In the spring of the fourth year of Jian'an (199), in the first battle of Yijing, Yuan Shao completely wiped out Gongsun Zhan's troops, occupied Hebei, Qing, You, and four prefectures, had hundreds of thousands of troops, controlled the vast area north of the Yellow River, and became increasingly powerful, so he tried to attack Xudu in the south and claim that the emperor was self-reliant.

At this time, Yuan Shao suddenly received a letter from his younger brother Yuan Shu, who had not been in contact with him for a long time.

The letter said: "The Han Dynasty has long been lost, the Son of Heaven is controlled by others, the government is private, the powerful compete, the land is divided, and the era of the Seven Kingdoms in the last years of the Zhou Dynasty is no different, and the result is that the strong annex the world." The Yuan family was ordered by the heavens, and they should be the emperor, and the talismans and auspiciousness were clearly displayed. Today's brother owns the land of four states, with millions of households, and no one can compare in terms of strength and virtue. Even if Cao Cao had the heart to help the weak and save the weak, how could he continue the extinct Mandate of Heaven? ”

Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor in Huainan, and after only two and a half years, he made the capital empty, internal and external difficulties, and the rebellion of relatives, and when he was desperate, he "generously" expressed his willingness to give up the emperor's title to Yuan Shao.

Although Yuan Shao didn't dare to make a noise when he saw the letter, he couldn't ask for it in his heart, so he instructed Geng Bao, the chief bookkeeper, to find a basis for himself to be the emperor.

Geng Bao said to him privately: "Chide has declined, and the Yuan family is a descendant of the Yellow Emperor, so it should follow the will of heaven and the hearts of the people." ”

The meaning of these words is that, according to the "theory" of "five virtues are born together", the Han Dynasty was the so-called fire virtue (i.e., red virtue), and fire virtue should be replaced by earth virtue; The Yellow Emperor is Tude, and the Yuan family is the descendant of the Yellow Emperor, so it is "providence" for the Yuan family to replace the Han Dynasty.

Yuan Shao disclosed Geng Bao's remarks to the subordinates of the county government, and the subordinates all thought that Geng Bao's fallacies confused the public, confused the public, and should be killed.

Yuan Shao knew that the time was not yet ripe, so he had no choice but to kill Geng Bao and wait for the southern expedition.

However, he said that Man Chong was sent by Cao Cao to Jizhou to listen to Yuan Shao's movements, and found out that Yuan Shao broke through Yijing, obtained Youzhou, and hurriedly returned to Xudu to restore his life.

Just as Cao Cao was feasting on Liu Bei, he said after saying the details: "Yuan Shao killed Gongsun Zhan, and the momentum was very strong. Yuan Shu wants to dedicate the emperor's name to Yuan Shao, if the two join forces, it will be difficult to recover, and he hopes that the prime minister will make a plot as soon as possible. ”

Liu Bei heard that Gongsun Zhan was dead, remembering the love of his fellow teacher and the kindness of recommending himself in the past, he was very sad, and he didn't know the whereabouts of Zhao Yun, so he was extremely uneasy, and what made him even more worried was that Yang Qi was forced to commit suicide, and the conspiracy with Dong Cheng would be leaked sooner or later, so it was better to get out at this time, so he got up and said to Cao Cao: "What Berning said is not bad. If Yuan Shu votes for Yuan Shao, he will inevitably pass through Xuzhou. Xuande is willing to lead an army to intercept and kill halfway, and Yuan Shu can be captured. ”

"Come tomorrow, start the army immediately." Cao Cao said with a smile.

The next day, Liu Bei accompanied Cao Cao to see the emperor, and the emperor was allowed to play.

Cao Cao ordered Liu Bei to be the governor of 50,000 horses, and sent Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao to accompany him.

Liu Bei knew that it was Cao Cao who asked the two to spy on him, but he didn't dare to say anything, so he said goodbye to the emperor, and the emperor was sent out of the palace in tears.

Liu Bei returned to live and urged Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to pack up their weapons and saddle horses at night, hang up the general's seal, and set off immediately.

Dong Cheng rushed to the ten-mile long pavilion to see him off, Liu Bei urged Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao's troops to move quickly, turned back to Dong Cheng and said: "Uncle Guo wait patiently, this trip will definitely live up to the emperor's order." ”

Dong Cheng said: "Uncle Huang should pay attention, don't lose Your Majesty." Then he turned his horse and turned his head back.

Zhang Fei asked Liu Bei: "Big brother is on the expedition this time, why is he so in a hurry?" ”

Liu Bei said: "I waited until Xu was arranged to live near the Prime Minister's Mansion and became a caged bird and a fish in a net. This trip, like a fish into the sea, a bird rushing into the sky, no longer trapped in the cage net. ”

After that, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei hurried like birds out of the cage, panicked like fish that had slipped through the net, and moved forward quickly.

In the middle of the line, I saw the dust suddenly rising behind me, and a military horse rushed over.

Liu Bei expected that Cao Cao would send troops to chase after him, so he ordered the camp to be set up, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei stood on both sides with their weapons.

As expected, Cao Cao and Liu Bei broke up and returned home, Guo Jia and Cheng Yu heard that Cao Cao had sent Liu Bei to Xuzhou, and hurriedly entered to see Cao Cao.

Guo Jia said: "Why did the prime minister order Liu Bei to supervise the army? ”

Cao Cao said: "I am afraid that Yuan Shu will defect to Yuan Shao through Xuzhou, so he ordered Xuande to march to intercept and kill." ”

Cheng Yu said: "When Liu Bei was the pastor of Xuzhou, we persuaded him to get rid of him, but the prime minister did not listen. Now he gave him soldiers and horses, which is really to let the dragon into the sea and return the tiger to the mountain, and it will not be easy to deal with him in the future. ”

Guo Jia also said: "Even if you don't kill Liu Bei, you can't let him go." The ancients said that 'one day of the enemy, the trouble of eternity', hope that the prime minister will think carefully and deal with it decisively. ”

Cao Cao Yuan also had doubts about Liu Bei, and after hearing what the two said, he ordered Xu Chu to lead 500 troops to go, and be sure to chase Liu Bei back.

Xu Chu led the army to chase after him quickly and met Liu Bei: "On the orders of the prime minister, I specially invite the general to go back, and there is another court and government to discuss." ”

Liu Bei said: "The general is outside, and the king's order is not affected." This expedition has both the edict of the Son of Heaven and the words of the Prime Minister. There is no other way to discuss it today, but you can go back quickly and restore the prime minister for me. ”

Xu Chu hesitated. Chen Ling was beside him, secretly whispering to Xu Hao.

Xu Hakama whispered to Xu Chu: "Liu Bei went to intercept and kill Yuan Shu, and it is inconvenient to stop more. ”

Xu Chu pondered: "The prime minister and Liu Bei have always been good friends, but they just asked me to persuade me to return, never asked me to fight, and I couldn't hurt the harmony, just reply to what he said, so that the prime minister can cut it by himself." So he was no longer reluctant, led the troops back, and replied to Cao Cao with Liu Bei's original words.

When Guo Jia and Cheng Yu heard this, they all thought that Liu Bei refused to return to the army, and his treachery was revealed, so they advised him again.

Cao Cao said: "I have long been suspicious, so I asked Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao to supervise with the army. You might as well borrow a knife to kill someone, let him intercept Yuan Shu first, get rid of the big trouble, and then try again. ”

During the discussion, it was reported that Zhang Yang's subordinate Yang Chou had killed Zhang Yang, and led Zhang Yang's subordinates to surrender, but was killed by Zheng Gu.

Zheng Gu led Zhang Yang's subordinate Tun Army to shoot dogs (northwest of present-day Wuzhi, Henan) and wanted to defect to Yuan Shao.

Cao Cao gave up chasing Liu Bei and sent Shi Jian and Cao Ren to attack Zhenggu urgently.

He led his own soldiers out to Yuan Shao, and was intercepted and killed by Shi Jian and others in the dog city, and Cao Cao surrounded and shot the dogs again, and everyone surrendered, so Cao Cao annexed Hanoi.

Since then, the contradictions between Yuan and Cao have further intensified.

Let's say that Liu Bei came to Xuzhou, and the assassin was greeted by the car, and Liu Bei was entertained at a public banquet.

Sun Qian, Mi Zhu and a group of old departments came to see, Liu Bei sent people to inquire about Yuan Shu's movements, and on the other hand, he went home with Mi Zhu to visit his family, and since then he has been separated from Cao Cao, and has embarked on a bumpy exile and sent others to live under the fence.

It can be said: escape the fishing net and want to enter the sea, break through the birdcage and want to fly. The heart is high-minded and far away from the Han family, and the family is trapped and scattered to escape the disaster.

Luo Gong borrowed the poems of later generations to sigh that Liu Bei traveled this time: he hurried to the soldiers and horses, and he was in the pocket of Tianyan. Broke through the iron cage to escape the tiger and leopard, and suddenly opened the golden lock to walk away from the dragon.

Let's say that Yuan Shu, who was desperate, went to Lishan to defect to the previous Qu Lei Bo and Chen Lan, but was refused, so he wrote to Yuan Shao, wanting to give him the emperor's name and unite with him.

Yuan Shao replied that if he got the jade seal, he agreed to accept Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shu hurriedly packed up the people and the palace forbidden royal things, and took the jade seal to Yuan Tan, the eldest son of Yuan Shao, the assassin of Qingzhou at the time, and passed through the border of Xuzhou, where he was intercepted and killed by Liu Bei's army.

The pioneer Ji Ling came out of the horse, Zhang Fei faced the battle, and was stabbed to death by Zhang Fei with a spear.

Yuan Shu saw that the defeated army was scattered and fled for his life, and personally led the army to fight, and met Liu Bei and the Chinese army to meet him.

When the two armies met, Liu Bei led the army to retreat temporarily, Yuan Shu waved the army to come, and suddenly the left army Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao, the right army Zhang Fei and Guan Yu each led troops and horses, and the left and right sides outflanked them, and Liu Bei led the Chinese army to turn back and cover up.

Yuan Shu's army was slaughtered all over the field, blood flowed into a canal, and the soldiers fled, which was invincible.

Yuan Shu was defeated and wanted to return to Shouchun, but was attacked by Lei Bo and Chen Lan, robbed of money, grain and fodder, and had to lead a thousand old and weak soldiers to Jiangting, which was eighty miles away from Shouchun, to live temporarily.

It was June of the fourth year of Jian'an (199), the summer was hot, only 30 wheat, lack of food and drink, and many people died of unbearable heat and hunger.

Yuan Shu is used to eating delicacies from the mountains and seas, so he can't eat coarse tea and light rice, and wants honey to quench his thirst.

So far, how can there be honey syrup?

The chef replied, "There is only plasma, no honey." ”

Yuan Shu saw that a cook dared to ridicule himself like this, sat on the bed, sighed for a long time, and exclaimed: "How could I, Yuan Shu, be so downcast!" Then he fell out of bed and vomited blood and died.

It is a pity that Yuan Shu was called the emperor in a corner of the land in February of the second year of Jian'an with the name "Zhongshi", and he perished in June of the fourth year of Jian'an, and the puppet emperor only survived for two years and four months.

When Liu Bei heard that Yuan Shu was dead, he left behind and took 50,000 military horses to guard Xuzhou, wrote a table to apply for the imperial court, and sent a letter to Cao Cao, ordering Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao to return to Xudu with a book on the table, while personally going out of the city to summon the scattered people to resume business.

Zhu Ling and Lu Zhao returned to see Cao Cao, and Gu Yan Liu Bei left his military horses and sent them back to reply.

Cao Cao was furious and wanted to behead the two.

Xun Yu dissuaded and offered a plan: "You can send a book to the car and order Liu Bei to be eradicated on the spot." ”

Cao Cao secretly sent people to Xuzhou to see Che Zhou and secretly sent Jun Zhi.

At this time, when Chen Deng came back from Guangling to celebrate his father's birthday, Che Zhou immediately asked Chen Deng to discuss.

Chen Dengxian lured the wolf into the city and caught the turtle in the urn, taught the car to set up an ambush in the urn city, and waited for Liu Bei to go out of the city to recruit the people to return, go to greet him, and when Liu Bei arrived, he ordered the ambush to be killed.

Chen Deng returned to his father and explained the matter.

His father, Chen Qisu, was kind to Liu Bei and ordered him to tell Liu Bei as soon as possible.

Chen Deng also admired Liu Bei's ambition to inherit Tao Gongzu, loved the people, and didn't want to harm his life, so he obeyed his father's orders, Pegasus went to report, and met Guan Yu and Zhang Fei first.

Chen Deng reported the ambush in Wengcheng, and offered to take advantage of its unpreparedness and attack its unpreparedness to teach Cao Jun to pretend to be Cao Jun at night, earn open the city gate, lead the car out to meet him, and take advantage of his unpreparedness to attack and kill.

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei followed the plan, and then there was a wonderful period of "Guan Gong earns the city and cuts the car".

Guan Yu beheaded the car, Zhang Fei killed the whole family of the car, and recruited the car.

When Liu Bei came back, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei greeted each other with the head of the car, and said that the car was wanted to harm Cao Caojun.

Liu Bei was shocked: "If you kill Cao Cao's henchmen, how can you give up?" ”

Chen Deng said: "Today, Yuan Shaohu is located in the counties of Hebei, Qing, You, and the four prefectures, with millions of soldiers and many military generals, and Cao Cao is afraid, so he can send a letter for help. ”

Liu Bei said: "I have no contact with Yuan Shao, but I once helped my senior brother Gongsun Zan to fight with him, and now I have broken his brother Yuan Shu, how can I help me?" ”

Chen Deng said: "There is a person here, who is eight buckets high, rich in five cars, thousands of disciples, famous all over the world, and Yuan Shao III, extremely respected by Yuan Shao, if he asks him to repair a book to Yuan Shao, he will be willing to help." ”

Liu Bei asked who it was, Chen Deng said the name of this person, Liu Bei was stunned, and then he turned his worries into joy. Exactly: the name of the tree is high, and the clothes and saddles are dignified. If you want to know who this person is, whether you are willing to write a book for Liu Bei for help, and see the next decomposition.