Chapter 118 Attack with force and win over with virtue Seeing that Liu Ye wanted to help him take Hefei, Liu Bei could not be arrogant. He hurriedly invited Liu Ye into the mansion, sat upright and said: "I wonder if Ziyang has any strategy to help our army capture Hefei?" Seeing this, Liu Ye smiled leisurely. Seeing that there were only himself and Liu Bei around, he could not help but ask: "Although I have a plan, I cannot offer it lightly, for fear of taking away the credit of the military advisor." "I wonder if the military advisor had a plan before my uncle came?" "If you have a plan, you may as well tell me. If it is the same as mine, you should not embarrass yourself." As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Bei shook his head and laughed: "Zi Yang, you don't know that our army's march south this time was also hasty, and we still don't have enough troops. And how can we make a plan to understand the military situation in Hefei?" "To be honest, Zi Yang, the military advisor has not yet offered any advice. If Zi Yang does have a plan to break the city, please tell us as soon as possible!" When Liu Ye heard this, he felt relieved and said to Liu Bei: "In that case, I will show you how ugly you are!"

"In fact, according to my nephew's opinion, Qin Yi in Hefei has become a trapped beast. If we attack him, we are afraid that he will suddenly attack and hurt people, so we should attack him with force!" "Looking at the situation in Huainan, Liu Xun has been reluctant to take Lujiang, which shows that he has the intention to establish his own regime." "And Qin Yi has been stationed in Lu'an for many years, and he has always been at odds with Liu Xun!" "Although we have troops stationed in Hefei, we are isolated and cannot last long!" "So according to my nephew's opinion, we might as well take Lu'an first, then seize Jundao, cut off his way back, and prevent Qin Yi from returning to Yuan Shu in the west, and from going to Guangling in the east!" "Qin Yi has no ambitions. Seeing his uncle in this state, he must be terrified!" "In that case, we only need to send another eloquent person to explain the pros and cons, and I guarantee that Qin Yi will surrender!" When Liu Bei heard this, he squinted his eyes and said: "Zi Yang wants me to attack with force?" After listening to this, he began to think about the feasibility of this plan. It must be said that Liu Ye's strategy gave him a new direction. Instead of taking the initiative to attack the city, he took advantage of the situation and forced Qin Yi to surrender. Just as Liu Ye said, the situation is now clear. Although Qin Yi has troops, he is isolated and helpless. If we can completely cut off his way back, there will be a chance to persuade him to surrender. And if he could persuade Qin Yi to surrender without bloodshed, not only could he avoid a major war, but he could also gain another eight or nine thousand soldiers. After much thought, this business is a sure win! The only concern is that Qin Yi will see that things are not going well and go directly south to Jiangdong to join Sun Ce! After all, Sun Ce had a very high prestige among Yuan Shu's generals. It was not impossible for Qin Yi to surrender to Sun Ce out of desperation! Thinking of this, Liu Bei couldn't help but ponder: "Zi Yang's plan is feasible, but Jundao and Lu'an are located in the east and west respectively, and we have troops in the north. There is no city to defend in the south. What if Qin Yi sees this and leads his troops south?" After hearing this, Liu Ye admired Liu Bei's ability even more.

It can be seen that even without Qin Zhen, Liu Bei's military talent was not bad. Only such a wise leader is worthy of his assistance. While thinking, he smiled at Liu Bei and said: "So the key to taking Hefei this time is to block Qin Yi's way south." "Uncle, you don't know that Zheng Bao is the leader of the army south of Hefei. He has tens of thousands of people and is stationed in Chaohu Lake with thousands of elite soldiers." "If Qin Yi wants to go south, he must pass through Chaohu Lake. We only need to persuade Zheng Bao and others to surrender, and we can block Qin Yi's way south." "If uncle doesn't give up, I will go south and persuade them to surrender!" Seeing Liu Ye asking for orders, Liu Bei's expression changed and he said: "Are you serious, Zi Yang? Can you really persuade Zheng Bao to surrender?" You must know that if he can persuade Qin Yi, he can increase his troops by eight or nine thousand. If he can persuade Zheng Bao and others, he can obtain a large number of civilians and supplies! It can be said that the plan proposed by Liu Ye alone would allow him to increase his troops by more than 10,000 and eliminate the harm around Chaohu Lake at the same time! If this can be achieved, then Liu Ye's role will be comparable to that of tens of thousands of soldiers! When Liu Ye saw this, he nodded and smiled: "Uncle, rest assured. Even if Zheng Bao refuses to surrender, I will find a way to marry him to you. Do you have this intention?" Seeing his confident look, Liu Bei couldn't help but stand up and pace back and forth. To be honest, he was really tempted! But if you think about it carefully, what Liu Ye asked him to do was almost a no-cost business, and the only risk was on Liu Ye. If it succeeds, not only can Jiujiang be pacified, but his power will also be greatly increased. But if it fails, Liu Ye’s life will be in danger. Comparing the two, anyone would be tempted. But Old Liu thought for a while, then stopped and shook his head: "Zi Yang, this plan won't work!" When he said this, Liu Ye was stunned: "Uncle, what do you mean by this? What's wrong with my plan?" But as soon as he finished speaking, he saw Liu Bei sitting back down in his seat, looking sad and saying: "It's not that Zi Yang's strategy is inappropriate, it's actually that this strategy puts Zi Yang in danger!" "Your father and I are brothers. Although we have only known each other for a short time, we are of the same clan!" "How can I sit back and watch Zi Yang stand under a dangerous wall for me?" "Besides, Zi Yang came here with good intentions to offer advice, and he also considers me as his elder. I have no gratitude to him, and I feel guilty about it. Don't even mention letting Zi Yang go and run around!"

"No, no, absolutely not!" As he said this, he shook his head with a determined look on his face. But Liu Ye was moved by Liu Bei's behavior. To be honest, Liu Bei's visit yesterday was, in his opinion, an exchange of interests. Liu Bei's distant relative came to pay a visit in order to seek justice. Their family hosted Liu Bei not only because Liu Bei was powerful, but also because his father wanted to revive the family. Therefore, Liu Ye really looked down on Liu Bei at first, and that's why he tested him. But today he came with the intention of showing off his talents so that Liu Bei would use him. In his opinion, the strategy he proposed was to give the south of Jiujiang to Liu Bei. Most of the princes would hesitate for a moment and then respond with false benevolence. Anyway, he has to bear all the risks. Who doesn't want to do a business with no capital? Unexpectedly, Liu Bei was so determined and had no intention of obeying at all. Could it be that Liu Bei was not exchanging interests yesterday, but really recognized him as a relative? For a moment, Liu Ye's heart was a little disturbed, and he spoke again: "Don't worry, uncle. Zheng Bao had said before that he wanted to invite me to go south. Even if it doesn't work out, he won't harm me in the slightest!" But when he said this, Liu Bei shook his head again and said: "How can you trust the words of a thief? To be honest, my uncle was also a knight-errant in his early years, traveling around the village." "I have seen many thieves like this." "Those thieves are vicious. If they knew what Zi Yang was planning, they would definitely kill him!" "I know in my heart that it is evil. If I let you go again, it would be an act of inhumanity and injustice." "If Brother Guangde knew about this, he would definitely blame me. I have made up my mind, and you cannot persuade me any more!" The Brother Guangde he was talking about was Liu Pu, Liu Ye's father. There was no skill in his words, only emotion, which simply shut the conversation up. As Liu Ye listened, he felt a warm current flowing into his heart. He thought his words were full of calculations, but Liu Bei was open and frank with him, just like a real uncle. He lost his mother when he was young, and his father Liu Pu was a strict father, so he had no close elders around him. Seeing Liu Bei like this, he was deeply moved and asked immediately: "But if this doesn't happen, how will uncle capture Hefei?" Liu Bei was stunned when he heard this, but then he shook his head and said: "Capturing a city doesn't necessarily require a lot of planning. I have led the army for more than ten years, and I have lost many battles, but I have also won many." "If we can't take it by wits, what can we do by force?" "If Zi Yang has another plan, you can offer it. If you don't have one, our army will move south!" At this point, he smiled at Liu Ye and said: "Zi Yang, don't be discouraged. I know that you are talented and can help the world. If you want to follow your uncle to the south, then follow me."

"If you don't want to go south, I won't force you. I'll take Brother Guangde to Shouchun someday. Ziyang can go wherever he wants. I'll help your family!" "To be honest with you, Zi Yang, our army came here because we heard from our military advisor about Zi Yang's talent. So we came for him. After meeting him, we were very happy. We realized that there is such a great talent in our clan!" "If there were more of us in the Liu clan who had such talent, how could we be where we are now?" "Although I am willing to accept Zi Yang to help me support the Han Dynasty, I am unwilling to force Zi Yang to surrender." "I know that you must have been urged by Brother Guangde to come here. You might as well go back and think about it carefully before you reply!" This is where Liu Bei's ability lies. He knew that Liu Ye came so early probably because Liu Pu urged him to do so, and he was unwilling to force Liu Ye to join the team. Just like Liu Ba, he knew that he had talent, but he did not force him. If you wanted to follow him, you could follow him. If you didn’t want to follow him, he wouldn’t blame you. His main purpose was to win people over with virtue. His words were sincere and his smile was warm, without any sign of falsehood. Seeing this, Liu Ye moved his lips for a moment and was unable to utter a word. He was one of the few wise men among the Han royal family. He knew that the Han Dynasty was in decline and could no longer be saved. He had already lost hope, but now looking at Liu Bei, he saw hope for the revival of the Han Dynasty! It is because Liu Biao, Liu Yan and others were the source of trouble and chaos, and only a man of great potential and virtue like Liu Bei could have the ability to revive the country. Seeing Liu Bei calling him "Zi Yang" all the time, he immediately bowed and said: "My nephew is just an idle young man. Although I have the title of a clan member, I have no power to save the world." "I thought that I would never see the chance of the revival of the Han family in this lifetime, but I didn't expect to see a hero like my uncle today. It shows that God does not want to undermine the foundation of the Liu family!" "As a member of the clan, where else can I go except to work with my uncle for the great cause?" "I dare to let my uncle know that I came here today to offer advice because I want to help you achieve great things, and it is definitely not because of my father's pressure!" "Uncle's words really make me feel ashamed!" "Uncle, rest assured. I will not go anywhere. If you have a wish, I will help you achieve your great cause and revive the Han Dynasty. Even if I die nine times, I will not regret it at all!" His words came from the bottom of his heart, without any falsehood. Seeing this, Liu Bei smiled with relief and hurriedly helped Liu Ye up and said: "I, Zi Yang, have this ambition, so I sincerely invite you." "Now that I have the help of my virtuous nephew, why should I worry about not being able to accomplish my great cause?" The two of them opened their hearts to each other and no longer had any grudges against each other. They are originally from the same clan, and although their kinship is very distant, once it is made clear, they are closer than outsiders. Liu Bei naturally held Liu Ye's hand and tried to comfort him for a long time, and his words were quite intimate, even three times closer than to his real uncle. Liu Ye was pulled by Liu Bei, and he secretly praised himself in his heart. However, he would not have any different thoughts just because Liu Bei called him nephew. Because he knew very well that even though they had the same surname Liu, the kinship relationship was there, and if he joined Liu Bei's army, he would also be a subject. But compared with foreign officials, he is closer! While thinking, he once again said to Liu Bei earnestly:

"Uncle, I will not hide anything from you now. If you want to take Hefei, you must use this strategy!" "You must know that the autumn harvest season has arrived, the people have no harvest, and refugees have become a problem." "If we are delayed by the war and fail to resettle the refugees in time, even if my uncle occupies Huainan in the future, this place will not be able to become the foundation of our great cause!" When Liu Bei heard this, his heart sank, and he knew that he could not delay any longer. But he couldn't bear to let such a good guy like Liu Ye take risks, and he frowned and said: "Zi Yang, how confident are you that this method can succeed?" Liu Ye saw this, stretched out his hand and said: "I am 70% sure that I can persuade Zheng Bao!" Seeing that Liu Bei was still hesitant, he could not help but say to Liu Bei: "If uncle is having trouble deciding this matter, you may as well ask Mr. Qin to come and ask. If Mr. Qin has a good solution, I will not do it." "If you don't have any good ideas, please let me give it a try!" "You must know that the people are the most important. How can you hesitate over the safety of your nephew?" As Liu Bei listened, he could not help but nod secretly, thinking that his nephew was truly courageous and resourceful, and was truly a man of great talent. Seeing that Liu Ye asked him to call Qin Zhen to ask, he did not hesitate and hurriedly sent someone to call Qin Zhen. (End of this chapter)