The time for the "Martial Arts" test is after lunch.
Now, it's time for dinner.
Sunlight shines in the courtyard of Guanfu and shines into the study through the windows.
There was a hint of melancholy on Guan Yu's cheeks. He stared at the two dishes in front of him, one meat and one vegetarian, but he couldn't work up his appetite.
Because...the staple food is gone.
The pancakes that had been steamed in the kitchen early in the morning were all missing inexplicably.
"A bunch of wine bags and rice bags!" Guan Yu chanted. He was originally angry because of Guan Lin's "made-up" answers during the "examination". Now this can be regarded as "a leak in the house and it rains all night long". He is unhappy.
Everything came together.
Simply, Guan Yu pushed the two dishes aside, having no appetite at all.
Zhou Cang on the side was also helpless. Guan Yu liked to eat cakes.
For this reason, Zhou Cang specially ordered the cook to steam a large pot of cakes early in the morning.
Who would have thought... At noon, the pot was opened, but the cake inside was gone.
Surprised or not?
Is it surprising?
Someone is so bold as to steal from "Guanfu"?
Zhou Cang has already ordered people to investigate, but he is afraid to say anything until the investigation is clear.
Instead, a crisp voice came from outside the house.
"Who made Guan Gong so angry?"
As soon as these words came out, Guan Yu and Zhou Cang looked up. The person who came was an elegant man in his thirties, with a handsome face, and a handful of "white hair" in his eyebrows that was particularly eye-catching.
This person is none other than the fourth son of the Ma family, Ma Liang, the governor of Jingzhou!
Different from the first-tier wealthy "Cai family" in Jingzhou, the "Kuai family" surrendered to Cao Cao;
The four families of the second echelon, Pang, Ma, Xiang, and Xi, are all loyal to Liu Bei. Among them, the most promising of the Ma family is the "white eyebrow" Ma Liang. It is said that of the five permanent members of the Ma family, white eyebrow is the best. This can be seen from this.
Since Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang brought Jingzhou into Shu with their civil and military efforts, the Jingzhou area has been particularly lacking in counselor-like talents.
Ma Liang was specially left to Guan Yu by Zhuge Liang and now serves as Guan Yu's military advisor. The relationship between the two is extremely good.
"It's just a small matter, so don't bother Baimei." Guan Yu glanced at the meat and vegetable dishes for the last time, and said in the same tone as usual: "At this hour, Baimei is here probably because he has something important to do, right?"
Ma Liang noticed the two dishes on the table, "General, haven't you eaten yet?"
"I won't eat it for now." Guan Yu casually excused himself, his expression becoming more serious: "Say it, you, I won't make any detours."
this…
Ma Liang paused for a moment, then said truthfully: "Just now, there are some 'voices' in the public? It concerns Jingzhou and the demarcation of the Xiangshui River. It is of great importance. The subordinates dare not make any independent opinions and come to see the general."
Delimitation of Xiangshui River?
When these four words came out, Guan Yu's eyes moved down and stopped on the table. The bamboo slips here were the answer sheets of his children during the essay test just now...
After listening to Ma Liang's words, Guan Yu would inevitably think of Guan Lin's answer about the Xiangshui River as the boundary when he "tested the text" just now...
Especially the sentence "No dogs will be allowed in the three counties..."
When he thought of this, Guan Yu became angry.
——This traitor?
——Who are you calling a dog?
"Guan Gong, this is..." Ma Liang asked cautiously after seeing the change in Guan Yu's expression.
"It doesn't matter, you continue talking." Guan Yu suppressed the anger in his heart.
However, he still muttered repeatedly in his heart:
——Don’t be angry, my dear!
——Let him memorize it during the martial arts test later!
——Hmph, I’m so angry!
Looking at Guan Yu's cheeks that alternated between blue and red.
Ma Liang's words came out again, "There are a lot of discussions in the market, saying that Jiangdong wants to attack Jingzhou, and Sun Quan is implementing a plan of 'building plank roads in the open and secretly attacking Chencang'. He clearly sent Zhuge Jin to ask Guan Gong for the return of the three counties, but secretly he had launched an army
, trying to seize the three counties in a sneak attack... Guan Gong, it is said that there is no smoke without fire!"
Hmm…
Upon hearing this, Guan Yu's eyes suddenly narrowed.
Subconsciously, he was still thinking of Guan Lin's answer sheet...
That’s right, there is another sentence before “The dogs won’t give way to the three counties”, “The Xiang River is the boundary, and if my father doesn’t give it, why can’t Sun Quan rob it?”
Rob…
This is consistent with popular rumors.
It was difficult for Guan Yu not to think of these two things together.
There is no smoke without smoke…
Yes, there is no smoke without fire!
Suddenly, his cheeks became complicated.
Ma Liang found that Guan Gong's expression was a bit strange today, and he quickly opened his mouth: "Guan Gong? Are you okay? Do you need to hire a doctor?"
Guan Yu did not answer, but retrieved Guan Lin's answer sheet from the bamboo slips and handed it directly to Ma Liang.
"Bai Mei, look at this..."
Ma Liang took it and quickly unfolded it...
He looked into it, but it was a good thing that he didn't look at it. Once he looked at it, the first sentence attracted him deeply.
——“Empty talk will harm the country, but hard work will make it prosperous!”
This...is such a loud tone!
Under these eight large characters, there is a row of small seal characters.
——"The Xiang River is the boundary. If my father doesn't give it, can't Sun Quan take it? Even the dogs won't give way to the three counties. But now that I can answer the question, the city is gone!"
This is…
Ma Liang just wanted to ask a question.
Guan Yu's voice has already come out, "Today's Chenshi exam, this is my answer sheet for Yunqi, and the topic is 'Delimitation of the Xiangshui River'..."
this…
Ma Liang paused and rolled his eyes.
He seemed to have fallen into thinking all of a sudden. After a long time, his eyes were fixed and he said with emotion: "Guan Gong... Mr. Yunqi answered the question. Although his words were rough, his reasoning was not rough!"
As soon as these words came out, Guan Yu was stunned.
Ma Liang continued, "On the way here, I was thinking that all the rumors and rumors in the market were pointing to a sneak attack on the three eastern counties of Jingzhou from the east of the Yangtze River. As the saying goes, there can be no fire without smoke. Guan Gong, the heart of guarding against others is indispensable, and the general is indispensable.
Defend!"
"Furthermore, Jiangdong has recently gathered countless famous generals and hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses in Stone City. It is said to be the Northern Expedition of Cao Cao to attack Hefei, but... what if the goal is not Hefei but Jingzhou? How far is Jiangxia from Stone City? Take the waterway.
But in the morning and evening, Changsha and Guiyang are only two or three days away. What if this is the plan of 'building plank roads in the open and hiding in the warehouse'? Then...the three eastern counties of Jingzhou are in danger!"
hiss…
After listening to Ma Liang's words, Guan Yu took a deep breath.
Ma Liang is a talent that Zhuge Liang is extremely optimistic about.
Guan Yu can be trusted with his talent and strategy. If others say so, that's fine. He says so...
That…
Guan Yu couldn't help but look at Guan Lin's "answer sheet" again...
And Ma Liang's eyes were also staring closely at it.
He spoke again: "Guan Gong, let's look at this sentence: 'The Xiang River is the boundary, and if my father doesn't give it to me, can't Sun Quan take it away?'"
Ma Liang continued to explain: "As Mr. Yunqi said, with the current situation, Emperor Liu's foothold in Bashu is not yet stable. Cao Cao can occupy Hanzhong and move south to Bashu at any time. Under such a situation, how can it not be the best time for Jiangdong to regain Jingzhou?"
"At this time, even if Sun Quan from Jiangdong "attacks first with military force and then with courtesy", what can Guan Gong do if he attacks the three eastern counties of Jingzhou? At this special time, it is impossible for Liu Huangshu to break with Jiangdong, and it is even less likely that the Sun-Liu alliance will collapse because of these three counties... In the end
, these three counties can only be left in the dark and left alone..."
"On the other hand...if we wait a little longer, until Uncle Liu Huang secures Yizhou and Jingyi is connected as one, he will have no chance in Jiangdong. So...if I were Sun Quan, I would definitely make a desperate attack on Changsha, Guiyang, and Jiangxia."
As long as the three counties can be captured, these three counties will completely belong to Jiangdong!"
Speaking of this, Ma Liang's eyes blinked repeatedly.
He emphasized his tone and sighed again:
——"You are worthy of being the son of Guan Gong. How proud of you, Mr. Yunqi!"