Zhou Ping was in a pretty good mood. Although he was tired from traveling all the way, a smile began to appear on his serious face since he came out of Wancheng.
Zhang Wu didn't say much, but followed silently, walking all the way south, crossing the Han River and entering Xiangyang City.
The governorship of Jingzhou was originally located in Hanshou County, and Hanshou County was in Wuling County, which was regarded as the center of Jingzhou.
Perhaps the governor used to administer affairs here to facilitate the convenience of all counties.
But when Liu Biao arrived in Jingzhou, he borrowed the power of Cai Mao, Kuai Yue and others to get rid of the Jingzhou clan traitors and showed his prestige. Therefore, he was able to resist Yuan Shu and defend Jingzhou.
Cai Mao was from Xiangyang, and Kuai Yue was from Zhonglu. Zhonglu was just south of Xiangyang, and the two counties were very close to each other.
At that time, in order to attack Dong, Liu Biao made Xiangyang his prefecture and stationed troops here.
Over the years, there has been a Yellow Turban riot in Nanyang and a group of thieves in Changsha. However, except for Sun Jian's attack once, there has been no war in the Xiangyang area, so it can be considered stable and prosperous.
At least it's much more lively than Xiapi.
When Zhou Ping entered the city, he did not go to visit Liu Biao immediately. He had to meet someone first.
This person is Chen Gong.
When Chen Gong left Liu Bei, Zhou Ping persuaded him to come to Liu Biao so that it would be easier for him to speak to Liu Biao if he came to ask for help in the future.
Chen Gong seemed very happy when Zhou Ping appeared.
"Wen An, you are finally here!"
Chen Gong stepped forward and held Zhou Ping tightly, forgetting all the unpleasantness in the past.
"Does the public station know that I'm coming?"
However, Zhou Ping saw that Chen Gong's happy expression seemed to contain some worries.
"Cao Cao raised his troops to attack Xu. This was an opportunity for his destruction. He has a lot of talent and must have known that he should come to Jingzhou for help at this time."
But Chen Gong sighed again as he spoke: "Well, since Cao Cao sent troops to attack Xu, I have advised General Zhennan several times to raise troops to attack Xudu and rescue the emperor, so as to achieve an immortal feat. Unfortunately, Liu Zhennan did not listen to my words.
The people in Jingzhou are also unwilling to send troops, so if we come here, we may be able to convince General Zhennan to lead his troops to attack Xu and destroy Cao Cao."
In fact, after Chen Gong came to Jingzhou, Liu Biao treated Chen Gong with courtesy, and the courtesy was very generous. He could give him anything he wanted, but he could not give him power.
Chen Gong was now just a guest in Liu Biao's house. The people Liu Biao valued were all from Jingzhou.
It doesn't matter if he doesn't have power, what Chen Gong wants now is just to kill Cao Cao.
Seeing Cao Cao welcoming the emperor and moving the capital to Xu County, becoming the Sikong, controlling the government, and having a strong military force, Chen Gong already felt that there was no hope of destroying Cao Cao.
Now I finally heard that Cao Cao sent 50,000 troops to attack Xuzhou, leaving only 10,000 men to guard Xudu.
Chen Gong knew how strong Liu Bei was, and even if he couldn't destroy Cao Cao, he could at least defend Xuzhou.
If Liu Biao leads his troops to attack Xudu at this time, and Cao Cao is held back by Liu Bei, once Xudu is lost, the morale of the army will be in chaos, and Liu Bei will take advantage of the chaos to attack. Cao Cao will be defeated miserably even if he does not die, and there will be no chance of a comeback.
He persuaded him several times, but Liu Biao only said to wait and see. Kuai Yue, Cai Mao, Han Song and others also expressed their opposition. Chen Gong could not compete with the Jingzhou scholars with his own strength.
In order not to antagonize the scholars in Jingzhou, and at the same time, Liu Biao himself did not want to lead troops to attack Xudu, so he refused to see Chen Gong. Chen Gong went to see him several times but was blocked.
Zhou Ping briefly told Chen Gong about the situation in Lujiang, Jiujiang, and Xuzhou. He also said that he had visited Zhang Xiu in Nanyang and Zhang Xiu had promised to send troops.
At the same time, we also learned that Chen Gong was not reused by Liu Biao in Jingzhou.
This is not surprising.
Chen Gong is a man with great ambitions and plans big plans, while Liu Biao only wants to hold on to this three-acre area of Jingzhou and has no intention of expanding the territory. The two of them are definitely not compatible.
"Since General Zhang Xiu has agreed to send troops, and Guan Yunchang can send troops from Hefei, Liu Jingzhou only needs to send 10,000 or 20,000 troops to go with him. With this condition, I may be able to persuade him."
Chen Gong seemed to see a little hope.
"It is easy to convince Liu Jingzhou, but it is difficult to convince the scholars of Jingzhou."
Zhou Ping originally wanted to ask Chen Gong about his relationship with Kuai Yue, Cai Mao and others. Looking at the current situation, Chen Gong must be out of tune with the Jingzhou scholars.
If Chen Gong has a good relationship with them, he can persuade these people first and then persuade Liu Biao. After all, Liu Biao cares more about the opinions of these people.
However, Zhou Ping learned that Kuai Yue was once the general of the Eastern Cao Dynasty, He Jin, and once advised He Jin to kill the eunuchs, but He Jin was hesitant, so he asked to be appointed as the order of Ruyang, and then returned to Jingzhou.
It can be seen from this that Kuai Yue may have some relationship with Yuan Shao, and Cai Mao was in Luoyang when he was young and knew Cao Cao and others. Liu Biao sided with Yuan Shao against Yuan Shu, perhaps because of the influence of these people.
Now it is really difficult to convince them to become enemies of Cao Cao.
But no matter what, I am already here and I must persuade him.
The next day, Zhou Ping came to the Prefecture Mufu to ask for an audience with Liu Biao.
Zhou Ping asked Zhang Wu and his guards to stay outside the mansion while he and Chen Gong entered the mansion.
Entering the hall, I saw Liu Biao sitting at the top and several people sitting in the side seats below.
Liu Biao was more than eight feet tall. Even when he was sitting on his knees, he looked very tall.
After mutual introduction, Zhou Ping learned that the people on the side seats were Kuai Yue, Cai Mao, Han Song, as well as Jingzhou Biejia Liu Xian and Zhizhong Deng Xi.
These are all people from Jingzhou.
"I heard that Zhou Zhonglang was young and could predict things. He first knew that Dong Zhuo would die, and then that Cao Cao would be appointed as the governor of Yanzhou and that he would defeat the Yellow Turbans. All the predictions were accurate. It is really impressive! He is so young now.
He has already made many meritorious deeds, helped Liu Zhendong defeat Yuan Jiujiu, and defeated Lu Fengxian, thus becoming the Military Advisor Zhonglang General. His future responsibilities are limitless!"
Liu Biao was relatively polite to Zhou Ping and first gave him some compliments.
Zhou Ping did not show joy after hearing this. Instead, he looked sad and sighed: "What a pity, my official career has come to an end!"
Liu Biao was stunned and quickly asked: "Why did you say this?"
The rest of the people also looked at Zhou Ping strangely, not knowing why he said that.
"Cao Cao held the emperor hostage and raised his troops to attack Xu. My lord Liu Xuande is unable to resist alone. I am afraid that Xuzhou will be destroyed." Zhou Ping replied.
Everyone was shocked. Didn't Zhou Wen'an come to ask for help this week? Why did he say that?
Even Chen Gong was greatly moved and couldn't understand Zhou Ping's thoughts.
"Liu Xuande has the courage of Zhang Yide and Guan Yunchang, and he also has the ability to plan with a single step. He has many soldiers and brave generals. How can Xuzhou be destroyed when he returns to his heart?" Liu Biao asked.
"If there were only enemies of Cao Cao, Xuzhou would certainly not be defeated. But now there are powerful enemies of Yuan Shu and Sun Ce in the south. They are attacking from both sides. How can my lord, alone, stop him? However, what I regret is not the defeat of Xuzhou, nor me.
There is no official position, what a pity it is for the Han Dynasty!"
"What does this have to do with the Han Dynasty?" Liu Biao asked anxiously.
Zhou Ping pondered for a while, and finally squeezed out a few tears from his eyes. He wiped his tears and said: "Cao Cao first destroyed Xuzhou, then Jingzhou, then Yuan Shu in the south, and Yuan Shao in the north. At this time, no one in the world can reverse it.
Cao Cao will abolish the Han Dynasty and establish itself. I have always thought of the word loyalty and righteousness when I was studying since I was a child. I would rather die for the Han people than live for a traitorous official. The general is a member of the Liu family, and all of you here are also well-educated.
Sirs, don’t you hear the word loyalty and righteousness? Are you really willing to watch Cao Cao abolish the Han people and stand on your own feet?"
