Chapter 78 Guo Jia's Counter-espionage Plan
On the other side, in Huang Zu’s camp, he was wounded and the pain in his body was excruciating, but the pain in his heart could not be erased: before today, he really thought that he was the "Huang" in "Huang Xu Sun Tai".

He thought he was the seventh best warrior in the world, a top-notch warrior with few rivals in the world.

However, he did not expect that he would be completely defeated in the battle with Zhang Xiu.

What level of general is that?

Almost at the bottom!
Since he couldn't even beat him, there was no doubt that he was not the so-called "yellow" at all, but had not even made it into the rankings at all - this was a sad story for him.

In particular, he has always regarded himself as "yellow".

How embarrassing it would be to find out now that it wasn't true?

"You are Han Sheng, right?" Huang Zu looked at Huang Zhong who was standing in front of him like a minion, and said with a sigh: "I never thought that you are the 'Huang'. I didn't know it before and I was very negligent!"

The two of them are from the same clan, both from the Jiangxia Huang family.

Plus Huang Gai of Eastern Wu.

It is also considered a fairly large family.

But unlike Huang Zu, Huang Zhong was born out of wedlock and had never enjoyed much of the family's resources. He even had to collect medicine himself when his son fell ill.

The relationship with the family is not that close.

Huang Zu would not have looked at him differently, otherwise he would have known about his bravery and his archery skills, which were among the top three in the world.

"Haha, I didn't know that before." Huang Zhong said.

Qingzhou folk songs are widely spread.

However, if none of them had any reference to other people on the list, they actually didn't know whether they were the best or not - unlike the self-inflated people like Huang Zu and Xing Daorong, although Huang Zhong thought he was not inferior to anyone else, he would never show it.

Nor will they regard themselves as "strong" for the sake of false reputation.

"It doesn't matter. Now we know it, don't we? I will report it to my lord and ask him to promote you to the rank of general!" Huang Zu said.

Upon hearing this, Huang Zhong was naturally delighted.

If I get promoted, I will naturally become rich and have more money to treat my son's illness.

Huang Zu was also very happy.

Although he was not one of the "Twenty-Four Generals" and felt a little sad, being able to get Huang Zhong was also a little consolation. At least the Jiangxia Huang family could be revived.

However, some are happy while others are sad.

On the other hand, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, who controlled the navy of Jingzhou, were unhappy.

"Huang Zu was defeated and was confirmed not to be one of the twenty-four generals, but at the same time the real 'Huang' was found, and the lord was asked to appoint him as general." Cai Mao said: "In this way, Huang Zu's troops are still in hand, and Huang Zhong has an additional general position and troops. Isn't it equivalent to the Huang family's power growing again?"

The power structures in Jingzhou are complicated and complex.

The apparent master, Liu Biao, was actually half a puppet, with the 300,000 naval forces being controlled by Cai Mao and Zhang Yun.

In addition, the second most powerful family is the Jiangxia Huang Family.

It was a family with a profound heritage.

In terms of military affairs, there are famous generals such as Huang Zu and Huang Gai, and now there is Huang Zhong. In terms of literature, there is also Huang Chengyan. Although he has not served as an official in the court, he has a wide circle of friends and a very high status among literati.

I heard that he recently formed an alliance with the Zhuge family who had fled to Langya, and sent his son-in-law to study under Mr. Sima Hui, the Water Mirror.

Following the Sima family's lead.

The foundation has been increasing, and as a whole, the Cai family cannot even compare to it!
"Liu Biao was so happy to appoint Huang Zhong as a general and allocated money, food, and troops to him. I'm afraid he was trying to check and balance you and me." Zhang Yun said, "We can't just sit there and wait for death. Otherwise, once the advantage of military power is gone, what can the Cai and Zhang families use to fight the Huang family?"

But the two of them tried to think of a way to counter it, but they couldn't come up with one.

You said Huang Zu suffered a defeat, right?
It was actually Zhang Xiu who was beaten and fled. After Huang Zhong came on the field, his strength was overwhelming. You said Huang Zhong should not be made a general, but his establishment was a great achievement.

The names of the twenty-four generals are also very famous. Jingzhou really needs a "enemy of ten thousand men" and a top-notch general.

For the time being, I really couldn't find a reason to attack.

At this moment, a piece of news suddenly came out, that is: "Huang Gai" of Eastern Wu is the "Huang" in "Huang Xu Sun Tai Liang Xiahou", but Huang Zhong is not.

Not to mention, Huang Gai had fought against Dong Zhuo and participated in the Battle of Xuzhou.

Really impressive credentials.

Moreover, he suffered so many defeats and was chased by Lu Bu and Ji Hao respectively, but he was still alive. It is reasonable and convincing to say that he was very powerful.

So Zhang Yun immediately went to Liu Biao and told him about the matter.

For a moment, Liu Biao became suspicious.

Can't tell true from false.

After all, there were no other generals in Jingzhou who were included in the ranking. The only battle that could be proved was the one in which Huang Zu fought against Zhang Xiu, and Huang Zhong won by shooting arrows.

What if Huang Zu deliberately exaggerated in order to promote his fellow clansmen to power?

Trust is the foundation of everything.

When Liu Biao did not have enough trust in Huang Zu and planted the seeds of doubt in his heart, the ironclad evidence was no longer as strong as a mountain, but as thin as paper, and even when it was placed before his eyes, people would not believe it.

At this time, Cai Mao spoke.

"Aren't we at war with the Eastern Wu? Send Huang Zhong there and let him fight Huang Gai, and we'll know."

His idea is simple.

When the fake meets the real, its true colors will surely be revealed.

Liu Biao's eyes lit up when he heard this.

If Huang Zhong fights Huang Gai, his true colors will be exposed if he loses, and he can then use the situation to beat Huang Zu. If he wins, he can also show that he trusts Huang Zhong and let him fight.

No loss left or right.

Soon, Huang Zhong was transferred and sent to attack Eastern Wu.

Someone might ask, isn't Ji Hao just occupying Yuzhou and guarding against various forces? Why is Dongwu and Jingzhou still at war?
This is naturally because the princes did not think they could shake Ji Hao.

Liu Biao did not send Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, but sent Huang Zu instead, who was actually just trying to harass them.

There are not many troops.

The main purpose was not to attack, but to intercept the people of Jingzhou and prevent them from leaving.

As for each other, Lü Bu and Yuan Shao also had frictions, and Dongwu and Jingzhou had been fighting, and they were not united. Otherwise, Yuan Shu would have been divided up long ago, so how could it be Ji Hao's turn?

In the final analysis, Yuan Shu was able to hold on to Yuzhou.

On the contrary, if Jiangdong could capture Jingzhou, its strength would surely increase greatly. If Liu Biao could capture Jiangdong, its navy would become invincible and have extremely high strategic significance.

It is far from being comparable to the dilapidated Yuzhou where Liu Bei took away the people.

"The groundwork has been laid. What's next is to make Huang Zhong lose to Huang Gai and confirm his identity as the 'fake Huang'! Then we will slander him as 'Mr. Datong' and let Liu Biao think that Zhang Xiu lost to Huang Zhong on purpose and that he is a fake master we fostered!" said Guo Jia.

In response, Ji Hao smiled and nodded.

Zhang Xiu was puzzled and asked, "But Huang Zhong is really as brave as a tiger. Huang Gai can't even beat me. How can I beat him?"

(End of this chapter)