Chapter 596

It was clear that Chen Gong had already mastered the art of handling and coaxing Lu Bu.

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, the anger on Lu Bu's face was swept away, replaced by a triumphant smile: "Haha! Gongtai, your words truly resonate with me!"

"That's right! Whether it's Tao Qian or Liu Bei, they are both merely my defeated foes!"

"If I want Xuzhou, I will take it by my own strength! I wouldn't even deign to accept Tao Qian's abdication!"

"Now that we have occupied more than half of Xuzhou, that Liu Bei won't be able to stir up any trouble in my hands!"

"In a few days, when I break through Xiapi City, take the entire province of Xuzhou, and capture Tao Qian and Liu Bei alive, Tao Qian will know just how ridiculously wrong he was! Heh!"

By then, he would make Tao Qian understand that he was nothing but a clown.

He would also make Liu Bei understand that Xuzhou was not something he could covet.

In Xiapi City, at the Chen residence,

Chen Deng had someone summon Jia Shisan and opened with: "Your Excellency Shisan! Today, Tao Qian indeed yielded the title of King of Qi and the position of master of Xuzhou to Liu Bei. Do we need to do anything?"

"No need!"

Jia Shisan smiled and shook his head upon hearing this: "You should also be aware that now is not the time for the Lord to take Xuzhou. Talent cultivation isn't that fast! We still need to wait another year or two!"

"For now, let Liu Bei and Lu Bu fight it out! The longer they fight, the better!"

"It would be even better if they could remain in a state of confrontation until the Lord takes Xuzhou!"

A divided Xuzhou was what served Su Xuan's interests.

"Is that so?"

Chen Deng nodded in understanding: "I understand! I will do my utmost to keep Liu Bei and Lu Bu in a stalemate!"

"This is not difficult for me;"

"Liu Bei has two peerless fierce generals under his command, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. As long as they don't leave the city to fight, Lu Bu really won't be able to do anything to them in the short term!"

"However, what I am truly worried about is not Lu Bu, but Cao Cao!"

"The Lord still needs a year or two to take Xuzhou, but Cao Cao won't give us that much time!"

"Didn't you also say before? Intelligence from the Dark Guards in Yanzhou shows that Cao Cao is fully enhancing his strength and preparing for war, right?"

"I estimate that Cao Cao might launch an attack on Xuzhou within half a year!"

"Especially since Lu Bu and Liu Bei are currently fighting fiercely, constantly draining Xuzhou's strength; this is something Cao Cao would be happy to see!"

"If Cao Cao were to take Xuzhou, that shouldn't be in the Lord's interest, right?"

If Xuzhou were also taken by Cao Cao, then Cao Cao would sit on the territory of three provinces, and in terms of base, he would become the strongest warlord in the world.

Hmm! This was Chen Deng's judgment without knowing about Su Xuan's "proxy plan."

"This..."

Jia Shisan also frowned upon hearing this: "This is indeed a problem! If Cao Cao takes Xuzhou, it truly doesn't serve the Lord's interests!"

"But the Lord and the strategists couldn't have failed to see this. Since they haven't told us or ordered us to respond yet, I fear they have other arrangements!"

"No! I must immediately write to the Lord and the others, inform them of our analysis, and see how the Lord replies."

Making a reckless decision here on his own wouldn't do.

It would be bad if he disrupted the Lord's plans!

He was just a commander of the Dark Guards, not the Lord or a strategist.

Although he often needed to exercise his own initiative, when it concerned the Lord's great cause, he could not act recklessly.

"Is that so?"

Chen Deng raised an eyebrow: "Indeed! Your Excellency Shisan, you are right! The Lord and the others couldn't have failed to realize this!"

"It seems they really might have other plans!"

"Could it be that the Lord and the others actually want to sit by and watch Cao Cao take Xuzhou?"

Jia Shisan nodded affirmatively: "It's not impossible!"

"But why?"

Chen Deng looked puzzled.

He couldn't figure it out.

A divided Xuzhou and a Cao Cao who wasn't overly powerful should be what the Lord wanted to see, and what was most beneficial to the Lord, right?

He couldn't understand it!

"I'm not sure about that either! Let's wait for the Lord's reply!"

Jia Shisan shook his head, stood up, and said: "Alright! I won't say any more! I'm going to send the letter to the Lord first! I will notify you as soon as there is news!"

"Before that, just proceed with the idea of keeping Liu Bei and Lu Bu in check!"

"That's all I can do."

Chen Deng nodded.