Chapter 116: Want to cut off Liu Bei's head in the midst of thousands of troops? Don't you have any idea? Disloyal and unjust people, why did you betray me?
Having the surname Huang is the original sin.

Therefore, from the moment Huang Zhong entered Jiangling, Liu Biao began to sow sand in his army and monitor his every move.

As soon as Huang Chengyan's letter arrived, Liu Biao naturally got the news first.

This piece of news was like adding fuel to the fire, instantly igniting the fire of suspicion in Liu Biao's heart.

So without thinking too much, he immediately summoned Huang Zhong for questioning.

Kuai Yue's expression changed slightly, and he said hurriedly:

"My Lord, we still have no idea what Huang Chengyan's letter is about."

"Huang Hansheng just received the letter, and the master summoned him right after. Doesn't this let him know that the master is secretly monitoring him?"

"My lord, you may summon all the generals to discuss matters in the name of military affairs, and then keep him here to question him alone."

Liu Biao was very cunning and scheming. He was just excited for a moment before, but after hearing Kuai Yue's reminder, he immediately calmed down.

After a brief pause, Liu Biao waved his hand reluctantly:

"Just follow what Yidu said and summon the generals to discuss the matter."

A moment.

Xing Daorong, Bao Long and other generals from southern Jing came to the main hall one after another.

With the sound of heavy footsteps, an old general with half-white hair and beard, scorching eyes, and a body as strong as an iron tower stepped into the hall.

"Finally, I will pay my respects to my lord!"

Huang Zhong stood tall in front of the hall and bowed slightly in greeting.

When he saw Huang Zhong for a moment, Liu Biao frowned and a look of deep suspicion appeared in his eyes.

Kuai Yue, who was standing by, hurriedly coughed to remind him.

Liu Biao finally understood, suppressed his suspicion, and put on a friendly expression:
"Han Sheng, no need to be polite. Please take a seat immediately. Someone, serve Han Sheng some tea."

Huang Zhong did not notice anything unusual about Liu Biao. He thought it was just an ordinary military meeting and sat down calmly.

Liu Biao glanced at the generals and said loudly:
"Now that Liu Bei's army is at the gates of the city, the siege is imminent. What strategies do you have for repelling the enemy? Feel free to speak freely."

The words trailed off.

Xing Daorong jumped up and said proudly:

"If our army just defends, it will be too passive."

"I am willing to lead an army to attack the enemy's main camp at night and kill Liu Bei by surprise. I can cut off Liu Bei's head in the midst of thousands of troops and accomplish my goal in one battle!"

When these arrogant words came out, Liu Biao and Kuai Yue looked at each other and both took a deep breath.

My goodness, this General Lingling, has no idea of ​​his own capabilities? He actually thinks he can kill Liu Bei with his own bravery?

If Liu Bei was so easy to kill, would we have ended up in this predicament of being trapped in Jiangling?

"General Xing Dao is very courageous, but we are outnumbered. If we rashly launch a night attack, not only will we lose soldiers and generals, but if we lose a great general like you, the consequences will be even more disastrous."

"Given the current situation, it is best for us to hold our ground and not fight."

Kuai Yue didn't want to directly tell Xing Daorong that he was arrogant, so he tactfully rejected his plan of a night attack.

Liu Biao remained silent, naturally agreeing with what Kuai Yue said.

Xing Daorong had no choice but to sit down silently.

"Han Sheng, do you have a good plan to repel the enemy?"

Liu Biao's gaze turned to Huang Zhong.

Huang Zhong hesitated for a moment, then bowed and asked:
"My lord, I have a few words from the bottom of my heart. I wonder if I should say them or not?"

Liu Biao laughed and waved his hand, saying:
"I have always been willing to accept advice. If Han Sheng has any advice to give, please feel free to speak up."

Huang Zhong thought Liu Biao really accepted the advice, so he said solemnly:

"If you are determined to defend Jiangling, I, Huang Zhong, will lead my Changsha army to fight to the death. Even if only one soldier is left, we will fight to the death and never retreat."

"But I think it is not wise for you to defend Jiangling to the death. The best strategy is to abandon Jiangling and retreat to Jingnan!"

As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar in the hall.

Both Kuai Yue and Liu Pan looked at the Changsha veteran in surprise.

Jiangling is an important town in Jingzhou second only to Xiangyang. If it is abandoned, it means that the entire Nanjun County will fall into Liu Bei's hands.

Nanjun is the core county of Jingzhou. The loss of Nanjun is equivalent to the fall of Jingzhou!
Everyone agrees that Jiangling must be defended to the death.

Huang Zhong made a shocking statement, advocating abandoning Jiangling, which surely surprised everyone.

Liu Biao was shocked, his brows furrowed, and the suspicion in his heart suddenly became stronger.

You, Huang Zhong, have just received a letter from Huang Chengyan, and now you are trying to persuade me to give up the important city of Jiangling. What is the connection between the two?
Could it be that Huang Chengyan's letter was persuading you to surrender to Liu Bei?

So that's why you advised me to abandon Jiangling without a fight, so that I can hand over this important town to Liu Bei and make another contribution?
Countless suspicions immediately arose in Liu Biao's mind, and his face became gloomy.

"Liu Bei's army is four times larger than ours, and they are all elite troops."

"Most of our troops are from Jingnan County, and only the Changsha troops under my command are considered elite. If Liu Bei is determined to attack with all his might, I cannot guarantee whether we, the Changsha troops, can defend Jiangling with our desperate fight alone."

"Besides, Liu Bei still has the navy at his disposal. If the Jiangxia navy is no longer a hindrance, the Xiashui River can flow into the Yangtze River, blocking the Yangtze River and cutting off the connection between Jiangling and Jingnan."

"And most of our troops are from southern Jing. Even if there is enough food and grass in the city, if they learn that they are cut off at the north of the river, their morale will surely be shaken, and they will have no intention of holding on."

"So I think that instead of being trapped in Jiangling, we should retreat to Jingnan and rely on the natural barrier of the Yangtze River to separate ourselves from Liu Bei..."

Huang Zhong was also upright. He did not notice Liu Biao's change of expression in time and continued to give advice from the bottom of his heart.

Liu Biao, however, did not listen to a word he said. The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he felt. He suddenly slammed the table and shouted:
"enough!"

Huang Zhong was suddenly shocked and looked up at Liu Biao in confusion.

Liu Biao's face was gloomy, and he waved his hand and shouted:
"Today's military meeting ends here. You all may leave. I have something to say to Han Sheng alone." Xing Daorong and others hurriedly took their leave.

In the hall, suddenly only Liu Biao's uncle and nephew, and his trusted adviser Kuai Yue were left.

Huang Zhong then realized that Liu Biao's mood had changed, so he could only bow and explain:
"My lord has ordered me to speak freely, so I have spoken my mind."

"These are just some of my humble opinions. It is up to the lord to decide whether to defend or abandon Jiangling City."

"If you want to defend Jiangling, I will fight to the death."

Liu Biao ignored his explanation and asked coldly:

"Han Sheng, let's not discuss whether to defend Jiangling or not. I just want to ask you whether the traitor Huang Chengyan sent you a letter today."

Huang Zhong's heart trembled.

This letter was sent by Liu Jun outside the city from his Changsha military defense zone, and it was shot into the city in less than half an hour.

How did Liu Biao find out?
Could it be that his lord had actually planted spies in his Changsha army?
So, Liu Biao actually came to today's military meeting because of this letter?

No matter how loyal and upright Huang Zhong was, he finally understood the mystery at this moment and couldn't help but frown.

Liu Biao doesn't trust him...

Huang Zhong suppressed his displeasure and said frankly:
"Yes, my cousin did send me a handwritten letter today."

"He wanted to persuade me to surrender to Liu Bei, and even used the bait of curing my son's illness to persuade me to betray my master."

"Of course I would not be lured into surrender by him. I was about to write a letter to refuse, but the Lord summoned me."

Now it was Liu Biao's turn to be stunned.

He really didn't expect that Huang Zhong didn't deny it at all, but admitted it frankly.

He also frankly reported the details in the letter, such as Huang Chengyan's advice to him to surrender to Liu Bei and even using saving his son as bait.

Such a frank attitude made Liu Biao's suspicion lessen a little.

At this time.

Kuai Yue rolled his eyes a few times and said:
"Han Sheng, I wonder where Huang Chengyan's letter is. Can you let my lord read it?"

Huang Zhong's expression suddenly changed and he glared at Kuai Yue angrily.

Although Huang Chengyan is in the enemy camp, this letter is his private matter after all. What do you mean by asking for it openly?
You are clearly questioning my explanation and suspecting that there are some secrets in the letter that cannot be revealed!
"Kuai Biejia, what do you mean? Are you suspecting that I, Huang Zhong, am lying?"

Huang Zhong asked back to Kuai Yue with an angry look on his face.

Kuai Yue coughed a few times and explained with a smile:
"General Han Sheng, please don't worry. After all, many people know about this matter. I am afraid that the soldiers will speculate and discuss it secretly, which will affect your reputation."

"Take out the letter and show it to the lord. It will be like the lord comes forward to clear your suspicion and dispel the soldiers' gossip."

Kuai Yue was eloquent and Huang Zhong knew that he was making excuses, but he had no way to refute him.

So he could only look at Liu Biao.

Liu Biao coughed lightly and said:

"Han Sheng, don't worry. Yidu is really doing this for your reputation."

"You are now tasked with defending Jiangling. If the soldiers are suspicious of you, the morale of the army will be unstable, which will be detrimental to your command of the troops to defend the city."

Huang Zhong clenched his fists suddenly, and an inexplicable feeling of grievance and sadness surged in his heart.

Liu Biao's words sounded high-sounding, but in fact he still did not trust him and insisted on seeing the letter from Huang Chengyan with his own eyes to confirm that he was not lying.

"Ah~~"

Huang Zhong sighed in his heart and had to take out the letter from his arms.

"Here is the letter, my lord, please take a look."

Liu Biao quickly winked at Kuai Yue.

Kuai Yue took the letter, stepped forward and presented it to Liu Biao, and then he stood aside to read it.

Liu Biao couldn't wait to open the letter and read it carefully.

The doubts in the eyes of the two gradually dissipated.

Huang Zhong did not lie. What he wrote in the letter was basically consistent with what he had just said.

Liu Biao looked at it again and again, afraid of missing a word, but he still couldn't find any suspicious flaws.

Then he coughed lightly, his face suddenly turned from cloudy to bright, and he smiled:
"I knew that you, Han Sheng, are a man of unparalleled loyalty and righteousness. You are definitely not the same as Huang Chengyan!"

"How ridiculous this thief is so shameless that he wants to lure you, Han Sheng, to join the big-eared thief. It's really——"

Before Liu Biao finished speaking, Kuai Yue's eyes suddenly focused, and he pointed at the letter and whispered:
"My Lord, please look at these places on the letter. They have obviously been smudged."

"Huang Chengyan is a famous scholar in Jingxiang. How could he be so careless and scribble over such an important letter?"

Liu Biao lowered his head and took another closer look, and indeed noticed that there were several traces of scribbles on the letter.

Since Huang Chengyan could not have been so careless, these smears could only have been done by Huang Zhong.

Why did Huang Zhong do this?

The only explanation is that there was a secret plot in the letter that could not be revealed to others, and Huang Zhong deliberately blacked it out after reading it to prevent it from being known.

Could it be that the part that was smeared was Liu Bei's secret order to Huang Zhong, asking him to persuade him to give up Jiangling?

The more Liu Biao thought about it, the more suspicious he became, and the angrier he became, and his face gradually became distorted.

Sudden.

Liu Biao became furious, grabbed the letter and threw it at Huang Zhong, angrily saying:
"I knew it, that all of you Huang family members are disloyal and unrighteous!"

"Huang Zhong, I trusted you so much, why did you betray me and secretly communicate with Liu Bei?"

(End of this chapter)