Chapter 59: The Han royal family is also divided into different levels. Are you worthy of it? Accomplish everything in one fell swoop!
Using Rang County as bait, Liu Bei was eliminated in one fell swoop!

After hearing these few words, Liu Biao was cheered up and asked Kuai Yue what brilliant plan he had.

Kuai Yue asked for the map to be unfolded, pointing at it and saying:

"My lord, please look, the Yu River runs through Nanyang from south to north. From Xinye, we can march north along the Yu River, and through Yuyang, we can reach Wancheng. If we turn west and follow the Rang River, we can reach Rang County."

"My lord, why don't you divide your troops into two armies, the front and the rear. Let a general lead more than 10,000 soldiers in the front army, but under your banner, surround Rang County."

"Rang County is an important town, and Liu Bei has 3,000 soldiers in the city. He will definitely not sit idly by and will lead the main force to the city."

"At this time, my lord can lead the rear army and take advantage of the situation..."

Kuai Yue pointed at the map and laid out his strategy in a fluent manner.

After hearing this, Liu Biao could not help but stroke his beard and exclaimed:
"Yidu's plan is truly ingenious. You are worthy of being the best counselor in Jingxiang!"

"Very good, very good, let's follow Yi Du's plan!"

The plan is decided.

Liu Biao looked at the generals and asked:
"Everyone, who among you is willing to lead the vanguard troops to surround Rang County and act as bait?"

Cai Mao opened his mouth to volunteer, but swallowed the words back.

The commander of Rang County was Wei Yan, who was the blood enemy of the murderer of his third brother Cai He. Logically, he would have wanted to personally razed Rang County to the ground and kill Wei Yan to avenge himself.

However, this trip to Rang County was just a bait, and the real achievement lies in the troops in the rear army.

After weighing the pros and cons, Cai Mao gave up the idea of ​​volunteering.

"I have been stationed in Rang County for a long time and I know this city best. I am willing to lead the army to besiege Rang County!"

A square-faced military general stepped forward and volunteered to fight.

The general who requested the battle was none other than Wen Pin, the former commander of Rang County.

Liu Biao nodded slightly and immediately appointed Wen Pin as his general.

At this time.

Another young general stepped out and said:
"Uncle, I am willing to lead the army to besiege Rang County."

The young general was Liu Biao's nephew Zhang Yun.

Liu Biao looked at the two people who volunteered, frowned slightly, and hesitated for a moment.

In terms of qualifications and ability to command troops, Wen Pin is naturally far superior to Zhang Yun and is the best candidate to command troops.

But considering the closeness of the relationship, Zhang Yun, the nephew, is the most trustworthy.

After weighing the pros and cons, Liu Biao made a decision to appoint Zhang Yun as the main general and Wen Pin as the deputy general, and led an army of 15,000 to besiege Rangcheng.

"Thank you for your trust, uncle. I will never give up your trust!"

Zhang Yun thought he had gained some credit and was overjoyed, so he thanked him generously.

Wen Pin frowned secretly, obviously not expecting that Liu Biao would let him serve as Zhang Yun's deputy general.

"Forget it, Zhang Yun is the nephew of the master, there is a difference between close relatives, what is there for me to argue about..."

After sighing inwardly, Wen Pin did not dare to reveal anything and silently accepted the order.

Seeing that Wen Pin had no objection, Liu Biao nodded with satisfaction.

The plan was thus finalized, and the generals took their orders and left.

Liu Biao left Zhang Yun alone.

"Ziying, do you know why I, your uncle, asked you to take on this important task and even let Wen Pin be your deputy general?"

After sending his attendants away, Liu Biao asked with deep meaning.

Zhang Yun had a blank look in his eyes, and obviously did not understand Liu Biao's painstaking efforts.

Looking at this not-so-bright nephew, Liu Biao's eyes flashed with disappointment.

After a sigh, he could only say helplessly:
"The military power of Jingzhou is mostly controlled by the Cai family. You know this."

"The fact that I am able to control the seven counties of Jingzhou is naturally due to the support of your uncle Degui, but he is an outsider after all."

"Compared to the Cai brothers, you and Pan'er are my blood relatives and the people I trust the most!"

"Pan'er is now leading the troops in Changsha. You are the closest person to me. You must take up the responsibility as soon as possible and share my worries."

The Pan'er he mentioned was his nephew Liu Pan.

Liu Biao was so sincere and open-hearted that even if Zhang Yun was stupid, he could surely understand his deep meaning.

His own uncle wanted to take this opportunity to let him command troops and gain some merit, so that he could be entrusted with important tasks in the future and share the military power of the Cai family.

"Yun understands, uncle, don't worry, I will never let you down!"

Zhang Yun immediately bowed and solemnly expressed his determination.

Liu Biao then showed some relief, and then he gave another instruction:

"In terms of closeness, your uncle naturally trusts you the most, but in terms of martial arts and military talent, Wen Pin is far superior to you."

"Although you are the commander-in-chief, you should not act arbitrarily. You should listen more to Wen Pin's opinions."

"I made Wen Pin your deputy general because I wanted you to learn more about commanding troops from him. Do you understand?"

When Zhang Yun heard Liu Biao say that Wen Pin was a much better general than himself, he immediately felt displeased and curled his lips.

Zhang Yun coughed a few times and said with a bit of pride:
"I will keep my uncle's advice in mind."

"Yun has also been familiar with the art of war since he was young. Besides, this trip to Rang County is not to fight against the big-eared thief, but just a feint attack."

"Don't worry, uncle. Yun knows what to do!"

Liu Biao then felt relieved, and after giving Zhang Yun some more words of encouragement and advice, he ordered Zhang Yun to lead the troops away.

After watching his nephew go away, Liu Biao looked up to the north with a look of contempt on his face. "Liu Bei, you, with only one county's soldiers, dare to think that you can fight against my state's soldiers. You really overestimate your own abilities."

"In this battle, I will let you know who is the true relative of the Han Dynasty!"

...

Outside Yuyang City, Liu Jun’s camp.

Outside a certain military tent.

Xiao Fang, who had just eaten and drunk his fill, began to stretch his muscles in the tent.

"Brother-in-law, what are you doing?"

Zhuge Liang's eyes were full of curiosity as he looked Xiao Fang up and down.

"This is called Tai Chi, a health-preserving technique that I, my brother-in-law, created myself."

"Come on, Liang, practice with me and I'll teach you."

Xiao Fang stopped his punches and kicked, and waved to Zhuge Liang.

"Tai Chi?"

"Health preservation techniques?"

Zhuge Liang looked confused and shook his head quickly.

Xiao Fang's face turned serious and he taught:
"We counselors are always thinking of conspiracies and intrigues in our heads. If we have too many things in our minds, we will die young. We must learn how to balance work and rest and reduce the pressure on ourselves."

"Listen to my brother-in-law and practice with me honestly!"

Xiao Fang used his authority as his brother-in-law to pull Zhuge Liang up.

Zhuge Liang seemed to understand, but he could not resist Xiao Fang's orders and had to follow and learn reluctantly.

“White crane spreads its wings…waves the pipa…right whip kick, left straight kick…”

"Wrong, wrong, I said right whip kick and left straight kick, not left whip kick and right straight kick..."

Xiao Fang was teaching seriously here, and outside the tent, Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, Zhang Xiu and other generals had arrived outside the tent door.

Seeing this scene, Liu Bei and his companions were all stunned.

"Brother, what is the military advisor doing when he slowly raises his arms and kicks his legs?"

Zhang Fei widened his eyes and asked in confusion.

Liu Bei also looked confused and shook his head:

"Jinglue's words and actions have always been unreasonable. I can't figure out what Jinglue is doing."

Xu Chu, who followed in, coughed dryly to remind Liu Bei that they had arrived.

When Xiao Fang looked back, he found that Liu Bei had arrived without him noticing.

"My Lord, why are you here in my tent?"

Xiao Fang immediately stopped boxing and walked forward with a smile.

"Military Advisor, what you just did is..."

Curiosity remained in Liu Bei's eyes, and he imitated Xiao Fang and performed the White Crane Spreads Wings move.

Xiao Fang smiled, and as Liu Bei filled up his cup of tea, he said:
"This boxing style is called Tai Chi. It was created by Fang in his spare time. It is just for health and fitness."

Tai Chi?
Liu Bei turned around and looked at Zhang Fei, Zhang Xiu and other generals, thinking, you are all highly skilled in martial arts, you should know what Tai Chi is, right?

Everyone shook their heads, their eyes blank.

"The Lord has come here in person. Could it be that there is some urgent military situation in the south?"

Xiao Fang handed the bowl of soup to Liu Bei, diverting his attention back in time.

Liu Bei then remembered his important business and without even having time to drink his tea, he handed the written military report in his hand to Xiao Fang.

"My scouts reported that Liu Biao divided his 40,000-strong army into two armies, the front and the rear."

"Liu Biao personally led the vanguard and marched straight to Rangyang, while Cai Mao led the rear army, which was more than 30 miles away, and then marched north."

"It is estimated that within two days at most, Liu Biao's vanguard will reach the city of Rang County."

Xiao Fang took the military report and read it over again and again, then asked Zhuge Liang to bring the map and compare it carefully.

After thinking for a long time, he asked, "How do you plan to deal with this, my lord?"

Liu Bei pointed to the map and said:

"Yuyang is closer to Rang County. Bei originally planned to lead his troops to march day and night to reach Rang County first."

"If we combine this with Wen Chang's troops, we will have more than 18,000 soldiers and horses, and we can wait for the enemy to tire themselves out and rely on Rang County to block Liu Biao's advance."

"When Liu Biao loses his morale after a long period of attack, we will launch a counterattack."

I have to say that Lao Liu is indeed experienced in employing troops, and this set of response strategies is very appropriate.

But the target of this battle was not Zhang Ji.

Zhang Ji did not have any capable advisers around him, but Liu Biao had Kuai Yue, who was known as the best adviser in Jingxiang.

"According to Kuai Yue's wisdom, the Lord's response strategy must be within his expectations."

"If you really use your troops in this way, you will fall into his plan of making a feint to the east and attacking in the west!"

Xiao Fang raised his hand and pointed to Wancheng on the map:
"Liu Ming claimed that he wanted to retake Rang County, but in fact he wanted to take Wancheng directly and accomplish his goal in one fell swoop!"

Liu Bei's body stiffened and his expression suddenly changed.

(End of this chapter)