Chapter 78: Even if I give you ten times the courage, would you dare to hit me? Before we deal with Liu Biao, we must first hurt Cao Cao!
"My dear husband, Deshi is my biological brother, and also your brother-in-law."

"Can you bear to watch him die just for your own face?"

"My dear husband, even if I beg you, please agree to Liu Bei's conditions~~"

Mrs. Cai fell down before Liu Biao and begged with tears.

Liu Biao was furious and became even more annoyed. He waved his hand decisively:

"Your brother is incompetent and was captured by the big-eared thief. He deserves this fate. It is his own fault."

"As the lord of Jingzhou, a relative of the Han dynasty, and a famous scholar of the time, how can I allow myself to be humiliated by Liu Bei, a weaver and shoe seller?"

"Don't cry anymore, I will never agree to it!"

Seeing Liu Biao being so determined, the tears on Mrs. Cai's face gradually disappeared.

She stopped crying and slowly stood up, wiping the tears from her face, her expression turning gloomy.

"My dear husband, don't forget who helped you take the position of Lord of Jingzhou!"

"Deshi is not only your brother-in-law, but also the legitimate son of my Cai family!"

"If you are really so hard-hearted that you refuse to save Deshi, I will write a letter to Degui and ask him to come back and persuade you to change your mind!"

Liu Biao's face suddenly changed, and he looked at Mrs. Cai in surprise, whose attitude had changed drastically.

He obviously did not expect that his stepwife would dare to break the window paper and openly threaten him with the support of the Cai family.

We also need to recall Cai Mao to put pressure on him!
Liu Biao was instantly enraged. He suddenly jumped up angrily, raised his hand and wanted to slap Madam Cai.

Mrs. Cai was not afraid at all. She held her head high and faced Liu Biao fearlessly.

That disdainful look seemed to say:

If you have the courage, come and fight!
Liu Biao's hand was suspended in mid-air, and did not fall down for a long time.

After hesitating for a long time, struggling for a long time, and gritting teeth for a long time.

Liu Biao sighed, put his hand down weakly, and turned away.

In the end, he didn't dare to give the slap.

Although Mrs. Cai's words were heartbreaking, they were the truth.

The Cai and Kuai families are closely related. Losing the support of the Cai family is equivalent to losing the support of the Kuai family.

Without the support of these two families, can I still hold on to the position of governor?

What’s more, the Cai family consists of not only the three brothers Cai Mao, but also many other children, who control the key points of the state and county from top to bottom.

If he really wanted to break off relations with the Cai family, it would not just be a question of whether he could keep his position as governor.

With the power of the Cai family, it is unknown whether one can save his life.

Is face more important, or is substance more important? With Liu Biao's political savvy, how could he not weigh the importance of this?

When Mrs. Cai saw that Liu Biao didn't dare to slap her, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, with a hint of pride on her lips.

Liu Biao's turning around and sighing also represented that he, as a husband, had given in and admitted defeat.

Mrs. Cai rolled her eyes a few times, then her face was filled with tears, and she knelt down in front of Liu Biao again.

"My dear husband, I have already lost a brother, and I cannot lose another one."

"I beg my husband to save Deshi for the sake of our relationship~~"

Mrs. Cai knelt on the ground and begged miserably.

She also took control of Liu Biao, first using force to subdue him, and then using soft tactics to give him a way out.

After all, he is my husband and we will be sleeping together in the future, so I should give him enough respect...

"Madam, please get up quickly."

Liu Biao also took advantage of the situation and hurriedly helped Madam Cai up, saying to her in a gentle voice:

"It was my husband's lack of consideration. I didn't take into account the blood relationship between you and Deshi."

"Forget it. For my wife's sake, I don't mind being laughed at by the world."

"I will agree to Liu Bei's terms and get De Shi back in return."

Mrs. Cai was overjoyed and immediately stopped crying and laughed, and thanked Liu Biao again and again.

The couple reconciled in no time and lived in love and harmony, as if the tense situation just now had never happened.

"Zi Ying was incompetent. Not only did he lose his life, but he also caused me to be defeated for Liu Bei and disrupted my plan to support him in sharing the military power of the Cai family."

"Pan'er is indeed brave, but unfortunately he has to stay in Changsha, where he has to monitor the four counties in southern Jing and defend against the Sun family in the east, so he can't get away."

"It seems that I have to find another way to check the power of the Cai and Kuai families."

"Otherwise, wouldn't I, Liu Biao, really become a puppet of those two families..."

Looking at Mrs. Cai's grateful face, Liu Biao's mind was racing and he was secretly planning something.

…Yuyang, the palace.

"Jinglue really knows people's hearts and knows Liu Jingsheng's every move like a clock."

"Gongyou wrote to me and he agreed!"

Liu Bei was amazed and smiled as he asked Chen Dao to read Sun Qian's letter aloud in public.

In the letter, Sun Qian claimed that Liu Biao had agreed to exchange Wen Pin's wife and children for Cai Zhong.

At this time, Sun Qian had accompanied Wen Pin's wife and children north to Xinye, and asked Liu Bei to send someone to escort Cai Zhong south. The two sides exchanged hostages outside Xinye City.

Xiao Fang was not surprised, but just smiled faintly:
"It's not that I can see through people's hearts. In fact, as long as I can see clearly who has the final say in Jingzhou, it will not be difficult to grasp Liu Biao's every move."

Liu Bei agreed with this and immediately ordered Wei Yan to personally escort Cai Zhong to Xinye in exchange for Wen Pin's wife and children.

Afterwards, he ordered Sun Qian not to return to Yuyang, but to directly escort Wen Pin's wife and children, as well as other family members of Wen Pin in Rang County, to Bainiu Town to reunite with Wen Pin.

As soon as the order came out, Wei Yan reminded:

"My lord, don't you want to use the gift of a wife and children to win him over?"

"If we send them to Bainiuyi, then Wen Pin will no longer be constrained. If he doesn't appreciate it and refuses to surrender to the lord, then won't we have worked in vain?"

Everyone around nodded in agreement.

Some people suggested that Wen Pin's family should be brought to Yuyang and treated with courtesy, and then asked to write a letter to Bainiu County to persuade Wen Pin to surrender.

Liu Bei waved his hand to reject Wei Yan and others' proposal, and said sternly:
"I, Liu Bei, have always treated people with sincerity. Since I sincerely want to recruit Wen Zhongye, I should treat him with sincerity."

"If what you said is true, then I am using Zhongye's family as a threat to force him to surrender?"

"In this case, even if he was forced to surrender, it would not be sincere."

Wei Yan's expression became less anxious, but he continued:

"My Lord, you treat others with sincerity, and we really admire you, but what if Wen Pin doesn't know what's good for him and refuses to surrender?"

Liu Bei smiled carefreely:
"I just want to have a clear conscience. If Wen Zhongye is unwilling to surrender, I won't force him to come."

"If he doesn't surrender, we can find another way to capture Xinye."

Wei Yan's heart was shocked and he fell silent, with a look of respect in his eyes.

Xiao Fangze nodded slightly, and secretly admired Lao Liu's magnanimity.

People come together for profit and disperse when the profit is gone; only when they make friends based on righteousness can the friendship grow stronger over time.

Lao Liu, this is the most advanced way to control people...

Xiao Fang tacitly agreed with Lao Liu's decision and asked:

"My lord, where are General Yide's troops now?"

Liu Bei withdrew his thoughts from the attempt to persuade Wen Pin to surrender, and hurriedly took out the latest military report and showed it to Xiao Fang.

This is the military report Zhang Fei just sent from eight hundred miles away, claiming that he had led his troops secretly into Ye County at night two days ago.

Together with Liu Pi's 3,000 soldiers, a total of 8,000 soldiers are now ready for battle in Ye County.

"If my guess is correct, Cao Cao will most likely order Cao Ren to lead a special force to travel lightly and take a small road to attack Ye County."

"Cao's army is good at winning by surprise, so they certainly don't have time to investigate our army's strengths and weaknesses, so they naturally don't know that the troops in the city have doubled."

"When the time comes, let General Yide kill Cao Ren by surprise and crush Cao Cao's ambition to invade Nanyang!"

Xiao Fang's gaze fell on Ye County, and a chill flashed across his eyes.

When he heard the name Cao Ren, Liu Bei's eyes moved slightly, and a hint of fear flashed across his eyes.

"It is true that Yide is brave, but Cao Ren is the best general of the Cao family and his ability to command troops is extraordinary."

"From what the military advisor said, it seems that he wants Yide to confront him head-on. Isn't that a bit unsafe?"

When Liu Bei was in Xuzhou, he had fought with Cao Ren and knew what kind of person this was.

The implication of this is naturally that they are inclined to defend Ye County and not engage in a fight with Cao's army.

"In this battle, we cannot just defend blindly. We must inflict pain on Cao Cao, so that he knows that the lord is no longer the same as before and will not dare to attack Nanyang again."

"Only in this way can we free up enough troops to march south to seize Xinye and Xiangyang!"

Xiao Fang's tone was resolute, but he changed the subject, and there was a hint of cunning in his eyes:

"But my lord, there is no need to worry. General Yide gave him a secret plan before he left."

"As long as Cao Cao doesn't come in person, this plan should be a surefire way to deal with Cao Ren."

Secret plan?

Liu Bei's spirits lifted, and the worry in his eyes disappeared in an instant.

　It is expected to be on the shelves next week, and then there will be a burst of updates. I am really frustrated to squeeze two chapters a day, but there is nothing I can do since it has to be like this during the public period. I beg for your support again.

　
(End of this chapter)