My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 476 Cai Xi's Meeting
Cai Mao held great power over the Xiangyang navy, and even Zhang Yun, who was sent to check him, was unknowingly won over and became his henchman.

As the ruler of Jingzhou, Liu Biao often had to consider the Cai family's thoughts when making decisions, and he could only turn a blind eye to Cai Mao's growing power.

Cai Mao and Cao Cao met in their youth and spent many years together, knowing each other well and sharing a deep friendship.

Cai Mao was well aware of Cao Cao's talent, knowing that he possessed exceptional wisdom, a heart for the world, and lofty ambitions, making him far superior to ordinary people. However, Cao Cao was strong-willed, decisive, suspicious, and intolerant of even the slightest injustice.

Cai Mao knew very well that, given Cao Cao's character, he would never tolerate the Cai family continuing to wield such power in Jingzhou in order to realize his own ideals and great cause.

If Cai Mao were to choose between Liu Biao and Cao Cao, he would almost certainly choose Liu Biao without hesitation. Unfortunately, Liu Biao is now old, and Jingzhou has suffered repeated blows, making him unreliable. Between Cao Cao and Liu Feng, Cai Mao would undoubtedly choose Cao Cao.

Although Liu Feng was not as suspicious as Cao Cao, he was strong-willed by nature and had the spirit of his ancestors. He suppressed and restricted powerful families even more than Cao Cao, but his methods were more subtle and secretive, and were not easily noticed by others.

"What if...?"

Madam Cai sat to the side, unconsciously clenching the handkerchief in her hand, her voice carrying a hint of undisguised worry: "The old man couldn't do it?"

She bit her lower lip, her face full of unease, and her eyes revealing a hint of fear.

A flash of anger crossed Cai Mao's face, then he snorted coldly and said in a deep voice, "Even if my brother-in-law failed, Mengde should know that if he wants peace and tranquility in Xiangyang, the only people he can rely on are my Cai family, not Han Degao, Deng Zixiao, Fu Gongti and the like."

Cai Mao's words were resounding and carried an unquestionable confidence, a confidence stemming from the Cai family's unshakeable position in Jingzhou.

"What does this mean?"

Madam Cai asked in surprise, her eyes full of curiosity, and she unconsciously moved closer, as if afraid of missing a single word Cai Mao would say next.

Cai Mao glanced at his sister and patiently explained, "Fu Xun, who is now in Luozhong, is extremely close to Han Song, and Deng Yi is practically Han Song's man. All the dealings between Mengde and the court are in their hands. Now that they have surrendered, the primary credit goes to Han Song, and this credit will also be attributed to Deng Yi and Fu Xun. What credit could I possibly have? I am a defeated general, having lost my army and territory. What face do I have to compete with them for credit?"

After saying that, he leaned back in his chair, his expression showing a mix of helplessness, frustration, and resentment.

Recalling the crushing defeat at Zhouling, he had almost lost all his resources. If it weren't for that, he should be in charge now, instead of Han Song and the others stealing the spotlight. This filled Cai Mao with resentment.

Some time ago, Han Song stepped forward and handed over command of the city's troops to Cai Mao, for which Cai Mao was genuinely grateful. However, upon reflection, he realized that Han Song's move was out of necessity. None of his men had ever led troops before, and without his guidance, Xiangyang would likely have descended into chaos. Instead, Han Song was issuing orders and maintaining order in the court, highlighting Cai Mao's own inadequacy in comparison. This left Cai Mao with a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Third brother, you've thought things through perfectly."

Madam Cai nodded in agreement at first, but then her brows furrowed again, her eyes filled with worry. She asked anxiously, "But what if we anger the General by doing this?"

"Sister, please don't worry about it for now."

Cai Mao laughed, a confident look on his face: "I have known Mengde for many years. He is a man of great wisdom and skill in governance, and he is meticulous in his thinking. I do not think he can hide my little thoughts from him."

Madam Cai was immediately terrified. Her face was filled with panic, and her voice trembled slightly as she asked, "What should we do?"

Cai Mao burst into laughter, a smug look on his face: "Sister, what are you thinking? When have I ever hidden my thoughts? Isn't it my purpose that Mengde can guess what I'm thinking?"

His laughter echoed in the room, carrying a confident air of certainty.

"By then, even if Mengde doesn't abandon Han Song and the others, he will definitely give our Cai family a reasonable reward."

Cai Mao said with some pride, "And all I, your younger brother, want is this."

As he spoke, Cai Mao tilted his head slightly, his eyes gleaming with shrewdness, as if he could already see the future wealth and glory of the Cai family.

Madam Cai was then overjoyed and praised, "My brother is truly a hero of Jingzhou."

**
The following day, amidst the eager anticipation of many, Cai Mao finally appeared and received Xi Lu on behalf of Liu Biao.

Xi Lu, as a dignified imperial envoy, carried an important mission and was also the object of Jingzhou's eager anticipation for assistance. However, he did not display the slightest arrogance due to his special status. On the contrary, from the moment he stepped into the meeting hall, he showed humility and modesty, especially when facing Cai Mao, a key figure in Jingzhou, where he was extremely courteous.

Unfortunately, Cai Mao was unaware of just how ruthless and cruel Xi Lu was when he was Cao Cao's ruthless official in the original timeline. If he had known, he would probably be on high alert by now, suspecting that Xi Lu had come with some ulterior motive.

Xi Lu took the lead, bowing slightly forward with a gesture that was just right, showing both the respect due to Cai Mao and his status and demeanor as an imperial envoy.

Then, he spoke slowly, his voice steady and gentle: "Before heading south, I was fortunate enough to receive a personal letter from Cao Cao. In the letter, Cao Cao repeatedly mentioned the deep friendship he shared with Cai Gong in the past, his words filled with nostalgia and longing for those days, and he spoke highly of Cai Gong. It is a pity that the world is now in turmoil and the situation is chaotic, which has prevented Cao Cao from having the opportunity to drink and talk with Cai Gong all night. Now, I am ordered to visit Jingzhou, and Cao Cao, upon learning of this, specially wrote a letter, repeatedly instructing me to convey his regards to Cai Gong."

After saying this, Xi Lu presented Cao Cao with a letter written in his own hand.

When Cai Mao opened the letter and saw that it was Cao Cao's handwriting, his mood improved even more. Cao Cao did not record any secrets in the letter; he simply greeted Cai Mao politely and mentioned a few interesting stories from the past, which resonated with Cai Mao.

However, at the end of the letter, Cao Cao offered a word of advice, hoping that Cai Mao would side with the court and implying that he would not mistreat him.

After reading the letter, Cai Mao felt a surge of joy.

It was unexpected that Cao Cao, now holding a high position and renowned throughout the land, still valued past friendships so much. The thought that Cao Cao, with his current status and prestige, still treated him with such importance filled him with a sense of pride, even a touch of smugness.

Upon hearing Xi Lu's words, Han Song and the others below the hall had a slight change in expression. Clearly, they hadn't expected Cao Cao and Cai Mao to have such a deep old friendship, let alone that Cao Cao would cherish it so much.

Although Cai Mao was overjoyed inside, he still had to maintain a humble and polite demeanor on the surface. He lowered his head slightly and said in a slightly declining tone, "I am truly unworthy of Lord Cao's kindness."

Next, Xi Lu and Cai Mao exchanged pleasantries for several rounds. Each response displayed the politeness and tact of officialdom. As this back-and-forth banter continued, the initially somewhat reserved atmosphere in the hall gradually relaxed and became more harmonious.

Seeing this, Han Song and the others exchanged glances. Without needing to say much, they were all thinking rapidly about how to adjust their attitude and strategy towards Cai Mao in the face of this new situation.

After exchanging pleasantries, Xi Lu knew the time was right, so he subtly steered the conversation onto the right track: "May I ask, Lord Cai, what is the current situation in Xiangnan?"

Upon hearing this question, Cai Mao's expression changed slightly, and the smile that had just been on his face vanished instantly. He hesitated for a moment, a hint of embarrassment in his expression, and slowly said, "The Yangzhou army's advance is quite sharp, and they have now advanced to within a hundred miles of Xiangnan. However, the people and soldiers of Xiangyang are united as one, and we have successfully stopped them at the Yishui River."

The Yi River, an important tributary of the Han River, has a rather unique origin, originating from the Jing Mountains, and it has two sources. These two sources converge about fifty li upstream from Yicheng, thus forming the Yi River. Afterwards, the Yi River rushes through Yicheng and finally flows into the Han River downstream of the Ruo State.

Now, the State of Ruo has been captured by Liu Feng, and the entire battle line is spread along a line encompassing Yicheng, Zhongxiang, Qi, Shanghong, and Hannan. Of these locations, only Zhongxiang is downstream of Ruo; the other cities are upstream. This is precisely why Cai Mao stated that the battle is currently deadlocked along the Yi River.

Once the Yangzhou army breaks through the Yishui defense line, only the last line of defense will remain south of Xiangyang: the cities of Zhonglu and Liqiu. However, these two cities cannot completely and effectively shield Xiangyang; at most, they can only serve to disperse the Yangzhou army's forces, forcing them to divide their troops to attend to these two cities while advancing on Xiangyang.

Even so, Cai Mao had already devised a countermeasure. He reinforced Zhonglu and Liqiu with 2,000 troops each, bringing the total number of defenders in these two cities to over 5,000.

While this strategy weakened Xiangyang's defenses to some extent, it was actually quite worthwhile upon closer examination. After all, as long as these two cities held out tenaciously, they could at least tie down several times their size of the Yangzhou army. As a result, the number of Yangzhou troops that could be deployed to Xiangyang would be reduced by at least 10,000 to 20,000.

With reinforcements from Zhangling and several cities north of Xiangyang, Cai Mao now had over 20,000 troops at his disposal. This increase in strength allowed him to act more boldly and decisively.

After answering Xi Lu's question, Cai Mao followed up by asking, "May I ask, Your Excellency, when will the imperial reinforcements arrive in Xiangyang?"

Upon hearing this, Xi Lu feigned confusion and slowly said, "The first batch of reinforcements from the imperial court has already departed from Wuguan and is rapidly heading south along the Dan River. Haven't they arrived in Xiangyang yet?"

The reinforcements Xi Lu mentioned were the Xiliang army led by Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu. Their sudden southward march from Wuguan Pass greatly shocked all the forces in the Nanyang Basin.

Fortunately, Zhang Ji produced the document personally signed by Cao Cao with the seal of the Grand General, which prevented a potential conflict between the two sides and kept the situation from spiraling out of control.

Even so, Zhang Ji and his troops' march was not without its challenges.

Upon entering Nanyang, all that could be seen along the way was devastation. The three counties of Danshui, Nanxiang, and Shunyang had all been reduced to ruins. The culprits behind all this tragedy were Zhang Ji and his fellow Xiliang soldiers.

After crossing this uninhabited area of ​​over a hundred miles, Zhang Ji arrived at the outskirts of Zan County.

From this point onward, Zhang Ji's march was forced to slow down, and he was even blocked by the local garrison, who prevented him from advancing further.

Given Zhang Xiu's fiery temper, he almost completely broke ties with the Nanyang garrison and went to war. Fortunately, Jia Xu intervened at the crucial moment. Furthermore, with the authority of the imperial court as their backing, they successfully persuaded the Nanyang army to open the passage and even replenished their supplies.

In the few days since Xi Lu arrived in Xiangyang, Zhang Ji's troops had also reached the outskirts of Zhuyang City and set up camp there.

Upon hearing that it was Zhang Ji's troops coming to their aid, Cai Mao's face immediately showed displeasure, and he said with obvious dissatisfaction in his tone, "The warriors of Xiliang have always been traitors and rebels, and Zhang Ji's troops have repeatedly invaded my Nanyang County, forging a blood feud with my Jingzhou. If Your Excellency sends them as reinforcements, we are really afraid we are not fortunate enough to receive them."

Xi Lu listened quietly to Cai Mao's speech, his expression focused and serious. He knew that he had many important tasks on his mind, one of which was to persuade the people of Jingzhou to accept the aid of Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu.

At the very least, the goal should be to secure Zhang Ji's garrison in Zhuyang and ensure he receives sufficient supplies. Ideally, Jingzhou would allow Zhang Ji's troops to remain stationed within Zhuyang.

As for sending Zhang Ji's troops directly to reinforce Xiangyang, even if Cao Cao himself came, he probably wouldn't dare to have such a thought easily.

"Lord Cai is mistaken!"

No sooner had Cai Mao finished speaking than Xi Lu immediately retorted, "Zhang Zhendong was originally an important general of the court. When the emperor returned east, Zhendong personally led a large army to Hongnong to support the emperor and even provided precious grain, relieving the emperor's immediate crisis. Later, Li Jue and Guo Si launched a coup, but by then Zhendong had already left Hongnong and returned to Shangcheng. How can he be called a traitor?"

(End of this chapter)