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

Chapter 233 Zhong Yao's Use of Divide and Conspiracy: Liu Bei's "The Mantis Stalks the Cicada Behind" Threat Theory (5th Update)
At this moment, Guo Yuan was no longer the arrogant man who once said, "Zhong Yao is Zhong Yao, and I am me." He was left only with the humble act of begging Zhong Yao for his life.

But Guo Yuan's words terrified Hu Chuquan, making his hair stand on end: "Guo, you can't repay kindness with enmity! If I hadn't escorted you all the way to Pi's place, you wouldn't be alive today!"

Zhong Yao's gaze flashed like lightning as he turned to Hu Chuquan, coldly snorting, "Escort? Perhaps you received a secret order from Liu Bei and did this on purpose? You two, do you really think you can fool me with this treacherous scheme?"

He then pointed at Deng Sheng and falsely claimed, "Deng Sheng has confessed that Liu Bei sent you two to Pi's place to act as inside agents. It was only because you two failed to cooperate as planned that you suffered a great defeat and were captured."

Guo Yuan's expression changed upon hearing this, and he glared at Deng Sheng angrily: "We have no enmity between us, why are you trying to harm me?!"

Deng Sheng glanced at Zhong Yao in fear, then lowered his head and remained silent, not daring to utter a word.

When Hu Chuquan's gaze met Zhong Yao's, he felt an even deeper chill.

With a flash of inspiration, recalling Liu Bei's instructions, Hu Chuquan knelt down with a thud: "Commander of the Capital Region, please understand! I truly did not come here to act as an inside agent! It was the Left General who told me that he neither wanted to see Guo Congshi return safely north, nor did he want to harm him himself. Therefore, he gave me weapons to find Guo Congshi and ordered me to pretend that I was ordered to silence him. After gaining Guo Congshi's trust, I was to persuade him to seek refuge with you..."

Guo Yuan stared in disbelief, pointing at Hu Chuquan, "You...you...you..." He was speechless with anger.

Zhong Yao's sharp gaze was fixed on Hu Chuquan: "You answered so readily, could it be that you're harboring some ambivalent intentions?"

Hu Chuquan was terrified and hurriedly protested, "I'm innocent! General Zuo clearly said that when I saw you, Commandant of the Capital Region, I should act according to the circumstances! Now that Deng Sheng has 'confessed,' how can I hide anything? Of course, I confessed everything! Isn't this exactly what 'acting according to the circumstances' means?"

Indeed, they have the nature of barbarians!
Zhong Yao felt contempt and waved his hand to order his men to take Hu Chuquan and Deng Sheng away and keep them under guard, leaving only Guo Yuan behind.

“You have been arrogant and disdainful of others since you were a child. Now you have been played like a fool by Liu Bei. Do you know the meaning of shame?” Zhong Yao stared coldly at Guo Yuan.

If it weren't for some remaining affection between uncle and nephew, Zhong Yao would have already swiftly beheaded this nephew who had always looked down on him.

Guo Yuan felt a surge of resentment in his heart, but dared not show it in the slightest. He could only lower his head and plead, "Nephew knows he was wrong... I beg Uncle to save me!"

“Saving you? It’s not impossible, but it depends on whether you have the courage.” Zhong Yao snorted coldly, looking at the hope rising in Guo Yuan’s eyes, and said in a deep voice, “I will send someone to take you to Liyang to find Yuan Shang. After you meet Yuan Shang, you should tell him the truth about Liu Bei’s usurpation of power, and that Liu Bei has already taken control of the military power in Bingzhou and intends to establish himself in Bingzhou.”

Guo Yuan hesitated: "How can Yuan Shang easily believe such an explanation?"

"Whether you can gain my trust is up to you. Out of consideration for our relationship as uncle and nephew, I will only save you this once. If you refuse, then I will have no choice but to throw you into a death row camp and leave you to fend for yourself." Zhong Yao's tone suddenly turned stern, and his aura was chilling.

Guo Yuan felt a chill run through his body, as if he had fallen into an ice cave. After a brief pause, Zhong Yao continued, "Take Hu Chuquan with you. With him by your side, you'll have a witness. Go quickly!"

Guo Yuan was unwilling to serve under Zhong Yao and suffer mistreatment. Upon hearing this order, he felt relieved, as if he had been granted a pardon.

After sending Guo Yuan and Huchuquan out of Pishi City, Zhong Yao interrogated Deng Sheng alone again, his gaze deep: "Deng Sheng, have you ever thought about why we were defeated today?"

Deng Sheng, not understanding his meaning, replied obsequiously, "It is all because we did not recognize the might of the Commandant of the Capital Region that we suffered this defeat."

"Hmph!" Zhong Yao's contempt deepened. "No! This is due to your and Xia Zhao's stupidity! You insisted on gathering all those officers and their troops who harbored resentment towards Liu Bei in one place. Wasn't this exactly what Liu Bei wanted, giving him a perfect opportunity to use someone else to kill you all in one fell swoop? As soon as you were routed, Liu Bei's ambush arrived! Those cavalrymen who rushed into the battlefield—those with the Guan, Zhang, Huang, Yan, and Wen banners—Deng Sheng, you should know whose banners these are, right? Poor Gao Gan, first his military power was taken away, and then even his loyal and trusted troops were all lost in Liu Bei's scheme. After this, it's still unknown whether Bingzhou will belong to Yuan or Liu. In the past, when Liu Bei was trapped in Youzhou, he could only conquer the Wuhuan to the north; now that he has gained Bingzhou, Youzhou and Bingzhou are connected, and the Black Mountain bandit leader Zhang Yan has also submitted..."

Zhong Yao casually spread a map in front of Deng Sheng, his finger tracing heavily across Bingzhou, Jizhou, and Youzhou: "Look! The brothers Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan are fighting each other to the death, but little did they know that their rear base was being quietly devoured by Liu Bei. What a perfect example of 'the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind'! Sikong has always valued Liu Bei, often telling us: 'The only one who can rival him in the world is Liu Xuande!' I had my doubts then, but now I see that Sikong's vision is far-sighted."

Hearing Zhong Yao's insightful analysis, Deng Sheng's back was soaked with cold sweat. Only then did he realize that he and Xia Zhao were nothing more than pawns used by Liu Bei to compete for Bingzhou.

"The Sili Xiaowei is as clear-sighted as a scoundrel, a petty man who is dull and ignorant." Deng Sheng no longer dared to harbor any illusions, and was left only with confusion about the future and awe for Zhong Yao.

Zhong Yao put away the map, his sharp eyes seeming to see right through Deng Sheng: "Since you know I'm foolish, you can still be of use. Gao Gan has been stripped of his power and placed under house arrest, and his former subordinates have been killed by Liu Bei's scheme. Bingzhou is in imminent danger. You should quickly go to Jizhou to find Yuan Shao and tell him everything you've seen and heard, especially Liu Bei's treacherous scheme of 'using a borrowed knife to kill' to eliminate dissidents. There's no need to mention Guo Yuan's matter; just state Liu Bei's ambition and Gao Gan's imminent danger. If you do this, the General will surely save your life."

"Your humble servant obeys! I will do my utmost!" Deng Sheng kowtowed repeatedly, secretly relieved. As long as he could live, what did it matter if he slandered Liu Bei to Yuan Shao?
After sending someone to quietly escort Deng Sheng out of the city, Zhong Yao finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

Rubbing his head, Zhong Yao frowned deeply. Instead of feeling a sense of accomplishment in outmaneuvering Liu Bei, he was more worried: "Liu Bei's General Pang Tong, who is only in his early twenties, is ruthless in his schemes and his plans are intricate and complex. My plan may not succeed. We will need the help of the Minister of Works to repel Liu Bei's troops."

After pacing for a moment, Zhong Yao took out paper and pen and recorded the calculations and subsequent deductions of this battle in detail in the battle report.

He then handed the battle report to Zhang Ji, instructing him to send it by fast horse to Xuchang and deliver it to Cao Cao.

Zhang Ji hesitated: "The generals from Guanzhong have not yet arrived, and we may not necessarily lose to Liu Bei. If we send the battle report to the Minister of Works now, we may be looked down upon by the people in the court."

Zhong Yao shook his head slightly: "It's better to be underestimated than to let Liu Bei be the one to suffer the consequences. Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan are merely minor problems for the Minister of Works; Liu Bei is the real threat to the Minister of Works!"

　Update 5 is here!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)