The news of Liu Qi's assassination spread throughout the streets and alleys of Xiangyang City, and all the major families speculated on who had the audacity to assassinate Liu Qi.
The news of Zhang Yue's arrest undoubtedly told people that the mastermind behind the assassination of Liu Qi was Zhang Yue. Each major family in Xiangyang City had their own informants, and the previous disputes between Liu Qi, Liu Cong, and Zhang Yue were also revealed.
For a time, everyone in Xiangyang City, from the aristocratic families to the common people, was quiet.
For them, it was not so much an assassination as a test, a test of Liu Biao. Liu Biao is over sixty years old this year. It can be said that half of his feet are already in the coffin, and the position of heir has not yet been confirmed.
Sure.
In the past few years, Liu Biao was in good health. In recent years, Liu Biao has been ill from time to time, and the dispute over the successor has begun in private. Zhang Yue's assassination this time undoubtedly brought the dispute over to the public, regardless of Zhang Yue's this time.
No matter how things are handled, the fight between Liu Qi and Liu Cong will only get stronger and stronger.
As for Zhang Yue, he is just a pathfinder. Except for people who have tangible interests with his father, no one cares about his life or death. People only want to know whether Liu Biao will protect Liu Biao after he stops doting on him.
He, because Liu Biao's attitude towards Liu Qi has become increasingly cold over the years, even when Liu Qi was unconscious a few days ago, he only sent someone to inquire.
Families large and small in Xiangyang City are waiting for Liu Biao's decision to determine the future direction of the family.
It was already early the next morning when Liu Qi woke up, and there was nothing wrong except for some pain in his chest. Thinking of the thrilling scene yesterday, he still felt a little scared, so he decided to do something.
In the study, Liu Qi was lying on the couch, squinting his eyes as he looked at Liu Pan, Liu Xiu, and Ma Zhong who had just defected to him. He focused on looking at Ma Zhong. Yesterday, he was only a little familiar with Ma Zhong's name. Today
Only when I saw him did I remember who Ma Zhong was.
When Ma Zhong was in the Three Kingdoms, he had a low official position and was just a Sima, but he was also nicknamed "Famous General Killer". This nickname was still fresh in Liu Qi's memory. When Liu Qi first read The Three Kingdoms, he admired Guan Yu very much. Later, he
Being captured by Ma Zhong made me feel depressed for a while.
Apart from Lu Bu, who was the most powerful among the Three Kingdoms, the others who could rival Guan Yu were Zhao Yun, Dian Wei, and Ma Chao. Although it was a sneak attack, Ma Zhong's ability to capture Guan Yu showed that he was extraordinary in martial arts and resourcefulness. Moreover, that battle was not only
Not only did they capture Guan Yu, they also captured Guan Ping, Zhao Lei and a group of other generals.
Later, when Liu Bei attacked Wu, he also shot and killed veteran Huang Zhong. Veteran Huang Zhong was famous for his archery skills, but he was still shot to death by Ma Zhong, which shows that Ma Zhong's archery skills were extraordinary. There were two of the Five Tiger Generals of Shu.
They were all killed by Ma Zhong. It is not an exaggeration to call him the 'famous general killer', let alone those ordinary generals.
Liu Qi looked at the three of them calmly and said, "What do you think of what happened yesterday?"
Liu Pan scratched his head and said angrily: "No need to think about it, it must have been done by that bastard Liu Cong."
Liu Xiu also nodded and said: "From the current point of view, Liu Cong is indeed the most likely."
Liu Qi did not speak, but looked at Ma Zhong.
Ma Zhong thought for a moment and said, "I don't think it's like Liu Cong, but he definitely knows about it."
"Oh, why?" Liu Qi looked at Ma Zhong with interest.
"When I saw Liu Cong yesterday, I felt that he was not a brainless person, but very smart. Yesterday he let us go so easily. I think it was partly because of the eldest son, and partly because he didn't want to make the matter a big deal.
It’s not good for him. In such a situation, he can still remain rational and know how to advance and retreat. He will not do such an irrational thing. As for Zhang Yue, I think no one knows him better than Liu Cong. Even if Liu Cong doesn’t find out, he should
I noticed some clues." Ma Zhong thought for a while and said. There is another reason that Ma Zhong didn't mention, that is, what happened yesterday came to Liu Biao's ears, and Liu Biao's love for Liu Cong was also Liu Qi's bullying of his younger brother.
Liu Qi nodded. As expected, he grew up in the outside world, but he was different from his brothers. "Yes, Liu Cong has no reason to assassinate me at this time. The situation is that I am at a disadvantage in every aspect."
, he doesn’t need to take risks."
After that, he said to Liu Pan and Liu Pan: "Now the situation in Xiangyang is gradually becoming more and more obvious, and the competition for the reserve position is getting more and more intense. How cautious will you be in your actions in the future? You can't mess around like before."
Liu Pan and Liu Pan whispered: "Don't worry, eldest brother, we will definitely not cause you any more trouble, and eldest brother will definitely succeed to the throne smoothly."
Liu Qi smiled and said: "Haha, it's not that serious. You can do whatever you want, as long as you don't apologize. I just hope you can use more brains in everything and don't let others take advantage of you. I want to unify the world in the future, which is terrible.
Need your help."
"Brother, don't worry. We are not stupid and will not suffer losses. It's just that we can unify the world, can we?" Liu Xiu said.
Liu Qi looked at the three of them and said seriously: "In today's world, either you die or I die. We have no way out. Either we become a stepping stone for others to unify the world, or we step on others to determine the Central Plains. I don't want to be called a foil for others, so
I choose to let others be my foil. No matter how difficult the road is, I only know that I am getting closer to the goal."
Liu Xiu was shocked and said: "Brother, don't worry, no matter how difficult it is, I will never let go."
Liu Pan said excitedly: "This is exciting to hear. If anyone blocks my brother's way in the future, I will chop him alive."
Ma Zhong said with determination: "My life, Ma Zhong's, will belong to my lord from now on. I will fight for my lord in front of and behind my back, and I will fight to the death."
"Okay, it's time to have dinner. Let's stay together with Zhengping. Please take the time to pick up Shopkeeper Ma as soon as possible. Xiangyang City is not peaceful right now." Liu Qi felt good after hearing what they said.
"Thank you, Lord." Ma Zhong said gratefully.
…………
Xiangyang was originally a small city. The former seat of Jingzhou was Wancheng. When Liu Biao was appointed as the pastor of Jingzhou, there was a war in Wancheng. Liu Biao could not pacify Wancheng alone, so he chose Xiangyang. Liu Biao took Xiangyang as his base.
He pacified Jingzhou in a short time, thereby stabilizing Jingzhou's pastoral status and ranking among the vassals of the late Han Dynasty. After decades of development, Xiangyang has evolved from a little-known town to a political, economic, and cultural center south of the Yangtze River.
The short city wall of the past has been lost in the long river of history, but a few miles away from the outside of the old city wall, a tall city wall stands tall, with four towering city gates standing on all four sides of Xiangyang City.
The soldiers guarded the city gate with weapons in hand. Their eyes were like lightning, scanning the passing pedestrians and vehicles. In the city, rows of houses were neatly arranged, and the most magnificent among these houses was undoubtedly the one in the center of the city.
The mansion.
Zhennan General's Mansion, the residence of Liu Biao, the shepherd of Jingzhou.
At this time, two people were playing chess in a pavilion in the Houhua Park of Zhennan General Mansion. The person holding the white piece was an old man with gray hair. The old man was dressed in a white robe and wore a belt embroidered with purple dragon patterns around his waist. He was simple and elegant.
Without losing the grandeur, even though he was sitting there, he naturally exuded the aura of a superior person, and also contained the elegance unique to scholars. The person holding the black chess piece was a middle-aged man in his early forties.
Wearing a brocade robe and having a slightly plump figure, he gives people a sense of wealth.
"Lord Zhou Mu, we just got the news that the eldest son is awake." The middle-aged man said after placing a chess piece. It turned out that the old man was Liu Biao, the general of Zhennan.
"Oh, that's good, I finally woke up." The old man said after being silent for a while, then he seemed to be relieved.
"The eldest son just suffered a superficial wound. As long as he wakes up, he should be fine. Don't worry, sir. I heard that the third young master and the young master Pan have already gone to see him." Seeing Liu Biao still frowning, the middle-aged man explained.
.If his leg is broken, how can he inherit Liu Biao's position?
"Well, Degui, I'll let Uncle Dai Ji take a look at it later." Liu Biao dropped a chess piece and said. This middle-aged man turned out to be Cai Hao. Cai Hao, also known as Degui, is the current Jingzhou military advisor. He can be said to be the most powerful person in Jingzhou.
More than ten thousand people.
"Well." After Cai Mao finished speaking, he played chess silently. But he sighed secretly in his heart, "It seems that Mr. Zhou Mu still cares about Liu Qi. I'm afraid it will be difficult to realize what my sister wants." In the past two years, he has been
As Liu Cong grew up, Mrs. Cai began to make plans for Liu Cong, hoping to support Liu Cong to ascend to power a hundred years later.
Now many officials in Xiangyang are silently planning for their future. Although they have not stated it publicly, they have already begun to take sides in private. He has to make some plans early. Today, he saw Liu Qi wake up and wanted to intercede for Zhang Yue.
, but when he saw Liu Biao acting like this, he didn't speak. He knew that Liu Biao was trying to scare the monkeys and scare those people in private. Thinking of Yi Jibo, Cai Mao remained silent.
Another location in Zhennan General Mansion.
"Mother, please plead for Zhang Yue in front of my father. He grew up with me." A boy of fifteen or sixteen years old hugged a woman's arm and said, shaking his arms. The boy's face was rosy and delicate, and he had a pair of
The big eyes that blinked were extremely intelligent. It was Liu Cong who had a conflict with Liu Qi yesterday. The woman he called his mother was dressed like a young woman in her twenties. She was his mother, Mrs. Cai, who was also Cai Mao's.
elder sister.
"Cong'er, please don't get involved in this matter. That Zhang Yue is so vicious at such a young age. Your elder brother just said a few words to him, but he let his slaves commit crimes. It's really abominable. You should stay away from him in the future.
." Mrs. Cai said.
"But it's the servant's own decision. It has nothing to do with him. Just save her, mother." Seeing that his mother refused, Liu Cong argued.
"Okay, Cong'er, you're not young anymore. There are some things you should understand. What does Zhang Yue's behavior make your father think? Your father is already dissatisfied with you. Asking for mercy now will only make him more dissatisfied with you.
." Mrs. Cai said solemnly to Liu Cong.
"But isn't eldest brother awake?" Liu Cong said.
"Well, I have asked your uncle to ask. If possible, he will intercede for Zhang Yue. Zhang Yue's father is an old friend of your uncle, and he will not leave Liu Cong alone." Mrs. Cai touched Liu Cong.
The head said. At the same time, she was also complaining about her brother in her heart. "Brother, what are you thinking about?" She spoke more than once in these years, hoping that Cai Mao would help Liu Cong, but Cai Mao would not let go, and Kuai Yue also did not make any expression.
It gave her a headache. After thinking about it, she couldn't help but blame Zhang Yue. You can't kill or maim Liu Qi directly, that would save trouble. Now we can only see the news from her brother. If Zhang Yue's life is saved, it means that
Liu Biao no longer pays attention to Liu Qi, so everything is easy to say. If he can't keep it, it will be a little difficult.
Different from Mrs. Cai's worries, Yi Ji was extremely happy at this time, because just now Cai Mao sent a message and Liu Biao asked him to visit Liu Qi. This shows that Liu Biao still cares about the eldest son.
Historically, most scholars had such thoughts. Not to mention Liu Biao as one of the "Eight Horsemen".