My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 474 Cai Mao: Xiahou Yuan is the Bai Qi of today
July 6th, Hanyang City.

This county town, located at the intersection of Jiangbei and Hannan and Jianghan, was built only six years ago.

At that time, Guan Yu and Zhuge Jin, following the imperial order, had just killed Huang Zu, the criminal who killed the angel Ni Heng. Afterwards, Liu Biao had to hold his nose and divide Jiangxia County with Liu Bei. He hastily built the new city of Hanyang County as the seat of the Jiangxia County under his jurisdiction, and handed it over to his eldest son Liu Qi for management.

More than six years passed in a flash, and Liu Qi had not achieved anything, nor made any contributions. He just lived a dull life guarding the city of Hanyang.

Now he is even more busy with internal struggles, and even his father's inheritance rights may not be secure. After his second brother Liu Cong married Cai Mao's daughter last year, Cai Mao, Zhang Yun, Kuai Liang, and Kuai Yue all bet on supporting Liu Cong, making Liu Qi's position increasingly precarious. He can only choose to rely on his uncle Xuande as external aid in order to maintain his position in Jingzhou.

Liu Qi surrendered to Liu Bei in March or April last year, and now it has been a year and three months. When he first surrendered to Uncle Xuande, Uncle Xuande gave him a batch of military support, but then because Liu Qi's territory was in a peaceful area and there were no enemies around, there was nothing for the two sides to continue to cooperate, and military exchanges became silent.

Liu Qi had already gotten used to the "new normal" of muddling through his days, but he didn't expect that in the evening of that day, his general Su Fei suddenly came to report that a fleet of Liu Bei's army had crossed the river to the north on the south bank of the river, and that an envoy had arrived on a speedboat and was asking for a meeting outside the city.

When he heard that a fleet was coming, Liu Qi was still subconsciously nervous. He had been very lax in defense in the past few years, mainly because he didn't think that Uncle Xuande would attack him. When he heard that there was an envoy, Liu Qi calmed down again and secretly comforted himself:

"What are you afraid of? You are making a fuss... Uncle Xuande must have something urgent to discuss with me. Maybe it's about Cao Cao's attack on Zhang Lu..."

After calming down, Liu Qi immediately put on a gentle expression and told Su Fei: "Since you are Uncle Xuande's envoy, why don't you invite him in quickly! You don't need to ask me for instructions in the future. If an envoy comes, let him into the city first and treat him well, and then discuss the rest."

Su Fei took the order and hurried out, riding his horse straight to the city wall. After a while, he brought Xu Shu, the envoy sent by Liu Bei, into the city and escorted him directly to Liu Qi's Jiangxia prefectural mansion.

Liu Qi had just finished dressing and getting ready, and had no time to go out to greet him, so he just greeted Xu Shu at the gate of the prefect's mansion.

Liu Qi was very polite. He took Xu Shu's hand and walked inside. "Mr. Yuanzhi, how are you? Come in, come in. Uncle Xuande sent you here. Must it be something important?"

Xu Shu thanked Liu Qi and followed him into the main hall. They sat down as host and guest, and then he got straight to the point and told Liu Bei about his concerns:

"…My Lord, my Lord heard that Zhang Lu was defeated by Cao Cao. After discussing with Kong Ming and Shi Yuan, they all worried that after Xiahou Yuan defeated Nanzheng, he would go down the Han River and seize Shangyong and Fangling, thus threatening Xiangyang and Fancheng.

Shangyong is upstream of Xiangyang, and Lord Jingsheng cannot sit idly by and watch it be seized by Cao! The eldest son is responsible for the important task of Jingbei, so he should volunteer to share his father's worries. As long as the eldest son is willing to send troops, General Zhang, under the order of our lord, is willing to lend back 4,000 Jingzhou veterans to help the eldest son in the battle -

These veterans of Jingzhou were all former subordinates of Huang Zu. They were captured by our army along with Governor Su and later surrendered. They are also considered locals of Jingzhou. If they are allowed to temporarily return to Governor Su's command, they will surely be able to exert their impressive combat power. In addition, our army is willing to provide you with thousands of sets of sophisticated military equipment. Please do not hesitate."

Liu Qi was originally a muddleheaded person and was not familiar with these military matters. After Xu Shu's explanation and instructions on the map, Liu Qi became nervous.

"It turns out that the loss of Hanzhong may have such a great impact on our Jingzhou... If it weren't for what you said, our army would have almost made a mistake! Why didn't Cai Mao and Zhang Yun remind my father to seize Shangyong while Zhang Lu was defeated and obtain an upstream barrier for Xiangyang!"

The more Liu Qi thought about it, the more scared he became. He couldn't help but slam the table and curse Cai Mao and Zhang Yun angrily, "Thanks to you, sir. I'll go to Xiangyang right away... uh, let Mr. Ji Bo help me pass on the message and explain the pros and cons to my father."

Xu Shu heard Liu Qi change his words when he was about to say it, and he couldn't help but secretly shook his head: This eldest son, you obviously have such a good opportunity to go to Xiangyang in person and explain the pros and cons to Lord Jingsheng in person, why do you have to rely on Yi Ji to help you pass the message when the time comes? Are you so unconfident that you dare not argue with your father in person?
Xu Shu didn't know how far Liu Qi's position in Liu Biao's heart had fallen. But Xu Shu used common sense to judge that unless Liu Biao was too ill to manage affairs, what danger would there be for Liu Qi to go to Xiangyang? Would Cai Mao dare to break up with him and murder him?

The eldest son's cowardice will eventually make him lose points with his father and pay the price.

Unfortunately, estrangement cannot separate relatives, so Xu Shu can only let go of his desire to help others and respect their fate.

If a person is cowardly in front of his own father, outsiders can't help him.

However, for military reasons, Xu Shu added two euphemistically: "The eldest son is cautious and prudent, and out of pure filial piety to Lord Jingsheng, it is right for him to ask for instructions on everything. But the military situation is urgent. If Hanzhong and even Baxi all fall into the hands of Cao thieves, Xiahou Yuan may have ambitions for Shangyong at any time.

I hope that the eldest son will make preparations for sending troops before asking for instructions, so that once Lord Jingsheng makes a decision, the army can set out immediately to avoid delays."

Liu Qi nodded. He knew Xu Shu was doing this for his own good. "Of course. As long as the garrison does not leave the territory of Jiangxia County, it is within my authority to make some preparations in advance. As for Brother Pan and Huang Zhonglang, I am also concerned about them. I will remind them to make preparations in advance."

Liu Pan and Huang Zhong were stationed in Jiangling, which belonged to Nanjun. In theory, they were not subordinate to Liu Qi. However, more than a year ago, after Liu Qi surrendered to Liu Bei, Liu Bei gave Liu Qi a lot of military equipment and also gave Huang Zhong Mingma Baojia.

Liu Pan and Huang Zhong were indebted to Liu Bei, so they knew what was going on. They could have made preparations on their own initiative within the scope of their authority.

……

Liu Qi made some arrangements and sent an envoy that night to Xiangyang, arriving a day later. The envoy went straight to Yi Ji's house and told him everything the eldest son wanted, so Yi Ji did not dare to neglect it.

The next morning, he went to the Jingzhou Governor's Mansion to ask for an audience with Liu Biao, relayed Liu Qi's concerns, handed over Liu Qi's letter to his father, and attached his own opinions.

Liu Biao was already 66 years old, with completely white hair and beard, and he was even more exhausted than last year. He was no longer able to handle many daily affairs. When he heard that Yi Ji was delivering a message to Liu Qi, Liu Biao was not happy at first:
"Such a big thing, since he has an opinion, why doesn't he come to Xiangyang to discuss it in person! Can the trip between father and son make him lose a few pounds?"

Yi Ji was not easy to persuade, and he did not dare to say "The eldest prince is afraid that Xiangyang is controlled by Cai Mao, and it would be easy to fail if he came and be caught by someone", so he could only use other words to persuade him tactfully.

After a while, when Liu Biao calmed down and finished reading Liu Qi's letter, he was finally able to discuss the matter objectively. Yi Ji then slowly analyzed the pros and cons.

Liu Biao listened patiently and confirmed that his eldest son and Yi Ji were indeed working for the cause of Jingzhou, so he nodded.

"In this case, we should reply to Qi'er without delay and allow him to lead the army to recapture Fangling and Shangyong and subdue the brothers Shen Dan and Shen Yi. By the way, did he say who he wants to appoint as the general?"

Yi Ji pointed to Liu Qi's letter and said, "The eldest son's messenger said that it should be written in his letter."

Liu Biao rubbed his temples, took the letter and looked at it again: "I am really old and confused. I didn't even read the whole letter. It turns out that he recommends Huang Zhong and Su Fei as vanguards. Then let's do it."

Liu Biao was quite satisfied with Yi Ji. It seemed that Yi Ji only listened to the oral statement of Liu Qi's envoy and then relayed it on his behalf, but he did not peek at the letters between father and son.

On the same day, Liu Biao formally responded to Liu Qi's request, allowing Liu Qi to lead his troops north and also allowing Liu Qi to temporarily borrow the troops of Liu Pan and Huang Zhong.

……

However, not long after Liu Biao sent his reply, the news spread - it was obvious that Mrs. Cai often spied on Liu Biao, and after listening to every decision her husband made, she would go back to ask her brother to see what Cai Mao thought.

When Cai Mao heard that his brother-in-law had allowed Liu Qi to send troops, he quickly gathered Kuai Yue and wanted to oppose it again.

Liu Biao was a little tired. He had made such a major decision in a hurry today. How could he have the energy to handle more government affairs? But Cai Mao pleaded with a sad face, and he had to listen.

As soon as Cai Mao came up, he said the lines he had discussed with Kuai Yue halfway:

"My lord! Shangyong is just a remote place, located in the mountains, with not much land and population. Jingzhou is rich in resources and people, why should we fight for such a poor and remote place? If we offend Cao Cao and invite his revenge, wouldn't it bring disaster to Jingzhou?"

Cai Mao's words did not convince Liu Biao. Instead, Liu Biao looked at him with disgust, as if he was angry that his wife had leaked the news to his brother-in-law.

However, Kuai Yue, who was standing by, immediately quoted from classics to support the argument: "Sir, although General Cai's words are superficial, they do make sense. During the Warring States Period, Lord Pingyuan advised the King of Zhao: Even if a large army fights hard for years, it may not be able to capture a city. Now that we can capture 19 cities in a flash, why don't you accept it?

But the King of Zhao listened to the advice of Lord Pingyuan and accepted the Shangdang County offered by Feng Ting of Han. What was the result? The Qin army retaliated! The Battle of Changping was fought! In the end, Lian Po and Zhao Kuo were defeated, and 400,000 people died!
Cao Cao today is like the tyrannical Qin of the past, Zhang Lu today is like the weak Han of the past, Shangyong today is like Shangdang of the past - and the envoy is like the King of Zhao of the past, and the eldest son is like the Lord of Pingyuan of the past. This must be checked! And Xiahou Yuan today is like Bai Qi of the past!

Xiahou Yuan has a violent temper and cannot bear to suffer any loss. Even though Cao Cao is cunning and treacherous, he is not subject to orders from his master. Xiahou Yuan worked hard to conquer Hanzhong, but Shangyong was taken by our army. He will definitely take revenge! It is only a matter of time! "

Kuai Yue was eloquent and good at making arguments. He cited classics one after another in his speech and finally made Liu Biao, who came from a family of famous scholars, hesitate.

Although Cai Mao's persuasion just now had the same meaning, Liu Biao ignored Cai Mao's vulgar and uncultured words and did not think what he said made sense. However, Kuai Yue's layers of progressive parallelism were magnificent and obviously more to Liu Biao's liking.

Fortunately, Yi Ji, as Liu Qi's lobbyist, never let his guard down. After offering his advice today, he did not leave the Jingzhou Mu Mansion.

Because the messenger sent by Liu Qi gave him a private letter, which was said to be written by Xu Shu.

It reminded him to be careful of the counterattack and obstruction by Cai Mao's party, and also included some rebuttal reasons that might be useful.

Before Yi Ji came, he had already read it repeatedly and mastered it.

(End of this chapter)