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

Chapter 79 Liu Bei Shows His Skills, Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong's Path Widens (1st Update)
Wen Chou snorted coldly and said nothing more. He then led the infantry and cavalry across the river with Yan Liang.

Liu Bei stayed in the main tent and chatted warmly with Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong. Compared to Yan Liang and Wen Chou, Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong were more worthy of Liu Bei's friendship.

"When I was in Liyang, I heard the General mention you two. The General also said that Mr. Guo is a strategist and decisive, and General Chunyu is brave and skilled in battle. Today, it is Liu Bei's good fortune to be able to work with you two in military affairs!"

In contrast to Yan Liang's earlier words that exposed their shortcomings, Liu Bei's sincere tone, coupled with his praise of Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong in Yuan Shao's name, made the two feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze.

Praising someone is a basic social skill.

Only when everyone is in a good mood can we continue discussing business.

The world is bustling with activity, all driven by self-interest; those who do not understand human relationships and social dynamics will face a difficult road ahead.

If Yan Liang had been more gentle and humble today, Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong would have certainly done their utmost to help him cross the river and defeat Cao Cao for their own interests.

After all, Yan Liang, Guo Tu, and Chunyu Qiong all bore responsibility for the failed attack on Baima and were all eager to avenge their defeat.

However, Yan Liang's attitude today is arrogant and conceited, wantonly belittling Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong. Not only will he not get their assistance, but he may also be taken advantage of by them.

Liu Bei, however, was different.

Be kind to others and make many friends; the more friends you have, the easier your path will be.

Descendants of the Han dynasty are as numerous as dogs, and Lu Zhi's disciples are everywhere, but apart from Liu Bei, no one can reach the level of the Left General and be treated as an honored guest by both Cao Cao and Yuan Shao at the same time.

Guo Tu and Chunyu Qiong were pleased because of Liu Bei, so they ordered wine and water to be prepared in the tent and drank and chatted with Liu Bei.

After drinking the beverage.

The conversation gradually warmed up.

"Cao Cao was cunning and treacherous, and he had capable strategists like Xun You and Guo Jia under his command. If I'm not mistaken, Cao Cao deliberately burned the white horse and led the people and supplies westward along the Yellow River, probably to lure the troops on the north bank of Yanjin across the river, so that he could seize the opportunity to win another battle."

"Yan Liang and Wen Chou, relying on their bravery and greed for merit, have made reckless advances. Now, they have exhausted their men and crossed the river overnight, which is a major taboo in military strategy. If Cao Cao lures the enemy to the other side and sets up an ambush, I'm afraid the two of them will not survive."

"It's a pity that so many warhorses will fall into Cao Cao's hands!"

Liu Bei sighed deeply.

Whether Yan Liang and Wen Chou lived or died, Liu Bei didn't care.

What Liu Bei was concerned about was that many warhorses would fall into Cao Cao's hands because of Yan Liang and Wen Chou.

Guo Tu's brow twitched slightly as he devised a plan: "As the old saying goes, 'The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.' Why don't we moor our boats on the south bank of the Yellow River and hide our troops on board? If Yan Liang and Wen Chou win, we can oversee the construction of fortifications to await the General; if Yan Liang and Wen Chou lose, we can lead the troops to seize warhorses."

“This plan is feasible!” Chunyu Qiong immediately agreed: “Yan Liang and Wen Chou are arrogant and conceited, and their deaths are not a pity, but Cao Cao cannot take all the warhorses, otherwise the supply lines will be in danger after the army crosses the river.”

Liu Bei pondered for a moment: "This plan is good, but if some villains slander us to the General, the General may mistakenly think that we are colluding with Cao Cao and deliberately watching Yan Liang and Wen Chou be defeated."

"In my opinion, we should first send a message to the general, avoiding any contentious words, and simply stating the facts: 'Yan Liang and Wen Chou are crossing the Yellow River at night, and we are mooring our boats and hiding our troops to provide support.'"

Guo Tu clapped his hands and laughed: "General Zuo's plan is brilliant! If the Grand General knew our army's deployment in advance, he would naturally know that we had never colluded with the enemy. At that time, if any villains offered slanderous words, the Grand General would surely rebuke them!"

Chunyu Qiong also said, "Yan Liang's attack on Baima failed, and the two of us also failed in our efforts at Yanjin. The General lost face in Liyang and is quite disappointed in the two of us."

"Now the General has ordered us to cross the river to seek battle, which is to regain face and silence the gossip in the Liyang camp. We two really do not want to disappoint the General again." "If we are fortunate enough to achieve merit, we will definitely report the Left General's merits to the General."

Liu Bei shook his head: "I am not a person who covets merit. If I am fortunate enough to achieve merit this time, all the credit will go to you two."

Chunyu Qiong hurriedly said, "If we don't acknowledge the merits of General Zuo, but instead share them with the two of us, wouldn't we be seen as petty people who covet credit?"

"That's not the case," Liu Bei said solemnly. "The reason I want to help the General is not because I want to gain merit, but because I want to destroy the traitor Cao for the sake of the country and the nation."

"After this battle, I will return to Zhuojun to teach. Instead of praising my achievements together, you two should write to the General and ask for permission to return to Zhuojun. If you can do so, I will be extremely grateful."

Chunyu Qiong was moved: "General Zuo's indifference to fame and fortune is admirable."

After whispering with Guo Tu for a while, the two of them patted their chests and said: After this battle, they will help Liu Bei return to Zhuojun.

After bidding farewell to Guo Tu and the other man, Liu Bei returned to his tent and then summoned Xin Zhe inside.

"Commander Xin, do you trust me?" Liu Bei asked solemnly.

Xin Zhe looked puzzled: "General Zuo, what makes you say that?"

Liu Bei lowered his voice: "Cao Cao deliberately burned the white horse and led the people and supplies westward along the Yellow River, which is a trick to lure our army across the river. If we cross the river hastily, we will be ambushed. However, Yan Liang and Wen Chou refuse to listen to my advice and insist on crossing the river. Commandant Xin can go and persuade them."

Xin Zhe was shocked: "But I am just a cavalry captain. How could General Yan and General Wen listen to my advice?"

Liu Bei's gaze sharpened slightly: "Whether Yan Liang and Wen Chou listen or not is up to them, whether we advise them or not is up to us. If Yan Liang and Wen Chou are truly defeated, there will surely be treacherous people who slander me before the General. At that time, I will need Commander Xin's help to exonerate me."

Xin Zhe understood Liu Bei's meaning, took a deep breath, and bowed respectfully to Liu Bei: "General Zuo repays injustice with honesty, truly a model for the world. If there are indeed treacherous people slandering you, I will certainly defend you."

Subsequently.

Xin Zhe then went to see Yan Liang and Wen Chou, pointed out Cao Cao's trick of luring the enemy into an ambush, and advised Yan Liang and Wen Chou to postpone crossing the river.

"Postpone crossing the river?" Wen Chou sneered, "Haven't you heard that speed is of the essence in war? I have five thousand elite cavalry under my command. Even if Cao Cao has an ambush on the south bank, what can he do to me? You are not familiar with military affairs, so don't say anything more."

Yan Liang sneered, "Liu Bei is afraid of death and dares not cross the river, and he is also afraid that we will capture Cao Cao alive, so he sent you to obstruct our crossing. How ridiculous! For Xin Ping's sake, I will not argue with you. You may leave now!"

Feeling both ashamed and angry at being looked down upon by Yan Liangwen, Xin Zhe turned back in a huff.

"Yan Liang and Wen Chou, you two vulgar scoundrels, have insulted me far too much!"

Xin Zhe was filled with shame and anger, and even called Yan Liang and Wen Chou by their names in front of Liu Bei and Xu Shu.

Their good intentions were completely misunderstood by Yan Liang and Wen Chou.

In particular, those two sentences, "You are unfamiliar with military affairs, so don't say anything more" and "For Xin Ping's sake, I won't hold it against you," directly broke Xin Zhe's defenses.

[Still too young!]

Seeing Xin Zhe's face flushed and neck thick with anger, Liu Bei soothed him with kind words: "It is my fault that Commandant Xin has been humiliated. However, Commandant Xin has offended the general in order to uphold loyalty and righteousness, which is truly admirable. If the general hears of this, he will surely be grateful."

After being comforted by Liu Bei, Xin Zhe's anger gradually subsided, and he admired Liu Bei's initiative to take responsibility even more: "The humiliation I suffered today is due to the arrogance of Generals Yan and Wen, not the fault of General Zuo."

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(End of this chapter)