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  Liu Ba's scolding seemed to have unleashed the voice that had been suppressed in his heart for a long time, and his face revealed the joy of finally meeting someone who understood him.

  But in the blink of an eye, his expression sank again, and his clear eyes re-examined the two young people in front of him. After a moment's deliberation, he furrowed his brow and said: "What Subo Gongzi said is indeed consistent with Liu Xuande's original surname. However, the fact that the two of you appeared together here is probably not as simple as what Subo Gongzi just said."

  Liu Qi turned his gaze to Liu Feng, as the mastermind behind the entire grand plan, and at this moment, only he was qualified to answer Liu Ba's questioning.

  Taking a deep breath, Liu Feng smiled: "Indeed, it can't escape Mr. Zi's eyes. Yes, I and Brother Zi De have planned to take the two counties of Xiangdong as our base after taking them down, and completely break with Liu Bei."

  Liu Ba's face showed a look of surprise: "Young Master Liu, that person is after all your foster father. Now what he is doing, doesn't he have any scruples at all?"

  Liu Feng said in a serious tone, "Filial piety and righteousness have their degrees. As for Zi De, he is not only my nephew but also my subject. Yet, he treated him with such cruelty for his own selfish reasons. This is indeed an unrighteous act. If I, Liu Feng, do not uphold justice and eliminate this evil, how can I face the heavens and the earth?"

  A sentence "great justice destroys relatives" made Liu Ba's stern expression gradually ease, apparently this reason occupying the moral high ground has gained some recognition from Liu Ba.

  At this time, Liu Qi continued: "Mr. Zi Chu does not know that at the beginning, Ah Feng was on Changban Slope to save Liu Bei's son Ah Dou, and almost lost his life. However, in the end, Liu Bei's subordinate Mi Zhu falsely accused Ah Feng of killing Mi's family, and Liu Bei also acknowledged others' slander against his own son. Although this matter was later proven to be just a farce, and Ah Feng was innocent, but with Liu Bei's character, he was already suspicious, and Ah Feng had actually been forced into a desperate situation."

  Liu Feng's face showed a look of grievance, and he sighed: "My brother and I were also forced to flee by him, so we had no choice but to take the opportunity of the southern expedition against Xiangdong's two counties to escape his control."

  After listening to the two brothers' string of indignant explanations, Liu Ba's attitude had undergone a drastic change. Originally having hostile intentions towards Liu Feng, he now felt sympathetic.

  "I always thought Liu Bei was just a hypocrite, but I didn't expect him to be so ruthless, even his own son and nephew were treated with such indifference. It seems that the name 'hero' is indeed well-deserved." Liu Ba sighed and continued: "What are their plans next?"

  In his sharp eyes, a surging flame flickered, and Liu Feng said resolutely: "What else can be done? With the two counties of Xiangdong as the base, break the cauldron and sink the boat, and fight a decisive battle with Liu Bei to the death!"

  Liu Feng's iron-blooded and decisive character had a subtle influence on this great talent from Jiangnan. The sudden rise of these two young Lius, if they could check Liu Bei's ambition to swallow Jingzhou whole, would be in line with Liu Ba's thoughts, both emotionally and rationally, and he would naturally welcome it, but this couldn't affect his calm judgment.

  Liu Feng was getting more and more agitated, while Liu Ba became increasingly calm. After a moment of contemplation, he spoke in a serious tone: "We can see through Liu Bei's true nature and break with him for the greater good, which is indeed a wise choice. However, Liu Bei currently occupies Jiangxia, with tens of thousands of troops at his disposal. If he also takes control of Wuling and Lingling, his power will inevitably grow even stronger. Once we turn against him, Liu Bei's army will surely come to attack us. With the limited number of troops we have now, it will be extremely difficult to defend these two counties against Liu Bei's offensive."

  "If it's not difficult, how can it be called breaking the cauldron and sinking the boat?" Liu Feng smiled calmly, as if the heavy difficulties in front of him were nothing to worry about.

  Liu Feng's optimism once again moved Liu Ba, who had already vaguely guessed the intentions of these two men. He nodded slightly and said: "Although Liu Bei is strong, he is not invincible. General Liu's methods for soothing people's hearts are quite formidable. Now that the people of Changsha are all praising him, when the time comes, let Zi De Gongzi stand up and call out, and the two will be on the side of justice. The people's hearts will surely be even more attached to us. Moreover, with General Huang's assistance, it is not impossible to defeat Liu Bei's attack."

  Liu Ba is indeed Liu Ba. Previously, he was unaware of the truth and was still in the dark, but when Liu Feng told him the true situation, he quickly analyzed the plan of the two Liu brothers.

  "This person indeed has some weight to him, it seems this risk I took wasn't in vain."

  The two of them exchanged a glance and suddenly bowed their heads in unison towards Liu Ba.

  The sudden gift left Liu Ba stunned for a moment, and he hastily said: "Two young masters, what is the meaning of this?"

  Liu's face was sincere, and he said quietly: "Although the two of us have made up our minds, how can we resist that person with just determination but no real ability? But sir, you have the talent of Wang Zuo, so we want to ask you to stay and help us achieve this great thing."

  He could see through their plan, and with Liu Bei's intelligence, how could he not guess what they were after? In fact, at this moment, he must have already made some calculations in his heart. However, as someone who had always been proud of his own abilities, it was not in line with his style to easily agree and surrender to the two young men.

  Liu Ba shook his head and sighed: "I'm just a scholar, what can I do to help you?"

  Liu Feng knew he was being coy, so he continued: "Sir, you're too modest. My plan is to take the opportunity to recommend you as the governor of Changsha. That person has always admired you and wanted to recruit you under his command to boost his reputation. And you are from Jingnan, with many people looking up to you in Changsha. I think that person will definitely agree. With your talent, holding down the fort in Changsha as our rear guard, when the time comes, we can have a decisive battle with that person, and our chances of winning will increase greatly."

  "This..." Liu Ba was still hesitating.

  Liu Feng again made a secret signal to Liu Qi, and Liu Qi immediately had tears in his eyes, saying sorrowfully: "We have invited you here, indeed it will put you in danger, but this is also unavoidable. You are a man of great virtue and talent, can you just sit back and watch as my brothers and I are harmed by Liu Bei, without lending us a helping hand?"

  Liu Feng's objective analysis, combined with Liu Qi's emotional appeal, made a strong case and gave sufficient face to Liu Ba.

  After a moment of silence, Liu Ba took a deep breath and cupped his hands: "Liu Ba is just a rustic idle man, thanks to the two young masters for looking down on me, I naturally cannot see death without saving, and I will do my best to help."

  The two of them let out a sigh of relief.

  Liu Feng hastily helped Liu Ba up, and laughed loudly: "With your help, sir, I can stabilize Changsha. In the future, I will be able to rest easy and make a big move."

  Liu Ba did not hasten to express his generosity, but calmly said: "Changsha Prefecture is the foundation, but Guiyang Prefecture cannot be underestimated. If there is no capable person to guard it, when Liu Bei takes it into his hands, we will face the disadvantage of being surrounded on three sides."

  "What the master is thinking, I am also worried about. In fact, taking down Guiyang County is not a problem, but it's hard to find someone who can stand on our side and make that person not suspicious to be the governor."

  Liu Ba smiled slightly: "I happen to have a candidate who is both."

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