Jingzhou, Xiangyang, State Pastoral Residence.

Jingzhou Mu Liu Biao finished handling today's official business, walked out of the lobby, and walked in the verandah.

Although most of the nine counties of Jingxiang are north of the Yangtze River, they are actually not the land of the Central Plains.

The customs and folklore here are very different from the northern Central Plains.

Liu Biao is a native of the north, and when he came here at the beginning of the year, it took a lot of time just to adapt to the folk customs of this place.

It seems that the power is in his hands, and the idle Jingzhou Mu walked into the backyard and turned his head to look at the garden, where there are many flowers and plants, all of which are unique to the south.

He sighed suddenly, even if he wanted to return to the north now, he must not be able to adapt to it for a while.

Liu Biao stepped into the garden, sat down beside the stone table, raised his hand and stroked the dust and dead leaves on the table.

At this time, his mind was already drifting away, and he remembered some of the troubles of these days.

There are two major things that weigh on his heart now.

One of them is naturally Liu Bei of the Central Plains.

Thinking of the drunken young man back then, Liu Biao couldn't help but laugh dumbly. The white horse chapter back then, he still remembers it vividly.

He had guessed that this young man, who had barely had something to do with him, would be promising, but he didn't expect it to be so promising.

Like the princes of today, there is no one who can stand out from the right.

He didn't really have any ill feelings towards the young man.

It's just that when people reach a certain status, personal likes and dislikes are important, but they are not so important.

Just like Liu Bei may not be disgusted with him Liu Biao, but it can't be said that one day he will come to Jingzhou.

Under the general trend, who can not bow their heads.

However, this matter is afraid that it is useless, but it is just a soldier to block it, and the water to cover it, he can't give up the hard-working Jingzhou to others.

As for the other thing, it is a veritable family affair.

At this time, a servant of the palace led a middle-aged man with the appearance of a scribe into the garden.

When Liu Biao saw this person coming, he got up to greet him and said with a smile, "The other degree is a little slower."

The middle-aged scribe surnamed Kuai Mingyue is one of the most important strategists under Liu Biao, and the reason why Liu Biao values this person is that in addition to the fact that this person is indeed resourceful, he is also the head of the Kuai family of the Jingzhou clan.

The reason why he Liu Biao was able to settle Jingzhou back then was thanks to the help of the Kuai family and the Cai family.

Kuai Yue smiled: "There are some things at home, which are troublesome and laborious, and this is a little late."

Liu Biao smiled, knowing that Kuai Yue had probably guessed the purpose of looking for him.

He pulled Kuai Yue to sit down at the stone table, and asked with a smile, "Xenomorph should know what I am looking for you."

The big man who said everything in Jing Xiangzhi sighed, "My second son, the eldest son Liu Qi, looks similar to me, so I loved him very much at the beginning. It's just that now my youngest son, Liu Cong, has also grown up, and I like it quite a lot, and for a while, it is difficult to make a decision in my heart."

Kuai Yue smiled and was silent for a moment before he spoke: "It stands to reason that this is a family matter of the lord, and the more an outsider he is, he shouldn't say much. It's just that since the lord asks, the minister will say more."

"If the lord is a hundred years later, Gongzi Qi may be in Jingzhou?"

Liu Biao was silent, understanding the meaning of Kuai Yue's words.

Now that the Cai family is close to Liu Cong, even if he passes on the throne to Liu Qi in the future, so what?

In this Jingxiang land, there is no family support behind him, even if it is given to him, he can't keep it.

Liu Biao sighed, "Acting like this, I always feel a little sorry for my eldest son."

There are some things that he didn't say, and he doesn't need to say them.

It's good that he passed on the throne to his eldest son, but the younger son has the support of the Cai family behind him, and he may not have to worry about his life.

But if the throne is passed on to the youngest son, the eldest son Liu Qi is afraid that he will inevitably be killed.

Kuai Yue is from a big family, so he naturally understands Liu Biao's concerns.

He chuckled softly, "My lord is erudite, and he should know that there was an old thing back then. In the past, he was safe on the outside, and Shen Sheng died on the inside. Is not the things of the beginning like the things of the present?"

Liu Biaoruo

Si, in the past, he was one of the eight chefs, and he was also an extremely knowledgeable person, so he naturally heard this story.

He asked, "You mean to let Qi'er go out."

Kuai Yue smiled and said, "Now that Huang Zu is defending Eastern Wu in Jiangxia, he has always taken a fancy to the eldest son, as long as the eldest son arrives in Jiangxia, his life will definitely be worry-free. Jiangxia is a place, guarding the north and south, even if it is really the second prince who is in power in the future, but Jiangxia is in the hands of the eldest prince, and the second prince will have to throw a mouse bogey if he wants to come, and he will not dare to make any moves."

Liu Biao sighed, hesitating.

The difficulty of a family is that sometimes the poor family often has a father and a son, and the rich family has a lot of deceit.

The richer it is, the more so.

…………

Qingzhou, Linzi.

After Liu Bei came back from Liangzhou, he became the shopkeeper and handed over the affairs of Qingzhou to Jia Xu and others. He stayed in the house all day long, accompanying Liu Chan to study.

said that he personally taught Liu Chan to read, but in fact, it was Zhuge Liang who accompanied him in the house to read.

Liu Bei would occasionally tell them stories he had never heard before.

For example, the story of a monk who traveled all the way west to learn scriptures, a monkey who made trouble in the heavenly palace, a hero who was drunk and fought a tiger, and a family who fell into the middle of the road.

Liu Chan is not very interested in reading, but he is very interested in these stories. Relying on these stories, it also made the relationship between Liu Bei and Liu Chan, who was difficult to settle at home all the year round, a little closer.

Zhuge Liang was not very interested in these stories, but he was very interested in the story of one of the empty city plans.

He felt that whether this matter was true or not, the ancients who dared to open the city gate and sit on the city tower to play the piano were a real hero.

Naturally, when he told Liu Bei about his feelings, Liu Bei had a strange look on his face.

In another inconspicuous mansion in Linzi, Xun or today came to visit Jia Xu for the first time.

accompanied by Zhuge Liang, who is now studying political affairs with him.

Jia Xu is naturally entertained with wine.

Jia Xu doesn't mind the things next to him, only the wine, and he must drink the purest daughter red.

"How does Wen Ruo taste my wine? It's all good wine that I personally went to the wine house to find. Even in the lord's place, you may not drink such pure wine."

Jia Xu diligently advised wine.

Xun Or took a drink and frowned slightly.

Unlike Jia Xu, he never liked to drink.

Jia Xu saw it in his eyes, and just smiled, "Wen Ruo is a rare guest, if he doesn't have something important, he probably won't come to the door." I don't know what Wen Ruo came here for today?"

Xun Or didn't shy away from it, and said directly: "Yesterday, I checked the actions of the dark department these days, and found that you have recently sent many people to Jingzhou."

The so-called dark department was set up by Liu Bei himself back then, and most of them were spies and secret agents, which were controlled by Jia Xu.

It's just that the two of them are Liu Bei's right-hand men, and Jia Xu has never shied away from Xun He, on the contrary, Jia Xu is happy to see Xun or be able to go to see one or two from time to time.

Xun Or sighed, "Such a method is not done by a benevolent person after all."

It turned out that Jia Xu had sent a large number of spies to Jingzhou these days, most of which were used to liaise with the wealthy families in Jingzhou.

Especially the Cai family.

Xun or had vaguely guessed what Jia Xu was planning.

Jia Xu smiled and took a sip of wine, "For a gentleman like Wen Ruo, this method is naturally not a benevolent and righteous means. But for the sergeants and the people of Jingxiang, it is actually extremely benevolent. After all, for them, there are other things that can be more important than survival? No, there is none."

Xun He was silent for a moment, and then nodded, "What Wen He said makes sense."

"I thought Wen Ruo would refute me with the teachings of the sages." Jia Xu smiled in surprise.

Xun He smiled, "The teachings of the sages must be implemented after all. In the final analysis, what the people want, I want. You can't do it in reverse order."

Jia Xu smiled and said, "Wen Ruo is a real reader."

Xun or pro

poured a bowl of wine for Jia Xu and touched him gently, "Why not Wenhe?"

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Zhuge Liang on the side was enlightened.

Many years later, the former weak boy has become the world-famous Zhuge Prime Minister.

Later, he also had his own students.

When the middle-aged scribe with gray temples mentioned this matter to the disciple who was known as a young lin, his mind wandered.

Think back then.

…………

Jingzhou, Xiangyang.

On the same day, Kuai Yue planned Liu Qi's plan to avoid disaster for Liu Biao, although Liu Biao did not respond at that time, he thought about it again and again, and decided to adopt Kuai Yue's strategy.

The undercurrent in Xiangyang City has been surging for a long time, although it has not been explicitly stated, but the families in the city are all speculating about the successor of Jingzhou Mu in the future.

On the same day, Liu Qi got the news that he was sent to Jiangxia, and he knew that the position of Jingzhou Mu would no longer have anything to do with him in the future, and he might have to give his life if he was not careful.

On the day he left the city, a friend in the city bought wine for him at the city gate, and Liu Qi was drunk and cried.

All of a sudden, the hearts of the people in Xiangyang City surged.

On this day, Cai Mao found Kuai Yue's head.

Cai Kuai's two families have always been friends in the world, so Cai Mao was not polite at all, and asked directly after sitting down, "I heard that it was your idea to ask Liu Qi to avoid trouble in Jiangxia?" Xeno, I treated you well in the past, why harm me!"

Kuai Yue guessed his intention earlier, and said with a smile: "The matter of asking the eldest prince to avoid trouble in Jiangxia is indeed what I mentioned, but there is another hidden meaning in it. Sit down and taste the wine I brought from the north."

Cai Mao was still indignant, but he and Kuai Yue had been friends for many years, and the Kuai family was a famous family in Jingzhou, and his family background was illustrious, so he was not under their Cai family, otherwise he would not be so tolerant.

He sat down angrily and raised his hand to take a sip of his drink.

Kuai Yue smiled, "How does it taste?"

Cai Mao frowned and took another sip, but this time he drank it more slowly and savored the taste.

"Where did you get this drink?" Cai Mao asked, with some guesses in his heart.

Kuai Yue smiled, "You already have an answer in your heart, so why bother to ask again? It's not easy to find in the Northlands these days."

Cai Mao nodded, "It turns out that you also secretly took refuge in Liu Bei."

Kuai Yue smiled, "It's not about effectiveness, it's just to find the next way for my Kuai family first."

It turned out that the wine that Kuai Yue was feasting on today was the same as the wine that the northern envoy brought to Cai Mao at the beginning.

At that time, the northern envoy said that this kind of wine was specially developed by their Qingzhou Mu, and it would never be sold, but would only be given to some like-minded "friends".

Now it seems that he Cai Mao is this kind of friend, and so is Kuai Yue.

Cai Mao smiled: "I thought that only I, Cai Mao, would do this kind of thing, and I don't think you would be the one who did this kind of thing." It seems that reading more books may not be beneficial."

Cai Mao's heart was happy, and he drank again and again.

Kuai Yue didn't care about his cynicism, but just smiled: "Readers, read more books, but readers are not necessarily good people. Scholars who read crooked books of sages and sages are much worse than those martial artists who kill people at every turn. Not only kills, but also punishes the heart. Literati don't use knives to kill people, and their tongues are sufficient."

Cai Mao put the wine jar to his mouth, he was not interested in listening to Kuai Yue's high-minded talk.

How a scholar is, whether he is a good person or not, has nothing to do with him Cai Mao.

What is the way of the world, and what is he doing?

What he wants is riches and power.

Even for these, even if it is blood and family, he can't care about it.

Cai Mao asked again, "It's just that even if you are the same as me, why do you suggest that Liu Qi go to Jiangxia? Liu Qi's immortality is a great hidden danger to you and me."

Kuai Yue took a sip of wine and looked up at Cai Mao.

Cai Mao, a battlefield martial artist who has killed countless people on the battlefield, is actually reading here

There was a slight chill under the scholar's gaze.

Kuai Yue retracted his gaze and said with a smile: "Now that Liu Qi has left Xiangyang, it is true that he has saved his life, but he is destined to never have the opportunity to take charge of Jingzhou again, and the battle for the prince can be regarded as over."

He put the empty altar in his hand on the table and reopened an altar, "Actually, these are trivial matters, even if Liu Cong becomes the prince, it is difficult to say whether he will be in charge of Jingzhou in the future. After all, the lord is still in the prime of life, and if the general trend is unpredictable today, I can't say that one day you and I will have to change the lord."

Kuai Yue's words are a bit rebellious, if Liu Biao learns about it, it will inevitably lead to the ground.

It's just that it's Cai Mao who is here with him now, so it doesn't matter.

Cai Mao didn't say anything, just took a sip of wine.

Kuai Yue continued, "We scholars always like to guess the worst outcome before we do something. Before Cao Cao traveled the world, intending to fight Liu Bei together, the lord took the lead in responding, what do you think the lord thinks in his heart?"

"In the eyes of outsiders, Jingzhou Mu Liu Biao is an incompetent person who acts timidly, starts by clinging to your Cai family, and can only guard the door and cannot make progress. But you and I know very well that he, Liu Jingsheng, is not at all below those so-called heroes of the world in terms of ambition alone."

"If one day, the Qingzhou army comes south, will he raise his hand and surrender, or will he die and break the net?"

Cai Mao suddenly understood what he meant, his mind was agitated, and the wine jar in his hand suddenly fell to the ground.

Kuai Yue smiled, "It seems that you understand. It's not so easy to do things, and if you want to gain, you have to lose."

Cai Mao smiled bitterly, sat down again, picked up a jar of wine on the table, and poured a big sip with his head up.

Kuai Yue's meaning is already very clear, if the Qingzhou army comes south, Liu Biao will definitely not compromise.

Can Jingzhou be a place, can it really stop Liu Bei, who is sitting on the Central Plains?

It's destined to be unstoppable.

If it really happens, there is only one way left.

conspire to punish Liu Biao and set up a new master.

Cai Mao raised his head and poured a large sip of wine, which leaked a lot and seeped into his chest.

He smiled bitterly and said, "You scholars are ruthless, and you are really not a son of man."

Kuai Yue smiled and nodded, and said with a smile, "Who said it wasn't."