Chapter 216 The battle for welcome and submission
Liu Bei frowned, and after hesitating for a moment, he said with some lack of confidence: "Preparation is fair, like a fish in water, what can't be said? Be prepared to taste the good medicine, the bitter taste is good for the disease, although prepared I'm stupid, but I know this truth. Please give me some advice."
Xun You was keenly aware that something was wrong, but he couldn't find it for a while.
So, he could only return to the topic and said: "Ming Gong, in your humble opinion, Ming Gong must not welcome the emperor."
Liu Bei was shocked at first, then puzzled, and finally Turn into confusion.
"Sir, why can't Bei welcome the emperor?"
"There are three reasons."
Liu Bei's reaction was much better than Xun You imagined.
Xun You was even worried that Liu Bei would be furious, but he felt deeply favored by Liu Bei and was overwhelmed by Liu Bei's kindness, so he was willing to risk his words. If it were Cao Cao's character, Xun You would not Remonstrate directly.
Of course, if Liu Bei refuses to accept the offer, Xun You will not force it.
But now it seems that Liu Bei is still very rational and calm, which makes Xun You's heart become a little hotter.
Liu Bei straightened his posture and said, "Sir, please speak."
Xun You straightened his body, first bowed his hands towards Liu Bei, and then began to explain: "For one thing, Xuzhou is a small place with few people. , Ming Gong took in so many refugees again, not only distributed clothing and rations for the winter, but also arranged for farming next year. Xuzhou's tax money and food have been used to the extreme, and it can no longer supply a court center. "
"Ming Gong, with the current central officials of the imperial court and the queens and wives beside the emperor, plus the male and female palace attendants, the consumption of these money and food is not a small amount."
Liu Bei After listening, his brows suddenly furrowed. This was not because he disliked what Xun You said was bad, but because what the other party said was too good.
Regarding Xuzhou's money and food, Liu Bei knew much better than Xun You.
At least Xun You didn't know how much food Liu Feng, a big boy, had secretly subsidized Liu Bei.
Right now, I just scolded my precious son away, and then turned around and asked him to get more money and food, in order to welcome the center of the imperial court.
Anyway, Liu Bei felt that he had no shame in doing this, and he didn't think that his eldest son would be so weak.
"Sir, your concerns are serious."
Liu Bei had to admit that Xun You's words were on point. The hundreds of officials at the center of the imperial court, including the three ministers and nine ministers, were all high-ranking officials who started with two thousand dan. This part alone was scary enough.
Even if there is no need to give a full salary now, it is still an unattainable figure, unless Liu Bei takes out all the seeds and rations for farming next year.
"Secondly, all the princes in the court are not virtuous ministers."
Xun You continued: "Ming Gong does not know something. I have seen these central officials in Chang'an in the past. , It's not that you are arrogant, it's just that although these ministers still retain their loyalty to the emperor, they have no way to govern the country and no good strategy to defeat the enemy. People, vicious people who attack and kill their colleagues."
Liu Bei was surprised and in disbelief.
But Xun You told him with certainty, even naming a few names.
Liu Bei had no choice but to believe it. Thinking back to what Jian Yong said when he came back, the entire Donggui team was torn apart. When united, they could often defeat the pursuers of Li Jue and Guo Si, but once they started fighting among themselves, It will be defeated immediately by the Xiliang rebels.
The same drama has been repeated three times.
So much so that when the emperor fled across the Yellow River in embarrassment, there was no one to escort him.
Fortunately, we bumped into Jian Yong and others, otherwise we don’t know what accident would have happened.
Because of this, the emperor was very generous to Jian Yong and others. Two eunuchs and a school captain were sent over with a wave of his hand.
After Liu Bei accepted the reality and believed that not all the people in the imperial court were honorable men, Xun You continued to speak: "Three Ming Gongs have just entered Xuzhou less than a year ago, and the foundation is not stable."
Xun You straightened up, looked at Liu Bei with eyes as calm as water, and asked a question that Liu Bei had never dared to think deeply about: "Ming Gong, if the emperor comes to Xuzhou, should the kings of Xuzhou be loyal to the emperor or to Ming Gong? "
"It is true that Ming Gong is loyal to the emperor, but if Ming Gong wants to achieve the cause of becoming a king, support the Han Dynasty and achieve immortal achievements, what can he do if he has no power in his hands? "
Liu Bei stayed on the spot in a daze. Xun You's words seemed to hit a yellow bell, reminding him of the days of struggling in Hebei.
At that time, he did not even have the power to lead troops independently. First, Shan Jing, then Tian Kai, and Liu Bei, who was dependent on others, did not even have the qualifications to independently plan a battle.
Therefore, he was particularly touched by Xun You's words, and he really resonated with them.
"Bei, thank you for your advice, sir."
Liu Bei stood up and bowed to Xun You to thank him. Such kind words could only be given by a virtuous and loyal minister, not to mention that the person who gave the words had also taken a certain risk. Liu Bei was grateful for Xun You's loyalty and fearlessness.
At this moment, the distance between Liu Bei and Xun You was greatly increased.
After all, both parties even said such outrageous words, so the relationship was naturally different.
Just when Liu Bei was thinking seriously about Xun You's advice, Guo Jia also came to see him.
Liu Bei naturally summoned Guo Jia immediately.
When the latter came to the court, he saw Xun You was there, but he didn't look surprised or confused at all. He had obviously expected it.
"Ming Gong, I think that the emperor must not welcome him!"
Not long after Guo Jia sat down, he began to give advice. His words were more radical and straightforward than Xun You's, and not inferior to those of Hao Daer.
But Liu Bei has a very high tolerance for scribes. Even his most precious third brother, after being insulted and humiliated by Liu Ba, he never thought of taking revenge on Liu Ba. Besides, they have such great eldest sons, and Xun You and the others laid the groundwork first. Liu Bei is not very angry now. He just asked calmly: "Why did Fengxiao say this?"
Seeing Liu Bei's calm and natural appearance Attitude, Guo Jia's eyes flashed with joy, and he cheered up and said: "Ming Gong, it is not Jia who is deceiving others. If Xuzhou welcomes the emperor, there will be three armies to attack. At that time, Xuzhou will be in danger, and the emperor will also fall. "The hand of a traitor."
Liu Bei looked a little ugly. Although he also knew that today's scholars like to make big words and deceive others, Xun You, Guo Jia, and Er Zhang were all pragmatists and never did this. Pass.
Therefore, Guo Jia’s remarks are very weighty.
Even if the other party is really deceiving others, Liu Bei must take it seriously.
Liu Bei therefore asked: "Fengxiao, why did three armies invade our Xuzhou?"
Guo Jia did not show off at all, and spit out the names of three people straightforwardly: "Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Yuan Shu . ”
Even though Liu Bei was in deep trouble, he couldn’t help but sweat on his forehead.
If these three people attack alone, Liu Bei will not defeat each other at all. If two people attack, Liu Bei will be in a difficult situation, but he is confident that he can retreat from the enemy and protect himself. But if the three of them attack together, then Liu Bei will really Somewhat desperate.
Because these three people are so complementary.
Cao Cao's weakness lies in his foundation. Although Yanzhou was a strong state in the world earlier, its population and output are now less than one-third of its peak period. Especially after a rebellion, almost all the grassroots troops were wiped out.
In order to collect taxes, Cao Cao even had to pinch his nose and continue to appoint the county magistrates and county heads who had just rebelled, as well as the waiters and pavilion chiefs below.
In addition, since the first year of Xingping, Yanzhou has been suffering from drought for two years. Cao Cao is a typical example of having soldiers but no food.
As long as there is enough food, Cao Cao can even pull out 100,000 people for you at one go, and among them there can be at least 30,000 to 40,000 elite troops.
He is honest now only because he has no food.
But Cao Cao has no food, but Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu have food.
Especially Yuan Shu. He had hoarded a lot of food in Huaisi. Not to mention that at this time in history, he had promised Lu Bu 300,000 shi of food so that Lu Bu could stab Liu Bei in the back. .
Besides, although Sun Ce went to Jiangdong, there are still Sun Xiang, Sun Ben and other generals of the Sun family in the north of Jiangbei. Although these generals of the Sun family are not as good as Sun Ce, they should not be underestimated.
Including Yuan Shao's 100,000 troops taking advantage of Yanzhou and Qingzhou to go south to the Central Plains, Xuzhou may not even have enough time to expand its army.
Guo Jia continued: "In the past in Luoyang, Dong Zhuo wanted to depose the young emperor and make him the emperor. Yuan Shao openly opposed it and even drew his sword in response. Later, although the Yuan family gave in and appointed Yuan Shao as the governor of Bohai, Yuan Wei agreed with Dong Zhuo's dethronement. However, Yuan Shao was deeply worried about being the emperor."
"After Dong Zhuo burned Luoyang and moved the emperor to Chang'an, Yuan Shao was very uneasy. He actually came up with the absurd idea of proclaiming Liu Yu as emperor. This strategy not only caused fierce opposition from Hebei people such as Tian Feng, Ju Sue, Shen Pei, etc., but also offended Liu Yu. "
"In order to establish Liu Yu as emperor, Yuan Shao even asked Han Fu to write a letter to Yuan Shu, slandering and slandering that the emperor was not the son of the late emperor, and declared that he should follow the example of Zhou Bo, Chen Ping, and Guan Ying in killing the young emperor Liu Hong and establishing the emperor Liu Heng."
"From this point of view, it is true that Yuan Shao and the emperor have a deep hatred."
"Ming Gong has a reputation of loyalty and benevolence, and he also has the virtue of respecting the emperor. If the emperor comes, Xuzhou, can Yuan Benchu sleep well from now on? ”
"Cao Yanzhou is shrewd, capable, cunning and resourceful. His subordinates, Xun Yu and Xun Wen Ruo, are loyal and talented actors, Cheng Yu and Cheng Zhongde. The first two are my old friends in Yingchuan. They are famous in the countryside for their wisdom, strategizing and far-sighted vision. Cheng Yu is in Yanzhou. He is also known for being good at strategy. "
"Does Duke Ming think that Duke Cao will sit back and watch Xuzhou serve the emperor in order to disobey him? Princes." The sweat on Liu Bei's forehead became more intense, and he couldn't help but explain: "Bei has never thought about holding the emperor hostage, and he is loyal..."
At this time, Xun You suddenly interrupted. He said: "Ming Gong, the important thing about this matter is not what you think, but what Yuan Benchu, Cao Mengde, Yuan Gongdao, and even Liu Zhengli and Liu Jingsheng think."
Liu Bei was immediately speechless.
He also knew that some things really couldn't be explained.
The more you explain, the more others will think you are guilty.
At this moment, the voice of a close servant came from outside the hall: "Please tell me, Ming Gong, please stay away from me, Zhi Zhongwai and ask for an audience."
"Please come quickly!"
< br>Liu Bei quickly stood up and said: "Bei should go out to greet you personally."
When walking out, Liu Bei secretly wiped his forehead, and one of his sleeves was soaked.
Of course it was impossible for Xun You and Guo Jia to sit in the hall together. They both stood up at the same time and followed Liu Bei to the hall to greet Er Zhang.
A moment later, Er Zhang, Xun You, and Guo Jia met again at the door of the back hall.
We turned a corner and got together again. No one was embarrassed. Xun You and Guo Jia politely asked the two to leave first, and then returned to the hall.
After all the scribes took their seats, Liu Bei asked sincerely: "Gentlemen, I had something to say in the hall earlier, but now I am in a mess. Please teach me, gentlemen."
Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong came together, and naturally they were doing something to welcome him.
The reason for withdrawing from the court before was because I felt that the matter was too important and I wanted to remove those who were not qualified.
Zhang Zhao first admonished Liu Bei: "Ming Gong, the emperor cannot welcome you, but you must not give it to Yuan Shao."
Zhang Hong was stroking his beard and nodding, obviously this was him The result after discussing with Zhang Zhao.
Liu Bei was also a little surprised. He did not expect that the four most useful scribes around him would all oppose welcoming the emperor to Xuzhou.
In fact, both Zhang's characters tend to be strong-willed, especially Zhang Zhao, who is fierce, courageous and has a strong character.
But in history, Zhang Zhaoye did indeed become the eldest brother, and no matter how hard he tried, he could never get rid of it.
But objectively speaking, the reason why Zhang Zhao became the eldest brother was that although on the surface he wanted to surrender to the Han but not to Cao, the underlying reason was because Cao Cao had already unified the north.
At that time, the South was just a small Kalami in front of the complete North.
The two prefectures of Jing and Yang together have a population less than half that of Henan. This does not include the four prefectures of Hebei and Guanzhong.
Zhang Zhao and other traditional gentry would naturally not rebel against the central government because the Sun family wanted to separate the region. Not to mention that Sun Quan's ability to hold water was too good, which made veterans like Zhang Zhao quite dissatisfied.
From the perspective of Zhang Zhao and others, we are here to help your Sun family at a critical moment, to help you appease the place and stabilize Jiangdong.
When Sun Ce died, we all fulfilled our duties faithfully and helped you, the young master, to secure the foundation of Jiangdong.
As a result, as soon as you were able to walk, you started playing balancing games, weakening our power.
This makes everyone feel uncomfortable.
But things are different now. Although the world is now a time of competition for dragons, there is no dominant family.
Even the strongest prince Yuan Shao is actually only based in Jizhou. Although he is stronger than Liu Bei, he is not completely invincible.
If nothing else, as long as Liu Bei captures Yangzhou before Yuan Shao can nominally unify Hebei as he did in history, he will have the capital to fight Yuan Shao.
If it can still capture part of Yuzhou, or even the entire territory of Yuzhou, its strength will surpass Yuan Shao.
Many people think that before the Battle of Guandu, Yuan Shao was the lord of Hebei and controlled the four states.
In fact, this perception is wrong.
Yuan Shao never really owned the four states of Hebei during his peak period. He only got this title in name.
To give the simplest example, Yuan Shao's rule over Qingzhou had the most profound influence only on the plain country north of the Yellow River, and on the south bank of the Yellow River, the three counties of Qi, Jinan, and Le'an. It's just average. As for Beihai and Donglai, they were never really occupied by the Yuan family.
Qingzhou looks like this, but among the four states in Hebei, except for Jizhou, the situation is already the best.
The entire Youzhou was torn into three parts, each belonging to its owner.
The entire territory of the four counties in Liaodong belonged to Gongsun Du, and more than one-third of it was gone.
The remaining seven counties were torn in half with the north and south as the dividing line.
The northern part was occupied by various ethnic minorities, including Xianbei, Wuhuan and other tribes, and was nominally dominated by Liu He and Xian Yufu, sons of Liu Yu.
To the south is the territory of Yuan Shao's second son, Yuan Xi. This area can only be stabilized by strong support. Later, in the battle between Yuan and Cao, Youzhou was in trouble, and Yuan Xi himself died at the hands of a local rebel general.
The worst thing is Bingzhou. A Bingzhou in Nuozhou has nine counties under its jurisdiction. But in fact, Yuan Shao’s nephew Gao Gan can only control Shangdang County and Taiyuan County on the edge of the Yellow River. . The other seven counties all fell into the hands of a few nomadic peoples such as the Southern Xiongnu, Xianbei, and Wuhuan.
Yuan Shao, the lord of Hebei, still had Jizhou as his biggest base. Only Jizhou could really spend money, food and troops on a large scale.
Xuzhou, which was run by Liu Bei with the help of Hao Daer, is prosperous and full of vitality. If he can have another three to five years to develop and then capture Yangzhou, it will be really worthwhile. Yuan Shao.
Even now, as long as Yuan Shao has not sincerely united with Cao Cao and Yuan Shu, Liu Bei will still be able to fight.
After all, if he really wants to challenge Yuan Shao in a one-on-one fight, he will not be able to draw out any strength from Youzhou in the north, and the same is true for Bingzhou. Only Yuan Tan from Qingzhou can help.
But Liu Bei also had allies in Qingzhou such as Kong Rong, Lu Bu, and Zhang Miao.
After Liu Bei thought about it for a moment, he asked: "Sir, if the emperor cannot welcome Xuzhou, how should the emperor be settled?"
"Ming Gong, when the emperor returns east this time, he wants to return the capital to Luoyang."
Zhang Hong said: "In that case, why don't Ming Gong follow the emperor's wish and try to squeeze out some manpower, money and food to repair the sacred capital for the emperor. I believe the emperor will be satisfied."
Zhang Hong's opinion moved Liu Bei a little.
If this is the case, it may not be a good strategy.
"Ming Gong, although Zigang's opinion is reasonable, it is not in line with the interests of our state. Zhao has some ideas, and I would like to ask Ming Gong to consider it."
Zhang Zhao spoke, first agreeing with Zhang Hong's idea, and then adding Proposed fine-tuning: "Zhao thought that instead of repairing the sacred capital, it would be more beneficial for the emperor to settle in Yingchuan."
Liu Bei silently recalled the location of Yingchuan County and found that this place was indeed good.
Luoyang's words are quite beyond Xuzhou's reach.
Yuan Shao only needs to go to Hanoi County, and then cross the Yellow River from Mengjin to reach the foot of Luoyang City.
It is very convenient for Cao Cao to go to Luoyang. He only needs to go west along the Yellow River.
Only Liu Bei wanted to go to Luoyang. The journey was far away and he was controlled by others.
But if the emperor is placed in Yingchuan, not only will he be further away from Yuan Shao, but he will be closer to Xuzhou.
The most important thing is that, believing in this proposal, Cao Cao should support himself.
Although Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong have different opinions, their starting point is from Liu Bei's perspective.
The reason for such a change is inseparable from the situation.
The current Erzhang is only thirty or forty years old, and he is still in the prime of his life as an official.
At the time of the Battle of Chibi, Zhang Hong was already dead, and Zhang Zhao was already over fifty years old. He was also being squeezed and suppressed by Sun Quan. How could Zhang Zhao still support a deadly battle?
Different ambitions, different situations, and different relationships between monarch and ministers also determine that their choices are different, even polar opposites.
In this case, Er Zhang's attitude is naturally different from that in the Jiangdong period.
(End of this chapter)