Chapter Thirteen: Cao Lao Da's Scheme

  "Liu Mang?!" Xiahou Yuan originally belonged to Lü Bu's state, Cao Cao was muttering a name in his mouth, from rescuing Lü Bu, to waving the flag of Xiahou De, to breaking through and finally to the counter-espionage plan, almost all had this person's shadow!

  "What's with all these Han imperial relatives?!" Cao Cao was stunned, another Han imperial relative?!

  This man almost got himself killed by Cao, and it was only from the mouths of captured soldiers of Lü Bu that he learned about this person!

  "What a great talent! What a great talent!" Cao Cao sighed, "Unfortunately, he is not working for me! Feng Xiao, do you think I can recruit this Liu Mao?!" Cao Cao's success was not accidental, and it had an important relationship with his attitude towards talents.

  "My lord, you're being overly cautious!" A scholar with a rogue-like appearance sitting below Cao Cao, lifted his wine cup and didn't put it down, not even when Cao Cao asked him questions, displaying such an arrogant attitude, yet it was this very attitude that would establish the reputation of the great Guo Jia, also known as Guo Fengxiao.

  "Let's not mention that this person almost took your life, but let's talk about General Xiahou Yuan who was severely injured by Lü Bu. Do you think General Xiahou Dun would allow such a person to join our side?! Xiahou Yuan almost died at the hands of Lü Bu and even now he has to nurse his wounds for half a year! This grudge will be settled!"

  "Let me go to Yuan Shao and Cao Cao to persuade them!": Cao Cao still had some lingering hopes. For the sake of talent, for the sake of his great cause, he was willing to humble himself, what's the harm in that?!

  "Haha, my lord, I understand your love for talent! However, it also depends on who it is!" Guo Jia shook his head with a bitter smile "The report from below says that this person is Liu Mao, a relative of the Han imperial family. Do you think someone from the Han imperial family would be interested in serving you, Lord Cao? Would they really be willing to work for you?"

  "This is impossible! Liu Bei is also a relative of the Han imperial family, and he is still Your Majesty's uncle! And there are also Liu Ye and Liu Zi Yang! Are they not all under my command?" Cao Cao said with great satisfaction.

  "Liu Bei?!" Guo Jia sneered, "Not a man content with his lot, it would be best for our lord to get rid of him as soon as possible!" Guo Jia and Xun Yu regarded Liu Xuande as the thorn in their side, the most detestable person in Cao's army at present!

  Guo Jia learned that Liu Bei's father, Liu Hong, died early, and the young Liu Bei lived with his mother by weaving mats and selling shoes. The life was very difficult. In the southeast corner of Liu Bei's house, there was a mulberry tree over 15 meters high, which looked like a carriage cover from a distance. People passing by thought that this tree did not look like an ordinary thing, and believed that this family would produce a noble person. When Liu Bei was young, he played with his cousins under the tree, pointing to the mulberry tree and saying: "I will ride in such a luxurious carriage in the future."

  What a big deal! This is something that only the emperor can sit on, but a humble shoe seller dares to speak like this. It's clear that this person has great ambitions!

  As expected, this Liu Bei, also known as Liu the Big Ears, from the Yellow Turbans to the end, although he was not successful, always regarded himself as a member of the Han imperial family, and finally even got recognition from Emperor Xian of Han!

  This made Guo Jia even more vigilant! Having ambition is not scary, what's scary is having too much ambition! If Liu Bei were alone, Guo Jia wouldn't be so worried, the key is that this Liu has three brothers! Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are not ordinary people. They have great general talent!

  Guo Jia repeatedly advised Cao Cao to separate the three brothers and break them up, but Liu Bei kept resolving the situation. You say you are a loyal minister, if you have a heart of loyalty, why do you always hide your powerful generals and not bring them out? Do you want to rely on them to rebel?!

  "Filial piety, ah! Although Xuande is not worthy, it's not the time to abandon him yet!" Cao Cao wouldn't mind killing Liu Bei, but for someone as suspicious as him, it's better to mistakenly kill 3,000 people than to let one escape!

  However, Cao Cao had his eyes on Liu Bei's men, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, especially Guan Yu, whose martial arts skills were unparalleled, who was well-versed in military strategy, and whose sense of justice and righteousness was unwavering, making him a true tiger general!

  If we kill Liu Bei now, we'll never be able to tame such a brave general in this lifetime!

  "Alas!" Guo Jia also knew what his master was thinking! A good general is hard to find, and a great enemy is difficult to eliminate!

  "As for Liu Ye Liu Ziyang? Hehe, Lord, don't try to frame me, do you really dare to use him?! Liu Ye Liu Ziyang indeed has great talent, this talent is not below Guo Jia's, but Cao Cao never truly believed in him!"

  Xu Shao of Ru'nan once said that Liu Ye, also known as Liu Ziyang, had the talent to assist the world. According to Cao Cao's love for talent, he should have made Liu Ye his confidant, but instead gave him the position of Sima Cao, which is in charge of managing the grain and fodder supplies. If it were the Sima Cao of the three armies, the position would be quite impressive, comparable to Zhang Liang of Liu Bang's time! However, the title was prefixed with "Sima", and since Cao Cao was already the Sima, the Sima Cao was actually in charge of managing the finances of the Sima's residence, which is equivalent to being a high-ranking steward.

  Such a talented person was made to be a housekeeper! It can be seen that Cao Cao valued Liu Ye highly!

  "Filial piety, filial piety, nothing can deceive you!" Cao Cao said with a bitter smile.

  "What about the preparations for the large army? This time, Lü Bu really is a trouble!" Cao Cao no longer had any thoughts about recruiting Liu Mao, and was now considering Lü Bu's army!

  "My lord, why be alarmed? Lü Bu is a fierce tiger! A tiger that has lost its home is now in deep sorrow. To pursue him now will surely result in heavy casualties!" said Guo Jia after taking a sip of wine.

  "Was he not going to chase after him? Let Lü Bu leave just like that?! Cao Cao was not willing to let Lü Bu off, the impression that man had left on him was too deep, at Dong Zhuo's mansion, under the White Gate Tower! The power of one man, comparable to that of ghosts and gods!"

  "Lü Bu has lost Xiapi, which is equivalent to losing half of Xuzhou! His 70,000 troops can only break through in the thousands! So now his only option is to find an opportunity to rise again and get support from his troops!" Guo Jia said, "Lü Bu is known for his tyrannical ways, and since Xu state borders Qing and Yan, he wouldn't dare come to our Yan state! Although Lü Bu came to our Yan state from Yuan Shao's territory and then to Xu state, the Yuan family has no good feelings towards him! So it's impossible for Yuan Tan of Qing state to accept him!"

  Yangzhou? Yuan Shu can't even protect himself, let alone! Henan Province, you said he went there?!

  "Where will Nalub go?!" Cao Cao asked.

  "He didn't go anywhere, he's still in Xuzhou!" Guo Jia was indeed a genius and immediately guessed Lü Bu's whereabouts. "Langya! There are also his eight strong generals, including Zang Ba's Taishan bandits!"

  "A mere bandit from Mount Tai, how can he possibly succeed!" Cao Cao sneered. He had fought against the Yellow Turbans before, so what was there to fear about this Mount Tai bandit?

  "My lord, don't underestimate Zang Ba!" Guo Jia said. "Among the civil officials who can be appreciated by Lü Bu, there is Chen Gong, and among the military generals, it should be this Zang Ba!"

  "Huh?!" Cao Cao said doubtfully "How does he compare to Zhang Liao and Xu Shu?!"

  "Been there, done that!" Guo Jia said. Although Zang Ba's reputation wasn't as high as Zhang Liao's, he was indeed a true veteran leader! The Taishan bandits were numerous and diverse, but under Zang Ba's management, they were all obedient and well-behaved, which showed off his abilities!

  Compared with leading the army, or perhaps Zang Ba is not the opponent of Zhang Liao and Gao Shun, but compared with commanding generals, Zhang Liao and Gao Shun have a lot to learn from Zang Ba!

  "What if Lü Bu were to get the support of the bandits on Mount Tai? This newly acquired Xuzhou would be in danger! Are we going to start another war?! Cao Cao was anxious, Lü Bu was a fierce tiger, and this Zhang Yang didn't seem like an easy opponent either!"

  Once the two unite, Cao Cao of Xuzhou will be in trouble.

  "Master, don't be in a hurry!" Guo Jia had another drink, his face was already red and flushed, Cao Cao's heart was burning with anxiety, but he remained calm as silk!

  "From Xiaopei to Langya, it's over 300 miles! Even if they march urgently, General Xiahou Yuan's troops would take around three days. And Lü Bu has family members with him now, I'm sure their physical condition will slow them down. It'll take at least five days for them to arrive. Although Lü Bu successfully broke through this time, he has a fatal weakness!" Guo Jia said, stopping here because the wine bottle was empty!

  "Someone, bring wine for Guo Jia!" Cao Cao was so impressed with Guo Jia that he personally poured him a cup of wine, as the soldiers were too slow.

  "Lü Bu broke through and left behind his family and soldiers, but what he missed was food and fodder!" Guo Jia said to the point!

  "The three armies have not moved, but the grain and grass have already gone ahead!" Guo Jia said with a smile. "Three to five days is neither long nor short! It won't starve people to death, but it will definitely make them dizzy from hunger! The lord only needs to send out the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry to hang around behind Lü Bu's army and advance slowly. After three to five days have passed, when Lü Bu's army is dizzy from hunger, that will be the time to capture Lü Bu!"

  Cao Cao's face lit up with joy upon hearing Guo Jia's words, but then he thought again and hesitated. "What if Lü Bu hastens his march? Wouldn't that allow him to reach Langya and reunite with Zhang Miao?"

  "Don't worry, milord, this first round was helped by someone else!" Guo Jia took a sip of the wine that Cao had poured for him and didn't feel like he couldn't handle it at all.

  "Who?!"

  "Chen Deng of Guangling!" Guo Jia spoke out these four words! Chen Deng of Guangling was even more anxious than Cao Cao! The fall of Xuzhou was largely due to the schemes of the Chen family father and son, who had sold out Lü Bu! So when Lü Bu escaped, he would not trouble Cao Cao first, but the Chen family had already been put on Lü Bu's blacklist!

  Cao Cao's family is powerful and has strong soldiers and generals to protect them, but the Chen family does not. If Lü Bu were to launch a surprise attack, he would destroy the Chen family of Guangling. In that case, the Chen family might really be eliminated in the late Han dynasty!