Yuan Shao was defeated again by Cao Cao, and after the news spread, it caused another sensation.
Two consecutive times, he was defeated by Cao Cao.
Yuan Shao made all the princes in the world doubt whether they had received the wrong news. At the same time, they felt that the Yuan family was beginning to decline. Yuan Shu could not hold on, and now Yuan Shao could not hold on either. Those aristocratic families seemed to be like this.
When the news reached Xiangyang, Liu Biao couldn't believe it was true.
"Cao Cao is so powerful!"
Liu Biao was shocked and thought, even worried, whether Liu Bei in Xinye would be able to stop Cao Cao from going south.
"It might work?"
Liu Biao was thinking again.
In his heart, he didn't have much confidence in Liu Bei. After all, Cao Cao was ridiculously powerful now. If Cao Cao were allowed to take away Yuan Shao's territory, he would be even stronger.
"Your Majesty!"
At this time, Cai Mao came in, bowed and said, "I think you did something wrong."
Liu Biao asked curiously: "What's the matter?"
Cai Mao said: "Let Liu Xuande go to Xinye and escape from the envoy's control."
"Why?"
Liu Biao couldn't understand even more. Liu Bei was in Xinye and helped him block Cao Cao. This was a good thing. Why would he do it inappropriately?
Cai Mao explained: "The envoy may not know how Liu Xuande is doing in Xinye now. His reputation is even greater than that of the envoy, and he has won the hearts of many people in Nanyang. It is said that he recruited troops to resist Cao Cao, but he recruited them back I only know Liu Xuande but not the lord. If this continues, I'm worried that Xinye will no longer belong to the lord, but to Liu Xuande."
With that said, he bowed and waited for Liu Biao's response.
"That's nonsense!"
When Liu Biao heard this, he instinctively didn't believe it and hummed softly: "Don't mention this matter again, otherwise don't blame me for being rude! Xuande and I are as close as brothers, and we are both members of the Han clan. Our ambitions are the same , all want to help the Han Dynasty!"
Cai Mao said helplessly: "Your Majesty, everything I said is true. You don't have to believe it, but you must be cautious!"
He had never had a good impression of Liu Bei, and what Liu Bei was doing in Xinye now gave him a very restless feeling and considered him a threat.
As Liu Biao's brother-in-law, Cai Mao had certain power in Jingzhou.
As long as Liu Biao is still there, he will always be in power in Jingzhou. He doesn't want to give part of his power to Liu Da'er. That means Liu Biao believes in Han clan members and thinks they are good people. Others can actually see it at a glance. Liu Bei When going to Xinye, you must have some plans and ambitions.
"Okay, I get it!"
Liu Biao deliberately kept a cold face, waved his hand and said, "Go down!"
When Cai Mao left, Liu Biao shook his head slightly, not believing that Liu Bei would betray him, but after hesitating, he became a little worried and found several people who knew Xinye to come back and ask.
The result he got was similar to what Cai Mao said, which made him frown.
The thoughts I had about Liu Bei just now were temporarily forgotten. I was thinking that Liu Bei might not be true and he had some bad intentions, right?
"No, Xuande is not that kind of person."
Liu Biao shook his head vigorously, but he was still thinking: "Why don't you invite Xuande back for a chat and see how Xuande reacts?"
He thought it was necessary, so he wrote a letter and had it sent to Liu Bei in Xinye.
——
Liu Bei was in Xinye and was meeting someone.
To be precise, he met with a counselor who wanted to join him. This counselor first discussed with Chen Gong for more than half an hour, and finally got Chen Gong's affirmation that he had the ability and could be used.
Ever since, Liu Bei met him immediately.
You must know that Liu Bei is not short of generals now, but what he is short of is counselors.
He has many military generals who are marching and fighting. In addition to guarding Zhang and Zhao Yun, he also took in Liao Hua and Zhou Cang on the way south to Runan, as well as Liu Pi and Gongdu. Now he is really short of counselors.
"Xu Shu, whose courtesy name is Yuan Zhi, has met the lord."
The counselor who came to seek refuge was none other than Xu Shu. Now, instead of using a pseudonym, he appeared directly under his real name and bowed before Liu Bei. His appearance was also different.
"Okay, great!"
Liu Bei was overjoyed and said: "With Yuan Zhi's help, great things can be accomplished!"
In fact, he has been following Cao Cao's example and issuing a talent seeking order in Xinye. However, after issuing it for such a long time, only one person was willing to come forward, and this person was Xu Shu.
It's so rare to get a counselor.
It has also been verified by Chen Gong, which is a good thing!
"I just came here and haven't accomplished anything yet, so I want to make one right away and remind the lord of something."
Xu Shu said solemnly: "This is something that both the lord and the public have ignored."
Hearing this, Liu Bei asked doubtfully: "What's the matter?"
Chen Gong was also interested in something that even he had ignored, but could still make Xu Shu meritorious. This matter should not be simple, but he thought about it and followed his own caution. He was confident that there was nothing he could ignore.
Ever since, their eyes all fell on Xu Shu.
"This matter may not be important, but it may put you, my lord, in trouble."
"As soon as I came to Xinye, I heard voices praising the lord outside. The people's hearts are in line and the people are following."
"That's a good thing, but it's also a bad thing."
Xu Shu said.
“Can the people’s wishes be a bad thing?”
Liu Bei doesn't quite understand this.
Chen Gong thought for a long time, and his expression suddenly changed. He finally understood what he meant by this. It was indeed a bad thing, and it was indeed a very serious matter that was easy to ignore.
"There are good and bad."
Xu Shu sighed: "My lord is now attached to Liu Jingzhou. If Liu Jingzhou discovers that the hearts of the people in Xinye belong to my lord, what will Liu Jingzhou think?"
Hearing this, Liu Bei stood up suddenly.
After being reminded like this, he understood.
Liu Bei's reputation is so great, and he is apparently one of Liu Biao's people. What would Liu Biao think if he knew about it?
You will definitely feel threatened and cannot allow this threat to continue to exist.
At first, they gained people's support very easily, but they really ignored this most important point. Now that I think about it carefully, the problem is very serious.
Chen Gong said: "This is my fault."
He sighed.
In fact, they didn't expect that Cao Cao was behind this, but they were lucky to have Xu Shu to remind them.
"Lord!"
Before they could think about what to do, Jian Yong came in from outside, handed over an invitation, and said: "This is the invitation sent by someone from Liu Jingzhou. Please come to Xiangyang to reminisce about the past."
"coming!"
Xu Shu took a look and said.
Liu Biao's suspicion came.
If Liu Bei does not go and his ambition is confirmed, Liu Biao may send troops to attack.
If Liu Bei goes, he may never return and end up with nothing. This is a dilemma.
"Yuanzhi, what should I... do?"
Liu Bei asked anxiously.
Chen Gong first said: "I think you can go! Liu Jingzhou must be suspicious, and going will dispel the suspicion. But there is danger in this trip, that's for sure. If you are prepared, you are not afraid of danger!"
Facing Liu Biao's invitation, it seemed even worse not to go.
