Ji Han Liu Zhang

Facing Liu Zhang's questioning, he questioned himself for giving advice to Li Jue and Guo Si to counterattack Chang'an, which led to the death of Prime Minister Wang Yun, the emperor being forced, the court being corrupt, and the situation in Guanzhong being out of control for a time.

Under such harsh questioning, Jia Xu still maintained a calm expression. He was not nervous or worried because of Liu Zhang's overwhelming pressure. After a moment's silence, Jia Xu bowed and asked Liu Zhang a question in return.

"Are you asking for punishment, sir?"

"If I were to tell you about my crime, I was a sympathizer of Dong Zhuo in the past, and I was suspected of helping Zhou to commit atrocities. Later, Dong Zhuo fled, and in order to protect myself, I made plans with Li Jue and Guo Si, gathered the generals of Liang Province, and counterattacked Chang'an, which led to the emperor being oppressed and the ministers being humiliated. Xu has caused great harm."

As a Liangzhou native, especially a Liangzhou scholar who had followed Dong Zhuo, it is impossible to say that he is innocent. Dong Zhuo was causing trouble, Li and Guo were rebelling, and the people involved must have committed serious crimes. That is why Jia Xu spoke frankly. He did not conceal anything in his words and revealed all his faults and crimes.

"Sir, you are quite frank." Liu Zhang smiled slightly and commented on Jia Xu's behavior of revealing his crimes.

"But Zhang is not asking for guilt, but for conscience."

"Dong Zhuo was a disaster, Li and Guo were rebellious, and among the people of Yongliang, there were tens of thousands who had no choice but to join the rebels. Are they all traitors to the country?"

Liu Zhang looked at Jia Xu and said sternly, "Mr. Si, I used to work in the army of Dong Zhuo's son-in-law Niu Fu, but I have never heard of any evil deeds. Although he later helped Li Jue and Guo Si to attack Chang'an, there were reasons for that..."

"Situ Wang is a man of great talent, and he killed Dong Zhuo and made great contributions. However, he is complacent and has acted out of control. He insists on his own way and is unwilling to pardon the generals of Liang Province..."

At this point, Liu Zhang sighed lightly. After Dong Zhuo was executed, Dong Zhuo's troops were headed by Dong Zhuo's son-in-law Niu Fu. Niu Fu was timid and cowardly, and had no ability to take charge of the overall situation. When a soldier in the camp fled, he mistakenly thought that the entire camp was in rebellion, so Niu Fu immediately abandoned the army and fled. He was killed by his close confidant Zhi Hu Chi'er who fled with him, and his head was sent to Chang'an.

At this point, Dong Zhuo was dead, Niu Fu was dead, and the generals in Liang Province lost their backbone. At this time, Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, Zhang Ji and others were worried and submitted a petition to the court, stating that they would surrender as long as the court pardoned their crimes.

But when the court only needed to issue a pardon to properly deal with the issue of Dong Zhuo's former subordinates, Wang Yun, the chief hero in killing the traitor Dong Zhuo, became complacent and conceited, and thought that since Dong Zhuo was dead, the remaining generals in Liang Province would not be a threat.

Therefore, Wang Yun, who was in charge of the imperial court and was in charge of the government affairs, rejected the requests of Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou, Zhang Ji and others because the court had already granted amnesty once when Dong Zhuo died, and granting amnesty twice within a year was not in line with the court system.

Liu Zhang continued to say to Jia Xu: "The generals of Liang Province have not been pardoned by the court and have been forced into a desperate situation. As the saying goes, even rabbits will bite when they are angry, let alone Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou and others. These people are like wolves and tigers. How can they be willing to surrender and be killed?"

Jia Xu's eyes flickered, but he did not speak. Instead, he listened quietly.

"So even if you don't give them advice and come up with a plan to attack Chang'an, given the viciousness of Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou and others, they will naturally unite their forces, give it a go, and lead the troops to attack Chang'an."

Liu Zhang's words seemed to be an excuse for Jia Xu, exonerating Jia Xu from the mistake of making plans for Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou and others, but his words were not lies, but the truth.

At that time, Dong Zhuo was dead and Niu Fu was on the run. Niu Fu stationed his troops in Shan County of Hongnong County. Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou and others gathered in Shan County to discuss. Even if these people did not intend to attack Chang'an and were determined to flee back to Liangzhou, they still had to pass through Chang'an, and would inevitably conflict with Wang Yun in Chang'an City.

Wang Yun was so proud of having killed Dong Zhuo that he was unable to appease Lu Bu, the hero who killed Dong Zhuo. He only treated Lu Bu as a swordsman. Lu Bu was treated lightly by Wang Yun and gradually fell out with Wang Yun. Secondly, he was unable to win over the leaders of Liang Province, such as Hu Zhen and Yang Ding. As a result, when these people heard that Li Jue and Guo Si were heading for Chang'an, they instead joined Li Jue and Guo Si.

Therefore, the outcome of the battle between Wang Yun and Li Jue, Guo Si and others was clear at a glance.

Liu Zhang said leniently: "Even if you don't say anything, Li Jue, Guo Si, Fan Chou and others will still think of attacking Chang'an in order to protect themselves. The situation is turbulent, and it is not easy for you to protect yourself in the situation. I will not blame you."

"As long as you understand in your heart and feel a little guilty, you are an innocent person." Liu Zhang looked at Jia Xu with burning eyes.

"Your Excellency is so kind and virtuous that I am deeply ashamed." Jia Xu's heart was slightly touched. He was a man with a heart as hard as a rock, but when he heard Liu Zhang's words, he was somewhat touched.

Born into a family of scholars in Liangzhou, although he was selected as an official for his filial and incorruptibility, he was not very successful in Luoyang. After serving as a palace attendant for a while, he returned to Liangzhou on the pretext of recuperating from illness. Later, General He Jin had a conflict with the eunuchs, and Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang and controlled the government. He was of low rank and had little power, so he was dragged into the chaos.

During that period, in order to preserve himself, he did some things he had to do, such as making plans with Li Jue and Guo Si, and advising Li Jue and Guo Si to counterattack Chang'an on the grounds that the court in Chang'an was unwilling to pardon the people of Liangzhou. If they won, they would control the overall situation in the court, and if they lost, they would consider returning Liangzhou.

And things happened just as Jia Xu had planned. Li Jue, Guo Si and others successfully captured Chang'an, and he was able to save his life. However, due to the brutality of Li Jue, Guo Si and others, many people, from ministers to common people, were poisoned by Li Jue and Guo Si. He witnessed all of this and felt somewhat sad.

So after the war, when Li Jue and Guo Si wanted to force the emperor to make him a marquis for his meritorious service in drawing up strategies, he declined the reward of marquis on the grounds that "it was just a life-saving plan, what merit do I have?" He also declined the important position of Shangshu Pushe in the court and only accepted the post of Shangshu. He made many contributions in selecting people and made some small contributions to the people of Guanzhong.

It was for this reason that when Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou, raised troops in Guanzhong, he persuaded General Zhang Ji to send Hu Che'er to express his intention to surrender to Liu Zhang, and was willing to help Liu Yizhou to kill the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si, restore peace to Guanzhong, and at the same time make up for some past mistakes.

As the night deepened, Liu Zhang and Jia Xu were not sleepy. After a frank conversation, they went on to discuss the two thieves, Li Jue and Guo Si.

As a top-notch strategist, and knowing the situation of Li Jue and Guo Si very well, Jia Xu quickly devised several strategies for Liu Zhang to defeat Li Jue and Guo Si.

……

Xiangyang.

General Cai Mao and Captain Zhang Yun sat high on the platform, while below the platform, teams of elite Jing soldiers, each formed into lines and divided into several small squares, were constantly practicing, either attacking, retreating, or crossing forward to fight.

It was a sunny day today. The strong wind blowing from the Yangtze River made the flags rustle in the wind. Adding to that the solemn atmosphere of military training in the parade grounds, it was a magnificent scene that could not be more beautiful in the eyes of Cai Mao and Zhang Yun.

Since the repeated defeats in Shangyong last year and the loss of Fangling, Cai Mao has been very unhappy every time he thought about this matter since this year. As a general of Jingzhou, he was defeated by the Shen family, a small wealthy family in Shangyong, and Zhang Lu, a rice thief who fled hastily from Hanzhong. He was defeated and humiliated, and was ridiculed by the people of Jingxiang.

Cai Mao was a man who cared about his reputation, so he naturally could not stand this situation. Therefore, he gave up attending banquets and hunting trips during this period of time, and took out a lot of energy to urge his soldiers to train, intending to train an elite army. This year, no matter what, he must take back Fangling, conquer Shangyong, wipe out the powerful Shen family, and kill the rice thief Zhang Lu, wipe out the shame of previous years, and make the Cai family shine in Jingxiang.

"Shame, shame." The veins on Cai Mao's forehead bulged slightly. He remembered the disastrous defeat in Shangyong last year. How could he, a prominent family in Jingxiang and a famous scholar in Chu, be humiliated by the likes of Shen and Zhang Lu?

"Now we have enough weapons and armor, and our warehouses are full of food and grass. We should lead the three armies to conquer Shangyong in the west, kill Shen Shi and Zhang Lu, and avenge our previous humiliation and bring glory to ourselves."

Cai Mao declared to Zhang Yun beside him.

"Of course." Zhang Yun echoed, and he said proudly: "Shen Shi and Zhang Lu were careless in the past and fell into their trap. Now, these villains should not try to play those tricks again, and we will not fall for their tricks again."

"Today, as the general said, we should annihilate Shangyong, avenge our previous humiliation, and make a name for ourselves in Jingxiang."

Cai Mao smiled and nodded, saying, "Now we have to send spies to investigate Shangyong's situation. Knowing ourselves and the enemy is the only way to win every battle. Secondly, we have to ask the envoy for permission to lead the troops to attack Shangyong as soon as possible."

"I will go with the general and ask the envoy for orders to conquer Shangyong." Zhang Yun bowed.

Cai Mao stepped forward, held Zhang Yun's hand and said, "Okay, you and I will go now."

Cai Mao could not wait any longer. He hoped that the sooner he could send troops and capture Shangyong, the sooner he could wash away the shame on the Cai family and make the Cai family continue to be the first-class family in Jingxiang, instead of being slightly inferior to the Kuai family in reputation.

At this moment, inside the government office in Xiangyang, a sigh was spreading through the palace.

"If I had a son, I'd want him to be like Liu Jiyu."

Hearing this, the deputy driver Liu Xian and the governor Kuai Yue, who were sitting below the table, did not respond. They just looked at their noses with their ears, their mouths with their noses, and their hearts with their mouths, and remained silent like clay sculptures or wooden carvings.

There was no other reason, because the one who made this sigh was Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, their immediate superior. So they could not refute it, because it was indeed the fact that Liu Biao's son was not as good as Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou. But they could not agree with it either, because Prince Liu Qi might bear a grudge against them, and that would offend people. As wise men, Liu Xian and Kuai Yue would naturally not do that.

"They attacked Chencang by surprise and opened up the Chencang Road in one fell swoop. Then, General Gan Ning attacked the camps of Li Jue and Guo Si at night and killed Li Jue's nephew Hu Feng in battle. Li Jue and Guo Si camped under the strong city. Their troops were old and tired, so they retreated to Chang'an, showing fear."

Liu Biao read the contents on the silk cloth in his hand with an extremely complicated expression.

"Now Liu Jiyu has led his army and is heading towards Chang'an."

Liu Zhang's actions reminded Liu Biao of the deeds of Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han Dynasty. In that case, Xiang Yu used his great victory of burning his boats and forcing Liu Bang, who had entered Guanzhong first, to give up the idea of ​​becoming king in Guanzhong and instead threw Liu Bang to the remote country of Hanzhong.

But Emperor Gao was a man who would never accept decline. He appointed Han Xin as the general, repaired the plank road openly and passed through Chencang secretly, and conquered the three Qin areas in one fell swoop. Then he went east to fight for the world, finally destroyed the Xiang family, unified the world, and laid the foundation for the Han Dynasty.

'Yes, very much so.'

Comparing the story of Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang with what Liu Zhang is doing today, Liu Biao feels that they are exactly the same. Both send troops from Hanzhong, both march through Chencang, and both raise righteous troops to fight against bandits.

When Liu Biao thought of this, he looked a little depressed and a little happy, with the depressed look stronger than the happy look.

As a member of the royal family, he should be happy to see that Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou, was determined to fight against the enemy and assist the royal family. He might even hold a grand banquet to celebrate and express his joy to the people of Jingxiang.

But there wasn't much joy in his eyes, instead he looked depressed and felt very unhappy.

Liu Zhang was the son of Liu Yan, and Liu Yan had some old grudges with him. Although Liu Yan was dead, Liu Zhang had formed an alliance with him. It can be seen that Liu Yan's son was moving towards glory step by step, and even surpassed him, a member of the royal family, an important minister, and a famous figure in the country, which made him feel a little disappointed.

Liu Biao believed that he was older than Liu Zhang, became famous earlier than Liu Zhang, and was in charge of Jingxiang, a country with convenient transportation and good military capabilities. Among the royal family, it was natural that he was better than Liu Yan, let alone Liu Zhang.

But since Liu Zhang raised his troops in Guanzhong, although no one praised Liu Zhang in front of Liu Bian, the scholars and common people in Xiangyang were all excitedly discussing every detail of the war in Guanzhong in private. Any news from Guanzhong would be widely spread in Xiangyang.

In the area of ​​Xiangyang, everyone went to praise the spirit of Liu Zhang, the governor of Yizhou, and compared him to Emperor Gaozu. Many scholars even took action and went from Xiangyang to Kuimen, wanting to join Liu Zhang's camp and make some contributions to the fight against the enemy.

Scholars fled westward and the people returned to Shu. How could Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, be happy in such a situation?

Obviously, I am the governor of Jingzhou, but the hearts of the people are on the side of Liu Zhang. This is something that Liu Biao, the governor of Jingzhou, cannot tolerate. He plans to accomplish some achievements.

As soon as Liu Biao dozed off, Cai Mao and Zhang Yun handed him a pillow.

Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, who wanted to ask Liu Biao for permission to send troops to Shangyong, came to the government office and bowed to Liu Biao, asking for permission: "Sir, now that we have sufficient food and grass, and the soldiers are well-trained, we ask for permission to send troops to Shangyong, to suppress the Shen clan, to kill Zhang Lu, and to take over Xicheng, Shangyong, and Fangling for the state."

"Good." Liu Biao clapped his hands and praised: "Shen Shi plotted against Shangyong, and Zhang Lu practiced evil ways. They are the biggest thieves of the country and should be suppressed."

Liu Biao decided not to fall behind. Liu Zhang sent troops to Guanzhong to fight against the enemy for the country, so he naturally had to do something. Zhang Lu and Shen Shi were just the right targets. (End of this chapter)