116.Romance of the Three Kingdoms-4

Yuan Shu’s chief clerk, Yang Dajiang, proposed a plan. He believed Liu Bei should be attacked first, but Lü Bu had to be stabilized. He said, “Liu Bei is in Xiaopei. The city is small and his troops are weak, easy to defeat. But Lü Bu holds Xu Province. If he comes to help Liu Bei, it will cause trouble. Better to send him the grain we promised before to keep him satisfied, then move troops against Liu Bei. Once Liu Bei is gone, we can deal with Lü Bu afterward. Xu Province will fall sooner or later.” Yuan Shu was delighted. He immediately sent Han Yin with two hundred thousand hu of grain to Lü Bu, along with a secret letter. Lü Bu received the grain and was very pleased, treating Han Yin generously.