Chapter 62 Yuan-Liu form an alliance to stabilize Guandong, and his wife Sun Shangxiang gives birth
Just as various forces in the world were giving up the Guandong area because of Cao Cao, “Liu Bei’s” forces took over the three states at lightning speed and completed a gorgeous transformation to take over Cao Cao’s forces. Jiangdong was envious and did not hesitate to tear up the marriage relationship and ordered Zhou Yu to lead the army north to attack Xuzhou.

Guan Yu led dozens of cavalrymen northward and entered Qingzhou.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the seat of Qingzhou was located in Linzi County.

Qingzhou was one of the thirteen states during the Eastern Han Dynasty, and its jurisdiction was equivalent to the northern region east of Linnan, Shandong today.

Qingzhou had six counties and kingdoms under its jurisdiction, namely Pingyuan, Donglai, Jinan, Le’an, Beihai and Qi, and was governed by the Inspectorate, which later gradually evolved into the rule of provincial governors.

Qingzhou played an important role in the history of the late Eastern Han Dynasty, especially during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, when Qingzhou became the hardest hit area. However, Cao Cao successfully pacified the Yellow Turban Army in the Qingzhou area and obtained a large number of Qingzhou soldiers, which became an important basis for his fight for the world.

When Guan Yu entered Qingzhou, he had to admire the fertility of the land. However, when he thought about Yanzhou and Yuzhou that they had already obtained, and Jingzhou that they were planning, he immediately put Qingzhou out of his mind.

With the current military strength in Nanyang, it is a cause for celebration if they can absorb the two states.

He came to Qingzhou to meet Yuan Tan not for any other reason but because of the strategy that Pang Tong had originally planned.

He formed an alliance with Yuan Tan and agreed to jointly attack Yuan Shang. The condition was that not only would Xuzhou be handed over to him, but he would also support him in taking Jizhou and let him inherit everything his father had at his peak.

At that time, even if Nanyang was only allied with Yuan Tan on the surface, Yuan Shang would be extremely panicked and would send troops to fight Yuan Tan to decide the outcome first, and would definitely not go south to attack Nanyang.

Yuan Shang even went to Wancheng to ask for support instead of Yuan Tan.

Guan Yu was thinking about Pang Tong’s strategy, and a gleam of intelligence flashed in his phoenix eyes.

“I am Guan Yu, Guan Yunchang, and I am here on a mission to Qingzhou as an envoy under the orders of His Majesty and the General of the Cavalry. Why don’t you hurry and report in?”

Outside Linzi City, Guan Yu held up his beautiful beard, exuding a powerful aura, and shouted at the guards who tried to stop him.

“What? Guan Yu is outside Linzi? What is he doing in Qingzhou? Didn’t he occupy Xuzhou?”

Linzi City, the residence of the general.

When Yuan Tan heard that Guan Yu had actually come, he was immediately shocked and said.

It’s no wonder that Yuan Tan was so shocked and panicked. In fact, Guan Yu’s power was really strong in the north.

Recently, it was suddenly revealed that Cao Cao gave up the Guandong area, and the “Liu Bei” forces took over the three states at lightning speed, especially Guan Yu who occupied Xuzhou. Although Yuan Tan also wanted to get a piece of the pie, facing Guan Yu personally guarding Xuzhou and the uncertain number of troops, he had the desire but not the courage, and kept hesitating.

However, he did not expect that he did not lead his troops to Xuzhou, but Guan Yu actually came in person.

“What a bunch of rubbish! Guan Yu is outside the city, but we haven’t reported yet. If the army were to come to the gates, wouldn’t this general’s head be chopped off directly?”

In the hall, after Yuan Tan realized what was happening, he immediately started cursing loudly.

Listening to Yuan Tan’s words, Wang Zhao, one of Yuan Tan’s capable generals, suddenly felt embarrassed.

Another general, Peng An, was also quite embarrassed.

However, Guo Tu and Xin Ping looked at each other and saw the surprise in each other’s eyes.

“How many soldiers did Guan Yu bring?”

Guo Tu asked the messenger.

The messenger did not dare to neglect and said hurriedly: “There are only a few dozen cavalrymen.”

“Only a few dozen cavalrymen?” Guo Tu narrowed his eyes slightly after hearing the messenger’s words, but he breathed a sigh of relief and bowed to Yuan Tan, saying:
“My lord, I’m afraid Guan Yu came here for the sake of righteousness and peace, not to cause trouble. He tried to find out that Cao Cao had moved the capital, but that was probably a lie, because before the capital was moved, there was a fight in the Xudu Palace. Now Guan Yu said he came on behalf of the emperor and the general of the cavalry, so he must be a friend, not an enemy.”

Yuan Tan was relieved by Guo Tu’s analysis. Seeing Xin Ping nod, he said:

“If that’s the case, then let’s meet Guan Yu.”

“Call more men over here. Guan Yu is a match for ten thousand men. Don’t take him lightly.”

Although he wanted to meet Guan Yu, Yuan Tan was still afraid of Guan Yu’s reputation, so he arranged for his subordinates to recruit more people to protect him.

Soon, the majestic Guan Yu appeared in front of the general’s mansion, but he did not move forward.

Yuan Tan brought Xin Ping, Guo Tu and others out of the mansion to welcome Guan Yu in person, and Guan Yu then entered the mansion.

Everyone sat down.

Guan Yu looked at the hall, where there were at least twenty or thirty guards. He could not help but stroke his beautiful beard with a sneer on his face.

Although Yuan Tan was annoyed by Guan Yu’s arrogance, he did not dare to say harsh words to him.

“I heard that General Guan was stationed in Xuzhou. I wonder why General Guan came to Qingzhou?”

Yuan Tan asked Guan Yu puzzledly.

Guan Yu stroked his beautiful beard and said with a smile:

“This is to give you a chance, but before that, you first need to answer me, what is your position?”

Guan Yu’s tone was very impolite, and Yuan Tan was not happy about it. However, when asked about his position, Yuan Tan still looked up and said proudly:
“General Guan may not know that I am now a general and was granted the title of Marquis of Ye by the imperial court.”

Yuan Tan’s words made Guan Yu shake his head.

Seeing Guan Yu shaking his head, Yuan Tan, Peng An and others in the hall suddenly looked ugly.

It has to be said that since they met Guan Yu, he has been quite arrogant and looked down on them.

“If that’s the case, I’m afraid I won’t be able to give away this great fortune.” Guan Yu stroked his beautiful beard, and said as if he didn’t see the ugly faces of Yuan Tan, Peng An and others.

“what?”

Yuan Tan looked ugly and was burning with anger at this moment. He really didn’t like Guan Yu’s attitude.

After arriving, he didn’t say a word and showed his arrogance.

Guo Tu, on the other hand, quickly said, “General Guan, why do you say that? Why don’t you just speak frankly?”

Guan Yu seemed to see that Yuan Tan and the others were furious, and knew that he could not provoke them any further. He immediately took out the imperial edict, threw it to Guo Tu, and said, “Take a look.”

Guo Tu and Xin Ping hurried over to take a look.

The next moment, after seeing the contents of the imperial edict, Guo Tu and Xin Ping were shocked, their faces filled with surprise and shock as they looked at Guan Yu and said:

“General Guan, are you serious?”

“Haha, the imperial edict was written by His Majesty himself, and it was also stamped with His Majesty’s seal. How could it be fake? If you don’t believe it, you can go to Wancheng to see His Majesty and you will know!”

Guan Yu stroked his beautiful beard and spoke bluntly.

Yuan Tan, who was sitting in the main seat and was originally quite angry, became suspicious when he saw Guo Tu and Xin Ping looking so happy.

“What’s going on?” Yuan Tan asked in surprise.

“My Lord, this is great news, great news.” Guo Tu said to Yuan Tan in surprise:
“My lord, the imperial edict says that the previous titles of general and marquis of Ye were all rewards given by Cao Cao, a traitor, and they cannot be counted. However, His Majesty said that since the titles have been given, then so be it. However, not only will you be given the title of general and marquis of Ye, but you will also be appointed as the governor of Qingzhou and Xuzhou, and General Guan will hand over Xuzhou to you as well!”

Guo Tu told Yuan Tan the shocking news.

As soon as he received the imperial edict and read the contents, Guo Tu immediately made a judgment that this imperial edict could not be fake, because Liu Bei definitely did not have so many soldiers to occupy three states at the same time, not to mention that Guan Yu was there in person, so Guo Tu immediately believed it. “What? Hand over Xuzhou to this great general?” Yuan Tan was surprised and stood up from his seat and took the imperial edict.

Sure enough, what was written in the imperial edict was clear. Not only did he confer the title of General and Marquis of Ye on Yuan Tan, he was also allowed to concurrently serve as the Governor of Qingzhou and Xuzhou. Guan Yu would hand over Xuzhou to him.

“General Guan…General Guan, are you really willing to give Xuzhou to me?” Yuan Tan didn’t dare to call himself the general in front of Guan Yu. He rubbed his hands and asked Guan Yu excitedly.

Guan Yu looked at Yuan Tan’s inexperienced look with disdain in his heart, but he stroked his beautiful beard and said:

“Of course, I will obey the imperial edict. However, I have spent money and food and lost soldiers to capture Xuzhou, so I can’t just hand Xuzhou over to the Marquis of Ye. I have conditions!”

Yuan Tan was stunned when he heard Guan Yu’s words, but he gritted his teeth.

What conditions can be more important than a state?

“General Guan, if you have any request, just tell me. As long as it is something I can do, I will definitely not refuse.” Yuan Tan said gritting his teeth.

Guan Yu nodded, and without hesitation stated his conditions, saying:

“First, since you are willing to take Xuzhou, you should obey His Majesty’s orders and be loyal to His Majesty.”

Yuan Tan frowned slightly when he heard this, but when he saw Guo Tu and Xin Ping winking at him, he gritted his teeth and said:

“it is good!”

“Second, the Yuan family has three sons, but why did His Majesty appoint you as the general instead of Yuan Shang? It’s because you are the eldest son, so His Majesty chose you. But since he chose you, he offended Yuan Shang, so Yuan Shang became His Majesty’s enemy. Of course, he is not only His Majesty’s enemy, but also your enemy. So, starting today, you need to form an alliance with His Majesty and attack Yuan Shang together. As for the later distribution of Jizhou, each side can get half.” Guan Yu stated the second point.

Hearing Guan Yu’s words, Yuan Tan suddenly became excited.

If Guan Yu came, he would not like to listen to what Guan Yu said, but this sentence was so beautiful!
Liu Bei’s forces want to work together with Yuan Tan to destroy Yuan Shang! !

“Okay, okay, I agree to this. I will form an alliance with Your Majesty.” Yuan Tan said with a smile.

Guan Yu saw Yuan Tan’s expression and chuckled, but did not say much, and continued:
“Third, I just said that you can’t just take Xuzhou. There is no such good thing in the world. Qingzhou needs to select 30,000 veterans and 200,000 dan of grain to compensate your majesty’s forces.”

After a pause, Guan Yu smiled and said:

“Of course, in order to express my sincerity, Guan can jointly guard Xuzhou with General Yuan to deter Sun Quan of Jiangdong. Of course, whether Guan needs to cooperate or not depends on General Yuan. If not, Guan will pack up and return to Nanyang immediately!”

In the hall, Guan Yu put forward the third condition.

Thirty thousand veterans of the battlefield and two hundred thousand shi of grain.

What Nanyang lacks now is not new soldiers, but veterans of the battlefield. It is easy to recruit new soldiers, but it is not easy to train veterans.

In the hall, when Yuan Tan, Guo Tu, Xin Ping and others heard Guan Yu’s third condition, their excitement immediately subsided.

Yuan Tan frowned. Thirty thousand veterans and two hundred thousand shi of grain were not a small amount for him.

“General Guan, you must be tired after arriving in Qingzhou for the first time. You should take a rest today. We will welcome you back.”

Guo Tu said to Guan Yu with a smile.

Guan Yu knew that the other party wanted to negotiate, so he was not afraid of the other party playing tricks.

Yuan Tan also had a powerful enemy to the west, Yuan Shang.

If he provoked Nanyang again, with Zhou Yu in the south eyeing him covetously, Guan Yu did not believe that the other party would be stupid enough to do so.

Exchanging 30,000 veterans and 200,000 shi of grain for Xuzhou, a state of land, would definitely be a huge profit.

Sure enough, after discussion that day, Yuan Tan, Guo Tu and Xin Ping decided to accept the imperial edict, take over Xuzhou, and accept the conditions set by Guan Yu. However, the food amount given was a little less: 30,000 veterans on the battlefield and 150,000 shi of food. In addition, Guan Yu’s help was needed to deter Zhou Yu in the south.

Guan Yu agreed to Yuan Tan’s conditions immediately.

Yuan Tan was immediately excited about the agreement reached, and sent General Peng An with an army of 50,000 and Guan Yu with an army of 30,000 to march south to Xuzhou.

Guan Yu really did as the imperial edict ordered. He took over all the troops in the important city of Xuzhou and handed them over to Yuan Tan’s general Peng An, and then marched south to Guangling City in a mighty manner.

At this time, Zhou Yu received an order from Sun Quan to attack Xuzhou.

In Guangling City, Guan Yu’s army and Peng An’s army joined forces to fight against Zhou Yu’s army of tens of thousands.

The war did not begin.

Zhou Yu looked very gloomy.

Yuan Tan and Liu Bei formed an alliance!

This news spread across the world at an extremely fast speed.

Yuan Shang of Jizhou was furious and cursed Liu Bei for being a good-for-nothing for forming an alliance with Yuan Tan.

After a month of confrontation between Zhou Yu, Guan Yu and Peng An, he learned that the actual number of troops in Xuzhou was no less than 100,000.

In the end, Zhou Yu received an order from Sun Quan and did not start a war. He led his troops south to Shouchun in disgrace.

It has to be said that Liu Wu’s move of forming an alliance with the incompetent Yuan Tan and relying on Yuan Tan’s military strength did temporarily stabilize the situation in Guandong and secure his control over Yanzhou and Yuzhou states.

……

Wancheng, the left general’s residence, backyard.

This day.

Liu Wu, Madam Gan, whose belly was slightly bulging, and Madam Mi were outside Sun Shangxiang’s delivery room.

Mrs. Gan and Mrs. Mi, whose bellies were slightly bulging, were both pregnant again.

Maids and servants came and went in an endless stream, some bringing hot water, some changing towels.

From the room came Sun Shangxiang’s screams and the midwife’s encouraging voice.

Today is the day when Sun Shangxiang is due to give birth.

After ten months of pregnancy, Sun Shangxiang was finally about to give birth.

“Ah~ It hurts.”

“Madam, try harder!!”

……

The room was filled with screams, and both Mrs. Gan and Mrs. Mi were a little anxious.

Liu Wu had experienced this several times and was not as anxious as he had been before. However, hearing those screams, he still felt sorry for Sun Shangxiang.

After being together for a year, Liu Wu naturally had feelings for Sun Shangxiang, as she was his wife.

Of course, Liu Wu was also praying for Sun Shangxiang in the delivery room, praying that Sun Shangxiang would give birth smoothly, and even better, give birth to a child who could be used to commit fraud.

(End of this chapter)