Can I get to the other side?.

Chapter 299: Poisoning Liu Biao, Changing the Ownership of Jingzhou

Xiangyang City, the governor's residence.

In the study room.

Liu Qi said to Liu Biao with a face full of shame: "I have failed to live up to your expectations and failed to invite Mr. Kong Ming back."

Although it was not his fault that Zhuge Liang was unwilling to come back with him, he still felt that he had not done well enough.

"I already know."

Liu Biao was not surprised by the news. He shook his head and said, "I received the report early in the morning that you had mobilized the garrison troops in Nanyang County to search for Zhuge Liang."

"The noise was a bit too loud."

This time he asked Liu Qi to act in secret, but Liu Qi mobilized the garrison to search for Zhuge Liang, and such a big movement could not be concealed.

Liu Qi explained: "Father, I followed the traces of Mr. Kong Ming's wheel tracks, but there were too many carriages on the official road and the traces were unclear. I had no choice but to mobilize the garrison to search."

"But I still couldn't keep Mr. Kong Ming. He seemed to have known my intentions long ago and chose to reject me."

Liu Biao snorted coldly upon hearing this: "It must be Pang Degong and Sima Hui who told him about this in advance. The so-called Sleeping Dragon is just to keep him afloat."

He had heard Pang Degong praising Zhuge Liang so highly before, and since he was a disciple of Sima Hui, he felt that this man must be a great talent.

In addition, he was eager to find talents at that time, so he paid special attention to Zhuge Liang.

But now he realized that Pang Degong was just lending him to Zhuge Liang to build up his reputation. Even if a twenty-year-old young man had talent, how much could he have?
The reason why he rejected his recruitment this time was probably because he was worried that his shortcomings of lack of talent would be exposed after joining his team.

If you can get one of them, you can pacify the world... It's ridiculous!

"No, Father."

Liu Qi shook his head when he heard this and said seriously: "Mr. Kong Ming is an extraordinary person. Before he said goodbye to me, he gave me a word."

"He said I had made too much noise looking for him and asked me to be careful."

Liu Biao was surprised when he heard this and asked, "Did he really say that?"

Liu Qi nodded.

After getting a positive answer, Liu Biao couldn't help feeling surprised, because the fact that Zhuge Liang could remind Liu Qi in this way showed that he saw through many things.

This is definitely not the vision and level that mediocre people can have.

"Wolong..."

Liu Biao's eyes flickered, and he finally believed Pang Degong's evaluation. Zhuge Liang was indeed a hidden talent.

It’s a pity that he can’t use it.

"In addition, Mr. Kong Ming also said that Shen Sheng of Jin was executed at home, and Chong Er was safe in exile."

“But I don’t know what to make of this.”

Liu Qi also said the other half of the sentence. He could understand the second half of Zhuge Liang's sentence, but not the first half.

Liu Biao frowned and said nothing after hearing this. After thinking for a while, he still couldn't figure out what this meant, so he gave up and said, "You go down and rest first."

"Jingzhou is full of talented people. Even if there is no Zhuge Liang, there are other great talents. I will slowly select them."

It is a pity that we failed to invite Zhuge Liang, but in such a large area like Jingchu, can't we find a more outstanding talent than Zhuge Liang?

Don't dwell on this any further.

What he needs to consider now is how to appease the advisers under his command, because his move will inevitably cause a significant reaction from them.

Liu Qi nodded in agreement and bowed before leaving.

……

Cai Mansion.

As the largest aristocratic family in Jingzhou today, the Cai Mansion is even more magnificent than the Governor's Mansion, but no one will say anything about it.

Because Cai Mao was Liu Biao's brother-in-law and also served as a military advisor, he was in charge of and even made decisions on almost all matters of the state, which allowed the Cai family to firmly sit on the throne of the head of the Jingzhou family.

As night falls, the lights in Cai's mansion are still on.

Today, Cai Mao invited Kuai Liang, Liu Xian, Pang Ji and others to his house, and they are now gathered in the study.

"You've all heard about it, right?"

Cai Mao glanced at everyone, his face very gloomy, and said: "The lord sent Liu Qi to invite Zhuge Liang, a disciple of Sima Hui."

"This matter was done in a very secretive way. If it weren't for that idiot Liu Qi who mobilized the garrison troops in Nanyang County, we would have been kept in the dark!"

Pang Ji sighed and said, "Not only Zhuge Liang, but before this, the lord also visited Pang Degong and wanted to invite him and Sima Hui to come to the mansion to serve."

Cai Mao's expression became even gloomier when he heard this.

Kuai Liang and Liu Xian also frowned.

Recruiting talented people is not a big deal, but Liu Biao recruited new talents after they formed an alliance with Liu Zhang without authorization, and even hid it from them. This is different.

The signals revealed are extremely dangerous.

Because this means that Liu Biao no longer trusts them and is looking for new advisers, most likely wanting to replace them!

"We did go a little too far last time."

Liu Xian had a complicated expression and sighed, "Although the alliance with Liu Zhang is for the sake of the overall situation, we should persuade the lord and not hide it from him."

"Why don't we go and admit our mistakes to our lord?"

The ministers united together and made decisions without telling their lord. This kind of thing is indeed intolerable to ordinary people, and anyone would be angry.

Liu Biao’s reaction was not surprising.

"Admit your mistake?"

Cai Mao sneered upon hearing this and turned his gaze to Liu Xian. "What have we done wrong? We formed an alliance with Liu Zhang, defeated Liu Bei and took the opportunity to enter Yizhou. We can't give up such a good opportunity!"

"If he finds out, the result will be that the alliance will be cancelled, and all our efforts will be in vain. We can only watch the opportunity slip away!"

"He has already welcomed the false emperor into the city, and he is not doing anything in the name of the false emperor. If he continues to drag on like this, is he going to wait for the emperor's army to march south?"

"This is not indecision, this is cowardice!"

Cai Mao's tone was filled with anger.

He had been full of resentment towards Liu Biao ever since the incident of welcoming the fake emperor. If he did something but didn't do it to the end, then why did he do it?
On the one hand, he felt that this fake emperor was like the real emperor, but on the other hand, he did not dare to confirm it. So he should have simply not allowed this fake emperor to enter the city and killed him with one knife!
"Now what?"

Kuai Liang frowned, his eyes showing worry, "Let's not talk about the fake emperor, let's just talk about what the lord is thinking."

"After we made the decision to agree to the alliance without authorization, the lord no longer trusts us. I'm afraid it's useless to admit our mistakes."

They have done too many things that are beyond the rules over the years, and they cannot be solved by just admitting their mistakes. He can see that Liu Biao is determined to change all this.

The first step is to replace these advisers.

"This is why I asked you to come here today." Cai Mao said in a deep voice: I have a plan that can change the current situation and even win a bright future! "

"What's the plan?"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Cai Mao.

Cai Mao's eyes flickered, and under everyone's gaze he said word by word: "Establish a new master!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone was horrified.

Everyone had a look of horror on their faces.

Because they understood the meaning of Cai Mao's words. The prerequisite for establishing a new master is that the old master abdicates, but Liu Biao is still in good health, so how can he be allowed to die?
The answer... is only one.

"You're crazy!"

Pang Ji stood up in shock and said to Cai Mao in disbelief: "How can a subject murder our lord? If the news gets out, we will surely die!"

"Besides, he is your brother-in-law!" Kuai Liang also looked solemn, and slowly shook his head and said: "Degui, your idea is too radical, this is absolutely inappropriate, don't say it again!"

He was one of the first few people to follow Liu Biao. How could he have the heart to murder Liu Biao?

Cai Mao snorted coldly, "Those who achieve great things don't care about trivial matters! As long as Liu Jingsheng is alive, we will all be liquidated by him one by one. Do you think he will let us and the families behind us go?"

"Moreover, he welcomed the false emperor into the city but did nothing. If this continues, when the emperor leads his troops south in the future, we will also be implicated!"

"So the only solution for now is to support my nephew to take the throne and make him the new ruler of Jingzhou. Then we can expand abroad in the name of the emperor!"

"My nephew is also a relative of the Han Dynasty. When he becomes the emperor in the future, we will all be his loyal ministers! Don't you want to be credited with this achievement?"

In response to Cai Mao's words, everyone remained silent.

But their eyes slowly changed.

From the power of the dragon.

These four words seemed to carry a strange power, deeply engraved in their minds, difficult to erase and lingering no matter what.

"How should... we proceed?"

Liu Xian swallowed and looked at Cai Mao.

His eyes were filled with fiery passion.

Although Kuai Liang and Pang Ji did not speak, their silence represented everything.

They acquiesced to Cai Mao's proposal.

Cai Mao smiled when he saw this and said, "This matter is extremely simple. In two days, we will hold a banquet in the name of the fake emperor and invite Liu Jingsheng and Liu Qi to attend."

"All you need to do is prepare two pots of poisoned wine at the banquet, poison them to death, and then announce to the public that they died of a sudden illness."

Killing is always the easiest thing.

The difficult part is how to deal with it afterwards.

However, as long as they unite, it will be easy to conceal the truth. By then, outsiders will only know that Liu Biao and Liu Qi died of sudden illness.

Then let Liu Cong succeed to the throne, and everything would be natural.

"Everyone."

After laying out his plan, Cai Mao picked up a pot of wine that had been prepared on the table, poured a glass for everyone present, and looked at everyone with a spirited look.

"It's our turn to follow the dragon!"

Kuai Liang, Pang Ji, and Liu Xian all raised their wine bottles and clinked them with the wine bottle in Cai Mao's hand.

……

Emperor Xian of Han has been living quite comfortably lately.

Since entering Xiangyang City, he abandoned all his previous ambitions and unwilling thoughts, and spent his days enjoying himself in the mansion specially prepared for him by Liu Biao.

This also made him feel more and more that his life in the past was too hard. He didn't need to bear any responsibilities as an emperor and should just enjoy life.

I only think of Queen Voldemort sometimes late at night.

He heard that Empress Fu had arrived in Yecheng and had acknowledged to the public that the emperor of Yecheng was real, which made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

"I didn't expect that even the Queen would betray me."

"What else is real in this world?"

Emperor Xian of Han looked at himself in the bronze mirror, finding himself fatter than before. He muttered to himself sadly and sighed deeply.

The maid beside him was helping him to adjust his dragon robe. Emperor Xian of Han looked at the tender little hand stretched out in front of him, and the sadness in his heart suddenly disappeared. He couldn't help but touch it.

The maid exclaimed, her face slightly red.

Emperor Xian of Han took her into his arms and asked with a smile, "Why do you look so unfamiliar? Are you new to the palace?"

The maid didn't dare to resist and could only say awkwardly: "Your Majesty, the banquet is about to begin, we can't waste any more time..."

"Too."

Emperor Xian of Han let her go with some regret, and at the same time reminded her reluctantly: "Come to my bedroom to sleep with me tonight."

After saying that, he stood up and walked out of the room.

Yesterday, Liu Biao's brother-in-law Cai Mao came to tell him that Liu Biao was planning to hold a banquet in his house to invite celebrities from all walks of life so that everyone could see the emperor's holy face.

I guess everyone will be here soon.

Emperor Xian of Han arrived at the banquet hall accompanied by his maids. Liu Biao, Liu Qi, Cai Mao and others had already arrived. When they saw him, they came out to pay their respects.

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you——"

Emperor Xian of Han walked to the main seat and sat down, smiling and saying to everyone: "My dear ministers, there is no need to be polite. Get up quickly, get up quickly."

"Thank you, Your Majesty——"

Only then did everyone get up.

Emperor Xian of Han glanced around the banquet and found that there were only five or six people present today, and there were no famous people from all walks of life. He couldn't help feeling a little confused.

But he didn't think too much about it. It was just a banquet anyway. It didn't matter to him how many people came. As long as there were singing and dancing, fine wine and delicious food, it would be enough.

"Uncle Huang."

Emperor Xian of Han held up a wine jar and said to Liu Biao in a friendly manner: "I have been in Xiangyang for a long time. The emperor has treated me with great care and courtesy, which makes me very happy."

"Therefore, I wish to promote my uncle to the position of Grand Commandant and confer him the title of Duke Chengwu to show my respect for him."

The time he spent in Xiangyang City was the most comfortable for him. No one threatened him, no one forced him to do anything, and Liu Biao was also very respectful to him.

So he felt that he had to give some appreciation.

Although he had no power, he was still the emperor, and it was just a matter of his words to grant official positions and titles.

"Your Majesty, I am terrified."

Upon hearing this, Liu Biao hurried to the front and said respectfully, "I have not done anything, how can I deserve such a reward, let alone a title of nobility? Your Majesty, please withdraw your order."

"Alas, uncle Huang, this is wrong."

Emperor Xian of Han shook his head and said to him sternly: "Now the world is full of traitors, and only my uncle is loyal to me and protects me. This is his greatest contribution."

"I have made up my mind, so please accept it, uncle."

Emperor Xian of Han insisted again and again, and Liu Biao had no choice but to kowtow and express his gratitude.

After giving out the rewards, Emperor Xian of Han raised his wine jar and said to everyone with a smile: "Come, congratulate Duke Chengwu!"

After saying that, he drank the wine in one gulp.

Everyone also drank the wine.

Liu Biao put down the wine jar and wanted to say something, but he suddenly felt a severe pain in his abdomen and spat out a mouthful of black blood.

"Father, what's wrong with you?!"

Liu Qi was greatly shocked when he saw this, and quickly stood up to help, but as soon as he stood up, he also felt a sharp pain in his abdomen and fell directly to the ground.

He held his stomach and sweated profusely in pain.

Emperor Xian of Han was stunned when he saw this scene. He asked in panic, "Uncle, what happened to you?"

"liquor……"

Liu Biao knocked the wine pot on the table to the ground, spitting blood and saying with difficulty: "The wine is poisonous!"

(End of this chapter)