Chapter 86: Gu Chen Governs the World, Liu Bei Meets Zhuge Again

Yinling.

Liu Bei stared intently at Zhang Fei before him; after a brief moment of shock, he seemed to realize something, suddenly stood up, and asked:

"Where is the Young Master?"

"Why has the Young Master not returned?"

Ever since hearing the guidance of Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei had already developed a sense of caution toward Cao Cao.

He had not only left Zhang Fei behind but also Gu Tao.

He had intended for the two to complement each other.

After all, Zhang Fei’s attitude toward Gu Tao was quite good.

"Big Brother."

Zhang Fei knelt on the ground, his face filled with even deeper sorrow: "It is this younger brother who failed the Young Master; it is I who did not heed the Young Master’s warnings and drank wine day after day."

"The Young Master... he... he fell in battle in Qingzhou."

Tears dripped continuously from Zhang Fei’s eyes.

Hearing this, even Guan Yu’s face revealed a look of anger: "Third Brother, Big Brother entrusted such a heavy burden to your hands."

"How could you act in such a way?"

The look of regret on Zhang Fei’s face grew even more intense; he silently lowered his head, unable to face the two of them.

"There is no need for you two elder brothers to say more."

"For the Young Master’s kindness, this younger brother has no way to repay it."

"Had it not been for the need to escort the sister-in-law, I would certainly have died on the battlefield alongside the Young Master."

"Now that the sister-in-law has been delivered..."

He muttered.

The next moment, he suddenly stood up and drew the long sword at his waist, intending to slash it across his own neck without the slightest hesitation.

But at that very instant, Liu Bei rushed over, stopped him, and reached out to slap Zhang Fei directly across the face!

With a "slap" sound!

Liu Bei struck this blow with great force, which completely shocked Zhang Fei back to his senses.

Liu Bei stared tightly at Zhang Fei and said in a deep voice: "The three of us brothers swore an oath in the Peach Garden; we do not ask to be born on the same day, but we do ask to die on the same day."

"If Third Brother commits suicide here today,"

"How could I and Yun Chang continue to live?"

His tone was incredibly solemn.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei was completely stunned and knelt down once more.

"Third Brother, having failed the Young Master today, you should instead inherit the Young Master’s will and help him complete the great cause he held in his heart."

"If not..."

"How would you have the face to see the Young Master in the afterlife?"

These words of Liu Bei truly struck a chord in Zhang Fei’s heart; he immediately moved to rise and leave the camp: "I want to go and attack the Cao thief!"

"Third Brother!"

Liu Bei was furious, stopped him again, and slapped him once more.

"When will you ever be able to steady yourself?"

Zhang Fei was completely dumbfounded.

Liu Bei’s expression at this moment was extremely serious; he looked at the officials in the tent and said helplessly: "As things stand, Qingzhou is lost."

"We have no path of retreat."

"If we cannot seize the opportunity to occupy Yangzhou now, our great army will scatter in a matter of days."

Liu Bei’s thoughts were extremely clear at this moment; he understood his current situation perfectly and knew he absolutely could not make another mistake.

Cao Cao’s strength was too great.

He now occupied Jizhou, Youzhou, Qingzhou, and Yanzhou; his foundation had even surpassed that of Liu Xiu in the past.

If he made another mistake,

he feared there would truly be no chance left.

But since Cao Cao had already decided to act, how could he leave any opportunity for Liu Bei?

The very next day, Liu Bei went to see Zang Ba, a great general under Tao Qian, to explain the situation of the world and seek a formal alliance with Tao Qian.

But this matter was destined to fail.

Not to mention that Tao Qian was not currently in Yanzhou.

Even if he were, given Tao Qian’s personality, he would never dare to offend the current Cao Cao.

Cao Cao’s judgment was correct.

Among the current warlords of the world, apart from Gu Chen and Liu Bei, there was no one who caught his eye.

Upon receiving instructions from Tao Qian, the Liu-Tao allied forces, which were supposed to be in an alliance, immediately became estranged.

Liu Bei wanted to quickly occupy the cities of Yangzhou.

But Zang Ba was blocking him.

And Cao Ren also arrived in Yangzhou with speed, forcibly compelling Liu Bei to withdraw from Yangzhou.

Liu Bei very much wanted to unite with Tao Qian.

The strength of Xuzhou was not weak, and with the troops under his command, even if they could not defeat Cao Cao, holding a territory for a short time would not be a problem.

But compared to the current Liu Bei, Tao Qian clearly valued Cao Cao more.

Having no other choice—

Liu Bei could only head toward Jingzhou once again.

The tides of the world changed constantly.

In the second year of Jian'an, June;

Gu Chen formally marched into Changancheng, his might shaking the world; the Left Fufeng surrendered upon hearing of his approach, and he completely pierced through the entirety of Sizhou.

He stabilized the entire western region of the Great Han.

News of Qingzhou naturally reached him, and he also learned that Gu Tao had died under the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry of Cao Cao.

But Gu Chen only remained silent for a while and was not heartbroken to an extreme degree.

Each of them had been deeply influenced by Gu Xi.

They held no fear of death.

It could be said that every member of the Gu clan currently out on campaigns was prepared to die.

To him, only by moving forward with unwavering resolve and leading the entire family back to its peak could he be considered as not failing these brothers.

Gu Chen was not in a hurry to take the next step.

Reality was not a novel, after all; no matter how high the reputation of the Gu clan was, if the common people did not see improvements over a long period, they would eventually be disappointed in the Gu clan.

Gu Chen had to stop and stabilize the four directions.

Under these circumstances, the utility of Gu Wei and Xun Yu became apparent.

Both were top-tier talents in internal affairs, and Gu Wei himself had unique insights into internal governance.

—The brilliant effect of previously purging the powerful clans of Bingzhou was now revealed.

In fact, in the current world,

most of the land and crops were controlled by these powerful clans.

To truly stabilize a region, one had to balance the distribution of benefits between the powerful clans and the displaced commoners.

One had to ensure everyone felt there was a way to survive.

Only then could the hearts of the people be truly settled.

Gu Chen summoned Gu Wei and Xun Yu to Luoyang one after another, and after several days of discussion, he finalized the internal policy.

He implemented several schemes.

—First and foremost, it was the implementation of the Tuntian system.

In the land of Sizhou, he implemented civilian agricultural colonies, distributing the fields of the departed noble families to the commoners and refugees, with the first year tax-free, and a policy of six parts for the government and four for the people in the following year.

As for border regions like Liangzhou, he implemented military agricultural colonies.

He mixed combat troops with refugees to clear and cultivate land.

He implemented a tax rate of seven parts for the government and three for the people, promising that this land would forever belong to the reclaimers, issuing "Red Deed Land Certificates," allowing inheritance, and prohibiting annexation by powerful clans.

For the refugees, he implemented a three-color token system.

"Blue tokens" represented local farmers;

"Yellow tokens" represented newly arrived refugees;

"Red tokens" represented those awaiting resettlement;

And he established "relay stations" along the way to match this, where those coming to seek refuge could receive different supplies based on their tokens;

He also had the refugees categorized and registered as blacksmiths, carpenters, healers, and so on.

They were given salaries based on their different skills.

Especially the blacksmiths.

Anyone with superb craftsmanship would not only receive a salary but also have the opportunity to obtain land.

He even established granaries in places like Changancheng and Jinyang.

These grains were, naturally, provided by the purged powerful clans of Bingzhou.

In fact, this series of policies, if it were in the past, would absolutely have aroused the dissatisfaction of the noble families and clans, and they might even have defected to Cao Cao.

But now, it is completely different.

What Gu Chen removed were only those noble clans who intended to contact Cao Cao.

There is a fundamental difference in this.

And the most critical part, naturally, is the rectification of the administration of officials in various regions.

This is the thing that the Gu Shizi are most adept at.

Gu Chen established a specialized department to keep a close watch on this matter.

As for the barbarians of Liangzhou.

Gu Chen also has a specialized system.

It is to utilize the prestige the Gu family holds in the hearts of the barbarians to break the stalemate between the two sides, and to open up trade and collect commercial taxes.

Regarding all these methods, Gu Yi was truly dumbfounded.

There is no helping it; Gu Chen’s performance was simply too exaggerated.

It is a pity that Gu Chen’s attributes are still question marks.

The specific values cannot be determined.

But just based on Gu Chen’s performance since he was loaded, Gu Yi can also be certain that Gu Chen’s current total attributes are absolutely not lower than ninety points.

This is a very exaggerated value.

It can be said that it is as if the strengths of everyone from Gu Kang’s generation to Gu Xi have all been combined.

Gu Yi wishes he could go all-in on the lottery to draw more "Wall-Breaking Cards."

If every single Gu Shizi had this kind of ability.

What kind of worries would he still have?

But after thinking about it, Gu Yi calmed down again.

The appearance of Gu Chen was due to the right time, the right place, and the right people.

It is not just Gu Xi’s education of the family descendants, but also includes the transformation of the times, as well as Gu Chen’s own personality.

Even if he were to draw another Wall-Breaking Card, I fear it would be hard to produce another existence like Gu Chen.

An environment can perhaps be artificially created.

But a personality like Gu Chen’s, which refuses to admit defeat or accept fate, is definitely not something that can be interfered with by human effort.

Gu Chen is constantly developing, and Cao Cao, on his side, is naturally not sitting idle.

Tao Qian is indeed a bit too cowardly.

Even though he participated in this battle, he still ceded the entire Yuzhou and Yangzhou to Cao Cao.

In the eyes of those with ambition, this move is absolutely a very foolish act.

After all, if Cao Cao occupies Yuzhou and Yangzhou, it can be said that he has directly surrounded the land of Xuzhou.

But Tao Qian does not think so; he only wants to seek stability.

He does not want to give Cao Cao a reason to attack him.

And things did not exceed his expectations; Cao Cao indeed did not attack him.

It is not that he could not.

It is that there was absolutely no need to.

Tao Qian’s attitude has also caused the noble clans of the entire Xuzhou to begin leaning toward Cao Cao.

Those who were loyal to the Han Dynasty had already left Xuzhou one after another.

Although the entire Xuzhou remains in Tao Qian’s hands in name, in reality, it has already been completely hollowed out by Cao Cao.

As long as Cao Cao wishes.

Xuzhou would change hands in an instant.

Under such circumstances, why would there be any need to send troops?

Now, looking at the entire world, the only person Cao Cao truly cares about is Gu Chen.

For this reason, he even accepted Lu Bu’s surrender.

No, it should not be called accepting.

It is using.

He stationed Lu Bu in Weijun and did not give him any real power, only providing him with limited grain and fodder, clearly intending to use Lu Bu to deal with Gu Chen.

Cao Cao does not want to go to war with Gu Chen yet.

He also needs to pacify the four directions.

Whether it is Qingzhou, or Yuzhou and Yangzhou.

He needs to completely settle the hearts of the people in these four directions.

But Cao Cao still made his attitude clear.

In the fourth year of Jian'an, in the second month;

Cao Cao finally assumed the position of "Grand Tutor," officially stepping onto the absolute peak of nominal power.

The two most powerful warlords in the world today did not go to war, but instead governed their own lands.

This indeed had some influence on the trend of the entire world.

The world, which had been in chaos for many years, unexpectedly had a hint of settling down in this moment.

But how could the wars in the four directions completely stop?

——Sun Ce has risen!

This exceeded everyone’s expectations; relying on only a few hundred men, he attacked cities and seized land in the Jiangdong region, conquering the entire Jiangdong in a short period of time.

People call him the "Little Conqueror of Jiangdong."

This matter even attracted Gu Chen’s attention.

Because between Sun Ce and him, they can be called absolute mortal enemies.

After all, Sun Jian died at his hands.

However, Gu Chen did not pay too much attention to it; now, he already has the heart to conquer the world, and a mere Sun Ce is not enough to make him overly concerned.

Jingzhou, Xinye.

Unlike Tao Qian, Liu Biao did accept Liu Bei.

In fact, Liu Bei’s current strength is really not weak.

The two thousand troops under his command are all battle-hardened soldiers, and he even has fierce generals like Guan, Zhang, and Zhao.

What Liu Bei lacks is only a foundation; he has no base of his own and can only rely on others to provide grain and fodder to stabilize his army.

Now, although he has gained Liu Biao’s support under Liu Biao’s command.

Liu Bei still sighs with worry every day.

The noble clans of Jingzhou far exceed his expectations, and he can feel Liu Biao’s lack of control over Jingzhou.

And the most critical point is—

With the current situation of the world, he cannot think of a way to break the deadlock.

It is not that he has not thought about joining forces with Gu Chen.

But Liu Bei’s attitude toward Gu Chen is actually very complex.

He cannot understand what Gu Chen is trying to do.

He also harbors some resentment regarding Gu Chen’s killing of Empress Dowager He.

This is an entirely unavoidable problem.

Although Liu Bei did not like the two Emperors Huan and Ling, he had to acknowledge their status as emperors.

As for Empress Dowager He, it is the same.

To him, no matter how wrong Empress Dowager He was, she was still the Empress Dowager of the Great Han, and she should not have died at the hands of Gu Chen.

This is the limitation of this era.

No matter how extraordinary Liu Bei is, the thought of "loyalty to the monarch and patriotism" in his heart has always been shackling him.

Someone like Gu Chen, whose will is like iron and who can act with swift vengeance, is ultimately the only variable in this era.

This is also the reason why Liu Bei has never gone to see Gu Chen.

At this moment, he is standing on the city wall.

Feeling the gusts of breeze, his eyes are fixed tightly in the direction of Luoyang, his expression particularly complex.

"Big Brother."

At this time, Zhang Fei’s shout suddenly rang out.

Liu Bei turned his head to look and saw Zhang Fei running hurriedly onto the city wall, saying: "Mr. Kongming has returned."

"Kongming has returned?"

Hearing this, Liu Bei immediately perked up and said anxiously: "Quick! Quickly prepare the horses and follow me to meet Mr. Kongming."

He has always kept Zhuge Liang in mind.

The words Zhuge Liang said back then in Julu can now be said to have all come true.

This makes Liu Bei feel even more that Zhuge Liang is extraordinary.

Since arriving in Jingzhou, he had already gone to look for Zhuge Liang, but had not seen him.

Now that he hears Zhuge Liang has returned, how could he not be excited?

"It’s already been prepared," Zhang Fei laughed.

Ever since the incident in Qingzhou, Zhang Fei has seemed like a different person.

He rarely drinks alcohol and has been looking forward to charging into Xuchang to personally slaughter Cao Cao and Cao Chun as a sacrifice to Gu Tao.

Liu Bei places great importance on the matter of visiting Zhuge Liang.

He brought his trusted aides, including Guan, Zhang, and Zhao, along with him, then spurred his horse away from Xinye, heading straight for Nanyang.

PS: Begging for monthly votes on my knees!

(End of this chapter)