Chapter 255 Liu Bei’s Hidden Danger

Chapter 255 Liu Bei’s Hidden Danger

When Lu Su entered the room, Liu Feng had already walked out of the room.

"Mr. Zijing, I apologize for missing you from afar."

Liu Feng bowed politely, and then introduced Lu Su into the banquet.

“I have taken the liberty to visit and disturb Zhengnan’s rest.”

Lu Su quietly changed his title to Liu Feng at this time, which also meant that he regarded Liu Feng as his lord.

Liu Feng's strength and the special relationship between him and Liu Bei allowed the Xuzhou Army to form a unique two-yuan monarchy system, and it was different from the ordinary two-yuan monarchy system. There is less meta-antagonism and more integration.

This is because Liu Feng participated in most of the famous ministers and generals, and even actively recruited them.

Liu Bei, who has a higher status, has some successes based on people.

In addition, Liu Feng is not only Liu Bei's eldest son, but also his only legitimate son, and his performance is extremely outstanding. It is impossible for even Liu Bei himself to change his heir.

"It's okay."

Liu Feng said with a smile: "I haven't seen Mr. Zijing for a long time, so it's a good time to catch up today."

After Lu Su sat down, Liu Feng ordered someone to come up again Had tea soup.

Then the room fell into silence.

Lu Su seemed to be thinking about how to speak. Liu Feng was a little surprised, but he did not disturb the other party.

After a while, Lu Su raised his head again and looked at Liu Feng: "Conquering the south, now my Xuzhou seems to be prosperous, conquering the south and north, conquering everything, expanding the territory thousands of miles, showing kindness and power to the five states. But there are hidden worries inside, and Su is deeply worried."

Liu Feng's face straightened. Although he didn't understand what Lu Su wanted to say, he knew what Lu Su wanted to ask just from the beginning. , at least in his own opinion, it is quite serious.

Liu Feng immediately replied: "I wonder what worries I, Xuzhou, have that make you so worried, please teach me."

"My worries lie with the Lord!"

Lu Su really made a surprising statement this time. This answer really shocked Liu Feng.

On Liu Bei?

What’s wrong with Liu Bei?

If he felt a little leisurely and condescending just now, Liu Feng is really nervous now.

"Sir, why did you say this?"

Liu Feng's voice became obviously a little more urgent: "Sir, please speak clearly."

Seeing that Lu Su had successfully attracted Liu Feng's attention, he immediately continued: "Sir, my lord's foundation started in Xuzhou, but now he has conquered Donglai and Beihai in the north, Rencheng in the west, Lu and Pei, and even won the emperor. According to the imperial edict, the commander-in-chief is responsible for the affairs of the three states of Xu, Yu, and Yang. He can go south to the east of the Yangtze River and raid Huaiyang." "Huge accumulation."

At this point, Lu Su showed a puzzled look: "It can be seen that the Lord has a peaceful heart and is unwilling to enter into the current big fight. In this world, the king chooses his ministers, and the ministers also choose their king. "

"Looking at it from afar, the master and his subordinates are all ministers of the king, and the generals of Dingding have the ambition to swallow up the sun and the moon and sweep the world."< br>
Lu Su said with an anxious look on his face: "If the Lord does not want to make progress and is content to protect the situation, there may be disasters caused by separation of the upper and lower forces!"

Liu Feng's expression changed slightly. When he came back this time, he did find this problem, but it was far from as serious as Lu Su said.

Lu Su exaggerated a lot on this issue, which is also due to his position.

Because of his background, Lu Su can be regarded as the most die-hard Liu Dang, and he is actually very similar to Liu Ye internally, otherwise the two would not have become friends.

Essentially, Lu Su has a very big heart. He always thinks about the power of the dragon and the minister of Dingding.

Therefore, he was extremely sensitive to Liu Bei's ambitions.

Such a minister is not afraid that his master is too ambitious, but is afraid that his master is not ambitious.

Therefore, Lu Su is now keenly aware that Liu Bei is slacking off. In other words, he lacks motivation to continue to expand.

This made Lu Su quite worried. His vision determined that he could see very far.

Sure enough, just as Liu Feng thought, Lu Su's next words raised the overall situation.

"Now that Yuan Benchu ​​is in power in Hebei, Gongsun Zan is already a withered bone in the grave. After he committed suicide and killed the former Grand Sima, his ambitions came to nothing. I heard that he once said that he wanted to live in troubled times in Yi County. So. How can a timid and contented person defeat Yuan Shao, who has a hundred thousand soldiers and is the commander-in-chief of Ji, Qing, You, and the four states? "

Lu Su asserted: "What Gongsun Zan relies on is nothing more than high buildings, deep pools, abundant reserves, and the three allies of Montenegro. From Su's point of view, this is just a way to survive, far from a way to defeat the enemy. If Su said The plan is good, but if you defend for a long time, you will lose. Gongsun Bogui can defend for three years at most, and he will be defeated next year. "

"Once Yuan Shao completely annihilates Gongsun Zan and unifies Hebei, he will definitely turn to the Central Plains, and Cao Cao will take over. Liu Biao is his ally, but we in Xuzhou are helpless."

Lu Su said with an anxious look on his face: "In due course, I in Xuzhou will use all the strength of the country to compete with them, how can we still go out? Expand? At the right time, if you stay for a long time, you will lose. Who knows it won't be me, Xuzhou?"

Liu Feng remained silent. It seems that Lu Su has been worried for a long time, otherwise there would be no one. Such a long story.

If you think about it carefully, Liu Bei is indeed slacking off. At least going south to Yangzhou is the established policy that they have discussed long ago.

Especially now that Yangzhou's legal principles have been obtained from the emperor, it is justified. But when Liu Feng mentioned this matter today, Liu Bei's first reaction was that there were insufficient troops.

Xuzhou now has nearly 100,000 troops, and more than 60,000 can be mobilized at any time, and they are almost all surrounded by allies. Only Yangzhou, the target of this operation, has enemies.

Donglai and Beihai in Qingzhou in the north almost blocked Yuan Tan's route south to Qingzhou, and it was said that Yuan Tan had been transferred back to Jizhou by Yuan Shao at this time to participate in the war against Gongsun Zan.

Cao Cao in the west is in his honeymoon period at this time, and the opponent is obsessed with the center. The primary target is also the land of Three Rivers, followed by Chen State and Yingchuan. It is impossible to start a war with Liu Bei in a short time, and it is far away. There is no conflict that cannot be resolved.

Although Chen Guo's problem is a bit sensitive, Liu Feng also has a way to resolve it. Even if Cao Cao wants to force it, Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, Man Chong and others can persuade him.

Speaking of which, Xi Zhicai is still in Xuzhou, and I don’t know if he survived.

In this case, Liu Bei had enough to mobilize 50,000 people to go south, and the local Liu Yao, Wang Lang, and Xu Gong of Yangzhou had to completely obey Liu Bei's deployment, especially Liu Yao.

The reason why Liu Yao can have an army of 20,000 to 30,000 people is entirely due to the support of the local wealthy families in Yangzhou, and the reason why the wealthy families support him is because he has the status and legal status of the center of the imperial court.

And now, Liu Bei, who has thicker thighs, also has this legal principle. He is even more upright and bigger than Liu Yao. How will those wealthy families choose?

As for Wang Lang, he was a famous scholar in Xuzhou and had connections with the Zhou family, coupled with the Luo family and the Jiao family, Liu Feng was fully confident that he could easily win over Kuaiji County's allegiance.

"Feng is fully aware of what Mr. Zijing said."

After pondering for a long time, Liu Feng solemnly said: "Sir, having such concerns is actually a far-sighted move. My father is kind and generous, and he only cares about the court and the people. The most important thing is to protect the country and the people, regardless of personal gains and losses. "

"But if there is a big dispute now, if God doesn't take it, he will suffer."

Liu Feng said categorically: "I should convince him."

Lu Su was overjoyed immediately, left the table and said goodbye: "Su is not doing it for his own selfish interests, but actually for the sake of the Ming Dynasty, for Xuzhou, and not for the common people. Say nothing.”

Later, Liu Feng and Lu Su discussed the cause of the incident.

It turns out that after Liu Feng's victory in Yingchuan, Lu Su immediately suggested that Liu Bei mobilize troops from Pei, Rencheng, and Lu, gather 20,000 troops and march south to Runan, and also asked Liu Bei to send a message. He ordered Liu Feng to enter Runan from Yingchuan, attack from the east and west, and capture Runan in one fell swoop.

This idea is generally similar to Liu Feng's, but the details are much inferior.

But the timing is actually quite good, the success rate is extremely high, and there is not much risk.

Unfortunately, Liu Bei rejected Lu Su after careful consideration.

The reason is that he doesn't want to take risks.

This shocked Lu Su. He had already felt that Liu Bei was slacking off before, but it was not as big a shock as this time.

In Lu Su's view, this is a sure-fire plan with almost no risk. It can also capture the second county in the world in one fell swoop. What a benefit it is.

You must know that although Runan is the second county in the world, Nanyang has completely declined now, and although Runan has also suffered a lot of losses, it still retains an extremely strong foundation.

Now Runan is the well-deserved No. 1 county in the world.

Now the relationship between Cao Cao and Liu Bei can be called a honeymoon period, and Cao Cao's elite have been transferred to Luozhong. The Yanzhou side has just been quiet for only half a year, and there is no military ration at all. Liu Bei simply missed a good opportunity, and at the same time, it made Lu Su even more worried about what would happen in the future.

This time I missed the opportunity to attack Runan, but I can still make up for it in the second half of the year.

Because this is not a fleeting opportunity, but Liu Bei's mentality of being content with being rich makes Lu Su very panic.

That’s right, being rich means you can be content. There are countless Liu Bei’s mentality in history.

When he was in Xuzhou, he chose to give up the East China Sea, leave Tancheng, and go to Xiapi in exchange for the Taishan bandits' acquiescence in his taking over as the governor of Xuzhou.

Yes, it is just a default, not a support.

After entering Shu, he still did not pay attention to Huang Quan's correct suggestion to attack Hanzhong. It was not until two years later that he attacked Hanzhong under Fazheng's persuasion.

But the opponent in front is Zhang Lu, and the opponent in the back is Cao Cao. The difficulty has increased several times in two years.

But the harvest was extremely bleak. During Zhang Lu's period, Hanzhong had 100,000 households and a population of 600,000 to 700,000.

But by the time of Cao Cao two years later, not only was Hanzhong's population less than 100,000, but even Bajun, which was adjacent to Hanzhong, had been demolished by Zhang He and had a population of hundreds of thousands removed.

For Yizhou, which has a population of just over one million, losing hundreds of thousands of people is simply catastrophic.

If Liu Bei followed Huang Quan's suggestion and captured Hanzhong as soon as possible, Hanzhong alone would be enough to raise 50,000 to 60,000 troops, and he could even take advantage of the Guanzhong War to form an alliance with Ma Chao to get involved.

This is almost all a huge hidden danger that Liu Bei's character of being a rich man has laid for himself.

After sending Lu Su away, Liu Feng didn't care about rest and started working directly.

In his mind, the recruitment of refugees could be suspended, because all the surrounding counties of Xuzhou were already controlled by Liu Bei.

The war in Yanzhou has also stopped, and the population of Qingzhou has almost disappeared. Most of the Yuzhou side has been placed under Liu Bei's command, but it is not yet under direct control.

Recruiting refugees is already a half-effort effort.

This part of the money and food can be saved and used to expand the army.

At the same time, you can also use part of the money and food reserved for military operations to increase the scale of military expansion.

Because Chen Guo has military rations.

Liu Feng's plan to take Runan is roughly the same as Lu Su's, except that it requires an extra middle road, that is, starting from Chen State. Military food supplies can directly use the tax money compensated by Chen State.

In this way, the whole plan becomes smoother and more comprehensive.

The Yingchuan-Guanyu Road is supported by the middle part of Yingshui River, Ru River and Yishui River, and perfectly covers the western part of Runan. The Chen Guoze Road is supported by the lower part of Yingshui River. Relying on it, it covered the central part of Runan, and the Xuzhou Army, which set out from Pei State, relied on the Laishui River and covered the eastern part of Runan.

Furthermore, the three armies will be stationed in the southern part of Runan, suppressing and containing Yuan Shu's two counties in the north of the Yangtze River, and cooperating with the Guangling Army's plan to move south to Yangzhou.

Although such a large-scale campaign will inevitably require a large investment of money and food, which will affect the original farming plan.

But the situation is changing, and politicians must not be desperate for advice.

This is a unique window period, not to mention that the entire operation is actually very profitable.

Just one tax revenue from Runan is actually the tax output of the original farmland plan, not to mention the new increase from the three counties in Jiangdong.

One Runan plus the three counties of Jiangdong Danyang, Wujun, and Kuaiji are the guaranteed income for this battle. If you are lucky, you can get a Yuzhang without fighting.

As for Lujiang and Jiujiang, once Jiangdong is captured, will these two counties still be a problem?

As long as the war can be ended this year, and he can recuperate in the next two years, stabilize the place, and deepen his influence, Liu Bei will really be in an invincible position.

Relying on the three states of Xu, Yu and Yang, he can really carry 100,000 troops, at least no worse than Yuan Shao, and in terms of potential, he is even better than Yuan Shao.

At least during the Eastern Han Dynasty, most of the iron ore mines, coal mines, and iron and coal industry capabilities were south of the Yellow River. Henan's economy, population, and annual output also surpassed Hebei's.

Yuan Shao could actually see this, otherwise he would not have just destroyed Gongsun Zan in the second half of the fourth year of Jian'an. So he went south to attack Cao Cao.

After finishing his work, Liu Feng went to bed to rest.

Lying on the bed, Liu Feng secretly made up his mind that this time he must let Liu Bei follow his plan.

Even if you want to rest, you must first capture Runan and Yangzhou.

Now Liu Bei only has legal principles and influence, but as long as he doesn't really get the territory, the money, food, population, taxes, weapons, and weapons are not yours, and these are the most important things.

Early the next morning, after Liu Feng finished washing, he went to Liu Bei's courtyard in person.

In fact, he didn't have to go there in person. He only needed to send a servant to ask to know if Liu Bei got up.

But for his own plan, Liu Feng resorted to a bitter trick, and at the same time, he also wanted to show Liu Bei that he was still his good and filial son.

Sure enough, when Liu Bei got up, he heard his personal servant report that Liu Feng had been waiting in the courtyard for more than half an hour. He hurriedly called Liu Feng in.

"My son has worked hard all the way, why did he get up so early?"

In fact, it was not that Liu Bei got up late, but that Liu Feng got up too early.

However, Liu Bei was still very embarrassed after letting his eldest son wait in the courtyard for more than half an hour: "Next time something happens, just ask the attendant to wake him up. Why wait stupidly in the courtyard."

With that said, Liu Bei walked to the table and greeted Liu Feng: "You haven't had breakfast yet. Eat some with your father."

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, most of the lower-class civilians still only had breakfast. They eat two meals, but most of the nobles have already started to eat three meals, and the emperor even eats four meals, but two of them are snacks, not meals.

Liu Feng came over, sat down, and had breakfast with Liu Bei.

The aristocrats of this era actually had a simple diet.

Liu Feng's breakfast was just corn rice with salted fish and pickled vegetables.

However, after Liu Feng’s technological advancement, the salted fish produced in Qu County, Xuzhou is now much more delicious than the salted fish produced in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

After breakfast, Liu Bei put down his bowls and chopsticks and said: "I came so early to find my father, but what's the important thing?"

Liu Feng nodded: "It is indeed important. Now our Xuzhou seems to be cooking oil in blazing fire, and there are flowers blooming in abundance, but in fact we are in a dangerous situation. If we are not careful, we may lose everything.” The words that this big boy sometimes pops up out of the blue are really nice to hear. It's just that Shuzi threatened himself with the danger of the situation, and he was really not a son of a man.

"Oh? What danger is there in my Xuzhou at this time? To the point where everything is lost?"

Liu Bei was quite dissatisfied and felt that Liu Feng was intimidating him again.

Liu Feng recounted what he had said to Lu Su before, and Liu Bei was shocked.

"Father, I'm afraid Mr. Zijing is not alone in his attitude. When Mr. Ziyang was in Yingchuan, he also strongly recommended taking advantage of this opportunity to go south to Runan."

Liu Fengdi One thing I want to tell Liu Bei is that Lu Su's attitude is not his personal attitude, but the attitude of many people.

This will help Liu Bei not have a negative view of Lu Su.

For a die-hard loyal minister like Lu Su, Liu Feng must protect him.

"Furthermore, father, although you are now a hussar general, supervising the affairs of Xu, Yu and Yangzhou, Uncle Jian and Mr. Liu have also been honored by the imperial court as prefects, but this is just "False reputation is not real benefit."

Liu Feng said eloquently: "Now the only people my father can collect high amounts of grain tax from are the three countries of Xuzhou, Pei, Lu, and Rencheng. They are too big." It is small, there is a military disaster, and if you can support the garrison, you have already shared the worries for Xuzhou."

Liu Bei was a little awakened by Liu Feng's words, and this is indeed the case.

Although he has the name of three states, the only one that can really produce is Xuzhou.

Yuzhou still has some money and food from Pei and Lu. Although it is small, it is a real income.

But Yangzhou really had no benefit at all, and it gave Liu Bei the illusion that he had control over Yangzhou.

After listening to Liu Feng's words, Liu Bei became a little more serious: "In your opinion, what should I do as a father?"

(End of this chapter)