Liu Yan got Liu Bei's instructions, and that night, he set up a banquet with Mi Zhu and invited Liu Ye and Yang Xiu to feast together. Xu was without Zhuge Liang's sneering and sneering, or Cao Ren's coming to help Liu Ye and Yang Xiu have a reassurance, in short, Liu Yan and Mi Zhu's frequent persuasion during the banquet, Liu Ye and Yang Xiu's witty words were like pearls, and for a while, the atmosphere in the tent was harmonious, and there was no tension between the two armies hundreds of miles away.

After three rounds of wine and five flavors of food, Mi Zhu left the table under the pretext of leaving the table, and retired the attendants, leaving only Liu Yan alone to entertain Liu Ye and Yang Xiu. Don't look at Liu Yan as the number one cleaner under Liu Bei's account, but his ability to help idle people really can't be on the stage in front of Liu Ye and Yang Xiu, two real celebrities. Fortunately, Liu Ye and Yang Xiu at this time did not make it difficult for Liu Yan in terms of knowledge, but sandwiched Liu Yan in the middle to push the cup and change the lamp, and guessed the anagram.

At this moment, I saw Yang Xiu holding the wine bottle, and asked aloud with three points of drunkenness and seven points of complacency, "I heard that there is a Cao E tablet in Jiangdong, a young woman with yellow silk, and a grandson with a mortar." Does Visonicom know what it means? ”

Under the influence of alcohol, Liu Yan blushed and shook his head again and again, "I don't know, Yu will punish himself with a glass." ”

After saying that, Liu Yan happily drank all the water and wine in the cup. Liu Ye on the side lost no time in lifting the wine jug and filling Liu Yan's ear cup again. Liu Yan, who was unaware, stared at Yang Xiu and asked, "Please also ask Dezu for advice." ”

Yang Xiu smiled and raised his glass and knocked Liu Yan's ear cup lightly, Liu Yan looked down at the water and wine in the cup with drunken eyes, and raised his neck to make another glass without saying a word. Seeing this, Yang Xiu's eyebrows fluttered and he solved the riddle, "Huang Juan." The color silk is also, and the word is 'absolute'. Young women, young girls too. The word for 'wonderful'. The grandson, the woman also, is 'good' in the word. Mortar, by Xin also, in the word for '辤', the so-called 'wonderful good 辤' also. ”

"Wonderful! Wonderful! That's a wonderful solution! Liu Yan was amazed.

"Cheers to the solution." Liu Ye smiled and raised his glass to invite.

Liu Yan poured himself a full glass of wine and laughed, "Drink together!" Drink together! ”

In this way, Yang Xiu and Liu Ye took turns pouring Liu Yan two or three buckets of wine. Until this Liu Bei's Qingke tongue began to knot. Liu Ye leaned into his ear and lowered his voice and asked, "Why don't you see Kong Ming at today's banquet?" ”

"Zhuge is busy collecting grain, and there is nothing... Immaculate hospitality. Hiccup~" Liu Yan burped, raised his glass again, and said, "Come, come." Come! Another drink. Today's farewell, I'm afraid it will be difficult to get together. ”

Yang Xiu and Liu Ye listened to what Liu Yan said, and they exchanged glances with the same expression. Then I saw Yang Xiu put down the ear cup and asked tentatively, "How difficult is it to get together?" What do you mean by Visonioc? ”

Liu Yan only repeated vaguely, "Just... It's just that it's hard to get together again", so he planted his head on the food table and snored.

Seeing this, Liu Ye and Yang Xiu knew that they could no longer inquire about Liu Yan's news, so they shouted to the attendants waiting outside the tent, "Someone!" Come! Quickly help Liu to go down and rest. ”

When the attendant heard the sound, he hurriedly entered the account and lifted Liu Yan, who seemed to be too drunk to wake up, to help him out of the big tent. However, the attendant did not send Liu Yan back to the camp where he lived after leaving the tent. Instead, he carried Liu Yan all the way to Liu Bei's handsome tent.

I saw that Liu Yan, who was still drunk like a puddle of mud a moment ago, stepped into the handsome tent, and immediately pushed away the attendant who was supporting him as if he had changed someone. Walking in front of Liu Bei, he bowed down and said, "The minister has obeyed the order of the lord to pass the word to Cao Envoy." ”

"Hard work Weishuo also." Liu Bei praised Liu Yan while twisting his long beard with a smug smile. It turned out that Liu Yan seemed to be gentle and elegant, but the amount of alcohol was amazing. The reason why Liu Bei likes to take Liu Yan out to socialize is not only because he values his personability and extraordinary conversation, but also because Liu Yan drinks a lot and can block wine for Liu Bei. At this moment, seeing that Liu Yan used his alcohol to successfully release the news, Liu Bei couldn't help but eagerly ask Zhuge Liang, "Kong Ming, do you say that Yang Dezu and Liu Ziyang will enter the game?" ”

Zhuge Liang was not as optimistic as Liu Bei, but when he saw him, he shook his head and said cautiously, "Liu Ziyang is wise and wise, and it may be difficult to make him fall into the trap with just a few words." ”

Facts have proved that Zhuge Liang's judgment is quite accurate, and at the same time that Liu Yan returned to Liu Bei, Liu Ye, who returned to the camp to rest, and Yang Xianzheng were discussing Liu Yan's previous "drunken words".

Seeing Yang Xiu, who was full of alcohol, dangling back and forth in the tent, he hurriedly approached Liu Ye and asserted, "Liu Bei must be running out of food, and he wants to retreat!" ”

Liu Ye handed a bowl of sobering soup to Yang Xiudao noncommittally, "How can you take your nonsense seriously after drinking." ”

Yang Xiu took the sobering soup and casually put it on the table, raised his eyebrows and said, "Ziyang's words are bad!" Don't you listen to the truth after drinking? ”

"Yu only knows how to respond to all changes with the same." Liu Ye poured a sip of sobering soup to himself. In his opinion, Liu Bei's lack of food is certainly exciting news, but in terms of Cao Cao's current situation, it is better to brake quietly.

"Adapting to change?" Yang Xiu sat on the pu mat and pondered for a while, then stretched his waist and said with a sigh, "Let's go." The rest of the group will not be here for a few days. ”

Liu Ye did not refute Yang Xiu's judgment this time, because he also believed that no matter whether Liu Bei was running out of food as Liu Yan said, or whether the other party deliberately set a trap, he and Yang Xiu's days in Liu Ying would not be too long.

In the next few days, Liu Bei ordered people to knock on the side and hint to Liu Ye and Yang Xiu that he had the intention to withdraw from the army. And Liu Ye and Yang Xiu also took the opportunity to knock on the side to explore Liu Bei's reality. The two sides fought like this for about five days. But just when Liu Bei was looking forward to Liu and Yang being in the trap, Xu Shu, who was supposed to assist Guan Yu in Changbanpo to stop Cao Ren, was anxious to bring back a piece of news for Liu Bei. It was this news that completely disrupted Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang's careful deployment.

"The Son of Heaven sent an envoy south to recruit orphans and Cao Mengde, Sun Bofu, and Cai Anzhen to go to Beijing to escort and move the capital? This is true! Liu Bei, who was still thinking about how to lure the snake out of the hole a moment ago, couldn't help but shoot the case when he heard that the imperial court was sending an envoy south, and the long sleeves took up the order on the case and scattered it all over the ground.

Although Xu Shu knew that the envoys of the imperial court had come at an extremely bad time, how could this be the case, at this time, he had to answer in front of everyone, "It's true." Shaofu Kong Rong and Yilang Sima Lang have entered the Cao camp in Nagasaka with the edict of the Son of Heaven. ”

I heard that the envoy sent by the imperial court was my old acquaintance Kong Rong. Liu Bei couldn't help but be stunned. It must be known that Kong Wenju is recognized by the world as a party of celebrities and emperors, and the fact that he came forward to issue an edict at least shows that the Son of Heaven knows about it. It is not Cao Ang who falsely preached the holy decree. Do you really want to follow the will of the imperial court and shake hands with Cao Cao and make peace?

Just as Liu Bei hesitated, he heard Zhuge Liang say loudly, "The Son of Heaven is in prison, how can he talk about moving the capital." It must be Cao Ang's coercion of the Son of Heaven, and the lord must not take it seriously! ”

As soon as Zhuge Liang's words came out, he immediately won the approval of the vast majority of the civil and military forces present. What about the Holy Decree? Xu Du's Son of Heaven is just an echo worm of the Cao family's father and son. The so-called "going to Beijing to escort and move the capital" seems to be Cao Ang deliberately delaying time in the name of the Son of Heaven. Imagine that with the current situation of the Cao family's father and son who are like water dogs, which prince will respond to such an edict.

However, Xu Shu shook his head solemnly and said, "It is unknown whether Cao Zixiu is holding the Son of Heaven hostage. It is reported that Cai Anzhen of Qingzhou has been called. He also proposed that Bu Du Dingding, return the government to the Son of Heaven, and divide the princes. To the Fan Ping Han. ”

The sixteen-character proposal slowly spit out from Xu Shu's mouth was like a whirlwind, setting off a stormy wave in the tooth tent. But seeing Liu Bei's civil and military forces, who were still sneering at the "Holy Decree" a moment ago, the public opinion was suddenly raging, and the whole hall was in an uproar. At the same time, Liu Bei himself sighed in a mixed tone. "Bu Du Dingding. Return to the Son of Heaven, divide the princes, and use the Han Dynasty to vassal the Han... Cai Anzhen finally got her sword out of the sheath! ”

As a prince who watched Cai Ji grow from an orphan girl to a hegemon, Liu Bei knew that the female prince entrenched in the north was an extremely difficult opponent. It is true that from the Four Alliances to Liu Biao's death, from the Battle of Chibi to the flooding of Dangyang, Cai Ji has never intervened in the chaos in the south, as if he was no different from other princes who stood by and watched. But Liu Bei always felt that a pair of eyes as sharp as an eagle were staring at his every move from the north thousands of miles away, like maggots on tarsal bones, which made him deeply uneasy. So at this moment, listen to Cai Ji's sixteen-character proposal. While Liu Bei was surprised, he finally put aside a heavy stone that had been pressing on his heart. After all, a winding arrow that will come at some point is far more dangerous than a sharp blade that comes out of the sheath.

Compared with Liu Bei, who was relieved. At this moment, Zhuge Liang's state of mind can only be described by the words "like falling into an ice cave". Zhuge Liang has always been very confident in his plan. Even if the Wu camp was debunked by Zhou Yu, even if the siege of Dangyang was blocked, it never wavered. Because in Zhuge Liang's view, these unexpected situations are all small setbacks contained in his calculations, and only a little adjustment can bring the situation back to the right path. However, now Cai Ji's trick is making him feel unprecedented pressure.

Don't look at the "Bu Du Dingding, return to the Son of Heaven, divide the princes, and use the feudal Ping Han" is only 16 words, but it outlines an extremely grand pattern for the world. In these few words, Cai Ji not only skillfully occupied the moral high ground, but also knew how to throw out the "feudal princes" as bait to win over the princes and families in the world who had a heart of separation. It must be known that the powerful families entrenched in the local area have always put the interests of the family first, and in their eyes, the one-third of an acre of land occupied by their own family is far more important than the unification of the world. Therefore, the more dependent the princes of the powerful family are, the more they tend to protect themselves, not aggressive, and only defend themselves. Even the Han Dynasty's non-local bureaucracy, which had been practiced since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, failed to stop this general trend.

The so-called system of being an official in a different place refers to the system in which officials are not allowed to serve as officials in their hometowns and cannot serve in one place for a long time. Since the middle of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the place of origin of the appointment of local officials in the Han Dynasty began to be screened according to the principle of "all local officials appointed by the central government, from the county to the county and the state, down to the county commander, chief, cheng, lieutenant, border marquis, and Sima are all from the county, and the assassin is not from the state". During the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty explicitly stipulated that the "Three Mutual Laws" were established, thus adding that the marriage house and the two states were not allowed to be officials in different places on the basis of being officials in different places. The fact that the marital family is not allowed to be an official naturally means that the official is not allowed to be an official in the spouse's maiden family. The two states are not allowed to act as officials, and to put it simply, Zhang San is not allowed to be an official in Li Si's hometown, and at the same time, Li Si is an official in Zhang San's hometown.

However, in vain Fei Hanting racked his brains so much to prevent officials from sitting on the local divide, who would have thought that the first part of the Han Empire to collapse was the center closest to the emperor. Since Dong Zhuo's rebellion, the local tyrants who had lost their central suppression soon launched a counterattack against the officials sent to the local areas by the imperial court. As a result, under the great waves of the late Han Dynasty, the incompetent officials were either ousted from power by the powerful family or simply died. Only the heroes who really have the talent and courage can stand out from the cruel fight and become the princes who dominate the party.

Just becoming a prince does not mean that these heroes can suppress the powerful families under their rule. For example, although Sun Ce is known as the little overlord of Jiangdong, a large amount of land and population in the Jiangdong counties under his rule are in the hands of the Jiangdong family headed by the four major families of Zhang, Zhu, Lu and Gu. In a sense, the Sun family, who was born in the Hanmen Su clan, was just an agent who was favored by the Jiangdong family because of force, and was pushed to the front of the stage by them. Therefore, even if Zhuge Liang did not attend the Fengxize Alliance, he could expect that the current Sun Ce would definitely respond to Cai Ji's initiative of "dividing the princes". Sun Bofu, who is brave enough to cover the world, is still like this, not to mention some other princes who are inactive.

In fact, in Zhuge Liang's eyes, Cao Cao is the only prince in the world who can suppress the powerful family. This tyrant who coerced the Son of Heaven to order the world strictly practiced the rule of name and law, cracked down on the wealthy families, and firmly controlled the power in the hands of the imperial court represented by Cao Mengde. But if Cao Cao encounters an accident, can Cao Ang, who stayed in the Central Plains, still be able to suppress those families in the Central Plains? Judging from the will given by the Son of Heaven, the answer is obviously no.

However, is a big man who is divided and has the name of co-lord still a big man?

Who is the real thief, Cao Mengde, who is authoritarian and arbitrary, and Cai Anzhen, who is divided into feudal and separating territories?

Realizing that the Han Dynasty seemed to have irreversibly moved towards division under the impetus of Cai Ji, Zhuge Liang couldn't help but think of Pang Tong's evaluation of this female prince in his letters in the past - "Quan Zhi Yingluo, with more than Qi Huan and Jin Wen, is the lord of Da Zheng." Now Zhuge Liang no longer doubts that Cai Ji has the courage to surpass the Spring and Autumn Five Tyrants, but he also classifies Cai Ji and Cao Cao as a major danger to subvert the Han family.

As if to confirm Zhuge Liang's judgment on the attitude of the family, the local family in Jingzhou had already begun to agitate against Liu Bei under the temptation of Cai Ji's sixteen-character initiative. At this moment, I saw that Zhang Cun was busy and said to Liu Bei, "This is a God-given opportunity, the general must not miss it!" (To be continued......)