In the fifth year of Jian'an, Cao Cao killed Dong Cheng and others, the general of the cavalry who participated in the secret edict, and in the first month, Cao Cao personally led a large army to conquer Liu Bei, invaded Xuzhou, broke Liu Bei's army, captured Liu Bei's general Guan Yu, and Liu Bei defected to Yuan Shao.

In February of the fifth year of Jian'an, Yuan Shao sent the general Yan Liang and the strategist Guo Tu to march to Baima and besiege Liu Yan, the Taishou of Dongjun, and Yuan Shao himself led a large army to attack Liyang.

In Yuan Shangjun's camp, Yuan Shang looked at the young man sitting opposite him with a wine glass, Yuan Shang thought that he was handsome and had the demeanor of his father, because he had been loved by his father since he was a child. But the young man opposite him was far more handsome than himself, this person was Shangguan Qian, his subordinate, and also his friend.

"Zhiyuan, do you see if Yan Liang can defeat Yu Ban and Liu Yan?" Yuan Shang affectionately addressed Shangguan Qian, his eyes seemed to be smiling.

Shangguan Qian replied with a slight smile: "Childe, Yan Liang's goal is not our goal, what is our goal?" I think Childe should understand. ”

Yuan Shang stroked his long hair and said, "I also understand a little bit of your thoughts, but if we act rashly, I am afraid that it will affect the overall situation." ”

"The real big picture is not in front of you, but in Childe's heart. If Yan Liang and Guo Tu are not removed, there will not be many opportunities to get rid of them in the future, if they are removed, then Yuan Tan will inevitably cut off an arm, and it will be easier for the son to inherit the great cause at that time. Shangguan Qian was still speaking slowly, but the glint in his eyes deeply attracted Yuan Shang's eyes.

"Does Zhiyuan mean that we rely on the power of Cao Jun to get rid of Yan Liang and Guo Tu?" Yuan Shang asked.

"War is the best time to get rid of your own enemies, and the ghost shadow I sent (the ghost shadow is an assassination team trained by Shangguan Qian for Yuan Shang, mainly carrying out the task of exploring intelligence and assassination. is already lurking in Yan Liang's army, and when the time comes, he only needs to sell a flaw to Cao Jun, and he can get rid of Yan Liang by Cao Jun's hand. Once Yan Liang is defeated, getting rid of the two of them in the chaos is like digging into the bag, and their death may only be related to Cao Jun and not to Gongzi, even if Yuan Tan suspects it, there is no way to take Gongzi. Shangguan Qian analyzed to Yuan Shang.

Yuan Shang nodded, then changed the topic and asked, "Zhiyuan, are you sure that Liu Biao will not send troops?" ”

Shangguan Qian replied: "Gongzi has asked me three times, and I also went to Xiangyang, although Liu Biao is reliant on the surface to form an alliance with the lord, but this is only superficial. He categorically would not send troops to attack Cao Cao, he would only watch the fire from the other side and wait and see what happened. If our army has a big advantage, he will definitely tear up the alliance and form an alliance with Cao Cao. ”

Yuan Shang stroked his hair again and said: "My father once said that Liu Biao is a very powerful person, Zhiyuan, you have seen Liu Biao, what kind of person do you think he is." ”

Shangguan Qian nodded and said: "The lord is right, he is indeed a powerful person, but I think he was just powerful in the past, and now Liu Biao can't stretch out his hand." ”

Yuan Shang nodded and continued to ask, "Then you also met Liu Qi!" What do you think of him? ”

Shangguan Qian shook his head and said, "Ordinary people. ”

"What about Sun Ce? Will troops be sent then? ”

"Sun Ce also wants to enter the Central Plains, and has tentatively attacked Guangling first, I think the next attack will be from Jiujiang into Runan, and then directly to Xuchang."

"Since Sun Ce has promised to attack Cao Cao in alliance with me, he still has to use troops with Jingzhou. And also dispatched tens of thousands of troops, so how could he attack Cao Cao? ”

"If you analyze it, then there may be three reasons, one is that Jiangxia Taishou Huangzu has a feud with him; Second, he made a big fight with Jingzhou, making Cao Cao think that he was entangled with Jingzhou, and he would definitely not let go of a large number of soldiers to defend Runan, and when Sun Ce led his troops to take Runan directly, it would definitely be easier; Third, he also wants to watch the fire from across the strait like Liu Biao. However, he thought that Sun Ce would inevitably send troops, but not immediately, but after the two of us fell into a stalemate, he would send troops. ”

Yuan Shang nodded with satisfaction and said, "On this trip, if you have anything to look up in, or meet interesting people, you can talk to me about it." ”

"Sun Ce's henchman Zhou Yu advocated the capture of the Central Plains, and I talked to him about it, this person is extraordinary, and a shipwreck plan made the Jingzhou army fall into a desperate situation. And the other person is Liu Qi's henchman Ma Hong, who is still young, but has extraordinary insight and is good at using tricks, and once used a trick to defeat Sun Ce in Echeng, but lost to Zhou Yu. I spoke with him, and he speculated that Cao Cao would win. ”

When Yuan Shang heard Ma Hong speculate that Cao Cao would win, his eyes instantly widened, and he covered his lower lip with the back of his hand and snorted and said: "This son is interesting, everyone says that his father will win, and he will say that Cao Cao can win, interesting." ”

On the first day of the second month of the fifth year of Jian'an, in Xiangyang City, Jingzhou, Liu Biao held a meeting to discuss major matters, according to the information obtained the day before yesterday, Zhang Xiu suddenly took refuge in Cao Cao, which made Liu Biao extremely surprised, but he did not expect that Zhang Xiu dared to take refuge in Cao Cao at this time. At the same time, Liu Biao lost control of most of Nanyang County.

The main figures attending the meeting were Kuai Yue, Cai Mao, Han Song, Pang Ji, Liu Xian, and Liu Qiren. Ma Hong was not qualified to participate in the meeting, but because of his meritorious service in the First Battle of Echeng and the Battle of Shaxian, he was recommended by Huang Zu, Kuai Yue and Liu Qi, and Liu Biao also let Ma Hong participate in the meeting. When Liu Biao asked about the current situation and what countermeasures the Jingzhou authorities should take.

At this time, Han Song, who was engaged in Zhonglang, stood up and said: "At this time, the two males are contending, the importance of the world lies in the lord, if the lord wants to make a difference in the troubled times at this time, he should take advantage of the chaos and take the opportunity to expand his strength to the north. ”

Liu Biao smiled and didn't speak, motioning for Han Song to continue, he knew that what Han Song was saying now was what Cai Mao wanted to say, although Han Song was famous, but in the final analysis, he was just a dog by Cai Mao's side. What Han Song's dog said was what Cai Mao wanted to say.

Han Song saw that Liu Biao was not displeased, so he continued: "The lord is now sitting in Jingzhou, just sitting and watching. The so-called see the virtuous but can't help, please make peace but can't get, so the Cao and Yuan families will definitely have a grudge with the lord, and when the time comes, whether it is Cao Sheng or Yuan Sheng, the general will not be able to continue to stand calmly. In the next Xia believes that Cao Gong is virtuous and wise, he will definitely be able to defeat Yuan Shao, and after Cao Gong defeats Yuan Shao, he will definitely go south, and then the lord is afraid that it will be difficult to fight Cao Gong. It is better to move the state to attach to Cao Gong as soon as possible, and Cao Gong will definitely treat the general again, which is the best policy. ”

Liu Biao smiled and still didn't speak, he already knew Cai Mao's thoughts, and turned to look at Kuai Yue and asked Kuai Yue's opinion.

Kuai Yue didn't want to come out, but when he saw Liu Biao looking at him, he had no choice but to stand up and say: "I think what Han Song said is basically correct, if the lord doesn't choose to take advantage of the chaos to send troops, it is better to plan in advance which side he wants to rely on." ”

Liu Biao nodded and said, "I know." ”

Kuai Yue continued: "A few days ago, although our army was defeated in the first battle of Shaxian, it also hit Sun Ce hard, which depends on Ma Hong's strategy, the lord might as well ask the opinion of this descendant. ”

Liu Biao smiled and nodded, Ma Hong not only ambushed Han Dang but also defeated Sun Ce and killed Cheng Pu on the way to rescue Liu Xun with Huang Jie. On the eve of the Battle of Shaxian, he offered a plan to incite Shanyue to cause panic in Sun Ce's rear, which also caused Sun Ce to be unable to continue attacking Jingzhou after capturing Shaxian. In addition, Ma Hong is also the son of his friend and has a good relationship with his eldest son Liu Qi, and Liu Biao also likes Ma Hong very much.

Ma Hong saw Kuai Yue recommending himself to speak, so he hurriedly got up and saluted Liu Biao first, and then walked into the hall, and said: "My lord, I think that if the lord doesn't have the idea of expanding outward, he can choose the second article, but this second article will be changed. ”

Liu Biao touched his beard and asked, "How did it change?" ”

"Send messengers to both sides, and at the same time be friendly to both sides, and show goodwill to both sides, but not attach themselves to either side. Because a big man like the lord who sits in Jingzhou and holds heavy troops is definitely not comparable to Zhang Xiu and his ilk, Zhang Xiu will choose to attach himself to Cao Cao in advance for his own survival, and we don't need it at all. If we are attached to either side in advance, then the balance of the war will inevitably tilt in advance, and what the lord is doing now is to wait and see what happens, and wait for the net to be broken. Ma Hong knew in his heart that Liu Biao had no desire to attack, or even if Liu Biao had the desire to attack, Cai Mao did not, so he said what Liu Biao wanted to say.

Liu Biao smiled and said, "Kuai Yue, what do you think of this child?" ”

Kuai Yue glanced at Ma Hong, knowing that this was Liu Biao's idea, how dare he say that the idea was not good, so he bowed his head and said: "The analysis is very correct." ”

Liu Biao nodded and looked at Cai Mao.

Cai Mao hurriedly stood up and said, "I also agree." ”

Liu Biao thumped his legs and stood up and said, "Okay, then this matter is settled, Han Song went to Xudu as a messenger, okay?" ”

Han Song hurriedly saluted Liu Biao and said, "I am determined to live up to my mission." ”

[This week, there are two more chapters every day! ] 】