In the first year of Jiankang, in mid-June 194 AD, it was midsummer, and the plague in Jingzhou began to gradually weaken. The local gentry and local prominent tribes also improved greatly due to the rectification of Liu Qi, Man Chong and others, and the power of Jingzhou counties gradually became more concentrated in the hands of the Liu family in Shanyang.

At the same time, the county and state soldiers of Nanjun and Jiangxia began to move towards the northeast, claiming to the outside world that they wanted to farmland, but in the eyes of many people, the real intention of the Jingzhou army was actually to attack Yuzhou.

In Xiangyang City, many people advised Liu Qi, saying that the plague has just been stopped, and the warehouses of Jingzhou counties have too much food and fodder expenditure, which has damaged their vitality. Moreover, Liu Jingzhou is now terminally ill. As a son of man, it is really inappropriate to send troops at such a time.

Liu Qi did not give a positive answer to everyone's advice, neither agreed nor refused.

In this way, the frequent frequency of officials at all levels in Jingzhou's advice to Liu Qi was even higher.

In fact, this was also done on purpose by Liu Qi. The more powerful officials at all levels were in charge of his advice, the faster the news spread, and the more successful the strategy of attacking the east and west.

Everyone thought he was going to attack Yuzhou, but in fact his target was on the west side.

However, before advancing, Liu Qi had to deal with important matters within Jingzhou. After all, the conquest of Yizhou was a relatively long-term military operation, and the overall environment in the rear must be stable.

The first thing is about the head of the Cai family.

The Cai family is currently the most prominent family in Jingzhou. Establishing the head of the Cai family is equivalent to stabilizing the Cai family. Among the wealthy families in Nanjun, about one-third are followed by the Cai family. If the Cai family is stable, it means that the prominent family in Nanjun is stable.

Immediately afterwards, three elders, led by Cai Tong, Cai Li and Cai Cheng, held a clan meeting to choose a family man.

Cai Zhong, Cai He, Cai Xi and others are bound to win, thinking that the position of family officials must be obtained by them.

But never thought that the three patriarchs would all support Cai Xun as their father-in-law at the meeting.

How can a concubine's son be made into a family?

Faced with the questioning of the Cai family, the reason given by Cai Tong was also very simple.

Although Cai Shi was a concubine's son, he was humane, benevolent and righteous, and moral.

Cai Mao died, and his widow and children were regarded as thorns in the eyes by these people who were qualified to inherit the position of the family.

Only Cai Shi didn't care and personally took Cai Mao's wife and children back to Xiangyang from his parents' home and properly settled them. This kind of mind and kindness alone was not comparable to other juniors of the Cai family.

In addition, Cai Shi is now the General of the Central Army. Among the Cai family, he is the highest military position. When it comes to a promising future, he is naturally not comparable to others. So who should he not give this position to Cai Shi?

At present, the three elders of the clan recommended him, and Cai Qi hurriedly stood up and expressed his refusal, but the three elders just refused.

If you don’t, who will do it?

After some humble concessions and recommendations, Cai Shi was finally protected by the three chiefs and was "hard" pushed to the position of head of the family.

The news that Cai Shi became the official of his family had just spread, and the provincial governor's office represented by Liu Qi immediately sent someone to express his congratulations.

Although it was just a polite congratulation, it clearly demonstrated the attitude of the provincial governor's office to Cai Shi's inheritance of the head of the family.

Even though Cai Zhong, Cai He, Cai Xi and others were not convinced, they knew that they had no chance of continuing to fight against Cai Shi in the face of the support of the three elders of the clan and the support of the provincial governor's office, so they just swallowed their anger.

As a result, the affairs of the Cai family were temporarily settled.

At the same time, Liu Qi sent people to Wancheng to deliver food and fodder to Niu Fu, formed an alliance with him, and invited Niu Fu to compete with him in Yuzhou.

After a previous conversation with Jia Xu, Niu Fu had made up his mind to get along with Liu Qi. Both sides were both ill and moved forward and retreat together.

Niu Fu has soldiers and generals, especially war horses. Liu Qi occupied Jingzhou, and the land was vast and wealthy, so he could provide him with food and fodder. Niu Fu relied on Liu Qi, and at the same time he was willing to become a vassal of Liu Qi and resist the powerful enemies in the north for him.

But this time, Liu Qi sent an envoy to find Niu Fu, not to ask him to fight against the powerful enemy in the north, but to ask him to compete with Ruying...

"Envoy Liu wants to enter the Ruying land?" Niu Fu looked at Ma Xuan, who represented Liu Qi, who came to see him, and his expression seemed to have become a little excited.

Ma Xuan bowed and said, "General Niu was the son-in-law of Dong in the past, and he was the most powerful general of the Western Liang army. My king and lord were also a hero for a while. Now the general and my king and lord are united to dominate the south. Looking at the world, who can compete with him? Now Liu Jingzhou is a general and political power to my king and lord. My king and lord are ambitious people, and they don't want to be content with the land of Jingzhou. Now Cao Cao is competing with Gongsun Zan and Liu Bei in Yanzhou, and Yuan Shao is also

The Heishan army confronted each other, and the wars in the Central Plains were frequent, and the princes in the north had no time to take care of each other. The land of Yuzhou bordered our Jingzhou, and it has been a place of outstanding people since ancient times. Whether it is farming, technology, talent or population, before our Han Dynasty was ranked among the states, the six troops and horses have just retreated, so they may not be able to build a large army again. Yuan Shu, the only place in Ruying, is also in the rebellion of the Lu clan. If you don’t go to Yuzhou at this time, when will you wait?"

Niu Fu looked at Ma Xuan with a serious face: "What should you do to capture Yuzhou? Isn't he already stationed troops on the border of Yuzhou? Is it necessary for Niu to attack Ruying with the strength of your envoy Liu?"

Ma Xuan said seriously: "It's not to be hiding from it. Squaring troops to the border of Yuzhou is just a trick. In fact, my lord's true intention is to use the method of vocalizing the east and attacking the west to capture the land of Yizhou in one fell swoop!"

Niu Fu was stunned when he heard this.

After a while, he said in surprise: "Attack the land of Yizhou... Are you actually stationing troops on the Yuzhou border?"

"Yes, it's just a trick to attack the east and the west."

Next to Niu Fu, Jia Xu, who was standing beside him, suddenly said, "Eunuch Liu has really played a big game of chess."

Ma Xuan turned his head to look at Jia Xu, but saw the other party looking at him with bright eyes.

"My husband and wife have always been like this. He dares to think and do things. Mr. Wenhe doesn't have to be too surprised."

When Ma Xuan said this, he also had an unconcealed expression of pride and pride on his face.

But Jia Xu's face was not happy or angry. He just said lightly: "Tell me, since your lord is attacking the east and west, why did you send you to invite my general to send troops to attack Yuzhou?"

Ma Xuanyan said: "I just said that my lords and lords have a very big structure. Their vision is not just about Jingzhou. Yizhou is located west of Jingzhou and surrounded by mountains. Although the area is remote, it is vast and sparsely populated. It can be used as the back of Jingzhou to cultivate farmland and raise grain to support the army of Jingzhou... But although Yizhou is good, my lords and lords do not want to let go of the land of Yuzhou. It's a pity that with the current military strength of Jingzhou, we can only choose one of them."

Niu Fu seemed to understand.

"Your lord, do you want me to attack Yuzhou for him?"

"It is not a fight for my king and marquis, but a general fights for himself... After taking over Yuzhou, the land, military sources, population, and taxes of my king and marquis are not taken, and they are all under the command of the general. My king and marquis are willing to supply all the food, grass and weapons used for the general's conquest. However, after capturing Yuzhou, the general will still want to be a vassal of my king and marquis. Our Jing and Yu states are each other and form a good alliance forever to fight against the strong enemy in the north... I wonder if the general is willing?"

Niu Fu and Zhang Ji next to him looked at each other, and both of them looked hesitant.
Chapter completed!