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

In November, Lu Wan finally accompanied Liu Bei back to Xiapi.

"Brother! You're finally back! I've missed you so much!" Zhang Fei went out of the city thirty miles early to greet him, and when he saw Liu Bei, he excitedly hugged him.

"Mr. Lu is here too, my apologies for not recognizing him."

Lu Wan followed closely behind Liu Bei and immediately bowed with her arms clasped: "It seems that General Zhang only remembers our lord and has long forgotten us."

Zhang Fei rubbed his hands together: "Sir, please don't make fun of me. I'm just a little emotional because I haven't seen my elder brother in a long time. I've already prepared a banquet to welcome the soldiers back."

Zhang Fei now respects Lu Wan very much. On the one hand, Lu Wan said that she is an illegitimate son of the Lu family of Jiangdong. Even if she is an illegitimate son, she is still a member of a noble family and is therefore extraordinary.

On the other hand, Lu Wan has not been in Liu Bei's army for more than a month, and she has already come up with many strategies to help Liu Bei and others solve problems. From this point of view, it is worth Zhang Fei paying homage to Lu Wan.

Zhang Fei is not the reckless man in some TV dramas who would poke a thousand holes at the drop of a hat, nor would he target his own strategist every day.

Zhang Fei came from a powerful family and was a pivotal figure in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

In Zhang Fei's view, those cultured people could accomplish things simply by writing, and their behavior was also refined and elegant, naturally inspiring his goodwill. The cultured members of aristocratic families were also the kind of people that powerful families aspired to be, so Zhang Fei naturally developed a longing for these families.

Furthermore, because powerful figures like Zhang Fei were rooted in the local area and had close ties with ordinary people, and because powerful figures and ordinary people were originally opposing classes, Zhang Fei viewed ordinary people as short-sighted, vulgar, and always thinking about taking advantage of others.

His second brother, Guan Yu, was the opposite. Guan Yu once killed a powerful figure and fled to the ends of the earth in order to uphold justice. During this long period of escape, Guan Yu gained a great deal of knowledge.

He knew what powerful families and clans were like, and how they united to oppress the common people, so Guan Yu found it difficult to have a positive view of them.

During Guan Yu's wandering journey, he was able to survive only because he received help from many ordinary people. His views on the common people were completely different from those of Zhang Fei.

In his view, most people are simple and kind, and while they may have flaws such as being greedy for small gains, Guan Yu believed that such flaws should not be blamed on the people.

The heavy tax burden falls on the people, who depend on luck to even survive. When they see an opportunity to gain something, they will seize it immediately. It's not that they don't understand that long-term benefits are more lucrative, but the harsh reality forces them to choose short-term gains.

Who was responsible for all of this? Guan Yu provided the answer: the powerful clans. It's not that ordinary people are inherently base, but rather that those who aren't base have been driven to their deaths by the powerful clans. How could Guan Yu possibly have any goodwill towards such people?

There were several reasons why Guan Yu treated Lu Wan well. First, she was genuinely useful and could be relied upon to get things done. Second, although she came from a prestigious family, she was not much different from ordinary people and always maintained a humble yet respectful attitude towards everyone.

On one occasion, when Guan Yu was inspecting the camp, he saw Lu Wan chatting and joking with a few soldiers, which made Guan Yu even more convinced that Lu Wan was definitely not from a noble family.

Even if those people talk to you in a friendly manner, they still have the attitude of a superior to a subordinate. The kind of equal communication that Lu Wan has with ordinary soldiers is something that would never happen to a scion of a noble family.

"Come, come, come! I've been too busy with military affairs the other day to have any free time, but today I'm going to drink a thousand cups with you all, until we're all drunk!"

As Zhang Fei spoke, he pulled Liu Bei and Lu Wan back to the mansion.

Guan Yu and Chen Deng did not return with Liu Bei. Guan Yu was worried that Yuan Shu might be driven to desperation after being offended, so he volunteered to garrison troops in Xuyi to guard against Yuan Shu.

Chen Deng, on the other hand, devoted himself entirely to the curved plow. He said he wouldn't come back until he had thoroughly mastered it, and he diligently supervised the craftsmen in Huaiyin to produce curved plows.

The seats on both sides were filled with civil and military officials, mostly members of prominent families from Xuzhou, apart from Liu Bei's old guard.

Liu Bei naturally sat in the chief seat. Lu Wan originally wanted to find a seat in the back row to enjoy the meat, but Liu Bei deliberately pulled her to sit next to him.

Such high treatment drew the attention of everyone present.

Most of the people here did not recognize Lu Wan and speculated about what he did and why he received such high treatment from Liu Bei.

Just as everyone was exchanging glances and whispering among themselves, Liu Bei spoke:

"The great victory in this battle, which forced Yuan Shu to flee north in panic, is all thanks to the selfless dedication of all the generals and soldiers. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you all."

As he spoke, Liu Bei raised his wine cup to thank everyone, and the civil and military officials of Xuzhou also stood up to toast in return.

After drinking a cup, Liu Bei began to introduce Lu Wan.

Everyone looked at each other, feeling incredulous.

My lord, do you mean that this man named Lu Wan wiped out the Danyang faction, which had been troubling the powerful families of Xuzhou for many years, as soon as he arrived here, and then went south and brutally defeated the strongest warlord at the time?

The powerful families of Xuzhou were quite surprised. Why would such a capable person not go to serve Yuan Shao or Cao Cao, but instead come to serve Liu Bei?

Could it be that he felt he couldn't compete with the other strategists, so he came to Xuzhou to fry fish?

Lu Wan knew that Liu Bei had done this intentionally. First, he treated Lu Wan with such courtesy, and then he highlighted Lu Wan's achievements. This was tantamount to supporting Lu Wan, which would be very helpful for Lu Wan's future work.

The difference in how colleagues treat someone who is valued by their superiors at work versus someone with no connections can be quite significant.

Lu Wan was not ungrateful; he raised his wine glass and greeted everyone.

After the drinks, it's time for a pleasant meal.

The dishes at the banquet were much more abundant than those at Huaiyin. Lu Wan recognized steamed buns, roasted lamb, various fruits and vegetables, and all sorts of unidentified wild game.

Each person had a small stove on their seat, fueled by charcoal.

Of course, such a grand banquet wouldn't allow diners to grill the meat themselves; instead, each person would have a maid to serve them the grilling and accompany them with drinks.

This was the first time Lu Wan had ever experienced such service in her life, and she couldn't help but blush.

To avoid embarrassing herself, Lu Wan forced herself to focus on the food, and then discovered that the cooking techniques of the Han Dynasty were already quite advanced.

A small iron plate sits on the stove, and the meat is grilled on it.

The maid took out a piece of caul fat, wrapped it around the lean meat, and placed it on the iron plate to grill. The fat sizzled with the high temperature and released an enticing aroma.

As Lu Wan smelled the aroma, he felt his internal organs urging him to try it. With one bite, the aroma of animal fat exploded in his mouth, slightly accompanied by the taste of Sichuan peppercorns and fine salt, making Lu Wan want to eat more.

As he ate, he secretly thought that iron cooking utensils existed in the Han Dynasty, and the reason why stir-frying was not possible was simply because cooking oil could not be obtained in large quantities.

Just as Lu Wan was enjoying her meal, Zhang Fei came to her carrying a jar of wine. Looking at the size of the jar, Lu Wan suddenly felt something was wrong.

"Come, come, sir, we must drink until we drop to our hearts' content today!"

At the same time that Lu Wan was forced to drink with Zhang Fei, on the other side of the banquet, Chen Qun and Mi Zhu were also thinking about their own things.

Although Mi Zhu is a wealthy man in Xuzhou, he lacks a solid foundation. Despite his current large fortune, if even one of his descendants becomes an unworthy son, the Mi family will be finished.

His previous efforts to invite Liu Bei to accept Xuzhou stemmed from two reasons: firstly, he genuinely admired Liu Bei and got along well with him; secondly, the Mi family desperately needed a powerful patron to help Mi Zhu and his generation of descendants transition from a powerful local family to a prestigious clan.

During the year or so that Liu Bei was in power, Mi Zhu was able to handle his official duties diligently, but he did not use his family property to invest in Liu Bei.

Mi Zhu was a businessman who believed in his own judgment. He believed that Liu Bei would one day become a regional hegemon. The reason he had not yet invested was precisely because he knew that Liu Bei had just acquired Xuzhou. No matter how much money the Mi family invested in him, it would not be more valuable than Xuzhou. At that time, investing in him would be icing on the cake.

Therefore, in Mi Zhu's view, the best investment opportunity was to invest in Liu Bei when he needed the money the most. However, the long-term standoff between Xuzhou and Yuan Shu had already had a certain impact on the livelihood of the people in Xuzhou.

However, this did not affect the extent to which wealthy households had to sacrifice their fortunes to help overcome the difficulties. Mi Zhu was now in a dilemma. On one hand, his business intuition told him that it was not yet time to step in, while on the other hand, his political intuition told him that Liu Bei had already proven that he could secure his position as the governor of Xu Province, and if he did not step in now, he would miss his chance.

Mi Zhu was tormented by two thoughts, feeling like he was dying inside. The top spot on the Xuzhou rich list looked glamorous, but he didn't even have anyone to discuss things with.

Chen Qun was also questioning his life at this time. He had previously tried his best to persuade Liu Bei not to take over Xuzhou, because the waters of Xuzhou were very deep and he was afraid that Liu Bei would not be able to handle it.

As a result, this stubborn young man still didn't listen to him and stayed in Yuzhou to develop. Although he was somewhat dissatisfied with Liu Bei, Chen Qun followed Liu Bei to Xuzhou in the spirit of "since we're already here".

Previously, his father, Chen Ji, had a very high opinion of Liu Bei and strongly urged Chen Qun to work under Liu Bei. Chen Qun even felt that his father was truly getting old and had even lost his ability to judge people.

Who in their right mind would take on a failed business?

But now Liu Bei has utterly defeated the eldest son of the Yuan family, who had held high office for four generations, and has become the true ruler of Xuzhou.

"My father's judgment is sound, and so is Prefect Liu's. So the problem lies with me, Chen Qun."

Chen Qun drank another cup of turbid wine and glanced at Liu Bei, who was sitting in the main seat. Liu Bei was clapping and cheering for Zhang Fei and Lu Wan. Seeing Liu Bei's unrestrained behavior, Chen Qun felt very uncomfortable.

After arriving in Xuzhou, Chen Qun's work became a typical nine-to-five routine. He would diligently complete his tasks during work hours, but that was all; he never offered Liu Bei another single strategy. He had degenerated from the top strategist into a pay thief.

"Since then, my lord has distanced himself from me. Now, he won't even drink with me anymore. Is it really because I'm not skilled enough to see what's so good about Xuzhou? But at that time, Xuzhou really looked like it was doomed."

Now that our lord already has so many capable ministers and generals, what am I still doing here with the audacity to stay? I should probably write a letter of resignation as soon as possible.

With this in mind, Chen Qun made up his mind to resign tomorrow and never serve in office again. He would then devote himself to studying the classics in the clan, and when he got old, he would use himself as a negative example to show the younger generation in the clan what happens when you are not well-versed in the arts and cannot even recognize gold.

"bite--."

The sudden sound and the slight tremor in his hand brought Chen Qun back to reality. Chen Qun looked closely and saw that Liu Bei had come up in front of him and clinked glasses with him.

"Changwen, you don't seem to be in a good mood today. What's bothering you?"

What should we do now? The book didn't teach us this.

Chen Qun hurriedly stood up, cupped his hands in a salute to Liu Bei, but dared not look at him: "Your Excellency, I, Chen Qun, wish to ask for forgiveness and take my leave."

Upon hearing this, the previously lively banquet atmosphere instantly turned cold.

"In the past, when the wise ruler wanted to accept Tao Yuanming's invitation to enter Xuzhou, the foolish and short-sighted people tried their best to dissuade him, saying that Xuzhou was a place of constant warfare, surrounded by powerful enemies, and not a place to settle down."

Chen Qun took a deep breath, his voice filled with regret: "However, looking at you today, not only has Your Excellency established a firm foothold in Xuzhou, but you have also worked diligently to govern, bringing about a new era. The battle of Huainan has even terrified Yuan Shu. What I said back then was truly like a frog in a well. Not only was I shallow in my understanding, but I also failed to fulfill my duties as a subject."

"I thought I was well-versed in the classics and knowledgeable in all matters, but now I realize that all of this is nothing but empty talk. I am truly ashamed of my limited knowledge and abilities, and have no face to hold this position in the prefecture without doing any work. I humbly request Your Excellency's permission."

After speaking, Chen Qun bowed again. Although Liu Bei could not see Chen Qun's face, he still noticed that Chen Qun's body was trembling slightly.

Liu Bei reached out and helped Chen Qun up, saying in a gentle and earnest voice, "Changwen, why do you say such things! I know that Changwen's advice that day was not out of personal motives, but rather a reflection of his concern for my safety!"

The situation that day was indeed as the long article described: turbulent, unpredictable, and fraught with danger. Every word in the long article was mature and prudent. It was only by chance that Bei was able to remain in Xuzhou, thanks to the dedication of his civil and military officials, the support of the people, and the strategic advice of wise men like Chen Yuanlong and Lu Wenyuan.

I am no god, how could I have predicted these things? It is truly a matter of unpredictable fate and the impermanence of human life.

With Xuzhou newly pacified, everything needs rebuilding. Internal governance is crucial, as is defending against powerful external enemies; this is precisely the time to utilize capable individuals! Changwen is well-versed in law and law, knowledgeable in government affairs, and possesses profound insight. Whenever the people require arbitration, you mediate, and the people have no complaints.

The great cause of restoring the Han dynasty is in full swing. I urge you, Changwen, for the sake of the hundreds of thousands of people in Xuzhou, to stay! Join me in saving the people from suffering and rescuing them from their dire straits.

Tears welled in Chen Qun's eyes, his gaze shifting from pain and confusion to unwavering resolve. He downed the wine in his cup in one gulp and declared loudly, "To fulfill my lord's will, I dare not fail to die for him!"

Inside the palace, the scene was once again one of harmonious coexistence between the emperor and his ministers.

Chen Qun also represents many people in the hall, namely those who were initially skeptical of Liu Bei and who did not put in much effort during the work process. Now, these people have sensed that the situation in Xuzhou is improving and are preparing to cast their votes.

Zhang Fei had already been drawn to Chen Qun when he told Liu Bei he was resigning. Now that he saw Chen Qun had reconciled with Liu Bei, he had shifted his focus and was about to have a drinking contest with Chen Qun again, which allowed Lu Wan to escape unscathed.