Chapter 101: Driving the tiger to devour the wolf, Lu Bu starts a fight It’s also because Qin Zhen’s reputation is too loud. Especially after he abandoned Cao, his reputation increased instead of decreased. Everyone, civil or military, who was close to Cao Cao, knew about it. Before, Yuan Huan wanted to ask Qin Zhen to give advice to Yuan Shu. But afterwards, Qin Zhen disappeared and no one knew where he went. He thought that this guy had hidden his identity and wanted to live in seclusion, but he didn't expect that he would actually join Liu Bei's army! He also said that no matter how he planned, he could not hurt the other party at all. No matter how I look at it, I feel that Liu Bei's actions are evil. Now that we know that Qin Zhen is behind this, it would be strange if he is not evil.

After all, Qin Zhen's strategies have always been known for their wild imagination. It is normal not to understand. If he could understand, Qin Zhen would not have been the chief strategist under Cao Cao. And now, Qin Zhen not only surrendered to Liu Bei, but also helped Liu Bei to conquer Pei State, and now he has conquered Shouchun. His rise is unstoppable. One Cao Cao was enough for Yuan Shu to deal with, and now there was Liu Bei assisted by Qin Zhen. It was obvious that their defeat was inevitable. While thinking, Yuan Huan shook his head and sighed: "If I had known that it was your plan, I would not have dared to say anything!" "Looking back now, our army's defeat was not unfair!" Seeing Yuan Huan like this, Qin Zhen smiled and said: "Sir, please do not underestimate yourself. In fact, your plan to lead Sun Ce north is quite clever!" "Although our army has taken Shouchun, we still have to face Sun Ce and Lu Bu!" "It can be seen that the master's planning is also remarkable!" As Yuan Huan listened, he praised him repeatedly. He thought to himself that no matter how great the plan was, Shouchun was still conquered, right? But he changed his mind and asked Liu Bei: "I still don't know how you are planning to deal with those two families this time." In his opinion, both Sun Ce and Lu Bu were very troublesome. Before, he was under Yuan Shu, and he wanted to use the power of the two families to check and balance Liu Bei. Now that he has joined Liu Bei, he has to think about how to drive away the two families. When Liu Bei saw that he was asking, he briefly told him about Qin Zhen's arrangements for the two families. This naturally includes how Qin Zhen borrowed the power of the two families to attack the city, and how he planned for Sun Ce to go and stop Ji Ling. After hearing Qin Zhen's plan, Yuan Huan couldn't help but stroke his beard and said: "Brilliant, brilliant! I figured out a way to create resentment among the three families, but I didn't expect that the military advisor could use it to his advantage!" "We took Shouchun today without any effort, it's really amazing!"

Having said this, he frowned again and said: "But military advisor, please know that we have already transported all the baggage out of the city!" "There is no money or food in the city's treasury right now." "Lü Bu has entered the city now. If he knew about this, he would definitely attack!" "In addition, Sun Ce is currently fighting with Ji Ling. Regardless of whether he wins or loses, he will be blamed when he returns to the army. How will the military advisor respond?" As Liu Bei listened, he also felt a little worried. Although Qin Zhen had already made a plan, the specific details of how to proceed had not yet been discussed. If the two families don't go, he can't live peacefully in Shouchun. When Qin Zhen saw this, he asked Yuan Huan: "I know that the two families are about to start an attack. Do you have any advice for us?" Seeing this, Yuan Huan knew that Qin Zhen wanted him to show off, so he did not refuse and stroked his beard and said thoughtfully: "I see that both Sun Ce and Lu Bu are like tigers and wolves. If we want to eliminate them now, we should drive the tiger to devour the wolf." "In my opinion, Lü Bu has no roots here, but Sun Ce has already established one." "If you want to act, you should drive out Lü Bu and chase away Sun Ce. Once Sun Ce is gone, Lü Bu will be isolated and helpless, and his army will leave on its own!" When Liu Bei heard this, he said to Yuan Huan: "What Mr. Yao said is just like what the military advisor said. In fact, the military advisor also suggested that I do this." "Now I am only worried about one thing. I am afraid that Lu Bu will see that there is no food in the warehouse and will directly turn against us and attack us. If the two armies join forces, Sun Ce will gain the advantage!" When Yuan Huan heard this, his expression changed and he said: "If you are afraid of this, why don't you go to the meeting point first, so as to prevent Lü Bu from causing trouble?" After he said this, Liu Bei looked at Qin Zhen. In fact, he had this idea before entering the city, but Qin Zhen disagreed. Now seeing Yuan Huan bring it up again, he couldn't help but ask: "What do you think, Military Advisor?" Qin Zhen saw this and shook his head: "This matter is not urgent. If our army wants to use Lu Bu, we must let him make the first move." "If he doesn't make trouble, our army will have a hard time doing anything!" "If Lu Bu comes to question you later, my lord, just pretend that you don't know where the money and food are. I will take care of the rest!" When Liu Bei saw this, he smiled at Yuan Huan and said: "It is clear that the military advisor has already made a plan. We cannot act now!" When Yuan Huan heard this, he thought to himself that Qin Zhen's behavior was really strange. Knowing that the other party was going to attack, he did not stop him, but waited for the other party to make the first move. What's the logic behind this? But he knew that Qin Zhen had his reasons for doing so, so he simply kept silent and just nodded. While they were talking, a soldier came to report: "My lord, something is wrong. General Zhang and Lu Bu have started a quarrel and are now facing off outside the treasury!" Hearing this, Liu Bei's heart sank, and he said in a deep voice:

"Let's go, let me go and take a look first!" After saying that, he led everyone towards the treasury. Speaking of the Shouchun Treasury, it is actually not far from the imperial palace, or rather, it is inside the imperial palace. This was originally the place where Yuan Shu stored his treasures and supplies. It is divided into two huge warehouses, one for storing military supplies and the other for storing money and grain. But at this time, there were many military supplies stored in the warehouse, but there was no money or food, only ten thousand stones of grain and fodder. When Liu Bei and others arrived, they saw Lu Bu confronting Zhang Fei. Soldiers on both sides drew their swords and were about to start a great battle. Seeing this, Liu Bei was greatly shocked and shouted: "Where is Yide, where is Yide." Hearing Liu Bei's words, Zhang Fei quickly responded: "Brother, I'm here!" Lu Bu, who was standing opposite him, heard Liu Bei's voice and shouted: "Liu Xuande, you came at the right time. Can you tell me where the money and grain in the treasury went?" There was a look of anger in Hu's eyes, and Hou Cheng, Song Xian and others around him all glared at Liu Bei. Hearing this, Liu Bei's heart sank, and Qin Zhen stepped forward and asked in surprise: "What are you talking about, Lord Wen? We have just entered the city and have not yet reached the treasury. I really don't know what Lord Wen means." As he said this, he walked to Lu Bu's side, looked up at the treasury, and pretended to be shocked: "Hey, why is this happening? Where did the money and grain in the treasury go?" When it comes to acting, Qin Zhen has been in a high position for many years and his acting skills are first-class. He looked as if he really didn't know where the money and grain in the treasury were. Seeing this, Lu Bu frowned and said: "Wang Ziye, stop putting on airs in front of me!" "Where else can the money and grain in the treasury be? You must be going back on your word and moving the money and grain away in advance, is that right?" As he spoke, he drew out his sword, placed it on Qin Zhen's neck, and said through gritted teeth: "If you don't tell me the details today, don't blame me, Lu Bu, for being ruthless with my sword!" Everyone around was shocked by Lü Bu's action. Zhang Fei immediately glared and shouted: "You little Lu Bu, if you dare to hurt my military advisor, today will never end peacefully!" Liu Bei even drew his sword, pointed at Lu Bu and said in a deep voice: "Lü Fengxian, how dare you touch my military advisor? Put down your sword immediately, or I will fight to the death here today and I will not spare your life!" Faced with Liu Bei's angry shout, Lu Bu's heart trembled.

To be honest, he had never seen Liu Bei so angry. Having always seen Liu Bei's image as a good guy, he almost forgot that Liu Bei was also an expert in swordsmanship. Now seeing Liu Bei drawing his sword towards him, he became a little wary. But even so, he did not give in at all and said: "If I can't explain it clearly today, even if you tell the world about it, it will still be difficult to get away with it!" When Liu Bei and Zhang Fei saw this, they became secretly on guard, thinking that no matter what, they had to rescue Qin Zhen first. Qin Zhen was held at arm's length by Lu Bu's sword, and it would be a lie to say he was not afraid. But he had been fighting for many years and had already seen all kinds of scenes. Although he was afraid in his heart, he did not panic at all. He said in a deep voice: "I thought Lord Wen was a hero, why is he so impulsive today?" "You must know that I am only a scholar, and there is no point in killing me." "Could it be that if you kill me, Marquis Wen will be able to get money and food?" "Your and my two families were originally friendly forces, but now when something happens, instead of discussing it out, you draw your swords against each other. How can you treat your friends like this?" "Besides, both our families are exhausted now. If you kill me, it will definitely cause a fight between our two armies. You must know that Sun Ce has not returned yet. How will Sun Ce view your behavior?" Hearing his words, Lu Bu showed hesitation in his eyes. In his opinion, Qin Zhen's first few sentences were nonsense, and only Sun Ce's last sentence made him wary. It is indeed as Qin Zhen said. Sun Ce is still here. Even though the three families seem to be in harmony on the surface, if they were to fight, who knows how Sun Ce would react? Although he was angry, he still had reason. After thinking for a moment, he took the sword and said to Qin Zhen: "I am rude, sir. I hope you can forgive me, but I need to tell you where the money and grain went!" Qin Zhen heaved a sigh of relief when he saw him put away his sword, and shook his head, saying: "It's not that I didn't tell Lord Wen, but our army doesn't know where the money and food have gone!" "Marquis Wen, think about it. Yuan Shu has so much gold, silver, supplies, and concubines in his harem!" "Our army has been in the city for less than half an hour, how can we have time to hide them?" "Besides, Shouchun City is so small. If our army really wants to hide, how can we hide it from the general's eyes and ears?" Facing Qin Zhen's question, Lu Bu frowned. In fact, as soon as he left the city and saw that the mansion was empty, he felt something was wrong. He wanted to call Liu Bei to interrogate him, so he drew his sword and threatened him. But Qin Zhen's performance and words seemed to indicate that this matter had nothing to do with Liu Bei's army! So what's the situation now? He stared at Qin Zhen with a bad look on his face and said: "Even your army doesn't know, so where did the money and food go? Could it be that when they see us coming, they will just leave on their own?" "Marquis Wen is joking. How can money and grain have legs?" Qin Zhen heard this and said with a leisurely smile: "It's neither your army nor our army. It's most likely that Ji Ling secretly transported it away!" "But don't panic, Lord Wen. The whereabouts of the money and grain are not without trace!"

Having said this, he turned around and pointed at Yuan Huan and said: "This is Yuan Yaoqing, an old friend of my master. He was in charge of things in the city before, so he must know where the money and grain were transported!" Upon seeing this, Yuan Huan immediately stepped forward and saluted: "I dare to let Marquis Wen know that the money and grain in the city have indeed been transported away long ago. Because we heard that you were coming, we received an order to move the capital ahead of schedule and transported all the money and grain to Xincai for storage!" "You hadn't arrived yet at that time, so you didn't know about this!" When Lu Bu heard this, he opened his eyes and shouted angrily: "You have transported the money and grain to Xincai?" You know, the reason why he was willing to sacrifice his troops and generals this time was just for the money and food. If it is a surrounding city, it’s okay, but if it is Xincai, it’s very far away! Do we still want him to follow Liu Bei all the way to Xincai? He was just surprised when Hou Cheng saw this and said angrily: "You are all a family, and you are in collusion. Do you want us to believe your words?" Lu Bu listened and glared at Qin Zhen again. Seeing this, Qin Zhen's smile faded and he said to Hou Cheng: "General, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want!" "Our army treats Lord Wen with sincerity, and you are also a sincere gentleman, how could you deceive Lord Wen?" "If they can hide the matter of relocating the capital from us, how can they hide it from the people of Shouchun?" "With Marquis Wen's wisdom, he only needs to find a few minor officials to find out the truth. General, do you think Marquis Wen is really so unwise?" Hou Cheng was speechless after being confronted by him. Lü Bu listened and thought it made sense, so he glared at Hou Cheng and said: "You have no right to speak here, get out of here!" After being yelled at by him, Hou Cheng had to retreat in embarrassment. When Liu Bei saw this, he stepped forward and said: "At this point, does Lord Wen have anything else to say?" As he said this, his tone was quite unfriendly, as if he was extremely dissatisfied with Lu Bu's actions just now. Hearing this, Lu Bu knew that he had indeed gone too far, but he did not gain anything and was unwilling to give up, so he said indignantly: "Xuan De also knows that I have suffered heavy casualties during this march. How can I resist with only the ten thousand stones of grain and grass in the palace?" "Right now, the money and food are all in Xincai. How will your army arrange it?" Seeing that he still wanted money and food, Liu Bei naturally didn't know how to respond. Qin Zhen smiled and said: "Don't worry, Lord Wen. Shouchun has already fallen. If Lord Wen intends to attack Xincai, our army will definitely support him. However, we have agreed to Sun Lang's southward march, so we should inform him first!" "How about Marquis Wen go and rest first, and we can discuss it after Sun Lang returns? How about that?" After hearing this, Lu Bu was extremely unwilling, but there was nothing he could do. He could only snort coldly and lead his troops away. After Lü Bu left, Liu Bei ordered his soldiers to retreat. Zhang Fei then cursed:

"This fellow Lu Bu is extremely rude!" Liu Bei hurriedly stepped forward and pulled Qin Zhen aside to ask: "The military advisor was frightened just now, is he injured anywhere?" As he spoke, he looked closely at Qin Zhen's neck. Qin Zhen lifted her long hair and said with a smile: "Don't worry, my lord. I'm fine!" Liu Bei was relieved to see that he was indeed fine. Yuan Huan watched from the side and said worriedly: "Lü Bu is a fickle man, how can he be used?" Apart from anything else, just based on the fact that he had just drawn his sword, he could be sure that Lu Bu was a time bomb that would explode if one of its requirements was not met! Although the principle is to drive the tiger away and let it swallow the wolf, when driving the tiger away, you must also be on guard against the tiger biting back! Lu Bu is now obviously a tiger that has become extremely hungry. If you control such a tiger, one mistake will lead to a comeback! But Qin Zhen heard it, but shook his head and smiled: "That's exactly how it can be of great use!" Then he turned back to Liu Bei and said: "Now that Lu Bu has retreated, we must first stabilize Sun Ce and prevent him from acting impulsively. We can send General Zhang to meet Shu Zhi and others. After Sun Ce returns, we will observe his movements and then our army will take action!" Upon hearing this, Liu Bei nodded solemnly. At this point, he must act with caution. Even Lu Bu is like this, so you can see how angry Sun Ce will be! Although they did not spend many soldiers and horses in capturing Shouchun this time, the risk was no less than that day in Xia Pi! At times like this, the more you need to stay calm. Thinking of this, he ordered Zhang Fei to lead his troops towards the north of the city. (End of this chapter)