Chapter 50: We should learn from the enemy's strengths and defeat them with our own strengths! Who is the king of Jingzhou?
Be it Guan Yu or Mi Zhu and the others, they all looked bewildered.

"Military Advisor, what do you mean by letting Liu Biao fire the first shot?"

"The gun should have been stabbed out, why did it become a shooting?"

Zhang Fei shouted with a puzzled look on his face.

Xiao Fang coughed a few times.

"What I mean is, if we force Liu Biao to use his troops against you first, then you can strike back and take over Jingzhou. That would be justified, wouldn't it?"

After hearing this, everyone suddenly realized.

Zhang Fei was greatly encouraged, and he slapped his hands on the table and praised excitedly:

"As expected, you are the cunning one, Military Advisor... Ugh, it's you who are smart!"

"Although my brother is kind and righteous, and he cares about the friendship between the same clan, he is not a fool who doesn't know how to fight back when being bullied!"

"If Liu Biao bullies us first, my brother will not be so pedantic as not to fight back. He will definitely fight back and take Jingzhou in one fell swoop!"

"Well, let's do this!"

Guan Yu stroked his beautiful beard. Although he did not say anything, silence was also a statement, representing a kind of consent.

Mi Zhu, Sun Qian and Jian Yong all nodded, all of them delighted.

"Brother-in-law, Liang has some questions. I wonder if I should tell you or not?"

Zhuge Liang, who was listening quietly at the side, suddenly spoke.

Xiao Fang waved his hand slightly, indicating that he could speak freely.

"When our lord captured Wancheng, Liu Biao did not lead his army to seize it. Instead, he withdrew his army back to Xiangyang."

"From this, it can be seen that Liu Biao tacitly agreed to his lord's possession of Wancheng and the counties in the central and northern parts of Nanyang."

"Liang guessed that Liu Biao's move was probably intended to use the lord as a barrier to the north to help him resist the threat of Cao Cao."

"If that's the case, what reason does he have to attack the lord now?"

Zhuge Liang expressed his doubts.

Xiao Fang's eyes lit up slightly and he couldn't help but nodded in approval.

At the age of fifteen, one can see that the reason why Liu Biao did not use troops to retake Wancheng was that he wanted to use Old Liu to help him guard the house. This is truly commendable.

He is indeed the potential of a Wolong, and indeed my brother-in-law, Xiao Fang...

"Military Advisor, Master Zhuge's words make sense. Under the current situation, it seems that Liu Biao really has no reason to take the initiative to use troops against the lord?"

"Unless the lord sends his troops south to attack Liu Biao first, but the lord, considering the friendship between us, naturally cannot attack Liu Biao first!"

Mi Zhu also nodded in agreement with Zhuge Liang's statement.

The conversation seemed to be stuck here, forming a kind of paradox.

Xiao Fang still looked calm and did not explain, but changed the subject:
"How can I make Liu Biao take the first move? I have my own way."

"When the lord comes later, I will present two strategies to him. Please remember to agree with them."

Two strategies?

Everyone was stunned, wondering why the topic suddenly went off topic again.

"I wonder what two strategies you are going to offer, Advisor?"

Mi Zhu temporarily suppressed his doubts and asked.

"For the first strategy, I would like to ask my lord to follow Cao Cao's example and promote military farming in the Wancheng area."

"The second strategy is to check the land and take over the unowned land."

Xiao Fang raised two fingers and pointed it out to everyone.

Zhang Fei was totally confused and had no idea what Xiao Fang meant by this action.

Mi Zhu and other counselors' eyes lit up and they saw the mystery.

"Although the lord has taken Wancheng, his military strength is still too small to resist Cao Cao in the north and take Jingzhou in the south."

"So the most important thing right now is to recruit soldiers and strengthen the military."

"If you want to expand your army, you must first have enough food and grass. This military farming system is indeed a shortcut to obtain sufficient food and grass in a short period of time."

"I guess this is the intention of the first strategy proposed by the military advisor."

After all, Mi Zhu came from a wealthy family and was extremely sensitive to matters of money and grain. He was the first to understand Xiao Fang's profound intention.

After he explained this, everyone immediately understood.

Relying solely on the 100,000 hu of grain brought from Xuzhou would sooner or later be exhausted, which is not a long-term solution. The bulk of the food would have to be obtained from the land in Nanyang.

However, Nanyang was once harmed by Yuan Shu and then again by Zhang Ji. The people fled in large numbers and the number of registered households controlled by the government was sharply reduced.

Obviously, collecting grain from the existing registered households is far from enough to feed a large army that can defeat Liu Biao and swallow Jingzhou.

Naturally, military farming became the best solution to the food and grass problem in the short term. "Brother-in-law, military farming can certainly solve the urgent need for food and grass, but this system was used by Cao Cao, that cruel man."

"My lord is a benevolent and righteous ruler. If I were to imitate Cao Cao, I would only damage your reputation."

Amidst all the praise, Zhuge Liang expressed a different opinion.

When he mentioned Cao Cao, his words revealed a hatred that came from the bottom of his heart.

Xiao Fang naturally understood his brother-in-law's feelings.

Zhuge was from Xuzhou, so why did he leave his hometown and travel thousands of miles to Jingzhou?
Isn't it because Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou twice, repeatedly massacring the city to vent his anger and show his power, causing Xuzhou to become a river of blood and corpses to block the Si River?

Zhuge Liang, who was only ten years old at the time, witnessed the bloody massacre of Cao's army in his hometown with his own eyes. How could he not plant the seeds of hatred for Cao Cao in his heart?

"Cao Cao is indeed your enemy, and you always act in the opposite way to Cao Cao, but this does not mean that Cao Cao has no good qualities that you can emulate."

"This military farming system actually has precedents in ancient times, but in modern times, it was Cao Cao who first used it. However, we cannot deny the advantages of this system just because Cao Cao used it first."

"As long as it is beneficial to supporting the Han Dynasty, you can learn and use it immediately to solve the problem of food and grass, so that you can have the confidence to attack Jingzhou in the south. One day, when you are fully prepared, you can turn around and march north to destroy Cao Cao!"

"This is called learning the enemy's strengths to defeat him!"

Xiao Fang knew that Zhuge Liang had a knot in his heart, so he patiently explained and enlightened him.

Zhuge Liang was a man of great talent. After hearing what Xiao Fang said, he suddenly understood.

"Learn the enemy's strengths to defeat him, learn the enemy's strengths to defeat him, brother-in-law, what you said is very reasonable, Liang has learned from it..."

Zhuge Liang was inspired and quickly took out the bamboo slips and started taking notes.

Xiao Fang took a sip of tea and asked:

"Ah Liang, do you know what my second strategy is?"

Zhuge Liang stopped writing, frowned slightly, and pondered for a moment.

"If you want to promote military farming, you must have enough official land to attract refugees to return home to farm."

"The people of Nanyang were seriously displaced, and many of the good farmlands in the counties became ownerless, and were taken over by the local powerful families."

"My brother-in-law asked the lord to check the land. He should take back the abandoned land from the powerful families so that there will be enough land to settle the people who return to their hometowns to farm."

Zhuge Liang was quick-witted and expressed the intention in just a few words.

Xiao Fang nodded slightly, very satisfied with Zhuge Liang's judgment.

Mi Zhu and other counselors also understood the motives behind Xiao Fang's two strategies.

"The two strategies proposed by the military advisor are indeed a good way to help the lord improve his strength as quickly as possible. Zhu thinks they are feasible!"

Mi Zhu expressed his approval.

Sun Qian, Jian Yong and other counselors also agreed.

"Wait, wait first!"

Zhang Fei interrupted everyone's discussion and said with a confused look on his face:

"I have roughly understood the benefits of the two strategies you mentioned, Military Advisor."

"But wasn't our first discussion about how to force Liu Biao to turn against my brother? How did we end up discussing something that has nothing to do with him?"

"After talking for so long, I still don't know how to force Liu Biao to take action first?"

Zhang Fei's shout brought everyone back to the original topic.

Guan Yu stroked his beautiful beard and nodded:

"Military Advisor, Yide is right. Your two strategies can only greatly increase my brother's military strength. How can they make my brother determined to capture Jingzhou?"

Everyone's eyes were once again filled with confusion.

Xiao Fang took a sip of tea, raised the corners of his mouth slightly, and asked back:
"Then I would like to ask you, which family in Jingzhou is the most powerful, and which family has occupied the most abandoned land in Nanyang?"

This question stumped everyone. For a moment, no one could understand its deep meaning and they all looked stunned.

"I understand what my brother-in-law means!"

Zhuge Liang suddenly stood up and said excitedly:

"The most powerful families in Jingzhou are naturally Cai and Kuai!"

"These two families, with Liu Biao's protection, naturally took over the most abandoned land in Nanyang."

"If you investigate the land, it will certainly harm the interests of the Cai and Kuai families. Cai Mao and Kuai Yue will not sit idly by and will most likely encourage Liu Biao to take back Nanyang to protect their own interests."

"Liu Biao was able to control Jingzhou thanks to the support of the Cai and Kuai clans. Although he was called the Lord of Jingzhou in name, the real Lords of Jingzhou were actually the Cai and Kuai clans."

"If Cai Mao and Kuai Yue insist on using troops against Nanyang, how can Liu Biao not follow their lead?"

"In this way, wouldn't it be forcing Liu Biao to turn against the lord and use military force first?"

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(End of this chapter)