Ji Han Liu Zhang

Yecheng, prison.

At the deepest part of the prison, the prison boss Lao Huang was almost prostrating himself on the ground, with his head buried deeply, paying great respect to the person in front of him.

There was no other reason, because the visitor was the master of the four states in Hebei - Yuan Shao, the great general of the Han Dynasty, Yuan Benchu, a person that the old man and Huang could not reach even if they craned their necks. They had never had the chance to see him before, but they did not expect to see him in prison today.

"General." Old Huang said humbly and respectfully. Yuan Shao's arrival suddenly reminded him of what Tian Feng had said before. If Yuan Shao won the battle in Hedong, it would be fine. If he lost, he would probably kill Tian Feng. Old Huang couldn't help but worry about Tian Feng.

Huang's call of "General" awakened Tian Feng, who was resting in the cage. Tian Feng opened his eyes in disbelief. He didn't believe that Yuan Shao would come to the prison. But the next moment, Tian Feng bowed respectfully and addressed the man in front of him as "Ming Gong."

Yuan Shao, who had stepped into the prison, had no expression on his face and looked calm. He called out to the prison guard, Lao Huang, "Open the door."

When Old Huang heard the order, he quickly stood up, took out a bunch of keys from his waist, and prepared to open the prison door that shackled Tian Feng. To be honest, he knew very well which key matched which lock.

But now, Old Huang, who was nervous, tried five or six times but failed to open the prison door. Sweat kept dripping from his head and he looked a little frightened.

Fortunately, after the seventh try, Lao Huang finally opened the prison door. After pushing the door open, he took a few steps back, revealing the open door to Yuan Shao.

The prison environment was inevitably dirty and messy, with the stench of feces and urine lingering in the air. However, Yuan Shao, who was usually elegant and fond of cleanliness, stepped in without any hesitation.

"Mingsir." Tian Feng saw this and advised, "It's dirty and messy here, it's inconvenient to go in."

When Yuan Shao heard this, he sneered and said, "Your Excellency can stay here for several months, but I can't even set foot here?" After that, Yuan Shao entered the prison and sat down opposite Tian Feng in a relaxed manner.

"Hiss." Feng Ji, who was standing outside the prison, felt uneasy when he saw Yuan Shao's behavior. Yuan Shao was clearly showing that he wanted to treat Tian Feng with courtesy and was going to reuse Tian Feng.

"Not good, very bad." Feng Ji's eyes were a little dizzy, and he knew that Tian Feng was in trouble and imprisoned, and his contribution was not small. If he hadn't slandered Tian Feng from time to time in front of Yuan Shao, how could Tian Feng be imprisoned.

Feng Ji secretly calmed himself, staring at Yuan Shao and Tian Feng who were sitting opposite him, with his ears perked up, listening carefully to their conversation, not daring to miss a single word.

"Ah..." Yuan Shao sighed softly, then said with a wry smile: "If I hadn't listened to my assistant, my army would have been blocked in front of Yubi City and couldn't move forward for months... If I had listened to my assistant, I wouldn't have been exhausted and gained nothing."

Tian Feng consoled him and said, "Mingsir, siege battles are never easy. Moreover, Li Jue, Guo Si, Han Sui, Song Jian and other brave generals were all defeated by the Shu army, which shows that the Shu army is strong and the officers are dedicated... I also heard that Yubi City is built on a high platform, blocking three sides and defending one side. The reason why they were unable to return to Hedong this time was not because of the war."

"Yeah." Yuan Shao nodded. The conversation he had just had with Tian Feng seemed to have brought him back to the time when he first entered Jizhou and the beginning of his relationship with Tian Feng as king and minister.

"There is another thing. Cao Cao, who was supported and strengthened by me, has the intention of attacking Yecheng. Therefore, I have to lead my troops back to Hedong to prepare for the southern army. I wonder if you know this."

"Although I am in prison, I have heard a little bit about it." Tian Feng responded, indicating that he had heard it. Then Tian Feng said: "Cao Cao has wolfish ambitions and wants to be king and hegemon. This can be seen from the fact that Cao Cao welcomed the emperor."

"Today, as your army is heading west, Liyang and Yecheng are short of troops and generals, it is understandable that Cao Cao is thinking of attacking Yecheng."

"However, I think that the rumors in Yecheng about Cao Cao's attack on Ye were not due to Cao Cao's carelessness and were not exposed before the incident. It was probably spread by the people of Shu. It was a blessing in disguise that allowed you to know Cao Cao's ambition early on."

"What the deputy driver said is true. I have also guessed this." During the time when Yuan Shao returned to Yecheng from Hedong, he had been reviewing and reflecting on the war in Hedong. Regarding the rumor in Ye that Cao Cao had attacked Yecheng, he and Tian Feng had the same view that it was not that Cao Cao did not keep secrets, but that the Shu army was behind it.

"Even if Cao Cao wanted to attack Ye City, he should have kept it a secret so that the news would not spread all over Ye City and become known to everyone in the streets before the plan was even done."

"The Shu army wants to lift the siege of Hedong and force me to retreat. The best strategy is to besiege Wei to save Zhao. Spreading the rumor that Cao Cao attacked Yecheng is a precise attack on the vital point of Hebei."

Yuan Shao and Tian Feng exchanged words in the dim prison. They were talking about the same enemy, and their conversation became gradually familiar and intimate. The atmosphere in the small prison became warm.

At the end of the conversation about recent events, Yuan Shao reached out his hand and shook Tian Feng's. He said solemnly, "In the past few months, my assistant has not been by my side, and I have made many mistakes... Today, I only ask my assistant to forgive my mistakes, follow me out of prison, and always be by my side to give me advice and correct my mistakes."

"My Lord, I shall obey your orders." Tian Feng said with deep emotion. He had no complaints about Yuan Shao throwing him into prison. Now that Yuan Shao came to the prison and called him back in earnest words, he naturally obeyed.

After walking out of the prison in unison, Yuan Shao took Tian Feng into a carriage and headed towards the General's Mansion in Yecheng.

Feng Ji was riding on a horse and saw Yuan Shao and Tian Feng getting along well with each other. He felt a toothache. Tian Feng was a straightforward person and would speak out about things he didn't like. In the past, Feng Ji had been criticized and denounced by Tian Feng in front of Yuan Shao countless times because of his careless behavior.

I thought that this time, by exaggerating the words, I would be able to make Yuan Shao decide to kill Tian Feng and execute him in prison, thus eliminating Tian Feng as a future threat and preventing him from reviving.

But what Feng Ji did not expect was that Yuan Shao actually went into the prison himself, took Tian Feng out, and rode him in the same car. This was a treatment he had never had before.

Serving the king is like serving a tiger; your heart is unpredictable.

Feng Ji felt a sense of powerlessness. He always thought that he knew Yuan Shao very well, but he never expected that Yuan Shao did not act according to his thoughts, but made his own judgments and decisions.

……

Tongguan.

Cheng Yu, Cao Cao's trusted adviser and close friend, came to Guanzhong as an angel this time to issue an imperial decree to confer the title of King of Qin on Liu Zhang. He then arrived at Tongguan City.

"It is indeed a dangerous pass where one man can block the passage of ten thousand men."

The first moment he saw Tongguan City, Cheng Yu sighed in his heart. He had heard of Tongguan before. The envoys who had been sent to Guanzhong in the past few years had told him about what they had seen along the way. As it was, Cheng Yu had already been prepared for the military and geographical dangers and difficulties of Tongguan City, but when he saw Tongguan City, he still sighed.

The reason is that Tongguan is located on the terrace of Linzhi Plateau, and the north side of Linzhi Plateau is close to the Yellow River, and the river flows directly along the plateau. The south side of Linzhi Plateau is connected to the Qinling Mountains, which are steep.

In addition, if the army coming from the east of Tongguan wanted to enter Guanzhong, they had to first pass through a narrow mountain road called Huangxiangban. Huangxiangban was only a few meters wide and could only accommodate a few people moving side by side, making it an ideal place to set up an ambush.

The enemies on the east had to struggle to cross Huangxiangban and climb to the top of Linzhiyuan before they could see the steep wall of Tongguan. At the same time, they had to look up to attack Tongguan.

Even if Tongguan was captured, they would still have to cross a steep river valley called Jingou, and then move north along Jingou until they reached the confluence of Tongshui and Weishui, before they could get out of this river valley and mountainous area and set foot on the land of Guanzhong Plain.

The journey to the west was difficult and dangerous due to inconvenient roads. Tongguan was located in the middle like a tiger, guarding the most important checkpoint.

"No wonder the Grand Marshal built Tongguan. He had a unique vision. After he built this city, the princes dared not look west."

Cheng Yu expressed his admiration for Liu Zhang. He had heard that the day when Tongguan was built was less than ten days after Liu Zhang entered Guanzhong and defeated Lieutenant Guo and Guo. At that time, Liu Zhang had just inspected the area and issued an order, ordering Li Xiu, the captain of civil engineering, to build Tongguan City.

Cheng Yu commented on Liu Zhang: he has a sharp vision and is decisive in his actions. He also thought of the Yubi City that blocked the Hebei army for more than a month this year, preventing the 100,000 strong troops in Hebei from crossing the Hedong River and reaching the river.

It is said that Yubi City was also the city that the Grand Marshal decided to build. The city is located on a high hill, controlling the Fen River. Without Yubi, the troops from Hebei could not advance westward.

"What a great Liu Jiyu." Cheng Yu was inexplicably excited. He came to Guanzhong to confer the title of King of Qin, but in fact he came to investigate the geography and people of Guanzhong, as well as to find out the temperament and talents of Liu Zhang and his civil and military officials.

After all, the previous times the angel came to Chang'an to confer the title of King of Shu, Liu Zhang had always refused and refused to accept the reward. Cheng Yu asked himself that this trip to the west was just a formality, and the important thing was to use the identity of an angel to spy on the enemy.

Walking slowly and carefully along the way, Cheng Yu, who was walking slowly, finally approached the gate of Tongguan City. At the gate, a dark-skinned, tall and strong man like a pagoda was standing there waiting for Cheng Yu's arrival.

"But General Shen." Cheng Yu did not dare to be arrogant. He had to be polite and respectful in other people's territory. He got off his horse and stepped forward to greet him.

From the envoys who had been sent to Guanzhong several times before, Cheng Yu learned that the commander of Tongguan City was Liu Zhang's former follower Shen Mi and Shen Wenyuan, who was a close friend of Liu Zhang and had served under Liu Zhang when Liu Zhang first became governor of Yizhou.

"That's right." Shen Mi responded. He took a look at Cheng Yu. Cheng Yu was eight feet tall, with a beautiful beard, and had the demeanor of a unique celebrity. He was not much different from Liu Ai, the attendant who had previously traveled to Guanzhong.

If it is an angel, its appearance is close to beautiful. Shen Mi sighed in his heart. With his rough appearance, he is not worthy of being an angel. Without thinking too long, Shen Mi said, "Angel, follow me into the city."

Cheng Yu nodded in response. He followed Shen Mi and entered Tongguan City accompanied by Shen Mi.

After entering Tongguan City, Cheng Yu's eyes seemed to be looking straight ahead, but a pair of beads were constantly scanning left and right, looking at the layout of Tongguan City.

"This is not a city, it's clearly a military camp." Cheng Yu saw that all the people were strong men, with few women, children, and the elderly. The houses in the city were lined up one after another, as if they were printed out of the same mold. They were clearly not houses where ordinary people lived, but tents where soldiers lived.

After leading Cheng Yu to the official residence in Tongguan City, Shen Mi bowed and said, "I am busy with many things and paperwork, so I can't entertain you. Please do as you please."

"It's okay, General, please do as you please." Cheng Yu said humbly, using the same tone as Shen Mi. Even if Shen Mi was unwilling to associate with him, he would naturally follow the host's wishes and let Shen Mi do as he pleased.

At night, the moon is bright in the sky and the surrounding areas are clearly visible.

Cheng Yu sat in front of a desk and began to paint on a piece of silk cloth. However, from the lines zigzagging back and forth on the cloth, it was difficult to tell what Cheng Yu was painting.

However, if Shen Mi, the commander of Tongguan, was here, he would certainly be able to see at a glance that what Cheng Yu drew were clearly the geographical roads, rivers and mountains near Tongguan.

After finishing the outline, Cheng Yu closed his eyes and thought for a while, then suddenly opened his eyes and compared the map drawn in his mind with the map on the silk cloth. He did this two or three times, until there was no trace of error on either side. Then he carefully folded the silk cloth and placed it against his chest.

On the second day, Shen Mi, as the host, arrived at the official residence early. He had to see Cheng Yu off and show his hospitality. Cheng Yu also packed up early and was ready to go.

"Angel, were you well last night?" Shen Mi asked as per usual.

"Have a good night." Cheng Yu smiled faintly and nodded.

Next, Shen Mi and Cheng Yu only exchanged a few polite words, and then he sent Cheng Yu out of Tongguan City.

After leaving Tongguan City, Cheng Yu stepped onto the precipitous Jingou River Valley. After advancing for several miles with difficulty, he saw an endless plain and Guanzhong was in sight.

The plain was suitable for galloping, but Cheng Yu pulled the reins to prevent the horse from galloping freely. He intended to observe the situation in Guanzhong and make preparations for Cao Gong's future control of Guanzhong.

Cheng Yu was greatly surprised by what he saw and heard along the way from Tongguan to Chang'an. He had heard earlier that Guanzhong had declined due to the Qiang Rebellion, and later due to the wars caused by Dong Zhuo, Li Guo and other generals in Guanzhong, the vast Guanzhong was deserted and not even the sound of chickens or dogs could be heard.

However, what Cheng Yu saw at the moment was that Guanzhong had accessible roads, crisscrossing ditches, villages that were visible from one another, the sounds of chickens and dogs that could be heard, and there were also good fields, beautiful ponds, and fertile soil. A scene of a land of abundance appeared before his eyes.

"Is Liu's Mandate of Heaven still there?" Cheng Yu began to hesitate. He thought that the emperor was in trouble, the country was in turmoil, the Han Dynasty's Mandate of Heaven was over, and Liu would not be the emperor.

But the current situation in Guanzhong made Cheng Yu unsure. (End of this chapter)