My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 186: Whatever Zhuge said, Cao Cao did

After Zhuge Jin shared with Bu Lianshi the joy of her family's meritorious service and promotion, he sent her away and rested with his wife. No words were spoken that night.

In the following days, Zhuge Jin continued his final inspection and inventory work before the war, supervising the production of counterweight trebuchets and steel-filled armor, checking for omissions and filling gaps. There was nothing major to elaborate on.

As for Liu Bei, after a thorough and detailed long talk that day, he completely synchronized his strategy with Zhuge Jin. Three days later, on the second day of March, Liu Bei sent someone to Xu Du with a memorial recommending Liu Qi as the prefect of Jiangxia.

The content of the memorial, in addition to the official commendation, also included a final statement of stance, reiterating to the court his determination to attack Huang Zu.

In addition, Liu Bei also wrote a private letter to Zhuge Liang who was in Hefei, and asked the messenger to take it with him and give it to Zhuge Liang when he passed by Hefei on the way.

The content simply emphasizes that "matters in the south of the Yangtze River will be handled by your brother, and matters in the north of the Yangtze River will be handled by you yourself", so that Zhuge Liang would pay more attention to the matter of coordinating with Chen Deng's surrender, check for omissions and fill in the gaps, and respond flexibly.

The messenger Sun Qian arrived in Hefei on the sixth day of March. After reading the letter, Zhuge Liang naturally said that there was no problem and he would keep an eye on it when the time came. As for the reply, there was no need to write too clearly, just keep it brief to avoid increasing the risk of leaks during delivery.

Afterwards, Sun Qian continued to head north, and after walking for about ten days, he finally arrived in Xu Du.

Perhaps it was because the Huai River and Huaibei parts of Runan County had been completely recovered and pacified by Cao Cao, and Yuan Shu had been completely forced to the Xinyang and Yiyang areas deep in the Dabie/Tongbai Mountains.

Sun Qian came to Xudu again this year. He was faster along the way and his trip was smoother than last year. He didn't have to take any detours at all. He could even take a boat directly from Feishui to Huaihe River, go upstream, and then turn into Yingchuan to Xudu directly.

On the day when Sun Qian delivered the letter, Cao Cao was of course not in Xudu. At this moment, he was still besieging Lu Bu at the front line in Pengcheng. All the daily work of the Xudu court was handled by Xun Yu.

Therefore, after Xun Yu received Sun Qian's memorial, it was impossible for him to send someone to ask Cao Cao in Xuzhou for instructions and then give a reply.

After all, Liu Bei's memorial this time was not a big deal. It was nothing more than asking for an official position for Liu Qi. Even if the memorial was approved, Liu Qi might not be able to take up the position.

If even such a matter had to be dragged on and wait for Cao Cao to make the final decision personally, it would only further aggravate Cao Cao's notoriety of "holding the emperor hostage" and give people the world an excuse that "the court cannot function without Cao Cao in Xu Du."

So, within the scope of his authority, Xun Yu summoned several other relevant officials from the Secretariat (who were actually all Cao Cao's personal advisers) to discuss the matter.

The final decision was: do not approve Liu Bei's request, do not let Liu Qi be the governor of Jiangxia, and instead appoint Zhuge Liang as the governor of Jiangxia.

Xun Yu's apparent reason for his reply was also very sufficient: Liu Biao refused to use force to kill Huang Zu for the court, so how could the court reward him? Since Liu Bei was loyal to the country and was willing to use force to kill the criminal who killed the angel, of course he should reward Liu Bei's meritorious civil servants to take over as the governor of Jiangxia.

Zhuge Liang had made some contributions in assisting Liu Bei in his campaign against Yuan Shikai last year, and was later promoted to Chief Clerk of the General of the Left and Chief Clerk of the General of Chariots and Cavalry. He was Liu Bei's trusted advisor. Given this, the court had already conferred upon Liu Bei the title of Marquis of Wuchang and renamed Xiakou County to Wuchang County. It was also very reasonable for Zhuge Liang, as Liu Bei's Chief Clerk, to serve as the governor of the county where Liu Bei's fiefdom was located.

Of course, Xun Yu also left a button in his reply: This appointment can only be fulfilled after Liu Bei actually obeys the order to destroy Huang Zu and take over Jiangxia County. Otherwise, it will be useless even if the court appoints him, and you will not be able to take office.

Xun Yu's reply was certainly not to flatter the Zhuge family, but because he saw through Liu Bei's scheme:
Liu Bei recommended Liu Qi in order to swallow Jiangxia without making the relationship with Liu Biao too bad. He hoped to give Liu Biao a beating and then give him a sweet treat to appease him.

If this is the case, Cao Cao's goal is to make Liu Biao and Liu Bei at odds, how can he let Liu Bei succeed in this plot? If he gets the actual control of Jiangxia for nothing, and there is no friction between the two governors of Jing and Yang, then wouldn't the court's containment tactics be in vain?
So when Liu Bei recommended Liu Qi, the imperial court rejected him and instead appointed Zhuge Liang as the new nominee, which made Liu Biao even more angry.

After the imperial decree was drafted and completed, it was given to Sun Qian to take back to Wuhu. When passing through Hefei on the way, he would also inform Zhuge Liang first. Sun Qian was not in a hurry, so the return journey could take another half a month.

But on the other hand, Xun Yu was quite anxious. While he was going through the process, he immediately sent someone on horseback to Xuzhou to report to Cao Cao his opinions on how to deal with Liu Bei's memorial, to show that he had no selfish motives.

The messenger sent by Xun Yu traveled almost three to five hundred miles a day and changed horses at post stations along the way, so he was delivered to Cao Cao in Pengcheng in just four days.

It was still mid-March, and only a month had passed since Cao Cao had broken through Pei County, where Lü Bu was stationed. Cao Cao was besieging Pengcheng, but the time was short and there was no sign of breaking the city, so Lü Bu's defense was still solid.

After receiving Xun Yu's memorial, Cao Cao immediately read it carefully and summoned his military advisers Cheng Yu and Guo Jia to assist him.

Cheng Yu's official position is still the governor of Shanyang County, a local official. But he has always been placed on the front line to guard against Lu Bu. Now that Cao Cao has launched a full-scale counterattack against Lu Bu and completely suppressed him, Cheng Yu no longer has to worry about defending his home, so he follows to plan the attack.

At this moment, in the central military tent of the siege camp outside Pengcheng, Cheng Yu and Guo Jia were sitting on Cao Cao's left and right respectively. Cao Cao was sitting on the tiger-skin seat in the middle, reading Xun Yu's letter carefully by candlelight.

It is not easy to deliver a letter, so it would not only include a reply to Liu Bei and a reward to Zhuge Liang, but also include a lot of recent government affairs reports in Xudu, as well as information and suggestions on military movements in other directions.

Cao Cao saw the matter of recommending officials first, and stroked his beard with satisfaction and smiled: "Wen Ruo is still experienced in handling daily government affairs. This plan is indeed very much in line with my opinion. Liu Bei actually wants to recommend Liu Qi as the governor of Jiangxia to calm Liu Biao's fear of him? Wishful thinking! Of course, Zhuge Liang should be appointed as the governor of Jiangxia to severely reduce Liu Biao's face!

I heard that Zhuge Liang also lived in exile in Jingzhou for two years? Or when his brother went to Yuzhang to rescue his uncle and expel Zuo Rong, he begged Liu Biao to borrow troops to visit his relatives and rescue them, and borrowed a pirate who was unsuccessful under Liu Biao to accompany him and pass through Xiakou?
If Liu Biao knew that this man who had begged him to borrow troops was now attacking Xiakou and boasting that he was popular, how would he feel? "

With a little imagination, Cao Cao could already imagine Liu Biao's anger and shame after being slapped in the face.

The more Liu Biao hates Liu Bei, the better!

Cheng Yu and Guo Jia, who were standing by, also congratulated Cao Cao after hearing this: "Congratulations, Sikong. The two Lius are suspicious of each other, and the court has nothing to worry about!"

But after congratulating him, Guo Jia was a little more cautious and sighed with a hint of worry: "However, Liu Bei has already made enough gestures. Liu Qi didn't get the official position in the end because of the court's veto.

My subordinates were worried that Liu Biao would still be jealous of the court because of this, so they sent people to Xiangyang to spread rumors, saying that when Liu Bei submitted a memorial to the court, he actually had another secret letter to the Prime Minister, and promised a valuable gift to the Prime Minister, hoping that the Prime Minister would facilitate his memorial.

Liu Bei's real plan was probably to take Liu Qi hostage after he took office. It was Sikong who saw through Liu Bei's trick and could not bear to see Liu Biao, a humble gentleman, being controlled by others, so he rejected his proposal. This was Sikong's way of protecting Liu Qi, so that Liu Biao would no longer resent the court. "

Cao Cao continued to stroke his beard and nodded proudly: "Feng Xiao's suggestion is indeed advisable. Then send people to spread rumors and alienate the two Lius. Anyway, whether it succeeds or not, there is no loss." Seeing that Guo Jia's suggestion was rewarded, Cheng Yu also cheered up and came up with a countermeasure: "Since the prime minister wants to send people to spread rumors, why not spread a few more at the same time.

For example, I think with Liu Bei's own wisdom, he certainly would not have thought of the strategy of recommending Liu Qi. So this was probably planned by either Zhuge Jin or Zhuge Liang. Now Wen Ruo replied that the imperial decree was to make Zhuge Liang the governor of Jiangxia, and the Zhuge family actually gained a lot of benefits.

We can then follow their lead and say that "Zhuge Jin/Zhuge Liang knew that with the wisdom of Cao Sikong and Xun Lingjun, their trick of recommending Liu Qi as the governor of Jiangxia would surely be seen through and rejected." So the Zhuge brothers actually had selfish motives, which was to allow Zhuge Liang to suddenly take up the high position of governor at the age of only 19.

Under normal circumstances, this would be impossible to do, so Liu Qi was used as bait. Therefore, the Zhuge brothers used Liu Bei to seek high positions for themselves. Moreover, although Zhuge Jin was loyal to Liu Bei, he was indeed greedy for official positions and titles.

Our army spreads this message, which may slightly alienate Liu Bei and Zhuge, and let Liu Bei further see the true face of Zhuge brothers who want high positions and generous salaries! "

Cao Cao nodded in agreement to this additional strategy out of habit, but his expression and reaction were obviously not as excited and agreeable as when Guo Jia said the previous one.

Cao Cao agreed and sighed to himself, "The last two rumors are not expensive, but even if Liu Bei believes them, it's better than nothing. I know Xuande is a man of character. He doesn't worry about his subordinates wanting high positions and generous salaries. As long as they are capable, he doesn't care how much they want.

With the merits, achievements, and wisdom of Brother Zhuge today, even if Liu Bei really believed that Zhuge Jin was taking advantage of him and wanted to make Zhuge Liang a prefect at the age of 19, Liu Bei would gladly accept it. "

Cheng Yu has been working as a local official for the past two years, not in the central government. In addition, Liu Bei in this life did not surrender to Cao Cao, so Cheng Yu's understanding of Liu Bei must be slightly inferior to that of Xun Yu and Guo Jia.

After hearing what Cao Cao said, Cheng Yu did not completely believe it, but he would not argue with Cao Cao. He just agreed and accepted the advice, but he was suspicious in his heart:
Could Liu Bei really be so generous in conferring official positions? So generous that even if he knew that Zhuge Jin used the name of using strategies to gain an official position for his brother, Liu Bei would not be angry? Not really... Back then, Liu Bang said that if he wanted to confer an official position on Han Xin, he should make him the real King of Qi, not the fake King of Qi, but in the end, didn't he kill Han Xin with a dagger hidden in his heart?
No matter how Cheng Yu thought about it, he felt it was impossible, but the matter just passed.

Cao Cao continued to read Xun Yu's letter. The last one or two paragraphs were minor matters, and he felt that Xun Yu's handling was good, and there was nothing to correct. Finally, when he saw the last two paragraphs of the letter, Cao Cao narrowed his eyes again.

The last two paragraphs are a retelling of Cao Ren's report, saying that ten days ago, on the fourth day of March, Cao Ren launched the first wave of offensives this spring, breaking through Yiyang County, which was not far from the mountainous area, and further splitting Yuan Shu's army into two. It is estimated that within half a month, Zhang Xun, who was divided and surrounded, will be forced to surrender. In another month or two, Yuan Shu himself will definitely be beheaded.

The other paragraph is Xun Yu's own comments on Cao Ren's battle report and his advice to Cao Cao. It mentions that "Liu Bei had already conquered Shouchun, the pseudo-capital, last year. As the pillar of the country, the arm of your majesty, and the backbone of the court, the prime minister should not be inferior to Liu Bei in the merits of suppressing the rebellion, or he should personally carry out the final blow to Yuan Shu."

After reading it, Cao Cao looked slightly solemn and felt that it did make sense.

He was unwilling to waste too much time on Yuan Shu. But Cao Ren had already separated Yuan Shu and Zhang Xun ten days ago, and might have annihilated or forced Zhang Xun to surrender at this moment, so Yuan Shu's death was really just a matter of the final touch.

Cao Cao can take a small number of light cavalry and make a trip to the southern part of Runan. It will definitely not take more than a month, and he can get the last blow for free. With this calculation, it is very cost-effective.

But Cao Cao was a man who loved to listen to opinions. Since Guo Jia and Cheng Yu were both there, he handed the letter from Xun Yu to them and asked them to read the last few paragraphs together and then give their opinions:
"What do Fengxiao and Zhongde think of Wenruo's argument?"

Guo Jia and Cheng Yu read it carefully and pondered it for a while before Guo Jia took the lead in speaking: "I think Lord Xun's argument is indeed profound. Liu Bei has already made great contributions in suppressing the rebellion. The prime minister must do it himself to ensure that he surpasses Liu Bei in the first place and silences the world's gossip."

Cheng Yu thought: "What Xun Lingjun said is a good plan, but I am afraid that if Pengcheng is delayed for more than a month, will it delay the opportunity to fight? After all, the remaining three counties in Xuzhou border the counties controlled by the court in the west and Liu Bei in the south. Will Liu Bei take advantage of the opportunity when Lu Bu's main force is annihilated and go north to gain victory?
As for Runan, even if the Minister of Works could not personally lead the army to complete the final blow, at least the credit would go to General Zixiao. As the confidant of the Minister of Works, General Zixiao had never had the opportunity to be promoted to a prominent position. He was only a counselor and led the army, a typical example of "powerful but insignificant position". If Yuan Shu could be killed this time, the Minister of Works might be able to directly promote General Zixiao to the rank of General of Four Directions, or at least General of Four Expeditions, which would be enough to silence the gossips of the people."

The second half mentioned by Cheng Yu involves Cao Ren’s official position - there is one point that should actually be mentioned, that is, the so-called two Xiahou and two Cao, actually did not hold high positions under Cao Cao in the early years of Jian'an.

Cao Cao wanted to pretend that he respected the Han Dynasty, so he did not give his brothers high positions. He felt that there was no difference between him and Dong Zhuo and Li Jue. Dong Zhuo and Li Jue were all marquises, and they were not pretending at all.

However, Cao Cao could make his clansmen give up high positions, but he would not give up real power. Cao Ren and Cao Hong, a bunch of small officials with a rank of only 600 dan, could actually control the military power of more than 10,000 people and had the final say in the local area. If Cao Ren was allowed to kill Yuan Shu this time, of course, Cao Ren would be able to soar to the top in advance and directly ascend to the important position of general.

Cao Cao did not comment on this. He smiled and stroked his beard. He turned to Guo Jia and asked jokingly in a testing tone: "Fengxiao, what Zhongde asked, can you answer it?"

Guo Jia thought for a moment and said, "I think that Runan should be given priority. You don't need General Zixiao to hold a high position. It is enough to have real power. It can also stop the slander of the world. Sikong himself has made greater contributions in the fight against Yuan than Liu Bei. He is very important at the moment and should not be shared.

In addition, if Liu Bei dared to take action, why didn't he take action when Sikong captured Pei County? Why didn't Liu Bei take action when Sikong just besieged Pengcheng? Wasn't he worried that Sikong would quickly take Pengcheng and then occupy all of Xuzhou except Guangling?

Since Liu Bei missed these two opportunities, it means that he was really bound by the righteousness of respecting the court and the decree that appointed him as General of Chariots and Cavalry last year, and was unwilling to betray the accompanying requirements of that imperial decree.

Or even if Liu Bei had thought about persuading or forcing him to surrender, Lu Bu, led by Chen Gong on the southern front, supervised the troops strictly and prevented Liu Bei from taking advantage of the opportunity. Liu Bei was also unwilling to launch a protracted attack.

Maybe it was because they had to deal with Huang Zu and didn't have enough troops. Or maybe they were not sure they could take the city quickly and were worried that if they waited too long, they would be criticized by the court and ordered to stop. In short, I think the battle of Pengcheng won't be a big deal for a month or two, so we should avoid Yuan Shu's delay.

Otherwise, if Liu Bei defeated Huang Zu and took over the southern foot of Tongbai Mountain and Sui and Zhu in the north of the Yangtze River, and Yuan Shu was forced by our army to cross the Tongbai Mountain from Xinyang Valley to the south and eventually died at the hands of Liu Bei, what terrible consequences would that have? At that time, all the credit for suppressing the rebellion would belong to Liu Bei, so how could the prime minister assist in the administration? "

When Cao Cao heard this, a hint of ferocity flashed across his eyes involuntarily, and he quickly took the map and took a few glances at it.

Indeed, from the south of Runan County, by crossing the Tongbai Mountain from Xinyang Road, one can reach the Sui and Zhu areas of Jiangxia County located north of the Yangtze River.

Eight hundred years ago, it was on this Xinyang Valley Road that crossed the Tongbai Mountains that Sun Wu led the Wu army from the north to fight the Chu army from the south in the "Battle of Baiju", destroyed the main force of Chu, and then wrote "The Art of War".

Therefore, after the winter snow thaws, it is absolutely possible to cross the Tongbai Mountains from Xinyang Valley! This is the place where the battle that led to the writing of "The Art of War" took place!
Yuan Shu must die at the northern foot of Tongbai Mountain, not at the southern foot of Tongbai Mountain! Therefore, Cao Cao must destroy Yuan Shu before Liu Bei destroys Huang Zu!
After Cao Cao had thoroughly understood the situation, he finally made up his mind: "It doesn't matter if we take Pengcheng and Xiapi two months later! Runan is the most important! Moreover, I must first use a small force to make a detour, and learn from Sun Wu's blocking Baiju and closing the door to beat the dog! We can't let Yuan Shu go to the southern foot of Tongbai Mountain! He must die on the north side of the mountain!

"Pass on my order. The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry will temporarily withdraw with me and rush to Runan. The rest of the siege infantry will stay and continue the siege. There is no need to attack the city when there is insufficient manpower. We just need to ensure that Lu Bu cannot leave the city to counterattack, get food, and consume Lu Bu! I will deal with Lu Bu when I come back!"

　Because it was difficult to break up the chapter and it was a long chapter of 5,000 words, it was more than half an hour later.

　　Please forgive me, it was already 8 o'clock in the morning when I wrote words, but I haven't finished writing Cao Cao's response strategy, so it's difficult to stop.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)