In the first month of the fourth year of the Jian'an Era, Qin Tian pacified Xuzhou and returned to Shouchun. Half a month later, Liu Bei also arrived there.
Liu Bei's return this time served three main purposes.
The foremost purpose was naturally to deal with the overall situation in Xuzhou.
Strictly speaking, Qin Tian's seizure of Xuzhou had been an overreach.
Lu Bu's surprise attack on Huainan had been an unforeseen event to begin with.
From the time they began making plans last year until Qin Tian returned with his army, Xuzhou had never figured into their strategic expectations.
Thus, when Qin Tian marched north, Liu Bei had not given him many instructions.
So while Qin Tian had been able to seize Xuzhou through his powerful influence, stabilizing the larger situation there required Old Liu to personally take charge.
In his letter to Liu Bei, Qin Tian had likewise advised him to return to Shouchun.
This was the main reason Liu Bei returned to Shouchun.
The secondary reason was that Madam Gan was about to give birth.
The matter of heirs had always been a burden on Old Liu's heart.
When Gan became pregnant, it had been the fourth month of the third year of the Jian'an Era. By the time Qin Tian pacified Xuzhou, she had already been eight months along.
By the first month of the fourth year of the Jian'an Era, Hua Tuo had determined that Gan would give birth within a month or so—and that the child was a son.
To Old Liu, this news was no less than a joy from heaven, and it also hastened Liu Bei's northern journey.
The final reason was that the situation in the south had already been opened up!
To explain this, they had to start from before