Chapter 037: Stop Trying to Make the Big Play—Can’t We Just Stay Steady and Not Throw?

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“One stratagem to drive back Cao Cao’s hundred and fifty thousand troops!”

The moment those words left his mouth, the hall fell utterly silent.

Everyone held their wine cups and turned toward Xu Shu in astonishment. Gradually, delighted anticipation began to gleam in their eyes.

“Yuan Zhi, what brilliant plan do you have?”

Liu Bei hastily set down his cup and looked eagerly at Xu Shu.

Everyone pricked up their ears, their spirits rising with excitement.

Only Xiao He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Xu Shu had returned and was already about to make a major contribution.

“Looks like bringing him back was the right decision. With him shouldering the burden, I can finally lie low for a while…”

Xiao He was secretly delighted. His appetite immediately returned, and without bothering to listen to what Xu Shu was saying, he began heartily helping himself to the food.

Xu Shu asked Chen Dao to bring over the map and spread it out before Liu Bei and the others.

“Milord, look here. Cao Cao’s army has two grain depots. One is in Chaoyang, sixty miles north of Fancheng; the other is in Deng County, fifteen miles northwest of Fancheng.”

“Although Deng County is close to Xiangyang, it is also near Cao Cao’s main camp. We can only leave it alone.”

“Chaoyang, though situated sixty miles behind enemy lines, lies beside the Yu River. If our army travels north along the Yu River under cover of night, we can appear outside Chaoyang by dawn.”

“The grain camp outside the city contains nearly sixty percent of Cao Cao’s army’s provisions. If Milord can raid Chaoyang and burn the entire stockpile, Cao Cao’s army will surely be thrown into chaos.”

“With Cao Cao’s supplies exhausted, his troops’ morale shaken, and his prolonged assault on Fancheng still unsuccessful, he will have no choice but to withdraw north with his army!”

“This is my plan for driving back the enemy.”

Pointing at the map, Xu Shu calmly laid out his entire strategy.

The hall erupted into an uproar, and discussion broke out at once.

Liu Bei stared at the map, mulling over Xu Shu’s proposal. Gradually, excitement began to kindle in his eyes.

“In the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao relied on the burning of Wuchao to destroy Yuan Shao’s million hu of grain in one stroke. Only then was he able to shatter the morale of Yuan’s army and win the battle.”

“Brother, Yuan Zhi’s plan bears a striking resemblance to Cao Cao’s surprise attack on Wuchao.”

Guan Yu stroked his magnificent beard and nodded slowly.

As soon as he finished speaking, someone said:

“I recall that during the Battle of Guandu, Cao Cao dared to attack Wuchao because Xu You defected to him at the critical moment, bringing with him the locations of Yuan’s sentries, his defensive arrangements, and the true strength of the troops stationed at Wuchao.”

“Our army may be able to travel north along the Yu River and evade Cao Cao’s scouts and sentries, but we know nothing about the actual strength of the troops at the Chaoyang grain camp.”

“Even if Milord launches a surprise attack on Chaoyang, he could deploy no more than ten thousand men or so. If the grain camp is heavily defended, then despite the element of surprise, the disparity in strength may be too great for us to prevail.”

The one offering this warning was Ma Liang.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

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Liu Bei found Ma Liang’s reasoning persuasive and turned his gaze toward Xu Shu, waiting to hear how he would respond.

Xu Shu, however, appeared to have anticipated the objection. He smiled faintly.

“To know oneself and one’s enemy is the way to remain undefeated in a hundred battles. Naturally, I have considered this as well.”

“On my recent journey north to Chaoyang to collect my mother, I took the opportunity to inspect Cao Cao’s grain camp carefully. It contains no more than ten thousand troops at most.”

“It is precisely because of this that I dared to present this plan to Milord.”

The moment he said this, the concern vanished from Ma Liang’s face and from the faces of the others.

The doubt in Liu Bei’s eyes disappeared as well. His spirits soared, and he slapped the map sharply.

“So Yuan Zhi had already made all the necessary calculations. In that case, this plan to raid Chaoyang is indeed feasible.”

“If we can burn all of Cao Cao’s provisions in a single battle and force him to withdraw north, then the danger threatening Xiangyang and Fancheng will be lifted!”

Liu Bei’s fighting spirit blazed fiercely. Clearly, he intended to put Xu Shu’s plan into action.

Guan Yu and the other generals were likewise invigorated, all eager to give it a try.

Xiao He, who had been eating and drinking on his own, suddenly sensed that something was wrong.

Venturing sixty miles behind enemy lines with ten thousand men to raid Cao Cao’s grain camp was more than ten times as difficult as the surprise attack on Xiangyang.

The rewards would indeed be great, but so were the risks.

The earlier raid on Xiangyang had been forced by circumstances. The current situation could not be called entirely favorable, but at least it had not reached the point where they had to stake everything on a desperate gamble.

Would it not be better to simply hold Fancheng, hold the Han River, avoid unnecessary risks, and wait until Cao Cao lost patience and withdrew north?

“Milord, allow me to say a few words.”

Xiao He set down his wine cup and cleared his throat several times.

Everyone’s gaze immediately shifted to him.

Only then did Liu Bei remember that he had not yet asked Xiao He for his opinion. How could he make a decision without consulting him?

He hurriedly asked, “Boyuan, what do you think of Yuan Zhi’s plan?”

“Yuan Zhi’s strategy is indeed an ingenious move. I have often heard Milord speak of his talent for extraordinary schemes. It seems the reputation is well deserved…”

As usual, Xiao He began with a round of praise before suddenly changing tack.

“However, no matter how brilliant the plan may be, it still requires us to send troops sixty miles behind enemy lines and commit our main forces. There will inevitably be risks.”

“Our present position may not be exceptionally favorable, but it can at least be described as mildly favorable. We have not yet reached the point where we must resort to a dangerous maneuver.”

“So my opinion is that we should play it safe.”

Xiao He’s stance was unmistakable: hold steady and do not take unnecessary risks.

His words extinguished more than half of the fighting spirit in Liu Bei’s eyes.

“Brother Boyuan is certainly making sense. This plan does carry risks. Yet the greater the risk, the greater the reward. It would seem a pity not to attempt it.”

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Xu Shu did not openly oppose Xiao He. His words still leaned toward launching the surprise attack on Chaoyang.

But the phrase “the greater the risk, the greater the reward” caused Liu Bei’s heart to stir. A trace of reluctance appeared in his eyes.

Xiao He understood that although Liu Bei was benevolent and righteous, the blood of a gallant adventurer ran through his veins.

For men of that sort, courage and a willingness to gamble were essential qualities.

Xu Shu was the same. In his youth, he had championed justice, killed a man to avenge a wrong, and only changed his name and gone into hiding to study under Master Water Mirror after being wanted by the authorities.

It was precisely because both lord and subject came from the same world of gallantry—because they shared the same taste—that the two had hit it off at their first meeting.

Now that a risky military maneuver offered them the chance to drive back a hundred and fifty thousand of Cao Cao’s troops, both were naturally itching to take a bold shot.

“Looks like I’ll have to produce something substantial if I want to curb their urge to gamble everything on a dangerous maneuver…”

Xiao He rolled his eyes a few times. Then he put on an inscrutable expression and said meaningfully:

“Cao Cao has always been treacherous. The strategists under his command, such as Cheng Yu and Jia Xu, are likewise men of exceptional intelligence, full of cunning schemes.”

“Milord, Yuan Zhi, have you ever considered this? After the lesson of the Battle of Guandu, how could Cao Cao fail to take extra precautions around a vital location such as a grain camp?”

“What if the Chaoyang grain camp is actually a trap Cao Cao has laid for us? What then?”

At these words, Liu Bei’s body stiffened slightly.

Xu Shu’s expression also changed. His eyes darted rapidly as he racked his memory for any clue.

The atmosphere in the hall instantly grew tense, and the others began discussing the matter in low, agitated voices.

“Boyuan, you have always been incredibly perceptive. Have you calculated that Cao Cao has laid a trap in Chaoyang as well?”

Liu Bei became wary.

“Well, about that… ahem…”

Xiao He lifted his wine cup and took a small sip, rapidly composing an explanation in his mind.

Those words had merely been intended to frighten Liu Bei. As for whether Cao Cao truly had a trap waiting, he had not actually thought it through.

Just as he was preparing to improvise an explanation, Xu Shu’s face suddenly changed with horror, and in an instant he broke out in a cold sweat.

“Brother Boyuan truly possesses divine foresight! You actually saw through Cao Cao’s scheme and realized that I had fallen into it!”

“If you had not warned me, I would nearly have brought disaster upon us and consigned more than ten thousand of Milord’s elite troops to ruin!”

“Please accept Xu Shu’s deepest bow!”

With that, Xu Shu sprang to his feet and bowed deeply toward Xiao He.

“What?”

Xiao He could only stare at him in bewilderment.

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