Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 133 Cai Zhaoji

Following Zhang Miao's introduction.

Several people from the Cai family bowed and said.

"The Cai family of Yu County pays homage to Lord Xuande!"

Liu Bei also bowed in return and said, "I greet Lord Cai and the two Lords of Cai."

In the Han Dynasty, women could also be respectfully addressed as "jun", but when Liu Bei reached her status, he could still address Cai Yan as "Jun Cai", which really gave her a lot of face.

This made Cai Yan bow down repeatedly and said softly: "I don't deserve the honorific title of Lord Xuande."

Liu Bei smiled and said, "Mrs. Cai is a talented woman known all over the world. Besides, I also have great respect for the late Lord Cai. You don't have to mind it."

"Yan thanks Lord Xuande for his kindness." A trace of gratitude flashed across Cai Yan's pretty face, and she bent down to salute again respectfully.

Liu Bei asked curiously, "As far as I know, Lord Cai and Lord Cai should have gone to Chang'an in Guanzhong. How could Lord Cai appear in Chenliu?"

It didn't match what he knew, so he couldn't help but ask.

Cai Yan bowed slightly and said, "Reporting to Lord Xuande, Yan was fortunate to have the help of Ma Taifu and Zhao Taifu, and was able to escape from Chang'an City, which was ruled by the Liangzhou bandits. I followed the cavalry on the way to Qingzhou and passed many passes."

"So that's how it is." Liu Bei nodded slightly. He didn't have the time to investigate what happened during Ma Riti and Zhao Qi's diplomatic mission.

Moreover, after not staying there for long, he secretly ran off to Yuan Shu's place. It was a good thing for him to go there so that he wouldn't be annoyed by seeing him.

After the greeting, while the two were talking, Cai Zhen and Cai Gu, the patriarchs of the Cai family, looked at each other, and seeing that the envoy and Zhao Ji were talking, they tacitly stepped back a few steps to make some space for the two.

Zhang Miao couldn't help but frown when he saw this, but soon he also stepped back a few steps.

Only Dian Wei, who was dark-skinned and burly, looked at everyone with raised eyebrows and glared, holding his sword and gazing at them. He stood half a step behind Liu Shijun, standing still like a wooden pillar.

Seeing that he didn't understand romance, Cai Gu wanted to remind him to step back, but when he met that murderous gaze, his heart skipped a beat and he instantly swallowed back what he wanted to say.

Cai Gu had no choice but to bow awkwardly and take a few steps back.

Liu Bei saw Cai's actions out of the corner of his eye and understood what was going on.

But he didn't care and continued talking with Cai Yan.

Liu Bei chuckled and consoled him, "Being able to escape from the rule of the two thieves Li and Guo, and to pass through Hedong and Henei without any harm, is a reward for all the hardships. Yanzhou, which has just been annexed, is still in danger of war. Mr. Cai can go to Qingzhou to take a look. I have governed for several years and the people are not only prosperous, but also peaceful."

Cai Yan nodded and said, "Xuan De is fair and just. I have heard that Ling lives in Yu County for a long time. However, I have been displaced with my father for several years. Now I just want to find a place to settle down and spend the rest of my life. I don't want to travel anymore."

"I am sorry to disappoint Lord Xuande's kindness. I hope you will forgive me." Cai Yan bowed and said.

"Why should you be so polite, Mr. Cai?" Liu Bei was used to receiving Guan, Zhang, Zhao, Xun Yu, Guo Jia and others, so he would subconsciously help them if they were not paying attention.

When the delicate skin and the warm touch of jade came into Liu Bei's mind, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Meeting Cai Yan's slightly flustered eyes, Liu Bei couldn't help but blush and quickly bowed to apologize.

He secretly thought, "Is my reputation as Liu Xuande going to be ruined by Cai Zhaoji?"

Looking at the people around, Cai Zhen and Cai Gu were talking with Governor Zhang sideways, and other scholars were also chatting in groups of three or five and did not notice what was happening here.

Except for the soldiers of Ruichong Camp and Dian Wei beside him, it seemed that no one noticed that the famous Lord Xuande had lost his composure.

Dian Wei came over and whispered, "Please rest assured, sir. I just looked around and no one is looking over here."

Although the voice was small, Cai Yan couldn't help but hear it at a distance of two steps.

At this moment, Cai Yan's heart trembled slightly. According to etiquette, Liu Shijun only needed to support her with his hands. She never expected that he would come to help her. Fortunately, the Han Dynasty was not as strict as later generations in terms of sex protection.

Moreover, it was an unintentional mistake. Cai Yan knew etiquette and would not show off.

Liu Bei originally wanted to ask how many volumes of books Mr. Cai had in his collection, but things got mixed up and the atmosphere became awkward.

After a few words of conversation, Cai Yan said goodbye on the grounds of feeling unwell and returned to the carriage with the help of her maid.

Cai Gu was chatting when he turned back inadvertently and found that Zhao Ji had disappeared. He was stunned while touching his beard.

"What's going on, where are the people?"

……

While he was resting his troops in Yan County and meeting with the gentry, an official document was delivered to Liu Bei's camp from Liyang.

Liu Bei took the document and read it carefully, then smiled and said to Xun You and Guo Jia who came with the infantry, "This is the first time I see Lü Fengxian condescending to flatter me. He usually relies on his position as the chief minister and is unwilling to bow down to me.

Now that the attitude has suddenly changed, is it possible that some Yanzhou scholars will go to serve Fengxian?"

Liu Bei lamented that the world is ever-changing, and even Lu Bu changed his temperament, dropped the title of Wenhou, and became respectful.

Guo Jia took the letter, read it from beginning to end, and then handed it to Xun You.

He shook his head and said with a smile: "Don't worry, sir. Lü Bu's jurisdiction is only over one county. He is called Sili Xiaowei but is actually the magistrate of Liyang County. He also had a bad reputation in Guandong. No talented and upright scholars will come to him to follow him."

Anyone who can’t even see Lu Bu’s predicament and tries to curry favor with him is nothing but a mediocre person.

If the envoy had not valued Zhang Wenyuan very much, Guo Jia would have advised to wipe out Lu Bu's troops and remove the unstable wedge.

Guo Jia once asked the envoy why he valued Zhang Liao more than Lu Bu. Liu Bei said meaningfully: "When I lead my army south to capture Jiangdong, I must have Yunchang, Wenyuan and Mancheng accompany me. I will ride my horse across the river to capture the King of Wu alive and bring him back to Luoyang. This will be the fulfillment of my wish."

Guo Jia was stunned and asked, "Your Excellency, are you still concerned about Cao Mengde?"

Unexpectedly, Liu Bei shook his head and said, "He is not Cao Mengde, but a descendant of Sun Wentai. If I see someone taller than me, I will definitely capture him alive. I want to have a good chat with him. We have been friends for a long time."

At that time, the staff did not understand what he meant. They thought that the most famous son of Sun Jian was Sun Bofu, and they could just send any general to defeat him. So why bother to take care of it personally?

Guo Jia came back to his senses and continued, "At present, Lu Bu is willing to persuade Zhang Yang to surrender, and is willing to personally lead the cavalry to attack together with our army. This is a wise move."

"Jia dares to be sure that this strategy did not come from Zhang Wenyuan, but from Lu Bu's wife."

Ever since he fell out with Yuan Shao, Lü Fengxian had no way to retreat. If he did not join the forces of some local lords, he would have died. The only person in Hebei and Central Plains who could accept him was the envoy.

Guo Jia had not expected that Lu Bu could hold on until now before surrendering.

If it were the samurai and powerful families, they would have surrendered in fear long ago.

Only Lu Bu dared to waver between the two most powerful princes in the world. The reason why Yuan Shao was unable to make a move was that the three counties of Neihuang, Yin'an and Fanyang were still in the hands of Qingzhou.

If it were an ordinary person, he would have been like meat on a chopping board, and would have been very anxious and worried. However, Lu Bu had no idea that his death was approaching.

He even dared to address the envoy as Xuande in the letter. Perhaps he has finally sobered up now.

Guo Jia muttered to himself.

"It's time for the people in the border areas of Bingzhou who have no roots in the Central Plains to wake up..."

(End of this chapter)