Chapter 134 Chapter Twenty-One

123 Cao Mengde has already set his sights on several targets: Jingzhou in the south, Yangzhou and Jiaozhou in the southeast, Hanzhong and Yizhou in the southwest. It is necessary to speed up the preparations for the conquest of the south, the opportunity is not to be missed, and the time is not waiting for us.Cao Mengde has already estimated the expansion of the southern forces—especially Liu Bei. The water operations in the north are in full swing. Liu Bei has made great achievements in recruiting talents in Xinye.Facing Zhuge Liang, a younger generation more than 20 years younger than him, Liu Bei sincerely stated the problems he faced: "The royal family of the Han family is in danger, and the treacherous officials monopolize the royal power; Due to my lack of prestige, I tried my best to demonstrate the righteousness of the world. Unfortunately, my intelligence is short and I still can’t achieve anything today. However, despite repeated setbacks, I still want to do my best to fulfill my first wish. I hope that my husband can give me A little advice."

Hard-hearted men with a heart of stone will also be moved by Liu Bei's tearful narration, not to mention Zhuge Kongming who wrote "Liang Fu Yin" on Wolonggang. Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan and analyzed to Liu Bei, who was listening attentively: "Since Dong Zhuo's rebellion, heroes in the world have risen together, and countless people have separated states and counties to stand on their own. Compared with Yuan Shao, Cao Cao's prestige is not as good, and his soldiers are pitifully few, but in the end he still Defeated Yuan Shao. To defeat the strong with the weak, we must not only seize the opportunity, but more importantly, need long-term planning. Now Cao Cao has millions of soldiers, and he has held the emperor hostage to make the princes. Therefore, we must not fight hard. Southeast Fang's Sun Quan has occupied Jiangdong for three generations. His regime is quite stable, the terrain is even more dangerous than the Yangtze River, the people's life is rich, the army's food and grass are abundant, and there are many wise and capable people under him. Such a force can only be formed Allies, don't start a feud."

Zhuge Kongming took a sip of water and continued: "Jingzhou occupies the dangerous land of the Han River and Sishui in the north, and the wealth and benefits of the South China Sea in the south. It is connected to the Wu Kingdom in the east and Bashu in the west. It is a place that military strategists must contend for. Looking at the situation, the old owner of Jingzhou may not be able to keep this land, isn't this just what the heavens arranged for the general? It depends on the general's own wishes." Liu Bei only has the ability to speak repeatedly. "Yizhou in the west has a dangerous terrain and thousands of miles of fertile fields. It is the land of abundance. In the past, Han Gaozu established his foundation here, and then unified the world. Now Yizhou Mu Liuzhang is a cowardly and cowardly man, and is deeply threatened by Zhang Lu in the north. Although the people are hardworking and rich , the products are rich and abundant, but the rulers don’t know how to cherish them. Therefore, the country is full of unrest, and the wise people really want to be ruled by a wise master.”

Finally, Zhuge Kongming analyzed Liu Bei's own conditions. "Since the general is a clan member of the Han Dynasty and a descendant of the emperor, he has faith all over the world and has won the hearts of heroes from all over the world. Now he is willing to accept the elegant words with humility and thirst for talent, which shows that you have a strong ambition. Therefore, with my suggestion, We should acquire Jingzhou and Yizhou, guard the natural dangers of these two prefectures, harmonize the Rong people in the west, and comfort the Yiyue in the south, establish an alliance with Sun Quan in diplomacy, work hard in governance in internal affairs, cultivate national strength, and wait patiently for the best opportunity."

Like seeing the sun through the clouds, Liu Bei's chaotic thoughts immediately appeared a clear sky.However, Liu Bei was still worried that this strategy could not be used in an emergency, and could only protect himself. Zhuge Liang seemed to see Liu Bei's doubts, and immediately raised his voice very loudly, saying: "Once the world's major events change, you can send a general to lead Jingzhou troops northward to attack Luoyang directly. The general will then personally lead the Yizhou army. When Qin Chuan attacks, are you afraid that the people will not eat pots of milk to welcome the general? If this plan can really be followed, then the general's hegemony can be achieved, and the Han Dynasty will definitely be rejuvenated."

Zhuge Kongming made some eloquent remarks, which convinced Liu Bei.But Zhuge Liang expressed his reluctance to go out of the mountain, so Liu Bei threw himself to the ground, crying and pleading, Zhuge Liang was completely moved, bid farewell to the folks in Wolonggang, and followed Liu Bei to Jingzhou to show off his glory. In the spring of the thirteenth year of Jian'an in 124, that is, the spring when Cao Mengde achieved a decisive victory in the eight-year war of resistance, Sun Quan had changed from a young son to another small overlord in Jiangdong.In order to retaliate against the murder of his father Sun Jian, Sun Quan sent generals Gan Ning, Ling Tong, and Lu Meng to attack Huang Zu. Huang Zu ordered Chen Jiu, the captain of the navy, to fight.Lu Meng and General Dong Xi each led a death squad of hundreds of men to surround Chen Jiu's main ship. Lu Meng bravely jumped onto the main ship and killed Chen Jiu.Huang Zu's army fell into chaos in the unprepared confrontation. The Jingzhou army retreated into Xiakou.Seeing that the goal of revenge had been achieved, Sun Quan ordered the entire army to retreat.

Huang Zu was the strongest anti-Cao force in Jingzhou, but he was swallowed by Sun Quan without using Cao Mengde himself. Liu Biao has two sons, the eldest son Liu Qi was born to his first wife, and the second son Liu Cong was born to the continuation of Cai's family.Cai Hao, Zhang Yun and other power ministers of the young and strong faction clearly supported Liu Cong. In addition to Cai's instigation, Liu Biao had no intention of standing up for the gentle and weak Liu Qi. Successfully took over the regime.However, because there are still many county guards and legion leaders who oppose the excessive expansion of Cai's group, and tend to support Liu Qi, and Liu Bei and Liu Qi who are stationed in Xinye have a close relationship, Liu Biao is also hesitant for a while, unwilling to publicize the abolition of the elders and the establishment of the younger. claims.The Jingzhou mansion cast a shadow of uneasiness due to the issue of inheritance rights.

Cao Mengde always likes to wait while watching quietly, and explode while accumulating.The current situation is a good opportunity to attack. The enemy is Liu Bei, the big ear of Jingzhou. If he is not eradicated, he will undoubtedly be breeding tigers. It is inevitable to send troops to Jingzhou, but Cao Mengde is analyzing his own strength: the army directly under him is seriously insufficient, and the newly pacified You, Ji, Qing, and Bingzhou still need to station a large number of directly under the army to monitor, and the princes in the Guanzhong area threaten the Yanzhou base camp at any time.It is advertised that there are millions of soldiers, but the actual strength is only four to five million. Moreover, the vast majority of soldiers and horses are the old Yuan's army that was newly formed not long ago.Of course, Cao Mengde is well aware of these situations.

It is rare for Cao Mengde to be so self-aware.After the Dong Cheng incident, Cao Mengde intentionally or unintentionally avoided meeting Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, so he stayed in Tunye City, and even brought a group of concubines from Xudu to Yecheng. It was to show the affection of an old friend, and he did not enter the palace to meet Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty.Cao Mengde entrusted Xudu to Xun Yu, who was more compatible with the Han Dynasty officials, to be in charge of governance. Both Yanzhou and Xudu were defended by directly subordinate troops, apparently to prevent accidents from endangering the base camp.Therefore, the army that Cao Mengde can really freely dispatch is actually very weak.Although the will to march south is strong, the actual actions cannot be careless.

One day in June, Cao Mengde, who supervised the training on Xuanwu Lake, suddenly received a secret report from Xiangyang City that Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou, was suddenly seriously ill. His condition deteriorated and his life was in danger at any time.Liu Biao's poor health is an open secret, but the sudden deterioration of his condition was unexpected.The young bureaucrats in Xiangyang City decided to support Liu Cong's monopoly and completely blocked the news of Liu Biao's illness. Even Liu Qi who guarded Jiangxia and Liu Bei who was stationed in Xinye did not know about it.

Obviously, the situation in Jingzhou is about to change dramatically.