Chapter 49: Cao Cao Turns Envious: Such a Marvelous Talent Belongs to Liu Bei? He Will Force Liu Biao to Fire the First Shot!

Page (1/3)

Kuai Yue, lightly stroking his fine beard, suddenly narrowed his eyes and halted his movements.

Cai Mao’s face turned pale with shock, and he jumped up immediately.

“The intelligence must be wrong, it has to be wrong!”

“How could Zhang Ji be so utterly defeated?”

Cai Mao hurried down the steps, snatching the secret report on silk presented by his personal guard. Flustered, he unfolded it and began to read.

His eyes widened progressively, his mouth opening in disbelief, his face twisting into an expression of astonishment.

“Zhang Ji had four to five thousand troops, yet he couldn’t hold Wan City?”

“This Xiao Fang, how could he, how could he…”

Cai Mao’s hands trembled slightly as he held the report, looking up at Liu Biao in disbelief, unable to utter a word.

At this moment, Liu Biao had wiped the moisture from the corner of his mouth, suppressing the turmoil within. Anxiously, he demanded:

“De Gui, what exactly happened? What’s going on with Xiao Fang? How did Wan City fall so quickly?”

Cai Mao drew a sharp breath and handed the report over to Liu Biao.

Kuai Yue also hurriedly stood, drawing closer.

The lord and his minister hastily took the report, their eyes wide, scrutinizing every word as if afraid to miss a single character.

The battle for Wan City had ended. Liu Bei had openly revealed Xiao Fang’s stratagem to breach the city. Through various sources, their spies had naturally uncovered the entire chain of events.

“He actually sent a special force disguised as refugees, mingling with the Xiliang army’s fleeing soldiers to infiltrate Wan City?”

“Does this mean that Xiao Fang had already laid plans to capture Wan City well before the Battle of Biyang?”

Liu Biao’s voice was slightly hoarse as he raised his head, casting a surprised glance at Kuai Yue.

His look seemed to question his strategist—could a humble commoner truly possess such far-reaching foresight?

A trace of embarrassment flickered across Kuai Yue’s eyes.

First, his predictions had failed at Biyang, and now again at Wan City. As the foremost strategist of Jing and Xiang, he felt his face somewhat lost its dignity.

After coughing a few times to compose himself, Kuai Yue sighed deeply:

“I never imagined Xiao Fang to be so cunning and deceitful. It seems I indeed underestimated him before. This is my oversight, and I humbly ask for your lordship’s punishment!”

With that, Kuai Yue cupped his hands respectfully before Liu Biao.

Liu Biao opened his mouth to reproach, but the words died on his tongue.

Swallowing hard, he waved his hand:

“Enough. This fault cannot be laid on you alone. I too did not expect such a brilliant tactician to be hidden in Jingzhou.”

“And this brilliant mind, surprisingly, is but an obscure commoner!”

Kuai Yue breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Liu Biao ordered a maid to refill the tea, then calmly resumed the demeanor befitting a regional ruler.

“Now that Liu Bei has taken Wan City and even Zhang Xiu has surrendered to him, the central and northern parts of Nanyang have fallen into his hands. Our plan to benefit from this situation has completely failed.”

“What do you two think we should do next?”

Liu Biao’s gaze swept over his two chief aides.

Before Kuai Yue could speak, Cai Mao slammed the table, angrily declaring:

“Nanyang is the shield of our Jingzhou! How can we let outsiders snatch it away and let Liu Bei settle there?”

“Mao urges the lord to immediately dispatch troops northward, forcibly retake Wan City, and wipe out that Liu Bei!”

“Even if Liu Bei holds Wan City, compared to the forces of our entire province, he is but an ant trying to shake a tree. How can he be a match for our lord?”

Cai Mao remained adamant, advocating a face-off with military force.

But Liu Biao frowned deeply, hesitating.

On one hand, he worried about his reputation and did not want to be accused of striking against kin.

On the other, he had grown wary of Liu Bei himself.

After all, even the formidable Xiliang army, commanding the province’s forces, had been so easily crushed by Liu Bei.

Page (2/3)

If they failed to defeat Liu Bei, it would be more than a matter of losing face.

“Lord, since Liu Bei now occupies Wan City, why not accept reality and go with the flow?” Kuai Yue suddenly spoke, his tone laden with hidden meaning.

Liu Biao’s eyes flickered, sensing the undertone, and gestured for him to continue.

“Our prior plan to advance on Rang City wasn’t truly about capturing Wan City; it was merely to block Zhang Ji from further southward raids.”

“With Xiliang holding Wan City, they effectively cut off our contact with Cao Cao. In a sense, they serve as our northern shield.”

“If our lord truly takes Wan City, it will surely alert Cao Cao, risking direct conflict between the two factions, which is not desirable.”

“Since Liu Bei already holds Wan City, why not tacitly accept it? Let him guard our northern border for us.”

“What do you think, my lord?”

Kuai Yue elaborated this strategy, turning adversity into advantage.

His words struck a chord with Liu Biao, who nodded thoughtfully:

“This is an excellent plan. Cao Mengde’s military prowess is elusive, and he wields the legitimacy of the Emperor. Avoiding conflict with him is best.”

However, Cai Mao grew anxious and questioned:

“But if Liu Bei’s greed grows, and after taking Nanyang, he tries to invade Jingzhou further south?”

“If we do not eliminate him now, won’t we be raising a tiger that will later harm us?”

Upon hearing this, Kuai Yue laughed heartily, an expression of disdain crossing his brow.

Cai Mao was stunned, confused by the reaction.

Kuai Yue suppressed his laughter and retorted:

“Our lord commands seven counties of Jing and Xiang, with a disciplined army of one hundred thousand, comparable to the combined forces of the Yuan brothers and Cao Cao.”

“Do you truly believe Liu Bei would be so reckless as to attempt to seize our entire Jingzhou with just the half-county force of Nanyang?”

Cai Mao was silenced, unable to reply.

Liu Biao’s dark clouds vanished from his face, replaced by a hint of pride:

“Kuai Yue speaks with reason. I doubt Liu Xuande has such boldness to openly oppose me.”

“Very well. We shall follow Kuai Yue’s plan, temporarily lending Nanyang to Liu Bei, letting him guard our home and defend the northern border.”

…

Xudu, Office of the Minister of Works.

“To decisively defeat Zhang Xiu at Biyang, then take Wan City, force Zhang Ji to death, and induce Zhang Xiu’s surrender?”

“Is this… really the Liu Bei I know?”

Cao Cao carefully examined the spy report from Wan City, his face full of surprise.

“This battle is not as simple as it seems.”

“According to our intelligence, both the battles at Biyang and Wan City were devised by Liu Bei’s newly appointed strategist, Xiao Fang.”

Guo Jia stepped forward with another secret report, presenting it to Cao Cao.

“Xiao Fang?”

Cao Cao eagerly took the document and began reading.

“According to our spies’ investigations, Xiao Fang is a humble scholar from Yiyang in Jingzhou, previously unknown. It is unclear how he came to Xu Province or by what coincidence Liu Bei recognized his talents and appointed him strategist.”

“Though details are scant, Guo Jia speculates that Liu Bei’s victory over Yuan Lü’s allied forces at Chengfu and the swift capture of Wan City were all planned by this man behind the scenes.”

Cao Cao flipped through the report, while Guo Jia continued to brief.

“To arrange an insider within Wan City half a month in advance—that man truly has far-reaching vision!”

“I never thought Jingzhou concealed such a brilliant tactician, and now he serves Liu Bei?”

Cao Cao clicked his tongue in admiration, a trace of envy flickering in his expression.

As one who always cherished talent, he envied Liu Bei’s stroke of fortune in gaining such a strategist.

Page (3/3)

Beside him, Xun Yu’s face also bore a look of surprised satisfaction. Stroking his beard, he frowned thoughtfully:

“So this Xiao Fang is a humble scholar from Jingzhou. No wonder we never suspected him.”

“With such counsel, Liu Bei truly is like a tiger with wings.”

“Now that Wan City has changed hands, the threat south of Xudu has become Liu Bei, disrupting our entire strategy…”

Cao Cao’s admiration faded as his brow furrowed deeply.

Suddenly, he had a feeling that this Liu Bei was no longer the same as when he lost Xu Province.

With Xiao Fang’s support, Liu Bei seemed transformed, as if reborn, instilling in Cao Cao a rare sense of apprehension.

This feeling was even stronger than when Liu Bei held Xu Province.

“If Liu Bei lives, I won’t sleep peacefully…”

Cao Cao muttered, the killing intent in his voice gradually surfacing.

Guo Jia’s eyes flickered before he respectfully proposed:

“Minister of Works, why not employ Lord Xun’s strategy of pitting two tigers against each other once more with Liu Bei?”

Cao Cao’s eyes brightened, looking at Guo Jia.

“Liu Bei is kin to Liu Biao. If you lead forces against him, it will only force Liu Bei to align with Liu Biao, uniting the two Lius.”

“At that point, Liu Bei would hold Nanyang while Liu Biao provides continuous supplies and troops, forming a strong rear. It would be difficult for you to eliminate them.”

“Why not hold your troops back for now? Appoint Guan Yu, one of Liu Bei’s generals, as Administrator of Nan Commandery, and appoint Cai Mao, Liu Biao’s general, as Administrator of Nanyang. This will stir discord between the two.”

“Then you can watch from the sidelines as the two Lius tear each other apart, and when the time is right, intervene to reap the benefits and seize Nanyang!”

Guo Jia calmly presented his plan.

Cao Cao’s half-closed eyes suddenly snapped open, a cold smile curling at his lips:

“Ah, the classic ‘two tigers fighting over food.’ Wenruo once used this to make Liu Bei and Yuan Shu fight each other. Today, Fengxiao, you propose to let Liu Bei and Liu Biao fight.”

“Very well, we shall use the same trick and let the two Lius fight for supremacy!”

Thus, Cao Cao decided on his strategy.

He picked up the intelligence again, staring at the characters “Xiao Fang,” murmuring to himself:

“Xiao Fang, Xiao Jinglue… Such a talent wasted, not serving me. What a pity, what a pity…”

…

Wan City, the county government’s inner courtyard.

Inside the government hall, Liu Bei had arranged a family banquet.

Liu Bei had not yet arrived, but Xiao Fang, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Mi Sunqian, and several veteran members of the founding team had already gathered.

“Strategist Jinglue, we’ve taken Wan City, but we can’t just live off one city, can we?”

“Jingzhou is such a big prize right before us. If we don’t seize it, I’ll be itching with hunger.”

“But big brother always worries about kinship with Liu Biao and refuses to act. You’ve got the best ideas—find a way to persuade him not to be so conservative.”

Taking advantage of Liu Bei’s absence, Zhang Fei vented his frustrations to Xiao Fang.

Guan Yu and the others nodded slightly, clearly sharing Zhang Fei’s sentiments.

Xiao Fang calmly sipped his tea, then said quietly:

“In truth, it’s easy for our lord to take Jingzhou. The key is to make Liu Biao fire the first shot!”

“Fire the first shot?”

Zhang Fei scratched his head, bewildered by the remark.