Chapter 89: Liu Bei Is No Good Man

“What is it? Speak of it tomorrow. I am old now, no match for you young men.”

Under Lady Cai’s care, Liu Biao slowly changed into a new set of clothes. Still somewhat groggy, he made his way into the main hall, where Cai Mao was already pacing in circles, agitated beyond measure.

“My lord, this matter cannot wait. I have only just received word, and it comes from Jiangdong.”

“Jiangdong? Sun Ce has already pacified Jiangdong. Is that not enough for him? He has been running wild there, and I have not obstructed him. He ought to know gratitude toward me.”

At the mention of Jiangdong, Liu Biao was mildly surprised.

After all, he had always shown Sun Ce considerable courtesy. Sun Ce was only in his twenties, a man young enough to be his son’s junior, and Jiangdong’s strength was in any case inferior to his own. He could not imagine Sun Ce would do anything irrational at this time.

“My lord, this matter has nothing to do with Sun Ce. Someone secretly sent word that Guan Yu, having fled from Xuchang, has now arrived in Wu Commandery. Sun Ce has treated him handsomely and even bestowed a residence upon him!”

“Guan Yu? Which Guan Yu?”

Liu Biao was clearly still in a dazed, sleepwalking state. He did not immediately recognize the name, and in truth he was not very familiar with Guan Yu either. Ever since he came to Jingzhou ten years ago to serve as Governor of Jingzhou, he had not much cared to interfere in the affairs of the Central Plains.

“Guan Yu was once Liu Bei’s foremost general. After Liu Bei was routed in Xuzhou by Cao Cao, Guan Yu and Liu Bei’s two wives were both captured by Cao Cao, and only then did he submit to Cao Cao. It was this very man who slew Yan Liang at Baima!”

“Oh? Was he not highly valued in Cao Cao’s camp? How did he end up traveling all the way to Wu Commandery?”

Liu Biao was waking up at last, and now he vaguely remembered that there was indeed such a figure in the Central Plains.

“Hmph. That is something we shall have to ask Lord Liu himself when he arrives in Xiangyang. My agents in Jiangdong reported that when His Majesty was taken to Wu Commandery by Zhang Hong, somehow Liu Bei’s two wives, who had been held under guard in Xuchang, were brought along as well. Guan Yu’s reason for going to Wu Commandery was precisely to demand the return of those two women!”

By the time Cai Mao finished speaking, his expression was already extremely unpleasant. Clearly, this matter had reminded him of many other things.

“You mean Guan Yu’s journey to Wu Commandery is connected to Liu Bei?”

“My lord, if Guan Yu could cut down Yan Liang in battle, must his abilities even be spoken of? He earned peerless merit under Cao Cao and still chose to leave, going straight to Jiangdong, all for the sake of Liu Bei’s two wives. Could Liu Bei possibly know nothing of it?”

At this, Liu Biao finally seemed awake in earnest, and he began to think seriously about the matter.

Guan Yu had been staying well enough under Cao Cao, then all at once he went to Sun Ce. At the same time, Liu Bei had announced that he was coming to Jingzhou to seek refuge and wanted a place to settle, bringing five thousand troops with him. Liu Bei’s two wives were still in Wu Commandery.

Taken together, these simple facts allowed for far too much speculation, especially for Liu Biao, who was both close to Jiangdong and one of the principal parties involved.

“Liu Bei and Guan Yu... are deceiving me?”

Liu Biao finally reached this uncertain conclusion, then turned to Cai Mao.

“Now that Liu Bei has come to our Jingzhou, he has no family here, only troops. Just like when he was under Yuan Shao, he can come and go as he pleases. Those five thousand men may not seem many in number, but once they are transformed into soldiers of Jingzhou and penetrate deep into our territory while harboring treachery, the consequences would be unimaginable!”

Cai Mao was genuinely anxious now, as though the realm of Liu Biao belonged to him too, as though he were guarding his own household property.

“Isn’t Guan Yu in Wu Commandery precisely for the purpose of bringing back Liu Bei’s two wives? If he truly can bring Liu Bei’s two wives to our Jingzhou, then would he not already count as one of our generals? I still think this matter should not be judged too hastily. Liu Bei does not have much troops in his hands, and ever since Xuzhou he has suffered defeat after defeat. Yet the men under him are still not bad. If they can be used, then it is best to use them.”

Liu Biao was not a man who believed others too readily, and he had his own thoughts as well.

He understood full well that every matter must be viewed from both sides. Even if Guan Yu and Liu Bei had indeed plotted something together, Liu Bei still had to come to Jingzhou first. Once he made it plain that he already knew Guan Yu and Liu Bei’s two wives were in Wu Commandery, Liu Biao believed Liu Bei would certainly not dare act on his own recklessly.

“My lord, you must understand this: the one now holding the emperor and commanding the lords is Sun Ce. Even if he had no designs on our Jingzhou before, after obtaining His Majesty he will no longer remain the same. If he wants to contend for supremacy in the Central Plains, would Jingzhou not be his inevitable route?”

Seeing that the matter of Liu Bei alone could not move Liu Biao, Cai Mao had no choice but to bring up Sun Ce’s ambitions as well.

What he wanted was actually quite simple: he wanted to awaken in Liu Biao some spirit of seeking dominance in the Central Plains.

Not only were Liu Bei and Guan Yu’s baffling actions impossible to make sense of, but Sun Ce also increasingly gave Cai Mao the feeling that he was becoming harder and harder to control.

If, in a few years, Liu Biao truly passed away, Cai Mao did not know whether his own young nephew would have the ability to inherit this land.

What was more, Liu Biao also had his eldest son, Liu Qi, and Cai Mao was very satisfied with him in every respect. He felt the boy was very much like himself in his youth.

Over the years, Cai Mao and Lady Cai had constantly whispered in Liu Biao’s ear, but Liu Biao’s affection for his eldest son had always remained rather good. That was another reason Cai Mao was anxious. If he wanted his nephew to rise, Jingzhou could not remain a stagnant pool forever. Otherwise, when Liu Biao was gone in a few years, the position would, in all likelihood, pass naturally to Liu Qi.

Now, with the matter of Liu Bei added to the situation involving Guan Yu and Sun Ce, Cai Mao had already gained plenty of capital to stir the winds and waves.

He wanted Liu Biao to begin right now to form the resolve to contend for the Central Plains, and then, amid the changes produced in the course of that struggle, slowly raise his own nephew into power.

“So that is your meaning?”

“When Liu Bei arrives in Xiangyang, do not let him leave lightly. If Guan Yu and Sun Ce truly have any serious entanglement with him, we cannot keep Liu Bei. He has betrayed several masters in succession, and is by no means a loyal minister or capable general. At the same time, we cannot help but guard against Sun Ce. He may seek to contend for the Central Plains, but if he means to make Jingzhou his first target, then we can only strike first!”

“Jiangdong and our Jingzhou are tied together like lips and teeth. If we were to bleed each other white in a struggle with Sun Ce, would that not merely benefit Cao Cao? This cannot be done. Go back first. We can speak again when Liu Bei arrives.”