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

Chapter 428 Killing Two Birds with One Stone (Thanks to the monthly ticket support from book friend 2024…7507~)

Lu Bu did not directly answer Cao Ren's question, but asked in return:
"How many of you escaped?"

Upon hearing this question, a hint of vigilance immediately flashed in Cao Ren's eyes.

Obviously Lu Bu's intelligence was beyond his imagination.

As expected, the other party had gone through some unknown things and was no longer the brave guy under Dong Zhuo.

After a long silence, Cao Ren replied:

"Just a few people."

Hearing this, a hint of disappointment flashed in Lu Bu's eyes.

Cao Cao had quite a lot of talented people under his command, but it was unexpected that only a few of them escaped. It was such a pity.

I hope that Cao Cao brings out some top talents...

Lu Bu then replied:

"I understand what you mean by opportunity.

"If Meng De is willing to surrender sincerely, I will naturally treat him sincerely.

“But you and Meng De should understand one thing.

"Once you join me, you must serve me loyally and not have any unreasonable expectations!"

A trace of helplessness flashed across Cao Ren's eyes, and he immediately clasped his fists and said:
"How dare a defeated man ask for more..."

Seeing that Cao Ren knew his own limitations, Lu Bu naturally didn't worry about the other general.

The only thing he was worried about was Cao Cao, who had a traitorous nature.

Now that I have no power or influence, of course I have no ambition.

But if I gain power in the future, it will be hard to say.

However, Lu Bu also knew that although Cao Cao was quite ambitious in his early years, he had not actually thought about becoming king or emperor directly.

If Emperor Xian had not lost his power, Cao Cao would have been pushed up by his subordinates.

He might not have had the intention to usurp the throne as he did later.

And no matter what, Cao Cao never attempted to usurp the throne of the emperor throughout his life, which could be regarded as his last bit of loyalty to the Han Dynasty.

Lu Bu nodded immediately and said:
"I wonder where Meng De is now? I will prepare a banquet to welcome him."

Cao Ren showed a bitter expression:
“My master…my brother doesn’t want to reveal his whereabouts for the time being, saying that the time is not right yet.

"But if the Duke of Chu agrees to accept us, he will let me, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Cao Hong, Cao Chun and his eldest son Cao Ang serve the Duke of Chu!"

Hearing that Cao Cao was unwilling to reveal his whereabouts, Lu Bu naturally understood that this suspicious guy was afraid that he would harm him.

But after hearing the names of the Xiahou brothers and Cao Ang, his eyes suddenly lit up!
Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan were both famous generals.

Although the former had the stain of being captured by Lu Bu's army in history.

But he followed Cao Cao in his battles in his early years and accumulated rich combat experience, making him a rare and good general!

As for Xiahou Yuan, although he was later killed by Huang Zhong, he also had rich combat experience.

If he had no ability, how could he have been appointed by Cao Cao as the General of the Western Expedition to fight against Liu Bei's army just because of his kinship?

As for Cao Ang, there is no need to mention him.

Cao Cao valued his eldest son the most. If he had not died, Cao Pi and Cao Zhi would have had no chance of succeeding Cao Cao.

And if he had not given his horse to Cao Cao, he and Dian Wei would have stopped Zhang Xiu's army.

Dian Wei alone might not be able to help Cao Cao escape.

Therefore, Cao Cao's ability to get these people to work for him was enough to show his sincerity. As for the strategies Cao Cao could provide, he had many advisers on his side and was not short of a little brains.

But with the addition of these powerful generals, his strength will definitely be greatly improved!
Lu Bu immediately said with a smile on his face:
"Since Meng De still has concerns, I will show him my sincerity.

"General Zixiao, please invite the other generals here quickly. I will prepare a banquet to entertain you all!"

Seeing that Lu Bu was so enthusiastic, and even called out his courtesy name accurately, Cao Ren was slightly touched. He immediately bowed, said goodbye and left.

After Cao Ren left, the smile on Lu Bu's face suddenly disappeared.

He sat back in his seat, looked at his men, and asked calmly:
"What do you think? Should I accept Cao Cao's men?"

Liu Ye immediately stood up and objected:
"My lord, Cao Cao is from a family of officials and is quite prestigious.

“If he is allowed to join our army, I am afraid that it will attract many of our military’s talents to join him.

"As the saying goes, there can't be two tigers in one mountain. In my opinion, we should find a way to lure Cao Cao out and get rid of him to prevent future troubles!"

As soon as this was said, many people echoed it.

Lu Bu fell silent immediately.

Only Zhou Yu saw what he was thinking, and immediately stood up and said:
"Cao Cao is now nothing more than a stray dog. It would be easy for the Duke of Chu to kill him.

“But the several generals under his command are all rare elites.

“If we can make good use of them, they will definitely be of great help to our army.

“But if we kill Cao Cao, we will not only lose Cao Cao, but also these rare generals.

"In addition, there is another point. If Cao Cao's former ministers learn that Cao Cao has joined our army,

“When they fight against our army under Liu Bei or the emperor.

"When facing his old master, he might not forget the old friendship and thus try his best to serve Liu Bei!"

Hearing this, Liu Ye immediately sneered:
"Cao Cao abandoned his old ministers and ran away alone. Do you think his old ministers will still care about their old friendship when facing him?"

Zhou Yu responded sharply to Liu Ye's ridicule:

“Is it possible that Cao Cao did not take those old ministers with him to escape, but saved them instead?

"Liu Bei has always been known for his benevolence, and since he also needs help from talented people, he will definitely not kill Cao Cao's old ministers.

“But if Cao Cao really took those old ministers with him and escaped, if they were caught, they would probably be doomed.

"Cao Cao's old ministers are also smart people, how could they not understand this?"

After hearing this, Liu Ye was suddenly speechless and didn't know how to refute for a moment.

Seeing Liu Ye's face turn ugly, Lu Bu didn't want the relationship between the two counselors to deteriorate because of the argument, so he immediately said:

“Zi Yang’s concerns are not unreasonable, but Gong Jin is also right.

"Since both of your opinions are worth referring to, why not reconcile them?

"Let's not kill Cao Cao first, but use his influence to squeeze out the value of his generals.

"Wait until he and his generals are no longer of much use, and then get rid of them together. Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?"

Hearing what Lu Bu said, Liu Ye and Zhou Yu looked at each other and realized that Lu Bu didn't want them to quarrel, so they replied at the same time:
"Lord Shengming."

Seeing that the two agreed with his opinion, Lu Bu immediately stood up and waved his hand:
"That's all for today. Let's go hold a banquet to entertain Cao Cao's generals.

"As for which county of Liu Bei we should attack, we will discuss it after the banquet is over."

Having said that, Lu Bu walked out of the conference hall first, and a group of soldiers followed him out.

Not long after Lu Bu set up the banquet in his mansion, his subordinates informed him that Cao Ren had arrived with several generals.

Lu Bu immediately put down the wine glass in his hand and went out to greet them in person with great joy!
(End of this chapter)