Standing on the top of Xia Pi City, Liu Bei looked at the vast plain outside the city and felt excited. He was finally back!
When he turned his head, the densely packed camp of Yuan Tan in the distance made his face freeze. He understood that this victory was actually due to the two brothers Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi.
If Yuan Tan started a rebellion now, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to defend Tancheng.
Thinking of this, Liu Bei even felt a little disgusted with Xuzhou. This place looked prosperous, and when he took it over, he thought that he had taken the first step towards becoming famous all over the world.
But from then on, the war in Xuzhou never stopped, which made Liu Bei very annoyed.
Especially from the time Zhang Fei lost Tancheng to now, Liu Bei has almost lost all his capital in battle. If Mi Zhu had not persuaded Mi Fang to donate his servants and part of his property to recruit soldiers, I'm afraid Liu Bei would have only a few soldiers left by now.
Liu Bei naturally had to repay the Mi family for their timely assistance. Now that Tancheng had been recaptured, Mi Zhu and Mi Fang were both promoted.
Mi Fang directly became a Gongcao official, and in terms of official position, he even surpassed Chen Deng.
Although the final decisive factor was the Yuan brothers, the officials under Liu Bei could not say anything.
After all, Liu Bei was almost penniless at that time, and the Mi family spent all their wealth on a big gamble, and not everyone has the courage to do so.
But the embarrassing thing was that Liu Bei's wife was sent back by Yuan Xi, and Liu Bei now had no excuse to marry Mi Zhen.
Hearing the sound of figures in the distance, Liu Bei looked carefully and found that it was Yuan Tan riding into the city with several guards.
Liu Bei suddenly felt relieved. Yuan Tan's personal entry into the city showed his sincerity.
He secretly blamed himself for having suffered too many betrayals recently, so much so that he had lost trust in other people and became anxious and worried.
After all, there are still many people who keep their promises in this world.
Liu Bei hurried down the city to meet him and bowed deeply to Yuan Tan. "This time, I was able to retake Xuzhou thanks to your kindness. I am deeply grateful and cannot express it in words."
Yuan Tan quickly helped Liu Bei up and said with a smile, "Mr. Xuande, you are so polite."
"Telling the truth, Tan has not yet thanked Lord Xuande for his recommendation. From now on, Lord Xuande is Tan's sponsor. In the future, as long as he is not hostile to the Yuan family, if Lord Xuande is in trouble, Tan will do his best to help him."
Liu Bei was delighted when he heard this, and he quickly said modestly: "It's just a small favor, it doesn't count."
He observed Yuan Tan's expression and saw that it didn't seem fake, so he wondered if this talented person was very important to Yuan Tan.
Liu Bei thought secretly that according to the rules, it should be a piece of cake for Jizhou to recommend Yuan Tan as a talented person, but they never did it. It seems that there must be some hidden story.
It seems that Chen Deng was able to persuade Yuan Tan to mobilize a large army to help in Yecheng. There must be some connections that he was not aware of!
Liu Bei felt a little unsure. Did he not fully understand Chen Deng's abilities and thus missed something?
Thinking of this, Liu Bei tried to probe: "It is unlikely that a mere talented person like me would ask Master Xiansi to mobilize all the soldiers in the state to help me, right?"
After hearing this, Yuan Tan smiled and said, "This is only one aspect. The key is that I really want to make friends with Lord Xun Xuande."
The reason Yuan Tan came this time was really to win over Liu Bei by using the matter of selecting talented people.
He is actually in the same extremely embarrassing situation as Yuan Xi.
Most of Qingzhou where he is located is blocked by Jizhou, and the other half is Xuzhou, which is blocked by Taishan bandits. How can it develop?
Moreover, Yuan Tan realized that although Yuan Xi helped him prevent the adoption, the fact that he was suppressed by Yuan Shang did not change, and the gap in power between the two sides was getting bigger and bigger.
Apart from other things, Yuan Shang controlled Jizhou, a city with a population of millions. He could expand to Bingzhou to the west, advance into Sili to the southwest, and seize Xuzhou to the east. He had much more options than Yuan Tan.
Therefore, Yuan Tan must make arrangements in Xuzhou early, otherwise if he is a step slower he will have no way out. Will he be able to expand overseas in the future?
Therefore, winning over Liu Bei became Yuan Tan's most urgent choice. Although Liu Bei was his sponsor, the difference between a sponsor and his disciple also depended on the strength of the other.
Now that Yuan Tan is far stronger than Liu Bei, Yuan Tan's actions will naturally lead the development of the alliance between the two sides.
Yuan Tan said to Liu Bei: "Lord Xuande also knows that I am in a bad situation within the Yuan family now."
"Although Xianyi and I each occupy a state, our combined power is not as great as that of my third brother in Jizhou, so we need to join forces. This time, Xianyi was the one who led the troops to rescue Lord Xuande."
Liu Bei thought to himself, it's Yuan Xi again. It seems like this person is behind everything?
Liu Bei had both love and hate for Yuan Xi. Many of his things were facilitated by this man, and it could be said that he had helped him a lot. But how could someone help someone for no reason?
But what Liu Bei still couldn't guess was what Yuan Xi was going to do. But it was obvious that he had big plans. Liu Bei owed Yuan Xi too many favors and didn't dare to think about how to repay this debt in the future.
He was afraid that Yuan Xi would put forward conditions that he could not meet. What should he do then?
But now Liu Bei had no choice. He was almost starving to death. He didn't care whether the thing in front of him was poison or not. He would die if he didn't eat it. If he ate it, he might still have a chance of survival.
Thinking of this, Liu Bei said, "You two gentlemen have saved my life, so I won't say any more lies. I have sent someone to Guangling to invite Master Xianyi to Tancheng to discuss the future of Xuzhou."
"Once Master Xianyi arrives, how about we discuss it together?"
After hearing this, Yuan Tan nodded in agreement. He had paid such a huge price this time, so of course he would not be polite to Liu Bei.
While Liu Bei and Yuan Tan were waiting for Yuan Xi, the Xuzhou officials in Haixi City also learned the news that Liu Bei had recaptured Xuzhou. Most of them were ecstatic and prepared to return to Tancheng.
To them, Liu Bei and their own future are closely related. Now that Liu Bei is rising again, how could he miss out on their benefits in the future?
Mi Zhen looked at the cheerful Mi Fang and could not help but said, "My brother holds a high position and has great power. If it is beyond my ability, it may not be a good thing."
Mi Fang had just received the news of her promotion and was feeling happy, but Mi Zhen poured cold water on her. She could not help but say, "My little sister, your words are a bit disappointing. I don't think your elder brother is much better than me in doing things."
"I have been in charge of the Mi family's trade routes over the years. Several trade routes involve a lot of things, but I can handle them with ease. How come I can't do this anymore?"
"How many of those who were recommended as filial, honest and talented people have actually done anything practical?"
"I just don't believe they can be better than me?"
Mi Zhen and Mi Fang were in high spirits, and couldn't bear to spoil his mood, so they could only advise him: "Then you should be more like your elder brother, be careful in what you do, be lenient to others, and never make enemies easily."
Mi Fang waved his hand and didn't take it to heart, "Don't mention my elder brother, he is too cautious!"
"Besides, I've been promoted to an equal position with Guan Yu. I want to see if he dares to look down on me in the future!"
Mi Zhen was worried after hearing this, and said, "Brother, Guan Yu and Liu Yuzhou are like brothers, and their relationship is extraordinary. You..."
"Okay, okay," Mi Fang said impatiently, "Why are you becoming more and more nagging even though my little sister hasn't even gotten married yet..."
He suddenly realized that he had said the wrong thing, and quickly kept silent. Seeing that Mi Zhen had tears in her eyes, he slapped himself on the face and said, "Brother, I was wrong. This is not your fault."
The Xuzhou gentry were all well aware of the Mi family's intention to marry Mi Zhen to Liu Bei, and they could not say anything. However, the plan fell through because Liu Bei's wife was sent back, putting the Mi family in an extremely embarrassing situation.
Among the nobles, of course, most people were gloating over other people's misfortune. When the rumors reached Mi Zhen's ears, she was very embarrassed.
Mi Zhen sighed in her heart. She naturally knew that Mi Zhu and Mi Fang were not to blame. However, after hearing the news, she felt quite relieved.
She suddenly realized that deep down she didn't want to marry Liu Bei.
Who is your ideal husband?
A very familiar face slowly emerged in her mind.
She shook her head slowly, trying to get rid of the unfamiliar look on his face, thinking how could this be possible? The man was already married, and the bride was said to be a stunning beauty, so who was she?
Seeing that Mi Zhen was not in high spirits, Mi Fang consoled her by saying, "It's not just my sister whose marriage has fallen through. It's said that the marriage between Kong Beihai's daughter and Taiyang Yang has also fallen through."
"This is inexplicable. I have to go find out."
After hearing this, Mi Zhen sighed and said, "Brother, you really need to watch your mouth."
Some are happy while others are sad. Kong Rong has been in a very bad mood recently.
After Liu Bei recaptured Xuzhou, he could finally find a way to rush to Sili and meet the emperor.
But something happened that made him lose face: Taiyang Shi broke off the engagement!
On the day Kong Rong and his family returned to Haixi, the Yang clan of Taishan had already sent elders to discuss the marriage between the two families. Logically speaking, both sides had reached the age.
But when Yang was asking for divination, he received some prophecies, saying that the man and woman might have conflicts in their fates, which would affect their lifespans.
So Yang Shi of Taishan found the famous doctor Hua Tuo, wanting to take the pulse of Kong Rong's daughter to see if she really had any hidden illness.
When Kong Rong and his wife heard the news, Kong Rong was furious. Just as he was about to lose his temper, his wife smashed the tea bowl in front of the elder of the Taishan Yang clan with a bang.
Madam Kong Rong said coldly, "If Yang wants to break off the engagement, there is no need to resort to such despicable means. Just tear up the marriage certificates on both sides."
"Isn't it because my daughter has been trapped by the enemy twice, and I'm afraid that she is not innocent and will affect the reputation of the Yang family?"
"The Yang family thinks too little of the Kong family. If this were true, I would not agree to a marriage between the two families!"
The elder smiled wryly and said, "Madam, please calm down. I am also following the orders of the head of the family. Besides, who knows what will happen next?"
"If Madam really thinks the girl is innocent, why not let the divine doctor take a look?"
Mrs. Kong Rong gnashed her teeth, but she didn't expect Kong Rong to say, "Well, you can bring the doctor here tomorrow."
After hearing this, the elder bowed and left.
After the man left, Mrs. Kong Rong angrily asked, "How can you prove your innocence by letting him bully you like this?"
Kong Rong's face was gloomy. "This innocence is not for Yang family to see, but for the people of the world to see."
"Because Yang bet that Kong must prove himself before he can live up to the Kong family name."
"So whether the marriage is successful or not, this matter cannot be avoided. I can only agree."