Fancheng also mourned the whole city, with white banners hanging on the top of the city, and every household also carried bamboo poles and white banners hanging on the bamboo poles to express their condolences for Liu Biao's death.

But for Liu Jing, he still has a lot to deal with, and he has no time to immerse himself in sorrow. Apart from wearing mourning clothes all over his body, he is no different from usual, reviewing official documents and asking about military information.

He had been away from Fancheng for ten days, and his most concerned about was naturally the movements of Cao's army. In the room, Xu Shu and Gan Ning were reporting to him about the latest situation of Cao's army.

"Yesterday, Wancheng transferred 5,000 troops to Xinye, including 3,000 cavalry, which made Xinye's troops reach 10,000. Xinye's main general was Cao Hong. In addition, the whereabouts of the 250 ferries were found, and they were hidden in Xinye County. The ships could go south along the water of Wushui."

Liu Jing nodded and looked at Xu Shu again. Seeing that Xu Shu wanted to speak but stopped, he smiled and said, "Shi Shi Xu said whatever he said, and there is no taboo between us."

Xu Shu sighed and said, "Actually, some words should not be said, but I think it is an opportunity now. When the lord dies, he will usually block the flag and stop the army. There will be no war within at least three months. Cao's army will definitely not be prepared for us. If we can take the opportunity to attack Xinye, once Xinye takes it, the entire battle situation will be new."

Xu Shu had no loyalty to Liu Biao, and he paid more attention to the situation of the war. He could find opportunities for the fight, and Gan Ning did not take Liu Biao's death to heart. Xu Shu's words reached his heart.

Gan Ning fisted and said excitedly: "Xu Changshi said it well. Now is indeed an opportunity. The governor of the state has passed away. Cao's army thought we were unwilling to fight again. After a month of tense, their defense will inevitably be relaxed. If we can seize this opportunity, Xinye City can be broken."

Xinye City has high walls and is managed by Liu Bei for many years. It is easy to defend but difficult to attack. The Jiangxia army lacks large-scale siege weapons. There is no other way except confrontation. However, if the confrontation lasts for a long time, it will be unfavorable to the morale of the Jiangxia army. Therefore, how to defeat Xinye has always been a heart-wrenching problem for Gan Ning.

At this time, Xu Shu proposed a feasible plan, which made Gan Ning very excited. He looked at Liu Jing with anticipation.

Liu Jing pondered for a moment and asked again: "Have you ever thought about why Cao's army wanted to increase troops from Xinye?"

Xu Shu smiled and said, "General Gan and I have discussed this issue. We all believe that the Cao army should be trying to increase the military pressure on Jingzhou, especially the cavalry. The purpose is very clear, and we want to attack when we are not prepared."

"What do you mean is that Cao's army also wants to attack us?" Liu Jing asked as he stared at Xu Shu.

"They should have this plan, but it may not be targeting us. They may be attacking General Wen or dealing with General Guan. However, one thing is certain that the death of the Lord Zhou will definitely affect the plan for the other party."

Liu Jing walked slowly with his hands behind his back. He was not in a hurry to make the decision to attack Xinye. Liu Biao's death had a great impact. He needed to clarify various relationships and context before considering the next military action.

Thinking of this, Liu Jing glanced at Gan Ning, and saw Gan Ning looking expectant, and said with a smile: "Only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you win every battle. Now the enemy's intentions are unknown, so there is no confidence in this battle. Xingba should send a scout to explore the information and then consider it."

Gan Ning pondered for a moment, then nodded, "I will understand, let's arrange it now!"

Gan Ning bowed and turned around and left. Only Liu Jing and Xu Shu were left in the room. Xu Shu pondered for a moment and asked, "Will the prefect have a strategy to deal with the death of the provincial governor?"

Liu Jing shook his head, "Apart from ceremonial sacrifices and filial piety in Jiangxia, I have not considered other countermeasures for the time being. In fact, responding to changes in the same way is a countermeasure strategy."

"But the prefect doesn't want to fight for the officials in Xiangyang?"

Liu Jing smiled faintly, "I figured out one thing recently. Everyone has a side to seek profit and avoid harm, especially these senior officials in Jingzhou. They know more in their hearts who should they choose?

Especially in the past two years, a large number of gentry gathered in Jingzhou fled to Jiangxia, and the treatment they received was the best publicity, so I didn’t have to deliberately fight for anyone, and officials who wanted to surrender to me would naturally go to Jiangxia.

In fact, many officials' families have already gone to Jiangxia first. What else do I need to say? The key is to defeat Cao's army and let me establish prestige in Jiangxia so that more people can surrender, which is much better than wearing offense."

Xu Shu nodded silently. He knew Liu Jing's ideas very well and did not need to take the initiative to seek talent. As long as he could defeat Cao's army again and shake Jingzhou, his prestige could reach an unprecedented level and gather all the anti-Cao factions around him.

At this time, Xu Shu remembered something and said, "There is also the matter of Zhuge Liang, and I may be ashamed of the prefect."

Liu Jing was not surprised. As he expected, he smiled and asked, "Did he still refuse to accept my invitation in the end?"

"I visited him again yesterday, and he made it clear that he might have to let down the prefect's love."

"It doesn't matter, everyone has their own ambitions, so there is no need to force them. Maybe he thinks I am not suitable for him. Following Uncle Liu can give full play to his talents more!"

Xu Shu was stunned, "The prefect knows he wants to go with Liu Bei?"

"Take it for granted!"

Liu Jing smiled and said, "Who else can he have with besides Liu Bei?"

But Xu Shu was not worried about this. He was worried about whether Liu Jing would let Zhuge Liang go. He knew that Liu Jing spent a lot of energy and time on Zhuge Liang. Even when Zhuge Liang got married, it was Liu Jing who wanted to win over Zhuge Liang.

In the end, Zhuge Liang followed Liu Bei. Will Liu Jing spare him? Xu Shu was very worried. He bit his lip and asked hesitantly: "The prefect really doesn't care that Zhuge Liang goes to surrender to Liu Bei?"

Liu Jing understood Xu Shu’s implication and asked himself if he would kill Zhuge Liang. He pondered for a while and asked, “If Zhuge Liang suddenly died, you, a mountain citizen, or even Pang Gong thought it would be the one who would do it?”

Xu Shu did not answer, but responded to silence, but the meaning of silence was clearly to say, who else would be there except you, Liu Jing?

Liu Jing smiled slightly, "Killing Zhuge Liang ruined his reputation, and the famous scholars in the world dared not to defect to me Liu Jing anymore. I am afraid that even a three-year-old child can calculate whether this is a profit or a loss of money."

Xu Shu finally let go of his heart after several days. He couldn't help but sigh, "It's a pity that all the dragon and phoenix chicks have returned to Liu Bei, which is a pity!"

Liu Jing laughed, "You have three bad generals, Xu Shu, Dong Yun and Ma Liang, but can't you beat him or Zhuge Liang?"

Although Xu Shu didn't understand what the three bad generals meant, he understood what Liu Jing meant: Only by doing his best to use his talents is the way to use people.

Xu Shu couldn't help but smile and said, "What's more, there is Jia Xu. If he can be used by the prefect, he will be like a tiger with wings!"

Liu Jing shook his head gently and looked at Xu Shu and said, "Yuan Zhi, I hope you can understand one thing. The reason why I gave up Zhuge Liang in the end was because of you, because I needed to make a choice between you and Kong Ming. I did not visit him, but asked you to deliver a letter. That's what it means."

Xu Shu's nose suddenly became sore, his eyes became a little hazy. He knelt down and bowed, "The lord's kindness to Xu Shu is so shattered that Xu Shu can't repay him!"

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Xu Shu said goodbye and left, Liu Jing's face suddenly changed, he snorted coldly, and immediately ordered a personal soldier: "Come Li Qing for me quickly!"

After a moment, the personal commander Li Qing quickly walked into the room and knelt down on one knee, "Greetings to the prefect!"

Liu Jing's eyes burst into murderous intent and said slowly to Li Qing: "You can lead fifty brothers to Longzhong quickly and kill Zhuge Liang for me without leaving any living habits."

"Abide by the order!" Li Qing stood up and hurried away.

Liu Jing sat down slowly, and he fell into deep thought. He had considered killing Zhuge Liang more than once to eliminate future troubles, but reason told him more than once that killing Zhuge Liang would be less rewarding. Not only would he ruin his reputation, but he would also lose the heart of the entire Longzhong Group and thus lose their support, including Xu Shu, Ma Liang, Pang Shanmin, Dong Yun, Liu Min, Zhou Busi and even Pang Degong.

These are his mainstays. Once they are lost, their foundation will be completely destroyed. Liu Jing finally sighed. He had to compromise on some things. He immediately said to a personal soldier: "Go and catch up with Li Qing and tell him to give up his action."

The personal soldiers agreed and ran away. Liu Jing took back his mind from Zhuge Liang and took the official documents to review them. At this time, a soldier reported outside the door: "Report to the prefect, General Wenpin is asking for a meeting outside the city!"

This news made Liu Jing feel excited. Liu Biao died of illness. The people he cared about the most were Wen Pin and Huang Zhong. Now Wen Pin did not go to Xiangyang, but came to see him. There was a lot of articles here.

How could Liu Jing let go of this opportunity? He quickly ordered: "Please General Wen enter the city!"
Chapter completed!