Historically, there are many speculations about why Zhuge Liang chose Liu Bei instead of Cao Cao or Sun Quan.
One of the statements is that when Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou, he killed too much and even massacred the city. Zhuge Liang's tribe members were affected by the disaster. Therefore, Zhuge Liang and Cao Cao were irreconcilable and would rather live in seclusion in Longzhong than serve Cao Cao.
But after careful analysis, this is problematic.
Zhuge Liang was from Yangdu, Langya. Yangdu was in the hinterland of Langya. When Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou, he did not arrive in Yangdu. Zhuge Liang's clan brother Zhuge Dan later became a general of the Wei State. He not only had literary and martial arts, but also talked about the mystery and discussion of Taoism.
One of the famous scholars shows that he received a very good education when he was young, unlike the disaster of family destruction and the disaster that he survived.
Therefore, personal grudges should not be the reason why Zhuge Liang dislikes Cao Cao, or at least not the main reason.
Now Zhuge Liang mentioned Yuan Shao, which was very inspiring to him.
For a long time, Cao Cao was a subordinate of Yuan Shao, even a thug. He fought in the Central Plains, essentially as another subordinate of Yuan Shao, rather than himself trying to compete in the Central Plains. So Yuan Shao had many things to tell him to do
When he was stabbed by Lu Bu and Zhang Miao, Yuan Shao also sent general Zhu Ling to lead troops to reinforce.
Yuan and Cao were originally one, so the matter of Cao Cao's massacre of Xuzhou was also considered to Yuan Shao. Tao Qian and Yuan Shao were in conflict, and the two sides had many conflicts. Yuan Shao wanted to use Cao Cao's hand to kill Tao Qian, which was smooth and had no problem.
Although this may not be the case.
As for the moment, Xuzhou people have a bad impression of Yuan Shao. At least they will not, as Liu Xie guessed, the Xuzhou tribes eat pots of rice and take the initiative to welcome Yuan Shao to Xuzhou.
If this is the case, Liu Bei's chance of defending Xuzhou would be a little higher, and the situation in Shandong might not develop as he expected.
"You have been away from Langya for several years, right?" Liu Xie looked at Zhuge Liang.
"Although I have been away from my hometown for several years, I have had many news and exchanges with the village and am not unfamiliar with public opinion in Xuzhou. I have heard of Zang Hong's breakup with Yuan Shao because of the county general."
Liu Xie smiled.
Zhuge Liang mentioned Zang Hong intently, naturally to prove his argument, indicating that the people of Xuzhou have a bad impression of Yuan Shao.
However, Zang Hong and Liu He's entry into the court will indeed have a certain impact on the people of Xuzhou, but it is hard to say how big the impact is.
But his judgment on the situation in Xuzhou needs to be adjusted, which is an indisputable fact.
Liu Xie ordered Zhuge Liang to be responsible for the news from Xuzhou and ordered to increase the monitoring of the situation in Xuzhou. He issued an edict to Dong Zhao, the prefect of Hanoi, and Cao Cao, the governor of Yanzhou, to strengthen information collection and prompt notification.
Zhou Zhong took advantage of the situation and proposed to ask the emperor to return to Hedong, at least he should go to Guanzhong.
Jincheng is too far away, and the news is seriously lagging behind. Even if the supply of horses is sufficient, it is inevitable that there will be regrets that it is beyond reach.
Liu Xie ignored him, but said nothing.
He doesn't want to go to Guanzhong yet, but he can't explain it too clearly and reveal his true thoughts. If these old ministers know what he is thinking, he will most likely be crazy, and he will turn from a holy emperor into an inhuman tyrant.
If the Shandong clan knew what he wanted to do, those people would probably support Yuan Shao without hesitation.
Some things can be done but not said.
Zhou Zhong made several comments in succession, but he did not get a reply from Liu Xie. He was anxious and privately instructed Zhuge Liang to find an opportunity to ask the emperor what it meant.
While having a chat, Zhuge Liang raised this question.
"In the war in Xuzhou, will Your Majesty not be allowed to send troops?"
"I want to send troops, but no troops are available."
Zhuge Liang was very confused. "Your Majesty has nearly 100,000 elite soldiers, how could there be no soldiers available?"
Liu Xie glanced at Zhuge Liang. "Not to mention that the troops and horses have not moved, the food and grass have come first, just say the 100,000 or Liang Jingrui you mentioned. Do you think they can still be restrained after they arrive in Xuzhou and will not cause disaster.
What is the matter of plundering the people?”
Zhuge Liang suddenly realized and then asked again: "Then your Majesty is going to hold his troops and watch the wall?"
"Of course not." Liu Xie pondered: "People must help themselves, and God will help them later. If the people of Xuzhou are really as you said, with the court in their hearts and are unwilling to surrender to Yuan Shao, I will naturally want to save them. But if the people of Xuzhou are surrendering to the wind, I will worship them.
Yuan Shao is the main leader, even if I want to save him, I have no way to save him. Don’t worry, wait a little longer, maybe there will be news in the next two days.”
Liu Xie thought for a while and said, "Taiyuan, Shangdang, and Hanoi are waiting for the battle. You can send troops to attack Jizhou at any time and force Yuan Shao to withdraw his troops."
Zhuge Liang nodded and did not ask again.
Although he didn't know what the emperor was thinking, he could feel that the emperor did not fully trust the people of Xuzhou.
In fact, not only Xuzhou, Jingzhou, and Yizhou are no exception. Without the support of local tribes, how could Liu Biao and Liu Zhang ignore the safety of the court and sit idly by the emperor's in distress.
After two party corruption, the trust between the monarch and his subjects has been greatly weakened. The states and counties have divided the country and attacked each other, and treated the court as if nothing had happened. It also made it difficult for the emperor to believe in the loyalty of the Kanto clan, and it is understandable to wait and see.
It is also true that Liu Xie said that Liang Bing's wildness had not been eliminated. The damage caused by rashly bringing these people into Guandong may not be smaller than that of Yuan Shao.
Zhuge Liang found an opportunity and told Zhou Zhong about Liu Xie’s reply.
After hearing this, Zhou Zhong was helpless and sighed, but could not find a better solution.
A few days later, Liu Ye and Lu Su arrived.
Along the way, they opened their eyes.
Although Liangzhou is far from being rich in Guanzhong, and even food and clothing cannot be achieved, it is an indisputable fact that Liangzhou is stable. Wherever he goes, whether he is Han or Qiang, even if his clothes are torn and dirty, he looks
At least it was calm and there was almost no fear of war.
The spirit of rebuilding their homes from the ruins made them feel the hope of the revival of the Han Dynasty.
The Qiang Rebellion in Liangzhou has always been the wound of the Han Dynasty. The continuous war not only escalated the contradictions in Guandong and Guanxi, but also made the Han Dynasty's treasury unable to make ends meet, and the finances eventually collapsed, and even the salaries of officials could not be paid.
When the emperor seeks revival, he first focuses on stabilizing Liangzhou instead of returning to his old capital Luoyang, which is undoubtedly a very clever move.
Just as a person who is injured and wants to recover from health, he must bandage the wound first.
"Born in distress, die in happiness." Lu Su held the horse's reins and looked at the northwest scenery with a wide vision and a different view from his hometown. "It seems that the emperor not only admires Mencius, but also practices it with his own heart, which is commendable.
If the emperor had not personally visited Liangzhou with a body of gold, how could Liangzhou be so fast and stable?"
Liu Ye raised his horse whip and laughed. "Zijing, I feel relieved when you say this. The world is vast, and it is the time for you and I to use our skills. Why do you have to go to Jiangdong? Heaven will give great responsibilities to this man. Let's see God surrender to the great Han Dynasty.
What kind of holy emperor is there?"
As he said that, he gently kicked the horse's belly, and the horseman spread his four hooves and rushed forward.
Lu Su laughed and kicked the horse to follow.
The followers were infected by their excitement and let go of their horse reins and galloped on horseback.
The horses whistle and laughter are bright, echoing between heaven and earth.