Licheng, a city located at the junction of Qingzhou, Yanzhou and Jizhou, is under the jurisdiction of Jinan County, Qingzhou. It can be like Jizhou to the north, and Yanzhou to the south, which is a very important strategic road.

However, it was only when Yuan Shao sent troops to invade Qingzhou that Licheng had fought fiercely for Jizhou and Qingzhou. Since Yuan Shao was defeated by his son Liu He today, Qingzhou has been very stable. Licheng, a strategic fortress, naturally was useless. Instead, it gradually became a transit hub for business travel, traveling to and from Ji and Yanzhou, or going to Luoyang and Chang'an, and has become very prosperous over the years.

However, in recent months, a large army has suddenly settled in this prosperous city. As soon as the army came in, it closed the four gates and cut off everyone's entry and exit, leaving the caravans with the need to take a detour.

In the largest building in the city, Liu Bei and Tian Feng discussed military affairs, but saw Jiang Huan hurried in.

"Big brother, third brother, two military advisors."

When Liu Bei saw him, he hurriedly called him to sit down: "How is it, have you ever heard of any news?"

Jiang Huan took a sip of water and said, "As expected by the military advisor, Cao Cao and Sun Jian were all defeated. In the battle of Ancheng, Cao Cao lost his troops and generals. Dian Wei, the general under his command, was defeated and captured by the emperor. Thanks to Xiahou Dun's timely capture of Shenyang City, Cao Mengde fled to Shenyang and joined forces with Xiahou Dun to regain his military power and temporarily protect himself."

"As for the battle in Hefei, it was even more tragic. Sun Ce was ambushed, injured very hard, and almost died. Xu Sheng and Quan Cong died in battle. Sun Jian had already attacked the city gate, but was attacked by the Shenhu Cavalry, causing chaos in the morale of the army and being led to a pull. Xu Huang immediately counterattacked. The soldiers and horses in Jiangdong threw away their helmets and lost more than 20,000 people."

"Okay, okay." Liu Bei was happy.

Zhang Fei, who was standing aside, said in surprise: "Brother, although I have never liked Cao Zhe and Sun Jian's son, they are our allies after all. Why are I so happy with the news of their defeat?"

"Uh...haha..." Liu Bei, Jiang Huan and others burst into laughter.

"Third brother, third brother, have you forgotten that although we have temporarily formed an alliance with these two people, they are ultimately traitors in the court, and the Han gang members. If they were defeated, it was naturally the court that won. We cleared the emperor to support the court, not to commit rebellion. How could we not be happy when the traitors were defeated?"

When Zhang Fei heard this, he also understood: "Ah, yes, yes, I'm confused. It should be like this, it's worth being happy, it's worth being happy, hehe."

Jiang Huan asked, "Since both of them are defeated, it's our turn to attack next."

“That’s natural.”

Liu Bei responded and looked at Tian Feng and Shen Pei: "I wonder where the two military advisors think our army should attack first?"

Tian Feng said without hesitation: "What our army is trying to do is not to subvert the court, but to arouse the emperor's attention. If you are in Yuzhou today, the emperor will personally fight, so we should naturally fight to the south so that we can meet the emperor as soon as possible and give us loyal advice."

When Liu Bei heard this, he nodded frequently: "Well... Yuan Hao's words are reasonable. Now most of the soldiers and horses in Yanzhou are transferred to fight against Cao Cao. Our army is determined to go south at this time and shock the government and the country. In this way, the emperor will come to ask for punishment in person. At that time, he will give his advice to His Majesty well, which will work."

His words were so convincing and sincere. His faction was like a peerless loyal minister who sacrificed his life for the sake of the Han Dynasty.

Jiang Huan was very moved: "Brother is loyal and can be seen by the sun and the moon. Today, I am a wise king who is rare in the ages. I was just blinded by treacherous ministers and acted too quickly. My elder brother went to advise him personally, and he would definitely be able to let Your Majesty abandon evil and do good. The country is very lucky and the people are very lucky."

"Report..."

In the prefect of Taishan County, a soldier ran over in a hurry.

The prefect of Taishan is Zhao Jin, the eldest son of Shangdang Zhao family, and the eldest brother of Zhao Ying, the wife of Deng Yuan, who had just died in battle not long ago.

Zhao Jin is now a middle-aged man in his thirties, with two feet of beard, and he has a little more capable in his elegance. He is playing chess with another middle-aged man, and this person is Chen Gong.

After Liu He learned that Liu Bei was about to join forces with Cao Cao, he transferred Chen Gong to the prefect of Le'an County, Qingzhou. However, like Xu Shu, he had not had time to take office, but before he could take office, Liu Bei had already led his army to Qingzhou and seized control of Qingzhou. Therefore, Chen Gong had to temporarily retreat to the nearby Taishan County.

Zhao Jin looked up at the person and slowly fell down again: "Why are you so panicked?"

The young man looked pale and looked very panicked: "Report to the prefect...Liu Bei led his army ten... ten... fifteen thousand, and he had already reached less than three...thirty miles outside the city..."

"Hmm?" The chess piece that Zhao Jin was about to fall again hung in the air.

"Did Liu Bei attack my Taishan County?"

Chen Gong opposite said, "After Liu Bei raised his troops in the name of "clearing the king's side", he kept stationing troops in Licheng, Cao Cao and Sun Jian. The battle with the imperial court was difficult to distinguish, and he never moved too much. He thought he was going to sit in the mountains and watch the tiger fight, but suddenly came to attack, and did not go to Jizhou, but came to our Yanzhou, which was a bit unexpected."

"Yes, Zhao originally thought that Liu Bei had ulterior motives. Even if he advanced, he would stay away from the Yuzhou army of the imperial court. He would only go to Jizhou to conquer cities and plunder and expand his power. For this reason, in addition to his memorial to His Majesty, I also wrote a letter to Cui Junshi, the current governor of Jizhou, Cui Fuping, reminding him to be more cautious, but he did not expect that Liu Bei would still come to my Taishan County."

Zhao Jin also seemed a little surprised, but he was not too panicked.

Chen Gong stroked his beard, stared at the chessboard with his eyes, and looked at him without looking at him: "Come on, since you come, then you can rest assured. Although he has many soldiers, can he still eat you and me?"

Zhao Jin looked at him and said helplessly: "Public Stage, do you have any strategies to retreat to the enemy? I am a civil servant, and I don't know military strategies or martial arts. The defenders in the city are only more than 10,000. Half a month ago, you borrowed three thousand troops and said that you would use it for moving. You have to come up with a clever plan no matter what."

"Haha, you, you, the prefect of a county, are still considered a small account for these three thousand people. Don't worry, I have calculated that there should be news today for those three thousand people."

Chen Gong did not answer, but took a chess piece, thought about it again and again, and fell to a corner.

"Hahaha... you lost again in this game."

Zhao Jin looked at the chess game: "Okay, in terms of chess skills, I am not as good as you. If you lose, you will lose. The official station, looking at your expression, it seems that you are confident. What good strategies do you have? Can you tell me to listen to it so that I can feel at ease?"

Chen Gong looked at him calmly and smiled: "Don't worry, I have my own way to withdraw my troops, so I can ensure that you are safe in Taishan County."

"Oh, really?"

"Haha, why should I deceive you? Let's go up the city tower together."

The two of them immediately left the government office, stepped on their war horses, and galloped towards the city gate.

Not long after, Liu Bei's army arrived outside the city.

"Where is the prefect Zhao?" Liu Bei shouted with his fists.

Zhao Jin took a step forward and replied, "Zhao is here. Envoy Liu, you and I haven't seen each other for many years. I recall the past when Shangdang, I fought against the enemy and served the country. My Zhao family has been taken care of by the envoys, but I don't expect that the envoys have become a rebellion in the court. It is really unpredictable."

Liu Bei said, "The prefect is not saying this. This time, it is not for personal honor and disgrace. It is because Xun Yu, Qian Li and others took advantage of the retreat of His Majesty to make power and make policy, instructing cruel officials and cruel officials to harm the gentry, and poison the people with severe punishments and laws. In just a few months, more than 200 families of gentry were killed. Not long ago, when Man Chong took advantage of His Majesty's orders to inspect the local area and rectify public order, he also sent more than 80 families of Hebei and the place was collected, and their heads were hung outside the city gates in various places, and the bodies were exposed to the wilderness. Even if the elderly, young, women and children were still exiled. Such a violent act was contrary to the way of the saint, and it was also very different from the concept of our Han governing the country with benevolence and righteousness."

"This behavior will inevitably lead to the anger of heaven and people, and the people are disheartened. Your Majesty has been prejudiced by aristocratic families for many years. Now he is deceived by traitors and has made great mistakes. He is a relative of the Han Dynasty and has received his support from him. Only then can he dare not do his best to support the country? Since Your Majesty is wrong, our ministers should be good at admonishing them, which is the way to be loyal."

After he said this, many generals behind him, including Tian Feng, Shen Pei and Chen Deng, also nodded frequently. Although Zhao Jin and others did not agree, they did not refute for a while, and just bowed their heads and said nothing.

Liu Bei sighed, showing a look of pain and entanglement on his face.

"Today, Bei had no choice but to carry out military advice, which is a helpless act. As long as Your Majesty can dismiss the treacherous ministers and issue an edict to guilty, Bei immediately withdrew his troops and went to Luoyang in person to apologize. Even if he wanted to be executed by Lingchi and to pieces, as long as it was beneficial to the Han Dynasty, Bei would never retreat."

When Zhao Jin heard this, he frowned slightly. He said to Chen Gong beside him: "Liu Bei's words are sincere and full of emotions. He really doesn't look like a false person. In addition, he doesn't go to attack Jizhou, but wants to come to my Taishan County. As he said, just to persuade His Majesty?"

Chen Gong sneered, "How could Ziyu trust others so easily? Liu Bei is loyal and cunning in his heart. Since ancient times, no one is more than a loyal person. Otherwise, why would even be deceived by His Majesty for many years?"

"Then...what should we deal with it now?"

Chen Gong waved his hand: "Don't worry, although Liu Bei's military power is strong, he has a fatal weakness."

When Zhao Jin heard this, he immediately became interested: "What weakness is it? Let's talk about it and listen to me."

"Haha, the secret of heaven cannot be revealed, and Ziyu is optimistic."

Chen Gong left such an inexplicable sentence, then went down the city tower, then opened the city gate, and walked out alone.

"Hey...public platform..." Zhao Jin was in a hurry and saw that he was unable to call Chen Gong, so he ran away himself.

The two stood side by side, only thirty or forty steps away from Liu Bei.

"I have met two gentlemen." Liu Bei bowed again, but Zhao Jin waved impatiently.

"The envoy does not have to be too polite. I was ordered to guard Taishan County. Although what the envoy said makes some sense, I am responsible for my mission and will never let you enter the city."

At this time, Zhang Fei shouted: "Who wants you to let go? When I, Old Zhang, lead my army into the city, I don't have to have so many words."

"Yi De keeps up. If you dare to talk nonsense, you will go back to Xuzhou first."

Liu Bei scolded him sternly, and Zhang Fei hurriedly kept silent.

"My third brothers are reckless, please don't blame me." Liu Bei saluted again.

"These false rituals will be spared. The two of us did not avoid axes and horses to see the envoy, but we thought of the envoy's relative bloodline and wanted to give the envoy a last chance. As long as the envoy retreated immediately, we would report to the emperor and never pursue the envoy's crime. How about it?"

When Liu Bei heard this, he looked at Chen Gong and said, "The public platform is full of good intentions, and I am reminded of the five internal ranks. However, it is imperative to prepare for our Han Dynasty and the people of the world. Now, Cao and Sun families have been defeated by Your Majesty. If you are ready to advance at this moment, you will not hurt the foundation of the imperial army. I just want to meet with Your Majesty. Why should you stop them?"

"Hmph, it sounds nice." Zhao Jin snorted coldly, "Cao Cao, although the two thieves of Sun Jian were defeated, they did not lose their vitality. If your army goes south, these two people will definitely make a comeback. At that time, attacks from three sides, and Your Majesty may be killed by you. And all the princes are young. At that time, you, the emperor of the dynasty, will you, come to Luoyang with the power of victory. Humph, can't the court become the object of your hand?"

"Bold, my elder brother is loyal. How dare you slander him so much?"

Jiang Huan and Zhang Fei both spoke angrily, but Zhao Jin just glanced at them coldly and did not take the two of them seriously. Zhang Fei was immediately furious and was about to have an attack, but was forced to be pressed down by Liu Bei again.

Liu Bei stared at Zhao Jin and Chen Gong closely, his face still full of pleading and grief: "You two really refuse to let me go? Both gentlemen are great talents in the world and the imperial court. Since there are treacherous people in the court, you don't ask you to meet the emperor with Bei to give advice, but just ask for our army to be released. If you have any guilt in the future, you can bear it with all your strength. How about it?"

"It's easy to say it." Chen Gong showed disdain, but then his tone changed.

"It is not impossible to ask me to give way. Unless you send me off your armor, dismiss the army, and enter the city alone, and then we will escort you to meet Your Majesty. Your Majesty is kind and loving to the people, and may redeem your guilt. Isn't it beautiful that I will work together to serve the court in the future?"

Liu Bei's face became a little ugly. He no longer continued to answer the two of them, but said directly: "In this way, are you determined to fight with Bei?"

Zhao Jin stepped forward and said, "Zhao was not interested in going against governor Liu, but governor Liu liked to oppose us everywhere. If the envoy really insisted on attacking the city, although Zhao was not talented, he should still live and die with Taishan County."

He said this with great force, then drew out his sword and glared at Liu Bei.

Seeing this, Liu Bei sighed with regret: "Oh, it seems that we will still meet each other after all. I will be able to give you the order..."

"The last time I will obey the order." Jiang Huan, Zhang Fei, Taishi Ci, and Chen Dao responded in unison.

"The whole army attacked the city, the second brother attacked the east gate, the third brother attacked the south gate, Ziyi attacked the west gate, and the uncle attacked the north gate."

After Liu Bei's army ordered, the four generals immediately took the order, so they wanted to lead the army to act separately.

Zhao Jin's face changed and he pulled Chen Gong: "Budance, where is your trick?"

Chen Gong did not answer him, but pulled Zhao Jin back quickly to the city, and then raised his eyes toward the southeast from the city tower, as if waiting for something.

Seeing that the army had reached the city wall, Liu Bei's eyes and face changed, and he no longer had the image of kindness before, but he became a little colder.

At this moment, a soldier hurriedly ran over behind him.

"Lord, Xuzhou... Something happened in Xuzhou."

Liu Bei, Tian Feng, Shen Pei and others were all excited, especially Chen Deng, whose face immediately became anxious.

"How is Xuzhou?" Liu Bei asked.

"Late at night four days ago, a soldier suddenly came from the south and attacked the city of Qi County, Donghai County."
To be continued...