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

Chen Qun and Chen Jiao had just finished their legal work and wanted to take a break when news came that Liu Bei was about to launch a major offensive northward.

With no other option, the group began redeploying manpower to prepare for the takeover of the city. Chen Qun was alright, only suffering from dark circles under his eyes, but Chen Jiao was finding it difficult to cope. He had initially thought that coming to Xuzhou and working overtime every day meant he was being valued, but after staying for a while, he realized he had been tricked.

So, is working overtime part of the corporate culture on Liu Bei's side?!

Now that things have come to this, it's too late to switch jobs. I've worked here for so long and achieved some results. If I leave at this critical juncture, it will basically mean that all my previous efforts have been in vain.

"I didn't expect our lord to act so quickly." Chen Jiao shook his head with a wry smile: "How could I have believed our lord's words and come here in the first place? Now look what's happened, I haven't had a single day of rest."

Chen Qun comforted him, saying, "This is a good thing. It's better than those lords who desperately try to recruit you, but then become wary of your talent, and in the end refuse to use you or let you go."

After a journey, Mi Zhu, Chen Qun, and Chen Jiao met in Jiqiu.

The tasks were assigned to both sides. Chen Qun led his men to cities in the southern part of Langya, such as Linyi and Kaiyang; while Chen Jiao led his men to cities such as Ju County and Dongguan; Mi Zhu was responsible for overall planning and calculation. The three of them then began to carry out their respective tasks.

Chen Qun was an expert, and he was very quick to count the goods. Before long, he had compiled a list and handed it to Chen Qun. There were more than two million coins and more than two hundred thousand shi of grain in Kaiyang City alone, which can be described as a very fruitful harvest.

Chen Qun originally thought he had gained the most, but little did he know there were still experts among them.

When Chen Jiao took stock, he found that Ju County was incredibly wealthy. The city alone had more than 400,000 shi of grain, more than 4 million coins, and tens of thousands of bolts of silk and hemp cloth. The treasury also contained various armors and weapons.

It turns out that Xiao Jian really saw himself as an official who came here to govern, rather than a warlord who controlled a region. He had accumulated these things so that he could hand them over to the state government one day. He never thought about expanding his power; he only knew how to protect the territory and keep the people safe.

He really made me cry my eyes out.

Historically, Xiao Jian was killed by Zang Ba after Lü Bu's decline. The resources Zang Ba had accumulated made him much wealthier and even allowed Cao Cao to accept his separatist rule. As long as Zang Ba did not openly rebel, Cao Cao would not interfere with him.

With Zang Ba gone, Xiao Jian's time as the Chancellor of Langya has come to an end.

Not to mention that this person never came to support Liu Bei, he also failed to complete the task of checking and balancing Zang Ba given to him by Tao Qian, the former governor of Xu Province. With this level of competence, he can forget about becoming the top leader of a region in his lifetime. He'd be better off as a deputy or an official in charge of land reclamation.

However, considering that he had surrendered voluntarily and had accumulated a considerable amount of wealth for Liu Bei, Liu Bei still treated him with some dignity, only transferring him to a sinecure.

Liu Bei also planned to give his third brother some more responsibility. Zhang Fei had previously helped Liu Bei defend Xiapi, and Liu Bei felt that Zhang Fei was capable of handling things on his own. Liu Bei intended to make Zhang Fei the Chancellor of Langya.

Liu Bei was troubled by the choice of his deputy, feeling that everyone had something to do. He originally thought that he had enough talent at present, but now he looked around and found that Xuzhou was still lacking in talent.

Lu Wan was quite confident about the current situation. After Liu Bei finished this battle, Xuzhou would be almost unified. At that time, Liu Bei would be able to join the first echelon of warlords at the end of the Han Dynasty. There would be plenty of people who wanted to join Liu Bei, and it would not be like before when you couldn't find anyone even with a lantern.

Now that the strategic objectives have been achieved, it's time to return home.

The ceremony for entering the city was very simple.

Leading the way were Liu Bei's old guard, the Youzhou cavalry he brought from the north. The total number of Youzhou cavalrymen was now less than a thousand. Liu Bei cherished these old comrades who had followed him from the very beginning; he rarely used them in battle, preferring them to stay by his side and protect him.

Liu Bei rode a tall horse and strolled in the middle of the road. A Liu Bei soldier, who looked somewhat ugly and short, and resembled a monkey, led the horse and waved to the surrounding crowd.

The soldier who captured Chang Xi was very strange. When Liu Bei asked him what reward he wanted, he said that he only needed to serve Liu Bei and hold his horse for him.

This strange request baffled Liu Bei, but it also made Liu Bei remember his name: Li Xiuji.

Strange as it was, Liu Bei still gave him the reward for capturing the general as usual, and gave him special permission to lead his horse when entering the city.

Looking at the crowds cheering him from both sides of the road, Liu Bei's heart also became excited. He called out to his men, and they opened the bags hanging on the sides of their horses, grabbed the contents, and threw them into the crowd. The crowd gasped in surprise, followed by various auspicious greetings. It turned out that the bags contained gleaming gold coins!

Liu Bei shouted loudly to the crowd, "Fellow countrymen! Folks! Happy New Year! Take this money! Go buy some flatbread and roast chicken!"

"Great job, Lord Liu! We respect and admire your skills!"

"Long live Lord Liu!"

This victory, coupled with the extravagant spending, further boosted Liu Bei's prestige, propelling him towards the title of "Undisputed Lord of Xuzhou."

Among those watching the victory parade were many spies from other warlords. Seeing this, they all prepared their reports to their superiors, ready to warn them not to bother with Xuzhou.

Following closely behind was Liu Bei's auxiliary corps, soldiers who typically farmed during peacetime and were only conscripted during wartime. They pushed carts laden with spoils of war, occasionally dropping sacks of wheat onto the ground, but these men didn't even glance at them, let alone bother to pick them up.

Lu Wan was also in the parade, but he felt that riding a horse without stirrups was too difficult for him, so he sat on an oxcart instead.

Seeing the cheers of the crowd, Lu Wan suddenly felt a sense of relief. Although there had been no progress in her plan to join Cao Cao, her arrival had reduced the amount of warfare in Xuzhou, which could be considered one of the major achievements of her transmigration.

After the parade ended, Liu Bei distributed rewards to his soldiers and then let them go home to reunite with their families.

One of the key differences between Liu Bei and other warlords was that Liu Bei paid his troops. In this turbulent era, with people struggling to survive everywhere, warlords could easily buy off many willing to risk their lives with just a little grain. This allowed warlords to expand their armies almost like inflating a balloon, inflating them rapidly.

However, Liu Bei was different. Before Lu Wan began issuing the "Jian'an Tax Certificates," Liu Bei frequently distributed rewards to his subordinates. Therefore, no matter how many times Liu Bei's army was scattered throughout history, as long as Liu Bei was still around, he could gradually recruit these people back. Now that Liu Bei had the "Jian'an Tax Certificates" and the material reserves of the counties of Langya, he was incredibly generous in paying wages, making Mi Zhu, who was standing nearby, feel heartbroken.

Liu Shijun really doesn't treat money like money when he spends it! As the saying goes, you don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household. How come Liu Shijun is still like this after being the top official of Xuzhou for so long?

Liu Bei didn't think there was anything wrong with doing this. These soldiers were willing to risk their lives for Liu Bei's goals, so Liu Bei also had an obligation to take care of his men.

Besides, businesses in Xuzhou are doing very well right now, and the city's economy is steadily recovering, so Liu Bei can afford it.