Governor's Mansion, Study.

Liu Biao sat in the study with a solemn face.

Cai Mao Yue Yi sat in the study, also looking solemn.

Liu Biao's eyes were deep, his gaze swept over the three of them, and he said slowly: "The edict issued by Cao Cao said that when the Son of Heaven was six years old this Chinese New Year's Eve, he had no time to celebrate the birthday of the Son of Heaven because he was busy with the war in the north. Now that the state has been pacified, Cao Cao wants to celebrate the birthday of the Son of Heaven and let the official send someone to congratulate him on his birthday. This situation is very strange. ”

Cai Mao nodded and said, "The lord is wise, Cao Thief's name is Zhu Shou, and he must have other intentions." ”

Liu Biao asked, "What is the reason?"

Cai Mao replied: "Lord, I guess that Cao Cao wants to send troops south?"

When Liu Biao heard this, his face suddenly became gloomy, and he said toughly: "There are tens of thousands of soldiers with armor in Jingzhou, and the soldiers are good enough to eat, so why be afraid of Cao Thief? Even if Cao Thief sends troops south, this official is not afraid. ”

Kuai Yue nodded lightly and said, "Lord, although the north of the Cao thief is stable, it is still unstable in Youzhou, and there are great hidden dangers. He believes that in a short period of time, Cao Thief should not go south. Moreover, the Cao army stationed in Nanyang has not moved. He believes that Cao Thief's birthday celebration for the Son of Heaven should not be the intention of going south. ”

"What's that?" asked Liu Biao.

A simple birthday celebration is absolutely impossible.

Cao Cao coerced the Son of Heaven to order the princes, and the Son of Heaven was in Cao Cao's hands, like a puppet. Although Cao Cao superficially respected the Son of Heaven, he never took the Son of Heaven to heart, and it was impossible for him to celebrate the birthday of the Son of Heaven.

What's more, the time for birthday celebrations has passed.

Liu Xie, the Son of Heaven, celebrated his birthday in April, and now in July, Cao Cao remembered to celebrate his birthday, which makes no sense at all.

Among them, there must be cats.

When Kuai Yue heard this, he fell silent for a while.

Yi Yuan sat upright, and his expression was extremely solemn. Not to mention Cao Cao in the north, Jingzhou is a peaceful place, singing and dancing, everyone is happy and comfortable, there is no war, and there is no fighting.

As soon as Cao Cao was mentioned, he felt that a sharp sword was hanging above his head, which could fall at any time.

In the study, there was silence.

The atmosphere is even more depressing.

Suddenly, Kuai Yue's eyes lit up, and he said, "Lord, I think that Cao Thief may have such thoughts. ”

"What's in your mind?"

Liu Biao's eyes were happy, and what he was most afraid of was not knowing, but not knowing.

One thing is all unknown, there are no clues, and Liu Biao has no way to start. As long as Cao Cao's purpose is analyzed, there is room for maneuver.

Yi and Cai Mao also looked at Kuai Yue.

The eyes of the two also showed a look of expectation.

Kuai Yue explained: "Cao thief nominally celebrates the birthday of the Son of Heaven, and the people invited must not only be Jingzhou, but also people from Jiangdong and even Xiliangyizhou. ”

"He believes that after Cao Thief pacified and annexed the state, he deliberately wanted to show off his might, so as to promote his strength, and then shock the world. ”

"Just imagine, the envoys from Jingzhou, Jiangdong, Yizhou and other places went to Xu County to celebrate his birthday, and after discovering the strength of the Cao thief, they must be afraid. When they returned to their respective places, they would surely report it truthfully. ”

In this way, it invisibly increases the pressure on officials in various places. ”

The more he spoke, the more affirmative he became, and continued: "Perhaps, there is another possibility. ”

"Jingzhou connects the north and the south, and its strategic location is quite important. ”

"The reason why Cao Thief celebrates the birthday of the Son of Heaven is because he wants to pave the way for the future south. On the one hand, Cao Thief is showing off his strength, and on the other hand, he wants to intimidate Jingzhou. ”

"The humble position boldly speculated that the Cao thief wanted to use this to exert pressure. ”

Although Cao Thief did not send troops for the time being, his majesty could be conveyed to Jingzhou with the opportunity of celebrating his birthday. ”

Kuai Yue said affirmatively: "In the final analysis, no matter what the purpose of the Cao thief is or who he invites, the Cao thief is planning to demonstrate and show off his strength. ”

After pondering carefully, Cai Mao nodded and said, "I think that the analysis of Xenodua makes sense. Cao Thief's intention is likely to knock on the mountain and shock the tiger, intending to threaten the lord. ”

After thinking about it carefully, Yi Yuan couldn't think of any other reason.

Only Kuai Yue's analysis is the most reasonable, which is also the reason why Cao Cao congratulated the Son of Heaven on his birthday.

Yi said: "Lord, Cao Thief's intentions have been analyzed. Now, we must send people to celebrate the birthday, the birthday of the Son of Heaven, if we don't send people to congratulate them, I'm afraid it won't work. ”

Liu Biao said: "This official is a relative of the Han family, but the Son of Heaven does not send someone to the birthday, it is definitely unreasonable." ”

Cai Mao continued: "If you want to send officials, you can't send too many officials, and you must be cautious. Otherwise, once an official like Han Song appears again, it will be unfavorable to the lord. ”

Han Song, the word Degao, Yiyang people.

When Zhang Jiao led the people to rebel, Han Song fled to the south. After Liu Biao entered Jingzhou, Han Song became Liu Biao's assistant, and later turned to Zhonglang.

At that time, Liu Biao sent Han Song to Xu County to meet Cao Cao and find out Cao Cao's reality.

Han Song went to Xu County, and after returning to Xiangyang, he praised Cao Cao's talents, all of which admired Cao Cao's words, described Cao Cao as the master of the world, and suggested that Liu Biao send his heirs to Xu County as hostages.

After Liu Biao heard this, he was furious on the spot and wanted to kill Han Song.

Simply, Kuai Yue pleaded and sent Han Song to prison.

Han Song was facing the situation of being beheaded at any time, so he let people buy off Cai's and let Cai's blow the pillow wind in Liu Biao's ear. In this way, Han Song saved his life, but he was kept locked up.

At the mention of Han Song, Liu Biao's face suddenly became gloomy.

Liu Biao said in a deep voice: "This time I went to celebrate my birthday, and there must be no situation like Han Song." ”

Cai Mao's eyes rolled, and suddenly he had an idea in his mind, and said with a smile: "Lord, about the candidate to go to Xu County to celebrate his birthday, he has an immature idea. ”

Liu Biao asked, "Who do you think is suitable?"

Cai Mao replied: "Pang Degong is the most suitable. ”

Liu Biaojian raised his eyebrows, and there was a puzzled look in his eyes.

Pang Degong was hidden in Lumen Mountain, was a hermit, and did not become an official. Besides, it is not easy to move Pang Degong to Xu County.

Kuai Yue's eyes narrowed slightly, and after a turn of thought, he understood the cattiness.

Cai Mao's move was to transfer the tiger away from the mountain and transfer Pang Degong away, so that Liu Xiu would lose his backer. Once there is no protection from Pang Degong, Liu Xiu will lose his biggest backer.

Yi's eyes were also shining, and he saw through Cai Mao's thoughts.

However, neither of them broke the point.

Cai Mao smiled and said: "First, the Son of Heaven has a big birthday, and someone must go." If the lord doesn't send someone, he definitely won't. When Pang Degong went, he gave Cao Cao face and left Cao Cao speechless. ”

"Second, Pang Degong is a hermit, not a person in the officialdom. He went to the north, even if Cao Cao showed off his strength, after Pang Degong saw it, he would not preach anything when he returned to Xiangyang. Pang Degong is not in the officialdom and will not affect the officials in Jingzhou. ”

"Third, Pang Degong is a famous man in Jingzhou, and the lord let the famous man in Jingzhou go to celebrate his birthday, which also increased Cao Cao's face. ”

"Fourth, Pang Degong is a native of Jingzhou and has gone to the north, so he will not stay in Xu County, and he will definitely come back. After he went to Xu County, if he was harassed by Cao Cao, he would inevitably fight for it and would not lose Jingzhou's reputation. Otherwise, where will Pang Degong's face go?"

Cai Mao counted four benefits and said: "I think that Pang Degong is the most suitable person for this birthday. ”

After Liu Biao listened, his expression moved.

Kuai Yue's mind turned, and he wanted to open his mouth to block it, but after thinking about it, he still didn't open his mouth. Matters involving birthday celebrations, once they set themselves on fire, will be detrimental to the Kuai family.

Liu Biao pondered for a long time and said, "Deju, you go to Lumen Mountain and inform Pang Degong of the situation." Remember, you must move with emotion and reason, not with a commanding tone. Pang Gong was a hermit, and the official could not command him. ”

Cai Mao was overjoyed and said, "Don't worry, the lord will definitely complete the task." ”

Next, other things were discussed, and Cai Mao withdrew from the state pastoral mansion