The Three Kingdoms: Zhaolie, the strategist, and the rise of the Han Dynasty

Chapter 107 Support Liu Bei, this is a loyal and honest man! (Subscribe!)

Lu Su went straight to the point and directly stated the purpose of his visit.

Liu Biao thought for a while, then stroked his beard and said with a smile:

"Liu Xuande is my brother!"

"I have long wanted to meet you but could not. I am very grateful that you are willing to patronize me."

"Today, our fellow clan members are in trouble. I have purchased warships in advance to show that I will not stand idly by."

"We have thousands of warships in Jingzhou, you can choose 300 of them."

Liu Biao waved his hand and directly sold three hundred warships to Lu Su.

Lu Su was overjoyed and was about to bow to express his gratitude.

Suddenly, someone stepped out and spoke up to stop them:
"You can't do it!"

Everyone saw that it was Cai Mao, who was born into a local wealthy family in Xiangyang and was the military advisor to the General Zhennan at the time.

"The world is now in chaos, heroes are fighting and wars are stalemates."

"It is impossible for Jingzhou to stay out of the outside world. The Jingzhou navy is the support of Jingzhou."

"Selling a warship to others is like putting a baby in someone else's hands, cutting off its breast milk and causing it to starve to death immediately."

"The importance of Jingzhou lies in you, the envoy."

"I have a hundred thousand people in Jingzhou, so I might as well sit back and watch."

"Wait until the world changes, then we can make plans."

"I beg you to think twice about supporting Xuzhou!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the hall immediately became serious.

Liu Biao's expression changed several times, but he did not reply to Cai Mao in a hurry.

Although Cao Cao once commented that Liu Biao was a figurehead without substance, he seems to be a loyal and honest elder in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

But the real Liu Biao in history was a ruthless man who rode alone into Jingzhou.

Dong Zhuo sent Liu Biao to Jingzhou without giving him any troops. His original intention was not to bear the infamy of killing a famous scholar, so he used someone else to kill Liu Biao.

Liu Biao started with only one man and one horse, but he had to face three difficulties when he arrived in Jingzhou.

First, the aristocratic families were connected with each other, and the power in Jingzhou fell into the hands of others.

Second, local clan bandits were causing chaos everywhere, and Jingzhou was in turmoil.

Third, heroes all over the world are eager to try and may annex Jingzhou at any time.

However, it only took Liu Biao one year to subdue the powerful, eliminate the rebels, and kill Sun Jian.

This was also the most glorious moment in Liu Biao's life.

Liu Biao's great success was inseparable from his connections with local powerful people.

In addition to the prominent Kuai family in Nanjun, another branch is the local prominent family in Xiangyang, the Cai family.

These two families have significant power and voice in Jingzhou.

So when Cai Mao raised his objections, Liu Biao was not even in a position to make a decision on his own.

But Liu Biao had been an official for many years and was well versed in the art of using one's own strength to defeat the opponent.

Faced with Cai Mao's opposition, Liu Biao just gave a look to Kuai Yue standing beside him.

Kuai Yue understood what he meant and immediately stepped out to give advice:
"Yuan Gonglu has evil intentions and is committing crimes against the people of Jiangnan."

"In the past two years, countless blood and flesh have been donated to Caoye."

"Now Liu Xuzhou is kind and righteous, and he is attacking Yuan Shu to comfort the people and punish the criminals."

"Besides, he is from the same royal family as my master. If he is in danger today, there is no reason not to save him."

The right to speak in Jingzhou was mainly in the hands of the Kuai family, the Cai family, and the Liu Biao family.

Since Liu Biao and Kuai had reached an agreement, two votes were greater than one, and Cai Mao had no reason to say anything more.

"Okay, I've made up my mind, no need to discuss it further."

Liu Biao waved his hand and said to Lu Su:

"Your Excellency may follow General Cai to select warships."

Lu Su thanked him quickly.

Cai Mao could only lead Lu Su to select warships unhappily.

After everyone had retreated, only Liu Biao and Kuai Yue were left in the hall.

Only then did Kuai Yue tell Liu Biao his true thoughts.

"My lord, I see that Liu Xuande is a man of great talent and is very popular among the people."

"Zhang Fei and Guan Yu were both able to defeat ten thousand men and died for them."

"Now I heard that he has got another military advisor, Li Yi, whose plans are unfathomable."

"If we sell the warships to Xuzhou for no reason, we may end up nurturing a tiger that may cause trouble. It is better to take action as soon as possible."

Liu Biao shook his head.

"We only know one side of the other, but not the other."

"Although the world is in chaos now, it seems that heroes have emerged, but in fact it is just two heroes fighting each other."

"Yuan Gonglu of Huainan is very powerful. He is the governor of Yangzhou and also the Earl of Xuzhou."

"But judging from his ambition, it is definitely not limited to Xuzhou and Yangzhou."

"He has repeatedly interfered in the affairs of Jingzhou, and his ambition is evident from this."

"If we can use Liu Xuzhou to attack Yuan Shu, Jingzhou will reap the benefits."

"And we can also make friends with Xuzhou, isn't that killing two birds with one stone?"

In front of Kuai Yue alone, Liu Biao expressed his true thoughts.

Liu Biao had deep feelings for Jingzhou.

Xu Shao commented that Cao Cao was "a capable minister in times of peace and a treacherous hero in times of chaos."

In fact, the first half of the sentence is very suitable for Liu Biao.

Liu Biao had both means and strategies, and his abilities were enough to pacify the chaotic Jingzhou.

However, his character always makes him lose by one step when fighting for the world.

This may be a misfortune for Liu Biao himself, but it is the greatest fortune for the people of Jingzhou.

During Liu Biao's tenure, people from the north and famous scholars and wise men settled in Jingzhou.

Jingzhou became a paradise in troubled times where people lived in peace and culture and education flourished.

"Wei Jin Shiyu" once recorded an anecdote.

During the Western Jin Dynasty, 80 years after Liu Biao's death, his tomb was excavated by tomb robbers.

However, his body seemed to be still alive and had a "fragrance that could be smelled for miles."

It is certainly unreasonable for a body to remain intact for 80 years.

But this just reflects the people's fantasy and longing for the old governor.

Only those who do practical things for the people will be remembered by the common people by making up anecdotes.

Liu Biao worked hard in Jingzhou, and he only had two foreign policies.

1. Whoever dares to attack Jingzhou will be killed.

Second, I made multiple bets on things outside Jingzhou and reaped the benefits. When the heroes were fighting against Dong, he responded to the call but at the same time he was doing team building in Xiangyang and refused to march forward.

After Dong Zhuo's death, he hurriedly sent envoys to Li Jue and Guo Si, and even got promoted to General Zhennan and Governor of Jingzhou.

During the confrontation between Yuan and Cao, he sent tribute to the court controlled by Cao Cao.

On the other hand, he secretly formed an alliance with Yuan Shao.

This is Liu Biao's doctrine of the mean.

Everything he planned was based on the safety of Jingzhou.

Liu Biao agreed to sell warships to Xuzhou, which actually was due to his sinister intentions.

Use our money to buy the blood of Xuzhou people.

Why not?
"So this is what the lord is thinking."

"However, Yuan Shu is very powerful. Even though Liu Bei has the upper hand, he may not be able to defeat Yuan Shu in a short time."

Liu Biao nodded and said, "Isn't this a blessing for Jingzhou?"

"If Yuan Gonglu and Liu Xuzhou are at loggerheads, Jingzhou will be able to rest easy."

Kuai Yue said again:

"If the Yuan and Liu families decide the winner, does the lord want to?"

"...Yes, the alien dimension really knows my heart."

Although Kuai Yue hadn't finished speaking, Liu Biao could already guess what he wanted to say.

"If Yuan Shu is defeated, we can advance into Lujiang and Yuzhang."

"Although I do not want to send troops, I can strive for the right to make a report."

"Send our people from Jingzhou to Lujiang and Yuzhang to take up their posts and control the western part of Yangzhou."

"In this way, Jingzhou will gain a wing in the east!"

Liu Biao was a man of great foresight and decisively sided with Liu Bei during the struggle between Liu Bei and Yuan Shu.

The purpose was to reap the benefits and then divide the territory of Huainan.

After all, no matter how big Liu Bei's appetite was, it was impossible for him to swallow up the entire Huainan in one bite.

Liu Biao was able to take advantage of the situation to seize Lujiang, which is extremely important in Yangzhou.

Lujiang is close to Jiangxia County of Jingzhou.

However, the Dabie Mountains separated the two places, making land transportation inconvenient and not conducive to the army's advance.

Therefore, communication between the two places usually takes the Yangtze River waterway.

But for Liu Biao, if he could control Lujiang in his own hands.

Then the waterway leading to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River would completely fall into the hands of Jingzhou.

This will greatly enhance Jingzhou's influence on Xu, Yang and Yu states.

Not to mention that Liu Biao would conquer the world in the future, but it was enough to preserve the safety of Jingzhou and its people.

Kuai Yue was not very optimistic about this matter and frowned:

"The fight between Yuan and Liu is not a win for Jingzhou alone."

Liu Biao was startled, "Is Yidu talking about Liu Zhengli?"

Exactly.

Kuai Yue nodded.

Liu Yao was the governor of Yangzhou appointed by the imperial court. If Yuan Shu was really defeated, Liu Yao would be the one who benefited the most.

Including the proposal put forward by Liu Biao to send his own people to Lujiang and Yuzhang.

But Liu Yao has higher priority than Liu Biao in this regard.

Liu Biao stroked his beard and smiled:

"Liu Yangzhou was defeated by Yuan Shu in Qu'a the day before yesterday. I think he is in trouble now and wants to ask for help from Jingzhou."

"I will send an envoy to Yangzhou first to find out what Liu Zhengli has to say."

"If they wish to befriend Jingzhou, I will then ask for Yuzhang and Lujiang."

Kuai Yue pondered for a moment and asked:
"In that case, I will go to Yangzhou to meet Liu Zhengli."

"My Lord, what do you think?"

Liu Biao hurriedly shook his head, took Kuai Yue's hand and said:

"I will discuss matters with you morning and night, how can we separate?"

"Let's send Liu Shizong away."

Liu Xian of Lingling, whose courtesy name was Shizong, was also a famous scholar in Jingzhou.

He is currently Liu Biao’s deputy governor of Jingzhou.

……

the other side.

Cai Mao led Lu Su to select warships.

It would take time to prepare the warships, so during this period, Lu Su hurriedly inquired about Xun You's whereabouts.

Xun You was born into the Xun family of Yingchuan, which was itself a prominent family.

He once served as the Yellow Gate Minister in the court.

This person is the emperor's close attendant, specifically responsible for conveying the emperor's imperial edicts. It is a good job in the eyes of other ministers.

So even if he stayed in Jingzhou temporarily, he still lived a comfortable life.

Many famous people came to interact with him.

In addition, the political environment in Jingzhou was relatively stable, unlike other states and counties where wars often broke out.

Therefore, every day in Xiangyang, Xun You was either making friends or on his way to drink with friends.

But this does not mean that he is obsessed with pleasure.

On the contrary, he has been observing the situation in the world.

Among all the princes, Liu Bei's sudden appearance shocked him particularly.

Although Liu Bei was already somewhat famous before taking over Xuzhou.

But it was only after he took over Xuzhou that Liu Bei became truly famous throughout the world.

In one year, he not only successfully won the support of the Chen and Mi families.

Chen Gui was so shrewd and resourceful that he was willing to use the Chen family's power to help him resist Yuan Shu in Guangling.

He also gathered the troops of the Danyang faction, and then went north to recapture Langya Zang Ba.

Use the accumulated money and grain to cultivate land and maintain the army.

These steps and links are just like a wise man unravelling a cocoon, each link is connected to the next.

It's truly amazing.

One day, Xun You suddenly received a visiting letter at home.

The visitor actually claimed to be an envoy from Xuzhou!
……

(End of this chapter)