The reason why Liu Bei was in trouble was that Tancheng, the capital of Xia Pi, was lost.
At that time, Liu Bei was stationing troops on the border of Xuzhou. When he heard the news, he was shocked.
Originally, Guan Yu led his troops east to Guangling to counter Sun Ce, and Liu Bei led his troops west to guard against Cao Cao. Both routes were very important, and were much easier than the task of defending Tancheng.
After much deliberation, Liu Bei decided to give this easy task to Zhang Fei.
As long as Zhang Fei doesn't do anything excessive, with the help of so many officials and generals in Tancheng, he can just wait until Liu Bei and Guan Yu resolve the crisis and then return.
Unexpectedly, a big problem occurred in the most relaxing place!
At that time, Zhang Fei led hundreds of remnants of his army to surrender to Liu Bei in a panic. He told Liu Bei the whole story. Liu Bei sighed and said, "Third brother, it's not that this cannot be done, but it's too hasty."
The cause of the incident was that Zhang Fei discovered that Cao Bao, a key general of the Danyang military faction in Tancheng, had ulterior motives.
Someone secretly informed Zhang Fei that Cao Bao and Sun Ce of Guangling had colluded through letters. After verification, Zhang Fei found the evidence to be irrefutable. He became furious and ordered troops to capture Cao Bao.
The bad thing was that Zhang Fei did this in a high-profile manner, which led to the news leaking out. After Cao Bao got to know the news, he instigated the Danyang soldiers in the city to rise up and attack Zhang Fei.
The two sides fought for a day with no clear winner, so Cao Bao took the opportunity to open the city gate and welcomed an enemy army that no one expected to appear in Tancheng.
Sun Ce!
He led thousands of soldiers into Xia Pi City and attacked Zhang Fei in the chaos, defeating Zhang Fei and forcing him to abandon the city and flee.
Zhang Fei knelt on the ground, looking ashamed, and said, "I'm sorry, brother, for trapping your whole family in the city!"
At that time, Liu Bei had a wife and two daughters, who should have been captured by Sun Ce.
Liu Bei sighed inwardly. Now that things had come to this, what else could he say?
Moreover, this matter cannot be blamed entirely on Zhang Fei. The other party had already prepared for the rebellion. Even if Zhang Fei had not discovered it, the result would only be worse.
He could only say: "Brothers are like limbs, and wives are like clothes. If clothes are torn, they can be mended; but if limbs are broken, how can they be repaired?"
"Don't blame yourself, Third Brother. It's just Xia Pi. Just find a way to fight back."
Zhang Fei then raised his head and said angrily: "Sun Ce is treacherous, and the officials and generals in the city are worthless!"
"Now it seems that there are many people who support Cao Bao, otherwise I wouldn't have to wait until Sun Ce entered the city to find out!"
Liu Bei asked again: "Who in the city escaped with you?"
Zhang Fei thought for a moment and said, "Kong Rong and his family probably didn't escape."
"I didn't see Chen Qun. Maybe he died in the chaos?"
"Chen Deng led an army to help me, but I didn't have time to take him with me when I escaped."
"It seems that Mi Zhu led his men to flee to Haixi. I don't know if they can escape there."
Liu Bei's eyes went dark. Except for Sun Gan and Jian Yong who were around him, all the others were sent away by Zhang Fei?
His heart was bleeding. Zhang Fei also saw that Liu Bei was unhappy, and hurriedly said: "Brother, we don't have to worry about Cao Cao anymore. Why don't we go back with our troops and take back Xia Pi!"
Liu Bei shook his head and sighed, "The enemy must have been prepared long ago. It is easy to defend a city but difficult to attack it. How can we, with only a few thousand men, possibly defeat it?"
"Moreover, most of the soldiers' families are in Tancheng. People are in a panic now. If we go back to attack the city, I'm afraid people will become even more confused!"
"I have an idea. Take this opportunity to go southeast, bypass Tancheng, go to the border of Guangling, and meet Yunchang."
"Since Sun Ce has already appeared in Tancheng, I think he must have divided his troops to tie up Yunchang so that he could take the opportunity to escape and attack Tancheng."
"In this case, the Guangling City he occupies will definitely be empty. If the three of us brothers join forces and attack his lair directly, we may be able to turn the situation around!"
Zhang Fei was delighted when he heard this and said, "Brother, you are talented. We won't lose if we exchange houses with each other!"
Liu Bei's heart was bleeding. You haven't even gotten married yet, but I lost my wife and two daughters. No matter how you look at it, it's a big loss, right?
But he couldn't show it on his face, so he said, "Speed is of the essence in war, let's set off to Guangling right now and catch them off guard!"
Looking at Zhang Fei's happy face, Liu Bei was worried. Will things really go so smoothly?
Who was it in Guangling that entangled Guan Yu and made him unable to stop Sun Ce from dividing his troops?
Liu Bei didn't know that Guan Yu, who was in Guangling City at this time, was also thinking about this question.
After he returned from collecting grain, he remained in a stalemate with Sun Ce for more than a month. Both sides set up camps and attacked each other every day.
Later, the soldiers on both sides were exhausted, and the intervals between attacks became longer and longer.
After three days of silence, Guan Yu suddenly woke up, came out to check, and discovered that something bad had happened!
In the enemy camp, Yuan Shu's generals Zhang Xun and Qiao Rui had already been replaced, but Sun Ce was gone!
He suddenly realized that something was wrong, so he led his troops in a fierce attack, breaking into Yuan Shu's camp. Zhang Xun and Qiao Rui were forced to retreat.
Guan Yu knew that it was too late to return for reinforcements, so he might as well capture Guangling in one go. So he pursued the victory and reached the city of Guangling.
However, he could only stop there. After Zhang Xun and Qiao Rui retreated back to Guangling City, they seemed to have become smarter. The two of them went out of the city day and night to harass Guan Yu's isolated army, making it impossible for them to advance or retreat.
Guan Yu was worried that if this continued, his food and supplies would be exhausted and he would have to retreat to Xia Pi.
I don't know what's going on with my eldest brother and third brother. Sun Ce is most likely going to launch a surprise attack on Xia Pi. If my third brother can stop Sun Ce, there is still a chance for me to save the situation.
It should be... okay, right?
While the battle in Xuzhou was at a stalemate, many of the gentry in the world were not paying attention to this.
After all, Xuzhou is a place surrounded by wars, easy to attack but difficult to defend. It is a popular place when the world is peaceful, but becomes a hot potato when the world is in chaos. It is not surprising for anyone to occupy Xuzhou.
At this time, a wedding in Yecheng attracted their attention even more.
After all, Yuan Jiazi, who had risen like a comet in just one year and was known as the fierce tiger of the Yuan family, was getting married.
In the eyes of some outsiders, this was just an ordinary marriage between a newly adopted illegitimate son of the Yuan family and the daughter of a merchant. However, in the eyes of those who knew the inside story, they understood how many twists and turns had taken place in this marriage.
Some Jizhou nobles were very worried. After all, according to rumors, this fierce tiger was famous for killing people without blinking an eye on the battlefield.
But at least nothing had happened since the wedding reception in the morning until now.
But what surprised everyone was that, based on the wealth of the bride and groom, the wedding should have been quite luxurious, but in fact it was quite simple.
Different from the Zhou rituals, Han people began to play music at weddings, and there emerged the custom of making trouble in the bridal chamber, and the wedding customs were extremely extravagant.
On the wedding day, the husband's family has to accept the guests' congratulations and set up a banquet to entertain the guests. The guests drink and laugh, and speak and act without restraint.
The custom of making noise in the bridal chamber is the most prominent manifestation of music at the beginning of a wedding. This custom originated in the Han Dynasty. "On the wedding night, there is no difference between men and women." Traditional etiquette can be ignored, and men and women can play around freely, and even do some extraordinary things.
Another expression of music is spreading the tent.
According to "Wuchen Miscellaneous Notes", the custom of scattering flowers and fruits in the tent began during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. When Lady Li first arrived, the emperor welcomed her into the tent and sat with her, drinking the wedding wine. The emperor had instructed the officials to scatter five-colored heart-shaped flowers and fruits from afar. The emperor and his wife held them in their clothes, saying that more flowers and fruits would mean more children.
However, Guo Jia apologized to the guests beforehand and said that there would be no bridal chamber prank today, which made many young men from the aristocratic families express regret.
They had long heard that the girl from the Zhen family was extremely beautiful. Today, they had finally come to congratulate on behalf of the family, but they were unable to see her beauty, which was a great pity.
Some people took the opportunity to make a few noises, but when they realized that no one agreed with them, they suddenly came to their senses and quickly fell silent.
If you offend the Yuan family, nothing good will happen to you.
At this time, the wedding ceremony was taking place in the back hall.
There are seven rituals in total: worshiping in the hall, washing hands, sitting opposite each other, sharing the same pot, drinking the same cup, tying the hair, and holding hands.
The Book of Rites states that when a man and a woman get married, they must "eat from the same pot and drink from the same cup, so that they can be equal in status and be close to each other."
Worshiping the hall is also known as worshiping heaven and earth. During a wedding, the bride and groom first worship heaven and earth, and then worship their ancestors and the groom's parents and elders.
However, at this time, the two elder seats in front of Yuan Xi and Zhen Mi were Yuan Ji's tablet and Huan's.
Under the auspices of Liu He, the two men worshipped the tablet and knelt down to pay homage to Huan.
Huan was very excited. She stood up and helped the two of them up. Looking at the radiant and charming Zhen Mi, she couldn't help but think of the scene when she got married, and her eyes became red.
She took Zhen Mi's hand and handed it to Yuan Xi.
Zhen Mi raised her head slightly, a little shy, and did not dare to look directly at Yuan Xi.
What she wore today was a dark black wedding dress. It was a long gown with a top and a skirt made of silk, gauze, etc. The sleeves were decorated with silk of more than a dozen colors. It was extremely gorgeous.
Yuan Xi thought that the Zhen family had indeed spent a huge amount of money. Not many people could wear this dress well, and it would not look more beautiful than on Zhen Mi.
The decoration on Zhen Mi's head was so intricate and exquisite that Yuan Xi couldn't help but think of the poems from his previous life.
"The cock crows and the dawn is about to break. I get up and put on my new clothes and make up. I wear an embroidered skirt and a skirt that is perfect for everything. I wear silk shoes and a tortoise-shell head. My waist is like flowing silk and I wear moon-shaped earrings on my ears. My fingers are like scallion roots and my mouth is like red cinnabar. I walk with delicate steps, and my beauty is unparalleled in the world."
Liu He said at this time: "Madam, the hand-holding ceremony is still to come."
After hearing this, Huan looked embarrassed. She was nervous and something went wrong.
Zhen Mi blushed and tried to pull her hand back, but Yuan Xi held her hand tightly and said with a smile, "Parents' orders are the most important."
Liu He smiled bitterly, thinking that this person was really casual, and said: "The bridegroom and bride should wash their hands first, then enter the bridal chamber, sit opposite each other, and tie the wedding bridal cup."
Wu Zhao and Cao Xian brought a copper basin, and Yuan Xi and Zhen Mi put their hands into the water and washed them.
Yuan Xi raised his head slightly and saw Cao Xian's envious face. There was a hint of sadness in Wu Zhao's smile, and he was slightly touched.
Cao Xian probably thought that she would be a concubine for the rest of her life and would never have such a wedding again, but Wu Zhao experienced the same scene but it did not end well.
The difference in fate between people sometimes depends on the illusory fortune, which is really sad.
When Liu He saw the two of them finished washing, he said, "The newlyweds are entering the bridal chamber."
This far, his job is over, and the rest of the etiquette is only between the bride and groom.
Yuan Xi and Zhen Mi turned around, bowed to Liu He to express their gratitude, and then bowed to Huan, before they held hands and entered the bridal chamber.
Behind them, Wu Zhao and Cao Xian gently closed the door.