As Empress Cai of the Xiangyang Palace cried hoarsely, Liu Biao breathed his last.
From the end of last year to the end of January this year, his condition was very serious. He was in a coma on and off for a month. He rarely woke up and could only drink a little decoction to survive.
However, these decoctions were mixed with a little bit of toxin, not much, and would not poison Liu Biao to death in a short time, but over time, it worsened his condition and made him almost unable to speak.
Being unable to speak meant that he could not issue any orders. He could not even write the edict with his hands, and even if he wrote it, he could not deliver it.
Because the palace was also controlled by Empress Cai, none of his cronies could enter. Zhang Yun, Kuai Yue and others controlled the guards at the palace gate. The soldiers and horses in Xiangyang were also under Zhang Yun's control. The entire Xiangyang was controlled by Cai Kuai and Zhang Yun. control.
This caused Liu Biao's original plan to get rid of Cai Mao and Kuai Yue to come to nothing before it could be implemented. Now on his deathbed, he just wanted to see Liu Qi come back with his troops and inherit the throne as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, things went against their wishes. Liu Qi got Liu Biao's order and sent people to Huangmen Pavilion to summon Shen Chen and Gan Ning. Shen Chen and Gan Ning needed time to reorganize their troops, and it was a waste of time to go to Jiangxia.
Waiting until Shen Chen, Gan Ning set out with an army of 10,000 people, marched south from Suixian County into Jiangxia County, met up with Liu Qi, and then headed west to Xiangyang, they heard the news of Liu Biao's death.
In Jingling County, Jiangxia County, Shen Chen was resting at the county government office. Yesterday, they traveled day and night, taking a boat from Xiling to Shaxian, and then to Jingling. The soldiers were very tired, so they rested for the night in Jingling County.
I was getting ready to set off the next day. I washed up early in the morning and was about to set off.
Shen Chen, who is 22 years old this year but 21 years old in reality, is eight feet tall. Due to his long-term martial arts practice, he is already very tall and muscular. He is 1.86 meters tall and weighs 170 kilograms. .
What was popular at that time was actually the false age. Shen Chen's actual birth date was the same as Ma Liang's. They were both born in 187 AD, so both of them were nineteen in actual age and twenty in false age.
After the crowning of the year before last, Shen Chen lived in seclusion in Nanyang, opened a school in Huangmenting, and taught reading and calligraphy to the disciples of the two clans of Deng and Shen.
In addition to the descendants of the second clan of Deng and Shen, more than a hundred of his students in Longzhong Township also went to Huangmenting to attach themselves.
At one time, there were hundreds of disciples, writing books and biographies. They completed the book they had been writing, named it "The Statements of the Masters", and formally bound and printed it. Tens of thousands of copies were printed using engraving methods and spread widely. , all over the north and south of the Yangtze River.
In fact, I started writing this book seven or eight years ago, but it continued intermittently. Shen Chen would occasionally go out to fight, but most of the time he still taught in Longzhong Township, and he wrote seven, seven, eight, eight.
Most of them were written in dialogue between Shen Chen and Zhuge Liang, Pang Degong, Sima Hui, Pang Tong, Xu Shu and others. They were finally completed and printed and published last year.
The content involves the theories of various schools of thought, including the discussion of Confucius and Mencius, the study of Laozi and Mozi, as well as statecraft, philosophy, military art, economics, and even astronomical geography and prophecy, which contains the essence of many wise men. think.
Nowadays, many aristocratic families in Jingzhou have purchased "Zhuziyan" for study. This will undoubtedly increase the spread of Shen Chen's thoughts. In the future, more people will come from his disciples, and countless people will believe in his doctrines and establish a school. valve.
At this time, after Shen Chen came out of the Jingling County Government House, he ordered his cousin Shen Tao to send orders to the three armies to go to the dock and prepare to board the ship and set off.
But at this moment, someone hurriedly rushed into the city from the direction of the pier and came to the gate of the county government. He happened to bump into Shen Chen. He found that the person coming was Deng Pi Shen Qi, the guard of Deng Hong's mansion. The two of them used to drive the car together every day. Ma sent Shen Chen to wander around Xiangyang.
"Uncle Pi, Uncle Qi, why are you here?"
Shen Chen walked up to him and asked.
Deng Pi immediately stepped forward and whispered a few words into his ear. Shen Chen's expression suddenly changed and he said to Shen Tao: "Brother Muzi, go back to the county office and find the eldest son."
"good."
Shen Tao immediately realized that something was going on and hurried towards the backyard of the county government office.
Liu Qi hadn't woken up yet at this time.
Recently, I learned that my father is seriously ill and cannot visit him. He is mentally and physically exhausted and not in good health. He is also tired from traveling and is still resting.
Shen Chen originally planned to summon the three armies to board the ship first, and when everything was ready, he would then send someone to ask Liu Qi to board the ship and continue to Xiangyang.
But when he heard the news, he could only stop preparing to leave and immediately returned to the county government office to discuss important matters with Liu Qi.
In the county government hall, Shen Chen walked around with a frown on his face.
After a while Liu Qi came out and asked strangely: "Xiaoqing, what happened?"
"The King of Chu passed away six days ago."
Shen Chen said in a deep voice: "Cai Mao, Kuai Yue, Zhang Yun and others kept the funeral secret and closed the city of Xiangyang to let the second son succeed. My grandfather spent a lot of effort and sent someone to sneak out of the city to report the news."
"ah?"
Liu Qi's face turned pale instantly, tears flashed in his eyes, he collapsed on the ground, crying: "Father!"
"The eldest son."
Shen Chen stepped forward and grabbed him, first helped him to rest on the table next to him, and then said: "The most urgent task now is to leave Jingling and return to Jiangxia immediately."
Liu Qi cried and said: "How can I ignore my father's death? I will return to Xiangyang today to visit my father."
"Never do it!"
Shen Chen quickly advised: "Once the young master returns to Xiangyang, it will be like returning to the dragon's pond and the tiger's den, and he will be harmed by Cai Mao, Kuai Yue and others."
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"
Liu Qi burst into tears and burst into tears. He was so sad that he passed out.
Seeing this situation, Shen Chen quickly sent for a doctor while carrying Liu Qi to the backyard and helping him go to bed to rest first.
During this period, Liu Qi's health was not good, because Liu Biao was surrounded by Liu Cong's people, and he was afraid of being harmed by Liu Cong. In addition, he also shouldered the responsibility of reproducing offspring, so he used wine to relieve his sorrows and sex to have children every day.
Although no child was born, his body was emptied of wine and sex. When he suddenly encountered the news of Liu Biao's death, he was overly sad and his body suddenly became seriously ill from a minor illness.
So they stopped at Jingling. On the afternoon of that day, Shen Tao came to report that an angel from the direction of Xiangyang came to deliver Liu Biao's edict to Liu Qi.
Liu Qi rested for more than four hours and woke up leisurely. When he learned about this, he quickly asked Shen Chen: "Xiaoqing, didn't my father die of illness? How could he still write an edict to me?"
Shen Chen said: "This must be Cai Mao and Kuai Yue's plan to murder the young master. The young master first pretended not to know the news about King Chu's death. He lied on the bed and said that he learned that his father was seriously ill and was worried about it. , let me go and meet the messenger first."
"Then there's Lao Xiaoqing."
Liu Qi looked melancholy. Firstly, he opposed his father's proclaimed emperor and did not want him to be the target of public criticism. Secondly, he was also afraid of being murdered by Liu Cong, so he never dared to go to Xiangyang.
But after all, he is his biological father. After learning that he died of illness, I feel extremely sad now.
Here Shen Chen came to the front hall, and what people didn't expect was that the person who came was actually Zhuge Liang's brother-in-law Kuai Qi. It seems that Kuai Yue knew the relationship between Zhuge Liang and Shen Chen and Liu Qi, so he asked Kuai Qi to come over to eliminate their suspicions.
"It turns out to be brother Wenji."
Shen Chen looked at Kuai Qi and said, "What is your Majesty's decree?"
Kuai Qi said: "Xiaoqing, where is the eldest prince?"
"Resting in the backyard."
Shen Chen sighed: "I learned that His Majesty is seriously ill. The eldest prince has been worried about his safety for the past month. He has urged me every day to lead troops to Jiangxia as soon as possible and go with him to Xiangyang. However, I also need to prepare men and horses, plus Rushing on the road wasted time, so that the eldest prince also fell ill, and today he can only stay in Jingling to recuperate."
Kuai Qi frowned and said, "Since I'm going to Xiangyang to see His Majesty, how can I bring weapons with me?"
"This is His Majesty's will."
Shen Chen said: "If His Majesty hadn't asked the eldest prince to call me to take 10,000 elite soldiers to accompany him, it wouldn't have been delayed so long."
Kuai Qi took out the edict and said: "Due to the new defeat of Taiwei last month, Your Majesty was afraid that Zhang Lu would take advantage of the situation to attack Jingzhou, so he asked you to bring troops over. However, Liu Yuzhou has been sent to Xichuan now, so there is no need to bring troops there. His Majesty’s new edict is for you and the eldest prince to return to Xiangyang as soon as possible in case you don’t see His Majesty for the last time.”
After saying this, he recited the edict.
After he finished reciting, Shen Chen sighed: "So that's it. However, the eldest prince is also seriously ill and in poor health. I'm afraid it will be difficult to set off today. He will have to rest for two days before he can continue to set off."
Kuai Qi didn't look very good and said, "Can I go see the eldest prince?"
"nature."
Shen Chen stood up and pointed with his right hand in the direction of the backyard: "The prince is resting in the backyard. Please ask my brother to come with me."
After saying that, he took Kuai Qi to the backyard.
At this time, Liu Qi was still lying on the hospital bed. His face was sallow, his lips were white, and his eyes were dull, as if he was seriously ill.
This was not pretending or makeup, because he had been worried about Liu Biao's condition before, so he fell ill, and now he suddenly heard the news of Liu Biao's death. It was difficult to accept it for a while, and he was in great pain, and his condition became more serious.
The doctor had already shown it to him, and the room still smelled of medicine.
When Kuai Qi came in, Liu Qi turned his head numbly. Seeing that it was Kuai Qi who was visiting, he tried to push himself up, but he coughed twice. With the help of his attendants, he managed to lean on the wooden platform and said with difficulty: " It turns out to be Wenji."
"The eldest prince."
Kuai Qi raised his hands to him and said, "Your Majesty has an edict to return the prince to Xiangyang as soon as possible to avoid any unforeseen circumstances."
"Cough cough cough."
Liu Qi said weakly: "I understand, Xiaoqing, help me up."
"Prince."
Shen Chen hurriedly stepped forward and pressed him down on the bed and said: "It's cold outside at this time. The prince is still seriously ill and can't even walk. If he catches the evil wind, I'm afraid it won't be too late to see your majesty. The prince falls ill first, so we should go first." Take care of your health and let’s wait until you feel better in two days before setting off.”
"well."
Liu Qi sighed and said painfully: "I also really want to see my father, but there is nothing I can do."
"I hope the prince's health will get better as soon as possible. I take my leave."
Seeing this situation, Kuai Qi did not force him. After resigning, he came to the door accompanied by Shen Chen.
Just at the door, a doctor came over with another pair of medicines. Kuai Qi stopped the doctor and asked, "Are you a doctor?"
"yes."
The doctor said.
"How is the eldest prince's condition?"
"I became ill because I missed His Majesty, and also fell ill because of the cold weather recently."
"Is it serious?"
"I'm afraid if I don't get rest and treatment."
"I understand, you go ahead."
Kuai Qi waved his hand.
When Shen Chen accompanied him to the front hall, Shen Chen said again: "Brother Wenji, there is nothing I can do."
Kuai Qi nodded and said: "In that case, I will return to Xiangyang first, and you will set off as soon as possible. Your Majesty does not have much time, and he is still waiting for the eldest prince."
"Okay, we'll set off in two days."
Shen Chen agreed wholeheartedly.
He escorted Kuai Qi out of Jingling and watched him get on the boat and leave.
When we returned to the county government residence, Gan Ning, Lou Fa, Shen Mi, Deng Zhao, Shen Tao and other generals had all arrived.
Shen Chen looked at everyone and said indifferently: "Send the order, get on the boat tonight and retreat to Jiangxia!"
Gan Ning was surprised and said: "Ah Chen, aren't we going to Xiangyang?"
"Going to Xiangyang is a dead end."
Shen Chen said to Gan Ning: "Uncle Xingba, you and my clan uncles will all withdraw to Xinye and station in Huangmenting. Jingzhou will undergo great changes and a war will begin!"
"War?"
Gan Ning was immediately overjoyed and said, "With whom?"
"Of course!"
Shen Chen looked towards the north, with a hint of cold murderous intent in his eyes: "The new "Your Majesty"!"
In fact, it has already reached the middle stage. Although Sun Quan has grown stronger, his foundation is very poor. Liu Bei and the protagonist have a very deep foundation in Jingzhou. Once they get it, they will quickly stabilize their rule. So basically after a wave of battles, Divide the north and the south, and then conquer the north from the south to unify the world, and then mix in some internal affairs, and the book is complete.
So the plot after that was full of ups and downs. There were battles every day, punching Sun Quan, kicking Zhang Lu and Liu Zhang, and the Northern Expedition against Cao Cao. The climaxes came one after another and were guaranteed to make everyone cringe. Believe me, everyone knows that my book is a slow-burner, but I guess it will be hot, hot, hot, hot all the way to the end, and I won’t let you down.