After listening to Liu Bei's report, Liu Biao couldn't help but laugh, but because he laughed too hard, he accidentally choked himself. After laughing, he almost coughed out his lungs.
"Brother!" Upon seeing this, Liu Bei hurriedly stepped forward, supported Liu Biao, and rubbed his back vigorously to calm him down.
After Liu Biao coughed hard for a while, he waved his hand to Liu Bei, indicating that it was okay.
When I was young, I saw him smiling at Liu Bei and saying, "Thank you for your hard work, Xuande. You have made great contributions this time."
Liu Bei shook his head hurriedly: "Bei is just a front-line pawn. No matter what merits are mentioned, it is all due to the proper command of my brother."
Cao Cao sat next to him, quietly watching the show of brothers Liu Biao and Liu Bei, a sarcastic smile flashed across his lips.
But that little smile was just a flash, and Cao Cao's expression quickly turned into worry.
"Brother Jingsheng, you still need to take care of yourself. You are the courage of the three armies. Your safety is related to the three armies."
Liu Biao said with a smile: "I'm worried about you, Mengde. Don't worry, I'm just suffering from a minor illness, it's not a big deal."
Cao Cao nodded and said with emotion: "That's good, that's good."
Liu Biao looked at him: "Mengde, our plan to secretly attack the pottery merchant's granary was not successful, but it also burned part of his grain and grass. What should we do next?"
Cao Cao stroked his beard and said with a smile: "I have discussed this matter with many of my subordinates. I think that the pottery merchant has a strong foundation and a lot of money and food. Even if his front line is burned for food, he can recruit from the rear.
We can definitely collect them all, but it will take time. If we take advantage of this time to attack the pottery merchants and spread the message among their troops to disrupt their morale, we can succeed!"
Liu Biao seemed to understand what Cao Cao was thinking. He stroked his white beard and thought, "What does Meng De mean by pre-emptive strike?"
Cao Cao nodded: "If we don't take advantage of this moment to attack, I'm afraid we won't have this good opportunity in the future. Cao is willing to be the vanguard!"
When Liu Biao heard what Cao Cao said, he became suspicious.
Cao Cao was also a prince. This man was cunning, cunning, and well-judged. He would definitely not make a loss-making business.
He was so anxious to be the vanguard to fight against the pottery merchants. There must be something behind this?
Could it be that the pottery merchants are really out of their depth right now? Are they in a weak period?
If this is indeed the case, then I can't let Cao Cao take the lead!
At that moment, Liu Biao stood up with a smile and said to Cao Cao: "Since it is a critical moment that determines victory or defeat, how can we let Duke Cao's army go alone? This matter is a major matter for everyone. We need to
Do we have to work together?”
After saying that, Liu Biao turned to the other side, where Zhang Ren, who had led the troops to assist Liu Zhang on behalf of Liu Zhang, said: "General Zhang, do you think so or not?"
Zhang Ren didn't answer directly. He just stood up, cupped his hands towards Liu Biao and said, "I have been ordered by my lord to come to conspire with the general on major matters. As the general behaves, so will I behave."
"Okay!" Liu Biao slapped the table and said with a smile: "In that case, we will go out with the whole army and not give the pottery merchant a chance to breathe!"
Cao Cao laughed secretly from the side.
Liu Biao had indeed fallen into his trap.
Cao Cao is now afraid that the Sanliu Group will not compete head-on with the pottery merchants. They can afford it, but Cao Cao cannot afford it.
After all, Liu Biao was in Jingzhou, and Liu Zhang was hiding in Yizhou. Facing the pressure from the pottery merchants and soldiers, they were far less powerful than Cao Cao.
In his heart, Cao Cao did not expect that this alliance could destroy the pottery merchants, but he hoped that through this alliance, he could defeat as much of the pottery merchants' power as possible.
…
A few days later, rumors spread throughout the pottery camp that the grain and grass had been burned, and that the rear could not raise grain and grass, and that the three armies were about to run out of food.
For a time, rumors spread throughout the Jinling Army, and ordinary soldiers told each other, and the three armies fell into panic for a while.
"Hi!" Xu Chu stamped his foot fiercely and said angrily: "The prime minister has ordered people to completely block the news about the grain matter. Who the hell bastard leaked the news? It caused rumors in the camp and all the ministries.
The general tried desperately to stop the rumors, but he couldn't stop them! What, what should we do?"
The pottery merchant looked at the slip in his hand and fell deeply into thought.
After a while, he raised his head and said with a smile: "Forget it, since we can't stop those rumors, let's just let the rumors spread in the army. I guess it's not our people who spread the news."
Xu Chu looked at the pottery merchant in confusion and said, "What do you mean, Prime Minister, this news was spread by the enemy?"
Tao Shang nodded and said: "It should be spread by people from Cao Cao's army, maybe Jia Xu who is in charge of Yingshe Mansion. This person is best to do these heart-wrenching tricks... If my prediction is correct, Cao Cao, Liu Biao and others
People are about to launch a large-scale attack, and before the attack, spreading rumors to destabilize the morale of our army is a necessary method."
Xu Chu could understand the pottery merchant's words, but he couldn't understand his actions.
"Prime Minister, even if it was not done by one of our own, you can't just let the news spread around?"
The potter spread his hands and said with a smile: "People talk a lot, how do you want me to stop their mouths one by one? Please teach me."
Xu Chu was speechless.
After a long while, I saw him shaking his huge head and saying: "Anyway, if someone's head is not better than yours, you must have something to do!"
The potter smiled and said: "There is a way. It is better to block than to open up. Instead of forcing their mouths to be controlled, it is better to open their hearts directly."
Obviously, Xu Chu's intelligence is still completely incomprehensible to such a profound method.
Seeing Xu Chu's cute expression, the potter couldn't help but smile.
He stood up, walked to the pottery merchant, and said to him: "You will send an order to the three armies soon, and have all generals above the centurion gather at the school grounds. I have something to announce to them."
Although he didn't understand what the potter was trying to do, Xu Chu did not dare to neglect and immediately followed the potter's order and went to pass on the general's orders.
…
At noon, all generals of the three armies, including centurions and above, gathered in the school grounds.
When he was young, he saw Tao Shang leading Xu Chu and A Fei to the stage. He glanced at the generals below and said, "There have been rumors in the camp recently."
When everyone heard this, their ears pricked up.
"Food and grass are the most important thing and are the lifeblood of our army. Some time ago, our army's food and fodder were attacked by Cao Liu and other traitorous traitors, causing some losses. I will not deny this."
Upon hearing Tao Shang's confession, the generals of the three armies couldn't help but be a little surprised, whispering to each other.
The potter seemed not to have seen it, and continued slowly: "There are losses, but they are definitely not as big as the rumors. If nothing else, this is a conspiracy of the rebels. In order to break this rumor, I am going to
Then we will first distribute the provisions for the fifteenth day to each battalion, and the generals of each battalion will allocate them to the soldiers under their command to calm the morale of the army!"