Chapter 264: Let's use the same trick on him and give him a bowl of magic soup! General, please give us a chance to make amends!

Yuan Tan is really crazy.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to take Gao Gan back, after all, he is Yuan Shao’s nephew.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to form an alliance with Liu Bei to destroy Cao Cao.

The key point is the second thing. He actually wanted to get something for nothing and take back Guangling County!
Guangling County belongs to Xuzhou, but it was I, Liu Bei, who took it back from Lu Bu with the blood of my soldiers.

You, Yuan Tan, haven't done me any good at all, but just by opening your mouth, you want me to hand over Guangjun County, which we won through bloody battles, to your Yuan family?

Why!
Is it because you have a big face?
But then again, Xin Ping did rely on his big face, or to be more precise, relied on Yuan Shao's big face.

With the four states of Hebei in his hands and Xuzhou also in his possession, the Battle of Guandu had already put Cao Cao on the verge of collapse, and victory would come within a month or two.

It seemed that it was a foregone conclusion that Yuan Shao would unify the two rivers and take control of eight states.

The bigger the fist, the bigger the face. This is the confidence that Xin Ping has in asking for Guangling and getting something for nothing.

Liu Bei's eyes were as sharp as blades, staring coldly at Xin Ping who was holding his head high and showing anger between his brows.

When he was weak, Yuan Shu also coveted Guangling County, but he was not afraid and just took up his sword to fight Yuan Shu.

Now that I am the overlord of the south, I have countless brave ministers and generals under my command, and a hundred thousand armored soldiers. How can I be afraid of you, Yuan Shao?

"boom!"

Liu Bei slammed the table and wanted to reject Xin Ping's unreasonable request on the spot.

Xiao Fang coughed dryly and winked at Lao Liu.

Liu Bei understood immediately and suppressed the angry words that were about to come out of his mouth.

After taking a deep breath, Liu Bei said:

"I have understood Yuan Benchu's meaning. As for these three matters, let me think about them first and then give you an answer."

Seeing that Liu Bei did not refuse on the spot, Xin Ping mistakenly thought that Liu Bei was really afraid of Yuan Shao's power and did not dare to refuse easily, and the corners of his mouth could not help but curl up with a hint of pride.

So Xin Ping smiled coldly and said:
"Then please give me a reply as soon as possible, Lord Xuande, so that I can return to Xia Pi and report to the eldest son and my master."

Liu Bei was too lazy to say anything more. After a few perfunctory words, he ordered Xin Ping to be sent to the guesthouse.

As soon as Xin Ping left, the whole palace was in an uproar.

"Damn it, the Yuan family father and son are so arrogant, they just open their mouths and want us to give Guangling away for nothing!"

"Brother, please give the order. I will chop off Xin's head right now and send it to Yuan Tan in Xia Pi!"

Zhang Fei was the first to jump up and started cursing angrily.

All the generals were indignant, most of them angry at Yuan Shao's arrogance and arrogance.

"Military Advisor, what do you think of Xin Ping's three things?"

Liu Bei suppressed his anger and looked at Xiao Fang.

Xiao Fang smiled and said disapprovingly:
"Although the Yuan family father and son are arrogant, they are not so arrogant that they think they can scare the lord into submission with Yuan Shao's current strength."

"I guess Yuan Tan must be gathering troops and mobilizing food supplies, preparing to march south to attack Huainan!"

"Xin Ping came to Shouchun this time. On the surface, he came to ask the lord for Guangling County, but in fact, he took advantage of the situation to spy on our army's strength and wanted to see if the lord was vigilant and prepared for his army to invade."

Xiao Fang took his time to reveal Xin Ping's motive for coming here, then sneered:
"We can use Xin Ping to trick Yuan Tan into thinking that our lord is only satisfied with taking Huainan and has no intention of getting involved in Xuzhou. We should also not be prepared for him to lead his troops to invade Huainan."

"This way, we can catch Yuan Tan off guard and achieve a surprise victory."

Xiao Fang explained why he had hinted to Lao Liu just now, and why he did not reject the Yuan family's rude request on the spot, but instead chose to delay and procrastinate.

Liu Bei suddenly understood and asked:

"Jinglue specially ordered Yunchang to lead the army to leave Shouchun today. Could it be that he also waited for Xin Ping to come and deliberately put on a show for him, making him think that I have reduced the troops in Shouchun and have no intention of interfering in Xuzhou?"

Xiao Fang smiled without saying anything and nodded slightly.

The outcome of the Battle of Guandu between Yuan and Cao will be in the next two months. If Cao Cao can survive this crisis by chance, he will be able to free up his hands to march south to lead his troops.

Then the Nanyang and Xiangyang lines will definitely be the first to bear the brunt and face the threat of Cao Cao's military strength.

If Yuan Shao won and captured Xu Du, his 150,000-strong army would be able to take advantage of the situation and march south to capture Nanyang.

If Wei Yan's Nanyang Legion relied on it alone, the pressure to defend Jingzhou would be enormous.

It was only natural to transfer Guan Yu back to Jingzhou at this time.

When Xiao Fang learned that the Yuan family's envoy was approaching, he took advantage of the situation and let Guan Yu lead his troops back west at this time, just to put on a show for Xin Ping.

"I understand. Military advisor, you are using Xin Ping to trick Yuan Tan."

"He thought my brother was really considering the unreasonable demands of the Yuan family, and that my brother had reduced the number of troops in Huainan and had no intention of interfering in Xuzhou again."

"We should take advantage of Yuan Tan's confusion to rest our troops, store up enough food and grass, and then march straight to Xuzhou to kill him by surprise!"

Although Zhang Fei's brain was slow, he understood Xiao Fang's meaning at this time. His originally angry expression was replaced by surprise.

Xiao Fang put away his smile and praised seriously:

"That's exactly what I mean. The one who understands me is General Yide~~"

Zhang Fei felt embarrassed by this exaggerated praise. Thinking of his excitement and anger just now, he couldn't help but scratch the back of his head with a silly smile.

"Great, great, great, a good strategy to turn the tables!"

Liu Bei clapped his hands in praise and said with a smile:
"Then I will follow the military advisor's advice, provide Xin Ping with good food and drink, and use him to fool Master Yuan for us." "Rest the soldiers as soon as possible, and prepare for the march into Xuzhou. We will kill Master Yuan by surprise!"

All the generals stood up and obeyed the order.

So the military meeting ended, and the generals went to prepare with excitement.

Just when Xiao Fang was about to take his leave, Chen Dao hurried into the hall.

"My lord, there is a scholar who claims to be from Xuzhou and wants to see you in secret."

Scribe?

Coming from Xuzhou?

Didn’t Xin Ping, Yuan Tan’s envoy, just come from Xuzhou and meet him?
How come a person from Xuzhou suddenly appeared?

"Who is this Xuzhou scholar?"

"That man said that he would not reveal his name to avoid the Yuan family's eyes and ears. The lord will know it as soon as he sees him."

Chen Dao's answer made Liu Bei's eyes more suspicious, and he turned to look at Xiao Fang.

Xiao Fang's heart trembled slightly, and suddenly he seemed to have guessed something, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes.

"My lord, perhaps an unexpected fortune will fall from the sky."

"My lord, please meet this person first and see if Fang's guess is right or not."

Xiao Fang waved his feather fan lightly, with a hint of sly smile on the corner of his mouth.

"Unexpected wealth? Falling from the sky?"

Liu Bei's eyes were filled with deep curiosity, and he immediately ordered Chen Dao to invite the scholar in.

A moment.

A mysterious scholar wearing a conical hat and dressed in black stepped into the hall cautiously.

When the man took off his hat and revealed his true face, Old Liu first squinted his eyes slightly, then suddenly widened his eyes.

"Chen Ying!"

Liu Bei blurted out the man's name.

Chen Ying was a member of the Chen family, the younger brother of Chen Deng and the second son of Chen Gui.

When Liu Bei first took control of Xuzhou, he also received support from the Chen family. He had met all the prominent figures in the Chen family, including Chen Ying.

However, Xuzhou has now belonged to the Yuan family, and the Chen family has become a vassal of the Yuan family. Why did Chen Ying suddenly come to visit him?
Or is it the secretive look as if afraid of being recognized?
When Old Liu was at a loss, a smile flashed across Xiao Fang's eyes, as if he was already clear about the purpose of Chen Ying's visit.

"Chen Ying pays respect to the general!"

The second son of the Chen family in front of the hall was already respectfully bowing to Old Liu.

Liu Bei finally came to his senses and waved his hand:

"It's Chen Yuanxiang. Please don't be polite. Someone, please take a seat and serve tea."

Liu Bei had always had a good impression of Chen Deng, so naturally he loved his brother as well. Even though he knew that the Chen family was now a vassal of the Yuan family, he still treated them with courtesy when they met.

"It has been several years since we last met in Xuzhou. I wonder if your father is doing well and how your brother Yuanlong is doing now?"

As soon as Chen Ying sat down, Liu Bei became concerned about the father and son of the Chen family.

Chen Ying quickly put down his teacup, showing gratitude, and bowed:

"Thanks to the general's concern, my father and brother are in good health, but——"

As the subject changed, Chen Ying's face was filled with guilt.

"It's just that my father and brother deeply regret that they didn't follow the general to Jingzhou after Lu Bu attacked Xuzhou. Every time they think about it, they feel regretful and feel sorry for the general."

Liu Bei smiled faintly and waved his hand slightly:

"Mr. Chen and Yuan Long don't have to do this. It was because Bei was useless that he failed to defend Xuzhou. They are responsible for the life and death of your Chen family. It is only natural that they cannot follow Bei to Jingzhou."

"Besides, when Lu Bu surrendered, Yuanlong also warned me to beware of Lu Bu's evil ambitions. It was because I didn't listen to his advice that I suffered the consequences."

"Speaking of which, it is I who have let Yuanlong down. Bei should be the one to feel ashamed."

Not only did Liu Bei not have any resentment towards Chen Deng and his son, but he took all the responsibility on himself and expressed his guilt to Chen Deng.

Chen Ying couldn't help but admire such magnanimity and such broad-mindedness, and a look of respect appeared on his face.

What he said just now was just a test. Now that he had proved that Liu Bei had no resentment towards Chen, he felt relieved.

then.

Chen Ying immediately stood up, tidied his clothes and bowed deeply to Liu Bei:
"My brother always said that the general is not only a man of great talent and strategy, but also has an extraordinary temperament, is benevolent and chivalrous, and is the only wise and wise leader in the world."

"You should see it with your own eyes today. It really lives up to its reputation!"

"To be honest, I came to see the general today on the orders of my father and elder brother. I came to see the general in secret to show my Chen family's intention to return to the general!"

"If the general can forgive the past and give our Chen family a chance to make amends, our Chen family will do our utmost to help the general recapture Xuzhou and make up for the mistake of our Chen family not following the general to Jingzhou!"

Liu Bei's eyes suddenly widened, with an expression of incredible surprise in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)