My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 280 Let them know who is in charge of Jingzhou
Before crossing the river, their lord assigned them an additional task. Lai Gong and Wu Ju were naturally nervous along the way, not knowing whether the future would be good or bad.

The fleet sailed downstream from Jiangling for most of the day. In the afternoon, as the fleet approached Youjiangkou, this uneasiness was magnified again.

Sure enough, just as the fleet approached the river mouth on the south bank, a team of patrol ships suddenly appeared with a majestic appearance.

A tall, strong, bearded warrior on the bow roared like thunder:

"Who are you? I am General Zhang Fei. I have been ordered by the General of Chariots and Cavalry to not cross the river without permission!"

Lai Gong and Wu Ju were startled and quickly asked their servants to reveal their identities, saying that they were prefects sent by Liu Biao.

Unexpectedly, after checking the talisman, Zhang Fei immediately changed his attitude, came over to greet them very politely, and personally asked the fleet to guide them.

"So it's Lord Lai and Lord Wu! My apologies! Brother Fei Ling has ordered us to wait for you for a long time! We are strictly guarding the river because we are afraid that the river will be unstable after the war and that thieves will disturb you, so we are here to escort you!"

Wu Ju was a warrior, as rough and unruly as Zhang Fei. Lai Gong, on the other hand, was educated, and after hearing what Zhang Fei said, he felt a little uncomfortable.

This sounds more like Liu Bang's excuse before the Hongmen Banquet: I sent people to guard Hangu Pass, not to target you, but to "prevent other thieves from coming in and out and for emergencies."

However, Zhang Fei's subsequent courtesy seemed purely natural, and Lai Gong did not see any signs of affectation.

Zhang Fei sent someone to bring wine, meat and hot food, and personally accompanied Lai Gong and Wu Ju to eat and drink. The fleet turned into Youjiangkou and continued to escort the fleet all the way to Chanling County.

Lai Gong and Wu Ju were both confused and looked at each other: I have heard that Zhang Fei is rude, arrogant and domineering, why is he so respectful to us? It seems that many of the rumors are untrue...

When they arrived at Chanling County, it was already late at night. Zhang Fei personally shouted to open the city gate and arranged for them to rest.

The next day, the group continued to head south. Zhang Fei did not personally see them off. After all, he was responsible for the defense of the river and could not go deep into the inland. However, he arranged cavalry to protect Lai Gong and Wu Ju. He also asked Li Yan, the magistrate of Chanling County, to accompany them to Linyuan and assist Wu Ju in handing over the work in the county.

Needless to say, there are many details along the way.

After traveling for several days, Wu Ju arrived in Linyuan and finally began to take over the job of the governor of Wuling County. Everything went smoothly.

The county assistants left by Liu Bei did not disobey Wu Ju's wishes. They would carry out the daily tasks assigned by him and provide any information and situations he wanted to consult.

After Wu Ju gradually became familiar with the job, he remembered the matter that Liu Biao had sent someone to urge him to do before crossing the river, so he took the opportunity to ask the Cao Yuan of the Hu Cao and Bing Cao in the county:

"I wonder how the former traitorous county governor Jin Xuan's property was handled? Did he leave behind a list of confiscated property?"

The household official was stunned, but he also answered directly: "It is indeed sealed, but due to the complexity of various matters and the fact that there has been no successor in the past few months, we dare not conduct a comprehensive inventory for fear of missing anything. If the Lord wants to check, he can go and open the seal himself, and I will arrange for someone to register it."

Wu Ju was a military general, so he didn't really come to check the accounts. He just wanted to test whether the local officials would cooperate in terms of money and grain. He didn't make any comment at the moment, but asked someone to lead the way and went there in person to check and clean up the assets of the guilty officials such as Jin Xuan.

Finally, Wu Ju gave a tentative order frankly: "After the list is made, select the valuables that are easy to carry and ship them to Jiangling as soon as possible. How long will it take to complete it?"

The Hucao official did not dare to give him a clear answer, only saying that there were so many complicated issues that it was difficult to determine at the moment, but they would do it as soon as possible.

Wu Ju had no direct team, so he could only allow others to fool him and urge him every day.

As for Lai Gong, he encountered a similar situation after arriving in Lingling County.

……

Little did they know that Wu Ju had ordered people to do the work and transport the gold and silver back to the country. This order had only been carried out for two days when someone reported it to Baqiu County on horseback.

Zhuge Liang, the governor of Jiangxia, also consulted Liu Bei in advance and said that he would go to Baqiu to take charge for a while. He thought that after Wu Ju and Lai Gong took office, Liu Biao might make some small moves, and if he dealt with them nearby, the response would be faster.

Liu Bei felt that what Zhuge Liang said made a lot of sense. Plus, he had been living in Wuchang for more than half a year and was bored of it. He wanted to go out and enjoy the scenery, so he personally went to Baqiu to inspect it in a low-key manner and take the opportunity to enjoy the scenery of Dongting Lake and Xiaoxiang.

That morning, when the secret report on Wu Ju's movements arrived from Wuling County, Liu Bei was sightseeing with Zhuge Liang on Mount Baqiu, overlooking the vast waves of Dongting Lake.

After reading the secret report, Liu Bei was too lazy to think about it and asked Zhuge Liang directly: "Sir, what do you think we should do about what Wu Ju wants to do? Let him succeed and show our sincerity? Inspire Wu Ju?"

Zhuge Liang held a feather fan to his eyebrows to block the scorching sun of August, his eyes were filled with worry. All he saw was the curling autumn wind, the waves of Dongting Lake, and the leaves falling.

"Of course, we still have to let Wu Ju complete the task in the end. This will not only reduce Liu Biao's hostility towards us, but also let Wu Ju know our sincerity in letting him be the governor with real power. Given time, the lord will surely be able to recapture Wu and Lai.

However, "getting things done in the end" does not mean that there can be no delays or twists and turns in the process. Before coming to Baqiu, I had heard the report from the spies in Xiangyang. Recently, the rumors that Ji Bo accepted benefits from our army and colluded with our army have been strictly investigated in Xiangyang. Judging from other clues, Cai Mao should have been alienated and reprimanded by Liu Biao.

This shows that our previous strategy has been successful. I guessed that Cai Mao, out of hatred for our army, must have told Liu Biao slanderous words against Ji Bo, and the words should be similar to the ones I guessed and spread.

Now that Wu Ju has just taken office, he is eager to demonstrate his control over Wuling's financial power. It should be that Liu Biao was provoked by the previous changes and could no longer hold his temper. He wanted to test the waters as soon as possible, so he issued the death order.

We can let Wu Ju delay for a few more days. In this way, he will not be able to complete Liu Biao's mission on time, and he will definitely be worried, or at least he "should be worried."

As long as he should be afraid, then no matter whether he is really afraid or not, we can learn something from it - Wu Ju did not bring many people with him when he took office, and he did not care about the real accounts of the Wuling treasury when the money and grain were handed over, so he had no ability to check the accounts.

In his opinion, it was a blessing that our army did not move all the money and grain in stock before the handover and left some for him. How could he complain that it was too little? How many accountants could he bring with him and how many details could he clarify? In the end, it was the accountants under our control who helped him get a result that was good enough to report to Liu Biao.
Here, we can create two accounts, one in the positive account, with less of Jin Xuan's illegal income recorded, and show it to Liu Biao. The corresponding property in the positive account will also be sent to Liu Biao.

I will keep another hidden account book and secretly send it to Cai Mao in the name of Wu Ju. The money on the hidden account is more than that on the public account. The difference between the hidden account and the public account is the actual benefit for Cai Mao. I will ask Cai Mao to mediate and say a few good words in front of Liu Bian, help him to explain the delay in his work, and then ask Cai Mao to show mercy...

As for what exactly he should do, let Cai Mao figure it out for himself. We don't need to think too much for him. Anyway, this kind of thing will never be reconciled. Even if Liu Biao finds out that Cai Mao embezzled money, he will not confront Wu Ju. The same is true for Lai Gong. "

After hearing this, Liu Bei took a deep breath and felt a little sorry for Wu Ju and Cai Mao.

No matter which link of this matter is exposed in the end, it will definitely tear a rift in Liu Biao's camp and sow a chain of suspicion.

Liu Biao's trust in the Cai family, Wu and Lai will all decline, but his trust in Yi Ji may not be affected. But in any case, the division between the pro-Liu faction and the pro-Cao faction in the Jingzhou pastoral circle will become more serious in the future.

Liu Biao is already over sixty years old. It is estimated that his energy in his later years will be used to resolve the internal strife and friction, and he will no longer have long-term plans.

Although Liu Biao did not have much ambition to begin with, Zhuge Liang's move added another layer of insurance for Liu Biao's "harmless to people and animals".

Liu Bei has now taken over four counties in Jingzhou. Even though he did so in the name of suppressing a rebellion, many people in Jingzhou are still suspicious. The hearts of those who were won over last year have also been slightly shaken because of Liu Bei's forceful occupation.

But once Liu Biao's side is divided and torn apart, if something happens to Liu Biao in the future, the pro-Liu faction in Jingzhou will probably have no choice but to immediately surrender to Liu Bei.

……

Although Liu Bei had some things he did and some things he didn't do, since Cai Mao was the first to be hostile to him, his means of counterattack would naturally be to use all means possible.

Zhuge Liang's plan was eventually approved by Liu Bei and was quickly implemented.

In Wuling County, all those who worked with Wu Ju were Liu Bei's men. Once the order came, the work that had been dragging on was quickly completed within a few days, and they set out to escort them back to Jiangling.

Wu Ju had too few attendants with him to spare for the escort, so the county military officers helped to gather manpower, and selected some less loyal men from the former Wuling County soldiers who were captured and forced to surrender by Zhang Fei, for Wu Ju to dispatch.

Wu Ju arranged for three of his personal officers to lead the team, with several hundred county soldiers and several warships, to transport the property of Jin Xuan and other criminals, and set sail back to Nanjun that day.

When Liu Biao heard that the things had been delivered, he was relieved and took the opportunity to keep the hundreds of Jin Xuan's former county soldiers. Liu Biao did not care about the money and the escorting soldiers. What he cared about was testing Liu Bei's reaction and seeing "whether Liu Bei would stop him from withdrawing troops from Wuling County to reinforce Nan County."

But in the end, Liu Bei didn't react at all, showing the pure demeanor of an elder.

Later, Lai Gong's Lingling County did the same thing.

After learning all this, Liu Biao actually felt a little guilty, thinking that he had been too wary of Liu Bei.

Now it seems that although he lost the military management rights over Wuling and Lingling counties and could not directly station troops to control the key points, Liu Bei at least did not restrict him from withdrawing all resources from Wuling and Lingling, including money, food and manpower. What Liu Bei cared about should be the complete control of the Yangtze River waterway.

Liu Bei is still a kind man.

After Liu Biao felt relieved, he thought the matter should be exposed.

But unexpectedly, a few days later, some minor changes happened again.

Liu Biao severely criticized Wang Wei after he delayed reporting the rumor that Cai Mao asked him not to report. But Liu Biao had no choice, as he had too few trusted men to use. If Wang Wei was not used, other generals would not dare to disobey Cai Mao, so Wang Wei had to be used, unless Liu Biao could find another backup.

But after using him, Liu Biao also took care of Wang Wei: let him be more alert, and keep an eye on Cai Mao in the future, and report everything that should be reported immediately! It was useless for Cai Mao to stop him!

So this time, Wang Wei did not dare to hide anything. After Wu Ju and Lai Gong's escort team left, he found an opportunity when Mrs. Cai was not around one day and reported a secret to Liu Biao.

The content was nothing more than that he had discovered some problems a few days ago when he was ordered to monitor the escort team of Wu Ju and Lai Gong. Wu Ju and Lai Gong seemed to have two accounts, one in the dark and the other in the dark, and only sent the items on the open account to the treasury of Jiangling Gongzhong for delivery.

But another account and some things were sent to a manor in Yicheng, which was Cai Mao's villa.

Wang Wei did not get any stolen goods, but he found out in the process of keeping an eye on people that several treasures of the Jinxuan family should have fallen into the hands of Cai Mao.

Yicheng is not far from Xiangyang, and Liu Biao did not blindly believe it at the time, so he kept the matter under wraps and asked Wang Wei not to spread the news.

A few days later, Liu Biao found an opportunity to go out and relax, and then he went to the Cai family's manor in Yicheng on the pretext of something. Cai Mao was not there at the time, but since Cai was traveling with Liu Biao, the Cai family naturally agreed to all his requests and did their best to serve him.

Liu Biao pretended to be interested and wanted to appreciate the treasures in Cai's collection. Cai was unaware of this and ordered his request to do his best to satisfy him.

Then, Liu Biao saw a jade book that was suspected to be given to Jin Midi by Emperor Wu of Han before his death, when he appointed Huo Guang, Jin Midi and other ministers to assist Emperor Zhao.

Jin Xuan had been in Jingzhou for many years, but Liu Biao didn't know that Jin Xuan's family had this treasure, although he knew that Jin Xuan had always claimed to be the direct descendant of Jin Midi, a famous minister of the early Han Dynasty.

But a few days ago, Wang Wei heard that when Zhang Fei's army broke into Wuling and killed Jin Xuan, they obtained and sealed up many treasures including this thing. I don't know how Wang Wei got such secret information. The people on the other side were too careless.

But these are no longer important. What is important is that such a precious thing appeared in Cai Mao's home.

What we just saw was just a typical example. In addition, there are one or two other treasures as supporting evidence.

Liu Biao couldn't help but think to himself: "Even Wu Ju and Lai Gong know that if they want to stay in Wuling and Lingling as governors for a long time, they have to please the Cai family... Humph, it must be because they know about Cai Mao's criticism of Ji Bo a while ago, and they are also worried that Cai Mao will hate the whole family.

It seems that in the minds of the civil and military officials of Jingzhou, as long as the Cai family dislikes someone, they have the ability to slander me and finally remove that person! Am I the governor of Jingzhou, or is Cai Mao the governor of Jingzhou! "

Liu Biao's inner anger had reached its peak, but he chose not to reveal it.

However, after this incident, Cai Mao would not be able to speak well in front of Liu Bian for at least several years.

Most of Cai Mao's motives for action would be interpreted by Liu Biao as being for personal gain.

It is hard to say whether this attitude can last until Liu Biao's death. After all, when people grow old and confused, they will be nostalgic and brainwashed by the winds that have been around for years. But at least they must keep quiet for several years.

The faction within Jingzhou that hated Liu Bei suffered a severe blow.

For at least a few years, Liu Biao would no longer ask Liu Bei to change the alliance, and the division of the spoils between the two parties had become a recognized fact.

As for whether Liu Biao would gradually alienate Lai Gong and Wu Ju, which would lead to Lai and Wu being suspicious of each other in the future, that is a story for the future and is still too far away.

(End of this chapter)