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

After Cao Cao gave them some instructions, the two began to prepare for their mission.

Wang Bi was in charge of negotiating with Lü Bu. Cao Cao's bottom line was to recommend Lü Bu as the governor of Xu Province, but he had to send troops to attack Liu Bei.

If Lü Bu sends troops, then there's nothing more to say. Killing Liu Bei will eliminate the external threat, and killing Lü Bu will quell the internal strife.

If Cao Cao doesn't send troops, he might designate Lü Bu as an officially recognized enemy of the court. Then Cao Cao would have to personally explain the serious consequences to Lü Bu.

Pei Mao was responsible for persuading Zang Ba of Mount Tai, promising him the position of General Who Guards the East, hoping that Zang Ba would side with Cao Cao, or at least remain neutral and not get involved.

Cao Cao was quite poor at the time and had nothing else to offer, so he could only try to secure an official position.

In truth, Cao Cao didn't even want to offer him an official position; he was just figuring out how to renege on his promise. He couldn't tolerate an unstable element like Lü Bu, especially since the score for the previous raid on Yan Province was still unresolved.

For now, we should be patient and avoid confrontation. When the time is right, none of the people in Xuzhou will escape.

--------

Today, the city of Xiapi should have been as busy and peaceful as usual, but the arrival of a few people completely revitalized the city.

Old Liu finally managed to get his old buddies over!

"Zilong!" Liu Bei was overjoyed when he saw who it was and ran towards Zhao Yun.

Zhao Yun, his eyes also filled with tears, cupped his hands and said, "My lord!"

"Xuande! We're here too!" Behind Zhao Yun followed two men from the north.

"Guorang! Zijing! You've come too!" Seeing his good friends Tian Yu and Qian Zhao arrive, Liu Bei was so happy he almost collapsed to the ground.

Liu Bei quickly stepped forward and hugged his childhood friend Qian Zhao, saying, "Zijing, you've finally come! I've missed you so much!"

He then turned to Zhao Yun and Tian Yu, quickly stepping forward to grasp their hands, saying, "After our parting in Xuzhou, I thought I would never see you two again in this lifetime. Our reunion today is truly a blessing from heaven for Liu Bei!"

Both of them had tears in their eyes and were speechless for a long time.

These three men were as important to Liu Bei as he was to Xuzhou; they were all his trusted confidants. If one day their boat capsized, Liu Bei's cries could reach Constantinople.

Liu Bei wiped away his tears and quickly pulled the others inside to talk.

"It has been two years since we parted ways. I never thought we would meet again." Liu Bei quickly called his attendants to bring wine and also summoned Lu Wan over.

Zhao Yun nodded in agreement: "Yes, my lord, it has been a long time. I have often missed you since we parted ways."

"Actually, I originally thought I would continue to work under General Gongsun, but who knew that General Gongsun would no longer listen to advice. I had no choice, and I didn't want to join Yuan Shao, so I could only stay at home in retirement."

Liu Bei sighed upon hearing this, wondering how the once spirited General on the White Horse had become like this.

Tian Yu's situation was similar: "Actually, I was already preparing to leave General Gongsun at the beginning, but then I received a letter from the magistrate, so I sold my family property and came with my mother."

Qian Zhao was overjoyed upon seeing the letter and came thinking about what gift to bring. After much deliberation, he sold all his family property to buy horses to help Liu Bei fill the gap in his warhorse supply.

Unfortunately, due to insufficient financial resources, they were only able to acquire seventy fine horses.

Qian Zhao not only brought his warhorse, but he also brought over the group of wandering knights he used to hang out with. Although there were only about twenty of them, they were all old brothers he could trust.

The three had originally set off at different times, but by a twist of fate, they ended up together. They chatted and realized they had all been summoned by Liu Bei, so they decided to travel together. Along the way, they killed countless bandits who stood in their way, and finally arrived in Xuzhou.

To be honest, what Liu Bei did was really underhanded. After his brothers had worked hard together to get ahead, Liu Bei abandoned them and went to associate with the powerful families of Xuzhou.

Zhao Yun and Tian Yu were both men of pride, so seeing Liu Bei's behavior, they naturally left.

Moreover, once he leaves, he can't come back, because at that time, not only public opinion, but even Liu Bei might start to have doubts: he left when he saw there was no benefit, but now that he sees his old brother has completely turned things around, and he hasn't made a name for himself, he has no choice but to shamelessly come back to ask for a position.

Zhao Yun and Tian Yu were both easily embarrassed and couldn't stand such remarks. As a result, they really wanted to join Liu Bei, but they just couldn't. Actually, this situation was easy to solve: Liu Bei should take the initiative and go directly to recruit them. With that, they would have a way out and naturally come.

Historically, Zhao Yun probably learned that Liu Bei had lost Xuzhou for the second time and had completely lost his base. He felt that Liu Bei was in such a bad situation that joining him would not be gossiped about, so he hurriedly went south to find Liu Bei.

Qian Zhao was even worse off than the other two. Liu Bei hadn't even thought about it, and this big-eared guy generously gave away an excellent cavalry general.

Seeing that these people had overcome many obstacles to come to him, Liu Bei felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Liu Bei finally revealed the appointment plan he and Lu Wan had discussed: "Gentlemen, Xuzhou is currently in dire need of personnel, and there are vacant official positions in various places."

"Guorang, I intend to appoint you as the Commandant of Donghai Commandery, responsible for guarding and monitoring Langya Commandery. Zang Ba has consistently refused the appointment, which remains a potential threat. However, we cannot simply kill him to resolve the matter. The specifics will depend on how you, Guorang, handle the situation."

Liu Bei took a sip of wine to moisten his throat and continued, "Zilong's task is not easy either. I want to appoint you as the Chancellor of Pengcheng, responsible for overseeing all matters in Pengcheng. The most important task is to guard against Lü Bu and Cao Cao."

"Zijing and Zilong will go together and serve as the Chief Administrator of Pengcheng, in charge of the city's defense. I will allocate two thousand troops to Guorang, and Zilong and Zijing will have a total of three thousand troops to garrison Pengcheng. If the enemy attacks, preserving our strength will be our primary task."

Liu Bei's appointments were all carefully considered. Donghai Commandery was close to Langya Commandery, and it was necessary to prevent the infiltration of the generals from Mount Tai while also controlling trade and diplomacy with Langya Commandery and Qingzhou. Only someone with knowledge of politics, military affairs, and diplomacy could be appointed to this position.

The situation in Pengcheng was different. The main problem here was the military pressure from both Lü Bu and Cao Cao. Therefore, this position placed greater emphasis on the military talent of the officials, who were expected to be able to build Pengcheng into a solid defensive stronghold.

A well-rounded warrior like Tian Yu should be placed in a place like Donghai County, which tests comprehensive abilities, while Zhao Yun and Qian Zhao, two excellent generals, are naturally responsible for establishing the Pengcheng defense line.