Chapter 156: Liu Bei's Strategy: The Wuhuan Can Be Our Allies

Changing faces in the blink of an eye, this sudden turn of events caused the expressions of Yuan Tan and Liu Bei to change drastically.

Zhang Fei immediately slammed his table and shouted in great fury, "Who dares?!"

Looking at Zhang Fei, who resembled a god of slaughter, Gongsun Du's soldiers hesitated and dared not step forward.

"Why does the Marquis of Liaodong act in such a faithless and disloyal manner?!" Yuan Tan asked with deep unwillingness.

Gongsun Du let out a sigh and said, "Young Master Tan, the momentum of the realm has entirely fallen into Cao Cao's hands. You have no chance of a comeback, so accept your fate!"

Yuan Tan turned pale with anger upon hearing this, only to see the soldiers in front of him stepping forward once more.

"Haha..."

At this moment, Liu Bei let out a loud laugh. "To think that the Marquis of Liaodong is so short-sighted, still unaware that a great disaster is imminent!"

Gongsun Du frowned. "Oh? Liu Bei, do not speak boastfully to intimidate others. The ones facing imminent disaster are yourselves."

He was a man who had seen the world; in his eyes, Liu Bei was merely making a final, futile struggle of someone who refused to accept defeat.

Gongsun Du waved his hand, and the soldiers under his command advanced a few more paces.

Even when faced with the encirclement of so many men, Zhang Fei's expression remained filled with utter disdain.

He could not help but feel a sense of admiration for his eldest brother's profound foresight.

Before attending the banquet, Liu Bei had specifically told him not to put down his Serpent Spear. As their bodyguard entering the military tent, Gongsun Du's soldiers had simply turned a blind eye to Zhang Fei carrying his weapon.

Now, it had truly come in handy.

The soldiers drew their blades and charged forward. With a sweeping motion of Zhang Fei's long spear, and propelled by his immense strength, flesh and blood flew everywhere in an instant.

The soldiers under Gongsun Du's command collapsed to the ground one after another.

Failing to anticipate that Zhang Fei would be so ferociously powerful, Gongsun Du involuntarily took a few steps back.

He knew that at such close range, there was a high probability he would be captured by Zhang Fei.

He had calculated everything except that Zhang Fei's martial prowess would reach such terrifying heights.

Yet this could hardly be blamed on him, for Liaodong was situated in the extreme northern frontier.

He was entirely unclear about the internal struggles within the Central Plains or the legendary generals born from them.

Just as the situation reached a stalemate,

Liu Bei spoke up. "General Gongsun, please allow me to say one last thing. If, after I finish speaking, you still decide to hand us over to Cao Cao, then Liu Bei will willingly submit to capture without a fight."

Beside him, Yuan Tan felt somewhat nervous, fearing that if Liu Bei spoke poorly, the situation would be beyond any hope of redemption.

Meanwhile, Gongsun Du frowned as he looked at Liu Bei, sensing that his expression was devoid of pretense.

Thus, he said, "Very well, I might as well hear what you have to say."

Liu Bei cupped his hands in a bow and said respectfully, "General, just imagine: this Cao Cao has conferred upon you the title of Marquis of Liaodong, but it is merely an empty name. Everyone in the world knows that the imperial court is in Cao Cao's hands; in the future, he could easily fabricate a charge and throw you into prison."

Gongsun Du laughed. "Xuanide, such words of yours are unlikely to come to pass. If Cao Cao were truly to do such a thing, would he not be defying the entire world? Is he not afraid of bearing the infamy of a fickle and untrustworthy villain?"

Hearing this, Liu Bei burst into even wilder laughter. "You overestimate Cao Cao far too much! What kind of man is Cao Mengde? He is an ambitious hero tainted with villainy."

"Such a man would never care about mere empty titles."

Gongsun Du frowned. Being a suspicious man by nature, he no longer knew whose words he should heed.

"You just called Cao Cao a villain. What evidence do you have?"

Perceiving his hesitation, Liu Bei immediately seized the opportunity to say:

"The General can send scouts outside to inquire. Cao Cao has already put forth a strategy of uniting multiple states to conquer others; he intends to use the forces of Qing, You, and Bing to mutually attack and wear each other down. Once everyone has exhausted themselves to mutual destruction, he will seize the opportunity to step in and sweep up the remnants."

"The Marquis of Liaodong is a wise man. Will you truly embroil yourself in a situation where the snipe and the clam grapple, only for the fisherman to reap the benefit?"

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Du's face grew grave. He began to think that what Liu Bei said might indeed be the truth.

"Yet Cao Cao will soon unify the entire north, and my meager forces in Liaodong恐怕 are likely no match for him..."

Gongsun Du truly had no desire to surrender to Cao Cao—how could that ever compare to the pleasure of being a local sovereign?

And yet, surrender he must, for if Cao Cao were to unify the north and then march against him, he would possess no power to resist.

Liu Bei knew the time had come to perform his true craft.

He stated, "What is currently lacking is merely the General's resolve. As long as the General is willing to stand as an enemy to that treacherous Cao, Young Master Tan and I can certainly assist the General in achieving a great enterprise!"

Gongsun Du cupped his hands and humbly asked for instruction. "I beg Xuanide to enlighten me!"

Liu Bei returned the bow, speaking with modesty.

"In truth, this matter is not difficult. As long as the General does not commit folly and joins forces with Young Master Tan—who is the descendant of Yuan Benchu—he need only raise his arms in a call, and the gentry families of all the surrounding lands will surely respond."

Hearing this, Gongsun Du shook his head with a trace of disappointment.

"Alas, relying solely on such meager strength, it will still be impossible to resist Cao Cao's hundreds of thousands of troops."

Liu Bei smiled as well. "I ask the General to fetch a map and let me point it out to you. We can still enlist a major source of reinforcement."

Not fully grasping his meaning, Gongsun Du nevertheless ordered a map to be brought and laid upon the table.

Liu Bei pointed casually, and the strategic landscape depicted on the map instantly became clear.

To the north of Liaodong, beyond the borders of You Province, lay the territory of the Wuhuan people.

Liu Bei declared, "As long as we secure the aid of the Wuhuan, Cao Cao will be powerless against us."

Gongsun Du pondered this for a moment before replying, "If we could obtain the assistance of the Wuhuan cavalry marching southward, the situation might indeed be reversed."

"I have had dealings with the Wuhuan people myself, and I know deeply that these people are exceptionally greedy. As long as you give them sufficient benefits, they will dispatch their troops."

When all was said and done, it was fundamentally a question of wealth.

As long as there was wealth, and enough rewards were promised, the Wuhuan would certainly send troops to assist.

However, upon hearing this, Gongsun Du looked utterly dismayed.

He said, "Yet I do not possess such vast wealth in my hands. The land of Liaodong has always been barren, and with winter approaching fast, I am still worrying about how to survive the cold season. I fear I cannot afford to invite the Wuhuan."

Liu Bei shook his head. "The Marquis of Liaodong is trapped within the maze of his own perspective. To make that flock of fellows dispatch their troops requires not a single coin from our pockets."

"How do you mean?" Gongsun Du asked.

"Why should the benefits promised to them come from us? Setting out from Liaodong, conquering You Province, and advancing into Bing Province—whatever territory they can conquer and however much wealth they can plunder shall belong entirely to them."

"In a word, it all depends on their own ability!"

When Liu Bei finished speaking, he picked up his wine cup and drained it in a single gulp, whereupon the beautiful maidservant beside him immediately stepped forward to refill it.

Empty-handed manipulation of a grand enterprise?!

At this point, Gongsun Du understood completely, and he could not help but admire Liu Bei for possessing such astonishing insight.

"Xuanide, you truly have your ways..."

Yet, admiration aside, a trace of contempt stirred within his heart for Liu Bei.

To borrow the strength of foreign tribes to invade the Central Plains was by no means the act of an honorable gentleman.

If this enterprise were indeed to succeed and plunge the Central Plains into an abyss of suffering, Liu Bei would undoubtedly bear the guilt of the primary culprit.

The ruthlessness of Liu Bei's methods gave him a brand-new appreciation of the man.