Early the next morning, five thousand-stone ships loaded with five hundred elite soldiers guarding Liu Jing left Chaisang and sailed toward Xiangyang.

According to Jingzhou regulations, the prefect who comes to report on his duties every year is allowed to bring no more than 500 followers. Of course, all food and lodging expenses must be paid by himself.

Despite this rule, over the years, only Huang Zu came to Xiangyang with 500 soldiers, because this rule was originally tailor-made for Huang Zu.

This morning, the fleet was sailing on the Han River. After traveling for more than thirty miles, it would enter Xiangyang County.

On the three-story boat headed by Liu Jing, Liu Jing changed into a white thick cotton Confucian robe, a brocade belt around her waist, a gold crown on her head, and a scholar's coat with wide sleeves. She was completely dressed like a child of a noble family.

The river wind was blowing the big flag on the mast. The wind was strong and the wind was biting. The waves on the river were rolling. The big ship was going against the wind and not traveling very fast.

This trip to Xiangyang was different from any previous one. On the surface, it seemed that he was carrying a huge halo of glory, defeating the Jiangdong Army in the Western Expedition, and saving Jiangxia. Liu Jing's name has become a household name in Jingzhou, and he has been highly praised.

This shows the attention and welcome he will receive in Xiangyang.

But what Liu Jing saw was the murderous intention under the glory. This time he went to Xiangyang, not so much to pay homage to his birthday, but to negotiate.

How to obtain the maximum benefit and how to firmly control Jiangxia in his own hands will require arduous negotiations. But once the negotiations fail, he will face huge risks. Will Liu Biao allow him to return to Jiangxia?

Risks and opportunities coexist. Liu Jing has always been a person who likes to challenge himself and is never afraid of any challenges. From the first day he entered this era two years ago, he started a new life amidst risks and challenges.

"Master!"

A crisp voice behind him interrupted his thoughts. When Liu Jing turned around, it was his maid Xiao Baozi.

Little Baozi has been following him for almost two years, and she is already twelve years old. Except for growing taller, her character and appearance have almost not changed at all. She still has a round face and round eyes, and her face is like a

Bai Shengsheng's little buns.

Liu Jing saw that her nose was bruised by the cold river wind, she was holding her clothes tight and shivering all over. She couldn't help walking up and said with a smile: "What are you doing out here? Isn't it warmer in the cabin?"

"We are...discussing whether we should...cook the food ourselves and ask the young master for his opinion."

She and we undoubtedly include Tao Zhan. Liu Jing pulled the lapel of her clothes for her and said with a smile: "You don't have to cook it yourself. There is a cook on the ship. Of course, if you are willing to show off your skills, I have no objection."

The answer was a bit ambiguous. The result of the ambiguity was that when the chef brought the food, he found that they were already dining. Liu Jing saw the chef's embarrassment and quickly smiled and said: "Put it down! Your food is the main meal."

The muscular cook put down the big plate, and soon she was shocked to find that the two maids were actually sitting and dining with the master. This was unimaginable. Of course, she didn't dare to ask, and backed away with a look of horror.

Go down.

In fact, anyone who knows Liu Jing’s life knows that he is extremely easy-going and doesn’t care too much about his superiority. In the past two years, the maid Xiao Baozi has almost always dined with him at the same table. It is not like in a large family where the maid must carry the dishes.

The plate is hidden in the corner to eat.

In the spacious cabin, there is an equally large table. There are fruits and vegetables and more than a dozen exquisite side dishes on the table. On a large plate, there are more than a dozen brown and fragrant mutton and tender onion pancakes.

, and two pots of fruit pulp.

Liu Jing and Tao Zhan sat opposite each other. They didn't talk much, but they didn't seem unfamiliar. On the other hand, the two little maids sitting on the other side were whispering and talking about their pitiful experiences, but they were enjoying it.

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Tao Zhan wore a thick light green long skirt with silver trim. The long skirt was tied under the chest, making her look beautiful and slender. She also wore a white half-sleeved short jacket, and a long red gold-rimmed silk wrapped around her shoulders.

Perhaps because of her long trip, she finally put on a little makeup, and her black hair was styled into a ponytail, which is the most popular hairstyle nowadays. A jade hairpin was inserted on both sides of her hair, which looked luxurious but not tacky.

There was no makeup on her face. Applying makeup on her jade-white face would obscure its beauty. Only her eyebrows were slightly modified, curved and long, which highlighted her deep pool-like eyes.

In addition to her beautiful eyebrows, only her round lips were slightly tinged with vermilion. This lip color was like the finishing touch, adding a little human touch to her fairy-like beauty.

Tao Zhan smiled kindly and set another table with the dishes brought by the cook. She knew that Liu Jing had a big appetite, and the few pancakes she made were far from enough for him, so she pushed a roast leg of lamb in front of him.

, pursed his lips and said with a smile: "Eat it! I know you can eat it."

Liu Jing took the knife plate and said with a smile while cutting the meat: "What did you want to ask just now?"

Tao Zhan picked up the pulp cup, took a sip, and said with a smile: "Actually, it has nothing to do with me. I'm just a little curious. It doesn't mean that officials with more than 500 stone will go to Xiangyang to celebrate their birthdays, but there are not many people in the entourage.

An official from Jiangxia, could it be that they took another route to go?"

"That's not true. Su Juncheng and Yi Changshi were both appointed by me. Xiangyang has not recognized it yet. Naturally, they are not officials above 500 shi. Magistrate Zhu has just been promoted to magistrate of Chaisang County, and he was also appointed by me. As for several other counties,

Ling, I have important things to do anyway, so I have to ask for leave and not go."

"I see!"

Tao Zhan covered his mouth and said with a smile: "So General Liu alone represents Jiangxia."

Liu Jing also smiled and said: "Wouldn't this save you trouble?"

Tao Zhan suddenly thought of her own affairs, and a trace of sadness flashed in her eyes. She sighed lowly, "Jinglang, I'm a little worried."

"What are you worried about?" Liu Jing asked with a smile.

Tao Zhan bit his lip lightly, "Do you still remember Liu Cong? He made undue demands on his father. I'm worried that if I show up at the Liu Mansion, the old conversation will be brought up again."

"You are such a silly girl!"

Liu Jing shook her head and sighed: "If you think about it again, do you think it is possible? If it is really like what you said, then who am I? A little cockroach that can be crushed to death?"

Tao Zhan lowered his head. In fact, she also knew that she was already engaged to Liu Jing and it was impossible for Liu Biao to connect her with Liu Cong. However, she hated Liu Biao and Liu Cong in her heart and did not want to see them at all. But she didn't know

What should I say to Liu Jing?

Liu Jing took a deep look at her. He could understand Tao Zhan's feelings. She had always been a person with a clear distinction between love and hate, and she would never show disdain to those she hated.

Liu Jing smiled slightly and said: "Don't think too much, you may not be able to enter Liu's house."

Tao Zhan Bingxue was smart and immediately understood what Liu Jing meant. Liu Biao would definitely not agree to this marriage, so it was naturally impossible for her to step into the Liu family's door.

Although she felt at ease not having to enter Liu's house, what should she do if Liu Biao firmly opposed it?

Tao Zhan couldn't help but think of what her father said to her last night. Regarding her family background, she was just a businessman's daughter after all. Maybe he didn't mind now, but what about the future?

The family difference between her and Liu Jing was like a big stone, weighing heavily on her heart.

"Jinglang, I've finished eating. I'm going to wash my hands first. You can eat slowly!"

Tao Zhan smiled, got up and left the cabin with great care. Liu Jing looked at her elegant back and couldn't help but smile. She valued Liu Biao's attitude too much, so what's the harm if Liu Biao disagreed?

At this moment, Liu Jing seemed to hear something unusual. He stood up and walked out of the cabin quickly, just as a soldier rushed over and reported urgently: "Report to Sima, there is a ship intercepted in front of the river!"

Liu Jing frowned and walked quickly to the bow of the ship. The view on the river was wide, and he could clearly see two fleets seven or eight miles ahead, forming a figure of eight and crossing the river diagonally. There were about two hundred ships.

Warships, judging from the size of this fleet, they should be from the Jingzhou navy.

Liu Jing sneered, this was Liu Biao trying to give him a blow. He turned around and ordered: "Give me my order, the fleets will sail side by side!"

The opponent's fleet is deployed in a straight figure, which is an encirclement formation. To deal with this formation, we usually break out side by side. Once there are lagging ships, they will inevitably be surrounded by the opponent.

Liu Jing's fleet did not slow down and continued to sail towards the opponent at a high speed. At this time, the Jingzhou navy also began to change.

On a large ship of the Jingzhou Navy, Zhang Yun, who had just been reinstated as the deputy captain of the Jingzhou Navy, watched the approach of Liu Jing's fleet and couldn't help but laugh ferociously.

Cai Mao's defeat in Jiangxia changed Zhang Yun's fate. After all, he was Liu Biao's nephew. Although he was tabooed by Liu Biao and demoted to county captain, more than a year had passed, and Liu Biao gradually forgot about his past evil deeds.

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Coupled with his mother's constant pleas, Liu Biao finally couldn't stand in the way of family ties. After Cai Mao's defeat, he promoted him to deputy captain of the navy and stationed 10,000 navy troops in Yicheng County.

Zhang Yun received a secret order from Liu Biao. If Liu Jing led troops to Xiangyang, he could intercept Liu Jing's soldiers and only allow him to come to Xiangyang.

This secret order undoubtedly supported Zhang Yun. There were many loopholes in Liu Biao's order. For example, what should I do if Liu Jing resists? What should I do if Liu Jing takes the lead in attacking the Jingzhou navy? So how to implement it is Zhang Yun's business.

At this time, Zhang Yun finally waited for the moment of revenge. He stared at Liu Jing's fleet approaching, and his heart was filled with the expectation of revenge.

"Captain, do you want to attack directly?" a soldier asked for instructions.

Zhang Yun shook his head. Of course he couldn't attack directly. He had to do superficial things to avoid being caught. More importantly, he wanted to humiliate Liu Jing to vent his hatred for being demoted.

"The big ship comes up!"

On the top of the mast, a flagman waved the flag, which was the flag language used to communicate with each other on the river. Immediately, more than a dozen warships started and followed Zhang Yun's ship to meet it.

Two warships approached slowly on the river, and Liu Jing suddenly recognized the general standing on the side of the ship, who turned out to be the deposed Zhang Yun.

Looking at the big flag on the flagpole again, the big flag with the word 'Zhang' was fluttering towards her. Liu Jing felt that danger was approaching her.

What to do? Turn around and return to Wuchang, or rush over! Liu Jing needs to make a decision immediately.

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Chapter completed!