Chapter 441 (1/2)

Chapter 441

Chapter 441

“Brother Kuai Ran . Your uncle really lives far away . ” Liu Mang commented .

“Nothing can be done about it . My uncle refuse to live father so he moved to the outer parts of the city!” Kuai Ran shook his head and smiled bitterly . There was some conflict between the two brothers . Their combined efforts are one of the reasons Liu Biao could obtain Jingzhou and prosper especially since that time, his predecessor, w.a.n.g Rui, was a talented person . It would have been much more difficult to obtain Jingzhou had w.a.n.g Rui not been killed by Sun Jian .

After w.a.n.g Rui was killed by Sun Jian, Dong Zhuo recommended Liu Biao to be the successor . At that time, Jiangnan was full of bandits and there were also many other people proclaiming themselves the hegemon with plenty of soldiers . As a result, Liu Biao could not step up directly and had to remain anonymous .

Liu Biao entered Jingzhou and met with Kuai Liang, Kuai Yue and Cai Mao . He said, “There is a lot of unrest in the area and the people are not attached . Yuan Shu only made things more disorderly! I want to recruit troops here but I am afraid I would not be able to gather them . What should I do?”

“The reason the people are not attached is because of the lack of benevolence . The reason those attached to Jingzhou are unable to prosper is because of the lack of righteousness . The people will return if there are enough benevolence and righteousness and there would be no need to worry about recruitment . ” Kuai Liang replied .

Liu Biao then asked Kuai Yue the same question . “During times of peace, benevolence and righteousness . During times of chaos, power and schemes . Yuan Shu is rash while Bei Yu can only fight . They are both nothing to worry about . I have subordinates who can bring out all these bandit chiefs . The bandit chiefs are all greedy and tyrannical . The King will kill them and the people will choose to follow someone with virtue . You will be able to take over this land and Yuan Shu would be incapable of stopping you . ”

Liu Biao was happy with this advice and sung praises for Kuai Yue . Kuai Yue then dispatched his people to invite the fifty five bandit chiefs to banquet where they were all executed and their troops taken . After that, the other self-proclaimed hegemons also eventually fled or surrendered . At this point, Liu Biao controlled seven regions in Jingzhou except the Nanyang region .

It is from here that the differences between the two brothers is seen . Kuai Liang was more stubborn and preferred open schemes . Like Xu Shu, changing his opinion would be a difficult task once he feels certain or determined about something . On the other hand, Kuai Yue could adapt better . He is the type to use anything that is useful . Kuai Yue’s schemes allowed Liu Biao to obtain power while Kuai Liang helped Liu Biao to obtain a good reputation .

However, the part that made them have conflict was from after Liu Biao obtained the whole of Jingzhou . At that time, Liu Biao had plenty Huang Zu and Wen Pin as his generals, Kuai Yue and Kuai Liang as his strategists and also lots of soldiers taken from the other n.o.bles . He was a powerful force that could conquer the South especially since some places only had small groups of bandits .

Kuai Liang wanted to go South but Liu Biao refused . This made Kuai Liang angry . Liu Biao was not well and no longer had thoughts of forging ahead . Life in Jingzhou had also been too pleasant for him to think about struggling for more power . All the bandits in the South also feared Liu Biao and gave him peace offerings which dampened his intentions of going to war against them even more .

Kuai Liang thought that this was the moment he had to risk his life in attempt to make sure Liu Biao send troops . There were many officers under Liu Biao’s employ who also supported Kuai Liang . They wanted to be dispatched . For ordinary soldiers, the only way they could get merits was through battle . However, the n.o.bles did not want this . Liu Biao had previously signed a treaty with them . Liu Biao had promised to protect their interests but they had to provide provisions during war . Naturally, they would be against starting a war .

Besides them, the new n.o.ble Cai Family was also against war . The reason for this is because the Cai Family had also received offerings . If these small groups were wiped out, Cai Mao would no longer obtain any offerings .

Kuai Liang then thought of relying on his brother, Kuai Yue, who could easily influence Liu Biao’s decision . One word from Kuai Yue was enough to change Liu Biao’s opinions .