Chapter 5 The key is time, we have to race against time with Cao Cao!
Liu Bei was shocked.

As he expected, Xiao Fang still used the same old stuff and advised him to take Jingzhou.

Xiao Fang called Zhuge Liang to bring the map and spread it out in front of Liu Bei.

"Xuzhou is located in the Central Plains. No matter who is the lord of Xuzhou, Cao Cao will definitely take it!"

“I will never allow others to sleep soundly beside my bed. This is the truth.”

"If we want to occupy Xuzhou, we must fight Cao Cao to the death."

"Forgive me for speaking frankly. With your current strength, even if Lu Bu doesn't steal Xuzhou, you will still be unable to defeat Cao Cao in the future!"

Xiao Fang turned his hand to the southwest and moved to Jingzhou.

"Jingzhou is completely different."

"This state has suffered very little damage from wars, has a population of one million, and thousands of miles of fertile land. Its foundation is far superior to that of Xuzhou."

"And Liu Zhang, who is to the west of Jingzhou, is a weak ruler who can barely take care of himself, so how dare he covet Jingzhou?"

"Although Sun Ce has pacified Jiangdong in the east by force, he has not won the support of the people. Also, he is restrained by Yuan Shu. It is estimated that he will not be able to advance westwards in his lifetime."

"Then the only threat to Jingzhou is Cao Cao in the north."

Xiao Fang pointed his finger in the direction of Xu Du.

"Cao Cao's strategy is to dominate the Central Plains and fight Yuan Shao in the north. After unifying the north, he will fully mobilize his troops to the south."

"To him, the biggest threat to Jingzhou is simply that Nanyang is too close to Xudu."

"Even if Cao Cao used his military force against Jingzhou, he would definitely aim to capture Nanyang and eliminate the threat to the south of Xudu, rather than swallowing up Jingzhou."

"Besides, compared with Xuzhou, which has no strategic location to defend, Jingzhou, in addition to the defense lines of Wancheng and Xinye, also has the natural barrier of Han River to rely on."

"Even if Nanyang County is lost and Cao Cao's army is approaching the Han River, he has no navy to use. What is there to fear even if he has a million-strong army?"

Hearing this, Liu Bei, who had been silent, gradually focused his eyes and finally began to look straight.

"As for Liu Biao, he rode alone into Xiangyang that year, so he was able to quickly obtain Jingzhou, all because of the strong support of the two great families of Kuai and Cai."

"After he came to power, in order to repay the Cai and Kuai families, he handed over all the military and political power of Jingzhou to the two families. Even a great contributor like Huang Zu could only be the governor of Jiangxia."

"So now in Jingzhou, all important official positions, big or small, are controlled by the two major families of Cai and Kuai. Even the Pang and Huang families, which were once as famous as the Kuai and Cai families, can't get a share of the spoils."

"At this time, Jingzhou seemed to be harmonious on the surface, but in fact, many people were dissatisfied with Liu Biao and Cai Kuai."

"As long as you can make good use of these internal conflicts in Jingzhou and use the troops properly, it will be easy to capture Jingzhou!"

Xiao Fang's face suddenly lit up with a look of hunting, and he used his hand as a knife to slash fiercely on the Yangtze River:
"After you replace Liu Biao, you can use Jingzhou as your base, take Bashu in the west, conquer Jiangdong in the east, compete for the Yangtze River, and take half of the world into your pocket."

"Then, while the north is unsettled and Yuan and Cao are fighting, we will divide our troops into three groups and march north. We will take Xu and Huai in the east, Wan and Luo in the middle, and Guanlong in the west!"

"In this way, the world can be pacified and the Han Dynasty can be revived!"

The generous and inspiring voice echoed in the lobby.

In one breath, Xiao Fang unveiled the strategic blueprint he had planned for Lao Liu.

To put it bluntly, this is an upgraded version of Zhuge Liang's "Longzhong Strategy".

According to the plan in "Longzhong Strategy", Old Liu indeed controlled Jing and Yi and founded the Shu Han Empire.

Unfortunately, it was too late for Jing Yi to jump.

It took him seventeen years from the time he defected to Liu Biao to the time he took control of the two states of Jing and Yi!

During the nearly eight years, he just lay there doing nothing and doing nothing.

During this period, Cao Cao worked tirelessly to wipe out the northern heroes and took all the essential lands in the Mesopotamian and Central Plains into his possession.

By the time you, Old Liu, came to your senses and took over Jing and Yi after going through untold hardships, Cao Cao's rule in the north had already been consolidated.

The golden opportunity to march north to the Central Plains and recover the lost territory had long been missed.

What's more, there is a stupid teammate like Sun Shiwan in the east, who is always thinking about how to betray his allies and stab you in the back.

Under this situation, defending Jing and Yi was already the limit, and the Northern Expedition to destroy Cao and revive Han was nothing but a wishful thinking that was doomed to fail.

The key is time! Race against time with Cao Cao, race against time with the North.

That was why Xiao Fang had to travel thousands of miles to Xuzhou and use some tricks to deceive Liu Bei into seizing Jingzhou in advance.

"That's it, that's it."

"No wonder my brother-in-law wanted to lead Envoy Liu to seize Jingzhou. It turns out that my brother-in-law has such a grand plan in mind."

"My brother-in-law is really a man of foresight..."

Zhuge Liang suddenly understood, all doubts in his mind were resolved, and he looked at Xiao Fang with admiration.

Guan Yu, Jian Yong and others in the hall all looked excited, and it was obvious that they had heard something.

"Brother, the strategy Xiao Jinglue mentioned is indeed feasible."

"Taking Jingzhou may not be a solution!"

Guan Yu approved of Xiao Fang's plan and changed his position at this time.

Liu Bei remained silent, with a complicated look in his eyes.

"Although General Liu still has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, he may still have the hope of returning to Xiapi and retaking Xuzhou."

"But have you ever thought that among your tens of thousands of soldiers, only a few thousand of Youyan's direct lineage are truly loyal to you, and the rest are all Xuzhou militiamen."

"When these Xuzhou soldiers learned that Xiapi had fallen, would they still have the courage to fight for you?"

Xiao Fang saw that Liu Bei was unwilling to give in, so he shattered his fantasy with just a few words.

Liu Bei's body shuddered, and he suddenly realized the cruelty of reality.

However, recognizing the reality does not mean that he has to succumb to it.

After weighing the pros and cons for a long time, Liu Bei took a deep breath and bowed to Xiao Fang:
"Mr. Xiao has great foresight and far-sightedness. He is truly a rare talent in the world. I admire him very much!"

Changing the subject, Liu Bei sighed again:

"But I have said before that Liu Jingsheng is from the same clan as me. Even if I really have the opportunity to seize Jingzhou, how can I bear to seize the foundation of my clan?"

"And Cao Cao, who helped Lu Bu steal Yanzhou, was also in a desperate situation, but he was able to fight to the death and finally regain the lost territory."

"Although I think I am far inferior to Cao Cao in both military and literary skills, I don't want the heroes of the world to laugh at me, Liu Bei, for not having the courage to fight a desperate battle!"

"I must lead my army north and fight that ungrateful Lu Bu to the death!"

"Even if I am doomed to fail, I, Liu Bei, will fight this battle!"

At this time, Liu Bei clenched his fists, his expression was generous and solemn, and a domineering aura of not admitting defeat burned from his whole body.

Xiao Fang was not surprised. On the contrary, there was a hint of admiration in his eyes.

Old Liu is not the Liu Paopao that the villains say he is, the one who would just run away when he encounters an enemy.

Although he had been defeated by many people in his life, he had never been a coward to anyone. Even if he ran away, it was only when he was unable to defeat his opponent and the situation was hopeless.

Not being able to fight is one thing, but whether you dare to fight is another.

Although he is in a difficult situation now, he still has 20,000 soldiers and horses at his disposal. Under such circumstances, do you want Liu Bei to run away without firing a shot? Is it possible?

If he really runs away, he will no longer be the Liu Xiaoqiang who fights again and again after repeated failures and is never to be killed.

"I really admire your courage to go there even though you know there are tigers there."

"Then we won't delay your return to Xia Pi. We'll say goodbye now."

"I believe it won't be long before we meet again."

"Take care, sir!"

Xiao Fang knew Liu Bei's temper, so he stopped trying to persuade him and immediately bowed and said goodbye.

When Liu Bei saw Xiao Fang was about to leave, he immediately became anxious.

(End of this chapter)