I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 609 Attitude Change
Liu Xi really wanted to cause trouble for Cheng Yu.

After all, Langya State was far away, and Liu Xi set out late. Although Pei Mao followed behind, Cheng Yu, the instigator, had already arrived in Dunhuang.

Although as a prince who is about to go to the Western Regions, he has many contacts with Dunhuang County, and he doesn't know how many places he will need help from Dunhuang County in the future. But Liu Xi feels that Cheng Yu dares to steal people now. If he pretends not to see it, he dare not think about what Cheng Yu will do in the future!

When Liu Xi said goodbye to Yang Qi and passed through Jiuquan County, he was invited to a banquet by Zhang Meng, the prefect of Jiuquan.

Liu Xi learned from Liu Miao that Zhang Meng was the son of Zhang Huan, a famous official in Liangzhou, and had a high reputation in Liangzhou, so he must treat him with respect... Although Zhang Meng's clan was not as good as Yang Qi's, his influence in Liangzhou was much greater than Yang Qi's.

Liu Xi is not a brainless person, and he is not incapable of playing the role of a good child.

During the banquet, Liu Xi and Liu Miao, the uncle and nephew, were not surprised. However, Zhang Meng's defense was visibly broken after he received a letter at the last minute during the banquet.

After all, Zhang Meng was an official of high rank, and he lost his composure just because of a letter. Liu Xi suddenly became curious.

Before Liu Miao could react and stop him, Liu Xi spoke up in a youthful and frivolous manner: "I wonder what troubles Mr. Zhang has encountered? Although I am not talented, perhaps I can help you share your worries."

Liu Miao knew it was bad when he heard it. Zhang Meng drank a lot of wine and his face didn't turn red, but when he saw the letter, his face turned red... Asking about it at this time would only add fuel to the fire.

When Zhang Meng heard this, his face turned even redder, just as Liu Miao had thought.

But to Liu Miao's surprise, after a brief moment of anger, Zhang Meng controlled his anger and said to the two men, "I lost my composure just now. I'm sorry to have made you laugh."

"It's not a big deal. It's just that an old friend of mine is in danger. I wrote a letter to ask for mercy, but was rejected." Zhang Meng told the story. "My father made military achievements and moved our family from Dunhuang County to Hongnong County. However, there are still relatives and old friends in Dunhuang County. After the passage to Hexi was opened, we resumed contact."

"Among them is Linghu Mo, the nephew of the former Cangwu governor Linghu Gong, whose real name is Linghu Pu. In the past, Linghu Gong and my father had always been friends, and Linghu Mo and I were also friends when we were children. Some time ago, the former Dunhuang governor Zhao Gong passed away, and Linghu Mo was not aware of it. The servants of his family actually forced a passing Hu merchant to death because they were greedy for money and goods."

"Later, when Governor Cheng came to power, in order to establish his authority, he actually pinned the blame on Linghu Mo and even wanted to sentence him to death!"

"So I wrote a letter to persuade him in kind. It was the servant's fault. Why should I implicate the master?" At this point, Zhang Meng was also a little angry. He certainly knew that the servant was probably pushed to take the blame, but Cheng Yu wanted to kill the chicken to scare the monkey. Couldn't he just change someone else?
Zhang Meng continued to talk about his good intentions: "Dunhuang may seem to be located in the border area, but it is unique in the study of meridians and yin and yang, and can compete with the Central Plains. The Dunhuang meridians and yin and yang studies are the most recommended for the Suo and Linghu clans. These two clans have a greater influence in Dunhuang than other clans. I wrote a letter to persuade Cheng Yu for the sake of the stability of Dunhuang County."

"Not only is Cheng Yu ungrateful, he even wrote a letter to insult me!" Zhang Meng pointed at the letter in front of him. Thinking of the content, he became angry again - Cheng Yu actually asked him whether he was a minister of the Han family or a minister of the Linghu family.

This was a great insult to Zhang Meng.

"I heard that Cheng Yu secretly took people who were planning to go to the Western Regions on his way to Dunhuang to take up his post..."

Hearing this, even Liu Xi understood Zhang Meng's intention.

The prefect of Jiuquan is so stubborn that he doesn't even wait until the next day to take revenge?

But when Liu Xi heard Zhang Meng's detailed introduction of Cheng Yu - whether it was his ruthlessness towards the nobles under his rule or his fearlessness of offending his colleagues, all these behaviors reminded him of a person - Wang Yun, the prime minister of Donghai State next to Langya State. Liu Xi instinctively shuddered.

At that time, there were powerful people in Langya who coerced the people to cause chaos. Wang Yun once led the soldiers from Donghai to help. At that time, Liu Xi was still young and lived in the deep palace, but he had heard of Wang Yun's "reputation" among the people - he was ten feet tall, looked like an evil ghost, had a green face and fangs, could eat a raw sheep for every meal, and loved to kill people...

This left a serious psychological trauma in Liu Xi's heart, although he later learned that Wang Yun was not like this at all, and these "reputations" were just crude means used by some villains who were afraid of Wang Yun to ruin Wang Yun's reputation.

But at the moment, Cheng Yu in a sense overlaps with Wang Yun's image.

It cannot be said that Liu Xi was uneducated. He knew that someone like Wang Yun was not someone he could afford to offend.

If before today, he still wanted to ask Cheng Yu for an explanation, then after listening to Zhang Meng's words, Liu Xi only had one thought in his mind - "Mr. Cheng will not cause trouble for me, right?"

Liu Miao didn't know that Zhang Meng's words had changed Liu Xi's mind. He hoped that Liu Xi would not speak out of turn, and replied to Zhang Meng: "Sir, after arriving in the Western Regions, we will inform the princes of the royal family, the Protector General of the Western Regions, and the Chief Secretary about what Governor Cheng did..."

Only a fool would go directly against Cheng Yu!

Hearing Liu Miao's excuses and seeing the fear hinted at by Liu Xi, Zhang Meng also knew that he was so angry about Cheng Yu's letter that he had lost his mind. The banquet ended hastily that day, and Liu Miao and Liu Xi did not stay in Lufu County, Jiuquan County for long before saying goodbye to Zhang Meng and left.

On the way, Liu Miao said to Liu Xi with some worry, "It was fine when I met Lord Pei and Lord Yang before, but Lord Zhang has already had a disagreement with Lord Cheng. I wonder if there will be any changes in the four counties of Hexi as the support for the management of the Western Regions..."

After hearing this, Liu Xi said, "Don't worry, uncle. In my opinion, Mr. Cheng will definitely be the leader in the end."

Liu Miao thought that it did make sense. After all, Cheng Yu was sent only after the royal family kings had confirmed their plan to come to the Western Regions, and he was directly facing Dunhuang County in the Western Regions.

At this time, Liu Miao suddenly noticed that Liu Xi addressed Cheng Yu as "Lord of the House"... He was moved. It seemed that Liu Xi should have realized this and decided not to cause trouble for Cheng Yu anymore. He was just planning to praise Liu Xi for having such vision.

"When a person like Lord Cheng comes to Dunhuang County, he is just like the King and Duke of Donghai. How many people in the prefecture and county dare to speak loudly to him?" Liu Xi said with a look of admiration on his face.

Liu Miao was shocked when he saw it.

Could it be that the child has become stupid from all the hassle of traveling?
How come the attitude changed so quickly?

……

Considering Liu Xi's status as the King of Langya, Cheng Yu still took time out of his busy schedule to host a banquet for Liu Xi out of courtesy.

As for what I was busy with, of course, I was picking out the chickens that could be killed.

(End of this chapter)