Chapter 117: You look down on me, suspect me, and humiliate me? I won't serve you anymore! I will win all of Liu Biao's bets and conquer Jiangling!

Huang Zhong was confused.

Just now, didn’t Liu Biao clear up his doubts and his expression turned from gloomy to sunny?

Why was it that after Kuai Yue said a few words, Liu Biao's expression suddenly changed, and he actually turned hostile, openly accusing him of secretly communicating with Liu Bei?
"My lord, I don't understand, why do you say that?"

After Huang Zhong came to his senses, he asked back excitedly.

Liu Biao threw the letter in front of him and said angrily:

"This letter clearly contains a secret order from Liu Bei. If you were not guilty, why did you erase it?"

Huang Zhong was shocked. He picked up the letter again and read it again. Only then did he notice that there were indeed some scratches on the letter.

It’s not that he didn’t notice it before, but he didn’t think much about it. He just thought that Huang Chengyan had made a typo when writing the letter and just erased it.

"When I opened the letter, the smears were already there. The secret order from Liu Bei is totally fabricated!"

Huang Zhong raised his head and glared at Liu Biao with a stern expression.

Liu Biao raised his lips with a hint of sarcasm and snorted coldly:

"Huang Chengyan is known as a famous scholar in Jingxiang. He persuaded you to surrender on behalf of Liu Bei. How could you carelessly scribble over a typo in such an important letter?"

"Huang Zhong, you think I am a young boy, but can you fool me?"

Huang Zhong was speechless for a moment.

Liu Biao was right. Having alterations in a letter was in itself disrespectful to the recipient.

What’s more, the writer of the letter is a famous scholar like Huang Chengyan.

What's more, this letter was written on behalf of Liu Bei to persuade him to surrender, how important it was.

Even if you write one word wrong, you should write it again to avoid making him feel disrespected.

"My Lord, this letter, Huang Chengyan--"

Huang Zhong's face turned red, he didn't know how to explain, with a look of helplessness that could not be washed away even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

To Liu Biao, his expression was like that of a guilty thief.

"Huang Chengyan defected to Liu Bei, Huang Zu held his own troops and refused to obey my orders. He watched Xiangyang fall without sending troops to rescue us!"

"Now you are secretly communicating with Liu Bei, trying to persuade me to give up Jiangling and hand over this important town to Liu Bei!"

"I have treated you Huang family well, why are you all so ungrateful?"

Liu Biao's face was twisted with grief and anger, and he asked harshly with gritted teeth.

aside.

Liu Pan finally reacted and immediately flew into a rage, pointing at Huang Zhong and angrily saying:
"Huang Zhong, you are so brave, how dare you secretly communicate with Liu Bei?"

"I have even strongly recommended you to my uncle, saying that you are a loyal and honest person who can be entrusted with an important task!"

"How dare you secretly communicate with Liu Bei and betray my uncle!"

The uncle and nephew scolded Huang Zhong one after another.

Huang Zhong clenched his fists gradually, and veins bulged on his forehead.

When I received this letter, I was clearly unmoved, but now Liu Biao's uncle and nephew are so suspicious of me, and even humiliating and scolding me in public.

He is loyal and honest, but even honest people can sometimes reach their limit.

"enough!"

Huang Zhong suddenly roared, interrupting the angry rebukes of Liu Biao's uncle and nephew.

Then he took a deep breath, and with an angry look on his face, he bowed to Liu Biao:

"My Lord, I, Huang Zhong, cannot explain this letter clearly, and I don't bother to explain it again."

"In short, I have not done anything to betray you, my lord. Whether you believe me or not, I, Huang Zhong, have a clear conscience."

"Resign!"

After saying that, Huang Zhong turned around angrily and walked away.

Liu Biao was stunned for a while before he reacted and said angrily:

"Come here, capture this traitor for me, capture him quickly!"

Liu Pan drew his sword and was ready to take action himself.

When Kuai Yue saw this, his face changed, and he hurried forward to stop him, turning back to advise:
"My lord, calm down. Huang Zhong is an extremely skilled warrior. If we start a fight now, we may not be able to stop him."

"And if the Changsha soldiers get agitated and start a riot after hearing the news, Jiangling City will surely fall into chaos."

"If Liu Bei takes advantage of the chaos to attack the city, the consequences will be disastrous!"

A bucket of cold water was poured on Liu Biao's head, calming him down instantly, and he slowly sat down.

"Yi Du's words make sense. To hold on to Jiangling, we still need those thousands of Changsha soldiers. We must not force them to rebel..."

Liu Biao nodded slightly and asked:

"Then according to your opinion, how should I deal with Huang Zhong? Should I just leave him alone?"

Kuai Yue rolled his eyes a few times, a plan came to his mind, and he said:

"My lord, you can send someone to appease Huang Zhong and tell him that you have figured it out. This is Liu Bei's plan to alienate him and that he had misunderstood him before. This will help to stabilize Huang Zhong."

"Then the lord will offer generous rewards to win over and divide the officers under Huang Zhong. When he is sure that they will not cause trouble, he will host a banquet to get Huang Zhong drunk and capture him, and then hand over all the Changsha soldiers to Zihou."

"This way, it won't affect my overall defense of the city."

Liu Biao remained silent, weighing the pros and cons.

After a while, he sighed softly and waved his hand helplessly:
"Forget it, let's follow Yidu's plan. I will be patient for a few days."

The master and his minister made a plan on this.

Liu Biao was already in poor health, and after being so angry, he dragged his tired body away.

Kuai Yue picked up the letter on the ground and started reading it again.

"A plan to sow discord..."

Suddenly, the words he had just said came to his mind and his expression changed slightly.

"What if this letter is a trick by Xiao Fang, just to alienate the lord's trust in Huang Zhong?"

Kuai Yue's heart was shocked, and such speculation suddenly popped up in his mind.

Thinking of this, he turned around quickly and wanted to catch up with Liu Biao to report his guess.

But after taking just one step, Kuai Yue stopped.

"My lord was furious just now because of what I said, and angrily accused Huang Zhong of secretly communicating with Liu Bei, causing such an irreparable situation."

"If I tell my lord now that this might be Xiao Fang's plan to sow discord, wouldn't that be slapping myself in the face?"

"Does the Lord have to admit his fault to Huang Zhong?"

"Besides, the lord has a deep prejudice against the Huang family, so he may not believe my speculation."

"Besides, Huang Zhong is not well-known, and Xiao Fang may not know Huang Zhong's strength. Why would he go to so much trouble to alienate the Lord's trust in him?"

"Perhaps, this may not be Xiao Fang's trick..."

Kuai Yue's thoughts raced, and after a struggle in his heart, he gave up the idea.

After naturally comforting him, he sighed and turned away.

...

Changsha military camp.

"My lord, relying only on a letter from Huang Chengyan and a few words from Kuai Yue, you openly accuse my father of secretly communicating with Liu Bei!"

"And Liu Pan, that idiot, has worked with my father for many years, but he actually believed that my father was collaborating with the enemy!" "How hateful and infuriating~~"

Inside the central army tent, Huang Zhong was pouring out his grievances to his son Huang Xu, full of complaints and grievances.

The sickly young man sighed after hearing the whole story.

"Father, have you ever thought that the reason why the Lord easily concluded that Father was secretly communicating with Liu Bei based on just one letter is because the Lord never trusted Father at all?"

Huang Zhong was shocked by his son's question and he suddenly realized something.

"Huang Chengyan's defection and Huang Zu's disobedience to orders have long made the lord dissatisfied and suspicious of our Huang family."

"Although my father is a branch of the Huang family, his surname is Huang after all. How can the lord trust my father?"

"That's why the Lord was so furious over that letter and believed that my father was secretly communicating with Liu Xuande."

Huang Xu lowered his voice and analyzed it.

Huang Zhong's body stiffened, the anger on his face gradually faded, and he fell into deep thought.

"Our lord has been flattering the Cai and Kuai families since he took charge of Jingzhou."

"My father was an extraordinary warrior and a famous general, but he was not given a high position and was banished to a remote place in southern Jing, where he had to serve under Liu Pan."

"If he had not fought for Liu Xuande and lost many soldiers and generals, and even Xiangyang fell, and he was forced to retreat to Jiangling, why would he have thought of re-employing my father?"

"How ridiculous that he is so narrow-minded. Not only did he want to use my father to defend the city for him, but he was also so suspicious of my father. Today, he even accused my father of collaborating with the enemy in public!"

"Father, have you ever thought that such a foolish ruler is really worth fighting for?"

Huang Xu became more and more indignant as he spoke, and felt deeply indignant for his father.

Huang Zhong clenched his fists suddenly, and the resentment hidden in his heart was instantly ignited by his son's words.

"Father, since Liu Biao believes that you are secretly communicating with Liu Xuande, why don't you just go all out and take our Changsha army to join Liu Xuande?"

Huang Xu laid the groundwork for a long time and finally expressed his true thoughts.

Huang Zhong's heart trembled and he stood up suddenly. In an instant, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes.

His son's words almost convinced him.

But then he let out a long sigh and sat down again.

"Although Liu Jingsheng is unkind, I cannot be that unjust person. Even if I do not serve him, I cannot surrender to Liu Xuande just like that."

"As for your illness, Xu'er, I will do my best to find famous doctors in the world to treat you. Xu'er, please don't blame me."

Huang Zhong still rejected his son's proposal.

Huang Xu sighed and said:

"Father has always been loyal and righteous. He couldn't bear to betray Liu Biao. I can understand that."

"As for my son's health, I already knew that no one could cure him, so I didn't expect him to be cured."

"I just feel that Liu Biao treats my father like this today. If my father does not find another way out, I am afraid that he will harm him sooner or later!"

Huang Zhong stood up and paced in the tent, pondering in silence.

After a long time, a gleam of determination flashed in his eyes.

"I have made up my mind. I will neither surrender to Liu Xuande nor stay in Jiangling City and wait for death."

"Xu'er, let's leave the city and cross the river tonight, and take our Changsha army and retreat to Youjiang City on the south bank first."

...

To the north of Jiangling City is Liu Jun’s main camp.

"The military advisor's plan to sow discord has succeeded!"

"The spies have reported that Huang Zhong led his 4,000 Changsha troops out of the city last night and crossed the river to Youjiang City on the south bank!"

"Military Advisor, you have torn down the iron plate of Huang Hansheng!"

Liu Bei held the secret report from the spy in his hand and looked at Xiao Fang with a look of joy and admiration.

The tent was immediately in an uproar, everyone was overjoyed.
"Military Advisor, I just don't understand. Just because you scribbled a few lines on a torn letter, did Huang Zhong turn against Liu Biao?"

"What kind of magic talisman did you draw? Can it charm the mind?"

Zhang Fei was the first to bring up the old matter and started shouting loudly.

Everyone's curiosity was aroused, and everyone's eyes were focused on Xiao Fang.

"Military Advisor, what is the deep meaning behind those few strokes you made that day?"

Liu Bei asked what everyone was thinking.

Xiao Fang smiled but did not answer. Instead, he looked at Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu and asked:

"Aliang, Yuanzhi, do you know what my intention was when I painted those few strokes?"

Xu Shu frowned and said nothing, obviously he had not yet figured out the mystery.

Zhuge Liang paused for a moment and then said:

"When Liu Biao learns that Huang Zhong has received the letter from Huang Gong, he will certainly become suspicious and ask to see it."

"Mr. Huang is a famous scholar in Jingzhou. This letter is to persuade Huang Zhong to surrender. If there are mistakes in the letter, it will be rewritten. There is no way it can be erased at will."

"Then when Liu Biao sees those smeared marks, he will definitely guess that Huang Zhong has secretly surrendered to the lord, and the smeared marks are the lord's secret orders to Huang Zhong."

"This will only add fuel to Liu Biao's suspicion, making him believe that Huang Zhong has secretly communicated with the lord."

"Huang Zhong had no choice but to lead the Changsha army to withdraw from Jiangling City and flee to the south bank because of Liu Biao's suspicion."

"Liang guessed that this was the intention of my brother-in-law."

Zhuge Liang told us all his speculations over the past two days.

Xiao Fang smiled without saying anything, tacitly agreeing with what Zhuge Liang said, and nodded slightly to show his approval.

After all, his brother-in-law has the talent of a Sleeping Dragon, which is slightly better than Xu Shu.

Everyone suddenly realized.

Liu Bei, who understood what was happening, could not help but exclaim in admiration:
"I didn't expect that the military advisor's few strokes would contain such a mystery. It's really ingenious."

There was admiration in the tent.

Xiao Fang took a sip of tea and smiled faintly:
"This plan was not very sophisticated, so it was successful because Liu Biao was suspicious of Huang Zhong, a descendant of the Huang family."

"If it were someone else, this plan might not work."

"This plan is just adding fuel to the fire. If you want it to succeed, you need fire first."

If everyone realizes something.

Zhuge Liang was deeply touched and quickly took out his pen knife to start carving.

Seeing this, Xu Shu hurriedly followed Zhuge Liang's example and started to memorize it.

"Military Advisor said so much, but I don't quite understand it."

"Anyway, Huang Zhong and the Changsha soldiers are no longer in Jiangling City. So what are we waiting for? Let's take this opportunity to attack the city and conquer Jiangling!"

Zhang Fei jumped up and excitedly shouted for a fight.

Inside the big tent, there was a seething atmosphere, and the will to fight suddenly surged.

Liu Bei was also eager to fight and looked at Xiao Fang for advice.

Xiao Fang, however, remained calm and sneered:
"After losing the 4,000 Changsha soldiers, Liu Biao should know that he can no longer defend Jiangling City. If he wants to turn the tables, he has no choice but to burn his boats and take a gamble!"

"My Lord, let's win all his bets first, and then we will conquer Jiangling in one fell swoop!"

(End of this chapter)