The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 385 Cao-Liu Alliance
When Kuai Liang heard this, he glanced at the other party and said, "Do you want to submit to the court?"

"Cao Cao defeated Sun Quan and occupied Jiangxia. The next step is to attack Jingzhou." Cai Mao took out a letter from the side and handed it to Kuai Liang, saying, "I have an old relationship with Cao Mengde. This is sent by him."

Kuai Liang took it and saw that the leader first greeted him and then told Cai Mao that he was about to go hunting in Jingzhou with Liu Bei, which was obviously a threat to him.

"One takes Xiangyang, and the other takes Nanjun. They are really arrogant!" Kuai Liang snorted coldly.

"In fact, Jingzhou was given to Liu Bei. Cao Cao took Xiangyang in exchange for Yuzhang County." Cai Mao said dimly, "This move was to join forces to deal with the Prime Minister."

Kuai Liang nodded. As the Cavalry Army occupied Hebei and defeated the Wuhuan, the Cavalry Army was determined to move south. Cao Cao and Liu Bei began to get anxious. They couldn't wait to unite, and Jingzhou was what they had to seize.

"The Prime Minister occupies most of the world. Cao Cao and Liu Bei are definitely not his opponents. In this case, we might as well surrender Jingzhou to the Prime Minister." At this point, Cai Mao no longer concealed what he was thinking.

After all, the younger brother of this person has already surrendered to the imperial court. I think he will not refuse.

Cai Mao guessed correctly on this point. When the Jingzhou army was defeated in Jiangxia, Kuai Liang also wanted to surrender to the court. Kuai Yue went to Chang'an. The two brothers had never lost contact and knew a lot about the court's policies. They found that surrendering to the court was not unacceptable.

The thing Cai Mao regrets most now is marrying his daughter to Liu Bei. Otherwise, there wouldn't be the situation today. He didn't expect that he actually took in such an ungrateful person.

Liu Bei was known to be a hindrance to his lord, and he was right.

Kuai Liang whispered, "Now I am worried whether the Prime Minister will go south."

"Don't want Jingzhou that's given to you for free? The Prime Minister wouldn't be so unwise!" Cai Mao exclaimed.

Do you want to take it down with swords and guns if you don't want to give it to me for free? This is something only a fool would do! Cai Mao thought that Qin Shou would not be so stupid.

"Let's write a petition together! Ask the cavalry to march south. Alas, the noble families in Jingzhou may have to bleed." Kuai Liang said with a wry smile.

No matter what the policy of the Cavalry Army is, with the arrival of a new force, the local forces will be cleansed, which means that the aristocratic families in Jingzhou will suffer losses.

"It's better than surrendering twice." Cai Mao finally made up his mind.

Kuai Liang also began to lobby the aristocratic families in Jingzhou to prepare to submit to the imperial court.

Outside Chaisang City, Zhuge Liang was wearing a feather fan and a long scarf, looking elegant, while Guo Jia, on the other side, was wearing a cloak and holding a heating stove. Next to them, there was also warming wine. There was a small iron pot on the red clay stove, and the aroma wafted from the pot. There were mutton, tofu, and river fish. They were living a very comfortable life.

This is the hotpot that came from Chang'an and is said to have been invented by Qin Shou.

However, the point is not here. Zhuge Liang and Guo Jia, one is Liu Bei's military advisor and the other is Cao Cao's military advisor. It is abnormal that the two of them met in Chaisang in winter.

"Don't you stay away from alcohol and women? Why are you still drinking?" Zhuge Liang couldn't help asking when he saw Guo Jia drinking again.

"Don't believe Dong Feng's words completely. It's fine if he doesn't take Wu Shi San, but it's really too uncomfortable to not drink or have sex. Just drink a little bit, a little bit." Guo Jia sighed. "Dong Feng also went to Luoyang?" Zhuge Liang asked.

Guo Jia nodded and said, "These people gathered together to compile a book called Medical Classics. As you know, now that the court has papermaking and printing technology, compiling Medical Classics is much easier. I don't know what Qin Shou is thinking. He has more brains than us."

Guo Jia seemed not to notice the gloom on Zhuge Liang's face and kept talking to himself.

"Do you think the Qin bandits will go south?" Zhuge Liang quickly changed the subject.

"You don't want something given for free? Xiangyang and Nanjun are right in front of us. Cai Mao and Kuai Liang have both lost their fighting spirit. You don't want Jingzhou given for free?" Guo Jia chuckled.

Zhuge Liang nodded. If this matter were in his hands, he would definitely be more than happy to send troops to occupy Jingzhou immediately. If he didn't do it now, would he have to wait until later to seize it by force?
What's more, Qin Shou was a very good person to his soldiers, and he often achieved the greatest victory at the lowest cost. How could such a person give up the opportunity to easily seize Jingzhou?

"As long as he comes, the entire Jingzhou will be his burial place." Guo Jia said seriously.

"The Cavalry is concentrating food and grass in Luoyang, Shouchun and Nanyang. Their intention to march south is obvious. We just don't know the enemy's main attack direction for the time being. We will provide a loophole for them now, which will definitely attract them." Zhuge Liang shook his feather fan and didn't feel cold at all.

The Cavalry Army is strong in men and horses, has a large number of troops, and covers a wide geographical area. They can launch an attack on any enemy along the Yangtze River. Cao Cao and Liu Bei, who have slightly fewer troops, will not be able to cope with this situation.

So this is the current strategy, to lure Qin Shou to Jingzhou for a decisive battle. Jingzhou has a dense water network, which is not conducive to cavalry combat. The northern troops moving south are very likely to suffer from acclimatization problems. It is not impossible to turn defeat into victory if they fight in Jingzhou.

In fact, there was no other way for Cao Cao and Liu Bei to do this as the strength gap between the two sides was too great.

"If the Cavalry Army doesn't go south, then it will benefit Envoy Liu in the end." Guo Jia suddenly laughed and said, "We can occupy Jingzhou for free."

Cao Cao was not a fool like Yuan Shao, who had no ability but wanted to be the boss. He actually stood in front of Cao Cao and resisted the attack of the Cavalry Army.

Guo Jia had reason to believe that if Cao Cao occupied Xiangyang and refused to exchange it, Liu Bei would be delighted with it. He would hope that Cao Cao could stand in front, resist Qin Shou, consume Qin Shou's troops, and hide behind to recuperate.

Zhuge Liang smiled slightly after hearing this. If he didn't have some skills, he would have been easily defeated by Cao Cao.

"The Qin bandits have already set out to return to Chang'an. I'm afraid they will take new actions soon. Fengxiao, if you and I can't cooperate sincerely this time, I'm afraid next year will be the day of our death." Zhuge Liang warned.

"Don't worry, my lord is not a short-sighted person. He still understands the principle of the lips and teeth being cold." Guo Jia said seriously.

Faced with the threat from Qin Shou, both Cao Cao and Guo Jia understood that only by joining forces could they curb Qin Shou's attack and preserve their own territory.

"That's great." Zhuge Liang took another sip of the wine, stood up, and left.

He also had to prepare to seize Nanjun. If he could seize Jingzhou sooner, Liu Bei's strength would be enhanced and the possibility of self-preservation would be greatly increased.

(End of this chapter)