HLnovel Chapter 422 Zhuge Liang: I'm mentally broken! My crystals disappeared as soon as I left the mou
Chapter 422 Zhuge Liang: I'm mentally broken! My crystals disappeared as soon as I left the mou
Chapter 422 Zhuge Liang: I'm mentally broken! The crystal is gone as soon as I left the mountain? "By the way, Ziyi."
"The Tongguan Pass, which Miao Cai was previously stationed at, is now completed."
"Miao Cai requested Cao to send a general skilled in defense to garrison Tongguan."
Cao Cao picked up another letter from Xiahou Yuan and handed it to Su Yu.
Su Yu nodded and smiled:
“Miao Cai hasn’t been idle these past two years. He knows that he shouldn’t do everything himself, but rather needs to delegate authority appropriately.”
"Otherwise, it would be putting the cart before the horse for a commander to be busy guarding the passes every day."
Cao Cao sighed:
"This fellow has finally grown up; he even knows to ask Cao for people."
"If this were in the past, this guy would probably not only have become the garrison commander of Tongguan, but he might also have personally participated in the construction of Tongguan."
Xiahou Yuan is now the most powerful general in Cao Cao's western region, and can be considered the supreme commander. He should be stationed in Chang'an to oversee all directions.
If he were to become a garrison commander at Tongguan Pass, it would indeed be putting the cart before the horse.
Su Yu thought for a moment and then recommended:
"Let Hao Zhao go."
"The Southern Xiongnu have now completely submitted to our Great Han, and Hao Zhao no longer needs to guard the border."
"Placing him at Tongguan would also effectively block any possible attacks by Lü Bu, Han Sui, and others."
Cao Cao quickly agreed to Su Yu's suggestion, promoted Hao Zhao, and made him Xiahou Yuan's deputy.
Xiahou Yuan excels at offense, while Hao Zhao is adept at defense. Their combined strength can make the western region temporarily impregnable.
After Cao Cao takes Xiangyang, we will find a way to bring Liangzhou into Cao Cao's territory.
……
at the same time
Jiangxia
Liu Bei and his two brothers, along with Zhuge Liang, stayed in Jiangxia's main city for five days with great trepidation.
During that time, Huang Zu only met with them once.
After that, he kept using being busy with official duties as an excuse to avoid seeing the four people.
This evening, Liu Bei, his two brothers, and Zhuge Liang learned that Xiangyang had changed hands and that Liu Biao and Liu Qi had both died! (Liu Bei escaped Xiangyang a few hours before Liu Biao's death, so he did not know that Liu Biao and Liu Qi would die.)
Shocked, Liu Bei grabbed Zhuge Liang's arm and asked:
"Kongming, what should we do?"
"If Huang Zu also knew about this, would he have ordered Bei to be bound and used to present Bei's head to Cao Cao to claim credit?"
Zhuge Liang broke out in a cold sweat.
Who the hell came out of retirement and immediately started a game with such a huge disadvantage, with the crystal only having a sliver of health left?!
Would Zhuge Liang dare to gamble on human nature? Would he dare to gamble that Huang Zu wouldn't kidnap Liu Bei? Obviously not!
If this had happened before Liu Biao and Liu Qi died, Liu Bei and Huang Zu would at least have been colleagues, so Liu Bei could have claimed the title of colleague.
If he were to use Liu Qi's name again, Huang Zu would have to treat him with utmost courtesy.
But now, Liu Biao and Liu Qi are both dead!
Liu Cong became the nominal ruler of Jingzhou.
That's Liu Cong! Lady Cai's own son, Cai Mao's nephew, and the apple of the eye of the Jingzhou surrender faction!
Huang Zu himself was also one of the high-ranking officials in Jingzhou.
Logically speaking, Huang Zu should now follow Liu Cong to surrender to Cao Cao, which is the natural course of events.
Rebelling against Cao Cao could even be considered a betrayal of Liu Cong, the current ruler of Jingzhou.
Therefore, even Zhuge Liang was helpless in this desperate situation!
Without the righteous cause bestowed upon him by Liu Biao and Liu Qi, Liu Bei is now like a fugitive on the run.
Liu Bei had no say in Huang Zu's decision.
All he knew was that his life was now in Huang Zu's hands.
"Ugh……"
"Where in all the world can I, Liu Bei, find a place to settle down?"
Liu Bei couldn't help but burst into tears.
This wasn't acting; it was genuine grief that brought her to tears!
"My lord, it is all my fault for misjudging the situation. Please punish me."
Zhuge Liang was indeed responsible, taking all the blame upon himself.
Liu Bei quickly wiped away his tears and comforted Zhuge Liang:
"Kongming, there's no need to blame yourself."
"This is not your fault."
"The deaths of Brother Jingsheng and the eldest son are suspicious; it must be the work of Su Ziyi and others from Cao's camp."
“If Brother Jingsheng and the eldest son had not died, I would not have fallen into such a predicament.”
The deaths of Liu Biao and Liu Qi were what truly broke Liu Bei's spirits.
For Liu Bei, who always liked to wave the banner of righteousness, without righteousness, nothing could be accomplished.
"Brother, don't worry!"
"With my eighteen-foot spear, I will surely pave a path to hegemony for you, my elder brother!"
"If Huang Zu dares to send someone to arrest my elder brother, I'll stab him myself!"
Zhang Fei's courage is commendable.
But all that's left is commendable courage.
Zhuge Liang had a splitting headache.
Damn it! Unless Huang Zu is an idiot, he definitely wouldn't choose to fight you one-on-one, right?
With so many soldiers, they could easily surround you and kill you!
Guan Yu remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.
Liu Bei noticed Guan Yu's silence and quickly asked him:
"What is Yun Chang thinking about?"
Guan Yu cupped his hands and said:
“Brother, I heard that Sun Quan previously sent Kongming’s elder brother to Xiangyang to forge an alliance with Liu Jingzhou.”
"But due to the obstruction of Cai Mao, Kuai Yue and others, the alliance was ultimately not formed."
Does this indicate that Sun Quan still advocates resisting Cao Cao?
Reminded by Guan Yu, Zhuge Liang suddenly had a sudden realization.
"My lord, Yun Chang is right!"
"Although his uncle and cousin are no longer here, Sun Quan is alone and still hopes to find allies to fight against Cao Cao together."
"Liang is willing to persuade Sun Quan on behalf of our lord to temporarily accept our lord."
"But going to Jiangdong is only a temporary measure. My lord should also win over Wu Ju, the governor of Cangwu in Jiaozhou, and Han Xuan, Zhao Fan, Liu Du, Jin Xuan and others in Jingnan."
Liu Bei was overjoyed and wept.
There is always a way out.
It seems that Heaven is still on Liu Bei's side.
Zhuge Liang also regained some confidence.
Huang Zu might defect to Cao Cao.
The four governors of Jingnan are unlikely to surrender to Cao Cao.
The reason is also very simple.
Despite the hardships Jingnan endured during Liu Biao's reign, it's not a simple matter.
But the suffering in Jingnan mainly stemmed from the fact that the four governors would impose an additional layer of exploitation on top of Liu Biao's exploitation!
With each step building upon the previous one, it would inevitably mean "the people of Jingnan would suffer."
All four governors came from prominent local families and were like local emperors in their respective prefectures.
For example, Zhao Fan, the prefect of Guiyang, had just taken office as the prefect of Guiyang three months ago.
The former governor of Guiyang was his own brother, Zhao Hu.
However, Zhao Hu had the same problem as Zhang Xiu's uncle, Zhang Ji.
Lady Fan, the eldest daughter of the prominent Fan family in Guiyang, was engaged to a man who died before even consummating their marriage.
Zhao Fan succeeded as the governor of Guiyang, but he was beset by internal and external troubles, especially the sudden changes in the north, and had no time to think about what to do next.
Zhao Fan and the other three prefects were most worried about not being able to continue serving as prefects in their respective areas.
If they surrendered to Cao Cao...
In order to consolidate power, Cao Cao would very likely abolish their existing governorships and transfer them to other places.
Therefore, in Zhuge Liang's view, Jingnan was still something that could be won over!
As for Wu Ju, the governor of Cangwu, he was a staunch follower of Liu Biao and was sent by Liu Biao to Jiaozhou to annoy Shi Xie!
Zhuge Liang believed that the probability of Wu Ju defecting to Cao Cao was very low.
Therefore, as long as they can escape their current predicament, Liu Bei's forces still have great potential.
Unfortunately.
Zhuge Liang seriously underestimated his opponents and the destructive power of the four scourges of Cao Cao's camp!
He gambled on almost every path he could think of from Cao Cao's four scourges!
……