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

Chapter 46: The Inflated Lü Bu, Confusing People
As for Lu Bu, since he returned to the city, he asked Han Xian and Yang Feng to station outside the city as well.

The two of them had a total of 15,000 soldiers and horses.

Together with the several thousand men in his own city and the seven or eight thousand captured, the total number was over 27,000, which meant that his military strength increased dramatically.

Adding the troops he had originally scattered everywhere, there were as many as 50,000 or 60,000!

The increase in military strength gave Lu Bu a surge in confidence.

After counting the money and grain harvested, they found that there were countless weapons and armors, hundreds of thousands of stones of grain and fodder, and countless money, enough to reach hundreds of millions!

It was because Yuan Shu plundered along the way and almost plundered all the counties south of Xia Pi that he was able to gather such a huge fortune.

If it were other princes, I wonder how much trouble they would have suffered from the damage to their own rule.

But who is Lu Bu?

Even if Yuan Shu didn't rob, he would rob himself if he had no money and food.

Now that the money has entered his pocket, forget it for him to take it out to help the people.

But the problem lies here. Because of his previous slip of the tongue, he promised Liu Bei to split the money and grain equally. Now, in theory, Liu Bei owns half of the money and grain.

Now that Han Xian and Yang Feng are here, shouldn't he reward them?
After this point, what will he have left?
When he thought of this, he wanted to slap himself. Why did he have to agree to this?

Therefore, before the banquet even started, Lu Bu had a worried look on his face. He wanted to find someone to discuss things with, but found that there was no one to ask.

Although Chen and his son were strategic, they were on good terms with Liu Bei and were definitely loyal to him.

The only one who could be used was Chen Gong, but he pretended to obey the orders and violated the rules repeatedly.

After much thought, he went to Xu Si for advice.

Xu Si was a famous scholar in Yanzhou, known as a national hero. He was good friends with Wang Kai, Chen Gong, Zhang Miao and others.

But although this person is famous, he is not as famous as Chen Gong and others.

He was about seven feet tall, with a rather elegant appearance. When he heard about Lü Bu's worries, he stroked his beard and said with a smile:
"General, don't worry! I have a plan that will allow you to get more money and food!"

When Lu Bu heard this, he was overjoyed and said:

"What advice do you have for me, sir?"

Seeing this, Xu Si stepped forward with his hands behind his back and said:

"I think the general is worried about two things. First, Liu Bei has not done anything, but he wants to take half of the money and food. Second, it is obviously our army's money and food, but he wants to share it with Han Xian, Yang Feng and others!"

"The root cause is the lack of money and food!"

"So our army might as well take this opportunity to march south and invade the Huainan area to plunder!"

"Although Yuan Shu's army has been defeated, Yuan Shu is unaware of this and will be unprepared."

"Our army has just won a victory, and morale has been greatly boosted. It's time to fight!"

"If we do this, firstly, our army can borrow the power of the two families to increase our money and food; secondly, we can use this as an excuse to seize the food and allow the two families to take it themselves."

"If the two families take enough money and food, the general can give them some. If the two families do not plunder enough, the general will also have reason to blame them!"

"I think Liu Bei is known for his benevolence and righteousness, and he would not want to rob the people. If he leaves, you can use this as an excuse to give him some food and send him away!"

When Lu Bu heard this plan, he thought to himself, I’m good at this!
He may not be able to capture a city, but he has experience in plundering the people.

As for if Liu Bei really doesn't want to, then don't blame yourself!

For a moment, he nodded repeatedly and said:
"Sir, this is a good idea. I will do it this way!"

He naturally forgot his promise to help Liu Bei capture Xiang County. Xu Si took the opportunity to say:
"If the general wants to go south, he must be assisted by a wise and resourceful man."

"The Chen family father and son are useless, we must invite Gongtai here!"

Seeing Xu Si pleading for Chen Gong, Lu Bu immediately said in displeasure:

"This man blocked our reinforcements. His crime is unforgivable. How can we let him go?"

Xu Si heard this and said with a smile:

"General, you must know that Gongtai is not planning for himself, but for the general's great cause!"

"Liu Bei came here to do nothing, but he wanted to take money, food, and troops. It's clear that he has bad intentions."

"From this perspective, Gongtai's words that day were correct!"

"Although Gongtai's words were inappropriate, the general may not really know what he is thinking."

After listening to this, Lu Bu thought about it and felt that there was some truth in it.

I thought that Liu Bei was really a dishonest guy.

I asked you to help, so just help me and have a meal with me and say thank you. How can you have the nerve to ask for money?

Have you forgotten the kindness of shooting the halberd at the gate in the past?

Did you ask for money at that time?

Yes! But it belongs to Yuan Shu!

I don’t want you, Liu Bei!

Why are you asking me for money now?

The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt. Although Chen Gong did nothing wrong, he did it behind his back. Does he still respect his lord like him?

Thinking of this, he frowned and said:
"What you said makes sense, sir. Let me think about it for a few days!"

When Xu Si saw that Lu Bu had given in, he knew that Lu Bu had been convinced by him, so he stopped trying to persuade him and left.

After Xu Si left, Lu Bu thought about it again and felt that his own safety was difficult to guarantee.

Although he captured a lot of soldiers and horses and brought them into the city, he could not go directly to the battlefield.

All in all, there were only a few thousand people in his city, while Liu Bei, Yang Feng and others around him had a total of more than 20,000 people.

If they join forces to turn against him, his life will be in danger!
Thinking of this, he personally wrote a letter to order Gao Shun, Zhang Liao and other generals stationed outside to return quickly in order to strengthen his strength so that he could control the troops of both families.

After finishing everything, Lu Bu felt much more at ease and waited for the night banquet.

In the blink of an eye, it was night. Lu Bu personally hosted a banquet and invited Liu Bei, Yang Feng and others to attend.

At the banquet, he never mentioned the issue of dividing the money, and just invited everyone to drink.

Han Xian and Yang Feng were fine, they just followed Lu Bu, but Liu Bei remembered Qin Zhen's instructions and stood up and said:
"The Yuan family is the cause of the rebellion in the world today. It is all thanks to the work of Marquis Wen that we have won this great victory. You should all congratulate Marquis Wen with me!"

When Yang Feng and the others heard this, they all raised their glasses to toast. Lu Bu felt refreshed and also raised his glass and said with a smile:
"It is all thanks to your help that we have achieved this victory. Let us drink this cup together!"

After saying this, he drank the wine in the glass in one gulp.

Everyone raised their cups and drank. After they finished one cup, Liu Bei said:

"Logically speaking, we shouldn't talk about state affairs during today's banquet."

"But now the treacherous ministers have usurped my throne, and the years are against us, so I dare to speak out. I dare to ask, Lord Wen, when will you join us in the march to Xiang County?" Hearing this, Han Xian and the other two froze in their tracks, but Lu Bu laughed dryly and said,

"Let's take Xiang County. It won't take more than a day or two. How about we discuss it tomorrow?"

Liu Bei was also well aware of Lu Bu's tactics, and knew that Lu Bu was going to go back on his word, but he was not in a hurry, and just smiled and said:

"Even if we don't discuss advancing, we should discuss the issue of money and grain."

"It's good that there is food in the camp, but the two generals have no money or food. Now that we have won, we want to reward the three armies, but how can we do it without money and food?"

As the saying goes, "Birds of a feather flock together." If it were the old Liu from before, he would never have said such a thing.

But after spending more time with Qin Zhen, I naturally learned some of the truth.

When he said this, Han Xian and the other two pricked up their ears, but Lu Bu's face turned cold.

It would be fine if Liu Bei just wanted it, but now he has dragged two of them into it. If I don’t give it to them, wouldn’t I be ignoring their feelings?
Lu Bu had his own cunning mind. His expression was cold at first, then relaxed. He smiled and said:
"It's not that we don't want to give you money and food, but we are in a hurry today and haven't counted them clearly yet. How about we discuss it again after we count them tomorrow?"

Liu Bei knew that he could not persuade him any further, so he nodded and sat down.

Han Xian and others were somewhat disappointed when they heard this, but they did not dare to confront Lu Bu, so they could only drink and remain silent.

Lu Bu had something on his mind, so he said no more.

The banquet ended here, and anyone with a discerning eye could see that the atmosphere was a little tense.

After the banquet, Liu Bei was about to return to the tent to inform Qin Zhen of the result, but he heard a voice behind him calling:

"Envoy Liu, Envoy Liu, wait a minute!"

Liu Bei turned around and saw a rather fat scholar walking towards him quickly.

He took a closer look at the man's appearance and suddenly said in surprise:

"What is the king doing?"

The person who came was Wang Kai, a subordinate of Lu Bu.

The reason why he was here was because he was entrusted by Chen Gong to find out the identity of Liu Bei's military advisor.

Unfortunately, Liu Bei and Qin Zhen left the city yesterday and he did not see them.

I heard that Lu Bu was going to host a banquet for everyone today, so I hurried here.

However, when he arrived at the banquet, he only saw Liu Bei but not Qin Zhen, so he thought of going up to Liu Bei and asking him.

Facing Liu Bei's question, he smiled calmly and said:

"Your Excellency may not have seen it. I was also at the banquet just now!"

Liu Bei thought that he and Wang Kai had no friendship, so why did this man stop him?
He and Wang Kai and others had only met, and logically speaking, they were not at the level where they could communicate.

But he was a typical person who remained calm even when faced with a catastrophe. Although he was confused, he had a smile on his face:

"I really didn't pay attention to it just now, but I didn't expect Wang Congshi to be at the banquet!"

"But I don't know what you want to do with me?"

"It's nothing serious. I just heard that there is a military advisor under the command of Envoy Liu who is from Yanzhou. He is talented and wise. I admire him and came to see him!"

Wang Kai stepped forward, smiling:

"But for some reason, the military advisor did not come to the banquet tonight?"

Seeing that he was asking about Qin Zhen, Old Liu was startled and pretended to sigh:

"This is unfortunate. Military Advisor caught a cold last night and is unable to come!"

"I see!"

Wang Kai said with a look of regret:
"What a shame, what a shame, that no wise man can see me! What a shame."

As he said this, he glanced at Liu Bei, wanting to see if Liu Bei would invite him to join the army.

But when Liu Bei saw it, he shook his head:
"Sir, why do you have to do this? Once the military advisor recovers, we will have a chance to see him!"

"If there is nothing to do, I will quit now!"

He bowed to Wang Kai, then turned and walked out of the city escorted by Chen Dao and others.

He walked all the way into the military camp and told Qin Zhen everything that had happened.

When Qin Zhen heard this, he smiled and said:

"Lü Bu is like this, most likely he has evil thoughts in his mind, but it doesn't matter, we will discuss it tomorrow and see what he has to say!"

Liu Bei knew that Qin Zhen had his own plans, so he didn't say much. Thinking of what happened just now, he said:

"There is one more thing. When I was leaving the city just now, someone came up to me and asked why the military advisor hadn't arrived yet!"

Hearing this, Qin Zhen narrowed his eyes and said:

"Oh? Someone asked about this? But I don't know who?"

Seeing Qin Zhen like this, Liu Bei hurriedly said:

"The military advisor must know this man. He is Wang Kai, a subordinate of Lu Bu!"

"I think this man and the military advisor were both in Cao's camp. Now that he is asking about it, could it be that the military advisor's identity has been exposed?"

He knew that Qin Zhen's identity was very important, and if it was exposed, it might affect the overall situation.

It’s okay for insiders to know it, but outsiders must not know it.

Qin Zhen heard this, and paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. After thinking for a moment, he smiled and said:
"Don't worry, my lord. If this person comes to ask, it proves that my identity has not been exposed and it will not affect the overall situation!"

After hearing this, Liu Bei was surprised:
"Why is this? If it has not been exposed, why would this person ask about this?"

"This must be entrusted by Chen Gongtai!"

Qin Zhen paused and said to Liu Bei:

"Although Chen Gongtai doesn't have quick wits, he has strategies. He fought with me before and is now trapped. He also knows that my whereabouts are a mystery, so he guessed that I am here!"

"He asked Wang Kai to come here just to confirm his own inference!"

When Lao Liu heard Chen Gong reveal Qin Zhen's identity, he said worriedly:

"This man Chen Gongtai has a plan. If he figures it out and tells Lu Bu, what should we do?"

But as soon as he finished speaking, Qin Zhen shook his head and laughed:

"Why worry, my lord? This is not a bad thing, but a beneficial one!"

"Our army can take this opportunity to confuse the public!"

Seeing that Qin Zhen still had a solution, Lao Liu was delighted and said hurriedly:
"What do you mean by confusing the public? I'd like to hear the details!"

(End of this chapter)