Chapter 234

"You don't need to go for now. If Liu Biao sees how capable you are, what if he refuses to let you leave?"

Gan Ning let out a long sigh.

"I didn't expect that being capable would also be a sin. I've learned."

Everyone was numb and began to greet him with fists and kicks!

Huang Zhong naturally wouldn't go; he still had to rely on his age to act old!

Lady Cai and Lady Ding Yuan knew Liu Bei was departing tomorrow and were worried again; that night, they worked even harder to chat with Liu Bei...

Early the next morning,

Liu Bei led four thousand cavalry south from Xiangyang, crossed the river at Chibi, and headed to Changsha Commandery to assist.

Along the way, he firmly memorized the terrain of Jingzhou.

The Jingzhou gentry praised Liu Bei's high moral character!

In a village house in Longzhong,

An eighteen-year-old youth let out a long sigh.

"Lord Liu Xuande has taken Pang Shiyuan, Cui Cui Zhouping, Pang Pang Shanmin, and Meng Sun Jian away. Doesn't that mean I don't have a single friend left in Jingzhou?"

"Even Elder Pang and Master Water Mirror are going to the Chang'an Academy? Staying here in Jingzhou, I feel a bit lonely!"

Zhuge Zhang Liang often compared himself to Guan Zhong and Yue Yi, but people of the time dismissed him; only his friends Pang Tong, Cui Cui Zhouping, and others believed in his talent.

Now that his wingmen were all going to Guanzhong, he was restless.

"Lord Liu Xuande is going south to help Liu Biao quell the rebellion?"

Zhuge Zhang Liang naturally saw through Liu Bei's intentions.

"Lord Liu Xuande is truly a great talent! Building good karma and establishing military prestige!"

"Huang Huang Chengyan hasn't come to urge the marriage lately? Could it be that Lord Liu Xuande is going to take Huang Yueying for me, and he paid too high a price?"

Zhuge Zhang Liang was instantly moved!

At this time, Zhuge Zhang Liang was just eighteen, far from the maturity he would have after nine more years of farming, when he would join Liu Bei at twenty-seven.

He analyzed it over and over; Liu Bei was the most suitable person for him to join—he had status, prestige, and had saved so many people in his hometown of Taking Xuzhou.

Ten miles outside Linxiang City,

Liu Biao looked haggard. Recently, everything had gone wrong: he didn't get to marry his wife, and his rebellion suppression had lost troops and generals without any progress.

Sun Ce had already broken Yuzhang, and his military force was pointing directly at Jiangxia!

Sun Ce had a father-killing grudge against him, much like Cao Cao; he was avenging his father while seizing Jingzhou!

Huang Zu was clamoring to return to Jiangxia, as Sun Ce's next step would surely be to attack his lair, Jiangxia Commandery!

Liu Biao felt depressed; the number of troops he, the Governor, actually controlled was too small.

"Report~! My Lord, Lord Liu Xuande's envoy, Mr. Sun Tao Qian, is outside the camp asking for an audience."

"What is he here for? Is Liu Bei leaving Jingzhou? It would be good if he left."

"Let him in."

After Sun Tao Qian entered, he cupped his hands and said,

"Governor, my Lord only recently learned about Lady Cai... He feels deeply guilty and intends to come and assist the Governor."

Liu Biao felt a pang of discomfort, but then his eyes lit up.

"Liu Xuande is coming to Changsha Commandery to assist me?"

Liu Biao instantly felt like he had received charcoal in the snow!

Huang Zu curled his lips.

"My eighty thousand troops can't take Linxiang City; what use can his four thousand troops be!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Biao also felt it made a lot of sense.

Kuai Zhang Liang, however, shook his head.

5.

"I don't think so. A few months ago, Cao Cao's army of over a hundred thousand besieged Shouchun for a month without success, but when Lord Liu Xuande arrived with reinforcements, he broke Shouchun City in a single day!"

Cai Mao's eyes lit up.

"Zi Rou's words are excellent!"

Huang Zu snorted.

"He, Liu Bei, is coming from Xiangyang; how many days will that take? Is my Jiangxia not important?"

Sun Tao Qian cupped his hands.

"Governor, my Lord has been traveling day and night. He has already crossed the Yangtze River, and with his cavalry raiding a thousand miles, he will arrive at the foot of Linxiang City tonight!"

Everyone was shocked; Liu Bei was coming so fast!

Liu Biao was somewhat invigorated.

"Good, I shall go personally to welcome Brother Liu Xuande!"

At the camp outside Linxiang City,

Liu Biao raised his cup.

"Liu Xuande, I thank you for coming to my aid with tea instead of wine!"

Liu Bei also raised his cup.

"Brother Brother Jingsheng has treated me with great care, and I feel ashamed. This time, I must help Brother Brother Jingsheng quell the rebellion and recover Southern Jingzhou."

Everyone understood Liu Bei's meaning: he had snatched a prospective bride, so he would return the four commanderies of Southern Jingzhou!

Huang Zu, however, didn't give Liu Bei any face and cupped his hands.

"Lord Liu Xuande, my army of eighty thousand has besieged Linxiang City for over a month, losing over ten thousand men without breaking it. How do you intend to break the city with four thousand cavalry?"

Everyone was also somewhat skeptical; it really was a bit hard to justify.

Liu Bei laughed.

"You have all been besieging it for over a month and are exhausted. The soldiers of Zhang Han Xian inside the city won't be feeling well either, and having held out for over a month, they have become complacent."

Wen Pin's eyes lit up.

"If Lord Liu Xuande attacks one of the city gates fiercely tomorrow, it might not be impossible to break it!"

Liu Biao also regained his spirit. If they could break Linxiang City, everything else would be easy to talk about.

He pulled Liu Bei to the main seat.

"Liu Xuande, you shall be the commander-in-chief tomorrow."

Liu Bei couldn't refuse.

"Very well, I shall act as commander-in-chief for one day."

"One day?!"

Everyone was shocked. Could Lord Liu Xuande break the city in one day?!

Liu Bei looked around and shouted,

"Wen Pin, Huang Zu, Wang Wei, Liu Pan, Liu Hu, listen to my orders!"

"Subordinates are here."

"Tomorrow, you will attack the North and East gates fiercely; you must attract Zhang Han Xian's attention!"

"Understood!"

"Zhang Yun, you lead troops to attack the West gate; no need to exert full effort, just paralyze Zhang Han Xian."

"Understood!"

"Zhang Fei, Taishi Ci, Wei Yan, you three lead three thousand elites to follow behind Zhang Yun's troops. Once the North and East gates attract Zhang Han Xian's main army, scale the walls and break the city in one fell swoop!"

"Understood!"

"Lu Xun, Pang Tong, you two lead one thousand elite cavalry to hide five miles outside the South gate of Linxiang City. Once Linxiang City is broken and Zhang Han Xian flees south, you must capture him!"

06 "Understood!"

After receiving their orders, everyone went back to prepare.

Liu Biao was moved by Liu Bei again.

"Liu Xuande, you are truly providing charcoal in the snow."