The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 179 Liu Bei gave too much; even Yan Liang and Wen Chou have to submit (4th update)
Zhuge Liang gently waved his feather fan and smiled, "I have a good plan, but I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you, General."

Liu Bei laughed loudly, "Strategist, you flatter me. Please speak freely!"

Zhuge Liang then said, “General, you can follow the example of Sun Bin’s defeat of Pang Juan: openly obey the General’s orders and send Generals Yan and Wen to Dongwuyang; secretly, you and General Guan will lead elite cavalry to accompany them. This way, you can preserve the General’s plan and avoid Generals Yan and Wen being punished by the General. However, after defeating Cao, all the credit should go to Generals Yan and Wen, and you should not take credit for it.”

Liu Bei laughed loudly: "If we can spare the two generals from the punishment of the Grand General, what is a little merit worth mentioning? Let us follow the strategist's plan!"

Yan Liang and Wen Ruoyan's words shocked everyone.

When Liu Bei had previously defeated the Tu Ge and Wu Huan, he had repeatedly ceded the credit, which deeply impressed the two men.

Now that they were about to hand over the entire credit for defeating Cao Cao, the two felt both grateful and apprehensive.

Yan Liang hurriedly waved his hand and said, "How dare we two take credit for General Zuo's achievements? We will definitely report the truth to the General after defeating Cao!"

Zhuge Liang shook his head and said, "Absolutely not! The reason I made this arrangement is precisely to prevent villains from using this as a pretext to frame General Zuo. Although the General values ​​you two, he absolutely cannot allow you two to form a faction with General Zuo. As subordinates, we should know to avoid taboos. If we give others a reason to criticize us, even if we have sincere loyalty, we may not be able to express it to the General. Instead, it will allow villains to gain power."

Yan Liang was taken aback. He hadn't thought about these intricacies in detail before, but after hearing Zhuge Liang's words, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Yuan Shao's forces were embroiled in serious internal strife. Ju Shou was transferred to Youzhou, Shen Pei was sent back to Yecheng, Xu You was forced to rebel, and Tian Feng was imprisoned and nearly killed. Yan Liang was deeply affected by these events.

If, as Zhuge Liang suspected, Yan Liang was framed by a villain for forming a faction with Liu Bei, then even with a thousand words, he would be unable to clear his name.

Wen Chou reacted even faster, saying, "The strategist is right! If our good intentions lead to the Left General being suspected by the Grand General, wouldn't that be counterproductive?"

“But this credit…” Yan Liang hesitated.

Although Yan Liang desperately wanted to achieve great things and become famous, he felt uneasy about having his merits taken away from him after being repeatedly favored by Liu Bei.

Liu Bei laughed and said, "General Yan, please don't refuse! There's plenty of time in the future. Today I'll concede the credit to you two, and you can concede the credit to me in the future. As the Book of Rites says, 'Courtesy demands reciprocity. To give without receiving is impolite; to receive without giving is also impolite!' Why bother about temporary gains and losses?"

Seeing that the atmosphere was right, Zhuge Liang seized the opportunity to persuade, "General Zuo is now famous throughout Hebei and no longer needs to compete with other generals for credit. I have heard that since the battles of Baima and Yanjin, many petty people have mocked you two generals. This trip to Dongwuyang is a good opportunity to use the merit of defeating Cao Cao to restore your reputation."

Upon hearing this, both Yan Liang and Wen Chou's expressions changed.

After suffering defeats at both Baimajin and Yanjin, Yuan Shao did not kill Yan Liang and Wen Chou and even transferred them back to Yecheng. However, these two "generals" became a laughing stock.

No one wants to be ridiculed for being "unworthy of the name"!

Mind this.

Yan Liang and Wen Chou exchanged a glance, then without further hesitation, they clasped their hands in salute to Liu Bei: "We are willing to obey the orders of the Left General!"

After the two generals went to the post station to find Jiang Qi, Liu Bei asked Zhuge Liang, "Strategist, would you like to come along this time?"

Zhuge Liang gently shook his head: "Since General Guan is accompanying us, I will not go. Tao Sheng's talent is not enough to pacify the people of Heishan and intimidate the captured Hu people. I will remain here to oversee things."

Liu Bei sighed deeply, "Everywhere we go, my strategist has to work tirelessly, which pains me greatly. Although some scholars have come to serve me in recent months, I haven't encountered a single person with the talent to govern a prefecture or county. I took my strategist away from Zhuo County hoping that his burden would be lessened, alas—"

Zhuge Liang was deeply moved and smiled, cupping his hands in respect: "To help the general realize his grand ambition, I am willing to give my all. The trivial matters of Changshan are nothing to mention." Liu Bei was also deeply moved and secretly resolved to find talented people from various prefectures and counties to share Zhuge Liang's burdens.

Zhuge Liang then added, "There is one more thing: the timing of this expedition to reinforce Dongwuyang must be extremely careful—we must not rush ahead and steal Yuan Shang's thunder, nor delay and risk his death at Cao Cao's hands. How to handle this is up to you, General."

Liu Bei nodded: "I understand the strategist's meaning. Please inform Yun Chang that if there are any instructions, please give him detailed advice."

Liu Bei knew that Zhuge Liang was meticulous in his work, and even if he didn't mention it, Zhuge Liang would definitely seek Guan Yu's personal advice.

Zhuge Liang agreed and immediately bid farewell to Liu Bei, heading straight to find Guan Yu.

After noting down Zhuge Liang's instructions, Guan Yu raised his most worrying question: "Brother and I are both going to Dongwuyang. If the barbarians take the opportunity to rebel, how should the strategist deal with it? There are only a thousand officers and soldiers under Tao Sheng's command left in Zhending. I'm afraid we will not be able to control more than eight thousand barbarians."

Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan lightly, confident and composed: "General Guan, there is no need to worry. If those eight thousand barbarians were to cause trouble, it would undoubtedly be a dereliction of duty on my part."

“But…” Guan Yu still hesitated.

Guan Yu wasn't afraid of Zhuge Liang neglecting his duties; he was afraid that Zhuge Liang would be harmed by the barbarians. However, he couldn't find the words to express his fear.

Seeing this, Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "Generals Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan are still in Zhongshan. I will send a message to Yuan Xi to transfer these two to Zhen Ding to receive orders."

Upon hearing that Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan were to be transferred, Guan Yu felt somewhat relieved: although the two could not deal with powerful enemies, ordinary rebellions were no problem.

With his doubts dispelled, Guan Yu said no more, and after carefully remembering Zhuge Liang's instructions, he went to prepare his gear.

Zhuge Liang wasn't deceiving Guan Yu; he then sent someone to Zhongshan to deliver a letter to Yuan Xi.

However, Zhuge Liang not only transferred Jiao Chu and Zhang Nan, but also Yuan Xi to Zhen Ding City.

Upon receiving the message, Yuan Xi did not hesitate and immediately led Jiao Chu, Zhang Nan, and five hundred cavalry to Zhengding.

Because Zhuge Liang did not specify the details in his letter, Yuan Xi could not hide his doubts when he met Zhuge Liang: "Why would the Left General suddenly lead troops to Dongwuyang?"

"Governor Yuan, this is the General's military order." Zhuge Liang did not answer directly, but handed the troop mobilization document delivered by Jiang Qi to Yuan Xi.

Yuan Xi's breath hitched as he scanned the contents of the document, his voice laced with embarrassment: "So, Yuan Shang is to be sent to fight Cao Cao in place of the Grand General? The Grand General... also wants the Left General to lead troops to assist Yuan Shang?"

Yuan Shao always favored Yuan Shang, which fueled Yuan Xi's jealousy.

Subconsciously, Yuan Xi recalled the scene where Lady Liu made Yuan Shang treat Liu Bei with the respect due to a junior in front of him, and his resentment became even more intense.

A barely perceptible smile flickered across Zhuge Liang's lips. He paused slightly with his feather fan and offered a hint: "It is not that I am having General Zuo 'lead the troops,' but rather that I am ordering him to 'dispatch' Yan Liang and Wen Chou to lead their troops to assist in the battle. It is only because the two generals are worried that they will not be able to defeat Cao Cao that they have requested General Zuo and General Guan to secretly accompany them."

Yuan Xi was taken aback, then examined the document more carefully. He finally realized something was wrong and looked at Zhuge Liang in astonishment: "Could it be that the General harbors suspicions about the Left General?"

　Chapter 4 is here! Please vote with your monthly tickets!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)