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

Cai Mao asked hesitantly, "My lord, did the letter mention Ma Teng and Han Sui?"

Liu Bei's expression grew even more serious: "I asked the messenger, who claimed that Ma Chao held a banquet and killed Han Sui and others who were unwilling to support Liu Bei, and then absorbed Han Sui's troops. Ma Teng was also stripped of his seal as General Who Conquers the South. Now all the generals in Guanzhong are under the control of Ma Chao alone."

Upon hearing this, everyone gasped in shock.

The generals of Guanzhong who were under the sole command of Ma Chao were completely different from those who were subordinate to Ma Teng and Han Sui respectively.

In particular, Ma Chao also killed Han Sui and others who were unwilling to support him.

This means that as long as Ma Chao is alive, the generals in Guanzhong will support Liu Bei.

Liu Bei's actual power is no longer limited to Youzhou, Jizhou and Bingzhou, but now also includes Guanzhong!
In other words, Liu Bei's overt power was almost on par with Cao Cao's.

And indeed, that was the case. If Chen Deng, the governor of Guangling, had also raised troops to respond to Liu Bei at that time, Cao Cao would have completely lost the land of Hebei.

"My lord, please reconsider! Although Cao Cao holds the emperor hostage, he is still the Minister of Works of the court. If we assist Liu Bei, it would be tantamount to rebellion! Moreover, Cao Cao has deep roots. Although his five-pronged northern expedition last year failed, his main force was not damaged. Now, Ma Chao has brazenly murdered Han Sui and imprisoned his father. How can we trust such a tyrannical man? Furthermore, if Liu Bei gains power, he may very well become the next Cao Cao. Therefore, I believe that both Liu Bei and Cao Cao are fierce tigers. Only when the two tigers fight can my lord benefit."

Cai Mao's statement stemmed from two reasons: he was an old acquaintance of Cao Cao and wanted to secretly help Cao Cao to gain personal power; as a powerful clan in Jingzhou, he did not want either Cao Cao or Liu Bei to gain power.

Liu Biao neither agreed nor disagreed, but instead looked at Kuai Yue standing to the side.

Currently, among the various forces in Jingzhou, the Cai and Kuai clans are the leaders. If both the Cai and Kuai clans express their intention to sit back and watch the tigers fight, even if Liu Biao is willing to support Liu Bei, it will be useless.

Kuai Yue was now in a dilemma.

Liu Bei's forces and the forces in Jingzhou had many intricate connections.

Grand Commandant Zhang Wen had a brother-in-law named Cai Feng. Cai Feng had two daughters: the elder daughter was the wife of Huang Chengyan, and the younger daughter was the wife of Liu Biao. Cai Feng also had a son named Cai Mao.

Kuai Yue had a nephew named Kuai Qi, and Kuai Qi's wife was Zhuge Liang's eldest sister.

In Xiangyang, there was a famous scholar named Pang Degong. Pang Degong had a son named Pang Shanmin, who married Zhuge Liang's second sister. Pang Degong also had a cousin named Pang Tong.

Liu Biao also had a general named Huang Zhong, who now serves under Liu Bei.

Huang Chengyan then agreed to perform the first four of the six rites in Jingzhou before betrothing his only daughter, Huang Yueying, to Zhuge Liang.

Zhuge Liang was Liu Bei's military advisor and general, overseeing both internal and external affairs; Pang Tong was Liu Bei's general in charge of pacifying the army, supervising military affairs in Zhongshan, Changshan, and Shangdang; and Huang Zhong was a general entrusted with important responsibilities by Liu Bei.

Given this complex relationship, Cao Cao would not believe it even if Liu Biao revealed his true intentions.

Thinking of this, Kuai Yue and Cai Mao had different opinions, saying, "Cao Cao is surnamed Cao and is suspicious and distrustful; Liu Bei is surnamed Liu and is known for his benevolence and righteousness. If you help Cao Cao, you will surely be harmed by him in the future; on the contrary, if you help Liu Bei, Liu Bei will consider the kinship between the two families and will certainly not make things difficult for you."

Cai Mao was slightly surprised that Kuai Yue did not support him, so he asked in return, "If you, my lord, help Liu Bei, Cao Cao will surely be unable to resist. If Liu Bei were to replace Cao Cao and, with the momentum of his great victory, turn his attention south to Jingzhou, using the 'kinship ties' to force you to submit, how would we then conduct ourselves?" Kuai Liang, seeing Cai Mao and Kuai Yue arguing, quickly stepped in to mediate, saying, "You two need not argue. I believe you should respond to Liu Bei, but you must not actually send troops to Xuchang. Wancheng was originally the northern gateway to Jingzhou, but it was captured by Cao Cao after Zhang Xiu surrendered. You should prepare your troops in Xinye, and make it known that you intend to send troops out of Wancheng, causing Cao Cao to divide his forces to prepare. This is to 'support' Liu Bei without actually engaging in battle; at the same time, secretly order Jiangxia to be strictly guarded to prevent Sun Quan from taking advantage of the chaos. We should wait until the outcome of the Cao-Liu conflict becomes clear before deciding on our course of action."

Kuai Yue retorted, "That is a mistake! If we help this move, we may end up pleasing neither side. If Liu Bei wins, he will resent that you, my lord, did not exert your full strength; if Cao Cao wins, he will surely be angry and launch a southern expedition."

For a time, Cai Mao, Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue, and the civil and military officials present each held their own opinions, and no one could convince the others.

This phenomenon is also Liu Biao's own fault.

Liu Biao only had the will to maintain the status quo and not the will to advance, so much so that his civil and military officials were not focused on the world, but on their own territory of Jingzhou.

Even if Kuai Yue supported Liu Bei, he was thinking that Liu Bei would treat Liu Biao kindly in the future out of consideration for their kinship, not that he could expand northward and annex Cao Cao's population and territory after supporting Liu Bei.

A group of civil and military officials without ambition would find it difficult to devise a strategy to compete with the heroes of the world.

Liu Biao was so annoyed by the argument that he kept rubbing his temples. Finally, unable to bear the arguing any longer, he had to leave early and go to the back room.

Seeing this, Yi Ji quietly followed.

Seeing that it was Yi Ji from the same prefecture who had come along, Liu Biao relaxed his brows slightly and asked, "Does Uncle Ji have something to say?"

After looking around, Yi Ji said in a low voice, "What everyone was thinking just now was only their own concerns and not the lord's. I have a few words to say that I must speak out."

Liu Biao nodded slightly and said, "Ji Bo is from my hometown, so please speak freely."

Because he was from the same hometown, Yi Ji had almost no local interests in Jingzhou, so his considerations naturally leaned more towards Liu Biao's personal interests, which is why Liu Biao valued Yi Ji.

Yi Ji said solemnly, “Forgive my bluntness. Your Excellency is sixty-two years old this year. Even if you have great ambitions, you no longer have the strength to compete with the heroes of the world. To survive in chaotic times, you either need to personally lead your troops to fight between the two sides and roam freely to compete for the world, or you need to appoint virtuous and capable people and let them do their best, protect the territory and wait for the heroes to reappear.”

“Cao Cao is a traitor to the country. Once he gains power, the foundation of the Han dynasty will be in jeopardy. You, my lord, are a member of the Han imperial family and will surely be killed by Cao Cao. General Zuo is also a member of the imperial family. If he gains power, the foundation of the Han dynasty can be preserved. Even if General Zuo has the ambition to ascend to the top, he will still be the emperor of the Liu family.”

"Considering the kinship with the imperial family and the kindness shown by the magistrate today, and considering that Zhuge Liang, Pang Tong, Huang Zhong, and others all have connections with the magistrate, the Left General will surely treat the magistrate and his descendants well in the future."

"Therefore, I believe that for the sake of your descendants, we should send troops to respond to General Zuo."

Yi Ji's words struck a chord with Liu Biao.

Ten years ago, when he single-handedly conquered Jingzhou, Liu Biao naturally had the idea of ​​supporting the Han Dynasty and eliminating the rebels. But now, at the age of sixty-two and having spent more than ten years in Jingzhou, he has been confined to the northern city of Wancheng. Many of the four southern commanderies of Jingzhou are dissatisfied with his rule, and Sun Ce and Sun Quan have successively attacked Jiangxia.

Last year, Sun Quan launched his first western expedition against Huang Zu. Although he failed to capture the city, he did defeat Huang Zu's naval forces.

In other words, Liu Biao, though seemingly possessing the counties of Jing and Xiang, with a large population, numerous soldiers, and a gathering of scholars, is actually outwardly strong but inwardly weak. Even a young Sun Quan, not yet of age, can take a bite out of Liu Biao. (End of Chapter)