It is impossible to say that Liu Bei does not regret it now.
This perfect opportunity to make friends with the emperor was just missed!
Although he is developing rapidly now, if there is an edict from the emperor to confirm his reputation as a pastor in Yuzhou, Liu Bei can legitimately expand to Yuzhou.
After all, in other directions in Xiapi, there are either allies or enemies much stronger than himself. Liu Bei cannot be an enemy of either Yuan family or Cao Cao.
But the only direction of expansion in Yuzhou was occupied by Yuan Shu. The two sides had always been at odds with each other. Yuan Shu coveted Xuzhou, and Liu Bei was not a vegetarian, and blocked Yuan Shu's several attempts to send troops.
But usually he could only plunder Yuan Shu's grain team and take advantage of him in revenge. As for breaking into Yuan Shu's territory and conquering cities and territories, Liu Bei couldn't even think about it at the moment.
Liu Bei's biggest problem now is that he can't find a counselor who can show him a clear path.
It is not that there are officials under his command who are proficient in domestic strategy. Although Mi Zhu, Sun Qian, Jian Yong, are all considered good, they are still far from the top counselors who can plan the world and predict the general trend.
Chen Qun and Chen Deng, who are really capable of making suggestions in this regard, have already switched to others.
Moreover, Mi Zhu's younger brother Mi Fang is not a worry-free person. Recently, conflicts have often broken out between him and Yuan Tan's Langya in the East China Sea, and he has suffered a lot.
Liu Bei knew that Yuan Tan must be bullying others, but they were just looking for excuses, but Mi Fang had an intolerable temper. Wasn't this just playing into their own hands?
Thinking of this, Liu Bei sighed: "Now we seem to be happy, but in fact there are hidden dangers everywhere."
"Although we can now establish a foothold in Xuzhou, it is really difficult to decide what to do in the future."
"Yuan Shu is powerful, but if he becomes an enemy of the Han Dynasty on his own, neither Yuan Benchu nor Cao Mengde will let go of this opportunity. We can actually benefit from it, so we need to make plans early."
"But what I am most worried about is Mi Zifang, who has repeatedly clashed with Yuan Xiansi. The East China Sea is our rear. If there is a fire in the backyard, we will be attacked from both sides."
"I asked Mi Zizhong to write several letters to persuade him, but with little success. After all, the conflict between the two parties is not a unilateral problem of Mi Zizhong."
"Now the two sides are at a standstill. It must be resolved as soon as possible, otherwise it will not be a problem."
"Now I want to find a capable person to mediate this matter, but I can't think of a suitable person."
"Third brother, you have a bad temper and have done many bad things. I'm afraid that you will have a conflict with the Qingzhou Army after you arrive."
"Second brother, you are prudent in your work, but you have had private disagreements with Zifang. I'm afraid that both parties will not give in and the situation will worsen."
After Guan Yu and Zhang Fei heard this, although they were not convinced, they had to admit that Liu Bei's considerations made sense.
Liu Bei sighed: "Zizhong gave me an idea. He sent a letter to Yuan Xianyi for help and asked him to mediate."
"What do you think?"
Zhang Fei listened and muttered: "Mediate, mediate, last time I lost half of Xuzhou, I'm afraid if I adjust, the remaining half will be given to others!"
Guan Yu stopped Zhang Fei and said: "Third brother, don't act out of your own will. If he didn't intervene last time, we wouldn't even have a foothold!"
"Furthermore, although Fierce Tiger is not the kind of friend who cuts both ways, he is pretty good as an ally. That day, I was besieged by Jiangdong generals at the foot of Guangling City. I was about to die, and it was his general who sent me to I rescued him."
"If he is really the kind of villain who plots against us, he can just sit back and wait for me to die in the battle. Wouldn't the elder brother be even more powerless to resist?"
Zhang Fei couldn't refute this, so he had to say calmly: "Even if the second brother is right, now that he is Xuzhou Mu, he is staring at the few remaining pieces of land we have, and will he sincerely help us?"
Liu Bei sighed: "Second brother and third brother, have you ever thought about where we should go?"
"Are you just going to stay in Xiapi and die alone?"
Guan Yu nodded and said: "Indeed, Cao Cao is ambitious, Yuan Tan's intentions are unclear, and Yuan Shao will not always treat us the same. Now we can only carve out a world by ourselves."
"The forces around us are too strong. If we want to defend Xuzhou and expand, we alone will not be able to do it in the next few years, and we may even be annexed."
Liu Bei nodded and said, "Yun Chang's words are exactly what I want to say."
"Among the group of princes who are spying on us, Yuan Xianyi is already the most reliable."
"How can we continue to gain a foothold if we lose this ally again?"
"What's more, Xiuhu has the Yuan family on his back and has been granted a personal title by the emperor. In terms of righteousness, fame and power, there is no one in the world who is more suitable to join forces than him."
"So we must make good friends with him within the next few years at least in order to stabilize our own power, and even go one step further and build a relationship with Hanting. This is what we urgently need."
"Now that we are asking for help from him, it is actually an opportunity to get close to him and make the alliance between the two parties more stable. This is the best choice for us."
After hearing this, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei had to admit that Liu Bei's words were right.
Zhang Fei said dullly: "What if we ask him for help and he wants us to sacrifice Xuzhou?"
After hearing this, Guan Yu also said aloud: "What the third brother said is not unreasonable."
Liu Bei said in a deep voice: "That's what I think."
"We have been wandering for half our lives, and it only took us two years to find a place to stay."
"Over the years, we brought hundreds of pieces of music to join the feudal lords. Until we took over Xuzhou from Taozhou Mu, how could we have our own territory before?"
"Territory is certainly important, but with a strong and loyal army that can win over people's hearts and become famous in the world, we can make a comeback even if we lose our territory."
"I have the title of Yuzhou Shepherd for nothing. If Fierce Tiger can help me get what I want in the future, I will give Xuzhou to him, so why not?"
Guan Yu said in a deep voice: "Brother is so courageous. Two years ago, I would never have let go of Xuzhou."
Liu Bei smiled bitterly and said: "Anyone who suffers a loss should think about it."
"We were beaten so badly last time. If it hadn't been for the fierce tiger's help, we would have been almost wiped out."
"It's fine if we lose our wife and daughter, but if all the soldiers and dependents who follow us are gone, how can we three brothers make a comeback?"
Everyone was silent.
Liu Bei said: "So I have thought about it. At least for now, we are in urgent need of help from Fierce Tiger, so I must express my attitude and find a way to establish a closer relationship with Fierce Tiger."
Zhang Fei shook his head and said: "That Fierce Tiger is not a good person. He is extremely shrewd. If we want him to take action, I'm afraid he won't help us in vain unless he cuts off a large piece of meat."
Liu Bei heard this and said, "I have already discussed this matter with my subordinates."
"Fierce Tiger is indeed very resourceful, decisive and clear-headed. He is indeed very difficult to persuade."
"But it's not without its faults."
"I have already made an agreement with Zizhong before, and I plan to accept the girl from the Mi family as my adopted sister, and I will be the matchmaker to provide a dowry and marry her to the fierce tiger."
"In this way, I can be tied to Fierce Tiger through this relationship."
Guan Yu heard this and praised loudly: "Brother is extremely thoughtful."
"At first, Xiuhu had intended to marry Mi, but for some unknown reason, he suddenly left."
"According to my guess, although this person is lustful, he also cares about his reputation. Seeing that the Mi family is wavering, he may think that the lord is still interested in the girls of the Mi family, and he is worried about fighting with his eldest brother and spreading a bad name among the gentry, so he gave up.
"
Liu Bei sighed: "This is a big misunderstanding. When my original wife comes back, how can I have an excuse to marry another?"
"It's also because I didn't have a clear attitude at the time. Now I accept the girl from the Mi family as my adopted sister, and then act as a matchmaker to marry her, so that she can dispel this doubt."
Zhang Fei Xindao, is the eldest brother really not interested in girls from the Mi family?
Why don’t you feel like it?
Wasn't it really because he was desperate that he used the Mi family girl to ask for directions?
But my eldest brother clearly said that women are like clothes!
Since he is not interested in Mi family girls, then
Thinking of this, Zhang Fei blurted out: "My eldest brother's daughter has reached the age of marriage, right?"
"If eldest brother really wants to establish a relationship with that fierce tiger, how can we directly become in-laws?"
"If Xiuhu agrees, won't the eldest brother directly become his father-in-law? Isn't this any more direct than a foster sister?"
Guan Yu's face stiffened, you are the only one talking too much!
Why are you so smart when you shouldn't be smart?
Did you say this casually?
Liu Bei's face froze, and he forced a smile and said: "That fierce tiger has a real wife. After all, I am also the leader of a state, so I have to save face."
Zhang Fei listened, nodded, and then shook his head, "That's not right. I heard that Marquis Wen also gave his daughter to Xiuhu. He can't be his wife, right?"
Liu Bei was speechless and looked even more embarrassed.
After Guan Yu heard this, he shouted: "Third brother, you know how to get entangled in a place like this. If you have this time to train your troops, we may fight one day!"
After hearing this, Zhang Fei was diverted and began to talk endlessly about the laziness of the soldiers during military training.
Guan Yu stared at the shallow scratches on Liu Bei's cheek, thoughtfully.
Yecheng.
Lu Lingqi sat under the tree, with her back against the cool trunk, and said in a depressed tone: "What are you doing with the six rites? I have to go back and forth several times. I am so tired."
"My father just nodded his head, how could he go around like this?"
Yuan Xi sat side by side with her and said with a smile: "This is for the Jizhou nobles."
"You also know that although Marquis Wen is the most brave in the world, there are always some meddlesome people who privately slander Marquis Wen for his lack of etiquette."
"So this time I asked the Mistress of the Zhen family to accept you as an adopted daughter and carry out the six rites for him. This is also for the sake of Marquis Wen and your reputation."
Lu Lingqi knew in her heart that the main reason why Marquis Wen was criticized was because he had killed two governors. Although he later used the emperor's edict as an excuse, it was still disgraceful after all.
She knew that this was not the time to be rude and make trouble, so she could only say dullly: "Yecheng is so troublesome, getting married is so troublesome, it is better to be happy in Huaicheng."
"I miss my grandma."
Yuan Xi consoled him: "Everyone has to grow up and leave home."
"I'm afraid that after my aunt married Marquis Wen, she didn't see her parents again."
"What's more, Youzhou and Hanoi are not far away in the future, and there will still be many opportunities to go back to visit relatives."
Lu Lingqi's mood improved, "I know you are comforting me, but I am still very happy."
"Not to mention, you have been running around for half a year, and you haven't even had time to meet the Jicheng family, right?"
Yuan Xi smiled bitterly and said, "Indeed."
"Besides, I don't know when the Montenegro incident will be over. I will have to return to Jicheng by then, probably until the end of the year."
"I'm afraid my child will be born by then."
Lu Lingqi nodded lightly, this is the helplessness of conquering the world. It is common for wives and children not to see each other for several years.