Chapter 357: People's hearts are divided, Liu Biao surrenders In February of the sixth year of Jian'an, Liu Bei sent troops to Jingzhou when the battle between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao had just ended. In mid-February, Qin Zhen took the initiative and led his troops into southern Jing, captured Wuling County, and then defeated Liu Pan. In the same month, Liu Bei gathered his troops and marched towards Jiangxia County. With the help of Pang Tong and Huang Zu, he defeated Wen Pin and captured Jiangxia County. When these two pieces of news came out, Jingzhou was shocked, and Liu Biao fell ill when he heard about Huang's betrayal. As Liu Biao fell, all places surrendered wherever Liu Bei's troops went, and by April, Zhangling was completely captured. At this point, Liu Bei's territory was successfully connected and linked to Runan County where Guan Yu was located in Yuzhou. After gaining the advantage, Liu Bei continued to advance and entered the territory of Nanjun with his main force. They successively captured Yu State, Bin State, Yicheng and Bian County, cutting off the connection between Xiangyang and Jiangling from a geographical point of view. On the way, Qin Zhen bypassed Chanling County where Liu Pan was stationed and launched a surprise attack on Jiangling.

In just one day, they captured the fortified city of Nanjun and defeated the prefect of Nanjun, Cai Mao. With Cai Mao's defeat, Liu Pan fell into Qin Zhen's trap of forging a letter, which led to his final defeat in Dangyang. Once this news reached Xiangyang, it was a fatal blow to Liu Biao and almost made him die of anger. When Liu Bei saw that Qin Zhen had solved the problem in southern Jing, he led his troops directly to the city of Xiangyang. At this time, in Xiangyang City, in Liu Biao's Zhennan General's Mansion, Liu Biao was seen lying sick in bed, and his wife, Mrs. Cai, was sitting in front of the bed with their young son, wiping away tears. The eldest son Liu Qi attended the meeting with Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue, Liu Xian, Pang Ji, Zhang Yun, Liu Hu and others. The atmosphere in the mansion was extremely solemn. It seemed that Kuai Yue, Liu Xian and others were silent, except for Kuai Liang who kept coughing. Liu Qi was in his twenties, with red lips and white teeth, and a handsome appearance. Seeing everyone like this, he frowned and said: "You are all virtuous men of Jingzhou. My father is unable to take charge of the affairs, and Liu Bei is at the gates of the city." "The situation is so critical that I need to make a decision quickly. Do you have any ideas for me to break this situation?" Although he was older, he was not like Liu Biao who could command others. He spoke softly and like a woman, without any dignity. After saying this, everyone lowered their heads and remained silent, as if they had not heard Liu Qi's words. Liu Qi frowned when he saw this and wanted to ask again, but he heard Kuai Liang coughing, so he hurriedly asked: "Mr. Zirou came here today despite being ill. You must know that state affairs are urgent. Do you have any good advice for me?" Kuai Liang's face turned pale at this time. He coughed again after hearing this. It took a long time before he stopped and said: "I am already old, what can I do? I came here today to visit you, the envoy, and I have no plan!" After he finished speaking, he coughed again. Seeing this, Kuai Yue quickly stood up and stepped forward to pat his back. Pang Ji also said with concern: "Since Mr. Kuai is not feeling well, he should just take good care of himself. Why bother coming here all this time?" When Kuai Liang heard this, he coughed and waved his hands until his breathing became normal. Then he forced out a smile and said: "Thank you, Lord Pang, for your concern. I, Kuai, have been deeply touched by your kindness. Since you have done this, I will come to visit you." "But since the envoy is unable to manage the affairs, I will return to the palace first and come to visit you another day!" As he said this, he stood up with the help of Kuai Yue, bowed to Liu Qi with great effort and said: "Although Liu Bei has deployed his troops outside, I am ill and have no good plan. I will take my leave first. I hope you will agree."

Seeing that he looked half dead, Liu Qi knew that it would be difficult for Kuai Liang to offer any advice, so he had to nod and agree. But after Kuai Liang got the promise, Kuai Yue stood up, bowed, and helped Kuai Liang walk out of the mansion. Seeing this, Pang Ji hesitated for a moment, then stood up and bowed to Liu Qi, saying with a sad look: "I am here to visit the envoy, but since the envoy is having trouble handling matters, I will come back another day!" Seeing that Pang Ji was about to leave, Liu Qi panicked and hurriedly stood up to stop him, saying: "Kuai Gong has no plan due to illness. Kuai Yidu wants to send Kuai Gong away, so forget it. Pang Gong must have a plan. Why don't you teach me?" But when Pang Ji heard this, he shook his head to indicate that he had no idea what to do, then he bowed and left. As the three men left, the hall became half empty. Zhang Yun and Liu Hu saw this and immediately stood up, saying that there were still military matters that had not been dealt with. Without waiting for Liu Qi to react, the two of them left in a hurry as if they were infected with the plague, leaving Liu Xian alone sitting in his original seat. Liu Qi saw that everyone was leaving, but Liu Xian was the only one who didn't leave. He couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope and said hurriedly; "My dear, you have a profound knowledge and are well-read. You are still here and you must have a good strategy to defeat the enemy!" But as soon as he finished speaking, Liu Xian looked at him with some pity, stood up, shook his head and sighed: "Liu Bei's army is strong, and ours is weak. How can we resist? Only by surrendering can we save your life." "If not, when the city is breached tomorrow, the lives of the envoy, his wife, and the young master will all be in danger." Liu Xian was a smart man, and he knew very well why everyone was silent. Because it was only a matter of time before Liu Bei captured Xiangyang, offering advice now would be of no use if he defeated Liu Bei, but would instead bring blame if he defeated Liu Bei. Seeing that Liu Biao of Jingzhou was like a sinking ship, with the water already up to his neck, who would still try their best? It would be impossible to help Liu Bei instead of Liu Biao, because after all, Liu Biao still holds the power in the city. If you persuade Liu Biao to surrender now, what if Liu Biao thinks you are collaborating with the enemy and cuts you in half before Liu Bei enters the city? So now for these subjects, silence is the best way to deal with the situation! If you don't speak, you won't make mistakes. Just wait patiently until Liu Biao dies, and then you can calmly offer the city. However, Liu Xian's surname was Liu after all, and he could not just watch Liu Qi die, so he stayed until the end to give him advice. But he obviously chose the wrong person. When Liu Qi heard that he was ready to surrender, he said hesitantly: "But my father cannot take charge of the matter right now. As a son, Qi is unfilial if he surrenders on his father's behalf." Compared with Liu Biao, who was lenient on the outside but cautious on the inside, Liu Qi had another characteristic, which was that he was kind and filial. The reason why he stood up now was because Liu Biao fell ill and the Cai family did not express any support. In order to fulfill his filial piety, only he, the eldest son who was not valued, stood up to resist the current situation. After he said this, Liu Xian sighed slightly, bowed, and left. Only Liu Qi stayed there, sighing and thinking for a long time but could not think of a solution, but he did not dare to surrender. With no other choice, he had to go to the back hall, but when he arrived there, he saw that Cai, who had been taking care of Liu Biao, was gone. After calling the servants to ask, she found out that it was Liu Cong who was crying. Cai felt sorry for her son, so she took Liu Cong to the backyard to relax. When he saw his father Liu Biao lying on the couch and his stepmother Cai not caring about him, he was overwhelmed with grief and knelt in front of Liu Biao's couch, wiping his tears.

I didn't know how long I cried like this, when I suddenly heard a faint voice from Liu Biao on the couch calling out, "Water, water!" When Liu Qi heard this, he looked up and saw Liu Biao squinting his eyes and moving his lips weakly. Seeing this, he hurriedly fetched water, slowly helped Liu Biao up, and gently poured the water into his mouth. After drinking a sip of water, Liu Biao was obviously much more sober. Looking at Liu Qi in front of him, he couldn't help but ask: "Qi'er, how long have you been here? I wonder where Madam and Cong'er have gone. Why can't we see them?" Seeing him like this, Liu Qi wiped his tears again. He wanted to tell Liu Biao the truth, but was afraid that Liu Biao would be angry, so he hurriedly said: "Mother and my second brother have been standing here all this time. Just now, because my second brother was sleepy, mother took him away." "I think my little brother has not slept yet and my mother has not returned yet. I will go and call her back now!" After saying this, he wiped his tears and was about to leave, but before he could leave, Liu Biao grabbed his hand. "Father, what's wrong with you? Is there something wrong? I'll go get a doctor right away!" He thought Liu Biao was not feeling well, but when he turned around, he saw Liu Biao looking at him and sighing: "Now that things have come to this, how long are you going to keep it a secret from me? Cai has already left, and you are the only one crying." "I have watched for a long time, but I have not seen him return. Why are you trying to cover up this matter for him?" When Liu Qi heard this, he was afraid that Liu Biao would be angry, and he didn't know how to respond for a moment. He just kept saying "child, child". As the saying goes, no one knows a son better than his father. Seeing him like this, Liu Biao sighed again and said, "I am not as good as you can be." "Everyone thinks I value the young over the old, but don't you know that with your character, how can you be a leader?" "Well, well, let's not discuss this for now. Let's just talk about why you were crying so hard just now. What happened?" Faced with Liu Biao's questions, Liu Qi was afraid that Liu Biao would be angry after knowing it, so he hurriedly talked to him. But when Liu Biao saw this, he was furious and shouted, "You bastard, are you trying to piss me off to death?" As he spoke, the man coughed again, startling Liu Qi so much that he patted his back and cried, "It's not that I want to hide it from you, father. I'm actually afraid that it will be detrimental to my self-cultivation if you find out!" Then he knew that he could not hide it any longer, so he told everyone what had just happened, including the fact that everyone left and Liu Xian tried to persuade them to surrender. After saying all this, he knelt down in front of Liu Biao's bed again, bowed down and cried: "Don't worry, father. As long as I am alive, I will not open the city to surrender to Liu Bei." "When my father recovers, I will lead him out of the encirclement!" Having said this, he fell to the ground, waiting for Liu Biao's reaction. He thought Liu Biao would scold Liu Xian after hearing about Liu Xian's attempt to persuade him to surrender, but he did not expect that after he finished speaking, Liu Biao remained silent for a long time and then sighed: "Kuai Shi, Pang Ji, even Zhang Yun and Liu Hu, the two evildoers, have become disloyal!" "Only Liu Shizong has not changed his mind to this day. He is truly a sincere gentleman!" After sighing like this, he looked at Liu Qi again and asked again; "Let me ask you, since everyone is unwilling to fight, why don't you want to surrender?" Liu Qi didn't know what Liu Biao meant at this time, so when he saw him asking him, he lowered his head and said: "Because Liu Bei is disloyal and invaded my Jingzhou, even though I have no talent, I will not surrender." But before he finished speaking, Liu Biao shook his head again and again. After he finished speaking, he sighed and said: "How can you be compared to a pig or a dog? If your father were not around, how would you protect yourself in the future?"

By now, Liu Biao had actually already given up on resisting and had seen the current situation clearly. He won't live long anyway, so there's no point in staying. The only thing he's worried about is his two sons. But although Liu Cong was young, he had the support of Cai family and was not in any serious trouble. Only his eldest son Liu Qi was alone and helpless, and he insisted on being stubborn. In his opinion, although Liu Bei was hateful, he was still a member of the Liu family and was much closer to him than people from other families. In addition, Liu Bei often did benevolent and righteous things, so as long as he surrendered, his wife and children would most likely not be harmed. As a result, even in this situation, this silly kid Liu Qi is still thinking about leading troops to resist! Even if you resist for a while, once the city is captured, how can Liu Bei not attack you? After saying this, seeing that Liu Qi was confused, he simply stopped explaining and leaned weakly on the couch and said: "If you still respect your father, gather everyone now, open the city and surrender, and present the seal to Liu Bei." "If Liu Bei grants you a title, accept it; if he does not, just let it go." "This is the only way to ensure your prosperity and wealth for the rest of your life. I can leave with peace of mind!" When Liu Qi heard this, he was about to say more, but Liu Biao waved his hand and told him to do as he said. Liu Qi had no choice but to obey the order and called everyone to explain Liu Biao's intention. When everyone heard that Liu Biao was going to surrender, they all looked sad, but they still decided to follow the order. (End of this chapter)