Chapter 105 Follow the clues
At the Shuizhai Wharf in the eastern suburbs of Xiangyang, Guo Jia was standing on a boat with a turban wrapped around his head, bowing and bidding farewell to Kuai Yue on the shore.

The boat successfully reached the other side, and when we got off the boat, we saw a huge transport fleet slowly approaching from far downstream.

The Cai family’s transport team finally set sail.

Guo Jia looked at it for a long time, then rode away on horseback with the guards arranged by Kuai Yue.

On Yuliang Island, Sima Hui and Pang Tong stood one after the other. Sima Hui squinted at the densely packed boats at the end of his sight.

No one disputes that Sima Hui had an ugly appearance, but Pang Tong was not handsome, but he was of average appearance.

Especially when standing with Sima Hui, he is quite admirable.

Pang Tong was not as serious as Zhuge Liang, and joked, "I heard that Liu Xuande came to ask Liu Zhennan for help again. If he saw so many boats, he would regret not killing Cai Mao first."

Sima Hui just smiled, and Liu Bei had no chance to intervene.

If Liu Bei dared to send troops across the Han River, Liu Biao would dare to mobilize a full-scale encirclement and suppression.

Black Bear is different. This man doesn't deal with the scholars in Jingzhou at all, and it is clear that he has no interest in Jingzhou.

Look at Liu Bei. When he came to Jingzhou last year, he pulled Xu Shu, who was studying in Lumen Mountain, over to be the military advisor of the Left General’s office and entrusted him with important tasks.

Xu Shu's entry into officialdom suddenly raised the status of the students of Lumen Mountain.

The military advisor of the Left General's shogunate, his status was roughly similar to that of Kuai Yue, the military advisor of the Zhennan shogunate.

After the Battle of Bowangpo, Xu Shu became famous in the Central Plains, and even the reputation of Lumen Mountain rose.

Sima Hui asked Pang Tong: "After this incident, I don't think the White Goose Thief will come to Xiangyang again. Is there anything promising up and down Lumen Mountain?"

Pang Tong stopped smiling and said in confusion: "Sir, this man fooled the army and civilians with peaches, and many of his classmates in the mountains disliked him. When we defeated Cai Mao that day, he was on top of the Ten Thousand Mountains, and it was all thanks to Gan Ning and Tai Shi Jin who fought to the death and defeated the enemy. How can such a person be considered a hero?"

In a word, not suitable for betting.

If Black Bear was personally leading the troops on the battlefield that day, there would naturally be nothing to question.

But there was a huge loophole that day, and it was not Black Bear's command at all. How could people be convinced?

Seeing Pang Tong like this, Sima Hui said: "If he has no ability, why did Gan Ning lead 500 soldiers to Caizhou, and the Qingzhou soldiers and Cai's troops near Wanshan were able to live in peace? After a bloody battle, the hatred between them was so deep, how could the Nanxiang soldiers suppress them?"

Pang Tong frowned after hearing this, but still shook his head: "Even if he is extraordinary, what can he do if he treats us with such contempt?"

"hehe."

Sima Hui laughed and did not argue: "Shi Yuan is full of energy after all. At my age, I will not care about such trivial details. This white goose thief is very interesting, but it's a pity that he is old and can't stand the running around."

"It's nothing more than a combination of Zhang Jue, Dong Zhuo, and Lu Bu. How interesting can that be?"

Pang Tong was bickering as usual, Sima Hui smiled and asked back: "If there really is the power of the three, wouldn't it be very interesting? Liu Xuande is good, but he is too strong and straightforward, and he acts willfully like a frivolous knight. He is nearly forty years old and is the ruler of a region. How many times can he be willful in this world?"

Pang Tong remained silent on this, and Sima Hui stopped trying to persuade him.

He is a native of Yangdi, Yingchuan. He came here to retire and spend his later years in peace. There is no need for him to make any decisions for the people of Jingzhou.

In fact, this chaotic world has nothing to do with Sima Hui.

But having lived to such an old age, he has seen the changes in the world and wants to see some different characters.

For example, Liu Bei is a strange man, and so is the black bear.

Taking advantage of the gap between Liu Biao and his son Liu Qi, he eliminated Cai Mao at an unimaginable speed, which greatly shocked the scholars in Jingzhou.

In terms of deterrence alone, Black Bear is superior to Liu Bei.

Now that the Cai family's transport fleet has arrived, it means that the Black Bear will be leaving Wanshan, and all the scholars near Xiangyang will breathe a sigh of relief.

The Cai family fleet went upstream, but without sails to help them, it moved slowly.

East side of Wanshan, Xiangyang Wharf.

Another transport fleet also headed upstream, and this fleet plundered the Cai family manor near Xiangyang.

Some luxury items in the manor were also exchanged by Cai Yan for food and cloth, and nearly half of the servants also boarded the ship.

At the dock, Heiyun, Song Wu and others mingled among the captives, wearing short shirts and calf-nose trousers, and carrying supplies barefoot.

While taking a break and drinking bean soup, Cai Yan stood on a carriage not far away and shouted to the people around her: "The Black King will release 500 people today! The conditions remain unchanged, you must shave your heads!"

The purpose of shaving one's head is to prevent armed confrontation with black bears in the short term.

In future military confrontations, Black Bear will directly execute anyone with signs of shaved hair.

Regardless of what the Cai clan members thought, Cai Yan continued to shout: "I am no exception! The one who shaves his head first will go home first!"

Some experienced soldiers were waiting on the side, and more scissors were prepared during this time, which were sharper and more convenient to use.

During this time, several talented soldiers had figured out the art of cutting hair.

In this way, the Cai captives at the dock stood up one after another and lined up at the dock.

The soldier in charge of cutting hair sat on a bamboo chair, and the prisoners who wanted their hair cut sat in front of him, lowered their heads and had their hair cut.

If you want a quick haircut, you can just use a pair of scissors after tying your hair.

The purpose of hair cutting is to prevent these people from rebelling again in the short term, so prisoners with poor hair quality will have their hair cut close to the scalp.

For those with good hair quality, they can cut their hair into bundles as complete as possible, which can be a considerable extra income.

But the effect is the same, there is no hairstyle to speak of.

There are advantages as well. Cutting hair with scissors will not scratch the scalp. Many people have poor scalp hygiene, and it is common for scalp sores, abscesses and bumps to form.

There were people coming and going near the dock, attracting a large number of onlookers.

Seeing the Cai captives having their heads shaved, the people of Jingxiang were filled with indignation, as if they were being shaved by the men themselves, and their faces were full of anger.

However, there were Qingzhou soldiers nearby to maintain order, and they were also very powerful, so no conflicts arose for the time being.

Black Bear was looking down at the dock from the top of the mountain, his eyes calm. He didn't have the hobby of shaving people's hair and watching them feel pain and regret for fun.

I just felt that I needed something to become famous, and I couldn't stand the inconvenience caused by long hair.

If you are a scholar, an official, or someone who has someone serving you, it doesn't matter how long your hair is.

But as a laborer, with scarce resources, busy but lazy at the same time, the hygiene conditions of your hair are simply terrible.

The sound of horse hooves and bells on horse necks reached Black Bear's ears. He turned his head to look and saw several people riding horses up the mountain to Wang Can Manor on the north slope.

Soon the group left on horseback and returned to Xiangyang.

Hei Xiong guessed that it was Liu Qi's man. Wang Can agreed to be Liu Qi's chief clerk for a period of time, but Wang Can fell ill early this morning.

I need to stay at home to recuperate, so naturally I can't go to Xiangyang City to work.

Even if Wang Can had ten times the courage, he would not dare to leave Wanshan now.

The struggle between the old celebrity Liu Biao and the new celebrity Wang Can was so simple and efficient.

Nowadays, scholars from official schools come to visit Wanshan from time to time.

Under Wang Can's remote control, more scholars were invited and invited in person by Wang Can.

The shaving operation at the dock at the foot of Wanshan Mountain left many scholars with a bad feeling.

However, the bait thrown by Wang Can was even bigger!

So big that even a normal scholar couldn’t refuse!
He wanted to go to Guanzhong to open the collection of books given by Cai Yong, and invited these scholars to go with him to Guanzhong to copy and rescue these books.

Black Bear also lacked enthusiasm for Wang Can and this group of scholars.

Wang Can did not surrender to him out of respect for him, he was just a tool for Wang Can to escape from Jingzhou.

The second reason was that Wang Can really wanted to sort out Cai Yong's books that had been hidden in the past. Probably after the books were sorted out, it was time to break up.

Unless at that time I can completely control Guanlong and achieve a small degree of hegemony.

Otherwise, it would be difficult for you to control people like Wang Can.

All I could get was probably a set of books from Cai Yong's collection, as well as some from scholars.

Wang Can would take away a collection of books and followers who had been carefully screened and refined.

Just as Black Bear was looking at the dock, another group of people drove their horses to the northern slope of Wanshan.

The leader was Liu Wang, a member of the Nanyang Anzhong and Zhennan Shogunate staff. He drove his horse to Wang Can's manor and dismounted.

He threw the whip to his friend Zong Yu from the same county. Zong Yu was fifteen or sixteen years old and was currently following Liu Wang in Xiangyang.

Zong Yu led the horses to the side to feed them, and the knights who came with Liu Wang also sent two people to take care of the horses.

Four other people followed Liu Wang into the manor. As soon as they entered the gate, they saw thirty or forty scholars packing their bags under the awning.

These scholars glanced at them sideways, and a few of the hot-tempered ones had already put their hands on the hilts of their swords.

This is Wanshan, now under the jurisdiction of Black Bear, and is a lawless place in Jingzhou.

Seeing a strange scholar approaching, Liu Wang bowed and said, "I am a clerk in the shogunate, Liu Wang from Nanyang. I heard that Mr. Zhongxuan was ill, so I came to visit him."

"Lord Zhongxuan feels unwell for a while, please don't bother me any more."

The man gestured with his arms, and when Liu Wang passed by, he stopped the other four followers and said, "Excuse me."

It is no news that Wang Can is in poor health and often falls ill.

Liu Wang entered the hut alone and saw Wang Can sitting cross-legged in front of the table sorting bamboo slips: "Zhongxuan, why is it like this?"

"Come with me. Liu Biao is greedy for power and is even wary of his own son. If it weren't for the Black King, Jingzhou would be in chaos. From what we can see now, Liu Qi will be weak in the future and may not be able to control the people of Jingzhou and Xiangyang."

Wang Can looked up at Liu Wang and said, "I want to go back to Guanzhong to dig up the books in Cai Gong's collection. This is not something I can accomplish alone. I hope to get your help. I have sent Pan Jun to lobby your brother. He has always disliked Liu Biao and will not refuse me."

Liu Wang sat down near the table and frowned, "What's wrong with Jingzhou? I think the White Goose Bandits are weak and alone, how can they defeat the brave and powerful people in Guanzhong?"

Wang Can raised his hand and placed it on Liu Wang's shoulder, his expression serious: "In the future, Nanyang will inevitably be fought over by all parties. You don't understand Liu Biao, nor do you understand Hei Jun. You are worse than your brother. You are not suitable for this chaotic world. Come with me to manage Cai Gong's legacy, live in seclusion, and become a doctor of classics."

"No matter how the world changes in the future, everyone will need a doctor of the Five Classics."

Seeing Liu Wang's suspicious expression, Wang Can said, "Tomorrow Liu Biao will host a banquet in the eastern suburbs to entertain Liu Yuzhou. You should take the opportunity to go to Yuliangzhou to meet up with your brother. Don't be attached to worldly things. As long as you can keep yourself useful, why worry about material things?"

"Don't hesitate. Liu Yuzhou will be here tomorrow, and Liu Biao will be able to restrain himself. When Liu Yuzhou returns to Xinye, he will know that your brother followed me and will definitely kill you to vent his hatred! Not only will he vent his hatred, killing you can also eliminate hidden dangers."

Wang Can was calm and gave detailed instructions: "After you go back, if Liu Biao asks you, answer truthfully. Tell him that I have already thought about leaving and have colluded with the Black King. Tell him that I invited you to go with me, but you refused. You must say this, otherwise you two brothers will be separated forever."

Liu Wang opened his lips to refute, but felt powerless.

If his brother really ran away, Liu Biao would definitely kill him.

Then Wang Can was heard to say in a low voice: "At the moment, we are not worth him provoking the Black King."

On the other side, on Yuliangzhou Island, is Sima Hui's manor.

Pan Jun presented Wang Can's letter to Liu Yi. After Liu Yi read it, Pan Jun said, "Lord Zhongxuan likes your talent and respects your brother's character. He couldn't bear to let such a pearl go to waste, so he sent me to invite you. If you are interested, Lord Hei will send a boat to pick you up tomorrow."

Liu Yi was still reading the letter, slightly excited and incredulous: "Are you really going to deal with Mr. Cai's posthumous letter?"

"Well, please consult with Mr. Shuijing. If there are many people traveling together, we can allocate more boats tomorrow."

Pan Jun did not suppress his voice at all. This was Yuliangzhou, not a place where Liu Biao could interfere.

Liu Yi thought for a moment and said, "I will go see you right away. It would be best if you could send three ships tomorrow. I estimate that there will be about twenty people."

It's not like he is joining the Black Bear. Now he is following Wang Can to rescue and dig up Cai Yong's posthumous letters in order to seize the legacy of Cai's school of thought.

As long as Black Bear's advance is successful, the scholars who will come to Guanzhong from thousands of miles away will surely flock to him.

　Jingzhou's talent pool needs to be tapped
　　
　
(End of this chapter)