The Three Kingdoms: Starting as a county magistrate in Pingyuan, he rose to power and conquered the

Chapter 26 Meeting Kong Rong

"You need not worry about the grain, Wenju Gong; Zhao has his own methods."

Li Zhao walked back to his seat, looked at Kong Rong, and his tone became solemn.

"Lord Wenju, Zhao has not come here to seize territory. The position of Chancellor of Beihai still belongs to you, Lord Wenju."

Kong Rong was taken aback. He had thought that after Li Zhao drove away the Yellow Turbans, he would take the opportunity to annex Beihai.

"Your Excellency's noble character is truly admirable! [I am] pleased..."

"However," Li Zhao changed the subject, "I have a condition."

"Please speak, Your Excellency."

"The military, political, and agricultural affairs of Beihai should be taken over by someone sent by Zhao. Wenju Gong will only be responsible for educating the people and establishing schools, what do you think?"

This effectively sidelined Kong Rong.

Kong Rong's expression changed. He was a smart man and knew what this meant.

But does he have a choice?

If he doesn't agree, once Li Zhao's army leaves, the remnants of the Yellow Turbans will surely rise again. He will still die then.

Moreover, although Li Zhao sidelined him, he also gave him what he wanted most: fame and a stable environment to pursue his studies.

After weighing the pros and cons, Kong Rong sighed, stood up, and bowed deeply to Li Zhao.

"Rong...is willing to follow Your Excellency's arrangements."

Beihai, change flag.

Over the next two weeks, the Beihai Kingdom underwent tremendous changes.

Liu Bei demonstrated exceptional domestic governance skills. He dispersed the 100,000 Yellow Turban prisoners, mixed them with the existing refugees in Beihai, and sent them to various counties to cultivate land.

A steady stream of grain and farm tools was transported from the plains and distributed to these new settlers.

The once barren land of Beihai has been revitalized.

Everywhere you look, there are people clearing land and planting crops. Their faces are no longer filled with numbness and hatred, but with hope for a new life.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were busy reorganizing the army.

They selected 20,000 strong men from among the Yellow Turban prisoners, scattered them, and incorporated them into the Plains Army, subjecting them to rigorous training.

Li Zhao's forces broke through the 30,000 mark in one fell swoop.

Within the city of Duchang, Kong Rong also found his place.

Li Zhao allocated him a large sum of money, instructing him to repair the Confucian Temple, establish the Imperial Academy, and recruit renowned scholars from all over the country to give lectures.

For a time, Beihai flourished with literary culture, becoming a rare haven of tranquility amidst the chaos of the times.

Kong Rong's gratitude towards Li Zhao also changed from initially being forced to submit to genuine admiration.

He would praise Magistrate Li to everyone he met, saying that he was "the reincarnation of the Duke of Zhou".

He was a true hero who could restore the Han Dynasty.

With the endorsement of Kong Rong, a renowned scholar, Li Zhao's fame quickly spread throughout the land. Countless impoverished scholars and down-on-their-luck officials flocked to him for refuge.

With the plains and the North Sea connected, Li Zhao had effectively controlled half of Qingzhou.

……

Linzi, the governor's residence.

"Snapped!"

Tian Kai smashed the teacup in his hand.

"Useless! That Guan Hai is utterly useless! Over a hundred thousand men were wiped out overnight by Li Zhao's mere thirty thousand!"

He couldn't understand how Guan Hai, who had bought so much of his grain and become so fat, could have lost so quickly and so miserably.

"My lord, please calm your anger," the strategist advised tremblingly.

"Li Zhao's surprise attack during this heavy snowfall was indeed unexpected. He has now captured Beihai, incorporated the Yellow Turban prisoners, and his army is strong and powerful. We..."

"What do we do?"

Tian Kai paced restlessly in the hall.

"He now controls Pingyuan and Beihai, leaving Linzi sandwiched in the middle. This is like trying to trap a dog by closing the door!"

His biggest regret now is that he was greedy for that little bit of money and sold the grain to Guan Hai.

This is simply shooting yourself in the foot.

"My lord, why don't we... seek help from General Gongsun?" the strategist suggested.

Tian Kai gave a wry smile: "Request reinforcements? General Gongsun is currently being forced to retreat to Ji County by Yuan Shao and is too busy to help himself. Where would he find the troops to send me?"

He stopped and looked south.

"The only option now is to seek help from the south."

"Southward? Your Excellency means... Tao Qian of Xuzhou?"

Tian Kai nodded: "Tao Gongzu is a kind and benevolent elder, and he has a long-standing friendship with General Gongsun. If I offer him substantial benefits, perhaps he will be willing to send troops to help and restrain Li Zhao."

The strategist pondered for a moment and said, "Although Tao Qian is a kind and benevolent man, he may not be willing to offend Li Zhao, who is currently gaining power, for our sake. In my opinion, it would be better to..."

He lowered his voice: "Why don't we contact Cao Cao in Yanzhou?"

"Cao Cao?" Tian Kai was taken aback.

"Cao Cao had just defeated the Yellow Turbans and was at the height of his power. He was an ally of Yuan Shao, and Li Zhao was nominally the Chancellor of Pingyuan recommended by Yuan Shao. But two tigers cannot share one mountain, and Cao Cao would never sit idly by and watch Li Zhao grow stronger in Qingzhou."

"If we can persuade Cao Cao to send troops to attack from both sides, Li Zhao will surely be defeated!"

A ruthless glint flashed in Tian Kai's eyes. This was the so-called "befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones." To survive, he couldn't care less about anything else.

"Alright! We'll do as you suggest!"

Tian Kai immediately wrote a letter and sent it to Juancheng, Yanzhou, by fast horse.

……

Duchang, the study of the Prime Minister's residence.

Li Zhao, Liu Bei, and Xu Shu sat down together again to discuss their next strategy.

"My lord, now that Beihai is pacified and the main force of the Yellow Turbans has been annihilated, the only remaining threat is Tian Kai in Linzi," Xu Shu said, pointing to the map.

"Tian Kai is now trapped. But he is, after all, the governor of Qingzhou appointed by Gongsun Zan. If we launch a strong attack, it will likely provoke a desperate counterattack from Gongsun Zan and give Yuan Shao an excuse to attack him."

Liu Bei asked worriedly, "Then, in the strategist's opinion, what should we do?"

Xu Shu smiled slightly: "Winning hearts and minds is the best strategy."

"Tian Kai is a man who is fierce on the outside but weak on the inside, and greedy for money. His biggest weakness is that he previously sold grain to the Yellow Turban rebels without authorization."

"We only need to make this public, accusing him of colluding with bandits and aiding the enemy, and betraying the court. At that time, he will surely be disgraced and his army will be demoralized."

"At the same time, the lord can, in his capacity as prime minister, issue a proclamation calling on all counties and prefectures in Qingzhou to jointly punish the traitor Tian Kai."

"This is called 'righteousness overpowering others'."

Li Zhao nodded: "This plan is excellent. However, Tian Kai is desperate and will definitely seek help from outside. We need to be careful."

"Is my lord worried about Gongsun Zan?" Liu Bei asked.

"Gongsun Zan is nothing to worry about," Li Zhao shook his head. "What I'm worried about is our neighbor to the south."

"Cao Cao?" Xu Shu's eyes narrowed.

"Indeed. Cao Mengde is a hero of his time, and he will never sit idly by and watch us easily take over the entire Qingzhou."

Li Zhao stood up, his gaze becoming profound.

"Order Zhao Yun to lead 5,000 cavalry south and station them at the border of Beihai, Xuzhou, and Yanzhou to closely monitor the movements of Cao Cao and Tao Qian."

"Order Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to assemble 20,000 troops and exert pressure on Linzi. Besiege but do not attack, to put pressure on Tian Kai."

"This battle for Qingzhou has only just begun."

Li Zhao walked to the window and looked at the melting snow outside. Spring was coming soon, but the real harsh winter might have only just begun.

Just then, Sun Fu hurriedly walked in, holding a secret letter in his hand.

"My lord, Taishi Ci of Beihai requests an audience!"

Li Zhao's eyes lit up.

The fierce general of Shenting Ridge, who once fought Sun Ce, the Little Conqueror, to a standstill in history, has finally returned.

"Please come quickly!"