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

Chapter 190 Liu Bei acknowledges his mistakes and admits them; Hebei gradually descends into chaos (5th update)
A few days later, Liu Bei returned to Zhending, and Zhuge Liang personally went out of the city to greet him. The two rode into the city together.

During the journey, Liu Bei, with a hint of pride, brought up the plan for dealing with Xu You and others, and then asked, "Strategist, do you think that if I lead Xu You to fight against Shen Pei and others, we can create chaos in Ye City?"

But as soon as his smugness appeared, Zhuge Liang poured cold water on him: "General, you underestimate people too much! Although Xu You is of questionable character, he is very resourceful. He has already seen through your plans! If Xu You were to instead advise Yuan Shao to gather the strength of Yuan's sons to eliminate your support first, wouldn't you be digging your own grave?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei was greatly alarmed. His smug expression vanished, replaced by astonishment: "Strategist, is it really so?!"

Zhuge Liang sighed softly: "Fortunately, Yuan Shao resented Shen Pei's monopolization of power and did not allow him to harm Xu You's family. Otherwise, I would have had difficulty in helping the Left General to resolve this plan."

The claim that Liu Bei advised Yuan Shao, "A benevolent ruler will not punish his parents or bring misfortune upon his wife and children," was merely a pretext fabricated by Zhuge Liang to dispel Xu You's doubts.

Zhuge Liang was always cautious in his actions, and he was accustomed to deep planning and having many backup plans.

When Zhuge Liang was with Liu Bei in Ye City, he secretly noted how Yuan Shao treated the families of Xu You, Zhang He, Gao Lan, and others.

This is why, after Xu You saw through the plot, Zhuge Liang was able to use Tao Qiuhong's evaluation of Xu You as "fond of relieving those in distress" as a pretext to induce him to willingly go to Ye City to rescue his family, thus causing him to fight against Shen Pei and others.

Zhuge Liang then briefly recounted his conversation with Xu You to Liu Bei, which made Liu Bei tremble with fear: "Fortunately, the strategist is stationed in Zhen Ding, otherwise I would have been implicated by Xu You!"

Having said that, a ruthless glint flashed in Liu Bei's eyes, and he lowered his voice, saying, "Since Xu You has already seen through my plan, even if he were willing to go now, he would surely be used by Yuan Shao after rescuing his family. Perhaps—"

He secretly made a gesture to silence him. Having narrowly escaped having his secrets exposed, Liu Bei dared not harbor any more illusions.

Zhuge Liang gently shook his head: "Killing Xu You now is too late. General, don't forget that you not only left a letter for Cao Cao, but also for Yuan Tan."

Liu Bei was immediately stunned.

At the time, the plan was to get Cao Cao and Yuan Tan to cooperate for their own interests, and the plan was too cautious. Now that they want to back out, the cautiousness has become a hindrance.

Liu Bei sighed and said regretfully, "It seems that these past two years have been too smooth, and even I have become arrogant and less cautious than before. Strategist, what should we do now?"

These past two years have indeed been very smooth for Liu Bei: he moved people to Youzhou and won their hearts, he won a series of great victories on the battlefield and boosted his military prestige, and wandering scholars from all directions came to join him and gained his popularity...

However, the overly smooth development inadvertently fostered Liu Bei's arrogance, leading him to underestimate Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and their strategists.

"Since we're here, let's make the best of it. What's done is done, and we can only plan for the future. Although I have made some arrangements, I can't guarantee everything will be perfect." Zhuge Liang's gaze was calm and composed.

When people are in favorable circumstances for too long, they will unconsciously become arrogant. This is human nature. Even the god of war in adversity and the god of fertility in favorable circumstances are not the only ones who have made this mistake.

The heroes of the world, you and me, the two fires of Chibi and Yiling, even Zhuge Liang himself was confident that his ability to recognize and use people was second to none, but he mistakenly used Ma Su, which led to the defeat at Jieting.

People can make mistakes, but they cannot refuse to admit them. To know one's mistakes and correct them is the greatest virtue. Yuan Shao's attitude of being ashamed to face Tian Feng after making a big mistake at Guandu is absolutely unacceptable.

Changing the subject, Zhuge Liang looked intently at Liu Bei: "General Zuo is a descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan. You should visit the counties of Zhongshan in the near future to pay respects to the local elders and respected figures. Even if something happens in Ye City, General Zuo can unite the forces of Changshan, Zhongshan, and the seven counties of Youzhou to contend with Yuan Shao."

Liu Bei said solemnly, "This disaster was caused by me. Everything is up to the strategist to arrange."

Seeing that Liu Bei had come to his senses, Zhuge Liang softened his tone: "General, there is no need to worry too much. What I just described was only the worst-case scenario. Man proposes, God disposes. How the struggle between Yuan Shao's three sons will unfold is beyond human control. Both I and you will make mistakes, as will Yuan Shao and his sons, Xu You, Shen Pei, and others. To succeed, we don't necessarily need unpredictable schemes. Many times, we just need to wait for our opponents to make mistakes! Let's enter the city first and meet with Xu You to put his mind at ease."

Zhuge Liang's words of comfort reassured Liu Bei considerably. He secretly remembered this lesson and regained his usual boldness. After entering the city...

Following Zhuge Liang's plan, Liu Bei hosted a banquet to treat Xu You to a grand feast. In his words, he expressed his admiration for Xu You's talent and his disgust for Shen Pei's tyranny. He also promised to do everything he could to help Xu You rescue his family.

Xu You also promised that as long as he could rescue his family, he would never forget Liu Bei's great kindness.

As for how much of Xu You's words were true and how much were false, Liu Bei didn't care. Just as Zhuge Liang said: "Since we're here, let's make the best of it. Many times, we just need to wait for our opponents to make mistakes!"

Liu Bei could make mistakes, and so could Yuan Shao.

The next day.

Liu Bei then instructed Yan Liang and Wen Chou to escort Xu You safely to Ye City. Yan Liang and Wen Chou both patted their chests and guaranteed that they would not let Liu Bei down.

Watching Yan Liang and his entourage head towards Ye City, Liu Bei said to Guan Yu standing beside him, "Yun Chang, you must remember the mistakes I made, learn more from the strategist, think deeply about everything, prepare for contingencies, and never underestimate the people of the world."

Guan Yu also felt regret. He had studied under Zhuge Liang for two years but failed to see the flaws and loopholes in Liu Bei's plan. Instead, he had become arrogant like Liu Bei. He nodded solemnly, and Guan Yu's tone became more firm: "I will definitely keep my elder brother's teachings in mind."

Zhuge Liang was in charge of all matters in Changshan Kingdom, and Liu Bei didn't interfere much. Even when Huchuquan and the more than 8,000 prisoners were released, Liu Bei just grunted and didn't ask any further questions.

Since Zhuge Liang made arrangements, there must have been a reason for them.

After resting for two days in Zhen Ding City, Liu Bei, along with Chen Dao, Yuan Chen, Xiahou Bo, and others, went to the counties of Zhongshan to visit local luminaries and elders.

Guan Yu remained in Zhen Ding City to command the troops, while Yan Liang and Wen Chou went to Ye City. The troops in Zhen Ding City also needed someone to train them.

With Xu You's arrival in Ye City and the unfolding of Cao Cao and Liu Bei's strategies against Yuan Shao, the already turbulent city of Ye City became even more unsettled.

In particular, Shen Pei of Liyang, upon learning from Cao Cao that Xu You had been captured alive and was to be sent to Ye City to be dealt with by Yuan Shao, immediately led his personal guard cavalry back to Ye City day and night.

The enemy who killed his son has returned; how could Shen Pei let this go?

Shen Pei also knew that Yuan Shao and Xu You had a close relationship. Even though Xu You had defected, Yuan Shao did not kill Xu You's family. Instead, he imprisoned Xu You's family separately to protect them in a way.

Most importantly, one of the main reasons Xu You defected was that Shen Pei had confiscated the property and imprisoned Xu You's entire family in the rear. This was also the reason why Yuan Shao was always dissatisfied with Shen Pei: Xu You was still in charge of military affairs at the front line, but you ran to the rear and confiscated all of Xu You's family property. You went from having shoes to having nothing. How could you control him like that?

　Previously, his round, purplish face, stained from writing, gradually turned ashen and yellow, with deep wrinkles etched upon it.
　　The area around my eyes is swollen and red, probably because everyone's urging me to update has made me restless.

　　I was overjoyed to see readers come, but their urging for updates was like a thread tangled in my heart, wanting to pour out in a string of words: plot, urging for updates, characters in the book... but it was like a fishbone stuck in my throat, swirling in my mind, and I couldn't utter a single coherent sentence.

　　Once they were settled, their faces showed a mixture of joy and anticipation for interaction, as well as a touch of melancholy from the hardship of typing.

　　He moved his lips, unable to express his many thoughts, and finally, with a humble and respectful attitude, he hoped that everyone would give him some votes!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)