He originally intended to surrender to Wei, so why did he end up restoring Han?

Chapter 101 Zhang Xiu's Rise and Lu Wan's Sudden Realization of Her Becoming a Behemoth

Fine! You, Liu Bei, know how to play tricks, but do you think I, Cao Cao, can't? I'll send that brat Liu Qi to your territory right now, and see what you do then!

Thinking of how Liu Bei would soon go completely mad, Cao Cao revealed a knowing smile.

Seeing that Cao Cao was in a better mood, Cheng Yu immediately began to explain the purpose of his trip: "By the way, my lord, the third son of the Sima family has not shown up for a long time. According to his elders, it seems that he has gone to Liu Bei's side."

Cao Cao grunted in response and began to inquire: "Did he run away? Or did he go to Liu Bei's side? What about his other brothers?"

"He's the only one who ran away; the others are still here."

"That's good, as long as their second son hasn't run away."

The Sima family was large and powerful, and the current head of the family, Sima Fang, was one of the first to recognize Cao Cao's talent. Under these circumstances, several of the Sima family's children had already been reserved by Cao Cao as his own talents. Therefore, it was understandable that he would feel uneasy upon learning that one of his talents had suddenly disappeared.

However, the current situation isn't too bad; at least the smartest one didn't escape.

"How common is this?"

Cheng Yu wiped away his cold sweat and said, "Actually, there are a lot, but most of those who ran away were collateral relatives; very few direct descendants ran away."

"These opportunistic aristocratic families are really quick on their feet. We need to strengthen border defenses and prevent these talented people from easily running off to Liu Bei's side. Even if they don't want to serve in the court, that's fine, as long as no one else gets them."

Cao Cao was constantly marveling at how lucky Liu Bei was. Not only were all of Liu Bei's men capable, but they were also incredibly loyal. Unlike his own men, who were all cunning and treacherous. He had to sleep with one eye open every night, just in case they plotted against him.

Lao Cao was indeed a bit stimulated, because not long ago his scouts reported that Zhang Xiu of Nanyang, with the help of his strategist Jia Xu, had actually swallowed up the three cities of Shangyong in one go!

While the world's attention was drawn to powerful warlords like Liu Bei, Yuan Shao, and Cao Cao, they used coercion and enticement to force the Shen family, the actual controllers of these three cities, to surrender.

This was truly a groundbreaking move. Cao Cao finally understood why Zhang Xiu had been so quiet before; it turned out he was preparing something big. This not only meant that Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao of Jingzhou had truly extended their influence into Shu, but also that the future Zhang Xiu would be much stronger than the one who had previously ambushed him.

Because the terrain of the three cities of Shangyong is really too outrageous.

The three cities of Shangyong mainly refer to Xicheng, Shangyong, and Fangling, arranged from west to east. This area is surrounded by three mountain ranges: the Qinling Mountains to the north, the Wudang Mountains to the south, and the Bashan Mountains to the far south.

The three mountain ranges branch off into two roads. One road is sandwiched between the Qinling Mountains and the Wudang Mountains, through which the Mian River flows. The other road is sandwiched between the Wudang Mountains and the Bashan Mountains, and is mainly used by the cities of Shangyong and Fangling.

Various books only explain the advantages of going north or south from Hanzhong, but one point is overlooked: Hanzhong can also be accessed to the east.

Of the three cities in Shangyong, the most important was Xicheng, located in the far west. This city was situated at the starting point of two common routes. As long as this city was controlled, the people of Hanzhong could not break through even if they smashed their heads to pieces. Moreover, this city was located upstream of the Mian River, which allowed them to go directly downstream to Xiangyang, or turn north at the end of the river to attack Wancheng. In other words, historically, these two routes could directly attack the heartland of Cao Wei.

The reason this wasn't historically apparent is that the rebellion of Meng Da and others in Shangyong directly blocked this route, preventing Zhuge Liang from taking it. Moreover, during the Shu Han's Northern Expeditions, most of Jingzhou had already been occupied by Eastern Wu. If the Shu Han army had taken this route, it would likely have provoked Eastern Wu.

Meanwhile, logistics and transportation here were also quite troublesome. Shangyong and Fangling were surrounded by the Wudang Mountains and the Bashan Mountains, forming a small basin centered on Shangyong. The area was hilly, making marching extremely arduous. Even so, this route was still much more convenient and faster than the Northern Expedition from Hanzhong.

Correspondingly, if the army can come out from here, it can definitely go in from here. If Zhang Xiu finishes tossing things over here and directly takes Hanzhong, then without a doubt, Zhang Xiu will instantly become a very difficult enemy to deal with.

This way, Zhang Xiu could border Liangzhou's territory, and he could also regain access to high-quality soldiers by leveraging his old connections with the Western Liang army. The Hanzhong Basin could also serve as his granary, ensuring he had ample military provisions wherever he went.

It was truly astonishing that such an important place had fallen into Zhang Xiu's hands so quietly, and it made Cao Cao realize once again just how capable this man named Jia Xu was.

The news of Zhang Xiu's capture of Shangyong only spread from Jingzhou when it was already a foregone conclusion; prior to that, there had been absolutely no indication of anything happening. The border defenses remained unchanged, there were no signs of large-scale mobilization, and the flow of supplies was completely normal.

Amidst this peaceful atmosphere, Zhang Xiu led his Xiliang cavalry to occupy Xicheng and forced the surrender of two other cities. During this process, Zhang Lu of Hanzhong remained silent, as did Liu Biao of Jingzhou.

Jia Xu's strategy was truly simple and unpretentious. Although Cao Cao did not know the specific process, he could see the whole picture from a glimpse. Jia Xu must have made a very meticulous plan, which he had to communicate with Zhang Lu and Liu Biao in advance to avoid provoking them.

Cao Cao could only sigh, "Heroes of the world are as numerous as carp crossing a river!"

Cao Cao was not standing still during this period. His subordinate Zhong Yao successfully caused Ma Teng and Han Sui to turn against each other again, and the infighting started again. The fighting was so fierce that the warlords of Liangzhou were completely immersed in fighting each other and had no idea what the world was like.

However, such small progress is really nothing compared to other warlords. Only his elder brother Yuan Shao is about the same level as him, and he is still fighting Gongsun Zan to the death, with no sign of ending the war.

Other people's strategists can easily defeat others, but our own—well, it's not that they're useless, but compared to others, they're somewhat lacking.

Xuzhou, Xiapi.

Lu Wan had already thought of a way to deal with Liu Qi's future arrival: "My lord, there is no need to worry too much. Let Young Master Liu come if he wants. As long as we talk to him frankly, he will understand our current difficulties."

Liu Bei nodded, agreeing that in the absence of trust between the two sides, open and honest communication was the most effective approach: "That's right. It's not that we're unwilling to help him occupy Yangzhou, but the timing isn't right. When things change in Jiangdong, our army will cross the Yangtze River to the south and attack Sun Ce."

"I just don't know what kind of person my nephew is. If he's too eager for quick success and doesn't listen to us, then we'll be in trouble."

"You can rest assured about this issue. If he were truly the kind of person who wouldn't listen to good advice and only knew how to do things his own way, he would have been eliminated by Kuai Yue and Cai Mao long ago."

In Lu Wan's view, Liu Qi's personality was the real secret to his survival. If he were flamboyant, the Cai and Kuai families would have been ruthless in their attacks. But then again, maybe his pretentious act might have fooled them.

Quite some time had passed, and Liu Bei stretched and said casually, "It seems there's not much work to do today. How about I call Yun Chang over, and the three of us have a drink?"

"My lord, stop joking. The bandits haven't been wiped out yet. Not to mention Guan Yu, even I have a lot to do."

The only reason I was able to come out today was to see Yuanlong; otherwise, I definitely wouldn't have even left the prefectural capital.

Liu Bei waved his hand regretfully: "Alright, alright, go ahead and get busy. By the way, let Wen Yuan take charge of that newspaper you started with Hua Tuo and the others. After all, we've never even heard of it, let alone run it."

Lu Suo was about to get up when Liu Bei's words made his legs go weak, and he almost lost his balance and fell to the ground.

Do I have to do this too? If it works, we'll use it to the extreme, huh?!

Having mentally rehearsed countless times that this was your own choice, and you can't blame anyone else, I said, "My lord, I'm truly overwhelmed. Could you perhaps think of another option?"

"The capable should do more!" Seeing Lu Wan's eyes widen, Liu Bei quickly tried to appease him. The young man was too young and didn't know how to be funny: "Don't be impatient, don't be impatient, I was just teasing you."

Lu Wan didn't say anything this time. She bowed to Liu Bei, patted her behind, and went back.

In the intelligence analysis department of the Xuzhou Suppression Headquarters, which was under the command of Lu Wan, the walls were covered with large silk maps, densely marked with enemy information in vermilion ink. Several "intelligence staff officers," who were originally of low rank but had been promoted due to their meticulousness, were comparing the latest scout reports with the maps.

Lu Wan was just about to return to secretly observe whether her subordinates would slack off without supervision when she overheard two minor officials chatting.

"General Lu is really something. Look, we've received so many self-recommendation letters today. I never imagined there would be so many people in Xuzhou wanting to gain General Lu's favor. And these are all from scions of prominent families."

As they spoke, a rattling sound came from the sliding of wooden pieces; it must have been a wooden sling used when visiting someone.

The companion beside him kept flipping through some book while muttering, "Nonsense, Chief of Staff Lu is capable; the lord will listen to whatever he says. If we're lucky enough to get Chief of Staff Lu's recommendation, we can go straight to an important position."

"However, these people really don't understand the General Staff. As long as someone has the ability, the General Staff will recommend them even if they don't promote themselves everywhere."

The first junior official to speak suddenly started talking about his future aspirations: "That's great! If I could become a member of the General Staff in the future, I would be willing to work overtime every day."

"You? Why is the General Staff called the General Staff? It's because they have to manage everything. You don't even understand what your daily work entails. How could you possibly manage everything as the General Staff?"

"I was just hoping for something wonderful, don't discourage me like that. If all else fails, can't I just dream about being the General Staff?"

Lu Wan, who was eavesdropping nearby, almost laughed. What did she mean by "General Staff means managing everything"? The General Staff is headed by the Chief of the General Staff, who is in charge of military affairs. Staff officers who manage various industries are called advisors.

Shaking his head and sighing, it's normal that people in the Eastern Han Dynasty didn't understand the responsibilities of the General Staff, since such a thing had never existed before.

As Lu Wan walked, she kept thinking, and the more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. When she finally reached her workstation, she realized that something was wrong.

Hiss~ That's right, people in the Eastern Han Dynasty didn't know what the General Staff did!

Lu Wan has made significant achievements in agriculture, industry, commerce, and military affairs, and he has a good relationship with the heads of these departments. Whenever Lu Wan has a new idea, he can directly push the relevant officials to start new projects.

It's certainly more convenient, but this creates a fait accompli of reporting to Lu Wan's office. It also means that if Lu Wan is absent or ill and unable to work, these projects will have to be halted whenever they encounter difficulties. This also indirectly demonstrates that Lu Wan currently wields far too much power.

If he had agreed to Liu Bei's request beforehand and had controlled public opinion, his power would have rivaled, or even surpassed, Chen Qun's, making him the most powerful person under Liu Bei.

However, Lu Wan didn't want to be number one. She knew she was just an ordinary college student, completely inept at personnel matters, something Chen Qun clearly excelled at. If she were to climb over Chen Qun, it would severely disrupt the existing normal promotion system. But everything she was doing now had not only made her famous but also significantly increased her power and influence in her current position at the General Staff Department.

This is not an exaggeration. Lu Wan is nominally just a clerk and the chief of staff of the Xuzhou Suppression Headquarters. However, the position of chief of staff is a position that has never appeared in the Han Dynasty before, so people do not know what the specific powers of this position are.

Because many development projects in other departments are led by Lu Wan, every time there is progress or a problem with a project, it has to be reported to Lu Guan for his decision.

People from all departments came to him for help, which gave them the illusion that Lu Wan held considerable power and could control everyone on Liu Bei's side.

This caused a huge misunderstanding. Lu Wan simply had a better understanding of the knowledge from later generations, so these people could only seek his help if they wanted to ask questions. Lu Wan's office also built a very high reputation through a series of successful projects. Everyone believed that "seeking his help would be useful," and thus they were more inclined to follow Lu Wan's instructions, regardless of whether they were within his official authority.

Moreover, the "General Staff" is a new position, and its vacant authority needs to be defined by the first person in charge, the Mainland Affairs Council, through practical actions. The more the Mainland Affairs Council does, the greater the actual power of this position will be, eventually leading to the effect of "custom is law".