Three Kingdoms: I rely on system loopholes to survive

The river breeze, carrying the smell of fish, swept across the reed marsh. Zhong Ping stepped barefoot in the soft river mud. Although his trouser legs had been rolled up to his knees, they were still covered with river mud. The bamboo slips in his hands were swollen by the rain, and the ink was smudged into a mass, just like the dark clouds rolling between the mountains on the opposite bank.

"Ham it three more inches!" His voice was not very loud, and he only said it to Li Meng. Li Meng then made a flat microphone and shouted, and more than a dozen strong men raised their wooden hammers in response.

Amid the twisting sound of the oil-soaked hemp rope, huge rocks slowly sank to the bottom of the river, causing splashes of waves. This first diversion gate has already taken shape. If it can survive the flood season, Guoyuan's decree to promote rice planting can also be implemented smoothly.

Suddenly, a horse's hoof crushed the mud. When Zhong Ping turned around, he saw a skinny horse knocking through the reeds. The man on the saddle looked quite anxious, with his hair crooked and falling off before the horse stopped steadily. It was Liu Qi, but he was much thinner than when he first met him in Jingzhou, and he no longer had the same demeanor. The clothes he wore seemed to have been changed not long ago, which was suitable for his status, but it was inconsistent with the expression on his face and the messy hair. Zhong Ping took a quick look and saw that there was enough space for two palms on the jade belt around his waist.

"Grand Historian!" Liu Qi still didn't know that Zhong Ping had resigned, and he still referred to him by his title. He rushed over, his palms sticky with grass and blood scabs. When he saw Zhong Ping, tears immediately flowed down his face, as if he had gained a backbone. He was even more sincere than when he spoke to Liu Bei: "My father was wronged! Please, Grand Historian, save me!"

Zhong Ping hurriedly held up Liu Qi's arms. He had some guesses in his mind, and his voice was gentle and soothing: "I am already a commoner, you can just call me Bo Heng. In the past in Jingzhou, my uncle took good care of me. If you are in trouble, I will help you. Just speak frankly."

Liu Qi calmed down a bit, and as soon as he stood up, he wept and pleaded: "With Bo Heng's words, Qi's trip to Jiaozhou is not in vain! My father's illness has been getting worse this year, and Qi has always wanted to serve him, but was always stopped by my stepmother. One of my disciples also delivered a message for the officials, saying that the government affairs in Jingzhou are piled up, and although Kuai, Cai and others are in charge, there are still some things that cannot be decided, and they cannot pass it on to my father's ears."

"My father passed away suddenly half a month ago, leaving only my stepmother by his side. That night, Cai Mao locked the four gates of Xiangyang. When I was keeping vigil, I learned that my father's body was still warm. Brother Cong had already put on his crown and entered the governor's mansion. The petition for the title was sent to Xuchang long ago!" His Adam's apple rolled and he choked several times. "With all these anomalies, how can I not feel wronged? The Cai family has become so powerful that there is no place for me to stay in Jingzhou! Even though I suspect that there is something wrong with this matter, I have no way to defend myself. Fortunately, there are righteous men who helped me and let me enter Jiaozhou. Otherwise, Qi would have become a wronged soul long ago!"

The more Liu Qi thought about it, the more sad he became. When he talked about how Lu Bu had occupied Xiakou and how he himself was being hunted down by the Cai family, he realized how many hardships he had experienced along the way. His sleeves, which he used to wipe away his tears, were soaked through.

Zhong Ping was lost in thought, his eyes sweeping across the river. A few broken bamboo rafts were floating downstream, and an old woman on the raft was using a pottery jar to scoop river water to feed her baby. The child was so thin that his ribs were clearly visible, and his cry was even weaker than that of a river gull - they were all refugees who had fled from Jingzhou.

The Li River originates from Dongting Lake and flows through Lingling, Changsha. It is no wonder that during the dredging and piling work in recent days, refugees were often seen crossing the river. Most of them went to Mengling, Guangxin and other places. There were often refugees from Jingzhou in the past, but there are more of them during this period.

He bent down to pick up a pebble and drew a rough map on the mud. "Ping heard that after Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor, Cao Cao mobilized all the troops in Yuzhou, and Lu Bu took the opportunity to swallow up the Jiangxia Water Fort."

Zhong Ping drew an arc with a branch: "From Guangling, it takes no more than five days to go around Dongting Lake and enter the Yangtze River with favorable winds. Lü Fengxian's Bingzhou Wolf Riders probably crossed the river on horseback. With such a big commotion, how come the soldiers in Xiakou didn't make any movement? Could it be that Lü Bu's remaining troops can still defeat a hundred with one? Sir, did you receive orders to lead the army to Xiakou first? Or did Lü Bu enter Jingzhou first?"

Liu Qi's crying stopped. She didn't expect that Zhong Ping's focus was on Lu Bu. Then she realized something was wrong. After thinking for a while, she was horrified: "Lu Bu had already lost in Xuzhou. Could it be that Cai had a vicious plan and wanted to use Lu Bu to kill me? He knew that there was an attack at Xiakou but he kept it to himself, so that I would fall into the tiger's mouth and his hands would not be dirty! If it weren't for God's blessing, I would have been sick on the way and delayed my journey. Now..."

"Lord Xuande and Shi Xie suppressed the rebellion in Hepu County last month." Zhong Ping kicked the pattern on the mud and scattered it. "Shi Xie presented thirty carts of pearls, corals and other things as a token of his gratitude."

This statement seemed a little abrupt, but Liu Qi understood the meaning of the song and suddenly knelt down, "Please help me persuade the emperor's uncle! If we can kill the Cai family and pacify Jingzhou, I am willing to share Jingxiang with Xuande with the Han River as the boundary, connect the trade routes, and provide food, fodder and armor. If you need anything, don't refuse!"

Zhong Ping smiled and helped Liu Qi up from the ground. Liu Qi immediately understood that Zhong Ping had agreed to this matter. He secretly wondered why Zhong Ping was so devoted to Liu Bei. Could it be that he wanted to serve Liu Bei as his master? Thinking of the turmoil in Xuchang, there were rumors that Zhong's family was also involved, but Cao Cao did not see the liquidation afterwards, so he did not take it seriously. Now it seems that it may not be a fallacy.

After putting aside those useless thoughts, Liu Qi finally had the leisure to go and see the sluice built by Zhong Ping. He had rushed all the way here and had heard about Zhong Ping's daily repairs of water conservancy projects in Cangwu. He also saw many interconnected canals along the way, but this type of sluice was rare, so he couldn't help but take a few more glances.

"The scale of the sluice built by Bo Heng is rare in the world. In the past, when Sun Shuao, the prime minister of Chu, built a sluice in Shaobei, it was just five gates to divert water. Qi Guan, this sluice crosses the Yangtze River, and there are gates for water diversion and storage. If it is completed, it will benefit more than just Cangwu County. I am afraid that everyone under the Li River will be grateful for Bo Heng's contribution."

Zhong Ping was depressed when he heard this. It had been raining these past few days and the flood season was approaching. He wondered if the canals that had been built over the past six months could withstand possible floods.
When the raindrops hit the river, Zhong Ping had already put on his raincoat. He took a last look at the mountains on the other side. The thunder illuminated the giant water gauge newly carved on the cliff, with the scale accurate to an inch - this was carved by the "hydrological monitoring column" awarded by the pattern system, and it was showing that the water level had reached the warning line.

There were thunders and rain was hitting the roof.

The bronze sparrow lamp cast a shadow on the banana leaf pattern lacquer screen. Shi Xie stroked the rhino horn cup presented by the Yue people as tribute. The litchi wine in the cup reflected the flushed face of his cousin Shi Wu. This fierce general who had slaughtered three Li villages in Rinnan County was now stabbing a roast suckling pig with a dagger, and the fat flowed into the celadon bowl along the knife groove.

"Brother, what are you waiting for?" The warrior threw the bloody dagger at the map, the tip of the knife nailed to the position of Cangwu, "Zhang Jin's body has been fed to the dragon, and the governor's seal has been carved, why do you keep Liu Bei as an idol?"

The Li people, Qu Shuai, who was kneeling at the steps, raised his head, and the indigo tattoo on his cheek moved with his muscles: "Last month, Zhang Fei killed eighteen cave masters of my clan, and their heads are still hanging on the top of Hepu City." He let out a hissing sound like a venomous snake spitting out its tongue, "This hatred is irreconcilable. If you are willing to help, my 100,000 Li people warriors..."

"One hundred thousand?" A clear laugh suddenly came from behind the screen. Xu Jing came out with a whisk in his hand. He was wearing a long scarf and a black shirt. At first glance, he looked like a monk. "Last year, there was a great epidemic. Nine out of ten houses in the Li village were empty. Could it be that the 100,000 soldiers of the commander are the Yin army?"

Shi Xie's expression changed slightly, then returned to normal.

Since receiving Xu Shao's secret letter half a month ago, this close friend has often stared at the portrait. Although he does not know who the person in the painting is, he knows that the portrait was left by Zhang Fei. He secretly has doubts in his heart, but never expresses them.

"Brother!" Although Shi Wu looked down on these vulgar people, he also hoped that Shi Xie would quickly take action against Liu Bei. Originally, Jiaozhou should have been in the Shi family's pocket, but Liu Bei intervened and seized Cangwu Yuliner County. How could Shi Wu sit back and watch him get his hands on Jiaozhou? He really wanted to send troops to drive Liu Bei out of Jiaozhou immediately.

"I wish to help you open up the salt route to the South China Sea."

Seeing that Shi Xie was unmoved, the leader immediately used the words taught by the witch in his tribe: "The salt official of Panyu died in our hands a long time ago. We are not subject to the rule of the Han Dynasty. If you help me, all the salt produced in the South China Sea will be shared with you."

Xu Jing frowned when he heard this: "You barbarians..."

Before he finished speaking, he saw Shi Xie's expression relaxed and guessed that he had some intention to move, so he stopped talking in time. He couldn't help but think of what Xu Shao said in the letter and sighed to himself.

As a fortune teller, Xu Jing was very good at reading people's expressions. He knew he couldn't stay any longer, so he smiled and said to Shi Xie, "Wei Yan, I still have fortune telling to do, so I'll leave first."

Shi Wu didn't like Xu Jing very much, but he had to accept that this man was indeed knowledgeable and interesting. He snorted and didn't look at him. Shi Xie said kindly: "When Wen Xiu's book is finished, you must be the first to tell me! Why don't you two go and serve Mr. Wen Xiu?"

He glanced at them, and the two beautiful tea-serving maids lowered their heads and left. After a while, they changed into beautiful clothes, with beautiful eyebrows and moving eyes. Their jewelry jingled as they walked, which made Commander Qu look up and take a few more glances.

"Sir, please."

At that time, people considered keeping maids and male prostitutes as elegant things, and Xu Jing was no exception. When he returned home, he first placed the two maids in the side room next to the bedroom and went to the study alone.

He asked the beautiful maids serving in the room to go back to the backyard first so that he could sit down and think without being disturbed.

Xu Jing thought about Shi Xie's plan to cooperate with the Li people to sell illegal salt, and wanted to leak some information to Xu Shao several times, but he hesitated when he picked up the pen.

When the clock struck Xu, he was still sitting alone in the room, but on his desk was replaced by the "Thirteen Volumes of Physiognomy" he was compiling, on which was written Xu Shao's handwritten notes, which were still wet in ink: "This boy has evil spirits under his eyes and a broken and then continued bridge of his nose. This is a sign of early death." Next to it was a charcoal portrait. The young man in the painting was lifelike, and his eyes seemed to be about to burst through the paper.

The words "early death" were smudged with ink, which were obviously the marks left after several revisions with pen and knife, and the bamboo slips were too thin to withstand the ink.

"It's really strange."

A strong wind suddenly blew up, blowing out half of the candlelight in the room. Xu Jing raised his whisk lightly, and the copper lamps on the positions of the Big Dipper gradually lit up again: "Brother Zijiang wrote to me saying that this boy's face matches the unusual movement in the Purple Palace. But the stars show..." He pointed at a certain point on the star map, "Cangwu is clearly a sign that a general star will fall to the ground, and it coincides with this person's birth date. But how can this Zhong Taishi be a general star?"

Xu Jing stood up and closed the window, then took out the bamboo chips to divine: "Kan is below and Zhen is above, it turns out to be a solution hexagram."

"It is beneficial to go to the southwest. If there is no place to go, it will be auspicious to come back. If there is a place to go, it will be auspicious... Tsk, strange, strange, could it be that I have been in vain all these years?"

He stared at the portrait again and again: "If I could see this person in person..." His voice gradually became lower and almost inaudible.

(End of this chapter)