Chengdu, Simaqiao.
Legend has it that when Sima Xiangru of the Han Dynasty was on his way to Chang'an to seek fame and fortune, he passed by this bridge and wrote a vow on the bridge corridor: "A true man will not cross this bridge again unless he rides in a four-horse carriage." Later, he achieved fame and fortune and returned home in glory in a four-horse carriage, and the place was renamed Sima Bridge.
Before coming to Chengdu, Qiao Jingjing had already made preparations and secretly sabotaged Liu Bei.
That's why I was able to receive the coconut flakes as I wished.
At this moment, all she wanted was to get on the boat and leave as quickly as possible, before the pursuers sent by Liu Bei caught up with them.
Faced with the sudden situation of Lady Sun abducting A Dou and fleeing, Zhao Yun had some authority to handle the matter, but having witnessed the affection between Lady Sun and Liu Bei, he had no choice but to return to report the situation to Liu Bei and send men to pursue them.
At that time, Liu Bei was in a state of great distress.
Military intelligence came from the Hanzhong and Longxi areas in the north: Zhang Lu had sent troops to attack again.
Seeing that Zhang Lu was causing trouble, Cao Cao sent Guo Huai with troops to invade Hanzhong together with Zhang Lu's men, threatening Liu Bei.
Within Sichuan, a powerful clan rebelled in Zizhong to the south.
Meng Huo, a southern barbarian, also came out to cause trouble, threatening the Zhaotong area.
These people seem to have made a pact to come out and cause trouble tonight!
Otherwise, how could Liu Bei have simply scolded and threatened Lady Sun before leaving?
There was an urgent military report, and Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei had to hold a meeting overnight.
Furthermore, Zhao Zilong had never made a mistake in protecting Lady Sun and A Dou, so Liu Bei felt very at ease entrusting Lady Sun and A Dou to Zhao Zilong's care.
Zhang Fei was stationed in Langzhong at this time.
There was also some trouble in Jingzhou. Guan Yu and Cao Cao's armies were fighting and they couldn't spare any attention.
An unknown young man from Eastern Wu named Lü Meng actually led his soldiers, disguised as merchants, across the river, and occupied Fancheng and Maicheng.
Having lost his territory, Guan Yu had nowhere to go for a while and had to regroup and try to take back the territory from the Eastern Wu army.
So many things piled up in front of Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang all at once.
Liu Bei lit a lamp, or Zhuge Liang analyzed things one by one:
As for Hanzhong, let's fight there! No doubt about it. Zhang Fei is also guarding the Langzhong area, which can still hold off the north.
Zhuge Liang could lead troops to deal with the rebellion in Zizhong and the matter of Meng Huo, the southern barbarian.
Liu Bei can oversee matters in Chengdu.
Then all that's left is Jingzhou! Jingzhou! Lady Sun is in Liu Bei's hands, and Lady Da Qiao is also under Liu Bei's surveillance. How dare Eastern Wu cause trouble?
Liu Bei then thought of Lady Sun.
Just then, Zhao Yun arrived to report, "Lady Sun has already escaped with A Dou!"
Zhao Yun had already dispatched men to pursue them at full speed and returned to report the situation to Liu Bei in a timely manner.
When Liu Bei learned that A Dou had been kidnapped, he was so angry that he overturned the low table in front of him, scattering cups, plates, and bowls all over the floor.
Zhuge Liang was startled when he saw this.
"Go! Chase after her! Go chase after her! Bring Lady Sun back, bring A Dou back!"
Where are the men I sent to monitor Da Qiao? There's been no movement. Lady Sun must have gone to meet up with Da Qiao! Is Da Qiao trying to kidnap my Lady Sun?
"What a joke! Within my Chengdu borders, right under my nose, am I, Liu Bei, a dead man? Zilong, go! If a conflict breaks out, don't hesitate, rescue A Dou! If Lady Sun doesn't return, don't worry. Since Sun Quan dared to send Lü Meng to attack Jingzhou, we don't need to give him any leeway!"
Zhao Zilong accepted the order.
Liu Bei meant that as long as Liu Shan (A Dou) was available, he was willing to abandon Lady Sun if necessary.
Zhao Yun reorganized his troops and was about to set off.
Liu Bei remained where he was, thinking for a moment, then exasperated, said, "Zilong, I'll go with you!"
How much resentment must Liu Bei have felt?
The day before, Madam Sun and he were deeply in love.
How could things change so drastically and so cruelly in just one day? Not only did Madam Sun abandon him, but she also took his only son with her!
Liu Bei personally led Zhao Yun, a fierce general who had charged in and out of Changban seven times and was invincible in dealing with Cao Cao, determined to intercept A Dou and Lady Sun.
Meanwhile, Qiao Jingjing, along with Lü Meng, Ye Rong, and others, had taken A Dou hostage and boarded a boat at Sima Bridge, heading towards Jiaozhou.
Zhao Yun and Liu Bei followed the trail all the way.
Liu Bei dispatched pursuers by both water and land, urging them onward and setting up checkpoints along the way to intercept them.
Qiao Jingjing had anticipated this situation.
Liu Bei is not a easy opponent.
If things really come to a standstill, they will use A Dou as a hostage to exchange for their way out.
But Ye Rong didn't want to let go of A Dou:
"Madam... Sister-in-law, we must take A Dou away! Otherwise, Liu Bei will have no scruples whatsoever."
Ye Rong wanted to take A Dou back to Jiangdong and keep him as a hostage on Beigu Mountain.
How could Liu Bei disobey orders?
Qiao Jingjing is better able to assess the current situation than Ye Rong.
"Liu Bei is over fifty years old and only has one son, A Dou. Taking A Dou away is tantamount to taking Liu Bei's life. In desperation, Liu Bei might resort to desperate measures and launch a mad counterattack against Eastern Wu. This would inevitably harm innocent people. Besides, A Dou is still just a child!"
Qiao Jingjing's purpose in coming here was not to use A Dou to force Liu Bei.
A wise person knows what to do and what not to do!
She only wanted to take the coconut flakes.
Let Ye Rong return to her side and live a good life from now on.
No longer should we dwell on matters concerning Liu Bei and Jiangdong.
The ship was traveling to Jiaozhou at that time.
The Minjiang, Qingyi, and Dadu rivers converge at the foot of Lingyun Mountain, where the currents are extremely swift and the volume of water is enormous. The terrain here is treacherous, and boats frequently capsize here, resulting in heavy casualties.
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