Chapter 172
Wancheng.
Since Liu Bei planned to escape, after returning to Wancheng, he immediately prepared to retreat south, in addition to the 20,000 army, there were also officials' families and slaves, which were enough for thousands of people.
And what Liu Bei didn't expect was that because the wind leaked out, Wancheng heard that Cao Jun was coming, and saw that Liu Bei was about to leave, and suddenly eighty percent of the people planned to follow Liu Bei south.
At this time, outside the city of Wancheng, tens of thousands of people had gathered, and at a glance, they only saw a piece of black oppression.
Among the people of Wancheng, there are those who moved from Xinye with Liu Bei, and there are also Liu Bei who moved from nearby villages, adding up to 70,000 people, and Bacheng is more than 50,000 people.
The reason why these people are willing to follow Liu Bei south is that in addition to Liu Bei's reputation for benevolence and good reputation, there is also part of the effect of his propaganda.
Liu Bei often preached to the people that Cao Cao was a traitor, often slaughtered the people, and told the people about Cao Cao's previous deeds of slaughtering the city, and blackened Cao Cao to death.
Therefore, the people are afraid of Cao Cao like a tiger, resulting in the current situation.
Liu Bei originally planned to leave secretly, but the news had leaked, and at this time, the outside of Wancheng was already surrounded by the people.
Under the handsome banner of the word 'Liu', Liu Bei stood on horseback, and his expression was unpredictable for a while.
At this time, Sun Qian came over and said, "Lord, it's too late if you don't leave, do you want to drive them away?"
Liu Bei's face changed, and he hurriedly shook his head and said, "You can't do this." Our soldiers are all from these people, including their families, and if we drive them away by force, will the soldiers be able to take orders?"
When Sun Gan heard this, he also understood the seriousness, if he used force against the people, he was afraid that it would cause a mutiny.
At this time, Mi Zhu rode over and said, "Lord, I sent someone to ask, and the people learned that Cao Jun was coming, and they all wanted to follow you south." "
In fact, Liu Bei had already known it in his heart, but when he heard what Mi Zhu said, Liu Bei couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth, and he was still a little complacent in his heart.
Liu Bei has been in the world for decades, although he has achieved nothing, but he is still the emperor's uncle, and he has a resounding reputation, he knows the truth of everyone's money, as long as his reputation is big enough, there will continue to be talents.
Those who win the hearts of the people win the world, Liu Bei understood this truth very early.
Liu Bei is not a benevolent person, but he is not a fake benevolence, after all, he is determined to dominate the world, if he was a stupid Bai Tian, he would have died I don't know how many times.
To put it bluntly, Liu Bei is a politician, and everything he does is to achieve his own hegemony.
Jian Yong said with some worry: "Lord, now that Cao Jun is in Ye County, he may come at any time, if he brings these people, it will inevitably drag us down, and if he is caught up by Cao Jun, it will be dangerous at that time." "
Jian Yong and Mi Zhu on the side both nodded, obviously not agreeing to take the people away.
Liu Bei said awe-inspiringly: "Since ancient times, people who want to achieve great things must be people-oriented, and the people are willing to follow me, how can I bear to abandon them?"
Jian Yong, Mi Zhu and the others couldn't help frowning, but when they saw Liu Bei's resolute gaze, they could only sigh in their hearts and forcibly swallow their words.
How did Liu Bei's reputation come about, isn't that how it came about?
Now if you leave the people and run away alone, then Liu Bei's signboard of benevolence and righteousness all over the world will be smashed from now on.
But Jian Yong and others have to admit that this kind of reputation is sometimes very useful.
Liu Bei was defeated by Lu Bu and Cao Cao, and fled all the way from the north to the south, but he was able to live a nourishing life, which was inseparable from his reputation.
Take Mi Zhu as an example, he was originally a wealthy merchant in Xuzhou, with nearly 10,000 slaves in his family, and countless family properties.
At the beginning, he also heard about Liu Bei's reputation, so he planned to assist Liu Bei, exhaust his family's assets, and plan to help Liu Bei achieve great things.
As a result, after so many years, Liu Bei not only failed to defend Xuzhou, but also lived under the fence of Jingzhou.
Mi Zhu thought more than once that if he had chosen Cao Cao, would he have a better life now?
It's just that Mi Zhu has already gotten on Liu Bei's ship, and it is already difficult to go down, so he can only take one step at a time, if he can really control Jing Chu in the future, then his hard work will not be in vain.
It's just that Liu Jue is a young hero, with more good generals and ministers, holding an army of 100,000, better than Liu Biao, can Liu Bei's plan really be realized?
At this time, a soldier came to report that several old men had asked to see Liu Bei.
As soon as Liu Bei heard this, he immediately turned over and dismounted, and said, "Quickly invite a few old people to come over." "
After a while, under the leadership of the soldiers, several white-haired old men were all respected old men among the people.
When several old men saw Liu Bei, they were so excited that they stepped forward to worship, and said in a choked voice: "Uncle Liu, it is rumored that Cao thief is ruthless, and he will let his subordinates slaughter the city at every turn, if Cao Jun arrives in Wancheng, we will definitely be murdered, and please take Uncle Huang to take me and others to the south together." "
Liu Bei smiled slightly in his heart, his propaganda for more than a year was really not in vain, Cao Cao has become a murderer in the hearts of these people.
With these people desperately following, wait for themselves to go south to Jingzhou, rely on Liu Jue to repel Cao Cao, and then rely on this prestige, sitting on Jingchu is just around the corner.
Reaching the pinnacle of life is definitely not a dream!
Liu Bei was excited, stepped forward to help the old man, and asked with a pleasant face: "Old man, don't worry, even if Liu Bei is at the end of the road, he will not leave you alone." "
"Uncle Liu Huang is really benevolent and righteous!" The old man burst into tears, and immediately bowed down to Liu Bei.
With Uncle Liu's help, we will definitely be able to reach Xiangyang safely and let Liu Jingzhou shelter us!" another old man also said with a sigh.
"That's to say! Liu Jingzhou's fierce generals are like clouds, and his ministers are like rain, defeating Zhou Yu, capturing Cao Ren, quelling the Jingnan Rebellion, forcing Sun Quan to take the initiative to sue for peace, and also compensating a sister, he is really a hero in the world!"
"Yes, yes, yes! With Liu Jingzhou here, even if Cao Thief has hundreds of thousands of troops, it is not enough!"
As several old men talked, they praised Liu Jue, and now that Cao Cao's army was heading south, when they were officially hesitating, seeing that Liu Bei was about to flee, Liu Jue naturally became their last hope.
Therefore, Liu Jue's weight in their hearts suddenly surpassed Liu Bei, and the people were willing to move their families south, not because of Liu Bei's benevolence, but because they believed that Liu Jue could defeat Cao Cao.
Looking at the excited eyes of several old men, Liu Bei's smile suddenly froze, and he only felt that his mouth was full of bitterness, and his heart was even more cold.