At the end of February in the sixth year of Jian'an, Zhuge Liang got married, and Shen Chen had another elder...
While Shen Chen was celebrating Zhuge Liang's wedding, things on Liu Biao's side were not going very smoothly.
Kuai Liang fell ill.
Originally, Liu Biao planned to worship heaven and earth in the suburbs in the late spring of March.
But after his mastermind Kuai Liang fell ill, he lost some control, so he had to suspend the sacrifice and wait for Kuai Liang to recover.
Unexpectedly, Kuai Liang's condition did not improve and deteriorated very quickly.
By April, it was already dying.
At that time, in addition to Hua Tuo in the north, there was also a miracle doctor in the south, named Zhang Ji, also named Zhongjing, who was from Nie County, Nanyang.
But Zhang Zhongjing is now missing.
After Dong Zhuo's Rebellion, there were wars and disputes all over the world, and countless people from Guanzhong and Henan migrated to Nanyang.
These refugees not only brought certain public security problems to Nanyang, but also brought epidemic plagues born from the brutal war in the north to Nanyang.
The Zhang family was also a large family in Niyang, with a population of more than 200. As a result, two-thirds of them died due to this epidemic called typhoid fever.
This made Zhang Ji very sad, so he decided to practice medicine everywhere and study the typhoid plague. He was not in Nanyang at this time.
When Cao Cao fell ill, he thought of Hua Tuo every time, forcing Hua Tuo to treat him, and finally killed Hua Tuo. He regretted it only when Cao Chong died of illness.
Now Liu Biaoze couldn't even find a miracle doctor, so he could only watch the mastermind Kuai Liang fall ill.
On April 2, the sixth year of Jian'an, in Kuai Liang's mansion.
Liu Biao came to visit in person.
In the bedroom, Kuai Liang was lying on the wooden floor. He didn't know what the disease was, but his face was very pale.
Incense was burning on the table next to it, but it couldn't hide the strong smell of herbs in the room.
"Zirou."
Liu Biao walked to the bed and asked with concern: "How do you feel? Are you feeling better?"
"Ming Gong."
Kuai Liang's face turned pale, his lips turned white, and he said with difficulty, "I'm afraid Liang Liang can no longer serve Duke Ming."
"Zirou."
Liu Biao felt so sad that he held Kuai Liang's hand and burst into tears.
What Kuai Liang contracted was not an infectious disease, because he had been ill for more than a month and had not spread it to his family.
The doctor was at his wits' end and there was no way he could save his life.
As Liu Biao's biggest conspirator, if Kuai Liang really died of illness, it would be a painful blow to him.
"Liang's biggest regret is that he was unable to assist Ming Gong in his great cause."
Kuai Liang forced a sad smile and said: "It's a pity that Degui and Yidu value their family too much and are unwilling to help Ming Gong. Otherwise, I can feel at ease."
"well."
Mentioning Cai Mao and Kuai Yue, Liu Biao sighed.
Although after Guandu, Cai Mao and Kuai Yue had softened their attitudes towards his request to surrender to the imperial court, they still did not support his independence, so the relationship between the two parties was not as deep as that between him and Kuai Liang.
In the final analysis, the two sides still have serious positions and conflicts of interest.
Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue were not actually brothers, but came from the same family. Just like Xun Yu and Xun You were not uncles and nephews, but distant uncles and nephews from the same family.
Therefore, the two parties did not reach a consensus.
Kuai Yue paid more attention to family interests. Since the emperor was in Xudu, he was the one who least wanted Liu Biao to become independent. Because Liu Biao was too old, once he became independent, how many years he could live was a question.
If Liu Biao dies not long after becoming emperor, the Kuai family will be embarrassed and become rebellious officials and traitors, and the family name and reputation will be completely lost.
Cai Mao is similar, and he is still friends with Cao Cao. He knows Cao Cao's abilities and Liu Biao's age.
Therefore, all things considered, even if both Cao and Yuan were harmed after the Battle of Guandu, Liu Xie was still in Cao Cao's hands, so they still had reservations about Liu Biao's self-reliance, unlike Huang Zu and Kuai Liang who were his staunch supporters.
.
"Cough cough cough."
Kuai Liang was very weak and coughed constantly.
Liu Biao wiped his tears, patted Kuai Liang's hand, and hurriedly asked with concern: "Zirou, how are you, Zirou?"
"Ming Gong."
Kuai Liang said with difficulty: "Liang wants to recommend someone to Duke Ming. If he is here, great things can happen."
"who?"
"Wen He met the general."
At this moment, a thin figure came out from behind the screen in the room.
He looked at Liu Biao with a smile and bowed to salute.
"Jia Xu."
Liu Biao frowned.
Last year, Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu were forced to send their family members to Xiangyang, as well as a large number of family members of the Xiliang Army, as hostages, and then they were controlled.
After the Chinese New Year this year, Jia Xu went to Xiangyang City in a very low-key manner and lived with his wife and children.
Sometimes he would visit Liu Biao, but most of the time he stayed at home.
Now it seems that Kuai Liang had been in contact with him during this period, and now that Kuai Liang was seriously ill, he planned to recommend Jia Xu to him as the mastermind.
It's just that Jia Xu is not trustworthy in Liu Biao's eyes.
After all, Jia Xu was the instigator behind Zhang Xiu's several betrayals, so Liu Biao remained suspicious of using him.
Kuai Liang said softly: "Mr. Wenhe has the wisdom to help the universe, which is far inferior to Liang. If Minggong gets a husband, just like Gaozu got Liuhou, he will definitely build a great cause for Minggong."
"oh?"
Liu Biao became interested and asked Jia Xu: "I want to re-establish the Han Dynasty and inherit the legacy of Emperor Guangwu. Can Wen He teach me?"
Jia Xu cupped his hands and said, "General, Zirou's strategy is actually very good and there is no serious problem."
"Hmm."
Liu Biao frowned slightly, since Zirou's plan is very good, what else do I want from you?
Jia Xu then said: "There are just some details that need to be added. If a general wants to have the ambition to dominate, he should not act too hastily. Yuan Shu's front car is overturned and the rear car is guarded, so he needs to slow down?"
"Slow down the picture?"
Liu Biao's brows furrowed even deeper. This was the advice he least wanted to hear.
Jia Xu said: "Yes, although Cao Cao is injured, the injured tiger can still eat people. Don't underestimate him. Therefore, after the general is fully prepared this year, he can go north to Yingchuan to confront him. Cao Cao has little food and cannot hold out for a long time. He must
If the general is eager for a decisive battle, the general will wait until he gets impatient and then defeat him in one fell swoop. However, he can be defeated but cannot be annihilated. After the general defeats Cao Cao and has the prestige of ruling the world, he can return to Jingzhou and immediately proclaim himself king."
Be king?
Liu Biao's breathing suddenly became rapid.
He did have the idea of proclaiming himself emperor in his mind, but the resistance was huge and made him very hesitant.
The most important thing is that Kuai Liang is ill now and may die at any time. Once he loses Kuai Liang and lacks a mastermind, he may not be able to come up with a perfect plan.
But Jia Xu's suggestion is very good. Step by step, first attack Cao Cao to accumulate prestige, and then return to Jingzhou to become king.
"The people in Jingzhou who fear most of them are generals who aspire to become emperors."
Jia Xu said: "If the general proclaims himself emperor directly, Yuan Shu will be worried, so the matter should be slowed down. We can first offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, tell the world to fight against Cao, and then use the example of Gaozu Baima's alliance to follow Guangwu and call him the king of Chu!"
In this way, there will be no loss of reputation caused by proclaiming the emperor, and if people at home can support you, you will be able to achieve great things."
"Um."
Liu Biao narrowed his eyes and nodded slightly.
"After becoming the king, the general can attack Cao Cao in the north. If Henan is gained, he can attack Yangzhou simultaneously with several routes, destroy Jiangdong, and finally go up to destroy Yuan Shao. In this way, only Guanzhong and Yizhou are left, and a great event can be accomplished. When Emperor Gaozu was approaching,
After raising an army at fifty, the country was established in seven years. Guangwu rode into Hebei alone and conquered the world for twelve years. Now the general is much stronger than the great ancestor Guangwu, so why can't he do it?"
Jia Xu continued: "Moreover, Cao Cao is weak, Sun Quan is young, Yuan Shao has lost all his elite troops in the Guandu battle, and the general has occupied Jingzhou, the people are strong, the state is rich, and there are more than 100,000 soldiers and horses? At this time, we can go north and defeat Cao Cao in one battle. Send another one
The general is guarding Henan to guard against Yuan Shao. The remaining troops and horses have defeated Yangzhou. Jiangdong has internal and external troubles and will be quelled in less than half a year. In two years at most, the general's only opponent will be Yuan Shao."
This strategy is actually similar to the strategy discussed by Kuai Liang and Liu Biao.
Kuai Liang believed that if he slowed down the plan, he would of course let the two tigers of Yuan and Cao fight against each other first. They would first conquer Jiangdong, then take Yizhou, and gain the entire south, and then go north and sweep through Guanzhong. In this way, they could gain three-fifths of the world, and
Yuan and Cao fought among themselves again. After Liu Biao decided the world, they almost decided the winner. At that time, Liu Biao sat on the mountain and watched the tigers fight, becoming the final winner.
It's just that Liu Biao couldn't wait that long, because the internal fighting between Yuan and Cao would definitely not be decided within ten years, but if he broke through Jiangdong, captured Yizhou, and then swept Guanzhong, it wouldn't be possible within ten years. He is now
He was already fifty-eight years old, and it was still a question of whether he could live for another ten years. Therefore, Liu Biao had no choice but to abandon such a safe method.
After this strategy was rejected, Kuai Liang came up with another strategy. That is to go north to attack Cao Cao first. If Cao Cao can be eliminated and the young emperor is killed suddenly, Liu Biao can claim that the world has no master and the surname Liu should be established.
emperor.
However, Kuai Liang also pointed out that once he became emperor, all the princes would definitely attack him. Therefore, Liu Biao would be under great pressure, which made Liu Biao very hesitant at the time.
Now the strategy proposed by Jia Xu is perfect. If you cannot proclaim yourself emperor, you can first proclaim yourself king.
In the alliance of Great Ancestor Baima, no one with the surname Liu can claim the title of king.
I, the descendant of Prince Liu Biao and Lu Gong, am truly a clan member of the Han Dynasty. Now that the Han Dynasty is in decline and the Liu surname is in decline, it is reasonable and reasonable for me to stand up and proclaim myself king first and raise my arms.
Even if other princes want to attack him, they have no reason.
Because Liu Biao did not violate the treaty of the White Horse Alliance, the only problem was that it was not Liu Xie's canonization, which lacked a certain degree of legitimacy.
But that’s okay.
He could send an envoy to report to Liu Xie, and at the same time, in the name of a belt edict, tell the world that the emperor was held hostage by Cao Cao, and his decrees could not leave the palace, so he was forced to proclaim himself king to cheer up the Han Dynasty, and then go north to attack Cao Cao.
Welcome the emperor.
The most important thing is that this method is faster.
After eliminating Cao Cao and becoming king, all the princes had no reason to attack him. He could attack Jiangdong from Runan, Jiangxia, and Changsha at the same time, and first destroy Sun Quan who was close at hand.
In this way, he won the four states of Jingzhou, Jiaozhou, Yangzhou and Yuzhou, and then moved northward to sweep Yanzhou, Xuzhou and Sili, forming a siege on Yuan Shao.
As for Liu Zhang and Guanzhong, you can ignore them.
Liu Zhang's strength in Yizhou was far inferior to him, so he would only need to set up a defense line in Dajiang to prevent him from attacking.
Guanzhong has long been empty of houses, with a population of two million, not even one out of ten. Han Sui, Ma Teng and others are just people who adapt to the wind. After he establishes his power in Guandong, he will probably give in to the wind.
According to Jia Xu's suggestion, if Cao Cao is in decline now and his illness kills him, he can eliminate Cao Cao this year and then defeat Sun Quan next year.
After two years of annihilating two princes and occupying all south of the Yellow River, his only remaining opponent was 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 enlightened and his future was bright. He immediately said with great joy: "Sir's words are very much in line with my heart."
Jia Xu smiled slightly: "The matter of proclaiming the emperor should be postponed. The general can sacrifice to heaven and earth this year and call himself the Duke of Chu. The general is named Liu and is a Miao descendant of the Han Dynasty. People in the world will not dare to criticize. After Cao Cao's Northern Expedition, he will
You can become a king, this is called climbing higher step by step!"
"My husband is indeed as Zirou said, as if I were to stay as a marquis."
Liu Biao was overjoyed. He held Jia Xu's hand and said, "If I achieve great success, I will treat you kindly."
"The general is full of praise."
Jia Xu bowed slightly and said: "In the past, Xu didn't know how to do it. If he offended the general, I would like to ask Haihan."
"Ha ha ha ha."
Liu Biao laughed and said, "How can there be any reason to blame someone for such a trivial matter?"
"Thank you, General."
Jia Xu put his hands in his sleeves and bent down to salute Liu Biao. No one noticed that there was a coldness in his smiling eyes.