Goose Three Kingdoms

Chapter 664: Madman Lai Min
After dealing with Liu Ye's affairs, Black Bear soon met with Liu Qi.

Zhou Yu and Taishi Ci defeated Huang Zu of Jiangxia. As a reward, Taishi Ci was appointed as the governor of Jiangxia County and stationed at Hankou Water Fort.

Wen Pin was appointed as the prefect of Xiangyang County, and Xu Si was appointed as the governor of Jingzhou and concurrently an official in the Grand Marshal's office.

A leadership pattern was formed with Taishi Ci in the east, the Han River Jingzhou navy in the middle, Wen Pin in the west, and Zhou Yu of Nanyang in the north.

As for Pei Qian, the governor of Jingzhou, he was also summoned back to the court.

The Inspector was originally an imperial censor in charge of spying and was under the management of the Censorate.

Now there was no Censorate, so after Pei Qian returned from the expedition, he was sent to the Lanting to help Kong Rong organize the Henei bamboo slips.

At the same time, Liu Qi was also summoned to the court. Since he was not suitable for military merit, he could just be summoned to the court to live a quiet life.

It is beneficial to Liu Qi, and also to generals from Jingzhou such as Wen Pin, Huang Zhong, Liu Pan and Wang Wei.

Unlike Pei Qian's tight schedule, Liu Qi had plenty of time and lagged behind Pei Qian by half a month.

Still on the Yuanshi battleship, Liu Qi and Wang Kai arrived together. Wang Can received them and led the two and their entourage on board.

On the deck, Black Bear looked at Liu Qi, whose beard was half a foot long, and said, "Brother is finally here."

"I dare not trouble the Grand Marshal to come out to greet you."

Liu Qi stopped to bow, Black Bear stepped forward to help him up, holding Liu Qi's arm and walking into the cabin: "Now that my brother has left Jingxiang, it is a blessing. Recently, there have been many calls in Guanzhong to rebuild the government offices of officials, and I agree with them."

The cabin was warm, and the frost on Liu Qi's eyebrows melted immediately. He looked at it curiously.

He soon entered the conference room where a crystal chandelier was hung, and kept turning his head to look at the chandelier.

There was no way he could give him such a thing, so Black Bear pretended not to notice it, and led Liu Qi to sit down. He also motioned for Wang Kai and Wang Can to sit down before saying, "Since the turbulent times, the clans and vassals have been in chaos. I intend to ask you to be the chief of the clan and take charge of all matters concerning the clan."

Liu Qi took off his mink fur cape and observed Wang Kai for a moment before quickly declining: "The Grand Marshal knows that I am lazy by nature. How can I take on such a big responsibility?"

The Zong Zheng was the chief steward of the imperial clan, but now there was no benefit in this position, it was just a typical position that offended people.

After Black Bear waited for the servants to serve tea and fruit, he said, "Don't refuse. I really can't find a suitable candidate other than my elder brother."

As he spoke, he stretched out his palm and counted with his fingers: "The Minister of the Court, Liu Ai, must not be moved lightly; the remaining Minister of Agriculture, Liu Ye, has just taken office and must not be moved. Only the Prince of Ba, Liu Mao, and the Marquis of Liao, Liu Bei, are left. The Prince of Ba is guarding Shuzhong and it is difficult for him to get away; the Marquis of Liao has just conquered the Eastern Yi states and it is even more inconvenient for him to come to the court. Now the only one who can take on this important task is my elder brother, so you must not refuse."

Liu Qi still shook his head: "I was invited by the Grand Marshal to enter the pass because I was tired of the turmoil in Jingxiang. Now I only want a peaceful place with mountains and rivers, not a prominent position in the court."

"Since you are tired of the chores, you should take a good rest for a while. I will invite you to take up the post after I have completed the construction of the Zongzheng Office."

As Black Bear was speaking, guards filed in, bringing in warm dishes.

After the guards withdrew, the sliding door in front of him opened to the left and right, and a group of twelve musicians, all wearing light red clothes, played plucking and blowing music.

Amid the music, Black Bear raised his glass and said, "Today we are only talking about the past, not business. Everyone, drink a full glass."

"Here."

Yang Jun, who was sitting below Wang Can, also raised his glass and drank with his head tilted back.

Yang Xiu, who was sitting below Yang Jun, carefully observed the several attendants of Liu Qi opposite him.

Wang Can, as an invited guest, said: "When Marquis Chengwu first came to Guanzhong, he did not know the great changes in Guanzhong in the past five years. It can be said that it is changing with each passing day, and all industries are thriving and the people are happy."

Liu Qi was about to respond, but Wang Kai, who was sitting below him, said in a low voice: "It's not just Guanzhong. Jingxiang has also changed dramatically in the past five years. If Zhongxuan climbed the Wanshan again, I'm afraid he would have difficulty recognizing it."

Wang Can always felt that the chaos in Jingzhou was due to Guanzhong’s inaction, so he kept silent.

At this time, Yang Xiu bowed to Wang Kai and said, "In my opinion, it is because the people of Chu relied on their talents and looked down on the heroes of the world, so this disaster happened. Compared with the decline of Western Province, this is just a minor problem, so what's the point of talking about it?"

The scholar below Wang Kai glared at him and asked, "Who are you?"

"Secretary Lang, Yang Xiu of Hongnong."

Yang Xiu observed the other person and asked: "Who are you?"

The man was not at all timid. He bowed and raised his chin: "Xinye Lai Min." Lai Min bowed to Black Bear again and said: "In the past, when the Grand Marshal led the troops to Sanfu, my lord Cheng Wuhou helped a lot. When we went to fight the Xiongnu, we sent more troops from Jingxiang through Wuguan, out of the Yellow River to Taiyuan, a journey of 3,000 miles."

Black Bear smiled and glanced at Liu Qi, saying, "Brother, I will never forget your kindness in helping me."

Lai Min heard this and said, "After my father passed away, Fu Xun and his ilk drove our lord out of Jing and Xiang, and Jingzhou has been in chaos ever since. Although the Grand Marshal presided over justice and sent envoys to escort our lord back to Jing and Xiang, the situation has deteriorated since then and is far from as prosperous as before."

Lai Min said this while bowing to Black Bear solemnly: "I also ask the Grand Marshal to execute the traitor Fu Xun to relieve the thoughts of the wronged souls in Jingxiang."

"How could Fu Xun alone cause chaos in the nine counties of Jingxiang?"

Yang Xiu glared and retorted: "Did you personally witness the rebellion? Why do you insist that it was Fu Xun who started the rebellion, and not the people of Jingxiang who have long been dissatisfied with Liu Zhennan?"

"How dare you slander our ancestors!"

Lai Min rolled up his sleeves and glared at him, "If it weren't for our ancestors, how could the counties of Jing and Xiang be preserved in the chaotic times? The people are grateful for our ancestors' kindness, but how could they be as immoral as you, a child, say?"

"If that's the case, why did you avoid the chaos in Shu and not work for Liu Zhennan?"

Yang Xiu sneered, and saw Lai Min walking around the table and rushing towards him. Yang Xiu took two steps back, clasped his sleeves with both hands and swung his arms, wrapping the long sleeves around his arms.

Lai Min rushed over angrily, extremely angry, and reached out to grab Yang Xiu's collar.

The two men started to wrestle immediately, and the sliding doors on both sides were gently opened. Seeing that the black bear did not react, the seven or eight guards gently sewed the doors shut.

Black Bear raised his glass and said to Liu Qi, "So he is Nanyang Lai Min. I've heard of him more than once before. He has no official position, no title, and no merit, but his temper is even more violent than mine. What will happen if he takes power?"

Liu Qi forced a smile and said, "Please forgive me, Grand Marshal. Cheng Putun occupied all the ancestral land of the Lai family, so I lost my composure."

Black Bear extended his arm and introduced Lü Bu, who was eating alone at a small table beside him and wearing half-covered brown goggles. "Brother, you have also seen that General Taishi is also a quiet person and does not fight with others. Lai Min relied on his father's reputation and beat Yang Dezuo as soon as he arrived. He really looked down on me."

Liu Qi raised his glass and drank without explaining anything, just gave Black Bear an expectant smile.

Anyway, Liu Qi has made it clear that it was the surrendered Jiangdong troops recruited by Pei Qian who occupied the abandoned ancestral land of the Lai family when they were stationed in the army.

Seeing that Liu Qi didn't care much about Lai Min, Black Bear raised his hand and patted him lightly: "Pa pa pa."

With the sound of slaps, the sliding doors on both sides opened completely.

Lai Min and Yang Xiu wrestled with each other and rolled back and forth until they reached a sliding door.

Dian Wei, who was also wearing half-covered brown goggles, reached out and grabbed one of Min's legs, dragging him directly into the hall.

Lai Min originally wanted to struggle, but Dian Wei's grip was so strong that it tightened like an iron hoop on his calf. Lai Min screamed in pain and fainted.

Black Bear took a sip from the cup. Several guards came forward to help support Yang Xiu, and another guard came forward to support Lai Min's head.

Dian Wei took out the short knife he carried with him and immediately began to shave Lai Min's hair.

I took a shower last night, so the shaving process was particularly smooth.

It was completed in a short time and my scalp was not even broken.

Black Bear turned his head and looked at Yang Xiu: "Since this is a breach of etiquette, I will fine Dezu three months' salary."

"Yes, I accept your order."

After Yang Xiu bowed for a long time, he adjusted his clothes and hat, and calmly returned to his original seat and sat down.

Everyone's eyes were focused on Lai Min. Black Bear frowned slightly and said, "The life of a miner is hard. I will punish him by sending him to Taiyuan to cut wood for... three months."

Wang Can understood and immediately swallowed his saliva.

I am not afraid of the three to five years of service, I am just afraid of these three months.

Wang Kai understood from Wang Can's expression and turned to look at Liu Qi.

Liu Qi said, "Just follow the Grand Marshal's orders."

(End of this chapter)