Chapter 33
"Two letters?"
Liu Bei's eyes moved.
The last time he took Wancheng, he wrote two letters of persuasion to Zhang Ji and Liu Biao.
Now that Wancheng has been captured, two more letters have to be written?
Liu Bei couldn't help but asked curiously:"Ziyu, these two letters , and who do you want to write to?"
"The first letter was naturally written to Liu Biao."
Deng Mu raised his wine glass again and pointed towards the south in the direction of Rangcheng.
"Liu Biao had promised that after the lord captured Wancheng, Nanyang County would be handed over to the lord to rule."
"This letter from the lord can be used as a pretext of victory to order Liu Biao to fulfill his promise and ask him to withdraw from Rangcheng and other Wannan counties, and the lord will take over all the counties in Nanyang."
Liu Bei nodded slightly, agreeing with what Deng Mu said.
After all, the two of them had spoken before, and this was something Liu Biao promised himself.
Even if he asked Liu Biao for the counties south of Wancheng, he would be justified and there would be nothing to be blamed for.
"Commander Ziyu, we took Wancheng alone, which definitely exceeded Liu Biao's expectations."
"I don't think that just based on a letter from my brother, he will really let go of the cities in Rang County. Guan
Yu reminded him while stroking his beautiful beard.
Liu Bei frowned slightly and looked at Deng Mu.
"Liu Biao also hoped to let his lord be his eagle and dog to help him capture Wancheng, and he wanted to reap the benefits."
"General Yun Chang is right. Of course he will not give up Nanyang County easily to his lord."
"That's why we need a second letter."
Deng Mu's eyes were sarcastic, and he pointed his wine glass towards the north.
"This second letter, to be precise, should be a memorial to the emperor."
"In this memorial, the Lord can declare that he has defeated Zhang Ji, a traitor from Xiliang, and avenged the emperor's revenge for Zhang Ji's rebellion in the country and the kidnapping of the emperor."
"And Cao Cao welcomed the emperor to Xudu. Everyone knew that he held the emperor hostage to order the princes, and he was the actual manipulator of the Han court."
"Liu Biao will definitely interpret the lord's move to express his love to the emperor as the lord intends to show his kindness to Cao Cao."
"Liu Biao was naturally worried that his lord would turn against Cao Cao and lead Cao Cao's army south to invade Jingzhou."
"So for Liu Biao, stabilizing the lord, ensuring that the lord is neutral and not falling to Cao Cao has become the top priority."
"So it was Liu Biao's wisest choice to go along with the flow and give the counties of Rang to his lord, which would not only fulfill the agreement but also securely win over the lord."
"In this way, my lord, wouldn't we have achieved our pre-war goal of occupying Nanyang completely?"
Deng Mu spoke eloquently and made his deep meaning clear.
Liu
Bei suddenly understood. Deng Mu's plan was to draw Cao Cao into the scene to check and threaten Liu Biao.
Only in this way can Liu Biao be forced to keep his promise.
"Bei Dang really benefited a lot from Ziyu's overall view and learned a lesson!"
"OK, I will write these two letters immediately!"
At that time, Liu Bei used Deng Mu's plan to write two letters, one for the south and one for the north.make, fly away
…
Rangcheng.
Inside the county house, the aroma of wine fills the air.
Liu Biao was having a drinking party with the generals, as if he was staying out of the action and just sitting back and watching the fight between tigers.
"Zhang Xiuxiao fights bravely and Liu Bei has the advantage of defending the city. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages."
"The more I expected, the two of them would have to fight to the death, and it would be hard to tell the winner for at least a month or two."
"The Lord would like to take this opportunity to recharge his batteries, and then take action to clean up the mess when both Zhang and Liu are hurt."
Kuai Yue had a confident smile on his face as he sketched a blueprint for Liu Biao.
Liu Biao stroked his beard and smiled, nodding slightly:
"What Yidu said is absolutely true. That old man Zhang Xiu has fought against him several times, and he is actually a famous general in the world."
"Liu Xuande would have to endure such a powerful enemy."
Everyone laughed.
After Liu Biao drank a glass of wine, he suddenly remembered something and asked:
"Xeno, we previously guessed that Liu Bei has a new powerful counselor under his command."
"In the past few days, have you found out about this person’s origins?"
Cai Mao and others in the hall all put down their wine glasses and focused their curious eyes on Kuai Yue.
Obviously they all wanted to know what kind of famous scholar would take refuge in the service of someone like Liu Bei who weaves mats and sells shoes.
"According to my detailed report, Liu Bei newly worshiped a military advisor named Deng Mu."
"Speaking of which, this Deng Mu is still a descendant of the Deng family in Nanyang. His family originally lived in Xinye."
"I heard that this man traveled all the way to Xuzhou to seek refuge with Liu Bei."
Kuai Yue finally got the exact information and confirmed the existence of the"mysterious counselor".
But the name"Deng Mu" made everyone look like a question mark.
"Deng Mu, am I from Jingzhou?"
"Such a resourceful counselor is actually right under my nose?"
"How come I have never heard of a person like Deng Mu in Jingzhou?"
Liu Biao's eyes were blank and unfamiliar, with a look of surprise on his face.
Kuai Yue coughed a few times and explained:
"Although this Deng family has a common surname in Jingzhou, the family has been in decline for a long time and has not produced a high-ranking official worth two thousand dan for a hundred years."
"Yue sent people to conduct a detailed investigation and found out that Deng Mu was now white and his family wealth was no more than a small fortune."
"Not to mention the lord, even Yue had never heard of this person's existence, so there was nothing surprising about him."
After hearing this explanation, Liu Biao suddenly understood and couldn't help but his face darkened.
This Deng Mu clearly came from a poor family. No need to guess, this person must have failed under his rule, so he felt resentful and went all the way to Xuzhou to seek refuge. Liu Bei.
The most annoying thing is that, just to take refuge with Liu Bei, he actually led Liu Bei to Jingzhou to compete with him for Nanyang!
How could Liu Biao not be angry?
"This Deng Mu, who is a subject of my lord in Jingzhou, dares to lead a wolf into the house and helps Liu Bei come to fight against the lord. He is really a villain who forgets his origins!"
Cai Mao cursed loudly and nodded.
Then he cupped his hands and said angrily:
"Please give the order, my lord, to immediately search and arrest Deng Mu’s family members for questioning!"
Liu Biao pounded the table with his fist, and a look of anger flashed across his face.
Seeing this, Kuai Yue hurriedly advised:
"Yue has made a detailed investigation and found out that this person's parents died young and he has no wife or children. He is alone with no family members."
"Before he left Xinye, he even sold all his ancestral property. He obviously wanted to join Liu Bei and left no weakness for us."
"Moreover, the lord is a powerful leader of the country. If he wants to arrest his family members just because he is a prince and has defected to other princes, it will make people think that the lord has lost his dignity."
The anger on Liu Biao's face was slightly suppressed.
After pondering for a moment, Liu Biao showed sarcasm and snorted coldly:
"He even bought his ancestral property and went all the way to join Liu Bei. It was really deliberate."
"It seems that this Deng Mu has a deep resentment towards me. Kuai
Yue smiled and said disapprovingly:
"There are so many people from poor families in the state, most of them are mediocre and self-righteous people. It is not surprising that they are dissatisfied with the Lord."
"It's just that this Deng Mu is not mediocre, and he is quite clever."
"It's a pity that out of anger, he chose Liu Bei, a lord with a background of weaving mats and selling shoes. He was destined to be unable to achieve great things and wasted all his talents."
Cai Mao and other people burst into laughter.
The palace was filled with an atmosphere of sarcasm.
Although Liu Biao did not speak, he only stroked his beard and sneered, obviously acquiescing to what Kuai Yue said.
"newspaper~~~"
"Urgent report from Wancheng!"
The shout interrupted the ironic atmosphere in the hall, and the scout rushed in in a panic
"Report to the lord, urgent report from the north!"
"Liu Bei defeated Zhang Xiu outside Wancheng and wiped out all 10,000 of his troops."
"Liu Bei's general Guan Yu took the formation to kill Zhang Xiu!"
There was an uproar in the palace.
The sneer on Liu Biao's face was instantly replaced by horror.