My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 60 Informing Cao Bao
Liu Feng could only pretend not to see it and continued to persuade him: "Uncle Er, Chen Gongcao, and Tian Shu under Father's command are all talented in their respective fields. Compared with these men, Uncle San is still inferior. Father can keep Uncle San by his side and teach him by example. He will surely become talented in the future. At that time, will you still worry about not having a position in the field?"

“If Father were to forcefully promote Third Uncle to the position now, it would not only be difficult to win over the people and dampen the ambitions of the other uncles, but it would also be a misfortune for Father if something were to happen to Third Uncle.”

Liu Bei sighed deeply, somewhat persuaded by Liu Feng.

After a moment, he stroked his beard and asked in confusion, "You said that Yide is rough and doesn't get along with the army, but Yunchang is even more arrogant than Yide. Aren't you afraid that Yunchang will not get along with the army?"

“Father, Second Uncle is arrogant to his superiors but not to his inferiors. When he governs a region, he will inevitably offend the scholars, but when he commands an army, he can appease the soldiers and make them serve him.”

Liu Feng continued, "Moreover, my second uncle's problem is arrogance towards superiors, and it's not just directed at scholars. He also greatly respects renowned scholars with genuine talent and learning, such as Chen Gongcao and Lu Zijing."

If Father appoints Second Uncle as commander in the future, he can arrange for strategists like Chen Gongcao and Lu Zijing to serve as his military advisors. In this way, his safety can be guaranteed.

Liu Feng mentioned Chen Deng and Lu Su, but these two were actually meant to be of great use. It would be a waste of their talents to assign them to Guan Yu as strategists.

Liu Feng was thinking more about Xun You, Liu Ye, Guo Jia, and others.

These three are all top-notch strategists, tacticians, and experts in ingenious ideas; moreover, their personalities are also those of top-notch advisors.

Xun You was low-key and cautious, Guo Jia was unrestrained and approachable, while Liu Ye was quick-witted and shrewd.

Unfortunately, none of these three people had a good ending in history. Xun You was implicated by his uncle and was dragged to his death on the battlefield by Cao Cao.

Guo Jia was in poor health. Although he was favored by Cao Cao, he died young.

As for Liu Ye, Liu Feng felt that of the three, he was probably the most miserable. The saying "his plans were not used and his schemes were not followed" perfectly described Liu Ye's situation.

This top-notch strategist was actually driven mad by three generations of the Cao family, ultimately ending up as a treacherous villain who died in despair.

In Liu Feng's view, putting everything else aside, Xun You and Guo Jia would definitely be favored and respected by Guan Yu, and Liu Ye's shrewdness and quick wit would also likely be able to win over the Second Master.

But since none of the three have come, Liu Feng can't say anything about these things.

"My second uncle is more composed than my third uncle. Xuzhou is easy to attack but difficult to defend. Apart from the main offensive aspect, it is more suitable to play it safe in other aspects."

Liu Bei's eyes lit up immediately. After careful consideration, he found Liu Feng's suggestion to be quite remarkable, which greatly appealed to him.

Seeing Liu Bei nod silently, Liu Feng pressed on, "Father, as the commander of the army, you also need brave generals. Let Third Uncle follow you by your side so that he can make contributions. Once Third Uncle has matured, we can pair him with a wise strategist he can trust, and he will be of great use."

Liu Bei nodded involuntarily, which showed that Liu Feng's plan was indeed remarkable.

Of course, Liu Feng was being wise after the event. Having learned about the Xiangfan Campaign and the loss of Jingzhou, he was well aware of where Guan Yu's problems lay and how to remedy them.

Moreover, my second uncle in his youth was far less arrogant than he was when he was stationed in Jingzhou, and he was much more likely to offer advice.

Coming to his senses, Liu Bei coughed twice and said slowly, "Let me think this over carefully."

"Feng'er, is there anything else? If not, then you may leave now. I still have official business to attend to."

Liu Feng was surprised that Big Ears would turn his back on him and try to kick him out, as he still had something he hadn't gotten his hands on.

He hurriedly said, "Father, I have two more things I would like you to decide."

Liu Bei glanced at him and said irritably, "Then hurry up and tell me."

"Father, do you think we should inform Cao Jianwei about this operation?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei frowned.

He never expected Liu Feng to throw out such a hot potato.

Liu Bei didn't blame Liu Feng for meddling, but it was indeed a problem that couldn't be ignored.

If Cao Bao is informed and involved, the success of this operation would greatly enhance Cao Bao's loyalty and recognition. However, the risks are considerable; this is Liu Bei's first battle since entering Xuzhou, and many are watching with skepticism.

If Liu Bei wins decisively, it will naturally be the popular choice, and everyone will be a loyal subject of the governor.

But if anything goes wrong, there will undoubtedly be many who will take advantage of the situation and stir up trouble.

Is it worth increasing the risk by involving Cao Bao in such an important matter?
But if Cao Bao is excluded, will the current efforts to win him over be in vain, or even affect the marriage alliance between the two sides?

Liu Bei was also undecided.

As a result, Liu Feng waited for a long time but did not receive Liu Bei's decision. Instead, the ball was kicked back to him by the other party.

"Haven't you been in charge of Cao Jianwei's matter all along, Feng'er? What's your suggestion on this?"

Liu Feng was dumbfounded and couldn't utter a word for a long time.

Liu Bei was a little embarrassed and coughed twice: "This matter is of great importance, and I, as your father, cannot make the decision alone. I would also like to hear your advice."

Fortunately, Liu Feng had thought about this issue beforehand, and now he could only bite the bullet and say his opinion: "I think it's still okay to tell Cao Jianwei."

"Oh?"

Liu Bei pressed further, "Feng'er, could you tell me in detail?"

Liu Feng then spilled the beans: "Since Cao Jianwei has already agreed to the marriage alliance with my family, I believe he is sincere enough. Moreover, the four thousand troops have already been reorganized and allocated, waiting for Father to receive them, which shows that the other party is very sincere."

If we fail to demonstrate sincerity at a time like this, it will inevitably shake Cao Jianwei's trust in us.

Liu Bei nodded in agreement.

"Another advantage of communicating with Cao Jianwei is that we can get him to join us in sending troops."

Zang Ba and his troops numbered approximately six or seven thousand, with a maximum of eight thousand, and were scattered across at least five or six strongholds.

According to Chen Gongcao, their military equipment is in short supply, and the former governor Tao Gong also used it while defending against Zang Ba. It seems that the enemy is no match for our army in open field battles.

Even so, it would be best if we could mobilize 15,000 men to double our strength and thus have a better chance of winning.

Currently, my father has 6,000 direct troops, 20,000 soldiers from Danyang, 8,000 soldiers from Xiapi County, 10,000 soldiers from Guangling County, and 4,000 remaining soldiers from Donghai County.

Of these troops, four thousand could be drawn from the troops of Xiapi County, and all the troops of Donghai County could be conscripted, thus bringing the total to eight thousand troops.

At most, four thousand men could be drawn from the father's direct subordinates, making a total of twelve thousand.

If Cao Jianwei could mobilize several thousand more men, the number of available troops would approach 20,000, more than double that of Zang Ba and his forces, greatly increasing their chances of victory.

After listening to Liu Feng's calculations, Liu Bei was immediately intrigued.

Next Monday's showdown with Sanjiang is crucial for this book.

The old man promises here that he will update his blog with a ton of chapters next Monday, at least five chapters and 10,000 words!
I urge all readers to read the latest chapter of this book next Monday, the 26th of this month.

Dear readers with monthly passes, please support the old man on that day.

If I can beat Sanjiang in P, the old man promises to guarantee at least 8,000 words a day after it's published, and strive for 10,000 words a day!

The old man was extremely grateful!

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(End of this chapter)