Chapter 150

Liu Bei nodded.

"Fine, then you shall be my secret lover."

The corners of Bai Yuekui’s mouth twitched, and she pinched Liu Bei hard.

"Scumbag! You wish!"

Liu Bei grew fired up.

"It seems you still have energy. Scumbag woman, face the gale!"

Bai Yuekui?!

"How dare you slander me! Take this!"

Bai Yuekui was quite skilled, and her physical fitness had been bolstered by system rewards; Liu Bei found this fight thoroughly satisfying!

Early the next morning,

Bai Yuekui was nowhere to be found.

Liu Bei took Xun You to inspect Gao Shun’s military camp.

"Xun Gongda, what do you think of Gao Shun’s Camp-Breaking Battalion?"

Xun You sighed with genuine emotion.

"Dong Zhuo’s defeat was not unjust. The troops under the Lord are extremely elite! I have never seen their like before!"

Liu Bei laughed heartily, commended Gao Shun, and led his troops back to Jinyang City.

Lady Feng had given birth to a son for him.

Zhen Zhen Jiang had given birth to a lovely daughter; she was very beautiful, making Liu Bei sigh that the Zhen family’s genes were truly excellent. Would Zhen Mi be even better?

"My dear wives, I have been campaigning for years; I have wronged you all."

Cai Yan poured wine for Liu Bei.

"Husband, you are a man who does great things. For us sisters, being able to wait for you is already a great happiness."

Everyone nodded in succession. Lady Zou cast flirtatious glances at Liu Bei, clearly having another mission in mind.

Diao Chan’s belly was already quite large, yet her skin looked even better.

Lady Feng was delicate and charming, looking absolutely beautiful.

Liu Bei smiled contentedly.

"My wives, it is truly wonderful to have you."

Everyone expressed that having their husband was the best thing of all.

That night, Zhen Zhen Jiang studied hard.

"Husband, Zhen Yao told me to quickly give you a son so that I may repay your kindness to my Zhen family."

Liu Bei nodded; this was something that could be done!

Liu Bei appointed Zhen Yao as the Administrator of Yanmen Commandery,

and also dispatched Zhao Yun to garrison there with ten thousand veteran soldiers and ten thousand Huang Jin elites, with Guo Huai to assist him.

Yanmen Commandery connected to Changshan Commandery in Jizhou and Dai Commandery in Youzhou; its geographical location was extremely important.

The Datong Basin bordered the Great Wall to the north, relied on Mount Heng to the south, leaned against Mount Xiong’er to the east, and faced Mount Hongtao to the west. The Sanggan River flowed quietly through it, and the land was fertile.

Yanmen itself had a population of over 300,000, and with the forces of the Western Xianbei and Xiongnu wiped out, quite a bit of territory had opened up.

Liu Bei relocated another 250,000 commoners to settle in Yanmen, building it into a major northern commandery in terms of population.

"Zhao Zilong, I leave the defense of Yanmen to you. Guard against the Western Xianbei in the north, connect to Dai Commandery in the east, and look toward Jizhou in the southeast. It is a land of four battlegrounds and is extremely important to Bingzhou."

Zhao Yun was exceptionally moved; the Lord valued him too highly.

"Lord, rest assured, your subordinate will certainly defend Yanmen to the death!"

Liu Bei nodded.

"Yanmen is close to your hometown of Changshan Commandery. If your fellow villagers and elders come to seek refuge, be sure to treat them well."

Zhao Yun smiled.

"Yes, Lord!"

Who wouldn't want to return home in glory?

Zhao Yun was now a General of the Household, and even he hadn't expected that in less than two years of following the Lord, he would achieve such success.

Liu Bei had some leisure time; when not handling official business, he accompanied his wife and children, enjoying family life.

Zhen Zhen Jiang became pregnant again as she had wished.

The bewitching Lady Zou used all sorts of tricks to please Liu Bei.

Diao Chan also gave birth to a daughter for Liu Bei.

Zhen Mi pestered Liu Bei every day, the light in her eyes growing brighter and brighter.

Bai Yuekui reported the recent major events to everyone.

"The Central Plains are engaged in successive wars. Ding Yuan Shao and Cao Cao have formed an alliance, while Brother Gongsun Zan, Tao Tao Qian, and Ding Yuan Shu have formed another. Both sides are in constant chaotic battle."

"Ding Yuan Shu led troops into Yanzhou and stationed them at Kuangting and Dunqiu..."

Ding Yuan Shao rushed to aid Cao Cao, and the two armies soundly defeated Ding Yuan Shu at Dunqiu. Cao Cao pursued them all the way toward Xiangyi, Taishou, and Shouchun. Ding Yuan Shu fled the whole way, but fortunately, the Cao Army lacked grain and also withdrew."

Zhang Fei laughed heartily.

"Ding Yuan Shu is truly trash! Occupying Nanyang, Runan, Yangzhou, and other places—all areas with many people and much grain—yet he was defeated so miserably."

Liu Bei looked toward Guo Jia.

"Guo Fengxiao, what is your take?"

Guo Jia pointed at the map.

"Lord, Cao Cao obtained over a hundred thousand Qingzhou soldiers last time, greatly increasing his troop numbers. With this crushing defeat of Ding Yuan Shu, there are no particularly strong opponents left in the Central Plains."

"This Cao Cao will be a great enemy of the Lord in the future."

Liu Bei nodded.

"Meng De has excellent vision and knows how to bide his time. His generals are not inferior, so defeating Ding Yuan Shu was to be expected."

"Xun Gongda, what is your take?"

Xun You looked at the map.

"Lord, although Cao Cao defeated Ding Yuan Shu, Ding Yuan Shu still holds Shouchun, Tao Tao Qian holds Taking Xuzhou, and Liu Biao holds Jingzhou. Cao Cao is in a land of four battlegrounds."

"In my view, although Cao Cao gained reinforcements from the Huang Jin soldiers, he has a fatal flaw: the Central Plains have been engaged in successive wars, the people's livelihood is withered, and the fields are desolate. Cao Cao has gained another hundred thousand mouths to feed; he must be short on grain!"

Liu Bei nodded. Xun You’s insight was truly sharp. Cao Cao had retreated several times in battle because of a lack of grain; he only sought quick victories not because he didn't want to fight, but because he truly had no grain.

Therefore, Cao Cao’s grain officer was the most dangerous profession, always taking the blame, and then having their wife taken by Cao Cao...

Guo Jia and Ju Shou exchanged a glance; this Xun You also possessed great talent!

Liu Bei looked toward Ju Shou again.

"Gongyu, tell everyone about the situation of our army."

"Everyone, our army’s main task recently has been to settle the million Qingzhou commoners."

"The populations of Xihe Commandery, Yunzhong Commandery, Dingxiang Commandery, and other places have doubled."

"Yanmen has a population of 550,000, Taiyuan Commandery has 650,000, and Hedong has 750,000."

"Wuyuan Commandery has a population of 300,000, ten times more than before, and several county towns have already been expanded."

"More importantly, our Bingzhou had a bumper harvest of grain this year; we harvested over two million shi of potatoes alone!"

Everyone was shocked. Previously, the Lord had to borrow grain everywhere.

They hadn't expected that this year, the grain would not only be enough but also have a large surplus!

Zhang Fei shouted,

"Big Brother, now that we have grain, we can finally go to war, right!"

Liu Bei waved his hand.

"Zhang Yide, do not be impatient!"

"Our army’s main goal now is still to attract refugees and let the people live and work in peace. With the wars in the Central Plains and the battle between Ding Yuan Shao and Brother Gongsun Zan in Hebei, the people are displaced. We must try our best to rescue the people and bring them to our Bingzhou."

Xun You bowed deeply.

"The Lord is benevolent and virtuous, worrying for the people of the world. I admire you deeply!"

Ju Shou, Guo Jia, Ju Yi, Zhang He, Xu Huang, Guan Hai, Taishi Ci, and others all expressed their admiration.

Bai Yuekui looked at Liu Bei and snorted in her heart.