Ji Han Liu Zhang

The land of Shu is closed, but it is like a blessed land in the cave. It is prosperous and peaceful, and there are many Taoist sects preaching in Shu. Therefore, although Zhang Su is a disciple of Confucianism, his character is more towards Taoism. He is happy and knows his fate, and good fortune and misfortune will not come to him. Shocked, knowing that there is nothing that can be done about it, he is at peace with his fate.

Therefore, even though he did not get the opportunity to meet with Pang Degong and listen to the teachings of this great sage in Jingxiang, Zhang Su was not angry. He just told the boy that after Pang Degong came back from collecting medicine, Zhang Su told him that he had Visited.

After the boy nodded in agreement, Zhang Su turned around and left without any nostalgia. If you miss it, you will miss it. If you try it all over again next time, if you really can't meet Mr. Pang De, it can only mean that he has no fate with Mr. Pang De. No matter what, it is destiny.

After leaving Pang Degong's residence on Yuliang Continent, Zhang Su did not return to Xiangyang City immediately. Instead, he stayed among the mountains and rivers. He walked on the beach of Yuliang Continent, admiring Xian Mountain and the mountains as he walked. Mianshui.

It was a cold winter, and all the trees on the Xian Mountain were bare. The skinny branches were in various shapes, presenting different scenes, either like a tiger descending the mountain, or like an antelope hanging its horns. Looking far away, Zhang Su could see everything. I marveled at the beauty of the mountains.

After the mountain scenery was gone, it was the turn of the Mianshui River in front of him. Zhang Su remembered the allusion in the Analects of Confucius. The Master said on the river: The deceased is like a man who does not give up day and night. The Mianshui flows endlessly, the river rushes wildly and moves forward in an indomitable direction.

Good mountains, good water, good landscapes.

When the mountains and rivers came into view, the natural and surprising scenes swept through his mind. Zhang Su suddenly felt that the fatigue caused by his recent mission to Jingzhou had been swept away, leaving him with an ethereal mind.

With such mountains and rivers, it is no wonder that Pang Degong lived in seclusion here. Perhaps it was precisely because of these mountains and rivers that Pang Degong gave up his career as an official and chose to become a hermit, focusing on the mountains and rivers and forgetting worldly affairs.

Zhang Su seemed to understand why Pang Degong lived in seclusion. Under the infiltration of this landscape, he almost wanted to give up his official position and become a hermit and idler, no longer interested in mundane affairs.

But it was only for a moment. Zhang Su shook his head and got rid of the thought of seclusion. As a child of a noble family, he was responsible for the rise and fall of the family, but it was difficult for him to stay in seclusion and become the person he transformed into.

"Go back." Zhang Su turned around and ordered his followers. If he stayed in the mountains and rivers here for a longer time, he would probably find it harder to leave, so it would be better to leave early.

The servant who followed Zhang Su immediately agreed, called the fisherman's house, helped Zhang Su get on the fishing boat, and headed for Xiangyang.

Just when Zhang Su was visiting Pang Degong, Kuai Yue, who had received an entrustment from Zhang Su during yesterday's banquet, came to the residence of Cai Mao, the general of the army.

"What a horse."

The commander-in-chief, Cai Mao, stared at the horse ridden by Kuai Yue in front of him. He saw that the horse in front of him was strong, with flying hooves, and a calm and inexplicable posture. He knew that this was a rare and good horse.

"Jingxiang doesn't have such a good horse, so it must be from Liangzhou, right?" Cai Mao asked Kuai Yue. Without waiting for Kuai Yue's reply, he stepped forward, holding the horse's reins with one hand and stroking the horse's head with the other. Showing greed.

You know, ever since the chaos in the world and the roads were cut off, it has been difficult to find such good horses in Jingxiang. Cai Mao could not stop his greed and wanted to get this good horse into his pocket.

"It's the big horse from Liangzhou." Kuai Yue nodded affirmatively, and at the same time he asked Cai Hao: "If it weren't for the water plants in Liangzhou, how could such a good horse be bred?"

"Kuai Jun said that only Liangzhou can produce such a good horse, but I don't know where Kuai Jun went to find such a good horse." Cai Mao reluctantly put down the hand caressing the horse's head. , he asked Kuaiyue about the horse's origin.

Kuai Yue shook his head: "Where did I come from? This good horse belongs to my family."

"Ah." Cai Mao's face became anxious. If the fine horse in front of him did not belong to Kuai Yue, he might not be able to get it today. After all, he would have to ask the original owner for his opinion. But if it belonged to Kuai Yue, as long as When he opened his mouth, Kuai Yue thought that he was willing to give up his love.

"I wonder who owns this horse?" Cai Hao asked. If he couldn't keep this horse in his bag today, he might not be able to sleep at night. Even if he fell asleep, he would probably be dreaming about this horse. The attitude of a good horse.

"This horse belongs to Zhang Su, the envoy from Yizhou. I saw that this horse is extraordinary, so I borrowed it to ride on. It will be returned to Zhang Su soon." Kuai Yue said casually.

"Zhang Su, the envoy from Yizhou." Cai Mao's face was stunned. He was just greedy and thought that no matter who owned this good horse, he used his power and position to suppress others and took the horse by force. Nothing could be easier.

But when he heard the words "envoy from Yizhou", Cai Mao's intention of robbing the horse suddenly disappeared. If it was someone else, it would be fine. If someone else had the horse taken away, they would have no place to seek justice. Cai Mao was not afraid even if he ran to Liu Biao to complain, after all, Liu Biao was his brother-in-law. However, the envoy from Yizhou was of noble status, representing Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou. Even his brother-in-law Liu Biao had to show some respect to him and was not someone he could bully at will.

"Hey." Cai Hao reluctantly let go of the horse's reins. Although the horse was good, he thought he couldn't get it.

Seeing Cai Mao's lonely look, Kuai Yue's lips curved up, and he said meaningfully: "The general loves this good horse, do you want to keep it in his pocket?"

"Who wouldn't love such a good horse? Of course I want to keep it in my pocket." Cai Mao replied naturally. As a general in charge of the army, a good horse plays a huge role, whether it is charging into battle or being defeated. When escaping, it will be helpful to have a good horse to help you.

"It's a pity that this belongs to the envoy from Yizhou, but it's hard to keep it in his pocket... Mr. Kuai, you said that Zhang Su, an envoy and a scribe, wants such a good horse as a mount. Isn't this a waste of natural resources?"

Cai Mao's tone was a little angry. Zhang Su's mount was much better than the mount of him, the general who commanded the army. He wanted to throw away the mount that he regarded as a treasure in the past.

Facing Cai Mao's question, Kuai Yue replied seriously: "Yizhou is no better than Jingzhou. Our Jingzhou is far away from horse-producing areas such as Youbin and Guanliang, while Yizhou is close to Guanliang. Now Liu Yizhou has won Wudu is close to Liangzhou. It is expected that he can get a lot of good horses from Liangzhou... Therefore, although Zhang Su is a scribe, it is not surprising that he can get such good horses as mounts. ”

"What Mr. Kuai said is that such a good horse cannot gallop on the battlefield, but instead becomes a substitute for scribes. It is a pity, a pity..." Cai Mao's eyes were lingering on the good horse in front of him, and he couldn't stop talking. regret.

Kuai Yue nodded: "The general is right. It is a pity that such a good horse cannot fly on the battlefield and charge in all directions, but it has to walk slowly every day and grow old in a stable." Kuai Yue's words, Cai Mao felt even more regretful and looked sad, but the Yizhou envoy was not someone he could easily offend. He had no choice but to take the horse away from him, and Zhang Su could only give it to him voluntarily.

But Cai Mao thought that he had no friendship with Zhang Su, so he asked for the horses rashly, which was a bit unkind. He glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw Kuai Yue in front of him, and an idea suddenly flashed in his mind. He had no friendship with Zhang Su, but Kuai Yue and Zhang Su did exist, but he had heard that Zhang Su had to redeem Kuai Yue's nephew from the rice thief and rescue him, and yesterday Kuai's mansion invited Zhang Su to express his thanks with great fanfare.

Cai Mao showed a slightly flattering look. He walked forward, took Kuai Yue's hand and said, "Kuai Jun, I heard that your Kuai family has some friendship with Zhang Su. I wonder if you can come forward and persuade Zhang Su to give this horse to me..." Of course, I don’t take his horse for nothing, I am willing to pay for it with my property.”

Kuai Yue looked troubled: "General, Zhang Su is not a merchant who came to Jingzhou to sell horses. He is an envoy from Yizhou to Jingzhou. I don't expect that even if the general buys it for double the gold, Zhang Su will not do it for the sake of his literati character." Will sell to the general."

"This... no matter whether the matter is successful or not, please tell me, Mr. Kuai, first." Cai Mao spoke earnestly, begging Kuai Yue.

Kuai Yue frowned and looked extremely embarrassed. Under Cai Mao's expectant gaze, Kuai Yue suddenly relaxed his frown and said, "General, do you still remember one of your subordinates?" Lieutenant?"

'Wen Ping. Listening to these two words, Cai Mao seemed to have been awakened by some bad memories. He rubbed his hands and let go of Kuai Yue's hand, as if Kuai Yue was an ominous person at the moment and could not touch him. If you come into contact with it, you will be haunted by bad luck.

Wenpin, Cai Mao, remembers him too well. When he first conquered the Shangyong Battle, he was seduced by the Shen family's false defeat and did not listen to Wenpin's dissuasion, which led to the failure of the Shangyong Battle and Wenpin's failure. In addition to being imprisoned by the Shen family, he was also responsible for that battle. He put all the blame on Wenpin and took all the blame on himself.

Cai Mao had previously heard that Wenpin was still alive and imprisoned in Shangyong by the Shen family. He couldn't help but worry that if Wenpin returned to Xiangyang alive to defend himself, even if he could rely on his power and the favor of his brother-in-law Liu Biao, he would be able to win the battle. Wenpin could not defend himself, but once his corruption and corruption were exposed, his reputation would be ruined.

The subsequent development of things went in the direction that Cai Mao was worried about. Yizhou Shepherd Liu Zhang actually paid for the redemption of Jingzhou prisoners who were imprisoned in Shangyong, and sent a message to Jingzhou saying that he would release the Jingzhou prisoners back to Jingzhou. , using Yizhou's money to do things in Jingzhou, he was just taken advantage of. At that time, Cai Mao cursed Liu Zhang.

At that time, Cai Mao was worried that when Wenpin, one of the Jingzhou prisoners, returned to Xiangyang, the good deeds he had done in Shangyong would be exposed. However, things took a turn for the worse. Cai Mao, who was worried, immediately went to receive the Jingzhou prisoners, thinking of finding someone to help him. When Wenpin was given the opportunity to die of natural causes, there was no trace of Wenpin among the Jingzhou prisoners. He was overjoyed and took it for granted that Wenpin must have died of illness in Shangyong Prison, so he had no chance to return. Xiangyang.

But now that he heard the word "Wenpin" from Kuai Yue's mouth, Cai Mao felt incredible. How could a person who should be dead be mentioned by Kuai Yue? He couldn't help but swallowed and asked Kuai Yue: "Kuai Jun from Where did you hear about Wenpin?" At the moment, Cai Mao forgot about his greed for the good horse in front of him. He just wanted to know where Kuai Yue got the news about Wenpin.

"It's Zhang Suchu, the envoy from Yizhou." Kuai Yue looked relaxed. He looked at Cai Mao, who looked nervous, and believed what Zhang Su told him yesterday. That was that Shangyong was defeated for the first time, and Cai Mao had done something to blame. , Wenpin took a big blame for Cai Mao.

Shifting the blame was an extremely serious military mistake, but Kuai Yue had no intention of exposing Cai Mao. He just wanted to use Cai Mao's mistake to complete the tasks assigned to him by Zhang Su, and to repay Yizhou. Take action to save Kuai Qi's kindness.

"Zhang Su?" Cai Mao felt a little confused. How could Wenpin, a Jingzhou native, be involved with Zhang Su, the envoy from Yizhou.

Kuai Yue half-squinted his eyes and announced honestly: "Some of the Jingzhou prisoners rescued from Shangyong this time were chosen by Liu Yizhou and are currently staying in Hanzhong. They were not sent back to Jingzhou in Xiangyang by Zhang Su." Among the prisoners was Captain Wenpin... but I heard what Zhang Su said yesterday that Wenpin always thought about his family in Xiangyang and shed tears every time. Therefore, although he was valued by Liu Yizhou, he still did not want to stay. Hanzhong.”

Cai Mao's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. He murmured, but made no sound. He just said silently: "Wenpin can't go back to Xiangyang." 'He wanted to say this, but it was not easy to say it.

Here Kuai Yue continued: "Liu Yizhou is an upright man. Seeing that Wenpin misses his family, he has no intention of forcing Wenpin to stay in Hanzhong... Therefore, Zhang Su came to Xiangyang on this trip, secretly intending to share Liu Yizhou's worries. He originally planned to Bring Wenpin's family to Hanzhong. In this way, after the family is reunited, Wenpin will definitely be willing to stay in Hanzhong. Zhang Su will make some achievements during this mission, and he can also show his face in front of Liu Yizhou... It's just a pity..."

"What's the pity?" Cai Mao leaned forward fiercely and asked Kuai Yue anxiously.

"It's a pity that Wenpin's family was detained by Yousi because of the first Shangyong defeat. As an envoy, Zhang Su was not allowed to interfere in Jingzhou's internal affairs, but he was not allowed to take Wenpin's family to Hanzhong..." Kuai Yue revealed his face. Smiling, he said: "If the general can facilitate this, hand over Wenpin's family to Zhang Su."

Kuai Yue pointed to the good horse in front of him and said, "It's just a good horse. Are you still afraid that Zhang Su won't give it to you?"

After saying this, Kuai Yue put away his smile and frowned: "If we just let Wenpin's family go, the law enforcement is not fair enough. I'm sorry for the Jingzhou soldiers who died in the first battle of Shangyong... I think it's better to forget it." Kuai Yue shook his head, feeling that his proposal was not fair enough.

"You can't say that." Cai Mao waved his hands repeatedly: "Although Wenpin said he was greedy for merit and rushed forward, it was also because he was eager to make contributions. Wenpin fought several times for me in Jingzhou, and there was no credit but hard work. Besides, Wenpin's fault is not as good as his How could my family be wronged... In the past, I often thought of Wenpin's achievements and intended to free his family. Now that Liu Yizhou values ​​Wenpin, it is Wenpin's blessing that I should send Wenpin's family to Hanzhong."

'Killing two birds with one stone, I'm so smart. After Cai Mao said these words, he had the idea to send Wenpin's family to Hanzhong with Zhang Su. Once Wenpin comes, he will not return to Xiangyang and stay in Hanzhong with peace of mind. The matter will not be exposed. Secondly, Zhang Su owes him a favor. It is really beautiful to exchange this favor for Zhang Su's good horse.

"This... Kuai Yue's expression wavered, as if he was a little entangled, but after a moment he nodded: "The general is really merciful, then leave this matter to me, I will go and communicate with Zhang Su. "

"Then please ask Kuai Jun to contact you." Cai Mao smiled smugly, looking very satisfied.

……

At night, a full moon hangs high in the sky, like a jade plate.

Zhang Su, who had not yet visited the hermit Pound, returned to his residence in Xiangyang Posthouse after admiring the landscape. He saw a young man in green clothes waiting at the door of his room.

Seeing Zhang Su returning, the boy quickly ran forward and walked towards Zhang Su. Zhang Su on the opposite side also saw the boy. He recognized where the boy came from and he was Kuai. As a servant of the clan, he couldn't help but feel happy, thinking that he had fulfilled his merits by asking Kuai Yue to do something for him.

Just as Zhang Su expected, the servant came forward, saluted and conveyed Kuai Yue's words: "The master of the family asked me to inform the meritorious officer, and what he said has come true." (End of this chapter)