The sun had just emerged from Dongshan, shooting out strong golden light, as if laughing loudly, defying the vulnerability of the light fog. There was no cloud in the blue sky, making it even more profound and boundless.
The sky is so blue, the sun is so bright, and the velvet flowers of thistles are flying up and down around them, as if they are intoxicated by the tranquility of the atmosphere. The heat is dancing on the ripe crops, and there are flowers in all directions.
There was a soft and unknown buzzing sound, as if brilliant minutes were murmuring a banquet between heaven and earth.
Outside the south gate of Xiangyang City, Chu King Liu Bei personally led the entire city's civil and military forces to line up at the city gate, grandly waiting for the arrival of a man.
Just after Chen hour, a horse drove into everyone's sight from the south. The man on the horse was a man with a leopard head and eyes, dark skin, long beard and beard, holding a snake spear eight feet long in his hand, and was beating the horse at a fast pace.
"Your Majesty, the three generals are here." Yi Ji stood beside Liu Bei and said excitedly, pointing at Zhang Fei from far away.
Liu Bei's face also looked particularly happy. He and Zhang Fei had not seen each other for more than a year. When trying to appease Jingzhou, he asked Guan Yu to guard the northern part of Jingzhou, but sent Zhang Fei and Zhuge Jin to guard the four southern counties of Jingzhou.
It was precisely because of the help of these two brothers that he was able to firmly control Jingzhou.
Not long after, Zhang Fei rushed to the city gate and was very happy to see Liu Bei and all the civil and military officials personally greeting him.
Turning over and dismounting, he walked directly in front of Liu Bei, hugged Liu Bei in his arms, and said happily: "Brother, I miss you so much."
"Third brother, I miss you too..." Liu Bei also hugged Zhang Fei tightly and said slowly, "I sent someone to give you the order half a month ago, why didn't you come back until today?
"
Zhang Fei said: "Don't mention it, it's all that kid Zhuge Jin who caused the trouble. As soon as I received the letter from eldest brother, I wanted to come back immediately, but that kid Zhuge Jin refused to let me go, saying that there was a handover and an inventory of the house.
Storehouse, soldiers, equipment...
I don't care about these things at all on weekdays. Most of them are left to my subordinates. If I want to ask about these things, he has to find someone who has seen the arsenal. He insists on dragging me to count them, so it was delayed a bit.
Time, I hope you will forgive me."
After Liu Bei heard this, he laughed and said: "Third brother, don't blame Tzuyu. Tzuyu did the right thing. As the governor of Jingnan, you are stationed in Changsha and the governor of the four counties of Jingnan. Before leaving, Tzuyu asked you to do
Handover, this is a normal thing."
Zhang Fei didn't want to mention Zhuge Jin again, so he quickly changed the subject and asked: "Brother, there are still more than twenty days before meeting the emperor in court, right? How are your preparations?"
"Everything is ready. We are waiting for the third brother to arrive. Then we will go to Nanyang together and the three brothers will be able to meet again. This time we will meet the emperor. We will lead the army there and we will definitely take the emperor out of Ma Chao's hands.
Grab them and welcome them to Xiangyang. Only in this way can the Han Dynasty have hope of prosperity." Liu Bei talked eloquently.
"Well, whatever big brother says, I, Lao Zhang, will do it."
At this time, Mi Zhu squeezed out from the crowd, walked to Liu Bei's side, and whispered: "Your Majesty, the distinguished guests from Yizhou are not far from Xiangyang. Do you plan to entertain them with a banquet?"
After hearing this, Liu Bei immediately said: "Of course, of course, you go and arrange things according to the original plan, and let the military advisor prepare everything. We must warmly entertain the distinguished guests from Yizhou."
Mi Zhu said "Promise", turned around and walked into the city, and then joined Sun Qian and Jian Yong to organize everything.
"Brother, is this distinguished guest from Yizhou? Could it be Liu Zhang, King of Shu?" Zhang Fei heard the conversation between Mi Zhu and Liu Bei and asked out of curiosity.
Liu Bei shook his head and said: "The King of Shu, Liu Zhang, did not come in person, but sent an envoy with Zhao Wei as the envoy to go to Guandu to congratulate the emperor and send congratulatory gifts from the Kingdom of Shu. Now, Zhao Wei and others are passing through Jingzhou, and we should treat them well. Moreover, I want to go on the road with them, and I will have someone to look after them on the way."
"Haha, what a coincidence for me, Lao Zhang. Brother, I heard that Liu Zhang, like my elder brother, is also a descendant of the Han Dynasty. Based on this comparison, the Kingdom of Shu and our Kingdom of Chu are friendly and good neighbors. Treating good neighbors will naturally be richer. That's all." Zhang Fei said.
Liu Bei just smiled at what Zhang Fei said and did not answer, but in his heart, he was extremely unhappy, mainly because Liu Zhang failed to come in person, which made his long-prepared plan come to nothing, so he had to make a decision Adjust the strategy accordingly and express friendship to the Shu mission.
After picking up Zhang Fei, Liu Bei immediately led the people from the south gate to the east gate.
At the east gate, Xu Shao lined up with Mi Zhu, Sun Qian, Jian Yong, Fu Xun, Han Song and others. The honor guard also lined up at the city gate early, which was even more impressive than welcoming Zhang Fei.
Seeing this formation, Zhang Fei felt a little unbalanced, and immediately said to Liu Bei: "Brother, it's really unfair. He welcomes me, Lao Zhang, so carelessly, but welcomes an outsider so grandly..."
"It turns out that the third brother is jealous. Well, I will definitely welcome the third brother tenfold next time. Today's matter is quite special. The King of Shu and I have never had anything to do with each other. We can't say that we are hostile, nor can we say that we have a good impression. We just don't invade each other. But After all, the King of Shu and I are both descendants of the Han Dynasty. This alone can make our two countries become very friendly and good neighbors, so having such a good neighbor will do us no harm at all." Liu Bei said with a smile. .
"It's whatever big brother says, I'll listen to big brother." Zhang Fei muttered.
At this moment, a group of people drove up from a distance on the official road, led by several knights on horseback, holding a large flag with the word "Shu", followed by a carriage, on the frame of the carriage There are also talismans representing the identity of the envoys, and behind them is a long motorcade, with heavily armed cavalry on both sides of the road guarding the motorcade. Everyone looks so energetic.
"Your Majesty, people from Shu are here." Xu Shao walked up to Liu Bei and said.
"Well, let's get started." Liu Bei nodded slightly and said.
Xu Shao raised his hand high and shouted loudly: "Play music!"
With an order, beautiful music started playing, and the gongs and drums beside the city gate were noisy, making it very lively.
On the official road, under the big flag with the word "Shu", a general with a green beard was riding on horseback. He saw the flag fluttering in front of Xiangyang City Gate in the distance, and the sound of "Mimi" was heard high-pitched, so he deliberately let the horse After walking a few steps slowly, he came to the carriage and whispered: "Sir, Xiangyang City has arrived. It seems that the King of Chu himself is greeting us at the city gate."
The curtains in the carriage were quickly opened, revealing a handsome face. A man in his forties sat there and said to the cavalry general: "Since we entered the Chu Kingdom, we have been subjected to many obstacles along the way. We have received the warm hospitality of the people of Chu, and now the king of Chu personally accepts it. We should put on the posture of Shu and show it to the king of Chu, so as not to lose the face of Shu."
"No, sir!" the cavalry general agreed.
The person in the carriage said: "General Yan, please go and inform me first. Everything must be treated with courtesy. The King of Chu has taken great care of us. We should also show our sincerity. You go tell Zhang Ren and let him take it."
Bring out a cart of Shu brocade and give it as a gift to the King of Chu."
"My lord, I'm afraid there's something wrong. These gifts are given by the king to the emperor. If you give the Shu brocade to others privately without the king's consent, I'm afraid Zhang Ren won't be able to pass it."
"General Yan, just do what I say. Even if Zhang Ren is the king's confidant, he would not dare to disobey my order. You must know that I am indispensable for the king to be where he is today. I will
If you don’t believe it, even the king respects me, Zhao Wei, and he has appointed me as a small captain, what can he do to me?"
After hearing this, General Yan said: "Yes, sir, I will go and follow your orders."
As soon as he finished speaking, General Yan did not gallop forward with his horse. Instead, he galloped forward and ran backwards. After running for a while, he soon came to the rear of the convoy and found the young man sitting in the last car escorting the car.
, said loudly: "Zhang Ren, my lord has an order, ordering you to take out a cart of Shu brocade and give it to the King of Chu as a gift to express..."
The young man didn't wait for General Yan to finish what he said, and jumped out of the car. He shouted "stop", and the last five vehicles he was responsible for escorting, filled with Shu brocade, immediately stopped moving.
The young man bowed his hands towards General Yan respectfully and said: "General Yan, I am responsible for the king's orders and are responsible for ensuring that these five carriages of Shu brocade can be safely delivered to the emperor's feet. No matter who it is, don't try to take away even a shred of it from under my nose.
thing."
General Yan's name is Yan Yan. He is a native of Ba County and his courtesy name is Xibo. He is a minor official under Liu Zhang. He was promoted by Zhao Wei and served successively as captain, county magistrate, school captain and lieutenant general. Now he serves as a general in the Shu Kingdom.
General Di's high position. When he heard Zhang Ren's words, he felt
He was extremely angry and disgusted with the man named Zhang Ren standing in front of him, but he had to admire that this Zhang Ren had two skills. Not only was he superb in martial arts and courageous, but he was also quite filial.
He was also deeply liked by Liu Zhang.
"This is an order from your lord, Captain Zhang must carry it out!" In Yan Yan's heart, Zhao Wei was his benefactor. Without Zhao Wei, he would not have reached this high position. He did not thank Liu Zhang, but only
He was loyal to Zhao Wei who promoted him, so he obeyed Zhao Wei's words.
Zhang Ren said sternly: "I have ordered from the king that no one can use these five carts of Shu brocade, otherwise they will be killed. General Yan, please don't challenge my bottom line, otherwise, blood will be splashed on the spot, which is not what I want."
You can see it.”
Yan Yan frowned and said: "Zhang Ren! It's so hateful for you to speak arrogantly. I am the dignified General Ping Di. I am responsible for everything in this mission. Don't push yourself too far!"
Zhang Ren chuckled and said: "General Yan, I respect you as a man and don't want to embarrass you. If General Yan insists on wanting Sichuan brocade, please invite Mr. Zhang here and let him come to me in person to ask for it!"