Chapter 131 Change of Plan
Liu Bei, Chen Deng, and Mi Zhu looked at each other and remained silent.
But Man Chong seemed to have been silently encouraged and continued: "Your Majesty, since you are in this secret room, and all of you here are loyal ministers of your Majesty, I would like to ask your Majesty to tell you if you are unhappy with some of your words. "
Liu Bei nodded: "Bo Ning can express his views, and I will listen attentively."
"Your Majesty, in today's world, heroes are rising together. Counties and counties all do selfish things in the name of the Han Dynasty. My lord has said that those who have great ambitions in the world will only entrust you to my lord."
"The fourth and third princes of Yuan Benchu were in the north of the river, but they had no intention of helping the Han Dynasty. They wanted to do the opposite several times. They first led foreign troops into Shenjing, and then wanted to help Liu Bo'an become the emperor. Such actions can be called loyal ministers. ?”
Man Chong was outspoken, almost calling Yuan Shao a traitor by name, but what he said was reasonable and convincing.
Liu Bei sighed, he is not a fool. What Yuan Shao has done over the years is vivid in his mind. In the past anti-Dong alliance, Yuan Shao, as the leader of the alliance, did not even think about entering the army. He only wanted to conquer Jizhou. His selfish motives were obvious. Reveal. If foreign troops could be lured into Shenjing on the pretense of being outsmarted, then Yuan Shao during the anti-Dong alliance would no longer have a fig leaf to cover up his true nature of abusing the public for private purposes.
On the contrary, Cao Cao, who was dedicated to serving the public good, lobbied all the princes and failed to follow suit, and even sent troops alone to pursue Dong Zhuo.
Although he was ambushed by Xu Rong, was completely defeated, and almost died, this image of loyalty was firmly held in his hands.
"Right now, Yuan Benchu is occupying the north of the river, sweeping across the four prefectures of You and Hebei and Qing Dynasties. The only ones who are stubbornly resisting are Gongsun Zan and Kong Rong. The former is aggressive in military affairs and has been defeated in many battles. He has been besieged by Yuan Shao's general Ju Yi in Yi County and has been destroyed for nearly 10 years. In front of you. Although Kong Rong is a famous person in the country, he has no knowledge of military affairs and no knowledge of politics. He is lying in the grave with bones waiting for death."
Liu Bei, Chen Deng, and Mi Zhu exchanged glances and found that the other party felt that Man Bo was the enemy. Ning's words are reasonable.
Other than Liu Feng, who could have known that Yuan Shaodu and Gongsun Zan would continue to stage counterattacks in the next four years?
If Gongsun Zan had not killed Yuan Shao so many times, Yuan Shao would have unified Hebei in the second year of Xingping.
At that time, Cao Cao was still fighting fiercely with Lu Bu. How could he have the capital to oppose Yuan Shao's crossing of the Yellow River?
Once Yuan Shao crossed the Yellow River, Cao Cao, who was Yuan Shao's vassal, would be annexed immediately, and there would be no future Emperor Wu of Wei.
Although Cao Cao didn't know that Gongsun Zan could fight for him for four years, he still wanted to struggle again.
Anyway, he is now the weakest among the Yuan, Liu, and Cao camps. Unless Liu Bei plans to surrender directly to Yuan Shao, he should win over Cao Cao regardless of the cost and fight Yuan Shao together. What's more, Yuan Shu is still watching to the south of Liu Bei, and Liu Bei's basic position is not stable.
"Your Majesty, don't be a chariot and meritorious officer. I would like to ask you to put down your hatred and look around. Apart from my lord, is there any ally in Xuzhou?"
Man Chong stood up and shouted loudly. He said with emotion: "Only my Lord is a friend of Xuzhou. Our two states complement each other and are horns to each other. If we unite, we will coexist, if we divide, we will both perish. Please enlighten me!"
Liu Bei was horrified, recalling what Liu Feng had said when he talked to him before. Although Cao Cao was weak at the moment, he did take the initiative.
In particular, Xuzhou needs to buy time to regain Guangling, and it is even better to intervene in Yangzhou.
Only by truly and thoroughly capturing Yangzhou can Xuzhou be said to be invincible.
To win Yangzhou, you must face Yuan Shu.
Yuan Shu is Xuzhou’s real mortal enemy.
It is precisely for this reason that Liu Feng has been urging Liu Bei not to stab Cao Cao in the back.
Cao Cao can flee to Hebei and make a comeback. At worst, he will be willing to serve as a minister to Yuan Shao.
But what can you, Liu Bei, get?
If you want Yanzhou, you have to continue fighting Lu Bu and the local nobles in Yanzhou.
Most of the nobles in Yanzhou only support Lu Bu, and a small number support Cao Cao, but no one supports you Liu Bei.
Liu Ye did see that Cao Cao was not simple, and he also saw that Lu Bu could take advantage of him.
But Liu Ye was not aware of Lu Bu's capriciousness, changing orders day by day.
It is quite painful to be an ally with such a person, because it is very likely that after you have just reached an alliance with him, you will immediately regret it after being persuaded.
Therefore, it is a very suitable choice for Yanzhou to leave a Cao Cao who can support each other.
Liu Bei thought for a moment, raised his head and said, "I already know your envoy's intention, but I can wait until I think about it carefully before giving you a reply."
Man Chong breathed a sigh of relief. His mission this time was not to form an alliance, but to stabilize Liu Bei. But if Liu Bei is willing to form an alliance, it will be a surprise.
"In that case, Chong is waiting for your reply."
After Man Chong left, Liu Bei asked Mi Zhu and Chen Deng for their opinions.
Mi Zhu was still humble, and Chen Deng was the first to speak: "Although Man Boning's remarks are selfish, they have flaws. If Xuzhou wants to expand its territory, we can go north to Qingzhou, or south to Yangzhou, or You can go west to Yuzhou, but Yanzhou is a dead place and cannot be involved."
The three states in the Central Plains are Sili, Yanzhou and Yuzhou.
Sili was broken and Yuzhou fell apart. Only Yanzhou had strong soldiers and horses.
In the past, the Eighteen Route princes rebelled against Dong with great momentum. In fact, it was only the Eleventh Route. However, among these eleven routes, there were four and a half of the Yanzhou warlords alone.
Among them, Zhang Miao commanded Chenliu, Qiao Mao commanded Dongjun, Bao Xin commanded Jibei, and Liu Dai assassinated Yanzhou. These four groups were all local warlords in Yanzhou.
The other half way is Zhang Chao from Guangling, who is from Shouzhang in Dongping and the younger brother of Chenliu Zhang Miao. He directly left the alliance that Xuzhou Governor Tao Qian came to participate in, which can be regarded as Half a Yanzhou warlord.
It can be seen that Yanzhou’s power is strong and its martial arts is prosperous.
Cao Cao was almost overthrown by Yanzhou scholars, so why should Xuzhou go to Yanzhou in vain?
Compared with Yuzhou, Yanzhou is like a piece of chicken.
On the contrary, Yuzhou, Lu, and Pei are close to Xuzhou, and both local nobles in Yuzhou support Liu Bei, which can get twice the result with half the effort.
If a true alliance can be formed with Cao Cao, rather than a camp alliance coordinated by Yuan Shao, then Xuzhou can freely go south and sweep across the boundaries of Yangzhou and Yuzhou.
Yangzhou is in Xuzhou’s pocket and Cao Cao is not allowed to get involved, but it is impossible for Yuzhou to let Xuzhou take it all.
How the Cao and Liu families divide Yuzhou must have a bottom line for bargaining.
Lu Pei is bound to return to Xu. Man Chong had already confirmed this before. However, Yuzhou has six counties and ninety-nine counties. It is the most populous state in the world, with 1.14 million households. A total of 7.18 million people.
The remaining four counties must be divided carefully.
At this time, the attendant came to report that Liu Feng had arrived.
When Man Chong arrived just now, Liu Bei sent someone to call Liu Feng, but today Liu Feng left the city and took Zhou Tai and others to find a suitable navy camp site. He had just returned at this time city.
After getting the news, Liu Feng hurried back to the state capital and arrived at this time.
"What the meritorious officer said is true!"
Chen Yuanlong has actually been transferred to the post of Dongguan Prefect, military commander of Dongguan, Juxian and Langya counties. But he hasn't taken office yet, so Liu Feng still uses the title of meritorious officer to show his closeness.
"If Cao Mengde is willing to conclude an alliance with us honestly, it would be a good thing."
Liu Feng walked up to Liu Bei and respectfully gave Liu Bei, Mi Zhu, and Chen Deng and the others saluted, and then said: "Father, I suggest you prepare in advance for the trip south to Guangling."
When Liu Bei heard this, he was shocked: "Do you think Cao Cao will intervene?"
"I don't know."
Liu Feng shook his head: "Cao Yanzhou is deep in Lu Bu's quagmire. If you want to intervene, , there is definitely no spare power. And judging from Man Chong’s purpose here, he is actually more afraid of us stabbing him in the back.”
“In this case, father, if you were in Cao Yanzhou’s position, Do you want to find something for us so that we can share our hearts and stop staring at Yanzhou’s back?” This is Cao Yanzhou, and he will definitely attack with two prongs, sending envoys all the way to sue for peace and make an alliance, and all the way south to instigate Yuan Shu to raise troops to capture Guangling."
Mi Zhu also nodded in agreement: "In this way, our plan to go south to Guangling should indeed be advanced."
Liu Feng further said: "Father, we can send envoys to Ping'an and Gaoyou counties in advance to lobby the local magistrates. , if we can bring them to our side, it will be of great help to the southward movement."
Both Chen Deng and Mi Zhu agreed that this strategy is very good.
Seeing that his son and the think tanks had reached an agreement, he naturally followed suit and asked about the specific arrangements: "Who can do it?"
Liu Feng put forward this suggestion, so he was naturally prepared for it, and immediately put it in his heart The candidate was recommended: "It is safe to send Sun Qian and Sun Gongyou there. Gaoyou is very important. We need to ask Liu Ye and Liu Ziyang to come forward to be completely sure." "If you know how to make good use of people, you will have no worries about your successor."
Chen Deng was very impressed and appreciated Liu Feng's recommendation.
Mi Zhu also nodded repeatedly, with a smile on his honest face, showing his support.
Since Chen Deng and Mi Zhu both agreed, Liu Bei himself was quite satisfied with these two candidates, so he immediately decided to send someone to invite Liu Ye and Sun Qian.
“Father, our previous strategy for Guangling was to devour the whales. Looking at it now, I’m afraid we have to change it.”
Liu Feng really didn't expect that Cao Cao would be so concerned about Xuzhou, even though he was in deep trouble.
It can only be said that the widow Cao loves Xuzhou deeply.
In fact, if Cao Cao had stricter military discipline, the local support for Tao Qian in Xuzhou was actually not strong. Not to mention defections, at least surrender was very common.
The Xuzhou land occupied in this way will have the ability to tax and mobilize, and can provide Cao Cao with new soldiers and food supplies.
But Cao Cao just couldn't figure out this truth, or maybe he was overwhelmed by the huge food pressure of the Qingzhou Army, so he chose to burn, kill and loot, which completely offended the Xuzhou Group to death.
In the future, not only after occupying Xuzhou, they could only hand over Xuzhou to the jurisdiction of Han Emperor Xian and Zang Ba successively. At the same time, not only could they not use Xuzhou's talents, they would also have to find ways to kill them.
The most typical example is Chen Deng.
It was not until the Cao Pi era that the Qingzhou Army and the Taishan Army began to trade with Xuzhou scholars due to the division and disintegration, and the reconciliation between Cao Wei and Xuzhou was officially announced.
Liu Bei raised his head and glanced at Liu Feng, and asked in a calm tone: "How to change it?"
"What we discussed before was to swallow the whale, but if Yuan Shu is eager to interfere, it will definitely happen Causes us great trouble.”
Everyone present was familiar with the terrain of Guangling. They could lay it out clearly with only a few water glasses without a map.
"In this case, we might as well make two preparations and start the strategy of swallowing the whale first. If the whale fails to swallow it, then continue the strategy of cannibalization."
Liu Feng explained seriously: "Therefore, Gaoyou County is located in the center of the north and south, connecting Guangling County and Donghai and Xiapi County. It must be captured. "
The terrain of Guangling is very interesting, it belongs to the kind of rivers. , a fishing net-shaped terrain full of lakes.
It can be described as two lines and one net.
The two lines are one vertical and one horizontal.
The vertical line is a vertical line that takes Ling County, Ping'an County, Gaoyou County, and Guangling County, the county seat of Guangling County, as a vertical line, directly connecting the two counties of Xiapi and Donghai to the main artery of Guangling County.
The horizontal line is located around the river with five counties: Tangyi County, Yuguo County, Jiangdu County, Hailing County and Guangling County. It is the most elite area of Guangling County, occupying hundreds of Guangling County More than fifty percent of the population and land.
These two lines include eight of the twelve counties in Guangling and are located on a network with the most convenient transportation.
The remaining four counties, such as Haixi County, Sheyang County, Yandu County, and Dongyang County, are completely outside this transportation network.
For example, Haixi and Sheyang counties are closer to Donghai Kingdom, while Dongyang County is closer to Xiapi Kingdom.
As for Yandu, it hangs alone and is of no importance to the overall situation. It can be decided by propaganda in the future, and it is not worth spending troops.
"Father, we can send envoys to Dongyang, Haixi, and Sheyang counties at the same time, and strive to persuade these three counties to surrender, so that our army can station in advance and cover the flank of the main force going south. We can also send envoys at any time to "Reinforcement on the front line."
Liu Feng split the entire Guangling into four parts. The most important one is naturally the Jingtun Department with Guangling County as the core. This requires dispatching large armies, laborious expeditions, and crossing hundreds of troops. At a distance of several miles, we arrived at the foot of Guangling City.
Once Yuan Shu intervenes, it is likely to turn into an all-out war between Liu and Yuan.
Therefore, if there is a change, Gaoyou will be the backup to control Lingxian and Ping'an. As long as we firmly grasp this vertical line, Guangling will always be within reach, and the initiative will always be in Liu Bei's hands. Even if Yuan Shu takes Guangling City , and can only defend passively.
In addition, the three counties close to Xiapi and Donghai and the isolated Yandu can also be fought for independently.
This can weaken the opponent's strength and enhance your own strength, so why not do it.
More importantly, if Yuan Shu really intervenes in Guangling, and Guangling really turns to Yuan Shu, it will not affect Liu Bei's ability to implement the second plan and march into the two counties of Lu and Pei.
Especially Peiguo has a rich population, fertile land, iron ore industry and coal mines, and is also the iron-making center of Yuzhou. Its value is actually better than that of Guangling, and it is a must-have recommended by Liu Feng. Fight for land.
The four of them discussed it and made up their minds.
You can secretly reach an alliance with Cao Cao to divide Yuzhou.
Runan County, Lu State, and Pei State belong to Xuzhou, while Yingchuan, Chen State, and Liang State will be taken by Cao Cao in the future.
But this is just the bottom line. This time, at best, it will just be a reply to Xuzhou's attitude of favoring him.
If we really want to talk, Cao Cao will have to send more important people, such as Xun Yu, Cheng Yu and others, to continue the discussion.
Man Chong obviously does not have such qualifications yet.
Soon, Jian Yong, Sun Qian, Liu Ye and others were summoned one after another. One person took the task of two counties and set off separately.
"Zi Yang, in this mission, Gaoyou has the most important task and must be won. I can only entrust you with this important task. I hope you can succeed immediately and live up to the expectations of the Xuzhou elders."
Liu Bei took Liu Ye's hand and told him his expectations.
Liu Ye felt that his master relied heavily on him and that he had a great responsibility, and he felt infinite pride in his heart.
"Ming Gong is sitting in Tancheng. When Ye goes here, he will convince the magistrate of Gaoyou County to come to the city to join him."
Talents like Liu Ye tend to be under more pressure, more confident, and more arduous tasks. No one Dare to accept it?
Doesn’t this just prove that Liu Ziyang is extremely talented and far superior to his peers?
"Okay!"
Liu Bei cheered loudly and pressed Liu Ye's hand and refused to let go: "It's just that Ziyang also needs to take care of himself. Although Gaoyou is heavy, it is not as good as Ziyang's. If there is any disharmony, Ziyang should protect himself first, then worry about other things, and prepare to lead his army to Tancheng, which will be captured soon."
Liu Ye burst into tears with gratitude, bid farewell to Liu Bei with tears, and headed south to Gaoyou County accompanied by the escort of state officials.
Subsequently, Liu Bei sent Jian Yong and Sun Qian away with this.
Jian Yong is still the same, bohemian, and even pats Liu Bei on the shoulder and asks Liu Bei to prepare fine wine, and wait for him to come back after his victory, and they will drink together for three days.
Liu Bei will naturally not refuse, old brothers, there are many words that do not need to be said, just patted each other on the shoulder, both parties already understood.
Finally, Sun Qian, Zheng Xuan’s disciple, was very polite, and Liu Bei also treated him with courtesy.
Sun Qian bid farewell to Liu Bei solemnly and took a detour to Xiapi State, heading for Dongyang County.
After finishing all this, Liu Bei officially invited Man Chong back.
"Since the envoy has summoned the foreign ministers again, he must have made a decision."
Man Chong bowed respectfully to Liu Bei, and then solemnly said: "I hope the envoy can be solemn Think about it, so that the war between Yan and Xuzhou can be turned into friendship. "
Liu Bei nodded and replied: "If Meng De really wants to make peace, he will be prepared for everything. However, Meng De burned, killed and looted in Xuzhou, which greatly hurt the hearts of the people of Xuzhou. For trouble.”
Man Chong listened obediently, and naturally heard the looseness in Liu Bei's words, and hurriedly said: "The previous war in Xuzhou involved my lord, and it is difficult for foreign ministers to judge. It is just a matter of today, and it is all up to the princes in the hall. Whether it is a war or not He, doesn't it depend on which choice is beneficial to Xuzhou? What? You are a clan member of the Han Dynasty. Although you have an old relationship with Yuan Jizhou, can you really let go of everything now? Besides, Yuan Jizhou is generous on the outside and jealous on the inside. He is suspicious and adaptable. This is not the image of a human master. Yes."
When Man Chong talked about the princes in the hall, most of the people around him glared at him.
Keman Chong is not afraid at all.
Not to mention anything else, in terms of body shape, Man Chong was eight feet long. One foot in the Eastern Han Dynasty was close to 24 centimeters. Eight feet was at least over 1.9 meters. He was a proper giant.
With such a height, the intimidation effect alone is so strong, and the people present are all scribes, no wonder Man Chong dares to be so unscrupulous.
(End of this chapter)