Chapter 183: Sending troops to Chen State, Luo Jun pretends to surrender Liu Chong was assassinated. Was this a good thing for Liu Bei? In a sense, not, because Qin Zhen had previously analyzed to Liu Bei that Liu Chong's assassination would inevitably cause a series of chain reactions. Yuan Shu will move, and Cao Cao will move as well. Without Liu Chong, the King of Chen, the State of Chen, as a place of contention for military strategists, will instantly become a battlefield between Cao and Yuan. But now, Qin Zhen said it was a good thing. Such a contradiction naturally caused Lao Liu to be puzzled: "What do you mean, military advisor? The military advisor said before that King Chen is like a shield for our army." "Now that King Chen has been assassinated, the defenses are gone. How can we talk about peace?" Seeing that Liu Bei was puzzled, Qin Zhen said to Liu Bei: "The good news I'm talking about is not the assassination of King Chen, but the arrival of Master Zheng!"

"You must know that Zheng is a great scholar of the time. Since the death of Master Lu, Master Cai, Master Xun and others, all the scholars in the world have respected Master Zheng." "Now that Master Zheng is involved in this case, it is time for our army to win over Master Zheng." "If we can bring Master Zheng under our command, he won't be an official, but will teach in the classroom, and we can also attract scholars from all over the world to join us." "If we can get Master Zheng, our army will no longer be short of talent in the future. Isn't that good?" Just like Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, Qin Zhen’s first reaction when he heard the news about Zheng Xuan was to pull Zheng Xuan over to cheer him on! Because relatively speaking, whether or not to seize the State of Chen is just a matter of having more or less strategic locations, but Zheng Xuan is a person who is concerned with the overall situation. Not to mention anything else, Zheng Xuan probably has more than ten thousand disciples! Among them, there are more than 400 long-term followers, and dozens of outstanding people. If Liu Bei could have brought Zheng Xuan over, Zheng Xuan's disciples alone would have been enough to fill up the middle and lower-level official positions. This is very important for them who are short of talent! And more importantly, after listening to Kong Ming's advice, he decided to build a new academy. Looking at all the great Confucian scholars in the world, only Zheng Xuan was proficient in ancient and modern classics, well-versed in the teachings of hundreds of schools of thought, and respected the ancient classics, which was far from being comparable to the corrupt Confucian scholars. If we can attract such a great scholar to work in the New Academy, then promoting the teachings of the Hundred Schools of Thought in the future will be a natural progression! It’s a pity that Liu Bei’s reputation and power were not enough to invite this big shot. Therefore, he did not set his sights on Zheng Xuan. However, he did not expect that with the evolution of the butterfly effect, the assassination of Zheng Xuan and Liu Chong would be linked together. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them! When Liu Bei listened to Qin Zhen's words, he naturally realized that the key to this matter was not Liu Chong, but Zheng Xuan, and his eyes lit up. When he was in Beihai in the past, he often visited Zheng Xuan and was considered a half-disciple. Naturally, he knew what it meant to invite Zheng Xuan! But thinking of this, he shook his head again and said: "Although the military advisor's words make sense, Master Zheng's visit to Xu this time is to respect the emperor's edict and be appointed as one of the Nine Ministers." "Even if we are interested, it is difficult to keep Master Zheng here!"

He naturally wanted to keep Zheng Xuan, but Master Zheng was going to the court to serve as an official this time. He was promoted to the rank of Nine Ministers, and his position was similar to that of Old Liu. Even if he wanted to keep Zheng Xuan, he probably couldn't! But Qin Zhen saw this and smiled slightly: "I see that Master Zheng is already old. Although he has come here in response to the imperial edict, he may not be interested in serving as an official!" "The purpose of coming here is to honor the emperor. After paying homage to the emperor, most people will excuse themselves from illness and return. This is our army's opportunity!" "Besides, we cannot keep Master Zheng here, as he has many disciples. For example, Sun Gongyou and Liu Weishuo in our army are both disciples of Master Zheng." "It is reasonable for me to go and see him. After paying respects to Master Zheng, I will say that I have no officials to govern the people. It would be a good thing if I could recruit some talents!" The reason why he dared to persuade Liu Bei to keep Zheng Xuan was because he knew that in history, Zheng Xuan went to the court in order to maintain the dignity of the Han court. After arriving in Xuchang, he resigned from his post and returned home. Although history has changed, personal ideas may not have changed. When Zheng Xuan arrives in Xuchang this time, he will most likely resign from his post. This is an opportunity to win over Zheng Xuan. Go and win him over once first, and then win him over again when Zheng Xuan comes back. If Zheng Xuan can be persuaded, everyone will be happy. If Zheng Xuan cannot be persuaded, it would be good even if a few disciples can be recruited. This is a business that is sure to make money, how can we let the opportunity slip away! After hearing his words, Liu Bei nodded secretly, thinking that the deal was done, and then asked: "The matter of the Zheng army is of course the most important, but now that Liu Chong has been assassinated, Yuan Shu will surely advance, so we must first eliminate Yuan Shu!" "I wonder what the military advisor thinks our army should do now?" In his opinion, although Zheng Xuan is important at the moment, the situation of Chen State is also important. Although Liu Ye blocked the news, Chen State was closer to Xuchang, so it was possible that Cao Cao had already received the news. Therefore, they must come up with an overall strategy as soon as possible! When Qin Zhen heard this, he smiled and said: "The current situation is also quite favorable to our army!" "Zi Yang has already taken control of the situation in Chen State. From what I read in his letter, although the King of Chen was assassinated this time, the Prime Minister Luo Jun and the Crown Prince Liu Xian are still alive!" "With the prince here, as long as our army can seize the opportunity to defeat Yuan Shu, we can stabilize the situation!" "Yuan Shu assassinated Liu Chong this time, most likely because he was at the end of his rope and desperate." "Our army has already asked General Guan to divide his troops and march north." "At this time, Wen Ji led 7,000 soldiers in Gushi, Shu Zhi led more than 10,000 soldiers in Dan County, and Yuan Zhi was stationed in Xiang County." "In terms of military strength, our army already has the upper hand. We only need to send a few thousand troops from Shouchun and contact Chen County to prepare for defense, and then we can close the door and beat the dog!" "So in my opinion, our army might as well have General Guan make a false move from Xincai to the north to attract Cao Cao's attention." "At the same time, order Yuan Zhi to guard against Cheng Yu, and have Chen Shuzhi attack Sishan. I expect Zi Yang to return to Chen County to block Yuan Shu's advance."

"We will just send troops from Shouchun and attack Song by water." "If we act this way, Yuan Shu will be surrounded by enemies on all sides and will be defeated soon." "After defeating Yuan Shu, you can enter the State of Chen in the name of eliminating the bandits. If the King of Chen survives, you can station troops there to help him stabilize the situation." "If the King of Chen has unfortunately passed away, then I will submit a petition to the court to establish the Crown Prince Liu Xian as the King of Chen." "Liu Xian is weak, unlike his father. With the lord here, he will definitely put our army first in everything, and he can also serve as a barrier for our army!" In fact, because of Liu Ye's existence, the situation in Chen State has changed completely. It should be noted that in the original process, Yuan Shu assassinated Liu Chong and Luo Jun at one time, causing the entire Chen State to lose its command center. As a result, the State of Chen was completely unable to resist Yuan Shu's attack. It was not until Cao Cao sent troops that Yuan Shu was defeated. Although Liu Chong is in trouble now, Luo Jun is still there, and the Prince of Chen is still there. As long as they defeat Yuan Shu and push Liu Xian to the front, and successfully inherit Liu Chong's position, even if Cao Cao is willing, he will not be able to mobilize troops! After hearing this plan, Liu Bei smiled and agreed to it. After saying this, he immediately ordered an official document to be written and sent to various places. In order to stabilize Zheng Xuan's mentality, Qin Zhen asked Liu Bei to order Liu Yan to visit the territory of Chen first. As orders were issued one after another, that night Liu Bei personally led an army of 8,000, and Qin Zhen, Sun Qian, Zhang Fei and others headed towards Ruyin. Of course, in order to make Zhuge Liang familiar with military affairs, Qin Zhen also kept him by his side this time to serve as a minor clerk. After these orders were issued, various places in Huaibei began to take action. On the other hand, it is said that after Yuan Shu sent out the assassins, in order to prepare military supplies, he borrowed grain from the big families in the city. However, the cities under his command were not big cities and there were not many wealthy families. The tens of thousands of bushels of grain that could be loaned out previously had already drained the assets of these large families. The previous loans have not been repaid yet, so how could these wealthy families be willing to lend new grain? The big families in several counties borrowed all their money, and in total they could only raise five or six thousand shi of military rations. Five or six thousand dan of grain would only be enough to support an army of 30,000 for ten days. Seeing that the army rations could not sustain, Yuan Shu was worried, and asked everyone to come and discuss strategies. This time he was not planning to raise too much military rations, but it would still take at least one month's supply of food and fodder before he could advance. After calculating, there was still at least ten thousand stones of rations left. Faced with this situation, Chen Ji, a general under Yuan Shu, suggested: "Our army had enough food to spend, but Shu Zhongying secretly released food, which led to the current food shortage." "Since we only need a month's supply of food and fodder, why not take the food from the people and return it after we conquer the State of Chen!" As soon as he said this, he aroused strong opposition from Yan Xiang and Yang Hong. According to Yan Xiang: "Although the grain our army has obtained was borrowed from the noble families, it is now given to the people. If we take it back, it will surely cause resentment among the people!" "If our army goes to war, the people in the rear will cause chaos, which will not help the cause!"

Yang Hong also reached a rare agreement with Yan Xiang and advised Yuan Shu: "Although Liu Chong has not moved yet, Zheng Xuan has arrived, and Liu Chong has probably left Chen County. We might as well take food from the enemy and attack Ningping first." "After we get the food, it will be the basis for our army's advance!" After hearing the advice of his two counselors, Yuan Shu immediately rejected Chen Ji's suggestion to plunder the people again. He immediately ordered 15,000 troops and ordered Yan Xiang and Zhang Xun to garrison the State of Song. He personally led Yang Hong, Chen Ji and others to attack the territory of the State of Chen. After a rapid march, they arrived at the city of Ningping in less than a few days. Yuan Shu himself was also engaged in wars all year round, but he was surrounded by powerful enemies such as Cao Cao and Lu Bu, so he was not his opponent. When facing the county and state soldiers of Chen State at this time, he first sent people to Ningping to spread false news that Liu Chong was dead. When chaos broke out in the city and the army was approaching, he sent a letter of persuasion and successfully entered the city of Ningping. Just as he captured Ningping, he received news from the north that Liu Chong had been assassinated. Upon hearing this letter, Yuan Shu was overjoyed and said to Yang Hong: "Now that Liu Chong is dead, the State of Chen should be the base of our army!" When Yang Hong heard this, he thought it was a good idea, and he said happily: "The key to the State of Chen lies in Chen County. Once Liu Chong dies, Chen County will be in chaos. You can go straight to Chen County." "If we can take it and capture Luo Jun, we can persuade Liu Chong's troops to surrender and use them for our army!" When Yuan Shu heard this, he naturally followed his advice. After resting for a day, he marched towards Chen County the next day. Therefore, when Liu Bei's army took action, Yuan Shu had actually already marched towards Chen County. At this time, in Chen County, only Luo Jun was in charge of important affairs. When Crown Prince Liu Xian heard that his father had been assassinated, he was immediately panicked. He thought that it was no wonder that Liu Ye always advised him and his son to be careful. Now, Liu Chong was caught off guard and was assassinated. At the same time, he heard news from outside the city that Yuan Shu had sent troops towards Chen County, which made him even more panicked. If he were to rely on his nature, he would not know how to deal with this situation. However, before Liu Ye left, he warned him that if he encountered any major problems, he should seek advice from Luo Jun. So he found Luo Jun and brought him to the palace to ask for advice: "Prime Minister, my father went north to welcome Master Zheng, but he met with misfortune." "There is no general available in the city right now, and I heard that Yuan Shu is leading his troops here. What should we do?" After hearing this, Luo Jun said with regret: "I regret not listening to Liu Ziyang's advice. This has caused the king to suffer. It is my fault!" "Then don't worry, my prince. There are still more than 10,000 soldiers and horses in the city. Although there are no generals available, there is no need to be afraid." "I see that Yuan Shu mobilized his troops as soon as the king was assassinated, which shows that he is the real culprit." "I have a plan. Maybe we can feign surrender, lure Yuan Shu into the city and kill him!" It must be said that Luo Jun was also a talented person in governing the people. He had followed Liu Chong for more than ten years and was naturally loyal to him.

When he saw Liu Ye coming, he felt something was wrong. He was afraid that Liu Ye was an undercover agent sent by Liu Bei to plot against the State of Chen, so he was always on guard. Unexpectedly, all the precautions would end up harming Liu Chong. Now that he had come to his senses, he wanted to avenge Liu Chong and lure Yuan Shu into the city to kill him. Liu Xian was a man without his own opinion. When he heard this, he thought it was a good idea and agreed to it. He immediately followed Luo Jun's advice, wrote a letter and sent it outside the city. The messenger came all the way to Yuan Shu's army, met Yuan Shu, and expressed Luo Jun's intention to surrender. When Yuan Shu heard that Luo Jun was willing to surrender, he was overjoyed. Just as he was about to reply, he saw Yang Hong step out and say: "Your Majesty, wait a minute. This must be Luo Jun's plan to feign surrender!" (End of this chapter)