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After nearly ten days of dispatching troops, large troops gathered near Xiangyang. Sixty thousand troops in Xiangyang were stationed in the east and west of Xiangyang and outside the northern city, led by Pin, Wang Wei, Zhang Yun and Cai He respectively.

Liu Bei also led 20,000 troops to detour Jiangxia by boat, and finally arrived in Xiangyang. He was stationed in the former Xiangyang Naval Army camp twenty miles east of Xiangyang. In addition, the 20,000 Jiangxia Naval Army stationed in Longzhong, at this time, there were 100,000 troops stationed near Xiangyang City.

That morning, under the joint guarantee of Cai Mao, Kuai Yue and Liu Xianren, Liu Jing and Liu Bei came to Xiangyang Chengzhou Yamen to participate in the formal discussion on the joint anti-Cao.

Liu Jing brought a guard into the city from the west gate, walked a few steps into the city gate and arrived at the prefecture yamen.

At this time, the yamen in Jingzhou Prefecture was deserted and the Cao army went south to bring great impact to Jingzhou. Especially the tragedy in Hedong Town made everyone in danger of Jingzhou officials, and they moved their families out of Xiangyang one after another.

Although the officials themselves did not abandon their posts and fled, they did not have the intention to work in the state government office, and most of them hid at home to consider their future.

Under the leadership of a guard, Liu Jing walked towards the conference hall. As soon as he stepped forward, he did not see an official except for a few guards, which made Liu Jing feel a little destructive. Only the doomsday of a dynasty would be so cold and decadent.

"My Nephew"

Liu Jing suddenly heard someone calling him behind him. When he turned around, he saw Kuai Yue standing behind a courtyard gate, "Nephew, come here."

Liu Jing walked into the courtyard and asked with a smile: "Why is Uncle Shi here?"

"This is the official resident of the Household Department, and I often handle official duties here."

Kuai Yue invited Liu Jing into the house. From the courtyard, the room was not big, but after entering the house, he found that the room was very spacious, with more than twenty tables and couches. There were books, paper and pens on the tables, but there were only four tables and officials sitting behind them. The rest of the tables were empty, and a thin layer of dust accumulated.

The two sat down in the inner room, and Kuai Yue sighed, "The governor of the state is critically ill. Cao's army went south, causing panic among the people in the state. Look, most of the officials are not coming. I sent someone to find them back, and they all said that they were sick or their parents were seriously ill. They gave up all kinds of reasons. Hey, people's hearts have dispersed, and Jingzhou is almost out of reach."

Liu Jing smiled and said, "In fact, letting Liu Cong sit in the prefecture yard may win back some people's hearts."

"Just a castrated person"

When talking about Liu Cong, Kuai Yue couldn't help but show a look of contempt on his face. In his opinion, Liu Cong was just a puppet of the Cai family. Liu Cong was in charge of Jingzhou, which was like Cai Mao being the governor of the state. Kuai Yue sneered again, "I would rather not come than stay in the state palace."

"How is Shi Shu and Cai Mao getting along?"

Liu Jing asked again with a smile: "Did you fight?"

Speaking of Cai Mao, Kuai Yue was not angry. He smiled and said, "I'm afraid you don't believe it. It's really strange. Cai Mao was very polite to me during this period. He came to discuss many things with me, and most of them followed my opinions. Liu Xian also felt this way. What did the nephew say Cai Mao mean?"

Liu Jing pondered for a moment, suddenly woke up and sneered: "Uncle Shi, I'm afraid Cai Mao has higher ambitions."

Kuai Yue understood what Liu Jing meant and nodded, "I am the same. He wants to inherit the position of governor of the state, so he is so polite to us. It obviously means to win over it, but it is not easy."

Liu Jing pondered for a moment, and he shook his head, "Uncle Shi, if Cao Cao's army goes south, he will perform well, maybe it is really possible."

Kuai Yue was silent. He knew that Liu Jing was right. The Cai family was not only the first family in Jingzhou, but also had a reputation in the world and his disciples were everywhere. Moreover, Cai Mao’s uncle Zhang Wen was once a former magistrate, with high prestige and still had connections in the court.

In order to stabilize Jingzhou, Cao Cao could indeed allow Cai Mao to be the governor of Jingzhou. If that were the case, the Kuai family would really have to stand aside, which made him very melancholy.

After a while, Kuai Yue sighed, "It's still the Cai family who is smart, who controls Liu Cong as a puppet and controls the military and political power of Jingzhou. I have spent so much effort on Liu Qi. In order to support him, the Kuai family spent nearly half of its property, but in the end, they made a wedding dress for Liu Bei for nothing. It hurts me to think about it."

"Has all the interests of the Kuai family been deprived of?"

"It's almost done, all military power is seized, and the financial power is in Jian Yong's hands. Not only Nanjun, Yidu, Wuling, Hengyang, and Jianping are also under the control of Liu Bei. This time, Liu Bei used the excuse of Cao's army to retreat to Nanjun. I guess he would not return north again. There is also the idiot Liu Qi who is willing to be merciless at Liu Bei. Although he could lead troops north this time, he was sick and gave the military power to Liu Bei. Oh, I really don't know what to say about him."

Thinking of Liu Qi's stupidity and mercy, Kuai Yue was filled with resentment and dissatisfaction, but he had no choice but to do anything about it.

He was like a gambler who lost miserably. He had lost his former wisdom and calmness, and was left with only a sense of hatred and reluctance. He could not give any useful insights about Liu Jing's current situation and future, and just wanted to tell Liu Jing about his hatred and resentment.

Liu Jing smiled bitterly in his heart and patted Kuai Yue's hand, "Time is coming, let's go."

Kuai Yue sighed, got up and took Liu Jing to the main hall. Although he heard Kuai Yue nagging for a long time, Liu Jing still gained something. He knew that Liu Bei not only controlled Nanjun with Liu Qi, but also controlled the four counties of Yidu, Wuling, Hengyang and Jianping.

This can explain how Nanjun can afford to support ten thousand troops. This has always been a mystery in Liu Jing's mind, and now there is finally an answer.

"It seems that I can't underestimate Liu Bei," Liu Jing thought to himself.

In the middle hall, Liu Bei had arrived and sat on the couch and talked to Wang Wei. Cai Mao and Zhang Yun were whispering beside the gate. Deng Yi was in charge of the army, and Liu Xian and the chief Pang Ji were also talking on the side. Li Gui, the governor of Xiangyang County, Wang Ji, and Wang Can, the governor of the Nanjun who went north with Liu Bei, sat on the other side to chat.

The peddler sat alone on a single couch, with a serious expression and straight waist, as if he was thinking about something.

Everyone who should come has come, but there is no Liu Cong. This is a bad scene. At the moment when determining the fate and future of Jingzhou, Liu's father did not appear, which means that they have gradually withdrawn from the stage of power in Jingzhou, leaving only Liu Jing, who represents one party's interests.

"Let everyone wait for a long time"

Liu Jing walked into the middle hall with a smile, and Cai Mao hurriedly came up. He was a military advisor in Jingzhou, with a status of only Liu Biao, and was also the convener of today's meeting. He smiled and bowed, "Mr. Jing is very grateful to me, please come in."

Liu Jing glanced at Zhang Yun coldly and walked into the central hall quickly. Zhang Yun's face was swollen and red, and his eyes were as cold as if they were staring at Liu Jing like a beast. His subordinates were taken away and the shame of being captured made him full of hatred for Liu Jing.

Liu Jing and Kuai Yue also found a seat to sit down. Liu Jing deliberately sat beside Pin and laughed in a low voice: "Can you see Cai Jin?"

Pin nodded, "He burned the ferry without authorization, and has been heavily blamed by me and is now locked in the military camp."

After pausing, Pin bowed again and said, "My husband asked me to return by Jiangxia. Pin thanks again."

"You don't have to be polite, General."

Liu Jing glanced at Cai Mao and asked in a low voice: "How is the situation of the provincial governor?"

"I don't know either. Apart from the Cai family, no one can see the provincial governor. It is said that Military Advisor Cai brought a provincial governor's order, but he didn't know whether it was true or false."

Pin is straightforward and expresses his distrust of Cai Mao. Liu Jing smiled and did not accept the job. He wanted to see what kind of order Cai Mao brought.

"Everyone"

Cai Mao stood up and raised his voice to everyone, "Cao's army captured Fancheng and threatened Xiangyang. Jingzhou is in a great enemy. You can come to negotiate countermeasures in the time of the Jingzhou crisis, which shows everyone's sincerity. On behalf of the provincial governor, I thank everyone first."

Cai Mao's last words made many people feel uncomfortable. Why can Cai Mao represent the provincial Mu Pin and said coldly: "Military Cai, I want to remind you that Cao's army already intends to retreat north, so let's hurry up and discuss the defense of Jiangbei."

"Yes, Cao's army is preparing to retreat north, but the passage for Cao's army to the south has been opened, and they will come to fight at any time. More importantly, our army alone cannot defeat Cao's army. We must cooperate and cooperate with each other to prevent them from being defeated by Cao's army. So I summon you all here to discuss. The provincial governor means that the generals will join forces to join the army and command in a unified manner. I don't know what Liu Huangshu and Gong Jing think."

Cai Mao glanced at Liu Bei, then looked at Liu Jing, with a smile on his face, but his eyes became a little nervous, a kind of unconcealed tension.

Liu Jing smiled slightly, "I have no objection, it depends on the emperor's intention."

Liu Bei pondered for a moment and said, "Can Military Advisor Cai tell me in detail, how to unite into one army, how to command in a unified manner, who else will be the commander, is it recommended by everyone, or something else?"

"I said it simply"

Cai Mao smiled, took out an order, his face became serious, and he raised his voice to everyone: "This is the order issued by the provincial governor last night. The provincial governor oral account was written by Cong Gong, and the provincial governor was stamped with the provincial governor. The order said that the temporary Grand Governor's Army Office was established, and all the troops in Jingzhou were controlled by the military office. As for serving as the Grand Governor, the provincial governor ordered me to take office."

Speaking of this, Cai Mao's tone eased and then smiled: "I know very well that I don't have this ability, but since the provincial governor values ​​merit, I can only do my best. I hope you can support me."

There was a silence in the lobby. Although everyone knew that this would be the result, everyone still felt that Cai Mao was really going to be the military commander-in-chief.

At this time, Pin spoke again, breaking the dull atmosphere in the lobby. "The lower official has a suggestion, I wonder if Military Secretary Cai can listen."

Cai Mao really hated him so much that the military leader was always against him. At this critical moment, he jumped out to destroy him again. If he had known, he would not have asked him to come and discuss.

Although Cai Mao gritted his teeth with hatred for Pin, he had to pretend to be modest and smiled and said, "General, but it's okay."

Pin nodded, "Since that's the case, I will say clearly that I fully agree with the establishment of the temporary Grand Governor's Office. This is conducive to unified combat and giving full play to our military strength advantages, but I think the candidate for Grand Governor is still to be discussed."
Chapter completed!