Chapter 15 Xuzhou Chen Yuanlong (Part 2)

  Kill Cao Mengde!

  As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the hall was invigorated, and all eyes focused on Chen Deng's body, full of expectation!

  At this time, Tao Qian's face also flashed a wave of blush, and he said excitedly: "Since Yuan Long has spoken these words, it seems that there must be a good strategy to kill Cao Mengde."

  Chen Deng nodded confidently and said: "Yes, so I'll teach Lord Cao to surrender to Cao Mengde."

  "..." Chen Deng again spoke words of surrender, the atmosphere in the hall returned to freezing point, Tao Qian's face that was flushed with anger subsided, and a scowl spread across his face.

  Seeing Tao Qian's appearance, Chen Deng sighed: "The lord is still old, and his brilliance is no longer the same as in his heyday."

  Chen Deng proposed surrendering to Cao Cao three times, which naturally raised suspicions. Cao Pi, with his level of intelligence, couldn't understand it, and Tao Qian was too old to react in time, but that doesn't mean there weren't capable people who understood.

  Only then did Zuo Ci furrow his brow and cautiously ask, "Is Yuan Long advising the lord to surrender to Cao Mengde, or is this a ruse?"

  When he finally heard someone guess his plan, Chen Deng did not show any joy, but instead shook his head secretly and said: "Xuzhou only has Mi Zichong as a second-rate talent, the rest are all mediocre. Among Cao Mengde's subordinates, Xun Wenruo, Xun Gongda, Cheng Zhongde, Liu Ziying, which one is not a light and easy opponent? Alas..."

  Chen Deng sighed inwardly, but on the surface he nodded and said: "What you've said is quite right. Now Cao Mengde is using a clever plan to attack our Xuzhou, and we are already at a disadvantage in terms of public opinion. At this time, taking advantage of the fact that our lord is seriously ill and unable to govern, we can secretly decide to surrender to Cao. As long as we lure Cao Mengde into Xiaopei and kill him with an ambush, everything will be settled!"

  Chen Deng's plan is not particularly brilliant, but it has its clever points. By spreading rumors that Tao Qian is seriously ill and unable to govern, and that the people of Xuzhou are inclined towards Cao, he can confuse Cao. Moreover, by pretending to make a secret decision, he can lure Cao into taking action. As Cao is now using his "attack by kindness" strategy to win over the hearts of the people of Xuzhou, it is likely that he will come to accept their surrender.

  Compared to fighting against Cao's army with a large force, Chen Deng's plan is indeed the best strategy. However, Mi Zhu heard this and said with some concern: "Yu Long's plan is not bad, but it's not something a gentleman would do. Moreover, even if we kill Cao Mengde, there are still many soldiers outside the city, and Xiahou brothers, who are his relatives, will surely avenge him. If Cao's army launches a fierce attack without regard for losses, Xiapi may not be able to hold out."

  Chen Deng smiled lightly and said, "As the saying goes, 'an army is not afraid of deceit.' When two armies are facing each other, can we really afford to be particular about being gentlemen? As for what Zi Zhong said, it's true that if Cao Mengde is killed, Cao's army will likely take revenge. However, Xiaopei is the strongest city in Xuzhou, and even if Cao's army launches a fierce attack without regard for losses, they won't be able to capture it in a short time. With this buffer, our lord can use the momentum of killing Cao Cao to order Tai Shan Zang Ba's troops to return and cut off Cao's army's supply lines. Once Cao Cao is dead, the mainstay of Cao's army will be broken, and the aristocratic families of Yanzhou have long been dissatisfied with Cao Cao's extensive use of men from humble backgrounds. They will surely take advantage of this opportunity to rebel. Even Xun Wenruo and Cheng Zhongde will be worried sick about it. Once the foundation of Yanzhou is destroyed, even if there are 300,000 soldiers from Qingzhou, they will be like floating water plants without roots. The Xiahou brothers can be brave, but they won't have the power to avenge themselves. At that time, Xuzhou will be safe!"

  When Chen Deng said this, the people in the hall, including Tao Qian, Mei You and Cao Jiao, looked at each other in shock and stared at Chen Deng, as if they couldn't believe that such a flawless and well-connected plan came from the hands of this young man.

  Cao Jue was initially impressed, but soon his expression changed several times, and a jealous look appeared on his face. He stared at Chen Deng fiercely. Zang Ba, however, nodded and shook his head alternately. With his intelligence, he had obviously seen that Chen Deng's plan was extremely clever, but the gentlemanly code in his heart made him instinctively reject this vicious plan.

  Although these two men had their own thoughts, they were after all just subordinates and didn't matter. As for Tao Qian in the main seat, his face was also changing with uncertainty, and his eyes were flashing with a hint of something. Chen Deng's words were so straightforward that Tao Qian knew this was indeed the best strategy to defeat the enemy, but he had more concerns than anyone else.

  After Chen Deng finished speaking, except for the sound of everyone in the hall gasping in shock at first, it was silent all the time, and even if a needle fell to the ground, it could be heard clearly.

  Time passed minute by minute, Chen Deng simply closed his eyes to meditate and no longer looked at Tao Qian's face, which was still uncertain. As an advisor, he had done his part, and the rest was not something he could do. Although Mi Zhu and Cao Jiao had their own thoughts in mind, they did not dare to interrupt Tao Qian's train of thought at this time, so they also lowered their heads and remained silent.

  About half a watch later, Tao Qian's eyes focused and he raised his head to clear his throat. In the hall, except for Chen Deng and his son, everyone else looked at Tao Qian.

  Tao Qian glanced around at the crowd before saying, "Although Yuan Long's plan is good, the key lies in setting an ambush to kill Cao Mengde. I have a certain understanding of this man; he dared to single-handedly attempt to assassinate Dong Zhuo back then and was also the first among the lords to rise up against Dong. Now, he has not yet committed any personal vendetta against the people, so he can be called a loyal and righteous minister of the Han Dynasty. On the other hand, my governance is not strict, which led to his father's death in Xuzhou. If I were to carry out this treacherous plan again to harm him, I fear that after my death, I would be despised by the people. Therefore, I would rather engage in open and honest battle with him; I will absolutely not resort to such an unjust act!"

  At this point, Tao Qian's voice paused for a moment, and then his eyes widened, sternly shouting: "Cao Jiao, listen to the order!"

  "The end is near!"

  "Order you to lead 50,000 Dan Yang soldiers to go down to Xiaopei first and fight against Cao's army at Pengcheng. I will follow later!"

  Cao Jiao was overjoyed and loudly replied: "Yes!"

  Zi Xi saw that Tao Qian had not acted unrighteously and also let out a breath of relief, cupping his hands to say: "My lord is wise." Then he turned around to face Cao Bao and said: "I am also here to wish General Cao victory in battle."

  Hearing Cao Jiao's congratulations, Cao Bao managed a rare smile and nodded in appreciation.

  Everyone here was like this, but Chen Deng did not show any surprise, on the contrary, he just exchanged a glance with his father Chen Gui and didn't say anything else.

  The main direction of the battle has been decided, and then Tao Qian arranged for people like Mi Zhu and Chen Deng to be in charge of transporting military rations and other trivial matters. Everyone followed orders one by one.

  After the meeting, Cao Jiao glanced at Chen Deng with a proud smile and then pulled Zang Zhong away, laughing loudly. After Cao Jiao left, Chen Deng smiled disdainfully and said to Chen Gui, "If my guess is not wrong, Cao Jiao will surely fail this time."

  Chen Gui sighed and shook his head, saying: "Yuan Long is right, but as a father, I still want him to win. If Cao Pi loses the battle, Xuzhou will be in trouble. Given Cao Cao's treatment of the aristocratic families in Yanzhou, I fear he will do the same in Xuzhou, and my Chen family will be in trouble."

  Chen Deng couldn't help but smile and said, "Father's words are indeed correct. Cao Cao is a man of great ambition and has the makings of a heroic leader. Unfortunately, he doesn't value our family's reputation highly enough and instead promotes those from humble backgrounds to control those from noble families. This move will surely provoke the anger of all the noble families in the world. I think that Yan Province will eventually fall into chaos, which may be able to alleviate the crisis in Xu Province."

  Chen Guixi nodded with satisfaction and said: "Yu Long has been studying for several years, it seems that he has gained a lot. The Chen family will have someone to inherit the legacy."

  As for Chen Gui's praise, Chen Deng just smiled and looked in the direction of the back hall, saying with some concern: "It's a pity that Governor Zhou is already old, alas..."

  Chen Gui nodded and lowered his voice: "Is Yuan Long a candidate for the new master of Xuzhou?"

  Chen Deng smiled and said: "The child indeed has some ideas, but still wants to hear his father's opinion."

  Chen Gui lightly responded with an "uh-huh" and then said in a low voice: "Walls have ears, let's discuss the details when we get back."