My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 37 A serious problem
The key to why Cao Cao is considered an outlier lies here.

Given Cao Cao's personality and knowledge, he was actually more suited to be a high-ranking official, a scholar, or a poet than a military strategist.

Cao Cao was able to become a military strategist because, if his military talent was only 60 points, it would be far inferior to those of Li Erfeng, the two Lis of the Tang Dynasty, Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, Xu Chang, and other geniuses who were born with perfect scores. However, his learning ability was as high as 90 points.

Cao Cao was a military strategist who rose to prominence through his learning ability.

Liu Bei, of course, was unaware of Cao Cao's true intentions; he still believed that he and Cao Cao had now become friends.

After all, he had allied with Yuan Shao, Cao Cao's boss, so it was only natural that Cao Cao would also become an ally. If Xun Yu and Cheng Yu hadn't persuaded Cao Cao, given his current complacency, it was quite possible that the widow Cao Cao would have successfully launched a sneak attack.

Even so, Guangling is still off-limits.

Guangling, a place that is both painful and itchy, is indeed a big problem. Liu Bei's ability to see this shows that he already has good strategic vision.

Unfortunately, Liu Bei's vision was not far-sighted enough; he couldn't see the deeper issues.

Next, Liu Feng can start teaching Big Ear Brother.

"Father is mistaken. Although Guangling is a great threat, it is like a scab. Not to mention that we really cannot go to Guangling right now, it would not only be morally wrong, but it might also bring unnecessary trouble."

Moreover, even if Yuan Shu enters Guangling, he still cannot shake our two commanderies of Donghai and Xiapi.

Liu Bei nodded, showing no displeasure at being refuted by his son; on the contrary, he felt that Liu Feng was right.

The people of Xiapi and Donghai are on my side. Even if Yuan Shu enters Guangling County, he cannot shake the overall situation.

Since he knew he was wrong, Liu Bei wanted to know Liu Feng's opinion: "In Feng'er's opinion, where does the greatest threat lie?"

Liu Feng selected a scroll from the silk scrolls beside him, opened it, and placed it in front of Liu Bei.

This is a simple map of Xuzhou, with Liu Feng's finger pointing to the very top of the map.

"Father, the greatest threat to Xuzhou lies here!"

Liu Bei looked closely and realized that the place Liu Feng was pointing to was Langya Commandery.

"Langya?"

Liu Bei was somewhat confused. Langya Commandery, located in the northernmost part of Xuzhou, was controlled by Zang Ba and others. It didn't seem like a major threat at all.

After pondering for a moment, Liu Bei still felt that the problem in Guangling Commandery was much more serious than that of Zang Ba.

Putting everything else aside, Yuan Shu's capture of Guangling clearly indicates his intention to continue north and take over all of Xuzhou.

A major battle between Liu Bei and Yuan Shu was inevitable.

Although Zang Ba was somewhat dissatisfied with himself, he was still obediently staying in Langya County. There was no mention of fighting each other, and they hadn't even broken off relations.

Moreover, judging from the current situation, Zang Ba does not seem to have much ambition. He was willing to submit to Tao Qian before. There is no reason why Liu Bei is not even as good as Tao Qian, right?

Liu Bei shared his views with Liu Feng and then waited for Liu Feng to explain.

Liu Feng nodded first, confirming that Liu Bei's view was not wrong, but that he had not seen enough.

It's like the blind men and the elephant; they only touched the elephant's thigh and assumed that's the whole elephant.

The more detailed and accurate his explanation, the further he will stray from the true answer.

“Father, if we only consider the situation within Xuzhou, what you said is not wrong. But since Guangling has already introduced Yuan Shu as an external enemy, why do you ignore the external enemy in Langya?”

Liu Feng's words startled Liu Bei, and he suddenly realized what was happening.

Langya Commandery is indeed strategically located, situated deep between Qing and Yan provinces, and only a few dozen kilometers from Yu Province, making it surrounded by the lands of three provinces.

In a sense, this means that Langya Commandery could simultaneously be influenced by the three provinces of Qing, Yan, and Yu. Liu Bei tentatively inquired, "Feng'er, do you mean that Zang Ba will have external support?"

Liu Feng nodded and said, "Father is half right."

"Oh? What do you mean by that?"

Liu Feng pointed to the map and began to explain it to Liu Bei.

"Father, please look. To the north of Langya County lies Qingzhou."

Currently, Qingzhou is a battleground for the Yuan, Tian, ​​and Kong families. However, even if Tian Kai and Kong Rong were to unite, they would not be a match for the Yuan family. As far as I know, Yuan Shao has appointed Zang Hong as the governor of Qingzhou and Yuan Tan as the military commander of Qingzhou. Both of them are capable of pacifying the people and suppressing rebellious forces.

"Tian Qingzhou and Kong Beihai, if they do not flee voluntarily, will inevitably be captured within this year or at the latest next year."

Liu Bei nodded thoughtfully. He was familiar with Yuan Tan, Kong Rong, and Tian Kai. Having dealt with them for several years, how could Liu Bei not know their abilities?

Especially Yuan Tan, Liu Bei suffered greatly under his command.

In Pingyuan, he fought against Yuan Tan with Tian Kai many times, suffering repeated defeats, and eventually even lost the entire Pingyuan Kingdom.

This demonstrates Yuan Tan's exceptional military capabilities.

Liu Bei once envied Yuan Shao for having such a son.

But now?
At least Big Ears himself must think that his precious son is much more capable than Yuan Tan, that warrior who only knows how to fight.

“Father, Qingzhou can only hold out for two years at most. After two years, it will definitely fall into the hands of the Yuan family. If the Yuan family wants to continue south, Langya County will be the first to be affected.”

If we cannot resolve the Zang Ba issue within two years and bring Langya Commandery under our control, and Zang Ba were to defect to the Yuan family, then Donghai and Xiapi would be directly facing the Yuan army's might, and their situation would be extremely perilous.

Liu Bei looked at the map and realized that Liu Feng's words made perfect sense, and his expression changed drastically.

Before he could react, Liu Feng continued, "I have already told Father that although Marquis Lü Wenhou is skilled in battle, he is brave but lacks strategy and acts frivolously. In the end, he will be no match for Cao Yanzhou."

At that time, I also predicted that within two years, Cao Cao would win a great victory in Yanzhou and drive Lü Bu out of Yanzhou.

When that time comes, Cao Cao, who has regained control of Yan Province, will not have difficulty discovering the loopholes in Langya Commandery if he wants to covet our province, given that Xun Yu, Xi Zhicai, and Cheng Yu in his camp are all shrewd and decisive men.

If Cao Cao, the governor of Yan Province, wins over Zang Ba and forces him to serve him, Donghai and Xiapi will be attacked from three sides. How can Father then remain in our province in peace?

As Liu Feng recounted his story, Big Ears not only looked grim, but cold sweat poured down his forehead.

Despite the biting cold wind outside, Big Ears was already drenched in sweat inside.

Liu Bei didn't understand. Just yesterday, Chen Deng had assured him that at least 300,000 shi of grain would be supplied to the state within the year.

Liu Feng also received strong support from the Mi family, who raised enough grain and supplies for the military farms and even provided a magical agricultural tool like the curved plow.

Furthermore, with Zhao Yun and Tian Yu successfully retained, Cao Bao voluntarily ceded his troops to him.

The situation is clearly very positive, not just slightly positive, but extremely positive.

How could it be that in just one night, Liu Bei's situation in Xuzhou had become so precarious and dangerous, as told by his own precious son?
Dear readers, I just received a message from the editor that the third round of the competition will be tomorrow, and the Qidian rankings are very important to me. I earnestly request your continued support tomorrow, including reading the story and contributing with monthly tickets, rewards, and other valuable data.

The old man was extremely grateful. He said he wouldn't visit relatives tomorrow for the New Year; he would stay home and write, guaranteeing at least three updates a day, and striving for four!

I earnestly request that you, dear readers, stop supporting me. Even just one follower would be of great importance to this old man. Thank you very much.

Wishing all our readers a prosperous and fulfilling New Year!

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(End of this chapter)