I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 424 Recruitment
Zhao Ning was shocked when he discovered the truth. He looked at Xun You and was speechless for a moment.

It was hard for Zhao Ning to imagine that the person in front of him personally ordered the preparation of these wooden boxes in the car.

Xun You gently comforted him, "Don't worry, they all deserve to die!"

"After meeting the Qiang leader, you only need to introduce them to him as I did... Gongcao Ren Chong, Hucao Yuan Cong Lei, Zeicao Yuan Xu Shi, Juecao Yuan Meng Ting..."

These were all names Zhao Ning was familiar with.

They faced Xun You's questioning together just two days ago, but they didn't expect that when they met again today, they would be separated forever.

Then, Zhao Ning set off with his men in the car under Xun You's encouraging gaze.

After walking for half a day, he finally accepted the reality. Only then did he realize that his messenger was going to die.

Since they were already here, there was no reason to go back. Zhao Ning just took the team to rest for a while and then set off again.

The journey north was not smooth sailing, and it was full of dangers.

There was chaos in Canling County, and bandits also appeared in nearby counties. Even the most honest people had to gather together to protect themselves when faced with such a situation.

Fortunately, although there was chaos within the Han territory, the government still had some power. Zhao Ning showed off his literary identity and his origin as a member of a family of two thousand stones in the county, so he could be said to "give me face" by everyone he met.

In this way, he headed north, but due to changing circumstances, he was captured by the Qiang people before he reached Canling County.

Zhao Ning did not resist, but stated his identity as usual.

But at this moment, the face-saving fruits that had been almost unstoppable in the past had lost their effect.

Not only did Zhao Ning not get the chance to meet the Qiang leader, he and his followers were imprisoned by the Qiang people.

After being imprisoned for several days, just when Zhao Ning was worried that the heads he brought would be spoiled, he finally waited for new people - but to Zhao Ning's surprise, the visitors were actually two Han people.

As soon as they met, he asked with concern: "Where are you two from? Were you also forced here by the Qiang people?"

"Don't worry, when I meet the chieftain of the Qiang people here, I will definitely plead for you..."

Yan Xing and Cheng Gongying, who came hurriedly, were speechless. Couldn't this man see that the Qiang people outside respected them?
However, Yan Xing had experienced so much intrigue, so he could naturally see that the concern in Zhao Ning's words came from the heart.

The law of the jungle prevails both inside and outside the Great Wall. He suddenly missed this long-lost sincerity so much.

Therefore, he ignored Cheng Gongying's suggestion, who wanted to take advantage of the misunderstanding to ask questions, and said bluntly: "I am Yan Yan, and I have some reputation among the Qiang people here, and I can speak in front of several leaders. You may tell me what you are doing on this trip first."

"Really?" Zhao Ning was happy.

He immediately thought of Xun You's instructions before he left, and said, "I brought a few heads with me on this trip..."

Although it was a bit embarrassing to say, Zhao Ning finally finished speaking.

"Are they really the county officials?" Yan Xing asked in shock after hearing this.

Zhao Ning said: "If you don't believe me, go to Chengdu and ask around... I estimate that during the time I was away,

"No need, I trust you! Please go back and tell Lord Xun that we are willing to surrender!"

Zhao Ning:?
Until he left, Zhao Ning still didn't react.

Even though he had never served as an official before becoming the Minister of Literature, he felt that there was something wrong with this procedure. When normally sent on a diplomatic mission to discuss surrender, shouldn't they discuss various conditions with heated arguments?

But he was already on his way back.

He came in a daze and left in a daze, but he didn't know how many people in Chengdu envied him.

... "We can't let Xun You continue to act recklessly like this!"

"Renjun and the others can't die in vain!"

"Yes, revenge!"

In Chengdu, some county officials who survived Xun You's initial attack gathered together.

"Then what should we do? Xun You is the emperor's favorite minister..."

"Go find Duke Huan and Duke Zhong. They are the only ones in Yizhou who can control Xun You!"

"Yes, and there is also General Zhao Jin. Xun You is acting on his own, so he must be dissatisfied."

"Not only that, it's not like there are no officials in the court in Shu County... It's just that Zhao Ning went to Canling County. Otherwise, with Minister Zhao here, he would definitely not let Xun You down!"

"Don't mention Zhao Ning anymore. I saw everything clearly when he saw Ren Jun and the others in such a miserable state, but he didn't even dare to question them. In my opinion, his usual aloofness is just an act!"

"Yes, yes. When he volunteered to go on the diplomatic mission to Canling County, I really thought he was a man of high moral character. Maybe he had been in contact with Xun You for a long time, so he took the opportunity of the diplomatic mission to leave Chengdu."

But even though he cursed, the sourness in his words could not be concealed. The situation in Chengdu now can be described as a panic, who wouldn't want to find a reasonable reason to avoid it!

Afterwards, these people became more and more excited, trying every possible way to curse from various angles.

It's okay to just talk, but we need to let them put what they said into action... After scolding for so long, no one mentioned who would do anything.

The discussion was getting heated when suddenly, the sound of knocking on the door interrupted the discussion.

They looked at each other in bewilderment. They had arranged for servants to guard the door outside...

For a moment, you could hear a pin drop in the hall.

Then they heard a shout from outside - "Gan Ning is here, open the door quickly!"

Everyone present looked at each other, and the same thought emerged in their minds - it's over!
Since the Western Han Dynasty, a time-tested way for newly appointed officials to establish their authority was to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys.

This method is even more useful when there is chaos.

Historically, when Sun Ce pacified Jiangdong, wherever he went, he would mercilessly kill any "heroes" who disobeyed him. When Liu Yan occupied Yizhou, he killed dozens of powerful people in the state.

Sun Ce suffered a heavy blow due to his frivolous temperament and lack of preparation, but Liu Yan withstood the counterattack of the powerful men.

Now Xun You brought his army to Chengdu, rewarding the good and punishing the evil. In less than ten days, he suddenly launched an attack and chopped off the heads of six county officials.

Before the counterattack from the powerful people came, Xun You sent people to capture another group of people.

For a time, compared with the depressed Chengdu County, the number of letters of all kinds sent everywhere suddenly increased a lot.

What many people did not expect was that this second batch of people who were arrested were not all beheaded by Xun You. In fact, some of them not only retained their official positions, but were promoted.

As a result, Chengdu’s depression began to dissipate.

But even though Xun You had exercised restraint and did not take the opportunity to implicate others, some people were still dissatisfied.

However, due to the large armies of Shu County and the neighboring Qianwei County, most people did not dare to express their opinions openly.

For example, Jia Long, who was born in Shu County and was leading troops under Zhao Jin to besiege Ma Qin and Gao Sheng, privately expressed his dissatisfaction with Xun You.

(End of this chapter)