Liu Bei and Zhao Yun left the city and headed west. After walking for more than ten miles, they saw smoke rising from the mountains in front of them, and they could faintly see houses.
Zhao Yun pointed his riding whip forward and said, "This should be Mr. Shui Jing's retreat."
Liu Bei was delighted when he heard this and urged everyone to move quickly.
Liu Bei and Zhao Yun were both fast horses. When they were young, they galloped to the small village. They saw a bamboo forest in front of them, a small bridge and flowing water in the village. It was a quiet and elegant place.
"Who are you two? Why did you come here to beat horses and disturb my master's Qingxiu?" A boy suddenly walked out of the bamboo forest.
When Liu Bei saw the boy scolding him, he dismounted his horse and clasped his fists with Zhao Yun and said, "I am Liu Bei of Xinye. I heard that Mr. Shui Jing is here, so I came to visit him."
"Could the general be Liu Xuande who broke the Yellow Turban?" the boy asked doubtfully.
Liu Bei was surprised and said: "How come you, a little boy, know my name?"
"A visitor came to visit a few days ago. He once mentioned the general's appearance to the master. I was just guessing." The boy explained.
"Is your master Mr. Shui Jing?" Liu Bei asked.
"Of course, my master's surname is Sima, his given name is Hui, and his courtesy name is Decao. He is from Yingchuan. His Taoist name is Mr. Shuijing." Tong'er said in detail.
"Is Mr. Shui Jing at home? Can you lead me to see your master?" Liu Bei asked.
The boy was a little confused: "No general has ever visited here before, and I can't make the decision..."
While the two were talking, the accompanying soldiers arrived with carts. Because of the large number of people, there was a lot of noise. Sima Hui, who was reading in the village, heard the sound and walked out of the bamboo forest.
Liu Bei saw that this man was wearing a square scarf and a long coat of coarse cloth. Although he was younger than himself, he looked like a fairy.
"Master..." the boy shouted.
Liu Bei and Zhao Yun both clasped their fists and saluted. Sima Hui was also surprised when he saw Liu Bei and asked, "General, why are you here?"
"I came to Xiangyang today for a banquet. I heard that Mr. Shui Jing lived in seclusion here, so I came to pay a visit." Liu Bei cupped his fists and saluted.
Sima Hui nodded slightly and said: "I have lived in seclusion here for only a few years. I heard about it when Duke Ming first came to Jingzhou. It is really surprising. Please speak to me."
"Zilong, let them push the cart to the village and then exit. There will be too many people," Liu Bei ordered.
"Wei." Zhao Yun cupped his fists and said.
Sima Hui asked with a confused look on his face: "What is this car?"
Liu Bei smiled and said: "Bei planted some vegetables in Xinye and sent them here specially for Mr. to try."
At this time, Zhao Yun opened the cover, and it turned out to be a cart of ordinary vegetables. Sima Hui paused but said nothing.
After the cart carrying vegetables was pushed to the village, Liu Bei asked Zhao Yun and his entourage to wait outside the bamboo forest. Sima Hui introduced Liu Bei into the thatched cottage and seated the guests and hosts respectively.
Liu Bei saw that the shelves were piled with books, the windows were planted with pines and bamboos, and the Hengqin was placed on the stone bed, and the air was flowing.
After the two exchanged pleasantries, Sima Hui asked with a smile: "Ming Gong, this cart of vegetables is not specially given to me, right?"
Liu Bei didn't dare to hide anything when he met the master, so he explained awkwardly: "Bei is a guest in Xinye, and there is nothing special. I think these newly ripe vegetables are fresh, so I picked some and gave them to Liu Fujun."
"So it seems that Liu Jingsheng has not accepted Ming Gong's wishes?" Sima Hui guessed.
Liu Bei shook his head and said: "The prince originally wanted to accept half of it, but later he was rejected by Kuai Yidu..."
Sima Hui was curious and kept asking questions, and Liu Bei told the details about Xiangyang.
After hearing this, Sima Hui thought for a while and then asked: "Ming Gong is a hero in this world, why do you still have no place to stay and stay in a small place like Xinye?"
Liu Bei felt ashamed and said: "Fate has many bad paths and bad luck. At this time, luck is also fate..."
Sima Hui was a little surprised when he heard the last few words, and suddenly changed the subject and said, "Is it the general's own intention to deliver food to Liu Jingsheng this time, or is it something someone taught the general to do?"
"It was Bei's impromptu decision..." Liu Bei replied.
Lan Tian had been worried about Cao Cao before. If Sima Hui revealed it, more people might be worried about him. Liu Bei could only lie and claim that it was his own plot.
Sima Hui nodded and sighed: "Although this cart of vegetables is cheap, Liu Jingsheng must be happy. Ming Gong's move is a bit eye-catching, but it is difficult to achieve great things with one person's strength. The general still can't control him..."
Liu Bei sat upright and said: "Although Bei is not talented, he has Sun Qian, Mi Zhu, Jian Yong, Wu Guan, Zhang, Zhao Yun, etc. They are all loyal and supportive. How can you say that I can't be trusted?"
Sima Hui smiled and said: "Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun are all enemies of ten thousand people, but unfortunately no one makes good use of them. Sun Qian, Mi Zhu and others are all white-faced scholars, not economical talents."
Liu Bei said in his heart that I already know this. Sun Qian and Mi Zhu are far behind Lantian, but this wife's brother insists on saying that he is not good enough, saying that there will be other capable people to help.
"What is Duke Ming thinking?" Sima Hui asked when Liu Bei was silent.
"Bei also sought talents in Xinye, but he didn't meet him..."
Sima Hui stroked his beard and laughed and said: "If Ming Gong has great ambitions, how can his eyes be limited to the small county of Xinye?"
"Mr. Shui Jing knows how to recognize people, so he came here today to listen to his advice." Liu Bei stood up and saluted.
Sima Hui pointed his finger to the sky and then to the ground, and then said mysteriously: "All the geniuses in the world today are here, and you should go and seek them out."
"Who is the genius?" Liu Bei asked hurriedly.
"Wolong and Fengxiao, if one of these two is chosen, the world can be settled." Sima Hui said with a smile.
"Who are Wolong and Fengxiao?" Liu Bei asked.
Sima Hui glanced out the window and said, "I think it's getting late now. Ming Gong has to rush back to Xinye. Shu Hui can't stay long. Please come back early."
Liu Bei also asked Wolong and Fengchu again, but Sima Hui didn't mention them anymore. He had to walk out of the thatched cottage in frustration. Liu Bei had no way to deal with celebrities like this.
Sima Hui sent him out of the bamboo forest. Before leaving, Liu Bei said: "Bei came in a hurry today. I will come to ask for advice after a while."
"The sun has set in the west, please come back soon." Sima Hui urged.
Liu Bei had no choice but to rush back to Xinye with Zhao Yun and others. He thought to himself, was he not sincere enough? It’s time to give Mr. Shui Jing some valuable gifts.
"Did Mr. Shui Jing say something? I think the master has been depressed." Zhao Yun asked on the road.
"Mr. Shui Jing said that there is a prodigy here, Crouching Dragon and Phoenix, but he didn't mention his name. I was thinking hard about who it was, so I didn't talk much on the way." Liu Bei said.
"My lord, why don't you go back and ask Mr. Ziyu for advice? I see that he is very knowledgeable and may know something." Zhao Yun reminded.
Liu Bei almost forgot about the genius Lantian, so he urged everyone to rush back to Xinye.
Since Lan Tian asked himself to find Sima Hui, he might really know what Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Young are.
After returning to Xinye, Liu Bei finished handling the backlog of government affairs and was about to go to Dengzhuang to find Lantian to solve his doubts. Liu Biao suddenly sent an Yiji to come.
Yi Jiyan surrendered generals Zhang Wu and Chen Sun and rebelled in Jiangxia. Liu Biao asked Liu Bei to bring troops from Xinye to help him put down the rebellion.
Liu Bei was stunned when he heard this. Leaving aside Liu Pan's troops in Jingnan, there was also Cai Mao's garrison in Xiangyang. The prefect of Jiangxia was still his confidant Huang Zu, so why would he order his own general?
