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

Chapter 48: Capture the thief and the king, Qin Zhen's plan

The so-called main tent is the central military tent, which is used for meetings.

However, Liu Bei's army did not hold many meetings since their arrival, so the tent remained empty and only Liu Bei used it to rest.

Hearing that Qin Zhen was in the main tent, he walked towards the tent. As soon as he entered the tent, he saw Qin Zhen sitting on one side, with Zhang Fei and Qiao Rui sitting below him.

While listening to Qin Zhen's explanation, the two nodded in response from time to time.

As soon as he came in, the three of them stopped talking and looked at him.

Seeing this, Liu Bei couldn't help but laugh:
"I just came back from a meeting in the city. I wonder if you three are also here to discuss matters?"

As soon as he opened his mouth, Zhang Fei stood up and said:

"Brother, come quickly! The military advisor is telling us how to march into Xiang County!"

As soon as he heard the plan to take Xiang County, Old Liu became excited. Xiang County had almost become a source of worry for him.

Although Cao Cao and Lu Bu also had troops stationed around Pei County, they were ultimately in a state of balance.

Only Yuan Shu's army in Xiang County was like a thorn stuck in the middle of Pei State, forcing him to stay in Xiaopei and not go south.

If he wants to develop, he must first remove this thorn.

Once Xiang County is captured, Pei State can also be taken into hands.

So Liu Bei hurried forward, knelt down on the main seat and asked:
"I wonder what clever plan the military advisor has to capture Xiang County?"

Seeing Liu Bei so excited, Qin Zhen asked back:
"I see you are like this, so I guess Lü Bu has already given the food and fodder, and Wang Kai has already left?"

When he mentioned it, Liu Bei's joy increased greatly and he sighed:

"According to the military advisor's plan, Wang Kai has already left, but Lu Bu is not willing to give in and insists on asking our army to go south to Huainan. I don't want to go and I refuse this!"

He told everyone what had just happened in the city.

When Zhang Fei heard this, he immediately stood up in anger and said:

"This fellow Lu Bu is really hateful. In this battle, he captured many prisoners, not to mention money, and also took more than 100,000 dan of grain and grass."

"Even if we go south, how can we only give our army 10,000 shi of military rations?"

"Don't sigh, big brother. I will lead the troops there and ask him to hand over the food and grass!"

Seeing Zhang Fei being so impulsive, Liu Bei frowned and said:
"Third brother, don't do this! The military advisor hasn't spoken yet and you're here to cause trouble!"

Although Zhang Fei's temper had subsided, he could not tolerate Lu Bu. Upon hearing this, he asked Qin Zhen:
"Military Advisor, please give us your judgment. Tell us whether we should fight this fellow Lu Bu or not!"

"You said that day that if Lu Bu didn't give it to me, I would go and ask for it. How can I bear it now?"

When Qin Zhen heard this, he smiled and said:
"Yide, there is no need to provoke me. If you want to go, go ahead. But I have only one thing to say: you can only bring more than a thousand soldiers and horses, and you can only ask for food and grass. You cannot curse or fight."

"If you provoke Lu Bu to attack me from the city, I will not forgive you!"

Seeing that he agreed, Zhang Fei immediately smiled and looked at Liu Bei and said:
"Look, big brother, the military advisor has agreed!"

Seeing this, Liu Bei felt helpless for a moment and said to Qin Zhen:

"Military Advisor, aren't we going to discuss the county's affairs? Even if Yide wants to go, we have to finish the discussion first!"

"It doesn't matter. We don't need Yide to take Xiang County!"

Qin Zhen shook his head and said:
"My Lord, just let Yide go!"

Liu Bei listened without questioning. After hesitating for a while, he glared at Zhang Fei and said:

"If you cause any trouble, I won't forgive you, not to mention the military advisor!"

When Zhang Fei saw the approval, he immediately agreed and walked out quickly.

He didn't want to cause any big trouble, he was just so angry that he wanted to vent his anger.

Liu Bei watched him leave, thought for a while, and sighed to Qin Zhen:

"Military Advisor, my third brother has always been a man of few words. How can I allow him to act so recklessly?"

Seeing that Liu Bei still didn't understand, Qin Zhen smiled and said:
"You have misunderstood, my lord. This is not to indulge General Zhang, but it is necessary!"

"Otherwise the enemy will surely become suspicious!"

"Oh? How do you say this?"

Liu Bei looked confused, and Qiao Rui was also surprised.

Then Qin Zhen explained:
"It's natural for our army to be angry!"

"My Lord, please don't think that you have to swallow your anger for the sake of the overall situation!"

"In fact, it is because our army has a plan that we have to act this way."

"Otherwise, Ming Gong knows that Yide is hot-tempered, and Lu Bu also knows that Yide is hot-tempered."

"If Yide doesn't go, Lu Bu will suspect that our army has some plans!"

"This will ruin our military's plans!"

"Now Yide is going to ask for it. Lü Bu is in the wrong and cannot send troops. He can only send them away with money and food. This will not only allow him to get more food and grass, but also vent his anger. Why not do it?"

Liu Bei listened and seemed to understand something, while Qiao Rui stroked his beard and praised:

"Military Advisor's words hit the nail on the head. That's exactly what is happening!"

Although he had just joined Liu Bei's army, he had great admiration for both Liu Bei and Qin Zhen.

He admired Liu Bei because of his benevolence and magnanimity, while he admired Qin Zhen because of his ability.

In his opinion, it was rare for Qin Zhen to be able to understand people's hearts at such a young age, and he was also able to plan major events. Among the people he had seen, it seemed that only Zhou Yu could match him!

But I think Zhou Yu is still young and may not be Qin Zhen's opponent!
While he was thinking, Liu Bei asked:
"I know what the military advisor means!"

"But I still don't know the military advisor's strategy for taking Xiangxian County!"

Since Zhang Fei's disturbance had no effect, it was time to talk about the problem of Xiang County.

Qin Zhen knew that Lao Liu had been coveting Xiang County for a long time, so he stopped trying to keep him in suspense and got up from his seat and said:

"As for the strategy of taking Xiang County, it's actually not that difficult!"

"The reason why I said the time was not right before was that Yuan Shu had just proclaimed himself emperor at that time. If our army took Xiang County, Yuan Shu would definitely attack." "Secondly, our army was in Pei County at that time, and the counties in the south were all owned by the enemy. If our army moved, the enemy would definitely know. If the enemy held on, it would be difficult for our army to take it!"

"Today, our army has arrived at Xiapi under an excuse to defeat Yuan Shu together with Lu Bu. Yuan Shu and Lu Bu are enemies, and the Xiangxian garrison commander knows that our main force has left, so he will definitely relax!"

"Combining the two, I say the time has come!"

Liu Bei listened and nodded repeatedly.

In fact, he had been thinking about the timing issue that Qin Zhen mentioned before, but as time passed, he gradually understood the timing issue that Qin Zhen had always emphasized.

It can be said that now that Xiang County is off guard, it is their best opportunity!

Thinking of this, he laughed:

"Could it be that the military advisor intends to have our army march quickly back to Xiang County and attack them by surprise?"

"No, if it's just a surprise attack, there's no need to make such a big fuss!"

Qin Zhen was not surprised that Liu Bei said this. In fact, anyone with a discerning eye could see that he was planning a surprise attack.

But if it was just a simple surprise attack, he wouldn't need to make such a big noise!

What he needs to do is to reap the greatest results at the lowest cost!

"Although the surprise attack is possible, it is not the best strategy to deal with our army!"

"If we launch a surprise attack, even if we capture the city, we will suffer heavy casualties!"

"Our army is not numerous to begin with, and we cannot afford such losses!"

"The best way is to capture the city and its soldiers without bloodshed, and bring the entire Pei Kingdom under our control in a lightning speed!"

When Liu Bei heard this, he was shocked and said hurriedly:
"But I don't know how the military advisor's plan will be implemented?"

Qin Zhen saw this, put his hands behind his back and raised his head and said:

"If we talk about the strategy of fighting without bloodshed, it is nothing more than capturing the thief and the leader!"

"This is why I must capture Zhang Xun!"

"Because Zhang Xun is in a very high position, if he were to get into danger, the Xiang County garrison commander would not dare not save him!"

"I originally wanted to set up an ambush, let them reinforce, kill them on the way, take their troops, and persuade Xiangxian to surrender!"

He turned around and smiled at Qiao Rui:
"But now that General Qiao has turned from evil to good, our army no longer needs to resort to this strategy!"

"I want to fake a military order, fish out some dried plums, and have General Qiao go straight to Xiang County!"

When Qiao Rui heard this, he nodded and did not reject it. Obviously, he had just discussed this matter with Qin Zhen.

When Liu Bei saw this, he frowned and said:
"This plan is feasible, but what if Mei Qian finds out about the situation here and suddenly returns to the army?"

"I heard that Mei Qian is frivolous and cunning, so he must be hard to trust!"

"General Qiao has just joined our army. How can we let him carry out such a risky plan?"

Qiao Rui saw this and quickly expressed his opinion:

"Don't worry, my lord. Rui has now awakened and is ready to make achievements. He is not afraid at all!"

Liu Bei shook his head and refused.

It was Qin Zhen who saw it and said with a leisurely smile:

"You don't know, my lord. This plan may seem dangerous, but it is not!"

"Just when we were talking about this, Lord Ming arrived. General Qiao didn't know what happened next, so I told you two directly!"

"It is because Mei Qian is cunning that I want to let General Qiao enter the city. This move is not to seize the city or gain Mei Qian's trust!"

"Enter the city to gain Mei Qian's trust?"

Qiao Rui looked strange and said:

"Could it be that after entering the city, I will not be in charge of the city's defenses?"

"Exactly! General, there is no need to control the city's defenses!"

Qin Zhen looked at Liu Bei and said:
"Just as you said just now, after Mei Qian left the city, he would definitely send out spies to investigate everywhere. What happened here cannot be hidden from this person's investigation."

"Even if he doesn't come out, he is suspicious and will definitely not believe it!"

"General Qiao will definitely go with a small group of troops."

"If there are too few, we can't control the situation, and if there are too many, we won't be able to defeat the enemy. Three thousand is the best."

"These three thousand people are naturally not suitable for Xiangxian."

“So the first thing the general did after entering the city was to fabricate news, saying that our army and Lu Bu were about to go to Xiang County, and let Mei Qian withdraw to the city!”

"Mei Qian has long been on guard against our army, and he knows that Lu Bu has won. He will not doubt the general after hearing this!"

"And seeing the general reporting the news, I will not doubt it."

"Mei Qian knows that he has few soldiers, so he will leave the general to help guard the place. Before our army arrives, the general does not need to take any action."

"As soon as the main force of our army arrives at the city, we can kill this man."

"In this way, the general can stabilize the situation in the city, and our army will provide support outside the city. The enemy will be leaderless and have no choice but to surrender!"

"If we use this plan, we only need to kill Mei Qian, and our army can take all the money, food, and soldiers in Xiang County!"

"Of course, this plan is not without risks. If the general cannot kill Mei Qian, he will be controlled by him. Our army will be outside the city and it will be difficult to respond."

"Besides, if the soldiers under your command leak the information, the general will also be in danger."

"So I want you to take 3,000 soldiers from your own army, with Chen Dao as the commander, and have them change into Yuan Shu's military uniforms and follow you!"

At this point, Qin Zhen stopped and bowed to Liu Bei, saying:
"This is our army's overall plan to seize Xiang County! Whether it works or not is entirely up to you, sir!"

When Liu Bei listened, a gleam of light flashed in his eyes. He did not expect that Qin Zhen's plan was not only not simple, but also quite complicated.

But the effect is immediate!

If he succeeds, he will be able to take over Xiang County without losing any military force!
If he could take over all the troops in Xiang County, plus his own troops, he would have an army of 30,000!

These 30,000-strong army are not just new recruits, more than half of them are elite soldiers under Yuan Shu!
Once Xiang County is taken, Pei State will be within his grasp, and his combat power will skyrocket!
No wonder Qin Zhen had so many plans. It turned out that everything was for him to take over Pei State completely, not only the city, but also all of Yuan Shu’s savings in Pei State!
How can anyone else match this kind of planning ability!
(End of this chapter)