My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 3 Deceitful Words
Seeing that the other party was distracted and his expression changed repeatedly with his words, clearly having completely followed his rhythm, he was overjoyed and pressed on with more force: "Moreover, Yuan Shu has made too many enemies. To the north is Cao Cao, to the west is Liu Biao, and to the east is Liu Yao, all of whom are regional governors who control a province. Cao Cao has repeatedly defeated Yuan Shu, leaving him routed and with only a remnant army escaping into Jiujiang County. Liu Biao even sent Huang Zu to kill Sun Jian in battle, severing one of Yuan Shu's arms."

"I wonder if the general finds it strange that Xuzhou is adjacent to Jiujiang, and Yuan Shu and Tao Qian are allies. Yet this time, my father was entrusted by Tao Qian to take over Xuzhou, but Yuan Shu seems to be completely unaware of this?"

When Cao Bao heard Liu Feng's question, he couldn't help but agree in his heart.

Yes, Yuan Gonglu has always been extremely ambitious and greedy. He has long harbored the desire to annex Xuzhou, so why is he being so low-key and conservative this time?

By this time, Cao Bao had completely fallen into Liu Feng's rhythm.

At first, Cao Bao secretly mocked Liu Feng for his arrogance. Cao Cao, Kong Rong, Tian Kai, Yuan Shao, and Yuan Shu were all heroes of the world, renowned throughout the land.

Liu Feng, a mere young boy, dared to address me by my given name; this was extremely rude.

But as he listened, Cao Bao was deeply impressed by Liu Feng's vision, magnanimity, and thorough understanding of the world.

Cao Bao was no ordinary man; he was Tao Qian's right-hand man and the commander of the military in Xuzhou.

Tao Qian would most likely not hide the information he had access to from him.

It was precisely this experience that allowed him to be certain that everything Liu Feng said was correct, and that much of the information Liu Feng revealed was something he himself was completely unaware of.

This is truly chilling to think about. Could it be that Liu Bei, that big-eared scoundrel, has been secretly plotting something?

However, Cao Bao couldn't dwell on this suspicion for the time being; he was more curious about why Yuan Shu was behaving so strangely.

He responded to Liu Feng for the first time, clearing his throat and asking politely in a gentle voice, "Oh, in your opinion, why is the General acting so strangely?"

Liu Feng's expression remained calm, but he couldn't help feeling excited about Cao Bao's reaction: "That's because Yuan Gonglu simply doesn't have the energy to pay attention to Xuzhou."

"After being severely defeated by Cao Mengde, Yuan Gonglu fled to Jiujiang, where his power was greatly diminished, but he remained arrogant and domineering."

“A few months ago, the court appointed Liu Yao, a member of the Donglai imperial clan, as the governor of Yangzhou. He saw the opportunity and thought of kidnapping Liu Yao, and then using the latter’s appointment as a pretext to carry out expansion and plunder, and annex the entire Yangzhou.”

Therefore, he specially dispatched his generals Wu Jing and Sun Ben to escort Liu Yao to Qu'a to take up his post.

"But Liu Yao was no ordinary man. He held a high position in the court and pulled off a clever deception. Right under the noses of Wu Jing and Sun Ben, he successfully won over the support of the local powerful clans in Jiangdong."

"Wu Jing and Sun Ben were usually arrogant and domineering, extorting money from the local people, which had long aroused dissatisfaction among the local gentry and powerful families in Yangzhou. With Liu Yao holding the power of the imperial court in his hands, Jiangdong changed its tune in an instant. Wherever the proclamation reached, all the counties in Jiangdong obeyed. These counties had long been unable to bear Yuan Shu's humiliation and exploitation, and now they all turned to Liu Yao."

"Wu Jing and Sun Ben, seeing that the situation was not good, wanted to suppress it by force."

"But Liu Yao, with Fan Neng and Zhang Ying as his generals, won battle after battle, forcing Wu Jing and Sun Ben to lose their foothold in Jiangdong and retreat to Jiangbei."

"After this battle, Liu Yao's prestige soared, and he gained the full support of the counties and prefectures of Jiangdong. He is currently engaged in a fierce battle with Yuan Shu in the Jianghuai region, and he is not at a disadvantage at all."

"Meanwhile, Liu Biao of Jingzhou to the west of Yuan Shu also saw an opportunity and was eager to attack Yuan Shu's side. At this time, Yuan Shu was in dire straits, with war raging everywhere, and had no time to pay attention to Xuzhou."

Seeing Cao Bao's sudden realization, Liu Feng chuckled inwardly. Of course, he wouldn't tell him that Yuan Shu would be able to stabilize the situation by next year.

The first thing this evil spirit did after freeing up his hands was to launch a full-scale attack on Xuzhou. He appointed Ji Ling as general and led 40,000 elite troops out of Guangling and headed straight for Xiapi. This forced Liu Bei to lead Guan Yu and the main force to resist with all their might, resulting in a fierce battle along the Xuyi-Huaiyin line, where the two sides were deadlocked.

As we all know, this gave Lü Bu another chance to raid the enemy's base.

The catalyst that gave Lü Bu this opportunity was the head of Cao Bao, the General of the Household. "At this moment, even if you surrender to Yuan Shu, you'll likely only be used to hold back Cao Cao's southward advance. To speak frankly, if you could defeat Cao Cao, why would you surrender to Yuan Shu?"

Cao Bao felt a tightness in his chest, but he was also impressed by Liu Feng's insightful yet precise analysis.

At the same time, he was overwhelmed by even greater distress and fear, which made him sigh involuntarily: "Alas, in this situation, where can the leopard go?"

As soon as he said those words, Cao Bao knew he had said the wrong thing.

The man sitting in front of him was Liu Bei's son, and Liu Bei was his superior.

Asking about one's future in front of one's boss's own son—isn't that blatant treachery?
Just as Cao Bao was feeling uneasy and secretly observing Liu Feng's reaction, Liu Feng suddenly stood up and quickly walked to Cao Bao's side.

Liu Feng was only ten years old and a little over five feet tall, yet Cao Bao lost his composure and leaned back to avoid him.

Seeing the other party lose his composure, Liu Feng ignored him, his eyes flashing with a sharp light as he stared intently at Cao Bao, and said passionately, "General's way out lies with my father!"

Cao Bao lowered his head uneasily: "Is it Lord Liu?"

"The reason why the general is hesitant is simply because he is wary of my father's friendship with Chen Yuanlong and his lack of connection with Tao Gong's remnants. He fears that my father will not tolerate the general. But Tao Gong's remnants are Tao Gong's remnants, and the general is the general. My father and the general had a life-or-death bond during the Battle of Tandong."

Upon hearing this, Cao Bao couldn't help but recall the Battle of Tandong.

In this battle, the Tao-Liu alliance was actually defeated by Cao Cao.

However, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun, who were under Liu Bei's command, performed exceptionally well in this battle, breaking through enemy lines and covering the rear, and were extremely active.

It was thanks to the outstanding performance of these three that the Tao-Liu allied forces were able to retreat smoothly, suffering defeat but not collapsing, and preserving their strength.

A thought couldn't help but rise in Cao Bao's mind: perhaps only Liu Bei, who has such a fierce general, could withstand Cao Mengde?
However, Cao Bao then shook his head: "Young master, there are some things you really don't know. It's not that I don't respect Lord Xuande, it's just that Lord Xuande is unwilling to trust and be close to us."

"General, you are really overthinking it."

Liu Feng, however, said nonchalantly, "But since the general has this concern, I, though unworthy, have a way to help my father and the general reach a mutual trust."

Cao Bao was skeptical: "Oh? If you have such a good idea, I would like to hear the details."

Liu Feng knew that the most crucial moment had arrived; all the preparations beforehand had been for this moment.

Whether things succeed or fail, whether or not we can secure a foothold in Xuzhou for my father, this is the most crucial step.

Liu Feng took a deep breath, looked at Cao Bao, and uttered six words: "Feng, I wish to ask for the general's daughter."

Cao Bao stared at Liu Feng in disbelief, dumbfounded.

The protagonist of this book, Liu Feng, is a real historical figure. He was Liu Bei's son born to his principal wife when Liu Bei was in his hometown. He was lost during the war in Xuzhou and was eventually found in Hanzhong.

Coincidentally, this son's name was also Liu Feng.

This son was not Kou Feng, the adopted son Liu Bei later took in Jingzhou.

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(End of this chapter)