Chapter 235 Chen Qun's Plan Zhang Fei, a man of rough but meticulous mind, designed a plan to annihilate the main force of Yuan Shu's army in one fell swoop. He then took advantage of the victory and quickly wiped out the remnants of Yuan Shu's army in the counties of Runan, completely occupying Runan County. The news of Yuan Shu's army's defeat in Runan soon spread throughout the world. All the princes were stunned. I marvel at Zhang Fei's wisdom and courage, and also lament at Zhang Xun's cowardice and stupidity. At the same time, they also discovered that Yuan Shu was strong on the outside but weak on the inside. Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao are almost completely opposite types. They are best at fighting when the wind is in their favor. They are as fierce as a tiger when bullying the weak, but their fighting power is weakened when facing strong enemies like Cao Cao and Liu Bei. Especially after Sun Ce took away Sun Jian's former subordinates, Yuan Shu could not find any capable general except Ji Ling. The former overlord of the South has now become a transport captain. This wave not only delivered Runan to Liu Bei almost intact, but also brought along 50,000 soldiers and a lot of money, food and military equipment. After Zhang Fei captured Runan, the damage done to his soldiers was not as much as the damage done to their replacements.
Most of these soldiers originally came from Runan, and their lives under Yuan Shu were quite hard. After being captured, they naturally chose to surrender without hesitation. Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were both heartbroken when they heard the news. What a great blood pack! It's a pity that Liu Xuande took advantage of it. Yuan Shao was fine, as he had just taken over Xuzhou and was mentally balanced. However, Cao Cao was so anxious and angry that he lost several nights of sleep. He was in a bad mood and did not notice that Xi Zhicai, who had been on leave for several days, also looked very bad. Almost at the same time when Zhang Fei took over Runan, Liu Biao got into trouble. During a banquet, a guest assassinated Liu Biao in public and then committed suicide. It was later discovered that this man was a scholar from Changsha, who was angry about Liu Biao's attack on the counties in southern Jing, so he came to assassinate him. Liu Biao's death was unexpected, and Jingzhou was in a state of emptiness at that time. Most of the main forces had already gone south to quell the rebellion, and Huang Zu's army in Jiangxia was still in a stalemate with Yuan Shu. God-given opportunity! "My lord, Jingzhou is without a master and the people are unstable. This is a gift from God to you. You must take it as soon as possible, otherwise something bad will happen." Chen Qun reported to Liu Bei as soon as he heard the news. "Yes! My lord. Jingzhou has thousands of miles of fertile land and a population of nearly four million. Once we take it over, our strength will grow rapidly and will be no less than that of Tian Ze and Yuan Shao." Du Xi said excitedly. They thought they were about to face a stalemate among the three powers in the Central Plains, but they never expected that happiness would come too suddenly, and they suddenly had the opportunity to take control of Jingzhou. Looking at all the princes in the world, no one had a better opportunity than Liu Bei. Jingzhou was almost delivered to Liu Bei. Needless to say, Liu Yan of Yizhou in the west has been guarding his one and a half acres of land without moving, and doesn't care about this matter at all. In the east, Yuan Shu of Huainan was pinned down in Lujiang by Huang Zu, and Sun Ce in Yangzhou had not yet taken over Yuzhang County, so he could not reach out at all. Not to mention Jiaozhou and Sili in the north and south, only Liu Bei is suitable to rule. Liu Bei said with some embarrassment: "Liu Jingsheng and I are both descendants of the Han Dynasty. His body is still warm. How can I seize Jingzhou from him?" Du Xi frowned, but Chen Qun quickly said, "My lord, it is precisely because Liu Jingsheng and you are both descendants of the Han Dynasty that you should be in charge of the overall situation in Jingzhou."
"Liu Jingsheng's eldest son is not yet an adult. How can he rule Jingzhou? If you, my lord, do not control the situation for this nephew, I am afraid that his end will be extremely miserable." "Jingzhou is now without a ruler, rebellions are raging in the south, and the war with Yuan Gonglu is raging in the east. The situation is extremely critical and we urgently need you to come and help us." "When Liu Jingsheng's eldest son grows up, if he is virtuous, we can hand over Jingzhou to him. This way, we will not let down the people of Jingzhou, and we will not let down the spirit of Liu Jingsheng in heaven." Hearing Chen Qun's words, Liu Bei nodded with some hesitation: "Well. Civil strife in Jingzhou is not a good thing after all. I will temporarily handle this matter on behalf of Brother Jingsheng." Chen Qun and Du Xi heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this. It was finally resolved. As long as Liu Bei is willing to send troops to Jingzhou, it will be fine. As for Chen Qun's suggestion to return Jingzhou to Liu Biao's eldest son in the future, it's just something he listens to. If their fight for world domination goes smoothly, what would be the harm in appointing him as the governor of Jingzhou? Not to mention sidelining his position, as long as he is not allowed to hold military power. If things don't go well, Liu Bei would never hand over Jingzhou to him even if he is too soft-hearted, otherwise it would hurt both himself and others. However, how to send troops to Jingzhou is also a problem. The situation in Jingzhou is not very good now. The two battlefields of the rebellion in the south and the battle between Huang Zu and Yuan Shu were not easy to deal with. They still can't figure out Huang Zu's thoughts. If he also has the ambition to become the lord of Jingzhou, it will be difficult for him to control Jingzhou. "My lord, the situation in Jingzhou is chaotic. If we want to quell the chaos, we will need at least several good generals and an army of more than 100,000. But if we do that, our Yuzhou troops will be empty." "Moreover, once the surrounding princes learn that we are attacking Jingzhou, they will certainly send troops to harass us and will not allow us to grow stronger. If Yuzhou is short of troops, there is a risk of losing it." Du Xi said with some hesitation. At first they were too excited, but now they felt very uncomfortable. There was a great opportunity in front of them, but their own strength was indeed not enough. As for the question of whether to take Jingzhou, they never thought about it. Jingzhou must be taken, even if it means giving up Yuzhou. Not to mention that today's Yuzhou is no longer as populous and wealthy as Jingzhou. As far as the situation is concerned, there is no hope at all if we continue to be deadlocked with Yuan Shao and Cao Cao in the Central Plains, but in the south, there is much more room for maneuver. On one hand, one option is to take Jingzhou and possibly lose Yuzhou, while on the other hand, one option is to give up Jingzhou. Is this still a choice? "Changwen, what do you think?" Liu Bei looked at Chen Qun. Chen Qun frowned. Military strategy was not his strong point, but he was still quite proficient in it. Just as Du Xi said, to take control of Jingzhou one would need an army of 100,000, and Liu Bei had to lead the troops himself to make it legitimate. In this case, Yuzhou will inevitably be empty. Yuan Shao had just taken over Xuzhou, so perhaps there wouldn't be much movement. At most he would just give up some territory around the State of Lu. But Yuan Shu, whom he had just offended, and Cao Cao, who was watching from the side, were both big troubles. However, Cao Cao was seriously injured in the previous battle in Hebei, and he might not have enough troops to take Yuzhou. Yuan Shu had just suffered a terrible defeat, so the chances of him sending troops again were probably not high.
"My lord, sending troops to Jingzhou is inevitable. We have no choice now. We have to do it even if it means the loss of Yuzhou." "To be on the safe side, you can immediately order all places to recruit young and strong men, strengthen vigilance, and prepare to defend. At the same time, appoint a general to lead elite troops to garrison Yuzhou. We don't ask for much victory, as long as we can slow down the enemy's offensive." "I will write to the noble families in Jingzhou, explain the pros and cons, and strive for their support. My lord, you can lead the army to quickly capture Nanyang and Nanjun, use Liu Jingsheng's eldest son as your banner, uphold justice, and win back the hearts of the people." "Then recall the army in Jingnan, stabilize Huang Zu in Jiangxia, and return to Yuzhou. Once the situation stabilizes, it won't be too late to take over Jingnan." "If we can cross the two states of Jing and Yu, take Yizhou in the west and Huaiyang in the east, gather the power of the south to march north to the Central Plains and unify Hebei, then our great cause can be accomplished and the Han Dynasty can be revived!" Hearing Chen Qun's powerful words, Liu Bei and the generals in the hall felt their blood boiling, as if the restoration of the Han Dynasty was just around the corner. (End of this chapter)