Liu Biao was so angry that he wanted to explode.
He had already received the news that Zhang Xiu had come to Nanyang. Now that Zhang Xiuhu is in Guanzhong and has annexed Nanyang, he can be said to be a great prince today. He has also been named the prefect of Yongzhou and General Zuo.
Liu Biao is the general of Mu Zhennan in Jingzhou. In comparison, his official position is not as good as Zhang Xiu.
But that's not the point. The point is that Zhang Xiu went to Caizhou.
What's even more hateful is that Cai Xi actually went out to greet him in person.
What is Cai doing?
Rebellion?
The more Liu Biao thought about it, the more panic he felt in his heart. Nowadays, Zhang Xiu is becoming more and more powerful. Even Cao Cao is not his opponent. He has been defeated again and again. Is he himself Zhang Xiu's opponent?
The answer is clear: no.
If Cai joins forces with Zhang Xiu, his Jingzhou will be in danger.
Today, Zhang Xiu is building a dock at Fancheng Ferry and is gradually developing his navy. It is estimated that it won't be long before the opponent's navy can compete with his own.
no.
Liu Biao decided that he could not wait to be threatened by Zhang Xiu. He wanted to drive this threat back from Nanyang. Nanyang is only across the river from Xiangyang City. If Zhang Xiu has evil intentions, he can launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang, and he will become a prisoner at that time.
He ordered people to call Kuai Yue.
When he was stationed in Jingzhou, Kuai strongly supported him and provided him with money, food and military equipment. It is precisely because of this that he handed over military power to Kuai Yue.
Moreover, Kuai and Zhang Xiu have no intersection and can be trusted.
When Kuai Yue learned that Zhang Xiu was going to Caizhou, he felt calmer.
Although Liu Biao was not a martial artist, he was not a fool either.
Not to mention the distance, what he did in Jingzhou alone is enough to show that Liu Biao is very capable, with both kindness and power, and good seduction, which made thousands of miles clear and the people were convinced. He also opened scriptures and established schools, loved the people and nurtured scholars, and took care of himself. He made friends with Yuan Shao from far away and Zhang Xiu from far away. He was thousands of miles away. He had more than 100,000 armors and dominated the Jingjiang River.
But his shortcomings are also obvious: he is suspicious by nature, prefers to sit down and talk, and keeps his mind to himself, but does not have the ambition to be in all directions.
Nowadays, the rise of Zhangxiu in Nanyang has stimulated Liu Biao to a great extent.
When Liu Biao sent someone to invite him, Kuai Yue had expected it. Now Zhang Xiu made Liu Biao feel strongly uneasy. It was too dangerous for Nanyang, the gate of Jingzhou, to be in Zhang Xiu's hands.
Arriving at the Governor's Mansion, Kuai Yue saluted and stood silent.
Liu Biao raised his eyelids and glanced at Kuai Yue, who was silent, and said displeasedly: "Yidu, now that Zhang Xiu has entered Cai's manor, he might have other intentions. What can he do?"
Kuai Yue held up his hand and said, "Zhang Xiu is the nephew and son-in-law of the Cai family. It is normal to visit relatives in Caizhou. Why are you so interested in it?"
"Really?" Liu Biao snorted coldly, "Does Yidu really think so? That Zhang Xiulangzi's ambition was to raid Guanzhong, and now he is building a dock at Fancheng Ferry to develop the navy. What is his intention? He went south to Caizhou, really Is it to visit relatives?”
"Getting married to Zhang Xiu is a last resort. You are also aware of this matter. Why are you so restless now?"
Liu Biao turned his head and glared at Kuai Yue: "What do you mean by this? Do you think I am overreacting because of my nervousness? Or are you also planning to join forces with Zhang Xiu? Okay -" Liu Biao stood up angrily and shook his sleeves angrily, "——It's better for me to abdicate and give up the position of Jingzhou Mu to Zhang Xiu, so that you, Kuai and Cai, can take the credit."
This is serious.
Kuai Yue was also startled, and quickly knelt down on the ground: "Your Majesty! I, Kuai, are absolutely loyal to your Majesty. Cai is also loyal to your Majesty. Although Zhang Xiu went to Caizhou, he had no choice but to do so. Don't be suspicious of strange behavior, otherwise it will definitely affect the friendship between our two families."
"Your Majesty, the world is in chaos, and all the heroes are rising together in the grass. How can a man who can't embroider a piece of clothing in the bitter cold of Xiliang be in the middle of the pass? This is the power of military power. I am thousands of miles away in Jingzhou, and there are tens of thousands of soldiers in armor. If there are more than ten thousand people, as long as you train your troops and horses diligently to take precautions before they happen, how can they be afraid of Zhang Xiu?"
"No matter how powerful Zhang Xiu's cavalry is, they are just a target when they reach the water. Who else is the enemy of our Jingzhou navy besides Sun Ce of Wu Commandery?"
Liu Biao's expression softened a lot and he nodded in agreement with Kuai Yue's words.
So he ordered: "In order to protect the people of Jingzhou from being destroyed by the war, I now order Wenpin to be the Commander-in-Chief of Land and Water, to train his troops and horses diligently and nip them in the bud, and to order Deng Yi to be the Grain Officer to supervise the grain and grass."
Kuai Yue was stunned for a moment and took a deep look at Liu Biao.
Liu Biao turned his face sideways, his face full of coldness.
Wenpin and Deng Yi were Liu Biao's people.
Let Wenpin become the land and water governor, which in a disguised form removed his military power. It seems that Liu Biao was really afraid.
However, Jingzhou's tycoons were not fools. Originally, Kuai Yue held military power and Cai Mao was in charge of money and grain. Now Kuai Yue was sidelined, making Wenpin the land and water governor, and Deng Yi was made the grain superintendent to take away Cai Mao's power.
It seems that Liu Biao wanted to get rid of the control of the powerful and take control of the power himself.
Kuai Yue did not refute, bowed his waist and cupped his fists, softly agreed, and then withdrew.
It wasn't until Kuai Yue completely stepped on the threshold that Liu Biao slowly turned his face and looked at the empty door. The early winter sun shone in, giving it a slight coolness.
It has always been his wish to get rid of the control of Jingzhou's powerful nobles. He is not young anymore, and power can no longer be delegated to these powerful nobles. His son is still young, and if he waits until he returns to the west, he will definitely not be able to suppress these cunning tyrants.
Taking this step is very difficult and will inevitably arouse the dissatisfaction of Kuai and Cai. But this time he stood on the commanding heights of morality, rose up and down in a majestic manner, and put all the real power in the hands of his own people.
By the way, let’s wake up these powerful people who do whatever they want, such as the Cai family.
But whether his action will be successful or not remains to be seen.
Kuai Yue returned to the house and simply passed one word to the housekeeper: "Go to the heads of the major families and pass one word: empty."
The butler didn't ask any more questions, turned around and went out to send messages to the powerful men in Jingzhou.
…
Caizhou.
After the banquet, everyone drank and talked. Zhang Xiu kept silent about his purpose of getting up, and just had a long talk with his uncle Cai Xi.
Cai Mao and others were anxious.
Several times I wanted to interrupt and ask, but I hesitated and didn't ask.
Cai Xi took a sip of the warm wine and looked at Zhang Xiu with a shrewd light in his eyes: "The Marquis of Xuan occupied Guanzhong and annexed Nanyang. He is really a hero of the world. But Guanzhong has been in chaos since Dong Zhuo, Li Jue and Guosi. Coupled with the successive droughts, all the people are in distress and everything is in ruins waiting to be revitalized!"
Zhang Xiu said undeniably: "What my uncle said is true! Due to Li Guo's rebellion, Guanzhong missed the agricultural festival, the fields were barren, and this year's autumn harvest season was miserable. It all depends on Nanyang's support."
Cai Hao smiled proudly: "Marquis Xuan doesn't have much food and grass!"
Although the Cai family cannot afford to support Zhang Xiu's 100,000-strong army, they can still help him survive until the summer harvest, but I'm afraid it will be difficult for Liu Biao to explain.
Zhang Xiu nodded: "I came here this time for food and grass. The land of fish and rice in the south of the Yangtze River is rich in food and grass. I plan to borrow food from Lujiang Sun Ce, but there are not enough ships. I hope my uncle will support me."
Cai Mao and Cai Xi were stunned.
Don't you borrow food from them?
Abandoning the near for the far?
If Cai wanted to get Zhang Xiu's support, she couldn't just rely on her niece Huang Yueying. At the very least, she had to come up with something real.
Zhang Xiu is short of food now, and what they don't lack most is food and grass. If he can help Zhang Xiu tide over the difficulties, he will be able to rely on Zhang Xiu to stand firm in Jingzhou in the future.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Xiu didn't open his mouth to them.
Father and son looked at each other.
