Ji Han Liu Zhang

Outside Chang'an City, Zhang Ji’s camp.

"General, Liu Yizhou has made it clear that he does not bear grudges, but will wait and see if you can surrender in the future." Hu Che'er reported to General Zhang Ji with a happy look on his face.

"Good, very good."

Zhang Ji, who had been sitting upright, stood up happily and paced back and forth. He was a little worried at first that based on the mistakes he had made in the past, Yizhou Mu Liu Zhang might not be willing to accept him. But now it seemed that Yizhou Mu Liu Zhang was a trustworthy man, and if he said he would only hold Li Jue and Guo Si accountable, then he would only hold Li Jue and Guo Si accountable.

Hu Che'er took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to Zhang Ji: "Liu Yizhou has another letter and asked me to give it to the general."

"Oh." Zhang Ji's eyes sparkled. He took the letter from Hu Che'er, tore open the seal, spread out the letter made of silk cloth, and read it carefully.

As he watched, Zhang Ji's smile grew wider. There were many kind words in the letter, and he never mentioned his past deeds of rebellion against the court. He only looked into the future, saying that after killing Li Jue and Guo Si, he would use this as a reward to show his merit to the emperor of the court, wash away his identity as a bandit from Liang Province, and make him a meritorious official of the Han Dynasty.

"I have long heard that Liu Yizhou is magnanimous and tolerant. Even if someone is a rebel, if he sincerely changes his ways, he will not bear grudges and will accept him wholeheartedly. Now that I have seen his letter, it is true."

After reading the letter, Zhang Ji sighed.

As a member of the Liangzhou bandits, Zhang Ji did not want to go down the same path with Li Jue and Guo Si until the end. In other words, if he continued to follow Li Jue and Guo Si, he would sooner or later reach a dead end. The only way to survive was to abandon Li Jue and Guo Si and make other plans.

There was no other reason, it was because Li Jue and Guo Si were hated by the world, from the emperor and ministers to the common people, everyone hated Li Jue and Guo Si to the core. And the reason why Li Jue and Guo Si were able to gain power in the past was that they relied on having strong troops, no one to attack them, and they controlled the emperor and the government.

But now, the emperor and his ministers have returned to Luoyang. Without the emperor in their hands, Li Jue and Guo Si have lost the righteousness of the court. Li and Guo are just two unforgivable traitors. In addition, Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou, who has a strong army, leads his troops to approach Guanzhong and declares that he must kill Li Jue and Guo Si to report to the country, protect the people, and avenge his two brothers.

Under such circumstances, Li Jue and Guo Si were already at the end of their rope, and were now merely fighting a desperate battle.

Faced with the current situation, although Zhang Ji was born in Liangzhou together with Li Jue and Guo Si, and they all served under Prime Minister Dong Zhuo in the past, he was not a minister of Li Jue and Guo Si, so there was no need for him to be loyal to them; secondly, for the sake of his wife and his family, he naturally made the wise choice of abandoning darkness and joining the light.

After a while of rejoicing, Zhang Ji came back to his senses. He praised Hu Che'er: "Hu Che'er, you did a great job this time. This general wants to reward you. I want to reward you heavily... Well... I will reward you with 100 pieces of silk cloth first."

Zhang Ji offered a reward of 100 pieces of silk cloth. There was a reason why he offered 100 pieces of silk cloth instead of coins.

The former Prime Minister Dong Zhuo was frightened by the rise of heroes in Shandong, so he burned down the palace in Luoyang and moved the capital to Chang'an. After arriving in Chang'an, Dong Zhuo was not good at management and the finances were empty, so he planned to mint small coins to make money.

But the people of Guanzhong were not fools. Faced with the crudely made and lightened small coins, they abandoned the method of trading with coins and switched to barter. The originally mature Wuzhu coin system was destroyed, and the era began to reverse.

In barter transactions, silk cloth, because of its lightness, ease of transportation, ease of storage, and its being a necessity, almost replaced the role of coins and became the new currency of the people in Guanzhong.

This is also the reason why Zhang Ji rewarded Hu Che'er with 100 pieces of silk cloth but not with any money, and money has not been circulated in Guanzhong for a long time.

Hearing the reward of 100 pieces of silk cloth, Hu Che'er's face lit up with joy. He did not refuse at all, but bowed and thanked, "Thank you, General."

Zhang Ji suddenly thought of something, and asked, "Did you have any accidents on your trip?"

"No, no, everything went smoothly." Hu Che'er shook his head vigorously. He suddenly thought of something and said carefully, "If there was any accident, it was that on my way back, I met Li Jue and his entourage who were out on a scouting trip... But I used the excuse that I was ordered by the general to scout the enemy and fooled them."

"Hmm?" Zhang Ji put away his relaxed expression, frowned, and asked in a slightly nervous tone: "Have you carefully observed Li Jue's expression? He doesn't suspect anything, right?"

"Definitely not." Hu Che'er denied, "Li Jue was preoccupied at the time and had no intention of speaking to me. He said goodbye to me after exchanging a few polite words. Moreover, Li Jue saw that I was out investigating the enemy and thought that the general was deliberately fighting the enemy, so he asked me to pay my respects to the general on his behalf."

Hu Che'er said with a hint of pride that he was proud of his wit. Although he was a Hu man, he always had a quick wit and could not be equated with other barbaric and stupid Qiang and Hu people.

"That's good. Your response is very good." Zhang Ji's expression seemed slightly relaxed, and at the same time he did not forget to praise Hu Che'er.

"Uncle, now is the time to discuss with Liu Yizhou how to eliminate Li Jue and Guo Si." Zhang Xiu, who was in his youth and exuded a heroic spirit, said.

"In the future, as long as I help Liu Yizhou to destroy Li Jue and Guo Si, my uncle will be a meritorious service to the Han Dynasty. We cannot wait until today to give him an official title and a rank. Maybe even my aunt can be made a lord."

Zhang Xiu looked into the future and laid out a blueprint for his uncle Zhang Ji.

Zhang Xiu agreed with the agreement between Zhang Ji and Jia Xu to surrender to Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou. He believed that his uncle Zhang Ji was a talented general who was good at charging into battle and fighting on the battlefield. However, establishing his own territory and competing for supremacy in the world were not Zhang Ji's strong points.

Under such circumstances, the best choice for his uncle Zhang Ji was to choose a wise leader to serve, obey his orders, fight for him on the battlefield, and make achievements for himself.

And Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou, was obviously a wise leader.

"Yes." Zhang Ji nodded: "Assisting Liu Yizhou to settle in Guanzhong and destroying Li Jue and Guo Si is the top priority at the moment... As for how to get rid of Li Jue and Guo Si, Mr. Jia still needs to make plans..."

At this point, Zhang Ji slapped his forehead and suddenly realized, "Xiu'er, go and call Mr. Jia over and tell him about this happy event."

"Yes." Zhang Xiu agreed loudly and then strode out.

As Jia Xu was quite prestigious among the soldiers in Liang Province, in order to prevent Zhang Ji from worrying that he would try to seize power, except when Zhang Ji invited him to attend meetings, he just read books in his tent every day and did not get close to the soldiers under Zhang Ji's command, so as to avoid being involved in gossips about winning people's hearts.

At that moment, Jia Xu was in his military tent, reading a military book attentively.

Regarding the envoy Hu Che'er going to surrender to Yizhou Governor Liu Zhang, Jia Xu was not as worried as Zhang Ji. He had full confidence that Yizhou Governor Liu Zhang would definitely accept Zhang Ji.

This is because those who care about the world do not care about small grudges.

Jia Xu made a penetrating analysis of the actions and past of Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou. Based on his knowledge, he believed that Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou, had great ambitions, not just in Guanzhong and Bashu. A person with great ambitions and courage would not focus on trivial matters.

At this time, there was a sound of brisk footsteps outside the tent. Jia Xu pretended not to know and just quietly read the military book in his hand. "Mr. Jia."

It was not until the rustling sound of the curtain being lifted and a call came from behind that Jia Xu turned around, smiled and greeted: "It's Ah Xiu, what's the matter?"

Jia Xu nonchalantly put away the bamboo slips in his hand, and at the same time made an inference in his mind that Hu Che'er must have returned, and brought back a piece of good news, that is, the governor of Yizhou, Liu Zhang, accepted Zhang Ji's surrender.

This inference came from 70% Jia Xu's control over people's hearts and the current situation, and 30% from the ease and satisfaction on Zhang Xiu's face in front of him.

If Liu Yizhou had not accepted Zhang Ji's request for surrender, how could Zhang Xiu, as his nephew, be so relaxed and happy?

"There is indeed a good news. Liu Yizhou has accepted my uncle's surrender and is willing to accept him." Zhang Xiu said with a happy face.

"No wonder I heard a magpie calling outside the tent this morning. It turns out it was here." Jia Xu laughed happily, with a hint of deliberate surprise on his face.

Zhang Xiu bowed and said, "Uncle, please come over and discuss how to help Liu Yizhou capture the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si and accomplish this great feat."

"Okay." Jia Xu nodded. He put the bamboo slips in his hand into a cloth bag to prevent them from being contaminated by dust and being eaten by insects and ants.

After tying the bag, Jia Xu stood up and went to the central military tent under the guidance of Zhang Xiu.

The tent where Jia Xu lived was not too far from the central military tent. Soon, Jia Xu arrived at the central military tent and saw Zhang Ji, who had a happy look on his face.

"Just as you said, Liu Yizhou is indeed tolerant and willing to accept my surrender." Zhang Ji said to Jia Xu with admiration.

"Sir, you are really very smart and have foresight."

"General, you are too kind. I just guessed it by chance. I am just an ordinary person, how can I have any brilliant calculations?" Jia Xu said modestly.

"Please." Zhang Ji extended his hand and invited Jia Xu to take a seat.

When they were seated and had not yet started discussing, someone outside the tent announced, "General, Li Jue has sent his cousin Li Huan to invite you into the city to discuss strategies against the enemy."

Zhang Ji suddenly looked unhappy. He had just sat down, thinking about having a good discussion with Jia Xu, but Li Huan came to disturb him, making him feel a little unhappy.

"Sir, I will be back soon... If I don't go, Li Jue and Guo Si might become suspicious." Zhang Ji bowed to Jia Xu.

"General, please do as you please. For now, everything should continue as usual so as not to arouse suspicion among Li Jue and Guo Si," Jia Xu replied.

It was a common occurrence for Li Jue and Guo Si to invite Zhang Ji to discuss military affairs. During this period of time, every three or five days, messengers from Chang'an would arrive at Zhang Ji's camp and invite Zhang Ji into the city for discussions.

Therefore, when Zhang Ji planned to enter the city, Jia Xu also expressed that he should enter the city. This way, he would not arouse the suspicion of Li Jue and Guo Si. Otherwise, Zhang Ji only needed to make one or two excuses, and the suspicious Li Jue and Guo Si would probably start to suspect Zhang Ji.

Here, Zhang Ji left the central army tent and rode towards Chang'an City together with Li Huan, the envoy sent by Li Jue.

After Zhang Ji left, only Jia Xu, Zhang Xiu and Hu Che'er were left in the central army tent. Without Zhang Ji as the leader, the meeting could not be held. Zhang Ji had to come back from Chang'an City before any discussions could be held.

Since he had nothing to do, Zhang Xiu opened up the conversation and asked Hu Che'er, "Hu Che'er, what does Liu Yizhou look like? As the governor of a state and the commander of a large army, does Liu Yizhou look very impressive?"

Upon hearing this, Jia Xu, who had originally closed his eyes to rest, opened his eyes slightly and looked at Hu Che'er.

Hu Che'er reached out and scratched the back of his head. "Liu Yizhou looks very young. His appearance? Although he can't be described as a handsome man with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, he is quite decent... As for his majesty, I didn't feel it. Liu Yizhou is friendly and speaks appropriately. He doesn't put on airs or act pretentiously. When talking to him, he is like an older brother next door."

"Is that so?" Zhang Xiu touched his short beard and imagined Liu Zhang, his future monarch, based on Hu Che'er's description.

After being absent-minded for a moment, Zhang Xiu continued to ask: "Have you seen the assistant general Gan Ning? What does Gan Ning look like? Is he of strong build?"

He inquired about Gan Ning, who had captured Chencang, raided Li Guo's camp at night, and killed Hu Feng in battle. Zhang Xiu admired a brave general like Gan Ning. He also wanted to become a general who led an army and became famous throughout the world.

However, Zhang Xiu did not get an answer. He saw Hu Che'er shook his head and said, "I did not see Gan Ning. The people I saw, besides Liu Yizhou, were Xun You, the chief clerk under Liu Yizhou, and Fa Zheng, the military advisor."

"Forget it, I'll see him sooner or later." Zhang Xiu was a little disappointed that he couldn't know Gan Ning's appearance and figure, but his disappointment only lasted for a moment before it disappeared. Now that his uncle Zhang Ji had surrendered to Liu Zhang in private, he would be able to meet Gan Ning sooner or later and see him with his own eyes. There was no need to rush to know Gan Ning's situation from other people.

Zhang Xiu was in a lazy posture. He fell back, supported himself with his hands, and looked up and sighed, "Hu Che'er, you are quite clever. You bumped into Li Jue unexpectedly, but you were able to come up with a set of rhetoric to trick Li Jue and not let Li Jue get suspicious."

"I just had some quick wits, it's nothing... Actually, Li Jue was in a state of mind and had no intention of getting entangled with me, so I got away with it easily." Hu Che'er said with both humility and pride.

The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously. Upon hearing the conversation between Zhang Xiu and Hu Che'er, Jia Xu suddenly opened his eyes, with a gleam in his eyes. He asked in a tone as calm as a deep pool.

"Li Jue? Did you run into Li Jue on your way back?"

"Yes." Hu Che'er answered: "On my way back, I ran into Li Jue by chance, but I made up a story and got away without Li Jue noticing or suspecting anything."

"It's a mistake." Jia Xu took a deep breath and his words were as cold as the coldest days of winter.

"Sir, how did you mess up?" Zhang Xiu was puzzled and asked Jia Xu.

Jia Xu sighed and said with a bad look: "Li Jue and Guo Si's invitation today may be a feast at Hongmen." (End of this chapter)