Daqin arrests alchemists, what does it matter to me as a qi refiner?

Chapter 215 The kindness of women? This is a benevolent gentleman!

Jingzhou could not be defended, so Liu Bei had no choice but to abandon the city. More and more people were willing to follow Liu Bei along the way.

When they arrived at Xiangyang, Zhuge Liang proposed that Liu Bei attack Xiangyang.

At this time, Xiangyang was still under the control of Liu Cong, and a small number of Cao's troops were stationed at the same time.

Taking Xiangyang will undoubtedly be of great benefit to Liu Bei.

But how could Liu Bei be so cruel?

No matter how bad Liu Cong behaves, Liu Biao has entrusted Liu Cong to him after all. If he captures Xiangyang, Liu Cong will inevitably be damaged, which makes Liu Bei extremely regretful.

Liu Bei wanted to resolve the matter as peacefully as possible, so he shouted outside the city, hoping that Liu Cong would come forward to repent.

But Liu Cong knew that he was in the wrong, so he didn't dare to meet Liu Bei. He just wanted to dig a hole and buy himself out.

The army outside is pressing down on the territory. If Liu Bei really wants to attack, Xiangyang City may not be able to withstand it.

Liu Cong has even begun to pack up his belongings and is ready to run out of the city at any time.

After shouting outside for a whole afternoon, Liu Bei was helpless when he saw that Liu Cong didn't respond. He knew that Liu Cong was determined not to meet him.

At present, we can only repair outside Xiangyang City for one night and set off again the next day.

Liu Bei did not expect that Liu Cong was so unpopular. Early the next morning, hundreds of soldiers from Xiangyang City went out to seek refuge.

Seeing this scene, Liu Bei was both relieved and helpless.

It is obviously not the best idea to escape with so many people, but others have given up their family business and want to follow him. Can Liu Bei still abandon these people?

So Liu Bei had no choice but to take these people with him and embark on the escape journey again.

By the time they arrived in Dangyang, there were approximately 200,000 civilian soldiers under Liu Bei's command.

When he arrived at Liu Biao's tomb, Liu Bei went to pay homage.

Liu Bei talked a lot in front of Liu Biao's tomb. The more he talked, the more he blamed himself. In the end, he burst into tears and couldn't help himself.

In Liu Bei's view, losing Jingzhou was entirely his responsibility.

Although he led Jingzhou on his behalf, he failed to defend Jingzhou, which led to what it is now. This made Liu Bei feel ashamed of his trust in Liu Biao.

If Guan Yu and Zhang Fei hadn't pulled Liu Bei, I'm afraid Liu Bei would have fainted from crying.

The self-blame and guilt in his heart had reached an unbearable level.

But here, Zhuge Liang also recognized Liu Bei's true nature and couldn't help but sigh.

Liu Bei was unintentionally a benevolent king. If he were in a prosperous age, having such a king would really be a great blessing to the people of the world.

But these are troubled times, and these are troubled times where human life is like a piece of grass.

In troubled times, you need to have a heart of stone, and you must never have the kindness of a woman.

A woman's kindness will only miss a great opportunity, and will only make the situation irreversibly slide into the abyss.

Liu Bei can be a conservative king, but he can never be an enterprising founding monarch.

This person is just too emotional.

only……

Zhuge Liang sighed.

This is Liu Bei's advantage, isn't it?

In this troubled world, a compassionate and benevolent king is needed to provide the bottom line for all the heroes in the world.

With Liu Bei here, Zhuge Liang can see a glimmer of hope.

If he really wanted Liu Bei to become a tycoon like Cao Cao, then why didn't Zhuge Liang directly join Cao Cao?

This is Liu Bei's shortcoming, and it is also Liu Bei's greatest advantage.

Zhuge Liang was not prepared to change Liu Bei excessively.

Is benevolence and righteousness a shortcoming?

In these troubled times, at this juncture of lack of strength, benevolence and righteousness can better unite people's hearts and help Liu Bei accumulate the initial power.

These people and soldiers who voluntarily followed are unintentionally the best proof.

If you save the land and lose the people, everyone and the land will be lost; if you save the people and lose the land, everyone will gain the land.

As long as there are people's hearts and people willing to follow, then power can naturally be accumulated.

A single spark may not start a prairie fire!

This is also the reason why Zhuge Liang has confidence in Liu Bei.

After paying homage to Liu Biao, the army quickly set off again.

Marching on the road is completely different from ordinary people traveling.

The more people there are, the slower the progress will be.

If there was only Liu Bei, with one man and two horses, it would not be a problem to travel hundreds of miles in a day.

But once the number of people increases, it will be difficult to march more than ten miles every day.

However, time was tight now, and Liu Bei could not help himself from marching so slowly.

Although they have a large number of people now, there are not many soldiers who can actually fight.

If the enemy really attacks, the soldiers will not only be responsible for facing the enemy, but also responsible for protecting these people.

The best choice now is undoubtedly to leave these people behind, take only the soldiers with them, and set off quickly to find a base and settle down.

Only in this way can we turn around and support these people.

As for the safety of these people... they can only ask for their own blessings. I hope that the enemy will not kill these people after they catch up.

Rationally speaking, this is naturally so.

But Liu Bei has never been a rational person.

He insisted on taking these people with him, even if it would make him die slowly!

Zhuge Liang was both relieved and helpless.

Many times, this kind of benevolence and righteousness is the key to Liu Bei's popularity, but at this critical moment, it becomes the key weakness that drags Liu Bei down and puts Liu Bei in danger.

But it’s not a dead end now.

Zhuge Liang was very calm and quickly made a strategy to divide his troops.

This seems to disperse the protective power, but it also makes the team move forward faster.

If Cao Cao's pursuers were delayed, they might be able to escape calmly.

After making this plan, Zhuge Liang couldn't help but feel physically and mentally exhausted.

This feeling of not being in control is very bad. He can only pin his hope of survival on the enemy's mistakes. This is really not Zhuge Liang's style.

But right now, there is no better plan!

So Liu Bei sent Guan Yu to lead some soldiers and civilians to leave by boat first, and both parties agreed to meet together in Hanjin.

In this way, the troops are divided into two groups, and the enemy does not know who to pursue.

Zhuge Liang originally suggested that Liu Bei and Guan Yu leave together first, because it is safer and faster to take the water route.

If Cao Cao's pursuers really catch up, they will only chase the enemies on the waterway and can only run on land.

It is undoubtedly the safest and most appropriate decision for Liu Bei to leave first.

But Liu Bei believed that he wanted to share the hardships with the people. If he left first and Cao Cao's pursuers caught up with him, wouldn't he massacre the people to vent their anger if they didn't see him?

However, the transportation capacity of the waterway is limited and cannot carry more people. Zhuge Liang can only let as many people as possible set off with the ship.

The fewer people on land and the faster the march, the safer they were.

At this time, someone suggested that Liu Bei should save Jiangling first.

Only by protecting Jiangling can Cao Cao's army's southward route be curbed, and only in this way can the security of the south be protected.

Liu Bei knew the importance of putting people first.

At first, maybe it was just because he was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see these people suffer.

As we all know, the military discipline of Cao Cao's army has always been poor. Whenever the city is breached, it will be burned, killed, and looted. This is undoubtedly a disaster for the people in the city.

But at this point, the ship is in danger of turning around.

If Liu Bei abandons those people here, the reputation he has accumulated over the years will be instantly wiped out. This is not a multiple-choice question at all, because Liu Bei has no choice since he accepted the refuge of these people.

There was only one thing he could do, and that was to lead this group of people down until they escaped and ascended to heaven, or were overtaken by Cao Cao's pursuers.

"If you want to achieve great things, you must put people first. Now that so many people have left their hometowns to follow me, how can I bear to leave them behind!"

Liu Bei said.

Then he led the people forward without hesitation.

Seeing Liu Bei's determined look without hesitation, Zhuge Liang's expression changed slightly.

……

"Has Kong Ming ever thought about it, what if Liu Bei is really a woman?"

Zhuge Liang's movements trembled slightly.

"What is a woman's kindness?"

This conversation took place on the day Zhuge Liang came to discuss with Qin Tian. At this time, he already knew that the person who wanted to invite him to come out was Liu Bei, Queen Jing of Zhongshan.

Qin Tian smiled faintly.

At this time, Liu Bei's reputation was only for benevolence and righteousness, and there were not many real examples to support his thoughts.

Qin Tian thought for a moment and then said slowly.

"Liu Bei is now under Liu Biao's command. Do you think he will be grateful to Liu Biao for taking him in?"

Zhuge Liang nodded: "You should do this, otherwise you will not be a son of man."

Liu Biao took Liu Bei in. If Liu Bei didn't know how to be grateful, wouldn't he be like a beast?

"But if he wants to take over the world, can Liu Bei give up Liu Biao's territory?"

Now that Jiangdong is in the hands of Sun Quan and Sun Ce, it is naturally impossible for Liu Bei to take it.

And the north is Cao Cao's territory. As long as it is not a daydream, it is naturally impossible to use the north as a starting point.

Then Liu Bei had almost no options left.

If he wants to settle down in these troubled times, Liu Bei must have his own territory.

Looking at the world, there is only one choice left for Liu Bei, and that is to inherit Liu Biao's territory.

Only in this way can we have a place to settle down and live, and can we have the qualifications to dominate the world.

In the final analysis, the fight for world hegemony is about land and population. Liu Bei is now impoverished. Wanting to fight for these is nothing more than a dream.

"But if Liu Bei really fights back and takes over Liu Biao's power, then may I ask Brother Kong Ming, is this move benevolent or unjust?"

Zhuge Liang didn't hesitate for long and quickly gave his answer.

"It is natural that the virtuous will live there."

His meaning is very simple. Although you have taken me in, for the sake of the world, I still want to occupy your power. This is called the virtuous person.

Qin Tian laughed: "Kong Ming, Kong Ming, I didn't expect you to be such a sharp-tongued person."

He talks about morality, but his heart is all about business.

"But your words have convinced me and yourself. Can you convince Liu Bei?"

"What's wrong with this?"

Zhuge Liang didn't believe that someone could be so confused and still hold on to morality in these troubled times.

Even if he didn't use real swords and guns, Zhuge Liang had countless ways to make Liu Biao "voluntarily" give up his throne to Liu Bei before he died.

Are there many such things in the world?

"If that were really the case, I wouldn't say that Liu Bei is a womanizer."

Qin Tian smiled faintly: "Looking at a person, you can know a thing or two from what he has experienced in the past."

"Look at Liu Bei, do you really think he will be such a hypocrite?"

"You can't stop everyone in the world from talking if you block your own mouth. Liu Bei also knows this, so he will definitely not make such a move."

Zhuge Liang frowned slightly.

"Although this is a problem, it is not unsolvable."

Zhuge Liang is very confident.

Even if Liu Bei is really a man of kindness to women, he still has many ways to solve this problem.

This is his confidence as a counselor.

"Well, imagine another situation."

Qin Tian said slowly: "If Liu Bei and you find a place to stay, no matter where it is, whether it is Jingzhou or Yizhou, in short you will be defeated and have to abandon the city and flee."

"So at this time, the soldiers and people in the city are afraid of Cao Cao and want to flee with you. What will you do?"

"As we all know, Cao Cao's military discipline has always been extremely poor. After the city was destroyed, most of the people in the city were miserable."

"It was completely foreseeable, no, it was almost inevitable."

No one can guarantee that they can win all the time, not even Zhuge Liang.

Therefore, the scenario assumed by Qin Tian will definitely happen in the future.

"This……"

Zhuge Liang fell into deep thought.

It stands to reason that since they are about to abandon the city and flee, the situation must be very critical and they have to leave.

Since you are on the run, you definitely can’t take too many people with you.

Otherwise, it would not be called an escape, but a killing at the slightest sign.

The best way is to refuse, obey, and leave quickly. Only in this way can you have a chance of survival.

But according to Liu Bei's character and his reputation for benevolence and righteousness, can he really let go of the people and escape on his own?

The answer is naturally no.

The fate of these people is naturally self-evident.

There is only one final result: being caught up by the enemy and then waiting to die.

"So, do you still think this is really a wise king?"

Qin Tian said slowly: "A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. Is a monarch who is willing to put himself in danger still a wise monarch?"

Zhuge Liang was silent for a long time.

……

Qin Tian made it very clear when he was chatting with Zhuge Liang that day.

Zhuge Liang still chose to follow Liu Bei because this was his only chance to realize his ambition.

But he never expected that Qin Tian's vision would come true so quickly.

As for the problem of life or death, he had to make a choice today.

There is no doubt that Cao Cao's army is behind him, but no one knows when they will actually arrive.

But the sense of urgency that was like a reminder made it difficult for everyone to relax.

Is it worth following such a monarch?

Before that, Zhuge Liang might hesitate, might be entangled, or might be shaken by Qin Tian's words.

But when he really put himself in his shoes, Zhuge Liang was very determined.

worth!

When you look at the people's eager eyes and hopeful expectations, no one can bear to refuse.

A person who has the heart to refuse can undoubtedly be called a hero.

But what Zhuge Liang wanted to follow was never a hero, but a truly benevolent king.

He believes that only a benevolent king can save the world and the court!

(End of this chapter)