Chapter 262 Anyway, I am afraid of being beaten! With Xiao Fang here, you dare to plot against Liu Bei? You are so bold!
Everyone's eyes were focused on the counselor.

"Chen Gongtai?"

Yuan Tan called out the man's name.

Chen Gong stood up, clasped his hands and said seriously:

"My Lord, Gong once assisted Lu Bu and fought against Liu Bei many times. He knows Liu Bei's strengths and weaknesses very well."

"If the eldest son sends troops to attack Liu Bei, Gong Ding will do his best to help the eldest son defeat Liu Bei and recapture Huainan!"

Chen Gong was recommending himself to Yuan Tan.

On the day Shouchun fell, he betrayed Lu Bu and hid in Shouchun houses with Hao Meng disguised as ordinary people, thus escaping the disaster that night.

Later, when the Shouchun refugees were returning home, the two of them sneaked out of the city. After suffering a lot along the way, they went north to Shangpi to join Yuan Tan.

However, Yuan Tan did not like this former Lu Bu's strategist and famous scholar in Yanzhou very much.

After all, Chen Gong had a dark history of stabbing his former master in Yanzhou, and he also followed Lu Bu to join Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao's former mortal enemy. He had a long history of bad deeds.

Therefore, Yuan Tan's attitude towards Chen Gong can be described as lukewarm. In today's military meeting, he was also ranked last among all the counselors.

but.

His move of advocating an attack on Liu Bei accurately detected Yuan Tan's pulse and won the favor of this eldest son of Yuan.

This last statement of self-recommendation and expression of loyalty made Yuan Tan's eyes light up.

"Although this man has a bad reputation, I heard that he is quite intelligent. The key is that he came from Huainan. He should be well aware of the situation in Huainan and Liu Bei's strengths and weaknesses."

"It seems that if I want to attack Liu Bei and seize Huainan, I really need this person..."

Yuan Tan's mind turned, his eyes rolled a few times, and he made up his mind.

"What Chen Gongtai said coincides with what I thought!"

"I also think that Liu Bei is very ambitious. If we fail to defeat him in one fell swoop while he is still gaining a firm foothold in Huainan, and then take Huainan, it will definitely hinder my father's march into the south and unify the country in the future."

"I have decided to lead my army south to attack Liu Bei and seize Huainan for my father. Who among you has any objection?"

Yuan Tan became even more confident, and glanced around at everyone with a domineering and resolute look, his eyes falling on Chen Deng, Zang Ba and other local tyrants in Xuzhou.

In order to attack Huainan from Xuzhou, it is natural that the food and troops provided by Xuzhou must come from the people. The attitudes of Xuzhou's scholars and powerful families such as Chen Deng and Zang Ba are naturally also crucial.

"My Lord, you are very far-sighted. This is a wise move."

"Liu Bei is very ambitious. After he pacifies Huainan, he will definitely march north to invade Xuzhou!"

"Rather than waiting for him to attack Xuzhou and cause great suffering to the people of Xuzhou, it is better for us to take the initiative and attack Huainan first."

"If the eldest son wants to lead an army to attack Liu, Ba and his men are willing to be the vanguard. We will go through fire and water for the eldest son and Lord Yuan, and we will never refuse!"

Zang Ba was the first to jump up and expressed his attitude generously.

Not only did he support Yuan Tan's attack on Liu Bei, he even unexpectedly volunteered to be the vanguard, as if he wanted to personally cut off Liu Bei's head and present it to Yuan Tan, the new master.

"Okay, okay, Zang Xuangao, my greatest reward for pacifying Xuzhou is that I have gained a brave general like you who understands the greater good!"

"I will report this to my father and let him know your loyalty to our Yuan family."

Yuan Tan was very satisfied and immediately praised with a smile.

Zang Ba was flattered and expressed his loyalty immediately.

Yuan Tan nodded with satisfaction, and then his eyes fell on Chen Deng.

Zang Ba represented the attitude of the two counties and states of Xu, Bei, Langye and Donghai, while Chen Deng's statement represented the attitude of the powerful families of the scholars and families in Xia Pi, Guang County in the south.

At this point, even Zang Ba expressed his loyalty. How dare Chen Deng be ignorant of the current situation and sing a different tune from the eldest son of the Yuan family?

After a slight hesitation, Chen Deng could only stand up and bow:

"Since you have made up your mind, I will do my duty as a subject and follow your lead."

Although his attitude was not as positive as Zang Ba's, it at least showed support.

Yuan Tan was barely satisfied, so he slammed the table and said proudly:
"Since you all have no objection, then this matter is settled."

"Gather troops and horses from now on, gather food and fodder, and prepare to march south to attack Liu Bei and seize Huainan!"

The general strategy was thus decided, and the next step was the specific strategy for deploying troops.

"Gongtai, since you know Liu Bei's strengths and weaknesses very well, how should I use my troops, according to your opinion?"

Yuan Tan's attitude towards Chen Gong had changed drastically, from being lukewarm to respecting him very much, and he asked for his opinion first.

Xu You and Xin Ping saw this and looked at each other, both revealing a bit of displeasure in their eyes.

"Liu Bei had many brave generals under his command, Guan Yu is a must-mention, and the others, such as Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong, Taishi Ci, etc., are all great generals in the world."

"After swallowing Huainan, its strength has greatly increased again. It can mobilize at least 70,000 to 80,000 troops to fight me."

"These are secondary. The key is that Liu Bei has many talented people under his command. Although Pang Tong and Lu Xun are young, they are all very wise."

"The most crucial person is Xiao Fang."

"This man is very clever and cunning. If he were the reincarnation of the Sage, I think the eldest son would have heard of him a long time ago."

"Liu Bei's conquest of Jingzhou, Jiangdong and Huainan, and his success today, are largely due to the assistance of this man."

"This Xiao Fang..."

Chen Gong described Liu Bei's strength in endless words, without hiding his deep fear.

After all, he was an eyewitness to the Battle of Huainan. Although he escaped by chance, he still had lingering fears.

Yuan Tan couldn't help but frown as he listened to Chen Gong describe Liu Bei as so powerful and as he talked endlessly about how unfathomable Xiao Fang's wisdom was.

"Liu Bei is indeed different from the past. I know that. I have also heard about Xiao Fang's cunning tricks."

"I already know these things, Gongtai, you don't need to say more." Yuan Tan waved his hand to interrupt Chen Gong and said:

"I just want to hear your opinion on the campaign against Liu Bei. Just tell me what you think."

Chen Gong paused, then coughed a few times, clasped his hands and said:
"Gong believes that when we attack Liu Bei this time, we must play to our strengths and avoid our weaknesses, and we must not compete with him in strategy and tactics."

"Our army's advantage lies in its cavalry. My Lord, you can lead the army southward and advance towards Xuyi step by step, forcing Liu Bei to use all his main forces to defend Xuyi."

"At that time, the eldest son can confront them head-on without fighting, but send light cavalry to raid the enemy's rear, rob their food and cut off their food supply."

"If this continues for a few months, Liu Bei will surely be unable to bear the attacks and will abandon Xuyi and retreat westward to Shouchun due to lack of food."

"My Lord, you can calmly take Xuyi, and then continue to advance to Shouchun step by step, using the same tactics to confront Liu Bei head-on, while letting the light cavalry raid behind him."

"Only by taking steady steps like this can Xiao Fang's tricks be rendered useless, and only then can the eldest son lead an upright army to successfully capture Shouchun, and even the entire Huainan."

Chen Gong talked incessantly about his strategy of advancing the army.

In short, just one word:

stable!
Yuan Tan tapped the table with his fingertips, and his eyes showed that he was not very satisfied with Chen Gong's strategy.

"Chen Gongtai, your military strategy is too cautious."

"If you continue to use the troops like this, it will take at least three to five months to capture Xuyi. As for taking Shouchun, it will take even longer."

"I'm afraid that before the eldest son can capture Xuyi, the lord has already destroyed Cao Cao, captured Xudu, and sent troops southward to attack Shouchun from Yingshui."

"How can the eldest son take all the credit for defeating Liu Bei and conquering Huainan?"

Xu You scoffed at Chen Gong's strategy.

Yuan Tan nodded slightly. It was obvious that Xu You's words also expressed his thoughts.

He just wanted to take all the credit for conquering Huainan in order to establish his own prestige, so how could he allow others to share the credit with him?

"Ziyuan's words make sense. Not only do I want to defeat Liu Bei, but I also want to quickly take Huainan."

"This battle must not be dragged out, it must be fought decisively!"

Yuan Tan slammed the table, setting the tone for this battle.

Chen Gong frowned and felt a chill on his back.

Liu Bei's current strength is comparable to yours, Yuan Tan. If you want to win quickly, you can only resort to surprising tactics.

With Xiao Fang around, do you still dare to come up with any unexpected tricks?

How big is your heart...

"My Lord, Gong still thinks——"

"Master!"

Xu You interrupted Chen Gong's words and said confidently:
"You has a plan that can take Xuyi by surprise!"

"Even if we can't take Xuyi, we can still besiege it first, so that Liu Bei won't have time to send his army to rescue him!"

Yuan Tan was cheered up and asked Xu You for his plan.

Just as Xu You was about to speak, he rolled his eyes and said:

"Master, this is a confidential matter. I think, ahem~~"

He did not trust Chen Gong, Chen Deng and others and did not want them to know his plan.

Yuan Tan understood Xu You's intention, so he dispersed the military meeting, dismissed Chen Gong, Chen Deng and others, and only left Xu You and Xin Ping, two trusted advisers.

"Ziyuan, what's your plan?"

Yuan Tan asked impatiently.

Xu You chuckled, twirled his thin beard, and calmly explained his plan.

The curiosity on Yuan Tan's face turned into surprise in an instant, and then he clapped his hands and praised:

"Okay, okay, Ziyuan, this plan is really a stroke of genius, it is really a brilliant plan that is beyond the comprehension of gods and ghosts!"

"Father has countless advisers under his command, but it turns out that you, Xu Ziyuan, are the best at winning by surprise."

Xu You raised the corners of his mouth, revealing a smug smile on his face.

After Xin Ping pondered for a moment, he said:
"Brother Ziyuan, this plan is indeed a brilliant one, but it is quite risky. If something goes wrong, it will surely lead to the loss of troops and generals."

"Who in our army has the courage to take on this important task?"

The smile on Yuan Tan's face faded a little, and he couldn't help but frown again.

Xu You, however, had already made up his mind and sneered:
"You has already thought of the candidate. Sir, you can let Zang Ba carry out this plan."

Yuan Tan was shocked, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Zang Ba was not a trusted general of the Yuan family, but Xu You recommended him to take on such an important task. This choice really made Yuan Tan somewhat puzzled.

"Although Zang Ba had just surrendered, he took the initiative to send his sons and nephews to Yecheng as hostages. Today, he was the first to express his support for the eldest son's attack on Liu Bei."

"These actions show that this person is intimidated by the power of the Yuan family and truly wants to submit to the Yuan family. He is also eager to make achievements to prove his sincerity and win the trust and favor of the lord and the eldest son."

"If the eldest son uses this man, he will fight to the death with all his strength to show his loyalty."

"Besides, Zang Ba is a native of Qingxu and is most familiar with the geographical advantages of this place. This plan is just right for him and his Taishan surrendered troops to implement."

"Besides, George also said that my plan is a bit risky. If something unexpected happens, the casualties will be those surrendered soldiers from Mount Tai, not the direct troops of the Yuan family."

Xu You slowly explained the reason, and at the end a sinister smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Yuan Tan suddenly realized and smiled coldly:
"Okay, Ziyuan has thought it through. I will follow your plan and order Zang Ba and his Taishan soldiers to implement your brilliant plan!"

(End of this chapter)