Chapter 169

"You are Xu Sheng?"

Liu Bei looked at the young man before him.

Behind Xu Sheng were over five hundred able-bodied men, along with several thousand commoners.

"General Liu Xuande, the Cao Army massacred Pengcheng. We escaped from Juxian; I hope General Liu Xuande will take us in."

Liu Bei nodded.

"As people of the Great Han, I will naturally look after you. Go live in Bingzhou for now; I guarantee you will have enough to eat and wear."

The commoners behind Xu Sheng were all overjoyed.

"Many thanks, General Liu Xuande!"

Liu Bei patted Xu Sheng on the shoulder.

"You organized the local militia to protect the people; you have great courage. Would you be willing to serve as a Company Commander under me?"

Xu Sheng was overjoyed. How could he not be happy to follow the world-renowned General Liu Xuande? He knelt on one knee.

"Thank you, my lord!"

Liu Bei nodded.

"Good. Follow Yunchang for now and protect the people."

"Understood!"

"Chen Dao, go select a good horse for Xu Sheng."

"Understood!"

The fellow villagers were all happy for Xu Sheng, as he now had a bright future.

After Xu Sheng left,

Liu Bei looked at the scholar Sun Tao Qian beside him.

"The great Confucian Zheng Xuan recommended you; you must have great talent. How about serving as a Merit Officer under me first?"

Sun Tao Qian cupped his hands.

"Thank you, my lord."

Liu Bei nodded. Sun Tao Qian had good talent, but more importantly, he was very loyal and could be used!

This trip to Taking Xuzhou was quite good, taking over 10,000 members of the Mi family to Bingzhou.

Nearly 400,000 Taking Xuzhou commoners, mostly from the areas near Yanzhou, had lost confidence in Tao Tao Qian. Historically, many of these people fled to Jiangdong to avoid disaster, but now most chose to follow Liu Bei.

Benevolent, righteous, and capable in battle—such a Liu Bei gave everyone a sense of security.

The arrival of Sun Tao Qian and Xu Sheng was also a small gain.

Especially Xu Sheng; in the Three Kingdoms, only two people were called "Tiger Ministers" by their monarchs, and the other was Zhang Zhang Liao.

Guo Jia reported the news from the scouts to Liu Bei.

"My lord, Cao Cao and Lu Bu are mainly fighting in Jibei State, Dongping State, and Dong Commandery. Many people from these three places have fled to the areas of Jiyin Commandery and Chenliu Commandery, where the number of refugees has reached over a million."

"A million refugees?"

Everyone's eyes lit up.

Xun You frowned.

Liu Bei nodded.

"My Bingzhou has a bumper harvest this year; supporting over a million people until next year's autumn harvest is not a problem. Everyone, try your best to have the refugees move to my Bingzhou."

Taishi Ci sighed with emotion.

"My lord has saved countless people; this is a great virtue."

Xu Sheng's eyes also turned red; having escaped as a refugee himself, he knew how bitter it was.

"My lord is benevolent and righteous; I must strive to serve him well."

Liu Bei began assigning generals.

"Xun You, Taishi Ci, take 3,000 troops to Shanyang Commandery and have those refugees move toward Chenliu Commandery."

"Understood!"

"Jia Xu, Guan Hai, take 3,000 troops to Rencheng State."

"Understood!"

"Yunchang, Xu Sheng, lead 6,000 troops to escort the people through Jiyin Commandery to Chenliu."

"Understood!"

"The rest of the generals will follow me with troops to Dong Commandery."

"Understood!"

Dong Commandery, Puyang City.

Lu Bu had been somewhat depressed lately. Fighting a chaotic war with Cao Cao, Chen Gong had used a strategy to nearly kill Cao Cao last time, but unfortunately, it fell short at the last moment!

Since then, both sides had had their victories and defeats, but both were short of grain.

The once-prosperous Yanzhou had become dilapidated due to the locust plague and the war.

"Cao Cao Aman is treacherous!"

Chen Gong entered with a bamboo slip.

"My lord, a letter from General Liu Xuande."

"Liu Bei? What does he want?"

Lu Bu had a conditioned reflex whenever he heard Liu Bei's name; he was here to scam him.

Chen Gong:

"General Liu Xuande says he has brought 60,000 shi of grain and is coming to visit you."

"Would that Big-Eared Thief be so kind?" Lu Bu felt a bit uneasy.

"60,000 shi of grain?" This was no small temptation for Lu Bu.

"He relies on cavalry raids. How could he have so much grain, and why would he give it to me?"

Chen Gong explained,

"My lord, it is rumored that the Taking Xuzhou noble clans, along with Tao Tao Qian, Ding Yuan Shu, and others, pooled over 800,000 shi of grain for Liu Bei."

Lu Bu??

"That Big-Eared Thief scammed so much this time?!"

He instantly felt sour; people are more infuriating than people!

He was currently splitting a single grain of rice in two and boiling it into porridge...

Lu Bu was in dire straits, so he naturally wouldn't refuse the grain.

"My lord, Diao Chan is just a beauty; once you conquer the world, why worry about lacking beauties?"

Lu Bu waved his hand.

"Fine, I understand."

Three days later,

Liu Bei arrived outside Puyang City with 10,000 cavalry.

Guo Jia sighed with emotion.

"My lord, I have been to Puyang City before; it was a prosperous place. I never expected it to become so desolate."

"Giddyup!"

Lu Bu also led his troops out of the city.

He looked at Liu Bei.

"Liu Xuande's demeanor is even more impressive!"

Liu Bei laughed.

"Fengxian killed Dong Zhuo and became a hero of the world; I wish I could drink a few more cups with you."

At the time, Lu Bu had indeed become famous for killing Dong Zhuo.

Lu Bu instantly felt flattered and laughed heartily.

"Liu Xuande, you're not bad either, stabbing Dong Zhuo until he was covered in blood."

Chen Gong laughed.

"My lord, General Liu Xuande is sending us grain; hurry and invite them to drink."

Liu Bei smiled inwardly; Chen Gong was reminding him to provide the grain.

He waved his hand, and cart after cart of grain was transported over.

"Cao Cao is cruel and kills the innocent; I offer this as a token of my sincerity. I wish Fengxian a great victory over Cao Cao."

Lu Bu looked at the carts of grain and couldn't have been happier, instantly feeling that this Liu Bei fellow seemed alright.