The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 366 Liu Bei's Opportunity

Yuzhang, Liu Bei looked at the letter in his hand and a look of joy appeared on his face.

"Cai Mao and Kuai Liang are preparing to rescue Jiangxia. Jingzhou is short of troops and the Kuai family is unable to support the four counties in southern Jing. Cai Mao wants us to quickly seize the four counties." Liu Bei handed the letter to Zhuge Liang and said.

"This is God helping our lord. Without the support of the Kuai family, the four counties in southern Jing will not be able to mobilize the Wuxi barbarians, and their food and fodder will be in short supply. This is a perfect opportunity for us." Zhuge Liang said hurriedly.

"What a pity Jiang Xia."

Liu Bei showed a trace of regret.

Compared with the four counties in southern Jingzhou, Jiangxia is the most prosperous place in Jingzhou, with developed commerce and a large population. If Liu Bei could occupy Jiangxia, he believed that his strength would surge.

"My lord, Jiangxia belongs to Cao Cao. Cai Mao and Kuai Liang will not go to rescue it. They are going to annex Jiangxia. Huang Zu is brave but not wise. Not to mention Cao Cao, even Cai Mao and others can easily defeat him." Zhuge Liang analyzed.

He also wanted to get Jiangxia, but he knew that Jiangxia was not something Liu Bei could covet. Cao Cao wanted to get Jiangxia to build a navy and curb the harassment of the Cavalry Navy to Jiangdong.

Once Liu Bei captured Jiangxia, he would be besieged by Cao Cao and Jingzhou. Ultimately, it was a problem of his own strength. Liu Bei's strength was too weak. With only Yuzhang County, it was already a great achievement for him to capture the four counties in southern Jingzhou. How could he have the energy to deal with the changes in Jiangxia?

"Since the attention of the three parties is focused on Jiangxia, we have enough time and energy to deal with the four counties of Jingnan. Military Advisor, why don't we send all our troops forward and seize the four counties of Jingnan in the shortest possible time."

Liu Bei knew that this was a rare opportunity, so he wanted to go all in.

"My Lord, you are right." Zhuge Liang also knew that this was a rare opportunity. Once Cai Mao and the other two failed, Kuai would definitely turn his attention to the four counties in southern Jing, which would cause trouble for Liu Bei. It would be better to take a big risk. If things went well, he could get the four counties in southern Jing this time.

Once the four counties of southern Jing were in his hands, Liu Bei would have a foothold and a basis for fighting against the Cavalry Army.

"Hey, news has come from the north that the generals under the command of Qin thief are invincible, most of Hebei has fallen into the hands of Qin Shou, and Yuan Shao's three sons have been sent to Youzhou."

When Liu Bei thought of the news from the north, he suddenly felt unhappy. The enemy was too powerful and their progress was far better than his.

Zhuge Liang immediately comforted him, "My lord, don't worry. Even if Qin Shou goes south, it will probably take a year or two. By the time he goes south, we will have already taken control of the four counties in southern Jing. We will have a foothold."

Liu Bei nodded and felt relieved. If he could get the four counties in southern Jing, his strength would be greatly increased and he would be considered a local lord. If he joined forces with Cao Cao, he might be able to resist Qin Shou's southward advance.

"Gongsun Kang of Liaodong has long been dissatisfied with the Central Plains and wants to split the Liaodong area. If Yuan Shao's three sons go to Liaodong and join forces with Gongsun Kang, it will not be easy for the Qin thieves to eliminate these four people." Liu Bei was somewhat gloating.

"My lord, I'm afraid that things are not that simple. Although Gongsun Kang wants to establish a separate regime in Liaodong, he does not want to offend the Qin thieves. If the Qin thieves force him too much, they will naturally let these four people join forces. But if Qin Shou temporarily withdraws his troops and stops in Liaodong, Gongsun Kang and Yuan Shao's three sons will definitely have internal strife. In the end, the Qin thieves will benefit."

Zhuge Liang shook his head and said.

"The Qin bandit is brave and believes that no one in the world can be his opponent. Even if he finds out that the three sons of the Yuan family have joined forces with Gongsun Kang, I'm afraid he won't take it to heart and will still launch an attack on the enemy." Liu Bei said confidently.

Zhuge Liang nodded, this was indeed very similar to Qin Shou's personality.

He chuckled and said, "If that's the case, there won't be any major changes in Hebei in a short period of time, and we still have enough opportunities." In fact, the situation in Hebei has exceeded the calculations of Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang.

Qin Shou, who had always been advancing triumphantly, seemed very stable in the war in Hebei. Wei Yan, Huang Zhong and others divided their troops into three groups and marched across Hebei.

After losing Yuan Shao's protection, no one in Hebei could resist the cavalry. Pingyuan and Nanpi were lost one after another, and the three Yuan Tan brothers were forced to retreat to Youzhou.

Zhang Yan also followed Qin Shou's order to attack Youzhou. The three sons of Yuan were in danger and did not dare to fight with them.

In Youbeiping, the three Yuan brothers gathered together, looking extremely embarrassed. Their eyes were filled with worry and fear. During this period of time, the three brothers were like dogs that had lost their home.

"Youzhou is poor. Gongsun Zan couldn't resist my father back then. Now, with the strength of the three of us, I'm afraid we can't resist the Cavalry Army. We must make other plans." Yuan Shang said.

Not to mention that the Yuan family's foundation in Youzhou is not very good, even if they have the support of the people, they cannot solve the current problem. This is because the strength of the two sides is too different. With the power of one state, it is impossible to stop Qin Shou's army.

"Then retreat." Yuan Xi snorted coldly: "We will go to Liaodong and look for Gongsun Kang. Gongsun Kang occupies Liaodong, and he will definitely not allow Qin Shou to go to Liaodong. We also have more than 10,000 troops with us, and we can resist the Cavalry Army together with them."

"Once we repel Qin Shou, we can turn the tables, defeat Gongsun Kang and seize his territory. Liaodong is a cold and bitter place, far away from the Central Plains. Once Qin Shou attacks us, it will consume a lot of food and grass." Yuan Tan's eyes flashed with murderous light.

In his mind, he would not only deal with Gongsun Kang, but also his two younger brothers and annex their troops.

After hearing this, Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang looked at each other and nodded. If they wanted to solve the current dilemma, they might have to take this approach.

"Then let's act now! I guess Qin Shou will lead the army personally this time. Humph, this brutal guy has already slaughtered the noble families in Hebei and made rivers of blood flow. It's a pity that the troops under our command are insufficient, otherwise, we would definitely be able to take the opportunity to destroy him."

Yuan Tan was very angry, and the three brothers also sighed.

Although the three men fled to Youzhou, the situations in Jizhou and Qingzhou were also heard by them. Because of Yuan Shao, all the aristocratic families in Hebei were purged.

What made Yuan Xi even more angry was that his wife Zhen Mi entered the General's Mansion again and became Qin Shou's woman, which led to Qin Shou's settlement with Zhen.

When Yuan Xi thought of Zhen Mi's stunning beauty, his heart felt as if it was being cut by a knife.

"There are also foreign tribes on the grassland. Kebi Neng has already gathered a lot of troops. I estimate that Youzhou will soon be in the midst of a war. The first people the Qin thieves will have to face are not us, but Kebi Neng's troops."

Yuan Xi said gloatingly.

"Then we can join forces with Ke Bineng to deal with Qin Shou together."

Yuan Tan also said.

(End of this chapter)