Everyone thought that Yuan Yao's victory over Chai Sang this time was just a mistake and bad luck.
But after listening to the exchange between Yuan Yao and Lu Su, I realized that I was being superficial.
The capture of Chaisang was not Yuan Yaoxin's random whim, but something that had been premeditated.
And the time to plan this matter was at least when Yuan Yao and Zheng Bao set off from Chaohu in two directions.
At that time, it was determined that the meeting place was northeast of Penglize, and the people were premeditated to attract people to Pengze, across the river on the south bank.
Even though he is still young, he can think deeply and covertly, which is not simple.
However, Zheng Hun and He Kui, who were prejudiced against Yuan Shu and Yuan Yao, still could not believe that Yuan Yao had such ability.
Therefore, although Lu Dai and others next to him were sincerely convinced by Yuan Yao, they knelt on the ground and shouted:
"I am willing to die for the young master!"
But Zheng Hun and He Kui just handed over their hands, convinced on the face but unconvinced in the heart.
But what happened next made Zheng Hun and He Kui unconvinced.
Under Lu Su's active diplomatic offensive, Yuan Yao, who originally fought without declaring war, gained the upper hand in public opinion.
Huang Zu originally wanted to raise an army of land and water to go down the river to retaliate against Yuan Yao, but he had to give up under Liu Biao's rebuke.
In this way, the problems left by Yuan Yao's attack on Chai Sang were solved.
Zheng Hun and He Kui regarded themselves as famous people in the world. But I have to admit that Lu Su understands the situation better than them and is extremely good at diplomatic negotiation and mediation.
Moreover, after entering Chaisang, Lu Su, as the new county magistrate, appeased the people and recruited surrendered soldiers. He was good at everything, and his talents were far better than the two of them.
In this way, they had to admit that Yuan Yao had the ability to know people well and manage them well, and they also secretly recognized Yuan Yao in their hearts.
So within a few days, the two men came to Yuan Yao and expressed their willingness to follow Liu Fu's example and serve under Yuan Yao as a guest minister.
In fact, both of them couldn't lose face and were unwilling to admit that they had misjudged Yuan Yao.
Yuan Yao ignored the previous suspicion and appointed two people as the neighboring Liling Chief and Haihun County Magistrate respectively.
In counties and cities in the Han Dynasty, the head of a large county with ten thousand households was called the county magistrate, and the head of a small county with less than ten thousand households was called the county magistrate.
Haihun is a large county, with Zheng Hun as its magistrate. Liling is a small county, and He Kui is the county magistrate.
On the tenth day, Huang Zu sent envoys to make peace with Yuan Yao. Yuan Yao also sent back some of the officials Huang Zu sent to Chaisang. The two sides drew boundaries and agreed not to invade each other.
Jingzhou, Xiangyang, Jingzhou Mu Mansion.
The weather was getting hotter, so Liu Biao, a member of the Han clan and the shepherd of Jingzhou, hosted a banquet at the Houfu Lake Pavilion.
The only people present at the banquet were the Kuai brothers and Cai Mao.
Cai Mao: "Young Yuan Yao has no talent or virtue. If you don't please his father at his knees, why would you go south to Yuzhang?"
Kuai Yue said with a smile: "Yuan Jiujiu was defeated in Kuangting the year before last and his vitality was severely damaged. But in the spring of this year, he captured Lujiang County and occupied most of Huainan. His minions spread all over Yang, Yu, and Xuzhou, and his momentum was restored!"
"The next step is to send troops eastward to capture Liu Bei's Xuzhou."
Cai Mao said disdainfully: "Yuan Gongli just relied on his noble birth, but he relied entirely on the Sun family as the vanguard to fight the war."
"I used Sun Jian to attack Jingzhou before, and now I use Sun Ce to capture Lujiang."
"Without Sun's help, what does Yuan Shu mean?"
Kuai Yue nodded. He recognized Cai Mao's views on Yuan Shu, but he still added his own views:
"Although Yuan Shu was not able to help, the Yuan family in Runan has been a blessing for hundreds of years. There are more than tens of millions of people who have benefited from it. There are many foolish and loyal people under his command, which should not be underestimated!"
"From my perspective, Yuan Shu will capture Guangling County in Huaidong this time no matter what happens, thus establishing his full control over Huainan."
"So this time I sent Sun Ce across the river to the east, and sent his son southward, just to annex the four counties south of the Yangtze River and take over Yangzhou!"
Liu Biao finally spoke at this time: "What Yidu said has won my heart!"
"Yuan Shu's plan this time is very big, but his talent is a little shallow. In the end, it is all in vain!"
"From what I can see, whether it is Sun Wentai in the past or Sun Bofu today, they both look like tigers and wolves. They are definitely not people who have lived under others for a long time!"
"If he uses Sun Ce as his general to lead the three armies east to capture Xuzhou, I will be quite afraid of him!"
"But for him to let Sun Ce cross the Yangtze River to his homeland is tantamount to letting the tiger return to the mountain and cut off one of his arms!"
Cai Mao seemed to have realized something: "What Duke Ming means is that Sun Ce will rebel against Yuan Shu?"
Liu Biao shook his head: "I am not a god, so I cannot say for sure."
"But if Sun Ce really captures the three counties of Jiangdong, how likely he is to continue to listen to Yuan Shu's orders will definitely be a big problem!"
"But this son is far away from Jingzhou, so let him work in Jiangdong for the time being."
"Everyone should turn your attention back to Yuzhang and talk about the recent emergence of Mr. Yuan!"
Cai Mao drank half a cup of wine and said bluntly: "This man went to war without announcing it and attacked the important place of Chaisang. Based on my opinion, Huang Zu should be ordered to lead his army to drive him away!"
"Why did Duke Ming reprimand Huang Zu not to raise an army to attack him?"
"Are you really worried that the imperial court will punish you for crossing the line?"
Liu Biao snorted coldly: "I lead the herding of Jingzhou as the general of Zhennan. I also receive leave from the imperial court and supervise the military affairs of the three states of Delivery, Yang and Yi."
"The crime of crossing the line is so ridiculous!"
Liu Biao raised his wine glass and paid tribute to Kuai Yue.
"Now that the four counties in Jingnan have surrendered, the eight counties in Jingzhou will all regard me as their lord."
"These are all due to the conspiracy of alien criminals!"
Kuai Yue quickly stood up and raised his glass to drink with Liu Biao.
"How dare you take credit?"
"Ming Gong is as open-minded as the valley, and shows both kindness and power! This is the fundamental reason why Ming Gong can control the eight counties of Jingxiang!"
"It all depends on the great help of Degui and others. Otherwise, what's the use of just relying on my strategy and no one to execute it?"
Kuai Yue was a well-rounded person. After drinking, he immediately filled up the bowl and paid respect to Cai Mao.
Cai Mao looked happy and raised his glass to drink with Kuai Yue.
Kuai Yue looked at his taciturn brother Kuai Liang again, filled another glass of wine, and saluted Liu Biao:
"Although Yue's plan can help Ming Gong completely occupy the land of Jingxiang, it is just a temporary measure to calm down the chaos!"
"If Ming Gong wants to truly purge thousands of miles and make the people happy, he should use my brother Yongji's theory at this time, practice benevolence and righteousness, and combine power with dignity. The world will naturally be convinced!"
Liu Biao disagreed and said: "My lord, do you remember that you personally said that in troubled times, you should focus on power and benevolent? Why did you change your words today?"
"Now that the world is in chaos, how can we only show kindness to Jingzhou?"
"Why not first use power and military force to pacify the world, and then apply benevolence to all nine states?"
Kuai Liang remained expressionless, as if he didn't care what Liu Biao wanted to do.
Kuai Yue's expression changed slightly, but he quickly returned to his original state.
Liu Biao stood up, faced south and said to himself:
"Although I am far inferior to our ancestor, Emperor Gao, and not as good as our ancestor, Emperor Guangwu, I think it is possible to pacify the land of Jingchu, Wuyue, right?"
Kuai Yue was surprised and said: "Is Duke Ming going to target Jiao and Yangzhou?"
"Ming Gong, please be careful! We have just put down the rebellion of the powerful clans in the four counties of Jingnan right now. It is not appropriate to go to war for a Chai Sang!"
Liu Biao looked back at Kuai Yue and thought to himself, your Kuai brothers have underestimated me, Liu Biao. Am I not the kind of person who acts rashly?
"Although Chaisang is an important place on the Yangtze River, my plan, Liu Jingsheng, is not just one city and one place."
Kuai Yue also knew that he had lost his composure, so he stood up and bowed:
"It seems that Duke Ming wants to make plans slowly. It seems that Duke Ming has a profound meaning in making peace with Yuan Yao's envoy!"
"The more please hear it!"
Liu Biao snorted coldly: "I just want to give Yuan Yao some face because he is going south to help Zhuge Xuan, and I don't want to argue with him!"
Kuai Yue seemed to have some realization: "That's it!"
"Zhuge Xuan was previously an official of Duke Ming, but he resigned because he had to take care of his brother Zhuge Gui's funeral."
"If Duke Ming hadn't sent a naval force to help him and his family cross the Yangtze River at his request some time ago, how could he have taken over Nanchang before Zhu Hao and took up his new post!"
"Ming Gong is very kind to Zhuge Xuan!"
Liu Biao smiled and said: "This little favor can only be regarded as a small favor!"
"I still have real kindness, and I want to give it to him!"
Kuai Yue had guessed Liu Biao's plan at this time, so he helped Liu Biao speak:
"Duke Ming wants to send troops to help Zhuge Xuan expel Zhu Hao and let him take the position of governor of Yuzhang?"
Liu Biao sat down again, nodded and stroked his beard and said: "Yuan Shu just gave him the title of Yuzhang's governor, but I can help him get the title of Yuzhang's governor!"
Cai Hao also understood at this time, holding wine in both hands and smiling: "As long as Zhuge Xuan is not a fool, he can figure out who he can truly rely on!"
"But now Chaisang is occupied by Yuan Yao and the waterway is blocked. I wonder how Ming Gong will send troops to help Zhuge Xuan?"
Cai Mao had been working as a military attache for how many years. At this time, he thought of the issue of marching.
More importantly, he was worried that Liu Biao would send him to lead his navy out of Jingzhou to fight outside.
Liu Biao smiled and said: "What's the problem if the waterway is blocked?"
"Isn't my son Liu Pan the traitor who just pacified Changsha County and is still stationed in You County?"
"It takes ten days to reach Nanchang from You County. What do you think?"
Kuai Yue thought for a while and replied:
"General Liu Pan is brave and good at fighting. He has tiger and wolf troops under his command. He is also very close to Yuzhang. There is really no one more suitable than him!"
