"Is this really feasible?"
Liu Bei was still a little hesitant. He must still be worried. He also cherished his feathers for fear that his reputation would be tarnished.
Zhuge Liang said with confidence: "If my lord believes in my arrangement, it will definitely work! My lord is for a big man, so sometimes it is necessary to be cruel. What's more, Cai Mao and others are not good people. They have done so much. In order to gain Jingzhou, he will eventually embark on the path of usurping the Han Dynasty."
"That's right, Cai Mao is not a good guy!"
Liu Bei was full of dissatisfaction with Cai Mao.
But asking him to do it too harshly would undermine benevolence and righteousness. After all, he has been managing the character of benevolence and righteousness. Suddenly he said that he wanted to give up benevolence and righteousness, even if he gave up secretly, something felt wrong in his heart.
"For the big man!"
Liu Bei struggled for a long time, and finally affirmed: "What to do next, I will completely listen to Kong Ming's arrangements, and I also ask Kong Ming to teach me."
As he said this, he bowed to Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang sidestepped, returned the salute, and then said: "This matter is easy! Let's start with the eldest son first and help the eldest son avoid danger. Once Liu Jingzhou or Cai Mao invites the lord to Xiangyang again, we can almost take action. .”
Liu Bei asked: "Will Liu Jingzhou still invite me?"
Zhuge Liang nodded and said: "Definitely, even if he doesn't invite, Cai Mao will facilitate the invitation. Cai Hao has been suppressing us recently, but for him, it is not enough. Only by killing the lord will it be settled. He wants to kill the lord. , that’s a joke, I can help the lord use this matter to frame him..."
The plan he came up with to seize Jingzhou was indeed a bit ruthless.
This was taken from Liu Biao.
Even Chen Gong and the others have never given such a ruthless plan.
"My lord, please remember that everything is for the sake of the big man. If we don't be ruthless, the country will really have to change its surname in the future."
"Cao Cao is ruthless enough. For example, he dared to massacre Xuzhou to get where he is today. But after success, he can also wash away his own stains. Another example is Cao Cao, who wanted to clear himself in Xuzhou and put away all his faults. Come to Tao Qian."
Zhuge Liang emphasized again.
In this troubled world, it is normal to be cruel sometimes.
But when he mentioned the massacre of Xuzhou, he secretly sighed in his heart. It was at that time that his family left Langya and came to Jingzhou.
Liu Bei's heart became more and more determined.
Jiangshan must not be allowed to change his surname. Even if he becomes emperor, he must not let this happen.
Then we can only temporarily put aside our benevolence and righteousness and be cruel. Cao Cao can do it, and so can he. There was a fierce look in his eyes.
"Lord, Kong Ming."
Xu Shu came in from outside and said, "There is news from the north. Cao Cao has captured Youzhou."
"so fast?"
Liu Bei was shocked.
Not long ago, they received the news that Bingzhou and Qingzhou were captured by Cao Cao. Even Youzhou could not be defended so quickly, not even Yuan Shao's two sons!
Cao Cao's process of pacifying the north is getting faster and faster, which brings great pressure and threats to him. He is even more eager to get Jingzhou as soon as possible, so that he can compete with Cao Cao, otherwise everything is empty talk.
"Ms. Yuan, what's wrong?"
Zhuge Liang was not surprised and asked calmly.
Xu Shu said: "Yuan Xi took Yuan Shang and fled to Wuhuan. Yuan's generals and counselors surrendered and died in battle. Cao Cao swept across the entire northern Han Dynasty. Although you and I both believe that Yuan is definitely not Cao Cao's opponent. , but it was defeated too quickly, there must be some experts in Cao’s camp.”
"Chen Duzhi, it must be him!"
That handsome face appeared in Liu Bei's mind.
When he was with Cao Cao, he was often tricked by Chen Zhou. If there was an expert in Cao Cao's camp, he could be sure that that expert was Chen Zhou, and he would never be wrong.
"Chen Duzhi?"
Zhuge Liang said: "I have also heard of this person. He has a very important position in Cao's camp and is very capable."
Xu Shu said: "Cao Cao is developing too fast and it is not good for us. When he pacifies the whole north, his next step will definitely be to attack us. So what should we do?"
Zhuge Liang fell into deep thought and said after a while: "We have to hurry up and get Jingzhou, otherwise the lord will really have to face Cao Cao directly. He will definitely not be able to defeat him, so he can only give up Xinye and run away."
Liu Bei had been running away for so many years, and he didn't want to run away anymore, nor did he want to give up his territory.
So it is imperative to take Jingzhou, and be ruthless. Other than that, for the sake of the Han Dynasty and for the sake of righteousness, it doesn't matter.
——
News of Yuan's defeat spread throughout the Han Dynasty.
No one could have imagined that Yuan Shao died so suddenly, and that Yuan Shao's three sons were so incompetent that they were chased by Cao Cao.
Now Cao Cao led his army to fight and arrived at Wu Zhong in You Beiping. Not far away was Xu Wushan, but the weather was not good and the weather was unfavorable. It rained continuously for a long time, almost soaking the food and grass.
This was not enough, because the continuous rain caused the roads to be blocked and the ground was full of mud. Wuhuan was guarding the main road. Cao's army's attack was frustrated and they could only camp at Wujing and wait for the rain to stop.
But the rain kept falling, and they didn't know when it would stop, which made Cao Cao and the others very upset.
On the contrary, Tadun was overjoyed.
The Yuan brothers were also overjoyed.
Yuan Xi took Yuan Shang and fled to Wuhuan. Not long after he took refuge in Tadun, he received the news that Cao Cao would continue to pursue him. He was a little nervous at first, but the rain washed away all the nervous atmosphere.
"As long as Cao Cao dares to attack, I can make sure he never comes back."
Tadun said confidently: "If he doesn't dare to fight, he can only wait for the rain to stop and the road to be passable. But when will this wait? By then, Cao's army will be short of food and grass, and his morale will no longer be good. He will definitely fight. If we don’t win, we will take advantage of the situation to attack and defeat Cao Cao with ease.”
"That's right!"
Yuan Shang gritted his teeth and said: "I will destroy Cao Cao and take back everything belonging to the Yuan family. I will never forget Tadun Chanyu in the future."
Tadun just smiled.
By the time Cao Cao was defeated, everything that once belonged to the Yuan family was no longer within Yuan Shang's control.
He was willing to accept the Yuan Xi brothers and send troops to compete with Cao Cao, not to help the Yuan Xi brothers fight back to the Central Plains and regain the four northern states. Life in Liaodong and other places was too difficult, and he wanted to bring his own people to improve their lives.
The Han Dynasty has a vast territory and rich resources, and the climate is much better than that of Liaodong and other places.
So improving your life starts here.
"Cao Cao has many advisers, so we must guard against their schemes and schemes!"
Yuan Xi was much calmer than Yuan Shang, and he was not as ambitious as Tadun, so he saw and thought of more. He reminded: "Cao's army cannot advance now, but necessary precautions must be taken."
Tadun laughed loudly and said: "Don't worry! There is only one way to break into Liaodong. I will guard the main road. In such weather, Cao Cao will not be able to use any conspiracy. If you dare to attack by force, just come Die."
Seeing Tadun's confidence, Yuan Xi didn't say anything, but secretly thought to himself, I hope this is really the case, and there would be no mistakes.
Now, they can no longer afford to lose and cannot lose again.
