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

Chapter 86: Joint March, Yuan Huan's Sigh

Faced with the conditions put forward by Zhuge Jin, it has to be said that Lu Bu was tempted.

Even though Liu Bei has tricked him again and again, Lu Bu is still somewhat tempted.

Because of the current situation, Shouchun City is right in front of him, and Liu Bei has already taken control of the situation in Huaibei, so he is now unable to advance or retreat.

If he wanted to advance, the way ahead would be blocked and he would not be able to capture Shouchun.

If he wanted to retreat, this trip would be in vain. Even if he stabs Liu Bei now, at most he can vent his anger, and there will be no practical benefit.

On the contrary, as long as Liu Bei's promise counts, he will be able to get a large amount of money and food once Shouchun falls.

Lu Bu had no choice but to refuse such conditions!
But after being tricked so many times, Lu Bu subconsciously still resisted:

"Sir, your words are just empty words, and it is hard to believe them!"

"You must know that our army has no basis here. What if you go back on your word after we take Shouchun?"

But as soon as he said this, Zhuge Jin shook his head and said:

"General, what are you worried about? You must know that our army is here today because of the imperial edict, and the general is here for the sake of state affairs!"

"We are allies, we shouldn't make enemies!"

"The reason why our army proposed this proposal is because it is difficult for our army to take Shouchun independently, and we need the help of the general."

"Since the two families jointly captured the city, they should share the spoils."

"But because the general's base is far away in Xiapi, it is difficult for him to gain a foothold here, so our army decided to reward him with money and food."

"After the matter is done, the general can take the money and food and leave. Our army will occupy the city and fight against the traitors. This is a matter that benefits both families. Why should our army regret it?"

“Furthermore, the ancient sages said: If a man does not have faith, he is not worthy of it.”

"My lord came from the north, and his reputation is known all over the world. If the general doesn't believe my words, can he not believe my lord's reputation?"

"If we go back on our word, even if we take Shouchun in the future, how can we stay here?"

Listening to Zhuge Jin's words, Lu Bu couldn't help but nodded secretly.

That's the logic. This is a matter of mutual benefit for both families, and there is no reason for Liu Bei to go back on his word.

Besides, apart from anything else, Liu Bei’s credibility is still acceptable.

At least until now, nothing has been done that is treacherous.

As for what happened in Xuzhou before, it seemed that he was the one who started the trouble first, and Liu Bei did not show any sign of regret or attacking him.

After thinking about it, Lu Bu couldn't help but nodded again:

"Since Liu Xuande really wants to defeat the enemy, I will agree to it. However, if you want to give up the city, you should first give up Xiquyang to my army."

"As for whether to punish the thieves or not, let's go to Shouchun first!"

Hearing Lu Bu's words, Zhuge Jin smiled and said:
"So I know that the general is magnanimous. If the general agrees, you may as well give me a handwritten letter to take back. I also have a handwritten letter from the master here."

"With this mutual agreement, the general can rest assured. If our army really regrets it in the future, the general can use this book as evidence!"

Qin Zhen specifically asked Lu Bu to make a promise. On the one hand, it was to restrict Lu Bu, and on the other hand, it was to make it easier for him to turn against him.

But Lu Bu didn't know what Qin Zhen was thinking. When he heard that he was going to submit the alliance, he felt relieved and raised his hand and said:

"Show me Liu Bei's handwritten letter. If it is as you said, I will write back to you!"

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Jin handed over the letter written by Liu Bei. When Lu Bu took a look at it, he found that what was written in the letter was no different from what Zhuge Jin said.

Seeing this, Lu Bu asked someone to bring some cloth and also wrote a reply letter.

Even though Lu Bu was a military man, he was actually quite cultured. He used to be a clerk under Ding Yuan. A few official documents certainly could not faze him!

After writing a handwritten letter, he gave it to Zhuge Jin to read. However, after reading it, Zhuge Jin shook his head and said:
"Marquis Wen's letter is missing one sentence: After taking the city, you must not bring harm to the people!"

"You must know that our army only took the city this time, and all the money and food were seized by Marquis Wen. Our army does not ask for money and food from the palace, but only hopes that the people can be safe. I hope Marquis Wen will remember to restrain his soldiers and not lead them to plunder!"

As soon as he said this, Lu Bu raised his eyebrows, and Hou Cheng and others also looked unfriendly.

Because this restriction is not on Lu Bu, but on them.

After all, the motivation for generals to attack cities in this era was to burn, kill and loot. If this was announced, all their efforts would be in vain.

But in the end, everyone was still afraid of Lu Bu's power and dared not say much.

Lu Bu also knew that Liu Bei had always been of this temper, so he did not think it was strange. After taking the letter back, he added a sentence and said:
"Sir, please take a look and see if there are any mistakes or omissions!"

Zhuge Jin took it back and took a closer look, then nodded and smiled:

"General, you are a trustworthy person. Now I can go back and report!"

He kept talking about being generous and trustworthy, which made Lu Bu feel relieved. He couldn't help but stroke his beard and smiled:

"Sir, please go back and report back. Remember to have Xuande withdraw his troops as soon as possible!"

Zhuge Jin heard this and nodded:

"General, rest assured. When I return, our army will immediately surrender the city!"

After saying this, he bowed to everyone before leaving.

After Zhuge Jin left, Lu Bu's smile faded, and he looked around at everyone and said:
"Tell me, everyone, is there any plan behind Liu Xuande's plan this time?"

Everyone was speechless when listening. If you suspected there was a plot, why didn't you respond first? Now that you have responded, you are asking what the plot is?
But even though everyone was complaining in their hearts, they still thought about it for a while.

After thinking about it, I couldn't think of anything unusual. After all, the city was right in front of me. I couldn't enter the city without money and food, right?

With this in mind, Xu Si and Wang Kai stepped out one after another and said:
"There should be nothing unusual about Liu Bei's behavior!"

The generals naturally did not speak, only Hou Cheng was dissatisfied with Zhuge Jin's attitude just now, and said to Lu Bu:

"My lord, please be careful. I have seen this man speak eloquently and he is not a trustworthy person!"

In response to Hou Cheng's suggestion, Lu Bu waved his hand indifferently:

"It doesn't matter. Let's see if Liu Bei gives up the city!"

After discussing this for a while, seeing that no one had anything constructive to say, Lu Bu waved his hand and asked everyone to leave.

After they adjourned the meeting, Zhuge Jin walked out of the camp and headed back towards the city.

After meeting Liu Bei and Qin Zhen, he talked about various matters and then gave them the letter that Lu Bu had given him.

After reading the handwritten letter, Liu Bei encouraged Zhuge Jin and asked him to leave. Then he smiled and said to Qin Zhen:
"Although Zhuge Ziyu is young, he is quite steady and can be entrusted with important matters!"

When Qin Zhen heard this, he knew that Liu Bei valued Zhuge Jin very much.

After all, Liu Bei's responsibility to take on important tasks is not something that everyone can accept.

Knowing this, he nodded and smiled:
"Zi Yu is broad-minded, kind and honest. If you are willing to help me with great things, then there is nothing wrong with that!" Liu Bei listened and smiled slightly. He did not say much, but just picked up the handwritten letter and said:
"Now that Lü Bu has agreed, what should our army do?"

Seeing that he was talking about serious matters again, Qin Zhen said:

"Lü Bu has never been trustworthy, so you should treat him with trust, only then can you gain his trust!"

"If we agree to his surrender of the city, we will order the garrison to withdraw and let Lu Bu enter the city first. Then we will invite Lu Bu to march west to Shouchun City first to test the enemy's strength!"

No matter what conspiracy or tricks there are, they must be implemented in the end. If you don't go to Shouchun City to take a look, it is just empty talk to discuss taking the city.

As a general, Liu Bei knew what was going on and agreed immediately.

On the one hand, he sent people to ask Xu Sheng to withdraw from Xiquyang, and on the other hand, he ordered Cai Chen to prepare to move south, mobilize troops and attack Shouchun.

Liu Bei gave up the city, and Lu Bu led his troops westward. When they arrived at the city of Quyang, they saw that the city gate was open and Liu Bei's army had indeed left.

After entering the city and opening the treasury, they saw thousands of dan of grain stored there, as well as a large amount of money and supplies.

Seeing this, Lu Bu was very pleased and praised to his attendants:
"Liu Xuande is truly a trustworthy man. He has given us the city and left us baggage, which will help our army gain a foothold here!"

Seeing that Liu Bei gave him so much face, Lu Bu naturally restrained his soldiers and did not allow them to plunder.

In his opinion, since they were going to rob the rich in Shouchun anyway, he didn't care about the money and food from the poor guy.

After resting for two days, Liu Bei sent a messenger to invite him to join the army.

Lu Bu was also anxious to take the money and food in the city, so he accepted Liu Bei's invitation and went down to Shouchun City together.

As soon as they did this, the news spread to Shouchun.

When Ji Ling heard that the two armies had joined forces, he immediately panicked.

Because after Yuan Huan's plan, they heard the news that Liu Bei was marching into the two counties.

He thought the two families had become enemies, but when he saw Sun Ce heading north, he felt relieved.

Unexpectedly, before Sun Ce arrived in Shouchun, the Liu and Lu families had already come together. He could not see the situation clearly, so he hurriedly called Yuan Huan and asked:

"Liu Bei is really hard to deal with. I heard that he has taken two cities. I thought our two families would become enemies."

"I didn't expect that this person could actually convince Lu Bu to join us in the march."

"Now that the two families have not yet become enemies, what should we do?"

When Yuan Huan heard this, he frowned and said:

"General, do you know how Liu Bei persuaded Lu Bu?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Ling immediately shook his head and said:

"It's strange to say that Liu Bei had already captured Yinling and Xiquyang."

"Lü Bu was caught in the middle, in a dilemma!"

"I thought the two families would become enemies, but unexpectedly I heard that Lu Bu entered Xiquyang the day before yesterday, and then I heard that the two families joined forces. I really don't know why!"

Listening to Ji Ling's words, Yuan Huan thought for a while, then sighed:

"If that's the case, I'm afraid our army won't be able to wait for Sun Ce!"

When Ji Ling heard this, he looked very strange:
"Sir, why do you say that? Although the Liu and Lu families have never been enemies, isn't it true that Sun Ce has not yet arrived?"

"At present, Sun Ce has already headed north from Hefei and will reach Shouchun in five days at most. Why do you say that our army's plan will never succeed?"

Seeing that Ji Ling didn't understand what he meant, Yuan Huan looked bitter:
"General, you don't know that our army's plan to mobilize the three families is that the interests of the three families are the same, so we use the city to plan for Sun and Liu, and use money and food to plan for Lu Bu."

"And now Liu Bei is like this, it shows that he has seen through our army's plan!"

"He took the city first because he was not afraid of being at odds with Lu Bu. If that was the case, why did he give it to him?"

"Liu Bei's army must have discovered that Sun Ce was heading north, and saw through our plan, so they made friends with Lu Bu in advance to break our plan of luring the three armies to attack each other!"

"Since they can persuade Lu Bu, they can persuade Sun Ce!"

"If Liu Bei can really persuade Sun Ce, then how can our army use Sun Ce?"

When Ji Ling heard this, he was surprised:
"How can Liu Bei do this? He can persuade Lu Bu with the city, but how can he persuade Sun Ce?"

"It's nothing more than a promise to help Sun Ce take Hefei!"

Yuan Huan shook his head without even thinking:

"The only way to defeat our army's plan is for Liu Bei to promise to hand over Hefei to Sun Ce."

"Now Sun Ce is heading north because Hefei is difficult to capture."

"And Liu Bei is here now, and it is difficult for him to take Shouchun. If Liu Bei promises to take Hefei with Sun Ce, and let Sun Ce help him take Shouchun, then the difficulty between the two families will be solved!"

At this point, he couldn't help but sigh:
"Envoy Liu has found a capable man this time. With him here, even if our army makes another plan, it will be useless!"

Until now, he has not found out who Liu Bei's military advisor is.

But he was sure that this guy was a loach!
It seemed like it was about to enter the net, but the opponent actually got out of it again.

Having such a person as an opponent really leaves him helpless!
However, there was one thing he couldn't understand. Judging from Liu Bei's various actions, it was clear that he wanted to take control of Huainan.

Otherwise, he would not have risked enmity with Lu Bu to seize Yinling.

But now, seeing Sun Ce heading north, Liu Bei's army changed their attitude.

Is he preparing to divide Huainan equally with Sun Ce?

Or does Liu Bei have a backup plan that can force Sun Ce to give up his territory?

He couldn't quite understand this point.

If it is the former, it is not in the interests of Liu Bei's army. If they do not take Hefei, they cannot take Lujiang, and at most they can control the Huaihe River line.

If it is the latter, then Liu Bei’s military plan is probably much bigger than it appears now!
It can be imagined that Liu Bei was probably playing a big game of chess, and the entire Huainan seemed to be the chessboard, and they were just chess pieces.

But they are just chess pieces, so who is the one playing chess with Liu Bei?
Sun Ce? Lu Bu? Chen Yu? Or Cao Cao?

While Yuan Huan was thinking, he heard Ji Ling ask:
"Now that our plan is useless, what should we do?"

Compared to Yuan Huan, he is under greater pressure now, because Yuan Huan is just giving advice, and if the plan fails, it will not have much impact.

But he was the main general in Shouchun City. If he had no way to deal with the enemy troops at the gates of the city, it would be disastrous.

However, Yuan Huan was obviously not such an irresponsible person. Seeing Ji Ling like this, he said to Ji Ling:
"General, don't worry. Although the enemy has not fallen into our trap, we still have troops in the city. We can still fight."

"Now that the enemy has not arrived, we can send spies to find out their movements first, and then discuss strategies to deal with them!"

When Ji Ling heard this, he thought that empty talk was no solution, so he simply sent out spies to investigate the situation.

(End of this chapter)