Three Kingdoms: I switched to Liu Bei, why are you crying, Cao Cao?

Chapter 37: Fish Takes the Hook, Sends Troops to Xiapi

To be honest, Old Liu couldn't quite understand Qin Zhen.

It’s not the kind of unfamiliar unknown, but the inability to understand Qin Zhen’s train of thought.

Or perhaps what this military advisor did was so radical that he was always one step short.

Compared to Lao Liu, Xu Shu is better, he is only half a step away.

After hearing Qin Zhen preparing to deal with Lu Bu, Xu Shu frowned and said:

"Military Advisor, is it too early to prepare to deal with Lu Bu now?"

"Our army's current focus should be on Yuan Shu first!"

Upon hearing this, Old Liu quickly agreed:
"Yes, Military Advisor, what Yuan Zhi said is correct!"

"The key to the current situation is Yuan Shu, why are you targeting Lu Bu first?"

Seeing the two of them like this, Qin Zhen laughed and said:

"Follow me, both of you. Let's go inside and talk in detail!"

This is what happens when you think too forward-thinking. No matter what you do, you will be questioned. He has gotten used to it over the years!

He led the two of them towards the inner hall, saying as he walked:

"May I ask, sir, what do you think of Lu Bu?"

When Qin Zhen asked about Lu Bu, Old Liu fell silent.

It’s not that there is nothing to say, but there is so much to say that I don’t know where to start.

If we were to say who understood Lu Bu best after Dong Zhuo's death, it would be Liu Bei. He had been cheated many times and had many regrets.

But Lao Liu is a kind person and doesn't like to talk about others behind their backs. He thought for a long time before saying:
"Lü Bu is a tiger and wolf!"

Qin Zhen smiled and said to Lao Liu's comment:
"To call you that is really a compliment. In my opinion, Lu Bu is a man with a heart of a wolf and lungs of a dog!"

"If he has the heart of a tiger or a wolf, he can still accomplish something."

"But this person has the heart of a wolf, but the nature of a dog, and he is a vicious dog!"

He turned around and looked at Xu Shu:

"A dog like this, barking at everyone it sees and retreating when it encounters evil, can never accomplish anything great!"

"You two just asked me why I wanted to fight against Lu Bu, that's why."

"Although our army is now fully equipped, it is still inferior to Lu Bu."

"If our army conspires with them and sees that our army has gained benefits, they will definitely be dissatisfied and may turn against us!"

"Lü Bu is short-sighted and has no strategy. He is not worth worrying about. The key is to have the Bingzhou cavalry under his command."

"That's why I just supervised the creation of this thing!"

"If he keeps to himself, that's fine. But if he turns against us, our army has ways to stop him!"

"We don't have to use a weapon like this, but we can't live without it!"

After hearing the explanation, Xu Shu finally understood and couldn't help but smile:
"If we talk about prudence, can the military advisor be the leader?"

"You schemed against the housekeeper before, and now you scheme against Lu Bu. How can this be justified?"

Facing Xu Shu's teasing, Qin Zhen said calmly:
“He who does not plan for eternity is not qualified to plan for the present; he who does not plan for the overall situation is not qualified to plan for a region.”

"If you are planning for others, you should exhaust all your energy and think through everything you have planned, only then can you achieve your goal!"

When Liu Bei heard this, his eyes lit up and he said:

“He who does not plan for eternity is not qualified to plan for the present; he who does not plan for the overall situation is not qualified to plan for a region!”

"The military advisor's words can be said to have fully revealed the true meaning of strategists from ancient times to the present. Only a wise man can do it!"

Xu Shu was listening and nodded secretly. This was probably why Cao Cao was afraid of Qin Zhen.

At all times, the overall situation is under his control.

Who wouldn’t be afraid when in this situation?
But fortunately, Qin Zhen is always his teammate, not his enemy. He smiled and said:

"The eloquence of a military advisor is beyond the reach of ordinary people, so I won't argue with you!"

"I just want to ask you one question, military advisor. When will you mobilize your troops to seize Xiang County?"

"You must know that the three-month deadline is already halfway over!"

"If we don't mobilize our troops, it will be too late to attack the city!"

Qin Zhen already had his mind in hand and was not panicked:
"It's easy to take Xiang County, why bother to attack!"

"However, to take Xiang County, we still need news from Lu Bu. As long as Lu Bu asks for help, I have my own plan to seize Xiang County!"

He turned around and asked Liu Bei:

"Now that Yuan Shu has raised his army, may I ask, sir, has Lu Bu asked for help?"

Liu Bei was stunned for a moment after hearing this, then shook his head slightly and said:

"There has been no letter from Lu Bu, and no news!"

This is also the problem that is bothering him now, although he doesn't know what purpose Qin Zhen's letter serves.

But if you send a letter, there should be a response.

But until today, there is no news about Lu Bu!

But he didn't know how to ask whether Qin Zhen's plan had been discovered, so he could only wait quietly.

Seeing that Old Liu frowned, Qin Zhen comforted him:
"Lü Bu is a fool. Seeing Yuan Shu's might, he will surely be frightened and will not ignore our reinforcements."

"It must have been delayed on the way. I'm sure it will arrive soon!"

He knew very well that Lu Bu had a bad temper and could do anything when pushed into a corner!

If they hadn't contacted him proactively, Lu Bu would have been embarrassed to ask for help.

Now that they have made contact, given Lu Bu's character, he will definitely take the initiative to ask for help!
Old Liu felt relieved when he heard Qin Zhen's words. Just as he was about to express his opinion, he heard a loud shout from outside:

"My lord, a messenger from Lu Bu has arrived!"

When this voice came out, Lao Liu was pleasantly surprised.

Xu Shu also looked at Qin Zhen excitedly.

Qin Zhen smiled slightly and said:

"Mingsir, the fish has taken the bait, go and pull up the rod, the time has come for our army to march out!"

When Liu Bei heard this, he was overjoyed. He had been waiting for this moment for too long!
At that moment, Liu Bei took the two of them and headed towards the county government.

As soon as he entered the county government, he saw Lu Bu's envoy and asked:

"Where does the envoy come from?"

The messenger was a scholar, upon hearing this, he hurriedly bowed and said:
"Because the envoy invited us to attack Yuan Shu a few days ago, my lord has been thinking about it until now, thinking that Yuan Shu is a traitor to the country and should be attacked. But now Yuan Shu has taken the lead in raising an army, so I sent this humble person to ask the envoy to send troops to help!"

"If you are willing to send troops to help us, after we defeat Yuan Shu, our army will march with you and help you capture Pei State!"

"This is a letter written by the Lord, you can read it yourself!"

Liu Bei took the letter and read it carefully.

Qin Zhen walked up to the scholar leisurely and asked:

"May I ask your name? What is your current position?"

Seeing this, the scholar knew that Qin Zhen must be of high status, and hurriedly replied:
"My name is Zhang Tong, and I am currently a minor official under the general. May I know who you are, sir?" Qin Chen replied with a smile:
"I am the military advisor under your command, my name is Wang He."

"Since you are a messenger, let me ask you, did General Lu tell you what you just said?"

When Zhang Tong heard that Qin Zhen was a military advisor, he became even more respectful and said:
"That's right! This is what the lord said himself!"

Qin Zhen nodded and asked:

"Then let me ask you again, Yuan Shu has been sending out troops for a long time. Since General Lu asked for help, why did he only arrive today? Could it be that you were slack on the way and delayed us?"

Zhang Tong trembled when he heard this, and after hesitating for a while, he said:
"It's not my fault, it's Mr. Chen who stopped me!"

The smile on Qin Zhen's face became more intense:
"Is this Mr. Chen Chen Gong, Chen Gongtai?"

Zhang Tong was only a minor official, and could not stand the inquiries of Qin Zhen, so he could only nod and say:

"Exactly!"

When Qin Zhen heard that it was Chen Gong who was obstructing, he understood that the truth was most likely that Lu Bu wanted to ask for help, but was privately stopped by Chen Gong, so it was delayed until now.

Speaking of Chen Gong, he is actually an old acquaintance of his!

But unlike other people who are his friends, Chen Gong and he are definitely political enemies!

Because Chen Gong has a typical scholar-official mindset, he only values ​​the gentry and not the common people.

He just happened to dislike this circle, only cared about the people, and never dealt with these empty-talking celebrities.

Therefore, there was incompatibility between the two from the beginning.

He had stopped Chen Gong's rebellion before, and there was a deep hatred between the two.

Thinking about having to fight Chen Gong again, Qin Zhen smiled secretly:
"You were the one who made the first move, don't blame me!"

At that moment, he had already thought of a way to deal with Chen Gong, and said to the clerk in front of him:
"I see. Thanks for clearing up my confusion!"

Having said these two sentences, he stood aside and said no more.

After Liu Bei finished reading the letter, he asked:

"Military Advisor, should our army send troops to help?"

Qin Zhen said with a smile:

"Since Lord Wen has written this personally, our army will certainly lend a helping hand!"

He said to Zhang Tongdao:
"Go back and tell Lord Wen that our army will start the march today. Please wait for good news!"

When Zhang Tong heard this, he was overjoyed. He quickly bowed and agreed, then walked out of the county government.

After he left without saying anything, Xu Shu stepped forward and asked:

"Zixuan, does our army really want to reinforce Lu Bu?"

"Although Lu Bu has agreed to help our army, he is fickle and will not help our army even if he wins!"

Liu Bei listened and nodded:

"Lu Bu can't be trusted!"

Although he didn't say much, he made his attitude clear. He could use Lu Bu, but he had a negative attitude towards cooperating with Lu Bu.

However, the attitudes of the two were just as Qin Zhen expected. He just smiled and said:
"Don't worry, the two of you, going to this battle will only benefit our army, and there will be no harm at all!"

"Mingsong, just mobilize the troops and follow my plan, and reach Xia Pi as soon as possible!"

"After this battle, not only will Xiang County be within our grasp, but our army will also be able to obtain money and food, and take control of Pei State!"

Seeing Qin Zhen's confidence, Xu Shu said:
"It seems that the military advisor has made a plan, so there is no need to say more."

He smiled at Liu Bei and said:

"My lord, please go and gather the troops. I will wait and see what the military advisor does!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei no longer hesitated, nodded, and ordered his men to call all the generals to come.

However, Zhang Fei and others have intensified their military training since Qin Zhen took office. Seeing that their troops are ready for use, they have been seeking battle every day, but have not received military orders. When they heard Liu Bei's call, they all came happily.

As soon as he entered the county government, Zhang Fei said:

"Brother, do you want to send troops to Xiang County?"

Seeing Zhang Fei like this, Liu Bei shook his head and said:

"Because Lu Bu asked for help, I went to lend a hand!"

Zhang Fei had always looked down on Lü Bu as a person, and when he heard that they were going to send reinforcements, he immediately said angrily:

"Brother, what do you mean? This fellow Lu Bu has caused trouble for our army time and time again, and even attacked our army in Xuzhou. If he is to be defeated now, let him be defeated. Why do we need to reinforce his army?"

Liu Bei had no choice but to look at Qin Zhen.

Qin Zhen responded with a serious expression:

"Although we are sending troops this time to support Lu Bu, we are also sending troops to take Xiang County. All you need to do is to prepare your troops and go out. Xiang County will be taken soon!"

Zhang Fei was displeased when he heard this.
"I don't understand what you are saying, Advisor. How does taking Xiang County have to do with saving Lu Bu?"

If it were someone else, they would have explained it a bit, but Qin Zhen said in a deep voice:
"It doesn't matter if you don't understand, just follow the orders!"

"You know that military orders are as heavy as a mountain. Why are you talking nonsense? Just prepare your troops and march out!"

"Whoever dares to disobey the general's order will be punished by military law!"

The most important thing in the army is to obey orders. Liu Bei would indulge the two of them, but he would not.

Zhang Fei had a bad temper to begin with, and when he heard this, he was about to get angry, but was grabbed by Guan Yu who was standing beside him.

When Liu Bei saw this, he said in a deep voice:

"The military advisor's words are my orders. You just need to prepare your troops and march out today. Don't say anything more!"

The generals were afraid of Liu Bei's power and dared not speak. They all obeyed the orders and left.

Zhang Fei was also dragged out of the county government by Guan Yu.

As soon as he left the county government, Lao Zhang couldn't help but say:
"Why are you trying to stop me, second brother? Let me ask this person some questions!"

"Just let us train our troops, how can we use them for others' benefit?"

Seeing this, Guan Yu knew that it would be difficult for Zhang Fei to accept the idea of ​​reinforcing Lu Bu, and in fact he also found it difficult to accept it.

But Qin Zhen doesn't care about your feelings and only uses military law to deal with the matter. What can you do as his subordinate?

"I know that Third Brother is angry, but he is the military advisor and we are the generals. How can you win over him?"

"Besides, if we disobey the general's order, my brother will take the blame for us. How can we be so willful?"

When Zhang Fei heard this, he immediately wilted:

"Then according to Second Brother's opinion, what should we do?"

"Yide, just follow the army and see what they plan!"

Guan Yu narrowed his eyes and said:

"If we can take Xiang County, we will obey your orders. If we can't take Xiang County, we can also use military law to deal with it!"

After hearing this, Zhang Fei realized that the situation was stronger than the people, so he nodded in agreement and returned to the camp to gather his troops.

Afterwards, Liu Bei formally issued an order, appointing Guan Yu as the main general to guard Xiaopei, with Xu Shu as his assistant.

He himself brought generals such as Zhang Fei, Chen Dao, and Fu Shiren, with Qin Zhen as his military advisor, and led an army of 8,000, and rushed towards Xia Pi overnight.

(End of this chapter)