Chapter 33: Liu Biao's Worries

  Huang Zu's face was extremely awkward, and he couldn't say a word for half a day. Only then did he realize that this Liu Xuan was very formidable. Although it was he who had caused the death of his own nephew, Liu Xuan had seized the moral high ground, and as soon as Huang Zu opened his mouth, he fell into a passive position. Huang Zu remained silent, nursing his grievances in his heart.

  At this time, Liu Bei walked out and smiled: "Gongzi Xuan, since Huang Yi is already dead, no matter what he did before, it's all over now. We are here to quell the rebels, and the Eastern Wu naval forces are watching from outside. Shouldn't we prioritize the bigger picture? Can you give me some face and put this matter aside for now?"

  Liu Jue and the others were waiting for Liu Bei to take the lead, of course, he couldn't investigate further. How could Liu Biao possibly offend Huang Zu for the sake of a few common people? This matter was something that Liu Biao would not bother with, and it's even possible that he would apologize to Huang Zu.

  Since Huang Zu was willing to let the matter drop and not pursue it further, Liu Jiao naturally also chose to downplay the issue. However, he knew that Liu Bei would have to take responsibility for this favor, as he was certain that Liu Bei would step in at the crucial moment to mediate, otherwise he wouldn't be Liu Bei.

  Liu Xuan hastily bowed and said: "Since the imperial uncle has spoken, I dare not disobey, I am willing to listen to the imperial uncle's mediation."

  Liu Bei was greatly pleased in his heart, and he smiled at Huang Zu: "Huang Taishou, since the person is not killed by Gongzi, but by someone else, then this is a misunderstanding. It's better to resolve grievances than to create them, don't you think, Huang Taishou?"

  Huang Zu also knew that he couldn't do anything to Liu Xun, let alone if the person wasn't killed by him. Even if it was him who did it, this grudge couldn't be avenged. He could only swallow this bitter anger and give Liu Bei some face.

  "Now that Brother Xuande has appeared, this matter will be dropped, and I'll trouble your noble army no more tonight!"

  He then bowed to Wang Wei from a distance, "Zhi Gong, farewell!"

  He cast a cold glance at Liu Xuan, no longer paying attention to him, turned around and walked out of the camp, with over a hundred close followers quickly leaving with him.

  Liu Jiong couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh, although he didn't want to, this feud was now tied to Huang Zu, that reckless little black-dressed girl!

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  A messenger on horseback rushed to the Xiangyang City Prefecture, dismounted and ran up the steps to report to the doorman: "Please inform the master that there is an urgent message from Jiangxia."

  The gatekeeper did not dare to be slow, and let the messenger enter the mansion, rushing to report.

  In the study, Liu Bei was sitting under the lamp reading a letter, looking somewhat restless. It had been five days since Liu Bei led his army eastward and just sent someone to deliver a letter.

  Liu Biao did not actually take the rebellion of Zhang Wu and Chen Sun to heart, the key was the 30,000 Eastern Wu naval forces eyeing Jiangxia, this was his real worry.

  Although Sun Jian and Sun Ce died one after another, the idea of advancing westward across the Yangtze River never died. Jiangxia was also the first stop for the Eastern Wu army to advance westward, a great war would erupt sooner or later.

  In this letter, Liu Bei detailed the strategic intentions of Jiangdong, pointing out that Jiangdong not only sought to capture Jiangxia through its navy but also had a high possibility of advancing on Changsha. As Changsha Prefecture was short-handed at present, Liu Bei recommended himself to garrison Changsha Prefecture.

  Liu Bei actually wanted to guard Changsha, Liu Biao sneered, probably what he was thinking wasn't anything good.

  At this time, a report came from the gatekeeper in the courtyard, "Report to the master, there is an urgent letter from Jiangxia."

  Liu Biao's spirits lifted and he hastily ordered: "Bring it up!"

  Before long, a guard came into the room and presented a letter. Liu Biao took it and glanced at it, and indeed it was a letter from Wang Wei, whom he had been waiting for news about.

  Liu Biao hastily opened the letter and quickly read it through. The letter mentioned three things: one was that Liu Bei had a close relationship with Huang Zu, the second was that Liu Xun killed Huang Zu's nephew in Wuchang City, and the third was that Huang Zu mobilized thousands of private soldiers to search Wuchang City on a large scale.

  This letter made Liu Biao both angry and worried. He was angry that Huang Zu had, without his consent, used his private troops to search the city.

  Jingzhou's aristocratic families owning private troops had always been a source of worry for Liu Biao. In the past, before he took office, bandits and thieves ran rampant in Jingzhou, so the major aristocratic families formed their own private armies to protect themselves.

  Later, Liu Biao allowed the continued existence of their private armies in order to gain the support of the influential families of Jing Province, and now it has become a serious problem that is difficult to get rid of.

  He repeatedly ordered, without getting his consent, that no one was allowed to use the private army of the department, but his orders were ineffective. Huang Zu again sent a private soldier to search the city, which made Liu Biao somewhat unbearable.

  Huang Zu not only used his private troops to cause trouble for Liu Biao, but he also had secret dealings with Liu Bei.

  Liu Biao got up and walked back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. Although Wang Wei did not explicitly state how Liu Bei and Huang Zu interacted closely, Liu Biao could vaguely guess that these two people had probably reached some kind of agreement.

  Huang Zu, what is he thinking of? Is he going to betray himself? No wonder Liu Bei suggested that he should be stationed in Changsha County. He and Huang Zu are responding to each other from north and south, and half of Jingzhou has been divided away. What a good plan!

  Is Huang Zu going to betray himself? Liu Biao thought it was unlikely, after all, Huang Zu had followed him for many years and had always been loyal. Liu Bei had just arrived in Jingzhou and had nothing but his reputation, so Huang Zu wouldn't betray him for Liu Bei's sake.

  The two of them may have been in close contact for other benefits, Liu Biao sank into thought for a moment, anyway, Liu Bei seemed to be impatient and had to arrange him to Xinye as soon as possible to defend against Cao's army.

  At this time, the study door opened and Lady Cai walked in with a bowl of bird's nest congee. She put down the bowl and smiled: "General, why are you so worried? Is it because Liu Xuan De's troops are not doing well?"

  Mrs. Cai also heard that someone from Jiangxia sent a letter, guessing it was the letter that brought her husband's worries.

  Liu Biao shook his head, "Nothing major, Liu Bei's army has not yet attacked Zhang Wu, just some minor matters."

  Liu Biao did not want to say more about Liu Bei to his wife, saying too much would give Cai Mao ideas and affect his own plans. He looked at his wife's puzzled eyes and smiled faintly, adding: "The letter only said that Huang Zu's nephew was doing evil in Wuchang City and was killed by Xun Yu."

  "What?"

  Madam Cai's thoughts were suddenly absorbed by Liu Xuan's affair, her eyebrows inverted and she said angrily: "He dares to be so bold, killing the son of the Huang family, isn't this looking for trouble with the general?"

  "Liu Biao's eyebrows slightly furrowed, 'Madam, there must be some reason for this. Don't rush to conclusions. The letter also said that Huang Zu's nephew was killed for his evil deeds. What evil did he do, we don't know. Moreover, Huang Zu and Xiang'er have already made amends. Let's not think of it as too serious.'"

  Madam Cai came to the study tonight actually wanting to talk about Liu Xuan and the Cai family's marriage alliance, Liu Xuan killing Huang Zu's son and nephew was just an unexpected event, she didn't understand the situation, her husband explained for Liu Xuan, so she didn't say anything more about this matter.

  She sighed, "General, actually, Qiong Er and Shao Yu are in love with each other. Why not let the children be together? Shao Yu doesn't like Jing Er, and Jing Er has no intention of marrying Shao Yu either. I think..."

  Before she could finish speaking, Liu Bei's face fell and he said unhappily, "I've already said I'd discuss this later when Jing'er returns. Now I don't want to hear any explanations!"

  Liu Biao was furious when he heard from his eldest son yesterday that the Xuanlin sword had fallen into the hands of his second son, Liu Cong. Despite Liu Cong's repeated explanations that the sword was given to him by Liu Xun voluntarily, Liu Biao did not believe it and was convinced that his son had obtained it through despicable means or perhaps even coercion.

  Liu Xuan would return this sword to himself even if he didn't want it, how could he possibly give it to his son without permission? There must be a problem here.

  In fact, letting his nephew marry the daughter of the Cai family was the result of Liu Biao's repeated weighing and consideration. He had to form an alliance with the Cai family, but if he let his son marry her, it would inevitably lead to dissatisfaction from other families, and also make the Cai family too powerful, which would not be conducive to his control over them.

  Having Liu Xuan marry the daughter of the Cai family would be the best option, as it would not belittle the Cai family and would not cause dissatisfaction among other noble families. Moreover, Liu Xuan is a close nephew, more so than Liu Ke and Liu Hu, and would not bring shame to the Cai family.

  Liu Bei had already made up his mind and didn't want to listen to his wife's advice anymore. He wasn't interested in any of that nonsense about romantic love or the beauty of adulthood.

  Mrs. Cai ran into a snag, she was secretly resentful in her heart, but there was nothing she could do about it. She had easily persuaded the Cai and Liu families to form an alliance through marriage, only to be blocked by her husband.

  But how could she just give up like this?

  "General, is it really impossible for Cong'er? He and Shaoyue..."

  "Don't say another word!"

  Liu Bei spoke in a drawn-out tone, somewhat tyrannically waving his arm, and said in an unyielding tone: "I have already decided that Cong'er will marry the daughter of the Pang family, Qi'er will be married to the Xiang family, and as for Shaoyu, she can only be married to Jing'er."

  "It seems that General is quite biased against our Chai family!" Mrs. Chai puffed out her chest, also somewhat infuriated by her husband's overbearing manner.

  "On the contrary!"

  Liu Biao turned around, his eyes fixed intently on his wife's as he said: "I don't have the slightest prejudice against the Cai family; in fact, I'm more inclined towards them. Otherwise, we wouldn't be standing here talking, would we?"

  Perhaps feeling that his attitude towards his wife was a bit too harsh, Liu Biao softened his tone again, "Madam, Ju is my closest relative, my only nephew. I think he's worthy of Shaoyue."

  "Tell your nephew to get lost!"

  Mrs. Cai could no longer hold back her indignation, she threw down a sentence and turned around to leave in a huff.

  Liu Biao gazed at his wife's angry back, shaking his head involuntarily. The Cai family always had to take precedence in everything; this time he couldn't accommodate their wishes.

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  Yangxin County is a county located in the central and western part of Jiangxia Prefecture, with a population of over 200,000 people. It is also the garrison location of two prominent generals from Jingzhou, Zhang Wu and Chen Sun.

  After Zhang Wu and Chen Sun's rebellion, Yangxin County was separated from Jingzhou's control.

  "Where's my horse?"

  A military officer in his forties rushed out of the county government office like a gust of wind, with his helmet askew and his armor disheveled. He didn't care about that anymore, but instead anxiously looked around everywhere, as if searching for his most beloved woman.

  "General, the horse is here!"

  A groom led up a magnificent warhorse, which was still very young. Its snow-white coat shone like silk, its mane was fine and flowing, and from the side it looked well-proportioned, with strong and slender legs. Its hooves were like steel castings, powerful in running. It had a pair of eagle-like eyes that could see clearly not only at a distance but also in thick fog, swirling snowflakes, and even in darkness.

  Even the most ignorant farmer can see that this is a rare thousand-mile horse.

  "My BMW, mine!"

  A middle-aged military officer rushed forward, tightly hugging the war horse's neck and pressing his face against its neck. He feared that if he was not careful for a moment, the precious horse would leave him.

  The middle-aged man was the leader of this rebellion, Zhang Wu. This precious horse was obtained by him from a horse merchant last year, rumored to be from the Western Regions, and was Zhang Wu's **.

  Liu Biao also had his eye on this horse and several times asked Zhang Wu to take it to Xiangyang, but Zhang Wu refused. The fame of this precious horse even reached Eastern Wu, and Sun Quan specially sent someone to express his admiration for the warhorse, but Zhang Wu was unwilling to use the warhorse to show his sincerity to Sun Quan.

  It was for this reason that Sun Quan was extremely dissatisfied with him.

  At this time Zhang Wu was anxiously waiting for news of the Eastern Wu army, he had stayed in Yangxin County for too long and felt danger approaching.

  But his connection with Dongwu had been cut off, and Su Zhen hadn't sent him any news for several days.

  He did not know what to do, whether to stay in Jiangxia County or to go to Pengze and merge with the Jiangdong Army, Zhang Wu was extremely anxious.

  Just then, a soldier rushed over, knelt down on one knee and reported urgently: "General Zhang, the scout has brought news that the main force of Jingzhou has been found, with more than 20,000 people, and is now coming towards us in a mighty manner!"

  This news stunned Zhang Wu all of a sudden.

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