At noon on the 10th day of the third month of the fifth year of Zhongping, the warm sun was slightly drunk, and the people in Jikuting had all come out to continue working. In late spring, peach blossoms were blooming, green grass was everywhere, herdsmen sang songs in the streets, and there was still smoke curling up from some houses. The peaceful atmosphere is completely opposite to the tragic and gloomy situation in Xihe.
On the narrow and long streets, several pavilion guards were patrolling the countryside, but they also looked relaxed. They carried neither knives nor sticks around their waists. They had nothing but waist badges and were working leisurely. The common people greeted each other and asked if the work was going well this year. It was obvious that there was no hostility between the two parties and they were even very friendly. This kind of relationship is almost extinct in this era.
When the pavilion soldiers reached the boundary of the pavilion and were about to go back, a pavilion soldier suddenly stopped his companions, pointed into the distance and said, "It seems that Mr. Liu is back." Several pavilion soldiers squinted their eyes and looked at where they came from. A few dark shadows were vaguely visible, and it took a while to see clearly. It seemed that several people were walking slowly leading horses.
Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Jian Yong and several others led their horses and ran into these pavilion soldiers. They greeted them with a smile. The pavilion soldiers also said hello. One of the pavilion soldiers suddenly complained: "Xiao Lieutenant [1], last month's wheat The noodles haven’t been served yet!”
Zhang Fei's eyes widened behind him, and he was about to have a seizure, but Liu Bei waved his hand to calm him down. He turned around and asked, "What? Did Kong Jun seize the wheat noodles?"
The soldier in the pavilion shook his head and said: "How dare Mr. Kong deduct wheat noodles under the command of the school captain? It's just that Hu Kuang in the pavilion accompanied the school captain on the expedition and died in the battle last month. The pension has not been paid yet. In addition to his wife's mother, there are also We have a son and two daughters. Without Hu Kuang, the family can’t open the pot and be busy with spring plowing. Kong Jun discussed with us and donated last month’s wheat noodles to Hu Kuang’s family. But my family also has a son and a daughter, and wheat noodles are really in short supply. ..."
Having said this, the pavilion looked ashamed and could not continue.
"Then how can you regret it later?" Zhang Fei said angrily: "For an act of benevolence and justice, how can a man not endure hunger for a while?"
"What nonsense!" Liu Bei immediately scolded Zhang Fei, then turned around and said to the pavilion soldiers: "Hu Kuang has been fighting with me for two years, but I didn't know that his family was so difficult. He died with me on the battlefield. I should have been the one to care for his relatives. How can I ask you to wait and advance payment to Mr. Kong? This is my dereliction of duty."
After saying that, he signaled Guan Yu to fumble around a little from the saddle bag, and finally took out a piece of gold cake. Guan Yu handed it to the pavilion soldier. The pavilion soldier was at a loss, and then Liu Bei stuffed it into his hand. After a long time, he clenched his fist red He said with a straight face: "Captain, this is too much..."
Liu Bei patted the shoulder to encourage each soldier, then smiled and said: "What are you thinking? This is definitely not for you alone. You guys should go back and make arrangements for Kong Jun. First make up for the wheat flour that was given. I believe that the extra You will definitely use it in the right way!"
The pavilion soldier lowered his head and did not dare to raise his head. Liu Bei raised his face and said sternly: "A man with a solid warehouse knows etiquette, and a man with enough food and clothing knows honor and disgrace. Don't lower your head! People have to eat, there is nothing to be ashamed of! If you can make it happen, The people in the pavilion live and work in peace and contentment, and they are my best friends, Liu Xuande!"
Not only this pavilion soldier, but all the pavilion soldiers were very moved and wished they could die for Liu Bei. Liu Bei accompanied them on the road. The people along the road were very happy to see Liu Bei coming back. They even shouted to them in the farmland.
Said: "Liu Jun! But which thief leader was captured again?"
Liu Bei suppressed his smile and replied: "How can there be so many thieves in the world? This month is just forcing Gongsun Fu back to Mount Tai. I hope it will not affect this year's spring plowing in Taishan County."
Passing by the pavilion, Kong Yu, the director of the pavilion, was training the villagers in front of the pavilion. The training was not pure yet. He could teach the villagers to identify left and right, but they had not yet taught the flag and drum. Seeing Liu Bei coming, Kong Yu asked someone to take his place.
Say hello to Liu Bei. When Liu Bei asked if he had any difficulties, Kong Yu shook his head and refused, so Liu Bei had to give him another good sword and encourage him to continue to work diligently.
This year's Liu Bei is still under twenty-eight years old, but in the eyes of outsiders, he has no youthful spirit. Instead, he is amiable and approachable, as if he should be an elder. But those who know him well know that as a knight of Youyan, he will always have a fiery heart.
Hot and fond of impulsive things, not only the court, but also Chen Chong suffered from him.
Then Liu Bei rested for a while in Jikuting. Soon a group of children gathered at the door, clamoring for the fat peaches Liu Bei gave to Mount Tai. This was the gift Liu Bei promised last month. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei hurriedly took the package and went out to distribute it. Liu Bei
Then he fetched two loads of water from the well in the pavilion and chatted with Jian Yong about the current situation in the world.
"Now the war in Qingxu has no hope of getting better!" Liu Bei rubbed his eyes and sighed: "The imperial court asked me to run around all day long, chasing the Yellow Turban from the plains all the way to Donglai. Within a few days
I asked you to chase me from Langya to Guangling. In the past two years, three or four horses have been killed. The emperor's officials do not practice benevolent government. Do you expect us ten thousand people to kill millions of people in Qingxu?" p>
"Xuande, don't say such depressing words. You are not in your position and do not seek to govern." Jian Yong was lying on the couch and said in an inappropriate manner: "We have all seen the Qingxu group of prefects, and they all have a plain meal.
, basically bought officials from Xiyuan to gild. If we can not force the people to rebel, we can be called virtuous. If we can ensure the peace of the country of Jibei, it is a great good."
At this point, Jian Yong couldn't help but turn around and sneer, taunting the country: "When Duan conquered the West to quell the Qiang rebellion, it cost as much as 4.4 billion yuan. Where can the court get so much money to spend on us now? Could it be from His Majesty's government?
Do you want to pay it out of the inner treasury? If His Majesty is willing to spend more money on appeasement, why should we go back and forth with the Yellow Turbans?"
"Even so, Ting Jian would not say that." After hearing this, Liu Bei shook his head and became speechless, and then said: "When dealing with others, you need to be careful and self-reflective at all times. Back then, Ting Jian and I raised only a few thousand troops in Dongping. Who could have imagined that
Can we chase away the Yellow Turbans in Hebei? Although the current situation is difficult, we must try our best to maintain it."
At this point, Liu Bei's expression became slightly depressed: "Now that the Yellow Turbans see us, they flee. The prefects only seek to drive the enemy away from the outside, but do not seek to eliminate the root of the chaos within. There is no hope! If we are lucky enough to pursue it,
On the yellow scarf, the enemy could not escape, so they broke into pieces and scattered into Mount Tai. We were helpless. If this continues, when will it end?"
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"It's okay, Xuande." Jian Yong straightened up and sat up to analyze the emperor's habits for Liu Bei: "As the emperor, he doesn't like to do good things, and he doesn't want to eliminate all evil. As long as he can be particular about it, he will never do more than one point. He only pays attention to one thing.
The devil is always taller than the Taoist, but His Majesty's intelligence and talent are not enough, so I, a big man, can only go on like this. If we want the situation to get better, let's wait and see when Your Majesty becomes emperor!"
This statement was truly treasonous. Even if he was cut in half because of it, it could be said that the emperor was virtuous. But Jian Yong didn't care. Before Liu Bei could answer, Jian Yong continued: "What's more, last time we deliberately made a truce and forced the emperor to pardon Ting Jian.
Although the emperor will not punish the crime, he will only reward you with the rank of captain for your outstanding military achievements. I think Xuande wants to go further, but I don’t know where to start!"
Liu Bei responded with a wry smile and could only chant repeatedly: "The great road is barren and strong, the great road is barbaric and strong..."
Just as he was helpless, the sound of horse hooves gradually came from outside the pavilion. From far to near, he heard a horse neighing outside the door and saw a man quickly dismounting his horse and rushing into the pavilion. Liu Bei looked intently and saw that it was his clan brother Liu Deran. He was angry.
Panting, he said to Liu Bei: "Xuande, Ting Jian... Ting Jian... has a letter!"
After Guan Yu and Zhang Fei heard about it, they immediately entered the house. When they saw Liu Bei opening the envelope and reading Chen Chong's letter, his face became more serious. After he read it again, Liu Bei took a long breath and said to everyone: "It's urgent!
Twenty years ago, the Huns indeed rebelled. They originally wanted to put down Zhang Chun's 100,000 horsemen and archers, but now they have killed Zhang Yi, the governor of Bingzhou, and are attacking Xihe fiercely. Tingjian is trapped in Chou City, isolated and helpless!"
Speaking of this, Liu Bei judged: "Ting Jian sent me a letter, there must be no other way!"
Acting vigorously and resolutely, with little hesitation, Liu Bei immediately ordered: "Yun Chang, Yide, you go and gather all the ministries. Deran, you go to the rice warehouse to adjust the grain. We'd better set off before tomorrow night."
Guan Yu and Zhang Fei naturally did not hesitate, and immediately accepted the order and left. Liu Deran was slightly hesitant, and asked Liu Bei: "Xuande, the war in Bingzhou has been going on for twenty years now, and the imperial court has not given us an order yet. Obviously, it is still
If you don't rush to mobilize us to assist Ting Jian and send troops privately, I'm afraid the court will accuse us."
Liu Bei stared at Liu Deran, put away the letter with one hand, and asked: "What crime did brother Nai commit?"
Liu Deran was so stared at that he trembled all over and said hesitantly: "As a local official of the imperial court, if you mobilize your troops without permission, you should be killed according to the law."
Liu Bei took out the Dongping captain's seal ribbon from his arms, threw it on the table, and asked Liu Deran: "I, Liu Bei, have resigned from office. How can I be punished for the crime of privately deploying troops?"
Liu Deran was stunned and asked after a long time: "Xuande, since you are not a captain, how can you get all the soldiers in the army to join you?"
Liu Bei looked at his clan brothers from top to bottom, then looked back and asked Jian Yong: "Xianhe, I, Liu Xuande, have declared my loyalty to the world for six years, but I still can't have ten thousand supporters?"
Jian Yong smiled and replied: "Brother Xuande is so generous that the whole world admires him. There are only tens of thousands, but he is so small!"
Liu Deran was speechless for a moment, and then asked again for a long time: "But, how should we deal with the food and grass baggage?"
"That's easy to say!" Liu Bei waved his hand and smiled at Jian Yong: "Jian Changshi, I will leave you three thousand troops and horses. After you send out the troops, you will go to Mount Tai. Brother Chang and I have agreed to let you stay there
I was a guest there for three months, and the few people who carried the luggage said that they were suppressing bandits in Mount Tai, and most of them were confiscated by the bandits."
The so-called "Brother Chang" refers to the Taishan thief Chang Xi. Liu Bei fought back and forth in Qingxu. He not only killed the rebels, but also met many heroes. The most likeable among them was Chang Xi.
Jian Yong responded with a smile, while Liu Deran was stunned.
So on March 11th, the imperial court initially finalized the annexation of the Dongping Army and before issuing an edict. Liu Bei had already resigned from his official post and took 9,000 Dongping elites along the Yellow River to Bingzhou day and night. Unexpectedly, he accidentally and
The imperial envoy passed by.
When Jian Shuo came to Dongping, the place was deserted. Only Liu Deran was here to deal with it. Jian Shuo saw Liu Deran sweating and wanted to pay but had no money to pay. Instead, he smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, Your Majesty is already with you."
The captain has an appointment to transfer Dongping to join the annexation in February this year. It is not a bad thing for him to join the annexation first."
Finally, on the morning of March 18th, when the sun broke at dawn, the majestic shape of the Taihang Mountains slowly emerged between the sky and the earth. Liu Bei looked at the paths in the mountains like intestines and the cliffs. He couldn't help but be overjoyed and encouraged the soldiers behind him: "
All of you were born in the capital of Guizhou and have fought with me for many years, but now you are traveling far across the mountains and flying across the Central Plains. All you are doing is making a name for yourself in the northern part of the Great Wall."
"Now that Tianjing Pass is very close, after leaving the pass, there will be a bloody battle! High-ranking people often say that the grass is reckless and ignorant, and they also say that the dangers of Taihang can destroy a chariot. Heroes arise from troubled times, and their swords are snowed in red fire! Everyone!
Today we will cross the Tianjing Pass and teach the barbarians and the imperial court that we are the heroes of Dongping!"
[1] Xiaowei: Xiaowei means the commander of the army. This officer already existed at the end of the Warring States Period. In the Qin Dynasty, he was a mid-level officer. In the Han Dynasty, when it reached its peak, he usually led an army alone, and his status was second only to the generals. Rank
In order to compare with two thousand stones, the subordinate officials included Cheng and Sima. However, as the war in the late Han Dynasty escalated, the positions of generals and lieutenants were distributed indiscriminately, and the title of school captain began to gradually decline. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it became a title for low-level officers.<