Chapter 212: Huainan's Background, Father-in-law Scolds Son-in-law Qin Zhen has always been very cautious about accepting disciples. Because the relationship between master and apprentice in ancient times was much closer than in later generations. It is the Heaven, Earth, Emperor, Parents and Teachers. Apart from our biological parents, the master is the closest to us. If the apprentice makes a mistake, the master will be held responsible. He did not accept Zhuge Liang, partly for his own reasons, and partly because Zhuge Liang was already old and there was no need for him to be his disciple. In addition, although he imparted knowledge widely, he never accepted any apprentices. Therefore, when faced with Liu Xian's proposal, he couldn't help but hesitate. A sufficiently qualified apprentice is indeed attractive. But if he has bad intentions, he will most likely be involved in future crimes, which naturally involves risks.

After thinking for a while, he smiled at Liu Xian and said: "Zifang is only six years old, his character is not yet settled, and it is difficult for him to go to school. We can talk about this later!" Liu Xian had no idea what Qin Zhen was thinking. Seeing that he did not refuse, he thought that Qin Zhen disliked Zhou Buzhi because he was too young, so he simply smiled and changed the topic. So the two of them walked towards the direction of the inn. At the same time, after Qin Zhen left, Liu Biao gathered everyone together for a meeting. The topic was naturally to discuss the conditions Qin Zhen had just proposed. Liu Biao looked at everyone and asked directly: "Do you think our army can respond to what Qin Zhen just said?" As soon as he finished speaking, Cai Mao stood up and shook his head: "Your Excellency, do not let your guard down because of Qin Zhen's words. You must know that Liu Bei's army has become a serious threat, and even Cao Cao will find it difficult to control it." "Although our army now has eight counties in Jingzhou, the land is vast and sparsely populated, not as dense as Huainan." "Besides, Zhang Xian in the south is ready to make a move, and our army is already busy taking care of itself. If we allow Liu Bei to take Jiangdong, our army will be in danger of being destroyed!" "Although Qin Zhen's words do not require our army to send troops, we can help him with food, fodder, and ships, and that will solve the problem." "But he took in a large number of refugees in Huainan to cultivate land, and built workshops to collect a lot of money. How can Sun Ce be his opponent?" "If this is the case, it will be more harmful than sending out our troops!" When Pang Ji heard this, he also stood up and said: "My opinion is the same as the military advisor's. We cannot easily help Liu Bei with food and ships!" Seeing that the two were against helping, Liu Biao looked at the brothers Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue and said: "Degui and Xiaohe both disagree. What do you think?" When Kuai Yue heard this, he bowed to Liu Biao and said: "In my opinion, the current difficulty does not lie in whether our army agrees or not."

"It's a question of Liu Bei's attitude towards our army! "When Qin Zhen mentioned this matter just now, he was not bragging about anything, but telling our army about the current strength of Huainan." "Let's not talk about the emperor's decree for now. If our army doesn't help at all, can Liu Bei destroy Sun Ce on his own?" "Obviously, Liu Bei now has this ability!" "Just as Qin Zhen said, Liu Bei's army now has so many soldiers, but most of them are surrendered soldiers." "Liu Bei's army has already gained hundreds of thousands of soldiers even before reinforcements were added!" "In addition to the current farming and construction of workshops, once the army is expanded, we can have tens of thousands more soldiers in a few months." "By the time he reached Jiangdong, although Sun Ce controlled a thousand miles of fertile land, he only had tens of thousands of soldiers." "The land is vast and the population is sparse. Even though there are millions of people, it is difficult to support too many troops." "If Liu Bei is determined to destroy Sun Ce, even if our army does not help him, if he is not destroyed this year, what will he do next year?" "If it doesn't end next year, what about the year after?" "So what Qin Zhen meant just now was to tell our army that Jiangdong is no match for Huainan, regardless of whether we send troops or not." "So the only way for our army to achieve balance is to support Sun Ce, rather than to remain silent." "But now the emperor's edict is in front of us, and our army cannot support Sun Ce." "Similarly, Sun Ce has a great grudge against our army, so our army should not support Sun Ce." "If we don't want to support Sun Ce, and we don't want to make things difficult for Liu Bei's army, then the only way is to support Liu Bei's army!" "It's not too late to show goodwill to Liu Bei's army now!" "This is the hidden meaning of what Qin Zhen just said!" In response to Liu Biao's questions, he did not express his own opinions, but Liu Biao analyzed Qin Zhen's meaning. Although he did not make a clear statement, his words tended to support Liu Bei's army. In contrast, Kuai Liang thought for a while and said: "My intentions are similar to those of Yidu. Liu Bei is ultimately based on benevolence and righteousness." "Being on good terms with Liu Bei's army has more advantages than disadvantages." "Since we cannot support Sun Ce, our army has no choice but to show goodwill to Liu Bei first!" Originally, the two brothers didn't want to get too involved in this matter. But Qin Zhen's words just now made them realize a problem, that is, Huainan's war potential far exceeds that of Jiangdong. The only difficulty is that the navy is blocking the way and we can't go directly south. This difficulty is not permanent and will be eliminated as Liu Bei's army develops.

They can pretend to be dead and ignore it now, but once Liu Bei’s army develops, after taking Jiangdong, the next one will definitely be Jingzhou. If you don't try to please Liu Bei's army now, do you have to wait until they attack you before trying to please them? This is the case in Jingzhou, and it is also true for these aristocratic families. So in just a moment, the Kuai brothers reached a consensus and decided to help Qin Zhen. As local nobles, they must leave a way out for themselves. However, the two brothers' words naturally made Liu Biao somewhat unhappy and he said: "If you two are right, Qin Zhen is so rude, do I need to befriend Liu Bei?" Upon hearing this, the two brothers looked at each other and both bowed and said: "This matter should be decided by you, my Lord. We dare not overstep your authority!" Seeing that the two brothers were trying to smooth things over, Liu Biao became more and more dissatisfied, but he could not express it directly, so he could only say in a deep voice: "Forget it, you all should leave first, and I will discuss this matter after I have carefully considered it!" When everyone heard this, they all got up and left, except Cai Mao, who was kept by Liu Biao. When no one was around, Liu Biao asked Cai Mao: "Now that Liu Xuande is coming with such force, Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue must be afraid of Liu Bei's power and that's why they acted like this." "Degui, tell me what we should do in the current situation?" When Cai Mao heard this, he knew that Liu Biao was also very conflicted. He thought for a while and then said in a deep voice: "In my opinion, this may be a chance for you to observe everyone!" "Liu Bei is away and has no navy, so he is not to be feared." "But I am worried that someone in our army may be colluding with the inside and helping Qin Zhen." "Why not delay him for two days and see who Qin Zhen associates with so that we can punish him later!" "As for helping Liu Bei, it is not possible at the moment. We can send a group of soldiers to help him. This will not only keep our army safe, but also make it difficult for Liu Bei to win!" Liu Biao nodded after hearing this, but then asked: "Do you think, Degui, that if one day Liu Bei and our army fight, our army will be able to defend itself?" Seeing this, Cai Mao was immediately disturbed, thinking that Liu Biao might have been frightened by Qin Zhen. He immediately expressed his opinion: "As long as our soldiers are united, even if Liu Bei has an army of 100,000, it will be difficult for him to invade Jingzhou!" After answering these questions, Liu Biao smiled with satisfaction and said: "I feel relieved after hearing Degui's words. It's not that I'm afraid of Liu Xuande, but I'm worried that they might threaten me!" "If Degui is not afraid, why should I be afraid?" Having said that, he encouraged Cai Mao and then let Cai Mao leave. As Cai Mao walked out of the mansion, he carefully thought about the current situation. In fact, he didn't know whether what he did was right or wrong, but he knew that the Cai family was tied to Liu Biao. When one prospers, all prosper; when one suffers, all suffer. We can no longer be as indecisive as Kuai Shi. As for what will happen in the future, he couldn't be sure, so he could only ensure the present.

While he was thinking, his carriage headed towards Cai's mansion. As a result, when I walked into the mansion, I saw servants coming and going, busy all the time. Seeing this scene, he was suddenly surprised and quickly grabbed a servant and asked: "What are you all busy doing here? Why is there such a scene?" When the servant heard this, he told Cai Mao directly that a man named Qin had come to the mansion to deliver a visiting card, and Cai Feng was going to decorate the house with lights and lanterns and give him a good reception. When Cai Mao heard this, he was shocked and thought to himself that there was also the King of Qin in Xiangyang! Who else could it be other than this lingering ghost Qin Zhen? He had just advised Liu Biao to guard against Qin Zhen's collusion with the aristocratic families, but he didn't expect that Qin Zhen would actually reach out to his family! And his father actually accepted Qin Zhen's gift and prepared to entertain him. While thinking, he hurried into Cai's mansion and saw his father Cai Feng sitting in the hall entertaining Zhuge Liang. Seeing this, he stepped into the mansion and said in a deep voice: "Father, I heard that Qin Zhen sent a visiting card, wanting to visit you, father. Is this true?" His sudden arrival naturally startled Cai Feng and Zhuge Liang so much that they turned their heads. When Cai Feng saw that it was him, he frowned and scolded: "You little brat, don't you see Kong Ming is here? Even though we are not married yet, he is still your nephew-in-law. How can you not ask?" As soon as he finished speaking, Zhuge Liang bowed to Cai Mao and said: "My nephew Kong Ming, meet your uncle!" Seeing this, Cai Mao raised his eyebrows, nodded and said: "Kong Ming, please wait outside while I discuss some family matters with my father!" As soon as Zhuge Liang saw it, he knew what Cai Mao was thinking and immediately stood up and was about to leave. But when Cai Feng saw this, he said in a deep voice: "Kong Ming is not an outsider, so what can't you say?" "Don't worry about him, Kong Ming is here, I want to see what he has to say!" Zhuge Liang listened, then stopped and stood still. When Cai Mao saw Cai Feng like this, he said in a deep voice: "Father, it's not that I'm rude. Although Kong Ming is related to our family, he has now been appointed as an official in Huainan, and is a foreign official like Qin Zhen!" "Now that Qin Zhen has come as an envoy to discuss state affairs, why does father want to meet him?" He was now full of doubts and had no idea what his father was thinking. Knowing that Qin Zhen and Zhuge Liang had special identities and Liu Biao didn't like them, why did he still bring them home! Could it be that Cai Feng would only be happy if he could make Liu Biao wary of the Cai family? As soon as he said this, Zhuge Liang bowed to Cai Feng and said: "Mr. Cai, I am a junior and should not listen to this. I should leave first!" Cai Feng saw him take the initiative to leave, then nodded and smiled: "I know Kong Ming is no longer the same as he was before, so go get busy!" "Go back and tell Zixuan that he can come tonight instead of waiting until tomorrow. I will be waiting for him in the mansion!" Zhuge Liang listened, bowed again, took three steps back, and then turned and left. After Zhuge Liang left, Cai Mao wanted to ask a question, but Cai Feng spoke first:

"Rebellious son, kneel down with me!" Cai Mao was also a father, but when faced with Cai Feng's reprimand, he did not dare to refute a word. He simply knelt on the ground and said in a deep voice: "Dare to ask father to reprimand!" Seeing this, Cai Feng's expression relaxed and he said in a deep voice: "According to what you said, what crime has I committed if I want to see Qin Zhen?" Upon hearing this, Cai Mao said naturally: "I have just made it clear that Qin Zhen is an outsider and cannot be seen in private." "Shut up! How dare you say such treasonous words!" Before he could finish his words, Cai Feng scolded him: "As the emperor is still alive, there is no second country. You are all Han subjects. How can you talk about inside and outside?" "Could it be that Liu Jingsheng intends to commit a rebellious act in Jingzhou, and you also intend to assist him in his usurpation?" "If you continue to act like this, my Cai family will surely perish at your hands sooner or later!" When Cai Mao heard this, he thought Cai Feng was being pedantic, but he didn't dare to say it, so he could only say: "Father, why do you say that? You have no intention of overstepping your authority!" As soon as he said this, Cai Feng slammed his cane hard on the ground and said: "Do you really think that I don't know Liu Jingsheng's intentions? Is there no instigation from you guys?" "I am already old and don't want to take care of household affairs too much, but I didn't expect you to be so unkind as to do this!" "Yuan Gonglu's body is still warm today. Do you want to follow his example?" "Do you really think Liu Jingsheng can protect our Cai family for long?" "This person is already in danger, how come you still don't realize it!" Seeing that Cai Feng was getting more and more excited, Cai Mao couldn't help but feel a sinking feeling in his heart. He thought to himself that although his father was old, he had a good vision. Could it be that he had seen some signs? "My son is unwise, please give me some advice, father!" Seeing how respectful he was, Cai Feng said seriously: "In your opinion, what do you think of Liu Jingsheng and Liu Xuande?" Cai Mao thought for a while, raised his head and replied: "It may be somewhere between like and like, it's hard to say!" "Ridiculous! How can Liu Jingsheng be compared with Liu Xuande?" Cai Feng pounded his cane hard and said in a deep voice: "I regard Liu Jingsheng as a pig and a dog!" Hearing this voice, Cai Mao's body trembled suddenly, and he looked at Cai Feng in disbelief. How can you say that? Even though you are the father-in-law, you shouldn't insult your son-in-law like this! (End of this chapter)