A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Han Fu and Liu Bei sat together, surrounded by Tian Feng, Ju Shou, Wei Shu, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Pan Feng, Zhang He, and others.

"Yuan Shao's 400,000-strong army is at the city gates. Now, Changshan County has less than 100,000 soldiers who can fight. The situation is hopeless. The situation is hopeless."

Han Fu was easily swayed and was never the type to be a powerful leader. His repeated failures also extinguished his last bit of ambition.

"I am prepared to surrender to Yuan Shao. You all can also come with me to seek a position under Yuan Shao. With your talents, you have actually been able to gain Yuan Shao's favor."

Han Fu is now only thinking about preserving his bloodline and has no will to resist Yuan Shao.

"Governor, why have you gone to such lengths?!"

"Changshan County has abundant grain and resources; if we defend the city, we can hold out for several years."

"We can ask Youzhou and Qingzhou for help. Jizhou has a deep foundation, and they certainly don't want to see a unified Jizhou. They will definitely lend a hand."

Tian Feng spoke to Han Fu, hoping to win back Han Fu's fighting spirit.

"No need, my mind is made up."

"The powerful families of Ji Province have all submitted to Yuan Shao; this is an inevitable trend."

Han Fu looked utterly dejected, which infuriated Tian Feng and Ju Shou.

"I, Tian Feng, would rather die than submit to Yuan Shao!"

Looking at the disappointing Han Fu, Tian Feng wondered how he could have been so blind to have been swayed by Han Fu's anger.

It seems that he was moved because Han Fu entrusted her entire family to him.

However, after more than a year, that feeling of being moved has almost completely faded away.

Ju Shou smiled bitterly. If Han Fu was willing, he would be willing to fight hard even if he was at a disadvantage.

Ju Shou believed that his talent was second to none, but unfortunately he had not met a wise ruler who would allow him to display his abilities.

Ju Shou glanced at Liu Bei beside him. If Han Fu could have Liu Bei's temperament, how wonderful that would be.

"Xuande, will you surrender to Yuan Shao with me?"

Han Fu dared not look at Tian Feng and Ju Shou in front of him, and turned to ask Liu Bei, hoping that Liu Bei could surrender with him, so that he would have company and feel better.

"Whether I am prepared to surrender or not, if Lord Han is prepared to ask Yuan Shao for surrender, I will have no choice but to leave."

Liu Bei glanced at Han Fu, but secretly kept an eye on Tian Feng, Ju Shou, and the others.

This period of interaction allowed Liu Bei to fully realize the abilities of Tian Feng, Ju Shou, Zhang He, and Pan Feng.

He naturally wanted to bring these people under his command.

After a long talk with Wei Shu that lasted all night, he decided to head south.

The situation in the various provinces and prefectures is now clear: Dong Zhuo in Liangzhou and Guanzhong, the young emperor in Sili, Yuan Shu in Yuzhou, Yuan Shao in Jizhou, Gongsun Zan in Youzhou, Cao Cao who occupies Qing and Yan provinces, Tao Qian in Xuzhou, Sun Jian in Yangzhou, Liu Biao in Jingzhou, and Liu Yan in Yizhou.

Bingzhou served as a buffer zone between the Wei family and the Central Plains forces, relying on the powerful warlords on both sides.

Most places in the world have already been ruled by powerful figures, especially in the north, where numerous heroes stand side by side, each a rare and exceptional individual.

In comparison, the southern warlords are slightly inferior. Tao Qian has not yet taken control of the entire Xuzhou region, but rather shares it with the powerful clans.

Sun Jian of Yangzhou was no less capable than the warlords in the north, but Yangzhou was sparsely populated and could only protect itself, not make any significant advances.

Liu Biao of Jingzhou was similar to Tao Qian. His solo entry into Jingzhou sounded impressive, but in reality, it was nothing more than forming an alliance of interests with powerful families.

His control over his territory was far inferior to that of the northern lords, which gave him the means to profit from the chaos.

Wei Shu's strategy for him was to temporarily submit to Yuan Shu's command. Based on their experience in targeting Yuan Shao in Ji Province, they were sure to be valued by Yuan Shu.

They used Yuan Shu as a guinea pig to lay their eggs, making him a bulwark against the southern warlords and eyeing Huainan, Jiangxia and other places.

After Cao Cao takes over Yan Province, he will inevitably attack Xu Province, which consists of the three provinces of Qing, Xu, and Yan.

After Yuan Shao takes over Ji Province, he will inevitably clash with Gongsun Zan of You Province, and then take over the lands of You, Ji and Bing, thus controlling Hebei.

After Sun Jian seized control of Yangzhou, taking Jingzhou in the west was his only option, because if he went north, Xuzhou would simultaneously clash with two powerful warlords in the north, Cao Cao and Yuan Shu.

In comparison, Liu Biao of Jingzhou was an easy target. He was able to occupy the entire area south of the Yangtze River and rely on the natural barrier of the Yangtze River to contend with the northern warlords.

Once the warlords begin to contend with each other and Luoyang's strength is nearly exhausted, Dong Zhuo will launch a major offensive, conquer the Sili region, and take over Bingzhou and Yunzhou, connecting his territories into one, thus possessing the former lands of the Qin Dynasty when Qin Shi Huang ascended the throne.

Yizhou was a place that was easy to defend and difficult to attack. Liu Yan had turned it into an impregnable fortress, and without the cooperation of the locals, they would never be able to break through.

Their target was Nanyang Commandery, where Emperor Guangwu (Liu Xiu) ascended the throne. The powerful families of Nanyang hadn't made any significant contributions, so their influence within the region wasn't particularly strong.

Nanyang is located at a key transportation hub between the north and south and is the largest commercial center in the country. Therefore, powerful families from all over the country do not want a strong force here and tacitly suppress the powerful families in the northern region.

This resulted in the area being home to many small and large aristocratic families and local powerful clans, making it suitable for Liu Bei's development.

The population of this county is comparable to that of an entire state; a single county has tens of millions of people.

With this location, they could march north to attack Yuan Shu, march south to attack Jingzhou, and march west to spy on Guanzhong.

If any one of these three parties changes, they can take advantage of the situation to expand their sphere of influence and become one of the most powerful lords in the land.

The hardest part in the whole world was the first step: persuading Yuan Shu to hand over this territory to them.

That night, Liu Bei secretly invited Tian Feng and Ju Shou to his residence.

"I intend to go south to seek help from General Gonglu, hoping to obtain a territory from him to recuperate and rebuild our strength. In the future, I will raise an army and march north to avenge today's humiliation. Since you two gentlemen are unwilling to side with our enemy, why don't you come south with me to plan something big?"

Tian Feng and Ju Shou were both men of principle and would never surrender directly to Yuan Shao. Even in the original history, it was because Han Fu was too incompetent that they surrendered directly, which is why they joined Yuan Shao's forces along with Han Fu.

Changshan has no strategic advantages, and with only its troops, no matter how brilliant their strategies, they could not withstand Yuan Shao's army.

The gap in hard power is difficult to change through strategy, unless the other party makes a foolish mistake.

But Yuan Shao is currently in a period of great wisdom and military prowess, and he has strategists like Wei Wuxian and Xun Kan under his command. It's going to be very difficult.

After much deliberation, Tian Feng and Ju Shou decided to follow Liu Bei south. During their time together, they were also attracted by Liu Bei's charm and even directly recognized him as their lord, rather than merely as his subordinates as they had been under Han Fu.

Liu Bei was overjoyed to have these men pledge their loyalty, and he immediately pulled the two men to sleep side by side with him, subtly expressing his appreciation for Zhang He and Pan Feng.

Ju Shou and Tian Feng understood each other's meaning and said they would help Liu Bei persuade the two to come and join him.

They estimated that there was a high chance of persuading Zhang He, but almost no chance of persuading Pan Feng.

He would definitely stay by Han Fu's side to protect her safety, even if it meant compromising himself in front of his enemy, Yuan Shao.

"What a loyal and righteous person!"

Liu Bei sighed, his admiration for Pan Feng growing even stronger.