After everything at home was arranged and Liu Jian made arrangements with Jian Yong, Su Shuang and others, he and Zheng Ci headed to Luoyang with a team of martial arts servants.
Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Jian Yong all stayed in various positions and worked hard to develop, so he could not fall behind.
The journey from Zhuojun to Luoyang was two thousand miles, more than fifteen hundred miles, and there were so many of them. In addition, Zheng Ci was a female family member. Liu Jian estimated that it would take at least fifty days to reach Luoyang.
In this case, the accompanying guards have to make their own decisions.
Now that the entire Liu family has been unified under the control of Liu Zhou and Liu Jian, it is not difficult to find a group of strong and loyal disciples from the Liu family in Zhuo County to escort them.
But the journey of more than 1,500 miles is really too long, and there are countless ferocious beasts and bandits. It is still necessary to have a captain with strong martial arts skills and the ability to mobilize guards to ensure that just in case.
If any one of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Han followed him to Luoyang, Liu Jian would be relieved.
The problem is that if they are allowed to go to Luoyang to be his followers, they will really be overqualified. Each of them will have great room for development in their place. Liu Jian is really reluctant to take them to Luoyang to be his followers.
But it was at this time that Gongsun Zan and Guan Yu each recommended someone to come to Liu Jian for his help.
What Gongsun Zan recommended was his personal principles.
Liu Jian met Yu Ze several times and had a good impression of him. He was capable, martial arts, and steady. When Gongsun Zan was in Liaodong, he had been following Gongsun Zan. From this, we can see that Gongsun Zan used him.
It's very convenient.
The one recommended by Guan Yu was a bandit leader named Li Damu.
Of course, he has now become a good person, at least in Guan Yu's case.
Speaking of which, Guan Yu has already made a huge name in Youzhou.
Compared with Guan Yu at the same time in history, he is completely different.
Under Liu Yu's command, Guan Yu gave full play to his bravery and military talents.
After Liu Yu took office, he adopted a gentle policy towards the foreign tribes on the border of Youzhou, including the Wuhuan and Xianbei tribes.
But before showing mercy, one must first establish authority. Only by combining kindness and authority can the best effect be achieved. Liu Yu still understands this.
Therefore, Liu Yu first tried to use it and used Guan Yu to suppress the bandits near Yuyang to establish his prestige.
Let the nobles in Youzhou and the border people in the north know that although Liu Yu came with a gentle sincerity, he himself is not a vegetarian.
This suddenly gave Guan Yu a huge space to perform.
Although Guan Yu is young now, he is far from the level in history when he flooded seven armies and captured and beheaded Pang, who shocked China. But with his current potential and ability, the bandit Cao Mang who wanted to shock a state was completely
is more than enough.
Guan Yu made a strict plan, and at the same time completed the training of Liu Yu's reorganized army in the shortest possible time, and then began to suppress the bandits in Yuyang County.
In one month, he broke through eight bandits' strongholds, beheaded more than 700 people, and captured 30,000 people. He was invincible and unstoppable, and for a time he shocked Yuyang and all the counties in Shanggu.
After several rounds, Guan Yu not only made a name for himself among the grassroots bandits in Youzhou, but also the local nobles were frightened when they heard his name.
Liu Yu didn't expect Guan Yu to be so effective, and was very happy. He gave him the title of Wu Meng again, and ordered Guan Yu to take over the military power under the jurisdiction of the governor in his place.
With Guan Yu's assistance, Liu Yu began to concentrate on politics. All the military affairs of the governor's office were handed over to Guan Yu, which made him feel relieved.
Guan Yu became Liu Yu's military spokesman, and had the power to control the troops and horses under the jurisdiction of the governor of Youzhou. His power gradually increased, and he was powerful in all counties in Youzhou, and he became the most powerful man in Youzhou.
At the same time, under Liu Jian's instructions, Guan Yu also advised Liu Yu to recruit Wuhuan's elite troops and establish Wuhuan's sudden cavalry to guard the border fortress, which could also increase Liu Yu's available army.
The right-wing elites in Yuyang, Shanggu, and Guangyang counties began to show their favor to Guan Yu.
For example, when the Xianyu, Yu, Qi family and other powerful families in the border counties made friends with Liu Yu, they would naturally not forget to make friends with this "No. 1 soldier in Youzhou".
As Liu Jian said, there are many thieves in Youzhou, and there are countless thieves' strongholds in the area. Among them, there is a mix of dragons and snakes. Some want to be thieves and fight against the court until they die. There are also some who are forced to escape into the mountains and become gangsters.
People who are forced to become thieves are not so determined.
In this way, according to Liu Jian, Guan Yu, while recruiting soldiers and generals to expand his influence, secretly recruited some bandits who "had a bright mind".
This Li Damu was a bandit leader in Youzhou. Because of his big eyes, he was called Li Damu by his peers, but his real name was not mentioned at all.
The nicknames for people with green forests and grass in the Han Dynasty are actually very common. The one with big eyes is called "Li Damu", the one riding a white horse is called "Zhang Baiqi", the one who can jump high is called "Chu Feiyan", and the one with a loud voice is called "Lei Gong"
'.
It is far less loud than the later heroic nicknames such as "Hu Baoyi", "Yu Qilin", "Zhi Duoxing" and "Ruyunlong".
Even compared with the nicknames such as Pheasant, Liangkun, and Big Brother B that came later, they are much inferior.
It can even be said to be terrible.
However, it was a good thing for Liu Jian that Li Damu was recommended by Guan Yu.
His ability may not be better than Yu Ze's, but fortunately he is a bandit and a leader. With such a person accompanying Liu Jian to Luo, at least he can understand the local 'underworld' every time he goes to a new place.
.
These days, going to Beijing is not something that ordinary people can just do. It has to be someone who is powerful and can understand both black and white.
Otherwise, this fifteen hundred miles would most likely be the road to Fengdu.
…
After the group finished packing, Liu Jian and Zheng Ci said goodbye to their parents and started heading towards Luoyang.
Along the way, we saw a lot of unexpected "scenery".
In Youzhou, there is nothing special about this journey. On the contrary, the further you go towards the Central Plains, the more miserable you can see.
The closer we get to the hinterland of the Central Plains, the more hooligans there are along the way, and the number of skeletons and corpses starving to death on the roadside gradually increases.
In this era, the agricultural land had not yet been fully developed. There were many mountains, forests and wild valleys along the way, and birds and animals were everywhere. Therefore, the bones of those who died on the roadside were not only rotten and smelly, but also half red and half white that had been eaten by wild animals.
, its condition is extremely miserable.
Occasionally, you can see vultures and crows hovering in fear, cleaning large areas of carrion. These birds make strange noises while pecking, as if they are mocking humans.
Although this scene is horrifying, if you think about it carefully, it makes sense.
The closer you get to the hinterland of the Central Plains, the more noble families there are and the more powerful you are.
In this way, the more gangsters will be annexed, lose their livelihoods, and become homeless, and the more people will die due to poverty, disease, and hunger.
It was impossible for Liu Jian and his friends to stay in a hotel every day along the way. Most of the time they could only sleep in the wilderness. Sometimes they could stay in private houses when they encountered wild villages in the countryside.
On the way from Zhuoxian to Sili, Liu Jian and his party encountered two robbers. One time, they were killed by Yu Ze, and the other time, Li Damu managed to get through.
Another time, several hungry wolves sneaked into their camp at night, and two of their followers were injured. Everyone in the entourage came out of the tent with bows and knives to kill the wolves.
Liu Jian also ran out of the tent to kill the beast, but then he thought something was wrong and hurried back to his camp.
Sure enough, not only humans but also beasts are difficult to deal with these days.
After the adult men were led out of the camp, two other hungry wolves secretly lurked in Liu Jian's tent to attack Zheng Ci.
Making false claims in the east and attacking in the west, women and children are the real targets of the wolf!
Fortunately, Liu Jian rushed back in time, shot a wolf and stabbed another to death with a long sword, thus saving Zheng Ci.
That night, Zheng Ci was so frightened that she stayed up all night and cried in Liu Jian's arms all night.
Later, they encountered two more attacks from gangster leaders, but although there were many opponents, they did not have any weapons at their disposal, so it was still easy to deal with them.
This trip cannot be said to be difficult, but it is definitely not that easy.
Finally, they arrived at the Sili border.
That night, Liu Jian and others also found a village to stay in a deserted suburb.
There is no good place in this village, so they can only make do with the shabby thatched hut in the village. However, the thatched hut is too dilapidated, with leaks everywhere in the walls, and the roof has not been repaired for many years.
At night, cold wind blows in from the gaps in the walls and windows, making people shiver from the cold.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Zheng Ci was huddled in the corner of the house, her soft face was bloodless, and she kept coughing from time to time.
This journey along the way has really been a struggle for her.
Perhaps it was because the hinterland of the Central Plains was so chaotic that the situation along the way from Gaomi to Zhuoxian was much more thrilling and complicated than when she got married.
At this moment, she was holding Liu Jian's coverall in her hand, which had a large gap in the quilt. Zheng Ci was concentrating on sewing it up for her man stitch by stitch.
But if you look closely, you will see that her eyes are bloodshot, her complexion is poor, and she looks tired...
The bumpy trip to Luoyang this time made her too tired.
But even so, she still continued to sew clothes for her husband while coughing.
All this fell into Liu Jian's eyes.
Liu Jian walked to her distressedly, handed her a bowl of hot water, and said softly: "These things are taken care of by the servants who come with me. My sister has already suffered from the cold, why do she have to endure such fatigue?"
Zheng Ci put down her coveralls, took the water bowl and took a sip, and said in a hoarse voice: "It doesn't matter, it is the way of human relations for a wife to sew for her husband. How can it be said that it is tiring? Besides, people are helping to mend clothes. After all, it doesn't matter."
The seams on my body are so tight that they don’t feel at ease when doing it...and..."
At this point, Zheng Ci showed a happy smile on her face: "And if I can see my husband wearing clothes that I sewed myself every day, I will be happy and fulfilled in my body and mind, and this disease may be cured."
It will get better faster."
Liu Jian sighed and shook his head helplessly.
Zheng Ci looks virtuous and virtuous, but she is also quite stubborn in some aspects.
These things are basically related to Liu Jian.
In order to prevent Zheng Ci from being exposed to the wind, Liu Jian went out to get some tents for traveling, looked for cracks in the walls of the house, and tried to seal the cracks as tightly as possible so that the wind could not enter and Zheng Ci's illness would not worsen.
.
But there were so many gaps that Liu Jian couldn't close them.
Zheng Ci saw Liu Jian busy going back and forth in the room for her, and a warm expression appeared on his face.
After a while, the gap in the wall was finally blocked. Liu Jian just came to the bed and sat down. He said to Zheng Ci: "I will wait until the next stop is the inn, and I won't leave. If it delays your condition, it will not be a trivial matter."
He had good intentions, but Zheng Ci's expression suddenly changed.
She put away her gentle smile and said sternly: "If my husband delays his trip or misses important events because of me, I would rather die under the eaves of this bed."
"How can it be so serious?"
"Husband, you are Xiaolian from Zhuo County. You are not visiting Beijing this time. You are going to the Lang's Office to report. If I am late, it will not only delay my future, but also make me feel ashamed and helpless. I just feel a little sick, and I am not able to do anything."
It’s no big deal, please husband, don’t think of me as my concubine.”