My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 277 Cai Mao is on the first floor, Liu Biao is on the second floor, and Kuai Liang is on the third floor

Cai Mao's hostility and disgust towards Liu Bei had a long history.

Although Liu Bei in this life was not so destitute as to defect to Liu Biao's camp, he only competed with Liu Biao for some interests as an external colleague.

But it can only be said that Cai Mao and Liu Bei were really incompatible. The little frictions accumulated and snowballed, and finally made Cai Mao guard against Liu Bei everywhere and slander him whenever he had the chance.

Fortunately, Liu Biao was much older than Cai Mao and had seen the world.

Liu Biao was over sixty years old, while Cai Mao was only in his thirties.

Liu Biao also knew Cai Mao's selfish motives. Over the past six months, he had gradually realized what Cai Mao and Zhang Yun had done to abuse their power for personal gain after Liu Bei sealed off the Yangtze River last year.

At this moment, facing the slander, Liu Biao did not immediately believe it, but just said coldly:

"You are so capable, why didn't you immediately go south to quell the rebellion when Zhang Xian started his rebellion? If you could have defeated Zhang Xian, there wouldn't be all these grudges today? When I asked you to go out to quell the rebellion, you were like a coward.

You had to wait for Wen Pin and Huang Zhong to come back and gather 30,000 to 50,000 troops before you were willing to go to war—how many troops did Xing Daorong have? Even if Wen Pin and Huang Zhong didn't come back to help, you had more soldiers than Xing Daorong at the time, so why didn't you dare to fight?"

When Cai Mao was reprimanded by his brother-in-law in person, he was speechless for a moment and was completely unable to refute.

He was indeed good at scheming and scheming against others, but when it came to leading troops to fight, it seemed that he had never won a battle in his life.

Cai Mao was a typical bully who was only capable of maintaining internal order and would instantly become cowardly when faced with an external war.

He could only endure the scolding for the time being, and wait until Liu Biao calmed down a little before he tactfully defended himself:
"At that time, I wanted to wait for Generals Wen and Huang to return and gather the troops in order to be safe and secure. Who could have expected that Liu Bei would be so treacherous that he would take over the reins and launch a counterattack into Changsha County within just four or five days after Zhang Xian entered the country...

I think Liu Bei must have been waiting for Zhang Xian to make his move! He was setting a trap for Zhang Xian! The speed at which our army mobilized troops is the normal speed of reaction after hearing about the mutiny..."

Liu Biao almost fainted after hearing this. He snorted angrily, stood up, waved his sleeves and shouted:

"You are the one who usually doesn't have strict military preparations and can't immediately mobilize troops to counterattack when the war comes. You still have the nerve to blame others for being strict in military discipline and taking the lead when encountering the enemy? If it weren't for your sister, others would have long since refused to accept you as the commander of the army!

I am too ambitious. I can't even do one thing, but I'm thinking about two or three. Do your job first and then blame others! Put yourself in their shoes. If Cao Cao and Sun Ce suppress this rebellion, we will get nothing after suppressing it! We can only fight back on our own! Only Liu Bei, a gentleman can be deceived by others, he took into account the greater good and was willing to give back a little!"

(Note: The idiom "ambitious" only appeared in the Song Dynasty, but I just want to use it.)
Cai Mao was scolded so badly that he could not defend himself. After taking a few breaths, Liu Biao continued to order in a stern tone: "If you have the time, you should think about how to regroup your forces on the northern front and attack Wancheng while the outcome of the battle between Yuan and Cao is still undecided!
Although it took two months, I heard that Cao Cao was exhausted by Yuan Shao. After our army withdrew last time, Cao Cao didn't know the situation in Jingnan, and he must have mistakenly thought that our army was held back by Zhang Xian. I heard that he pulled troops from Wancheng to Guandu again - this time you must gather Wen Pin and Huang Zhong, and make sure to capture Wancheng!

As for Jingnan, I will first let Lai Gong and Wu Ju take office, which is also a test of the waters. If Zhang Fei obstructs, it means that Liu Bei is not trustworthy. Liu Bei will lose the support of Jingzhou people and lose his reputation for trustworthiness. Then we can make long-term plans. "

Cai Mao was scolded so much that he didn't dare to reply until this moment. He couldn't help but ask again: "What if Liu Bei didn't prevent Lai Gong and Wu Ju from taking office? We sent officials and he accepted the appointment. This matter is equivalent to a deal, and we will never be able to argue in the future!"

Liu Biao was so angry that he laughed: "Liu Bei did not prevent Lai Gong and Wu Ju from taking office. It is very likely that it was just a show for the scholars of Jingzhou. It is only temporary. In the future, I will let Lai Gong and Wu Ju raise troops, money and food from Wuling and Lingling to transfer to the north to add bricks and tiles to the combat power of Nanjun and Xiangyang. Will Liu Bei stop it?
If Liu Bei did not stop us, we would be able to mobilize the manpower and financial resources of Wuling and Lingling counties. Even if we lose the right to station troops, we will have gained a lot and should be content. It is estimated that Liu Bei just wanted to take advantage of the Yangtze River's navigability.

If Liu Bei stops us again at that time, it will give us a new excuse, saying that Liu Bei obstructed the governor sent by our army from exercising his powers, and then we will naturally have an excuse to quibble.

As for when to use this excuse, the initiative is in my hands. If you are more capable in military affairs, I can use this excuse earlier. If you are incompetent in military affairs, I can only bear it even if I have an excuse! This kind of flexibility is much better than you tearing your face off right away!"

Cai Mao suddenly understood.

Even he himself had to admit that his brother-in-law's political wisdom was indeed much better than his.

Cai Mao was a man who had some insight into his imaginary enemies, and could sometimes see that they had bad intentions. But his response was too tasteless, always using stupid tricks that left no room for maneuver, like a barking dog that could only bite weakly.

In comparison, Liu Biao's response seemed to be able to control himself.

It not only leaves an excuse and a hook, but it can also be temporarily held in place when the strength is not enough, but it will not cause the hook to become ineffective after being left for too long.

It can be said that "when one is poor, one hides one's strength and bides a low profile, and when one is rich, one flaunts one's military might, this has been the case since ancient times."

Cai Mao had to be convinced and did not dare to raise any more objections. He supported Liu Biao's plan to let Lai Gong and Wu Ju take office first to test the waters. After eliminating the objections, Liu Biao smoothly pushed forward the matter and spent a few days finalizing the remaining candidates for the appointment of county magistrates. Then he asked Yi Ji to take Liu Biao's official reply to Wuchang again to formally sign an alliance with Liu Bei.

It was already July 21st when Yi Ji returned to Xiangyang. The report and discussion took two or three days. By the time Liu Biao had made the subsequent decision and finalized the candidates, it was already August 2nd.

Yi Ji had no choice but to make another arduous journey to Wuchang. He arrived on the sixth day of August and spent three days formally signing an alliance with Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, stating that the affairs of Jingnan would be handled according to the agreed plan and that there would be no further disputes between the two sides afterwards.

……

However, during the time when Yi Ji left Xiangyang and went to Wuchang again, some minor changes occurred in the political arena of Xiangyang that neither Liu Biao nor Yi Ji had expected.

It turned out that after being scolded by Liu Biao, Cai Mao kept quiet for a few days and did not raise any objections or take the lead again.

A few days later, the brothers Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue realized that something was amiss: the envoy seemed to have already decided on the candidates for county magistrates to be sent to Wuling and Lingling, which meant that the matter was almost settled.

Kuai Liang quickly found Cai Mao and asked him privately: "Degui! What's going on? Didn't you say you wanted to stop the envoy from accepting Liu Bei's harsh conditions?"

Cai Mao was not a reliable person. He had colluded with the Kuai family before, and he came forward to test Liu Biao's attitude and give some advice to Liu Biao to be careful of Liu Bei. After being persuaded by Liu Biao, Cai Mao felt that his brother-in-law was very capable and would not be deceived, so he did not reply to Kuai Liang.

When Kuai Liang came to ask about it, he thought of relaying it: "Don't worry, Zirou. You and I have been worrying too much. My brother-in-law is very smart. He knows that our army is not strong enough at the moment, so he can only test the waters and get some benefits.

But he has always been on guard against Liu Bei, and has secretly buried a hook. If Liu Bei does not keep his promise in the future, we still have the opportunity to bring up the old matter and counter Liu Bei, so there is no need to rush. "

Kuai Liang was slightly relieved after hearing this, but he still didn't dare to be completely relieved, and couldn't help but continue to ask: "Even so, you should have told me immediately after you came back, so that I could help the lord to find out the omissions and fill in the gaps. How could you not reply!"

Cai Mao was also unhappy. He thought, "Since you are so concerned, why don't you give me advice in person? You always ask me to take the lead! You are taking advantage of me being your lord's brother-in-law!"
The people of the Kuai family are smart, but they don't want to show their faces and attract hatred, so they always give advice to Cai Mao in secret.

Cai Mao was originally happy to gain more opportunities to show off in front of Liu Bian, so the two sides hit it off, with Cai Mao being the first to take the spotlight, and both sides getting what they wanted.

But in Cai Mao's view, if you don't have the courage to offer advice, then you can be my advisor! Do I need to report to you on what I should do and whether I should stop giving advice?

However, considering the pleasant cooperation between the two sides for many years, Cai Mao chose to tell the whole story after being slightly unhappy, and told Kuai Liang all about Liu Biao's plans and plots that day.

At the end, Cai Mao did not forget to brag: "Brother-in-law's plan is indeed far superior to yours and mine, right? He has actually been on guard against Liu Bei all along, but he is much smarter than you and me. He does not have to offend Liu Bei immediately, and he can also leave a backup plan."

However, after listening to this, Kuai Liang only admired it for a short while, and then he quickly realized a problem.

He was originally calm, but suddenly he cried out in shock, "Oh no! My lord is so expectant, I'm afraid he has fallen into Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang's trap again!"

Cai Mao then became nervous: "How is it possible? My brother-in-law planned it so well, how could there be any loopholes?"

Kuai Liang said angrily: "What the envoy hopes for is that if Lai Gong and Wu Ju can take office smoothly without being obstructed by Liu Bei, then let Lai Gong and Wu Ju settle down temporarily, and then find an opportunity in the future to slowly withdraw troops, money and grain from Wuling and Lingling to the north to test Liu Bei's reaction.

If Liu Bei obstructs us again, it will give our army an excuse to negotiate with Liu Bei for some benefits - and I estimate that given the weakness of our army, the lord will definitely not expose this backup plan easily, because he knows that our army cannot defeat Liu Bei on its own.

I guess they will set up this back-up plan, and when Liu Bei and Cao Cao go to war and are too busy to take care of themselves, they will use this excuse to ask Liu Bei for a vote."

After listening to Kuai Liang's summary, Cai Mao felt that there was nothing wrong with it, and he couldn't help but become more puzzled: "Yes, I also think that's what my brother-in-law meant - then isn't this strategy perfect? Why did Zirou say that this was a trick of Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang?"

Kuai Liang shook his head helplessly and sighed: "Although there is nothing wrong with this plan on the surface, the mistake is that it knows oneself but not the enemy, and it underestimates Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang!

What kind of person was Liu Bei? How good was he at winning people's hearts? How wise was Zhuge Liang? If he wanted to sow discord and instigate, who could escape?
If the envoy wants to realize this plan, the key is that he must ensure that Lai Gong and Wu Ju remain loyal to him! After successfully taking office for a year or even longer, they will still obey the lord absolutely! In this way, the lord can delay until the war between Cao and Liu in the future, and use Lai and Wu to threaten Liu Bei to ask for a high price!

But the problem is, with Liu Bei's ability to win over people's hearts, what if after a year or two, Lai Gong and Wu Ju are very comfortable as prefects and are won over by Liu Bei? At that time, the lord wants to secretly control them and make Lai and Wu obey orders, but Lai and Wu pretend to be deaf and dumb, shirk their responsibilities, and refuse to cooperate with the lord, then the lord will be at a loss!"

"This... can it be like this? It's impossible! Lai Gong and Wu Ju are my brother-in-law's confidants!" Cai Mao was suddenly confused and felt it was unbelievable.

(End of this chapter)