The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 336 Demanding Benefits from Cao Ren

Peng Qi spoke with great enthusiasm, his expression so excited that it seemed he had already defeated Pan Zhang, occupied Nanchang, and become the new King of Yuzhang.

You Chong mentally labeled Peng Qi as someone with a screw loose, saying he should stay away from him to avoid getting caught in the crossfire when Peng Qi got beaten up.

Damn Peng Qi, the armies of Cao Cao, Sun Quan, and Liu Bei are all in Jiangdong. Where do you get the confidence that you can snatch meat from their mouths?

What if you end up not only failing to get any meat, but also becoming the meat to be shared among three families? Wouldn't that be tragic?

Although You Chong didn't want to deal with this guy, he didn't forget his mission. He organized his thoughts and asked, "Do you have a battle plan? How do you plan to fight?"

Peng Qi said, "I plan to first seize the military market set up by Pan Zhang. After seizing the supplies, I will head straight for Nanchang. This place is not far from Nanchang. Currently, the main force of the Wu army is with Lu Xun at Yushan, confronting the Han army. Nanchang is weak and easy to capture. After taking Nanchang, we will take Ai County and Jun, and head straight for Jiangling along Huarong Road. If Guan Yu and Sun Quan can become the rulers of Jiangdong, why can't we brothers?"

"Uh..." You Chong opened his mouth wide in surprise, and even Ning Huan behind him had a very expressive face as if he had heard the biggest joke of the year.

Who the hell do you think you are, daring to dream of becoming the ruler of Jingzhou like Guan Yu and Sun Quan?

Do you know how many prefectures and counties Jingzhou has, and how many aristocratic families and registered households there are?

We're bandits, can't we just indulge in the beautiful dreams that bandits are supposed to have?

You Chong flashed a professional fake smile and chimed in, "Brother Peng, I admire your lofty aspirations, but I have a few questions for you, brother."

Having already assumed the role of the protagonist in Jingzhou, Peng Qi patted his chest and said, "Ask away, brother, I promise to tell you everything I know."

You Chong opened his mouth, unsure where to begin, so he simply pulled Ning Huan in front of him and introduced him: "This is my newly recruited strategist, Ning Huan. His questions are my questions. As long as you answer clearly, I promise to follow your lead."

Ning Huan clasped his hands in greeting and said, "Your younger brother Ning Huan greets Commander Zong."

Peng Qi stared at Ning Huan for a few moments and said, "Judging from your demeanor, you're a scholar. I've just started my rebellion and I need people like you who can read and write. Go ahead and ask."

Ning Huan didn't stand on ceremony and stood up, saying, "Then I'll accept your offer without hesitation. Chief You said that if you start an uprising, you can easily raise 30,000 troops in no time. But here's the problem: 30,000 troops consume a mountain of grain every day. Where will your grain come from? You can't just rely on robbing, can you? There aren't that many wealthy families in Yuzhang that we can rob."

"Secondly, where will we get our swords, spears, halberds, bows, crossbows, and arrows? We can't fight the government troops with bamboo poles, can we?"

"And now Zhou Tai is in Chaisang, Cao Ren is in Wanling, Pan Zhang is in Riyue Lake, and Zhuge Jin is in Yuhan. We are surrounded by the four of them in this tiny area of ​​Poyang Lake, with no room to maneuver at all."

"Moreover, you have already raised the banner of rebellion and openly robbed Pan Zhang's goods. Wu's army will definitely send troops to suppress you once they receive the news. The Jiangdong rats are not very good at dealing with Cao Cao and Liu Bei, but they have always dealt a heavy blow to us Shanyue. If Zhou Tai, Pan Zhang, and Zhuge Jin attack at the same time, how do you plan to deal with it?"

"Moreover, Wu's army has suffered repeated defeats in its battles against the Han army. Everyone from the generals to the soldiers is burning with anger. If they vent their anger on the Han army on us, how can we bear it?"

"And then there's Nanchang. Although the main force of Wu's army has gone to Kuaiji with Lu Xun, Nanchang is, after all, the seat of Yuzhang Commandery. It has high walls and thick defenses, and there are more than 100,000 permanent residents in the city. Moreover, there is a famous general like Yu Fan guarding it. I dare not say more, but Yu Fan only needs to mobilize 10,000 laborers to hold us at the gates of Nanchang. Even if we just drag it out, we can hold it out until the day when Pan Zhang and Zhou Tai come to our aid. At that time, Nanchang will be under siege for a long time and the morale will be low. Then Pan and Zhou will come quickly to attack. What do you plan to do then?"

With each sentence Ning Huan spoke, Peng Qi's face darkened further. When Ning Huan finished speaking, Peng Qi's face was completely as black as the bottom of a pot. He glared at You Chong and said, "Brother You, are you deliberately trying to ridicule me?"

You Chong hurriedly smiled apologetically, "How could that be? But these are indeed problems we need to face after we start the uprising. We can't wait until we're in deep trouble to think about finding a toilet."

Peng Qi, enraged and embarrassed, said, "Then what do you suggest? I'd like to hear your brilliant ideas."

You Chong looked at Ning Huan again.

Ning Huan looked at Peng Qi and said, "I think what you should do most right now is to be wary of Pan Zhang's attack. Pan Zhang is arrogant and domineering. He has always been the one to take from others and has never been taken from by others. Now that you have taken from him, how can he let it go? He may already be plotting how to deal with you."

"Secondly, although our opponent is the Wu army, we cannot be complacent about the Wei army. Cao Ren is currently in Wanling, just a short distance away. More importantly, the population has been drastically reduced due to years of war. There are no signs of human habitation for dozens or even hundreds of miles across the Central Plains. Capable young men are a resource more precious than gold. How could Cao Ren not be envious of our 20,000 to 30,000 young men?"

"If Cao Ren really comes from the Anhui-Jiangxi corridor to seize our people, how will you deal with it?"

Thinking of Cao Ren's strength and the Wei army's terror, Peng Qi's expression changed, and he said irritably, "Then what do you suggest? Should I send the supplies back to Pan Zhang now and apologize to him?"

These words carried an element of venting anger, and Peng Qi's emotions were clearly in turmoil.

Ning Huan laughed and said, "General Zong, please calm down and listen to me. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Cao Ren is the current General Who Conquers the South. You can do what the leader of You Tu did back then and go to Cao Ren to ask for an official position. That way, we will become official officials of the court, completely get rid of our bandit status, and also cut off Cao Ren's idea of ​​attacking us from the south. It's a win-win situation, so why not?"

"After you obtain an official position, you can then use the excuse that the Wu army is too strong to fight back to ask Cao Ren for a batch of food and supplies. That way, our food and weapons will be taken care of, and we will be more confident in dealing with the Wu army, won't we?"

Guan Xing had already regarded Peng Qi's army as his own, so before coming, he specifically instructed Ning Huan to suggest that Peng Qi first surrender to Cao Wei and obtain supplies from Cao Ren. Once the supplies were in hand, then Peng Qi would be eliminated. In this way, the supplies sent by Cao Ren would naturally fall into the pocket of General Guan.

Peng Qi looked tempted, but hesitated and asked, "Will Cao Ren give it to me?"

“Definitely.” Ning Huan said confidently, “We are eyeing Cao Ren’s grain supplies, but Cao Ren is eyeing your able-bodied men and the entire Yuzhang. Bringing you under his command would be a great achievement for Cao Ren. Compared to the achievement of recapturing Yuzhang, a little grain is nothing. The Wei army is not short of grain.”

"Besides Cao Ren, you can also send an envoy to Jianye to meet General Guan and ask him for a reward. That way, if General Guan defeats Cao Ren and Lu Xun and takes over Jiangdong, we will be generals of the Han Dynasty and will not be punished later. In addition, we can also get an official position under the King of Hanzhong."

"We're like reeds surviving between the three families of Cao, Sun, and Liu, so we have to learn to go with the flow and call whoever offers the most benefits 'father.' What do you say?"

Peng Qi's eyes lit up as if she had met a kindred spirit. She grabbed Ning Huan's hand excitedly and said, "Sir, you are a man of great talent. Do you think I should ask Sun Quan for another official position so that I can have the best of all three families?"

Ning Huan firmly objected, saying, "Absolutely not. First of all, we'll be ravaging Sun Quan's territory. Sun Quan will definitely do his best to wipe us out. There's no possibility of us coexisting with Sun Quan. If you don't attack him, he'll attack you."

"Secondly, neither Cao Ren nor Guan Yu are fools. If we want to get official positions and supplies from them, we have to demonstrate our value. How do we demonstrate our value? Naturally, it's by fighting against the Wu army. The more battles we win, the higher our value will be to Cao Ren and Guan Yu."

"This tactic is called 'befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones.' To achieve this, you must attack first and make a name for yourself to earn respect. To achieve a name for yourself, you need to have enemies. So we can't please all three at the same time. We must choose one enemy and beat him to a pulp to earn the respect of the other two. Then we can use our achievements to ask them for benefits. Commander Zong, if you have to choose one enemy from the three, who would you choose?"

Without a second thought, Peng Qi blurted out, "Is there any need to say more? Of course, we'll choose Sun Quan. Cao Ren has too many troops to defeat, and Guan Yu is too far away to reach. We can only fight Sun Quan."

"Your words are like a morning bell and a evening drum, enlightening me greatly. I wish to take you as my strategist. What do you think?"