He originally intended to surrender to Wei, so why did he end up restoring Han?

Chapter 75 Kuai Yue: "Stay calm, we can win."

Cai Mao wanted to say something more, but Kuai Yue stomped on Cai Mao's foot, and the intense pain abruptly interrupted Cai Mao's train of thought.

The least intelligent of the three finally shut up, and Kuai Yue began to offer advice to Liu Biao. This was part of his job; he was the leader of a powerful clan in Jingzhou and also Liu Biao's chief strategist.

"Although what I am about to say may not be pleasant for the young master, I can assure you that I am doing this for the future of Jingzhou, not for personal grudges, and that I am acting fairly and impartially for the sake of Jingzhou's future."

Liu Biao nodded. He knew that now was not the time for infighting and political struggles. If this matter was not handled properly, he, Liu Biao, would lose his posthumous reputation, and the powerful families of Jingzhou would never have peace.

"The eldest son is weak and lacks dignity; he is unfit to rule Yangzhou." Kuai Yue set the tone for the discussion, indicating that Liu Qi was incapable of undertaking the task. This was actually Kuai Yue's true feeling, not an attempt to slander him.

Initially, the Cai and Cai families wanted to form a marriage alliance with Liu Qi. However, before any deal could be finalized, they needed to negotiate. Cai Mao and Kuai Yue conspired to give Liu Qi a hard time by sending him a formal invitation, but then failing to show up on time. As a result, Liu Qi assumed he had done something wrong and offended the two men. Terrified, he began to distance himself from both families and seek favors from others.

Even someone like Kuai Yue was amused. "I just stood you up and you're this scared? Your stress tolerance is really too low."

The matter was easily resolved up to this point; Liu Qi, if you just softened your stance, we could both back down and reconcile. But then, whether it was a problem with his upbringing or something else, Liu Qi completely backed down!

No matter what the two sides did, Liu Qi refused to make contact or cooperate. Cai Mao and Kuai Yue were also disappointed. Although it was easier to control their lord if he was a little weak, being this weak was a problem for his subordinates.

First, everyone knows Liu Qi is cowardly and incompetent; all orders come from Cai Mao and Kuai Yue. Therefore, all political hatred, intrigue, and resistance will bypass Liu Qi and target Cai and Kuai directly. Cai and Kuai will go from being behind-the-scenes manipulators to being the front-line targets, drastically increasing their political risk.

Moreover, Liu Qi is unlikely to be able to play the role of a scapegoat well. Everyone knows that the person in the position is just a human seal. Once there is any natural disaster or man-made calamity, the people will say that the real culprits are the treacherous ministers Cai Mao and Kuai Yue.

Besides the reasons mentioned above, Liu Qi's act of offering a sacrifice would greatly stimulate the ambitions of others, leading to political instability and widespread rebellions. Cai Mao and Kuai Yue would then have to expend enormous energy quelling wave after wave of challenges, rather than focusing on consolidating their power. What they needed was a figurehead to maintain order and allow them to become uncrowned kings in Jingzhou, not a mere, attention-grabbing banner that would make them foolishly serve as defensive bulwarks for Liu Qi.

Not to mention that under high pressure, Liu Qi might make irrational moves for various reasons, so the two of them would have to invest a lot in maintenance costs to prevent Liu Qi from causing any serious trouble.

In conclusion, the Cai and Kuai families truly distanced themselves from Liu Qi, and their explanation became: Don't blame us for being ruthless; it's your own fault for being so incompetent.

Getting back to the main point, let's return to Kuai Yue's response.

"The most urgent task now is to quickly send an envoy to Cao Cao to persuade the court not to approve this memorial." Kuai Yue also wanted to go a step further and send Liu Qi to Xuchang as a government official, so that there would be no more obstacles to Liu Cong's ascension to the throne. However, the current occasion was a bit inappropriate, and Kuai Yue needed to guide him further before bringing this up.

"In addition, my lord needs to be ruthless. The eldest son should just stay home and study for the time being. There is no need for him to see any other unnecessary people." In essence, this means putting Liu Qi under house arrest, cutting off all contact between him and the outside world, especially with Liu Bei, to prevent him from being used or having any improper thoughts.

"My lord could also secretly order generals like Wen Ping, who are stationed in the north, to increase their vigilance and quietly redirect some of the troops originally intended to defend against Cao Cao or deter Sun Ce towards Xuzhou. For example, Liu Xun's Lujiang Commandery would be a good fit, but if the army wants to enter Lujiang, it must first reach an agreement with Huang Zu and Liu Xun." Cai Mao, as the naval commander of Jingzhou, had a certain military insight and offered some suggestions on military matters.

This was not intended to start a war with Liu Bei immediately, but rather to demonstrate military force to Liu Bei.

After considering for a moment, Kuai Yue added, "Since Liu Bei can recommend his eldest son to be the governor of Yangzhou, why doesn't our lord retaliate in kind and recommend someone else to be the governor of Xuzhou or Yangzhou?"

If you, Liu Bei, dare to fabricate my claims, I can fabricate yours too!

"Since Liu Bei is playing such a ruthless game, there's no need for us to reason with him. My lord can recommend Yuan Xi, the second son of General Yuan Shao, as the governor of Xu Province. Anyway, the court doesn't recognize Liu Bei's current governorship of Xu Province. From now on, my lord just needs to watch Liu Bei and Yuan Shao fight each other."

"Besides, my lord, you can also send an envoy to communicate with Cao Cao, saying that Liu Bei's current actions seem selfless, but in reality, he's just trying to seize power. Today he can interfere in Jingzhou, tomorrow he might dare to challenge for control of the Central Plains." Cao Cao is also a brilliant strategist of his time; he can certainly see through Liu Bei's scheme.

It's no wonder these two were so eager to offer advice to Liu Biao. This matter was a mixed blessing for Liu Biao, but for the Cai family, it was pure bad news.

The seemingly insurmountable situation suddenly changed due to Liu Bei's interference, and it clearly started to develop in a way that was unfavorable to them.

The logic is simple: when the strong attack the weak, as long as an outsider intervenes and the weak are not yet bullied, it is equivalent to helping the weak.

The three were plotting their scheme when they didn't notice a pair of ears outside the house.

This attendant was originally just eavesdropping to see if there was any important news that could be brought to other noble families for trade. This was not uncommon among servants, and many people made extra money this way.

Upon hearing that the three men were preparing to submit a memorial to decline Liu Qi's appointment as governor of Yangzhou, the attendant immediately sensed that this news was of great value.

He hurriedly found an excuse to leave the prefecture, but instead of rushing to sell his wares to powerful families, he went to the residence of Liu Qi, the eldest son of Liu Biao.

Liu Qi was still a little confused as to why his father had suddenly sent his attendant to find him, since his father usually wouldn't even glance at him.

However, Liu Qi's good manners led him to ask kindly, "What's wrong? What does Father want with me?"

"Young Master! Disaster has struck! Cai Mao and Kuai Yue are plotting to harm you!"