It is said that Zang Hong was originally the Qingzhou assassin appointed by Yuan Shao, and after Lu Bu withdrew from Puyang, he was recommended by Yuan Shao as the Taishou of Dongjun. As far as this matter is concerned, Yuan Shao is planting his own people in Cao Cao's territory, so it can be seen from the side that Cao Cao is becoming more and more subject to Yuan Shao. However, what Yuan Shao didn't expect was that Zang Hong's heart was towards the imperial court. Zang Hong understood that Yuan Shao was a person who had dissenting intentions for the Han family, so he betrayed Yuan Shao. However, he has also been praised by history books for this.

In this year, Gongsun Chan did something that was doomed to his ruin. Yuyang people are Xian Yufu is Liu Yu's work, maybe Liu Yu treats him well on weekdays, so he plans to gather troops to avenge Liu Yu. At this time, Yan Rou, a native of Yan State, because of his prestige, gathered a mixed army of tens of thousands of Han and Hu people, intending to attack Yuyang, so he fought a big battle with Zou Dan, the Taishou of Yuyang, in the north of Lu County, and killed Zou Dan and more than 4,000 of his subordinates. Then, more than 7,000 horsemen from Wuhuan and Xianbei followed Xian Yufu south to meet Liu He, and united with the troops of Yuan Shao's general Liyi, a total of 100,000 troops, defeated Gongsun Zan here in Baoqiu, and beheaded more than 20,000 of his troops. After that, Dai County, Guangyang County, Shanggu County, and Youbeiping County all responded with troops and attacked and killed the state and county officials appointed by Gongsun Zhan.

At this time, Gongsun Chan was embattled and defeated repeatedly, and due to the unfavorable situation, he transferred his stronghold to Yi County. There they dug moats and built tall buildings, and since then they have been closed off, isolating themselves from their subordinates. It is said in the history books that Gongsun Chan was "ambitious, relying on his talents, not caring for the people, forgetting his mistakes, and retribution".

Gongsun Zhan's move is really digging a pit for himself. According to the historical records, Gongsun Zhan hoarded about 3 million grains at that time, and in the unfavorable situation at that time, it was necessary to find a favorable terrain to hold on. However, he alienated himself from his subordinates, and did not allow men over the age of seven to enter the place where he lived except for himself and his concubines, and all the documents reported by his subordinates were hung up to the castle tower with ropes. In addition, he is harsh, always likes to find fault with others, and does not face up to his own problems, and gradually most of his subordinates are unwilling to return to him. As a result, his actions eventually turned into a pit dug for himself.

Some people are good at digging pits for others, while others are always digging pits for themselves. Anyone who likes to dig a pit but not bury it will eventually either pit others or pit himself. Gongsun Chan used his practical actions to brilliantly interpret such a truth. However, what is history trying to tell us? In fact, it is very simple, it is not a sin to dig a pit, but the pain is to dig a pit but do not know how to bury it.

In the winter of that year, Yu Fuluo also died, and his younger brother Hu Chuquan took his place and led his troops to be stationed in Pingyang.

On the seventh day of the first month of 196 AD, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty issued an edict to amnesty the world, and changed the name to the first year of Jian'an. Liu Xie wanted to return to Luoyang, so Dong Cheng contacted Zhang Yang, who was stationed in Hanoi, and planned to escort Liu Xie back to the east. However, Yang Feng and Li Le disagreed, because Hedong was their territory, and once Emperor Xian was separated, their interests could not be guaranteed, and second, it would not be conducive to their future situation. At that time, although the world was already in chaos, many people did not dare to openly ignore the existence of the emperor, so no matter whose hands the emperor was, it was a key bargaining chip.

Then, Dong Cheng insisted on escorting Liu Xie's return to the east, but was attacked by one of the white wave generals, Han Xian. Dong Cheng was defeated and fled to Yewang to defect to Zhang Yang. After that, Zhang Yang asked Dong Cheng to go to Luoyang to repair the palace, and then wrote to Liu Xie to propose that Lu Bu be called back. If there was Lu Bu leading the crowd to guard around Emperor Xian, Yang Feng and the others would definitely not dare to make a mistake. So Emperor Xian personally wrote an edict and sent an envoy to summon Lu Bu to lead his troops to meet him.

However, it was said that Lu Bu could not come because of the difficulty of the army, and Liu Xie was controlled by Yang Feng and others and could not go to Luoyang. At this time, the servant Zhao Qi went to Jingzhou to persuade Liu Biao to send people to Luoyang to assist Dong Cheng in repairing the palace. On the second day of the fifth month, Liu Xie gave a death order to Yang Feng and others, demanding that he must return to Luoyang. And Yang Feng and the others didn't dare to disobey the emperor's order too much, so they had to obey the order. Although a few people were ordered, this road was still not easy to walk, and it was not until the first day of the sixth month that Emperor Xian arrived at Wenxi. Wenxi is in the north of Anyi, which is about a few dozen miles away.

Not long before that, it happened that Yuan Shu led the army to attack Xuzhou, and Liu Bei led his troops to resist, leaving only his subordinate Sima Zhang Fei to guard Xiapi. The two armies held each other in the Xuyi and Huaiyin areas for more than a month, and each won and lost with each other. At this time, Yuan Shu wrote to Lü Bu and told Lü Bu that he could fund his food and weapons and equipment, so that he could take the opportunity to attack and take down Pi. This was an excellent opportunity for Lu Bu, so Lu Bu led his army eastward, advancing by water, and marching towards Xiapi.

Zhang Fei and Xiapi Xiang Cao Bao had a fight because of a bad relationship, Zhang Fei killed Cao Bao, and then there was chaos in Xiapi City. Subsequently, Lü Bu arrived forty miles west of Xiapi City, and Liu Bei's subordinate Zhonglang general Xu Tan sent his subordinate Sima Zhangzhen to meet Lü Bu, analyzed the situation in the city, and then Lü Bu continued to march. At dawn, Lu Bu's army came to the city, and the Danyang soldiers opened the city gate, and Lu Bu led the crowd into the city. After that, Lü Bu defeated Zhang Fei and occupied Xiapi.

In fact, the reason why Cao Bao and Zhang Fei fought each other was not because the relationship between the two was not good, but because Cao Bao had already rebelled, including Xu Tan, the Zhonglang general under Liu Bei's account, and others, all defected to Yuan Shu. It is said that although Zhang Fei's temper is not good, Chen Shou commented that he is violent and unkind, but this does not mean that he is an arrogant and unreasonable person, how can he kill people because of a bad relationship? Therefore, it should be in line with the facts to say that Cao Bao and others defected in advance. It's just that after Lu Bu arrived, they all followed Lu Bu again.

Later, Liu Bei learned that Xiapi had fallen, and hurriedly led the army back to rescue, but unexpectedly, as soon as the troops arrived in Xiapi, they broke up before they could fight. Liu Bei packed up the remnants and went east to capture Guangling, but was defeated by Yuan Shu, so he retreated to Haixi. Liu Bei was so embarrassed that the army had no choice but to send someone to ask Lü Bu for surrender. Lü Bu sent someone to welcome Liu Bei in a car, appointed him as the assassin of Yuzhou, and asked him to lead the army to be stationed in Xiaopei, and he called himself Xuzhou Mu.

I have to say that Lu Bu's move can be called smart. Yuzhou was originally the place of the four wars, west of Sili, east of Xuzhou, north of Yanzhou, south of Jing, Yang, is the soldier must fight for the land. Lü Bu appointed Liu Bei as the assassin of Yuzhou, originally in order to control Yuzhou through Liu Bei and lay the foundation for him to lead his army west into Luoyang in the future. At this moment, Liu Xie was on his way back to the east. If Lu Bu is allowed to gain a foothold in Xuzhou, and the others refuse to greet the Son of Heaven, then he can lead his troops straight to Luoyang to greet the holy driver. Then, with Xu and Henan as the bases, we will vigorously recruit talents, recruit soldiers and horses, and only develop our own forces with peace of mind in the future.

If this happens, not only will Lu Bu's plan of "welcoming the west and recovering Luojing" be realized, but the general trend of the world will also change. In other words, when Lu Bu was in Xuzhou, he recruited a lot of good talents, such as the predecessor Shangshu Chen Ji and his son Chen Qun were in Xuzhou to avoid chaos at that time, and they were activated by Lu Bu.

However, the sky is unpredictable. Lu Bu's plan was of course ideal, but others would not watch his plan succeed at all. As a result, Yuan Shu immediately severed the alliance with Lü Bu, and induced his subordinate Hao Meng to defect with interests, and was anxious to ascend the throne and become emperor. And when Cao Cao learned of Lü Bu's occupation of Xuzhou, he also hurriedly began to implement the plan to welcome the Son of Heaven in the west, trying to control the Son of Heaven under his own power before Lü Bu acted.