Chapter 52 Meeting the Second Liu
Two days later, the people were settled properly.

Black Bear took Zhen Mi and Gan Ning on a Hebei transport ship down the Han River to Xiangyang.

Most of the gold and silk on the ship were given to Gan Ning to recruit strong men, and Black Bear only took a small part to accompany Zhen Mi to visit the Xiangyang market.

The market is near the pier. Xiangyang's market is more mature. Outside are stalls selling vegetables, meat, and daily necessities, and inside are rows of houses.

In addition to the pearls and gems from the South China Sea and the bright Shu brocade from Yizhou, there were also overseas merchants.

While touring the market, Zhen Mi, wearing a green dress and a white gauze scarf covering her face, followed Black Bear. Black Bear had a bronze mask on his face and held an oilcloth umbrella in his right hand to block the sun.

Behind them were five white-robed soldiers holding spears. With this configuration, they paraded through the city, and many people dodged and made way for them.

Zhen Mi grew up in troubled times and had never seen a truly prosperous market.

In her experience, she had never shopped like this before.

What she saw and heard along the way made her happy and active.

Collecting, purchasing, and hoarding seem to be a natural hobby for women.

Zhen Mi was no exception. From small things like peach wood hairpins sold by vendors and rice dumplings sold by women to polished gilded bronze mirrors and musical instruments, as well as various bright Shu brocades, whatever she wanted to buy and could buy, she would pay for it from Black Bear.

Fortunately, Zhen Mi was good at bargaining and finally wanted to buy a pair of maids.

It's just that the seller's price was too high. The pair of pretty maids were priced at thirty gold because they could read and understand musical instruments.

This was far beyond Zhen Mi's expectations, so she had to give up.

The market in Xiangyang can be regarded as the most mature market in the world today. It is more like a market than the market in Xudu that meets the daily needs of the powerful and wealthy.

Before Black Bear and his group left the market, Liu Qi, who had heard the news, had already driven to the market gate.

He stood by the shaft of the cart and waited. He saw Black Bear in the market holding the waist of the woman in green with one hand, getting intimate with each other in public. He couldn't help but shake his head: "What a romantic young man. I don't know how wonderful that woman is."

Wang Can, who came with him, was short and ugly. He squinted his eyes and looked carefully at the woman in green. He only felt that her steps and posture were outstanding and extraordinary.

Because the face cannot be seen, it makes it even more mysterious and otherworldly.

Even though he had never seen her face, Liu Qi was certain that the woman was the most beautiful woman in the world, just because he had seen Black Bear's face.

Wang Can is more imaginative and has a high level of intuition.

After taking a few more glances at the back of the woman in green, Liu Qi asked the chief guard who was accompanying him, "Lord Wang, how are the soldiers on the left and right of Captain Hei?"

Wang Wei had been observing the five white-robed soldiers and found that they marched in unison. The legendary Tiger Guards who practiced marching and ceremonial exercises all day long looked like this.

After a moment's thought, Wang Wei replied, "He is a great warrior in the world. He is tall and strong, holding a double-edged halberd. His strength must be amazing. I cannot defeat him."

Liu Qi laughed and said, "It's just the courage of an ordinary man, why should Your Majesty be concerned?"

Wang Wei will lead troops in the future, so how could he possibly fight with others on the battlefield?

While they were chatting, Black Bear and Zhen Mi finished their shopping. He bought more than ten kilograms of tea.

There are different types of tea, but he is not picky. As long as it is brewed with boiling water, he will drink it.

After greeting Liu Qi and others, he arranged for two soldiers to escort Zhen Mi back to the ship with the bags of purchases.

He got on a carriage and went with Liu Qi to a farm in the eastern suburbs of Xiangyang.

When they arrived, Liu Biao and Liu Bei were riding horses and shooting at haystacks outside the village, with their followers watching.

Liu Biao had twenty or thirty people in his entourage, all of whom held official positions. Local people worked in the provincial capital, while people from other states worked in the Zhennan General's office.

Liu Bei also had many entourage. Those from Yuzhou were assigned to work in the Yuzhou provincial capital, while those from other places were assigned to work in the Left General's office.

In terms of status in the Han court, Liu Bei was not much inferior to Liu Biao.

It was also last year that Liu Bei was defeated in the battle of Rangshan in the western suburbs of Xudu and retreated to Jingzhou to avoid Cao Cao's attack.

The most famous scene in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms about the Battle of Rangshan is "Yun was furious, and stabbed Gao Lan to death under his horse in one blow." Gao Lan's partner Zhang He turned his horse and ran away when he saw that the situation was not good.

Hei Xiong got out of the car, and Liu Qi beside him raised his hand, pointed at the entourages of both sides, and gave Hei Xiong a detailed introduction.

Without mentioning Liu Xian, Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue, Cai Mao, Yi Ji, Liu Pan, Wen Pin, Huang Zhong and others, Liu Qi also talked about Liu Bei's entourage in detail.

Liu Qi looked regretful. It was a pity that Guan Yu, Marquis of Han Shou Ting, was not here today because he had to be stationed in Xinye.

Others included Xu Shu from Yingchuan who had recently joined Liu Bei. Xu Shu was from Yuzhou, so he was naturally recruited by Liu Bei, the governor of Yuzhou.

Among them, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Mi Zhu, Mi Fang, Jian Yong and Sun Qian are all worthy of separate introduction. As for Wei Yan, Yuan Chen and others, although they are around, there is no need to talk about them separately.

After the introduction, Liu Qi wanted to get a feel for Black Bear's background, so he asked with a smile: "Captain, are you good at archery and horsemanship?"

"I am good at making decisions on the battlefield, but I am not good at riding and shooting, and even my swordsmanship is not as good as others."

Black Bear answered honestly that he only knew how to ride a horse and shoot arrows in a literal sense.

This is not the place to show off your prowess. Horse riding and archery skills can be practiced slowly. There is no need to rush to become famous.

What's more, this little fame is of no help to his career. Other scholars will not follow him to start a business just because he is skilled in archery and horse riding.

Gan Ning is a very good example. Analyzing the world situation clearly for Gan Ning is the most precious thing in the world.

But Gan Ning was still unwilling and forced him to show his special skills.

The Gan Ning who was recruited by showing his special skills and the Gan Ning who was persuaded by words to start a business together not only have different statuses, but also the sense of accomplishment they give to Black Bear is different.

This also shows that it is difficult to attract top talents by being eloquent, and the real thing is the various magical uses of magic power.

It’s not about reputation. With his background, it’s even worse than Lu Bu’s. What important use can a good reputation have?
Unlike Black Bear who was not good at archery and horse riding, Liu Qi had been fully trained by Liu Biao since he was a teenager.

It can also be said that he is skilled in archery and horsemanship, and is even more proficient in archery on foot, and has a good sword technique... This is more of a means of fitness and protection, rather than a means of making a living by killing enemies and gaining merit.

Skills will decline if they are not used, especially martial arts skills, which will fade away even faster.

Without the motivation of will, martial arts skills will be abandoned very quickly.

While the two were chatting, Liu Biao and Liu Bei returned from the field with great pleasure, and their followers immediately went to collect the arrows; the followers looked at each other, and many of them were eager to try.

It was just that Liu Qi led the black bear forward, and Liu Biao and Liu Bei entered the manor tacitly, and their followers stopped comparing themselves with each other.

In the manor, Liu Biao and Liu Bei went ahead and came to a pond.

This pool draws fresh water from the Tan River, and the wooden pavilion beside the pool is cool and refreshing, which is very pleasant. When Liu Qi led the black bear over, Liu Biao and Liu Bei also changed into their narrow-sleeved military uniforms for riding and shooting. Liu Bei wore a red and green outer robe, and a two-beam Jinxian crown on his head, with an upright demeanor.

Liu Biao wore a plain black inner garment with a green and dark red embroidered brocade robe on the outside, and a square black gauze crown on his head, which made him look more easy-going and elegant.

Black Bear also took off his mask, revealing his face.

He held a wooden tray covered with a red scarf in his hand, and Liu Qi led him into the pavilion: "Father, Lord Xuande, this is the general's envoy, the lieutenant of Henghai, Hei Jun."

"I am Black Bear, a native of Meng County, Liang State. I have been ordered to go on a diplomatic mission to Jingzhou. I would like to greet the two envoys."

The State of Liang was very special. It had only three counties and nine cities. Before the Yellow Turban Rebellion, it had nearly 90,000 households.

Liu Bei looked at Hei Xiong's face a few more times. He had been in Xuzhou for some time, so he naturally knew that Hei was a surname only found in Lu and Song.

Generally speaking, they are the descendants of Song Weizi, and to be more specific, they are the lineage of Song Xianggong's brother. Typical figures include Mozi.

Liu Biao was from Shanyang County, Yanzhou, which was close to Liang State. So, if we try to say it, their accents were similar, which was their local accent.

Listening to Black Bear's words, Liu Biao thought it was a fake name, and said with a smile: "Captain Black is handsome and elegant, do you have a courtesy name?"

"I left home at a young age and have no courtesy name. Even this position of lieutenant was granted temporarily for my mission to Jingzhou, so it cannot be true."

Black Bear turned around and handed the wooden tray to Liu Qi: "Please read it, my lords."

"it is good."

Liu Qi took the wooden tray, walked forward and placed it in front of Liu Biao and Liu Bei, then reached out to remove the red scarf covering it, which was the diagram of the various parties' military deployments that was shown to Gan Ning.

The dynamics of all parties were clearly visible. The only thing that surprised Liu Bei and Liu Biao was the Battle of Hedong.

There is also a thin arrow that goes from Nanyang through Wuguan and out to the south of Chang'an. If you don't look carefully, it's easy to overlook it.

Liu Biao and Liu Bei looked at each other for a moment. Liu Bei frowned. He had already made preparations for war.

This time I came to Xiangyang to borrow troops.

He has less than 4,000 soldiers and generals better than Guan, Zhang and Zhao. This is Liu Bei at the moment.

He was confident that he could defeat anyone except Cao Cao, but the number of troops was not enough, and he needed more troops to fill the front line and transport supplies.

Liu Biao was more concerned about the Guanzhong battlefield that Hebei intended to open up. During the years that Zhong Yao governed Guanzhong, some of the people from Guanzhong who had fled returned.

In Nanyang alone, there were probably more than 100,000 refugees from Guanzhong returning along the Wugu Pass Road.

Just as Black Bear asked Liu Qi to convey the message, if Guanzhong was really taken back from Cao Cao, Jingzhou would be able to obtain enough war horses.

We have war horses and a large-scale cavalry, so the Jiangdong Army will be restricted from now on.

At the same time, if Cao Cao's source of horses is cut off, once most of the existing horses are consumed, Cao's army's field combat capability will decline sharply.

There is no need to rely on the population or garrison in Guanzhong to hold anything back. As long as the circulation of horses can be controlled, it will bring great strategic advantages.

As for attracting Western Hu merchants and stimulating the local economic market, it was purely a pleasant surprise.

Liu Bei was not very concerned about Guanzhong. During the reign of Emperor Huan, the Eastern Qiang Alliance was strong. It took Liu Bei 20 years to completely wipe out the Eastern Qiang Alliance, and Guanzhong and Liangzhou became increasingly dilapidated.

After experiencing the rebellions of Dong Zhuo, Li Jue and Guo Si, Guanzhong now has a population of only about 200,000 households.

You should know that Guanzhong in terms of human geography is not only the Sanfu area and Hongnong County, but also includes Xihe County, Shang County, Beidi County and Anding County in the north.

In Xihe and Shangjun alone, the registered population during the pre-Qin and Han dynasties was over 100,000 households each!

However, during the migration of the Dongqiang and the process of their destruction, the population of Guanlong has declined since then.

Liu Bei looked at the arrows heading straight for Xu Du from Xinye and asked, "Captain Hei, are you here to help our army?"

"If I can fight, I will fight. If I can't fight, I will take the Wuguan Road to enter Guanzhong before the autumn rain in August and cooperate with the Bingzhou army in the battle."

Black Bear looked at Liu Biao and said, "Recently, I have been on good terms with Gan Xingba, and would like to borrow him from you, my Lord."

"It is good for the alliance to seize Guanzhong, so I will naturally give up Gan Xingba."

Liu Biao didn't mind this at all and asked again: "Anything else you need?"

"I hope you can gather scholars from Sanfu and Hedong, or exiles to help me. A few scholars can act as guides, and a few hundred young and strong exiles will be enough."

Black Bear took the opportunity to make a request: "If there are a few craftsmen who can repair the weapons and armor, then I will have nothing to worry about."

"These are all minor matters. What else does the Captain want to do?"

Liu Biao asked with a smile, then turned his head to look at Liu Qi and instructed: "If you have nothing to do recently, my son should lend a helping hand to Captain Hei."

"The child takes orders."

Liu Qi agreed. It didn't cost him much money. Helping Black Bear and the Yuan family gain a foothold in Guanzhong would also be helpful to Liu Qi's future.

This kind of thing will be beneficial to Jingzhou in the long run, so we should invest in it.

Black Bear looked at Liu Bei again: "When will General Zuo start his army?"

"Within a few months."

Liu Bei's face was serious: "When will Captain Hei be able to gather his troops?"

"Within half a month, I will lead at least 700 people to Xinye. Within a month, General Zuo will raise an army to attack Cao thief?"

Hei Xiong has asked Gan Ning to gather his old subordinates to recruit strong men. Liu Biao has also asked Liu Qi to recruit young and strong men from Guanzhong who are living in Jingxiang. The general effect will be known within ten days.

Now we have a minimum of 700 people. If Gan Ning's recruitment is effective, we can gather nearly a thousand soldiers this time.

The armor and equipment carried by the fleet are sufficient to complete the armament.

For a troop of a thousand men, if half of them were armored, it would be excellent.

The lack of food and fodder, and the consumption of food and fodder for thousands of people, were no big deal for Liu Biao.

Of course, his thousand men could not compare with Liu Bei's thousand men.

When Liu Bei's army of a thousand men was broken up, the soldiers were able to run back on their own; when his own troops were broken up, they were really broken up.

So in the next period of time, we need to get close to the soldiers and show them some skills.

(End of this chapter)