Chapter 36: Taking Over Xuzhou

Liu Bei and Jia Xu led 40,000 troops escorting the prisoners to Xuzhou City. Those prisoners willing to stay were hastily incorporated into the city defense forces, while those unwilling Liu Bei planned to have them do hard labor such as mining iron ore.

After all, those who made mistakes should undergo labor reform, right?

"I can't let you eat my food for free! If later generations of capitalists knew about this, they'd laugh their heads off!"

Mi Zhu, Chen Deng, Guan Yu and others led Xuzhou's civil and military officials to greet Liu Bei at the city gate; Liu Bei rode forward on a fast horse to meet them.

Mi Zhu and Chen Deng smiled and bowed to Liu Bei, who hurried forward and supported both with his hands.

"Zi Zhong, Yuan Long, you've worked hard! I am deeply grateful for your help."

The two exchanged a glance, and Mi Zhu stepped forward and said:

"Lord Xuan De, Lord Tao passed away two days ago; Xuzhou is in turmoil, and we didn't have time to send you a letter. On his deathbed, the elder instructed us to assist you in taking charge of Xuzhou, so please do not decline."

Liu Bei's heart pounded; he hadn't expected to arrive a step late. He had always respected the elder Tao Qian, and as a senior Confucian scholar, Tao Qian had always placed the people first.

As Liu Bei's sworn brother, Guan Yu understood him well, so Second Brother stepped forward to comfort Liu Bei, saying:

"Elder brother, don't take this too hard; the elder had high hopes for you, and naturally he wouldn't want you to be heartbroken over this."

Liu Bei patted Guan Yu's shoulder.

"This time, when Lu Bu attacked Xuzhou, it was all thanks to Second Brother's quick reaction; Yunlong truly lives up to being my brother."

Guan Yu smiled without speaking, while Zhang Fei, seeing his second brother after a long time, could hardly contain his joy.

Zhang Fei ran forward, excitedly embraced Guan Yu, and burst out laughing.

"Second Brother is different now; with one strike he cut down Cao Cao's treacherous chief general, Che Zhou."

"Third Brother, you look much more robust as well."

"Second Brother, I've recently practiced a few new moves; I'll show you them another day."

"Oh? Then elder brother will be waiting to see."

Everyone chatted as they entered the city, while Liu Bei went straight to Tao Qian's residence to oversee some affairs.

Tao Qian's son produced the letter his father had left for Liu Bei, who unfolded it and read it word by word.

"Lord Xuan De, from spring to summer, if you see this letter, it's not for other matters: only because my illness is grave, I may not last from morning to evening; I earnestly hope that Lord Yin will pity the Han realm's cities and lands, accept the seal of Xuzhou, and even in death I may rest in peace."

"I have sons: my eldest Shang and youngest Ying; their talents are not fit for great responsibility. After my death, I still hope Lord Yin will instruct them, and not let them handle provincial affairs."

"I recommend one person who can serve as your chief assistant: a native of Beihai, surname Sun, given name Qian, courtesy name Gongyou; he can be employed as an aide."

"The letter cannot say everything; Lord Xuan De is a hero of the age. May you soon establish your achievements and support the great hall before it collapses."

Reading the letter by lamplight, Liu Bei felt as if the old friend of different ages stood before him, entrusting him with trivial matters; a surge of endless sorrow welled up in his heart, and he could not help but tear up.

……

The next day, Liu Bei ordered all personnel of the Jing'an Army, the Guiyi Army, and the Snow Dragon Cavalry to wear mourning and enter the city, while the populace crowded outside the official residence to see him.

Liu Bei had performed splendidly in Xuzhou's several defense battles, and the people remembered it fondly; moreover, he vigorously developed agriculture, and the curved-plow brought great benefits to Xuzhou's populace.

Naturally, the people of every household in Xuzhou had long regarded Liu Bei as their governor.

After the troops mourned, Mi Zhu presented the seal of Xuzhou to Liu Bei; the populace crowded forward to view it, and someone shouted loudly:

"If Lord Liu does not take charge of Xuzhou, then we people of Xuzhou will have few good days to live."

Jia Xu and the generals Guan, Zhang, Zhao, and Xu also stepped forward to urge Liu Bei to accept the seal of Xuzhou; under the unanimous expectation of all, Liu Bei received the seal symbolizing legitimate authority over Xuzhou.

Afterwards Liu Bei appointed Mi Zhu as Assistant Governor, Chen Deng as Clerk, Guan Yu as Military Officer, Jia Xu as Military Strategist and concurrently as Ritual Officer, and Jian Yong as Academician.

Afterwards Liu Bei gazed at a thirty-year-old scholar in the crowd, whose dignified bearing and natural aura marked him as a top-tier talent in Three Kingdoms diplomacy—Sun Qian.

Liu Bei then had the Little Lu Ban System scan his attributes.

"Sun Qian: Strength 40, Intelligence 88, Politics 91, Leadership 30, Health 92; loyalty to the host 89."

"His intellect and strategy are not top-notch, but some qualities cannot be captured by the data; Sun Qian is certainly a rare diplomatic talent of the Three Kingdoms era, and Liu Bei has already planned to build a luxurious diplomatic elite team around him and Jian Yong."

Liu Bei appointed Sun Qian as Director of Records, overseeing all documents in the office; this too was making good use of his talents.

Afterwards Liu Bei moved all troops into the city, issued a notice to pacify the populace, and simultaneously arranged Tao Qian's funeral.

Liu Bei ordered all military personnel to wear mourning, held a grand memorial service for Tao Qian; after the funeral rites were completed, he buried Tao Qian at the source of the Yellow River, thus allowing him to guard day and night the land he loved.

Afterwards Liu Bei had Tao Qian's memorial sent to Xuchang to petition the court on all matters.

Cao Cao and Liu Bei both now harbor a bellyful of anger; Liu Bei's arrangements in Chang'an have been completely disrupted by Cao Cao, who even snatched away the young emperor, causing Liu Bei to lose his innate political advantage at once—yet he still has the identity of imperial uncle as a shield, making him the most legitimately acting among the feudal lords.

Cao Cao feels that he poured so much effort into Xuzhou, only for Liu Bei to reap the benefit! What's more hateful is that Liu Bei has also defeated his own troops, the forty thousand elite soldiers nearly annihilated..

"When have I, Boss Cao, ever suffered such a loss?!"

Both sides hold a grudge, each hating the other to the point of gritted teeth.