Chapter 741: A thousand years later, the Wu Kingdom comes here again!
The 15th and 16th years of Jian'an are known as the years of Wang Xing.
During these two years, following Cao Cao's oath at Luoshui, all the princes with slightly stronger power in the world declared themselves kings.
Although it was not like the Yan State that openly claimed to be an emperor and opposed the Northern and Southern Dynasties of the Han Dynasty, it was also an existence that was out of the control of the Han Dynasty.
Only in Jingzhou did Liu Biao fail to become king as he was blocked by the four major families of Huang, Kuai, Cai and Pang. He did not become king and continued to follow the Han Dynasty.
If we count carefully, among the three great governors of the Han royal family, Liu Biao is the only one who has not yet proclaimed himself king.
Some people in the world who valued deeds more than core praised him, but Liu Biao himself felt extremely depressed. He developed sores on his back and was bedridden.
I stayed in bed for a year.
The affairs of Jingzhou were in the hands of the four major families, and were managed by Pang Tong, Kuai Yue, Cai Mao, Huang Chengyan and others. Jingzhou was originally supported by these aristocratic families, so it didn't matter whether Liu Biao was there or not.
However, during this year, internal strife in Jingzhou was also extremely serious, caused by the Wu State's conquest of Jingzhou.
In the 13th year of Jian'an, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and Liu Bei fought a great battle in the Central Plains, which then implicated Guanzhong, Yan State, Bingzhou and Sanhe.
When the war broke out in the north, the south naturally would not be idle either. Jiangdong took advantage of the fact that Cao Cao and Liu Bei's main forces were unable to move south and went to conquer Jingzhou.
The Jingzhou army was naturally no match for the enemy. Although Huang Zhong was brave enough to fight against ten thousand men, and Kuai Yue and Pang Tong were both extremely talented, Jingzhou was still no match for the united Jiangdong, and faced with powerful generals such as Zhou Yu, Lu Su, the two Zhangs, and Sun Ce.
The Jiangxia County that had been lost before returned to Jiangdong again.
The essence of Jingzhou lies in the three counties of Jiangxia, Nanjun and Nanyang. The four counties in the south, Lingling, Guiyang, Changsha and Wuling, are mostly mountainous and have many barbarians. There is basically little tax revenue and little food and fodder. Only Changsha County is relatively good.
Now Liu Biao of Jingzhou could only retreat to Nanjun and join forces with Zhao Hong, the prefect of Nanyang, to resist the attack of the State of Wu.
Jingzhou, Nanjun.
In Liu Biao's mansion, a circle of people were sitting around. They were all prominent figures in Jingzhou, basically the top leaders of the entire Jingzhou.
Liu Biao was lying on his sickbed, listening to these people arguing. The core of the argument was how Jingzhou should resist the attack from the State of Wu.
Until Cai Mao suddenly said, "Wu's expedition to Jingzhou is because Wu wants to occupy the entire upper reaches of the Yangtze River and prevent someone from attacking Wu directly along the Yangtze River from the upper reaches of the Han River.
That’s why the whole country of Wu is fighting to the death with Jingzhou, but why is Jingzhou fighting to the death here? "
What was the purpose of the desperate battle in Jingzhou?
Cai Mao's question made most people's brains smoke. Since ancient times, people have naturally resisted and fought back after being invaded. Is there any need to ask why?
But these people thought again.
Suddenly I realized something was wrong. Why were we fighting so hard with the State of Wu?
It seems that there is no benefit at all except casualties!
Wouldn't this war be fought in confusion?
Cai Mao smiled grimly when he saw this, and thinking back to the news sent by Wu, he said with more confidence: "Everyone, please allow me to say something.
The State of Wu is just downstream of our Jingzhou. I believe you all are very clear about the founding of the State of Wu.
In the State of Wu, Prince Chu's words were law, but under Prince Chu, power was dispersed, headed by the various counties and celebrities.
If we surrender the entire province of Jingzhou to Prince Chu, we can use the power of Nanjun and the four southern counties of Jingzhou.
Can the Prefect of Nanjun and the Governor of Jingzhou join the Regency Council?
I think so.
Once we join the Regency Council, Prince Chu will care about our opinions, and the Jiangdong nobles will not be able to infringe upon our interests at will. Is it that difficult to protect the people of Jingzhou?
Do you think there is some truth in what I said?"
Does it make sense?
It makes so much sense!
The system of Jiangdong was a system that Luo Chu tailored for himself after his failed attempt to abdicate the throne.
As long as he is still there, the power that this system can unify is no less than any monarchy.
As for what to do after he is gone, he gave some solutions, but it still depends mainly on the wisdom of future generations.
This system was very attractive to the gentry in Jingzhou and could ensure the survival of their interests.
Pang Tong pondered for a moment and said, "The most important thing is that Wu is anxious to conquer Jingzhou, and Prince Chu will definitely agree to our surrender."
Cai Mao nodded with a hint of pride and said, "Yes!"
The window period for Wu to attack Jingzhou was only that long.
If it fails to succeed in a short period of time and the northern princes come to their senses, the price the Wu State will have to pay will be huge.
Liu Biao was lying on his sickbed, listening to his ministers discussing surrender right in front of him.
Naturally he was furious.
He dragged his sick body and trembled as he said, "You..."
When he opened his mouth, his voice was so low that it sounded like the buzz of a mosquito. Even Mrs. Cai, who was standing next to him, couldn't hear it clearly.
The rather charming and enchanting Madam Cai quickly helped Liu Biao up and asked anxiously, "My husband, what did you just say?"
The people who were discussing the matter realized that they were in Liu Biao's room, but they were not embarrassed. Cai Mao even came over and said with a smile: "My lord, we were just discussing the cause of Jingzhou. Do you have anything to say?"
Liu Biao did not expect Cai Mao to be so shameless that he could still smile and talk to him in such a situation. He whispered: "Who told you to surrender?
This is Jingzhou in our province!"
Cai Mao didn't expect that Liu Biao would utter such disgusting words, and his face suddenly became cold. He had married Madam Cai to Liu Biao as his second wife, but Liu Biao was not grateful and even joined forces with scholars from other states to try to undermine the gentry in Jingzhou.
At that time, he was very dissatisfied with Liu Biao, and now he was naturally unwilling to endure it, so he immediately said in a stern voice: "My lord, if you don't surrender, are you going to die?
The people of Jingzhou had no will to fight, and they didn't even know why they were fighting. Why should they fight to the death with the Wu army?
And my lord, don't forget that you still have a son. Do you want to wait until I am defeated in Jingzhou and then be captured and killed by the Wu nobles?
Will the lord be satisfied only when the country is destroyed and the family is ruined?"
These impolite words made Liu Biao gasp for breath, his face flushed and his neck thick, and it was obvious that he was very angry.
But I have to admit that Cai Mao is right.
All my life ideals have failed, and in the end I want to leave a way out for my descendants.
Mrs. Cai looked at Liu Biao with anxiety on her face, but she was not worried that Liu Biao would die.
After all, her marriage with Liu Biao was a political one. It would be strange if such a beautiful woman like her married an old man like Liu Biao.
She was worried that Liu Biao would die too soon and would not have time to pass the throne to her son.
When her son gets the position of governor of Jingzhou, she will find a man from a prominent family to marry into. Both Cai and herself will still live a life of wealth and glory.
As for whether she could marry into a prominent family again, she was not worried at all. Even if Jingzhou was defeated, there would still be many people who wanted to marry her.
Everyone gathered around and looked at Liu Biao. No one spoke for Liu Biao. At this time, no one could let Jingzhou fall into an irretrievable situation because of Liu Biao's willfulness.
Besides, everyone thought that this was a good thing for Liu Biao, at least his son could survive.
If they were really defeated, the Jingzhou gentry could change their allegiance at a price, but Liu Biao's son would surely die.
"Get out! Get out!"
After Liu Biao took a breath, he roared in a low voice. Everyone was stunned when they heard it. Most of them had unhappy expressions on their faces. Some of them who were quite dissatisfied with Liu Biao just turned away.
Madam Cai tried to hold on to Liu Biao, but Liu Biao used all his strength to push her away and said weakly, "Bitch, get out too!"
Mrs. Cai's face changed drastically when she heard this. She never expected that Liu Biao would dare to scold her. She immediately turned into a shrew, and after a scolding, she left here angrily.
Liu Biao waited until Mrs. Cai left, and he was the only one left in the empty room. He suddenly felt relieved.
They all left.
They all left.
A fierce look flashed in Liu Biao's eyes, and he seemed to have regained some of the momentum he had when he conquered Jingzhou alone in the past.
"Thinking back to those days, when he was in his prime, he conquered Jingzhou on his own. What a heroic demeanor he had!
But I never expected that this was a place of trap, trapping me here for the rest of my life.
I am about to die, what should I do? "
The history books written by Luo like to give a final verdict on people, especially like to record the words spoken before death, believing that the words of a dying person can be trusted.
Liu Biao reached out and took out a piece of white cloth, and slowly wrote on it with blood, using all his strength. This was his last thought in life.
Mrs. Cai walked out dissatisfied and complained to Cai Mao. Pang Tong felt something was wrong. What did Liu Biao want to do alone in there?
When they rushed in, they saw that Liu Biao was motionless. Suddenly, their eyes went dark, knowing that Liu Biao was dead. In his hand, he tightly grasped a piece of white paper with some words on it. They quickly unfolded it and saw a few bloody words on it - "Liu Biao will die as a minister of the Han Dynasty and will never surrender."
Shameless!
No one expected that Liu Biao would play this trick on them. It was so shameless.
Kuai Yue directly snatched Bai Juan and threw her into the brazier, saying in a hateful voice: "We are discussing for the survival of his descendants, but he is pretending to be a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty.
He did not mention the Han Dynasty when he formed an alliance with Yuan Shao, and he did not mention the Han Dynasty when Cao Cao issued an edict. But now he calls himself a minister of Han and will never surrender.
He is so confident because he is sure that we will surrender and bring his son with us."
Kuai Yue said this with gnashing teeth. He had served Liu Biao for many years and still had feelings for him, but he did not expect Liu Biao to play such a trick in the end.
Cai Mao stopped Kuai Yue from continuing and said, "The most urgent task now is to support Liu Cong to succeed the throne, and then surrender to Prince Chu. The flames of war cannot spread to Nanjun anymore."
The Jingchu land, which Qingji and Sun Wu could not occupy in the past, has now surrendered directly to the State of Wu. It is really a matter of time and nothing is unpredictable in the world.
————
Liu Biao was a relative of the emperor, and had a good reputation since he was young. When the world was in turmoil, Liu Biao went to Jingzhou alone to survey Jingchu. His magnanimity and generosity were praised by scholars. When he occupied the seven counties of Jingzhou, he seemed to be lazy, and people ridiculed him as a "dog guarding the house". However, historians saw that Liu Biao had great ambitions, but was hindered everywhere, and his strength and wisdom were not enough. As a result, he was trapped in Jingchu, and Liu Biao became tired. When he was seriously ill, Liu Biao was also strong and stayed alive to show his ambition. He was praised. - "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Biographies of Liu Yan, Liu Biao, Liu Yu, Yuan Shu, and Gongsun Zan"
(End of this chapter)
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