In the hazy sky, black clouds piled up like a thick piece of iron, gradually sinking to the ground, and seemed to have covered Xiangyang City, making it suffocating.
The entire city of Xiangyang was covered in silver, and the soldiers and civilians in the city were immersed in a tragic sadness. The sounds of mourning could not be heard. From the Chuhou Mansion to the city gate, the people of Xiangyang spontaneously wore sackcloth and mourning, and stood in front of the city.
On both sides of the broad street, tears were shed.
"rise!"
In front of the gate of the Chuhou Mansion, with a shout, Liu Qi stood up from the kneeling ground holding Liu Biao's memorial tablet, with a sad face, walking forward step by step with heavy steps, and in
Behind him was a huge coffin. Dozens of strong men were responsible for carrying the coffin. They followed Liu Qi and moved forward slowly.
Behind them were the civil and military officials at all levels in Jingzhou, each of them with faces filled with sadness, following the funeral procession forward.
Liu Biao, the Marquis of Chu, rode to the west and was buried in the sea of fire. No bones were left. The huge coffin contained only Liu Biao's clothes during his lifetime. This is called the tomb of clothes.
As the eldest son of Liu Biao, Liu Qi quickly took control of the entire Xiangyang City situation with the strong support of Kuai Yue.
Liu Qi's stepmother Cai was killed in the battle because of her brother Cai Mao and others, and Cai failed to find anyone to take on the big responsibility. In addition, her son Liu Cong was still a baby, so she was unable to control the situation in Xiangyang City, so she could only compromise with Liu Qi.
The Cai family supported Liu Qi to take over the throne of Chu Hou. Although he was unwilling to do so, he had no choice but to do so.
The news of Liu Biao's death reached Jingzhou in mid-September. It immediately caused an uproar. The soldiers in Xiangyang and Jiangling who were directly controlled by Liu Biao were restless. When they were leaderless, some generals and adults were ready to make a move. Fortunately, the Prime Minister Kuai Yue
He turned the tide and promoted Liu Qi to the position of Chu Hou, and then used his connections to contact civil and military officials at all levels, so as not to cause rebellion in Xiangyang and Jiangling.
However, in comparison, other counties have experienced varying degrees of rebellion. Jingzhou was not stable to begin with. As soon as Liu Biao died, the governors of other counties were ready to take action. Ambitious people immediately recruited troops and prepared to annex the entire Jingzhou by force.
So that the whole Jingzhou showed a situation of divided power among the heroes.
Because of this, it was almost a month after Liu Biao's death that Liu Qi freed up his hands to mourn his father and build a tomb.
The funeral procession soon arrived outside the city, and Liu Qi led the civil and military officials, under the arrangement of Kuai Yue, into the cemetery where Liu Biao was buried.
When he was preparing to be buried, he saw several fast horses galloping from the northeast. There were three people in the group. The one in the middle had a face as white as jade, the one on the left had a face as black as coal, and the one on the right had a face as heavy as a jujube. The three of them were riding on three horses.
, all dressed in filial piety, running with sad faces, they were the three brothers Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei.
When Kuai Yue saw Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei arriving, he immediately frowned and hurriedly walked into Liu Qi's side and said, "My lord, Liu Bei is here."
There was no expression on Liu Qi's face. Seeing his father's coffin being buried little by little, his heart felt like a knife.
He is only fifteen years old. He has been growing in a greenhouse since he was a child. His appearance is very similar to Liu Biao. Every time Liu Biao sees Liu Qi, it is like seeing him when he was a child. He loves Liu Qi very much and only makes him familiar with it.
He read poetry and books, but was not allowed to dance with a spear or a sword, so his body looked very weak.
Seeing that Liu Qi didn't answer, Kuai Yue said: "My lord, now you are the Marquis of Chu and the lord of Jingzhou. You are respected by all the people, and you can no longer think of yourself as a prince. Liu Bei must have something in mind when he comes here. According to the scouts,
Report, Liu Bei recruited in Xinye
We have recruited many new recruits and have been training in secret. Today, we are here to pay homage to our old lord. He must be here to test his reputation. My lord should be stronger and not let Liu Bei take advantage of him. This person is loyal on the outside but treacherous on the inside. We must guard against him.
.”
"Prime Minister, I once met Uncle Xuande. He is not like the kind of person you mentioned. He cares about the common people in the world and takes supporting the Han Dynasty as his own responsibility. Even my father was deeply moved by him when he was alive.
It is reasonable for Uncle Xuande to come to pay homage to his father. How could the Prime Minister say this to him?" Liu Qi was kind-hearted and had some inheritance from Liu Jingsheng, but he lacked some of the nobility that Liu Biao had during his lifetime.
Kuai Yue said: "My lord, you must not be fooled by Liu Bei's appearance. He accompanied the old lord in the battle and came back early after beheading Lu Bu. Moreover, he had close contacts with Yanhou Gao Fei and surrendered to Wei Hou Cao Cao."
, we have to guard against people like this."
Liu Qi looked a little impatient and said casually: "Okay, okay, I know what to do."
Kuai Yue shook his head and thought to himself: "My lord is too young and has not yet gained experience. He always has a good heart like a child. I must let my lord change this bad habit, otherwise Jingzhou will be easily
Lord. The four counties of Jingnan have been
After breaking away from the Chu State, Jiangxia was occupied by Huang Zu's old troops. Although the other counties have not yet shown signs of separation, it will be a matter of time. I must try to protect Jingzhou and the Chu State. I must not let outsiders covet this place."
Not long after, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei got off their horses and came directly to Liu Qi in front of many people. They said in unison: "See the Marquis of Chu."
Liu Qi didn't have any big airs, so he immediately said: "No courtesy."
Liu Bei said: "I only got the news yesterday, and I hurriedly rode here early this morning. I didn't expect that I would be late. Brother Jing Sheng has already driven to the west. I would like to ask the Marquis of Chu to show his condolences and comply with the change."
Liu Qi had cried all his tears long ago. He couldn't cry even if he wanted to, but there was still a trace of melancholy on his face. He sighed heavily and said: "I often think of my father's appearance when he was alive, and what he said to me before."
My teachings...but I didn't expect that my father would leave that morning. I...I will..."
"My lord has inherited the old lord's title and presented himself to the imperial court. From now on, my lord will definitely try his best to fulfill the last wish that the old lord failed to fulfill during his lifetime. One day, he will welcome the world back to the old capital. General Liu also agrees.
As a member of the Han clan, you should do your best to assist your lord. I wonder what General Liu’s current plans are?" Kuai Yue was afraid that Liu Qi would say the wrong thing, so he hurriedly interjected.
When Liu Bei saw the sad look on Liu Qi's face and Kuai Yue's gloomy face, he roughly understood and thought to himself: "Kuai Yue supports Liu Qi simply because he doesn't want Jingzhou to fall into the hands of others, but Liu Bei
Even if Qi ascends to the throne, he may not be able to support the whole situation. Liu Biao is dead, people in Jingzhou are panicked, and talented people are thinking about the Ming Lord. If I don't take advantage of this moment, I will always be under someone else's roof..."
"Alas! What can I plan? Xinye County is also a temporary residence lent to me by Brother Jing Sheng. Now that Brother Jing Sheng has returned, I haven't decided where to go yet." Liu Bei sighed heavily.
tone, said.
"Oh, I heard that Shi Xie in Jiaozhou is looking for talented people. With General Liu's talents and his subordinates Guan Yu and Zhang Fei's bravery, if he goes to Jiaozhou, he will definitely be reused by Shi Xie. In addition, I can also write a letter,
After seeing this, Shi Xie will definitely treat General Liu kindly, but I don't know if General Liu is willing to go to Jiaozhou to show his ambitions?" Kuai Yue asked tentatively.
"It turns out that Kuai Yue wants to drive me away..." Liu Bei thought to himself.
"Thanks to the care of the Prime Minister, if I can really get a place to live, I will naturally be grateful." Liu Bei said against his will.
Kuai Yue glanced at Guan Yu and Zhang Fei who were behind Liu Bei. Seeing Guan Yu, Zhang Fei had a hint of unhappiness on his face, and thought to himself: "Liu Bei is ambitious and must not be someone who has lived under others for a long time.
It will become a trouble in the future. Although it can be used for a while, it will not be used for a lifetime.
Yu killed Lu Bu and became famous all over the world. Zhang Fei is also on par with Guan Yu. Both of them are Liu Bei's sworn brothers. If Jingzhou wants to be stable, these three people must be removed first. However, the lord has a good impression of Liu Bei. If he does,
I am afraid that my lord will not obey the killing move, so I have no choice but to expel him from Jingzhou."
"The prime minister of the country, my uncle is a great man in the world, and his younger brothers Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are enemies of thousands of people. At this time, Jingzhou is in chaos, and it is the time to employ people. How can the prime minister drive people away?"
What?" Liu Qi said suddenly, not understanding Kuai Yue's good intentions.
Kuai Yue's face twitched a few times, but he didn't speak.
Liu Qi grabbed Liu Bei's hand and said: "Uncle, just one month after my father died, Jingzhou immediately fell into panic. First, Huang Zu's old troops occupied Jiangxia and refused to obey orders, and then the four counties in Jingnan expressed their intention to leave Chu.
At this time, our talents in Jingzhou are withering, and it is the time to recruit people. My nephew begs my uncle to stay in Jingzhou, command the troops and horses for my nephew, and put down the rebellion in Jingzhou."
"No!" Kuai Yue was shocked when he heard that Liu Qi was about to hand over his troops to Liu Bei, and hurriedly stopped him, "Lord, please take a step to speak."
Liu Qi saw that Kuai Yue looked abnormal, so he let go of Liu Bei's hand and walked aside with Kuai Yue.
"My lord, you must not hand over the troops and horses of Jingzhou to Liu Bei. Liu Bei is very ambitious. Once he takes control of the troops and horses of Jingzhou, where will the lord put him? Xiangyang and Jiangling are the troops and horses directly under the lord. No one has
The lord's orders cannot be transferred. When the old lord was alive, although Cai Hao and Zhang Yun were in charge of the troops, the one who directly commanded the troops was still the old lord. How could the lord hand over the military power so easily?" Kuai Yue consoled him.
Liu Qi said suspiciously: "I don't know how to command troops. My uncle has experienced hundreds of battles, and the command of troops and horses must be stronger than mine. Why not leave the troops and horses to his command and put down the rebellion in Jingzhou for me?"
"My lord, you don't know how to command an army, but your subordinates can teach you how to do so. Cai Mao, Zhang Yun, and Huang Zu are all dead. Wang Wei, Gan Ning, and Su Fei have defected to the Yan army again, but it doesn't mean that there are no generals in Jingzhou.
Only then. Please give me a month, my lord, and I will
However, several generals will be selected to take charge of the army and conquer on behalf of the lord. However, Liu Bei cannot use them and can only take precautions. This allows him to stay in Xinye. He can also order the Nanyang Prefect to monitor him closely. If there is any abnormal behavior, he will
Extraordinary measures are feasible."
Liu Qi said: "The Prime Minister asked me to kill Uncle Xuande?"