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

Chapter 198 Once Yuan Shao enters Zhuge Liang's Five Finger Mountain, he can forget about escaping (3rd update)
What Guan Yu said was not Liu Bei's instruction, but Zhuge Liang's parting words.

However, given the close relationship between Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, it made no difference to Guan Yu whether it was Liu Bei's instruction or Zhuge Liang's order.

But as long as the title "General Zuo" is attached, it will be a fatal blow to Yan Liang and Wen Chou!

Before attacking Dongwuyang, Yan Liang and Wen Chou had already realized that the document sent by Jiang Qi contained the intention to weaken Liu Bei's military power.

To prioritize the overall situation, Liu Bei adopted Zhuge Liang's suggestion to conceal his identity and travel to Dongwuyang. He also launched a surprise attack on Cangtingjin to prevent Yan Liang and Wen Chou from being defeated due to Yuan Shang's chaotic command. Therefore, when returning to Zhending, Yan Liang and Wen Chou pretended to be stupid and did not hand over their troops to Yuan Shang, but instead allowed Liu Bei to take them back to Zhending.

Yan Liang and Wen Chou had already received much kindness from Liu Bei, and when they heard that Liu Bei had voluntarily relinquished his military power so as not to put them in a difficult position, they were filled with gratitude.

To give away the command of 10,000 troops so readily—what incredible trust that is!
At this moment, Yuan Shao was unaware of Yan Liang and Wen Chou's thoughts. He was only pleased with Liu Bei's "sensible" behavior and felt a little guilty towards Liu Bei: "Xuande has served me diligently and conscientiously, yet I have doubted him. When we arrive in Zhongshan, I should give Xuande some benefits."

In a good mood, Yuan Shao also became quite friendly with Guan Yu, who was attending the banquet. Guan Yu was a fierce man who could take the head of Tadun from among thousands of soldiers, and Yuan Shao would naturally try his best to win him over.

Yuan Shao even took the initiative to ask Guan Yu if he would be willing to serve as the governor of Julu.

If Guan Yu hadn't met Zhuge Liang, he would have definitely refused outright. But having followed Zhuge Liang for so long, Guan Yu's mind had become much more flexible.

"I am capable of leading troops, but governing the region as a prefect is not my forte. If the General does not mind, I am ready to charge into battle for you in the future and take the head of Cao Cao!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao stroked his short beard and laughed, "With General Guan's help, how can we not destroy Cao Cao! General Yan, pour General Guan a full cup!"

Looking at the happy crowd, only Xu You was deep in thought: What kind of trick is Zhuge Liang plotting now?
Xu You knew Liu Bei's intentions here and was also aware of how brilliant Zhuge Liang's strategies were. However, the more Xu You understood Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, the less he understood what he was seeing and hearing today.

Not only did Zhuge Liang relinquish all political power in Changshan Kingdom, including overseeing the affairs of the Black Mountain people, but Guan Yu also handed over his seals and documents to Yan Liang and Wen Chou, thus completely relinquishing his military power in Changshan Kingdom.

Without political and military power, Liu Bei's efforts over the past few months in Changshan Kingdom were in vain.

What was Liu Bei after?
Would Liu Bei really be loyal to the Grand General?

Seeing Yuan Shao's obvious delight at the banquet, Xu You swallowed his words, thinking to himself: If I raise any questions now, the general will surely misunderstand that I am stirring up trouble again. I can only find another opportunity to speak up.

Since Guan Yu was also going to Zhongshan to find Liu Bei, Yuan Shao left Wen Chou in Zhending to command troops, while Guan Yu and Yan Liang accompanied him to Zhongshan.

Guan Yu did not refuse Yuan Shao's arrangement. It would be a good opportunity to observe Yuan Shao's intentions along the way and provide more useful intelligence when he met Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang in the future.

a few days later.

Yuan Shao led his troops to Lunu, the capital of Zhongshan. After meeting with the former Zhongshan Chancellor, Yuan Shao ordered the newly appointed Chancellor, Tao Sheng, to hand over the reins. He also sent Guan Yu to find Liu Bei and invite him to Lunu. Not long after leaving the city, Guan Yu found Liu Bei in a private house outside the city. It turned out that Zhuge Liang had found Liu Bei in advance and predicted Yuan Shao's arrival in Lunu, so he had rented a house outside the city to stay in.

"Yuan Shao has a lot of suspicion towards me. He transferred Gao Rou to be the Chancellor of Changshan and Tao Shengping to be the Chancellor of Zhongshan as soon as he entered Zhen Ding." Liu Bei sighed slightly and then turned to Zhuge Liang: "Fortunately, the strategist had planned ahead and invited Gao Rou to Changshan State and said that he was also serving as the Judicial Officer. Otherwise, if Yuan Shao had replaced him with someone who could not treat the Black Mountain people well as the Chancellor of Changshan, I would have been ashamed to face Zhang Yan and the others."

Guan Yu was indignant: "Now that the command of those 10,000 troops has been handed over, all the hard work I've put in for the past six months has almost gone to waste."

Zhuge Liang gently waved his feather fan, reassuring Guan Yu, "General Guan, there is no need to worry. Compared to dispelling Yuan Shao's suspicions and gaining favor with Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and others, what is the loss of a mere ten thousand soldiers?"

Liu Bei also reassured them, saying, "Although Yan Liang and Wen Chou are loyal to Yuan Shao, I have repeatedly shown them kindness, so they will certainly not be my enemies. At present, I am not able to confront Cao Cao head-on. It is the best strategy to rely on Yuan Shao's strength to gradually grow stronger."

Then Liu Bei turned to Zhuge Liang: "Yuan Shao specifically requested in his invitation that you, strategist, also go to Lu Nu. Would you like to go with him?"

Zhuge Liang was confident: "If I'm not mistaken, it seems Xu You wants me to go to the banquet with you. You can deal with Yuan Shao, and I will handle Xu You. However, at this banquet, you should only reminisce with Yuan Shao, and not discuss the current situation or the affairs of Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan. If Yuan Shao asks, you should simply pretend you don't know; if you can't deny it, you can find an excuse to ask me."

Liu Bei had complete faith in Zhuge Liang's strategies, so he clapped his hands and laughed, "With the strategist accompanying me, I can rest assured."

To avoid arousing suspicion about his whereabouts, Zhuge Liang had Liu Bei stay outside the city for two more days before going to Lunu City to meet Yuan Shao.

Upon hearing of Liu Bei's arrival, Yuan Shao, along with Xu You, Yan Liang, Tao Sheng, and other civil and military officials, went out of the city to greet him with the utmost courtesy, as if he had no suspicion of Liu Bei whatsoever.

The group exchanged greetings and entered the city.

Yuan Shao invited Liu Bei to sit at the next table of honor, while Xu You sat next to Zhuge Liang.

After drinking for a while, Xu You bluntly stated, "Strategist Zhuge, you have quite the tricks. On one hand, you tricked Yuan Xi into Ye City under the pretense of filial piety, thus disrupting the Grand General's discussion on establishing an heir. On the other hand, you properly transferred political and military power before the Grand General even arrived in Zhengding. You even managed to trick Gao Gan's cousin into coming to Zhengding! This kind of strategic retreat might fool the Grand General, but it won't fool me, Xu You!"

Zhuge Liang chuckled, fanning himself, "Mr. Xu, you've misunderstood. I'm simply trying my best to foster harmony between the General and the Left General; I have no other intentions."

Xu You poured himself a cup of wine and smiled faintly: "Why is Mr. Zhuge so cautious? Right now, I just want to live a leisurely life to protect my wife and children. I have no intention of getting involved. I am just curious. What benefit would this strategic retreat bring to General Zuo? Could it be that General Zuo has already won over Gao Rou, Tao Sheng, and even Yan Liang and Wen Chou? But based on my understanding of the four, they would never betray the General and join General Zuo."

Zhuge Liang raised his cup to Xu You and said respectfully, "Mr. Xu, you have misunderstood. If General Zuo wanted to win over someone, he should have done so by winning over talented people who are not trusted by the General. To be honest, General Zuo did win over Tian Feng and Ju Shou, but unfortunately, these two are very stubborn. Even though they are not trusted by the General, they still want to serve the General."

After a pause, Zhuge Liang sighed again, "Hebei is full of righteous men!"

　Update 3 is here!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)