Chapter 386 Understanding the Righteousness
Snow also began to fall in Dai County, and the mountains and fields were covered with fresh snow.

On Feihu Road, Liu Bei led more than ten riders eastward and stopped on the mountain ridge to look into the distance.

He wanted to lead his army back to Zhuo County, and the fastest way was Feihu Road.

From Lingqiu County in the south of Dai County, go eastward and enter Guangchang County in the northernmost part of Yuyang County. Then go east through Wuruan Pass and you will enter the central part of Zhuo County.

This route is fast, but there is a risk of collision with the main force of Yuan’s army at any time.

Another more formal route is to go through Gaoliu in the north of Dai County, follow the road inside the Great Wall to the northeast to Shanggu County, then turn southwest from Shanggu County to enter Guangyang County, and then go south from Ji County, the county seat of Guangyang County, to enter Zhuo County.

This road is really too long, and as October approaches, the mountainous areas may be blocked by heavy snow at any time.

So Liu Bei had no choice but to take the Feihu Road, but the situation in Youzhou was worse than he had imagined.

The Wuhuan in the Three Counties had expanded to the Five Counties, developing westward from Youbeiping, Liaodong, and Liaoxi to Yuyang County and Shanggu County. A small number of Wuhuan settlements would enter the Dai County when they were nomadic.

Zhuo County was the southernmost county in Youzhou and also the base of Yuan Xi, the governor of Youzhou.

The six counties that Xianyu Fu nominally ruled were Dai County, Shanggu County, Yuyang County, Zhuo County, Guangyang County and Youbeiping County from west to east.

To the east of Youbeiping County are Liaoxi, Liaodong, Xuantu and Langfang counties, which are controlled by Gongsun Du.

The Wuhuan of the three counties did not dare to invade eastward under the rule of Gongsun Du, and cooperated with the Yuan family to develop westward and erode the rule of Xianyu Fu.

Xianyu Fu is from Yuyang County. What he truly controls is only most of Yuyang, half of Shanggu, and a little bit of Dai County. He is currently competing with Yuan Xi for Guangyang County.

Control over Ji County in Guangyang County is very important. Whoever gets it will possess the righteousness of Youzhou.

At present, Ji County is still under the control of Xianyu Fu, which is the only good news for Liu Bei.

As for his hometown Zhuo County, it was actually controlled by Yuan Xi.

Due to differences in political positions and interests, the six western counties of Youzhou were broken into pieces, with you in me and me in you.

On the one hand, they sought help from the Wuhuan, and on the other hand, they made friends with the Xianbei in the east.

In this environment of fierce confrontation, the officials and people of Youzhou suffered greatly and generally felt war-weary.

Liu Bei was not a outsider to Youzhou. His arrival was immediately welcomed by the people of Youzhou under the rule of Xianyu Fu and Yuan Xi.

The arrival of various envoys and messengers showed Liu Bei a broken Youzhou.

The only consolation was that the Xianbei and Wuhuan in the east checked and balanced each other, and neither could dominate; at the same time, Yuan Xi was not a war-loving person and never fought a battle without confidence.

In the past few years, when fighting with Xianyu Fu, they either fought harassment wars or instigated the Wuhuan to attack and plunder Xianyu Fu; Xianyu Fu also used similar countermeasures here.

The two sides have not fought a large-scale decisive battle, and the strength of both sides remains relatively intact, with no imbalance.

This also made it difficult for the Wuhuan and Xianbei in the periphery to expand their victory, thus ensuring the overall security of Youzhou.

It did not disappear directly like the four Shuofang counties, which were invaded by the various Hu peoples and turned into horse grazing land.

So over the years, the people of Youzhou under Yuan Xi's command have worked really hard, and it was these people's efforts that avoided a large-scale decisive battle and escalation of conflicts.

As a person from a border county, Liu Bei naturally understood the grievances of the people of Youzhou.

To a certain extent, when Yuan Xi took office as the governor of Youzhou, he was controlled by the Youzhou people he recruited.

The efforts of these Youzhou people influenced each other and slowed down the pace of Yuan's annexation of Youzhou, thus avoiding large-scale deaths in Youzhou.

Xianyu Fu also controlled the scale of the resistance, otherwise the counterattack before Guandu would be too strong, and Yuan Shao would not be able to launch the Battle of Guandu with peace of mind, and would have to stabilize Youzhou first.

So on the eve of Guandu, Xianyu Fu of Youzhou was just a small problem in Yuan Shao's eyes. He was a whetstone for honing his son's skills and was not worth wasting time on.

By now, the people of Youzhou under Yuan Xi's command have also been influenced by Yuan Xi and their stance has changed.

In short, Youzhou still has great potential compared to the four states in the Central Plains; but it cannot withstand large-scale wars. Only if it can smoothly take over all six counties can it maintain this potential and have the possibility of sustainable development.

By taking over the six counties relatively smoothly and eliminating the harassment and sabotage from the Wuhuan and Xianbei, Youzhou's potential will be unleashed.

Liu Bei was now feeling homesick, so he stopped his horse on a high place and looked at Feihu Road. He couldn't help but think of his life when he was young, trading horses and smuggling with his friends.

After watching for a long time, Liu Bei's face was reddened by the cold wind. Zhang Fei, who had the best eyesight, suddenly pointed to the road in the distance and said, "Brother, here we come!"

Liu Bei's expression perked up. He looked carefully and saw a group of knights turning around the foot of the mountain seven or eight miles away and gradually appearing: "Let's go back to the camp!"

A dozen people around mounted their horses and turned their horses towards the camp.

Guan Yu had been directing his soldiers to cut down trees and shrubs near the camp, and when he saw Liu Bei coming back, he went to greet him and asked, "Brother, is Han Zhizhong here?"

"Well, it's as promised."

Liu Bei reined in his horse and told Guan Yu, "Come with me back to the camp to change clothes and gowns, and together we will receive Han Zhizhong."

"Here."

Guan Yu agreed, looked around and his eyes fell on Zhao Yun, and he immediately handed the work to Zhao Yun.

Soon, Yuan Xi, the governor of Youzhou, and Han Heng, the governor of Youzhou, led more than a hundred cavalrymen and drove more than a thousand cattle and sheep as rewards for the army and slowly approached.

Han Heng was from Dai County and had been recruited by Yuan Xi as Beijia for five years.

Sun Qian, who was appointed by Black Bear as the governor of Dai County, came out of the camp to greet Han Heng. Han Heng hurriedly dismounted and saluted first, and Sun Qian followed suit and returned the salute, showing great humility.

Sun Qian pulled Han Heng onto the carriage and headed into the camp. The carriage had no driver, and the oxen pulling the carriage were led by soldiers, and the carriage was moving as fast as walking.

As there was no third person, Sun Qian asked: "The Grand Marshal intends to reorganize Youzhou. My lord, the General Zhenbei, is famous throughout the world and is admired by the people. Now I am following the Grand Marshal's order to station troops in Youzhou. I wonder what Envoy Yuan intends to do."

"My lord Yuan Shijun respects Lord Xuande and would not dare to have any intention of offending him."

Han Heng bowed in the direction of Zhuo County and continued, "The people of our state have suffered from the troubles of the Hu for a long time. Now that Lord Xuande has taken over the post of Zhenbei, all the officials and people of our state are happy. The only worry is that the Grand Marshal is currently leading troops in Hexi. If the Hu coalition forces invade, how can the Zhenbei General resist?"

So far, Black Bear has not made any appointments to county chiefs in Zhuo County and Guangyang County, and has not encroached upon the areas actually controlled by Yuan Xi.

When Sun Qian saw that Han Heng's words were not very confident, he knew that this person was also afraid of angering Sima.

Although the Taihang Mountains are very vast, what happened in Taiyuan and Hedong counties in Shanxi has now spread to all counties in Shandong.

Han Heng's hometown is Dai County, so he is even more wary of Guanzhong.

In view of this, Sun Qian said: "My lord came here naturally to protect the territory and the people, and also to cooperate with the Grand Marshal to conquer the various Hu people. The war in Hexi will eventually stop one day. I wonder if the people of Junzhou will help the Grand Marshal when he leads his troops eastward to eliminate the border troubles for Youzhou?"

"This is a battle of righteousness, and it involves personal interests. How can the men and women of our state just sit back and watch?"

Han Heng said confidently: "Even my lord, Envoy Yuan, will do his utmost to help."

Not only did he want to send troops to help in the war, but he kept mentioning my lord, Envoy Yuan.

Sun Qian couldn't help but look at Han Heng a few more times, and then asked, "What does Envoy Yuan think about the matter of Lord Yuan in Jiaozhou?"

"This is a good thing."

Han Heng answered seriously and slowly: "Jiaozhou also sent letters to my state, and my lord often praised the Grand Marshal for his broad mind."

Sun Qian smiled and asked, "If Envoy Yuan makes great achievements, he will be appointed as the governor of Liang Province in the future. What do you think?"

"This... is also a good thing."

Han Heng expressed his position, took a deep breath, and said to Sun Qian: "Please tell Lord Xuande that our lord Yuan Shijun understands the righteousness of the cause. If Lord Xuande can swear not to send troops to the south, our lord is willing to give the whole state to him."

In response, Sun Qian just smiled and left this difficult problem to Liu Bei to decide for himself.

The question now is not whether Yuan Xi dares to fight Liu Bei, but whether the people of Youzhou under Yuan Xi's command want to fight.

For Liu Bei, the issue of Youzhou was the issue of returning home.

Liu Bei can solve all the problems hanging over the heads of all the people in Youzhou.

Therefore, Yuan Xi became a problem that needed to be solved.

(End of this chapter)