After paying homage to his parents and ancestors, Liu Bei went to his uncle's house for dinner. Since everyone in the village knew that he was already a minister of the Zhu Kingdom, all the men in the village came to eat in the patriarch's courtyard. Soon there were more than a hundred people sitting in the courtyard. Liu Bei was not proud of his noble status. He greeted them one by one, and took some gold cakes he carried with him to Uncle Yuan Qi, asking him to help the widowed and lonely people inside.
The clan members thanked him again, but what they valued more was not the gold and silver, but Liu Bei's power. Someone asked Liu Bei if he could bring a few of his children to be officials in the capital. Liu Bei shook his head and declined, saying that now that he was not in power, he had to be fair in his administration. If there were people in the clan who aspired to be officials, he could arrange for them to study at Taixue first. If they were really talented, he would promote them later.
The villagers heard that it was troublesome, so they said that it was indeed not easy to be a capital official, but Jihou was a good friend of Xuande, so could he arrange some idle posts in the state? Liu Bei also refused. He explained that in the past two years, Youzhou and Jizhou had been fighting continuously, and now Gongsun Zan was at a disadvantage. There might be disaster if he went to his house, so it would be better to wait two years. This greatly disappointed the villagers. Some people said privately: They all thought that Xuande had become a general and had great authority, getting everything he asked for. Unexpectedly, he was not as good as the mayor of our county. These words quickly reached Liu Bei's ears, but he didn't take it seriously. He just toasted to his clan members frequently and said: "Many in the army cannot drink, so today we have a good time."
When the wine was full, he drew his sword and went to the front yard. It was time to hold the lamp, and the moonlight fell down, illuminating the sword in Liu Bei's hand. When the villagers saw that Liu Bei's sword edge was surrounded by a layer of pure light, they couldn't help but feel a little pale. With his relatives by his side and the moonlight filling his arms, Liu Bei couldn't help but roar out loud. His roar was neither like the roar of a tiger nor the roar of a crane. The villagers only felt that the Qing Dynasty was getting more and more exciting, like the divine light turning upside down and time flowing backward.
Then Liu Bei danced his sword against the moon, like lightning galloping through the night. During this time, he chanted leisurely: "Today is a good banquet, and the joy is hard to express. The zither is played vigorously, and the new sounds are wonderful. Let the virtues sing high words, Know the music and listen to its truth. We are united in our hearts and minds, but the meaning is not stated. Life is destined to last forever, and the dying is as if it is soaring in the dust. Why not plan for the high-achieving, and first occupy the important road. If you do nothing to guard the poor and lowly, you will suffer a lot."
After reciting the poem, he sheathed his sword and looked at the people around him. The admiration and resentment on the faces of the clan members were all gone. Only a kind of astonishment remained, which gradually turned into awe. No one mentioned the matter of support to Liu Bei anymore.
At midnight, Liu Bei returned to his residence to rest. Since he had not returned to his hometown for many years, he was not used to the bed. He thought about the chores in the court, and he tossed and turned for a while, making it difficult to fall asleep. He carefully thought about the future prospects, feeling a little nervous and a little excited. He didn't know how long it had passed before his consciousness gradually blurred.
Liu Bei gradually felt that he was looking for that person in a misty wilderness, surrounded by shallow slopes and distant woods looming in the mist. He was riding alone on his horse, trusting the horse to run away from the reins. He had nothing with him except a sword at his waist. He felt extremely lonely and wanted to call his three brothers. As soon as he opened his mouth, he felt a pungent smell entering his throat. Suddenly looking from a distance, I realized that there was thick smoke billowing all around, and I didn't know when it had caught fire or. The horses jumped up in fear, but could find no way out of the fire. The flames were getting closer and closer, the heat wave hit, almost suffocating, the leather boots on the feet were melting, and the smell of burnt fur filled the air.
Liu Bei suddenly realized that he was dreaming. He stretched out his hand and waved it vigorously in the air to wake himself up from the nightmare. The scene in the dream just now is still vivid in my mind. He couldn't help but think over and over: He dreamed of mist and fire burning the plains, and he couldn't escape. Could it be a bad omen? Or maybe the spirits of parents have other hints and tell them in dreams to the wanderers returning home?
He put on his clothes, turned on the lamp, and put the knife on his thigh. He was already very anxious about going to Chang'an, so Liu Bei opened the door. When the autumn wind blew in, he became conscious and looked at the ancient mulberry trees in the courtyard. I thought of Longshan's old dream again, and my impetuousness disappeared again. He silently recited: Destiny belongs to me.
Two days later, Liu Bei said goodbye to his tribe and went to meet Zhang Hun with Zhang Fei. Taoyang in autumn is already a bit dilapidated, but the Zhang family's manor is much larger. When they saw Zhang Hun again, they were all surprised by the change in Zhang Hun's appearance. After turning fifty, Zhang Hun naturally lost the appearance he had when he was young, but now he looked too bloated. Even though his clothes were loose, his belly was obvious. The ground rises, looking like a hibernating bear from a distance.
But Zhang Hun's spirit was still strong. As soon as he met, he asked Zhang Fei to take off his shirt and counted the scars on his son's body. His face was sad and proud. Then he saluted Liu Bei and said, "Thank you to the general for taking care of me these years. Liu Bei hurriedly returned the courtesy and said, "Uncle is Yide's father, so he is also my father. Why should he be so polite?"
Zhang Hun just smiled and said, "You are all busy with your careers, so I guess you won't be able to stay here for long, but you should give me some time to dress Yide." After that, he immediately asked someone to measure Zhang Fei. size, go to the fabric shop next door to get the fabric cut to make clothes. On the third day, Zhang Fei was forced to put on a tight-fitting blue and indigo military uniform, which made Zhang Fei quite unhappy. After all, he liked wearing loose robes, but it was hard for him to brush off his father. Finally, he brought a pot of Zhang Hun's aged wine and left again.
When the two of them returned to the camp after this round trip, there were still more than 10,000 Han troops on the left side of Juma River, while the Yuan army on the right bank had almost withdrawn. The Yan army also gradually withdrew from Fanyang and Yijing cities and returned to the counties. When General Fenwu visited Youzhou, Gongmu Gongsun Zan was invited by Xu Shu and was already in the Han military camp.
Liu Bei originally planned to discuss the future strategy of Youzhou with Gongsun Zan, but as soon as they met, Liu Bei saw the embarrassed expression on his classmate's face and knew that he had lost the confidence to win against Yuan Shao, so Liu Bei didn't say anything more, just to comfort him. He said: "Bogui will guard Yijing for two or three years. When I flatten the Central Plains, he will lead hundreds of thousands of royal troops to sweep across Heshuo." Gongsun Zan's complexion became better, and the two used Liubo as a show to keep in touch with their old friends. Friendship, farewell to each other the next day.
So this Han army was about to withdraw, but when they were dismantling the camp, the guards suddenly reported that there was a man who claimed to be an old acquaintance of the general and was famous for his work, and he came here specifically to seek refuge. Liu Bei was overjoyed and ran out to meet him. The guards, fearing that Kong Zhen's assassination would happen again, also ran out. But this time the worry was indeed unnecessary. Qianzhao was an old friend that Liu Bei had met before studying in Luoyang. Liu Bei was extremely happy to meet again after a long separation. Even the unhappiness and hesitation of nightmares about the original peace talks dissipated, leaving only firm belief.
Driven by this belief, after Liu Bei returned to Jinyang, he only briefly handed over the affairs and ordered the troops to rest and recuperate. After reporting peace to his wife and children, he secretly went to Chang'an with more than ten close associates that night. On the fifth day of September, Liu Bei arrived at Sili Xiaowei's Mansion and met Chen Chong in Xiaozhu late at night.
Liu Bei got straight to the point and asked: "The emperor must have had his thoughts, Ting Jian, can the court situation be stable?"
Seeing him being so straightforward, Chen Chong knew that Liu Bei might be planning to say something about disembowelment today. He sighed, nodded and said, "The emperor is indeed wary of the Bafu. This matter is said to be an unstable situation in the court, but in fact it is nothing more. It was all his instruction, and I didn’t expect that after staying in Kunming Pool for a while, his ideas would change so quickly!”
Chen Chong was aware of the emperor's dissatisfaction with Liu Bei, but before that the emperor generally obeyed him due to the affection between teachers and students. However, this political offensive came too suddenly. The emperor's dissatisfaction suddenly broke out, and it was matched with the opposition of the DPRK.
Chen Chong vaguely noticed that there was a force acting secretly in Chang'an, connecting the emperor and the court. But it happened that he acted in such a secretive and thorough manner that he could not find out anything about it. As the prime minister, it was a critical period for the implementation of the New Deal, and he did not have the energy to dwell on this matter for a long time. Therefore, he decided to give in a few steps and see how the other party behaves before reacting.
Liu Bei did not have this idea. He was very aware of the emperor's ill will towards him, and he also knew that almost all the generals in the past dynasties did not die well. Therefore, in his heart, there was only one thing he needed to do. He only closed his eyes for a moment and said the deepest words. Chu's thoughts: "If this is the case, can we follow Yiho's example?"
Chen Chong shook his head and said: "The Emperor is the only bloodline of the Ling Emperor. Who can be replaced by deposing Li Li? What's more, if Li Li is abolished today, you and I will be no different from Dong Zhuo. Yuan Shao of Hebei, Gongsun Du of Liaodong, Liu Biao of Jingzhou, Liu Yu of Yizhou, maybe In addition to Lu Bu, these people are just afraid of the justice of the court. If they are given an excuse, they may immediately start a rebellion, so it must not be done."
Liu Bei knew this, and what he said just now was just an angry word. Now he said what he had thought deeply about: "We can't follow Huo Guang in abolishing the throne, but we must show our attitude. If he can secure his position as emperor, it is also us." What the soldiers fought for with their blood, what he used and ate was originally the anointing of the people of Sanfu. But I heard that when he was summering in Kunming Lake, he even closed the mountain for a time, and no common people or travelers were allowed to enter. How ridiculous!"
Chen Chong actually agreed with this point. He said: "This is what I want to discuss with you." According to Chen Chong's idea, he planned to transfer some of the courtiers involved in the turmoil and send them to Liu Biao and Liu Yan. In this way, the imperial court's influence on Jingyi and the two states can be strengthened, and its control over the central government can also be strengthened.
After hearing this, Liu Bei nodded and said, "Although this method is good, it does not cure the root cause. Ting Jian, I think we still have to find a reason to send Dong Cheng and these two people away. If we can also suppress these two nobles, we can Tell the rest of the thieves to stop their activities."
The meaning behind using the position of assistant minister to target relatives is self-evident. Liu Bei simply pointed his finger to the sky and said to Chen Chong: "Ting Jian, I have sworn since I was a child. In this life, even if I encounter nine deaths, I will be the emperor. You are my life-and-death friend, and we have a close friendship. I must do it." Help me complement each other.”
Chen Chong looked at him and saw the blazing flames. He couldn't help but sigh for a moment, stretched out his hand to hold Liu Bei's hand and said, "How could I not know Xuande's ambition?"
Liu Bei couldn't help laughing when he heard this. He said, "Yes, you and I have been together day and night for many years. My heart is your heart. How could I hide it?" He added, "I also know that you are in trouble. The evil person this time is caused by I’ll do it.”
After hearing this, Chen Chong relaxed slightly, then became alert, and then he felt silent sadness again. He had actually thought about this matter for a long time, but because it was too complicated, he didn't want to think about it in depth. Ever since Dong Zhao mentioned this matter, he had to face it.
In the past few months, Chen Chong has been thinking about the solution to this matter, and the final answer is that there is no solution. There is no way to have both sides in the world. There has always been only one person who can take the position of emperor. All he could do was to make the incident less turbulent and hurt fewer people, that's all.
