My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 80 A loving father and a filial son
Liu Bei said angrily, "This fellow is no good at fighting. He only knows how to be blindly loyal to Brother Bo Gui. Whenever Brother Bo Gui gives an order, he doesn't ask whether it can be done or should be done. He just forces his father to do it together."

"Several major defeats and losses were all due to this crucial moment."

Liu Bei grew angrier as he spoke, slapping his thigh and saying, "This fellow is truly a stone-headed man. He refuses to fight when he should. During the Pingyuan City incident, I told him that Yuan Tan had ample supplies, while our army only had half a month's worth, which gave us an advantage in a swift battle. Although our forces are fewer than Yuan Tan's, we have more cavalry, so we can go all out."

"But this fellow only remembers that Bo Gui ordered him to defend the plains to the death, and he refused to go out of the city to fight in the field."

"When the food ran out and morale began to waver, Yuan Tan took Pingyuan County without bloodshed. This guy was chased across the Yellow River by Yuan's army."

As Liu Bei got into the conversation, he didn't notice the strange look in Liu Feng's eyes. "Back then, when Yuan Tan drove us across the Yellow River with Tian Kai, weren't you also there, Father?"

"When we arrived in Qingzhou, thanks to Kong Beihai's aid, we had enough food. But that fool actually wanted to cross the river and launch a counterattack. He didn't even realize that our army was less than 30% the size of Yuan Tan's."

After saying that, Liu Bei slapped his thigh frantically, clearly mistaking his thigh for Tian Kai's.

Liu Feng silently felt sorry for his father for three seconds. It was truly unfortunate to have such a terrible teammate.

Gongsun Zan actually both used and guarded against Liu Bei, always keeping someone in check.

If that person is strong, then Liu Bei will perform well; if that person is weak, then Liu Bei will suffer greatly.

"Therefore, I always plan for the worst-case scenario, seeking defeat before victory, for as long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood. Feng'er, you should also do the same in the future."

Liu Feng remembered Liu Bei's words and nodded vigorously: "Thank you for your teachings, Father."

Seeing that Liu Feng had truly taken his words to heart, Liu Bei smiled with satisfaction: "Alright, then think about how to make the changes."

Liu Feng nodded emphatically and began to think carefully.

After a long time, Liu Feng made adjustments. First, he sent Chen Deng to lead the army, along with Cao Bao, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, to attack the besieged city of Kaiyang.

Zhao Yun, Tian Yu, and Lu Su, along with the troops of Donghai Commandery, besieged Jiqiu.

Xu Danjun was divided into two parts. One part, led by Military Commander Zhang Kuang, participated in the siege of Jiqiu.

Another group, led by Xu Dan himself, followed Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Chen Qi directly to attack Kaiyang.

In addition, Xu Dan's family members who remained in Tancheng should be able to ensure Xu Dan's reliability to the greatest extent possible.

Liu Bei remained noncommittal regarding Liu Feng's revised arrangements.

He simply knocked on Ji Qiu's door and asked, "Can you guarantee that you can surround Wu Dun in time? What if he gets away?"

Liu Feng frowned, deep in thought.

But he couldn't think of a way to guarantee that Wu Dun would be trapped in the city.

He could only tentatively ask, "Father, may I use the Yi River waterway to send a troop to this location to ambush and block Wu Dun's retreat?"

Liu Bei laughed heartily: "My son, how foolish you are! If that's the case, why stop their retreat? Wouldn't it be better to attack them halfway?"

Liu Feng was instantly embarrassed, realizing that he had fallen into a trap again.

As Liu Bei said, why insist on surrounding Wu Dun?

If we could defeat him, or force him to retreat back to Kaiyang, we could not only demoralize the enemy forces in Kaiyang and easily capture Jiqiu as a forward base, but we might even be able to completely wipe out Wu Dun halfway there. He couldn't see so many benefits; he only knew how to stick to the old ways and didn't understand how to adapt to changing circumstances.

It's no wonder that Big Ears called me stupid.

Finally, under Liu Bei's arrangement, the plan gradually became truly feasible and had a relatively high chance of success.

Although Big Ears severely criticized Liu Feng's plan and even changed it beyond recognition, he greatly admired the overall structure of Liu Feng's plan, especially the ability to prepare countermeasures in advance for different situations, which would greatly reduce the probability of the army collapsing under sudden attack.

Just as the plan was finally approved and Liu Feng breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, Liu Bei threw out a question: "Why didn't you make arrangements for Chang Xi's route?"

“Father, the route through Changxi is the longest and the road is complicated. I think we can adapt to the situation.”

Although Zengguo County, where Changxi was located, belonged to Langya, it was actually closer to Donghai Commandery.

Zengguo County is far from Yang, and there are two large mountains in the straight line, which is much more convenient than taking the official road through Donghai County.

Therefore, if you can't be sure whether Chang Xi will choose to take the mountain road or use a diversionary tactic, it's better to adapt to the situation.

Moreover, Liu Feng had a ulterior motive regarding Chang Xi; he wanted to leave Chang Xi to deal with himself.

Liu Bei also saw through this and bluntly exposed Liu Feng's thoughts: "Hmph, I think you want to keep Chang Xi for yourself, don't you?"

“Father, Changxi is impulsive and easily angered, and arrogant. He is not a difficult opponent to deal with.”

Liu Feng was still somewhat eager to try, so he got up and walked to Liu Bei's side, gently patting the other's shoulder: "Father, don't you think this is a very suitable opponent for me to practice against?"

Liu Bei, however, was unmoved by this. His expression turned serious: "Feng'er, you are only ten years old and have never been to the battlefield. You do not know the dangers of war and the unpredictable nature of the situation. Regardless of Chang Xi's personality, he is a seasoned strategist with years of experience. His battle experience far surpasses yours by ten times. Where do you get the confidence that you can defeat him?"

Liu Feng was rendered speechless by Liu Bei's questioning.

You can't exactly claim that you have experience from later generations, that you've read a lot of war materials, and that you have your own understanding of war, can you?

Just now, Liu Bei found many problems with his battle plan, and even several fatal flaws.

Who can guarantee that Chang Xi's military experience and ability won't allow him to see through Liu Feng's oversights like Liu Bei did?
Moreover, Liu Bei was absolutely right. Even if Liu Feng did have these advantages, they were just theoretical and had not been truly tested in actual combat. How could Liu Feng know that they would be effective in this era?
After a long silence, Liu Feng raised his head again: "Father, I still want to participate in this war."

Seeing Liu Feng's stubbornness and refusal to listen to advice, Liu Bei's eyes flashed with disappointment for the first time.

Before Liu Bei could erupt in anger, Liu Feng continued, "However, Father, you may appoint a general to lead my troops, and I will serve as your military advisor, assisting you from the side. What do you think?"

The disappointment and anger in Liu Bei's eyes gradually faded, replaced by contemplation.

In the end, Liu Bei actually agreed.

He nodded slowly: "I am pleased that you recognize your shortcomings. In that case, I will allow you to participate in this war. However, do not forget what you just said: I will appoint a personal general to lead the campaign, and you, Feng'er, will only assist him from the side and must not act on your own initiative!"

I recommend my friend Lie Ri Chui Bing's work, *Three Kingdoms: I am Zhang Xiu, what brings you here?* It's a story of a time-traveling spear king from the north, accompanied by the top strategist Jia Xu. The story begins with Cao Cao trying to steal his aunt. It's already over two million words long, a substantial read.


(End of this chapter)