Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 673 Distinguished Guests from Two Places
In Jingzhou, outside the city of Xiangyang, a thin man about fifty years old, dressed in a brocade robe, stood under a canopy and looked into the distance.

On both sides and behind him, the ceremonial guards were in orderly formation, with civil and military officials lined up, appearing extremely solemn.

This person is none other than Liu Biao, Liu Jingsheng, the current lord of Jingxiang and the one who dominates Jingzhou.

Among the team of generals behind him, the leader was a man in his thirties, who looked very dissatisfied at this moment.

After they had been waiting for more than half an hour, the man seemed unable to bear it any longer and took a small step forward and came to Liu Biao.

"My Lord, let's go back to the city and wait. Who knows when the imperial envoy will arrive?"

Liu Biao, however, looked determined: "No. Since the imperial court has sent a letter saying that an envoy will arrive early this morning, how can we leave without permission? Wouldn't that violate the moral code and etiquette?"

"But waiting like this is not a solution. In my opinion, the current emperor is clearly coveting our Jingxiang land. He sent an envoy here, most likely to seize Jingzhou. He previously ordered the lord to go to Luoyang, but the lord did not agree. Now he sends someone to ask for it directly. This is simply too much! Why should the lord be so polite? It would be better to kill him. We have millions of soldiers in Jingzhou and the Yangtze River as a natural barrier. Why should we be afraid of Liu He?"

"Shut up!" Liu Biao was furious.

"Cai Mao, if you dare to say such disrespectful words again, I will bring you to justice. Why don't you retreat now?"

Cai Mao was scolded and retreated with a sullen look on his face.

However, he did not notice that the moment Liu Biao turned his head back after scolding him, his expression suddenly became much more solemn.

After a long time, a group of people slowly appeared on the distant horizon. Liu Biao's eyes lit up. He covered his eyebrows with his hands and looked over carefully.

As the group of people got closer, Liu Biao could see clearly that it was a team of cavalry, standing on both sides, escorting a luxurious carriage, and rushing towards this side.

"Hmm? Isn't that a carriage that only the princes of the royal family can use? Could it be that this prince is coming? No, there are only a handful of counties and kingdoms left in the Han Dynasty. I haven't heard of any prince staying in Luoyang."

Just as Liu Biao was wondering, the carriage had already moved to within dozens of steps of him. At the reminder of a scholar next to him, Liu Biao woke up from his surprise and hurried to meet it.

"Your Highness, the Governor of Jingzhou, Liu Biao, respectfully welcomes the Emperor's envoy!"

"Jingsheng, I haven't seen you for many years. You really impressed me."

A somewhat old voice came from the carriage. When Liu Biao heard the voice, his face changed.

"This...this is..."

A cavalry guard stepped forward and lifted the curtain of the carriage, and helped an old man out. When Liu Biao saw the man's appearance, he was shocked and hurriedly saluted.

"My nephew Liu Biao did not know that the emperor's uncle was here in person. I failed to welcome him from afar. I beg the emperor's uncle to forgive me!"

The old man looked kind, got off the carriage and helped him up.

"Well, as the saying goes, ignorance is not to blame. Since you didn't know it was me, you followed the court's rules and went out of the city gate to greet me. This shows your loyalty. How could I blame you?"

Liu Biao took his hand and asked, "I heard that Your Majesty transferred my uncle back to Luoyang from Youzhou. I was happy for him because he could enjoy his old age. Now I don't know what important matter it is that has troubled my uncle to come to Jingzhou in person. If you have any orders, I will obey them."

It turned out that the old man was none other than Liu Yu. Among the existing royal clans, he and Liu Yan of Yizhou were the most senior. Although Liu Biao was only a few years younger than the two of them, he was still a generation lower. Liu Yu smiled and said, "Your Majesty has been so gracious in granting me the carriage of a prince. On the one hand, it is to show your sympathy for the blood relatives of the royal clan. On the other hand, it is also because I have been away from my brothers and nephews for many years, so he allowed me to walk around and reminisce about the past. When I get old, I am nostalgic like this. I often think of what happened decades ago when you and I were in Luoyang. Haha, I am old and useless after all."

After hearing his seemingly casual words, Liu Biao's expression froze and he seemed to be thinking about something.

Liu Yu took his hand and said, "Come on, take me around the city. I want to see how Jingsheng has managed Jingzhou for the court over the years."

Liu Biao finally responded with an enthusiastic look: "It is my great honor to have the emperor's uncle here. Please come in quickly."

At the same time, in the prefect's mansion in the city of Lide, Zhangye County, Han Sui was entertaining a distinguished guest.

Han Sui seemed very happy and toasted the distinguished guest repeatedly.

"Come, come, I will offer another bottle to Mr. Zhubu."

The man opposite, who looked to be about 27 or 28 years old, was handsome, well-mannered, and had no sidelong glances. When Han Sui toasted him, he only slightly returned the toast. After the two of them had drunk more than thirty glasses of wine, Han Sui was already a little tipsy, and his whole body began to tilt, but this man had been sitting upright, appearing to be extremely polite.

The man put down the wine bottle and said seriously, "General Han, I'm sure you know the purpose of Huang's visit. Now that we've had our meals and drinks, shouldn't we talk about business? Huang has to leave for Chengdu tomorrow to report the situation to my master, so there's no point in delaying us any longer."

"Oh...oh...ok, okay..."

Han Sui was a little drunk, but he sobered up a little after hearing his serious words.

"This general thanks Liu..."

"Hmm? General Han, please respect yourself. When you mention His Majesty, you should call yourself your humble servant." The man scolded with a somewhat displeased tone.

Han Sui shook his head vigorously. "Oh, yes, I am confused. I...I thank your majesty for your grace. I have long advised Ma Teng to submit to your majesty. As soon as I submitted, your majesty granted me the title of General Zhengdong, Governor of Bingzhou, and Marquis of Mianyun Township. How many years has Ma Teng been in Luoyang? He is still only given the title of General Pingxi and Marquis of Ting. Tsk, tsk, tsk, such a fool deserves to die early."

The distinguished guest frowned slightly, seeming to be somewhat displeased with Han Sui's behavior, but did not criticize him.

"The general has now openly become an enemy of Luoyang. In Liangzhou, the general only occupies three counties, namely Weiwu, Zhangye and Jiuquan. The counties of Beidi, Anding, Jincheng and others are still controlled by the false emperor Liu He. He will surely send troops to attack us soon. I wonder what countermeasures the general has?"

When Han Sui heard this, the wine jar that was originally raised to his mouth suddenly stopped. Then he put the jar down, grinned, and laughed.

"Liu He of Luoyang has a strong army. Looking at the world, I am afraid that no one can compete with him. Han has few soldiers and generals, and the land of Xiliang is not rich in food and grass. How can we face such a fierce army? Now I have surrendered to the wise king and guarded the border for your majesty. I think your majesty is so wise that he will not sit idly by."

The distinguished guest looked at Han Sui with disdain in his eyes, and he thought to himself, "I, Huang Quan, am also a great scholar of classics in Shu, but I have to associate with such a shameless person. It's really disgusting."

He suppressed his disdain and said, "Xiliang is the gateway to Yizhou, so your majesty naturally attaches great importance to it. Your majesty sent me here this time to find out how many troops the general has, so that he can provide support to fight against Liu He."

When Han Sui heard that support was coming, he became energized.

"Haha, Your Majesty is indeed very perceptive. To be honest with you, Han originally had 30,000 soldiers, and Ma Teng had 40,000 soldiers. Although I have gained their troops now, many of Ma Teng's soldiers are very loyal to him and would rather die than surrender. Therefore, I only got 30,000 surrendered soldiers, which adds up to 60,000, including 15,000 cavalry. However, among these 60,000 soldiers, more than 20,000 are not wearing armor. Moreover, the food and grass in the army are only enough to support less than two months. If we want to fight against Liu He, I think we need at least 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers and no less than one million stones of food and grass."

There are two theories about Liu Yu's generation, but most sources show that he is of the same generation as Liu Biao. However, for the sake of the plot, the theory that he is a generation older than Liu Biao is adopted, so the protagonists previously respected him as the emperor's uncle.
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(End of this chapter)