Chapter 321 The Eve of Becoming King
Xiangyang, in a manor on the north bank of the Han River, west of Fancheng.

Liu Qi and Huang She drank until late at night and were both drunk.

Huang She opened his shirt and rubbed the sweat on his chest with his right palm, feeling very comfortable and happy.

The murder of the emperor is good news for the Huang family.

Not to mention the distant future, at least the Jiangdong army, which was sharpening its swords, turned around and attacked the traitor Cao Cao.

In the past two or three years, Huang Zu has been working hard to make money. Seeking enjoyment is one thing, but restoring strength is also an urgent need for survival.

As for the murder of the emperor, Liu Qi was not like Huang She, but he could not let it go in his heart.

Thanks to this hangover, Liu Qi's depression was much relieved.

Huang She obviously came to see Liu Qi with some mission and purpose. Seeing Liu Qi drunk, he said, "Today, the world is without a ruler. Among the vassal states, the first one who dares to claim the title of king is Liu Jiyu of Yizhou."

Liu Qi looked at him drunkenly, which made Huang She feel uncomfortable, so he asked directly: "Do you want to wait for the Grand Marshal of Guanzhong? You must not do this. The country is without a master and the people have no one to rely on. If you are a step behind others, there may be setbacks."

Liu Qi struggled to sit up, rubbed his face, and asked, "But your father asked?"

Huang She nodded and continued, "Jingzhou should have a King of Chu."

The Huang family supports it, the Cai family supports it, and now the Pang family will also support it.

Then the question is, who will be the King of Chu?

Liu Qi felt his face become numb, swollen, and hot. He thought it was absurd: "At this point, my father still refuses to enjoy his old age."

Huang She was silent, and seeing Liu Qi staring at him intently, he could only speak: "We are outsiders, so it is inconvenient for us to say more. But we hope that the matter of establishing a kingdom can be completed quickly, before the Grand Marshal returns. Whether he wins or loses, we, the people of Jingzhou, should decide our own affairs instead of asking for advice on everything."

"I understand."

Liu Qi climbed up with his hands on the ground and staggered to the window. He propped up the window and wanted to get some fresh air, but he didn't expect the night air to be so humid and stuffy.

Feeling an insect flying towards his face, Liu Qi raised his hand and waved, put down the support pole, turned around and leaned against the window frame and said to Huang She: "The thief Cao openly murdered the emperor. This has never happened in this dynasty."

The situation developed rapidly, and it was almost impossible for his previous development plans to be maintained and continued.

As long as the emperor and the court are in place, it is too difficult for the vassal states to become kings.

It is different now. Anyone can be crowned king. As long as he is crowned king, he can turn the states and counties under his rule into kingdoms, and turn the scholars and people in the counties into subjects.

The difficulty of ruling will drop sharply, and the efficiency of war mobilization can be greatly improved.

The kingdom that had been continuously castrated during the Han Dynasty would immediately appear in its complete form. The powerful and wealthy families that had grown stronger in various places would inevitably be crushed by the princes and absorbed by the kingdom.

Therefore, many problems that have troubled Jingzhou and Liu Biao and his son will be solved.

The most pressing issue is the combat effectiveness of the army. After becoming king and establishing the country, the internal and external constraints are gone, and internal ills have been eliminated. The new army will only be stronger!

This would cause a drastic change in the status between him and Black Bear. As long as he could sit on the throne, he would naturally not need Black Bear to provide military protection.

Therefore, a deal is needed now.

The Huang family and the Cai family supported him to become king. If he agreed, it would be equivalent to automatically betraying the agreement with Black Bear.

If he opposed being crowned king, given the current situation in Jingzhou, no one would dare to force Liu Biao to be crowned king.

If Liu Biao dared to declare himself king, he first had to bet on whether Liu Qi and Pang Tong dared to start a civil war; he also had to bet on the extent of interference from Hei Xiong and Yuan Tan.

If Liu Biao failed to become king, he might not necessarily die, but the Cai and Huang families who were involved would definitely be doomed.

Even the situation was very strange. For example, after Liu Qi suppressed the rebellion, he was supported as the King of Chu...

Liu Qi was drunk and knew the significance of this drinking party very well, but he still drank without restraint.

Feeling the strong heartbeat in his chest, Liu Qi just looked at Huang She.

Huang She also spoke: "My father has talked to Lord Jing Sheng. If we want to get help from Pang Shi now, we can only take a step back." "What did my father say?"

"Lord Jingsheng is naturally willing to take a step back, but I don't know how the new king will view Liu Bei and Black Bear after he ascends the throne."

Huang She raised his hand and pointed to the west: "Yizhou has long wanted to be king. Today, the emperor was killed and the court collapsed. When the news reached Yizhou, Liu Zhang would never fall behind. This is a good ally of Jingzhou in the future. As for Liu Bei, he is a fierce tiger in the world. How can we trust him so easily?"

"Form an alliance with Liu Zhang?"

Liu Qi frowned, this was also Pang Tong's earlier suggestion.

Including Yuan Tan of Jiaozhou, the alliance of the three states is enough to deal with most challenges.

Seeing that Huang She was about to say something, Liu Qi waved his hand to interrupt: "I am too drunk to talk any more today, so let's stop here."

Huang She was stunned and asked, "Is it feasible to form an alliance with Yizhou?"

"Let me think about it tomorrow."

Liu Qi stretched out his arms as he spoke. Two servants who were waiting behind the screen came forward, supported Huang She and prepared to carry him out.

Huang She did not struggle, but let his arms be supported and followed them out.

Liu Qi staggered out, and soon Pang Tong came to see him. Liu Qi laughed drunkenly: "Sir, you haven't slept yet?"

"It was hot and humid at night, and I couldn't sleep."

Pang Tong asked: "Is Huang She here to persuade the Lord to become king?"

"Just as you expected, sir."

Liu Qi stepped over the threshold and sat on the wooden floor of the porch, his feet on the vegetable garden, smelling the mint in the garden: "They were really anxious and gave up on my father."

"They can't afford to be impatient."

Pang Tong sat on a round river stone in the vegetable garden: "Liu Zhang's entourage now relies on Dongzhou soldiers as his arm. If he declares himself king, the Dongzhou soldiers will be eager to return home. If the lord and his son are suspicious of each other and do not declare themselves kings for a long time, the people of this state will inevitably be deceived by Dongzhou soldiers and Liu Zhang, and there is a risk of division and rebellion."

Liu Qi also nodded and looked up at the night sky, but could not see any clear and bright stars.

He lowered his head and looked at Pang Tong: "Mr. Shi Yuan, if I become king, how should I face the Grand Marshal in the future?"

"Don't worry, my lord. I have more than 100,000 soldiers in Jingzhou. When we become king and establish a country, the people will be happy and there will be more soldiers. Why worry about the Grand Marshal?"

Pang Tong said calmly, "When Cao was strong, all parties could still tolerate him and needed the Grand Marshal to contain him. Now that Cao is about to be defeated, whether in this state, or in Liu Xuande and Hebei, they are all worried that the Grand Marshal is strong and brave, and will be unpredictable."

Bravery is not scary. What is scary is that black bears have strong personalities. They basically don’t listen to other people’s opinions and guidance and will not compromise.

What’s even more uncomfortable is that the black bear’s actions are difficult to predict, and being an ally is also nerve-wracking.

Apart from anything else, if someone came to report now that Black Bear had come to Jingxiang to meet Liu Qi, Pang Tong would not be surprised.

Liu Qi gradually became interested, and Pang Tong further clarified his position: "Looking at the actions of the Grand Marshal in Guanzhong, he has already displeased the people of the world. At this time of national mourning, he has raised troops against the various Hu people, which can be said to be disrespectful to the emperor, father, and the country. How can such a person be supported by the people of the world? In my opinion, from this year onwards, all parties will unite to suppress the Grand Marshal, just like the old days when they surrounded Dong Zhuo."

"Like This……"

Liu Qi tugged at his collar, looked up at the night sky, and wanted to say something.

He was just conscious and drunk, his breathing became heavier, and he fell asleep in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, Pang Tong stood up and signaled to the other servants to come and help Liu Qi into the house to sleep.

Only after arranging for someone to take care of Liu Qi's daily life at night did Pang Tong leave the courtyard area.

Seeing Wang Wei inspecting outside, he asked, "Captain Wang, you have been in Guanzhong for a long time. Can you tell me in detail about the military system of Guanzhong?"

Wang Wei shook his head: "I was guarding Duling with the foreign troops and never participated in any major battles. I don't know the inside story. If Mr. Shi Yuan is interested, you can ask General Wen in person."

(End of this chapter)