Chapter 15 The rain is coming

In March in Yangchun, the flowers are red, the willows are green, the world is full of vitality, the green mountains, clear waters and hundreds of birds are singing, everything is so comfortable.Especially in the north of Xiangyang County in Jingzhou, close to the Han River, the scenery is beautiful, and people who go outing in the green ride horses and carts, humming happy songs.There are also many boats traveling on the water, the boats of the gentry and the countrymen, the merchant cargo ships carrying silk and silk, and the bamboo rafts of the fishermen.Everyone seems to have forgotten that it is a time of war, and it seems to be a scene of peace.

At this moment, a ship came upstream from the downstream and slowly docked on the shore.The boat was neither big nor small, and the decoration was simple, the oars and sails on the boat were no different from ordinary boatmen, they were all in Tsing Yi, short shirts and silk handkerchiefs.However, if you observe carefully, you will find that they have weapons hanging from their waists, and there are several war horses tied to the mast behind them. The footsteps were firmly set up on the shore, and a handsome and dignified middle-aged scholar landed first.This person was wearing a high crown, wearing brocade clothes, long fluttering beard blowing in the wind, people who don't know the details must think that this is also an arty country gentleman.Little did he know that he was Liu Bei Liu Xuande who rebelled against Cao Cao, made waves, and lived in Jingzhou.

Time flies like an arrow, and Liu Bei has been with Liu Biao for seven years. During these seven years, he has always wanted to make a comeback. In many dreams, the golden horse and iron horse galloped in the Central Plains, but when he woke up, he saw nothing but helplessness.Jingzhou, ruled by Liu Biao, enjoys singing, dancing, poetry and drinking, where the tyrannical and powerful enjoy themselves while the common people live quietly.But in Liu Bei's view, the prosperity and peace in front of him are just illusory. Cao Cao's unification of the north will surely go south, and the catastrophe of the sky is not far away.

"My lord, go slowly." Liu Bei's confidantes led Zhao Yun and Chen Dao to disembark, "Let's ride into the city on horseback, it will be faster this way." Liu Bei didn't answer, just shook his head slightly. Chen Dao was full of confusion: "Jiangxia has such a big mess, we can't rescue it in time, Huang Zu is dead, why is the lord not worried about it? If you follow the general's wishes, you should report to Liu Biao without delay. Why are you so procrastinating?" of?" "You don't understand my difficulties." Liu Bei laughed it off, with a bit of helplessness in his tone.

On the surface, Liu Biao seemed to treat Liu Bei with courtesy, dividing his troops and letting him station in Xinye, but in fact he never really trusted Liu Bei.On the contrary, Liu Bei's rebellious experience aroused suspicion. The reason why the superficial harmony was maintained was that Liu Biao wanted to use Liu Bei as a shield to stop Cao Cao.Five years ago, in order to force the Yuan brothers to turn against each other and pretend to invade the south, Liu Bei set up an ambush in Bowang to defeat Xiahoudun, which could have done a lot, but Liu Biao immediately negotiated peace and insisted that Liu Bei not take a step out of Nanyang.Later, when Cao Cao invaded Hebei, Liu Bei proposed to unite with the Yuan brothers again, and attacked Cao Cao from the north and the south.This time when Cao Cao made an expedition to Karasuma, Liu Bei persuaded Liu Biao to take advantage of the opportunity to attack Xudu by surprise. His words were worn out, but Liu Biao ignored it and dragged it back and forth until Sun Quan attacked and killed Huang Zu. miss.Although Liu Biao was not familiar with military affairs and was indecisive, more importantly, he was worried about Liu Bei, lest Liu Bei take the opportunity to take advantage of the situation and invade Jingxiang instead.And beside Liu Biao, there are Jingzhou nobles headed by Cai Hao and Kuai Yue. They regard Liu Bei as a different kind and always provoke him.

Liu Bei saw Liu Biao's true face, so he could only use his ability to hide his strength and bide his time, and wait for new opportunities.This time he was one step late in rescuing Jiang Xia, Huang Zu was killed by soldiers and civilians and taken into captivity, so it stands to reason that he should be stationed in Xiling, and at the same time send people to respond to Liu Biao.However, Liu Bei ordered Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to lead the army back to Xinye. He took only a few guards, dressed in plain clothes, and slowly came to Xiangyang to return to Xiangyang in a small boat.Others may think that Liu Bei mishandled it, but they don't know that he has some reasons-you can't stay in Jiangxia, because Liu Biao will suspect that he intends to seize the city; Riding the horses outside Xiangyang city, because that might leave something for the Jingzhou nobles to talk about.

All the soldiers stayed on the boat and were not allowed to go ashore. Liu Bei only took Zhao Yun and Chen Dao into the city.It was only a short distance for riding a horse, but he insisted on walking and walked for an hour. It was almost noon when he arrived at the Zhennan General's Mansion. There was a table, with wine and vegetables, a young general in armor and a sharp knife was eating and drinking, and a few soldiers were serving wine and vegetables, serving them like their ancestors. "General Zhang, I'm so excited!" Liu Bei recognized at a glance that this person was Liu Biao's nephew Zhang Yun, who was in charge of the shogunate's guards. In recent years, he was very favored, especially with the wealthy Cai family in Jingzhou.At that time, Liu Biao relied on the strength of Kuai Yue and Cai Mao to gain a foothold. After the event was completed, he reciprocated and appointed Kuai Yue as the prefect of Zhangling and Cai Mao as the prefect of Jingling. In name, they were the two prefects, but in fact they entrusted the military and political affairs of Xiangyang to them. One is a military adviser and the other is in charge of the military.Zhang Yun hugged their thick legs, so he naturally had to eat and drink well to stay nourished.

Zhang Yun's appearance is not bad at all, only a pair of small round eyes are slightly disfigured, and there is a sense of slack and slack all over his body; seeing that Liu Bei didn't even bother to show courtesy, he didn't even stand up, and he was still holding the vegetables, smiling Hehe said: "Mr. Xuande is here, I heard that Jiang Xia has fallen? I have heard for a long time that you have a lot of powerful generals in your camp. Why can't you even save Huang Zu?" Zhao Yun saw that this guy was so rude, so he wanted to go up and scold him, but Liu Bei squeezed his wrist tightly, and forced out a smile: "General Zhang sees that the teaching is right, how can a defeated general be brave? But this time It was too late for us to get the news about sending troops, and Sun Quan had already withdrawn his troops when I arrived in Jiangxia. Let’s talk about the details after meeting the Lord.”

He made it clear that he didn't want to talk more, but Zhang Yun remained indifferent, poured another glass of wine, smacked his lips and said, "My lord is sick, so it's inconvenient to see you." "Ill?" Liu Bei was dubious, "What kind of illness?" "The lord heard that Jiang Xia was a little anxious when he was lost, and he was a little bit cold. In the past few days, all the internal and external bureaucrats have disappeared." Liu Bei didn't know how much Zhang Yun's words were true, but seeing the closed gates of the mansion surrounded by soldiers, it didn't seem groundless: "Who will report military and political matters to?"

Zhang Yun was quite impatient: "The old rules are all dealt with by Kuai and Cai Ergong." Liu Bei knew that it was not easy to get along with these two people, but he could only say: "Then, General Lao will bring me to see Duke Kuai." "Kuai Gongyi is busy, I'm afraid I won't have time to see you." "Where is Mr. Cai?" Zhang Yun said again: "Mr. Cai also felt a little unwell this morning, and he is resting at home." After talking for a long time, he couldn't see anyone, and kept Liu Bei out. Liu Bei was furious in his heart, but he couldn't let it out. He begged kindly: "I have military affairs, so please make it easier for me, General."

"Although the military affairs are urgent, we can't disturb the lord's recuperation..." Zhang Yun said in an official tone, "how about this, you go to the post house to stay first. I will tell the inside for you when you are young, and wait for the lord's illness to improve. call you over." "I'm sorry to trouble you, General." There was nothing he could do, so Liu Bei had no choice but to agree, "Please send my greetings to the lord, and ask him to recover from his illness. The people of Jingzhou still count on him." "Understood... My lord is not in good health, I am also very worried!" Zhang Yun sighed, then picked up a piece of fat and stuffed it into his mouth.Eating and drinking domineering, how could there be any sadness?The more Liu Bei looked, the more angry he became, wishing he could kick this villain to death, but he held back and said, "In that case, I will leave." After saying that, he turned around quickly, not wanting to take another look at him. "Hey! I didn't let you either." Zhang Yun yelled pretendingly, "Shall Xuande have a few drinks together? Don't you want to drink? Walk slowly..." Liu Bei walked on Xiangyang street with his hands behind his back, while Zhao Yun and Chen Dao were even more furious, muttering behind him: "This guy Zhang Yun is so insane, we should really give him a little wink. Otherwise, they will ride on us and shit on us!" Liu Bei clenched his fists, but finally he didn't get angry, and said: "Why should this shameless person be as knowledgeable as him? Say a few words less." He lowered his head Go straight to the post. When Liu Biao first accepted Liu Bei, he proposed to buy a mansion for him and asked him to move his family here. Liu Bei was afraid that his family would become hostages, so he declined politely.I often come and go by light car and familiar with the road, and after a short time, I came to the outside of the post house, and before I entered the door, I heard someone calling from behind: "Mr. Xuande, take a step!" A soap-clothed official in his early thirties came after him in a hurry, holding several volumes of documents in his arms.When Liu Bei saw this person, he immediately regained his spirits: "It's brother Ji Bo." This person's name is Yiji, and his style name is Jibo. He works under Liu Biao's tent.Most of the vassals assigned by the Zhennan General's Mansion are from Jingxiang families or celebrities who have taken refuge, but this Yi nationality is highly regarded at a young age.Because he and Liu Biao were both from Gaoping County, Shanyang County, Yanzhou, Liu Biao took good care of this little fellow from his hometown and kept him by his side to handle many private matters.Liu Bei was quite suspicious in Jingzhou, but Yiji was very close to him, and often spoke well of him in Liu Biao's ear. Whenever he came to Xiangyang, Yiji would always come to greet him, just like a warm spring breeze, giving Liu Bei a warm welcome. A lot of comfort. Yiji seemed to be trotting all the way to chase him, with sweat streaming down his temples: "Mr. Xuande's behavior is really ridiculous. I guess you will be back soon, so I sent a small official to the riverside to meet you. Why didn't you take a big boat and bring an army?" , came here with a light car and a simple dress? If I hadn’t met Zhang Yun on business, I wouldn’t know it now!” Liu Bei smiled slightly, pretending to be relaxed and said: "I am worried about my dear brother. Now the weather is sunny, and Brother Yu also wants to take a look at the scenery along the way, so he didn't dare to bother the soldiers. Come, come and sit inside." Unexpectedly, Yiji waved his hands and sighed after hearing this: "Ah! Even Xuande is so playful, it seems that my land of Jingxiang is really hopeless." "What's the matter?" Liu Bei was surprised for a while, "Why are you so serious?" "My lord..." Yi Ji stopped at this point, and looked up at Zhao Yun and Chen Dao. How clever Liu Bei said: "You two go in first." Only then did Yi Ji speak: "My lord is seriously ill, I'm afraid I won't live long." "Oh?" "In the past few years, my lord has often been ill, each time getting worse. I heard that Huang Zu was killed, and Cao Cao deployed troops in Yingchuan. I was worried day and night and couldn't get sick. Three days ago, Changsha Zhang Zhongjing came here for treatment, and even he was helpless. , I'm afraid the lord really doesn't have a long life." After listening to Liu Bei, he stood there blankly, dazed, and didn't know what he was thinking. Yiji said again: "Nowadays is a troubled time, Sun Quan in the east and Cao Cao in the north are coveting Jingzhou, but the lord fell ill at this time, and the few young masters are not going to make things happen. Who can you count on in the future? If you look at my younger brother, Xuande You have to work so hard!" But Liu Bei said: "There are a few sons on the top, and there are two clans of Kuai and Cai on the bottom. What can I do as a prisoner? It's not good to do it for me." "You can't say that. You have been an enemy of Cao Cao for a long time, and you have righteous men such as Zhang under your command. It is better for you to assist the young master than others. Besides, Kuai and Cai are old with Cao Cao. If they are in charge, I am afraid that Jingzhou will be destroyed." Give it away to others. It is not easy for the master to start a business, how can you abandon it once? Xuande, for the sake of Jingxiang officials and our subordinates, you have to stand up and take on the heavy responsibility!" Seeing his sincerity, Liu Bei couldn't help being a little moved, so he simply didn't hide it: "It's rare that Brother Ji Bo is so painstaking, but... even if I want to take this burden, can my lord agree?" "It's up to people." Yi Ji sighed, "I'll go back and persuade my lord to invite you into the mansion in a few days, and let's talk face to face. It would be best if we can settle this matter." Although Liu Bei is not by Liu Biao's side, he knows Liu Biao no less than Yi Ji. He knows that this is a waste of work, and he will never let him get involved in power, but Yi Ji also has good intentions, so I can't refute it anymore, so I said: " Okay, Brother Yu, waiting for your news." "That's good, that's good." Yiji seemed relieved, and patted the paperwork in his arms, "I still have business to do, so I'll talk about it in the evening." Liu Bei said with a gentle smile: "My dear brother, go, I will prepare some food and drinks for you." Yiji gave a little salute, and hurried away with the official document in his arms.Liu Bei looked at his back, his smile slowly faded.He was suppressed by Liu Biao for seven years, and now that Liu Biao is about to die, it is common sense to infer that he should be lucky, but this is not the case, and Liu Bei is more and more disturbed.This is really because, under the appearance of walking on thin ice, he is brewing a big plan. Just two years ago, Liu Bei heard that there lived a young hermit in the Longzhong mountain forest to the west of Xiangyang.This person not only has outstanding resourcefulness, but also has close contacts with many famous people in Jingzhou.Liu Bei didn't hesitate to use his strengths to beat his youth, and went to visit him again and again, consulting with him on major affairs in the world, and finally moved this young man with lofty aspirations out of the mountain. After Zhuge Liang came out of the mountain, he got along very well with Liu Bei, like a fish in water, determined to conspire with the world, so he proposed a plan, saying frankly: "Jingzhou is based on Han Mian in the north, passes through the South China Sea, connects Wuhui in the east, and connects Bashu in the west. If the master can’t defend it, the sky is in peril, so you’re a general!” It is suggested that Liu Bei should turn against the enemy and seize Jingzhou as the main force. As long as Jingzhou is in the hands, he can go further west to capture Yizhou.The mountains of Bashu Pass are dangerous, and the fertile land thousands of miles away is the land of abundance. The great ancestor Liu Bang won the world because of it.Now Liu Zhang is weak and incompetent, the people are rich and the country is rich, but they don't know how to save compassion, and a wise man thinks of a wise king.If Liu Bei can cross the borders and benefits, protect its rocky barriers, and conquer the Rong in the west and the barbarians in the south, he can make a big impact and send troops from Qinchuan and Nanyang to capture the Central Plains and compete with Cao Cao... After listening to Zhuge Liang's suggestion, Liu Bei was suddenly enlightened and determined to try.But the premise of this series of plans is to own Jingzhou. If you can't control Jingzhou and seize the main road to Shu, all the ideas are just empty talk.At present Liu Bei's strength is insufficient and he is full of suspicion. If he simply influences Liu Biao like Yi Ji but fails to achieve results, how can he take over Jingzhou from Liu Biao?So he took a roundabout way - to control Liu Biao's son Liu Qi. Liu Biao had three sons, the eldest son Liu Qi, the second son Liu Cong, both grown up, were born to Liu Biao's original wife, and the third son Liu Xiu was thirteen years old and was a concubine.Speaking of it, he raised his son to follow his father, Liu Biao was not well-versed in military affairs and slightly preferred literature and art, and each of the three sons was weaker than the other. They were all poor-faced scholars, and their talents were not outstanding.Liu Qi was the oldest, and his appearance resembled his father's. He was favored by Liu Biao and wanted to be his heir.Liu Bei made every effort to form a friendship with him. As long as he can control this ignorant boy and help him inherit the father's throne, he can indirectly control Jingzhou in the future.However, God did not fulfill his wishes. Last year, Liu Cong married Cai Mao's niece. This marriage completely reversed the situation.Liu Biao's original spouse died early, and now his continuation is Cai Mao's younger sister, and none of the three sons were born to her. Originally, no one would be hurt if he was appointed heir, but since Liu Cong married her niece, it involved his own interests.Therefore, Mrs. Cai would blow her husband's pillow every day, and Cai Mao, Zhang Yun and others also slandered Liu Qi a lot, which made Liu Biao gradually fall in love with her, and considered abolishing the elder and establishing the younger.It was also Liu Qi who failed to live up to the challenge. Instead of cheering up in the face of challenges, he was indulging in wine and drinking. She only wanted to protect herself, and her hopes became increasingly slim. Now if Liu Biao dies, it will mean that Liu Cong succeeds to the throne, and the Kuai and Cai clans who are close to him have more power. Liu Bei's plan will completely fail, and he will be even less able to covet Jingzhou.How could he not be in a hurry when the matter came to this point? Liu Bei stood blankly at the gate of the posthouse, his heart was full of haze, he ran here and there for half his life, not only failed to achieve achievements, he couldn't even keep the place where he stood, the more he got mixed up, the worse he got, why didn't everything go smoothly?Complaining for a long time is of no benefit, so I can only sigh secretly and walk into the post.When he came to Xiangyang, he lived in the post house, and he had his own separate courtyard. Now Zhao Yun and Chen Dao have taken care of it, and Liu Bei stopped talking nonsense with the post office, and went straight back to his small courtyard; but he has not yet entered the main room. , I saw two middle-aged scribes sitting inside, sitting at the desk without restraint and playing chess. Liu Bei was quite surprised to see these two people: "You didn't stay in Xinye, why did you come to Xiangyang?" These two people are Liu Bei's subordinates.The one on the left is named Xu Shu, Yuanzhi, from Yingchuan, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and looks like a man of letters and martial arts.When he was young, he preferred swordsmanship to fight injustice, and he often regarded himself as a chivalrous man.He was captured by the government because of killing and escaping. Fortunately, his friends rescued him and escaped from prison.Now that the north is under the control of Cao Cao, many pilgrims set out to return to the north, but he refused to return to the north.Liu Bei was able to recruit Zhuge Liang, and he was the one who went through it. The one on the right is slightly older than Xu Shu, he is quite handsome, he is dressed very luxuriously, and his gestures are full of nobility.This person's name is Liu Yan, and his style is majestic. Don't look elegant on the surface, but he has no real talents and learning, except for a good face.He was originally just a small rich man from Lu State in Yuzhou, but he preferred to be arty and elegant. After claiming to be King Gong of Han Lu, he had no choice but to learn the talents and character of celebrities, but he was very good at having fun, such as cockfighting, drinking and courting prostitutes, playing Cuju Chess, silk and bamboo orchestra, eating, drinking, whoring, gambling, playing, playing, playing and singing, all of them are romantic skills.Liu Bei met Cao Cao when he was the shepherd of Yuzhou under the command of Cao Cao. One claimed to be the queen of King Jing of Zhongshan, and the other claimed to be the great-great-grandson of King Lu Gong.Liu Yan is also loyal, Liu Bei rebelled against Cao, he even abandoned his family and career and followed him, running around for several years and following him to the death. doormen. Xu Shu focused on Yiju, and said for a long time, "We came the night before yesterday. We heard that Liu Biao was seriously ill, so we had to come." "You know?" Liu Bei didn't disturb their game, but just quietly sat aside, "Liu Biao's serious illness will not last long, Cao Cao is forced to be outside, and Kuai Cai is on guard inside. If Liu Cong succeeds, not only will he not be able to control Jingzhou, I'm afraid that the place where the cone can be built will not be guaranteed, which is really worrying. I don't know what Liu Qi's plan is." Liu Yan took over the words: "That kid is afraid of being harmed by the Cai family. He spends his days drinking wine and women, and enjoying himself in bitterness. The more he does this, the more Liu Biao looks down on him. It is impossible to expect him to compete with Liu Cong for the big position!" Liu Qi He is a playful and playful son, and Liu Yan is also a master of this way, so he is often invited by Liu Qi to act as a guest, so he knows a lot. Xu Shu put a sunspot on the chessboard, and said with a smile, "My lord, don't worry too much, Kong Ming already has a way to deal with it." Liu Bei was sitting in trouble, when he heard these words, his eyes lit up: "Did Kong Ming call you here?" "He didn't ask us to come, he came with us." "Oh?" Liu Bei looked around, "Where is he? I'm about to discuss with him." Xu Shushen smiled mysteriously: "Don't worry, my lord, he's going to help you arrange important things." Arranging major events?What kind of conspiracy does Zhuge Liang have?Liu Bei was about to ask clearly, but he saw Xu Shu pushed the game away and cupped his hands: "Accept." Liu Yan stared at the chess board obsessively: "You, why did you win again? It's so strange, as long as I am playing in this world, I, Liu, have never lost. Why can't I win against you and Kong Ming? It was obviously me who took the lead, how did you get it back?" "Brother Liu, you don't understand now. The way of playing chess is like fighting two armies. It pays attention to intrigue and change, and the chain is intertwined." Xu Shu glanced at Liu Bei deliberately when he said this, "Even if you are at a disadvantage, as long as you plan carefully, It can also turn the tide and turn the crisis into safety..."