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

Since Shi Bao took office as the Minister of the Palace of Prince of Yan, Liu Feng held a small banquet for Shi Bao every three days and a large banquet every five days.

He often kept Shi Bao and Deng Ai by his side, and for a time he was very favored.

Even the vendors in the streets and alleys of Fangling County would call Shi Bao "Shi Lang" when they saw him.

In addition, Shi Bao had a good-looking face and was a handsome man, so many people wanted to have a relationship with Shi Bao, either openly or secretly.

What's worse, it directly caused the girl in the family to "accidentally meet" Shi Bao.

Those who want to have a relationship with Shi Bao are not stupid. Although Shi Bao is of humble origin, he is favored by Liu Feng and will surely have a bright future. The earlier you invest, the lower the cost.

As for Shi Bao, who was a spy.

It is important to gain the favor of Liu Feng, but it is equally important to thrive in the circle of Jingzhou. Not only can you obtain more and more valuable intelligence, but you also have a chance to save your life when you encounter danger.

Therefore, apart from politely declining the offer of "sending daughters to marry", everyone else will try to get married if possible.

It’s not that Shi Bao hated women, but he was afraid that if he had a female relative, he might not be willing to leave.

Liu Feng didn't stop it either.

It's even adding fuel to the fire.

Not only did he allow Shi Bao to accompany him on important occasions, but he would also ask Yu Fan, Deng Ai, Deng Fan and others to take Shi Bao to "see the world."

Just like what Liu Feng said, "Trust the people you employ, and don't employ the people you don't trust", it seems that he is completely "unguarded" against Shi Bao!
On weekdays, he would discuss with Shi Bao whether military and political affairs were reasonable, and Liu Feng would generously answer Shi Bao's questions about practical matters in the use of troops.

They are not only a ruler and his subject, but also a teacher and a friend.

This made Shi Bao secretly happy, but also made him a little confused about his future life.

Why risk one's life to be a spy?
For the loyalty of Wei?

Obviously not.

If he really wanted to be loyal to the Wei Dynasty, Shi Bao should have joined Cao Rui.

Why vote for Sima Yi?
It was because of Sima Yi's appreciation that Shi Bao was able to become an official from a blacksmith.

Shi Bao just wanted to stand out one day and no longer be discriminated against and looked down upon by the wealthy scholars who could easily become officials.

As Deng Ai said, "It is not a shame to be born in a humble family. Only those who can bend and stretch themselves are real men."

Therefore, Shi Bao was willing to risk his life and come to Jingzhou to be a spy for Sima Yi's kindness.

If Shi Bao had returned directly to the north after obtaining the drawings and production process of the curved plow, combined with the intelligence he had sent back earlier, Shi Bao would have exceeded Sima Yi's task and would have been valued by Sima Yi.

However, Shi Bao was ambitious and wanted to make progress too much.

He wanted to take advantage of Deng Ai's "power" to get close to Liu Feng before his identity was "discovered" in order to gain greater merit and wealth.

For those from poor families, if they don't overtake others, if they don't surpass their peers, if they don't work harder, dare to fight harder, and are more willing to sacrifice their lives than those who come from wealthy families, how can they, as poor people, enter the upper class of society and compete with wealthy scholars for those limited resources?
Shi Bao's idea was correct, and he successfully approached Liu Feng.

however.

What Shi Bao didn't expect was that Liu Feng gave him too much, so much that Shi Bao felt confused about his future life!
Following Sima Yi, Shi Bao had to risk his life as a spy in order to get the future he wanted.

By following Liu Feng, Shi Bao immediately got the fame, status, money and beauties he wanted.

Not only that, Liu Feng's personal charm also made Shi Bao hesitant.

Compared with the scholars trained by wealthy and powerful families, most of the scholars from poor families have one thing in common, that is, they are "lustful and immoral" in the eyes of the wealthy and powerful scholars.

It means: he likes beautiful women, is frivolous and lacks manners.

This is what Yingchuan Guo Jia was like in the past

The same is true of Shibao today.

When in the north, Shi Bao needs to do his best to restrain and disguise himself to avoid being criticized and looked down upon for his "lustful and immoral behavior", which would affect his future!
After arriving in Jingzhou, Shi Bao gradually became unruly.

Especially after he became a worker in Liu Feng's palace and received a high salary, he often went to high-end wine shops and dance halls to enjoy himself. He had a retaliatory consumption mentality of "I didn't enjoy it before because I was too poor, but now that I'm rich, I must enjoy it all once."

Deng Ai also repeatedly advised Shi Bao to pay attention to his words and deeds, but Shi Bao did not listen.

After hearing this, Liu Feng not only did not blame him, but also increased Shi Bao's salary, saying, "Duke Huan of Qi did not care about Guan Zhong's extravagance but focused on Guan Zhong's great plan to unite the princes; Emperor Gaozu of Han did not care about Chen Ping's dirty deeds but focused on Chen Ping's six wonderful calculations; today Shi Bao is just greedy for beautiful women and does not stick to the customs and etiquette. He has neither committed crimes nor betrayed his loyalty. How can we be harsh on him because of his words and deeds at that time?"

Liu Feng's trust and protection made Shi Bao feel heavy and entangled day by day.

Whenever Liu Feng asked about it, Shi Bao only dared to make the excuse that "the climate and soil are not suitable", for fear that Liu Feng would see through his "clues".

Liu Feng not only did not doubt Shi Bao's excuse, but he also increased Shi Bao's salary to show his concern.

Such grace!

It's February.

Guan Xing, the prefect of Jiangxia, suddenly sent someone to Fangling to invite Liu Feng to Wuchang, saying that he had found a rare mineral vein near Wuchang and had selected a good general to smelt iron and cast a knife. Now that the knife was ready, he specially invited Liu Feng to go and see it.

Liu Feng then took Yu Fan, Shi Bao, as well as the surrendered generals Wang Chong, Xue Ti, Wang Sheng, who were recruited when entering Guanzhong, and Tian Qi and other personal guards, and went from Fangling through Xiangyang and downstream to Wuchang.

As the Captain of Agriculture, Deng Ai was busy with the spring ploughing this year, so he did not follow.

The distance from Fangling to Wuchang via the Han River is about 1,400 miles. A normal civilian ship would take about half a month to sail there, but Liu Feng had a large ship and could arrive in as little as ten days.

along the way.

Liu Feng also introduced Shi Bao to the customs and culture of Jingzhou. Even if they needed to stop at the passes along the Han River for a rest during sailing, Liu Feng would take Shi Bao to have a look, to increase Shi Bao's "experience" and treat him as a disciple.

Even Wang Chong couldn't help but sigh, saying, "If I had Zhongrong's talent and was valued so highly by Your Highness, I would die without regrets."

Shi Bao felt extremely complicated after hearing this.

Because we stopped and walked along the way.

Liu Feng did not arrive in Wuchang until the end of February, and Guan Xing personally led a ship to greet him.

"The spring breeze in February is so refreshing that I don't want to leave. I'm sorry to have wasted time on the road. Please forgive me, An Guo." Liu Feng apologized to Guan Xing with a big laugh after leading everyone on board the ship.

"Your Highness has fought hard in the wars and should have been enjoying his life in the new city. But now you have taken the trouble to come to Wuchang. I should be the one to apologize." After experiencing the hardships in military and political life, Guan Xing has lost his initial immaturity. His face has become more mature and stable.

Liu Feng laughed loudly and introduced Shi Bao, Wang Chong, Xue Ti and Wang Sheng to Guan Xing. He said that Shi Bao had the talent to be a king's assistant, and that Wang Chong, Xue Ti and Wang Sheng had the courage to seize the flag.

Being praised by Liu Feng in this way, the four of them hurriedly said "it's too good" and saluted Guan Xing.

After the ceremony.

Guan Xing took the knife and gave it to Liu Feng.

Liu Feng was good at using swords and spears, but the conventional ring-handled swords were not durable. He had broken several of them during the previous battle in Jingzhou, so he had no precious sword to use.

Seeing the ring-handled sword forged by Guan Xingze, Liu Feng was delighted and couldn't let it go: "What a good sword! What a good sword! Is it famous?"

Guan Xing motioned Liu Feng to look at the seal characters on the blade, which read "Youyan". He took the opportunity to say, "This blade is called 'Youyan'. It has been a gift to heroes since ancient times. If Your Highness likes it, I will give it to You."

"Youyan Sword, what a good name. An Guo is thoughtful." Liu Feng took the sword and handed it to his personal guard Tian Qi. He then asked, "An Guo must have asked me to come here not just to give him the sword."

Guan Xing did not answer, but glanced at Shi Bao and the other three.

Liu Feng didn't care: "Don't worry too much, these people are all my trusted ones."

Shi Bao, Wang Sheng and the other three were all touched when they heard this.

Guan Xing was relieved and said, "According to our spies, Cao Xiu and Yu Jin of Pingchun are not on good terms. Cao Xiu often speaks nonsense after drinking, scolding Yu Jin for being disloyal and surrendering, saying that he is unworthy of Cao Cao's kindness, and that the surrendered generals are all thieves."

Wang Chong, Xue Ti and Wang Sheng, who were standing by, could not help but feel their faces burning and they all lowered their heads in shame.

Liu Feng laughed and said, "Cao Xiu's mind is really narrow. He eats with a bowl in hand and curses his mother when he puts down the bowl. Cao Cao has many surrendered generals, such as Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Zhang He and other good generals, all of whom are surrendered generals.

Since ancient times: if the king is not upright, the ministers will flee to foreign countries; if the father is not upright, the sons will flee to other places. Yu Jin's defeat in Fancheng was not due to the war, but he had done his best.

Those in power should examine themselves three times a day, be strict with themselves and lenient with others, only then will talented and ambitious people be eager to serve you.

Cao Xiu did not look for the problem in himself, but instead blamed Yu Jin for his own shortcomings. He is nothing but a coward who bullies the weak and fears the strong. "

Wang Chong, Xue Ti, and Wang Sheng couldn't help but look up with emotion in their eyes, while Shi Bao's mood was even more complicated.

There was a pause.

Liu Feng sighed again: "When I met Yu Jin in Maicheng, Yu Jin advised me to abandon Han and return to Wei. I thought Cao Mengde was tolerant and Cao Pi was not, so I advised Yu Jin to abandon Wei and return to Han. Yu Jin did not listen. Now I am in this situation, which is also in line with my words in the past."

Guan Xing expressed his thoughts: "Yu Jin is now hated by Cao Xiu, and I intend to take this opportunity to seize Pingchun, so I would like to ask His Highness to come here to help me."

Shi Bao was shocked when he heard this.

This Guan Xing actually wants to seize Pingchun?

Liu Feng agreed generously: "It's all for the sake of national affairs. If you need me, I will do my best. But Yu Jin has always been favored by Cao Cao, and his son Yu Gui is in Luoyang. Even if Yu Jin is not liked by Cao Pi and is disliked by Cao Xiu, it is difficult to get Yu Jin to abandon Wei and join Han."

Guan Xing smiled confidently: "Yu Jin's thoughts are not important. As long as Cao Xiu believes that Yu Jin has the intention to betray, that's enough."

Immediately.

Guan Xing laid out the plan in its entirety, and asked Liu Feng to check for omissions and cooperate.

Liu Feng did not refuse and asked Shi Bao to participate in the discussion and make a detailed plan.

When they arrived in Wuchang City, Guan Xing held a banquet to entertain everyone.

After everyone had left, Guan Xing invited Liu Feng into the inner courtyard alone.

Then he took off his disguise and said, "I can understand that Your Highness wants to win over Shi Bao, but I am worried that although Your Highness has the intention, Shi Bao may not be interested. It may be too much to go to such great lengths."

Liu Feng smiled and said, "You need bait to fish, and you need to let the horse eat grass if you want to run. If you want to win the heart of a wise man, how can you not give him benefits?

If Shi Bao really had no intention, people would only say that he was ungrateful, but since he respected me and showed respect to the wise, I would also benefit from it.

But if Shi Bao is interested, I can not only get a great talent, but also deceive the northern thieves, why not do it? "

Liu Feng was very open-minded.

Just like what he said when asking Liu Bei for help: I just want to try my luck, maybe this thing will work out.

If it fails, it will only waste Liu Feng's time for a few months.

By now the confrontation between Han and Wei has become the norm, and a few months will pass in the blink of an eye.

Both sides are accumulating strength, eliminating internal troubles while secretly using tactics such as subversion, bribery and alienation in order to gain an advantage in breaking the deadlock at a certain point of confrontation.

If Liu Bei's side wanted to break the impasse, either Liu Bei and his men in Chang'an could defeat Cao Zhang and Zhang He, or Zhao Yun in Wancheng could kill all the way to Yingchuan, or Guan Xing in Jiangxia could defeat Cao Xiu and Yu Jin in Pingchun, or an important figure of Cao Wei would suddenly dies, and so on.

Neither is easy.

same.

Conversely, if Cao Wei wanted to break the impasse, it would be almost the same. Either they gained an advantage at a certain confrontation point, or an important figure on Liu Bei's side suddenly passed away. These were all opportunities for Cao Wei to use military force to break the impasse.

"Since that's the case, I won't try to persuade you, Your Highness." Guan Xing sighed, then took out a letter and handed it to Liu Feng: "According to Your Highness's instructions, another thousand pieces of Shu brocade were sent to Sun Luban this month. This is Sun Luban's reply."

There was a pause.

Guan Xing suddenly smiled again and said, "If Your Highness is interested, you can actually make peace with Sun Luban, and with the help of Lu Xun and Sun Lu, you may be able to take Jiangdong without bloodshed."

But Guan Xing’s smile didn’t look like a serious smile at all.

It was almost as if he said it directly: Zhou Xun was dead anyway, and Sun Luban was just a widow now. Given Sun Luban's status, Sun Quan would not let her remain a widow at such a young age, and would definitely use her as a tool for marriage alliance and marry her to someone else.

Since she is Sun Quan's tool, it doesn't matter who Sun Luban follows.
As for the fact that the daughter of the King of Wu could only be Liu Feng's concubine? That was not a big deal!
With Sun Quan's current status and position, he is just a hollow title of King of Wu. Liu Bei has not even verbally acknowledged him, let alone officially conferred him the title. Even Sun Luban has to wait in line if she wants to become Liu Feng's concubine.

Liu Feng glanced and said, "I heard that the general once cursed Sun Quan, 'How can my tiger daughter marry a dog son?' Doesn't An Guo want to vent the general's anger and take Sun Quan's daughter as a concubine?"

The spinning knife suddenly stabbed back into his body. Guan Xing felt his body tremble, and the cold sweat washed away the drunkenness: "No! If I really dare to take Sun Quan's daughter as a concubine, I will be beaten even if Your Majesty pleads for me."

Subsequently.

Guan Xing swung his sword back again and said, "Your Highness, as the Art of War says, attacking the heart is the best, attacking the city is the second best. The best strategy is to defeat the enemy without fighting. Why bother mobilizing troops when you can just take a concubine?"

Is this something that can be solved by taking a concubine?

Liu Feng glared at Guan Xing.

If the other party was Sun Luyu instead of Sun Luban, Liu Feng might really choose to use marriage to make peace.

after all.

Lu Xun fell into the trap.

Sun Quan's second son, Sun Lu, was also caught in the trap.

If he also marries Sun Luyu, and then uses the general situation to his advantage, and promises huge benefits to the civil and military officials and powerful people in Jiangdong, most of the people in Jiangdong will have the surname Liu!

but.

The opponent is Sun Luban, so Liu Feng has a filter.

After all, a woman who doesn't even let her own sister Sun Luyu go must have a bad heart.

After carefully reading Sun Luban's reply, Liu Feng said: "Since Sun Quan abandoned Wuchang and was conquered by Cao Pi at Ruxukou, his morale has largely disappeared, and many civil and military officials in Jiangdong have indulged in luxury.

Sun Quan relied on the remoteness of the area and the advantages of the dangerous river, and neither helped Wei nor Han. He wanted to sit back and watch the situation in Jiangdong.

Oh, it's not that cheap.

Continue to use Shu brocade to confuse the hearts of the civil and military officials in Jiangdong, foster their extravagant lifestyle, and corrupt their politics.

As long as we can seize Pingchun and then head south to Huainan, cutting off the way for Jiangdong civil and military officials to go north to join Cao Ni, the counties in Jiangdong can be conquered with a single order."

Guan Xing also stopped smiling and said, "In this case, I will send people to Pingchun to spread rumors and intensify the conflict between Cao Xiu and Yu Jin. If we can find an opportunity, we can take Pingchun in one fell swoop!"

And on the other side.

Shi Bao tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Although he had been following Liu Feng for the past month and was unable to secretly transmit intelligence to the north, as long as Shi Bao chose to escape to Pingchun, he would be able to bring all the intelligence he had learned back to the north.

However, Shi Bao couldn't let go of Liu Feng's courtesy and kindness over the past two months.

Even if I return to the North, will I definitely be reused?
It is also very difficult for spies to see the light.

Who can guarantee that Shi Bao was not instigated by Liu Feng to rebel?
Would Sima Yi doubt Shi Bao's loyalty and only place Shi Bao in an unimportant position?

Wasn't Shi Bao a loyal warrior that Sima Yi had kept for many years? Could it be that Sima Yi would trust Shi Bao so much just because he was a benefactor?
Take a step back and say that.

Even if Sima Yi believed in Shi Bao, what about Cao Pi and Cao Rui?
Especially today.

Shi Bao felt sad when he heard that the once famous Left General Yu Jin had now fallen to the point of being insulted by Cao Xiu.

Is Yu Jin a surrendered general?

Shi Bao was skeptical about it.

Will the surrendered general think of running back to the north?
In Shi Bao's opinion, at most they were forced to surrender after being flooded, and it might even be a false surrender.

If they really surrendered, it should be that the Jingzhou Governor Hu Xiu and the Nanxiang Prefect Fu Fang surrendered and guarded the camp for Guan Yu, and then were killed by Xu Huang.

Instead, he was taken to Jiangling and imprisoned until Sun Quan captured Jiangling.

Shi Bao also heard that after Yu Jin returned to Xiangyang with his troops, Cao Cao comforted Yu Jin with the old story of Xun Linfu and Meng Mingshi in the Spring and Autumn Period, believing that Yu Jin's defeat was not due to any fault of war.

But even so, Yu Jin has been suppressed in recent years.

He first served as Wen Pin's deputy, and later as Cao Xiu's deputy. He said that he would not blame Yu Jin, but his actual action was to hang Yu Jin in a remote place and ask him to "atone his sins."

Xiahou Dun was also captured alive, but he kept getting promoted.

Shi Bao thought again of the unfair treatment he had received in the north, especially after the implementation of Chen Qun's Nine-Rank System, it became even more difficult for poor families to make further progress.

Complex and tedious thoughts impacted Shi Bao's mind.

Fragments of memories, either heard from others or witnessed, kept resurfacing.

This made it even more difficult for Shi Bao to fall asleep.

While thinking.

There was a knock on the door, and Tian Qi's voice followed: "Shi Congshi, His Highness is roasting meat in the courtyard and invites you to eat with him."

Shi Bao was surprised.

How does Your Highness know that I am not asleep?
Shi Bao wanted to pretend to be asleep, but after tossing and turning for a while, he stood up and said to Tian Qi, "Please tell His Highness that I will be here later."

Taking a deep breath, Shi Bao calmed himself down and tried his best to maintain his usual comfortable mood.

in the courtyard.

Liu Feng was grilling meat himself with his sleeves rolled up. Seeing Shi Bao, he greeted him enthusiastically: "It's better to come at the right time than to come early. This venison has just been grilled and is at its most delicious."

Shi Bao came forward and bowed, but in the end he couldn't help wondering: "Your Highness, how did you know that I haven't fallen asleep yet?"

Liu Feng handed the roasted venison to Shi Bao and said with a smile, "It's okay. I told Captain Tian to wake you up if you fall asleep. How can Zhongrong not sleep well when I roasted the venison myself?"

Could it be that you, Shi Zhongrong, want to learn from those scholars from the rich and powerful families, who are either polite or polite all day long, and even say "A gentleman should stay away from the kitchen" when they see me roasting venison?"

Shi Bao was stunned and hesitated to speak.

Looking at Liu Feng in front of him, he saw that he had no airs of a king at all, but was chatting and laughing as calmly as a friend. Shi Bao couldn't help but sigh to the sky.

"Huh? Why is Zhongrong sighing? But the taste is not right?" Liu Feng took the venison, tore off a piece, chewed for a while, and pondered: "Well, it is indeed lacking in taste, and the salt is not enough. Zhongrong, wait a moment, Rong Gu will cook it for a while."

The words just fell.

There was a "thump" sound, and Shi Bao knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Highness, please punish me!"

"Punish him?" Liu Feng smiled and helped Shi Bao up: "Zhongrong is worrying too much. It's my fault that the venison was not roasted well. How can I blame Zhongrong?"

Shi Bao gritted his teeth and said, "Your Highness, I'm not talking about venison, I'm talking about me."

Before Shi Bao finished speaking, Liu Feng interrupted him and said meaningfully: "What's the difference? The venison was not roasted well, which was my fault. The same goes for other things. I will not blame others for my own mistakes, neither you nor Shi Zai."

Shi Bao's heart was shocked.

Liu Feng's words were already a hint.

"Your Highness, do you already know?" Shi Bao looked up in surprise, with a complicated look in his eyes.

Liu Feng handed the venison, which had been re-salted, to Shi Bao, and said generously: "Whether I know it or not is not important; whether Zhongrong eats it or not is important."

"What if I don't eat?" Shi Bao asked subconsciously. After realizing that he had said something wrong, he suddenly felt his body go cold and looked at Liu Feng with forced calmness.

In Shi Bao's view, Liu Feng was asking about both food and choice. If he chose not to eat, he would be standing in opposition to Liu Feng.

Looking at the nervous Shi Bao, Liu Feng put down the roasted venison and pointed at the raw venison that had not yet been roasted. He said calmly, "The world is like a deer. The king divides it up and eats it. However, the king also needs people who can roast deer. If Zhongrong doesn't want to eat deer, are you willing to roast a deer for me?"

Shi Bao was even more shocked.

[Your Highness knew my identity long ago, but never pointed it out. Even though I just said something I shouldn't have said, Your Highness still treated me with courtesy. I am the king's assistant, and I will never be able to repay Your Highness's courtesy in this lifetime.]

a long time.

Shi Bao sighed deeply, and he had come to an understanding in his heart. He kowtowed again: "I am willing to roast a deer for Your Highness."

As soon as these words came out.

This means that Shi Bao chose Liu Feng between Sima Yi and Liu Feng.

Sima Yi was grateful to Shi Bao for his help.

Liu Feng was also kind to Shi Bao.

the difference is.

Liu Feng knew Shi Bao better and treated him with more courtesy.

Sima Yi's kindness was far from enough to make Shi Bao willing to die for him.

in contrast.

Liu Feng was the one who truly appreciated and treated Shi Bao with courtesy. Even though he knew that Shi Bao was sent by Sima Yi, he still treated Shi Bao with courtesy. Even when Shi Bao said something wrong, he still saved Shi Bao's face.

It goes without saying who can give Shi Bao what he wants.

Seeing that Shi Bao's tone and demeanor had changed significantly, Liu Feng laughed with relief: "I really didn't make a mistake about him! Zhongrong, it's time for you to roast the deer for me!" (End of this chapter)