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

Chapter 70 Cao Cao's Perspective

"No, no, no, these aren't the difficult points. The key issue is how to train this specialized force for maintaining order."

"Hmm? Requirements in this regard—" Lu Wan suddenly remembered that there were no special schools to teach these things at this time. The only skill that the current security personnel knew was the Great Memory Restoration Technique. In any case, she decided to drag him down and beat him up first.

This clearly cannot meet the people's growing demand for public security.

"I have an idea, but I need to think about it more deeply. It's about setting up a dedicated military academy to teach students this kind of knowledge. However, it's a bit wasteful to dedicate an entire academy just to law enforcement officers. — How about adding some other subjects to transform it into a classroom that can teach various military and security knowledge, including military strategy? What do you think?"

Chen Qun was momentarily speechless at Lu Wan's extravagant gesture. He found that Lu Wan's thinking was really very jumpy, and if he wasn't careful, he wouldn't know what Lu Wan was talking about.

"Hmm—good idea. So, what are your thoughts on student recruitment?"

"It would be best to select good men from Xuzhou. These are the only people we can trust right now. We don't know what the other refugees did before they came to Xuzhou, so how can we entrust the security to them?"

Some time later, Sun Qian from Xu County had just returned to Xuzhou and hadn't even had a few days to rest when Liu Bei pulled him up again for an envoy mission. This mission wasn't just to cultivate goodwill with Cao Cao; he also had to meet with the emperor to report on this matter.

Cao Cao, of course, wouldn't so easily allow an outsider to meet the emperor, and Liu Bei, who currently had a secret alliance with him, naturally wanted to demonstrate the mutual trust between allies. Sun Qian told Cao Cao about the memorial, but omitted other details. He only indicated that Liu Bei very much wanted to cultivate a good relationship with Liu Biao, and since Liu Biao was also a member of the Han imperial family, it wasn't inappropriate to have Liu Biao's eldest son, Liu Qi, act as regent.

Upon learning this news, Cao Cao very gently invited Sun Qian to rest, and then excitedly summoned his advisors, including Xun Yu, Guo Jia, and Cheng Yu.

He thought to himself: "I never expected that Liu Bei, that straw sandal seller, would so quickly become enemies with Sun Ce again. Although it seems like a good move, it actually puts me in a dangerous position. Sure enough, Xuande is still the same inexperienced Xuande, only capable of coming up with some low-level schemes and tricks."

Cao Cao was truly delighted. Once this news got out, Sun Ce would be furious. No matter how things developed, the south would be in chaos, giving Cao Cao ample time to expand into the Guanzhong region.

However, Cao Cao had his own thoughts, but he still valued the opinions of these strategists and then informed everyone of the news.

Upon hearing the news, Guo Jia immediately pointed out incisively: "Liu Bei is a rare and ruthless hero in the world. His actions now are definitely not for the benefit of others. His sudden recommendation of a nephew he has never met as the governor of Yangzhou is certainly suspicious."

Xun Yu analyzed it from another perspective: "Liu Bei's move directly put Liu Biao and his son Liu Qi in a huge debt of gratitude, and also indirectly threatened the court. If the court did not comply, Liu Biao would definitely create a rift with our army. If it agreed, Liu Biao would occupy another province, greatly increasing his strength."

After listening to the two men's opinions, Cheng Yu chimed in, "Liu Bei's move has effectively tied Liu Biao to his side, while also preventing disputes over the division of spoils between the two sides from turning against each other. Liu Qi is Liu Biao's eldest son, so Liu Biao naturally recognizes his position as Governor of Yangzhou."

"Liu Qi's position as Governor of Yangzhou was secured for him by Liu Bei, so his attitude towards Liu Bei is predictable. This is equivalent to placing Yangzhou in a buffer state that is acceptable to both sides. Regardless of what will happen in the future, at least during the period when they are allies, the relationship between the two families will be very close."

Cao Cao interrupted him with a smile: "It's a pity that when their relationship breaks down, Liu Bei will revert to being the ruler of Xu Province. No matter how good Liu Qi's relationship is with him, he will never help Liu Bei fight his father."

"As for the matter of ulterior motives, why would Liu Bei go to such lengths to help others establish their reputation? I think Liu Bei was thinking that even if the court approved his memorial, he would have to conquer the two commanderies of Jiujiang and Lujiang, as well as the four commanderies of Jiangdong, in order to take office in Yangzhou. Among these, Yuzhang Commandery, where Hua Xin was appointed as the governor, might not need to be conquered, but the other territories of Sun Ce would have to be gradually taken over. This would inevitably have a great impact on the development of Jingzhou, thus buying time for Liu Bei's development in Xuzhou."

Guo Jia then filled in the gaps in Cao Cao's plan: "There's another point. Liu Qi won't be able to take up his post in Yangzhou for the time being. Coincidentally, during this period, Liu Bei's army shows signs of launching an expedition, so it seems their only targets are southern Guangling and Huainan. Considering Liu Qi's temporary inability to take up his post, Liu Bei has practically secured Huainan."

Cao Cao slapped his thigh and loudly agreed, "Yes, that's what I think too. During the period when Liu Qi cannot take office, Huainan can only be entrusted to Liu Bei for management. Moreover, Liu Bei has a legitimate reason to do so. He can say that he is helping his nephew to guard the territory and has no other intentions."

"As for whether Liu Bei will return Huainan to Liu Qi later, hmph—" At this point, Cao Cao shook his head with a smile, indicating that in his opinion, Liu Bei would absolutely not return Huainan to Liu Qi. As for Liu Xun, who currently occupies Lujiang Commandery and part of Jiujiang Commandery, in his view, he would soon be swiftly eliminated after Liu Bei and Liu Biao divided the spoils.

Cheng Yu suddenly cupped his hands to Cao Cao and said with a serious expression, "This kind of scheme doesn't seem like something Liu Bei could come up with, nor does it seem like the style of Chen Qun or Chen Deng, so it can only be that Lu Wan."

"Hmm, I didn't expect Lu Wan to be so skilled in warfare, and equally adept at these schemes." Cao Cao stood up, took a few steps, and suddenly said, "What do you think? If I summoned him here in the name of the court, would he come?"

"It's a bit difficult, but worth a try. If this Lu Wan is also a patriot who wants to restore the Han Dynasty, then how about letting him come to Xuchang to assist His Majesty?" Gou Huo was very interested in such a talent. If such a capable person came to Xuchang to assist the emperor, then the restoration of the Han Dynasty would truly be within reach.

However, when he spoke of restoring the Han Dynasty, the expressions of the others became somewhat unnatural.

This topic was a bit sensitive, and Guo Jia didn't want to dwell on it any longer. He quickly said to Cao Cao, "Let's try to contact him first and see if he has any ill intentions or other opinions towards us. If not, let's try to communicate with him and persuade him to abandon the darkness and embrace the light."

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