Chapter 366 Renting Nanyang
In the valley, Zhou Yu and Liu Bei bathed, changed their clothes, and smoked wormwood before they were allowed to see the black bear.

Both of them were wearing black robes in the solemn autumn style, except that Zhou Yu wore a small crown with gold threads and rubies, and a small hairpin made of white jade inlaid with rubies.

Liu Bei's crown was simple. He specially used the Liu crown and covered it with a layer of white gauze.

The two men climbed onto the earthen platform together and waited in the corridor of the pavilion. Zhou Yu rested his right arm on the corridor column, his left hand on the hilt of the sword, with his body upright and facing the southeast, looking at the gourd-shaped two-layer water dam there.

On the weir, there were about a hundred white geese in a group, forming more than fifty groups, and they were maneuvering back and forth like a fish scale formation.

At this moment, in his mind was the information about the Conferred God revealed to him by Bu Zhi. Looking at the flock of geese in front of him that looked like a large army training and performing exercises, Zhou Yu felt a special throbbing in his heart. The lingering solemn temperament on his brow gradually melted away like the elegant demeanor of spring culture and disappeared completely.

Figuratively speaking, within a dozen breaths, Zhou Yu's mental state changed, as if he had become five or six years younger.

Liu Bei was also watching the flock of geese, but he did not find it strange. He felt that the black bear was deliberately showing it to him and Zhou Yu.

This is the most straightforward threat. Even a flock of geese in training is like an elite soldier, let alone a human.

If they dare to rebel in the future, the ones who come to suppress them will definitely not be big white geese, but elite troops who are as skilled in formation as a flock of geese.

If you insist on rebelling, first weigh yourself and see if you can train similar soldiers.

Soon, Secretary Lang Jiang Wan, wearing a black robe and a crown, walked quickly downstairs to the corridor. A dozen waiting officials looked up and stared at him eagerly.

When Jiang Wan met Liu Bei, he bowed and said, "The Grand Marshal summons the Marquis of Yicheng, the Left General, the Governor of Yuzhou, Liu Shijun, and the Governor of Jiangxia, Lieutenant General Zhou Yu to come in and see him."

Zhou Yu took a deep breath and turned around, following Liu Bei in greeting Jiang Wan. Jiang Wan quickly returned the greeting and extended his arms to invite them: "Envoy Liu, Lord Zhou, please come in."

The other officials looked at each other, and their expressions were different.

Several officials from Jingzhou looked stunned. The Grand Marshal actually recognized Zhou Yu's position as the governor of Jiangxia County. What about Huang Zu? What about Liu Zhennan and Liu Fubo?
What should the people of Jingxiang do?
In the open hall on the second floor of the wooden building, Black Bear rarely had his head covered.

His thick, lush hair was puffed up and he only used a colorful ribbon as a forehead protector to tie his hair behind his head and let it fall on his shoulders.

This is the hair that grew when he went on the expedition to Hexi. At this stage in his life, he no longer needs to worry about personal hygiene.

With his hair casually tied behind his back and wearing a plain white fluffy double-breasted bathrobe, Black Bear stood barefoot by the window, looking at the geese in the pond.

When Liu Bei and Zhou Yu stopped walking, Black Bear turned around and looked at Liu Bei with a smile: "Lord Xuande made the right choice, which encouraged me a lot. It shows that I am not alone. With the help of a hero like Lord Xuande who cares about the people and does not care about his own gains and losses, why should I worry about the unrest in the world?"

"You are overpraising me, Da Sima."

Liu Bei bowed and said: "Today the world is divided into two parts. I have traveled all over the world for a long time, so I naturally know that the righteousness lies in Guanzhong."

"It's a pity that they are blinded by greed."

Black Bear sighed, "I just persuaded Yingchuan Chen Qun to leave yesterday. They didn't want much, but I couldn't give it to them. It's a pity."

Liu Bei remained silent, as he naturally knew that what Chen Qun wanted was an opportunity.

Seeing that Liu Bei had no intention of attacking or defending Chen Qun, Black Bear went to see Zhou Yu and said, "I have heard of your great name for a long time, but now that I have seen you, I know that you are truly extraordinary. You have come thousands of miles to join me, so you must have some advice for me. Please take a seat."

The black bear extended his arms to invite him. Zhou Yu wanted to say a few more polite words, but he didn't expect the black bear to be so direct.

Then they came to the side hall, where three people sat at a table. In the middle of the three tables was a golden copper wine jar, and anyone could reach out and pour themselves a glass of wine.

After the secretaries had served the dishes, Black Bear said to Liu Bei, "Sir, I have two plans for you. The first is to stay in Nanyang as before; the second is to go to Youzhou via Daijun and Juyong."

Liu Bei took a sip of the wine and immediately his blood circulation became smooth. He asked with a smile, "Youzhou? Please tell me, Grand Marshal, what happened in Youzhou?"

"Xianyu Fu and Tian Yu of Youzhou are involved in six counties. They all raised their troops and vowed to fight against Cao, just like you, the envoy." Black Bear couldn't help laughing when he said this. How could Xianyu Fu have any good choice?

Budugen had already surrendered with the Xianbei people from Yunzhong, Daijun, Wuyuan and Yanmen; the Xianbei had officially split, leaving only two paths for Xianyu Fu and his group.

Either do business with the Xianbei noble alliance represented by Tan Shihuai's grandson Budugen, or cooperate with the Eastern Xianbei.

The Eastern Xianbei still maintained the customs of the Tan Shihuai period. These Xianbei had migrated westwards from the Great Xianbei Mountain one after another. They were little influenced by Tan Shihuai and lacked respect for Tan Shihuai's descendants.

The original military democracy system of the Xianbei still remains, and tribal leaders of all sizes are elected.

The new leader may be the son, nephew, or brother of one of the previous leaders, but his blood relationship with the previous leader will not be very strong.

It is precisely this tradition of internally electing people in charge that has made the leaders of the Eastern Xianbei generally have high prestige and understand the hardships of ordinary herdsmen.

The Eastern Xianbei leaders were more likely to gain the support of the lower-class Xianbei people, and thus had strong military cohesion.

But no matter how powerful they were, they were not as powerful as Gongsun Du, the overlord of Liaodong who was at the peak of his power.

No matter how strong they are, they cannot defeat the Western Xianbei. If they could really defeat the descendants of Tan Shihuai, the Eastern Xianbei would have left the bitter cold land and stayed away from Gongsun Du to attack the Xianbei royal courts in Shuofang and Wuyuan.

Therefore, Xianyu Fu's power was now in great danger. The Western Xianbei, which they relied on for support, was almost destroyed, and the remaining forces surrendered to Guanzhong. The Eastern Xianbei also had a retired emperor, Gongsun Du, so attracting the Eastern Xianbei for support was equivalent to attracting Gongsun Du.

Without the strong reinforcements from the Xianbei, how could Xianyu Fu fight against the alliance between the Yuan family and the Wuhuan?
Behind them were Gongsun Du and the Eastern Xianbei, who were sharpening their knives; the Western Xianbei also showed a tendency to unite with the Southern Xiongnu.

Xian Yu Fu is now on the brink of collapse.

The external situation was extremely bad, and many affiliated forces broke away on their own and turned against each other.

You cannot change your current situation by your own strength alone.

Xianyu Fu, Tian Yu and others had no choice but to firmly express their anti-Cao stance, and sent envoys to beg for surrender and request to join the Grand Marshal's Shogunate.

Xian Yu Fu was so enthusiastic that Black Bear felt embarrassed to refuse.

By sending Zhou Yu and Liu Bei to Nanyang together, he was also worried that the powerful combination would lead to internal sabotage and cause negative effects.

Seeing Liu Bei's confusion and obvious overthinking, Black Bear said, "If you are interested, you can select 8,000 elite soldiers after returning to Nanyang, and lead Guan, Zhang, Zhao and other old generals to the north. I will provide food, fodder, and weapons to support your 8,000 soldiers and horses to pass through Yanmen and Daijun to Youzhou. When you pass Daijun, you can send 3,000 horses and 2,000 Xianbei elite cavalry to help you."

As he spoke, Black Bear grabbed a gold seal wrapped in red cloth from the side and handed it directly to Liu Bei: "This is the seal of the General of Zhenbei. If you are interested, the affairs of Youyan are entrusted to you."

Liu Bei held out his hands to receive it, but said, "This is a serious matter, please allow me to think it over."

"I'm not in a hurry. Xianyu Fu's envoy Tian Yu seems to have a history with you. You will go to see Tian Yu in person later. If you don't go, I don't have a suitable candidate. I'm afraid Xianyu Fu will not be able to hold on to the situation."

Black Bear went to see Zhou Yu and said, "Suppose Liu Shijun went to Youzhou, and General Zhou guarded Nanyang for me, what would you teach me?"

"This……"

Zhou Yu put down his chopsticks, covered his mouth with a handkerchief, coughed a few times and cleared his throat, then said in a clear voice: "If I am to guard Nanyang, then the empty troops will guard Wankou, and the main army will be stationed in Xinye, Fancheng, and Caiyang, and the navy will be kept in Nanxiang."

"Conspire with me."

Black Bear stretched out his index finger and shook it: "Send 3 million dan of rice and 500,000 rolls of cloth to Guanzhong every year. I will give you Nanyang and allow you to attack Jingzhou freely. If you take it all, you will be a marquis and a general in the future."

(End of this chapter)