Three Kingdoms: Cao Ying's mastermind, from nine to five

Chapter 279: I'm a fool!Insufficiency and conspiracy!I am also angry!

After the four letters entered Liu Biao's eyes, he kept frowning and gasping for breath, which made Cai Mao still break out in cold sweat, not daring to take a deep breath.

This coercion seems to have returned to his youth, but only Liu Biao knows that his body is already very uncomfortable, and the feeling of dizziness can almost break his will at any time.

But at such a time, one must not show any sense of weakness, otherwise, if others see it, one may face the difficulty of being forced into the palace in a short time, leading to the early arrival of the day one least wants to see.

Therefore, even though the back of his clothes was drenched with sweat, Liu Biao was still holding on. After reading all the letters, he understood Liu Bei's thoughts.

He sighed, looked at Cai Mao rather resentfully, held up the letter and asked puzzledly: "You knew he was in trouble, why didn't you tell me?"

"Even if we don't send troops to rescue, we still need to support them with food and grass."

Just as Cai Hao was about to speak, Kuai Yue beside him immediately cupped his hands and said, "My lord, according to your orders these years, we will give Liu Bei's army [-] shi of grain every season."

"Up to now, more than 16 stones have been given."

"If you give it again during the war, it means that he is my soldier in Jingzhou. But to the outside world, Liu Xuande has always claimed to be a guest. More food should be given."

Kuai Yue's face was calm and he didn't panic at all. The moment he spoke, Cai Mao was relieved, and finally someone was willing to stand up and say a few words for him.

Otherwise, if one person gets scolded, it's hard to know when he is a head. Kuai Yue himself is in charge of internal affairs in Jingzhou, and he has jurisdiction over money and grain dispatching, so it will be more weighty if he speaks it out of his mouth, and maybe the lord can hear it in his heart.

"Yes, my lord..."

Cai Mao quickly agreed with a smile.

"Shut up, account, I haven't settled it with you yet! Huh!" Liu confessed to him with a glance, causing Cai Mao to shrink his neck quickly and retreat behind Kuai Yue.

Liu Biao took a deep breath, slowly calmed down, looked at Kuai Yuehou with softer eyes, and immediately said: "What Yidu said is true, but when I first took office, you followed me around and eradicated the sect thieves with me. , You and I have been kind to you for at least ten years, don't you know my intentions?"

"There will be a harvest every year for mere food and grass. It takes generosity and benevolence to get the help of heroes from all over the world. Don't you wait for the same and gather under my command?"

"Although Liu Bei needs food to raise soldiers, he didn't ask me for hundreds of thousands of shi in one breath, but raised them slowly. In other words, even if I hired him to guard the gate for me, I should give him some salary every year, otherwise why? Can you die for me?"

"Liu Bei's two righteous brothers, Guan Yunchang was the man who showed his might before the Hulao Pass, and Zhang Fei is also a fierce man like the northern Jiwu Hou Dianwei."

"Both of these two were rare fierce generals at the time," Liu Biao coughed a few times when he said this, and continued: "It should be worth making friends with. Why are you so stingy when you mention Liu Bei?"

"All kinds of admonitions, let me drive them away, or treat them slowly, aren't they celebrities?!"

Kuai Yue cupped his hands again, with a smile on his face, and his attitude was still neither humble nor overbearing, and said: "During the Chuping period, Liu Bei lived in the plains and attached himself to Gongsun Zan, but after a few years he turned south and took away Gongsun Zan's three thousand cavalry, as well as a lot of money and grain. When Yuan Shao fought, there was no help. In the third year of Chuping, Liu Bei lived in Xuzhou as a guest. After Tao Qian accepted him, he gave food, soldiers and horses, and handed Xiaopei to Liu Bei to garrison. He scolded Tao Qian as an ungrateful thief."

As soon as this remark came out, all civil and military officials nodded immediately. Under the great reputation of this emperor, there are indeed some unexplainable things in it. I don't say what his heart is, but the result is always chilling and ridiculous.

Therefore, after hearing this passage, many people began to whisper again, and they did not hide their dislike and concern for Liu Bei.

As for Liu Biao, he also couldn't refute his words. He felt more and more pain in his chest, and his breathing gradually became clogged.

But Kuai Yue hadn't finished speaking. He heard the whispers of scribes behind him who supported his remarks, so he spoke more confidently. He turned around and glanced at the crowd, then turned to Liu Biao and said, "Then, during the Jian'an period, there was turmoil in Xudu, and Cao Cao was abandoned. And go, raised the flag to attack Cao, and joined Yuan Shao's command. At this time, during the period of Cao Cao's command, he served as a shepherd in Yuzhou and recruited more than [-] soldiers! He took away thousands of fine cavalry! There are also countless supplies, money and food!"

"In less than three years under Yuan Shao's command, Guandu fought against the Cao family, and Liu Bei immediately fled south. He saw the right time and left. At the same time, he took away tens of thousands of stones of Yuan Shao's rations, plus several thousand soldiers and horses."

"Now that I'm in Jingzhou, I've managed it properly, achieved outstanding results, won the hearts of the people and the army, recruited more than [-] soldiers, and received food and grass as a gift from the lord. So where should he go next?!"

Kuai Yue chuckled, "My lord, I also heard that Liu Bei secretly visited virtuous friends in order to ask Jingzhou scholars to be guests and advise him, but he knew that he could not settle down in many places. Loyalty?! If it wasn't for the deep friendship with Liu Bei, how could there be a scholar who would serve you?"

"My lord still needs to give him troops, horses, money and food. Once he knows that the situation is over and Jingzhou is invincible, where should he go to settle down next? Of course, the money and food and the recruits will be taken away together. He is now in the hearts of the people in Xinye, and even the people can be taken away."

"Isn't that scary enough?"

"Could it be that the lord is willing to cut his own meat and feed others? What is the current situation in Xinye? Liu Bei's own words alone don't count. You have to wait for the spies to see it. He said that the situation is critical, and the lord will immediately give food to the soldiers. , This is taking advantage of your benevolence and righteousness for nothing."

"well said!"

Someone in the hall yelled loudly, "I believe that this statement is clear from top to bottom, and clearly states its benefits and harms. My lord should listen to it!"

Liu Biao saw that it was his master book.

Immediately afterwards, countless voices of whispers continued to amplify, all of whom were amazed by this remark. Kuai Yue was thinking about Jingzhou, not Liu's reputation.

According to Liu Bei's deeds in the past, it is impossible for the money and food to be cheated by him. If he is cheated like this, it is a pity not to mention that many civil and military people still have grudges in their hearts, and I am afraid it will not fade away for a long time.

"Yidu, this statement makes sense, but how should I respond to Liu Xuande, he and I belong to the same royal family, and are both relatives of the Han family, how can I refuse to save him!"

"My lord, I feel that this may not be the case in Xinye. Let's send cavalry to the border to have a look first. If it is true what he said in the letter, then make a decision. But if Liu Bei is alarmist, why should we be led by the nose by him?"

Kuai Yue persuaded him earnestly.

These remarks are naturally much more tactful than Cai Mao's, and compared to Cai Mao, Kuai Yue's achievements in those years were also extremely high, otherwise the current Kuai family would not be so prominent, he himself is very talented and good at foreign and internal affairs .

So Liu Biao had to consider his words, and after listening, he really fell into deep thought.

Not long after, Liu Biao felt that he couldn't hold on any longer, dizziness hit him suddenly, and his sweat was about to gather into big beans and roll down. He nodded and sighed immediately, "Okay, as you said, Cai Hao, immediately send the cavalry to Xinye , Be sure to investigate the military situation and report it truthfully, if there is any more concealment, it will be handled by military law."

Cai Mao's expression froze, and he immediately clasped his fists together: "The last general obeys orders!"

……

Newfield.

During this period of time, Cao Ren set up camps outside. The distance should be only [-] li, and he could besiege and attack at any time, but he was still gathering soldiers and horses, hoarding food and grass in the camp, and storing them near water sources, so that Liu Bei would not set fire to the camp. Chance.

And Zhang Xiu of Wancheng had already captured Rangcheng with heavy troops, and then took the surrounding counties, occupying more than half of Nanyang's territory.

Liu Bei was watched by Cao Ren from this distance, and he couldn't divide his troops to rescue him at all. He could only watch helplessly as the city was breached bit by bit.

Fortunately, I followed Guan Yu's advice and collected the people and food and grass into Xinye, where they can be hoarded to provide money and food to ensure that the hearts of the people and the army are not lost.

At this time, he can only hope that Liu Biao will come to help, otherwise he will have to fight to the death and wait for change.

But for this variable, he couldn't think of any other variable. Jingzhou watched coldly, Cao Ren stared at him, all the troubles before and after were all included, and he didn't know when he would be able to find peace.

"Brother, Jingzhou didn't reply, and still hasn't! Let's not wait?!"

Zhang Fei came up the tower from below and said angrily.

He still endured it, otherwise his voice should be louder. At this moment, this sentence made Liu Bei's heart cold, and it was a little bit colder.

"Is it really not coming to rescue? Could it be that something happened to Brother Jing Sheng in Xiangyang?"

Liu Bei pondered to himself, Zhang Fei said urgently: "Now that all the places have fallen, do we really want to guard a Xinye City, and everyone waits to die?"

"Brother, don't be burdened by love, it's fine if he doesn't come!"

"Don't worry," Liu Bei didn't want to persuade Zhang Fei, and said in a deep voice, "Cao Ren hasn't attacked the city yet, so we can afford to wait."

"Oh, this Cao Ren is stationed outside, but he just doesn't attack. Who knows when he will attack the city?! Twenty days have passed, and his food and grass are still bottomless, which shows that he must have prepared several times. Bread of the Moon!"

"One hundred thousand soldiers and horses, food for several months, what a huge amount, how can we not attack?!"

Zhang Fei's eyes widened, his face full of puzzlement, so much food consumption was enough to feed their army for a year, if they didn't want to attack the city, how could they make up for the loss?

There must be income. Could it be that Cao Mengde is so rich that he is generous enough to march and fight without fear of loss? !
He has to support at least one million troops in the territory, so much food? !

"Yide, don't be in a hurry. Maybe Cao Ren is waiting for us to withdraw and chase after us. What I want now is the attitude of Brother Jingsheng."

Liu Bei calmed down, and said in a good voice: "Think about it, if we retreat now, but Xiangyang does not come to help, Cao Ren can capture Xinye within half a day, and then pursue after a little rectification, what should we do?"

"Then just set Xinye on fire, so that he can't catch up! Let's just flee to the hinterland of Jingzhou, if we can't find a place, we will defend a city!"

"This, how can it be like this?!"

Liu Bei was taken aback by the words.

He couldn't laugh or cry on his face, how terrible it was to burn the whole city. Wouldn't it be that the houses of 20 people were burned, and it could block the pace of Cao Jun, but he would definitely be scolded as a thief.

Originally, when Cao Jun came, he didn't necessarily slaughter the city and loot. According to their past traditions, the people's things were not violated, and they had to open warehouses to release grain. This is a good military practice that Xu Bowen has advocated for many years.

As a result, you are now a guard, and you have a reputation for loving the people and benevolence on weekdays. Before you leave, you set fire to his ancestral house.

In contrast, the reputation is instantly ruined.

If Cao's army is extremely vicious and likes to slaughter cities, it's fine, they are also an army of benevolence and righteousness, and it will be useless for your local scholars to scold you for many years.

As long as he enters the city and favors the government a little, the people will immediately understand his benevolence.

When Liu Bei didn't know how to answer, Sun Gan also ran up from the city, with a slightly surprised expression on his face, he ran to Liu Bei and grabbed his arm, "My lord, good news, good news!"

"Xiangyang sent cavalry to arrive, and they are already near Xinye. The commander-in-chief is Cai Mao's lieutenant-general Cai Zhong! He is also his brother!"

"This person has little power, but he came here on behalf of Cai Mao. It is said that Liu Biao personally dispatched him to inquire about the situation of the battle!"

"it is good!"

Liu Bei's face was suddenly pleasantly surprised!These days I have not been able to open my face, but now I am really relieved to laugh, if Cai Hao is willing to resist Cao, then the entire Jingzhou should be able to mobilize hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, at least resist Cao Cao for several years!
It will never be captured by him so quickly. Waiting for the years to pass, there will always be variables.

"Come on, let's go see Cai Zhong immediately!"

"Ugh."

Zhang Fei sighed impatiently, and followed closely behind with a straight face. When he was silent, his black-faced copper bell eyes followed fiercely like a stocky black panther.

People around him know his aura and dare not persuade him, for fear of being beaten and scolded in the future.

Liu Bei turned his head and stared at him, and asked: "Yide, don't say a word of rashness later, it's best not to speak."

"Got it, big brother."

Zhang Fei nodded angrily.

Not long after, I saw Cai Zhong leading the army coming from the city, but there were only a few dozen riders. He got off his horse in front of Liu Bei, and immediately saluted with fists in his hands, "I met Uncle Liu Huang in Xia Caizhong."

"The general is here to support me, Xinye?!"

"That's natural!"

Cai Zhong is not tall, a little fat, with a nice smile on his face, squinting his eyes when he smiles, he is very kind, and he looks good-natured, he seems to be an easy-talking person.

When Liu Bei asked this question, he quickly sneered and said, "Uncle Emperor, don't be surprised. Some time ago, the lord fell ill and became unconscious, which kept the medical officer busy for a long time."

"What? Brother Huang fell ill?!"

Liu Bei was shocked, "What about now?!"

"It's getting better now, so after reading the letter, let me wait to check the current situation of Xinye, how much food and grass it needs, how much it is damaged, and how the battle is going."

"After the final general understands it, he will go back immediately to ask for help and rations, and ask the emperor uncle to explain the current battle situation to me!"

Not here to help! ?

Zhang Fei took a deep breath behind him. His sullenness seemed to have reached the extreme now, his eyes were wide and bloodshot, and he wished to stab this man to death with a spear.

But I remembered my elder brother's instructions just now, so I refrained from posting.

Check it out! !

You have been arguing for a long time, and you haven't decided anything yet, so you have to take your time!
This is a war, do you think it is a military exercise? !
"This, this...General, the situation is critical now, how can you look at it again!?"

Liu Bei was a little bit expectant just now, but he suddenly became cold again. Does this mean he still refuses to believe me? !Send someone to find out the truth first!
If you act like this, all the civil and military people in the room are mediocre! !

bastard!

Insufficiency and conspiracy! ! !

Liu Bei cursed inwardly, clenched his teeth, and his cheeks puffed up.

Filled with anger, he said, "Please, General, let me tell you about the current battle situation."

(End of this chapter)