbol of imperial power. As long as there was such a person sitting on the throne and he could be controlled, that was enough!
In Xun Yu's eyes, Fu Wan's behavior was just like Wang Yun's after he killed Dong Zhuo. He couldn't see his own position and situation, but he couldn't wait to command the surrounding area.

Xun Yu only slightly fueled the flames, and Fu Wan had already offended Liu Bei.

Moreover, they offended Liu Bei in Liu Xie's name!
In this way, in order to protect himself, Liu Bei had no choice but to follow Cao Cao's example and hold the emperor hostage to command the disobedient. However, for a subject to hold the emperor hostage, he must obtain the support of powerful families. If he could not collude with the powerful families, it would be considered treason!
Zhou Yu's warning was correct: Xun Yu is a man who, if he cannot be killed, should not be used! (End of Chapter)