This secret report was sent from Xuzhou, saying that Liu Bei and Guan Yu were stationed in Xiaopei. Since Liu Xin had previously ordered to pay attention to collecting information on Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Jian, Jushou did not dare to neglect after receiving the secret report.
It was sent to Liu Xin.
Liu Xin was surprised to learn that Liu Bei had arrived in Xuzhou. This was several years earlier than in history. Thinking back to the fact that Sun Jian was attacked a few days ago, there is no news yet, and the jade seal passed down from the country is still on Sun Jian. Now it seems that Liu Bei
The suspicion is not small.
Although there are still Yangzhou and Yuzhou between Jingzhou and Xuzhou, Liu Xin still decided to create some trouble for Liu Bei and not allow him to take over Xuzhou so smoothly. Liu Xin knew that the prerequisite for Liu Bei to take over Xuzhou was Tao Qian's death.
As long as Tao Qian lives one more day, the hypocritical Liu Bei will be embarrassed to accept Tao Qian's resignation. If he takes Xuzhou forcefully, his true colors will be exposed.
Tao Qian was frail and sick, and if he wanted to live a few more years, he would have to treat his illness and strengthen his body. This would not only prevent Liu Bei's conspiracy from succeeding, but also bring him closer to the civil and military forces of Xuzhou, killing two birds with one stone.
Liu Xin didn't know what kind of disease Tao Qian had, but with two great doctors here, even if he couldn't be cured, it shouldn't be difficult to extend his life for a few years. Liu Xin thought that by then he should capture Xichuan and even Chang'an
, can free up his hands to deal with Cao Cao and Liu Bei. Of course, the war is now in chaos, Hua Tuo and Zhang Ji cannot leave, and Liu Xin does not want them to encounter any danger. Without further ado, Liu Xin immediately asked Zhang Ji to send the most powerful
Zhang Qing, his proud disciple, went to Xuzhou to diagnose Tao Qian. At the same time, he also asked him to bring Hua Tuo's newly created Five Animal Opera score and teach it to Tao Qian, so that he could practice it morning and night to strengthen his body. In order to ensure safety, Liu Xin also sent
Zhang Liao accompanied him with five thousand elite troops to protect him.
Two days later, Zhang Ren, who was staying at Yique Pass, also sent a letter. More and more people were fleeing from Luoyang south to the pass, and the food in the pass was no longer enough. After reading the letter, Liu Xin finally understood that the princes
Why did you give up on Luoyang so quickly?
Although there are 300,000 people in Luoyang City, these people have almost nothing except the grain distributed to them by Liu Xin. Now they have missed the spring plowing and production, and the grain sown in the summer is not yet known where. The armies of the princes have just begun.
At that time, they could still not disturb the people and they could live in peace with each other. Not long after, the princes started fighting among themselves, and then robbed the people of their food, and the affairs of adultery with their wives and daughters were going on every day. These people were just
Leaving the wolf's den and entering the tiger's mouth.
Soon, the princes discovered that these people had nothing to rob, and they were unable to pay a penny in taxes. If they stayed in Luoyang, not only would there be no benefit, they would even have to bear the responsibility of relieving the refugees. At this point
Only then did they all remember that if they had known earlier, they would not fight for Luoyang with Liu Xin. So, the princes scolded Liu Xin one after another, saying that he was treacherous, and then they each led their troops back to their own territory, and before leaving, they did not return the favor.
Forgot to capture some young men and rob some women.
Putting down the letter from Zhang Ren, Liu Xin was stunned. These princes were no better than Dong Zhuo. He should not have believed in Yuan Shao's promise and insisted on staying, even at the cost of a fight with the princes. Maybe these people would not
They would be ravaged a second time. Liu Xin sighed and said to Tian Feng: "Yuan Hao, please quickly order people to allocate food and medicine, gather all the people who fled south to Yingchuan, resettle them properly, and then distribute them to various places."
Kuai Liang frowned and said: "All the young men and women were kidnapped by the princes. Most of the people who escaped were old, weak, women and children. There were nearly 200,000 people. If we relied entirely on the treasury to support them, this would be a small fortune.
It’s such a small burden.”
Liu Xin knew that since he rescued Zhu Qian outside Xiangyang City and ransacked the Chen family, not many people would dare to target the victims. In the past, many victims would become slaves of wealthy families in order to survive. He thought for a while
, said: "If you can't afford it, you can't ignore it. They are all the people of the Han Dynasty, and we are all officials of the Han Dynasty. We can't just ignore death. In this way, try to transfer as much food as possible from the treasury. No matter what, we can't
People starve to death. In addition, they are allowed to work as slaves in wealthy people's homes."
Kuai Liang represents the local gentry family group in Jingzhou. He is actually waiting for Liu Xin's words. In recent years, Jingzhou's economy has developed rapidly, many people have become rich, and everyone has lived a good life. Who will go there?
Being slaves for others? Nowadays, the rich families in Jingzhou are most in need of slaves. Some people have even started the business of selling slaves. Even though there are as many as 200,000 refugees, as long as Liu Xin opens his mouth, conservative
It is estimated that half of them will be bought by wealthy families, which will reduce the pressure on the state government.
But Cheng Pu and Huang Gai took the seriously injured Han Dang, more than 40 remnant soldiers, and more than a dozen horses to protect Sun Jian's body. They walked at night and quietly headed towards the Lujiang River. Halfway through, they suddenly met the left guard.
Zhu Zhi from Lujiang led more than a hundred people in panic and ran eastward. After two encounters, Cheng Pu learned that just as they were detouring through Xuzhou, Yuan Shu sent Ji Ling to rush back to Runan and sneak attack Lujiang.
It fell in the city. Zhu Zhi did not dare to pass by Runan and wanted to take a detour to Xuzhou, but he bumped into Cheng Pu and his party. Everyone was inevitably sad and had no choice but to find a way to cross the Yangtze River first and then go to Yuzhang.
.They didn’t know at this time that Yuzhang had fallen into Yan Baihu’s hands.
There were more than a hundred people in the two teams gathered together. With more people, the target was also bigger. Cheng Pu was afraid of being discovered by Yuan Shu's men and did not dare to take the main road. He chose a sparsely traveled path and went to the riverside.
We found a small fishing boat and divided it into dozens of batches before crossing the Yangtze River in the dark of night.
After crossing the river, Cheng Pu still did not dare to march in the daytime, and had to wait until dark before he dared to move slowly. This was delayed for several more days, but Han Dang's injury could not be treated, and it gradually became serious, and he began to have a high fever.
Unconscious.
On this day, the remnant army hid in a reed bush to rest. Cheng Pu thought about Han Dang's injury and became anxious. But this place was not far from the border of Yuzhang. Cheng Pu knew that the more he needed to calm down at this time, the more he needed to calm down.
So he took more than ten soldiers to patrol outside the reed swamp.
Not far after walking out, he heard a slight noise in the grass not far away. Cheng Pu's heart tightened, he raised his hand to signal the soldiers behind him to stop, and quietly walked forward. After walking a few steps, a sound appeared in the grass.
Four or five people suddenly appeared, dressed in different styles, but all had sharp knives in their hands, looking at Cheng Pu warily.
Cheng Pu didn't know if there were any ambush around, so he didn't dare to push too hard. He held the snake spear tightly with both hands and asked sternly: "Who are you, sneaking around here, and what do you want?"
The leader on the opposite side looked at Cheng Pu carefully, and suddenly said: "You are subordinates of Sun Taishou of Lujiang? I wonder where Sun Taishou is now?"
Cheng Pu suddenly became nervous. He was a careful person and could hear that there was no malice in the words of the other party. However, he was concerned about the crisis and refused to relax his vigilance. He still held the snake spear and asked: "Who are you?
people?"
The people on the other side looked at each other, and the leader continued: "It doesn't matter who we are. It's just that Yuzhang City has been occupied by Yan Baihu. Don't continue moving forward, lest you fall into a trap. Grand Administrator Sun's family
You have been rescued in Xiangyang City. If you can trust us, please follow us on the small road to Changsha. When you get there, someone will take you to Xiangyang."
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt Cheng Pu's body sway. Before he could react, a cold spearhead was already pointed at his throat. Cheng Pu said in a deep voice: "Is what you said true or false?"
When he first heard the news of the fall of Yuzhang, Cheng Pu was like a thunderbolt, but he understood better that he must not be confused at this time. He must first confirm the accuracy of the news. However, the man he controlled did not show any fear at all, and just said lightly
: "It's up to you whether you believe it or not. We will just bring our words to you. Of course, you can also forward our words to Grand Administrator Sun and let him decide."
Looking at his expression, Cheng Pu knew that this man was not an ordinary person. He must have received some kind of training. He couldn't get anything out of his mouth. Cheng Pu couldn't make a choice for a while. Xiangyang and Changsha were both Liu Xin's territory.
, they have already fought against Liu Xin's army twice. It is difficult to tell whether they are friends or enemies. Cheng Pu's hand holding the snake spear couldn't help but tremble. If what this person said is true, then they cannot
Going to Yuzhang, if this person is telling lies, then going to Changsha will be like falling into a trap.
Seeing that Cheng Pu was silent, the leader reached out and gently pushed away the snake spear at his throat, and continued: "The situation is urgent, I hope you can make a decision soon! If Yan Baihu's people find out, everyone will be in trouble.
It doesn't matter if you die, I can't bring trouble to my brothers. Take me to see Grand Administrator Sun quickly."
Cheng Pu gritted his teeth and said: "Okay, I will believe you for once! My lord is no longer alive, please take us to see the young master quickly!"
A look of surprise flashed across the eyes of the leader, and he immediately regained his composure, clasped his hands and said, "Unexpectedly, God is jealous of the talented people, and the general expresses his condolences, I will take you to set off right now."
Hiding in the reeds, Huang Gai and Zhu Zhi were also saddened when they heard the news. Everyone quickly packed up their things, protected Sun Jian's body and the seriously injured Han Dang, and followed these people around. After a while, they arrived at a
On the edge of the small river, I heard a whistle from the leader, and several boats were rowing across the water. Cheng Pu and Huang Gai did not dare to be careless, and each held their weapons tightly. The leader said a few code words to the boatman, and turned to Cheng Pu.
: "Everyone, please get on board. Someone will take care of the future. Let's say goodbye."
Without waiting for Cheng Pu to agree, the few people quickly disappeared into the wilderness. By this time, Cheng Pu had no idea where he was, so he could only treat the dead horse as a living horse doctor and lead everyone on the boat.
While Cheng Pu and the others were still marching hard to Changsha, Liu Xin once again came to the small courtyard where Mrs. Wu and her son lived. Although there were still many guards guarding the outside of the courtyard, and no one could approach, but inside the courtyard
But it was a lot more lively. Jushou had already selected more than ten official slaves and sent them here to take care of the food and daily life of Mrs. Wu, mother and children. The Wu sisters and the children also recovered from their initial panic, especially in De
After learning that Sun Ce's injury was getting better day by day, Mrs. Wu's face showed a smile again.
In fact, Liu Xin did not restrict their personal freedom. However, these two women, who usually did not go out much, were naturally wary of unfamiliar environments. They would rather stay in this yard all day than walk around casually.
The only request was to visit Sun Ce. However, considering Sun Ce's injury and the need to be quiet, Hua Tuo did not agree to their request.
Liu Xin glanced at the two beautiful young women who had regained some of their vitality, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Mrs. Wu, could you please take a moment to speak? I have something that I need to discuss with you alone."