My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 424 The bandits they saw, they thought they were real

After all, Liu Bei was a kind-hearted elder. Although he held such a banquet to test the attitudes of the anti-Cao princes in the world, he did not act too aggressively.

Besides, half of the envoys who came today were Beijia-level envoys, and only half were princes themselves, or eldest sons. Those Beijia were just messengers, and their words didn't count, so why bother being a villain.

However, Yuan Tan's active support and righteous words instantly increased the strength of Liu Bei's initiative.

Liu Bei was greatly relieved to see that his nephew Yuan Tan was so obedient. He could not help but look at Yuan Tan with admiration, thinking to himself: I promised him that if he would surrender obediently and help the Han Dynasty to revive, I would let the Yuan family enjoy the treatment of three officials for ten generations. It turned out to be a promise.

Yuan Shao is the fifth generation of the Yuan family to be a Three Duke, and Yuan Tan himself will be the sixth generation in the future. So, if we talk about the ten generations of Three Dukes, we need to give extra money in the future, that is, the fourth generation of Three Dukes. It is just to enjoy the level of treatment, without guaranteeing the real power. This deal is indeed done.

Liu Bei was not worried that Yuan Tan would become too powerful to be eliminated in the future. After all, if a family wants to prosper, the key is to expand and produce talented people from generation to generation.

Even though the Yuan family originally had a large population and many branches, after the three generations of Yuan Kui, Yuan Shu, and Yuan Shang were wiped out, it can be said that Yuan Tan is the only one left.

This means that all of Yuan Shao's uncles were killed, all of Yuan Shao's brothers were killed, and all of Yuan Shao's sons except Yuan Tan were killed. No matter how large a family is, it cannot withstand the extermination of its side branches for three consecutive generations.

The former talent pool has been uprooted, and it is destined to fail to create any waves as it needs to be retrained and accumulated without guaranteeing real power.

When Yuan Tan saw Uncle Liu's approving look, he was glad that he had made the right bet and did not feel like he had lost out.

Before the all-out war between Cao and Liu, Yuan Tan hinted through Guo Tu and Xin Pi that he wanted to make a bet with Liu Shu to see Liu Shu's true strength and whether he could fight Cao Cao alone in an offensive battle, defeat Cao's army and seize land from Cao Cao.

If Liu Bei could do it, then Yuan Tan would follow Liu Bei after the mourning period for his father was over. This was also to observe the strength of Cao and Liu Bei, and avoid "the shame of being humiliated twice, what's the point of being humiliated once". If Liu Bei was defeated by Cao Cao in the end, wouldn't it be a double humiliation to join Liu Bei? It would be better for each of them to fight for themselves.

But now, Liu Bei and Yuan Tan’s bet can be said to have been fully fulfilled by Liu Bei.

When Cao Cao attacked Ye City, Liu Bei actually snatched back three and a half counties of land from Cao Cao, which was a great achievement in expanding the territory.

Even after Cao Cao himself rushed back to the battlefield of Xuhuai, Liu Bei fought several more attrition blocking battles and a counterattack battle, and won all of them.

There are territories to be expanded, generals to be defeated, enemies to be annihilated, and even Cao Cao himself to face off. It can be said that all the "test environments" have been run through, what else is left?

Yuan Tan's bet with Liu Bei was known to all of his important civil servants, who were also infiltrated during Liu Bei's past military aid. Now Guo Tu, Xin Ping, and Xin Pi are all semi-publicly "dual loyalists", and only Cui Yan and Wang Xiu, who have more integrity, would not do such a thing.

As for the military commanders, Yuan Tan now had no generals except Guan Tong from Qingzhou, and there were no loyal followers. Even if Yuan Tan wanted to break the contract, he would not be able to find many people to support him.

In this case, it would be better to act as a "big brother" in exchange for better treatment in the future.

My father Yuan Shao's mourning period will not end until the second half of this year. According to the original agreement, Yuan Tan must surrender before the end of this year.

If he recognizes the leader now four or five months in advance, maybe Uncle Liu will not hit a smiling person and will be able to let the Yuan family retain the status of a vassal until next year. It's not a loss no matter how you look at it.

……

However, the representatives of other princes were unaware of Yuan Tan's considerations.

How could Liu Qi, Yi Ji and Zhang Song know about the secret agreement between Yuan Tan and Liu Bei last year?

So in their eyes, they only saw "the General of Chariots and Cavalry was shocked. Yuan Tan, who still actually controls about one state, the descendant of a famous family with three generations of officials for six generations, and the descendant of the family of the former leader of the alliance against Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao, all bowed down to the General of Chariots and Cavalry."

This shock was truly extraordinary. Liu Bei's efforts to establish his authority and promote his achievements were instantly maximized!
Liu Qi only hated that he had not been fully authorized, and he did not dare to rashly express his opinion on behalf of his father. He was so anxious that he secretly winked at Yi Ji and whispered in a low voice, asking Yi Ji to help him find a solution.

Yi Ji had an idea and suddenly came up with a way to squeeze the other party out, so he whispered a few words into the other party's ear.

Liu Qi's eyes lit up, and after pondering over his words, he spoke: "My uncle has taken on the great responsibility of supporting the Han Dynasty. Whenever there is a traitor, he will fight for his life, which is admirable. If we talk about who in the world can be the leader of the rebellion against the Fangbo, it should be my uncle.

I only regret that I am only the governor of Jiangxia, and my words are not important enough to represent the common people of Jingzhou in this great cause. Otherwise, I would certainly be willing to follow suit. Even so, I am willing to use my troops to help my uncle. "

When Liu Bei heard this, he felt very happy. He didn't like to scheme against his relatives, and for a moment he didn't notice the ulterior motive in Liu Qi's words, so he just said a few routine words of exhortation.

Guan Yu, who was standing aside, just intuitively felt that what Liu Qi said was not that simple, but he couldn't figure it out for a moment.

Only Zhuge Jin understood clearly after hearing this: Liu Qi was emphasizing that he had no say in Jingzhou's affairs, so he couldn't join forces with his uncle and make him the leader. If he had the final say in Jingzhou's affairs, he would definitely support him without reservation.

Therefore, the pro-Liu faction in Jingzhou wanted to convey that if they could support Liu Qi's ascension to the throne in the future, it would definitely be of great help to Liu Bei in better integrating the anti-Cao alliance. Seeing that his lord was not very sensitive to the recent situation of Liu Qi's eldest son, and his response was not to the point, Zhuge Jin made an excuse to change his clothes and got up and left the hall. When he passed by Yi Ji, he brushed his sleeves.

Yi Ji also understood what he meant. He waited for a few seconds, drank the wine in the cup, then slowly stood up, pretended to be drunk and wanted to change clothes, and walked down the hall.

As soon as he went out, Yi Ji quickly caught up with Zhuge Jin, bowed and listened to his instructions.

Zhuge Jin did not hide anything and said directly: "Brother Ji, go back and let the eldest master rest assured. My master has understood what the eldest master is worried about. But the family's dirty laundry should not be made public. There are many people here, so we can talk privately after the banquet."

Yi Ji quickly agreed, and after changing his clothes, he returned to the hall and whispered to Liu Qi that Lord Xuande already knew about his predicament. However, it was not appropriate to talk in front of Yuan Tan and Liu Zhang, so they would talk privately after the banquet.

Liu Qi was feeling somewhat worried, fearing that his uncle had not understood that there was a quarrel among brothers in his family. Now that he had received the assurance, he felt relieved.

Inside the venue, as Liu Qi and Yi Ji had already expressed their opinions, Zhang Song on the side was naturally no exception. He did his best to say some words of support.

However, Zhang Song's status was lower and he could not make more promises on behalf of Liu Zhang, so he only expressed his support for the joint rebellion against Cao, and verbally condemned Cao Cao's crimes.

As for how to join forces and whether to accept Liu Bei as the leader of the alliance, Zhang Song could only avoid talking about these issues. However, being able to achieve this step is already very good, and more promises, even if he said them, would not count.

The three lords all expressed their opinions, and the banquet was a great success for both the host and the guests.

The maids brought out clear distilled wine for everyone to drink, as well as hangover-relief cheese and yogurt, which were all fermented and brewed using strains that had been repeatedly screened and bred in the laboratory in Guangling.

There were also other wild game, mountain delicacies, and fat sea fish, which demonstrated the productivity of Liu Bei's camp to the envoys of the princes.

Yuan Tan, Liu Qi, Zhang Song and others were also accustomed to the world and had tasted most of the world's fine clothes and delicacies. But when they drank this strong liquor and ate this mellow yogurt, they couldn't help but praise it and thought it was heavenly.

"There is such a rich and strong wine, such a dense and fragrant cheese, this can't be obtained with money."

"I've heard for a long time that the navy under the command of the General of Chariots and Cavalry is the most powerful in the world, but I didn't think much of it. But to be able to catch such a big fish, this ship must be very powerful. When Qin Shihuang asked Xu Fu to visit the fairy island in the East China Sea and shoot the giant whale, he probably couldn't drag such a giant back."

It turned out that when the banquet reached its climax, Liu Bei, in order to show off his military power, had dozens of strong men push a flatbed cart into the yard, on which was placed a giant fish roasted over charcoal. He even demolished several walls on the side of the yard in advance - as for pushing it into the house, that was impossible, as the house would have to be demolished.

Something this big would definitely be difficult to roast, so the only things that could be eaten were a few pieces of meat that were cut and roasted separately. The rest were just for show and would be divided up after the banquet and given to the soldiers to roast and eat.

Whale meat is not that delicious, it is just used to show off its power and give everyone a new look.

After the object was salvaged, it was transported from Donghai County through Xiapi County and Pengcheng County to Xiaopei, a distance of several hundred miles. It was delivered several days ago by a dozen strong horses pulling a special cart. In order to prevent decay, the blood had been drained long ago, and many holes were pierced in the trunk, and lime was stuffed in to absorb moisture and prevent decay.

In addition, it is now the second month of the lunar calendar and the weather is still cold. If the giant creatures in the sea are fished out for three to five days and the water is drained, there will be no odor.

When roasting, cloves, cinnamon, pepper, and Sichuan peppercorns can be used to completely cover up the fishy smell. Yuan Tan and Liu Qi felt the sharpness of Uncle Liu's navy with awe, and they became more and more submissive.

Zhang Song, who came from the mountains, had never seen the sea in his life. When he saw such a huge fish, he couldn't help but feel a sense of worship.

Even though he was eloquent and had always been well-mannered in socializing, when Liu Bei's maidservant cut the roasted giant fish and brought it to him, Zhang Song still trembled a little.

In such a shocking scene, who would care whether the fish tastes good or not? This kind of excitement may not be seen a second time in a lifetime.

However, Zhang Song accidentally whispered this sentiment, and it was heard by an official from Liu Bei's camp nearby. The official immediately corrected him:
This kind of thing, you can see it if you want to, there will be another one in a few days. Now it has been caught in the East China Sea and is being pulled here by a big cart and strong horse.

At that time, they would be taken to Mangdang Mountain and cooked in a newly cast cauldron in public, and offered to the newly rebuilt Liang Xiaowang Mausoleum. After the offering, they would "distribute blessings" and share them with the people who participated in the sacrifice.

Today I'm just trying the taste first.

Zhang Song was even more horrified when he heard this: How big a tripod would it take to hold this? Even if it was a little smaller than the one today, it would at least be much bigger than any bronze tripod he had seen in previous generations.

And according to etiquette, the level cannot be wrong. If such a large tripod is used for a former king today, the one used for sacrifices to the former emperor and the Taimiao in the future must also be higher. If there is not enough strong industrial power, wouldn't this cause trouble for yourself?

Zhang Song thought to himself, "I have heard for a long time that the princes are good at turning iron into gold. Five or six years ago, they opened copper mines in Yuzhang County. If the annual output of copper is used to cast coins, it can cast tens of millions of coins. Now it seems that this number is probably true.

Along the way, I saw that there were so many elite soldiers under Lord Xuande's command, and they were equipped with so many armors. I guess it was because many of his people were good at smelting copper and iron. With such a strong force, they will surely be able to revive the Han Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)