Chapter 119: The inertia of history, Zilong is a ruthless man with few words Although Liu Bei's uncle and nephew had been discussing matters in the mansion for a long time, it was still early. Qin Zhen was not as much of a warrior as Liu Bei, and he liked to sleep in when he had nothing to do. So when Liu Bei sent someone to call him, Qin Zhen was still sleeping. Hearing Liu Bei calling him, he thought something had happened, so he got up quickly, washed up quickly, and walked into the mansion. As soon as he arrived at the mansion, he saw Liu Ye and Liu Bei discussing something there. Seeing this, he was a little surprised, thinking that Liu Bei and Liu Ye didn't say much to each other yesterday! Why do they look like they are very close today? What happened while he was sleeping? Is it that Liu Bei is too charming, or is it that Liu Ye lacks self-control? But no matter what, it’s a good thing. At least it proves that Liu Ye was captured by Liu Bei! With Liu Ye coming out, he won't be so busy in the future.

So as soon as he entered the hall, he smiled and said: "I was wondering why the lord had summoned me, but I didn't expect it was Zi Yang who came!" "Zi Yang is so talented, he must be here to offer advice!" Listening to Qin Zhen's words, Liu Bei raised his head and smiled: "The military advisor must have just gotten up. I am sorry to disturb your rest." "But just as the military advisor said, Zi Yang is here to offer advice!" "Since Ziyang is having a hard time deciding on this strategy, I asked the military advisor to come and give me advice." Liu Ye looked at Qin Zhen like this, smiled, and saluted: "I hope you will forgive me for my unreasonable words yesterday!" He is a very smooth person and it is difficult for him to open up to others, but he has a good impression of Qin Zhen. After all, we can know from Liu Bei's words that the reason Liu Bei came to him was because of Qin Zhen's recommendation. Although he didn't know how Qin Zhen knew about this minor character of his, he still owed him the favor of recommending him. Therefore, his words were more respectful than yesterday. Seeing his behavior, Qin Zhen smiled without any concern and took a seat. "No need to be polite. I know that Zi Yang must have been testing me with his words yesterday. I shouldn't blame him. Zi Yang is so talented. His advice today must be extraordinary!" "I wonder what advice Zi Yang has for me?" Seeing that Qin Zhen came up with business, Liu Ye stopped being polite and repeated to Qin Zhen the strategy he had just discussed with Liu Bei. Then he looked at Qin Zhen and asked: "I wonder what the military advisor thinks of this strategy?" Qin Zhen listened to the details and nodded repeatedly.

In fact, Liu Ye's strategy was similar to what he thought. The reason why he dared to ask Liu Bei to bring 5,000 soldiers was because Qin Yi was not as difficult to deal with as Ji Ling. Because in the original process, Qin Yi and Qi Ji were not loyal to Yuan Shu. Long before Yuan Shu's death, he was persuaded by Liu Fu to lead his troops to join Cao Cao. This kind of people usually don't defend the city to the death, and they have plenty of opportunities to plot. But he didn't think of going to persuade them to surrender. Because he had never met Qin Yi and didn't know Qin Yi's character, his attempt to persuade him to surrender might not succeed. However, as a local, Liu Ye has a certain understanding of Qin Yi. If Liu Ye says that it can succeed, it is likely to succeed. The only thing that surprised him was that Liu Ye actually wanted to take the initiative to plot against Zheng Bao! It should be noted that in the original story, Zheng Bao died at the hands of Liu Ye. Moreover, it was Liu Ye who killed Zheng Bao personally and took advantage of the situation to recruit the surrender of Zheng Bao's former subordinates. However, at that time, Liu Ye was just taking advantage of the power of others and acting in the name of Cao Cao. Unexpectedly, now that the situation has changed, Liu Ye has come up with this idea again. Looking at Liu Ye's appearance, it seems that he is planning to use Zheng Bao as a scapegoat to gain a step for his advancement! Thinking of this, he couldn't help but secretly marvel at the power of historical inertia. Some things, no matter what happens, will happen. While thinking, he knocked on the chopping board, pondered the pros and cons for a while, and said in deep thought: "Zi Yang's plan is risky, but it is feasible. Zheng Bao is a man who looks strong but is weak inside. He is not to be feared." “But I’m afraid that his subordinates will be evil and hurt Zi Yang!” At this point, he turned to Liu Bei and said: "It just so happens that Zilong is heading south now. He has not yet accomplished anything, so he must make some achievements." "I see that Zilong is loyal and brave, and can handle the important task. It would be better to send Zilong and Ziyang southward." "This way, Zilong can achieve merit while keeping Ziyang safe!" Seeing Qin Zhen mention Zhao Yun, Liu Bei thought for a moment and then nodded: "If Zilong goes there, he will be able to keep Ziyang safe!" He was well aware of Zhao Yun's fighting ability. With Zhao Yun's entourage and guards as well as Liu Ye's wisdom, he should be able to reduce the risk to a controllable range. "I wonder what Ziyang thinks?" Seeing that Liu Bei finally agreed, Liu Ye nodded and smiled, even though he didn't know who Zhao Yun was: "Uncle, rest assured. I will be able to complete this task for you!" After saying this, he bowed to Liu Bei again to show his determination. As the three men made this plan, Liu Bei's army naturally took action again.

First, Liu Ye returned home and told Liu Pu everything, expressing his determination to work for Liu Bei. Seeing this, Liu Pu was naturally very pleased. First, because his son finally met a wise leader; The second reason is that Liu Bei is a really good person. If you follow Liu Bei, Liu Bei will be successful in the future, and naturally you will not be able to avoid the benefits of his family. But when he heard that Liu Ye was going south to persuade Zheng Bao to surrender, he naturally felt worried. It is really pitiful for parents in the world. They want their sons to be successful, but they are also afraid that their sons will get hurt. However, upon seeing this, Liu Ye drew his sword and performed a set of sword techniques on the spot, using his strength to show that Zheng Bao was nothing to worry about. When Liu Pu saw this, he laughed and scolded again, and simply stopped worrying. After Liu Ye had taken care of his family affairs, Liu Bei naturally called Zhao Yun to talk about everything and gave Zhao Yun a task: to ensure Liu Ye's safety no matter what. Zhao Yun agreed to this by clasping his fists. Let alone a group of bandits, even if he was asked to break into Hefei city, he would dare to charge with a gun! When the two brave men got together, they naturally hit it off and headed towards Chaohu Lake with more than 200 riders. After the two men left, Liu Bei listened to Qin Zhen's advice and asked Xiahou Lan to lead 800 soldiers to capture Lu'an, while their main force went straight to Jundao. It’s because now with the departure of Sun Ce and the transfer of Qin Yi, cities such as Lu’an and Jundao are already empty. It can be easily captured without many soldiers and horses. As a result, Liu Bei divided his troops into two groups and marched towards the south. Naturally, the news of Liu Bei's march south could not be hidden from Qin Yi's eyes. Before Liu Bei arrived at Jundao, the news had already reached Hefei city. Speaking of Qin Yi, there are not many records about him in history books. The only record is that he and Qi Ji joined Cao Cao and became Liu Fu's experience package. However, since Yuan Shu was able to place Qin Yi in a place like Lu'an, he knew that Qin Yi had his own talents. Upon hearing that Liu Bei's troops were heading south in two groups, Qin Yi summoned all the generals in the city and asked: "Now that Liu Bei has taken Shouchun, I thought this man would stop there, but unexpectedly he dared to lead his troops south." "I heard that his army has no more than 5,000 men, and they have divided their forces and are heading west." "Now we only have more than 4,000 soldiers and horses. Maybe we can defeat them in one battle. I want to go out of the city and build a camp to stop them. What do you think?" As soon as he finished speaking, he saw that all the generals showed fear. One of the generals came out first and bowed: "General, don't you know that Liu Bei has become a powerful force now? We must not underestimate the enemy!" "He currently leads 4,000 soldiers, and has tens of thousands more behind him. He has been on the battlefield for more than a decade, and he has the assistance of extraordinary men behind him." "Ji Ling led an army of 30,000 but was defeated by him. How can our army, which has less than 10,000 soldiers, be his opponent?" "I see that there are not many troops heading south, so they may not be coming to take Hefei. Why should we make things difficult for them?"

"Besides, even if our army can stop their army, with thousands of men retreating today, a large army will surely arrive tomorrow!" "When they come to the city, our army will certainly be defeated. If we surrender, Liu Bei may not accept it because of the hatred we have for him now." "If we don't surrender, after the city is captured, we will die in vain at the hands of the enemy. Isn't that unfair?" "It would be better to keep the troops in place and wait and see what they do. If they really want to take Hefei, it won't be too late to fight again." "If the general is really afraid of him, why not abandon this city and go south to join General Liu Xun, which will also ensure our safety." After this person finished speaking, all the generals nodded. Just as Liu Ye said, Qin Yi's troops have actually become an isolated force. It turned out that with Ji Ling suppressing them, the generals naturally had no intention of doing anything. But now Ji Ling is dead, and their immediate boss is gone. Yuan Shu is far away in Runan, so why are they still staying here and fighting? Therefore, all the generals had no intention of going to war. Qin Yi sighed inwardly when he saw that these people would rather give up their defense than fight. As the commander, what he fears most is the current situation. His subordinates have no desire to fight. Even if he is willing to fight, he cannot exert his full strength. But he was unwilling to join Liu Xun. Although Liu Xun was a general under Yuan Shu, he was extremely greedy for money and had withheld his food and fodder several times, so there had long been resentment between the two. In the current situation, it is better for him to make the decision himself than to join Liu Xun. He is not without soldiers and horses, so why should he rely on others? After thinking it over, he realized that Liu Bei did not have many soldiers and might not really come to seize Hefei, so he said to everyone: "That's all. Just don't fight and defend the city. As for the talk of heading south, don't say anything more!" When the generals saw that he did not want to fight, they were delighted and left one after another. On the other side, just as Qin Yi was reacting, Liu Ye and Zhao Yun had already arrived at Chaohu Lake. Because they had few soldiers and horses, they did not need to carry much baggage. With the help of horses, he was much faster than Liu Bei. But when they arrived at the edge of Chaohu Lake, Liu Ye said to Zhao Yun: "General, you can only escort here, there is no need to go to Chaohu!" Zhao Yun was surprised when he heard this. "What do you mean, sir? Why do you say we don't need to go to Chaohu?" Since he was ordered to protect Liu Ye, he had to put Liu Ye first. Therefore, although Liu Ye was not very old, he still called him "sir". Liu Ye went south with Zhao Yun. Knowing that Zhao Yun was a careful person, he immediately said with a smile: "It's because Zheng Bao is a very jealous person. If he sees the general leading his men here, he will definitely be jealous."

"So I will go alone to get Zheng Bao. General, please wait here. After the task is completed, I will come to inform you." But when Zhao Yun heard this, he shook his head and said: "My lord has ordered me to protect you. How can I let you take the risk alone? If Zheng Bao is suspicious, I will go with you!" "There are only two of us. With me, Zheng Bao won't be suspicious!" "The cloud guards are around, and they can ensure that the master is safe." When Liu Ye heard this, he turned around and smiled: "If I were to go and assassinate Zheng Bao, what would you do, General?" When Zhao Yun heard this, he frowned. I was thinking, wasn’t our mission to persuade Zheng Bao to surrender? How did it turn into an assassination attempt? But he never talked much nonsense, and he said in a deep voice: "No problem, sir, just tell me to do it, and I'll do it right away." "He is just a bandit chieftain. With just one word from you, I guarantee he will be killed on the spot!" Seeing this, Liu Ye was naturally surprised, and thought to himself that the person recommended by Qin Zhen was a ruthless and taciturn person. He originally wanted to scare Zhao Yun, but he didn't intend to actually do anything. But looking at Zhao Yun's expression, it seems that he would really take action if something went wrong? Aren’t you afraid of being besieged by Zheng Bao’s men? Who would dare to say such words unless they have some ability? It seems that his uncle is surrounded by many capable people! Even this mediocre Zhao Zilong is not a friendly character, which is exactly what he likes! At that moment, he nodded to Zhao Yun, and without saying anything more, he asked Zhao Yun to leave his troops here to wait, and took Zhao Yun and the other man with him to head towards Zheng Bao's water stronghold. (End of this chapter)