The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 96 Liu Bei is confused. Cao Cao wants to give his ass to me? (Subscribe)
After a while, Man Chong entered the main hall.

Just as he was taking off his shoes and before he entered the hall, he heard someone spitting and cursing:
"Cao Cao is a cruel and brutal person who behaves like a beast. Does he have the nerve to send an envoy to Xuzhou?"

Man Chong was born into a family of cruel officials and had seen all kinds of situations.

Knowing that this was an official from Xuzhou, he wanted to give him a warning.

He remained calm and replied in a cold voice:

"I am here to see Envoy Liu on the orders of my lord, and I have no obligation to inform you, a mediocre person."

After he finished speaking, he walked past the man and headed towards Liu Bei.

Liu Bei was good at judging people, and the impression he got from the scene just now was that Man Chong was a man of very strong character.

He must be a person of outstanding ability.

He immediately asked:

"The Manchu envoy has come a thousand miles, what advice do you have for me?"

Man Chong knew that Liu Bei was an outstanding person, so he did not dare to show his attitude just now. He changed his expression and answered seriously:
"I have come here on my Lord's orders to make friends with you, my Lord."

Ha ha.

As soon as these words were spoken, all the officials in Xuzhou, big and small, sneered.

Everyone knows that Cao Cao has a deep hatred for Xuzhou.

Only one year had passed since his last expedition to Xuzhou when Cao Cao sent people to befriend Liu Bei.

He simply treats us, the people of Xuzhou, as nothing.

Mi Zhu was a man of temperament, and he immediately shouted in a stern voice:
"Your lord invaded my lord's prefectures and counties twice, burning, killing, looting, and destroying farmland in Xuzhou."

"Does Cao Cao have the nerve to come and make friendly contact today?"

Man Chong asked, "May I ask your name?"

Mi Zhu replied: "I am Mi Zhu, a mediocre man from Xuzhou, honored to be your deputy."

Man Chong nodded and bowed.

"I have long heard of Mi Beijia's great name."

"I cannot agree with what Mi Beijia said just now."

"If Envoy Tao had not instigated Que Xuan to invade our prefectures last year, why would Lord Cao have stationed his troops in Xuzhou?"

"What's more, Cao Gong's father lived in Langya, but on his way back home, he was killed by the Xuzhou army."

"The hatred for the murder of one's father is irreconcilable. What's wrong with Cao Gong avenging his father?"

"As for the soldiers and civilians of Xuzhou, they died in the war, and it was not Cao Gong's fault alone."

"When war breaks out, it is inevitable that the people will suffer."

"It's not me, it's the soldiers!"

Strong words!

Mi Zhu became furious upon hearing this and was about to rebuke him harshly.

But Li Yi stopped him with his hand and said calmly:
"If the Manchu envoy is here just for a verbal dispute, he can return to Yanzhou as soon as possible."

Li Yi's move was actually a way to give Man Chong a way out.

It seems that he is talking about Man Chong, but in fact he is reminding the officials in Xuzhou not to embarrass themselves and get to the point.

Man Chong cast a grateful look at Li Yi, and while he was getting away, he quickly said to Liu Bei:

"I am not here to defend myself in the Xuzhou dispute."

"I came here for your benefit."

"Please, sir, try to explain it."

Liu Bei nodded slightly, his expression not changing much.

Man Chong knew that he only had one chance, so he calmed down and analyzed seriously:
"In today's world, there are two heroes, the north and the south."

"The southerner is Yuan Shu, who controls Huainan and controls Yuzhou."

"With many soldiers and generals, one can become a leader in one area."

"The northerner is Yuan Shao, who is a tiger in Hebei and has great power throughout the world."

"He has many counselors and brave generals under his command, and he can be a hero in the north."

"Now the envoy has made a grudge against Yuan Shu, and my lord also has a deep hatred for Yuan Shu."

"Although Yuan Shu's power is in Yangzhou, he also has many confidants in Yuzhou."

"My lord is trapped in Lü Bu's internal strife and has no power to fight for Yuzhou."

"So I would like to invite you to come to Yuzhou to fight against Yuan Shu together."

Man Chong revealed Cao Cao's true intention.

In a word, Yuan Shu is our enemy.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. I have invited you to join us in dividing Yuzhou.

There is no conflict of interest between us anymore, and we can achieve win-win cooperation.

At least for now.

Liu Bei and Li Yi looked at each other and then asked:

"How is Cao Gong doing in Yanzhou?"

Man Chong replied respectfully:

"Lü Bu is just a lone hero, no need to worry about him."

"My lord has received support from Lord Yuan, and with the help of Zang Hong's troops and horses, he will be able to defeat Lu Bu very quickly."

"After my lord has quelled the civil unrest and stabilized Yanzhou, we can march into Yuzhou together with Envoy Liu."

"Drive out Yuan Shu's forces."

"Besides, Yuan Shu is occupying Huainan and threatening Xuzhou and Guangling. You don't want a big threat in the south to make you sleepless, right?"

good……

Although he knew that Man Chong was speaking well of Cao Cao, for Liu Bei, the biggest worry at the moment was indeed Yuan Shu.

Because Yuan Shu was not like Liu Bei, who needed to take into account multiple forces. He only needed to concentrate on dealing with Liu Bei.

Liu Yao has Sun Ce supporting him from behind.

Liu Bei is to Yuan Shu as Gongsun Zan is to Yuan Shao.

It is a target that we must deal with with all our strength.

This is also why Li Yi, Liu Ye and Lu Su all suggested that Liu Bei should deal with Yuan Shu first.

Liu Bei was silent for a while, then slowly said:

"I have already understood Lord Cao's intention."

"Your Excellency may rest in the post house for a while, and discuss matters with the ministers of Xuzhou."

Man Chong knew that once Liu Bei negotiated with the Xuzhou officials, their negotiations would break down.

Given the hatred that the people of Xuzhou have towards the Cao family, they would definitely not accept cooperation with Yanzhou.

So he opened his mouth and said:
"My lord is willing to cede Lu and Pei to Liu Shijun, so as to help him rise to prominence in Yuzhou."

Liu Bei smiled and said:

"I have never heard when Lu and Pei were taken over by Cao Cao." "The current Prime Minister of Lu is Chen Yi, a descendant of Chen Fan, and the Prime Minister of Pei is Chen Gui, the patriarch of the Chen family."

"These two people each performed their duties. When did they obey Cao Cao's orders?"

Man Chong remained calm and replied:
"Your Excellency knows the truth, so why torture me?"

"Although my master is now the governor of Yanzhou, his family property is all in Yuzhou."

"The Xun family of Yingchuan, the Xiahou family of Pei, and the Cao family are all supporters of my lord."

"My Lord is determined to obtain Yuzhou."

"Now I am willing to give Lupei to Lord Xuande to serve as a shield for Xuzhou, which shows the sincerity of Lord Cao's heart."

Some things are just not convenient to say out loud.

Guo Gong is now the governor of Yuzhou, and on the surface Yuzhou belongs to him.

In fact, judging from the distribution of power.

The six counties and kingdoms of Yuzhou are Yingchuan, Chen, Liang, Lu, Pei, and Runan.

Yingchuan and Qiao County of Pei State were supporters of Cao Cao.

Runan, the southern part of Pei State, was the sphere of influence remotely controlled by Yuan Shu.

The area north of Pei State was actually controlled by Liu Bei.

leftover,
Liang State was Guo Gong's territory, and it had signed a verbal agreement with Liu Bei and was willing to become a vassal of Xuzhou.

The State of Chen was the territory of King Chen Liu Chong and was neutral.

The State of Lu was the territory of Chen Yi, the Prime Minister of Lu, and was also neutral.

Prior to this, Liu Bei had sent Zhang Fei to lead 3,000 troops to station in Lu State as a test.

So although Yuzhou seems to be a whole, it is actually divided up by many forces.

Liu Bei's expression softened a little. He also knew that Cao Cao had shown enough sincerity by making such a decision.

Man Chong successively served as the Inspector of Yanzhou and the Magistrate of Gaotang County, and was very good at observing people's words and expressions.

Sensing Liu Bei's change of expression, he quickly delivered another heavy punch:
"My lord has another gift for Envoy Liu. Please take a look at it."

With one word, he took out a document from his arms.

The attendant stepped forward, took it, and handed it to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei unfolded it, took a quick look around, and then subconsciously handed it to Li Yi beside him.

This has become muscle memory.

There was nothing unspeakable between him and Li Yi, and any confidential documents could be handed directly to Li Yi.

Li Yi looked at it and found out that it was Cao Cao who recommended Zang Ba to be the Prime Minister of Lu.

Together with his generals Sun Guan, Chang Xi, Wu Dun and others, they were all appointed as county magistrates of various counties in Taishan County.

The meaning is very clear, which is to give Taishan County to Liu Bei.

Zang Ba became the Prime Minister of Lu simply to avoid the Three Mutuals Law.

In fact, Taishan County was handed over to Zang Ba and his group of Taishan brothers.

"Taishan County is a large county in Yanzhou. Does Cao Cao want to give it to me?"

If we say that Cao Cao's cession of Lu Pei was a helpless move before.

It would be too bold to directly hand over the counties of Yanzhou to Liu Bei now.

Taishan County is an important barrier to the eastern part of Yanzhou because of the dangerous Taishan and Mengshan Mountains.

If Cao Cao gave it up, the eastern part of Yanzhou would lose an important buffer zone.

If a war breaks out between Xuzhou and Yanzhou in the future, Liu Bei can directly send people from Mount Tai, cross Jibei, and go straight to Cao Cao’s base camp in Dongjun.

This script is wrong.

When Cao Cao attacked Xuzhou for the second time, he either went through Pengcheng or Langya.

Almost all of them entered in a line and headed straight for Xia Pi, the capital of Xuzhou.

How come the offense and defense changed without us noticing?

Now it is Liu Bei's turn. He can easily take the capital of Yanzhou by going anywhere.

Fate is really a joke.

I guess if you told Cao Cao a year ago that this would happen, he would never believe it even if he was beaten to death.

"Taishan can be a barrier for Xuzhou's left wing. Now that Cao Cao has offered it up, we must take it."

Liu Ye walked up to Liu Bei and whispered in his ear.

Liu Bei nodded, "It's just that the Taishan officials he recommended are all Taishan generals."

"It seems that he is giving up Mount Tai, but in fact he wants to alienate Zang Ba and drive the tiger to devour the wolf."

good……

Li Yi also said:
"That being said, Zang Ba has no ambition to be the best, and you often show favor to the Taishan generals."

"Besides, the families of the generals are still in Xiapi. I don't think they have any intention of rebellion."

"Since you were able to safely hand over Langya to Zang Ba that day, you can also safely hand over Taishan to him now."

This one sentence cleared the fog for Liu Bei.

Yes, Liu Bei was not bragging.

If it's just about winning people's hearts, you'll have to fight hard for them.

Looking at the whole world, Liu Bei has never been afraid of anyone.

Not to mention you, Cao Cao.

"I already know what Cao Gong is thinking."

"So what does Cao Gong want?"

What you give must be gained, what you give must come back.

Cao Cao shed so much blood and cut so much flesh at one time, it was impossible for him not to ask for a reward.

"Before coming here, my lord has already made it clear that Lu, Pei, and Taishan can all be handed over directly to Envoy Liu for disposal."

"My Lord will never ask."

What is said here is to hand it over to Liu Bei for disposal, rather than handing it over directly.

Because these three places were not directly controlled by Cao Cao, they all had their own owners.

If Liu Bei wanted them, he had to take them from their original owners.

It’s just that Cao Cao won’t interfere.

"What my lord wants is for you to get the queen of Lupei."

"Don't attack Runan, Liangguo, etc."

In a word, Lao Liu, don’t have such a big appetite.

Please leave some for me from Yuzhou.

I have given the east side to you, let me take care of the rest.

……

(End of this chapter)