Chapter 75 Is Jingzhou about to change? Only if we take down this city will heroes from all over the world come to us!

"Xiao Fang? Xiao Jinglue?"

Pang Degong's wine glass was hanging on the edge of his mouth, and his eyes turned a few times:
"I seem to have heard several friends in the prefecture mention this person. They said that this person is from Yiyang, Jingzhou. His family background is ordinary and he has never had a good reputation."

"But he became Liu Xuande's military advisor. I heard that Liu Xuande's success in winning battles since entering Jingzhou was closely related to his behind-the-scenes advice."

After all, Pang Degong had never been an official, so the information he could get was limited.

"I have indeed heard that Xiao Jinglue is Zhuge Xuan's nephew-in-law. Although his family background is humble and his reputation is not well-known, he is extremely intelligent."

"There are indeed rumors that Liu Xuande's defeat of Zhang Ji and the ambush of Zhang Yun in Rang County were all the work of this person."

Huang Chengyan stroked his thin beard and told what he knew.

"Zhuge Xuan's nephew-in-law? This is the first time I've heard of it."

A hint of surprise flashed across Pang Degong's eyes, and he nodded slightly and said:
"Although the Zhuge family has fallen into decline, it is still a scholar family after all. Now that they have come to Jingzhou for refuge, they should marry into a noble family in Jingxiang so that they can gain a foothold in Jingzhou and expand their branches."

"I didn't expect that he would marry his niece to a poor scholar of unknown reputation. It was quite unexpected."

"Now it seems that he has a keen eye and can see that Xiao Fang is not an ordinary person?"

For a moment, these two famous scholars in Jingxiang began to speculate and discuss Xiao Fang.

Sima Hui poured another spoonful of wine for the two of them and asked again:

"Liu Jingsheng suffered a defeat in the battle of Rang County. I think he will gather a large army and march north to Yuyang to fight Liu Xuande to the death."

"What do you two think of this battle?"

The topic shifted from Xiao Fang to the ongoing war in the north.

Pang Degong took a sip of wine and said slowly:

"Although Liu Jingsheng cannot be called a man of great talent and strategy, he has the entire Jingzhou as his backing, and his troops, horses, money and food are far superior to Liu Xuande's."

"Liu Xuande only occupied half of Nanyang County, and it was not long since he took over. He had no time to expand his troops."

"I'm afraid this battle will be disastrous for him."

Huang Chengyan also nodded slightly and sighed:
"Liu Xuande is indeed a benevolent ruler, and his courage in employing people is indeed commendable."

"But when these two countries go to war, what they are really competing for is who has a stronger foundation. As Brother Degong said, Liu Xuande's foundation is far inferior to Liu Jingsheng's. This battle can indeed be said to be more dangerous than good."

The two men admired Liu Bei very much, but as for the outcome of the battle of Yuyang, they clearly tended to think that Liu Biao had a better chance of winning.

"Liu Jingsheng's background is indeed deeper than Liu Xuande's, but as you two brothers just mentioned, Liu Xuande has the assistance of a rare and extraordinary person like Xiao Jinglue."

"If the rumors are true, this man's wisdom may be able to make up for the gap in strength and allow Liu Xuande to defeat the strong once again."

Sima Hui, who had been listening quietly for a long time, finally expressed his opinion, but his views were different from those of the other two.

Pang Degong and Huang Chengyan looked at each other.

Then, Pang Degong smiled faintly:
"What Decao said may not be impossible."

"However, since ancient times, those who can change the world with their own wisdom are rare."

"If Xiao Jinglue really has this ability, he can be said to be the reincarnation of Zhang Liang."

The words trailed off.

A young scholar walked into the bamboo pavilion in a hurry.

"Yuanzhi is here, come and sit down."

Sima Hui recognized the young scholar as his disciple Xu Shu, and waved to him.

Xu Shu knelt forward, and before he could even take a breath, he bowed:

"Sir, two uncles, a friend of mine just came from Xinye and brought back a shocking news."

"Liu Xuande defeated the Jingzhou army in Yuyang, killed Zhang Yun, and captured Cai Zhong alive."

"Liu Jingsheng suffered such a great defeat that he was so angry that he vomited blood. He has now returned to Xiangyang to recuperate, leaving Cai Mao to guard Xinye."

"Hearing that Liu Xuande was leading a large army to attack Xinye, many Xinye people were shocked and panicked, and they moved south with their families to seek refuge."

This statement came out.

The three celebrities were all shocked, and looks of surprise suddenly appeared on their faces.

"So Liu Xuande actually won this battle?"

"Liu Jingsheng suffered such a disastrous defeat that even his nephew and brother-in-law were killed?"

"Brother Chengyan, this..."

Pang Degong looked at Huang Chengyan in disbelief. He didn't care at all that the wine in his hand spilled out of the wine glass and soaked his robe.

Huang Chengyan's face was also full of surprise and confusion. It was obvious that the information Xu Shu brought back was far beyond their expectations.

This outcome is completely different from what they both judged!

Even Sima Hui, who had some confidence in Liu Bei, was surprised at this moment.

He had confidence in Liu Bei, thinking that Liu Bei, with Xiao Fang's assistance, would not necessarily be defeated by Liu Biao. However, his confidence only lasted until Liu Bei could hold Yuyang, and the two sides reached a stalemate.

Unexpectedly, Liu Bei turned the defense into offense and defeated Liu Biao so badly that he had to flee!
This was totally beyond his expectations.

"Yuanzhi, the two armies have such a huge disparity in strength, so why did Liu Jingsheng suffer such a terrible defeat?"

Sima Hui was the first to calm down and asked with curiosity in his eyes.

"Reporting to you, sir, according to my friend, Liu Biao fell into Liu Bei's trap of luring the tiger away from the mountain..."

Xu Shu then told everything he had heard.

"How could they use Zhang Yun to deceive Kuai Yue, lure Liu Biao to Xiyangju to set up an ambush, and then take advantage of the situation to break through the Jingzhou army camp?"

"This plan is flawless and interconnected. It is indeed an ingenious and brilliant plan!"

Sima Hui was amazed, then suddenly thought of something and asked:
"Yuanzhi, do you know who came up with this plan? Was it Liu Xuande's military advisor Xiao Fang?"

Xu Shu was slightly startled, and after thinking for a while, he said hurriedly:

"Hearing your question, sir, I remember that my friend did mention that Liu Biao fell into Xiao Fang's trap."

"But these are just rumors. There is no solid evidence, so I dare not conclude."

Sima Hui turned around and looked at Pang Degong and Huang Chengyan.

If there is only one rumor, it may just be a rumor.

With so many rumors all pointing to the same person, it is hard to say that they are groundless.

"It seems that these amazing works are most likely created by Xiao Jinglue."

"Decao, it seems we have to take back what we just said. This Xiao Jinglue has really made up for the gap in strength between Liu Xuande with his wisdom and strategy. He is really like Zhang Liang reincarnated!"

Pang Degong was amazed and his attitude changed drastically.

Huang Chengyan stroked his thin beard, with a look of shame on his face:

"I never thought that there was such a piece of unpolished jade hidden right under our noses, and we didn't even notice it. How shameful it is!"

After blaming himself, he changed the subject and said meaningfully:
"From this point of view, with Xiao Fang's assistance, Liu Xuande may be able to cross the Han River and seize Liu Jingsheng's foundation in the future."

"Brother Degong, our families have been suppressed by Cai Kuai for so many years. Now there seems to be a sign of change in Jingzhou. Shouldn't we also take action?"

Pang Degong's eyes were shocked.

Although Huang Chengyan did not reveal the truth, he implied that he would understand.

Originally, Cai, Kuai, Pang, and Huang were the four surnames in Jingzhou.

Relying on their contribution in supporting Liu Biao, the Cai and Kuai families seized control of the military and political power in Jingzhou, and thus squeezed the Pang and Huang families out of the decision-making level in Jingzhou.

Among the Huang family, there is at least Huang Zu, who serves as the prefect of Jiangxia and controls the strongest navy in Jingzhou, so the Huang family still has some say in Jingzhou.

The Pang family was much lonelier, and there were only a few of them who held high positions in the prefectures and counties.

What Huang Chengyan meant was, of course, that he wanted to join forces with the Pang family and turn to support Liu Bei in order to reverse the situation where the Cai and Kuai families dominated Jingzhou.

After pondering for a long time, Pang Degong said:
"After all, the foundation of Jingzhou is still between the Yangtze River and the Han River, and in Xiangyang."

"Although Liu Jingsheng suffered a great defeat, his foundation has not been shaken. To the north, there is still the important town of Xinye, which serves as a barrier for Xiangyang."

"As Brother Cheng Yan said, I think we should wait until Liu Bei takes Xinye, drinks from the Han River, and marches to Xiangyang. It won't be too late to make plans after Liu Jingsheng is shaken."

Huang Chengyan thought for a long time, then nodded and said:
"Brother Degong, what you said makes sense. Let's wait and see whether Liu Xuande can take Xinye."

The three celebrities all turned their gazes to the north.

...

North of Xinye City.

Liu's army's infantry and cavalry came in a steady stream, approached the city, and began to force their way to the city.

"Military Advisor, according to common sense, we have won battle after battle, and now we have turned from defense to offense and are approaching Xinye."

"How come it has come to this, but there are still not many heroes from Jingzhou coming to join Bei?"

Inside the central army tent, Old Liu, who was originally full of high spirits, now had a look of distress on his face.

He originally thought that after winning several battles, he had demonstrated enough of his heroic spirit to the heroes of Jingzhou, and heroes from all over the world should come to him.

In particular, Xiao Fang once said that there were countless famous scholars and heroes in Jingzhou who were dissatisfied with Liu Biao's favoritism towards the Cai and Kuai clans, and these people had long been looking for a wise leader.

But up to now, these people have not come in droves.

Xiao Fang smiled, raised his hand and pointed to the towering city outside the tent, and said meaningfully:
"My lord, don't worry. Only if we take down Xinye, will these heroes of Jingxiang come back to us!"

Liu Bei arrived at the tent door, looked at the towering Xinye City, and vaguely understood the meaning behind Xiao Fang's words.

"Military Advisor, I don't quite understand. Why do we have to capture Xinye City before the heroes of Jingzhou will come and surrender?"

Zhang Fei scratched the back of his head, his eyes full of confusion.

(End of this chapter)