It was almost daylight, and the sun slowly rose from the eastern horizon, and the sun shone on Zhang Ren and the other ships heading to Sichuan and Shu, reflecting all the ships hidden in the dark night.

Zhang Ren stood at the bow of the boat, his face looked very tired, he turned his head to look at the calm river behind him, and let out a long sigh of relief.

At this time, I saw Liu Bei walking to Zhang Ren's side.

He bowed to Zhang Ren and said, "Liu Bei thanks General Zhang for saving his life. ”

Zhang Ren waved his hand and said: "Xuande Gong doesn't have to be like this, Zhang is just following orders, besides, you and I had old friends back then, in public and private, Zhang Mou saved Xuande Gong from this great disaster, it is all within his responsibility." ”

Having said that, Liu Bei still expressed his gratitude to Zhang Ren again and again.

Zhang Ren looked at Liu Bei's tired face, and couldn't help but ask curiously: "Xuande Gong, why is your complexion so bad, is there something on your mind?" ”

Liu Bei's face is indeed very bad, with black eye circles, a sallow complexion, and a thin face, compared to Zhang Ren's last time he saw him, it was like two people.

Liu Bei smiled bitterly and said, "Isn't General Zhang also sad?" You were high-spirited back then, why are you so haggard now? ”

Zhang Renchang sighed and said, "It seems that I and Xuande Gong have our own merits, but since I asked first, then please tell me about your heart first?" ”

Liu Bei walked to Zhang Ren's side, looked at the surging river under the boat, and a bitter helpless sadness rose on his face.

"General Zhang, Jingzhou is all lost, the Son of Heaven has fallen, my third brother and Pang Situ have also fallen into the hands of the enemy, at this moment, Bei is in chaos, any thing for Bei is enough to affect his thinking, if you want to count one by one, I am afraid that I will say it for three days, and I can't finish it."

After that, Liu Bei paused and said to Zhang Ren: "General Zhang, what are you worried about?" ”

Zhang Renchang sighed and said, "It's not a secret, Sichuan Shu is not very calm now." ”

Liu Bei was surprised: "The land of Sichuan and Shu, far away from the Central Plains, it is difficult for potters to come and disturb, what is not calm?" ”

Zhang Ren walked to Liu Bei's side and said in a low voice: "Xuande Gong, don't hide it, now Cao Cao has laid down Hanzhong and held the throat of Sichuan and Shu, although my Xichuan is extensive, there is no shortage of soldiers, horses, money and food, but compared with Cao Jun, there are too few people who can conquer and fight, if Cao Cao really has the intention of annexing Xichuan, I am only afraid of ......"

Liu Bei was silent for a while, and said: "Cao is very powerful, but the danger of Xichuan is famous all over the world, even if Cao Cao has elite soldiers and fierce generals, but as long as the Sichuan army guards the pass, it will be fine." ”

Zhang Ren sighed: "Although this is the case, but Xuande Gong has now also seen that the land of Jingzhou has been taken by the pottery merchants, and now the pottery merchants have swept the world, if nothing else, the land of Sichuan and Shu will also be his target sooner or later. ”

Speaking of this, Zhang Ren paused: "There is Cao Cao in the north, and there are potters in the east. ”

Liu Bei pondered for a while when he heard this, and said, "This matter may not be incomprehensible. ”

"Oh?" Zhang Ren hurriedly said: "What do you mean?" ”

Liu Bei said lightly: "General, don't forget, I think back then, Cao Cao and we were also allies...... For example, the general trend has returned to the potter, and we are all the next target of the potter, if we fight with each other again, I am afraid that no one will last long. ”

Zhang Ren smiled bitterly: "Having said that, what should we do now?" ”

Liu Bei said: "With the help of Liu Jiyu and General Zhang, Bei was able to take refuge in Xishu, and Bei was willing to ask Ji Yu for his life at that time, and went to Hanzhong to persuade Cao Cao to resist the pottery merchants, so that everyone could be saved." ”

Zhang Ren hurriedly said when he heard this: "How sure is Xuande Gong about this matter? ”

Liu Bei thought for a moment and said: "Cao Cao is the hero of the world, and there are several far-sighted masterminds under his command, so he is very sure to convince him. ”

……

Gangneung Fortress.

The moment he entered Jiangling City, it meant that this world-famous city had completely become his own territory, and the entire Jingzhou had also entered Tao's bag.

The size of Gangneung Castle and the vastness of the castle amazed the potters, and although Gangneung Castle was not the largest of the castles under their rule, its solidity was indeed among the best.

However, no matter how strong Gangneung City is, it is also a place of four battles, and if there is no strong strength to back it up, this place will inevitably be lost sooner or later.

After entering Gangneung City, the potters first asked them to bring their household registers, field records, tax forms, including the overall planning books of the arsenal and granary.

He opened it all the way and saw it, roughly grasped the situation in Gangneung City, and then led his people to inspect various mansions.

Regardless of whether Liu Qiong is a puppet emperor or not, but Liu Bei, Liu Biao and others have ruled Jingzhou for seven years in the name of this little emperor after all.

Therefore, the treatment of the people in Jingzhou, especially the pacification work, must be more meticulous and delicate than other places.

After a general inspection of the situation in Jingzhou, I returned to the palace in Jiangling City, and it was already dark.

The potter instructed his subordinates to pacify the people in the city and the next policy against Jingzhou, and then asked two prisoners to come over.

The two captives were ordered by the potter to be seen in person.

They were all people who were sitting in the city, and there were no people who fled with Liu Qiong, Fu Wan and others.

It's Xu Shu and Shi Tao.

These two people used to be celebrities known to Sima Hui, and they had a great relationship, and they were later returned to Liu Bei, but they were not long, and Liu Bei's foundation was all lost before they could establish their achievements.

After the two men were brought to the potter, they both bowed their hands to the potter.

The potter casually fiddled with a tea bowl in his hand and asked, "The two gentlemen are both great talents, why should they be attributed to Liu Bei?" ”

Xu Shu said to Tao Shang: "Pang Degong and Pang Tong both wrote books in person to invite each other, so they had to go. ”

The potter looked up at them: "Mr. Shuijing thought that he had also written a letter on my behalf, didn't he have Pang Degong to speak?" ”

Xu Shu said: "Mr. Shuijing is also a master, since he personally bought the book, I think he must have a very high evaluation of the prime minister, or I waited to return to Jingzhou, and I have lived in the local area for many years, and I can't bear to betray...... May the Prime Minister forgive the sin. ”

The potter looked at Xu Shu seriously for a while, but found that he also raised his head and looked at himself seriously.

He turned his head to look at Shi Tao again, and found that Shi Tao was not as firm as Xu Shu's gaze, and in the face of his direct gaze, he was dodging.

The potter probably had a clear idea in his heart.

He said to Xu Shu: "You can't bear to betray, have you ever thought about today...... Aren't you two afraid that I will take you prisoner and kill you? ”