Mythical Version of Three Kingdom

The submission of the Yellow Turbans meant that Liu Bei no longer had any internal threats. However, for the other warlords who received this news, there was only silence. Guan Hai’s act of righteousness shocked them all and left them with the feeling that Liu Bei might be a reincarnation of Emperor Guangwu, Liu Xiu.

In the past, Emperor Guangwu had similarly risen from a declining royal family, rapidly gaining momentum as people from all directions flocked to his banner, eventually uniting the empire. Liu Bei seemed to be repeating this process—first with the million-strong Yellow Turbans emerging from Qingzhou and submitting after their leader bowed before him, then with Guan Hai’s sacrifice, all leading to the complete capture of both land and hearts.

Land itself wasn’t the crucial issue; it was the hearts of the people that mattered. When Yuan Shao received this information, it gave him a massive headache. At their level, acquiring territory was easy, but winning over the people’s loyalty was the real challenge.

Take Yuan Shao’s conquest of Youzhou, for example—it had gone smoothly in terms of military victory, but how many of Youzhou’s people truly submitted to his rule? The most significant portion of Yuan Shao’s efforts was spent suppressing internal rebellions. Even after accepting Jizhou from Han Fu under Ju Shou’s strategy, the rebellion of Guan Chun and his group had still erupted.

This was the case even within Yuan’s own domain, which would have faced even greater turmoil without the influence of his family’s long-standing presence. Meanwhile, in the newly conquered territories of Bingzhou and Youzhou, rebellions kept breaking out—one day here, another day there—since the regions had been brought under Yuan’s control.

In Bingzhou, however, the rebellions were fewer compared to Youzhou. Xun Chen’s approach of teaching Guo Yuan and Gao Gan how to win the people’s loyalty had made a significant difference. Bingzhou’s populace could be won over by a simple method—war.

This ”war” wasn’t directed against the people of Bingzhou but against the nomads in the north. Xun Chen’s method, honed through centuries of conflict between the Han people and the nomads dating back to the Spring and Autumn period, involved stoking this ancient hatred and rallying the people behind Yuan Shao’s army as heroes of the frontier.

Though it was a bloody method, it was effective. The people of Bingzhou now accepted Yuan Shao’s rule, with only occasional rebellions. Xun Chen had even implemented a law allowing rebels to redeem themselves by fighting the nomads in the north and earning the recognition of the border people, which made the region relatively easy to manage.

As for agricultural development, Xun Chen had entirely abandoned it. Without sufficient seeds, tools, or scientific farming methods, there was little chance of success in the short term. When Xun Chen and Tian Feng devised the plan for conquering Bingzhou, they concluded that raiding and pillaging would yield quicker results than farming. With five to six million nomads to the north, they reasoned, they could both train troops and loot resources.

This strategy had worked for Gongsun Zan, who had forged his White Horse Cavalry through such raids. Surely, Yuan Shao’s army could create their own elite cavalry, the Bingzhou Wolf Riders. After all, cavalry was an invaluable asset.Training cavalry from scratch, however, was no small feat. As Xun Chen and Tian Feng noted, it wasn’t as simple as acquiring horses and suddenly having a cavalry force. Most of Liu Bei’s mounted troops were more akin to infantry on horseback, with only a few commanders truly capable of leading cavalry in battle.

In short, Xun Chen and Tian Feng had harnessed the enmity between the Bingzhou people and the northern nomads, transforming Yuan Shao’s army into heroes of the frontier. This had led to large numbers of Bingzhou men joining the army, particularly those skilled in horseback riding.

The rest wasn’t their problem. Raiding and pillaging were the professional skills of many military commanders. In no time, Yuan Shao’s forces had amassed one or two cavalry corps.

All of this served to highlight that Yuan Shao had invested considerable effort in winning over the people of Bingzhou. In contrast, Youzhou, still haunted by Gongsun Zan’s legacy of repelling nomads, remained a thorny issue.

This disparity made Yuan Shao particularly resentful of how easily Liu Bei had pacified Qingzhou.

“Gongyu, how are Yuanhao and Youru progressing in dealing with the Black Mountain Bandits? We started subduing them earlier than Liu Xuande began with the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans, yet he’s already won over the people of Qingzhou. Do we have any good news on our side?” Yuan Shao asked Du Ji, clearly displeased. The loss of the ten thousand shi of grain to the Yellow Turbans was already something Yuan had stopped fretting over.

“Unfortunately, the situation with the Black Mountain Bandits hasn’t improved much,” Du Ji replied with a bitter smile. He had just reported this to Yuan Shao the previous day, and at the time, Yuan had advised taking it slowly to avoid leaving any loose ends. But now it seemed that Liu Bei’s success had rattled Yuan Shao, who was itching to compete with him.

Yuan Shao exhaled slowly. “I’ve been too hasty. War isn’t something that can be rushed; impatience only leads to mistakes. But am I just supposed to watch as Liu Xuande continues to expand?”

“You are wise, my lord,” Du Ji said with a bow. “I have here a secret letter from Liu Xuande’s close advisor, Li Wenru.”

“Wise? Hmph!” Yuan Shao snorted, then asked, “Li Wenru? I don’t recall hearing that name before. What does he want? And what’s in his letter?” Yuan’s instincts told him this could be an opportunity.

Du Ji signaled to Xu You, who was in charge of intelligence. Xu You stepped forward and recounted all the information he had gathered over the past few months, making Yuan Shao smile from ear to ear.

“Ziyuan, why didn’t you share such good news with me sooner?” Yuan Shao playfully chided Xu You, having grown up with him and feeling no need for excessive formalities.

“Since Gongyu returned from Taishan, he’s been cautious, fearing a trap. He instructed me to investigate thoroughly, so I refrained from troubling you, my lord. But after six months of observation, we’ve confirmed that Li Wenru can be trusted and used,” Xu You replied with a smile.

Du Ji’s caution had indeed tested Xu You’s patience. He had been confident three months earlier, but Du Ji had insisted on continued observation. After another three months of careful scrutiny, they finally concluded that Li You could serve as a valuable asset in undermining Liu Bei from within.

“We must be careful with such matters. If there is any deceit, the consequences could be disastrous,” Du Ji maintained his cautious stance. However, he acknowledged that Li You was a formidable figure, having managed to maintain his facade flawlessly. As the official in charge of household registration, Li You had a keen awareness of which of Yuan Shao’s spies were active in Yizhou, and most of them had unknowingly fallen into his traps.