The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 683 Fire one shot, move to another

After only two days of ideological education, Youchi returned to Ma'erling with his captured former troops and the farming tools given to him by Liu Shan.

On the way back, Youchi looked at his subordinates, who were now full of energy and spirit, with a very complicated expression. Even now, he still felt like he had just woken up from a dream.

In just a few short days, he had transformed from a bandit leader into a military officer of the imperial court. The huge contrast made him feel as if he were in a dream, and it all felt very unreal.

After slapping himself several times to make sure he wasn't dreaming, Youchi waved his hand and said boldly, "Change course! Change course! I'm not going back to Ma'erling. I'm going back to see my elder brother. I'm an official appointed by the imperial court now, a Tongqu Xiaowei personally appointed by His Highness the Crown Prince. That Youlong guy will have to kowtow to me when he sees me!"

Although his brother Youlong was the leader of the Youxi barbarians, he was a commoner. Although he himself did not seize the leadership position, he was a military officer of the imperial court. With this status, even the Youxi barbarian leader had to bow his head when he saw him.

In this sense, he had returned home in glory, so Youchi decided to first go back to the tribe to show off his official power, avenge being driven out by his elder brother, and at the same time ask his elder brother for some benefits.

This shows that Youchi is a guy who can't keep a secret.

Meanwhile, Liu Shan and Guan Xing, after a brief rest, also set off to the next mountain to annihilate other bandits. They planned to clear out the bandits in the Wuling Mountains and then head to the Luoxiao Mountains, which were the hardest-hit areas by bandits and would be the most suitable place to train their troops.

Liu Shan and Guan Xing simply wanted to use bandits as practice, but from the bandits' perspective, it was an incredibly unlucky situation.

They were just bandits who robbed and plundered, living peacefully in the mountains. Many of them had never even left the county. How did they attract the encirclement and suppression of three thousand almost omnipotent special forces soldiers?

Special forces soldiers were like a game-changer against bandits. Wherever Liu Shan and Guan Xing went, bandits in the mountains were either captured or fled, living a more miserable life than wanted criminals.

Liu Shan and Guan Xing launched a series of attacks and won one victory after another. At the same time, they were so frightened that bandits hundreds of miles away dared not rob the road easily, for fear that making too much noise would provoke the two killing gods, Liu Shan and Guan Xing.

At the same time, news of Liu Shan and Guan Xing's victory reached Jiangling City, causing an uproar. Only then did the belated officials realize that Crown Prince Liu Shan had gone to suppress bandits.

Upon receiving this devastating news, the officials hurriedly wrote to Liu Bei, arguing that the crown prince was of vital importance to the state and should not be risked lightly, and hoped that Liu Bei would recall Liu Shan.

Guan Xing's suppression of bandits is one thing, but why did you, Liu Shan, get involved? You should go back to the capital and study properly; that's the right thing to do.

These officials spoke with righteous indignation, but in reality, they were not worried about Liu Shan's safety; rather, they were afraid that Liu Shan would gain military merit.

History has long proven that an emperor with military merits is like having a halo, and he can truly have his words become law and do whatever he wants.

Although Liu Shan did not understand military affairs, he did not need to. As the crown prince, as long as he stayed in the army, he would have a share in the army's victories. As long as he ate and lived with the soldiers, they would naturally support him sincerely.

Moreover, the officials already knew that Liu Shan and Guan Xing's purpose in suppressing the bandits was to train students. With a famous general like Guan Xing, the Marquis of Shence, personally teaching them, and using practical methods, no one dared to imagine what kind of group they would end up training.

More importantly, Liu Shan and Guan Xing led a group of three thousand students, which is an astonishing number. Confucius only had three thousand disciples.

Of these three thousand trainees, not many need to ultimately succeed. Even if only thirty grow into capable generals, they will become staunch supporters of Liu Shan, allowing him to dominate the battlefield and crush all who oppose him.

Furthermore, don't forget that Liu Shan is also the president of Xinghan University. The students of the university are all considered Liu Shan's disciples. This group, coupled with the large army that is currently suppressing bandits, will definitely make Liu Shan the most powerful emperor since the founding of the Han Dynasty. This is terrifying.

Damn Guan Anguo, what kind of child are you trying to raise for His Highness the Crown Prince? Have you gone mad?

In light of this, most of the officials wrote to Liu Bei, requesting that he recall Liu Shan, as they did not want Liu Shan to continue to languish in the army.

Liu Bei's approach to this was to ignore it and keep it in reserve. As a military emperor, Liu Bei was well aware of the importance of military merit, and he was happy to let Liu Shan gain some military merit by suppressing bandits.

More importantly, he was absolutely at ease letting Liu Shan follow Guan Xing. With Guan Xing around, Liu Shan would be safe. He could simply stay in the army and earn military merits. Why would he refuse such a good opportunity?

However, the requests of the officials could not be ignored; they still needed to be responded to occasionally. So, when faced with the officials who came to present their memorials, Liu Bei asked directly, "Do you know where the Crown Prince and the Marquis of Shence are now?"

One sentence was enough to stump the official who was deliberately looking for trouble. Liu Shan and Guan Xing were suppressing bandits and were on the move. These two would fire and run. When the court received the news, they were still here. By the time the court's messenger arrived, they might have already run more than a hundred miles away. Even the fastest messenger probably couldn't catch up.

Furthermore, the army of three thousand was not large in number, but it was mobile and flexible and consumed little food. The spoils from the bandit camps alone were enough, so there was no need for local governments to allocate food. Therefore, there was no need to enter the city. Under such circumstances, where would you find Liu Shan?

Liu Bei quickly realized this and decisively issued an imperial edict summoning Liu Shan back to the capital, which he then handed to Zhang Zhao. Whether Zhang Zhao could actually deliver the edict to Liu Shan was none of his concern.

After many days of effort, the officials who opposed Liu Shan leading the troops finally obtained the imperial edict summoning Liu Shan back to the capital, but they were not happy at all.

The imperial edict was obtained, but how would it be delivered to Liu Shan? Given Liu Shan's hit-and-run tactics, even if he received the edict, it would probably be several months or even half a year later. By then, the bandits in Jiangnan would have been almost wiped out, and Liu Shan would have accumulated enough military merits. Would it still make sense to recall him then?

Ugh……

None of the emperors in the Liu family are easy to deal with.

The Han Dynasty had a vast territory spanning thousands of miles and a population of tens of millions. Every day, something happened on this enormous land.

While Liu Bei was arguing with the officials, a major event also occurred in the East China Sea.

Recently, Luo Tong, the commander of the Cao Wei detective team, has been cracking down on smuggling along the East China Sea coast. At the same time, he has also led his navy to rob merchant ships from Jiangdong. This has forced the Jiangdong merchants to ask Zhou Xun to escort them at sea. However, there is only one Zhou Xun, and it is impossible for him to protect all the merchants who depart at different times and deliver goods at different locations.

Therefore, the caravan set its sights on Ji Jie, who was stationed in Japan, and asked him to escort them into the Bohai Sea for trade.

That day, Ji Jie escorted the caravan to complete the transaction and was leading the team back when, before they had even left the Bohai Bay, they saw a small boat less than three meters long sailing towards them.

The people on the ship also saw them and the large Chinese flag fluttering in the wind on the naval vessel, and quickly waved the flag to request a meeting.

Out of curiosity, Ji Jie stopped the boat and waited. While he waited, the small boat smoothly sailed to the vicinity of the treasure ship. A young man in his early twenties climbed up the ladder onto the treasure ship and, led by the navy, came to Ji Jie and bowed, saying, "Gongsun Yuan, the Prefect of Liaodong, greets the General. Please lead me to see His Majesty the Emperor."

Ji Jie asked in astonishment, "You are Gongsun Yuan?"

Gongsun Yuan bowed and said, "Indeed, Sima Yi is now gathering troops in Youzhou and pointing his sword at Liaodong. Liaodong is a small and poor place with no power to resist. We can only ask His Majesty for help. Please send me to see His Majesty."

The emperor he referred to was Liu Bei. As a third separatist force outside of Han and Wei, the Liaodong Gongsun clan's way of life was to sway between Han and Wei, and who they sided with depended entirely on their own mood.

But now that Cao Wei is going to deal with them, after breaking with Cao Wei, their only remaining ally is Liu Bei, so they can only temporarily recognize Liu Bei as emperor.

Gongsun Yuan believed that as long as Liu Bei was recognized as emperor, Liu Bei would send troops to his aid. The reason was simple: the position of the Gongsun family's governor of Liaodong was granted by Dong Zhuo in his capacity as Grand Tutor of the Han Dynasty, which meant that the Gongsun family was still Han subjects.

Since Liu Bei inherited the throne of the Han Dynasty, he had to recognize the Gongsun family as Han subjects. As long as the Gongsun family was recognized as Han subjects, he would send troops to rescue them. Otherwise, what kind of emperor would he be if he didn't even rescue his own subjects?

Therefore, Gongsun Yuan's biggest demand now is to meet Liu Bei. As long as he can meet Liu Bei, everything will be fine.

Ji Jie pointed at the small boat Gongsun Yuan was riding in astonishment and said, "This general can understand your eagerness to see His Majesty, but you plan to take this small boat to the Jiangdong coast?"

The distance from the Bohai Bay to the Yangtze River estuary is several thousand miles. You think you can get there in such a small boat? Are you kidding me?

It would be a miracle if this small boat could even make it out of the Bohai Bay, let alone reach the mouth of the Yangtze River.

Gongsun Yuan smiled awkwardly and said, "There are no bigger ships in Liaodong. Fortunately, I met you, General. Please help me."

Since the Liaodong war was involved, Ji Jie dared not be negligent and quickly said, "Have your men board the ship, and I will escort you to Jiangdong. Once you arrive in Jiangdong, I will ask Governor Wang Fu to send someone to take you to Jiangling to pay homage to His Majesty."

This was exactly the effect Gongsun Yuan wanted. Upon hearing this, he immediately bowed and said, "Thank you, General."