Faced with Liu Bei's compliment, Zhang Heng shook his head.
"Mr. Xuande has given me the reward. Although this plan is clever, it is still a conspiracy and not worth mentioning. If the enemy sees through it, it will be useless."
There are two types of strategies in the world, conspiracy and conspiracy.
Although the so-called conspiracy can catch people by surprise, once it is discovered, it will be shattered like a castle in the air.
Only conspiracy is the real grand strategy. Even if the enemy can see through it, there is no way to break it. You still have to follow the direction you designed step by step.
Zhang Heng has a stable temperament. If he didn't want to use his small skills to make a big gain, he would definitely not adopt such a conspiracy.
"Hey, Ziyi, you are too modest. Since ancient times, soldiers have never been tired of deceit. We are just taking a peek at such a wild plan. How can the enemy see through it?" Liu Bei was quite confident in this water attack plan and spoke to console him.
"I hope so. I have asked Wen Yuan to implement the specific details. When the enemy attacks, Duke Xuande can deliberately lure the enemy to camp by the Bian River, and then start to attack the upper reaches. Build levees.”
Liu Bei heard something unusual in Zhang Heng's words, and quickly asked: "Ziyi, won't you take care of such an important matter personally?"
"No, I'm planning to leave in the near future."
"Where is Ziyi going?"
Liu Bei was shocked and said that he thought Zhang Heng was going to abandon him.
"Sour dates."
Zhang Heng smiled.
Liu Bei was puzzled, "Why remove the jujubes?"
"Now that the enemy is strong and we are weak, even if the water attack strategy is successful, it can only defeat the Dong thief's vanguard. If we want to finally defeat the Dong thief, we need to send some reinforcements."
Liu Bei smiled and said with some disdain: "Ziyi is joking. The Suizao princes are afraid of Dong like a tiger, so how can they easily send troops. If they really have the heart to serve the country, how can it be our turn to capture Xingyang first."
"This moment is the same as that moment." Zhang Heng said with a smile, "The princes of Guandong have no intention of serving the country, but they have the intention of fighting for fame and wealth. They use benefits to lure them, and don't worry about them not coming. Don't worry, Mr. Xuande, no matter whether they come or not If you don’t come, I’ll try my best to get back before fighting the Dong thief.”
Liu Bei felt relieved and nodded.
"In that case, Ziyi, you must be careful on this trip. If you are unable to handle it, retreat quickly. Don't put yourself in danger."
While talking, Liu Bei couldn't help but took Zhang Heng's hand and warned him with concern on his face.
Although they didn't get along for long, Liu Bei had already regarded Zhang Heng as his brother, not to mention that Zhang Heng repeatedly made clever plans to help him win consecutive battles, and the number of troops under his command increased more than twenty times.
At present, the title has not yet been established, and Zhang Heng is still nominally a prince, so Liu Bei is very worried that if he leaves and never returns, he will lose help.
People are not like grass and trees, so how can they be ruthless? Zhang Heng was very moved by Liu Bei's true feelings, and he nodded seriously.
"Don't worry, Mr. Xuande, I will act accordingly."
"I wonder when Ziyi plans to leave?"
Zhang Heng shook his head, "It's not urgent. If we want the jujube coalition to send troops, it's not enough for the next person to go. We also need to bring some credentials."
When Liu Bei heard this, he immediately waved his hand magnanimously, "But I don't know what the proof is. If you need it, the things in the city are at your disposal."
"Credit."
Zhang Heng smiled softly and spit out two words.
…
In the next few days, Zhang Heng sent a wave of soldiers to Suanzao every day.
What to do?
Of course, it’s to take credit and reward.
All the previous achievements were cashed in by Cao Cao into food and official positions. However, when Cao Cao went to ask for credit, Liu Bei had not yet defeated Xu Rong. It would be a pity not to make a fuss about this matter.
Zhang Heng certainly didn't expect to get any rewards from the jujube princes. His purpose was to make these people itchy and even make them want to stop.
On the first day, Zhang Heng wrote in the military report to the Suanzao princes: He won the first battle with Xu Rong, beheaded two hundred people and captured nearly a thousand people.
The next day, they fought again and won again, beheading 300 people and capturing nearly 1,000 people.
On the third day, the battle resumed and they won again, beheading 500 people and capturing 1,500 people.
The fourth day, the fifth day...
It was not until the seventh day that Zhang Heng's fictional so-called 10,000-strong army of Xu Rong was captured. At the same time, even Xingyang, the important town where Xu Rong was stationed, was also breached.
That's right, Zhang Heng is going to use this series of good news to give the princes of Guandong an illusion.
Dong Zhuo's army is vulnerable. Now as long as he is willing to send troops, he can easily invade Luoyang and carve up the benefits.
You see, I fight every day, and I win every time, and I even advance the battle line a lot. If you don't come, I'm afraid I won't even be able to drink the soup!
In seven days, seven good news.
The prelude of flowers and applause has been completed, and it’s finally the protagonist’s turn to appear.
So in the early morning of the eighth day, Zhang Heng, led by Liu Bei and Cao Cao out of the city to see him off, embarked on his way back to Suanzao with hundreds of soldiers.
…
Sour dates.
Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou, was discussing matters with Qiao Mao, the prefect of Dongjun. As for the subject of the discussion, of course, the good news sent by Liu Bei's people these days, and... the amount of food and supplies requested in the good news.
"Yuan Wei, what do you think?"
Liu Dai handed over the seven good news in his hand, with a strange expression on his face.
"Your Majesty, I have read these letters in the past few days."
Qiao Mao shook her head helplessly, smiled, and drank down the wine in her hand.
"I have indeed read it, but..." Liu Dai put the good news on the table and frowned, "This is too strange."
Qiao Mao asked: "What makes you think that Liu Xuande is lying about military information and exaggerating his achievements?"
"It's hard to say." Liu Dai looked at the beam with a thoughtful expression. "After all, Liu Xuande killed Yang Yong, captured Zhang Liao, went to Juanxian County, and defeated Yang Ding in one go. Although his achievements are amazing, they are all solid facts and cannot be doubted."
"Is it possible that Liu Xuande is really the reincarnation of the Marquis of Huaiyin and can kill the Dong thief on his own?" Qiao Mao said with a smile.
Hearing this, Liu Dai also laughed and shook his head.
"Yuan Wei, don't be joking, let's talk about serious matters."
Qiao Mao nodded, and the expression on his face became serious.
"Your Majesty, I have a different opinion."
"Yuan Wei has a high opinion, let's put it bluntly, there is no one else here anyway."
"Your Majesty, please look at the figures of these so-called good news."
“What’s so strange about numbers?”
"Not to mention the fighting strength of Liu Xuande's men, just looking at his previous achievements, he would only send victory reports after he had captured a city and a land. But these days, the victory reports are not many, and they are not very surprising. That’s why I find it strange that Liu Xuande didn’t wait until Xu Rong was completely eliminated before taking the credit together?”
After listening to Qiao Mao's analysis, Liu Dai nodded in agreement.
"Yuan Wei's advice, this is exactly what I haven't figured out."
"Furthermore, I have seen that the wording in Liu Xuande's victory reports is exaggerated every time, and it is quite a bit arrogant. But in his previous victory reports, the wording was extremely modest and respectful, making it impossible to find anything wrong."
"Liu Xuande is not a short-sighted person. Such wording must have been done by Cao Mengde."
Liu Dai had a good impression of Liu Bei, so he put the blame on Cao Cao.
Anyway, you are an eunuch, so it is normal to be rude.
"No matter what, if something goes wrong, there must be a monster. Liu Xuande must have ulterior motives for doing this!"
Qiao Mao slapped the table and said with burning eyes.
But Liu Dai was concerned about another thing.
"No matter what Liu Xuande's intentions are, let's just talk about the good news that has come out these days. What do you think Yuan Wei thinks is true or false?"
Hearing this, Qiao Mao nodded without hesitation.
"It's absolutely true. Even if there are exaggerations, it can't cover up the fact that Liu Xuande has won many battles."
"I think so too."
Liu Dai breathed a long sigh of relief, but his eyes became deep, and he said quietly: "Yuan Wei, you said that if Liu Xuande continues to lose consecutive battles, you really let him enter Luoyang..."
"Impossible, you are worrying too much!"
Before Liu Dai could finish his words, Qiao Mao immediately laughed and said: "The eight passes of Luoyang are all heavily guarded. Even if Liu Xuande had recruited many soldiers of Dong thieves before, he would not have more than 20,000 men under his command. If he wanted to fight Entering Luoyang is nothing more than a fool’s dream!”
"But before Liu Xuande sent out troops, no one would have thought that he could win consecutive battles."
"this……"
Qiao Mao was speechless for a moment.
"Even if Liu Xuande can't enter Luoyang, the previous battles are enough to prove that the Dong thief is vulnerable. Hundreds of thousands of our troops have gathered here. If we just sit back and watch Liu Xuande excel in front, wouldn't he become the leader of the world? laughing stock?"
Of course, there is one sentence that Liu Dai did not say - if Liu Bei really captured Luoyang, he would not get his own share of the credit!
Hearing this, Qiao Mao's eyes were filled with shock.
"What do you mean, your Majesty, that we also march to fight against the thieves?"
"Don't worry, not only have we received the good news, but others have also received it. Let's wait and see what the princes are doing."
Liu Dai is also a master who does not let the hawk see the rabbit. Even if Dong Zhuo has shown himself vulnerable, he is still ready to wait for others to make the first move.
"Make you wise!"
Qiao Mao cupped his fists and smiled.
