My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

Chapter 191: After the Shao Emperor and after the Xian Emperor, two emperors coexist! Overturn the Longzhong Strategy and use Bowen's Strategy to conquer the world!
Everyone's puzzled eyes turned to the Cao family's child prodigy who had just recovered from a serious illness, and they were all waiting for his explanation with great curiosity.

Cao Chong coughed lightly and said calmly:
"My son's point is, why don't we follow the example of Emperor Xuan of Han and secretly select someone, claiming that he is the surviving orphan of the young emperor, and make him the new emperor?"

Cao Cao was stunned at first, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Crown Prince Liu Ju, forced by the witchcraft scandal, rebelled and failed, but committed suicide. All his descendants were killed, except for his infant grandson Liu Bingyi, who survived and was raised privately among the people.

Emperor Zhao of the Later Han Dynasty died without any children. After deposing King Changyi Liu He, Huo Guang supported Liu Bingyi as emperor, who was Emperor Xuan of Han.

Cao Chong's intention was to find a random person and declare to the outside world that he was an orphan who was stranded outside the palace when the young emperor Liu Bian was poisoned by Dong Zhuo, and to establish him as the emperor to compete with the son of Liu Xie, who was established by Liu Bei, for the orthodoxy and people's hearts.

"Prime Minister, Master Cang Shu's plan is brilliant."

"Emperor Ling originally passed the throne to the Young Emperor. It was the traitor Dong Zhuo who deposed and killed the Young Emperor and installed the Prince of Chenliu as the Emperor instead."

"In terms of orthodoxy, the Young Emperor is the most qualified to be the Son of Heaven."

"Now that the throne is vacant, it is most legal for the young emperor's bloodline to inherit the throne, and it will convince the people of the world!"

Cheng Yu was the first to stand up and readily agreed with Cao Chong's plan.

The government hall immediately became boiling with activity, and all the ministers nodded, most of them agreeing with Cheng Yu's statement.

The gloom on Cao Cao's face disappeared, and he stroked his short beard and nodded:
"You are right. It was because Dong Zhuo disrupted the country and deposed the emperor that I first raised the banner of rebellion and called on the righteous men of Guandong to fight against the traitor Dong."

"Later, because the traitor Dong was executed and the young emperor had no bloodline, and the Prince of Chenliu was after all the son of Emperor Ling, I had no choice but to welcome and support the Prince of Chenliu as the Son of Heaven, to rule the world."

"Now that Prince Chenliu has passed away, and the young emperor's son, who was living among the people, has been found, the throne should naturally return to the young emperor's lineage!"

"This is God's will and the will of the people!"

The more Cao Cao spoke, the more excited and passionate he became. He never mentioned the word "fake" in his words, as if the young emperor Liu Bian really had an illegitimate son.

Xiahou Dun, Cheng Yu and others naturally understood what he meant and agreed tacitly.

"Cang Shu, your plan has solved a big problem for my father!"

"Okay, okay, this is my son Cao Cao!"

A long-lost smile appeared on Cao Cao's face. He praised Cao Chong highly and his eyes were full of satisfaction.

The smart people present also saw that Cao Cao wanted to help Cao Chong to the throne, so naturally they all praised Cao Chong.

Only Cao Pi and Cao Zhi felt as if a bottle of five flavors had been overturned in their hearts.

The matter of selecting the emperor was thus decided.

Cao Cao immediately made arrangements and ordered everyone to quickly prepare for the new emperor's enthronement.

Everyone resigned.

Half an hour later, in a secret room of a private house in Xudu.

The two brothers Cao Pi and Cao Zhi sat together for the first time in a long time.

Sitting beside them were their respective strategists, Sima Yi and Yang Xiu.

"Zijian, there's no need to beat around the bush between you and me. I'll be frank with you."

"Now that we've both fallen from favor, even a blind person can see my father's intention to make Cang Shu the heir."

"Cang Shu is just a bastard. If he ascends to the throne in the future and inherits the Cao family's legacy, do you think he will let you and me, his two former legitimate brothers, go?"

Cao Pi went straight to the point and asked in a serious manner.

Cao Zhi shuddered secretly.

Since ancient times, how many precedents have there been of brothers killing each other in order to compete for the throne?

Those who win will often root out the old losers in order to eliminate hidden dangers.

What's more, Cao Chong was a concubine's son.

A bastard inherits the throne. Can he be at ease with his two legitimate brothers?
After a moment's hesitation, Cao Zhi asked:
"Second brother, if you have any plans, just tell me directly."

Cao Pi took a deep breath and said seriously:

"What I mean is that you and I should put aside our open and secret struggles for the time being. Let's join hands and take down Cang Shu first before we talk about other things."

Cao Zhi was shocked, but he couldn't make up his mind, so he turned around and looked at Yang Xiu.

Yang Xiu nodded slightly.

Cao Zhi finally felt confident, so he gritted his teeth and nodded heavily:
"Okay, I'll listen to you, second brother. Let's join hands and take down Cang Shu!"

The two brothers reached an agreement to form an alliance, and they raised their glasses and drank them all.

Next, the question is how to defeat Cao Chong.

Cao Pi was completely ignored by Cao Cao because of the incidents of murdering the emperor and abandoning the city of Hefei and fleeing.

Cao Zhi's behavior of adding insult to injury to Cao Pi displeased Cao Cao, which disappointed Cao Cao. His current situation is not much better than Cao Pi's.

But today, Cao Chong has made a big splash in the selection of the new emperor, made great contributions, and won the favor of Cao Cao.

As one side gains strength while the other loses strength, it is no easy task to overthrow Cao Chong.

Even a smart person like Yang Xiu was helpless at this moment.

"Brother Zhongda, you look like you have a plan in mind. Do you have any good ideas?"

Yang Xiu looked at Sima Yi.

Sima Yi put down the wine glass in his hand, coughed lightly a few times, and spoke slowly:
"If the two young masters want to overthrow Master Cang Shu, they must first achieve great merit and regain the Prime Minister's favor."

"The Prime Minister's two failed southern expeditions were both related to the rebellion of Ma Chao and other Xiliang generals. This is sufficient to prove that if Guanlong is not peaceful, the north will be unstable, and if the north is unstable, the Prime Minister will not be able to fully mobilize the south to deal with Liu Bei."

"So, in my opinion, after the Prime Minister establishes the new emperor, he should temporarily adopt a defensive position along the Huainan and Nanyang lines, concentrating all his efforts on retaking Guanlong and wiping out Ma Chao and other Xiliang generals."

"Liu Bei will definitely not sit idly by and will definitely seize the opportunity to march north. Given his limited forces, he cannot attack both the east and west at the same time, so he will definitely concentrate his forces on one side."

"Now that Liu Bei has established his capital in Jiangdong, I predict that he will direct his troops towards Shouchun, so that he can seize Huainan, completely control Yangzhou, and push the battle line to Huaibei."

"Once this war breaks out, there will be plenty of opportunities to make meritorious contributions."

Sima Yi swallowed his saliva and continued:

"Gu Yi believes that the two princes can each ask the Prime Minister for permission, one to accompany the Prime Minister on the western expedition to Guanlong, and the other to go to Huainan to assist in resisting Liu Bei's northern invasion."

"Whether it's sweeping away the Xiliang generals, defending Huainan for the Prime Minister, or repelling Liu Bei, you'll have accomplished great feats and will surely earn the Prime Minister's favor and appreciation."

"By then, the two young masters will have regained their favor and will join forces to deal with Young Master Cang Shu. Are you still worried that you won't be able to bring him down?"

After hearing Sima Yi's plan, the two brothers of the Cao family suddenly understood what was going on.

Even Yang Xiu, who was very self-righteous, could not help but nod slightly at this time, showing some admiration for Sima Yi.

The two brothers Cao Pi and Cao Zhi looked at each other and their blood boiled.

"Okay, let's use Zhongda's strategy and win a great achievement, so that father will look upon us two brothers with new eyes!"

Cao Pi, full of heroic spirit, stretched out his hand to Cao Zhi. Cao Zhi hesitated, then stretched out his hand as well, and shook hands tightly with Cao Pi to show their brotherly solidarity.

"Alright, alright, brothers fight together to save the tiger, and fathers and sons fight together in battle. You two brothers should have done this long ago!"

A woman's joyful voice sounded outside the door.

The door of the secret room was suddenly pushed open, and a noble lady strode in with a happy face.

"Mother?"

The two brothers Cao Pi and Cao Zhi exclaimed in unison.

Upon seeing this, Sima Yi and Yang Xiu's faces changed and they hurriedly stood up and bowed to pay their respects.

The noble lady who broke in was their mother, Bian.

Madam Bian came forward, gently stroked their shoulders, and said with a gratified smile:

"I knew that you two brothers would not be willing to sink into oblivion. You would definitely hold a secret meeting here to discuss how to join forces to deal with Cao Chong."

"I was right, you guys really didn't let me down!"

The two brothers of the Cao family suddenly realized that their mother had expected them to have a secret meeting here, so they came to take a look without making any noise.

Mrs. Bian, who was hiding outside the door, naturally heard clearly the conversation between the two brothers just now.

Looking at the tone of Lady Bian's voice, it was obvious that she agreed with the two of them to join forces to deal with their half-brother Cao Chong, and the two of them couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Your mother is the principal wife, and you two brothers are legitimate sons. Your father doesn't make you the heir, but instead wants to support a bastard son born to a lowly maid as the heir. He is truly senile."

Mrs. Bian angrily criticized Cao Cao, then glanced at the two Caos with a look of sympathy:
"You two brothers, you must fight for your mother and prove to your father that you are his most outstanding sons. Only you are worthy of inheriting the legacy he has built!"

"The bastard son born to that lowly maidservant of the Huan family is just a little clever. He is not worthy of riding on the heads of you two brothers!"

Cao Pi and Cao Zhi were shocked. Bian aroused their sense of shame and a surge of anger.

"Don't worry, mother. We two will never let you down, and we will never let a bastard step on us!"

The two brothers Cao Pi and Cao Zhi swore an oath with great enthusiasm.

Mrs. Bian was relieved. She looked towards the south, hatred burning in her eyes, and she gnashed her teeth and said:

"Remember, both of you, no matter which of you goes to Huainan to deal with Liu Bei, if you have the chance, you must kill that big-eared thief."

"Mother wants you two to avenge Ziwen!"

...

It was autumn.

One month after Liu Bei established Liu Xi as emperor, Cao Cao announced to the world that he had found the orphan of the young emperor Liu Bian, and supported him as emperor in Xudu to inherit the Han throne.

At this point, there were two emperors in the Han Dynasty, one in the south and one in the north, standing opposite each other.

As soon as the autumn harvest was over, Cao Cao issued an edict to the world, and in the name of attacking Liu Bei, he mobilized an army of more than 100,000 and marched south again from Xudu, heading straight for Wancheng.

In Huainan, Cao Cao appointed Cao Ren as General Zhendong and led 50,000 Cao troops to station troops from Shouchun to Chengde to prevent Liu Bei from taking advantage of the situation to attack Huainan.

The news that Cao Cao supported the new emperor and marched his army south soon reached Yingtian.

...

Yingtian City, the General’s Mansion.

"Kong Ming, Bo Wen, it's just as you two predicted. Cao Cao has indeed sent someone to impersonate the young emperor's orphan and establish him as the fake emperor!"

In the main hall, Liu Bei had already received the latest intelligence from Xudu and looked at Zhuge Liang and Xiao He with admiration.

This was the speculation they came up with together.

The story of Cao Pi's regicide had already spread throughout the country. Although Cao Cao lied to the outside world and said that the emperor died of illness, it was difficult to convince the people of the world.

Empress Dowager Fu and Emperor Liu Xi were both in Jiangdong, and with great Confucian scholars like Kong Rong as witnesses, everyone in the world knew that the orthodox Han Dynasty was now on Liu Bei's side.

The fact that famous Han officials have recently crossed the river and come to the new court in Yingtian is sufficient proof of this.

If you, Cao Cao, randomly choose a member of the royal family to be the emperor, without any legitimate reason, who would obey you?

Then the only lineage that could compete with Liu Xi's orthodoxy was the lineage of Emperor Shao Liu Bian.

Considering Cao Cao's power and the group of smart people under his command, could they not think of finding an imposter to pretend to be the young emperor's son who was living among the people, so that he could support him to become emperor?
"This move by Cao the thief was also expected. Unfortunately, not all people in the world are fools. How could they be easily fooled by him?"

Xiao He raised a cold smile, then bowed and said:
"He believes that the general can use the excuse of Cao Cao's usurpation and support of the false emperor as an excuse to mobilize all our troops from Jing and Yang and march north from Hefei to capture Shouchun and recapture Huainan in one fell swoop!"

"This way, we can realize our previously agreed strategy of advancing the battle line to the Huai River and then marching towards the Central Plains!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the hall was immediately excited.

Zhuge Liang gently waved his feather fan and nodded:

"Bo Yan is absolutely right. Only after we capture Shouchun and recapture Huainan can the general turn the tide of defense and attack, completely changing the situation of being suppressed by Cao Cao."

"With Huainan in hand, we can not only defend Yingtian, but also go west along the Ru and Ying rivers to Xuchang. Go east along the Si River to recapture Xuzhou and then north to Qingzhou, and even sail into the Yellow River."

"I believe that if we can capture Huainan, the general can abandon my original Longzhong Strategy and have a chance to recover the Central Plains and revive the Han Dynasty without having to conquer Bashu and Guanlong in the west!"

Zhuge Liang was also flexible. Now that Jiangdong was in his hands, he decisively overturned his Longzhong Strategy and adopted Xiao He's strategy of conquering the south from the Huai River.

The two counselors' grand plans immediately ignited the blood of the generals, and everyone in the hall was excited.

Liu Bei stroked his thin beard lightly, his eyes burning with passion.

"General, I agree with Lord Zhuge and Military Advisor Xiao's strategy of taking Huainan."

"But right now, Cao Cao is gathering a large army and marching south, intending to retake Wancheng. General Guan of Jingzhou only has a little over 40,000 soldiers under his command. You can imagine the immense pressure he faces."

"Jingxiang cannot afford to lose, we must send reinforcements."

"But the troops available in Jiangdong right now are at most 80,000. If we send a small number of troops to Jingzhou, it will be a drop in the bucket."

"If I divide my forces too much, I won't have enough to capture Shouchun and Huainan."

"Su believes that we should come up with a foolproof plan on how to defend Nanyang and capture Huainan at the same time."

Lu Su has always been steady, but he stood up at this moment and poured a bucket of cold water on everyone's heads.

The boiling atmosphere in the hall suddenly calmed down.

Liu Bei also suppressed his excitement and nodded slightly:
"Zi Jing's words make sense. Wancheng is too close to Xudu. It seems Cao Cao is determined to recapture it this time."

"Although Yunchang is powerful, he only has a little over 40,000 soldiers under his command. It is indeed a bit worrying."

As he spoke, Liu Bei looked at Xiao He and Zhuge Liang, wanting to ask for their opinions.

At this moment, the guards rushed in and said loudly:
"General, there is a scholar outside the palace who claims to be here to help you recapture Huainan and would like to see you."

(End of this chapter)