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Although Liu Jing tried to keep him again, Zhuge Liang decided to return to Gong'an County that night. In fact, Zhuge Liang knew in his heart that Liu Bei allowed him to bring his wife and daughter to Wuchang, which was actually a kind of trust in him.

But if you think deeper, this is Liu Bei's concern and tricks, and he is afraid that Zhuge Liang will defect to Jiangxia, so he asked him to take his wife and daughter. If Zhuge Liang does not come back from this, then he will have moral problems.

Not only that, but more importantly, Zhuge Liang could basically be sure that Liu Jing’s next goal was Bashu, and he had to go back early to discuss countermeasures with Liu Bei.

It is necessary to seize Bashu's strategic initiative before the end of the Jiangdong Army's Western Expedition, either let Liu Zhang mainly invite the Jingnan Army to enter Shu, or launch a raid to occupy Badong County.

However, Zhuge Liang's daughter Zhuge Guo seemed to be a little sick and could not travel a long distance. In addition to Tao Zhan's diligent attempt to keep him, Zhuge Liang decided to go back first and let his wife and daughter live in Jiangxia for a longer period of time.

On the dock, Zhuge Liang bowed to the military advisor Jia Xu and the chief secretary Xu Shu who came to see him off, "Please ask military advisor Jia and chief secretary Xu to convey their gratitude to Liuzhou Mu on my behalf, thank him for his diligent reception, and Kong Ming remembers it."

Jia Xu also bowed his hand and smiled: "I wish Mr. Zhuge a good fortune and take care of himself."

"Take care" Xu Shu bowed.

Leaving the dock on a boat, raising the sails to sail to the north. Xu Shu looked at Zhuge Liang's departure and sighed softly. Zhuge Liang came to Jiangxia yesterday and left again today. He only said one thing to him, Xu Changshi, long time no see

It was this short sentence that made him feel quite touched. He and Zhuge Liang were very close friends back then. Since the two embarked on different careers, their friendship seemed to have disappeared.

On the contrary, the friendship between Huang Yueying and Tao Zhan was not affected. It was still so deep that it had not been seen for several years. It is a pity that the dispute over interests made the friendship so pale.

Thinking of this, Xu Shu couldn't help but sigh again and said to Jia Xu: "Does the military advisor feel that Kong Ming seems not optimistic?"

Jia Xu also felt that Zhuge Liang was worried and smiled and said, "Maybe Zhuge Liang got the information they didn't want to face."

"Military advisor refers to Bashu," Xu Shu asked cautiously.

Jia Xu nodded, "I think it should be that he came yesterday and left today. He should have heard of some unfavorable information at the horse farm. I don't know what the governor of the state said to him."

At this time, a guard came from the darkness and saluted Xu Shu and Jia Xu, "The governor of the state asked the chief secretary and military advisor to go to the mansion, and there was something important to discuss."

Xu Shu and Jia Xu looked at each other, and they understood each other. Jia Xu smiled and said, "Since the provincial governor invites you, let's go there."

The two of them happily got on the carriage and drove into the city under the escort of more than a dozen cavalrymen.

...........

In the night, two maids carried lanterns and led Jia Xu and Xu Shu through a long corridor and quickly walked towards Liu Jing's outer study.

Jia Xu has been thinking about Zhuge Liang's affairs. Zhuge Liang's mood was depressed before leaving, which made him full of curiosity. He really wanted to know what Liu Jing and Zhuge Liang had talked about on the ranch. Although he guessed that it was a matter of Bashu, he couldn't understand Liu Jing's attitude. Is Liu Jing planning to fight on both sides?

When he arrived at the door of the study, a guard immediately reported: "Qi Bingzhou Governor, Chief Secretary and Military Advisor are here."

"Please come in" Liu Jing's voice came from the room, and the voice was quite pleasant.

Jia Xu breathed a little relieved and showed a smile on his face. At this critical moment of the war, the lord's willpower is important, and it even affects the final success or failure of the war.

Liu Jing's happy tone made Jia Xu and Xu Shu feel more confident.

The two of them pushed the door and entered the room. The light in the room was bright. Liu Jing was standing in front of the wall, staring at the map on the wall. He turned around and saw the two people coming in, with thoughts in his eyes, and smiled: "It seems that Kong Ming seems to be unhappy in leaving."

The two did not answer Liu Jing's curiosity, but went forward to salute, "See the governor of the state."

"Please sit for two people"

Liu Jing asked them to sit down and ordered the maid to serve tea. Then he smiled at Xu Shu and said, "I think Yuan Zhi has the deepest feeling, right?"

Xu Shu smiled bitterly, "The Palace Master is right. The former friend became a Mo, and this feeling is not good."

Liu Jing smiled slightly, "Actually, Yuan Zhi doesn't need to be moved. This time Zhuge Liang came with heavy responsibilities. The pressure he endured made him feel unwilling to reminisce about the past with Yuan Zhi. When he relaxed one day, I think he would remember the friendship between Longzhong in the past."

At this time, Jia Xu next to him asked: "Does the Zhou Mu plan to start a war on both sides at the same time?"

Liu Jing looked at him and couldn't help laughing: "You ask so straightforwardly, this is not the style of a military advisor."

Jia Xu's face turned slightly red, and he bowed and smiled: "I have been thinking about this in my heart, please forgive me."

"You said your plan was wrong first"

Liu Jing smiled faintly and said, "It is such a major decision to start a war on both sides. How could I make a decision without discussing it with you. However, the situation in Bashu is indeed urgent. If we wait until we fight the east and then take care of Bashu, it may be too late. It is not necessary to start a war, but Bashu must move first."

"Why do you move first?" Jia Xu can always grasp the core points.

Liu Jing smiled and said, "We don't have that great strength in the battle between the two fronts, but we can't end with Jiangdong in a day or two. If we focus on Jiangdong, we will lose Xiyu and let Liu Bei succeed in Bashu. Therefore, we must also take action in the West and seize a county."

Xu Shu pondered for a moment and asked, "The action mentioned by the provincial governor refers to Wucheng County."

"Not Wucheng County"

Liu Jing shook his head slowly, "To be precise, it was Zigui County. Occupying Zigui County, which strangled Liu Bei's army to advance westward, and Wucheng became an isolated city. I have handed over this matter to Li Yan, hoping that he will not let me down."

When Jia Xu heard this, his brow frowned slightly, "But in this way, will Liu Zhang suspect that we have the intention to take Bashu, and instead collude with Liu Bei."

Liu Jing nodded, "It is indeed possible, and Liu Bei had successfully persuaded Liu Zhang to cooperate with him and fight against Cao's army south. Now that Cao Cao retreats north, their cooperation will temporarily stop. However, Liu Bei will definitely replace Cao Cao with me and fight against Liu Jing's westward. I guess Liu Zhang is likely to be convinced."

"But... why did Liu Zhang believe Liu Bei's words?" Xu Shu asked in confusion.

"Maybe Liu Bei is weak."

Liu Jing smiled and said, "Just like a few people fighting, short and thin people are the most likely to be ignored. Liu Bei is such a short and thin person. Liu Zhang thinks he is powerless to seek Bashu, so he believes in him, and because of the special relationship between Liu Zhang's father Liu Yan and Liu Bei."

Jia Xu pondered for a moment and said, "But even if Liu Zhang is stupid and unwise, the people around Liu Zhang, Zhang Song and Wu Yi, these are all wise people. Do they believe it?"

Liu Jing took out a letter and handed it to Jia Xu and said, "This is a letter written by Sima Yi, telling the current situation inside Bashu. You can take a look first."

Liu Jing had read the letter written by Sima Yi several times before he realized that the relationship within Bashu was very complicated, involving decades of struggle between the local forces of Bashu and the scholars of Dongzhou.

Most of the scholars in Dongzhou were Jingzhou and auxiliary scholars. In the eyes of Bashu scholars, Liu Jing was the backstage of Dongzhou scholars, so Liu Jing's enemies naturally became the target of the scholars of Bashu. This is why Zhang Song, Wu Yi and others supported Liu Zhang and Liu Bei's alliance.

Jia Xu handed the letter to Xu Shu again, and he sighed and said, "It seems that it is more complicated to capture Bashu than we imagined."

Liu Jing nodded, "Although Liu Zhang is not blindly stupid and cowardly, he is indeed an incompetent person. With the wealth of Bashu, he has not been able to win a Hanzhong for decades. He wants to control the conflict between the Bashu gentry and the Dongzhou gentry to maintain his rule, but he has never let both surrender to him and finally face the fate of being abandoned by the Bashu gentry and the Dongzhou gentry."

Speaking of this, Liu Jing sighed slightly, "The situation in the south is changing drastically. Both the Dongzhou scholars and the Bashu scholars have the idea of ​​abandoning him. However, the Dongzhou scholars are biased towards me, while the Bashu scholars are biased towards Liu Bei. This is the biggest challenge we will face."

The room was silent, and for a moment Xu Shu asked, "So the governor of the state wants to start with Zigui."

“It’s right”
Chapter completed!