Three Kingdoms: Wolong's brother-in-law, tricking Liu Bei into seizing Jingzhou

"You Chang, who are you referring to?"

Liu Bei turned his curious gaze to Ma Su.

The eyes of the other ministers were all focused on Ma Su, wondering who this last year's top scorer in the imperial examination would consider to be of vital importance.

After all, this list was proposed by Prime Minister Xiao Fang, and it included most of the Qin officials who had a high probability of being turned against the Qin State.

Could there be anything missing?
"Jia Xu!"

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Ma Su revealed the name.

Everyone looked blank and confused. They were obviously quite surprised by the name proposed by Ma Su.

It can be said that this is a rather unpopular name for them.

Since Jia Xu surrendered to Cao Cao, he has been very low-key and rarely took the initiative to offer advice to Cao Cao.

In the Battle of Bingzhou, Xun You was the main attacker and Yang Xiu was the supporting attacker.

In the Battle of Puban Pass and the Battle of Weishui, Zhang Song was in the limelight again.

According to intelligence from spies, Jia Xu was forced to speak by Cao Cao only when he had no choice. He had almost no presence among the Qin State's group of advisers.

He is even worse than Liu Ye, who was guarded against and neglected by Cao Cao.

Such an unpopular Qin minister was found by Ma Su and was determined to be a crucial person. How could this not surprise everyone?

Only Xiao Fang raised his lips slightly, and instantly understood why Ma Su recommended Jia Xu.

He did not point it out at the moment, but just watched how Ma Su explained it to everyone.

"Although Jia Xu has not been very prominent since he surrendered to Cao, don't forget that he originally came from the Xiliang Army and is very influential among the Xiliang people."

"Moreover, his counterattack on Chang'an saved 100,000 Xiliang troops. Most of the survivors who are still alive have been recruited by Cao Cao into the Qin army."

"Among the 90,000 Qin troops in Chang'an, at least 30,000 of them are Xiliang soldiers, accounting for about 30% of the Qin army."

"If we can recruit Jia Xu and use his influence in the hearts of the Xiliang people, we may be able to persuade the Xiliang army to defect to the Han Dynasty."

"I don't think it's enough to rely on Liu Ye and other scholars alone. There must be a strong army to defect, and then the anti-Qin forces in Chang'an can succeed."

"If he gets the support of the Xiliang Legion, his chances of success will be great."

"And the one who can influence the Xiliang Army's hearts and minds is none other than Jia Xu. This is why I think we should recruit him."

Ma Su spoke incessantly, expressing all his judgments.

Liu Bei suddenly realized, and Fa Zheng and other ministers also suddenly realized and understood what Ma Su meant.

Xiao Fangze nodded slightly, with a look of approval in his eyes.

He is worthy of being the person in history who could offer his brother-in-law the strategy of conquering people's hearts first and then attacking the city. He is indeed unique in grasping people's hearts.

"You Chang is right. If we can persuade Jia Xu to surrender, we will have a chance to persuade the people of Xiliang to defect."

Fa Zheng also nodded in agreement, but then asked:
"But Jia Xu is currently in a high position in the Qin court. Have you ever thought about how easy it would be to persuade such a person to defect?"

Liu Bei also nodded slightly.

Although Jia Xu was low-key, he was one of the nine ministers in the Qin State, and his status was not low.

However, in the list of people to be recruited given by Xiao Fang, most of the people's official positions were not high and none of them were among the Nine Ministers, so it was relatively easier to recruit them.

But one can imagine how difficult it is to recruit an official of Jia Xu's level.

"Su has certainly considered this, but in Su's opinion, Jia Xu is different from others."

"This person doesn't seem to care much about official titles and positions. Everything he does in his life is just to protect himself."

"That is to say, for Jia Xu, self-preservation is his life creed!" "Whether he instigated the Xiliang Army to counterattack Chang'an or persuaded Ma to submit to Cao Cao, it was all for the sake of self-preservation."

"And in the current situation, our army is approaching the city of Chang'an. The trend of the Qin Dynasty's demise is clear. With Jia Xu's wisdom, how could he not see this trend?"

"Given Jia Xu's life creed of pursuing self-preservation, will he really be buried with the Qin State and the Cao family?"

Xiao Fang's eyes lit up, and his admiration for Ma Su increased a little more.

"This kid can even see through Jia Xu's nature of pursuing self-preservation. He is really not simple..."

Xiao Fang gently waved his feather fan, secretly admiring in his heart.

After hearing Ma Su's explanation, the concerns and doubts in Fa Zheng's eyes disappeared.

His thoughts were racing as he pondered Jia Xu's life carefully. He was surprised to find that Ma Su's evaluation of Jia Xu was incredibly accurate.

This poisonous scholar from Xiliang indeed made every plan in his life just to protect himself.

Isn't it normal for a person who pursues self-preservation, is indifferent to official position, fame and wealth, and has a clear mind and can see that the Qin Dynasty is bound to perish, to follow the trend and submit to the Han Dynasty at this moment of life and death?

"You Chang's words make sense. From this perspective, it may be possible to persuade Jia Xu to surrender."

"No, it should be very likely!"

Fa Zheng was successfully persuaded and immediately put aside his doubts and agreed with Ma Su's judgment.

Everyone's eyes were focused on Liu Bei.

Liu Bei remained silent, with a very complicated expression on his face.

There is both agreement and concerns.

"Your Majesty, do you think that Jia Xu's suggestion to counterattack Chang'an allowed the Xiliang Army to regain control of the court and hold the late emperor hostage, and that he is being accused of treason against the Han people?"

"So, Your Majesty does not want to recruit such a person who has committed a crime against the Han Dynasty to serve Your Majesty?"

Xiao Fang saw what Lao Liu was worried about at a glance.

Liu Bei's heart was shaken, he exhaled lightly, and sighed:

"The one who understands me is the Prime Minister."

"Yes, what Youchang said does make sense. Recruiting Jia Xu will indeed help to capture Chang'an."

"But I am really wondering, should I really recruit a traitor like Jia Xu?"

Liu Bei did not hide his concerns and admitted them frankly.

"The world is in chaos, and people are as worthless as grass. Not to mention the common people, even if you are a high-ranking official, a senior official in the court today, you may lose your head tomorrow."

"In such a chaotic world, everyone is trying to survive in the cracks. It is not a sin to want to save one's life."

"When Wang Yun succeeded in killing Dong, there was indeed hope for the Han Dynasty to be restored. Unfortunately, he regarded himself as a hero who helped the Han Dynasty, and he was arrogant and conceited, and he wanted to kill all the people in Xiliang."

"Dong Zhuo is indeed guilty of causing chaos in the country, but that does not mean that all the people of Xiliang under his command are unforgivable and deserve to be put to death!"

"Wang Yun's actions are wrong both morally and logically, and he is also forcing the people of Xiliang into a desperate situation, forcing them to take risks and fight back."

"As a Xiliang person, if Jia Xu does nothing, then he and 100,000 Xiliang people will just have to sit and wait for death."

"So, in this desperate situation, Jia Xu, in order to save his life, offered advice to the Xiliang generals to counterattack Chang'an. What crime did he commit?"

"If there is any guilt, it can only be said that Wang Yun was stubborn and self-righteous, and he was foolish and stupid. He forced the Xiliang Army to rebel and destroyed the last hope of reviving the Han court."

"The fault lies with Wang Yun, not Jia Xu!" (End of this chapter)