My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 150 The dispute among the Huangs, the angel Ni Heng will mediate

Since Liu Bei had agreed on the general policy with Zhuge Jin and did not seek to kill Yuan Shu himself in Huainan, the subsequent offensive and war strategies would naturally have to be adjusted, and there was no need to appear too anxious.

Hefei City cannot be attacked within half a month. We have to wait for the heavy siege equipment to be delivered from the rear. The moat must also be slowly destroyed in advance to fill the gap.

During the final general offensive, we must strive to make the Battle of Hefei a landmark event, so that Yuan Shu, who was over a hundred miles away, could fully realize the reality through it, and achieve an effect similar to the later Battle of Pingjin, which destroyed Tianjin and frightened the enemy.

As a result, in the last few days of early June, and even in the middle of June, the pace of the Huainan battlefield, which had been progressing rapidly, suddenly slowed down.

This time difference was just enough for Zhuge Liang on the northern front to finish his work of persuading farmers in the rear and rush to Zhao Yun's army.

Liu Bei and Zhuge Jin could also take advantage of opportunities to deal with other unrelated matters.

……

June 9th, two days after Zhuge Jin arrived in Shucheng.

As there was no progress in the attack on Hefei, Zhuge Jin remembered that Huang Zu of Jiangxia had previously stolen several counties under the jurisdiction of Yuan Shu, such as Qichun and Zhuxian, west of Xunyang.

Now that I have some free time, I will take some time to appeal to Liu Bei and discuss how to deal with it specifically.

Liu Bei had just heard about this and realized that this matter might involve Liu Biao, so he felt a little embarrassed to turn against him.

Liu Bei stroked his moustache and hesitated, "We are all here to fight against the rebellion. If Huang Zu's army only clashed with Yuan Shu and not with our army, it would be a bad idea to publicize this matter, right?

I am afraid that it will damage the reputation of our army and be accused by the world of expanding territory for personal gain. Besides, Brother Jingsheng is also a relative of the Han Dynasty, and I really don’t want to be suspected of fighting against my own family.”

Zhuge Jin had anticipated Liu Bei's first reaction.

The logic of the past two years is not one of princes fighting for hegemony, but one of everyone joining forces to fight rebellion. This is very suitable for accumulating a good reputation and is also very helpful for long-term appeal in the future.

Liu Bei has always valued his reputation and always insisted on justice in doing things.

Therefore, Zhuge Jin would not let Liu Bei compete directly with Liu Biao. His plan was divided into two parts.

He just continued, "My lord, I didn't advise you to make enemies with Liu Jingzhou, but I've heard that Huang Zu is a warlord who only obeys orders and not orders from Liu Jingzhou.

This time he only seized several counties in Yuzhou south of Huoshan from Yuan Shu. His appetite was not big. I don't think it was Liu Jingzhou's order, but more like Huang Zu's own greed and profit-seeking.

We should not tolerate this loss. Perhaps we should send an envoy to Xudu to file a complaint first, and then go from Xudu to Xiangyang to negotiate with Liu Jingzhou to confirm whether this was his original intention, and then discuss the follow-up countermeasures. "

Liu Bei thought for a moment and said, "Brother Jingsheng may not protect Huang Zu, but even if Huang Zu does what he wants, can we bypass Brother Jingsheng and attack Jiangxia directly in the future? This will eventually lead to hostility between the two sides.

Especially now that Sun Ce is still alive, it is only because Yuan Shu has not been destroyed and the princes have not resumed the melee that Sun Ce does not want to bear the bad reputation of helping Yuan, so he dare not attack us. If Sun Ce is still alive, it would be... unwise to make enemies with Brother Jingsheng. "

When Liu Bei said the word "unwise", he hesitated for a moment, but still said it.

Maybe he also felt that it was a bit awkward to mention "unwise" in front of Tzuyu.

Fortunately, Zhuge Jin didn't mind at all because he felt the same way.

"My Lord, your opinion actually coincides with mine - I also think that it is inappropriate to make enemies with Liu Jingzhou before dealing with Sun Ce for the sake of a small profit. However, how can we know if there is a way to punish Huang Zu alone without making enemies with Liu Jingzhou if we don't try?

I can guarantee that the strategy I have been thinking about these days may not necessarily give our army the opportunity to punish Huang Zu alone without offending Liu Jingzhou. But as long as the time is not right, we can just not take action, and there will be no loss. If we just issue a letter of condemnation, it will not cause Liu Jingzhou to take the initiative to provoke us. "

After hearing this, Liu Bei finally became curious. He really couldn't imagine how Liu Biao could allow them to deal with Huang Zu alone. How much disapproval would Huang Zu have to face?
Thinking of this, Liu Bei could not help but ask for advice eagerly: "Please tell me in detail, sir. When we go to Xudu to sue Huang Zu, and even when we negotiate with Brother Jingsheng later, how should we phrase it? Is there anyone in the world who can squeeze other princes to such an extent by relying on the power of words?"

Zhuge Jin then went on to tell the main story: "First, let's talk about what the envoys going to Xudu should complain to the court - in fact, I have been thinking of excuses all the way since I set out from Wancheng.

I think that if we simply appeal to the court, saying that Huang Zu seized several counties in Yuzhou that were originally under the rule of Yuan Shu, the court would probably find it difficult to uphold justice for us. At most, they would just say that Huang Zu took advantage of the enemy's weakness, but he was not guilty according to the law of the country.

Therefore, we have to change some of our rhetoric. After all, our army was the main force fighting against Liu Xun's troops in Lujiang, and we were fighting all the tough battles. We just say that some generals of Liu Xun's troops fought fiercely with our army in the battles of Wancheng and Wankou, causing heavy losses to our army, and after their defeat, they temporarily fled to Xunyang, Zhuxian, and Qichun for rest.

When Xingba led his troops to pursue the remaining enemies, they were afraid of being held accountable and surrendered to Huang Zu. Huang Zu also promised to protect some of the generals who should have been held accountable - just like when Xiang Yu was defeated and Xiang Yu's general Zhongli Mo was wanted by the court, he surrendered to Han Xin, and Han Xin should have escorted him to the court instead of keeping him privately. Huang Zu was greedy to recruit ordinary soldiers of Yuan's army, which might be forgivable according to national law, but he should not have kept those criminal generals in their original positions, but should have completely deprived them of their military power and handed them over to our army that was fighting against them for disposal. Otherwise, our army was clearly fighting bloody battles, but the enemy generals were protected by others while we were chasing them. How can this be justified in the world?"

This speech was indeed quite complicated. Liu Bei listened very carefully and even signaled Zhuge Jin to speak slowly. He pondered it several times before he felt a little more confident.

Even so, Liu Bei still couldn't help but ask:

"After the memorial is sent to the court, if the court sends an angel to mediate, and Huang Zu finally hands over all the surrendered generals he has taken in, then the matter will be settled, right? We can no longer use this excuse to attack Huang Zu in the future. This is the only way to end it."

Zhuge Jin answered this question without hesitation:
"If Huang Zu is really willing to hand over all the surrendered generals of Yuan's army who are considered guilty by our army, then our army will have no reason to pursue them relentlessly. But Huang Zu's prestige will inevitably fall to the bottom, and no one will dare to surrender to him in the future.

As far as I know, Huang Zu behaves like a local emperor. He relies on the strategic location of Jiangxia, which is a throat area and is difficult to break through easily. Moreover, he shot and killed Sun Jian in the past, and Yuan Shu could not do anything to him for many years. Therefore, when he carries out the court's mediation, he will most likely give some discounts, which leaves our army with the opportunity to bring up old scores in the future.

Moreover, Huang Zu is also addicted to alcohol and violence, and is prone to irrational behavior. I believe he will leave loopholes - the key is to file this petition, which does not cost our army much, and it would be a waste if we don't do it."

Liu Bei was finally completely convinced. Over the next two or three days, he followed Zhuge Jin's instructions completely, asked Sun Qian to write a memorial on his behalf, and then sent Sun Shao to Xudu to deliver the letter as usual.

Because Liu Bei's army had already attacked Yicheng from Zhao Yun's side, they could take a section of the Woshui waterway in Huaibei through Qiao.

The northern bank of the Woshui River in Qiaodi is now controlled by Lü Bu, while the southern bank is controlled by Yuan Shu. Lü Bu is now an ally of Yuan Shu, so it is safe for the envoys to go along the northern bank.

In this way, it would be much more convenient for Liu Bei to send people to Xu Du. He could just send a fast horse to Zhao Yun, and then walk for another half a month to reach Xu Du.

……

After Sun Shao was sent out by Liu Bei, he walked for half a month and arrived in Xu Du.

On the Hefei side, it is almost time for Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Taishi Ci and Gan Ning to launch a general attack on Hefei.

But let’s put aside the military strategy on the battlefield of Hefei for now, and first talk about how Sun Shao arrived in Xudu and immediately handed Liu Bei’s memorial to the Secretariat.

After a series of processes, it finally fell into Xun Yu's hands.

Xun Yu handled this kind of friction between the princes fairly. After careful consideration, he found that the matter was not serious. Huang Zu was just greedy for land. He took advantage of Liu Bei's army to annihilate the main force of Yuan's army in the local area and then took advantage of it to grab a few counties for free.

However, Xun Yu also had to consider Cao Cao's intentions and ask Cao Cao whether there was a need to alienate Liu Bei and Liu Biao, so after signing his own opinion, he sent it to Sikong Mansion to ask for an audience and instructions.

When Xun Yu saw Cao Cao, Cao Cao looked really unhappy. Xun Yu didn't want to talk about business directly, so he asked a few words of concern first.

Cao Cao also waved his hands in disgust and sighed, "After the case of Yang Wenxian and Kong Wenju was overturned by Lu Bu's "Purge the Court of Officials", Kong Wenju has become more and more rampant recently. He has repeatedly recommended his personal friends to me and asked me to use them. They are all crazy people in name only!
At the beginning of the year, Kong Wenju had recommended Ni Heng and Ni Zhengping several times, saying that they were highly talented and eloquent, and had been in Xudu for more than a year without an official position, so they could be entrusted with important tasks. I was overwhelmed by this, but I didn't want to be jealous of others' talents, so I endured it.

As a result, Ni Heng has only been in office for three months, but he still complains about his low position and lack of real responsibilities. He looks for every opportunity to provoke and ridicule his colleagues. Last month, I held a banquet and wanted to make him a drummer to kill his spirit, but he dared to act naked and act crazy! In the past two days, I heard that this villain secretly insulted and ridiculed many people! "

What Cao Cao felt was not a butterfly effect. In history, Ni Heng worked for more than a year in Xudu before he was promoted. He came in 196 and took office in 198. After taking office, he really struggled for several months.

Cao Cao really couldn't stand him, so he sent him to Liu Biao, nominally as an envoy to persuade Liu Biao to surrender to the court, but in fact he gave him an impossible task to frame Ni Heng.

But all this has not happened yet.

After listening to Cao Cao's complaints, Xun Yu comforted him with a few words, and then talked about how Liu Bei sent an envoy to condemn Liu Biao, saying that Huang Zu, the prefect of Jiangxia under Liu Biao's command, secretly sheltered the criminal generals of Yuan's army.

Cao Cao listened to the whole story. He was still angry with Ni Heng a while ago, so he slapped his thigh and said, "This kind of thing is just right for Ni Heng to do it! Wasn't Ni Heng refuted by Zhuge Jin in Xudu two years ago?
If Ni Heng goes to Zhuge Jin, he will definitely make things difficult for Liu Bei and Zhuge Jin. Then if he goes to Huang Zu, he might instigate both sides and make Liu Bei and Liu Biao plot against each other! After Yuan Shu is destroyed, Liu Bei will definitely be a threat to the court. It is not a good thing to let the two Lius get too harmonious. "

After hearing what Cao Cao said, Xun Yu had some opinions of his own in his heart, but after thinking about it, he felt that what Sikong said was not wrong. Liu Biao definitely had the intention of separatism, so there was nothing wrong in throwing a stone to test the water.

Xun Yu returned to the Secretariat and followed the procedures. A few days later, he first consulted Kong Rong and explained the situation. Then he asked Kong Rong to find Ni Heng and gave him a task in person.

"Doctor Ni, you have always said that the court would not give you real positions. This time, there happens to be an errand to make peace with the governor. It is a matter of great importance. If you can complete it, the court will certainly use you in other important positions. Go ahead. First go to Lujiang, then to Jiangxia, and mediate between the two governors of Jing and Yang."

(End of this chapter)