Chapter 76 They will help whoever wins! The military advisor has the best of both worlds by getting a powerful general and conquering Xinye!
"Although Liu Biao has suffered several defeats and has been forced to switch from offense to defense, he is still a wealthy family with a huge fortune. With Jingzhou, a land with a population of one million, as a backing, it won't take long for him to recover."

"The capital of Jingzhou is in Xiangyang, and Liu Biao's base is in Nanjun between the Yangtze and Han Rivers. No matter how turbulent Nanyang is, as long as the south of the Han River is calm, it will not be enough to shake Liu Biao's base."

"My lord, if you continue to win these few battles, at most the heroes of Jingzhou will look at you with new eyes and respect you, but it will not be enough to make them defect."

Changing the subject, Xiao Fang continued:
"It will be different if we take Xinye."

"This city is the only remaining important town of Liu Biao north of the Han River. If you take this city, all the counties north of the Han River will surrender. My cavalry will be able to drink water from the Han River in one day."

"This means that the lord is only one step away from taking Xiangyang!"

"This is what really shook Liu Biao's foundation and made the heroes of Jingzhou realize that Jingzhou's change of ownership is imminent."

"Only in this way can we force them to make a choice and turn to the arms of the lord!"

Xiao Fang spoke slowly and thoroughly explained the people's attitude in Jingzhou.

Liu Bei suddenly understood, and the distress and confusion in his eyes disappeared.

Zhang Fei rolled his eyes several times and slapped his leg fiercely:

"I understand. Military Advisor, you've said so much, isn't it just to say that they will help whoever wins?"

"I think these so-called heroes in Jingzhou are all fence-sitters, they will lean towards whichever side has the stronger wind."

Zhang Fei pursed his lips, looking somewhat disdainful.

Xiao Fang smiled, but said lightly:

"You can't say that. It's human nature to admire the strong, and you can't generalize."

"In this chaotic world, if you choose the wrong lord, you may lose your life and property. It is reasonable to choose a lord who seems stronger."

"After all, not everyone is like me, who dares to bet that the Lord is the Lord of Destiny who will pacify the world!"

After Xiao Fang boasted about himself, he took the opportunity to promote Lao Liu to the high position of the Lord of Destiny.

"What master of destiny? I dare not take the title."

Liu Bei shook his head in self-mockery, but nodded in approval:

"But what the military advisor said is indeed reasonable. In today's chaotic times, not only does the lord choose his ministers, but the ministers also choose their lords."

"So far, Liu Jingsheng still has a solid foundation and his strength is better than his preparation."

"If I can't shake Liu Jingsheng's foundation and let the heroes of Jingxiang see my hope of seizing Jingzhou, how can I expect them to entrust their lives to me!"

Old Liu's self-awareness and magnanimity made Xiao Fang nod slightly.

Zhang Fei was a man of few thoughts. After careful consideration, he finally figured it out.

He waved his hand and said disapprovingly:

"In that case, what are we waiting for? Brother, just give the order to attack the city."

"Let's flatten Xinye, let our horses drink from the Han River, and let the heroes of Jingzhou see clearly who is qualified to be the master of Jingzhou!"

Zhang Fei was extremely domineering, as if Xinye City was made of paper and he would kick it and create a hole in it.

The rest of the generals also clamored to attack Xinye by force, which was somewhat "arrogant and presumptuous".

This is not surprising. After several victories, Liu Biao's army was defeated and it was inevitable that his generals became proud and conceited.

"Yide, don't underestimate the enemy. Arrogant soldiers will be defeated!"

"Xinye is the second most important town in Nanyang after Wancheng. It has high and thick walls, abundant food and grass, and Cai Mao has 10,000 elite soldiers stationed in the city."

"Although our army's morale is high, it is not easy to capture Xinye by force."

Old Liu was much calmer and suppressed Zhang Fei's arrogance with just a few words.

Then he looked at Xiao Fang and said:

"Don't forget, Jinglue has reminded us that Cao Cao is still lurking in the north, waiting to take advantage of the situation and march south."

"If we attack Xinye forcefully, we will definitely pay a heavy price. We will lose many soldiers and generals, so how can we turn around and resist Cao Cao?"

Zhang Fei suddenly lost his temper, and his arrogance and contempt for the enemy were extinguished by Liu Bei.

All the generals also calmed down.

Seeing that Lao Liu was able to win without being arrogant and was so calm, Xiao Fang couldn't help but nod secretly.

"If we don't attack violently, how can we break into the city..."

Zhang Fei muttered to himself.

Xiao Fang returned to his tent and sat down. He poured himself a cup of tea and said something meaningful:
"As the saying goes, a strong fortress is often breached from within..."

Old Liu and everyone else were immediately cheered up and looked at Xiao Fang with surprise.

They were already familiar with Xiao Fang's tone, and he must be up to some brilliant plan.

"A strong fortress is often breached from within... I am so ignorant that I have never heard of this proverb."

"But I don't know what the deep meaning of this sentence is. Please explain it to me, military advisor."

Liu Bei sat down, looking eager to learn. Zhang Fei and the others also pricked up their ears.

"As far as I know, the Deng family is a big family in Xinye, and they have quite a bit of background in Xinye City."

"But looking at Jingzhou, the Deng family's status is not even in the mainstream. Not to mention the first-class noble families like Cai, Kuai, Pang, and Huang, even the second-class scholar families like Feng and Ma are far inferior."

"So naturally, Deng was not given important positions under Liu Biao's rule, and most of the positions he held were lower-level military and civil servants."

"The top noble families like Pang and Huang may still be waiting and watching. They will only defect and surrender when the lord takes Xinye and lets his horses drink from the Han River."

"The Deng family, a small family from Nanyang, has probably been eager to make a move, looking forward to a chance to turn things around day and night."

"My lord, why don't you give them this opportunity now?"

Hearing this, Liu Bei's eyes flashed and he suddenly realized.

Xiao Fang wanted him to recruit the Deng family of Xinye, use the Deng family as an insider, and attack Xinye with the joint efforts of both inside and outside!
"So this is what the military advisor said, a strong fortress is often breached from the inside."

"Xinye Deng's, Xinye Deng's..."

Excitement surged in Liu Bei's eyes, and he raised his head to look at Xiao Fang again.

Looking at Xiao Fang's calm look, it was obvious that this plan was not just a sudden inspiration, but was planned out long ago.

"Could it be that Jinglue had already thought of a plan to use the Deng family to conquer Xinye before I arrived there?"

Xiao Fang smiled and said calmly:
"I said it long ago when I was in Xuzhou that there were many powerful people in Jingzhou who were dissatisfied with Liu Biao."

"In this case, I must have an idea of ​​who in Jingzhou can be used by my lord. Otherwise, how dare I bring you to Jingzhou?"

Liu Bei suddenly realized and was once again impressed by Xiao Fang's foresight.

After expressing his feelings, the next step was to lock in the target and see which people in the Deng family could be used by Liu Bei.

"The most powerful one among the Deng Clan in Xinye may have just been born."

"Deng Zhi and Deng Bo Miao are among the most outstanding people in Xinye City. It should not be difficult for the lord to recruit them."

"But this person is still young, talented but powerless, so he may not be able to be of any use right now."

"Deng Zhi's cousin Deng Ji is Liu Biao's military commander and holds military power."

"If we can persuade this man to turn his army against us, we will be able to catch Cai Mao off guard and take Xinye without bloodshed!"

Xiao Fang was also considerate and thoughtful. He had already thought of the candidates to be recruited for Lao Liu in advance.

Liu Bei nodded slightly, then stroked his thin beard and said:
"Then next, we have to discuss how to recruit Deng Ji."

The words trailed off.

Xiao Fang said without hesitation:
"According to previous intelligence, Deng Ji once followed Wen Pin to guard Rang County, so he can be considered an old subordinate of Wen Pin."

"When Wen Pin retreated south, he did not retreat to Xinye, but led hundreds of troops to Bainiuyi in the east."

"Fang guessed that he must have been suspicious of Liu Biao, so he did not dare to go to see Liu Biao, but hid in Bainiu Town to seek self-protection."

"If you can persuade Wen Pin to surrender, you can use Wen Pin's influence to easily persuade Deng Ji to surrender and use him for your benefit."

Hearing what Xiao Fang said, Liu Bei was overjoyed.

Xiao Fang had mentioned before that Wen Pin was the best general in Jingbei and he intended to recruit Wen Pin for him.

If we can now persuade Wen Pin to surrender, we can not only gain a great general but also capture Xinye. Isn't this killing two birds with one stone?

"Brother-in-law, this plan really kills two birds with one stone."

"However, half of Wen Pin's family members are in Rang County, and Liu Biao is suspicious of them, so they should have chosen to surrender to the lord."

"Now he has retreated to Bainiuyi, neither surrendering to the lord nor daring to see Liu Biao."

"Liang guessed that it was probably because he still had a wife and children in Xiangyang, and he was worried that if he surrendered to his lord, Liu Biao would kill his wife and children."

"In this case, my lord, I'm afraid it will be difficult to persuade Wen Zhongye to surrender."

Zhuge Liang has gone through various trials in recent months, and his thinking has improved by leaps and bounds.

Hearing his concerns, the joy on Liu Bei's face gradually faded.

He certainly could not do such a thing as using Wen Pin's family members in Rang County to threaten and force Wen Pin to disregard the life and death of his wife and children in Xiangyang and be forced to join his army.

As a result, Wen Pin's family was in the hands of Liu Biao, which seemed to be a dead end that made it impossible to persuade Wen Pin to surrender.

"Military Advisor, it seems that the path of persuading Wen Pin to surrender is not feasible."

After thinking for a while, Liu Bei shook his head and sighed helplessly.

There was a strange look in Xiao Fang's eyes, but he smiled and said:

"Don't worry, my lord. I have a way to make Wen Pin willingly come to you."

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(End of this chapter)