Three Kingdoms: I choose Xiao Qiao and Da Qiao, why are you crying, Diao Chan?

Chapter 115: The best in the world? Nothing to fear! (Thanks to book friends 2024…9104 for the two monthly tickets)
Tao Qian raised his glass to Liu Bei:

“This time, thanks to my dear brother Xuande and the two generals, you have repelled Cao’s army and protected the people of Xuzhou from suffering.

"As a token of my gratitude, the troops that were previously given to you are still under your command.

“But I hope you can go to Xiaopei to station there.

"Although Xiaopei is a small city, it is the gateway to Xuzhou. With you guarding it, I'm sure Cao Cao won't dare to attack again.

“You can recruit soldiers and horses in Xiaopei City at will. If necessary, I will also provide you with food and fodder.

"Also, I will recommend you to the court as the governor of Yuzhou. I hope you won't refuse."

After hearing what Tao Qian said, Liu Bei showed a hint of surprise in his eyes and immediately stood up and responded:

"Brother Gongzu, I would be disrespectful to refuse your kindness."

Although Xiaopei City is small, it is better than living in the same city with Qingzhou Governor Tian Kai.

He had complete control over the territory of Pei State.

As for the empty position of Yuzhou Governor, Liu Bei didn't care about it.

After all, Runan County in Yuzhou was in the hands of Lu Bu, and Yingchuan County, Liang State, Lu State, and Chen State were all in the hands of Cao Cao.

There was only one Pei State in his hands.

Neither Cao Cao, the governor of Yanzhou, nor Lu Bu, the governor of Yangzhou, were people he could afford to offend now.

The Pei State nominally belonged to Tao Qian, so he was living under someone else's roof, squeezed in between three governors...

This feeling is really uncomfortable.

Fortunately, now with Zhuge Liang, he has become more confident.

In particular, Tao Qian proposed that he be stationed in Xiaopei for garrison. In fact, Zhuge Liang had already told him about this before Tao Qian proposed it.

Liu Bei was once again surprised by the accurate prediction of the young man behind him!

This doesn't even seem like a prediction, it's more like a kind of foresight!
At this time, Tao Qian suddenly said:
“By the way, I heard that Cao Cao’s father, Cao Song, will be heading to Taishan County from Langya County soon.

"What do you think if I send light cavalry to rob and kill them, so as to frighten Cao Cao?"

Hearing this, Liu Bei was shocked again!
Tao Qian is really a novice and a playful person.

The previous attack on Cao Cao's Yanzhou territory attracted Cao Cao's attack on Xuzhou.

This time, they finally repelled Cao's army, but the enemy became arrogant and dared to hunt down Cao Cao's father...

Liu Bei immediately advised:
"Brother Gongzu, you must not do that! The last time Cao Cao sent a large army to attack, he did not use his full strength.

"If you attack his father... the hatred for killing one's father is irreconcilable!

"The enemy will certainly mobilize all its troops to attack Xuzhou.

"Then how can we, with only tens of thousands of soldiers, defend against the enemy's army of more than 100,000?"

After listening to Liu Bei's analysis, Tao Qian, who was drunk, calmed down a bit and nodded quickly:
"My dear brother, what you said makes sense. Let's just leave it at that."

But Liu Bei continued:
"In my opinion, not only should we not hunt down Cao Song, but we should also escort him safely to Taishan County.

"Cao Song will be grateful to us for this. If he goes back and tells Cao Cao, Cao Cao will be less hostile to us and will shift his attack targets elsewhere."

Tao Qian stroked his beard, a trace of displeasure appeared on his face:
"Not hunting down Cao Song is already giving face to Cao Cao. Now he wants me to escort Cao Song on my own initiative to curry favor with him. This is really absurd.

"I am the governor of Xuzhou after all. How can I lower my status like this?"

Hearing Tao Qian's words, Liu Bei immediately stood up and said:

“There is no need for Brother Gongzu to personally take action in this matter. I will send troops to escort you.

“Even if Brother Gongzu doesn’t kill Cao Song, there may be others who want to kill him, so as to draw Cao Cao’s anger to Xuzhou.

"Therefore, ensuring Cao Song's safety is extremely important to us!" After listening to Liu Bei's analysis, Tao Qian was also quite surprised:

"So that's how it is... You are really thoughtful, brother. I'll leave this matter to you!"

Liu Bei accepted the order immediately.

After the banquet, the three brothers Liu, Guan and Zhang and Zhuge Liang left Tao Qian's mansion together and led the army straight to Xiaopei to camp.

On the way, Liu Bei, who was sitting in the carriage, bowed to the young man in front of him, and his tone was particularly respectful:

"Mr. Young Master is really smart!

"It's just as you said. Tao Qian actually intends to hunt down Cao Cao's father. This is really irrational!"

Zhuge Liang looked at the man in front of him who was much younger than he remembered and smiled calmly:
"If we can ensure that Cao Song survives this time, it will be difficult for Cao Cao to find an excuse to attack Xuzhou in a short period of time.

"During this period, Generals Yunchang and Yide need to recruit soldiers and train them.

“And the Lord is responsible for strengthening ties with the major families in Xuzhou.

"As for me, I will do my best to find talented people nearby for your use.

"Tao Qian will soon die of illness, and then he will hand over Xuzhou to my lord.

"If you can take control of Xuzhou, you will have the capital to fight against other princes!

"Whether it's attacking Cao Cao in the west, Yuan Shao in the north, or Lu Bu in the south, it will be easy!"

After hearing Zhuge Liang's plan, Liu Bei was both excited and expectant. He couldn't help but hold the boy's hand:
"With the help of the young master, I can rest assured!"

Feeling the warmth from Liu Bei's palm, Zhuge Liang couldn't help but recall the coldness of the other party's palm when he entrusted his son to Zhuge Liang in Baidi City in his previous life.

His nose felt sore unconsciously, but he still suppressed his emotional outburst.

In his previous life, he really left too many regrets.

Whether to leave Guan Yu alone to guard Jingzhou or to instruct him to attack Xiangfan.

He still did not follow Liu Bei's advice and reuse Ma Su.

Or perhaps the five northern expeditions exhausted Yizhou's financial, material and human resources... but still yielded no results.

These are the pains that Zhuge Liang cannot erase from his heart.

At that time, when he was young, he only talked about military affairs on paper and thought that Yizhou, the land of abundance, could be the foundation of a country.

But the facts have proved that although Sichuan is easy to defend and difficult to attack, it is also easy to enter and difficult to exit.

Only by occupying a place in the Central Plains can we seize the right time, place and people, and thus conquer the world!
Since ancient times, all emperors have established their capitals in the Central Plains, and no one has ever established a capital in the border areas of Sichuan and Shu.

It can be seen that the richness of the Central Plains is far from comparable to that of Yizhou.

Fortunately, God gave him a chance to start over.

Although this is still the poorest start, he is confident that Liu Bei's future path will become more and more fertile!

Thinking of this, Zhuge Liang couldn't help laughing.

He hadn't laughed so happily in a long time.

In his previous life, he often laughed when he was a military strategist, but he often cried after he became a prime minister.

I hope that in this life, he can accompany these three brothers and laugh from beginning to end...

The only thing that made him feel regretful in this life was that Lu Bu actually married Huang Yueying!

Although he guessed that Lu Bu was a reborn person like himself, he still didn't think Lu Bu was a very powerful enemy.

In his opinion, the opponent's military force, which was the best in the world, was nothing to be afraid of!

In the future, he will definitely kill the other party and take back his beloved wife!
(End of this chapter)