Seeing that Cai had no intention of treating him, Zhuge Liang put the orange in his hand back on the tray, stood up and said to Cai and Cai Mao, "Auntie, uncle, you still have something to deal with, Liang won't bother you anymore, so he will say goodbye."

After leaving the mansion, the entourage who was waiting at the door quickly came up and said to Zhuge Liang:

"Sir, the lord has come out, and I will inform you to return to Fancheng with him."

"I know everything."

Zhuge Liang seemed not in a hurry, and he said to his entourage:

"You go and tell the lord to ask him to go back first. I still have some things that have not been dealt with."

After saying that, Zhuge Liang left his entourage and walked towards him alone. When he passed by the street market, someone quietly followed him along the way. Until he reached a rare corner, they suddenly surrounded him from all directions, wrapped him in sacks, and left at an extremely fast speed before others noticed it...

When Zhuge Liang felt that he was not bumping, he had been placed on the hard floor by these people, and then he heard an extremely familiar voice:

"Bastard! I asked you to invite your sir. Who made you so rude to him? Let the sir come out quickly!"

Zhuge Liang was not surprised at all when he heard this voice. After those people took off the sack, Zhuge Liang couldn't help but block the view in front of him with a feather fan. When he adapted to the light and saw clearly the things in front of him, Liu Qi had already knelt in front of him.

"Young Master, if you want to see me, send someone to inform me, why do you use this method?"

Although Zhuge Liang was venting his dissatisfaction, he knew Liu Qi's actions in his heart.

Faced with his own bandit behavior, Liu Qi had no way to argue, so he could only kowtow and apologize:

"Liu Qi is sorry, Mr. Liu. If he had not been desperate, he would not have adopted this strategy. Please show him a way out!"

Zhuge Liang stood up and walked forward, bent down and supported Liu Qi's shoulder to make him get up: "Young Master, it is your family matter to be involved in the establishment of a successor in Jingzhou. Liang is an outsider. It is really inconvenient to participate in it. Please forgive me."

After saying that, Zhuge Liang turned around and wanted to go downstairs, but when he walked to the entrance of the stairs, he found that the ladder had already been removed. If he forced himself to jump down, the mild one would be injured and the severe one would die.

"Young Master, why are you doing this?"

Now that he was desperate, Zhuge Liang had no choice but to sit on the collapse and feel sulky.

Liu Qi knelt down and walked to Zhuge Liang: "I know that sir is very talented, and there must be good strategies in my heart to help me escape from danger. Please imagine that if I die, the Cai family will definitely cover the sky in Jingzhou with one hand. How can Uncle Liu gain a foothold in Jingzhou at that time!"

This sentence made Zhuge Liang look at Liu Qi with admiration. He hesitated for a while and finally let go:

"Well, can you remember Shen Sheng and Chong'er during the Warring States Period? Shen Sheng stayed in the center of power but did not die well. Chong'er stayed away from open and hidden arrows and finally made a comeback. If the young master continues to stay in Xiangyang, he may not be far from his death."

In fact, Zhuge Liang's words were already very clear, but Liu Qi didn't understand it for a while, so Zhuge Liang explained:

"The young master should petition Lingzun at this time, saying that Sun Quan of Jiangdong invaded Jiangxia and killed Huang Zu, which made the entire Jiangxia County panic. As the eldest son, you are willing to go to Jiangxia as the prefect to clean up the mess. The Cai family is thinking about how to make Liu Cong ascend the throne safely. Seeing that you are far away from Xiangyang, you will definitely succeed in this matter. The young master's life worries can be resolved. In addition, you can also have a county in Jiangxia as the capital to turn the tables in the future..."

After listening to Zhuge Liang's words, Liu Qi immediately understood. He kowtowed Zhuge Liang again and thanked him:

"I understand, sir, I will go to my father's place tomorrow to ask for a trip to Jiangxia."

At this time, Liu Bei was overwhelmed by Zhuge Liang's disappearance, and he angrily scolded the unfavorable protection of the followers:

"How can you let the military advisor leave alone? If he has anything to do, what will you take to take care of!"

The follower was so scared that he knelt on the ground and shivered. At this moment, Zhuge Liang walked in from outside the door:

"The lord doesn't need to blame him, I asked him to come back now."

When Liu Bei felt relieved when he saw Zhuge Liang safe and sound, he hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Where has sir?"

Zhuge Liang replied: "Ray has already completed a step back for the lord, which has made the lord worry."

"Backhand?"

Liu Bei didn't understand what Zhuge Liang was talking about, so Zhuge Liang dismissed his followers and said to Liu Bei:

"I just went to see Mr. Liu Qi. He begged me to offer advice for his difficult situation. I suggested that he go to Jiangxia in Xiangyang, so that he can avoid the disaster of slaughter and occupy a place."

"Military Advisor Gao Ce."

Liu Bei nodded: "In this way, the power of Jingzhou will not be completely one-sided, we still have room for it."

However, Zhuge Liang was not only considering this simple thing. He looked at Liu Bei with a serious expression:

"Lord, in my opinion, Liu Qi went to Jiangxia and basically confirmed that he had no chance with the lord of Jingzhou. Once the battle situation was not good for Jingzhou after Liu Cong ascended the throne, Cai Mao, Kuai Yue and others would probably advocate surrendering to Cao Cao. By then, the lord, as a thorn in Cao Cao's eyes, would definitely become his primary target. Our troops are limited, and by then the lord will have a place to seek refuge, in addition..."

When Zhuge Liang said this, he suddenly stopped talking, which made Liu Bei very curious:

“What else is there?”

Zhuge Liang smiled mysteriously: "It depends on how the battle situation will develop..."

At this time, the battle situation in northern Jingzhou was extremely unfavorable for Liu Biao. Cao Cao seized the three places of Luyang, Qianxian and Yexian on the border between Jingzhou and Yuzhou with almost a very small casualties. In accordance with the strategic policies formulated by Xun Yu, he walked lightly and headed straight for Wancheng in a starry night. In addition, Cao Cao also sent Cao Chun to lead the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and Zhang He's Hebei Iron Cavalry to quickly cross Dahu Mountain, conquered Biyang, and forced the Bishui River to take straight to Xinye.

Although Shinno's guard general Wen Pin defended his life, he was still unable to withstand Cao Cao's fierce offensive and eventually abandoned the city and retreated to Cai Yang.

Just as Cao Chun and Zhang He conquered Xinye, the army led by Cao Cao also officially set off from Yecheng to Xudu to meet the emperor and swore to go to war. This time, he brought Cheng Yu, Jia Xu and Xun You, three strategists, to assist in the planning. What is interesting is that Cao Cao also planned to bring Sima Yi, a nameless person who was far less famous than the first three.

When the brigade arrived in Xudu, Liu Xie led a few officials who were only staying in Xudu to welcome him outside the palace gate, and Empress Fu Shou was also with him. Sima Yi looked at Cao Cao in military uniform, with the momentum of a sharp sword hanging on his waist, and even Liu Xie, who was the emperor, was much inferior to him, which made Sima Yi feel extremely uncomfortable.

When he came to Liu Xie, Cao Cao made a shocking move:

He did not kneel down to Liu Xie according to the etiquette of the monarch and his subjects, but he saluted Liu Xie with just bowing:

"Your Majesty, it is inconvenient for me to salute me. Please forgive me!"

Cao Cao's move uproared all the officials present. Among them, Sima Yi, Xun Yu's uncle and nephew, and everyone including Queen Fu showed dissatisfaction. Only Liu Xie calmly responded to this seemingly improper move of the rule of the monarch and his subjects:

"Your dear, don't be too polite. I hope that this southern expedition will eliminate the treacherous and slander for me and restore my great Han country!"

Not only that, Liu Xie also presented Cao Cao with the sword. Cao Cao took the sword with both hands and turned to the tens of thousands of soldiers and ministers under the steps, drew out his sharp sword and pointed it at the sky and shouted:

"I, Cao Cao, is now ordered by the emperor to fight against the rebellion! I will not return it if I fail to pacify Jingzhou!"

Thousands of Arsenals in the audience suddenly shouted long live. At this time, the displeasure on Fu Shou's face was already very obvious. He almost stood up and scolded Cao Cao for despising the emperor. Just as she leaned forward and was about to take that step, Fu Ruoxin beside her was held back in time. Fu Shou, who turned back, looked at her sister and shook her head and winked at her. He knew that she should endure it at this time, so he had to swallow this breath and silently retreated back to her original place.

Although Sima Yi was Cao Cao's counselor, he knew in his heart how helpless and painful Liu Xie was at this moment, so he had to clench his fists secretly. In addition, Xun Yu, who had always been loyal to Cao Cao, was also dissatisfied with Cao Cao's behavior, but because of his inconvenience to speak more, he could only shake his head helplessly.

After the ceremony, Cao Cao, who was greatly favored, walked down from the altar of worship with great enthusiasm and led his elite soldiers to march towards the south. Sima Yi, who was on the back of the horse, and Liu Xie, who was still standing on the altar of worship with great pleasure, looked at each other from afar. Only they could deeply understand the various tastes.

The conversation was divided into two parts. Since the vanguard sent by Cao Cao had a sudden blow to the northern part of Jingzhou with lightning speed, he occupied most of the territory of Nanyang County in a very short time and had a tendency to approach Xiangyang. This made Liu Biao, who was seriously ill, feel uncomfortable. Soon he died of illness under the double pressure of internal and external troubles.

As soon as Liu Biao passed away, Cai, Cai Mao and others took out their pre-prepared fate and forced the young Liu Cong to the throne of the governor of Jingzhou. Cai Mao also sent more than 10,000 troops to deploy them east of Xiangyang City to prevent Liu Bei from Fancheng.

Because Cai claimed that Liu Biao was seriously ill and could not be in charge of the director, all major affairs in Jingzhou were handed over to Liu Cong, Cai Mao and Kuai Yue to assist in the administration. However, the news was leaked. Liu Qi, who was far away in Jiangxia, learned about it, was extremely sad and angry, and hurriedly sent a letter to Liu Cong to ask why he concealed the death of his father Liu Biao.

Under Liu Qi's pressure, the power behind Liu Cong also completely stood firm in Jingzhou. Therefore, after discussing with Cai Mao, Liu Cong decided to officially announce the news that Liu Biao died of illness. He sent an envoy to Jiangxia to order Liu Qi to remain the prefect of Jiangxia, and threatened Liu Qi to beware of the situation that Sun Quan from Jiangdong took advantage of the situation and was not allowed to leave Jiangxia.

After learning the news, Liu Qi loudly scolded Cai Mao and others for being rebellious, and threw the Jiangxia prefect whom Liu Cong gave him heavily to the ground. Then he prepared to summon his troops to Xiangyang, which was called for Liu Biao's funeral, but he was in a verdict.

Since Liu Bei, who was in Fancheng, saw Cai Mao and Chen Bing outside, he had roughly guessed the situation inside Xiangyang.

Faced with such an unknown situation, Zhuge Liang wisely speculated that Liu Qi might take risks. For this reason, he advised Liu Bei to stop him: "Jiangxia is the gateway to the east of Jingzhou and its troops are limited. Even if Liu Qi comes out in full, it is impossible for him to be the opponent of Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, so he must stay in Jiangxia. What's more, Cao Cao is invincible in Nanyang now, and Liu Cong may find it difficult to withstand his pressure. We may not be in Fancheng for long, and Jiangxia will become our next place to praise."

Liu Bei agreed with Zhuge Liang's far-sighted vision, so he personally wrote a letter to Liu Qi, advising him that when facing Cao Cao's great enemy, the overall situation in Jingzhou should be put first, and that his brothers should not fight against each other at this time, let Cao Cao sit on the sidelines of the fisherman's benefit.

Under Liu Bei's comfort, Liu Qi finally gave up his plan to attack Xiangyang.

In addition, Zhuge Liang also analyzed for Liu Bei that the situation that Jingzhou might face:

"When Liu Biao was alive, most of the generals led by Huang Zu were strongly opposed to Cao. After the Battle of Guandu, he formed an unyielding confrontation with the pro-Cao faction formed by Kuai Yue, Cai Mao and others at that time. Later, Sun Quan raided Jiangxia and killed Huang Zu, causing the anti-Cao forces in Jingzhou to gradually collapse. From then on, the pro-Cao faction led by Kuai Yue, Cai Mao and others must have become the dominant force."

Liu Bei asked Zhuge Liang: "Zhang He, Cao Chun has captured Xinye and cut off the road to support Wancheng in Jingzhou. In this way, it will be a matter of time before Wancheng is lost. I am afraid that it will intensify the pace of Kuai Yue and others instigating Liu Cong to surrender."

At this time, Xu Shu, who was standing beside him, looked at the Jingzhou map placed on the table with concentration and analyzed:

"I thought Liu Biao could hold on for a while, but I didn't expect that his sudden death caused the situation in Jingzhou to be in chaos. Yesterday, the Malai News reported: Cao Cao personally led a large army to pass Wancheng and was coming towards Xinye. Once he arrived in Xinye, it would inevitably shock the entire Xiangyang government and the countryside. I think the period for Liu Cong to surrender is not far away."

However, at this moment, Liu Cong, who was unwilling to surrender, carried Cai Mao and Kuai Yue and suddenly evacuated the troops west of Xiangyang, and wrote a letter to Liu Bei, indicating that he was unwilling to hand over the foundation that his father had managed for many years to others.

After learning that Liu Cong was determined to resist to the end, Liu Bei felt that the situation in Jingzhou was not that bad, but Zhuge Liang said to Liu Bei: "Even if Liu Cong is unwilling to be humiliated by surrender, he is not the one who holds real power. No matter how much determination he has in his heart, it will be useless, so he still needs to think about the next solution."

After much thought, Liu Bei decided to stay in Fancheng for the time being to observe the situation. His reason was this:

"Even if we evacuate Fancheng now, where can we go? Fancheng and Xiangyang are in a junction. If Cao Cao attacks Xiangyang, we can help it, and vice versa. I think there is still a possibility of a fight."

Seeing that he could not persuade Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang had to give up his thoughts:
Chapter completed!