“You old fox!” Liu Mang was enraged but he could not say anything to Jia Xu then and there. If he were to say anything, both he and Jia Xu would suffer together. “Is Mister Wenhe the one to forget favours here and break his promise to help me unite the land?” As Liu Mang could not speak directly, he beat around the bush.
Jia Xu did not mind as Liu Mang was of a younger generation. It was natural for them to have such temper. On the other hand, Jia Xu would actually be afraid if Liu Mang did not say anything at all and keeps everything in his own heart like Cao Pi. Such a person would deal with Jia Xu privately. Although Liu Mang's action was a failing as a Lord, for some reason, Jia Xu felt a sense of belonging from this.
“If Milord does not want the world to lose faith in you, you can only reject Yuan Xi's offer. However, there is no need to kill Yuan Xi's envoy.” Jia Xu was someone who would not offend others if he could help it. If he needed to offend others, it was better he go all the way and have kill them from the start. That way, there would be no need to worry about a counterattack. If they were to kill the envoy, they would be provoking the Yuan Family into retaliating. After all, Yuan Xi still had good relations.h.i.+p with both his brothers. Although he could not fight for the inheritance, he still had his prestige. To offend Yuan Xi is to offend the whole family.
“If I were to kill the envoy, I would be able to show the world my feelings of grat.i.tude!” It was as if Liu Mang simply wanted to oppose Jia Xu. Although he could show his grat.i.tude by killing the envoy, it would not change the impression the others already have of him by much. That being said, there wouldn't be any difference even if he doesn't kill the envoy. Aside from the indecisive Yuan Xi, the other two brothers were short sighted. They were not able to cooperate to fight against Cao Cao and would only die in the end. In such a case, Liu Mang would just offend that person. All he wanted was the provisions.
“Milord. Don't you want the Guangling and Huaiyin district?”
“Guangling and Huaiyin?” Liu Mang stopped bickering with Jia Xu and started to think when he heard the name of these two places. These two places were important to Liu Mang as they allowed Liu Mang to go out to sea and up to Liaodong where there are a lot of horses. He could also go towards Nanyang where there is fertile land and to ensure that the population does not keep decreasing. Guangling and Huaiyin happened to be ports nearest to Liu Mang's territory. It was also the reason he had Zhang Liao and the Xiliang Cavalry dispatched to the Lin River.
“Unfortunately, Guangling and Huaiyin is within Xuzhou.” Jia Xu said again with a smile.
Liu Mang's heart sank. Liu Mang wanted to obtain the port but it was in Xuzhou. He also owed Cao Cao a 'favour' so he could not attack Cao Cao when Xuzhou was left empty. Yet, if he were to wait until Xuzhou was fortified, he would never be able to take it. He would also need a year to obtain horses after obtaining the port. To the whole of the Central Plains, every second was precious. Every second had to be used for preparations or they would be defeated.
“If Milord wants Guangling and Huaiyin while keeping your reputation, you can demand this from Yuan Xi's envoy.”
“Wenhe. What are you talking about?” Liu Mang patiently asked.
“Milord. We cannot attack Xuzhou because it belongs to Cao Cao. However, what if Xuzhou does not belong to Cao Cao?”
“What if it is not?” Liu Mang would receive infamy by attacking Cao Cao. If Xuzhou did not belong to Cao Cao, this wouldn't be an issue.
“What if Xuzhou belonged to Yuan Xi?”
“Impossible!” Liu Mang immediately rejected this idea. Although Xuzhou was relatively empty, it was still being guarded by some troops. Even though the battle had gone on for so long, Yu Jin continued to watch Qingzhou. Yuan Tan who was in Qingzhou was not able to go against Yu Jin even Yuan Shao was still alive. Now with Yuan Shao dead, the chances of Yuan Tan getting past would be even lower. Yuan Xi was at Youzhou which was even further away. He too would not be able to cross Qingzhou to Xuzhou.
“Haha. Milord, Yuan Xi may not have troops but we can lend him troops.” Xu Shu heard Jia Xu's words and finally understood. He was not as good as Jia Xu especially in covert plots but he still had high IQ. Although he didn't like Jia Xu, he had to admit that Jia Xu was skilled. 'With such a person on Milord's side, Milord would no longer need to worry about others plotting against him.”
“Lend him troops?” Liu Mang was troubled. How was he supposed to lend troops? He only had four elite groups all of which Liu Mang would hate to part with.
“Milord. Have you forgotten that we have three hundred thousand men?” Xu Shu laughed as he asked Liu Mang.
Liu Mang's eyes s.h.i.+ned. He now remembered about his three hundred thousand soldiers that have not yet formed a group. Although they were weak, it was huge enough to deal with the Southern parts of Cao Cao's territory where less troops were stationed. Cao Cao's main army had already been sent to the North. There wouldn't be many good soldiers left behind. In other words, it was possible to obtain Guangling and Huaiyin by lending Yuan Xi soldiers.
Besides that, the soldiers selected by Jia Xu to do these were the mountain people. Although they were the common people, their wives were all in Yangzhou. With a single call to action, these men would immediately change sides in the war.
“Wenhe means for us to lend Yuan Xi to help him take Xuzhou before we attack and take it ourselves?” Liu Mang's eyes s.h.i.+ned. In such a case, there was no favour. Instead, he would be 'helping' Cao Cao. He would be able to keep his reputation and obtain new territory.
The most important thing was the provisions. Although Liu Mang was not attacking Cao Cao directly, there was no difference between this and dispatching his troops for Yuan Xi to gain territory. Yuan Xi would need to pay for this.
“General Yuan's envoy must be properly taken care of! Yang Hong! I will leave you in charge of this!” Liu Mang's att.i.tude immediately changed. Yang Hong was Liu Mang's diplomatic minister. With him around, the Liu Mang's Army had no diplomatic problems.
“This one receives the order!” Yang Hong cupped his fist at Liu Mang. Diplomacy was his strong suit.
“If this is successful, it would be Wenhe's contribution!” Liu Mang smiled at Jia Xu. If this was successful, he would have two hundred thousand provisions and also obtain a port.
“Milord. Don't be too happy yet. Although Wenhe's stratagem is good, it is not quick enough to solve our current state of emergency.” Xu Shu poured cold water on Liu Mang's happiness.
“Although we can obtain two hundred thousand provisions, it would not happen immediately.” Although Yuan Xi had provisions, he would not be able to send it across Cao Cao's territory. The only way he could send provisions was by sea but Liu Mang would first need Xuzhou to receive it. Xu Shu's words send Liu Mang back to the harshness of reality. They only had enough provisions to last about a month. By then, they would all be starving.
“Continue.” Liu Mang could only ma.s.sage his head as he continue to find another way to solve Yangzhou's predicament
