Chapter 601
“Milord! Milord!” The officials started to panic when aging Liu Biao spat out blood. They all stepped forward to see their Lord’s condition. Some were genuinely concerned about Liu Biao’s health like Wen Pin.
There were also those that simply wanted to see Liu Biao’s condition so that he could take a stance. If Liu Biao was healthy, they would keep following him. If Liu Biao was in poor health, they would make other plans. These nobles did not care about who would rule Jingzhou. They would only care about the interest of their families. In the past, they had followed Liu Biao to exterminate Wang Kuang and his family. Now, they were also willing to ally with others to remove Liu Biao.
The situation outside was serious. With Jiangxia lost, Jingzhou was was in danger. The whole of Jingzhou was exposed to the Yangzhou Army. Jingzhou could still withstand against Yangzhou if they could regroup their army but that was a difficult task. There was very little military power within Jingzhou itself and though there were over a hundred thousand men led by Huang Zu at Changsha, they were too far away. Besides that, that border also needed to be defended.
Another place where Jingzhou could obtain soldiers was from the Cai Family. Cai Mao had thirty thousand troops that had reinforced Xiangyang’s surroundings. Unfortunately, these troops would not listen to Liu Biao’s orders. Liu Biao had demoted Cai Mao while Lady Cai was still in prison. After all that, it would be strange if Zhang Yun who commanded Cai Mao’s troops would still listen to Liu Biao’s orders. He brought the troops to Fancheng with the excuse of training.
Then, there was Liu Pan’s troops. Altogether, there were twenty thousand elites. About a thousand of them were heavy cavalry. In a way, they were Jingzhou’s most powerful unit. Unfortunately, Jingzhou does naval battles. The cavalry could not defend an attack from the Yangtze River.
Due to this, the navy at Jiangxia was Liu Biao’s only real army. Now, out of about seventy thousand men, thirty-five thousand died at the Yangtze River while the other thirty-five thousand defected to Yangzhou. Liu Biao was suddenly deprived of his army. How could Liu Biao not feel sullen about this?
The worst part is Liu Biao originally wanted to take revenge on Liu Mang. He offered Jiangxia away to form an alliance with Jiangdong. Now not only did he lose his army but he also lost Jiangxia to Liu Mang.
“Milord.” Amongst the officials, Kuai Yue looked at Liu Biao with complicated feelings. He is one of Liu Biao’s oldest subjects. Originally, Liu Biao entered Jingzhou without any power or support. All the nearby warlords also wouldn’t give him aid because they had no reason to help. If it was not because of the Cai Family and the Kuai Family giving Liu Biao their aid, it was unlikely for Liu Biao to conquer Jingzhou.
At that time, Kuai Yue wondered if he support Liu Biao in helping the Han. After all, Liu Biao was a Liu so the possibility exists. Helping the Han does not mean that the Han Emperor had to be in power. Liu Biao and his descendants could rise to those heights as well. Wouldn’t Kuai Yue became famous if Liu Biao could rise to such heights?
For that reason, the Kuai Family and the Cai Family gave Liu Biao their support. However, Liu Biao had no ambition after taking Jingzhou. Jingzhou was extremely prosperous and comfortable. Other warlords like Cao Cao have headaches because they have so many territories to manage. There were also those who struggle as they have no territories at all. However, Liu Biao did not need all that. Jingzhou was the most prosperous territory. He also has Jiangxia which served as a natural barrier for the North and towards the South, there were only barbarians.
Due to this, Jingzhou was peaceful and comfortable. On top of that, Liu Biao was getting old. He no longer had the energy of a young man.
Truthfully speaking, Kuai Yue and the Kuai Family were still loyal to Liu Biao. It was the Kuai Family’s efforts that made the hostile officials serve Liu Biao wholeheartedly. Even though the Kuai Family became close to Liu Mang, they were still loyal to Liu Biao. They would not help Liu Mang to fight against Liu Biao. At most, they would just speak a few good words for Liu Mang. Unfortunately, Liu Biao was mistrustful which disillusioned the Kuai Family.
Liu Biao arresting Lady Cai was his right. No one could say anything about it. However, he should not have demoted Cai Mao. Though Lady Cai was Cai Mao’s sibling, Kuai Yue was certain that Cai Mao would pick the welfare of the Cai Family over his sister. The Cai Family would not have betrayed Liu Biao. They would have even helped Liu Biao attack Yangzhou. Unfortunately, Liu Biao chose to put Cai Mao under house arrest.
On the surface, Kuai Yue was still a civil official but anyone with discerning eye could tell that he was being shafted. All that favor and power was being given to the young Yi Ji of unknown background. It was to the point that Kuai Yue could not have reached. Meanwhile, Kuai Yue was getting relegated the unimportant places.
Kuai Yue sighed. He never thought Zhuge Liang would betray Jingzhou and defect to Yangzhou. Had Liu Biao not been too excessive, the situation could have been salvaged. In the past, the Cai Family and the Kuai Family help take over Jiangxia when Liu Biao did not have a single soldier. There would have been no reason to be afraid of losing Jiangxia. Unfortunately, Liu Biao had gone too far. Cai Mao refused to help the and there were very few officials that were loyal like Wen Pin.
After some time, Liu Biao regained consciousness with the help of doctors and the people’s ‘concern’.
“Men! Arrest Wen Pin! Drag him out and execute him!” Liu Biao immediately shouted the moment he opened his eyes. When Wen Pin went out to battle, Liu Biao had ordered Wen Pin not to lose his fifteen thousand elites. Yet, Wen Pin’s entire army got routed. Wen Pin then had to say that he was meritorious and together with Zhuge Liang, wiped out the Jiangdong Navy. After that, they found out Zhuge Liang defected. This was a huge slap in the face.
It would not be so bad if the news was that Zhuge Liang defected to Sun Ce. This is because Sun Ce hated Liu Biao for killing his father. Instead, Zhuge Liang defected to Liu Mang who Liu Biao hated. It was Liu Mang’s fault that Liu Biao was now a laughing stock.
Wen Pin who have accompanied Liu Biao for a long time knew that Liu Biao was angry.
“Milord! You musn’t!” Huang She immediately knelt and pleaded mercy for Wen Pin. In the past, he wanted Wen Pin dead as Wen Pin commanded the soldiers at Jiangxia. As Jiangxia was originally the Huang Family’s territory, this fact caused the Huang Family to lose profits. If Wen Pin dies, his father Huang Zu would be called back to Jiangxia. However, the situation has changed now that Liu Pan was here. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. If Wen Pin were to die now, that military power would go to Liu Pan. Liu Biao would not hand over this power to Cai Mao that is under house arrest, or his father Huang Zu, who is old. Besides that, Jiangdong had already caused Huang Zu a lot of trouble in the past but the current enemy was Yangzhou who was even more powerful. Liu Biao would also not ignore the fact that Changsha also needed a general.
Liu Pan who was the only option had experience in leading the troops. He had twenty thousand men that are elites. Huang She could only look at them with envy. Though Liu Pan may not be as experienced as Wen Pin and Cai Mao, he had his identity as the Second Lord. With this identity, even the troops would be more obedient.
After being given military power, Liu Pan would definitely not relinquish it. If that is the case, Huang She would no longer have any good days. That is why Huang She had to prevent Liu Pan from succeeding.
“Milord! General Wen Pin might be guilty but he should not die! I plead Milord to take into account General Wen’s devotion to you and spare his life! Allow him to make up for his mistakes!” Huang She said to Liu Biao. Of course, it need not be said that the only way Wen Pin could make up for his mistakes is if he led an army to fight against Yangzhou. After all, it would be impossible to fight an army by himself.
Liu Pan glared at Huang She when he heard those words. It would seem that Huang She is causing trouble for him everywhere. Had Liu Biao execute Wen Pin, that military power would have already been his. That way, his position would be even more stable. Yet, this troublemaker had to cause another scene. How could Liu Pan not feel angry?
“Father! Wen Pin is responsible for his defeat at the Yangtze River and losing Jiangxia. Also, Zhuge Kongming has rebelled. I remember just a short while ago, General Wen Pin had praised Zhuge Kongming’s abilities and contributions. Could it be that General Wen Pin and Zhuge Kongming are in cahoots?”
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