Ji Han Liu Zhang

Li Jue listened to Zhang Xiu's shouting and cursing, but he just pretended not to hear it, and instead showed a look of pleasure. In his worldview, being pitied was not a blessing, but being cursed was a pleasure.

Being pitied by others means that you are a very miserable person, so that others will secretly wipe their tears and feel sad for you. Being cursed by others is just the opposite. Being cursed by others means that you are in an advantageous position in the competition with others, so others will curse you verbally to gain some advantage.

"My dear nephew, please save your energy." Li Jue shook his head indifferently and advised Zhang Xiu.

"Although Zhang Ji intended to betray me, now that he has surrendered, all the hatred has ended. Besides, death is the greatest thing. Considering that Zhang Ji had some friendship with me in the early years, I will not kill you. You can go now."

Li Jue, who had two hundred elite cavalrymen under his command, was facing Zhang Xiu, who had five hundred cavalrymen under his command. Li Jue was at a disadvantage in terms of numbers and did not take Zhang Xiu, a rising star in Liang Province, seriously at all. After all, he was Zhang Xiu's uncle, and he had been in many battles and had eaten more salt than Zhang Xiu had eaten rice.

Therefore, although Li Jue's military strength was less than Zhang Xiu's, he was confident that he could defeat Zhang Xiu.

"Hmph." Facing Li Jue's arrogant words, Zhang Xiu snorted coldly. He stared at Li Jue with cold eyes, but did not answer him anymore. He just tightly grasped the spear in his hand.

Li Jue, who was on the opposite side, saw Zhang Xiu's indifferent expression and the murderous intent in Zhang Xiu's eyes. He knew that a war was inevitable.

Li Jue sighed, "Even if my nephew only wants a fight, I, your uncle, will have to deal with him first, and then leave... It's a pity, it's a pity that my nephew, as a rising star in Liangzhou, has to die here today. What a pity, how sad."

"Li thief, stop talking." Zhang Xiu was fed up with Li Jue's words. He gave an order and urged his cavalry to move forward with him. He was determined to capture Li Jue, the thief from Liang Province, today.

Capturing Li Jue would kill two birds with one stone for Zhang Xiu. First, he could avenge his uncle Zhang Ji. Second, he could get the reward offered by Liu Zhang, a huge sum of gold, and a title of nobility. All these thoughts flashed through Zhang Xiu's mind, and his eyes were fixed on Li Jue at this moment.

"You boy, you are so rude and have no manners." Li Jue snorted coldly. He tried to persuade Zhang Xiu with kind words, but Zhang Xiu turned a deaf ear to him and did not even answer him. It can be said that he has no etiquette and no sense of superiority and inferiority.

Li Jue, holding the long spear in his hand, rode forward without hesitation, ready to fight with Zhang Xiu who was coming towards him. As the saying goes, shoot the horse first when shooting a man, and capture the leader first when capturing a thief. He locked his eyes on Zhang Xiu, intending to capture him as soon as possible and win the battle.

"Boom, bang, bang..."

Several clanging sounds were heard, and soon, Li Jue and Zhang Xiu had fought for several rounds, with halberds and spears flying back and forth, so fiercely that it seemed that neither of them could defeat the other for a while.

But here Li Jue felt waves of numbness coming from the base of his palm. He knew that although the previous few rounds had ended in a draw, he was at a disadvantage. He seemed no match for the young and strong Zhang Xiu.

"Damn it, how can this boy have such strength?" Li Jue thought to himself, he realized that he had made a mistake, a fatal mistake, that is, he underestimated Zhang Xiu's strength.

Li Jue originally thought that with his years of fighting experience, he would be invincible and sure of victory against a young boy like Zhang Xiu. However, after several rounds, he lost his confidence and was no longer sure about the outcome of the battle.

Unlike Li Jue who was frightened, Zhang Xiu, after failing to defeat Li Jue in several rounds, thought of the revenge for his uncle Zhang Ji, so he launched a life-for-life offensive. He fired his spear like a dragon, stabbing towards Li Jue's heart, neck, head and other fatal areas. After a few moves, Li Jue was dodging again and again.

Facing Zhang Xiu's extremely fierce attack, Li Jue couldn't help but say "How bitter" in his heart. Before facing Zhang Xiu, he thought he was just facing a big dog, but after fighting for several rounds, he knew that he was facing a tiger.

Young and strong people are better at fighting. Sometimes, rich combat experience is not as good as a newborn calf that is not afraid of a tiger.

As always, Li Jue had the idea of ​​retreating. Not to mention that he was no match for Zhang Xiu, even if he was, as the fight went on, time was passing by. There was no guarantee that the Shu army heading northwest would rush here and besiege him to death after dealing with his cousin Li Ying.

"We can't fight any further." Li Jue shook the long halberd in his hand, deflecting Zhang Xiu's spear. He turned his horse's head in front of the two armies and rode away without looking back.

Under Li Jue's lightning-fast operation, Zhang Xiu found it difficult to react for a while. He did not expect and could not believe that Li Jue would abandon his army and run away when he saw that the war was going against the odds. How could this be the behavior of a hero?

"Don't run, thief Li. Today, even if you go to heaven or hell, you can't escape from my hands." Zhang Xiu shouted angrily as he stepped out of the crowd and went to chase and kill Li Jue.

Li Jue squeezed his legs together and urged his horse to get off. He had only one thought at the moment, which was to escape from Guanzhong and save his own life. Guanzhong was a death place for him and there was no way he could survive in Guanzhong.

As for the future, he would probably have to go to the Hu in the north, the Yue in the south, and sneak into the tribes of Hu and Yue, staying away from the Central Plains.

Li Jue was fleeing and Zhang Xiu was chasing him. The horses they rode were all majestic and different from the horses ridden by ordinary cavalrymen. As a result, their figures faded away and disappeared from the sight of their cavalrymen.

In summer, the days are long and the nights are short, so even though it was already the hour of Mao, the sun was still blazingly bright, shining on every blade of grass and every tree in Beidi County, as well as on Li Jue and Zhang Xiu who were fleeing and chasing respectively.

Although the horses ridden by Li Jue and Zhang Xiu were almost the same, Li Jue had been fleeing for a long time, and the breath of his horse was not as even as that of Zhang Xiu's, and it seemed to be panting, so the distance between the two was getting closer and closer.

Hearing the sound of wind coming from behind him and realizing that the two were getting closer and closer, and a fierce murderous intent was approaching, Li Jue couldn't help but feel his scalp tingling. He didn't want to die here today, and his fate didn't deserve to be so short.

"My dear nephew, your uncle's death was caused by Guo Si alone. It has nothing to do with me. Why are you forcing me so hard? Besides, the Emperor Gao said that two wise men should not harm each other. Why do you have to force your uncle to this?" Li Jue urged the last bit of strength of the horse under him and shouted loudly.

Zhang Xiu heard this and said disdainfully: "Li thief, you are unworthy of being a hero, but you are so servile. Stop talking and get off your horse and be captured."

When Li Jue heard this, he couldn't help but feel furious. He had already lost face like this, but Zhang Xiu still refused to give in and was determined to take his life. He really didn't care about their old friendship at all.

Although he was unhappy and angry, Li Jue still held his temper. He shouted, "My dear nephew, you and I are both from Guanxi, and we were good friends in the past. Why don't you let me go now? I will repay you with a gift one day."

Li Jue pleaded bitterly, but Zhang Xiu pretended not to hear him and did not answer him. He urged his horse to gallop forward. After a few breaths, he came close to Li Jue, only ten meters away from him. "Damn it." Li Jue turned his head and saw that Zhang Xiu was not far away from him. If he ran away without caring at this time, he would probably end up being shot in the back and fall to the ground.

There was no way to escape, so Li Jue made up his mind. He pulled the reins to slow down the horse, and at the same time turned the horse's head with superb skills to face Zhang Xiu head on. He was ready to fight Zhang Xiu to the death in exchange for a glimmer of hope.

Both sides were thinking of fighting to the death. Li Jue brandished his halberd and Zhang Xiu waved his spear. They both urged their horses to rush towards each other, engaging in a battle to determine the winner and the loser, as well as life and death.

Amid the tangled horses' hooves, the figures of Li Jue and Zhang Xiu followed and staggered, and within one round, the winner was clear between the two.

But Li Jue's figure swayed on the horse, and then Li Jue seemed to have his bones sucked out. He had no strength to support himself sitting firmly on the horse. He fell off the horse with a thud and fell to the ground.

When Li Jue faced the earth and smelled a faint scent of green grass at the tip of his nose, at the last moment of his life, he did not regret his past life, but hated the decisions he made during this period. He hated that he should not have stayed in Guanzhong to compete with Liu Zhang, and should have left Guanzhong, this place of right and wrong, as soon as possible.

"Hateful, hateful, little Liu Zhang, I hate him." In the last moment when his mind became dark, Li Jue was angry at Liu Zhang. If it weren't for Liu Zhang, he would have lived happily and freely in Guanzhong. Why did he end up like this today, with a short life and no blessings?

As for Zhang Xiu, he looked at Li Jue indifferently when he fell off the horse, and he couldn't help feeling relieved. He seemed to have unloaded a huge burden, and his whole body became relaxed.

"Uncle, your soul in heaven can rest in peace." Zhang Xiu murmured softly.

While Li Jue and Zhang Xiu were fighting to the death, Zhang Ren, after accepting the surrender of Li Jue's cousin Li Ying, left a group of men to guard the surrendered soldiers from Liang Province who had taken off their weapons and were tied up with ropes, and then he led a group of men to the northeast without stopping.

After traveling for a while, Zhang Ren met Zhang Xiu's troops. At this time, Zhang Xiu's troops, under the command of Hu Che'er, had killed Li Jue's troops while Zhang Xiu was chasing Li Jue, and were now preparing to catch up with Zhang Xiu.

However, when Hu Che'er saw Zhang Ren's flag, he quickly rode forward, saluted Zhang Ren and said, "General Zhang, Li Jue is a very cunning thief. He is actually among the Liangzhou thieves heading northwest. The Liangzhou thieves heading northeast are just bait. We have fallen into his trap."

"I understand the situation." Zhang Ren nodded, indicating that he understood the situation. At the same time, he hurriedly asked, "Where is Li Jue?"

Hu Che'er heard the voice and replied: "Li Jue is a cowardly thief who actually abandoned his men and ran away. The young general has already chased him, but I don't know if he has caught up with him."

No wonder he didn't see Zhang Xiu. After understanding the situation, Zhang Ren immediately joined Hu Che'er and followed Li Jue's escape trail.

At this point, Zhang Ren would certainly not be able to take credit for the great feat of capturing and killing Li Jue. After all, he knew something about Zhang Xiu's abilities, and he was almost as good as him. The two had fought before and the result was a stalemate.

With Zhang Xiu going after Li Jue, Zhang Ren no longer had any hope of capturing and killing Li Jue.

And things turned out just as Zhang Ren had expected. Before the troops had traveled two or three miles, they encountered Zhang Xiu and the body of Li Jue which was carried by a horse.

Li Jue, one of the two heroes of Liang Province, had died at the hands of Zhang Xiu, a rising star in Liang Province.

"Mr. Zhang captured and killed Li Jue, which is a great achievement." Zhang Ren praised frankly.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiu immediately bowed respectfully on his horse, and then said, "Without you, General, how could I have captured and killed Li Jue? Li Jue's death and surrender of his head are all thanks to you, General."

Zhang Ren understood Zhang Xiu's intention to give him credit, so he shook his head calmly and said, "The capture and killing of Li Jue is your achievement. Anyone who can steal your credit will be reported to you."

……

Yellow and white city.

Liu Zhang, the Grand Marshal, General of Chariots and Cavalry, and Governor of Yizhou, was hosting a banquet. The guest he was entertaining was Liu Ai, the Palace Attendant, who had come to issue an imperial edict on behalf of the emperor, granting him the titles of Grand Marshal and General of Chariots and Cavalry.

While slowly raising his wine glass, the attendant Liu Ai carefully examined Liu Zhang's face. He saw that Liu Zhang had a youthful appearance, a heroic spirit, a short beard at the corners of his mouth, and looked a little mature and steady.

Liu Ai could not help but sigh at Liu Zhang's youth, and at the fact that such a young Liu Zhang had accomplished such great achievements and was granted such prestigious military posts as Grand Marshal and General of Chariots and Cavalry, as if he was blessed by destiny.

"Grand Marshal, please." Liu Ai raised the wine glass to a certain height and greeted Liu Zhang.

"Shizhong, please." Liu Zhang responded to Liu Ai's greeting with a smile. After drinking a full cup, he said with a smile: "Shizhong, you don't have to address me by my official title. Shizhong and I are from the same clan and are older than me. You can address me as Ji Yu, and I will address you as brother."

Faced with Liu Zhang's attempt to win him over, Liu Ai was about to nod in response to thus improve his relationship with Liu Zhang, but being sensitive, he sensed several unfriendly glances at the banquet, and these unfriendly glances all came from the seats of the generals under Liu Zhang.

Liu Ai shuddered. He waved his hand towards Liu Zhang and said, "Grand Marshal, the imperial system cannot be abandoned lightly. Among all the people, you and I should still address each other by our official positions."

After Liu Ai's excuse, he keenly noticed that those unfriendly looks suddenly disappeared, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, he was somewhat fortunate that he did not rashly accept Liu Zhang's offer of appeasement, otherwise it would have been difficult to resolve the issue.

After all, although Liu Yizhou in front of him was easy to talk to and spoke kindly, the generals under his command were more murderous than the others and were not easy to mess with. (End of this chapter)