When the night is ugly, Jiangling City, in the prefect's mansion.
Liu Bei was meeting Mi Zhu who had returned from Yiling with his sleepy eyes.
Under normal circumstances, Mi Zhu should return in the afternoon of the next day.
But Mi Zhu, who knew the urgent information, had to rush on his way day and night.
In order to meet Liu Bei alone, he could only choose the evening.
"Zizhong, are you so anxious to see me? Is there something wrong?"
Liu Bei yawned continuously, his face full of sleepiness.
The ugly time is the time when people are most tired, and unless there are special circumstances, they are completely unable to cheer up.
If Liu Bei hadn't been familiar with Mi Zhu's character, he would have delayed it until dawn.
Mi Zhu had been traveling all night and looked exhausted.
However, since entering Gangneung, the sleepiness has completely disappeared.
"My lord, I have tried my best to persuade Liu Zhang, but I still can't."
"We must use 400,000 people, and Zhuge Military Advisor needs to go there in person."
"Liu Zhang is very determined. These two conditions are his bottom line."
Liu Bei was extremely irritable after hearing this.
What's the difference between Mi Zhu going and not going?
In this case, why bother to come to him all night? Wouldn't it be the same if we talk to him after dawn?
"Zizhong, thank you for your hard work. Go back and rest early."
After all, it was a trip, and Liu Bei didn't blame him. He just wanted Mi Zhu to leave quickly and not disturb his rest.
"Lord, I have something important to do!"
"What else?"
Liu Bei rubbed his sleepy eyes, his tone becoming extremely impatient.
Mi Zhu was not a fool. Naturally, he saw Liu Bei's dissatisfaction and immediately told him directly.
"Lord, it's about Xu Shu."
"What!"
Hearing the word "Xu Shu", Liu Bei suddenly became excited, and then most of his sleepiness disappeared.
"Oh, look at my brain, I have forgotten that I want Zizhong to inquire about Xu Shu."
"What's the situation?"
Mi Zhu listened quietly for a while, then looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, and then he reached Liu Bei's ear.
"Lord, Xu Shu is very likely to have a problem!"
Liu Bei's eyes flashed, and he woke up completely.
"what happened?"
"My lord, Liu Zhang did not admit that Zhang Nan was sent by him, and even laughed at my lord for killing innocent people indiscriminately."
"I carefully observed Liu Zhang's reaction when he heard about Zhang Nan's death. There was absolutely no disturbance at all!"
Mi Zhu paused for a moment, then sighed softly.
"Hey! According to my estimation, Zhang Nan has nothing to do with Liu Zhang."
"What about Xu Shu?"
Liu Bei didn't care too much about Zhang Nan. After all, his whole family had been beheaded, so it didn't make much sense whether he was Liu Zhang's person or not.
"My lord, Liu Zhang is extremely determined and must exchange 400,000 people for these prisoners, including Xu Yuanzhi."
Mi Zhu's tone became urgent.
I traveled day and night just for this news.
"Oh? Didn't Liu Zhang mention that he wanted to keep Xu Shu?"
Mi Zhu shook his head quickly.
"This is indeed Liu Zhang's brilliance!"
"Then I suddenly asked Liu Zhang how many people Xu Shu's mother could be worth. Liu Zhang's expression immediately changed and he became a little panicked!"
"I have to say that Liu Zhang concealed himself very well. If I hadn't been keeping an eye on him, I would have almost been deceived by Liu Zhang."
Liu Bei narrowed his eyes slightly and looked very calm.
The news brought by Mi Zhu did not seem to cause any disturbance to Liu Bei.
In fact, it is not!
Deep in Liu Bei's heart, the waves were already crashing on the shore.
The news brought by Mi Zhu coincides with the news from Zhang Nan!
From this perspective, it is possible that Zhang Nan died unjustly and Xu Shu was a traitor.
However, whether Zhang Nan was wronged or not was not the focus of Liu Bei's concern. Liu Bei was concerned about Xu Shu.
The news brought by Zhang Nan and Mi Zhu was enough to prove that there must be something wrong with Xu Shu.
But if combined with Zhuge Liang's guess that Zhang Nan was a spy, Liu Zhang might have shown it to Mi Zhu on purpose this time.
So looking at it this way, Xu Shu was wronged.
Liu Bei gently held his forehead, his expression gradually becoming painful.
It was too difficult for him to make his own judgment between two completely different situations.
"My lord, I'm still wondering whether Xu Shu will rebel?"
After hearing about the Marquis Guan of Mizhu, Liu Bei nodded helplessly.
"good!"
"Everything we see may be an illusion created by Liu Zhang."
"Treacherous, cunning, and hard to guard against!"
Liu Bei was filled with emotion and couldn't understand why there were such traitors in the world!
Mi Zhu's eyes were complicated and he opened his mouth, but didn't say a word.
It seemed like he wanted to say something but didn't dare to say it.
Liu Bei noticed something strange about Mi Zhu and took the initiative to ask him.
"Zizhong, we have a deep friendship, and our love is stronger than gold! If you have anything to say, it doesn't matter."
Mi Zhu frowned, thought for a long time, and finally made up his mind.
"Lord, if, I'm saying if!"
"If Xu Shu was wrongly accused, would the lord really provide 400,000 people?"
It was the time that Liu Bei couldn't face the most.
Whenever he thought about this, Liu Bei felt as uncomfortable as eating shit.
"Zizhong, what do you think?"
Mi Zhu didn't answer and became confused again.
This hesitant look made Liu Bei very irritated.
"Zizhong, if you have anything to say, just say it. Do we still need to hide it between us?"
Mi Zhu started to look around again, always worried that someone might be eavesdropping.
After confirming that there was no problem, Mi Zhu whispered softly.
"My lord, it is not up to my lord or Military Advisor Zhuge to take out 400,000 people."
"Can the Jingzhou clans agree?"
"Zhuge Liang is from Langya, he is not a native of Jingzhou!"
"To put it bluntly, if Zhuge Liang and the Jingzhou family are no longer in sync, the consequences may be extremely serious."
"Just like Huang Zu now! Even if he has a relationship with the Huang family, isn't he still our enemy?"
No wonder Mi Zhu kept hesitating about what he said. It turned out that the words were against internal unity.
If Zhuge Liang heard this, how could Mi Zhu live a good life?
As a lord, Liu Bei naturally hopes that his subordinates will live in harmony and be consistent with the outside world.
These words of Mi Zhu were definitely something Liu Bei didn't want to hear.
But now, Liu Bei is not only not angry, but also has a deep sense of recognition.
"Zizhong, you are indeed the leader of Xuzhou's talents, and your vision is indeed far-reaching!"
"The Jingzhou clan is extremely dissatisfied with our defeat this time, especially since many of his subordinates were captured by Liu Zhang."
"Thanks to Kong Ming for killing Zhang Nan this time, otherwise we would be in big trouble!"
If all the clans unite to resist Liu Bei, then Liu Bei, the leader of Jingzhou, will have reached his end.
Recruiting troops and collecting food?
Don’t even think about it!
Leather armor, iron armor, wood, anything related to military affairs will be completely cut off.
Everything depends on the family, and this is where Liu Bei is most embarrassed.
"Lord, that's what I mean!"
"As we all know, Zhuge Liang represents the Lord."
"Once Zhuge Liang and the Jingzhou family fall out over the exchange of prisoners, will they directly vent their anger on the lord?"
