Seeing Kuai Yue walk over, Liu Bei wasn't happy. However, Liu Bei didn't bow to Kuai Yue for no reason. He had something to ask of him.
He had to lower himself to please these scholars. Liu Bei had been in this chaotic world for a long time. He had long developed his own set of methods. The generals and civil officials of this world were difficult for him. Everyone had their own way of thinking and their own style. No one was completely the same.
However, it was also very simple. The civil officials wanted fame while the generals wanted merit. As long as these two were grasped, everything would go smoothly. In the past, Liu Bei did not have anyone submit to him because he was not famous. He also did not give the civil officials the chance to become famous. How could the scholars take a fancy to a straw sandal seller?
As the saying goes, only with a golden signboard can one sell dog meat.
Right now, Liu Bei had the title of Left General and was the Great Han Emperor's Imperial Uncle. If it was anyone else, they would have been moved to tears. However, Liu Bei had chosen the wrong person.
Kuai Yue was an old fox. His previous master, Liu Biao, was also the Imperial Uncle. Not to mention that his son was sworn brothers with the King of Han, Liu Mang, Kuai Yue was only able to look at the Emperor of Han.
Kuai Yue didn't even notice Liu Mang's flirtatious glance. Instead, he carefully avoided it so that he wouldn't owe Liu Mang a favor. Right now, Kuai Yue cared more about benefits.
Liu Bei was prepared to be humble and use the same old trick. Since Liu Bei had lowered himself, Kuai Yue should have some misgivings and give in. This was also a bargaining chip in the negotiation.
It was a pity that Mr. Kuai Yue was also a film emperor. The two film emperors were exchanging their thoughts on acting.
Kuai Yue didn't give Liu Bei a chance. He directly got his son, Kuai Ran, to entertain Liu Bei. If Liu Bei wants to be shameless, then you should greet his son, Kuai Ran.
At that time, it wouldn't be Kuai Yue's fault. It would be Liu Bei's fault. Treating someone of the same generation as a disciple was respect, but treating a junior like that was flattery.
"Royal Uncle Liu Bei, please!" Kuai Ran didn't have a good impression of Liu Bei, so his tone was impolite.
Although Liu Bei was thick-skinned, he wasn't completely shameless. He was too embarrassed to call himself Kuai Ran's disciple. He nodded and said, "Mister Kuai Yue's son is truly outstanding!"
"Hehe!" Kuai Yue smiled and didn't say anything. Liu Bei naturally knew that it was impossible to communicate with Kuai Yue now.
He immediately walked towards the inner courtyard of the hall.
Seeing that Liu Bei and the others were getting further and further away, Kuai Liang walked up to his elder brother and said, "Liu Bei is really something!"
Kuai Yue nodded. He was just testing the waters. Most people would react in one of two ways after seeing his actions. First, they would be angry because they had already bowed to Zhao Hai, but Zhao Hai was still putting on airs. Wasn't this looking down on them? They might even argue without saying a word. Second, they would be shameless and pester Zhao Hai endlessly.
However, Liu Bei was neither of the two. The former could only be said that Liu Bei was impatient, thick-skinned, shameless and unprincipled. There was no need to worry about him.
On the other hand, Liu Bei smiled and walked into the hall. He didn't show any anger because of Kuai Yue's unfamiliarity. He hid his emotions deep within his body. Such people were the most terrifying.
"If only Pang Shiyuan had succeeded in convincing Liu Biao in Jingzhou!" Kuai Liang remembered that Pang Shiyuan had come to Jingzhou to form an alliance with Liu Biao. He didn't lend Yangzhou rations but instead gave them to Yuzhou. If that plan had succeeded, Liu Bei would have been the one crossing the Yangtze River. Even if Liu Biao didn't die at the hands of Huang She, Liu Bei would have broken through. The Kuai Clan and the Cai Clan would have been the first to bear the brunt.
Originally, Liu Bei was struggling under the suppression of Cao Cao and Liu Mang. He could have been destroyed at any time. Who would have thought that he would be able to survive in the end?
"Will His Highness King of Han's plan really succeed?" Kuai Liang began to doubt Liu Mang's plan.
Kuai Yue patted his younger brother's shoulder and said, "Don't worry, Second Brother. Jingzhou is already a piece of cake for that person. The reason why he hasn't taken it is because of that person and also because of us!" Kuai Yue looked in the direction of Yangzhou and said.
Kuai Liang did not know, but Kuai Yue had seen Yangzhou's war preparations. Not to mention that the commanders of the Yangzhou army were Zhou Yu and Sun Ce, who had caused Jingzhou to lose more than they won. The Kuai Clan had also seen the Yangzhou army's equipment, crossbows, new armoured swords, and cannons. There was no city in Jingzhou that could withstand the bombardment of those weapons.
It wasn't difficult for Liu Mang to take down Jingzhou. The difficult part was that he owed that person a favor and a promise. As long as Liu Mang was in power, he wouldn't attack Jingzhou. Another thing was that it was easy to take down Jingzhou, but it was difficult to take down a complete Jingzhou.
If the Huang Clan resisted to the death, then Jingzhou's Xiangyang might really become a land of death. Huang She might not be able to win, but he might be able to drag the people down with him.
What the Kuai Clan needed to do now was to protect Jingzhou as much as possible.
"What about Desi?" Kuai Yue asked his younger brother.
"I haven't told Desi yet!" Desi was Cai Mao. Originally, the Cai Clan and the Kuai Clan were on the same side. Liu Biao didn't dare to touch Cai Mao back then because of the Kuai Clan. This time, they had invited Liu Bei together. However, Cai Mao only knew that they wanted to use Liu Bei to fight against Huang She. He didn't know that Liu Mang was involved in this.
"Then don't tell him first!" Kuai Yue said. This was a choice for Cai Mao. Neither side was good for Cai Mao.
"What about the Young Master?" Kuai Liang continued to ask.
"His Highness King of Han said that he will be given the position of Count!"
"I understand!" Kuai Liang nodded.
"Family Head, First Young Master said that everyone is here. He wants you and Second Master to host!" A servant ran over and said to Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue.
"Second Brother, let's go!" Kuai Yue said.
"First Brother, you are the elder brother. You should go first!"
"Today is your birthday. You are the most senior!"
"Then I shall accept your invitation!" Kuai Liang did not stand on ceremony. Although the two of them had some misunderstandings in the past, blood was thicker than water after everything was said out loud. Kuai Liang did not decline and walked in front.
When they stepped into the hall, the only remaining Huang Family who had not arrived sent someone to deliver a congratulatory gift. The person who represented Huang She was none other than Brother Shiyuan, the most popular person by Huang She's side.
"My Lord, the Military Advisor, has important matters to attend to and cannot personally come to congratulate Mister Kuai Liang. Please forgive me, "Shiyuan said to the Kuai Liang brothers as he stepped into the hall.
"It's fine, it's fine. Lord Military Advisor naturally has to prioritize military matters. The defense of Jingzhou depends on Lord Military Advisor alone!" Kuai Liang waved his hand and said. The Kuai Liang brothers already knew that Huang She would not come. After all, Huang She was a nephew and would have to kneel and kowtow to him. Now that Huang She was in power, how could he do that?
"Thank you for your understanding, Mister Kuai Liang! Men, bring the boxes up! "Shiyuan nodded and said to the people below.
"Yes!" Very quickly, a few Jingzhou Army soldiers carried a few boxes in.
What was in the boxes? Everyone looked at the boxes. It was not easy to carry them. Even a few strong soldiers seemed to struggle to carry them. Everyone was curious about what was in the boxes.
"Open them!" Shiyuan asked the people beside him to open the boxes.
"Bamboo slips?" When the boxes were opened, the smell of rotting bamboo wafted out.
Huang She's gift was just some ordinary bamboo slips? Naturally, people didn't think this way. This was because in Yangzhou, paper books could be said to have entered the homes of ordinary people. Even some poor farmers would have two or three books in their house. Even if they were illiterate, they would still have a few books.
Although the price of these books was a bit expensive in other provinces, it was a drop in the bucket for the landowning clans.
If it were just bamboo slips, no one would be interested in them. They were heavier and more troublesome than books. Therefore, many people burned the bamboo slips in their house when they got the books.
"These bamboo slips were left behind by Lord Taishi. My Lord heard that Mister Kuai Liang has always respected Lord Taishi and specially sent them to Mister Kuai Liang!" Shiyuan said with a smile.
"Lord Taishi?" Even Kuai Liang could not sit still. Who was Lord Taishi? Basically, everyone knew who he was. He was Sima Qian! " A historical record could be considered a true record of the Han Dynasty. At the same time, it also gave people an intuitive yearning for the life of the ancient people.
Lord Taishi was a representative of diligence. The heavens rewarded the diligent.
Kuai Liang liked Lord Taishi not because of his diligence, but because of his persistence. Even if Emperor Wu of Han was angry with Sima Qian several times, Sima Qian still resolutely recorded the truth. This was what Kuai Liang liked.
Back then, Kuai Liang was an iron man. He would uphold justice and never bend the law for personal gain.
Now that Huang She had sent Lord Taishi's records, Kuai Liang was excited.
"Thank you for your kind intentions. Come, Mr. Shiyuan, please take a seat!" Kuai Liang said to Shiyuan. He represented Huang She, which was the Huang family, so he naturally had to arrange a good seat.
"Thank you, Mister Kuai Liang!" Shi Yuan nodded and sat down at the place arranged by Kuai Liang. When he saw Liu Bei, the two of them smiled.
Shiyuan? In fact, it was Pang Shiyuan. However, he had changed his name and was wearing a mask. Liu Bei knew that it wasn't just Pang Shiyuan. There was another person beside Huang She, and that was Zhang De.
He was Liu Bei's third brother, Zhang Fei. However, the current Zhang Fei was a little unfamiliar to Liu Bei. Even Liu Bei didn't dare to look at Zhang Fei. This was because he couldn't help but shiver when he looked at Zhang Fei. It was mainly because of the love in his third brother's eyes that made him afraid. Liu Bei didn't need to worry about Zhang Fei's disguise.
The current Zhang Fei was no longer the fierce Zhang Fei of the past. In the past, Zhang Fei was a rough man with a lot of beard and hair. However, the current Zhang De was more meticulous than a girl.
It was because of these two people by Huang She's side that Liu Bei was confident in taking down Jingzhou and Yizhou.
Everyone was arranged a seat and gifts were presented one after another. There were more than ten thousand gold in total, and each of them was precious. It could be said that the entire hall was filled with light.
"Good, come to the banquet. Let's dance!" Kuai Liang clapped his hands and the servants of the Kuai family slowly came out from the hall and served delicious food to everyone.
At this time, there weren't any round tables in the hall. Instead, everyone was kneeling. Each person had a small table. Their position represented their status. For example, Pang Shiyuan. Although he wasn't as good as Liu Bei and the others, he represented Huang She. Therefore, his position was above Liu Bei.
Liu Bei's position was slightly lower than the Cai family. However, Liu Bei's position was much higher than Zhang Yun's. Zhang Yun was also a direct descendant of the Cai family. His relationship with the Kuai family could be considered as half of the Zhang family. Therefore, they didn't care too much about it. They let Liu Bei sit in the third position. After that were the Zhang family and the Wu family.
Pang Degong originally wanted to come and congratulate them. However, because of his health, he couldn't come. His son, Pang Shanmin, was now an official in Yangzhou. Therefore, Pang Degong's seat was empty.
A banquet must have good wine. They drank the wine one by one and chatted with each other about elegant matters.
The ancient people didn't have as much entertainment as the modern people. However, whether it was in ancient times or modern times, once you reached a dominant position, you would naturally enjoy the best.
If there was wine, there must be beautiful women. Beautiful women holding the banquet, in addition to the bright moonlight and the delicious food on the table, it could be said that this was the ultimate enjoyment.
Although Kuai Liang didn't like the dancers, this was still a tradition among the aristocratic families. Which family didn't have a few maids at home to dance? The most famous one was Diao Chan, who was in the hands of Situ Wangyun. She was a person who could bring disaster to a country.
The Kuai family was a great aristocratic family in Jingzhou. Naturally, the dancer's purple color wouldn't be bad. Everyone looked at the beautiful dancers and couldn't help but be intoxicated.
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