funbook-pk Chapter 148 Is Liu Bei planning to establish his capital in Xuchang? He seeks refuge with Liu Biao!
Chapter 148 Is Liu Bei planning to establish his capital in Xuchang? He seeks refuge with Liu Biao!
At the beginning of the new year, Mi Zhen also made a special trip from Pengcheng to Dongjun to spend the New Year with Su Yu.
Given that Su Yu had already mentioned Mi Zhen to Cai Yan (also known as Cai Zhaoji, referred to as Cai Yan from now on), Cai Yan agreed to have Mi Zhen, a future business powerhouse, assist Su Yu.
Therefore, the atmosphere among the women was quite harmonious.
Of course, most of the laughter and joy today was brought by Su Yue.
Su Yue is the eldest daughter of Han Dai and Su Yusheng.
As Su Yu's daughter, she was naturally showered with love and affection in the Su family.
Cai Yan, Diao Chan, and Mi Zhen all liked Su Yue very much.
Cao Ang also brought a New Year's gift for Xiao Suyue.
In Cao Ang's heart, this was his master's daughter, and he had to treat her like his own sister!
However, Cao Cao harbored some resentment.
Cao Ang and Su Yue are too far apart in age.
Otherwise, Old Cao would definitely shamelessly try to arrange a marriage between Su Yue and Cao Ang.
now.
Old Cao, along with Madam Ding and Cao Ang, came to pay New Year's respects to Su Yu.
Madam Ding's attention was drawn to Xiao Suyue, and she had already gone off to chat with Cai Yan and Han Dai.
Cao Cao and Su Yu sat in the courtyard, drinking and discussing plans for the coming year.
As for Cao Ang, well! He's a competent wine pourer.
"Ziyi, do you think we'll still be spending the Lunar New Year in Dongjun next year?"
Old Cao picked up his wine glass and asked Su Yu a question.
"My lord, instead of spending the New Year in Dongjun, do you intend to spend it in Luoyang?"
Su Yu also raised his wine cup and drank with Cao Cao.
A glint of light flashed in Cao Cao's eyes.
Yes!
Of course I wanted to spend the Spring Festival in Luoyang, but Luoyang is now in ruins.
Spending the New Year there is meaningless except for seeing those burnt-down houses.
"Perhaps we can build a brand new city in Yuzhou."
"Let that place be the new capital of the Han Dynasty!"
Su Yu made a startling statement.
But these words, when they reached Cao Cao's ears, were exactly what he wanted to hear.
It’s different in the past.
Cao Mengde, who was once just a mere governor of Dongjun, has now become the ruler of Yanzhou and Xuzhou!
With control of two provinces, only a handful of people in the world, such as Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Gongsun Zan, and Liu Biao, could be considered his rivals.
Nowadays, apart from Xiaopei, the rest of Yuzhou is Yuan Shu's territory, and that's absolutely true.
But who can say for sure what will happen this time next year?
Su Yu already had a plan in mind.
Historically, after Cao Cao welcomed Liu Xie, he established Xuchang in Yuzhou as the capital of the Han Dynasty.
The decision to choose that location was based on a comprehensive set of considerations.
First of all, Xuchang and Luoyang are not far apart, only a little over 100 kilometers apart.
Although Luoyang was burned down, it remains a spiritual symbol of the Han Dynasty.
The decision to establish the capital in Xuchang, which was not far from Luoyang, was acceptable to Liu Xie, Cao Cao, former officials of the Han dynasty, and the common people.
Secondly, Dongjun was simply not suitable as a capital city.
Not far north of Dongjun lies the south bank of the Yellow River.
North of the Yellow River was Yuan Shao.
If Cao Cao were to establish his capital in Dongjun, he would have no defensible position to defend against Yuan Shao's attack.
By establishing his capital in Xuchang, Cao Cao had the strategic location of Guandu as a buffer, which gave him enough time to deal with Yuan Shao.
Furthermore, establishing the capital in Xuchang would also strengthen Cao Cao's control over Yu Province.
As one of the top provinces in terms of GDP in the Han Dynasty, Yuzhou, though not large in size, is of immeasurable value.
Although Yuan Shu, that spendthrift, squandered some of the potential of Yu Province.
But Yuzhou, with its rich cultural heritage, is a huge pie in the sky.
Even Yuan Shao, who controlled Ji Province, coveted Yu Province.
Suddenly, Cao Cao rubbed his hands together and pressed Su Yu for an answer:
"Ziyi, have you decided on the specific location?"
Cao Ang also looked at Cao Cao.
Su Yu drank another cup of wine and slowly said:
"Xu County in Yingchuan Prefecture".
……
Not everyone can have a happy Lunar New Year.
The three Liu brothers had a terrible New Year.
In a mountain range south of Yuzhou
The three Liu brothers, who had become outlaws, sat together, feeling resentful, as they ate their New Year's Eve dinner.
A month ago, Liu Bei brought Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to this place and recruited Zhou Cang and Pei Yuanshao, remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion.
However, these two only had a little over a thousand Yellow Turbans under their command.
At the time of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, they were just minor leaders, not high-ranking officials like Guan Hai and Zhao Hong.
To be fair, Zhou Cang's martial arts skills are not bad; he's probably at a second-rate level (in games, this is the level between 80 and 90).
With over a thousand Yellow Turban rebels, Liu Bei successfully became a mountain bandit king.
As a descendant of the esteemed Prince Jing of Zhongshan, Liu Bei was reduced to becoming an outlaw. One can imagine how grief-stricken he must have felt.
"Second brother, third brother, it is I who have implicated you."
"If we hadn't been greedy for Xuzhou back then, things wouldn't have turned out this way."
Liu Bei was deeply saddened.
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei patted him on the shoulders, one on each side, and comforted him:
"Brother, a true man can bend and stretch. What if we fail?"
"As long as the three of us brothers are still here, sooner or later we can work together to achieve great things."
Liu Bei nodded emphatically.
Nowadays, only Guan Yu and Zhang Fei can give him strength.
But soon, new problems arose.
This mountain is not a place to stay for long. If we do not occupy a stable territory in this chaotic world, it will be swallowed up by other warlords sooner or later.
"Second brother, third brother, I've thought about it, and we shouldn't go and join Yuan Shu."
"This person is mean-spirited and ungrateful, and has an arrogant attitude."
“Even if I take you to seek refuge with him, I’m afraid we won’t get anything good in return.”
Upon hearing Liu Bei's words, Zhang Fei immediately replied:
"Don't worry, brother, we'll follow you wherever you go."
“That Yuan Shu may seem powerful, but he is actually quite incompetent and has a terrible temper.”
"Working under someone like that would be truly frustrating!"
Guan Yu nodded as well.
When he fought Hua Xiong, he was beaten with ten strokes of the military rod on his back because of Yuan Shu's arrogance.
If Guan Yu hadn't been far superior to Hua Xiong in martial prowess and hadn't been under the debuff of the Ten Military Strike Blows, he probably would have become a dead soul under Hua Xiong's blade!
Of course, the power of the ten military blows was undeniable, which rendered Guan Yu unable to kill Hua Xiong, thus paving the way for Zhao Yun and making him famous throughout the world.
The thought of this made Guan Yu grit his teeth in hatred.
Liu Bei held Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's arms with satisfaction.
Immediately afterwards, a resolute look appeared in his eyes:
"I believe that we brothers should go and seek refuge with Liu Biao in Jingzhou!"
“Brother Jingsheng and I are both members of the Han imperial family and are also cultured men. I’m sure you’ll be able to accept us.”
"Furthermore, Brother Jingsheng has always wanted to seize Nanyang."
"Perhaps the three of us brothers can help him fulfill this wish!"
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei nodded heavily.
Liu Bei actually had one more thing he didn't say.
Liu Biao was no fool. While he used the power of the powerful families in Jingzhou, they were also hindering him.
Liu Biao needed to cultivate another force to counterbalance the powerful families of Jingzhou.
However, Liu Biao had few capable brothers from the same clan, his eldest son Liu Qi was a weakling, and his youngest son Liu Cong was only three years old, born to his second wife, Lady Cai.
If Liu Bei had gone to Jingzhou, he would most likely have been given an important position by Liu Biao, and might even have been left there to oversee the conquest of Nanyang!
PS: The above conjecture about Liu Bei is based on an ideal scenario; in actual history, while Liu Biao employed Liu Bei, he was also wary of him and dared not give him too much power, fearing that Liu Bei would become too powerful.