Deep mountains and high valleys, winding paths lead to seclusion.

On that day, after a little treatment of the wounds and the burial of several guards who had died in battle, Zhang Yong, Meng Qiu, Ma Tan and others said a brief goodbye to Sun Shangxiang, Lu Xun, and Xu Sheng, and then turned to the northwest and went straight along the trail all the way, and when they arrived in Jingcheng, it was June 10.

On the day he returned to Jingcheng, Zhang Yong learned that Jingzhou... The dispute between the sons of the world is the result of Liu Pan's interception and killing of Liu Cong.

Because Liu Pan chased the wrong team and wasted too much time on Zhang Yong and others, Liu Pan missed the best opportunity to intercept and kill Liu Cong.

Although the various provinces of Jingshan were guarded by the sent town army, there was no strong man in the end, and Liu Pan was missing to lead the army personally, and when facing Liu Cong, Cai Zhong and Cai He, the momentum was inevitably lost.

Fortunately, Cai Zhong and Cai He seized the opportunity, although Liu Cong and his entourage suffered heavy casualties, they finally rushed through the Jingshan boundary, walked day and night, and finally returned to Xiangyang City safely after two days of hiding.

Brother Xiao Qiang has always been jealous, and Liu Cong's ambush and death by Liu Pan naturally caused a shock in Jingzhou officialdom, and its impact was far beyond ordinary.

Liu Biao was furious, and the Haoqiang clan, who had hesitated, completely fell to Liu Cong, the prince of Jingzhou, after Liu Qi and Liu Pan ambushed Liu Cong and failed to defeat him... After this incident, Liu Cong finally sat down.

However, the culprit of this incident involved Liu Qi, Liu Pan, and two of Liu Biao's three sons.

Between Kill and Punishment! Liu Biao chose the latter after all.

Liu Pan was demoted to a white body, no longer had the authority to lead the generals, and went to Changsha to obey Zhang Ji's dispatch and arrived at Ganning and other departments on the south bank of Jiangxia.

And Liu Qi... After thinking about it again and again, Liu Biao was still reluctant to be ruthless to this son, canceled Liu Qi's right to open the mansion, and transferred him to Jiangxia Taishou, Yongzhen Jiangxia, if there is no order... Don't go back to Xiangyang again.

Although the means are too weak, under Liu Biao's quick knife to cut through the mess, Jingzhou officialdom quickly returned to stability, even if Cai Mao and others... These family members standing behind Liu Cong are dissatisfied in their hearts, but they can face... This kind of result can only bow your head and agree.

Although it is said that if you don't die when you fight a tiger, you will be bitten by a tiger, but at this time... Finally, I can't force Cousin Liu to kill my eldest son with my own hands! Liu Qi... I can only wait until later, and find the opportunity to deal with it.

In the blink of an eye, it was a few more days.

Here, the turmoil in Jingzhou gradually calmed down, and Zhang Yongfang devoted his energy to the construction of Fangling, Nanxiang and other places, when he heard a news coming from the north and spreading to all parts of the Han Dynasty, completely disrupting Zhang Yong's deployment.

......

June 13, 13th year of Jian'an.

The imperial court reinstated the phase, and the Han Emperor Liu Xie took Cao Cao as the prime minister. Commander of the hundred officials.

"Cao Cao... Finally can't take it anymore? ”

Holding the bamboo slip in his hand, Zhang Yong looked in the direction where Xu Du was... Muttered to himself.

Cao Cao was the prime minister, and the authority of Cao's civil and military forces reached a higher level, coupled with nearly a year of recuperation and recuperation, and the reorganization of the army, the trend of going south was a foregone conclusion.

Now that Jingzhou is in turmoil, maybe you don't have to wait until Liu Biao dies... Cao Cao will lead the army south, attack Jingxiang, take Jiangdong, and complete his ambition of hegemony.

In this general situation, even if he... Knowing the direction of the future trend, it is still inevitable to be a little afraid.

With the strength of Fangling and Nanxiang alone, facing hundreds of thousands of Cao's tigers, it is like a flat boat on a huge wave, if it attracts Cao Cao's attention... What awaits him ...

"Brother Meng, go and ask someone to call you Chang, and we can go to Nanxiang."

Suppressing the uneasiness and apprehension in his heart, Zhang Yong called Meng Qiu to go outside the house.

No matter what you are about to face, be brave enough to face it... Because, he has long since run out of retreat... No!

......

"Cao thief, dare to deceive my Han family like this!"

"What exactly is he trying to do? I can't help but want to be that Huo Guang... I still want to become another Dong Zhuo! ”

Xinye, General Zuo's Mansion, the deafening roar has been going on for a long time.

I saw Liu Bei standing in the center of the mansion, with an indescribable resentment on his face, completely devoid of the past... The sense of elegance and affinity seen by ordinary people.

Cao Cao has become the prime minister, and he is in the empty position... The authority of the government and the opposition could not satisfy him, and he even rebelled with the Han Dynasty to re-establish the phase for a hundred years, this kind of authority... In Liu Bei's opinion, it is no less than Dong Zhuo in the past.

"Big brother, the third brother asks for his life, the third brother is willing to lead five thousand elites north to Runan and kill the majesty of the Cao thief."

Next to him, Zhang Fei's eyes were wide open, and he had already lifted the Zhangba snake spear in his hand.

"Big brother, second brother is also willing to ask for his life!"

Hearing Zhang Fei's words, Guan Yu's eyes narrowed, and a pair of Danfeng eyes flashed with a cold light, which was also a real fire.

Perhaps deeply influenced by Liu Bei, in the concept of the two... The one who can revive the Han family and bear this honor should be their eldest brother... After King Jing of Zhongshan, the uncle of the Han Emperor, Liu Bei Liu Xuande, not Cao Cao.

Looking at Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's style, Liu Bei's movements suddenly stagnated, and his momentum seemed to be a little weaker.

Fang Cai's words, in the final analysis, are just Liu Bei's long-standing anger in his heart, and he really wants to fight two battles with Cao Cao, maybe he only has that confidence when he commands 100,000 soldiers in Xuzhou.

With only more than 20,000 steps under his command now, Liu Bei naturally has no confidence in his heart.

Perhaps there is no need to wait for Cao Cao to personally lead the army, just with the tens of thousands of Cao's new army now gathered in Runan, it is possible that he will be scattered after several years of accumulation.

Looking up is a thought... Look down, but it's reality.

"My lord, the second general, the third general, the anger in your hearts is clear in your hearts. Liang also believed that with the bravery of the second and third generals, Cao Jun, who would definitely be able to kill, lost his armor and broke Cao Cao's sharpness. ”

Sensing Liu Bei's hesitation, Zhuge Liang suddenly understood what Liu Bei was thinking, and immediately handed over a step.

"It's just... Now Cao's army is powerful, and Cao Cao is the prime minister, and the momentum is even more than before, if it is rashly attacked, it will inevitably attract the attention of the Quartet. Now that Jingzhou is in turmoil, and Liu Qi and Liu Cong have just killed each other, if they take the risk of military affairs, it will inevitably attract Liu Jingsheng's suspicion, and it will be unfavorable for the lord to win Jingzhou in the future..."

"It's small to endure the anger of the moment, and revive the Han family... It's the great cause. ”

Seeing Zhuge Liang so upright, Liu Bei's evaluation and trust in his heart became higher and higher.

"Kong Ming... That's right! It's me who lost my temper. ”

"Since Zhuojun, the wind and rain have been turbulent for more than ten years, and so many humiliations have been suffered, not to mention this time. As long as the Han family can be revitalized, the humiliation that Cao Cao gave to the Han family will be returned sooner or later..."

When Guan Yu and Zhang Fei saw Liu Bei like this, they naturally had nothing to say... After taking a deep look at Zhuge Liang, he had to give up.

Although I don't want to admit it, the one in front of me... The young man has gradually mastered most of the right to speak in General Zuo's Mansion, which has affected the decision of the eldest brother.

......

Xiangyang.

When the news of Cao Cao's appearance reached Xiangyang, some people were naturally happy and some were worried.

For the pro-Cao faction, Cao Cao's growing authority is undoubtedly a good signal, which represents... After they surrendered to the Cao clan, their power and status were better guaranteed.

Cai Fu.

Cai Mao was dressed in official clothes, and Fang returned from the state pastor's mansion, her expression was undeniably tired, but her eyes... But from time to time, the light is crossed, and it is indescribably exciting.

At the door, Cai Zhongcai and Cai He were already waiting here, walking back and forth, as if there was something urgent waiting for Cai Mao to discuss. Seeing Cai Mao's figure at this moment, he hurriedly greeted him.

"Eldest brother, the people from the Dark Pavilion came just now, saying that they brought an edict from the Prime Minister's Mansion and asked me to send a speaker from the Jingxiang family to Xudu, and Prime Minister Cao wanted to know what my Jingxiang family members thought."

"Prime Minister Cao... Are you finally going to do it to Jingzhou? ”

Hearing Cai Zhong's words, Cai Mao's figure was stunned, his eyes were a little hesitant, and there were a few decompositions... The friendship between him and Liu Jingsheng for more than ten years is finally going to be understood.

"Let the men below prepare the wagon, and in an hour ... I will personally go to Xuchang to meet the prime minister... If anyone comes to me these days, they will say that they have gone back to their hometown and visited my father's grave. ”

......

Hanzhong.

Hearing the news that Cao Cao was the prime minister, Zhang Lu naturally couldn't sit still.

After all, the affairs of Xiahou Yu in the Dark Pavilion have not been calmed down for a long time, and those clan relatives who want to come to the Cao family have not been generous to that extent, and they have forgotten this blood feud.

"You see... Is it to let Yong'er withdraw the troops of the seven counties of Nanxiang first and stick to Fangling and Xixian. ”

Zhang Lu's hesitation and hesitation was not because he was afraid of Cao Cao, but because he was worried about Zhang Yong's safety, although Zhang Yong had grown a lot over the years, and the wings beside him were getting fuller, which was different from the past, but the greater the reputation, the bigger the target, and it was easy to be targeted by the dark pavilion.

"We know what the eldest brother thinks, but... Now that Yong'er has grown up and has her own mind, I'm afraid that she won't return to Hanzhong so simply.

And... According to the news that came from time to time in Fangling and Nanxiang these days, the prestige of Yong'er's troops is flourishing, and the generals' headquarters plus the defenders of each county have gathered no less than 30,000 soldiers and horses under Yong'er's command. ”

"On the contrary, if we let Yong'er come back at this moment, I'm afraid it will disrupt his deployment, after all, Yong'er's current mind... It's not ordinary. ”

After going to Jingcheng, Zhang Wei undoubtedly has a more intuitive understanding of Zhang Yong's changes over time, and he also knows better what Zhang Yong needs more at the moment, and... If nothing else, the battle of Cao Cao's southern expedition may be the pinnacle of this era, and if you miss this grand scene, you think Yong'er will regret it for the rest of your life.

"Since... In this way, let him stay in Nanxiang and Fangling for a while. But just to be on the safe side... It is better to send 3,000 elite horsemen to Xicheng temporarily and pay attention to the news of Nanxiang at all times.

Nan Zheng... It's a little farther away from Nanxiang after all. ”

"In addition, Cao Cao is a prime minister, congratulations from all sides, we can't do without action, let Yang Song go... Bring a gift and touch Cao Cao's next movement by the way. ”

"Brother, don't worry! I'll go to Yang's Mansion later and make arrangements for this. ”

......