Three Kingdoms: I rely on system loopholes to survive

"Sir, please stand up first."

Liu Bei held Liu Qi's arms with both hands and pulled Liu Qi up from the ground. Liu Qi's face was covered with tears and he was panic-stricken. He thought that Liu Bei was worried and unwilling to help. He lost his mind for a moment and subconsciously looked at the servant beside him.

The retainer felt Liu Qi's gaze and nodded secretly. Liu Qi immediately calmed down, knowing that there was still room for maneuver. Just as he was about to promise Liu Bei the benefits of the city, Liu Bei took a clean handkerchief to wipe his tears and comforted him in a gentle voice: "Since you call me 'uncle', I will definitely not sit idly by. It's just that you have had a rough journey and are overly worried, which inevitably hurts your lungs and spleen. Now it's rare to have a peaceful time. You should take care of yourself and cultivate yourself first."

Although Liu Qi wanted to borrow troops to return to Jingzhou right away, he knew that he had no chance of winning against Cai and Lu Bu. Although he was worried that Liu Bei was delaying the battle, he thought to himself, if he got rid of his life, what would be worth worrying about? He was being taken care of by others for nothing, but he still had these useless worries. Wouldn't it be a waste of their deep friendship?
After thinking about it for a long time, Liu Bei arranged a place for Liu Qi to stay. When he had time, he asked Guo Yuan who came to deliver the household registration book: "Zini, where is Mr. Fan today?"

Guo Yuan had not yet heard of Liu Qi's surrender. He put aside the new tax law he had prepared and thought for a while: "It should be in Mengling, right? Mr. Fan was not able to diagnose Bo Heng's pulse last time, and he was quite depressed for a while. Later, Bo Heng mentioned that among the barbarians who surrendered in Mengling, there was a witch doctor who was good at summoning spirits and specialized in treating children with fright and stupidity. Mr. Fan should be looking for that witch doctor now."

Liu Bei nodded and said, "If Mr. Fan comes back, I will trouble you to send someone to invite him. Liu Jingsheng's eldest son Liu Qi is with me now. I think he is not in good spirits. I am afraid Mr. Fan will have to take care of him for a while."

Guo Yuan was stunned. Although he was busy with household registration and taxation, he had heard about Liu Biao's miraculous operation of passing on Jingzhou to his youngest son Liu Cong before his death. He just didn't expect Liu Qi to be so poor that he ran to Jiaozhou for refuge. He was speechless for a moment, and then his mind moved again: "... Could it be that the eldest son came to ask for help from the lord?"

Liu Bei knew Guo Yuan so well that as soon as he heard the question, he guessed what Guo Yuan was thinking. How come Yuan Cao and Lu Bu were fighting each other so fiercely? The piece of fat meat of Jingzhou left by Liu Biao was simply delivered to the mouths of Lu Bu and Liu Bei. As for Sun Ben of Yuzhou and Liu Zhang of Yizhou?

Sun Ben was appointed by Yuan Shu, and should have followed Yuan Shu's lead. However, Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor in Yangzhou without any justification, and just as he was about to head north, he was suppressed by Cao Cao with the emperor's edict. Yuan Shao of Jizhou seemed unwilling to indulge in and watch this war between the North and the South. On the one hand, he was facing Li Jue in Sili, and on the other hand, he was eager to try to avenge the three Zhou brothers who were driven out of Yuzhou by Sun Jian. The scouts he sent out would occasionally wander around Chen State and Jiyin County.

Faced with Yuan Shao's covetous gaze, and the fact that his cousin Sun Ce now had troops and had a firm foothold in Wujun, he couldn't help but make plans for his uncle's son, and naturally he had some selfish motives in supporting Yuan Shu.

He is already busy taking care of himself, how can he devote his attention to Jingzhou?
As for Liu Zhang of Yizhou, he was only concerned with preserving the foundation laid by his ancestors and had no desire to explore new areas.

Now Liu Bei and Lu Bu have the advantage of geographical location. Compared with Lu Bu, Liu Bei has more advantages in weapons and armor and has a legitimate reason to send troops. In Guo Yuan's view, it is simply a blessing from heaven that one will suffer the consequences if he does not take it. If he does not take the opportunity, he will suffer the consequences!

If we can take Jingzhou as our base, we will be able to compete in the future, which is much better than being trapped in Jiaozhou.

Liu Bei shook his head, "Jingzhou belongs to Liu Jingsheng. Even if the second son's succession to the throne is in doubt, I should help the eldest son regain control of his foundation. How can I take advantage of the opportunity to seize it? Now I have Cangwu and Jiuzhen counties, and the governor Shi and the envoy Zhang also treat me with great respect. But I disregard the emperor's edict and fight for Jingzhou, which does not belong to me. Isn't this a betrayal of the way of a minister?"

Guo Yuan also knew that what Liu Bei said made sense, but it would be difficult to ask him to give up his thoughts on Jingzhou in the short term. Then Guo Yuan thought of Jian Yong again and planned to make some plans in private with this old minister who followed Liu Bei.

Putting his inner thoughts aside, Guo Yuan first mentioned the new tax law he had adapted to local conditions. Liu Bei looked at the tax books of previous years and listened carefully to Guo Yuan's ideas.

Let's not talk about Liu Bei. On the other side, Liu Qi was lying on the couch in his new home. Although he hadn't gotten a good night's sleep for several days, he just stared into the air. He was used to being tense and couldn't relax in this strange place. "Sir, Mr. Zhong Sheng!"

Liu Qi tossed and turned for a while, then sat up from the couch and called out loudly. A figure swayed outside the window, holding a long sword and walked into the room: "Sir, Zhu Feng is here."

Zhu Feng was the retainer who followed and protected Liu Qi all the way. He was originally from Danyang County. His family was poor when he was young and his parents died early. He had no chance to study. Fortunately, there was a man in his clan named Zhu Zhi who was an official in the county. Zhu Feng sold the thatched cottage left by his parents and went to the county alone to meet this relative with whom he had never socialized, and was willing to pay for his accommodation.

Zhu Feng was only eight or nine years old at the time, but he already had his own ideas. Every day when Zhu Zhi got off work, Zhu Feng would go out to wait and greet him as if he were serving an elder, and secretly imitate Zhu Zhi's way of dealing with people, words and actions.

Whenever Zhu Zhi talked about classics and history articles, although Zhu Feng did not understand their meaning, he memorized them word for word, and recited them before sleeping and thought about their meaning. In just half a year, Zhu Feng had developed a certain demeanor. Zhu Zhi was secretly surprised. When he asked him about etiquette and scriptures, Zhu Feng found that although he could not understand them all, he could still tell 70% of their true meaning. Zhu Zhi then took the child who came to him for refuge seriously and was willing to teach him seriously.

Zhu Feng seized the opportunity and consulted Zhu Zhi about all the things he didn't understand about the classics and history articles. However, within five or six years, his knowledge was almost as good as that of the children of regular aristocratic families.

At that time, Zhu Zhi was a provincial official. During the Dong Zhuo Rebellion, he joined Sun Jian's army. Zhu Feng bid farewell to Zhu Zhi and went to Jingzhou to study. Although Zhu Feng was talented, he had no place to make a name for himself in Jingzhou. He wasted nearly ten years, following a group of knights and hoping to join the army. Unfortunately, he was only a captain until he was almost thirty years old. Later, by accident, he went to Liu Qi's house and lived as a retainer.

"Mr. Zhongsheng, I'm really worried." Liu Qi grabbed Zhu Feng's arm. "If...if I can't go back to Jingzhou, should I just sit here and watch my father's legacy being destroyed by a stranger?"

"Sir, are you still worried that the Imperial Uncle Liu is unwilling to help and will make excuses to shirk responsibility?" Zhu Feng saw what Liu Qi was thinking and said firmly, "Don't worry, sir. I have my own way of judging people. The Imperial Uncle Liu has a clear gaze, a calm spirit and a calm mind. He is indeed a benevolent person. His words are sincere and his actions are indeed treating you with courtesy as a relative. This matter is already 60% done."

"Six points?" If Liu Qi was alone, he would always get stuck in a rut and scare himself. But as long as there was someone around to analyze things with him, his mind would immediately clear up: "...I was too impatient. Now that I've made a good start, it doesn't matter if I wait a little longer. There is always hope."

Zhu Feng added, "My lord, you forgot that I persuaded you to come to Jiaozhou not only for the sake of the Emperor's uncle, but also for one person. If that person speaks up for you, you will have more confidence in borrowing troops."

Liu Qi's eyes moved, and his thoughts became clearer: "Thank you for your plan, sir. I will go to visit you tomorrow morning... It's a good opportunity to confirm my uncle's thoughts."

"Sir, being cautious has its advantages, but since you are facing a gentleman, you must treat him with sincerity, otherwise the gain will outweigh the loss." Zhu Feng saw that Liu Qi had been like a frightened bird all the way and was already showing some suspicious tendencies, so he hurriedly spoke out to advise him.

Liu Qi woke up as if from a dream, secretly regretting that he almost became the despicable villain in the past. He reorganized his mood, and the gloomy temperament on his face quickly dissipated: "Qi will remember what you said, sir!"

(End of this chapter)