Chapter 29: Pull chestnuts from the fire! First set a trap for Liu Biao, then hit Zhang Ji's weak spot!

At night, Biyang County Government.

A map of Jingzhou has been hung in front of the hall.

Liu Bei drank and chatted with everyone, celebrating their successful arrival in Nanyang while examining the map in front of him.

"Jingzhou has a total of seven counties under its jurisdiction, which can be divided into three parts from south to north."

"The four prefectures of Wuling, Lingling, Changsha and Guiyang to the south of the Yangtze River are closely connected to each other, and the four prefectures to the north, which are separated by the Yangtze River, are called the Four Prefectures of Southern Jing."

"The central Nanjun and Jiangxia counties are located on the east and west wings of the Han River respectively, and are the heart of Jingzhou."

"Among them, there is Nanjun, where the two important towns of Xiangyang and Jiangling are located. It is the heart of the heart and the root of Jingzhou."

"Nanyang County, north of the Han River, is quite special."

"This county once had a population of one million, making it not only the largest county in Jingzhou, but also the largest county in the world."

"Even after Yuan Shu's destruction, the remaining population of Nanyang is still considerable, even higher than that of Nanjun where Xiangyang is located."

"However, because the capital of Jingzhou was Xiangyang City, and Nanyang County was located in the northernmost part of Jingzhou, it became a barrier for Liu Biao to protect Xiangyang and even Jingzhou."

Jian Yong pointed to the map and gave everyone a brief account of the geography of Jingzhou.

Liu Bei nodded slightly, and a rough outline of Jingzhou already appeared in his mind.

"Zi Zhong, tell me about the current war situation in Nanyang."

Xiao Fang pointed slightly at the wine glass.

Everyone's eyes were focused on the northernmost part of Jingzhou.

Nanyang County.

This is also the foothold that Lao Liu wants to capture first in Xiao Fang’s backup plan.

Although the Mi family left Xuzhou, their business network throughout the world remained. So, at Xiao Fang's suggestion, the Mi family's business network was transformed into Liu Bei's intelligence network.

"The Xiliang army has always been brutal, and Zhang Ji is no exception."

"A few months ago, due to lack of food, they moved south from Hongnong to Nanyang. After occupying Wancheng, they sent their troops everywhere to plunder food and grass."

"They have dug up and plundered more than ten cities in northern Nanyang. Now there is no food left to plunder."

"According to our spies, the food and grass that the Xiliang people have looted are almost exhausted. Zhang Ji is ready to drive his troops south to attack Rangxian, Chaoyang, Xinye and other counties in the southern part of Nanyang County for food."

"We also received news from Xiangyang that Liu Biao obviously did not intend to allow Zhang Ji to approach the Han River, and he has already led his troops across the river to Xinye. He should be sending more troops to Rang County to prevent Zhang Ji from attacking from the south."

"The war between Zhang and Liu is about to break out."

Mi Zhu pointed at the map and described the battle situation in Nanyang one by one.

Everyone discussed for a while.

Without waiting for Liu Bei to express his opinion, Zhang Fei jumped up and shouted:
"Isn't this perfect? ​​Let's let Zhang Ji and Liu Biao fight each other. When they are both defeated, we will send troops and easily deal with them."

"In this way, Nanyang County will be within our grasp!"

Everyone nodded, and it was obvious that many people agreed with Zhang Fei's proposal.

Liu Bei frowned slightly and shook his head:
"Zhang Ji is a traitor to the Han Dynasty and has brought chaos to Nanyang. I have every reason to attack him."

"Liu Jingsheng is from the same clan as me, how can I use my troops against him for no reason?"

"Yide's plan is not feasible!"

Zhang Fei's face immediately drooped, and he sat down mumbling something.

Xiao Fang was not surprised by Liu Bei's denial.

Old Liu could never get past the hurdle of being a fellow clan member.

If Old Liu had adopted Zhang Fei's proposal, he would not have rejected his strategy of conquering Jingzhou, forcing him to come up with a backup plan and attack Nanyang first as a second best option.

What's more, even if Lao Liu had not refused, he would have vetoed Zhang Fei's plan.

According to the historical course, Zhang Ji would have been shot and died during the attack on Rangcheng.

Later, Zhang Xiu inherited his tribe. Liu Biao took advantage of the situation and used food and grass as bait to induce Zhang Xiu to rely on him. Thus, they formed an alliance and Zhang Xiu became Liu Biao's gatekeeper.

The good thing that Zhang Fei imagined, where the two families would fight each other and both would suffer losses, would never happen.

After a lot of discussion, no one could come up with a perfect solution.

"Jinglue, how can we defeat Zhang Ji and capture Wancheng? Do you have any good plan?"

Liu Bei's gaze finally fell on Xiao Fang.

The hall immediately fell silent, and everyone's attention turned to Xiao Fang.

"The people of Xiliang are good at field battles but not at sieges. If they attack Rangcheng, they will surely be defeated." "At that time, the siege was not going well and their food and grass were exhausted. They had no choice but to surrender to Liu Biao."

"With Liu Biao's skills, he would most likely use food and fodder as bait to win over the people of Xiliang and make them rely on him to protect Nanyang."

"Once this situation occurs, it will be much more difficult for us to capture Nanyang."

"So I think the first thing the lord should do is to stop Liu Biao from intervening in the battle in Nanyang and prevent Zhang and Liu from joining forces!"

Xiao Fang played with the wine glass in his hand and slowly set the tone for Liu Bei.

Liu Bei pondered for a while, then nodded and said:

"Military Advisor, what you said is absolutely right. Then according to your opinion, how can we stop Liu Jingsheng from interfering in the Nanyang war?"

Xiao Fang took a sip of wine and smiled faintly:
"This is much simpler. You only need to send an envoy to meet Liu Biao and tell him that you will lead your army to attack Zhang Ji's uncle and nephew and capture Wancheng. Please ask Liu Biao to send troops from the south to attack Zhang Ji for the sake of our kinship."

"I expect that Kuai Yue and Cai Mao will offer advice to Liu Biao, asking him to pretend to agree with the lord, but actually keep his troops on hold, so that he can use the lord to consume Zhang Ji."

"In this way, we can stabilize Liu Biao, and you can take this opportunity to quickly defeat Zhang Ji."

"By the time Liu Biao reacted, the lord had already captured Wancheng, creating a fait accompli for the capture of Nanyang."

Liu Bei suddenly realized, but he still looked a little doubtful:
"Liu Jingsheng is from the same clan as Bei. Would he have agreed to join forces with Bei to attack Zhang Ji, but then just stood by and watched, reaping the benefits?"

Xiao Fang sighed softly.

Old Liu was still a little wishful thinking, thinking that if he took into account the friendship of the same clan, Liu Biao would also take into account the friendship of the same clan.

"I now know that my lord always puts righteousness first, but in these troubled times, not everyone is as righteous as my lord."

"People like Liu Biao naturally put profit first when they act."

"Besides, the real masters of Jingzhou are Cai Mao and Kuai Yue. Liu Biao sometimes has no choice but to make decisions."

After hearing what Xiao Fang said, Liu Bei fell silent.

He understood the truth, but emotionally, he was not willing to accept it.

After a while.

Liu Bei seemed to have suddenly figured it out. He smiled bitterly and sighed:

"All I have to do is to have a clear conscience. As for what others do, I cannot force them to do anything."

After sighing, Liu Bei pulled himself together and said cheerfully:
"In that case, I will follow the military advisor's advice. I will immediately write a letter and send Gong Younan to meet Liu Biao."

The strategy to deal with Liu Biao was thus decided.

At this time.

Guan Yu, who had been silent the whole time, stroked his beautiful beard and said:
"Military Advisor Jinglue, our purpose in preventing Liu Biao from intervening in the battle in Nanyang is also to defeat Zhang Ji."

"As far as I know, Zhang Ji has nearly 10,000 soldiers under his command, which is comparable to our army."

"Moreover, Zhang Ji's soldiers are all experienced warriors, including the world-famous Xiliang Iron Cavalry."

"It's not that I'm afraid of Zhang Ji, but I think it's not easy for us to quickly defeat such an elite force."

Guan Yu's reminder immediately caused a stir among your mother's family.

Liu Bei's brows, which had just relaxed, furrowed again.

"Jinglue, Yunchang reminded me."

"Although our army has received reinforcements from the Yellow Turban Army in Runan, the combat effectiveness of these soldiers is far inferior to that of the Xiliang Army."

"It's not easy to defeat Zhang Ji, let alone to defeat him quickly?"

"This is also the reason why I have been worried since I was in Xuzhou."

There was obviously a hint of fear in Liu Bei's words.

Xiao Fang's mouth flashed a strange look, and he sneered:
"Most of Zhang Ji's soldiers were recruited locally in Nanyang, and only half of them were from the most powerful Western Liang army."

"The gap in strength between the enemy and our army has not yet reached a huge level."

"We just need to seize the biggest weakness of the Xiliang people and lure them to attack Biyang. It will be easy to defeat them!"

Xiao Fang's confident words immediately boosted Liu Bei's spirits.

"Then according to the military advisor, what is the biggest weakness of the Xiliang Army?"

Liu Bei asked impatiently.

“Two words…”

Xiao Fang slowly raised two fingers.

(End of this chapter)