The Rebellious Officials and Traitors of the Late Han Dynasty

Chapter 333: Forced to Go North
On the official road to Xiangyang.

Cai Mao, Kuai Liang and other prominent families in Jingzhou gathered together, looking at the dozens of carriages not far away, with a wry smile on their faces.

Huang Chengyan's mother and daughter, Sima Hui's family, the Ma brothers, Kuai Yue, etc., except Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, all the people mentioned in the imperial edict were among them, and they had to follow the court angel to Chang'an.

Liu Biao's coffin also followed the army northward. Lady Cai and Liu Cong would take the coffin to Shanyang for burial, and then return to the capital.

After today, everything Liu Biao has in Jingzhou will come to an end, and everything he has will be inherited by Cai Mao and Kuai Liang, or possibly Liu Bei.

In any case, all this has nothing to do with Liu Biao. The originally peaceful Jingzhou is about to fall into chaos.

"General, everything is ready. Please give the order to set off."

Wen Pin came galloping on his horse and reported loudly.

Wen Pin was a direct descendant of Liu Biao and was a loyal and brave man, so Cai Mao and Kuai Liang naturally excluded him and let him lead the army to escort everyone into the capital.

"Zhongye, be careful on the road. Come back immediately after you reach Nanyang."

Without waiting for Cai Mao to speak, Kuai Liang stepped forward and gave him instructions.

"You will finally understand."

Wen Pin nodded, not afraid of Cai Mao at all. He also had an army of 10,000 soldiers, all of them elite. He might not be as good as Cai Mao in naval battles, but he was definitely better than Cai Mao in land battles.

I don't think the other party would dare to do anything to me.

He knew about Kuai Liang's attempt to win him over.

The Kuai family had connections, money, and food, but no soldiers. I just happened to meet the Kuai family's requirements: I held military power but lacked money and food.

The combination of the two complements each other and can just restrain Cai Mao.

Cai Mao saw it clearly and was very annoyed, but he didn't dare to say anything. He could only look at the two of them coldly. The combination of these two people would indeed bring trouble to him.

But he had no time to care about these things now. There was another person in Jingzhou who posed a great threat to him, and that was Liu Bei. Liu Bei had been living in Jingzhou for such a long time, and his reputation for benevolence and righteousness had long spread throughout Jingzhou. Everyone in Jingzhou knew him.

What made Cai Mao even more depressed was that the news that Liu Bei was going to Yuzhang to serve as the prefect spread throughout Jingzhou overnight, and the people in Xinye, Fancheng and other places under his rule were all ready to follow Liu Bei to Yuzhang.

This made Cai Mao very alert. If Liu Bei was allowed to stay in Jingzhou, not to mention Xinye and Fancheng, even the untouchables in Xiangyang, Nanjun and other places would be attracted to him. How could this be possible?

"Liu Bei is already waiting for you in Xinye. But Sima Yi is already in Nanyang, and Huang Zhong is returning from Guandu Port. Zhongye, you need to know why."

Cai Mao warned.

"General, don't worry. All these people will be sent to Nanyang in the end." Wen Pin said loudly.

These people are all talented. Not to mention Mr. Shuijing, both Huang Chengyan and his daughter are related to Zhuge Liang. Is Liu Bei going to just watch them leave Jingzhou?

"For this reason, this general will add two thousand soldiers for you, led by Cai He, to escort these people into Nanyang together with you. The three thousand soldiers will be at your disposal." Cai Maofo said very proudly.

Others didn't care, but he was worried about Zhuge Liang. As long as Zhuge Liang was sent away, Liu Bei's strength would be reduced by half.

For this goal, he and Kuai Liang have the same goal. In a carriage, Huang Yueying's face was uncertain.

"Father, we will pass through Xinye. Will Envoy Liu's men intercept us in Xinye?"

Huang Yueying couldn't help but ask.

Huang Chengyan thought for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "This possibility is extremely small. Have you seen Cai Mao and Kuai Liang? They have teamed up to drive Liu Xuande out first. Otherwise, they would not have sent Wen Pin to escort him."

Huang Chengyan also noticed that Cai Mao had increased his troops, obviously to guard against Liu Xuande, fearing that Liu Bei would do something stupid at this time. Otherwise, the cavalry would definitely be attracted.

"It's so abominable."

Huang Yueying was very angry.

Huang Chengyan sighed and said, "Forget it. Since we are here, we should make the best of it. Since we cannot change it, we should just deal with it. If we cannot obey the imperial edict at this time, Qin Shou will have a reason to kill us and lead the army south. At that time, can Liu Xuande resist?"

There was a hint of anger in Huang Chengyan's words. He was now very worried that Liu Bei would take action. At that time, not only would his reputation be ruined, but his life would even be in danger.

Huang's intelligence was not bad. Qin Shou's capable generals Sima Yi and Huang Zhong had already appeared in Nanyang. Once something happened, the two would lead their army into Xinye, and Liu Bei would be unable to resist at all.

"It may not be a good thing for Kong Ming to assist Liu Bei."

Huang Chengyan remained silent in his heart. He did not tell his daughter about some soldiers. The people of Xinye and Fancheng were preparing to follow Liu Bei to Yuzhang.

Most people would think that this was a reflection of Liu Bei's benevolence and love for the people, but Huang Chengyan knew that Liu Bei was secretly doing something.

Without special circumstances, who would be willing to leave their hometown, give up their land and money, and go to an unknown place, especially a place full of malaria? Isn't this a mental problem?

The Yuzhang County at the end of the Han Dynasty was not the land of fish and rice that it later became. It was a famously poor place. How could the people of Xinye and Fancheng go there?
No matter how benevolent Liu Bei was, it would be of no use. The only possibility was that Liu Bei had made some arrangements and had people privately spread the word about how brutal the Cavalry Army was. Only with this possibility would these people flee from Xinye, Fancheng and other places.

If the Cavalry were really brutal, Huang Chengyan might have believed such rumors and thought that Liu Bei was really a benevolent person. But in fact, the people living in the Central Plains still lived a pretty good life.

At least I can survive.

Don't underestimate the sadness of this era. It's a blessing to be able to survive.

This was also one of the reasons why Huang Chengyan finally agreed to leave Jingzhou. Therefore, Huang Chengyan really looked down upon some of Liu Bei's little tricks.

However, Kong Ming admired Liu Bei, which made Huang Chengyan very embarrassed.

As for why he chose Liu Bei, probably apart from the kindness of Liu Bei in rescuing Xuzhou that year, Kong Ming did not want to be the last one in the list. He looked down on Yuan Shao. Cao Cao massacred people in Xuzhou and had a grudge against the Zhuge family. Qin Shou had too many talented people under his command, so if Zhuge Liang joined them, he would only be ranked at the end.

Liu Bei had no one under his command, and if Zhuge Liang joined him, he would definitely be valued.

However, Sima Hui was right. Zhuge Liang had the right master, but he was not in the right time. Assisting Liu Bei might not necessarily lead to success.

When Huang Chengyan thought of this, he immediately looked at his daughter.

Some things may still be possible.

(End of this chapter)