Chapter 102: Changes in Xuzhou

Liu Bei was now in a dilemma.

When Cao Cao attacked Xu Province, he was ordered by Tian Kai to rescue Tao Qian. Later, when Cao Cao's supplies ran out and he retreated, Tian Kai led his troops back to Qing Province, but Liu Bei stayed in Xu Province from then on.

The reasons for this were quite complex. After that, Xu Province was relatively stable for more than half a year, but now Xu Province was about to be without a master.

Tao Qian was seriously ill.

If Liu Bei left Xu Province at this time and went north to rescue Tian Kai, then Xu Province would be empty, and Cao Cao might take the opportunity to attack Xu Province again and plunder food and grass.

Moreover, if Tao Qian died at this time, Xu Province would surely be in chaos. By the time Liu Bei returned, it would be too late. Who knew who would be the master of Xu Province then?

In a corner of Tancheng, the administrative seat of Xu Province, there was an extremely luxurious and vast mansion, which looked even more extravagant than the Zhen family mansion in Ye City.

The Mi family.

At that time, under Tao Qian's rule, Xu Province's commerce and agriculture were extremely developed, the granaries were abundant, and the trade routes were smooth. Many people were devout Buddhists, and the Buddhist temples built were extremely luxurious. Tao Qian himself was an extremely fanatical Buddhist.

(Tao) Qian, a fellow from the same commandery, Zhai Rong, gathered hundreds of people and went to rely on Qian. Qian ordered him to supervise the transportation of grain from Guangling, Xiapi, and Pengcheng, and then cut off the supply from the three commanderies. He built a large floating slaughter temple, with golden plates stacked on top and multi-story buildings below, surrounded by halls and pavilions that could accommodate more than 3,000 people, and made golden painted statues, decorated with brocade colors. Every time he bathed the Buddha, he would set up many banquets and set up seats on the road. There were more than 10,000 people who came to eat and watch. — "Book of the Later Han Dynasty·Biography of Tao Qian"

However, after Cao Cao's two attacks on Xu Province, the population plummeted, and agriculture and commerce suffered great damage. Even the Mi family was greatly affected.

Among the gentry clans, it was rumored in private that Cao Cao was so hostile to Xu Province, on the one hand, because he coveted the wealth of Xu Province, and on the other hand, because Cao Cao had a secret identity in Taoism, so he could easily subdue the Qingzhou soldiers who were formerly the Yellow Turbans.

Because of this identity, Cao Cao was so hostile to Xu Province, which widely promoted Buddhism, and wanted to destroy it quickly.

Of course, this was just a rumor. As for the truth, like Cao Cao's background, it was difficult to be discovered.

Deep in the Mi family mansion, in the guest room, several people were sitting opposite each other.

In the seat of honor, was Liu Bei, with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei standing close behind him.

Sitting opposite Liu Bei was Chen Deng, the Agricultural Commandant.

And in the main seat was Mi Zhu, Tao Qian's Chief Clerk.

Mi Zhu was about the same age as Liu Bei at this time, both in their thirties, with a kind and refined appearance. He cupped his hands towards Liu Bei from afar.

"Lord Xuande!"

"The Governor is seriously ill, a decision should be made as soon as possible, or there will be chaos!"

Liu Bei hesitated and said, "Although Lord Gongzu is ill, he may have good fortune. I now want to lead troops to rescue Tian Kai. If all goes well, I can return in a few months."

Even Chen Deng couldn't listen to this any longer, and shouted, "Lord Xuande, it will be too late then!"

Liu Bei hesitated and said, "The two gentlemen are enough to take care of Xu Province's affairs. What use is it for me to stay here?"

Chen Deng said angrily, "We are all civil officials!"

"If the Governor dies, then whoever has the soldiers has the say!"

Chen Deng secretly slandered, Liu Bei was so cautious and hesitant, in a place like Xu Province, which was a battleground for all, he was probably not a long-term master.

Mi Zhu also nodded and said, "The generals under Governor Tao are all surrendered Yellow Turbans, and they are cruel in their actions. If the Governor dies, both Yuanlong (Chen Deng) and I will not be able to protect our lives."

He thought to himself that only Tao Qian and Liu Bei could suppress those surrendered generals. If Liu Bei left, those generals would be out of control. At that time, not to mention his own life, the entire Mi family would be in danger.

In any case, he had to persuade Liu Bei today.

He opened his mouth and said, "I have a younger sister, Mi Zhen. If Lord Xuande is interested, I would like to marry her to you. Is that possible?"

Liu Bei listened, hesitated for a moment, and shook his head, saying, "I already have a wife. How can your younger sister's status be wronged as a concubine? There is no need to mention this matter again."

Chen Deng felt a little hungry, picked up a few slices of fish sashimi from the plate in front of him, dipped them in soy sauce, put them in his mouth, tasted them carefully for a few breaths, and then swallowed them.

Mi Zhu knew that Chen Deng liked fish sashimi, so he always prepared several plates of fresh fish sashimi for him every time he came.

Chen Deng ate a few more slices before putting down the jade chopsticks with satisfaction, "Lord Xuande, those who accomplish great things do not stick to trivial matters."

"In my opinion, you should quickly meet Governor Tao, tell him that the generals of Xu Province have rebellious intentions, and take the military seal from the Governor's hand to control Xu Province in advance!"

Liu Bei was stunned, "Isn't this slander?"

Chen Deng said angrily, "What time is it already? It will be too late if others act first!"

He picked up the jade chopsticks again and picked up a slice of fish sashimi.

Zhang Fei shouted loudly, "Brother! What the gentleman said is right, let's do it!"

Chen Deng had just put the fish sashimi in his mouth when he was almost choked by the shout. He sat up straight and thought to himself, can you not be so startling? Why is your voice always so loud?

Seeing that Liu Bei was still hesitant, Chen Deng sighed, "Lord Xuande, have you ever thought about where you will go in the future?"

Liu Bei listened and bowed, "Please enlighten me, Lord Yuanlong."

Chen Deng immediately said, "The previous situation was a situation where two emperors stood side by side, but after Liu Yu's death, the situation in the world has begun to get out of control."

One of the two emperors was the current Han Emperor Liu Xie, who was supported by the Guanzhong army.

Dong Zhuo, the leader of the Guanzhong army, was already dead. The remaining people of General of Chariots and Cavalry Li Jue, General of the Right Fan Chou, General of the Rear Guo Si, General of Propaganda Jia Xu, and General of Pacification Dong Cheng, were still coercing the Han Emperor.

And the Guandong Allied Army, led by Yuan Shao, supported Liu Yu, the Governor of You Province.

At that time, Yuan Shao and others felt that Liu Xie had been coerced by the Guanzhong army and was not worthy to be the Emperor, so they recommended Liu Yu to be the Emperor.

"The Daily Life of Emperor Xian"— General of the Army, Marquis of Ye, Yuan Shao, and former Governor of Ji Province, Han Fu, established the former Grand Commandant Liu Yu, carved a golden seal, and sent the former Chief Ren Chang Bi Yu to Yu, to explain the number of edicts.

Therefore, the Guandong Army, led by Yuan Shao, openly supported Liu Yu as Emperor at the Suanzao Alliance. The princes who participated in the support included Yuan Shao, Han Fu, Zhang Miao, Liu Dai, Qiao Mao, Zang Hong, and Zhang Chao.

As for Cao Cao, he was not in this core circle at that time.

Although Liu Yu did not agree later, he had always maintained an alliance relationship with the Guandong Allied Army.

The Guanzhong army, which coerced Liu Xie, in order to resist this situation, bribed Gongsun Zan to attack Yuan Shao and others south, which was the cause of the Four Provinces Rebellion.

But Gongsun Zan also ate from both sides, he secretly colluded with Yuan Shu.

At the Suanzao Alliance, there were four people who did not appear, Yuan Shu, Gongsun Zan, Tao Qian, and Liu Bei.

They formed a circle led by Yuan Shu, first launching Que Xuan, who called himself the Son of Heaven, to test the waters. Finding that the situation was not right, Tao Qian decisively killed him.

During this period, Gongsun Zan killed Liu Yu, who personally went to battle, causing Yuan Shao and others' plan to support him to fail, and the hope of supporting a new Emperor to fall through.

The ultimate goal of Yuan Shu's faction was to establish himself as Emperor, and Que Xuan was the one Yuan Shu asked Tao Qian to launch to test the world.

Liu Bei had been kept in the dark at first, until recently, under the hints of Chen Deng and others, he realized what was going on.

He had been used by others and had become a Han traitor!

Chen Deng was extremely loyal to the Han Dynasty. The sentence he said just now was hinting at Liu Bei.

What exactly do you want to do?

Although Liu Bei, Chen Deng, and Mi Zhu were all subordinates of Tao Qian, they privately formed a small circle. Their goals were not entirely the same as Tao Qian, who was attached to Yuan Shu.

What they were planning now was how to obtain Xu Province.

The relationship between people at the end of the Han Dynasty was so complex.

Liu Bei lowered his head, feeling extremely conflicted in his heart.

Mi Zhu finally spoke, "Lord Xuande, if you hesitate any longer, we will all die."

Liu Bei murmured, "But Lord Gongzu has treated me well…"

Chen Deng snorted coldly, "I know better than Lord Xuande what kind of person the Governor is."

"He is running out of time, does he still want to drag the people of Xu Province to be buried with him?"

"If Yuan Shu proclaims himself Emperor in the future, can Lord Xuande be worthy of the ancestors of the Han Dynasty, and even the people of the world?"

Liu Bei suddenly raised his head, "Thank you for your guidance, Lord Yuanlong!"

He stood up abruptly and said to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, "Gather the troops and follow me to see Governor Tao!"

Chen Deng and Mi Zhu looked at each other, overjoyed.

In a small courtyard in a corner of the Mi family, there was a young girl with jade-like skin and a beautiful appearance, listening to the noise in the mansion with a worried expression, and asked the maid to open the courtyard door to see what was going on.

As a result, the scene in front of her surprised her greatly. Many of the Mi family's servants were holding torches and wearing thick leather clothes, surrounded by several layers of bamboo strips.

At that time, privately hiding armor was a capital crime, but this kind of substitute could get away with it and could play a significant protective role.

A young man led people past, saw the girl coming out, and shouted, "Little sister, go back quickly."

The girl was Mi Zhen. She asked worriedly, "Brother Mifang, where are you going?"

The young man was Mi Zhu's younger brother, Mi Fang, who usually loved Mi Zhen the most. He pushed Mi Zhen back to the small courtyard and said, "You don't have to worry about it. No matter what happens outside, don't come out."

"If I don't come back tonight, take people away from the Mi mansion early in the morning."

Mi Zhen listened and said quietly, "If brother doesn't come back, how will I have a chance to escape?"

Mi Fang listened and smiled dumbly, "Zhenmei is right, rest assured and wait for me to come back."

At this time, Mi Zhen saw a burly man with a face like a heavy jujube coming over and greeting the servants to go out. However, he glanced at her when he passed by.

Seeing this, Mi Fang was unhappy and shouted, "What are you looking at!"

He knew that this burly man was Liu Bei's guard, who followed behind Liu Bei all day long. Obviously, his status was low, which made Mi Fang, who came from a wealthy family, quite despise him.

Guan Yu's face turned cold. He had lived a very down-and-out life and knew the suffering of the people, so he was quite arrogant towards the gentry and merchants.

Now that he saw Mi Fang being rude, the long saber in his hand suddenly slashed out!

Mi Fang saw the saber wind reaching his neck and was so frightened that his soul flew away. He fell to the ground.

After a long while, he came back to his senses, touched his neck in shock, and found that he was not injured. When he angrily raised his head, Guan Yu had already left.

Mi Fang had nowhere to vent his anger, so he had to stand up cursing, settle Mi Zhen, and take the servants out of the mansion.

In the dark night, fire dragons composed of torches twisted and meandered towards the Governor's Mansion.

That night, Tao Qian passed the position of Governor of Xu Province to Liu Bei.

He died of illness a few days later.

At this time, in Ye City, Yuan Xi and Zhang He had already gathered two thousand troops and were preparing to leave the city.

Accompanying them were also thousands of carts of supplies and tens of thousands of laborers.

Yuan Xi's trip was to transport grain and meet Yuan Tan in Pingyuan.

He and Zhang He led the soldiers, starting from the north gate of Ye City, and went north all the way, followed by a mighty convoy like ants.

The front of the team had been out of the city for two hours, and the supply carts at the end of the team had not yet left the gate of Ye City.