Lord Liu Has an Expert Behind Him!

Faced with the sudden letter from Liu Bei, Lu Bu could not help but look toward Chen Gong and Chen Gui.

"Ever since our army defeated Liu Bei last year, that man has remained in Xiaopei, making no further moves!"

"Why would he suddenly send a messenger now?"

Chen Gong did not even have to think before stating firmly:

"That man Liu Bei is certainly unwilling to serve under others; he first allied with Cao Cao, then retreated to Xiaopei, and now that he has suddenly sent a letter, he must have some ulterior motive!"

"We should kill his messenger to make him abandon such thoughts!"

Seeing this, Lu Bu knew that Chen Gong had always been wary of Liu Bei, which was why he spoke this way.

Yet, although he was not a man of high moral principles, he was not a tyrant prone to wanton slaughter either. Liu Bei was not leading an army to his gates, but merely sending a messenger; what was there to fear?

He immediately looked toward Chen Gui and asked:

"I wonder what you think, sir?"

Chen Gui naturally stroked his beard and smiled:

"The ancients say: when two armies are at war, one does not execute the messenger!"

"Liu Bei's reputation for righteousness is known throughout the world, and since he is not currently at war with the General, it would be highly improper to kill his messenger!"

"Furthermore, whether Liu Bei has a scheme or not, we shall know as soon as we see the letter."

"Since the messenger has already arrived, why begrudge a meeting?"

"Your words, sir, align perfectly with my own!"

Lu Bu cast a disdainful glance at Chen Gong:

"What capability do you think Liu Bei has? It is but a single letter; how could he possibly scheme against me?"

After this mocking remark, he ordered the messenger to be brought in.

Once the messenger had entered, Lu Bu asked:

"I wonder what business Liu Xuande has in writing to me?"

The messenger was merely a minor official, and upon hearing this, he hurriedly replied:

"Because Yuan Shu plots to usurp the throne, my master specifically invites the General to join in punishing the traitor to the state!"

"My master's handwritten letter is here; I hope the General will open it personally!"

Upon hearing that the invitation was to join forces against Yuan Shu, Lu Bu looked at Chen Gong with a triumphant smile.

Did you not speak of schemes? Does this count as a scheme?

He took the handwritten letter and scanned it at a glance.

Chen Gong, having been mocked by Lu Bu repeatedly, felt displeased, but because state affairs were of the utmost importance, he could only wait on the side. Once Lu Bu finished reading the letter, he asked:

"My Lord, what does Liu Xuande say in his letter?"

"What else could he say? Liu Bei wishes to take Pei Commandery and is inviting me to advance our troops together!"

As Lu Bu spoke, he handed the letter directly forward.

Chen Gong hurriedly snatched the letter to read it, and after a long while, his brows furrowed deeply.

Seeing this, Chen Gui did not bother to look at the letter and smiled at Lu Bu:

"General, you can see that Yuan Shu has lost the hearts of the people; everyone under heaven wishes to punish him, and this letter is proof of that!"

Lu Bu nodded repeatedly and said:

"That is exactly right. Thanks to your good advice, sir, otherwise I would have ruined a great opportunity!"

Just as the two were speaking, Chen Gong finished reading the letter and interjected:

"My Lord, Liu Xuande must have a scheme; you must not agree to this lightly!"

Seeing his conversation interrupted, Lu Bu was naturally dissatisfied:

"Gongtai, you always say Liu Bei has a scheme, then tell me, what is Liu Bei's plot?"

Chen Gong pondered this and said:

"Liu Bei has no more than ten thousand troops. By sending this letter, he must be intending to borrow our army's strength to seize the lands of Pei Commandery!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Lu Bu sneered:

"Gongtai, do you truly take me for a fool?"

"If he were planning such a thing, how could I not know?"

"Let me ask you: if I do not agree to advance with him, what can he do?"

"This..."

Faced with Lu Bu's questioning, Chen Gong was left speechless.

How could he possibly know what Liu Bei would do!

His intuition simply told him that this fellow Liu Bei was up to no good.

As for what schemes the army of Liu Bei might have, he truly could not fathom them!

Seeing Chen Gong stumped by his question, Lu Bu turned his gaze toward Chen Gui and asked:

"I wonder what insight you might have on this matter, sir?"

"Does Liu Bei truly have some scheme afoot?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Gui smiled and replied:

"This old man has yet to see the contents of the letter, so I cannot speak to it. I humbly request to take a look!"

Hearing this, Lu Bu snatched the letter from Chen Gong's hand and passed it directly to Chen Gui, saying:

"Sir, pray take a look!"

Chen Gui took the letter and read it for a moment before looking up:

"Forgive this old man for his advanced years, but I see no scheme within this letter!"

"Perhaps it is exactly as Gongtai says, though one can never be certain!"

"However, in this old man's view, Liu Bei sending an envoy is actually a good thing!"

"Currently, Yuan Shu's power is immense, and our army stands alone and unsupported. Pei County is the gateway to Xuzhou; if we can maintain friendly relations with Liu Bei, it will do our army no harm!"

Hearing this, Lu Bu furrowed his brows:

"Oh? If I follow your words, sir, does that mean you wish for me to agree to Liu Bei's request?"

Seeing this, Chen Gui knew Lu Bu's suspicious nature had flared up again, so he smiled:

"Not at all, this old man has no such intention!"

"I only considered that since the General is surrounded and without aid, you might cultivate a friendship with Liu Bei."

"As for whether to agree to the contents of this letter, how could this old man presume to say? The General must decide for himself!"

"I came today to dissuade the General from entangling himself with a traitor to the state. Since the General has already agreed to recall the envoy of Yuan Shu, I shall take my leave!"

His words were exceptionally tactful, simultaneously showing that he was thinking of Lu Bu's best interests while maintaining the stance of not interfering in Lu Bu's decisions.

Hearing this, Lu Bu felt a sense of relief and hurriedly laughed:

"It is always you who is steady, sir. With you here, I have no worries!"

"By the way, I heard you mention earlier that our army intends to send an envoy to the Imperial Court. It just so happens that I have an item I wish to present to Lord Cao to seek the position of Governor of Xuzhou. I intend to have Yuanlong go as the envoy; what is your opinion on this?"

Chen Gui nodded upon hearing this:

"If the General has an order, how could my son dare to refuse?"

Seeing this, Lu Bu laughed:

"I must rely on you and your son to share my burdens so that I may be free of anxiety!"

"My words are finished; you may take your leave, sir!"

Chen Gui then bid farewell to Lu Bu and walked out of the government office.

As for what might happen inside the office next, he had no desire to know, simply making his way home.

Upon reaching the inner courtyard, he saw a middle-aged man walking toward him quickly:

"Father, has Lu Bu refused the envoy of Yuan Shu?"

This middle-aged man was Chen Gui's eldest son, Chen Deng. He was ambitious in his youth, well-read, and possessed a bold and forthright character. At thirty-four, he was in the prime of his life.

Seeing Chen Deng's inquiry, Chen Gui stroked his beard and smiled:

"The matter is settled. Lu Bu has agreed to recall his daughter and formally break with Yuan Shu!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Deng let out a sigh of relief:

"That is good. As long as Lu Bu and Yuan Shu are estranged, Xuzhou and Huainan cannot be linked as one. These two thieves can then be eliminated!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Chen Gui shook his head:

"Watch your tongue! The schemes of our father and son must not be known to outsiders!"

Chen Deng smiled slightly, stepped forward to support Chen Gui, and said:

"Father, rest assured. Your son has already cleared the area of attendants. With no one around, we may speak freely!"

Seeing that Chen Deng handled matters with such caution, Chen Gui nodded in satisfaction:

"I have always known my son to be prudent; this father is greatly comforted!"

As he spoke, he allowed Chen Deng to support him into the inner hall, saying as they walked:

"Speaking of which, when I went to persuade Lu Bu just now, I encountered a matter that I have pondered over and over but still cannot clearly understand. Deng-er, you should help me analyze it!"

Hearing that even Chen Gui could not fathom it, Chen Deng became interested:

"I wonder what matter Father has encountered!"

"It is nothing major, just that Liu Xuande suddenly sent a letter to Lu Bu!"

Chen Gui then recounted everything that had happened in the government office to Chen Deng.

It must be said that the reputation of Liu Bei in Xuzhou was remarkably high!

Especially in the eyes of the Xuzhou literati, many considered Liu Bei a rare and enlightened lord.

Chen Deng and Chen Gui were among them!

Originally, Chen Deng had intended to assist Liu Bei in establishing a firm foothold in Xuzhou, and he, along with Mi Zhu, had even strongly advocated for welcoming Liu Bei into the province.

It was only a pity that Zhang Fei had failed to hold his ground, allowing Lu Bu to seize the opportunity.

Chen Deng, however, was different from Mi Zhu; hailing from a prominent scholarly clan, he could not simply abandon his family estate to follow Liu Bei, and could only watch as Liu Bei drifted in and out of fortune in Xiaopei.

Yet, the old ties remained, and upon hearing that this matter concerned Liu Bei, he immediately took it to heart, falling into a silent, furrowed-brow contemplation once Chen Gui finished speaking.

Seeing Chen Deng like this, Chen Gui stroked his beard and said:

"On the surface, this matter does indeed look like something Liu Bei would do."

"However, this father always feels something is amiss. Can my son discern any clues?"

Within his line of sight, Chen Deng paced back and forth for a moment before pondering aloud:

"This matter is truly extraordinary!"

"Firstly, as Lord Liu is currently at odds with Lu Bu and close to Lord Cao, if he truly wished to campaign against Yuan Shu, he should have invited Lord Cao to join the effort, rather than ignoring the near to seek the far by sending a letter to Xuzhou!"

"Secondly, this letter contains only empty words without offering any tangible benefits. Even Lu Bu knows not to act rashly; how could Lord Liu, having sent the letter, not know this? If he knew it would be useless, why send it at all!"

"Thirdly, Lord Liu resides in Pei County; he cannot be unaware of Yuan Shu's intention to form an alliance with Lu Bu!"

"Yet, judging by what you said of the letter just now, it seems he made no mention of this, but instead directly invited Lu Bu to attack together!"

"Does this not imply that at the time Lord Liu sent the letter, he was already certain that Lu Bu and Yuan Shu would fall out?"

Having said this, he stopped pacing and addressed Chen Gui:

"Father, consider this: Yuan Shu and Lu Bu arranged a marriage between their children last year, and this visit is intended to finalize the union and the alliance."

"At present, there is no rift between the two houses. How could Lord Liu be so certain that they would turn against each other?"

Listening to this, Chen Gui also sensed that something was wrong, and narrowing his eyes, he said:

"Perhaps because he heard of Yuan Shu declaring himself emperor, Liu Xuande assumed Lu Bu would choose the path of righteousness, and thus concluded the two would fall out?"

"No! Father, Lu Bu is not a man who recognizes righteousness!"

Chen Deng said with a look of certainty:

"If it were someone else who did not know Lu Bu, that might be possible, but how could Lord Liu not know the man that Lu Bu is?"

"Knowing Lu Bu's character, how could he be so certain that Lu Bu would turn against Yuan Shu?"

If it were the Liu Bei of the past, he might truly have been capable of such naivety.

But now, having been betrayed by Lu Bu time and again, how could he still fail to see Lu Bu's true nature!

And the facts bore this out; had they not persuaded him, Lu Bu would likely have allied with Yuan Shu this time!

Now that they had only just finished their persuasion, how could Liu Bei have known about this in advance?

Chen Gui, also a man of strategy, could not help but click his tongue in realization:

"Then what is the reason for this? Why did Liu Xuande send this letter?"

For a moment, he suddenly felt he could no longer fathom Liu Bei.

Since when had Liu Bei become so unfathomable!

Before his voice had even faded, he saw Chen Deng speak with a solemn expression:

"Father, if my deductions are correct, there must be a brilliant strategist assisting Lord Liu from the shadows!"