I Can Control My Ancestors-Chapter 224 - 17: Gu Chen Governs the Realm, Liu Bei Sees Zhuge Again

Chapter 224: Chapter 17: Gu Chen Governs the Realm, Liu Bei Sees Zhuge Again

Yinling.

Liu Bei stared intently at Zhang Fei in front of him. After a brief moment of bewilderment, he suddenly realized something, stood up, and asked:

"Where is the young master?"

"Why has the young master not returned?"

Ever since he received Zhuge Liang’s guidance, Liu Bei had been somewhat wary of Cao Cao.

He not only left Zhang Fei behind but also Gu Tao.

The idea was for them to complement each other.

After all, Zhang Fei treated Gu Tao well.

"Big brother."

Zhang Fei knelt on the ground, his face filled with sadness: "It was I who let the young master down, it was I who didn’t heed the young master’s advice and drank wine daily."

"The young master... he fell in Qing Province."

Tears continuously rolled down from Zhang Fei’s eyes.

Upon hearing this, even Guan Yu’s face showed anger: "Third brother, big brother entrusted such a heavy responsibility to you."

"How could you act like this?"

Regret filled Zhang Fei’s face even more, and he silently lowered his head, unable to face the two of them.

"Dear brothers, no need to say more."

"The young master’s kindness, I have no way to repay."

"If it weren’t for escorting sister-in-law, I would have certainly followed the young master to die on the battlefield."

"Now that sister-in-law has been safely delivered..."

He murmured.

The next moment, he suddenly got up, drew the long sword from his waist, and without hesitation, aimed it at his own neck.

But at this moment, Liu Bei rushed over, stopped him, and slapped Zhang Fei hard!

"Pa!"

This slap was so heavy that it thoroughly woke Zhang Fei.

Liu Bei stared closely at Zhang Fei and said in a deep voice: "We three brothers swore brotherhood in the Peach Garden, not to live together, but to die together."

"If third brother commits suicide here today."

"Then Yun Chang and I... how could we live on alone?"

His tone was so serious.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fei was stunned and knelt down again.

"Third brother, having let down the young master today, should inherit his will and help him complete his grand ambition."

"If not....."

"How could the third brother face the young master in the afterlife?"

Liu Bei’s words truly struck Zhang Fei’s heart, and he immediately got up to leave the camp: "I want to attack Cao the Traitor!"

"Third brother!"

Liu Bei, furious, stopped him again and slapped him once more.

"When will you ever learn to be steadfast?"

Zhang Fei was completely stunned.

Liu Bei’s expression was extremely serious, and he looked at the attendants in the tent, and said helplessly: "At present, Qing Province has been lost."

"We have no way back."

"If we cannot seize Yangzhou at this time, our army will disband soon."

Liu Bei’s mind was very clear at this moment, and he fully understood his current situation; he could not afford to make another mistake.

Cao Cao’s strength was too formidable.

Currently, he occupied Ji, Yu, Qing, and Yan. His resources now surpassed those of Liu Xiu in the past.

If he makes another mistake.

There might not be another chance.

But since Cao Cao has decided to act, he certainly won’t leave Liu Bei any opportunity.

The very next day, Liu Bei went to see Zang Ba, a general under Tao Qian, to discuss the situation in the world and sought to formally ally with Tao Qian.

But this was destined to be difficult to succeed.

Not to mention Tao Qian was not in Yan Province at the time.

Even if he were, given Tao Qian’s nature, he wouldn’t dare offend Cao Cao at present. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Cao Cao’s judgment was correct.

Among the current warlords in the world, apart from Gu Chen and Liu Bei, no one else caught his eye.

Upon receiving Tao Qian’s instructions, the Liu Tao army, which was still supposedly an ally, immediately became somewhat disunited.

Liu Bei wanted to quickly occupy the cities of Yangzhou.

But Zang Ba was obstructing him.

And Cao Ren also quickly arrived in Yangzhou, forcing Liu Bei to retreat.

Liu Bei desperately wanted to ally with Tao Qian.

The strength of Xuzhou was not weak, and even though they couldn’t defeat Cao Cao, defending a place for a short time wasn’t a problem.

But compared to the current Liu Bei, Tao Qian obviously placed more importance on Cao Cao.

So he had no choice —

Liu Bei could only head towards Jingzhou again.

....

The situation in the world was constantly changing.

In the second year of Jian’an, in June;

Gu Chen officially attacked Chang’an, shaking the world with his might. Zuo Fufeng surrendered at the mere sight and completely breached the entire Sii Province.

He secured the entire western region of the Great Han.

The news from Qing Province naturally reached him, and he learned that Gu Tao died under Cao Cao’s Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

But Gu Chen was silent for a moment and wasn’t overwhelmed with sorrow.

Each of them was deeply influenced by Gu Xi.

They had no fear of death.

It can be said that the Gu Clan members still campaigning abroad today were prepared to die.

For him, only by steadfastly moving forward and bringing the entire family to its peak again could he be worthy of these brothers.

Gu Chen was in no hurry to take the next step.

Reality is no novel; no matter how high the Gu Clan’s reputation, if people’s lives do not improve over time, they will ultimately become disillusioned.

Gu Chen needed to pause and stabilize all sides.

In this situation, the roles of Gu Wei and Xun Yu became apparent.

Both were exceptional talents in internal affairs, and even Gu Wei himself had unique insights into governance.

—— The previous efforts to clean up the aristocrats and powerful clans in Bingzhou State proved beneficial at such times.

In the current world,

most farmlands and crops were controlled by these aristocrats.

To completely stabilize an area, the interests of the powerful clans and the common people had to be balanced.

Everyone needed to feel that they had a path to survival.