Chapter 49 Cao Cao is jealous: Such a rare man belongs to Liu Bei? We must force Liu Biao to fire the first shot!
Kuai Yue, who was stroking his beard, suddenly focused his eyes and stopped what he was doing.

Cai Mao was so shocked that his face turned pale and he jumped up.

"The military intelligence is wrong, it must be wrong!"

"How could Zhang Ji be so vulnerable?"

Cai Mao rushed down the stairs, snatched the secret report on silk presented by his personal guards, and hurriedly unfolded it to read it.

His eyes gradually widened, his mouth began to open, and his face instantly twisted into an expression of surprise.

"Zhang Ji has 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers and horses, but he can't defend Wancheng?"

"This Xiao Fang, actually, actually..."

Cai Mao's hands holding the silk book were shaking slightly. He looked up at Liu Biao in disbelief and was speechless.

At this time, Liu Biao had wiped the water from the corner of his mouth, suppressed the surging emotions in his heart, and asked anxiously:
"Degui, what happened? What happened to Xiao Fang? Why did Wancheng fall so quickly?"

Cai Mao took a deep breath and handed the silk book to Liu Biao.

Kuai Yue also stood up quickly and moved closer.

The master and his servant hurriedly picked it up and read it carefully with their eyes wide open, as if they were afraid of missing every word.

The battle of Wancheng has ended, and Liu Bei also pointed out Xiao Fang's plan to break the city in public. The spies will naturally be able to find out the whole story by inquiring from all sides.

"They actually ordered a special force to disguise themselves as refugees and sneak into Wancheng among the defeated Xiliang army?"

"Doesn't this mean that Xiao Fang had already been planning to break through Wancheng before the battle of Biyang?"

Liu Biao's voice was a little hoarse, and he raised his head and looked at Kuai Yue in surprise.

The look in his eyes seemed to be asking his adviser, how could a commoner like him really be so far-sighted?
There was a hint of embarrassment in Kuai Yue's eyes.

First, he miscalculated the prediction of the Battle of Bi Yang, and now he made a mistake again in the prediction of the Battle of Wancheng. This top strategist in Jingxiang felt a little embarrassed.

After a few dry coughs, Kuai Yue calmed down and sighed:
"I didn't expect Xiao Fang to be so cunning. It seems that I underestimated him before. This is my oversight. Please punish me, my lord!"

As he said this, Kuai Yue bowed to Liu Biao and confessed his crime.

Liu Biao opened his mouth to blame, but he forced the words back.

After swallowing his saliva, Liu Biao waved his hand:
"Forget it. You are not to blame for this. I never expected that there would be such a man of extraordinary strategy in Jingzhou."

"And this man with such extraordinary ideas is actually a humble scholar of humble origins!"

Kuai Yue secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Liu Biao asked the maid to refill the tea, then he picked it up again slowly, regaining the calm demeanor of a local lord.

"Now that Liu Bei has captured Wancheng, even Zhang Xiu has surrendered to him. The central and northern parts of Nanyang have all been taken by him. Our plan to reap the benefits has failed."

"What do you think we should do next?"

Liu Biao glanced at his two right-hand men.

Before Kuai Yue could speak, Cai Mao slammed the table and said angrily:

"Nanyang is the shield of Jingzhou. How can we allow it to be seized by outsiders and allowed to be occupied by Liu Bei?"

"Mao, my lord, please send troops north immediately to recapture Wancheng by force and destroy Liu Bei!"

"Even if Liu Bei captured Wancheng, compared with the troops of my state, he is just like an ant trying to shake a tree. How can he be a match for you, my lord?"

Cai Mao's position remained the same, and he still advocated breaking off relations and resolving the issue by force.

Liu Biao, however, frowned and hesitated.

One reason is that he is concerned about his reputation and does not want people to gossip about him harming his fellow clansmen.

Secondly, he was somewhat wary of Liu Bei at this moment.

After all, as powerful as the Xiliang Army was, even if he had the troops of an entire state under his command, he could not say that he could crush the situation, but he was defeated so easily by Liu Bei.

If we fail to defeat Liu Bei, it will not only be a matter of shame.

"My Lord, since Liu Bei has already occupied Wancheng, why don't we accept the reality and go with the flow?"

Kuai Yue suddenly spoke, his tone meaningful.

Liu Biao's eyes moved, he heard the hidden meaning in his words, and quickly signaled him to continue.

"We wanted to march into Rangcheng earlier, but we didn't intend to capture Wancheng. We just wanted to stop Zhang Ji from continuing his southward attack."

"The Xiliang army's occupation of Wancheng actually cuts off our contact with Cao Cao. In a sense, it serves as a barrier to the north for us."

"Once you take Wancheng, it will certainly alert Cao Cao, and the two families will be in danger of going to war directly, which is not a good thing."

"Since Liu Bei has occupied Wancheng, why don't you just go with the flow and acquiesce to it, so that Liu Bei can guard our home and help us defend northern Jing?"

"What do you think, my lord?"

Kuai Yue proudly proposed a plan that turned a bad thing into a good thing.

These words hit the mark of Liu Biao, who nodded and said:

"Yidu, this is a very good plan. Cao Mengde is an elusive warrior and he holds the title of the emperor. It would be best if we can avoid a confrontation with him."

Cai Mao was anxious and asked:
"What if Liu Bei is greedy and wants to go south to seize Jingzhou after occupying Nanyang?"

"If we don't kill him now, wouldn't that be nurturing a tiger to cause trouble?"

This statement came out.

Kuai Yue burst into laughter, with a look of disapproval flashing across his brows.

Cai Mao was stunned, his eyes blank and puzzled.

Kuai Yue stopped laughing and asked:

"My lord, you control the seven counties of Jingzhou and Xiangyang, and you have 100,000 soldiers under your command. Your strength is comparable to that of Yuan Shikai and Cao Cao." "Do you really think that Liu Bei would be so arrogant as to seize Jingzhou with only half a county of Nanyang?"

Cai Mao was shocked and immediately speechless when asked.

The dark clouds on Liu Biao's face disappeared, and a hint of pride appeared in his eyes:
"Yi Du's words make sense. I don't think Liu Xuande has the courage to really become my enemy."

"Let's follow Yidu's plan and temporarily lend Nanyang to Liu Bei. Let him guard our home and protect the north!"

...

Xudu, Sikong Mansion.

"First, we defeated Zhang Xiu in Biyang, and now we have captured Wancheng, forced Zhang Ji to death, and persuaded Zhang Xiu to surrender?"

"Is this...is this the Liu Bei I know?"

Cao Cao looked carefully at the secret report from the spies in Wancheng, his face full of surprise and astonishment.

"This battle is more than just that simple."

"It is reported that the battle of Biyang and the battle of Wancheng were both the result of the strategies of Liu Bei's newly appointed military advisor Xiao Fang."

Guo Jia presented another secret report to Cao Cao.

"Xiao Fang?"

Cao Cao hurriedly picked it up and couldn't wait to read it.

"According to our company's intelligence, Xiao Fang is a poor scholar from Yiyang, Jingzhou. He was originally unknown. I don't know why he appeared in Xuzhou. I don't know how he was appreciated by Liu Bei and appointed as a military advisor."

"Although the intelligence is not detailed enough, Jia speculates that Liu Bei's defeat of the Yuan-Lu coalition in Chengfu and his rapid capture of Wancheng were all planned by this person behind the scenes."

Cao Cao looked through it while Guo Jia reported.

"He was able to arrange a secret response in Wancheng half a month in advance. This person is really far-sighted!"

"I didn't expect that there was such a man with such a brilliant plan hidden in Jingzhou, and Liu Bei got him?"

Cao Cao was amazed, and there was a hint of jealousy in his words and expression.

As someone who always loved talented people, he was naturally jealous of Liu Bei for being so lucky to have such a talented person.

aside.

Xun Yu also had a look of satisfaction on his face. He stroked his beard and frowned as he said:
"It turns out that this Xiao Fang is a poor scholar from Jingzhou. No wonder we didn't expect him to be like this."

"With this man's assistance, Liu Bei is like a tiger with wings."

"Now that Wancheng has changed hands, the threat to the south of Xudu has become Liu Bei, disrupting our overall plan..."

Cao Cao put away his envy and his brows gradually furrowed.

He suddenly had a feeling that the Liu Bei of today was no longer the Liu Bei who lost Xuzhou.

With Xiao Fang's assistance, Liu Bei seemed to have been reborn, and for the first time in his life, he felt fearful.

That feeling was even stronger than when Liu Bei held Xuzhou.

"I can't sleep unless Liu Bei dies..."

Cao Cao sighed murmuredly, murderous intent gradually revealed in his tone.

Guo Jia's eyes turned a few times, but he bowed and said:
"Sikong, why don't we use Lord Xun's strategy of two tigers competing for food against Liu Bei again?"

Cao Cao's eyes lit up and he looked at Guo Jia.

"Liu Bei is from the same clan as Liu Biao. If Sikong leads his army to attack, Liu Bei will surely be forced to side with Liu Biao, and the two Lius will join forces."

"At that time, Liu Bei was in Nanyang, and Liu Biao was in the rear, continuously supplying him with food, fodder, and soldiers, acting as his backup. It would be difficult for Sikong to destroy him."

"Why don't you keep your troops in place for now, and appoint Guan Yu, a general under Liu Bei, as the governor of Nanjun in the name of the emperor, and Cai Mao, a general under Liu Biao, as the governor of Nanyang, so as to stir up conflict between the two."

"Sikong can just sit back and watch the fight, waiting for the two Lius to tear each other apart and start a war, then he can take advantage of the situation and take Nanyang in one fell swoop!"

Guo Jia took his time and offered a plan.

Cao Cao's half-closed eyes suddenly opened, and a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth:
"What a saga of two tigers competing for food. Wen Ruo used this strategy to make Liu Bei and Yuan Shu fight each other. Today, Feng Xiao, you are going to use this strategy to make Liu Bei and Liu Biao fight each other."

"Okay, let's repeat the same old trick and let the two Lius compete for food!"

Cao Cao immediately made a plan.

Cao Cao picked up the intelligence again, stared at the words "Xiao Fang" on it, and muttered to himself:
"Xiao Fang, Xiao Jinglue, it's a pity that I can't use such talents... What a pity..."

...

Wancheng, the inner courtyard of the county government.

In the mansion hall, Liu Bei set up a family banquet.

Before Liu Bei's men arrived, Xiao Fang, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, as well as several veteran members of the entrepreneurial team including Mi Sunqian, had already arrived.

"Military Advisor Jinglue, we have taken Wancheng, but we can't just live in Wancheng, right?"

"There's a big piece of fat meat in Jingzhou right in front of me. If I don't eat it, I'll be sick of it."

"But my brother is always worried about being from the same clan as Liu Biao, so he refuses to take action. You have the most ideas, so you have to find a way to persuade my brother not to be so pedantic."

Zhang Fei took advantage of Liu Bei's arrival before he started to complain to Xiao Fang.

Guan Yu and his companions nodded slightly, obviously having the same attitude as Zhang Fei.

Xiao Fang picked up the tea, took a sip slowly, and then said:
"In fact, it is easy for you to seize Jingzhou. The key is to force Liu Biao to fire the first shot!"

"Fire the first shot?"

Zhang Fei touched the back of his head and was confused as he listened.

(End of this chapter)