Chapter 136 Chapter Twenty-One

Many officials, soldiers and civilians in Xiangyang City heard that Liu Bei had passed by here, and many of them voluntarily followed Liu Bei to flee south. "God, why do you have eyes but no eyes, and let the people suffer together with me!" Liu Bei cried loudly, and was finally persuaded by Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. "The emperor's uncle has great virtue and prestige. We would like to go with you and be with you. It is better to die of starvation and exhaustion than to wait here for Cao Cao to cut his nose." The fleeing people knelt down in front of Liu Bei in unison.

The atmosphere was also tragic, and Zhang Fei was in tears. Liu Bei helped them up one by one and promised to let them go with them. There is an unnamed hill in the south of Xingyang City, and the white banners on the hill are flying in the autumn wind. Liu Bei saw a very majestic tomb, so he reined in to watch.The fleeing Xiangyang people told him: "That is the tomb of Liu Jingsheng." Liu Bei quickly got off his horse and staggered towards the nameless hill.Behind him, followed by brothers and generals, there are countless refugees. After more than two months, the bare grave has not yet grown grass, but the soil has already turned black.The tombstone is impressively engraved with the words "Tomb of Duke Liu Jingsheng, governor of Jingzhou".

"Unexpectedly, brother Jing Sheng, who is famous for the first time, left silently like this. Perhaps, his going this time is the best relief." Liu Bei sighed with emotion. "If Lord Jing Sheng is alive in heaven, he must be very disturbed to see Jingzhou like this!" an old man also said tearfully. In front of the quiet cemetery, people wept endlessly. At this time, a flying horse came to report: Cao Cao's vanguard Zhang Liao, Xu Huang and other legions had entered the new camping area, only about four days away from Xingyang. Liu Bei wiped his eyes, looked back at the quiet hill, and led the brigade of troops and people to continue to retreat south.

Liu Bei led the army and civilians back from Xiangyang for more than 400 li, and arrived in Dangyang County.Since there are more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians following in Jingzhou, thousands of large and small luggage vehicles, and the roads are congested, the march is less than ten miles a day, and the distance to the destination Jiangling is more than three hundred miles away. It is estimated that at this speed It will take at least a month, and there is no way to avoid Cao Mengde's chasing army. Liu Bei had no choice but to change his plan. He ordered Guan Yu to lead more than 10,000 sailors down the Han River to defend Jiangling first, and then sent people to Xiakou to contact Liu Qi and join Jiangling.

Many staff members and generals persuaded Liu Bei: "The situation is urgent now. We should quickly secure Jiangling. Although we have hundreds of thousands of people, once we encounter the enemy, there are too few people who can really take up arms and fight. Cao Bing is chasing us, how shall we fight?" Liu Bei said: "It's not that I don't know the danger, but the most important thing for a person who wants to create a great cause is to win the hearts of the people. As the saying goes, those who win the hearts of the people win the world, and those who lose the hearts of the people lose the world. It shows that they trust me. Since they treat me, Liu Bei, as their parents, how can I abandon them and take care of myself?"

Everyone was very moved. Among the fleeing crowd was a monk named Jueche. He said loudly to everyone: "Although this man with big ears has been displaced, he still abides by his faith. In an extremely urgent situation, he can still speak his mind. Dao, stick to the friendship with Liu Jingsheng during his lifetime, do not break the promise of the ancestors, and move the three armies with love. This kind of person will surely achieve great things in the future." Lu Su rushed to Xiakou and heard that Cao Jun had captured Jingzhou and was about to reach Nanjun, and that Liu Cong had surrendered, so Liu Bei retreated southward with all his strength.

At this time, Lu Su was so worried that he asked around for Liu Bei's direction of action, and asked people for shortcuts, and finally caught up with Liu Bei near the balcony. Lu Su told Liu Bei about Sun Quan's intentions, expressed his views on major events in the world and the current situation, and expressed his sincerity. Liu Bei fell silent. Lu Su asked Liu Bei, "Where are you going in Yuzhou today?" Liu Bei listened to Lu Su's words very earnestly, so he said: "I have some old contacts with Wu Ju, the prefect of Cangwu, and I plan to go to him." Liu Bei's voice was low, with a look of helplessness. Red again.Lu Su said slowly: "General Sun is smart and benevolent, respects the virtuous and respectful, and all the heroes in the south of the Yangtze River belong to him. Now he owns six counties, with excellent weapons and sufficient food and grass, which is enough to do a great job. You plan and plan, you should send a confidant to take the initiative to form an alliance with Jiangdong, so that we can achieve immortal achievements together. If you plan to vote for Wu Ju, it may not be appropriate, he is an ordinary and mediocre person, and he is in a remote state County, you will be annexed by others, how can you rely on him?"

The two were talking, and Zhuge Liang also rode over from the road that Lu Su had walked on.Zhuge Liang left a day or two late because his father-in-law was critically ill.Jingzhou was occupied, and Zhuge Liang couldn't escape, so he came after going around many places. "I've been waiting so hard for you. Come, Mr. Kong Ming, give me some advice." Liu Bei looked like a savior when he saw Zhuge Liang coming.Seeing Zhuge Liang's handsome appearance, wearing a lun scarf on his head, and shaking a feather fan in his hand, Lu Su was secretly interested in him. Zhuge Kongming was also watching Lu Su.

"This gentleman..." Zhuge Kongming said. "I'm Ziyu's friend." Lu Su saluted and said. Zhuge Liang heard Lu Su tell Sun Quan's thoughts again, and felt that Sun Quan was a man with great ambition.Ziyu, Zhuge Jin, Zhuge Liang's elder brother, served as Sun Quan's chief official when he was fleeing chaos in Shandong. "Duke Ming can completely adopt Mr. Lu Su's suggestion." Zhuge Liang said after pondering for a while. Liu Bei then adopted Lu Su's strategy and marched and stationed at Fankou in E County.