At the end of February of the sixth year of Jian'an, Zhuge Liang got married, and Shen Chen had another elder......

And when Shen Chen was celebrating Zhuge Liang's wedding, things on Liu Biao's side were not very smooth.

Kuailiang fell ill.

Originally, Liu Biao was scheduled to worship heaven and earth in the suburbs in the late spring of March.

But after his mastermind Kuai Liang fell ill, he lost his bearings a little, so he had to suspend the sacrifice first and wait for Kuai Liang to recover.

Unexpectedly, Kuai Liang's condition did not improve, and it deteriorated very quickly.

By April, it was dying.

At that time, in addition to Hua Tuo in the north, there was also a miracle doctor in the south, called Zhang Ji, the word Zhongjing, and a native of Nanyang Nie County.

But Zhang Zhongjing is now nowhere to be found.

After Dong Zhuo's rebellion, the world was in turmoil and strife, and countless people from Guanzhong and Henan moved to Nanyang.

These displaced people not only brought certain security problems to Nanyang, but also brought the epidemic plague born due to the cruel war in the north to Nanyang.

The Zhang family was also a large family in Nieyang, with a population of more than 200, but two-thirds of them died because of this epidemic called typhoid fever.

This made Zhang Ji very sad, so he decided to practice medicine everywhere and study the typhoid plague, and he was not in Nanyang at this time.

When Cao Cao was sick, he thought of Hua Tuo every time, forced Hua Tuo to treat him, and finally killed Hua Tuo, and only regretted it when Cao Chong died of illness.

Now Liu Biao can't even find a miracle doctor, so he can only watch the mastermind Kuai Liang fall ill.

On April 2, the sixth year of Jian'an, inside Kuailiang's mansion.

Liu Biao came to visit in person.

In the bedroom, Kuai Liang was lying on the wooden floor, and he didn't know what the disease was, his face was already very pale.

The eucalyptus incense on the table next to it was overflowing, but it couldn't hide the strong smell of medicinal herbs in the room.

"Zirou."

Liu Biao walked to the hospital bed and asked with concern, "What do you think?" Is it better? ”

"Ming Gong ......"

Kuai Liang's face was bloodless, his lips were pale, and he said with difficulty: "Good ..... I'm afraid Liang can no longer serve Ming Gong. ”

"Zirou ......"

Liu Biao only felt sad, held Kuai Liang's hand, and tears rained down.

Kuailiang did not have an infectious disease, because he was sick for more than a month, and he did not infect his family.

The doctor was helpless, and at this time he had no way to recover.

As Liu Biao's biggest mastermind, if Kuai Liang really dies of illness, it will also be a painful blow to him.

"Good ..... The biggest regret is that he failed to assist Zuo Minggong's great cause. ”

Kuai Liang reluctantly smiled miserably, and said: "It's a pity that De Jue and Xenodu value the family too much, and they don't want to help Ming Gong, otherwise I can rest assured." ”

"Ugh."

Speaking of Cai Mao and Kuai Yue, Liu Biao sighed.

Although Cai Mao and Kuai Yue had eased their attitude towards wanting him to join the imperial court after the official crossing, they still did not support him to stand on his own, so the relationship between the two sides was far less deep than that between him and Kuai Liang.

In the final analysis, there is a serious conflict of positions and interests between the two sides.

Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue are actually not brothers, but from the same family. It's as if Xun or Xun You is not a relative uncle or nephew, but a distant uncle and nephew of the same family.

So there was no consensus between the two sides.

Kuai Yue pays more attention to the interests of the family, and since the Son of Heaven is in Xudu, he is the person who does not want Liu Biao to be self-reliant. Because Liu Biao is too old, once he stands on his own, it is a question of how many years he can live.

In case Liu Biao died not long after he became the emperor, the Kuai family would be very embarrassed and become a chaotic minister and thief, and the family's reputation and reputation would be completely lost.

Cai Mao is similar, and he is still friends with Cao Cao, knows Cao Cao's ability, and also knows Liu Biao's age.

Therefore, all things considered, even if Cao Yuan was defeated after the Battle of Guandu, because Liu Xie was still in Cao Cao's hands, they still had reservations about Liu Biao's self-reliance, unlike Huang Zu and Kuai Liang who were his staunch supporters.

"Ahem, ahem."

Kuai Liang was already very weak and coughed constantly.

Liu Biao wiped his tears, patted Kuai Liang's hand, and hurriedly cared: "Zirou, how are you Zirou?" ”

"Ming Gong ......"

Kuai Liang said with difficulty: "Liang wants to recommend a person for Ming Gong, if he is there, great things can be done......"

"Who?"

"Wen He has seen the general."

At this moment, behind the screen in the room, a thin figure walked out.

He looked at Liu Biao with a smile on his face and bent down to salute.

"Jia Xu."

Liu Biao frowned.

Last year, Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu were forced to send their family scrolls to Xiangyang, as well as a large number of Xiliang Army's family scrolls, as hostages, which controlled them.

After the Chinese New Year this year, Jia Xu entered Xiangyang City in a very low-key manner and lived with his wife and children.

He sometimes visits Liu Biao, but most of the time he stays at home honestly.

Now it seems that it is obvious that Kuai Liang has been in contact with him during this time, and now that Kuai Liang is seriously ill, he plans to recommend Jia Xu to him as the mastermind.

It's just that Jia Xu is not credible in Liu Biao's eyes.

After all, Zhang Xiu betrayed several times, and it was Jia Xu who instigated him behind his back, so Liu Biao remained skeptical about using him.

Kuai Liang said softly: "Mr. Wenhe has the wisdom to help the universe, and he is far from being good, if Mr. Ming Gong has to stay, such as Gaozu has to stay here, he will be able to establish a great cause for Ming Gong." ”

"Oh?"

Liu Biao became interested and asked Jia Xu: "I want to rejuvenate the Han dynasty and inherit the cause of Gaozu Guangwu, can Wenhe teach me?" ”

Jia Xu arched his hand and said: "General Yu, Zirou's strategy is actually very good, and it is not a big problem. ”

"Hmm."

Liu Biao frowned slightly, since Zirou's plan is very good, what else do I want you to do?

Jia Xu said again: "It's just that there are still some details to add, if the general wants to have the ambition to dominate, he can't be in a hurry. ”

"Slow Tuzhi?"

Liu Biao's brows furrowed even deeper, this was the last thing he wanted to hear.

Jia Xu said: "Yes, although Cao Cao is injured, but the injured tiger can still eat people, not to be underestimated to him, so this year, after the general is fully prepared, he can go north into Yingchuan, confront him, Cao Cao has little food, can not hold for a long time, will be anxious to fight a decisive battle, the general will wait for his impatience, and then defeat him in one fell swoop, but can be defeated but not annihilated, after the general defeated Cao Cao, with the prestige of the king of the world, then return to Jingzhou can immediately be called king. ”

King?

Liu Biao's breathing suddenly became short.

He did have the intention of being the emperor in his mind, but there was a lot of resistance, which also made him very hesitant.

The most important thing is that Kuai Liang is sick now, and he may die of illness at any time, once he loses Kuai Liang and loses the mastermind, he may not be able to come up with a perfect solution.

And Jia Xu's suggestion is very good. Step by step, first attack Cao Cao to accumulate prestige, and then return to Jingzhou to claim the king.

"The people of Jingzhou are afraid of most of the generals' ambitions to be emperors."

Jia Xu said: "If the general directly claims the emperor, there must be Yuan Shu's worries, so this matter should be delayed." You can first sacrifice to heaven and earth, tell the world to ask for Cao, and then take the alliance of Gaozu and the White Horse as an example, and call the king of Chu like Guangwu! The bad reputation caused by such an emperor can be blessed by the popularity of people at home, and it can be prospered. ”

"Hmm."

Liu Biao narrowed his eyes and nodded slightly.

"After being crowned king, the general can go north to Cao Cao, if he gets Henan, and then attack Yangzhou at the same time, destroy Jiangdong, and finally eliminate Yuan Shao, so that only Guanzhong and Yizhou are left, and the big thing can be done. At that time, Gaozu raised nearly 50 troops in the year, and the country was determined in seven years. Guangwu rode into Hebei and won the world for 12 years. Now that the beginning of the general is much stronger than Gao Zu Guangwu, why can't he do it? ”

Jia Xu continued: "And Cao Cao is weak, Sun Quan is young, Yuan Shaoguandu lost all the elite in the battle, and the general occupies Jingzhou, the people are strong and the state is rich, how many soldiers and horses are 100,000? At this time, going north, Cao Cao can be broken in a battle, and then a general will be sent to guard Henan to guard against Yuan Shao. The rest of the troops and horses broke through Yangzhou, Jiangdong was worried about internal and external troubles, and it could be pacified in less than half a year, and at most two years, the general's opponent was only Yuan Shaoyun. ”

This strategy is actually similar to the strategy discussed by Kuai Liang and Liu Biao.

Kuai Liang believes that if the map is slowed down, of course, it is to let Yuan Cao and the two tigers fight each other first, they will first break Jiangdong, then take Yizhou, get the entire south, and then go north to sweep the land of Guanzhong, so that they can win three-fifths of the world, and Yuan Cao is infighting, and after Liu Biao decides the world, they will almost divide the victory and defeat, and then Liu Biao will sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, becoming the final winner.

It's just that Liu Biao can't wait that long, because Yuan Cao's internal fighting will definitely not be able to tell the winner within ten years, but if he breaks Jiangdong to take Yizhou and then sweeps Guanzhong, it is not something that can be done within ten years. He is now fifty-eight years old, and it is a question of whether he can live for ten years, so Liu Biao can only abandon such a safe method.

After this strategy was rejected, Kuai Liang gave another strategy. That is, to attack Cao Cao first, if Cao Cao can be eliminated, and by the way, let the little emperor die violently, Liu Biao can be called the emperor in the name of the world without a master, and the surname Liu should be established.

However, Kuai Liang also proposed that once he became emperor, all the princes would definitely gather fire to attack him. Therefore, Liu Biao will face a lot of pressure at that time, which also makes Liu Biao very hesitant at that time.

Now the strategy proposed by Jia Xu is perfect, if you can't be called the emperor, you can be the king first.

The alliance of Gaozu and white horses, unless the surname Liu is not the king.

After my Liu Biao Lu Gong Wang, a veritable Han family member, such as the Han family is declining today, and the surname Liu is sluggish, I stand up and call the king first, and I raise my arms and shout, which is reasonable.

Even if the other princes wanted to attack him, there was no reason.

Because Liu Biao did not violate the treaty of the White Horse Alliance, the only problem is that it is not canonized by Liu Xie, and it lacks a certain legitimacy.

But that's okay.

He could send an envoy to report to Liu Xieyu, and on the other hand, in the name of the edict of the cloth belt, he announced to the world that the Son of Heaven was held hostage by Cao Cao, and the decree did not leave the palace gate, so he was forced to call the king in order to cheer up the Han family, and then go north to attack Cao and welcome the Son of Heaven.

The most important thing is that this method is relatively fast.

After eliminating Cao Cao as king, there was no reason for the princes from all walks of life to attack him, so he could attack Jiangdong from Runan, Jiangxia, and Changsha at the same time, and destroy Sun Quan, who was close to Chi Qi, first.

In this way, he got the land of Jingzhou, Jiaozhou, Yangzhou, and Yuzhou, and then swept north to Yanzhou, Xuzhou and Sili, forming an encirclement of Yuan Shao.

As for Liu Zhang and Guan Zhong, they don't have to deal with it.

Liu Zhang's strength in Yizhou is far inferior to him, and he only needs to set up a defensive line in Dajiang to prevent him from attacking.

Guanzhong has long been ten rooms and nine empty, and there is not one in ten of the two million people, and Han Sui and Ma Teng and others are just people who see the wind and make the rudder, and after he settles in Kanto, it is estimated that he will also fall from the wind.

According to Jia Xu's suggestion, Cao Cao is now in decline, and taking advantage of his illness to kill him, Cao Cao can be eliminated this year, and then Sun Quan will be broken next year.

After two years of eliminating the two princes and occupying all the south of the Yellow River, then his remaining opponent was only Yuan Shao.

This is much stronger than the prudent strategy suggested by Kuai Liang and Shen Chen.

When Liu Biao thought of this, he suddenly felt that he suddenly felt bright, and his future was bright, and he immediately said with great joy: "Mr.'s words are very much in line with my heart." ”

Jia Xu smiled slightly: "The matter of calling the emperor should be delayed, the general can sacrifice to heaven and earth this year, call himself the Duke of Chu, the general is surnamed Liu, the Han family and Miao descendants, and the people of the world dare not have any whispers, and when the Northern Expedition Cao Cao is called, he can be called the king, which is called step by step!" ”

"I have to be Mr., it is indeed as Zirou said, if you have to stay here."

Liu Biao was overjoyed, shook Jia Xu's hand and said, "If I have a great career, I will treat Mr. well." ”

"The general is false."

Jia Xu bowed slightly and said: "I didn't know the number of days before, and if I offended the general, I asked Haihan." ”

"Hahahaha."

Liu Biao laughed and said, "How can there be any reason to blame for such a trivial matter? ”

"Thank you, General."

Jia Xu clasped his hands in his sleeves, bent down and bowed to Liu Biao, no one noticed that his smiling eyes already revealed Sen Ran's coldness.