My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 215 Our attitude is: We only oppose Yang Chou, not Cao Cao

After a brief discussion, Liu Bei and the Zhuge brothers thoroughly sorted out the latest legal context of the dispute between Yuan and Cao.

However, it is far from enough to just understand Yuan and Cao's respective considerations and concerns. What Liu Bei wants is a set of action plans that can be directly implemented.

So Liu Bei pressed on without pause, "Currently, both Yuan and Cao are hesitant. They want to fight but are hesitant to completely break off relations. In your opinion, how should we express our stance? Should we support Cao or Yuan, try to mediate, or wait and see?"

Zhuge Jin could not answer this question immediately. After all, this was a serious matter and he had to be cautious.

So he subconsciously recalled the historical diplomatic plots before the Battle of Guandu and between Yuan and Cao, trying to find out if there was a ready-made version of the answer he could copy.

Then he vaguely remembered that before the official war between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, Yuan Shao seemed to have started sending envoys everywhere to win over potential allies about half a year in advance.

For example, when Cao Cao had just conquered the southern hinterland of Yuzhou, mainly the areas of Runan and Huainan, Yuan Shao won over people like Liu Pi and Gong Du.

Although Liu Pi and others failed to take the initiative to attack Cao Cao, they also made the former territory of Yuan Shu, which Cao Cao had just conquered the previous year, temporarily unable to help Cao Cao, which was equivalent to destroying the war mobilization potential of the two counties in Cao Cao's rear.

In addition, Yuan Shao also tried to win over the generals in Guanzhong, Zhang Xiu in Nanyang, and Liu Biao in Jingzhou...

In the end, it seemed that only Liu Biao was successfully persuaded by Yuan Shao. At the same time, the generals in Guanzhong and Zhang Xiu were also urgently wooed by Cao Cao. The generals in Guanzhong finally chose to remain neutral and wait and see. Zhang Xiu was directly pulled into Cao Cao's camp and blocked Liu Biao's way north.

In this case, Zhuge Jin felt that Liu Bei's current status should be more important than Sun Ce's in the same historical period, and he would definitely be the one Yuan Shao would focus on winning over.

Zhuge Jin then analyzed cautiously, "If you just want to intervene in the dispute between Yuan and Cao to make a profit, you don't have to express your position so quickly.

I foolishly believe that both Yuan Shao and Cao Cao will surely send envoys to win over our lord, promising them benefits in order to stabilize our forces. Furthermore, I'm certain that envoys from both sides will arrive within a month. The more cautious we are, and the more likely we are to wait for the other side to make the first offer, the easier it will be to seize the opportunity.

However, it depends on how Cao Cao responds to Qu Yi's attack and how the subsequent war progresses. By the way, Gongyou, have you found out who Cao Cao has sent to deal with Qu Yi?"

Zhuge Jin's last half sentence was directed to Sun Qian, who had just come to deliver the message.

Sun Qian immediately added: "We have not yet found out who Cao Cao will use as the vanguard to go to Hanoi to resist. However, it is certain that Cao Cao attaches great importance to it. He has already gone north from Xudu to Luoyang and stationed troops across the river as backup."

Zhuge Jin was not surprised by this answer. After all, it was Yuan Shao who sent out the troops first, and the first-hand information only came from the generals of Yuan Shao's army. It was normal. It would take another ten days or so to confirm the detailed information of Cao's army.

Seeing that he had not obtained any more useful information and could not come up with any further countermeasures for the time being, Zhuge Jin fell into deep thought.

Zhuge Liang, who always respected his elder brother, saw that his elder brother seemed to be a wise man who made mistakes occasionally and fell silent. He added sharply, "My lord, I think that since Cao Cao has personally gone north to Luoyang and stationed troops in Mengjin, we should not wait for the price to rise and wait for Yuan Shao or Cao Cao to win us over. We should take the initiative to express our position!"

Liu Bei looked at Zhuge Liang in surprise. He had rarely seen Zhuge Liang directly refute his elder brother's opinions recently.

After all, over the past year or so, Zhuge Liang was mainly in charge of civil affairs, finance, and logistics, and had been encouraging farming. In terms of grand strategy, he really had no amazing achievements.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei subconsciously looked towards Zhuge Jin, his expression slightly surprised and amused, as if teasing, "Ziyu, you haven't been doing well lately. Even your brother dares to contradict you."

Fortunately, Zhuge Jin was quick to react. He immediately realized that encouragement was needed at this time, because his previous suggestion was based on historical inertia. But history had already been changed by the butterfly effect. Perhaps Aliang could come up with a better suggestion based on facts.

Zhuge Jin then encouraged him personally: "Oh? Ah Liang, what are your thoughts? Feel free to speak up!"

Zhuge Liang then adjusted his tone: "I think we should not wait for Yuan Cao to make an offer, we can now seek truth from facts and express our position fairly, and we can also continue to gain a good reputation in the world - because we don't need to criticize Cao Cao, we only need to condemn Yang Chou.

Regardless of who was right or wrong between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, Yang Chou's previous reckless murder of his former master, the imperially appointed Grand Marshal Zhang Yang, was a grave crime. We can express this view openly and submit a petition to the court in Xudu, requesting an imperial decree to punish Yang Chou as a traitor and bring justice to the world.

While our statement may appear to align with Yuan Shao's, it is, in reality, a matter of fact, not personal. We support whoever attacks the traitor Yang Chou. We support the attack on Yang Chou by Qu Yi, the Inspector General of the Imperial Capital, whom Yuan Shao recommended. We also support Zhong Yao, the Inspector General of the Imperial Capital, who was actually appointed by the Emperor, if he also wishes to investigate this matter.

We can even boldly state that it has been two months since the assassination of Grand Marshal Zhang Yang. This incident involved the crucial Sili region, and the Sili Xiaowei should have suppressed the rebels and restored peace to Henei. However, the previous Sili Xiaowei, Ding Chong, was gravely ill and unable to govern, which is why the matter has been delayed until now.

Now that the court has selected a new lieutenant of the imperial guards, he must be brave enough to take up his duties and put down the rebellion, only then he is qualified to hold this high position. If he is idle and does nothing, and allows the rebellious bandits to rebel, wouldn't it be like the temple is full of rotten wood officials, the palace is full of beasts, and the court is full of wolves and dogs, and the people are servile and fawning? Where is the prestige of the court? Where is the credibility?"

Zhuge Liang's words were so righteous that Liu Bei, Zhuge Jin and Sun Qian could not help but be enlightened.

"Yeah, why didn't I think of that? Since Sui Gu hasn't killed Yang Chou to avenge Zhang Yang in this life, Yang Chou is still a bandit! We can also give him a beating when he's down. Why should we be embarrassed to express our stance?
In this way, Cao Cao appointed Zhong Yao as the Sili Commandant. If Zhong Yao did not care about the chaos in Sili, he would be a rotten wood official, a beast eating salary, and his virtue was not worthy of the position! Alas, the butterfly effect is getting stronger and stronger, and my foresight is not enough... "Zhuge Jin thought so in his heart, and the confusion just now was suddenly cleared.

After all, my IQ is too dependent on the prophet!
As the butterfly effect became more and more powerful, the power of Zhuge Liang's practical strategic foresight and real intelligence in responding to each move gradually became apparent.

Zhuge Jin felt a slight sense of crisis. As history was altered beyond recognition, this situation would only become more apparent. If he encountered an incident in the future where there was no answer to copy, he'd better let Aliang offer his opinion first.

Seeing Zhuge Jin still reflecting, Liu Bei couldn't help but ask softly, "Ziyu, what do you think of this?"

"Ah... that's really smart. I just advised you to wait for the price, but I was being a mean person. Perhaps it's because I have had so many preconceived ideas in my mind over the past two months that I was unable to react when I heard about the new changes. I didn't take into account the variable of the replacement of the Inspector General of the Capital."

Zhuge Jin admitted it straightforwardly, and after some self-analysis, he attributed the cause to his "path dependence and inertial thinking."

Liu Bei thought this made perfect sense, so he simply made the decision: "Since that's the case, we will submit a petition to express our support for suppressing Yang Chou's rebellion! We will only attack Yang Chou and not mention Cao Cao! As long as Cao Cao corrects his behavior and no longer protects Yang Chou, he will still be a loyal minister to the emperor."

If Cao Cao persists in his wrongdoings, then we can take this opportunity to strike a blow to Cao Cao's reputation and remove the false mask of "loyal Han" that he put up after defeating Yuan Shikai! This will facilitate subsequent actions!"

After Liu Bei finished speaking, he naturally had to write a memorial to show his attitude that day, and then he had to trouble Sun Qian or Sun Shao to go to Xu Du.

Considering that this memorial might be quite explosive and the envoy's safety factor was relatively low, Liu Bei thought about it again and again and decided to choose Sun Shao, who was not so close to him, to do this offensive task, and let Sun Qian take a break first.

This episode did not delay them for long. Two days later, the three of them set off again and went their separate ways south.

Before leaving, Zhuge Jin gave his second brother a few final words of advice: "Aliang, when you arrive in Jiangxia, you must prioritize winning over the hearts of the scholars of Jingzhou and demonstrating your lord's benevolence and respect for the virtuous. Liu Biao may have a reputation for vain praise, but he's incompetent. The number of frustrated scholars exiled from the north is countless. Wuchang and Hanyang are only separated by a river. If you apply yourself diligently, you'll have great potential."

Furthermore, while I was in Yuzhang, border scouts conducted cross-border explorations. I had summarized the various geological features of Jiangxia across the border and concluded that there must be an iron mountain in E County. Later, during the two months of the campaign against Huang Zu, I also took time to inspect E County and further confirmed the presence of iron ore on the mountain south of E County.

After you take up the post of governor of Jiangxia, you can focus on exploration and optimize and rectify the methods of mining, iron smelting and steelmaking. I have several volumes of experience here, which were summarized when I was working on the pouring steel method and refractory furnace in Wuhu last year. You can refer to them at any time after you arrive in E County.

As for improving farm tools, testing new farming techniques, improving porcelain firing, and smelting copper coins after we get to the south, I'll handle that in Yuzhang and Danyang. You don't have to worry about it. Just look for minerals, mine them, and make steel. When you have free time, focus on breeding. We brothers will divide the work and get twice the result with half the effort."

As he said this, Zhuge Jin gave his second brother a few volumes of his experience before leaving.

The E County Iron Mine he mentioned was the famous "Daye Iron Mine" in Hubei in later generations.

In the southern Jingyang area in later generations, the two largest modern iron mines were Ma'anshan in Anhui and Daye in Hubei.

It just so happened that when Zhuge Jin took Yuzhang County as his base, the Ma'anshan Iron Mine was just a little north of Wuhu County on the edge of his territory and was controlled by Sun Ce.

The Daye Iron Mine belongs to E County and is in the hands of Huang Zu. This is why Zhuge Jin has not had the opportunity to open a new high-quality large iron mine in the three years since he traveled through time. When he was in Yuzhang, he was mainly smelting copper and other precious metals.

Now half of Jiangxia County has been conquered, and the Daye Iron Mine has been obtained first, and half of the mining territory in the south has been taken over.

Moreover, Daye is a shallow mineral vein that is relatively easy to dig. Historically, it was first mined by Sun Quan in 226 AD, three years before he became emperor. This is only about years ago.

Liu Bei's army's current mining technology, with just a few pointers from Brother Zhuge, could surpass Sun Quan's capabilities twenty years later. Finding and smelting Daye's ore would be more than enough.

Zhuge Liang took note of his elder brother's instructions, and the two brothers finally parted ways and went their separate ways.

……

It would take Zhuge Jin about five or six days to reach Wuhu, and it would take Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang at least ten days to reach Wuchang.

At the same time, Liu Bei's memorial requesting the punishment of Yang Chou was also sent to Xudu at a leisurely pace.

However, before Liu Bei's memorial was delivered, Cao Cao, who had already arrived in Luoyang, was the first to feel the overwhelming pressure.

Because Yang Chou's own Henei army had just been defeated by Qu Yi a few days ago, and several of Yang Chou's direct generals were killed in the battle, the strength was greatly reduced. The remnants had to retreat to Huai County, the capital of Henei County, and Yewang County, a strategic location. The eastern half of Henei County had been captured by Qu Yi.

In the final analysis, Yang Chou's troops lacked brave generals, and their morale was low and their soldiers had no desire to fight. His troops were originally Zhang Yang's troops, which Yang Chou inherited after killing Zhang Yang. Many of the soldiers still had feelings for Zhang Yang and were unwilling to fight for Yang Chou.

Following Yuan Shao's instructions, Qu Yi raised the banner of revenge for Zhang Yang and quelling the rebellion, and Yang Chou's troops defected one after another.

Faced with this situation, Cao Cao had no choice but to hastily send a garrison of the imperial court around Luoyang to cross the Yellow River to reinforce Yang Chou. However, they were defeated by Qu Yi again, with the loss of more than 2,000 troops, and the killing of two captains and several military commanders.

However, these generals did not die in vain, because their deaths brought us important information:
Under Qu Yi's command, there was Yan Liang, a fierce general from Yuan Shao's camp, as the vanguard! Many of Yang Chou and Cao Cao's first batch of generals who were killed were killed by Yan Liang!

After receiving this news, Cao Cao, who was stationed in Mengjin, immediately summoned Cao Hong, Cao Chun and Guo Jia who were accompanying the army to discuss:

"I've long heard of Yan Liang's reputation, and today I know it's well-deserved. Yang Chou's army is unstable and will not be able to hold out for long. We must engage Qu Yi and Yan Liang in a field battle and repel them in order to preserve Hanoi."

But Yan Liang is so brave, I think he's far superior to Wen Ze and Wen Qian. Furthermore, Wen Ze has to be wary of Zhang Xiu and Liu Biao, so he can't leave. Miao Cai also needs to be in Xuzhou to monitor Liu Bei. At most, I can transfer Gong Ming back from Runan. Could he possibly be a match for Yan Liang?

Cao Hong and Cao Chun, who were standing by, were both proud of their bravery and did not think what Cao Cao said was serious.

Guo Jia, on the other hand, was much calmer. He directly suggested: "Sikong is worried about the lack of brave men to break through the enemy lines and kill the generals. Why not use Lu Bu? Lu Bu has been stripped of his military power anyway. When he surrendered, he himself said that he was willing to be a cavalry general. So let's make his wish come true!"

Who in the world doesn't know about Lu Bu's bravery? If they were afraid that Yan Liang would be afraid to fight, they could just not use Lu Bu's banner in advance. We are just looking for a field battle, not a fair fight, so there is nothing shameful about it."

Cao Cao stroked his beard and pondered, "I am indeed worried about using Lü Bu, but it would be a pity not to use him. However, if he really does make contributions, I cannot give him rewards or punishments at random. The three generals, Hou Cheng, Song Xian, and Wei Xu, have always been afraid that Lü Bu will make contributions again and be promoted, and he will cause trouble for them in the future.

I cannot use Lu Bu and ignore the reputation of "rewarding those who are the first to rebel, punishing those who are the last to surrender", because that would discourage those who want to surrender in the future. "

Guo Jia realized that what Cao Cao said made sense, and that when using Lu Bu, one must consider the feelings of people like Hou Cheng and Song Xian.

Guo Jia followed Cao Cao's words and said in a tone of inquiry, "Since that's the case, why don't you speak to Hou Cheng, Song Xian and others first and be frank with them, saying that the army lacks brave and courageous generals and that they had to use Lü Bu to solve the problem temporarily, so that they don't have to worry too much.

If they can't think of other ways to relieve your worries, you can't blame anyone else if you have to use Lu Bu again."

"This idea is feasible." Cao Cao nodded and immediately ordered someone to deliver the letter.

Military orders and letters traveled back and forth at a speed of four to five hundred miles a day. In just three to five days, Luoyang received a reply from Xudu:
Lu Bu has been transferred to Luoyang, but it has not yet been decided whether to use him. He is just being kept there as a spare tire.

However, the three generals, Hou Cheng, Song Xian and Wei Xu, swore and wrote a letter to the emperor to brag about themselves, asking him not to worry, saying that Yan Liang was nothing to be feared. As fierce generals under Lu Bu, they had fought all over the north and south of the Yellow River, and that none of Yuan Shao's generals were as skilled in martial arts as them. They were willing to take the initiative to fight and kill Yan Liang.

Cao Cao looked at General Hou Chengsan's letter of request for battle and was a little bit unbelieving.

But he also knew that Hou Cheng and others were trying very hard to prevent Lu Bu from being reused, to prevent Lu Bu from making meritorious contributions and getting promoted again, and to prevent Lu Bu from taking revenge on them.

"Well, let's trust them for once. If these three generals can really kill Yan Liang, it would be best if they can kill Qu Yi as well, no matter what means they use, even a group fight. Their contributions will be great enough, and if we give them a good promotion, Lu Bu will probably never be able to catch up with their official positions in his lifetime."

Cao Cao thought to himself and decided to give Hou Chengsan a chance to prove himself. If that didn't work, he would let Lu Bu sneak up.

(End of this chapter)