I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 501: Rebellion in Hanzhong
"Wenruo, how is it? What did you find out this time?" Liu Bian asked.

Xun Yu had a vague guess in his mind and replied: "Your Majesty, I met Zhang Lu and talked with him. I saw that he was really frightened."

"Although he looks very energetic on the surface, in my opinion, it is because he has been facing the followers of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect for many years and has developed a habit, so he looks okay on the surface."

"But he must have been extremely panicked, especially when talking about the assassination."

Liu Bian said: "So, Wen Ruo thinks that we can first let Zhang Lu go to Hanzhong to appease the Five Pecks of Rice Sect followers?"

Xun Yu replied, "I think it's OK, but I saw Zhang Lu's mother Lu today and I didn't see through her."

Liu Bian smiled and said to Xun Yu: "This Lu Shi is not an ordinary person. She was able to charm one of my nine ministers to the point that he almost broke off relations with his eldest son."

As for Liu Yan?

Liu Bian felt that he should have been content over the years, and he was already so old, and his sons were all serving as officials in the court and local areas. Could he still have any ambitions?

However, Liu Yan enjoyed great prestige among the royal family and had never made any mistakes in his years as the chief of the clan. Without pointed evidence, Liu Bian did not want to touch him.

Moreover, Liu Yan's eldest son Liu Fan had good character and made good achievements in office. Liu Bian felt that in the current situation, Liu Yan would have to be very confused to make such a mistake.

Afterwards, Liu Bian said to Xun Yu: "However, I was reading the news about the Five Pecks of Rice Sect today and saw an interesting thing."

"It turns out that it was not only Zhang Lu's grandfather Zhang Ling who spread the Five Pecks of Rice Sect in Hanzhong, but also another person named Zhang Xiu."

"I originally thought he was Zhang Lu's uncle or brother, but Zhang Xiu is actually from Ba County and has nothing to do with Zhang Lu."

After hearing this, Xun You said seriously, "The rumors in Hanzhong this time are indeed suspicious. It is inevitable that there are treacherous people behind it."

"Your Majesty, General Anxi Liu Xuande is still leading his troops in Nanzhong, supervising and teaching the Nanzhong barbarians how to farm. Nanzhong is a little far from Hanzhong, and there are roads blocking the way. I think we should send troops to escort Zhang Lu to Hanzhong to prevent chaos."

This approach was exactly what Liu Bian wanted, so he replied, "I'll draft an edict later."

This time, the escort troops had to be drawn from the eight battalions of the Northern Army.

However, just two days after Bao Xin, a captain of the Northern Army who was ordered to escort and supervise Zhang Lu, led his troops to set out, urgent news came from Hanzhong.

——Zhang Xiu, the leader of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect, led the people to rebel, and many people responded to his teachings.

Hanzhong prefect Su Gu was unable to pacify the rebellion and could only defend Nanzheng County, where he was surrounded.

His chief clerk Zhao Song, armed with a sword, was able to break out of Nanzheng County with the assistance of Chen Tiao, a clerk of the bandit department, and delivered the news to Luoyang in time.

As for Zhang Lu's younger brother Zhang Wei, who had originally stayed in Hanzhong to act on Zhang Lu's behalf, he never appeared during the entire process.

He probably died at the hands of Zhang Xiu.

After Liu Bian got the news, he informed Bao Xin and Zhang Lu who had already set out. At the same time, he sent a secret letter to Bao Xin, saying that if Zhang Lu showed any rebellious behavior, he should be killed immediately!

Some people believe in a living teacher, but what about a dead one?

Liu Bian knew that the more critical the moment, the less room for mercy.

The land transfer depends entirely on one effort. Once the opponents gain momentum, it will be difficult to do so again!

……

Hanzhong was a crucial location as a bridge connecting Yizhou and Guanzhong. After the rebellion in Hanzhong cut off the road, official documents from Yizhou had to go through Jingzhou.

The speed of message transmission is much slower than before.

Liu Bei, who had never left Nanzhong since arriving, had to put down the Hanzhong Rebellion. But just as he was about to summon the generals stationed in Nanzhong, someone came to visit him.

Liu Bei was always approachable in Nanzhong, and he would often employ the sons of prominent families in Nanzhong after assessing their abilities.

The ones who came this time were from the Yong family of Yizhou County.

That’s right, it was the Yongguan tribe that once led the Meng tribe and other Wa people.

After Liu Bei put down the rebellion in Nanzhong, he realized that it would take time to stabilize Nanzhong.

He knew that given the reputation of the Yong clan among the Wa people, the death of Yong Guan would be enough. If the entire Yong clan was convicted of treason, the Wa people would surely be frightened, which would be detrimental to stability.

Therefore, after Liu Bei came to Nanzhong, he did not carry out large-scale collective punishment.

But it was impossible for the people of Yong family to have any future, and they also understood that after confirming that Liu Bei had no intention of taking action against them for the time being, they had never dared to approach Liu Bei.

When Liu Bei saw the man, he thought that the man who called himself Yong Xiang wanted to take this opportunity to request to go to Hanzhong to quell the rebellion in order to make up for his mistakes. However, he did not expect that after meeting him, Yong Xiang opened his mouth and bombed the trump card -

"I wonder if you have ever heard of this, General? When Dong Gongfu, a famous scholar in Yizhou, was serving as the Minister of the Interior in Luoyang, he observed the sky at night and said that there was an aura of an emperor in Yizhou."

"The world is in turmoil today, and the general is in charge of Yizhou's military affairs. Hanzhong is in chaos, and the road to Luoyang is difficult to access, so the general can act according to his discretion!"

After Liu Bei heard this, he suddenly shouted, "Come here, ask the officers to come over to see me!"

Yong Xiang was overjoyed when he saw this, and immediately continued to give advice to Liu Bei, saying: "General, you should take this opportunity to recruit your confidants."

Liu Bei sneered: "How could I forget you?"

He pointed at Yong Xiang and said to the soldiers he had called in, "Tie up this traitor. I will behead him in front of all the officers and soldiers!"

Yong Xiang was shocked when he heard this.

He quickly asked, "General, if you kill me today, won't you regret it in the future?"

"It's still unknown how long the Hanzhong Rebellion will last. General, you have been here for a long time. Aren't you afraid of Luoyang's suspicion? General, you must not know that your teacher, Lu Taifu, has been treated as a decoration by the emperor in Luoyang. You have lost your backer!"

Hearing this, Liu Bei waved his hand and said, "Wait a minute."

Seeing that Liu Bei was persuaded by him, Yong Xiang felt that he would not have to die after all.

Although he was prepared to die when he came.

He continued, "General, please think about this carefully. I heard that when you entered Luoyang, there were two people who were as close to you as brothers. Now, those two people seem to be quite important to you, but they are now far away from you."

"General, you might as well think about it. When the Grand Tutor passes away, will your brothers still be able to guard the place without being suspected like they do today?"

Yong Xiang spoke more and more smoothly, and looking at Liu Bei's gradually changing expression, he felt that he was about to succeed.

"How did you know this? My teacher, my brother..."

"If you want me to trust you, you should be honest with me first, right?"

Upon hearing this, Yong Xiang immediately said, "General, this is what someone told me, but I don't know who this person is."

Liu Bei asked, "Is this person in your home?"

(End of this chapter)