Three Kingdoms: At the beginning, Lu Bu was mistaken for his father-in-law

Chapter 241

Yecheng is holding a grand autumn harvest festival, and Jingxiang is also organizing an annual temple fair. The difference from the Northern Kingdom is that after visiting Liu Biao, the aristocratic families gathered in Xiangyang will first go to Cai's mansion for a dinner.

After all, it is the No. [-] family in Jingxiang, and Cai Mao holds half of the military power in Jingzhou, which means that he is limited by the Three Mutual Laws, otherwise Cai Mao would have been promoted to an important position in government affairs.

Therefore, here in Jingzhou, the appeal of the Cai family is not much weaker than that of Liu Biao, and even many things cannot be implemented without Cai Mao's nodding.

Before the temple fair, Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou, would not be ignorant of the fact that the great families gathered in the Cai Mansion, but he could only turn a blind eye to it.

In addition to worrying about the background of the Cai family, Cai Mao, who controls half of the Jingzhou army, has prestige in the army, and even overwhelms Liu Biao, who has the power of false festivals. These all force Liu Biao to bear with Cai Mao's excessive actions.

This is the status quo of this era, Yuan Shao, the head of the emperor's gentry, who appears to be a gathering of the major families that govern the territory, but in the end is burdened by the family;

Cao Cao, who needed the support of the family and wanted to get rid of the control of the family, had to use the power of his clan to fight against him;

Liu Biao belongs to the third category. He has to rely on the aristocratic family, but can only be constrained by them, and eventually becomes a semi-puppet state.

In fact, after so many years in Jingzhou, it’s not that I haven’t thought about how to fight against the family. Since Liu Xiu, the family’s tail has been too big. It’s not him who has a headache, but for 200 years, from the emperor to the local prefect, and even the county magistrate. Round thorns.

The aristocratic family has always been united. This is determined by the integration of interests. Lin Mo can quickly break the tacit understanding of the northern family in a short period of time. It sounds simple.

For example, Liu Biao couldn't get it out. Even if it was such a simple matter as letting Liu Qi be the prefect of Changsha, he still had to bear tremendous pressure to complete it.

But tonight, Liu Biao was still in a good mood. It had been more than half a year since he left, and he hadn't seen Liu Qi much during that time. Taking advantage of this temple fair and the reunion of father and son, he still had a lot to say.

"This year's Changsha County's taxation, grain collection and payment have all increased compared with last year. Under such circumstances, you can still expand your army by [-], which shows that you have put in some effort."

After dinner, the father and son sat on the stone bench in the backyard, watching the moon and talking.

For Liu Qi's achievements, Liu Biao is still very pleased.

"Thank you father. Speaking of this matter, I really relied on the help of the emperor's uncle, especially his new military advisor Zhuge Kongming, who is really a national soldier."

Liu Qi is obviously still too young. At this time, in fact, all he needs to say is that this meager achievement is all due to being under his father's knees, and he will need more teaching from his father in the future.

Moreover, when he talked about Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang's help to him, he seemed to talk like a sluice, so that he didn't notice the displeasure flashing in Liu Biao's eyes.

After he finished his speech, Liu Biao chuckled and said calmly, "Did Xuande mention going north to Xuchang to you during the Central Plains War?"

"some."

Liu Qi blurted it out subconsciously, and then realized that the problem was not caused by his parents, so he hurriedly said seriously: "But father, don't worry, without father's military order, none of the soldiers and horses in the Changsha County Mansion dare to go out!"

Liu Biao just smiled slightly, and didn't go into it any further, but couldn't help but felt a sense of loss in his heart.

Afterwards, the conversation between the father and son seemed very dry, as if they were a little absent-minded. The imaginary father's kindness and filial piety disappeared in an instant, leaving only mechanical questions and answers.

"If father is tired of the child, I will help you go back to rest." Seeing Liu Biao yawn, Liu Qi quickly made a filial suggestion.

Liu Biao nodded slightly, but he didn't reach out for his support, instead he asked, "What kind of person do you think Xuande is?"

"The king of benevolence and righteousness cares about the world, and takes it as his duty to help the Han Dynasty. He is a pillar of the court. My son has benefited a lot from getting along with the emperor's uncle day and night these days."

As soon as Liu Bei was mentioned, Liu Qi's eyes lit up again, like a fan boy canvassing for his idol.

Maybe he didn't realize it himself. Unknowingly, he was overwhelmed by Liu Bei's personal charm, and he was willing to follow all his suggestions.

Of course, the main reason was that Liu Qi firmly believed that the emperor's uncle sincerely wanted to help him take over the throne.

Not to mention, the governance of Changsha County is in order, and Liu Qi's reputation is naturally spread in Jingxiang. This is completely dependent on Liu Bei.

In this process, of course it was because of Zhuge Liang's good governance and wide connections, but wasn't Zhuge Liang also willing to assist him because of Liu Bei?
Liu Biao looked deeply at his eldest son, hesitant to speak.

He wanted to say something, but he didn't know where to start. He just sighed and said with a wry smile: "Actually, the Cai family was determined to serve the country back then."

Liu Biao knew in his heart that if it wasn't for the weight of the Cai family, Liu Qi would not have grasped at straws after receiving Liu Bei's help.

But ah, the heart of guarding against others is indispensable. In many cases, people can only share adversity, not wealth.

Who can guarantee that Liu Bei will not become the second Cai Mao after he gains power in the future?

Early the next morning, Liu Biao first led Liu Qi, Liu Cong and the younger generations of the family to the ancestral temple to pay homage, and then held an autumn harvest temple fair at the school grounds in Xiangyang City.

"General, everything is ready. We have ambushed two thousand elite cavalry, two thousand axemen, and one thousand crossbowmen outside Fancheng. As long as Liu Bei leaves the city, no matter how brave Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are, they will not be able to stop our army from ambushing them." Kill!" Zhang Yun, who was Cai Mao's right-hand man, approached and whispered the military situation.

At the temple fair, Liu Qi greeted the patriarchs of the aristocratic families with a smile on his face, and Liu Bei also followed to get acquainted with them.

In fact, apart from his status as the emperor's uncle, Liu Bei, as Lu Zhi's disciple, still has many people who are willing to make friends.

Especially now, the imperial edict that Liu Cong went to Xuchang has not changed. Everyone feels that this matter is [-]% stable. In other words, Liu Qi's appointment is certain, and Liu Bei shares the same father-son relationship with him. Of course, he is no longer as poor as before. It doesn't hurt to make friends with the emperor's uncle who is at the end of his life.

Cai Mao, who saw all this in his eyes, snorted coldly, his eyes were filled with coldness.

In Cai Mao's opinion, the fact that Liu Cong served too often and wished too much was entirely caused by Liu Bei. During this time, Liu Biao and the Cai family have been contacting important officials in the court. Cai Mao even trusted Cao Cao, but there was no turning point. The reply was just one sentence In other words, brother, it's not that my brother doesn't help you, but Liu Bei is always playing tricks, so I can't use my strength.

Cai Mao is convinced of this, because he himself has no way to completely control Liu Biao, so of course Liu Bei is the culprit.

"I can't trust others. At dusk, you must rush to ambush outside Fancheng. I will lead my troops to pursue from behind, immediately enveloping the front and back. I just want to see how well the mat weavers, pig butchers and bean sellers can do." Can't escape!"

"Here!"

Cai Hao still considered very carefully. Killing Liu Bei is not a big problem, because Cao Cao will give him an imperial decree at that time, but he must not kill Liu Biao under the nose, otherwise it will provoke a confrontation.

Fancheng is a good place. It is separated from Xiangyang by the Han River, which is the only way for Liu Bei to return to Changsha.

After explaining all this, Cai Hao never took his eyes off Liu Bei, just watched him get closer to the heads of the major families, with a cold light in his eyes.

It belongs to how to look at how to despise.

This group of people likes to accuse Liu Bei of being hypocritical and deceiving the world. In the final analysis, they just look down on his background of weaving mats and selling shoes.

This is the same reason that the princes of the major families looked down on Lu Bu.

The sun was setting, and the temple fair had actually ended long ago, but not everyone was in a hurry to leave that day, but Liu Bei was planning to go back to Changsha first.

Cai Mao watched him responsibly as he boarded the boat to cross the Han River, and he was completely relieved.

It's just that when he accompanied Liu Biao back to Xiangyang City, he found an excuse to sneak away, took a boat across the water, and led his men to chase all the way to Fancheng, where he ran into Zhang Yun, but he didn't see Liu Bei's shadow.

"What's going on? After crossing the water, this is the only way back to Changsha. Why didn't you see Liu Bei?" Cai Mao was confused. They brought hundreds of people with them, how could they disappear out of thin air.

"General! General!"

Just when Cai Mao and Zhang Yun were puzzled, a horse came up behind them, "We were fooled. It turned out that Liu Bei didn't go by land after crossing the water. He turned back and boarded the boat, and went to Jiangxia along the Han River!"

"impossible!"

Cai Mao's eyes widened, and he shouted: "Liu Bei came by land, where did he get the warships to go to the Han River?"

"Just now a boatman saw their people boarding Huang Zu's warship!"

After the scout finished speaking, Cai Mao realized that he had forgotten about Huang Zu. From Jiangxia to Xiangyang, he took the waterway of Hanshui, and went upstream by boat all the way.

But Cai Mao didn't panic, he snorted coldly and said: "Immediately send fast horses to the downstream ferry, and order to intercept Huang Zu's warship, I will lead the navy to pursue by boat!"

"Here!"

Of course, doing so would offend Huang Zu, but Cai Mao was not afraid of him. In terms of family power, the Huang family was not as good as the Cai family. In terms of military prestige, Liu Biao might not even have his limelight.

Take a ten thousand step back and say, even if Huang Zu doesn't agree when the time comes, and if he really starts fighting in water, Cai Mao won't be afraid of Huang Zu.

Going down the Han River from Xiangyang, there is a ferry fifty miles away, guarded by the Jingzhou navy, as long as Huang Zu's warship is stopped, Liu Bei will still die.

With this belief, Cai Hao directly launched twenty red horse speedboats and a large ship to pursue them.

Huang Zu's eight warships were indeed intercepted by the downstream ferry, but Cai Mao didn't come, so no one dared to board the boat to search for people.

After all, Huang Zu was the prefect of Jiangxia, and with the strength of the Huang family, ordinary people wouldn't dare to mess with him.

Cai Hao was not polite at all after catching up, and directly ordered their warships to be surrounded, while he himself shouted to Huang Zu to hand him over.

"General, Liu Bei is not on my boat. If you don't believe me, just get on the boat and search." Huang Zu leaned on the pole on the deck with his hands folded, with an indifferent attitude on his face.

"Search!" Cai Mao waved his hand, and the soldiers gathered together.

When the soldiers came back to report one by one, Cai Mao was in a daze again, and there was no sign of Liu Guanzhang on board.

What the hell, can Liu Bei fly away with wings?
At this time, it was already dark, and Cai Mao was angry and annoyed. He couldn't detain Huang Zu's people for torture and interrogation for no reason.

By the time he returned to Xiangyang, it was already past the ugly time.

But Cai did not fall asleep, because there was no news about the battle in Fancheng, she guessed that Liu Bei must have gone by water, and could only wait patiently for Cai Mao's battle report.

Liu Bei is not dead, and she can't sleep.

"Understood, you have all been tricked."

When Cai Mao told Cai Shi what had happened, the latter cursed ironically: "Liu Bei must have boarded Huang Zu's boat first, and then got off the boat on the way and went overland, so your people can't find him at all!"

"Hateful! The big-eared thief is really hateful, and he teased me like this!" Cai Mao was so angry that his molars were about to be crushed. He never thought that in Xiangyang, his home field, he could be tricked by a mat seller. Go round and round.

Shame, shameful disgrace.

"It must be Ah Chou's man who gave him the idea. That kid is not a fuel-efficient lamp. Looking back, I have to teach him a lesson!" According to seniority, Ah Chou and Huang Yueying are the nieces of their siblings. Naturally, Zhuge Liang and the others are also the same. Some understanding.

"Okay, what's the use of talking about it now."

Cai Shixiu frowned, thinking that his stupid younger brother could be so stupid, even if he dispatched thousands of people, he still wouldn't be able to take Liu Bei down.

It's all right now, Liu Cong's way of staying in Jingzhou was ruined like this, she didn't know what to do for a while, she paced back and forth in the room, her heavy chest fluctuated like her mood.

Cai Mao sat cross-legged on the mat, unable to do anything except beat his thigh in frustration.

After waiting for several months, I finally waited for such an opportunity to be wasted in vain. It is really annoying.

The two siblings were like this, one pacing back and forth, the other beating his chest and stamping his feet until the end of the day, and it was almost dawn, but he didn't come up with a feasible plan.

"It's really not possible, I will go to Xuchang to meet Meng De in person!" Cai Mao felt that there was no other way.

Cai ignored him. In her opinion, if it could be done, she should have agreed to the delivery of so much money and food earlier. Since it can't be done, what's the use of you going.

Finally, Cai Shi finally stopped, his eyes turned from restlessness to coldness, and finally turned into determination, and sat in front of Cai Mao.

"For the current plan, there is only one feasible solution." Her voice was very soft, but it was not difficult to hear that an important decision had been made.

"Sister, please tell me." Cai Mao became interested and hurriedly sat upright.

Cai didn't answer him right away, but picked up the lamp stick at the side and kept rolling the wick, and the jumping flames finally went out slowly, and she also breathed out a breath of orchid, "If Cong'er Dai Xiao is here, then According to the court law, he cannot leave Jingzhou for three years."

Cai Hao took a breath, swallowed and stared at his sister in front of him. At this moment, he felt that the person in front of him was very strange.

He didn't even dare to think about this kind of thing, how could his sister make up her mind.

"Are you afraid?" Cai Shi saw the panic on Cai Mao's face through the dim light outside the window.

"But, but"

"Don't worry, I know what to do and leave no trace."

Cai's autumn-like eyes reflected the chill, and the corners of his mouth were slightly drawn, "It always takes a little time to prepare and there are still three months to go, so you should take advantage of this time to visit Kuai's and Pang's houses more, and don't let them cause trouble." .”

"Okay, okay, don't worry, sister." Cai Mao nodded slowly, as if he hadn't recovered from this horrifying decision.

Obviously, Mrs. Cai is more like a person who does big things, just muttering coldly, "For Cong'er, I will do whatever it takes, and no one can take Cong'er away from me."

(End of this chapter)