After Liu Bei arrived at Xiangyang, as Zhuge Liang had expected, Liu Biao really wanted to entrust him to his father.
"Get out. I have something to say to Xuande.”
Although he was dying, Liu Biao's words still carried weight.
Cai Mao had originally been brave enough to squeeze in to prevent Liu Bei from helping Liu Qi take over the power, but once Liu Biao spoke, he was still intimidated by Liu Biao's accumulated power and unwillingly retreated.
"Xuande, my illness is beyond cure and I will die soon. I have three sons. The eldest son, Liu Qi, is lonely and can't inherit the family business. The second son, Liu Cong, has no talent and can't be entrusted to his mother's family. The younger son, Liu Xiu, is young and can't manage the family business. After I die, you can take charge of Jingzhou yourself. I only hope that you can take care of my Liu family's children and grandchildren for the sake of my trust.”
From the corner of his eye, Liu Bei saw a figure flash past the door. He guessed that Cai Mao was eavesdropping. His heart trembled. He remembered Zhuge Liang's instructions, so he did not dare to agree. He rolled his eyes and burst into tears.
"Brother Bei and I are both relatives of the Han clan. How can we have any other thoughts? I will do my best to assist my nephew!”
Liu Biao was actually just being polite. Hearing Liu Bei say this, his heart calmed down."I heard that my son secretly accepted Zhuge Liang as his master and that he was the one who taught him the plan to garrison Jiangxia. With such a virtuous teacher as Liu Bei and such a wise teacher as Zhuge Liang, I will be able to stabilize Jingzhou internally, resist strong enemies externally, and protect my family business!”
Liu Bei felt very uncomfortable when he heard this. When I was in Xuzhou, I helped Tao Qian a little, and Tao Qian gave Xuzhou to me. Now that I've been here for almost ten years, you're actually so stingy?
However, although he was disappointed, Liu Bei did not show any unhappiness on his face. He still held Liu Biao's hand and cried loudly.
"Xuande, quickly bring me a pen. I will write a will and pass Jingzhou to my eldest son, Liu Qi. I will also ask you to assist him in fighting against Cao Cao!”
Not long after, the will was written. Liu Bei saw it clearly. As expected, he was given the identity of an " uncle " to take charge of the power to assist Liu Qi. It was similar to the Minister who was appointed when the Crown Prince was young.
This arrangement made Liu Bei feel much more comfortable. After all, Cao Cao of Xu City was also in such a position.
Not long after, Liu Bei took the will and hurried out. Cai Mao stared at Liu Bei with a mocking expression, but he did not stop him, nor did he say a word. He actually let him go.
Liu Qi was originally in Jiangxia. When he heard that Liu Biao was seriously ill, he came back anxiously to visit.
But Cai Mao had already ordered people to stop him outside and not allow him to enter the city.
Liu Qi had no choice but to come to Xinye to ask Zhuge Liang for advice.
Liu Bei had already returned to Xinye and showed the will to Zhuge Liang and his two younger brothers.
When Zhang Fei saw that Liu Bei was about to become the actual leader of Jingzhou, he was overjoyed."Advisor Jun said that big brother should go, and it's true! It seems that our military counselor is just like Guo Yu, with the ability to predict things like a god!”
Zhuge Liang smiled." Yi De, don't be too happy yet. We have the will, but Cai Mao might not give up his power so easily!" If I'm not wrong, there will be many twists and turns in the process.”
Just as they were discussing, someone came to report that Liu Qi was outside requesting an audience.
Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan, his eyes bright."Young Master must have gone back to visit Liu Biao but was rejected by Cai Mao outside the city. He has come to ask for advice. My Lord, you can quickly summon him to see Young Master Liu Qi and plan a great event together.”
Liu Bei was overjoyed and dismissed the idle people. He personally brought Liu Qi in and showed him the will.
Although Liu Qi had been repeatedly framed by Cai, alienated by Liu Biao, and even frightened out of Jiangxia in times of danger, he was a loyal and filial person. He had always missed Liu Biao. Now that he saw that Liu Biao trusted him the most at the end of his life, he could not help but sigh and cry sadly.
Liu Bei caressed his son and comforted him." Nephew, don't worry. Not to mention that your father is still alive. Even if he unfortunately died of illness, your uncle will take charge of the situation for you! If anything happens in Jing State, I will summon all the civil and military officials here. As long as they are the witnesses, you will be the ruler of Jing State in name! At that time, if the Cai family still had second thoughts, they would send troops to destroy them!”
……
In Xudu, Guo Yu, who had been idle for many days, immediately went to the Prime Minister's Estate when he heard that Ma Teng's family had arrived in Xudu.
"Prime Minister, please quickly gather all the troops here and prepare to set off for Jing Prefecture!”
Cao Cao didn't expect him to come here for such a big matter and was shocked.
"Sir, I heard that Liu Jingsheng was infected, but there was no news of his death. Isn't it too early to prepare for war?”
Guo Yu chuckled." The Cai clan has been slandering Liu Qi for many years. When Liu Biao died, the Cai clan would definitely keep it a secret and quickly control the situation in Jingzhou. How could there be news of Liu Biao's death?”
Cao Cao was still hesitant." What if Liu Biao isn't dead yet? What if we are caught off guard? What should we do?"”
"Prime Minister, please gather your army. If you are really worried, you can quickly send someone to Jingzhou to investigate. If you see that the county governors have been replaced and the number of soldiers guarding Xiangyang has increased, that will be evidence that Liu Biao died and the Cai family seized power.”
Cao Cao also knew that once Liu Biao died, he could take advantage of the internal chaos in Jing State to send troops. That would be the best way to gain the most benefits. Therefore, he immediately arranged for Cao Ren to gather a few armies and send spies to Jing State to gather information.
……
As Guo Yu had expected, Liu Biao died of illness not long after. As expected, the funeral was kept secret and the news did not leak out at all.
Liu Cong was only fourteen years old and was quite smart. He knew that if he took over Jingzhou, the power would definitely fall to the Cai family. He felt that it was best for Liu Qi to take over Jingzhou.
However, Cai Mao directly forged a will, falsely claiming that Liu Biao had made Liu Cong the legitimate heir and let Liu Cong take charge of Jingzhou. He then transferred Deng Yi and Liu Xian to lead the troops to set up defenses, while he personally guarded Xiangyang to guard against Liu Qi and Liu Bei.
At the same time, after Liu Qi had received Liu Bei's reassurance, he returned to Jiangxia to supervise the army and was still waiting for news.
……
In Xudu, Cao Cao's scouts soon reported that Xiangyang was under martial law and difficult to enter. Cai Mao's trusted aides such as Deng Yi and Liu Xian had been given military power. The situation was exactly as Guo Yu had expected.
"The matter of Jing State was indeed as you said! Now Liu Bei doesn't know Liu Biao is dead. If our army suddenly comes to Nanyang, how can he resist?”
Thus, Cao Cao led Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, Zhang Liao, Xu Chu, and the others as generals. He personally led an army of 300,000 infantry and cavalry to Nanyang. Guo Yu continued to accompany the military counselor, while Xun You, Jia Xu, Liu Ye, Cheng Yu, and the others followed the army.
There were only 20,000 soldiers stationed in Nanyang. When they heard that Cao Cao's army was coming, they summoned Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei for a meeting.
"Thief Cao, why would you suddenly launch a sneak attack at this time? Although Liu Biao is ill, he is still alive and well. The people of Jingzhou are not in turmoil. This is not the opportunity to fight. Could it be that there's something else going on?" Zhuge Liang waved his feather fan, his face showing a rare seriousness.
"Guo Yu has the power to decide life and death. Could it be…not good! Could it be that Liu Biao had died, and Cai Mao had deliberately kept the funeral a secret for the sake of Jingzhou?”
Thinking of this, Zhuge Liang's expression changed drastically, and his entire body turned cold!
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