Mi Zhen's pretty face suddenly felt filled with infinite embarrassment.
Although she has decided not to return to Xuzhou, she is still Liu Bei's wife in name. Carrying this status, it is extremely shameful to be intimate with Yan Liang, and even let her sister, Liu Bei's concubine, see her.
For a moment, Mi Zhen felt so ashamed that she wanted to find a crack in the ground and crawl into it.
"Sister, General Yan, you..."
Ganmei was also stunned, shocked and ashamed, with a look of disbelief on her face, as if she couldn't believe that Mi Zhen was actually having sex with her husband's enemy.
Yan Liang, however, had a calm look on his face and just smiled and said: "Mrs. Mi has stains on her face. I just wipe it for her."
He was afraid that Mi Zhen would be embarrassed, so he helped her find an excuse to smooth things over.
Mi Zhen was grateful in her heart, but she complained secretly. She thought, "What excuse are you making? Even if there are stains on my face, there is no reason for you to wipe it with your mouth."
Ganmei is not stupid. She saw it with her own eyes and of course she knew what she saw.
At the first moment, she was even a little angry. She felt that Mi Zhen was unruly and did such a shameless thing, which really insulted the reputation of her husband Liu Bei.
But she was only angry for a moment, and then she restrained herself and didn't dare to show it at all.
She thought of her current situation. Now that she had a family and couldn't return, how could she not bow her head when she was living under someone else's roof?
"Perhaps, my sister did this just because of Yan Liang's power. In order to save our sisters, she had to accept this insult. Yes, that must be the case. If this is true, then my sister's sacrifice is really too great."
There was such a voice in Ganmei's mind. He quickly explained it for her.
After being stunned for a long time, Gan Mei came back to her senses and forced a smile on her face, "I can't sleep at night. I want to come and talk to my sister, but I don't expect the general to be here too."
Gan Mei didn't say anything rude, and Mi Zhen breathed a sigh of relief.
"General Yan also dropped by to visit us. I thought my sister had fallen asleep, so I didn't wake her up."
Mi Zhen took the opportunity to explain, then broke away from Yan Liang and stood with Gan Mei.
Then, she wanted to end this embarrassing scene as soon as possible, so she pretended to be sleepy. "It's getting late, and I'm a little tired. I'm afraid the general will have military duties tomorrow. Don't miss the business because of our sisters. The general is
No..."
Mi Zhen was issuing the eviction order in a tactful way.
If it were Cai Yu, Yan Liangcai wouldn't care much about you. You can do as you please.
But he had some respect for Mi Zhen, so he didn't want to be too rude.
"Anyway, these two beauties have despaired of Liu Bei, and they have a long time to come. There is no rush to savor them slowly."
Thinking of this, Yan Liang smiled and said: "I am indeed tired. You two ladies should take a rest early. I will come see you again when I am free tomorrow."
After saying that, Yan Liang waved his sleeves and walked away.
The two women sent Yan Liang out of the house and saw him riding away, and then they breathed a sigh of relief.
Returning to the house, Gan Mei opened the door, took Mi Zhen's hand and asked, "Sister, did that guy deliberately bully you just now?"
The old things were brought up again. Mi Zhen's mood, which had just calmed down, immediately became uneasy again.
Hearing that there was no question in Gan Mei's words, Mi Zhen was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said "Yeah".
"This Yan Liang is really as cruel as an animal. He dares to bully you, sister. It's really too much." Gan Mei frowned and said resentfully.
Mi Zhen sighed and said helplessly: "My husband has abandoned us. We sisters are living under someone else's roof. We can still live a life without worries about food and clothing. It is helpless for me to humble myself and obey."
Hearing this, Ganmei's excitement dimmed. She pondered for a long time and sighed.
She held Mi Zhen's hand with a look of sympathy on her face, "My sister was forced to cater to that guy unwillingly. She made such a big sacrifice. It's really difficult for her. I feel really guilty that I can't share my worries for my sister."
As he said this, Ganmei's eyes filled with tears.
But Mi Zhen forced a smile and said comfortingly: "You and I are like sisters, why are we talking so openly."
The two young women hugged each other, relying on each other, and seemed to have a deep friendship.
"Reluctant...Am I really unwilling..."
The tip of her tongue slid across the red lips, as if she could still feel the remaining warmth. Such an idea suddenly appeared in Mi Zhen's mind.
######
The next day, as soon as Mi Fang left, Yan Liang gave Xu You an order to activate his intelligence network all over the world and collect as much recent news as possible from the princes of the world.
In the world today, the interests of the princes are intertwined with each other. As the saying goes, one move can affect the whole body. Yan Liang will launch an attack on Jiangxia soon. Before the war, he naturally has to consider the movements of other princes.
The first thing sent back was the information from Guanzhong.
To say that Cao Cao is really good at playing divisive tactics, I don’t know what kind of secret tricks his subordinates Guo Jia and Xun You’s group of "shady people" used for him. They actually tricked the two Xiliang princes Ma Teng and Han Sui.
It's going round and round.
After the Battle of Wancheng, the Ma family suffered heavy losses of troops and horses. Han Sui took the opportunity to launch an attack on Fufeng County, where the Ma family was based, and quickly gained the upper hand.
In desperation, Ma Teng had no choice but to ask Cao Cao for help, and Cao Cao took the opportunity to send troops and teamed up with Ma Teng to defeat Han Sui. Han Sui, the strongest prince in Xiliang, was severely injured and fled back to his home in embarrassment.
Jincheng County.
After defeating Han Sui, Cao Cao followed the imperial decree and recruited Ma Teng and his son to serve as officials in Chang'an. Naturally, Ma and his son refused.
As a result, Cao Cao, in the name of resisting and disobeying the decree, sent troops to raid Huaili. The Ma family, which was greatly weakened, was unable to resist. He lost his troops and generals, and fled to Longxi in a hurry with only more than a thousand cavalry.
The two major princes, Ma Teng and Han Sui, were defeated and fled one after another. The remaining Xiliang princes entrenched in Guanzhong were even more vulnerable. Under Cao Cao's power and kindness, they were either defeated or surrendered to the imperial court.
Therefore, during the six months of fierce fighting between Yan Liang and Liu Biao, Cao Cao quickly pacified Guanzhong and drove the Xiliang army to the west of Longshan.
This means that Cao Cao has controlled the five counties of Guanzhong, including Feng Yi, Jingzhao, Fufeng, Beidi, and Xinping. This area is where the rich Wei River Basin is located. The Qin State was based on this area.
Only then can we annex the six countries.
It's just that although Cao Cao controlled the five counties in Guanzhong, the population of Guanzhong was greatly reduced because the governor of Guanzhong was often harmed by the princes of Guanzhong. Cao Cao wanted to use this to counterattack Guandong. However, he was more than willing but not powerful enough.
However, under this situation, Cao Cao had to use troops against Guandong.
For no other reason, Yuan Shao claimed to be King of Wei. This was a blatant contempt for the Han court controlled by Cao Cao. In order to maintain the dignity of the Han court, Cao Cao had to launch a war against Yuan Shao's Bingzhou in the Hedong area despite the huge disparity in power.
Field feint.
Cao Cao also did not forget Yan Liang, his son-in-law. As soon as Mi Fang left, Cao Cao sent an audience to Xiangyang. In the name of the Han Emperor, he ordered Yan Liang to lead an army to attack Xudu as a crusade against Yuan Shao's claim to the throne.
When Yan Liang received this imperial edict, he really couldn't laugh or cry. He said to himself that you are going to attack Yuan Shao's every corner, but you asked me to attack Xudu, the heart of the Central Plains. Cao Cao, you really think you are stupid for being your son-in-law.
Just when Yan Liang was about to resist and disobey the order, Xu Shu suggested that Yan Liang comply.
The reason is also very simple, four words: make a sound in the east and attack in the west.
Yan Liang immediately understood Xu Shu's intention.
At present, he is preparing to use troops against Jiangxia. What he is waiting for is the internal fight between Huang Zu and Cai Kuai. It is best to meet each other in arms.
But if Yan Liang's army was eyeing Xiangyang, Huang Zu and others were afraid of the threat from foreign enemies. Even if there was an enmity, they would not dare to go to war.
Cao Cao's decree gave Yan Liang an opportunity to take cover.
He could openly move his troops to the front line of Wancheng in Xinye on the pretext of challenging Yuan. In this way, Xiangyang's troops would be reduced, and Huang Zu and others could safely and boldly engage in internal fighting.
After weighing the situation, Yan Liang adopted Xu Shu's strategy and moved most of his troops to Xinye. Even Yan Liang himself went with him, leaving only less than 7,000 troops left behind in Xiangyang.
As time goes by, good news comes one after another.
Shortly after Mi Fang left, Liu Bei from Xuzhou used Yuan Shao's name to send troops to Shouchun, an important town in Huainan.
As soon as the soldiers and horses in Xuzhou moved, Sun Quan immediately responded. Sun Quan, who originally planned to conquer Jingzhou again, had to lead his army north from Lujiang County and march towards Hefei, another important town in Huainan.
######
It is almost winter, and there has been no fighting in Jingzhou for half a year.
Yan Liang's march north to Wancheng and Sun Quan's eastward campaign to Hefei eliminated the threats from both sides of Jingzhou.
Liu Biao seemed to have recovered from the shadow of the tragic defeat in Xiangyang. He reorganized his soldiers and regained his strength. At the same time, he also held a banquet to celebrate his birthday.
On this day, Jiangling City was immersed in a happy and relaxed atmosphere. All the people in the city were celebrating the birthday of their great governor, and they also used this festive day to relax their long-strained nerves.
There was even more joy in the state capital.
In the lobby, the atmosphere was full of wine and people were enjoying themselves.
Civil and military officials from various counties in Jingzhou, who could spare the time to come to celebrate his birthday, offered Liu Biao a glass of birthday wine one after another. Those who were unable to come also sent their subordinates to bring heavy birthday gifts to celebrate.
Liu Biao, who was sitting high on the throne, also looked energetic today, and his old face was actually a bit rosy.
His body was recovering, and with the advice of his eldest son, he suppressed those voices of suspicion towards Huang Zu and maintained stability and unity within Jingzhou.
This autumn, all counties have a good harvest of food. The morale of the three armies is recovering rapidly, and the number of soldiers is also growing.
There are various signs that Jingzhou under his rule has safely passed the most critical moment after the fall of Xiangyang and is rapidly moving towards recovery.
All kinds of good things, plus today's birthday, it can be said that Liu Biao is in high spirits when happy events happen, so how can he be unhappy.
While he was getting excited, someone suddenly came in from outside the hall and said loudly: "Right General Yan Liang wishes to celebrate the birthday of your lord, and I would like to present a calligraphy and painting painted by myself as a congratulatory gift."
The lobby suddenly became ebullient.
"Even our sworn enemy Yan Liang came to congratulate my father on his birthday. It seems that that man has realized that our strength in Jingzhou is recovering. After all, Yan Liang is only proud for a moment and cannot last long. Now he has to humble himself to offer gifts to my father."
The second son Liu Cong said proudly.
Most of the people were thinking this way, and they all agreed with Liu Cong's words.
Liu Biao, who was in the upper position, was surprised and could not help but show a bit of pride on his face.
There is no doubt that Yan Liang's gift gave the Lord of Jingzhou more face.
"Yan Liang, a common man, is quite interesting. He even thought of congratulating Mr. Liu on his birthday. Let's open up his calligraphy and paintings and let you see how this common man imitates mediocrity and elegance."
Everyone in the hall was in a state of shock. They all followed Liu Biao and laughed at Yan Liang's vulgarity and illiteracy.
The two servants were in the lobby, and slowly unfolded the scroll in front of everyone.
Liu Biao, who was in the upper position, looked forward with a sarcastic look on his face, as if he was waiting to see a child's random graffiti and was thinking of how to ridicule him.
When he saw clearly what was drawn on the unfolded silk paper, the smug look on his face suddenly disappeared.
