Lao Liu is quite good at surrendering generals and prisoners, not to mention the prisoners who are quite interested in recruiting.
Xia Houshang and Xu Huang have not even been imprisoned since they were captured. This was even before they agreed to Lao Liu's solicitation.
With their status and influence, as long as they agree to vote for Liu, they will definitely be put into great use.
They lived in Yu Jin's mansion.
Speaking of Yu Jin, he has actually lived well since he came. Lao Liu gave him a higher salary than when he was in Cao Wei, and also arranged a lot of servants for him.
Since Yu Fan was transferred to Shangyong, no one usually criticizes him anymore, and all the Chengdu officials he meets treat him with courtesy.
Apart from not being able to leave the city without authorization, being always accompanied by "guards", and being reported to Chengdu officials whenever he met or said anything, his life actually did not have many inconveniences.
Occasionally, Lao Liu would even visit him in person when he was free. Of course, he understood that Lao Liu was mainly here to recruit Xia Houshang and Xu Huang.
As long as General Yu is willing, Old Liu will even arrange a new marriage for him... But the depressed General Yu obviously doesn't have that intention.
In the dead of night, the heavy rain and the flood would still appear in his dreams.
General Yu, who sleeps almost every day as if he were in water, unfortunately developed a bedwetting problem because he could never wake up in time from the water.
To the depressed General Yu, even the map drawn on his bed looked like the shape of Xiangfan...
"Sigh... I had known that living an ignoble life would be like this. It would have been better to die." General Yu, who was already white-haired, took a sip of wine and looked no different from an ordinary old man who was about to die.
But having said that, I didn’t have the courage to die generously back then, let alone now.
The two tenants, who were prisoners of war but were not subject to many restrictions, have long been accustomed to the "landlord" who is full of negative energy.
"Since General Yu has surrendered, why not be more open-minded." The one who spoke was slowly sipping wine and looking at Xia Houshang, who was quite elegant.
Yu Jin half-opened his drunken eyes and said, "Bo Ren is so open-minded, why didn't he surrender earlier?"
Xia Houshang was not angry, but smiled calmly: "If I hadn't known Cao Zihuan for a long time and couldn't bear to betray each other, I would have surrendered to Liu as soon as Ah Yue arrived."
"Hmph, such a good man actually said this for the sake of a concubine... Hey." Yu Jin smiled and took another sip of wine.
Whenever Xiahou Shang did something for his wife, Yu Jin would look up to him.
"You don't understand." Conversations like this have happened many times since Yu Qing drank too much, and Xiahou Shang always ends with these three words.
Xu Huang remained silent as always.
He is neither as entangled as Yu Jin, nor as calm as Xia Houshang, but he is a little confused about the general trend of the world.
At that time, he decisively surrendered to Cao Cao, and he believed in his heart that Cao Cao would definitely achieve great things, and only by following Cao Cao could he realize his ambitions.
And Cao Cao's subsequent development also proved that he was right.
He wanted to end the troubled times and achieve something. Even if Cao Wei killed a lot of people in the process... it would still be better than the separation of large and small forces and long-term war.
There is no one who can't die in a war, not to mention that in his eyes, Cao Cao is not a tyrannical lord who only knows killing. Many times he massacres cities and relocates people, which in his view is also for the purpose of intimidation.
Let the enemy have more concerns the next time the army comes, no matter how hard they want to resist.
If one city is slaughtered, and ten cities are less likely to fight to the death, then in the long run will there be fewer deaths?
Looting people's wealth...that is also a helpless act when you are in trouble. Living in troubled times, how can you achieve great things if you don't do this?
He didn't dare to say that massacring the city and looting was right, but after all, it was for the sake of quick peace in the world.
Before he was captured, he had always thought this way...
But recently, Xu Huang has been shaken a little, although only a little.
"Stop drinking and go out for a walk. If you drink again, you will make people sleepless all night." Xu Huang snatched the wine glass from Yu Jin's hand.
Firstly, he felt depressed, and secondly, the general was crying and fussing after he was completely drunk, and the wine was indeed not that good...
Holding the drunkard with his left hand and dragging the lover with his right hand, the three troubled brothers went out together, accompanied by the "guards".
The residence that Old Liu arranged for Yu Jin was in a good location. It was not far from the market and Da Sima's Mansion. There was also a carriage for him parked at the door.
However, the three brothers were just wandering around and did not take a bus.
At this time, the market will close in half an hour.
"Specials" are not a patent of modern marketing. Preservation methods are backward at this time. Some vendors selling food that is difficult to preserve will also choose to reduce the price before the market closes. It is better than having it rot in your hands.
At this time, this street was extremely busy with people.
"Mom, I heard that Prince Sheng Sheng is coming back soon. How about we go buy a chicken to eat?"
"You brat like you know how to eat. Didn't you just eat it a few days ago?"
"Isn't this how happy the prince is that he has won..."
"The news has spread a long time ago. You keep saying this every day! Let's eat pickles and wheat rice today!"
"Hey, if you don't want to eat, I won't eat. Don't pull my ears!"
The so-called wheat rice is cooked wheat grains and eaten directly. It is one of the daily staple foods of ordinary people.
Liu Chan didn't eat less when he was on the move. The advantage is that it digests slowly and he won't get hungry easily after eating.
The disadvantage is that it takes time on your cheeks and teeth. If you don't chew every particle of this stuff, you won't even think about swallowing it.
The lively people around him dispelled some of the boredom, but Xu Huang, who had just left the military life, became more shaken every time he saw these scenes.
"...We'd better not go this way."
It didn't matter where Xiahou Shang went, and Yu Jin didn't feel good about it either, so the three brothers turned around and headed back.
When he was almost walking back to Yu Jin's mansion, Xia Houshang stopped.
"What's wrong?"
Xiahou Shang turned a deaf ear to the calls of his companions. His eyes widened and widened, his breathing gradually became rapid, and eventually his body began to tremble.
"...Why don't you take him to see Doctor Wang?" Although Yu Jin quarreled with him whenever he drank, but as the only two people who could talk to him, he still cared about this junior.
However, Xu Huang noticed a few people standing in front of the house, four well-worn men and a woman dressed as an ordinary peasant woman.
The woman's face is a bit dark... Judging from the side profile, she can't be said to be beautiful or fragrant, at least she's unattractive.
But Xia Houshang was looking at the woman as if she had been cast into a restraining spell.
As if feeling something in her heart, the woman suddenly tilted her head towards Xia Houshang and was stunned.
The two people seemed to have nothing else in their eyes, just staring at each other blankly.
Xu Huang silently pulled away Jiu Mengzi Yu Jin, who had not yet figured out the situation, and prepared to watch the show with great interest.
After standing still for a long time, the woman came to her senses first. Two lines of clear tears fell from the corners of her eyes, washing away the stains that the men had deliberately asked her to apply, revealing the true nature of the white skin underneath.
"Mr. Lang!" The woman called out, gently and tactfully, with tears in her eyes, and then ran towards Xia Houshang, who was still standing there.
"Hey!" One of the men beside her saw that the target of the mission had run away, and subconsciously tried to catch him, but was grabbed by another man beside her.
"Didn't you hear me calling you husband?"
He looked at the gentle woman who usually spoke softly, but now ran towards the stupid young man like crazy, and breathed a long sigh of relief: "We brothers can finally go back and resume their lives."
Lao Liu cut off all official and business contacts with Cao Wei in the north, and the inspections at all checkpoints were extremely strict.
They took a woman with them all the way, first going to Soochow, then turning to Jingzhou and entering Bashu, and they really suffered a lot.
The woman ran in front of Xia Houshang before stopping. She wanted to throw herself directly into her husband's arms, but there were people coming and going on the street, but she couldn't make such a shocking move.
"Mr. Lang..."
Xia Houshang just came back to his senses after another affectionate call.
Xia Houshang, who had not shed a single tear since being arrested, was now bursting into tears without even realizing it.
As if he was in a dream, he tremblingly grasped the woman's hands, fearing that if he pressed a little harder, she would disappear.
Fortunately, although these hands were much thinner, they were actually held by him.
"A...Ayue?"
"Langjun! I thought I would never see my husband again... Wuwu..." The woman lowered her head and sobbed.
Xia Houshang stretched out his hand to lift her chin, wiped away her tears with his fingers, and then laughed wildly: "Hahaha, you're okay! You're really okay! Hahaha..."
It attracted passers-by's side glances and whispers.
Suddenly there was a commotion in the distance, and a shout rang out: "The prince will be back soon!"
The crowd was immediately attracted by the bigger news. They stopped buying the specials and rushed toward the city gate.
In the turbulent flow of people, only this pair of men and women, one crying and one laughing, seemed to be isolated from the world, crying and laughing to themselves...
(End of chapter)
