The Three Kingdoms: Rise to Power Starting with Intercepting Liu Bei

Time flies, and the years pass silently. The chilly February has quietly passed, and in the blink of an eye, we have arrived at April, a season full of vitality and hope.

Perhaps due to the butterfly effect caused by Qin Xuan, the time traveler, the course of history began to deviate slightly.

Li Jue and Guo Si, who were far away in Chang'an controlling the young emperor, disagreed on how to handle their relationship with Qin Xuan after learning that Lü Bu had been killed by a conspiracy between three parties.

Li Jue believed that he should befriend Qin Xuan, but Guo Si disagreed. Coupled with the long-standing grudges between the two sides, Guo Si ultimately launched the first attack on Li Jue's troops.

In an instant, Chang'an City was plunged into endless war.

Seeing the brutal Xiliang army embroiled in internal strife, the young Emperor Liu Xie saw this as a good opportunity to escape the clutches of evil. Under the protection of Yang Feng and Dong Cheng, he led a large number of officials and some palace staff out of Chang'an.

Furthermore, in the name of the emperor, he sent letters of appeal to all the feudal lords in the land, asking them to lead their armies to defend the emperor and punish Li Jue and Guo Si.

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Inside the Xuzhou governor's mansion, a silk scroll lay on the table in front of Qin Xuan. All his civil and military confidants were present, without exception.

"Gentlemen, please speak up. Now that the young emperor has sent a secret message to aid the emperor, what should we do?"

Inside the main hall, Qin Xuan spoke first. He wasn't very interested in the young emperor's plea for help. He didn't want such a powerful figure to come to Xuzhou, but he also didn't want Cao Cao to use the emperor to command the other warlords.

Therefore, he summoned his ministers to discuss how to handle this important matter.

"My lord, we should send troops as soon as possible to rescue the emperor before anyone else. Only in this way can we gain the upper hand in terms of political standing, and with the emperor's authorization, we can provide legitimacy for future military actions!"

Seeing that no one spoke, Chen Deng stepped out from the crowd, cupped his hands, and offered his suggestion.

As a local talent from Xuzhou, Chen Deng felt increasingly threatened. With more and more capable people around Qin Xuan, he had to stand out and demonstrate his abilities, otherwise he would easily be pushed away from the center of power.

First came Liu Bowen, then Zhang Juzheng. These two were more capable than the other. Chen Deng had worked with them for so long and his understanding of them had deepened. Zhang Juzheng, in particular, was incredibly decisive and efficient in handling government affairs.

After engaging in in-depth exchanges with the other party, I not only learned a lot, but also developed a strong sense of crisis.

After listening to Chen Deng's suggestion, Qin Xuan did not express any opinion, but simply nodded. Although Chen Deng's suggestion was good, it was not what he wanted. Then he turned his gaze to Liu Bowen and Zhang Juzheng, wanting to hear their opinions.

Seeing Qin Xuan's gaze, Liu Bowen pondered for a moment before stepping forward, cupping his hands in a respectful greeting, and replying:

"My lord, I agree with Yuanlong's words. We should send troops as soon as possible to respond to His Majesty's order, and we must not allow other lords to seize the initiative!"

Seeing that Liu Bowen shared the same idea, Qin Xuan was somewhat displeased. This was not what he wanted. He then gestured to Zhang Juzheng and the others to share their thoughts.

To Qin Xuan's surprise, everyone was saying the same thing: they wanted to send troops to hold the emperor hostage and use him to command the other feudal lords.

Helpless, Qin Xuan could only dismiss the group, leaving Liu Bowen behind alone.

Soon, only Qin Xuan and Liu Bowen remained in the vast council hall of the governor's mansion.

Faced with the resourceful Liu Bowen, Qin Xuan revealed his true thoughts:

"Bowen, I know you want me to bring the young emperor to Xuzhou, but the problem is, what will happen after that?"

"The young emperor is of little benefit to me, except that I can use him to command the feudal lords; otherwise, he is a liability."

"Those ministers around the young emperor are no pushovers; bringing them over would bring endless trouble!"

For Qin Xuan, a modern person, he really didn't want someone above him who could control him, even if that person was already weakened, he still felt disgusted by them.

Just like those annoying bosses and supervisors in the 996 work system, they are always trying to annoy you, making you feel dizzy and restricted in everything you do.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bowen simply smiled and said:

"My lord, sending troops to defend the king is merely a gesture, something to be seen by all the feudal lords and the people. The outcome is not important."

"Furthermore, with the death of Lü Bu, our status among the various warlords has also been elevated."

"Once we send troops to defend the emperor, Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Liu Biao, and others will certainly take action as well. As for who will ultimately get the young emperor, isn't it all up to you, my lord?"

"Based on my conversation with Guo Jia in Runan, Cao Cao is our biggest rival at present. Therefore, it doesn't matter who controls the young emperor, but we must never allow Cao Cao to use the emperor to command the other lords."

"Yeah, right!"

Qin Xuan's eyes lit up immediately. How could he have forgotten about this? Now, all the warlords are closely watching his every move. As soon as he sends out troops, Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao might also send out troops.

Things will get really interesting then. With the added boost of the young emperor, Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu might pose an even greater threat to Cao Cao.

The impact of these two men using the emperor to command the feudal lords was far less than that of Cao Cao using the emperor to command the feudal lords.

Pick the softest persimmons!

After listening to Liu Bowen's words, Qin Xuan officially decided the next day to lead the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry and four thousand elite troops from Xuzhou, along with Yuwen Chengdu and Qin Qiong, to Chang'an to welcome the young emperor back to Luoyang.

Upon hearing this news, the feudal lords of the land all took action.

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Inside the governor's mansion in Ye City, Ji Province.

"Gentlemen, you've all heard the intelligence the scouts just reported. What should we do?"

Yuan Shao, who was nearly forty years old, was discussing with his advisors the intelligence that had just been sent by a scout.

The young Emperor Liu Xie fled to Chang'an and issued an edict to all the feudal lords to come to his aid. Qin Xuan of Xuzhou responded immediately and led his generals to attack Chang'an.

Due to the long distance between Ji Province and Chang'an, and Qin Xuan's rapid response, Yuan Shao received both intelligence reports almost simultaneously.

Originally, Yuan Shao did not want to obey the imperial edict to defend the emperor, but Qin Xuan's actions made Yuan Shao hesitate.

Qin Xuan's rise was too rapid, as if he had sprung up from a crack in a rock overnight. There must be a deeper meaning behind such a person being summoned to serve the king.

"My lord, we should send troops to seize the young emperor. Qin Xuan has already made his move; we cannot sit idly by and wait for our doom!"

"My lord, let's act quickly! We must get there before Qin Xuan!"

"My lord, the route from Xuzhou to Luoyang passes through Yanzhou and Yuzhou. Although Qin Xuan was the first to respond, if we send troops now, we will surely arrive before him!"

~~~~~~~~~

Immediately, Yuan Shao's advisors all requested that he send troops to welcome the young emperor. Xu You, Tian Feng, Shen Pei, Ju Shou, and others, who had previously disliked each other and were undermining each other, reached a tacit understanding on this issue.

The reason is simple: Qin Xuan's development far exceeded their expectations. In less than a year, he had occupied the entire territory of Xuzhou and even killed Lü Bu.

Who wouldn't be wary? If the other side were to bring the young emperor to Xuzhou, things would get out of hand. Therefore, they reached a rare consensus on this issue, which is extremely unusual.

"This...?"

Yuan Shao was surprised to see that everyone was surprisingly in agreement.

He was well aware of the discord and sabotage among his subordinates, but he had never expected that they would reach such a rare consensus on whether to welcome the young emperor.

"My lord, don't hesitate any longer! You must be decisive!"

"My lord, let's send out the troops immediately!"

Seeing that Yuan Shao was still so hesitant, his strategists became anxious and knelt down to beg for permission to send troops.

With everyone kneeling and pleading, Yuan Shao's intelligence finally took over. After a moment of deep thought, his hesitant gaze hardened, and he decisively gave the order:

"Very well, pass on my order: Yan Liang and Wen Chou will lead 10,000 elite troops to Chang'an to rescue the emperor and bring him back to Jizhou."