Chapter 556

“Nandun has fallen?” Liu Bei had just discovered about what happened in Runan.

“Yes. Yes Milord. Nandun has fallen.” The messenger cautiously replied as he could tell that Liu Bei was angry.

“Damn it!” Liu Bei gritted his teeth. “Liu Mang Liu Hanyang! Are you really not even going to give me a way out?”

Guan Yu looked at his brother gnashing his teeth in anger and tried to console him. “Brother. Isn’t it only Nandun? We only have about ten thousand troops there. So what if it falls? The Yangzhou Army is worthless to only amount to this much. For an insignificant Nandun to stall them for so many days. Don’t worry! Once that traitor’s army arrives at Runan, your second brother will charge forward and take the enemy general’s head!” Guan Yu proudly said.

“The insignifant Nandun stopped the worthless enemy for so many days?” Liu Bei smiled bitterly. He did not know how to explain this to Guan Yu. While Nandun only had a small number of troops, Liu Bei had spread the rumor to the people saying that Liu Mang will slaughter everyone. The several hundred thousand people in Nandun were all devoted to Liu Bei and fought to the death. This meant that Nandun actually had several hundred thousand troops. Could Liu Bei defeat this number of people this quickly? The enemy’s fighting strength made Liu Bei feel helpless.

Guan Yu was a proud and arrogant person. If Liu Bei were to explain this to Guan Yu, Guan Yu would simply snort in disdain and even start to have complaints.

“Second brother. I am tired. Let us end today’s discussion.” Liu Bei sat down and massaged his aching head.

“This subordinate requests permission to leave.” The other officials said wanting to leave.

Sun Qian was also about to leave when a guard called out to him. “Master Sun Qian. The Lord requests to see you.”

“Oh?” Sun Qian nodded and followed the guard to the backyard where Liu Bei was waiting.

“Milord. Sun Qian is here.” The guard informed Liu Bei.

Liu Bei opened his eyes and saw Sun Qian. “Come! Gongyou, come and sit!” Liu Bei said as he had one of his subordinates bring over a chair.

“Thank you, Milord.” Sun Qian nodded and sat down.

“The rest of you, leave.” Liu Bei waved his hand, ordering all of his servants and guards to leave the two alone.

Once everyone else had left, Liu Bei showed a bitter smile feeling very disturbed. As a Lord, he should have showed a calm expression no matter the situation but this time, he was unable to do it. The Yangzhou Army seems insistent on killing him.

“There were over a hundred thousand people at Nandun. Yet less than ten thousand survived. The rest died in the hands of Liu Mang Liu Hanyang!” Liu Bei said with a bemoaning expression.

“That man is a butcher!” Liu Bei cursed loudly. He did not want to think that this was originally his fault for spreading that rumor in Nandun. If the people had not been brainwashed to be so devoted to Liu Bei, Liu Mang would have never given that cruel order.

“Gongyou. What should I do now?” Liu Bei asked. Yuzhou was lacking a strategist. Originally, he had Pang Tong but Pang Tong had went missing. Liu Bei who was panicking asked Sun Qian instead. This is because Liu Mang had proven that he did not care about the lives of the common people any more then he cared about wiping out Liu Bei. It was like an announcement saying that Liu Bei will soon die.

Suan Qian liked to be valued by Liu Bei but he knew that this was too serious of a situation. “Milord. Nandun has fallen but we still Dingcheng.” Sun Qian tried to placate Liu Bei.

“Gongyou. Do not try to placate me at this moment.” Liu Bei shook his head. If Nandun had already fallen, how long can Dincheng last?

“Milord. Dingcheng will definitely hold out longer than Nandun.” Sun Qian said. With what happened at Nandun, Liu Bei would not need propaganda to send the people to action. Liu Mang would need to put in more effort to capture the other cities.

“Even if they can hold out longer, the Yangzhou Army will eventually reach Runan.” Liu Bei could not feel relieved. All they could do was delay the inevitable.

“Milord. If it really cannot work out, we can only ask for help.” Sun Qian said to Liu Bei.

“Ask for help?” Liu Bei was stunned. He has no allies. Initially, there was Zhang Xiu but Liu Bei drove Zhang Xiu to his death. Only Sun Ce has a neutral exchange with Liu Bei while the rest are enemies.

“Are you saying…”

“Yes. I am talking about asking help from Cao Cao.”

“Will he agree?”

“As long as Milord capitulates, he will agree.” Sun Qian replied.

“To Cao Cao, Cao Mengde?” Liu Bei felt very uncomfortable at the thought. He had betrayed Cao Cao thinking himself smarter. Now he had to go back and beg Cao Cao for help?

“Milord. You will have to bear it for the plan. Also, you will not be capitulating to Cao Cao but the Han Emperor. Cao Cao is simply taking charge of things. We should bring our request to His Majesty!” They were obviously requesting Cao Cao for help but used the Han Emperor’s name. Yet it was not a plan that could fool anyone. It was obvious to everyone that the Han Emperor is just a puppet.

“If I ask for help, will Cao Cao come and rescue me?” Sun Qians words made Liu Bei feel better. After all, Liu Bei himself did not really care anymore. His skin was thick. Liu Bei was simply afraid that even after admitting defeat, Cao Cao would not save him.

“Don’t worry Milord. If Cao Cao wants to conquer the Central Plains and the world, he will support us!” Sun Qian replied. If the Central Plains were to be united, Cao Cao would need to fight a powerful enemy. It was for this same reason that Cao Cao had sent provisions to Shouchun. Regardless of how great a strategist Xu Shu was, he would not be able to do anything without provisions. Now it was simply Liu Bei who needed help instead.

“Good. I will send a letter to Xudou to have His Majesty intervene!” Liu Bei said to Sun Qian with a smile.

***

At Xudou, there was not much battles to fight. They simply needed to watch the Yuan Family kill themselves. Cao Cao called back his troops to Xudou to rest and reorganize. He left behind a few generals such as Cheng Yu at Jizhou.

As the North was cold, Cao Cao had also returned to Xudou. One of the reasons he did this is because Guo Jia was sick. Guo Jia had been coughing non-stop and Cao Cao, feeling sorry for his dear friend, had brought Guo Jia with him back to Xudou to look for a doctor.

“Haha. This Liu Bei sent a letter over wanting me to send out troops? And here I thought he was strong willed!” Cao Cao sneered as he looked at the letter. He then handed the letter over to the others present such as Xun You and Shu Zhi.

“This Liu Bei is a lowly person that sold straw sandals! We should have killed him earlier and he would not have become a thorn in our backs!” Xiahou Dun said.

“Yuanrang! Speak cautiously!” One general warned.

Cheng Yu and Guo Jia had once suggested Liu Bei be killed but Cao Cao was too confident with his personal charisma. As a result, he lost Xuzhou and his generals were killed. Liu Bei had also escaped. This was a stain on Cao Cao’s record.

Cao Cao drank his tea. Anger and embarrassment was shown on his face but fortunately, no one could tell as his skin was dark.

“Yuanrang’s is right.” Cao Cao approved of Xiahou Dun’s words. This was partly because the person was Xiahou Dun. Had it been anyone else, Cao Cao would have him executed.

“I must have been bewitched by a ghost. To think I wanted to take in this snake!” Cao Cao shook his head regretfully. If it was not because of Liu Bei, his general Che Zhou and many of his elite Qingzhou Army would not have died.

“Milord. Understanding mistakes can help improve oneself. However, letting go of this snake may not be a bad thing. Isn’t it good that this snake bites others?” Xun You said.

Cao Cao had lost his general and almost lost Xuzhou because of Liu Bei. However, it also has its benefits. The places where Liu Bei goes to would not be at peace. If it was not because of Liu Bei, Liu Mang would have long conquered the Central Plains. Zhang Xiu may have also joined up with Liu Mang. In a sense, letting Liu Bei live might have been a blessing in disguise. Xun You’s words made Cao Cao feel better.

“If we want this snake to continue biting others, we cannot let it die.” Xun You said to Cao Cao and the others.

“Gongda. What do you mean? Do you still want to save that sandal peddler?” Xiahou Dun complained. He had quite a good relationship with Che Zhou. So his opinion of Liu Bei plummeted after Che Zhou’s death.

“The Imperial Uncle Liu had written a letter to His Majesty so we have to save him.” Xun Yu advised. He was actually of higher position than Xun You. The moment he opened his mouth, everyone else furrowed their brows. This is not because his opinion was wrong but because of the way he addressed Liu Bei. All of them hated Liu Bei and addressed him as a sandal peddler. However, Xun Yu called him the Imperial Uncle and even brought in the Emperor’s name.

“Uncle!” Xun You winced bitterly. His uncle was more experienced than him so why did Xun Yu do this? The Han Dynasty was ending and the Han Emperor no longer had power. Most of the territories belonged to Cao Cao. Even if Cao Cao was a loyal official with no intentions to take the throne, his subordinates will still make him Emperor.

A new Emperor would need new ministers. For the sake of their own families, Cao Cao’s men would not let the Han Dynasty be restored. However, the intelligent Xun Yu seemed as though he supported the Emperor.

Xun You saw Cao Cao frown angrily and quickly stood up to speak for his uncle. “We should save that Big Eared Liu for Milord’s great cause!”

“Oh? Tell me!” Cao Cao was interested the words ‘great cause’ and his anger dissipated.

“Milord. The Yuan Family is powerful but only if they work together.” Xun You opened. Although the Yuan Family was powerful, the brothers seemed more intent in killing each other. Yuan Tan even sent a letter asking Cao Cao to help kill his third brother, promising the third brother’s territory and mother to Cao Cao.

Cao Cao was now just waiting for the Yuan Family to finish themselves off.

“There are no worries in the North so Milord only needs to worry about the Central Plains.” Xun You said. Originally, the Central Plains was easy to capture with a weak Liu Pi at Yuzhou and with Zhang Xiu ready to surrender. However, Cao Cao initially passed up this opportunity because he did not have enough troops to guard new territory while fighting back Yuan Shao. Another reason was because Cao Cao was afraid. If his territory grew too big too quickly, people would sense a crisis and start focusing on removing him. Both Sun Ce and Yuan Shao weren’t easy to deal with.

This was why Cao Cao left Yuan Shu and Zhang Xiu alone. He thought that he could easily deal with them after dealing with Yuan Shao.

He never expected two fierce beasts to appear at the Central Plains. One was Lu Bu, the other was Liu Bei. Liu Bei was not so bad as his foundation was superficial. However, Lu Bu had Liu Mang. Once Liu Mang had appeared, the Central Plains went through a huge change. The Lu Bu’s Army that were about to end suddenly grew strong again. They captured Lujiang, and advanced towards Yangzhou. They also obtained many other talented strategists like Xu Shu, Liu Ye and Jia Xu. These people were all strategists that were not any inferior to Xun Yu, Xun You and Guo Jia.

While Lu Bu himself was the God of War, they also obtained other powerful generals like Zhao Yun and Huang Zhong.

Now, Yangzhou had a huge army. With Jingzhou supporting Yangzhou, the Central Plains will be hard to obtain.

“We cannot let Yangzhou obtain the Central Plains.” Xun You said. Yangzhou would grow much more powerful by obtaining the Central Plains. So Liu Bei was still useful.

Hearing this, Cao Cao was determined to support Liu Bei regardless of Xiahou Dun’s opinions. He also knew that Liu Bei’s survival was important.

“But how should we support Liu Bei?” One person asked. If they were to send troops openly, they would only garner hatred.

The world was watching Cao Cao after Yuan Shao’s defeat. If he were to dispatch troops, the others would unite to go against him. Openly declaring war against Yangzhou right now was also a bad idea due to the size of Yangzhou’s Army. Cao Cao would need to recall his troops from the North to defend himself from Yangzhou.

Although they did not fight any battles for a while, there is still a chance that the Yuan Family may take this opportunity to cooperate and attack him. There was no need to take such huge risk for Liu Bei who is not his family member.

“Milord. Do you remember Xuzhou?” A weak voice asked. Beside him was a servant and a guard who was watching anxiously.

“Fengxiao. Why are you here?” Cao Cao quickly rushed over to help support Guo Jia. “What are you guys doing? Didn’t I tell you to watch over Fengxiao to make sure he rests?” Cao Cao shouted at the servant and the guard with killing intent.

“Milord, do not blame them. I am the one who came on my own accord because I could not sit idly.” Guo Jia replied to Cao Cao and then started to cough.

“Lord Guo Jia have already pleaded for you. Quickly thank him!” Xun You quickly stepped forward and say. He did this because Cao Cao was already showing killing intent. One small mistake and these two could be dead.

“Thank you, Lord Guo Jia!”

“And the Lord?” Xun You shouted again.

“Thank you Milord!” The two kowtowed.

“Leave.” Cao Cao waved his hand impatiently. He saw that Xun You had spoken and had to give face.

“Go quickly!” Xun You said to the two as he kicked them lightly.

“Yes, yes!” The two quickly ran away with their faces covered in cold sweat.

“Does the Lord remember Xuzhou?” Guo Jia asked again and Cao Cao’s attention returned to Guo Jia.

“Xuzhou?” To Cao Cao, Xuzhou was now of little worth. There were only thirty thousand people living there and most of the city was abandoned.

“Is Fengxiao talking about Huaiyin?” Xun You asked.

“Gongda truly understands me. Haha.” Guo Jia laughed for a bit and then started to cough again.

“Although the people at Huaiyin hold Yuan Shao’s flag, it is obvious who the real identity of the person is. Since they at Yangzhou could do this, there is no reason we cannot do the same.” Guo Jia’s eyes glinted. He pushed on despite his illness because he knew that Liu Mang and Lu Bu needed to be dealt with. He could still remember the time Lu Bu treated him with disdain.

It was natural for the two to clash when the two stood at the pinnacle of strength and intelligence.

“Are we going to help Liu Bei for nothing?” There were still people that were unsatisfied with helping Liu Bei. They did not care if it was part of a stratagem.

“Of course we won’t help Liu Bei for nothing. Liu Bei is also our enemy.” Guo Jia coughed as he spoke. Guo Jia also wanted Liu Bei dead.

***

“What? He wants me to give Caicheng, Yecheng, Xiangyang and Gucheng? Why don’t he just rob me?” Liu Bei shouted angrily. He felt like killing the envoy in his anger.

“Haha. Imperial Uncle Liu. There is no need to be so angry. Milord did not ask you to cede control of the four cities. He only asks you to allow him to garrison his troops there.” Cao Cao’s envoy replied.

“What’s the difference?” Liu Bei shouted as he pointed at the envoy. If the troops are being stationed in the city then it would be obvious that they wanted the city.

“Is the Left General going to draw your sword on a guest? Milord sent his troops to save you and you are not even going to let them into the city? If this news were to spread, I wonder how the other heroes would see the Left General.” The envoy asked indifferently.

“I don’t need you to save me! Get lost!” Liu Bei shouted angrily. He was already feeling extremely stifled from being bullied by Liu Mang. Now Cao Cao wanted to profit off his misfortune.

Sun Qian sighed bitterly as he shook his head. If only they had not attacked Jingzhou. “Sir, go back and take a rest first. We will negotiate once Milord calms down.” Sun Qian said to the envoy knowing that Liu Bei was too hotheaded to listen to anything at that moment.

“Oh, then you must hurry. Milord can wait but Yuzhou cannot wait!” The envoy sneered.

“Get lost!”

“Milord, quell your anger.” Sun Qian advised.

“How am I supposed quell my anger? Cao Aman is bullying people intolerably!” Liu Bei did not have many cities left but Cao Cao demanded for four. At that rate, Liu Bei wouldn’t have anything left even after he chased Liu Mang away.

“Milord. Cao Cao only made his opening demands. We simply need to negotiate with a counter-offer.” Sun Qian explained.

“So what if we make a counter offer?” Liu Bei asked angrily. In the end, Cao Cao wants his territory.

“Milord. Right now, giving away cities would be a blessing for us.”

“Sun Qian. Do you want me to be left all alone in this world?”

“No, Milord. I definitely do not have this intention! However, we are surrounded by two fierce tigers. Milord should know that a mountain cannot have two tigers. Whether the two tigers kill each other will depend on Milord. If our territory is smaller, we would not be targeted. Once the two tigers become weak, it would be an opportunity for Milord.

“Are you saying…”

“We can have less territory but our military might cannot be small. Have the Xiliang Cavalry and Qingzhou Troops abandon those useless territories. If we still have the troops, we can make a comeback.”

“Have the two sides fight each other?” Liu Bei was moved. He now thought of emulating Cao Cao who pulled out his troops to let the Yuan Family kill each other.

“Has your Lord agreed?” Cao Cao’s envoy asked Sun Qian.

“Yes. Milord has agreed. However, four cities is too many. We can only provide two cities.” Sun Qian replied to the envoy.

“Two cities? Do you want our troops to be homeless?”

“Fine. Then let us discuss in the room. Lord Cao definitely does not want Liu Mang to capture Yuzhou. Your Lord will not gain anything from our destruction. If you want to negotiate, speak your demands. If it is too excessive, we cannot negotiate. At that time, we will just surrender. I am sure the King of Shu will not kill a surrendered opponent.

“Hm?” Cao Cao’s envoy frowned. Liu Bei surrendering to Yangzhou would make things difficult to manage.

“Three cities. That is Milord’s limit.” The envoy said.

“Fine. Three cities it is.” Sun Qian easily replied against the envoy’s expectations.

“In that case, I hope the envoy will quickly bring Lord Cao’s troops over.” Sun Qian added.

“Of course. I will take my leave here.” The envoy cupped his fist.

“Take care, I won’t see you off.” Sun Qian cupped his fist back. Once the envoy had left, Sun Qian’s smile also vanished.

“Men!” Sun Qian called out.

“This subordinate is here.” One guard came and knelt in front of Sun Qian.

“Go and bring a letter to the Yangzhou Army at Nandun. Tell them that Cao Cao have dispatched their troops.”

***

“Cao Cao have dispatched troops?” Lu Bu looked at the report in Nandun. Half of the Yangzhou Army had stationed in Nandun after capturing it.

“That cannot be true. Isn’t Cao Cao in the North? Does he dare to meddle with the Central Plains before pacifying Hebei?” One person pointed out.

“That’s right! Is he not afraid that war would break out between our armies?” Another person said. While Cao Cao and Yangzhou were enemies, they still had a peaceful relationship on the surface. One side wanted to pacify Hebei while the other wanted to pacify the Central Plains. Starting a war with each other now would only give others the opportunity to take advantage of them.

“Could the information be wrong?”

“It should not be wrong. This information come from the North. Cao Ren’s troops have begun to move.”

“What if this is a bluff? They just want to stall us.”

“Then take a look at this.” Lu Bu handed over another letter.

“This is…?”

“I am sure you did not expect this. This is a letter from Liu Bei’s Runan.” Lu Bu said coldly. The person who sent the letter was Sun Qian who they had captured before. Since Sun Qian should not have such courage, the real person sending this letter should be Liu Bei.

“Liu Bei is warning us?” Someone questioned.

“Liu Bei wants us and the Cao Cao’s Army to kill each other!” One person sneered. He understood that Cao Cao would fight using Liu Bei’s banner. So, Liu Bei sent a letter telling Yangzhou to resent Cao Cao and fight against Cao Cao.

“What a good scheme. Sun Qian and Liu Bei are both trying to profit from this.” One young man praised.

Lu Bu looked at this man and could not recognize him. “Who is he?”

“Milord. This man is Lu Su Lu Zijing. He is currently teaching our army.” Cheng Yu replied.

“Lu Su? Jiangdong’s Lu Family?” Lu Bu recalled. Wasn’t Lu Su their enemy’s strategist? Why is he here?

“Teacher Zijing has changed sides.” Cheng Yu explained. Lu Su also did not refute.

“Oh.” Lu Bu nodded.

“Sun Qian’s scheme is not bad but too superficial.” Lu Su laughed. Cao Cao knew that his actions could not be hidden. He was simply using Liu Bei to tell Yangzhou that he was watching and to ensure that Yangzhou could not destroy Liu Bei.

“If we cannot defeat Liu Bei, we cannot obtain Yuzhou!” One of the impatient generals said anxiously.

“Not necessarily.” Lu Su laughed.

“Teacher Zijing, why do you say that?”

“Marquis Wen. There is no need to fight at Xiangcheng anymore.”

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