Three Kingdoms: I, Liu Feng, do not want to die

In Xiangyang City.

In the quiet little pavilion, Liu Bei was leaning against a table, holding a letter in his hand.

He seemed to be reviewing his lessons, but in fact he was so absent-minded that he even held the letter upside down.

Even an emperor as high as Liu Bei found it difficult to remain calm when he was about to face his own daughter who had been separated from him for more than ten years.

Bao Bao Bao.
The sound of footsteps on the ground was heard.

Liu Feng strode over.

"Father."

Hearing Liu Feng's greeting, Liu Bei quickly put down the letter in his hand, sat up straight and asked: "My son, is everything going well?"

Liu Feng reported truthfully: "Father, don't worry. My two younger sisters and two nephews have already entered the city. I have arranged for someone to take them to fast and bathe first, and they will arrive later."

Liu Bei breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good. That's good."

Liu Feng said, "There is one more thing I need to report to you, father. The thief Cao wanted to humiliate you, and he actually named his two nephews '猘' and '豚'.

I am not happy about this, and I also see that my two nephews think they are lowly, so I changed their names to "Shuang" and "Zan", removing the "Cao" surname and changing it to Liu. If your father thinks it is feasible, I will submit a letter to the Zongzheng and offer the names to the Taimiao."

Normally, to change the emperor's grandson's surname to Liu, it would require the nomination of the clan leader, an imperial decree from Liu Bei, and then the name of the grandson would be offered in the Taimiao.

The current head of the clan is General Zhenwei Liu Zhang.

Although Liu Bei and Liu Zhang had a rift over Xichuan, Liu Bei was well aware that seizing the foundation of his fellow clan would be detrimental to his morality, and he felt guilty towards Liu Zhang.

Therefore, after proclaiming himself emperor, Liu Bei sent people to Jingzhou to issue an edict: Liu Zhang was appointed as the head of the royal family, responsible for the names and genealogies of the royal family and relatives, distinguishing between legitimate and illegitimate children, and was authorized to participate in the trial of illegal cases of princes, etc.

Although Liu Feng named his two nephews, he still had to follow the legal procedures.

"Humph!"

With a cold snort, Liu Bei's uneasy mood, which was afraid of seeing his daughter, turned into anger.

"How dare a bunch of eunuchs and ugly sons of the Liu family insult me! How can my grandson be called a 'feral pig'? The names I gave my sons are good. 'Shuang' means a good horse, and 'Zan' means a beautiful jade. Both of them are the Liu family's fine horses!
After the banquet tonight, my son can present the letter to the head of the clan, record the names of the two sons as members of the clan, and choose a day to offer sacrifices to them in the imperial temple."

When Liu Feng said "offer sacrifices in the Taimiao", Liu Bei understood Liu Feng's intention.

There are too few members of the Liu clan today.

The lineage of Liu Bei includes his sons Liu Feng and Liu Chan, and his grandson Liu Lin.

Even if Liu Zhang's lineage is included, there are no more than ten people.

To rule the world, the power of the royal family is indispensable.

Although Liu Shuang and Liu Zan were the sons of Cao Chun, Cao Chun was now dead. The two brothers had been regarded as inferior species in the Cao family since childhood. They had no sense of belonging to the Cao family, only hatred. Liu Bei also did not want his two grandsons to continue to have the surname "Cao".

It is necessary to join the Liu clan from both a moral and logical perspective.

(Note: The last chapter changed the word "cousin" to "younger cousin". Liu Shuang and Liu Zan should be older than Liu Lin.)
While waiting, Liu Bei thought of something else.

He asked, "Now that I have taken Xiangyang, whether I am fighting against Cao Pi in the north or Sun Quan in the east, or resisting the joint attack of Cao Pi and Sun Quan, I will focus on Jingzhou. Chengdu is remote and has many inconveniences. I intend to move the capital to Jiangling, but I am afraid that the ministers in the court will oppose it. Do you have any good ideas, my son?"

Liu Bei had been considering moving the capital to Jiangling for many days.

When Liu Bei first proclaimed himself king in Hanzhong, he wanted to emulate Emperor Gaozu and use Hanzhong as a base to seize Guanzhong and then plan to rule the world.

Later, the situation changed, not only allowing Liu Bei to gain the two strategic locations of Shangyong and Xiakou in the east and west, but also allowing Liu Bei to successfully recapture Xiangyang. Naturally, the strategic focus shifted from Yizhou back to Jingzhou.

Although Crown Prince Liu Chan was regent in Chengdu, he could not remain so forever. After the war, Liu Chan had to hand over power to Liu Bei. Otherwise, with two rulers in one country, it would be difficult to implement government orders effectively.

However, Chengdu was too remote. If Liu Bei returned to Chengdu to deal with important court affairs, various government orders would be difficult to be transmitted to Jingzhou in time.

Liu Bei didn't want to go back to Chengdu, so he came up with the idea of moving the capital.

However, the matter of moving the capital involved too many aspects and too many interests, so Liu Bei could not just move the capital whenever he wanted.

People from Guanzhong, such as Fa Zheng, She Yuan, Meng Da, etc., had always wanted to settle in Hanzhong and gradually conquer Guanzhong, while people from Yizhou strongly supported Liu Bei when he attacked Hanzhong.

Not everyone followed Liu Bei with the ideal of reviving the Han Dynasty. Most of those who followed Liu Bei wanted to be promoted, given titles, appointed as generals, and have their descendants protected.

Liu Bei cannot only consider the interests of the people of Jingzhou without considering the interests of others.

"Your Majesty, this is not something I'm good at." Liu Feng looked embarrassed.

It’s not that Liu Feng was deliberately shirking his responsibility. Whether in his previous life or this life, Liu Feng was not good at dealing with such matters.

After a pause, Liu Feng continued, "In the past, my father only had a small county, Xinye, but the prime minister dared to offer his extraordinary strategy to divide the world for my father, which shows that the prime minister's talent is the best in the world. Now, the two states of Jing and Yi have basically realized the prime minister's original idea.

"Over the past ten years, the world has changed dramatically. I'm sure the Prime Minister has some new ideas in his mind. Why don't you send someone to send a letter to ask the Prime Minister's opinion first?"

"You!" Liu Bei pointed at Liu Feng helplessly: "The Prime Minister has a lot of things to do, and you still want me to trouble the Prime Minister. I can't bear it."

Liu Feng spread his hands and smiled: "I can't help it. If it comes to fighting, I will do my duty. I will fight wherever your Majesty orders me to. Even if Cao Pi comes in person, I can stop him for your Majesty.

But when it comes to important state affairs like moving the capital, I may not be able to fully consider everything, so I must ask the Prime Minister's opinion before making a decision! If your Majesty is worried that the Prime Minister will be too tired, I can recommend two talented people to help the Prime Minister."

"Oh?" Liu Bei became interested: "Who do you want to recommend, my son?"

Liu Feng reported: "Xincheng County Supervisor Ma Yu, Water Conservancy Commandant Dong Hui."

Liu Feng had given careful consideration to recommending these two people.

Dong Hui originally served under Guan Yu. Because Liu Feng wanted to mint new coins in Xincheng County to win over the wealthy families in the south, Liu Bei sent Dong Hui to Xincheng County to serve as the Water Balance Commandant.

Now that Nanxiang has been incorporated into Xincheng County, there is no need to set up a Shuiheng Duwei in Xincheng County. Liu Feng does not want Dong Hui to be transferred elsewhere, so he simply does Dong Hui a favor and recommends him to the Prime Minister's Office.

Liu Feng and Ma Yu are relatives, Ma Yu and Ma Liang are from the same clan. Ma Liang privately recognizes Zhuge Liang as his elder brother. He recommends Ma Yu not only for Ma Yu's future, but also to establish a good communication channel with Zhuge Liang in advance.

Only when the king is wise and the generals are in harmony with each other can the country be truly strong.

Liu Bei had been in power for many years and was familiar with the two men. He understood Liu Feng's intention after a little thought and couldn't help but smile and said, "Ma Yu and Dong Hui are both rare talents in the world. Are you willing to let them go?"

Liu Feng also smiled: "They are all recommended for the country. How can I use them for my own benefit? It would be a waste of their talents to stay in Xincheng County. If they can follow the Prime Minister for a few years, they will surely become the pillars of the country in the future."

"What a pillar of the country!" Liu Bei laughed and said, "I understand what my son is thinking. In this case, I will write a letter to Chengdu tomorrow, and you should also send someone to inform the two of them that my envoy will accompany them when he arrives in Fangling."

Liu Feng bowed and said, "On behalf of the two wise men, I, your son, would like to thank you, Father!"

Between the arguments.

Someone reported that Liu Xiuyu and Liu Liangyu brought their son to see the emperor.

Liu Bei was overjoyed. He stood up and walked forward two steps. Suddenly, his smile froze. He stopped and looked back. He sat down and stood up again, then sat down again. Liu Feng couldn't help but laugh at this scene.

"Father, how about I take my leave for now?"

"Don't guess! I'm just thinking about how to reward my daughter and grandson."

Seeing the smile that Liu Feng couldn't hide, Liu Bei pretended to be angry and said, "I suddenly remembered that I haven't visited the orphans and widows in the city today. You go and visit them for me."

it is good!it is good!it is good!
The first sentence is "Don't guess randomly", and the second sentence is to chase the person away.

Liu Feng suppressed his laughter and left tactfully: "I obey your orders!"

Came outside the pavilion.

Liu Feng met Liu Xiu Yu, Liu Liang Yu and the brothers Liu Shuang and Liu Zan who had fasted, bathed, and changed into clean clothes.

Seeing that Liu Feng seemed to be leaving, the four of them looked confused and nervous.

Liu Feng smiled and explained: "I still have some important matters to attend to. You can just go and see the emperor directly."

There was a pause.

Liu Feng said to Liu Xiuyu and Liu Liangyu, "Don't be nervous. I have just informed the emperor that he has changed the names of the two sons. He has asked me to submit a letter to the head of the clan to record the names of the two sons into the clan and choose a day to offer sacrifices to them in the imperial temple."

Hearing Liu Feng's words, Liu Xiu Yu and Liu Liang Yu's faces lit up with joy. The two young men, Liu Shuang and Liu Zan, also began to breathe faster, unable to hide their inner excitement.

"Sacrificing their names in the Taimiao" means that Liu Bei has recognized the identities of his two grandsons!
The pain that the two girls had been feeling for the past decade and the nervousness that the two boys felt when they first returned home also mostly dissipated at this moment.

Liu Feng patted the heads of the two young men and said softly, "Take your mother's hand and go inside to meet the emperor. Your grandfather is a very gentle man."

Looking at the four people who came in with anticipation and caution, Liu Feng smiled and strode away.

No one knows what Liu Bei talked about with his two daughters and two grandsons.

According to Chen Dao, a guard outside the pavilion, shortly after Liu Xiu Yu and four others entered, there were first crying sounds and then laughter sounds in the pavilion, and then Liu Bei laughed continuously.

And after this.

First, Liu Feng, the Prince of Yan, wrote a letter to Liu Zhang, the head of the imperial clan, recording the names of Liu Shuang and Liu Zan as members of the imperial clan and choosing an auspicious day to offer sacrifices to them in the imperial temple.
Later, Liu Bei issued an edict to confer the title of Princess Yidu on Liu Xiuyu and the title of Princess Wuling on Liu Liangyu, and to confer the title of Marquis of Lingling on Liu Shuang and the title of Marquis of Guiyang on Liu Zan. He also appointed special people to teach Liu Shuang and Liu Zan both literature and martial arts, which shows how much he favored them.

Come April.

Sima Yi sent someone to say that he had found more than sixty people according to the list, and the rest were either unwilling, absent, or had disappeared.

After discussing with Liu Feng, Liu Bei agreed to use these more than 60 people to exchange Cao Ren, Man Chong and Zhao Yan.

After being separated for more than ten years, it is a blessing to be able to bring back more than sixty people.

Although it was possible that some of the sixty-odd people were Wei spies pretending to be Wei's enemies, Liu Bei still accepted them with great ceremony.

What made Liu Bei regretful was that Xu Shu did not return.

Xu Shu was ashamed of having abandoned loyalty for filial piety in the past; and he felt ashamed to see Liu Bei again because he had persuaded Cao Pi to become emperor the year before last. In the letter to Liu Bei, Xu Shu did not mention the specific secret, but only said that he was ashamed of Liu Bei's kindness and wished the Han Dynasty a prosperous military fortune.

This made Liu Bei hate and regret.

What he hated was that Cao Cao was not a good son and used his mother to threaten his son.

Unfortunately, Xu Shu had a strong character and was unwilling to come to Xiangyang again.

Compared to Liu Bei's regret for Xu Shu, Liu Feng was happy in his heart, because the person he wanted was here!

In the small pavilion.

A burly, honest-looking young man in plain clothes stood behind Deng Fan. He was Deng Ai, whom Liu Feng had specifically asked to find.

Deng Fan was enthusiastically praising Deng Ai to Liu Feng.

Such as "Although I come from a humble background, I am not ashamed of it", "I have a strong character and can bend and stretch", "Although I cannot speak clearly, I can read and understand", "I have great ambitions at the age of twelve", "Whenever I see mountains and rivers, I will survey the terrain and mark the location of military camps." and so on.

Deng Ai was so overwhelmed by the praise that he tried several times to stop Deng Fan from praising him.

Looking at Deng Fan, who was eager to praise Deng Ai as a world-renowned talent, Liu Feng couldn't help but laugh.

Before Deng Ai came, Deng Fan had concerns and said to Liu Feng, "If this man is not as rumored, I am afraid that I will ruin your reputation."

After Deng Ai arrived, Deng Fan almost had "Look, look, this is the hero of my Xinye Deng family, my cousin Deng Fan, Deng Ai Deng Shizai!" written on his face.

Liu Feng did not interrupt Deng Fan's praise of Deng Ai. He waited until Deng Fan himself felt that he had gone too far, and then he called Deng Ai closer.

"You must be a talented person to be praised so highly by my Gongcao. I will give you two places to go, you can choose one. The first one is the postal inspector of Xincheng County. The second one is the agricultural commander of Xincheng County."

The Duyou was an important subordinate of the county governor, equivalent to a local inspector. He was responsible for inspecting counties within the county, supervising the performance and integrity of county officials, conveying government orders and judicial trials, collecting taxes and maintaining public order. Like the Gongcao and Wuguanyuan, he was an official position with real power.

In comparison, the position of Nong Duwei was much smaller, and his specific duties were to be in charge of agricultural production, organize refugees to settle in the fields, manage the distribution of farm tools and oxen, and build water conservancy facilities.

These two different destinations are also two different directions of promotion.

Once selected, Liu Feng's appointment and training direction of Deng Ai will basically be determined, and there will be no major changes in the short term.

It is not a difficult choice to choose between the Inspector, who has a high status and great power and can participate in the core meetings of Xincheng County, or the Nong Duwei, who has a low status and little power and may not see Liu Feng all year round.

Deng Ai did not answer immediately, but lowered his head to ponder and weigh the pros and cons; Deng Fan was also tactful not to remind Deng Ai and left the choice to Deng Ai.

a long time.

Deng Ai raised his head, his eyes firm: "Report, Your Highness, I choose Nong, the Captain of Nong."

Liu Feng smiled faintly and said nothing, but Deng Fan deliberately asked: "Shi Zai, don't you know the difference between the Agricultural Commandant and the Inspector? As an Agricultural Commandant, you may not be promoted for seven or eight years; but as an Inspector, your future will be brighter. The last Inspector was promoted to the Prime Minister's Office in less than two years."

Deng Ai took a deep breath and said, "I know. I will choose the Nong-Nong Commander."

Liu Feng raised his hand and gestured: "Tell me your reasons."

Deng Ai said in a serious tone: "Generals, generals, incompetent generals have exhausted the army. Officials, incompetent officials, have brought disaster to the people. I, I am not talented enough. If I serve as an inspector, I will ruin your highness's reputation.

I, since I was young, have been engaged in farming for more than ten years. What I have seen and heard is mostly related to farming. I know the five kinds of grains and the farming seasons. I, as the captain of agriculture, can take office immediately.

Xunzi said, "Without accumulation, small steps cannot reach a thousand miles; without accumulation, small streams cannot form rivers and seas."

Deng Ai spoke with great difficulty, his face grew redder and redder, his voice became lower and lower, and at the end he lowered his head in shame.

When Deng Ai was cultivating crops in Xiangcheng, there were few talented people among the farmers, so he was recommended as a scholar of the Commandant of Agriculture based on his talent. He could serve as an assistant or a cadre of the Commandant of Agriculture. However, due to his stuttering, the Commandant of Agriculture concluded that he was not suitable for an important position and only made Deng Ai a minor official guarding straw.

"Your Highness, Shi Zai is a little nervous today. Why don't you let Shi Zai write it down? His handwriting is very neat." Deng Fan hurriedly defended Deng Ai.

Liu Feng signaled Deng Fan to keep quiet, and then asked: "If I appoint you as the agricultural commander of Xincheng County, what will you do? Don't be anxious, speak slowly. The more anxious you are, the more difficult it will be. Come, learn from me and take a deep breath. If a sentence is too long to finish, take a breath after two words."

Seeing that Liu Feng had no intention of blaming him and was patiently teaching him, Deng Ai was immediately touched and took a deep breath, imitating Liu Feng's example: "Inspect the counties, geography, and visit the counties and farmers."

Liu Feng clapped his hands and smiled: "That's right, there is nothing that can't be expressed in two words. If it can't be expressed, just add two more words."

Deng Ai was even more moved and bowed, "Thank you, Your Highness. I will keep it in mind."

Liu Feng added: "Deng Shizai, I will allocate ten fast ships, five fast horses, and five hundred soldiers to you. Before the autumn planting, I want to see the complete farming plan."

Deng Ai was slightly stunned: "Your Highness, no need, fast ships, fast horses, soldiers, my two feet are enough."

Liu Feng said in a stern tone: "Deng Shizai, you misunderstood. I am not talking about the counties of Xincheng County, but the area from Xicheng in the west to Xiakou in the east! How long can you walk there?"

Deng Ai was startled: "Your Highness, but I am only a captain of Xincheng, Nong Nong."

Liu Feng raised his eyelids and said, "It's settled. If you can't do it, I'll let you be a minor official looking after straw; if you can do it, I'll recommend you to be the captain of agriculture in Jingzhou!"

Diannong, Xiaowei?
Deng Ai's tone suddenly became urgent, and under Liu Feng's gaze, he nodded fiercely: "Subordinates, I can do it!"

The plan of cultivating land on the Han River was conceived by Liu Feng a long time ago.

Deng Ai was added to the list of replacements, and Liu Feng also intended to let Deng Ai be in charge of the Han River military farming plan.

Although Deng Ai's stuttering made it difficult for him to communicate, his talent was unquestionable, especially the sentence "inspecting the geography of various counties and visiting farmers in various counties", which made Liu Feng see a talented person who focused on practice.

If it was Ma Su who answered, he would certainly quote classics and tell Liu Feng a lot of empty words and clichés, without mentioning a single word about how to do it specifically.

An answer like Deng Ai's "inspected the geography of various counties and visited farmers in various counties" would certainly be ridiculed by Ma Su.

A dignified agricultural commander actually had to personally inspect and visit? Didn't he feel that it was dirty, tiring and embarrassing? Didn't he have subordinate officials such as assistants and officials?

In Liu Feng's opinion, Deng Ai is essentially the same type as Wang Ping except for his stuttering.

Although he was born in a humble family, he did not feel ashamed. He was flexible and down-to-earth, just like what Xunzi said: "A good horse cannot jump ten steps with one leap; a slow horse can travel ten miles with ten leaps, and the key is perseverance. If you give up halfway, even rotten wood cannot be broken; if you persevere, even gold and stone can be carved."

Although his innate conditions are not as good as Ma Su, he can still beat Ma Su through acquired efforts.

Exchange prisoners, cede land, withdraw troops and cultivate farmland.
On the surface, both the Han and Wei sides seemed to have tacitly chosen "peace", and there were no schemes such as "Liu Bei broke his promise and refused to release Cao Ren" or "Cao Zhen returned and took over Nanxiang again".

Secretly, Cao Zhen asked Zhang He to guard Wuguan personally to prevent Liu Feng from secretly sending troops to attack Guanzhong; Xiahou Shang and Xu Huang were stationed in Wancheng to prevent Liu Bei from Xiangyang from going north; Wen Pin and Yu Jin built a city and dug trenches in Shiyang to prevent Guan Yu from Xiakou from coming again.

Overall.

A period of tacit "harmony" entered between the Han and Wei sides.

however.

The "harmony" between Han and Wei made Sun Quan in Echeng feel uncomfortable.

Sun Quan could guess the intentions of Liu Bei and Cao Pi without even asking the civil and military officials.

Liu Bei released Cao Ren and others to tell Cao Pi: I didn't kill your general, so you should be more sensible! Now I'm going to teach Sun Quan a lesson, so you'd better not come to make trouble.

Cao Pi gave up Nanxiang and released Liu Bei's daughter and others, telling Liu Bei: I'll give you Nanxiang, don't worry! Just teach Sun Quan a lesson, I won't make trouble!

Sun Quan was a master at balancing the pros and cons, so he could naturally see through the private deals between Han and Wei.

however.

Sometimes seeing things too clearly is not a good thing. Pretending to be confused can help you sleep peacefully.

I understand it so clearly that I can’t sleep!

Bang bang bang.
There was a loud noise.

Sun Quan threw the copper wine jar in his hand to the ground fiercely: "Liu Bei is an old soldier, and he is going too far!"

Just today.

Liu Bei sent someone to deliver a letter to Sun Quan.

The gist of the letter was simple and clear: Sun Quan, I want Echeng, and you can go back to Jianye.

In the past, when Liu Bei wanted territory, he would send people to negotiate with Sun Quan: the two sides would bargain for a while, each taking a step back and getting what they wanted.

It's better now.

Liu Bei directly threw a letter in Sun Quan's face: I am not discussing this with you!

What made Sun Quan most uncomfortable was.

Among the civil and military officials who were forcibly relocated to Wuchang County by Sun Quan, quite a number of them privately blamed Sun Quan.

Originally, things were going well in Jianye. Sun Quan quoted classics, analyzed the situation, and advised the generals not to relax their military preparations just because of the defeat in Jingzhou, but to strengthen their military preparations to avoid being swallowed up by Liu Bei and Cao Pi, etc. Then he moved the government seat and all civil and military officials to Wuchang County.

He even took the initiative to submit to Cao Pi and became the King of Wu of Wei, hoping to be a beneficiary in the conflict between Han and Wei.

result.

Cao Ren was captured alive by Liu Bei!

Xiangyang was captured by Liu Bei!
Someone in Echeng even directly cursed Sun Quan, saying "Sun Quan should not be a vassal of Cao Pi. Being a vassal of Cao Pi is just giving Liu Bei an excuse to send troops." Sun Quan was so angry that he almost drowned the person who cursed him in the river.

"Your Majesty, Governor Lu requests to see you."

The attendant Gu Li carefully came to Sun Quan's side and picked up the copper wine jar that had fallen to the ground.

Sun Quan suppressed his anger and called Lu Xun in: "Bo Yan is not in Fankou, why did you come to Echeng to look for me?"

Lu Xun took out a secret letter and handed it to Sun Quan: "Your Majesty, the rebel general Pan Zhang sent someone to deliver a letter." (End of this chapter)