Chapter 238 Things are changing After the news came that Liu Bei bypassed Xiangyang and went south to quell the rebellion, undercurrents surged in the city of Xiangyang. Cai Mao breathed a sigh of relief but also felt a severe headache. In theory, Liu Bei's behavior was a taboo in military strategy. As long as he cut off Liu Bei's retreat, no matter how powerful Liu Bei was, he would be crushed to death in Jingnan. But he dared not. On the one hand, Liu Bei was fighting under the banner of revenge for Liu Biao and suppressing the rebellion, and he did not harm the people of Jingzhou at all, so he had no reason to do so. Even if he succeeds, he will probably lose the support of the people and will no longer have the possibility of controlling Jingzhou. On the other hand, Zhang Fei was still leading his troops in Yuzhou. If Liu Bei was really killed, Zhang Fei would probably come for revenge at all costs. He didn't want to get himself into trouble if other princes took advantage of the situation. Just when he didn't know what to do, Liu Bei's envoy arrived.
The envoy said that the food and fodder they brought this time were insufficient, and Jingzhou was rich, so he hoped that Cai Mao could assist in providing logistical support. After hearing this, Cai Mao wanted to find an excuse to refuse on the spot. But Kuai Liang behind him stopped him. Although Cai Mao did not understand the reason, he still told the envoy to give a reply after discussion. "Zirou, what are you thinking about? We are supplying food and grass to Liu Bei. Isn't this aiding the enemy?" Cai Mao couldn't help but ask after the messenger left. The brothers Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue looked at each other, looked at Cai Mao who seemed a little impatient, and sighed slightly. "If we refuse, will it be morally justifiable?" "It's already this late, what's the point of talking about morality?" Cai Mao said impatiently. "If we lose our moral principles and Liu Bei uses the lack of food and supplies as an excuse to return to Xiangyang, what should we do?" Kuai Liang looked at Cai Mao and asked. "Then if we give Liu Bei food and grass, won't he attack Xiangping after he puts down the rebellion?" Cai Mao sneered. "At least it gives us some time. Besides, Liu Bei taking control of Jingzhou may not be a bad thing." "Haha. Do you think Liu Bei is a man like Liu Biao? He has more than 200,000 elite soldiers under his command, and he is assisted by Chen Qun, Zhang Fei and others. By then, Jingzhou will no longer be our Jingzhou." "In such a chaotic world, choosing a strong leader to join may not be a bad thing. If Liu Bei can achieve success in the future, wouldn't it be better for us?" Cai Mao heard this and knew that he could not convince the two men, so he turned around and left: "You are right, so let's leave it at that for now. Let's see if Liu Bei can quell the rebellion in southern Jing first." Looking at Cai Mao's disappearing back, Kuai Liang narrowed his eyes slightly. "Brother, how is it?" Kuai Yue came closer and asked softly. "The fact that Cai Mao and Cao Cao were secretly colluding is probably true," Kuai Liang said meaningfully. "The death of the lord is strange, and the most suspicious person is Cai Mao, who was in charge of the protection. This guy always likes to pretend to be reckless, but in fact he is completely unpredictable." "If it weren't for my brother's wisdom and realization that Cai Mao had been friends with Cao Cao since childhood and had already had contact with him, I'm afraid no one would have thought that it would be him." Kuai Yue sighed.
"Be careful with your words. There is no evidence that our lord was assassinated. Don't talk nonsense." Kuai Liang said in a deep voice. "However, Cai Mao's attitude is already very clear. The Cai family is now the only powerful family in Jingzhou. Once Liu Bei comes, they will be the first to bear the brunt." Kuai Yue said. "What is the attitude of the Pang and Huang families?" asked Kuai Liang. "It's still the same, just standing by and watching. These two families are very cautious and are not willing to bet at all. Brother, what should we do?" Kuai Liang's expression was slightly tense: "You should be able to see clearly the current situation in the world, especially the situation in the Central Plains. We have no better choice." "I understand, I'll go get ready. By the way, should we be on guard against Cai Mao?" "No need. He is a smart man. He won't act rashly if something is impossible." As the news of Liu Bei's march south to Jingnan to quell the rebellion came, Yuan Shu led an army of 200,000 to Yuzhou without hesitation, preparing to retake Runan. This time, Yuan Shu almost gave it his all. The reason why so many troops could be freed up was, on the one hand, because Huang Zu chose to withdraw his troops out of concern after learning that Liu Bei had taken over Jingzhou. On the other hand, Yuan Shao’s main force was also gathering towards Qingzhou. There are almost no threats around Yuan Shu now, so he can attack Yuzhou without any scruples, leaving tens of thousands of garrisons in the rear. "boom!" Yuan Shao slammed his fist on the table. Fortunately, he had improved his energy a lot during this period, so he restrained his strength and did not smash the table. "Cao Mengde, how abominable!" Feng Shui turns. He had previously plotted against Cao Cao, who was determined to take Xuzhou, and now he was being plotted against by Cao Cao. After Liu Bei went south to Jingzhou, Tian Ze actually chose to send troops to southern Hebei. The reason behind this is naturally self-evident. Ju Su could not help but sigh and said, "My lord, although Cao Mengde is hateful for not considering the overall situation, the matter is now done and we can only solve the issue of Ji'nan first." Ju Su was not unprepared for the possible countermeasures that Cao Cao might take afterwards. But he didn't expect that Cao Cao's counterattack would come so quickly and so fiercely. Ever since he learned of Liu Biao's death and Liu Bei's migration south, he guessed that Cao Cao was behind this. He used Jingzhou to lure Liu Bei away, and then took the opportunity to seize Yuzhou. However, Liu Bei left behind a large number of troops, and they and Yuan Shu were also around Yuzhou. Under normal circumstances, Cao Cao would have been lucky to capture half of Yuzhou at most, and that would have cost him a lot of losses. This deal was not very cost-effective, so Cao Cao chose to sell Yuan Shao without hesitation. "Tian Chengshou's army's march south must have been secretly instigated by Cao Mengde, who intends to take over Yuzhou alone. This is an open conspiracy, and I'm afraid we have no way to resolve it." Even Shen Pei, who is good at countering conspiracies, couldn't help but sigh. He hated being tricked by his enemies the most.
Before it was Tian Ze, now it’s Cao Cao, this feeling of being manipulated really makes him irritated. "Since we know it was Cao Cao's plan, can't we tell Yuan Shu?" Guo Tu couldn't help but ask. Suddenly, everyone looked at him as if he were a fool. Not to mention the relationship between Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, with Yuan Shu's brain and temper, could he listen to anything? Moreover, even if they were in Yuan Shu's position, they would probably not be able to hold back. Because this is Yuan Shu's best chance to break the impasse. If he doesn't take action, he will be suffocated to death in Huainan. But the problem is that they all know that Yuan Shu is a rookie! A rookie who has dreams and refuses to admit defeat is destined to give away territory, money, and troops to other princes. Previously, he gave them to Liu Bei, and now he gives them to Cao Cao. "If we act like we are ready to fight to the death, can we force Cao Cao to go north? Or can we divide Yuzhou equally?" Xu You asked. "Impossible." Xun Chen sighed. "We were at fault in this matter. We already had an advantage by taking Xuzhou. If we want to interfere in Yuzhou now, it will be impossible." "Cao Mengde will never compromise, otherwise he would not have adopted such a strategy that would hurt both sides." (End of this chapter)