Chapter 202: Liu Biao's intention, Wang Can reports the news But Liu Biao was a man over eight feet tall, with a gentle and strong appearance. He was well-known in the world when he was young and was listed among the "Eight Beauties". Since he took office as the governor of Jingzhou in the first year of Chuping, he has made use of the Jingzhou gentry and has controlled the areas north of the Yangtze River. When he heard that the emperor was supported by Li Jue and Guo Si, he took the opportunity to send envoys to pay tribute. He was appointed General Zhennan, Governor of Jingzhou, and granted the title of Marquis Wu. After gaining this reputation, he opened schools, loved the people and nurtured scholars, and at the same time joined forces with Zhang Xiu and Yuan Shao. At one time, he had an army of over 100,000 and a strong navy. He had generals such as Wen Pin, Liu Pan, and Huang Zu guarding the four directions, so he had no worries about defending himself. However, last year Cao Cao was defeated by Zhang Xiu's false surrender when he went south, so he tried to go south many times. Liu Biao had no choice but to fight with Cao Cao many times. Just when Qin Zhen's envoy arrived, Liu Biao had just received news from the court asking him to assist Liu Bei in attacking Sun Ce. Looking at the imperial edict sent by the court, Liu Biao could not help but summon his ministers to discuss the matter: "Now I use Zhang Xiu to resist Cao Cao in Huainan, and Cao Cao uses Cao Hong to go south many times." "Right now, Sun Ce is far away in Jiangdong and has not caused any trouble for our army;"

"Although Liu Xuande is from the same clan as me, we don't have much contact!" "What is the meaning of Cao Cao sending this letter at this time?" "Could it be that you want to withdraw our troops and then plot against Nanyang?" The fact that Liu Bei and Cao Cao secretly divided the State of Chen was not actually spread. Therefore, Liu Biao did not know that Liu Bei and Cao Cao had made a secret deal, and he was a little confused about the sudden imperial edict, fearing that it was Cao Cao's strategy. But as soon as he finished speaking, a man in black stood up and said with a smile: "Don't worry, sir. From what I can see, this may not be Cao Cao's plan, but Liu Bei's!" "Because now Liu Bei is assisted by Qin Zhen, who is under Cao Cao, to enter Huainan. Last year he fought a great battle with Sun Ce in Shouchun, and the two families have deep resentment." "Since then, Liu Bei and Sun Ce's families have been at odds. Now Sun Ce is blocking the river to collect taxes in order to cut off Liu Bei's food supply." "Although Liu Bei is known for his benevolence and righteousness, he is also a hero of his time. How could he tolerate Sun Ce's behavior?" "Besides, Qin Zhen is also a man of deep thoughts, and he will definitely deal with Sun Ce as soon as possible!" "I heard that the King of Chen was assassinated in April this year, so Cao and Liu sent troops to Chen State, fought with Chen State for a while, and then negotiated for peace." "Finally, Liu Bei withdrew Chen County and handed it over to Cao Cao, who exchanged it with Pingyu." "It can be seen that the Cao and Liu families must have formed a secret alliance and supported each other." "Now that the imperial court is controlled by Cao Cao, Liu Bei must have asked Cao Cao for permission to issue an imperial decree to attack Sun Ce." "So this is not Cao Cao's plan, but Liu Bei's plan to seize Jiangdong!" The man who was speaking was more than seven feet tall, with long flowing beard and extraordinary appearance. He was Kuai Liang, the chief clerk under Liu Biao. When Liu Biao heard this, he stroked his beard and said in deep thought: "From this perspective, Liu Xuande was able to conspire with Cao Cao, so he is not someone you would want to be around!"

In this timeline, Liu Biao had never met Liu Bei, so he had no impression of Liu Bei. But when he heard that Liu Bei was able to force Cao Cao to negotiate, he realized that Liu Bei was not as simple as he seemed. After all, if a hero like Cao Cao didn't have any ability, he wouldn't be forced to exchange Pingyu for Chen County. Judging from all his performance, Liu Bei was at least a man who knew how to use people and was by no means a mediocre person. Thinking of this, he frowned and said to everyone: "If it is as Zirou said, this is Liu Bei's plan, and the emperor has issued an edict today, what should I do?" What he likes most is to play a balancing game. When Cao Cao is too strong, he resists Cao Cao. When Liu Zhang settled in Yizhou, he plotted against Liu Zhang; when Zhang Xian was too arrogant, he attacked Zhang Xian. Seeing that Liu Bei was going to attack Sun Ce and was dragging him into it, he was quite unhappy. Just as he finished speaking, another man stood up. He had a long beard, broad shoulders, a square chin and a heavy chin. He looked very majestic. This person was Cai Mao, the military advisor to General Zhennan under Liu Biao. As soon as he stood up, he said to Liu Biao: "Although there is an imperial decree, my lord, you should not obey it!" "Because Liu Bei was not someone who would stay under someone else's command for long, he did not have any good ideas at first, but he moved freely among the princes." "Now that we have captured Qin Zhen, we will take Huainan and kill Yuan Shu. If we allow him to occupy Yangzhou, he will be a great threat to our army!" "The reason they are seeking help from our army is probably because Liu Bei is from the north and is not used to fighting on water, so he cannot go to the east of the Yangtze River." "If our army sends troops to help him, Liu Bei will be able to move south, and Jiangdong will be occupied by him." "Our army will not only not benefit from sending out troops, but will also suffer harm in the future. It is not reasonable to send out troops!" Liu Biao nodded secretly when he heard this, but at this moment, his deputy Liu Xian stood up and said: "Sir, this is not the way to talk about it, nor is it the way to act." "Liu Xuande and the envoy are from the same clan. His predecessor went south to Xuzhou, but Tao Qian abdicated and offered Xuzhou to him, but he refused. This shows his benevolence." "After Lü Bu was defeated and surrendered to Xuzhou, he accepted Lü Bu without any suspicion. This is called righteousness!" "Although we have captured Qin Zhen and taken Huainan, we are also obeying the emperor's order and attacking Yuan Shu. This is called loyalty." "Last year, Liu Bei took back the imperial seal and presented it to the emperor. The emperor then used this achievement to restore his ancestral title and correct his position as a relative." "The world is in chaos today, and many heroes have risen up. Only the descendants of the emperor like this can step forward and support the Han Dynasty and quell the chaos." "In comparison, Sun Ce was the descendant of a traitor. His father, Sun Jian, first killed the governor, and then hid the imperial seal, leading to his defeat." "Sun Ce was also not ambitious and attacked Lujiang and Wujun, killing many people along the way." "I heard that he is violent and bloodthirsty, comparable to Xiang Yu in the past. He is known as the Little Overlord. Since he occupied Jiangdong, he has always wanted to organize an army to seek revenge!" "Your Excellency does not wish to go east, but must guard against Sun Ce's army marching westward." "Now Liu Xuande is planning to attack Sun Ce, and our army can lend a helping hand. It is best to eliminate this threat first." "If not, Liu Bei cannot go south, and allow Sun Ce to grow stronger, and if he fails to attack Huainan in the future, he will come to take Jiangxia. How will our army respond?"

"Besides, the emperor has issued an edict ordering our army to go out. You are in charge of Jingzhou under the emperor's order. How can you ignore the emperor's order?" "If you disobey my orders, how will the court view you in the future? How will the scholars of the world view us?" "You came here alone in the past, and were able to pacify Jingzhou because you obeyed the king's order and respected the emperor." "Now that we have combined kindness and power, and have lured people in a proper way, we have made the land peaceful and the people happy. Now is the time to report the king's order. How can we say that we will disobey the order and not go out?" Liu Xian, whose courtesy name was Shizong, was the uncle of the Jingzhou prodigy Zhou Buyi. He was well-informed, well-versed in historical allusions, and had an excellent eloquence. Now that these words were spoken, Liu Biao frowned again. In his opinion, Cai Mao's words made sense and Liu Bei was not someone who would be under someone else's control for long. Letting Liu Bei occupy Yangzhou would be like finding a powerful enemy for himself. In the face of the world situation, the title of royal family relatives is false, and sometimes they can turn against each other at any time. This is also the reason why he sent people to plot against Liu Zhang as soon as Liu Yan died. But what Liu Xian said also makes sense. It is true that Liu Bei is strong, but isn’t Sun Ce strong too? After all, Liu Bei was of the same clan as him and they could talk to each other, but Sun Ce treated him as the enemy who killed his father. If he doesn't take advantage of Liu Bei's march south to destroy Sun Ce now, Sun Ce, who will fail to capture Huainan, will most likely turn his attention to him! Moreover, the emperor's edict was also a problem, because his previous sacrifices to heaven and earth had already caused dissatisfaction among the scholars in Jingzhou. If he disobeys orders again now, these scholars might really criticize him! This is undoubtedly a situation he doesn't want to see! Both of them have their reasons. How should he decide? Thinking of this, he could not help but turn his gaze to a burly scholar and asked: "I wonder how the other side thinks our army should respond?" Yidu is the name of Kuai Yue, the younger brother of Kuai Liang. Compared with the weak Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue is a man of both civil and military talents. Facing Liu Biao's question, Kuai Yue smiled slightly, then stood up and said: "In my opinion, how the envoy responds should not be determined by our army!" "This is because the emperor's edict was Liu Bei's plan, and most of it came from his military advisor Qin Zhen." "Since Liu Bei wants to borrow our army's strength to attack Sun Ce, he must want to use them as the main force." "I have observed that Qin Zhen has always used the power of others to benefit himself." "Why not wait for Liu Bei's envoy to arrive and see what he has to say." "If they are willing to do good to our army and the benefits are sufficient, then our army will send troops." "If Liu Bei is determined to occupy Jiangdong alone, then our army will not need to send troops. The emperor is just asking our army to send troops to help." "Giving out 10,000 or 20,000 is help, giving out 1,000 or 2,000 is also help, at most it's just giving him some food and fodder." "I believe that Liu Bei, who is known for his benevolence and righteousness, will not necessarily blame you for this!" His words were exactly what Liu Biao was thinking. He stroked his beard for a moment and then said to everyone:

"Yi Du's words are quite in line with my opinion. Since Liu Xuande has submitted a petition asking me to send troops, I will meet his envoy first." "If they don't send anyone here, then our army will stay put!" After saying this, he ordered everyone to leave and wait for news from the east. Unexpectedly, before he had settled down for a few days, he received a letter from Huang She, saying that Qin Zhen, an envoy of Liu Bei's army, had arrived at Zhangling. When Liu Biao heard that the envoy of Liu Bei's army was Qin Zhen, he was greatly surprised and quickly summoned Kuai Yue, Cai Mao and others and said: "A few days ago, he said that he would meet Liu Bei's envoy first and then discuss the dispatch of troops. Unexpectedly, Liu Bei actually sent Qin Zixuan as an envoy!" "I heard that this man is Cai Boji's son-in-law, and he is good at speaking and arguing. Now he comes in person, how should we deal with him?" When Cai Mao and Kuai Yue heard that Liu Bei's envoy was Qin Zhen, they were secretly shocked for a moment. It should be noted that since Qin Zhen joined Liu Bei's army, he has been second only to the emperor and has great power. This time we are just discussing sending troops, why would Qin Zhen come in person? After thinking for a while, Kuai Yue frowned and said in a deep voice: "If Liu Bei sends someone else as an envoy, our army can still decline. But if Qin Zhen comes in person, we must not neglect him!" When Cai Mao heard what Kuai Yue said, he sneered: "It can be seen that Liu Bei must be afraid that our army is unwilling to send troops, so he sent Qin Zixuan here!" "This man is full of tricks, Cao Cao is still afraid of him, but now that things have come to this, I'm afraid we have to send troops!" Seeing the two of them like this, Liu Biao was a little displeased and said: "Even if Qin Zhen comes, I am not afraid of him." "I am only worried that this person is a famous scholar of today, and also a disciple of Cai Zhonglang. I don't know how to entertain him." "Do you two have any good advice for me on this?" When Kuai Yue saw that Liu Biao was unhappy, he knew that he and his companions must have overreacted, so he suggested: "Among the scholars in Jingzhou, only Wang Zhongxuan used to study under Cai Boqi and has an old relationship with Qin Zixuan. We can ask him to go and make contact!" "As for how to entertain you, it depends on whether the envoy is willing to send troops!" Liu Biao watched Kuai Yue react, then nodded and said: "What if I don't want to send troops?" After hearing this, Kuai Yue thought for a moment and then gave another advice: "If you don't want to send troops, then treat him with great courtesy, provide him with food and fodder, and shut him up!" As soon as he finished speaking, Cai Mao laughed and said: "If we follow Yidu's advice, we are afraid that our food and grass will be taken by Liu Bei, and our army will be forced to go out!" "Don't you know that Qin Zhen is a man who plans before he acts? How could he come unprepared?" "I have a plan that can shut Qin Zhen up and make him return empty-handed!" When Liu Biao heard this, his eyes lit up and he quickly asked: "Degui, what plan do you have to silence this man? Please tell me as soon as possible!" Upon seeing this, Cai Mao immediately stepped forward and whispered a few words to Liu Biao.

When Liu Biao heard this, he was overjoyed. He immediately ordered Cai Mao to go and make preparations, and also asked someone to inform Wang Can to contact Qin Zhen. It is also said that Wang Can once studied under Cai Yong and had known Qin Zhen for many years and they had a close friendship. Upon hearing that Qin Zhen was coming to Jingzhou, he was delighted and hurried to greet him. But before he set out, he heard Cai Mao summon the Confucian scholars from Xiangyang to come, and he was shocked for a moment, thinking: "Although there are many learned societies in Xiangyang, they rarely summon great scholars. Now that my brother has come, they summoned them. Is it to embarrass my brother?" Thinking of this, Wang Can felt uneasy. He knew that Qin Zhen had never liked studying classics, so how could he argue with these old pedants! If I don’t know anything, I’m afraid I’ll make a fool of myself when Qin Zhen comes. Thinking of this, he hurriedly crossed the river and informed Qin Zhen. (End of this chapter)