If Liu Bei knew that Zhang Gui was adding fuel to the fire, he would be so angry that he would vomit blood. No matter what, Liu Biao was still a powerful figure. If he took over Fan City and talked nicely to Liu Biao, Liu Biao might really give in and agree.
Now that Zhang Gui was adding fuel to the fire, he was completely destroying Liu Biao's reputation. How could Liu Biao not be angry?
Actually, Zhang Gui couldn't be blamed. He was currently feeling uneasy. If one asked who Zhang Gui hated the most, it was none other than Liu Bei. The Zhang family was based in Fan City. It could be said that all of the Zhang family's assets were in Fan City. Now that Liu Bei had destroyed all of their assets, if Liu Bei and Liu Biao were to negotiate, how could the Zhang family make a comeback? And if Liu Biao from Jing Province and Liu Bei from Yuzhou were to fight, the Zhang family would be able to stand in the center of power again.
No one was more familiar with Fan City than Zhang Gui. If they were to go to war, they would definitely bring Zhang Gui along. With the help of his elder brother and Zhang family's eldest son, Zhang Gui would be able to quickly gain power. When Fan City was taken over, the Zhang family would still be stationed in Fan City. At that time, Lord Liu Biao would definitely send more troops and money. With Liu Biao's help, the Zhang family would be able to become a powerful aristocratic family again. But once Fan City was lost, where would the Zhang family go?
Xiangyang was almost full of aristocratic families. There were still the Zhang family, Cai family, and Pang family. The pressure was suffocating. It was precisely because of this reason that the Zhang family took the initiative to move to Fan City. Fan City was not far from Xiangyang and was more prosperous.
Other places also had their own aristocratic families. Resources were already limited. Who would be willing to move there again? Now, the only way for the Zhang Clan to recover was to take back the old territory that they had lost.
Therefore, Zhang Gui hoped that Jingzhou and Yuzhou would go to war.
Before this, many people were already clamoring to send troops. Once Fan City was lost, it could be said that Jingzhou to the west would be under Liu Bei's covetous eyes. The aristocrats were not willing to suffer losses. If they forced Liu Biao to move the capital, not only would Liu Bei have to move his bones, but the aristocrats would also suffer heavy losses. The fertile land at the border between Fan City and Xiangyang would definitely be given up as a buffer zone if the war broke out. How could this group of landlords, who ate people without spitting out the bones, be willing to lose ten thousand mu of fertile land?! Therefore, they had to fight.
But now there was a problem. If Jingzhou wanted to fight, where would they find soldiers?
Jingzhou had 100,000 armored soldiers and a population of millions. It could be said that Jingzhou was a territory with great potential for war. However, this also led to a problem. The soldiers of Jingzhou were generally not strong. This was because these soldiers were used to living a comfortable life. There was no need for them to fight to the death. Therefore, it was difficult for Liu Biao to use the Jingzhou Army to expand their territory. Therefore, Jingzhou had always been passive in defense. After all, there were bandits who came to steal their food and drink. Naturally, they had to fight with their lives.
However, of the 100,000 armored soldiers of Jingzhou, 70,000 of them were confronting the Jiangdong Army in Jiangxia. How could they be mobilized? If Jiangdong knew that the west side of Jingzhou was beaten to such a state, they would most likely send messengers to contact Liu Bei and Liu Bei to pressure Jingzhou.
The remaining 30,000 soldiers had been thrown away by Zhang Gui in Fan City. The remaining soldiers were in Huang Zu's hands. The Cai Family and Zhang Family had worked hard to get Huang Zu to the southwest border. How could they let Huang Zu bring more soldiers over? If Huang Zu took Fan City and did not leave, then the Zhang Family would cry.
However, if Huang Zu could not be mobilized, then only Cai Mao's navy was left. The Cai Family and Cai Family's navy was indeed amazing, but one had to know that they could not bring the navy to the shore to attack the city.
So now the problem was, what kind of soldiers would they use to attack Jingzhou? If they did not have any soldiers, then they could only look at each other in confusion.
However, there were still smart people. They did not have any soldiers, but they had allies. So everyone looked at the King Of Shu, Liu Mang, Liu Hanyang, who was standing at the side with a smile.
Liu Mang did not not respond. Instead, he said calmly, "Liu Jingzhou, there is no need to record the mobilization of the military to prevent military secrets from being leaked." ‘
"Liu Mang, Liu Hanyang!" If looks could kill, Liu Mang would have already been chopped into eight pieces by now. Isn't it just sending soldiers? " With the Huang Family's connections, how could they not know that Liu Mang, Liu Hanyang, was deliberately targeting Liu Mang?
"My lord, it's better to be careful when it comes to military matters!" Kuai Liang didn't let go of this opportunity. Even if Huang She's father had to call him Brother Kuai at night, he was almost scolded by Huang She. He even called him by his name. How could he let this go?
"My lord, this matter should not be delayed. We should make a decision as soon as possible!" Since his younger brother had taken action, how could he fall behind? Kuai Yue added another bargaining chip.
"My lord, there are 100,000 people in Fan City. If we are late, the people will suffer!" The Cai Family and the Zhang Family also spoke.
The Cai Family, the Zhang Family, and the Kuai Family basically represented 60% of the power in this area. The civil officials of the Lumen Academy no longer dared to offend Liu Mang. Even Pang Degong's nephew was chased out of the Pang Family because he did not get along with Liu Mang!
Hence, the civil officials of the Lumen Academy also spoke up. This made it more than 80%. The remaining fence-sitters also spoke up when they saw that no one was on their side.
This was especially so for the Amon Magistrate. This position was even more ridiculous than the Writing Magistrate. To put it bluntly, it was the kind of position that closed the door after the meeting was over. How dare you say that the Writing Magistrate's position was low and that he could not listen to politics?
The officials of the Huang Family were extremely embarrassed. They wanted to speak up for their eldest son, but they were too weak.
"Liu Mang, Liu Hanyang, don't try to sow discord. My lord is my uncle!" Huang She scolded Liu Mang. He knew that he could not win against Liu Mang previously. Since he could not scheme, he decided to play the family card.
Speaking of which, Huang Zu and Liu Biao really did address each other as brothers in the beginning. Later on, it slowly changed to become lords. However, sometimes during private banquets, Liu Biao would still ask them to call him uncle if he felt like it.
As expected, the fence-sitters fell silent when they called him uncle. After all, the Huang Family was not small. If they offended the eldest son of the Huang Family, they would be done for. After all, they did not have the confidence of the Kuai Family and the Cai Family.
Huang She could not help but feel proud when he saw that everyone was covering their flags. According to their personal relationship, he could still call Liu Biao uncle. How could his own uncle make things difficult for him?
"Idiot!" Liu Mang's lips curled up. He was very disdainful of Huang She. His voice was not loud, so only a few people around Huang She could hear it.
"What did you say?" Huang She saw Liu Mang's attitude and wanted to point at Liu Mang's nose and scold him.
"Men, drag Huang She away and put him in prison. I will deal with him later!" Liu Biao shouted angrily on the stage.
"My lord, my lord, uncle, uncle!" Huang She really panicked this time. He didn't expect that his uncle would do such a thing.
"Haha!" Liu Mang smiled coldly. It was useless to call Huang She uncle. This was a personal relationship, so it could only be used in private. Even if Liu Biao wanted to side with Huang She, he had to protect his lord's dignity. It was just like how Liu Mang disobeyed his cheap father-in-law, Lü Bu, and Lü Fengxian.
At that time, Lü Bu's face was terrifyingly gloomy and he almost killed himself. Fortunately, Liu Mang still admitted his mistake and Lü Bu did not let the hooligans be found out.
Even Liu Mang and Lü Bu were like this, let alone Huang She's relationship with Liu Biao. Now, not only was he chased out, but he was also directly put in prison. Even if nothing happened, Liu Biao did not punish him. Liu Mang had lost all his face. No matter how rich Jingzhou was, Liu Mang believed that the prison in Jingzhou would not be any better.
Seeing Huang She, this bug, being dragged out, Liu Mang felt a little better.
"Your Highness, King Of Shu, about the matter of sending troops!" Liu Biao personally asked. As long as Fan City was in Liu Bei's hands, Liu Biao would feel uneasy.
Liu Biao thought that Liu Mang would delay. After all, Fan City was not his city. Allies were allies, but these days, father and son were always fighting each other, let alone allies. However, what Liu Biao did not expect was that Liu Mang was very straightforward. "Liu Biao, not only are you and I allies, but we are also uncle and nephew according to seniority. Since an ally is in trouble, it is my duty to send troops!" ‘
Liu Mang's uncle is much more valuable than Huang She's uncle. His value is much higher.
"Nephew is indeed straightforward!" "Someone sent troops." Naturally, Liu Biao was happy and happily called out 'Worthy Nephew'.
Liu Mang wanted to laugh when he saw Liu Biao's reaction. Liu Mang had long known that Liu Bei's army had occupied Fan City and used the Xiliang Cavalry to attack Fan City and threaten Jingzhou. It could be said that without Liu Mang, Liu Bei would have been forced to return home.
Now that Liu Bei had taken Fan City, it could be said that Jingzhou Liu Biao and Yuzhou Liu Bei had completely fallen out. Liu Biao no longer had any wishful thinking. What Liu Mang was afraid of was that his ally in Jingzhou would make things difficult for him while he was dealing with Liu Bei!
Therefore, letting Liu Bei attack Jingzhou first to completely destroy Jingzhou Liu Biao's wishful thinking was what Liu Mang wanted. He did not want to let Liu Bei occupy Fan City and use it to threaten Jingzhou for money and food to strengthen himself. "But Liu Jingzhou!" Liu Mang's sudden change made Liu Biao panic. He was already prepared to fight Liu Bei, but he still said 'but'. Wasn't this scary?
"Haha, but Liu Jingzhou, although you and I are allies, Liu Jingzhou also knows about the situation in Yangzhou. We don't have enough food, and the food we have is provided by Liu Jingzhou. This!" Liu Mang deliberately did not continue.
Liu Biao also understood. "Don't worry, Your Highness King Of Shu, Jingzhou will pay for the food that your Yangzhou troops consume!" "How much food can a Yangzhou army consume? It's cheaper to have more than 100,000 shi of food than Liu Bei, right?"
"And Liu Jingzhou's money!" ‘
Jingzhou will also pay for it. The soldiers' pay is also within Jingzhou's scope! " Liu Biao was very straightforward.
"That's the best!" Liu Mang was already very satisfied. Liu Bei of Yuzhou was originally the first target of the Yangzhou army. Originally, he needed to spend money and food to attack him, and he also had to guard against Jingzhou's tricks. But now, not only was Jingzhou no longer a burden, but he also reimbursed him all the money and food. Why not? He would still fight against Liu Bei of Yuzhou and Liu Bei of Nanyang Prefecture.
"I wonder how many soldiers His Highness King Of Shu is going to send?" Liu Biao of Jingzhou asked this crucial question.
"More than 10,000 soldiers!" Liu Mang said something about his bottom line.
"What!" Liu Biao wanted to cry. You are shameless to take out 10,000 soldiers? His Fancheng City had 30,000 soldiers, but it still fell. Why are you sending out 10,000 soldiers? "
"His Highness King Of Shu, isn't this too little?" Liu Biao could not express his dissatisfaction, but the officials here could. Kuai Liang was an old friend of Liu Mang, so he spoke on behalf of Liu Biao.
"5,000 Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry, 5,000 Yiyang Soldiers, 3,000 White Horse Cavalry!" Liu Mang's words made many people shut up, especially those who knew soldiers. 5,000 Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry was the trump card of the Yangzhou army. Not only were the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry the best cavalry in the world, but they were also the kings of land battles. No one could maintain their formation under the charge of the Bingzhou Wolf Cavalry.
The White Horse Cavalry became famous under the command of Gongsun Zan. Many people thought that if Gongsun Zan did not give up and let the White Horse Cavalry be used as a defensive force, it would be hard to say who would win. Now, the White Horse Cavalry was under Liu Mang's command. Although the people of Jingzhou had not seen it before, they believed that it was not weak.
"Yiyang Soldiers?" The Cai Family had the most right to speak about the Yiyang Soldiers. The Yiyang Soldiers were elites who could fight against 10 people. This was because the Yi Yang Soldiers used to belong to Jing Province. As for why the Yi Yang Soldiers appeared in Yangzhou, it was because of the Deng Clan. They were once the number one clan in Nanyang. The Yi Yang Soldiers used to be the main force of the Deng Clan. With the existence of the Yi Yang Soldiers, the Yi Yang Soldiers were able to maintain peace in Nanyang Prefecture. They had also fought against Zhang Xiu's troops before. However, after the Deng Clan was plotted against by the Cai Clan, in order to prevent the Yi Yang Soldiers from going out of control, the Yi Yang Soldiers either disbanded or died in battle. Who would have thought that this new Yi Yang Soldiers would be used to help Jingzhou? This was truly a joke.
Thinking of this, Cai Mao could not help but look at Liu Biao. Liu Biao did not care about the Yiyang Soldiers. He only cared about his own Fan City.
Liu Mang said that the three troops were all elites, but Liu Biao was not at ease. "How about this, Your Highness King Of Shu, I will mobilize the Xiangyang Guards, Jiangling Guards, and Xiangyang Guards, a total of 30,000 soldiers, to fight together with Your Highness King Of Shu!" ‘
Xiangyang Guards? " Liu Mang was stunned. Liu Mang had interacted with the Xiangyang Guards before. The Xiangyang Guards were really amazing. The nobles were in groups. In terms of prosperity, the Xiangyang Guards could be said to be the most prosperous in Jingzhou. They even had people with golden swords. However, in terms of fighting power, ten of them together would only have the fighting power of half a person. Xiangyang's garrison and Jiangling's garrison were, at the very most, just garrison troops.
Why did Liu Biao give him three big burdens? Fortunately, Liu Mang also thought that attacking a city would require some hard labor. However, there is one thing that he said to Liu Biao in advance. "Liu Jingzhou. Your three units must be controlled by my troops. Otherwise, you will have to find someone better. Liu Mang did not mince his words. He was not even afraid of offending Liu Biao of Jingzhou.
"This, this!" Liu Biao was also a little embarrassed. Fortunately, Cai Mao helped him out. How could he not know the fighting power of the Xiangyang Guards? If they were not controlled by Liu Mang, they would be a group of uncles going out to play! This group of uncles was capable of doing anything.
"My lord, the army should have a general. This general should be under the command of His Highness the King Of Shu!" Cai Mao's words were good. This army must have a general. The position of general has already been given to you. What authority is there to control? "
Cai Mao had already made up his mind. If worst came to worst, he could just go back and tell those young masters of the landowning households to take a sick leave first. They could wait until the war was over before they could return to duty!
"The position of general should be appointed by His Highness the King Of Shu!" Liu Biao also nodded. After all, they were counting on him to send troops to help them.
"The general of our own three troops!" Liu Biao thought for a while and asked. These three troops must have a general. Only then could they communicate with Liu Mang's army.
"My lord, I request to go to war!" A general knelt down. The generals in Jingzhou had no battle to fight. They could either go to Jiangxia to fight the Jiangdong Army, but they had always lost. If they went to Changsha to fight the barbarians, they would be killed by those poisonous insects. That would not be worth it.
Now that such a merit was placed in front of them, with the fighting power of these three troops, it was obvious that they were cannon fodder. The main force was still the Yangzhou Army. It was not the first time that the Yangzhou Army fought against Liu Bei in Yuzhou. When it was not the first time that the Yangzhou Army won, they only needed to be cannon fodder. As for the death of those soldiers, it was not within their consideration.
With one person taking the lead, the others immediately reacted. They all cupped their fists and shouted. They almost made a military pledge that if they did not win, they would be beheaded.
Regardless of whether it was the Cai Family or the Huang Family, the generals were about to go crazy. Everyone knew the benefits of this.
Only the Zhang family did not have any thoughts. After all, they were the ones who lost Fan City. It could be said that they were already considered sinners, so the Zhang family was very honest.
"Liu Jingzhou, I think it's better to let General Zhang Gui be the commander!" Liu Mang's words immediately shocked Qian Renlang.
"How can Zhang Gui be the commander this time?" Zhang Gui, you have 30,000 elites, but you still lost Fan City. You're a sinner, so how can you go?
"That's right, that's right! How can Zhang Gui be the commander? He can't be like Fan City, where he only lasted for a day before being captured! " This is the general of the Cai Family. Usually, they would attack the Huang Family with the Zhang family, but now, they are fighting each other for military merits.
"Liu Jingzhou, I believe that no one here is more familiar with Fan City than General Zhang Gui!" Liu Mang stood up and said to the people below.
This was the truth. After all, the Zhang family had been in Fan City for many years. Zhang Gui really knew Fan City like the back of his hand.
"How can the general of a defeated army accomplish anything?" ‘
"The general of a defeated army?" Liu Mang laughed. "Victory and defeat are common in this war. Is there a general in this world who is always victorious? No!" Liu Mang walked over to Zhang Gui's seat and patted him on the shoulder.
"Your Highness, King Of Shu!" ‘
"Even my father-in-law, the Marquis of Wen, Lu Bu, also lost to that Yu Province's big eared Liu. In a moment of soft-heartedness, he was unable to deal with big eared Liu, which led to the defeat of Xu Province! Liu Mang used his father-in-law as a scapegoat. It could be said that his merits were disgraceful, but that was the truth. If Lü Bu had killed Liu Bei, then there wouldn't have been the richest family in Xu Province supporting Liu Bei. Liu Bei also wouldn't have colluded with Xu Province's nobles, which led to the defeat of Xu Province. Xu Province was lost because of Liu Bei.
"Are you saying that we can't defeat Yu Province's Big-eared Liu now?" Liu Mang questioned.
"This is different!" Some people are still unconvinced.
"A person who loses is not scary. The scary thing is that he can't rise again! That's the scariest thing! " Liu Mang walked to the front and looked at the King of Jingzhou, Liu Biao, Liu Jingsheng, who was on the stage.
'Liu Jingzhou, General Zhang Gui is the grand prize of Jingzhou. He is a fierce general. It is hard to be a hero after one success or failure. It all depends on Liu Jingzhou. If Liu Jingzhou uses him, then congratulations to Liu Jingzhou for producing such a talented general. If Liu Jingzhou doesn't use him, then Liu Jingzhou, you should let General Zhang Gui go. ‘
Liu Mang's words were forcing Liu Mang to abdicate. Choosing Zhang Gui was something that Liu Mang had thought hard about and discussed with the old fox, Jia Xu. First, they weren't familiar with the terrain of Fan City, which would make Liu Mang work twice as hard for half the results.
Second, if other people were to be the general, it would be fine if they were from the Cai Family, but if they were from the Huang Family, then they would become a troublesome teammate. Such a teammate wouldn't drag Long You Gui down, and Zhang Gui was a general from the Cai Family.
Another point was that the other generals wouldn't think of Liu Mang. Instead, they would think of their lord, Liu Biao. If they recommended Zhang Gui now, they would be able to gain a big favor.
Zhang Gui had already lost his soul to this extent. Now that I'm lifting him up and bringing him back from hell to heaven, how could he not be grateful to me?
"This!" Liu Biao was also very hesitant about Zhang Gui. Zhang Gui was capable, but the loss of Fan City was also Zhang Gui's fault. In his heart, Liu Biao was unwilling to let Zhang Gui be the main speaker, but he had to listen to Liu Mang's opinion. After all, Liu Mang's army was the main force. Moreover, Liu Mang was right. If he rejected Zhang Gui, the Zhang family would think so, and Zhang Gui would also have a problem with him.
Just as Liu Biao was hesitating, Liu Mang slapped Zhang Gui again. If Zhang Gui didn't react by now, he would really be a fool. As soon as he saw Liu Mang's action, how could he not know that Zhang Gui was willing to recommend himself to retake Fan City for the Lord and atone for his crimes! Zhang Gui was willing to make a military pledge that if he didn't win this battle, he would bring his head to see the Lord! ‘
"Hm?!" What made Liu Biao stunned was yet to come.
Since his younger brother was already like this, as the elder brother, Zhang Yun naturally wouldn't fall behind. He also knelt in front of Liu Biao. "Lord, Zhang Yun is also willing to make a military pledge with my younger brother. If we don't win, we will kill the Zhang family!" "Anyway, if we lose this battle, then the price will be raised and everything will be over. Might as well take a gamble."
"Sigh!" "The Cai family is the eldest brother of the Zhang family. Since the younger brother is already like this, as the eldest brother, it's time for me to do something." "Lord, Cai Mao is also willing to make a military pledge!" ‘
Once the eldest brother of the Cai family stepped forward, his younger brothers also spoke up. They could only give up the credit that was already in their mouths and endure the pain. "We are willing to make a military pledge!" ‘
With so many people together, Liu Biao couldn't refuse. "Alright, Zhang Gui, I'll give you this chance! If you lose, don't bring your head to see the Lord. Just don't come back! " Liu Biao couldn't refuse, so he could only let Zhang Gui be the leader.
"Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord!" Zhang Gui was simply overjoyed. He hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed. Even if his movements were too big and he pulled on his wound, it was still painful.
Zhang Gui didn't forget to look gratefully at his benefactor, the King Of Shu, Liu Mang. If they won, then the Zhang family would really be able to atone for their sins and would be able to obtain even more credit.
Liu Mang smiled indifferently. He wanted Zhang Gui to be grateful to him.
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