"My lord, are we going to Jingzhou with such troops?" The next morning, Jia Xu and Liu Mang arrived at the White Horse Confederation's camp. Jia Xu had no choice but to follow Liu Mang. Jia Xu's eldest son, Jia Xu, was also brought along by Liu Mang. Jia Xu was a middle-aged man, and he treasured his son very much. Liu Mang did not hesitate to let Jia Mu stay in Shouchun and let him become Xu Shu's disciple. Jia Xu was cunning and cunning, but Xu Shu was a righteous and upright person. He was a person who openly plotted to rule the country. Liu Mang really hoped to see an upright son and a cunning father. A son who sacrificed himself for others and a father who harmed others for his own benefit. When he thought of this combination, Liu Mang wanted to laugh.
Although Jia Xu was unwilling, for the sake of his own life and for the sake of his family's lineage, he could only follow along. However, the scene in front of him made him wail. The entire White Horse Confederation's camp only had three thousand troops. These troops were the ones who accompanied them.
"What's wrong? Wen He! We are not going to Jingzhou with these troops! We are going to go there! "Liu Mang smiled and looked at Jia Xu as he pointed to the side for Jia Xu to see.
Jia Xu followed Liu Mang's finger and looked over. Great! Guan Hai and Zhou Cang each brought ten soldiers dressed in armor and riding on their warhorses over.
"Eh!" Jia Xu's mouth began to twitch. Going to Jingzhou was fraught with danger and there were only twenty people?
"Don't worry, Wen He. It's not easy to move with so many people!" There was a reason why Liu Mang only brought twenty people. Other than Guan Hai and Zhou Cang, the remaining twenty people were not from the army. They were assigned to Liu Mang by Yang Hong. These people were in charge of intelligence and were familiar with the roads in Jingzhou. They led Liu Mang to Jingzhou so that if there was any danger in Jingzhou, they could quickly escape into the small roads or among the people to avoid danger. If Liu Mang brought a large number of troops, not only would Liu Biao be able to see through them, but if something happened, they would also have to leave immediately. The scale of a few hundred people was too large and too eye-catching. It would be impossible to leave quietly. They could only force their way out. At that time, even if they had a hundred elites, how could they fight with Liu Biao? Therefore, instead of bringing hundreds of people, a small team of 20 people would be better.
"Then what about attacking Liu Bei in Yuzhou?!" Jia Xu could understand the first part of the sentence. Small people would naturally be small targets. However, attacking Liu Bei in Yuzhou, one could not care less about the size of the target.
"Attacking Liu Bei in Yuzhou. Isn't that Zilong's White Horse Following Righteousness?" Liu Mang calmly pointed at the White Horse Following Righteousness in the camp.
"That's it?!" Jia Xu was really stunned this time. Liu Mang's main target was Nanyang County. However, in Nanyang County, how could Jia Xu not know about him? There were thousands of Xiliang Cavalry. It was even more than Jia Xu's Xiliang Cavalry. Moreover, they were all Qiang Cavalry. There were thirty thousand infantrymen. Altogether, there were forty thousand people. You only sent three thousand? Do you really think that one person can fight ten? Even if one person can fight ten, there are still eight thousand people left.
Moreover, those thousands of Xiliang Cavalry were all heavy cavalry. Now, these three thousand White Horse Following Righteousness were all light cavalry. How could they fight? The difference between heavy cavalry and light cavalry was like heavy infantry and light infantry. It was a complete suppression. Once the heavy cavalry caught up, it would be a massacre. If not for Liu Mang dragging him to Nanyang, he would not have cared about this. However, he, Jia Xu, was going to travel with these White Horse Following Righteousness. Once he encountered the Xiliang Cavalry in the wilderness, Jia Xu would not be able to escape.
"This is enough!" Liu Mang was not looking down on the Xiliang Cavalry in Nanyang or Liu Bei in Yuzhou. It was just that Liu Mang was confident in his White Horse Following Righteousness and Zhao Yun. "Nanyang County is a good place for the White Horse Following Righteousness to train the troops."
"Milord, this old minister is really old. Please let me stay!" Jia Xu did not know what was wrong with Liu Mang. He wanted to use three thousand people to fight forty thousand people. Moreover, the other side had heavy cavalry. Jia Xu only had three thousand people who were not even a real army. It would be good if they did not die from the training.
Liu Mang looked at Jia Xu's appearance and felt that it was very funny. However, he still waved his hand and said, "Everyone, set out!" Liu Mang only brought along the White Horse Following Righteousness. This was a group of three thousand light cavalry. However, there were six thousand war horses. With so many war horses, the cavalry would be able to replenish their horses. At the same time, these light cavalry would also put horse feed and fodder on their war horses. This was to ensure that they would have enough fodder for the next few days.
… …
Jingzhou Xiangyang City
In Liu Biao's conference hall, Liu Biao was already old. However, he was still pacing back and forth in the hall. This showed that Liu Biao was struggling in his heart.
"Yidu, tell me, did I do the right thing this time?" Liu Biao was very agitated. He had never been so agitated since he took over Jingzhou. Originally, when the world was fighting for hegemony, the eighteen warlords were crusading against Dong Zhuo. The entire Hebei region of the Central Plains was in full swing. However, his Jingzhou was still as stable as Mount Tai. It was as if none of this had anything to do with him. One of the reasons for this was that Liu Biao had become a person who had lost his spirit due to old age and the Municipal Bureau.
However, Liu Biao couldn't escape now. The world was changing day by day. The all-powerful Dong Zhuo had been overthrown. Later, the overlord of Hebei, Yuan Shao, was terminally ill. Now, his Jingzhou had fallen into chaos.
The various forces were tangled and complicated. Lü Bu, Sun Ce, Zhang Xiu, and Liu Bei. None of them were easy to deal with. Although Zhang Xiu was dead, the situation was getting more and more chaotic. It was so chaotic that Liu Biao couldn't make up his mind.
The one that Liu Biao called Yidu was naturally Kuai Yue, the head of one of the two major families in Jingzhou. Kuai Yue was famous for his calm and comprehensive thinking. He could see through everything. However, Kuai Yue's only flaw was that he was from an aristocratic family. He cared more about his family than his own ambitions. Back then, Kuai Yue helped Liu Biao single-handedly take over Jingzhou. Now, Kuai Yue was only thinking about how to maximize the benefits for his family.
"My lord, there is no right or wrong in this world. There is only victory and defeat!" Kuai Yue knew what Liu Biao was worried about. He didn't directly point out that Liu Biao was wrong or right. Instead, he used another theory to confuse Liu Biao.
"There is no right or wrong, only victory and defeat?" Liu Biao muttered to himself after hearing Kuai Yue's words.
"My lord, let Jiangdong's Sun Ce and Lujiang's Lü Bu fight each other. If Lü Bu wins, you have to appease Lü Bu. Similarly, if Lü Bu loses, who will blame you?" Kuai Yue comforted Liu Biao.
"Yidu, but this time!" How could Liu Biao not understand this logic? Initially, he wanted to use Lujiang's Lü Bu to exhaust Jiangdong's Sun Ce. This was because the Lü Bu also posed a threat to Liu Biao. However, who would have thought that Jiangdong's Sun Ce would take the opportunity to attack his Sanjiangkou. This caused Liu Biao to retaliate in anger. This way, Lü Bu became a potential ally of Jiangdong. However, this potential ally was offended by Liu Biao.
Liu Biao already knew that Yangzhou's Liu Mang lacked rations. He had even received news of Sun Ce's plan. Previously, when Lü Bu sent a messenger to buy rations, Liu Biao kept delaying and waiting for the right price. However, when Lü Bu won, Liu Mang sent another messenger. Logically speaking, Liu Biao should have sold rations to Liu Mang. However, Pang Tong, who was sent by Liu Bei, disrupted Liu Biao's plan. Pang Tong killed the messenger, which was equivalent to declaring war. This was forcing Liu Biao to fight Liu Mang. Fortunately, Liu Biao still sent compensation to Liu Mang's Army under Kuai Yue's suggestion. However, Liu Biao was still worried.
"Milord, there is no need to worry. If Yangzhou's Army comes, we will deal with it accordingly. Our base is south of the Yangtze River. At worst, we can just leave Xinye and hand it over to Liu Mang. Besides, didn't Yuzhou's Liu Bei say that if Yangzhou's Army attacks, Liu Bei's Army will take care of Jingzhou's Northern Gate for us? "Kuai Yue comforted Liu Biao. Hearing this, Liu Biao felt a little better.
However, Liu Biao immediately became suspicious. "Yidu, Yangzhou's Liu Mang isn't a good person. Similarly, Yuzhou's Liu Bei isn't a good person either." Liu Biao wasn't a person without foresight. Although he was conservative, it didn't mean that he couldn't see through people. The strength of Lujiang's Lvbu's Army made him worried. In his eyes, Liu Bei wasn't a good person either. He was an ambitious person. In his original path, Liu Biao was always on guard against Liu Bei. When Liu Bei was chased out of Xuzhou by Cao Cao, he was so scared that he fled to Jingzhou. Liu Biao didn't want to accept Liu Bei because he knew that Liu Bei was an ambitious person. If he didn't handle it well, he might get into trouble. However, if he killed Liu Bei, Liu Biao was afraid of losing his reputation. If he didn't kill Liu Bei, it wouldn't be easy.
In his original path, Liu Biao really had a plan to deal with his surnamed Liu. Liu Biao chose the word 'restriction'.
Although he was restricting Liu Bei, he did a good job on the surface. When Liu Bei came, he personally welcomed him and treated him as a distinguished guest. He even gave him an additional army. This kind of treatment gave him face. Next, he started to show restrictions.
Liu Biao directly threw Liu Bei to Xinye, which was on the other side of the Yangtze River. Xinye was remote from the power center of Jingzhou. Xinye was on the other side of the Yangtze River. It could be regarded as a northern gateway to Jingzhou. At that time, Lao Cao had taken over Nanyang Prefecture. Xinye was the frontline that bordered Lao Cao. The purpose of throwing Liu Bei there was self-evident. Liu Biao's stratagem is very good to have a hired thug appear out of nowhere.
At the same time, Liu Biao was still wary of Liu Bei. Lü Bu and Liu Mang in Yangzhou made Liu Biao worried. However, this Liu Bei was not. There was an example. Liu Biao's dog, Zhang Xiu, and Liu Bei were still in their honeymoon period. Now, he had been skinned alive by Liu Bei. How could Liu Biao not be worried? Moreover, Liu Bei and Jiangdong's Sun Ce had an agreement to form an alliance. If they were attacked from both sides, Liu Biao would be the one crying.
Kuai Yue looked at the old man in front of him. He was already sixty-one years old this year. His hair was already white. Liu Biao was too indecisive. He was afraid of this and that. He had lost his sharpness.
He was afraid of Jiangdong's Sun Ce. Therefore, he wanted to use Lujiang's Lü Bu to counterbalance Jiangdong's Sun Ce. Liu Biao had contributed to Lü Bu being able to gain a foothold in Lujiang. He was able to restrain Zhou Yu's navy.
After being afraid of Sun Ce, he was also afraid of Lujiang's Lü Bu. Lü Bu's son-in-law, Liu Mang, had destroyed Sun Ce's army of a hundred thousand. In the Battle of Yangzhou, he had driven both sides' armies out of Yangzhou. This kind of fighting strength made Liu Biao afraid. Therefore, he wanted to counterbalance Lujiang's Lü Bu. Although Pang Tong had killed Liu Mang's envoy, if Liu Biao had sold the grain to Yangzhou, nothing would have happened. It was even possible that Liu Biao's act of sitting on top of the mountain and watching the tigers fight would have been written off. However, Liu Biao had been instigated by the Cai and Pang Families. He had only lost ten thousand shi of grain and forage and did not mention anything about selling grain and forage.
If Liu Biao had persisted to the end, it would have been fine. He was clearly trying to form an alliance with Liu Bei. However, Liu Biao was afraid of offending Lujiang's Lü Bu and asked Kuai Yue for advice. Kuai Yue had been influenced by his younger brother and had a good influence on the Yangzhou Army. Moreover, the enemy of an enemy was a friend. Currently, Jingzhou's biggest enemy was Jiangdong's Sun Ce and not Yangzhou's Liu Mang. Even if Yangzhou's Liu Mang and Lü Bu destroyed Yuzhou's Liu Bei and occupied the Central Plains, so what? As long as there was the Yangtze River, Jingzhou would be safe. Moreover, there were only two families on the other side of the Yangtze River. One was Sun Ce and the other was Liu Biao. It was obvious who the Yangzhou Army would attack.
When Liu Mang pacified the Central Plains, the North would also have to decide the victor. With Cao Cao's aptitude, the three children of the Yuan Family would not be his opponent.
When Cao Cao freed up his hands, he would naturally unify the Central Plains. When the time came, Cao Cao in the North would have to face Liu Mang in the South. After all, Liu Mang and Jiangdong's Sun Ce were enemies. Naturally, he would help Jingzhou restrain Jiangdong. Jingzhou relied on the Yangtze River and had hundreds of thousands of navy. Although they would not be able to benefit from it, they would be able to ensure Jingzhou's stability for decades.
However, the Pang Family, Cai Family, and Huang Family were all speaking ill of Yangzhou. Liu Mang had already become an unpardonable evil person. Furthermore, Liu Mang did not want Jingzhou's Liu Biao to benefit from it. Wei Yan had taken Yiyang and Zaoyang as an excuse for these three families to attack.
Although Kuai Yue had a good plan, he did not want to offend these three families. The Pang Family was fine, but the Huang Family, Cai Family, and Kuai Family had many benefits. The three families were also connected by marriage. If Kuai Yue said something wrong, he would offend all three families.
Therefore, Kuai Yue's plan was a neutral one. He did not directly refuse to sell the provisions. If he did, he would offend Liu Mang. He would sell the provisions, but Liu Mang would have to come personally. If Liu Mang was angered and sent troops, then Jingzhou could use Yiyang and Zaoyang to say that it was Liu Mang who attacked his city first. If Liu Mang came personally, then Liu Biao could use Liu Mang as a hostage to restrict Lü Bu's development. Lü Bu only had one daughter and one son-in-law. The foundation was left to Liu Mang. With Liu Mang in hand, the Lvbu's Army would not dare to act recklessly.
As for Liu Bei in Yuzhou, he was a strange person. Kuai Yue did not like him. He was an ally at first, but later on, he annexed his ally's territory. Kuai Yue had seen everything clearly. If Zhang Xiu died in the hands of the Lvbu's Army, then why would Zhang Xiu's son seek protection from Jia Xu?
It would be strange if Kuai Yue liked such a person. In Kuai Yue's opinion, Liu Bei had lost too many battles. Although he was an undying cockroach, he would climb back up again and again. However, how many of his followers were glorious?
The Mei Family was the richest in Xu Province. Now, they were just Liu Bei's accountant. Liu Pi had Yu Province but was cut down by Liu Bei. The Mei Family was large and could not afford to play Liu Bei's game of starting over again.
"As long as Liu Bei cannot cross the Yangtze River, he is not a concern. However, Lord, Lord Pang is old. You should pay more attention to him!"
"Lord Pang?" Liu Biao narrowed his eyes. Crow's feet appeared on his face. He was no longer as handsome as he was in the past.
Kuai Yue was skilled in speaking. The Lord Pang that he was talking about was Pang Degong of the Pang Family. Pang Degong was indeed old. He was even older than Liu Biao. Kuai Yue's words sounded like he was concerned about Pang Degong. He wanted Liu Biao to pay more attention to this virtuous person. However, in reality, he was reminding Liu Biao to be careful of the Pang Family.
Pang Degong was indeed a virtuous person. He did not care about fame and fortune. However, he was already old. He had a son, Pang Shanmin, and a nephew, Pang Tong. Although Pang Shanmin was the older brother, his wisdom was not as good as Pang Tong. Pang Degong was now in charge of the Pang Family. However, once Pang Degong passed away, the Pang Family would not fall into Pang Shanmin's hands. In these families, the more accomplished ones would become the family head. Pang Tong had already joined Liu Bei.
This meant that half of the Pang Family had already joined Liu Bei. Kuai Yue said that as long as Liu Bei did not cross the Yangtze River, he would be harmless. However, with the support of the Pang Family, it was hard to say. The Pang Family's disciples and teachers were all over Jingzhou. Everyone knew about the Lumen Academy. Although Pang Degong did not have students all over the world, he still had students all over Jingzhou.
Once Pang Tong falls to Liu Bei of Yu Province, do you think the Pang Family of Jingzhou will not follow him? Even if they did not, they would not make things difficult for Pang Tong out of respect for Pang Degong. At that time, it would be hard to say who would become the ruler of Jingzhou. Therefore, Liu Biao was not paying attention to Pang Degong. Instead, he was paying attention to the Pang Family and monitoring them.
"The loyal officials of Jingzhou are all loyal to Jingzhou!" “
"Reporting, Yangzhou's military situation is urgent! Just as Kuai Yue and Liu Biao were discussing, the Jingzhou spies in Yangzhou finally sent over information. When they saw the report, both Kuai Yue and Liu Biao stood up.
"What? How is that possible? " The report said that Liu Mang had sent out his troops.
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