Chapter 97

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Since the autumn harvest, after Chen Xi's plan to invade Qingzhou began, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei have been stationed on the border between Qingzhou and Mount Tai, either gathering refugees or clearing out the Yellow Turbans, or helping Zhao Yun cultivate the land in Qingzhou.

In short, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei have been very busy. They and their few cavalrymen have been continuously provoking the Yellow Turbans on the outskirts of Qingzhou, relying on the speed of their cavalry to repeatedly avoid being ambushed by the Yellow Turbans. After Guo Jia and Fa Zheng arrived in Qingzhou, in addition to provoking the Yellow Turbans and weakening their strength, they mainly focused on luring them into attacks, turning the Yellow Turban bandits into strong refugees, and then increasing the efforts to cultivate the land.

Of course, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were not at all reassured about this. After all, the Yellow Turban bandits included many unruly characters, and if they were simply incorporated into the farming teams, the entire team might be led astray.

However, after Guo Jia explained his considerations, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, weighing the losses and the subsequent benefits, decided to follow Guo Jia's arrangements and incorporate them, with the most they could do being to strengthen management. Once the Yellow Turbans were dealt with, these unruly characters would not be able to cause trouble, and for now, they still had their uses.

When winter arrived in November, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun each tidied up their belongings and returned to Fengao. Unlike Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who only needed to manage their own troops upon return, Zhao Yun had a second task.

The matter of taking care of widows and orphans, as Chen Xi and Lu Su had discussed, naturally fell to Zhao Yun. Only he was close to the people, and only he had traveled throughout the entire Mount Tai commandery. Zhao Yun would first scout the area, so that when Liu Bei came before New Year's Eve, he wouldn't have to run around aimlessly.

Of course, these were just surface tasks. In reality, Zhao Yun's mission included more than that. The main task was to investigate the population of the Mount Tai commandery to prepare for the prevention of other warlords' infiltration in the coming year, and to calculate the military potential of the Mount Tai commandery, to determine how to quietly annex Qingzhou without harming the people.

And now, less than a month later, Zhao Yun had returned to Mount Tai. It seemed that Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Taishi Ci, and others had come to Liu Bei's house to welcome Zhao Yun, preparing to have a feast. They didn't expect that there was already prepared food, so they started eating directly, as brothers-in-arms are also the hosts.

"Salute to the lord!" When Liu Bei entered, all the generals and ministers who were eating and drinking immediately put down their food, stood up, and saluted Liu Bei.

"Exempt from the salute, I didn't expect that Zilong would return to Fengao so quickly." Liu Bei bowed in return, acknowledging the hard work of the many generals and ministers over the past half year. He then straightened up and said, "Today, we will not talk about lord and minister, let's just get drunk!"

"The Night Jade Lion, how could it not be fast, I want one too." Zhang Fei muttered softly, but his loud voice made it clear to everyone.

"Fine horses and good wine will come in time. The Hebei, Bingzhou, and Liangzhou regions all have good horses. Even the wild horses in the north are numerous. Even the Red Hare has its moments of weakness, so why fear that there are no good horses in the north? Brother Three, you are too impatient." Chen Xi said with a smile.

"When I get a fine horse, I want a black one!" Zhang Fei took a big bite of the lamb leg, "And I want to challenge Lu Bu a few more times!" As he spoke, Zhang Fei seemed to see the scene, excitedly waving his fists.

"Second Brother, do you have any aspirations?" Chen Xi had nothing to say about Zhang Fei's straightforwardness. Even if Lu Bu were dead, Zhang Fei would still be melancholic about not having the chance to stab him a few more times while he was alive.

"Support the Han dynasty!" Guan Yu solemnly said a few words, ending the conversation with Chen Xi, a habit he hadn't changed.

The banquet, which had been messed up by Zhang Fei and others, was cleared away and reorganized. Fortunately, Liu Bei's house had many servants and cooks. By the time Liu Bei sent someone to bring in Zang Ba, who was freezing outside, the banquet was already set up again.

Fire basins were burning around the living room, and Lu Su had four behind him. Seeing him sweating and still excited, Chen Xi felt a bit strange. Could it be that the rising temperature was making Lu Su excited? It seemed possible, so he quietly moved a bit further away.

The cups and goblets were passed around, and Liu Bei personally served wine to everyone. Everyone was content, and naturally, they couldn't help but talk about Hua Xiong, who was still in Yongzhou, and Gan Ning, who was training the navy at sea. These two unfortunate souls were probably not having a good time. After all, Yongzhou was much colder than Mount Tai, and the sea winds were much stronger.

Chen Xi knew a bit about the situation of these two. Hua Xiong had become the leader of the largest bandit group in Yongzhou, not robbing the people but only preying on other bandits. The first time he did this, other bandits tried to take advantage, saying he was overstepping the rules, but those bandits were also eliminated.

Naturally, Hua Xiong was attacked by a coalition of bandits. Tens of thousands of bandits gathered to eliminate Hua Xiong's bandit army, but Hua Xiong easily defeated them. As a result, Hua Xiong's reputation spread throughout Yongzhou and Liangzhou. Even Li Jue tried to recruit Hua Xiong, but Hua Xiong refused.

After that, it was simple. The rules were written by the strong. Hua Xiong declared that all bandits in the Yongzhou region needed to pay him protection fees, a message Chen Xi had given him. Bandits who paid the protection fees would be protected by Hua Xiong's bandit army if they were attacked by other bandits or the army. Those who refused to pay would be on their own if they were attacked.

There were always troublemakers, and Hua Xiong had targets to establish his authority. He swiftly eliminated several bandit groups, and now the entire bandit community in Yongzhou had been tamed. With tens of thousands of bandits under his command, Hua Xiong felt he could fulfill Chen Xi's request to bring the Emperor back to Mount Tai.

Of course, this was just a statement. Chen Xi had sent enough people with Hua Xiong to subdue the bandits in Yongzhou. After all, Hua Xiong needed a base. Before Dong Zhuo's death, he would bring Jia Xu and Li Ru out, and then after Lu Bu killed Dong Zhuo and the Emperor took power, Hua Xiong would personally present gifts and arrogantly predict the future, inviting the Emperor to move to Mount Tai.

Of course, no one would agree at that time. Wang Yun and Lu Bu, full of confidence, would not believe it. So, Hua Xiong would leave with provisions and return to Mount Tai. When Li Jue and Guo Si threatened Chang'an, Hua Xiong could use his bandit army to fight, showing his loyalty to the Han dynasty, and then retreat in defeat. This was easy to explain, as even Lu Bu had been defeated, so how could he not be?

This way, when the Emperor fled a few years later and Liu Bei and Cao Cao came to welcome him, the loyal ministers of the Han dynasty would not be able to face Mount Tai, no matter whether they said that Chenliu was the center of the world or that Mount Tai was remote and not prosperous enough to support the Han dynasty. They would give Liu Bei a title and send him back.

In short, Lord Liu Bei would have done his best, and if they didn't come, they would go to Cao Cao, proving that they were blind. Then, under the banner of the Han imperial family, he could play the role of "Sheng Sheng inside and perished, Chong Er outside and safe," a very good situation. The largest banner of the Han imperial family would naturally fall on Liu Bei's head, making his future path much smoother.

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