Chapter 167 Return to Tancheng
Once Liu Bei steps down, any position Liu Bei holds will be meaningless, not to mention that Guangling is right next to Yuan Shu's army. Once Yuan Shu invades, the first thing to do is to take the Guangling sacrificial knife.
In Zhuge Xuan's mind, Yuan Shu was Liu Biao's mortal enemy. If he went to Guangling to be a county guard, all old and new grudges would be settled, and Yuan Shu would have to peel off his skin.
Zhuge Xuan didn’t say anything, but he still felt a little regretful in his heart.
If I had known that Liu Bei was so good at fighting, if he had accepted the offer, he would now be a genuine two-thousand-stone county guard.
Now after listening to Liu Xian's advice, Zhuge Xuan's mind became more active.
At this time, Zhuge Liang actually took the initiative to speak: "Uncle, mother and sisters are also frightened. It is really not suitable to go on the road for a while. Besides, uncle's injury needs to be treated by a famous doctor." 2. "
Liu Feng was a little surprised and glanced at Zhuge Liang. He looked calm and composed, with a touch of worry on his face, obviously caring about Zhuge Xuan's body.
But Liu Feng always felt that Zhuge Liang's words had a deeper meaning, and he didn't know if it was his own psychological influence.
Then, Zhuge Jin also agreed with his brother's words and hoped that Zhuge Xuan could return to Tancheng to recuperate.
Since the son of the Zhou Mu family, his former colleagues in Jingzhou, and his own nephew had all persuaded him, Zhuge Xuan finally decided to listen to everyone's opinions and return to Tancheng to recuperate.
In this way, everyone is happy.
Subsequently, Zhuge Xuan signaled to brothers Zhuge Jin and Zhuge Liang, and they sent gifts to Liu Feng and Liu Xian when they sent them off.
Liu Feng accepted the gift and returned to the car with Liu Xian.
The Zhuge family took a lot of valuables with them when they went south this time.
Faced with Liu Feng's life-saving grace, the Zhuge family was naturally very grateful and prepared generous gifts, including goods worth 150,000 yuan.
Liu Feng directly divided the goods into three parts. Dong Xi and Gan Ning were each rewarded with 50,000 yuan. The remaining 50,000 yuan was awarded to the soldiers who participated in the battle yesterday, but he did not keep any money.
Xu Shao, Xun You, Liu Xian and Tengzhou were the first to receive the news and looked at each other.
Xu Shao suddenly sighed and said: "Liu Xuande was born in the north and has a reputation for benevolence. I didn't expect that his son would be able to excel."
Teng Zhou was also shocked: "One hundred and fifty thousand Giving away all the wealth to the soldiers and generals without even looking at it is too lenient to the soldiers. Although it can win the soldiers' service, it will be difficult to sustain their greed. "
Xu Shao nodded in agreement: "That's true. When I see Liu Feng's actions, his soldiers are rarely surprised. It can be seen that he is always rewarded. Although the Xuzhou army has good combat power, it also hides this hidden worry."< br>
Xun You was also surprised by Liu Feng's generosity, but compared with Xu Shao and Teng Zhou, he felt that Liu Feng did a good job.
In Xun You's view, the former Han Dynasty clearly rewarded and raised troops. Even in this dynasty, the Central and Southern Army's treatment was extremely generous.
It’s just that the central government was afraid of local disunity, so it canceled the establishment of county soldiers. Now, county soldiers have been restored in various places, but the treatment of county soldiers has not been restored. There are even some nobles who feel that giving soldiers monthly salary will reduce it. The combat effectiveness of the army.
It is also called letting soldiers fight for money, but how to fight for benevolence and righteousness?
This is just outrageously stupid.
On the way, I heard that the scholars under Liu Yao talked about the Xuzhou Army and highly praised its combat effectiveness.
This made Xun You very curious.
Liu Xian's views are more similar to Xu Shao's. Taxes, money and food in various places have dropped to a low point, but the number of soldiers has become larger and larger.
When Liu Biao first entered Jingzhou, he recruited the troops of the clan traitors, plus the troops of the Cai family, the Kuai family, and the Huang family, adding up to a total of only 20,000 to 30,000 troops.
But now it has swelled to 70,000.
Even if each soldier is given 100 yuan a month, it will cost an additional 70 to 80 million yuan a year. How can we support it?
Taking Xuzhou as an example, Xuzhou had a population of more than 2.8 million at its peak, and the per capita income was less than 400 million. Of this money, only more than 100 million could actually be sent to the state capital. It was probably only enough to give 70,000 soldiers 200 yuan a month.
The purchasing power of two hundred dollars can only buy corn within one stone.
If you want to rely on this to support your family, you will have to starve to death.
This is also the fundamental reason why the social status of warriors and soldiers has plummeted.
After all, in the Western Han Dynasty, even the soldiers of the prefecture and country had to be from good families to be recruited.
Xun You was also curious about where Liu Feng's money for raising troops came from, and whether Liu Bei's subordinates all raised troops in this way.
During the next journey, Liu Feng often visited Zhuge Xuan. When he stayed on the ship, he also often visited Xu Shao, Xun You and others.
In the remaining time, I patrolled the soldiers with Gan Ning and Dong Xi.
Everywhere he went, Liu Feng could always chat with his soldiers without any pretense, treating them equally regardless of whether they were soldiers from Xuzhou or troops brought by Gan Ning.
Sometimes bold soldiers made some requests. As long as these requests were reasonable and reasonable, Liu Feng would immediately approve them and make formal adjustments as a routine.
Not long after, Liu Feng won the hearts of Dong Xi, Gan Ning and his soldiers. The latter were all attracted by Liu Feng and were willing to serve him.
Take the water route is much more convenient than the land route. After leaving Sheyang Lake, go up the Huai River, turn into Surabaya, pass through Xiapi, then turn into Yishui and go north to reach Tancheng.
At this time, Cao Bao had arrived at Xiapi and assumed the post of Prime Minister of Xiapi.
Therefore, when Liu Feng passed by Xiapi, he stayed for a day and got off the boat to visit Cao Bao.
Cao Bao was immediately overjoyed, hosted a banquet in honor of Liu Feng, and wanted to persuade him to stay for a few more days.
When he learned that Liu Feng had something else to do and delayed his visit for a day, Cao Bao was both surprised and regretful.
Later, Cao Bao personally put Liu Feng on the ship and gave him a generous gift, and then watched Liu Feng continue his return north.
Originally Liu Feng wanted to visit Chen Gui, but Chen Gui was not in Xiapi and had been invited to Tancheng by Liu Bei, so he gave up.
Chen Yu and Chen Cong were both in Xiapi, but Liu Feng had never had any friendship with them, so it was not easy to visit them rashly.
Moreover, Liu Feng had no right to grant what Chen Yu and Chen Cong wanted now. Even if they met, it would not help. He simply disappeared. He just asked Cao Bao to send a gift on his behalf to express his feelings. .
Soon, the walls of Tancheng appeared in the distance.
Xu Shao and others walked out of the cabin and came to the wooden platform to look out.
Liu Feng smiled and said to Xu Shao: "Master General, there is an old friend of yours in Tancheng."
Xu Shao was a little surprised. It wasn't that he didn't remember the old friend, but he was surprised that Liu Feng even knew about it.
In the past, Xu Qiu succeeded Yang Qi and became the prefect of Runan in the sixth year of Zhongping. He stayed there for five full years until he resigned and left Runan in the fourth year of Chuping.
After Xu Wei became the prefect of Runan, he immediately regarded Xu Shao as his meritorious officer. He could be said to obey his words and the whole atmosphere of Runan County became clear.
Therefore, when Xu Qiu resigned from office and returned to Xuzhou for refuge, Xu Shao directly chose to run away with Xu Qiu and went to Xuzhou together.
After arriving in Xuzhou, Xu Qiu lived idle in Tancheng, while Xu Shao saw that Tao Qian had ill intentions towards the Runan people, so he continued south and went to Jiangdong to join Liu Yao.
Later results proved that Xu Shao had a good vision. The Runan people who stayed in Xuzhou were indeed treated badly by Tao Qian.
The relationship between Xu Shao and Xu Qiu is quite good, otherwise they would not have given up their official positions and followed Xu Qiu to Xuzhou.
Besides, Xu Qiu is still his old master, so Xu Shao has to care about him both emotionally and rationally.
So, Xu Shao asked: "We said goodbye in the past, and we haven't seen each other for two years. Is Meng Yugong still well?"
Liu Feng replied: "In the past, Cao Cao conquered Xuzhou, and Donghai Prime Minister Liu Kui died in the battle. Tao Gong then recommended Meng Yugong as the Prime Minister of the East China Sea. Later, Tao Gong was ill and entrusted Xuzhou to my father. Meng Yugong is still the Prime Minister of the East China Sea and is also in Tancheng."
After hearing this, Xu Shao was immediately overjoyed: "Great goodness, if that's the case, Shao can pay homage to Meng Yugong."
Xu Shao was thinking about going to pay homage to Xu Wei after entering the city.
Unexpectedly, Xu Xuan followed Liu Bei and waited for everyone on the dock.
As soon as they got off the boat, they saw Liu Bei leading Xu Qiu, Mi Zhu, Liu Ye, Jian Yong, Sun Qian, Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, Tian Yu and others waiting on the Tancheng pier.
After Liu Bei returned to Tancheng and received news that Liu Feng had captured Guangling, Jiangdu and other counties and completely recovered Guangling, he ordered Guan Yu to withdraw from Dongcheng and Tian Yu to withdraw from Gaoyou, leaving only five hundred Xiapijun soldiers were stationed in Dongcheng.
Dongcheng is not big, and it should actually belong to Jiujiang County, both geographically and historically. It was just because of the practice of the Eastern Han Dynasty that it was assigned to Xuzhou, which was equivalent to being left alone.
For this reason, although there are waterways in Dongcheng, they are not connected to the Huai River. For small-scale troops, it is still possible to raise food from Huailing County, but once there are more troops, it will be difficult to rely solely on The power of Huailing County and Dongcheng County is absolutely too much for them.
So when Liu Bei saw that the battle in Guangling was over, Liu Bei quickly asked Guan Yu to withdraw with the main force, leaving a thousand county soldiers behind. This was also because the location of the east city was critical and he did not want to give the east city to Yuan Shu for nothing.
Guan Yu and Tian Yu received the order more than a month earlier than Liu Feng, and they did not have many troops. They quickly withdrew to Tancheng. Today, this Neng appeared on the dock.
As for Lu Su, he was also dismissed from the post of Dongcheng County Magistrate and was transferred back to Tancheng to continue to be in charge of farming affairs.
Lu Su was inspecting Xiangben at this time. The summer harvest had just been completed and he needed to dry the grain and put it into storage as soon as possible. At the same time, he also had to organize the upcoming autumn sowing. If crops like soybeans are planted in July and August, they can be harvested again in November.
Liu Bei led Xu Xuan and others to greet him. The majestic shepherd of the state actually took the initiative to salute Xu Shao first: "I have heard about the name of the general for a long time, and I can finally see him today. It comforts Bei. "My whole life."
Xu Shao didn't care much, and hurriedly returned the courtesy: "Ming Gong was born in the north, he was chivalrous and virtuous, righteous and benevolent. In the past, Shao Shao once questioned Kong Wen's reputation, but now I can see him. I know what he said is not an exaggeration.”
Liu Bei kept being humble, looking ashamed.
Later, Xu Shao went to Xu Zhuan again and paid homage: "Ming Gong, I haven't seen you for many years. Your complexion is as good as before. Shao Shao is relieved."
Xu Wei laughed loudly: "Uncle Fang Yu Xuzhou has warded off foreign enemies, promoted benevolence and righteousness, revitalized the people, and valued wise men. Xuzhou has turned the crisis into peace, unified it, and prospered day by day. How can I not be good? "
Xu Qiu was quite satisfied with Liu Bei at this time, Tao Qian? He went on a military rampage and looted the place, but Liu Bei stopped fighting, squeezed out food, gathered the displaced people, and built villages for his people.
Tao Qian persecuted celebrities, alienated Zhao Yu, arrested Lu Fan, and bullied sages such as Shi Jianyuan and Xiang Zhonghua. However, Liu Bei respected his teachers, respected the virtuous, and failed to recruit sages. Not only was he not like Tao Qian arrested people and imprisoned them like that, but instead reflected on his own lack of moral character, which really made Xu Qiu very fond of him.
Now that Liu Bei has restored the entire territory of Xuzhou and unified Xuzhou, Xu Qiu, as a Xuzhou native, is naturally very happy.
Now seeing an old official like Xu Shao again, Xu Xuan couldn't help but feel the desire to show off.
Xu Shao was talking to Xu Qiu, while Liu Bei was talking to Liu Xian and Xun You.
After learning Xun You's identity, Liu Bei was immediately overjoyed. He held Xun You's hand and expressed his feelings, expressing his love for the virtuous.
Then he woke up and apologized to Liu Xian again.
Liu Bei's actions not only did not have any sense of hypocrisy, but also gave people a feeling of sincerity, and his words and deeds were not fake.
Even Mr. Liu did not feel left out. Instead, he had a lot of affection for Liu Bei. He only felt that the ambassador Liu of Xuzhou was really kind and valued the virtuous.
Inadvertently, Liu Xian secretly compared his family leader, Liu Biao, with Liu Bei.
Liu Xian regretfully discovered that although both of them had a reputation of being courteous and valuing the virtuous, his master was somewhat lacking in performance and was not as pure as Xuzhou Shijun Liu.
Hearing that Zhuge Xuan was also in the fleet and had been injured by an arrow, Liu Bei was shocked and quickly apologized to Zhuge Jin, who represented the Zhuge family, saying that there were such water bandits in Xuzhou who besieged celebrities. The problem was due to his ineffective governance.
Zhuge Jin did not agree and hurriedly expressed his gratitude to Liu Bei.
Immediately afterwards, Liu Bei immediately sent people to prepare the house, invited Zhuge's family to stay, and said that he would visit Zhuge Xuan's house in person in the future.
Zhuge Jin quickly thanked Liu Bei.
After settling down the Zhuge family, under Liu Bei's warm invitation, four people including Xu Shao, Liu Xian, Tengzhou, and Xun You were invited by him to get into the car and drive with him.
Fortunately, Liu Bei's bicycle frame is not small, otherwise it would not be able to seat five people.
Liu Feng stood outside and did not join in the fun.
While Liu Bei was at his best, he went to greet Guan and Zhang, and then greeted Mi Zhu, Jian Yong, Liu Ye and others.
Guan and Zhang are now completely satisfied with Liu Feng, and they only feel that their eldest brother has a successor.
Mi Zhu, Jian Yong, Liu Ye and others are also very optimistic about Liu Feng. This is also the guarantee for their future, so naturally they all respond in kind.
Dong Xi and Gan Ning followed Liu Feng and were introduced to everyone in the Xuzhou Center by Liu Feng.
Dong Xi was eight feet tall and almost caught up with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.
This figure naturally aroused Guan and Zhang's curiosity.
Dong Xi has a steady and humble character, but also has courage. He can be said to be neither humble nor overbearing, which made Guan Yu and Zhang Fei develop a good impression.
Although Gan Ning has a violent and impetuous personality, he is not arrogant. Moreover, under Liu Feng, he feels like he is leaping over a dragon's gate. He feels like all the shackles in his body have been broken and he has been reborn.
Therefore, the two important generals of Xuzhou, Guan and Zhang, can also be treated with courtesy.
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei had a good impression of Dong and Gan at first. After hearing what happened along the way, especially the battle at Sheyang Lake, Dong Xi commanded the warship to sweep away the bandits, and Gan Ning I am also happy that the Xuzhou Army has gained two more powerful generals.
That night, Liu Bei hosted a banquet for several envoys, and the guests enjoyed themselves.
Liu Fengze hurriedly went to pay his respects to his grandmother and mother-in-law Tian. This time he left Tancheng and went to Guangling. He had been there for nearly two months. This was the first time he had been away for so long.
Grandma and Tian didn't care about many things and just pulled Liu Feng and refused to let him go. In the end, Liu Feng had no choice but to stay and accompany his two close relatives.
Early the next morning, Liu Bei sent someone to summon him.
After Liu Feng passed by, he learned that Liu Bei had not gotten up yet and planned to meet him on the couch, apparently to have a secret chat between father and son.
Sure enough, after entering the room, Liu Feng found that Guan and Zhang were not in the room either, and had already left for the army.
When he saw Liu Feng, Liu Bei was sitting on the bed.
"Feng'er, come here."
It was already summer, and the room was a little stuffy. In order to chat secretly, Liu Bei specifically asked his attendant not to open the window, but there was still Be illuminated by the light of fire and candles.
Hearing this, Liu Feng walked to the seat in front of Liu Bei and sat down, respectfully greeting Liu Bei.
Liu Bei looked Liu Feng up and down, his eyes filled with the feeling of licking a calf, and after a moment he said seriously: "We haven't seen you for two months, but my son seems to have grown a lot taller."
A warm current rose in Liu Feng's heart. , he really didn’t expect Liu Bei’s first words to be about his height.
It was precisely this concern that moved Liu Feng very much.
So, the moved Liu Feng also sweetened his words: "Father, you haven't changed at all, you are still so young."
"Hahaha."
Liu Bei laughed. The feeling of being flattered by his son was indeed different. Especially when his son was so outstanding, it was really refreshing.
Liu Bei was obviously happy in his heart, but after he finished laughing, he pretended to say: "As a father, I am almost confused. I am still young. I can't even say flattery. It's too hypocritical."
Liu Feng said he was addicted, and joked: "My father hopes to live a long life. Even if he reaches a certain age in a few years, it will only be less than halfway. How can he not be young?"
You must know the future generations where Liu Feng came from. He is still a young man at the age of sixty. Liu Bei is only thirty-six, a proper young man.
"Okay, the joke ends here. My father has called you here to discuss important matters."
Liu Bei actually enjoyed the tender father-son relationship with Liu Feng, but there were more important things on his mind and he had to get to the point.
Liu Feng respectfully waited for Liu Bei's follow-up.
Liu Bei pondered for a moment and said: "When my father went to Yuzhou before, you said at that time that although Yuzhou is good, Xuzhou does not have enough troops. My father was a little unconcerned at the time, but looking at it now , indeed you have a longer-term vision."
Seeing Liu Feng want to be humble, Liu Bei reached out to stop him, and continued: "Now that Duke Chen of Lu has agreed to become the father of the alliance, he can also serve as the prime minister of the city. Xuan Gao took over, and the governor of Yuzhou, Guo Gong, resolved the rift with his father and was willing to serve the court together. "
Liu Bei said it nicely, but everyone understands the truth.
Chen Yi has become Liu Bei's vassal, Zang Ba is Liu Bei's direct subordinate, and Guo Gong is willing to be an ally. In fact, he is actually a vassal with a higher status than Chen Yi.
Xuzhou's power will naturally increase as a result, but accordingly, its responsibilities will also become much greater.
(End of this chapter)