Chapter 364 The only chance
Before Lou Gui could seize Yin County, Zhuyang and other counties upstream of the Han River, Zhou Yu realized that this place was very important when he led his fleet past.

They seized several surrounding counties without hesitation. As Zhou Yu had expected, the county magistrates and local tyrants did not dare to resist.

The county magistrate simply abandoned the county and left, while the powerful people were indifferent and neither resisted nor supported him.

After leaving Taishi Ci and Sun Shao to repair the fortifications and prepare for a long-term garrison, Zhou Yu took his own and Sun's families and headed north with light luggage.

Mountain torrents occurred from time to time, and the Danshui canal transportation was suspended.

Although the Wuguan Road land route was interrupted from time to time, Zhou Yu still insisted on setting off.

Wuguan Road was a land route. As soon as Zhou Yu set out, Liu Bei caught up with him.

Whoever meets the Grand Marshal of Guanzhong earlier will have a greater chance of gaining control of the Nanyang area.

At the same time, Xi Zhen, whose hair was cut off by Zhang Fei, also returned to Xiangyang.

Liu Biao was like the emperor emeritus, burning incense all day and never showing up. After Xi Zhen ran back, he was brought by Pang Tong to see Liu Qi.

When they arrived, Liu Qi was hungover and as heavy as a puddle of mud. Liu Qi had been under a lot of pressure these days.

The closer he got to becoming king, the greater the pressure and fear he felt.

Especially in the past few days, when Zhou Yu led the remnants of the Jiangdong Army through Xiangyang, Pei Qian, who was on good terms with Liu Qi, fled to Nanyang; immediately afterwards, Fu Xun also crossed the Han River to the north, which directly led to many officials resigning and scholars fleeing for refuge.

What made Liu Qi even more frightened was that his chief secretary Xu Si also resigned from his post and ran away at night. Since learning the news, Liu Qi has been drunk ever since.

As soon as I sober up, I drink a lot of wine, as if this can relieve my headache and stress.

This time Pang Tong was in charge and no one dared to send wine to Liu Qi.

By the second half of the night, Liu Qi, with a dry mouth and tongue, barely sobered up.

When Liu Qi saw Xi Zhen with his head wrapped in a red scarf, he was not surprised as he was drinking sour soup. He felt that he could not escape such a fate.

Looking at Pang Tong who was standing beside him with a serious face, Liu Qi felt exhausted and tormented.

This led to a surge of violent emotions in his heart, and he wanted to execute Pang Tong. Perhaps this would allow him to breathe a sigh of relief, and perhaps return to his old ways and lead a stable and safe life, which was always better than living in uncertainty and being shrouded in fear.

As soon as this thought came to mind, Liu Qi suppressed it himself.

Liu Qi took a handkerchief to wipe the corners of his mouth after swallowing half a bowl of sour soup. He looked nonchalant and said, "So Liu Xuande has made his position clear. Does Jingxiang have no way out now?"

Pang Tong restrained his expression and spoke without emotion: "As you can see, Fu Xun, Pei Qian, and Xu Si have fled, which shows that they are guilty and dare not stay in Jingxiang. Now that the autumn rains are heavy in the southern mountains and Liu Bei has just been defeated, it is a good time to use troops in southern Jing. If you hesitate for a moment, you will get half the result with twice the effort."

Liu Qi did not rush to answer. He raised his hand to rub his temple and scratch his eye sockets, looking willful and lazy, as if he was not at the mercy of Pang Tong.

After a while, Liu Qi asked, "How confident are you in using the troops against Jingnan? If we can't decide the outcome in one battle, Yuan Tan will send troops to intervene, and Liu Bei will cause chaos in Nanyang. Then I will be caught between the two ends, and there is a risk of losing everything."

"What I am worried about is the troops under Taishi Ziyi. Now that Taishi Ziyi has followed Zhou Yu to the north, the Liu family in Changsha lacks strong troops and brave generals."

Pang Tong said confidently: "General Liu only needs to dispatch troops to attack Changsha. The Liu family of Changsha will be unable to resist, and the bystanders will not dare to act rashly. If the Liu family of Changsha is defeated, Liu Ba of Lingling will be isolated and weak. Only one jailer will be needed to capture Liu Ba."

After listening to this, Liu Qi thought that if this problem was not handled properly, Yuan Tan might send troops to interfere in Jingnan.

In fact, as Guanzhong's foundation became more and more powerful, Liu Qi felt more and more uncomfortable with Black Bear.

But what can he do?
The other side punished and punished all the Hu people, killing them as if they were cutting grass.

The various Hu tribes were so vulnerable, not to mention the weak soldiers in Jingzhou. Pang Tong's influence was growing, and Liu Qi had no way out.

Even Liu Biao became a tiger skin. Although this could make Pang Tong afraid, Liu Biao did not dare to act rashly.

If Liu Biao did not take action, Pang Tong could have restrained himself more or less; if he failed, Liu Biao would naturally die of illness, which would also be a natural thing.

Liu Qi has deeply felt the terrifying influence of the local big families and ten people, which will restrict him in every aspect of his life and make him feel suffocated.

Even a servant who empties the chamber pot may respect the Pang family more than himself.

Anyway, things haven't reached the final step yet, so Liu Qi couldn't verify the positions of the people around him, nor did he dare to verify it.

At this moment, Liu Qi gradually sobered up, but he still looked like he was hungover and didn't care about anything.

Seeing that Pang Tong was about to take the initiative, Liu Qi looked at Pang Tong with a smile and said, "Liu Ba is a man of extraordinary talent. I'm afraid he won't be easily captured. I'm worried that he will flee to Jiaozhou and persuade Yuan Tan to invade our state."

After saying this with a smile, Liu Qi could not help but sigh: "It was like a dream. When Yuan Tan passed through Jingxiang on his way to Jiaozhou to take up his post, how close was my friendship with him?"

Pang Tong did not have so many feelings, but just said: "It is better for Liu Ba to flee far away than for this man to gather the scholars of Jingnan to fight with my officials and soldiers."

Pang Tong tried his best to comfort him and said, "It is not difficult to sort out the situation in southern Jing, but it is difficult to unite the people in southern Jing. I think that if you lead the State of Chu, you can gain the support of all the officials and people."

Liu Qi went to see the other people working on the project and saw that they all tacitly supported Pang Tong's remarks without any rebuttal.

Liu Qi had no choice but to say, "Since things have come to this, I am not the kind of person who would back down. Please let Shi Yuan handle it in full, so as to avoid omissions and ruin the whole thing."

Liu Qi said this with some uncertainty. After he proclaimed himself king and established his country, would the people of Jingzhou really instinctively support him?
He could not wait for the title of Huainan to be crowned king, nor could he accept the title of king conferred by the Huainan court.

This king must be elected from within Jingzhou itself.

Only in this way would the king elected by the people of Jingzhou be qualified to negotiate with the King of Huainan and ask for greater benefits.

The most important thing is status. The King of Chu, who brought the people of Jingchu to join the Huainan court, did not need to look at the face of the Huainan court and had room for bargaining.

However, if General Zhennan and General Fubo were to join the Huainan court by leading Jingzhou, they would inevitably be in a very passive position; if Huainan turned against them, Liu Biao and his son would never be able to legally claim the title of king.

Only now can he declare himself king, integrate Jingzhou, and negotiate with the Huainan court in a high-profile manner.

Due to external pressure and internal push, Liu Qi was powerless to stop this from happening.

He can only hope that this incident will allow him to gain a higher position of power... He doesn't ask for him to rebel against Pang Tong, but just hope that he can live a more comfortable life.

No matter how the future changes, he has only one way to go now, and that is to follow the path woven by Pang Tong.

While Liu Qi was thinking, Pang Tong bowed and said, "My lord, please be at peace. With me here, we will surely be able to put down the rebellion of the Liu family in Changsha."

Liu Qi reluctantly believed it, but still couldn't help asking: "If I anger the Grand Marshal, and he sends troops to attack Jingxiang, what should I do?"

Pang Tong said nothing. Seeing Liu Qi's face turn gloomy, Pang Tong was afraid that Liu Qi would lose his composure, so he said, "The Grand Marshal has no intention of managing the Central Plains and Jingchu for the time being. This is the only chance for the lord, and you must not hesitate or miss it."

Liu Qi just nodded to this unoriginal reply: "Just follow Shi Yuan, I'm tired."

"Yes, I will retire."

(End of this chapter)