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, creating a peaceful atmosphere. The aura 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 Liu Jun 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: "Captain, the wheat noodles from last month are not yet available." Send it down!"
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 in the battle 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 I also have a son and a daughter, so wheat noodles are really in short supply. ..."
At this point, the pavilion soldier looked ashamed and couldn't say any more.
"Then how can you come back afterwards?" Zhang Fei said angrily: "For an act of benevolence and righteousness, how can a man not endure hunger for a while?"
"What nonsense!" Liu Bei immediately scolded Zhang Fei, and then looked back and said to the pavilion soldier: "Hu Kuang has been fighting with me for two years, but I didn't know that his family was so difficult. He died on the battlefield with me. I should have been the one to care for his relatives. How can I ask you to wait and pay in advance with Mr. Kong? This is my dereliction of duty."
After 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 of the pavilion soldiers, 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 person who lives in a warehouse knows etiquette, and a man who has 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, 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 return. They even shouted to them in the farmland and asked: "Liu Jun! But which thief leader has been captured?"
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 yet complete. It could be used to teach the villagers to identify left and right, but not yet the flag and drum. Seeing Liu Bei coming, Kong Yu asked someone to take his place and then came to say hello to Liu Bei. Liu Bei asked if he had any difficulties, but 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 does not have the spirit of youth. Instead, he is amiable and approachable, as if he were an elder. But those who know him well know that as a knight of Youyan, he always has a burning heart and loves to act on his own initiative. Not only the court, but also Chen Chong has 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 And 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?"
"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 Qingxu and these eunuchs. They all have a plain meal. , basically bought officials from Xiyuan to gild, if you can not force the people to rebel, you can be called a virtuous person, we can guarantee the peace of Jibei country, it is a great good."
At this point, Jian Yong couldn't help but turn around and sneer, taunting the country: "I think it cost 4.4 billion when Duan conquered the west to quell the Qiang rebellion. Where can the court get so much money to spend on us now? Could it be from His Majesty's 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 Can we drive 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 saw us, they ran away. 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 On the yellow scarf, the enemy cannot escape, so they break into pieces and scatter into Mount Tai. We are helpless. If this continues, when will it end?"
"Let it pass, Xuande." Jian Yong straightened up, sat up and analyzed the habits of today's emperor for Liu Bei: "Today's emperor does not like to do good things, and he does not want to eliminate evil. As long as he can be particular about it, he will never do more than one point, and only pay attention to one point. 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, we have to wait and see when His 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 barren 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 it was his clan brother Liu Deran. He was angry. Panting, he said to Liu Bei: "Xuande, Ting Jian... Ting Jian... there is 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 the letter from Chen Chong, his face became more serious. When he read it again, Liu Bei took a long breath and said to everyone: "It's urgent! Twenty years ago, the Xiongnu actually 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 and said: "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. Apparently 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 an important 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 of people, but he is so small!"
Liu Deran was speechless for a moment, and then asked after a long time: "But, how can we stop the supply of food and grass?"
"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 I was a guest there for three months, and the few people carrying the luggage said they were in Mount Tai to suppress bandits, 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. Among them, the most likeable one was Chang Xi.
Jian Yong responded with a smile, while Liu Deran was stunned.
So on March 11, the imperial court initially finalized the annexation of the Dongping Army, before issuing an edict. Liu Bei had resigned from his official position and took nine thousand Dongping elites along the Yellow River towards Bingzhou day and night. He accidentally passed by the imperial envoy.
When Jian Shuo came to Dongping, the place was deserted. Only Liu Deran was here to deal with it. Jian Shuo saw that Liu Deran was sweating and wanted to pay for it, but he smiled and said: "It doesn't matter, Your Majesty is already with us." The captain has an appointment, and Dongping will be transferred to 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 Taihang Mountain slowly emerged between the sky and the earth. Liu Bei looked at the paths in the mountain 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 far away from the mountains and flying across the Central Plains, all you have done is to spread your military fame in the north of the Great Wall."
"Now that Tianjing Pass is close at hand, after leaving the pass, there will be a bloody battle! High-ranking people often say that the grass is ignorant, ignorant, and 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 I am the hero of Dongping!"
