Chapter 20: Kingly Way is not enough, you also need to be overbearing! This is a battle to establish your authority!

Zhuge Liang hurriedly took the map and spread it out on the table.

Liu Bei, Guan Yu and others stood up and surrounded them.

"Aliang, tell me first, why do we have to fight this battle?"

Xiao Fang took the opportunity to test Zhuge Liang.

After all, this is the future Wolong. Although we cannot force his growth, if we can cultivate him in advance, it can also help me share some of the pressure earlier.

Zhuge Liang was not afraid of the stage. After pondering for a moment, he said calmly:
"Although the reputation of the lord's benevolence and righteousness is quite appealing to the Yellow Turbans of Runan, it can only attract the Yellow Turbans at best."

"And if we abandon the food and military supplies and go to Runan empty-handed, it will be difficult to raise enough food and fodder in a short period of time, and we will not be able to feed the large number of Yellow Turban soldiers who come to surrender overnight."

"Without sufficient food and fodder, these Yellow Turbans will abandon our lord in a few days."

"If the lord recruits the Yellow Turbans, his plan to regroup will be wasted."

"How can we defeat the uncle and nephew of Zhang and take Nanyang with only 3,000 soldiers?"

"So these hundreds of carts of food, fodder, and money must not be abandoned."

"In this case, our only option is to repel the pursuers!"

Zhuge Liang was calm and stated his reasons in a clear and logical manner.

Liu Bei suddenly realized and looked at Zhuge Liang with admiration.

I thought to myself that the people around Military Advisor Xiao were indeed not ordinary people.

Wei Yan killed Xu Dan and captured Xu Sheng alive. His martial arts were truly amazing.

Zhuge Liang, his brother-in-law, was so far-sighted at such a young age.

Could this be the case of birds of a feather flock together?

When Liu Bei expressed his approval, Xiao Fang also nodded slightly, showing his satisfaction with Zhuge Liang's answer.

The Yellow Turban Army also needs to eat. After all, Lao Liu’s reputation for benevolence and righteousness cannot be used to make a living.

They will only choose a lord who has a relatively clean history to join them, provided they have food to eat.

"Aliang is right. This is one of the reasons why I asked you to attack Xutai and seize Yuan Shu's food supplies."

Xiao Fang nodded slightly in agreement, then changed the subject:
"But what Aliang said is not complete. Another reason is that I want the lord to establish his authority through this battle!"

Establish authority?

Liu Bei was startled, his eyes showing a bit of confusion, and he was unable to understand for a moment.

"In this age of great contention, if you want to achieve great things, it is not enough to just follow the way of the king, you must also follow the way of the tyrant!"

"Why was Cao Cao able to subdue the Qingzhou army? It was because Cao Cao was domineering enough to subdue the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans and make them feel awe."

"My lord, you went to Runan after having lost Xuzhou and fled in disgrace. Although you used the name of benevolence and righteousness to recruit the Yellow Turban Army, it was not enough to make them submit."

"So my lord, you must fight this battle, and you must fight it well. With the prestige of a great victory over the Lu-Yuan coalition, you can head to Runan with your back straightened."

"Only in this way can the Yellow Turbans of Runan both respect your benevolence and justice and fear your military strategy and tyranny."

"In this way, they will respect the lord from the bottom of their hearts, follow the lord faithfully, and allow the lord to drive them!"

Xiao Fang revealed another deeper meaning.

This statement was also made in an attempt to give face to Lao Liu and not embarrass him too much.

To put it bluntly, if you, Old Liu, were like a stray dog ​​and fled to Runan in disgrace, why would the Yellow Turban Army dare to follow you?

Would people be mumbling in their hearts that Liu Bei is a kind person, but a little incompetent?

Can we have a future following such a rookie lord?

Zhuge Liang, who was standing by, was listening attentively, with a look of sudden enlightenment gradually appearing in his eyes.

"In an era of great strife, it is not enough to have only the kingly way, but also the hegemonic way." "Well, what my brother-in-law said is really a wise word, I have to remember it..."

Zhuge Liang's face was full of thirst for knowledge. He quickly took out the bamboo slips he carried with him and started to take notes.

Liu Bei seemed to understand something, and a hint of the moon appearing after the clouds have been cleared appeared in his eyes.

Then he straightened his body and bowed to Xiao Fang:
"I have really learned a lot from listening to the military advisor's words."

Not only Liu Bei, but everyone present also understood it.

"I understand. Military Advisor, you have said so much at length. You just want to fight!"

"Fight if you want! I couldn't ask for more. I haven't had enough killing in Xutai yet!"

Zhang Fei was fearless and when he heard that Liu Bei wanted to fight, he immediately rolled up his sleeves excitedly and got to work.

"Yide, stop yelling!"

Guan Yu glared at him and turned his gaze to Xiao Fang:

"The enemy is numerous and we are few. The military advisor must have a good plan. Let's listen to what the military advisor has to say first."

Everyone's eyes were once again focused on Xiao Fang, and they were all wondering what clever tricks this young military strategist had to help them defeat six thousand with only three thousand.

"My lord, please take a look."

"Twenty miles west of Chengfu, you will pass through a valley with a narrow road in the middle and dense forests on both sides."

"My lord, you are well-versed in the art of war. You should know that this kind of terrain is a perfect place to set an ambush."

"My lord, you can lead two thousand elite soldiers to set up an ambush in this valley first, and then send a general to lead more than a thousand soldiers to the rear as bait."

"We can deliberately abandon some baggage along the way to create the illusion of a hasty escape, so that Cao Bao and Li Feng will mistakenly think that we are cowardly and flee, and they will underestimate the enemy and recklessly pursue us."

"The 1,000 soldiers who are guarding the rear can feign defeat when they encounter the enemy, and lure the enemy into the valley. Then, my lord, you can suddenly ambush them!"

"Although the enemy is numerous, they will surely be defeated!"

Xiao Fang pointed and gestured on the map, calmly and peacefully laying out his strategy.

Liu Bei's frown gradually relaxed, his eyes grew more confident, and he slapped the map:
"What a great ambush! Military advisor, this is a brilliant plan to defeat the enemy with fewer troops!"

Xiao Fang coughed a few times, but laughed at himself:
"My Lord, you are too kind. This plan is not a good one."

"If Chen Gong were here, this plan would most likely not be hidden from his eyes and would be seen through."

"But it should be enough to deal with Cao Bao, Li Feng and the like."

"One of them is guilty and eager to kill the lord, while the other is eager to avenge Yuan Yao so that he can win credit from Yuan Shu. In addition, they look down on the lord and think that the lord's men are all defeated and worthless."

"When deploying troops, the most important thing to avoid is arrogance and impatience. These two have both. How can they not fall into the trap?"

Xiao Fang analyzed Cao Bao and Li Feng's mentality clearly in a self-deprecating tone.

Liu Bei nodded repeatedly and said with admiration:

"The art of using troops is to know both yourself and the enemy."

"Jinglue, you know the enemy's strengths and weaknesses very well, how can you not win!"

At that moment, Liu Bei's confidence surged, and he no longer had any worries, so he decided to act according to the plan.

The mission of ambush and luring the enemy has been arranged.

Liu Bei suddenly remembered something, a look of surprise appeared in his eyes, and he looked at Xiao Fang fiercely:

"The military advisor chose to abandon the water and go ashore from Chengfu County, and take the land route to Ruxi. There happened to be such a valley to the west of Chengfu County, which was a perfect place to set up an ambush."

"Could it be that, Jinglue, you had already calculated that Lü Bu and Yuan Shu would send troops to pursue us before you set out from Haixi?"

"So you chose to land in Chengfu County, just in time to ambush the pursuers?"

(End of this chapter)