On the twenty-ninth day of the lunar month, Liu Xuande, who was only separated by a river from Jiangxia, was late, but as soon as he arrived in Xiling City, the Son of Heaven sent eunuchs to comfort him. And the eunuch left, but it was just a moment, and the chief bookkeeper under Liu Biao, Kuai Liang and Kuai Zirou, came straight to visit.

Liu Biao himself arrived the day before yesterday, but he did not come in person, nor did he invite Liu Bei to come over, but only sent an envoy to visit...... This is of course reasonable, because although the Son of Heaven did not admit it, Gongsun Xun gave Liu Bei an explanation of Liu Jingzhou after all, and the Jingzhou Mu who removed Liu Biao was indeed a little embarrassed or embarrassed in terms of the name of the two families.

Of course, after all, there is no essential contradiction, Liu Bei just wanted to eat the Sun family before, but Yizhou is too fast, and Jingnan is too mysterious, in such an urgent situation, Liu Jingsheng is suddenly only left with a county, so naturally there will be some tension and precautions.

But the more unbearable the situation, the more we must unite, which is why Kuai Liang hurriedly came here to exchange views.

"Brother Zirou came just in time."

After the two sides met and greeted, they came to the hall to sit down, and when the tea was served, Liu Bei calmly made a small suggestion to Kuai Zirou. "I was looking for a step to ask, can you ask Xian Kunzhong and General Cai to help me take over the military administration of Nanjun?"

Rao is a wise man in Kuai Liangshi, and he couldn't help but be dumbfounded, and then said in a dialect for a while: "General Zuo, don't be joking!" ”

"Why am I joking?" Liu Bei spread his hands.

"There is only one Nanjun left in my family, how can I wipe out the military and government of Nanjun with General Zuo with a word?" Kuai Liang felt more and more ridiculous. "If Nanjun is gone, then where will my family master go?"

"Just stay in Xiling and accompany the Son of Heaven!" Liu Bei became more and more calm.

Kuai Zirou laughed angrily, and got up directly: "What does General Zuo mean?" ”

"It's just sincerity." Liu Bei lifted the pottery bowl and took a sip of tea before continuing with an expressionless face. "May I ask a few things?"

Kuai Liang sneered, and then sat down.

"One...... Jingzhou, or do you really want to surrender? "Liu Bei is right." Second, if you don't surrender, can you only try to work together and fight hard for safety? Third, if you want to fight, who can be handsome? Who else is me? ”

Kuai Liang sighed: "If I hadn't known this truth a long time ago, I would have brushed my sleeves away just now...... It's just General Zuo, how can there be a person in the world like you who still robs money and goods when he sees that the boats in the river are about to capsize? This is not a robbery! It's everyone on fire! ”

"Brother Zirou doesn't have to be like this, listen to me slowly...... Actually, I thought about it, and it's good for everyone to do this! Liu Bei was not in a hurry.

Kuai Liang shook his head repeatedly.

"Like my brother Jingsheng, now that the overall situation has collapsed, what is he asking for?" Liu Bei didn't care about the other party, but continued to ask, and asked and answered himself, and revealed the answer by the way. "What he wants is really just his life...... Because the matter of his former colleague Lu Bu is in front of him, because he has accepted Lu Bu, placed the Son of Heaven, and supported Yizhou, he is worried, for fear that once he is defeated or surrendered, others can live, but he himself will end up with no place to be buried! Otherwise, with his temperament, he would have fallen a long time ago! ”

Kuai's conscience moved slightly, but he didn't refute it.

"And then there's you guys." Liu Bei continued to smile. "You also want to surrender, but you dare not surrender, you want to fight, but you dare not fight...... Why? Because you, the clans of Jingzhou, or Nanjun, are weak, but they are the most hated by my brother in the north. ”

Kuai Zirou couldn't help but swallow her saliva, and retorted in the end: "General Zuo is alarmist, Jiaozhou can be surrendered, but we can't surrender Jingzhou?" ”

"You Jingzhou really can't be surrendered." Liu Bei immediately sneered. "Jiaozhou, that place, in terms of the center, is really beyond the reach of the whip, roughly only seeking reunification, and Shi Weiyan and my brother's colleagues in Shangshutai for many years have always had grievances and grievances, and if it falls, it will fall, but what about you? Don't you know what is going on in your own mind? ”

"What I just said was all done by us Liu Jingzhou." Kuai Yue reluctantly explained. "That's why he's worried, as for the people below us, they belong to the enemy country, how can Duke Yan be implicated in these things?"

"Why should Brother Zirou deceive me for ignorance?" Liu Xuande sneered more and more. "Let me ask you, do you think that when Liu Jingsheng rode into Xiangyang alone, dozens of thieves were destroyed, and their land, goods, and population were all confiscated? How much did you Xiangyang Zuo Jinshi divide in? And how much will be taken out to resettle the displaced people from the north? As for the homeless people, there are countless homeless people in the north, and those officials and eunuchs gather to protect themselves and don't mention it, just talk about the poor people, how many of them were organized by the government to cultivate their fields, and how many of them were plundered by you locals to enrich themselves? Outsiders say that the land of Nanjun is the world of Liu, Cai, and Kuai, is this false? ”

Kuai Yue finally stopped talking.

"These people in your Nanjun County are clearly the heroes and strong of the world, and in the land of Banzhou, the economy is completely controlled by you, and the road to the government is also controlled by you, and my brother has said it clearly enough, he has worked hard for decades to get here, and what he wants is to kill you people cleanly!" Liu Bei's tone became more and more serious. "And how can you, smart people, not understand this? That's why they are both cringeful and stubborn. Otherwise, if there is a little gap in the north, you will already sell Liu Biao and the Son of Heaven together, why wait until now? Do you really think I don't know what you said to Zhengnan last year when you were an envoy under Ye? ”

Kuai Liang's face turned pale, but he couldn't refute it.

"Brother Zirou!" Liu Bei rarely raised his eyebrows and sighed. "The current situation is that your Nanjun side has outstanding strength, but no matter the monarchs and ministers, they all want to resist but dare not resist, and they want to surrender but dare not surrender...... Because they are afraid that resistance will anger the north, and surrender will be in vain and reduced to fish on the anvil. But what if you put Nanjun with me now? But I dare to fight! And with me as the master, you only hand over the power of each family to me to invoke, and you don't have to come forward at all. Then even if I am defeated, my brother will hate me very much, and you may be able to escape, so why not? ”

Kuai Liang was silent for a long time, but he couldn't help but ask: "In this way, what good is General Zuo?" ”

"It's simple, too." Liu Bei sighed faintly. "I was also forced to the end of the mountains and rivers by the north, and this is the only way to survive...... If you lose, you will die, but if you win a battle, the three counties of Nanjun, Yuzhang, and Danyang are in hand, and Jiangxia will actually be controlled by me, and the power of the four counties is enough to turn around and sweep the four counties of Jingnan, and then subdue the Sun family and the Shi family. This is also the last way out that my subordinate Lu Zijing thought of for me. ”

Kuai Liang thought about it carefully, and nodded slowly.

"Go ahead!" Liu Bei didn't say much. "Tell today's words to Cai Deqi and others, as for Brother Jingsheng, with his intelligence, he naturally knows how to push the boat down the river, and it doesn't hurt to say it or not...... It's just that I have to be fast, before I came, I finally persuaded my brother Yide to fight for me, and then get a place in front of the palace in two days, and once the spring ploughing is over, maybe we can start first. ”

Kuai Liang didn't dare to stay longer, so he bowed down and said goodbye.

And Kuai Zirou left, but Liu Bei was still sitting upright in the hall, in good spirits, as if he was waiting for someone. And sure enough, it didn't take long for another attendant to report, saying that Cui Yan, a famous man from Qinghe, handed over the name and begged General Zuo.

Liu Bei just bowed slightly, and the attendant brought Cui Yan in.

"Mr. Cui, I haven't seen you for many years, but my demeanor is still the same." When Liu Xuande saw Cui Min entering, he got up to greet him, and listening to the words, he seemed to have the same old appearance as the other party.

"General Zuo." Cui Yan bowed slightly, but he was also calm. "General Zuo is also in good spirits...... Speaking of which, it has been thirteen or fourteen years since Hebei was said in the past, which is really embarrassing. ”

"Yes," by the fire in the hall, seeing that the attendant had changed the tea, Liu Xuande, who was dressed in a wide robe, sat down by himself, and then pointed at random, looking extremely relaxed. "Sir, please take a seat, since we are old people, we don't have to be polite."

Cui Yan bowed slightly, and then sat in the hall casually, and the two sides could be regarded as having finished greetings.

However, although Cui Jiqi sat down and was calm on the surface, there was still a trace of uneasiness in his heart, because the relationship between the two in Hebei was not so pleasant.

Of course.

Just think about it, if there is an intersection between these two, it must be the time when Liu Bei was Ren Pingyuan after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and at that time Liu Bei was a county commander who started with martial arts, but Cui Jiqi was the rising star of the Cui family in Qinghe next door, and he was also Zheng Xuan's protégé. Although one of the two sides is an official and the other is a citizen, there is not much difference in the so-called social status, but there is a clear distinction between civil and military, and the gap between families and families is obvious, and it seems that there are some obvious differences on the road of ideas, so it is naturally unlikely to be familiar at first sight.

And that's exactly what happened.

It was also a year pass, Cui Yan returned from Qingzhou, ready to go home for the New Year, when passing by the plain, he naturally lived with a group of classmates in Gongsun Qian's house, Liu Bei took Jian Yong to visit, and both parties were naturally decent people when they visited, and there was no basket...... But the atmosphere at that time was inevitable, and it was inevitable to comment on the characters, so as soon as Liu Bei left, everyone asked Cui Yan to comment on this plain county magistrate.

Cui Yan's words at that time were a little unkind, he thought that since Liu Bei had achieved the order of Qianshi County, a dignified and high-ranking court official, he had to talk about a high and low dignity. And that Jian Yong couldn't sit straight with a lame leg, after all, there was a reason for it, but he actually called Liu Bei Xuande directly, and didn't even call a 'gentleman', which was too presumptuous in etiquette. And the people around him are in such a posture, it can be seen that Liu Bei, and even Gongsun Xun behind Liu Bei, are still in the style of a border county ranger, which is really a disaster for the country.

Liu Bei naturally heard about this incident later, but the two sides never had a chance to contact each other again, so the matter was naturally closed, but he didn't expect to see each other again today.

And the more he worried about something, the more he came to something, after the two sides sat down, Liu Xuande was still casual, but he directly mentioned the previous matter:

"It's presumptuous, but Bei is really curious, my brother expelled Cui Jun that day, because in the past, the plains were small and big, and the matter of using me to belittle him was turned out?"

Cui Yan was silent for a moment, but simply shook his head: "I originally thought it was like this, but after all these years of wandering, I have somewhat understood it in my heart...... If it is said that it is opposed, with the temper and temperament of the person, there must be it, but it is not the same at all. ”

"How?" Liu Bei was curious for a moment.

"It's really because I'm too resistant to his big politics." Cui Yan said earnestly. "He wants to suppress the clan, and the Qinghe Cui clan is the top clan in Hebei; He wants to carry out the imperial examination, and he is a famous Qing scholar in Hebei...... In addition, he still wants to coerce and win over my teacher to make a lintel for his university, how can he tolerate a senior disciple of Zhengmen who is born with two hearts with him? On the surface, he is aimed at the bottom, but he is just using the bottom as a target to achieve his thing. As for a few words or a rebuttal that turned a corner, how could he care? ”

"Not bad." Liu Xuande also laughed. "At that time, I had to knock on the Hebei clan, I had to knock on the Qing Tan celebrities, I had to coerce the Zhengmen students, and I had to deter the Yuan clan from surrendering to the courtiers, it was a suitable target that was too much, who would you look for if you didn't look for you?"

Cui Yan couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"However, after so many years, have you ever thought about returning to Hebei? Judging from the fact that your brother Cui Min and your brother Cui Lin have to be reused now, let them ask for a favor, what about going back to the north? I remember that one is already a Shangshu, and the other is already a Shaoqing, right? ”

"Not bad...... But even the one in the north who wants to forgive him can't tolerate going back like this. Cui Yan became more and more bitter. After reading the scriptures for half a lifetime, he was a Zhonglang general, but he was said to be useless...... You have to prove it to the people of the world, and you are not a useless person, right? ”

"The same is the end of the world, how to know each other? I can understand Cui Jun's intentions very well. Liu Bei smiled, but he casually took tea from the seat and moistened his throat. But I still have a question...... Please be sincere. ”

"Since they are both fallen people, General Zuo has nothing to ask." Cui Yan hurriedly responded.

"Do you think the imperial examination is good?" Liu Bei was taken by surprise.

Cui Yan was slightly stunned, but he couldn't help but be gloomy.

"It seems that my feet, like me, also feel that the current imperial examination is actually a little better than the original inspection, but because of the current situation, I was easily labeled as opposing the imperial examination, and I couldn't take it off if I wanted to, which is so unbearable. So much so that for many years, I have only talked about the use of awareness, but I have not talked about the inferiority of the imperial examination......"

Cui Yan sighed, but did not deny it.

"Actually, I now calm down and savor it, only to find that the kind of system that can bring a glimmer of hope to the people below is really much smarter than any visiting talents!" Liu Bei was also quite emotional when he saw this. "If there is hope for people to go up, the world will never be as lifeless as Huan Lingshi."

Cui Yan finally couldn't help but refute: "If the inspection system can be fair and just, it is also feasible...... The imperial examination is just to erase all the morality of the human heart, and make the most of the examination, in the troubled times, the morality is degraded, I don't think there is a problem with this moment, but how can it last long? ”

"There is no long-term solution in the world." Liu Bei said disapprerovingly. "But the strategy to save the time is a necessary thing in the time of revolution."

"What does General Zuo mean by this?"

"Without him, in the past, I always felt that my brother was powerful, but where the power was, it only stopped at his ability to fight, win people, and rise momentum, but why he could rise has always been ignorant. It was only recently that I fully understood that if the world wants to carry out reform, the first thing is the economy, the second is the system, and the economy and system are properly handled, and then we can be invincible by going to war. Liu Xuande put down the pottery bowl and sighed slightly. These three things are all necessary matters at the time of the revolution, and they must be done one after another. But the people of the world, like me, are always dazzled by their ability to fight and win battles, but they do not understand the importance of the first two...... Of course, Cao Mengde may know more than I do, but he is dead. And I don't understand it now, but it's too late. ”

When Cui Yan heard the word 'late' at the end, he almost cried, but he just endured it.

"Cui Jun." Liu Bei turned around and said with a straight face. "You see, Yan Gong can become the trend of overthrowing the Han Dynasty, the first in Dutian, Tuntian, and Zhitian, which is the economic revolution; secondly, in the imperial examination, the reform of the official system, and the three-chief system; The last thing is the war, right? ”

"Yes." Cui Yan replied reluctantly.

"So." Liu Xuande also sighed. "Don't look at us now that we are in a hurry, seeing that the general trend is about to go, in fact, my brother's original intention may not be so, he was also in Yizhou for three months, plus the Son of Heaven and the earthquake in western Liaoning, these things were forced, and he had to decide to calm the world in advance. It's just that they have such an advantage in people, and as soon as they decide to unify, they will push us into a desperate situation...... That's the truth, right? ”

"It should be." Cui Yan's mouth gradually became dry, but he didn't have the heart to drink tea.

"Now that you're in a desperate situation, you don't have a choice." Liu Bei suddenly raised his voice. "I've heard that I've been going around in Xiling these days because I want to get a few families to work together and fight hard, so you came to me today to make me the chief general?"

"Not bad." Cui Yan obviously didn't come back to his senses, and his person almost blurted out.

"I see." Liu Bei nodded in agreement. "I will naturally do my best, but I must also persuade the Nanqian clan to help me with all my might!"

Cui Yan was still a little surprised: "General Zuo agreed?" ”

"Didn't you say that? Now that I've been cornered, do I have any other options? ”

Cui Yan thought for a moment, but was silent for a while.

"No more guessing." Liu Bei replied calmly. "My brother did send me a private message to persuade me to surrender, and that economic and institutional theory was the ...... he told me in the letter."

"That ......"

"The words are very sincere, and I believe him." Liu Xuande still spoke calmly, as if he had already thought thoroughly and comprehensively. "But, so many people died in Guandu before, how could I turn back? Or, just as it is difficult to turn back after leaving Hebei at the beginning, it is difficult for me to turn back since I came out to establish my own foundation. The same is true for those who have migrated south. They must be told that, for whatever reason, since they have come from the south, they have cut off communication with the north, and can only do as I can. ”

Cui Yan sighed, got up and faced each other, promised to do his best to run for the other party, and immediately left.

As soon as he left, Liu Bei suddenly looked a little tired, but he left the front hall and turned to the backyard.

There was no word for a day and night, and after another day, on the day of the New Year's Day, the Son of Heaven officially held the year's Zhengdan Dynasty Meeting.

To tell the truth, the Han family has reached the land of one county today, and there are only six counties in the so-called pro-Han faction, and it has long lost its fundamental economic foundation...... If it is delayed for a few years, some of the Nandu clans will engage in reclamation, schools, and handicrafts in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and the Wubao economy will be on the whole, and there may be a prosperous day...... But at present, it is only a year before the so-called Han dynasty crosses to the south, where is there any economic development?

So, although because of the southward migration of some clans after the Battle of Guandu, there was no shortage of people in the Jiangxia small court, but the scene was too shabby!

In the entire Xiling City, there is not a lobby that can stand for three hundred people!

In the end, everyone had to brave the cold wind to complete the worship of the little Son of Heaven on the street, and then dispersed in a hurry, and only some key people were able to enter the palace of the Son of Heaven, that is, the first mansion in Jiangxia that Liu Biao funded for Huang Zu to build, and I don't know how many hands have changed.

Speaking of which, Empress Yuan was married in this house before, but now she is reluctant to come.

"Needless to say now, the minister is willing to be Cao Sikong's successor, command the soldiers of the Jiang and Han Dynasties, and go on a northern expedition to the Central Plains to restore the Han Dynasty!" At the beginning of the small dynasty, Liu Xuande was impassioned and tried his best to win the ambition of the group.

The court was quiet for a long time, and Xiao Tianzi couldn't understand what Liu Xuande wanted to do...... After a long pause, Liu Xie had to ask a sensitive topic:

"Uncle Liu Huang, I remember, Qing has always regarded Bei Yan as his brother?"

"Back to Your Majesty, I will see it today!" Liu Bei held his head high, and his reply was sonorous and powerful. "The young man was discouraged, and he relied on the funding of several uncles in the clan to go to Luoyang to worship under Lu Shimen...... There are dozens of people in the same company, the poorest of the ministers' families, the youngest, and the lowest! At that time, only the minister's brother was devoted to the minister, food, clothing, carriage and horses, and the funding was non-stop, and the minister was also a brother from then on! As for the grace of later promotion and appointment, it is needless to say! Everyone knows it! This kindness, in exchange for the former ranger posture of the minister, should indeed die to repay it! ”

Xiao Tianzi wanted to ask why his background was also the lowest, but seeing that no one around him reacted, he also knew that this was the case, but he didn't want to ask more, so he could only nod with emotion: "That's the ......."

"That being the case...... The minister should have surrendered as soon as possible, and went north to Yexia, without asking anything else. Liu Bei continued to face each other proudly. However, as a descendant of Gaozu, a descendant of the Han family, and a Han minister, how can he bear the Han Congyan and abandon Liu and follow the grandson? Not to mention, now that the Han family is in decline and there is a risk of destruction, the more time it is, the more efforts the ministers should ...... As the saying goes, the Han and the thief do not stand together, and the royal industry is not partial! The person on the Tongque platform in the north is a good brother, but he is also a national thief! The minister's mind has been decided, when the people of Jianghan and Han are together, they will strive to go north to Wanluo and ask for thieves and Han! If it is successful, the minister should be guilty of the same crime as the minister's brother, and the head will be handed over under the blade, and his kindness will be returned; If defeated, the minister will die in front of the battle first, and he will live up to the virtue of Yan Han! ”

Liu Xuande talked eloquently, shaking the roof tiles, and the Son of Heaven wanted to interject several times, but he was shocked by the other party's words several times.

In the same way, the rest of the important figures in the hall, Liu Biao, Zhu Zhi, Jing Ze, and the rest of the important ministers of the Han family, such as Yang Liang, Deng Zhi and others, also had nothing to say, and almost all of them were shocked by Liu Bei.

After all, almost everyone knows that at this point, a battle must be fought, but once a war is fought, it can only be Liu Xuande who will be the general, and Liu Jingsheng who will send the army!

Because as we all know, Liu Bei's elite soldiers have almost run out, but there are still several capable generals under him; And the generals under Liu Jingsheng became recognized as a waste after the first battle of Guandu, but the Jingzhou clan was strong, and the grain and grass in Nanjun were sufficient...... So, what else?

————— I am recognized as the dividing line—————

"Jiaozhou has fallen, Jingnan is shaken, and the Han Emperor is worried, so he summoned the princes of Jiang and Han to discuss the current situation with the minister. and the meeting, all without saying anything, the Duzuo general led Jingzhou Mu Liu Bei to raise his arms and come out of Nanyang. The Han Emperor was concerned about the old relationship with Taizu, and he should not have it at first. Bei Nai proudly said: 'Brother is brother, thief is also thief!' However, the Han and the thieves do not stand together, the royal industry is not partial, and the ministers are descendants of Gaozu Miao, since the north enters the Central Plains, begging the thieves to prosper the Han, and the blood is exhausted! —The Book of New Swallows. Volume XXVII. The third in the family

Small PS: Continue to push the book, the tyrant's new book "Ming Outstanding Youth", a historical veteran god writer, quality assurance, character assurance.