My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 165 Liu Jingsheng is old and has few ambitions, so he is not worth worrying about!

After Cao Cao finalized the reward for Liu Bei, the reward for the rest of the civil and military officials in Liu Bei's camp became simple, and he didn't need to worry about it.

Xun Yu would naturally come up with reasonable suggestions and go through the court procedures, so Cao Cao was very relieved.

Within just a few days, two imperial edicts were issued from Xudu. One was sent directly to Xiangyang via Nanyang and was addressed to Liu Biao.

The other route naturally went through Runan, Jiujiang, and Lujiang and then to Wuhu, to Liu Bei.

The imperial edict to Liu Bei could definitely be delivered smoothly, as there would be no enemy-occupied areas to hinder traffic along the way.

In theory, the order to Liu Biao was a bit risky because the territory of Zhang Xiu in Wancheng was between Liu Biao's territory and the territory directly under the imperial court.

From the second year to the fourth year of Jian'an, Zhang Xiu was not only Liu Biao's military ally, but also received military rations supplied by Liu Biao and helped Liu Biao withstand the threat from the north.

It also played an important role, which was to help Liu Biao make certain imperial edicts that he did not want to receive disappear inexplicably along the way.

Anyway, Zhang Xiu had openly broken off relations with Cao Cao. He was the "remnant of Xiliang" and was not worried about having too many debts or too many lice.

This is similar to Zhang Luzhi and Liu Yan. Zhang Lu is also a rice thief who has given up and is not a Han minister.

Perhaps the powerful governors of the Liu clan in the south at that time all liked to secretly keep a rebel named Zhang to block their way, in order to make the emperor far away.

But this time, Cao Cao believed that Liu Biao would not act recklessly.

Because Huang Zu had just killed an angel, if another angel went to Wancheng and was killed again, it could not be explained as a "coincidence".

If a governor under the provincial governor killed an angel, the blame could be attributed to the governor's personal problem.

But if two different governors under the governor killed the angel at the same time, then it would be a leadership problem of the governor.

Cao Cao believed that Liu Biao knew the importance of the matter, and if he didn't, Cao Cao would be happy to see it happen.

Just ten days later, Cao Cao's envoy arrived in Xiangyang smoothly and read out the imperial edict.

In the originally chaotic Nanyang County, not a single bandit from Xiliang jumped out to kill people. It was probably because Liu Biao had given Zhang Xiu a heads-up in advance.

After Liu Biao received the imperial envoy, he treated him with courtesy while complaining that he had little real power and that few of the prefects in Jingzhou were willing to obey his orders. As a governor, he rarely managed military affairs.

Therefore, the matter of Huang Zu may need to be handled slowly, and the court angel should be asked to wait for a few days so that he can make long-term plans and raise troops.

Cao Cao's envoy did not dare to push Liu Biao too far, so he stayed at the Xiangyang Inn for the time being and enjoyed good food and drink.

After Liu Biao settled the envoy, he immediately summoned the three giants Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue and Cai Mao to discuss countermeasures, and also asked his eldest son Liu Qi to come and listen.

In the third year of Jian'an, Liu Biao had married his second wife, Cai, who was Cai Mao's sister. However, the Liu family had not yet had the problem of Liu Biao favoring and doting on his youngest son, Liu Cong. Liu Qi's position as heir was always stable, and Liu Biao often trained him to participate in government affairs.

Liu Cong was not born to Cai as stated in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In official history, Liu Cong and Liu Qi should have the same mother.

Later, the nursery rhyme in Jingzhou, which first shoots arrows and then draws the target, "It began to decline after seven or eight years, and in the thirteenth year there was nothing left. In the end, destiny has its destination, and the dragon in the mud flies to the sky", refers to the fact that after the eighth year of Jian'an, Liu Cong married Cai's niece, so he had an additional kinship relationship with his stepmother, and thus Cai began to favor Liu Cong.

Liu Biao's family began to decline from then on. In the 13th year of Jian'an, when Cao Cao went on an expedition to the south and Liu Biao died of illness, his power was completely eradicated, and no one remained.

Therefore, the power struggle between the old and the young in Jingzhou only occurred in the last five years of Liu Biao's life, and does not exist now.

……

"Huang Zu has caused such a disaster, what should we do? If we don't deal with him, I'm afraid that Liu Bei of Yangzhou will take this opportunity to cause trouble, and our Jingzhou will never be at peace. If we force a fight with Huang Zu, the casualties will be all our local soldiers. Even if we finally control Jiangxia, I'm afraid it will be a big loss."

When Liu Biao asked this question, he also had a sad face and his slightly gray hair and beard were shaking.

He is fifty-seven years old this year. Although he is still healthy and has the energy to take power, he is less sharp than when he first came to Jingzhou.

After all, time is unforgiving. When he first arrived in Jingzhou, he was only in his forties, barely considered middle-aged, but now he is a pure old man. With the medical level of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it is normal for a fifty-seven-year-old to have a decline in energy.

Liu Biao had just heard about Huang Zu's affair a few days ago and was really shocked at the time. He couldn't understand why Huang Zu would go to such lengths and cause such a terrible disaster. This was not at all in Liu Biao's plan.

After all, in this life, Ni Heng was not sent to Huang Zu specifically to humiliate Liu Biao, but was transferred from Liu Bei to Huang Zu.

Liu Biao had never seen Ni Heng from beginning to end, nor had he personally heard how foul Ni Heng's mouth was, so it was normal that he found it difficult to understand.

Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue and Cai Mao also cursed Huang Zu behind his back, but the problem had to be solved after that.

Cai Mao was a military commander, and he was the most impatient, so he was the first to suggest:
"Brother-in-law, why don't we fight? Although Jingzhou is in internal strife and the casualties are all our own soldiers, brother-in-law has the imperial edict in hand. After Huang Zu's troops know the right and wrong, they will definitely not dare to resist, and perhaps not many people will die. Maybe when they march to Xiakou City with great fanfare, Huang Zu's generals will tie him up and present him to brother-in-law!"

Liu Biao was quite speechless after hearing this. He knew that his brother-in-law was somewhat dependent on his military strength, but he was not a very good fighter. It was very possible for him to show off his strength and frighten the enemy. But if he could not be frightened, and they really had to fight a tough battle, what should he do?
Moreover, once the tone is raised and the fanfare is great, there will be no room for maneuver later on.

But Liu Biao, considering his wife's sake, could not bear to blame him, so he simply denied it lightly:

"Although this method is well-intentioned, it is too reckless. When the time comes, the arrow will be on the string and will have to be shot. If Huang Zu defends Shaxian and Xiakou to the death, I'm afraid it will not end well."

Kuai Liang, who was always fond of talking about great principles, interrupted and said, "Your Excellency, do not worry too much. Although Degui's words are a bit hasty, they can still be put to use if we consider the pros and cons a little bit."

Liu Biao turned his head and said, "Oh? I'd like to hear more about it."

Kuai Liang stroked his beard, looking like a master: "Before sending troops, you can first explain the reason to Huang Zu and tell him how serious the disaster is. Even if you don't take action against him, Liu Bei will.

If he is willing to resign his post and live in seclusion in Jiaozhou, and be cut off from news from then on, the envoy can allow him to live. At most, he can report to the court that he fled for fear of punishment and his whereabouts are unknown, or he has died of illness in a smoky and malaria-ridden place, which can also save his family's lives.

If Huang Zu abandons his post out of fear of punishment, you can take Jiangxia without bloodshed, or send Degui to guard it, or send the eldest son to guard it. If Huang Zu does not cherish this chance to survive, it will not be too late to use military force against him. "

Liu Biao listened very carefully, and was also led astray by Kuai Liang while listening. He could not help but stroke his beard along with him, and even the fast and slow rhythm was almost the same.

After careful consideration, he felt that although Kuai Liang's strategy was not a brilliant one, it was at least safe and did not increase the cost. If he wanted to mobilize troops, he would definitely have to persuade them first. However, the success rate of this strategy was not necessarily much higher than that of Cai Mao, but it was slower and had an additional option to pause at any time.

Liu Biao hesitated for a long time, then looked at Kuai Yue, who was relatively good at coming up with strange strategies, and gave him an encouraging look.

When Liu Biao first arrived in Jingzhou, he needed to deal with the clan bandits. He asked Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue for advice. Kuai Liang said the same old thing, saying that if he practiced benevolence and righteousness, people would be won over. Kuai Yue, however, was more daring and directly advised him to set up a Hongmen Banquet to lure the clan bandit leader to death and recruit his followers.

At that time, Liu Biao thought that Kuai Yue's method would work faster, so he only verbally praised Kuai Liang's prudent character, but actually adopted Kuai Yue's strategy in its entirety. From then on, whenever Liu Biao wanted to use a strange strategy or collect excessive benefits, he could not help but ask Kuai Yue to speak.

Kuai Yue knew he couldn't escape, and it was time for him to be the bad guy again, so he cleared his throat and said, "If you think the chance of success of this method is still too low, I do have another method, but using it may hurt some people's reputation..."

Liu Biao's eyes lit up slightly: "It's okay to talk about the other dimension!"

Kuai Yue saved face for his brother and said tactfully: "My method is actually derived from my brother's strategy. Compared with Degui's strategy, my brother's strategy has a disadvantage, that is, it lacks the suddenness. Once Huang Zu is determined to defend to the death and knows that the envoy is his enemy, it will be difficult to kill him.

Degui's method was not to use literary persuasion in advance, but to send troops to Jiangxia, and perhaps to secretly deploy a small number of elite troops. He would meet and discuss the matter in the name of it, but in fact he would suddenly take down the enemy during the meal, and then kill Huang Zu, take out the imperial edict, and announce to the generals of Jiangxia that this was the order of the envoy and they were executing the imperial edict. The generals would be leaderless and would naturally submit.

So I think that it is okay to persuade Huang Zu with words, but you must not threaten Huang Zu. You must show that the envoy is of the same mind as him and wants to help him. This will leave a chance for assassination at the Hongmen Banquet in the future."

Liu Biao thought about it and felt that this idea was difficult to implement, so he asked again: "But if there is no deterrence at all, then persuasion will be almost impossible to work, and it will be a waste of effort."

Kuai Yue then pulled himself together and made an in-depth analysis: "Your Excellency cannot show that you personally pose a threat to Huang Zu, but you can talk about Liu Bei's threat to Huang Zu. You can even mention some threats within Jingzhou..."

Liu Biao: “For example?”

Kuai Yue hesitated for a moment, tugged at his beard, and as if he had made up his mind, he stepped forward and whispered in Liu Biao's ear:

"For example, Zhang Xian of Changsha, who is adjacent to Jiangxia County! You should know that although Zhang Xian respects his lord, he actually has the final say in Changsha.

If the envoy privately told Zhang Xian that the court had an order to deal with Huang Zu and asked him to send troops, it would be a good opportunity to test whether Zhang Xian was really willing to do his best for his lord.

If Zhang Xian refuses to send troops, the envoy can send a letter to Huang Zu privately saying that Liu Bei and Zhang Xian are both willing to accept the imperial order and attack him together, leaving him to find his own way out.

In this way, Huang Zu would always feel that the envoy was on his side, and when he really had to take action, he would only be wary of Liu Bei and Zhang Xian, not the envoy. The envoy could save the surprise of a sneak attack or even an assassination until the last moment. "

After hearing this, Liu Biao couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

This Kuai Yidu! Why does he always persuade people to set up a Hongmen Banquet and carry out assassinations and axemen?
But I have to say...if it can succeed, Kuai Yue's method is always the lowest cost, which is really tempting.

Moreover, Liu Biao had already successfully used the Hongmen Banquet combined with the sword and axe to trick people. He had used this method to wipe out the Nanjun clan bandits that year.

People tend to develop path dependence on the routines that made them successful when they were young.

It is just like many big bosses who, before their business failed in their later years, would say to those who advised them with great satisfaction: "What do you know? That's what I did when I was young!"

"Okay, then this matter is settled. The plan of Yidu is indeed a brilliant one that draws on the strengths of the three parties.

We first reported to the court that Huang Zu was difficult to control and needed to be dealt with slowly, and asked the court to give us some time.

Internally, we should follow Yidu's advice and throw stones at Zhang Xian and Huang Zu to test their luck. Let them beware of each other, but not of us."

Liu Biao's idea was very good, and it seemed that there was hope of solving the Huang Zu problem without spending any cost.

……

In the following half month, everything in Jingzhou was carried out according to Kuai Yue's plan.

Liu Biao's envoy did not go to Huang Zu immediately, but first went to Zhang Xian to test whether the Changsha prefect was willing to send troops when necessary.

Liu Biao's envoy was also very smart to follow Kuai Yue's instructions. He did not tell Zhang Xian at the beginning that "there was an imperial edict", but said that this was Liu Biao's own intention, in order to take the initiative to save Jingzhou from disaster and clean up the house.

When Zhang Xian heard that it was Liu Biao's idea, he began to make excuses and procrastinate, saying that Changsha had little money and food, and its military strength was weak, so it was difficult to take on the important task. He asked the envoy to send troops from Jiangling on his own.

After testing Zhang Xian's initial reaction, Liu Biao's envoy told him: This was not only the envoy's intention, but also the will of Xu Du.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xian's attitude changed significantly. He said that since he was sent by the imperial court, he should contribute some effort, but he didn't know what to do after conquering Jiangxia... Then, he implicitly expressed his hope to gain benefits for Changsha County.

Liu Biao's envoy temporarily calmed Zhang Xian down and turned around to explain the entire meeting to Liu Biao.

After hearing this, Liu Biao became more wary of Zhang Xian: Zhang Xian did not comment on his orders, but was willing to obey the imperial decree. Could it be that he wanted to curry favor with Cao Cao by bypassing him? This kind of person is becoming more and more untrustworthy...

As a result, Liu Biao was even more hesitant. He felt that he could not use Jiangling's direct lineage to fight Huang Zu. There were too few forces in Jingzhou that were truly loyal to Liu Biao. There were so many hesitant and self-contained people who were eyeing him covetously. If he used up all his direct lineage, how could he integrate Jingzhou?

The foundation established by riding alone into the state and ambushing swordsmen by holding banquets is ultimately not as strong as the control of those princes who occupied each county by force.

Most of the prefects under Liu Biao were appointed by the imperial court. As long as they recognized Liu Biao's rule, Liu Biao could not replace them at will.

Liu Bei, who conquered the prefectures one by one, did not have this problem at all. He could appoint anyone with real power as the prefect. It was useless for the Xudu court to make a statement. At most, they would send a mascot who was not in power.

Finally, Liu Biao replied to the court in Xudu: All the counties in Jingzhou refused to obey his orders, and he did not have the military authority to carry out this order. He asked the court to put pressure on Liu Bei or Zhang Xian to force them to send troops, and he would follow to help.

Liu Biao also knew that Jiangxia County was very large, and there were not only strong cities like Xiakou and Shaxian. If Liu Bei really came to help solve the problem, at most he would just have to take down the two strong cities on the south bank of the Yangtze River where Huang Zu and Huang She were entrenched.

Once Liu Bei's troops entered the country, Huang Zu's main force would definitely be invested in the defense against Liu Bei. Huang Zu would not worry about the direction of his master behind him.

In this way, once Huang Zu was over-consumed and in danger of collapsing, Liu Biao could stab him in the back and take over the Jiangxia County north of the Yangtze River, thus forming a de facto direct jurisdiction. To the outside world, he could also say that he was following the imperial will and helping to fight the enemy, without actually having to fight a hard battle.

For Liu Biao who wanted to preserve his strength, this was also the best choice.

(End of this chapter)