Chapter 220: To deal with a vicious villain, you must fight poison with poison! Ah Liang, it's time for you to stand alone!

Guan Yu came to destroy Lu Meng’s beacon tower?
Old Liu looked confused and was unable to understand the hidden meaning of Xiao Fang's words for a moment.

Most of the others were also confused.

Guan Yu was the leader of the military generals and Liu Bei's sworn brother. It could be said that he was the one he trusted the most and was the most capable among all the generals.

Therefore, during these years when Liu Bei took Jingzhou and went to Jiangdong, Guan Yu had always been responsible for the task of guarding the rear.

Guan Yu now commands an army of more than 10,000 and is stationed in Xiangyang, responsible for guarding Jingzhou.

Old Liu now has many brave generals around him. Why should he mobilize Guan Yu, who is thousands of miles away, to capture Lu'an?

Old Liu and everyone else didn't understand either.

"Lü Bu and Sun Quan's spies must be densely spread in Jiangdong, constantly monitoring the movements of our generals and troops."

"Once we mobilize troops on a large scale, it will definitely alert Lu Bu and Sun Quan, and they will take precautions in advance."

"Could it be that the military advisor intends not to move the troops in Jiangdong, but to order General Guan to lead the troops stationed in Xiangyang to move eastward along the river from the direction of Jingzhou under the cover of escorting grain and grass?"

"In this way, we can hide from Lü Bu's eyes and ears, suddenly go north from Wankou to the Bishui River, and attack Lu'an?"

In a state of confusion, Pang Tong's eyes lit up and he was the first to guess Xiao Fang's intention.

Xiao Fang smiled and nodded slightly in approval.

Everyone then suddenly realized and understood the hidden meaning behind Xiao Fang's words.

A gleam of light flashed in Liu Bei's eyes, and he also understood.

Guan Yu's garrison in Xiangyang was mainly to guard against Cao Cao in the north. Once Wei Yan's Nanyang defense line was lost, there would at least be enough troops to defend the natural barrier of the Han River.

But now Yuan Shao has unified Hebei and is about to march south. Cao Cao is making all-out preparations to fight against Yuan Shao. He has no intention or ability to get involved in either Nanyang or Huainan.

The threat to the north of Jingzhou was thus eliminated, and Guan Yu's 10,000 garrison troops could indeed move.

"Yes, what the military advisor said is very true. Letting Yunchang rush to Lu'an from upstream can indeed deceive Lu Bu's eyes and ears and achieve the effect of surprise."

Liu Bei nodded in agreement at first, but then changed the subject:
"You can order Yunchang to rush to attack Lu'an. Even if you can deceive Lü Bu's spies in Jiangdong, you still have to go through the beacon tower on the Bishui River!"

"Military Advisor just said that Yun Chang should be sent to destroy Lü Meng's beacon tower. What does this mean?"

After Liu Bei's reminder, everyone immediately came to their senses and looked at Xiao Fang again.

We talked so much that we almost forgot that we were just discussing how to break the beacon tower.

This is the key to attacking Lu'an and catching Sun Quan off guard.

Xiao Fang did not answer directly, but asked Xu Chu to bring paper and pen. Under the speculative and suspicious eyes of everyone, he picked up the pen and wrote a book.

Afterwards, Xiao Fang handed this letter to Liu Bei:
"My lord, please send this plan of crossing the river in white clothes to Xiangyang immediately to General Yunchang and ask him to act according to the plan. Then you can destroy the beacon tower and take Lu'an directly!"

The plan of crossing the river in white clothes?

Liu Bei held the letter in his hand, his eyes full of curiosity.

"The white-clothed are cloth-clothed."

"Although the lord is now facing off with Lu Bu across the river and is a mortal enemy, the business exchanges between Jiangdong and Huainan have not been cut off because of this."

"Lu'an was once the seat of Lujiang County. It was common for merchants to enter the Yangtze River through the Bishui River and transfer goods with Jiangdong."

"In places where there is business, it is natural that merchants are extorted and bribed by soldiers along the way. It is commonplace and not worth mentioning."

"The plan is to have General Yunchang send a vanguard army to replace the warships with merchant ships, hide the soldiers in the cabins, and sail north from the Bishui River under the banner of merchants, heading to Lu'an in an upright manner."

"When passing a beacon tower along the way, you can go ashore and stay overnight, but the guards on the tower will definitely not allow you to do so."

"That's easy. We just need to give enough money to bribe the guards and give them a few jars of good wine. They will be tempted by the money and will naturally allow our ship to dock."

"Then it will be easy. When these guards get drunk, the soldiers in my cabin will suddenly attack. We can easily wipe out the guards and take control of the beacon tower."

"We can repeat this process all the way north, using the same method to remove all the beacon towers along Sun Quan's way."

"Once the beacon tower is lost, Sun Quan will be blinded. General Yunchang will lead the main force to march straight in. Are you still afraid that he won't be able to attack Lu'an by surprise?"

"Then we can use the fire as a signal to order the pre-arranged insiders in the city to start the rebellion. With the cooperation of both inside and outside forces, it will be easy to capture Lu'an!"

Xiao Fang took his time to tell all the counselors and generals present about the plan of crossing the river in white clothes in the letter.

There was silence in the hall.

Everyone's eyes widened, and surprise gradually appeared in their eyes.

The next moment, the hall was in an uproar.

"Crossing the river in white, crossing the river in white..."

"This beacon tower is an extraordinary measure. Military Advisor Xiao's plan is to fight poison with poison, to use an extraordinary measure to deal with extraordinary means!"

"Wonderful, it's really wonderful!"

Pang Tong applauded and could not help but bow to Xiao Fang and exclaimed:

"Military Advisor Xiao's ingenious strategies are truly unrivaled in the world. He truly lives up to his reputation as a strategist."

"There are only a few people in the world who can convince the leader, and Military Advisor Xiao is one of them!"

Even though Pang Tong was arrogant and had his eyes on top of his head, he couldn't help but be genuinely impressed by Xiao Fang at this moment.

"Jinglue, your strategies are always unconstrained by common sense."

"This plan of crossing the river in white clothes is really a brilliant and imaginative plan!"

Liu Bei held the letter in his hands, as if he had found a treasure, and sighed endlessly. The obstacle of the beacon tower was removed, and the clouds on everyone's face were dispelled.

"My lord, brother-in-law, although this plan of crossing the river in white clothes is ingenious, I am worried that given General Yunchang's temperament, he might not bother to use it."

Zhuge Liang suddenly reminded him.

The smile on Liu Bei's face suddenly disappeared as he was reminded by Zhuge Liang.

Naturally, he knew his brother's temperament very well.

Guan Yu's arrogance is very different from Pang Tong's arrogance.

The latter is merely conceited about his own intelligence, and does not care whether his schemes are upright or treacherous.

Guan Yu's arrogant character is different. If you ask him to capture cities and kill enemies in battle, he will do it without hesitation.

But if you ask him to disguise himself as a merchant and use bribery, a somewhat dishonorable method, to break Sun Quan's beacon tower, I'm afraid Guan Yu would be unwilling to do it.

"Military Advisor, Aliang reminded me of this."

"I know Yunchang well. Given his personality, asking him to implement the plan of crossing the river in white clothes may be a bit difficult for Yunchang."

"Besides, this plan does have some..."

Liu Bei also looked embarrassed.

Xiao Fang smiled faintly.

"This is just like the lord's benevolence and justice, which must be divided among people and not abused."

"Do we have to be kind and righteous to Yuan Shu and Lu Bu as well?"

"This plan of crossing the river in white clothes is indeed not very glorious, but this dishonorable plan must be clearly identified for whom it is used."

"When Sun Quan was in Jiangdong, he first abandoned Sun Ce and fled. When he fled to the sea, he robbed and looted the people of Haiyan. When he fled to Huainan, he recognized Lü Bu, a slave of four surnames, as his adoptive father!"

"For such despicable behavior, it would be an understatement to describe him as unkind, unjust, and shameless."

"When dealing with such an unscrupulous and shameless villain, any means are not too much. Do we still need to worry about whether it is honorable or not?"

"To deal with such a vicious villain, we must fight poison with poison!"

"General Yunchang is indeed a proud man, but he is definitely not a pedantic and hypocritical person who is ignorant of the truth and seeks fame and reputation!"

"My lord, you only need to send someone to deliver this plan to Xiangyang, explain the pros and cons to General Yunchang, and then explain all the despicable actions of Sun Quan. I believe that General Yunchang will know what to do."

Xiao Fang's attitude is very clear:
To deal with gentlemen, we have our own methods to deal with gentlemen, and to deal with villains, we must use the methods we use to deal with villains.

After hearing these words, Liu Bei's eyes suddenly became clear.

"Jing Lue's words make sense, but they are a bit pedantic."

"It is just as Jinglue said. This plan of crossing the river in white clothes is the most suitable to deal with a despicable villain like Sun Quan."

"Yun Chang has always hated evil, and after learning about Sun Quan's evil deeds, he will definitely not be restrained!"

Liu Bei nodded heavily, the dark clouds in his eyes disappeared, and he asked happily:

"I wonder who Military Advisor Jinglue thinks should be sent to Xiangyang to deliver the plan of crossing the river in white clothes to Yunchang?"

After a moment of hesitation, Xiao Fang pointed his feather fan at Zhuge Liang:

"Fang thought that he should send Aliang to Xiangyang to deliver this plan."

"Besides, if General Yunchang leads his army eastward, Xiangyang City will need someone to guard it. With Aliang's current ability and qualifications, he is the most suitable person to take over General Yunchang's position to guard Xiangyang."

Many years have passed, and Zhuge Liang is no longer the young man who followed Xiao Fang to Xuzhou to trick Lao Liu into seizing Jingzhou.

After years of growth and training, although he has not yet reached the level of Sleeping Dragon, his strategies, wisdom, political and military abilities can all be considered accomplished.

Moreover, although he is young, he is already considered a veteran in Liu Bei's group, and he is capable of convincing everyone by presiding over the overall situation in Xiangyang.

"Military Advisor, your words make sense. It is indeed the most appropriate for Aliang to take over Yunchang's position in Xiangyang."

"Okay, let's follow the military advisor's plan."

Old Liu nodded happily, then smiled at Zhuge Liang:
"Aliang, do you dare to shoulder the heavy responsibility of guarding Xiangyang and even Jingzhou?"

Zhuge Liang was shocked.

Xiangyang City is the seat of Jingzhou and Liu Bei's base. If Liu Bei were an emperor, Xiangyang would be equivalent to the capital.

Guarding the capital, this is such a trust and important role.

Zhuge Liang naturally knew that Xiao Fang's recommendation was not only a recognition of his ability, but also a kind of experience for him.

After taking a deep breath, Zhuge Liang said with emotion:
"If the lord trusts me, I have the confidence to take on this important task and will never let you and my brother-in-law down."

At that moment, Zhuge Liang took the plan of crossing the river in white clothes, bid farewell to Liu Bei and left for Xiangyang.

The plan for a surprise attack on Lu'an was thus decided.

A big stone in Lao Liu's heart fell to the ground, and he asked again:
"Jinglue, Jiangdong has been pacified, and the strategy to quickly conquer Huainan has been decided. In your opinion, when should we send troops to cross the river?"

Xiao Fang looked outside the hall, towards the north.

"We must capture Huainan when Cao Cao has no energy left to intervene."

"When Yuan Shao's army sets out from Yecheng, that will be the day when you, my lord, lead your troops across the river and fight against Lu Bu!"

(End of this chapter)