Twenty-four years of Jian'an, spring.

Han Palace, Council Palace.

In the hall, the female concubine plucks the gonghou, and the male music taps the bell and drum lightly, and its sound is loud, and its sound will be, which is the sound of song and dance.

The long sleeves float up, the arms are stretched and the waist is twisted, the singer is frivolous, and her face is charming. The dancing is superb, all in line with the music.

Gather a thousand bells of wine, and the attendants pour it; Cook the meat in Ding, and cut the meat in Ding.

Eight dances in the court, bells ringing and eating. The monarch and the minister drink and appreciate the court's gifts, which is a feast for the monarch and the minister.

Liu Bei sometimes talked with Zhuge Liang with laughter, and sometimes raised the wine bottle to drink with the ministers, and his expression was mostly joyful!

Looking at the dancing singers in the hall, Liu Bei stroked his beard and asked, "Kong Ming, is this the dance of the Eight Hundreds?" ”

Zhuge Liang held a feather fan in his hand and said with a smile: "You should ask Mi Jun about this!" ”

Mi Zhu put down the wine bottle and said, "The king has been fighting for thirty years and has been running around the Central Plains. Now that the situation is gradually stabilizing, you can enjoy the joy of singing and dancing. Therefore, Zhu has the courage to benefit the two concubines, thinking that the king plays a dance. ”

Liu Bei stroked his beard and smiled, and said: "The song and dance choreographed by Zizhong are very good, but the dance of the Eight Hundred may be overstepped. ”

"No!"

Hearing this, Mi Zhu smiled and said: "Cao Cao usurped Xuchang, and now the Han Dynasty has lost the world, and only Ji Han should be prosperous." In today's world, except for the king, dare to ask who can prosper the Han family? ”

"In the opinion of the ministers, the king can not only enjoy the dance of the eight hundreds, but even follow the old things of the emperor Shizu and enter the position of the Son of Heaven. Then the Ji Xing Han Dynasty, the Central Plains was restored, and the old capital was returned. ”

Seeing that everyone in the hall looked over one after another, even the singers and musicians in the hall stopped moving, and it was very silent.

Liu Bei coughed a few times and said, "Although Cao Cao usurped Xuchang, the Son of Heaven is still in China. Lonely virtue is shallow, how dare you occupy a big position! ”

As he spoke, Liu Bei motioned to the singer in the hall and said with a smile: "Then play music, then dance!" ”

Today, Cao Cao accepted Liu Xiechan's concession in Xuchang, and then decided to be the emperor. As his old rival, how could Liu Bei not have the idea of being the emperor?

Why did he refuse to be the emperor, Gai was limited by Liu Bei's identity and past political remarks.

At that time, in order to confront Cao Cao, Liu Bei held high the political slogan of the edict of the cloth and the martyrdom of Fengtian, and set up a slogan of loyalty to Liu Xie. Now that Liu Xie is not dead, Liu Bei took advantage of the situation and became the emperor, wouldn't it violate the flag he set before?

Of course, these are not big problems, the big problem is to do Liu Bei's psychological work, so that he is willing to be the emperor.

Zhuge Liang stroked his fan and thought slightly, and seemed to have the words to persuade Liu Bei to be the emperor.

In the singing and dancing room, the attendants came to the main couch and said: "King Qiyu, Ma Shizhong returned to Beijing from Xiangfan on the order of General Zuo, and wanted to report the war to the king. Now he is waiting outside the palace, and he is at the command of the king. ”

"Oh?"

Liu Bei raised his eyebrows and said in surprise: "Xiangfan has not reported for a long time, and he wants to send someone north." This season, I am often ordered to return to Beijing, but I am alone! ”

"Someone, quickly invite Ma Liang into the palace for questioning!"

"No!"

Seeing that Liu Bei was about to meet Ma Liang, the attendants were very eye-catching, and waved their hands to signal the singers in the hall to stop dancing, and asked them to retreat and leave space for the Southern Han monarchs and ministers to discuss.

After a while, he saw a white-eyed scholar, dressed in Confucian costumes, and behaved moderately, and went straight into the hall to greet Liu Bei.

"Minister, Ma Liang, meet the king!"

"Excuse me!"

Liu Bei beckoned Ma Liang to sit on the left and right, and said, "Ji Chang is coming from Xiangfan, I don't know how the war is going today?" ”

Ma Liang knelt on the seat and said: "King Qiyu, since the prince defeated Cao Ren in Zhushui, Cao Ren and Niu Jin led the remnants of the army to retreat to Fancheng. The prince took advantage of the victory to advance, stationed troops in Yuliangzhou, trapped Xiangyang in the south, and besieged Fancheng in the north. ”

Cao Cao sent Yu Ban to lead the army south, and the prince confronted him several times, but because of the lack of cavalry. As a result, it was difficult for the prince to defeat Yu Ban, so the two sides did not win or lose, and confronted each other in the north and south of Fancheng. ”

"As for the city of Xiangyang, it is under the command of the thief Zhangling Taishou Lu Chang, and the prince has besieged Xiangyang from land and water, so that it has cut off the news from the northern Han thief army. ……”

Saying that, Ma Liang bowed to Liu Bei and said: "The prince and the marquis lack of generals, and there is more than enough to trap Xiangyang, but there is not enough to defeat the ban. Now the prince ordered Liang to return to Beijing to meet the king, and implored the king to benefit the soldiers of Xiangfan, and transfer the fierce generals to the north to assist General Zuo in the northern expedition. ”

Liu Bei bowed his head slightly and said, "Yun Chang and Qing's intentions are known alone. However, I don't know the number of soldiers and horses that Yun Chang requested, can there be a detailed number? ”

"Back to the king!"

Ma Liang arched his hand and said: "The prince said that he rode more under the forbidden tent, especially the cavalry commanded by Yan Xing was the most elite. The prince wants to be the vanguard and lead the good cavalry to meet the ban. As for the number of soldiers and horses, the prince said that the minimum is 5,000, and the more than 10,000 people are enough! ”

"Good!"

Liu Bei thought about it and said: "Ji Chang has a lot of hard work to travel, so let's retire and rest now." Rong Gudian will transfer troops and go north with Qing in the near future. ”

"Thank you, King!"

Ma Liang retreated and slowly walked out of the hall.

After Ma Liang retreated, Liu Bei looked around at the lieutenant general and asked: "The battle in Xiangfan is urgent today, and there is a shortage of young cavalry under General Zuo's account, and he wants to increase his troops to benefit him, I don't know who wants to lead the troops north?" ”

Liu Bei's voice did not fall, but he saw a military general immediately come out from behind the case, his face was resolute, his arms were broad, and his body was burly.

"Chende has not made an inch of merit since he returned to the king, but because of the king's favor, he worships the general and is named a marquis, so De has a lot of fear, and he wants to repay the king for a long time!"

Pang De bowed his hand and said: "Today, General Zuo is short of major generals, and De is expected to be better than a bow and horse, and he knows the depth of Yan's line. De is willing to be the king's generals, captured and killed in Ban and Yan Xing, and dedicated to the king's command. ”

Since the end of the Battle of Hanzhong, Huang Zhong and Zhao Yun attacked the grain village, during which Huang Zhong captured Pang De. Liu Bei took the initiative to surrender, and Pang De submitted to Liu Bei.

In the past few years, although Pang De has no merits, Liu Bei has treated him very kindly, worshiped as a general of the thief, and was sealed as the marquis of the Guan, so there are many outsiders who criticize him. Under such remarks, Pang De was eager to make contributions and reported Liu Bei's kindness.

Seeing Pang De's invitation to fight, Liu Bei looked happy, and when he was about to agree, he saw Zhuge Liang's eyes. Out of the cooperation of the monarch and the minister for many years, Liu Bei was silent and did not answer, and it was Zhuge Liang who spoke.

Zhuge Liang pretended to hesitate and said: "Liang Ben does not doubt the general, but the general's old master Ma Chao and his brother Pang Rou both served under Cao Cao's account. King Gai is benevolent and faithful, and should not be suspicious of the general. However, Liang is afraid that the guilds of the government and the opposition will have rumors because of this, which is not good for the general! ”

Hearing this, Pang De lifted his hem and knelt on the ground, looked sincere, and said: "I surrendered to the king from Hanzhong, and every time I am grateful, although my liver and brain are ruined, virtue cannot be repaid." ”

"The old master Ma Chao is brave and unscrupulous, and he is a person who is consumed by interests. Now return to Cao Cao, help the abuse, virtue and it has been cut off from kindness, and it has nothing to do with it. Brother Pang Rou does not know the Lord, although virtue and his blood relatives are close, but the king is above, how can he forget his public because of selfishness. ”

As he spoke, Pang De kowtowed vigorously several times until his forehead broke and bleed, and said: "Every time De feels the grace of the king, how dare he have different thoughts. I invite the generals to fight today, in order to repay the king's kindness! ”

"Why is the general like this?"

See that his words are sincere and his friendship is genuine. Liu Bei hurriedly descended the steps, helped Pang De up, and said: "The general's loyalty and righteousness, how can Lone not know." Brigadier General Gu went into battle and led 10,000 people north to support General Guan. ”

Zhuge Liang took the opportunity to leave the bed, apologized to Pang De, and said: "If Liang's words offend the general, please don't blame the general!" ”

"Don't dare!"

Pound replied: "What the military advisor said is human nature, how can virtue be blamed!" ”

After a pause, Pang De swore to Liu Bei and said: "The king of Han knows people well, and his subordinates are gracious, and he has millions of generals and is powerful in the world." Cao Cao is a usurper, a treacherous thief, I would rather be a ghost of the Han King than a thief! ”

Liu Bei held Pang De's hands and said with emotion: "Gu Zhijun is a righteous man, but he didn't expect to be so strong. ”

"Come on, let Ming not go out on the expedition, and now I am alone here to respect the general."

"Thank you for the wine, the army will break the thief army, and behead Yu and Yan to repay the king's kindness."

Pound took the wine, and was very excited, and drank the wine from the cup.

"Color!"

Liu Bei showed appreciation and said: "Alone in Wuhan waiting for the general's good news!" ”

(End of chapter)