Ji Han Liu Zhang

The setting sun gradually sank into the west, night gradually fell, and a hazy crescent moon hung in the sky.

It was almost night, and Zhang Ji had not returned yet, and there was no news at all.

Zhang Ji, who should have returned to the camp early, did not return. This was an unusual thing, which meant that there was probably some change in Chang'an City.

But Zhang Xiu didn't know whether this change was good or bad.

Many speculations arose and fell, and Zhang Xiu was worried. The sorrow in his heart was revealed on his face. His face was stretched long, and his delicate eyebrows were tightly furrowed. His body was also dominated by anxious emotions. He could not sit quietly, and could only pace back and forth to relieve some of the uneasiness in his heart.

"Li Jue is a cunning man, and his mind is the most meticulous among the generals in Liangzhou. Although Hu Che'er was able to deceive Li Jue for a while, when Li Jue turned around and thought about it, he would definitely find one or two flaws in Hu Che'er and become suspicious. "

"Liu Yizhou has stationed his troops at Wuzhangyuan and announced that he will kill Li Jue and Guo Si. This is a critical moment. Li Jue has become suspicious of Hu Che'er, and he will definitely be suspicious of the cavalry (Zhang Ji). After the cavalry enters the city, if there is any inappropriateness in the conversation, Li Jue would rather kill the wrong person than let him go for the sake of his own life."

"That's why I said the Hussars are in danger!!!"

"The cavalry's entry into the city this time may be dangerous. If the cavalry does not return before the sun sets today, I'm afraid..."

Thinking of what Jia Xu had said before, Zhang Xiu became more and more agitated. He walked to a table, suddenly clenched his fist as big as a casserole, and punched the table hard.

'Boom...'

But after hearing a crisp sound of wood cracking, the square table broke into several irregular pieces of wood, which flew in all directions under the impact of Zhang Xiu's iron fist, and wood chips flew up.

The action of force is mutual. The table was broken into pieces by one punch, but Zhang Xiu's fist was also in pain. Several bloody marks were left on his fist, and scarlet blood dripped from the wounds.

In this situation, Zhang Xiu should have felt a surge of pain, but he turned a deaf ear to it. He casually shook off the blood on his hands and continued pacing with his hands behind his back. His concern for his uncle Zhang Ji made him ignore the pain in his body.

Zhang Ji is not only Zhang Xiu's uncle, but also his cousin. Normally, Zhang Ji treats Zhang Xiu like his own son. If Zhang Ji is not around, Zhang Xiu can take over and make all the decisions on military affairs, big or small.

The blood relationship and the close treatment in life made Zhang Xiu unable to wait any longer. He drew the spear from the weapon rack, held it tightly, and glanced towards the entrance of the tent with a determined look.

"Mr. Jia, please wait here for a moment. I will lead 500 cavalrymen to the city to pick up my uncle."

Jia Xu stroked his beard gently, his tone as calm as water: "Young general, if the cavalry is fine, they will return sooner or later. It doesn't matter whether you go or not... If the cavalry is in trouble, they may be captured by Li Jue and Guo Si. You are now leading 500 cavalry into the city, which is a situation where you are outnumbered. By then, both you and your nephew will be trapped in the city, and your life and death will be in the hands of Li Jue and Guo Si."

"If you were still in the camp, the soldiers would know who to listen to. Even if Li Jue and Guo Si captured the cavalry, they might still be hesitant and not dare to kill them. But if you were not in the camp, the soldiers in the camp would lose their leader. Li Jue and Guo Si would have nothing to worry about. Not to mention the lives of the cavalry, even your Zhang family would have no chance of survival."

"This..." Hearing this, Zhang Xiu hesitated. He sighed heavily, "We can't just wait here. We don't know the situation in the city. How should we deal with it?"

"We can only wait." Jia Xu said firmly.

In fact, according to Jia Xu's idea, Zhang Ji had not returned at this time, and the fact that they secretly surrendered to Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou, must have been leaked. The situation was very critical, and the best policy was to leave. They should leave this place early and head towards Wuzhangyuan before Li Jue and Guo Si made any move.

After all, the camp set up by Zhang Ji was not far from Chang'an City. If Li Jue and Guo Si imprisoned Zhang Ji and led elite cavalry to attack, it would only take a quarter of an hour or two for them to reach the outside of the camp, and the situation would be critical at that time.

But Zhang Xiu, who is in charge of the overall situation now, will definitely not abandon Zhang Ji. Without getting the exact news about Zhang Ji in the city, Zhang Xiu will not leave at all.

Jia Xu, a native of Liangzhou, could be sure of this because he knew Zhang Ji and Zhang Xiu. This uncle and nephew had a deep relationship. Although they were not father and son, they were close to it.

"Although we have to wait, we can't just sit and wait." Seeing Zhang Xiu's anxiety, Jia Xu gave an idea: "Young General, you can send someone to the city of Chang'an and tell them that there is an urgent matter in the army and that the cavalry is needed to handle it, so as to test the reaction of the people in the city."

"Okay, okay." Zhang Xiu nodded hurriedly. He looked at Hu Che'er, who nodded knowingly. Then Hu Che'er bowed and was about to leave the tent and go to Chang'an.

However, just as Hu Che'er was leaving the tent, a flag officer bumped into Hu Che'er. Hu Che'er was tall and strong, so the flag officer was naturally no match for Hu Che'er and was about to fall on his back.

The flag officer was halfway on his back when he was grabbed by the steady Hu Che'er. While pulling the flag officer up, Hu Che'er asked, "What's the situation?"

The flag officer did not wait to salute, and hurriedly reported: "Young General, there is a group of riders outside the camp."

"Uncle is back?" Zhang Xiu's worries disappeared and he looked happy. He said it as a matter of course, his tone full of joy.

"No, the leaders are Xia Yu and Gao Shuo under Guo Si's command, not the cavalry." The flag officer replied frankly.

After hearing the words of the flag officer, Zhang Xiu's expression changed dramatically and his mood fell from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the valley.

Zhang Xiu looked unfriendly and asked hesitantly, "What are Xia Yu and Gao Shuo doing here?"

The flag officer said he didn't know, saying that Xia Yu and Gao Shuo didn't want to talk to them, the officers and soldiers, and wanted Zhang Xiu to go and have the conversation.

Zhang Xiu nodded, picked up his spear, and was about to leave the tent. After walking a few steps, he suddenly remembered someone. He turned to look at Jia Xu and said, "Mr. Jia, please go with me and find out the purpose of Xia Yu and Gao Shuo's visit."

"As I should." Jia Xu stood up and followed Zhang Xiu, and they walked out of the tent together.

Soon, Zhang Xiu arrived at the camp gate. At this moment, the sun had completely set behind the western mountains and night had fallen over the land of Guanzhong. Although the moonlight was bright and clear, it was not as bright as the sun. Therefore, Zhang Xiu had to look outside the camp by the light of the torches.

But outside the camp, Xia Yu and Gao Shuo, two brave generals under Guo Si, were seen riding on tall horses, leading hundreds of soldiers and stopping not far from the camp.

"Captain Xia, Captain Gao, what are you doing here?" Zhang Xiu asked loudly. In the silence of the first night, his crisp voice spread all over the fields and reached the ears of Xia Yu and Gao Shuo. "My uncle entered the city earlier. Why hasn't he returned yet?" Without waiting for Xia Yu and Gao Shuo to answer, Zhang Xiu continued to ask. He was eager to know about Zhang Ji's situation.

"It's like this. Qiqi Zhang was in a good mood today, but he drank a little too much and it was inconvenient for him to ride a horse, so he stayed in the city." Xia Yu answered Zhang Xiu's question.

After hearing Xia Yu's answer, Zhang Xiu knew something was wrong. Before his uncle Zhang Ji entered the city, he intended to discuss military affairs with Jia Xu, but had to give up because of the invitation of Li Jue and Guo Si. Before leaving, he said he would return early the next day. How could he drink excessively in the city and even get drunk?

Zhang Xiu and Jia Xu exchanged a glance, and Jia Xu shook his head slightly. Zhang Xiu understood, and he did not expose Xia Yu's lie. He just responded, "So that's it. My uncle is staying in the city. If we send someone to announce it, we only need one messenger. Why do we need two captains to come in person to announce it?"

This time outside the camp, it was Gao Shuo who answered: "Zhang Huqi is a little drunk. He said that he drank such good wine, but he couldn't drink with the young general. It's a pity. He got a little drunk at the banquet and insisted that we come to treat the young general. We couldn't persuade him, so we had to come and treat the young general."

"By the way, Zhang Huqi also said that he needed Zou's service at night. Without Zou's service, he couldn't sleep well." Xia Yu added, jokingly.

"Oh." Zhang Xiu's expression remained unchanged, but he was furious. He was afraid that Xia Yu and Gao Shuo's words and their plans might mean that they wanted to detain him and his aunt Zou in the city.

"Two captains, you also said that my uncle was drunk and what he said was just drunken talk, which should not be taken seriously. Besides, my uncle is staying in the city, and there is no one to manage the camp outside the city. I am struggling to hold on, how can I leave the camp easily?"

As soon as Zhang Xiu finished speaking, Xia Yu and Gao Shuo outside the camp couldn't help but look at each other, and both of them showed displeased expressions.

But when Xia Yu and Gao Shuo turned their faces to the front, their faces were full of smiles.

Xia Yu persuaded earnestly, "This is why Lieutenant Gao and I are here. Young general, go into the city and drink with Zhang the Cavalry. Lieutenant Gao and I will temporarily supervise the affairs of the camp outside the city. When Zhang the Cavalry sobers up and can ride back to the camp tomorrow, we will leave on our own."

"Yes, yes, yes, young general, don't worry. With Captain Xia and I here, there won't be any trouble in the camp outside the city. Young general, don't worry. Take your aunt into the city and have some drinks. Isn't that wonderful?"

Xia Yu was persuading on this side, and Gao Shuo was tempting on the other side.

However, Xia Yu and Gao Shuo's words were in vain. Zhang Xiu was completely unmoved. He just bowed and said, "It's getting late. Please go back, the two captains. Xiu was entrusted by my uncle to take charge of the affairs of the camp. Without my uncle's personal order, I dare not leave easily."

At this moment, Zhang Xiu felt a little gloomy. He realized that things were probably just as Jia Xu, the wise man from Liangzhou, had speculated. His uncle's surrender to Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou, might have been discovered by Li Jue and Guo Si.

Therefore, Li Jue and Guo Si first detained his uncle in the city, and then sent Xia Yu and Gao Shuo to recruit him, hoping to capture both his uncle and nephew in one fell swoop, so that Zhang's troops would be without a snakehead and the Zhang family would collapse.

Hearing Zhang Xiu's repeated rejections, Xia Yu lowered his voice and complained: "This guy is really stubborn."

Gao Shuo, who was standing beside Xia Yu, was unwilling to continue to play along with Zhang Xiu. He first said to Xia Yu, "If you ask me, how can a mere kid like Zhang Xiu stop us? We might as well just charge into the camp instead of wasting our breath."

"Don't..." Knowing that Gao Shuo had an impatient temper, Xia Yu was about to open his mouth to stop Gao Shuo, but Gao Shuo's mouth was faster.

But Gao Shuo threatened Zhang Xiu loudly: "Zhang Xiu, open the camp gate quickly and welcome us into the camp. Otherwise, if you hesitate for a moment, you will never see your uncle Zhang Ji again."

"You...eh..." Xia Yu stopped talking abruptly after saying the word 'you'. He knew there was nothing to say now. Just what Gao Shuo said just now had already torn his relationship with Zhang Xiu apart. There was no condition for the two sides to continue communicating.

Just as Xia Yu had expected, Zhang Xiu at the camp was furious when the truth came out and the situation became clear. He said with wide eyes, "How dare you! If anything happens to my uncle, I will kill you without a burial place... Go and tell Li Guo to let my uncle go back to the camp, otherwise I will gather all the soldiers and attack Chang'an tomorrow."

"Oh, I'm so scared." Seeing Zhang Xiu in a hurry, Gao Shuo felt pleased and even made a sarcastic remark.

After saying that, Gao Shuo pulled off a package from the side of the saddle, shook it vigorously a few times, and threw it towards Zhang Xiu.

He said even more relentlessly: "You want your uncle, then take it."

Zhang Xiu stared straight at the package thrown by Gao Shuo, the package as big as a human head, rolling in the air. At this moment, he felt a sense of foreboding in his heart. Worry, fear, and disbelief surged into his heart.

Gao Shuo was a brave general from Liang Province and was famous for his arm strength. With his powerful throw, a mere package flew over the fence of the camp and landed in front of Zhang Xiu.

"One wrong step, and I ended up like this." Jia Xu sighed. He knew what was in the package without even opening it.

Zhang Xiu bent down and picked up the package thrown to him by Gao Shuo with trembling hands. The seal of the package was slightly loosened after rolling in front of him. Zhang Xiu just pulled it, and the outer layer of cloth was untied, revealing the contents of the package.

Not surprisingly, the thing in the package was Zhang Ji's head, bloody, with eyes wide open, as if he had died with his eyes open.

"Ah..." Zhang Xiu screamed. He didn't want to believe that what he was holding in his hands was the head of his uncle Zhang Ji. He was even more unwilling to believe that he and his uncle Zhang Ji were separated by death in just a few hours.

Zhang Xiu's body went limp, and he seemed about to fall down, but Jia Xu beside him sighed softly, stretched out his strong arms, and supported Zhang Xiu, preventing him from falling down in front of the soldiers.

Now that Zhang Ji is dead, the soldiers around him are already in a panic, with panic on everyone's face. If Zhang Xiu falls again, the situation will be irreversible.

"Young General, please put aside your pain for now. The lives of the Zhang family now depend on you. If you fall, with the cruelty of Li Jue and Guo Si, the Zhang family will be wiped out."

Jia Xu's tone was calm but powerful. After hearing his words, Zhang Xiu stood up straight and no longer looked limp.

Zhang Xiu first rewrapped Zhang Ji's head, and then asked Jia Xu solemnly: "Mr. Jia, what should we do now?"

"The only way now is to go to Wuzhangyuan to have a chance of survival." Jia Xu said. (End of this chapter)