Chapter 277 The Autumn Water of Jialing River.

Chapter 277: Autumn Water of Jialing River.

"drive!"

"Drive!~"

"Drive!~"

Among the endless ridges of fields in Shu, on the official road, hundreds of horsemen came from the direction of Chengdu, galloping northward, raising a cloud of yellow dust.

The leader was none other than the new ruler of Bashu, Liu Bei Liu Xuande.

Behind him were his counsellor Fa Zheng, his adopted son Liu Feng, and even Zhang Ren who had just surrendered, as well as the governor Huang Quan and others.

With such fanfare and in such haste, it must be something big.

Liu Bei received news yesterday that the emperor had an imperial edict for him and that the envoys had already arrived in Bashu.

Liu Bei knew without thinking that Cao Mengde must have taken advantage of Liu Wu's absence from the Central Plains to make a move in the court.

With this imperial edict, Liu Xuande could march into Hanzhong with justification, defeat the old Taoist Zhang Lu, and seize the fertile and populous Hanzhong.

You know, the population of the small county of Hanzhong is half that of Bashu.

How can one not be envious of this?

"My lord, I heard that when Xu Shu entered Bashu, he was surrounded by hundreds of soldiers. I'm afraid that Zhang Lu might do something wrong. We must pay attention." Fa Zheng spoke. In fact, he had wanted to say it a long time ago, but he was not sure.

Liu Bei didn't care: "It doesn't matter. Can a few hundred soldiers cause trouble in Bashu?"

Liu Feng also said: "Father is right. Maybe Zhang Lu learned that you had taken over Bashu and was afraid that you would attack, so he deliberately tried to please you."

Fa Zheng pondered for a moment and said, "Master Feng is intelligent, maybe that's true."

Although he said this, Fa Zheng still felt a little uncomfortable about the fact that there were rice soldiers escorting Xu Shu.

I didn't think about it at the moment. Just as Liu Xuande said, could a few hundred meters tall soldiers really cause any trouble in Bashu?

Drive, drive, drive!! ~
Liu Xuande rode his horse at full speed, running wildly on the official road, looking unnatural.

The emperor's edict was naturally a reason, but this was within his expectations after all. However, there was another thing that was beyond Liu Xuande's expectations.

The person who came to deliver the imperial edict was Xu Shu, Xu Yuanzhi...

At the beginning, they were like first meeting. He helped Liu Bei gain a foothold in Jingzhou and broke the Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation. Later, he was forced to go to Cao's camp by Cao Cao and recommended Zhuge Kongming before leaving.

The next time they met was in Xudu. Things had changed. He, Jian Yong and Zhao Zilong worked hard for him and tried their best to invite the emperor to rescue Liu Bei from Xuchang City. Then they severed their friendship...

Liu Bei knew that Xu Shu, like Jian Yong and Zhao Yun, was now loyal to Liu Wu.

Otherwise, why would Cao Cao be willing to let Xu Shu come to Bashu to meet him?

Xu Shu is still Xu Shu, and Liu Bei is still Liu Bei, but they can never go back to the way they were before.

"Hey!~"

Liu Xuande pulled the reins and stopped riding the horse. The Jialing River was in front of him.

The sun was about to set, and the afterglow was reflected on the river, rippling the water...

A man was crossing a boat.

"Yuan Zhi!"

Liu Xuande couldn't help but shout loudly and quickly dismounted to meet him.

The boat slowly approached,

When Xu Shu heard the shouting, he stood up from the boat and looked at Liu Bei with a complicated expression.

Finally, we reached the shore.

"Yuanzhi, if you hadn't run around for me in Xuchang and asked the emperor to save Xuande, I would have become Cao Cao's prisoner and died by the sword!"

"Yuanzhi, do you know that I was alone when I left Xuchang? Now I have conquered all of Bashu and have an army of 100,000!"

"Yuan Zhi!"

Liu Xuande was very excited at this time, just like a poor boy who had made it big and met his first love again after being forced to break up with him many years ago.

"Yuanzhi, please get off the boat."

Liu Bei grabbed Xu Shu's sleeve and was about to help him get off the boat.

However, Xu Shu remained unmoved and had no intention of getting off the boat.

Liu Bei was slightly surprised: "Why is Yuan Zhi doing this?"

Xu Shu did not answer, but lowered his head and took out the imperial edict from his sleeve and spread it out: "Left General Liu Bei, listen to the order."

Liu Bei had no time to do anything else at the moment, so he quickly took two steps back and prepared to receive the emperor's edict with his advisers and generals.

[Liu Bei, the Left General of the Han Dynasty, was kind and honest by nature and was known for his virtue.]

[You have supported the Han Dynasty and have made great contributions. Now that you have entered Shu to quell the rebellion, I hope that your uncle will not be trapped in Bashu. You should strengthen your military and conquer the barbarians in the southwest, subdue the tyrants in the south, and recover the southwest border of our great Han Dynasty.]

【Today, I enthrone you as the King of South China! 】

King of South China?
Liu Xuande suddenly raised his head, full of disbelief.

How did the King of Hanzhong become the King of Nanzhong? !
A word difference is a world of difference!

Being enthroned as the King of Hanzhong meant attacking northwards. How important was Hanzhong, and how populous was its population?

South Central?

The barbarians in the southwest are leaderless and hiding in the ravines, surrounded by poisonous smoke. Is it necessary to fight them?
It's totally a thankless task!

How did the place called Nanzhong come about?

Isn't it the same as Emperor Wu Liu Che's desire to achieve immortality by following Qin Shi Huang's example? He did all kinds of things. There is even a saying that Liu Che did one more thing than Qin Shi Huang, he wanted to go to India to seek the elixir of immortality...

Then he dug southwestward from the direction of Bashu, drove away a bunch of barbarians, and dug out several counties in Nanzhong.

Liu Bei is not Liu Che, and he has no intention of pursuing immortality at this time!
Liu Xuande was already very lucky that those barbarians didn't come out to cause trouble...

"Uncle Liu, please accept my order."

Xu Shu handed over the imperial edict. Seeing Liu Bei's puzzled look, he couldn't help but speak: "The King of Chu has long expected that you would gain power in Bashu. After all, the clues to Fa Zheng and Zhang Song in the beginning were all led by the King of Chu for you..."

"So, before the King of Chu went to war, he had already submitted a petition to the Emperor, asking Cao Cao to recommend you as the King of Hanzhong, and the Emperor could grant you the title of King of Nanzhong."

Is it Liu Wu? !

Even this step was calculated by him!

Even though Liu Xuande had fled to Bashu, he was still being controlled by Liu Wu!
Liu Bei was extremely depressed at the moment, and felt that he was shrouded in Liu Wu's shadow... "Yes."

"Now, in the whole world, there are only the Sun family of Jiangdong, Cao Mengde, Ma Chao and Han Sui, Shi Xie of Jiaozhou, Zhang Lu of Hanzhong, and Gongsun Du of Liaodong."

"Jiangdong can no longer accommodate me. Cao Mengde is doomed. Shi Xie of Jiaozhou only follows Jiangdong's lead. Gongsun Du of Liaodong is small in area and poor in land. He is not qualified to compete for the Central Plains..."

"And he was indeed the one who brought Fa Zheng and Zhang Song together back then, so it's not surprising that he could have predicted this."

"So, it's just Bashu and Hanzhong in Yizhou."

Liu Bei figured out the root of the matter and was about to say something else when he was interrupted by Xu Shu: "Don't even think about Hanzhong anymore. Zhang Lu has already submitted to the King of Chu."

"If Uncle Liu had other ideas, he wouldn't have to wait for the King of Chu to return from the Western Expedition. Bashu would have been lost."

Has Zhang Lu of Hanzhong already surrendered to Liu Wu?
This was like a bolt from the blue to Liu Bei...

Without Hanzhong, the offensive and defensive situation has changed. He can no longer plot to take Guanzhong to pose a substantial threat to Liu Wu. Instead, he will be trapped in Bashu by Liu Wu and cannot leave Sichuan at all!

Seeing Liu Bei in such a miserable state, Xu Shu naturally sighed: "When I passed through Guanzhong on my way here, I ran into Yide. He knew I was coming to see you, so he asked me to bring you a message."

Yide...

Zhang Yide!
"How is Third Brother now? I heard that he participated in the Battle of Tongguan and even fought against Ma Chao. How is his injury recovering?"

No matter what, after all, they have been together for so many years, and Liu Bei still has a deep affection for Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

"Don't worry, King Nanzhong. Yide is safe and sound. He is now guarding Guanzhong and is trusted by the King of Chu."

"What does Yide have to say?"

"Yide held my arm that day and said: You should tell my eldest brother Liu Xuande that the third brother Yide should persuade him not to be so foolish any more!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Bei was stunned.

My heart is shaking,

The scene of Zhang Yide committing suicide on the top of Xiling City once again came to mind.

He only felt a piercing pain...

After a long while, Liu Xuande's eyes were red. He looked at the boat that was about to leave the shore and said in a trembling voice: "Yuan Zhi!"

The boat stopped.

The two of them were not far apart, just staring at each other.

"Really, things have changed and people have changed..." Liu Xuande smiled bitterly.

Xu Shu also laughed: "Yes, there are new people around Liu Huangshu now."

Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, Xu Shu, Zhuge Liang, even Mi Fang, Mi Zhu, and Chen Dao, are all gone.

At first it was Xu Shu, then it was Zhuge Liang, and now the person around Liu Bei is Fa Zheng.

Both civil officials and military generals were already Yizhou figures.

"Maybe it's God's will. The one who has always been by my side and is the most helpful is Liu Wu."

"Now that I have fallen several times, the person who silently supports me has become Liu Feng."

"Yuanzhi, I was wrong..."

So far!

Tears welled up in Liu Bei's eyes, and his lips trembled: "After all, I was wrong..."

"I lost Yide by mistake."

"We lost Yunchang."

"We lost Zilong."

"Even the Mi Fang brothers abandoned me."

"I also lost Mr. Kong Ming who worked so hard for me..."

At sunset, by the Jialing River, Liu Xuande turned around, snap~
A palm landed on Liu Feng's shoulder: "My son."

Liu Feng looked up at a loss: "Father, father?"

Liu Xuande pointed at the people behind him and said to Xu Shu on the river: "Fa Zheng, Zhang Ren, Huang Quan, Li Yan, Meng Da..."

"They are all heroes in Shu!"

On the river, which was already shimmering with the setting sun, Xu Shu smiled faintly and cupped his hands: "From now on, we will each serve our own master!"

slap~
Another sound,
Liu Xuande placed another palm on Liu Feng's shoulder: "Yuan Zhi is here today."

"You are all here too."

"So that you all know..."

"Since we lost Jingnan, Liu Feng has been wandering with me, escaping death many times, and now he has finally found a place to stand in Bashu. It is all thanks to my son's hard work."

"The fall at Changban Slope did break Adou after all. How can Adou be the crown prince if he has no merits?"

"From now on, Liu Feng will be the successor to my legacy, Liu Bei, and the crown prince of the King of Nanzhong."

Liu Feng was trembling all over at this time. He had never thought about the position of crown prince. After all, he was just an adopted son.

In terms of ability, he is far inferior to Liu Wu.

In terms of favor, he is not even a fraction as favored as Adou.

"Father, you can't do this. Awu, Awu..." Liu Feng had lost his mind at this time.

"He has already entered the Han Dynasty's bloodline and is the emperor's brother. He has nothing to do with us anymore." Liu Xuande took a deep breath and pointed at the bright waves flowing with the setting sun: "Just like the autumn water of the Jialing River, it has already flowed past and can never return."

……

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PS:

The meaning of this chapter is that Liu Bei has deeply realized his mistakes. Liu Feng is the second Liu Wu. This is actually the second time to establish a crown prince, but the first story is repeated. Establishing Liu Feng is to establish Liu Wu! This time Liu Bei sincerely established Liu Feng. In fact, if Liu Bei travels back in time, he will also sincerely establish Liu Wu.

But! There is nothing we can do now. We can only continue to make mistakes like this. Let’s do our best and serve our own masters!

Another point is that in the first chapter of this book, it snowed heavily, and the first person the protagonist saw was Liu Feng. Liu Bei, his wife Mi, and Adou's family of three were warming themselves by the fire inside, while the protagonist was riding a horse outside in the snow, and Liu Feng was guarding outside and stopped the protagonist.

In this scene, both of them are looking at each other as if they are looking in the mirror.

Liu Feng is the other side of Liu Wu. He could do the same as Liu Feng, but he was unwilling to do so!
Liu Wu is the other side of Liu Feng. He can do as Liu Wu did, but he doesn't dare!
(End of this chapter)