Jianming Chaos

Xinye City.

On this day, Liu Bei received a letter from the Jingzhou envoy, saying that Liu Biao was critically ill, and asked him to go over to discuss the funeral.

After the envoy left, Kong Ming said happily: "As expected, the meaning is self-evident. God-sent opportunity, don't miss it!"

Liu Bei didn't express his opinion, just said: "Let me go there."

He brought Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhiming to Xiangyang and met Liu Biao before his sick bed.

Liu Biao looked very weak and said, "My dear brother, I am very ill and will die soon, so I specially called you here, and I want to grant you the state seal, so that you can inherit my inheritance."

After speaking, he coughed again, and his condition seemed not to be optimistic.

Liu Bei caressed his chest and said, "Brother Xian has treated me with great kindness. I haven't found an opportunity to repay him well, but now I want you to give up the position of state lord. Why is that? Although I know it's good intentions, I don't appreciate it. Brother should grant the state seal to the eldest son Liu Qi, and let him continue to manage state affairs."

Liu Biao let out a long sigh and said, "The dog has no talent and is not up to the task! It's all my fault. I didn't discipline him strictly before. Now, only my virtuous brother can take on this important task. It's not too late. Please be a virtuous brother to take over the state seal!"

Liu Bei still shook his head and said: "In the past, Tao Qian, the governor of Xuzhou, offered me the position three times, but I refused all of them; now my brother repeats the old things again, it is really difficult. Besides, I have no merit or virtue to Jingzhou, how dare I accept this position for nothing? Even if I accept it, who will obey me?"

When Liu Biao heard this, he coughed even worse and coughed up bloody sputum.He struggled to say: "The medicine for this disease is useless, and I will travel to the immortals soon. When I was dying, I thought about this matter, brother, please do me one last favor, I don't want to die with regrets. Xian My brother's concern is nothing more than the fear that Cai Mao's officials will be dissatisfied and jealous, and I don't know it! But I am also a sensible person, if I grant the state seal to others, Jingzhou will be buried in my hands! It is the common wish of the people of Jingzhou that the virtuous brother succeeds to the throne! If the virtuous brother refuses to accept it, teach me how to rest my eyes under the Nine Springs!"

Seeing this situation, Liu Bei couldn't help tears staining his robe, fell down in front of the bed, and cried: "Brother Xian's great kindness and virtue, I will never forget it! But Bei had sworn in his early years that he would never do anything against him in this life. As a matter of humanity, Brother Xian should hand over the state seal to Mr. Liu Qi. It is only natural for the son to inherit his father's business. I swear that I will do my best to help him in return for my brother's kindness!"

After hearing this, Liu Biao had nothing to say, and looked at the ceiling in despair.

Guan Yu persuaded: "Brother, Liu Jingzhou also has kind intentions, so let's go with it."

Others persuaded one after another.Liu Bei is in a dilemma. One is Liu Biao's dying entrustment, and the other is his own principles of life. It is really difficult to choose.

At this time, people reported that Cao Cao personally led the army to march south, and they would arrive in Jingzhou in a few days; the soldiers also said that Cao's army was so powerful that in addition to his own army, even the White Tigers also participated.

Everyone was shocked.Zhiming thought: "Cao Cao actually showed his trump card this time. It seems that he is planning to fight to the death. He came at the right time, saving me from going to them. I must protect the uncle and not let him succeed!"

Seeing the urgency of the situation, Liu Bei said: "Brother Xian, Cao Cao is obviously coming for me. If I succeed Jingzhou Mu now, there will be no time to get along with the officials of all counties and counties. Make sure everyone obeys me; the people of Jingzhou will definitely be ravaged by Cao Jun in every possible way. At present, I must rush back to Xinye to prepare for the battle. Brother, you should make Mr. Liu Qi the governor of the state as soon as possible. I will do my best to assist him Mr. Liu Qi has guarded Jiangxia for a while, and I believe he has accumulated a lot of management experience. I firmly believe that he will be qualified for this position."

In a crisis, Liu Biao had no choice but to agree.Liu Bei bid farewell to Liu Biao with tears in his eyes, and hurried back to Xinye with everyone.

After Liu Bei left, Liu Biao immediately ordered people to bring paper, ink and pen, and made a will, saying that Liu Qi would be the governor of the state, and Liu Bei would assist the government.Due to time constraints, he urgently asked Liu Qi to be summoned by Feige to hand over the will to him face to face.

Mrs. Cai was shocked when she heard about it, and hurriedly ordered people to close the inner door of the state capital, and asked Cai Mao and Zhang Yun to lock the outer door, and they must not let their father and son meet.

Liu Bei and his party rushed back to Xinye overnight to discuss strategies to defeat the enemy.

As soon as Kong Ming heard that Liu Bei refused to accept the state seal, he immediately became anxious: "My lord, why didn't you accept Liu Biao's trust? This is his last wish. It's justified, why not!"

Liu Bei retorted: "This position should be reserved for Mr. Liu Qi; I am an outsider, without merit or virtue, and not popular with everyone. How can I fight for the position!"

Zhang Fei said: "The old man (Liu Biao) did it voluntarily, so it has nothing to do with elder brother! In my opinion, his two sons combined are not as good as you, elder brother!"

"These are two different things. You don't need to say too much. I have already persuaded Jing Sheng to make Liu Qi the governor of the state. He should listen to me. The most urgent task is to deal with Cao Jun. Let's hurry up and discuss it!"

Everyone knows his stubbornness and dare not mention it again.

Zhiming said: "Cao Cao has lost twice in a row, yet he dares to come back again, and even dispatched the White Tiger Team, his ambition is evident. We must deal with it seriously and not be careless."

Zhang Fei patted his chest and said, "Brother, don't worry, with us here, you won't be afraid even if the White Tigers come!"

These words somewhat calmed Liu Bei's heart.

Kongming waved his feather fan and said, "My lord, don't panic. I've already said that last time he was caught in the fire attack, and this time I want him to fall! It's just that this city is no longer a place to stay for a long time. We should move to Fancheng as soon as possible. "

Liu Bei said: "I also have the same intention. I ask the military adviser to make a decision."

Kong Ming thought for a moment and said, "Since my lord is not willing to take over as Jingzhou shepherd, this is the only way to go. That's it, the whole city will march to Fancheng immediately!"

Guan Yu asked: "How does the military division plan to deal with Cao Jun?"

Kongming said: "Cao's army is tired from a long distance. Seeing that Xinye City is empty, they will definitely stay there for a night. I will arrange some soldiers to lie down in the city in advance. When the time comes, they will set fires everywhere and burn Xinye. Cao Jun should not have expected this. First, when they are relaxing and resting, they will be in chaos in case of danger, and they will not be able to escape completely. If the plan is successful, it is conservatively estimated that they will lose about [-]% of their troops. After it is done, then..."

Kong Ming explained his detailed plan to everyone, and everyone felt feasible after hearing it.

"The problem now is that we must send a shrewd person to lead a death squad to ambush the city and wait for the opportunity to set fire." Kong Ming said to the generals, "I don't know who is willing to take on this important task?"

"I'll go!" Zhiming stood up without hesitation, "Military division, let me complete this task! After setting the fire, I will fight with them!"

"Okay!" Kong Ming shook his hand tightly, looked at him with trusting eyes and said, "Since General Lei has volunteered, this glorious mission is entrusted to you!"

"I will definitely complete the task successfully!" Zhiming was full of confidence.In fact, he wanted to take the opportunity to eliminate the members of the White Tigers in the city. This was his mission, and it seemed that he was destined to complete this arson mission.

Zhao Yun patted him on the shoulder and said, "Zhiming, you must come back alive!"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. I'll meet you after I finish the task." After Zhiming finished speaking, he whispered to Guan Yu and the others, "You must protect Military Advisor Kong Ming, he is the core figure of our army. !"

Guan Yu and others nodded to show their understanding.

"Okay, it's settled like this." Kong Ming said to everyone, "It's not too late, let's split up."

After the meeting, Kong Ming sent people to place announcements around the city, telling the people: Cao Cao personally led the army to march south, and will soon arrive at Xinye; You can follow; if you want to go or stay by yourself, please feel free to do so, but you will be responsible for the consequences; it is initially scheduled to depart at five o'clock in the morning the day after tomorrow, so please prepare for the migration in advance.

Sun Qian was ordered to go to the river to prepare several large and small boats and rafts, and asked Mi Zhu to escort the officials' families to set off first.

Zhiming was authorized to select 30 people from the barracks, all of whom were strong and strong.He also ordered people to collect phosphorus, grease, dry firewood and other pyrophoric substances everywhere, preparing for overnight special training.Although he had never performed such a task before, with the military knowledge instilled in him by the old god, coupled with his innate wisdom and ability, he could train a professional arsonist team by himself.

A young man named Xiao Cong recommended himself to Zhiming as the vice-captain because he had similar experiences before.Seeing his agility and quick mind, Zhiming appointed him as the vice-captain, mainly responsible for assisting in assigning tasks and training the team members.

After the ignition materials were in place, they began to train in batches, including hiding, burying the fire, lighting the fire, and emergency escape.

After Jiangxia prefect Liu Qi received the news that his father was critically ill, he rushed to Xiangyang overnight, wanting to see his father for the last time.As soon as he reached the outer gate, he was stopped by soldiers.The soldiers urgently reported to Cai Mao.

Cai Mao and Zhang Yun arrived in a hurry.Cai Mao didn't add any politeness, and asked directly: "The son was ordered by his father to guard Jiangxia, but why did he leave his post and come here?"

Liu Qi said: "I heard that my father is seriously ill, so I came here to visit him."

Zhang Yun said: "The lord has ordered that no one is allowed to come in. Please go back, my lord."

Liu Qi took out his father's letter and said angrily: "Nonsense! I am his son, and he summoned me by sending a letter through Feige. Why can't I see him?"

Cai Mao turned a blind eye to the letter and said, "There is only a wall between Jiangxia and Soochow. If Soochow commits a crime, what should we do? You have a heavy responsibility, so please go back. If you know that you are coming, the lord will not only not be happy, but will aggravate it." Illness; if you want to be a filial son, please come back quickly."

"Then it's okay for me to see my mother?" Liu Qi saw that they were deliberately making things difficult.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Cai ordered us to do this." Zhang Yun said.

"why?"

"Because madam is afraid that you will be too sad after seeing the seriously ill lord and will not be able to guard Jiang Xia well, so let us both persuade you to go back."

Liu Qi knew clearly that the two of them were arguing, but he had no choice but to go back.

After walking a few steps, he felt very reconciled, and came back again, pointing and cursing: "You two beasts, my father treats you well on weekdays, and you actually prevented me from seeing him when he was seriously ill. You have evil intentions! Get out of the way, I want to go in!"

"Forgive me!" Zhang Yun said coldly.

"You... how dare you stop me?!" Liu Qi involuntarily clenched the hilt of his sword.

Cai Hao and Zhang Yun also clenched their sword hilts, and the two sides were at war.

In a rage, Liu Qi drew out his sword and slashed at him.Zhang Yun is also a person who knows martial arts. He easily blocked it with his forearm armor, and knocked Liu Qi away with his palm.

Liu Qi was slapped, feeling unwilling, and attacked again.In fact, Zhang Yun didn't dare to really hurt him, so he drew out his saber, blocked a few moves, and knocked him back with the back of the sword.

Seeing that Liu Qi couldn't beat him, and couldn't force his way through, he was at a loss for a while, so he just stood there blankly, with a look of resignation on his face.

The two sides confronted each other for a while, Cai Mao said: "We both have our lives, so we cannot let you pass! If you don't want to suffer, please come back quickly, otherwise don't blame us for being rude!"

Looking at those two indifferent faces, Liu Qi was furious, but now it was a pair of two, and he knew he couldn't mess around, so he could only hold back his anger, spit at them, and left.

On the way, he burst into tears and cried: "Father, it is really unfilial to not see you for the last time! I know this is Cai Mao's trick! One day I will kill them with my own hands to comfort your spirit in heaven! Father, please rest in peace!"

In fact, Liu Biao was really looking forward to Liu Qi's arrival day and night. He had a lot to tell him, because he knew that Liu Qi was not yet qualified to be a state lord and needed to be sharpened, so he wanted to tell his son what needs to be improved in the future before he passed away. Let him keep it in his heart and grow into a real Xinzhou owner as soon as possible.With few days left, he looked forward day and night, hoping that everything could be dealt with before Cao Jun arrived.Suddenly, he heard that Liu Qi had come to the outer gate, but was chased away by Cai Hao and Zhang Yun. He felt as if he had been struck by five thunders, and he was so angry that he died before he could announce his will.

After Liu Biao's death, Mrs. Cai discussed with Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, tore up the original will, and Cai Mao imitated his handwriting to draw up another one, with the internal statement that Liu Cong, the second son, should be the governor of the state and the assistant of the Cai clan. In the city, mourning was reported, and Liu Biao was hurriedly buried in the east of Hanyang outside the city, but Liu Qi and Liu Bei were not obituary.

After the funeral, Cai Mao gathered all the people in the mourning hall, read out the false will in public, and promoted his nephew Liu Cong to the position of governor of the state.Liu Cong was only fourteen years old, smart and clever, but had no experience in governing the state. Therefore, the real power in Jingzhou was in the hands of Cai Mao.