Chapter 78: Gongzi Can Also Go To War

  Kuai Yue glanced at Cai Mao, seeing his face pulled long, with a cold look in his eyes, apparently he also had someone to choose from, perhaps it was not being recognized by Liu Biao.

  "What does the military advisor plan to recommend?" Kuai Yue asked with a smile.

  "I recommend Zhang Yun, young and promising, with rich experience in leading troops, and sufficient seniority."

  He hummed softly again, "What's wrong, General Kui thinks it's inappropriate?"

  "Zhang Xiaowei is in charge of the Han River naval forces. If it were a battle against the Jiangdong army, I think he would be quite suitable. But now that we're facing Cao's army, it seems Zhang Xiaowei doesn't have any experience fighting cavalry. Actually, I think your younger brother might be better suited."

  Cai Mao was shocked, "Is Quan Cong referring to Cai Zhong or Cai He?"

  "All right, I recommend them as deputy generals."

  Cai Mao finally understood Kuai Yue's intention, recommending his own cousin as a deputy general, so the main general would be recommended by him, and even led the army in person, what a wonderful idea!

  Cai Mao sneered silently, while Liu Biao smiled and asked beside him: "Who does the strategist recommend as the commander-in-chief?"

  Kuai Yue slightly bowed and said: "Under my recommendation, Wen Ping will be the commander-in-chief. Originally I wanted to recommend Huang Zhong as the commander-in-chief, but although Huang Zhong's martial arts are high, his commanding ability is still slightly inferior to Wen Ping."

  Liu Biao thought for a moment and then asked: "Do you think our relief troops of 10,000 are too few?"

  "I report to you, my lord. This time the main general of Cao's army is Xiahou Dun, and it is said that Yu Jin, Li Dian and other high-ranking generals are also present. With an army of 10,000 men, I do feel that we are somewhat outnumbered. However, if Cao's army is only making a probing attack, then our numbers should be sufficient."

  Liu Biao walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, Jingzhou was surrounded by enemies on all sides. To the east, he had to defend against Sun Quan, to the west, he had to defend against Liu Zhang, the southern province of Jiaozhou was unstable, and there were also various counties in Jingzhou that needed to be garrisoned. His total military strength was only 120,000, including the 25,000 Jiangxia army that he could not mobilize.

  There are only over 50,000 troops stationed in the Xiangfan area. To garrison both Fancheng and Xiangyang, if two million reinforcements were sent, there would not be enough defenders for Fancheng. If Cao's army launched a surprise attack, the consequences would be unthinkable.

  But only sending 10,000 relief troops, Liu Biao also felt a bit insufficient, he was in a dilemma, with his hands behind his back pacing back and forth in the room, deep in thought.

  At this time, Cai Mao smiled and said: "Actually, let General Wen be the main general, leading an army of 10,000 to assist Liu Bei. Then I, your humble servant, will lead 25,000 troops as a rear guard, with 5,000 men defending Fancheng and 20,000 troops stationed at the river mouth."

  "If there is an emergency ahead, I can quickly lead the troops to provide assistance. If there is no problem ahead, then I will hold back and not move. This way, both advancing and retreating are possible. What does my lord think?"

  Liu Biao walked to the map again and examined it carefully. Hekou Town was located between Fan City and Xinye, sixty miles away from Xinye and fifty miles away from Fan City, which was exactly a central location.

  Stationing an army here can control both the upper and lower reaches, advance to attack, retreat to defend, and take care of both cities. This is the best plan when military strength is insufficient.

  This plan was acceptable to Liu Biao, and after a moment's thought he agreed with alacrity. "Very well, it is settled then: Wen Ping shall be the commander-in-chief, Cai Zhong his deputy, and they shall lead one thousand northern camp soldiers to reinforce Xinye."

  He was very satisfied with Cai Mao's plan and naturally agreed to let Cai Mao lead the army as a reserve, "De Kui can lead 20,000 troops to station at the river mouth and supervise the rear support."

  Cai Mao was overjoyed, stood up and clasped his fists, "Your subordinate obeys!"

  Kuai Yue coldly smiled and did not speak, Wen Pin went north with the vanguard, while Cai Mao received Wen Pin's Fancheng in the rear. But could he really get what he wanted?

  At this time, a guard reported at the door: "Report to the governor, Gongzi Xuan and Gongzi Hu are seeking an audience."

  Two nephews came, Liu Bei was in a good mood, and smiled: "Let them come in!"

  Before long, Liu Jiong and Liu Hu walked in quickly, both wearing military uniforms. They knelt down on one knee to pay their respects, "Greetings, Governor!"

  "Both young generals, rise!"

  Liu Biao saw that the two men were tall and majestic, one more so than the other, and he was delighted in his heart. These were his Liu family descendants, the hope of his family's prosperity.

  Especially Liu Hu, who used to be dull and foolish, has become sensible and wise since following Liu Xuan. This made Liu Bei feel deeply gratified, and his attitude towards Liu Xuan was much more gentle than three months ago.

  "What's the matter with you two young generals?" Liu Biao asked with a smile.

  Liu Xuan bowed and said: "I heard that there is an urgent military situation in XinYe, if Jingzhou wants to send troops to assist, I am willing to lead my department to follow the army to conquer the north."

  Liu Hu also said in a deep voice: "Please, Uncle, fulfill your promise!"

  Liu Biao's smile on his face stagnated, originally they two wanted to go out to battle with the army...

  He was a bit hesitant in his heart, it's good to send them into battle, but after all, they were his nephews. Liu Hu didn't have a big problem, but Liu Xuan was only 16 or 17 years old, wasn't it a bit too early?

  Liu Jue seemed to understand Liu Biao's thoughts and continued to explain: "Last year, my nephew participated in the war of extermination against Zhang Wu and Chen Sun, personally killed Zhang Wu with his own hands, and has already made military achievements. He is no longer a rookie, and I think he wants to follow the Jingzhou army north to gain experience."

  "My nephew also wants to go north to gain experience."

  Liu Hu was like a parrot, repeating Liu Xuan's words, and several people in the room burst out laughing.

  Cai Man secretly thought: 'Since he wants to put himself in danger, it's actually a good thing for him to go into battle. Who knows, maybe he won't come back.'

  He had a vicious idea in his heart, but he smiled and said: "Master, letting them go through the trials is actually a good thing. Small-scale battles are not many opportunities for their growth, I think General Wen should take care of them."

  Cai Mao's last words reminded Liu Biao that the previous time was to follow Liu Bei to destroy Zhang Wu and Chen Sun, but this time it was to follow Wen Ping, a general who could trust himself.

  He looked at Kuai Yue again, although he didn't say it explicitly, he was seeking his opinion. Kuai Yue stroked his beard and smiled: "Everything has its pros and cons, I think the two young masters following the army to the north is more beneficial than harmful."

  "Alright!"

  Liu Biao hesitated for a long time before finally agreeing, "I permit you to lead your troops on the northern expedition."

  ．．．．．．．．

  Cai Zhong never dreamed that he would have this opportunity, to serve as a deputy general in the northern expedition, although it was not the main general, but for him who had been demoted, this was undoubtedly an opportunity to turn over, and he had expected this opportunity for too long.

  "Thank you, elder brother, for your strong recommendation. Cai Zhong will not disappoint your high hopes." Cai Zhong knelt before Cai Ma, his voice choked with emotion.

  Cai Mao naturally understood this, it was a result of the balance of power. Kuai Yue recommended Wen Ping as the commander-in-chief, so the deputy commander should be recommended by Cai Mao himself. Therefore, Kuai Yue proposed Cai Zhong as the assistant general, just to give himself an excuse.

  Of course, in front of his own brother, Cai Mao would not say these things. He spoke with a heavy heart: "This time I strongly recommended you as the deputy general, but was repeatedly blocked by Kuai Yue's obstruction. Fortunately, the governor understood reason and rejected Kuai Yue's unreasonable demands."

  "Hold on, Cai Wei glanced at Cai Zhong's grateful gaze and smiled slightly before continuing: 'I used a lot of effort to recommend you successfully this time, I hope you won't disappoint me.'"

  "Cai Zhong will definitely work hard and spare no effort, he absolutely won't let his brother down!"

  His brother's attitude made Cai Mao very satisfied, but a good attitude was not enough, he still had important things to entrust. Cai Mao waved his hand, "Sit down! There are several things I want to entrust to you."

  Cai Zhong sat down, and Cai Mao hesitated for a moment before saying: "The first thing is about Liu Bei. I have always thought that he was the greatest enemy of my Cai family. However, Liu Biao valued him highly and wanted to rely on him as a shield, refusing to listen to my advice. To get rid of Liu Bei, the best way would be to borrow Cao's army to eliminate him."

  Cai Zhong was taken aback, "Brother's meaning is......"

  Cai Mao nodded, "This time is a good opportunity, we must let Liu Bei die at the hands of Xiahou Dun, even if our army loses it doesn't matter."

  "But we lost the battle, and I'm also responsible." Cai Zhong said with some worry.

  "You don't have to worry, you're not the commander-in-chief, it's Wen Pin who is responsible, do you understand?"

  Cai Zhong wiped the sweat from his forehead, "But... isn't Wen Ping the son of Master Shi?"

  "What does it matter? He is the master of the Crown Prince, is he also a person of mine, Cai Mao?"

  Cai Mao's tone became severe, Wen Pin was the one who annoyed him the most. He had painstakingly cultivated and promoted him step by step, but in the end, he actually defected to the Kuai family, making Cai Mao unbearable.

  Cai Man's sharp eyes stared at Cai Zhong, knowing that he was still a bit confused and needed to be hammered again.

  "And then there's Liu Xuan..." Cai Mao drew out his voice.

  Without needing to be reminded by Cai Man, Cai Zhong immediately perked up, he had long thought that this was an opportunity to capture Liu Xun. The humiliation at the city gate three months ago still lingered in his mind, and now Liu Xun also had to follow the army northward, how could he let go of this opportunity.

  Cai Mao saw that he was eager to try, and felt somewhat displeased in his heart. "I'm just reminding you, don't make it too obvious. Wen Ping is not a fool. If Liu Biao finds out that you're secretly targeting Liu Xun, you'll be the one who ends up suffering. Do you understand?"

  Cai Zhong's body shuddered, and he slowly calmed down, bowing his head to say: "Please instruct me, elder brother!"

  Cai Mao walked a few steps with his hands behind his back, and finally stopped and said lightly: "Deal with him in the same way as Liu Bei, borrow Cao Jun's hand to get rid of him."

  ．．．．．．．．．

  The next day, Liu Biao sacrificed to the god of the Han River and gave Wen Ping the Tiger Tally and Command Arrow. Wen Ping led 10,000 elite soldiers, mighty and majestic, to attack Xinye.

  At the same time, Cai Mao personally took charge of the logistics director and led 20,000 troops to garrison the river mouth, defending Fan City while coordinating with Xinye.

  Liu Cong led five hundred soldiers in the rear army, which was Wen Ping's arrangement. Although Liu Cong hoped to be in the vanguard, military orders were like mountains and he did not dare disobey Wen Ping's command.

  "Tiger, when was this sword forged? How come I don't know?"

  In the team, Liu Xuan saw that beside his cousin Liu Hu's horse, another horse was carrying a big knife for chopping mountains. The shape of the knife looked like a kitchen knife in later generations, with a square and regular shape, weighing 60-70 kilograms, looking quite powerful.

  Liu Hu may have ridden a horse into battle, but in reality he was an infantry general. On the one hand, his ability to control horses was slightly weaker; more importantly, his unusual body weight plus the seventy jin of his great sword weighed nearly three hundred jin, which ordinary warhorses simply could not support.

  Liu Hu smiled slyly, "I had the craftsman make it two months ago. The Wind and Thunder Change move can only be used with a knife to bring out its power."

  Liu Jiong shook his head. In fact, using a gun can also bring out the Wind and Thunder Change, but Liu Hu didn't have this kind of insight, unable to reach the realm of touching one thing and understanding all things, so he could only use a knife.

  However, Liu Hu spent three months of hard work and practice, mastering the move "Wind and Thunder Change" to perfection, grasping a few points of its essence, combined with his innate divine power, he became a formidable general.

  It's a pity that he only knows one move, Cheng Yaojin still has three boards of axe! At least two more moves need to be taught to him, and the seventh move of the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix Thirteen Spears can be changed to a knife slash, and the seventh move Horizontal Sweep of Thousands of Troops can be changed to a waist cut.

  With this, Liu Hu had three absolute skills, which were more than enough to deal with ordinary generals.

  Thinking of this, Liu Xuan smiled and said: "After we win this battle, I'll teach you two more ultimate knife techniques. With the Wind and Thunder Change, you can also become a fierce general of Jingzhou."

  Liu Hu was overjoyed, "You must teach me!"

  Liu Xuan nodded slightly, and at this moment, a messenger cavalry rushed from afar, holding the command arrow and shouting loudly: "General Wen has an order to camp on the spot!"