Liu Biao stroked his beard and secretly praised that his nephew was good, with sharp eyes, clear order, and a thorough analysis of the general trend. He was indeed a little insightful.

He turned around and asked the middle-aged man who had been silent next to him, "What about the opinions of the foreign degree?"

This silent middle-aged man is Kuai Yue, the third person in Jingzhou, and an important figure in the Kuai family of the second-generation family in Jingzhou. He was extremely famous when he was young.

General He Jin also heard of his reputation for a long time and hired him as a clerk of the Eastern Cao. He once advised He Jin to kill all the eunuchs, but unfortunately He Jin refused to listen, which eventually led to the disaster of killing.

After following Liu Biao, Kuai Yue made many achievements and was named the prefect of Zhangling and Hou Fan Ting. He is now Liu Biao's aide to participate in the military and participate in military decision-making. He is the third recognized figure in Jingzhou.

At this time, when he saw Liu Biao ask about his countermeasures, he couldn't help but look at Liu Jing deeply, and then smiled faintly: "Uncle Liu is the hero of the world. The lord will accept him, which will show his lord's temperament. Since he comes to join the lord, if he refuses him for a thousand miles, it may damage the lord's reputation and the gain is not worth the loss. My subordinates agree to accept it."

"You" Cai Mao glared at Kuai Yue fiercely, and he was determined to protect the interests of the Jingzhou family, but he stabbed himself in the back.

Liu Biao nodded and said resolutely: "Xuande is my brother. If you are in trouble, how can I not accept me?"

He said to Sun Qian again: "Since Xuande is already comparing water, then I will go to comparing water in person and welcome him into Jingxiang."

Sun Qian was very happy, "The governor of the state is really a wise elder."

The next morning, Liu Biao led thousands of officials and troops to the north to meet the emperor's uncle Liu Bei. The momentum was so great that everyone knew about Jingxiang.

.........

There is a large mansion covering an area of ​​nearly 100 acres in the east of the city, including pavilions, towers, rockery, ponds, and various buildings are solemn and grand, or exquisite. It is an unusual family of officials. This is Cai Mao’s official house in Xiangyang City.

Cai Mao walked in a hurry and came to a small courtyard in the back garden. He pushed open the gate and walked in. There was a pear tree several feet tall in the courtyard. The shade was dense and the branches and leaves were covered with yellow fragrant pears.

After the green leaves and pineapple, there are three houses, the main hall in the middle, and a side room on each side.

The main hall gate was open, and a huge three-legged copper incense burner was placed in the corner. The above was hollowed out according to the Bagua image. At this time, a faint cigarette continued to spread out from the hollowed out.

An old man wearing a yellow Taoist robe and a bamboo crown, about sixty years old, was sitting cross-legged and facing the wall. Cai Mao had already walked into the main hall, and he seemed to be unaware of it.

The old man is Cai Mao’s uncle Cai Xun. The previous head of the Cai family, who firmly believed in practicing Taoism. He had always lived in the Cai family’s old house outside the city. Because the Cai family’s old house was recently renovated, he temporarily moved to Cai Mao’s official house to practice.

"I feel that your steps are very anxious. Why is this?" Cai Xun asked calmly without looking back.

Cai Mao knelt down on his knees and bowed, "Uncle, Liu Bei is here in Jingzhou."

"Liu Bei comes to Jingzhou, are you so nervous?"

Cai Xun turned around slowly. He was thin and dry, but his eyes were particularly sharp, as if he could see through people's hearts. He looked at Cai Mao and said slowly: "You are the head of the family, and you are responsible for the prosperity of a family. I hope you can be calm and make plans at all times."

Cai Xun's tone was very slow, but every word hit Cai Mao's heart. Cai Mao couldn't help but feel ashamed and smiled bitterly: "My nephew knew his mistake."

Cai Xun was satisfied with his nephew's attitude and nodded, "Do you think it will affect the interests of the Cai family when Liu Bei is here?"

Cai Mao pondered for a moment and said, "Liu Bei is a hero. His arrival will inevitably break the existing power structure. Once the existing structure is broken, the interests of the Cai family will inevitably be damaged."

"That's your concern"

Cai Xun's eyes were still sharp, as if he had seen through Cai Mao's thoughts. Cai Mao sighed in his heart. In front of his uncle, he could not hide his inner secrets.

"My nephew is mainly worried that Liu Bei's arrival will trigger Cao Cao to go south to Jingxiang. Once Cao Cao occupys Jingxiang, the power of our Cai family will be pushed to the edge."

This is Cai Mao’s real concern. Although he is a pro-Cao faction, he does not want the Cao army to go south to Jingxiang, otherwise the Cai family’s interests will be greatly lost. Not to mention that the Cai family’s capital in Liu Biao will be shattered, more importantly, Liu Biao leads Jingxiang, and the Cai family is the first family under Liu Biao’s rule. But if Cao Cao leads Jingxiang, the Cai family may not even be able to rely on the border under Cao Cao. This is the reason why it is better to be the head of a chicken than the queen of a cow.

Cai Xun was silent for a moment, then slowly said: "The north is not yet settled, and Cao Cao cannot go south for a while. As long as the Cai family can maintain the status of the largest clan in Jingzhou, even if Cao Cao goes south, he will be reused. Therefore, the most urgent task now is to consolidate the Cai family's position in Jingxiang. The best way is to marry. I heard you say at the beginning of the year that I wanted to use Shaoyu and Liu Biao to marry each other. How is the progress now?"

Shaoyu is Cai Mao's only daughter Cai Shaoyu. She is fourteen years old and is waiting for her name. Although there are endless proposals, Cai Mao has his own ideas and wants to marry Liu Biao.

Cai Mao sighed, "I have told the second sister about this. The second sister said that Mr. Qi and Mr. Cong were both interested in marrying Shaoyu, but Jingsheng was vague. Ten days ago, I mentioned this matter to Jingsheng myself."

"What did he say"

"Jing Sheng means to ask his nephew to marry Shaoyu."

"Nephew"

Cai Xun frowned, "Liu Qing or Liu Hu"

"None of them are the son of his youngest brother Liu Bing, named Liu Jing. Today he and Liu Bei's envoy Sun Qian came together, and I have seen him."

"It's actually called Liu Jing. It seems that Liu Biao likes this nephew very much."

Cai Xun sneered and asked again: "Since I saw this person today, what do you think of him?"

Cai Mao shook his head, "This person is still a young man, about fifteen or sixteen years old, without any romantic literary talent, and a strong aura. If he hadn't had some knowledge, I would have thought he was a yellow turban soldier pretending to be a soldier. Second uncle, I don't like this person and would never marry Shaoyu to him."

Cai Xun nodded, "It is meaningless to marry Liu Biao's nephew. Only by marrying Liu Biao's son can you control the future of Jingxiang. Liu Biao is fifty years old and has not been alive for a long time. Do you understand what I mean?"

"I understand what Uncle Second means."

After a pause, Cai Xun said lightly: "Degui, your family leader is also an important minister of Jingxiang. Every move has an impact. Pay attention to maintaining your reputation. You can let your clan members do many things, and you don't have to stand up. Do you understand?"

"My nephew follows the second uncle's teachings"

.........

At the same time when Cai Mao asked his second uncle Cai Xun for advice, in another Kuai family mansion, Kuai Yue was also discussing Liu Bei's entry into Jingxiang with his brother Kuai Liang.

The Kuai family's clan is Zhonglu County, Xiangyang County, but the family's sphere of influence is in Nanjun, which has a certain relationship with the long-term high-ranking officials of the Kuai family in Nanjun, so Jingzhou has the saying that Cai Nan and Kuai are in northern Jingzhou.

Like his brother Kuai Yue, Kuai Liang was outstanding in literary talent and extremely strategic. He also made great contributions to Liu Biao's pacification of Jingzhou and served as chief clerk. However, he was in poor health and was idle at home to recuperate three years ago. He rushed from Zhonglu to Xiangyang City yesterday.

Kuai Liang is the head of the Kuai family. He is not only talented, but also has extraordinary talents. He is especially good at horse racing and astronomy. Recently, he observed the celestial phenomena at night and found that the master star of the Southern Officer Zhuque Palace was dark and dull, and a guest star entered the Nangong, which was dazzling. This means that the new master of Jingxiang appeared, so he rushed to find his brother Kuai Yue.

Just at this time, Liu Bei arrived, and Kuai Liang thought that the guest star was Liu Bei, and the main star was dull and dull, which means that Liu Biao would not have been too long.

Kuai Yue walked a few steps behind his back, and looked at the roof and pondered. Seeing that his brother was thinking about something else, Kuai Liang asked strangely: "Do you think there is someone else?"

Kuai Yue shook his head and said in a deep voice: "If the astrological signs are correct, this guest star should refer to Liu Bei. There is no doubt about this, but for some reason, I always think of another person. Perhaps he impressed me too deeply today."

"Who is it"

Kuai Yue smiled bitterly, "Just a young man, Liu Jing, the nephew of Liu Biao, has just arrived in Xiangyang today. He has extraordinary knowledge and has analyzed his interests thoroughly. It can be seen that Liu Biao admires him quite well, but he is only fifteen or sixteen years old, so it shouldn't be him."

"Oh how did this young man analyze it?" Kuai Liang became a little interested in Liu Jing.

Kuai Yue told his brother about the dispute over the living room today. Kuai Liang couldn't help laughing, "It's hard for a young man to have such a deep experience. Could it be that Liu Bei taught him in advance?"

"no"

Kuai Yue shook his head, "I looked at everyone's expressions today. Sun Qian was also surprised by the young man's words. It must have been not communication in advance."

Speaking of this, Kuai Yue sighed again, "Brother, this young man speaks extraordinary and has a good understanding. Liu Jingsheng's sons and nephews are not as good as him. Will it be..."

Kuai Liang obviously did not agree with his brother's speculation. The guest star could only be Liu Bei, not Liu Biao's nephew. He interrupted Kuai Yue's speculation and said lightly: "We can only congratulate Liu Jing for being a good talent and being able to guard Jingxiang in the future."

The two were silent for a moment, and Kuai Liang smiled again, "Why do you agree to accept Liu Bei into Jingxiang today? I remember you wrote me a few days ago, saying that Liu Bei might defeat Runan and come to Jingxiang to sue Jingsheng. We should try our best to persuade Jingsheng not to accept it. Why did you change your mind again today?"

Kuai Yue sighed, "Because I didn't understand Jing Sheng's good intentions until yesterday. I can only say that Liu Bei is here just in his wish."

"Why is this?" Kuai Liang asked in confusion.

Kuai Yue said slowly: "If Cao Cao goes south to Jingzhou and his troops are facing Jingxiang, we will catch us off guard. In this way, we need a buffer force to station in Nanyang. Jingsheng also had this idea. This is also one of the reasons why he finally accepted Zhang Xiu's occupation of Nanyang. He used Zhang Xiu to serve as a barrier between Jingxiang and Cao Cao. However, Zhang Xiu was destroyed the previous year, and Cao's army was looking at Jingzhou. Our barrier disappeared. My brother said that at this time, what was Jingsheng's most hope for?"

"He hopes to have a new barrier." Kuai Liang understood what his brother meant and laughed.

The two brothers looked at each other, and the rest of the words were self-evident.

At this time, Liu Biao urgently needed a new buffer force to resist Cao Cao's invasion in the south for him. It happened that Liu Bei came to Jingzhou at this time, which just met Liu Biao's demand.

If Cao Cao goes south, should he attack Liu Bei first or Liu Biao first?

Although Liu Bei could not resist the offensive of Cao Cao's army, he at least served as a warning function as a barrier, which could give Jingzhou time to dispatch troops.

Although Cai Mao had a good vision, he was not as far-scheming as Liu Biao. As soon as Liu Bei appeared, Liu Biao immediately thought of Liu Bei's buffering effect.
Chapter completed!