Chapter 337 Move the capital to Xuchang, I, Liu Bei, will be the master of the Central Plains! Cao Cao: Why don't you give me the opportunity to get more?
The 160,000 Chu troops gathered at Bai Ma.

When the sun rises in the east.

Liu Bei and Xiao Fang were standing side by side on the beach, while the two brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were standing on their left and right.

The four of them faced the morning light, their eyes passing through the rolling Yellow River and gazing at the north bank.

Along the coast, 160,000 Chu soldiers were gathered on the riverbank, laughing wildly at the fleeing Wei army on the north bank.

Liu Bei stood proudly, holding his sword, admiring with a sneering look the last batch of Wei troops who were fleeing across the river to the north in a panic like dogs that had lost their homes.

"I congratulate the king on recovering the Central Plains and letting his horses drink from the Yellow River."

"Your Majesty has taken one step closer to the great cause of reviving the Han Dynasty, supporting the country, and unifying the world."

Xiao Fang, who was beside him, bowed to Liu Bei with a smile.

"I congratulate the king on drinking from the Yellow River and recovering the Central Plains!"

The two brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei also bowed and congratulated with a smile.

Drinking from the Yellow River, recovering the Central Plains, and reviving the Han Dynasty...

These inspiring words made Lao Liu's blood boil, his mind was lifted, and his face was filled with an irrepressible look of high spirits.

After a hearty laugh, Liu Bei's expression turned serious, and he bowed solemnly to Xiao Fang:
"Thinking back to those days, I was heartbroken when I lost Xuzhou. I had only 3,000 soldiers and horses under my command, and I was on the verge of despair like a stray dog."

"If it weren't for you, Jinglue, who didn't despise my humble status and entrusted me with your wisdom, I wouldn't have been able to drive out the Yuan thieves and recover the Central Plains today!"

"I should thank Jinglue!"

The brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei also had expressions of gratitude on their faces, and they hurriedly followed Liu Bei in expressing their gratitude.

Xiao Fang felt a warm feeling in his heart and couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion.

The three Liu brothers were all sincere people, and he could naturally see that these words of gratitude came from the bottom of their hearts.

As Old Liu is now the King of Chu and dominates the five states of Yan, Yu, Xu, Jing and Yang, he still remembers his own contributions and expresses gratitude in front of the soldiers of the three armies. Such a broad mind and magnanimity is truly worthy of his assistance.

"Your Majesty, I cannot take responsibility for what you said."

"I am only trying my best to help."

"Your Majesty, you are so powerful today because of your divine power and strategy, the loyalty of your generals, and the unity of the whole people!"

"It is my honor to do my best to help the king in his great cause of reviving the Han Dynasty."

"It's my turn, Xiao Fang. Thank you, Your Majesty, for giving me the opportunity to go down in history."

Xiao Fang naturally knew how to behave himself, and he returned Lao Liu's thanks and praise.

By the way, why not give the credit to Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and other generals.

There is no one who doesn't like to hear nice words. Although Lao Liu is not a person who likes flattery, he felt comfortable and happy after hearing these words.

"Jinglue, Jinglue, between us, the king and his subjects, let's not say these words of who thanks whom, it would seem too formal!

Liu Bei waved his hand generously, then said with a smile:

"Yunchang, Yide, quickly pass the order and reward the soldiers of the three armies at Baima Ferry tonight!"

"Also, we're going to have a celebration banquet. I want to drink with Jinglue and the rest of you until we're drunk!"

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei laughed.

That night, Baimadu was filled with laughter and joy.

The Wei army retreated in a hurry, and countless military supplies were left behind in Baimadu Ferry without time to be withdrawn.

Liu Bei then used all the mountains of military supplies to reward the soldiers of the three armies.

The Chu army soldiers who survived the bloody battle drank wine, ate meat, sang and danced, and celebrated to their heart's content.

In the king's tent.

Liu Bei and his generals naturally drank happily, and the atmosphere was warm and joyful.

"Jinglue, now we have recovered all the land south of the Yellow River except Qingzhou."

"What do you think I should do next?"

Old Liu had not yet been carried away by victory. After three rounds of drinks, he asked Xiao Fang with a smile.

"Your Majesty's goal is naturally to unify the world, so the next move is to go north to destroy Yuan and west to destroy Cao."

"But that's all for later."

"The Central Plains states have suffered from wars for years, the economy has been in decline, and the people are in hardship. The first thing the king should do now is to gather the refugees, comfort the people, and let them rest and recuperate."

"Yanyu and other states were first owned by Cao Cao, and later occupied by Yuan Shao. Although the two thieves have retreated, there are still many remnants in each state who are loyal to them."

"In addition to restoring the economy, Your Majesty must also spend some time to eliminate the remnants of Yuan and Cao, to ensure that when Your Majesty destroys the two thieves in the future, there will be no worries."

"Moreover, the soldiers of the three armies have been fighting hard for years. Although they have won battles one after another, their physical strength and energy have reached their limit. They need to rest well."

"In addition, there are tens of thousands of pseudo-Wei surrendered troops, and they also need to be reorganized by the king so that they can be used by me."

"In short, although we have already drunk from the Yellow River, there is still a lot to do. It is too early to talk about attacking Yuan or destroying Cao."

After listening to Xiao Fang's analysis of the overall situation, Liu Bei seemed to be thinking about something and his expression became calmer.

After a while, Liu Bei nodded heavily:

"Jinglue is right. The states in the Central Plains first had the war between Yuan and Cao, and now they have the war between Chu and Wei. They really need to rest and recuperate."

"Then let's do as Jinglue said and temporarily postpone the use of troops to appease the people, restore the economy, and rest the soldiers."

Old Liu was also receptive to Xiao Fang's advice and immediately adopted his suggestion.

So after the celebration banquet that night, Liu Bei issued an edict, ordering all troops to cease their offensive and stop on the south bank of the Yellow River.

The war against Wei came to a temporary end. The next priority was naturally to move the capital.

The capital was previously set in Shouchun simply because Shouchun was located in the middle of the three states of Jing, Yang and Xu, which made it convenient for controlling the three states and for deploying troops to the north.

Now that the Central Plains has been recovered, Lao Liu's capital must no longer remain in the south and must move northward.

Luoyang was originally the eastern capital of the Han Dynasty. Moving the capital to Luoyang had great appeal among politicians and people, so it was naturally the first choice.

However, considering that Luoyang was too close to Guanzhong to the west and only separated from Henei County by a river to the north, it was easily threatened by both Cao Cao and Yuan Shao at the same time.

If the capital is established in Luoyang, heavy troops must be deployed to ensure the security of the northwest.

The world was not yet settled, so the precious military force of the Great Chu would naturally be used to wipe out Yuan and Cao, rather than to defend the capital.

So after weighing the pros and cons, and at Xiao Fang's suggestion, Liu decided to move the capital to Xuchang.

After all, although Xuchang's political status is not as good as Luoyang and Chang'an, and has declined significantly compared to the previous emperor's time, its status is still far higher than Shouchun, and it still has considerable appeal to the Central Plains.

In addition, if the capital is set in Xuchang, there will be important cities such as Luoyang and Chenliu in the north as buffer zones, which greatly increases security and eliminates the need to deploy heavy troops for protection.

As for the advantages of Xuchang, such as convenient military farming and water transport, there is no need to say more.

Taking into account various advantages, Liu Bei readily accepted Xiao Fang's proposal and issued an edict to officially move the capital of Chu State to Xuchang.

It's the beginning of winter.

The Queen and the Crown Prince of Great Chu, as well as all the civil and military officials, were all moved to Xuchang.

...

Yizhou, Jiameng Pass.

Tens of thousands of Cao's soldiers were coming from the north, continuously arriving at the city gate and beginning to force their way to the pass.

Inside the Chinese army's tent.

Cao Cao was staring at the map of Shu, planning his strategy to capture Shu.

After defeating Nanzheng and capturing Hanzhong, Cao Cao originally did not want to covet more, but wanted to withdraw his troops and return to Guanzhong while he was ahead.

However, under the strong recommendation of advisers such as Guo Jia and Xun You, Cao Cao was forced to march south again less than two months after capturing Hanzhong, intending to take advantage of the situation to wipe out Liu Zhang and take over Bashu.

"Even if we take Jiameng Pass, there is still Jiange to the south. It is said that if one man can block the pass, ten thousand men cannot get through."

"If you want to break through the pass from the front and attack the Chengdu Plain, I'm afraid it won't be easy."

"I think we should start from Ba County and see if we can use a small force to open a breakthrough from Langzhong."

Cao Cao frowned and pointed at the map while analyzing it.

The counselors then expressed their opinions. Some agreed, while others frowned and disagreed.

Only Guo Jia remained silent, his eyes showing that he seemed to be thinking about something else.

"Fengxiao, do you have any objections to my strategy for taking over Shu?"

Cao Cao saw that Guo Jia was worried, so he asked.

Guo Jia coughed a few times and pointed at the map:
"My Lord, it is not impossible to attack Yizhou."

"But Yizhou is different from Guanzhong. It has too many strategic and dangerous passes. It would take too long to conquer it purely by force."

"If the Central Plains decides the winner between Yuan and Liu, and we are stuck in the war in Yizhou and cannot extricate ourselves, then Guanzhong will be left with no manpower. If Yuan and Liu take advantage of the situation to attack, what should we do?"

Guo Jia's reminder made Cao Cao's heart tremble, and a hint of fear flashed in his eyes.

"Feng Xiao reminded me that Liu Bei defeated Yuan Shao twice in Xiangcheng Guling and annihilated his 100,000-man army. Now the offensive and defensive situation has changed."

"At this rate, Yuan Shao won't be able to hold out for long. It's inevitable that the big-eared thief will take over the Central Plains."

Cao Cao stroked his thin beard and nodded slightly.

"Yuan Shao lost 100,000 soldiers and horses, and has switched from offense to defense, but he still occupies important places such as Xuchang and Suiyang."

"If Yuan Shao holds his ground and does not fight, with the two rivers as his backing, it will not be easy for Liu Bei to swallow up the Central Plains in a short period of time."

"Even if Liu Bei can finally conquer the Central Plains, it will take at least a year and a half. Isn't this enough time for us to destroy Liu Zhang and conquer the entire Yizhou?"

Cao Hong, however, had a different opinion. He patted the map with his hand and asserted with a domineering and confident look on his face.

These words were like a shot of adrenaline to Cao Cao. He felt more energetic and seemed to regain his confidence.

"What Zi Lian said makes sense. After all, Yuan Shao has a strong foundation. Liu Bei shouldn't win too quickly..."

Cao Cao nodded slightly, seeming to agree with Cao Hong's analysis.

Guo Jia's face was still gloomy, and he shook his head and said:
"My lord, don't forget that Liu Bei has that wise counselor under his command."

“As long as this person is here, everything is possible.”

"Haven't we suffered enough at his hands?"

Cao Cao's heart suddenly shook, and the name "Xiao Fang" suddenly appeared before his eyes.

All the painful memories of being defeated by Xiao Fang in the past also came to the fore at this moment.

"My lord, there is a change in the Central Plains!"

Cao Xiu looked panicked, and rushed in holding up an urgent message, shouting:

"Liu Bei first defeated Yuan Tan and captured Xuchang, then he broke through Luoyang and took Hulao in the east, and then he defeated Yuan Shang at Jialu River!"

"Yuan Shao has ordered the abandonment of Henan, and the pseudo-Wei troops have fled to Hebei in panic!"

"The land south of the Yellow River belongs to Liu Bei. It is a foregone conclusion!"

Cao Cao looked up suddenly and his expression changed drastically.

(End of this chapter)