Ji Han Liu Zhang

The left camp of Shu army.

The defending general Meng Da and Li Xiu were chatting about everything under the sun.

"That Ningji General Duan Wei stationed in Huayin is truly a hero who knows how to handle current affairs... Right after your Excellency has forced Li Jue and Guo Si into an isolated city, Duan Wei has already sent an envoy." Li Xiu sighed.

"Duan Wei is a first-rate man who can change his attitude according to the situation. However, since Duan Wei is a former general of Dong Zhuo, it is not appropriate for you to accept him as your successor."

Meng Da shook his head upon hearing this. He denied Li Xiu's words: "It is only natural for you to accept Duan Wei's surrender."

"Why?" Li Xiu straightened his body and asked.

Meng Da, who was born in Fufeng County, made an analysis: "Duan Wei is the cousin of the former Grand Commandant and Xinfeng County Marquis Duan Jiong. His family background is extraordinary. He is not a Liangzhou barbarian like Li Jue and Guo Si who are ignorant of current affairs and do not understand the classics."

"In the past, Li Jue and Guo Si were disrespectful to the emperor and neglected the ministers, but Duan Wei was respectful to the emperor and kind to the ministers, which left a way out for himself."

Meng Da smiled and said, "That is why everyone in the world wants to kill Li Jue and Guo Si, but they turn a blind eye to Duan Wei, Dong Zhuo's former general. Duan Wei is accepted by you, because after all, Duan Wei has not done anything disobedient."

"That's true. Xiu heard that Duan Wei in Huayin not only did not rob the people, but instead comforted the common people and encouraged them to engage in farming. This is very different from what the other generals in Liangzhou did." Li Xiu raised his head slightly and told about what he had seen and heard.

Meng Da lazily drank a glass of wine. He sighed and said, "Duan Wei never offended the emperor or the ministers. He also loved the people in the local area. This shows the importance of family background, knowledge, and temperament."

"People like Li Jue and Guo Si committed atrocities and spread their evil deeds throughout Guanzhong. They only cared about their own momentary pleasures, but not about the peace of the world. Now they are trapped in an isolated city, their lives are at stake, and they will never be able to rest in peace in their homeland. Their bodies can only be thrown into the wilderness."

Hearing this, Li Xiu sneered and said, "Li Jue and Guo Si, one is a borderland person who is accustomed to the customs of the barbarians, and the other is a horse thief who has no sense of loyalty and righteousness. It would be better to let a pig dog fly into the sky than to let these two people make long-term plans."

"The cause yesterday is the result today. It is only natural that Li Jue and Guo Si have the results they have now."

At this point in the conversation, Li Xiu lowered his voice and asked Meng Da, "Mr. Meng, have you heard any rumors recently?"

"What rumor?" Meng Da asked knowingly. He roughly guessed what Li Xiu was going to talk about, but he didn't want to reveal it first. Instead, he wanted to hear Li Xiu speak it out.

Li Xiu leaned forward slightly, frowning as he said, "What else could it be... Of course it's the rumor from Luoyang, saying that the emperor sent an envoy to appoint you as the Grand Marshal, the General of Chariots and Cavalry, and the Marquis of Nanzheng County."

After saying this, Li Xiu smacked his lips twice and sighed, "Grand Marshal, General of Chariots and Cavalry, Marquis of Nanzheng County, the emperor has been very generous."

"Really? I don't think it's enough. The titles of Grand Marshal, General of Chariots and Cavalry, and Marquis of Nanzheng County are no match for your virtue and achievements." Meng Da said with a little disdain.

"Your Excellency's benevolence is known to the world. You have pacified the barbarians in the south, eliminated the rice bandits in the north, and pacified Wudu in the west. Now you are leading the army to fight against the two bandits Li Jue and Guo Si. Your great achievements and reputation are not enough to be rewarded by the mere Grand Marshal, General of Chariots and Cavalry, or Marquis of Nanzheng County."

"Humph." Meng Da continued with contempt: "As in the past, the emperor fell into the hands of the thieves. In front of him was Dong Zhuo, and in the back were Li and Guo. The princes of Guandong just sat and watched, allowing Your Majesty to fall into the hands of the thieves... If it were not for you, how could the emperor escape from the hands of the thieves and return to Luoyang."

"Why does the emperor treat such a loyal man like you so poorly, a member of the royal family who is virtuous and virtuous?"

Meng Dabi's words and actions towards the Guandong princes and his wise master showed his dissatisfaction with the emperor's rewards.

"Well, according to Mr. Meng's opinion, what kind of reward should my lord receive?" Li Xiu half-squinted his eyes, his gaze almost formed into a solid line as he looked at Meng Da.

Meng Da said calmly, "If you kill the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si, pacify Guanzhong, and comfort the elders, you will be rewarded with a title of king."

"That's right." Li Xiu clapped his hands and praised, expressing his agreement immediately: "Ming Gong has made great contributions to the country, and the title of king is not enough to reward him."

"You are too stingy, my Lord."

Li Xiu said in a shameless manner, uttering something extremely treasonous.

At the same time, Li Xiu said helplessly: "In fact, I would say that as a member of the royal family, you have made contributions to the country, so it is no problem for you to declare yourself king. No one in the world would dare to object... But it is a pity that you respect the royal family, are selfless, and have clear integrity and loyalty, and do not do anything to establish yourself."

Meng Da thought deeply and retorted: "It is appropriate for you to be king, and it is not inappropriate for you to be king, but it is indeed too conspicuous to declare yourself king...Now your territory is only Yizhou and Guanzhong, and if you control Guanzhong, you still need to deal with the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si. Under such circumstances, if you claim to be alone, you may arouse suspicion and become the target of criticism from all heroes in the world."

"Delaying the declaration of kingship may not be a bad thing." Meng Da said with a smile.

……

The front camp of the Shu army.

After allowing Duan Yu, the envoy of Duan Wei, to stay for one night, Liu Zhang saw Duan Yu off today. Actually, he should have kept Duan Yu for a few more days to show his hospitality.

However, as an envoy, Duan Yu intended to meet Duan Wei as soon as possible and bring back the good news that Liu Zhang agreed to accept Duan Wei's surrender to Huayin, so Duan Yu bid farewell to Liu Zhang early in the morning.

Duan Yu stopped at the gate, he cupped his hands and assured Liu Zhang: "My Lord, please rest assured. I will go with Ning Ji and bring the people to help you, and help you kill the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si."

"I am very pleased that you have this intention." Liu Zhang did not refuse. He nodded in agreement. Although they were attacking and destroying the two thieves Li Jue and Guo Si, one more Duan Wei would not make much difference, but if Duan Wei could personally lead his troops to help, it would mean that Duan Wei had truly surrendered.

Politics? It means making more friends and fewer enemies. The stronger we are, the weaker our enemies are. Then great things will be accomplished.

"My lord, please stay. I will take my leave now." Duan Yu's words stopped Liu Zhang from seeing him off. He bowed and said goodbye, then mounted his horse and headed east under the escort of several riders.

After Liu Zhang watched for a moment or two, he returned to the central military tent.

In the central army tent, Liu Zhang asked, "How is the situation of sowing discord going?" Jia Xu, the mastermind, stepped forward and said, "My Lord, the letter used to sow discord has been shot to the top of Chang'an City by Captain Lou. Hou Xuan must have received the letter, and with Li Jue's shrewdness, he must have also received the news. Now we have to see what will happen in the city."

A gleam of light flashed in Fa Zheng's eyes, and he said, "We may attack Chang'an today to prove the discord."

"What do you mean?" Liu Zhang asked Fa Zheng. He was looking forward to Fa Zheng's plan.

Fa Zhenglang said: "Even though Hou Xuan received the letter and Li Jue got the news, they may not immediately become suspicious and even fight. We can attack Chang'an and attack the city walls guarded by Li Jue and Guo Si. This will make Li Jue and Guo Si suspicious and uneasy, and they will worry about whether the generals in Guanzhong have any dealings with us."

"What Fa Jun said is true. You can take it as a reference." Jia Xu nodded with a smile. After interacting with Fa Zheng for several days, he was very optimistic about this young man. Now, after hearing about Fa Zheng's strategy, he responded.

"That's right." Liu Zhang readily agreed and nodded.

Soon, the Shu army set out towards Chang'an city.

……

Inside Chang'an City.

Early in the morning, Li Jue and Guo Si would gather generals from Guanzhong including Hou Xuan, Cheng Yin, Liang Xing and others to discuss military intelligence.

Li Jue first asked with a hint of meaning: "Did you all sleep well last night?"

His words seemed like a greeting, but Hou Xuan, Cheng Yin, Liang Xing and others understood the deep meaning in his words as soon as they heard them. They looked at each other and exchanged their opinions.

After a while, the conversation ended, and Hou Xuan attended and said: "I didn't sleep well. The Shu army attacked last night, so I didn't sleep well all night."

"Oh." Li Jue acted surprised and asked in confusion, "I didn't hear any sound of drums or fighting last night."

Hou Xuan shook his head: "It was not the Shu army's mass attack at night, but the Shu army shot a letter from the city, which made my officers and soldiers worried all night, and I couldn't sleep well either."

"Where is the silk book and what does it say?" Guo Si asked immediately after hearing this. His tone was hurried and tight, revealing that he was extremely anxious.

When Li Jue heard Hou Xuan's words, he was surprised. It was not like the pretense as before. This time he was truly surprised. In addition to surprise, he also felt confused.

He didn't expect that the private matter that he was supposed to expose would be exposed by Hou Xuan himself. This made Li Jue feel powerless, as if he had intended to punch someone but it was like hitting cotton.

Hou Xuan took out a silk book from his bosom and handed it to the anxious Guo Siyan, saying, "It is this silk book. That little Liu Zhang is trying to sow discord between us. He does not know that I, Hou Xuan, am a righteous and brave man. How could I do such an unjust thing and betray my own ally?"

Hou Xuan's words were upright and righteous, and anyone who heard them would say, "What a righteous man."

However, Guo Si turned a deaf ear to Hou Xuan's words. He snatched the silk book from Hou Xuan's hand as if he was snatching it away and looked at it.

"Childish..." However, before Guo Si could even take two glances at it, he realized that the wording on the silk book was somewhat exquisite and beyond the comprehension of a crude warrior like him. Yes, he could not understand the words on the silk book, so he turned to Li Jue.

Li Jue sighed in his heart. He felt that Guo Si's overly hasty behavior was inappropriate. Whether it was asking about the candidate or taking the silk book from the candidate, it seemed too impatient and made people look superficial. Now that Guo Si had the silk book, he could not understand the words on it, which made people laugh.

"Fool." Li Jue couldn't scold Guo Si in front of everyone, so he could only say it in his heart. Then he took the silk book from Guo Si's hand and read it carefully.

The content of the silk book did not go beyond Li Jue's speculation. It was a message to lure Guanzhong generals such as Hou Xuan, Cheng Yin, and Liang Xing, and it clearly stated that if they killed him and Guo Si, they would be rewarded handsomely.

Li Jue was happy to see Hou Xuan, a man of great loyalty, presenting the Shu army's silk book. What he was most worried about was that Hou Xuan, Cheng Yin, Liang Xing and other generals in Guanzhong would be lured away by Liu Zhang, turn against him and fight in Chang'an. Now that he saw Hou Xuan presenting the silk book, he knew that Hou Xuan, Cheng Yin, Liang Xing and other generals in Guanzhong were still willing to stand on his side.

This was a good thing, a very good thing, for Li Jue. However, there was a suspicious point about this good thing, that is, there were many erasures and modifications on the silk book of the Shu army, which was too suspicious.

After all, it was strange that the clerks under the command of the Governor of Yizhou needed to erase and modify the documents before issuing them.

Therefore, facing the candidate who honestly presented the Shu army silk book, Li Jue's suspicion did not diminish, but instead became even more intense. However, he hid it very well, and there was no suspicious emotion on his face. Instead, he was just happy that the candidate honestly presented the silk book.

Li Jue laughed loudly twice, and then he seemed to reveal his true feelings. He stepped forward, shook Hou Xuan's hand and said, "I didn't expect that General Hou would be so loyal. I am really touched... I guarantee that if I can drive away the Shu soldiers, I will reward General Hou with the county of Fufeng."

"General Li, there is no need to do this. Liu Zhang is trying to use this kind of treacherous scheme to create discord between us. Naturally, we cannot do as Liu Zhang wishes." Hou Xuan also said earnestly.

For a moment, Li Jue and Hou Xuan held each other's hands and looked at each other passionately, as if they were real brothers.

This harmonious scene made Guo Si nod his head continuously. In a battle to defend a city, the most feared thing was the disunity and internal worries among the people. Now that they had no internal worries, Chang'an City would certainly not be breached.

Unlike Guo Si, Cheng Yin was relieved. Last night, after Hou Xuan received the Shu army silk letter, he invited him and Liang Xing to discuss the matter. At that time, Liang Xing concluded that the news in the Shu army silk letter must be known to Li Jue and Guo Si. After all, Li Jue was a cunning man, and there was no guarantee that he would not plant spies in their army.

Therefore, Liang Xing, who was known for his wisdom and strategy, made a plan. He intended to use this silk book to gain the trust of Li Jue and Guo Si, and then it would be easier to achieve his goal.

And now, just as Liang Xing expected, Li Jue's opening words at the military meeting were meaningful, and it was obvious that he knew about the Shu army's silk book. This made Cheng Yin admire Liang Xing. If Liang Xing had not anticipated the enemy and guessed that Li Jue and Guo Si knew about the Shu army's silk book, they would probably have a hard time resolving the situation today.

After all, if they hid the silk book, and Li Jue continued to interrogate them, asking them again and again, and they were unable to respond, it would be hard to say how things would develop.

And now that they have presented the silk letters to the candidates in a frank manner, Li Jue and Guo Si must have great trust in them. Even if they cannot trust them completely, they will feel at ease about them, and then no matter what they do next, it will be easy.

Hou Xuan, Cheng Yin, and Liang Xing have already agreed to use the heads of Li Jue and Guo Si to exchange for wealth and honor from Liu Yizhou. (End of this chapter)