Chapter 362 Zhang Fei’s Wisdom
After a few days, the water level of the Han River dropped slightly.

Zhou Yu and Taishi Ci's fleets merged into one and sailed northward.

As long as they are now using the banner of Guanzhong Grand Marshal, and as long as Jingzhou has not officially broken away, they will have no choice but to let them go.

When the fleet passed the Xiangyang wharf, Fu Xun and Pei Qian came to the wharf to meet Zhou Yu together.

Both of them were very curious and yearning for Zhou Yu.

The warships were anchored on the shore. Zhou Yu was wearing a blue robe with a moon-white brocade on the outside and a small gold and jade crown on his head.

Today he looks full and energetic. Where is the weakness and sickness from a long illness a few days ago?
On the deck, Zhou Yu expressed his guess: "To prevent Liu Xuande from changing his mind, please lobby him in person. Liu Biao and his son are definitely not the kind of people who will sit back and wait for death. I think you two might as well retreat to the north bank of the Han River."

Pei Qian and Fu Xun looked at each other, and Pei Qian said, "Liu Jingsheng has always been ruthless and rarely considers old friendships. Cai Mao and Kuai Yue are examples of this. We must pay attention to them."

Fu Xun felt reluctant to leave after hearing this. After all, he was an official of the Zhennan Shogunate and stayed in Xiangyang. Before Liu Biao turned against him and dismissed him from his post, Fu Xun had some influence over the city of Xiangyang.

Although there is not much thought of usurping the throne, it is only because of lack of strength and objective factors that do not allow it, so the chances are slim.

Now with the more than ten thousand people brought by Zhou Yu, Fu Xun had some idea of ​​using some of them to lay eggs.

Seeing that Fu Xun was hesitant to express his opinion, Zhou Yu also guessed what this northern celebrity was thinking, and he didn't say much, but just said: "Now that the title of Huainan is on the verge of being lost, Liu Biao doesn't have much time left. Now that Liu Xuande has been defeated in the Central Plains, no matter what choice Liu Xuande makes, Liu Biao will never hold back."

Could Liu Qi really put Liu Biao under house arrest?
If Liu Qi was not the eldest son, Liu Biao could have let Liu Qi die silently.

When it comes to a matter of life and death, the officials, scholars, and troops of Jingzhou will definitely obey Liu Biao's orders.

The influence and connections that Fu Xun had accumulated and built up would be dispersed by Liu Biao in one fell swoop, leaving him powerless to resist.

Seeing that Zhou Yu had no intention of interfering in Xiangyang, Fu Xun nodded slightly and looked at Pei Qian: "I will trouble Wenxing to go see Lord Xuande. I will cross the Han River in three days."

Pei Qian thought with a frown, and then said, "Today, General Zhou's army is passing through the border. Even if Liu Biao has ill intentions, he dare not take action. Tomorrow, the army will be far away from Xiangyang, and Liu Biao will have no worries. It can be said that changes are imminent, so we must be careful."

"Tonight, then."

Fu Xun gritted his teeth and made a promise that he had to go back to Xiangyang to clean up his mess and many of his connections had to be settled in advance.

This way there is still a possibility of receiving support in the future. If he gives up casually, his circle of contacts may suffer severe damage and destruction.

Pei Qian was relieved to see Fu Xun agree.

After his experience in Jingzhou during this period, he no longer wants to stay in Jingzhou.

Although I successfully led and guided the Liu family in establishing the Changsha nation, when I think back on it now, I always feel uncomfortable and lack a sense of accomplishment.

Rather than playing tricks and scheming with Liu Biao and his son and Pang Tong in Jingzhou, he would rather go to Guanzhong to be a county magistrate and do something practical and meaningful.

For example, in his current job, he relies on the strong deterrent power of Guanzhong. If anyone else comes in, if that person has a lower moral bottom line, he may be able to do a better job than him.

After reaching an agreement, Pei Qian left a few letters and entrusted Fu Xun to take them back to Xiangyang. He immediately went to the north bank and headed straight to Wankou to meet Liu Bei.

Before Pei Qian arrived, Xi Zhen, the envoy sent by Liu Qi and Pang Tong, had already arrived at Wankou.

Liu Bei was defeated in the battle of Xiangcheng and lost nearly half of his troops.

Although it caused roughly equal casualties and severely damaged the elite troops of Cao's army... Cao Cao regained command of the remaining troops, and Cao Cao's dominance over the Central Plains showed a trend of recovering and restoring.

Relying on the righteousness of the imperial court, the local areas can be governed; relying on cruelty and bloodiness, the local areas can also be ruled.

When Xi Zhen arrived, Xu Huang had just led his troops around Mobei.

Xu Huang not only brought his own 5,000 troops, but also more than 10,000 households of Chenliu scholars and civilians, and officials and civilians from various counties in the eastern part of Henan Yin joined him along the way.

Nearly 70,000 to 80,000 people migrated, among whom the young and strong generally actively joined the army, and Liu Bei's power was revived.

Therefore, the generous proposal brought by Xi Zhen made Liu Bei somewhat tempted.

Liu Bei did not agree directly, but held an internal meeting to discuss the matter.

Guan Yu forced Xu Huang to attend the meeting, but Xu Huang insisted on standing at the last seat to listen.

After everyone else arrived, Liu Bei said, "Liu Fubo sent an envoy to agree to mutually respect each other's thrones. Liu Jingsheng will be the King of Chu, and I will be the King of Deng." Before he could continue, Zhang Fei stood up and asked, "Brother, where is the envoy?"

"Third brother, don't be reckless."

Guan Yu scolded him softly, and Zhang Fei sat down angrily. He looked around at everyone and said, "Cao Cao killed the emperor and persuaded the man from Huainan to become emperor. How can anyone accept the throne? Liu Biao wants to be king, and my brother also wants to be king, but why should we be controlled by Huainan?"

Liu Bei was helpless: "Yide, I have no intention of relying on Huainan."

"How could there not be any? Liu Biao and his sons, as well as the people of Jingzhou, are afraid of the Grand Marshal and have already betrayed their alliance. They started by respecting each other's thrones. How can they explain to the Grand Marshal if they have the throne? The Grand Marshal is our ally, how can we betray him?"

Zhang Fei looked at Xu Shu again, but Xu Shu didn't say anything, so he said, "The traitorous ministers killed the emperor, and no prince would survive. This world should belong to the virtuous people of the royal family. The Grand Marshal of Guanzhong has defeated the various barbarians one after another. The Grand Marshal has the merits of repelling the barbarians, pacifying the people and rebuilding the country. How can he not be the emperor!"

Zhang Fei didn't see Liu Bei and Guan Yu scolding him, so he stood up, drew his sword and chopped it into the table, his eyes wide open, "Brother, you are determined to support the country. Now there is someone in the Grand Marshal's office who is in a good position. You should go and join him. You will surely become a king or a noble in the future. Why are you hesitating now?"

Zhang Fei was really impatient. Just hearing how Guanzhong was conquering and destroying the Hu people made his blood boil.

At this point, Zhang Fei's thoughts about Liu Bei had been extinguished.

Anyway, the branch of the Grand Marshal is weak, and his eldest brother took the lead in surrendering and worked hard. It would be unreasonable not to make him a king in the future.

Besides, Zhao Yun just went there to look at the situation for a while, and when he came back he gave five thousand Wuhuan captives with horses.

Zhang Fei was convinced by this generous move.

Even when Guan Yu went to Guanzhong, Black Bear first arranged for and assisted Guan Yu to return to his hometown to recruit soldiers. If time was not urgent and Guan Yu did not want to owe too many favors, Guan Yu would most likely have been given command of the 3,000 dead soldiers from Hedong.

Even Guan Yu could return to his hometown to recruit soldiers...so Zhang Fei wanted to too.

It doesn't matter how many fellow villagers are recruited. The key is to return to your hometown with a title and a nobility, and to speak loudly in front of fellow villagers and relatives you know... Just thinking about it makes you feel good.

Zhang Fei had his own judgment. After expressing his opinion, he observed several people from Yuzhou led by Xu Shu.

If these people dared to instigate his eldest brother to take risks and go to a dead end, Zhang Fei wouldn't mind killing a few of them.

As for the envoy from Jingzhou who came to lobby, it would be great if he could lend his brain to us.

He looked murderous and there was silence for a moment, with no one answering.

Seeing this, Liu Bei said to Zhang Fei, "Yide, please sit down. Am I such an unwise person?"

Zhang Fei then reluctantly drew his sword from the table, sheathed it and sat down.

Liu Bei said to the crowd: "During the reign of Emperors Huan and Ling, the government was in chaos. I was in a border county, and the northern barbarians invaded from time to time. It coincided with the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and the country was in turmoil. The people were in danger. That's why I raised an army of righteousness and gathered people of the same mind to support the country and bring peace to the people."

"He was later appointed an official for his merits, and then the rebellion of the two Zhangs occurred; afterwards, a rebellion broke out in Luoyang, and Dong Zhuo took over the capital. The heroes fought against Dong, causing chaos in the world."

Liu Bei took a deep breath and said, "The two Yuans fought each other, claiming to be the Mandate of Heaven, and both of them were trying to usurp the throne; Cao Cao welcomed the emperor and used him to attack the four directions. Both Yuan and Cao were not good people, and the world was in a state of confusion. I am shallow in virtue and lack of talent, and I cannot kill the traitors and return the power to the emperor."

He looked around, glanced at the calm Xu Huang, and continued, "It was not until the Grand Marshal was born that I realized that the one who could save the world must be the Grand Marshal! With the Grand Marshal's ability, he can truly be the master of the country."

Seeing that no one spoke up to refute, Liu Bei said: "I don't bother to kill the envoy. If Yide is angry, he can whip this man and drive him out of the camp. Today I will submit a petition to the Grand Marshal to request our allegiance."

"Here!"

Zhang Fei stood up, grabbed his sword and turned to walk outside. At this time, Guan Yu stood up and said, "Brother, beware of Liu Biao's attack on Xinye and Wancheng."

Xu Shu also stood up and bowed: "My lord, there are 5,000 people from Wen Pin's army in Jingzhou. We must be on guard. I think we should immediately send an envoy to invite Wen Pin to a banquet. If he understands the righteousness...if he is stubborn, we should put him under house arrest and seize his troops. This will avoid unnecessary war and benefit the officers and soldiers of both armies."

Liu Bei frowned, then nodded slowly: "It's feasible."

The petition requesting allegiance had not yet been written, let alone sent to Guanzhong, and he had not received any new instructions.

So what's the problem with spontaneously annexing the Jingzhou troops in Nanyang?
There is no problem at all. Liu Biao wants to take Jingzhou to serve the false emperor. He has also received a letter from Liu Biao stating that both sides respect each other. There is no legal or public opinion problem in annexing the Jingzhou soldiers now.

Now it depends on whether Wen Pin and other generals can understand the greater good.

(End of this chapter)