Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1386: Using Spies
After Han Sui sent everyone away, the flash in his eyes revealed hesitation and confusion.

The battle of Liangzhou had gotten to this point, and in his heart, he actually felt that the situation was already hopeless and could not be reversed.

He sat in the room, reached into the secret compartment at the head of the bed, pulled out several secret letters, then spread them out one by one and read them word by word.

In fact, he had read these letters many times, and the contents were almost imprinted in his mind, and he could recite them almost word for word.

These letters were naturally sent from the State of Jin. The conditions promised in them were that if Han Sui surrendered, he would be treated well, and if he could help defeat the State of Wei, it would be a great achievement.

A big part of the reason why Han Sui hesitated was that the conditions promised by Jin State were too vague.

What Han Sui wanted was specific rewards and fiefdoms, such as Liangzhou. Otherwise, why had he rebelled for more than a decade and even wanted to attack Chang'an to emulate Dong Zhuo?
He naturally replied to the letter, but in the end, the State of Jin did not give a very clear answer.

But doing so actually made Han Sui believe that the other side was sincere, because this was the style of the Jin State, and they would not easily make promises that could not be fulfilled.

Logically speaking, Han Sui was inclined to surrender to the State of Jin, because if the current situation continued, there was almost no chance that the State of Wei would turn the tables. He had to jump ship as soon as possible to leave a way out for himself.

But this is also Han Sui's dilemma. The price of betraying Wei is very high. With Jin as a retreat, Wei's road will definitely be cut off. But who can guarantee that he will not suffer revenge after selling out Wei?
If the State of Jin cannot protect me by then, wouldn’t all my efforts be in vain?

In Han Sui's mind, the best approach is not to openly defect, but to reap the benefits of both sides at the same time, preferably before the situation is settled so that he can reap the most benefits.

But the State of Jin was obviously not stupid and required Han Sui to take sides in the upcoming decisive battle. Therefore, Han Sui had not made up his mind to join forces with Cao Zhang and the Jin army for a decisive battle in a few days. How should he choose?

He hesitated for a long time, lit the brazier at his feet, and slowly placed the silk book on top of the brazier, ready to burn it, but in the end he stopped, put the silk book in his arms, then walked out the door and walked towards Cao Zhang's mansion.

Soon, Cao Zhang sat in front of the table, holding an open silk book, and said to Han Sui with a half-smile: "You think clearly. You can reject the recruitment of Jin State and stand firmly on the side of our Great Wei. I really admire you."

Han Sui said righteously: "I have been deeply indebted to the late emperor, which is why I have achieved what I have today. How can I forget my loyalty and betray my benefactor for the sake of profit?"

"Now Jin is trying to recruit me with benefits. It really despises Sui as a person. It wants me to turn against Yanling Hou in the decisive battle the day after tomorrow. How can Sui do such an unjust thing?"

"But this is a great opportunity. If we pretend to surrender, we can lure the main force of the Jin army into our trap. If we can kill Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao and Gao Gan in one fell swoop, we can counterattack Bingzhou and threaten Youzhou. The revival of the Wei Dynasty is just around the corner!"

"Okay!" Cao Zhang stood up suddenly. "If you can accomplish this unprecedented feat, I will report it to His Majesty and help you to be crowned a king of a different surname and to rule the north forever!"

Han Sui was very excited. "Thank you for your kindness, Marquis Yanling. I will definitely fulfill my mission!"

He thought to himself that this was what he wanted. He was a gambler, so if he was going to gamble, he would gamble big. Back then, he dared to attack Chang'an and openly rebelled, wasn't it just to get a chance to divide the land and be crowned king one day?

In comparison, the State of Jin was so stingy that they wanted to bribe me but didn't give me the benefits I wanted. Moreover, the State of Jin was so powerful that even if I acted as an insider, it would only be icing on the cake. In the end, I would probably just get a governor or a provincial governor. After my death, wouldn't my family still fall into ruin?
If I help Wei, it would be like providing timely assistance. Now Wei only has three states. If I can help Wei defeat Jin, even if I cannot destroy Jin, I can still gain a lot of benefits from it. If I am lucky enough to break through Youzhou, I can take the opportunity to occupy Youzhou and Bingzhou. In the future, my strength will increase greatly, and I may become a force that can compete with Wei and Jin.

By then, the world might be divided into three parts. As long as I take advantage of the contradictions between Wei and Jin, I can become the second Wu. If both Wei and Jin are defeated, I might be able to control the world!

Han Sui then realized that what he said was a bit unlucky, because the State of Wu had just been destroyed. However, Han Sui thought that he was not as stupid as the State of Wu. At that time, the State of Wu had made enemies on many sides and finally died under the siege of the State of Jin and the State of Hannan. It was really courting death.

But the situation was different in Liang Province. Not only did he have the support of Wei, he also reached a secret agreement with Budugen. As long as Jin revealed a flaw, he would be able to respond to all parties and take a big bite of Jin's flesh!
Han Sui was very proud of this. He thanked Cao Zhang again and again and said, "I will send a letter to the Jin army and agree to open the city in three days to let them in. Then, all the ambush troops in the city of Yanling will be mobilized, and I will let the candidate Cheng Yin and others ambush outside the city. We will attack from both inside and outside and completely destroy the Jin army!"

Cao Zhang said: "Okay!"

"At that time, I fought side by side with Han Shijun, annihilated the Jin army, and counterattacked the heartland of Jin!"

After Han Sui left, Cao Zhang asked the back hall: "What do you think of Han Sui? Is he sincere?"

A person came out from behind and said, "It's very credible."

"If he is colluding with the Jin army, he should try every means to lure the Marquis out of the city and then attack from behind."

"Now he said he would lead the Jin army into the city. Obviously, he cannot plot against you, my Lord. If the Jin army was pretending to surrender, they would not have the courage to enter the city."

"So I think, at least in this matter, the Jin army can't calculate the Marquis." Cao Zhang listened, and showed satisfaction. "I think so too. As long as I am in the city, even if the Jin army rushes in, I close the city gates, what can they do to me?"

"Han Sui is a man with a clear mind. He knows that Jin cannot give him what he wants. Jin is really ridiculous. They clearly want to bribe him, but they are reluctant to pay the price."

The man said, "Han Sui has ambitions, and Xiong Hu knows that, but Xiong Hu has great ambitions, so how could he tolerate his subordinates splitting the land and becoming kings?"

"Besides, he felt that the general trend was on the side of Jin State, so he was naturally reluctant to raise the price. However, this incident would teach the Jin army a lesson. No one would be willing to risk their lives without any benefits."

Cao Zhang frowned and said, "But Han Sui has a big appetite. I didn't say that he would be crowned king of Bingzhou, but that he would be permanently stationed in the north. He still seems dissatisfied."

"Does he want to replace the State of Jin?"

The man laughed and said, "That won't happen. I'm afraid he wants to speculate on both sides and become a third force."

"After all, Liangzhou has not trusted the imperial court for hundreds of years and has repeatedly rebelled. It is obvious that they want to establish their own independence."

Cao Zhang smiled and said, "You can see it clearly."

His expression suddenly changed. "You are so familiar with both parties. Do you have any unknown information channels?"

The man said calmly, "It is natural for Marquis Yanling to doubt me. After all, my father once worked for the Yuan family."

"But I have my reasons for abandoning the Yuan family and joining the Kingdom of Wei. If I want to live a life of wealth and honor, I can still get a leisurely official position. Why should I risk my life here to plan for the Marquis?"

"If the Marquis doubts me, there is no point in me continuing. Either I leave now, or the Marquis kills me directly."

Cao Zhang smiled when he heard this and said, "I was just joking, please don't be offended."

"The Fanyang Lu family is well-known, and the Marquis of Liangxiang is a role model for the Han Dynasty. Naturally, I believe in the character of the Zi family."

Marquis of Liangxiang was Lu Zhi, and the person who spoke was Marquis of Liangxiang’s son Lu Yu.

Of course, only a handful of people in Jin State knew that Lu Yu was also an important figure in Jin State's Procuratorial Office, and was ranked among the top three in the Northern Land Office.

After Lu Yu presided over the capture of Jicheng in revenge against Ma Chao, his status must have been even higher, so no one would have thought that he was actually using spies in Cao's camp at this time.

Earlier in Xudu Chang'an, Lu Yu was present in all the spies' activities of the Procuratorate. His official identity was that of the son of Lu Zhi, which enabled him to make friends with many young scholars and officials of Cao Wei and obtain a lot of first-hand intelligence.

The Wei State could never imagine that the Prosecutor of the Jin State's Procuratorate would personally sit in the enemy camp, so after Lu Yu had gained a lot of reputation, he took the opportunity to come to Liangzhou to coordinate the relationship between Cao Zhang, Han Sui and others.

The reason for this is that Lu Zhi was very famous when he was alive, and many of his disciples, including Gongsun Zan, were powerful people in the north. Therefore, Lu Yu was quite familiar with the situation in Liangzhou. After arriving in Liangzhou, he helped Cao Zhang do a lot of things and won Cao Zhang's trust.

Lu Yu was also behind the Jin State's recruitment of Han Sui. The letter from Jin State was real, but the content inside was intended to push Han Sui towards Wei State.

Yuan Xi had already made up his mind that when the new dynasty was established, there was no need for powerful people like Han Sui to exist.

Han Sui and other Western Liang warlords are different from Goguryeo and Wuhuan. The latter have not been completely assimilated into Chinese culture, so there is still the possibility of subtle changes.

The Western Liang warlords like Han Sui and Ma Teng have been dominating Liangzhou for hundreds of years. Although they have objectively played a role in resisting foreign invaders, that is only in peacetime. If there is chaos under the world and the ambitions of these powerful people become apparent, they will join forces with foreign invaders to plot against the court, just like Han Sui and Ma Teng attacked Chang'an back then. This is obviously an extremely unstable factor.

Ma Teng and Han Sui were naturally Han people. They accepted Chinese culture, but did not support great unification. What they wanted was the Zhou Dynasty's feudal system, or the kind of actual control that did not allow the imperial court to interfere.

This was naturally incompatible with Yuan Xi's idea of ​​wanting to fully control the grassroots villages and towns and only give empty titles to the princes. So he came up with this series of plans to catch Han Sui and Cao Zhang in one fell swoop.

Of course, this strategy required Zhao Yun, Zhang Liao, and even Lu Yu and others to take risks in order to lure Cao's army into the trap. If they were not careful, they would die on the spot.

(End of this chapter)