gnovel Chapter 46 Old Lu, you old 6
Chapter 46 Old Lu, you old 6
The next day at noon,
Tao Qian arrived in Dangtu under the protection of dozens of soldiers.
After a day of rest,
Liu Bei and his party then escorted Tao Qian onto a large ship and sailed upstream along the Shuiyang River.
People on both sides of the strait stopped to watch when they saw the Liu banner.
Three days later, Wanling City came into view.
The city walls were covered with flags, the guards stood ready with swords and spears, and the city gates were tightly closed.
A middle-aged scholar stood behind the parapet on the city wall, looking down at the city below.
Zhou Shang actually closed the city gates.
Liu Bei reined in his horse and subconsciously turned to look at Lu Yong.
Lu Yong rode forward a few steps and bowed towards the city wall, saying:
"Prefect Zhou, my lord Liu Yuzhou is escorting Tao Gongzu back to his hometown to retire. Please open the city gates, Prefect."
After a moment of silence atop the city wall, Zhou Shang's voice rang out: "Where is Tao Gong?"
Liu Bei waved his hand, and a blue-curtained carriage slowly drove forward from the back of the procession.
The carriage curtain was lifted, and Tao Qian leaned halfway out, shouting towards the city wall:
"Prefect Zhou, Xuande has escorted me all the way back to my hometown. Please open the city gates immediately!"
The Tao family has deep roots in Danyang.
Tao Qian himself enjoyed extremely high prestige among the people of Danyang.
Although Zhou Shang was appointed by Liu Yao, he had only been in office for a short time and his foundation was shallow, so Liu Yao dared not obstruct him any further.
With a long sigh,
Zhou Shang had no choice but to order the garrison to open the city gates.
Liu Bei turned to Xu Sheng and said, "Wenxiang, you lead the soldiers to camp outside the city first."
Then he said to Zhou Tai, "Youping, you will lead three hundred personal guards to come into the city with us."
After Liu Bei and his entourage entered the city, Zhou Shang and his officials were already waiting at the gate to greet them.
He first bowed to Tao Qian, then turned to Liu Bei and cupped his hands, saying, "I have not yet greeted Governor Liu from afar; please forgive me."
Liu Bei dismounted, helped Zhou Shang up, and replied in a warm tone, "Prefect Zhou, you are too kind. I am only here to escort Lord Tao. Please forgive me for any inconvenience caused."
Zhou Shang's gaze lingered on Liu Bei's face for a moment, then turned to Lu Yong behind Liu Bei. He sighed inwardly and stepped aside, saying, "Please, Governor Liu."
After entering the city,
People lined both sides of the city streets, watching intently.
When someone saw Tao Qian inside the carriage, they couldn't help but cheer.
"Tao Gong is back!"
"Lord Liu really did escort Lord Tao back!"
Tao Qian simply lifted the carriage curtain and waved frequently towards the outside.
His complexion was rosy and he was in good spirits, showing no trace of the sickly appearance he had in Xuzhou.
Liu Bei remained seated on his horse the entire way, his eyes fixed straight ahead, only occasionally bowing to the people on either side.
Liu Bei, along with Zhou Shang and Tao Qian, entered the prefectural governor's residence.
Lu Yong stopped, turned around and gave a few instructions to the guards beside him.
Guo Jia saw all of this and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
The guards obeyed and quietly retreated.
Then they went outside the city and found Xu Sheng...
The group entered the main hall.
Zhou Shang invited Liu Bei to sit in the main seat, but Liu Bei declined repeatedly and finally pushed Tao Qian up instead.
at this time,
Zhou Shang's only remaining two subordinates
The forced smile on her face was almost impossible to maintain.
Tao Qian, on the other hand, remained calm and took his seat in the main seat.
He picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and then spoke:
"Prefect Zhou, when I was in Xuzhou, it was thanks to Xuande's help that I was able to save my life. This time, on my way back home, it was also Xuande who escorted me all the way, which truly moved me."
Zhou Shang sensed the weight in Tao Qian's words and forced a smile, saying, "I have long heard of Liu Yuzhou's reputation for benevolence and righteousness."
Liu Bei rose and bowed to Zhou Shang before asking, "May I ask, Prefect Zhou, what is the current situation in Danyang Commandery? I am new here and hope you will give me some guidance."
Zhou Shang pondered for a moment, then told the truth:
Of the sixteen counties in Danyang Prefecture, only five or six, including Wanling and Xuancheng, are truly under our control.
The remaining counties were either occupied by the Yue tribes or had powerful local lords who had established their own independent regimes, making it difficult to implement government policies.
Liu Bei glanced back at Lu Yong.
Lu Yong understood, and immediately stepped forward, cupping his hands in greeting to Zhou Shang:
"Prefect Zhou, now that our lord has taken up residence in Wanling, he should naturally assume responsibility for the defense of Danyang."
The governor can hand over the garrison to our lord for unified command, so that we can concentrate our forces to deal with the Shanyue and Liu Yao.
Zhou Shang's face stiffened.
He did not expect Liu Bei to be so direct, seizing his military power less than an hour after entering the city.
"No... I told you to ask how to deal with the Shanyue, why are you saying this?" Actually, Liu Bei was also bewildered. "Isn't this too hasty?"
But before Zhou Shang and Liu Bei could speak, Lu Yong preemptively asked, "I wonder if Prefect Zhou's good nephew, Zhou Gongjin, is in Wanling City?"
Lu Yong's question made Zhou Shang's heart skip a beat.
But he suppressed his panic and calmly replied:
"Division Commander, you jest. Gongjin has been staying in his hometown of Lujiang, taking care of his elderly mother. Why would he come to Wanling?"
"We were attacked by a group of unidentified people on our way, and they even set fire to Daqingshan Mountain... Fortunately, I saw through their scheme and captured many prisoners."
Upon hearing that prisoners had fallen into Lu Yong's hands, Zhou Shang's anxiety finally died completely.
With a sigh, Zhou Shang stood up, cupped his hands to Liu Bei, and said, "I am willing to obey the orders of Governor Liu."
Liu Bei originally wanted to do some foreplay to warm things up,
As a result, Lu Yong went straight for the heart of the enemy and achieved his desired result very smoothly.
This made him sigh with emotion once again:
"It still has to be Huai'an!"
"But why did Huai'an mention Zhou Yu? Could it be that he set the fire???"
Thinking about all sorts of things
Liu Bei acted swiftly, taking a few steps forward, supporting Zhou Shang with both hands, and said with a smile:
"Prefect Zhou was deeply righteous and grateful."
The prefect retained his post as prefect of Danyang, assisting Bei in governing the region.
Zhou Shang knew in his heart that his position as prefect had become a hollow title.
But recalling Zhou Yu's "instruction" before he left, to delay Liu Bei from gaining a foothold,
He could only feign gratitude and replied, "Thank you, Governor Liu."
[System Log: The host assisted Liu Bei in sidelining Zhou Shang and capturing Wanling City. Today's achievement +1.]
When Liu Bei finished exchanging pleasantries with Zhou Shang and Tao Qian and left the prefectural governor's residence...
Suddenly they discovered that all the flags on the city walls had been replaced with their own.
Xu Sheng then stepped forward, bowed, and clasped his hands, saying, "My lord, by the orders of the military advisor, I have taken complete control of Wanling City."
Liu Bei turned his head and glanced at Lu Yong.
From the information in those eyes, Lu Yong seemed to read a sentence: You old sixth brother, I really admire you!
I was still exchanging pleasantries with someone, and you just knocked them down without giving them any time to react.
To express his gratitude to Liu Bei for escorting him back to his hometown, Tao Qian...
They gave Liu Bei a large mansion and Lu Yong a medium-sized mansion.
Because Lu Su, Guo Jia, Zhao Yun, Xu Sheng, and others had no money and were not allocated housing,
So they all moved into Lu Yong's house together.
Mi Zhu, Sun Qian, Jian Yong, and the others stayed at Liu Bei's residence.
As evening fell, Liu Bei summoned everyone to his residence to discuss their next move.
Once everyone had arrived, Liu Bei spoke first:
"Wanling is now under our control. Next, we'll take southern Danyang. What are your thoughts?"
Lu Su stood up: "My lord, the most urgent task is to stabilize the hearts of the people of Wanling as soon as possible. I am willing to start tomorrow to visit the powerful families and influential clans in the city and win their support."
Mi Zhu also said, "Zhu has already sent people to contact merchants in Danyang, and the grain and supplies will be gathered soon."
Liu Bei nodded and looked at Lu Yong.
Lu Yong winked at Guo Jia.
Liu Bei understood and turned to Guo Jia, asking, "Fengxiao, what are your thoughts?"
Guo Jia cupped his hands and replied, "My lord, before we head south, we must first eliminate the spies in the city."
"spy?"
Guo Jia nodded and said, "Zhou Yu ambushed Huai'an not long ago. Although he has now left Wanling, he must have planted many spies in the city."
If we don't eliminate him in time, he will be able to monitor our every move.
Liu Bei suddenly realized and said, "Then I'll leave it to you. Make sure you get rid of all the spies."
"Yes!" Guo Jia bowed and accepted, thus taking on his first task after joining Liu Bei's group.