Chapter 175: Xiangjun's Ode, Kong Ming Arrives In March of the third year of Jian'an, Qin Zhen attacked Liu Xun and returned victorious. But before returning, he personally led his troops to Shu County and met with Lu Su. The two talked all night about how to deal with the Jiangdong navy, and finally Lu Su gave Qin Zhen some advice: "Although our army is being controlled by the Jiangdong navy, Sun Ce's main force must still move south to Kuaiji first." "The navy on this river seems to be alone. It seems to block the river, but it is like a thin wall. If one point is broken, everything will be broken!" "Military Advisor, when you go to Shouchun, I will look for an opportunity to act. If we can find a chance to win, I will defeat them for you." "If there is no chance of victory, I see that Liu Biao and Sun Ce have been grudges for a long time, maybe we can contact the Jingzhou navy to advance eastward." "When the time comes, Liu Biao will advance eastwards, and our army will advance southwards. By attacking from both sides, we will surely be able to defeat Sun Ce's army!" Lu Su was also a steady fighter, and his views on the Jiangdong navy were similar to those of Qin Zhen.

They can’t defeat it with their own strength in the short term, so they need external assistance! As long as Liu Biao is willing to take action, the end of the Jiangdong navy will naturally not be far away. But as the commander-in-chief of the navy, he naturally could not put the blame on Qin Zhen for defeating the Jiangdong navy. So he was also expressing his opinion in his words, Military Advisor, don't be in a hurry, wait and see if there is any chance! If there is really no chance, we will ask for external help! Hearing these words, Qin Zhen smiled and nodded without saying much. In fact, he also knew what Lu Su was worried about. After all, Liu Bei entrusted Lu Su with an important task as soon as he arrived. Although he captured Liu Xun's warships in this battle, he was blocked by Zhou Yu's conspiracy. It's a bit embarrassing because I don't have any obvious achievements. He needed to express his attitude first, so that Liu Bei would not doubt his incompetence. Qin Zhen naturally understood Lu Su's performance. In fact, it was not that Lu Su was incompetent, but that his opponent was too strong. If we talk about the thousands of years of flower-growing history, there are only a few generals who became famous for their navy, and Zhou Yu is one of the top ones. Even though Lu Su was suppressed and beaten by Zhou Yu, it was a normal phenomenon. He also didn't expect Lu Su to be able to kill Zhou Yu independently. The thing that he valued most about Lu Su was that he was as steady as an old dog. Although he could not defeat Zhou Yu, he would not be defeated by Zhou Yu either. This is very important to them now. Therefore, Qin Zhen did not say much, but instead comforted Lu Su to train the troops well, not seeking to be able to fight, but to preserve the strength of the navy. He looked at this and, in addition to mobilizing the Jingzhou army, he also decided to find a helper for Lu Su! This is also because it is not good for scholars to lead the army. Although they are capable of military confrontation, they still need some available generals. Qin Zhen thought about it and decided that Gan Ning was the only suitable helper. Judging from the time, Gan Ning should be staying in Jingzhou now, looking for a wise leader to share the same ideals with.

Before, because their territory was not near the river and was too small, they were afraid that they would not be able to recruit Gan Ning. Now that they have established a firm foothold in Jiangbei, Gan Ning, the naval commander, naturally has to start preparing to recruit people! Not only Gan Ning, this time he is also going to try to poach the talented people from Jingzhou. Lu Su naturally didn't know what Qin Zhen was thinking, but when he heard that Qin Zhen wanted to find a helper for him, he immediately held Qin Zhen's hand and wouldn't let go, and was so moved that he almost called his family. No one really knew the pain he suffered from having no general for his new navy. Before, he only had a group of pirates under his command, and after all the calculations, there was only one Hu Si who could be used. Although Geng Qi, a water general under Liu Xun, has been acquired, he is also a mediocre person. If Qin Zhen could find a general for him, he would not be trapped in Chaohu Lake and unable to get out. Thinking of this, he expressed his position to Qin Zhen that if he were given three months, the navy would surely achieve results! Give him a general who is good at naval warfare, and he will be able to compete with the Jiangdong navy within half a year! Seeing Lu Su's statement, Qin Zhen naturally nodded repeatedly, then left Shu County, leaving the Jiangbei defense line completely to Lu Su, Qiao Rui and others. However, before leaving, Qiao Rui secretly looked for him again. The meaning is very straightforward, which is to ask Qin Zhen whether his two nieces are willing to marry and see which one Qin Zhen will choose. Qin Zhen was also troubled by this. Although only children make choices, we should still consider their face in such matters. Moreover, taking a concubine was no small matter, so he had to inform Cai Yan first. So he said to Qiao Rui: "The Qiao family is a prominent family in Lujiang. Although the two girls are displaced, they are the daughters of the Qiao family. They should not be treated with such disrespect." "Although this is to marry a concubine, I should also report it to the master and marry her with a formal matchmaker. I should not let the young lady down." "Besides, this matter started with my wife, and it should end with my wife." "Lujiang is still unstable. Although the general has stationed troops here, it is difficult to take care of it. It would be better to send someone to take the two young ladies to the north to settle down." "We will make a decision after Zhao Ji has seen it. What do you think, General?" In fact, the procedure of taking a concubine is far less troublesome than marrying a wife, and it doesn't even require a wedding. But Qin Zhen feels that since they will spend their whole lives together, they can't be too casual. There is a Cai Yao waiting for me at home. If I want to marry her, I will use the same specifications for all of her. This way, my sister-in-law and the Qiao sisters would not be too wronged. In response to his words, Qiao Rui naturally responded with pleasure. After all, she is his niece. He is naturally proud that Qin Zhen values ​​her so much. This at least means that Qin Zhen will not treat his niece unfairly. As for Qin Zhen's decision to let Cai Yan make the choice, Qiao Rui could naturally understand it. Because the status of wives was extremely high in this era, if a husband wanted to take a concubine, he needed his wife to introduce her to the family. Not to mention that Qin Zhen and Cai Yan had a very good relationship, so of course Cai Yan's approval was needed.

Naturally, he was not worried about this matter, because in his opinion, his two nieces were beauties picked from thousands of people, and they were also daughters of wealthy families. As long as Cai Yan really wanted to find a concubine for Qin Zhen, she would not refuse. Afterwards, he simply sent messages to his sons and nephews, prepared the carriage, wrote another letter and gave it to his wife, and asked Erqiao to follow Qin Zhen north. Along the way, Qin Zhen had two beauties accompanying him, so he was very happy and comfortable. This era was not as feudal as later generations, and interactions between men and women were more open. Qin Zhen would also take the initiative to visit Qiao Ying and Qiao Ke. After a few visits, he became more familiar with them. After learning more about it, he discovered that big bridges and small bridges actually have their own strengths. For example, Daqiao was good at poetry and liked needlework, and especially liked reading poetry and books quietly at home. Xiaoqiao is good at calligraphy and painting, likes music, and likes listening to stories. What is quite coincidental is that Qin Zhen studied under Cai Yong, and was well-versed in calligraphy and music. He also knew a lot of later repertoires, so when he occasionally showed his skills off, he naturally attracted a lot of applause. The only thing that bothered Qin Zhen was that Daqiao's obsession with poetry was beyond his imagination. More than once, he used the excuse of wanting to ask him for poetry and to exchange skills with him. Qin Zhen thought that Xiaoqiao was a very well-behaved girl, and she was a good match for Zhou Yu in the original story. It was a literary young woman like Ohashi who married a man named Sun Ce. This shows how miserable their married life is. In addition, Zhou Yu and Sun Ce both died young, so Xiaoqiao was fine, but Daqiao was a widow for the rest of his life. While thinking about it, he simply copied a poem "Ode to the Goddess of Luo River" by Cao Zijian and gave it to Xiaoqiao and Daqiao. But copying poems and essays is not a simple matter; it requires the right time, place and situation. Moreover, the allusions in poems and essays cannot be used indiscriminately and need to be modified according to the times. Fortunately, this fu by Cao Zhi was created not long ago and has not yet been written. Therefore, Qin Zhen made some deletions and revisions and copied out a poem called "Xiang Jun Fu". Xiangjun refers to Ehuang and Nuying, the wife of Emperor Shun and the daughter of Emperor Yao, who were sisters. According to records, due to the death of Emperor Shun, the two concubines were heartbroken and committed suicide by jumping into the Xiang River. They turned into the gods of the Xiang River, similar to the Goddess of Luo River. Although the location is on the Xiang River, it is very close to Lujiang River, so it makes sense. As for the illogical words, he naturally tampered with them one by one, such as the first paragraph "In the third year of Huangchu, I went to the capital and returned to Luochuan. The ancients said that the god of this water is called Mi Fei." He changed it to "In the third year of Jian'an, I conquered Huoshan and returned to Chujiang. I heard from the ancients that this water is connected to the gods, and its name is Xiangjun." Based on this, he changed all the place names one by one. There are also sentences such as "From the two concubines of Nanxiang, and the wandering girls of Hanbin", which were changed by him into "From the Mi concubine of Luoshui, and the goddess of Wujiang". After some revisions, a brand new "Xiang Jun Fu" was formed.

In fact, the parts he changed were all irrelevant sentences. The key to Cao Zhi's "Goddess of Luo River" lies in the part describing the appearance of the goddess. Sentences such as "graceful as a startled swan, graceful as a swimming dragon", "as if light clouds are covering the moon, as if snow is fluttering in the wind" are all brilliant. As a talented man, Cao Zhi came up with all kinds of brilliant words in order to seduce his sister-in-law. But in this timeline, Cao Zhi didn't have this opportunity. Because this poem of his has already been used by a man named Qin to pick up someone from Erqiao. Even many years later, Qin Zhen could not forget the expression on Daxiaoqiao's face when he saw this poem. Simply put, his eyes were tearful. That look made his old face, which had been weathered for many years, blush, and he hurriedly instructed: "I wrote this poem in my spare time, so I don't need to tell others about it!" After all, the time when he became famous by plagiarizing was past, and he felt a little embarrassed after not doing anything for many years, so he told the two girls not to spread the news. After hearing this, Daqiao and Xiaoqiao nodded obediently, and then left with red faces. I have to say that the power of this fu is truly enormous! Anyway, from that day on, Daqiao never asked him for poetry again. Every time Xiaoqiao played the piano for him, her face would turn red, and her soft voice and gentle words were already much more intimate. Seeing this, Qin Zhen nodded secretly. The reason why he took so much effort was mainly because he wanted to cultivate feelings first. After all, we will be sleeping in the same bed in the future, and it is impossible to go on without feelings. Cultivate it now, and it will naturally come to fruition in the future. In this way, he solved his personal problems on his way back to the army. By mid-March, he finally led his troops back to Shouchun City. However, when he arrived in Shouchun, he saw Lao Liu and Zhang Fei and others waiting outside the city. Seeing this, Qin Zhen did not dare to be careless. He hurriedly took Zhao Yun and others away from the army and rushed over. When he got to Liu Bei, Qin Zhen immediately dismounted, shook his head and said with a smile: "My Lord, if you come out of the city in person to greet me, wouldn't that be embarrassing for me?" After more than a month, Liu Bei is still the same Liu Bei, but he is much stronger than before. Seeing Qin Zhen, he immediately took his hand affectionately and said: "The military advisor's expedition to the south lasted for more than a month and covered hundreds of miles. It was extremely exhausting!" "I can only go out of the city to meet you, but I have just arrived outside the city and I haven't come far to meet you. How can I say that I am embarrassed?" As he said this, he walked forward with a smile on his face and took a close look at Qin Zhen's body. He couldn't help but patted the dust off Qin Zhen's body and said; "After more than a month of fighting, the military advisor has become much darker!" If we talk about what Liu Bei did best, it’s none other than these small details.

Every time we meet again after a long separation, Lao Liu never gives people a sense of alienation. He will carefully examine your changes, ask about various situations, and even help you brush off the dust on your body. Everything seems so casual, yet very natural. It makes you feel like you are back home, very warm. Even though Qin Zhen was used to seeing the fickleness of human nature, seeing this, a warm current surged in his heart, and he couldn't help but smile: "After marching for days, it's natural that the weather will get darker. If we talk about hardship, Zilong must be the one who suffers the most!" This time when he led the troops, the one who was the most tired was not him, but Zhao Yun. From Huoshan to Chaohu, and then from Chaohu to Wanxian, it can be said that it was a long journey. He turned the topic to Zhao Yun, who stepped forward and saluted Liu Bei and said: "General Zhao Yun greets the lord!" When Liu Bei saw this, his smile widened and he hurried forward to greet him. Seeing this, Qin Zhen stood aside. Unexpectedly, just as he was about to make up his mind, he heard a shout: "Military Advisor, I haven't seen you for over a month. I miss you so much!" As soon as Qin Zhen turned his head, he saw a black man coming towards him. It was Zhang Fei who stayed in Shouchun. Seeing Zhang Fei like this, Qin Zhen smiled and said: "I didn't expect Yide to miss me so much. How about we sleep side by side tonight?" Zhang Fei saw that he was joking, so he grinned and said: "I, Old Zhang, am willing to do so, but I'm afraid my wife won't!" As soon as he said this, everyone burst into laughter. As they were talking, Jian Yong and others came forward to greet him, but Zhuge Jin was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a tall young man followed behind the crowd. Seeing this, Qin Zhen couldn't help but wonder: "Where is Ziyu? Why didn't she come with us?" He thought that since Liu Bei had brought people out to greet them, Zhuge Jin should not be absent. As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Bei turned around and said: "Zi Yu went to Jingzhou to pay homage to his uncle who had passed away without mourning!" Having said this, he turned around and waved to the tall young man: "I haven't been introduced to the military advisor yet, Kong Ming, come and meet the military advisor immediately!" After hearing Liu Bei's first words, Qin Zhen nodded, thinking that Zhuge Xuan should have died last year. Zhuge Jin indeed did not have time to observe mourning, so he should go. But when he heard Liu Bei's second sentence, his expression froze. What the hell, Kong Ming? Could it be Zhuge Liang is here? Surprised, he looked up and saw the tall young man with a warm smile on his face. He came forward and bowed to him and said:

"My name is Zhuge Liang, also known as Kongming, and I am honored to meet you, the military advisor!" (End of this chapter)