Chapter 368: Xiao Fang is so smart that he is almost a demon, and I am just a frog in a well! If you tempt us with benefits, don't blame us for being profit-driven!
Sima Lang was indeed confused.

Second brother, you are loyal to the Yuan family and are the trusted adviser of the second son Yuan Shang. Doesn't that mean our Sima family is betting the future and destiny on Yuan Shang?
Then, as one of the only two survivors of the Sima clan and your brother, shouldn't it be natural for me to follow you and serve Yuan Shang?

Why do you ask me to join Cao Cao?
Isn’t Cao Cao also an enemy of the Yuan family?
What do you mean by this?
Sima Lang's eyes were full of question marks, his mind was a mess, and he looked at his brother blankly.

"You have seen the current situation of the Wei Kingdom. The King of Wei lost all his elite troops in the Battle of Wucheng. Liu Bei marched north with an army of 200,000 soldiers to besiege Yecheng."

"In the vast Wei State, the only soldiers who can really fight are the 40,000 soldiers under the Third Young Master."

"As for Yuan Xi, Zhang Yan, Chunyu Qiong and others, their subordinates are nothing but a mob."

"The Yuan family has hope of turning things around, but I can't say how great the hope is."

"We are the only two left in the Sima clan. If the Yuan family is really heading for the end of its road, we brothers will not be buried with the Yuan family."

"Because we two still have a blood feud, we have to kill Liu Bei and avenge our Sima family!"

"So, I must find a way out for you and me first."

Sima Yi held Sima Lang's hand and expressed his difficulties and motives with a somewhat helpless look on his face.

Sima Lang suddenly understood.

My younger brother is not absolutely sure about the Yuan family's turnaround, so he dare not put all his eggs in one basket. He has to find a new home for his two brothers in advance and leave a way out.

When his father Sima Fang was the prefect of Jingzhao, he had recommended Cao Cao to the court several times. He could be considered as Cao Cao's sponsor and it could be said that he was indebted to Cao Cao.

As the son of Sima Fang, he went to Qin State to seek refuge with Cao Cao, and Cao Cao would certainly not treat him unfairly.

With him establishing a firm foothold in Qin first, if Sima Yi's side is not going well and the Yuan family is destroyed by Liu Bei, Sima Yi can go to Qin to seek refuge with him.

At that time, his two brothers would be able to switch to the new master Cao Cao, and continue to rely on the power of Qin to fight Liu Bei to the death.

This was the profound reason why Sima Yi ordered him to go to Qin.

"Zhongda, I understand what you mean."

Sima Lang nodded slightly, but then said in confusion:

"Zhongda, you have always been extremely intelligent and have the talent to rule the world. With your assistance, can't the Yuan family turn the tide?"

Sima Lang knew very well that his younger brother was extremely talented and ten times smarter than himself.

The Sima family had high hopes for Sima Yi.

His father Sima Fang had even predicted that whether his Sima clan could move beyond the small piece of land in Henei County and advance to become one of the world's top clans like the Hongnong Yang clan and the Yingchuan Xun clan depended entirely on Sima Yi.

When Yuan Shao conquered Henan, Sima Yi decided to follow the trend and come out of retirement, with the ambition of helping Yuan Shang win the throne and then assisting the Yuan family in unifying the world.

Who would have thought that after assisting for so long, he actually helped the Yuan family to the point of destroying their country and their family.

The confidence that his younger brother had in strategizing and controlling the world has now disappeared.

Sima Lang naturally couldn't understand it.

Sima Yi sighed softly and said helplessly:
"I was indeed arrogant and conceited back then. I thought I had the talent to assist the king and could really help the Yuan family unify the world."

"I never thought that there would be people like Xiao Fang in this world who are so smart and powerful."

"Looking back now, I was indeed a little narrow-minded and too conceited."

Hearing Xiao Fang's name, Sima Lang was startled and asked in surprise:

"Could it be that what Zhongda is talking about is the Xiao Fang who, as rumored, assisted Liu Bei in sweeping across the country and annihilating all the heroes, and was known as the Saint of Strategy?"

Sima Yi nodded slightly and said with a wry smile:
"If it's not this person, who else could it be?"

Sima Lang took a deep breath, his expression even more surprised:

"When I was in Hanoi before, I only heard that this person was very powerful, but I didn't expect him to be so powerful?"

"Even a rare genius like you, Zhongda, is no match for him?"

Sima Yi felt a little hurt when he heard his brother's words, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

After coughing a few times, Sima Yi snorted coldly:

"This man's wisdom is truly extraordinary, rarely seen in history."

"But I am not completely incompetent against him. It's just that the lord he assists and I are not on the same level."

"If it was me assisting Liu Bei and he was assisting Yuan's father and son, even if he had a lot of tricks, I would be confident that I could defeat him."

Sima Yi was also proud, so he would naturally not admit in public that he was not as smart as Xiao Fang.

The implication of this statement is not that I am no match for Xiao Fang, but that the king I assist is no match for Liu Bei.

"Zhongda's words make sense. Putting aside the hatred of genocide, Liu Bei's great talent and strategy are indeed far superior to those of Yuan's father and son."

Sima Lang nodded slightly, believing in his brother's judgment.

Then he gritted his teeth and said bitterly:

"It's a pity that Liu Bei has great talent but a narrow mind. He is so cruel and ruthless that he wants to exterminate our Sima clan!"

"I will kill this kind of person even if he is the greatest emperor in history!"

After talking for a while, the two of them turned their attention back to their hatred for Liu Bei.

Sima Yi stood with his hands behind his back, looking towards the direction of Yecheng, with a hint of coldness on his lips.

"Don't worry, big brother. I will definitely avenge the extermination of my clan!"

"This bloody lesson has taught me a lesson: the fate of our Sima family must not be controlled by him, but must be in our own hands."

"Whether it's Yuan Shang or Cao Cao, they are just stepping stones for me."

"That's all."

There seemed to be a deeper meaning in Sima Yi's words, but Sima Lang's eyes were blank, and he failed to hear the mystery hidden in his brother's words.

"Brother, the situation in Hebei is changing rapidly. You should not stay here for long. Go to Qin as soon as possible." Sima Yi turned back and urged without further explanation.

Sima Lang's thoughts returned to reality, and he bowed:

"Then I will leave now, Zhongda, you must take care of yourself."

After saying this, Sima Lang said goodbye and left.

Sima Yi watched his brother leave, but murmured and sighed:

"I hope the Yuan family still has some destiny and can turn the tide."

"Although my Sima family is not as good as the Yang and Xun families, we are still a prominent family in the county. Unless it is absolutely necessary, I really don't want to go to Cao Cao, the ugly eunuch..."

...

Ten days later.

South of Yecheng, the Chu army camp.

"Yuan Shang announced in Nanpi that he would obey the imperial edict and come to the aid of the king, but he delayed the march due to insufficient food and fodder."

"In Huguan, Yuan Xi also announced that he would obey the imperial edict and come to Jinyang to defend the country. However, he led his army to leave Huguan and head north to Jinyang, claiming that the Xiongnu had invaded Jinyang."

"Yuan Xi announced that he would lead his army to Yecheng only after he had eliminated the threat from Jinyang and ensured that Bingzhou had no worries."

After Pang Tong read out the two latest pieces of intelligence, he looked at Xiao Fang with an impressed look and a smile:

"Your Majesty, just as the Prime Minister expected, these two sons of Yuan Shao are both hypocritical and unwilling to come to Yecheng to rescue their father!"

All the generals in the tent were excited by the two pieces of news.

Everyone looked at Xiao Fang in admiration.

Liu Bei also showed surprise, but asked curiously:

"Prime Minister, how do you know that the two Yuans will not send troops to rescue Yecheng?"

Liu Bei asked the question that aroused the curiosity of the generals, and they all listened attentively.

Xiao Fang put down the tea in his hand and said slowly:

"Yuan Shao ordered his two sons to come to Yecheng to defend the king, and he must have been tempting them with the position of crown prince. Since the relationship between the Yuan family father and son has fallen to the point of tempting each other with benefits, then the two Yuans must weigh whether it is profitable to send troops or not."

"Then, for Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi, the best thing to do is to preserve their own strength and let their brothers lead their troops to Yecheng to fight to the death with our army."

"This way, we can not only consume our military strength, but also weaken the enemy's strength, so that they can reap the benefits."

"Then this will form a chain of suspicion. Yuan Xi wants Yuan Shang to come to rescue Yecheng, while he himself will keep his troops in place to preserve his strength."

"Yuan Shang would also want Yuan Xi to come and rescue Ye City, so he would station his troops in Nanpi to preserve his strength."

"So the final result was that both of them were waiting for the other to come and rescue Yecheng, but neither of them took any action, and no one came to rescue Yecheng."

"This is the basis of my judgment."

Xiao Fang explained the reason.

Liu Bei suddenly understood and nodded heavily:
"Jing Lue's words make sense. The father tempted the son with benefits, so the son will naturally pursue benefits only."

"Yuan Shao used the position of crown prince to lure Yuan Tan, Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang. There is no affection between father and son, and they only talk about profit!"

"Now his two sons are only interested in profit and are unwilling to come to rescue him. He is reaping the consequences of his own actions!"

All the generals suddenly realized the situation and started to ridicule Yuan Shao.

Zhang Fei slapped the table and shouted excitedly:

"We have already set up a siege camp and Yecheng is completely sealed off. Since none of Yuan Shao's two sons of bitches are coming to rescue him, what else do we have to worry about?"

"My king, feel free to attack the city. What are you waiting for?"

The fighting spirit of the generals was ignited by Zhang Fei in an instant.

The big tent exploded with a loud bang, and all the generals stood up, all of them challenged each other enthusiastically, and they were eager to flatten Yecheng immediately.

"Your Majesty, I still have a third piece of information to share."

"According to reports from the scouts in the north, Zhang Yan led his army down the Taihang Mountains a few days ago. There are about 40,000 Black Mountain troops, and they are heading towards Yecheng."

"According to the situation, although the two Yuans will not come to rescue Yecheng, Zhang Yan, the Black Mountain bandit, is rushing to rescue Yuan Shao."

Pang Tong interrupted the generals' enthusiastic challenge and poured a bucket of cold water on them.

The boiling atmosphere in the tent suddenly died down a little.

Zhang Fei snorted coldly and said angrily:

"He didn't even save his own son, but Zhang Yan, an outsider, came to save Yuan Shao. Is he just bored?"

"My lord, if you give me 20,000 soldiers, I will go north to destroy this Black Mountain Army and bring you Zhang Yan's head!"

Liu Bei did not answer, but looked at Xiao Fang, seeking his opinion.

Xiao Fang waved his feather fan lightly, and asked Zhang Fei with a smile:

"Yide, how can you be so sure that Zhang Yan went south to Yecheng to rescue Yuan Shao?"

Zhang Fei was stunned at first, then he asked disapprovingly:

"What else? If he doesn't come to rescue Yuan Shao, is he going to surrender to the king?"

The words trailed off.

Chen Dao lifted the tent curtain and came in excitedly.

"Your Majesty, an envoy from Zhang Yan has arrived outside the camp and wants to see Your Majesty and present a letter of surrender!"

(End of this chapter)