Hundreds of miles away from Xiangyang City, in front of a dilapidated city.
Big Er touched the book Liu Biao sent from Liu Qi in his arms, feeling full of reluctance.
Liu Xuande, who has the blood of an emperor, is respected by his uncle, and has seen ordinary prosperity and the magnificence of a public official, has experienced ups and downs in his life. After decades of hard work, he has returned to a county-level unit.
If it weren't for the dozens of bullock carts behind him, which made Liu Bei feel better, Xuande would probably shed tears again.
On the same day, he left Xiangyang City and met up with Jian Yong and his entourage. According to Zhang Fei's wishes, he simply tied up Liu Cong and blackmailed Liu Biao. It would be best to pat his butt and run away.
The three of them have a working nature and have been hit hard in the past two years. Now, no matter who they are, they are all stumbling blocks in their careers.
Even Liu Qi was scrutinized by the three for a long time and had already been included in the business scope.
It was Pang Tong who urged him. After all, his lord was famous throughout the country for his reputation for benevolence. The Yellow Turban Army did very little in kidnapping children back then. If their brand was ruined, it would be difficult to lead the team.
"Xinye is important because it protects the pass in the north of Jingzhou. We will accumulate great achievements here and one day we will be glorious!"
Big Er squeezed out a hint of joy and looked around.
As soon as he finished speaking, an inappropriate mezzo-soprano voice came to his ears.
"What kind of shabby place is this? My husband? Compared with Donghai County, this place is quite inferior. There is no female beauty shop in Xuchang, and of course there is no hot pot ingredients from the old Han family!"
"A smell of cow dung, why am I like this?"
Mrs. Mi was still going to do it, but there was a soft hum from Big Er in her ears.
The fat woman immediately stopped talking. She was afraid that even Jian Yong could not understand how cruel her smiling, long-armed husband was when he was alone.
"Sister, what do you know? When Emperor Guangwu declined in the past, Hebei Bronze Horse Thieves gathered in large numbers. There was no one around the late emperor. Didn't he build a huge foundation?"
"A real man is born in heaven and earth, and there will always be bad times. As long as he has great ambitions, he will finally rise to power."
"What Zizhong said is true. My lord will soon be able to get all the sleeping dragons and phoenix chicks. This is the place where the dragon rises!"
"Look, my lord, the people here are so simple and honest. Knowing my lord's reputation, they all spontaneously came out of the city to welcome him!"
Pang Tong knew that Mi Zhu felt sorry for his sister and was deliberately trying to please Liu Bei, so he quickly agreed.
Big Er nodded slightly, feeling a little better. At a glance, in front of the gate of Xinye City, in addition to the county captain who had previously guarded this place, he led dozens of rural soldiers to welcome him out of the city.
There were also hundreds of local people, mostly old men with gray hair and wrinkles on their faces. They had nothing to do during spring plowing, so they came out to watch the fun.
When Liu Bei was in the north, he always relied on his benevolence and reputation to win the hearts of the people. Today, when he arrived in Jingzhou, he saw that the local people looked like barbarians.
I despise it in my heart, but I still do it as a pro-people act.
Liu Bei was on his mount, holding out one hand with a warm smile on his face.
"I am a member of the Han Dynasty and the governor of Xuzhou, Liu Bei. I am here today to assist Liu Biao, the governor of the state, in resisting Cao Cao's thieves. I have to rely on all of you, fellow villagers!"
Da'er thought that if he lowered his status, he would be respected by the people, but he did not expect that the folk customs in Jingzhou were completely different from those in the north.
The Yellow Turban Rebellion did not harm this place. The local people only recognized Secretary Liu Jingsheng. How could they know about Han clan clan?
"This is Liu Bei. His arms are longer than those of the apes in the mountains!"
"This person looks kind, will he give me a few more eggs during the holidays?"
"Young master, my second uncle's third daughter got married in Xuzhou. He wrote back and said that in Pizhou County, he was the one who suffered the most from the big ears. Isn't it him?"
"Wu Lao Er, don't think that you are the only one who has received the letter. I also have someone from Xuchang here. He is wanted by the Prime Minister to resist Cao's thieves. If he is captured, he will be directly rewarded as an official."
The people talked a lot, and in their words, they did not seem to regard Liu Bei as a piece of food.
The corners of Big Er's eyes twitched twice. He was wider on the outside and more taboo on the inside than Yuan Shao. Looking at the old man and lady in front of him, he wished he could just ride forward and get a good beating with the horse whip.
"What are you talking nonsense about here? This is the emperor's uncle, the emperor's uncle who killed Lu Bu with force, and the rest are waiting for him to retreat!:
The third brother, who was behind the eldest brother, had already become furious after hearing this. Now he could no longer restrain himself and started roaring like a bell.
The old man from Jingzhou felt as if there was a sudden thunder and his ears were buzzing.
"Run!"
"This northerner is so scary!"
The common people were just like the common people in the movies of Fang Guang's era, in which the Ouchi spy sporadic incidents happened. With lightning speed, the birds and beasts dispersed, leaving only the county lieutenant with a sneer on his face and dozens of soldiers.
"Madeh, you idiot!"
Big Er murmured, riding straight into Xinye City, arriving beside the embarrassed county captain, and then slowly stopped.
"I have a lot of food here. Take it to the government office in the city. Watch carefully. If something goes wrong, I will break your legs!"
While Xuande was speaking, he took out a money bag from his arms, threw it on the ground, and then led his troops into the city.
Liu Bei thought to himself that the people in Jingzhou were fearful of danger and unethical, so he acted like a domineering king.
Xuande never looked at the county captain from the beginning to the end. He dropped the money bag and took his third brother, Jian Yong and others straight into Xinye City.
That county captain was just a civil servant born in a small local family. How had he ever seen a rich and respected master like Liu Bei?
When he saw Big Erbu walking away, he picked up the money bag from the ground, weighed it, and a smile flashed across his face.
"You idiot, you've plundered a lot. If you're so arrogant, aren't you still a person wanted by the court?"
The county lieutenant complained in his heart, but he still came to the ox cart in person and urged his sergeants to carefully transport the contents of the cart into the city.
Seeing Liu Bei's group of jackals and tigers walking away, the county captain was curious and secretly took out a box from the oxcart. He originally thought of making some extra money, but when he saw the note on the box, he felt a chill in his heart.
The words "Xiangyang, Jingzhou, the navy's army has food, fodder, and uniforms." are clearly visible in my mind.
Xiangyang has always been respected by the navy, and Liu Bei even brought General Cai Mao's things, so that the county captain did not dare to mess around.
After Da'er and his entourage entered the city, Xuande naturally found the largest mansion to stay in as usual.
Fortunately, although the house was dilapidated, it was still clean. As Mrs. Mi complained, Mrs. Gan and her maid had already tidied up the place in just half a day, giving it the warmth of a mansion.
In the following days, Xuande ordered Zhang Fei to post a recruitment notice, Jian Yong took over the civil administration of Xinye, Mi Zhu was in charge of finance, and Pang Tong was in charge of the overall situation, striving to recruit some soldiers first.
Unexpectedly, after the notice had been posted for several days, only a few dozen people in Xinye City responded.
In northern states and counties, we are used to seeing recruiting flags being erected, and as long as there is money and food, there will be constant soldiers. Seeing this scene, I was instantly dumbfounded.