cite Han

Chapter 257 Dispute

Looking at Liu Jing's unrestrained, calm and eloquent appearance, he simply regarded Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou, and the tens of thousands of Jingzhou troops as nothing, how arrogant and arrogant, Liu Jing's "conceited", Lai Gong has thoroughly learned today.

If Liu Jing thought that relying on Ling County and the more than [-] water infantry under his command, he would be able to withstand the footsteps of Jingzhou's army, he would be very wrong.

One of the important reasons why Liu Biao recruited him was that he wanted to pacify Jingnan as soon as possible so that he could transfer his troops back to the north and intervene in the dispute between Yuan Shao and Cao Cao.Once the recruitment fails, given the current situation, Liu Biao will definitely not tolerate the siege of Zhang Xian for years, and will try to destroy him in the shortest possible time at any cost.

The smile on Liu Jing's face remained the same, and he said to Lai Gong: "Of course, I, like General Liu, don't want to use light weapons to ruin Jingnan County and make the people displaced. Therefore, please report to General Liu truthfully when you go back. He is able to put the overall situation first and the people first... The authority is that I will be the prefect of Lingling. At that time, I will replace the general Sui I Jingheng, comfort the people, and bring Jiangxiang back to peace."

Lai Gong smiled bitterly: "Zhong Da, you should be very clear in your heart that the general will never agree to your request."

Liu Jing said slowly: "Mr. Lai is not General Liu himself, how do you know that General Liu will not agree?"

Lai Gong replied without hesitation: "Even if the general agrees to your request out of kindness, I and my servants will do our best to stop it."

Liu Jing raised his eyebrows and said, "Since this is the case, there is nothing to say. Please go back and tell General Liu and Kuai Changshi that Mr. Lai will wait for the Northern Army in Ling County."

Lai Gong frowned and asked, "Zhong Da really wants to go his own way?"

"Is this going my own way next time?" Liu Jing said: "Zhang Ling is far north of Han Mian. I am under General Liu's order to go north alone. At that time, it will be 'people are swords and I am fish.' Life and death are controlled by others. "

Lai Gong hurriedly said: "Zhongda is overwhelmed, the general is a benevolent elder, how could he do such a thing?"

Liu Jingdao: "In the old days, General Liu entered Jingzhou alone, and used the name of governor of Jingzhou to lure tyrants. All the tycoons did not suspect him, and came to the banquet, but General Liu ordered people to kill more than [-] people on their seats, causing the blood in the banquet Flowing into a river, and then annexing other trilogy, such actions, I have not seen General Liu has the style of a benevolent elder."

Lai Gong was taken aback when he heard this, he didn't expect Liu Jing to make a fuss about it, and then he defended Liu Biao: "They are all local clan thieves, at the top they loot counties and counties, at the bottom they harm the common people, it is really a big problem for the local people Also, General Liu captured and beheaded him, which is to eliminate harm for the people, which is very pleasing to the hearts of the people. And Zhongda is the top scholar in Jingzhou, famous in Chu State, General Liu also loves Zhongda's talent, he will only entrust him with important tasks, An Neng Harm it?"

"The general may not have such intentions, but Cai Mao must have such intentions." Liu Jing sneered, "Cai Mao is proud and self-satisfied, but narrow-minded. I heard that Cai Mao was defeated by me, and repeatedly threatened to kill me to avenge his shame. Cai Mao's sister , is the successor of General Liu, with Cai Mao on the outside and Cai Shi on the inside, slandering him day and night, how can I survive?"

Lai Gong reluctantly said: "The general is definitely not someone who listens to slander."

Lai Gong's words even made him feel that he was not very confident, because he was very aware of Cai Mao's resentment towards Liu Jing, and he also knew that with Cai Mao's character, he would never let it go.

As for the influence of Cai Hao and his sister Cai on Liu Biao, they talked bad about Liu Biao all day long. It is conceivable that Liu Jing's ending will definitely not be good.

It is not necessary to lose his life, but in order to appease Cai Mao and Cai Shi, Liu Biao will definitely not reuse Liu Jing again.The so-called prefect of Zhangling, Liu Biao can get rid of it with a single word.In the future, Liu Jing may only be able to stay in Liu Biao's shogunate, just like Wang Can, and be an "imperial literati".

Lai Gong felt that Liu Jing had made it clear that the two had a close relationship after all, he couldn't persuade him to "throw himself into a trap", so he could only sigh secretly, and said: "Zhongda's worries, I have done everything I can. You know, I will try my best to explain it to you when I go back. However, the chance of success in this matter is probably very small."

"Then I'll have Mr. Lai Lai." Liu Jing said with a calm smile, "It's good if things come to fruition, but it doesn't matter if it doesn't work out. I'm waiting for an answer."

Lai Gong couldn't help but shook his head with a wry smile. Liu Jing's attitude was so tough that there was no room for maneuver. It won't be long before the war in Jingnan will resume.

"Since the official business is over, Mr. Lai and his sister-in-law will reunite after a long absence, so why not stay in Ling County for a few more days." Liu Jing said calmly.It seemed that what they talked about before were all trivial matters that were not worth keeping in mind, rather than major matters involving the lives and deaths of tens of thousands of people in Jingzhou.

Lai Gong immediately shook his head and refused: "The general and Kuai Changshi are both looking forward to my news. They have a heavy responsibility, so how dare they take personal matters into account. I plan to leave for Linxiang tomorrow."

Liu Jing had deliberately delayed for five days before, so he let it go happily this time, saying: "Since Mr. Lai has made up his mind, I will not do more to keep you. I will hold a banquet in the afternoon for Mr. Lai to practice."

Lai Gong nodded without refusing.

Liu Jing then left home and went to the county temple. Lai Ci saw his elder brother sitting alone in the back hall with a serious expression, walked in and asked, "Is something not going well?"

During the five days when Liu Jing left, Lai Gong had already told Lai Ci the purpose of this trip.Liu Jing has always respected Lai Ci very much. Lai Gong's original intention was to let his sister persuade him from the sidelines, but he never thought that Liu Jing would be so determined.

"Zhongda rejected the general's solicitation." Lai Gong said with an extremely serious face: "Li Ji, Ling County will soon become a battleground between the two armies, you can't stay in Ling County anymore, you can bring the tiger head back to Lingling Stay away from home."

Without even thinking about it, Lai Ci said, "I need to discuss this matter with Zhongda. Zhongda loves Hutou more than I do. He will never let Hutou be put in danger."

Lai Gong hesitated for a moment, and finally couldn't help asking: "Li Ji, it's been five years since Bo Ming passed away, and Hutou has grown up, do you intend to remarry?"

Lai Ci shook his head slowly but firmly and said: "Although my husband has passed away for a long time, I still miss him in my heart, and I have never forgotten him for a moment." Summer day, winter night. After a hundred years, return to his residence. Winter Night, the day of summer. After a hundred years, return to his room.' "Ge Sheng" words, is my heart."

Seeing that his younger sister was infatuated with no regrets, Lai Gong sighed deeply in his heart and said no more.

Liu Jing came back from outside in the afternoon, held a large banquet at home, and invited dozens of officials from Ling County to practice for Lai Gong.

During the banquet, Liu Jing held a glass of wine and said to Lai Gong: "Mr. Lai, I hope that the day we meet again is not the time when we meet in battle."

Lai Gong shook his head and said: "Unhappy things in the world are always out of ten, seven or eight, what can I do?"

The next day, Lai Gong returned north by boat.

Lai Gong went south this time and achieved almost nothing. Liu Jing opened his mouth to ask for the position of prefect of Lingling. Not to mention Cai Mao who always hated him, even Kuai Yue shook his head after hearing this.

Cai Mao said sarcastically: "I've said it long ago, because Liu Jing'er has some talents and has different ambitions, it is absolutely difficult to obey. But you don't take my words seriously, and you insist on doing this futile thing."

Kuai Yue glanced at Cai Mao and said, "This matter needs to be finalized by the general."

Cai Maojian said: "I tell the general that it will take at least ten days to go back and forth. In my opinion, it is better to immediately gather tens of thousands of people on water steps and ride southward. Liu Jing'er thinks that I am waiting for the general's order. You must be unprepared, and you will be able to go down to Lingxian in a single battle."

Liu Pan thought Cai Mao's suggestion was good, and immediately said: "I lead the cavalry as the vanguard. Liu Jing's army has very few horses, and the pawns are just lambs to be slaughtered. I use cavalry to attack them. If they win, they will be swept away. If they are not victorious, they can retreat calmly. "

"Inappropriate." Kuai Yue directly vetoed Cai Mao's opinion, what Liu Jing said to Lai Gong was not nonsense, but hit the point.

The Jingzhou soldiers have been away from home for a long time, and they have been fighting for many years, and they are not satisfied with the soil and water in the south.

After the capture of Linxiang, the pent-up anger in the soldiers' hearts was also vented. Forcibly driving them south to fight is tantamount to using tired and weak soldiers to attack soldiers who are waiting for work. collapse.

According to Kuai Yue's estimate, it is best for the Jingzhou army to rest until August or September, and it is better to send troops after the autumn harvest.

One is to allow the soldiers to have half a year to recuperate and recover.Secondly, during the autumn harvest, you can harvest rice from the counties in the south of Changsha, and use the enemy's funds to support your own soldiers and horses.

However, the problem is that although Kuai Yue is the coach of the Jingzhou Army, he has no right to make decisions.Liu Biao may not have the patience to wait that long, and the addition of Cai Mao, Liu Pan and other "main fighters" will definitely speed up Liu Biao's decision to send troops.Kuai Yue only hoped that the time would be as late as possible.

Cai Mao looked at Kuai Yue with a frown, and said dissatisfiedly, "Why not?"

Kuai Yue said: "The waters south of Linxiang are all Liu Zhongda's naval forces. Most of my every move is under their surveillance. I'm afraid I was discovered by the other party as soon as I left the barracks."

Cai Mao immediately retorted: "No. From Linxiang to Lingxian County, the Xiangshui waterway is winding and winding. There is a saying in the Hengshan fisherman's song: 'The sails follow the Hunan, and the nine sides of the balance'. I suffered from unknown geography at the beginning, which led to We lost at the hands of Liu Jing Xiaoer. We used cavalry as the main force and went south, if the opponent went by water, the speed would be far behind us, and if they went by land, how could they escape Liu Zhonglang's cavalry pursuit?"

Liu Pan nodded and said, "There should not be many horses in Liu Jing's army, and I guess they are all Nanzhong ponies who are not good at galloping. They will never escape my pursuit."

Cai Mao and Liu Pan sang together, but Kuai Yue remained unmoved and said, "Anyway, I don't think now is the best time to go south, and you should not act rashly."

Cai Mao became anxious immediately, and said: ""Sun Tzu's Art of War" says: "The general is outside, and the emperor's life is not accepted." The meaning of "Spring and Autumn": "When a doctor goes out of the border, he can secure the country and save the people, and he can specialize." General Granting Kuai Changshi the important responsibility of the country and the power of specialization, and now there is a good opportunity to defeat the enemy, why did Kuai Changshi hesitate to make a decision?"

Kuai Yue was unmoved, and said: "It is precisely because I have been entrusted by the general that I need to be cautious. As a general, you can be indecisive, but you must be cautious. Our troops are ten times stronger than the enemy. We use the strong to bully the weak. You should recharge your energy and store up your energy, fill up your horses, and defeat the enemy with the momentum of Mount Tai. Why give up your own advantages and take risks easily? Give the enemy an opportunity? If you make a mistake, what face do you have to go to see the general?"

Cai Mao said angrily: "The reason why Linxiang has not fallen for many years is because Kuai Changshi was too cautious. Is it going to happen again now?"

Kuai Yue said angrily, "Could it be that Junshi Cai has forgotten that he insisted on going south? I have repeatedly persuaded you, but have you ever heard half of it? Did I ridicule you when you came back defeated? Instead, I repeatedly pleaded with the general for you."

Cai Mao couldn't help blushing, he was really confused just now, he was a little out of choice, and hurriedly apologized to Kuai Yue: "I was emotional and my words were wrong, Brother Kuai calm down."

"In short, everything is decided by the general." After finishing speaking, Kuai Yue walked away.

Cai Mao's face was livid, and he also left with anger, leaving Liu Pan and Lai Gong speechless.

A few days later, Liu Jing's autographed letterhead was placed in front of Liu Biao's desk.

After Liu Biao read it hastily, he almost had the urge to tear the letter into pieces, but when he saw the dignified, majestic and majestic regular script on the letter, he finally resisted the urge in his heart and couldn't bear to destroy it.

For Liu Jing, he thought he had done the utmost of benevolence and righteousness to him, but he repeatedly rejected his intentions, and now he faintly revealed his intention to separate Jingnan, which really made Liu Biao hate him endlessly.

For Liu Jing's request, Liu Biao absolutely has no reason to agree. Not to mention that he is currently in a good situation, except for Jingnan, the other three sides are temporarily safe. Even if there is external unrest, he will never tolerate a second Zhang in Jingnan. envy.

In addition to Liu Jing's letters, Kuai Yue, Cai Mao, and Liu Pan also wrote to him.Kuai Yue's letter made Liu Biao frown. In the letter, Kuai Yue explained in detail the current difficulties of the Jingzhou army, and emphasized that the whole army must rest for at least half a year before it can fight.

This is not the first time that Kuai Yue has said this. Since the capture of Linxiang, Kuai Yue has written letters to Liu Biao every now and then, complaining about the difficulties in the army.Liu Biao believes that there must be difficulties in the army today, but it may not be as Kuai Yue said.

If it weren't for his brother-in-law Cai Mao and nephew Liu Pan in the army, Liu Biao would really think that Kuai Yue had something else on his mind.

Liu Biao opened the letters of Cai Mao and Liu Pan, all of which explicitly or implicitly mentioned that Kuai Yue was too cautious in using troops.

Liu Biao immediately called a meeting between the Zhennan General's Mansion and the Jingzhou Governor's Department of Civil and Military Affairs to discuss when the Jingzhou Army should go south.

At the meeting, civil and military officials each expressed their views, and the debate was delayed without a result. Instead, Liu Biao had a splitting headache. In the end, he had to act arbitrarily and give the whole army a period of rest before Kuai Yue led his troops south in June.

When Kuai Yue received Liu Biao's letter, he couldn't help but smile wryly. Sending troops in June means that starting from the capture of Linxiang, the soldiers will only get three months of rest when they are fully engaged.

It is not difficult to imagine that once he announces the news to the public, it will inevitably arouse great dissatisfaction among the soldiers in the army. Since Cai Mao is determined to go south, let him release the news.

(End of this chapter)