Coincidentally!My name is Liu Bian

Chapter 43 Going to the village to visit Zhang Yan

Riding a carriage, Liu Bian and his party went around three mountains and finally arrived at their destination...nearby.

If we go further, we will reach a mountainous area, and the carriage cannot move forward.

So Liu Bian got off the carriage and ordered a guard to guard the carriage.

Liu Bian, on the other hand, led everyone to walk another section of the mountain road.

It has to be said that this mountain road is winding and rugged, not only unsuitable for horses and vehicles, but also really difficult to walk on!
Anyway, he walked for a long time and was so tired that he was covered in sweat——

Fortunately, fortunately, he is finally here!
When he was tired, he glanced behind him with his peripheral vision...

He caught a glimpse of Yuan Shao, Liu Bei and Shi Yue standing in a row, not far behind him, while Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, He Xian, He Bai and two other guards were following behind him, acting as personal soldiers. They keep him safe at all times.

"...Your Highness?"

Suspecting that he noticed his gaze, Yuan Shao immediately raised his head and looked at Liu Bian.

After calming down, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and said in a deep voice: "——Are you ready?"

Everyone froze, cheered up, and said, "Ready!"

After waving, Liu Bian said: "Okay, let's go?"

He led everyone towards the front without squinting.

Ahead, there is a mountain village.

Zhang Yan is worthy of being the leader of the Yellow Turbans, Zhen and Guan Hai... lead all the thieves to occupy the mountain and become the king!
And the location of this cottage is also very cunning: there is no village in front of it and no store in the back, so it is really easy to defend but difficult to attack!

Unless a small number of soldiers are sent to sneak into the stronghold to wreak havoc, otherwise a large army is sent to encircle and suppress them. I am afraid that Zhang Yan will take all the thieves and soldiers... and hide in the deep mountains and old forests before they reach the stronghold.

Arriving in front of the stronghold, a thin yellow turban thief stood at the sentry post and shouted: "Stop! Who is under the stronghold?"

Yuan Shaoyue came out of the crowd and scolded: "His Royal Highness the Governor of Bohai is here, why don't you call Zhang Yan, the leader of the thief, to come out!"

The thin yellow scarf thief was surprised and immediately sent someone to send a message to Zhang Yan in the village.

After a while, Zhang Yan came as expected.

Naturally, Zhang Yan did not come alone.

Zhang Yan, surrounded by Guan Hai and a group of thieves, walked quickly.

As soon as she saw Liu Bian, Zhang Yan was stunned for a moment and said with a smile: "Your Highness, why are you here? - Come on, come on! Please come to the village! Please let Zhang hold a banquet and entertain His Highness well!"

He had the attitude of good brothers reunited after a long absence.

Liu Bian glanced sideways, nodded slightly, and without any nonsense, he led Yuan Shao and others into the stronghold with Zhang Yan.

To get in would be an understatement.

Zhang Yan was surprised, and for a moment she was not sure what His Highness was thinking.

but……

However, Zhang Yan did not panic: this is his own territory, and he alone has the final say - if there is a real dispute with His Highness, there is no need to worry that he will suffer a disadvantage!Anyway...

Pressing down the gloom deep in his heart, Zhang Yan raised a smile and guided Liu Bian and his group towards the hall of the village while introducing interesting things about the village, such as when someone came to the village for the first time and always disliked it, which was not a good thing. That's not good, once you are about to be kicked out of the village, you will be in a hurry... blah blah blah, everyone listened with gusto.

During this period, Guan Hai did not forget to tease Liu Bian and asked: "Your Highness, didn't you say you wanted to set up an academy before? How is the academy going?"

Liu Bian: "..."

——Sorry, I’m too busy!The matter of setting up an academy...has not yet been settled!
Seeing Liu Bian's slight embarrassment, Zhang Yan scolded: "Brother Guan, you are so rude!"

Guan Hai shrank his neck and said, "Your Highness, I'm sorry! I am a big boss and have been wild since I was a child. I have offended many of my words. Please forgive me, Your Highness..."

Liu Bian waved his hand to show that it was okay.

Unfortunately, Guan Hai stopped talking and was silent the whole time.

Zhang Yan, on the other hand, continued to talk about interesting things in the village, gaining the attention of Yuan Shao and others.

In a calm and calm manner, Liu Bian quickly scanned the structure of the village, especially the people in the village.

Not unexpectedly, he saw that most of the people in the village were young and strong men. They looked tall and had fierce faces, but in fact they did not reveal much murderous intent. They were not like those who were stained with blood... If they could barely be divided, the group of young and strong men They are more like honest farmers who have been forced to panic, and are in a disappointed, confused and angry mood.

"Your Highness, please take a seat."

In his ears, he heard Zhang Yan's greeting.

Blinking his eyes, he came back to his senses perfectly, and sat down as promised.

Yuan Shao, Liu Bei and Shi Yue, plus He Xian, He Bai and other four guards, also sat down separately.

As for Zhang Fei and Guan Yu...

Zhang Fei and Guan Yu stood silently behind Liu Bian!
Wow~ It feels so safe, isn’t it?One day he, Liu Bian, will be able to enjoy the same treatment as Liu Bei!

Then Zhang Yan raised his eyebrows, pointed at the two empty seats, and said curiously: "Generals, won't you sit down?"

Guan Yu was silent, but Zhang Fei said: "My second brother and I are the guards of His Highness, and we should protect His Highness first! General Zhang Yan, you don't need to pay attention to me and my second brother!"

Zhang Yan: "..."

After smiling, Zhang Yan became interested and clapped her hands.

I saw a group of...yellow scarf thieves, carrying all kinds of fruits and wine bottles, they came forward and placed them on everyone's tables one by one to appetize everyone first!After that, the group of yellow scarf thieves retreated in an orderly manner - Zhang Yan, isn't this a copycat?Where do all these rules come from?Without knowing it, I thought you were a member of a wandering family somewhere?

Just listen to Zhang Yan cupping her fists and saying to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei: "Happy! Happy! The two generals are dedicated to their duties. I really admire Zhang. I admire you! Can you give Zhang some face and drink this cup of water and wine?" As he said this, Zhang Yan On the one hand, he poured the wine himself and handed two bowls of water and wine to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei's eyes lit up and he was a little moved.

However, Guan Yu glanced sideways at Zhang Fei.

Zhang Fei immediately woke up, shook his head and said: "Thank you General Zhang Yan for your kindness, I... am not thirsty!"

Zhang Yan: "..."

Zhang Yan couldn't hold it back and burst into laughter.

When Zhang Fei saw it, his eyes widened.

Seeing this, Zhang Yan hurriedly said: "General, please don't misunderstand! I didn't mean to laugh at the general... By the way, when the general is free, shall I meet him for a drink?"

Zhang Fei's eyes widened, and he suddenly became happy, and responded: "It's a deal! Don't lie to me!"

Having said that, Zhang Fei was full of energy and stood upright, wishing that the guarding work would be over soon.

After seeing it, everyone smiled knowingly.

However, after laughing...

Sighing softly, Liu Bian suddenly felt that it seemed inappropriate to discuss the kilns and tenant farmers with Zhang Yan at this time!But he couldn't talk to Zhang Yan in private... After thinking about it again and again, he decided to take a gamble!
Keeping a gentle smile, he began to toast with Zhang Yan...

Mainly because he condescended to pour wine for Zhang Yan, while Zhang Yan drank freely!

Yuan Shao and others ate and drank together, adding to the lively atmosphere at the scene.

What surprised him was that Zhang Yan had a good drinking capacity. The more she drank, the more energetic she became, as if she could drink a thousand glasses without pouring it out.

He also persuaded Zhang Yan to drink a few cups of wine. Seeing that Zhang Yan was still easy to talk to, he said: "General Zhang Yan, I have two things that I don't know whether I should tell you."

With a smile on her face, Zhang Yan asked: "What two things?"

He hesitated and said: "General Zhang Yan, let's talk about it first. If these two things make General Zhang Yan unhappy, I beg General Zhang Yan not to take it to heart... I will just say it casually today. Not true."

Zhang Yan patted her chest and assured, "Your Highness, don't worry, I, Zhang, am definitely not a small-minded person."

Nodding, Liu Bian said, "Is this what you said personally, General Zhang Yan? - Speaking of which, I also want to thank General Zhang Yan for your righteousness and taking the initiative to give up Bohai County to me... But, Recently, when I was patrolling Bohai County, I discovered that there are several kilns outside Nanpi County of Bohai County, but they are not under my jurisdiction!
Those who asked the kiln managers said that these kilns were all founded by you, General Zhang Yan!
Moreover, the other party also said that the taxes required to be paid by these kilns are not managed by me, the governor of Bohai, but are still decided by you, General Zhang Yan.

General Zhang Yan, is this true? "

Zhang Yan: "..."

Mouth opened and closed, Zhang Yan muttered a few times, but said nothing.

With a calm expression, he looked at Zhang Yan with a smile and waited for Zhang Yan to answer.

Yuan Shao and others seemed not to have heard the conversation between Liu Bian and Zhang Yan, and were chatting quietly to themselves. No one noticed that each other had slowed down their speaking speed...

Zhang Yan couldn't sit still anymore.

Standing up abruptly, Zhang Yan said, "This... this... Zhang doesn't know..."

Zhang Yan said it with a guilty conscience and no confidence.

Raising his eyebrows, he suddenly said: "So General Zhang, didn't you build a kiln?"

Zhang Yan: "..."

At this moment, even if Zhang Yan's face was calm, Liu Bian could feel the confusion in Zhang Yan's wind: admitting it is not, denying it is not... admitting it, Zhang Yan is bending the law for personal gain - in the past, Zhang Yan took advantage of King Bohai's Despite his reputation, he builds a kiln privately, and all the profits he makes belong to him, and he doesn’t pay taxes!

If you deny it, the kiln will probably be lost.

Liu Bian could have charged the group of kiln managers with corruption charges such as impersonation, confiscated the kiln, and it was not impossible...

Just as Zhang Yan was worried, Liu Bian said angrily: "What a scumbag! You actually slandered General Zhang Yan innocently... If the prefect hadn't decided to visit General Zhang Yan this time, the prefect would have almost misunderstood General Zhang Yan! "

Zhang Yan: "..."

Zhang Yan felt aggrieved.

And with Zhang Yan's intelligence, Zhang Yan is unable to refute Liu Bian for the time being.

Therefore... Zhang Yan had no choice but to admit defeat.

With a twisted expression, Zhang Yan said: "Your Highness, how do you plan to deal with those unruly people? Although the unruly people are greedy, their crimes will not lead to death. Please, Your Highness..."

"General Zhang Yan, please be at ease. I am not a murderous person, am I?" Liu Bian said warmly, "As General Zhang Yan said, although the unruly people are greedy, their crimes will not lead to death, as long as the other party pays the debt. I won’t target taxes…”

So, here’s the question: How much tax is owed? ——Bohai County, you are more than ten thousand people, you have the final say, but I am "unaware"... What if you set a huge tax and the kiln cannot afford it? !
Zhang Yan thought silently, but did not dare to express this problem to her mouth.

Now, Zhang Yan no longer dares to underestimate His Highness, who has not yet reached the crown.

——If Zhang Yan hadn't still harbored feelings for the Han Dynasty, I'm afraid Zhang Yan would have been angered by His Highness at this moment!

"Your Highness is wise! Your Highness is kind!" Zhang Yan agreed numbly, "The unforgivable crime of the unfaithful people is unforgivable, but His Highness is willing to spare the trouble and leave the unruly people alive... I believe that the unruly people will recognize their mistakes and never do it again next time. Don’t dare commit the crime!”

"Next time? - Is there a next time?" Liu Bian asked doubtfully.

Hearing this, Yuan Shao and the others all burst into laughter.

Zhang Yan sighed: "What's the next time? - Your Highness, what about the second thing? What is the second thing?"

(End of this chapter)