My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 188 Liu Bei: Let me clarify, this is not a rumor
Liu Bei didn't take the latest rumors in Wuhu seriously at all, and explained everything to Shi Yi, who was in charge of intelligence analysis.

However, after calming down a little, Liu Bei thought about it and felt that this matter was disgusting and he should fight back.

There is no doubt that such rumors were spread by Cao Cao, because other princes in the world would not do such a thing and were not well-informed.

Of course, with Cao Cao's intelligence and strategy, if he knew that his counter-espionage plan would be 100% discovered and identified, he would not have used this plan - so there is only one explanation, that is, Cao Cao did not think that his plan would necessarily be seen through and identified.

When Liu Bei thought of this, he couldn't help but do the opposite and think about it in reverse:

"Then, who else would Cao Cao think and I would think was responsible for this plot? I certainly would not suspect other princes, and Cao Cao certainly knew that I would not suspect other princes.

So, did Cao Cao think that I would think that this was done by other civil servants under his command, those who were jealous of the status of the Zhuge brothers? After excluding all other possibilities, this is the only possibility. "

Although Liu Bei was not very strong in terms of wisdom, he was definitely the best in the world in terms of emotional intelligence, knowing people, and understanding their hearts.

Therefore, when it comes to employing and winning over people, he does not need the intellectual support of the Zhuge brothers. He can figure out this specific issue clearly on his own.

Liu Bei quickly came to what should be the most reasonable conclusion: the reason why Cao Cao insisted on using this rumor-mongering tactic, which had little chance of being effective, was because he felt that the possibility of him being exposed was not great.

The main reason for Cao Cao's misjudgment was that he did not understand the degree of unity among Liu Bei's advisers, nor the degree of obedience of the Zhuge brothers. He thought that even if this matter failed, he could use smoke bombs to shift the blame to other people under Liu Bei, which would at least achieve the effect of reducing Liu Bei's internal unity.

After all, Cao Cao probably knew Liu Bei very well, and he also thought he knew Zhuge Jin better and was aware of Zhuge Liang's talents.

But it is impossible for Cao Cao to know Jian Yong, Sun Qian, Mi Zhu and Chen Qun well.

If Cao Cao imagined people like Jian, Sun Mi as the group of advisers fighting for power under Yuan Shao, and thought that "some of these people came to Liu Bei ten or eight years earlier than Zhuge Jin, and most of them came two or three years earlier than Zhuge Jin, they would definitely be dissatisfied with the Zhuge brothers' rise to power", that would be human emotion.

Because under normal circumstances, when princes employ civil servants, they definitely pay attention to seniority and first come first served.

In history, Liu Bei's extraordinary use of Zhuge Liang still caused Guan and Zhang's brief dissatisfaction and misunderstanding, which was not suppressed until Liu Bei uttered the idiom "like a fish in water".

It is not surprising that Cao Cao would think this way now.

After Liu Bei figured out all these twists and turns with his own brain, he realized: "I really should fight back against this matter. Otherwise, even if I don't believe it, and Ziyu and Kongming don't believe it either, it won't hurt the tacit understanding between us, but if other advisers and staff members are worried that I am worried that the rumor came from them, it will be bad and will still hurt the internal unity."

Thinking of this, Liu Bei called out to Shi Yi, who was about to leave, and ordered:

"Regarding this rumor, I think it's better to clarify it: the memorial was submitted to make Kong Ming the governor of Jiangxia, but I was not kept in the dark. It was Ziyu who told me privately in advance, and I personally ordered this plan."

When Shi Yi heard his master suddenly say this, he was also shocked for a few seconds, but he quickly reacted and knew how to understand it. However, after thinking about it for a while, he felt that it didn't make sense, so he couldn't help but ask:
"My lord... If that's the case, did you or General Fubo predict how Cao Cao would react to this memorial?"

Liu Bei was stunned, and realized that he had not perfected this detail yet. He immediately continued the conversation and said, "Indeed, Ziyu has a sharp vision. Ziyu had figured out Cao Cao's thoughts with me at the beginning.

He said, with Cao Cao's wisdom, how could he not see that our army wanted to ease the situation with Liu Biao, and Cao Cao would definitely not want us to get our wish, but as long as we expressed our position and let Liu Biao know, our goal would be half achieved.

Among Cao Cao's counselors, Xun Yu is a straight-forward person, but others like Guo Jia and Cheng Yu will surely offer advice to trip us up, which may eventually lead to Kong Ming's gain. It's worth a try."

After all, Liu Bei was not known for his wisdom, so he didn't know which strategist on Cao Cao's side had made the slanderous remarks, and could only give a general idea.

After listening to it, Shi Yi did not think that these words were made up by Liu Bei himself, because the reputation of the Zhuge brothers for their wisdom was too famous. Shi Yi this time also completely believed that everything was said by Zhuge Jin and Liu Bei was just relaying it.

He was immediately shocked: So this was also within General Fu Bo's calculations?
However, he was working in intelligence after all, so he had to assess the possible external chain reaction that this clarification might cause. He quickly thought of one thing, and reminded Liu Bei with some worry:

"My lord, once this clarification is made, wouldn't it be a loss of face for Cao Sikong? Although it is good for internal unity, if Cao Sikong is angry, even secretly angry, it will not be good for our army. Now is not the time to make Cao Cao more wary."

Liu Bei thought about it and it made sense. His brain was obviously not as effective when it came to calculating the enemy as when it came to winning over his own people. After being reminded of this, he finally came to his senses.

Liu Bei quickly thought of another way to remedy the situation, and this time he changed to a much more humble tone and asked, "Well, let's put it this way: Let's pretend that we didn't realize that this rumor was spread by Cao Cao, and we mistakenly thought that it was spread by someone inside, so we came out to refute it.

The specific content of the rumor-refuting statement remains unchanged, which can be considered as giving Cao Cao some face, making him mistakenly believe that his attempt to alienate the unity of our military advisers has succeeded halfway. "

Shi Yi thought about it again and felt that there should be no problem with his statement this time. Since he could have two sets of statements internally and externally, he could speak clearly internally and save face for Cao Cao externally. So he said he would accept the order.

Two days later, Liu Bei was in Wuhu City. He found another excuse and invited Lu Su, Sun Qian, Jian Yong and other civil and military officials to have a big drink. Then he took the opportunity to say at the banquet:
"Recently, there is a rumor in Wuhu City that my recommendation of Liu Qi for the post of governor of Jiangxia was rejected, and it was Ziyu's plan to make Kong Ming the governor of Jiangxia. Let me clarify: this is not a rumor.

But this strategy was not decided by Ziyu, but by me. Ziyu used a timer to tell me all the inside information. He just took a fancy to some of Cao Cao's advisers and liked to use their characteristics to take advantage of them..."

After Liu Bei finished drinking, all other civil servants in Wuhu City felt relieved, and the second wave of rumors in the opposite direction began to spread gradually to Cao Cao's territory - of course Liu Bei did not spread it deliberately, as he did not want to offend Cao Cao now.

If it spreads too quickly, it will be too fake, and Cao Cao will see that Liu Bei intends to disparage those strategists around Cao Cao. It is best to spread it slowly and intermittently after a few months or half a year, when Yuan Shu will be dead, Lu Bu will be finished, and everything will be over. Then it will slowly pierce Cao Cao's heart.

...Let's not talk about Liu Bei's counterattack for now, because all these operations will not be effective in the short term. Zhuge Jin, who has already gone to Yuzhang, has no way of knowing for the time being.

April 2nd, Chaisang City.

Zhuge Jin, Guan Yu, Gan Ning, and Taishi Ci finally led an army of 15,000 with great fanfare, claiming to have 50,000 troops, and went upstream from the lower reaches of the lake mouth to arrive at Chaisang.

Pang Tong, who had been in charge of guarding Chaisang for the past two years, also personally welcomed them at the Hukou Wharf outside the city.

When Pang Tong first arrived, his official position was the magistrate of Poyang County. Later, he was transferred to the magistrate of Chaisang County. Now he has just been promoted to the magistrate of Yuzhang County. He is already 21 years old this year.

After he arrived in Chaisang, his main task was to govern the area, stabilize the people, expand production, and be on guard against Huang Zu and guard the western gate for Liu Bei's territory.

Because Liu Bei and Liu Biao had a harmonious relationship in previous years, Pang Tong had no opportunity to make military achievements and seemed insignificant.

But gold will always shine. With Pang Tong's intelligence and urgency, he would think about it whenever he had free time in the past two years, and he had already studied Huang Zu on the opposite side thoroughly.

Pang Tong also collected as much information as possible about Huang Zu's civil and military staff and generals, their talents and weaknesses, the number of troops under Huang Zu, the recovery of Yuan Ni's surrendered troops, and whether there was enough food and grass.

As the fleet stopped at the dock, Guan Yu was the first to disembark, followed by Zhuge Jin, and the rest of the generals followed. Pang Tong had already had a bunch of welcoming wine jars prepared for the generals.

Guan Yu and Pang Tong had met several times. When Guan Yu was responsible for attacking the six Shanyue counties south of Danyang from Yuzhang, Pang Tong was the magistrate of Poyang County. He also provided him with brief logistical support when Guan Yu besieged Linli Mountain. Apart from that, there was no other contact between them.

Guan Yu did not have any good or bad feelings towards Pang Tong. He just thought that he was a pragmatic and well-behaved scholar, and not arrogant at all.

After receiving the big bowl of wine from Pang Tong, Guan Yu encouraged him casually: "Shi Yuan, this opportunity is rare. You have been in Yuzhang for two years. How can you have the chance to make merit? You must seize this opportunity."

Pang Tong said calmly: "Although Huang Zu's defense is strong, I have already discovered his strengths and weaknesses. I heard that Brother Ziyu has another siege weapon, so he will definitely be able to defeat the enemy in the end."

Pang Tong said, first he welcomed the generals into the city to rest their horses, and then he gave them a general introduction to the enemy situation. The generals had a little understanding of Huang Zu's situation, and they didn't mind checking for omissions and synchronizing the latest news.

Pang Tong introduced: "Huang Zu's army originally had 30,000 troops all year round. They were responsible for defending the Jiangdong area for Liu Biao and were highly valued. Last year, Yuan Shu's defeated army in Sui and Zhu surrendered, and we got thousands of combat soldiers and thousands of able-bodied men. Jiangxia County can now gather 40,000 troops.

In addition, Liu Biao took into account the small population and farmland in Jiangxia, and in order to ensure the safety of Jiangdong, he would allocate a large amount of extra food and fodder from Nanjun to Huang Zu every year.

Before the incident of Ni Heng last winter, the autumn grain collection had been completed, so Huang Zu also received the full amount of autumn grain that Liu Biao subsidized to him last year. It is impossible to capture Huang Zu by besieging the city and cutting off his grain supply. Maybe our grain will be eaten up first, and Huang Zu will not have finished it yet.

To defeat Huang Zu, they must either attack with force, or divide and disintegrate him, force his outer generals to surrender, or try to lure the enemy first and annihilate most of his main forces in a naval battle on the Yangtze River. But in any case, it is impossible to cut off food supplies, and the final decisive battle at Xiakou City must be a hard battle, and no strategy can be used. "

After hearing about the enemy's military strength, generals such as Guan Yu also felt that it was a bit of a waste. It was a pity that Huang Zu, a mere mortal, had so many troops. It was such a waste of weapons, money and food.

However, there is no way around it. Although the local population of Jiangxia County is less than 300,000 and cannot support many troops, Huang Zu originally helped Liu Biao guard the east gate, and he was destined not to rely on the money and food from Jiangxia County to support his army.

It would be terrifying if he had the rich hinterland of Jingzhou to provide him with supplies. But the savings that Liu Biao gave him in previous years have not been spent yet, so Huang Zu's strength should not be underestimated.

Historically, in the spring of the year of the Battle of Red Cliffs, Sun Quan attacked Jiangxia and killed Huang Zu, but even so, Sun Quan was unable to take over the entire territory of Jiangxia County, nor was he able to hold on, so he temporarily withdrew his troops and stopped fighting. After Liu Biao appointed Liu Qi as the governor of Jiangxia, he only took back the area around Xiakou, but was still able to gather more than 10,000 elite troops, and together with Guan Yu's troops, he later gathered 20,000 Jiangxia troops during the Battle of Red Cliffs.

Now that it is nine years earlier than the Battle of Chibi, it is very normal for Huang Zu to have 40,000 soldiers.

"No wonder Liu Biao was reluctant to clean up the mess himself. How could a warlord with 40,000 soldiers to protect himself surrender and obey the law just because he killed an angel? Our army only brought 15,000 people this time, plus another 5,000 local soldiers from Chaisang, a total of 20,000 people. We have to think of a way to defeat Huang Zu."

Guan Yu said hesitantly that he had to admit that he could not underestimate the enemy in this battle.

Liu Bei's army currently has more than 70,000 combat soldiers, but he has to be on guard against Sun Ce, Cao Cao and Lu Bu. He also needs to leave troops in Lu Bu's direction for support. In addition, the summer grain has not yet been harvested, so he can only mobilize 20,000 people for the time being.

If Jiangxia has not been conquered after the wheat harvest and rice planting in May, Liu Bei can consider sending more troops, but the scale of the reinforcement will not exceed 10,000.

After Guan Yu finished expressing his feelings, he naturally looked towards Zhuge Jin. He was already used to the fact that Ziyu would always have ingenious plans and could always defeat the larger force with the smaller one, even in offensive battles.

But Zhuge Jin was not in a hurry to offer advice this time. He just waved his folding fan and said calmly, "I am just urging you in this battle. There are different levels of knowledge and different specializations. Shi Yuan has been studying Huang Zu for two years, so he probably has a brilliant plan. Why don't you ask for it?"

Guan Yu heard Zhuge Jin's trust in Pang Tong, and then he changed his mind a little. He asked, "Shi Yuan, what do you think our army should do in this battle? Can we fight with fewer troops against more, or just attack with all our might?"

Pang Tong had wanted to fight for this for a long time. He had thought about it a lot beforehand and said with great energy:
"Although Huang Zu has many soldiers and horses, our army should still launch the main attack with the force of thunder. The number of troops is not the most important thing, the most important thing is the morale of the army. Huang Zu is a criminal who killed an angel and should be executed. He is tantamount to treason. Although the Han Dynasty is in decline, its prestige is still there.

As long as we create an atmosphere for Huang Zu's soldiers that 'Huang Zu has become the target of public criticism and is being criticized by the whole world' and make them believe it, the morale of the army will naturally collapse, and most of the 40,000 people will not fight to the death, and they may even try to turn against him. "

Guan Yu stroked his beard and felt that Pang Tong's general idea was correct, so he changed to a more humble attitude and asked sincerely: "Then how can we win their hearts and make them mistakenly believe that Huang Zu was attacked by the whole world?"

(End of this chapter)