Chapter 97 Never give up! Let the people suffer, hold on! It's not shameful to give in if you can't win!

"Seek peace!"

Kuai Yue's voice was as soft as a mosquito's, and he seemed unwilling to speak.

Because he knew that once these two words were uttered, there would be a storm.

really.

Liu Biao's face suddenly turned pale, and the expectation on his face turned into rage in an instant.

"Yi Du, what did you say?"

"You want me to kowtow and beg for peace with that mat weaver and shoe seller?"

"That big-eared thief killed my nephew and my wife's brother, bringing shame to this old man!"

"You actually asked me to ask for peace with him?"

"Is this what you call a brilliant plan to turn the tide?"

"Kuai Yidu, you disappoint me so much!"

Liu Biao's self-esteem was deeply hurt. He completely disregarded the demeanor of a lord of a state and started to scold Kuai Yue.

"My lord is right!"

"My lord is the governor of Jingzhou appointed by the emperor. He is a famous relative of the Han Dynasty and a famous scholar admired by people all over the world."

"Who is Liu Bei? He is just a man pretending to be a relative of the Han Dynasty, a mat weaver and a shoe seller!"

"If you ask for peace with him, wouldn't you be laughed at by the world? How can you save your dignity?"

Cai Mao also jumped up and refuted angrily.

Kuai Yue seemed to have anticipated the reactions of his master and minister, so he remained silent and just let them vent.

Afterwards, Kuai Yue sighed softly and said bitterly:

"How could Yue not know that seeking peace with Liu Bei would damage the reputation of the lord?"

"However, given the current situation, Fancheng's food and grass can only sustain it for half a month at most, and we have no good plan to break the impasse."

"If you don't bear the humiliation and ask for peace with Liu Bei, Fancheng will surely fall."

"By then, 10,000 elite soldiers will be killed, and the eldest son will also die at the hands of Liu Bei. The last barrier on the north bank will be removed by Liu Bei."

"Then Liu Bei has seized my Fancheng navy warships. When the army crosses the river and approaches Xiangyang, how can you resist?"

"If Xiangyang is lost, the people of Jingzhou will surely collapse, and those noble families who are wavering and waiting will all turn to Liu Bei in an instant."

"By then, I'm afraid that Jingzhou..."

The more Kuai Yue spoke, the more frightened he became, and he could no longer continue.

Liu Biao shuddered several times, his rage was extinguished by Kuai Yue's words, and he gradually calmed down.

How could he not understand what Kuai Yue said? He just kept deceiving himself and didn't want to face it.

Now that Kuai Yue has broken the window paper, he has no choice but to face it again.

"Is there no other way to go besides this?"

"I am unwilling to ask Liu Bei for peace. I am unwilling to do so~~"

Liu Biao gritted his teeth, his face twisted with a complex expression of unwillingness and helplessness.

But his change in attitude means that he is inclined to face reality.

"My Lord, we still have a way to go!"

"Don't forget, we still have a navy available in Jiangling!"

"Please allow me to go to Jiangling and lead this navy northward. I will definitely be able to recapture the Hanbei Water Camp and open up the food route to Fancheng!"

Cai Mao held his head high, patted his chest and made a boast.

Liu Biao's heart was shocked, and a ray of light suddenly burst out in his gloomy eyes, as if he saw hope again.

"The Jiangling navy has not been trained for a long time and its combat effectiveness is weak."

"Besides, from Jiangling to here, we must first go east along the Yangtze River, then go to the Han River via the Xiashui River, and then go north along the Han River to Fancheng. I'm afraid that distant water cannot quench immediate thirst, and we simply won't be able to make it in time."

Kuai Yue poured another bucket of cold water on him.

"So what if I can't make it in time? This is our only chance after all. I will rush to Jiangling as fast as I can and lead the Jiangling navy to march north day and night as fast as I can!"

Cai Mao made a guarantee, and then looked at Kuai Yue with a sarcastic look:
"Besides, that big-eared thief is extremely ambitious and is determined to seize the lord's foundation."

"Now that he has surrounded Fancheng, the situation is very favorable. Even if the lord condescends to ask for peace, do you think he will agree?"

Kuai Yue was speechless.

Cai Mao's words were like a thunderbolt, shattering Liu Biao's last hesitation.

"Degui is right!"

"It is absolutely impossible for me to ask for peace. I would rather die than accept such humiliation from the big-eared thief!"

"Follow Degui's plan. You should quickly go to Jiangling and lead the Jiangling navy north to relieve the siege of Fancheng!"

Cai Mao felt relieved and immediately accepted the order and left.

Seeing that Liu Biao had made up his mind, Kuai Yue had no way to object.

After a light sigh, Kuai Yue said with a bitter face:

"My lord, if Fancheng runs out of food and Degui hasn't arrived yet, what will happen then?"

Liu Biao was silent.

After a while, he stood up and walked out of the hall, looking in the direction of Fancheng, with a sinister look burning between his brows.

"There are still thousands of civilians in Fancheng. I believe that Liu Qi will forcefully seize the civilians' food and fodder for military use if he is desperate."

"As long as he does this, he will be able to hold out for another ten days or so until Degui leads the Jiangling navy to arrive."

"For the sake of the lives of millions of people in Jingzhou, we can only let the people of Fancheng suffer..."

...

The tenth day is almost here, Fancheng.

"Jinglue, your brother-in-law is truly extremely talented."

"Yunchang wrote to me, saying that he had handled Wancheng's finances, grain, prisons and other political affairs in an orderly manner."

"He also properly settled those scholars from Jingzhou who came to seek refuge with him, and managed their relationships just right, saving Yunchang a lot of trouble."

"Military advisor, if you train and educate this kid Aliang for a few more years, he will surely become a talent who can assist the king." Inside the central army tent, Liu Bei held Guan Yu's letter and praised him.

It turned out that this time when Xiao Fang went south, he naturally wanted to bring Zhuge Liang with him to teach and train him at any time.

But before the expedition, Lao Liu mentioned that Guan Yu had no problem commanding and managing the army while guarding Wancheng, but he had some difficulty in governing the country.

Especially in dealing with relationships with scholars, Guan Yu was too rigid and lacked some tact.

Xiao Fang was not surprised.

No one is perfect, everyone has shortcomings, including himself.

Although Guan Erye is an extraordinary martial artist and a talented general, he has a personality that makes him "arrogant to officials but sympathetic to soldiers."

To put it simply, it means being sympathetic to the soldiers but not being good at comforting them.

So Xiao Fang suddenly had an idea, and he proposed to Lao Liu that Zhuge Liang should be temporarily kept in Wancheng to assist Guan Yu in handling government affairs and appease the officials in Jingzhou.

After all, his brother-in-law's name of "Sleeping Dragon" was not given for nothing. There is no need to elaborate on his ability to command troops, and his political ability is also among the top few pages in history books.

Since we want to train and cultivate Zhuge Liang, we naturally cannot just cultivate his military strategy and tactics, but ignore the cultivation of his ability to govern.

Otherwise, wouldn't it be like developing a one-sided attitude and wasting his political talent?

Besides, Miss Su will also come to Nanyang soon, and leaving Zhuge Liang in Wancheng also means for him to go and meet her.

"Aliang's talent is not limited to military strategy. I believe that it won't be long before he will give the lord more surprises."

There was something meaningful in Xiao Fang's words, but he didn't reveal the secret to Lao Liu.

Old Liu looked at Guan Yu's letter and listened to what Xiao Fang said, with a bit more anticipation in his eyes.

"My lord, just as the military advisor predicted, Huang Zu has indeed kept his troops on hold, making excuses for Liu Biao's orders, and has been slow to lead his troops north."

"However, according to the secret report sent from Xiangyang, Cai Mao has left Xiangyang and headed south. I guess he must be going to lead the Jiangling navy to the north to relieve the siege of Xiangfan."

"The Jiangling navy is relatively close, so they shouldn't have enough time to reach the Fancheng River Basin. But I think we should not let our guard down and should capture Fancheng as soon as possible."

After analyzing the situation, Wen Pin bowed and said:

"Now that Fancheng has run out of food and grass, the Jingzhou army in the city must be demoralized and have no intention of fighting to the death."

"I think that you should immediately launch a massive attack on the city and take advantage of the enemy's low morale to capture Fancheng as soon as possible!"

Literature recruitment war.

The fighting spirit of the generals was immediately ignited, and they all jumped up to ask for battle.

"Military Advisor, what do you think? Should we fight or not?"

Liu Bei looked at Xiao Fang.

"We can certainly conquer the city by force."

Xiao Fang nodded slightly, but asked back:
"But my lord, have you ever thought that we might be able to take Fancheng without a fight?"

Down without a fight?

After hearing these four words, Old Liu's eyes lit up and he said happily:

"It would be best if we could defeat them without fighting and avoid unnecessary casualties among our soldiers."

"Does the military advisor have another brilliant plan that will allow us to capture Fancheng without a fight?"

The generals immediately calmed down and all their eyes turned to Xiao Fang.

"Fancheng is running out of food and the army is about to collapse. Liu Qi should know that if he continues to resist, he will only sacrifice all the soldiers in the city in vain and there will be no hope of defending Fancheng."

"In that case, my lord, why don't you send an envoy into the city to persuade Liu Qi to open the city and surrender?"

Xiao Fang revealed the plan.

Persuade Liu Qi to surrender!

In fact, he didn't have much hostility towards Liu Qi.

Historically, compared to Liu Cong's surrender without a fight, Liu Qi chose to unite with Liu Bang to fight against Cao Cao.

At least Liu Qi had the courage and was willing to fight to protect the foundation left by his father.

It is not shameful to surrender when you cannot defeat someone.

Kneeling down without even being beaten is shameless.

Liu Qi is at least not a shameless person.

In addition, at that time, Lao Liu was being pursued by Cao Cao's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, and his situation was extremely unfavorable.

At the critical moment, Liu Qi also lent a helping hand and took Old Liu to Xiakou, preventing Old Liu from being killed by Cao Cao.

Just based on these two points, Xiao Fang deliberately treated Liu Qi differently.

Furthermore, taking Fancheng without a fight would reduce the losses of soldiers and the damage to Fancheng, which would kill two birds with one stone.

"It would be best if we could take Fancheng without a fight."

"But Liu Qi is Liu Jingsheng's eldest son. Is he really willing to surrender?"

There was a hint of doubt in Liu Bei's eyes.

"Whether they will surrender or not depends on what conditions we set."

"My lord, can you promise Liu Qi that as long as he surrenders the city, he will be allowed to take 3,000 soldiers and horses across the river back to Xiangyang, which can save his face a little bit."

"If you don't surrender, you will fight to the death. The end result is that Fancheng will be destroyed, you will die, your reputation will be destroyed, and your entire army will be annihilated!"

"If I surrender the city, I can not only save my life and the lives of my soldiers, but also bring back 3,000 soldiers for Liu Biao. I can also return to Xiangyang alive and continue to compete for the throne with his good brother Liu Cong."

"I believe that if the conditions offered by the Lord are so generous, Liu Qi will be able to weigh the pros and cons and make a wise choice."

Xiao Fang added slowly and explained the details of the plan to persuade Liu Qi to surrender.

The doubt in Liu Bei's eyes gradually dissipated.

To be honest, Liu Qi is a descendant of the Liu family after all, and in terms of seniority, he is still his nephew.

Moreover, he heard that Liu Qi had always been known for his generosity.

As for such a kind-hearted nephew, Old Liu would never want to kill him unless it was absolutely necessary.

Xiao Fang's plan just solved a problem that was in his mind.

"Okay, let's follow the military advisor's plan. I will send Deng Bo Miao into the city to persuade Liu Qi to surrender with the conditions the military advisor has given!"

(End of this chapter)