I did it all for the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 183 Literature and Chaos: The Phoenix Spreads Its Wings
Wancheng.

The seat of Nanyang Prefecture.

Zhang Xiu, a warlord from the north, currently has troops stationed here.

Zhang Xiusheng had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and his physique was that of a man from Liangzhou. One could vaguely see the splendor of the Xiliang Iron Cavalry that once dominated the world.

But Zhang Xiu looked troubled.

"Master Jia, Cao Cao has arrived at the Yu River and is about to enter Nanyang. What do you think I should do?"

Beside Zhang Xiu was a middle-aged scholar who appeared honest and unassuming.

He let his hands hang naturally at his sides, clasped together in front of his knees, and silently watched Zhang Xiu.

"Master Jia, the situation is urgent. Please show me a way out!"

Zhang Xiu is now a powerful warlord, yet he treats the person before him with the respect due to a nephew! This shows his utmost respect!

Only then did Jia Xu slowly speak: "General, do you think our current forces are enough to defeat Cao Cao?"

Zhang Xiu shook her head.

"At present, I have no more than five thousand soldiers under my command, and less than a thousand elite cavalry. How can I compare with Cao Cao?"

Zhang Xiu also obeyed Jia Xu's orders.

"Do you want me to surrender to Cao Cao?"

But Zhang Xiu hesitated and said, "Liu Biao took me in because he wanted me to be his northern shield against Cao Cao. I haven't even fought Cao Cao once yet. If I surrender to him like this, wouldn't I be ridiculed by the world?"

"and……"

Zhang Xiu had another concern.

"I've heard that after Cao Cao welcomed the emperor and quelled the rebellion of Yuan Shao, he's already showing signs of breaking with Yuan Shao!"

"Liu Biao has always been close to Yuan Shao. If I surrender to Cao Cao, what will I do if Yuan Shao defeats Cao Cao in the future?"

After Lü Bu seized Yanzhou, Liu Bei inherited Xuzhou, the emperor fled to Guanzhong, Cao Cao welcomed the emperor back, Yuan Shu declared himself emperor in Huainan, and Lü Bu recaptured Xuzhou, the originally chaotic situation in the Central Plains gradually stabilized.

It's now clear to everyone that Cao Cao and Yuan Shao will likely clash in the future.

The victor in this battle will likely determine who rules the world.

Therefore, even though Cao Cao was clearly more powerful, Zhang Xiu still dared not surrender to Cao Cao at this time, lest he be punished by Yuan Shao in the future!
Jia Xu nodded: "So, General, you're worried about Yuan Shao?"

"Of course!"

Zhang Xiu said anxiously, "Now that Yuan Shu is gone, Yuan Shao has already occupied the three provinces of Bing, Ji, and Qing! Even most of Youzhou has fallen into his hands. Gongsun Zan, who is still holding out in Yijing, will be defeated by Yuan Shao sooner or later! When that time comes, it will probably be time for Yuan Shao to march south and take control of the Central Plains!"

Hearing Zhang Xiu's words, Jia Xu nodded with satisfaction.

Clearly, Zhang Xiu is different from other brainless Western Liang warlords; he is able to see through the current situation of the world, which is truly rare.

"Does the general really believe that Yuan Shao can truly conquer the world?"

"if not?"

Zhang Xiu did not understand why Jia Xu made such a statement.

"Everyone was saying that the world would be won by either Yuan Shao or Yuan Shu. Now that Yuan Shu is gone, the final victor should naturally be Yuan Shao, right?"

Zhang Xiu joked, "Does Master Jia really think that Cao Cao can defeat Yuan Shao?"

Jia Xu shook his head: "Cao Cao cannot conquer Xuzhou and Huainan, and can only be trapped in the Central Plains. I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to resist Yuan Shao."

"That's right!"

Zhang Xiu then asked, "Or does Master Jia believe that people like Ma Teng of Xiliang, Liu Biao of Jingzhou, and Liu Zhang of Yizhou are capable of achieving great things?"

Jia Xu shook his head again.

Zhang Xiu asked again, "Or does Master Jia believe that Liu Miao, who previously presented gifts to the emperor and has now quelled Yuan Shu's rebellion, is capable of achieving great things?"

Jia Xu finally stopped shaking his head, while Zhang Xiu felt a chill run down his spine and said with some doubt, "No way..."

“Master Jia, Liu Miao was previously unknown, and even now, we haven’t heard of him making any great achievements.”

"Even in defeating Yuan Shu, I heard that it was only because Guan Yu, a general under Liu Bei, displayed great prowess and took advantage of the chaos to kill Zhang Xun and Qiao Rui, who were under Yuan Shu's command, that Liu Miao was able to take advantage of the situation and seize Shouchun first... How could such a person surpass Yuan Shao and Cao Cao?"

After saying that, Zhang Xiu complained, "When Liu Miao's envoy Lu Su passed through before, you actually asked me to send him several hundred Xiliang warhorses. That's really extravagant..."

Jia Xu finally spoke up: "Does the general really believe that a person with no real talent or learning can sweep through Jiangdong, expand his power, recruit talented people, and defeat Yuan Shu in just two years?"

"If such a person is considered to have no real talent or learning, then is there anyone in the world who can be called talented?"

Jia Xu's tone was neither hurried nor slow, yet it felt like a series of heavy hammer blows striking Zhang Xiu's chest.

Zhang Xiu's face turned slightly pale, but he still defended himself, saying, "But I've never heard of Liu Miao having any military achievements..."

Emperor Gaozu once said: "In devising strategies within the command tent and securing victory a thousand miles away, I am inferior to Zhang Liang; in governing the country and pacifying the people, providing supplies and ensuring uninterrupted supply lines, I am inferior to Xiao He; in commanding a million troops and guaranteeing victory in every battle and conquest in every attack, I am inferior to Han Xin."

"Does the general think that Emperor Gaozu was also an incompetent person?"

Zhang Xiu was terrified!

"Master Jia, are you actually comparing Liu Miao to a figure like Emperor Gaozu?"

Zhang Xiu was somewhat skeptical, wondering how Jia Xu had figured it out...

But he still cautiously asked, "According to Master Jia, is it possible to surrender to Cao Cao?"

"That's not the case."

Quite the opposite.

"Now that your forces are insufficient, General, you should seek help from Liu Biao and ask him to transfer all the troops in Jingzhou to Nanyang to help you resist Cao Cao."

"Preserving Nanyang now is far more important than losing it."

"Oh~oh!"

Zhang Xiu replied blankly.

Although he didn't understand why Jia Xu both favored Liu Miao and didn't want him to surrender to Cao Cao, Zhang Xiu had no time to think about it.

Zhang Xiu considered himself foolish, so he generally wouldn't object to anything Jia Xu approved of. Besides, he didn't want to surrender to Cao Cao at this time, so since Jia Xu had arranged it this way, Zhang Xiu naturally had no reason to object.

"Could it be that Master Jia would harm me?"

With this simple thought in mind, Zhang Xiu immediately went outside, intending to write a letter to Liu Biao, asking him to send troops to help him.

Just as Zhang Xiu passed the corner of the wall, he suddenly stopped and bowed to the person coming towards him.

"Greetings, Uncle and Aunt!"

The newcomer's hair was loosely styled in a bun, hanging down her cheeks, with a few strands clinging to her jade-like neck with fine sweat. Her nails, adorned with red nail polish, peeked out from beneath her gauze skirt, revealing her frost-white ankles. She was none other than Zou, Zhang Xiu's aunt and uncle.

No need for formalities.

Not only was Zou's every gesture alluring, but even her voice sent shivers down one's spine; she was like a rare beauty from another world.
Zou approached Zhang Xiu and asked, "I heard there's going to be another battle soon?"

"Don't worry, Aunt! Your nephew will definitely protect you!"

Although Zhang Xiu said this, he was not sure what to do.

Cao Cao's power was simply too great, and Zhang Xiu couldn't guarantee victory. Therefore, after some hesitation, he sought Zou's opinion.

"But Nanyang is the front line, not as safe as the rear. If Aunt is willing, would you be willing to settle down in Xiangyang in the rear?"

Zou naturally had no objection: "If we can distract you less, that would be the greatest contribution we useless people can make."

"Auntie, what do you mean by that!"

Zhang Xiu feigned anger.

"In terms of kinship, my aunt is my only elder, Zhang Xiu. How could she be a useless person?"

"Auntie, please wait a moment. I will go back and discuss this matter with Master Jia!"

Zhang Xiu turned back into his room and suggested to Jia Xu that Zou's family be sent to Xiangyang. After a moment of thought, Jia Xu agreed.

------

When the news reached Jingzhou, it surprised even Liu Biao.

"Zhang Xiu was actually willing to send his family to Jingzhou?"

Beside Liu Biao were his most trusted brothers, Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue.

Upon hearing this, Kuai Liang nodded slightly.

"From this perspective, Zhang Xiu can be said to have shown great sincerity."

"So, we're going to send troops?"

"We should have sent troops in the first place. Keeping Zhang Xiu in Wancheng was originally intended to keep him on guard against Cao Cao."

"What about Liu Miao?"

Silence fell immediately.

Since Taishi Ci stationed troops in Chaisang, both Huang Zu of Jiangxia and Liu Pan of Changsha have found that the western part of Yuzhang, which was originally easy to take, seems to have suddenly become a fierce tiger with steel teeth!

Although Taishi Ci did not show any aggression, no one would want to turn over and find a man-eating beast sleeping next to them.

Moreover, according to reports—

"It seems that Liu Miao made an agreement with Cao Cao to jointly attack Jingzhou."

"Is the news accurate?"

"It must be accurate."

"Why?"

"Because this news was originally released by Cao Cao's side."

Kuai Liang looked like he had a headache.

"Cao Cao must have deliberately spread this news to make us move our troops to the Jiangxia area to guard against Liu Miao, so as to create conditions for him to attack Nanyang."

"Cao Cao? Truly a cunning and ruthless hero!"

"So what do we do now? Should we defend Nanyang or Jiangxia?"

"Originally, we wanted to protect Jiangxia, but who knew that Zhang Xiu would take the initiative to ask for help, even offering his family members. So we'll probably have to protect Nanyang."

"Both can actually be saved."

Kuai Liang tapped the bamboo table with his hand.

"I heard that Hua Xin, the Prefect of Yuzhang, has resigned?"

"It's true."

"Hua Xin has always been well-liked in Yuzhang and has close relationships with many local Yue chieftains. His sudden departure must be causing many Yue chieftains in Yuzhang to feel uneasy."

Kuai Yue instantly realized: "Brother, you want to incite the Yue chieftains of Anxie Mountain to rebel, so that Liu Miao will be too busy to take care of himself?"

"That's true."

Kuai Liang looked at Liu Biao—

"The Yue people have always been a major concern for Jiangdong."

"I heard that Liu Miao killed Zu Lang and pacified the mountain tribes of Danyang. He also formed a marriage alliance with Yan Baihu and pacified the mountain tribes of Wu Commandery and Kuaiji Commandery, but he has not had time to deal with the mountain tribes of Yuzhang Commandery."

"If we can get the Yue people in Yuzhang, especially Pengze, to rebel against Liu Miao, then the eastern part of Jingzhou can be stabilized!"

After listening to everyone's discussion, Liu Biao immediately made a decision—

“Wen Pin led 30,000 troops north to Nanyang to support Zhang Xiu.”

However, Liu Biao had no suitable candidate for the envoy to Yuzhang, so he looked towards Kuai Yue and Kuai Liang...

The two immediately understood and recommended someone to Liu Biao.

"Pang Tong, also known as Pang Shiyuan of Xiangyang, is renowned for his eloquence. We can summon him to Yuzhang to persuade the Yue people!"

　There will be a make-up update today for yesterday, I'm really sorry~~~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)