Silver Fox of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 174 Liu Biao Got Jia Xu

At the end of February in the sixth year of Jian'an, Zhuge Liang got married, and Shen Chen had another elder...

While Shen Chen was celebrating Zhuge Liang's wedding, things were not going very well for Liu Biao.

Kuai Liang fell ill.

Originally, Liu Biao was scheduled to worship heaven and earth in the suburbs in late spring in March.

But after his mastermind, Kuai Liang, fell ill, he lost his position, so he had to suspend the sacrifice first, and wait for Kuai Liang to recover from his illness.

Unexpectedly, Kuai Liang's condition did not improve, but deteriorated very quickly.

By April, it was dying.

At that time, in addition to Hua Tuo in the north, there was also a genius doctor in the south, named Zhang Ji, whose style name was Zhongjing, from Nie County, Nanyang.

But Zhang Zhongjing is now missing.

After Dong Zhuo's rebellion, there were wars and strife all over the world, and countless people from Guanzhong and Henan moved to Nanyang.

These refugees not only brought certain security problems to Nanyang, but also brought the epidemic plague that was born due to the brutal war in the north to Nanyang.

The Zhang family is also a large family in Nieyang, with a population of more than 200. As a result, two-thirds of them died of this disease called typhoid fever.

This made Zhang Ji very sad, so he decided to practice medicine and study typhoid plague everywhere, but he was not in Nanyang at this time.

When Cao Cao was sick, he always thought of Hua Tuo, forced Hua Tuo to heal him, and finally killed Hua Tuo, and regretted it when Cao Chong died of illness.

Now Liu Biao couldn't even find a genius doctor, so he could only watch helplessly as his mastermind, Kuai Liang, fell ill.

On April [-], the sixth year of Jian'an, in Kuai Liang's mansion.

Liu Biao came to visit in person.

In the bedroom, Kuai Liang was lying on the wooden floor, he didn't know what the disease was, his face was already very pale.

The table next to it was filled with incense, but it couldn't hide the strong smell of herbs in the room.

"Zirou."

Liu Biao walked to the sick bed and asked with concern, "How do you feel? Are you feeling better?"

"Duke Ming."

Kuai Liang's face was pale, his lips were pale, and he said with difficulty: "I'm afraid Liang Liang can no longer serve Ming Gong."

"Zirou."

Liu Biao felt very sad, held Kuai Liang's hand, and burst into tears.

What Kuai Liang got was not an infectious disease, because he had been sick for more than a month, and he did not infect his family members.

The doctor was at a loss what to do, and at this time he was at his wit's end.

As Liu Biao's biggest conspirator, if Kuai Liang died of illness, it would be a painful blow to him.

"Liang's biggest regret is that he failed to assist Duke Ming in his great cause."

Kuai Liang forced a sad smile, and said, "It's a pity that Degui and Yidu value the family too much, and they don't want to help Minggong, otherwise I can feel at ease."

"Ugh."

Speaking of Cai Mao and Kuai Yue, Liu Biao sighed.

Although after Guandu, Cai Mao and Kuai Yue had eased their attitude towards his request to join the imperial court, they still did not support him to stand on his own, so the relationship between the two parties was not as deep as he and Kuai Liang.

In the final analysis, the two sides still have serious positions and conflicts of interest.

Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue are actually not brothers, but from the same family.It's as if Xun Yu and Xun You are not real uncles and nephews, but distant uncles and nephews of the same family.

So the two sides did not reach a consensus.

Kuai Yue paid more attention to the interests of the family. Since the emperor was in Xudu, he was the last person who wanted Liu Biao to stand on his own.Because Liu Biao is too old, once he becomes self-reliant, it is a question of how many years he can live.

In case Liu Biao dies shortly after proclaiming himself emperor, the Kuai family will be very embarrassed and become traitors, and the family name and reputation will be completely lost.

Cai Hao is similar, and he is still friends with Cao Cao. He knows Cao Cao's ability and Liu Biao's age.

Therefore, all things considered, even though both Cao and Yuan suffered losses after the Battle of Guandu, because Liu Xie was still in Cao Cao's hands, they still had reservations about Liu Biao's self-reliance, unlike Huang Zu and Kuai Liang who were his staunch supporters .

"Cough cough cough."

Kuai Liang was already very weak and coughed constantly.

Liu Biao wiped away his tears, patted Kuai Liang's hand, hurriedly asked with concern: "Zi Rou, how are you, Zi Rou?"

"Duke Ming."

Kuai Liang said with difficulty: "Liang wants to recommend someone for Duke Ming. If he is there, great things will happen."

"Who?"

"Wenhe has met the general."

At this moment, behind the screen in the room, a thin figure came out.

He looked at Liu Biao with a smile on his face, and bowed to salute.

"Jia Xu."

Liu Biao frowned.

Last year, Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu were forced to send their family members to Xiangyang, and a large number of family members of the Xiliang Army took them as hostages, and then they were controlled.

After the Chinese New Year this year, Jia Xu entered Xiangyang very low-key and lived with his wife and children.

Sometimes he would visit Liu Biao, but most of the time he stayed at home honestly.

Looking at it now, it was clear that Kuai Liang had been in contact with him during this period of time, and now that Kuai Liang was seriously ill, he planned to recommend Jia Xu to him as his mastermind.

It's just that Jia Xu is not credible in Liu Biao's eyes.

After all, it was Jia Xu who instigated Zhang Xiu's several betrayals, so Liu Biao remained skeptical about using him.

Kuai Liang said softly: "Mr. Wenhe has the wisdom to help the universe, but Liang is far behind. If the Duke of Ming wins Mr. Liu, like the ancestor Gaozu, he will be able to build a great cause for Duke Ming."

"Oh?"

Liu Biao became interested and asked Jia Xu, "I want to revitalize the Han Dynasty and inherit the legacy of Gaozu Guangwu. Can Wenhe teach me?"

Jia Xu cupped his hands and said, "General, Zirou's strategy is actually very good, there is no serious problem."

"Well."

Liu Biao frowned slightly, since Zirou's plan is very good, what do I want from you?
Jia Xu then said: "There are still some details that need to be added. If the general wants to have the ambition to dominate, he should not act too hastily. Yuan Shu overturned the front and stopped the rear, so he needs to slow down?"

"Slow map?"

Liu Biao frowned even deeper, this was the last suggestion he wanted to hear.

Jia Xu said: "That's right, although Cao Cao is injured, he can still eat people if he is injured. You should not underestimate him. Therefore, after the general is fully prepared this year, he can go north to Yingchuan and confront him. Cao Cao has little food and cannot last long. If you are eager for a decisive battle, the general waits for him to be impatient, and then defeats him in one fell swoop, but he can be defeated but not wiped out. After the general defeats Cao Cao, with the prestige of being the king of the world, he can return to Jingzhou and become king immediately."

King?

Liu Biao suddenly became short of breath.

He did have the intention of proclaiming himself emperor in his mind, but there was a lot of resistance, which made him hesitate.

The most important thing is that now Kuai Liang is sick and may die of illness at any time. Once he loses Kuai Liang and lacks a mastermind, he may not be able to come up with a perfect plan.

But Jia Xu's suggestion is very good.Step by step, first attack Cao Cao to accumulate prestige, and then return to Jingzhou to become king.

"What people in Jingzhou fear is mostly the general's ambition to become emperor."

Jia Xu said: "If the general proclaims the emperor directly, Yuan Shu must be worried, so this matter should be postponed. You can sacrifice to heaven and earth first, and tell the world to challenge Cao, and then take the example of Gaozu Baima's alliance, and follow the example of Guangwu and proclaim the king of Chu!" In this way, without the bad reputation caused by proclaiming the emperor, and being blessed by the popularity of the people at home, you can develop a great cause."

"Ah."

Liu Biao narrowed his eyes and nodded slightly.

"After becoming king, the general can attack Cao Cao in the north. If he wins Henan, he will attack Yangzhou several times at the same time, destroy Jiangdong, and finally go up and eliminate Yuan Shao. In this way, only Guanzhong and Yizhou will be left. Great things will be accomplished. Fifty troops were raised, and the country was established in seven years. Guangwu rode into Hebei alone, and conquered the world for twelve years. Now the beginning of the general is much stronger than Gaozu Guangwu, so why not do it?"

Jia Xu continued: "Besides, Cao Cao is weak, Sun Quan is young, Yuan Shao lost all his elite in the battle of Guandu, and the generals occupy Jingzhou, the people are strong and the state is rich, and there are more than [-] soldiers and horses? Going north at this time, you can defeat Cao Cao in one battle, and send another one." The general guards Henan and guards against Yuan Shao. The rest of the army and horses have broken through Yangzhou, and the internal and external troubles in Jiangdong will be pacified within half a year, at most two years, and Yuan Shao will be the only opponent of the general."

This strategy is actually similar to the strategy discussed by Kuai Liang and Liu Biao.

Kuai Liang believes that if the plan is to be slowed down, of course the two tigers, Yuan and Cao, will fight first. They will first break Jiangdong, then take Yizhou, gain the entire south, and then go north and sweep Guanzhong, so that they can gain three-fifths of the world. Yuan Cao fought among themselves again, and after Liu Biao settled the world, they almost had a winner. At that time, Liu Biao sat on the mountain and watched the tigers fight, and became the final winner.

It's just that Liu Biao can't wait that long, because Yuan Cao's internal struggle will definitely not be able to tell the winner within ten years, but he broke the Jiangdong to take Yizhou and then swept Guanzhong, that is not something that can be done within ten years.He is now 58 years old, and whether he can live another ten years is a question, so Liu Biao can only abandon such a safe method.

After this strategy was rejected, Kuai Liang proposed another strategy.That is to go north to attack Cao Cao first. If Cao Cao can be eliminated, and the little emperor dies suddenly, Liu Biao can proclaim himself emperor in the name of "No Lord in the World, and Liu Dangli".

However, Kuai Liang also pointed out that once he becomes emperor, the princes from all walks of life will definitely gather fire to attack him.So Liu Biao will be under a lot of pressure at that time, which also made Liu Biao very hesitant at that time.

Now the strategy proposed by Jia Xu is perfect. If you can't become emperor, you can become king first.

In the alliance of Gao Zu's white horse, no one with the surname of Liu can be called king.

After Liu Biao, King Lugong, I am a veritable clan member of the Han family. Now that the Han family is in decline and the Liu surname is in decline, it is reasonable for me to stand up and become king first, and raise my arms.

Even if other princes want to attack him, there is no reason.

Because Liu Biao did not violate the treaty of the White Horse Alliance, the only problem was that it was not canonized by Liu Xie, which lacked certain legitimacy.

But that's okay too.

He can send envoys to report to Liu Xie, and at the same time, in the name of clothes and belts, he can tell the world that the emperor was held hostage by Cao Cao, and the government orders did not leave the palace. To please the Son of Heaven.

The most important thing is that this method is faster.

After eliminating Cao Cao and becoming king, the princes from all walks of life have no reason to attack him. He can attack Jiangdong from Runan, Jiangxia, and Changsha at the same time, and destroy Sun Quan who is close at hand first.

In this way, he won the four states of Jingzhou, Jiaozhou, Yangzhou, and Yuzhou, and then went north to sweep Yanzhou, Xuzhou, and Sili, forming a siege of Yuan Shao.

As for Liu Zhang and Guan Zhong, you can ignore them.

Liu Zhang's strength in Yizhou is far inferior to him, and he only needs to deploy a defense line in Dajiang to prevent him from attacking.

Guanzhong has been empty for a long time, with a population of 200 million, there is no one in ten, and Han Suimateng and his like are just people who follow the wind.

According to Jia Xu's suggestion, Cao Cao is now in decline, and taking advantage of his illness to kill him, he can eliminate Cao Cao this year, and then destroy Sun Quan next year.

Eliminate two princes in two years and occupy all the south of the Yellow River, then his remaining opponent is only Yuan Shao.

This is much stronger than the safe strategy suggested by Kuai Liang and Shen Chen.

Thinking of this, Liu Biao suddenly felt enlightened, and the future was bright, and immediately said happily, "Mr.'s words really suit my heart."

Jia Xu smiled slightly: "Proclaiming the emperor should be a slow plan. The general can sacrifice to heaven and earth this year. He calls himself the Duke of Chu. The general's surname is Liu, and he is a descendant of the Han family. People in the world dare not criticize him. You can be called king, this is called step by step climbing!"

"My husband, it is indeed as Zirou said, if you want to stay."

Liu Biao was overjoyed, held Jia Xu's hand and said, "If I become a great career, I will treat you well, sir."

"The general praises you."

Jia Xu bowed slightly and said: "In the past, Xu didn't know the number of days and offended the general, please Haihan."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Liu Biao laughed loudly and said, "Is there any reason to blame such a trivial matter?"

"Thank you, General."

Jia Xu clasped his hands in his sleeves and bent over to salute Liu Biao. No one noticed that his smiling eyes revealed a gloomy coldness.

(End of this chapter)