The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 322: Cao and Liu Join Forces
Cai Mao looked at the boy in front of him. He was less than ten years old, handsome and lovable. Cai Mao liked him very much in the past, and even wanted to support him to become the governor of Jingzhou and the general of Zhennan. After all, he was his sister's son.

But the situation is different now. My nephews are closer to me than my grandchildren.

Moreover, Liu Bei and Liu Biao are different. Liu Biao is old and cannot defend Jingzhou, but Liu Bei may be able to do so.

But at this time, Liu Biao asked Liu Cong to attend the banquet, as if he understood something.

He glanced at Kuai Liang, who shook his head.

Cai Mao sighed immediately. What could he do if he knew? A few days after Liu Biao fell ill, the power of Jingzhou had been seized by these aristocratic families, and Liu Biao had very few troops to command.

Liu Biao asked Liu Cong to come, in addition to eliminating the factor of discord between Liu Qi and Cai Mao, but more importantly, it was probably to remind himself that Liu Cong also had Cai family blood. However, Cai Mao no longer cared.

Liu Bei's son is also of Cai blood, and is also the legitimate son, so Cai Mao attaches more importance to cooperation with Liu Bei.

"Second Young Master, does the Lord have any other instructions?"

Cai Mao asked.

"Oh, this time father is going to send my eldest brother to Chang'an to pay tribute to the emperor."

Liu Cong said quickly.

"Pay tribute to the emperor?" Cai Mao nodded but said nothing.

Since Zhang Xiu was defeated, the official road from Jingzhou to Chang'an was opened, and Liu Biao began to restore the tribute to Guanzhong. He was showing the world that he was still a relative of the Han Dynasty.

It’s just that before it was Yi Ji, Wang Can and others, but this time it was Liu Qi.

Liu Qi was sent to Chang'an at this time, and with the boy coming to see Cai Mao, it is not difficult to see what Liu Biao meant. This clearly meant abandoning Liu Qi!
Cai Mao quickly figured out the problem and sighed.

If Liu Biao could be ten years younger and Liu Cong could be ten years older, Cai Mao would not have made this choice. The young ruler was young and the country was in doubt. The young Liu Cong could not command Jingzhou to fight against the cavalry.

The experienced Liu Bei, with his civil allies Zhuge Liang, Jian Yong, and Sun Qian, and his military allies Guan, Zhang, and Zhao, as well as the aristocratic families of Jingzhou, are enough to resist Qin Shou. It would be best if he could unite with Cao Cao.

"My lord, Cao Cao has sent Man Chong here."

Sun Qian walked in wearing auspicious clothes and with a happy face.

Everyone's face changed when they heard this. Man Chong's coming at this time represented a signal. Liu Bei looked at Zhuge Liang, and Zhuge Liang nodded, which immediately made him feel relieved.

"Man Boning is here, so he is a guest. Kong Ming, go and greet him for me."

Liu Bei responded quickly.

Man Chong's coming to Jingzhou at this time was naturally not just to congratulate him on his marriage, but to form an alliance with him.

Yuan Shao was defeated, and Ma Chao was defeated again, so Cao Cao was anxious. Not only Cao Cao, but also the aristocratic families in Jingzhou were anxious. Otherwise, if he wanted to get the support of these people, he would have no idea how long he would have to wait.

After Ma Chao's defeat, Xiliang could not pose a threat to the Cavalry Army in the short term, and Qin Shou could concentrate on dealing with Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao, who had just been defeated, had not yet fully recovered his strength, so how could he resist Qin Shou's attack? Yuan Shao, who had lost the natural barrier of the Yellow River, was bound to be defeated sooner or later.

That's why Cao Cao came to me at this time and wanted to join forces with me.

Besides being happy, Liu Bei was more surprised. The marriage between him and the Cai family was only agreed upon in recent days, but Cao Cao had already received the news. It could also be seen that Cao Cao had probably already noticed Jingzhou and even wanted to seize it.

In fact, although Cao Cao was paying attention to Jingzhou, he really didn't know about the marriage between Liu Bei and Cai. He originally came to contact Liu Biao, but after entering the city, he learned about the marriage between Liu Bei and Cai. After a little thought, he bought some things and immediately went to Cai's Mansion to meet Liu Bei.

It has to be said that the people under Cao Cao's command were all powerful people, and Man Chong was the best. When he found out about the marriage between Cai and Liu Bei, he immediately discovered something unusual and knew that Liu Bei had allied with the aristocratic family of Jingzhou.

At this moment, in Moling City, Cao Cao handed the letter to Xun Yu, Guo Jia and others, saying: "Man Boning reported that Liu Bei and Cai Mao of Jingzhou are getting married. This big-eared thief is really powerful! Qin Shou will be trapped in the small place of Xinye, and the other party has the ability to turn the tables. He is a formidable enemy!"

After reading the letter, Xun Yu passed it to Guo Jia and said, "Liu Bei has always had great ambitions, and Qin Shou treats him very well. However, he still abandoned the Cavalry and went to Jingzhou, which shows what he is thinking."

"He was building up his reputation in Xinye, relying on Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others to help Liu Biao quell the clan crisis. Now he has the support of Zhuge Liang and others, so he will unite with the Jingzhou family. Humph, both sides are not good people, and Liu Biao is just letting a wolf into the house. What a pity." Guo Jia pointed out the mystery incisively.

"It is common knowledge that the Cavalry Army attacked the aristocratic families. It is rumored that he ordered the aristocratic families in Hebei not to support Yuan Shao, but in fact, no one listened to him." Cheng Yu also knew the reason why the aristocratic families in Jingzhou joined forces with Liu Bei.

In the final analysis, it was all about interests. Facing the Cavalry Army, the aristocratic families of Jingzhou did not want to give up the interests they had obtained, so they colluded with Liu Bei.

"This Liu Bei is not Liu Biao. Qin Shou cannot seize Jingzhou, but it is equally difficult for us to seize Jingzhou." Cao Cao said regretfully.

He really wanted to seize Jingzhou and then Yizhou, and thus divide the world with Qin Shou, but now it seems that this idea is impossible to succeed, as Liu Bei is more difficult to defeat than Liu Biao.

Especially now that Liu Bei has gained the support of the Jingzhou families, from now on, he will no longer be no better than Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in generals, or no better than Sun Qian and Jian Yong in literary studies.

There were so many talented people in Jingzhou that even Cao Cao envied them and wanted to take them for himself. Although the troops had not been trained for a long time, their navy was still quite strong. In addition, there were abundant food and grass, so it was very difficult for Cao Cao to get Jingzhou.

"The big-eared thief is really lucky!"

Cao Cao had to admit that Liu Bei was really lucky. Along the way, he was always supported by noble people who sent him soldiers, food, and territory, from a county to a prefecture, and now a state.

"This person is insidious and cunning. He will definitely not have a good ending in the future." Cheng Yu said disdainfully.

He looked down on Liu Bei, especially this time he teamed up with the Jingzhou family to plot against Liu Biao. He thought that Liu Biao accepted him when he was in dire straits. Now he wanted to seize the other party's foundation. If it spread out, people all over the world would look down on him.

"But such a person will be our ally in the future. If we lose him, we will be destroyed by Qin Shou."

Cao Cao sighed.

In order to survive, even if the opponent is annoying, you have to join forces with him to deal with more powerful enemies.

(End of this chapter)