Chapter 57: Settling Old and New Scores Together, Slaughtering the Two Fat Sheep Cai and Kuai!

"Could the fat sheep Master Boweng mentioned possibly be those influential clans rooted in Xiangyang who chose to follow Liu Cong in his flight south?"

It had to be Xu Shu, the very first to guess the hidden implication behind Xiao He's words.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei suddenly saw the light.

Xiangyang was not only the administrative center of Jingzhou, but also a gathering place for powerful and prominent families. Centered around Xiangyang, along with surrounding satellite cities like Zhonglu and Yicheng, nearly half of Jingzhou's elite clans were concentrated here.

Among them were many who had not retreated southward—such as the Ma and Feng clans—who defected and surrendered to Liu Bei on the very day he launched a surprise raid on Xiangyang.

However, there were also numerous prominent families who refused to submit to Liu Bei and instead retreated to Jiangling with Liu Cong.

Naturally, these powerful clans could not possibly relocate their entire households to Jiangling; quite a few chose to stay behind.

They stayed not to guard Xiangyang, but to protect their ancestral properties and fortunes.

The land around Xiangyang was exceptionally fertile, and these influential clans possessed deep roots. Which of them did not occupy countless acres of prime farmland and stockpile mountains of grain within their estates?

If they could find a way to crack open the coffers of these elite clans, wouldn't the grain and provisions obtained be perfectly suited to supply their military needs and sustain an army of tens of thousands?

"Yuanzhi is entirely correct. That is precisely what I mean. Among these fat sheep, the ones most notably..."

Xiao He nodded in approval of Xu Shu's deduction, his words trailing off just as he was about to name the specific families.

What he had been about to point out, naturally, were the Cai and Kuai clans.

The status and power of the Cai and Kuai families surpassed all others in Jingzhou. During the era of Liu Biao, Cai Mao and Kuai Yue had divided the highest military and political authority between them, wielding power so absolute it could blot out the sky.

Both clans already possessed profound foundations, and coupled with Liu Biao's indulgence and favoritism over the past decade and more, it would be a miracle if their fortunes weren't overflowing with wealth.

There was no need to target any other influential families; simply slaughtering the Cai and Kuai clans alone would be more than enough to keep an army of forty thousand well-fed.

Crucially, the Cai and Kuai clans bore the grave crimes of coercing Liu Cong into surrendering to Cao Cao, betraying Liu Biao's life's work, and acting with utter disloyalty and lack of righteousness.

Furthermore, because these two families held an absolute monopoly over Jingzhou's military and political affairs, vital official posts from the provincial down to the commandery levels were mostly monopolized by them. Far from sharing the meat with others, they had been unwilling to spare even a few sips of the broth.

Consequently, throughout Jingzhou, those harboring dissatisfaction—or even burning hatred—toward the Cai and Kuai families were by no means few in number.

Thus, turning their blades upon the Cai and Kuai clans could be said to be both entirely justified and bound to win the enthusiastic applause of everyone; it was truly killing two birds with one stone.

The problem, however, was that Zhuge Liang happened to have certain marital and kinship ties with both the Cai and Kuai clans.

For instance, his father-in-law, Huang Chengyan, was married to a daughter of the Cai family.

In such turbulent times, examples of warring states maintaining private family connections were by no means uncommon.

For example, Cao Cao's niece was the sister-in-law of Sun Quan, while Zhang Fei's legal wife was the niece of Xiahou Yuan...

Family ties were family ties, but on the battlefield, it was still a matter of life and death. How could one let private family matters obstruct affairs of state?

Given Zhuge Liang's breadth of mind and magnanimity, Xiao He believed that Zhuge Liang would never intentionally shield the Cai and Kuai families simply because of distant kinship, thereby ruining Liu Bei's grand endeavor to resist Cao Cao.

Xiao He understood this logic perfectly.

However, considering that he had newly joined the ranks not long ago, a matter as heavy as turning their blades against the Cai and Kuai clans was still not quite suitable for him to propose outright.

Xiao He naturally understood these nuances of human relations and the subtle arts of the political arena.

Therefore, shifting the conversational tone, Xiao He smiled and said:

"Among the great and powerful clans of Xiangyang, who has set their heart on defecting to Cao Cao, whose estates are the wealthiest, and who most deserves to have a blade turned against them—surely Brother Yuanzhi should be much clearer on this than I am."

Xu Shu and Zhuge Liang were close friends and fellow disciples studying under the same master, so it was naturally much more appropriate for him to voice such a proposal.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Xu Shu cupped his hands toward Liu Bei and said:

"My Lord, the powerful clan that has occupied the most farmland around Xiangyang is none other than the Cai and Kuai families."

"The two scoundrels, Cai Mao and Kuai Yue, received immense grace and favor from Liu Jing Sheng, yet they betrayed Liu Jing Sheng's dying wish to resist Cao Cao. They coerced Liu Cong and surrendered the entirety of Jingzhou to Cao Cao without a fight, proving themselves to be utterly disloyal and unrighteous villains."

"Furthermore, when My Lord recaptured Xiangyang, these scoundrels fled south with Liu Cong to Jiangling. To this day, they still obey Cao Cao's commands and have mobilized a massive army to launch a fierce assault on our Yicheng, attempting to coordinate with Cao Cao and drive My Lord to a desperate end!"

"This subordinate believes that the Cai and Kuai clans are guilty of heinous crimes. My Lord should immediately proclaim their offenses, confiscate their illegally seized lands to bring them under state ownership for distribution to the common people, and expropriate their stockpiled wealth and grain to replenish our military supplies!"

As soon as Xu Shu finished his submission, the civil and military officials of Jingzhou origin present—especially those from Xiangyang—rallied in unison.

There was simply no helping it; during the era of Liu Biao, the Cai and Kuai clans had monopolized supreme power and suppressed the other clans far too harshly, leaving everyone harboring an accumulation of bitter resentment in their hearts.

Now that Xu Shu was proposing to turn their blades against the Cai and Kuai families, everyone naturally desired it above all else; refraining from clapping and cheering aloud was already a remarkable display of restraint.

"Elder Brother, Boweng's strategy is indeed a fine recipe to resolve our dilemma of grain and provisions."

"The Cai and Kuai families mentioned by Yuanzhi truly deserve their punishment."

"Putting aside the fact that these two scoundrels are disloyal and unrighteous, and sold out Liu Jing Sheng's foundation to Cao Cao in exchange for personal wealth and glory—which is hateful enough—"

"Could Elder Brother have forgotten that when you traveled to Xiangyang to attend Liu Jing Sheng's banquet back then, these two scoundrels even plotted a scheme that nearly cost Elder Brother his life?"

"Both in terms of public duty and private grievance, the time has come to settle accounts with the Cai and Kuai families!"

Guan Yu also stepped forward to state his position.

When the past incident involving the two men plotting against Liu Bei was brought up, he became so furious that he gritted his teeth.

"What you all have said, I understand completely, and the Cai and Kuai families indeed deserve heavy punishment!"

Liu Bei nodded slightly, yet a trace of reservation appeared on his face:

"It's just that military strategist Kongming maintains certain kinship ties, greater or lesser, with the Cai and Kuai families. I cannot simply ignore this; the matter still requires me to deliberate carefully."

As soon as these words were spoken, the command tent instantly fell silent.

Zhuge Liang was the military strategist and chief counselor. As the lord, Liu Bei had to consider Zhuge Liang's feelings when making decisions. This was Liu Bei's demonstration of respect toward Zhuge Liang, and naturally, the others found it difficult to raise objections.

Xiao He, however, merely smiled and offered words of reassurance:

"This subordinate believes that My Lord is worrying needlessly."

"Military Strategist Kongming has always been strictly impartial in separating public and private matters. Given his magnanimity and breadth of vision, not only will he raise no objection to this matter, but he will likely give it his utmost support."

"For all we know, Military Strategist Kongming might even be drafting a letter right now, intending to personally petition My Lord to take action against the Cai and Kuai families."

Xiao He's assessment of Zhuge Liang was, naturally, spoken straight from the heart.

Looking across past and present, among those powerful ministers who, like Zhuge Liang, held both supreme military and political authority in their hands, how many could retain their original aspirations and achieve a favorable outcome from beginning to end?

Which of them had not deposed emperors or usurped thrones?

Given Zhuge Liang's loyalty, uprightness, and selflessness, would he intentionally shield the Cai and Kuai families and thereby ruin Liu Bei's grand cause of restoring the Han Dynasty simply because they shared some distant blood relation with him?

Liu Bei's heart trembled as sudden enlightenment dawned upon him.

At that very moment, a personal guard hurried into the tent, announcing that a messenger had arrived from Yicheng and had just delivered a personal handwritten letter from Zhuge Liang.

Hearing that a letter had arrived from Zhuge Liang, Liu Bei hastily took it and unfolded it with eager anticipation.

After just a single glance, Liu Bei sprang to his feet, a look of pleasant surprise blooming across his face.

As he read further, the surprise on his face transformed into deep gratification, and he let out a long sigh of emotional resonance.

Watching the changes in Liu Bei's expression, everyone present felt a surge of curiosity as to what could possibly be written in Zhuge Liang's letter to elicit such a reaction from him.

Liu Bei drew a deep breath, looked toward Xiao He with a gaze full of admiration, and let out a heartfelt exclamation:

"The one who truly knows Crouching Dragon is none other than Xiao Boweng!"